Austria GP Race Report

It was nearly 40 degrees hot in Austria for the race so pole-sitter Russell had on his special inflated silver, puffy Adidas jacket.  This could have a big effect on the race (the heat not the jacket).

Russell got away in the lead easily but the Ferraris were close behind with Leclerc trying for the lead but Antonelli went off the track twice as he pushed.  The teenager got past Leclerc by going off the track so would have to give the place back; Verstappen saw it all happen and waited behind to get past both of them when Antonelli had to make the switch.  The first retirement due to the heat was on lap three when Bottas's tyres caught fire.  His team mate Perez would be out two laps later when his car caught fire.

The Ferraris lost out during the early laps: Antonelli pushed past Leclerc, then Verstappen took second from Hamilton.  They went in for early pit stops.  

A third of the way through the race, Sainz lost power in his Mercedes engine and pulled over to the side on the straight.  There were Yellow Flags and Antonelli pitted.  He was leading the race as the other drivers had taken their first or only stop.  The Virtual Safety Car was about to come out and he should have waited.

In the middle of this race there was some overtaking and some pit stopping but other than Alonso speeding in the pits, it didn't feel like much was happening.  Stroll would be the fourth retirement.

Russell took a pole to chequered flag victory with Verstappen and Antonelli right behind him; Alonso too but he had been lapped.  George was very happy and needed to be back on top.  And so it was done.

When we come back next season, I would like the drone camera to be gone - it gave nothing new visually and made me feel sick.  Just like [INSERT NAME OF DRIVER HERE].

Austria GP Qualifying Report

With a lap taking just over a minute to complete, this would be a blink-and-you-miss-it Qualifying; meaning that tiny errors cost the driver much more than usual.   Not only that but the higher altitude in the mountains meant that engines were not running as well.

The traffic was not as much of a problem as expected in the first Qualifying session.  Antonelli was the quickest with his team mate down in fourth and his championship rival Hamilton in third.  At the bottom they were out in the ark, two by two: Sainz and Albon, Perez and Bottas, Alonso and Stroll.

Antonelli was again quickest in the second session, separated from Russell by the two McLarens.  Verstappen only went out on one run and had to watch to see if anyone from the midfield would beat his time: it was good enough for tenth.  Out went Gasly, Bortoleto, Bearman, Hulkenberg, Ocon and Colapinto.

In the third and final session, Verstappen was nearly quick enough as they put in their banker laps but Antonelli was quickest with Russell alongside him.  Hamilton went wide and off the track and failed to set a lap time.  There was a lot of boring talk about tires.  With forty seconds to go, the final laps were being set down.  Hamilton went, even visually, very quick to take pole then his team mate Leclerc snatched it from him.  Verstappen was carrying too much speed into the final corner, pushing hard and went off quickly through the gravel to speed into the tyre wall.  Russell was behind him and managed to take pole and there was a lot of discussion about when he passed a single or double Yellow Flag.  This potential infringement would mean that his pole position could be taken away.  It would be a close call but he would keep it even if Ferrari had been celebrating a front row lock out.   Russell was quick to point out that Wolff had already told him that he had made a big lift on the power and that would be satisfactory.  The top ten were Russell, Leclerc, Hamilton, Antonelli (who had to abort his lap for the Yellow Flags), Verstappen, Norris, Piastri, Hadjar, Lawson and Linblad.

There would be many variables in the race: reliability, especially from the Mercedes engines, the hot temperature, Norris pointed out that there would be a lot of pit stops, differing abilities at race starts, smoke bombs from the Orange Army...

Barcelona GP Race Report

I had predicted that Hamilton would be in first place by the first corner but the Mercedes cars seemed to have shaken off their bad starts and Russell was away well and leading the race.  The Ferrari gamble on soft tyres for the start did not pay off.  Most people did well off the line but Hadjar went backwards.  With no opening incidents the race would proceed in a fairly boring fashion for 66 laps.

Alonso started in the pit lane, came out and started going around but his team mate was to only do seven laps and then bring his Aston Martin into the pit to retire.

Hamilton was the first driver to pit on lap twelve.  Then Lawson responded and had a double time, over six seconds pit stop.  It was the first time we had seen a poor stop in a long time.  The flood gates had opened and everyone went in, earlier than Pirelli predicted.  Leclerc was left in charge of the race and he pitted at the time recommended.  Linblad, Bearman and Alonso were the three drivers staying out.  

It was another race of attrition.  We were shown Bottas then Hulkenberg retiring in the pits but not Albon who mysteriously was out of the race.  With 25 laps to go, Alonso stopped at the side of the track and Virtual Safety Car conditions were instigated to remove the car.  Cheap pit stops were available, leading to unsafe releases galore.  Hamilton was on a three stop strategy.  Then Albon reappeared; an F1 camera had come loose on top of the car and needed to be fixed.

McLaren were gunning for Antonelli to get a five second penalty for leaving the track more than some number of times prescribed and permitted by the FIA.  Hamilton was now clearly in the lead.  Behind him, Russell had been going well but Antonelli had already shown him that he was up for a scrap and second place.  With five laps to go he went for it and took the place from his team mate, who had started confidently on pole.  Just as these places looked secure, with a rattle and a groan, Antonelli's engine gave up and he pulled up at the side of the track.  A Virtual Safety Car was called for so all the cars would be going slow.  This was doubly needed as Leclerc went through the gravel and into the pits as his power steering  died.  It was all change at the top.

We were informed by double-first-named Harry Benjamin that it was the first all-English podium since 1968.  It was a very emotional win for Lewis Hamilton.  Norris really lucked into third place on the podium.  There were shots of the Ferrari team milling about in the garage seeming unsure what to do when you win.  For them, they have finally realised the prize they paid for when ditching Sainz for Hamilton.

Red Bull (and Racing Bull) should also do well at their home track in Austria but it looks like they just don't have the pace.  Ferrari are really pushing Mercedes and it looks to me like they are going to be the two teams battling it out until the summer break.

Barcelona GP Qualifying Report

Barcelona was hot, "scorching" apparently but thirty degrees so not the hottest place that F1 goes.  No one had a problem with the climate or any other kind of issue in the first Qualifying session other than the drivers that didn't make the cut: Ocon, Albon, Perez, Bottas, Stroll, Alonso.  The Spaniard will not be happy to be starting one of his home races in last place.  Hamilton was fastest followed by Russell.

No drama in the second session but this time Russell led Leclerc at the top.  No surprises in the drivers that left the track: Lindblad, Bortoleto, Colapinto, Gasly, Bearman and Sainz.  Another Spaniard at the bottom of a table.

The action came in the final session when Leclerc crashed into the barrier at a speed which caused the medical car to be automatically dispatched.  He was walking away from the car by the time it arrived.  The red flag was waved because the car needed to be lifted from the gravel and the tyre wall repaired.  He had been pushing too hard.  When they went again, some drivers tried to put in two stints and others went for one do-or-die run.  A few drivers were in contention to take pole but Russell made it cleanly to take first place.  Behind him were Hamilton, Antonelli, Norris, Verstappen, Hadjar, Piastri (who I had almost forgotten existed), Lawson, Hulkenberg and Leclerc.  Russell will be pleased to have come out on top again.  The Ferrari resurgence with Hamilton is continuing, although with Hamilton having overtaken Russell for second place in the championship, he will have to get away and not have a typically poor Mercedes start.  I predict Hamilton will be leading the race into the front corner.

There are many contenders for the race win and even though Qualifying was quite dull it did promise at a great race.  We have to make the most of it as we won't be back in Barcelona for two years as it will now alternate years with Spa (boo!).

Monaco GP Race Report

The big day at Monte Carlo got off to a shaky start: Lawson's car almost wasn't ready, Bortoleto's was but it stalled and was pushed back into the pit lane and Brundle couldn't interview the Kardashians.  The grid was rammed with people and Martin got more and more irate as people either shoved him or refused to talk to him.

Antonelli made a great start but it might have been an optical illusion as Verstappen, who was alongside him, lost power.  It was well done by everyone that he was not hit as he was stationary in his grid spot.  The only driver to overtake off the start was Gasly, who got past Norris, helped that he was avoiding the Red Bull  As we got over that excitement, we saw that Russell was being investigated for a false start.  Norris had grassed on reported him being outside his box but it was dismissed.  Perez was given a drive through penalty for a false start; he did make a flying one.  

After the stewards had finished their duties, there was nothing to report until we were a third of the way through the race.  Hadjar's car was slowly breaking, losing different elements each lap.  Russell had caught right up behind him and his car was jumping about wildly; I'm not sure if that is how the Mercedes are running or if that is the effect of turbulent air.  Finally, it was the undercut at his pit stop nearly halfway through the race that got Russell past.  As the drivers started making their one and only pit stop, Hamilton sped in the pit lane and received a five second penalty.  He must have wanted the race over quickly so he could whisk Kim back to his Monaco pad.

Norris was the next driver to start to lose function in his car.  David Croft speculated that the bumps on the track were knocking the cars apart: Norris, Hadjar, Verstappen had all lost power.  Bearman and Bottas had also quietly retired.  Russell also then got a five second penalty too for speeding in the pit lane.  As the phrase goes, if he didn't have bad luck, he'd have no luck at all.  The gremlins were serious and Norris had to retire.  Piastri joined the speeding in the pit lane club.  If it wasn't one thing it was another.

Both Williams were in the points then they were asked to swap places.  Albon wasn't happy but did it and then we waited to see what would happen.  After Sainz' stop they swapped back and Sainz was left to defend against Hulkenberg for a while.   The strategy didn't work out because Linblad in front of them got a cheap pit stop...

Just as I was wondering whether we would get all the way through Qualifying and the Race without a Safety Car and only one Red Flag and whether Stroll would bring this about, Stroll went nose first into the wall at the chicane.  Not all drivers came in for fresh tyres.

 

At the start, Hamilton got fairly close to race leader Antonelli but not enough for the pass.  Leclerc behind his team mate had cold brakes and couldn't get them working at the restart and went into the tyre wall and out came the Safety Car again.

Gasly then sped in the pit lane.  But Russell forgot to take his penalty so there would be more coming to him.

The crane and operators were well-practised and moved quick and Leclerc was almost immediately back in the garage and his car lifted off the track.  The cars were going around the track behind the Safety Car and then the race was Red Flagged and suspended.  Finally, we were shown what had happened: the tarmac on one corner was coming up in chunks.

Hamilton was investigated for some infringement but it was dismissed.  Russell had a drive through penalty for not taking his penalty at his pit stop.  Then the long wait was over and I have no idea what they actually did to the track to fix the problem.  Antonelli's engineer thought they just swept it up and the problem would continue for the final eight laps of the race.

The Safety Car led the cars around to the grid for a standing start sprint shoot-out to end the Monaco GP.  Antontelli kept his lead, with Hamilton right behind.  Hulkenberg, who had been giving Williams grief all afternoon, tagged Sainz and put him out of the race as he was then tapped by Colapinto to seal the deal.  The Audi then overtook Albon very naughtily.  The German should not get any points for that race and those final laps.  He gave the place back.  He did get a ten second penalty in the end which did indeed put him out of the points.

As they raced close together, yet more infringements were reviewed by the stewards.  Hadjar would be investigated after the race.  Russell took his drive through and Gasly still had a second penalty to take.  Hadjar was battling to get onto the podium but kept losing power in his Red Bull.  Perez was also out of position at the restart and to be looked into.

The commentators effusive words during Antonelli's last lap made it seem fateful that he would crash during it.  Hamilton took a great second place, which may feel like a win.  Hadjar would stand on third place on the podium but might lose it later, which would be unfair on Piastri who needed a stand on the podium for his confidence.  Hulkenberg's drop down the order meant that Cadillac scored their first ever point with Perez (even though he was still under investigation).  It would be Alonso and Aston Martin who would get it if he were demoted.

Hamilton was the first to congratulate Antonelli before he was even out of the car.  It was a good haul for Racing Bull in (potentially) sixth and seventh.  Only fifteen cars finished the race.  The top ten were Antonelli, Hamilton, Hadjar (who was cleared by the stewards in the end), Piastri, Lawson, Linblad, Gasly, Albon, Ocon and Perez.

With five races won in a row, Antonelli is firmly in the lead in the championship.  There is only one week's gap before racing in Barcelona so he has the momentum and Russell is now behind Hamilton as well in the championship.  When does George become a desperate man?