A great start to the weekend with Leclerc on pole; potential for an exciting race. And boy did it deliver, one of the best races for a long, long time. I was worried that Ferrari would put team orders in place (and I suspect there were behind the scenes, that never got played out with Vettel's spin). Even at the end of Lap 1 when Leclerc lost his lead, it still seemed possible for a competitive race and Williams weren't running at the back! Lap 6 confirmed a lack of team orders with Vettel and Leclerc going head to head and it seems that we do have a genuine fourth contender for the championship.
The old Raikkonen returned with a pithy radio reply to a question about his front wing: "I don't know, you tell me". Compared to his team mate and looking at his determined overtaking, it seems he isn't just cashing the cheques at Sauber.
The race was full of action and whilst it would be easy to complain that DRS is enabling it all, it does make the event much more interesting. It also helps when a front runner spins, that mistake on Lap 38 probably cost Vettel the win ultimately. Can he pick himself up again? Or are we going to see another season of frustrating errors?
Later in the race came the disappointments. Russell clipped his wing off on Lap 39. Then Lap 46: "There is something strange about the engine." I asked him to take Hamilton out but he couldn't hear me and we were watching the race recorded. Both Renaults suffered from the same electrics fault about the same time. I don't think there is anyone who knows anything about F1 who thought that was a good move for Ricciardo. Finally only 50% of the voters for Driver of the Day voted for Leclerc! Really!? Even if you have a strong loyalty to another driver or team, he clearly drove the best weekend. Looking forward to his maiden victory.
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