Jos Verstappen, F1 driver

Verstappen beat Ferrari’s Charles Leclerc and George Russell of Mercedes, fending off an early challenge from Leclerc but, as per usual, his dominance was unchallenged thereafter.His team-mate Sergio Perez finished second on the road but dropped to fourth due to a 5s penalty after a clash with McLaren’s Lando Norris.2023 F1 Abu Dhabi Grand Prix ...

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This was despite a series of late-race passes and a penalty for Sergio Perez meaning Leclerc actually gifted him second on the road on the last lap in a failed attempt to extend the Mexican driver's gap to Russell behind.Several drivers, including Verstappen, also face a post-race stewards' investigation regarding possible pitstop infringements related to eyewear worn by their mechanics.At the ...

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Turns 12 to 16 are notably off-camber, where the apex of the corner is marginally higher up compared to the outside, and this has often resulted in limited opportunities to race side-by-side with a clear racing line defined.There are also off-camber corners through Turns 7 and 8, which break up the two DRS zones, which Verstappen added makes it difficult to gain traction on the run down to Turn ...

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Marko and Red Bull team boss Christian Horner agreed a bet ahead of qualifying for the F1 season finale over where Verstappen would qualify, following the struggles he had faced through the weekend. But Marko’s belief that Verstappen would only line up on the second row of the grid proved wide of the mark, as the world champion pulled off a surprise pole position. And although that meant Marko ...

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Verstappen will start ahead of Ferrari’s Charles Leclerc and McLaren’s Oscar Piastri after the one-hour qualifying session, which is split into three segments with five cars each being knocked out in Q1 and Q2 before the top-10 shootout of Q3.Abu Dhabi Grand Prix grid: Verstappen on pole from Leclerc



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The three-time champion signed off his season's qualifying efforts with a 12th pole, having pipped Ferrari rival Charles Leclerc by 0.139 seconds despite failing to improve with his final Q3 attack.But Verstappen had called out the behaviour of the dominant RB19 throughout practice, even leading Red Bull motorsport advisor Helmut Marko to wager €500 that his driver would not hit the front row.As ...

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In a final qualifying session where the soft tyres were good for just a single flying lap – unlike the multiple fliers seen last week in Las Vegas – Lewis Hamilton was also knocked out in Q2 for Mercedes and Sergio Perez rued a track limits mistake in the other RB19.In Q3, Verstappen put in a 1m23.445s on his first of two runs, with the world champion well clear of the rest at this stage as he ...

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Verstappen raised some eyebrows in second practice when he muscled his way past other cars in the narrow tunnel pit exit that passes under the main track at the Yas Marina circuit.While his actions were not a strict breach of the regulations, the fact that he came close to being squeezed into the wall highlighted the potential safety issue.So, in a move to prevent any repeat problems for the ...

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The world champion was seen muscling his way past other drivers in the narrow pitlane exit during the restarted evening running at the Yas Marina circuit.At one point, he barged his way ahead of George Russell and found his path briefly blocked by Lewis Hamilton before finally finding a clear run to get caught up behind Alpine's Pierre Gasly.And, while it may have appeared that Verstappen was ...

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The prospect has become a topic of conversation after Hamilton revealed that Red Bull boss Christian Horner had made contact with him earlier this year, while noting that he’d missed the message at the time, and nothing came of it.Hamilton subsequently signed a new deal with Mercedes, while Sergio Perez’s ongoing contract means he will undertake another season with Red Bull in 2024.Asked in ...

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Verstappen was a vocal critic of the race's emphasis on the off-track show, holding a passionate two-minute plea to explain why he felt the event was lacking the passion of a traditional race track.His comments were appreciated by many fans on social media, not just his own supporters but also who followed Lewis Hamilton and others.While Verstappen wasn't overly comfortable with all the ...

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On an extremely slippery circuit, Verstappen went deep into Turn 1 and forced polesitter Leclerc to go off the track with him, coming out of the corner in front of the Ferrari driver.The incident was soon investigated by the FIA stewards but rather than giving the position back to Leclerc Red Bull decided to cop a five-second penalty instead. Verstappen therefore enjoyed free air for the first ...

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Formula 1's very own Super Bowl in Vegas, which came with all the pomp befitting of the gambling and entertainment paradise, vindicated its lack of humility with an action-packed grand prix.The 50-lap blast around the Strip's casinos was a spellbinding thrill, dispelling concerns over whether or not the series had forgotten about the sporting aspect of its grand spectacle.F1's big wigs surely ...

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Verstappen overcame a 5s penalty to beat Ferrari’s Charles Leclerc and his Red Bull team-mate Sergio Perez.Verstappen barged his way past Leclerc at the first corner, much to the polewinner’s anger, and was given a 5s penalty but kept his track position at the front in the early stages.Leclerc passed Verstappen just before his first pitstop, while Perez charged through the field after an early ...

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Verstappen started alongside polesitter Leclerc on the front row and ducked down the inside of the left-hand Turn 1 to grab the lead.But as grip was extremely limited on the brand-new surface, as evidenced by Fernando Alonso spinning off behind them and other drivers also making contact, Verstappen went deep into the run-off area, taking Leclerc with him.Verstappen kept his lead while the stewards ...

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Russell passed Alpine racer Esteban Ocon on the final lap to grab fourth place at the line, but he was ultimately demoted to eighth owing to a five-second penalty for a tangle with Red Bull race winner Verstappen.At half distance, Verstappen dived down the inside into Turn 12 but the pair came to blows.Without the penalty - which he did not object to, saying he was caught unawares by Verstappen - ...

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Verstappen overcame a penalty for clashing with Leclerc on the first lap and had to drive around damage picked up in another incident with Mercedes driver George Russell.Leclerc showed Ferrari's race pace potential was true, but was ultimately undone by the second of two safety cars losing a tyre advantage he had accrued over Verstappen and with the neutralisation helping Perez recover from ...

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Verstappen and Ocon were part of a gaggle of drivers that backed up at the end of the main straight as they prepared to start their final laps of the session.Keen to get a clear lap and worried about complying with the FIA's minimum delta requirements, Ocon passed Yuki Tsunoda, Zhou Guanyu and his own team-mate Pierre Gasly before blasting by Verstappen just before the start of the lap.A clearly ...

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Three-time F1 champion Verstappen has been particularly outspoken and critical of the Las Vegas Grand Prix weekend, which he reckons is "99% show" and "1% a sporting event".He also said comparing a circuit that incorporates the famous Strip to a historic street track like Monaco is to compare the flagship "Champions League" football competition with the "National League".The Red Bull driver, who ...

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Leclerc led all three segments of qualifying, which featured Lewis Hamilton and Sergio Perez not making the finale and both McLarens being knocked out in Q1.In the first two segments, the cars completed multiple runs on the same set of softs to build temperature and gain grip on the slippery, cool new Vegas track surface, but in Q3 the frontrunners completed typical single-lap efforts.After ...

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Along with a drone show and musical performances, the event included a section during which the drivers emerged from giant boxes on the pit straight and were introduced to the crowd.Verstappen, who also opted to miss a later VIP event at the Wynn’s hotel complex that F1 boss Stefano Domenicali asked all the drivers to attend, made it clear that he is not enjoying the Las Vegas experience thus ...

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While the world champion squad’s rivals have all closed in over the course of this season, Verstappen has always appeared to have enough in hand to fend off anyone who looks on the verge of an attack.It was a story repeated at last weekend’s Brazilian Grand Prix, where McLaren’s Lando Norris looked like being able to threaten Verstappen in both the sprint and the main race – before the ...

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Verstappen took his 17th grand prix win of 2023 at Interlagos on Sunday, resulting in him securing another historic record as the driver with the highest-ever win percentage in a season.Even if he does not triumph in either of the remaining two races of the campaign, his tally of 77.27% eclipses the 75% mark that Alberto Ascari reached in 1952 when he won six out of eight races.As Verstappen's Red ...

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Verstappen controlled the race, despite a restart following a shunt at Turn 1 at the original start that required barrier repairs.Verstappen fended off an early attack from McLaren’s Lando Norris while he was protecting his tyres but then pulled well clear.Fernando Alonso drove a brilliant race to finish third for Aston Martin, fending off Red Bull’s Sergio Perez to the finish line by ...

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Following a standing restart to the race thanks to a red-flag period, Norris resumed the race on the front foot and began to catch the leading Verstappen in those opening laps after fending off Lewis Hamilton into the first corner.Norris used the seventh lap to reel in Verstappen and had a small opportunity to pass into the first corner on the following lap, but Verstappen held the inside line ...

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