Fred Gamble, F1 driver

The Dutchman converted pole position successfully despite having to contend with the rigours of a wet race among the final third of the race, extending his stint on the medium tyres to cover off the looming threat of rain.
With a dry start to proceedings, the medium-shod Verstappen covered off any threat of a pass from Alonso on the hards at the start, and immediately began to cement his lead ...

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As revealed by Motorsport.com, a loophole has emerged in the new sprint format regulations regarding the usage of tyres in the shootout.
Drivers are obliged to use one set of new medium tyres in SQ1, another new set of mediums in SQ2, and then a set of new softs in SQ3.
The intention was that all teams would have to save those three new sets to use on Saturday.
However the rules as ...

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Russell had started from the pitlane after taking a new power unit under parc ferme, and during his attempt to regain ground he went up an escape road after making contact with the Alfa Romeo of Valtteri Bottas and dropped back.
Given that he was at the back of the field, Russell agreed with the team?s suggestion that he try slicks, but it was evident straight away that it was too early ...

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Alonso caused a stir at the start of the summer break when he announced that he was leaving Alpine and switching to Aston Martin on a multi-year deal.
The move was a surprise because while Alpine is fighting to be best of the rest in F1 behind Red Bull, Ferrari and Mercedes, Aston Martin is currently ninth in the standings after a difficult campaign.
But while Alonso accepts that there is no ...

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Verstappen claimed pole for F1?s first race in Montreal since 2019, as he topped all three segments of a wet-but-drying qualifying session at the Circuit Gilles Villeneuve, while his title rivals Sergio Perez and Charles Leclerc qualified well down the order.
The field ran full wets throughout Q1, but several drivers headed straight out on intermediates in Q2 ? with most staying on the ...

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Mercedes driver Russell was the only driver to risk a switch to the dry tyres in Saturday?s qualifying at the Circuit Gilles Villeneuve, fitting a set of softs for his final run in Q3.
A number of drivers had reported a drying line appearing after the rain had stopped during Q1 and allowed them to switch to intermediate tyres, but no-one else made the same switch.
But Russell?s hopes of ...

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He also expressed his frustration at having to hand a place back to Lewis Hamilton after going off track during their late battle, although he soon regained it and finished ahead of his teammate.
However, the episode cost him any chance of gaining ground on the cars ahead.
Russell had started on the hard tyres with the intention of running long. As those who started on the mediums began to ...

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The Ferrari driver was one of nine drivers to choose to run on the red-walled rubber for the 24-lap race, with that number including eventual race winner Valtteri Bottas. 
Sainz and Bottas both moved ahead at the start from their second and fifth place grid spots ? with the latter getting alongside Max Verstappen?s first-place-starting Red Bull and in front into Turn 1, with the ...

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Hamilton had looked all set to finish behind leader Lando Norris in the closing stages of the Sochi race, before a late downpour turned the race on its head.
As the rain blew in, Norris elected to stay out on slicks while Mercedes convinced Hamilton to move over to inters ? which ultimately proved to be the right choice.
Reflecting on why Mercedes got it right, on an afternoon that McLaren ...

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At Silverstone the consensus was that everyone would take the safe option and start on the medium tyre. Alonso opted to go with the soft instead, taking advantage of the extra grip on the first lap to jump up from 11th fifth, before falling back to seventh as quicker cars got past him.
The strategy caught the attention of rivals, and there?s no doubt that some will give it serious ...

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In contrast to a normal race weekend, when the top 10 drivers start the race on the tyres they progressed through from Q2 on while the rest of the grid has a free choice on which tyres to start on, none of the drivers are obliged to start the sprint on the tyres with which they qualified.
The consensus in the paddock in recent weeks has been that the medium compound would be the default choice ...

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Leclerc managed to convert Ferrari?s impressive practice pace into a first pole of the season in Monaco on Saturday, edging out Red Bull?s Max Verstappen by two-tenths of a second.
But the pole was secured in unusual fashion after Leclerc crashed at the exit of Swimming Pool late in Q3, bringing out a red flag that prevented any drivers for making further improvements.
Although Leclerc ...

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Pole-sitter Hamilton was passed by Verstappen at Turn 1 on the opening lap, and spent the first stint of the race trailing the Red Bull driver, ultimately falling 5.5 seconds behind after pitting.
Hamilton was then able to close up to Verstappen on the medium tyres, and was set to overtake before Mercedes called him in for a second pitstop. With Red Bull committing Verstappen to a one-stop ...

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Hamilton was able to edge out Red Bull rival Max Verstappen by 0.036 seconds in Q3 to clinch his second pole position of the season, and continue his perfect record of front row starts this year for Mercedes.

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But the seven-time world champion initially ...

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Bottas led Mercedes to its 12th pole position in a row on Saturday after edging out teammate Hamilton and Red Bull's Max Verstappen in the final stage of qualifying at the Nurburgring.
Mercedes had looked set to qualify both Hamilton and Bottas on medium tyres at the start of Q2, only to switch them to softs for their final runs in the session.
Hamilton said after qualifying that he wanted ...

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Verstappen was the only driver to use the hard in Q2 at Silverstone and thus commit to using it in the first stint, and it paid off when the Dutchman scored a victory over the two Mercedes drivers in a dominant style that even his own team hadn't anticipated.
Horner said Verstappen and the team had to balance the pros and cons of doing something different, and in the end they decided to go for ...

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Perceptions change very quickly in the sport, and perhaps the biggest shift from the Austrian Grand Prix to the Styrian Grand Prix last weekend was the reality of just how quick Racing Point can be.
A hesitant first weekend out with its ?Pink Mercedes? left rivals convinced it had made a good step, but it was really only in the second Red Bull Ring race that the reality of its pace ...

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