Following the historic 2009 F1 season, the turn of the decades forthwith hoped to replicate the excitement of the seasons that preceded it.
The 2010 season saw many stories unfold from the return of the sport’s hero Michael Schumacher, to the on-track excitement that saw 5 different winners through the first 7 races, these stories all leading the season’s climax in South Korea.
5.5 hours downwind from Seoul, a battle for the most coveted title in motorsport was being shaped up between a young hot shot matador from Germany and a seasoned champion from Spain piloting the worlds most expensive show pony. With only three races to go in the season it was coming down to the wire and the stage was being set for a weekend of pure thrill, it was the 2010 Korean Grand Prix
Source: commons.m.wikimedia.org
Sebastian Vettel would take the first battle of the weekend by taking pole from his teammate Mark Webber, while title rival Alonso would set a lap only good enough for the second row.
With the grid set and the title fight being separated by only one grid position, it would all come down to Sunday, and it would deliver.
As the sun set on Saturday, the rain began for Sunday. Monsoon-like conditions would cause the race start to be delayed until the decision to start the race under a safety car. After just three laps in these conditions, it would be red flagged until the rain eased.
Source: Autoblog.com
The race would eventually begin with Vettel pulling away in the lead ahead of Webber who would go off and take out an unsuspecting Rosberg causing another safety car, but more importantly it would place Vettel and Alonso next to each other on the restart.
Vettel would continue to lead through several other safety cars until light levels at the track would lead to a steep performance drop for his Red Bull leading to his eventual retirement with only 10 laps left in the race.
With Vettel retiring, Alonso would take the lead meaning as long as he finished, he would leave South Korea with the championship lead. Alonso would coast to the race win with Hamilton and Massa closing out the podium.
Source: VeloceToday.com
Following Alonso crossing the line, the race would conclude with a final total race time of 2 hours and 48 minutes making it over an hour longer than any other race that season.
While the overall legacy of the Korean GP is one of disappointment, 2010 was a true spectacle in how everything can go wrong but still somehow make for an entertaining and successful race.
Hope you enjoyed that installation of Flashback Friday! Let us know in the comments what race you’d like to see next in the series.
We’re back with another install of most memorable races and this time Lizzy takes the stage:
I’ve been watching F1 for a few years now and I have a few races that have stuck in my head and are very special to me.
Monaco 2017
This was the first race that I watched the whole way through live, before this I had watched the highlights of races and short clips. It was an average race with a Ferrari 1-2 and Daniel Riccardo finishing 3rd. The most memorable part of the race was Pacal Wehrlein’s crash with Jenson Button that left him lent against the barriers, as this was my first race this was my first live crash, and it did make me realise just how dangerous the sport could be.
Monza 2020
Monza is always home to amazing and unexpected races. In 2020 Vettel went through the polystyrene signs after his brakes failed, the safety car was sent out after Magnussen’s Haas stopped on the track, Charles Leclerc crashed heavily into the barriers which caused a red flag, Hamilton had a 10-second stop-and-go penalty for using the pitlane while it was closed, and Pierre Gasly took his first ever F1 win. Watching the race was like a fairy tale, especially watching Gasly’s emotional post-race celebrations. I still have the famous picture as one of my lock screens that I rotate through the year.
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Qatar 2021
Being a Fernando Alonso fan, I have to say this race. Seeing him back on the podium was amazing. Also seeing Esteban Ocon defending ‘like a lion’ was great.
Bahrain 2023
This year has already given us some great races and we’re only 3 rounds in. Alonso is 3 for 3 in 3rd places and I hope it continues and gets better. Bahrain was the first look into what this year’s Aston Martin could do but Alonso getting a podium wasn’t the only good thing about it, watching the resilience of Lance Stroll was inspiring and he finished p6 with two broken wrists and a broken toe.
Hope you enjoyed this instalment of most memorable races, we’ll be back soon with more content that you’ll definitely enjoy.
The start of the new season had everyone waiting in anticipation for what might come about. With the three days of testing Aston Martin looked a threat and Red Bull looked as dominant as usual. But that was just testing.
When it came to free practice on Friday and Saturday where the veterans and the rookies took to the Bahrain International Circuit, the Red Bulls and Ferraris showed pace, along with the Aston Martins. Mercedes seemed to struggle slightly on the Friday but picked up the pace on Saturday. Lance Stroll was one to watch over the weekend as he had been cleared to race after his mountain biking incident which saw him miss pre-season testing.
Source: Uksport.news
Teams across the paddock, including Red Bull who already seemed like front runners, had their eyes on Aston Martin as the Silverstone based team impressed and looked a threat for qualifying; maybe even pole.
Qualifying saw Gasly unexpectedly fail to make it out of Q1 and plum last in his first outing for Alpine. Following him out in Q1 was De Vries, Piastri, Magnussen and Sargeant. Sargeant set the exact same time as Norris for P16, but did not make it out of Q1 because Norris set the lap time first.
Hulkenberg was impressive on his return to the F1 grid, launching his Haas into Q3. With not enough pace in his car and just missing out on the top 10 shootout was Norris in P11, followed by Bottas, Zhou, Tsunoda and Albon, who backed out of setting a lap time.
Verstappen and Perez stormed to 1st and 2nd on the timesheets; with Leclerc settled for 3rd, only doing a single flying lap and leaving him an extra set of soft tyres for the race (a strategic call by Ferrari) and Sainz locked out the second row with his teammate. Alonso impressed in P5; ahead of both Mercedes in P6 and P7, Russell ahead of Hamilton; and Stroll, Ocon and Hulkenberg rounded up the top 10 for the season opener.
Source: Mark Sutton LAT Images via F1 Chronicle
Race report
Red Bull did what they do best. Max Verstappen led Sergio Perez home for a dominating victory and a brilliant 1-2 finish for the team. It was all quite simple for Verstappen, who was never really in doubt from lights out. After being overtaken by Leclerc at the start, once Perez caught up to the Monegasque during the race, he too, was a sure thing.
Aston Martin started off the season with brilliant racing and even better results. Fernando Alonso claimed a long awaited podium in P3 when he overtook Sainz and Hamilton in the latter stages of the race, earning his new team the second podium in their history. Lance Stroll, who only recently came back from injury had a stellar performance and finished in P6, in between the two Mercedes.
Source: Peter Fox Getty Images
‘Twas sad day for Ferrari, and not the start to the season they would have wanted. Beginning the race in promising positions, it seemed likely that they could get some good points and a podium, but when Leclerc’s engine lost power, his race was over early. Sainz seemed to struggle with tyre degradation towards the race end, an issue Ferrari are commonly known to battle. The Spaniard couldn’t keep Alonso behind him so he settled for P4.
Mercedes will return to Brackley, with the hopes of finding the necessary pace to compete with their rivals. A good start for Hamilton saw him overtake Russell but when the chance came to get past a struggling Sainz near the end of the race, the car could not deliver. Russell was beaten by Stroll who overtook him easily after his final pitstop; it was not a weekend Mercedes will have fond memories of.
The Frenchmen of Alpine had very different races. Gasly, who started last, worked his way through the pack and found himself in a very respectable P9 for Alpine in his first race for the team. Meanwhile, Ocon had a miserable race as he was plagued with multiple time penalties and later retired from the race.
McLaren had a woeful time at the Bahrain GP. Oscar Piastri retired on his F1 debut due to an electrical issue. Norris completed the race, two laps down on Verstappen in P17, with a pneumatic pressure leak in his car which meant he had to pit six times in order to make it to the end.
AlphaTauri wont be disappointed with their result at the Bahrain GP. Tsunoda had a reasonably good race and unfortunately just missed out on points with an 11th place finish. De Vries on his AlphaTarui debut finished in P14, a decent result considering he started the race in 19th.
Alfa Romeo’s Bottas scored some nice points and had a strong drive to give him P8. It was not the best of days in the office for Zhou as he finished P16.
Haas’ strategy for Magnussen didn’t pay off but the Dane benefited from Zhou’s late pitstop and finished 13th. Hulkenberg, on his return to F1 placed 15th curtesy of a five second penalty.
Williams will be happy with this weekend’s results: Albon snatched the final world championship point after his 15th place start; while Sargeant was the highest finisher of the 2023 rookies in 12th.
The Saudi Arabian GP takes place from 17-19 March. Stay tuned for more articles and updates before then. Make sure you are subscribed to the blog and are following all social media channels for the latest news and more!
For this week’s Flashback Friday we take a look at Monza, Ferrari and Michael Schumacher in 2006, what some might call a mighty mix.
We remember some popular names on the grid at the time, Heidfield, Fisichella, Barrichello etc. Racing in Monza was one of the most exciting times of the season (as it still is now!) Back in the day, the bottom six teams from the 2005 constructors championship and Super Aguri could run a third car in free practice but these cars could not run in qualifying or the race. (This included drivers like Sebastian Vettel and Anthony Davidson)
Qualifying
In Q1 the following drivers were eliminated: Yamamoto, Sato, Webber (who was driving for Williams-Cosworth at the time), Albers and Liuzzi. In Q2, the familiar names of Nico Rosberg, Ralf Schumacher, David Coulthard accompanied Trulli, Klien and Speed out of the second stage of qualifying. An intense battle for pole with Schumacher and Raikkonen took centre stage at the end of Q3, with the future 2007 world champion pipping the seven time world champion to the top spot at Ferrari’s home circuit. Heidfield, Massa, Button, Kubica, De la Rosa, Barrichello, Fisichella and Alonso completed the top 10. Alonso had qualified in 5th place but was later penalised for impeding Massa which then brought him down to 10th.
Race
On September 10, 2006, 53 laps of racing awaited the 22 drivers on the grid in the sunny weather of Italy. Kimi Raikkonen would lead the other 21 drivers off the grid for an exciting afternoon.
Raikkonen got a good start, pulling away from Schumacher and Heidfield who were battling for second place. Alonso had gained places, moving up the field to sixth. The leading two cars of Raikkonen and Schumacher had built a gap between themselves and the rest of the pack. Rosberg had power issues with his car, with the German ending his race earlier than the rest for the fourth time in a row.
By the time pit windows were open the teams had formed their strategies based on what they believed would beat their opponent, and Ferrari got it right. Raikkonen went into the pits two laps before Schumacher, who, in that time had picked up the pace to give him enough time to come out ahead of the McLaren. During the pitstops for the top two, Kubica lead the race, coming in at a later stage.
Schumacher and Raikkonen had very similar paces and the leading car could not build up a significant gap. Even after the second round of pitstops, things did not change; although, Raikkonen allowed for a little gap to form to preserve his tyres.
An engine failure on lap 44 meant Alonso lost the last spot on the podium. This caused an issue for Massa who, from this incident locked up, went wide and had to change tyres in the pit. This ultimately handed Kubica third place for his first ever podium.
Credit: Motorsportmagazine.com
Schumacher crossed the line for his 90th win and for Ferrari’s 190th win, followed by Raikkonen and Kubica. It was during his victory lap that Schumacher announced he would retire at the end of the season, leaving the F1 community with a very bitter-sweet feeling. Nevertheless, with three races to go, Schumacher would battle it out with Alonso for the title of driver’s champion 2006.
We hope you enjoyed this week’s #FlashbackFriday. Make sure you like and share it with others so they can relive such sweet memories. Also, don’t forget to follow all of our social media and tag us when you share your predictions!
The 2011 F1 season had passed the halfway stage at race 11 out of 19 at Hungary. Sebastian Vettel, the reigning world champion was comfortably leading the drivers’ standings but Fernando Alonso and Lewis Hamilton with recent race wins were still in the hunt. The renowned Hungaroring would push the drivers to their limits for 70 laps to crown a winner.
Qualifying
Qualifying saw Red Bull “golden boy” Sebastian Vettel take pole position. The fight to start first was between himself and McLaren’s Lewis Hamilton; and this was how it turned out, with Hamilton joining Vettel on the front row, followed by his teammate Jenson Button who would start from third place on the grid, alongside Felipe Massa. Fernando Alonso would start behind his teammate in fifth as Mark Webber and his Red Bull, who was much slower than Vettel qualified in sixth place. Seventh, eighth, ninth and tenth position belonged to Rosberg, Sutil, Schumacher and Perez.
Race
With “changeable and challenging conditions in store for the drivers”, described by Martin Brundle, the race was without a doubt, foreshadowing lots of entertainment. Good starts from Sebastian Vettel and Lewis Hamilton saw the pair keep their positions into the first corner. Alonso, Webber and Massa struggled at the start, losing places to the two Mercedes cars.
Credit: Autoblog.com
After doing a good job in keeping the McLaren behind him, Sebastian Vettel ran wide at Turn 3 on lap five, which allowed Hamilton to take the lead of the race. He quickly increased the gap to Vettel, and Jenson Button began to catch up to the Red Bull. Massa spun on lap eight, while Alonso had made his way back up to fourth place.
Webber was the first to pit onto slick tyres and soon after, Button did the same. Vettel and Alonso followed in Hamilton into the pits on lap 11, with Hamilton going onto a used set of tyres. Button and Webber had now gained places on Vettel and Alonso. The top 5 at this stage was: Ham, But, Vet, Web, Alo.
The race saw retirements from Trulli, Heidfield, Schumacher and Kovalainen and some showers shook things up again. Lewis Hamilton spun and earned a drive through penalty for forcing di Resta off the track. Hamilton boxed on lap 52 for intermediate tyres after being told it would rain more while Button was told to stay out. Hamilton had first choice for pit strategy because he had been leading before taking his drive through penalty. Two laps later, after deciding it was the wrong call, he pit again for dry tyres.
Credit: LAT Photographic
Button now led from Vettel and Alonso and Hamilton, who had been fighting for fourth place with Webber. Alonso was catching up to the Red Bull but a spin made sure he would stick with his third place. It meant Button would go on to win on his 200th race start, finishing ahead of Vettel and Alonso.
Credit: Auto 123
The top ten concluded as: Button, Vettel, Alonso, Hamilton, Webber, Massa, di Resta, Buemi, Rosberg, Alguersuari.
Credit: AUSmotive.com
This result meant that Vettel would still hold a significant lead in the championship over his rivals.
Hope you enjoyed that flashback Friday! Like, share and let us know what race you’d like to see next on #FlashbackFriday
The Fastest Sector 