Max Verstappen, Lance Stroll crash during an eventful second F1 practice at Portugal

Associated PressOct 23, 2020, 1:15 PM EDT
F1 Max Verstappen crash
Jorge Guerrero - Pool/Getty Images
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PORTIMAO, Portugal — Mercedes driver Valtteri Bottas was fastest in an eventful second practice session Friday for the F1 Portuguese Grand Prix , with French driver Pierre Gasly’s car catching fire midway through and a crash involving Max Verstappen and Lance Stroll.

Bottas was 0.6 seconds quicker than Red Bull’s Verstappen and 0.8 ahead of McLaren’s Lando Norris. Ferrari’s Charles Leclerc was fourth best, and championship leader Lewis Hamilton struggled for tire grip and was only eighth fastest, a considerable 1.37 seconds behind his teammate Bottas.

Gasly parked his car on the side of the track when it suddenly caught fire. He scampered out unharmed and rode back to the AlphaTauri team garage on the back of a scooter as track marshals quickly put out the billowing flames. The session was suspended for about 15 minutes while a crane removed the car.

Soon after it restarted, the red flag came back out again following a crash between Verstappen and Stroll’s Racing Point car.

The drivers do not get on, and Verstappen was unhappy when Stroll would not let him pass on a straight.

Because he did not, Verstappen then dived into Turn 1 to gain position on him, but Stroll, who is back this weekend after testing positive for COVID-19 and missing the race two weeks ago, moved slightly right at the same time, and Verstappen ended up crashing into the side of his car.

Stroll’s car flew off into the gravel and was removed by crane, while Verstappen was able to continue. Both drivers were unharmed and summoned before the race stewards, who decided neither driver was at fault and took no action.

There was a near miss right at the beginning of second practice, too, when Kevin Magnussen nearly hit the McLaren of Carlos Sainz Jr.

Hamilton, meanwhile, struggled for grip during a tricky session on a new circuit. He comfortably leads the championship and his victory two weeks ago at the Eifel GP in Germany tied Michael Schumacher’s F1 record of 91 wins.

There were mask-wearing fans scattered around the 4.6-kilometer (3-mile) circuit in Portimao, which is undulating with frequent elevation changes. Overtaking is difficult.

It was used for preseason testing in 2008 but never before held an F1 race. It is the second new one on the coronavirus-hit calendar after the Tuscan GP in Mugello last month.

In the first practice earlier Friday, Bottas was 0.34 seconds faster than Hamilton and 0.78 ahead of Verstappen.

Both he and Leclerc had problems with grip, with Leclerc going off track and into some gravel. The car was undamaged and he finished with the fourth-best time.

Portugal last hosted a race in 1996, when three F1 champions made the podium after Jacques Villeneuve won ahead of Damon Hill and Schumacher.

IndyCar Power Rankings: Alex Palou still first as Newgarden, Ferrucci make Indy 500 jumps

By May 31, 2023, 2:00 PM EDT
NBC IndyCar power rankings
Kristin Enzor/For IndyStar/USA TODAY Sports Images Network
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The biggest race of the NTT IndyCar Series season (and in the world) is over, and NBC Sports’ power rankings look very similar to the finishing results in the Greatest Spectacle in Racing.

Pole-sitter Alex Palou entered the Indy 500 at the top and remains there after his impressive rebound to a fourth after a midway crash in the pits. Top two Indianapolis 500 finishers Josef Newgarden and Marcus Ericsson also improved multiple spots in the power rankings just as they gained ground during the course of the 500-mile race on the 2.5-mile oval. Though Alexander Rossi dropped a position, he still shined at the Brickyard with a fifth place finish.

Santino Ferrucci, the other driver in the top five at Indy, made his first appearance in the 2023 power rankings this year and now will be tasked with keeping his A.J. Foyt Racing team toward the front as the IndyCar circuit makes its debut on a new layout..

Heading into the Chevrolet Detroit Grand Prix on the streets of downtown, here’s NBC Sports’ assessment of the current top 10 drivers through six of 17 races this year (with previous ranking in parenthesis):

  1. Alex Palou (1): Three consecutive top 10 finishes at the Indy 500, and yet the 2021 IndyCar champion still seems slightly snake-bitten at the Brickyard. A few different circumstances and a dash of experience, and Palou could have three Indy 500 wins. But he at least has the points lead.
  2. Marcus Ericsson (4): Some want to say the Indy 500 runner-up’s unhappiness with IndyCar race control was sour grapes, but the Swede had a legitimate gripe about the consistency of red flag protocols. Still a magnificent May for Ericsson, especially while the questions swirl about his future.
  3. Josef Newgarden (7): Strategist Tim Cindric and team did a fantastic job catapulting Newgarden from 17th into contention, and the two-time series champion did the rest. Particularly on a late three-wide pass for the lead, it can’t be overstated how brilliant the Team Penske driver was in his finest hour.
  4. Alexander Rossi (3): He winds up being the best Arrow McLaren finisher in a mostly disappointing Indy 500 for a team that seemed poised to become dominant. With a third in the GMR GP and a fifth in the Indy 500, this easily was Rossi’s best May since his second place in 2019.
  5. Pato O’Ward (2): Unlike last year, the Arrow McLaren star sent it this time against Ericsson and came out on the wrong side (and with lingering bitterness toward his Chip Ganassi Racing rival). The lead mostly was the wrong place to be at Indy, but O’Ward managed to be in first for a race-high 39 laps.
  6. Scott Dixon (5): He overcame brutal handling issues from a wicked set of tires during his first stint, and then the team struggled with a clutch problem while posting a typical Dixon-esque finish on “a very tough day.” The six-time champion hopes things are cleaner the rest of the season after the first three months.
  7. Santino Ferrucci (NR): Pound for pound, he and A.J. Foyt Racing had the best two weeks at Indianapolis. Ferrucci said Wednesday he still believes he had “by far the best car at the end” and if not for the timing of the final yellow and red, he would have won the Indy 500. Now the goal is maintaining into Detroit.
  8. Colton Herta (NR): He was the best in a mostly forgettable month for Andretti Autosport and now is facing a pivotal weekend. Andretti has reigned on street courses so far this season, and few have been better on new circuits than Herta. A major chance for his first victory since last year’s big-money extension.
  9. Scott McLaughlin (6): Ran in the top 10 at Indy after a strong opening stint but then lost positions while getting caught out on several restarts. A penalty for unintentionally rear-ending Simon Pagenaud in O’Ward’s crash then sent him to the rear, but McLaughlin still rallied for 14th. Detroit will be a fresh start.
  10. Rinus VeeKay (10): Crashing into Palou in the pits was less than ideal. But a front row start and 10th-place finish in the Indy 500 still were 2023 highlights for VeeKay in what’s been the toughest season of his career. The Ed Carpenter Racing cars have been slow on road and street courses, so Detroit is another test.

Falling out: Will Power (8), Felix Rosenqvist (9), Romain Grosjean (10)

PAST NBC SPORTS INDYCAR POWER RANKINGS

PRESEASON: Josef Newgarden is a favorite to win third championship

RACE 1: Pato O’Ward to first; Newgarden drops out after St. Pete

RACE 2: O’Ward stays firmly on top of standings after Texas

RACE 3: Marcus Ericsson leads powerhouses at the top

RACE 4: Grosjean, Palou flex in bids for first victory

RACE 5: Alex Palou carrying all the momentum into Indy 500