The sun has set a long time ago and I'm sitting in the kitchen in candlelight. It's almost midnight here in Finland. Writing is my therapy now.
There was bad news for Alfa Romeo Racing's Kimi Räikkönen already before the start. The Iceman had been excluded from the qualifying results due to a front wing flexibility issue. This meant, that Kimi was going to start to the race from the pit lane, alongside Red Bull's Gasly. Ferrari's Leclerc was the only top ten driver to start to the race on the medium compound, which gave the Monegasque a potential advantage in terms of the first stint. The lights out started a wheel-banging dual between the Mercedes teammates. Hamilton got a slightly better ignition from P2, making it alongside pole-sitter Bottas. They were driving side by side, but with mutual respect. Going into Turn 3, Bottas determinedly took his lead, leaving Hamilton behind. Sebastian followed the Silver Arrows in P3. It was a little surprising to see, that Racing Point's Perez in P5 put serious pressure on Red Bull's Verstappen. On lap 3 the Mexican made his move on the stubborn Dutchman, and with the help of DRS he snatched P4. However, the Dutchman's revenge took place some three laps later, as he attacked Perez on the main straight, claiming back his fourth place.
The pit stops were predicted to happen around lap 20, but Kimi came in already on lap 7. He switched to the medium rubber and re-joined the track at the back of the pack. Meanwhile, Bottas had built up a small gap to his teammate and was controlling the race. At this point Leclerc's pace was extremely consistent; on the medium Pirellis he was almost a second faster than race leader Bottas. The young Ferrari pilot was in P5, but he was definitely having a podium finish in his mind.
Sebastian was the first top driver to pit on lap 12. The German re-joined the track on a fresh set of yellow-marked medium Pirellis, behind Verstappen in P5. Mercedes were forced to react, and race leader Bottas was called in a lap later, for a similar tyre choice to Sebastian. On lap 14 it was Hamilton's turn to pit, and Leclerc moved to the lead. Towards the halfway point of the race, the Monegasque still hadn't pitted yet. His mediums were out-worn, and he was losing pace lap by lap.
On lap 30 the battle between the top three was extremely intense. Leclerc had only one-second gap to Bottas, and teammate Hamilton was only a second down on the reborn Finn. There were all ingredients for an epic battle for the victory, although Leclerc hadn't done his pit stop yet. However, with his dying tyres, Leclerc had very little chances to defend his lead against the Mercedes. On lap 32 Bottas attacked the Ferrari ace, snatching the lead back to himself. Hamilton repeated his teammate's move on a sequential lap, jumping second.
Meanwhile, there was a bizarre and even comic incident between Renault's Ricciardo and Toro Rosso's Kvyat. They were battling for positions, and they both missed the corner, ending up wide. Ricciardo was in a panic to re-join the track as fast as he could, so he ended up reversing into Kvyat's Toro Rosso! This silly mistake ended the race for both of them.
Sebastian had also closed the gap to his teammate, who was struggling badly with his dying tyres. There was no drama; Leclerc let his teammate past. The Monegasque pitted not until on lap 35, for a fresh set of soft Pirellis. He re-joined the track in P6, behind the Red Bull duo of Verstappen and Gasly. However, a lap later Charles was already at Gasly's tail, and overtaking in the DRS zone was only a formality for the Ferrari's future star.
With 12 laps to go, Gasly's RB15 was suddenly hit with a technical failure, and the Frenchman had to stop his car on the track. This brought out virtual safety car. With only five laps to go, the battle between the Mercedes teammates evolved fiery. Hamilton had made it almost within DRS distance from the fighting Finn. There was no room for errors. Ferrari took Leclerc in for the second time, as the Monegasque was in a safe fifth place. On the fresh soft tyres he was hungry to take the fastest lap time and the extra point under his belt. With two laps to go, Hamilton was already within less than a second from his teammate. Valtteri kept his head cool, giving Hamilton no chance to attack him. On the second last lap, Hamilton made a small mistake, trying to chase his teammate, and this resolved the battle in favor of Valtteri. The flying Finn set the fastest lap time on the second last lap, only to be deprived of it by Leclerc on the penultimate lap!
Sensational Valtteri led Mercedes into the unbelievable fourth 1-2 this season. Sebastian completed the podium, which I was happy about. Verstappen finished fourth and Leclerc fifth. Against my expectations, Leclerc's pace on the soft tyres hadn't proved as competitive as on the medium ones. Perez has been on the podium twice in Baku, but this time he was left sixth. McLaren achieved an excellent result, as Sainz finished 7th and Norris 8th. Stroll completed a good result for Racing Point by finishing 9th. Kimi was the last driver to score points on the narrow streets of Baku. Kimi has now scored points for Alfa Romeo Racing in every race this season.
Valtteri has now made it back in the drivers' championship lead, but only by one point to his teammate. Sebastian jumped third in the standings, but he is already 35 points down on Valtteri. Verstappen, on the other hand, is only one point off Sebastian. In terms of the constructors' standings the battle isn't as thrilling. Mercedes have dominated the beginning of the season overwhelmingly, and they now have 173 points to the Red Team's 99.
Round 5 brings the F1 circus to Europe in a fortnight. Hopefully the new updates for the SF90 will help the Red Team to turn around the pecking order.
Kimi Räikkönen & Sebastian Vettel
maanantai 29. huhtikuuta 2019
lauantai 27. huhtikuuta 2019
Azerbaijan GP / Qualifying: Eventful qualifying saw "Bottas 2.0" snatch pole!
Life is so controversial. Two years ago on this day I was at Sochi paddock meeting and interviewing Sebastian Vettel. Today I'm in a situation, in which even Formula 1 feels meaningless. My heart has been ripped into a million pieces, and there's nothing but endless grief at the moment. My 16-year-old son passed away last Sunday after spending three weeks in the intensive care unit. The doctors did everything they could, but not even the best treatment in the world was able to cure my son. With overwhelming grief I try to stick to my routines, such as watching Formula 1.
Azerbaijan, "The Land of Fire" hosts the Grand Prix weekend for the fourth time. Ferrari had set the pace in the free practice sessions, as Mercedes had been struggling especially with the tyres. Getting the tyres warmed up to the right temperature had proved more difficult for the Silver Arrows than for Ferrari. Sebastian went fastest on his first run in Q1, edging arch rival Hamilton only by 0.082s. The dusty Baku Street Circuit showed also its tricky side. Renault's Hulkenberg and Mercedes' Hamilton went wide on their first runs, and Racing Point's Stroll touched the wall. In terms of the second attempts, flying Leclerc set the fastest lap time and snatched the top spot in the standings. Red Bull had a modest start to the qualifying, as Verstappen was only able to make it 11th on his first flyer. On the other hand, teammate Gasly's second run was absolutely outstanding, setting the benchmark for everyone else, as there were only four minutes left in the clock. It was an impressive effort, even though the Frenchman benefited from tow. Verstappen, too raised the bar and jumped fourth. When there were only a few seconds remaining in the clock, Kubica crashed his Williams into the wall in Turn 8, which is the narrowest part of the circuit. The session was red-flagged. Racing Point's Stroll, Haas' Grosjean, Renault's Hulkenberg and the Williams duo were out of the second session.
The second segment was delayed by half an hour, as the marshals were cleaning up debris and fixing the barrier in Turn 8. Mercedes and Ferrari had a different tyre strategy for Q2. The Silver Arrows came out on the red-marked soft tyres, whilst the red-suited drivers opted for the yellow-marked medium compound. Verstappen went fastest on soft Pirellis, and the flying Dutchman was followed by the Mercedes duo of Bottas and Hamilton. Due to the medium rubber, Leclerc set the 5th fastest lap time. Teammate Sebastian's attempt left a lot to hope for, as the German was able to make it only 11th on his first run. Alfa Romeo Racing's performance seemed extremely promising, as Kimi made it 6th after getting slipstream from his teammate Giovinazzi. However, Turn 8 required another casualty in Q2. Leclerc was pushing his SF90 to the limit, and trying too hard came with a high price. Leclerc crashed into the same tyre wall, which Kubica had ended up into only a moment earlier. Once again, the session was red-flagged. There was another half-an-hour delay, as the marshals had to fix everything again. As the session was finally resumed, the sun had already started to set, and the cooling temperatures had affected the track conditions. Red Bull sat out the second half of the session. Verstappen had no need to go out again, and Gasly was going to start to the race from the pit lane, due to a weighbridge infringement on Friday. Sebastian had to opt for a fresh set of soft tyres at the end of the session, as another try on the medium rubber would have been too risky. He managed to do two flyers, making it 5th in the standings in the end. It was a positive surprise to see both Alfa Romeos make it into the final segment. Leclerc's lap time was competitive enough to get the Monegasque into Q3, although his qualifying was over after the crash. In addition to Gasly, McLaren's Sainz, Renault's Ricciardo, Toro Rosso's Albon and Haas' Magnussen were knocked out of the third session.
As Leclerc had crashed out in Q2, I expected it to be even easy for Sebastian to conquer pole. But once again the Mercs were there, when it mattered. Once again I've gotten a bitter lesson, that you can never write off the Mercs! Hamilton took provisional pole, with a four-tenth gap to Sebastian. After the first runs Bottas was third and Verstappen fourth. On the contrary to his rivals, Max drove another flyer on the same set of tyres, jumping second. But there was more to come from the reborn Valtteri Bottas. The Finn put together a phenomenal lap at the end of the session, making it on pole by 0.059s to his teammate! Although Ferrari were the favorites for pole today, somehow it ended up a front-row lock-out for Mercedes, again! Sebastian was left third, three tenths off the pace. Verstappen qualified fourth for Red Bull and Perez fifth for Racing Point. This time it was Kvyat, who managed to deliver at the wheel of Toro Rosso, as the Russian qualified impressive sixth. McLaren's Norris, Alfa Romeo Racing's Giovinazzi and Räikkönen and Ferrari's Leclerc rounded out the top ten. It was the first time for the Italian to have out-qualified Kimi this season. Although Giovinazzi has been handed a 10-place grid penalty for a power unit element change.
Although I will be watching the race through my black glasses of sorrow, I'm sure the race will offer plenty of events and action-packed moments. Tiny mistakes come with a high price. The Mercedes driver, who dives first into Turn 1, will probably win the race. Unless there are some unexpected turns... Some red-colored unexpected turns would be extremely nice.
Azerbaijan, "The Land of Fire" hosts the Grand Prix weekend for the fourth time. Ferrari had set the pace in the free practice sessions, as Mercedes had been struggling especially with the tyres. Getting the tyres warmed up to the right temperature had proved more difficult for the Silver Arrows than for Ferrari. Sebastian went fastest on his first run in Q1, edging arch rival Hamilton only by 0.082s. The dusty Baku Street Circuit showed also its tricky side. Renault's Hulkenberg and Mercedes' Hamilton went wide on their first runs, and Racing Point's Stroll touched the wall. In terms of the second attempts, flying Leclerc set the fastest lap time and snatched the top spot in the standings. Red Bull had a modest start to the qualifying, as Verstappen was only able to make it 11th on his first flyer. On the other hand, teammate Gasly's second run was absolutely outstanding, setting the benchmark for everyone else, as there were only four minutes left in the clock. It was an impressive effort, even though the Frenchman benefited from tow. Verstappen, too raised the bar and jumped fourth. When there were only a few seconds remaining in the clock, Kubica crashed his Williams into the wall in Turn 8, which is the narrowest part of the circuit. The session was red-flagged. Racing Point's Stroll, Haas' Grosjean, Renault's Hulkenberg and the Williams duo were out of the second session.
The second segment was delayed by half an hour, as the marshals were cleaning up debris and fixing the barrier in Turn 8. Mercedes and Ferrari had a different tyre strategy for Q2. The Silver Arrows came out on the red-marked soft tyres, whilst the red-suited drivers opted for the yellow-marked medium compound. Verstappen went fastest on soft Pirellis, and the flying Dutchman was followed by the Mercedes duo of Bottas and Hamilton. Due to the medium rubber, Leclerc set the 5th fastest lap time. Teammate Sebastian's attempt left a lot to hope for, as the German was able to make it only 11th on his first run. Alfa Romeo Racing's performance seemed extremely promising, as Kimi made it 6th after getting slipstream from his teammate Giovinazzi. However, Turn 8 required another casualty in Q2. Leclerc was pushing his SF90 to the limit, and trying too hard came with a high price. Leclerc crashed into the same tyre wall, which Kubica had ended up into only a moment earlier. Once again, the session was red-flagged. There was another half-an-hour delay, as the marshals had to fix everything again. As the session was finally resumed, the sun had already started to set, and the cooling temperatures had affected the track conditions. Red Bull sat out the second half of the session. Verstappen had no need to go out again, and Gasly was going to start to the race from the pit lane, due to a weighbridge infringement on Friday. Sebastian had to opt for a fresh set of soft tyres at the end of the session, as another try on the medium rubber would have been too risky. He managed to do two flyers, making it 5th in the standings in the end. It was a positive surprise to see both Alfa Romeos make it into the final segment. Leclerc's lap time was competitive enough to get the Monegasque into Q3, although his qualifying was over after the crash. In addition to Gasly, McLaren's Sainz, Renault's Ricciardo, Toro Rosso's Albon and Haas' Magnussen were knocked out of the third session.
As Leclerc had crashed out in Q2, I expected it to be even easy for Sebastian to conquer pole. But once again the Mercs were there, when it mattered. Once again I've gotten a bitter lesson, that you can never write off the Mercs! Hamilton took provisional pole, with a four-tenth gap to Sebastian. After the first runs Bottas was third and Verstappen fourth. On the contrary to his rivals, Max drove another flyer on the same set of tyres, jumping second. But there was more to come from the reborn Valtteri Bottas. The Finn put together a phenomenal lap at the end of the session, making it on pole by 0.059s to his teammate! Although Ferrari were the favorites for pole today, somehow it ended up a front-row lock-out for Mercedes, again! Sebastian was left third, three tenths off the pace. Verstappen qualified fourth for Red Bull and Perez fifth for Racing Point. This time it was Kvyat, who managed to deliver at the wheel of Toro Rosso, as the Russian qualified impressive sixth. McLaren's Norris, Alfa Romeo Racing's Giovinazzi and Räikkönen and Ferrari's Leclerc rounded out the top ten. It was the first time for the Italian to have out-qualified Kimi this season. Although Giovinazzi has been handed a 10-place grid penalty for a power unit element change.
Although I will be watching the race through my black glasses of sorrow, I'm sure the race will offer plenty of events and action-packed moments. Tiny mistakes come with a high price. The Mercedes driver, who dives first into Turn 1, will probably win the race. Unless there are some unexpected turns... Some red-colored unexpected turns would be extremely nice.
sunnuntai 14. huhtikuuta 2019
Chinese GP: Three 1-2s in three races for Mercedes!
I watched the race at home, before I headed back to the hospital. I had been looking forward to a colorful and action-packed race. It turned out an eventful race, but not in a way I had hoped for.
2019 Chinese GP marked the 1000th race in the F1 history. Who would get the honor to win it? The lights out was a thrilling moment. Pole-sitter Bottas suffered from wheel spin, which was caused by the white line on the start straight, and teammate Hamilton stormed past Valtteri. Ferrari debutant Leclerc had an advantage over his teammate, going into tricky Turn 1, and snatched P3. Verstappen in his RB15 in P5 was right at Sebastian's tail. The top drivers had a clean start, but unfortunately the start wasn't crash-free in the midfield. Toro Rosso's Kvyat first hit McLaren's Norris, which led into contact between the McLaren teammates. All three were able to continue the race. Virtual safety car was deployed, as there was some debris on the track.
After the start Kimi was in P12. The Iceman's performance seemed extremely competitive against the Haas drivers. First Kimi hunted down Magnussen, and made a flawless overtaking move on the Dane. A couple of laps later the Iceman attacked Haas teammate Grosjean, with no difficulty to overtake the Frenchman. Kimi had now moved 10th, with valuable points in his sight.
Meanwhile, Sebastian seemed irritated after losing the third place to his young teammate. The teammates were already within DRS distance, and Sebastian told on the team radio, that he was faster than Leclerc. The Monegasque was told on the team radio to push and go faster, but Sebastian continued following his teammate closely. On lap 11 we heard a team order from Ferrari; Leclerc was told to let Sebastian past. Charles had no option but to obey the team order. Sebastian moved past, snatching back his third place. However, Sebastian didn't manage to pull away from his teammate. The German was under pressure, and he locked up his front tyres a couple of times, trying desperately to pull away from his hungry teammate.
Verstappen opened the pit stop roulette on lap 18, pitting for a fresh set of hard tyres. The Dutchman re-joined the track in P8. Ferrari had to react to Verstappen's strategy, so the Red Team called Sebastian in. The German switched to the white-walled hard tyres, re-joining the track ahead of Verstappen. But the flying Dutchman immediately smelled Sebastian's blood and was like a rattle snake, ready to attack any moment. Max left his braking unbelievably late, and dived alongside Sebastian! For a short moment it seemed, as if Max had been able to get past, but this time Sebastian controlled his nerves and kept his head cool. The irritated German managed to stay ahead of Max, just barely.
Towards the halfway point of the race, Bottas and Hamilton pitted on the sequential laps, also for a fresh set of hard Pirellis. Hamilton maintained his lead, with his teammate second. Leclerc lost the fourth place to Verstappen during his pit stop, as the Red Bull pilot benefited from the undercut. This meant, that Ferrari's team order proved extremely costly for Leclerc, who had lost two positions compared to the opening lap. Kimi dropped down to P11 during his pit stop, and both Haas drivers managed to get ahead of the Iceman. This wasn't a problem for Kimi, who made two more glorious overtakes!
On lap 30 Hamilton was leading the race, with a safe 3-second gap to his Finnish teammate. Sebastian in P3 proved absolutely toothless against the Silver Arrows, and he was already 11 seconds down on the race leader. Verstappen in P4 was no threat for Sebastian, and Leclerc's chances to challenge Verstappen didn't seem very realistic, either.
Verstappen opened also the second round of pit stops. The Dutchman pitted on lap 35, this time for a fresh set of medium Pirellis. Once again, the Red Team had to react, and Sebastian was called in right away. The German managed to stay ahead of Max, with a significant 8-second margin. A lap later Mercedes called both drivers in for a double pit stop, with Hamilton first. The Mercedes aces, too opted for the yellow-marked medium rubber. Hamilton re-joined the track in the lead, but teammate Bottas re-joined the track right behind Leclerc in P3. Valtteri's pace on the fresh tyres was much more competitive, but Leclerc had been told to slow the Finn down as much as he could. Bottas lost valuable time fighting behind the Monegasque. Finally Valtteri managed to squeeze past Leclerc on the long straight.
Leclerc was struggling on his out-worn hard tyres, and Sebastian swept past his teammate on lap 43. Charles pitted right away, also for a fresh set of medium rubber. He re-joined the track in P5. With ten laps to go, the gaps between the top five were quite solid, with no on-track battles going on. Kimi in P9, on the other hand, was right at Perez's tail, trying to find a chance for an overtaking move. At this point it seemed, as if P7 had been within Kimi's grasp, as Renault's Ricciardo in P7 was only a couple of seconds ahead of Perez.
With only three laps to go, the fastest lap time was under Sebastian's belt. However, Red Bull's Gasly pitted from P6 for a fresh set of red-marked soft compound, with the intention to set the fastest lap time at the end. And unfortunately the Frenchman deprived Sebastian of the fastest lap time, which is worth an extra point! Hamilton drove to the chequered flag as the race winner, with Bottas making it already the third 1-2 for Mercedes this season. This is quite a historic statistic detail, as three 1-2s for the same team at the beginning of the season was last achieved by Williams in 1992! The 1000th Grand Prix of the F1 history marked the 75th win for the reigning world champion. Sebastian completed the podium, with Verstappen fourth and Leclerc fifth. Gasly finished the race sixth, in spite of his second pit stop. Ricciardo finally managed to deliver at the wheel of Renault, bringing his car to the chequered flag in impressive P7. Perez managed to keep the Iceman behind him in the end, scoring three valuable points for Racing Point. Toro Rosso's Albon scored the last point, which was an excellent result from the Thai driver, as he had been forced to start to the race from the pit lane.
With this result, Hamilton snatched the championship lead from his teammate by six points. Verstappen has 39 points to Hamilton's 68. Sebastian moved fourth in the standings, with a 2-point gap to Verstappen and only one-point gap to his teammate. Mercedes are in a class of their own in the constructors' championship standings, as they have massive 130 points to the Red Team's 73. Behind Red Bull (3rd in the standings) the battle is extremely tight. Renault and Alfa Romeo Racing share the joint 4th place with 12 points.
Sebastian made it on the podium thanks to the team orders today. I'm sure this isn't the way he wants to succeed and beat his teammate. He can do better than that! The harmony has shaken within the team, which may have many consequences throughout the season. Personally, I don't think the team orders is the right solution at the beginning of the season. The drivers should be free to race, and whoever of the drivers has more points towards the end of the season, should then be promoted "the number one driver". You have to earn the status on track. I'm quite sure that deep down in his heart Sebastian isn't satisfied with today's result.
2019 Chinese GP marked the 1000th race in the F1 history. Who would get the honor to win it? The lights out was a thrilling moment. Pole-sitter Bottas suffered from wheel spin, which was caused by the white line on the start straight, and teammate Hamilton stormed past Valtteri. Ferrari debutant Leclerc had an advantage over his teammate, going into tricky Turn 1, and snatched P3. Verstappen in his RB15 in P5 was right at Sebastian's tail. The top drivers had a clean start, but unfortunately the start wasn't crash-free in the midfield. Toro Rosso's Kvyat first hit McLaren's Norris, which led into contact between the McLaren teammates. All three were able to continue the race. Virtual safety car was deployed, as there was some debris on the track.
After the start Kimi was in P12. The Iceman's performance seemed extremely competitive against the Haas drivers. First Kimi hunted down Magnussen, and made a flawless overtaking move on the Dane. A couple of laps later the Iceman attacked Haas teammate Grosjean, with no difficulty to overtake the Frenchman. Kimi had now moved 10th, with valuable points in his sight.
Meanwhile, Sebastian seemed irritated after losing the third place to his young teammate. The teammates were already within DRS distance, and Sebastian told on the team radio, that he was faster than Leclerc. The Monegasque was told on the team radio to push and go faster, but Sebastian continued following his teammate closely. On lap 11 we heard a team order from Ferrari; Leclerc was told to let Sebastian past. Charles had no option but to obey the team order. Sebastian moved past, snatching back his third place. However, Sebastian didn't manage to pull away from his teammate. The German was under pressure, and he locked up his front tyres a couple of times, trying desperately to pull away from his hungry teammate.
Verstappen opened the pit stop roulette on lap 18, pitting for a fresh set of hard tyres. The Dutchman re-joined the track in P8. Ferrari had to react to Verstappen's strategy, so the Red Team called Sebastian in. The German switched to the white-walled hard tyres, re-joining the track ahead of Verstappen. But the flying Dutchman immediately smelled Sebastian's blood and was like a rattle snake, ready to attack any moment. Max left his braking unbelievably late, and dived alongside Sebastian! For a short moment it seemed, as if Max had been able to get past, but this time Sebastian controlled his nerves and kept his head cool. The irritated German managed to stay ahead of Max, just barely.
Towards the halfway point of the race, Bottas and Hamilton pitted on the sequential laps, also for a fresh set of hard Pirellis. Hamilton maintained his lead, with his teammate second. Leclerc lost the fourth place to Verstappen during his pit stop, as the Red Bull pilot benefited from the undercut. This meant, that Ferrari's team order proved extremely costly for Leclerc, who had lost two positions compared to the opening lap. Kimi dropped down to P11 during his pit stop, and both Haas drivers managed to get ahead of the Iceman. This wasn't a problem for Kimi, who made two more glorious overtakes!
On lap 30 Hamilton was leading the race, with a safe 3-second gap to his Finnish teammate. Sebastian in P3 proved absolutely toothless against the Silver Arrows, and he was already 11 seconds down on the race leader. Verstappen in P4 was no threat for Sebastian, and Leclerc's chances to challenge Verstappen didn't seem very realistic, either.
Verstappen opened also the second round of pit stops. The Dutchman pitted on lap 35, this time for a fresh set of medium Pirellis. Once again, the Red Team had to react, and Sebastian was called in right away. The German managed to stay ahead of Max, with a significant 8-second margin. A lap later Mercedes called both drivers in for a double pit stop, with Hamilton first. The Mercedes aces, too opted for the yellow-marked medium rubber. Hamilton re-joined the track in the lead, but teammate Bottas re-joined the track right behind Leclerc in P3. Valtteri's pace on the fresh tyres was much more competitive, but Leclerc had been told to slow the Finn down as much as he could. Bottas lost valuable time fighting behind the Monegasque. Finally Valtteri managed to squeeze past Leclerc on the long straight.
Leclerc was struggling on his out-worn hard tyres, and Sebastian swept past his teammate on lap 43. Charles pitted right away, also for a fresh set of medium rubber. He re-joined the track in P5. With ten laps to go, the gaps between the top five were quite solid, with no on-track battles going on. Kimi in P9, on the other hand, was right at Perez's tail, trying to find a chance for an overtaking move. At this point it seemed, as if P7 had been within Kimi's grasp, as Renault's Ricciardo in P7 was only a couple of seconds ahead of Perez.
With only three laps to go, the fastest lap time was under Sebastian's belt. However, Red Bull's Gasly pitted from P6 for a fresh set of red-marked soft compound, with the intention to set the fastest lap time at the end. And unfortunately the Frenchman deprived Sebastian of the fastest lap time, which is worth an extra point! Hamilton drove to the chequered flag as the race winner, with Bottas making it already the third 1-2 for Mercedes this season. This is quite a historic statistic detail, as three 1-2s for the same team at the beginning of the season was last achieved by Williams in 1992! The 1000th Grand Prix of the F1 history marked the 75th win for the reigning world champion. Sebastian completed the podium, with Verstappen fourth and Leclerc fifth. Gasly finished the race sixth, in spite of his second pit stop. Ricciardo finally managed to deliver at the wheel of Renault, bringing his car to the chequered flag in impressive P7. Perez managed to keep the Iceman behind him in the end, scoring three valuable points for Racing Point. Toro Rosso's Albon scored the last point, which was an excellent result from the Thai driver, as he had been forced to start to the race from the pit lane.
With this result, Hamilton snatched the championship lead from his teammate by six points. Verstappen has 39 points to Hamilton's 68. Sebastian moved fourth in the standings, with a 2-point gap to Verstappen and only one-point gap to his teammate. Mercedes are in a class of their own in the constructors' championship standings, as they have massive 130 points to the Red Team's 73. Behind Red Bull (3rd in the standings) the battle is extremely tight. Renault and Alfa Romeo Racing share the joint 4th place with 12 points.
Sebastian made it on the podium thanks to the team orders today. I'm sure this isn't the way he wants to succeed and beat his teammate. He can do better than that! The harmony has shaken within the team, which may have many consequences throughout the season. Personally, I don't think the team orders is the right solution at the beginning of the season. The drivers should be free to race, and whoever of the drivers has more points towards the end of the season, should then be promoted "the number one driver". You have to earn the status on track. I'm quite sure that deep down in his heart Sebastian isn't satisfied with today's result.
lauantai 13. huhtikuuta 2019
Chinese GP / Qualifying: "Bottas 2.0" led Mercedes into a front-row lock-out!
On Monday after the Bahrain GP my son was taken into the intensive care unit due to a severe infection, which had been caused by the cancer treatments. By this time his condition has turned quite critical, as the fungus in his blood has affected all vital organs. At the moment he is fighting for his life. I've been sitting here in my son's room every day, coming in the morning and staying up until the evening. Now my son is restfully asleep, so I am sitting beside his bed and writing about today's qualifying. I really need F1 action now to take my concentration off all the worries even for a short fleeting moment.
To the qualifying then. Toro Rosso rookie Albon was unable to take part in the qualifying, as the Thai had crashed out in the last free practice session. In terms of the pecking order, I actually didn't know what to expect. After the first runs the new "Bottas 2.0" topped the time sheets, with a significant 4-tenth gap to his teammate. Red Bull's Verstappen was third, Sebastian fourth and Renault's Hulkenberg fifth. Bahrain hero Leclerc didn't manage to put together a solid lap on his first attempt, and was only 11th. Kimi, too was in modest P15 after the first runs. The top five sat out the second runs. Leclerc managed to pull out an outstanding lap at the end of the session, and the Monegasque jumped second, only 0.054s shy of Mercedes ace Bottas. There were no surprise casualties in Q1 this time. Racing Point's Stroll was the first driver to be knocked out in the first session. Unfortunately Kimi's Italian teammate Giovinazzi was hit with technical issues, which ended the qualifying for him. As expected, the Williams duo of Russell and Kubica missed out on Q2 as well.
For the first time this season, Q2 saw different tyre strategies. Both Mercedes and Ferrari sent their drivers out on the medium tyres. Red Bull's Verstappen opted for a similar tyre choice. The Finnish Mercedes ace Bottas continued where he had left off in the first segment. Again, the Finn was clearly the fastest man on the track. The pace of the red-suited drivers was quite evenly matched, Sebastian and Charles being half-a-second off the flying Finn. Verstappen was fourth and Hamilton only fifth, the reigning world champion being whole 8 tenths down on his teammate. It was quite amazing, how competitive the medium tyre turned out. Hamilton took another set of medium Pirellis for his second run, as did Ferrari's Leclerc, whilst the other top drivers came out on the red-marked soft Pirellis. Unfortunately Kimi was struggling with his pace. After his first attempt the Iceman was 13th, 1.9s off his compatriot's benchmark. The second run saw the Iceman jump 10th, but only a short moment later Haas' Grosjean dropped the Finn out of Q3. Hamilton managed to put all sectors together on his final run, snatching the top spot from his teammate by 0.091s. The top drivers on the soft compound didn't improve their lap times. Toro Rosso's Kvyat was the first driver to be eliminated from the last segment. Out of Q3 were also Racing Point's Perez, Kimi, who had suffered from engine wows during his final run, and the McLaren duo of Sainz and Norris. Red Bull's Gasly made it among the top ten for the first time this season. This time the strongest teams of the midfield were Haas and Renault, with both cars of both teams proceeding into the final segment.
Everyone came out on the soft compound, as the battle for pole began. Bottas continued his impressive performance and took provisional pole by seven thousandths of a second to his teammate! Sebastian was third, but the German proved unable to match the Silver Arrows' pace, as the gap to Bottas was massive four tenths. Verstappen was fourth and Leclerc fifth after the first runs. Hamilton started his second flyer well, but proved unable to improve his lap time in the end. Teammate Bottas, on the other hand, even improved his time on his second attempt, and snatched his first pole of the season. Hamilton made it another front-row lock-out for the Silver Arrows. It was very tight between the Scuderia drivers, as the duo was separated by 17 thousandths of a second only, in favor of Sebastian. There was drama in terms of Haas and Red Bull drivers at the closing stages of Q3, as neither one of the drivers managed to start his time lap in time! The teams had sent their drivers out too late, which possibly cost Verstappen the fourth place. The Red Bull drivers locked down the third row, but the gap between the teammates was massive nine tenths in favor of the flying Dutchman. The Renault duo of Ricciardo and Hulkenberg locked down the fourth row, whilst the Haas drivers Magnussen and Grosjean had to settle for the fifth row.
The long runs of the three top teams were quite evenly matched on Friday, so I'm expecting to see an eventful race tomorrow. I'm sure the Mercedes teammates will have a fiery fight for the lead. The red-suited drivers will certainly put their spoons in the soup as well! And I'm sure Verstappen is extremely hungry to get on the podium. He won't miss out on ways, how to get past his rivals! Tyre management is definitely one of the keys to success in China. I´ll watch the race at home, before I head to the hospital again. I hope it will be full of entertainment and action! Sebastian on the top step of the podium would totally make my day!
To the qualifying then. Toro Rosso rookie Albon was unable to take part in the qualifying, as the Thai had crashed out in the last free practice session. In terms of the pecking order, I actually didn't know what to expect. After the first runs the new "Bottas 2.0" topped the time sheets, with a significant 4-tenth gap to his teammate. Red Bull's Verstappen was third, Sebastian fourth and Renault's Hulkenberg fifth. Bahrain hero Leclerc didn't manage to put together a solid lap on his first attempt, and was only 11th. Kimi, too was in modest P15 after the first runs. The top five sat out the second runs. Leclerc managed to pull out an outstanding lap at the end of the session, and the Monegasque jumped second, only 0.054s shy of Mercedes ace Bottas. There were no surprise casualties in Q1 this time. Racing Point's Stroll was the first driver to be knocked out in the first session. Unfortunately Kimi's Italian teammate Giovinazzi was hit with technical issues, which ended the qualifying for him. As expected, the Williams duo of Russell and Kubica missed out on Q2 as well.
For the first time this season, Q2 saw different tyre strategies. Both Mercedes and Ferrari sent their drivers out on the medium tyres. Red Bull's Verstappen opted for a similar tyre choice. The Finnish Mercedes ace Bottas continued where he had left off in the first segment. Again, the Finn was clearly the fastest man on the track. The pace of the red-suited drivers was quite evenly matched, Sebastian and Charles being half-a-second off the flying Finn. Verstappen was fourth and Hamilton only fifth, the reigning world champion being whole 8 tenths down on his teammate. It was quite amazing, how competitive the medium tyre turned out. Hamilton took another set of medium Pirellis for his second run, as did Ferrari's Leclerc, whilst the other top drivers came out on the red-marked soft Pirellis. Unfortunately Kimi was struggling with his pace. After his first attempt the Iceman was 13th, 1.9s off his compatriot's benchmark. The second run saw the Iceman jump 10th, but only a short moment later Haas' Grosjean dropped the Finn out of Q3. Hamilton managed to put all sectors together on his final run, snatching the top spot from his teammate by 0.091s. The top drivers on the soft compound didn't improve their lap times. Toro Rosso's Kvyat was the first driver to be eliminated from the last segment. Out of Q3 were also Racing Point's Perez, Kimi, who had suffered from engine wows during his final run, and the McLaren duo of Sainz and Norris. Red Bull's Gasly made it among the top ten for the first time this season. This time the strongest teams of the midfield were Haas and Renault, with both cars of both teams proceeding into the final segment.
Everyone came out on the soft compound, as the battle for pole began. Bottas continued his impressive performance and took provisional pole by seven thousandths of a second to his teammate! Sebastian was third, but the German proved unable to match the Silver Arrows' pace, as the gap to Bottas was massive four tenths. Verstappen was fourth and Leclerc fifth after the first runs. Hamilton started his second flyer well, but proved unable to improve his lap time in the end. Teammate Bottas, on the other hand, even improved his time on his second attempt, and snatched his first pole of the season. Hamilton made it another front-row lock-out for the Silver Arrows. It was very tight between the Scuderia drivers, as the duo was separated by 17 thousandths of a second only, in favor of Sebastian. There was drama in terms of Haas and Red Bull drivers at the closing stages of Q3, as neither one of the drivers managed to start his time lap in time! The teams had sent their drivers out too late, which possibly cost Verstappen the fourth place. The Red Bull drivers locked down the third row, but the gap between the teammates was massive nine tenths in favor of the flying Dutchman. The Renault duo of Ricciardo and Hulkenberg locked down the fourth row, whilst the Haas drivers Magnussen and Grosjean had to settle for the fifth row.
The long runs of the three top teams were quite evenly matched on Friday, so I'm expecting to see an eventful race tomorrow. I'm sure the Mercedes teammates will have a fiery fight for the lead. The red-suited drivers will certainly put their spoons in the soup as well! And I'm sure Verstappen is extremely hungry to get on the podium. He won't miss out on ways, how to get past his rivals! Tyre management is definitely one of the keys to success in China. I´ll watch the race at home, before I head to the hospital again. I hope it will be full of entertainment and action! Sebastian on the top step of the podium would totally make my day!
sunnuntai 31. maaliskuuta 2019
Bahrain GP: Unlucky Leclerc was robbed of his maiden victory!
What an utterly dramatic race! And I thought the start would be the most eventful and exciting part of the race! The world of Formula 1 is filled with mouth-opening surprises and adrenaline-filled action. The night of Bahrain was definitely magical... Unfortunately for the Red Team it was cursed.
Lights went out at Sakhir in extremely windy conditions. Sebastian in P2 got an ideal start and accelerated into the lead. Another superb start was taken by Mercedes' Bottas from P4. The Finn made a self-confident move on his teammate and then also on Leclerc, who had lost the lead to Sebastian. It was a perfect opening lap for Bottas indeed. Unfortunately, in Turn 1 on the second lap, the Finn got surprised by the wind and locked up, losing positions both to Leclerc and Hamilton.
However, Leclerc proved fast like the wind in Bahrain and wasn't going to settle for playing the second fiddle. By lap 6 he had closed the gap to teammate Sebastian, and with the help of DRS it was quite easy for the Monegasque to take the lead back. Like in the qualifying, Sebastian seemed absolutely unable to match his teammate's storming pace.
Bottas was the first top driver to pit on lap 13. Predictably, the Finnish Mercedes ace opted for a fresh set of medium Pirellis. Ferrari reacted right away and called Leclerc in on the following lap. He switched to the medium compound as well, whilst Hamilton pitted for a fresh set of soft Pirellis. Sebastian pitted on lap 15, for a similar tyre choice to his teammate, and re-joined the track in P4. After the first pit stops Leclerc had a firm lead in the race. Renault's Ricciardo was second, as the Australian hadn't pitted yet. However, it was an easy job for Hamilton to overtake Ricciardo and move second.
Soon Hamilton was struggling with the soft tyres, and he started to lose ground to Sebastian. With determination Sebastian made it within DRS distance from his arch enemy, and on lap 23 the German made his move on the first DRS zone. Sebastian made it past Hamilton in style.
At the halfway point of the race the situation seemed stabilized within the top five drivers. Race leader Leclerc had managed to build up an 8-second lead to his teammate. Hamilton was two seconds off Sebastian, and the Briton had built up a 10-second gap to his teammate Bottas. Verstappen at the wheel of his RB15 was fifth, unable to match the two top teams' pace.
After the second pit stops the order of the top five remained the same. However, Hamilton's third stint on the medium tyres turned out much more competitive than his second one on the soft Pirellis. The reigning world champion was right at Sebastian's tail, lurking passionately for a chance to make a move. Turn 4 was the perfect hunting place for the Briton, who ingeniously used the tail wind to leave the braking as late as possible. Once Sebastian managed to defend his position successfully, but a lap later the battle saw a dramatic turn. Again the calculating Briton braked as late as possible and dived alongside Sebastian in Turn 4. Sebastian saw Hamilton coming and hit the throttle a bit too early; Sebastian span and lost the position to Hamilton! The failed duel had also another consequence in addition to the spin. The tyres of Sebastian's Lina were vibrating so badly, that it made the entire front wing to fly off in full speed, with sparks flying all over! Sebastian had no choice but to pit for a new nose, which meant giving up on hopes for a podium finish. This kind of drama I wouldn't have wanted to see! A mistake under the pressure seemed like a repetition from last year.
Gutted of his own mistake, Sebastian started his overtaking show. In no time he had made it past Norris in his McLaren, Kimi in his Alfa Romeo Racing and Albon in his Toro Rosso, climbing up to P7. The Renault duo of Ricciardo and Hulkenberg was soon in the German's sight. Sebastian first made it past his ex-teammate and then past his fellow countryman. However, Verstappen in P5 was already 30 seconds ahead, so there was no catching the flying Dutchman.
But what another dramatic turn the race saw 11 laps before the chequered flag. Leclerc had been cruising to victory, until the Monegasque suddenly reported on the team radio about engine wows. There seemed to be an issue with the energy recovery system, which made Leclerc lose 5-7 seconds each lap! It seemed so cruel, as Leclerc had dominated the whole weekend in a superior way. Hamilton inevitably closed the gap to unlucky Charles, who couldn't do anything but to watch the Silver Arrow of Hamilton close up on him and storm past only a few laps later. Bottas was the next one to chase Leclerc, whose SF90 reminded more of an F2 car due to the power loss. With only three laps to go, Bottas had hunted down groveling Leclerc, and snatched the second place. Also Verstappen had begun his hunt...
There's no doubt about Leclerc's aching misfortune, but on the other hand, he got his share of luck at the end of the race. Both Renaults came to a sudden halt simultaneously on lap 54, which brought out the safety car. As there were only two laps remaining, as the safety car came out, it meant that the order was going to remain unchanged until the chequered flag. Had there been a re-start, it would probably have seen Leclerc dropping out of points. It was an anti-climax to see the cars finish the race behind the safety car, but it brought even a glimpse of justice for the unlucky Ferrari debutant.
Amazing but true, Mercedes managed to make it a 1-2 in a venue, that was supposed to be Ferrari's turf! I was happy for Charles, who climbed on the podium for the first time, in spite of the dramatic technical problems. Charles also scored the extra point for the fastest lap time. Verstappen finished the race 4th for Red Bull, and Sebastian dropped himself off the podium by making the costly mistake in the battle against Hamilton. Norris continued his excellent performances by finishing sixth for McLaren. Kimi drove a very consistent race at the wheel of his C39. The Iceman seemed to enjoy his wheel-banging battles in the midfield, showing some classy overtaking moves as well. P7 meant valuable points for the Swiss team. Red Bull's Gasly, Toro Rosso's Albon and Racing Point's Perez completed the top ten.
The F1 circus now moves to China with Bottas at the top of the drivers' standings. However, the lead to teammate Hamilton is one point only. Verstappen is third with 27 points, Leclerc fourth with 26 points and Sebastian fifth with 22 points. Mercedes have a dominant lead in the constructors' standings, with 87 points to Ferrari's 48. Leclerc has definitely proved, that Ferrari has hired the right man for the job. What a diamond the team has in Leclerc! However, my heart beats most for Sebastian. He looked so disappointed after the race. It seems, that the difficulties continue haunting him. But the turnaround is there, I can feel it. I always believe in you, Sebastian! A new race always provides a fresh chance for success!
Lights went out at Sakhir in extremely windy conditions. Sebastian in P2 got an ideal start and accelerated into the lead. Another superb start was taken by Mercedes' Bottas from P4. The Finn made a self-confident move on his teammate and then also on Leclerc, who had lost the lead to Sebastian. It was a perfect opening lap for Bottas indeed. Unfortunately, in Turn 1 on the second lap, the Finn got surprised by the wind and locked up, losing positions both to Leclerc and Hamilton.
However, Leclerc proved fast like the wind in Bahrain and wasn't going to settle for playing the second fiddle. By lap 6 he had closed the gap to teammate Sebastian, and with the help of DRS it was quite easy for the Monegasque to take the lead back. Like in the qualifying, Sebastian seemed absolutely unable to match his teammate's storming pace.
Bottas was the first top driver to pit on lap 13. Predictably, the Finnish Mercedes ace opted for a fresh set of medium Pirellis. Ferrari reacted right away and called Leclerc in on the following lap. He switched to the medium compound as well, whilst Hamilton pitted for a fresh set of soft Pirellis. Sebastian pitted on lap 15, for a similar tyre choice to his teammate, and re-joined the track in P4. After the first pit stops Leclerc had a firm lead in the race. Renault's Ricciardo was second, as the Australian hadn't pitted yet. However, it was an easy job for Hamilton to overtake Ricciardo and move second.
Soon Hamilton was struggling with the soft tyres, and he started to lose ground to Sebastian. With determination Sebastian made it within DRS distance from his arch enemy, and on lap 23 the German made his move on the first DRS zone. Sebastian made it past Hamilton in style.
At the halfway point of the race the situation seemed stabilized within the top five drivers. Race leader Leclerc had managed to build up an 8-second lead to his teammate. Hamilton was two seconds off Sebastian, and the Briton had built up a 10-second gap to his teammate Bottas. Verstappen at the wheel of his RB15 was fifth, unable to match the two top teams' pace.
After the second pit stops the order of the top five remained the same. However, Hamilton's third stint on the medium tyres turned out much more competitive than his second one on the soft Pirellis. The reigning world champion was right at Sebastian's tail, lurking passionately for a chance to make a move. Turn 4 was the perfect hunting place for the Briton, who ingeniously used the tail wind to leave the braking as late as possible. Once Sebastian managed to defend his position successfully, but a lap later the battle saw a dramatic turn. Again the calculating Briton braked as late as possible and dived alongside Sebastian in Turn 4. Sebastian saw Hamilton coming and hit the throttle a bit too early; Sebastian span and lost the position to Hamilton! The failed duel had also another consequence in addition to the spin. The tyres of Sebastian's Lina were vibrating so badly, that it made the entire front wing to fly off in full speed, with sparks flying all over! Sebastian had no choice but to pit for a new nose, which meant giving up on hopes for a podium finish. This kind of drama I wouldn't have wanted to see! A mistake under the pressure seemed like a repetition from last year.
Gutted of his own mistake, Sebastian started his overtaking show. In no time he had made it past Norris in his McLaren, Kimi in his Alfa Romeo Racing and Albon in his Toro Rosso, climbing up to P7. The Renault duo of Ricciardo and Hulkenberg was soon in the German's sight. Sebastian first made it past his ex-teammate and then past his fellow countryman. However, Verstappen in P5 was already 30 seconds ahead, so there was no catching the flying Dutchman.
But what another dramatic turn the race saw 11 laps before the chequered flag. Leclerc had been cruising to victory, until the Monegasque suddenly reported on the team radio about engine wows. There seemed to be an issue with the energy recovery system, which made Leclerc lose 5-7 seconds each lap! It seemed so cruel, as Leclerc had dominated the whole weekend in a superior way. Hamilton inevitably closed the gap to unlucky Charles, who couldn't do anything but to watch the Silver Arrow of Hamilton close up on him and storm past only a few laps later. Bottas was the next one to chase Leclerc, whose SF90 reminded more of an F2 car due to the power loss. With only three laps to go, Bottas had hunted down groveling Leclerc, and snatched the second place. Also Verstappen had begun his hunt...
There's no doubt about Leclerc's aching misfortune, but on the other hand, he got his share of luck at the end of the race. Both Renaults came to a sudden halt simultaneously on lap 54, which brought out the safety car. As there were only two laps remaining, as the safety car came out, it meant that the order was going to remain unchanged until the chequered flag. Had there been a re-start, it would probably have seen Leclerc dropping out of points. It was an anti-climax to see the cars finish the race behind the safety car, but it brought even a glimpse of justice for the unlucky Ferrari debutant.
Amazing but true, Mercedes managed to make it a 1-2 in a venue, that was supposed to be Ferrari's turf! I was happy for Charles, who climbed on the podium for the first time, in spite of the dramatic technical problems. Charles also scored the extra point for the fastest lap time. Verstappen finished the race 4th for Red Bull, and Sebastian dropped himself off the podium by making the costly mistake in the battle against Hamilton. Norris continued his excellent performances by finishing sixth for McLaren. Kimi drove a very consistent race at the wheel of his C39. The Iceman seemed to enjoy his wheel-banging battles in the midfield, showing some classy overtaking moves as well. P7 meant valuable points for the Swiss team. Red Bull's Gasly, Toro Rosso's Albon and Racing Point's Perez completed the top ten.
The F1 circus now moves to China with Bottas at the top of the drivers' standings. However, the lead to teammate Hamilton is one point only. Verstappen is third with 27 points, Leclerc fourth with 26 points and Sebastian fifth with 22 points. Mercedes have a dominant lead in the constructors' standings, with 87 points to Ferrari's 48. Leclerc has definitely proved, that Ferrari has hired the right man for the job. What a diamond the team has in Leclerc! However, my heart beats most for Sebastian. He looked so disappointed after the race. It seems, that the difficulties continue haunting him. But the turnaround is there, I can feel it. I always believe in you, Sebastian! A new race always provides a fresh chance for success!
Bahrain GP / Qualifying: Magnificent Leclerc took his maiden pole!
The Sakhir circuit at the desert of Bahrain is considered to be Ferrari's territory. Two weeks ago in the season-opener everyone wondered, where Ferrari's pace had disappeared after very promising winter tests. But like expected, the Red Team made an amazing turnaround coming to Bahrain.
Ferrari's pace seemed to be in a class of their own in the heat of the desert. Ferrari debutant Leclerc has previously won an F2 race in Bahrain, and the Monegasque felt at home on the track right from the very first segment. He set an incredible benchmark already on his first attempt, which teammate Sebastian proved unable to match. Unexpectedly, the German was two tenths down on his new teammate. At this point the gap to Mercedes seemed like a light year, as Bottas was a whole second off the Red Team's pace! Red Bull's pace seemed quite modest as well, Verstappen making it only 6th in the standings. Hamilton made a second attempt on the used set of tyres, jumping third in the standings, ahead of his tough Finnish teammate. Once again the battle in the midfield was extremely tight, and Kimi at the wheel of his Alfa Romeo Racing had to squeeze everything out of his car to make it into Q2. Actually the Iceman was the last driver to get through to the second session, whilst teammate Giovinazzi's fate was to be knocked out already in the first session. This time the big name casualty in Q1 was Renault's Hulkenberg, who had had various issues with his car. The rookies Norris and Albon stood out of the crowd, as the Briton made it shining P4 for McLaren and the Thai convincing P6 for Toro Rosso.
As Q2 was kicked off, Leclerc continued where he had left off in the first session. The talented Monegasque stamped his authority all over the place by going fastest by half a second! There was absolutely no chance for the Mercedes duo to match flying Leclerc's performance. After the first runs Sebastian was in tame P6, as his first flyer was everything but problem-free. The German had locked up his front wheels in Turn 10. This proved costly for Sebastian, as he was forced to make a second run at the end of the session, which cost him an extra set of soft tyres. Meanwhile, teammate Leclerc and the Mercedes aces could sit out the second runs. Sebastian managed to bounce back at the end of the session, jumping second in the standings, still unable to beat his teammate's time. As a positive surprise, both McLarens made it among the top ten, which hasn't happened for two years! Kimi, too managed to extract the maximum out of his car, being the last driver to make it through to the last session. Eye-catching was the missing pace of Red Bull. P7 was everything Verstappen was able to pull out in Q2, whilst teammate Gasly missed out on Q3. Renault's Ricciardo was also eliminated in Q2, alongside with the Toro Rosso duo of Albon and Kvyat and Racing Point's Perez.
Which one of the red-suited drivers was going to conquer pole in the darkening night of Bahrain? Sebastian had an extremely convincing statistics on his side, as he had taken three poles and four victories on Bahrain soil in the previous years. However, Leclerc came out and showed, that statistics didn't matter. Setting a flawless lap, the Monegasque had provisional pole firmly in his grasp. Hamilton was two and Bottas three tenths down on the storming Ferrari pilot. After the first runs Haas' Magnussen was fourth and McLaren's Sainz fifth. Q2's mistake compromised Sebastian's Q3, as the German was able to make one attempt only, as well as Red Bull's Verstappen. So everything depended on Sebastian's flying lap. And no, he wasn't able to beat his teammate's lap time! Sebastian ended up two tenths shy of Leclerc's benchmark. Leclerc even managed to improve his time at the end of the session, snatching pole with a new track record! It was extremely tight between Sebastian and the Mercedes drivers, as the gap between Sebastian in P2 and Bottas in P4 was only less than a tenth of a second! Having struggled in the first two sessions, Verstappen made it fifth in the final standings. Haas' Magnussen was the "best of the rest" by qualifying sixth. McLaren's Sainz qualified 7th, Haas' Grosjean 8th, Kimi 9th and McLaren's Norris rounded out the top ten. All in all, top teams aside, a very strong qualifying for McLaren and Haas.
Personally, I have to say I was surprised to see Leclerc take pole. He is definitely responding to all expectations in a stunning way. It's also a superb result for the team, as Sebastian made it a front-row lock-out for the Scuderia. This marked the team's 62nd front-row lock-out, which meant a joint record with McLaren and Williams. But what will happen at the start? I'm sure Sebastian doesn't want to settle for P2. He isn't used to look at the rear end of the other red car in the race. History-wise Sebastian hasn't been at his best in situations, where he has been beaten by his teammate. On the other hand, he is wise enough to know, that the benefit of the team is more important than a driver's personal interest. But it's going to be a heck of a battle into Turn 1! I'm sure I'm going to hold my breath, as the lights go out!
Ferrari's pace seemed to be in a class of their own in the heat of the desert. Ferrari debutant Leclerc has previously won an F2 race in Bahrain, and the Monegasque felt at home on the track right from the very first segment. He set an incredible benchmark already on his first attempt, which teammate Sebastian proved unable to match. Unexpectedly, the German was two tenths down on his new teammate. At this point the gap to Mercedes seemed like a light year, as Bottas was a whole second off the Red Team's pace! Red Bull's pace seemed quite modest as well, Verstappen making it only 6th in the standings. Hamilton made a second attempt on the used set of tyres, jumping third in the standings, ahead of his tough Finnish teammate. Once again the battle in the midfield was extremely tight, and Kimi at the wheel of his Alfa Romeo Racing had to squeeze everything out of his car to make it into Q2. Actually the Iceman was the last driver to get through to the second session, whilst teammate Giovinazzi's fate was to be knocked out already in the first session. This time the big name casualty in Q1 was Renault's Hulkenberg, who had had various issues with his car. The rookies Norris and Albon stood out of the crowd, as the Briton made it shining P4 for McLaren and the Thai convincing P6 for Toro Rosso.
As Q2 was kicked off, Leclerc continued where he had left off in the first session. The talented Monegasque stamped his authority all over the place by going fastest by half a second! There was absolutely no chance for the Mercedes duo to match flying Leclerc's performance. After the first runs Sebastian was in tame P6, as his first flyer was everything but problem-free. The German had locked up his front wheels in Turn 10. This proved costly for Sebastian, as he was forced to make a second run at the end of the session, which cost him an extra set of soft tyres. Meanwhile, teammate Leclerc and the Mercedes aces could sit out the second runs. Sebastian managed to bounce back at the end of the session, jumping second in the standings, still unable to beat his teammate's time. As a positive surprise, both McLarens made it among the top ten, which hasn't happened for two years! Kimi, too managed to extract the maximum out of his car, being the last driver to make it through to the last session. Eye-catching was the missing pace of Red Bull. P7 was everything Verstappen was able to pull out in Q2, whilst teammate Gasly missed out on Q3. Renault's Ricciardo was also eliminated in Q2, alongside with the Toro Rosso duo of Albon and Kvyat and Racing Point's Perez.
Which one of the red-suited drivers was going to conquer pole in the darkening night of Bahrain? Sebastian had an extremely convincing statistics on his side, as he had taken three poles and four victories on Bahrain soil in the previous years. However, Leclerc came out and showed, that statistics didn't matter. Setting a flawless lap, the Monegasque had provisional pole firmly in his grasp. Hamilton was two and Bottas three tenths down on the storming Ferrari pilot. After the first runs Haas' Magnussen was fourth and McLaren's Sainz fifth. Q2's mistake compromised Sebastian's Q3, as the German was able to make one attempt only, as well as Red Bull's Verstappen. So everything depended on Sebastian's flying lap. And no, he wasn't able to beat his teammate's lap time! Sebastian ended up two tenths shy of Leclerc's benchmark. Leclerc even managed to improve his time at the end of the session, snatching pole with a new track record! It was extremely tight between Sebastian and the Mercedes drivers, as the gap between Sebastian in P2 and Bottas in P4 was only less than a tenth of a second! Having struggled in the first two sessions, Verstappen made it fifth in the final standings. Haas' Magnussen was the "best of the rest" by qualifying sixth. McLaren's Sainz qualified 7th, Haas' Grosjean 8th, Kimi 9th and McLaren's Norris rounded out the top ten. All in all, top teams aside, a very strong qualifying for McLaren and Haas.
Personally, I have to say I was surprised to see Leclerc take pole. He is definitely responding to all expectations in a stunning way. It's also a superb result for the team, as Sebastian made it a front-row lock-out for the Scuderia. This marked the team's 62nd front-row lock-out, which meant a joint record with McLaren and Williams. But what will happen at the start? I'm sure Sebastian doesn't want to settle for P2. He isn't used to look at the rear end of the other red car in the race. History-wise Sebastian hasn't been at his best in situations, where he has been beaten by his teammate. On the other hand, he is wise enough to know, that the benefit of the team is more important than a driver's personal interest. But it's going to be a heck of a battle into Turn 1! I'm sure I'm going to hold my breath, as the lights go out!
sunnuntai 17. maaliskuuta 2019
Australian GP: Reborn Valtteri Bottas cruised to victory!
Yesterday's qualifying was the first sign, that the Finnish Mercedes ace Valtteri Bottas had reborn during the winter break. At today's start the Finn continued where he left off yesterday. At the lights out Bottas took a magnificent start and stormed to the lead, going into Turn 1. Teammate Hamilton suffered from light wheel spin but managed to keep the second place. Ferrari debutant Leclerc seemed hungry to challenge his teammate for P3. The contact was close, and the Monegasque ended up on the grass, losing a position to Red Bull's Verstappen. Magnussen took an upper hand on his Haas teammate Grosjean at the start, claiming P6. Kimi at the wheel of his Alfa Romeo Racing maintained his 9th place. Home hero Ricciardo had a very unfortunate start; going for a gap he put a wheel on the grass, which caused the whole front wing to fly off. The Australian's race was ruined as he had to pit for a new nose.
By lap 10 Bottas had built up a 3.7-second gap to his teammate. It seemed that the race was perfectly under the flying Finn's control. Meanwhile, Carlos Sainz's McLaren was hit with a power unit issue, and the Spaniard had to stop the car near the pit entry. There were flames coming out from the rear end of his McLaren. The iconic team still seems to suffer from power unit issues, even though they have partnered up with Renault for this season.
Kimi started the pit stop roulette on lap 13; not because he wanted to try an undercut but because he had an issue with the cooling of his brakes. Sebastian pitted two laps later from P3; the German opted for the medium compound, similar to Kimi. Mercedes were forced to react to Sebastian's pit stop. The world champion team called Hamilton in. The Briton opted for a similar tyre choice to his main rival Sebastian. Meanwhile, race leader Bottas stayed out, as he was still setting excellent lap times. He didn't pit until on lap 24, also for the mediums, although Hamilton's pace on those tyres hadn't proved competitive at all. After Verstappen's pit stop Bottas was back in the lead.
On lap 28 Bottas had already opened a massive 15-second gap to Hamilton, who seemed completely unable to match the storming Finn's pace. A lap later Leclerc pitted for a different tyre strategy compared to the other top drivers, as he switched to the hard rubber, and re-joined the track in P5.
Verstappen was absolutely flying on his fresh set of medium Pirellis. The flying Dutchman had smelled Sebastian's blood, and was determined to make it on the podium. To be honest, my heart was bleeding, as I saw Max making a successful overtaking move on the German on lap 31. Although I do secretly admire Max and keep my thumbs up for him, I wouldn't have wanted to see that overtake. In terms of overtaking, Max is really one of a kind, as Albert Park is usually a very challenging circuit to overtake. The pass meant bye-bye for podium for Sebastian...
Last year in Australia Haas were driving an excellent race, until the race of both drivers was ruined after having an issue with the wheel nuts during the pit stops. Unfortunately history repeated itself. Grosjean had a delayed pit stop, and his front-left tyre hadn't been properly attached, which led to the Frenchman's retirement a few laps later. It was a shame, as Grosjean was on his way to score valuable points (P7 most likely).
With 10 laps to go, Bottas' lead to his teammate was unbelievable 25 seconds! Valtteri was driving a race of his life! Red Bull's Verstappen was at Hamilton's tail, lurking for a chance to overtake the Briton. Season 2019 saw a reform of an extra point given to the driver setting the fastest lap time in the race. In my opinion this is an excellent reform, as it makes the closing laps of the race extra interesting.
There was tight battle for positions from P7 to P11 in the midfield. Kimi in P8 was right at Hulkenberg's tail, even making it into DRS distance from time to time, but overtaking proved impossible. Leclerc in P5 was much faster than teammate Sebastian due to his much fresher tyres. The Monegasque rapidly closed the gap to his teammate, but the team didn't give the newcomer a permission to overtake Sebastian.
On lap 55 Verstappen had the fastest lap time in his grasp. However, race leader Bottas was absolutely determined to get the extra point. He said on the team radio: "I want those 26 points." It's amazing, how Bottas has managed to turn last year's difficulties and disappointments into self-confidence and success. Very well done for Valtteri! I hope he shares his secret with Sebastian, as Sebastian, too had a setback-filled last season. And the Finn really snatched the fastest lap time from Max at the end of the race! At the end of the day, Valtteri's winning margin was staggering 20.8 seconds! What a sweeping victory for the Finn, and the perfect way to open the new season! This time Hamilton had to settle for playing the second fiddle. Verstappen completed the podium, as the red-suited drivers had to settle for P4 and P5. After the winter tests there was a huge hype about Ferrari's strong performance and how the Red Team were considered the favorites this year. So I have to admit, that today's result was a big disappointment. Magnussen finished 6th for Haas and Hulkenberg 7th for Renault, whilst teammate Ricciardo had to retire his maiden race at the wheel of Renault. Kimi drove a consistent race and earned four points by finishing 8th. Racing Point's Stroll and Toro Rosso's Kvyat rounded out the top ten.
Ferrari have much homework to do. More than anyone expected before the start of the season. Red Bull's race pace is absolutely convincing, although they are struggling with their one-lap pace. Verstappen is extremely fast, but will teammate Gasly be able to match his teammate's pace? His first GP weekend at Red Bull wasn't convincing at all. After seeing the reborn Valtteri today, this could definitely be his year. Although I was keeping my thumbs up for Sebastian, I have to say it was great to hear the Finnish national anthem today!
By lap 10 Bottas had built up a 3.7-second gap to his teammate. It seemed that the race was perfectly under the flying Finn's control. Meanwhile, Carlos Sainz's McLaren was hit with a power unit issue, and the Spaniard had to stop the car near the pit entry. There were flames coming out from the rear end of his McLaren. The iconic team still seems to suffer from power unit issues, even though they have partnered up with Renault for this season.
Kimi started the pit stop roulette on lap 13; not because he wanted to try an undercut but because he had an issue with the cooling of his brakes. Sebastian pitted two laps later from P3; the German opted for the medium compound, similar to Kimi. Mercedes were forced to react to Sebastian's pit stop. The world champion team called Hamilton in. The Briton opted for a similar tyre choice to his main rival Sebastian. Meanwhile, race leader Bottas stayed out, as he was still setting excellent lap times. He didn't pit until on lap 24, also for the mediums, although Hamilton's pace on those tyres hadn't proved competitive at all. After Verstappen's pit stop Bottas was back in the lead.
On lap 28 Bottas had already opened a massive 15-second gap to Hamilton, who seemed completely unable to match the storming Finn's pace. A lap later Leclerc pitted for a different tyre strategy compared to the other top drivers, as he switched to the hard rubber, and re-joined the track in P5.
Verstappen was absolutely flying on his fresh set of medium Pirellis. The flying Dutchman had smelled Sebastian's blood, and was determined to make it on the podium. To be honest, my heart was bleeding, as I saw Max making a successful overtaking move on the German on lap 31. Although I do secretly admire Max and keep my thumbs up for him, I wouldn't have wanted to see that overtake. In terms of overtaking, Max is really one of a kind, as Albert Park is usually a very challenging circuit to overtake. The pass meant bye-bye for podium for Sebastian...
Last year in Australia Haas were driving an excellent race, until the race of both drivers was ruined after having an issue with the wheel nuts during the pit stops. Unfortunately history repeated itself. Grosjean had a delayed pit stop, and his front-left tyre hadn't been properly attached, which led to the Frenchman's retirement a few laps later. It was a shame, as Grosjean was on his way to score valuable points (P7 most likely).
With 10 laps to go, Bottas' lead to his teammate was unbelievable 25 seconds! Valtteri was driving a race of his life! Red Bull's Verstappen was at Hamilton's tail, lurking for a chance to overtake the Briton. Season 2019 saw a reform of an extra point given to the driver setting the fastest lap time in the race. In my opinion this is an excellent reform, as it makes the closing laps of the race extra interesting.
There was tight battle for positions from P7 to P11 in the midfield. Kimi in P8 was right at Hulkenberg's tail, even making it into DRS distance from time to time, but overtaking proved impossible. Leclerc in P5 was much faster than teammate Sebastian due to his much fresher tyres. The Monegasque rapidly closed the gap to his teammate, but the team didn't give the newcomer a permission to overtake Sebastian.
On lap 55 Verstappen had the fastest lap time in his grasp. However, race leader Bottas was absolutely determined to get the extra point. He said on the team radio: "I want those 26 points." It's amazing, how Bottas has managed to turn last year's difficulties and disappointments into self-confidence and success. Very well done for Valtteri! I hope he shares his secret with Sebastian, as Sebastian, too had a setback-filled last season. And the Finn really snatched the fastest lap time from Max at the end of the race! At the end of the day, Valtteri's winning margin was staggering 20.8 seconds! What a sweeping victory for the Finn, and the perfect way to open the new season! This time Hamilton had to settle for playing the second fiddle. Verstappen completed the podium, as the red-suited drivers had to settle for P4 and P5. After the winter tests there was a huge hype about Ferrari's strong performance and how the Red Team were considered the favorites this year. So I have to admit, that today's result was a big disappointment. Magnussen finished 6th for Haas and Hulkenberg 7th for Renault, whilst teammate Ricciardo had to retire his maiden race at the wheel of Renault. Kimi drove a consistent race and earned four points by finishing 8th. Racing Point's Stroll and Toro Rosso's Kvyat rounded out the top ten.
Ferrari have much homework to do. More than anyone expected before the start of the season. Red Bull's race pace is absolutely convincing, although they are struggling with their one-lap pace. Verstappen is extremely fast, but will teammate Gasly be able to match his teammate's pace? His first GP weekend at Red Bull wasn't convincing at all. After seeing the reborn Valtteri today, this could definitely be his year. Although I was keeping my thumbs up for Sebastian, I have to say it was great to hear the Finnish national anthem today!
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