Mexico GP: An all-red front row turned into P2 and P4!

Qualifying classification saw a dramatic change late on Saturday evening. Pole-setter Verstappen was given a 3-place grid penalty for having failed to slow down under yellow flags followed by Bottas' crash in the final corner. The first lap time would have been enough to secure pole for Max, had only his second time lap been deleted. Max could possibly have got away with impunity, had he kept his mouth shut in the post-qualifying press conference! He was asked about ignoring the yellow flags, as he improved his lap time in the end, although Bottas had crashed into the barrier a moment earlier. Max gave an arrogant answer: "Did it look like I slowed down? No, I didn't. You can delete my second time lap if you want to." After these thoughtless comments the stewards took Max's action into investigation and gave the penalty, which dropped the hot-headed Dutchman down to P4 on the grid. Max is an outstanding driver, but sometimes he really should pay attention to the frogs he lets out of his mouth!

I expected to see irritated Verstappen at the start. This time I got what I expected. There was drama already in Turn 1, with who else than Max Verstappen involved! Charles held on to his lead, with teammate Sebastian right behind him. Behind the red duo, Hamilton and Verstappen made contact. Both cars took damage, but they were able to continue the race. Virtual safety car was deployed. Albon was stunning third after the eventful start! McLaren's Sainz had also benefited from Verstappen's and Hamilton's hullabaloo, having moved up to P4. Hamilton was fifth, McLaren's Norris sixth, Bottas seventh and Verstappen eighth.

After the virtual safety car had ended, Hamilton made a move on Sainz, robbing the Spaniard of P4. Verstappen and Bottas had a wheel-banging battle of their own for P7. Max made an insolent move on the Finn, jumping seventh. But Bottas wasn't to let that happen. Only a moment later he snatched his P7 back from hard-fighting Verstappen. And there was another dramatic turn for Max; he had a puncture, as Valtteri's front wing had touched Max's rear tyre! Max had to limp into the pits for a fresh set of hard tyres and face the reality: he was now at the very back of the pack!

Meanwhile, Bottas was making his way up through the field. First the Finn passed McLaren's Norris and then his teammate Sainz, claiming P5. Norris' race turned into a catastrophe only a moment later; during his pit stop his front tyre wasn't successfully attached, which cost the Briton an awful lot of valuable time. Albon was the first top driver to pit on lap 15. Race leader Charles pitted a lap later. They both switched to another set of medium tyres, which was a clear indication of a two-stop strategy. Charles re-joined the track in P4.

Hamilton wasn't the only driver, who Verstappen made contact with. On lap 23 the flying Dutchman had a slight contact with Haas' Magnussen. Max made a questionable move by overtaking the Dane off track. Hamilton pitted on the same lap for a fresh set of hard tyres. However, it seemed quite unlikely, that the Briton would be able to go till the end on those tyres. Soon after his pit stop he complained on the team radio, that the team had called him in way too early. Hamilton was expected to drive a 48-lap stint on the hard Pirellis! Both Sebastian and Bottas stayed out and continued clocking excellent lap times.

Bottas pitted on lap 36, so it was an obvious one-stop strategy for the Finn. Sebastian pitted from the lead on the sequential lap, also for a fresh set of white-walled hard compound. After the pit stops Hamilton was fourth and Sebastian fifth. But Albon and Leclerc, who were ahead of them, were to stop for the second time. Charles drove into the pits on lap 43, and unfortunately it proved a delayed pit stop for the Monegasque. The red crew had difficulties to attach one of the rear tyres, which cost valuable seconds. Charles re-joined the track in P5. Albon pitted a lap later for a fresh set of hard Pirellis, similar to Charles.

With 25 laps to go, Hamilton was leading the race. Sebastian was three seconds down on the race leader, and Valtteri was two seconds behind the German. Meanwhile, Renault's Ricciardo proved, that an extremely long stint on the hard rubber was doable; the Australian pitted after a 50-lap long first stint! Kimi, who was driving his own race out of points, was asked to drive into the pits and retire the car on lap 59. Sad but true, scoring points has proved almost a mission impossible for Alfa Romeo since the summer break.

The gaps between the top four -Hamilton, Sebastian, Bottas and Charles- were extremely small towards the end of the race. However, an overtaking move of any kind seemed to be out of the question. Meanwhile, Verstappen had made his way up to P6 already in spite of the catastrophic start to the race. He had made his only pit stop already on lap 5, which meant a 66-lap second stint! Tyre management is definitely one of Max's strengths!

In spite of an all-red front row, the red-suited warriors had to settle for playing the second fiddle to Mercedes. Hamilton crossed the line as the race winner for the 10th time this season! Sebastian was the impressive runner-up, and Valtteri's race from P6 to P3 was well done, too. Pole-setter Charles was left fourth due to his two-stop strategy. To his comfort, he took the extra point for the fastest lap time. This time Albon was the more successful of the Red Bull drivers, as the Thai finished in P5 and Max in P6. Without the first-lap hullabaloo Max would have had a chance even for a better result. Racing Point's Perez took the honor of being "the best of the rest" in P7. Toro Rosso's Gasly in P9 was split by the Renault duo of Ricciardo and Hulkenberg.

Bottas still has a gossamer mathematical chance to win the drivers' championship. To be honest, it's only a matter of time, when Hamilton secures his sixth world title. The US GP this week is his next chance to do so.

Mexico GP / Qualifying: Lightning fast Verstappen took 2nd career pole!

I feel so grateful, that it is F1 weekend again! Round 18 brought the pinnacle of motor sport to Mexico City, which is known as the highest venue of the season. The circuit is situated 2.2 km above the sea level, which explains the challenges caused by thin air.

Coming to the weekend, the weather forecasts had predicted rain for the qualifying, but as the lights turned green for Q1, the risk was only 10 %. However, conditions had been damp in the last free practice session, so the track was still slippery, as the qualifying got underway. Albon showed excellent pace at the wheel of his Red Bull and went fastest on his first run. The pecking order of the top three teams was mixed in an exciting way, as Hamilton was second for Mercedes, followed by the Ferrari duo of Charles and Sebastian. Kimi, too had showed superb pace, as the Iceman was "the best of the rest" after his first attempt. Red Bull have been very strong at Mexico in previous years, and Verstappen stamped the energy drink team's authority at Autodromo Hermanos Rodriguez by clocking the fastest lap time. The top six didn't need to opt for second runs. First McLaren's Sainz jumped 6th, and a moment later the Spaniard was robbed of the 6th place by Toro Rosso's Kvyat. Kimi, too made it into Q2 by making it 11th. Racing Point's Stroll was the first driver to be eliminated from the second session. Alongside with the Canadian, both Haas drivers and both Williams drivers were knocked out of Q2.

It was well expected, that the top three teams -Mercedes, Ferrari and Red Bull- were going to come out on medium Pirellis in Q2. More of a surprise was the fact, that also both McLaren drivers and both Toro Rosso pilots opted for the medium compound as well. Bottas made a mistake at the stadium on his first flyer. Meanwhile, Sebastian went fastest, with Verstappen second, Charles third, Hamilton fourth and Albon fifth. The Finnish Mercedes ace managed to put together a decent lap on his second flyer, jumping fourth. Unfortunately Kimi was struggling with the performance of his Alfa Romeo in the second session. The Iceman was in tame P13 after his first run. McLaren and Toro Rosso were forced to switch to the soft compound at the end of the session. Sainz underlined McLaren's brilliant performance by jumping fourth on his last flyer. Hamilton and Bottas made a second attempt on the medium Pirellis; Hamilton made it on top of the time sheets, with his teammate second. Both Ferrari and Red Bull sent their drivers out on the red-walled soft compound, but neither one of the drivers improved his lap time. Home hero Perez was the first man in the knock-out zone unfortunately. The Renault duo of Hulkenberg and Ricciardo, who had both been excluded from the results of the Japanese GP due to a brake system infringement, were out, too. It wasn't much of a comfort, that Kimi out-qualified his teammate Giovinazzi, as both of them were out of the top ten.

The fight for pole came down to the final segment, which definitely didn't lack action. Last year Verstappen had lost pole to his teammate (Ricciardo) by 0.026s, so the Dutchman had decided to take his revenge this year. The flying Dutchman was untouchable on his first run. In spite of Ferrari's incredible straight line speed in sector one, Max took provisional pole by a tenth to Charles. Sebastian had set a staggering time for the first sector, but in spite of that he was left third on his first flyer, two tenths shy of Max. Hamilton was fourth, Albon fifth and Bottas sixth. The second runs were crucial. Charles made a mistake on his last run, and was therefore unable to improve. Something dramatic happened in the dying moments of the decisive last session. Bottas was pushing extremely hard on his crucial flyer; so hard, that he lost his W10 in the final corner! He crashed into the wall, and the left side of his Mercedes turned into a wreck. Double yellows were out, which meant no improvements. It was a shame for Sebastian especially, as he had been improving his lap time till the last sector. So Verstappen took his second career pole, with Charles second and Sebastian third! Hamilton had to settle for P4. Albon qualified 5th and Bottas 6th. McLaren locked down the fourth row (Sainz 7th, Norris 8th), and the fifth row belonged to Toro Rosso (Kvyat 9th, Gasly 10th). It was an extremely costly mistake for the Finn; if the team need to replace the damaged chassis with a new one, Valtteri will have to start to the race from the pit lane. 

Mexico is extremely hard both on the brakes and on the cooling of the cars. So will all top six cars make it to the chequered flag tomorrow? The start will also play a thrilling role, as there's an extremely long straight into Turn 1. Sebastian and Charles might benefit from the tow, but will they be able to avoid contact with each other? Tyre degradation is also very high, so tyre management will also be a key factor for victory tomorrow. I think it takes huge effort to beat Max tomorrow, unless he screws up the start (which he has done a couple of times this season). Max is shining so bright this weekend! But the red threat behind him is definitely real!

Japanese GP: Bottas took victory in spite of all-red front row!

I have waken up to this day three times. My first alarm was set at 3.50 am. All F1 action had been cancelled yesterday, because typhoon Hagabis had hit the Suzuka area on Saturday. Due to the typhoon, qualifying had been postponed to this morning. In spite of the qualifying taking place very early in the morning here in Finland, the qualifying turned out worth waking up for! Ferrari continued their superb performance, and once again Mercedes proved to be the underdog in terms of single-lap pace. Qualifying has been postponed to Sunday morning four times before this year, and there's an odd statistic involved with this procedure. Every time the qualifying has taken place on Sunday morning, there has always been a German driver on pole! And to my joy this year was no exception. Sebastian put together a perfect lap in Q3 and took his second pole of the season with a 0.189s-gap to his teammate. Sebastian's pole was the most perfect birthday present for me, although the official birthday is tomorrow. Mercedes had brought an upgrade package to Suzuka, but in spite of the new parts, they were unable to match the Red Team's pace. Bottas pipped his teammate, and the Silver Arrows had to settle for the second row. Red Bull's pace proved surprisingly tame; Verstappen and Albon set the exact same lap time, but as the Dutchman had set it first, he got P5 and Albon P6. McLaren proved the best of the midfield teams, and the orange cars locked down the fourth row.

My second alarm was set at 7.50 am, as the race start took place at 8.10 in the morning. The typhoon was gone, but the wind speed was still extremely high. Unfortunately pole-setter Sebastian screwed up the start. His Lina moved slightly before the lights had gone out, which cost him dearly. Bottas from P3 took a rocket start, and the Finn stormed into the lead. Charles' start was everything but smooth as well. The Monegasque's SF90 understeered going into Turn 1, which led into contact with Red Bull's Verstappen. Charles' front wing got bad damage, and Max spun and dropped down to the back of the pack. The left-hand side end plate of Charles' front wing was about to fly off, but Charles wanted to stay out, although the team told him to pit. Hamilton put intense pressure on Charles, who was in trouble with his damaged car. There was a close call, as the end plate and some other bits flew off from Charles' Ferrari in full speed. Some of that debris hit Hamilton's car, making Hamilton's right-hand side mirror to fly off. In the end, Charles had no option but to pit for a new nose cone. He also switched to the medium Pirellis, re-joining the track at the back of the field.

The stewards took Verstappen's and Leclerc's first-corner incident into investigation. Sebastian, too was taken into investigation for alleged false start, as his car had moved before the lights out. I was relieved to hear, that there was no penalty given for Sebastian, and that he got to keep his second place in the race! Verstappen, on the other hand, was forced to retire the race on lap 15. His RB15 had suffered too much damage due to the first-lap collision.

Sebastian pitted on lap 17, for a fresh set of soft Pirellis. This was a clear sign, that he was on a two-stop strategy. Race leader Bottas pitted on the following lap, opting for a fresh set of medium compound. This meant, that at least theoretically, the Finn could be on a one-stopper. The third free practice session had been cancelled, so tyre degradation was kind of a question mark for all teams. Initially, the team had planned a one-stop strategy for Hamilton, but it proved to be a no go. Hamilton's tyres were gone on lap 22, and the Briton had no chance but to pit for medium rubber, similar to his teammate. After the pit stops there was about a 10-second gap between the Mercedes teammates, and Hamilton questioned his strategy on the team radio. He asked, why the team hadn't put the hard tyres on his car. His race engineer answered, that the hard tyres hadn't seemed competitive on other cars. Charles pitted for the second time already on lap 27. He switched back to the softs.

Sebastian opened the second round of pit stops on lap 32. The German re-joined the track on fresh mediums, whilst the Mercedes aces opted for the softs for their last stint. After the pit stop roulette Bottas was still leading the race, with Sebastian second and Hamilton third. After the second pit stops Hamilton was literally flying, closing the gap to Sebastian radically. In spite of Ferrari's amazing single-lap pace, Mercedes still had the upper hand in terms of the race pace. Hamilton got within striking distance from Sebastian, but luckily the team told the German, that he was able to extract some extra power from his Lina to defend his position. Sebastian knew, what he had to do to keep Hamilton behind. Meanwhile, teammate Charles pitted for the third time already, and went for the fastest lap time. However, in spite of Charles having the fresh set of soft tyres, Hamilton snatched the fastest lap time under his belt.

Bottas took a sweeping victory, which was his first one since the Azerbaijan GP in April. In spite of the threat from Hamilton, Sebastian finished the runner-up. I don't know, whether Sebastian would have been able to take the victory, had he taken a dream start. I was so happy, that Sebastian drove a flawless race, in spite of the mistake at the start. He definitely drove his heart out, defending his second place like a lion. I was so proud of him and so happy to see him on the podium! Albon finished the race fourth for Red Bull, who were driving the home race of their engine supplier Honda. Sainz crossed the finish line in P5 for McLaren and Charles was able to fight it in P6 in the end. However, the young Monegasque was given penalties after the race. He was given a 5-second penalty for causing the collision in Turn 1 and an additional 10-second penalty for staying out on the severely damaged car, which caused danger to other drivers. The time penalties dropped Charles down to P7 in the final standings. On the other hand, Renault's Ricciardo, who was then promoted to P6, is also under investigation for a brake infringement.

By finishing P1 and P3, Mercedes secured their 6th consecutive constructors' title, which is a remarkable achievement indeed. It is also clear, that a Mercedes driver will win the drivers' world championship. It takes a miracle, if it will be Bottas, but the Finn still has a mathematical chance to take it. Now that all the pressure caused by the world titles is gone, Sebastian seems much more relaxed and comfortable in his Lina. I hope he keeps up this impressive work also in the last four races of the season! Forza Ferrari!

P.S. I woke up at two o'clock in the afternoon for the third time. I watched three episodes of Big Brother Finland and started to write my thoughts on the GP weekend :)

Russian GP: Red victory turned into Mercedes 1-2!

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!

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!

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.

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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!