Tag Archives: Renault

2019 F1 Grand Prix of the United States — Results & aftermath

Bottas victorious in Texas but P2 Hamilton claims sixth Formula 1 Title; Verstappen P3 on bad day for Ferrari

Mercedes’ had another landmark day to punctuate another season full of Silver Arrow excellence. The might German team dominated the United States Grand Prix at Circuit of the Americas on Sunday and took a one-two finish deep in the heart of Texas. While their number two driver Valtteri Bottas rode his pole position and a superior two-stop tire strategy to a dominant win, his teammate Lewis Hamilton came home P2, easily earning enough points to clinch his remarkable sixth F1 Drivers’ Championship. With Bottas the only man left with a minute mathematical shot at this year’s title entering the race, Hamilton put it all on the line in Austin. He committed to a risky one-stop strategy and battled a bumpy and windy race track while declining playing it safe to just come home with the bare minimum points to clinch.

Pics courtesy GrandPirx247.com

Instead the English bulldog took it to the limit, even dicing with his Finnish wingman and going so far as to push Bottas off the track on lap 51 of this 57-lap contest in a despaired bid to maintain the lead and ring up another championship with a win. In the end, Hamilton could not hold off Bottas’ fresher Medium tires on the same superlative equipment and the Finn was able to get by on Lap 52 and cruise home to victory. But Hamilton did fend off the best attempts of Max Verstappen’s Red Bull to take P2 at the checkers and ring up a remarkable sixth championship, surpassing the great Juan Manual Fangio of Argentina for second all-time. Hamilton trails only Michael Schumacher’s record seven F1 crowns and knowing his personality and relentless pursuit of excellence it will be uppermost in his mind this offseason to match that seventh title next season, especially with major new rules changes looming in 2021. But for now Lewis Hamilton can bask in the glory of achieving what only one other driver in Formula 1 history has ever done before. And team Mercedes should be well satisfied with both their driver lineup and the continued performance of their engine and chassis that has already secured them their own sixth Constructors’ Championship and their sixth in a row to boot. Continue reading →

2019 F1 Grand Prix of Mexico — Results & aftermath

Hamilton seizes victory in Mexico City, holds off P2 Vettel for Mercedes’ 100th F1 win; Bottas stays alive with P3 finish; pole-sitter Leclerc undone by poor pit stop

Mercedes’ ace Lewis Hamilton edged closer to his amazing 6th Drivers’ Championship with a decisive win at Autódromo Hermanos Rodríguez in Mexico City on Sunday. Utilizing a daring one-stop strategy, Hamilton pitted on Lap 24 of this 71-lap contest, shucking off his original Medium Pirellis for a set of durable but pokey Hard tires. With 47 laps left to run Hamilton could be heard over the radio agonizing over that strategy and second-guessing the team’s timing. But even without the calming precense of his usual race engineer Pete Bonnington, who is on medical leave for the next few races, the Silver Arrow braintrust was able to collectively nurse Hamilton through his moments of doubt. Then they were rewarded by watching their ace driver easily hold off the pursuing Ferrari of Sebastian Vettel as the laps wound down. With the current Formula 1 spec being particularly ill-suited to close pursuit due to brake overheating issues and the ambient temperature at this extremely high altitude circuit close to 80 degrees Fahrenheit, the top 5 drivers had to essentially hold station during the last third of the Grand Prix. And so Hamilton was able to convert a P3 start, as well as surviving some opening lap wheel-banging with Red Bull’s Max Vertsappen, into Mercedes’ 100th overall F1 victory. It also left the English superstar just 4 points shy of his sixth title and all but guaranteed secure that milestone next week in Austin, Texas.

For archrival Ferrari it was day of missed opportunities. After being gifted a front row lockout when Verstappen was stripped of his pole position for inexplicably failing to slow under a waved yellow flag on the last lap of Saturday qualifying the legendary Scuderia decided to split their tire strategy between their two drivers, the pole-sitting Charles Leclerc and P2 starter Sebastian Vettel. Vettel would attempt the one-stopper, matching Hamilton but running deeper on his opening stint, and Leclerc went Medium to Medium tires on his first stop on Lap 16 , which meant he would definitely have to stop again. When Vettel finally pitted on Lap 37 after being held up by a battle between midfield runners Carlos Sainz of McLaren and Pierre Gasly of Toro Rosso, he switched from his starting set of Medium tires onto the Hard compound to finish the race. But he also emerged in P4, well behind his teammate Leclerc, who now led the race, as well as Hamilton’s P2 Mercedes and the third place Red Bull of Alexander Albon. A little over halfway through, it appeared the race was now Leclerc’s to lose.

But Ferrari managed to lose it for him. When Leclerc made his second stop for the mandatory switch to a second tire compound, for the Hards like the other front runners, the Prancing Horse pit crew uncharacteristically botched the tire change at the rear left, making for a 6.2 second stop, about four fat seconds longer than the other contenders. That shuffled Leclerc back behind Bottas in P4 and that was where he would finish the race. Vettel came home P2 behind the voctorius Hamilton and Bottas drove effectively after his big qualifying shunt to come home P3 after starting from sixth on the grid. That podium finish meant that Bottas also delayed the inevitable Hamilton coronation at least until the United States GP next week.

Albon drove arguably his best race since going the senior Red Bull team mid-season, keeping his nose clean and showing impressive race craft for a rookie to take P5. Albon’s teammate Verstappen saw his self-inflicted demotion from pole compounded by tangling with both Mercedes during the opening laps. The Dutch wunderkind lost positions after coming together with Hamilton going into Turn 1 and being bounced off track. He then suffering a total tire de-lamination while dicing with Bottas on Lap 5 when the Finn’s front wing contacted the Red Bull’s right rear. After crawling around the circuit en route to the pit lane for critically needed fresh rubber Verstappen emerged dead last. But he had a typically superb recovery drive to will his way all the way back up to P6 as the checkered flag waved. But Verstappen had to be rueing what might have been had he only used a bit more common sense throughout his ragged weekend in Mexico.

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2019 F1 Grand Prix of Japan — Results & aftermath

Bottas cruises to victory in Japan after Vettel fumbles start; Hamilton P3 as Mercedes lock up 6th consecutive Constructors’ title

After being bested by Ferrari in a rare, Typhoon-necessiated Sunday morning Qualifying that saw the Prancing Horses of Sebastian Vettel and Charles Leclerc start the Japanese Grand Prix 1-2, Mercedes proved once again that when the points are really on the line they are still the team to beat in Formula 1. Vettel bogged down as the lights went out to start the race Sunday afternoon at the Suzuka Circuit, nearly but not quite jumping the start, and the Silver Arrow of Valtteri Bottas, quicker than his teammate Lewis Hamilton all weekend, pounced. The Finn launched beautifully to easily pass not just Vettel but also the P2 Leclerc, who quickly found himself wheel banging with Red Bull’s Max Verstappen going into turn one. As Bottas sailed away, the Monegasque Ferrari man lost adhesion trying to defend while turning and smashed into Verstappen’s side pods, sending the Red Bull off track and causing damage that would eventually force the Dutchman to retire on Lap 15. That kerfuffle, which led to Leclerc being penalized and demoted after the race, also held up Hamilton, who had to brake to avoid the incident and was nearly side-swiped himself by the oncoming McLaren of Carlos Sainz. Those crucial delays back in the lead pack left Bottas free to fly with Vettel recovering enough to plant himself in a not very threatening P2, and the front-running Merc quickly built up a healthy lead that he would never really relinquish.

Pics courtesy GrandPrix.com

Meanwhile Leclerc was circulating with a damaged wing after the coming together with Verstsappen and spewing carbon fiber all over the track, as well as onto the pursuing Hamilton’s helmet and visor. Leclerc inexplicably defied calls to pit for a new wing until Lap 4, an impetuous decision that earned him yet another time penalty after the race. Meanwhile, when Vettel pitted at the end of Lap 16 for a second set of Soft Pirellis it became obvious that Ferrari would be running a 2-stop strategy for him. Bottas pitted a lap later for Medium tires, fulfilling the requirement to use at least two compounds, but the team also told him he would be running a 2-stopper eventually to match Ferrari’s lead man, while they would try to split strategy and run Hamilton on a one-stopper. That gave the intra-team advantage to Bottas, as the Suzuka circuit proved to be very tough on tires. So while Hamilton stayed out nominally leading the race until Lap 21 he was unable to gain any advantage whatsoever with his degraded rubber and in fact lost bucketloads of time relative to Bottas and Vettel on their fresh tires. The English points leader came out P3, well behind Vettel, and could be heard second-guessing his team as to why they hadn’t just put him on the Hard tires to try to make it to the end on a one-stop after all. But apparently the performance disadvantage of the Hards was just too great for Mercedes to take that gamble whatever their potential longevity advantage.

In the end Bottas came home for a relatively easy victory. A disappointed Vettel was able to hold off the furious late-race charge of Hamilton on fresh Soft tires by a mere four-tenths for P2. But while Hamilton was intensely frustrated by his third place finish and how the day played out to his teammate’s advantage, big picture-wise everyone at Mercedes had to be ecstatic with the double podium at Suzuka. That massive points haul secured the team’s unprecedented sixth consecutive Constructors’ Championship. Hamilton will have to wait a race or two to potentially clinch his own remarkable sixth Drivers’ title but Mighty Mercedes had done it again despite an increasingly effective second half challenge from Ferrari that simply came too late in the season.

The surviving Red Bull of Alexander Albon had a brilliant run to come home P4 and somewhat salvage the day for the team after Verstappen’s disappointing DNF.

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2019 F1 Grand Prix of Russia — Results & aftermath

Hamilton & Mercedes back on top with fortuitous win at favorite Sochi track, Bottas second for Silver Arrows 1-2; Leclerc 3rd for Ferrari but Vettel DNFs

After three post-break races in which they were thoroughly outclassed by their arch-rivals Ferrari, mighty Mercedes got back to their winning ways at the Russian Grand Prix on Sunday. Despite their inferiority to the Prancing Horses in a straight line, which saw young phenom Charles Leclerc start from pole for the Scuderia and Sebastian Vettel overtake P2 starter Lewis Hamilton with the aid of Leclerc’s slipstream on the opening lap, the Silver Arrows benefitted greatly from a mid-race Virtual Safety Car that enabled them to get a “free” pit stop, emerging with a 1-2 lead in a race that they would never relinquish. The fact that the VSC was caused by a failure of Vettel’s MGU-K unit, forcing the German to pull off to a runoff area while profanely wishing for the return of the simpler V-12 engines, made it all the more bitter of a pill for Ferrari to swallow. With his wingman Bottas able to hold off the hard-charging but lonely Ferrari of Leclerc for the last 23 laps of this 53 lap contest Hamilton cruised home to take his ninth victory of the season and fourth overall at Sochi Autodrom. It was Mercedes sixth win here and they are the only team to claim the top step since Sochi was added to the F1 schedule in 2014. Bottas held station for a P2 finish and the talented Leclerc was left with an unfulfilled third place.

Pics courtesy GrandPrix247.com

Despite a somewhat anti-climactic second half, which truth be told was caused by F1’s foolish insistence on keeping the pits open during the first laps of a Safety Car or VSC period and allowing random track position to determine who gets the lucky quick pit stop, the opening of the race was gangbusters in terms of both on track action and intra-team intrigue. With the bitter taste of Singapore still in Leclerc’s mouth, where he was undercut on pit strategy by Vettel leading directly to the latter’s victory at Leclerc’s expense, Ferrari still insisted on playing Machiavellian games. With a prearranged move Vettel got the drop on Hamilton as the lights went out and then drafted his teammate Leclerc down the long front straight to also overtake the Monegasque for the lead of the race. During a brief Safety Car period from Laps 2 -3 caused by a 3-car shunt between Romain Grosjean, Daniel Ricciardo and Antonio Giovanazzi, Leclerc could be heard talking about doing what was asked of him at the start and wanting Vettel to give him back P1. But when the Safety Car period ended Vettel had other ideas, as well as the pace to keep Leclerc behind him.

To add fuel to those conspiracy minded among us, Ferrari then appeared to try and engineer an involuntary give back of the lead to Leclerc by keeping Vettel running on his opening set of Soft Pirelli tires a bit too long. By the time Vettel came in for the switch to Mediums on Lap 26 he was losing over a second to Leclerc on track. It was all rendered moot by Vettel’s engine failure just a lap after pitting but the head games from the masters of Maranello are sure to increase the growing tension and distrust between their two highly talented pilots, one a highly accomplished four-time World Champion and one ambitious in the extreme and seeking to make his mark in the sport. Compounding the complexity for Ferrari it was Vettel’s DNF that caused the Virtual Safety Car that enabled Hamilton and Bottas to dive to the pits to change off of Mediums and onto Softs in half the loss of track time as under Green flag conditions. Leclerc meanwhile stayed out and pitted two laps later on Lap 30 under another Safety Car period caused by the Williams of George Russell’s break failure and crash. But he gave up his leading track position even so and was only able to rejoin in P3, crucially behind the obstinate Merc of Bottas. So there will be a lot to discuss — and probably a lot of hard feelings — at team Ferrari’s post-race debrief!

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2019 F1 Grand Prix of Russia — Qualifying results

Leclerc and Ferrari keep rolling with pole in Sochi, Vettel P3; Hamilton P2

Ferrari’s stunning second half turnaround continued as their ascendent young star driver scored his fourth consecutive pole position at Sochi Autdrom during Saturday qualifying for tomorrow’s Russian Grand Prix. A week after the rapidly improving Monegasque was left seething after he felt denied a win in Singapore due to fortuitous pit strategy by his senior teammate, Sebastian Vettel, Leclerc gave his best effort to try and get back to the winner’s circle for the third time this season with a blistering 1:32.613 lap time, over 4-tenths ahead of Vettel. Vettel could do no better than the third fastest time of the day and the confidence boost after his much-needed if somewhat lucky Singapore victory could be short lived under the onslaught of his stablemate’s consistent excellence. With their superior straight-line speed now married to improved downforce aerodynamics the Prancing Horses have definitively relegated mighty Mercedes to the second best team on the track and this time at a venue where Mercedes have always dominated previously. Lewis Hamilton, the Silver Arrows’ ace, did manage to split the Ferraris with the second fastest time and the reigning world champion and current points leader will be looking to slipstream himself in front of Leclerc when the lights go out and the cars take off down the long, fast first straightaway.

Mercedes themselves were also temporarily split when Red Bull’s Max Verstappen bettered Valtteri Bottas P4 to P5. But, while they proved that they can fly faster than Mercedes at certain circuits, Verstappen will have to take a 5-spot grid penalty come Sunday. Additionally, their second driver, Alexander Albon, crashed heavily in Q1, most likely also necessitating a gearbox change, and so and will start from the rear of the grid. The two McLarens of Carlos Sainz and Lando Norris showed well and qualified P6 and P8 respectively and the two Renault’s of Nico Hulkenberg and Daniel Ricciardo were P7 and P10 on the timing sheets respectively. Romain Grosjean came home ninth fastest and Haas will be desperate to score some points tomorrow in a season that has come apart rather badly for them.

Top 10 qualifiers for the Russian GP:

POSNODRIVERCARQ1Q2Q3LAPS
116Charles LeclercFERRARI1:33.6131:32.4341:31.62818
244Lewis HamiltonMERCEDES1:33.2301:33.1341:32.03019
35Sebastian VettelFERRARI1:33.0321:32.5361:32.05322
433Max VerstappenRED BULL RACING HONDA1:33.3681:32.6341:32.31015
577Valtteri BottasMERCEDES1:33.4131:33.2811:32.63218
655Carlos SainzMCLAREN RENAULT1:34.1841:33.8071:33.22220
727Nico HulkenbergRENAULT1:34.2361:33.8981:33.28915
84Lando NorrisMCLAREN RENAULT1:34.2011:33.7251:33.30120
98Romain GrosjeanHAAS FERRARI1:34.2831:33.6431:33.51719
103Daniel RicciardoRENAULT1:34.1381:33.8621:33.66118

Complete qualifying results available via Formula1.com.

Tomorrow’s race airs live on EPSN2 starting at 7AM here in the States. Can Hamilton out-drag Leclerc to take the lead on Lap 1? And even if he does can his Mercedes hold off the ultra-rapid Ferraris for the rest of the race? Hope to see you then to find out how it all shakes out in Sochi!

2019 F1 Grand Prix of Singapore — Results & aftermath

Ferrari outfox Mercedes in strategic Singapore GP as Vettel bests teammate Leclerc for win; Vertsappen P3

In a tense and highly strategic Singapore Grand Prix on Sunday, where track position was king on the extremely tight Marina Bay Street Circuit, resurgent Ferrari made the right calls while Mercedes gambled and lost. Sebastian Vettel, who has had a run of poor races recently and been eclipsed by the rising star of his younger teammate Charles Leclerc, was called to the pits on Lap 20 to respond to the similarly timed pit stop of Red Bull’s Max Verstappen. While Leclerc was at that time leading the race and controlling the pace of the field from the front while nursing his tires, the Monegasque phenom had just passed the pit entrance when Ferrari’s brain trust saw that Verstappen’s crew were laying out tires for the Dutchman. Vettel, running just in front of Verstappen, happened to be right at the pit entrance, however, and fortuitously for him it was he who got the call to go for the undercut and ditch his Soft Pirelli’s for fresh Hard compound tires to hopefully get to the end of the race with only that one stop. It proved to be just the luck that Vettel, a four-time World Champion who frankly looked as if he had lost his touch in 2019, needed to get back to the top step of the podium and take a much-needed win to sooth his battered ego.

Pics courtesy GrandPrix247.com

While Vettel rejoined the race in P10 he emerged in front of Verstappen, plus all of the cars in front him had yet to pit, including his teammate Leclerc and the two Mercedes of Lewis Hamilton and Valtteri Bottas. When Leclerc came in for his own set of Hard tires a lap later Vettel’s pace on fresh rubber on his out lap was good enough get him in front of his formerly front running teammate. The now irate Leclerc was now doomed to look at Vettel’s gearbox for the rest of the race and he complained bitterly about the team’s decision making, which had essentially switched him from P1 to second place. Meanwhile Mercedes rolled the dice with Hamilton, who now led the race. While they ran Bottas only until Lap 23 until pitting him they kept Hamilton running at the front despite ever declining pace in regards to the two Ferraris and Verstappen’s Red Bull. It slowly became apparent that the Mercedes pit wall was either hoping for a Safety Car to provide them with a cheap and quicker pit stop than the usual 27-second delta under green flag conditions or they were trying to calculate the precise moment when the twin Ferraris would run into the slower traffic in front of them, thereby making a standard pit stop not as costly to Hamilton’s track position when he blended back in. But in the end it didn’t pay off.

There was no Safety Car at this time — in fairness there would be a raft of them later in the race — so Hamilton pitted on Lap 26 and was only stationary for 2.4 seconds as his Hards went on. But the Ferrari’s were barely impeded by the traffic in front of them and when Hamilton emerged he was behind not only Vettel and Leclerc but also Verstappen’s Red Bull. He did beat his teammate out for P4 but this was somewhat engineered by team orders to Bottas to hang back and cede Hamilton that position. The Englishman’s only hope of getting back to a podium finish after starting from P2 on the grid was that he had newer tires than his rivals that would enable him to make some passes at the end of the grueling 61-lap contest. But three Safety Car periods in the last 25 laps put paid to that hope and while the elite cars in the top five could pass inferior machines in twisty old Marina Bay none of the elite top five could pass each other. Vettel controlled his post-Safety Car restarts masterfully and kept his hungry and angry young teammate behind him to come away with his first F1 win since Belgium last year, a much needed salve to his frayed confidence. Leclerc had to settle for a somewhat hard-luck P2 and saw his win streak end at two. But it was an outstanding day for the famed Scuderia from Maranello, as they showed that the Prancing Horses could be fast not only on the wide open country tracks of Europe but also a high downforce street circuit like Singapore.

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2019 F1 Grand Prix of Singapore — Qualifying results

Red hot Leclerc seizes third pole in a row besting Hamilton and Vettel at tricky Marina Bay Street Circuit

Ferrari’s ascendent young phenom Charles Leclerc, winner of the previous two Grand Prix from pole position, made it three poles in a row in Saturday qualifying for the Singapore Grand Prix tomorrow night, laying down a blistering lap late in Q3 to steal the top starting spot away from not only his teammate Sebastian Vettel but also the rival Mercedes of Lewis Hamilton. After performing so well at the last two high speed circuits, Spa Francorchamps and Monza, which also saw Leclerc win in dominant fashion, the Prancing Horses were expected to falter at the narrow and technically demanding confines of the tightly contained though beautifully illuminated Marina Bay Street Circuit. But instead Ferrari’s latest downforce upgrades merged perfectly with their horsepower advantage and Mercedes quickly found themselves surprised by the speed of the Scuderia’s blood red steeds on this corner-filled street circuit. Vettel appeared to lay down the time to beat early in the last qualifying session and the Silver Arrows of Hamilton and Valtteri Bottas found themselves tangled up in traffic and behind not only he and his speedy teammate but also the Red Bull of Max Vertsappen.

But with time running out Vettel could not improve and had to abort his last flying lap after a series of small errors. Meanwhile his upstart stablemate Leclerc pushed the very limits of adhesion, throwing his SF90 around around the many corners of this street circuit with controlled abandon. The rapidly improving Monegasque came across the line at 1:36.217, more than 2-tenths better than Vettel’s early fast lap. Mercedes wisely had released their men at the very last moment this time and well behind the rest of the gaggle of cars on this cramped track, leaving their men free to fly unencumbered by traffic. Hamilton made the most of that and also tested the track limits by kissing the wall once or twice during his strong final run. But despite his excellent effort the Englishman still found himself trailing Leclerc by just under 2-tenths as the checkered flag flew. Hamilton will line up along the pole-sitting Leclerc in P2 with Vettel a somewhat disappointed P3. It is now clear that Ferrari are finally able to take the fight to Mercedes and compete for wins on equal terms regardless of the circuit. And in Leclerc they may just have found the rare driver who can better Hamilton on a regular basis, as well.

When all was said and done Verstappen could only set the fourth fastest time but still had enough pace to relegate Bottas to P5 on the grid. His rookie Red Bull teammate Alexander Albon acquitted himself very well in his first-ever visit to this ultra-demanding circuit and qualified P6. Rounding out the top 10 on the grid the McLarens sandwiched the two Renaults, with P7 Carlos Sainz starting ahead of P8 Daniel Ricciardo and P9 Nico Hulkenberg and Sainz’s teammate Lando Norris behind them with the tenth fastest time.

Top 10 qualifiers for the Singapore GP:

POSNODRIVERCARQ1Q2Q3LAPS
116Charles LeclercFERRARI1:38.0141:36.6501:36.21718
244Lewis HamiltonMERCEDES1:37.5651:36.9331:36.40819
35Sebastian VettelFERRARI1:38.3741:36.7201:36.43716
433Max VerstappenRED BULL RACING HONDA1:38.5401:37.0891:36.81315
577Valtteri BottasMERCEDES1:37.3171:37.1421:37.14618
623Alexander AlbonRED BULL RACING HONDA1:39.1061:37.8651:37.41116
755Carlos SainzMCLAREN RENAULT1:38.8821:37.9821:37.81819
83Daniel RicciardoRENAULT1:39.3621:38.3991:38.09518
927Nico HulkenbergRENAULT1:39.0011:38.5801:38.26418
104Lando NorrisMCLAREN RENAULT1:38.6061:37.5721:38.32919

Complete qualifying results available via Formula1.com.

Tomorrow’s race airs live starting at 8AM on ESPN2 here in the States. Can Leclerc make it 3 wins in a row or will Hamilton reassert his authority as the top driver in the F1 paddock? Can Vettel surprise from P3 for a much-needed victory of his own in a season that is slipping away from him? Or will young Max have some tricks up his sleeve to pass his rivals and make a run towards victory? Hope to see you then to find out how it all shakes out!

2019 F1 Grand Prix of Italy — Results & aftermath

Leclerc holds off two Mercedes for second consecutive win in front of delirious Ferrari fans at Monza; Bottas P2, Hamilton P3; Vettel spins out of the points early

Rising star Charles Leclerc earned his second consecutive win and a permanent place in the hearts of Ferrari fans with a hard fought victory at Autodromo Nazionale Monza in Italy on Sunday. Coming off his first career win at historic Spa-Francorchamps in Belgium a week ago Leclerc arguably topped that personal first by fighting off both formidable Mercedes to take the win in front of the delirious tifosi at what Ferrari and Italians in general have always considered the most important race of the year. Using every defending skill and trick in his arsenal to hold off the Silver Arrows of first Lewis Hamilton and then Valtteri Bottas, Leclerc delivered the first Monza win for the famed Scuderia from just up the road in Maranello since 2010 when Fernando Alonso took the honors. The Ferrari SF90 now has reliably superior straight line speed to the Mercedes and the ultra-fast Monza circuit was the perfect proving ground for that, confirming the post-summer break trend that began at Spa. While it is too late for Leclerc to come anywhere close to challenging Hamilton for the title this season the talented Monegasque served notice that he could be the English 5-time champion’s biggest rival in the coming years.

Pics courtesy GrandPrix247.com

Leclerc led from pole and he and Hamilton made their first stop for tires a lap apart, with Hamilton boxing on Lap 20 just one lap before Leclerc came in on Lap 21. But Ferrari opted to put Leclerc on the Hard Pirelli compound while Mercedes opted for Medium tires. It was an intriguing decision by Ferrari with potential pitfalls if Leclerc could not make the Hard tires work effectively for the remainder of the race. He was the only driver that opted for this strategy. The two contenders on their different tire compounds promptly began battling for the lead in spirited fashion and when Hamilton tried to make the pass on Lap 23 after closing the gap to within a whisker’s distance Leclerc essentially shoved Hamilton off track to maintain his lead. Leclerc was shown the black and white flag for that but that only serves as a caution against future behavior and is not a penalty. Similarly, when Hamilton had reloaded and made another go at Leclerc on Lap 36 after two brief Virtual Safety Car periods Leclerc locked up through the edge of the chicane and drove straight over the curbs. But the stewards ruled that he gained no real advantage over Hamilton even while rejoining in front of the Mercedes. By this time Hamilton’s tires were going off and his teammate Bottas, who had stayed out longer on his first stint than the two frontrunners and pitted on Lap 28 for his own set of Mediums, was closing down both of the leaders from his P3 position. When Hamilton had a lockup of his own on Lap 42 of the 53 lap contest and had to take the escape route into the chicane it was clear his tires were shot. Bottas easily inherited P2 without any internecine warfare and set about trying to catch Leclerc to try and take the victory for himself.

But Leclerc had other ideas on this day. Continue reading →

2019 F1 Grand Prix of Italy — Qualifying results

Ascendent Leclerc grabs second consecutive pole as Ferrari look strong for home race; Hamilton P2 & Bottas P3 in messy quali as teams get timing wrong for late runs in Q3

Ferrari’s Charles Leclerc grabbed his second pole position in a row in a strange Saturday qualifying for tomorrow’s Italian Grand Prix. In front of the rabidly pro-Ferrari tifosi in the stands of the legendary Autodromo Nazionale Monza, the fastest of F1 circuits, Leclerc laid down a storming lap early in Q3. That ended up as the best time when nearly all the teams inexplicably left it too late later in the session and all but McLaren’s Carlos Sainz failed to make the start line prior to Q3 expiring. It was a strange ending but the Ferrari faithful will take the result of having their young Monegasque hero on the pole even if the confusion at the end of Q3 prevented Sebastian Vettel from bettering his P4 time. The two Mercedes of Lewis Hamilton and Valtteri Bottas split the Prancing Horses and will start P2 and P3 respectively. Hamilton will be looking to put young Leclerc back in his place while Leclerc will be looking to maximize the SF90s newly superior pace to score his second consecutive win tomorrow. With the two elite teams of the sport lining up side by side in the first two rows the start could well be the pivotal moment of the race.

Further back on the grid, Renault found startlingly good pace with their chassis’ downforce defects turning into advantages at ultra-quick Monza. Daniel Ricciardo set the fifth fastest time while his teammate Nico Huikenberg was P6. Sainz pulled his McLaren up to P7 by dint of persistence and running the most laps of any other runner, while the Red Bull of Alexander Albon could do no better than a P8 time in his second qualifying effort for the team since being promoted for the Belgian GP a week ago. His more heralded teammate Max Verstappen barely made an appearance in Q1 and will start at the back of the grid due to engine penalties. Racing Point’s Lance Stroll earned a solid P9 on the grid while Kimi Raikkonen, who caused a longish red flag period in Q3 after losing it in the Parabolica and backing into the barriers, is slated to start P10 but may face grid-spot penalties if he damaged his gearbox in the incident.

Top 10 qualifiers for the Italian GP:

POS NO DRIVER CAR Q1 Q2 Q3 LAPS
1 16 Charles Leclerc FERRARI 1:20.126 1:19.553 1:19.307 18
2 44 Lewis Hamilton MERCEDES 1:20.272 1:19.464 1:19.346 16
3 77 Valtteri Bottas MERCEDES 1:20.156 1:20.018 1:19.354 17
4 5 Sebastian Vettel FERRARI 1:20.378 1:19.715 1:19.457 17
5 3 Daniel Ricciardo RENAULT 1:20.374 1:19.833 1:19.839 13
6 27 Nico Hulkenberg RENAULT 1:20.155 1:20.275 1:20.049 14
7 55 Carlos Sainz MCLAREN RENAULT 1:20.413 1:20.202 1:20.455 20
8 23 Alexander Albon RED BULL RACING HONDA 1:20.382 1:20.021 DNF 15
9 18 Lance Stroll RACING POINT BWT MERCEDES 1:20.643 1:20.498 DNF 19
10 7 Kimi Räikkönen ALFA ROMEO RACING FERRARI 1:20.634 1:20.515 DNF 16

Complete qualifying results available via Formula1.com.

Tomorrow’s race airs live on ESPN2 beginning at 9AM Eastern here in the States. Hope to see you then to find out if Ferrari can win in front of the home fans or if Mercedes will spoil the Prancing Horses’ party!

2019 F1 Grand Prix of Belgium — Results & aftermath

Leclerc scores maiden F1 win as Ferrari bests Mercedes in Belgium; Hamilton P2 & Bottas P3 for Silver Arrows

In the first race back from the summer break and on a sunny Sunday at Spa-Francorchamps that was dimmed by the tragic death of up and coming Formula 2 driver Anthoine Hubert in the feature race on Saturday, Ferrari’s Charles Leclerc made good on the flashes of brilliance he has so often shown this season to score his maiden Formula 1 victory at one of the most legendary circuits on the calendar. The Prancing Horses finally put together their pace advantage with enough aero efficiency and reliability to best the normally supreme Silver Arrows of Mercedes. Leclerc started from pole and his senior teammate Sebastian Vettel began in P2 after Ferrari locked out the front row in Saturday qualifying, forcing Mercedes to play catch-up with their drivers Lewis Hamilton and Valtteri Bottas starting in P3 and P4 respectively. Hamilton was able to better Vettel late in the race to seize P2 and then did an outstanding job closing the gap to Leclerc. But the Englishman ran out of laps and had to settle for a second place finish, which hardly did his massive points lead in the Drivers’ Championship any harm whatsoever. Bottas, who was re-signed by Mercedes for another year during the break, finished P3.

Despite finishing off the podium in P4 Vettel did yeoman’s work for his team. After being the first of the top runners to pit on Lap 16 and doffing his starting Soft Pirelli’s for the more durable Mediums, Vettel inherited the lead when first his teammate, then Hamilton and then Bottas pitted on the successive laps of 21, 22 and 23. But rather than fighting to keep the lead Vettel played the good solider and gifted P1 back to Leclerc on Lap 26. The proud German 4-time champion then played a superb rear gunner role for Leclerc’s benefit holding up Hamilton for several laps before finally being passed on the Kimmel Straight on Lap 32. It was an unusual show of selflessness for any F1 driver let alone Vettel and must have been appreciated by the team. But having pitted so early, with the team perhaps banking in a late Safety Car that never materialized, Vettel was doomed to stop again for fresh rubber on Lap 34 while the top 3 sailed away from his grasp.

Pics courtesy GrandPrix247.com

The race got off to a choppy start with a nasty tangle between Alfa Romeo’s Kimi Raikkonen and Red Bull’s Max Verstappen going into Turn 1 at La Source. The result was floor damage for Raikkonen but a catastrophic steering failure for Verstappen that sent the Dutchman spearing off into the barriers at the top of the hill. Thankfully Verstappen was uninjured but his day was over almost before it began, putting an end to a superb recent run that saw him win two of the previous four contests, as well as his finishing streak of 25 consecutive top 5 finishes. The ensuing Safety Car period was too early to benefit anyone strategically and only lasted until the end of Lap 4.

Outside of the elite Top 4 and with Verstappen and Raikkonen’s misfortunes blowing the points positions wide open McLaren’s Lando Norris looked to score a massive P5 result after his teammate Carlos Sainz suffered a breakdown on Lap 3. But Norris’s car died on the start finish straight on the last lap of this 44 lap tilt. So the heartbroken rookie could only watch as car after car was able to finish in front of him and he slid down the order and out of the points in P11. The main beneficiary of Norris’s agony was Alexander Albon, making his debut for Red Bull after being promoted from Toro Rosso during the summer break. Albon gladly took that P5 position, while Racing Point’s Sergio Perez and Toro Rosso opportunistically grabbed P6 and P7 respectively.  Nico Hulkenberg salvaged at least a little something for struggling Renault with an eighth place finish despite the fact that he will not be returning to the factory team next year. The second Toro Rosso of Pierre Gasly, who was demoted back down from Red Bull to make room for Albon, soothed his injured pride just a little bit with a P9 result. And the second Racing Point of Lance Stroll took the last points paying position by coming home in P10 after wheel banging his way past Haas’ Romain Grosjean late in the race.

Top 10 finishers of the Belgian Gran Prix:

POS NO DRIVER CAR LAPS TIME/RETIRED PTS
1 16 Charles Leclerc FERRARI 44 1:23:45.710 25
2 44 Lewis Hamilton MERCEDES 44 +0.981s 18
3 77 Valtteri Bottas MERCEDES 44 +12.585s 15
4 5 Sebastian Vettel FERRARI 44 +26.422s 13
5 23 Alexander Albon RED BULL RACING HONDA 44 +81.325s 10
6 11 Sergio Perez RACING POINT BWT MERCEDES 44 +84.448s 8
7 26 Daniil Kvyat SCUDERIA TORO ROSSO HONDA 44 +89.657s 6
8 27 Nico Hulkenberg RENAULT 44 +106.639s 4
9 10 Pierre Gasly SCUDERIA TORO ROSSO HONDA 44 +109.168s 2
10 18 Lance Stroll RACING POINT BWT MERCEDES 44 +109.838s 1

Complete race results available via Formula1.com.

The next race is in but a week’s time at the similarly legendary Autodromo Nazionale Monza circuit right in Ferrari’s backyard. With the Scuderia on the ascent that high speed circuit should suit the Prancing Horses’ straight line advantage and the tifosi will be looking for an even better result from their pilots at the expense of mighty Mercedes. Hope to see you then to find out how it all shakes out!