Scorching heat had turned into steady rain, as 20 cars lined up for the formation lap, which took place behind the safety car. Several formation laps were driven, and all cars had the full-wets on. In drivers' opinion the conditions were okay for racing, and there was a standing start. Hamilton took a clean start from pole, but Verstappen got a lousy start instead. Bottas stormed to P2, so the Silver Arrows had a familiar double lead. Kimi had taken a sensational start from P5, making his way up to P3. Unfortunately Kimi went wide on the second lap, which enabled Verstappen to attack the Finn right away, snatching P3 from the Iceman.
The first safety car episode took place already on lap 3. Perez lost control of his pink-colored Racing Point, ending up into the barrier. The conditions were slippery, but Sebastian drove into the pits, switching to the green-walled intermediate compound. Other drivers followed Sebastian's example, pitting for the intermediates. Unfortunately Kimi's pit stop didn't go to plan, and the Iceman dropped down to P11, when re-joining the track.
As the race was back on, the Silver Arrows were still in the double lead. Verstappen was third and Leclerc fourth. The Monegasque had made great progress, as he had started to the race from modest P10. Renault's Hulkenberg was fifth in the race. Teammate Ricciardo was responsible for the next retirement. His black and yellow Renault suffered a power unit failure, which led into a sudden halt on the track. This time virtual safety car was deployed. Ferrari reacted right away, calling Charles in. The young Ferrari ace switched to a fresh set of intermediates, as did Renault's Hulkenberg.
The track conditions had improved to an extent, that DRS was enabled. Haas' Magnussen was the first driver to pit for slicks. It seemed like a risky call, but Ferrari reacted immediately and called Sebastian in. The German re-joined the track on a fresh set of soft Pirellis. Verstappen, on the other hand, pitted for a fresh set of medium tyres. However, it didn't turn out easy for Max to keep his RB15 between the white lines. He had a 360-degree spin only a couple of laps after his pit stop, but luckily he didn't hit anything. Meanwhile, McLaren's Norris was hit with a technical failure, which brought out the virtual safety car. Both Leclerc and Hamilton pitted for the softs.
Lap 30 saw the second safety car episode. This time there was Ferrari ace Leclerc in the limelight of the drama. This was the very first wet race for the Monegasque in Formula 1, and the tricky conditions caught him by surprise. Charles suddenly lost control of his SF90 in the second last corner, and he ended up in the barrier. What a disappointing moment for Charles, who had made excellent job that far! However, Charles wasn't the only top driver casualty on the very same lap. Hamilton, too made a mistake and broke his front wing when hitting the barrier. The Briton drove at the wrong side of the bollard when entering the pits, so he was taken into investigation by the stewards. And unfortunately that wasn't the only setback for the Briton. The tyres weren't ready, as Hamilton stopped on his pit box! In the end, the pit stop took unbelievable 50 seconds for the unlucky Mercedes ace! He re-joined the track on the intermediates, but his race had just turned into a nightmare.
All drivers pitted to get the intermediates back on, and the pecking order was certainly interesting. Verstappen was now leading the race, with Hulkenberg second and Bottas third!Toro Rosso's Albon was sensational fourth, Hamilton fifth, Sainz sixth, Kimi seventh and Sebastian eighth. As the re-start took place, Verstappen opened up a two-second gap to Hulkenberg right away. Hamilton, on the other hand, was handed a 5-second time penalty for driving at the wrong side of the bollard at the pit entry. Both Mercedes drivers managed to get past Hulkenberg, one by one. Kimi, unfortunately, made a mistake by going off in the second last corner, and the Iceman dropped down to P10.
The incident on lap 40 brought out the safety car for the third time. Once again it was the second last corner, which took another casualty. This time it was Renault's Hulkenberg, who lost control of his car, crashing into the barrier! Such a shame for the German, who had been performing very well in front of his home crowd! Verstappen pitted from the lead, opting for a fresh set of intermediate Pirellis. The lion-hearted Dutchman was just barely able to maintain his lead. Also Sebastian pitted for fresh intermediate tyres.
After the re-start it was time for the pit stop roulette for slicks. I couldn't believe my eyes, as I saw the pecking order after the pit stop roulette. Verstappen was leading the race, which was well-deserved. But who would have thought, that Racing Point's Stroll could be as high as P2 and Toro Rosso's Kvyat in P3? Bottas was fourth, Sainz was fifth, Magnussen sixth, Albon seventh and Gasly eighth. Sebastian was in P9 at that point, followed by Haas' Grosjean.
On lap 53 it was Hamilton's turn to go off in the second last corner! The Briton avoided hitting the barrier just barely. And only four laps later, teammate Bottas made an almost identical mistake in the very same corner, losing control of his W10! The Finn didn't get as lucky as his teammate, as he crashed into the wall. Now that Hamilton was out of points, it would have been vital for Valtteri to score as many points as possible to decrease the gap to Hamilton in the drivers' championship standings! Bottas' crash brought out the safety car for the fourth time already! What an utterly crazy race!
There were five laps to go, as the last re-start took place. This time it was obvious, that Max was going to take the victory. He had definitely unleashed the lion in these challenging conditions! Sebastian was in P5, and he had decided to open up the overtaking show. His first victim was Sainz in his McLaren; Sebastian made a determined move, jumping to P4. Now he had all eyes on Stroll, whom he attacked next. "The good old Sebastian" was definitely back! After claiming P3 he smelled Kvyat's blood. With self-confidence Sebastian passed the Russian "Torpedo", laying his hands on P2. Max was too far away, but Sebastian's rise from P20 to P2 was absolutely beyond words! A sensational drive from Sebastian indeed! I absolutely loved his performance on the track!
Phenomenal Max took his 7th career win and also the extra point for the fastest lap time. In addition to Max and Sebastian, it's definitely worth mentioning, that Toro Rosso's Kvyat made it on the podium! What a fantastic drive from the Russian, who has also had difficult times in his career! Stroll finished fourth for Racing Point, which was impressive as well. The other top ten finishers were Sainz, Albon, Räikkönen, Giovinazzi, Grosjean and Magnussen. However, both Alfa Romeos got excluded from the results after the race, due to a starting system infringement. So Hamilton made it in the points after all!
I'm afraid, that this was a turning point in the world championship battle. Bottas has 41 points to catch in ten races only. I definitely hope, that this race was a turning point for the better for Sebastian. The last race before the summer break will take place already next week, as the F1 circus moves to the hot city of Budapest. And I'll be there to watch all action live! I'll travel to Budapest already on the day after tomorrow. I can't wait to get into the Formula 1 world again! Forza Ferrari!
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