The season finale was emotional for many drivers, as six drivers altogether -Alonso, Hartley, Ocon, Ericsson, Sirotkin and Vandoorne- started to their very last F1 race, at least so far. The start itself was very clean, as pole-setter Hamilton dived into Turn 1 first, with teammate Bottas at his tail. Sebastian held on to his third place, followed by Kimi, who was driving his farewell race for Ferrari. Red Bull's Verstappen, on the other hand, had problems with his launch. The engine of his RB14 didn't work as expected, and Max lost three positions, dropping down to 9th. Opening lap saw a dramatic situation in the midfield, as Haas' Grosjean and Renault's Hulkenberg collided in Turn 9. Hulkenberg's rear-right tyre touched Grosjean's front-left tyre, which made Hulkenberg's Renault go airborn. Hulkenberg's car flipped in the air and ended up upside down into the wall! Due to the head protection device Halo it was very difficult for the German to get out of the car. The crash aside, there were also flames coming out of the rear of Hulkenberg's Renault! Luckily the fire extinguishers were near, and the marshals quite rapidly managed to turn the car back on its wheels. Luckily Hulkenberg got out of his car unharmed. Safety car was deployed.
Safety car came in on lap 4. Sauber's Leclerc had made his way up to 5th right before the safety car. Verstappen was having a heart-stopping battle with the Force India duo. Max and Ocon kind of continued where they left off in Brazil! Once again Max knew what he wanted; he made an audacious and aggressive overtaking move on the Frenchman, moving ahead of the Force India pilot. This was definitely Max's driving at its best! Like a lion unleashed.
Before the race I had hoped, that Kimi would end his career in the red on a high. Well, reality turned out different. Kimi's SF71-H was suddenly hit with an electric failure, which made the car stop on the finish straight on lap 7. It was a real pity, as I would have wanted to see the Iceman on the podium one more time in the red suit! Virtual safety car was deployed, and Mercedes called race leader Hamilton in. The world champion switched to the red-walled super-soft compound, and re-joined the track in P5. This seemed like a genius tactical call from the world champion team; but would it be possible for Hamilton to make the tyres last for over 40 laps?
Sebastian in P2 was the next top driver to pit on lap 16. The German, too, opted for a fresh set of super-softs. However, there was a small delay in his pit stop. Race leader Bottas pitted on the sequential lap, also for the hardest rubber. The Finn re-joined the track well ahead of Sebastian. Verstappen, who had started to the race on the hyper-softs, pitted not until on lap 18, for a similar tyre choice to the other top drivers. Teammate Ricciardo was now leading the race, with Hamilton second, Bottas third, Sebastian fourth and Verstappen fifth. Against all odds there was light drizzle around lap 23, which isn't a common phenomenon in the dessert of Abu Dhabi. However, due to very low intensity it had hardly any influence on the track conditions.
Ricciardo in the lead proved his skills in tyre management, as the Australian came in not until on lap 33. Ricciardo re-joined the track on super-softs in P5. The Mercedes duo of Hamilton and Bottas were now back in the double lead. However, with 20 laps to go, Bottas seemed to be in serious trouble with his tyres. Sebastian had been able to close the gap to the Finn and was lurking for a chance to get past. He didn't have to wait for long, as Bottas locked up his brakes, and Sebastian attacked the Finn right away, snatching P2. Sebastian immediately opened a gap to Bottas, once getting past. After Sebastian it was Verstappen's turn to make it past Bottas. It was another overtaking move in Verstappen style, as their front-wheels touched in the heat of the moment. Teammate Ricciardo made Bottas' misery even worse, as the Australian, too attacked the Finn and made a successful overtaking move! In only a few laps Bottas had dropped from P2 down to P5! As the Finn had nothing to lose anymore, the team called him in for the second time. Bottas switched to a fresh set of ultra-softs, and re-joined the track in P5. He didn't lose any positions due to his pit stop, as Renault's Sainz in P6 was massively behind already.
Hamilton in the lead had everything perfectly under his control. Despite the early pit stop, his tyres were still very much alive. His gap to Sebastian varied from four to five seconds. Verstappen in third was a couple of seconds behind Sebastian, and teammate Ricciardo was another couple of seconds off Max. So there were no wheel-to-wheel battles for podium places at the closing stages. Hamilton crossed the finish line as the dominant race winner for the 11th time this season. Sebastian ended the season on a high by finishing as the runner-up. Max has driven a sensational last third of the season, completing the podium also today. Ricciardo finished fourth, ahead of disappointed Bottas. Sainz finished 6th for Renault and Leclerc 7th for Sauber. The Haas duo of Grosjean and Magnussen completed the top ten.
At the end of the season it is well-deserved to say, that Hamilton won the world championship in a superior way, as the gap to Sebastian turned out as massive as 88 points. Mercedes, too have an 84-point gap to Ferrari in the constructors' standings. So now it's time to wrap up the 2018 season... And look forward to the next one. Kimi will be testing Sauber's this year's car already next Tuesday at Pirelli's tyre tests. I can't wait, what kind of plot twists the 2019 season will hold! I will miss Kimi in red, but I have a strong hunch, that he will make miracles happen at the wheel of Sauber next year!
Kimi Räikkönen & Sebastian Vettel
sunnuntai 25. marraskuuta 2018
Abu Dhabi GP / Qualifying: History repeated itself, as Mercedes conquered the front row!
Yesterday it was time for the last qualifying session of the year. And what would have been more memorable and impressive venue than Abu Dhabi and the Yas Marina Circuit with its artificial lights! Although both championships have already been secured, Abu Dhabi always brings extra magic into the season finale.
The pecking order of Mercedes and Ferrari seemed extremely evenly matched in the first session. Sebastian went fastest on his first run, with Kimi second. However, both Silver Arrows managed to improve their lap times on their second runs. Bottas moved second, being only marginal 0.014s off the German Ferrari ace. Hamilton in third was also only a blink of an eye behind Sebastian, the gap being 0.053s. The last-minute sensation of the first session was Force India's Ocon, who jumped fourth on his last run. Sauber's Leclerc continued his excellent performances, moving seventh at the end of the session. It was a bit surprising to see both Toro Rossos out of Q2. Gasly was setting a competitive lap time on his last flyer, but the Frenchman was hit with a technical issue, which dropped him out of the second segment. McLaren's Vandoorne was beaten by teammate Alonso for the 21st time this year, which is a crushing defeat for the Belgian driver. In addition to Vandoorne, both Williams drivers missed out on Q2 as well.
Q2 saw an expected tyre strategy in terms of the three top teams. Mercedes, Ferrari and Red Bull all sent their drivers out on the purple-walled ultra-soft compound. More surprising was to see the Force India duo also opting for the middle compound. World champion Hamilton absolutely nailed it on his first flyer. He set an outstanding new track record by driving an aggressive and sensational lap. Teammate Bottas came nowhere close on his first run, being massive seven tenths down on the Briton. Both red-suited drivers were a second down on the Briton's benchmark! Red Bull's Verstappen didn't have it easy on the harder tyres. The Dutchman was in tame P10 after his first run, which meant, that he had no choice but to switch to the hyper-soft compound for his last run. Verstappen's second attempt was rewarding; the flying Dutchman jumped second in the standings. The track conditions kept improving towards the end of the session, and sensational Leclerc jumped third on his last flyer. Also Renault's Hulkenberg made an impressive job, moving fourth at the closing stages of Q2. Sebastian made a second attempt on the ultra-softs, making it third in the standings. But there was no beating Hamilton's incredible benchmark! Out of Q3 were Renault's Sainz, Sauber's Ericsson, Haas' Magnussen, Force India's Perez and McLaren's Alonso.
Hamilton's first run in Q3 was everything but perfect. He had a lock-up in the middle sector, and his W09 seemed to suffer from a restless rear end. In spite of these imperfections, the world champion took provisional pole by 0.057s to Sebastian. Bottas was third, only a tenth down on his teammate. Ricciardo was fourth, Kimi fifth and Verstappen sixth. At this point I was very much hoping, that Sebastian could seriously challenge Hamilton for pole under the floodlights of Yas Marina Circuit. My hopes proved very wrong. Hamilton improved his lap time by half a second, setting another new track record. Teammate Bottas set the screens purple in the second sector of his last run, but lost a tiny bit of time in Turns 17 and 18, and was finally 0.162s off his teammate. However, it was another front-row lock-out for the Silver Arrows in Abu Dhabi. Sebastian was left third, the margin being as significant as 0.331s. Kimi locked down the second row for the Scuderia. Red Bull made it on the third row, this time Ricciardo having the upper hand on Verstappen. Haas' Grosjean was the best of the rest in P7, Sauber's Leclerc will start to the race alongside the Frenchman. Force India's Ocon and Renault's Hulkenberg rounded out the top ten.
Although Red Bull were six or seven tenths down on Mercedes in terms of the single-lap pace, their race pace is definitely on a different level. Max is the only driver in top six to start to the race on the softest rubber, but Max showed already in Brazil, that he is very good with saving the tyres. Tyre management is definitely one of the key factors in the race. Abu Dhabi will mark Kimi's last race as a Ferrari driver, so I really hope the Iceman will end his Ferrari career on a high!
The pecking order of Mercedes and Ferrari seemed extremely evenly matched in the first session. Sebastian went fastest on his first run, with Kimi second. However, both Silver Arrows managed to improve their lap times on their second runs. Bottas moved second, being only marginal 0.014s off the German Ferrari ace. Hamilton in third was also only a blink of an eye behind Sebastian, the gap being 0.053s. The last-minute sensation of the first session was Force India's Ocon, who jumped fourth on his last run. Sauber's Leclerc continued his excellent performances, moving seventh at the end of the session. It was a bit surprising to see both Toro Rossos out of Q2. Gasly was setting a competitive lap time on his last flyer, but the Frenchman was hit with a technical issue, which dropped him out of the second segment. McLaren's Vandoorne was beaten by teammate Alonso for the 21st time this year, which is a crushing defeat for the Belgian driver. In addition to Vandoorne, both Williams drivers missed out on Q2 as well.
Q2 saw an expected tyre strategy in terms of the three top teams. Mercedes, Ferrari and Red Bull all sent their drivers out on the purple-walled ultra-soft compound. More surprising was to see the Force India duo also opting for the middle compound. World champion Hamilton absolutely nailed it on his first flyer. He set an outstanding new track record by driving an aggressive and sensational lap. Teammate Bottas came nowhere close on his first run, being massive seven tenths down on the Briton. Both red-suited drivers were a second down on the Briton's benchmark! Red Bull's Verstappen didn't have it easy on the harder tyres. The Dutchman was in tame P10 after his first run, which meant, that he had no choice but to switch to the hyper-soft compound for his last run. Verstappen's second attempt was rewarding; the flying Dutchman jumped second in the standings. The track conditions kept improving towards the end of the session, and sensational Leclerc jumped third on his last flyer. Also Renault's Hulkenberg made an impressive job, moving fourth at the closing stages of Q2. Sebastian made a second attempt on the ultra-softs, making it third in the standings. But there was no beating Hamilton's incredible benchmark! Out of Q3 were Renault's Sainz, Sauber's Ericsson, Haas' Magnussen, Force India's Perez and McLaren's Alonso.
Hamilton's first run in Q3 was everything but perfect. He had a lock-up in the middle sector, and his W09 seemed to suffer from a restless rear end. In spite of these imperfections, the world champion took provisional pole by 0.057s to Sebastian. Bottas was third, only a tenth down on his teammate. Ricciardo was fourth, Kimi fifth and Verstappen sixth. At this point I was very much hoping, that Sebastian could seriously challenge Hamilton for pole under the floodlights of Yas Marina Circuit. My hopes proved very wrong. Hamilton improved his lap time by half a second, setting another new track record. Teammate Bottas set the screens purple in the second sector of his last run, but lost a tiny bit of time in Turns 17 and 18, and was finally 0.162s off his teammate. However, it was another front-row lock-out for the Silver Arrows in Abu Dhabi. Sebastian was left third, the margin being as significant as 0.331s. Kimi locked down the second row for the Scuderia. Red Bull made it on the third row, this time Ricciardo having the upper hand on Verstappen. Haas' Grosjean was the best of the rest in P7, Sauber's Leclerc will start to the race alongside the Frenchman. Force India's Ocon and Renault's Hulkenberg rounded out the top ten.
Although Red Bull were six or seven tenths down on Mercedes in terms of the single-lap pace, their race pace is definitely on a different level. Max is the only driver in top six to start to the race on the softest rubber, but Max showed already in Brazil, that he is very good with saving the tyres. Tyre management is definitely one of the key factors in the race. Abu Dhabi will mark Kimi's last race as a Ferrari driver, so I really hope the Iceman will end his Ferrari career on a high!
maanantai 12. marraskuuta 2018
Brazil GP: Backmarker robbed Verstappen of victory!
At the time of the lights out the conditions were dry. Among the top ten the Ferrari drivers were the only ones to start to the race on the soft rubber. Red Bull's Ricciardo, who had qualified 6th, had been dropped down to P11 due to a turbo charger change. Hamilton on pole took a confident start, holding on to his lead. Teammate Bottas took an amazing start as well, and the Finn made it ahead of Sebastian, who had started to the race alongside Hamilton. There was an extremely tight wheel-to-wheel battle between Kimi and Verstappen, who very often seem to "find each other" on track. Aggressive Max managed to make it ahead of the Iceman, but Kimi was stubborn to fight back. Kimi snatched his fourth place back in no time. However, Max was like a lion unleashed. He attacked again on lap 3, and passed Kimi again in Turn 1. Max was utterly on flames. A lap later he already attacked Sebastian. Another bold overtaking move made Max jump already third in the race. Sebastian made a small mistake, which offered Kimi, too a chance to move ahead of his teammate. Sebastian's pace wasn't too convincing...
Hamilton had only a 2-second lead to his teammate Bottas. And Verstappen was closing the gap to the Finn lap by lap. On lap 6 he was already within DRS distance from the Finnish Mercedes pilot. Meanwhile, Ricciardo had made his way through the field, and was in P6 already. And there was no stopping Verstappen! On lap 10 he made his move on Bottas, which proved successful. Max had just claimed P2 in the race.
Mercedes were clearly struggling with the out-worn super-soft tyres. Kimi had hunted down his compatriot, and was lurking for a chance to overtake. But it didn't turn out easy. Bottas was the first top driver to pit on lap 19. Like predicted, he opted for a fresh set of white-walled medium tyres. Teammate Hamilton pitted from the lead on the sequential lap, for a similar tyre choice. After his pit stop Hamilton was able to set competitive lap times, but only after a few laps the Briton complained on the team radio, that his tyres didn't feel very good. Sebastian pitted on lap 28, for medium rubber as well.
Verstappen in the lead didn't seem to have problems with tyre degradation. Max even reported on the team radio, that the performance of his tyres had improved, although there were over 30 laps on those super-softs! Kimi, on the other hand, pitted on lap 32, for mediums as well. Kimi re-joined the track in P7, which meant losing positions both to Bottas and teammate Sebastian. Sebastian, however, was seriously struggling with his pace. Kimi was clearly faster than his teammate. At that point we saw a rarely-seen call from the Red Team, as Sebastian was told to let Kimi past. After switching positions, Sebastian had no chance to match his teammate's pace.
Verstappen pitted not until at the halfway point of the race! Against the odds the flying Dutchman switched to the middle compound, re-joining the track in P2. Hamilton, however, was only a couple of seconds ahead. Max could already smell the world champion's blood. Teammate Ricciardo pitted on lap 40, for a similar tyre choice to his teammate. Meanwhile, Max had hunted down Hamilton and attacked the Briton at the end of the main straight. There was nothing Hamilton could do to prevent Max from taking the lead!
Lap 44 was the turning point in the race. Something very unexpected happened between race leader Verstappen and Force India's Ocon. The Frenchman had just exited the pits, and he was a lap down already. However, Ocon had decided to overtake Verstappen to reach the same lap with him... This led to a bizarre incident, Ocon crashing into Verstappen's RB14! Max span, and the floor of his Red Bull took significant damage. Hamilton saw his opportunity and took the lead. Max was able to continue, and luckily the floor damage had a surprisingly small effect on his performance. Meanwhile, Kimi was able to overtake Bottas, moving third.
Ricciardo, too was flying on his soft tyres. Sebastian was in serious trouble with his ex-teammate. Their wheels had already touched a few laps earlier, but on lap 46 the Australian managed to overtake Sebastian, claiming P5. Sebastian pitted on lap 54 for the second time, now switching to the super-softs. He re-joined the track in P7, in the middle of traffic. Meanwhile, Force India's Ocon was given a stop-and-go penalty, which I considered quite a mild penalty for robbing Verstappen of the race win.
Bottas was in trouble with his dying mediums, and Ricciardo finally managed to overtake the Finn on lap 59. After losing a position to the Australian, Bottas pitted for the second time. The Finn re-joined the track on the softs in P5. With five laps to go, Ricciardo was right at Kimi's tail, hungry to make it on the podium. But Kimi defended his third place in style and impeded all overtaking moves. Hamilton crossed the finish line as the race winner, and deeply disappointed Verstappen had to settle for being the runner-up. Kimi completed the podium; this was already the 12th podium finish for the Iceman this season! Ricciardo was left 4th, Bottas 5th and Sebastian 6th. Charles Leclerc was the impressive 7th, and Grosjean and Magnussen brought valuable points for Haas. Force India's Perez rounded out the top ten. So now it's official: Mercedes have clinched their fifth constructors' championship.
Max was extremely furious after the race. He showed his rage for Ocon right away. Max got so carried away with the fury caused by Ocon ruining his race, that Max even pushed Ocon multiple times during that "conversation". I don't accept Max's actions but I do understand him. Max would have won the race, had Ocon not crashed into him! And they weren't even running for positions at that point! And what a phenomenal race Max drove! Staggering overtaking moves without stupid mistakes. Max shone like a star at Interlagos yesterday. On track he was pure professional. The same can't be said about his behavior after the race... However, it's humane to get carried away by strong emotions.
One more round to go. The season finale will take place in Abu Dhabi in a fortnight. Hopefully the red-suited drivers will have a glamorous end to their season! It will be the very last race for Kimi in the red suit. One era is coming to an end.
Hamilton had only a 2-second lead to his teammate Bottas. And Verstappen was closing the gap to the Finn lap by lap. On lap 6 he was already within DRS distance from the Finnish Mercedes pilot. Meanwhile, Ricciardo had made his way through the field, and was in P6 already. And there was no stopping Verstappen! On lap 10 he made his move on Bottas, which proved successful. Max had just claimed P2 in the race.
Mercedes were clearly struggling with the out-worn super-soft tyres. Kimi had hunted down his compatriot, and was lurking for a chance to overtake. But it didn't turn out easy. Bottas was the first top driver to pit on lap 19. Like predicted, he opted for a fresh set of white-walled medium tyres. Teammate Hamilton pitted from the lead on the sequential lap, for a similar tyre choice. After his pit stop Hamilton was able to set competitive lap times, but only after a few laps the Briton complained on the team radio, that his tyres didn't feel very good. Sebastian pitted on lap 28, for medium rubber as well.
Verstappen in the lead didn't seem to have problems with tyre degradation. Max even reported on the team radio, that the performance of his tyres had improved, although there were over 30 laps on those super-softs! Kimi, on the other hand, pitted on lap 32, for mediums as well. Kimi re-joined the track in P7, which meant losing positions both to Bottas and teammate Sebastian. Sebastian, however, was seriously struggling with his pace. Kimi was clearly faster than his teammate. At that point we saw a rarely-seen call from the Red Team, as Sebastian was told to let Kimi past. After switching positions, Sebastian had no chance to match his teammate's pace.
Verstappen pitted not until at the halfway point of the race! Against the odds the flying Dutchman switched to the middle compound, re-joining the track in P2. Hamilton, however, was only a couple of seconds ahead. Max could already smell the world champion's blood. Teammate Ricciardo pitted on lap 40, for a similar tyre choice to his teammate. Meanwhile, Max had hunted down Hamilton and attacked the Briton at the end of the main straight. There was nothing Hamilton could do to prevent Max from taking the lead!
Lap 44 was the turning point in the race. Something very unexpected happened between race leader Verstappen and Force India's Ocon. The Frenchman had just exited the pits, and he was a lap down already. However, Ocon had decided to overtake Verstappen to reach the same lap with him... This led to a bizarre incident, Ocon crashing into Verstappen's RB14! Max span, and the floor of his Red Bull took significant damage. Hamilton saw his opportunity and took the lead. Max was able to continue, and luckily the floor damage had a surprisingly small effect on his performance. Meanwhile, Kimi was able to overtake Bottas, moving third.
Ricciardo, too was flying on his soft tyres. Sebastian was in serious trouble with his ex-teammate. Their wheels had already touched a few laps earlier, but on lap 46 the Australian managed to overtake Sebastian, claiming P5. Sebastian pitted on lap 54 for the second time, now switching to the super-softs. He re-joined the track in P7, in the middle of traffic. Meanwhile, Force India's Ocon was given a stop-and-go penalty, which I considered quite a mild penalty for robbing Verstappen of the race win.
Bottas was in trouble with his dying mediums, and Ricciardo finally managed to overtake the Finn on lap 59. After losing a position to the Australian, Bottas pitted for the second time. The Finn re-joined the track on the softs in P5. With five laps to go, Ricciardo was right at Kimi's tail, hungry to make it on the podium. But Kimi defended his third place in style and impeded all overtaking moves. Hamilton crossed the finish line as the race winner, and deeply disappointed Verstappen had to settle for being the runner-up. Kimi completed the podium; this was already the 12th podium finish for the Iceman this season! Ricciardo was left 4th, Bottas 5th and Sebastian 6th. Charles Leclerc was the impressive 7th, and Grosjean and Magnussen brought valuable points for Haas. Force India's Perez rounded out the top ten. So now it's official: Mercedes have clinched their fifth constructors' championship.
Max was extremely furious after the race. He showed his rage for Ocon right away. Max got so carried away with the fury caused by Ocon ruining his race, that Max even pushed Ocon multiple times during that "conversation". I don't accept Max's actions but I do understand him. Max would have won the race, had Ocon not crashed into him! And they weren't even running for positions at that point! And what a phenomenal race Max drove! Staggering overtaking moves without stupid mistakes. Max shone like a star at Interlagos yesterday. On track he was pure professional. The same can't be said about his behavior after the race... However, it's humane to get carried away by strong emotions.
One more round to go. The season finale will take place in Abu Dhabi in a fortnight. Hopefully the red-suited drivers will have a glamorous end to their season! It will be the very last race for Kimi in the red suit. One era is coming to an end.
sunnuntai 11. marraskuuta 2018
Brazil GP / Qualifying: 10th pole of the season for Hamilton!
As there was a 60 % chance of rain during the qualifying, everyone headed out on the red-walled super-softs right away. Red Bull's Verstappen topped the time sheets after the first runs, with Kimi second and Hamilton third. Once again Sauber showed amazing pace, Leclerc being faster than Mercedes' Bottas after the first attempts. The red-suited drivers were extremely evenly matched, as Kimi and Sebastian set identical lap times on their second runs. The much-expected rain arrived at Turn 12, when there were about eight minutes left in the clock. The rain intensified a little towards the end of the segment, but the track still remained dry enough for the slicks. The battle in the midfield was extremely tight, and the margins were tiny. Renault's Sainz, who was the first driver to miss out on Q2, was tenuous five thousandths of a second off Force India's Ocon, who was the last driver to get through to the second session. Toro Rosso's Hartley, Williams' Stroll and the McLaren duo of Alonso and Vandoorne were also out of Q2.
Again, everyone rushed out straight away, as the second session was kicked off. It was vital to get a banker lap in, in case the rain would worsen the track conditions. Mercedes sent their drivers out on the softest rubber, as did Ferrari. However, Ferrari opted to call their drivers in after an installation lap. Both red-suited drivers switched to the yellow-marked middle compound, which was a risky but courageous call from the Red Team. Bottas went fastest, but Sebastian on the harder rubber was only five hundredths of a second off the Finn. Hamilton was third, Verstappen fourth and Kimi fifth. As soon as the other two top teams saw, how competitive the Ferraris were on the softs, they, too sent their drivers out on the soft compound. However, with seven minutes left in the clock, there began heavy rain at Turns 13 and 14. Neither the Red Bull drivers nor the Mercedes duo were able to improve their lap times in the changing conditions. There was a scary-looking incident, which involved Hamilton and Williams' Sirotkin. Hamilton was on a cool-down lap, and Sirotkin was coming from behind. The Russian had to make a sharp evading move, not to hit the Briton. However, Hamilton didn't get a penalty for impeding Sirotkin, as the Russian, too had been on a cool-down lap, in spite of the pace difference. The track conditions turned more challenging at the end of the second session. There was only one driver, who was able to improve his lap time in the end. And that was Sauber's Leclerc! The team already asked the Monegasque to drive into the pits, but he insisted, that he wanted to give it a one more try. And he jumped 8th after a magnificent lap! Also teammate Ericsson managed to make it through to the last segment. Eliminated from Q3 were Haas' Magnussen, the Force India duo of Perez and Ocon and Williams' Sirotkin.
There was no more rain, as the last 12-minute session got underway. When it came down to the decisive laps, Hamilton nailed it once again. The Briton took provisional pole by 0.073s to Sebastian. Bottas in third was 0.14s down on his teammate and Kimi in fourth was 0.155s off the five-time world champion. In dry conditions the Red Bulls proved unable to take the battle to Mercedes and Ferrari. The second runs saw no change in terms of the top five. Hamilton was the only driver, who managed to improve his lap time, but only by two hundredths of a second. This meant the 10th pole position of the season for the superior Briton. Sebastian got quite close, being only 0.093s off the Mercedes ace. The Finns locked down the second row, with Bottas having the upper hand on his fellow countryman. The third row belonged to the Red Bull drivers, with Verstappen 5th and Ricciardo 6th. Sauber made a stunning job by locking down the fourth row (Ericsson 7th and Leclerc 8th). Haas' Grosjean and Toro Rosso's Gasly rounded out the top ten.
For a while there were rumors after qualifying, that Sebastian could get penalized for a weighbridge infringement, which had taken place in Q2. On his way to get the softs on, Sebastian was called for a weigh-in. Sebastian was very annoyed about that, as he was in a hurry to get the lap done on the softs. Sebastian waved his hands irritably and told the officials to hurry up. According to the regulations the car must be pushed off from the weighbridge by the officials, but Sebastian decided to drive off himself. This caused major damage to the weighbridge. At first I was sure, that Sebastian was going to get a penalty for his actions. With an infringement like this, the driver could be excluded from the qualifying results. However, Sebastian only got a reprimand and a 25 000 -dollar fine. The key things to avoid the penalty were the facts, that he did turn his engine off on the weighbridge and that the officials managed to weigh the car successfully. But still I wonder, what has got to Sebastian this season. He doesn't seem to be himself... Any of the drivers could get the call for the weigh-in, so why lose nerves like this?
Ferrari seemed to suffer from blistering on the long runs on Friday, so today's race will certainly be interesting. Mercedes will have the advantage at the start, as they start to the race on the softer compound. But will Ferrari be able to make their strategy work better on the race distance? Everything changes, if it rains... Looking forward to an action-packed race! Forza Ferrari! Go Kimi! Go Sebastian!
Again, everyone rushed out straight away, as the second session was kicked off. It was vital to get a banker lap in, in case the rain would worsen the track conditions. Mercedes sent their drivers out on the softest rubber, as did Ferrari. However, Ferrari opted to call their drivers in after an installation lap. Both red-suited drivers switched to the yellow-marked middle compound, which was a risky but courageous call from the Red Team. Bottas went fastest, but Sebastian on the harder rubber was only five hundredths of a second off the Finn. Hamilton was third, Verstappen fourth and Kimi fifth. As soon as the other two top teams saw, how competitive the Ferraris were on the softs, they, too sent their drivers out on the soft compound. However, with seven minutes left in the clock, there began heavy rain at Turns 13 and 14. Neither the Red Bull drivers nor the Mercedes duo were able to improve their lap times in the changing conditions. There was a scary-looking incident, which involved Hamilton and Williams' Sirotkin. Hamilton was on a cool-down lap, and Sirotkin was coming from behind. The Russian had to make a sharp evading move, not to hit the Briton. However, Hamilton didn't get a penalty for impeding Sirotkin, as the Russian, too had been on a cool-down lap, in spite of the pace difference. The track conditions turned more challenging at the end of the second session. There was only one driver, who was able to improve his lap time in the end. And that was Sauber's Leclerc! The team already asked the Monegasque to drive into the pits, but he insisted, that he wanted to give it a one more try. And he jumped 8th after a magnificent lap! Also teammate Ericsson managed to make it through to the last segment. Eliminated from Q3 were Haas' Magnussen, the Force India duo of Perez and Ocon and Williams' Sirotkin.
There was no more rain, as the last 12-minute session got underway. When it came down to the decisive laps, Hamilton nailed it once again. The Briton took provisional pole by 0.073s to Sebastian. Bottas in third was 0.14s down on his teammate and Kimi in fourth was 0.155s off the five-time world champion. In dry conditions the Red Bulls proved unable to take the battle to Mercedes and Ferrari. The second runs saw no change in terms of the top five. Hamilton was the only driver, who managed to improve his lap time, but only by two hundredths of a second. This meant the 10th pole position of the season for the superior Briton. Sebastian got quite close, being only 0.093s off the Mercedes ace. The Finns locked down the second row, with Bottas having the upper hand on his fellow countryman. The third row belonged to the Red Bull drivers, with Verstappen 5th and Ricciardo 6th. Sauber made a stunning job by locking down the fourth row (Ericsson 7th and Leclerc 8th). Haas' Grosjean and Toro Rosso's Gasly rounded out the top ten.
For a while there were rumors after qualifying, that Sebastian could get penalized for a weighbridge infringement, which had taken place in Q2. On his way to get the softs on, Sebastian was called for a weigh-in. Sebastian was very annoyed about that, as he was in a hurry to get the lap done on the softs. Sebastian waved his hands irritably and told the officials to hurry up. According to the regulations the car must be pushed off from the weighbridge by the officials, but Sebastian decided to drive off himself. This caused major damage to the weighbridge. At first I was sure, that Sebastian was going to get a penalty for his actions. With an infringement like this, the driver could be excluded from the qualifying results. However, Sebastian only got a reprimand and a 25 000 -dollar fine. The key things to avoid the penalty were the facts, that he did turn his engine off on the weighbridge and that the officials managed to weigh the car successfully. But still I wonder, what has got to Sebastian this season. He doesn't seem to be himself... Any of the drivers could get the call for the weigh-in, so why lose nerves like this?
Ferrari seemed to suffer from blistering on the long runs on Friday, so today's race will certainly be interesting. Mercedes will have the advantage at the start, as they start to the race on the softer compound. But will Ferrari be able to make their strategy work better on the race distance? Everything changes, if it rains... Looking forward to an action-packed race! Forza Ferrari! Go Kimi! Go Sebastian!
maanantai 29. lokakuuta 2018
Mexico GP: Win for flying Verstappen, world title for Hamilton!
After a bitter disappointment in qualifying, Verstappen had slept only three hours, and there was an aggressive Red Bull pilot on the second grid slot on Sunday. As the lights went off, Verstappen attacked with full throttle, taking the lead. Pole-setter Ricciardo, on the other hand, had a bad start, and lost a position to Hamilton as well. The Briton came close to challenge even Verstappen for the lead. Kimi, who had started from P6, was overtaken by Renault's Sainz, but Kimi snatched his 6th place back on the following lap. There was a close call on the opening lap, as Sebastian's front-right tyre touched Bottas' front wing. Luckily there were no consequences due to the contact!
It was very surprising to see, how huge an issue the tyre degradation turned out, especially for the Silver Arrows. Hamilton was in severe trouble with his out-worn ultra-softs already on lap 8. Kimi, too was struggling with his tyres. There was no way this was going to be a one-stop race! The Mercedes teammates Hamilton and Bottas both pitted on lap 12, for a fresh set of super-soft Pirellis. Red Bull's Ricciardo pitted on the sequential lap, also for the red-walled super-softs.
Race leader Verstappen pitted on lap 14, opting for a similar tyre choice to his teammate. The flying Dutchman re-joined the track in P3, right behind Kimi, who hadn't pitted yet. Ferrari's strategy seemed to be to keep Kimi on track, to slow down Verstappen. However, Max was absolutely flying on his fresh tyres, so Kimi was facing a mission impossible. The difference in the pace of these two was so significant, that Max could easily make it past the Iceman at the end of the main straight. Kimi's lap times at this point were four seconds slower than Verstappen's! This seemed as a very poor strategic call from Ferrari at this point... On lap 17 both Hamilton and Ricciardo passed Kimi, who had no chance to defend his position on his dying tyres.
Both red-suited drivers pitted on lap 18, opting for the hardest compound as well. Sebastian re-joined the track in P4 and Kimi in P6. Verstappen in the lead was in a class of his own, as the gap to Hamilton was already nine seconds. Kimi's pace on the second stint was extremely promising, and he was clearly faster than his fellow countryman Bottas. Hamilton, on the other hand, was once again in trouble with the tyres! Mercedes seemed to be harder on the tyres than Red Bull and Mercedes. It was kind of weird to see Mercedes struggling so much with their pace, as they have been so competitive all season so far.
On lap 29 Sebastian was right at Ricciardo's tail. The German was allowed to use DRS, and this time he was patiently waiting for his chance to make a move. Meanwhile Sainz's Renault was hit with a power unit failure, which deployed the virtual safety car. On lap 34 Sebastian made a successful overtaking move on his ex-teammate in Turn 2. I was so happy for Sebastian, who made the move perfectly and snatched the third place from Ricciardo. After overtaking the Australian, Sebastian rapidly closed the gap to Hamilton, who was struggling desperately with his tyres and missing pace. And Sebastian attacked again on lap 39! The hungry German passed his title rival at the end of the main straight, moving second already. Sebastian started banging fastest lap times, and the storming Ferrari ace was half-a-second per lap quicker than Verstappen in the lead.
The pit stop roulette started again on lap 47. Sebastian pitted for a fresh set of ultra-softs, whilst Hamilton had to opt for a used set of the middle compound. Meanwhile, there was an intense battle between the Finns. Kimi was right at Bottas' tail, putting pressure on his compatriot. Bottas locked up in Turn 1 and ended up going wide. Kimi thanked for the chance and passed Valtteri. Red Bull reacted right away and called Verstappen in. The Dutch Red Bull ace switched to another set of super-softs and re-joined the track in the lead. Teammate Ricciardo was second, four seconds behind Max. Sebastian was third and Kimi fourth. Bottas pitted for a used set of ultra-softs, as there were no fresh sets left. It was a bit weird to see the Silver Arrows back in P5 and P6.
With 20 laps to go, Sebastian had hunted down Ricciardo. Although Sebastian managed to make it within DRS distance, he seemed to be stuck behind the Australian. Until something dramatic happened on lap 62. There was smoke coming from the rear of Ricciardo's RB14! Once again the Australian's Red Bull was hit with a technical failure, and this was already the 8th DNF for the unfortunate Honey Badger. Ricciardo has the very questionable honour of having more DNFs than any other driver this season. What a bitter and heart-rending disappointment for Ricciardo! Ricciardo's retirement brought out the virtual safety car. It was no wonder, that Max in the lead became very worried about the condition of his power unit.
On lap 67 Bottas pitted for the third time already. The Finn had to opt for the pink-walled hyper-softs, as there were no other compounds left. Meanwhile dominant race leader Verstappen lapped the Finn! Mercedes were definitely having a bad day in the office! Luckily that wasn't the case for the Red Team. Kimi had made excellent job with tyre management, and Kimi proved, that it was possible to make the one-stop strategy work. So what had first appeared to be a bad tactical call from Ferrari, proved a genius one at the end of the race, as Kimi had jumped third thanks to the one-stop strategy.
As a precaution Red Bull turned Verstappen's engine down at the end of the race. But there was nothing, that could threaten the flying Dutchman's victory! He crossed the finish line as the race winner for the second time this season. Sebastian finished the runner-up after a strong race, with teammate Kimi completing the podium. Hamilton finished the race in P4, which was high enough for the Briton to secure his fifth world championship. Teammate Bottas finished 5th, with Renault's Hulkenberg 6th, Sauber's Leclerc 7th, McLaren's Vandoorne 8th, Sauber's Ericsson 9th and Toro Rosso's Gasly 10th.
I have to admit, that Hamilton really deserves the fifth championship. He has had an impressive season with hardly any mistakes. Sebastian showed true sportmanship, as he went to congratulate his rival right after the race. Mercedes still haven't clinched the constructors' championship, but the Red Team is 55 points behind them already. There are two more rounds to go... Hopefully two more victories to take for the Red Team! Never give up! Forza Ferrari!
It was very surprising to see, how huge an issue the tyre degradation turned out, especially for the Silver Arrows. Hamilton was in severe trouble with his out-worn ultra-softs already on lap 8. Kimi, too was struggling with his tyres. There was no way this was going to be a one-stop race! The Mercedes teammates Hamilton and Bottas both pitted on lap 12, for a fresh set of super-soft Pirellis. Red Bull's Ricciardo pitted on the sequential lap, also for the red-walled super-softs.
Race leader Verstappen pitted on lap 14, opting for a similar tyre choice to his teammate. The flying Dutchman re-joined the track in P3, right behind Kimi, who hadn't pitted yet. Ferrari's strategy seemed to be to keep Kimi on track, to slow down Verstappen. However, Max was absolutely flying on his fresh tyres, so Kimi was facing a mission impossible. The difference in the pace of these two was so significant, that Max could easily make it past the Iceman at the end of the main straight. Kimi's lap times at this point were four seconds slower than Verstappen's! This seemed as a very poor strategic call from Ferrari at this point... On lap 17 both Hamilton and Ricciardo passed Kimi, who had no chance to defend his position on his dying tyres.
Both red-suited drivers pitted on lap 18, opting for the hardest compound as well. Sebastian re-joined the track in P4 and Kimi in P6. Verstappen in the lead was in a class of his own, as the gap to Hamilton was already nine seconds. Kimi's pace on the second stint was extremely promising, and he was clearly faster than his fellow countryman Bottas. Hamilton, on the other hand, was once again in trouble with the tyres! Mercedes seemed to be harder on the tyres than Red Bull and Mercedes. It was kind of weird to see Mercedes struggling so much with their pace, as they have been so competitive all season so far.
On lap 29 Sebastian was right at Ricciardo's tail. The German was allowed to use DRS, and this time he was patiently waiting for his chance to make a move. Meanwhile Sainz's Renault was hit with a power unit failure, which deployed the virtual safety car. On lap 34 Sebastian made a successful overtaking move on his ex-teammate in Turn 2. I was so happy for Sebastian, who made the move perfectly and snatched the third place from Ricciardo. After overtaking the Australian, Sebastian rapidly closed the gap to Hamilton, who was struggling desperately with his tyres and missing pace. And Sebastian attacked again on lap 39! The hungry German passed his title rival at the end of the main straight, moving second already. Sebastian started banging fastest lap times, and the storming Ferrari ace was half-a-second per lap quicker than Verstappen in the lead.
The pit stop roulette started again on lap 47. Sebastian pitted for a fresh set of ultra-softs, whilst Hamilton had to opt for a used set of the middle compound. Meanwhile, there was an intense battle between the Finns. Kimi was right at Bottas' tail, putting pressure on his compatriot. Bottas locked up in Turn 1 and ended up going wide. Kimi thanked for the chance and passed Valtteri. Red Bull reacted right away and called Verstappen in. The Dutch Red Bull ace switched to another set of super-softs and re-joined the track in the lead. Teammate Ricciardo was second, four seconds behind Max. Sebastian was third and Kimi fourth. Bottas pitted for a used set of ultra-softs, as there were no fresh sets left. It was a bit weird to see the Silver Arrows back in P5 and P6.
With 20 laps to go, Sebastian had hunted down Ricciardo. Although Sebastian managed to make it within DRS distance, he seemed to be stuck behind the Australian. Until something dramatic happened on lap 62. There was smoke coming from the rear of Ricciardo's RB14! Once again the Australian's Red Bull was hit with a technical failure, and this was already the 8th DNF for the unfortunate Honey Badger. Ricciardo has the very questionable honour of having more DNFs than any other driver this season. What a bitter and heart-rending disappointment for Ricciardo! Ricciardo's retirement brought out the virtual safety car. It was no wonder, that Max in the lead became very worried about the condition of his power unit.
On lap 67 Bottas pitted for the third time already. The Finn had to opt for the pink-walled hyper-softs, as there were no other compounds left. Meanwhile dominant race leader Verstappen lapped the Finn! Mercedes were definitely having a bad day in the office! Luckily that wasn't the case for the Red Team. Kimi had made excellent job with tyre management, and Kimi proved, that it was possible to make the one-stop strategy work. So what had first appeared to be a bad tactical call from Ferrari, proved a genius one at the end of the race, as Kimi had jumped third thanks to the one-stop strategy.
As a precaution Red Bull turned Verstappen's engine down at the end of the race. But there was nothing, that could threaten the flying Dutchman's victory! He crossed the finish line as the race winner for the second time this season. Sebastian finished the runner-up after a strong race, with teammate Kimi completing the podium. Hamilton finished the race in P4, which was high enough for the Briton to secure his fifth world championship. Teammate Bottas finished 5th, with Renault's Hulkenberg 6th, Sauber's Leclerc 7th, McLaren's Vandoorne 8th, Sauber's Ericsson 9th and Toro Rosso's Gasly 10th.
I have to admit, that Hamilton really deserves the fifth championship. He has had an impressive season with hardly any mistakes. Sebastian showed true sportmanship, as he went to congratulate his rival right after the race. Mercedes still haven't clinched the constructors' championship, but the Red Team is 55 points behind them already. There are two more rounds to go... Hopefully two more victories to take for the Red Team! Never give up! Forza Ferrari!
sunnuntai 28. lokakuuta 2018
Mexico GP / Qualifying: Ricciardo led Red Bull to a front row lock-out!
Red Bull had proved extremely competitive in the free practice sessions, with Verstappen stamping his authority all over the Autodromo Hermanos Rodriguez. Mexico was known to be the venue, where Red Bull would have their best chance to fight for pole position. It was surprising to see, that both Mercedes drivers came out on the ultra-softs already in Q1. Sebastian showed excellent pace right away, and the German went fastest, setting the fastest ever lap time around the Autodromo Hermanos Rodriguez. The Red Bull aces came out at the halfway point of the first segment. The Red Bulls were absolutely shining especially in the last sector through the stadium. Verstappen went on the top, with teammate Ricciardo just a tenth off the pace. The Mercedes duo of Hamilton and Bottas came out on the hyper-softs at the end of the session. Bottas had an impressive second flyer, and topped the timesheets, with Hamilton second. The Ferraris and the Red Bulls, on the other hand, sat out the second runs. Both Saubers made it through to Q2, whilst both Haas drivers got knocked out already in Q1. Seeing McLaren's Vandoorne and the Williams duo of Stroll and Sirotkin out of Q2 was no surprise.
As the pink-walled hyper-soft compound was predicted to be an extremely unfavourable choice for the race, all three top teams resorted to the purple-marked ultra-soft rubber in Q2. More unexpected was to see both Force India cars come out on the super-softs, which is the hardest compound of the weekend. It was thrilling to see, how evenly matched the top three teams were in terms of performance. Verstappen was the fastest man of the second session, but edged Mercedes' Hamilton by four thousandths of a second only. Sebastian was third, only 0.075s off Max's benchmark. Ricciardo was fourth, followed by the Finns of Bottas and Kimi. As expected, all top six drivers came out on the softest compound at the end of the segment, but neither of them improved his lap time. The Force Indias made their second runs on the middle compound, which seemed a bizarre choice, as they both missed out on the decisive last segment. Mexico with its high air definitely mixed up the teams' pecking order. In addition to the top three teams, also both Renault drivers and both Saubers made it among the top ten.
The battle for pole was super exciting. Pole position was within any of the top six drivers' reach! Verstappen showed amazing pace and self-confidence, taking provisional pole. The gap to Sebastian was surprisingly big, 0.185s. Hamilton was third, two tenths down on flying Max. Ricciardo was fourth, Bottas fifth and Kimi sixth. Before the final runs, the question on everyone's mind was, whether Max would snatch the pole and rob the record of the youngest-ever pole-setter of Sebastian. However, something extremely unpredictable happened at the end of the session. Ricciardo's RB14 came alive on the Australian's second run, and the Honey Badger made it on pole by 0.026s to his teammate! This was the first pole position that Ricciardo hasn't scored in Monaco. Max made it a front row lock-out, which was the first for Red Bull since 2013! The championship leader Hamilton was left third, 0.135s off the pace. Sebastian was fourth (+0.2s), Bottas fifth (+0.4s) and Kimi sixth (0.5s). However, an interesting and revealing statistic detail is, that Kimi remains the only driver to start every race in the top six in 2018. The Renault duo of Hulkenberg and Sainz paired up on the fourth row, followed by the Sauber duo of Leclerc and Ericsson.
Verstappen was extremely disappointed after losing the eagerly-hunted pole to his teammate. Max didn't hold back his emotions, either. Entering the parc ferme, the Dutchman ostentatiously hit the number 2 sign. In the post-qualifying interview he referred to his qualifying as "crap". So I'm sure we're going to see an extremely gutted and hungry Verstappen at the start today. But there is a worrying question about Red Bull's reliability. Will both energy company cars make it to the chequered flag today? Hamilton, on the other hand, has no pressure in the race. P7 is enough for the Briton to secure his fifth world championship, no matter where Sebastian finishes. Without technical issues I believe we're going to see a Red Bull victory today. But I hope the red-suited drivers will be up there to challenge the Bulls closely. I'm definitely looking forward to an entertaining Mexico GP tonight!
As the pink-walled hyper-soft compound was predicted to be an extremely unfavourable choice for the race, all three top teams resorted to the purple-marked ultra-soft rubber in Q2. More unexpected was to see both Force India cars come out on the super-softs, which is the hardest compound of the weekend. It was thrilling to see, how evenly matched the top three teams were in terms of performance. Verstappen was the fastest man of the second session, but edged Mercedes' Hamilton by four thousandths of a second only. Sebastian was third, only 0.075s off Max's benchmark. Ricciardo was fourth, followed by the Finns of Bottas and Kimi. As expected, all top six drivers came out on the softest compound at the end of the segment, but neither of them improved his lap time. The Force Indias made their second runs on the middle compound, which seemed a bizarre choice, as they both missed out on the decisive last segment. Mexico with its high air definitely mixed up the teams' pecking order. In addition to the top three teams, also both Renault drivers and both Saubers made it among the top ten.
The battle for pole was super exciting. Pole position was within any of the top six drivers' reach! Verstappen showed amazing pace and self-confidence, taking provisional pole. The gap to Sebastian was surprisingly big, 0.185s. Hamilton was third, two tenths down on flying Max. Ricciardo was fourth, Bottas fifth and Kimi sixth. Before the final runs, the question on everyone's mind was, whether Max would snatch the pole and rob the record of the youngest-ever pole-setter of Sebastian. However, something extremely unpredictable happened at the end of the session. Ricciardo's RB14 came alive on the Australian's second run, and the Honey Badger made it on pole by 0.026s to his teammate! This was the first pole position that Ricciardo hasn't scored in Monaco. Max made it a front row lock-out, which was the first for Red Bull since 2013! The championship leader Hamilton was left third, 0.135s off the pace. Sebastian was fourth (+0.2s), Bottas fifth (+0.4s) and Kimi sixth (0.5s). However, an interesting and revealing statistic detail is, that Kimi remains the only driver to start every race in the top six in 2018. The Renault duo of Hulkenberg and Sainz paired up on the fourth row, followed by the Sauber duo of Leclerc and Ericsson.
Verstappen was extremely disappointed after losing the eagerly-hunted pole to his teammate. Max didn't hold back his emotions, either. Entering the parc ferme, the Dutchman ostentatiously hit the number 2 sign. In the post-qualifying interview he referred to his qualifying as "crap". So I'm sure we're going to see an extremely gutted and hungry Verstappen at the start today. But there is a worrying question about Red Bull's reliability. Will both energy company cars make it to the chequered flag today? Hamilton, on the other hand, has no pressure in the race. P7 is enough for the Briton to secure his fifth world championship, no matter where Sebastian finishes. Without technical issues I believe we're going to see a Red Bull victory today. But I hope the red-suited drivers will be up there to challenge the Bulls closely. I'm definitely looking forward to an entertaining Mexico GP tonight!
maanantai 22. lokakuuta 2018
US GP: Grande Kimi won after a 5-year dry season!
What a start the US GP had! Kimi, who started from P2 on the ultra-soft Pirellis, took control right away. The Iceman challenged pole-setter Hamilton for the lead, going into Turn 1. Kimi went to the inside, and although Hamilton tried everything to block the ice cool Finn, Kimi squeezed it past the Briton, taking the lead. That was a moment of pure joy! Kimi had absolutely nailed it at the start!
On my yesterday's blog post I wrote, that Sebastian couldn't afford any first-lap mistakes in the US GP. Well, unfortunately my hopes weren't answered! Sebastian had a tight battle with Red Bull's Ricciardo for P4 after the start. Sebastian seemed to have an advantage in terms of pace, but again the German was lacking patience! Sebastian tried a move on his ex-teammate, going into the outside of Ricciardo, but their wheels touched and Sebastian span! Once again Sebastian had made the race extremely challenging for himself. He dropped down to P14 and had to start a recovery run...
The opening lap wasn't problem-free in the midfield, either. Sauber's Leclerc had a collision with Haas' Grosjean, and another crash involved Williams' Stroll and McLaren's Alonso. The Spaniard was the first driver to retire, and Stroll was handed a drive through penalty for causing the collision. Grosjean, too had to retire due to the incident with Leclerc.
Red Bull's Verstappen, on the other hand, had an amazing start to the race. The Dutchman had started from P18, but by lap 7 he had made his way up to P5 already! The further back on the grid Max starts, the better he seems to perform. He made overtaking look so easy. Max always delivers when it comes to putting up a staggering overtaking show. However, teammate Ricciardo was once again the victim of Red Bull's reliability issues. The Australian lost all power on lap 9, and his RB14 stopped on the track. A very frustrated Ricciardo got out of the car. So it was good-bye for P4 and valuable points! Virtual safety car was deployed, as Ricciardo's Red Bull had stopped dangerously on track.
Mercedes made a strategic call to take Hamilton in during the virtual safety car. The Briton switched to the yellow-marked hardest compound. Ferrari told Kimi on the team radio, that Hamilton was probably on a two-stop strategy. I didn't believe it, I have to admit. I was sure, that it was Hamilton's first and last pit stop in the race. Meanwhile, Sebastian had managed to make his way through the field, and had moved fifth already.
After his pit stop, Hamilton was absolutely flying around the track, decreasing the gap to Kimi extremely rapidly. Bottas was told on the team radio to give way for his teammate, and the Finn obeyed the team order. Kimi was a second per lap slower than Hamilton, who was storming on his fresh set of tyres. At this point I was seriously thinking, that Ferrari had made a wrong tactical call by not taking Kimi in during the virtual safety car. On lap 19 Hamilton was right at the Iceman's tail, benefitting from the use of the DRS. Turn after turn, Hamilton was patiently lurking for a chance to overtake the Iceman, but the ice cool Finn played it smart and defended his position with a big heart and ice cool attitude. Two laps later Kimi pitted for a fresh set of soft tyres. Kimi re-joined the track in P5, 19 seconds off Hamilton.
Verstappen, who had been utterly on flames, pitted for a different tyre strategy. The Dutch Red Bull ace opted for a fresh set of super-soft Pirellis. Bottas, who pitted a lap later for a similar tyre choice to his teammate, lost a position to Verstappen, when re-joining the track. On lap 25 we saw quite a rare team order from Ferrari, as the Red Team told Sebastian to give way for Kimi, who was much faster on the fresh set of tyres. Hamilton was now leading the race, Kimi was second and Sebastian third. Verstappen was fourth and Bottas fifth.
Sebastian pitted on lap 26 for the hardest rubber, and re-joined the track in P5. Kimi had banged excellent lap times, and the gap to Hamilton was now 17 seconds. Hamilton had 10 laps more on his tyres, and the championship leader started to struggle with his tyres. Kimi's lap times were much more competitive than the Briton's, and on lap 36 the gap between these two was only some 10 seconds. In no time Hamilton was in serious trouble especially with his rear tyres, which were badly blistered. Hamilton had no choice but to pit for a fresh set of softs on lap 37. Kimi took the lead, as Hamilton re-joined the track in P4. The teams had missed the long runs on Friday due to the rainy conditions, so tyre degradation must have come as a surprise for Mercedes. I was so happy for Kimi! I knew, that having taken the lead, Kimi was determined to take the win!
Hamilton was absolutely storming on his fresh tyres. His lap times were two seconds faster than Kimi's! Would Kimi's worn softs last till the end? The last 15 laps were such a thriller! I was kind of glad, that I was watching the race at hospital; at least the nurses would be close, if I got a heart attack! Once again Bottas let his teammate past, and Hamilton kept up his superior pace. With seven laps to go, the top three drivers were within 2.5 seconds! Kimi was leading the race, with Verstappen right at his tail. Hamilton, on the other hand, was lurking right behind Verstappen. I wanted Kimi to win the race -I wanted it so badly! I was happy, that Verstappen was behind Kimi, because I knew, that the Dutchman wouldn't let Hamilton to get past. The closing laps seemed to take an eternity... Verstappen was allowed to use DRS against Kimi at some point, but Kimi defended his position absolutely flawlessly. Hamilton made a move on Verstappen three laps before the chequered flag, but ended up going wide.
Sebastian and Bottas had an intense battle of their own for P4. The Finn struggled with his out-worn tyres, and Sebastian squeezed it past Bottas on the second last lap. It was certainly a convincing recovery from Sebastian after his first-lap mistake. But Kimi won the US GP! This was the first win for the Iceman since the 2013 Australian GP! The Iceman showed the world, that as 39 years old he is not too old for Formula 1! I was so so happy for Kimi. It was a dream come true to see him on the top step of the podium and hear the national anthem of Finland. Verstappen finished the runner-up, and Hamilton was left third. This meant, that Hamilton didn't clinch the world championship, at least not yet. Sebastian finished fourth and Bottas fifth. Renault's Hulkenberg was the "best of the rest", finishing 6th. Force India's Ocon and Haas' Magnussen, who had finished 7th and 8th, were excluded from the results due to a fuel infringement, so Renault's Sainz was promoted 7th. Force India's Perez, Toro Rosso's Hartley and Sauber's Ericsson completed the top ten.
The F1 circus stays in America, and round 19 will take place in Mexico already this week. Hopefully Kimi will keep up his amazing momentum! I want to see more red victories at the end of the season!
On my yesterday's blog post I wrote, that Sebastian couldn't afford any first-lap mistakes in the US GP. Well, unfortunately my hopes weren't answered! Sebastian had a tight battle with Red Bull's Ricciardo for P4 after the start. Sebastian seemed to have an advantage in terms of pace, but again the German was lacking patience! Sebastian tried a move on his ex-teammate, going into the outside of Ricciardo, but their wheels touched and Sebastian span! Once again Sebastian had made the race extremely challenging for himself. He dropped down to P14 and had to start a recovery run...
The opening lap wasn't problem-free in the midfield, either. Sauber's Leclerc had a collision with Haas' Grosjean, and another crash involved Williams' Stroll and McLaren's Alonso. The Spaniard was the first driver to retire, and Stroll was handed a drive through penalty for causing the collision. Grosjean, too had to retire due to the incident with Leclerc.
Red Bull's Verstappen, on the other hand, had an amazing start to the race. The Dutchman had started from P18, but by lap 7 he had made his way up to P5 already! The further back on the grid Max starts, the better he seems to perform. He made overtaking look so easy. Max always delivers when it comes to putting up a staggering overtaking show. However, teammate Ricciardo was once again the victim of Red Bull's reliability issues. The Australian lost all power on lap 9, and his RB14 stopped on the track. A very frustrated Ricciardo got out of the car. So it was good-bye for P4 and valuable points! Virtual safety car was deployed, as Ricciardo's Red Bull had stopped dangerously on track.
Mercedes made a strategic call to take Hamilton in during the virtual safety car. The Briton switched to the yellow-marked hardest compound. Ferrari told Kimi on the team radio, that Hamilton was probably on a two-stop strategy. I didn't believe it, I have to admit. I was sure, that it was Hamilton's first and last pit stop in the race. Meanwhile, Sebastian had managed to make his way through the field, and had moved fifth already.
After his pit stop, Hamilton was absolutely flying around the track, decreasing the gap to Kimi extremely rapidly. Bottas was told on the team radio to give way for his teammate, and the Finn obeyed the team order. Kimi was a second per lap slower than Hamilton, who was storming on his fresh set of tyres. At this point I was seriously thinking, that Ferrari had made a wrong tactical call by not taking Kimi in during the virtual safety car. On lap 19 Hamilton was right at the Iceman's tail, benefitting from the use of the DRS. Turn after turn, Hamilton was patiently lurking for a chance to overtake the Iceman, but the ice cool Finn played it smart and defended his position with a big heart and ice cool attitude. Two laps later Kimi pitted for a fresh set of soft tyres. Kimi re-joined the track in P5, 19 seconds off Hamilton.
Verstappen, who had been utterly on flames, pitted for a different tyre strategy. The Dutch Red Bull ace opted for a fresh set of super-soft Pirellis. Bottas, who pitted a lap later for a similar tyre choice to his teammate, lost a position to Verstappen, when re-joining the track. On lap 25 we saw quite a rare team order from Ferrari, as the Red Team told Sebastian to give way for Kimi, who was much faster on the fresh set of tyres. Hamilton was now leading the race, Kimi was second and Sebastian third. Verstappen was fourth and Bottas fifth.
Sebastian pitted on lap 26 for the hardest rubber, and re-joined the track in P5. Kimi had banged excellent lap times, and the gap to Hamilton was now 17 seconds. Hamilton had 10 laps more on his tyres, and the championship leader started to struggle with his tyres. Kimi's lap times were much more competitive than the Briton's, and on lap 36 the gap between these two was only some 10 seconds. In no time Hamilton was in serious trouble especially with his rear tyres, which were badly blistered. Hamilton had no choice but to pit for a fresh set of softs on lap 37. Kimi took the lead, as Hamilton re-joined the track in P4. The teams had missed the long runs on Friday due to the rainy conditions, so tyre degradation must have come as a surprise for Mercedes. I was so happy for Kimi! I knew, that having taken the lead, Kimi was determined to take the win!
Hamilton was absolutely storming on his fresh tyres. His lap times were two seconds faster than Kimi's! Would Kimi's worn softs last till the end? The last 15 laps were such a thriller! I was kind of glad, that I was watching the race at hospital; at least the nurses would be close, if I got a heart attack! Once again Bottas let his teammate past, and Hamilton kept up his superior pace. With seven laps to go, the top three drivers were within 2.5 seconds! Kimi was leading the race, with Verstappen right at his tail. Hamilton, on the other hand, was lurking right behind Verstappen. I wanted Kimi to win the race -I wanted it so badly! I was happy, that Verstappen was behind Kimi, because I knew, that the Dutchman wouldn't let Hamilton to get past. The closing laps seemed to take an eternity... Verstappen was allowed to use DRS against Kimi at some point, but Kimi defended his position absolutely flawlessly. Hamilton made a move on Verstappen three laps before the chequered flag, but ended up going wide.
Sebastian and Bottas had an intense battle of their own for P4. The Finn struggled with his out-worn tyres, and Sebastian squeezed it past Bottas on the second last lap. It was certainly a convincing recovery from Sebastian after his first-lap mistake. But Kimi won the US GP! This was the first win for the Iceman since the 2013 Australian GP! The Iceman showed the world, that as 39 years old he is not too old for Formula 1! I was so so happy for Kimi. It was a dream come true to see him on the top step of the podium and hear the national anthem of Finland. Verstappen finished the runner-up, and Hamilton was left third. This meant, that Hamilton didn't clinch the world championship, at least not yet. Sebastian finished fourth and Bottas fifth. Renault's Hulkenberg was the "best of the rest", finishing 6th. Force India's Ocon and Haas' Magnussen, who had finished 7th and 8th, were excluded from the results due to a fuel infringement, so Renault's Sainz was promoted 7th. Force India's Perez, Toro Rosso's Hartley and Sauber's Ericsson completed the top ten.
The F1 circus stays in America, and round 19 will take place in Mexico already this week. Hopefully Kimi will keep up his amazing momentum! I want to see more red victories at the end of the season!
sunnuntai 21. lokakuuta 2018
US GP / Qualifying: Hamilton on pole after a thrilling battle!
The temperature was only 19 degrees Celsius, but the track conditions were dry, when the qualifying at the Circuit of the Americas was kicked off. Ferrari had showed promising pace in the last free practice session, but everyone expected to see Mercedes' dominance in the qualifying. Sebastian went fastest at first, but soon the top spot was taken by the Mercedes ace Bottas. However, teammate Hamilton snatched the lead by three tenths, when there were ten minutes in the clock. The Red Bull duo of Verstappen and Ricciardo were 5th and 6th, half a second off the pace. The first segment proved dramatic for the flying Dutchman, as something broke in his RB14 after hitting the kerb in Turn 15. There seemed to be an issue with the rear-right suspension, and Verstappen managed only just to bring his car into the pits. Emotions were running high, as the technical failure ended the qualifying for the unfortunate Red Bull ace. The top six drivers -Mercedes, Ferrari and Red Bull- sat out the second runs, as there was no need to go out again. There were no surprise names in the knock-out zone. Both McLarens, both Williams and Sauber's Ericsson were out of the second segment. Ericsson's teammate Leclerc, on the other hand, stood out of the crowd by making it P13 in Q1.
The top teams' tyre strategy was interesting in Q2. Both Mercedes drivers came out on the red-walled super-softs, as expected. So did Red Bull's Ricciardo. Ferrari, on the other hand, sent Kimi out on the ultra-softs-softs, whilst Sebastian opted for the red-marked super-soft compound. Sebastian's tyre choice came down to the 3-place grid penalty, which he had been given for not slowing down sufficiently under the red flags in Friday's first practice session. Kimi went fastest, edging his teammate only by two tenths, despite the different tyre choice. Bottas was third, already eight tenths down on pace-setting Kimi. Hamilton had a very tame first attempt; the Briton was massive 1.1s off the pace, and had to resort to a second attempt after a cool-down lap. The second flyer was decent, and Hamilton jumped third, half a second down on Kimi. The Mercedes duo came out on the ultra-softs at the end of the second session, but didn't improve their lap times. The battle in the midfield was extremely tight. Renault's Hulkenberg was the last driver to make it through to the last segment. Teammate Sainz got knocked out of Q3 only by bitter two thousandths of a second! Along with the Spaniard, also Haas' Magnussen and the Toro Rosso duo of Gasly and Hartley were out of Q3. Due to the technical failure, Verstappen proved unable to set a time in Q2, and was therefore also out of the top ten. The top five drivers could be taken for granted -Kimi, Sebastian, Hamilton, Bottas and Ricciardo-, but the shining "best of the rest" in P6 was Sauber's Leclerc, which caught my eye. Haas' Grosjean made an impressive job as well, by being 7th fastest in Q2.
The third decisive session saw a hair-raising shootout for pole. The Red Team definitely didn't make it easy for the Silver Arrows. Hamilton took provisional pole, but only by 88 thousandths of a second! Sebastian showed top form, and he was determined to challenge the championship leader for pole. Bottas was third, only a tenth down on his teammate. Kimi was fourth, four tenths off the pace. Red Bull didn't have the pace to fight for pole, as Ricciardo was already almost a second down on the ultimate pace. The last minutes of the qualifying were absolutely breath-taking. Kimi had a flying second attempt, and the Iceman got every sector perfectly together, making it on the top! However, Kimi's joy lasted only for a fleeting moment, as Hamilton set the fastest lap time, robbing Kimi of the pole position. Sebastian, too was on flames on his last flyer, but the German ended up six hundredths of a second shy of Hamilton! Mercedes' and Ferrari's pace was very evenly matched, as the top three was separated by seven hundredths of a second only! Bottas in fourth was three tenths down on his teammate, and Ricciardo in fifth was massive 1.2s off the pace. Ocon qualified sixth for Force India and Hulkenberg 7th for Renault. Haas' Grosjean, Sauber's Leclerc and Force India's Perez rounded out the top ten.
Due to Sebastian's penalty, Kimi will start to the race from the front row, alongside title favourite Hamilton. Bottas and Ricciardo will start from the second row, as Sebastian has been dropped down to P5. Kimi will start on the softest rubber, whilst the other top five drivers are on the middle compound. If Kimi gets a dream start, he has every opportunity to challenge Hamilton for the lead. Sebastian has made many mistakes on the opening laps this season, because he has desperately wanted to get past his rivals right away. The situation is certainly difficult, as he needs to be patient but still aggressive, if he wants to keep his championship hopes alive. And I'm sure there will be frustrated and aggressive Verstappen starting from P18 today. I know it's going to be inevitable, that Hamilton will clinch his fifth world championship sooner or later, but I hope it won't happen today!
The top teams' tyre strategy was interesting in Q2. Both Mercedes drivers came out on the red-walled super-softs, as expected. So did Red Bull's Ricciardo. Ferrari, on the other hand, sent Kimi out on the ultra-softs-softs, whilst Sebastian opted for the red-marked super-soft compound. Sebastian's tyre choice came down to the 3-place grid penalty, which he had been given for not slowing down sufficiently under the red flags in Friday's first practice session. Kimi went fastest, edging his teammate only by two tenths, despite the different tyre choice. Bottas was third, already eight tenths down on pace-setting Kimi. Hamilton had a very tame first attempt; the Briton was massive 1.1s off the pace, and had to resort to a second attempt after a cool-down lap. The second flyer was decent, and Hamilton jumped third, half a second down on Kimi. The Mercedes duo came out on the ultra-softs at the end of the second session, but didn't improve their lap times. The battle in the midfield was extremely tight. Renault's Hulkenberg was the last driver to make it through to the last segment. Teammate Sainz got knocked out of Q3 only by bitter two thousandths of a second! Along with the Spaniard, also Haas' Magnussen and the Toro Rosso duo of Gasly and Hartley were out of Q3. Due to the technical failure, Verstappen proved unable to set a time in Q2, and was therefore also out of the top ten. The top five drivers could be taken for granted -Kimi, Sebastian, Hamilton, Bottas and Ricciardo-, but the shining "best of the rest" in P6 was Sauber's Leclerc, which caught my eye. Haas' Grosjean made an impressive job as well, by being 7th fastest in Q2.
The third decisive session saw a hair-raising shootout for pole. The Red Team definitely didn't make it easy for the Silver Arrows. Hamilton took provisional pole, but only by 88 thousandths of a second! Sebastian showed top form, and he was determined to challenge the championship leader for pole. Bottas was third, only a tenth down on his teammate. Kimi was fourth, four tenths off the pace. Red Bull didn't have the pace to fight for pole, as Ricciardo was already almost a second down on the ultimate pace. The last minutes of the qualifying were absolutely breath-taking. Kimi had a flying second attempt, and the Iceman got every sector perfectly together, making it on the top! However, Kimi's joy lasted only for a fleeting moment, as Hamilton set the fastest lap time, robbing Kimi of the pole position. Sebastian, too was on flames on his last flyer, but the German ended up six hundredths of a second shy of Hamilton! Mercedes' and Ferrari's pace was very evenly matched, as the top three was separated by seven hundredths of a second only! Bottas in fourth was three tenths down on his teammate, and Ricciardo in fifth was massive 1.2s off the pace. Ocon qualified sixth for Force India and Hulkenberg 7th for Renault. Haas' Grosjean, Sauber's Leclerc and Force India's Perez rounded out the top ten.
Due to Sebastian's penalty, Kimi will start to the race from the front row, alongside title favourite Hamilton. Bottas and Ricciardo will start from the second row, as Sebastian has been dropped down to P5. Kimi will start on the softest rubber, whilst the other top five drivers are on the middle compound. If Kimi gets a dream start, he has every opportunity to challenge Hamilton for the lead. Sebastian has made many mistakes on the opening laps this season, because he has desperately wanted to get past his rivals right away. The situation is certainly difficult, as he needs to be patient but still aggressive, if he wants to keep his championship hopes alive. And I'm sure there will be frustrated and aggressive Verstappen starting from P18 today. I know it's going to be inevitable, that Hamilton will clinch his fifth world championship sooner or later, but I hope it won't happen today!
sunnuntai 7. lokakuuta 2018
Japanese GP: No success for Ferrari, whilst superior Mercedes took a sweeping 1-2!
The conditions at Suzuka were hot and dry, as the lights went out. Both Mercedes drivers took a perfect start, Hamilton maintaining his lead. Verstappen was third and Kimi fourth. Sebastian had started to the race from P8, as Force India's Ocon had been given a 3-place grid penalty for ignoring the red flags in the qualifying. Sebastian's start was mesmerising, and the passionate German jumped two positions right away, moving to 6th. There was drama already on the opening lap. Verstappen made a mistake coming to the last chicane, ending up off track. Kimi, who had been right at the Dutchman's tail, smelled his chance and went to the outside. Max re-joined the track and crashed into the left sidepod of Kimi's SF71-H! There was debris flying off Kimi's Ferrari. Verstappen stubbornly maintained his 3rd place, and Sebastian, too made it ahead of his teammate, claiming P4 already. The incident was taken into investigation by the stewards, and Verstappen was handed a 5-second time penalty for re-joining the track unsafely.
Meanwhile, there was drama in the midfield as well. Sauber's Leclerc was in the tow of Haas' Magnussen, lurking for a chance to overtake the Dane. However, Magnussen made a sudden change of line twice, and Leclerc crashed into the rear of Magnussen's Haas! Magnussen ended up off track and suffered a rear-left puncture. What a dangerous move from the Haas pilot indeed! This incident, too was taken into investigation by the stewards, but no further action was warranted. This incident reminded very much of that between Sebastian and Hamilton in Russia last week. Had Magnussen been penalised for today's incident, it would have made the stewards look extremely inconsistent. The puncture destroyed the Dane's rear-left rim and ended the race for him.
Safety car was deployed as there was a lot of debris on track from Magnussen's car. Leclerc had to pit for a new nose. Re-start took place a few laps later. The order of the top five remained unchanged. But there was more breath-taking drama on lap 8. Sebastian, who desperately needed to chase down Hamilton, saw his chance coming into the spoon. Self-confident Sebastian dived alongside Verstappen, but Max wasn't going to let Sebastian get past him. Sebastian's move led into contact between the two, and Sebastian span. Max, too got some damage to his RB14, but was able to maintain P3. The move proved extremely costly for Sebastian, who dropped down to P19. My heart was bleeding; this was not the turn that I would have wanted to see in the race! At this very moment I felt so desperate; Sebastian's realistic chances for winning the championship this year are fading away for good. The incident was taken into investigation by the stewards, but it was seen as a racing incident and no penalties were given.
Kimi, who was struggling with the performance of his SF71-H especially in the left-turning corners, was the first top driver to pit on lap 17. The Iceman switched to the white-walled hardest rubber. Kimi showed excellent pace after his pit stop. He first made his way past Renault's Sainz, and then the Force India duo of Ocon and Perez. They were impressive and clever overtaking moves from the experienced Finn. Verstappen pitted on lap 21 for a different tyre strategy. The flying Dutchman opted for a fresh set of soft Pirellis and re-joined the track in P5, right ahead of Kimi. Both Bottas and Ricciardo pitted on lap 24, both for a fresh set of mediums. Thanks to a well-planned strategy, also Ricciardo re-joined the track ahead of Kimi. Race leader Hamilton pitted on the sequential lap, for a similar tyre choice to his teammate. It told everything about the Briton's dominance, as he re-joined the track in the lead. Bottas was second, followed by the Red Bull duo of Verstappen and Ricciardo.
Sebastian made his compulsory pit stop on lap 27. The German Ferrari ace opted for a fresh set of the middle compound and re-joined the track in P16. Sebastian had to start the overtaking roulette all over again... My heart was aching when I watched him struggle throughout the race. But gutsy Sebastian made his way through the field again, climbing back up to P6 in only seven laps. After that there was a 40-second gap to his teammate Kimi in P5, so that was unfortunately the end of the overtaking show for the German.
Virtual safety car was deployed on lap 41, as Leclerc's Sauber stopped on track due to a technical failure. With ten laps to go, Verstappen had hunted down Bottas, who was slowed down by the lapped cars. The Finn locked his front tyres when lapping Alonso, and Verstappen got right at the Finn's tail. But Bottas gave the Dutchman no chance for an overtaking move. Race leader Hamilton was hungry to get the grand slam, and the Briton set the fastest lap time on the second last lap. However, Sebastian set the screens purple on the penultimate lap and deprived Hamilton of the fastest lap time.
Flying Hamilton was in a class of his own. He had controlled the race perfectly and took his fifth consecutive victory. The dominant Briton has won six races out of seven, which is a remarkable statistics. Bottas made the day perfect for the Silver Arrows by finishing the runner-up. Max, who had collided with both Ferrari drivers, completed the podium for Red Bull. Ricciardo managed to make his way from P15 up to P4 and was well-deservedly voted as the Driver of the Day. Kimi finished the race in P5, and Sebastian had to settle for tame P6 after his venturesome overtaking attempt on Verstappen. This time it was Force India's Perez, who was the best of the rest, claiming P7. Haas' Grosjean, Force India's Ocon and Renault's Sainz completed the top ten.
Sebastian's situation in the championship battle is now extremely sticky. He is now massive 67 points down on Hamilton, who has done everything perfectly in the past five races. Hamilton clearly enjoys doing his job, and he has the momentum on his side. In the USA in a fortnight Hamilton already has the chance to Secure his fifth world title. Without major technical issues I don't believe Hamilton can lose the title anymore. The same implies to the constructors' championship battle. Ferrari are already 78 points down on Mercedes, which is like a light year already. It seems inevitable, that Mercedes will clinch the constructors' title, sooner or later.
I hope, that Sebastian could put all the massive pressure aside and concentrate on enjoying the driving, which he's so skillful and talented at. With success or no success, he has my support, always!
Meanwhile, there was drama in the midfield as well. Sauber's Leclerc was in the tow of Haas' Magnussen, lurking for a chance to overtake the Dane. However, Magnussen made a sudden change of line twice, and Leclerc crashed into the rear of Magnussen's Haas! Magnussen ended up off track and suffered a rear-left puncture. What a dangerous move from the Haas pilot indeed! This incident, too was taken into investigation by the stewards, but no further action was warranted. This incident reminded very much of that between Sebastian and Hamilton in Russia last week. Had Magnussen been penalised for today's incident, it would have made the stewards look extremely inconsistent. The puncture destroyed the Dane's rear-left rim and ended the race for him.
Safety car was deployed as there was a lot of debris on track from Magnussen's car. Leclerc had to pit for a new nose. Re-start took place a few laps later. The order of the top five remained unchanged. But there was more breath-taking drama on lap 8. Sebastian, who desperately needed to chase down Hamilton, saw his chance coming into the spoon. Self-confident Sebastian dived alongside Verstappen, but Max wasn't going to let Sebastian get past him. Sebastian's move led into contact between the two, and Sebastian span. Max, too got some damage to his RB14, but was able to maintain P3. The move proved extremely costly for Sebastian, who dropped down to P19. My heart was bleeding; this was not the turn that I would have wanted to see in the race! At this very moment I felt so desperate; Sebastian's realistic chances for winning the championship this year are fading away for good. The incident was taken into investigation by the stewards, but it was seen as a racing incident and no penalties were given.
Kimi, who was struggling with the performance of his SF71-H especially in the left-turning corners, was the first top driver to pit on lap 17. The Iceman switched to the white-walled hardest rubber. Kimi showed excellent pace after his pit stop. He first made his way past Renault's Sainz, and then the Force India duo of Ocon and Perez. They were impressive and clever overtaking moves from the experienced Finn. Verstappen pitted on lap 21 for a different tyre strategy. The flying Dutchman opted for a fresh set of soft Pirellis and re-joined the track in P5, right ahead of Kimi. Both Bottas and Ricciardo pitted on lap 24, both for a fresh set of mediums. Thanks to a well-planned strategy, also Ricciardo re-joined the track ahead of Kimi. Race leader Hamilton pitted on the sequential lap, for a similar tyre choice to his teammate. It told everything about the Briton's dominance, as he re-joined the track in the lead. Bottas was second, followed by the Red Bull duo of Verstappen and Ricciardo.
Sebastian made his compulsory pit stop on lap 27. The German Ferrari ace opted for a fresh set of the middle compound and re-joined the track in P16. Sebastian had to start the overtaking roulette all over again... My heart was aching when I watched him struggle throughout the race. But gutsy Sebastian made his way through the field again, climbing back up to P6 in only seven laps. After that there was a 40-second gap to his teammate Kimi in P5, so that was unfortunately the end of the overtaking show for the German.
Virtual safety car was deployed on lap 41, as Leclerc's Sauber stopped on track due to a technical failure. With ten laps to go, Verstappen had hunted down Bottas, who was slowed down by the lapped cars. The Finn locked his front tyres when lapping Alonso, and Verstappen got right at the Finn's tail. But Bottas gave the Dutchman no chance for an overtaking move. Race leader Hamilton was hungry to get the grand slam, and the Briton set the fastest lap time on the second last lap. However, Sebastian set the screens purple on the penultimate lap and deprived Hamilton of the fastest lap time.
Flying Hamilton was in a class of his own. He had controlled the race perfectly and took his fifth consecutive victory. The dominant Briton has won six races out of seven, which is a remarkable statistics. Bottas made the day perfect for the Silver Arrows by finishing the runner-up. Max, who had collided with both Ferrari drivers, completed the podium for Red Bull. Ricciardo managed to make his way from P15 up to P4 and was well-deservedly voted as the Driver of the Day. Kimi finished the race in P5, and Sebastian had to settle for tame P6 after his venturesome overtaking attempt on Verstappen. This time it was Force India's Perez, who was the best of the rest, claiming P7. Haas' Grosjean, Force India's Ocon and Renault's Sainz completed the top ten.
Sebastian's situation in the championship battle is now extremely sticky. He is now massive 67 points down on Hamilton, who has done everything perfectly in the past five races. Hamilton clearly enjoys doing his job, and he has the momentum on his side. In the USA in a fortnight Hamilton already has the chance to Secure his fifth world title. Without major technical issues I don't believe Hamilton can lose the title anymore. The same implies to the constructors' championship battle. Ferrari are already 78 points down on Mercedes, which is like a light year already. It seems inevitable, that Mercedes will clinch the constructors' title, sooner or later.
I hope, that Sebastian could put all the massive pressure aside and concentrate on enjoying the driving, which he's so skillful and talented at. With success or no success, he has my support, always!
lauantai 6. lokakuuta 2018
Japanese GP / Qualifying: Tactical call ruined Ferrari's qualifying!
After five years of total Mercedes dominance at Suzuka I expected no different in this year's qualifying. Conditions were dry, as the qualifying got underway, but there was a 60 % risk of rain. Everyone came out on the super-softs, and Hamilton set the benchmark right away. Sebastian was second, three tenths down on his title rival, followed by Bottas and Verstappen. On his second flyer Sebastian suddenly lost the grip and span, but luckily he managed to stay off the walls. Things were worse for Sauber's Ericsson, who went wide, losing control of his car and ending up into the wall. The session was red-flagged, when there were a bit less than ten minutes left in the clock. There was light drizzle already at the end of the first segment. The top three teams didn't need to come out for a second attempt. Williams' Stroll was a positive surprise, as the Canadian made it through to Q2. Once again Sauber's rising star Leclerc made an eye-catching job by making it P6 in the first segment. The biggest casualty in Q1 was Renault's Hulkenberg, who was the first man to be eliminated from the second segment. The elimination of Williams' Sirotkin and the McLaren duo of Alonso and Vandoorne was no surprise in the end.
Mercedes having been so dominant in the free practice sessions, everyone expected the Silver Arrows to opt for a different tyre strategy in Q2. This expection proved right. Mercedes sent their drivers out on the yellow-walled soft Pirellis, whilst Ferrari and Red Bull came out on the softest compound. In spite of the tyre choice, Bottas went fastest, edging his teammate by three thousandths of a second only. Sebastian was third, almost three tenths down on the Mercedes duo. Kimi was massive six tenths shy of the ultimate pace, although he had set his lap time on the softest rubber. It told everything about Mercedes' priority at Suzuka… The most unfortunate driver in Q2 was Red Bull's Ricciardo, who faced engine woes and was unable to set a lap time. It was a very frustrating day in the office for the Australian, who wasn't facing reliability issues for the first time this season! Towards the end of the second session the rain intensified. At first it was only raining lightly in the second sector, but soon the track had become so damp, that the conditions had turned slippery, and it became impossible for the drivers to improve their lap times. At the end of the session Sauber's Leclerc had a splashy 360-degree spin, but the talented Monegasque managed to maintain control of his C37. However, the future Ferrari star was the first driver to be knocked out of the final segment. In addition to Ricciardo and Leclerc, Haas' Magnussen, Renault's Sainz and Williams' Stroll were out of Q3. An interesting detail was, that Sainz, too had set his fastest lap on the soft rubber.
The conditions were quite challenging, as the final and decisive segment was kicked off. Which would be the right tyre choice? As there had been a shower of rain at the end of Q2, Ferrari sent their drivers out on the green-marked intermediate tyres. Mercedes and the other teams made a different tactical call, opting for the slicks. Ferrari's call turned out to be the wrong one, as the track was too dry for the intermediates. Both Kimi and Sebastian had to pit for slicks, losing valuable time. The wrong call had major consequences for the red-suited drivers. Everything didn't go as planned for Sebastian, who went wide on his first run, failing to set a competitive lap time. Hamilton took provisional pole by 0.299s to teammate Bottas. Verstappen was third, already 1.3s off Hamilton's pace. Kimi's first attempt was very tame as well, the Iceman being unbelievable 1.76s down on Hamilton. This definitely didn't seem to be Ferrari's day!
After the first runs the conditions took a turn to worse, as the rain intensified significantly. In the worsening track conditions Hamilton wasn't able to improve his benchmark on his second run. All drivers were in trouble on the slippery track. Kimi went wide in Turn 1, and teammate Sebastian was sliding all over the place... A much-telling fact is, that Hamilton was the only driver to be able to improve his lap time from Q2! A well-deserved 80th career pole for the Briton. Bottas made it a front row lock-out for the Silver Arrows. Verstappen benefitted from the Red Team's wrong tactical call and claimed P3. Kimi completed the second row for Ferrari. Haas' Grosjean made an impressive job in the mixed conditions, claiming P5. Toro Rosso succeeded well, too, as Hartley and Gasly qualified 6th and 7th. Force India's Ocon took P8 ahead of Sebastian, who was 4.4s off Hamilton's pace in the end! What a catastrophic session for Sebastian, who would have needed to qualify ahead of Hamilton to maximise his chances to close the gap in the drivers' championship standings!
Ferrari seem to be in serious trouble. In the free practice sessions the red team suffered from blistering rear tyres, whilst Mercedes were able to make the tyres last longer. Do you know days, when you wake up and everything starts to go wrong right from the beginning? Same seems to imply to Ferrari's hopes of winning the championship. Wrong tactical and strategic calls, mistakes by the drivers… Setbacks and difficulties seem to build up one after another. Changing the course will be extremely difficult.
Mercedes are starting to the race on the more durable rubber, which gives the Silver Arrows a strategic advantage. The red-suited drivers' chance lies on the race start. But Sebastian won't have it easy to climb up through the field… Nevertheless, I won't give up on hope. Sebastian has made a few mistakes this season, but it's not too late to turn the tables. I can only imagine the pressure that is on both the drivers and on the team, especially by the Italian media. Too much pressure is never good for the atmosphere in the team.
I hope my red-suited heroes make waking up early for the race worth it!
Mercedes having been so dominant in the free practice sessions, everyone expected the Silver Arrows to opt for a different tyre strategy in Q2. This expection proved right. Mercedes sent their drivers out on the yellow-walled soft Pirellis, whilst Ferrari and Red Bull came out on the softest compound. In spite of the tyre choice, Bottas went fastest, edging his teammate by three thousandths of a second only. Sebastian was third, almost three tenths down on the Mercedes duo. Kimi was massive six tenths shy of the ultimate pace, although he had set his lap time on the softest rubber. It told everything about Mercedes' priority at Suzuka… The most unfortunate driver in Q2 was Red Bull's Ricciardo, who faced engine woes and was unable to set a lap time. It was a very frustrating day in the office for the Australian, who wasn't facing reliability issues for the first time this season! Towards the end of the second session the rain intensified. At first it was only raining lightly in the second sector, but soon the track had become so damp, that the conditions had turned slippery, and it became impossible for the drivers to improve their lap times. At the end of the session Sauber's Leclerc had a splashy 360-degree spin, but the talented Monegasque managed to maintain control of his C37. However, the future Ferrari star was the first driver to be knocked out of the final segment. In addition to Ricciardo and Leclerc, Haas' Magnussen, Renault's Sainz and Williams' Stroll were out of Q3. An interesting detail was, that Sainz, too had set his fastest lap on the soft rubber.
The conditions were quite challenging, as the final and decisive segment was kicked off. Which would be the right tyre choice? As there had been a shower of rain at the end of Q2, Ferrari sent their drivers out on the green-marked intermediate tyres. Mercedes and the other teams made a different tactical call, opting for the slicks. Ferrari's call turned out to be the wrong one, as the track was too dry for the intermediates. Both Kimi and Sebastian had to pit for slicks, losing valuable time. The wrong call had major consequences for the red-suited drivers. Everything didn't go as planned for Sebastian, who went wide on his first run, failing to set a competitive lap time. Hamilton took provisional pole by 0.299s to teammate Bottas. Verstappen was third, already 1.3s off Hamilton's pace. Kimi's first attempt was very tame as well, the Iceman being unbelievable 1.76s down on Hamilton. This definitely didn't seem to be Ferrari's day!
After the first runs the conditions took a turn to worse, as the rain intensified significantly. In the worsening track conditions Hamilton wasn't able to improve his benchmark on his second run. All drivers were in trouble on the slippery track. Kimi went wide in Turn 1, and teammate Sebastian was sliding all over the place... A much-telling fact is, that Hamilton was the only driver to be able to improve his lap time from Q2! A well-deserved 80th career pole for the Briton. Bottas made it a front row lock-out for the Silver Arrows. Verstappen benefitted from the Red Team's wrong tactical call and claimed P3. Kimi completed the second row for Ferrari. Haas' Grosjean made an impressive job in the mixed conditions, claiming P5. Toro Rosso succeeded well, too, as Hartley and Gasly qualified 6th and 7th. Force India's Ocon took P8 ahead of Sebastian, who was 4.4s off Hamilton's pace in the end! What a catastrophic session for Sebastian, who would have needed to qualify ahead of Hamilton to maximise his chances to close the gap in the drivers' championship standings!
Ferrari seem to be in serious trouble. In the free practice sessions the red team suffered from blistering rear tyres, whilst Mercedes were able to make the tyres last longer. Do you know days, when you wake up and everything starts to go wrong right from the beginning? Same seems to imply to Ferrari's hopes of winning the championship. Wrong tactical and strategic calls, mistakes by the drivers… Setbacks and difficulties seem to build up one after another. Changing the course will be extremely difficult.
Mercedes are starting to the race on the more durable rubber, which gives the Silver Arrows a strategic advantage. The red-suited drivers' chance lies on the race start. But Sebastian won't have it easy to climb up through the field… Nevertheless, I won't give up on hope. Sebastian has made a few mistakes this season, but it's not too late to turn the tables. I can only imagine the pressure that is on both the drivers and on the team, especially by the Italian media. Too much pressure is never good for the atmosphere in the team.
I hope my red-suited heroes make waking up early for the race worth it!
sunnuntai 30. syyskuuta 2018
Russian GP: Bottas was robbed of the victory by a Mercedes team order!
Tyre-wise the starting grid was extremely interesting. The top four drivers -Mercedes and Ferrari- were on the purple-walled middle compound, whilst the rest of the top ten drivers were on the hyper-softs. The Red Bull duo of Ricciardo and Verstappen had opted for the yellow-marked hardest compound, as they were starting from the back of the grid due to their engine penalties. The pressure was all on the pole-setter Bottas, as the lights went out at Sochi Autodrom. The Finn took a splendid start, and Hamilton played genius team effort, preventing Sebastian from getting in the slip stream of either one of the Silver Arrows. Sebastian was hungry to challenge Hamilton for P2, but there was no chance for overtaking. Sauber's rising star Leclerc, who had started from P7, made an impressive job on the opening laps, making his way past both Force India's Ocon and Haas' Magnussen, claiming P5. Verstappen from P19 took a rocket start and started his glamorous overtaking show right away. The start was surprisingly clean, and there was no need for safety car this time.
Verstappen's storming performance was such a pleasure to watch. He made determinedly his way through the field, one by one. In less than ten laps the flying Dutchman had already climbed up to P5! Teammate Ricciardo had got some damage to his front wing on the opening laps, and the Australian had more difficulties to get past the midfield drivers.
Bottas pitted as the first top driver on lap 12 and switched to the soft rubber. Ferrari's strategy was to try to benefit from the undercut, and the team called Sebastian in on the sequential lap. The German also switched to the soft Pirellis. Hamilton pitted on the following lap, for a similar tyre choice to his rivals. It was extremely tight at the pit exit, and Sebastian managed only just to make it ahead the Briton! Hamilton was clearly extremely unhappy about losing the position to his arch enemy. A couple of laps later the British Mercedes ace decided to attack Sebastian at the start/finish straight. Hamilton got a huge pace advantage after opening his DRS and made it alongside Sebastian. But Sebastian wasn't going to surrender. He defended his position by changing his line, even twice, which isn't allowed by the rules. It was only thanks to Hamilton's supernatural reflexes, that a crash was avoided. However, Hamilton was absolutely stubborn to make it past his arch enemy, and the successful overtaking move took place in Turn 5. Hamilton snatched back his 2nd place. The stewards took Sebastian's move into investigation, but no further action was warranted, which took me by surprise. Without a doubt Sebastian had changed his line twice, which is prohibited by the rules…
Ferrari took Kimi in on lap 19. The Iceman, too opted for a fresh set of the hardest compound, re-joining the track in P5. Unbelievable but true, Max Verstappen was now leading the race, having started from P19! Naturally the Dutchman hadn't pitted yet, but still, what a race the birthday boy was driving! By lap 24 Bottas had chased down Verstappen, and teammate Hamilton was right at the Finn's tail. Sebastian had also closed the gap to Hamilton.
What a crucial turn the race got on lap 25. Bottas was told on the team radio to let his teammate past in Turn 13! Before the race start Mercedes Team Principal Toto Wolff had said, that Bottas would be given a chance to win the race, but the reality proved different. Hamilton moved past his Finnish teammate, and from the on Bottas' job was to slow down Sebastian.
It was absolutely amazing, how competitive lap times Verstappen managed to set in the lead, although there were already over 30 laps on his tyres. Hamilton was lurking for a chance to overtake Max, but the flying Dutchman was not going to let that happen. He came in not until with only ten laps to go. Max switched to the purple-walled ultra-soft compound and re-joined the track in P5.
The pace of the Mercedes duo was very evenly matched, and there were only two seconds separating the teammates. On the penultimate lap Bottas must have thought, that the previous order would be restored and that he would be given the win he deserved. However, the team told the Finn, that the order was to stay unchanged. So Hamilton crossed the finish line as the race winner. This was one of the very rare times, when Hamilton didn't deserve the victory. Bottas would have won the race, had he not been told to give way to his teammate. Mercedes could have switched the positions back, as Sebastian proved no threat to the Silver Arrows. Had Hamilton finished the runner-up, he would still have had a 43-point lead in the drivers' championship standings! But of course, you can never know, if those 7 points will turn out crucial at the end of the season… Kimi finished fourth, followed by the Red Bull duo of Verstappen and Ricciardo. Sauber's Leclerc was the stunning best of the rest and proved again, why he has been given a race seat for Ferrari next season. Magnussen finished 8th for Haas, and the Force India duo of Ocon and Perez rounded out the top ten. Force India also resorted to a team order during the race, but the pink team restored the order of the drivers at the end of the race.
It was no wonder, that the atmosphere on the podium almost reminded of a funeral. Hamilton knew he didn't deserve the win, and Bottas was deeply disappointed due to being robbed of the victory. Sebastian's P3 meant, that he is already massive 50 points down on Hamilton in the drivers' standings. Ferrari are now 53 points down on Mercedes... However, Sebastian's dream of winning the championship is still very much alive. And I believe, that with hard work he can still make the tables turn! He has my support -always. The battle continues in Japan already next week!
P.S. Happy 21st birthday Max! Continue being as awesome as you are!
Verstappen's storming performance was such a pleasure to watch. He made determinedly his way through the field, one by one. In less than ten laps the flying Dutchman had already climbed up to P5! Teammate Ricciardo had got some damage to his front wing on the opening laps, and the Australian had more difficulties to get past the midfield drivers.
Bottas pitted as the first top driver on lap 12 and switched to the soft rubber. Ferrari's strategy was to try to benefit from the undercut, and the team called Sebastian in on the sequential lap. The German also switched to the soft Pirellis. Hamilton pitted on the following lap, for a similar tyre choice to his rivals. It was extremely tight at the pit exit, and Sebastian managed only just to make it ahead the Briton! Hamilton was clearly extremely unhappy about losing the position to his arch enemy. A couple of laps later the British Mercedes ace decided to attack Sebastian at the start/finish straight. Hamilton got a huge pace advantage after opening his DRS and made it alongside Sebastian. But Sebastian wasn't going to surrender. He defended his position by changing his line, even twice, which isn't allowed by the rules. It was only thanks to Hamilton's supernatural reflexes, that a crash was avoided. However, Hamilton was absolutely stubborn to make it past his arch enemy, and the successful overtaking move took place in Turn 5. Hamilton snatched back his 2nd place. The stewards took Sebastian's move into investigation, but no further action was warranted, which took me by surprise. Without a doubt Sebastian had changed his line twice, which is prohibited by the rules…
Ferrari took Kimi in on lap 19. The Iceman, too opted for a fresh set of the hardest compound, re-joining the track in P5. Unbelievable but true, Max Verstappen was now leading the race, having started from P19! Naturally the Dutchman hadn't pitted yet, but still, what a race the birthday boy was driving! By lap 24 Bottas had chased down Verstappen, and teammate Hamilton was right at the Finn's tail. Sebastian had also closed the gap to Hamilton.
What a crucial turn the race got on lap 25. Bottas was told on the team radio to let his teammate past in Turn 13! Before the race start Mercedes Team Principal Toto Wolff had said, that Bottas would be given a chance to win the race, but the reality proved different. Hamilton moved past his Finnish teammate, and from the on Bottas' job was to slow down Sebastian.
It was absolutely amazing, how competitive lap times Verstappen managed to set in the lead, although there were already over 30 laps on his tyres. Hamilton was lurking for a chance to overtake Max, but the flying Dutchman was not going to let that happen. He came in not until with only ten laps to go. Max switched to the purple-walled ultra-soft compound and re-joined the track in P5.
The pace of the Mercedes duo was very evenly matched, and there were only two seconds separating the teammates. On the penultimate lap Bottas must have thought, that the previous order would be restored and that he would be given the win he deserved. However, the team told the Finn, that the order was to stay unchanged. So Hamilton crossed the finish line as the race winner. This was one of the very rare times, when Hamilton didn't deserve the victory. Bottas would have won the race, had he not been told to give way to his teammate. Mercedes could have switched the positions back, as Sebastian proved no threat to the Silver Arrows. Had Hamilton finished the runner-up, he would still have had a 43-point lead in the drivers' championship standings! But of course, you can never know, if those 7 points will turn out crucial at the end of the season… Kimi finished fourth, followed by the Red Bull duo of Verstappen and Ricciardo. Sauber's Leclerc was the stunning best of the rest and proved again, why he has been given a race seat for Ferrari next season. Magnussen finished 8th for Haas, and the Force India duo of Ocon and Perez rounded out the top ten. Force India also resorted to a team order during the race, but the pink team restored the order of the drivers at the end of the race.
It was no wonder, that the atmosphere on the podium almost reminded of a funeral. Hamilton knew he didn't deserve the win, and Bottas was deeply disappointed due to being robbed of the victory. Sebastian's P3 meant, that he is already massive 50 points down on Hamilton in the drivers' standings. Ferrari are now 53 points down on Mercedes... However, Sebastian's dream of winning the championship is still very much alive. And I believe, that with hard work he can still make the tables turn! He has my support -always. The battle continues in Japan already next week!
P.S. Happy 21st birthday Max! Continue being as awesome as you are!
lauantai 29. syyskuuta 2018
Russian GP / Qualifying: Bottas led Mercedes to a front row lock-out!
The Russian GP weekend brings back so many immemorial moments from last year, when I got the unforgettable chance to witness the F1 action at the paddock and Ferrari garage. I will never forget the day, when I had the chance to sit down with the Ferrari star driver Sebastian Vettel and interview him for my blog… It was a miraculous moment, a dream come true. Now I'm living in a whole different world. A fortnight ago I was extremely happy, as my youngest son was recovering from the cancer treatments and he kept feeling better every day. Now my world has turned around again, as my middle son has just been diagnosed with cancer. I can't believe this is true! I must be going through a terrible nightmare… How is it possible, that two children in the same family get cancer? I guess it's more likely to win in a lottery than to get a cancer diagnosis twice in the same family during one year! So not even Formula 1 made my day too bright today. However, I desperately needed something else than cancer to think about… Even for a fleeting moment.
Q1 saw everyone come out on the pink-walled hyper-soft Pirellis. The first segment revealed interesting details in terms of the pecking order of the top teams. Mercedes turned out the leading team, as Hamilton went fastest, with teammate Bottas half a second off the Briton. The Red Bull drivers decided to do one attempt only, at the very end of the session. The Red Bull duo's pace was very competitive, as Verstappen was third and teammate Ricciardo fourth. I have to say Ferrari's pace seemed quite worrying, as Sebastian in sixth was full one second off Hamilton's pace! Kimi's P5 wasn't too convincing, either. There were no surprises in terms of the drop out zone. Toro Rosso's Hartley, the McLaren duo of Alonso and Vandoorne and the Williams duo of Sirotkin and Stroll were eliminated from Q2.
Like expected, both Mercedes and Ferrari sent their drivers out on the purple-marked ultra-soft tyres. The two top teams were rolling the dice strategically to see if they could squeak through the segment on the more hardy tyres and gain an advantage in the race. Hamilton continued where he had left off in the first segment, setting the fastest lap time in Q2 as well. This time Bottas was closer, only 0.149s shy of his teammate. Sebastian was third and Kimi fourth, these two being separated by two hundredths of a second only. Q2 saw the Red Bull drivers and Toro Rosso's Gasly not bother to go out at all, as all three of them were to face a grid penalty due to power unit element changes. Also the Renault drivers Hulkenberg and Sainz opted to give the segment a miss, to allow them a free tyre choice in the race. This meant, that drivers like Sauber's Ericsson got a free pass through to Q3. The Mercedes and the Ferraris came out on the hyper-softs at the end of the session. Hamilton set the screens purple in the first two sectors but slowed down in the final sector. Neither one of these top four drivers improved his lap time in the end. Sauber's Leclerc was impressively the best of the rest, claiming P5 in the second segment.
Although Hamilton had set the benchmark in Q1 and Q2, the last segment belonged to Bottas. The Finn laid down a marker early in the final segment, going fastest in the first runs. Hamilton got extremely close, as the British title contender was only four thousandths of a second down on the flying Finn. Ferrari proved unable to match the pace of the Silver Arrows. Sebastian in third was massive six tenths shy of Bottas, followed by teammate Kimi. The shootout for pole was down to the Mercedes teammates. Hamilton blitzed the first sector but ran wide through Turn 7 and had to abort the lap. Bottas has never been outqualified by a teammate at Sochi, not this time either! Bottas snatched over a tenth off his own benchmark, snatching his second pole of the season. Hamilton made it a front row lock-out for the Silver Arrows. Sebastian had a tame first sector on his final run, and the German was a full half second off the ultimate pace. Kimi, on the other hand, made a mistake in the final sector of his last run. The Iceman locked the second row for the Scuderia. In the final results Haas' Magnussen was the best of the midfield, claiming P5. Force India's Ocon qualified 6th and Sauber's Leclerc 7th. Perez was 8th in the sister Force India, with Haas' Grosjean and Sauber's Ericsson completing the top ten respectively.
Last year, in front of my very eyes, Bottas managed to snatch the lead from P3. I hope it's an omen for tomorrow! Sebastian has every opportunity to make it in the lead with a perfect start. The start will be his best chance, as overtaking isn't easy at Sochi Autodrom. The Red Bull duo of Ricciardo and Verstappen will start to the race from the back of the grid, most likely on the ultra-soft Pirellis. It's certainly interesting to see, how far up they will be able to climb during the race. It would be against the odds, was there not a safety car episode in the race. The pressure is all on Sebastian, as he desperately needs to finish the race ahead of Hamilton, to keep his championship hopes alive. I'm confident I'll see a strong fight from the Red Team tomorrow. I believe in Sebastian and Kimi -always. Go Sebastian! Go Kimi! Forza Ferrari!
Q1 saw everyone come out on the pink-walled hyper-soft Pirellis. The first segment revealed interesting details in terms of the pecking order of the top teams. Mercedes turned out the leading team, as Hamilton went fastest, with teammate Bottas half a second off the Briton. The Red Bull drivers decided to do one attempt only, at the very end of the session. The Red Bull duo's pace was very competitive, as Verstappen was third and teammate Ricciardo fourth. I have to say Ferrari's pace seemed quite worrying, as Sebastian in sixth was full one second off Hamilton's pace! Kimi's P5 wasn't too convincing, either. There were no surprises in terms of the drop out zone. Toro Rosso's Hartley, the McLaren duo of Alonso and Vandoorne and the Williams duo of Sirotkin and Stroll were eliminated from Q2.
Like expected, both Mercedes and Ferrari sent their drivers out on the purple-marked ultra-soft tyres. The two top teams were rolling the dice strategically to see if they could squeak through the segment on the more hardy tyres and gain an advantage in the race. Hamilton continued where he had left off in the first segment, setting the fastest lap time in Q2 as well. This time Bottas was closer, only 0.149s shy of his teammate. Sebastian was third and Kimi fourth, these two being separated by two hundredths of a second only. Q2 saw the Red Bull drivers and Toro Rosso's Gasly not bother to go out at all, as all three of them were to face a grid penalty due to power unit element changes. Also the Renault drivers Hulkenberg and Sainz opted to give the segment a miss, to allow them a free tyre choice in the race. This meant, that drivers like Sauber's Ericsson got a free pass through to Q3. The Mercedes and the Ferraris came out on the hyper-softs at the end of the session. Hamilton set the screens purple in the first two sectors but slowed down in the final sector. Neither one of these top four drivers improved his lap time in the end. Sauber's Leclerc was impressively the best of the rest, claiming P5 in the second segment.
Although Hamilton had set the benchmark in Q1 and Q2, the last segment belonged to Bottas. The Finn laid down a marker early in the final segment, going fastest in the first runs. Hamilton got extremely close, as the British title contender was only four thousandths of a second down on the flying Finn. Ferrari proved unable to match the pace of the Silver Arrows. Sebastian in third was massive six tenths shy of Bottas, followed by teammate Kimi. The shootout for pole was down to the Mercedes teammates. Hamilton blitzed the first sector but ran wide through Turn 7 and had to abort the lap. Bottas has never been outqualified by a teammate at Sochi, not this time either! Bottas snatched over a tenth off his own benchmark, snatching his second pole of the season. Hamilton made it a front row lock-out for the Silver Arrows. Sebastian had a tame first sector on his final run, and the German was a full half second off the ultimate pace. Kimi, on the other hand, made a mistake in the final sector of his last run. The Iceman locked the second row for the Scuderia. In the final results Haas' Magnussen was the best of the midfield, claiming P5. Force India's Ocon qualified 6th and Sauber's Leclerc 7th. Perez was 8th in the sister Force India, with Haas' Grosjean and Sauber's Ericsson completing the top ten respectively.
Last year, in front of my very eyes, Bottas managed to snatch the lead from P3. I hope it's an omen for tomorrow! Sebastian has every opportunity to make it in the lead with a perfect start. The start will be his best chance, as overtaking isn't easy at Sochi Autodrom. The Red Bull duo of Ricciardo and Verstappen will start to the race from the back of the grid, most likely on the ultra-soft Pirellis. It's certainly interesting to see, how far up they will be able to climb during the race. It would be against the odds, was there not a safety car episode in the race. The pressure is all on Sebastian, as he desperately needs to finish the race ahead of Hamilton, to keep his championship hopes alive. I'm confident I'll see a strong fight from the Red Team tomorrow. I believe in Sebastian and Kimi -always. Go Sebastian! Go Kimi! Forza Ferrari!
torstai 20. syyskuuta 2018
Singapore GP: Hamilton triumphed to victory as the red cars struggled!
I had a dramatic Singapore GP weekend, which is the reason for writing my blog post not until today. My son's cancer treatments were over already four weeks ago, but last Friday he suddenly got a fast-proceeding infection, which caused low blood pressure. My son was taken to the ICU in a poor condition. I did watch the qualifying in the parents' room, but I actually missed Q2, as the doctor came to talk to me about my son's situation. Luckily my son got out of the ICU on Sunday, but my thoughts were very much with him and I hadn't slept properly for four nights...
Now after two well-slept nights I can look back to the Singapore GP weekend. The floodlights at the magical Marina Bay Street Circuit set the most perfect stage for the round 15. Statistically, Singapore has always suited the red cars extremely well, and Ferrari were the clear favourite for pole. The top three teams -Ferrari, Mercedes and Red Bull- seemed quite evenly matched, as the qualifying got underway. Mercedes sent their drivers out on the purple-walled ultra-softs, whilst the two other top teams opted for the pink-marked softest compound. Mercedes seemed to behave quite restlessly on track, whilst Ferrari proved extremely competitive especially in the first sector. However, Ricciardo in his RB14 topped the timesheets at the end of the first session. The second session belonged to Kimi in his SF71-H, and the Iceman was the fastest man on track. This time Verstappen was the better-performing Red Bull, as the Dutchman was the stunning 2nd. Bottas in P3 had the upper hand on his teammate Hamilton, who was left fourth. However, tables turned dramatically, as the decisive Q3 got underway. As Hamilton started his first run, the timing screens all lit up purple. What a magical lap time the Briton set! His lap was 3.5s faster than last year's pole lap! I couldn't understand, where Hamilton's unbelievable pace suddenly came from. Hamilton had driven quite a slow out lap; was that the secret behind the phenomenal lap? Verstappen was second, three tenths down on Hamilton. Sebastian was surprisingly only third, massive six tenths down on his title rival. Bottas was fourth and Kimi fifth, over a second off Hamilton's pace. The second runs didn't change the order of the top five; there was absolutely no beating Hamilton's super lap, which brought the 79th career pole for the quadruple world champion.
On Sunday the lights went out for the 10th time at the fairy-tale-like Marina Bay Street Circuit. During these ten years there has always been a safety car episode during the race. This year's GP was no exception to the rule. The start of the top five was clean, and Hamilton held on to his lead. Verstappen managed to dive into Turn 1 as the runner-up, but at the straight Sebastian squeezed it past the flying Dutchman, moving second. The overtaking move looked utterly stunning, as there were sparks flying from the rear of both cars. However, there was an incident in the midfield, going into Turn 2. The Force India duo of Perez and Ocon had contact, which threw Ocon into the wall. The Frenchman's race was over, and safety car was deployed. Luckily Sebastian had made his move a short moment before the safety car signal.
Hamilton took an impressive re-start and managed to pull out a small gap to Sebastian right away. Sebastian opened the pit stop roulette on lap 15. He switched to the ultra-softs and re-joined the track in P7. The Mercedes duo of Hamilton and Bottas pitted on the following laps, both opting for a fresh set of soft Pirellis. Red Bull's Verstappen pitted from the lead on lap 18, also for a fresh set of the hardest compound. Sebastian had got stuck behind Force India's Perez when exiting the pits, which proved costly for the German Ferrari ace. Verstappen managed to only just squeeze it ahead Sebastian, when the German re-joined the track! It was a bitter disappointment for Sebastian, who lost the second place back to Max.
Sebastian was suspicious, whether the ultra-softs would last till the end. Degradation wasn't his only concern, as the lap times on the ultra-softs didn't prove competitive enough. Teammate Kimi pitted on lap 23, and the Iceman was sent out on a fresh set of soft Pirellis. Ricciardo pitted not until on lap 28, for a similar tyre choice to Sebastian. After the Australian's pit stop the order of the top five was the same as at the start. Hamilton had a dominant lead, Verstappen was second and Sebastian third. The Finns of Bottas and Kimi were P4 and P5.
There was no on-track battles for the podium places. However, the backmarkers caused drama for Hamilton on lap 38. Haas' Grosjean and Williams' Sirotkin were having a battle of their own, and Grosjean ignored the blue flags. Verstappen benefitted from Grosjean's and Sirotkin's battle and managed to close the gap to Hamilton. For a moment it looked like Verstappen was going to have a chance to overtake Hamilton. But as soon as Hamilton got past this fighting couple, he opened a gap to Verstappen again. Some laps later Grosjean was given a 5-second time penalty for ignoring the blue flags.
With ten laps to go, it seemed that Bottas, Kimi and Ricciardo were going to have a battle of their own for P4. Kimi was a second down on his compatriot Bottas, and Ricciardo was lurking right behind Kimi. However, following another car proved extremely difficult, let alone making a successful overtaking move. Bottas was stuck behind Renault's Hulkenberg, who was a lap down. However, Bottas had a bizarre problem, as he was unable to get close enough, so that the German would have been shown blue flags.
Hamilton was in a class of his own in the night of Singapore. He took the seventh win of the season and extended his championship lead over Sebastian to 40 points already. Verstappen was the impressive runner-up, which must have felt almost like a victory, after all the engine woes and gear box issues during the weekend, race included. Sebastian completed the podium, but unbelievable but true, the German crossed the finish line massive 40 seconds behind the race winner Hamilton! Where had Ferrari's competitiveness suddenly disappeared? Bottas finished fourth, followed by Kimi and Ricciardo. In the end this year's Singapore GP turned out quite a boring race.
A 40-point lead is quite remarkable, with just six races to go. Many people are saying, that the ability to handle pressure is a weakness for Sebastian. That he cracks under pressure and makes mistakes. He has the rest of the season to prove the critics otherwise. I'm confident that he'll be able to turn the tables in the championship battle. He has done it before; let's not forget, what happened in 2010! Sebastian is a driver, who is capable of making miracles happen. Ferrari are 30 points down on the Silver Arrows in the constructors' standings, but the Red Team still have the chance to win the title! Taken into consideration, how extremely convincingly Kimi has performed this season, nothing is lost yet. Sebastian, Kimi and the Red Team have my support. Onwards and upwards, towards Sochi! Forza Ferrari!
Now after two well-slept nights I can look back to the Singapore GP weekend. The floodlights at the magical Marina Bay Street Circuit set the most perfect stage for the round 15. Statistically, Singapore has always suited the red cars extremely well, and Ferrari were the clear favourite for pole. The top three teams -Ferrari, Mercedes and Red Bull- seemed quite evenly matched, as the qualifying got underway. Mercedes sent their drivers out on the purple-walled ultra-softs, whilst the two other top teams opted for the pink-marked softest compound. Mercedes seemed to behave quite restlessly on track, whilst Ferrari proved extremely competitive especially in the first sector. However, Ricciardo in his RB14 topped the timesheets at the end of the first session. The second session belonged to Kimi in his SF71-H, and the Iceman was the fastest man on track. This time Verstappen was the better-performing Red Bull, as the Dutchman was the stunning 2nd. Bottas in P3 had the upper hand on his teammate Hamilton, who was left fourth. However, tables turned dramatically, as the decisive Q3 got underway. As Hamilton started his first run, the timing screens all lit up purple. What a magical lap time the Briton set! His lap was 3.5s faster than last year's pole lap! I couldn't understand, where Hamilton's unbelievable pace suddenly came from. Hamilton had driven quite a slow out lap; was that the secret behind the phenomenal lap? Verstappen was second, three tenths down on Hamilton. Sebastian was surprisingly only third, massive six tenths down on his title rival. Bottas was fourth and Kimi fifth, over a second off Hamilton's pace. The second runs didn't change the order of the top five; there was absolutely no beating Hamilton's super lap, which brought the 79th career pole for the quadruple world champion.
On Sunday the lights went out for the 10th time at the fairy-tale-like Marina Bay Street Circuit. During these ten years there has always been a safety car episode during the race. This year's GP was no exception to the rule. The start of the top five was clean, and Hamilton held on to his lead. Verstappen managed to dive into Turn 1 as the runner-up, but at the straight Sebastian squeezed it past the flying Dutchman, moving second. The overtaking move looked utterly stunning, as there were sparks flying from the rear of both cars. However, there was an incident in the midfield, going into Turn 2. The Force India duo of Perez and Ocon had contact, which threw Ocon into the wall. The Frenchman's race was over, and safety car was deployed. Luckily Sebastian had made his move a short moment before the safety car signal.
Hamilton took an impressive re-start and managed to pull out a small gap to Sebastian right away. Sebastian opened the pit stop roulette on lap 15. He switched to the ultra-softs and re-joined the track in P7. The Mercedes duo of Hamilton and Bottas pitted on the following laps, both opting for a fresh set of soft Pirellis. Red Bull's Verstappen pitted from the lead on lap 18, also for a fresh set of the hardest compound. Sebastian had got stuck behind Force India's Perez when exiting the pits, which proved costly for the German Ferrari ace. Verstappen managed to only just squeeze it ahead Sebastian, when the German re-joined the track! It was a bitter disappointment for Sebastian, who lost the second place back to Max.
Sebastian was suspicious, whether the ultra-softs would last till the end. Degradation wasn't his only concern, as the lap times on the ultra-softs didn't prove competitive enough. Teammate Kimi pitted on lap 23, and the Iceman was sent out on a fresh set of soft Pirellis. Ricciardo pitted not until on lap 28, for a similar tyre choice to Sebastian. After the Australian's pit stop the order of the top five was the same as at the start. Hamilton had a dominant lead, Verstappen was second and Sebastian third. The Finns of Bottas and Kimi were P4 and P5.
There was no on-track battles for the podium places. However, the backmarkers caused drama for Hamilton on lap 38. Haas' Grosjean and Williams' Sirotkin were having a battle of their own, and Grosjean ignored the blue flags. Verstappen benefitted from Grosjean's and Sirotkin's battle and managed to close the gap to Hamilton. For a moment it looked like Verstappen was going to have a chance to overtake Hamilton. But as soon as Hamilton got past this fighting couple, he opened a gap to Verstappen again. Some laps later Grosjean was given a 5-second time penalty for ignoring the blue flags.
With ten laps to go, it seemed that Bottas, Kimi and Ricciardo were going to have a battle of their own for P4. Kimi was a second down on his compatriot Bottas, and Ricciardo was lurking right behind Kimi. However, following another car proved extremely difficult, let alone making a successful overtaking move. Bottas was stuck behind Renault's Hulkenberg, who was a lap down. However, Bottas had a bizarre problem, as he was unable to get close enough, so that the German would have been shown blue flags.
Hamilton was in a class of his own in the night of Singapore. He took the seventh win of the season and extended his championship lead over Sebastian to 40 points already. Verstappen was the impressive runner-up, which must have felt almost like a victory, after all the engine woes and gear box issues during the weekend, race included. Sebastian completed the podium, but unbelievable but true, the German crossed the finish line massive 40 seconds behind the race winner Hamilton! Where had Ferrari's competitiveness suddenly disappeared? Bottas finished fourth, followed by Kimi and Ricciardo. In the end this year's Singapore GP turned out quite a boring race.
A 40-point lead is quite remarkable, with just six races to go. Many people are saying, that the ability to handle pressure is a weakness for Sebastian. That he cracks under pressure and makes mistakes. He has the rest of the season to prove the critics otherwise. I'm confident that he'll be able to turn the tables in the championship battle. He has done it before; let's not forget, what happened in 2010! Sebastian is a driver, who is capable of making miracles happen. Ferrari are 30 points down on the Silver Arrows in the constructors' standings, but the Red Team still have the chance to win the title! Taken into consideration, how extremely convincingly Kimi has performed this season, nothing is lost yet. Sebastian, Kimi and the Red Team have my support. Onwards and upwards, towards Sochi! Forza Ferrari!
sunnuntai 2. syyskuuta 2018
Italian GP: Not even the perfect drive brought Kimi the victory!
There was so much tension in the air, as the start of the Italian GP was at hand. The "red sea" in the grandstands was eagerly waiting for their home heroes to win. And the odds were definitely on the Red Team's side, as Kimi and Sebastian were to start from the front row. According to my perfect plan the red-suited home heroes were going to make it a 1-2...
The start was extremely intense. Kimi on pole got a perfect start, and he was absolutely determined to dive first into Turn 1. Sebastian clearly dreamt of a chance to challenge his teammate right at the start, but Kimi defended his lead with attitude. Hamilton, too was trying everything to get past at least one of the Ferraris. Going into Variante, the Briton was already challenging Sebastian for P2. It led into a bizarre situation, where Sebastian ended up hitting Hamilton's Mercedes. The contact caused Sebastian to spin; there was also significant damage to the front wing and side-pod of the German's SF71-H. Sebastian had to pit for a new nose. He also switched to the soft Pirellis. However, safety car had been deployed, because Sauber's Ericsson had hit Hartley's Toro Rosso at the start, ending the race for the New Zealander. Thanks to the safety car, Sebastian's race wasn't totally ruined, although he had naturally dropped down to the back of the pack.
Safety car came in on lap 3. And what a hair-raising re-start it was! Hamilton was stubborn to snatch the lead from Kimi, and the Briton attacked in Turn 1, making it past Kimi. But Kimi wasn't going to let the lead be taken away from him. Going into Variante, the Iceman made a move on Hamilton, taking back the lead! It was fantastic to see such passionate Kimi on track. What a battle of titans this was going to be! Red Bull's Verstappen had managed to pass Bottas at the start, and the Finn had difficulties to match the Dutchman's pace, although Red Bull's race pace was everything but competitive.
The battle for victory was so electrifying. Kimi proved unable to pull away from Hamilton. The gap between these rivals varied from DRS distance to a bit over a second. There was no room for mistakes. Ferrari called Kimi in already on lap 21, and the Iceman switched to the yellow-marked middle compound. Kimi's pit stop was close to perfection, as it took only 2.2 seconds. Mercedes, too seemed ready to call Hamilton in, but it was all about bluffing, and both Mercedes aces stayed out. By that time Sebastian had made it past Renault's Sainz, claiming P7 already. Sebastian definitely offered a spectacular overtaking show, making his way through the field one by one.
Kimi had re-joined the track in P4, and now it was all about racing against the clock. The gap to Hamilton had to maintain under 24 seconds, in order for Kimi to take the lead after Hamilton's pit stop. And Kimi definitely knew, what he had to do. The flying Iceman kept banging fastest lap times, which meant headache for Hamilton. Meanwhile, Ricciardo's race came to a premature end, as the Australian's RB14 was hit with a power unit issue, unfortunately not the first one this season. What a frustrating race for the Honey Badger, who had had to start to the race from the back of the pack and after a hard struggle had to settle for DNF.
Hamilton pitted not until on lap 29. The Briton opted for the soft compound as well, and re-joined the track in P3. His teammate Bottas was now leading the race, and Kimi in P2 was rapidly closing the gap to his fellow countryman... The team's message to Bottas was clear: "Keep Kimi behind". Hamilton was now 5 seconds behind the Iceman. Meanwhile, Sebastian pitted for the second time, for another set of super-soft Pirellis. Sebastian re-joined the track in P10, which meant, that he had to make the overtaking round all over again...
Bottas did, what the team wanted him to do; he defended his position with determination, and managed to keep Kimi behind. In other words, Bottas gave the perfect help to Hamilton, who managed to close the gap to Kimi, and was in no time right at the Iceman's tail. Kimi tried his best to find an opportunity to overtake his compatriot, but the Iceman was stuck. Until Bottas pitted on lap 36, also for a fresh set of soft tyres. The Finn re-joined the track in P4; helping Hamilton and stretching his first stint cost him losing a position to Verstappen.
Hamilton had 9 laps fresher tyres, and he was frighteningly close to Kimi. Driving behind Bottas had caused heavy degradation on Kimi's tyres, and the situation worsened lap by lap. My heart pounded when I watched the battle between the two. Every cell in me was hoping, that Kimi would be able to hold Hamilton back, and the Iceman would get his well-deserved win. That would have been the perfect fairy-tale... But like you all know, life doesn't often go like in fairy-tales. After a ten-lap heroic battle, Kimi's rear tyres were completely blistered and gone, and Hamilton forced himself past the Iceman, going into Turn 1. What a bitter moment it was! Kimi had done everything he possibly could to defend his lead, but there was nothing he could do about the dying tyres.
Meanwhile, there was drama between Verstappen and Bottas, who were battling for the fourth place. With ten laps to go, Bottas was hungry to make a move on Verstappen in Turn 1. Verstappen ended up changing his line at the braking, which caused contact between the two; Bottas went off track but was able to continue. The stewards took this incident into investigation, and Verstappen was handed a 5-second time penalty for changing his line at the braking.
As soon as Hamilton managed to make it past Kimi, he disappeared into the horizon. Kimi had no chance to match the Briton's pace on his dying tyres. Luckily there was no threat coming from behind. Bottas was challenging Verstappen for P4, although the Finn was going to claim P4 anyway due to the Dutchman's time penalty. However, the Dutchman was absolutely stubborn and wasn't going to let Bottas past, no matter the penalty.
Although Ferrari held all the keys for a possible 1-2 today, Hamilton crossed the finish line as the race winner, which was a massive disappointment for the passionate home crowd. Kimi had fought like a lion, and he was the stunning runner-up. He was also voted as the Driver of the Day. Due to Verstappen's penalty Bottas was third and Vettel fourth, and the hot-headed Red Bull ace had to settle for P5. Grosjean made it an impressive P6 for Haas. The Frenchman was followed by the pink duo of Ocon and Perez. Sainz finished the race in P9, and Williams' Stroll was the last man to score points.
Sebastian's competitive instinct is definitely one of his strengths. But sometimes it turns out as a weakness as well. Sebastian is a master of controlling the race, when he has the lead in his hands. But losing to his teammate is awfully hard for him. The disappointment and frustration of losing makes him do bad and hesitated decisions... Today's crash to Hamilton was completely unnecessary. He should have thought things further than a few corners away... It was only the opening lap, there was the whole race ahead of him! But he was so hungry to get the lead, which is completely understandable. He wanted to give the best result to the Tifosi... Everyone has a weakness, even the four-time world champion. But I hope Sebastian knows, that he has my support, and the support of millions of other fans. Bad moments come and go. He can learn from this and bounce back stronger. He has done it before, so I know he can do it again! He has what it takes to turn the tables in the fight for the championship.
However, the crash proved costly for Sebastian. Hamilton extended his lead to 30 points in the championship standings. Now the gap is bigger than any time before this season. Ferrari are 25 points down on Mercedes in the constructors' standings.
Then there's always the "what if". With a longer first stint, would Kimi have been able to keep his lead? We're never going to find out. But after today's race one thing is for sure; Ferrari HAVE TO renew Kimi's contract for next year! They are absolutely out of their minds, if they don't! They have a pure diamond in Kimi! So I'm looking forward to a contract announcement soon!
The start was extremely intense. Kimi on pole got a perfect start, and he was absolutely determined to dive first into Turn 1. Sebastian clearly dreamt of a chance to challenge his teammate right at the start, but Kimi defended his lead with attitude. Hamilton, too was trying everything to get past at least one of the Ferraris. Going into Variante, the Briton was already challenging Sebastian for P2. It led into a bizarre situation, where Sebastian ended up hitting Hamilton's Mercedes. The contact caused Sebastian to spin; there was also significant damage to the front wing and side-pod of the German's SF71-H. Sebastian had to pit for a new nose. He also switched to the soft Pirellis. However, safety car had been deployed, because Sauber's Ericsson had hit Hartley's Toro Rosso at the start, ending the race for the New Zealander. Thanks to the safety car, Sebastian's race wasn't totally ruined, although he had naturally dropped down to the back of the pack.
Safety car came in on lap 3. And what a hair-raising re-start it was! Hamilton was stubborn to snatch the lead from Kimi, and the Briton attacked in Turn 1, making it past Kimi. But Kimi wasn't going to let the lead be taken away from him. Going into Variante, the Iceman made a move on Hamilton, taking back the lead! It was fantastic to see such passionate Kimi on track. What a battle of titans this was going to be! Red Bull's Verstappen had managed to pass Bottas at the start, and the Finn had difficulties to match the Dutchman's pace, although Red Bull's race pace was everything but competitive.
The battle for victory was so electrifying. Kimi proved unable to pull away from Hamilton. The gap between these rivals varied from DRS distance to a bit over a second. There was no room for mistakes. Ferrari called Kimi in already on lap 21, and the Iceman switched to the yellow-marked middle compound. Kimi's pit stop was close to perfection, as it took only 2.2 seconds. Mercedes, too seemed ready to call Hamilton in, but it was all about bluffing, and both Mercedes aces stayed out. By that time Sebastian had made it past Renault's Sainz, claiming P7 already. Sebastian definitely offered a spectacular overtaking show, making his way through the field one by one.
Kimi had re-joined the track in P4, and now it was all about racing against the clock. The gap to Hamilton had to maintain under 24 seconds, in order for Kimi to take the lead after Hamilton's pit stop. And Kimi definitely knew, what he had to do. The flying Iceman kept banging fastest lap times, which meant headache for Hamilton. Meanwhile, Ricciardo's race came to a premature end, as the Australian's RB14 was hit with a power unit issue, unfortunately not the first one this season. What a frustrating race for the Honey Badger, who had had to start to the race from the back of the pack and after a hard struggle had to settle for DNF.
Hamilton pitted not until on lap 29. The Briton opted for the soft compound as well, and re-joined the track in P3. His teammate Bottas was now leading the race, and Kimi in P2 was rapidly closing the gap to his fellow countryman... The team's message to Bottas was clear: "Keep Kimi behind". Hamilton was now 5 seconds behind the Iceman. Meanwhile, Sebastian pitted for the second time, for another set of super-soft Pirellis. Sebastian re-joined the track in P10, which meant, that he had to make the overtaking round all over again...
Bottas did, what the team wanted him to do; he defended his position with determination, and managed to keep Kimi behind. In other words, Bottas gave the perfect help to Hamilton, who managed to close the gap to Kimi, and was in no time right at the Iceman's tail. Kimi tried his best to find an opportunity to overtake his compatriot, but the Iceman was stuck. Until Bottas pitted on lap 36, also for a fresh set of soft tyres. The Finn re-joined the track in P4; helping Hamilton and stretching his first stint cost him losing a position to Verstappen.
Hamilton had 9 laps fresher tyres, and he was frighteningly close to Kimi. Driving behind Bottas had caused heavy degradation on Kimi's tyres, and the situation worsened lap by lap. My heart pounded when I watched the battle between the two. Every cell in me was hoping, that Kimi would be able to hold Hamilton back, and the Iceman would get his well-deserved win. That would have been the perfect fairy-tale... But like you all know, life doesn't often go like in fairy-tales. After a ten-lap heroic battle, Kimi's rear tyres were completely blistered and gone, and Hamilton forced himself past the Iceman, going into Turn 1. What a bitter moment it was! Kimi had done everything he possibly could to defend his lead, but there was nothing he could do about the dying tyres.
Meanwhile, there was drama between Verstappen and Bottas, who were battling for the fourth place. With ten laps to go, Bottas was hungry to make a move on Verstappen in Turn 1. Verstappen ended up changing his line at the braking, which caused contact between the two; Bottas went off track but was able to continue. The stewards took this incident into investigation, and Verstappen was handed a 5-second time penalty for changing his line at the braking.
As soon as Hamilton managed to make it past Kimi, he disappeared into the horizon. Kimi had no chance to match the Briton's pace on his dying tyres. Luckily there was no threat coming from behind. Bottas was challenging Verstappen for P4, although the Finn was going to claim P4 anyway due to the Dutchman's time penalty. However, the Dutchman was absolutely stubborn and wasn't going to let Bottas past, no matter the penalty.
Although Ferrari held all the keys for a possible 1-2 today, Hamilton crossed the finish line as the race winner, which was a massive disappointment for the passionate home crowd. Kimi had fought like a lion, and he was the stunning runner-up. He was also voted as the Driver of the Day. Due to Verstappen's penalty Bottas was third and Vettel fourth, and the hot-headed Red Bull ace had to settle for P5. Grosjean made it an impressive P6 for Haas. The Frenchman was followed by the pink duo of Ocon and Perez. Sainz finished the race in P9, and Williams' Stroll was the last man to score points.
Sebastian's competitive instinct is definitely one of his strengths. But sometimes it turns out as a weakness as well. Sebastian is a master of controlling the race, when he has the lead in his hands. But losing to his teammate is awfully hard for him. The disappointment and frustration of losing makes him do bad and hesitated decisions... Today's crash to Hamilton was completely unnecessary. He should have thought things further than a few corners away... It was only the opening lap, there was the whole race ahead of him! But he was so hungry to get the lead, which is completely understandable. He wanted to give the best result to the Tifosi... Everyone has a weakness, even the four-time world champion. But I hope Sebastian knows, that he has my support, and the support of millions of other fans. Bad moments come and go. He can learn from this and bounce back stronger. He has done it before, so I know he can do it again! He has what it takes to turn the tables in the fight for the championship.
However, the crash proved costly for Sebastian. Hamilton extended his lead to 30 points in the championship standings. Now the gap is bigger than any time before this season. Ferrari are 25 points down on Mercedes in the constructors' standings.
Then there's always the "what if". With a longer first stint, would Kimi have been able to keep his lead? We're never going to find out. But after today's race one thing is for sure; Ferrari HAVE TO renew Kimi's contract for next year! They are absolutely out of their minds, if they don't! They have a pure diamond in Kimi! So I'm looking forward to a contract announcement soon!
Italian GP / Qualifying: Sensational Kimi led Ferrari to a front-row lock-out!
The weather forecast had predicted a rainy Saturday for Monza, but luckily the conditions were dry, as the qualifying kicked off. Everyone headed out on the red-walled super-softs. Ferrari showed flying pace right from the start. Sebastian made two flying laps, split by a cool-down lap, and made it on top of the timesheets. Teammate Kimi was only two tenths off his teammate's pace. After the first runs Hamilton, who was struggling especially in the final sector, was a massive half-a-second off Sebastian. Bottas seemed to be struggling with his performance even more, as the Finn was already eight tenths off pace. However, at the end of the session, Hamilton managed to slice the deficit in half on his second run. At this point I had a strong intuition saying, that the shootout for pole was going to be between the red-suited teammates. The most positive surprise of the first segment was the performance of Williams, as both Sirotkin and Stroll managed to make it through to Q2. Sirotkin was 11th and Stroll 13th, which was delightful variation, as in many previous races they have been the two slowest drivers on track. Force India's Perez made a shock exit from Q1, but only by one thousandth of a second! Out with the Mexican were the Sauber duo of Leclerc and Ericsson, Toro Rosso's Hartley and McLaren's Vandoorne. The battle to get through to Q2 was utterly hair-raising, as Sainz in 8th and Hartley in 18th were separated by just two tenths!
Red Bull's Ricciardo sat out the second session, as a series of engine component changes had triggered a hefty grid penalty for Sunday's race. This time the tyre strategy was very straight-forward; everyone came out on the softest compound. Hamilton is known for his magical skill to find extra speed, when it is needed, and the Briton proved this quality again at the Temple of Speed. He went fastest, but only for a short moment. Sebastian went wide at Parabolica, but he still managed to cut 13 thousandths of a second off Hamilton's time! Sebastian was the fastest man of the second session, followed by Hamilton and Kimi. Williams' Stroll continued his magnificent performance and made it 8th, making his way to Q3 for the first time this season. Haas' Magnussen and McLaren's Alonso, on the other hand, had a bizarre-looking squabble, as they battled for track position, which in turn ruined their final runs, and neither one of them made it Q3. In addition to Ricciardo, also Renault's Hulkenberg had been handed a grid penalty for engine element changes. Sirotkin didn't manage to match his teammate's performance, and the Russian was out of Q3.
Q3 offered an absolutely nail-biting finale. The 14-year-old track record by Montoya was first smashed by Hamilton, who took provisional pole after setting an outstanding lap. However, Kimi's final sector was absolutely magical, and the Iceman was only 0.069s down on the Briton. Sebastian was third after his first run, 0.1s down on Hamilton. Bottas was still struggling with his performance, and a half-a-second gap to his teammate definitely caught my eye. The second runs set up a true thriller. Hamilton improved his lap time on his second run, which meant smashing the track record again. Then came Sebastian, smashing it again. But then there came the on-flames-driving Iceman, who smashed the track record once more, making it on pole for the first time since the 2017 Monaco GP! Kimi's 1.19.119s-lap was the fastest lap in F1 history! Kimi is the oldest pole-setter since Nigel Mansell in 1994! Kimi's pole lap was absolutely phenomenal and sensational. For a moment Sebastian thought, that he had clinched pole, and he seemed quite flabbergasted when he was told on the team radio, that Kimi was on pole. However, this is Sebastian's very first front-row grid slot at Monza in his Ferrari career. Ferrari should have taken a front-row lock-out already at Spa last week, but now it finally came! Unbelievable but true, this is only Ferrari's first front-row lock-out at Monza since 2000. Also, Mercedes have led every lap of every Italian GP since the start of the current turbo hybrid era. So it's definitely breaking news, that Ferrari conquered the front row today.
Oh, I'm so overwhelmingly praising Ferrari for their phenomenal performance, that I was about to forget the rest of the top ten. Bottas made it an all-Mercedes second row, although the Finn was only a pale shadow of what he has used to be this season. Verstappen made it 5th for Red Bull, with Haas' Grosjean completing the third row. Renault's Sainz, Force India's Ocon, Toro Rosso's Gasly and Williams' Stroll rounded out the top ten.
I was so happy for Kimi's pole position! It was about time for the Iceman to be back on top! I hope Ferrari gives him a chance to win the race. A red 1-2 on their home soil would be something absolutely magical! But to finish first, first you have to finish... Forza Ferrari!
Red Bull's Ricciardo sat out the second session, as a series of engine component changes had triggered a hefty grid penalty for Sunday's race. This time the tyre strategy was very straight-forward; everyone came out on the softest compound. Hamilton is known for his magical skill to find extra speed, when it is needed, and the Briton proved this quality again at the Temple of Speed. He went fastest, but only for a short moment. Sebastian went wide at Parabolica, but he still managed to cut 13 thousandths of a second off Hamilton's time! Sebastian was the fastest man of the second session, followed by Hamilton and Kimi. Williams' Stroll continued his magnificent performance and made it 8th, making his way to Q3 for the first time this season. Haas' Magnussen and McLaren's Alonso, on the other hand, had a bizarre-looking squabble, as they battled for track position, which in turn ruined their final runs, and neither one of them made it Q3. In addition to Ricciardo, also Renault's Hulkenberg had been handed a grid penalty for engine element changes. Sirotkin didn't manage to match his teammate's performance, and the Russian was out of Q3.
Q3 offered an absolutely nail-biting finale. The 14-year-old track record by Montoya was first smashed by Hamilton, who took provisional pole after setting an outstanding lap. However, Kimi's final sector was absolutely magical, and the Iceman was only 0.069s down on the Briton. Sebastian was third after his first run, 0.1s down on Hamilton. Bottas was still struggling with his performance, and a half-a-second gap to his teammate definitely caught my eye. The second runs set up a true thriller. Hamilton improved his lap time on his second run, which meant smashing the track record again. Then came Sebastian, smashing it again. But then there came the on-flames-driving Iceman, who smashed the track record once more, making it on pole for the first time since the 2017 Monaco GP! Kimi's 1.19.119s-lap was the fastest lap in F1 history! Kimi is the oldest pole-setter since Nigel Mansell in 1994! Kimi's pole lap was absolutely phenomenal and sensational. For a moment Sebastian thought, that he had clinched pole, and he seemed quite flabbergasted when he was told on the team radio, that Kimi was on pole. However, this is Sebastian's very first front-row grid slot at Monza in his Ferrari career. Ferrari should have taken a front-row lock-out already at Spa last week, but now it finally came! Unbelievable but true, this is only Ferrari's first front-row lock-out at Monza since 2000. Also, Mercedes have led every lap of every Italian GP since the start of the current turbo hybrid era. So it's definitely breaking news, that Ferrari conquered the front row today.
Oh, I'm so overwhelmingly praising Ferrari for their phenomenal performance, that I was about to forget the rest of the top ten. Bottas made it an all-Mercedes second row, although the Finn was only a pale shadow of what he has used to be this season. Verstappen made it 5th for Red Bull, with Haas' Grosjean completing the third row. Renault's Sainz, Force India's Ocon, Toro Rosso's Gasly and Williams' Stroll rounded out the top ten.
I was so happy for Kimi's pole position! It was about time for the Iceman to be back on top! I hope Ferrari gives him a chance to win the race. A red 1-2 on their home soil would be something absolutely magical! But to finish first, first you have to finish... Forza Ferrari!
tiistai 28. elokuuta 2018
The Unknown Kimi Räikkönen by Kari Hotakainen
The Unknown Kimi Räikkönen, written by a Finnish top writer Kari Hotakainen, was released on August 16, 2018. The book is published by Siltala, and it is the first non-fiction book written by Hotakainen. The English version of the book will come out on October 18. I can assure to Kimi's English-speaking fans, that the book is definitely worth waiting for!
Who is Kimi Räikkönen? He's a famous Finnish F1 driver, who has won the world championship for Ferrari in 2007. He is known as "the Iceman" in the Formula 1 world. He doesn't talk much. He hates to be in front of media. His team radio messages are legendary. One of the most famous ones is the comment "Leave me alone, I know what to do", which Kimi let out of his mouth in the victorious 2012 Abu Dhabi GP. Kimi is married to Minttu Räikkönen and has two kids. But what else do we actually know about this personal man, who stands out of the crowd in the strictly controlled F1 world? Over the years there have been many stories in the media about Kimi's drinking habits and his sometimes reckless private life. Never before Kimi has revealed so much that he does in this spellbinding book.
What makes the book even more interesting, is the fact, that the writer didn't know anything about Formula 1 racing. Fans, including me, tend to see Kimi through Formula 1 glasses. That is very natural, as the F1 world has been the only environment, where we have seen this ice cool Finn, as Kimi has been extremely protective about his personal life off-track. But in the book Kimi is not defined as a racing driver but as a man. You don't need to know anything about Formula 1 to find this book interesting. However, since last summer Kimi has offered his fans a glimpse into his personal life, as he joined Instagram. I was absolutely flabbergasted that he did! What is absolutely charming about the book, is the way Kari Hotakainen writes Kimi's story. It has been written with unconventional style and with great sense of humour.
Kimi is a celebrity and a star, which is everything Kimi wouldn't like to be. Unknown - Kimi Räikkönen is a story of a man, who has gone out of humble conditions and broke into the top of an unusual profession. In Kimi's opinion the greatest thing would be if you could drive Formula 1 unknowingly. Unfortunately such a world doesn't exist. Unknowingly, you can shave or drive a lawnmover, not a seven million-euro racing car. The book draws a picture of a man, who is a star just because he doesn't want to be one. Honesty is a word, which describes the content of the book perfectly. Kimi doesn't try to please other people and doesn't care what other people think of him. Having this kind of attitude, it's no problem for him to tell about his 16-day drinking streak, including partying with the Prince of Bahrain and parties in Switzerland, Italy and Finland. After 16 days of drinking, Kimi travelled to Barcelona for the Spanish GP and finished the race in P3! Honestly, I always thought, that Kimi's drinking habits were massively exaggerated and sort of an urban legend. So I can't help but wonder, how Kimi has achieved such success when leading such a reckless life! The story about Kimi's first press conference as a Ferrari driver in 2007 seemed quite unbelievable as well; I read open-mouthed how Kimi almost missed the event due to heavy drinking in the previous night! Kimi could have left all these stories untold, had he wanted to. Kimi definitely hasn't been a good role model for younger drivers, in terms of his drinking habits. But Kimi has never seen himself as a role model. He sees himself as an ordinary man, who loves to drive cars as fast as possible and have fun every once in a while (sometimes even for 16 days in a row). I admire such honesty.
The book tells a story, how everything is possible, when you have the passion and devotion for what you do. Kimi doesn't come from a rich family, but his parents took every effort to offer Kimi and his big brother Rami a chance to drive, in Finland and abroad. As money couldn't be taken for granted, Kimi learned to do many things by himself. This is something that many young drivers can't do nowadays, as they have mechanics of their own from a very early age. Kimi's story shows, that when you have the talent and the passion and the support from your family, it can lead to amazing things, like a success story in the pinnacle of the motorsport. Family still means everything to Kimi. And having a family of his own has had a very positive and healthy influence on the Iceman; it's absolutely touching to see how devoted Kimi is to his wife and kids.
In the regulated world of Formula 1 Kimi doesn't show his emotions. There're many jokes about Kimi's facial expressions, how they look all the same no matter which emotion is in question. The book shows a glimpse of Kimi's emotional side, which has been well-hidden. Kimi's father Matti passed away at Christmas 2010. Kimi had had a quarrel with his father, and Matti passed away before they managed to settle the dispute... I was touched to read Kimi's thoughts about his father and get to know this side of Kimi.
The book was so entertaining and compelling, that it was very difficult to let it off my hands. On one hand I hoped to read it as fast as I could, but on the other hand I wished, that I would never reach the end. It has been written in such vivid and descriptive way, that reading the text made me feel I was actually there, at the Ferrari garage, at Kimi's home or partying with Kimi. An excellent sense of humour spiced up the book; from time to time I couldn't help but laugh out loud! This book is worth reading, no matter if you are a Formula 1 fan or not! Absolutely a masterpiece!
Who is Kimi Räikkönen? He's a famous Finnish F1 driver, who has won the world championship for Ferrari in 2007. He is known as "the Iceman" in the Formula 1 world. He doesn't talk much. He hates to be in front of media. His team radio messages are legendary. One of the most famous ones is the comment "Leave me alone, I know what to do", which Kimi let out of his mouth in the victorious 2012 Abu Dhabi GP. Kimi is married to Minttu Räikkönen and has two kids. But what else do we actually know about this personal man, who stands out of the crowd in the strictly controlled F1 world? Over the years there have been many stories in the media about Kimi's drinking habits and his sometimes reckless private life. Never before Kimi has revealed so much that he does in this spellbinding book.
What makes the book even more interesting, is the fact, that the writer didn't know anything about Formula 1 racing. Fans, including me, tend to see Kimi through Formula 1 glasses. That is very natural, as the F1 world has been the only environment, where we have seen this ice cool Finn, as Kimi has been extremely protective about his personal life off-track. But in the book Kimi is not defined as a racing driver but as a man. You don't need to know anything about Formula 1 to find this book interesting. However, since last summer Kimi has offered his fans a glimpse into his personal life, as he joined Instagram. I was absolutely flabbergasted that he did! What is absolutely charming about the book, is the way Kari Hotakainen writes Kimi's story. It has been written with unconventional style and with great sense of humour.
Kimi is a celebrity and a star, which is everything Kimi wouldn't like to be. Unknown - Kimi Räikkönen is a story of a man, who has gone out of humble conditions and broke into the top of an unusual profession. In Kimi's opinion the greatest thing would be if you could drive Formula 1 unknowingly. Unfortunately such a world doesn't exist. Unknowingly, you can shave or drive a lawnmover, not a seven million-euro racing car. The book draws a picture of a man, who is a star just because he doesn't want to be one. Honesty is a word, which describes the content of the book perfectly. Kimi doesn't try to please other people and doesn't care what other people think of him. Having this kind of attitude, it's no problem for him to tell about his 16-day drinking streak, including partying with the Prince of Bahrain and parties in Switzerland, Italy and Finland. After 16 days of drinking, Kimi travelled to Barcelona for the Spanish GP and finished the race in P3! Honestly, I always thought, that Kimi's drinking habits were massively exaggerated and sort of an urban legend. So I can't help but wonder, how Kimi has achieved such success when leading such a reckless life! The story about Kimi's first press conference as a Ferrari driver in 2007 seemed quite unbelievable as well; I read open-mouthed how Kimi almost missed the event due to heavy drinking in the previous night! Kimi could have left all these stories untold, had he wanted to. Kimi definitely hasn't been a good role model for younger drivers, in terms of his drinking habits. But Kimi has never seen himself as a role model. He sees himself as an ordinary man, who loves to drive cars as fast as possible and have fun every once in a while (sometimes even for 16 days in a row). I admire such honesty.
The book tells a story, how everything is possible, when you have the passion and devotion for what you do. Kimi doesn't come from a rich family, but his parents took every effort to offer Kimi and his big brother Rami a chance to drive, in Finland and abroad. As money couldn't be taken for granted, Kimi learned to do many things by himself. This is something that many young drivers can't do nowadays, as they have mechanics of their own from a very early age. Kimi's story shows, that when you have the talent and the passion and the support from your family, it can lead to amazing things, like a success story in the pinnacle of the motorsport. Family still means everything to Kimi. And having a family of his own has had a very positive and healthy influence on the Iceman; it's absolutely touching to see how devoted Kimi is to his wife and kids.
In the regulated world of Formula 1 Kimi doesn't show his emotions. There're many jokes about Kimi's facial expressions, how they look all the same no matter which emotion is in question. The book shows a glimpse of Kimi's emotional side, which has been well-hidden. Kimi's father Matti passed away at Christmas 2010. Kimi had had a quarrel with his father, and Matti passed away before they managed to settle the dispute... I was touched to read Kimi's thoughts about his father and get to know this side of Kimi.
The book was so entertaining and compelling, that it was very difficult to let it off my hands. On one hand I hoped to read it as fast as I could, but on the other hand I wished, that I would never reach the end. It has been written in such vivid and descriptive way, that reading the text made me feel I was actually there, at the Ferrari garage, at Kimi's home or partying with Kimi. An excellent sense of humour spiced up the book; from time to time I couldn't help but laugh out loud! This book is worth reading, no matter if you are a Formula 1 fan or not! Absolutely a masterpiece!
sunnuntai 26. elokuuta 2018
Belgian GP: Sebastian took a dominant and mesmerising victory!
Lights out offered plenty of action at Spa Francorchamps, where the weather was cloudy, with only 20 % risk of rain. The start of the top six was clean, and pole-setter Hamilton was the first driver to go into tricky Turn 1. Further down in the pack there was a fateful chain reaction caused by Renault's Hulkenberg. The German missed the braking point into Turn 1 and locked his tyres, which made him hit the rear of Alonso's McLaren. Alonso's orange McLaren got air-born and flew over Leclerc's Sauber, and all three were out of the race. Thanks to the new halo system, Leclerc got away from the shunt unharmed. The collision had also an effect on Red Bull's Ricciardo, who ended up hitting the rear of Kimi's SF71-H. Ricciardo got severe damage to both his front and rear wings, and Kimi suffered a rear-right puncture. Safety car was deployed due to the massive collision, and both Ricciardo and Kimi limped into the pits. In addition to the puncture, the end plate of Kimi's rear wing and the DRS system had taken severe damage. Kimi switched to the white-marked medium rubber, and the team sent him back out. Ricciardo had a massively delayed pit stop, and the Australian was already one lap down when re-joining the track. Mercedes' Bottas, who had started to the race from P17, had an incident with Williams' Sirotkin, as the Finn hit the rear of the Russian's FW41. Bottas broke his front wing as well and had to pit for a new nose. What an action-packed opening lap!
Sebastian was determined to snatch the lead from Hamilton. Before the safety car came out after the first-corner collision, Sebastian challenged the Briton at Turn 5 and made it past Hamilton! At the same time Force India's Ocon was very close to challenge both of them for the lead. However, Ocon's move proved costly, and teammate Perez managed to pass the Frenchman. Meanwhile Red Bull's Verstappen was lurking behind the pink cars already.
Safety car came in on lap 5, and the battle was on. Sebastian managed to defend his lead perfectly, and Hamilton had to settle for playing the second fiddle to the German. Right from the beginning it was obvious, that Ferrari's race pace was in a class of their own. The pink cars were unable to match the top two's pace, and on lap 7 Verstappen attacked Ocon, moving fourth. On lap 8 Kimi drove into the pits, and the team had a closer look at the Iceman's rear wing. Kimi was sent back out again, but he returned into the pits a lap later. There was nothing the team could do to fix the Iceman's car. What a shame! Kimi had been absolutely flying in the free practice sessions and in the qualifying (before he ran out of fuel), so he would have deserved so much better! It was a truly frustrating moment to see him retire his SF71-H.
Verstappen had chased down Perez and attacked the Mexican on lap 10. Verstappen's driving was impressive, bold overtaking moves without foolish mistakes! Meanwhile, Bottas was offering an overtaking show of his own. On lap 18 the Finn swept past Toro Rosso's Gasly, snatching P8 already. Mercedes decided to try an undercut by calling Hamilton in on lap 22. The Briton's pit stop was close to perfection, and he re-joined the track in P3, behind Verstappen. Ferrari reacted right away and called Sebastian in on the following lap. Both drivers opted for a fresh set of the yellow-walled middle compound, and Sebastian maintained his lead. Verstappen had no chance to hold back Hamilton, and the Briton made a successful overtaking move, snatching back P2.
Lapped Ricciardo joined the group of retired drivers, as he was called in to retire the car on lap 31. With ten laps to go, Sebastian had the race perfectly under his control. The gap to Hamilton was already over five seconds. Verstappen in P3 was unable to match the top two's pace. Perez was fourth, but Bottas had begun his chase. With five laps to go, the Finn was right at Perez's tail, hungry for getting past. Bottas' overtaking move proved successful, and the Finn had climbed up to P4 already. Very remarkable driving from the Finnish Mercedes ace, who had started to the race from P17.
Sebastian took his fifth win of the season, which made me feel over the moon. More importantly, he decreased the gap to Hamilton into 17 points in the drivers' championship standings. After the race Hamilton seemed a bit confused about how fast Ferrari proved in the race. Verstappen completed the podium for Red Bull, which I was also very happy about. Bottas finished excellent fourth, followed by the pink duo of Perez and Ocon. Haas drove an impressive race as well, as Grosjean finished 7th and teammate Magnussen 8th. Toro Rosso's Gasly and Sauber's Ericsson completed the top ten. After the race the stewards gave Hulkenberg a 10-place grid penalty for Monza and three penalty points for causing the first-corner collision. Bottas was handed a 5-second time penalty (which didn't affect the race result) and two penalty points for his incident with Sirotkin on the opening lap.
It's time for back-to-back races, as the F1 circus moves to the legendary Monza, the home soil of the Red Team, already next week! Looking forward to another red victory! Forza Ferrari!
Sebastian was determined to snatch the lead from Hamilton. Before the safety car came out after the first-corner collision, Sebastian challenged the Briton at Turn 5 and made it past Hamilton! At the same time Force India's Ocon was very close to challenge both of them for the lead. However, Ocon's move proved costly, and teammate Perez managed to pass the Frenchman. Meanwhile Red Bull's Verstappen was lurking behind the pink cars already.
Safety car came in on lap 5, and the battle was on. Sebastian managed to defend his lead perfectly, and Hamilton had to settle for playing the second fiddle to the German. Right from the beginning it was obvious, that Ferrari's race pace was in a class of their own. The pink cars were unable to match the top two's pace, and on lap 7 Verstappen attacked Ocon, moving fourth. On lap 8 Kimi drove into the pits, and the team had a closer look at the Iceman's rear wing. Kimi was sent back out again, but he returned into the pits a lap later. There was nothing the team could do to fix the Iceman's car. What a shame! Kimi had been absolutely flying in the free practice sessions and in the qualifying (before he ran out of fuel), so he would have deserved so much better! It was a truly frustrating moment to see him retire his SF71-H.
Verstappen had chased down Perez and attacked the Mexican on lap 10. Verstappen's driving was impressive, bold overtaking moves without foolish mistakes! Meanwhile, Bottas was offering an overtaking show of his own. On lap 18 the Finn swept past Toro Rosso's Gasly, snatching P8 already. Mercedes decided to try an undercut by calling Hamilton in on lap 22. The Briton's pit stop was close to perfection, and he re-joined the track in P3, behind Verstappen. Ferrari reacted right away and called Sebastian in on the following lap. Both drivers opted for a fresh set of the yellow-walled middle compound, and Sebastian maintained his lead. Verstappen had no chance to hold back Hamilton, and the Briton made a successful overtaking move, snatching back P2.
Lapped Ricciardo joined the group of retired drivers, as he was called in to retire the car on lap 31. With ten laps to go, Sebastian had the race perfectly under his control. The gap to Hamilton was already over five seconds. Verstappen in P3 was unable to match the top two's pace. Perez was fourth, but Bottas had begun his chase. With five laps to go, the Finn was right at Perez's tail, hungry for getting past. Bottas' overtaking move proved successful, and the Finn had climbed up to P4 already. Very remarkable driving from the Finnish Mercedes ace, who had started to the race from P17.
Sebastian took his fifth win of the season, which made me feel over the moon. More importantly, he decreased the gap to Hamilton into 17 points in the drivers' championship standings. After the race Hamilton seemed a bit confused about how fast Ferrari proved in the race. Verstappen completed the podium for Red Bull, which I was also very happy about. Bottas finished excellent fourth, followed by the pink duo of Perez and Ocon. Haas drove an impressive race as well, as Grosjean finished 7th and teammate Magnussen 8th. Toro Rosso's Gasly and Sauber's Ericsson completed the top ten. After the race the stewards gave Hulkenberg a 10-place grid penalty for Monza and three penalty points for causing the first-corner collision. Bottas was handed a 5-second time penalty (which didn't affect the race result) and two penalty points for his incident with Sirotkin on the opening lap.
It's time for back-to-back races, as the F1 circus moves to the legendary Monza, the home soil of the Red Team, already next week! Looking forward to another red victory! Forza Ferrari!
Tilaa:
Blogitekstit (Atom)