Tag Archives: Esteban Ocon

2020 F1 Grand Prix of Belgium — Qualifying results

Hamilton train keeps rolling with pole at Spa; Bottas second fastest, Verstappen P3; Ferrari have met their Waterloo

Mercedes ace Lewis Hamilton continued his seemingly unstoppable momentum in this truncated, COVID-affected 2020 season by taking a blistering pole for the Belgian Grand Prix during Saturday qualifying at the venerable Spa-Francorchamps circuit. Two weeks after a dominant win in the Spanish GP and having been victorious in four out fo the six contests so far, the English 6-time Champion and current points leader hustled his Silver Arrow around this beautiful and long 4.3 mile road course to the tune of 1:41.252, six-tenth quicker than his game but outclassed teammate, Valtteri Bottas. While that locked out the front row for Mercedes yet again and Bottas will line up alongside Hamilton in P2, the Finn simply doesn’t seem to be able to match Hamilton’s supreme pace in the W11 this year, particularly not in race trim. Once again, the Red Bull of Max Verstappen was the only other car and driver combo to even give Mercedes any hint of a fight on outright pace, as the talented Ducthman wheeled his car around for a lap good enough for P3 on the grid just .015 in arrears of Bottas. The RB16’s superior downforce, as well as Verstappen’s mastery in the wet, could throw the wild card into another easy Hamilton win if we get rain on Sunday, something that is always well within the realm of possibility here in the Ardennes forest.

Renault had an excellent qualifying effort that saw veteran Daniel Ricciardo vault himself all the way up to P4 and a starting spot in the second row beside his former Red Bull stablemate Verstappen. The second Renault of Esteban Ocon also came good with a P6 time. They will sandwich Vertsappen’s wingman Alexander Albon, who did decently to set the fifth fastest time. The McLaren of Carlos Sainz continued his recent superiority over his precocious teammate Lando Norris by out-qualifying the young Englishman for the second race weekend in a row, P7 to P10 in this instance. And while the two Racing Points of Sergio Perez and Lance Stroll easily made it into Q3 and qualified P8 and P9 respectively, the team was probably still disappointed and a little surprised by being blown off by both Renaults and one McLaren after their mini-Mercedes was normally the best of rest outside of the big three teams this season.

A sad note on Ferrari: after winning the last two Belgian GP with Sebastian Vettel in 2018 and Charles Leclerc in 2019 the same duo were unceremoniously bounced out in Q2 when Leclerc could achieve no better than the 13th fastest lap in a field of 15 and Vettel only the 14th. Simply put, the inability (or unwillingness) of the Scuderia to develop their cars and improve their pokey straight-line speed is one of the key frustrations of the 2020 season. The fact that the SF 1000 now appears to be getting slower each week and dropping further into the clutches of teams like Alpha Tauri and even Williams is nothing short of a travesty. The legendary team from Maranello appear to have given up on 2020 entirely and with the new spec Formula being delayed until 2022 this also bodes ill for their competitiveness next year, even assuming better team dynamics with the departure for the lame duck Vettel. Right now Carlos Sainz has got be wondering if his dream drive might not be looking like a nightmare and perhaps even rethinking his decision to leave what looks to be a fast-improving McLaren operation. With a now-confirmed eleven contests remaining it’s hard to see how Ferrari right this particular ship, always a bad thing for the sport. If they don’t score any points tomorrow, which is looking like a 50-50 proposition at best, the Italian press and the tifosi will be howling for blood just a week away from their home GP at Monza. Tomorrow in Belgium could truly be Ferrari’s Waterloo, though what such a nadir would mean with so many races still to go is anybody’s guess.

Top 10 qualifiers for the Belgian GP:

POS NO DRIVER CAR Q1 Q2 Q3 LAPS
1 44 Lewis Hamilton MERCEDES 1:42.323 1:42.014 1:41.252 15
2 77 Valtteri Bottas MERCEDES 1:42.534 1:42.126 1:41.763 17
3 33 Max Verstappen RED BULL RACING HONDA 1:43.197 1:42.473 1:41.778 17
4 3 Daniel Ricciardo RENAULT 1:43.309 1:42.487 1:42.061 11
5 23 Alexander Albon RED BULL RACING HONDA 1:43.418 1:42.193 1:42.264 15
6 31 Esteban Ocon RENAULT 1:43.505 1:42.534 1:42.396 15
7 55 Carlos Sainz MCLAREN RENAULT 1:43.322 1:42.478 1:42.438 15
8 11 Sergio Perez RACING POINT BWT MERCEDES 1:43.349 1:42.670 1:42.532 15
9 18 Lance Stroll RACING POINT BWT MERCEDES 1:43.265 1:42.491 1:42.603 15
10 4 Lando Norris MCLAREN RENAULT 1:43.514 1:42.722 1:42.657 17

Complete qualifying results available via Formula1.com.

Tomorrow’s race airs live on ESPN starting at 9AM Eastern here in the States. Hope to see you then to find out if either weather or competitors can do anything to slow down the Hamilton express!

2020 F1 70th Anniversary Grand Prix — Results & aftermath

Verstappen pays off superior Red Bull strategy with thrilling victory at Silverstone; Mercedes’ Hamilton & Bottas forced to settle for P2 & P3

Faced with the normally intimidating might of Mercedes for a second consecutive week at the high-speed Silverstone circuit Max Verstappne and his Red Bull team once again threw a strategic spanner in the works of putative Silver Arrows domination. After only qualifying P4 on Saturday for the first and last ever 70th Anniversary Grand Prix and with Mercedes’ Valtteri Bottas and Lewis Hamilton locking out the front row from pole and P2 respectively, Verstappen was also the only elite runner to start the race on the Hard compound Pirrelli tires. But that “hard” label was really a misnomer, as Pirelli had dropped all their offerings down a notch on the hardness scale so that this week’s Hard was equivalent to last weekend’s Medium tires. It proved a brilliant strategic decision for Verstappen, especially under particularly warm and dry conditions this Sunday in Northamptonshire, which seem to be the Mercedes W11’s only real Achilles’ heel. So with the Red Bull’s downforce advantage sparing the wear and tear on their tires compared to the Silver Arrows brute force attack and with Max running the more durable yet still quick Hard compound, it rapidly became apparent that Verstappen’s strategy was to run longer stints than both Mercedes drivers and thereby gain track position and hold it. In the end the game paid off and the superlative Dutch driver pulled a coup.

Verstappen had a good getaway from the start, making quick work of Racing Point’s fill in driver, Nico Hulkenberg, who perhaps overachieved in qualifying to start P3. So right off the bat Verstappen was on then tails of the two Mercedes men, who held station after getting away cleanly with Bottas P1 and Hamilton P2. However, both of the Silver Arrows’ tires began degrading rapidly and first Bottas on Lap 13 then Hamilton on Lap 14 were forced to ditch their Medium tires for a new set of Hards. Meanwhile, Verstappen stayed out on his original set of Hards all the way to Lap 26, racking up a big lead in the process. Continue reading →

2020 F1 Grand Prix of Great Britain — Results & aftermath

Hamilton limps to victory on 3 tires just ahead of Verstappen as Pirelli failures scramble end of British GP; Bottas plunges out of the points elevating Leclerc to a lucky P3

A rather boring procedural contest at Silverstone turned into a thriller in the final act when unpredictable tire failures put the cat amongst the pigeons and scrambled what seemed to be a preordained Mercedes romp to glory at Sunday’s British Grand Prix. Lewis Hamilton, dominating from the front all race long, suffered a left front failure of his Hard compound Pirellis on the final lap of this 52-lap contest and had to limp home on three wheels, barely holding off the rapidly oncoming Red Bull of Max Vertsappen. In a second-guesser’s delight, Verstappen had boxed on Lap 50 for fresh rubber in order to set the fastest lap while Mercedes inexplicably kept Hamilton out after their second driver, Valtteri Bottas, who had been comfortably cruising behind him in P2, suffered the first of the day’s serious tire failures. In a heartbreaking twist of fate for Bottas, the Finn had just passed the pits when his left front delaminated and he had to crawl around the full 3.6 miles of the circuit before getting fresh rubber, plummeting down the order as the front of the field zipped by him. By the time he got back to the team for the necessary tire change Bottas reemerged all the way down in P12 and could only climb back up to P11 before the laps ran out. With Hamilton able to limp to the win when he suffered his own delimitation Bottas being cruelly cast out of the points so late in the race was essentially the worst case scenario for his slim title hopes. One does wonder why Mercedes did not pit Hamilton for new tires once the issue with Bottas had reared its ugly head, especially since it seemed like Hamilton’s tires were the ones that started blistering first. The question also has to be asked if Red Bull would have better off leaving Verstappen out when Hamilton did not pit in the hopes that what did eventually happen to his tires might happen. No doubt if Vertsappen had stayed out and assuming his own tires were healthy to the end he would have lucked into the win at Hamilton’s expense.

Photos courtesy GrandPrix247.com

The beneficiaries of Bottas’s misfortune were many, none more so than Ferrari’s Charles Leclerc, who had been running a rather lonely race in P4 but was promoted to a happy P3 on the podium instead. Likewise, Renault had their best race of the young season with Daniel Ricciardo driving steadily and with terrific composure to pick off numerous other contenders and come home P4 and teammate Esteban Ocon a strong P6, personal best finishes for both in 2020. Lando Norris took P5 for much improved McLaren but their other driver, Carlos Sainz, was also bit by the tire failure bug on the final lap and by the time he limped to the finish line had fallen out of the points down to P13. AlphaTauri’s Pierre Gasly drove a splendid race showing genuine race pace to take P7 ahead of the man who took his seat at Red Bull last year, Alexander Albon, who finished P8. Still it was a very good recovery drive for Albon, who tangled with Haas’s Kevin Magnussen on the opening lap and then received a 5-second penalty when the stewards dubiously judged him for being at fault for ending Magnussen’s race in their clash. The young Thai driver has got to start qualifying better, though, so that he can avoid those sorts of tangles with the midfield runners and start nearer to his peerless teammate Verstappen at the front of the grid lest he also get bounced from his coveted spot with the big team.

Rounding out the Top 10, Lance Stroll salvaged some points for Racing Point in P9 but it was hardly the result the team envisioned. Their usually powerful car looked surprisingly uncompetitive and they couldn’t even get their second car, which was supposed to be driven by Nico Hulkenberg as a substitute for the COVID-19 positive Sergio Perez, to start the race. A bad and perhaps ominous weekend for a team that had heretofore looked like giving Red Bull and Ferrari a run for their money. And speaking of disappointing, Sebastian Vettel held off Bottas to take the last point in P10 but it was hardly a great result for the four-time champion. The growing discrepancy in pace between he and Leclerc is a real head-scratcher and one wonders if Vettel is mentally checking out knowing that he won’t be with the Scuderia next year. Still, Ferrari can take some cold comfort in the fact that they had both their cars finish in the points while Mercedes only had one, albeit with Hamilton’s Silver Arrow in the only position that really matters.

Top 10 finishers of the British Grand Prix:

POS NO DRIVER CAR LAPS TIME/RETIRED PTS
1 44 Lewis Hamilton MERCEDES 52 1:28:01.283 25
2 33 Max Verstappen RED BULL RACING HONDA 52 +5.856s 19
3 16 Charles Leclerc FERRARI 52 +18.474s 15
4 3 Daniel Ricciardo RENAULT 52 +19.650s 12
5 4 Lando Norris MCLAREN RENAULT 52 +22.277s 10
6 31 Esteban Ocon RENAULT 52 +26.937s 8
7 10 Pierre Gasly ALPHATAURI HONDA 52 +31.188s 6
8 23 Alexander Albon RED BULL RACING HONDA 52 +32.670s 4
9 18 Lance Stroll RACING POINT BWT MERCEDES 52 +37.311s 2
10 5 Sebastian Vettel FERRARI 52 +41.857s 1

Complete race results available via Formula1.com.

The next race is in but a week’s time and from this very same Silverstone circuit — the new minted and one-time only F1 70th Anniversary Grand Prix. With Pirelli slated to bring a softer set of compounds to that event than this week’s look for tire issues to once again be a potential factor and probably the only potential obstacle to total Mercedes domination. Hope to see you then to find out!

2020 F1 Grand Prix of Great Britain — Qualifying results

Mercedes-Hamilton juggernaut rolls on with record pole at Silverstone, Bottas P2; Red Bull’s Verstappen qualifies 3rd

Anyone hoping that the pursuing teams had made up their deficit to mighty Mercedes in the fortnight between the Hungarian GP and this weekend’s British Grand Prix got a hefty dose of reality following Saturday qualifying for the fourth round of the 2020 Championship at the venerable Silverstone circuit. If anything Mercedes seem to be pulling away from their ostensible nearest pursuers, as the battle for pole at this pan flat high speed track was only between reigning World Champion Lewis Hamilton and his long suffering number two, Valtteri Bottas. But with the cash on the table, it was Hamilton who smoked both his teammate and the rest of the field, covering the 3.66 mile lap created out of a former WWII bomber airfield in a blistering track record 1:24.303. It was a commanding recovery for Hamilton who had spun somewhat embarrassingly to bring out the Red Flag and halt Q2 just about midway through for a clean up when he brought excessive gravel back onto the track with him. But the English 6-time champion loves his home circuit and he dominated Q3 en route to setting his record 7th pole for a British GP. And however miffed Bottas must have been to miss out by a mere  3-tenths the teammates’ 1-2 results gave team Mercedes the edge over fabled Ferrari for the record for coveted front row lockouts, 66 to 65.

Unfortunately, Ferrari do not look like they will be reclaiming that particular record anytime soon either. Red Bull’s sublime Max Verstappen pipped the Prancing Horse of Charles Leclerc for P3 as the checkered flag flew to end the final qualifying session. But Leclerc’s P4 starting spot looks positively spectacular compared to that of his veteran teammate, Sebastian Vettel. Vettel has clearly struggled with his SF1000 all race weekend so far and could only muster the tenth fastest lap. With Vettel already fated to leave Ferrari at the end of this season and his F1 future uncertain one wonders where exactly the German 4-time champion’s head is at that he is getting trounced so badly by his young Monegasque teammate so far this season.

Likewise for Alexander Albon, Vertsappen’s Red Bull teammate, Saturday qualifying was bit of a disaster. Continue reading →

2020 F1 Grand Prix of Styria (Austria II) — Qualifying results

Mercedes’ Hamilton secures scintillating pole amidst torrential conditions at Red Bull Ring; Red Bull’s Verstappen P2 despite late spin, Sainz P3 for improving McLaren; Ferrari in trouble

For the first time in Formula 1 history two races will be run at the same circuit on back-to-back weekends, and the dubious honor goes to the Red Bull Ring in Spielberg, Austria. But it was the weather that lent real distinction to this second race weekend of the 2020 season and not the fig leaf of a new title, the Grand Prix of Styria, for what is in reality simply a second identical Austrian GP. With the travel and logistics concerns necessitated by the COVID-19 pandemic forcing this normally globe-hopping motorsport series to compress the schedule and repeat races at some European circuits on consecutive weekends, this Saturday’s “Styria” qualifying  was nonetheless completely distinct from last weekend’s sunny “Austrian” affair and offered up a lot of excitement and surprising results to match.

Mercedes ace Lewis Hamilton bested this generation’s nominal Rainmeister, Red Bull’s Max Vertstappen, to seize the pole in torrential and thoroughly treacherous conditions at this valley track nestled among the Styrian Mountains. Verstappen and Hamilton had been trading provisional pole throughout Q3, during which the weather actually deteriorated again, after slightly lightening up for the delayed start of Q1 and into Q2. But when Vertsappen lost control and spun harmlessly late in his final try with time expired in the final session, it meant Hamilton had secured pole after an outstanding and supremely well controlled effort under these adverse circumstances. Continue reading →

2020 F1 Grand Prix of Austria — Results & aftermath

FORMULA 1 RETURNS — Bottas takes victory in long-delayed first race of 2020 season but Hamilton loses P2 due to penalty; Leclerc promoted to P2 and Norris to P3 in wild opening round

After a nearly four month delay due to the COVID-19 pandemic, the 2020 Forumla 1 season finally kicked off on Sunday at the Red Bull Ring in Spielberg, Austria. After such a long layoff between seasons it was a somewhat predictably wild and ragged race, although Mercedes was once again the class of the field. With their new black livery, the Silver Arrows took pole and second fastest times during Saturday qualifying, with their usual number 2 man, Valtterri Bottas  claiming pole position for Sunday’s race ahead of P2 teammate and reigning World Champion Lewis Hamilton. In a harbinger of things to come, Hamilton was demoted 3 spots for failing to slow properly for yellow flags during quali. That meant Hamilton, on a quest for his record-tying seventh Drivers’ Championship, had to start from back in P5 on the grid, while Max Verstappen, whose Red Bull team had lodged the last minute complaint against Lewis, was elevated to P2 alongside Bottas.

Image courtesy GrandPrix247.com

When the lights went out to start the race, though, Bottas blew the Red Bull off the line and shot away from the rest of the field, leaving the rest of the top 9 squabbling amongst themselves and the speedy Hamilton fighting his way back to the front. After avoiding contact going into Turn 1, the Champ quickly began dispatching his slower rivals, getting by McLaren’s Lando Norris for P4 on Lap 4 and subsequently past the competitive second Red Bull of Alexander Albon on Lap 9 for P3. It should have set up a fascinating tussle with Verstappen but on Lap 11 the Dutchman’s Red Bull went haywire with the electrical system repeatedly putting his machine into anti-stall mode. Unfortunately the malfunction proved terminal and Verstappen was out of the race just like that. Once again, as it has been so many times since 2014, mighty Mercedes saw their two drivers dominating yet another Grand Prix from the front.

Verstappen’s was the first of many retirements on a very hot summer’s day in Austria, with Renault’s Daniel Ricciardo going out on Lap 18, Racing Point’s Lance Stroll calling it a day on Lap 21 and beleaguered Haas’ Kevin Magnussen suffering break failure on Lap 26, which brought out the day’s first Safety Car. It would not be the last. Continue reading →

2018 F1 Grand Prix of Abu Dhabi — Qualifying results

Hamilton nails pole for last race of the season, Bottas P2 for Mercedes front row lockout; Vettel third fastest at Yas Marina

With all the prizes claimed on this last race weekend of the 2018 Formula 1 season, team Mercedes and their ace Lewis Hamilton showed they are still driven to win during Saturday qualifying for the Abu Dhabi Grand Prix. At this most stunning of venues, the brilliantly lit day-into-night Yas Marina Circuit, Hamilton decided to set a new track record instead of resting on his laurels as a newly crowned five-time F1 World Champion. The Englishman’s stunning 1:34.794 time in Q3 was over a tenth faster than his teammate, Valtteri Botas, and the two works Mercedes drivers locked out the front row easily for tomorrow’s contest. They also set their fastest times in Q2 on the preferred Ultrasoft Pirellis, which therefore will be the compound they both start on, making for an advantageous race strategy, as well.

The Silver Arrows once again outshone the Prancing Horses of Ferrari, a result all too familiar to the fabled team from Maranello this year. Sebastian Vettel, the championship runner-up, qualified in P3 and Kimi Raikkonen, who departs the team after tomorrow’s race for Sauber, set the fourth fastest time. Ferrari will be hoping their race pace is better, though, if only to salvage a win tomorrow and give Mercedes something to think about in the off season. Daniel Ricciardo out-qualified his more heralded teammate Max Verstappen P4 to P5 in what is also the Aussie’s last race for the Red Bull team as he prepares to move over to Renault. Romain Grosjean pulled his Haas all the way up to P7 on the grid, while Charles Leclerc, who takes Raikkonen’s seat with the big team next year, managed to hustle his Ferrari-powered Sauber up to P8. Esteban Ocon qualified P9 in his last drive for Force India and Nico Hulkenberg’s Renault set the tenth fastest time.

Top 10 qualifiers for the Abu Dhabi Grand Prix:

POS NO DRIVER CAR Q1 Q2 Q3 LAPS
1 44 Lewis Hamilton MERCEDES 1:36.828 1:35.693 1:34.794 19
2 77 Valtteri Bottas MERCEDES 1:36.789 1:36.392 1:34.956 19
3 5 Sebastian Vettel FERRARI 1:36.775 1:36.345 1:35.125 18
4 7 Kimi Räikkönen FERRARI 1:37.010 1:36.735 1:35.365 18
5 3 Daniel Ricciardo RED BULL RACING TAG HEUER 1:37.117 1:36.964 1:35.401 16
6 33 Max Verstappen RED BULL RACING TAG HEUER 1:37.195 1:36.144 1:35.589 14
7 8 Romain Grosjean HAAS FERRARI 1:37.575 1:36.732 1:36.192 15
8 16 Charles Leclerc SAUBER FERRARI 1:37.124 1:36.580 1:36.237 20
9 31 Esteban Ocon FORCE INDIA MERCEDES 1:36.936 1:36.814 1:36.540 18
10 27 Nico Hulkenberg RENAULT 1:37.569 1:36.630 1:36.542 15

Complete qualifying results available via Formula.com.

Tomorrow’s race, the last of the year, airs live beginning at 8AM Eastern on EPSN2 here in the States. Hope to see you then to farewell F1 before the long, cold winter break!

2018 F1 Grand Prix of Brazil — Results & aftermath

Hamilton gifted win in Sao Paolo after Verstappen tangles with backmarker, Bottas P5 to secure Contructors’ title for Mercedes; Raikkonen P3, Vettel P6 as Ferrari fall short once again

Newly crowned World Champion Lewis Hamilton is never one to pass up an opportunity for victory despite having already clinched his fifth world title. Looking like a certain runner-up to  the dominant Red Bull of Max Verstappen in the Brazilian Grand Prix on Sunday, Mercedes’ ace pilot instead took advantage of Verstappen’s misfortune and possible impatience to positively snipe the win at Interlagos in Sao Paolo. After running a flawless race with great strategy and a surprisingly quick Red Bull beneath him, Verstappen’s race was undone in an instant a mere 8 laps after he made his first stop for tires and just four laps after passing Hamilton on the circuit to take what looked to be an unassailable lead. It all went sideways on Lap 44 when a backmarker, the Force India of Esteban Ocon, tried to unlap himself and raced the Dutch wunderkind hard going into the Senna esses.

Pics courtesy GrandPrix247.com

Perhaps expecting Ocon to back off, Verstappen appeared to turn in as the Frenchman instead dove down the inside to try and stay on the lead lap. The two cars collided with the result that Verstappen spun off the track and watched helplessly as Hamilton steamed by him to regain the lead while his Red Bull waited to reenter the track safely. Verstappen also incurred significant damage to his RB14 chassis’ floor but was able to maintain his P2 position and even hound Hamilton a bit towards the end of this 71-lap contest. But despite having to nurse his slower Medium compound Pirellis to the end of the race and with some potential engine gremlins creeping into the mix, Hamilton had enough pace to hold off the irate Dutchman and win his tenth Grand Prix this year out of twenty races. Hamilton’s victory coupled with his teammate Valtteri Bottas’s P5 finish locked up the Constructors’ title for mighty Mercedes, their fifth in a row, and ensured that this resurrected Mercedes factory effort will go down as one of the most dominant teams of any era.

After the race, a livid Verstappen confronted Ocon at the post-race weigh-in and initiated a shoving match. Continue reading →

2018 F1 Grand Prix of the United States — Qualifying results

With championship in sight Hamilton nabs pole at COTA; Vettel qualifies P2 but face 3-spot drop; Raikkonen best Bottas for P3

With his potential fifth Drivers’ World Championship tantalizingly close, Mercedes’ ace Lewis Hamilton did his best to make that illustrious dream come true by setting a new track record lap at the Circuit of the Americas on Saturday to take pole for tomorrow’s United States Grand Prix. As if emerging on the top of the pylon in a very tight and tense qualifying session at COTA was not a favorable enough omen, the English points leader had the double satisfaction of seeing his last remaining title rival, Ferrari’s Sebastian Vettel, not only come home runner up to him over 6-tenths behind in P2 but also facing a 3-grid spot penalty for a Red Flag speeding infraction in Friday practice. Once again the German superstar, who is also dreaming of a fifth championship, proved to be his own worst enemy by needlessly picking up a penalty that will make winning in Austin extraordinarily difficult. And trailing Hamilton by a whopping 67 points with only four races to go including tomorrow’s contest Vettel really needs to compete for the win in every remaining GP if he’s to keep his title hopes alive. Vettel will have to start P5 come race day tomorrow and hope that he can somehow surge to the front without making any more mental mistakes that might just seal the deal for Hamilton on Sunday.

Vettel’s outgoing teammate Kimi Raikkonen put in a solid effort to qualify P3, which could enable Ferrari to try to play some games to try and bring Vettel further to the front, especially as Hamilton’s wingman Valtteri Bottas could qualify no better than P4. Look for the Finn to be the meat in a Ferrari sandwich going into the steep uphill Turn 1 here at COTA. Continue reading →

2018 F1 Grand Prix of Japan — Results & aftermath

Hamilton cruises to victory in Japan putting Championship within reach; Bottas a hard fought P2 over Verstappen’s incident-filled P3 run; error-prone Vettel sinks to P6

It was a tale of two championships going in dramatically different directions at the Japanese Grand Prix on Sunday. For points leader and Mercedes ace Lewis Hamilton the weekend culminated in a flawless run from the 80th pole of his career, pure domination for the entire race and a relatively easy victory at the tricky figure-8 Suzuka circuit. It was Hamilton’s fourth win on the trot, sixth out of the last seven contests and his remarkable fifth career win in Japan.

Pics courtesy GrandPrix247.com

For his nearest pursuer, Ferrari’s Sebastian Vettel, the team’s recent missteps, highlighted by Saturday’s inexplicable decision to go out on wet tires in the decisive qualifying session on a drying track, seemed to result in the German 4-time World Champion trying far too hard far too early instead of biding his time to maximize his result and his points. Vettel was in the unenviable position of starting in P9 on the grid after his team’s tire miscalculation and drove well and with the proper amount of aggression at the start of the race to pass a passel of slower cars in quick order. By Lap 3 he was already up to P4, having gotten by his teammate Kimi Raikkonen. That put him directly behind the third place Red Bull of Max Verstappen when a Safety Car came out caused by Haas’s Kevin Magnussen’s prolonged puncture spewing copious debris all over on the track. In his typically aggressive fashion, Verstappen had already had a scrap with Raikkonen, going off the track and rejoining in an unsafe manner while trying to hold off the Finn’s Ferrari. And during the Safety Car period Verstappen was handed a 5-second time penalty by the stewards for that infraction.

But whether Vettel did not get that information from his team or chose to ignore it the Ferrari man decided to battle Verstappen for the position on track in a seemingly desperate attempt to get closer to the two front running Mercedes rather than be patient, stay close to the Dutchman and let the eventual penalty take care of the overtake for him. Continue reading →