Nicolas Lopes, Author at Motorsport | Pit Debrief

F1 Chinese GP | Qualifying | Verstappen takes Red Bull’s 100th pole position in dominant fashion at Shanghai; Perez and Alonso complete the top 3

Nicolas Lopes7 months ago7 months ago012 mins

After winning the Sprint comfortably despite starting down in fourth position, Max Verstappen continued his domination of Saturday at the Shanghai International Circuit by leading a dominant Red Bull 1-2 in qualifying for the grand prix, over three-tenths clear of Sergio Perez and 0.488s ahead of Fernando Alonso’s Aston Martin in P3. Q1 Before the…

Alonso “extremely happy” to secure P3 in “stressful” Chinese GP F1 Sprint Qualifying

Nicolas Lopes7 months ago04 mins

Formula 1 returned to Shanghai for the first time in five years for the 2024 Chinese GP, and with a new asphalt and reduced running thanks to the Sprint format, it was always going to be a challenge for the drivers, even in the dry – but sudden rain at the end of Sprint Qualifying…

Hamilton: Ferrari F1 move doesn’t need “vindicating” despite Mercedes’ current struggles

Nicolas Lopes7 months ago7 months ago04 mins

Lewis Hamilton has expressed his frustration at the many – and repetitive – questions surrounding his blockbuster move to join Ferrari for the 2025 Formula 1 season. Given Mercedes’ ongoing struggles to get to grips with these ground-effect F1 cars since the start of 2022, many questions have been raised about that potentially proving it…

Andretti Global announces opening of new F1 facility in Silverstone as it continues its bid to join the grid

Nicolas Lopes8 months ago8 months ago05 mins

Andretti has announced it has formally opened a brand new F1 facility in Silverstone, with a 48,000 square foot building set to house its UK operations going forward, in what is a significant step towards its place on the F1 grid that’s been so far rejected by the Formula One Management Group (FOM). Despite having…

Horner: Verstappen “emphatically” bounced back with dominant win at F1 Japanese GP after Australia DNF

Nicolas Lopes8 months ago8 months ago07 mins

Red Bull team principal Christian Horner was full of praise for Verstappen following a dominant weekend for the team around the Suzuka circuit at the 2024 Japanese GP, in which they secured a 1-2 in both qualifying and the race, bouncing back “emphatically” after a disappointing weekend in Melbourne last time out. At the front,…

Vasseur praises “under control” tyre degradation as a key factor in P3/P4 for Ferrari at F1 Japanese GP

Nicolas Lopes8 months ago8 months ago08 mins

Ferrari team principal Frederic Vasseur has praised Ferrari’s much-improved tyre degradation in the 2024 F1 season as a key factor contributing to their good result at the Japanese GP, with Carlos Sainz taking the final place on the podium, just ahead of his team-mate Charles Leclerc in P4. After a somewhat anonymous qualifying performance compared…

Sargeant “generally happy” with his qualifying performance in F1 Japanese GP after “awkward” practice shunt

Nicolas Lopes8 months ago8 months ago09 mins

The American driver will start the race from 19th on the grid, only ahead of the struggling Sauber of Zhou Guanyu – but he was encouraged by what he described as a “good turnaround” after limited practice running and a big set-up change ahead of qualifying in Suzuka. After missing the race last time out…

F1 Japanese GP | Qualifying | Verstappen pips Perez by just 0.06s to take pole position in exciting Suzuka Q3

Nicolas Lopes8 months ago8 months ago012 mins

Max Verstappen secured a fourth consecutive pole position of the season at the 2024 Japanese GP, beating his team-mate Sergio Perez by the slender margin of just six hundreths of a second, in what proved to be an excting final part of qualifying at Suzuka. Q1 Q1 began in cloudy conditions at the Suzuka circuit….

Alonso says a repeat of his “surprising” F1 Australian GP penalty will “never” be applied again

Nicolas Lopes8 months ago8 months ago013 mins

Fernando Alonso believes such was the “surprising” and “strange” nature of his penalty for “potentially dangerous” driving at the final lap of the 2024 Australian GP – in turn causing George Russell’s massive shunt -, that it will “never” be seen again in the future. He also discussed how it will not change how he…

Albon: “Frustrating” for Williams to leave Australian GP point-less after Haas and RB scored big

Nicolas Lopes8 months ago8 months ago06 mins

Alex Albon endured a tough race at the 2024 Australian GP, with his crash against the barriers in FP1 leaving him and the team on the backfoot for the rest of the weekend, as Logan Sargeant had to give up his car in order for the Thai to race. But despite Albon’s best efforts, he…