Tag Archives: Formula 1

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 Austria — Results & aftermath

Verstappen seizes opportunity in chaotic Austrian GP to win at Red Bull Ring; Ferrari capitalize on stunning Mercedes double DNF as Raikkonen and Vettel take P2 & P3

Under punishingly hot conditions at the Red Bull Ring in Spielberg Austria on Sunday, Red Bull’s own Max Verstappen capitalized on a chaotic race and parlayed a dynamite start into an unexpected victory in front of a sea of orange-clad fans. With the perfect vantage point of his P4 position on the grid, the Dutch wunderkind watched as Ferrari’s Kimi Raikkonen attacked both front row Mercedes by forcing his Prancing Horse between the Silver Arrows of pole-sitter Valtteri Bottas and P2 starter Lewis Hamilton. For a brief moment it looked as if that bold and ballsy effort might work but Bottas was able to recover and force Raikonnen off the circuit as Hamilton sped away into the distance. That left Raikonnen at the mercy of Max, as Verstappen was able to capitalize on the veteran Finn’s loss of momentum and pass him for P3 before the eventful first lap was even half over.

It looked as if Hamilton’s and Mercedes preferred script for the win was playing out perfectly but the track conditions made extra demands of the equipment on this very hot day. In a harbinger of things to come, first the factory Renault of Nico Hulkenberg suffered a prolonged and smokey engine failure on Lap 12. It proved to be the first of many retirements in this race, none more astonishing then when Bottas suffered complete hydraulic failure just two laps later and was forced to pull his car off into a partial escape road. It was a stunning turn of events for the pole-sitter and yet another perplexing bit of very bad luck for Bottas in what is turning into something of a snakebite season for him. Even worse for Mercedes they were once again caught flat-footed when a Virtual Safety Car was deployed to slow the field so Bottas’ car could be retrieved. The top contenders — Verstappen, his Red Bull teammate Daniel Ricciardo and the two Ferrari men Raikkonen and Sebastian Vettel — all dove for the pits for fresh rubber, dispensing with their pit stops on this potential one-stopper while the race was essentially neutralized. In an inexplicably defensive decision Mercedes kept Hamilton out circulating on track at reduced speed. This made it much more likely that the English championship points leader would be forced to pit under less advantageous green flag conditions down the road. I any event his rivals had all made up valuable track position on him with their stops during the VSC.

So when Hamilton was called in for his tire change on Lap 25 he had only a 13-second cushion. And with a roughly 20-second pit delta even the typically efficient Mercedes pit work couldn’t keep Hamilton in the lead. In fact, he came out in P4 when all was said and done, behind the new leader Verstappen, Ricciardo in P2 and Raikkonen in P3. With Bottas out Mercedes were trying to cover being ganged up on by the two car teams of Red Bull and Ferrari if they split their strategies. But that didn’t materialize and it proved to be the wrong call, which the Mercedes brain trust admitted to a highly frustrated Hamilton.

In front of the lone Mercedes, Raikkonen hunted down Riccardo, whose rear tires were blistering badly, passing him for P2 on lap 38. Blistered rears were an issue that would begin to afflict the entire field as the race wore on at this high speed and very short circuit.  Ricciardo was forced to pit for fresh rubber on Lap 39, seemingly gifting back P3 to Hamilton. But Vettel forced his way by Hamilton for that position on the very same lap, as the Merc appeared to already be losing its rears in the heat. By Lap 53 Hamilton had to pit again, once more conceding valuable track position. Hamilton came out in P5 behind a seemingly rejuvenated Ricciardo. But just as it seemed the affable Aussie was going to take off and try to force his way onto the podium he suffered a sudden engine failure at the start of Lap 54. As a disconsolate Ricciardo climbed out of his stricken Red Bull the team had to be looking at Verstappen’s telemetry and wondering whether their bad luck at their home track was fated to continue.

But Hamilton’s good fortune at the expense of Ricciardo’s DNF was short lived. In an unbelievable turn of events Hamilton’s engine also let go10 laps later while running solidly in P4. While it was always going to be a race of damage limitation after the ill-fated decision not to stop under the VSC, Mercedes now had to swallow the bitterest pill of seeing both their cars scoring precisely zero points. It ended a 33-race points scoring streak for the factory team and proved to be calamitous when the race results were tallied. Verstappen finished off a race he controlled beautifully from the front for the majority of the contest with an authoritative victory. And Ferrari saw their men Raikkonen and Vettel take P2 and P3 respectively, a massive result fir the fabled team from Maranello. With their arch-rivals scoring nothing, it catapulted Ferrari into the lead of the all-important Constructors’ Championship by 10 points. Vettel also regained the points lead in the Drivers’ competition. And while that was only a 1 point margin in what has been a see-saw battle between four-time champions all season long one almost felt that the gut punch that Mercedes received in Austria could be more significant to the overall direction of these two powerhouse teams’ and their long term fortunes.

The disasters experienced by so many of the top contenders proved a veritable boon for the mid-field running teams. Haas saw the biggest benefit from others’ misery as Romain Grosjean finally put together a composed drive and came across the line in a stunning P4. His teammate Kevin Magnussen finished right behind him in P5 making it a banner day for the young American team. Force India also flourished due to the bad luck of their nearest rivals, especially pointless Renault, after looking utterly lost in qualifying. Esteban Ocon took P6 and Sergio Perez was P7 despite starting near the rear, a mega-valuable points haul for a team that had been struggling and appears to be up for sale. Fernando Alonso, who started from the pit lane, managed to salvage a remarkable P8 for McLaren, while Sauber had a rare double points day with rookie phenom Charles Leclerc taking P9 and Marcus Ericsson coming home in P10.

Top 10 finishers of the Austrian GP:

POS NO DRIVER CAR LAPS TIME/RETIRED PTS
1 33 Max Verstappen RED BULL RACING TAG HEUER 71 1:21:56.024 25
2 7 Kimi Räikkönen FERRARI 71 +1.504s 18
3 5 Sebastian Vettel FERRARI 71 +3.181s 15
4 8 Romain Grosjean HAAS FERRARI 70 +1 lap 12
5 20 Kevin Magnussen HAAS FERRARI 70 +1 lap 10
6 31 Esteban Ocon FORCE INDIA MERCEDES 70 +1 lap 8
7 11 Sergio Perez FORCE INDIA MERCEDES 70 +1 lap 6
8 14 Fernando Alonso MCLAREN RENAULT 70 +1 lap 4
9 16 Charles Leclerc SAUBER FERRARI 70 +1 lap 2
10 9 Marcus Ericsson SAUBER FERRARI 70 +1 lap 1

Complete race results available via Formula1.com.

The next race is but a week away as F1 completes its unprecedented “triple header” — the historic British Grand Prix from Silverstone. Can Mercedes recover from this weekend’s fiasco or have Ferrari now got their number? Hope to see you then to find out!

2018 F1 Grand Prix of Austria — Qualifying results

Mercedes lock out front row in Austria as Bottas takes pole, Hamilton P2; Vettel salvages P3 for Ferrari but is demoted for blocking

Mercedes Number 2 Valtteri Bottas looked more like numero uno in Saturday qualifying at the Red Bull Ring in Spielberg, Austria. At a short and fast track that he seems to love, Bottas launched his Silver Arrow into pole position, outperforming his championship-leading teammate Lewis Hamilton, who still was able to complete a Mercedes front row lockout with a solid lap good enough for P2 as time ran out in Q3. This was Bottas’ second consecutive pole at the Red Bull Ring in Speilberg and Valtteri also won last year’s Grand Prix. In a hard luck season where a couple of breaks here and there might have seen then Finn much closer to his teammate in the points Bottas will be looking for the top step once again on Sunday even if it comes at Hamilton’s expense.

Ferrari could not match the pace of the upgraded Mercs, with Sebastian Vettel and Kimi Raikkonen setting only the third and fourth fastest times in Q3. If the Scuderia were disappointed by that deficit to their German arch-rivals it was deepened to when Vettel received a 3-place grid penalty for impeding Renault’s Carlos Sainz in Q2. That meant Hamilton’s main championship rival will now start sixth on race day instead beside his teammate Raikkonen and directly behind the two Silver Arrows. Look for Vettel to recover quickly, however, in an attempt to hound and harass Hamilton all race long.

In front of a veritable sea of orange-clad Dutch fans Max Verstappen was the best of the Red Bulls at their home track and qualified P5, while his Aussie teammate Daniel Ricciardo struggled mightily to wring speed from his chassis and could do no better than P7. They were split but a mighty performance by Haas’ Romain Grosjean, who had the sixth-fastest lap. It was a much needed boost for the Frenchman’s confidence after a number of sea-inflicted errors have led to a ragged season for him so far. Haas will definitely be looking for him to race cleanly and mistake-free when the lights go out and to bring the car home unscathed and well in the points. Grosjean’s teammate was also quick and qualified P8. That made Haas the “best of the rest” so far this weekend, as they were well ahead of the factory Renaults. Sainz qualified P9 and Nico Hulkenberg will was only tenth fastest.

Top 10 qualifiers for the Austrian GP:

POS NO DRIVER CAR Q1 Q2 Q3 LAPS
1 77 Valtteri Bottas MERCEDES 1:04.175 1:03.756 1:03.130 18
2 44 Lewis Hamilton MERCEDES 1:04.080 1:03.577 1:03.149 21
3 5 Sebastian Vettel FERRARI 1:04.347 1:03.544 1:03.464 18
4 7 Kimi Räikkönen FERRARI 1:04.234 1:03.975 1:03.660 21
5 33 Max Verstappen RED BULL RACING TAG HEUER 1:04.273 1:04.001 1:03.840 18
6 8 Romain Grosjean HAAS FERRARI 1:04.242 1:04.059 1:03.892 17
7 3 Daniel Ricciardo RED BULL RACING TAG HEUER 1:04.723 1:04.403 1:03.996 22
8 20 Kevin Magnussen HAAS FERRARI 1:04.460 1:04.291 1:04.051 20
9 55 Carlos Sainz RENAULT 1:04.948 1:04.561 1:04.725 19
10 27 Nico Hulkenberg RENAULT 1:04.864 1:04.676 1:05.019 20

Complete qualifying results available via Formula1.com.

Tomorrow’s race airs live on ESPN2 starting at 9AM Eastern here in the States. Can Bottas make it two in a row at the Red Bull ring or has Hamilton got something up his sleeve to seize victory? Hope to see you then to find out!

2018 F1 Grand Prix of France — Results & aftermath

Hamilton romps to victory in F1’s return to France; Verstappen takes an opportunistic P2, Raikkonen P3; Vettel and Bottas tangle on opening lap,

The championship momentum swung back to Mercedes ace Lewis Hamilton who capped of a resurgent weekend for the Silver Arrows with a dominant win at Circuit Paul Ricard on Sunday. Hamilton took advantage of his pole position to avoid the mayhem behind him as the opening lap unspooled on this unfamiliar track, a place that F1 had not raced at since way back in 1990 (the last French GP itself was at Magny-Cours in 2008). Hamilton was able to control the race from the front easily even after a first lap Safety Car was deployed after multiple collisions during the frantic start, including the most significant one between his teammate Valtteri Bottas and his Ferrari title rival, Sebastian Vettel. Vettel misjudged his braking and ran into the back of the Finnish Mercedes man, causing an immediate puncture for Bottas and a damaged front wing for Vettel. Both drivers had to limp to the pits for premature service although Bottas got the worst of it, as he had to nurse his ride home in hopes that the wounded rear left tire did not delaminate and begin destroying all that precious body work.

Pics courtesy GrandPrix247.com

Both drivers emerged at the tail of the pack and had to pursue a strict recovery strategy to make the best fo a bad situation. With the new nose Vettel’s car was essentially unaffected and the German began carving his back up through the order in rapid fashion when racing resumed on Lap 6. Bottas’ Benz had floor damage. however, and so his progress came more deliberately. Vettel was adjudged to be at fault for the incident by the stewards, however, and received a 5-second time penalty, something he would have to factor into how hard he had to push on a set of new Soft tires that potentially he and Ferrari might run to the bitter end.

But it became clear that Vettel’s tries, after working his way all the way up to P4 before seeing himself passed by his teammate Kimi Raikkonen on Lap 39, would not stay competitive until the end of the 53 lap contest. Vettel pitted on Lap 41 for fresh rubber and to serve his 5-second penalty in the pits, coming out in time to still maintain his P5 overall. This was the moment for Mercedes and Bottas, who had himself battled up to P6, to seize the opportunity to jump the penalized Vettel in the pits or at least get close enough to challenge him with a clean stop. But mighty Mercedes uncharacteristically dropped the ball with a jack problem and Bottas’ stop was as slow as Vettel’s penalty-hampered one. In the end the two drivers held station after their excellent comebacks, with Vettel finishing P5 and Bottas an unlucky P7. While Hamilton swanned to victory, team Mercedes had to be wondering about theirs and Bottas’ bad luck as they left valuable points on the table after their front row lockout in qualifying. Ferrari were probably feeling the same way after their paladin’s first-lap misjudgment.

The main beneficiary of the opening lap melee was Red Bull’s Max Verstappen, who started P4 and avoided contact with Vettel and Bottas by taking evasive action outside track limits before resuming in P2 behind Hamilton. Because it was for his own safety his excursion was deemed a legal move by Verstappen and the Dutch wunderkind thereafter drove an excellently well controlled race to maintain that lucky spot. While he never had anything for Hamilton at the front, who seemed to tease the Red Bull by conserving his tires and keeping his engine turned down, Verstappen and the team had to be well pleased by both his pace and his discipline in  keeping it clean. He finished right in the position he inherited on the opening lap, P2, an excellent podium result.

Kimi Raikkonen saved Ferrari’s blushes with a stout drive to hoist himself up from an underwhelming P6 starting spot on the grid to a fine P3 podium finish. The veteran Finn, who has frankly had a perplexingly inconsistent season, found a measure of redemption in France by overtaking his teammate as well as Red Bull’s Daniel Ricciardo for that precious podium spot. To be fair, Ricciardo was hampered by debris in his front wing, which compromised his aero enough to force him to reluctantly cede P3 to Raikonnen late in the going. Nevertheless the affable Aussie had a strong run overall to come home P4 well ahead of Vettel.

Further back in the order, Kevin Magnusson added to what has been a very impressive season for him and his improving Haas with a solid P6 finish. Once again Magnussen outperformed his erratic teammate, Frenchman Romain Grosjean, who was involved in a separate opening lap contretemps, incurred a penalty and saw himself finish outside the points in P11. In fact, it was not good day for any of the French drivers at their home race, as Force India’s Esteban Ocon and Toro Rosso’s Charles Gasly got entangled at the start and took each other out in front of their disappointed countrymen. In better news for the French, Carlos Sainz nursed his factory Renault home to a P8 finish. While the Spaniard ran as high as P3 in his French mount early in the race, he suffered some power loss later on and was greatly aided by a late Virtual Safety Car to salvage that 8th place finish ahead of his teammate Nico Hulkenberg, who finished P9. The standout rookie Charles Leclerc took the last points paying position by coming home P10 for Sauber. While Leclerc felt afterwards he might have done better it was nevertheless another standout drive for the Monagast pilot, who is surely on Ferrari’s radar for a future seat in the big team.

Top 10 finishers of then French Grand Prix:

POS NO DRIVER CAR LAPS TIME/RETIRED PTS
1 44 Lewis Hamilton MERCEDES 53 1:30:11.385 25
2 33 Max Verstappen RED BULL RACING TAG HEUER 53 +7.090s 18
3 7 Kimi Räikkönen FERRARI 53 +25.888s 15
4 3 Daniel Ricciardo RED BULL RACING TAG HEUER 53 +34.736s 12
5 5 Sebastian Vettel FERRARI 53 +61.935s 10
6 20 Kevin Magnussen HAAS FERRARI 53 +79.364s 8
7 77 Valtteri Bottas MERCEDES 53 +80.632s 6
8 55 Carlos Sainz RENAULT 53 +87.184s 4
9 27 Nico Hulkenberg RENAULT 53 +91.989s 2
10 16 Charles Leclerc SAUBER FERRARI 53 +93.873s 1

Complete race results available via Formula1.com.

The next race is but a week away and will be the second of an F1-first three in three weeks: the Austrian GP from the Red Bull Ring in Spielberg. Hope to see you then to find out whether the result in France was the start of renewed dominance by Hamilton and Mercedes or if Ferrari will fight back to recapture the momentum in what has so far been an enjoyably see-saw season!

2018 F1 Grand Prix of France — Qualifying results

Hamilton takes pole, Bottas P2 for resurgent Mercedes front row lockout in F1 return to Paul Ricard; Vettel P3 for Ferrari

Mercedes and Lewis Hamilton appeared back on the pace in Forumla 1’s return to France two weeks after their disappointing showing in Canada. Championship contender Lewis Hamilton, who lost his points lead after two lackluster outings in Monaco and Montreal, put his newly upgraded engine to good use on the strange and colorful Paul Ricard circuit, pipping his teammate Valtteri Bottas for pole by just over a tenth. It made for a satisfying front row lockout for the Silver Arrows and, despite the somewhat unknown nature of a track that F1 has been absent from for 28 years, puts the factory Mercedes team in good position to reclaim winning momentum come Sunday.

Points leader Sebastian Vettel qualified third for Ferrari, which appeared down on overall power to the new generation of Mercedes engines. Worse still for the Scuderia, their second driver Kimi Raikkonen couldn’t get it together and only mustered the 6th best time. Raikkonen saw himself out-qualified by the trimmed-out Red Bull’s of Max Verstappen and Daniel Ricciardo, who will start P4 and P5 respectively. Carlos Sainz carried the colors for the French Renault team by qualifying an excellent P7. Charles Leclerc showed once again that he is a young driver to watch as he willed his usually pokey Sauber up to the eight grid spot. And Haas rounded out the top 10 starters, with Kevin Magnussen starting P9 and Romain Grosjean qualifying tenth fastest. However, the Frenchman Grosjean rather took the bloom off his achievement by having a lurid spin that led to a Red Flag period mid-Q3 but thankfully only damaged the Haas’s front wing. In Grosjean’s case, Paul Ricard’s unique and ubiquitous red and blue “friction stripes” in lieu of gravel traps showed their slowing power to excellent effect.

A week after winning Le Mans Fernando Alonso returned to the reality of a surprisingly poor McLaren machine. Both he and his teammate Stoffel Vandoorne failed to make it out of Q1, a decisive setback for McLaren after some small signs of hope this season. Williams horror season also continued, as both their cars were inexplicably the slowest in the field.

Top 10 qualifiers or the French GP:

POS NO DRIVER CAR Q1 Q2 Q3 LAPS
1 44 Lewis Hamilton MERCEDES 1:31.271 1:30.645 1:30.029 19
2 77 Valtteri Bottas MERCEDES 1:31.776 1:31.227 1:30.147 17
3 5 Sebastian Vettel FERRARI 1:31.820 1:30.751 1:30.400 22
4 33 Max Verstappen RED BULL RACING TAG HEUER 1:31.531 1:30.818 1:30.705 20
5 3 Daniel Ricciardo RED BULL RACING TAG HEUER 1:31.910 1:31.538 1:30.895 20
6 7 Kimi Räikkönen FERRARI 1:31.567 1:30.772 1:31.057 22
7 55 Carlos Sainz RENAULT 1:32.394 1:32.016 1:32.126 23
8 16 Charles Leclerc SAUBER FERRARI 1:32.538 1:32.055 1:32.635 22
9 20 Kevin Magnussen HAAS FERRARI 1:32.169 1:31.510 1:32.930 24
10 8 Romain Grosjean HAAS FERRARI 1:32.083 1:31.472 DNF 20

Complete qualifying results available via Formula1.com.

Tomorrow’s race airs live on ESPN2 beginning at 10AM Eastern here in the States. Hope to see you then!

2018 F1 Grand Prix of Canada — Results & aftermath

Vettel masterful in Montreal in dominating win, reclaims championship lead over uninspired P5 Hamilton; Bottas salvages P2 for Mercedes, Verstappen P3 for Red Bull in processional Canadian GP

Ferrari’s Sebastian Vettel went from pole to the victory in seemingly effortless fashion at the Canadian Grand Prix on Sunday, dominating a race where once again overtaking proved exceedingly difficult. That resulted in a somewhat desultory contest where finishing positions were mainly dictated by starting positions. Once again F1 finds itself in a season with record setting fast cars but a lack of on-track action due to the overly aero sensitive nature of these magnificently engineered machines, as well as a lack of tire degradation form this year’s Pirelli rubber. All that said it is shaping up to be a seesaw season results-wise between the top contenders from the elite Mercedes and Ferrari teams. And this weekend it was Vettel’s turn to win again, as Mercedes’ Lewis Hamilton exhibited a surprisingly similar malaise to the one that seemed to afflict him in slow-speed Monaco only this time at one of his favorite fast tracks here in Montreal. Hamilton couldn’t overcome his mediocre qualifying effort and in fact lost a position from his P4 start on a pit stop overcut by Red Bull’s Daniel Ricciardo. The Englishman could never get back at Ricciardo and came home a disappointing P5. With Mercedes holding back on their new engine for now Hamilton was definitely down on power and coupled with Vettel’s dominating victory, the 50th of his illustrious F1 career, it saw the Drivers’ Championship lead swing back to the German by a single point. So while the racing may not be of the most exciting overtaking variety, this 2018 season is providing some real suspense as to which driver will walk away with the crown at the end of it.

Pics courtesy GrandPrix247.com

Valtteri Bottas was the better of the two Silver Arrows, maintaining his P2 starting position in the face of a first lap onslaught by Red Bull’s hyper-aggressive Max Verstappen. While he didn’t really have anything to challenge Vettel in front, missing his only minor chance by running a ragged Lap 56 when he was almost within striking distance, Bottas drove well once again to come home P2. It was a good salvage job when Mercedes seemed throughly outclassed by the red cars this weekend. One wonders what the team dynamic would be had Bottas not DNF’d from the lead in Baku with an ill-timed puncture that ceded Hamilton a very lucky win. Verstappen had a much needed steady and incident-free race after a lot of erratic performances this season. While Bottas held him off early and Vertsappen never really had another shot to advance, young Max managed his race well enough to take the last step on the podium in P3. With Ricciardo’s overachieving P4 it made for another very solid day for team Red Bull and their slightly underpowered RB-14.

With the difficult nature of overtaking in this race with these cars, Ferrari’s second driver Kimi Raikkonen found himself stuck in P6 after Ricciardo also pipped him at the start of the race. Ferrari could never quite figure out how to get the veteran Finn back in the mix and so Raikkonen finished there as well. Best of the rest after the elite 6 was Renault’s Nico Hulkenberg who finished P7 followed by his teammate Carlos Sainz in P8. Rounding out the top 10 Esteban Ocon came home P9 for Force India and Charles Leclerc’s stock kept rising with another splendid drive to take the last point in P10 for perpetual backmarkers Sauber.

A scary opening lap shunt between Williams Lance Stroll and Toro Rosso’s Brendan Hartley caused a Safety Car until Lap 4. Hartley went airborne briefly and was checked at hospital but was cleared medically and released. It was another disappointing result for the struggling Kiwi, as well as for the Canadian Stroll, who found himself out of the GP before the end of the first lap in front of his home fans.

Top 10 finishers of the Canadian GP:

POS NO DRIVER CAR LAPS TIME/RETIRED PTS
1 5 Sebastian Vettel FERRARI 68 1:28:31.377 25
2 77 Valtteri Bottas MERCEDES 68 +7.376s 18
3 33 Max Verstappen RED BULL RACING TAG HEUER 68 +8.360s 15
4 3 Daniel Ricciardo RED BULL RACING TAG HEUER 68 +20.892s 12
5 44 Lewis Hamilton MERCEDES 68 +21.559s 10
6 7 Kimi Räikkönen FERRARI 68 +27.184s 8
7 27 Nico Hulkenberg RENAULT 67 +1 lap 6
8 55 Carlos Sainz RENAULT 67 +1 lap 4
9 31 Esteban Ocon FORCE INDIA MERCEDES 67 +1 lap 2
10 16 Charles Leclerc SAUBER FERRARI 67 +1 lap 1

Complete race results available via Formula1.com.

In two weeks’ time the next race will feature the return of France to the GP calendar after a decade’s absence. The first French Grand Prix since 2008, it will be back at the venerable Circuit Paul Ricard. Hope to see you then to see if Vettel can extend his points lead or if Hamilton can back to his winning ways on this new-old circuit!

2018 F1 Grand Prix of Canada — Qualifying results

Vettel untouchable at Gilles-Villeneuve for Canada pole; Bottas P2 while Verstappen bests Hamilton for P3

At Montreal on Saturday, the first return to pure speed after the ultra-slow Monaco street circuit two weeks ago, Sebastian Vettel and Ferrari showed that they definitely have the legs to go toe-to-toe with Mercedes in 2018. Vettel laid down a dominant 1:10.764 lap, a new track record at high-speed Circuit Gilles-Villeneuve, to authoritatively take pole for tomorrow’s Canadian GP. It appeared that he and the team found that little bit extra to pull away from the rest of the contenders in Q3 after everyone in the top tier looked to be very close in the prior two quali sessions. Vettel’s superb effort also marked the end of a 17-year pole drought in Canada for the famous team from Maranello.

Mercedes’ Valtteri Bottas was the next quickest man and will line up alongside Vettel’s Prancing Horse in P2. Not for the first time this year Bottas bested his points-leading teammate, Lewis Hamilton, who is usually a master at this wonderful neck-stretching circuit. Worse still, Hamilton found himself bumped back to P4 when Red Bull’s Max Verstappen crossed the line at the checkered flag .06 ahead of the Englishman. Verstappen was no doubt eager to put his ill-timed practice crash at Monaco behind him and once again display his prodigious talents when he keeps his car on the track. For Hamilton, it was another disappointment after his desultory P3 finish in Monte Carlo a fortnight ago in what has been an up and down season. He also must have been bewildered as to why he could never quite hook up a full clean lap at a place where he had previously scored six poles and six victories, including his first-ever F1 win back in 2007. Come race day, Hamilton will be looking to return to his previously superlative form here but he’ll have to get by some fairly formidable talent to tie Michael Schumacher and take a seventh win in Canada.

Kimi Raikkonen muffed a chance to improve his time late in Q3 and had to settle for P5 after looking genuinely quick all day. It should be interesting to see how Ferrari can strategize to get the veteran Finn back into the fray and try to assist Vettel’s grander aspirations. Daniel Ricciardo also underperformed somewhat and seemed unable to carry the confidence of his supreme race-winning victory in Monaco across the pond. After showing some signs of perhaps contending for a front row position in Q2, Ricciardo got a reality check in Q3 and  will start back in P6. Behind the three elite teams, Renault had a good qualifying performance with Nico Hulkenberg grabbing P7 on the grid and Carlos Sainz P9. They were bracketed by the Force Indias of Esteban Ocon and Sergio Perez who rounded out the top 10 in P8 and P10 respectively.

Top 10 qualifiers for the Canadian Gran Prix:

POS NO DRIVER CAR Q1 Q2 Q3 LAPS
1 5 Sebastian Vettel FERRARI 1:11.710 1:11.524 1:10.764 18
2 77 Valtteri Bottas MERCEDES 1:11.950 1:11.514 1:10.857 20
3 33 Max Verstappen RED BULL RACING TAG HEUER 1:12.008 1:11.472 1:10.937 16
4 44 Lewis Hamilton MERCEDES 1:11.835 1:11.740 1:10.996 21
5 7 Kimi Räikkönen FERRARI 1:11.725 1:11.620 1:11.095 20
6 3 Daniel Ricciardo RED BULL RACING TAG HEUER 1:12.459 1:11.434 1:11.116 18
7 27 Nico Hulkenberg RENAULT 1:12.795 1:11.916 1:11.973 15
8 31 Esteban Ocon FORCE INDIA MERCEDES 1:12.577 1:12.141 1:12.084 14
9 55 Carlos Sainz RENAULT 1:12.689 1:12.097 1:12.168 15
10 11 Sergio Perez FORCE INDIA MERCEDES 1:12.702 1:12.395 1:12.671 13

Complete qualifying results amiable via Formula1.com.

Tomorrow’s race airs live on ABC starting at 2PM here in the States. Can Hamilton recover his mastery at Circuit Gille-Villeneuve or will it be a dual between his teammate Bottas and their Ferrari archrival Vettel? Or will young Vertsappen crash the party instead of out the race to steal the victory? Hope to see you then to find out!

2018 F1 Grand Prix of Monaco — Results & aftermath

Ricciardo rules the streets of Monte Carlo; Vettel P2, Hamilton a desultory P3

Red Bull’s Daniel Ricciardo dominated the race weekend for the prestigious Monaco Grand Prix, topping the pylon in every practice session, starting from the pole and leading every lap in Sunday’s race. But it wasn’t all smooth sailing for the veteran Aussie ace. About a third of the way through the contest on Lap 28 his RB14 developed a Kers issue that robbed him of precious horsepower due to incomplete energy harvesting under braking. With his hybrid power failing him Ricciardo was forced to nurse his rear breaks due to overheating and push the bias towards the front in an effort to cope with near-critical temperatures in the rear. It began to look that once again Ricciardo would suffer another devastating heartbreak in Monte Carlo after losing a sure win 2 years ago when his team was caught flatfooted and without tires during a critical late race pit stop. The second place Ferrari of Sebastian Vettel was eating up chunks of time to the previously impervious Red Bull and seemed sure to seize this unfair advantage to hunt him down even if Ricciardo’s mount didn’t expire first.

Pics courtesy GrandPrix247.com

But Riccardo and Red Bull gritted it out and the narrow nature of the Monte Carlo street circuit worked to their advantage, as Vettel could never quite execute a pass while his tires were at their best. Even a late Virtual Safety Car period caused by Charles Le Clerc’s Sauber rear ending Brendon Hartley’s Toro Rosso when the former’s breaks failed didn’t impede Ricciardo’s momentum, as there were simply too few laps remaining for any of the other contenders to risk a last minute dive to the pits for fresh rubber. In the end Ricciardo did a superb job managing his car’s ill health, got back into a very quick rhythm and stayed out in front to capture victory and redemption at this most storied of F1 races. It was a very special moment in the talented Australian’s already excellent career and it was also Riccardo’s second victory of the year, vaulting him to an impressive third place in the Drivers’s standings.

While Vettel, who started and stayed second, could never get by the superior Red Bull it was nevertheless a decent day for the Ferrari team. Vettel maintained his P2 starting position and the pursuing Mercedes of Lewis Hamilton had no real chance of overtaking him on this notoriously narrow street circuit. Better yet, Kimi Raikkonen also ran well and kept Hamilton’s teammate Valtteri Bottas behind him, despite a gutsy early stop for the harder Super Soft compound tire by the second Silver Arrow. But tire strategy and jettisoning the new Hypersoft tires early was not enough for Bottas to make up positions after a mediocre qualifying and so Mercedes saw themselves bested by their biggest rivals at one of the rare circuits that simply does not suit their normally nonpareil chassis. The Ferraris of Vettel and Raikkonen finished P2 and P4 respectively while Hamilton & Bottas had to settle for P3 and P5. That reduced Vettel’s deficit to Hamilton down to 14 points while the Ferrari team whittled Mercedes’ advantage in the Constructors’ Championship to just 22 points. So overall a good weekend for Ferrari and a disappointing one for the Mercedes factory team who will be looking forward to stretching their legs again in Montreal in two weeks time.

Further back in the field, Esteban Ocon excelled for Force India, converting a clean and tidy run into a valuable P6 finish. Rookie Pierre Gasly once again showed his talent after a few bad luck races and brought his Toro Rosso home safely in P7. Nico Hulkenberg got a much needed result with a P8 finish, while his Renault teammate Carlos Sainz got the last point in P10, though the Spaniard was less than thrilled with the team’s decision to pit him early for the Ultra Soft Pirellis rather than what turned out to be the better option Super Softs.

Special mention should be made for Max Verstappen’s P9 finish. While that doesn’t sound very impressive for such an elite driver it was a very good salvage job by the young Dutchman after  he had put his Red Bull into the wall in free Practice 3 and damaged his gearbox severely enough to miss out on qualifying entirely. However, the Red Bull brain trust must still have been left wondering what might have been with two healthy cars in the race and perhaps starting from the 1-2 positions. While no one questions Verstappen’s supreme talent behind the wheel his costly risk taking in practice was yet another indication that in the big picture he’s got to mature into a smarter, more consistent racer if he’s ever going to take his place among the elite of F1.

Top 10 finishers of the Monaco GP:

POS NO DRIVER CAR LAPS TIME/RETIRED PTS
1 3 Daniel Ricciardo RED BULL RACING TAG HEUER 78 1:42:54.807 25
2 5 Sebastian Vettel FERRARI 78 +7.336s 18
3 44 Lewis Hamilton MERCEDES 78 +17.013s 15
4 7 Kimi Räikkönen FERRARI 78 +18.127s 12
5 77 Valtteri Bottas MERCEDES 78 +18.822s 10
6 31 Esteban Ocon FORCE INDIA MERCEDES 78 +23.667s 8
7 10 Pierre Gasly SCUDERIA TORO ROSSO HONDA 78 +24.331s 6
8 27 Nico Hulkenberg RENAULT 78 +24.839s 4
9 33 Max Verstappen RED BULL RACING TAG HEUER 78 +25.317s 2
10 55 Carlos Sainz RENAULT 78 +69.013s 1

Complete race results available via Formula1.com.

The next race is in two weeks from the always challenging and high speed Circuit Gille-Villeneuve in Montreal, Canada. Will the Silver Arrows to return to their front running form or can Ferrari build on their superior Monaco results? Or will Red Bull find the key for consistent performance and reliability from both cars & drivers to crash the Canadian party? Hope to see you then to find out!