Hungarian GP: Verstappen from barriers to 2nd!

Dark clouds had gathered above the Hungaroring, and the track was damp, as the cars exited the pits. There was drama already before the start. On his way to the grid, Verstappen drove into Turn 12 a bit too fast. He went wide, ending up into the barriers nose first! There was significant damage to his RB16, and it was obvious, that it required a miracle from the mechanics to get his car fixed in time for the race! However, the Red Bull crew were actually capable of making that miracle happen, and at 3.05 p.m. Max was ready to go on the formation lap! 

Due to the damp conditions, everyone started to the race on the green-walled intermediate tyres. Actually Haas decided to make a risky move, and the American team called both their drivers in on the formation lap already. Both Grosjean and Magnussen switched to a fresh set of medium slicks, which turned out to be a wise call.

Hamilton on pole got a perfect start, on the contrary to that of his teammate in P2. Bottas had three little lights on his dash board, which went out a fraction before the lights. This made Bottas react, and his W11 jumped forward. Bottas immediately realised, that he had reacted before the lights had gone out and stopped the car. The Finn dropped down to P6 due to his miserable start. Hamilton, on the other hand, was rapidly opening a gap to Racing Point's Stroll in 2nd. There was no rain, and the track dried up quickly. Both Bottas and Leclerc pitted on the second lap already. The Finn opted for a fresh set of medium Pirellis, whilst Charles switched to the soft compound. By lap 5 all drivers had pitted for slicks. Hamilton in the lead had an 8-second gap to Verstappen, who was second after the pit stop roulette. The Dutchman had taken an extremely impressive start to the race, considering his shunt on the installation lap! Haas had made a genius strategic call by taking their drivers in on the formation lap already. Magnussen was now third and teammate Grosjean fourth in the race! Stroll in his "pink Mercedes" was fifth, Leclerc was sixth and Bottas only 7th. 

Unfortunately Haas' success was only temporary. In a few laps only Stroll had made his way past Grosjean. Bottas had to fight hard to get past Charles, but it worked out eventually. Further back in the midfield Kimi had made excellent job by making his way up to P14, having started from the very back of the pack. Unfortunately the stewards had given the Iceman a 5-second time penalty for being out of position at the start. By lap 17 Stroll had made his way past Magnussen in the sister Haas. The Dane was clearly struggling with his race pace, as Bottas, too passed the Haas driver. Although rain was forecast any minute, the conditions stayed dry.

Charles was the only top driver, who had opted for the soft rubber. The Monegasque's pace on that set turned out poor indeed, and he pitted on lap 20 for a fresh set of white-walled hard tyres. He rejoined the track in P15. The positions of the top three seemed secured. Hamilton had a safe 12-second lead to Verstappen, and the Dutchman's gap to Stroll in third was 15 seconds already. However, Bottas was almost within striking distance from the Canadian, hungry to gain as much as he could after the failure at the start. Meanwhile, Sebastian pitted for the second time on lap 30. Similar to his teammate, he opted for the hard Pirellis. 

Although McLaren had shone in the first two races in Austria, they seemed to struggle with their pace at the Hungaroring. Norris had a wheel-banging and intense battle with Charles for modest P13. Norris defended his position with every effort possible, but finally Charles forced his way past the young Briton. On the other hand, Bottas seemed unable to get past Stroll. Mercedes called the Finn in, and Valtteri, too rejoined the track on a fresh set of medium tyres. The Finn was now fourth in the race. When Stroll pitted a moment later, Valtteri benefitted from the undercut, jumping third. Also Verstappen and Hamilton made their second pit stops, and the order in the lead remained unchanged. 

After the pit stops Bottas began his hunt. By lap 46 he had made it within DRS distance from Verstappen. But the battle for P2 didn't turn out to be easy. On his out-worn tyres Bottas didn't have a powerful chance to challenge Max. Mercedes made their move and called the Finn in for the third time on lap 50. This time Valtteri opted for the hardest compound. On the fresh set of tyres he began his chase again. Once again he had 20 seconds to Verstappen ahead of him. But Valtteri's lap times on the fresh tyres were much more competitive than those of Max's! Against the odds, Red Bull didn't call Max in for the third time, but the Dutchman stayed out. Meanwhile, Sebastian had made convincing work at the wheel of his Ferrari, and the German was fifth in the race. It was heart-warming to see such consistent driving from Sebastian. 

As Hamilton's lead was well-secured, the Briton insisted on the team radio, that he wanted to stop for a fresh set of softs. Finally Hamilton's wish was granted and he was asked to box. It tells a lot about Hamilton's superiority, that on lap 58 Sebastian in P5 got lapped by Hamilton! Hamilton's pace is just from another planet! Finally on the second last lap, Bottas had closed the gap to Verstappen, hanging right at the Red Bull ace's tail. To the Finn's misfortune there were several backmarkers ahead of the duo, which made possible overtaking manoeuvre even more difficult. Actually impossible. 

Hamilton took a sweeping victory, which was his 8th at Hungaroring already! Now he officially equals Michael Schumacher's record of most wins at a single Grand Prix. Verstappen drove a spectacular race after his rookie-like mistake on the installation lap. Due to his lion-hearted driving, he really deserved to be voted as the Driver of the Day! After screwing up at the start, it was all about damage limitation for Bottas. In the end he had to settle for P3. Stroll in P4 stood out of the crowd in a very positive way. Red Bull's Albon managed to overtake Sebastian in the end, taking P5 from him. However, seeing Sebastian finish in the points made me very happy after setback-filled first two races. As Hamilton took the fastest lap time under his belt, too, the Briton also took over the lead in the drivers' championship standings. He has 63 points to his teammate's 58 points. Verstappen is third with 33 points. Sebastian has now 9 points, which entitles to P10 in the standings.

There seems to be no stopping Mercedes. They have crushing 121 points to Red Bull's 55! Ferrari are still in P5 with their 27 points. Mercedes are so dominant, that I'm afraid it will make the season a bit boring. But they have done everything perfectly, so they totally deserve all the success.  Now there will be a two-week break, until the Formula 1 circus moves to Great Britain for a double-header. Silverstone, if any venue, is known as Hamilton's playground, which is bad news for everyone else! 

Hungarian GP / Qualifying: Record-equaling 7th pole for Hamilton!

Budapest hosts the third round of the season, ending the first streak of three back-to-back races. Usually the GP weekend has been known to take place in extremely hot conditions, but this year has been an exception. Today the temperature was only +18 degrees Celsius, and the sky was covered with dark grey clouds. The weather forecast predicted 90 % chance of rain during the qualifying.

Due to the risk of rain, everyone rushed out at the beginning of the first session. The pecking order seemed to have changed from that in Austria. Mercedes were still the leading team by far, but "the pink Mercedes cars" (i.e. the Racing Points) turned out to be the Silver Arrows' closest rivals. After the first runs Charles was 5th, followed by Red Bull's Verstappen. It was a bit unexpected to see Red Bull struggling at Hungaroring, which has suited very well for the energy drink team in the previous years. Somehow the RB16 seemed restless and unstable in the hands of both Verstappen and Albon. Actually the Thai driver was even more in trouble with the car, being in poor P15, as there were five minutes remaining in the clock. Sebastian was in P9, a whole second down on pace-setting Bottas. Red Bull being the team to stand out in negative light, I have to say, that Williams were responsible for the most positive surprise in the qualifying. Russell jumped third with three minutes remaining! In the closing stages the pink Mercedes went fastest, Perez having the upper hand of the pink-suited teammates. Hamilton was third, followed by the McLarens of Norris and Sainz. Sebastian was in promising P6 in Q1. Worth noting is the fact, that Russell's teammate Latifi, too made it into Q2 today! What a leap forward Williams have taken! Out of the second session were both Haas cars, both Alfa Romeos and AlphaTauri's Kvyat. It broke my heart to see Kimi in the penultimate P20. Alfa Romeo are head over heels in trouble at the moment.

Q2 saw interesting gamble in terms of the tyre strategy. I mean it was quite expected to see the Mercedes come out on the medium Pirellis, but surprisingly, they were accompanied by both Racing Points and both Renaults. In spite of the harder rubber, Hamilton went fastest. Teammate Bottas wasn't quite able to take the fight to his teammate, as the Finn was two tenths shy of the Briton. Sebastian in third was unbelievable eight tenths down on the storming Briton, in spite of having set his lap time on the red-marked soft compound! Charles' first attempt left a lot to hope for, and the Monegasque was only in P10 after his first run. I don't know, whether it told about Ferrari's missing pace or William's impressive development, that Charles in the knock-out zone was edging Russell by two hundredths of a second only! The Racing Points made a risky move, opting for the medium rubber also at the end of the session, whilst everyone else relied on the soft tyre wear. Perez proved unable to improve his lap time in the end, but the Mexican's place in the top ten turned out to be secured. Verstappen jumped third in the dying minutes of Q2, and the Dutchman was followed by Charles in his SF1000 and Norris in his McLaren. The highest profile casualty in the second session was Red Bull's Albon, who had to settle for disappointing P13. In addition to the Red Bull driver, also Renault duo of Ricciardo and Ocon and the Williams duo of Russell and Latifi were knocked out of the final segment. 

Q3 marked the first time, that both red cars were among the ten fastest this season. Hamilton's first run seemed like "a walk in the park", the Briton nailing provisional pole by three tenths to his teammate. More surprising was to see Racing Point's Stroll in third! Nevertheless, the Canadian was a massive second off Hamilton's pace. Verstappen was fourth, with the McLaren duo in fifth and sixth. Sebastian was in P7, 1.6s down on the provisional pole-setter. However, both Ferrari aces had set their fastest lap times on a used set of soft tyres. So there was more to come from the Ferraris on their second attempt. The last flyers saw Sebastian jump fourth and Charles fifth, but unfortunately Perez dropped both of them a position down on his last flyer. Hamilton took one and a half tenths off from his lap time on his final run. Bottas was only a couple of hundredths down on his teammate in the first two sectors, but in the end, he ended up a tenth slower than his teammate. The pecking order was straightforward: Mercedes conquered the first row easily, and the second row was locked down by "the pink Mercedes", Stroll pipping his teammate. It was a delight to see the red cars on the third row! At least there's some light at the end of the tunnel for the red team! I was happy to see Sebastian again taking his teammate's sculp. Verstappen was left in P7 in his badly-behaving RB16. Norris, Sainz and AlphaTauri's Gasly rounded out the top ten.

Today's pole marked not only Hamilton's 90th career pole but also his 7th pole at Hungaroring! The Briton now equals legendary Michael Schumacher's record of most pole positions at Hungaroring. In spite of the 90 percent risk of rain, the conditions stayed dry till the end of the qualifying. No one knows, what the weather turns out tomorrow, when the lights go out in the afternoon. If it stays dry, the tyre strategy will certainly play an interesting role. The red-suited drivers on the third row are the first drivers to start to the race on the soft Pirellis, whilst the top four will start on the more durable medium compound. I have to say I'm a bit worried about Ferrari's race pace, no matter how good a start Sebastian and Charles get. Without a doubt, Verstappen will attack like a tiger from P7. One thing is for sure: whether it's dry or wet, the battle for victory will be between the Mercedes drivers. I keep my fingers crossed, that tomorrow will be a successful day for the red team, Sebastian in particular. All the best for my favourite driver! Forza Ferrari!

Styrian GP: Shocking double retirement for Ferrari, as Hamilton cruised to victory!

The weather at Spielberg was clear and dry, as the cars lined up for the formation lap. In addition to Lando Norris, Leclerc in his Ferrari had been given a 3-place grid penalty for impeding AlphaTauri's Kvyat in the qualifying. The penalty had dropped the Monegasque down to P14, which was everytbing but ideal. The tyre strategy among the ten fastest turned out quite straight forward, as everyone else except Renault's Ricciardo and Sebastian in his Ferrari was to start to the race on the red-walled soft compound. These two opted for the yellow-marked medium compound.

The tension was floating in the air, as the lights went out. Hamilton on pole made no mistakes and accelerated into Turn 1 first. McLaren's Sainz, who had started to the race from P3, was putting serious pressure on Verstappen in his Red Bull. But Max wasn't to be surprised. Bottas maintained his fourth place. 

But what happened in Turn 3 on the opening lap, made my heart go into my mouth. Sebastian was trying to defend his position, fighting two or three cars simultaneously. His teammate, who had dropped three places due to the penalty, was desperate to gain positions as soon as possible. Charles saw space going into Turn 3, but at the end of the day there was no room for the enthusiastic Monegasque. Charles hit heavily into his teammate's car, which entirely ripped off the German's rear wing! Sebastian had no choice but to drive into the pits and retire the race! Charles pitted for a new front wing, but his SF1000 had so severe damage to the floor, that Charles, too had to retire some three laps later. What a true nightmare start to the race! As if the Red Team weren't deep enough in trouble with their car performance! The collision between the teammates and a double retirement were the last things, that the team would have needed in the middle of their overwhelming difficulties! I was absolutely shocked! 

Safety car was deployed right away, but it was out only for a few laps, until the debris from the two broken Ferraris was cleaned off. The race was resumed already on lap 4. After this horrendous turn it was a bit difficult to concentrate on watching the race. Bottas knew, that he had to get past Sainz as soon as possible, not to let his teammate get away. On lap 6 the Finn saw his chance and attacked the Spaniard, moving third in the race. Although McLaren had showed impressive pace in the qualifying, the orange team seemed to struggle with their race pace. Albon, too attacked Sainz a couple of laps later, dropping the Spaniard further down in P5. 

The top three stood out of the crowd. Hamilton had a 5-second lead to Verstappen, and Bottas was two seconds down on the Dutchman. Verstappen's teammate Albon, who was fourth, was already 20 seconds down on the Finn. Verstappen opened the pit stop roulette on lap 25. Red Bull executed a perfect pit stop, the Dutchman switching to the medium compound. Max rejoined the track in P3, ahead of his teammate. Race leader Hamilton was called in two laps later. The Briton, too opted for the medium rubber. Bottas, on the other hand, stayed out, firmly taking the lead. Mercedes kept Bottas out in case of a safety car, as in that case the Finn would have got the advantage and taken the lead. However, there was no safety car. Bottas pitted not until on lap 34, also for a fresh set of medium Pirellis. He rejoined the track in P3, ending up losing ground to Verstappen in P2.

After the pit stop roulette Hamilton was cruising comfortably in the lead. Verstappen was second, but he seemed powerless to challenge the Briton for the victory. Bottas was third, and then there was a long gap to Albon in P4. Ricciardo in his Renault was 5th, followed by the pink Racing Points of  Stroll and Perez. Sainz, who had started to the race from P3, was now in P8 due to a delayed pit stop (the team had difficulties with attaching his rear-left tyre). There was intense battle between the Racing Point cars for P6, which was exciting to watch. Perez smelled his teammate's blood and passed the Canadian. A few laps later the Mexican was right at the tail of Ricciardo. Once again he attacked, taking P5 already. Perez was driving an utterly amazing race. Meanwhile, further down in the pack Kimi was having a battle of his own with Haas' Magnussen. Kimi had pitted not until on lap 45, for a differing tyre choice to the top drivers. The Iceman had switched to a fresh set of soft tyres, which gave him an advantage at the end of the race. After making his way past Magnussen, the Iceman hunted down AlphaTauri's Gasly, taking the Frenchman's sculp. In spite of the classy overtaking moves, Kimi was in modest P12 only. 

Racing Point pilot Perez was absolutely on flames today. With 15 laps to go, the Mexican had hunted down Albon, whose pace seemed quite mediocre. There was going to be a tight battle for P4. Behind race leader Hamilton, Bottas had started to close the gap to Verstappen, who was struggling with his rear tyres. The Dutchman also had a small damage to an end plate of his front wing. The gap between the two decreased lap by lap.

The race really came alive towards the end of the race. The McLaren teammates also had an intense battle for positions. Norris, whose pace had seemed rather tame in the beginning of the race, now made a classy move on his teammate, making it 8th. By lap 66 Bottas had chased down Verstappen, putting immense pressure on the stubborn Red Bull ace. Thanks to the DRS the Finn made it ahead of Max, but he wasn't going to surrender to the Finn. Max attacked back like a rattle snake, taking his position back! However, he was in such remarkable trouble with his out-worn tyres, that he wasn't able to hold the Finn back permanently. DRS gave an inevitable advantage for Valtteri, who kept his head cool and waited for his chance. In the end, there was nothing Max could do to prevent Bottas' black Mercedes to move ahead. It was impressive work from Valtteri, as Max is probably the most difficult driver to overtake! Keeping your head cool and maintain your patience while trying to overtake the flying Dutchman is something, that cannot be taken for granted! After being passed, Verstappen pitted for the second time. He opted for a fresh set of soft tyres and rejoined the track in secured P3. 

On the second last lap the wheel-banging battles were still on. Perez hadn't been able to get past Albon, but the Mexican was desperate to do so. A wild overtaking move, however, led into contact between these two, causing damage to Perez's front wing. Behind the Mexican there was a bunch of drivers fighting for P6. Ricciardo, Stroll and Norris all wanted to get that 6th place. And what absolutely phenomenal closing laps the young McLaren ace had! I don't know, where his pace came from, but the talented Briton first passed Stroll and Ricciardo and then attacked Perez on the penultimate lap! Norris made it 5th at the chequered flag, which was a phenomenal work indeed! Perez was left 6th due to his stupid overtaking move. 

This was the first 1-2 for Mercedes this season, but I'm very afraid, that it won't be the last one. Red Bull have loads of work to do to be able to match the Silver Arrows' pace. What about the Red Team? I don't even have a word for their situation! It's almost unreal, how they have got into a circle of negative events and continuous setbacks, which seems almost impossible to cut off. How to turn negative atmosphere into positive thinking and targeted results? Wish us fans could help the team to do so!

It is shocking, that after two races Ferrari stand in P5 in the constructors' standings. Now they have 19 points, whereas last year after two races they had 48 points in their bag! Sebastian has one point only, making him 14th in the drivers' standings!  The schedule between the races is extremely tight, so improving and developing the car is more challenging than in "normal" seasons. However, during these difficult times I support Sebastian and the Scuderia more than ever. There is a way through this, one way or the other! And the team will find the way! Go Sebastian! Forza Ferrari!

Styrian GP / Qualifying: Hamilton shone in rain-drenched qualifying!

The weather forecast predicted heavy rain, even thunder storm, for today's qualifying. This time the weather forecast proved very accurate. At the time of the scheduled start of the qualifying it was pouring rain, and there were puddles of water all over the Red Bull Ring. Due to the extreme weather conditions the start of Q1 was delayed. After a 40-minute delay it was finally announced, that the first session was to get underway in 10 minutes.

Sebastian lined up first in the queue at the pit exit to wait for the light turn green. It was still raining significantly, and full-wets were the obvious choice for everyone. In the challenging conditions the holder of the top spot changed rapidly. First it was Sebastian, who went on top, but soon he was deprived of the top spot by Williams' Russell, which caught me by surprise. Then it was Alfa Romeo's Giovinazzi, who went fastest. The honour of holding the top spot was only brief, as Leclerc set the fastest lap time. Charles and Sebastian were topping the time sheets, with Kimi third in his Alfa Romeo, as there were 12 minutes left in the clock. Wish this had been the real pecking order! The track kept improving, and the name of the fastest man kept changing. Hamilton snatched the top spot, but Charles robbed it again. Then Bottas banged the fastest lap time, but Red Bull's Verstappen gave his answer right away, making it on top of the timetable. Racing Point, who had showed excellent performance in Spielberg last weekend, were now struggling in the wet conditions. Renault instead, delivered in the pouring rain. Ocon jumped second in the standings at the end of the first session! The Frenchman split the Mercedes drivers, Hamilton being the faster one of the Silver Arrows. There were only two minutes remaining in the clock, as the standing water caught Giovinazzi by surprise, and the Italian went wide, bringing out the yellow flags. Hamilton was topping the time sheets, followed by the McLaren duo of Norris and Sainz. Verstappen stormed second in the last minute. With only 13 seconds remaining, the session was red-flagged due to Giovinazzi's off. Out of Q2 were both Alfa Romeo drivers (Kimi 16th, Giovinazzi 19th), Racing Point's Perez, Williams' Latifi and Haas' Grosjean. Definitely worth noting is the fact, that Williams pilot Russell made it into Q2 for the first time in his F1 career! This young Briton showed exceptional talent in virtual racing during the shutdown, and he clearly carries on with the momentum in live racing as well.

Once again Sebastian took his place as the first driver to go out, as Q2 was kicked off. It was still raining, and everyone headed out on the blue-walled full-wets. Expectedly, Verstappen shone in the extreme conditions, setting the fastest lap time on his first runs. Hamilton was second, half a second down on the flying Dutchman. Teammate Bottas was eight tenths down already. Ferrari struggled with their performance also in the wet. Sebastian was unable to make it higher than 7th, and Charles was in even more modest P11 after his first runs. With 5 minutes left in the clock, Hamilton put together a perfect lap, clocking the fastest lap time. Verstappen was second, followed by McLaren's Sainz, Mercedes' Bottas and Renault's Ocon. However, the rain intensified towards the closing stages of Q2. This meant even more challenging and slippery conditions and no improvements on the lap times. Sebastian went wide in Turn 1 on his last run, with teammate Charles exiting the pits and coming out right ahead of his teammate... The Q2 result told everything about Ferrari's performance. Or lack of performance to be honest. Sebastian was the last driver to make it among the top ten, whilst Charles was knocked out of the final session! Ferrari had brought some updates to their SF1000 for this weekend already, but it hadn't change the fact, that the Red Team are facing a deep crisis at the moment. Alongside Charles, also Russell, Racing Point's Stroll, AlphaTauri's Kvyat and Haas' Magnussen were eliminated from the final segment. 

The weather conditions remained the same, as the shootout for pole began. Verstappen was the first man to clock the fastest lap time, which, however, he was briefly robbed of. Hamilton expectedly signed up for the fight for pole. With 6 minutes remaining, Bottas laid his hands on the top spot. Then it was Hamilton, who set the screens purple and banged the fastest lap time! A moment later it was Verstappen, who went fastest! And then again Hamilton! What a thrilling battle it turned out. In the last minute Verstappen was driving a competitive lap but span on the slippery track. However, there was only one king at Red Bull Ring today, and that was Lewis Hamilton. He improved his lap time on his last flyer so significantly, that in the end the reigning world champion turned out 1.2s faster than his closest rival Verstappen! I still don't know, where that lap came from! Sainz qualified third for McLaren, which was a top job from the Spaniard. Last week's pole-setter Bottas was left fourth this time. Ocon qualified fifth for Renault and Norris sixth in the sister McLaren. However, Norris will drop down three places due to a grid penalty, which was handed to him for ignoring the yellow flags in FP1. The fourth row was locked down by Red Bull's Albon and AlphaTauri's Gasly. Ricciardo was 9th in his Renault, and slow Sebastian couldn't make his way out from the back of the pack. To see him 2.3 seconds off the pole-setter made my heart bleed! Ferrari are so deep in trouble, which hurts me badly.

It is predicted to be a dry race tomorrow. Everyone has a free choice of tyres, as no dry tyres were used in today's qualifying. Verstappen will probably challenge Hamilton for the lead right at the very start. It could be an advantage for Bottas, if these two take it too aggressively. Once again I'm expecting a strong race from the orange team, in spite of Norris' penalty. Will there be as many DNFs as in last week's race? I definitely hope, that Red Bull will score points tomorrow, not to make it too easy for Mercedes to run away with all their points. To be honest, I don't know what to hope in terms of the Red Team. All I hope is that Sebastian will drive a flawless race and extract maximum out of his SF1000. Other than that, the performance of the car is out of his hands.

Austrian GP: Bottas took 8th career win in an interrupted and retirement-filled race!

I had an exceptional and memorable season-opening Sunday. I was reading a book in the morning, when I got an unexpected phone call from a reporter working for MTV3. She asked me, if she could come over and interview me on the long-delayed start of the F1 season. I didn't have anything against the idea, so I said she would be very welcome. I had to stop reading my book and start tidying up a little!

I was so excited about the start of the F1 season so it was a bit challenging to focus on answering the reporter's questions. However, due to my overwhelming passion for F1 racing, I love talking about the sport any time! While answering the questions I heard on TV, that Red Bull had made a protest against Hamilton this morning, due to not slowing down under the yellow flags in the final segment of the qualifying. The protest had led into a 3-place grid penalty for the reigning world champion. The penalty had promoted Verstappen to the front row, whilst Hamilton had dropped down to P5. Statistically, pole didn't play such a remarkable role at Spielberg as at some other circuits. Last year Verstappen drove to victory after starting to the race from P8.

What a memorable moment it was, when the lights went out for the first time this season! Bottas made the pole position count and held on to his lead. Verstappen was a bit in trouble with his medium tyres, and McLaren's Norris seriously challenged the Dutchman at the start. Hamilton, too had an aggressive opening laps. After passing Norris and Red Bull's Albon he had his eyes nailed on Verstappen. Unfortunately the flying Dutchman wasn't meant to succeed at his team's home track. On lap 11 his RB16 was hit with a technical failure, which proved crucial. Max managed to nurture his limping RB16 into the pits, but there was nothing to be done to fix the issue. Max, who was to have an advantage in terms of the medium tyres, had to face a possible victory to slip through his fingers! What a devastating moment! Hamilton benefitted from this turn, as he was in P2 already. 

There were more technical failures to come. Renault's Ricciardo was the next victim. The Australian's black and yellow Renault crawled on the track but he managed to bring it into the pits, just to retire the race. Racing Point's Stroll joined the DNF club only a few laps later. It was a bit surprising to see so many retirements in the race. 

Lap 26 saw some action for Haas' Magnussen. The Dane suffered a brake failure, which led into an off for him. The Haas pilot got stuck on the gravel, and safety car was deployed. At this point Hamilton had decreased his gap to race leader Bottas from 7 seconds into 3 seconds only. Both Mercedes drivers drove into the pits for a double stop, switching to the white-walled hardest compound. They were followed by the other top drivers, also opting for a similar tyre strategy. The only exception was Racing Point's Perez, who opted for the yellow-marked medium compound. 

On lap 30 the safety car came in, and the race was resumed. Bottas controlled the race perfectly, keeping his teammate firmly behind. However, there was drama further back in the midfield. Sebastian had had a tame start to the race, and the German was in P8. At the restart he made an over-optimistic move on McLaren's Sainz, which led into contact between the two. Sebastian span and dropped down to P15. It truly proved a costly move. Sebastian had struggled with poor car performance since the beginning of the race, and this mistake certainly didn't make his race look any brighter. 

Meanwhile Perez was driving an excellent race. He made a classy overtaking move on Norris, snatching P4 from the British McLaren pilot. Hamilton had closed the gap to Bottas, and the reigning world champion had a DRS advantage on his teammate. In spite of the convincing double lead, there were dark clouds lurking over the Silver Arrows. Both drivers were told on the team radio to stay off the kerbs. There was a gear box related sensor issue in both cars, which was said to be critical. Hitting the kerbs caused vibration, which activated the issue. So the powerful favorites proved vulnerable after all. 

Lap 51 saw Williams' Russell to hit problems. Due to a techical failure his car stopped on the track, which brought out the safety car for the second time. The Mercedes drivers still had a strong double lead, with Perez third, Albon fourth, Norris fifth and Leclerc sixth. The Mercedes duo decided to stay out, whilst Albon, Norris and Leclerc pitted for the second time. They had differing tyre choices, as Albon opted for the softs, whilst both Norris and Leclerc switched to the mediums. However, Russell's Williams was cleared rapidly out of the way, and the race was back on in a few laps. 

Once again Bottas controlled everything and maintained his lead. In terms of the midfield, there was more drama to come. Kimi, who had just pitted for a fresh set of soft Pirellis, witnessed his front-right tyre go off coming into the last corner! Sparks were flying, and Sebastian was just barely able to avoid hitting the Iceman's limping Alfa Romeo! Kimi's wrecked challenger stopped on the track, so safety car was out for the third time already! I can only imagine, what race leader Bottas might have thought at that point, as he was to defend his lead one more time. With Kimi being out of the race, there were only 13 cars racing round the Spielberg circuit!

The closing laps of the race were adrenaline-filled. Bottas maintained his ice-cool attitude at the third restart and held on to his lead. Teammate Hamilton, on the other hand, was in serious trouble with Red Bull's Albon. The Thai driver aggressively attacked the Briton on the outside, but there was no room for the Red Bull pilot. Albon and Hamilton collided, and the Thai driver span, dropping down to the back of the pack. To me it seemed like a racing incident, but the stewards took the incident into investigation. Hamilton was handed a 5-second time penalty for causing the collision. 

Meanwhile Leclerc surprisingly found some extra pace. He made a classy overtaking move first on Norris, making his way to P4. Next he had his eyes targeted on Perez, whose sculp the Monegasque picked up next. Unbelievable but true, Charles was already third in the race! Red Bull's day turned into pitch-black, as Albon, too suffered a technical failure only a few laps before the chequered flag. Zero points for the energy drink team must be a nightmare on a season, which could turn out as short as 15 races! Norris, too found some extra boost towards the end of the race and attacked Perez. The Briton's stubborn move proved successful in spite of a slight contact between the two. Norris was now fourth in the race. Starting the final lap, Hamilton was 5.8 seconds ahead of him. To make it on the podium for the first time, Norris would have to close the gap into under 5 seconds... And the man was on a mission! Norris banged the fastest lap time on the very final lap, decreasing the gap into 4.8 seconds! 

Bottas took a well-deserved 8th career win, which was his second at Austria. A flawless race from the Finn indeed! Leclerc finished the runner-up, which came as a surprise to the man himself due to poor car performance (lacking straight line speed especially). Norris was naturally over the moon to score his maiden podium in F1! Hamilton had to settle for P4 due to his penalty. Sainz completed a perfect day for McLaren by finishing fifth. Perez, who had also been given a 5-second time penalty for speeding in the pit lane, finished 6th, with Gasly 7th for AlphaTauri and Ocon 8th for Renault. Giovinazzi scored two points for Alfa Romeo, leaving Sebastian the last driver to score points. In the build-up to the season, who could have anticipated this struggle for a points finish for Sebastian?

It was no surprise, that Mercedes' name is found on top of the constructors' standings. But who would have thought to see McLaren in P2? Ferrari are in P3, although they definitely don't deserve to be there. Red Bull, on the other hand, have zero points in their bag! It's not a good start to the season, regarding the fact, that no one knows, how long it's going to be. For Ferrari, too there's only one way and it's upwards and onwards! Forza Ferrari!

Austrian GP / Qualifying: The extraordinary 2020 season was finally kicked off!

Hello everybody! No words can tell, how over the moon I am to be back writing about Formula 1 action! The world has seen an exceptional and routine-changing spring, as the global COVID-19 pandemic broke out in March. At first it was the season-opening Australian GP, which was cancelled but soon it became obvious, that the entire first third of the season was to be postponed or cancelled. So this has been the longest break between the seasons since the 1960s!

In spite of the 60-day shutdown concerning all teams, the F1 world was yet very much alive. Actually the shutdown period saw the craziest silly season for a very long time! Ferrari dropped a news bomb by announcing, that the Scuderia and the quadruple world champion Sebastian Vettel were to part ways at the end of the 2020 season! There were many rumours and allegations but very little actual information on the reasons leading to this decision. Personally I had taken it for granted, that Sebastian's contract with the Red Team would be renewed. I obviously still hadn't learned, that nothing in the F1 world should never ever be taken for granted! Only days after the breaking news Ferrari announced, that they had signed Carlos Sainz to their line-up for the upcoming season. The Renault ace Daniel Ricciardo, on the other hand, was to leave Renault and join McLaren for 2021!

There have been 215 days since the previous GP weekend! So it was about time to get the season underway. Mercedes, the reigning world champions, brought an updated car already to the season-opener. Ferrari, who hadn't been happy with their performance after the winter tests in March, will bring an update not until for the Hungarian GP weekend in a fortnight. The only driver to debut in F1 this year is Nicholas Latifi, who replaced Robert Kubica at the wheel of Williams.

It was a beautiful moment, when the lights turned green and the cars were released from the pits. This was the moment, when anything was possible. Red Bull's Verstappen, who has always felt at home at Red Bull Ring, went fastest. McLaren's Sainz, the future Ferrari ace, was second, followed by Racing Point's Perez. Already in the free practices it had seemed, that both McLaren and Racing Point had raised the bar this year. Although Racing Point had caught everyone's eye due to their distinguished similarity to Mercedes' last year's car. The first runs saw Sebastian fourth and teammate Leclerc in modest P9. Mercedes clearly didn't release their whole potential at the beginning of the first session. Bottas went 4th, with the reigning world champion as far behind as in P12. With 6 minutes remaining, Alfa Romeo's Kimi Räikkönen was the driver at the knock-out zone. However, in no time Hamilton was back in his normal form, making his way up to P2. The second runs put the limelight on Racing Point's Stroll, who made it on top of the timesheets! He was deprived of the top spot by Verstappen, but the Canadian had clearly an impressive start to the brand new season. On the contrary to Verstappen's teammate Albon, who had to settle for modest P12. Haas' Magnussen was the first driver to be eliminated in Q1, alongside with the Alfa Romeo duo of Giovinazzi and Räikkönen and the Williams duo of Russell and Latifi.

As the second session started, the Mercedes teammates were the first drivers to come out on the soft tyres. This time Hamilton was faster of the Silver Arrows, pipping his Finnish teammate by two tenths. The Ferrari duo, too opted for the red-marked fastest tyre wear. At this point it was obvious, that the Italian team were struggling badly with their pace. Charles was in P5, seven tenths off the pace, not to mention Sebastian, who was a shocking second behind the pace-setting Mercedes! McLaren's Norris caught me by surprise being third fastest after the first runs. The other midfield teams stood out of the crowd as well, as Perez in Racing Point was fifth and Ricciardo in Renault was sixth. Verstappen was the only driver to come out on the medium compound. Max made it 8th in the standings, with 8 tenths down on Hamilton. After a second flyer the Dutchman improved and jumped 6th. The second runs saw unexpected consequences. Bottas made it on the top spot, edging Hamilton by 0.081s. Albon in the sister Red Bull put together a magnificent lap and made it 3rd in the standings. Teammate Verstappen had to opt for a fresh set of soft tyres for his second run, but he aborted his flyer, as his banker lap was enough to get him into Q3. Catastrophically, Sebastian was unable to improve his lap time, and for the first time in his Ferrari career, the German was out of the top ten due to not having the pace! I mean, that there were no penalties or technical failures, which would have caused the German the elimination. I was absolutely shocked, couldn't believe, what I had just seen! Teammate Leclerc was the last man to make it into the final segment, so this proved to be a catastrophic qualifying session for Ferrari! Alongside the shocked German, out of Q3 were the Alfa Tauri teammates Gasly and Kvyat, Renault's Ocon and Haas' Grosjean.

Once again Mercedes released their party mode in the decisive last session. Bottas put together an outstanding lap, claiming the provisional pole by 0.122s to his teammate. The Silver Arrows stamped their authority all over the place, as Verstappen in P3 was already six tenths off the pace. Teammate Albon was fourth, 9 tenths down already. Sainz was fifth, Perez sixth and Leclerc seventh, but they had all made their first attempts on the used set of soft tyres. Due to the lack of fresh soft tyres, Norris, Stroll and Ricciardo opted for one run only. Bottas was absolutely determined to take the pole, as the storming Finn set the first sector purple on his last flyer. However, he tried a bit too hard, ending up hitting the gravel in Turn 4, which made his Mercedes turn into the most expensive lawn-mover! The yellow flags didn't effect Hamilton's run, but the Briton's lap was 0.012s too slow to deprive his teammate of the first pole of the season. Mercedes were in a league of their own with Red Bull's Verstappen being the "best of the rest". The sensation of the first qualifying of the year for me was McLaren's Norris, who made it as high as P4! Red Bull's Albon and Racing Point's Perez locked down the third row, followed by Ferrari's Leclerc and Sainz in the sister McLaren. Racing Point's Stroll and Renault's Ricciardo rounded out the top ten.

The grid for tomorrow's race certainly looks interesting. Max in P3 is the only driver in the top ten to start to the race on the medium rubber. Sebastian in P11 is free to choose his tyres, but it isn't much of a comfort to be honest. Ferrari have work to do not only in terms of a single-lap pace but in terms of race pace as well. It could be a dual between the Mercedes teammates, but Max will definitely have his say in terms of the victory! All I can say is, that I hope for the best for Sebastian. On one hand it's hard to see him struggle, but on the other hand I will cherish every moment of this season, as there's no guarantee, that Sebastian will be on the grid next year!