Belgian GP / Qualifying: Leclerc led Ferrari to a front row lock-out!

What a delight, that F1 is finally back from the four-week summer break! The legendary old school circuit of Spa Francorchamps was the perfect venue to kick off the second half of the season. Against the odds, the weather was perfect as well. The sun was shining, and there were scorching 29 degrees Celsius, as the qualifying got underway.

The championship leader Hamilton had crashed out at Turn 12 in the last free practice session, which was a rarely-seen mistake from the five-time world champion. The mechanics were still working on the Briton's car, as the light turned green for Q1. However, the first session had a dramatic start. Kubica's Williams was hit with a sudden power unit failure, which saw a dramatic smoke cloud around the car, with also flames coming out of the rear of the Pole's Williams. The session was red-flagged, which gave the Mercedes mechanics some extra time to get Hamilton's car fixed for the qualifying. As the session was resumed, Verstappen reported on the team radio, that he had a problem of the car not responding to the throttle. Ferraris had topped all three practice sessions; their straight line pace was utterly in a class of their own. Leclerc went fastest, edging his teammate Sebastian by half a second. However, Bottas in third was unbelievable 1.5s off the leading Ferrari's pace! On the first sector alone, the red cars were six to seven tenths faster than the Silver Arrows! It felt so incredible to see such a difference in favor of the Italian team, as all pole positions at Spa during the modern turbo hybrid era have been conquered by a Mercedes driver. Red Bull managed to get Verstappen's RB15 back to top form by the end of the session, and the flying Dutchman went third fastest at the end of the first segment. His new teammate Albon, who had been promoted to Red Bull from Toro Rosso during the summer break, was sixth fastest in Q1. Gasly, who had been demoted back to the sister team Toro Rosso, was the first driver to miss out on Q2. The session was red-flagged again, with less than a minute remaining in the clock, as Alfa Romeo's Giovinazzi was also hit with a power unit failure. Out with Gasly went McLaren's Sainz, the Frenchman's teammate Kvyat and the Williams duo of Russell and Kubica.

The start of the second session was slightly delayed due to Giovinazzi's incident. All top teams came out on the red-walled soft Pirellis. The young Ferrari ace continued, where he had left off in the first session. Once again he set the screens purple and went fastest, pipping his teammate by a tenth only. Unbelievably, the Silver Arrows were toothless against the Ferraris, with Hamilton third and Bottas fourth. Verstappen was fifth, also dearly missing the straight line speed. Kimi had set an extremely impressive lap time, as the Iceman in P6 was only eight thousandths of a second down on Verstappen! Kimi is called "the king of Spa" for a reason indeed! Albon hadn't set a competitive lap time towards the end of the session, but the Thai driver wasn't even targeting to get into Q3. Due to multiple power unit element changes, Albon is going to start to the race from the very back of the grid anyway. At the closing stages of the second segment, both red-suited drivers improved their lap times, with Leclerc maintaining the upper hand on his teammate. However, Sebastian' gap to Charles was a minimal 0.099s. In addition to Albon and Giovinazzi, Haas' Grosjean, McLaren's Norris and Racing Point's Perez were eliminated from the last segment.

Leclerc was absolutely determined to go for pole. He laid down a marker early in the final segment, going fastest in the first runs. Hamilton was second fastest, six tenths down on Charles. Sebastian made a mistake on his first attempt, which left him massive eight tenths off his teammate's pace. Bottas was fourth and Verstappen fifth. Renault showed impressive performance, with Ricciardo 6th after the first runs. Kimi had made his first flyer on a used set of softs, and the Iceman was only 8th. As the two previous sessions had indicated, there was no one to challenge Leclerc for pole. The Monegasque improved his lap time by a tenth on his last flyer. Sebastian managed to improve, too, and the German made it a front row lock-out for the Scuderia. Nevertheless, Sebastian was massive seven tenths off Charles' pace! Sebastian's last flyer had left a little to hope for, as he had locked up his tyres, but it was so great to see the red cars conquer the front row! The Silver Arrows were left on the second row, with Hamilton having the upper hand on teammate Bottas, whose contract with Mercedes had just been renewed for the 2020 season. Verstappen in fifth was 1.1s down on pole-setter Charles, which was a bit surprising. The Renault duo of Ricciardo and Hulkenberg qualified 6th and 7th, but both of them have been handed a 5-place grid penalty for power unit element changes. That makes Kimi jump 6th on the grid!

Charles will start on pole for the third time in his career. Mercedes' long-run pace was slightly better than Ferrari's on Friday's practice, so they might have a real chance to challenge the red cars for the victory. Sebastian has had a long dry season, as he took his last win at Spa last year. The weather forecast says, that the temperature will drop by ten degrees by tomorrow, and there might be some rain on the way... So there might be some surprises as well.

Hungarian GP: Verstappen wasn't quite able to turn maiden pole into victory!

The Ferrari motor home was utterly impressive.

I had the unforgettable experience to watch the Hungarian GP live at Hungaroring. It is always a dream come true to get into the F1 world! I had a chance to watch the first free practice session at the Ferrari garage. It was absolutely awesome to follow, how the mechanics worked on Sebastian's car. Charles tested the new floor on his SF90 first, and it took half an hour, as the mechanics changed the new floor to Sebastian's Lina. I didn't understand the technical details, what the mechanics were actually doing, but I enjoyed watching all the action so closely. I was absolutely touched, that Sebastian came to me to say a few words in the middle of the practice session.

After the FP1 I had a chat with Sebastian's physio Antti.

Of course I had to take a look at the drivers' parking area!

The qualifying session was a memorable one! Charles had a shunt in the first session, which caused major damage to his rear wing. The Red Team made an amazing job, managing to fix it in time for Q2. The top teams' pace seemed very evenly matched, as all five drivers -Hamilton, Verstappen, Bottas, Leclerc and Vettel- were all within three tenths of a second only! Q2 saw the familiar tyre strategy in terms of the top teams, which opted for the yellow-walled medium compound.

The battle for pole gave me chills. Verstappen laid his hands on provisional pole on his first flyer. The flying Dutchman was absolutely on fire, improving his lap time on his second run. Bottas, who was in P2 after his first attempt, also managed to improve on his last run. It was extremely tight, but Max made it on pole by 0.018s to the Finn! It was such a joy to see Max take his maiden pole at Hungaroring! Hamilton was left third this time. Unfortunately the red cars didn't have enough pace to fight for pole; Charles qualified fourth and Sebastian fifth. In spite of his shunt, Charles managed to out-qualify his teammate, which caught me by surprise.

Sebastian on the start/finish straight at Hungaroring.

I wanted to take a photo with "Max the lion", although some Verstappen fans thought, that the lion shouldn't have agreed to take a photo with me! :D :D :D

The top three of the qualifying.

It was so thrilling to see the start in front of my very eyes! This time Verstappen took a superb start, maintaining his lead. Now it was Bottas, who struggled with his start. The Finn locked up his tyres at first two corners, and he had contact with both his teammate and Leclerc! He lost positions to both drivers. Due to the contact with Charles, Bottas had severe damage to his front wing. Even Sebastian managed to pass Bottas, who dropped down to P5 in no time. Surprisingly, Bottas didn't pit until on lap 6 for a new nose cone and a fresh set of hard tyres. He re-joined the track at the very back of the pack. 

Race leader Verstappen opened the pit stop roulette in terms of the top drivers. The Dutchman opted for hard rubber, and re-joined the track in P2. Ferrari called Charles in for a similar tyre strategy. However, Hamilton came in not until on lap 31, opting for hard Pirellis as well. After his pit stop Hamilton was six seconds down on Verstappen, but started "hammertime" immediately. It didn't take many laps, until Verstappen was in serious trouble with storming Hamilton. It was absolutely hair-raising to watch, how the Briton was right at Max's tail, lurking for a chance to get past! Hamilton even made a move, ending up wide, so Max was able to maintain his lead. However, it seemed to be only a matter of time, that Hamilton was going to snatch the lead... 

Sebastian was on a different tyre strategy. The German pitted on lap 40, for a fresh set of soft tyres. Unfortunately there was an issue with attaching one of the front tyres, which cost Sebastian some extra seconds. Sebastian re-joined the track in P4. To my surprise, Hamilton pitted for the second time on lap 49, switching to the medium compound. The Briton was 20 seconds down on race leader Verstappen, but Hamilton started to set the screens purple lap after lap... He was absolutely determined to hunt down Verstappen by the end of the race. 

With only three laps to go, Hamilton had closed the gap to Max, who was lacking grip due to his outworn tyres. In the end, it was easy for Hamilton to swipe past Verstappen, who had no chance to defend his lead. A wave of disappointment hit me that moment. To be honest, I would have wanted to see Max win the race! But this time Hamilton was on a better strategy. Max pitted on the sequential lap, switching to a fresh set of soft tyres. Max was going for the fastest lap time. Meanwhile, Sebastian had also closed the gap to his teammate, whose tyres were gone. Sebastian moved past Charles, claiming P3. 

At the end of the day, Hamilton cruised to victory with a 17-second gap to Verstappen, who finished the runner-up. I was very delighted to see Sebastian completing the podium, leaving his teammate fourth. Sainz finished fifth for Renault, Gasly sixth for Red Bull and Kimi seventh for Alfa Romeo Racing. In the end, Bottas was able to make it eighth, but Hamilton increased his championship lead into 62 points already.

The starting grid for the Hungarian GP.

Podium: Hamilton 1st, Verstappen 2nd and Sebastian 3rd.

Now it's time for the four-week summer break. I really enjoyed my time in the hectic F1 world from the bottom of my heart. For those four days I forgot all my worries. I wish I could attend a GP weekend more often! Nevertheless, I'm extremely grateful, that I had a chance to attend the Hungarian GP <3 It was a perfect way to celebrate our 20th wedding anniversary with my husband!

Me and my husband enjoyed every second at Hungaroring.

Charles Leclerc left Hungaroring in his blue Ferrari.

Pole-setter Verstappen leaving the track in his Aston Martin.

Sebastian didn't leave, until it was already dark.

German GP: Sensational Sebastian from P20 to P2 in a crash-filled race!

Scorching heat had turned into steady rain, as 20 cars lined up for the formation lap, which took place behind the safety car. Several formation laps were driven, and all cars had the full-wets on. In drivers' opinion the conditions were okay for racing, and there was a standing start. Hamilton took a clean start from pole, but Verstappen got a lousy start instead. Bottas stormed to P2, so the Silver Arrows had a familiar double lead. Kimi had taken a sensational start from P5, making his way up to P3. Unfortunately Kimi went wide on the second lap, which enabled Verstappen to attack the Finn right away, snatching P3 from the Iceman.

The first safety car episode took place already on lap 3. Perez lost control of his pink-colored Racing Point, ending up into the barrier. The conditions were slippery, but Sebastian drove into the pits, switching to the green-walled intermediate compound. Other drivers followed Sebastian's example, pitting for the intermediates. Unfortunately Kimi's pit stop didn't go to plan, and the Iceman dropped down to P11, when re-joining the track.

As the race was back on, the Silver Arrows were still in the double lead. Verstappen was third and Leclerc fourth. The Monegasque had made great progress, as he had started to the race from modest P10. Renault's Hulkenberg was fifth in the race. Teammate Ricciardo was responsible for the next retirement. His black and yellow Renault suffered a power unit failure, which led into a sudden halt on the track. This time virtual safety car was deployed. Ferrari reacted right away, calling Charles in. The young Ferrari ace switched to a fresh set of intermediates, as did Renault's Hulkenberg.

The track conditions had improved to an extent, that DRS was enabled. Haas' Magnussen was the first driver to pit for slicks. It seemed like a risky call, but Ferrari reacted immediately and called Sebastian in. The German re-joined the track on a fresh set of soft Pirellis. Verstappen, on the other hand, pitted for a fresh set of medium tyres. However, it didn't turn out easy for Max to keep his RB15 between the white lines. He had a 360-degree spin only a couple of laps after his pit stop, but luckily he didn't hit anything. Meanwhile, McLaren's Norris was hit with a technical failure, which brought out the virtual safety car. Both Leclerc and Hamilton pitted for the softs.

Lap 30 saw the second safety car episode. This time there was Ferrari ace Leclerc in the limelight of the drama. This was the very first wet race for the Monegasque in Formula 1, and the tricky conditions caught him by surprise. Charles suddenly lost control of his SF90 in the second last corner, and he ended up in the barrier. What a disappointing moment for Charles, who had made excellent job that far! However, Charles wasn't the only top driver casualty on the very same lap. Hamilton, too made a mistake and broke his front wing when hitting the barrier. The Briton drove at the wrong side of the bollard when entering the pits, so he was taken into investigation by the stewards. And unfortunately that wasn't  the only setback for the Briton. The tyres weren't ready, as Hamilton stopped on his pit box! In the end, the pit stop took unbelievable 50 seconds for the unlucky Mercedes ace! He re-joined the track on the intermediates, but his race had just turned into a nightmare.

All drivers pitted to get the intermediates back on, and the pecking order was certainly interesting. Verstappen was now leading the race, with Hulkenberg second and Bottas third!Toro Rosso's Albon was sensational fourth, Hamilton fifth, Sainz sixth, Kimi seventh and Sebastian eighth. As the re-start took place, Verstappen opened up a two-second gap to Hulkenberg right away. Hamilton, on the other hand, was handed a 5-second time penalty for driving at the wrong side of the bollard at the pit entry. Both Mercedes drivers managed to get past Hulkenberg, one by one. Kimi, unfortunately, made a mistake by going off in the second last corner, and the Iceman dropped down to P10.

The incident on lap 40 brought out the safety car for the third time. Once again it was the second last corner, which took another casualty. This time it was Renault's Hulkenberg, who lost control of his car, crashing into the barrier! Such a shame for the German, who had been performing very well in front of his home crowd! Verstappen pitted from the lead, opting for a fresh set of intermediate Pirellis. The lion-hearted Dutchman was just barely able to maintain his lead. Also Sebastian pitted for fresh intermediate tyres.

After the re-start it was time for the pit stop roulette for slicks. I couldn't believe my eyes, as I saw the pecking order after the pit stop roulette. Verstappen was leading the race, which was well-deserved. But who would have thought, that Racing Point's Stroll could be as high as P2 and Toro Rosso's Kvyat in P3? Bottas was fourth, Sainz was fifth, Magnussen sixth, Albon seventh and Gasly eighth. Sebastian was in P9 at that point, followed by Haas' Grosjean.

On lap 53 it was Hamilton's turn to go off in the second last corner! The Briton avoided hitting the barrier just barely. And only four laps later, teammate Bottas made an almost identical mistake in the very same corner, losing control of his W10! The Finn didn't get as lucky as his teammate, as he crashed into the wall. Now that Hamilton was out of points, it would have been vital for Valtteri to score as many points as possible to decrease the gap to Hamilton in the drivers' championship standings! Bottas' crash brought out the safety car for the fourth time already! What an utterly crazy race!

There were five laps to go, as the last re-start took place. This time it was obvious, that Max was going to take the victory. He had definitely unleashed the lion in these challenging conditions! Sebastian was in P5, and he had decided to open up the overtaking show. His first victim was Sainz in his McLaren; Sebastian made a determined move, jumping to P4. Now he had all eyes on Stroll, whom he attacked next. "The good old Sebastian" was definitely back! After claiming P3 he smelled Kvyat's blood. With self-confidence Sebastian passed the Russian "Torpedo", laying his hands on P2. Max was too far away, but Sebastian's rise from P20 to P2 was absolutely beyond words! A sensational drive from Sebastian indeed! I absolutely loved his performance on the track!

Phenomenal Max took his 7th career win and also the extra point for the fastest lap time. In addition to Max and Sebastian, it's definitely worth mentioning, that Toro Rosso's Kvyat made it on the podium! What a fantastic drive from the Russian, who has also had difficult times in his career! Stroll finished fourth for Racing Point, which was impressive as well. The other top ten finishers were Sainz, Albon, Räikkönen, Giovinazzi, Grosjean and Magnussen. However, both Alfa Romeos got excluded from the results after the race, due to a starting system infringement. So Hamilton made it in the points after all!

I'm afraid, that this was a turning point in the world championship battle. Bottas has 41 points to catch in ten races only. I definitely hope, that this race was a turning point for the better for Sebastian. The last race before the summer break will take place already next week, as the F1 circus moves to the hot city of Budapest. And I'll be there to watch all action live! I'll travel to Budapest already on the day after tomorrow. I can't wait to get into the Formula 1 world again! Forza Ferrari!

German GP / Qualifying: Reliability issues made Ferrari's day pitch-black!

It had been scorching hot at Hockenheim Ring during the first free practices, as temperature had climbed up to unusual 38 degrees Celsius. By the time of the qualifying though, the temperature had "cooled down", as there were "only" 28 degrees. Hot weather anticipated trouble for Mercedes.

Against the odds, it was a whole different team, that was in trouble on the German soil. As home hero Sebastian came out in Q1, he immediately reported on the team radio, that he was lacking power. The issue forced Sebastian to return to the pits with no time set. It was a sad and frustrating moment, as Sebastian had shown excellent pace in the free practices, having topped the first session. There really seems to be some kind of a curse in terms of Sebastian and his home race. The issue was turbo-related, and the team proved unable to fix it, which meant, that Sebastian was out of qualifying. Meanwhile, the Mercedes duo came out at the halfway point of the first session. However, they were other guys, who were topping the time sheets. Ferrari ace Leclerc went fastest, with Red Bull's Verstappen second. Kimi showed superb performance at the wheel of his Alfa Romeo, and the Iceman was in stunning P3 after the first runs. The other Finn Bottas could only make it fourth. Teammate Hamilton seemed to struggle to get a good lap together, but with three minutes remaining, the reigning world champion jumped third. Red Bull's Gasly also continued his good performances, and went fourth fastest at the closing stages of the first session. Alongside unfortunate Sebastian, out of Q2 were McLaren's Norris, Toro Rosso's Albon and the Williams duo of Russell and Kubica.

Very predictably, the Mercedes drivers and Leclerc, the only driver representing the Red Team at this point, came out on the yellow-walled more durable rubber. Hamilton set the fastest lap time on his first attempt, but Charles was only a tenth down. Bottas, who hadn't quite found the rhythm yet, was third. Red Bull sent Verstappen out on the mediums as well, but the Dutchman hit trouble on his first flyer. He had an engine-related issue, and he had to pit, with no time set. Teammate Gasly, on the other hand, came out on the softs, and went third fastest. The team managed to fix Verstappen's issue, and the flying Dutchman came out on the soft compound at the end of the second session, ending up fourth in the standings. The red and white Alfa Romeo seemed to come alive in the experienced hands of the Iceman. Kimi jumped sixth at the end of the session, meanwhile teammate Giovinazzi was unable to make it within the top ten. The pecking order was quite mixed, as Mercedes and Red Bull were the only teams with both drivers among the top ten. In addition to Giovinazzi, Haas' Magnussen, Renault's Ricciardo, Toro Rosso's Kvyat and Racing Point's Stroll were eliminated from the last segment.

Leclerc seemed to be a serious contender to challenge the Mercedes duo for pole. But there was something worrying happening in Charles' pit box, as the last session was about to get underway. There were mechanics working on the right side of Charles' SF90, which indicated problems. And soon it became obvious, that the issue in the fuel system was so severe, that Charles' qualifying was over! I couldn't believe, that both red cars were out of qualifying due to reliability issues! Absolutely unforgivable! Hamilton had it easy to lay his hands on the provisional pole, with Verstappen second and Bottas third. The gap between the Silver Arrows was surprisingly big, as Bottas was almost half a second off his teammate. Due to having only one fresh set of softs left, both Kimi and Hulkenberg made one run only. And Kimi made a spectacular job, making it fifth, only 0.016s down on Gasly! The second runs didn't change the order of the top four. Although Mercedes were struggling with their pace in the heat, once again Hamilton made it on pole. Verstappen completed the front row, with Bottas third and Gasly fourth. Grosjean was 6th for Haas, Sainz 7th for McLaren, Perez 8th for Racing Point and Hulkenberg 9th for Renault. Having set no time, Charles was left in P10 on the grid.

Ferrari are shooting themselves in the leg. They had the upper hand coming to this weekend. They could have had pole in their hands! And they threw it away. Reliability issues like this are unforgivable! Even one car out of qualifying is bad, but two cars out is a catastrophy! I feel so frustrated. It doesn't matter, whether Mercedes are setting the pace or struggling to find it, either one of the Merc drivers still ends up on pole! Ferrari can't afford making mistakes like this! This is why they don't deserve the world championship this year. The race will be difficult... whether it's dry or it rains.

Verstappen will have a strong chance to win the race, although he's starting to the race on the soft Pirellis. But the flying Dutchman is extremely good with tyre management, so I'm sure he'll challenge Hamilton for the victory for real. I have no idea, what tomorrow's race will hold for the red-suited drivers, but I believe, that every new day is a chance for something good. Forza Ferrari!

British GP: What has happened to Sebastian Vettel?

The tension intensified, as the cars lined up on the grid at iconic Silverstone. Hamilton did everything he could to challenge his teammate for the lead. But the Finn was stubborn to defend his lead, and wasn't going to be robbed of it by Hamilton. Leclerc, who had started to the race on the softs, maintained his third place, and was followed by Red Bull's Verstappen. Sebastian had taken an excellent start from P6, jumping a position right away by overtaking Gasly. Bottas seemed unable to shake Hamilton off, and there was a wheel-banging battle between the Silver Arrows. On lap 4 Hamilton saw his chance and squeezed bodily past the Finn. However, Valtteri disagreed with his teammate's intention to take the lead, and passed home hero Hamilton at Copse, which isn't a typical place for overtaking at all. This was F1 racing at its best!

Sebastian struggled with his race pace, and Red Bull's Gasly managed to pass him on lap 12. The Frenchman opened the pit stop roulette on the very same lap, switching to the hard Pirellis. Leclerc and Verstappen, who had a duel of their own, drove into the pits a lap later. Now it was all down to the pit stop crew; which one of the drivers would come ahead? As the Red Team released Charles from the pit box, he was side by side with Verstappen. Aggressive Max took the upper hand, squeezing himself ahead of the Monegasque. Having re-joined the track, the duo continued, where they had left off in Austria. Charles attacked his coeval on lap 14, and made a successful overtaking move! Their racing was such a pleasure to watch. I'm pretty sure, that both of these drivers will win the world championship in the future.

Bottas pitted for a different tyre choice to his main rivals; the Finn opted for another set of medium tyres. This meant, that Valtteri was on a two-stop strategy. However, lap 20 was a turning point in the race. Alfa Romeo's Giovinazzi suffered a puncture in high speed, which made the Italian go off and get stuck on the gravel. Safety car was deployed. As Hamilton and Sebastian hadn't pitted yet, they now got a free pit stop! Both drove into the pits and switched to the hard compound. Thanks to the safety car, Hamilton managed to snatch the race lead from his teammate! Sebastian had also moved up to third, and his teammate Charles, on the other hand, had dropped down to P6.

Gasly had made it ahead of his teammate during the safety car episode, but soon after the re-start Max attacked his teammate, claiming back P4. Some laps later also Leclerc made it past Gasly. Lap 38 was another turning point in the race. Flying Verstappen had closed the gap to Sebastian, and was determined to attack the German. Which the aggressive Dutchman also did, making it past Sebastian. But Sebastian didn't want to settle for the fourth place. However, he misjudged Max's moves and ended up hitting the rear of Max's RB15! They both went off, but were able continue the race. Sebastian had major damage to his Lina's front wing, and he had to limp into the pits. The nose change dropped him to the very back of the pack. Max got away from the collision with less damage, and he was now in P5. What a fateful mistake from Sebastian again! What has happened to the four-time world champion? I was absolutely flabbergasted.

On lap 46 Bottas pitted for the second time, to fulfill the tyre regulation. His second place was secured, so he re-joined the track in P2, over 20 seconds off race leader Hamilton. The Briton crossed the finish line as the race winner, claiming his 6th victory on home soil already. In addition to the victory, Hamilton also grabbed the extra point for the fastest lap time. Bottas had driven a phenomenal qualifying and a perfect-looking race, but he was still beaten by his teammate. Leclerc completed the podium, which was well-deserved. Gasly, who finally managed to deliver, finished fourth, followed by his teammate Verstappen. Renault's Sainz was "the winner of the midfield", as the Spaniard finished 6th, followed by Renault's Ricciardo and Alfa Romeo's Kimi. Toro Rosso's Kvyat and Renault's Hulkenberg completed the top ten.

Hamilton has now a 39-point lead in the drivers' championship standings. It requires a miracle, if Bottas manages to win the world championship this year. Verstappen passed Sebastian in the standings, moving third. Sebastian is now 13 points down on the astonishingly-performing Dutchman, and Charles is only three points off Sebastian. It seems, that Sebastian is losing his position as the number one driver in the team. Something has definitely happened to Sebastian after last year's German GP, where Sebastian lost the lead and race win by driving off in low speed. After that it has been mistakes one after another. It isn't easy to turn the negative cycle around, but that has to be done in one way or another. Fans, me included, believe in Sebastian, and we know, that he still has so much to give for the F1 world. Hopefully this year's German GP will make new wonderful memories!

British GP / Qualifying: Bottas snatched pole in front of home hero Hamilton's nose!

It was typical British weather, as qualifying got underway. Temperature was 18 degrees Celsius, and the sky was dark grey. Statistically it rains one in three days in the UK, so this could well be one of those days. Tyre-wise Ferrari repeated the strategy used in Austria; both Sebastian and Charles came out on the medium Pirellis. Especially Charles' pace was utterly convincing, and the Monegasque went fastest straight away. Sebastian had it more difficult; the German was only fourth after his first attempt. However, as soon as home hero Hamilton came out on the soft rubber, he took the top spot, but by one tenth only. Verstappen showed improved pace as well, and the Austrian GP winner was third fastest. Bottas hadn't found his rhythm yet, and the Finn was fourth in the first session. Sebastian proved unable to match his teammate's pace, and he was in tame P5. I couldn't help wondering, why he was lacking pace so badly. Kimi's Q2 entrance was down to the final attempt. The Iceman delivered, when it mattered the most, and jumped to P13.  Out of Q2 were Haas' Magnussen, Toro Rosso's Kvyat, Racing Point's Stroll and the Williams duo of Russell and Kubica.

Silverstone is known to be very hard on the tyres, so the soft compound isn't expected to have very long life expectancy. So it was no surprise, that Mercedes sent their drivers out on the medium compound. Earlier this season, Red Bull have sent only Verstappen out on the medium rubber, but this time also Gasly opted for the yellow-marked compound. Ferrari's strategy was a surprise instead. Charles opted for medium Pirellis, but Sebastian came out on the soft rubber! And in spite of the tyre choice, Sebastian was absolutely struggling with his pace. Whilst teammate Charles went fastest on the mediums, Sebastian was only 8th after his first run, massive eight tenths off the pace! Verstappen's teammate Gasly has under-performed badly during the first third of the season, but coming to Silverstone, the Frenchman seemed to have picked up some pace. It was eye-catching, that after the first runs, Gasly was faster than his wind-fast teammate. At the end of the second segment, Sebastian came out on another set of softs. This time he managed to put together a decent lap, moving fifth. Unbelievable but true, also Charles came out on the softs in the end, improving his lap time, which means, that he has to start to the race on the soft compound. Bottas was second, Hamilton third and Verstappen fourth. Could Charles challenge the Silver Arrows for pole for real? The Alfa Romeo duo of Giovinazzi and Räikkönen were the first drivers to miss out on Q3. Nevertheless, teammate Giovinazzi managed to out-qualify his Finnish teammate again, the Italian being 11th fastest. Also McLaren's Sainz, Haas' Grosjean and Racing Point's Perez were eliminated from the final session.

Hamilton had claimed six pole positions on his home turf already. Would he be able to take the record-breaking seventh one? His teammate seemed to disagree with that. Bottas clocked an outstanding lap time, taking the provisional pole. Hamilton made a slight mistake on his first flyer, losing the rear of his W09 for a fleeting moment, and the Briton was two tenths down on his teammate. Flying Verstappen gave his answer, jumping third. Leclerc's first flyer left a little to hope for, and the young Ferrari ace was fourth, with Gasly fifth and Sebastian sixth. Sebastian was six tenths down on Bottas, which was incomprehensible. The track conditions varied from session to session, depending much on the wind. Bottas didn't improve his lap time on his last run. Hamilton put together an extremely competitive lap, but missed out on pole by six thousandths of a second! That was a teeny tiny margin indeed! Charles improved, too on his last run, and the battle was very tight. Charles was left third, only 0.079s off pole-setter Bottas! Verstappen qualified fourth, with teammate Gasly fifth. I couldn't believe my eyes, that Sebastian was really left in P6, almost seven tenths off the pace! What has happened to Sebastian, who could pull out a perfect lap, whenever it was needed? I know his skills haven't gone anywhere. But there has to be a reason why he is struggling so badly. Renault's Ricciardo was the leader of the midfield, qualifying 7th, with McLaren's Norris eighth. Albon in his Toro Rosso and Hulkenberg in his Renault rounded out the top ten.

Tomorrow's race will certainly be interesting. The Silver Arrows on the front row will start on the medium Pirellis, but Charles in P3 will have the softs on. Do Ferrari know something, that their rivals don't? Will a two-stopper be the right strategy? Or is it even possible to make a one-stop strategy work, even if you start on the mediums? The long runs on Friday showed, that Mercedes have the best long-run pace. But tyre-wise, Verstappen might have an advantage, as the flying Dutchman is extremely skillful with tyre management. I hope, that Sebastian will find more pace for the race. It hurts to see him struggling like that. All the best, Sebastian, I'll be holding my thumbs up for you! Forza Ferrari!

Austrian GP: Phenomenal Verstappen stole the victory from Leclerc!

It was scorching hot at Red Bull Ring, as the cars lined up for the formation lap. Because Magnussen had been given the penalty before Hamilton, the Briton dropped down only two places instead of three. It meant, that Hamilton started to the race from P4, alongside his teammate Bottas. As the lights went out, Leclerc accelerated into the lead. Verstappen in P2, on the other hand, had a catastrophic start. His RB15 went into the anti-stall mode, which cost dearly for the Dutchman. Bottas took the second place, and was followed by teammate Hamilton. Kimi, who started to the race from P6, had an amazing start. The Iceman managed to jump two positions on the opening lap, and was in sensational P4! McLaren's Norris was 5th and Sebastian had made it from P9 to P6. Verstappen, instead, had dropped down to P7 due to his poor start.

Sebastian's race pace on the soft Pirellis proved excellent, and the German put pressure on Norris. The young Briton defended his position as well as he could, but determined Sebastian found his way past the McLaren pilot. In no time Sebastian was right at Kimi's tail. In spite of the magnificent start, Alfa Romeo's race pace was no match to Ferrari's pace, and Sebastian overtook his ex-teammate, claiming P4 already. Also Verstappen made his way through the field; having passed both Norris and Kimi, the flying Dutchman started hunting Sebastian.

Leclerc was safely controlling the race. Bottas was 3.8 seconds down on the race leader, and Hamilton was 2.4 seconds off his teammate. Sebastian was three seconds down on Hamilton, with one third of the race done. Meanwhile, further down in the pack, Kimi was having an intense battle with Red Bull's Gasly for P7. The Frenchman seemed to have more pace, but experienced Kimi was able to predict every overtaking move, defending his position skillfully.

On lap 22 both Bottas and Vettel pitted for a fresh set of hard Pirellis. The pit stop cost the Finn an extra second or two, as the team had to wait for a moment before releasing Bottas, as Sebastian drove past Bottas' pit box. But Sebastian's pit stop was far from perfect as well. The team had difficulties with attaching one of his tyres, which made the pit stop last five seconds longer than normally. Race leader Leclerc also pitted for a similar tyre strategy to his teammate. Hamilton stayed out, and was now leading the race, with Verstappen second.

However, Hamilton reported on the team radio, that he felt he was missing downforce. He asked the team to check his front wing. The team called him in on lap 30, and they changed him a new front wing. This cost the Briton ten extra seconds, which enabled Sebastian to jump ahead Hamilton during the Briton's pit stop. Verstappen pitted two laps after Hamilton, switching to the hard rubber as well. Due to Hamilton's delayed pit stop, also Max managed to move ahead of the Briton, when re-joining the track.

Around the halfway point of the race, Leclerc was leading the race by 4 seconds to Bottas. Sebastian was third, 4.5 seconds behind the Finn. Sebastian kept banging fastest lap times, rapidly closing the gap to Valtteri. At this point it seemed, that a podium finish would well be within Sebastian's reach. On the other hand, there was certain flying Dutchman sneaking behind Sebastian. Max was absolutely flying on his fresh hard tyres, and Max started to clock fastest lap times.

It was "a piece of cake" for Max to get within DRS distance from Sebastian, whose tyres were ten laps older than Max's. The pressure from Max was immense... Sebastian defended his position like a lion for many laps. However, with 20 laps to go, Max attacked into the outside of Sebastian, overtaking the German successfully. Once having got past, Max soon disappeared into the horizon. Ferrari reacted right away and called Sebastian in for the second time. Sebastian switched to the red-marked soft compound, and re-joined the track behind Hamilton. A determined chase began...

It seemed, that Max's pace got better and better towards the end of the race. The flying Red Bull ace was a second per lap faster than Bottas, who wasn't able to extract the maximum out of his W09, due to an overheating issue. Max already smelled the Finn's blood. On lap 54 Max had closed the gap to Valtteri and was right at the Finn's tail. Max attacked Valtteri many times, and on lap 56 he squeezed it past the Finn! The orange grand stands were cheering fiercely. At this point Max realized, that even victory was within his reach. It was obvious, that Max was seriously going for the victory!

Leclerc, who had stopped ten laps before Verstappen, had a 4.5-second lead. But it was only another mission to be accomplished for the wind-fast Verstappen. With six more laps to go, Max had made it right at the tail of Leclerc. Max showed himself in the Monegasque's mirrors continually, and the overtaking move seemed to be only a matter of time. It was a fierce wheel-to-wheel battle indeed. Max pushed himself into the inside of Leclerc, but the Ferrari ace managed to keep his position -just barely. Only three laps before the chequered flag, Max had decided to take the victory. He attacked Leclerc again, pushing the Ferrari ace wide, moving past Charles. There was even a light contact between the two. It was pure racing at its very best! However, Charles disagreed, and the stewards took the incident into investigation. Hopefully there won't be any result-changing penalties this time!

Behind the top two, there was intense battle between Sebastian and Hamilton for P4. Sebastian had chased down the Briton, making it into the DRS zone. And on the second last lap, Sebastian squeezed past Hamilton, claiming P4! Bottas was only a couple of seconds ahead, and Sebastian started his chase. And he managed to catch the Finn, but the laps ran out. Sensational Max took his first win of the season, which was his sixth career win. I was so happy for Max, he was simply phenomenal at the wheel of his RB15! Disappointed Charles finished the runner-up. Bottas completed the podium, with Sebastian fourth and Hamilton fifth. Once again McLaren delivered a strong race, as Norris finished 6th and teammate Sainz 8th. The McLaren duo was split by Red Bull's Gasly. Alfa Romeo showed impressive performance as well, as Kimi finished 9th and teammate Giovinazzi 10th, scoring his first point of the season.

Hamilton's championship lead shrank into 31 points, which is still a lot of points. Thanks to Max's phenomenal victory, he passed Sebastian in the championship standings, moving third. What an action-packed and entertaining race the Austrian GP turned out! This is definitely, what the fans want to see. Max and Charles marked the youngest 1-2 in the F1 history, with the average age of 21 years and 265 days. Hopefully there's more action like this coming at Silverstone in a fortnight!