Styrian GP / Qualifying: Hamilton shone in rain-drenched qualifying!

The weather forecast predicted heavy rain, even thunder storm, for today's qualifying. This time the weather forecast proved very accurate. At the time of the scheduled start of the qualifying it was pouring rain, and there were puddles of water all over the Red Bull Ring. Due to the extreme weather conditions the start of Q1 was delayed. After a 40-minute delay it was finally announced, that the first session was to get underway in 10 minutes.

Sebastian lined up first in the queue at the pit exit to wait for the light turn green. It was still raining significantly, and full-wets were the obvious choice for everyone. In the challenging conditions the holder of the top spot changed rapidly. First it was Sebastian, who went on top, but soon he was deprived of the top spot by Williams' Russell, which caught me by surprise. Then it was Alfa Romeo's Giovinazzi, who went fastest. The honour of holding the top spot was only brief, as Leclerc set the fastest lap time. Charles and Sebastian were topping the time sheets, with Kimi third in his Alfa Romeo, as there were 12 minutes left in the clock. Wish this had been the real pecking order! The track kept improving, and the name of the fastest man kept changing. Hamilton snatched the top spot, but Charles robbed it again. Then Bottas banged the fastest lap time, but Red Bull's Verstappen gave his answer right away, making it on top of the timetable. Racing Point, who had showed excellent performance in Spielberg last weekend, were now struggling in the wet conditions. Renault instead, delivered in the pouring rain. Ocon jumped second in the standings at the end of the first session! The Frenchman split the Mercedes drivers, Hamilton being the faster one of the Silver Arrows. There were only two minutes remaining in the clock, as the standing water caught Giovinazzi by surprise, and the Italian went wide, bringing out the yellow flags. Hamilton was topping the time sheets, followed by the McLaren duo of Norris and Sainz. Verstappen stormed second in the last minute. With only 13 seconds remaining, the session was red-flagged due to Giovinazzi's off. Out of Q2 were both Alfa Romeo drivers (Kimi 16th, Giovinazzi 19th), Racing Point's Perez, Williams' Latifi and Haas' Grosjean. Definitely worth noting is the fact, that Williams pilot Russell made it into Q2 for the first time in his F1 career! This young Briton showed exceptional talent in virtual racing during the shutdown, and he clearly carries on with the momentum in live racing as well.

Once again Sebastian took his place as the first driver to go out, as Q2 was kicked off. It was still raining, and everyone headed out on the blue-walled full-wets. Expectedly, Verstappen shone in the extreme conditions, setting the fastest lap time on his first runs. Hamilton was second, half a second down on the flying Dutchman. Teammate Bottas was eight tenths down already. Ferrari struggled with their performance also in the wet. Sebastian was unable to make it higher than 7th, and Charles was in even more modest P11 after his first runs. With 5 minutes left in the clock, Hamilton put together a perfect lap, clocking the fastest lap time. Verstappen was second, followed by McLaren's Sainz, Mercedes' Bottas and Renault's Ocon. However, the rain intensified towards the closing stages of Q2. This meant even more challenging and slippery conditions and no improvements on the lap times. Sebastian went wide in Turn 1 on his last run, with teammate Charles exiting the pits and coming out right ahead of his teammate... The Q2 result told everything about Ferrari's performance. Or lack of performance to be honest. Sebastian was the last driver to make it among the top ten, whilst Charles was knocked out of the final session! Ferrari had brought some updates to their SF1000 for this weekend already, but it hadn't change the fact, that the Red Team are facing a deep crisis at the moment. Alongside Charles, also Russell, Racing Point's Stroll, AlphaTauri's Kvyat and Haas' Magnussen were eliminated from the final segment. 

The weather conditions remained the same, as the shootout for pole began. Verstappen was the first man to clock the fastest lap time, which, however, he was briefly robbed of. Hamilton expectedly signed up for the fight for pole. With 6 minutes remaining, Bottas laid his hands on the top spot. Then it was Hamilton, who set the screens purple and banged the fastest lap time! A moment later it was Verstappen, who went fastest! And then again Hamilton! What a thrilling battle it turned out. In the last minute Verstappen was driving a competitive lap but span on the slippery track. However, there was only one king at Red Bull Ring today, and that was Lewis Hamilton. He improved his lap time on his last flyer so significantly, that in the end the reigning world champion turned out 1.2s faster than his closest rival Verstappen! I still don't know, where that lap came from! Sainz qualified third for McLaren, which was a top job from the Spaniard. Last week's pole-setter Bottas was left fourth this time. Ocon qualified fifth for Renault and Norris sixth in the sister McLaren. However, Norris will drop down three places due to a grid penalty, which was handed to him for ignoring the yellow flags in FP1. The fourth row was locked down by Red Bull's Albon and AlphaTauri's Gasly. Ricciardo was 9th in his Renault, and slow Sebastian couldn't make his way out from the back of the pack. To see him 2.3 seconds off the pole-setter made my heart bleed! Ferrari are so deep in trouble, which hurts me badly.

It is predicted to be a dry race tomorrow. Everyone has a free choice of tyres, as no dry tyres were used in today's qualifying. Verstappen will probably challenge Hamilton for the lead right at the very start. It could be an advantage for Bottas, if these two take it too aggressively. Once again I'm expecting a strong race from the orange team, in spite of Norris' penalty. Will there be as many DNFs as in last week's race? I definitely hope, that Red Bull will score points tomorrow, not to make it too easy for Mercedes to run away with all their points. To be honest, I don't know what to hope in terms of the Red Team. All I hope is that Sebastian will drive a flawless race and extract maximum out of his SF1000. Other than that, the performance of the car is out of his hands.

Austrian GP: Bottas took 8th career win in an interrupted and retirement-filled race!

I had an exceptional and memorable season-opening Sunday. I was reading a book in the morning, when I got an unexpected phone call from a reporter working for MTV3. She asked me, if she could come over and interview me on the long-delayed start of the F1 season. I didn't have anything against the idea, so I said she would be very welcome. I had to stop reading my book and start tidying up a little!

I was so excited about the start of the F1 season so it was a bit challenging to focus on answering the reporter's questions. However, due to my overwhelming passion for F1 racing, I love talking about the sport any time! While answering the questions I heard on TV, that Red Bull had made a protest against Hamilton this morning, due to not slowing down under the yellow flags in the final segment of the qualifying. The protest had led into a 3-place grid penalty for the reigning world champion. The penalty had promoted Verstappen to the front row, whilst Hamilton had dropped down to P5. Statistically, pole didn't play such a remarkable role at Spielberg as at some other circuits. Last year Verstappen drove to victory after starting to the race from P8.

What a memorable moment it was, when the lights went out for the first time this season! Bottas made the pole position count and held on to his lead. Verstappen was a bit in trouble with his medium tyres, and McLaren's Norris seriously challenged the Dutchman at the start. Hamilton, too had an aggressive opening laps. After passing Norris and Red Bull's Albon he had his eyes nailed on Verstappen. Unfortunately the flying Dutchman wasn't meant to succeed at his team's home track. On lap 11 his RB16 was hit with a technical failure, which proved crucial. Max managed to nurture his limping RB16 into the pits, but there was nothing to be done to fix the issue. Max, who was to have an advantage in terms of the medium tyres, had to face a possible victory to slip through his fingers! What a devastating moment! Hamilton benefitted from this turn, as he was in P2 already. 

There were more technical failures to come. Renault's Ricciardo was the next victim. The Australian's black and yellow Renault crawled on the track but he managed to bring it into the pits, just to retire the race. Racing Point's Stroll joined the DNF club only a few laps later. It was a bit surprising to see so many retirements in the race. 

Lap 26 saw some action for Haas' Magnussen. The Dane suffered a brake failure, which led into an off for him. The Haas pilot got stuck on the gravel, and safety car was deployed. At this point Hamilton had decreased his gap to race leader Bottas from 7 seconds into 3 seconds only. Both Mercedes drivers drove into the pits for a double stop, switching to the white-walled hardest compound. They were followed by the other top drivers, also opting for a similar tyre strategy. The only exception was Racing Point's Perez, who opted for the yellow-marked medium compound. 

On lap 30 the safety car came in, and the race was resumed. Bottas controlled the race perfectly, keeping his teammate firmly behind. However, there was drama further back in the midfield. Sebastian had had a tame start to the race, and the German was in P8. At the restart he made an over-optimistic move on McLaren's Sainz, which led into contact between the two. Sebastian span and dropped down to P15. It truly proved a costly move. Sebastian had struggled with poor car performance since the beginning of the race, and this mistake certainly didn't make his race look any brighter. 

Meanwhile Perez was driving an excellent race. He made a classy overtaking move on Norris, snatching P4 from the British McLaren pilot. Hamilton had closed the gap to Bottas, and the reigning world champion had a DRS advantage on his teammate. In spite of the convincing double lead, there were dark clouds lurking over the Silver Arrows. Both drivers were told on the team radio to stay off the kerbs. There was a gear box related sensor issue in both cars, which was said to be critical. Hitting the kerbs caused vibration, which activated the issue. So the powerful favorites proved vulnerable after all. 

Lap 51 saw Williams' Russell to hit problems. Due to a techical failure his car stopped on the track, which brought out the safety car for the second time. The Mercedes drivers still had a strong double lead, with Perez third, Albon fourth, Norris fifth and Leclerc sixth. The Mercedes duo decided to stay out, whilst Albon, Norris and Leclerc pitted for the second time. They had differing tyre choices, as Albon opted for the softs, whilst both Norris and Leclerc switched to the mediums. However, Russell's Williams was cleared rapidly out of the way, and the race was back on in a few laps. 

Once again Bottas controlled everything and maintained his lead. In terms of the midfield, there was more drama to come. Kimi, who had just pitted for a fresh set of soft Pirellis, witnessed his front-right tyre go off coming into the last corner! Sparks were flying, and Sebastian was just barely able to avoid hitting the Iceman's limping Alfa Romeo! Kimi's wrecked challenger stopped on the track, so safety car was out for the third time already! I can only imagine, what race leader Bottas might have thought at that point, as he was to defend his lead one more time. With Kimi being out of the race, there were only 13 cars racing round the Spielberg circuit!

The closing laps of the race were adrenaline-filled. Bottas maintained his ice-cool attitude at the third restart and held on to his lead. Teammate Hamilton, on the other hand, was in serious trouble with Red Bull's Albon. The Thai driver aggressively attacked the Briton on the outside, but there was no room for the Red Bull pilot. Albon and Hamilton collided, and the Thai driver span, dropping down to the back of the pack. To me it seemed like a racing incident, but the stewards took the incident into investigation. Hamilton was handed a 5-second time penalty for causing the collision. 

Meanwhile Leclerc surprisingly found some extra pace. He made a classy overtaking move first on Norris, making his way to P4. Next he had his eyes targeted on Perez, whose sculp the Monegasque picked up next. Unbelievable but true, Charles was already third in the race! Red Bull's day turned into pitch-black, as Albon, too suffered a technical failure only a few laps before the chequered flag. Zero points for the energy drink team must be a nightmare on a season, which could turn out as short as 15 races! Norris, too found some extra boost towards the end of the race and attacked Perez. The Briton's stubborn move proved successful in spite of a slight contact between the two. Norris was now fourth in the race. Starting the final lap, Hamilton was 5.8 seconds ahead of him. To make it on the podium for the first time, Norris would have to close the gap into under 5 seconds... And the man was on a mission! Norris banged the fastest lap time on the very final lap, decreasing the gap into 4.8 seconds! 

Bottas took a well-deserved 8th career win, which was his second at Austria. A flawless race from the Finn indeed! Leclerc finished the runner-up, which came as a surprise to the man himself due to poor car performance (lacking straight line speed especially). Norris was naturally over the moon to score his maiden podium in F1! Hamilton had to settle for P4 due to his penalty. Sainz completed a perfect day for McLaren by finishing fifth. Perez, who had also been given a 5-second time penalty for speeding in the pit lane, finished 6th, with Gasly 7th for AlphaTauri and Ocon 8th for Renault. Giovinazzi scored two points for Alfa Romeo, leaving Sebastian the last driver to score points. In the build-up to the season, who could have anticipated this struggle for a points finish for Sebastian?

It was no surprise, that Mercedes' name is found on top of the constructors' standings. But who would have thought to see McLaren in P2? Ferrari are in P3, although they definitely don't deserve to be there. Red Bull, on the other hand, have zero points in their bag! It's not a good start to the season, regarding the fact, that no one knows, how long it's going to be. For Ferrari, too there's only one way and it's upwards and onwards! Forza Ferrari!

Austrian GP / Qualifying: The extraordinary 2020 season was finally kicked off!

Hello everybody! No words can tell, how over the moon I am to be back writing about Formula 1 action! The world has seen an exceptional and routine-changing spring, as the global COVID-19 pandemic broke out in March. At first it was the season-opening Australian GP, which was cancelled but soon it became obvious, that the entire first third of the season was to be postponed or cancelled. So this has been the longest break between the seasons since the 1960s!

In spite of the 60-day shutdown concerning all teams, the F1 world was yet very much alive. Actually the shutdown period saw the craziest silly season for a very long time! Ferrari dropped a news bomb by announcing, that the Scuderia and the quadruple world champion Sebastian Vettel were to part ways at the end of the 2020 season! There were many rumours and allegations but very little actual information on the reasons leading to this decision. Personally I had taken it for granted, that Sebastian's contract with the Red Team would be renewed. I obviously still hadn't learned, that nothing in the F1 world should never ever be taken for granted! Only days after the breaking news Ferrari announced, that they had signed Carlos Sainz to their line-up for the upcoming season. The Renault ace Daniel Ricciardo, on the other hand, was to leave Renault and join McLaren for 2021!

There have been 215 days since the previous GP weekend! So it was about time to get the season underway. Mercedes, the reigning world champions, brought an updated car already to the season-opener. Ferrari, who hadn't been happy with their performance after the winter tests in March, will bring an update not until for the Hungarian GP weekend in a fortnight. The only driver to debut in F1 this year is Nicholas Latifi, who replaced Robert Kubica at the wheel of Williams.

It was a beautiful moment, when the lights turned green and the cars were released from the pits. This was the moment, when anything was possible. Red Bull's Verstappen, who has always felt at home at Red Bull Ring, went fastest. McLaren's Sainz, the future Ferrari ace, was second, followed by Racing Point's Perez. Already in the free practices it had seemed, that both McLaren and Racing Point had raised the bar this year. Although Racing Point had caught everyone's eye due to their distinguished similarity to Mercedes' last year's car. The first runs saw Sebastian fourth and teammate Leclerc in modest P9. Mercedes clearly didn't release their whole potential at the beginning of the first session. Bottas went 4th, with the reigning world champion as far behind as in P12. With 6 minutes remaining, Alfa Romeo's Kimi Räikkönen was the driver at the knock-out zone. However, in no time Hamilton was back in his normal form, making his way up to P2. The second runs put the limelight on Racing Point's Stroll, who made it on top of the timesheets! He was deprived of the top spot by Verstappen, but the Canadian had clearly an impressive start to the brand new season. On the contrary to Verstappen's teammate Albon, who had to settle for modest P12. Haas' Magnussen was the first driver to be eliminated in Q1, alongside with the Alfa Romeo duo of Giovinazzi and Räikkönen and the Williams duo of Russell and Latifi.

As the second session started, the Mercedes teammates were the first drivers to come out on the soft tyres. This time Hamilton was faster of the Silver Arrows, pipping his Finnish teammate by two tenths. The Ferrari duo, too opted for the red-marked fastest tyre wear. At this point it was obvious, that the Italian team were struggling badly with their pace. Charles was in P5, seven tenths off the pace, not to mention Sebastian, who was a shocking second behind the pace-setting Mercedes! McLaren's Norris caught me by surprise being third fastest after the first runs. The other midfield teams stood out of the crowd as well, as Perez in Racing Point was fifth and Ricciardo in Renault was sixth. Verstappen was the only driver to come out on the medium compound. Max made it 8th in the standings, with 8 tenths down on Hamilton. After a second flyer the Dutchman improved and jumped 6th. The second runs saw unexpected consequences. Bottas made it on the top spot, edging Hamilton by 0.081s. Albon in the sister Red Bull put together a magnificent lap and made it 3rd in the standings. Teammate Verstappen had to opt for a fresh set of soft tyres for his second run, but he aborted his flyer, as his banker lap was enough to get him into Q3. Catastrophically, Sebastian was unable to improve his lap time, and for the first time in his Ferrari career, the German was out of the top ten due to not having the pace! I mean, that there were no penalties or technical failures, which would have caused the German the elimination. I was absolutely shocked, couldn't believe, what I had just seen! Teammate Leclerc was the last man to make it into the final segment, so this proved to be a catastrophic qualifying session for Ferrari! Alongside the shocked German, out of Q3 were the Alfa Tauri teammates Gasly and Kvyat, Renault's Ocon and Haas' Grosjean.

Once again Mercedes released their party mode in the decisive last session. Bottas put together an outstanding lap, claiming the provisional pole by 0.122s to his teammate. The Silver Arrows stamped their authority all over the place, as Verstappen in P3 was already six tenths off the pace. Teammate Albon was fourth, 9 tenths down already. Sainz was fifth, Perez sixth and Leclerc seventh, but they had all made their first attempts on the used set of soft tyres. Due to the lack of fresh soft tyres, Norris, Stroll and Ricciardo opted for one run only. Bottas was absolutely determined to take the pole, as the storming Finn set the first sector purple on his last flyer. However, he tried a bit too hard, ending up hitting the gravel in Turn 4, which made his Mercedes turn into the most expensive lawn-mover! The yellow flags didn't effect Hamilton's run, but the Briton's lap was 0.012s too slow to deprive his teammate of the first pole of the season. Mercedes were in a league of their own with Red Bull's Verstappen being the "best of the rest". The sensation of the first qualifying of the year for me was McLaren's Norris, who made it as high as P4! Red Bull's Albon and Racing Point's Perez locked down the third row, followed by Ferrari's Leclerc and Sainz in the sister McLaren. Racing Point's Stroll and Renault's Ricciardo rounded out the top ten.

The grid for tomorrow's race certainly looks interesting. Max in P3 is the only driver in the top ten to start to the race on the medium rubber. Sebastian in P11 is free to choose his tyres, but it isn't much of a comfort to be honest. Ferrari have work to do not only in terms of a single-lap pace but in terms of race pace as well. It could be a dual between the Mercedes teammates, but Max will definitely have his say in terms of the victory! All I can say is, that I hope for the best for Sebastian. On one hand it's hard to see him struggle, but on the other hand I will cherish every moment of this season, as there's no guarantee, that Sebastian will be on the grid next year!

Abu Dhabi GP: Hamilton underlined his sixth world championship!

For the first time this season, I didn't watch the race live on TV. I went to the cemetary to decorate the little Christmas tree at my son's grave. I also drove to our future home to hang some Christmas lights with my husband. We watched the race together after getting home.

I expected Sebastian to take a strong start on the soft tyres, but unfortunately that wasn't the case. Pole-setter Hamilton held strongly on his lead, and Leclerc proved the Ferrari driver, who caught his rivals by surprise. The lightning-quick Monegasque made his way past Red Bull's Verstappen, claiming P2. Bottas, who had started to the race from the back of the grid, made his way up wisely, avoiding any contact in the first corners. By lap 9, the Finnish Mercedes ace had already made his way among the top ten.

Surprisingly, both Ferrari drivers pitted on lap 13 already, in spite of starting to the race on a different tyre. The Red Team made a double pit stop, with Charles pitting first for white-walled hard Pirellis. Unfortunately Sebastian's pit stop didn't go to plan, as the team had difficulties with attaching the rear-left tyre. Sebastian lost valuable seconds, until he was back on track on a fresh set of hard Pirellis as well. His track position left a lot to hope for, as he had re-joined the track behind Bottas, who was stuck behind Renault's Hulkenberg. Sebastian made a couple of bold moves on the Finn, but Valtteri defended his fifth place with ice-cool attitude.

Towards the halfway point of the race, Bottas was the fastest man on track. He was rapidly decreasing the gap to Charles. Meanwhile, Verstappen was called into the pits from P2. The Dutchman switched to the hard compound, aiming for a one-stop strategy. Mercedes reacted to Red Bull's strategy and called race leader Hamilton in. However, the Briton's top spot was so secured, that he re-joined the track in the lead. Charles was second and Verstappen third. Bottas in P4 was the only top six driver, who hadn't pitted yet. The Finn finally pitted on lap 30, also opting for hard Pirellis. He re-joined the track in P6. Red Bull's Albon was 13 seconds ahead of the Finn.

Meanwhile, Verstappen had closed the gap to Charles, and the aggressive Red Bull ace was putting immense pressure on the Monegasque. And when Max puts pressure on somebody, it usually leads to an overtaking move! This case was no exception. Max attacked Charles, stubbornly robbing him of the second place. Charles tried to take his place back at the next straight, but there was no way Max was going to let his position be taken back. This is what I really admire about Max Verstappen; he doesn't wait for chances to come to him, but he takes chances into his own hands! He is a driver, who doesn't hesitate to make things happen on track.

Bottas was also on flames. He was two seconds faster per lap than any of his rivals! Valtteri clocked an outstanding new track record, constantly decreasing the gap to Albon. The Thai driver was only three seconds ahead of the Finn. Meanwhile, Ferrari were unable to make a one-stopper work. Lap 39 saw another double stop for the Ferrari teammates. Charles switched to the red-walled soft compound, whilst Sebastian opted for the medium rubber. Charles re-joined the track just barely ahead of Albon and Bottas. Sebastian, on the other hand, dropped down to P6. It was eye-catching, how tame the Ferrari duo's pace was. But Bottas continued his impressive performance. He made a classy overtaking move on Albon, claiming P4. Next target was set, and it was Charles in his SF90.

Hamilton had an absolutely dominant lead in the race. The gap to Verstappen had increased into almost 15 seconds. The most interesting battles were between Bottas and Charles for P3 and between Sebastian and Albon for P5. Because of Ferrari's toothless performance it made my day to see Sebastian overtake Albon for P5 on the second last lap! Bottas made it in the striking distance from Charles, but the laps simply ran out.

Hamilton left absolutely no questions about his masterclass performance. He was truly in a class of his own; the dominant victory at the season-ending Abu Dhabi GP definitely underlined his sixth world championship. A revealing statistic detail tells, that the Briton is the only driver to score points in every race of the 2019 season. Verstappen finished second, and Charles completed the podium. Initially there was a threat, that Charles was to be excluded from the results due to a fuel infringement, but no such penalty was given in the end. Bottas made a spectacular job by making his way from P20 to P4. Sebastian finished the race fifth, leaving Albon sixth. Racing Point's Perez was the "best of the rest", finishing 7th.

Due to Ferrari's missing pace, Verstappen finished third in the drivers' championship standings, leaving Charles fourth and Sebastian fifth. I'm confident, that Verstappen will be a serious championship contender next season. He stands so brightly out of the crowd thanks to his amazing driving skills and one-of-a-kind attitude!

So the 2019 season is all wrapped up now. I'm so grateful for this season, although it hasn't brought the success I was hoping for in terms of my favorite red-suited driver. But Formula 1 has brought so much joy and light into my life in this most difficult and hardest year of my life. In my darkest days Formula 1 has represented continuity in my life. Even in the pitch-black moments of despair, there has always been the next race to write about! Thank you Sebastian Vettel, Max Verstappen and Kimi Räikkönen for driving in this series! Thank you for being people, whom I can look up to and admire!    

Abu Dhabi GP / Qualifying: First pole for Hamilton since Germany!

The 2019 Formula 1 season is inevitably coming to an end. The season finale takes place at breath-taking Yas Marina Circuit. Putting the season-ending F1 weekend aside, this was an utterly unique weekend for Sebastian, whose third child was born on Thursday. Warmest congratulations for Sebastian for a new-born baby boy! In addition to this wonderful family news, Sebastian stood out of the crowd in another way. In the first free practice session he made a mistake, ending up into the wall. Sebastian was very angry at himself, and he enumerated a handful of Finnish swearing words! I can't help wondering, how flawlessly Sebastian pronounces Finnish! I burst into laughs when I heard Sebastian's outburst!

Mercedes have absolutely owned the Yas Marina Circuit since the beginning of the turbo hybrid era. So the odds were definitely on the Silver Arrows' side, in terms of pole position. Hamilton went fastest on his first run, but Red Bull's Verstappen was only a tenth down. Ferrari were also in the mix, as Charles was third fastest. Sebastian made a rookie-like mistake and spun on the start straight, which ruined his first attempt. Luckily the German managed to put together a competitive lap on his second flyer, which made him jump fifth in the charts. However, there was half a second separating the red-suited teammates in favor of Charles. Ferrari showed great performance on the first and second sector, but the third sector with slow corners was very challenging for the Red Team. Meanwhile, Bottas had jumped third. Towards the end of the first session, both Mercedes aces managed to improve their lap times, with the newly crowned world champion having the upper hand. In the midfield it was extremely tight. Kimi was under the threat of being knocked out already in Q1. The Iceman made it 14th on his final run, but as his teammate and a couple of others managed to improve, the Finn was out of Q2 in the end! It was an extremely poor qualifying for Alfa Romeo Racing, as Giovinazzi qualified 17th and Kimi 18th! What a disappointing way to end the season!

Q2 came down to the tyre strategy again. It was a bit surprising to see, that both Ferraris came out on the soft compound. Hamilton, alongside the Red Bull duo and Haas' Magnussen, opted for the yellow-walled medium compound. Once again, Hamilton made it on the top of the time sheets in spite of the tyre choice. Charles was second, only 63 thousandths of a second off the Briton's benchmark, and Sebastian was third. Bottas came out on a fresh set of mediums as well, jumping second. In spite of the Red Team's plan to use the soft compound in Q2, Charles switched to the medium rubber at the end of the session. And what a lap he put together, robbing Hamilton of the top spot. The pecking order of the midfield was quite straight forward today; in addition to the three big teams, both McLaren and both Renault drivers made it among the top ten.

In spite of having clinched the world championship already, Hamilton was hungry to take his fifth pole at Yas Marina. He grabbed provisional pole firmly in his hands, as Verstappen in second was three tenths off the pace already. Bottas was third after his first run, followed by the Ferrari duo of Charles and Sebastian. Albon was sixth, having proved unable to match his teammate's pace. The decisive session saw drama in terms of the Ferrari drivers. They were sent out so late, with all the drivers slowing down massively in the last corner, so Charles missed out on his last flyer! A mistake, that the Red Team couldn't have afforded! Hamilton managed to improve his lap time, as did his teammate. However, a Mercedes front row was only symbolic, as Bottas had been given multiple grid penalties due to using new power unit elements. Due to the Finn's penalty, Verstappen is promoted on the front row. The second row is locked down by the Ferrari duo, with Albon fifth and McLaren's Norris 6th. Renault's Ricciardo, McLaren's Sainz, Renault's Hulkenberg and Racing Point's Perez round out the top ten.

I don't know, whether the volatile situation between the Ferrari teammates due to the crash in Brazil has been successfully cleared out. However, tomorrow's starting grid contains all ingredients for another explosion. Charles in P3 will start to the race on the medium compound, whilst teammate Sebastian will start on the soft rubber, which possibly offers an advantage at the start… I really hope, that the Red Team will end the season on a high! And by the way, I would love to hear Sebastian celebrate his win on the team radio in Finnish! Maybe with some nicer words than those used on Friday! :D Go Sebastian!

Brazil GP: Ferrari's worst case scenario led into a surprise podium!

Over the years Brazil GP has produced exciting and action-packed races. So there were all ingredients for a cracker of a race on Sunday. Of all top drivers, Verstappen has failed most often in terms of taking a good start. But this time Max had both his nerves and his Red Bull perfectly under control. He accelerated into the lead with no mistakes. Hamilton took a magnificent start as well, making his way past Sebastian and claiming P2. Sebastian was third, and Bottas managed to maintain his fourth place at the start. Leclerc, who had started to the race from modest P14, had made his way up to P11 by lap 2. Kimi's start to the race was also impressive. Alfa Romeo's race pace proved competitive, and Haas' Grosjean had no chance to defend his 7th place against the ice-cool Finn. However, the Iceman had a threat of his own, as in no time Charles had made it at his tail.

In the midfield there was a fiery fight between Renault's Ricciardo and Haas' Magnussen. Unfortunately it has often proved true, that where there is Magnussen, there's a collision. No exception this time. Magnussen was trying to keep the Australian behind, and a collision took place. Ricciardo's front wing took serious damage, and the Honey Badger had to pit for a new nose cone. The Dane, too had damage to his front wing, and they both dropped down to the very back of the pack. This time it was Ricciardo, who was proven guilty; a few laps later Ricciardo was given a 5-second time penalty for causing the collision.

By lap 20 Charles had jumped to 6th already. He was lurking right behind Red Bull's Albon, hungry to get past. Meanwhile, the pit window was open. Hamilton was the first top driver to pit. The world champion opted for another set of soft Pirellis, and re-joined the track in P6. Race leader Verstappen pitted a lap later, for a similar tyre strategy. Unfortunately, Williams' Kubica was released unsafely right in front of Max, which cost the Red Bull ace some valuable seconds. Due to this incident, Hamilton moved ahead of Max. However, nothing on track proved an obstacle for Max, who was absolutely on flames. He swept past Hamilton in Turn 1; what a fighting spirit Max showed! The lion was unleashed.

Sebastian drove into the pits on lap 26, for a differing tyre strategy. The German switched to the medium compound, so theoretically, a one-stop strategy would be possible. For one lap Bottas was leading the Brazil GP, until he pitted on lap 27. Interestingly, the Finn switched to the hard compound. Valtteri was clearly aiming to make a one-stopper work. Charles, who had started to the race on the medium compound, pitted not until on lap 30. The Monegasque, too, opted for the white-walled hard compound. There haven't been many races this season, where tyre strategies would have been this versatile!

Determined Verstappen was leading the race, with Hamilton second and Sebastian third. This trio was followed by Bottas, Albon and Charles. One-stop strategy proved no option for any driver of the three big teams. Hard tyres didn't offer the performance Mercedes had hoped, and Bottas pitted already after 14-lap stint on the hard Pirellis. Teammate Hamilton pitted a couple of laps later; they both opted for the medium compound. Red Bull had to react and call race leader Verstappen in. Medium Pirellis were also the race leader's choice. Max re-joined the track just barely ahead of Hamilton. Bottas was putting pressure on Charles, whose pace on the hard compound was quite mediocre. Valtteri pushed all power buttons available, but Charles had decided, that overtaking wasn't going to happen. His defending moves were somewhere in "the grey area", and Bottas was stuck behind him.

After Sebastian and Red Bull's Albon had pitted for the second time, Verstappen was back in the lead, with Hamilton following him closely. Sebastian was in P3, hunted by teammate Charles and Mercedes' Bottas. However, at Interlagos Mercedes proved vulnerable after being bullet-proof the whole season this far. On lap 52 there was smoke coming from the rear of Valtteri's W10, and an engine issue was an undeniable fact. Valtteri's Mercedes stopped on track, and safety car was deployed. The deployment of the safety car opened the chance for a strategic game. Verstappen pitted from the lead, whilst Hamilton stayed out. Max, who now had fresh softs on, re-joined the track in P2 behind Hamilton. This anticipated trouble for the six-time world champion!

As the safety car was about to come in, Hamilton slowed down to walking speed, trying to optimize his position at the re-start. But what did Verstappen do at the re-start!? He made an unbelievable move into the outside of Hamilton, squeezing himself past the Briton's Silver Arrow and snatching the lead! Wow, what a crazy move it was! Max definitely owned this race!

The re-start started a series of action-packed events. Albon, who also had fresh soft tyres on, was putting serious pressure on Hamilton. The Briton was suffering from the decision not to pit under the safety car. Sebastian, who had lost his third place to Albon at the re-start, was breathing to the Thai driver's neck. Sebastian dived alongside Albon already, but the Red Bull ace wasn't going to crack under pressure. Albon was so close to achieve his very first podium finish in F1!

Lap 66 took my breath away. Charles forced his way past Sebastian in Turn 1, and it seemed, that the German was truly caught by surprise. Sebastian was gutted for losing the position to his teammate; he moved into the outside of Charles, accelerating past his teammate... But the wheels of their cars touched with dramatic consequences! The contact caused both Ferraris a puncture, and Sebastian's adventurous move swept both red cars out of the race! I was absolutely devastated! And sad! And disappointed! Sebastian's setback-filled first half of the season had turned around only shortly, and now this... I couldn't believe my eyes!

Safety car was deployed for the second time, and Hamilton, too pitted for the second time. The order of the top five was extremely interesting; Verstappen was leading the race, with Red Bull's Albon second and Toro Rosso's Gasly third! Hamilton was fourth, followed by McLaren's Sainz and the Alfa Romeo duo of Kimi and Giovinazzi! Red Bull were on their way to an unbelievable 1-2!

After the re-start there were two boiling hot laps to come. Hamilton swept past Gasly, taking P3 from the Frenchman. Kimi was doing everything he could to pass Sainz, but the Spaniard wasn't going to surrender. Hamilton had so much hunger to get past Albon; so much, that it proved costly for the Briton. Hamilton made a move, which led into contact with superbly performing Albon. The Thai driver spun, and Gasly snatched P2 from the sister team's driver. Hamilton had damage to his front wing, but he continued putting pressure on Gasly until the end.

Verstappen, the unleashed lion, drove to the chequered flag as the celebrated race winner. Unbelievable but true, Gasly won his battle against the six-time world champion and finished the runner-up! Hamilton crossed the finish line in P3, but after the race the Briton was handed a 5-second time penalty for causing the collision with Albon. Hamilton dropped down to P7 in the final results. This promoted Sainz to his very first podium finish! Kimi was remarkable 4th, with teammate Giovinazzi 5th! What a cracker of a race in terms of results!

I definitely would have wanted to be at Ferrari's post-race team meeting! There have been a lot of rumors concerning the tension between the Ferrari teammates, and the Brazil GP made the worst case scenario true! The team have a lot of laundry to do before heading to the season finale in Abu Dhabi!

Brazil GP / Qualifying: Flying Verstappen made it on pole!

Towards the end of the week I've felt exhausted. So a thought of me, sofa and Formula 1 felt irresistibly wonderful. I could forget all my worries and concentrate on Sebastian, Max and Kimi driving around the challenging circuit of Interlagos.

From the first moment of Q1 there was no stopping Verstappen, who was absolutely on flames. In spite of traffic on his first flyer, Max made it on top of the standings, with teammate Albon two tenths off Max's benchmark, which was an impressive lap from the Thai driver. Ferrari seemed to be the second team in the pecking order, as Charles was third and Sebastian fourth. Mercedes had more pace to find, as Hamilton was fifth and Bottas sixth after the first flyers. Meanwhile, Sainz in his orange McLaren was hit with technical woes; the Spaniard had to pit due to engine issues, with no lap time set. There were some improvements at the end of the first segment, as Charles made his way to P2 and Bottas to P4 in the charts. Alfa Romeo were very close to the knock-out zone. On his last attempt Kimi was able to move 14th, which guaranteed the Iceman a place in Q2 alongside his teammate Giovinazzi. In addition to unlucky Sainz, Toro Rosso's Kvyat, Racing Point's Perez and the Williams teammates of Russell and Kubica were eliminated from Q2.

As the light at the pit exit turned green, the Mercedes aces headed out on the red-walled soft tyres. Charles was the only driver to go out on the medium rubber. There was an obvious explanation behind Charles' tyre choice; the Monegasque was to serve a 10-place grid penalty due to a change of multiple power unit elements. Charles showed amazing performance on the medium tyre wear, as he went fastest on his first run, leaving Hamilton second and Bottas third. But out of the shadows came Verstappen, who set a dazzling lap time! Max was so at home on the Brazilian soil. Sebastian went third fastest, but was left two tenths shy of his teammate's time, in spite of the soft tyres! Kimi stood out of the crowd as well, as the Iceman was able to make it among the top ten, even though he made it just barely. There were no improvements on the second runs; partly because of Kimi's teammate Giovinazzi, who spun at the closing stages of Q2, bringing out the yellow flags. McLaren's pace left a little to hope for, as neither one of the McLaren drivers made it to the last segment. On the contrary, Norris was the first driver to miss out on Q3. Out were also the Renault duo of Ricciardo and Hulkenberg, Alfa Romeo's Giovinazzi and Racing Point's Perez.

The drivers of the midfield teams -Toro Rosso's Gasly, the Haas duo of Grosjean and Magnussen and Alfa Romeo's Kimi- came out on a used set of soft tyres, as they had only one fresh set left. Max made an obvious mistake on his first run, but his one-lap pace was still magical. The flying Dutchman took provisional pole by eight thousandths of a second to Sebastian, who also had a wobble in the last corner. Charles was third, Hamilton fourth and Bottas fifth. The margins were minimal, so it seemed, that any driver of the three big teams could conquer pole. Kimi, too had made an excellent first attempt, and was in P8. But Max had come to Brazil to stamp his authority all over the circuit that he loves! He improved his lap time on his final run, snatching his second career pole! The Dutchman's performance was outstanding, as he topped the time sheets in all three sessions! Sebastian made it on the front row, which was such a joy. Hamilton managed to improve in the end, robbing Charles of P3. Due to his penalty, Charles will drop down to P14 on the grid. The Monegasque's penalty will promote Bottas to P4 and Albon to P5. Gasly in the sister team's car will start from P6. Haas' Grosjean and Alfa Romeo's Kimi will line up on the fourth row, followed by Haas' Magnussen.

I'm sure Max will unleash the lion at the start tomorrow. Whether it is enough to win the race, let's see. Mercedes have been in trouble with the tyre management, as the Silver Arrows have suffered from overheating of the tyres. It's interesting to see, how this will affect the world champions' race. It should be a dry race; if it was wet, it would only increase Max's chances to win the race! I'm sure Sebastian will put up a passionate fight for the victory. I'm so happy to see my two favorites on the front row! And so afraid, that they will hit each other in the first corner!