Category: Race Reports

2021 Monaco GP report | Verstappen takes first Monaco win

Posted on by James Mackenzie
Ecstasy for Verstappen, agony for Leclerc, frustration for Hamilton.
Max Verstappen celebrates winning the Monaco Grand Prix.
Image credit: Getty Images

Max Verstappen took his first win at the Monaco Grand Prix as all his main challengers gradually fell by the wayside.

It appeared that Charles Leclerc had broken his Monaco curse when his gearbox was deemed safe to start the race after he had crashed in qualifying on his way to claiming pole position. But the curse returned with a vengeance on his installation lap and the Monegasque was cruelly consigned to watch his home race from the garage by a terminal driveshaft issue.

That left Verstappen effectively on pole and, once he had survived Valtteri Bottas‘s attack into the first corner, the race was his to lose. Bottas shadowed him for the first few laps as all the drivers managed their pace to conserve tyre life but, as they moved closer to the first stops, the Mercedes started to fall away from the Red Bull and into the clutches of Carlos Sainz in third place.

Further back, Lewis Hamilton was still stuck behind Pierre Gasly in sixth, after a nightmare qualifying session. The World Champion could not get the required temperature into his tyres and was left displeased that his team had not pursued an approach which he had suggested. Mercedes decided to attempt an undercut with Hamilton on lap 30 but found themselves still behind the AlphaTauri driver when he responded with a stop one lap later.

And things were about to get worse.

Valtteri Bottas's neverending pit stop.
Image credit: Getty Images

Having run long and exploited the clean air that provided, first Sebastian Vettel and then Sergio Pérez successfully jumped Hamilton. Meanwhile, teammate Bottas was forced to retire when the wheel gun stripped the nut on his front right during his pit stop. It had turned into one of those Germany 2019-esque races for the Silver Arrows.

Out front, Verstappen was having no such dramas and serenely sailed to the chequered flag, keeping a comfortable gap to the chasing Sainz throughout. The Spaniard provided some consolation for Ferrari after Leclerc’s heartbreak with a strong second place, but was a little disappointed as he felt that he could have challenged for pole and victory without the Q3 red flag caused by his teammate’s crash.

Lando Norris completed another excellent weekend – sporting the beautiful, one-off Gulf livery – and held off a late charge from Pérez to claim his second podium of the season and move up to third in the standings.

Lando Norris in the one-off McLaren Gulf livery.
Image credit: Kym Illman

Vettel, Gasly and Hamilton predictably stayed in that order for the remainder of the race, Hamilton successfully pitting late on to claim the bonus point for fastest lap. Behind him, Lance Stroll made an alternative strategy work, starting on the hard tyres and moving up from 13th on the grid to finish eighth. Esteban Ocon finished a further half a minute down the road in ninth and Alfa Romeo‘s Antonio Giovinazzi claimed the final point – his first of the season.

It was a weekend not lacking in drama but the racing on Sunday was a typically mundane affair. And the Monegasque director – Monaco is the only race to use its own broadcast director – cut away from the one bit of wheel-to-wheel action that we did get… None of that will bother Verstappen and Red Bull, however, who have taken the lead in both championships. The momentum in the title battle switches once again.

Now, how will a very different street circuit – Baku in two weeks’ time – suit the cars?

Where Did That Ferrari Pace Come From?!

The Ferraris often flatter to deceive with their Friday pace, but this time they remained at the top of the timing charts throughout the weekend. So, how did that happen? Did they bring a major upgrade?

Charles Leclerc at the Monaco Grand Prix.
Image credit: DPPI

Well, I’m afraid to say – to any members of the Tifosi currently throwing their red caps in the air and declaring an imminent title charge – that is likely to be a one-off.

Ferrari have often gone well around the streets of the Principality – Vettel came home second in the previous two Monaco Grands Prix and 2017 saw a Ferrari 1-2. Their traditional short wheelbase makes the car nimble through the tight turns and, this year, the Monaco layout masked their still considerable deficiency when it comes to straight-line speed.

Even so, the drivers were surprised by their competitiveness.

The Greatest Ever Monaco Grands Prix

“It is quite a big surprise,” Leclerc said. “Surely we were very competitive in Sector 3 in Barcelona, but again it’s a very different track and we were maybe expecting Red Bull and Mercedes to have something more for here, but apparently they didn’t and we were just very competitive from the start. So it was good, but until quali we didn’t believe we could fight for pole, so it’s a surprise.”

Whilst this likely isn’t the appearance of an unlikely championship contender, Ferrari can be very pleased with their progress since last year’s hugely disappointing campaign. Even the confines of Monaco wouldn’t have saved the SF1000. They can expect to compete at or near the front again in Hungary and Singapore – if that race happens – and now appear to be in a private battle with McLaren for third in the title. A feel good story for the two former giants of F1.

Vettel Finds Form, Ricciardo Loses It Again

Sebastian Vettel brushing a barrier at the Monaco Grand Prix.
Image credit: DPA Picture Alliance

It has been well documented that the drivers who switched teams for 2021 have been struggling to adapt due to the lack of testing. But Vettel appears to have finally made a breakthrough in the Aston Martin. He was far closer to Lance Stroll in Portugal and Spain than he had been at the first two grands prix of the year, and in Monaco he showed his experience, comfortably outperforming the Canadian in every session.

An impressive eighth in qualifying was turned into an even better fifth on Sunday, thanks to smart strategy and some guts during that wheel-to-wheel battle with Gasly. Vettel earned a well-deserved ‘Driver of the Day’ and will now look to build on this for the coming races.

Daniel Ricciardo, however, went in the opposite direction. After a much-improved performance in Spain saw him take a solid sixth place and finish ahead of teammate Norris for the first time, the wheels came off at what is his most successful circuit. The Aussie won here in 2018, after being robbed of victory in 2016, so moving aside to be lapped by Norris on Sunday will have been a bitter pill to swallow.

Daniel Ricciardo's retro helmet design.
Image credit: Motorsport Images

Most worrying of all, he is at a loss to explain his lack of speed. “All weekend, even crossing the line a lot of laps I felt good, I was like that’s a good lap. And I think at one point I was 1.2s slower than say what Lando had just done, so no answers at the moment.”

He will need to find some answers quickly, or he risks having his reputation questioned in the manner Vettel’s was when Ricciardo joined Red Bull in 2014 and consistently outperformed him.

The Monaco Grand Prix in 60 Seconds

Answering the Burning Questions

Will Mercedes or Red Bull be on top around the twists of the Circuit de Monaco? Red Bull, if not Ferrari!

Can Max Verstappen make up for the many laps he spent stuck behind Lewis Hamilton in 2019? He can, in some style.

Will any teams surprise with their performance at this unique track? See above…

Who will have the best unique helmet design? The Williams drivers’ designs in honour of the team’s 750th race were nice, as were the McLaren Gulf specials, but I’m going for Bottas’s cartoon design.

2021 Spanish GP report | Hamilton hunts down Verstappen to take victory

Posted on by James Mackenzie
Hungary 2019, take two.
Lewis Hamilton celebrates winning the Spanish Grand Prix.
Image credit: Motorsport Images

What had been threatening to become a trademark soporific Spanish Grand Prix was reignited by a Mercedes strategy gamble, which paid off in the form of a fifth consecutive victory for Lewis Hamilton at the Circuit de Barcelona-Catalunya.

Saturday saw Hamilton claim his 100th pole position in Formula 1 – a simply mind-boggling achievement – and many assumed he would move one step closer to a century of wins on Sunday. But that assumption was immediately brought into question thanks to a bullish move into the first corner by Max Verstappen.

The two title rivals got away fairly evenly – the Dutchman aided by an unusual level of rubber on the normally dirty side of the track – and, with the Red Bull in his blind spot, Hamilton felt unable to move over and claim the inside line. Verstappen is not a driver that requires more than one invitation. He braked very late and, not for the first time this season, got his elbows out at the first corner, leaving Hamilton nowhere to go on the outside.

The World Champion avoided contact and held onto second but, as teammate Valtteri Bottas struggled in his dirty air, Charles Leclerc pulled off an Alonso-in-2013-esque move around the outside of Turn 3 to claim third.

Max Verstappen leaves the first corner in the lead.
Image credit: XPB Images

Verstappen and Hamilton streaked away at the front, the Mercedes driver hounding his rival but never getting quite close enough to threaten a pass. With Sergio Pérez too close behind for Mercedes to attempt an undercut, it was Verstappen who pitted first.

It was unscheduled – Verstappen sensing Hamilton was about to pass him on the straight – and resulted in an uncharacteristically slow Red Bull pit stop. That offered Mercedes an opportunity, but they declined – they had a different plan in mind…

Hamilton extended his stint a further four laps, rejoining a little over five seconds behind Verstappen. But, with the Mercedes clearly well-suited to the medium tyre, Hamilton was once more closely inspecting his rival’s rear wing within a few laps.

As ever, the Circuit de Barcelona-Catalunya provided little in the way of passing opportunities, though – especially since the recent reprofiling of Turn 10 – and it appeared likely that we would watch Hamilton follow on the brink of the DRS window for the next 45 minutes.

Lewis Hamilton and His Place in History

But this is when Mercedes produced their surprise.

Hamilton darted into the pits on lap 42 to fit another set of medium tyres. This had been in Mercedes’ thoughts throughout the weekend and they were the only team to have kept two fresh sets of the medium compound for the race. So, it was to be a repeat of the 2019 Hungarian Grand Prix, as Hamilton set about closing down a gap of more than 20 seconds in just over 20 laps.

The Red Bull computers predicted that Hamilton would catch their driver on the last lap, but that would prove to be an optimistic forecast as Hamilton took nearly two seconds per lap out of the gap. Despite not getting much help from his teammate – more on that later – the Briton was on the back of Verstappen by lap 59.

The Red Bull weaved along the start-finish straight, desperately trying to break the tow he was providing, but the pass was an inevitability, Verstappen later describing himself as a “sitting duck”. Hamilton used the extra grip from his much younger tyres to brake later and comfortably claimed the lead as they entered Turn 1.

Max Verstappen and Lewis Hamilton discuss their wheel-to-wheel battles.
Image credit: XPB/PA

Behind them, Bottas had pitted in an attempt to claim the fastest lap, but in doing so allowed Verstappen to do the same. There was to be no repeat of his mistake in Portugal this time and the Dutchman took the extra point with ease. It was Hamilton who took the chequered flag, however, and extended his lead in the championship to 14 points.

Is the Mercedes Now the Fastest Car?

It has only been six weeks since Verstappen took pole by four tenths in Bahrain and the F1 status quo appeared to have been turned on its head. And yet now, without us really noticing, Hamilton has equalled his best ever start to a season. Three wins and one second place were also his results during the first four races of 2015 – a season that would prove to be one of his most dominant – so are we kidding ourselves that there is such an exciting title battle?

In a word, no.

But for some small yet costly mistakes – and some luck on Hamilton’s part – Verstappen would be the one leading the championship. Bahrain was his race to lose, but he did. Hamilton was very fortunate to recover to second in Imola, and the complexion of the race in Portugal would likely have been different had Verstappen not lost pole position due to a track limits violation. These are the minute differences that can swing a championship one direction or another, and Mercedes are very experienced in ensuring that they swing their way.

An overhead view of a Red Bull pit stop.
Image credit: Honda Racing

However, in terms of pure speed, the Red Bull looks a genuine match for them this year. Spain has always been a Mercedes circuit – that’s five wins in a row for Hamilton – but Red Bull were right there with them, three hundredths of a second behind in qualifying and leading for 90% of the race.

Monaco in two weeks time will be a very different challenge. The Mercedes car has looked strong in slow corners – of which Monaco, obviously, has many – but it also has a very long wheelbase and Red Bull have performed well through the streets of the Principality in recent years. The circuit provides such a unique test of a Formula 1 car that there’s no way of knowing who will do well until the cars are being driven in anger, millimetres from those infamous walls.

Hamilton may have the edge right now, but this title battle remains very much in the balance.

The Best of the Rest

Leclerc had another excellent weekend. He qualified in fourth for the third time in four attempts this year and the predictable combination of Ham-Ver-Bot is almost now extendable to Ham-Ver-Bot-Lec.

Charles Leclerc and Valtteri Bottas at the Spanish Grand Prix.
Image credit: Getty Images

After his excellent early pass, he kept the far superior Mercedes of Bottas behind for the first stint and eventually finished a comfortable 10 seconds ahead of Pérez to move to just one point behind Lando Norris in the standings.

Norris himself was a little anonymous this weekend on his way to eighth and, for the first time in 2021, was legitimately beaten by teammate Daniel Ricciardo. The Honey Badger’s trademark smile was very much back on his face as he finished a solid sixth, holding off Carlos Sainz in the final laps.

Alpine initially appeared to have picked up where they left off in Portugal with Esteban Ocon qualifying an excellent fifth but, on Sunday, their strategy was lacking and their pace disappeared. Ocon clung onto a points finish in ninth, but Fernando Alonso tumbled back through the field in the dying laps and eventually finished behind a Williams in 17th. There is still work to do for the French team.

Pierre Gasly recovered from a clumsy five-second penalty, for parking his AlphaTauri beyond his allocated spot on the grid, to earn the final point for 10th. But it was the rookie on the other side of the garage who made the headlines on Saturday. One of his infamous, expletive-ridden radio messages was followed up by an interview where he questioned whether he had the same car as his teammate. Undoubtedly, Team Principal Franz Tost will have had some very stern words with the youngster, who it appears has some growing up to do.

The Bottas ‘Block’

A disappointed Valtteri Bottas on the Spanish Grand Prix podium.
Image credit: XPB Images

As previously mentioned, Hamilton’s pursuit of Verstappen late in the race was made a little harder by his teammate. As the World Champion approached, Bottas was told by his engineer, “Don’t hold Lewis up”. But he did just that. Hamilton followed closely for the best part of a lap – losing at least a second to Verstappen – before somewhat having to force a pass into Turn 10.

“I definitely could have let him by earlier,” Bottas said after the race. “But I was doing my own race. I’m not here to let people by, I’m here to race.” He said at the start of this season that he would be more selfish and single-minded; it would appear he is following up on that promise.

Does his mindset reveal anything about Mercedes’ plans for next year? Is this a man who knows his time is up and, thus, is now going to do everything in his power to take the title in what would likely be his last ever chance? That is just conjecture for the moment. But, whether he likes it or not, Bottas has held onto his seat at Mercedes by being the ideal driver for their second seat. One that is fast enough to keep Hamilton on his toes and help with strategic battles during the race, but one that is also compliant when required.

If he ceases to be that driver, his chances of remaining with the team beyond 2021 look slim at best.

The Spanish Grand Prix in 60 Seconds

Answering the Burning Questions

Can Verstappen strike back in the title battle? Not quite, despite a valiant effort.

How will the teams fare without having had their usual pre-season testing at Barcelona? There was no noticeable difference and just the one retirement.

Can Alpine continue their good form from Portugal? On Saturday, yes. On Sunday, not so much.

Will the Aston Martin updates bring them back towards the front of the midfield? Nope, they still have quite a bit of work to do.

Will anyone pull a Maldonado? Not this time.

2021 Portuguese GP report | Hamilton takes round 3

Posted on by James Mackenzie
A frustrating weekend for Verstappen, but the fight remains very much on.
Lewis Hamilton celebrates winning the Portuguese Grand Prix.
Image credit: Getty Images

Lewis Hamilton fought back past title rival Max Verstappen and teammate Valtteri Bottas to take victory at the Portuguese Grand Prix.

The World Champion had missed out on pole number 100 by just 0.007 seconds on Saturday and fell back to third early in the race on Sunday. An uncharacteristic mistake from Kimi Räikkönen, as he bizarrely drove into the back of his Alfa Romeo teammate on the start-finish straight, brought about an early safety car. Hamilton was caught out when he “literally just for a split second” checked his mirror to see where Verstappen was and “in that split second, that’s when Valtteri went”. With the jump on Hamilton, Verstappen passed him into the first corner and set about pressuring the leading Mercedes.

The Red Bull was clearly faster in the tighter, middle section of the track but lacked the straight-line speed to make a pass on the straight, even with DRS. And when Verstappen suffered a moment of oversteer coming through the penultimate corner, Hamilton was able to retake the place, bravely diving to the inside as the Dutchman defended. Verstappen tried to come back at the second corner but Hamilton was able to repay the favour he received in Imola, taking the racing line and running his rival out of road.

Lewis Hamilton and Max Verstappen go wheel-to-wheel again at the Portuguese Grand Prix.
Image credit: LAT Images

Hamilton closed in on his teammate and, as they started lap 20, pulled off another daring overtake, sweeping around the outside of Bottas into Turn One. From there, the Briton never looked under threat. Behind him, Bottas continued to hold off Verstappen as he had earlier in the race, until Red Bull pulled the trigger and attempted an undercut with a pit stop on lap 35.

A slightly tardy stop for Bottas one lap later put him under pressure from the onrushing Verstappen. As the Finn slithered about on his cold tyres, and then got a bit sideways coming out of Turn Three, Verstappen was able to get alongside him on the straight and take the position.

Bottas was homing back in on second place later in the race, but a sensor issue caused him to lose power briefly and he failed to close the gap again. Sergio Pérez, in the second Red Bull, had done his trademark tyre-whispering job and eventually pitted for soft tyres with 15 laps remaining. The Mexican is yet to claim his first podium for Red Bull but a solid fourth at the chequered flag is his best result yet and what the Red Bull management brought him in to achieve.

Lewis Hamilton and His Place in History

Behind the leading teams, in ‘Formula 1.5’, Lando Norris continued his excellent form with a fine drive to fifth, including an opportunistic move around the outside of Esteban Ocon on the opening lap. Charles Leclerc came home in sixth, ahead of the Alpine pair of Ocon and Fernando Alonso. Daniel Ricciardo recovered well to ninth, after a disappointing qualifying had left him 16th on the grid, and Pierre Gasly completed the points finishers.

Verstappen and Bottas both went for the fastest lap late on. The Red Bull man completed the faster tour but lost the ensuing bonus point when his lap time was deleted for a track limits infringement. Further frustration for Verstappen after track limits had also denied him pole on Saturday. Christian Horner was content overall, though, saying that they were happy with second as they “knew this would be a track that favours Mercedes”.

This grand prix may not have had the thrills and spills of the first two races, but there were some great overtakes and the battle remains tight between the two protagonists at the top. They will continue their fight a bit further along the Mediterranean coast in Barcelona in just a few days time – the first of many double-headers this season.

Lewis Hamilton riding the Algarve rollercoaster.
Image credit: Daimler AG

Progress at Alpine

It was a good weekend over in the blue corner of Alpine. The French team had so far struggled to get on top of their 2021 car and – after fighting for third in the championship last year – had slid back towards the back of the midfield.

There were updates in Imola which showed promise but perhaps required some more mileage to fully understand. Additional updates were brought to Portugal and, from the outset, they were visibly faster. The two drivers finished Friday afternoon’s practice session in fifth and sixth and Ocon maintained that form on Saturday.

Whilst Alonso never looked comfortable after a spin early on in qualifying, his younger teammate was flying. He finished Q1 and Q2 in fourth place and ultimately claimed sixth on the grid, just three thousandths of a second behind Leclerc.

And Sunday showed that their race pace was a match for their short runs. Alonso made amends for his scrappy qualifying with a thrilling comeback from 13th on the grid to eighth, finishing just a second behind his teammate who, after losing an exciting early battle with Norris, had produced a mature drive worthy of his six points. “The car feels much better and much more alive and really competitive”, said Alonso. “It has been a big step forward for us.”

The Portuguese Grand Prix in 60 Seconds

Answering the Burning Questions

Who will take the next round in the Hamilton-Verstappen battle? It was round 3 to Hamilton, but certainly not a knock-out blow.

Or will we get a third different winner in three races? Nope. Bottas started well, but faded away as the race went on.

Can Lando Norris continue his excellent form at the start of this season? He can and remains third in the drivers’ standings.

Will we get some cold-track chaos like we did at last year’s race? The sunny weather made things more manageable but the wind kept the drivers on their toes.

2021 Emilia Romagna GP report | Verstappen wins frantic wet-dry race

Posted on by James Mackenzie
Two races down, two absolute classics.
Max Verstappen and Lewis Hamilton go wheel-to-wheel at the first corner of the Emilia Romagna Grand Prix.
Image credit: Getty Images

Max Verstappen took the chequered flag after a very eventful couple of hours in changeable weather at Imola for the Emilia Romagna Grand Prix.

There was a downpour around an hour before the race got underway which left a tricky, drying track with some sections dry and others still wet. And there was plenty of drama before the lights even went out. On the way to the grid, Fernando Alonso crashed, Valtteri Bottas suffered a rear left puncture and both Aston Martins’ brakes caught on fire. That led to a pit lane start – and eventually a stop-go penalty – for Sebastian Vettel. The pre-race theatrics weren’t quite over as Charles Leclerc spun on the formation lap, but was able to reclaim his fourth place before arriving at the grid.

When the lights did go out, it was Verstappen who made a flying start from third on the grid. He had the racing line into the first corner and was able to run his main rival, Lewis Hamilton, out of road and claim the lead. Hamilton bounced over the raised kerbs and damaged his front wing but held onto second. Further round the first lap, Nicholas Latifi spun his Williams and then, upon rejoining, put himself into the wall after leaving Nikita Mazepin nowhere to go on the run down towards the Variante Alta.

That produced a safety car and (you’d expect) a moment of calm… But no, Mick Schumacher overcooked it whilst warming his tyres and pitched himself into the wall at the pit exit. The German rookie was able to recover but would have to drive round minus a front wing for a couple of laps as the pit lane was closed, ironically, to clear the debris from his crash. Sergio Pérez then ran wide into the gravel and earned himself a penalty by passing two cars to reclaim his position under safety car conditions.

Mick Schumacher spins under the Safety Car.
Image credit: Formula 1

Verstappen controlled the restart well and the leading pair dropped the rest of the pack. Leclerc – running in an impressive third – was already 15 seconds behind when Verstappen pitted on lap 28. Hamilton responded a lap later but a slow stop ruined any chances of him jumping the Dutchman and he rejoined a few seconds behind.

The World Champion appeared to be more comfortable on the dry tyres, though, and was closing the gap as the two drivers worked their way through the backmarkers. However, on lap 31, Mercedes‘ race imploded.

George Russell slowed to allow his fellow countryman past as they approached the Tosa hairpin, but stayed on the racing line. Force to overtake on the wet part of the track, Hamilton slithered off into the gravel and ultimately the wall, as the appalling turning circle of a modern Formula 1 car was laid bare. After some trouble, he engaged reverse gear and excruciatingly back-pedalled over the gravel and onto the track, but with a damaged front wing. And things were about to go from bad to worse in the Mercedes camp.

As Hamilton limped back to the pits, the other Mercedes driver and the Mercedes protégé came together in a massive way. After a poor qualifying had seen Bottas start from eighth, his struggles had continued come the race and he unbelievably found himself defending against a Williams. At full speed on the start-finish straight, Russell pulled alongside the Mercedes but put a wheel on the grass and immediately speared across into the Finn, both drivers going straight on and smashing into the barriers. With debris all over the track, the race was red-flagged.

After a brief stoppage, the drivers rejoined the track for a rolling restart. Ironically, the Mercedes disaster had actually aided Hamilton, who found himself in ninth, no longer a lap down, and with a repaired car. Verstappen then got lucky himself as he lost the car whilst backing the pack up for the restart, but was just about able to save the situation and Leclerc politely remained behind.

When he did successfully get the race back underway, the McLaren gamble to fit soft tyres saw Lando Norris pass Leclerc for second and briefly put pressure on the leader. Yuki Tsunoda passed Hamilton into the first corner but immediately spun and a lap later Pérez also found himself pointing the wrong direction in the gravel. A tale of hero to zero for the Mexican who had been the first teammate to outqualify Verstappen since Daniel Ricciardo left the team.

Two drivers may have removed themselves as obstacles, but Hamilton still had a lot of work to do if he was to recover to the podium. But recover he did. Slowly but surely, he got to within a second of each of the cars in front and executed a move into Tamburello. Norris put up an excellent fight on what were now very worn soft tyres, but eventually ceded his position with three laps remaining. He would hold off the chasing Ferraris for third, though, and claimed a very well-earned podium – the second of his career.

Ricciardo took sixth but – after earlier having to move aside for his teammate – admitted he still has a lot of work to do as he tries to acclimatise to his new, papaya machine. Late penalties for Lance Stroll and Kimi Räikkönen saw Pierre Gasly promoted to seventh and Alonso claim his first point since returning to the sport, despite never looking especially comfortable in the car.

Max Verstappen celebrates winning the Emilia Romagna Grand Prix.
Image credit: Getty Images

Out front, it had all been plain sailing for Verstappen since his minor blunder at the restart and he had built up a comfortable 20-second lead. Hamilton snatched the fastest lap late on, which keeps him one point ahead in the drivers’ standings, but the title fight is very much on.

A Damaging Day for Bottas and Russell

Now that the field has closed up so dramatically on the Silver Arrows, when Bottas has one of his off-days in qualifying, it is far more brutally exposed. He was a little under half a second shy of his teammate’s pole time and whilst, in the past, that would often still have seen him on the front row, in Imola it left him in an embarrassing eighth place.

And yet, Sunday was arguably worse. Surprisingly, considering his heritage and love of rallying, driving in the wet does not appear to be a strong suit for the Finn – just look at his performance in Turkey last year… He fell back a further two places at the start and then spent 28 laps stuck behind the Aston Martin of Stroll. That is what put him into a situation where he could be crashed into by an arguably overexcited Russell.

If you are expecting that to reflect well on Russell’s chances of replacing him next year, however, you’d be wrong. Whilst qualifying saw another performance worthy of his ‘Mr. Saturday’ moniker and the incident with Bottas itself could have been excusable, it was his reaction during the aftermath that left a bitter taste in the mouth.

George Russell and Valtteri Bottas have a disagreement after their high-speed crash.
Image credit: Getty Images

First, Russell stormed up to the smoking wreckage that contained Bottas, lambasted him for “trying to kill them both” and gave him a smack on the helmet for good measure. As Bottas emerged visibly winded from his car and was then being examined at the medical centre, Russell was already Tweeting his criticisms and claiming that Bottas would have defended differently if it were another driver.

Whilst his initial, heat-of-the-moment reaction was understandable, he really should have thoroughly examined the footage before going to see the media as it seems pretty clear to most that it was somewhere between a racing incident and Russell’s fault. Mercedes Team Principal Toto Wolff described it as 60:40 in terms of blame and was left fairly unimpressed.

This comes not long after the young Briton crashed behind the safety car whilst also chasing points at Imola last year. There is no denying that he has talent – and he obviously cannot have any blame attributed to him for what happened in Bahrain last year – but, if he is not careful, he could gain himself a reputation for choking when opportunities come his way. And throwing his toys out of the pram in the process.

The Emilia Romagna Grand Prix in 60 Seconds

Answering the Burning Questions

With a very different location to the last race, will Red Bull still have the fastest car? It was hard to say. It looks like Mercedes have certainly at least closed the gap.

Can Max Verstappen make amends for his near miss last time out? Very much so!

Will any of the teams have brought significant upgrades for the first European race after a three-week gap? Ferrari’s new floor appears to have given them a performance boost.

How will the midfield shape up? Can Alpine or Aston Martin improve on their disappointing performances in the desert? A little but the midfield order appeared pretty similar.

Will we see some challenging conditions with cold temperatures and a fair chance of rain? We will!

2021 Bahrain GP report | Hamilton holds off Verstappen in titanic battle

Posted on by James Mackenzie
To quote a great man: catching is one thing, passing is quite another.
Lewis Hamilton celebrates winning the Bahrain Grand Prix.
Image credit: Getty Images

If the Bahrain Grand Prix is anything to go by, 2021 could be the year when F1 fans finally get to see the no-holds-barred fight between Lewis Hamilton and Max Verstappen that they have been craving for years.

It was largely expected that this season would prove to be another tale of Mercedes dominance; one more efficient stroll to an eighth consecutive title double. But those expectations have gradually dissipated over the last few weeks. Pre-season testing may always boil down to rumours, sandbags and cloak-and-dagger lap times but, by the end of the truncated three-day meeting, there was a growing consensus that Red Bull may actually have the fastest car.

And so it proved to be, as Verstappen claimed pole position by nearly four tenths on Saturday, with Hamilton claiming he “gave it everything”. It was Red Bull‘s race to lose – but lose it, they did.

Both leading drivers got away well and the first stint was something of a stalemate. Crucially, though, Hamilton was able to remain within two seconds of the Red Bull and could therefore undercut the Dutchman when his pit window opened on lap 13. That gained the World Champion the lead and he – just about – kept it to the end.

Lewis Hamilton and Max Verstappen go wheel-to-wheel into the first corner at the Bahrain Grand Prix.
Image credit: Getty Images

Verstappen still appeared the more likely victor as he closed the Mercedes down with a set of tyres that were 10 laps fresher. The gap reduced steadily to the point that, when Hamilton ran wide on lap 51, Verstappen was straight into the DRS window. And, sure enough, the Red Bull was ahead a couple of laps later. However, not legally, as he had passed Hamilton whilst off the circuit.

Going around the outside at Turn 4, Verstappen had a snap of oversteer which took him wide and his team immediately informed him to allow Hamilton back past. That would prove to be his best chance, as his tyres overheated following the Mercedes and his advantage was significantly reduced. The frustrated Dutchman gave it his all over the remaining three laps but ultimately had to watch as Hamilton took the chequered flag, ending a gripping battle of strategy and racecraft.

There has been some controversy regarding the track limits. Not really with the decision for Verstappen to give up the place – the drivers know you can’t complete a pass off the track. But that temporary overtake ironically came at the corner where the Mercedes drivers were told to stop ‘extending’. So, the question has revolved around what constitutes a ‘lasting advantage’. As ever, the stewards lacked consistency and, having initially told the drivers there would be no issue with track limits at Turn 4, changed their minds and sent Mercedes a warning halfway through the race. The pundits and fans have said it numerous times, but surely grass run-offs are the easiest way to clear up this issue…

How Mercedes Won the Battle

For once, this was a Mercedes team acting as the hunter rather than the hunted. We have grown so accustomed to the Silver Arrows leading from the front in the hybrid era that this felt like something of a novelty. And they proved that they are predictably good at it.

Lewis Hamilton takes the chequered flag.
Image credit: LAT Images

It is usually Red Bull doing the chasing and making the aggressive strategy calls with Mercedes maintaining a conservative approach. This time, it was Hamilton who profited from a perfectly executed undercut. By the end of the following lap, Verstappen’s gap back to Hamilton was too small to get out ahead and, with Valtteri Bottas uncomfortably close behind, Red Bull were stuck between a rock and a hard place.

Red Bull’s second seat really is the Defence Against the Dark Arts professor of F1. And the curse didn’t hang about this year, as the latest victim – Sergio Pérez – ground to a halt on the formation lap. He was able to get moving again but had to start from the pit lane, which meant – as has usually been the case for the last two years – Red Bull were left to fight one-handed. Bottas pitted two laps after Hamilton and forced Red Bull to respond against another undercut; this prevented them from building the tyre offset they would have liked.

The second stops would likely have followed a similar pattern, but a painful, 10-second pit stop for Bottas meant Red Bull could leave their driver out this time and he was able to pit 10 laps later than the race leader. At this point, it was largely out of Mercedes’ hands. Fortunately for them, it was in the hands of Hamilton. And if there is one man on the grid who can keep his tyres alive whilst still pounding out respectable lap times then it is the seven-time world champion at their disposal.

It was another masterclass in tyre management. By rights, Verstappen should have been on his tail far sooner than lap 51. And, if he had been, the pass would likely have been more of a done deal. When he did catch up, the pair traded blows with the excellent car control and positioning you would expect. Under immense pressure, each made one slight mistake, but eventually it was Hamilton who held his nerve as the Red Bull breathed down his neck for the final three laps.

How Red Bull Have Started the War

Max Verstappen produces sparks at the Bahrain Grand Prix.
Image credit: Honda Racing F1

They may have lost on the day, but Red Bull undoubtedly had the fastest car in Bahrain. So, how has that happened when we were all told repeatedly that so little was changing on the cars between 2020 and 2021?

Well, it would appear the regulation changes that did happen have affected the teams with low rake far more significantly than those with high rake. A large portion of the rear of the floor has effectively been chopped off over the winter in a bid to reduce downforce. The idea being to reduce speed and, thus, the strain on the overworked tyres in the wake of the multiple blow-outs experienced at last year’s British Grand Prix.

One of the greatest strengths for Mercedes was their rear downforce. And it would appear that the chunk removed has severely affected their rear stability. They have done an impressive job in the two weeks since the pre-season test to improve that and close the gap – which they believe was around 0.8 seconds – to Red Bull.

This theory is backed up by the other main losers in this regulation change – Aston Martin. The former Racing Point team infamously did their best to copy the Mercedes philosophy and appear to have been hit hard in the same area, but with less of an advantage to fall back on. They have seemingly gone from arguably the third best car last year to Lance Stroll fighting for a solitary point in Bahrain, whilst Sebastian Vettel had a debut to forget further back.

Honda have also given Red Bull a significant helping hand. The Japanese marque leaves the sport – again – at the end of the year, so rushed through its 2022 engine a year early and it would appear to be a masterpiece. This was also demonstrated by AlphaTauri‘s pace at the opening weekend.

Time will tell who is truly the team to beat. Bahrain is a fairly unique circuit, located in a gusty desert, and there is now a three-week gap for teams to further refine their new machines. It would also not be a surprise to see some updates in time for the return to Imola – so let’s watch this space. Either way, it appears that we have a race on our hands.

What About the Rest?

Now, bear with me as I attempt to condense down a lot of information into a few paragraphs…

McLaren lived up to expectations, claiming ‘best of the rest’ thanks to an impressive fourth for Lando Norris and a solid debut for Daniel Ricciardo in seventh. Surprisingly, it is Ferrari who seem to be their biggest challengers currently.The Scuderia were pleasantly surprised by the performance of the much-improved SF21 and Charles Leclerc produced a signature qualifying lap for fourth on the grid. The red cars reached the chequered flag in sixth and eighth and, whilst you still couldn’t exactly call that success for a team like Ferrari, it is certainly a big step up from last year.

Pérez recovered impressively after his nightmare start to claim fifth place and remind those instantly writing him off what he can do on a Sunday. The experienced Mexican claimed Driver of the Day and will surely continue to improve as he gets better acquainted with the RB16B. Another contender for Driver of the Day was Yuki Tsunoda. The AlphaTauri rookie shocked the paddock by finishing Q1 in second, before making a mess of Q2 and starting down in 13th. But he produced a mature performance on Sunday and finished ninth to become the first Japanese rookie ever to score points on his debut.

Aston Martin and Alpine appear to have dropped back from their positions – under different names – last year. Fernando Alonso briefly ran in the points on his return before retiring due to an unwanted sandwich wrapper. Meanwhile, the other multiple world champion in the midfield – Vettel – crashed into the back of Esteban Ocon to cap off a terrible first weekend in British racing green. That earned him two penalty points to add to the three he picked up for ignoring yellow flags on Saturday.

Alfa Romeo appear to have made progress but didn’t end up with anything to show for it, finishing just outside the points in 11th and 12th. Williams will be happy to at least no longer be propping up the field, as that honour now goes to the Haas team. The controversial Nikita Mazepin immediately earned himself a new nickname of Mazespin, with no fewer than five spins over the course of the weekend, the final one pitching him into the barriers three corners into his debut race.

One of many Nikita Mazepin spins over the Bahrain Grand Prix weekend.
Image credit: Getty Images

The Bahrain Grand Prix in 60 Seconds

Answering the Burning Questions

What is the pecking order? Who was holding the most back during testing? …See above.

Do Red Bull actually have the fastest car?! It’s close but, for now at least, it appears they do!

How will Sergio Pérez do in his first race for Red Bull? A tricky start but a trademark race performance.

How will Fernando Alonso fare on his return? Showed that he still has the speed…but does his car?

Have Ferrari made progress since last year? Yes, quite a lot!

2020 Abu Dhabi GP report | Verstappen wins season finale

Posted on by James Mackenzie
As is often the case, the Abu Dhabi finale produces a spectacle of style over substance.
Max Verstappen wins the Abu Dhabi Grand Prix.
Image credit: Getty Images

Max Verstappen took his second victory of 2020 at the Abu Dhabi Grand Prix, during a weekend where, for the first time this year, Red Bull clearly had the outright fastest car.

Qualifying on Saturday was close – the top three separated by less than a tenth of a second – but surprisingly it was Verstappen who came away with his first pole of the year. And on Sunday, he simply drove away into the setting sun. It was a performance reminiscent of the Red Bull glory days of 2010 – 2013 but now with Verstappen at the wheel rather than Sebastian Vettel. Unfortunately it proved to be yet another sopirific race at the Yas Marina circuit.

The Mercedes behind never looked a threat and it was telling that Alexander Albon was challenging them in the final laps, rather than battling midfield cars. An off-colour Lewis Hamilton – clearly still struggling as he recovers from contracting Covid-19 – meandered round to third before saying, “I’m destroyed – I do not feel good. But I’m happy, I’m grateful. I’m alive, and I live to fight another day.”

Some saw this as promising for a close title battle next year – and Mercedes predictably talked up that prospect – but this dominant win came with some caveats.

In addition to housing a less-than-100% Hamilton, the World Champions had detuned their engines after discovering a reliability concern with their MGU-K. They had also struggled with balance throughout the weekend and were losing three tenths per lap in Turns Five, Six and Seven alone.

Image credit: Getty Images

Most importantly, though, Mercedes – after seeing the level of their dominance early in the year – abandoned development on the all-conquering W11 to concentrate on next year’s car about halfway through the season. Technical director James Allison has pointed out that 2021’s regulations aren’t quite as copy-paste as many would have you believe.

“Actually, you can design an entire new suspension on next year’s car. You can spend your allowable tokens on quite considerable upgrades. You could be permitted to put a new gearbox on your new car if you use your permitted development tokens for that, or a new chassis.

“These are not small twiddles to an existing package. They are quite large ones. If we showed up with the first iterations of this modified regulation set, we would go from pole position to more or less last on the grid. So, there is a lot of work to do.”

If they are truly to challenge, Red Bull must put to bed their recent habit of starting the season slowly, with a tricky car which they slowly gain an understanding of. And a second driver who can consistently challenge at the front wouldn’t hurt either…

The Battle for the ‘Best of the Rest’

After last weekend’s shock win – and double podium – for Racing Point, third place in the constructors’ standings looked theirs to lose.

But things started to unravel when they discovered an engine issue on Sergio Pérez’s car – one that, in fact, came perilously close to denying him an emotional maiden win. The Mexican would have to start the race from the back of the grid. This problem for the Pink Panthers was then compounded by the McLarens’ excellent performance in qualifying, with Lando Norris starting in fourth and Carlos Sainz in sixth.

The sun sets on Lando Norris at the Abu Dhabi Grand Prix.
Image credit: DPPI

On race day, Norris inevitably fell behind the rapid Red Bull of Albon but, from there, those in papaya didn’t put a foot wrong and came home in fifth and sixth for a crucial haul of 18 points.

Pérez’s recovery drive was short-lived; another engine failure cruelly put an end to his final race with the team. After seven years – during which time he has saved the team from bankruptcy and delivered their first win – this will have had absolutely no effect on his hero status though.

The other Racing Point of Lance Stroll could only struggle to a single point for 10th and, with the Renaults in seventh and ninth, the unofficial title of ‘best of the rest’ – and more importantly, the extra prize money – went to McLaren.

Racing Point’s 15-point deduction back in the summer for illegally copying the Mercedes 2019 car proved crucial in the end. But they start afresh next year – rebranded as Aston Martin, with four-time world champion Vettel leading the team – and will look to push on towards the battle at the front.

A Race of Farewells

Abu Dhabi saw the end of many chapters. As mentioned, Pérez leaves Racing Point to be replaced by Vettel; the Ferrari driver was given a guard of honour by his mechanics and honoured via a special helmet design from teammate Charles Leclerc.

Image credit: James Moy

It was also Daniil Kvyat’s last race for AlphaTauri. The Russian’s Red Bull rollercoaster ride is finally over, but he is determined to find a spot on the grid elsewhere in 2022 and – after a mediocre start to the season – his performances of late have shown that he still has the potential to shine if given the right car.

The Sainz-Norris bromance at McLaren was heartbreakingly torn apart as the former prepares for his move to Ferrari. They signed off in trademark style though. And a Ricciardo-Norris partnership is unlikely to be dull.

Finally, it was farewell to the Haas drivers. It has been an underwhelming year in terms of performance, but Kevin Magnussen has shown a characteristic fighting spirit throughout. And if we’re talking of fighting spirit… Romain Grosjean was sadly unable to compete in his final race, but the images of him escaping that terrifying fireball in Bahrain will last forever. He may even have bagged himself a drive in the fastest F1 car of all time to see off his career. There are far worse ways to end a career and I’m sure many of them ran through his mind during those excruciating 28 seconds.

The Abu Dhabi Grand Prix in 60 Seconds

Answering the Burning Questions

Will Lewis Hamilton experience any knock-on effects from the virus? Apparently so. He certainly didn’t seem his usual self.

How will George Russell readjust to the Williams after a taste at the front? All the usual talk of being happy to be back and he performed at his usual high level.

Who can go into the winter break on a high? Verstappen, Red Bull and McLaren.

Which team will claim third in the standings and which driver will claim fourth? Pérez held on for fourth, despite his retirement contributing to McLaren snatching third from Racing Point.

2020 Sakhir GP report | Pérez takes surprise win as Russell is cruelly denied

Posted on by James Mackenzie
From the sublime to the ridiculous.
Sergio Pérez wins the Sakhir Grand Prix.
Image credit: Getty Images

The man who finished the opening lap in last place somehow ended up taking a maiden victory. And that sums up a crazy night under the lights at the Sakhir Grand Prix.

In the absence of Lewis Hamilton – who is isolating after testing positive for Covid-19 – Mercedes protégé George Russell was given a shot in the champion’s car, narrowly managing to squeeze his 6’2″ frame and size 11 feet into the cockpit. Over the course of three days, he made quite an impression.

Whilst there were mitigating circumstances for Valtteri Bottas on Friday, such as a damaged floor and deleted lap times, the young Briton immediately found himself at the top of the charts during the first two practice sessions. Bottas recovered to claim pole position on Saturday but only by the smallest of margins. And when the lights went out, he was on the back foot again.

Despite his fears of unfamiliarity with the Mercedes clutch and start systems, Russell got away the better of the Mercedes pair and passed his vastly more experienced teammate into Turn 1.

The race start at the Sakhir Grand Prix.
Image credit: Getty Images

As was the case seven days ago, the run through Turns 3 and 4 produced much incident. Kimi Räikkönen spun through a full 360° towards the back but carried on. Charles Leclerc – after a stunning qualifying lap had seen him start fourth – made an ambitious dive up the inside of Sergio Pérez but hit the Racing Point and broke his own front-left wishbone in the process. Max Verstappen attempted to avoid the spinning Pérez but, in doing so, found himself in the gravel and on an unavoidable trip to the wall.

This brought out the safety car, allowing Pérez to pit and rejoin at the back of the pack. Russell aced the restart and opened out a two-second lead, which he would maintain comfortably for the entirety of the first stint.

Once Russell had pitted on lap 45, Bottas extended for a further four laps and came out nine seconds behind his new teammate but, crucially, with fresher tyres. The Finn started to close the gap. It had come down to four seconds by lap 61 and we appeared to be in for a titanic inter-team scrap for the win, with Bottas looking desperate on a weekend where his credibility had taken quite a hit. But then came the incident that changed the race.

Debutant Jack Aitken clipped the barriers and lost his front wing at the exit of the final corner. The abandoned chunk of Williams was sitting on the racing line and, with no clear gap in the traffic for a marshal to retrieve it, a safety car was called. Mercedes chose to do a ‘safety stop’ and bring both cars in, wary of being followed by cars on fresher, softer tyres in the final laps.

But nothing about these pit stops was safe. A last-second panic led to Bottas’s tyres being fitted to Russell’s car. In scenes reminiscent of the shambolic Hamilton pit stop in Germany last year, mechanics ran around as they realised the correct tyres were missing and, after nearly 30 seconds stationary, eventually fitted the old tyres Bottas had arrived on back onto his car. Russell was then forced to come in again for the correct tyres and found himself in fifth, immediately behind Bottas.

Mercedes are so often infallible, but when they mess up…it’s usually calamitous.

Bottas struggled with his old tyres for the rest of the grand prix and Russell soon pulled off an excellent move around the outside of Turn 6. The chance of a stunning victory was still on. It was not long before Lance Stroll and Esteban Ocon – in third and second respectively – were dispatched and Russell then set about catching Pérez who, astonishingly, was in the lead.

The Mexican had expertly driven back through the field whilst looking after the tyres in his signature style and was now coaxing a set of hards to the chequered flag. So, which fairy tale was it to be: the youngster winning during his stand-in appearance for Mercedes or the veteran of 190 grands prix finally getting his first win after many an opportunistic podium?

The answer came on lap 78 as Pete Bonnington radioed Russell to say that he had a slow puncture and would have to pit once again. Heartbreak for the 22-year-old as he trundled down the pit lane for a fourth time and rejoined in 15th. He fought bravely and would at least recover to ninth to gain his first ever points, but that will be scant consolation when he could taste a victory in the most extraordinary of circumstances just a few minutes earlier.

Whilst one fairy tale had turned into a nightmare, the other was unfolding perfectly. Pérez extended his lead over the remaining laps and came home to become the first Mexican winner in F1 for half a century. He also now holds the record for the most races contested before a maiden grand prix victory.

Image credit: Motorsport Images

The paddock – whilst clearly gutted for Russell – was overjoyed for ‘Checo’, who struggled to hold back tears as he stood on the top step of the podium and heard his country’s national anthem ring out. It was also joy for Ocon, taking a maiden podium, and Racing Point who – with Stroll also holding onto third – have reclaimed the high ground in the battle with McLaren and Renault for third in the constructors’ standings.

A truly fitting result for the man who was instrumental in saving the team just a couple of years ago.

Uncomfortable Questions to Answer for Bottas

It was a messy weekend for Bottas. He never looked totally at ease with the car around Sakhir’s tricky, bumpy ‘Outer Circuit’ and questions will surely be asked when a stand-in driver from Williams is able to come in and perform at least as well as an established team member of nearly four years.

It appeared that the pressure was getting to Bottas. He always does his best to project the ‘unflappable Finn’ stereotype but we have often seen, when it really counts, he fails to deliver.

Russell clearly did an exceptional job, but Bottas will likely now be secretly hoping that Hamilton is unable to return for Abu Dhabi next weekend so he can have a shot at redemption. With the 2022 Mercedes seat very much available, and Russell surely running out of patience at Williams, those in charge will have some big decisions to make next year. And the young man from King’s Lynn just gave them something to think long and hard about.

Image credit: LAT Images

He may not have got the win he deserved this weekend, but he certainly increased his chances to be competing for many more in the future.

The Sakhir Grand Prix in 60 Seconds

Answering the Burning Questions

Will George Russell seize his chance to impress in the Mercedes? Could he beat Valtteri Bottas?! Absolutely!

How will Pietro Fittipaldi and Jack Aitken fare on their F1 debuts? Both did a solid job throughout the weekend, aside from Aitken’s one mistake, which ironically proved very costly to the man whose car he was borrowing…

With such a short lap, how will qualifying play out? It was surprisingly uneventful.

Will any of the drivers take the ‘regular’ Turn 4 out of habit?.. Sadly not.

2020 Bahrain GP report | Hamilton wins after Grosjean escapes fiery crash

Posted on by James Mackenzie
A truly terrifying moment, but ultimately a miracle escape and a triumph for the halo.
Romain Grosjean escapes a fiery crash at the Bahrain Grand Prix.
Image credit: LAT Images

Lewis Hamilton produced another commanding performance to add an 11th victory to his 2020 tally at the Bahrain Grand Prix, and in doing so matched his personal best in one year despite this truncated season.

But that was not the headline news from Sakhir.

Just three corners into the race, Romain Grosjean speared into the barriers and, upon impact, produced a fireball the likes of which had not been seen in the last three decades of Formula 1.

Grosjean was towards the back of the field as the cars emerged from the first sequence of corners and could see chaos developing in front of him.

Lance Stroll had run well off the track and was bouncing back on from the right-hand side, Kimi Räikkönen was at least as far off the track to the left, coming perilously close to the barriers, and Lando Norris was showering those behind him with sparks from a damaged front wing after contact with Esteban Ocon.

Grosjean’s explanation will hopefully shed more light on the situation eventually, but it would appear that he saw an opportunity to the right of the pack on the run down to Turn 4. Crucially, though, Daniil Kvyat was seemingly in his blind spot. The Frenchman cut across sharply, leaving the AlphaTauri no chance of avoiding contact, and was sent into the barriers in a manner akin to the US police ‘PIT maneuver’.

The twisted wreckage of Romain Grosjean's crash at the Bahrain Grand Prix.
Credit image: XPB Images

The Haas somehow pierced the barrier and split in two behind the driver, leaving the cockpit embedded in the twisted metal. Grosjean miraculously extricated himself from the inferno and a relieved audience was eventually shown images of him sat in the medical car, after a harrowing two-minute period without any information.

The drivers’ on-board footage showed numerous double-takes as they spotted the huge blaze in their mirrors and Charles Leclerc’s radio, in particular, reflected the feelings of most watching on.

Grosjean spent the night in hospital under observation as a precaution, but his injuries appear to be limited to second-degree burns to his hands and feet. Without doubt, the best-case scenario considering the ferocity of the incident.

The Show Must Go On

After a delay of over an hour, whilst the wreckage was dealt with and a new barrier installed, the drivers lined up for a second time.

The order for the second grid was taken from the order at Safety Car Line 2 during the original start. A poor getaway had dropped Valtteri Bottas from second to fourth, with Max Verstappen taking that second place, Sergio Pérez up from fifth to third and Norris up from ninth to seventh.

As he had done at the first time of asking, Hamilton took off from pole position like a rocket and left the rest of the field in his wake. Behind him, most of the drivers held their starting positions, but there would be barely half a lap of racing before another incident brought out the safety car.

Lance Stroll upside down at the Bahrain Grand Prix.
Credit image: Getty Images

Kvyat was unfortunately involved again, as a clumsy move up the inside of Stroll resulted in front-to-rear tyre contact and the Racing Point being pitched upside down. Thankfully the Canadian was unhurt and able to climb out, but his run of poor luck – dating back to that tyre failure in Tuscany – continues.

There were no issues for Hamilton at the restart and, from there on, it was simply a case of managing his tyres and keeping the chasing Verstappen at bay. The gap between the two would stick at around five seconds for the remainder of the race, with Verstappen frustrated by some of his team’s strategic decisions but aware that they would likely always have struggled to threaten the World Champion.

Bottas’s day went from bad to worse as he picked up a puncture during the safety car period and dropped to the back of the field. Not for the first time this season, he struggled to make progress through the midfield and ultimately came home eighth; Verstappen has now reduced his deficit in the drivers’ standings to just 12 points.

Pérez looked to be en route to a second consecutive podium, only for his engine to fail in fairly spectacular fashion with just a handful of laps remaining. A disaster for Racing Point in their battle for third in the championship, with the retirement promoting the McLarens of Norris and Carlos Sainz to fourth and fifth – an impressive recovery from the Spaniard who had started 15th after a brake failure in qualifying. Pérez’s misfortune also saw Alexander Albon inherit a spot on the final step of the podium and a much-needed boost in his quest for a Red Bull seat next year.

Sergio Pérez's Bahrain Grand Prix goes up in flames.
Credit image: Wilhelm

For the second time, a stranded Racing Point brought out the safety car, under which the race would finish, but not before there was one final, unnerving moment as a marshal ran across the track in front of Lando Norris. At points, things had started to feel a little too reminiscent of Imola 1994 and it was honestly a relief to see the chequered flag wave with all the drivers and crew intact.

A Triumph for F1 Safety?

Romain Grosjean was able to suffer a 137mph crash – the instant retardation producing an impact measured at a force of 53G – and then immediately crawl from a pile of burning wreckage to safety. That is thanks to years of tireless research and hard work in the pursuit of safety in Formula 1.

Any remaining debate around the halo was emphatically put to bed as it quite clearly saved a life. The photos of the scraped top surface show how Grosjean’s halo effectively parted the gap in the barriers, as the front half of the Haas acted as a £10 million can opener, and spared his helmet that impossible job.

The ever-improving fireproof overalls now provide around 30 seconds of protection and, thankfully, the Frenchman was able to haul himself clear in around 28. Long-term saviours in the shape of the titanium safety cell around the cockpit and the HANS device also played crucial roles in this modern-day miracle.

That being said, this was not quite the unanimous triumph for f1 safety that some have painted it to be.

It was absolutely a freak accident, but questions must be asked about both the quality and placement of the guardrails. We have not seen a car spear through a barrier since the 70s. That situation infamously resulted in the tragic deaths of François Cevert and Helmuth Koinigg in consecutive years at Watkins Glen.

Also, were Grosjean not to have miraculously remained conscious after the initial impact, would the medical team have been able to do enough? FIA doctor Ian Roberts and medical car driver Alan van der Merwe are rightly being lauded for their rapid response and brave contribution, but had Grosjean been unconscious and still strapped into the car, would they have been able to extract him when they aren’t kitted out with even a full-face helmet themselves?

We can, at least, be sure that Formula 1 and the FIA will investigate these matters and learn from any mistakes, as they have done after every major incident in the past.

It is those lessons learnt in the past that saved Romain Grosjean’s life yesterday and both Professor Sid Watkins and Charlie Whiting can look down with great pride upon their legacy and their hand in this story of survival.

The Bahrain Grand Prix in 60 Seconds

Answering the Burning Questions

Who will have the strongest weekend in the battle for third in the Constructors’ Championship? After a painful weekend for Racing Point, McLaren now have a 17-point cushion.

Can Valtteri Bottas bounce back after a tough race in Turkey? …no.

Will Alexander Albon produce a performance worthy of a 2021 Red Bull seat? Whilst still a fair way off Verstappen’s ultimate pace, fourth on the grid and a spot on the podium (inherited or not) is much closer to Red Bull’s expectations.

2020 Turkish GP report | Hamilton clinches seventh title in style

Posted on by James Mackenzie
Truly the drive of a seven-time world champion.
Lewis Hamilton wins the Turkish Grand Prix.
Image credit: LAT Images

On a challenging, grey day in Istanbul, Lewis Hamilton took his 94th grand prix victory and, in doing so, claimed a record-equalling seventh world championship.

As the Mercedes pulled up to the specially marked ‘World Champion’ board, it looked as though it had been to war – intermediate tyres warn down to effectively become slicks, the usually glossy, black finish now matte thanks to a layer of grime and bitumen. In many ways, it had been a war. And Hamilton’s battling performance was one thoroughly fitting of becoming the most successful driver in the history of the sport.

It all started on Friday, with the Mercedes unable to get any heat into their tyres as they – and the rest of the field – slid round what was for all intents and purposes an ice rink, before rain arrived on Saturday to add yet more jeopardy. It speaks volumes that Hamilton was happy with sixth on the grid. Teammate Valtteri Bottas qualified ninth – as Lance Stroll took an incredible maiden pole position – and Hamilton appeared likely to clinch the title, but in an unusually low position.

As the lights went out, the Red Bulls of Max Verstappen and Alexander Albon struggled to get away and fell back down the field. The pack emerged from the first corner with a Racing Point 1-2, ahead of Hamilton and Sebastian Vettel, up from 11th on the grid. Esteban Ocon had been spun by his teammate, Daniel Ricciardo, and Bottas also found himself spinning in sympathy as he reacted to Ocon pointing in the wrong direction.

Halfway around the first tour, Hamilton would make his only error of the day as he missed the chicane of Turns 9 and 10, suffering with cold brakes, and fell back to sixth behind Vettel and the recovering Red Bulls. Those at the front then fell into something of a holding pattern until around lap 10 when the drivers decided to switch their wet tyres for inters, with Verstappen jumping Vettel through the pit stops.

By lap 18, Verstappen was closing up rapidly on the leading pair. The Dutchman had been the bookmakers’ favourite for the race, having looked the most comfortable throughout the weekend, but his impatience would get the better of him. Following Sergio Pérez too closely through the high-speed kink of Turn 11, Verstappen ran wide onto the extra slippery run-off area and performed an unwanted 540° pirouette. To compound his problems, he was then forced to retreat to the pits to replace his flat-spotted tyres.

Stroll continued to lead from his teammate past the halfway point and was displaying some impressive maturity for his first experience heading a grand prix. The track was continuing to dry, though, and his tyres were beginning to struggle. It was the Racing Point’s ability to heat its tyres sufficiently that had produced the surprise pole on Saturday but, as the race progressed, Stroll was now experiencing the other side of that double-edged sword. Pérez and the third-placed Albon were closing in.

Albon would spin on lap 34, however, and thus released the increasingly confident Hamilton. The World Champion started eating into the gap at a rate of about one second per lap and Racing Point made what would turn out to be the poor decision to pit Stroll. He never got the new inters working – the tyres even graining within just a couple of laps – and fell all the way back to eventually finish a hugely disappointing ninth.

So, it had become a battle of F1’s two ‘tyre whisperers’ at the front. The overtake would not take Hamilton long, though, streaking past at the end of the back straight and clearing off into the distance. Within five laps he had built a gap of 15 seconds.

Lewis Hamilton and Sergio Pérez at the Turkish Grand Prix.
Image credit: Motorsport Images/Shutterstock

Further back, Charles Leclerc, who had been steadily working his way through the field, aided by some nicely timed pit stops, passed Verstappen for third place. Verstappen immediately headed into the pits for his third stop of the day, which promoted Vettel into fourth, and the two Ferraris set about closing the gap to Pérez.

To add one final twist to an extraordinary race, rain started to fall again in the final few minutes, with a downpour predicted for the very last lap. Verstappen and Kimi Räikkönen spun in tandem and Mercedes decided to bring Hamilton in for a ‘safety stop’. With thoughts of his infamous 2007 pit stop in China at the forefront of this mind, Hamilton overruled his team and brought the car home without incident for a victory that had required absolutely all of his skill and experience.

On the final lap, meanwhile, Leclerc had passed Pérez after he ran wide at the chicane, only to outbreak himself and lose not only second to the Mexican but also the final podium place to his teammate. A bitter pill to swallow for Leclerc, who was characteristically hard on himself for the mistake, but joy for two drivers, in Pérez and Vettel, who have had tough years for varying reasons. The Mexican makes yet another compelling case for a race seat next year.

The McLarens recovered very well from a disappointing qualifying and were the fastest cars on track at the end of the race. Carlos Sainz very nearly added extra salt to Leclerc’s wounds, crossing the line just a few metres behind, whilst Lando Norris recovered to take eighth and the fastest lap. The Red Bulls filled that McLaren sandwich, with Verstappen ahead of Albon, and Ricciardo secured the final point.

Image credit: LAT Images

Despite being over a pit stop behind the leaders in the early stages, Hamilton crossed the line with his second-largest winning margin ever of 31 seconds. It was a performance reminiscent of his largest winning margin at Silverstone in 2008. A masterclass in truly testing conditions and there were certainly shades of Felipe Massa as Hamilton’s only title rival, Bottas, spun no fewer than six times, before eventually being lapped by his teammate.

It felt very apt that Vettel should be on the podium to celebrate such a momentous occasion with Hamilton. The two have grown close through their title battles and Vettel was the first to congratulate the Briton as he sat, visibly overcome with emotion, in the cockpit. Vettel could be heard saying “it’s a privilege to be witnessing you making history, man”. They have now shared the podium more than any other pairing in history.

Image credit: Getty Images

Amid the Drama, an Alarming Error

Whilst there was undeniably a lot to deal with on Saturday, there was another worrying mistake made by Michael Masi and those in charge. When the cars were released from the pits for the start of Q2, a group of marshals and most importantly a recovery crane were still completing the removal of Nicholas Latifi’s abandoned Williams.

Alarmingly, Masi then doubled down on the error by later saying, “It was quite close to the barrier, the crane was on its way, and we were given assurances that it would be well and truly clear. Looking at everything, I was more than comfortable with the local assurances on that basis.”

For all his questionable safety cars and red flags this season, when there is a genuinely dangerous situation, the cars were sent out. A perilously wet track and a crane removing a car in the gravel trap should give anyone involved with F1 a sharp shot of PTSD and Martin Brundle sounded noticeably uncomfortable and shocked at what he was witnessing. And for the sake of what? A delay of a few seconds in restarting the session? It should be incredibly simple – the race does not restart until any recovery vehicle is beyond the confines of the circuit.

Vettel described it as a mistake with “zero tolerance”. Please, Mr. Masi, never let us see that happen again.

But the Day Belongs to Hamil7on

Image credit: Daimler AG

A final word for the man who became – at the very least, statistically – the greatest F1 driver of all time.

Lewis Hamilton very rarely lets his emotions come to the fore these days. So, it was particularly moving to see him totally overwhelmed by what he has achieved. With the frequency at which his wins come these days, it is easy to forget just how much he has had to overcome to get to this point; to realise his wildest dreams.

For, whilst he often plays down these milestones ahead of the event, he did admit that he had “probably secretly dreamt” of one day matching Michael Schumacher.

In fact, many of the parallels between Schumacher and Hamilton’s achievements are quite astounding. They both achieved their seventh title at the 14th round of their 14th year of Formula 1. And all this, whilst fighting what he describes as the “bigger fight” for equality and diversity.

How much higher can Hamilton go?

After all, he is still rising…

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=q6hlR0GsOQI

The Turkish Grand Prix in 60 Seconds

Answering the Burning Questions

Can Lewis Hamilton wrap up a record-equalling seventh World Championship? Yes, and in some style.

Will the track grip up over the course of weekend or will they continue skating around as per Practice 1? The rain came and made conditions even harder for the drivers.

Can any of the teams battling for third open up a gap to the others? It was a good weekend for Racing Point, who now have a slight advantage over McLaren in the standings.

Will we see any Vettel-Webber-esque teammate dramas this weekend? Nothing really, aside from the Renaults coming together at the first corner.

2020 Emilia Romagna GP report | Hamilton wins at Imola as Mercedes claims record title

Posted on by James Mackenzie
Mercedes: Rewriting HIS7ORY Since 2014.
Mercedes seal the constructors' title at the Emilia Romagna Grand Prix.
Image credit: Motorsport Images

Lewis Hamilton took what had at one point seemed an unlikely victory at the 2020 Emilia Romagna Grand Prix, as his Mercedes team wrapped up a record-breaking seventh consecutive World Constructors’ Championship.

The World Champion was beaten to pole by teammate Valtteri Bottas on Saturday, later describing his lap as “piss poor”, and was then passed by Max Verstappen on the run to the first corner. The narrow Imola circuit proved very difficult to pass on, with the two-metre-wide behemoths of modern Formula 1, and the front three appeared to have formed an orderly queue that may well last the entire race.

However, it would transpire that Bottas had collected some Ferrari shrapnel on the second lap which was significantly affecting his aero performance. Red Bull pitted Verstappen on lap 19 and Mercedes immediately responded with a pit stop for Bottas to cover off the Dutchman. This released Hamilton who suddenly started producing a succession of fastest laps. His medium tyres seemed to be holding up well and Mercedes decided to extend his first stint with the potential to fit the soft tyre at the end.

As it became apparent just how much time Bottas was losing, Hamilton defied his aging tyres and increased his lead to almost the exact length of a pit stop. It would all become academic, however, as a Virtual Safety Car on lap 29, brought about by yet another mechanical retirement for Esteban Ocon, handed the lead to Hamilton on a plate. He re-emerged five seconds ahead of his teammate and Bottas was now forced to switch his attention to keeping Verstappen behind him.

After a couple of close calls, a lock-up into Rivazza allowed Verstappen to pull right up to the gearbox of the Mercedes and he snatched second on the run down to Tamburello. Once again, it appeared as if the order had settled in for the remainder of the race, but there was one more twist in the tail. On lap 51, Verstappen’s right-rear tyre suddenly let go and left him stranded in the gravel trap.

Max Verstappen shows his frustration after retiring from the Emilia Romagna Grand Prix.
Image credit: Formula 1

That brought out a full safety car. Both Mercedes drivers pitted without incident – the team able to remove the piece of Ferrari from Bottas’s bargeboards – and, surpisingly, so did Sergio Pérez, who was due to inherit that provisional podium position after having made excellent progress from 11th on the grid. Those behind him did not, though, and the Racing Point driver found himself behind Daniel Ricciardo, Charles Leclerc and Alexander Albon.

It was an unusually chaotic safety car period, featuring an embarrassing crash from George Russell – ruining his best chance yet at a points finish – and Lance Stroll wiping out his front jack man during his pit stop; the mechanic thankfully walked away unscathed.

The safety car period ended, leaving a six-lap sprint to the finish and the chaos was predictably far from over. Daniil Kvyat made an opportunistic double-overtake at the restart to jump up to fifth, before passing Leclerc later in the lap. Behind him, Pérez did successfully recover one place, passing Alexander Albon around the outside; the under-pressure Anglo-Thai then span immediately and surely put another nail in his Red Bull coffin.

This was the second of two crucial weekends for Albon and he once again failed to produce. It is looking more and more likely that he will not be retained for 2021 and, with F2 driver Yuki Tsunoda being strongly linked to the second seat at AlphaTauri, Albon is now fighting desperately for his F1 career – let alone the Red Bull seat.

Out front, Hamilton comfortably extended his gap to Bottas and sealed the extra point for fastest lap on the final tour. Ricciardo just about held off Kvyat for his second podium in three races and, behind them, Pérez was unable to pass Leclerc for fifth. The final points positions went to the McLarens and the Alfa Romeos, with Kimi Räikkönen frustrated that he had finally taken his only pit stop one lap before the safety car was called.

After having forgotten at the Nürburgring, Ricciardo this time remembered to do his trademark ‘shoey’ and was even joined by Hamilton, a man who had previously said he would never be convinced to partake in that particular celebratory swig. Whilst he looked like he instantly regretted his decision to take a sip from the sweaty, yellow boot, it is unlikely to have dampened his mood a great deal. Hamilton now has one hand (and at least a few fingers of the other) on that Drivers’ Championship trophy – Bottas must outscore him by at least eight points in Turkey to keep the title alive.

HIS7ORY MAKERS

Mercedes wrapping up the constructors’ title with a few races to go has become the norm for many years now and, with many fans thoroughly bored of the dominance, it is possible to forget what an incredible achievement it is that we are witnessing.

With a seventh consecutive Constructors’ Championship, Mercedes have surpassed the record set by the dominant Ferrari team of the Schumacher-Brawn-Todt era. This is now arguably the greatest team in the history of the sport. As we all know, they nailed the hybrid engine regulations in 2014 and gave themselves a massive head start for those first three years. Dominating one set of regulations is not rare – Red Bull, Williams, McLaren and Ferrari have all done it in the past – but 2017 brought about another major change in the cars and Mercedes simply aced that too.

Smaller changes since then – even the ones introduced specifically to target them, such as this year’s ban on ‘qualifying modes’ – have done little harm to the Silver Arrows’ supremacy either. Would anybody honestly be surprised if they do the best job on the 2022 regulations too?

Their biggest threat appears to come from the two most respected members of the team – Hamilton and Team Principal Toto Wolff – seemingly considering their positions, as both have been openly pondering how much longer they will continue. Time will tell on that front, but Hamilton himself is usually the first to point out that he is just the last link in a very long, particularly well-oiled chain.

Admittedly, as ‘last links’ go, Hamilton is maybe the greatest of all time – the same could be said for Wolff – but there will be more drivers and more team principals in the years to come and, assuming Mercedes stick to their relentlessly efficient principles, they will be at the forefront of the sport for a long, long time.

The Emilia Romagna Grand Prix in 60 Seconds

Answering the Burning Questions

How will a condensed two-day weekend affect the teams? There certainly seemed less prepared, particularly in terms of the behaviour of the tyres.

Can Mercedes wrap up a record seventh consecutive title? Of course they can.

How will Alexander Albon fare on a crucial weekend for his F1 future? Not well, sadly.

Which of the teams battling for third in the Constructors’ Championship will have the best weekend? Renault had marginally the best weekend and are now a single point ahead of their two rivals.

Will Kimi Räikkönen gain an advantage as the only driver to have previously raced at Imola? The veteran Finn had an excellent race and, with a safety car appearing one lap earlier, could have grabbed a large haul of points.