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.
While 2018 may not seem like that long ago to us today, the 2018 Australian Grand Prix and the innovations that came with it are nearing their 5th birthday!
2018 saw the birth of the Halo to F1 and all the controversy that came with it, many thought of the halo as some ugly useless feature with no telling just how valuable it would become for the sport.
We as fans were first introduced to this halo on track in Australia, but aside from the halo, let’s look back on that race from the track perspective.
We started the weekend off as yet another beautiful weekend in Melbourne with FP1 seeing the Mercedes reigning supreme taking a 1-2 followed by Verstappen’s Red Bull and the Ferrari duo of Kimi and Seb rounding out the top 5. The bottom 5 for the session saw Checo and Magnussen followed by Hartley and the Sauber duo of Ericsson and Leclerc.
Source: themirror.co.uk
FP2 followed a similar outcome with Lewis still topping the timing sheets followed by Verstappen and Bottas and then the Ferrari duo keeping the structure in the top 5.
Saturday saw a change of pace in more ways then one, with the Ferrari’s finding the speed they very much needed Friday with a 1-2 in FP3 and the Sauber of Ericsson taking 3rd, IN A SAUBER. When it came to qualifying, the Hamilton powered Mercedes would take pole followed by Raikkonen and Vettel to set up for a fun start to Sunday’s festivities.
Sunday’s race saw the Ferrari’s chase down Hamilton without help from Bottas who would lull down in 8th. The Ferrari of Sebastian Vettel would eventually catch up and overtake Hamilton for the lead and from there it was finished. Vettel would take the flag to come home P1 with Hamilton taking 2nd followed by Raikkonen in 3rd.
Source: f1-fansite.com
For the low-lights, the HAAS duo of K-Mag and Grosjean would both DNF in their dumpster fires of cars.
Danny Ric would have himself a great Sunday finishing ahead of his teammate with a respectable P4.
Overall, the weekend was the beginning of a fun and exciting season in F1 and brought along technologies that would change the history of the sport and the safety of its participants and for that, it may go down as one of the most important seasons in the sports history.
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Massive commemorations for the successful career of Sebastian Vettel took place over the weekend. It started on Thursday night, when Lewis Hamilton took all 20 drivers out for dinner to celebrate Seb and his retirement from F1. On Friday evening a photo of all the drivers doing the iconic 1 finger celebration associated with Sebastian was shared across social media. Several drivers also sported tribute helmets to the sporting legend over the weekend. He will truly be missed.
Helmut Marko confirmed that Ricciardo would be Red Bull’s third driver in 2023 (as long as he signs the contract!) Logan Sargeant gained enough Super Licence points needed to secure his William’s seat in Sunday’s F2 feature race, so we will be seeing him on the grid next year and that’s the 2023 grid set.
Practice
We saw many teams swap out drivers for the Young Drivers Test. Some of the names included were the likes of F2 drivers Lawson, Drugovich and Sargeant who traded places with F1 stars, along with IndyCar driver O’Ward and last year’s runner up in F2, Schwartzman. The 1-2 in Brazil was copied and pasted in FP1 for Mercedes, this time Hamilton was the lead car. Charles Leclerc was not far behind in P3 for Ferrari.
In FP2, Verstappen set the fastest time, followed by Russell and Leclerc who were 3 hundredths and 4 hundredths further behind the Dutchman. It was a solid session for Alpine who were 8th and 9th; and Ricciardo rounded up the top 10 in what was his final FP2 practice for the near future as he is without a seat in 2023 (yes we are all devastated by this.)
Perez lead his team mate Verstappen to a Red Bull 1-2 in the final free practice session of 2022. Hamilton and Russell were in 3rd and 4th for Mercedes, while Norris clinched 5th in his McLaren ahead of both Ferraris.
At the front in Q1 (only completing one lap to do it) was Verstappen, followed by Perez and the two Ferraris. A fantastic final lap to avoid elimination on his last occasion in F1 saw Vettel jump to P6 and out of the drop zone. The sweet feelings of his pole position last week in Brazil couldn’t be transferred to Abu Dhabi as Magnussen could not avoid elimination like his team mate did.
Out in Q1: Magnussen, Gasly, Bottas, Albon, Latifi
Perez was the fastest in Q2, ahead of Leclerc and Sainz. Mercedes noticed their lack of pace compared to their rivals and were wondering why they were so far behind. Once again, the man who is leaving the sport, put his Aston Martin into Q3 with another stellar final lap. Alonso couldn’t catch his team mate Ocon who did qualify for Q3- a surprise exit for the Spaniard.
Out in Q2: Alonso, Tsunoda, Schumacher, Stroll, Zhou
Position was important in the fight for P2. Provisional pole was set for Verstappen after first runs, ahead of Sainz, Perez and Leclerc. Vettel and Ricciardo only did one lap in Q3, setting their times for the race. Vettel was P7 before Ocon and Norris improved their teams, so the German qualified P9, equalling his best qualifying result this season in his final race. Verstappen improved his time on his final run, sealing pole number 7 of the season as Perez took P2, giving Red Bull a front row lockout.
Verstappen put in a dominant effort to seal his 15th race win of the season extending his record even further. He came up just 9 points short of the record for largest gap between first and second in the championship, a record held by Sebastian Vettel. Once Verstappen held off Perez at the start he was soon out of sight. Perez, on a two-stop strategy came up short to Leclerc who finished ahead of him in the race and the championship. The Mexican had the task of chasing down his rival for second place on track but he came up short and never really got close enough to challenge.
Leclerc, mirroring Verstappen’s one-stop strategy, managed his hard compound tyres to the chequered flag and kept his head steady as he sealed P2 in the world drivers’ championship with a superb drive. Sainz had a little tussle with Hamilton at the start, the Brit was told to give back the place. After being overtaken by the champion and then regaining that position, Sainz worked his way back to finish P4 for Ferrari.
It was not Mercedes best weekend on the back of their 1-2 in Brazil. The Silver Arrows only managed P5 for Russell after he received a 5 second penalty for an unsafe release, while Hamilton’s race resulted in a DNF when his team reported a hydraulic issue.
Alpine, almost already securing P4 in the constructors’ championship against McLaren had a mixed race in Abu Dhabi. Ocon managed a solid P7, finishing behind Norris but Alonso unfortunately suffered a water leak which ended his race and time with Alpine early. Not a nice way to bow out for the Spaniard.
Double points were scored for McLaren in their final race of the season with the pairing of Norris and Ricciardo. Norris drove another solid race to finish 6th and best of the rest. The departing Ricciardo brought home P9 for the papaya team ahead of the retiring Vettel in what was his final race as a McLaren driver.
Aston Martin were another double points scoring team. A two-stop strategy favoured Stroll as he hauled his car to P8. The one-stop strategy might not have been the best decision made by Aston Martin for Vettel but the German driver made some impressive over takes in his final race in F1 and took home his final championship point in P10. Aston Martin finished level points with Alfa Romeo in the standings but Alfa Romeo took the P6.
Schumacher, who is leaving Haas, came together with Latifi but both were able to continue on. Schumacher received a 5 second time penalty for this incident and finished P16 ahead of his team mate Magnussen, who finished 17th with a one-stop strategy that did not go his way.
AlphaTauri scored no points in Abu Dhabi. Tsunoda finished P11, just missing out on the points and Gasly, who leaves the team to join Alpine, ended the race in P14 for the Italian-based team.
Rookie of the year, (the only rookie this season) Zhou finished in P13 between former Red Bull drivers Albon and Gasly. Former Mercedes driver Bottas finished P15, a result he would surely like to improve on next season.
Some time after his contact with Schumacher, Latifi retired from the race in what was his final appearance for Williams. Albon will be happy with his final outing with Williams this season, securing a 12th place finish for the team.
That concludes the 2022 F1 season and we will return to racing at the Bahrain Grand Prix in March 2023; can’t wait to see you then.
Meanwhile, during the winter break we will be sure to keep you occupied with news, articles, games and more. Stay tuned for what’s in store.
Hello readers let’s take a trip to a time when things were simpler, 2015 but more specifically Melbourne Australia for the start of the 2015 F1 season.
After a dominant Friday for Nico Rosberg, Saturday saw a change in control as it would be Lewis Hamilton taking over and setting the pace in FP3 and would follow it up with a pole position to end the day.
Now, to the main event: race day. Sunday’s race was a hectic one, just like any other regular race 20 cars started, but only 11 ended up crossing the finish line.
Lewis never looked back as he would go on to win followed closely by his Mercedes teammate with Seb completing the podium.
Looking back on this weekend, while 2015 was a simpler time this race was far from simple. Only three teams finished the race with both cars if you can name all three, share below and thank you for reading!!
We’re back with another installation of flashback Friday to keep you occupied during the summer break. This time we look at Valtteri Bottas’ first F1 win which he claimed at Sochi in 2017.
The three practice sessions before qualifying were topped by the usual Ferrari and Mercedes, who were far ahead of the rest of their competitors.
Source: thenewswheel.com
Qualifying
When it came to qualifying there were a couple of crashes from Palmer and Wehrlein which disupted the sessions. But in Q1, that duo failed to reach Q2, along with Vandoorne, Ericsson and Grosjean.
In Q2, Lance Stroll was looking for the opportunity to make Q3 for the second time but failed to do so. The Force India pair of Perez and Ocon were solid enough to find themselves in the top 10. But the struggles continued for McLaren as Alonso could only take P15. Following him out of Q2 were Sainz, Stroll, Kvyat and Magnussen.
Source: motorauthority.com
There were only really four cars in contention for pole. The two Ferrari and the two Mercedes. On provisional pole was Kimi Raikkonen who was ahead of Valtteri Bottas, his Finnish counterpart. Meanwhile, Vettel and Hamilton were third and fourth after first runs.
It was to be Vettel’s day as he claimed his first pole position since Singapore 2015. Next to him was Raikkonen, getting Ferrari their first front row lock out since 2008 in France. The Mercedes of Bottas and Hamilton had to settle for P3 & P4.
The top 10 was: Vettel, Raikkonen, Bottas, Hamilton, Ricciardo, Massa, Verstappen, Hulkenberg, Perez, Ocon.
Race
Source: Express.co.uk
An extra formation lap was needed at the start of the race as Fernando Alonso’s McLaren stopped on track before lights out. A great start from Bottas saw him jump Raikkonen but some more amazing race craft from the Finnish driver then saw him take the lead of the race going into the first corner ahead of Vettel.
The deployment of the safety car came about when Grojean and Palmer tangled up together. Lap 4 saw them get back to racing but immediately Ricciardo reported that his brakes were on fire for and had to retire for the second time in the season.
A pitstop for Bottas on Lap 28 saw him drop to second place, with Ferrari doing the opposite with Vettel and staying out for longer. Vettel stopped on Lap 34 while Bottas went wide in Turn 13, majorly flat spotting his tyres. This gave Vettel the solid belief that he could really hunt Bottas down for the win, with just three laps to go.
Source: syndication.bleacherreport.com
Running into traffic on his final lap, giving him DRS, allowed Bottas to keep his distance from the Ferrari. Vettel was unable to clear Massa in the Williams fast enough, giving Bottas the breathing space he needed.
Bottas secured his first F1 win in Russia that day, proving he could cope under an intense amount of pressure. His brilliant start and composed attitude throughout the race got him the victory.
Although Vettel had to settle for second place, Raikkonen’s third place gained Ferrari a nice chunk of points with a double podium.
Source: thetelegraph.co.uk
Elsewhere, Hamilton took fourth, over half a minute behind his teammate. Verstappen, after his good start took fifth, finishing ahead of the Force Indias in sixth and seventh who claimed a double top 7 finish for the first time since Belgium the year before. Hulkenberg, Massa and Sainz completed the top 10.
“I knew I could do these results, I always trusted my ability, but this result confirms it.”
Valtteri Bottas
If you enjoyed that Flashback Friday be sure to stick around for more; and if you have any requests you’d like to see of the page, be sure to drop a comment below!
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After hearing the shocking announcement of his retirement from F1, we as a team thought it would be best to show our appreciation in words (as some of us might be too emotional for a video format tribute) to a legend of the sport.
We all knew this day would come at some point, everyone’s got to retire at some stage and Sebastian is no different. I guess with the rumours of positive talks about a contact extension, it just came as a huge surprise. For someone who never had social media before, he sure knew how to make an entrance— his name was trending on Twitter just because he made an Instagram account; something most of us were ecstatic about.
Source: sportingnews.com
His decision to retire is wholeheartedly supported by the F1 community. Though it is sad for us to see him go, his goals for his family come first and that in its self is most admirable. Sebastian had already achieved so much by the age of 26; the standard he set for himself was incredibly high after becoming a four time world champion.
For me, this is the most difficult post I will write in a long time. Sebastian is my hero, and will always be. He is the reason my love for the sport is incredibly large. His passion, skill and determination has culminated an enormous number of people who have also found a hero: not just fans, but drivers also. His kindness, loyalty and desire to fight for equality has brought about a new aspect to the sport— one where we push ourselves to do more. He’s the role model this sport is so lucky to have.
I’ve been watching F1 since I was a kid, I was about six years old when Sebastian made his debut— so for me he was F1. Maybe my six year old self was distracted, which is why I don’t have the best recollection of his debut. But, my most vivid memories in F1 come from the 2010 season. I saw my favourite driver be in contention for the title, I saw people laugh at the suggestion that he could win it, and with my own two eyes— I saw him do exactly that.
Source: RTE.ie
I attended my first ever GP this year at Silverstone, and my one hope was to meet Sebastian. I told myself I would go home a happy girl if it happened. Firstly, I got to see him score some points, that felt like a privilege, that I was there to see him race and score points in the flesh. When he waved around with smiles during the drivers parade my heart swelled, because the person that made me love the sport so much was right there, with a big smile as usual.
I unfortunately didn’t get to properly meet him, but I did see him after the race as he was leaving and waved to him, telling him happy birthday as he was driving past. He was wearing his cool shades and sported a bright smile as he waved back. That was enough for me. Though it might not be much for some people, that moment there, filled my heart.
He broke so many records at such a young age I think we almost didn’t appreciate how good he was back then and still is, proving his untainted skill in Aston Martin- being the first to get a podium for the team. It was a fresh start for him at Aston Martin, he had high hopes for the team and aimed to achieve many great things. Sometimes life doesn’t go how we planned it, but we make the most of what we’re given. And that is what Sebastian always does.
Source: Formula1.com
Although it will be sad to see him go, his presence will forever be engraved in the sport he loves so much. He will never be forgotten for his talent, but also for the amazing human being that he is. We wish him all the best in his retirement, and hope that it is filled with nothing but happiness with his family.
When tasked with this weeks Flashback Friday I spent the week deciding on which race to cover and with 70 years of sport to sift through it can get quite difficult, that was until a bombshell announcement on Thursday morning.
Thursday morning the F1 world woke up to the announcement that one of the most beloved drivers in the history of the sport, Sebastian Vettel, was retiring from the sport.
With this announcement, my decision on what race to write about became abundantly easier, so let’s take a trip down memory lane and see where this legendary career got its start.
The year is 2007, the iPhone is releasing, George Bush was wrapping up his mess of a presidential stint, gas cost $3.07 a gallon, and F1 saw the debut of its first black driver since the inception of the sport.
The 2007 USGP held in the historic Indianapolis Motor Speedway would play host to round 7 of the F1 world championship, and saw the debut of a young prospect from Germany by the name of Sebastian Vettel.
Vettel stepped in to replace Robert Kubica in a one-off appearance for BMW Sauber following his major crash in Canada.
The race saw Rookie Lewis Hamilton take pole position with teammate Fernando Alonso rounding out the front row.
Despite the short notice, the young Vettel would put together a very solid lap to qualify P7 (not bad for a 19 year old).
The race saw not much action in the front with Hamilton leading 66 of 73 laps to take victory with the top 4 all finishing in the same place they started.
Source: Mark Sutton via Motorsport Images
Of the 22 drivers to start the race, 17 would finish with only 8 finishing on the lead lap.
Vettel despite being passed up by Webber, would finish a mightily respectable P8 earning him his first ever point in F1.
While writing this I found it difficult to really review this race in its entirety, it wasn’t the best race ever and in all honesty was quite boring, but this article is more of an homage to the beginning of one of the greatest careers in motorsport.
As someone born in the early 2000’s I was able to grow up watching the illustrious career of Seb unfold, he was a driver that boosted my love for the sport from his dominance at Red Bull to his solid Ferrari career, Seb made us all fans.
In closing I just want to say Danke Seb, and thank you to you all for reading even if it covered a pretty boring race in the history of the sport.
P.S. This was the first weekend, we got to see the Driver Debriefs made public
Qualifying
After dominating qualifying for the Formula One Grand Prix de Monaco 2017, Kimi Raikkonen will start from pole position for the first time since 2008. Raikkonen was 0.043s faster than teammate Sebastian Vettel, who finished 13th behind championship challenger Lewis Hamilton.
Max Verstappen of Red Bull lined up beside Bottas on the second row, with teammate Daniel Ricciardo and Toro Rosso’s Carlos Sainz filling the third. Aside from Hamilton’s performance, the McLarens of Stoffel Vandoorne and Jenson Button finished ninth and tenth, respectively. However, both have grid penalties: Vandoorne three places for his accident with Felipe Massa in Spain, and Button 15 places for an MGU-H and turbocharger change during the weekend.
The first quarter was full with surprises. The first was when Verstappen narrowly beat Vettel with a time of 1m 13.078s to 1m 13.090s, with Raikkonen finishing third behind Ricciardo and Bottas. The second was that Hamilton was only tenth, six tenths off the pace, due to overheated rear tyres. Vandoorne was sixth in the third, ahead of the close-knit Sainz, Force India’s Sergio Perez, and Haas’ Kevin Magnussen, while Button was a commendable 11th, right on Hamilton’s tail. Mercedes had a lot of work to do, and she didn’t have much time to complete it.
Romain Grosjean’s late improvement for Haas knocked Esteban Ocon’s Force India out of Q2, leaving him in 16th place with 1m 14.101s. The Frenchman had been fortunate to avoid a spin at Mirabeau, while Sainz had been equally fortunate. Jolyon Palmer’s Renault was 17th with a time of 1m 14.696s, ahead of Lance Stroll’s Williams with a time of 1m 16.8963s, Pascal Wehrlein’s Sauber with a time of 1m 15.159s, and Marcus Ericsson’s sister car with a time of 1m 15.276s. The Swede’s chances of improving were dashed when he came to a halt at the chicane with a punctured left rear tyre. Hamilton nearly crashed out on his out lap at Massenet in Q2, and he was down in 13th with no grip when he got held at the weigh bridge on his way in for repairs. Raikkonen led Vettel, Verstappen, Bottas, and Ricciardo at the front, with the Briton fuming as adjustment time slipped away.
With a minute to spare on his penultimate lap, he set competitive first and second sector times before arriving at the Swimming Pool to discover Vandoorne’s eighth quickest McLaren parked in the wall, the Belgian having repeated Ocon’s FP3 error of damaging his front suspension on the inside barrier. As a result, the three-time world champion was 14th fastest – and out. As Grosjean moved up to sixth and Sainz, Perez, and Button rounded out the top ten, Toro Rosso’s Daniil Kvyat finished 11th in 1m 13.516s, ahead of Nico Hulkenberg’s Renault in 1m 13.628s, Kevin Magnussen’s Haas in 1m 13.959s (he, too, was caught up in the Vandoorne yellow flags), Hamilton, and Massa’s Williams in 1
Raikkonen was fastest in Q3 after the first two runs with 1m 12.296s, followed by Ricciardo, Vettel, and Bottas, with Verstappen in fifth complaining about losing front grip.
Credit: XPBCC
On the second runs, Raikkonen improved swiftly to 1m 12.178s, but Vettel’s 1m 12.221 wasn’t enough to dislodge him. Bottas finally got his Mercedes revved up, but his time of 1m 12.223s was just too slow.Verstappen raced to fourth place with a time of 1m 12.496s, while Ricciardo struggled with a time of 1m 12.998s.
Sainz finished sixth in 1m 13.162s, ahead of the ever-present Perez in 1m 13.329s, and Grosjean finished eighth in 1m 13.349s, making up for his weekend problems. Button’s remarkable comeback put him in ninth place with a time of 1m 13.613s, as if he had never been away.
Race
So that was the way things were ready as they arranged at the lights after the display and the moment’s quietness for the Manchester casualties. The initial seconds unfurled without unjustifiable show, both Ferraris moving away well, Räikkönen in front of Vettel into Ste Devote, Bottas bringing a little peer down within the second Ferrari yet reconsidering it, the two Red Bulls of Verstappen and Ricciardo behind making slight tire-to-tire contact. Sainz, in 6th, was conclusive in managing Pérez simply behind, harming the Force India’s endplate marginally. Next came Grosjean, Kvyat, Hülkenberg, Magnussen and Hamilton, the last option having out-sped up Vandoorne off the matrix. This pecking order was static for quite a while, save for Hülkenberg pulling the Renault off with a curve of gearbox oil splashing out the back after 15 laps. In any case, all that changed were the holes. The Ferraris took off from Bottas who just bit by bit edged away from the Red Bulls. Räikkönen had at first got the hole over Vettel out similarly as 2.4sec however by lap 15 Seb was reeling him back in, simply returning himself to play for the stops – at whatever point they could come. The Mercedes of Bottas was at that point 7.5sec afloat of the lead.
On lap 16 Force India hesitantly informed Pérez to pit from his seventh spot for a newfront wing. They could see from the loadings on the telemetry it was going to fall off and without a doubt the endplate hung into igniting futility on his in-lap. In spite of the fact that he rejoined a couple of vehicles from the back, his speed on his new super-softs was fascinating: yes it was more slow than he’d been on his ultras, however not by so much. A tiny bit of piece of give and take from the vehicle ahead could permit a better following vehicle to undermine, all things considered. That was data recorded by all – not least by Red Bull where they thought they could possibly clutch their tire execution longer than could Bottas in third.
Despite the fact that Räikkönen/Vettel had pulled a normal of 0.5sec per lap on the Bottas-drove pack behind, from the fifteenth lap onwards Räikkönen’s speed evened out off as Bottas and the Red Bulls kept on moving along. By lap 22 Bottas was only 4.9sec behind Vettel, who was being limited to Räikkönen’s speed. What was occurring here? From lap 22 onwards Kimi out of nowhere dropped a further 0.7-0.8sec from his previous speed – and presently the Bottas/Verstappen/Ricciardo bunch started to acquire by three to four tenths each lap. Besides, even Sainz was speeding up, meaning they could as of now not clear the Toro Rosso on the off chance that they halted now. This hadn’t been the Ferrari plan – which was presently being truly undermined by Räikkönen’s speed. “The arrangement was for us to pull away,” affirmed Vettel, “which we did. However at that point… ” He was political with what he said straightaway, saying Bottas had great speed. That wasn’t the inclination at Mercedes. “No, we were never a genuine danger to the Ferraris,” said Toto Wolff. “We were centered around the Red Bulls behind. We heard the radio traffic where Seb was approached to change to strat. 5 [a more forceful motor mode] and Seb had answered, ‘No, it’s excessive.’ He was simply cruising by then.”
And for what reason was Kimi so sluggish at this stage? Did he have an issue? “Actually no, not actually,” he answered mysteriously, lifeless. “The vehicle was acting great, not actually having any issues. We needed to take it somewhat simpler to a great extent however nothing to gripe about.” Had he spent the tires? “The backs were going somewhat, however not genuinely horrendous.” Still not a great reason from him about for what reason he’d eased back to such an extent. He basically wasn’t okay with offering one. The free pre-race plan at Ferrari was to have the main vehicle stop on lap 34. However, at Räikkönen’s abruptly eased back pace, that may be past the time to forestall Bottas and additionally Verstappen from under-cutting Vettel.
Once out front Vettel was in full control and let tear. Räikkönen by contrast seemed to lose interest. With Seb lapping in the low 1m 16s, Räikkönen was during the 17s, permitting Ricciardo to shut everything down him. Vettel got the hole out to over 12sec before then easing off for the last couple of laps.
Bottas and Verstappen were stalemated in fourth and fifth individually, with Sainz 6th yet under tension from Hamilton. Mercedes had ran Lewis long – acquiring him on lap 47, and this had permitted him to overcut his far beyond Magnussen, Kvyat and Grosjean. He was oftentimes the quickest man on target on his old tires, however figured the vehicle still to be troublesome. “You were fortunate in the event that you figured out how to get a corner perfectly, so I was very amazed by the speed.” He pursued Sainz yet there’s no place to pass and the Toro Rosso driver handily consumed the tension.
Magnussen experienced a cut – as later did Ocon. Pirelli announced that there were slices to similar piece of the left-back tracks of the two tires and the doubt was a raised channel cover on the exit of Ste Devote. The track was additionally separating there in the race’s last option stages, dissolving under the intense hotness and the large tractive powers of the vehicles.
Kvyat was running eighth behind Grosjean and in front of Vandoorne, the last option going under strain from the recuperating Pérez.
On lap 60, Button who had been standing in for Fernando Alonso gave a hopeful move a shot Wehrlein up within at Portier. It’s been effectively done previously, however with the old restricted vehicles. These ones essentially don’t fit two-side by side there and with a nauseating consistency the Sauber started to move as it interlocked wheels with the McLaren. The roll was ended by the hindrance, leaving the vehicle on its side. Button pulled off with a front wheel awry as the security vehicle was sent. Wehrlein was fortunately fine, though caught in the vehicle until it very well may be moved. Those vehicles with a sufficiently large hole behind – Verstappen, Pérez, Massa – pitted for new tires. Walk resigned not long later, his brakes overheating after a channel became impeded with flotsam and jetsam.
Räikkönen offered Vettel no danger upon the restart six laps later, Ricciardo pounded the Ste Devote exit on his virus tires fighting off Bottas however incredibly pulled off it. Pérez went for within Vandoorne there – and, once more, the more extensive vehicles implied there basically wasn’t room, as the McLaren was packaged onto the marbles and from that point into the hindrance. It was immediately moved. A lap prior Ericsson had escaped the section there unlapping himself from the security vehicle – and he also had a humiliating way out. Pérez set pursue for Kvyat yet misconstrued a move into Racasse that finished with the Force India into the side of the Toro Rosso, prompting the last’s retirement and a refueling break for Pérez. That all raised Massa into 10th, in front of the recuperating Magnussen and the Renault of Palmer. So ran the fast train as far as possible.
As was secured one of Vettel’s most questionable triumphs. Ferrari misunderstood sat idle, had not broken any guidelines and its decision of inclining toward Vettel decisively was absolutely intelligent with regards to the title challenge. Fans might not have felt a debt of gratitude, accepting they were watching an un-shifted challenge between the group’s two drivers, yet the game is as often as possible more intricate than that. It’s a pity the group couldn’t be more direct in making sense of the circumstance or if nothing else have the administration answer inquiries regarding how it ran its race. Interim, was this the finish of an excellent companionship? Did Räikkönen’s Indian summer shaft augur the annihilation of the sensitive harmony of his job at Ferrari as Vettel’s number two? “It’s obvious to me that Ferrari has picked their main driver,” expressed Hamilton, hinting at team orders in play, further adding to his undeniably troublesome title challenge.
Post race Bottas blamed the traffic for affecting their strategy more than they expected. Carlos on the other hand was pleased to finish ahead of a world champion in Hamilton who was in P7. Pascal was cleared soon with no major injuries.
Here is part two of the new series where we share our most memorable races with you guys.
I’ve been watching F1 for quite some time so the memorable races span over a long period of time. If only I could write about all of my memorable races, I’d have a very long list in that case. Nevertheless, these were some very special moments and I’m so glad I could share them with you guys.
Abu Dhabi 2010: These iconic radio moments will live with me forever: “Just you wait sunshine.” Or “Du bist weiltmeister!” As Sebastian Vettel made history, becoming the youngest ever F1 world champion, I remember the celebrations very clearly. Many counted him out and didn’t consider him a potential champion, but his fans never doubted him. As he crossed the line for the chequered flag and his team waited for confirmation for the final standings, the tensions were high, and nine year old me couldn’t contain my excitement when he was crowned world champion. This will probably be the most memorable race for me; because, although it was not the first race I watched, it was definitely the most significant. It marked the beginning of a reign I will never forget.
Source: edition.cnn.com
Brazil 2012: In what can be classified as one of his best drives in F1, Brazil 2012 was a day to remember as Sebastian came all the way to the back of the field to third place and clinched his third consecutive title in a row. A mix of emotions were felt through out the race, thoughts of “he might lose it” came up many times as he had to fight his way through and luck didn’t seem to be on his side. Irrespective of the difficulty, he did it. He brought it home.
Source: f1bias.com
Canada 2019: Everyone remembers this race for different reasons. One of the main reasons for me was the outrage I felt when Sebastian was given a five second penalty which many believed was quite harsh. The other reason was the pure shock and amusement I felt when I believed Sebastian would snub the podium ceremony and when he switch the number plates of first and second. A pretty tough moment to forget if you ask me.
Source: skysports.com
Austria 2020: The first race back in F1 after a break due to the outbreak of the coronavirus was a brilliant one. As a McLaren fan, all I wanted to see was a papaya car on the podium. We had high hopes for the season. Before the race started I joked, “Imagine if Lando got a podium.” This joke became a reality in one of the best ways possible. By just a tenth of a second, he clinched his first podium, a very special moment.
Source: thesportsrush.com
Monza 2021: It had been a long time since both McLaren cars had been on the podium together, and the new pairing of Lando and Danny Ric was yet to produce the fine fruits we knew it would, until that magical day in Monza. I couldn’t dream of a better way to celebrate the team than with a 1-2, the only one of the season. After Daniels tough start to the season, a win to silence the haters was perfect, followed by Lando, who took a career best finish. It was simply lovely.
Planetf1.com
I hope you enjoyed reading about my most memorable races! Comment what your most memorable races are— maybe we have some in common. In the meantime, make sure to keep up to date with everything on our social media.
Flashback Friday this week goes back to Hockenheim 2019, a weekend which celebrated Mercedes’ 125th anniversary, but ended up going down in history for a number of other reasons.
Qualifying
While the Ferrari looked set to take pole position in Hockenheim, the SF90’s of both Sebastian Vettel and Charles Leclerc suffered reliability issues which allowed the Mercedes of Lewis Hamilton to claim the top spot. Vettel failed to set a lap time throughout Q1, meaning he was unable to progress further. He was joined in the bottom five by Robert Kubica, George Russell, Alexander Albon and Lando Norris.
There was a close battle in Q2 for the coveted spots in the final session. However, Antonio Giovinazzi, Kevin Magnussen, Daniel Ricciardo, Daniil Kvyat, and Lance Stroll were knocked out of the session and unable to continue to the pole position shoot-out.
As previously mentioned, Lewis Hamilton achieved the fastest time and pole position, with teammate Valtteri Bottas in third, and Red Bull’s Max Verstappen sandwiched between the two in second place. Charles Leclerc was unable to set a time in the Ferrari, and as a result started the race in tenth place.
Credit: FormulaSpy
Race
Hockenheim provided the fans and teams with dreary, wet conditions on Sunday – which meant more pitstops, more tyre compounds, and buckets full of drama (and water). Due to the weather, the race began behind the safety car and continued to follow for three laps. When the cars were let by and allowed to race, allowing Hamilton to shoot into the lead, almost immediately backed by teammate Bottas, while the Red Bull of Max Verstappen was slowed down by wheelspin. This allowed Alfa Romeo driver Kimi Raikkonen to pass the Dutch driver for third place. However, Raikkonen and teammate Antonio Giovinazzi would go on to be penalised after the race due to the use of driver aids at the start.
In the end, Max Verstappen was able to redeem himself by keeping control of his car through the conditions (which even Lewis Hamilton could not do, after a spin and damage caused him to pit and lose places) and eventually went on to win the race. Verstappen pit a total of five times, always making the right calls when they were needed.
While Hamilton suffered losses through losing track position, long pitstops and unfortunate penalties, his teammate Valtteri Bottas suffered just as much, having to retire his car when it slid off the track and into the barrier, ending in a dismal weekend for the team which should have been celebrating their anniversary.
It was an incredible race for Ferrari’s Sebastian Vettel – after a disappointing Saturday the German driver was able to make his way through the grid, from last place to second, in front of his home fans. However, the same lucky fate did not exist for teammate Leclerc, who retired from the race after a collision with the barriers.
Toro Rosso’s Daniil Kvyat took a joyful (if surprising) third place on the podium after a particularly strong race for the Russian driver, topping off an excellent weekend for him following the birth of his daughter, Penelope.
In the end, only 13 drivers finished the race in the awful conditions. Perez, Ricciardo, Norris, Leclerc, Hulkenberg, Bottas and Gasly all failed to finish the race and left the weekend with no points to their names. However, surprises presented themselves in the point-scoring places too – a notable example being Lance Stroll finishing strongly in fourth place. Hockenhein 2019 really did give us a race to remember!
The Fastest Sector 