Sergio Perez expressed his elation as he and Force India finished on the podium for the second time this season at the European Grand Prix. Perez qualified on the front row of the grid but was demoted to seventh after he picked up a gearbox penalty when he crashed out of the final practice session. Perez nonetheless recovered to fourth place in the race but was assured of third as Kimi Raikkonen picked up a time penalty in the pits. Perez, however, cemented third spot […]

Nico Rosberg claimed his fifth victory of the season with an untroubled lights-to-flag drive in the European Grand Prix at the Baku City Circuit. Rosberg built a lead over Ferrari’s Sebastian Vettel and maintained a 20-second gap for much of the race, completing a smooth Super Soft/Soft tyre strategy to secure victory. Vettel got ahead of Red Bull’s Daniel Ricciardo during the early stages of the race and was allowed through by Ferrari team-mate Kimi Räikkönen, netting second position during a processional race up front. […]

Force India driver Nico Hulkenberg concedes he was left with a "bitter feeling" after he was eliminated from the second knockout session during qualifying for the European Grand Prix. Hulkenberg had been towards the sharp end of the grid throughout practice but spun exiting Turn 16 on his first lap in Q2 and was unable to clock a sufficiently quick time later in the session, leaving him in 12th position. Hulkenberg's woes were accentuated by the pace of team-mate Sergio Perez, who recorded the second […]

European Grand Prix pole sitter Nico Rosberg says he is wary of Mercedes team-mate Lewis Hamilton, despite the Briton's struggles during qualifying at the Baku City Circuit. Hamilton had three off-track excursions during the session before a fourth error at Turn 10 caused damage to his W07 Hybrid, leaving him in 10th place on the grid. Rosberg went on to claim pole position, his third of the campaign, but remains aware that Hamilton can mount a comeback from the lower end of the top 10. […]

Sebastian Vettel has accepted that Ferrari's deficit to Mercedes is "very big," but he remains confident that the outfit can enjoy a profitable race at the European Grand Prix. Vettel was fourth quickest during qualifying at the Baku City Circuit - setting an identical time to Red Bull's Daniel Ricciardo - but will start from third following a penalty for Force India's Sergio Perez. Vettel battled with Mercedes' Lewis Hamilton for honours in Canada, ultimately placing second, and reckons Ferrari can perform well, despite trailing […]

Jenson Button was left to rue a surprise exit from the first stage of qualifying at the European Grand Prix in Baku. Button was only 19th quickest during Q1 after running wide at Turn 15, which left him with worn tyres as he attempted a second run. Button was unable to improve on his time and will start the race ahead of only Sauber's Marcus Ericsson and Renault pair Kevin Magnussen and Jolyon Palmer. "In Q1, I locked up into Turn 15 – we’d fitted […]

Sergio Perez was left to rue a crash during the final practice session in Azerbaijan, which denied him the opportunity to start Sunday's race from the front row of the grid. Perez clipped the wall during the closing stages of the 60-minute session on Saturday and damaged his gearbox, meaning Force India had to change the part prior to qualifying, thus leaving Perez with a five-place penalty. Perez managed to qualify in second position at the Baku City Circuit but will now drop to seventh […]

Jolyon Palmer believes Renault had the potential to be substantially quicker during qualifying for the European Grand Prix, as he finished at the back of the field. Palmer was the slowest of the 22 drivers during the first knockout session at the Baku City Circuit, the seventh successive race in which the rookie has been eliminated at the first hurdle. However, Palmer reckons more was possible across the course of a lap. "The potential is there for a huge amount more but it wasn’t to […]

Lewis Hamilton apologised to his Mercedes team after a sub-par showing during qualifying for the European Grand Prix at the Baku City Circuit. Hamilton topped all three practice sessions but had off-track excursions in both Q1 and Q2, before scuppering his first Q3 effort with an off at Turn 15. Hamilton tried to recover but clipped the wall on the inside of Turn 10 and caused terminal damage to the front-right of his W07 Hybrid and had to park by the side of the circuit. […]

Nico Rosberg claimed pole position for the European Grand Prix as Mercedes team-mate Lewis Hamilton crashed out of Q3 and will start only 10th. Hamilton had a messy session and went wide on his first flying lap before clipping the inside barrier at Turn 10, causing terminal damage to the front right of his W07 Hybrid. Rosberg, who was ahead on track, crossed the line to take provisional pole position with a 1:42.758 shortly before the session was halted to allow Hamilton’s car to be […]

Reigning World Champion Lewis Hamilton continued his form by clocking the quickest time during the final practice session for the European Grand Prix. Hamilton moved to the top of the standings with a late lap of 1:44.352 on the Super Soft tyres, beating Mercedes team-mate Nico Rosberg by 0.258s. Force India continued its strong pace with Nico Hülkenberg and Sergio Pérez third and sixth, though the Mexican crashed out during the closing stages. Pérez slewed wide exiting Turn 15 and clouted the wall, causing damage […]

Felipe Massa labelled a "very difficult" day as he struggled to get the tyres into the correct operating window during practice for the European Grand Prix. Williams team-mate Valtteri Bottas was fourth quickest at the Baku City Circuit but Massa could manage only the 16th fastest time, 1.3s adrift of the Finn. Massa pinned the deficit on getting Pirelli's tyres to work correctly, an issue which he says is new for him this season. "It was a very difficult day for me," he conceded. "I […]