Category Archives: Sports

2018 F1 Grand Prix of Singapore — Qualifying results

Mercedes’ Hamilton lays down wonder lap for pole in Singapore; Verstappen starts P2 for Red Bull besting Ferrari’s Vettel in P3

After years of sruggle in Singapore at what has often been described as their  bogey track Mercedes and their ace driver Lews Hamilton altered the plot of that tired old script by seizing pole under the lights at the beautiful and tricky Marina Bay street circuit in Saturday qualifying. Hamilton hooked up a wonder lap midway throygh Q3, smashing the previous track record with a stunning 1:36.015 and flummoxing his closest rival, Ferrari’s Sebastain Vettel. While Hamilton could not improve his time with nearly half the session remaining and so remained vulnerable to someone bettering it no other competitor could. Only Red Bull’s Max Verstappen, who has a decidedly mixed record on tight street circuits, came closest for P2 but was still over 3-tenths adrift of the Englishman’s blazing time.

Ferrari’s Sebastian Vettel appeared to fall victim to poor track managment by the team and more than once found his best efforts stymied by coming up on ill-timed traffic, which obvioulsy cost him valuable time. That said, it didn’t really look like Vettel’s Prancing Horse had anything for Hamilton’s Silver Arrow on thos day and the German could only salvage P3. The Ferrari’s then saw themselves split by Mercedes #2 man Valtteri Bottas who outqulaified his fellow Finn, Kimi Raikkonen, P4 to P5. It was also announced in the two weeks after the  Italian GP that Raikkonen will be out at Ferrari in 2019 and the young Sauber driver Charles Leclerc will take his place. Raikkonen will go to Sauber on a 2-year deal. That’s a hefty demotion for the Iceman down to a certain-to-be non-competitive car when he has still been driving decently this year in support of Vettel. But Ferrari have clearly decided that Leclerc is a special talent and youth must be served.

Lining up further back on the grid, Verstappen’s Red Bull teammate Daniel Ricicardo could only muster the sixth fatstest time, while the Force Indias of Sergio Perez and Esteban Ocon qualified P7 and P9 respectively. Haas’s Romain Grosjean split those Force Indias and will start P8 and Renault ‘s Nico Hulkenberg qualified P10.

Top 10 qualifiers for the Singapore GP:

POS NO DRIVER CAR Q1 Q2 Q3 LAPS
1 44 Lewis Hamilton MERCEDES 1:39.403 1:37.344 1:36.015 17
2 33 Max Verstappen RED BULL RACING TAG HEUER 1:38.751 1:37.214 1:36.334 14
3 5 Sebastian Vettel FERRARI 1:38.218 1:37.876 1:36.628 17
4 77 Valtteri Bottas MERCEDES 1:39.291 1:37.254 1:36.702 20
5 7 Kimi Räikkönen FERRARI 1:38.534 1:37.194 1:36.794 17
6 3 Daniel Ricciardo RED BULL RACING TAG HEUER 1:38.153 1:37.406 1:36.996 12
7 11 Sergio Perez FORCE INDIA MERCEDES 1:38.814 1:38.342 1:37.985 19
8 8 Romain Grosjean HAAS FERRARI 1:38.685 1:38.367 1:38.320 15
9 31 Esteban Ocon FORCE INDIA MERCEDES 1:38.912 1:38.534 1:38.365 20
10 27 Nico Hulkenberg RENAULT 1:38.932 1:38.450 1:38.588 18

Complete qualifying results availabe via Formula1.com.

Tomorrow’s race airs live on ESPN2 starting at 8AM Eastern here in the States. Hope to see you then to find out whether Hamilton  can keep his momentum going and put a stranglhold on the title chase or Vettel can force his way to the front and back into the winner’s circle.

2018 F1 Grand Prix of Italy — Results & aftermath

Hamilton and Mercedes outbox & outfox Ferrari for victory at Monza; Raikkonen salvages P2; Bottas elevated to P3 after Verstappen penalty

Mercedes came to Monza and played the team game so well and with such aplomb that they took the race from Ferrari in their own backyard. With forceful and assertive driving from their ace Lewis Hamilton and then impeccable teamwork from Valtteri Bottas and the strategists on the pit wall, the Silver Arrows outlasted and outperformed the Prancing Horses despite the ardent wishes for a victory from the passionate tifosi in the stands. In the end victory at the Italian Grand Prix was Hamilton’s after elbowing the Sucderia’s Sebastian Vettel out of his way on the first lap and then passing the pole-sitting Ferrari of Kimi Raikkonen late in the race with fresher tires. Hamilton could not have done it without Bottas, who stretched his first stint to hold up Raikkonen forcing the veteran Finn to use up precious rubber and enabling Hamilton to close him down.

Pics courtesy Grand Prix247.com

The action began on Lap 1 with Raikkonen, who had set the fatest F1 lap ever in Saturday qualifying for pole, getting away to a good start and holding off his teammate Vettel, who started beside him in P2 on the grid. But Hamilton, who was directly behind the Ferraris in the second row in P3 alongside his wingman Bottas, was aggressive from the get-go and made a diving move into the Variente del Rettifilo chicane directly alongside Vettel’s blood red car. Vettel appeared to try to shut the door but Hamilton’s Merc was already slipping past him. The two touched and Vettel got the worst of it with a costly spin and damage to his front wing while Hamilton cruised ahead unscathed. The contact was correctly ruled a racing incident by the stewards and fortunately for Vettel a Safety Car was deployed due to the terminally wounded Toro Rosso of Brendon Hartley needing retrieval from the track. Nonetheless, Vettel was now consigned to trying to salvage what he could from the day rather than potentially competing for the win.

When the race resumed and the Safety Car was withdrawn at the ned of Lap 3 it quickly settled down into a less frenetic rhythm. Raikkonen continued to lead and Hamilton continued to pursue but not that hard yet, with the Englishman content to combine speed with tire preservation. It would paid off for Hamilton and luck was also a factor. Raikkonen was called into the pits on Lap 21, getting off the Super Soft Pirellis for the more durable Softs, while Hamilton continued to pound around looking to shave as much as possible off the pit stop delta so that he might be closer when his time came to swap tires. Hamilton and Mercedes also caught a break when the Red Bull of the unlucky Daniel Ricciardo expired once again on track on Lap 24 but that only resulted in a local yellow flag not a Safety Car of VSC. Hamilton ran on his first set of Super Softs all the way to Lap 28, also going onto the Softs, and when he reemerged he was in P3 behind his teammate Bottas, who had yet to stop, and Raikkonen, who was desperate to get by his fellow Finn.

But despite his fresher rubber Raikkonen could not get close enough to Bottas to make a move. Continue reading →

2018 F1 Grand Prix of Italy — Qualifying results

Raikkonen edges out Vettel for pole to lead Ferrari 1-2 in front of ecstatic tifosi; Hamilton salvages P3 for Mercedes

On the ultrafast Monza circuit in these ultrafast 2018 F1 cars it was Ferrari’s Kimi Raikkonen who managed to take maximum advantage of his Prancing Horse’s aerodynamics and power in Saturday qualifying, setting the fastest lap in Formula 1 history en route to pole for tomorrow’s Italian Grand Prix. In front of the ecstatic tifosi at Ferrari’s home Grand Prix just a few miles from their storied Maranello base of operations, the veteran Finn managed to flip the script from his usual wingman role to get the better of team leader Sebastian Vettel. Raikkonen hooked up a flawless fast lap late in Q3 that was perhaps aided by his positioning in the slipstream of his usually superior teammate. And at 1:19.119 the veteran Finn had the rarified honor of setting the all-time fastest lap in F1 history. Combined with Vettel’s P2 time, Ferrari secured a front row lockout in front of their ultra-demanding home fans, who will be desperate to see one of the team’s blood red cars take victory in tomorrow’s race.

For Mercedes it was another ominous sign that Ferrari’s engine has increased its upside potential when the wick is turned up since returning from the summer break, as the Scuderia proved with Vettel’s race-winning performance last week at Spa. Leading the eventual top 3 across the line as the checkered flag flew in the last quali session Lewis Hamilton could only muster the third fastest time in his Silver Arrow, while his teammate Valtteri Bottas qualified P4. With the two Ferraris on the front row and the two Mercedes lined up directly behind them on the second row, the getaway from the line should produce some potentially nerve racking moments and could well determine the outcome of the entire race.

Red Bull’s Max Vertsappen set the fifth fastest qualifying lap while his teammate Daniel Ricciardo has to start from the rear due to engine-change penalties. That opened the door for Haas’s Romain Grosjean to make a run good enough to seize a solid P6 on the grid, bettering the effort of the factory Renault of Carlos Sainz, who come home slightly behind the Frenchman in P7. Esteban Ocon set the eighth fastest time for Force India, while Pierre Gasly did well to qualify P9 for Toro Rosso. Rounding out the Top 10 starters, Williams finally got a car into Q3 this year, as Lance Stroll managed to set a time good enough for P10, capitalizing on the Williams’ brute power on a circuit that does not quite punish its woeful lack of downforce as much as most of the others on the calendar.

Top 10 qualifiers for the Italian GP:

POS NO DRIVER CAR Q1 Q2 Q3 LAPS
1 7 Kimi Räikkönen FERRARI 1:20.722 1:19.846 1:19.119 21
2 5 Sebastian Vettel FERRARI 1:20.542 1:19.629 1:19.280 20
3 44 Lewis Hamilton MERCEDES 1:20.810 1:19.798 1:19.294 20
4 77 Valtteri Bottas MERCEDES 1:21.381 1:20.427 1:19.656 18
5 33 Max Verstappen RED BULL RACING TAG HEUER 1:21.381 1:20.333 1:20.615 15
6 8 Romain Grosjean HAAS FERRARI 1:21.887 1:21.239 1:20.936 21
7 55 Carlos Sainz RENAULT 1:21.732 1:21.552 1:21.041 17
8 31 Esteban Ocon FORCE INDIA MERCEDES 1:21.570 1:21.315 1:21.099 17
9 10 Pierre Gasly SCUDERIA TORO ROSSO HONDA 1:21.834 1:21.667 1:21.350 24
10 18 Lance Stroll WILLIAMS MERCEDES 1:21.838 1:21.494 1:21.627 14

Complete qualifying results available via Formula1.com.

Tomorrow’s race airs live on ESPN2 beginning at 9AM Eastern here in the States. Will Raikonnen get his first win in ages or prove unable to withstand Vettel’s certain charge? Will Hamilton spoil the Ferrari party to gleefully break Italian hearts? Hope to see you then to see how it all shakes out!

2018 F1 Grand Prix of Belgium — Results & aftermath

Vettel survives chaotic start to dominate at Spa, Hamilton a distant runner-up as championship tightens yet again; Vertsappen salvages P3 at home race

The action at the Belgian Grand Prix was all front-loaded with a large and frightening multi-car opening lap shunt starting the proceedings off in chaos and then the race settling down to a serenely dominating performance by Ferrari’s Sebastian Vettel. The crash began when Renault’s Nico Hulkenberg misjudged his breaking going into Turn 1 La Source and plowed into the back of McLaren’s Fernando Alonso, sending the Spaniard airborne. Alonso came down on top of the Sauber of Charles Leclerc, showing for the first time since its introduction this year the efficacy of the Halo head protection device. Leclerc could well have had cockpit intrusion by Alonso’s car as it fell on top of him but the Halo successfully deflected any potential contact to the Frenchman’s otherwise exposed head. Hulkenberg was assessed the blame for the accident and rightfully so. The veteran German, who is not usually a reckless driver, will face a 10-spot grid penalty in Italy next weekend as well as 3 points on his super license. In addition to Hulkenberg, Alonso and Leclerc, Ferrari’s Kimi Raikkonen and Red Bull’s Daniel Ricciardo were also caught up in the mess, somewhat victims of their poor starting positions due to the scrambled wet weather conditions in Saturday qualifying They came together harshly in the resultant accordion effect and Raikkonen suffered a puncture and rear wing and floor damage and Ricciardo’s rear wing was completely ruined after someone had knocked him into Raikkonen from behind. That necessitated time consuming repairs during the Safety Car period, particularly a complete rear wing change for Ricciardo that put the Aussie a lap down. But while both soldiered on gamely their races were inevitably ruined. Raikkonen and Riccardo would both be forced to retire before the end of the race.

Meanwhile the fi the race might as well have been in a different postal code as neither Mercedes pole-sitter Lewis Hamilton or the man starting beside him from P2, Ferrari’s Sebastian Vettel, were effected in the least by the mayhem behind them. Waging their own private championship battle and oblivious to the unfolding carnage, the two fierce championship rivals rocketed through Radillon and Eau Rouge and up the Kimmel Straight at full chat bracketed by two game but overmatched Force Indias. There Vettel made his move, scooting by Hamilton to grab the lead of the race before the Safety Car was deployed. That meant Vettel could dictate the restart when the Safety Car came in at the end of Lap 4. And while he did his best to roar away when he got the green flag the German could not quite escape Hamilton’s pursuing Mercedes. Continue reading →

2018 F1 Grand Prix of Belgium — Qualifying results

Hamilton claims pole at rain soaked Spa, pips P2 Vettel; Ocon an opportunistic P3 for reborn Force India

The Formula 1 circus returned after its long summer break, resuming at one of its most storied and historically important tracks, legendary Spa-Francorchamps in Belgium. As it so often does there, unpredictable weather played its part, throwing a spanner in the works for the last session of Saturday qualifying. With teams scrambling to change off of slicks and onto Intermediate wet Pirelli tires after a sudden Ardennes downpour early in Q3 it put the onus on the drivers to navigate treacherous conditions and somehow keep their cars on the circuit to set a time for their positions on the grid. As it so often does, the rain shook up qualifying victimizing some and benefitting others unexpectedly. When the spray had settled Mercedes’ Lewis Hamilton claimed his 5th pole at Spa with a time some 17 second slower than his best run in the dry during Q2. All the news was not terrific for Mercedes, however, as their second driver Valtteri Bottas faces a host of engine-change penalties and will have to start Sunday’s race from the back of the grid despite getting through to top 10.

Hamilton did manage to pip his fiercest championship rival, Ferrari’s Sebastian Vettel, who had been looking good for the pole when the English points leader squirmed off the track earlier in Q3. But the German’s last flying lap came up a little over 0.7 seconds slower than Hamilton excellent best effort. The most stunning development of this wet quali session was Force India’s Estban Ocon laying down the third fastest time after Ferrari were caught out by having Kimi Raikkonen’s car without adequate fuel to continue running in Q3 and had to permanently pit the furious Finn midway through the session. That saw the Iceman drop all the way down to P7 on the grid, while Ocon’s teammate Sergio Perez shot all the way up to P4 for a first-ever Force India second row lockout. It as a wonderful result for the team, which came back from the break under new ownership and, as an unfortunate consequence, stripped of all their championship points from the first 12 races they’ve already run this year. With their excellent starting positions the newly christened Racing Point Force India should have a good shot at rebuilding some of that lost glory come race day, though the drivers will have to be respectful of each other while holding off some potentially faster cars behind them.

Another beneficiary of the wet weather and Ferrari’s Raikkonen bobble was Haas’ Romain Grosjean who qualified a solid P5; his teammate Kevin Magnussen will start further back in P9. Red Bull continued to struggle this weekend with Max Vertsappen, normally excellent in the rain, managing only the seventh fastest time and Daniel Ricciardo only the eighth. Ricciardo made the surprise announcement during the break that he will be leaving Red Bull, his longtime home, for Renault next season. Toro Rosso’s Pierre Gasly will therefore take his seat on the senior team while Carlos Sainz will move over from Renault to McLaren, replacing his countryman and two-time champion Fernando Alonso, who will retire from F1 at the end of this season after a sterling career.

Top 10 qualifiers for the Belgian GP:

POS NO DRIVER CAR Q1 Q2 Q3 LAPS
1 44 Lewis Hamilton MERCEDES 1:42.977 1:41.553 1:58.179 19
2 5 Sebastian Vettel FERRARI 1:43.035 1:41.501 1:58.905 18
3 31 Esteban Ocon FORCE INDIA MERCEDES 1:44.003 1:43.302 2:01.851 16
4 11 Sergio Perez FORCE INDIA MERCEDES 1:44.004 1:43.014 2:01.894 14
5 8 Romain Grosjean HAAS FERRARI 1:43.597 1:43.042 2:02.122 20
6 7 Kimi Räikkönen FERRARI 1:42.585 1:41.533 2:02.671 13
7 33 Max Verstappen RED BULL RACING TAG HEUER 1:43.199 1:42.554 2:02.769 11
8 3 Daniel Ricciardo RED BULL RACING TAG HEUER 1:43.604 1:43.126 2:02.939 16
9 20 Kevin Magnussen HAAS FERRARI 1:43.834 1:43.320 2:04.933 19
10 77 Valtteri Bottas MERCEDES 1:42.805 1:42.191 DNS 7

Complete qualifying results available via Formula1.com.

Tomorrow’s race airs live on ESPN2 starting at 9AM Eastern here in the States. Will weather play its part again to disrupt the favorites and open the door for the underdogs? Will Hamilton and Vettel dice and potentially come into contact on Lap 1 as they roar into Eau Rouge and up to La Source? Hope to see you then to find out!

2018 F1 Grand Prix of Hungary — Results & aftermath

Mercedes’ Hamilton wins again in Hungary, Vettel P2 & Raikkonen P3 for Ferrari; Ricciardo rockets to P4 but Bottas bumped to P5 after late collisions

Mercedes’ ace Lewis Hamilton continued his winning ways in Hungary on Sunday by making it two on the trot at one of his favorite tracks. Following up on his improbable drive from 14th on the grid to victory in Hockenheim last weekend, Hamilton was dominant at the Hungaroring, taking victory here for the sixth time in his career. The win never seemed in doubt and Hamilton came home over 17 seconds ahead of his closest pursuer and arch-rival, Ferrari’s Sebastian Vettel. Hamilton now leads Vettel by 24 points in the Drivers’ Championship as we head into the summer break.

Pics courtesy GrandPrix247.com

Vettel and the Scuderia tried to make something happen with strategy by running all the way to Lap 39 on his opening set of Soft tires. But they were thwarted in their attempt to gain track position by an uncharacteristically slow 4.2-second stop by the Ferrari pit crew. That enabled Hamilton’s wingman Valtteri Bottas to regain the P2 position he had relinquished when Mercedes called him way back on Lap 16 for a switch off Ultras and onto Softs. But while Vettel was balked temporarily the gamble would not work out for Mercedes in the long run. By Lap 59 of this 70-lap contest Vettel was right on Bottas gearbox, the Finn’s Silver Arrow sliding around on old rubber by that point, and with Vettel’s teammate Raikkonen stacked up behind them both. Vettel finally orchestrated an overtaking move on Lap 65 and Bottas locked up trying to defend leading to contact between the two cars. Bottas came off the worse for wear with a damaged front wing to go along with his worn out Pirellis but Vettel was unscathed enough to secure that valuable P2 position that he would ride to the end of the race. Even worse for Bottas and team Mercedes first Raikkonen worked his way past the wounded Merc and by Lap 67 he had fallen back into the clutches of Red Bull’s Daniel Ricciardo.

The affable Aussie was keen to maximize his remarkable recovery from a poor P12 start after getting caught out by the heavy rain in Saturday qualifying. By Lap 68, Riccardo saw his opportunity to pass and dove to the outside of Bottas going into Turn 1. But once again Bottas could not get his car to respond on worn rubber and his Mercedes understeered into the ambitious Ricciardo’s Red Bull. Luckily both cars were fit enough to make it the final two laps to the checkered flag but Bottas was forced to accept a mediocre P5 after a couple of rough rides. The loss of those valuable positions combined with Ferrari’s 2-3 finish to enable the fabled team from Maranello to creep to within 10 points of the factory Mercedes team in the all-important Constructors’ Championship after 12 rounds and with 9 to go. Meanwhile, Ricciardo’s remarkable P4 drive saved the day for Red Bull, which had lost Max Verstappen early in the race on Lap 6 with yet another Renault engine failure. For Red Bull, next year’s divorce from their long-time engine supplier cannot come soon enough.

Further back in the pack, Toro Rosso’s Pierre Gasly parlayed a strong qualifying effort in the wet into a fantastic race result with a strong P6 finish, showing the steady improvement of both the car and this talented young driver. Gasly beat out the Haas of Kevin Magnussen, who finished P7, and the McLaren of Fernando Alonso in P8. Carlos Sainz finished P9 for Renault, not a great result after starting from P5 on the grid. The second Haas of Romain Grosjean took the last point in P10.

Top 10 finishers of the Hungarian GP:

POS NO DRIVER CAR LAPS TIME/RETIRED PTS
1 44 Lewis Hamilton MERCEDES 70 1:37:16.427 25
2 5 Sebastian Vettel FERRARI 70 +17.123s 18
3 7 Kimi Räikkönen FERRARI 70 +20.101s 15
4 3 Daniel Ricciardo RED BULL RACING TAG HEUER 70 +46.419s 12
5 77 Valtteri Bottas MERCEDES 70 +60.000s 10
6 10 Pierre Gasly SCUDERIA TORO ROSSO HONDA 70 +73.273s 8
7 20 Kevin Magnussen HAAS FERRARI 69 +1 lap 6
8 14 Fernando Alonso MCLAREN RENAULT 69 +1 lap 4
9 55 Carlos Sainz RENAULT 69 +1 lap 2
10 8 Romain Grosjean HAAS FERRARI 69 +1 lap 1

Complete race results available via Formula1.com.

As is traditional, The Hungarian Grand Prix is the last race before the long summer break. Formula1 returns on the weekend of August 24-26 with the classic Belgian Grand Prix at legendary Spa-Francorchamps. Hope to see you then — tan, ready and rested for more F1 action!

2018 F1 Grand Prix of Hungary — Qualifying results

Hamilton grabs opportunistic pole at rainy Hungaroring, Bottas P2 for Mercedes front row lockout; Ferrari’s Raikkonen P3 ahead teammate Vettel in P4

Rain scrambled Saturday qualifying for the Hugarian Grand Prix and by the end of three increasingly wet sessions at the Hungaroring it was Mercedes who reigned supreme, with Lewis Hamilton taking pole and Valtteri Bottas setting the second fastest time on full Wet Pirelli’s for a Silver Arrows front row lockout. Coming after their superb strategy calls led directly to Hamilton’s improbable charge from P14 to victory in Germany a week ago, the Mercedes braintrust were at it again, committing to the blue banded full wets early enough to let their drivers get a feel for them on the greasy track and then seeing their two pilots execute throttle control perfectly for the two fastest possible laps in Q3 under difficult conditions. While Ferrari was right behind them it was Kimi Raikkonen who took P3 on the grid while Sebastian Vettel, desperate to make up for his race-losing error at Hockenheim, could only set the fourth fastest time.

While those front four positions were reasonably predictable the rest of the grid was completely scrambled by the heavy downpour that began late in Q1. Carols Sainz drove superbly in the wet to take a stunning P5 spot for Renault and Toro Rosso had its best qualifying of the year by far with Pierre Gasly setting the P6 time and Brendon Hartley, whose luck may beginning to turn after a points finish last week, solid in P8. The Toro Rosso’s sandwiched Red Bull’s Max Vertsappen who, despite his previous prowess in then rain, could only muster a lap good enough for P7 with his chassis slipping and sliding beneath him. That was still better than his teammate Daniel Ricciardo, who had trouble getting to grips with tires of all varieties and was balked in his efforts to get a clean lap in Q2 by yellow flags. Ricciardo ended up stuck back in P12 and will have to muster a good recovery drive for a much needed positive result after DNF’ing in two of the last three races. The two Haas’s rounded out the Top 10, with Kevin Magnussen starting P9 and Romain Grosjean P10.

The mixed-up grid should make tomorrow’s race chaotic at the start as ostensibly faster cars try to carve their way back up to the front. And if there’s any more heavy weather like we saw on Saturday all bets are off.

Top 10 qualifiers for the Hungarian GP:

POS NO DRIVER CAR Q1 Q2 Q3 LAPS
1 44 Lewis Hamilton MERCEDES 1:17.419 1:31.242 1:35.658 26
2 77 Valtteri Bottas MERCEDES 1:17.123 1:32.081 1:35.918 25
3 7 Kimi Räikkönen FERRARI 1:17.526 1:32.762 1:36.186 26
4 5 Sebastian Vettel FERRARI 1:16.666 1:28.636 1:36.210 24
5 55 Carlos Sainz RENAULT 1:17.829 1:30.771 1:36.743 25
6 10 Pierre Gasly SCUDERIA TORO ROSSO HONDA 1:18.577 1:31.286 1:37.591 25
7 33 Max Verstappen RED BULL RACING TAG HEUER 1:16.940 1:31.178 1:38.032 24
8 28 Brendon Hartley SCUDERIA TORO ROSSO HONDA 1:18.429 1:32.590 1:38.128 25
9 20 Kevin Magnussen HAAS FERRARI 1:18.314 1:32.968 1:39.858 24
10 8 Romain Grosjean HAAS FERRARI 1:17.901 1:33.650 1:40.593 24

Complete qualifying results available via Formula1.com.

Tomorrow’s race airs live at 9AM Eastern on ESPN2 here in the States. Hope to se you then to see if Hamilton can keep his mojo working as we head into the summer break or if Vettel can regain the momentum he squandered in Germany!

2018 F1 Grand Prix of Germany — Results & aftermath

Hamilton drives from P14 to victory in damp Hockenheim; Bottas P2, Raikkonen P3; Vettel crashes out from the lead late in race

The script flipped for Ferrari and Mercedes at the German Grand Prix due to a little wet weather at the Hockenheimring in Sunday’s German Grand Prix. With the two top contenders in this year’s Formula 1 Championship looking like going in different directions due to their recent race results, Ferrari’s ace Sebastian Vettel started from pole and seemed a lock to consolidate his position as the points leader and expand on the team’s lead in the Constructors’ Championship. Meanwhile, Mercedes’ ace Lewis Hamilton was stuck back in P14 on the grid after a hydraulic failure saw the Englishman bounced out of qualifying in Q1 on Saturday. It would have to be another massive recovery drive for Hamilton to get up to his teammate Valtteri Bottas, flying the team flag up in P2, with Vettel’s wingman, Kimi Raikkonen, looking to attack his fellow Finn from just behind in P3. And when the lights went out for the start that’s how things looked like they’d shake out.

Pics courtesy GrandPrix247.com

Vettel and Bottas both got away well from the line, holding position and keeping Raikkonen just behind them who in turn was able to fight off the Red Bull of the newly circumspect Max Verstappen. Meanwhile, Hamilton began carving his way through the field, putting his superior Mercedes power and chassis to good use against a host of backmarkers. By Lap 8 Hamilton was already up to P8 and by Lap 11 he had taken P6 by passing the Renault of Nico Hulkenberg as if the German were standing still. By Lap 14 he had overtaken the Haas of Kevin Magnussen for P5 and set of for Verstappen and possible podium aspirations to try to salvage the day. And now the first round of tire stops for the frontrunners began, as on Lap 15 Raikkonen pitted for Softs in an apparent attempt to ensnare Mercedes into a similar early move for Bottas.

But Bottas’ initial Ultrasoft Pirellis retained their advantage and there was no need for Mercedes to take Ferrari’s bait. Even so, while Bottas was bale to keep Verstappen safely behind him in P3 the Mercedes #2 didn’t seem to have anything for the ultra-confident Vettel running several second to the good out front, well out of DRS range. However, Ferrari’s split strategy gambit began to backfire as Raikkonen’s pace actually seemed to drag Hamilton up to the front with him. When Vettel finally pitted on Lap 26, he did manage to come out ahead of Hamilton, still running on his initial set of the harder Soft tires, but he was behind his teammate Raikkonen. Bottas was now running from the lead and stretched his initial stint on Ultras until Lap 29, when he pitted for fresh Soft rubber. It looked as though it might be terrible timing when Daniel Ricciardo’s Red Bull, himself moving up through the field after engine penalties pushed him back on the grid, came to an abrupt stop on track. But the Aussie’s stationary Red Bull was able to be retrieved without a Safety Car, saving Mercedes and Bottas any headaches or heartbreak.

With Raikkonen now leading the race and Vettel in P2 it became apparent that Ferrari had miscalculated because Vettel was unable to take advantage of his fresher tires while Raikkonen was holding him up. After much cajoling by Vettel to the pit wall and a needlessly coy message to the Iceman by Scuderia chief strategist Jock Clear, Raikkonen ceded the top spot to his Championship leading teammate on Lap 39. Clearly that decision should have been made earlier and/or putting Raikkonen ahead of Vettel should never have been made in the first place. Somewhat remarkably Hamilton still hadn’t pitted while all this Ferrari drama was going on. Instead he simply ran competitive laps and held his position at P3. But by Lap 42 he was definitively holding up Bottas with shagged tires so he finally dove for the pits for fresh rubber, culminating a remarkable opening stint. By playing the long game and starting on the Softs, unlike the other main contenders, this meant he now had on the high performing Ultra Soft tires. This was an all the more significant decision — and a major team gamble — as foreboding rain clouds surged around the forests of Hockenheim. With a clean stop, Hamilton came back in P5.

On Lap 44 the threat of rain finally came good with light showers near the tricky hairpin. Some teams gambled on pitting for Intermediate wet tires including, surprisingly, Vertsappen from P3 who then came out behind Hamilton in P5. But the track was never fully wet and by Lap 49 the rain had decreased to the pint where it was clear that was huge mistake. Verstappen promptly pitted to get back to the Ultras, losing no more positions at least. The track did remain treacherous to those on the proper slicks, with perhaps Hamilton’s fresher, softer tires giving him some advantage. After some nervy moments for all the frontrunners it was Vettel who was the man who surprisingly cracked. The usually supremely confident 4-time World Champion, likely feeling the heat from the the surging Hamilton, overcooked it going into the tricky Sachs Turn in the Stadium section on Lap 52 and speared off the road through the gravel and into the barriers. With Vettel’s Ferrari now buried, just like that race and points leader had thrown away a nearly certain victory for himself and the team.

That brought out the Safety Car. Ferrari tired to fire up some of their patented strategy magic by bringing Raikkonen in for new tires but on this day all their moves were busts. That ceded the lead to Hamilton of all people, who had been abruptly waved off from pitting again at the last second and stayed out instead. That meant Raikkonen rejoined in P3 behind Bottas. After some tense jousting between the Mercedes teammates, Bottas was given team orders to stand down and hold position against Raikkonen. With the threat of rain omnipresent but holding off in the final laps, Lewis Hamilton held on for perhaps the most surprising and significant win of his career, driving back from a P14 start to victory and taking back the Championship lead for both himself and, thanks also to Bottas’ P2 and Vettel’s DNF, team Mercedes’ lead, as well. As Hamilton frolicked in stunned disbelieving joy on the top step of the podium the skies opened up and poured down on the resourceful and lucky Englishman, washing away the doubts that had consumed him over the last few races and leaving him poised to seize another World Championship at the expense of the suddenly mortal Vettel.

Top 10 finishers of the German GP:

POS NO DRIVER CAR LAPS TIME/RETIRED PTS
1 44 Lewis Hamilton MERCEDES 67 1:32:29.845 25
2 77 Valtteri Bottas MERCEDES 67 +4.535s 18
3 7 Kimi Räikkönen FERRARI 67 +6.732s 15
4 33 Max Verstappen RED BULL RACING TAG HEUER 67 +7.654s 12
5 27 Nico Hulkenberg RENAULT 67 +26.609s 10
6 8 Romain Grosjean HAAS FERRARI 67 +28.871s 8
7 11 Sergio Perez FORCE INDIA MERCEDES 67 +30.556s 6
8 31 Esteban Ocon FORCE INDIA MERCEDES 67 +31.750s 4
9 9 Marcus Ericsson SAUBER FERRARI 67 +32.362s 2
10 28 Brendon Hartley SCUDERIA TORO ROSSO HONDA 67 +34.197s 1

Complete race results available via Formula1.com.

Notes: Ferrari boss Sergio Marchionne was replaced as CEO of the Fiat Chrysler auto group over the weekend after falling gravely ill following shoulder surgery some 3 weeks ago. All of us here at Man’s Fine Life wish the 66-year-old Italian industrialist and savior of both Fiat and Chrysler companies only the best and hope he has a full recovery no matter how grim things may look at the moment. Gianni Agnelli’s grandson, John Elkann, was appointed new Chairman of Ferrari.

The next race is in but a week’s time — the Hungarian Grand Prix from the Hungaroring. It’s the last contest before the 3-week summer break. So catch it if you can to see whether Hamilton can parlay his unlikely victory into a proper winning streak or Vettel can regain his mastery after his fumble in Germany. Hope to see you then to find out how it all shakes out!

2018 F1 Grand Prix of Germany — Qualifying results

Ferrari’s Vettel seizes pole on home soil in Hockenheim, wingman Raikkonen P3; Bottas P2 for Mercedes as Hamilton bows out in Q1 with mechanical, will start P14

Ferrari’s recent momentum continued in Saturday qualifying for the return German Grand Prix at Hockenheim after a year’s absence. The Scuderia’s ace, Sebastian Vettel, grabbed pole for his home GP with a dominant track record 1.11.212 lap and his teammate Kimi Raikkonen qualified P3 some 3-tenths behind. Even better for the points-leading team from Maranello, while their chief rival Mercedes’ second pilot, Vlatteri Bottas, was able to snag P2 just 2-tenths back of the pole time, Vettel’s closest competitor Lewis Hamilton suffered hydraulic failure in Q1. The team ordered Hamilton to stop his car on track and the distraught Englishman actually resorted to trying to push his wounded mount back to the pits in the hopes of keeping his quali alive. But in the end Hamilton was left disconsolate in a praying position next to his stationary Silver Arrow, perhaps wondering if his championship dreams for this year could be starting to slip away. In truth, it’s possible Hamilton helped caused the malfunction by traveling over the steep Hockenheim curbs repeatedly and with too much abandon. Starting from P14 on the grid due to Daniel Ricciardo’s penalty, Hamilton will have it all to do come race day. Vettel and Ferrari clearly smell Mercedes blood and it will be up to them to make the most of Mercedes’ misfortune.

Red Bull might also be in a position to upset the order of the usual front runners, at least as far as Max Verstappen is concerned. The Dutch wunderkind was good enough for the P4 timed will look to take it to the top 3 for a possible podium. As mentioned above, however, their veteran Australian pilot Ricciardo entered quali facing a raft of engine penalties and chose to run quali as more of test session with the result that he made it out of Q1 but did not compete in Q2. Ricciardo will strat from dead last come race day. There was better news for the American Has team, which say their two drivers make both make the Top 10. Kevin Magnussen got the best Haas qualifying position ever with P5 while Romain Grosjean was just behind in P6. If Haas can just get consistent double-points finishes from their drivers and team from the rest of the way a “best of the rest” fourth place in the final Constructors’ standings should be within reach.

Renault, the other contenders for that ever-valuable fourth spot in the Constructors’, did well enough if not quite matching the Ferrari-powered Haas cars. Nico Hulkenberg qualified P7 at his home Grand Prix, while Carlos Sainz  was P8. Rounding out the Top 10, hot commodity Charles Leclerc, rumored to be heading to Ferrari next season, set the ninth fastest time and Force India’s Sergio Perez salvaged P10.

Top 10 qualifiers for the German GP:

POS NO DRIVER CAR Q1 Q2 Q3 LAPS
1 5 Sebastian Vettel FERRARI 1:12.538 1:12.505 1:11.212 16
2 77 Valtteri Bottas MERCEDES 1:12.962 1:12.152 1:11.416 18
3 7 Kimi Räikkönen FERRARI 1:12.505 1:12.336 1:11.547 17
4 33 Max Verstappen RED BULL RACING TAG HEUER 1:13.127 1:12.188 1:11.822 18
5 20 Kevin Magnussen HAAS FERRARI 1:13.105 1:12.523 1:12.200 18
6 8 Romain Grosjean HAAS FERRARI 1:12.986 1:12.722 1:12.544 17
7 27 Nico Hulkenberg RENAULT 1:13.479 1:12.946 1:12.560 17
8 55 Carlos Sainz RENAULT 1:13.324 1:13.032 1:12.692 19
9 16 Charles Leclerc SAUBER FERRARI 1:13.077 1:12.995 1:12.717 23
10 11 Sergio Perez FORCE INDIA MERCEDES 1:13.427 1:13.072 1:12.774 19

Complete qualifying results available via Formula1.com.

Tomorrow’s race airs live starting at 9AM Eastern on ESPN2 here in the States. Hope to see you then!

2018 F1 Grand Prix of Britain — Results & aftermath

Vettel victorious at Silverstone, Raikkonen P3 as Ferrari push their advantage; Hamilton salvages P2 for Mercedes after first lap spin

The Mercedes factory team were desperate to put their disastrous double-DNF in Austria behind them. And everything was looking up after their ace Lewis Hamilton took the pole on Saturday and seemed set for another superlative Silverstone run come race day, a contest he had won four times on the trot. But all went sideways for the English pole sitter on the opening lap of his home British Grand Prix. After spinning his wheels when the lights went out leading to a slow getaway he lost the lead to Ferrari’s Sebastian Vettel, his chief title rival and Hamilton also saw his teammate Valtteri Bottas get by him dropping him to P3. Vettel’s teammate Kimi Raikkonen smelled blood and made a move on Hamilton going into the tight Village complex. It didn’t come off and instead the veteran Finn pitched Hamilton into a spin. Fortunately for the English title contender his Silver Arrow was undamaged and he didn’t stall. But Raikonnen’s impetuous move saw Hamilton plunge all the way down to 18th in the order as the field hurtled past him, a long fall from grace from his top starting spot. From being favored to win Hamilton’s race was now about damage control but the four time World Champion set about that task brilliantly.

Pics courtesy GrandPrix247.com

First Hamilton ran longer than the two Ferraris, coming in for Medium tires three laps later than the Prancing Horses on Lap 25. He was also helped by a 10-second time penalty to Raikkonen for causing their first lap incident but it still didn’t look like it would be enough to get Hamilton back into podium position. However, a lurid crash by Sauber’s Marcus Ericsson on Lap 33 brought out a Safety Car (the Swede was unhurt) and while both Ferrari and Red Bull decided to pit yet again for fresh rubber Mercedes gambled and stayed out. While that trick hasn’t worked out too well this season for the team — see the debacle at Austria that was obscured by their twin mechanical failures  — it did this time, as both Hamilton and Bottas made up buckets of track position. After the stops were done Vettel’s Ferrari came out sandwiched between Hamilton in P3 and Bottas in P1. And while Hamilton voiced his doubts he and Bottas’ older tires were helped yet again by another Safety Car on Lap 38-39 when Renault’s Carlos Sainz and Haas’ Romain Grosjean came together leading to a big accident (again, both drivers were unharmed).

Even with these respites under caution, Bottas was not up to the challenge of holding off Vettel on old rubber despite his best efforts. The German’s Ferrari finally made a strong pass for the lead on Lap 48. Bottas’ tires appeared to be spent, as next his teammate Hamilton got by him for P2 on the following lap. And then Raikkonen, who had an excellent dice to pass Red Bull’s Max Verstappen and really drove a storming race to recover from his penalty, picked off his fellow Finn for the last place on the podium. That’s how it stayed until the end of this 52-lap contest, as Vettel could never be caught, bringing his Prancing Horse home over 2 seconds in front of Hamilton’s Merc. Along with Raikonnen’s P3 finish that extended Ferrari’s lead in the Constructors’ points to 20 and Vettel’s victory saw him extend his Drivers’ lead to 8 over Hamilton. Ferrari have the momentum but it is hardly decisive at this stage of the season and Hamilton did well to recover for that valuable P2. Mercedes have two weeks to figure out how to maximize their race pace and defend what they regard as their rightful possession in this turbo-hybrid era — the Formula 1 Championship — from Maranello’s spirited 2018 onslaught.

Top 10 finishers of the British GP:

POS NO DRIVER CAR LAPS TIME/RETIRED PTS
1 5 Sebastian Vettel FERRARI 52 1:27:29.784 25
2 44 Lewis Hamilton MERCEDES 52 +2.264s 18
3 7 Kimi Räikkönen FERRARI 52 +3.652s 15
4 77 Valtteri Bottas MERCEDES 52 +8.883s 12
5 3 Daniel Ricciardo RED BULL RACING TAG HEUER 52 +9.500s 10
6 27 Nico Hulkenberg RENAULT 52 +28.220s 8
7 31 Esteban Ocon FORCE INDIA MERCEDES 52 +29.930s 6
8 14 Fernando Alonso MCLAREN RENAULT 52 +31.115s 4
9 20 Kevin Magnussen HAAS FERRARI 52 +33.188s 2
10 11 Sergio Perez FORCE INDIA MERCEDES 52 +34.708s 0

Complete race results available via Formula1.com.

The next race is in two weeks time, the German Grand Prix at Hockenhiem. Hope to see you then see how it all shakes out!