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!

Austrian GP / Qualifying: Leclerc stole the show by conquering pole!

Spielberg, Austria was under a massive heat wave, as the F1 circus arrived at Red Bull Ring for round 9. The circuit was expected to suit Mercedes in a superior way. However, qualifying proved to be full of surprises, which was a refreshing wind of change.

The first surprise was seen already in Q1. Against all odds, both Ferraris came out on the medium tyres. Leclerc went fastest, with teammate Sebastian third after their first runs. Mercedes' pace seemed surprisingly tame on the soft Pirellis. I thought they were sandbagging, and there was much more to come from them in the following segments. Kimi's first flyer was ruined by Hamilton, who impeded the Iceman. Kimi was in a worrying P16, with only six minutes left. The Mercedes drivers were also struggling till the end of the first session. Hamilton was only 8th and Bottas 12th, as there were less than a minute remaining! Traffic was a problem for many drivers, but Verstappen got his timing right and went fastest. Hamilton delivered on his last run, jumping second in the time sheets. Bottas, too got his lap together, making it third. Leclerc was fourth and Sebastian fifth, both having set their lap times on the medium rubber. Kimi, too managed to set a competitive lap time, and the Iceman had no difficulties to proceed into the second segment. The first driver to miss out on Q2 was Racing Point's Perez, alongside teammate Stroll. Toro Rosso's Kvyat would have made it into Q2, had he not been impeded by Williams' Russell at the very end of the first session. Like expected, both Williams drivers were out of Q2 for the 9th time this season.

There was a surprising aspect in terms of tyre strategy also in Q2. Predictably, Mercedes sent their drivers out on the yellow-marked medium rubber, which was also Verstappen's choice. Against the odds, Ferrari didn't opt for the medium Pirellis, but the Red Team sent their drivers out on the soft tyres. In spite of the heat, the softs are expected to last better than in France a week ago, and the soft compound is considered a competitive tyre choice for the race. No matter, which compound Charles had, the Red Bull Ring seemed to suit him perfectly. Not only had the young Monegasque won there both in GP3 and GP2 series, he also set the fastest lap time in the second session. Sebastian was two tenths down on him, and Verstappen in third was three tenths off the pace. Hamilton and Bottas were only fourth and fifth! Storming Leclerc even managed to improve his lap time in the end, giving a true storm warning for the Mercedes duo. Alfa Romeo's pace seemed promising as well, and both Kimi and Giovinazzi made it within the top ten. Out of the decisive segment were Haas' Grosjean, the Renault duo of Hulkenberg and Ricciardo, Toro Rosso's Albon and McLaren's Sainz. At the end of Q2 there was something worrying happening in Sebastian's pit garage. There was clearly something wrong with his Lina, as there were mechanics working all over his car...

And the problems continued, as Q3 got underway. Soon it was obvious, that there was a major issue in question, and it was something, that wasn't going to be easily fixed. Sebastian was out of the final segment! What a shame indeed! Now that Hamilton seemed to be in trouble, it would have been critically important for Sebastian to claim a grid slot as high up on the grid as possible! I didn't want to admit, that it was true, Sebastian being out of the fight for pole. Especially, as his teammate was absolutely flying! Charles took provisional pole and seemed confident not to give up on it. Bottas was second, three tenths off the super fast Ferrari ace. Verstappen was third, six tenths down on Charles. Hamilton was only fourth after his first attempt, massive seven tenths down on Charles. I was surprised how big the gaps were, as the lap at the Red Bull Ring is the shortest of all circuits on the current calendar. Leclerc didn't let Hamilton even dream about the pole; he improved his lap time on his last run. Hamilton was able to raise his pace, but wasn't able to jump higher than second on his last flyer. Verstappen made his orange-suited fans cheer by qualifying third. Bottas was left fourth, which was a disappointment for the Finn. Haas' Magnussen had a superb day, as the Dane made it fifth in the standings. Norris qualified sixth for McLaren, followed by the Alfa Romeo duo of Kimi and Giovinazzi. Red Bull's Gasly claimed modest P9, and Sebastian was cruelly left in P10 due to his technical woes.

However, there are some changes on the grid in terms of tomorrow's race. Hamilton, who qualified second, has been handed a 3-place grid penalty for impeding Kimi in Q1, which will drop the Briton down in P5. Magnussen, who had a perfect day at the wheel of his Haas by making it 5th on the grid, will drop down to P10 due to a gear box change. This means, that Verstappen will start to the race from the front row! It will be so interesting to see, what will happen at the start! I'm sure that Max is extremely hungry to challenge Charles by any means necessary. Bottas will be promoted to P3, with McLaren's Norris alongside him! The tyre strategy will also be interesting. Which proves to be the right choice for the first stint, softs or mediums? Charles has a chance of his life to get his maiden win tomorrow! I'm afraid that a podium finish is out of Sebastian's reach, but I know he'll fight like a lion, like always. Forza Ferrari!

French GP: Hamilton cruised to victory in a boring race!

During the past 25 years, I've watched Formula 1 action in various places. However, last Saturday was the first time for me, that I watched qualifying at a water park! But as I only need my cell phone and headphones, I have Formula 1 always with me, no matter where I go! :D

Mercedes were the clear favorites, coming to France for round 8. So it was no surprise, that they were setting the pace in qualifying. Mercedes' and Ferrari's tyre strategy in Q2 was well predicted, too. The soft compound had degraded extremely fast in Friday's free practice sessions, which meant, that there was no use for the softest rubber in the race. More surprising was the fact, that also some midfield teams opted for the medium compound in the second session. Both Renault and McLaren sent their drivers out on the yellow-walled Pirellis. Their pace was unpredictably competitive, and all four drivers made it among the top ten. Red Bull had a two-pronged strategy, as Verstappen set his fastest lap time on the medium compound, whilst teammate Gasly was struggling to make it among the top ten on the red-marked soft Pirellis. This time Giovinazzi managed to out-qualify the Iceman, as the Italian made it into the final segment, whilst Kimi was knocked out of Q3. This misfortune, however, proved a lucky setback after all, as Kimi was allowed to choose his tyres for the race, whilst Giovinazzi was forced to start to the race on the fast-degrading softs.

It was absolutely no news at all, that Mercedes locked down the front row, with championship-leading Hamilton having the upper hand on his Finnish teammate. More of news was the fact, that Sebastian made it only 7th on the grid! Teammate Leclerc qualified 3rd, which was well done from the Monegasque. Verstappen was 4th, which was a very familiar grid slot for the flying Dutchman. The most positive surprise of the qualifying were McLaren, as Norris qualified 5th and Sainz 6th. Unbelievable but true, both McLarens were faster than Sebastian in his Ferrari!

Red Bull's Gasly and Alfa Romeo's Giovinazzi were the only drivers to start to the race on the softs. All other top ten drivers were on the more durable medium Pirellis. Kimi, on the other hand, started to the race on the white-marked hard compound, which proved an excellent choice. There were no surprises at the start. Both Mercedes aces had a splendid start, and Hamilton held on to his lead. During the few opening laps, Sebastian seemed stuck behind the McLarens. Sainz had been able to overtake his teammate at the start, so Sebastian's first mission was to get past Norris. Sebastian attacked the young Briton on lap 5, making it past Norris. Two laps later he attacked Sainz, making another successful overtaking move. Sebastian was now fifth in the race, and his pace seemed competitive.

Verstappen was the first top driver to pit on lap 21. He switched to the hard compound and re-joined the track in P5. At this point Hamilton had already a 6-second gap to his teammate. Leclerc pitted a lap after Verstappen, for a similar tyre choice. Charles dropped down to P4, as teammate Sebastian hadn't pitted yet. Both Mercedes drivers pitted as well. After the pit stops Bottas was already 10 seconds down on his dominant teammate. The Finn seemed utterly toothless against his superior teammate. Sebastian pitted after a lock-up on lap 25, also for a fresh set of hard tyres. He re-joined the track in P5, so there were no changes in terms of the top five due to the pit stop roulette. Kimi, who had started to the race on the hard Pirellis, pitted not until on lap 32, for a used set of medium Pirellis. The pit stop dropped the Iceman down to P12.

The gaps between the top five drivers were safe, so there were no battles for positions, which made the race very boring, to be honest. Race leader Hamilton had a 12-second gap to Bottas, and Leclerc was six seconds down on the Finn. Verstappen was fourth and Sebastian fifth. Both McLarens were unable to match Ferrari's pace. On the other hand, Sebastian didn't have enough pace to challenge Verstappen for P4. This made the Red Team switch to "plan F", which meant going for the fastest lap time. Sebastian could easily afford an extra pit stop without losing any positions. The fastest lap time would be firmly on Sebastian's grasp on the fresh set of soft Pirellis!

On the closing laps Norris' orange McLaren was hit with a hydraulic issue, which made the car almost impossible to drive. It was such a shame, as the Spaniard was driving a fantastic race in P7. To Norris' misfortune, Kimi and Hulkenberg, who had a tight battle with each other, both managed to pass the struggling McLaren pilot. Renault's Ricciardo was right at the tail of these two. On the penultimate lap Ricciardo decided to make an audacious move, trying to overtake the duo. The Australian made his move, first on Hulkenberg and then on Kimi, but leaving the track on all four wheels, however.

Hamilton took his sixth win of the season in a superior way. Towards the end of the race, Ferrari's Leclerc had been able to sneak extremely close to Bottas, who was struggling with his pace. However, the Finn maintained his second place. Verstappen finished fourth and Sebastian fifth. Sainz was "the best of the rest", which made McLaren team members extremely happy. Ricciardo crossed the finish line in P7, but the Australian was handed not one but two 5-second time penalties for leaving the track and gaining an advantage! So Ricciardo was dropped down to P11, which promoted Kimi 7th and Hulkenberg 8th. In spite of his technical issues Norris managed to bring his McLaren to the chequered flag in P9. Red Bull's Gasly scored the last point, which was a modest result for the Red Bull driver, comparing to Max's P4 in the sister car. The joy of the day for me was, that Sebastian managed to grab the extra point for the fastest lap time.

All races this season have been won by a Mercedes driver! How boring is that! Hamilton has already a 39-point gap to his teammate in the drivers' standings. The situation is becoming more and more ticklish for Valtteri, who is also fighting for his next year's contract. The battle continues already this week in Austria!