The 2019 Formula 1 season is inevitably coming to an end. The season finale takes place at breath-taking Yas Marina Circuit. Putting the season-ending F1 weekend aside, this was an utterly unique weekend for Sebastian, whose third child was born on Thursday. Warmest congratulations for Sebastian for a new-born baby boy! In addition to this wonderful family news, Sebastian stood out of the crowd in another way. In the first free practice session he made a mistake, ending up into the wall. Sebastian was very angry at himself, and he enumerated a handful of Finnish swearing words! I can't help wondering, how flawlessly Sebastian pronounces Finnish! I burst into laughs when I heard Sebastian's outburst!
Mercedes have absolutely owned the Yas Marina Circuit since the beginning of the turbo hybrid era. So the odds were definitely on the Silver Arrows' side, in terms of pole position. Hamilton went fastest on his first run, but Red Bull's Verstappen was only a tenth down. Ferrari were also in the mix, as Charles was third fastest. Sebastian made a rookie-like mistake and spun on the start straight, which ruined his first attempt. Luckily the German managed to put together a competitive lap on his second flyer, which made him jump fifth in the charts. However, there was half a second separating the red-suited teammates in favor of Charles. Ferrari showed great performance on the first and second sector, but the third sector with slow corners was very challenging for the Red Team. Meanwhile, Bottas had jumped third. Towards the end of the first session, both Mercedes aces managed to improve their lap times, with the newly crowned world champion having the upper hand. In the midfield it was extremely tight. Kimi was under the threat of being knocked out already in Q1. The Iceman made it 14th on his final run, but as his teammate and a couple of others managed to improve, the Finn was out of Q2 in the end! It was an extremely poor qualifying for Alfa Romeo Racing, as Giovinazzi qualified 17th and Kimi 18th! What a disappointing way to end the season!
Q2 came down to the tyre strategy again. It was a bit surprising to see, that both Ferraris came out on the soft compound. Hamilton, alongside the Red Bull duo and Haas' Magnussen, opted for the yellow-walled medium compound. Once again, Hamilton made it on the top of the time sheets in spite of the tyre choice. Charles was second, only 63 thousandths of a second off the Briton's benchmark, and Sebastian was third. Bottas came out on a fresh set of mediums as well, jumping second. In spite of the Red Team's plan to use the soft compound in Q2, Charles switched to the medium rubber at the end of the session. And what a lap he put together, robbing Hamilton of the top spot. The pecking order of the midfield was quite straight forward today; in addition to the three big teams, both McLaren and both Renault drivers made it among the top ten.
In spite of having clinched the world championship already, Hamilton was hungry to take his fifth pole at Yas Marina. He grabbed provisional pole firmly in his hands, as Verstappen in second was three tenths off the pace already. Bottas was third after his first run, followed by the Ferrari duo of Charles and Sebastian. Albon was sixth, having proved unable to match his teammate's pace. The decisive session saw drama in terms of the Ferrari drivers. They were sent out so late, with all the drivers slowing down massively in the last corner, so Charles missed out on his last flyer! A mistake, that the Red Team couldn't have afforded! Hamilton managed to improve his lap time, as did his teammate. However, a Mercedes front row was only symbolic, as Bottas had been given multiple grid penalties due to using new power unit elements. Due to the Finn's penalty, Verstappen is promoted on the front row. The second row is locked down by the Ferrari duo, with Albon fifth and McLaren's Norris 6th. Renault's Ricciardo, McLaren's Sainz, Renault's Hulkenberg and Racing Point's Perez round out the top ten.
I don't know, whether the volatile situation between the Ferrari teammates due to the crash in Brazil has been successfully cleared out. However, tomorrow's starting grid contains all ingredients for another explosion. Charles in P3 will start to the race on the medium compound, whilst teammate Sebastian will start on the soft rubber, which possibly offers an advantage at the start… I really hope, that the Red Team will end the season on a high! And by the way, I would love to hear Sebastian celebrate his win on the team radio in Finnish! Maybe with some nicer words than those used on Friday! :D Go Sebastian!
Kimi Räikkönen & Sebastian Vettel
lauantai 30. marraskuuta 2019
maanantai 18. marraskuuta 2019
Brazil GP: Ferrari's worst case scenario led into a surprise podium!
Over the years Brazil GP has produced exciting and action-packed races. So there were all ingredients for a cracker of a race on Sunday. Of all top drivers, Verstappen has failed most often in terms of taking a good start. But this time Max had both his nerves and his Red Bull perfectly under control. He accelerated into the lead with no mistakes. Hamilton took a magnificent start as well, making his way past Sebastian and claiming P2. Sebastian was third, and Bottas managed to maintain his fourth place at the start. Leclerc, who had started to the race from modest P14, had made his way up to P11 by lap 2. Kimi's start to the race was also impressive. Alfa Romeo's race pace proved competitive, and Haas' Grosjean had no chance to defend his 7th place against the ice-cool Finn. However, the Iceman had a threat of his own, as in no time Charles had made it at his tail.
In the midfield there was a fiery fight between Renault's Ricciardo and Haas' Magnussen. Unfortunately it has often proved true, that where there is Magnussen, there's a collision. No exception this time. Magnussen was trying to keep the Australian behind, and a collision took place. Ricciardo's front wing took serious damage, and the Honey Badger had to pit for a new nose cone. The Dane, too had damage to his front wing, and they both dropped down to the very back of the pack. This time it was Ricciardo, who was proven guilty; a few laps later Ricciardo was given a 5-second time penalty for causing the collision.
By lap 20 Charles had jumped to 6th already. He was lurking right behind Red Bull's Albon, hungry to get past. Meanwhile, the pit window was open. Hamilton was the first top driver to pit. The world champion opted for another set of soft Pirellis, and re-joined the track in P6. Race leader Verstappen pitted a lap later, for a similar tyre strategy. Unfortunately, Williams' Kubica was released unsafely right in front of Max, which cost the Red Bull ace some valuable seconds. Due to this incident, Hamilton moved ahead of Max. However, nothing on track proved an obstacle for Max, who was absolutely on flames. He swept past Hamilton in Turn 1; what a fighting spirit Max showed! The lion was unleashed.
Sebastian drove into the pits on lap 26, for a differing tyre strategy. The German switched to the medium compound, so theoretically, a one-stop strategy would be possible. For one lap Bottas was leading the Brazil GP, until he pitted on lap 27. Interestingly, the Finn switched to the hard compound. Valtteri was clearly aiming to make a one-stopper work. Charles, who had started to the race on the medium compound, pitted not until on lap 30. The Monegasque, too, opted for the white-walled hard compound. There haven't been many races this season, where tyre strategies would have been this versatile!
Determined Verstappen was leading the race, with Hamilton second and Sebastian third. This trio was followed by Bottas, Albon and Charles. One-stop strategy proved no option for any driver of the three big teams. Hard tyres didn't offer the performance Mercedes had hoped, and Bottas pitted already after 14-lap stint on the hard Pirellis. Teammate Hamilton pitted a couple of laps later; they both opted for the medium compound. Red Bull had to react and call race leader Verstappen in. Medium Pirellis were also the race leader's choice. Max re-joined the track just barely ahead of Hamilton. Bottas was putting pressure on Charles, whose pace on the hard compound was quite mediocre. Valtteri pushed all power buttons available, but Charles had decided, that overtaking wasn't going to happen. His defending moves were somewhere in "the grey area", and Bottas was stuck behind him.
After Sebastian and Red Bull's Albon had pitted for the second time, Verstappen was back in the lead, with Hamilton following him closely. Sebastian was in P3, hunted by teammate Charles and Mercedes' Bottas. However, at Interlagos Mercedes proved vulnerable after being bullet-proof the whole season this far. On lap 52 there was smoke coming from the rear of Valtteri's W10, and an engine issue was an undeniable fact. Valtteri's Mercedes stopped on track, and safety car was deployed. The deployment of the safety car opened the chance for a strategic game. Verstappen pitted from the lead, whilst Hamilton stayed out. Max, who now had fresh softs on, re-joined the track in P2 behind Hamilton. This anticipated trouble for the six-time world champion!
As the safety car was about to come in, Hamilton slowed down to walking speed, trying to optimize his position at the re-start. But what did Verstappen do at the re-start!? He made an unbelievable move into the outside of Hamilton, squeezing himself past the Briton's Silver Arrow and snatching the lead! Wow, what a crazy move it was! Max definitely owned this race!
The re-start started a series of action-packed events. Albon, who also had fresh soft tyres on, was putting serious pressure on Hamilton. The Briton was suffering from the decision not to pit under the safety car. Sebastian, who had lost his third place to Albon at the re-start, was breathing to the Thai driver's neck. Sebastian dived alongside Albon already, but the Red Bull ace wasn't going to crack under pressure. Albon was so close to achieve his very first podium finish in F1!
Lap 66 took my breath away. Charles forced his way past Sebastian in Turn 1, and it seemed, that the German was truly caught by surprise. Sebastian was gutted for losing the position to his teammate; he moved into the outside of Charles, accelerating past his teammate... But the wheels of their cars touched with dramatic consequences! The contact caused both Ferraris a puncture, and Sebastian's adventurous move swept both red cars out of the race! I was absolutely devastated! And sad! And disappointed! Sebastian's setback-filled first half of the season had turned around only shortly, and now this... I couldn't believe my eyes!
Safety car was deployed for the second time, and Hamilton, too pitted for the second time. The order of the top five was extremely interesting; Verstappen was leading the race, with Red Bull's Albon second and Toro Rosso's Gasly third! Hamilton was fourth, followed by McLaren's Sainz and the Alfa Romeo duo of Kimi and Giovinazzi! Red Bull were on their way to an unbelievable 1-2!
After the re-start there were two boiling hot laps to come. Hamilton swept past Gasly, taking P3 from the Frenchman. Kimi was doing everything he could to pass Sainz, but the Spaniard wasn't going to surrender. Hamilton had so much hunger to get past Albon; so much, that it proved costly for the Briton. Hamilton made a move, which led into contact with superbly performing Albon. The Thai driver spun, and Gasly snatched P2 from the sister team's driver. Hamilton had damage to his front wing, but he continued putting pressure on Gasly until the end.
Verstappen, the unleashed lion, drove to the chequered flag as the celebrated race winner. Unbelievable but true, Gasly won his battle against the six-time world champion and finished the runner-up! Hamilton crossed the finish line in P3, but after the race the Briton was handed a 5-second time penalty for causing the collision with Albon. Hamilton dropped down to P7 in the final results. This promoted Sainz to his very first podium finish! Kimi was remarkable 4th, with teammate Giovinazzi 5th! What a cracker of a race in terms of results!
I definitely would have wanted to be at Ferrari's post-race team meeting! There have been a lot of rumors concerning the tension between the Ferrari teammates, and the Brazil GP made the worst case scenario true! The team have a lot of laundry to do before heading to the season finale in Abu Dhabi!
In the midfield there was a fiery fight between Renault's Ricciardo and Haas' Magnussen. Unfortunately it has often proved true, that where there is Magnussen, there's a collision. No exception this time. Magnussen was trying to keep the Australian behind, and a collision took place. Ricciardo's front wing took serious damage, and the Honey Badger had to pit for a new nose cone. The Dane, too had damage to his front wing, and they both dropped down to the very back of the pack. This time it was Ricciardo, who was proven guilty; a few laps later Ricciardo was given a 5-second time penalty for causing the collision.
By lap 20 Charles had jumped to 6th already. He was lurking right behind Red Bull's Albon, hungry to get past. Meanwhile, the pit window was open. Hamilton was the first top driver to pit. The world champion opted for another set of soft Pirellis, and re-joined the track in P6. Race leader Verstappen pitted a lap later, for a similar tyre strategy. Unfortunately, Williams' Kubica was released unsafely right in front of Max, which cost the Red Bull ace some valuable seconds. Due to this incident, Hamilton moved ahead of Max. However, nothing on track proved an obstacle for Max, who was absolutely on flames. He swept past Hamilton in Turn 1; what a fighting spirit Max showed! The lion was unleashed.
Sebastian drove into the pits on lap 26, for a differing tyre strategy. The German switched to the medium compound, so theoretically, a one-stop strategy would be possible. For one lap Bottas was leading the Brazil GP, until he pitted on lap 27. Interestingly, the Finn switched to the hard compound. Valtteri was clearly aiming to make a one-stopper work. Charles, who had started to the race on the medium compound, pitted not until on lap 30. The Monegasque, too, opted for the white-walled hard compound. There haven't been many races this season, where tyre strategies would have been this versatile!
Determined Verstappen was leading the race, with Hamilton second and Sebastian third. This trio was followed by Bottas, Albon and Charles. One-stop strategy proved no option for any driver of the three big teams. Hard tyres didn't offer the performance Mercedes had hoped, and Bottas pitted already after 14-lap stint on the hard Pirellis. Teammate Hamilton pitted a couple of laps later; they both opted for the medium compound. Red Bull had to react and call race leader Verstappen in. Medium Pirellis were also the race leader's choice. Max re-joined the track just barely ahead of Hamilton. Bottas was putting pressure on Charles, whose pace on the hard compound was quite mediocre. Valtteri pushed all power buttons available, but Charles had decided, that overtaking wasn't going to happen. His defending moves were somewhere in "the grey area", and Bottas was stuck behind him.
After Sebastian and Red Bull's Albon had pitted for the second time, Verstappen was back in the lead, with Hamilton following him closely. Sebastian was in P3, hunted by teammate Charles and Mercedes' Bottas. However, at Interlagos Mercedes proved vulnerable after being bullet-proof the whole season this far. On lap 52 there was smoke coming from the rear of Valtteri's W10, and an engine issue was an undeniable fact. Valtteri's Mercedes stopped on track, and safety car was deployed. The deployment of the safety car opened the chance for a strategic game. Verstappen pitted from the lead, whilst Hamilton stayed out. Max, who now had fresh softs on, re-joined the track in P2 behind Hamilton. This anticipated trouble for the six-time world champion!
As the safety car was about to come in, Hamilton slowed down to walking speed, trying to optimize his position at the re-start. But what did Verstappen do at the re-start!? He made an unbelievable move into the outside of Hamilton, squeezing himself past the Briton's Silver Arrow and snatching the lead! Wow, what a crazy move it was! Max definitely owned this race!
The re-start started a series of action-packed events. Albon, who also had fresh soft tyres on, was putting serious pressure on Hamilton. The Briton was suffering from the decision not to pit under the safety car. Sebastian, who had lost his third place to Albon at the re-start, was breathing to the Thai driver's neck. Sebastian dived alongside Albon already, but the Red Bull ace wasn't going to crack under pressure. Albon was so close to achieve his very first podium finish in F1!
Lap 66 took my breath away. Charles forced his way past Sebastian in Turn 1, and it seemed, that the German was truly caught by surprise. Sebastian was gutted for losing the position to his teammate; he moved into the outside of Charles, accelerating past his teammate... But the wheels of their cars touched with dramatic consequences! The contact caused both Ferraris a puncture, and Sebastian's adventurous move swept both red cars out of the race! I was absolutely devastated! And sad! And disappointed! Sebastian's setback-filled first half of the season had turned around only shortly, and now this... I couldn't believe my eyes!
Safety car was deployed for the second time, and Hamilton, too pitted for the second time. The order of the top five was extremely interesting; Verstappen was leading the race, with Red Bull's Albon second and Toro Rosso's Gasly third! Hamilton was fourth, followed by McLaren's Sainz and the Alfa Romeo duo of Kimi and Giovinazzi! Red Bull were on their way to an unbelievable 1-2!
After the re-start there were two boiling hot laps to come. Hamilton swept past Gasly, taking P3 from the Frenchman. Kimi was doing everything he could to pass Sainz, but the Spaniard wasn't going to surrender. Hamilton had so much hunger to get past Albon; so much, that it proved costly for the Briton. Hamilton made a move, which led into contact with superbly performing Albon. The Thai driver spun, and Gasly snatched P2 from the sister team's driver. Hamilton had damage to his front wing, but he continued putting pressure on Gasly until the end.
Verstappen, the unleashed lion, drove to the chequered flag as the celebrated race winner. Unbelievable but true, Gasly won his battle against the six-time world champion and finished the runner-up! Hamilton crossed the finish line in P3, but after the race the Briton was handed a 5-second time penalty for causing the collision with Albon. Hamilton dropped down to P7 in the final results. This promoted Sainz to his very first podium finish! Kimi was remarkable 4th, with teammate Giovinazzi 5th! What a cracker of a race in terms of results!
I definitely would have wanted to be at Ferrari's post-race team meeting! There have been a lot of rumors concerning the tension between the Ferrari teammates, and the Brazil GP made the worst case scenario true! The team have a lot of laundry to do before heading to the season finale in Abu Dhabi!
lauantai 16. marraskuuta 2019
Brazil GP / Qualifying: Flying Verstappen made it on pole!
Towards the end of the week I've felt exhausted. So a thought of me, sofa and Formula 1 felt irresistibly wonderful. I could forget all my worries and concentrate on Sebastian, Max and Kimi driving around the challenging circuit of Interlagos.
From the first moment of Q1 there was no stopping Verstappen, who was absolutely on flames. In spite of traffic on his first flyer, Max made it on top of the standings, with teammate Albon two tenths off Max's benchmark, which was an impressive lap from the Thai driver. Ferrari seemed to be the second team in the pecking order, as Charles was third and Sebastian fourth. Mercedes had more pace to find, as Hamilton was fifth and Bottas sixth after the first flyers. Meanwhile, Sainz in his orange McLaren was hit with technical woes; the Spaniard had to pit due to engine issues, with no lap time set. There were some improvements at the end of the first segment, as Charles made his way to P2 and Bottas to P4 in the charts. Alfa Romeo were very close to the knock-out zone. On his last attempt Kimi was able to move 14th, which guaranteed the Iceman a place in Q2 alongside his teammate Giovinazzi. In addition to unlucky Sainz, Toro Rosso's Kvyat, Racing Point's Perez and the Williams teammates of Russell and Kubica were eliminated from Q2.
As the light at the pit exit turned green, the Mercedes aces headed out on the red-walled soft tyres. Charles was the only driver to go out on the medium rubber. There was an obvious explanation behind Charles' tyre choice; the Monegasque was to serve a 10-place grid penalty due to a change of multiple power unit elements. Charles showed amazing performance on the medium tyre wear, as he went fastest on his first run, leaving Hamilton second and Bottas third. But out of the shadows came Verstappen, who set a dazzling lap time! Max was so at home on the Brazilian soil. Sebastian went third fastest, but was left two tenths shy of his teammate's time, in spite of the soft tyres! Kimi stood out of the crowd as well, as the Iceman was able to make it among the top ten, even though he made it just barely. There were no improvements on the second runs; partly because of Kimi's teammate Giovinazzi, who spun at the closing stages of Q2, bringing out the yellow flags. McLaren's pace left a little to hope for, as neither one of the McLaren drivers made it to the last segment. On the contrary, Norris was the first driver to miss out on Q3. Out were also the Renault duo of Ricciardo and Hulkenberg, Alfa Romeo's Giovinazzi and Racing Point's Perez.
The drivers of the midfield teams -Toro Rosso's Gasly, the Haas duo of Grosjean and Magnussen and Alfa Romeo's Kimi- came out on a used set of soft tyres, as they had only one fresh set left. Max made an obvious mistake on his first run, but his one-lap pace was still magical. The flying Dutchman took provisional pole by eight thousandths of a second to Sebastian, who also had a wobble in the last corner. Charles was third, Hamilton fourth and Bottas fifth. The margins were minimal, so it seemed, that any driver of the three big teams could conquer pole. Kimi, too had made an excellent first attempt, and was in P8. But Max had come to Brazil to stamp his authority all over the circuit that he loves! He improved his lap time on his final run, snatching his second career pole! The Dutchman's performance was outstanding, as he topped the time sheets in all three sessions! Sebastian made it on the front row, which was such a joy. Hamilton managed to improve in the end, robbing Charles of P3. Due to his penalty, Charles will drop down to P14 on the grid. The Monegasque's penalty will promote Bottas to P4 and Albon to P5. Gasly in the sister team's car will start from P6. Haas' Grosjean and Alfa Romeo's Kimi will line up on the fourth row, followed by Haas' Magnussen.
I'm sure Max will unleash the lion at the start tomorrow. Whether it is enough to win the race, let's see. Mercedes have been in trouble with the tyre management, as the Silver Arrows have suffered from overheating of the tyres. It's interesting to see, how this will affect the world champions' race. It should be a dry race; if it was wet, it would only increase Max's chances to win the race! I'm sure Sebastian will put up a passionate fight for the victory. I'm so happy to see my two favorites on the front row! And so afraid, that they will hit each other in the first corner!
From the first moment of Q1 there was no stopping Verstappen, who was absolutely on flames. In spite of traffic on his first flyer, Max made it on top of the standings, with teammate Albon two tenths off Max's benchmark, which was an impressive lap from the Thai driver. Ferrari seemed to be the second team in the pecking order, as Charles was third and Sebastian fourth. Mercedes had more pace to find, as Hamilton was fifth and Bottas sixth after the first flyers. Meanwhile, Sainz in his orange McLaren was hit with technical woes; the Spaniard had to pit due to engine issues, with no lap time set. There were some improvements at the end of the first segment, as Charles made his way to P2 and Bottas to P4 in the charts. Alfa Romeo were very close to the knock-out zone. On his last attempt Kimi was able to move 14th, which guaranteed the Iceman a place in Q2 alongside his teammate Giovinazzi. In addition to unlucky Sainz, Toro Rosso's Kvyat, Racing Point's Perez and the Williams teammates of Russell and Kubica were eliminated from Q2.
As the light at the pit exit turned green, the Mercedes aces headed out on the red-walled soft tyres. Charles was the only driver to go out on the medium rubber. There was an obvious explanation behind Charles' tyre choice; the Monegasque was to serve a 10-place grid penalty due to a change of multiple power unit elements. Charles showed amazing performance on the medium tyre wear, as he went fastest on his first run, leaving Hamilton second and Bottas third. But out of the shadows came Verstappen, who set a dazzling lap time! Max was so at home on the Brazilian soil. Sebastian went third fastest, but was left two tenths shy of his teammate's time, in spite of the soft tyres! Kimi stood out of the crowd as well, as the Iceman was able to make it among the top ten, even though he made it just barely. There were no improvements on the second runs; partly because of Kimi's teammate Giovinazzi, who spun at the closing stages of Q2, bringing out the yellow flags. McLaren's pace left a little to hope for, as neither one of the McLaren drivers made it to the last segment. On the contrary, Norris was the first driver to miss out on Q3. Out were also the Renault duo of Ricciardo and Hulkenberg, Alfa Romeo's Giovinazzi and Racing Point's Perez.
The drivers of the midfield teams -Toro Rosso's Gasly, the Haas duo of Grosjean and Magnussen and Alfa Romeo's Kimi- came out on a used set of soft tyres, as they had only one fresh set left. Max made an obvious mistake on his first run, but his one-lap pace was still magical. The flying Dutchman took provisional pole by eight thousandths of a second to Sebastian, who also had a wobble in the last corner. Charles was third, Hamilton fourth and Bottas fifth. The margins were minimal, so it seemed, that any driver of the three big teams could conquer pole. Kimi, too had made an excellent first attempt, and was in P8. But Max had come to Brazil to stamp his authority all over the circuit that he loves! He improved his lap time on his final run, snatching his second career pole! The Dutchman's performance was outstanding, as he topped the time sheets in all three sessions! Sebastian made it on the front row, which was such a joy. Hamilton managed to improve in the end, robbing Charles of P3. Due to his penalty, Charles will drop down to P14 on the grid. The Monegasque's penalty will promote Bottas to P4 and Albon to P5. Gasly in the sister team's car will start from P6. Haas' Grosjean and Alfa Romeo's Kimi will line up on the fourth row, followed by Haas' Magnussen.
I'm sure Max will unleash the lion at the start tomorrow. Whether it is enough to win the race, let's see. Mercedes have been in trouble with the tyre management, as the Silver Arrows have suffered from overheating of the tyres. It's interesting to see, how this will affect the world champions' race. It should be a dry race; if it was wet, it would only increase Max's chances to win the race! I'm sure Sebastian will put up a passionate fight for the victory. I'm so happy to see my two favorites on the front row! And so afraid, that they will hit each other in the first corner!
tiistai 5. marraskuuta 2019
US GP: Where did Ferrari's race pace disappear?
The Red Team were in trouble already at the start. Pole-setter Bottas kept shining at the lights out; the Finn held firmly on his lead. Aggressive Verstappen took a splendid start, making his way to second. The most impressive start was taken by Hamilton, who made it look easy to jump from P5 to third. Sebastian had something wrong; even teammate Charles made it past Sebastian. On the second lap Sebastian lost his fifth place to McLaren's Norris, and reported on the team radio about massive under steer. He felt like there was something wrong with his Lina, although he hadn't had contact with anyone that far. A lap later also Renault's Ricciardo made a successful overtaking move on Sebastian. Meanwhile, also Charles in P4 was missing pace badly. The gap to Hamilton in third had already increased into over six seconds.
Kimi, who had started to the race from modest P17, made an excellent job on the opening laps. Alfa Romeo had provided the Iceman with a genius strategy, with Kimi having started to the race on the soft compound. On lap 7 Kimi was pushing immense pressure on Haas' Magnussen, challenging the Dane for P10. But what a bitter turn Sebastian's race saw on lap 8! All of a sudden, Lina's rear suspension failed completely, Sebastian having hit the kerb! This kind of a complete suspension failure isn't often seen. Sebastian was cruelly out of the race! One's misfortune is another's fortune; Sebastian's DNF benefited Kimi, who had been able to pass Magnussen, claiming P9 already.
Race leader Bottas had increased the gap to Verstappen into three seconds. Hamilton, on the other hand, was right at the very tail of the Dutch Red Bull ace. Red Bull opted for the undercut strategy, calling Max in on lap 14. The Dutchman switched to the hard Pirellis, re-joining the track in P4. Mercedes reacted to Red Bull's strategy and called race leader Bottas in on the sequential lap. Mercedes pit crew made a perfect job, and the Finn re-joined the track ahead of Verstappen. Bottas' pace was outstanding; the Finn had no difficulties to pass Charles, moving to second. Valtteri kept storming, banging the fastest lap time in the race. Charles pitted on lap 21, but the pit stop didn't go to plan at all. The pit crew had difficulties to get one of the tyres attached, and the pit stop took 7.7 seconds! A podium finish was slipping through the Monegasque's fingers...
By lap 24 Bottas had closed the gap to his teammate, who hadn't stopped yet. The team gave Valtteri a permission to attack, and, with DRS open, he moved past the champion-to-be, claiming his lead back. Hamilton, who was on a different strategy to his teammate, stopped on the following lap. The Briton re-joined the track in P3, with Bottas and Verstappen ahead of him. He was to drive a long second stint on the hard tyres. He faced a true challenge; on one hand, he should set extremely competitive lap times to challenge Verstappen and Bottas for the victory, but on the other hand, he was advised to save tyres. Would it be an impossible equation?
Hamilton kept decreasing the gap to his race-leading teammate. On lap 32 there were only 15 seconds separating the Silver Arrows. They were split by Verstappen, who was some seven seconds behind the Finn. Lap 36 was a turning point in the race; Bottas pitted for the second time, opting for another set of medium rubber. He re-joined the track 8.8 seconds behind his teammate, who wasn't to stop anymore. But the Finn had victory glowing in his eyes, and he started a hungry and determined chase. Valtteri banged a new track record, and in no time he was already within 5 seconds from his teammate. Hamilton seemed a bit uncertain, whether his tyres were going to last till the end. Nevertheless, the Briton decided to stay out.
Charles, who was driving in secured P4, set the fastest lap time on a fresh set of soft Pirellis. Hamilton was racing against time on his worn tyres; it was only a matter of time, until Bottas had made it within DRS distance. They were tormenting laps for the ambitious Briton... Hamilton could hear his teammate's heavy breath in his neck, and the Finn was definitely "blood-thirsty"! With five laps to go, Bottas already made it alongside his teammate, but Hamilton made a brash move on Valtteri, forcing him off track. But giving up was no option for the determined Finn, who just waited for another chance to attack. And he didn't have to wait long; he smelled his chance on the following lap already. Hamilton had no chance to defend his lead with his dying tyres, so the lead was Valtteri's to take. Verstappen smelled his chance, too and started to chase down Hamilton.
On the second last lap Haas' Magnussen went off due to a brake failure, getting stuck on the gravel. Yellow flags were out in sector two, and this effected crucially the battle between Verstappen and Hamilton. Verstappen wasn't allowed to use DRS at the back straight on the penultimate lap, which helped Hamilton significantly in terms of fighting Max.
Fantastic Valtteri converted his pole into victory, which was his first on Texan soil. Hamilton made it a 1-2 for Mercedes, clinching also his sixth world championship title, which is an incredible achievement indeed. Even P8 or P9 + the fastest lap time would have been enough to secure the title, but now he did it in style. Verstappen completed the podium. Ferrari's race pace left many question marks, as Charles in fourth was over 50 seconds down on the race winner! I couldn't help wondering, where the Red Team's race pace had suddenly disappeared. Albon finished 5th for Red Bull and Ricciardo sixth for Renault. Once again both McLarens made it in the points, with Norris 7th and Sainz 8th. Hulkenberg (Renault) was 9th and Kvyat (Toro Rosso) 10th. Unfortunately Kimi didn't make it in the points after all, in spite of his stunning first stint on the soft tyres.
But where has Ferrari's pace mystically disappeared? Have they made use of a loophole in the rules in terms of engine performance, which has recently been clogged by FIA? Such allegations have been thrown in the air by rival teams. Let's see, how things will emerge in Brazil... I'm looking forward to the next round and more speculation with huge interest!
Kimi, who had started to the race from modest P17, made an excellent job on the opening laps. Alfa Romeo had provided the Iceman with a genius strategy, with Kimi having started to the race on the soft compound. On lap 7 Kimi was pushing immense pressure on Haas' Magnussen, challenging the Dane for P10. But what a bitter turn Sebastian's race saw on lap 8! All of a sudden, Lina's rear suspension failed completely, Sebastian having hit the kerb! This kind of a complete suspension failure isn't often seen. Sebastian was cruelly out of the race! One's misfortune is another's fortune; Sebastian's DNF benefited Kimi, who had been able to pass Magnussen, claiming P9 already.
Race leader Bottas had increased the gap to Verstappen into three seconds. Hamilton, on the other hand, was right at the very tail of the Dutch Red Bull ace. Red Bull opted for the undercut strategy, calling Max in on lap 14. The Dutchman switched to the hard Pirellis, re-joining the track in P4. Mercedes reacted to Red Bull's strategy and called race leader Bottas in on the sequential lap. Mercedes pit crew made a perfect job, and the Finn re-joined the track ahead of Verstappen. Bottas' pace was outstanding; the Finn had no difficulties to pass Charles, moving to second. Valtteri kept storming, banging the fastest lap time in the race. Charles pitted on lap 21, but the pit stop didn't go to plan at all. The pit crew had difficulties to get one of the tyres attached, and the pit stop took 7.7 seconds! A podium finish was slipping through the Monegasque's fingers...
By lap 24 Bottas had closed the gap to his teammate, who hadn't stopped yet. The team gave Valtteri a permission to attack, and, with DRS open, he moved past the champion-to-be, claiming his lead back. Hamilton, who was on a different strategy to his teammate, stopped on the following lap. The Briton re-joined the track in P3, with Bottas and Verstappen ahead of him. He was to drive a long second stint on the hard tyres. He faced a true challenge; on one hand, he should set extremely competitive lap times to challenge Verstappen and Bottas for the victory, but on the other hand, he was advised to save tyres. Would it be an impossible equation?
Hamilton kept decreasing the gap to his race-leading teammate. On lap 32 there were only 15 seconds separating the Silver Arrows. They were split by Verstappen, who was some seven seconds behind the Finn. Lap 36 was a turning point in the race; Bottas pitted for the second time, opting for another set of medium rubber. He re-joined the track 8.8 seconds behind his teammate, who wasn't to stop anymore. But the Finn had victory glowing in his eyes, and he started a hungry and determined chase. Valtteri banged a new track record, and in no time he was already within 5 seconds from his teammate. Hamilton seemed a bit uncertain, whether his tyres were going to last till the end. Nevertheless, the Briton decided to stay out.
Charles, who was driving in secured P4, set the fastest lap time on a fresh set of soft Pirellis. Hamilton was racing against time on his worn tyres; it was only a matter of time, until Bottas had made it within DRS distance. They were tormenting laps for the ambitious Briton... Hamilton could hear his teammate's heavy breath in his neck, and the Finn was definitely "blood-thirsty"! With five laps to go, Bottas already made it alongside his teammate, but Hamilton made a brash move on Valtteri, forcing him off track. But giving up was no option for the determined Finn, who just waited for another chance to attack. And he didn't have to wait long; he smelled his chance on the following lap already. Hamilton had no chance to defend his lead with his dying tyres, so the lead was Valtteri's to take. Verstappen smelled his chance, too and started to chase down Hamilton.
On the second last lap Haas' Magnussen went off due to a brake failure, getting stuck on the gravel. Yellow flags were out in sector two, and this effected crucially the battle between Verstappen and Hamilton. Verstappen wasn't allowed to use DRS at the back straight on the penultimate lap, which helped Hamilton significantly in terms of fighting Max.
Fantastic Valtteri converted his pole into victory, which was his first on Texan soil. Hamilton made it a 1-2 for Mercedes, clinching also his sixth world championship title, which is an incredible achievement indeed. Even P8 or P9 + the fastest lap time would have been enough to secure the title, but now he did it in style. Verstappen completed the podium. Ferrari's race pace left many question marks, as Charles in fourth was over 50 seconds down on the race winner! I couldn't help wondering, where the Red Team's race pace had suddenly disappeared. Albon finished 5th for Red Bull and Ricciardo sixth for Renault. Once again both McLarens made it in the points, with Norris 7th and Sainz 8th. Hulkenberg (Renault) was 9th and Kvyat (Toro Rosso) 10th. Unfortunately Kimi didn't make it in the points after all, in spite of his stunning first stint on the soft tyres.
But where has Ferrari's pace mystically disappeared? Have they made use of a loophole in the rules in terms of engine performance, which has recently been clogged by FIA? Such allegations have been thrown in the air by rival teams. Let's see, how things will emerge in Brazil... I'm looking forward to the next round and more speculation with huge interest!
sunnuntai 3. marraskuuta 2019
US GP / Qualifying: Bottas continued Mercedes' reign at COTA!
Back-to-back weekend brought the F1 caravan from Mexico City to Texas, Austin. Some dark clouds had gathered upon Ferrari in the last free practice session, as Leclerc's SF90 had been hit with an oil leak. This had forced the team to switch an older-spec engine to Charles' car for the qualifying. Sebastian in his Lina made a small mistake on his first run in Q1, which left the German with no time. Meanwhile, McLaren showed amazing performance, as Sainz made it on the top of the time sheets with 10 minutes remaining. Teammate Norris had also jumped fourth in the charts. However, a moment later Hamilton robbed Sainz of the fastest lap time, and Verstappen went second fastest. Bottas was third, and after a successful run Sebastian moved fourth. Unbelievable but true, McLaren had another ace up to their sleeve, as Norris clocked the fastest lap time in the dying moments of the first session! Alfa Romeo's performance, on the other hand, left a lot to hope for. Kimi moved 15th on his last attempt, but teammate Giovinazzi knocked the Iceman out of the second session. As Grosjean moved 15th in the very end, it meant, that both Alfa Romeos were out of Q2 for the first time this season. It wasn't "an ordinary day at the office" for Toro Rosso's Gasly, either, as the Frenchman made it P4. On the other hand, Leclerc was only in tame P12. In addition to the Alfa Romeo duo, also the familiar names of Russell and Kubica were out of Q2. Racing Point's Perez was to start to the race from the pit lane, as the Mexican had missed the weigh bridge in the free practice session (what a harsh punishment!).
Q2 was all about playing with the tyre strategy. Both the Red Team and the Silver Team sent their drivers out on the medium rubber. Red Bull had a differing strategy for their drivers; Verstappen came out on the medium compound, whilst Albon opted for the soft Pirellis. The battle on track was fiery; the top four was all within 0.15s! At this point the Mercedes duo of Hamilton and Bottas had the upper hand on the Red Team. However, the tyre choice played for Albon's favor, and the Thai driver went fastest. Verstappen set an impressive lap time on the medium compound, jumping third. Both Charles and Sebastian made another attempt on the mediums, both making an excellent job. Charles went fastest, but Sebastian was only 0.022s shy of his teammate! Both Mercedes aces and Verstappen came out on the softs at the end of the session, but neither one of them improved his lap time. Kvyat's fastest lap time was deleted due to exceeding the track limits in Turn 19, but the Russian was out of Q3 anyway. Renault's Hulkenberg missed out on the last segment, whilst teammate Ricciardo made it among the ten fastest. Racing Point's Stroll and the home team Haas' drivers were eliminated from Q3 as well.
During the modern turbo hybrid era Mercedes have always conquered pole at the Circuit of the Americas. And this year proved no exception! Bottas took provisional pole, pipping Sebastian by as tiny margin as 0.012s! Verstappen was third and Charles fourth, with only two tenths off the pace. Hamilton has always enjoyed driving on the Texan soil, but now he was only fifth after the first runs. Usually the track always improves towards the end of the session, but this time the second runs saw no improvements. Bottas scored his 11th career pole, which was his fifth one this season. It's an impressive piece of statistics, as in spite of Hamilton's firm lead in the championship standings, he has scored only four poles this season. The battle for pole was hair-raising, as Sebastian was only 0.012s down on the Finn! Verstappen in third had only a 0.067s margin to Bottas as well. I don't know, if it was down to the engine change, but Charles was only able to make it fourth. Surprisingly, Hamilton was really left on the fifth grid slot. Albon qualified sixth for Red Bull, and he was followed by the McLaren duo of Sainz and Norris. Renault's Ricciardo and Toro Rosso's Gasly rounded out the top ten.
Today's start will certainly be interesting. Turn 1 is definitely one of the hottest action-zones on the track. The track seems to be extremely bumpy this year, so I wouldn't be surprised to see even some technical failures on the cars. After the difficult two thirds of the season, Sebastian has found his lost self-confidence, so I really hope the US GP will be another sequel to his success story!
Q2 was all about playing with the tyre strategy. Both the Red Team and the Silver Team sent their drivers out on the medium rubber. Red Bull had a differing strategy for their drivers; Verstappen came out on the medium compound, whilst Albon opted for the soft Pirellis. The battle on track was fiery; the top four was all within 0.15s! At this point the Mercedes duo of Hamilton and Bottas had the upper hand on the Red Team. However, the tyre choice played for Albon's favor, and the Thai driver went fastest. Verstappen set an impressive lap time on the medium compound, jumping third. Both Charles and Sebastian made another attempt on the mediums, both making an excellent job. Charles went fastest, but Sebastian was only 0.022s shy of his teammate! Both Mercedes aces and Verstappen came out on the softs at the end of the session, but neither one of them improved his lap time. Kvyat's fastest lap time was deleted due to exceeding the track limits in Turn 19, but the Russian was out of Q3 anyway. Renault's Hulkenberg missed out on the last segment, whilst teammate Ricciardo made it among the ten fastest. Racing Point's Stroll and the home team Haas' drivers were eliminated from Q3 as well.
During the modern turbo hybrid era Mercedes have always conquered pole at the Circuit of the Americas. And this year proved no exception! Bottas took provisional pole, pipping Sebastian by as tiny margin as 0.012s! Verstappen was third and Charles fourth, with only two tenths off the pace. Hamilton has always enjoyed driving on the Texan soil, but now he was only fifth after the first runs. Usually the track always improves towards the end of the session, but this time the second runs saw no improvements. Bottas scored his 11th career pole, which was his fifth one this season. It's an impressive piece of statistics, as in spite of Hamilton's firm lead in the championship standings, he has scored only four poles this season. The battle for pole was hair-raising, as Sebastian was only 0.012s down on the Finn! Verstappen in third had only a 0.067s margin to Bottas as well. I don't know, if it was down to the engine change, but Charles was only able to make it fourth. Surprisingly, Hamilton was really left on the fifth grid slot. Albon qualified sixth for Red Bull, and he was followed by the McLaren duo of Sainz and Norris. Renault's Ricciardo and Toro Rosso's Gasly rounded out the top ten.
Today's start will certainly be interesting. Turn 1 is definitely one of the hottest action-zones on the track. The track seems to be extremely bumpy this year, so I wouldn't be surprised to see even some technical failures on the cars. After the difficult two thirds of the season, Sebastian has found his lost self-confidence, so I really hope the US GP will be another sequel to his success story!
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