Category: Reviews

F1 2021: Styrian Gp Review: Red Bull juggernaut Wins Again

As another race is ticked off the 2021 calendar there is one question that is becoming all but impossible to ignore – has Mercedes finally met their match?

There’s only been eight races in what is slated to be a 23-race calendar but there is no denying that Max Verstappen and Red Bull are in serious form. After securing a first pole position on home soil Verstappen all but cruised to a fourth consecutive win for Red Bull in Austria. Lewis Hamilton was second for Mercedes but had no answer to Verstappen’s pace. Aside from a late race pit stop to snatch an extra point for fastest lap Hamilton was trailing by roughly 15 seconds. It was a big statement too. So far the margin, in terms of pace, has been razor thin between Red Bull and Mercedes and but for a few mistakes Hamilton could well have won in Baku and France. But here in Austria the superior pace run by Verstappen was well beyond anything Mercedes could muster.

Valtteri Bottas was handed a rather harsh 3-place grid penalty after spinning in the pitlane during practice. Nevertheless, the Finn was able to hold off a late charge from Sergio Perez to finish third. A slow pit stop dropped Perez behind Bottas but the Mexican driver, who finished fourth, continued to show impressive pace in the Red Bull, which will undoubtedly please those in charge. Aside from the championship protagonist the driver who has surely been the most impressive in 2021 is Lando Norris. The McLaren driver racked up another fifth place finish after delivering a stunning performance on Saturday too. Though he may be slightly out of the spotlight in comparison to Verstappen and Hamilton Lando Norris is turning into something quite special.

Carlos Sainz drove a brilliant race for Ferrari into sixth while teammate Charles Leclerc recovered from a first lap clash to finish seventh and be voted driver-of-the-day. Lance Stroll was eighth for Aston Martin ahead of Alpine’s Fernando Alonso in ninth. Japanese rookie Yuki Tsunoda was tenth while his Alpha Tauri teammate, Pierre Gasly, retired on lap one with suspension damage. Alfa Romeo’s Kimi Raikkonen drove brilliantly to eleventh place after starting eighteenth. George Russell ran as high as eighth place before being painfully forced into retirement with a hydraulic leak. Despite being in the deeply uncompetitive Haas Mick Schumacher once again easily outdrove his teammate to finish sixteenth.

Mercedes has been challenged before but not this relentlessly. Ferrari mounted a serious attack in the first half of 2018 but then faded after the summer break. Before Mercedes even had to think about having to come up with an answer or a plan. But in 2021 it doesn’t seem like Red Bull are likely to fade. And what is most surprising is that Mercedes and Hamilton seem completely stumped. There’s no doubt that they were shell-shocked by Red Bull’s pace in France. But what is more telling about their current inability to respond is their demeanour. The way that Hamilton has spoken post-race tells a story by itself. Instead of motivating talk of fighting until the bitter end or pushing for every last tenth of a second Hamilton seems almost resigned. By saying that Red Bull is simply faster and there’s nothing he [Hamilton] can do about it is what you’d expect from a 7-time champion.

Mercedes have clearly been pushed well out of their comfort zone and they don’t seem able to provide anything to counter the Red Bull onslaught. It isn’t complacency brought on by their complete domination of the hybrid era. But perhaps they are slightly guilty of resting of their laurels and relying on what has happened before to carry them through 2021. But it doesn’t seem, at this stage, like that will be enough. They may be relying on Hamilton’s experience of winning 7 titles but Verstappen’s run is gaining a near unstoppable momentum.

Mercedes have another chance this weekend to do better around the Red Bull Ring and the season is far from over. In 2016 Nico Rosberg proved that Hamilton’s greatest weakness is his mentality. If that begins to crumble he becomes ever more susceptible. And judging by his comments it appears that he is not in a good mental space. The question is now what is Hamilton, who many have dubbed the greatest of all time, really made of when the pressure is on?

All images courtesy of Pirelli Motorsport

June 29, 2021
F1 2021: French Gp Review – Mighty Max Fells Mercedes

You’ve got to know that you are in the midst of a cracking Formula 1 season when even the usual drab French Grand Prix turns into a cracker of a race.

Pole position, the perfect race strategy, and a mighty Max Verstappen combined brilliantly to secure a sumptuous win for Red Bull in France. Though he started from pole a snap of oversteer into turn two cost him the lead of the race. Hamilton, now in the lead of the race, maintained a three-second gap to Verstappen as the pit stop phase drew closer. But a gross mistake by Merc and a stonking out-lap by Verstappen earned him back the coveted position of P1.

Some might say that there are cracks beginning to show in the Mercedes armoury and they might be onto something. The Silver Arrows were completely caught out by the power of the undercut and the reality is they didn’t need to be. All the strategists had to do was pay attention to Daniel Ricciardo undercutting both Pierre Gasly and Carlos Sainz by more than three seconds. But such is the pressure from Red Bull that it is requiring every ounce of their attention. Mercedes dropped the ball on the finer points of Sunday’s race but they will learn from this and will most definitely not lie down.

Lewis Hamilton deserves much credit. The team’s strategy placed him in a difficult position on severely worn tyres. Yet still he managed to deliver some very impressive lap times. It underlines very much that Hamilton is driving at a high level and that it requires something quite special to beat him.

And something special is what Max Verstappen’s 2021 season is turning into. The Dutchman is getting pretty used to the top step of the podium these days but this win was easily his best, so far. On paper having fresher tyres seemingly equals an easy run. But with a formidable opponent in Hamilton, the difficultly of the windy conditions, and the weight of expectation it isn’t as easy as most might think. Nevertheless, Verstappen is on an incredible run of form and he is most definitely making hay while the sun shines.

Checo Perez’s recent form has likely assured his seat for 2022. The Mexican driver eked out his tyres with a longer first stint and transformed his one-stop strategy in a third place finish. Valtteri Bottas started off the weekend seemingly on the up. But when it mattered most the Finn simply wasn’t in the mix. His frustration boiled over on team radio too as he berated the team for not putting him on a two-stop strategy. The fuming Finn eventually finished fourth.

Lando Norris and Daniel Ricciardo delivered some important points for McLaren in fight and sixth. The points are crucial for McLaren’s fight against Ferrari for third in the constructor’s championship. As it were neither Ferrari driver was able to score any points. Pierre Gasly was seventh while his Alpha Tauri teammate Yuki Tsunoda finished 13th. Fernando Alonso, in eighth, was able to hold off Seb Vettel who brought his Aston Martin home in ninth ahead of teammate Lance Stroll scored the final point of offer in tenth.

From an entertainment point of view the French Grand Prix could not have delivered a more intense and thrilling race. It’s a big win for Red Bull too. To beat Mercedes on a circuit where they had previously destroyed the field is a big statement. It bodes very well for the rest of the season. But Mercedes will regroup and they will find a way to strike back. And the most beautiful thing about F1 2021 is not only the upcoming Styrian Grand Prix this weekend but that this enthralling battle is set fair for the rest of the season.

All images courtesy of Pirelli Motorsport

June 21, 2021
F1 2021: Azerbaijan Gp Review – Bedlam in Baku

It’s only been on the F1 calendar since 2016 but the Azerbaijan Grand Prix has quickly become known for delivering the most chaotic and breathtaking races, bar none.

The 2021 race around the streets of Baku was already set fair when Charles Leclerc emerged out of the chaos of Saturday qualifying to secure an unexpected pole position. Lewis Hamilton too, on the back foot for most of the weekend, engineered his way to a second-place starting position. Meanwhile Verstappen, once again denied a shot at a final Q3 lap because of a red flag, was third quickest. Alongside Verstappen on the second row was a lighting quick Pierre Gasly who determinedly put his Alpha Tauri fourth fastest.

In the opening laps of the race Leclerc led briefly before failing victim to first Hamilton then Verstappen and Perez. By the first round of stops Verstappen had built a healthy lead while Perez was holding off Hamilton who sat within DRS range for nearly all of the of the race. Hamilton blinked first and swopped his soft compound for the white-walled hard tyre. He lost a smidgen of time in the pit box but Verstappen and Perez’s pace was such that he would fall behind the Red Bull pair anyway.

The race seemed to settle for a period after the stops were completed. Try as he might Hamilton simply didn’t have enough to overtake Perez and the Mexican driver would definitely not be pressured into a mistake either. Elsewhere, Lance Stroll and Aston Martin has played a blinder on strategy with the Canadian running a solid 7th with a long opening stint on the hard tyre. But a dramatic failure on the left-rear tyre pitched the Aston Martin into the barriers on the start/finish strait at more than 300 kph. While Stroll was unharmed he was clearly shaken by the violent and sudden failure.

The race resumed and so did Hamilton’s pressure on Perez but the Mexican had it well covered. With Verstappen in the lead Red Bull looked on for a one-two finish. But five laps from the end disaster struck for Verstappen as he too suffered a rear tyre failure on the start/finish strait. Because of the debris littered over the track the race was red-flagged. Verstappen’s retirement would seemingly have massive ramifications for the championship, as Hamilton looked poised to retake the lead.

In the pitlane just before the restart Hamilton reminded his team that, “it’s a marathon, not a sprint. So got to be measured on how aggressive we go”. Hamilton aced the restart and was for all intents and purposes heading into the lead of the race. But he locked his front-brake and went straight on at turn 1. The Mercedes driver rejoined last. A post-race radio communication revealed that Hamilton had left on the “magic”. It turns out that the “magic” refers to a button, which Merc uses to heat the brakes during the safety-car/warm-up lap period. It was this button that Hamilton forgot to disengage and thus his brakes were overheated. It was a rare mistake from Hamilton as in Imola. Only this time it cost him any chance of capitalizing on Verstappen’s misfortune.

To describe Valtteri Bottas’s race as woeful would be doing him a kindness. The Finn started tenth and made zero progress. At no stage did it get any better as he fell victim to a number of drivers including being overtaken into the tightest section of the track by Alfa’s Kimi Raikkonen. Eventually, Bottas finished an embarrassing 12^th ahead of only the Haas drivers.

As Checo Perez held on for an extremely popular first win with Red Bull it was revealed after the race that he too nearly didn’t reach the chequered flag thanks to an increasingly severe hydraulic issue. For the second race in a row Seb Vettel was crowned driver-of-the-day and this time he was able to celebrate the accolade on the podium with a sublime second place finish. Pierre Gasly and Charles Leclerc had an almighty battle for the final step of the podium from which the Alpha Tauri driver emerged victorious. Leclerc finished a fine fourth ahead of Lando Norris in fifth.

In sixth place was Fernando Alonso in the Alpine while Yuki Tsunoda delivered a much-improved performance in seventh. Carlos Sainz was eighth for Ferrari ahead of Daniel Ricciardo in ninth and Kimi Raikkonen in tenth.

The lack of points scored for either of the two championship protagonists is certainly big news in F1. But the drama of the 2021 Azerbaijan Grand Prix and the breathtaking manner in which it constructed the final podium of Checo Perez, Seb Vettel, and Pierre Gasly can hardly leave anyone dissatisfied.

All images courtesy of Pirelli Motorsport

June 7, 2021
F1 2021: Monte Carlo Gp Review – Max Wins Monaco

On the very first of 78 laps of the Monaco Grand Prix Mick Schumacher accounted for the only overtake of the race by audaciously passing his Haas teammate into the Lowe’s hairpin for eighteenth place. Otherwise the race around the Monte Carlo streets was fairly unspectacular in literal terms.

But in terms of the story that is the 2021 championship Monaco delivered on the drama. It kicked off on Saturday afternoon as Charles Leclerc secured pole in a surprisingly quick Ferrari. But the Monegasque’s joy was tainted as he clouted the barriers on the exit of the swimming pool in the dying seconds of quali. Potential damage to the gearbox could mean a five place drop on the grid should it need to be replaced. However, after inspection Ferrari was happy to continue as is. Unfortunately, a sighting lap before the start of Sunday’s race revealed an issue with a rear drive shaft which was enough to end Leclerc’s race before it even got started.

Though Leclerc’s spot on the grid remained vacant Max Verstappen was effectively in P1 with Mercedes’s Valtteri Bottas in P2. As expected, the Red Bull easily held off Bottas at the start and from there controlled the pace without any real or sustained pressure from behind. Carlos Sainz, running third, did well to salvage Ferrari’s day. In fact, the Spaniard began to close the gap to Bottas around the time the pitstops rolled around. But he wouldn’t have to fight much longer with Bottas as the Finn was forced into retirement at his first stop. An effective cross-threaded wheelnut meant that Bottas tyre couldn’t be changed which guaranteed his retirement.

Elsewhere, Hamilton’s lacklustre qualifying performance left him down in seventh. Promoted to sixth due to Leclerc’s non-start the Brit made zero progress. In fact, after the round of pitstops his lack of pace meant that he fell behind Perez, Vettel, and Gasly. A clearly irate Hamilton demanded answers from his team. The answer he sought was fairly simple – he was simply too slow to compete with the Alpha Tauri and Aston Martin much less the Red Bull.

Bottas’s retirement promoted Sainz to second with McLaren’s Lando Norris in third. A stellar stint before his first stop meant that Perez leapfrogged several cars to run a close fourth. Checo briefly challenged Norris but McLaren’s superstar kept his head well despite struggling on the hard compound tyre.

Equally as impressive, and voted driver of the day by the fans, Seb Vettel drove an extremely impressive race to deliver fifth place to a struggling Aston Martin team. Aston Martin’s chief strategist Bernadette Collins brilliantly called Vettel’s overcut strategy which means staying out longer than your immediate rivals. The consistent Pierre Gasly was sixth ahead of Hamilton in seventh. Lance Stroll converted an alternative strategy of running the opening stint on the hard tyre to a fine eighth place finish while Esteban Ocon was ninth. Antonio Giovinazzi capped a fine weekend for him by scoring the final point on offer in tenth for Alfa Romeo.

It was a day to forget for Daniel Ricciardo who not only qualified fourteenth but also had to endure the indignity of being lapped by his McLaren teammate. Fernando Alonso’s struggles against Alpine teammate Ocon continued as he finished thirteenth overall.

At the front focus was still required from Verstappen to keep it clean and out of the barriers. But apart from this the Dutchman was all but cruising. A Monaco race win is arguably on the bucket list of all F1 drivers and now Verstappen has ticked that box. What’s more, for the first time in his F1 career he finds himself in the lead of the driver’s championship.

It is uncharted territory for Verstappen. But it is also uncharted territory for Merc who hasn’t faced a sustained challenge since Ferrari bossed the first-half of the 2018 season. Though the racing may not have been top-notch in Monaco it certainly has set up the 2021 championship in a very sumptuous way.

It took Mercedes and Hamilton five races to build a gap of fourteen points over Red Bull and Verstappen, which was completely reversed in the space of one afternoon. It indicates just how fickle a points-lead can be and it indicates too that every single point is important in 2021.

All images courtesy of Pirelli Motorsport

May 25, 2021
F1 2021: Spanish Gp Review – Merc, Hamilton Ace Strategy

The circuit de Catalunya Barcelona isn’t one known for delivering the most thrilling races. The 2021 edition didn’t produce the wheel-to-wheel battle that most would have hoped for but it did deliver an intense and very high-speed game of chess.

On Saturday Lewis Hamilton secured the 100th pole position of his career by 0.036. It is a monumental achievement that must be applauded and will not only stand for some time but certainly be remembered forever.

It didn’t mean too much to Max Verstappen as he snatch the lead off the race as the lights went out. Valtteri Bottas was, customarily, dumped out of the equation nearly immediately as he fell behind the Ferrari at the start of the race. It quickly turned into a two horse race as Verstappen and Hamilton cleared off at the head of the field by one second a lap. The pack were brought back together as the safety car was deployed to facilitate the recovery of Yuki Tsunoda’s Alpha Tauri which seemed to suffer some electric issue.

As the first stint of the race wore on it was clear that Hamilton was able to manage his tyres better than Verstappen. As it were the Dutchman entered the pitlane first. There was a bit of a delay on the right-left wheel but still Verstappen’s pace on fresh tyres meant he would easily retake the lead of the race. Hamilton pitted a handful laps later and emerged five seconds behind. The seven-time champion made short work of the gap and maintained a gap within DRS range. On lap 41, mere tenths behind Verstappen, Mercedes made a bold call to pull Hamilton into the pits for a second stop. Red Bull couldn’t react as the undercut on fresh tyres meant that Hamilton was already ahead on track should Verstappen made a stop on the next lap. As it were Red Bull left Verstappen out and banked on track position winning the day. It was, even in hindsight, the only card they had to play. If it worked they’d win the race. If not, they’d emerge in second where they were bound to end up anyway.

And second is where Verstappen would ultimately end up as Hamilton took the lead of the race on lap 60. Hamilton’s win in Spain showed that somehow after so much success he is still able to raise his game. But it isn’t just Mac Verstappen versus Lewis Hamilton in this championship. What the Spanish Grand Prix proved is that it’s as much a fight between Mercedes and Red Bull. Red Bull will be the first to admit that they were well and truly outsmarted on strategy.

As Hamilton, Verstappen, and Bottas once again occupied the podium it was Ferrari’s Charles Leclerc who finished in a fine fourth place. Checo Perez was fifth for Red Bull ahead of Daniel Ricciardo is sixth and Spain’s Carlos Sainz in seventh. In eighth place was Lando Norris while Esteban Ocon and Pierre Gasly scored the final points on offer in ninth and tenth.

The next race, surely another face off between Mercedes and Red Bull, is the fifth round of the season around the picturesque city streets of Monte Carlo.

All images courtesy of Pirelli Motorsport

May 10, 2021
F1 2021: Portugal Gp Review – Hamilton on Top

By the lofty standards of 2021 the Portuguese Grand Prix didn’t deliver much in terms of excitement. But it is no less important in the greater scheme of the season.

You’d be forgiven for looking at Lewis Hamilton’s winning margin and scoffing at the apparent predictability of it. But the 29 odd second gap to second-placed Max Verstappen is a bit superficial given that the Red Bull driver made a late pit stop in a bid to score the extra point on offer for fastest lap. In reality Hamilton had to work quite a bit to secure the win. Not only was he beaten to pole by teammate Valtteri Bottas, albeit by seven thousands of a second, but he had to work his way back to the front from third.

As it happened the two Mercs led cleanly from the front row of the grid with Verstappen in third. An uncharacteristic but no less odd mistake from Kimi Raikkonen resulted in the Finn losing his front wing which prompted the deployment of the safety car. Raikkonen appeared to clip the left-rear wheel of his teammate Antonio Giovinazzi on the start/finish strait, which wedged the wing under wheel of Raikkonen’s Alfa Romeo. Not only did it bring an early end to his race but it also littered the strait with carbon fibre hence the need for a safety car

Bottas was especially canny on the restart and waited right up until the safety car line before accelerating for the restart of the race. It must’ve caught Hamilton slightly by surprise as he not only missed his chance of having a crack at the lead of the race but was also subsequently overtaken by Verstappen. For all money it looked as if Red Bull were in the pound seat as Verstappen hounded the rear of Bottas in P1. But a slight mistake in turn 14 to allowed Hamilton to close up to the Red Bull. Not one to be wasteful of opportunities Hamilton made short work of Verstappen into turn one with the assistance of some DRS. It wasn’t too much later after that when he scythed around the outside of Bottas, again in turn one, and into the lead of the race.

Without setting the world alight Hamilton built a solid gap of around four to five seconds in the lead, which he comfortably maintained. Red Bull stopped one lap earlier for the hard compound tyre than second-placed Bottas. It proved decisive as Bottas emerged from the pitlane ahead of Verstappen but only momentarily. Because his tyres were up to temperature the Dutchman was able to take second off the Merc driver.

Bottas threatened a bit of a comeback later on in the race but a sensor issue put an end to his challenge on second place. Despite starting on pole it’s back to the drawing board for Bottas who has stood on the top step of the podium only once in the last nineteen races.

There was a number of overtakes further down the field but overall the Portuguese Grand Prix was just a bit flat. But still there are more than a few drivers who will be happy with their afternoon’s work. Checo Perez finished a solid fourth well ahead of the ever-dependable Lando Norris in fifth. Charles Leclerc was sixth for Ferrari ahead of the two Alpine drivers Esteban Ocon and Fernando Alonso in seventh and eighth. Daniel Ricciardo salvaged two points in ninth after starting sixteenth while Pierre Gasly took the final point on offer in tenth.

There’s no respite for the paddock as F1 moves straight over to Spain for the fourth round of the season. The Circuit de Catalunya Barcelona is notoriously poor for overtaking which means that qualifying may well be the be all and end all for the main protagonists this weekend.

May 5, 2021
F1 2021: Bahrain Gp Review – Hamilton vs Verstappen

In recent history there could hardly have been a more exhilarating start to a Formula 1 season that what was produced in Bahrain in 2021.

Saturday qualifying already put not only the paddock but fans around the world on notice that the season opening race was bound to be something special. Max Verstappen delivered a stunning lap to take pole position from Lewis Hamilton by nearly four tenths ons second. Not only did it set the stage for an epic race battle but it also confirmed that for the first time in years Red Bull were hitting the ground running.

But the more than one hundred days of waiting didn’t seem to be enough for the racing gods as the first start of the race was aborted. Unfortunately for new Red Bull driver Sergio Perez it was because his car had decided to switch itself off on the formation lap. The Mexican driver was able to restart his engine but was consigned to a pit lane start.

After another formation lap the race got underway with Verstappen leading cleanly from Hamilton. It was Valtteri Bottas who was under most pressure as he fought off the fast starting Charles Leclerc. But the Ferrari was too canny for the Finn and snatched third place on the road. Elsewhere Lando Norris pulled off a stunning move in the first sector over new McLaren teammate Daniel Ricciardo. But the racing wouldn’t even last a full lap before the safety car was deployed to enable the recovery of the Haas driver’s car who is not Mick Schumacher. Curiously, he had spun off by himself and crash into the turn 3 barrier.

The racing resumed on lap four with Verstappen able to pull a couple of seconds clear of Hamilton. Behind Leclerc and Bottas, at this stage third and fourth on the road, Pierre Gasly was running ahead of Norris and the returning Fernando Alonso. Norris, clearly in a racy mood, quickly passed Gasly. The Alpha Tauri driver was immediately under pressure too from Ricciardo and subsequently lost his front wing and ruined any chance of scoring a decent haul of points.

While Hamilton pitted on lap 13 for hard tyres Red Bull chose to extend their first stint for a few more laps. But the undercut, read fresh tyres, proved decisive as Hamilton leapfrogged Verstappen into the lead of the race as the first round of pit stops shook out. The Dutchman was able to close the nearly seven second gap to Hamilton but didnt overtake the Mercedes driver before Hamilton opted, just 16 laps later, to visit the pitlane for a second time. It appeared that the Mercedes was working its tyre far more than the Red Bull with the advantage seemingly swinging towards Verstappen. By this stage Valtteri Bottas, already off the front running pace, had suffered a slow pitstop which put him well and truly out of contention.

Fernando Alonso’s return to F1 ended before the chequered flag as the Alpine driver was forced into retirement by a suspected brake issue. Nevertheless, the show carried on with a not-so-uncommon mistake from Seb Vettel which saw the Aston Martin curiously bump into the back of Esteban Ocon’s Alpine on lap 44. Vettel not only picked up some slight front wing damage and a red face but also a ten-second time penalty for causing a collision.

By now Verstappen once again found himself in second place but with fresher tyres than Hamilton. It seemed for all money that the Red Bull would catch and pass the Mercedes and take victory. Verstappen closed the gap and by lap 53 had his best shot of taking back the lead. But the Dutchman, while overtaking Hamilton around the outside of turn 4, had run off the track. Ever the sportsman Verstappen returned the place to Hamilton but also in the process relinquished his chance of getting back in front. There has been much controversy over the enforcement of track limit at turn 4 by the FIA stewards during the race. A clip on social media shows Hamilton exceeding track limits for 29 of the 56 laps without sanction. Naturally, the lack of enforcement of the track limits rule in this case has led to much heated debate online.

Nevertheless, Hamilton drove a stellar race to somehow eke out 26 laps on a set of tyres. There are those that will look at the result and see Hamilton as the victor and dismiss it as just another win for the Brit. But this one he really had to work for, he really had to earn. And the fact that Red Bull clearly had the quicker car makes Hamilton’s drive a genuinely impressive one. He had no business winning that race but he did anyway. That was a champion’s drive.

While Verstappen finishing in second just seven tenths of a second behind Hamilton it was Bottas who trundled home in a disconsolate third. Lando Norris drove an impressive race to finish fourth ahead of Perez who went from the pitlane to fifth on his Red Bull debut. Charles Leclerc was sixth for Ferrari while Daniel Ricciardo brought his McLaren home in seventh. Carlos Sainz was eighth on his Ferrari debut ahead of rookie driver Yuki Tsunoda in ninth for Alpha Tauri. Lance Stroll scored the final point on offer in tenth in what was a decidedly underwhelming weekend for Aston Martin.

The 2021 Bahrain grand prix and the battle between Hamilton and Verstappen could not have delivered a better opening to the season. There is great hope that this is merely the opening chapter in what could be an epic fight glory in 2021. One down, twenty-two to go.

All images courtesy of Pirelli Motorsport

March 29, 2021
F1 2020: Abu Dhabi Gp Review – Clinical Verstappen signs off season

The saying goes that good things are worth waiting for. Red Bull have lived this adage more than most in 2020 as it was only at final race weekend that Max Verstappen could secure his first pole position of the season.

It was a stunning lap from the Dutch driver to edge out Valtteri Bottas and Lewis Hamilton by less than a tenth of a second. It may have taken seventeen qualifying sessions to secure the first place on the starting grid but it proved to be the perfect launching pad towards Verstappen’s tenth career win.

The Red Bull driver led cleanly off the line and easily gapped Bottas who in turn was able to pull away from Hamilton in third. A brief virtual safety car, which turned in a full safety car, to scoop up the stricken Racing Point of Sergio Perez prompted most of the field into the pits. But still Verstappen was unflappable in the lead of the race. Though the Abu Dhabi grand prix left a lot to be desired in terms of entertainment it was a brilliantly controlled and clinical drive from Verstappen.

For once Mercedes had no answer to the Red Bull’s pace. Second-placed Bottas never got closer than two and a half seconds and eventually finished more than ten seconds adrift by the time the chequered flag fell. Lewis Hamilton made his return after testing positive for Covid-19 but finished an unspectacular third. For most of the weekend Hamilton did appear low on energy and the 7-time champion confirmed afterwards that it was one of the most physical races he’d ever completed. Alex Albon came home in fourth and will now have to wait for news on his future with Red Bull.

It was a standout day for McLaren and Lando Norris led home teammate in Carlos Sainz in fifth and sixth respectively. The haul of eighteen points secures third place in the Constructor’s championship for McLaren. It is an especially extraordinary achievement for a team who just three years ago finished ninth out of ten teams with a paltry thirty points on the board for the entire season. To affect such a stunning turnaround in not very much time is a testament not only to the designers of the car but to the management of Andreas Seidl and Zak Brown and the ability of Norris and Sainz to not only unite the team but to also deliver on track.

Daniel Ricciardo signed off his final race at Renault with a solid seventh place finish ahead of Monza race-winner Pierre Gasly in eighth. Esteban Ocon was ninth in the other Renault while Lance Stroll could register only one point in tenth. In what has been a difficult season for all Ferrari-powered cars Kimi Raikkonen finished twelfth ahead of both works Ferrari drivers with Charles Leclerc leading home Seb Vettel, in his last race for the Scuderia, in thirteenth and fourteenth. As it were Perez was the only retirement from the race. The Mexican driver is seemingly out of the F1 picture for 2021 with only the merest of hope resting with a possible call up to Red Bull.

That Verstappen is ready to fight for a world championship is not in doubt. He showed his class once again with a faultless drive to win in Abu Dhabi. Though the Mercedes juggernaut is likely to roll on in 2021 Red Bull’s performances in the final third of this season presents a glimmer of hope. With Verstappen and the fairly unchanged regulations for next year 2021 may not be as straightforward as it appears. The good news is that there is only 93 days until we find out if Red Bull and perhaps even Ferrari have what it takes to challenge Mercedes.

All images courtesy of Pirelli Motorsport

December 13, 2020
F1 2020: Sakhir GP Review – Vamos Checo!

Several months ago Formula 1 announced that it would race around the outer loop of the Bahrain International circuit. Some speculation was abounding as to what a race around the short circuit could produce. But not even the wildest theories could have predicted the race it ultimately delivered.

The week started with the good news of Romain Grosjean’s release from hospital after a stunning crash just days earlier in the Bahrain grand prix. This was followed by the announcement that Lewis Hamilton had tested positive for COVID and would not race in the penultimate round of the season. The seat should technically have gone to reserve driver Stoffel Vandoorne but George Russell was drafted in instead.

The current Williams driver has rarely put a foot wrong in his nearly two seasons in F1 and it would be the golden opportunity for Russell to put the best of his skills on show. And deliver he most certainly did. He missed out on pole to Bottas by 0.026 but already there were signs that he was well capable of delivering something special on Sunday. He aced the start and stole into the lead of the race as if he’d done it a hundred times before. Behind a coming together between Charles Leclerc and Sergio Perez forced Max Verstappen into taking avoiding action. Unfortunately for the Red Bull driver he couldn’t avoid the barrier and along with Leclerc ended his race on lap one while Perez dropped to eighteenth overall.

Russell led his Mercedes teammate Bottas comfortably for the majority of the race and looked well on course for an extraordinary win. He’d managed the first round of pitstops and a virtual safety car with aplomb. The Safety Car was called upon on lap 63 as Jack Aitken, Russell’s replacement at Williams, left debris on the exit of the final corner after brushing the barrier. Both Mercs were called into the pits for fresh rubber. Uncharacteristically, utter confusion reigned amongst the Merc pitcrew who fitted the wrong tyres to Russell’s car. It forced another pitstop to correct error but still Russell emerged in fifth with some hope of regaining the lead. He made short work of Bottas, Lance Stroll, and Esteban Ocon to run second in just a few laps. By now Perez had driven a stunning recovery right into the lead of the race. But just as Russell began to close the gap to the race leader he was called back into the pits with a slow puncture.

He emerged in fourteenth and was able to recover to ninth overall and set the fastest lap of the race. It was utterly gutting for Russell who was well in control and looked set to take victory. It may be scant consolation right now by Russell’s time will come. To be parachuted into a completely new environment behind the wheel of a completely new car is a monumental undertaking. George Russell has proven, unequivocally, that he is the man for Mercedes in the future.

As heartbreaking as the unraveling of Russell’s race may have been there was utter elation as for the first time in his 190-race career Sergio Perez claimed the top step of the podium. And by coming from eighteenth to first he did it in supreme style. The Mexican driver has stood on the podium on several previous occasions but never on the top step and he was understandably emotional. Esteban Ocon too delivered a high-class drive into second to secure the first podium of his career. The day though belonged thorough to Racing Point who also saw Lance Stroll on the podium in third.

In fourth place was Carlos Sainz for McLaren and Daniel Ricciardo was sixth in the other Renault as Alex Albon completed a fairly anonymous race in seventh. The history books will show that Bottas finished eighth ahead of Russell ninth but he, and everyone who was paying attention, will know that he was outdriven on the day. Lando Norris scored the final point on offer for McLaren in tenth.

As it stands Perez does not have a seat on the grid for 2021. Rumours have been lingering that he may have a chance at a Red Bull seat and he has undoubtedly given them something a bit more to think about.

All images courtesy of Pirelli Motorsport

December 9, 2020
F1 2020: Bahrain Gp Review – F1 Safety the Winner

A cursory glance at the results of the weekend’s F1 race would reveal another seemingly comfortable victory for Lewis Hamilton ahead of Max Verstappen and Alex Albon. But it would not even begin to tell the story of the 2020 Bahrain grand prix.

The race was immediately brought to stop after only three corners. From the wide shot it appeared that a car had made impact with the outside barrier on turn three and burst into flames. It was a sight highly uncommon in Formula 1. It was soon confirmed that the driver involved was Romain Grosjean. Due to the seriousness of the crash and a lack of immediate information on the driver’s conditions no replays were shown of the incident. Several moments later however the broadcast cameras picked up Grosjean being assisted away from the scene by Dr. Ian Roberts and medical car driver Alan van der Merwe.

With Grosjean seemingly without serious injury the replays were broadcast. The horrific images revealed that the Haas had split into upon impact and that the front section had pierced the steel barrier. The medical car, which always follows the field at the start of a race, stopped at the scene moments later. Ian Roberts ran towards the raging flames as marshals and Alan van der Merwe attempted to douse the fire with extinguishers. Dr. Roberts later reported that the fire extinguisher pushed the flames back just enough for him to assist Grosjean over what was left of the barrier. As it were Grosjean was in the burning car for roughly twenty seconds before being able to pull himself out. He suffered second-degree burns on his hands and some burns to his left foot. Dr. Roberts also reported that the visor on Grosjean’s was melted. It is believed that the impact of the car with the barrier was registered at 221km/h and 53G.

From the monocoque, to the safety belts, to the fireproof overalls everything worked in unison in the crash to allow Grosjean to walk away with only minor injuries. And there was one other piece of equipment that ensured his survival, the Halo. The burnt monocoque was unrecognizable but clearly showed the halo head protection system completely intact. From early assessments, by Ross Brawn and others, it is clear that the Halo had played a significant role in saving Romain Grosjean’s life. There should never again be a discussion about the Halo’s inclusion in the sport and any and all detractors would be best served by keeping their asinine opinions to themselves.

The red flag lasted from more than an hour as track workers replaced the destroyed barrier. The race barely got underway before the safety car was called upon. This time it was Lance Stroll who found himself upside down in the Racing Point after a coming together with Dannil Kvyat. Thankfully, Stroll was uninjured. Racing resumed with Hamilton in the lead and Verstappen in second.

The Merc driver was able to maintain a gap of around four seconds to the Red Bull for most of the race. Verstappen made a late pitstop for fresh tyres and an attempt at the fastest lap. Sergio Perez had been running solidly in third for the majority of the race but was forced into retirement with only three laps to go. As it were Albon inherited third place.

McLaren completed a good day at the office with Lando Norris in fourth and Carlos Sainz in fifth. The Alpha Tauri of Pierre Gasly was sixth ahead of Ricciardo in seventh. Bottas, who had suffered an early puncture, was eighth while Ocon and Leclerc was ninth and tenth.

As fans of the sport we always hope for a spectacle, an edge-of-the-seat race that gets the heart pumping. But on this occasion the anti-climax at the end of it was welcomed. Absolute safety in F1 can never be guaranteed. But because of the work that has been done by the likes of Sir Jackie Stewart, Prof. Sid Watkins, Alex Wurz, and so many others Romain Grosjean was able to walk away from a horrifying crash. We owe all of them the greatest debt of gratitude.

November 30, 2020