Tag Archives: Esteban Ocon

2020 F1 Grand Prix of Abu Dhabi — Results & aftermath

Red Bull’s Verstappen runs away from Mercedes to take easy win in season finale; Bottas P2, Hamilton P3 in procedural contest

With Mercedes engines suffering from a mysterious MGU-K issue that left them down on power, Red Bull’s Max Verstappen had no problem sprinting away from this year’s dominant Constructors’ champions to take an easy victory at the season-ending Abu Dhabi Grand Prix, at long last earning the supremely talented Dutchman his first win of the truncated 2020 season. After a run of unpredictable race results, perhaps none more so than last week’s surprise win for Racing Point’s Sergio Perez after Mercedes self-destructed in the pits, Sunday’s finale was a purely procedural affair at the Yas Marina circuit, a track where overtaking is always at a premium even with the DRS gimmick. The pole-sitting Verstappen easily swanned away from the Silver Arrows of Valtteri Bottas and champion Lewis Hamilton, who returned from a COVID infection and did not seem to possess his usual superlative stamina. Regardless, no one could challenge Verstappen’s Red Bull at this day-into-night race and no gambles were taken by the Mercedes brain trust that might have jeopardized Bottas’ second place in the Drivers’ points and allowed Verstappen to claim that honor if the inconsistent Finn finished below P2. After last week’s debacle, the reigning Contructors’ champs were content to play it safe and see their men come home P2 and P3, with Bottas leading home Hamilton, but Verstappen outclassing Bottas by a whopping 15.9 seconds. Don’t count on this being a harbinger of a real challenge to Mercedes’ potential dominance next season, as the Merc engines were clearly ailing and nearing end of life here in round 17, especially as they chose not develop them much further after clinching their record seventh title in a row way back at Imola in early November with eight races still to go. But For verstappen the victory was still sweet, saving the best for last in this challenging year by earning his first victory of a frustrating season when he almost always had to look at a Silver Arrows tailpipe no matter how well he drove.

Pics courtesy GrandPrix247.com

Verstappen’s much maligned teammate Alexander Albon also did his part by showing good form and staying close enough to the top three to make any strategic pit stop gamble the Mercedes pit wall may have wanted to try a nonstarter, as either Bottas or Hamilton would surely have come out behind the mercurial Thai. So he helped Red Bull keep Mercedes honest, holding off even a long shot threat to Verstappen’s supremacy on this day and coming home a solid fourth place. Along with another fourth in Styria in Round 2, a third in the first Bahrain race and another opportunistic podium earlier in Tuscany in Round 9, the result in Abu Dhabi might be enough for Albon to keep his seat at the big Red Bull team, which is what Christian Horner and the other VIPs have always said they wanted, at least in public. But if so, he will need to work hard on qualifying pace, where he was buried by Verstappen all season long, to give himself a better shot at earning high places in the races rather than constantly trying to fight his way through theoretically inferior cars with all the attendant risk that entails. Of course, Albon’s erratic track record over the course of the year still might not be enough to keep Red Bull from replacing him with the free agent Sergio Perez, who has had his best year in F1 by far. Either way, all should be revealed in this particular soap opera very soon.

Pics courtesy GrandPrix247.com

It was also a banner day for McLaren, capping a fine comeback season by not only seeing their drivers Lando Norris and Carlos Sainz finish an impressive P5 and P6 respectively but also earning a very valuable third place in the Constructors’ with that big points haul. The storied team was able to regain at least some of its past glory by leapfrogging the powerful Racing Point team for that coveted position on the final day when Lance Stroll could only muster and point in P10 and a luckless Perez DNF’d on Lap 10 with transmission failure. While Perez didn’t really get a chance to defend his wonderful win at Sakhir a week ago and Stroll somewhat underwhelmed after starting from P8, the Racing Point team still has a lot to be pleased with as they head into the offseason as the fourth best Constructor and ready for the change to Aston Martin branding and Sebastian Vettel partnering Stroll for 2021.

While Renault couldn’t overtake their nearest rivals McLaren and Racing Point and had to settle for fifth in the final Constructors’ standings it was still a good year for the French team, who will rebrand as Alpine for next year. Veteran Daniel Riccardo, who will leave to drive for McLaren next year, finished P7 and Esteban Ocon took P9. Ocon will remain at Renault/Alpine and partner with returning two-time champ Fernando Alonso in 2021. AlphaTauri’s Pierre Gasly, who had a breakout season including a win at Monza in Round 8, came home P8 to secure tenth in the Drivers’ Standings.

A final word on Ferrari: The Scuderia finished a woeful campaign on a woeful note, with Charles Leclerc P13 and the outgoing Vettel P14 in ostensibly his final race in a Prancing Horse, both behind the P12 of the “junior” Alfa Romeo driven by the venerable Kimi Raikkonen. Here’s hoping that Ferrari’s boasts about massive engine upgrades for next year are true — and perhaps Sainz arrival will pick things up, as well — because sixth in the Constructors’ with barely a chance of challenging Racing Point, McLaren or Renault for positions, let alone Mercedes and Red Bull for wins, simply won’t cut it for another season.

Top 10 finishers of the Abu Dhabi Grand Prix:

POS NO DRIVER CAR LAPS TIME/RETIRED PTS
1 33 Max Verstappen RED BULL RACING HONDA 55 1:36:28.645 25
2 77 Valtteri Bottas MERCEDES 55 +15.976s 18
3 44 Lewis Hamilton MERCEDES 55 +18.415s 15
4 23 Alexander Albon RED BULL RACING HONDA 55 +19.987s 12
5 4 Lando Norris MCLAREN RENAULT 55 +60.729s 10
6 55 Carlos Sainz MCLAREN RENAULT 55 +65.662s 8
7 3 Daniel Ricciardo RENAULT 55 +73.748s 7
8 10 Pierre Gasly ALPHATAURI HONDA 55 +89.718s 4
9 31 Esteban Ocon RENAULT 55 +101.069s 2
10 18 Lance Stroll RACING POINT BWT MERCEDES 55 +102.738s 1

Complete race results available via Formula1.com.

Final Drivers’ Standings are here.

Final Constructors’ Standings are here.

The next race, gods willing, will be on March 21st, 2021 back at good old Melbourne, Australia. Enjoy the offseason wherever you are and hope to see you then!

2020 F1 Grand Prix of Sakhir — Results & aftermath

Perez earns first career win in wild Sakhir GP; Ocon P2, Stroll P3 after Mercedes throw away near-certain Russell debut victory with sloppy pit stop

With Mercedes ace and reigning World Champion Lewis Hamilton sidelined with COVID the Sakhir Grand Prix always had the potential to be a wide open affair. But few could have imagined how crazy Sunday’s race would actually turn out to be. The normally supreme Mercedes factory team blew what should have been another easy one-two Silver Arrows finish when a risky double-stack pit stop to try to take advantage of a Safety Car on Lap 63 backfired spectacularly, opening the door to the surviving “best of the rest” to take advantage. The Silver Arrows team confused the drivers’ tires, sending out Hamilton’s stand-in and race leader, George Russell on a set of Medium Pirellis allotted to regular driver Valtteri Bottas and forcing the team to also remount the same set of old Hard tires back onto then-P2 Bottas’s car in desperation. The blunder not only left the luckless Bottas stationary in the pits for an excruciating 24 seconds while the team scrambled to make sense of the situation but also necessitated ordering Russell, who normally drives for the backmarker Williams team but was surely dreaming of his maiden F1 victory in the world’s fastest race car, back in for the correct set of his matching tires, as per the regulations. When the insanity was finally sorted it found Racing Point’s Sergio Perez leading the race, with Renault’s Esteban Ocon now in P2, the second Racing point of Lance Stroll in third and the nonplussed Mercedes duo of Bottas and Russell demoted to P4 and P5 respectively. But with the Safety Car withdrawing at the end of Lap 68 and 19 laps remaining the ultra-fast Mercedes duo still had a chance to claw their way back to the front.

Pics courtesy GrandPrix247.com

As he had been all race prior, It quickly became apparent that Russell was again the faster man, especially with fresh Mediums giving him a major advantage over Bottas’ older Hard tires. The young Englishman quickly dispatched his teammate to ascend to P4 and then on Lap 72 passed Stroll for P3 and at least a consolation podium position if not the win of his dreams. Any points would be Russell’s first in F1 but he was clearly still hunting for victory, making quick work of Ocon for P2 on lap 73 and taking chunks of time out of Perez’s lead. But on Lap 78 Russell’s promising charge was again thwarted by a slow rear left puncture that forced yet another trip to the pits for new rubber. It was heartbreak for Russell and the team, who rejoined down in fifteenth and could only make it back up to P9 before the laps ran out, earning him his first-ever championship points but also wondering forlornly what might have been.

For the veteran Perez, however, it was sweet vindication when he took the checkered flag as the winner, the Mexican’s fist victory in 190 F1 career races. With Checo inexplicably slated to lose his Racing Point seat for next season he made the best possible advertisement for his services for any potential suitors out there. He not only ended up winning thanks to Mercedes’ own goals but that he did was all the more remarkable because he had to recover from an opening lap collision with Ferrari’s Charles Leclerc that pushed him to the rear after he had to immediately pit for a front wing change. Perez never gave up, though, but kept on pushing and put himself in position to capitalize when Mercedes needlessly overcomplicated their strategy and then failed to execute. If not for last week’s bitter disappointment when he suffered engine failure while in position to finish P3, Perez would be looking at three consecutive podiums. If he doesn’t get a drive for next year it won’t be because of performance that’s for sure, as he’s had a tremendous second half and may well have cemented fourth place in the Drivers’ standings with today’s remarkable win. In the even bigger picture, Perez became only the second Mexican national to win a Formula 1 GP and the first since the late, legendary Pedro Rodriguez took victory at Belgium way back in 1970.

For Renault’s Ocon it was nearly as special a result when he came home P2, his first ever podium and by far his best result in an on again, off again career. And for Perez’s Racing point teammate Lance Stroll it was a second P3 podium in a somewhat inconsistent and COVID-interrupted season. The duo’s win and third place made for a banner points haul for Racing Point after they were shutout last week, solidifying their third place in the massively valuable Constructors’ standings where positions equal literally millions of dollars. With Daniel Ricciardo finishing P5 it was also a nice day for team Renault, who sit solidly at fifth in the Constructors’ with an outside chance of overtaking McLaren in the points in the final race next week at Abu Dhabi. Also contributing to the wide open nature of this contest, the opening lap kerfuffle between Perez and an over-ambitious Leclerc knocked out Leclerc’s Ferrari and also saw Red Bull’s Max Verstappen crash out while he was taking evasive action and skidded through the gravel, spearing nose-first into a crash barrier. Just like that two of the potential high points contenders were instantly erased and many midfield runners had opportunities to capitalize. The McLaren of Carlos Sainz couldn’t touch the eventual top three but still scored an opportunistic P4 result. Verstappen’s teammate Alexander Albon did well enough to haul himself up to a P6 finish and will be hoping to quiet the rumors of Perez replacing him at Red Bull. The AlphaTauri of Daniil Kvyat came home ahead of the luckless Bottas in P7 while the two Mercedes were doomed to a P8/P9, Bottas leading the crestfallen Russell. The second McLaren of Lando Norris took the last point in P10.

Final note: While a relatively healthy Romain Grosjean was a welcome sight in the Bahrain paddock after last week’s horror crash his injuries will prevent the Frenchman from competing in the final race next week. Pietro Fittipaldi, who finished last of the active runners after facing a very steep learning curve, will likely drive for Haas again in Grosjean’s place at Yas Marina for the season finale.

Top 10 finishers of the Sakhir GP:

POS NO DRIVER CAR LAPS TIME/RETIRED PTS
1 11 Sergio Perez RACING POINT BWT MERCEDES 87 1:31:15.114 25
2 31 Esteban Ocon RENAULT 87 +10.518s 18
3 18 Lance Stroll RACING POINT BWT MERCEDES 87 +11.869s 15
4 55 Carlos Sainz MCLAREN RENAULT 87 +12.580s 12
5 3 Daniel Ricciardo RENAULT 87 +13.330s 10
6 23 Alexander Albon RED BULL RACING HONDA 87 +13.842s 8
7 26 Daniil Kvyat ALPHATAURI HONDA 87 +14.534s 6
8 77 Valtteri Bottas MERCEDES 87 +15.389s 4
9 63 George Russell MERCEDES 87 +18.556s 3
10 4 Lando Norris MCLAREN RENAULT 87 +19.541s 1

Complete race results available via Formula1.com.

The next and last race of the 2020 season is in but a week’s time — a short trip for the teams to neighboring Abu Dhabi and the beautifully futuristic Yas Marina circuit. With Hamilton’s return uncertain, young George Russell may well have a chance for a second bite of the cherry to salve today’s disappointment. Hope to see you then to find out how it all shakes out!

2020 F1 Grand Prix of Bahrain — Results & aftermath

Hamilton wins Bahrain GP marred by horrific Grosjean opening lap crash; Verstappen P2, Albon elevated to P3 as late-race failure dooms Perez’s podium hopes

Sunday’s Bahrain Grand Prix, one of Formula 1’s most seemingly anodyne races, provided a frightening reminder of the inherent risks of the sport when Romain Grosjean’s Haas speared off the track on the opening lap and hit an oblique-angle armco barrier head-on at nearly 140 mph, sending the cockpit area with the Frenchman through the barrier like a missile and tearing the rear completely off the car. That catastrophic structural failure also breached the fuel system, igniting the car on impact and engulfing Grosjean in a huge fireball. It was one of the most spectacular and horrifying crashes during an F1 race in probably decades but the constant advances in safety throughout that time ensured that the Frenchman survived the shunt with only relatively minor injuries. The halo device in particular appeared to have done the life-saving work it was designed for, protecting the driver not only from a serious head injury, as befell the late Jules Bianchi when he slid under a crane on track under yellow at a rainy Suzuka in 2014, but also miraculously keeping Grosjean conscious after impact and able to release his own belts to escape the inferno engulfing him within a little under 20 seconds. The first-lap medical car, which follows directly behind the pack on the opening lap for just such an incident and was the brainchild of the legendary Professor Sid Watkins back in the early ’90s, also did exemplary work, with Dr. Ian Roberts and driver Alan van der Merwe getting to the scene promptly and able to assist Grosjean’s escape and treat the shaken driver immediately. It might have been a different story had the halo device, as well as the now standard HANS device, not kept Grosjean conscious, as the safety personnel would have had to somehow extract him from within the fire. As it was, the fortunate Frenchman suffered only burns to his hands and is recovering in a nearby military hospital and in good spirits.

After that, the race itself mainly seemed an afterthought, with a very long Red Flag period delay to repair the barrier at Turn 6, which was designed at an angle for cars to skid off of not strike directly, offering drivers and the entire paddock far too long to watch replays of the horrific incident and consider the danger of their profession that all too often is minimized in this generally hyper-safe era of F1. But after over an hour stationary in the pits, the drivers did what they are paid to do, remounting their vehicles and getting back out to restart the race. It was only Lap 3 of this 57-lap contest and while Mercedes ace Lewis Hamilton led Red Bull’s Max Verstappen from a second stationary grid start, the race one again came to an unceremonious halt when the Racing Point of Lance Stroll flipped over after contacting Daniil Kvyat’s AlphaTauri while contesting the same apex real estate at Turn 8. Kvyat’s car had also been the one that touched wheels when Grosjean cut across the track abruptly to send him into that lurid crash but the Russian was not at fault there. In the case of the Stroll incident, however, he was deemed to be the culprit and was levied a 10-second time penalty by the stewards. After a much quicker Safety Car period, the race restarted yet again on Lap 9 and Hamilton put his foot down and got on with the business of winning the Grand Prix.

Obviously it’s never easy driving a Formula 1 car, especially after witnessing such a traumatizing crash, but Hamilton blocked out all distractions and made it look that way, holding off Max Verstappen’s Red Bull handily throughout the remainder of the race and keeping it clean to take yet another win, his eleventh out of fifteen races this year, as well as extending his F1 record victory total to 95. With Hamilton’s teammate Valtteri Bottas having an off day after suffering an early puncture that essentially ruined his race, Verstappen gave yet another effort good enough for P2 but his car never really matched the pace of the lead Silver Arrow. Verstappen’s teammate, Alexander Albon, got a much needed bit of luck late in the race when the Racing Point of Sergio Perez, running comfortably in third and looking for his second successive podium, suffered what looked to be a turbo failure on Lap 54 and tumbled out of the points. That promoted Albon to P3 and the last spot on the podium, marking the first time this year both Red Bull’s had made it to the post-race champagne celebration, and perhaps taking Albon off the hot seat. With Bottas also finishing in eighth after his poor race, that elevated Verstappen to only 12 points behind the Finn for second in the Drivers’ Championship with only two races remaining. Bottas will now have to put his head down, regroup quickly for next week’s GP at this same Sakhir circuit and then do the business to hold off the hard charging Dutchman and stave off the ignominy of finishing third in this year’s most dominant chassis.

Further down the order, the rest pf the top 10 also benefitted from Perez’s heartbreaking late-race retirement, with the McLaren’s of Lando Norris and Carlos Sainz making out particularly well by coming home P4 and P5 respectively. With both Stroll and Perez failing to finish for Racing Point, McLaren’s solid points haul on the day saw them elevated to P3 in the valuable Constructors’ Championship with a 12 point gap to now-P4 Racing Point. AlphaTauri’s Pierre Gasly did well to make the most of a two-stop strategy, running an exceptionally long second stint and avoiding the drama that befell his teammate Kvyat to take a solid P6. The Renaults of Daniel Ricciardo and Esteban Ocon battled each other all race long and eventually would up sandwiching Bottas at the finish in P7 and P9 respectively. And perhaps the biggest beneficiary of Perez’s engine failure was Ferrari’s Charles Leclerc, who snuck into the last points paying position at P10 with a car that was frankly terrible on anything less than the freshest rubber.

A final word about Grosjean’s accident: This exact type of impact with a stationary barrier is what killed Francois Cevert at Watkins Glenn in 1973 and Grosjean’s angle of entry would also probably have led to the same of cockpit intrusion that resulted in Jules Bianchi’s eventually fatal brain injury when he submarined that ill-placed crane in the rain in Japan. There can be no doubt that the halo saved Romain Grosjean’s life on this day in Bahrain. It may be “ugly” fro  an aesthetic perspective but it absolutely did its job in the Haas’s crash even if the cause of the fuel cells breach and ignition require further investigation. The debate over whether cockpit protection is really needed in open wheel/single seater racing is well and truly over and it needs to be mandated right down to the lowest professional levels of the sport. The safety of the drivers, famous and anonymous, demand nothing less.

Top 10 finishers of the Bahrain GP:

POS NO DRIVER CAR LAPS TIME/RETIRED PTS
1 44 Lewis Hamilton MERCEDES 57 2:59:47.515 25
2 33 Max Verstappen RED BULL RACING HONDA 57 +1.254s 19
3 23 Alexander Albon RED BULL RACING HONDA 57 +8.005s 15
4 4 Lando Norris MCLAREN RENAULT 57 +11.337s 12
5 55 Carlos Sainz MCLAREN RENAULT 57 +11.787s 10
6 10 Pierre Gasly ALPHATAURI HONDA 57 +11.942s 8
7 3 Daniel Ricciardo RENAULT 57 +19.368s 6
8 77 Valtteri Bottas MERCEDES 57 +19.680s 4
9 31 Esteban Ocon RENAULT 57 +22.803s 2
10 16 Charles Leclerc FERRARI 56 +1 lap 1

Complete race results available via Formula1.com.

The next race is in but a week’s time — at this exact circuit for the Sakhir Grand Prix, the penultimate race of the delayed, abbreviated and very weird 2020 season. Look for some track safety improvements following Sunday’s incidents and hopefully a cleaner race by the drivers overall.

2020 F1 Grand Prix of Bahrain — Qualifying results

Supreme Hamilton smashes Bahrain track record for pole; Bottas qualifies P2, Verstappen P3

Fresh on the heels of earning his record-tying seventh Drivers’ Championship with a fine come-from-behind wet weather win in Turkey two weeks ago, Mercedes ace Lewis Hamilton showed no sign of slowing down. The English living legend blistered the bone dry Bahrain International Circuit under the lights during Saturday night qualifying, setting a new track record en route to taking pole position for tomorrow’s Grand Prix. Team Mercedes also returned to their front row lockout ways after having that season-log streak snapped last time out in Turkey when Valtteri Bottas set the second fastest lap time in Q3, albeit nearly three-tenths adrift of Ham the Man. Red Bull’s Max Verstappen sounded less than distraught at qualifying behind the Silver Arrows in P3, as that will put the Dutchman on the clean side of this often sandy track. He should also get a good tow from Hamilton when the lights go out to perhaps aid an overtaking move down into the first corner. Verstappen’s teammate Alexander Albon will start alongside him on the second row and behind Bottas in P4, only the second time this year the young Thai has managed to pull himself within one spot of his superlative teammate during qualifying, the other being at Mugello in Tuscany in early September.

Behind the front four, Sergio Perez was the lone Racing Point to start in the top 10 with a fine P5 qualifying effort. Hard to believe the savvy Mexican veteran still does not have a F1 drive for next year. Renault’s Daniel Ricciardo and Esteban Ocon qualified P6 and P7 respectively, while AlphaTauri’s Pierre Gasly and Daniil Kvyat were P8 and P10, sandwiching the McLaren of Lando Norris, who will start P9.

Top 10 qualifiers for the Bahrain GP:

POS NO DRIVER CAR Q1 Q2 Q3 LAPS
1 44 Lewis Hamilton MERCEDES 1:28.343 1:27.586 1:27.264 16
2 77 Valtteri Bottas MERCEDES 1:28.767 1:28.063 1:27.553 16
3 33 Max Verstappen RED BULL RACING HONDA 1:28.885 1:28.025 1:27.678 15
4 23 Alexander Albon RED BULL RACING HONDA 1:28.732 1:28.749 1:28.274 18
5 11 Sergio Perez RACING POINT BWT MERCEDES 1:29.178 1:28.894 1:28.322 20
6 3 Daniel Ricciardo RENAULT 1:29.005 1:28.648 1:28.417 17
7 31 Esteban Ocon RENAULT 1:29.203 1:28.937 1:28.419 14
8 10 Pierre Gasly ALPHATAURI HONDA 1:28.971 1:29.008 1:28.448 14
9 4 Lando Norris MCLAREN RENAULT 1:29.464 1:28.877 1:28.542 17
10 26 Daniil Kvyat ALPHATAURI HONDA 1:29.158 1:28.944 1:28.618 17

Complete qualifying results available via Formula1.com.

Tomorrow’s night race in the desert airs live on ESPN2 beginning at 9AM Eastern here in the States. Hope to see you then to find out how it all shakes out!

2020 F1 Grand Prix of Turkey — Qualifying results

Stroll grabs wonder pole in wet & wild Turkish GP qualifying, Perez P3 in banner day for Racing Point; unhappy Verstappen settles for P2 after key Red Bull strategy call; Mercedes’ season-long pole streak ends

With an already slick new surface giving drivers fits during dry practice sessions for Formula 1’s return to Turkey and Intercity Istanbul Park, traction was even further compromised by a deluge at the start of Saturday qualifying for tomorrow’s Grand Prix. The rain on top of the new asphalt resulted in a long Red Flag period in Q1 to try and wait the weather out after the best drivers in the world went skating around the circuit as if on ice. Clearly, no slick Pirellis would be used and the treacherous track conditions meant the day was ripe for unexpected qualifying results. And that’s just what happened. The Racing Point of Lance Stroll put in a perfect, highly technical lap and coaxed his car around, keeping it out the gravel traps to seize pole away from the usual suspects. Stroll made the most of the team’s pivotal Q3 decision to run him and his teammate, Sergio Perez, on Intermediate rather than full Wet tires on a tricky but marginally improving track. Crucially, when Perez temporarily set the fastest lap on his Inters and bested the Red Bull of Max Verstappne’s time early in the final session the Red Bull brain trust reacted and pulled Verstappen in from a very tasty hot lap to have the Dutch rainmeister match Racing Point’s move off the full Wets and onto the Inters. However, Versteppen simply couldn’t get the Inters to perform as well as the Racing Point duo and had to watch Stroll take his first career pole ahead of his P2 time nearly 4-tenths in arrears. Perez slotted in at third fastest and a disgruntled Verstappen was left rueing the team’s strategy call, although one can certainly understand their logic in looking to find the magic crossover point in tire performance. For the young Canadian Stroll, who has struggled mightily since missing the Eiffel GP with what was eventually diagnosed as COVID, there were no regrets only jubilation. His joy might not be long lived because holding on to that top spot tomorrow in the face of Verstappen’s onslaught could be more than a little tricky. But grabbing an F1 pole is nonetheless something he can carry with him as a badge of honor for the rest off his life. And who knows? If the weather is the same in Istanbul tomorrow, which it could well be, Stroll and the two Racing Points may just be able to excel again in these funky conditions.

Stroll’s wonder pole in the wet was also the first time this season a non-factory Mercedes hadn’t claimed that honor. If Verstappen was miffed by his team’s decisions the Mercedes duo of points-leader Lewis Hamilton and second place Valtteri Bottas were utterly flummoxed, as the normally superlative Silver Arrows stubbornly refused to get any of their wet weather tires to turn on and perform. Continue reading →

2020 F1 Grand Prix of Portugal — Results & aftermath

HAMMER TIME — Lewis Hamilton becomes winningest Formula 1 driver with dominant 92nd victory at Portuguese GP; Bottas a distant P2, Verstappen P3

Mercedes ace Lewis Hamilton rewrote the Formula 1 record books on Sunday by breaking a tie with the great Michael Schumahcer and becoming the all-time leader in victories with 92 after a dominant win in the Portuguese Grand Prix at Autódromo Internacional do Algarve in Portimao, Portugal. Racing away from pole, the English six-time World Champion and current points leader actually ceded his lead during a chaotic Lap 1 multi-car shuffle that saw McLaren’s Carlos Sainz surge forward from P7 on the grid to lead the race. Appearing to struggle for grip on cool Medium Pierrelli tires, his teammate and Mercedes Number 2, Valtteri Bottas, also passed Hamilton, relegating him to P3 in the order. But Sainz’s lead would prove to be short-lived. The Spaniard who started on the Soft tires, saw rapid performance degradation while the Medium-shod Mercs rapidly came into their own. Bottas passed Sainz on Lap 6 and Hamilton followed suit the following lap, setting up the usual internecine battle between the Silver Arrows. By Lap 19 Hamilton had closed the gap to Bottas and was harassing the Finn from directly behind his gearbox. On Lap 20, Hamilton made a decisive pass for a lead that he would never relinquish for the rest of the race.

Pics courtesy GrandPirx247.com

Clearly excelling on a long tire stint compared to his rivals, Hamilton ran all the way to Lap 41 on his first set of Mediums and then came in for a new set of Hards to finish off the 66-lap contest, having built enough of a gap over Bottas to still come out ahead, especially since Bottas was called in directly after him. While Bottas playfully pleaded to go to an alternate strategy and take a gamble on the least-favored Soft tires, that option was nixed by the Mercedes brain trust and Bottas had to hold station on matching Hards behind his superlative teammate for the remainder of the race. With the bit between his teeth and a historic prize to be grasped, Hamilton carved through backmarkers, lapping all but the top four finishers to cruise home to his record-setting win number 92. In the end, Lewis crossed the line over 25.5 seconds ahead of his P2 teammate. With a maximum points haul of 26 after also setting the fastest lap, Hamilton now leads Bottas, who races as number 77, by 77 points in the Championship with only four rounds remaining in the bizarre but entertaining 2020 season. So it’s nearly a lock that Hamilton will also tie Schumacher’s once unfathomable title record of seven Drivers’ Championships by the end and almost guaranteed that Hamilton returns in 2021 to break that mark with this era’s most dominant car before the new, cost saving and more spec-oriented formula kicks in 2022.

But for now, it is time to savor this individual accomplishment in what is already Hall of Fame career with first McLaren and now Mercedes and to pay respect to Lewis Hamilton for breaking a record that was previously thought to be untouchable. Simply put, Ham the Man is in the conversation for greatest all-time F1 pilot regardless of the era and no matter how easy he makes it look the 35-year-old Englishman is also making history every time he hits the track. With several more years of racing at the top level likely to come, Hamilton should continue to rewrite the record book in a way that will truly never be matched again.

Continue reading →

2020 F1 Grand Prix of Germany— Qualifying results

Bottas pips Hamilton for pole at Nurburgring; Verstappen qualifies P3

Valtteri Bottas, Mercedes’ number two driver, followed up his gift win in Russia two weeks ago by wresting pole from his more heralded and points-leading teammate Lewis Hamilton during Saturday qualifying for the German Grand Prix. On a green track with very limited practice time for the entire field due to adverse weather conditions, all was sunny for the Finn at the famed Nurburgring when it counted, as he put together three purple sectors late in Q3 to pip Hamilton’s best effort and take the top starting spot for tomorrow’s race. Bottas is looking to keep his slim championship hopes alive with the races ticking down and grabbing pole at this legendary venue after back-to-back self-inflicted errors by Hamilton balked his previously unstoppable momentum is at least a hopeful sign. For the Silver Arrows, it was yet another front row lockout in 2020, no matter that Hamilton will feel he left some time on the table during his final fast lap. The English six-time F1 champ will be looking to put his mistakes at Monza and Sochi behind him and will certainly be trying to jump his teammate at the start tomorrow to reclaim the sense of inevitability that previously surrounded his title aspirations.

Red Bull’s Max Verstappen looked like giving the Mercedes boys a run for pole but struggled for grip late in Q3 and could only post the third fastest lap when it really mattered, albeit just a few hundredths behind Hamilton. Still the Dutchman’s effort put him the usual half-second ahead of his teammate, Alexander Albon, and the Red Bulls were actually split by a sterling effort from Ferrari’s Charles Leclerc, who will slot in alongside Verstappen in P4 on the grid, a spot ahead of Albon’s P5. Once again, Leclerc badly outclassed his more seasoned teammate, Sebastian Vettel, whose dismal year continued when the German four-time champion could only muster a time good enough for P11 and was bounced in Q2. The Renault’s of Daniel Ricciardo and Esteban Ocon qualified P6 and P7 respectively, while Lando Norris was P8 and Carlos Sainz P10 for McLaren. Racing Point’s Sergio Perez rounded out the top ten qualifiers and will start P9. However, his teammate Lance Stroll fell ill and Nico Hulkenberg nearly had to be parachuted in on extra-short notice to take the young Canadian’s spot for the both quali and the race. With such extremely limited seat time, however, the veteran German struggled mightily and will start from twentieth, last on the grid.

Top 10 qualifiers for the German GP:

POS NO DRIVER CAR Q1 Q2 Q3 LAPS
1 77 Valtteri Bottas MERCEDES 1:26.573 1:25.971 1:25.269 19
2 44 Lewis Hamilton MERCEDES 1:26.620 1:25.390 1:25.525 18
3 33 Max Verstappen RED BULL RACING HONDA 1:26.319 1:25.467 1:25.562 15
4 16 Charles Leclerc FERRARI 1:26.857 1:26.240 1:26.035 18
5 23 Alexander Albon RED BULL RACING HONDA 1:27.126 1:26.285 1:26.047 15
6 3 Daniel Ricciardo RENAULT 1:26.836 1:26.096 1:26.223 18
7 31 Esteban Ocon RENAULT 1:27.086 1:26.364 1:26.242 20
8 4 Lando Norris MCLAREN RENAULT 1:26.829 1:26.316 1:26.458 18
9 11 Sergio Perez RACING POINT BWT MERCEDES 1:27.120 1:26.330 1:26.704 17
10 55 Carlos Sainz MCLAREN RENAULT 1:27.378 1:26.361 1:26.709 20

Complete qualifying results available via Formula1.com.

Tomorrow’s race airs live on ESPN2 beginning at 8AM Eastern here in the States. Hope to see you then to find out whether Bottas can really make this a title race down the stretch, Hamilton will reassert his dominance or Verstappen will find something to spoil the Mercedes party!

2020 F1 Grand Prix of Russia — Results & aftermath

Bottas steals win in Sochi after needless penalty by Hamilton relegates him to P3; Red Bull’s Verstappen splits the Silver Arrows in P2

A funny thing happened on the way to Lewis Hamilton’s coronation as winner of the Russian Grand Prix and preemptive favorite for the 2020 Drivers’ Championship. Before the race even started Hamilton and his Mercedes team made another crucial error in judgment that put them afoul of the stewards and led directly to a penalized infraction with race ruining results, not dissimilar to what happened two races ago at Monza when Hamilton foolishly entered a closed pit lane if less severe in outcome. On Sunday at Sochi Autodrom on the coast of the Black Sea it was practicing his starts outside the acceptable areas for doing so that led to Lewis’ undoing. So despite starting from pole and then holding off his onrushing teammate Valtteri Bottas to lead the opening lap Hamilton would very shortly be assessed two separate 5-second time penalties for two distinct illegal pre-race practice starts. Interestingly, the penalties were handed down directly after a Safety Car period brought out when both McLaren’s Carlos Sainz and Racing Point’s Lance Stroll crashed out on the opening lap in unrelated shunts. But the penalty was announced on Lap 7, two laps after the end of the SC, so the Mercedes brain trust had to go into overdrive trying to game out recovery strategies for their points-leading driver under Green Flag conditions, especially after he also had to start on the undesirable Soft Pirelli tires due to a very tense and scrambled qualifying effort on Saturday. But in the end Hamilton did nothing more than stay out for a few more laps and try to extend his lead over Bottas as best he could.

Pics courtesy GrandPrix247.com

Despite his protestations about wanting to prolong his first stint, the team finally succeeded in getting Hamilton to go to the pits for fresh rubber at the end of Lap 16, where he swapped the fragile Softs for a pair of Hard compound tires that would have to make it till the end of this 53-lap contest. Bottas then inherited a lead that he would never relinquish, while Red Bull’s Max Verstappen, whom Bottas passed skillfully for P2 when the lights went out to start the race, got that position back. Hamilton emerged way down in P11. Still complaining bitterly about both the team’s strategy call and the perceived unfairness of the penalties, Hamilton nonetheless began to regain ground almost immediately as the drivers in front of him began to cycle in for their own pit stops, which the Mercedes pit wall had obviously factored in to their decision on when to pit Hamilton in the first place. By Lap 19 he passed the pokey Ferrari of Sebastian Vettel for P7 and by Lap 21 he had made it all the way back to P5. After Vettel’s stablemate Charles Leclerc pitted on Lap 29 and AlphaTauri’s Daniil Kvyat made his stop on Lap 31 that elevated Hamilton into the third place spot he was destined to hold onto for the remainder of the contest. When Bottas crossed the line for the easy if opportunistic victory it put him eleven points to the good over Hamilton on the day, as the Finn also set the fastest lap of the race for the bonus point to take the full 26 on offer. That closed the gap between the two Silver Arrows intra-team rivals to 44 points in the Drivers’ standings with seven more scheduled rounds currently remaining on the calendar. Bottas’s unwillingness to roll over and Hamilton’s own missteps have suddenly made things a lot more interesting in what was looking like a cakewalk for the English six-time Champion. But counting on Hamilton making mistakes every weekend seems like anything but a sure bet and Bottas is going to have to beat the champ mano-a-mano and wheel-to-wheel if he wants to really put a scare into Lewis and make a serious run at his first title.

Verstappen held on to that P2 after a solid if lonely all round drive at Sochi, a strong podium finish which must have felt even sweeter than usual after a two-race points drought for the talented Dutchman. His Red Bull teammate Alexander Albon was less impressive, which is becoming the norm, as the young Thai driver could only manage the final point down in P10 after having to fight far too hard for that meager reward all race long. Racing Point’s Sergio Perez was the best of the rest with a splendid P4 effort, likely giving the team second thoughts about their decision to part ways with the steady Mexican pilot at the end of the season. Daniel Ricciardo led out a good day for Renault with a P5 finish even after being assessed a 5-second penalty of his own for redoing the track incorrectly while overcooking a position swap with his teammate, Esteban Ocon. Ocon held on with old tires to finish P7. Those two sandwiched Ferrari’s Leclerc, who drove wonderfully well in a slow ride to take a P6 finish, salvaging something for the Scuderia on a day when their second driver Vettel was once again nowhere in the race. The German four-time champ came home a dismal P13 in what has been pretty much an unrelentingly dismal campaign for him. The Russian Kvyat finished a solid P8 in front of his countrymen and his AlphaTauri teammate Pierre Gasly salvaged P9 after an ill-advised late second pit stop during a brief Virtual Safety Car that simply didn’t last long enough to make that move pay off.

Top10 finishers of the Russian GP:

POS NO DRIVER CAR LAPS TIME/RETIRED PTS
1 77 Valtteri Bottas MERCEDES 53 1:34:00.364 26
2 33 Max Verstappen RED BULL RACING HONDA 53 +7.729s 18
3 44 Lewis Hamilton MERCEDES 53 +22.729s 15
4 11 Sergio Perez RACING POINT BWT MERCEDES 53 +30.558s 12
5 3 Daniel Ricciardo RENAULT 53 +52.065s 10
6 16 Charles Leclerc FERRARI 53 +62.186s 8
7 31 Esteban Ocon RENAULT 53 +68.006s 6
8 26 Daniil Kvyat ALPHATAURI HONDA 53 +68.740s 4
9 10 Pierre Gasly ALPHATAURI HONDA 53 +89.766s 2
10 23 Alexander Albon RED BULL RACING HONDA 53 +97.860s 1

Complete race results available via Formula1.com.

The next race is in two weeks’ time, as Formula 1 returns to the legendary Nürburgring for the fist time since 2013. By then, Hamilton should be feeling like a caged animal looking for redemption and vengeance while Bottas will be looking to keep his unexpected momentum going and keep sticking it to his vociferous critics. Hope to see you then to find out how it all shakes out!

2020 F1 Grand Prix of Russia — Qualifying results

Hamilton pulls pole out of bag after Q2 Red Flag scare; Red Bull’s Verstappen beats out Bottas for P2 to split Mercedes duo

Mercedes ace Lewis Hamilton barely squeaked through the second round of qualifying for the Russian Grand Prix at Sochi Autodrom on Saturday after having his only lap in Q2 deleted for exceeding track limits and then being balked by a Red Flag situation late in the session. With only a shade over two minutes remaining in Q2 Ferrari’s Sebastian Vettel lost control of his Prancing Horse and suffered a heavy sideways shunt at the exit of Turn 4 that left his car in pieces and saw his teammate Charles Leclerc barely avoid his smashed car for what could have been a much more serious accident. However, the cleanup of Vettel’s broken Ferrari necessitated a Red Flag stoppage of qualifying and forced Hamilton back into the pits along with the rest of the field. And with only a meager 2:15 left in the session that meant that all the drivers would also have to do an unaccustomed hurry up on the out lap to make it to the start line prior to the session expiring. Despite a big Mercedes gamble that ended up sending out Hamilton essentially last in the queue, the superlative English pilot made it to the line with just a tick over a second remaining left in his pocket. Now on Soft Pirellis after doffing the preferred Medium compound tires to try and squeeze as much speed as possible out of the lap, Hamilton set a time  good enough to get him into Q3 and then quickly returned to dominating the rest of the field on pace. Hamilton easily set the pole time after that Q2 squeaker and reinforced that he is the best driver in the best car and the rest are just swimming in his wake. The only possible fly in the ointment is that Hamilton will have to start the race on the rather fragile Soft tires with which he set his fastest — and only — lap time in Q2, as per the rules.

That could open him up to attack via overcut by Red Bull’s Max Verstppen, who bested Hamilton’s teammate Valtteri Bottas for second quickest to earn the honor of starting alongside Lewis on the grid. Verstappen also gambled by betting that his best time in Q2 on Mediums would carry him through, which it did, and so the Dutch wunderkind will start on the strategically preferred tire, potentially running far longer than Hamilton on the opening stint. Bottas had to settle for P3 and the second row after taking too much curb on his final flying lap, thereby losing a crucial tenth of a second by which Verstappen bested him. However, Bottas will also be starting on the Mediums so the Finn may be able to salvage a potential victory by similarly making the most of his more durable rubber to Hamilton’s disadvantage, in addition to the Mercedes’ overall superior pace hopefully overhauling the Red Bull of Verstappen. The first 20 laps or so of tomorrow’s 56-lap contest should be extremely interesting!

Filling out the remainder of the Top 10 qualifiers, Sergio Perez really excelled to hustle his Racing Point up to best of the rest in P4 and will line up alongside Bottas in machine with equally good straight-line speed. Daniel Ricciardo also looked extremely fast in his Renault and set the fifth fastest time by the time the day’s final checkered flag had flown, while his younger teammate Esteban Ocon managed a lap good enough for P7. The McLaren of Carlos Sainz split the yellow Renaults, earning P6 on the grid, while his teammate Lando Norris will start from P8. The AlphaTauri of the impressive Frenchman Pierre Gasly was P9 in quali but the man who replaced him at Red Bull last year, Alexander Albon, was again miles away from his splendid stablemate Verstappen and will start from way back in P10.

While Vettel was unhurt by his rather heavy crash his team is going to have a big job rebuilding his car overnight and have him ready to start the Grand Prix. No doubt he will also start from then pits if they can get it rebuilt in time. The other Ferrari of Leclerc was bounced in Q2 with only the eleventh fastest time but the aggrieved Monegasque will have the silver lining of an extra set of tires and the choice of which ones to start on that could help his overall race result. Still, this can hardly be the Saturday at Sochi that team Ferrari had hoped for and both their drivers will have to make the best of bad situations if they are to come away with any points at all tomorrow.

Top 10 qualifiers for the Russian GP:

POS NO DRIVER CAR Q1 Q2 Q3 LAPS
1 44 Lewis Hamilton MERCEDES 1:32.983 1:32.835 1:31.304 19
2 33 Max Verstappen RED BULL RACING HONDA 1:33.630 1:33.157 1:31.867 21
3 77 Valtteri Bottas MERCEDES 1:32.656 1:32.405 1:31.956 19
4 11 Sergio Perez RACING POINT BWT MERCEDES 1:33.704 1:33.038 1:32.317 15
5 3 Daniel Ricciardo RENAULT 1:33.650 1:32.218 1:32.364 15
6 55 Carlos Sainz MCLAREN RENAULT 1:33.967 1:32.757 1:32.550 15
7 31 Esteban Ocon RENAULT 1:33.557 1:33.196 1:32.624 20
8 4 Lando Norris MCLAREN RENAULT 1:33.804 1:33.081 1:32.847 19
9 10 Pierre Gasly ALPHATAURI HONDA 1:33.734 1:33.139 1:33.000 21
10 23 Alexander Albon RED BULL RACING HONDA 1:33.919 1:33.153 1:33.008 19

Complete qualifying results available via Formula1.com.

Tomorrow’s race airs live on ESPN2 starting at 7AM Eastern here in the States. Between the split strategies of the Mercedes teammates and the hard charging Red Bull of Max Verstappen, who smells blood in the water and potential victory in the air, expect some real fireworks along the coast of the Black Sea. Hope to see you then to find out how it all shakes out!

2020 F1 Grand Prix of Tuscany — Qualifying results

Hamilton claims pole at Mugello for inaugural Tuscan GP; Bottas settles for P2 after late yellow scuttles final try; Verstappen third fastest but closing the gap

Looking to put last week’s own-goal well and truly behind him, Mercedes ace Lewis Hamilton took pole for the inaugural Tuscan Grand Prix at the twisty, rolling Mugello circuit during Saturday qualifying. After letting an almost certain victory in the previous Italian Grand Prix at Monza when he didn’t see the lighted track signals and entered a closed pit, earning a race destroying penalty in the process, Hamilton recovered to once again best his teammate for the top starting spot. It was Hamilton’s astounding 95th pole position and 69th with the Silver Arrows. While the English points leader failed to improve his best time with his last lap, Valtteri Bottas was balked from bettering his own time when the Renault of Esteban Ocon spun off track in front of him and brought out a yellow flag, forcing the Finn to lift and essentially gifting pole to his superlative teammate. The getaway from the line will be key tomorrow, as Mugello does not appear to be an easy circuit to overtake on, so after leading the time sheets for most of the sessions in the weekend except when it really counted Bottas will be practicing his starts in his sleep tonight.

While Mercedes earned their seventh consecutive front row lockout, Max Verstappen’s Red Bull showed improved one-lap pace that resulted in a P3 time just .35 seconds behind Hamilton’s pole effort. The Dutchman will be hoping for equally good race pace and perhaps a first lap contretemps between the two Silver Arrows directly in front of him to try and the pull the upset tomorrow. Verstappen’s teammate Alexander Albon acquitted himself well with the fourth fastest time after struggling greatly with his previous qualifying efforts. The Ferrari of Charles Leclerc also excelled, hoisting his Prancing Horse all the way up to P5 on the grid after crashing out of the Italian GP in spectacular fashion last week. Sergio Perez qualified in sixth position on a weekend when he learned he had been sacked by Racing Point for next season in favor of the underperforming but 4-time Champion Sebastian Vettel. It was probably cold comfort for the veteran Mexican pilot to see Vettel’s Ferrari knocked out in Q2 with only the fourteenth fastest lap and to add insult to injury Perez was docked one grid place for a small collision with the Alfa Romeo of Kimi Raikkonen during Practice 2.

Perez’s teammate Lance Stroll, who will have his seat as big as he wants it since his father owns the team, qualified directly behind him in P6, while Daniel Ricciardo hustled his Renault up to an over-achieving P8 start. Carlos Sainz was the lone McLaren to qualify in the top 10 with the ninth fastest time while Ricciardo’s teammate Ocon had to settle for P10 after his spin. Last week’s surprise winner, Pierre Gasly of AlphaTauri, was reminded of the fickle nature of Formula 1 success when one isn’t driving for an elite team — the Frenchman was unceremoniously knocked out in the first qualifying session and will start from way back in P16.

Top 10 qualifiers for the Tuscan GP:

POS NO DRIVER CAR Q1 Q2 Q3 LAPS
1 44 Lewis Hamilton MERCEDES 1:15.778 1:15.309 1:15.144 14
2 77 Valtteri Bottas MERCEDES 1:15.749 1:15.322 1:15.203 11
3 33 Max Verstappen RED BULL RACING HONDA 1:16.335 1:15.471 1:15.509 12
4 23 Alexander Albon RED BULL RACING HONDA 1:16.527 1:15.914 1:15.954 14
5 16 Charles Leclerc FERRARI 1:16.698 1:16.324 1:16.270 18
6 11 Sergio Perez RACING POINT BWT MERCEDES 1:16.596 1:16.489 1:16.311 16
7 18 Lance Stroll RACING POINT BWT MERCEDES 1:16.701 1:16.271 1:16.356 14
8 3 Daniel Ricciardo RENAULT 1:16.981 1:16.243 1:16.543 14
9 55 Carlos Sainz MCLAREN RENAULT 1:16.993 1:16.522 1:17.870 17
10 31 Esteban Ocon RENAULT 1:16.825 1:16.297 DNF 14

Full qualifying results available via Formula1.com.

Tomorrow race airs live on ESPN2 starting at 9AM Eastern here in the States. Hope to see you then to find out how it all shakes out!