I´ve been at hospital with my son since Wednesday, so once again I´ve been watching the GP weekend events on my cell phone. I´m sitting on the hospital bed opposite my son. He´s drawing a gift to his father, as it is Father´s Day in Finland today. I´m tapping this blog post on yesterday´s thrilling qualifying.
There was huge drama already in the opening stages of Q1. There had been some rain before the qualifying, which had made track conditions a bit slippery. Both Mercedes drivers came out on the supersoft tyres at the beginning of the first session. But already on his very first flyer, the newly crowned world champion Hamilton suddenly lost control of his Silver Arrow and crashed out in Turn 6! The Briton´s qualifying was over before it had actually started. What an unexpected turn indeed! The session was red-flagged for some ten minutes. As the session was resumed, both Ferrari drivers came out on the yellow-marked soft tyres, whereas all the others opted for the supersoft compound. Sebastian went fastest right away, in spite of the harder tyre compound. Both Ferraris seemed to be flying, as only a moment later Kimi banged the fastest lap time. Red Bull´s Verstappen, on the other hand, reported about a possible power unit issue on the team radio. However, the flying Dutchman was able to set competitive lap times. The Finns Räikkönen and Bottas topped the timesheets, Valtteri being only 0.047s down on his fellow countryman. The most positive surprise in Q1 was Williams´ Massa, who jumped 4th at the very end of the first segment. In addition to the world champion Hamilton, out of Q2 were the Sauber duo of Wehrlein and Ericsson, Toro Rosso´s Gasly (who will also have a 25-place grid penalty due to the use of additional power unit elements) and Massa´s teammate Stroll, who had suffered from technical issues in the morning´s free practice session and had had a gearbox change before the qualifying.
Sebastian reported about a light drizzle, as Q2 got underway. Red Bull´s Ricciardo was the only driver to come out on the soft Pirellis. The tyre strategy came down to the 10-place grid penalty, which the Australian had been given for the use of additional power unit elements. After Hamilton´s early crash, teammate Bottas really stepped up and raised his level. The Finn really started to shine on the Brazilian soil. He topped the timesheets after the first runs, with the red dynamic duo lurking behind the calm Finn. However, Sebastian went fastest on his second run and left Bottas second. Luckily there were no issues with Verstappen´s power unit, and the Dutchman was 3rd and Kimi 4th. Eliminated from the final segment were Force India´s Ocon, the Haas duo of Grosjean and Magnussen, McLaren´s Vandoorne and Toro Rosso´s Hartley, who hadn´t set a lap time due to a 10-place grid penalty, which the Briton had been given for using additional power unit elements.
The final session was absolutely hair-raising. Sebastian proved his top form by taking provisional pole by 0.082s to Mercedes´ Bottas. Kimi was third, already four tenths down on his teammate. Red Bull proved unable to match the pace of the top two teams, as Verstappen was seven and Ricciardo already nine tenths down on the pace-setter Sebastian. The rain slightly intensified before the final runs, but in the end, it didn´t have an effect on the track conditions. Unfortunately Sebastian didn´t manage to improve his lap time on his last flyer. According to his own words, he "chickened out" in the braking into Turn 1, where he lost the crucial time. Bottas, instead, drove a phenomenal, almost perfect lap and snatched pole from Sebastian by 0.038s! It was the third career pole for the Finn and a new track record. Kimi made it a splendid result for the red team, as the Iceman qualified third, only two tenths down on his compatriot. Verstappen completed the second row. Ricciardo qualified 5th, but will drop down to P15 due to his grid penalty. Force India´s Perez, McLaren´s Alonso, the Renault duo of Hulkenberg and Sainz and Williams´ Massa rounded out the top ten. Massa would have made higher up in the standings, hadn´t he been impeded by Renault´s Sainz. According to Massa´s words, Sainz had even admitted having done it deliberately, as the Brazilian had impeded him in one of the free practice sessions!
Once again the start will play a crucial role in the race. Will Bottas be able to keep his head cool and maintain the lead? I´m sure both Sebastian and Kimi are hungry to challenge the Finn for the lead. Hamilton will start to the race from the pit lane, as the Briton has had a power unit change. How high up will the new world champion make it in the end? Good points are definitely within his reach, but I´m not sure about the podium. The weather forecast says it´s going to be a lot warmer in the race, which is said to benefit Ferrari the most. We´ll find out about it in a few hours... I´m really looking forward to an entertaining and action-packed race! Forza Ferrari!
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