Tag: George Russell

2021 Austrian GP report | Verstappen reigns supreme again in Austria

Posted on by James Mackenzie
More Austrian dominance for the man becoming the clear title favourite.
Max Verstappen sends the Orange Army wild by winning the Austrian Grand Prix.
Image credit: Getty Images

Seven days after his first domination at the Red Bull Ring, it was a similar serene drive to the win for Max Verstappen at the Austrian Grand Prix.

As predicted, with no freak mechanical issues or weather to intervene, the Dutchman delighted the swathes of fans clad in orange.

Mercedes hoped to have found something to reduce the gap to their rivals in the days since the Styrian Grand Prix. But that was clearly not the case when they found themselves down in fourth and fifth on the grid, behind both Red Bulls and the excellent Lando Norris.

Once the lights went out, Verstappen sailed off into the distance and did not look back. He had a gap easily large enough to pit late on and earn himself the fastest lap – by nearly two seconds – and took the first grand chelem of his career, having also claimed pole position and led every lap.

Lewis Hamilton probably would have settled for more damage limitation in the shape of a second place, and he looked on for just that once he’d found a way past Norris on lap 20. But, just before his pit stop, a piece of crucial aero fell off the back of his car, leaving him with massively reduced rear downforce and costing him half a second per lap.

Lando Norris and Lewis Hamilton battle for second place.
Image credit: Motorsport Images

It remains something of a mystery what caused this. The World Champion did not run especially wide when the bodywork made a break for it – he was running over the kerbs at Turn 10 as normal. Team Principal Toto Wolff believes it was simply a case of fatigue as teams are forced to make parts last longer amid the new cost cap for 2021.

So, further bad luck for Hamilton and he was helpless to defend as teammate Valtteri Bottas and Norris repassed him. That left the 36-year-old in fourth and he is now a massive 32 points behind his title rival in the standings.

The Future May Be Orange, but It’s Also British

Whilst Verstappen demonstrated once again what we all know – that he will be a superstar for many years to come – there were two other drivers who showed their considerable potential.

Norris and George Russell.

Norris’s qualifying lap was extraordinary. He took his McLaren to within five hundredths of a second of the all-conquering Verstappen to take his first ever front row grid slot.

Lando Norris at the Austrian Grand Prix.
Image credit: Motorsport Images

And Russell was equally impressive, dragging his Williams into Q3 for the first time and ending up eighth on the grid after a Sebastian Vettel penalty.

On race day, Norris defended against the Mercedes pair with nous and composure far beyond his years, even prompting Hamilton to say over the radio, “Such a great driver, Lando”. That is something you very rarely hear from a driver mid-race.

Bottas would only succeed in passing Norris after the young Briton received a debatable penalty for forcing Sergio Pérez wide following a safety car restart early in the race. And the Mercedes driver hardly disappeared into the distance once in front as Norris tailed him home to finish just two seconds back and earn his fourth career podium.

Further back, Russell had recovered from an iffy start to run in a legitimate 10th place through solid race pace and was heading for his first point with Williams. But then came Fernando Alonso. The 23-year-old defended hard from the man he has formed an unlikely bromance with, but eventually had to concede to the Alpine‘s far fresher tyres with just three laps to go.

After a mechanical retirement in the previous race removed Russell from eighth, his luck may not have improved but he continues to earn fans, including Alonso: “I felt a little bit sad for George because he drove an amazing weekend. When I saw P10, I was hoping anyone apart from him…but that’s the sport. He will have more opportunities hopefully for podiums and wins in the future.”

George Russell at the Austrian Grand Prix.
Image credit: Getty Images

Earning compliments from legends like Hamilton and Alonso shows just how much respect these two young drivers have earned over their two and a half years in F1.

In Verstappen, Norris, Russell and Charles Leclerc, the future of the sport looks in safe – and exciting – hands.

Were the Penalties Fair?

The move for which Norris earned his penalty, was mirrored by Pérez himself as he ran Leclerc wide twice later in the race. Each incident earned a five-second penalty.

It is good to see consistency from the stewards for once – though perhaps not in the long term – but were they consistently right or wrong on this occasion?

It’s tricky. The issue is Turn 4, where the two main incidents happened. It is a demanding corner with significant adverse camber and a gravel trap on the outside. So, this was not simply a case of Norris opening the steering up and running Pérez out of road – something we have seen go unpunished many times before anyway. It was more a case of the McLaren naturally understeering towards the edge of the track.

So, the only way to avoid contact or forcing the car on the outside wide would be to get off the throttle and cede the position. Is that something the lead driver on the inside line should ever have to do?

Sergio Pérez in the gravel.
Image credit: Getty Images

The penalty seems more harsh given that it was on the first full lap of racing, when incidents are normally treated with more leniency due to cold tyres, cold brakes and the general mayhem. Case in point: Leclerc not even being investigated for clumsily ending Gasly’s race a week ago, a few seconds earlier in the lap.

Whatever your opinion on the decisions, the penalty points system is clearly broken.

Two penalty points for the incident leaves Norris on ten points – although two will be wiped before the next race – which is just two away from a race ban.

I have touched on the penalty points system as recently as the Azerbaijan Grand Prix – when Norris and Nicholas Latifi were each given three points for tricky situations in which they found themselves somewhat helpless – and they remain unfit for purpose.

They should be reserved for seriously dangerous driving – such as the unpunished moment between the Haas driver in Baku – and safety violations that put people at risk.

Six instances of Norris’s arguably justified defence should be nowhere near worthy of a race ban.

And don’t forget the bewildering decision to hand Latifi and Nikita Mazepin a post-race stop-and-go penalty for ignoring double yellows, but none of the other drivers who appeared to go through them at least as quickly…

The Austrian Grand Prix in 60 Seconds

Answering the Burning Questions

Can Mercedes find anything to challenge Red Bull more than last weekend? Nope.

Will the softer tyres make much of a change to the pecking order? Alpine appeared to find some more pace but events conspired to prevent them utilising it.

Any chance of some rain this time? *sigh* Of course not.

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!

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.