The grid was celeb-packed and the grandstands were filled; the sky had been taken over by heavy, dark clouds. This despite being promised a dry race, absolutely, for sure.
A thrilling start. Verstappen easily took Sainz off the start and Hamilton (my prediction for race winner) also got a great start. Behind them though, it all went wrong. We saw a car fly upside down across the gravel trap. Russell was out of his battered Mercedes first and running over to Albon in his Williams who was also there. Ocon was damaged and limping back to the pits as was Tsunoda. However, Zhou was trapped in his Alfa Romeo in a barrier. With improved morals of TV coverage, we didn't see him at all.
As the race had been Red Flagged, the drivers lined their cars up in the pit lane, Latifi was up to 8th. As the race continued to be paused, the Alpine mechanics struggled to fix Ocon's car and got the gaffer tape out. It became apparent that Russell had stopped his car of his own volition to see if his fellow drivers were okay but because the marshals bought it back to the pit lane on a truck, he wasn't going to be allowed to restart the race. He had been running to and from the car out on the track and kept his helmet on, maintaining that he was going to restart the race. The "Extraction Team" had been out at Zhou's car as it had flipped over the tire barrier and eventually he was pulled out of the car and put on a stretcher and into an ambulance. At this point, we were shown the incidents off the grid. Gasly had gone into the back of Russell who spins into Zhou, who flips up, travels upside down across the whole gravel trip and is turned up and over the tire barrier. Meanwhile, Vettel runs into the back of Albon and spins him. In positive news, Latifi had overtaken both Zhou and Russell off the grid and is in 8th on his own merit.
For some reason, the cars started in their original grid position. This time, Sainz put on the softest tires and went for a very aggressive start and managed to hold his position with Verstappen, LeClerc and Perez all holding their positions, Norris taking Hamilton behind them.
Sainz and Verstappen resumed their battle from Canada but on Lap 10, Sainz went wide and ran parallel to the track, handing Verstappen an easy lead of the race. Two laps later, Verstappen ran over the a bit of carbon and got a puncture, giving Sainz back the lead to a huge cheer/jeer from the crowd. Further back down the track, the mechanically-mended Alpha Tauri of Tsunoda tangled with his team mate Gasly, sending them both spinning. Glancing at the race order, I see that Latifi is back in 8th.
Out of the pits, Verstappen declares his car 100% broken and undrivable. His team report that his car is a little broken at the back but perfectly safe to drive so suck it up. The Ferraris were now right together and battling for the lead with Hamilton (my prediction for the race win) creeping up behind them. With both Ferraris pitting, Hamilton took the lead. Verstappen also pitted and was given the hardest tires that were proving hard to get warmed up and working well.
By Lap 30, Sainz had been told that unless his lap times match Hamilton's, LeClerc will get a shot of being the leading Ferrari. Also, Zhou was released from the medical centre as fit but Albon had been transferred to hospital for precautionary checks.
Sainz couldn't make it and LeClerc took second place to Hamilton (my prediction for the race win). After a slow pit stop from Mercedes though he was behind both Ferraris. He was warned that the hard tires take a while to get into the zone. I could see some whinging over the radio coming.
The cars kept dropping out of the race. After a nice wee battle with Verstappen, Ocon pulled over with a mechanical failure. He chose a spot that brought a Safety Car straight out. With 6 cars out of the race, there were two lapped cars, Ricciardo and Tsunoda. We've barely seen DannyRic this weekend other than when he hit smacked Norris in the race with a space hopper.
With 10 laps to go, the Safety Car period was finishing, Sainz was asked to give LeClerc 10 car lengths breathing space. With Hamilton right behind him though, how could he do this? The Ferraris battled hard, with Perez trying to take Hamilton right behind them. One lap later, the order was Sainz, LeClerc, Perez, Hamilton. The crowd were on the edge of their seats. Latifi was in 11th, which is such as shame as he really had earnt a point today. LeClerc was on hard tires, the others soft. DRS was enabled. Could the Red Bull Number 2 overtake the Ferrari Number 1? Yes, no, yes, no, yes and they let Hamilton through into second. The tussle continued, places continually switching, Perez pushing drivers off the track left, right and centre. Alonso, with Norris behind him, arrive on the scene. No driver was happy to sit back and give up a place, positions switching and switching back and switching back again.
Once again, Ferrari Ferraried things up for LeClerc by not having him on the soft tires after the Safety Car. Everyone was happy for Sainz to get his maiden victory and for Hamilton to be on the podium (and Fastest Lap). Schumacher gained his first points in Formula 1.
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