Category: Race Reports

2020 Styrian GP report | Hamilton returns to form

Posted on by James Mackenzie
A wet weather masterclass from Hamilton on Saturday. (And Sunday wasn’t bad either.)
Lewis Hamilton wins the Styrian Grand Prix.
Image credit: Getty Images

After last week’s chaos, normal service was resumed at the second event around the Spielberg track, in the shape of a Lewis Hamilton domination, a Mercedes 1-2, an impressive Max Verstappen podium and a Ferrari calamity at the 2020 Styrian Grand Prix.

His troubles at the last race led to Hamilton being asked some fairly ridiculous questions as to whether he should focus more on racing than activism. He answered them in emphatic style with one of his very best pole positions – there are 89 of them, remember – and a controlled victory on Sunday. He then doubled down on that response with a black power salute on the podium.

Saturday’s qualifying took place in the wettest conditions for some time and gave the drivers the platform to demonstrate every ounce of their skill and remind any doubters that they are the very best in the world. Hamilton and Verstappen stood out throughout the session, seemingly on another plane to the others. The world champion was not content with that, though, and moved onto another plane again, with a final lap that was 1.2 seconds faster than Verstappen in second; the gap between first and second was larger than the one between second and 10th. Mercedes Team Principal Toto Wolff described the lap as “out of this world” and former driver Mark Webber tweeted “there’s a F1 category and there’s then a F1-plus category. Lewis is/was in a different league”.

There were also starring performances from Carlos Sainz in third, Esteban Ocon in fifth and George Russell, who dragged his Williams out of Q1 for the first time and came within a tenth of Sebastian Vettel’s Ferrari for a place in Q3, eventually lining up 11th on the grid.

Sunday was less eventful for the most part but still an entertaining race. Hamilton led from the front whilst teammate Valtteri Bottas steadily worked his way back up to second, eventually passing Verstappen after an excellent duel in the final few laps. There was plenty of midfield action, with Sergio Pérez recovering from 17th on the grid to even challenge Albon for 4th at the end.

A dramatic last lap at the Styrian Grand Prix.
Image credit: Formula 1

In the process, however, he damaged his front wing and fell back into the clutches of Lando Norris, Lance Stroll and Daniel Ricciardo at the final corner, resulting in a three-way photo finish. It was another storming finish from Norris who, after claiming a last-gasp podium seven days earlier, moved up from ninth to fifth in the dying stages after a long first stint. He remains third in the championship and is really coming into his own in his second season of F1.

Further back, things were going from bad to worse to whatever-is-below-that for the Scuderia.

A Horse Far From Prancing

Ferrari rushed through updates, that had originally been intended for the Hungarian Grand Prix next week, in order to have a direct comparison to the previous weekend’s race on the same track. The drivers reported an improvement during Friday’s practice sessions, but the times didn’t appear noticeably better and, whilst the soaking qualifying conditions will have complicated matters, 10th and 14th on the grid was worse than they had managed the week prior.

But still, they had the race on Sunday to try and make up ground and – at the very least – amass some useful data in their recovery efforts…right?

Wrong.

Image credit: Formula 1

A clumsy, overambitious move from Charles Leclerc left him bumping over the kerbs and landing on his teammate, Sebastian Vettel. The German returned to the pits with his rear wing hanging off and retired immediately; Leclerc went back out but only managed a further three laps before the damage – mostly to the floor of the car – was pronounced terminal.

Leclerc was, at least, refreshingly contrite when it came to his culpability for the incident, on what was a far-from-smooth weekend for the Monegasque all round. It began with the news that he had returned home to Monaco for the birthday party of his girlfriend’s sister and not adhered to social distancing whilst there. He may have had two tests before returning to the track but risking everything when the sport has put so much effort into its return, was immature and arrogant. He was very lucky to escape with just a warning.

And yet, that is the least of his worries, considering the position his team is now in. The Italian press have been predictably cutting (whilst romantic, of course) in their appraisal of the effective national team’s current predicament. They must hope that the remaining haul of updates, to be delivered in Budapest, will make a significant difference, or this season looks set to become the biggest embarrassment in their recent history.

The ‘Pink Mercedes’ Under the Microscope

Racing Point are yet to fully delivered on their considerable potential this season, thanks to a retirement at the first race and a scrappy qualifying at the second, but it has become increasingly apparent to the paddock that the pink cars are just as quick as they had feared.

This was demonstrated by Pérez’s charge through the field and then cemented by the fact that he was effectively being held up by the second Red Bull towards the end. As Stroll boisterously pointed out, they have “debatably the second fastest F1 car”.

So, Renault – clearly waiting to enact vengeance after Racing Point protested the French team’s best result in Japan last year – have decided to pull the trigger and lodged a protest over the eligibility of the Racing Point brake ducts.

Image credit: LAT Images

The paddock’s suspicions over the similarities between this year’s Racing Point and last year’s championship-winning Mercedes are well-known. The Silverstone-based team have been steadfast in their assertion that they simply copied the best car of last year and did so within the rules.

The stewards have classed the protest as admissible and impounded the brake ducts, whilst also requesting that Mercedes provide parts from last year’s car, but Racing Point remain resolute and say they “expect the FIA to dismiss the misconceived protest”. This will likely trundle on for a fair while.

The Styrian Grand Prix in 60 Seconds

Answering the Burning Questions

Will we see much difference in pace from anyone since the last race? Nothing particularly noticeable.

Can Ferrari bring some updates in time for this weekend? They did, but they didn’t get much use out of them.

Will there be fewer mechanical issues now that the cobwebs are gone? Yep, just one mechanical failure during the race.

Can Lewis Hamilton claw back some ground on his teammate? He can.

With thunderstorms forecast through the weekend, will we have a wet and wild qualifying and/or race? Not during the race, but the qualifying was emphatically wet and wild.

2020 Austrian GP report | Bottas wins madcap race with maiden podium for Norris

Posted on by James Mackenzie
F1 comes back with a bang. (Literally.)
Valtteri Bottas wins the Austrian Grand Prix.
Image credit: Getty Images

It may have been an agonising 217 days since the chequered flag in Abu Dhabi but the much-delayed opening Austrian Grand Prix of the 2020 season managed to be worth the wait.

By the end of qualifying, the main stories were clear – the dominance of Mercedes and the struggles of Ferrari. Mercedes look pretty mean in their new, black livery and their speed is just as menacing; they appear to have a half second advantage over the rest of the field, which looks ominous for the remainder of the season. Meanwhile, their former main rivals have seemingly slipped back into the midfield, with Sebastian Vettel knocked out in Q2 and his teammate only just surviving to ultimately manage seventh on the grid.

The drama on Sunday started early. Having originally avoided a penalty for not slowing under yellow flags during his final qualifying run, Hamilton was given a three-place grid penalty less than an hour before the race after Red Bull had questioned the stewards’ original decision.

It would not slow him down too much though. By lap 10, Hamilton was ready to inheret second place when Max Verstappen’s Red Bull decided it was done for the day. A massive disappointment for the Dutchman, who seemed to be in a strong position after Red Bull’s gamble in Q2 resulted in him starting on harder tyres than those around him.

He would prove to be far from the only retirement, though, with just 11 cars actually reaching the chequered flag.

Hamilton had closed up rapidly to his teammate after Verstappen’s retirement but a combination of safety cars and orders from the garage to take things easy – as engineers panicked about gearbox issues caused by the aggressive kerbs – meant he never managed to attempt an overtake.

After the third and final safety car, Mercedes found themselves in something of a predicament – they had not stopped for new tyres, whilst a string of cars behind them had done so. Immediately after the restart, Alexander Albon was all over the back of Hamilton and, within a few corners, we had a déjà vu of Brazil last year as they collided and Albon was left pointing in the wrong direction.

Hamilton received a five-second time penalty and would also be denied a spot on the podium as young Lando Norris – fresh from his best ever qualifying result – stormed through with the fastest lap of the race to finish 4.8 seconds behind the world champion and become the third youngest F1 podium finisher ever.

Lando Norris celebrates his maiden podium at the Austrian Grand Prix.
Image credit: LAT Images

Charles Leclerc took an unlikely 2nd considering Ferrari’s pace this weekend – thanks to some daring but clinical overtaking late on – and Carlos Sainz completed the top five. The Spaniard may currently be questioning his decision to switch to the Scuderia next year, with McLaren on an upward trajectory and Ferrari going in the opposite direction.

Bottas begins this season as he did last year’s, with a win, but can he keep it up this time and really take the fight to Hamilton? The 2020 season is already looking like it could be a two-horse race.

Leclerc Spares Ferrari’s Blushes

It was a chastening weekend for those in red, but Leclerc did, at least, manage to salvage something positive for them with an unlikely podium, albeit one which required a fair slice of luck.

Whilst all the noises coming out of Ferrari since pre-season testing have been clear in tempering expectations, nobody could have foreseen quite how far they have fallen; Leclerc’s qualifying time was a little under a second slower than his pole time at the same circuit last year.

Image credit: Foto Colombo Images

This has reminded people of the elephant in the room – namely, the private settlement reached between Ferrari and the FIA regarding their engine last year. It surely cannot be a coincidence that all three Ferrari-powered teams are suddenly struggling and that the factory team are no less than 0.7 seconds down on the straights alone… Whatever trick they were pulling last year, they are clearly no longer able to perform it and it has starkly exposed their 2020 car’s deficiencies; it has a severe amount of drag and, if you watch Sebastian Vettel’s onboard footage, is just a real handful.

Those wondering whether Vettel – with the knowledge that he will be out of the team come next year – would be out to prove a point and back to his best, had an early hint towards a potential answer as he clumsily ploughed into the back of Sainz early on. The four-time world champion is beginning to look disillusioned with the sport – can he find his mojo again with a new project or is this the end?

A Messy Weekend for the World Champion

It was not the ideal start to Hamilton’s quest for a record-equalling seventh world championship. The Briton dominated the practice sessions but was pipped by his teammate when it mattered in qualifying and would eventually be handed a penalty after Red Bull continued their tirade against Mercedes, having already lodged a protest against the Silver Arrows’ DAS system.

Once back up to second, he would endure a frustrating spell stuck behind his teammate, with those in the garage nervous of gearbox issues and desperate for their drivers to stop pushing, before his chances of taking the lead were further scuppered by numerous safety cars. Mercedes then made a mistake by not pitting for new tyres during the final safety car period, which led to the collision with Albon.

The Red Bull driver stormed around the outside of Hamilton at Turn 4, only for the pair to connect front and rear wheels on the exit. Hamilton took full responsibility for their uncannily similar accident at Interlagos last year, but this one was a little more complex.

Hamilton Albon Collision Onboard from formula1

There has been much debate as to whether the five-second penalty was deserved. Some – mostly in the Red Bull camp, obviously – have said that he got off lightly, whilst some have called it a racing incident. It was mostly just unfortunate.

Albon, in hindsight, perhaps should have been more patient – he had far better traction and would surely have been able to pass Hamilton in a less risky situation within a lap or so. Putting himself on the outside of a car on cold, worn, hard tyres at a downhill corner always had the potential to end in tears. Hamilton was something of a passenger as he understeered wide and then Albon’s overspeed effectively drove him into Hamilton’s front left tyre.

Equally, though, whilst he was slightly behind on corner entry, Albon was almost a car length ahead by the exit of the corner. Would a more-experienced driver have left just that extra few centimetres of room, knowing that the other car was likely to run wide? Maybe, but daring manoeuvres like this are why Albon is in the Red Bull; he will get there. Ultimately, it was the outcome that resulted in the penalty for Hamilton – if Albon had been bumped wide slightly and recovere to maybe 4th, there would likely have been no action taken. For a neutral driver’s perspective, check out Marcus Ericsson’s tweet.

Once Hamilton’s penalty was confirmed, Mercedes could potentially have swapped the drivers to help him cling on to a podium place, but that was not done either.

However you look at it, this is not how Hamilton would have envisaged his campaign starting and he already has a 13-point deficit to make up on a reduced calendar.

The Austrian Grand Prix in 60(ish) Seconds

Answering the Burning Questions

How will the new socially-distanced F1 play out? Will it have a significant impact? Not particularly – it’s easy to forget that there is no crowd and the McLaren garage didn’t exactly observe social distancing whilst celebrating their podium.

Who has the fastest car? Mercedes, it would appear emphatically.

Will anyone have made any dramatic changes since pre-season testing? Not to the untrained eye as yet, but Ferrari may do by next weekend.

Can Max Verstappen and Red Bull continue their winning streak in Austria? Nope.

How will Sebastian Vettel approach his final season at Ferrari? About the same as the last two years so far, unfortunately.

2019 Abu Dhabi GP report | Hamilton rounds out championship year with grand slam

Posted on by James Mackenzie
That’s a wrap on F1 2019.
Image credit: Mercedes-AMG F1

Lewis Hamilton finished the year at the 2019 Abu Dhabi Grand Prix in the fashion he has spent much of it – leading from the front. And in the most emphatic fashion so far this season, as he took his only ‘grand chelem’ – achieved by claiming pole, the win, the fastest lap and leading every lap – of the year.

That is the his sixth grand slam, moving him beyond Alberto Ascari and Michael Schumacher to outright second on the all-time list, two behind the late, great Jim Clark. Yet another record for Hamilton to set his sights on.

The race itself was sadly a fairly standard Abu Dhabi affair – a pretty dull race with the action limited mostly to Valtteri Bottas’s fight through the field from the back of the grid. The Finn’s job was also made slightly harder by the bizarre lack of DRS for 18 laps, apparently caused by a ‘data server crash’.

As Martin Brundle had feared may be the case, Hamilton ‘checked out’ at the front of the field, controlling his pace and keeping a comfortable lead throughout. He showed just how much pace he had to spare by setting the fastest lap of the race on reasonably old hard tyres when many behind had pitted for new, softer ones in the final few laps.

The fight for the other podium positions was slightly spicier. Charles Leclerc passed Max Verstappen on the first lap as the Red Bull seemed to initially struggle heating its tyres. But Verstappen ran 13 laps longer and comfortably passed the Ferrari, having rejoined just four seconds back on far fresher tyres, despite nursing a subtle engine issue throughout the race. Leclerc then switched to a two-stop strategy and just about managed to hold off the closing Bottas in the closing laps. Leclerc had spent the entire race aware that he could well be disqualified for a technical infringement from Ferrari before the race but, after a post-race investigation, the team were fined €50,000 and his third place stood.

It was another amateur-ish mistake from F1’s most experienced team – simply a case of the amount of fuel Ferrari had said was in Leclerc’s car being significantly different from the actual amount once it had been checked by the FIA. If they are to put together a real title challenge in 2020, Ferrari will have to iron out these basic operational failings…as well as the rather larger ones such as strategy and their drivers crashing into each other…

Sebastian Vettel at the 2019 Abu Dhabi Grand Prix.
Image credit: Foto Colombo Images

Sebastian Vettel came home a fairly underwhelming fifth, followed by the other Red Bull of Alexander Albon, the Anglo-Thai finishing a disappointing 52.5 seconds behind his teammate. Whilst, overall, Albon has done a solid job in what has undeniably been a big ask of a rookie driver, that is similar to the gaps we were seeing between Verstappen and Pierre Gasly before his demotion. With a proper preparation for next year, Albon will surely have better foundations to build on for 2020 but he will have to be consistently and markedly closer to the superstar on the other side of the garage to cement his place in both the team and the sport for the future.

Sergio Pérez claimed ‘best of the rest’ thanks to some trademark tyre conservation and a good strategy, nicking seventh from Lando Norris on the last lap with what he described as “one of the best moves in my career”.

Sainz Leaves it Late to Snatch Sixth

Another move on the last lap – this time with a McLaren being the overtaker rather than the overtaken – brought Carlos Sainz the single point he required to seal sixth in the Drivers’ Championship, with the Spaniard clearly ecstatic with the manner in which he claimed it.

Carlos Sainz at the Abu Dhabi Grand Prix.
Image credit: Sutton

Sainz absolutely deserves that sixth place. Whilst it has obviously been made possible by two drivers getting half a season each in the second Red Bull, the level of consistency achieved by the Spaniard has been excellent and he nearly broke the 100-point barrier despite a fair share of bad luck. He lost a haul of points in Bahrain through a coming together with Verstappen and more via a botched pit-stop in Italy.

Surely Red Bull are looking somewhat longingly at Sainz now as they struggle to find a driver worthy of their second seat. Verstappen and Sainz were very evenly matched as teammates in their rookie years and it seems that, in the last 12 months certainly, Sainz has pushed onto another level and is relishing his role as team leader at McLaren.

Tension between their respective fathers supposedly played a part in Sainz not being considered for the Red Bull drive when Daniel Ricciardo dropped the bomb that he was leaving for Renault last year. But you have to wonder, with a Verstappen-Sainz pairing, would Red Bull have been able to truly challenge Ferrari for seconds in the Constructors’ Championship this year?

Verstappen Claims the Other ‘Best of the Rest’

Whilst, at times, Ferrari and Red Bull have looked very fast – the Ferrari particularly in qualifying and the Red Bull particularly at altitude – over the course of the season, the Mercedes team has been somewhat in a class of one.

With his second place in Abu Dhabi – and a helping hand from the Ferrari clash last weekend – Verstappen claimed third in the championship and what is effectively ‘best of the rest’ beyond the Silver Arrows. It is another deserved unofficial crown, as Verstappen has surely stood out, alongside Hamilton, as the star of the field this year.

Image credit: Red Bull

Where, in past seasons, he had shown unquestionable raw speed but flashes of immaturity and rashness, this year has been nearly devoid of those flies in the ointment. There were perhaps a couple of overambitious moves but that comes with the territory when you are a bold driver like Verstappen.

If Red Bull can actually start a season competitively for once next year, and Verstappen can keep his head once faced with a real title battle, 2020 could even be a case of him going for ‘best of the best’.

But the final word must go to Hamilton.

Having been challenged more consistently by the other teams since the summer break, the world champion’s superlative performance at the Yas Marina Circuit was a pointed reminder to the prentenders to his throne that he is still very much the king.

The Abu Dhabi Grand Prix in 60 Seconds

Answering the Burning Questions

Who can go into the winter break on a high? Certainly Hamilton. But Verstappen and Leclerc will be pretty content too.

How will relations be between the two Ferrari drivers and within the team? There was a hint of tension with Leclerc missing his final qualifying lap and seeming to blame Vettel but really it was the team’s fault. That was followed by another silly error from the team on race day… Will any heads roll over the winter break?

Who will claim third in the Drivers’ Championship? Verstappen, pretty comfortably in the end.

Can Hülkenberg get a podium in possibly his last ever race?? Of course not. A token Driver of the Day award though!

2019 Brazilian GP report | Verstappen thrills in Brazil and Gasly claims second as the Ferraris collide

Posted on by James Mackenzie
A fairly average race for 50 laps…and then absolute bedlam.
Max Verstappen and Pierre Gasly on the Brazilian Grand Prix podium.
Image credit: Getty Images

Max Verstappen took a commanding victory at the 2019 Brazilian Grand Prix as all around him – or certainly most – were losing their heads.

Verstappen led away from pole with Lewis Hamilton passing Sebastian Vettel for second place around the outside of the first corner. From there, it looked likely to be a tale of whether the young Dutchman could keep the newly-crowned world champion at bay. Mercedes had shown strong pace during race simulations in the practice sessions and, whilst never quite getting close enough for an overtaking attempt, Hamilton remained within touching distance throughout the first phase of the Grand Prix.

Mercedes triggered the undercut on lap 20 by pitting Hamilton and committing to a two-stop strategy. Red Bull responded a lap later but, via the combination of an unhelpful Williams pit release and a strong out lap from Hamilton, Verstappen emerged behind the Mercedes driver.

That would not remain the case for long, however. Hamilton had completely depleted his battery on his flying out lap and so was slow on the start/finish straight; Verstappen took the opportunity to fly past and regain his net lead.

The two drivers matched each other as they worked their way through backmarkers until, after another 20 or so laps, Mercedes attempted another undercut. This time with less success. Hamilton appeared happier on the medium tyres than he had been on the soft, though, and was closing the gap. But everything was about to be flipped on its head.

Whilst trying to find a way past Charles Leclerc for fourth, Valtteri Bottas’s Mercedes engine overheated and the Finn ground to a halt – the first mechanical retirement for Mercedes this year – which, despite some good parking, brought out the safety car. Mercedes told Hamilton to do the opposite to Verstappen; the Red Bull driver came in and so Hamilton stayed out, but almost immediately began to question the decision to leave him vulnerable on older, harder tyres.

His fears were quickly proven to be well-founded as, despite Hamilton’s best efforts to catch him out at the restart, Verstappen flew by once more before the first corner. Alexander Albon also made a great move to jump past Vettel, before starting to pressure Hamilton, with the Ferraris close behind. But not for long.

With five laps remaining, Leclerc dived down the inside of his teammate at the first corner but Vettel stayed close behind and pulled alongside on the following straight. As he passed, he drifted left, Leclerc did not move fast enough, there was slight tyre-to-tyre contact and Ferraris race quite literally fell apart.

The Ferraris collide at the Brazilian Grand Prix.
Image credit: Formula 1

Leclerc’s front left suspension was broken and Vettel was also parked up with the damage caused by a rear right puncture within a lap. As is tradition, both drivers blamed each other. (More on that later.)

This brought about another safety car. This time Mercedes gambled and brought Hamilton in, dropping him to fourth and leaving a Honda 1-2-3, as things stood, in the form of Verstappen, Albon and Pierre Gasly’s Toro Rosso. Lance Stroll had also retired after hitting debris from the Ferrari theatrics and it looked as though the race may finish behind the safety car.

It was restarted, however, with an effective two-lap sprint race to the chequered flag. Hamilton, on his fresh, soft tyres, dispatched Gasly at the first corner and was immediately onto the gearbox of Albon. Was the gamble about to pay off for Mercedes?

No. It was, in fact, about to end in tears, as Hamilton made an ambitious dive into the Bico de Pato corner. Albon certainly left the door open but, when he took the normal racing line and effectively closed it, Hamilton was too committed and made contact with the Red Bull, leaving it pointing in the wrong direction as the field sailed past. Agony for Albon, apologies from Hamilton post-race, but euphoria at Toro Rosso as Gasly moved into second position.

A lap later, coming out of the last corner, Hamilton got a run on the Frenchman and pulled alongside to produce a drag race to the line. But, in a show of just how far Honda have come this year, the Toro Rosso won that drag race and Gasly took a stirring first podium in F1, after an incredibly trying year. Cue an emotional release and a Senna-in-91-esque radio message.

Image credit: Motorsport Images

Once Hamilton had been given a five second penalty, we were left with a bizarre top five of Verstappen, Gasly, Carlos Sainz and the Alfa Romeos of Kimi Räikkönen and Antonio Giovinazzi. It was also a debut podium for Sainz and, although he was not part of the initial ceremony, he was later allowed up to the podium to celebrate with his team.

Again, there were some questionable strategy decisions from Mercedes. Bottas was confusingly pitted just 14 laps into a stint on the hard tyres as the team drastically bailed out of a one-stop. And whilst the undercuts for Hamilton were fairly well executed, the decision not to pit him under the first safety car left him a sitting duck and, but for the Ferrari incident, Hamilton could easily have found himself behind all four cars that had been following at that point. This was supposed to be a race for Mercedes to be set free from the constraints of playing it safe with the championship in mind but it came across more like rash, ill-considered decisions with a whiff of desperation at points. Especially in contrast to the excellence of the Red Bull strategies, pit stops and drive by Verstappen.

But hey, it could have been worse. They could be…

Ferrari…

After two years of near misses and now a season that promised so much but has massively under-delivered, the Tifosi fans are pretty numb to pain at the moment.

But this one will have hurt.

Tensions that have been in danger of boiling over for some time now, finally did so. And with disastrous consequences. The two drivers conspired to crash into each other whilst on a straight and, just like that, Ferrari’s season surely hit its nadir. But who was primarily to blame, if anyone?

Image credit: Formula 1

The stewards have ruled ‘no further action necessary’ but, for me, the blame must lie closer to Vettel’s door than that of Leclerc. It was a slightly rude divebomb – particularly on a teammate – by Leclerc into the first corner, but a fair and successful one. Maybe that stung Vettel – with Hamilton and Albon having also robbed him at the same corner earlier in the race – as there was no need for him to come across his teammate in the way that he did as he came back past. He had the overspeed to be ahead by the corner anyway.

Watching the onboards, you can see how little time Leclerc had to react. It was all a bit Turkey 2010 with Webber. Vettel has been under such pressure this season and has seen his number one status within the team come under serious threat; was this an attempt to show dominance? We can’t be sure.

Between the many spins and the incidents like this – remember that, just two races ago, Vettel squeezed Hamilton onto the grass at the start and was saved by the latter bailing out – the four-time world champion sometimes seems to lack a bit of spacial awareness in the car. He may have a bit of soul-searching to do before next season.

Image credit: Getty Images

It will be interesting to see how Ferrari handle the fallout from this. They have one race left to patch things up or it could be a very frosty winter…

Two Very Wholesome Podiums

The podium finishes for both Gasly and Sainz will be hugely popular throughout the paddock.

Gasly has had such a tough year. Obviously, struggling badly in the Red Bull and seemingly losing all confidence before being demoted during the summer break. But then particularly, during his first race back at Toro Rosso, losing his close, lifelong friend Anthoine Hubert to that tragic, fatal accident in Spa.

That makes his redemption arc in the second half of the season all the more impressive. He has generally had the better of new teammate Daniil Kvyat, despite having to readapt to the Toro Rosso, and has just kept getting stronger. He was ‘best of the rest’ for the majority of the weekend in Brazil and fully capitalised on the chance he was given. It also leaves him with the record for France’s youngest ever podium.

Carlos Sainz with his trophy at the Brazilian Grand Prix.
Image credit: EFE

Sainz, meanwhile, deserves it for the sheer quality of his performances this year. The Spaniard was starting to look like he may have contracted the Nico Hülkenberg podium curse with so many fourth and fifth place finishes in a generally impressive career.

But he has broken that duck and, judging by the consistently high level he has been (smoothly) operating at this year, it would not be a surprise to see him pick up many more trophies.

The Brazilian Grand Prix in 60 Seconds

Answering the Burning Questions

With the title wrapped up, can we still get an exciting race? Just a bit, yeah.

Will we get any more clues as to the effect the power unit clarifications have had on Ferrari? There is still talk from Mercedes and Red Bull that they are seeing a reduction but the Ferrari straight-line speed appeared closer to what we’re used to here. And the altitude made it hard to come to a definite conclusion.

How will Albon perform now that his seat for next year is confirmed? He still has work to do when it comes to qualifying pace but he looked at home mixing it with the big names during the race.

Who of Leclerc, Verstappen and Vettel will leave the weekend leading the battle for third in the championship? Verstappen, by a surprisingly comfortable 11 points.

Surely we’re overdue another crazy, wet race? Interlagos quite often delivers them… Well it wasn’t wet but it was certainly crazy.

2019 United States GP report | Bottas wins the battle, Hamilton wins the war

Posted on by James Mackenzie
It’s number six for Lewis Hamilton.
Lewis Hamilton at the United States Grand Prix.
Image credit: Getty Images

A fine drive from Valtteri Bottas meant he took his seventh victory in Formula 1 at the 2019 United States Grand Prix but it wasn’t enough to deny Lewis Hamilton his sixth world championship.

After a poor Saturday – certainly by his high standards – Hamilton started fifth on the grid but produced a champion’s performance on race day. Clearly determined to make amends, Hamilton had passed both Ferraris within a matter of seconds as they struggled to turn on their tyres, including a particularly impressive move around the outside of Sebastian Vettel through Turn Eight. Bottas held a comfortable lead throughout the first stint with Max Verstappen and Hamilton a few seconds back.

Red Bull triggered the first pit stops with an attempted undercut on lap 13 and Mercedes responded with Bottas, both drivers now on a likely two-stop strategy. This left Hamilton to go long and attempt another now-somewhat-trademark ‘tyre whisperer’ massage session in order to make a one-stop work. He stopped on lap 24, leaving him 32 laps to eke out of his hard tyres.

Bottas pitted on lap 35 and rejoined six seconds behind Hamilton. He initially closed on his teammate quickly but, when the tyre differential had reduced slightly and backmarkers began to come into play, the drivers appeared to be in something of a stalemate. With the remaining laps ticking down, it looked as though Hamilton was on the verge of repeating his feat from a week ago in Mexico and making a contra strategy work perfectly. But in the end Bottas’s fresher tyres were enough and, after a good battle with some strong defence from Hamilton, the Finn took the lead with four laps to spare. Verstappen, who had also been steadily closing in, was foiled by yellow flags from Kevin Magnussen’s stricken Haas in the last couple of laps and was unable to pass.

Bottas took the chequered flag to claim his fourth victory of the year and, in doing so, showed that he can maintain some momentum after the summer break, where in years gone by his challenge has faded. But it was still not enough and Hamilton took second place and an unbelievable sixth World Championship with two races to spare.

Image credit: Formula 1

Further back, Vettel’s rear suspension had dramatically failed early on; the German doing well to keep his suddenly three-wheeled Ferrari pointing in the right direction before pulling over in a convenient spot. His teammate, Charles Leclerc, had a slightly better afternoon but a pretty lonely one and came home a distant fourth. Sceptics – including Max Verstappen, who was even quoted as saying “that’s what happens when you stop cheating” – are already suggesting that the recent FIA clarification of technical rules regarding power units has impacted Ferrari’s performance.

One race is too early to make those of kind of sweeping assumptions. This was not a track layout that ever looked to particularly favour Ferrari’s package and there main issue appeared to be with the tyre temperatures. The next race in Brazil will likely be similar so let’s all try and reserve judgement until the season finale in Abu Dhabi. If their clear straight-line speed advantage has disappeared there, then maybe we can all consider grabbing our pitchforks and/or tin foil hats.

Alexander Albon recovered well to fifth after a first corner incident. We have still barely seen the Anglo-Thai in a straight fight with teammate Verstappen since his swap to Red Bull but he has continued to put in solid performances in the unenviable position of joining a team mid-way through your rookie season and being matched up against the flying Dutchman.

Alexander Albon at the United States Grand Prix.
Image credit: DPPI

Behind him, Daniel Ricciardo narrowly held off a charging Lando Norris for sixth place after the young Briton had taken a late pitstop and charged back through the field from 10th. It was a better weekend for McLaren – with Carlos Sainz following his teammate home in seventh – after Mexico where a pit stop error cost Norris and there was the mystery of Sainz’s lack of pace on the hard tyre.

Also, a quick mention for Sergio Perez who claimed a points-paying position having started in the pit lane, even with Daniil Kvyat producing another desperate final lap divebomb just seven days after doing the same to Nico Hülkenberg. This one earned him a penalty too. The Torpedo is back to torpedo-ing. Is he costing himself a seat at Toro Rosso next year? Sorry, make that Alpha Tauri…or whatever they’re called.

Lewis Hamilton: Six-Time World Champion

Image credit: Getty Images

Hamilton was already undeniably in the pantheon of the greats. But he is now closing in on staking a strong claim to be the best driver in the history of the sport.

A sixth world championship moves him clear of the great Juan Manuel Fangio and just one behind the record seven titles of Michael Schumacher. He is also now closing in on most of Schumacher’s various other records. 83 wins compared to Schumacher’s 91, 150 podiums compared to 155. If all seasons are converted to having the current points system, Hamilton is now at 3788 with Schumacher having taken a total of 3961. These are records that could easily change hands in the next 12 months.

The world champion’s prowess over a single lap in qualifying has long been known and he already stands far out on his own when it comes to the record for pole positions. But more recently, and particularly this season, he has shown he is just as good on a Sunday. As previously mentioned, he is now infamous for his tyre management. Mercedes Technical Director James Allison, who has worked with many greats including Schumacher himself, described Hamilton’s “instinctive ability” when it comes to the subtle technicalities of racing – such as tyre management and fuel conservation – as “remarkable” and has spoken of the “metronomic consistency of his race performances all year”.

Hamilton really does have very few – if any – weaknesses these days. After the season, I plan to do a post truly comparing him to the previous greats but, for the moment, let’s just appreciate that we have seen a fantastic driver further cement his legend and move closer to what had previously appeared to be unassailable records.

Congratulations, Lewis. The lad from Stevenage done good.

The United States Grand Prix in 60 Seconds

Answering the Burning Questions

Can Hamilton wrap up the title? Of course he did.

…When Hamilton wraps up the title, will there be any impressive theatrics from the Americans/Liberty? There was a parking spot but that was about it. Maybe the champion being lifted up to the podium last weekend in Mexico would have been more fitting.

With its varied layout, which car will COTA suit the best? Red Bull gave a good charge but Mercedes appeared to just have the edge for most of the weekend.

Can Verstappen stop his recent run of mishaps? There was a small bit of contact at the first corner, and later on with a kerb, that caused minor damage but it was a strong weekend overall.

Chances of another Kimi win?.. Bwoah, sadly not.

2019 Mexican GP report | Hamilton win leaves him on brink of title

Posted on by James Mackenzie
Ferrari mess up a 1-2, Hamilton wins, Lando’s luckless, water is wet.
Lewis Hamilton wins the Mexican Grand Prix.
Image credit: Daimler AG

Lewis Hamilton came away with a surprise win at the 2019 Mexican Grand Prix after Mercedes had struggled through Friday and Saturday on a track that has not been kind to them in recent years.

Max Verstappen had initially taken pole position but was given a three-place grid penalty for ignoring yellow flags after Valtteri Bottas’s nasty crash in the dying seconds of Q3, which left the Finn winded. It was a needless penalty to risk as Verstappen already had pole secured through his previous flying lap but the Dutchman appeared characteristically unrepentant in the press conference.

So a fired-up Verstappen on race day was something of an inevitability. Last year, that approach won him the race; this year, it did not.

Hamilton made a good start but was squeezed onto the grass by Sebastian Vettel – in previous years that may well have earned him a penalty but not with the current approach by the stewards – and that left him with Verstappen on his inside into Turn One. They nearly touched, Verstappen following Vettel’s lead by also squeezing Hamilton to the edge of the track. Hamilton then got a big slap of oversteer and failed to make the corner, leaving Verstappen nowhere to go except joining him on the grass.

The pair recovered to fifth and eighth but Verstappen’s opportunistic move on Bottas in the stadium section resulted in a puncture and a long trip back to the pits.

At the front, it would become a tale of divergent strategies.

Charles Leclerc had retained the lead at the start and led until pitting on lap 15, committing to a two-stop strategy. Alexander Albon would also be pitting twice, having stopped a lap earlier, but the rest of the leaders would go with what transpired to be the faster option of the one-stop.

Mercedes, for once, decided to go with the undercut for Hamilton and pitted him on lap 23, leaving Vettel and Bottas to go much further. The world champion feared they had pitted too early as his two rivals continued on and on at a decent pace. But it turned out to be the perfect move.

After Bottas and Vettel pitted on laps 36 and 37 respectively, and Leclerc came in for his second stop on lap 43, Hamilton appeared to be in trouble – easy prey for the chasing pack. Vettel had 14-lap-younger tyres and his teammate was closing the gap by a second a lap. It looked set for a showdown in the last few laps, as all four drivers converged, but Hamilton had preserved his tyres perfectly and was able to hold his challengers at arm’s length – two seconds in F1 terms – to the chequered flag.

Ultimately, it was a slow-burner of a race that looked ready to explode but the fuse went out just before reaching the fireworks.

Nonetheless, it was a very satisfying win for the Briton and his Mercedes team at a race from which they did not expect a lot. And one that takes him to the very brink of the title. If either he takes at least four points or Bottas doesn’t win next weekend then he is guaranteed a sixth World Championship. Even with a likely coronation, the Americans will have to go some to beat the Mexican post-race ceremony, which featured the race-winning car and driver appearing from below the stage à la Beyoncé…

Is the Old Verstappen Back?

Many spent the first half of this year waxing lyrical about how Max Verstappen had finally matured and it certainly did appear that way. But was it true?

Since the summer break, Verstappen has been on a run not too far from the one he had in early 2018, with first corner incidents at four of the last six races. Certainly, he was blameless in Japan and unfortunate here, but he is back to just always seeming to be involved in something and that often comes down to where a driver is positioning their car.

The move on Bottas was overambitious and clearly hot-headed as, even without the contact, he was just giving Bottas DRS and a tow down the straight immediately after. And on his way back through the field, there was also a slightly clumsy move on Magnussen, followed by overtaking the Dane whilst off the circuit – there doesn’t seem to have been any explanation as to why this wasn’t penalised.

It is that red mist and seeming lack of foresight that he will need to improve upon if he ends up in a genuine title fight in the next couple of seasons. Not lifting whilst passing the scene of Bottas’s crash on Saturday was potentially excusable, due to the lack of the electronic yellow flags, but his demeanour when asked about it was belligerent and arrogant.

The ‘Orange Army’ are quick to remind that he is still only 22 but should five seasons of F1 experience not trump that?

Image credit: Motorsport Images

Meanwhile, on the other side of the garage, the slightly older but much less experienced Albon had another solid race. And he has now outscored Verstappen in their time together by 46 points to 27.

His pace is getting stronger as he acclimatises to car and team, as shown by matching Verstappen’s qualifying time to the thousandth of a second in Suzuka. He didn’t look overawed whilst battling with the big names this weekend, maintaining third position in front of Hamilton for the first stint in Mexico, and he is making an increasingly compelling case to be kept on for the Red Bull seat in 2020.

Pérez Sends the Home Crowd Wild

I mean, he always does – all he has to do is drive through the stadium section without putting the car in the wall – but rightly so this weekend with a strong drive to seventh and ‘best of the rest’.

Sergio Pérez and Daniel Ricciardo fought hard for that unofficial honour in the final few laps as the Australian closed in on new, softer tyres but he was unable to pull off a trademark divebomb, locking up and running over the grass into Turn One.

Image credit: Renault

There was some further drama behind them as, during their battle over the final two points positions, Daniil Kvyat punted Nico Hülkenberg into the barriers at the very final corner. The German limped over the finish line with no rear wing and the Russian was given a penalty that dropped him to 11th and promoted his teammate, Pierre Gasly, to ninth.

It was a poor day for McLaren who, having been running fourth and sixth early on, found themselves pointless at the chequered flag. Lando Norris’s appalling luck continued as a pit stop error left him stranded at the end of the pit lane with a loose wheel. And Carlos Sainz just had no pace once on the hard tyre, was forced to stop again, and gradually faded into obscurity, finishing 13th. They’ll hope to be back mixing it with the big teams in Texas.

The Mexican Grand Prix in 60 Seconds

Answering the Burning Questions

Can Lewis Hamilton clinch the world title this weekend? Not quite. But it’s as good as done, barring any kind of 2007-esque cataclysm.

Or can Valtteri Bottas use the momentum of his win in Japan to take the challenge to his teammate? Not really. It could have been worse after that Q3 crash, though.

Which car will deal with the low altitude best? Hard to say. A 1-3 for Mercedes but Ferrari were very strong and who knows what Verstappen could have achieved?

Will there be any more drama between Charles Leclerc and Max Verstappen? Leclerc was one of the few drivers that Verstappen didn’t end up in some kind of drama with.

With thunderstorms forecast over the weekend, could we have our first wet Mexican race? Nope. It poured every evening though… Typical.

2019 Japanese GP report | Bottas wins as Mercedes seal title

Posted on by James Mackenzie
Some questionable strategy but, nevertheless, Mercedes are champions.

With Ferrari finding new and ever more inventive ways to capitulate, Valtteri Bottas came home a comfortable winner at the 2019 Japanese Grand Prix and sealed the Constructors’ Championship for Mercedes. The result also confirmed that only Bottas or his teammate, Lewis Hamilton, can now win the Drivers’ Championship so that is a record six consecutive world championship doubles for the Silver Arrows.

Whilst some may be tired of the recent domination within the sport, you have to admire the consistency with which the team operate. It is worth remembering that we are witnessing history in the making. In the future, people will surely point back to arguably now the greatest team the sport has ever known. The efficiency with which the German marque is renowned came to the fore at the beginning of the hybrid era in 2014 and the relentless Mercedes machine has rumbled on ever since, crushing all in its path.

It is a shame that Niki Lauda is not around to see them break the record as he was so instrumental in that success. He played a crucial role in convincing Hamilton to join the team and, together with team principal Toto Wolff, formed a fantastic management team. Touchingly, Lauda was remembered by his infamous red cap in the celebratory photos.

As for the race itself, there is a fair amount to discuss.

Typhoon Hagibis swept through the area on Saturday and produced the rarity of a Sunday morning qualifying session. Having looked considerably off the pace in Friday’s practice sessions, Ferrari produced a surprise front row lock-out, with Sebastian Vettel outqualifying his teammate, Charles Leclerc, for the first time since June to take pole position.

However, Ferrari’s joy was to be short-lived as three hours later, at the race start, everything rapidly fell apart.

The start of the Japanese Grand Prix.
Image credit: Getty Images

Vettel produced what appeared to be a false start. It would eventually prove to be legal, due to the peculiarities of the regulations and the sensors. Despite moving before the lights went out, Vettel stayed within the confines of his grid slot and, because he braked instantly, was stationary when they did. Thus, it was a legal start.

But not a good one.

Whether distracted by this teammate or not, Leclerc also got away poorly and Bottas was comfortably leading by the first corner. Hamilton had nowhere to go but Max Verstappen had his eyes on third and set about storming around the outside. Leclerc, however, understeered into him and wrecked the Dutchman’s race – he would retire from the damage on lap 17. Leclerc survived but with damage to his front wing. He pitted on Lap 3, after showering those behind him with bits of carbon fire, and spent the rest of the race fighting back through the field.

The front three of Bottas, Vettel and Hamilton broke away from the pack and it became apparent that strategy would be key. The Ferraris had been suffering with their tyres more and expected to two-stop, whilst Mercedes were aiming for just the one.

Vettel was first to blink on lap 16 and Mercedes responded by pitting Bottas the following lap. Hamilton was left out with the intention of one-stopping but this was always going to be tricky as Saturday’s typhoon had washed the track clean of rubber and left it very ‘green’. The tyres, already damaged by following Vettel, degraded quickly and Hamilton found himself almost a pit stop behind Bottas in the space of a few laps; the world champion was soon on the radio, agitated and confused by his strategy.

The particularly confusing decision by Mercedes, however, was when they bailed out of the one-stop and pitted Hamilton with 10 laps remaining. Passing the Ferrari of Vettel – with its significant straight-line speed – combined with the layout of Suzuka, was always going to be a tall order, even with fresh tyres. And so it proved to be as he closely followed Vettel home but never truly challenged him.

Sebastian Vettel and Lewis Hamilton at the Japanese Grand Prix.
Image credit: DPA Picture Alliance

Hamilton has shown his expertise when it comes to managing degrading tyres and defending positions many times in the past and would surely have been better off attempting that. The worst case scenario there would be that both Bottas and Vettel pass him and then Hamilton would have pitted anyway as there was well over a pit stop’s time back to Alexander Albon in fourth.

This obsession Mercedes appear to have with the overcut – certainly when it comes to Hamilton – is quite strange considering its lack of success. In this instance, it looks a bit like they were wary of Hamilton and Bottas fighting on track and so removed him from the situation. You get the sense that the Mercedes strategy team may have been a bit flattered by the dominance of their car in recent years.

Either way, Bottas didn’t put a foot wrong out front and picked up a deserved victory – his first since Baku in April.

More Points for Sainz, More Bad Luck for Norris

It was another strong drive for Carlos Sainz and another fifth place come the chequered flag. That moves him up to sixth in the Drivers’ Championship and moves McLaren another step closer to sealing fourth in the Constructors’ Championship. The Spaniard really is showing his full ability now, after a difficult year at Renault in 2018, and is potentially making Red Bull question their decision to release him. Whilst obviously far more experienced, he is only actually 18 months older than Albon and Pierre Gasly…

His teammate, Lando Norris, on the other hand, reverted back to form. That form being a promising race ruined by bad luck and factors beyond his control. The teenager was following his teammate comfortably in sixth for the first few laps but then collected some shrapnel from Leclerc’s disintegrating car in his brake duct, which began to overheat.

Lando Norris at the Japanese Grand Prix.
Image credit: Getty Images

To add insult to injury, just as he was about to take an early pit stop to have the debris removed, Albon launched an overambitious divebomb into the final chicane and clumsily punted his friend off the track. Norris recovered to the pit lane, his brake now on fire. He returned to the track and fought gallantly for the remainder of the race, finishing 13th, but it was another haul of points lost.

By rights, Norris should be close behind Sainz in the championship. It has been an impressive debut season for an immensely likeable character and, with some better luck and a bit more experience – particularly when it comes to race starts – the young man from Somerset could really challenge in the next couple of years.

Is Michael Masi Producing Problems?

Speaking of Albon’s overambitious divebomb, which went unpunished, it feels like F1’s stewarding and regulations are suffering from something of an identity crisis.

Michael Masi was a fairly popular replacement when we sadly lost Charlie Whiting on the eve of this season. He was stepping into some particularly large shoes and, for the first few races, he went mostly unnoticed – ergo, he was doing a fine job. But since the backlash caused by Vettel’s – in my opinion justified – penalty in Canada, Masi and co decided to change their tact somewhat and allow harder racing.

I brought up some potential issues after the Italian Grand Prix, when Masi announced that they would now be using the black and white flag more often, which I’m fine with in principle, and that Leclerc would have received a penalty had he made contact with Hamilton, which I think is somewhat ridiculous considering Hamilton had to leave the track to avoid said contact. Read that Grand Prix’s report for a more detailed analysis.

Since Verstappen’s move in Austria, the drivers have started to push the limits, finding out just how much they can get away with. And the answer appears to be a lot.

Hard racing, for me, is two drivers on the very edge but not quite making contact. Think Albon-Kvyat in Hungary this year or, particularly, Hamilton-Alonso in Mexico 2017. That’s surely the kind of racing we want to see.

But suddenly, in the space of a few races, it seems that clumsily throwing your car at the apex – Albon didn’t appear in a position to even make the corner without using Norris as a stopper – and knocking another car out of the way is apparently now okay.

This looks ridiculous when driving the wrong side of a bollard, as per Kevin Magnussen in Russia, gets you a time penalty. The lines are becoming too blurred and the stewards are losing authority. I just hope it doesn’t take a massive incident to provide perspective about what is and isn’t acceptable.

Japan was a sloppy weekend all round when it came to stewarding.

The casual viewer would struggle to understand why Vettel did not receive a penalty for what was a very visible jump start – we had expert analysts guessing at the minutiae, attempting to justify the decision – especially as Kimi Räikkönen received a penalty for an almost identical error at the very last race. It also took the best part of half the race for the stewards to reach their decision.

Then there was the fiasco with Leclerc’s damaged car. The blame appears to be shared by Leclerc, Ferrari and the FIA. Firstly, Ferrari called Leclerc in but he ignored the request and responded “Why?!” after having passed the pit entry. One lap later, just after the endplate had flown dangerously close to Hamilton, Ferrari told Leclerc not to come in. But the simple fact is Leclerc should immediately have been shown the black and orange flag and forced to come in by Race Control. Apparently Ferrari ‘promised that they would bring him in on the second lap’, only to go back on their word when the endplate fell off. But who is running the sport again?..

Image credit: Motorsport Images

So much time and effort has gone into safety in recent years and yet we have cars allowed to drive round at full racing speed, leaving a slew of sharp carbon fibre in their wake. That endplate sliced Hamilton’s wing mirror off; I can’t imagine it would have been pleasant had it struck him, just a few inches to the left. We have seen similar incidents in the last decade that resulted in a coma for Felipe Massa and the tragic death of Justin Wilson.

It was plainly obvious that Leclerc’s wing would not survive long and that it would most likely give up at the fastest part of the track. He also had a loose wing mirror which broke off later in the race. No one from Race Control even seemed to acknowledge that.

Leclerc and Ferrari were eventually given five and ten second penalties for the Verstappen incident and then not pitting respectively after the race. But, regardless of the fact that they are quite lenient penalties, why did the decision take so long? The first penalty seemed an absolute slam dunk – it was particularly bizarre that the initial decision was ‘no further action’ before it was then reopened – and five seconds after the race is considerably different to five seconds early in the race with traffic to navigate.

Image credit: Formula 1

Drivers with dangerous damage such as this should be shown the black and orange flag and forced to return to the pits at a reduced speed. It’s as simple as that for me.

And finally, to top things off, the new virtual chequered flag, which officially ends the race, was somehow produced one lap early. This actually changed the race result as Sergio Pérez’s last-lap retirement from eighth place was undone. Imagine if Hamilton had dramatically passed Vettel in the final few corners…

This is the very highest echelon of motorsport and it should feel as such. Right now, it doesn’t.

The Japanese Grand Prix in 60 Seconds

Answering the Burning Questions

Will there be more drama at Ferrari? Of course. But at least there was no drama between the drivers this time.

What effect will the Mercedes upgrade have? Hard to say. On Friday, it looked massive but then the Ferraris locked out the front row.

Are we going to have (lots of) rain with a typhoo heading for Suzuka? Yep. But it was all on the one day and didn’t affect a single session with the Saturday cancellation.

Can Mercedes wrap up the Constructors’ Championship? They can!

Which enthusiastic Japanese fan will have made the best hat? Got to be this one for me.

2019 Russian GP report | Hamilton takes surprise victory in Sochi

Posted on by James Mackenzie
Strange words to hear but an unlikely Mercedes win…
Lewis Hamilton wins the Russian Grand Prix.
Image credit: Motorsport Images

Lewis Hamilton made the most of a Mercedes strategy gamble and some good fortune to take his ninth win of the season at the 2019 Russian Grand Prix.

Considering Mercedes are the only team to win in Russia since its debut in 2014 – even the unofficial Grands Prix in 1913 and 1914 were won by Benz, before their merger with Mercedes – it may seem a strange prospect that they were the underdogs this time around. But the characteristics of the front-running cars have changed. Ferrari’s class-leading straight-line speed, combined with the successful aerodynamic upgrade they brought to Singapore, saw them as the class of the field.

Through the Friday practice sessions, it appeared it may be a fight between Ferrari and Max Verstappen’s Red Bull as Mercedes struggled to get on top of their setup. Come qualifying, however, they had made some progress and Hamilton produced a trademark lap to claim a spot on the front row, albeit four tenths shy of Charles Leclerc’s equally impressive pole time.

But pole is something of a poisoned chalice at this track.

The long run down to the first corner – officially Turn Two – gives those behind a slipstream and puts the polesitter in an uncomfortable position. And so it proved to be again as Sebastian Vettel stormed past from third on the grid to take the lead. There was clearly some kind of agreement and the Ferrari drivers and engineers then spent the first phase of the race bickering about who should be in front. (More on that later.)

Image credit: AFP

Having spent most of the last three races trying to navigate past a slightly slower Ferrari on race day, Mercedes decided to take an alternate strategy and start on harder tyres. As it turned out, this would win them the race.

Shortly after the Ferrari pit stops, Vettel’s MGU-K went bang and the German ground to a halt. This brought out the Virtual Safety Car and played into the Silver Arrows’ hands, allowing Hamiton to take his pit stop and rejoin ahead of Leclerc. Something Mercedes Technical Director James Allison described as “deliciously ironic”.

Immediately after the VSC, a full safety car was called for a George Russell crash, which actually played slightly back into Ferrari’s hands. With Leclerc on harder, older tyres, Ferrari decided to take a gamble of their own and pit him for new softs under the safety car, dropping him behind only Valtteri Bottas and giving him the upper hand for the remaining 20 or so laps.

As it was, Mercedes handled the situation perfectly and just about kept the hungry, young Ferrari driver at arm’s length for the remainder of the race.

Whilst undoubtedly fortunate, Mercedes put themselves in that position strategically and showed their strong race pace on Sunday. Arguably, the narrowly faster car has lost the last three races. But that just shows how fine the margins currently are between the top two teams – with Verstappen forever snapping at their heels – and that is great for Formula 1.

McLaren Best of the Rest

Behind the top two teams, Verstappen came home a fairly lonely fourth and Alexander Albon produced a decent – if also quite fortunate – fightback to finish fifth after what had been a sloppy weekend. One that may prove crucial in his quest for next year’s Red Bull seat.

But it was McLaren who were the stars of the midfield.

Steadily improving throughout the weekend, after initially struggling to get on top of their setup on Friday, the papaya cars found themselves fifth and seventh on the grid – after a penalty had been applied to Verstappen – and with excellent starts converted that to fourth and sixth, Carlos Sainz even challenging Hamilton for third into Turn Two.

Carlos Sainz at the Russian Grand Prix.
Image credit: Getty Images

Over the course of the race, the faster cars got past – as did Sergio Pérez when Lando Norris got a bit too involved in fighting a Red Bull – but sixth and eighth on the day takes the team into triple figures in the Constructors’ Championship for the first time since 2014. That’s a real sign of the progress they’ve made and the direction they’re going in.

Fourth in the standings is now looking very likely. And with the deal to return to Mercedes power from 2021 announced this weekend, things are looking promising for a team that has been trying to rebuild what was a true empire of the sport. Just think how many more points they would have this year without those costly Renault enging blow-ups…

The future’s bright, the future’s (papaya) orange.

What Was Going on With the Ferrari Team Orders?

Nobody is coming out and officially saying what deal was agreed within Ferrari regarding the start of the race.

It would appear, though, that Leclerc had agreed to give his teammate the tow to Turn Two to ensure he got ahead of Hamilton and produced a Ferrari one-two. However, it would also appear that if Vettel got past during that sequence that he was due to hand the lead back to Leclerc. Vettel did get past but did not hand the place back and, from there, things started to get a little complicated.

Image credit: Getty Images

Vettel made the point that he would have passed Leclerc anyway and that the other Ferrari should get closer before he can pass. He certainly had a point with the latter – he would have left himself in the clutches of a certain Lewis Hamilton had he allowed Leclerc through at any point during that first phase of the race. The former, though, I’m not totally convinced by.

If Leclerc were purely thinking of himself, I think he would have emerged from Turn Two as the leader. He could have moved right to give Hamilton the tow – knowing the Mercedes has less straight-line speed and seeing that he had got away poorly – and then defended the inside line of the corner.

By cutting a deal with both drivers that had some very grey areas, they were always putting themselves in an awkward position. Particularly given the current climate within the team, with it plain to see that there is something of a power struggle going on between the two drivers.

As it was, they were forced to run Vettel long on his first stint and effectively pass the lead to Leclerc in that way. Whilst giving the German fresher tyres and the chance to fight back on track was arguably a decent compromise, it all felt a bit uncomfortable and Vettel didn’t sound too pleased. Sadly, it would prove to be a moot point anyway as his SF90 pulled up next to the crash barriers on lap 26.

As has generally been the case this season, the Ferrari team orders seem to be producing more issues than they are solving. And, with the car now looking likely to be competitive for the remainder of the season, there could be more flashpoints to come to test the inter-team harmony. If Ferrari then convert this current strong form into a title battle next year…expect real fireworks for 2020.

The Russian Grand Prix in 60 Seconds

Answering the Burning Questions

Has that Ferrari upgrade changed the pecking order this season or was Singapore an outlier? It would appear to have legitimately changed the pecking order.

Can Sebastian Vettel push on now having put some demons to rest with a win? Qualifying pace was still lacking but he produced a strong performance on Sunday before team orders and a failed engine got in the way.

Will tensions rise further in the Ferrari camp? Yup.

Will we see the longest winless run for Mercedes in the hybrid era? Nope.

Who will come out on top in the McLaren/Renault fight this weekend? McLaren had the edge and now have a tight grip on fourth in the standings.

Will Valtteri hear from James during the race? Certainly not in the meme sense.

How awkward will the cool down room with Putin be this year? There was no Putin thankfully. But Hamilton did hug a giant Russian doll which was a little odd.

2019 Singapore GP report | Vettel snatches victory from frustrated Leclerc

Posted on by James Mackenzie
A Singapore Ferrari 1-2…just as everybody predicted…
Sebastian Vettel wins the Singapore Grand Prix
Image credit: Motorsport Images

Sebastian Vettel completed a hat-trick of victories for Ferrari with an unexpected turn of speed under the lights at the 2019 Singapore Grand Prix. Coming into the weekend, the drivers, the team and their competitors were writing off their chances – even the ever-pessimistic Toto Wolff said early in the weekend he expected Max Verstappen to be their only competitor.

But, from Saturday morning, the red cars showed a sudden improvement after a seemingly very successful aerodynamic upgrade was fitted. Charles Leclerc claimed a stunning pole position, on the ragged edge of adhesion, and in doing so stole it away from his teammate Vettel, who had produced a great first run but failed to improve on his second attempt. Come Sunday, however, it would be Vettel returning the favour in the race as he benefitted from an accidental undercut on his teammate to take the victory.

Behind the two prancing horses out front, Verstappen grabbed what had seemed an unlikely podium thanks to a strategic error from Mercedes dropping Lewis Hamilton from second to fourth. The champion’s teammate, Valtteri Bottas, followed him home in fifth with Alexander Albon just behind.

What could have been a thrilling finale, with the Mercedes closing in on fresher tyres, somewhat petered out thanks to a string of late safety cars which gave the Ferraris the breathing space – certainly in regards to tyre life – they required. However, the sight at each of the numerous restarts of two Ferraris and Verstappen heading into Turn 1 at Singapore probably set off some PTSD in a fair few Ferrari fans…

Behind the big three teams, Lando Norris put his recent run of bad luck behind him to claim ‘best of the rest’ and Pierre Gasly will have quietened some critics with a strong run to eighth place. The last points were collected by Nico Hülkenberg, who completed a decent recovery drive after a somewhat overambitious move on Carlos Sainz on the first lap, and Antonio Giovinazzi.

How Did Vettel End Up Ahead?

Leclerc led away from pole and controlled the first part of the race, as the front-runners crawled round Singapore’s abundance of turns painfully slowly, attempting to conserve their tyres. This slow pace meant the field remained close together though and produced some head-scratching amongst the strategy teams as the gap usually created between the top six and the rest of the field was not there for the leaders to emerge into after their stops.

Hamilton called for an undercut on Leclerc but Mercedes didn’t oblige and so Ferrari pitted Vettel to attempt the undercut on Hamilton himself. It was very effective – as it turned out, arguably, too effective. They expected Vettel to make up a second or two but, even with a pretty average pit stop, he made up well over three seconds and when Leclerc emerged from the pits a lap later, he was narrowly behind his teammate.

The young Monegasque was understandably perplexed and irked. He repeatedly came on to the radio asking what had happened, why it had happened and what was going to happen next. No particularly enlightening answers were forthcoming and, try as he might, he could not fashion even a sniff of an overtake and came home a discontented second.

Image credit: LAT Images

Vettel didn’t let the fortunate circumstances dampen his enjoyment of a long-awaited victory and brought out the old one-digit-salute for the first time in over a year. He also likely felt that this was justice for whatever precisely went on during that messy and controversial Italian Q3. Leclerc, after calming down somewhat, did mostly toe the company line and showed maturity in his reaction to missing out on the win through no fault of his own.

Could they have swapped the drivers? Potentially – and apparently that idea was discussed – but Vettel’s excellent out lap put him in the position to inherit the lead. Being told to relinquish a win, after the season he has had and the controversies in Canada and Italy, would surely have crushed him. It was probably the right call.

This will only serve to further increase tensions within the team, though. Imagine if Ferrari had been this competitive earlier in the year…

And How Did Mercedes Get It So Wrong?

We are all used to Mercedes as a no-nonsense, well-oiled machine in the hybrid era but there have been a few slip-ups (no oil pun intended) recently.

Obviously, whilst clearly a chastening weekend for all involved at Mercedes, the German Grand Prix was something of a lottery and they were far from the all only team to be caught out. Here, however, their call to keep Hamilton out seemed clearly foolish to most armchair strategists watching on. The driver’s call to undercut Leclerc would likely have seen him win the race but, once Mercedes had missed their chance to do so, they decided to gamble on going long.

A safety car in the time that Hamilton was still out would most likely have done the job. But this high-risk approach seems to go against the normal Mercedes sensible, efficient ethos – you don’t leave your strategy calls in the lap of the gods, hoping for a miracle. Without that kind of intervention, they were reliant on the out-of-position cars, that hadn’t stopped, holding up the defacto leaders and the world champion’s tyres were always likely to cry ‘enough’ before then.

Lewis Hamilton at the Singapore Grand Prix.
Image credit: Daimler AG

And so it was that Mercedes had to bail out of the gamble and awkwardly ask Bottas – who is supposedly in a fight with Hamilton for the title, remember – to slow down dramatically so he didn’t pass his teammate and drag Albon through with him. James Vowles even worked it beautifully for the memers of the world by using his infamous ‘Valtteri, it’s James’ line again…

Any hope the team had of salvaging something from the situation by utilising the fresher tyres was then dashed by that series of late safety cars.

Is this a case of complacency from the Silver Arrows, with the title all but wrapped up halfway through the season? Are they now focusing on a bigger update for the start of next year so as not to reveal their latest secrets to their rivals? Or have they just been a bit unlucky in the last three races? Whatever the true answer, if they don’t win in Russia next weekend, it will be the longest winless run for Mercedes since the start of the hybrid era.

A Rollercoaster for Ricciardo

Daniel Ricciardo seemed in high spirits (not that that’s exactly noteworthy) coming to Singapore off the back of a great fourth place in Monza and he then followed that up by sealing a solid seventh position on the grid. It was not to last though as he was disqualified from the qualifying session for a technical infringement.

Ricciardo and Renault clearly took umbrage with the penalty but had no option other than to except it and move on, even if it was later revealed to be “after he benefitted from an advantage measured at one microsecond [0.000001s] due to a kerb hit that caused his MGU-K to over-rev on his slowest lap of Q1.” Unfortunately, rules are rules. If you give the teams an inch they will take a mile and if you give them a microsecond they will probably find a way to take a second.

Daniel Ricciardo at the Singapore Grand Prix.

So come Sunday, the Aussie unsurprisingly decided to go for it. He was doing an excellent job of carving through the field, if pushing his luck at points, and looked to have put himself in a net points-paying position but a clumsy move on Giovinazzi left him with a puncture and left him back near where he started.

It was a shame to see. Whilst clearly an excellent driver, at points you have to wonder whether Ricciardo earned his reputation for overtaking by ‘licking the stamp and sending it’ to drivers who would rather just get out of the way of what was normally a faster Red Bull.

Either way, the Honey Badger will leave Singapore, reset and come back fighting again in Sochi.

Answering the Burning Questions

Can Sebastian Vettel recover from a crushing weekend in Monza? He can!

Will the Mercedes or Red Bull be the best car around Marina Bay? Or maybe even Ferrari?! It was mostly just great to see such a fight between all three but seemingly the Ferrari did have an unexpected edge.

How will Alexander Albon cope in his first true head-to-head test against Max Verstappen? It was a solid performance on a very difficult and unforgiving track. But he will need to build on it and close the gap further.

Will Verstappen get through the first corner unscathed this weekend? Yes.

Can Renault keep up the momentum from their strong result in Italy? The car had promising speed but a minor technical glitch and a couple of crashes got in their way.

The Singapore Grand Prix in 120 Seconds

The Strategy View

2019 Italian GP report | Leclerc delights home crowd with second victory in a week

Posted on by James Mackenzie
And the Tifosi goes wild!
The podium at the Italian Grand Prix.
Image credit: LAT Images

Seven days after Charles Leclerc took his maiden victory, but one that was tarnished by a tragedy on a sad weekend for motorsport, the 21-year-old took about as joyous a victory as you could ask for at the 2019 Italian Grand Prix – a first win for a Ferrari at Monza in nine years, in front of a jubilant Tifosi.

Leclerc claimed pole position on Saturday, amid ridiculous scenes where most drivers failed in their attempt to take their final runs. (More on that later.) He started well enough and held off a challenge from Lewis Hamilton into the first corner. But once his teammate, Sebastian Vettel, had spun on lap 4 and was effectively out of the race, Leclerc was left with the weight of Italian expectation solely on his young shoulders.

Mercedes had the strategic upper hand. They could attempt the ‘undercut’ with Hamilton and run the sister car of Valtteri Bottas long, in something of a pincer movement. And so it transpired. Ferrari reacted to Hamilton’s earlier stop and pitted Leclerc one lap later; a good in-lap and a quick stop ensuring that the Ferrari driver came out ahead but Hamilton then set about a charge, ramping up the pressure whilst he had a tyre advantage.

The world champion fashioned two chances. Leclerc defended robustly, to the very edge of acceptability, as he has done ever since Max Verstappen rudely barged him out of the way in Austria. On lap 23, Hamilton got along side on the run to the second chicane and Leclerc squeezed him in the braking zone, leaving less than a car’s width. He escaped a penalty but was shown the black and white flag for unsportsmanlike behaviour – effectively F1’s equivalent of a yellow card in football. So when, on lap 35, Leclerc locked up at Turn One, cut the chicane and made a late move to defend from Hamilton as they rounded Curva Grande, one could argue he was fortunate not to receive his second yellow. But the stewards did not investigate and Hamilton didn’t get another chance as his tyres began to fade.

Leclerc wasn’t in the clear yet though as the second half of the Mercedes pincer was closing in. Bottas, on tyres that were eight laps younger, had been steadily closing the gap and claimed second place when Hamilton himself locked up into the first corner on lap 42. The Finn couldn’t put up as stern a challenge as his teammate, however, and never truly threatened Leclerc, who held on to take the chequered flag and spark fervent euphoria amongst the partisan home crowd.

He becomes the third driver in recent memory to win on their Ferrari debut in Monza; the other two being Fernando Alonso and Michael Schumacher – not bad company, eh?

Meanwhile on the Other Side of the Garage…

Another Italian Grand Prix, another costly spin for Vettel. And this one was even more costly -both for his standing in the race and within the team.

He has now been out-qualified seven times in a row by his teammate. Some of those, including this weekend where Leclerc seemingly did his best not to give Vettel a tow, have come with a caveat. But it does seem Leclerc just has a bit more speed at the moment and it feels like he has subtly grabbed hold of Vettel’s number one status and is now refusing to let go, like a feisty young pup with his new favourite toy.

This is the latest in a line of mistakes from Vettel, now lasting well over a year, and this one was particularly amateurish. He spun all by himself whilst entering the Ascari chicane and then rejoined the track in an incredibly dangerous manner, taking out the unfortunate Lance Stroll in the process. He put himself in a position to be T-boned by another car, eight days after a young man was killed in that exact way. That’s shocking from such an experienced driver – a director of the GDPA, no less.

In fact, it was quite an amateurish weekend all round. There was the utter shambles of Q3, where seven of the nine drivers ran out of time before starting their final runs as they all jockeyed for position, determined not to be at the front of the train without a slipstream. There was Stroll rejoining the track in exactly the same manner as Vettel, just after being hit by him, and forcing Pierre Gasly into the gravel. And then a couple of unsafe releases to top it off.

There was also a terrifying F3 crash on Saturday morning which brought into question the presence of ‘sausage kerbs’, with one having launched the car of Alexander Peroni 15 feet into the air. A scary moment, especially with the death of Anthoine Hubert so fresh in minds throughout the paddock, but fortunately Peroni escaped with just a fractured vertebra. It was promptly removed for the rest of the weekend but there must be a better solution for enforcing track limits. I say bring back gravel traps – maybe a relatively thin strip of gravel with tarmac run-offs beyond for safety’s sake.

A Good Weekend for Renault

It has been a trying season for Renault. Expectations were high after the signing of Daniel Ricciardo, with the team claiming they would be aiming to close the gap to the top three teams. But they have produced a mediocre car with poor reliability and found themselves slipping back from where they were last year.

This was a better weekend, however. Renault’s engine has generally been closer to a laughing stock than the class of the field but, for whatever reason, it seemed to work for them at the most power-sensitive track on the calendar. Whether it was the new spec engine which they introduced recently, nailing the setup here in Monza or a combination of the two, the Renault pair were never too far from the front.

Nico Hülkenberg at the Italian Grand Prix.
Image credit: XPB Images

And there were no slip ups on Sunday. The two yellow cars kept their noses clean, avoided the occasional chaos around them and brought home an invaluable haul of 22 points. This instantly propels them up to a comfortable fifth in the constructors and they can now set about chasing down McLaren and aim to at least reclaim what they see as their rightful position as ‘best of the rest’.

A Quick Word on Penalties

It would appear that the teams, the FIA and FOM have agreed on a new approach when it comes to applying penalties in the wake of the controversy regarding Sebastian Vettel’s win-that-wasn’t in Montreal this year.

We can see from incidents such as those between Leclerc and Verstappen in Austria and then Great Britain that the stewards have decided to be more lenient and let the drivers battle it out on track more. Race Director Michael Masi even came out after the race and explained their decisions – which is very refreshing and one of the things I called for in my post addressing the Vettel penalty.

I’m all for the drivers battling it out – I think we all are. But there was one point I noted from Masi’s explanations. He stated that if Leclerc and Hamilton had made contact, when the former squeezed the latter off the track, it would have been a penalty rather than the black and white flag. This seems problematic – it is almost encouraging contact between drivers. In avoiding a dangerous move by another driver, the ‘victim’ of said move is putting themselves most likely off the track and doing the aggressor a favour at the same time. We are in danger of veering towards the diving issue in football where players are required to produce theatrics in order to force the officials to make the right decision…

The Italian Grand Prix in 60 Seconds

Answering the Burning Questions

Can Ferrari take another win and send the Tifosi wild with a first win in almost 10 years? Yes!

Will Alexander Albon build on his promising Red Bull debut? It was another solid performance but the decision to stay on the outside of Sainz was slightly naive and cost him positions.

Can Sebastian Vettel take the fight to Charles Leclerc and recover some credibility? That would be a pretty resounding no.

The forecast is for rain…could we have another Germany on our hands?.. Sadly not. It rained before and after the race…typical…

Will Max Verstappen bounce back or could we be about to see a string of errors like early 2018? It was a good fight from the back but another somewhat clumsy error at the first corner.

Any more ‘silly season’ twists incoming? Nothing to report.