It was known beforehand already, that the start straight into Turn 1 was frighteningly long. Especially for pole-setter Leclerc, who wasn't to get a tow from other cars. Sebastian knew that. The German took a rocket start behind his teammate. Thanks to the slipstream, Sebastian had it easy to move pass Charles, who didn't even try to defend his position. I assume there had been a pre-race agreement between the Ferrari drivers, that Charles wasn't going to prevent Sebastian from overtaking him. Ferrari's target was to get both cars on top, and the mission was accomplished; Sebastian was in the lead, with Charles following him. Hamilton was third, whilst teammate Bottas had lost a position to McLaren's Sainz at the start. Although the top drivers had a clean start, there was action further down in the pack. Haas' Grosjean and Renault's Ricciardo hit each other, which ruined the race for the Frenchman. Safety car was deployed already on the opening lap! Meanwhile, Kimi in his Alfa Romeo had taken a jump start, and the Finn was to get a drive through penalty for his infringement.
After the re-start the race took an interesting turn, as race leader Sebastian was told on the team radio, that he was expected to let Charles past, although the Monegasque wasn't even in the striking distance from his teammate. Sebastian wasn't willing to obey the order, but answered the team by banging the fastest lap time. Charles told on the team radio, that he had done, what had been expected from him (not defending his position at the start). Sebastian was stubborn; he increased the gap into 2.7s already. The situation reminded a lot of the Malaysian GP 2013 and the famous "multi 21" scandal; the Red Bull drivers Sebastian Vettel and Mark Webber were told by the team to maintain their positions (Webber 1st and Vettel 2nd), but instead of obeying the team order, Sebastian overtook his teammate and won the Malaysian GP. That happened at the end of the race, but now it was only lap 6 in the race. And Sebastian truly seemed faster than Charles, so why should he have given up on the lead? I love how hot-headed Sebastian is in this kind of situations! I was so happy, that he stuck to his decision to keep the lead!
While the red-suited drivers had their feisty conversation on the team radio, Bottas had made his way past Sainz, moving to fourth. Red Bull's Verstappen, who had started to the race from P9 due to his penalty, had also passed Sainz and was now in P5. Charles was the first Ferrari driver to be called in for the pit stop. Everything went smoothly, and Charles re-joined the track on the medium compound. As Sebastian hadn't given up on his lead willingly, the pit stop strategy was the perfect way to make the switch. Sebastian was called in three laps after Charles, which offered the Monegasque a chance to move ahead of his teammate.
What a dramatic turn the race saw only a couple of laps after Sebastian's pit stop! His Lina was hit with a MGU-K failure, and she came to a halt on track! What made the situation even more ironic, was the fact, that Sebastian's retirement brought out the virtual safety car. Both Hamilton and Bottas had a free pit stop, and Hamilton took the lead! Meanwhile, Russell in his Williams suffered a brake failure, and the Briton, too stopped on the track. Safety car came out again. Ferrari made a risky call and took Charles in during the safety car. Charles switched to soft Pirellis, as Hamilton, too was on softs. Due to the pit stop, Charles lost a position to Bottas, dropping down to P3.
There were 20 laps to go, as the re-start took place. Charles did the best he could to challenge Bottas for the second place, but it didn't turn out easy, in spite of Ferrari's ridiculous straight line speed. Charles was able to make it within DRS distance from the Finn, but there was no going further. Bottas is extremely good at defending his position, when somebody is putting pressure on him. Bottas hardly makes any mistakes under pressure, which makes overtaking extremely hard. Maybe Ferrari were a little arrogant even, thinking that they could afford an extra pit stop because of their superb straight line speed. What had initially looked like a red victory, turned into a Mercedes 1-2! Hamilton took his 9th win of the season, with Bottas making it a glorious 1-2 for the Silver Arrows. Charles was left in P3. The Red Bull teammates finished 4th (Verstappen) and 5th (Albon). It was well done from Albon, who had started to the race from the pit lane. Sainz brought his McLaren to the chequered flag in P6.
I love the fact, that Sebastian was voted as the Driver of the Day by fans! Not only was his start sensational, but also the fighting spirit, that he had! Sebastian's retirement saved the team from the awkward post-race drama, had the German won the race against the team order. But this is definitely the Sebastian I want to see in the remaining races! Relentless and fearless! Forza Sebastian! Forza Ferrari!
Kimi Räikkönen & Sebastian Vettel
maanantai 30. syyskuuta 2019
lauantai 28. syyskuuta 2019
Russian GP / Qualifying: Leclerc did it again!
The Russian GP at Sochi Autodrom always brings back so many unforgettable memories from the 2017 season, when I got the chance to spend four memorable days at the paddock, watching the free practice sessions at the Ferrari garage and interviewing Sebastian Vettel in front of the Ferrari motor home. It gives a wonderful personal touch to the F1 weekend, when you have actually made the track walk yourself!
The Ferraris came out on the medium compound at the beginning of the first session. Sebastian was pushing hard and made a mistake in the second sector, ending up wide at Turn 13, so the quadruple world champion was unable to set a competitive lap time. Teammate Charles, on the other hand, set the screens purple and went on the top. However, Hamilton snatched the top spot a moment later, due to his softer tyres. Red Bull's Verstappen proved strong as well, ending up only a tenth shy of Hamilton's benchmark. Sebastian was on his second flyer, as Red Bull's Albon hit the kerb and crashed into the tyre wall, which brought out the red flag. Sebastian's flyer was ruined, and the German was in P19, with 6:38 remaining in the clock. The red flag episode forced Sebastian to come out on the softs at the end of Q1. Sebastian's pace on the soft Pirellis was absolutely convincing, and he set the fastest lap time with a two-tenth margin to Hamilton. Both Verstappen and Leclerc sat out the second runs, as they had no need to improve. Unfortunately Kimi's pace at the wheel of his Alfa Romeo left a lot to hope for. The Iceman made a mistake on his last run, and the Finn was knocked out of Q2 by his teammate Giovinazzi, who was the last driver to make it into the second session. It was such a shame, that Kimi missed out on Q2 by 0.085s only! Toro Rosso's Kvyat didn't set a lap time at all, as the home hero had been handed multiple grid penalties for power unit element changes, and the Russian was to start from the back of the grid in front of his home crowd.
In terms of a single lap pace, Mercedes seemed to be the underdog compared to the Red Team. That's why the Silver Arrows opted for a different tyre strategy in Q2. Both Hamilton and Bottas came out on the medium rubber, whilst all others opted for the red-walled soft compound. Once again, Charles stamped his authority all over the place, pipping teammate Sebastian by seven tenths on his first run! Verstappen in third and Hamilton in fourth were separated by one thousandth of a second only, and Bottas in fifth was only about a hundredth of a second off his teammate. Everyone came out at the end of Q2, as the track conditions kept improving throughout the session. Sebastian managed to improve his lap time on his last flyer, but was still a tenth down on his pace-setting teammate. Mercedes teammates had difficulties to match the red cars' pace. Haas' Grosjean was responsible for the most positive surprise in Q2, as the Frenchman made it as high as P6, whilst teammate Magnussen was knocked out of Q3. Alongside with the Dane, out of Q3 were Toro Rosso's Gasly, the Racing Point duo of Perez and Stroll and Alfa Romeo's Giovinazzi.
Charles continued his unbelievable form also in the last session. The Monegasque took provisional pole firmly in his hands, leaving Sebastian three tenths off the pace. Hamilton was half a second down on Charles, and teammate Bottas' gap to the provisional pole setter was massive eight tenths already. Verstappen in P4 was almost a second behind amazing Charles. At this point it seemed, that Ferrari were going to conquer the front row. Charles stroke again on his last flyer, slightly improving his lap time. Although Mercedes were struggling with their pace, Hamilton squeezed himself on the front row! Sebastian was left in P3 again, with two hundredths of a second shy of Hamilton. Once again Verstappen managed to out-qualify Bottas, who abandoned his last flyer due to a mistake of his own. However, the Dutchman's joy was only premature. Verstappen had been handed a 5-place grid penalty for a power unit element change, so he is dropped down to P9. Sainz qualified the best of the rest, and due to Verstappen's penalty the Spaniard will start to the race from P5. Renault's Hulkenberg will start alongside Sainz. McLaren's Norris and Haas' Grosjean will be on the fourth row, with Verstappen and Renault's Ricciardo completing the top ten.
The previous Ferrari driver, who scored four consecutive pole positions, was legendary Michael Schumacher back in 2001. These statistics tell a lot both about Charles' skills and the momentum, that he is having. The start straight into Turn 1 is extremely long at Sochi Autodrom, and Sebastian is passionate to challenge his teammate for the lead. The red-suited drivers will probably have a slight advantage on the Mercedes duo at the start, due to the soft tyres. Sochi offers plenty of chances for overtaking, so I'm sure tomorrow's race will be action-packed! I would love to see another 1-2 for Ferrari, preferably with Sebastian on the top step of the podium!
The Ferraris came out on the medium compound at the beginning of the first session. Sebastian was pushing hard and made a mistake in the second sector, ending up wide at Turn 13, so the quadruple world champion was unable to set a competitive lap time. Teammate Charles, on the other hand, set the screens purple and went on the top. However, Hamilton snatched the top spot a moment later, due to his softer tyres. Red Bull's Verstappen proved strong as well, ending up only a tenth shy of Hamilton's benchmark. Sebastian was on his second flyer, as Red Bull's Albon hit the kerb and crashed into the tyre wall, which brought out the red flag. Sebastian's flyer was ruined, and the German was in P19, with 6:38 remaining in the clock. The red flag episode forced Sebastian to come out on the softs at the end of Q1. Sebastian's pace on the soft Pirellis was absolutely convincing, and he set the fastest lap time with a two-tenth margin to Hamilton. Both Verstappen and Leclerc sat out the second runs, as they had no need to improve. Unfortunately Kimi's pace at the wheel of his Alfa Romeo left a lot to hope for. The Iceman made a mistake on his last run, and the Finn was knocked out of Q2 by his teammate Giovinazzi, who was the last driver to make it into the second session. It was such a shame, that Kimi missed out on Q2 by 0.085s only! Toro Rosso's Kvyat didn't set a lap time at all, as the home hero had been handed multiple grid penalties for power unit element changes, and the Russian was to start from the back of the grid in front of his home crowd.
In terms of a single lap pace, Mercedes seemed to be the underdog compared to the Red Team. That's why the Silver Arrows opted for a different tyre strategy in Q2. Both Hamilton and Bottas came out on the medium rubber, whilst all others opted for the red-walled soft compound. Once again, Charles stamped his authority all over the place, pipping teammate Sebastian by seven tenths on his first run! Verstappen in third and Hamilton in fourth were separated by one thousandth of a second only, and Bottas in fifth was only about a hundredth of a second off his teammate. Everyone came out at the end of Q2, as the track conditions kept improving throughout the session. Sebastian managed to improve his lap time on his last flyer, but was still a tenth down on his pace-setting teammate. Mercedes teammates had difficulties to match the red cars' pace. Haas' Grosjean was responsible for the most positive surprise in Q2, as the Frenchman made it as high as P6, whilst teammate Magnussen was knocked out of Q3. Alongside with the Dane, out of Q3 were Toro Rosso's Gasly, the Racing Point duo of Perez and Stroll and Alfa Romeo's Giovinazzi.
Charles continued his unbelievable form also in the last session. The Monegasque took provisional pole firmly in his hands, leaving Sebastian three tenths off the pace. Hamilton was half a second down on Charles, and teammate Bottas' gap to the provisional pole setter was massive eight tenths already. Verstappen in P4 was almost a second behind amazing Charles. At this point it seemed, that Ferrari were going to conquer the front row. Charles stroke again on his last flyer, slightly improving his lap time. Although Mercedes were struggling with their pace, Hamilton squeezed himself on the front row! Sebastian was left in P3 again, with two hundredths of a second shy of Hamilton. Once again Verstappen managed to out-qualify Bottas, who abandoned his last flyer due to a mistake of his own. However, the Dutchman's joy was only premature. Verstappen had been handed a 5-place grid penalty for a power unit element change, so he is dropped down to P9. Sainz qualified the best of the rest, and due to Verstappen's penalty the Spaniard will start to the race from P5. Renault's Hulkenberg will start alongside Sainz. McLaren's Norris and Haas' Grosjean will be on the fourth row, with Verstappen and Renault's Ricciardo completing the top ten.
The previous Ferrari driver, who scored four consecutive pole positions, was legendary Michael Schumacher back in 2001. These statistics tell a lot both about Charles' skills and the momentum, that he is having. The start straight into Turn 1 is extremely long at Sochi Autodrom, and Sebastian is passionate to challenge his teammate for the lead. The red-suited drivers will probably have a slight advantage on the Mercedes duo at the start, due to the soft tyres. Sochi offers plenty of chances for overtaking, so I'm sure tomorrow's race will be action-packed! I would love to see another 1-2 for Ferrari, preferably with Sebastian on the top step of the podium!
sunnuntai 22. syyskuuta 2019
Singapore GP: Sebastian led Ferrari to a mesmerising 1-2!
The night had darkened, as the bright red lights went out at magical-looking Marina Bay. Pole-setter Leclerc took the start with confidence and stormed first into Turn 1. Hamilton followed closely, in spite of Sebastian trying to challenge him for P2. This time Red Bull's Verstappen managed to take a decent start as well, maintaining his fourth place. Bottas was fifth and Red Bull's Albon sixth, so there were no changes in terms of the top six. All drivers out of top ten started to the race on the medium Pirellis, except Toro Rosso's Gasly, who had opted for the white-walled hard compound. The start was surprisingly clean, as only McLaren's Sainz and Williams' Kubica had contact at Turn 1.
After the start the race saw an odd turn. Race leader Charles set the pace, which almost reminded of crawling on the track. Due to very slow pace, the gaps between the top six were quite minimal. It seemed though, that getting past was a mission impossible. However, Renault's Ricciardo proved otherwise. The Honey Badger had started to the race from the back of the grid, due to a grid penalty for an ERS infringement. The Australian showed, that overtaking was possible if you had the will power, and squeezed his Renault past Kvyat's Toro Rosso, claiming P12.
As the top six was so closely packed, it was all about choosing the right timing for the pit stop. Would it be possible to make the undercut work, or would overcut be the right call? It was impossible to predict, as no one knew, when safety car would be deployed. Sebastian and Max drove into the pits on lap 19. They both switched to the hard rubber, which was to last till the end. Sebastian re-joined the track in P10 and Max in P12. Sebastian's out lap on the fresh tyres was sensational. As teammate Charles pitted on the sequential lap, he was shocked to witness, that when re-joining the track, Sebastian moved ahead of him due to the strategy!
Bottas pitted two laps after Charles, also for a fresh set of hard Pirellis. Teammate Hamilton stayed out instead. Bottas banged the fastest lap time shortly after his pit stop, but the team told him to play for the team and slow down, as Hamilton was to pit a couple of laps later. The Briton came in on lap 26, switching to the hards as well, and thanks to Valtteri's "team effort", Hamilton re-joined the track ahead of his Finnish teammate. Unbelievable but true, Alfa Romeo's Giovinazzi, who had started to the race on the medium Pirellis and therefore hadn't pitted yet, was now leading the race!
After making an adventurous move on Toro Rosso's Gasly and a bit safer one on Giovinazzi, stunning Sebastian moved to the lead. What a happy moment it was! I was so happy for Sebastian, who needed this more than ever! Teammate Charles was at Sebastian's tail, and Verstappen was third in the race. Lap 35 started a chain of three safety car episodes. Haas' Grosjean and Williams' Russell hit each other, and the wreck of the Briton's Williams stopped on track. This was the 12th Singapore GP, and the 12th time, that a safety car has been deployed during the race!
Charles seemed gutted for losing the lead to his teammate, and complained about the strategy on the team radio. He was told to keep his head down and concentrate on racing. The re-start took place on lap 40, and the pecking order remained the same. But the race was on only for a few laps, as Perez's Racing Point came to a halt on lap 43 due to a technical failure. Safety car was deployed for the second time already, so that the Mexican's car was to be moved off safely.
The second re-start took place on lap 47. Once again Sebastian firmly held on to his lead. Further down in the pack, Kimi in his Alfa Romeo in P9 seemed to be on his way to bring valuable points for the team. But after the second re-start, something happened. Kimi was lacking pace dearly, and the Iceman got overtaken by both Toro Rosso's Gasly and Renault's Hulkenberg. Lap 50 was a dramatic turning point in terms of Kimi's race. Toro Rosso's Torpedo (Kvyat) dived into the inside of Kimi, which caused the Russian to crash into Kimi's Alfa Romeo. The Iceman's front suspension was damaged, and his race was ruined. Safety car was brought out for the third time already!
The final re-start took place with nine laps to go. Charles had been told to bring his SF90 to the finish line, which meant no risky overtaking moves. First Sebastian clocked the fastest lap time, hungry to take the extra point for it. Then Bottas stroke back and snatched the fastest lap time from the German. In the end, neither one of the drivers got the extra point under his belt. Haas' Magnussen, who had pitted at the end of the race, set the fastest lap time in the end, but didn't get awarded of it due to finishing the race out of top ten. On the closing laps Hamilton was putting hard pressure on Max, but the flying Dutchman gave Hamilton no chance to try a move of any kind.
"The good old Sebastian" was back! He won the Singapore GP after a year-long dry season! This was Sebastian's fifth win in Singapore already. Charles made it a mesmerising 1-2 for Ferrari, which was a phenomenal result. Ferrari's previous 1-2 was taken in Hungary in 2017, so it was about time! Max completed the podium, which I was also very happy about. Unbelievable but true, both Mercedes drivers were left out of podium! Albon brought valuable points for Red Bull by finishing sixth, and McLaren's Norris was the best of the rest by finishing seventh.
I was over the moon to see Sebastian win after a long series of setbacks and mistakes! He truly deserved the glamorous win today! He proved, that difficulties can be turned into success. It was emotional to hear him thank his fans in the post-race interview. Me, including so many fans around the world, wanted to show our support to him during this difficult time. I have an Indonesian friend Sheena, who I became friends with in Maranello in 2018. She and her friend had come up with a project to ask Sebastian fans around the world to shoot a fan video for Sebastian. All videos were uploaded on a memory stick, which Sheena gave to Sebastian during the GP weekend. From the moment, that Sheena asked me to take part in the project, I knew I wanted to be a part of it! So my fan video was included on the memory stick with around 70 other videos from all over the world. So Sebastian definitely knows, that he has his fans' support, faith and admiration!
My fan video for Sebastian Vettel.
After the start the race saw an odd turn. Race leader Charles set the pace, which almost reminded of crawling on the track. Due to very slow pace, the gaps between the top six were quite minimal. It seemed though, that getting past was a mission impossible. However, Renault's Ricciardo proved otherwise. The Honey Badger had started to the race from the back of the grid, due to a grid penalty for an ERS infringement. The Australian showed, that overtaking was possible if you had the will power, and squeezed his Renault past Kvyat's Toro Rosso, claiming P12.
As the top six was so closely packed, it was all about choosing the right timing for the pit stop. Would it be possible to make the undercut work, or would overcut be the right call? It was impossible to predict, as no one knew, when safety car would be deployed. Sebastian and Max drove into the pits on lap 19. They both switched to the hard rubber, which was to last till the end. Sebastian re-joined the track in P10 and Max in P12. Sebastian's out lap on the fresh tyres was sensational. As teammate Charles pitted on the sequential lap, he was shocked to witness, that when re-joining the track, Sebastian moved ahead of him due to the strategy!
Bottas pitted two laps after Charles, also for a fresh set of hard Pirellis. Teammate Hamilton stayed out instead. Bottas banged the fastest lap time shortly after his pit stop, but the team told him to play for the team and slow down, as Hamilton was to pit a couple of laps later. The Briton came in on lap 26, switching to the hards as well, and thanks to Valtteri's "team effort", Hamilton re-joined the track ahead of his Finnish teammate. Unbelievable but true, Alfa Romeo's Giovinazzi, who had started to the race on the medium Pirellis and therefore hadn't pitted yet, was now leading the race!
After making an adventurous move on Toro Rosso's Gasly and a bit safer one on Giovinazzi, stunning Sebastian moved to the lead. What a happy moment it was! I was so happy for Sebastian, who needed this more than ever! Teammate Charles was at Sebastian's tail, and Verstappen was third in the race. Lap 35 started a chain of three safety car episodes. Haas' Grosjean and Williams' Russell hit each other, and the wreck of the Briton's Williams stopped on track. This was the 12th Singapore GP, and the 12th time, that a safety car has been deployed during the race!
Charles seemed gutted for losing the lead to his teammate, and complained about the strategy on the team radio. He was told to keep his head down and concentrate on racing. The re-start took place on lap 40, and the pecking order remained the same. But the race was on only for a few laps, as Perez's Racing Point came to a halt on lap 43 due to a technical failure. Safety car was deployed for the second time already, so that the Mexican's car was to be moved off safely.
The second re-start took place on lap 47. Once again Sebastian firmly held on to his lead. Further down in the pack, Kimi in his Alfa Romeo in P9 seemed to be on his way to bring valuable points for the team. But after the second re-start, something happened. Kimi was lacking pace dearly, and the Iceman got overtaken by both Toro Rosso's Gasly and Renault's Hulkenberg. Lap 50 was a dramatic turning point in terms of Kimi's race. Toro Rosso's Torpedo (Kvyat) dived into the inside of Kimi, which caused the Russian to crash into Kimi's Alfa Romeo. The Iceman's front suspension was damaged, and his race was ruined. Safety car was brought out for the third time already!
The final re-start took place with nine laps to go. Charles had been told to bring his SF90 to the finish line, which meant no risky overtaking moves. First Sebastian clocked the fastest lap time, hungry to take the extra point for it. Then Bottas stroke back and snatched the fastest lap time from the German. In the end, neither one of the drivers got the extra point under his belt. Haas' Magnussen, who had pitted at the end of the race, set the fastest lap time in the end, but didn't get awarded of it due to finishing the race out of top ten. On the closing laps Hamilton was putting hard pressure on Max, but the flying Dutchman gave Hamilton no chance to try a move of any kind.
"The good old Sebastian" was back! He won the Singapore GP after a year-long dry season! This was Sebastian's fifth win in Singapore already. Charles made it a mesmerising 1-2 for Ferrari, which was a phenomenal result. Ferrari's previous 1-2 was taken in Hungary in 2017, so it was about time! Max completed the podium, which I was also very happy about. Unbelievable but true, both Mercedes drivers were left out of podium! Albon brought valuable points for Red Bull by finishing sixth, and McLaren's Norris was the best of the rest by finishing seventh.
I was over the moon to see Sebastian win after a long series of setbacks and mistakes! He truly deserved the glamorous win today! He proved, that difficulties can be turned into success. It was emotional to hear him thank his fans in the post-race interview. Me, including so many fans around the world, wanted to show our support to him during this difficult time. I have an Indonesian friend Sheena, who I became friends with in Maranello in 2018. She and her friend had come up with a project to ask Sebastian fans around the world to shoot a fan video for Sebastian. All videos were uploaded on a memory stick, which Sheena gave to Sebastian during the GP weekend. From the moment, that Sheena asked me to take part in the project, I knew I wanted to be a part of it! So my fan video was included on the memory stick with around 70 other videos from all over the world. So Sebastian definitely knows, that he has his fans' support, faith and admiration!
,,
lauantai 21. syyskuuta 2019
Singapore GP / Qualifying: Third pole in a row for Leclerc!
The night race of Singapore is one of the ultimate highlights of the Formula 1 calendar. The atmosphere in Singapore is one of a kind; the tall skyscrapers lit with different colors and the bright artificial lights at the track make the venue magical. There´re two drivers, who have scored four wins at magical Marina Bay, and they are Lewis Hamilton and Sebastian Vettel.
In the dark night of Singapore the Mercedes drivers came out on the yellow-walled medium Pirellis, as Q1 was kicked off. Leclerc set the benchmark on his first flyer, the Monegasque being half a second faster than Verstappen at the wheel of his Red Bull. Bottas was third and Hamilton fourth in spite of their different tyre wear. Sebastian had a tame first attempt, being almost a second off his teammate's pace. Even McLaren's Sainz made it ahead of the German on his first run. However, Sebastian managed to improve his lap time, jumping second in the standings. This time there were only three tenths separating the Ferrari teammates. The Mercs came out on the soft compound at the end of the session. Bottas gave a strong impression on the Silver Arrows' pace, pipping his teammate by two tenths of a second. Charles in third was massive seven tenths off the Finn's pace. Alfa Romeo were struggling with their pace at the long and demanding Marina Bay circuit, and especially Kimi was at risk not to make it into Q2. In the end, Kimi managed to make it 13th on his final run. Teammate Giovinazzi out-qualified the Iceman for the fifth time this season, the Italian making it 11th in the time sheets. Out of Q2 were familiar names: Toro Rosso's Kvyat, Racing Point's Stroll, Haas' Grosjean and the Williams duo of Russell and Kubica.
In Q2 there were no differing tyre strategies, but everyone opted for the red-marked soft compound. Personally, I expected Mercedes to raise the bar in the second session. However, Charles went fastest on his first flyer. Hamilton was one and Bottas two tenths down on the "Monegasque with the momentum". Sebastian seemed unable to match his teammate's storming pace, as the gap to his teammate's benchmark was 0.375s. But Red Bull was strong as well, especially in the hands of the flying Dutchman. Verstappen jumped third, being only a tenth slower than Charles. Kimi was pushing hard to extract the maximum out of his Alfa Romeo, which caused the left-hand side of his car to touch the wall on his first run. Kimi was in P14, out of the final session. "The good old Sebastian" was back for a fleeting moment. Sebastian put together a magnificent lap time, making it on top of the charts. However, the fastest lap time was deprived of Sebastian by his teammate only a short moment later, and by seven hundredths of a second only! This time the pecking order of the teams was clear; Mercedes, Ferrari and Red Bull were "the three big names" and McLaren and Renault were the top two teams of the midfield.
Q3 gave me chills. What a battle for pole it turned out! It seemed, that Sebastian had found his lost self-confidence, as he set an astonishing lap time on his first run. He set the screens purple even in spite of kissing the wall. There was no one to match that lap time, so Sebastian had his hands on provisional pole! Teammate Charles was 0.354s off Sebastian's benchmark, Verstappen was third and the Mercedes duo of Hamilton and Bottas only fourth and fifth. What was extremely unexpected, was the fact, that the silver-suited drivers were a whole second off the pace! Where had Mercedes' pace suddenly disappeared? The Silver Arrows waited at their pit garage, as the Ferrari aces headed out for their final runs. Sebastian had a wobble on his final run, and the German decided to abort his lap. Charles improved his lap time on his second run and robbed the pole position of his teammate by two tenths of a second. Also Hamilton managed to make a perfect run in the end, jumping second. A provisional pole turned into P3 on the grid for Sebastian. Verstappen (P4) managed to out-qualify Bottas, whose qualifying was a disappointment. Albon qualified 6th for Red Bull, and the McLaren duo of Sainz and Norris was split by Renault's Ricciardo and Hulkenberg.
This was already the third consecutive pole position for superb Charles! Unbelievably, he has now most poles this season, as Hamilton and Bottas have four poles each. This was already the eighth consecutive time, that Charles managed to out-qualify Sebastian. Ferrari's pace surprised me truly. On paper the street circuit of Marina Bay wasn't supposed to suit the Red Team this well! Statistically, pole means a lot at this track, as following another car, not to mention overtaking, is extremely difficult. Marina Bay is a highly demanding track, as there are 23 corners and no time to rest. The walls are close, so there is absolutely no room for mistakes. The expectancy of a safety car is very high as well, so strategy plays a key role in the race. Let's see, who does the best job tomorrow! Forza Ferrari!
In the dark night of Singapore the Mercedes drivers came out on the yellow-walled medium Pirellis, as Q1 was kicked off. Leclerc set the benchmark on his first flyer, the Monegasque being half a second faster than Verstappen at the wheel of his Red Bull. Bottas was third and Hamilton fourth in spite of their different tyre wear. Sebastian had a tame first attempt, being almost a second off his teammate's pace. Even McLaren's Sainz made it ahead of the German on his first run. However, Sebastian managed to improve his lap time, jumping second in the standings. This time there were only three tenths separating the Ferrari teammates. The Mercs came out on the soft compound at the end of the session. Bottas gave a strong impression on the Silver Arrows' pace, pipping his teammate by two tenths of a second. Charles in third was massive seven tenths off the Finn's pace. Alfa Romeo were struggling with their pace at the long and demanding Marina Bay circuit, and especially Kimi was at risk not to make it into Q2. In the end, Kimi managed to make it 13th on his final run. Teammate Giovinazzi out-qualified the Iceman for the fifth time this season, the Italian making it 11th in the time sheets. Out of Q2 were familiar names: Toro Rosso's Kvyat, Racing Point's Stroll, Haas' Grosjean and the Williams duo of Russell and Kubica.
In Q2 there were no differing tyre strategies, but everyone opted for the red-marked soft compound. Personally, I expected Mercedes to raise the bar in the second session. However, Charles went fastest on his first flyer. Hamilton was one and Bottas two tenths down on the "Monegasque with the momentum". Sebastian seemed unable to match his teammate's storming pace, as the gap to his teammate's benchmark was 0.375s. But Red Bull was strong as well, especially in the hands of the flying Dutchman. Verstappen jumped third, being only a tenth slower than Charles. Kimi was pushing hard to extract the maximum out of his Alfa Romeo, which caused the left-hand side of his car to touch the wall on his first run. Kimi was in P14, out of the final session. "The good old Sebastian" was back for a fleeting moment. Sebastian put together a magnificent lap time, making it on top of the charts. However, the fastest lap time was deprived of Sebastian by his teammate only a short moment later, and by seven hundredths of a second only! This time the pecking order of the teams was clear; Mercedes, Ferrari and Red Bull were "the three big names" and McLaren and Renault were the top two teams of the midfield.
Q3 gave me chills. What a battle for pole it turned out! It seemed, that Sebastian had found his lost self-confidence, as he set an astonishing lap time on his first run. He set the screens purple even in spite of kissing the wall. There was no one to match that lap time, so Sebastian had his hands on provisional pole! Teammate Charles was 0.354s off Sebastian's benchmark, Verstappen was third and the Mercedes duo of Hamilton and Bottas only fourth and fifth. What was extremely unexpected, was the fact, that the silver-suited drivers were a whole second off the pace! Where had Mercedes' pace suddenly disappeared? The Silver Arrows waited at their pit garage, as the Ferrari aces headed out for their final runs. Sebastian had a wobble on his final run, and the German decided to abort his lap. Charles improved his lap time on his second run and robbed the pole position of his teammate by two tenths of a second. Also Hamilton managed to make a perfect run in the end, jumping second. A provisional pole turned into P3 on the grid for Sebastian. Verstappen (P4) managed to out-qualify Bottas, whose qualifying was a disappointment. Albon qualified 6th for Red Bull, and the McLaren duo of Sainz and Norris was split by Renault's Ricciardo and Hulkenberg.
This was already the third consecutive pole position for superb Charles! Unbelievably, he has now most poles this season, as Hamilton and Bottas have four poles each. This was already the eighth consecutive time, that Charles managed to out-qualify Sebastian. Ferrari's pace surprised me truly. On paper the street circuit of Marina Bay wasn't supposed to suit the Red Team this well! Statistically, pole means a lot at this track, as following another car, not to mention overtaking, is extremely difficult. Marina Bay is a highly demanding track, as there are 23 corners and no time to rest. The walls are close, so there is absolutely no room for mistakes. The expectancy of a safety car is very high as well, so strategy plays a key role in the race. Let's see, who does the best job tomorrow! Forza Ferrari!
sunnuntai 8. syyskuuta 2019
Italian GP: Glorious back-to-back victory for Charles in front of the Tifosi!
Tifosi were cheering, as the lights went out at Monza. Pole setter Leclerc kept his head cool and took a splendid start. Bottas from P3 managed to make it ahead of teammate Hamilton, but only for a fleeting moment. Hamilton snatched his second place back. Renault's Hulkenberg made it past Sebastian, jumping to 4th. However, the Ferraris were superior in terms of the straight line speed, and Sebastian managed to claim his fourth place back later on. Verstappen, who had started to the race from the last row, oddly missed the braking point into Turn 1 and went wide on the grass. This caused Max a front wing failure, and he had to pit for a new nose cone. What a messy first lap for Max! Meanwhile, Renault's Ricciardo managed to pass teammate Hulkenberg, moving to 4th.
It seemed, that an intense battle was evolving between the top four; Charles, Hamilton, Bottas and Sebastian were all within four seconds only. However, there was drama already on lap 6. Sebastian made a mistake of his own and spun at Parabolica. He was in a rush to re-join the track as soon as possible. But when spinning his Lina around, Racing Point's Stroll came towards him in full speed! Stroll made a dodge, but couldn't avoid having contact with Sebastian's Ferrari. Stroll spun on the grass, and another close call took place, as the Canadian was about to re-join the track. This time Toro Rosso's Gasly had to make a sudden dodge, not to hit Stroll. Sebastian managed to continue the race, but obviously his race was ruined. The stewards took both incidents into investigation. Sebastian was handed a 10-second stop-and-go penalty for re-joining the track in an unsafe manner. Stroll, on the other hand, was handed a drive through penalty for the same infringement. Kimi, too was under investigation for starting to the race on the wrong tyres. The Iceman had set his fastest lap time in Q2 on the soft tyres, but he had started to the race on the medium Pirellis. What a stupid mistake from the team! A moment later Kimi was handed a 10-second stop-and-go penalty for the tyre infringement, which ruined the Iceman's race for good.
Leclerc wasn't able to run away from the Mercedes rivals. Hamilton was 1.5s down on Charles, and teammate Bottas was within the same distance from his teammate. This was going to be an epic battle for the victory! Hamilton opened up the pit stop roulette on lap 19. The Briton opted for the medium compound, and re-joined the track in P5. Race leader Charles pitted on the following lap, for a different tyre strategy. The Monegasque re-joined the track on a fresh set of hard tyres, staying ahead of Hamilton. The Briton put extremely hard pressure on Charles, trying to force him into making a mistake. Charles passed Renault's Hulkenberg, so did Hamilton. Hamilton was already within striking distance and tried a move on defending Charles. Charles left no room for his rival, but forced him off track. The stewards gave Charles a black and white flag, which was a warning. No such move was allowed anymore!
Bottas pitted not until on lap 27. He opted for a similar tyre strategy to his teammate. Virtual safety car was deployed twice within only a few laps. At first Sainz was released from the McLaren pit box, although his front-left tyre wasn't fully attached. Sainz had to stop his car on the track. A moment later Kvyat's Toro Rosso was hit with a power unit failure, and the Russian stopped his car on the track as well.
Lap 33 saw a sad incident, where Sebastian was lapped by his teammate Charles. What a setback-filled race this was for Sebastian, who was at the back of the pack due to mistakes of his own. Kimi, too was in a disappointing P17. Verstappen, on the other hand, had made it in the points already.
Race leader Charles was under immense pressure by the five-time world champion. Charles proved to be vulnerable as well; he locked up his tyres, cutting the corner at Turn 1. Hamilton was right at the gear box of Charles' SF90, and the overtaking move was almost floating in the air. But in spite of the mistake, Charles was able to honorably defend his lead!
Bottas, who had stopped almost ten laps later than his rivals, benefited from his fresher tyres at the end of the race. As Hamilton was fighting with Charles, Valtteri managed to close the gap to the battling duo. With ten laps to go, Hamilton made a mistake, going into Turn 1. Bottas thanked for the opportunity and moved past his teammate. The Finn was determined to chase down Charles and deprive him of the victory. Hamilton, whose tyres were gone and who had nothing to lose, pitted for a second time. He re-joined the track in P3 and started to chase the fastest lap time on the new softs.
With only a couple of laps to go, Bottas had made it within DRS distance from Charles. Just being ready to try a move, he made a mistake with the braking into Turn 1, and Charles run away! Hamilton banged the fastest lap time on the second last lap. Bottas tried everything he could to be able to challenge Charles, but the Ferrari ace was too quick today. He took his second career win in front of the passionate Tifosi, which made the victory perfect. The Mercedes drivers Bottas and Hamilton completed the podium. Renault achieved a fantastic result, as Ricciardo finished 4th and teammate Hulkenberg 5th. The Red Bull duo of Albon (6th) and Verstappen (8th) was split by Racing Point's Perez. Giovinazzi made a great job for Alfa Romeo Racing by finishing 9th. McLaren's Norris scored the last point.
Sebastian's career seems to be in a crisis. This year reminds me a lot of the 2014 season, which was Sebastian's last season at Red Bull. That year new teammate Ricciardo came out clearly stronger than Sebastian, with the Australian claiming two victories compared to Sebastian's zero wins. Everything seems to work in favor of Charles at the moment, and Charles definitely deserves all the success. At the same time, everything seems to go wrong in terms of Sebastian. The setbacks have turned into a continually growing snow ball effect... How to stop that snow ball from rolling on? Sebastian's self-confidence has been undermined severely, and he needs to get it back!
It seemed, that an intense battle was evolving between the top four; Charles, Hamilton, Bottas and Sebastian were all within four seconds only. However, there was drama already on lap 6. Sebastian made a mistake of his own and spun at Parabolica. He was in a rush to re-join the track as soon as possible. But when spinning his Lina around, Racing Point's Stroll came towards him in full speed! Stroll made a dodge, but couldn't avoid having contact with Sebastian's Ferrari. Stroll spun on the grass, and another close call took place, as the Canadian was about to re-join the track. This time Toro Rosso's Gasly had to make a sudden dodge, not to hit Stroll. Sebastian managed to continue the race, but obviously his race was ruined. The stewards took both incidents into investigation. Sebastian was handed a 10-second stop-and-go penalty for re-joining the track in an unsafe manner. Stroll, on the other hand, was handed a drive through penalty for the same infringement. Kimi, too was under investigation for starting to the race on the wrong tyres. The Iceman had set his fastest lap time in Q2 on the soft tyres, but he had started to the race on the medium Pirellis. What a stupid mistake from the team! A moment later Kimi was handed a 10-second stop-and-go penalty for the tyre infringement, which ruined the Iceman's race for good.
Leclerc wasn't able to run away from the Mercedes rivals. Hamilton was 1.5s down on Charles, and teammate Bottas was within the same distance from his teammate. This was going to be an epic battle for the victory! Hamilton opened up the pit stop roulette on lap 19. The Briton opted for the medium compound, and re-joined the track in P5. Race leader Charles pitted on the following lap, for a different tyre strategy. The Monegasque re-joined the track on a fresh set of hard tyres, staying ahead of Hamilton. The Briton put extremely hard pressure on Charles, trying to force him into making a mistake. Charles passed Renault's Hulkenberg, so did Hamilton. Hamilton was already within striking distance and tried a move on defending Charles. Charles left no room for his rival, but forced him off track. The stewards gave Charles a black and white flag, which was a warning. No such move was allowed anymore!
Bottas pitted not until on lap 27. He opted for a similar tyre strategy to his teammate. Virtual safety car was deployed twice within only a few laps. At first Sainz was released from the McLaren pit box, although his front-left tyre wasn't fully attached. Sainz had to stop his car on the track. A moment later Kvyat's Toro Rosso was hit with a power unit failure, and the Russian stopped his car on the track as well.
Lap 33 saw a sad incident, where Sebastian was lapped by his teammate Charles. What a setback-filled race this was for Sebastian, who was at the back of the pack due to mistakes of his own. Kimi, too was in a disappointing P17. Verstappen, on the other hand, had made it in the points already.
Race leader Charles was under immense pressure by the five-time world champion. Charles proved to be vulnerable as well; he locked up his tyres, cutting the corner at Turn 1. Hamilton was right at the gear box of Charles' SF90, and the overtaking move was almost floating in the air. But in spite of the mistake, Charles was able to honorably defend his lead!
Bottas, who had stopped almost ten laps later than his rivals, benefited from his fresher tyres at the end of the race. As Hamilton was fighting with Charles, Valtteri managed to close the gap to the battling duo. With ten laps to go, Hamilton made a mistake, going into Turn 1. Bottas thanked for the opportunity and moved past his teammate. The Finn was determined to chase down Charles and deprive him of the victory. Hamilton, whose tyres were gone and who had nothing to lose, pitted for a second time. He re-joined the track in P3 and started to chase the fastest lap time on the new softs.
With only a couple of laps to go, Bottas had made it within DRS distance from Charles. Just being ready to try a move, he made a mistake with the braking into Turn 1, and Charles run away! Hamilton banged the fastest lap time on the second last lap. Bottas tried everything he could to be able to challenge Charles, but the Ferrari ace was too quick today. He took his second career win in front of the passionate Tifosi, which made the victory perfect. The Mercedes drivers Bottas and Hamilton completed the podium. Renault achieved a fantastic result, as Ricciardo finished 4th and teammate Hulkenberg 5th. The Red Bull duo of Albon (6th) and Verstappen (8th) was split by Racing Point's Perez. Giovinazzi made a great job for Alfa Romeo Racing by finishing 9th. McLaren's Norris scored the last point.
Sebastian's career seems to be in a crisis. This year reminds me a lot of the 2014 season, which was Sebastian's last season at Red Bull. That year new teammate Ricciardo came out clearly stronger than Sebastian, with the Australian claiming two victories compared to Sebastian's zero wins. Everything seems to work in favor of Charles at the moment, and Charles definitely deserves all the success. At the same time, everything seems to go wrong in terms of Sebastian. The setbacks have turned into a continually growing snow ball effect... How to stop that snow ball from rolling on? Sebastian's self-confidence has been undermined severely, and he needs to get it back!
Italian GP / Qualifying: Leclerc took back-to-back pole in a qualifying turned into a farce!
The F1 circus moved to Ferrari's home turf, where the grandstands were full of passionate Tifosi. The Temple of Speed is a true motor racing circuit with long straights and corners run with full throttle. It was considered to be the Red Team's kingdom, and the expectations didn't let the Tifosi down this time.
The red-suited home heroes came out on the medium rubber, whilst all rivals had the soft compound on. The Renault duo of Hulkenberg and Ricciardo was amazingly competitive, and they were topping the time sheets at the beginning of the first session. Even the Mercedes drivers were unable to match Hulkenberg's time! Bottas went second, a thousandth of a second off Hulkenberg's pace. Teammate Hamilton was third, a tenth down on the German. Sebastian and Charles made their second attempt on the mediums as well. Charles showed top form and went fastest -only a fraction before the session was red-flagged! Perez's Racing Point came to a sudden halt on the track, which brought out the red flags. There were 4:34 remaining in the clock. As the session was resumed, the Ferrari duo came out on the soft Pirellis. The order of the top four -Leclerc, Hulkenberg, Bottas, Hamilton- didn't change at the closing stages of the first segment. Verstappen came out not until at the end of Q1, but reported about engine woes and came in without setting a time. The Dutch Red Bull pilot will start to the race from the very back of the pack, as he has been given a penalty for power unit elements change. In addition to Perez and Verstappen, out of Q2 were Haas' Grosjean and the Williams duo.
In Q2 there were no differing tyre strategies, but everyone opted for the red-walled soft compound. Charles had definitely held on to the momentum from the previous race, as the Monegasque went fastest again on his first run. Hamilton was second, Sebastian third and amazing Ricciardo fourth. Kimi had showed promising pace at the wheel of his Alfa Romeo, but in Q2 the latest Ferrari world champion made a fateful mistake. The Iceman lost the rear of his car at Lesmo 1, failing to get a lap time. There was traffic on the track, with two minutes remaining. Hamilton went fastest, but by 89 thousandths of a second only. Charles was second, followed by Sebastian and Ricciardo. Amazingly, Kimi made an impressive second run, which took him into Q3. The margin between Kimi in P10 and teammate Giovinazzi in P11 was minimal 0.002s! Alongside Giovinazzi eliminated were Haas' Magnussen, the Toro Rosso duo of Kvyat and Gasly and McLaren's Norris.
The decisive segment turned into a farce. No driver wanted to be the leading car on the track, due to losing valuable tenths for not getting the tow from other cars. To avoid being the first car on track, the drivers ended up doing weird things. The Mercedes pilots came out of their pit garages first, but they stopped at the pit exit! Sebastian, who was now forced to be the leading driver, made a fake lock-up into Turn 1, cutting the corner. His strategy didn't work, as all the other drivers followed him, cutting the corner as well! So the German had to set his fastest lap time first. His flying lap was controversial, as it seemed, that he had exceeded the track limits with all four wheels at Turn 11, which had been prohibited by the stewards. Q3 saw another fateful mistake by the Iceman. A spin threw Kimi into the tyre wall, and the session was red-flagged, with 6:35 in the clock. Just before the red flags Charles had gone fastest. Hamilton was second, 0.039s down on the Monegasque. Bottas had had to slow down due to the yellow flags, with the Finn being on his way to provisional pole. However, the Finn's time was third fastest anyway. Sebastian was fourth, 0.15s down on his teammate. Ricciardo in P5 was half a second off the pace. At the end of the session, drivers' determination to avoid being the first man on track reached a whole new dimension. The clock was ticking, but everyone stayed in their pit garage! Renault's Hulkenberg finally led the cars out, but there were only two minutes left in the clock. This indicated serious trouble in terms of starting the flying lap in time. Hulkenberg, too cut the corner at Turn 1, but in spite of overtaking the German, the others slowed down and waited for Hulkenberg to re-join the track in the lead. At the end, Charles and McLaren's Sainz were the only drivers to make it to the chequered flag in time! And Charles had no need to improve his lap time, as he was on pole already! What a ridiculous farce this qualifying turned out!
In spite of the farce, Charles definitely deserved his back-to-back pole. Hamilton will start to the race alongside the super fast Monegasque. Sebastian's flying lap was taken into investigation by the stewards, but the German got to keep his fourth place alongside Bottas. The Renault duo made a superb job by locking down the third row, with Ricciardo having the upper hand on his teammate. Kimi's car has had a gear box change and a power unit upgrade, which means, that the Iceman will start to the race from the pit lane. Verstappen, who will also start from the back of the pack, will certainly offer a great overtaking show. One thing is for sure: Charles will have to fight extremely hard to convert pole into another victory, as Mercedes' race pace is frighteningly competitive!
The red-suited home heroes came out on the medium rubber, whilst all rivals had the soft compound on. The Renault duo of Hulkenberg and Ricciardo was amazingly competitive, and they were topping the time sheets at the beginning of the first session. Even the Mercedes drivers were unable to match Hulkenberg's time! Bottas went second, a thousandth of a second off Hulkenberg's pace. Teammate Hamilton was third, a tenth down on the German. Sebastian and Charles made their second attempt on the mediums as well. Charles showed top form and went fastest -only a fraction before the session was red-flagged! Perez's Racing Point came to a sudden halt on the track, which brought out the red flags. There were 4:34 remaining in the clock. As the session was resumed, the Ferrari duo came out on the soft Pirellis. The order of the top four -Leclerc, Hulkenberg, Bottas, Hamilton- didn't change at the closing stages of the first segment. Verstappen came out not until at the end of Q1, but reported about engine woes and came in without setting a time. The Dutch Red Bull pilot will start to the race from the very back of the pack, as he has been given a penalty for power unit elements change. In addition to Perez and Verstappen, out of Q2 were Haas' Grosjean and the Williams duo.
In Q2 there were no differing tyre strategies, but everyone opted for the red-walled soft compound. Charles had definitely held on to the momentum from the previous race, as the Monegasque went fastest again on his first run. Hamilton was second, Sebastian third and amazing Ricciardo fourth. Kimi had showed promising pace at the wheel of his Alfa Romeo, but in Q2 the latest Ferrari world champion made a fateful mistake. The Iceman lost the rear of his car at Lesmo 1, failing to get a lap time. There was traffic on the track, with two minutes remaining. Hamilton went fastest, but by 89 thousandths of a second only. Charles was second, followed by Sebastian and Ricciardo. Amazingly, Kimi made an impressive second run, which took him into Q3. The margin between Kimi in P10 and teammate Giovinazzi in P11 was minimal 0.002s! Alongside Giovinazzi eliminated were Haas' Magnussen, the Toro Rosso duo of Kvyat and Gasly and McLaren's Norris.
The decisive segment turned into a farce. No driver wanted to be the leading car on the track, due to losing valuable tenths for not getting the tow from other cars. To avoid being the first car on track, the drivers ended up doing weird things. The Mercedes pilots came out of their pit garages first, but they stopped at the pit exit! Sebastian, who was now forced to be the leading driver, made a fake lock-up into Turn 1, cutting the corner. His strategy didn't work, as all the other drivers followed him, cutting the corner as well! So the German had to set his fastest lap time first. His flying lap was controversial, as it seemed, that he had exceeded the track limits with all four wheels at Turn 11, which had been prohibited by the stewards. Q3 saw another fateful mistake by the Iceman. A spin threw Kimi into the tyre wall, and the session was red-flagged, with 6:35 in the clock. Just before the red flags Charles had gone fastest. Hamilton was second, 0.039s down on the Monegasque. Bottas had had to slow down due to the yellow flags, with the Finn being on his way to provisional pole. However, the Finn's time was third fastest anyway. Sebastian was fourth, 0.15s down on his teammate. Ricciardo in P5 was half a second off the pace. At the end of the session, drivers' determination to avoid being the first man on track reached a whole new dimension. The clock was ticking, but everyone stayed in their pit garage! Renault's Hulkenberg finally led the cars out, but there were only two minutes left in the clock. This indicated serious trouble in terms of starting the flying lap in time. Hulkenberg, too cut the corner at Turn 1, but in spite of overtaking the German, the others slowed down and waited for Hulkenberg to re-join the track in the lead. At the end, Charles and McLaren's Sainz were the only drivers to make it to the chequered flag in time! And Charles had no need to improve his lap time, as he was on pole already! What a ridiculous farce this qualifying turned out!
In spite of the farce, Charles definitely deserved his back-to-back pole. Hamilton will start to the race alongside the super fast Monegasque. Sebastian's flying lap was taken into investigation by the stewards, but the German got to keep his fourth place alongside Bottas. The Renault duo made a superb job by locking down the third row, with Ricciardo having the upper hand on his teammate. Kimi's car has had a gear box change and a power unit upgrade, which means, that the Iceman will start to the race from the pit lane. Verstappen, who will also start from the back of the pack, will certainly offer a great overtaking show. One thing is for sure: Charles will have to fight extremely hard to convert pole into another victory, as Mercedes' race pace is frighteningly competitive!
sunnuntai 1. syyskuuta 2019
Belgian GP: Emotional maiden win for Leclerc!
The F1 drivers came to the paddock today with heavy hearts. Yesterday's F2 race had seen a fatal crash at Raidillon on lap 2, which led to the death of young and talented French racing driver Anthoine Hubert. There was a touching one-minute silence before the Belgian national anthem. The late Hubert was a close friend of pole-setter Leclerc, who wanted to win the race in memory of his friend.
The start was eventful, which is typical of Spa. Leclerc took a fantastic start and maintained his lead. Hamilton's start was brilliant, too, and the Briton made it ahead of Sebastian, climbing up to Eau Rouge. However, Ferrari's straight line speed was superior compared to the silver cars, and Sebastian snatched his second place back on the long straight. Once again Verstappen, who started to the race from P5, had a lousy start. He lost two positions right away, trying to compensate his loss, going into Eau Rouge. He dived into the inside of Kimi, where there was no room at all. Verstappen crashed into Kimi's Alfa Romeo, making Kimi's car jump into air and landing on two wheels. The crash damaged the front suspension of Verstappen's RB15, which made the aggressive Dutchman to crash out into the tyre wall at Eau Rouge. What a stupid and desperate move from Verstappen! Safety car was deployed, and Kimi pitted for a new nose cone. However, there was severe damage in the floor of Kimi's Alfa Romeo. The Iceman pitted for the second time on the sequential lap, this time for a fresh set of yellow-walled medium Pirellis. The Finn re-joined the track at the very back of the pack. The safety car stayed out a bit longer than intended, as McLaren's Sainz also faced DNF.
As the race was back on, Leclerc had a firm lead, with teammate Sebastian second. Hamilton was third, followed by teammate Bottas and McLaren's Norris, who had made it from P11 up to P5. Due to yesterday's tragic events, Leclerc had to work extra hard to keep up his concentration. He locked up his tyres going to Les Combes, which caused him to cut the corner. Nevertheless, Sebastian wasn't able to decrease the gap to his teammate.
Sebastian was the first top driver to pit on lap 15. He switched to the medium compound and re-joined the track in P5. After his pit stop Sebastian was absolutely flying. His lap times were significantly better than the top three's. It seemed, that Sebastian was going to take the lead, when his rivals pitted!
It was absolutely heart-warming to see, how the crowd got up to give standing ovation for Anthoine Hubert on lap 19, which was his racing number. Meanwhile, Kimi was really struggling with the performance of his car. Unfortunately the Iceman seemed like a bowl, which got passed one driver by another. A spectacular start had turned into a disappointing P16.
Race leader Charles came in not until on lap 20. Similar to his teammate, he switched to the medium compound. Sebastian benefited from the undercut, and Charles re-joined the track behind his teammate, in spite of a flawless pit stop. The Mercedes duo pitted on the sequential laps for a similar tyre choice. Hamilton maintained his third place, and teammate Bottas stayed in fourth. Charles was significantly faster than Sebastian, although the teammates were on the same rubber. Charles was rapidly catching his teammate.
The tables have turned at Ferrari, as Sebastian was given a team order on lap 26; he was told to let Charles past. The German obeyed, and Charles was back in the lead. Sebastian was in serious trouble with his out-worn medium tyres, which had degraded faster than he had hoped. Hamilton's pace on the medium Pirellis was frighteningly competitive, and the Briton was catching Sebastian lap by lap. Sebastian reported on the team radio, that his tyres weren't going to last till the end. The German was likely to be forced to make a second pit stop.
By lap 29 Hamilton was right at Sebastian's tail. It was only thanks to Ferrari's splendid straight line speed, that Sebastian was able to defend his position. But on lap 32 Hamilton managed to squeeze himself extremely close to Sebastian, and thanks to DRS, the Briton snatched the second place from Sebastian. Immediately there was a new danger lurking from behind: Bottas, who was on a hunt. But as the Finn was on a striking distance from the struggling German, Sebastian drove into the pits for the second time. He re-joined the track on a fresh set of soft tyres in P4. It was a disappointing turn, as it had seemed earlier, that he had an excellent chance to win the race... But success just disappeared in the air.
With ten laps to go, Charles had a seven-second lead to Hamilton, so the Monegasque's maiden win seemed quite secured. Sebastian set the fastest lap time on lap 37. Nevertheless, the gap to Bottas was far too massive (18 seconds) to be caught up. Meanwhile, the battle in the midfield was extremely intense and tight. The Red Bull debutant Albon managed to pass Toro Rosso's Kvyat, making it P7 already. Kimi's teammate Giovinazzi was driving a great race as well; the Italian made an overtaking move on Toro Rosso's Gasly, making it in the points. A lap later he attacked Renault's Ricciardo, claiming P9 already.
On the closing laps Charles' tyres were dying. Hamilton smelled the Ferrari ace's blood, determinedly closing the gap tenth by tenth. With three laps to go, the gap between the top two was under 2.5 seconds already. Hamilton was able to decrease the gap especially on the second sector, which consisted of corners mostly. On the second last lap, the gap was only 1.5 seconds. Would Hamilton be able to try an overtaking move on Charles?
The penultimate lap was highly dramatic. Norris, who was driving a superb race in P5, suffered a sudden loss of power on the very last lap, with his orange McLaren coming to a halt. It was such a shame, that a great result turned into P11 and no points. Also Giovinazzi, who was on his way to the points finish, crashed out on the very last lap, due to a mistake of his own! The yellow flags meant, that Hamilton missed his chance to try a move on Charles. Charles took his well-deserved maiden win at legendary Spa Francorchamps. Hamilton finished the runner-up, only less than a second behind. Bottas completed the podium, and Sebastian was left in P4. Albon drove a strong first race for Red Bull, finishing fifth. Perez finished sixth for Racing Point and Kvyat seventh for Toro Rosso. Renault's Hulkenberg, Toro Rosso's Gasly and Racing Point's Stroll rounded out the top ten.
Is Charles the new number one driver at Ferrari? Sebastian still seems to struggle with his performance, for one reason or another. His strategy wasn't perfect today, but I can't help wondering, why Sebastian's pace on the medium tyres was so poor compared to his teammate's pace on the same compound. Charles was clearly the faster one of the red-suited drivers the whole weekend. Next week the F1 circus moves to Monza, "the temple of speed", which is expected to be the Red Team's territory as well. Hope to see another red victory, preferably by Sebastian!
The start was eventful, which is typical of Spa. Leclerc took a fantastic start and maintained his lead. Hamilton's start was brilliant, too, and the Briton made it ahead of Sebastian, climbing up to Eau Rouge. However, Ferrari's straight line speed was superior compared to the silver cars, and Sebastian snatched his second place back on the long straight. Once again Verstappen, who started to the race from P5, had a lousy start. He lost two positions right away, trying to compensate his loss, going into Eau Rouge. He dived into the inside of Kimi, where there was no room at all. Verstappen crashed into Kimi's Alfa Romeo, making Kimi's car jump into air and landing on two wheels. The crash damaged the front suspension of Verstappen's RB15, which made the aggressive Dutchman to crash out into the tyre wall at Eau Rouge. What a stupid and desperate move from Verstappen! Safety car was deployed, and Kimi pitted for a new nose cone. However, there was severe damage in the floor of Kimi's Alfa Romeo. The Iceman pitted for the second time on the sequential lap, this time for a fresh set of yellow-walled medium Pirellis. The Finn re-joined the track at the very back of the pack. The safety car stayed out a bit longer than intended, as McLaren's Sainz also faced DNF.
As the race was back on, Leclerc had a firm lead, with teammate Sebastian second. Hamilton was third, followed by teammate Bottas and McLaren's Norris, who had made it from P11 up to P5. Due to yesterday's tragic events, Leclerc had to work extra hard to keep up his concentration. He locked up his tyres going to Les Combes, which caused him to cut the corner. Nevertheless, Sebastian wasn't able to decrease the gap to his teammate.
Sebastian was the first top driver to pit on lap 15. He switched to the medium compound and re-joined the track in P5. After his pit stop Sebastian was absolutely flying. His lap times were significantly better than the top three's. It seemed, that Sebastian was going to take the lead, when his rivals pitted!
It was absolutely heart-warming to see, how the crowd got up to give standing ovation for Anthoine Hubert on lap 19, which was his racing number. Meanwhile, Kimi was really struggling with the performance of his car. Unfortunately the Iceman seemed like a bowl, which got passed one driver by another. A spectacular start had turned into a disappointing P16.
Race leader Charles came in not until on lap 20. Similar to his teammate, he switched to the medium compound. Sebastian benefited from the undercut, and Charles re-joined the track behind his teammate, in spite of a flawless pit stop. The Mercedes duo pitted on the sequential laps for a similar tyre choice. Hamilton maintained his third place, and teammate Bottas stayed in fourth. Charles was significantly faster than Sebastian, although the teammates were on the same rubber. Charles was rapidly catching his teammate.
The tables have turned at Ferrari, as Sebastian was given a team order on lap 26; he was told to let Charles past. The German obeyed, and Charles was back in the lead. Sebastian was in serious trouble with his out-worn medium tyres, which had degraded faster than he had hoped. Hamilton's pace on the medium Pirellis was frighteningly competitive, and the Briton was catching Sebastian lap by lap. Sebastian reported on the team radio, that his tyres weren't going to last till the end. The German was likely to be forced to make a second pit stop.
By lap 29 Hamilton was right at Sebastian's tail. It was only thanks to Ferrari's splendid straight line speed, that Sebastian was able to defend his position. But on lap 32 Hamilton managed to squeeze himself extremely close to Sebastian, and thanks to DRS, the Briton snatched the second place from Sebastian. Immediately there was a new danger lurking from behind: Bottas, who was on a hunt. But as the Finn was on a striking distance from the struggling German, Sebastian drove into the pits for the second time. He re-joined the track on a fresh set of soft tyres in P4. It was a disappointing turn, as it had seemed earlier, that he had an excellent chance to win the race... But success just disappeared in the air.
With ten laps to go, Charles had a seven-second lead to Hamilton, so the Monegasque's maiden win seemed quite secured. Sebastian set the fastest lap time on lap 37. Nevertheless, the gap to Bottas was far too massive (18 seconds) to be caught up. Meanwhile, the battle in the midfield was extremely intense and tight. The Red Bull debutant Albon managed to pass Toro Rosso's Kvyat, making it P7 already. Kimi's teammate Giovinazzi was driving a great race as well; the Italian made an overtaking move on Toro Rosso's Gasly, making it in the points. A lap later he attacked Renault's Ricciardo, claiming P9 already.
On the closing laps Charles' tyres were dying. Hamilton smelled the Ferrari ace's blood, determinedly closing the gap tenth by tenth. With three laps to go, the gap between the top two was under 2.5 seconds already. Hamilton was able to decrease the gap especially on the second sector, which consisted of corners mostly. On the second last lap, the gap was only 1.5 seconds. Would Hamilton be able to try an overtaking move on Charles?
The penultimate lap was highly dramatic. Norris, who was driving a superb race in P5, suffered a sudden loss of power on the very last lap, with his orange McLaren coming to a halt. It was such a shame, that a great result turned into P11 and no points. Also Giovinazzi, who was on his way to the points finish, crashed out on the very last lap, due to a mistake of his own! The yellow flags meant, that Hamilton missed his chance to try a move on Charles. Charles took his well-deserved maiden win at legendary Spa Francorchamps. Hamilton finished the runner-up, only less than a second behind. Bottas completed the podium, and Sebastian was left in P4. Albon drove a strong first race for Red Bull, finishing fifth. Perez finished sixth for Racing Point and Kvyat seventh for Toro Rosso. Renault's Hulkenberg, Toro Rosso's Gasly and Racing Point's Stroll rounded out the top ten.
Is Charles the new number one driver at Ferrari? Sebastian still seems to struggle with his performance, for one reason or another. His strategy wasn't perfect today, but I can't help wondering, why Sebastian's pace on the medium tyres was so poor compared to his teammate's pace on the same compound. Charles was clearly the faster one of the red-suited drivers the whole weekend. Next week the F1 circus moves to Monza, "the temple of speed", which is expected to be the Red Team's territory as well. Hope to see another red victory, preferably by Sebastian!
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