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F1 2022: Australian Gp Review – Leclerc Dominates Down Under

After two years of suffering with a sub-par Ferrari, things can hardly be going any better for Charles Leclerc in 2022. On Saturday the Monegasque driver took Ferrari’s first pole in Australia since Kimi Raikkonen did so his debut season with the team in 2007. Still, there were many that expected second place starting Max Verstappen to mount a serious fight for the win. But Leclerc not only had the pace advantage he also coped extremely well with the re-starts after the safety-car and virtual safety car periods.

For most of the weekend it was clear that Verstappen was not comfortable with his Red Bull. Still, second on the grid and even the second step on the podium would have been acceptable for the reigning champion. But, once again, unreliability reared its head and forced Verstappen into a second retirement in three races. The team has remained tight-lipped on the failure was, but it was most probably mechanically related. The Red Bull powertrains, aka Honda, has proven to be quite problematic so far in 2022 with Alpha Tauri also suffering its own failures in the opening races of the season.

Three races in the championship tables does not make good reading for Red Bull or Max Verstappen. But although Ferrari and Leclerc have gotten off a rollicking start it isn’t the end of the world…yet. Yes, Verstappen currently sits 34 points adrift of Leclerc but there are still 20 races to go and the matter of 544 points up for grabs. There is an awful lot of racing between now and the point where any driver can seriously start to think about the championship.

As predicted in the race preview column Mercedes faired a bit better in Australia than in Bahrain and Saudi Arabia. While the Merc pair still finished nearly half-a-minute off the race winner’s pace. Nevertheless, Verstappen’s retirement promoted George Russell onto the podium for the second time in his career while Lewis Hamilton was fourth. The safety car, deployed to enable to clean up of the bits and pieces of Seb Vettel’s Aston Martin, allowed Russell to make a cheap stop and emerged, in P3, ahead of Perez and Hamilton. While Perez easily dispatched of Hamilton, he took P3 off Russell on lap 36. Three laps later Perez would inherit second as Verstappen pulled over his smoking Red Bull at turn 2.

While Perez saved Red Bull’s blushes in second place Mercedes, clearly still struggling, will be pleased with third and fourth. It was a better day too for McLaren as Lando Norris finished fifth ahead of Aussie Daniel Ricciardo in sixth. Esteban Ocon was seventh for Alpine while eighth and ninth place was occupied by Alfa Romeo’s Valtteri Bottas and Alpha Tauri’s Pierre Gasly.

As impressive as Leclerc’s performance was the driver of the day was undoubtedly Alex Albon. The Thai driver completed a mammoth 56 lap stint on his hard tyres, pitted on the final lap of the race, and emerged to score the final point in tenth for Williams.

The first retirement of the race, one-and-a-half laps in, was Carlos Sainz. The Spaniard spun in turn 9 and beached the Ferrari in the gravel, bringing out the first safety car of the race. It compounded the Spaniard’s misery who had already made a mistake in his Q3 run to start ninth. At the start of the race Sainz dropped to P14 before spinning out of the race. Afterwards Sainz said he would be hard on himself for the driver errors, but that Ferrari too should take some of the blame for the position he found himself in. It’s somewhat difficult to blame the team though for a driver error in both quali and the race. Carlos Sainz is, for the first time in his career, in a race-winning car. The problem he has is that on the other side of the garage is Charles Leclerc – clearly a driver who is ready and at a level capable of winning the title. But just as Verstappen, or even Mercedes, cannot be ruled out this early on Sainz shouldn’t be either. However, the Spanish driver will have to turn things around very quickly before Ferrari begin to push their support towards Leclerc and relegate Sainz to driver number two.

Charles Leclerc has unquestionably hit a sweet spot in 2022. He is driving this new Ferrari faultlessly and ominously comfortably. It’s a new position for him too to be in the lead of the driver’s championship and the pressure hasn’t ramped up quite yet. But there is a feeling that even if it does Leclerc will be equal to the task.

All images courtesy of Pirelli Motorsport

April 11, 2022
F1 2022: Australian Gp Preview – Down Under Once More

Only two of the twenty-three scheduled races of 2022 have been run so far. But what we have learnt from Bahrain and Saudi Arabia is likely to characterize the first portion of the season. Ferrari has clearly delivered a car capable of producing peak pace for qualifying and one that is more than capable of delivering long-run pace that is not only competitive but puts them in a position to win races. Red Bull too seems to have produced a car that is capable of winning but is perhaps not yet able to deliver the one-lap quali pace as easily as Ferrari.

When there is a major rule change there is always the potential for the pecking order to be re-arranged. But few would have expected Mercedes to stumble early on. After all, the German mark has won a staggering eight constructor’s titles in a row. But fundamental change can catch out even the very best. Bahrain and Saudi exposed some serious deficiencies in the W13 Mercedes. Not only is it still struggling to get a handle on the porpoising (bouncing) at high speed, but aerodynamically the car also seems to be on the draggier end of the scale. Speaking of scales, the Merc is also one of the heaviest cars on the grid, which is not helped by the engine. From the first two rounds of the season, and comparison of speed-trap figures it’s clear that the Merc engine is lacking in comparison to the Ferrari and Red Bull-badged Honda. And heck if numbers isn’t your thing have a gander at the quali results and notice that Merc-engined cars are dominating the bottom-half of the grid.

Mercedes team principal Toto Wolff remains as bullish as ever and promises that the team will not rest until it finds its way back to the front of the pack. The question remains how long this recovery will take, and will it be in time for the team to be in the mix for the titles? This weekend there may be a bit of light at the end of the tunnel for Mercedes. Formula 1 returns to race in Australia for the first time since 2019. The Albert Park circuit is an outlier on the calendar, a unique semi-street track that combines medium to higher-speed turns and rewards good braking performance.

It is a circuit that has the potential to mask some deficiencies in a car. Missing some k’s on the top-end? This is not much of a problem here as the circuit has a relatively short start/finish strait. Unfortunately, the turn 9 and 10 chicane has been removed which has transformed this sector of the track into a 1.3 km long blast at full throttle. The good news is that several of the corners (read turns 1,3, and 6) have been made broader to encourage more overtaking. All in all, the changes to the track is expected to drop the lap time by an estimated five seconds.

It isn’t exactly a bold suggestion to postulate that Ferrari and Red Bull are likely to duke it out for pole and the win. But already the narrative of Verstappen versus Leclerc is being woven. What then of Carlos Sainz? If Ferrari maintains their competitiveness throughout the season this is the Spaniard’s most important season. Sainz was a match for Leclerc in 2021 but it wasn’t under the guise of championship battle and the colossally unremitting pressure which accompanies it. This will reveal if Sainz is champion-material or not.

For Hamilton and George Russell things should go better than it did in Saudi. But then it could hardly be worse than a Q1 knock-out.

April 5, 2022
F1 2022: Saudi Arabia Gp Review – Verstappen v Leclerc from lights-out to chequered flag

It’s only two races in the 2022 season but it appears that the new regulations are delivering on the promise of closer racing. Not only has it pushed Ferrari to the sharp end of the grid, but it is producing spine-tinglingly, edge-of-the-seat racing from the first to the very last lap of the race.

In a record-breaking performance on Saturday, it was Checo Perez who delivered a stonking lap to become the first Mexican driver to secure pole position. Charles Leclerc and Carlos Sainz was second and third while Max Verstappen started the race in fourth. The biggest shock of the day came in the form of Lewis Hamilton who failed to advance beyond the first part of qualifying in his Mercedes.

While Mercedes tried to understand their Saudi Arabian woes Checo Perez led cleanly off the line with Verstappen slotting into third behind Leclerc. It all looked to be going well for Perez who took to the pitlane on lap 15 to fit the hard compound tyres. Unfortunately, Nicholas Latifi’s crash brought out the safety car one lap later. It proved to be the worst possible outcome for Perez who dropped to third behind Leclerc and Verstappen. A dodgy ‘overtake’ on Sainz, exiting the pitlane, meant that Perez had to surrender third to the Ferrari driver.

Further behind the Alpine drivers, Esteban Ocon and Fernando Alonso, swopped position several times early in the race before settling solidly in the lower end of the top ten. Regrettably, Alonso would retire from the race with a suspected mechanical issue. He would be quickly followed into retirement by McLaren’s Daniel Ricciardo. Both drivers ground to a halt at the entry to the pitlane which prompted race control to close the pitlane entry and deploy the virtual safety car. It was bad timing for Hamilton who had started the race on the hard compound and worked his way into the top ten. The 7-time champion had to wait for the pitlane to reopen before being allowed to make his compulsory pitstop.

It was clear that Ferrari, and Leclerc, held the pace advantage through the corners while Red Bull, and Verstappen, had the edge on the straits. But although Verstappen got to within DRS range of the leading Ferrari Leclerc outsmarted his opponent. By letting Verstappen pass him in the first DRS detection point Leclerc ensured himself DRS on the start-finish strait that follows. Still, in a testament to how much better the 2022 cars can follow, Verstappen remained on Leclerc’s gearbox and this time used the Ferrari driver’s DRS tactic against him. As it were Verstappen pulled into the lead of the race and held off Leclerc, by half a second, for his first win of the new season.

Some 8 and ten seconds down the road Carlos Sainz finished third ahead of Perez in fourth. More than half-a-minute behind was George Russell in fifth with Ocon in sixth ahead of Lando Norris in seventh. Pierre Gasly was eighth for Alpha Tauri while Kevin Magnussen finished ninth for Haas. Lewis Hamilton scored a solitary point in tenth more than a minute behind the leaders, despite a safety car bunching up the field. If it wasn’t so before Mercedes’ problems are more than just the bouncing, seen in Bahrain.

Both Verstappen and Leclerc looked properly worn-out which is an indication of just how hard the pair of them had to work. It’s evident that in this new era of F1 drivers are pushing from lights out to the cheqeured flag. It’s only two races into the season and there is an awfully long way to go. But if the rest of the year is anything like the first two races, then we’re in for a heck of a ride.

All images courtesy of Pirelli Motorsport

March 28, 2022
F1 2022: Bahrain Gp Review – Out with the old, in with Ferrari?

Despite introducing a completely new era of Formula 1 racing the season-opener in Bahrain has simply picked up where the drama left off in 2021. In a triumphant return to form Ferrari reigned supreme with a brilliant one-two finish for Charles Leclerc and Carlos Sainz.

Throughout pre-season testing the Ferrari had looked good and allegedly on the pace of the quickest cars. It looked supple and easy to drive but still the hesitation lingered in deeming the Italians back in position to mix it at the sharp end of the grid. But in emphatic fashion Ferrari has announced itself with dazzling display of speed and performance in the first race of 2022.

On Saturday Charles Leclerc snatched pole by a tenth of a second from Red Bull’s Max Verstappen while teammate Sainz qualified third fastest. As Lewis Hamilton and George Russell could only manage fifth and ninth it looked set to be a battle between Ferrari and Red Bull. And a battle it was. Leclerc led cleanly away from pole with Verstappen in relatively close attendance. However, before long the Red Bull driver was told to cool his brakes and he fell three seconds behind the Ferrari. The first round of stops came around soon enough with Verstappen heading to pitlane first. Despite pitting only one lap later, Leclerc nearly lost P1 to a charging Verstappen. The lead of the race swopped dramatically between the pair for a few laps before Verstappen locked up into turn 1 and seemed to lose some pace. Wily as ever, Leclerc saw off the threat from Verstappen and eased the gap back out to three-odd seconds with Sainz trailing a further 10 seconds behind, in third, with fourth-placed Checo Perez threatening to close him down. What was especially good about the Leclerc/Verstappen duel, besides the intense wheel-to-wheel racing, was the confirmation that the new era of F1 cars are able follow each other much more closely.

For those who may have thought that Mercedes was sandbagging in pre-season testing, and even in free practice, it was unfortunately not the case. At least in Bahrain the Mercedes W13 was significantly off Ferrari and Red Bull pace. A glance at the results does not tell the full story. Although Hamilton and Russell will be happy to have come home in third and fourth there are serious questions that are going to be asked at Mercedes. What will be especially worrying for Mercedes is the fact that after 40-odd laps of the race Hamilton was already more than half a minute behind the race leader Leclerc and second-placed Verstappen. What’s more is that on-board footage from practice still shows the Merc porpoising (bouncing) in the straits which clearly effects the driver’s confidence on the brakes. Case in point is Hamilton’s inability to overtake Perez despite being well within the DRS range for a handful of laps.

As it turns out neither Red Bull reached the chequered flag. First Verstappen noted an issue with the power steering of his car, which he at least appeared to be able to handle, no pun intended. And in the closing stages of the race Pierre Gasly’s car seemed to catch fire which brought out the safety car towards the end of the race. It seemed Verstappen’s best chance of challenging Leclerc. But soon after the Safety-car pulled in Verstappen was on the radio and reporting a loss of battery charge. Moments after that the Dutchman slowed dramatically and promptly retired from the race. A few laps later Perez’s engine seemingly switched off and pitched his car into a spin in turn 1. In matter of minutes Red Bull went from sitting with the potential of two cars on the podium to a double retirement. This elevated Hamilton onto the podium in third and Russell to fourth overall. Red Bull, through Helmut Marko, identified the problem being an inability of getting enough fuel to the engine and that Verstappen’s power steering issue may have been caused by the jack, which lifts the car, during a pit stop.

Leclerc delivered a stunning weekend to score pole, fastest lap, and a much-deserved race win. But the driver of the day must be Kevin Magnussen. Drafted in as a late replacement at Haas the Danish driver produced a stunning drive to finish P5. Valtteri Bottas won’t be dissatisfied with his first race for Alfa Romeo in P6 while Esteban Ocon and Yuki Tsunoda finished 7^th and 8^th respectively. Fernando Alonso was 9^th overall ahead of the only rookie in the field Zhou Guanyu who scored the final point in 10^th for Alfa Romeo. Mick Schumacher just missed out on scoring his first points in 11^th.While Gasly clearly experienced a distressing end to his race it was probably as dreadful a day for McLaren with Daniel Ricciardo and Lando Norris finishing a wretched 14^thand 15^th overall.

For the first time since the 2019 Singapore grand prix Ferrari has stood on top of the podium. It is apparent that Maranello has not only produced a very good power unit but perhaps even a car to go along with it. But this is only the beginning of F1 2022 and there is still some way to go. There are 22 more races in a season that has started in spectacular fashion. And the next of those is this weekend’s Saudi Arabian grand prix.

All images courtesy of Pirelli Motorsport

March 21, 2022
F1 Bahrain GP Friday Practice Wrap Up

Formula One Bahrain GP Practice 1

Pierre Gasly headed up the time sheets in his Alpha Tuari, on soft tyres, for the first practice session ahead of the Bahrain Grand Prix, beating the Ferraris who finished in first and second place. Gasly posted a 1:34.193s benchmark for the session – still a way off from the pre-season test benchmark of a 1:31.720s posted by Max Verstappen.

George Russell led the Mercedes team in fourth place, 0.4s off the pace. He was, however, still a quarter of a second quicker than team mate Lewis Hamilton who finished up in P7.

Our current F1 world champion, Max Verstappen, went through four sets of tyres, but held back the soft compound for FP2. He posted the 5th quickest time.

Running times for FP1 ahead of the Bahrain GP:

1 Pierre Gasly 1:34.193
2 Charles Leclerc 1:34.557
3 Carlos Sainz 1:34.611
4 George Russell 1:34.629
5 Max Verstappen 1:34.742
6 Lance Stroll 1:34.814
7 Lewis Hamilton 1:34.943
8 Fernando Alonso 1:35.000
9 Yuki Tsunoda 1:35.028
10 Sergio Perez 1:35.050
11 Zhou Guanyu 1:35.053
12 Esteban Ocon 1:35.151
13 Nicholas Latifi 1:35.644
14 Nico Hulkenberg 1:35.815
15 Alexander Albon 1:35.923
16 Lando Norris 1:36.304
17 Daniel Ricciardo 1:36.402
18 Mick Schumacher 1:36.536
19 Kevin Magnussen 1:36.804
20 Valtteri Bottas No time set

Formula One Bahrain GP Practice 2

It’s Max Verstappen who set the fastest time in the second practice session of the 2022 Bahrain Grand Prix weekend. He wrapped up the session ahead of the Ferrari drivers, Charles Leclerc and Carlos Sainz. While it may be a little too early to hedge your bets, the Ferrari team is performing really well this early on.

George Russel came home in the 4th spot for Mercedes with Fernando Alonso finishing just behind him – both within a second of the Verstappen’s pace.

Valterri Bottas was unable to set a time in the first practice session due to a power unit issue but managed P6 for the session.

With Sergio Perez ahead of him, Lewis Hamilton struggled to finish only ninth as a result of a lot of porpoising and bouncing around the track throughout the session while also complaining about front brake issues.

Here are the running times for the session:

1 Max Verstappen 1:31.936
2 Charles Leclerc 1:32.023
3 Carlos Sainz 1:32.520
4 George Russell 1:32.529
5 Fernando Alonso 1:32.877
6 Valtteri Bottas 1:32.951
7 Sergio Perez 1:32.958
8 Mick Schumacher 1:33.085
9 Lewis Hamilton 1:33.144
10 Kevin Magnussen 1:33.183
11 Lando Norris 1:33.280
12 Esteban Ocon 1:33.360
13 Pierre Gasly 1:33.621
14 Yuki Tsunoda 1:33.789
15 Guanyu Zhou 1:33.953
16 Lance Stroll 1:33.958
17 Nico Hulkenberg 1:34.061
18 Daniel Ricciardo 1:34.166
19 Nicholas Latifi 1:34.486
20 Alexander Albon 1:34.735

March 18, 2022
F1 2022: Red Bull? Ferrari? Mercedes?

The wait for the start of F1 2022 is over. This weekend the season-opening race in Bahrain brings with it the start to a whole new era in the storied saga of Formula 1.

The new regulations have produced not only a completely different visual aspect to F1 but has showcased some of the brilliant engineering and design prowess up and down the paddock. From McLaren’s wavy floor to Ferrari’s scooped side pods to Mercedes seemingly complete lack of side pods the innovation has been cranked to the max.

The three days of public testing around the Sakhir International circuit has revealed at least some of what the picture could look like at the start of the season. The mid-field battle promises to be exceptionally tight with the likes of McLaren, Aston Martin, Alpine, and Alpha Tauri expected to occupy this space.

Williams looks in fairly good shape, relatively speaking, with Haas and Alfa Romeo expected to bring up the rear. For Haas it certainly hasn’t been a straightforward pre-season. First, their equipment and freight were delayed from arriving to Bahrain in time due to a broken-down plane. Then their title sponsor and one driver were removed from the team, which left them with the task of quickly finding a replacement. Although Pietro Fittipaldi, as reserve driver, seemed to be the most obvious choice Haas opted for experience instead and drafted Kevin Magnussen back into the team. The Danish driver brings with him a decent pedigree of being able to get the most out of a car and will be a good barometer for teammate Mick Schumacher.

What then of the top three. There are some who agree that Mercedes starts the season not as outright favourites. In fact, some have penned them down as in third place behind Red Bull and Ferrari. Lewis Hamilton himself has declared Mercedes as not in a position to win races. But we’ve read this chapter before, haven’t we? Mercedes downplays their chances and sandbag on track only to show up at race one and blitz the field. But there may be some truth to Sir Hamilton’s words. Firstly, the porpoising which Red Bull and Ferrari are appearing to manage is still a major problem at Merc. So much of an issue is the porpoising that Merc have taken to sawing off some underfloor strakes in a bid to change the air flow distribution not only on the forward section of the car but also into the underfloor and the rear diffuser. The front-wing angle has also been significantly altered to combat the understeer that has been plaguing the W13 throughout testing.

But Max Verstappen and Carlos Sainz are not buying the line that Mercedes are struggling. Both point out that the Silver Arrows have made a habit of underplaying their position before the season starts. And despite an apparent consensus amongst the pundits in the paddock that Hamilton and co might not be the quickest the fact remains that only time will tell, literally.

Ferrari starts the season in the best shape they’ve been in for a few years. Without any reliability issues the car has run smoothly, and importantly, it’s been quick in both Charles Leclerc and Sainz’s hands. Yet team principal Mattia Binotto is remaining cautious by insisting that the Italian team remain “outsiders” behind Red Bull and McLaren.

On the final day of testing Red Bull bolted a serious upgrade package to its car and it went quite a bit faster, 7 tenths faster than anything Ferrari could manage. But headline times in testing are just that. It’s only in Q3 on Saturday where everyone’s hand will finally be shown. And as it stands right now it looks as if Red Bull and Max Verstappen are holding all the cards.

All images courtesy of Pirelli Motorsport

March 14, 2022
F1 2021: Abu Dhabi Gp Review – Super Max is World Champion

At the first free practice session of the 2014 Japanese grand prix a driver by the name of Max Verstappen stepped into the cockpit of the Toro Rosso. What immediately stood out about the 16-year-old Dutchman was his poise behind the wheel and of course – that prodigious speed.

A year-and-a-half later he stood on the top step of the podium in Spain as the youngest ever race winner. There was some discontent though about Verstappen’s driving style and some even deemed it dangerous. While a case could be made in support of that opinion what also becoming clear was that Verstappen was a revelation. He came into F1 and seemed to be instantaneously in command. Naturally, there were a few mis-steps but it was clear that it would be only a matter of time before Max Verstappen would become world champion.

That day came in Abu Dhabi this past Sunday in a manner most befitting of one of the most memorable, exhilarating, and dramatic F1 season in living memory. From Bahrain to Spain to Monaco to Baku and Brazil the 2021 Formula 1 season has been one lived on the edge of your seat from the first lap of the season until, quite literally, the last.

Thanks to an unbelievable comeback from Lewis Hamilton which saw him win three on the bounce in Brazil, Qatar, and Jeddah, the championship protagonists went into the season-ending Abu Dhabi grand prix equal on points. Max Verstappen threw down the gauntlet by taking pole position on Saturday but the ever-present Hamilton was right alongside him on the front-row of the grid. It was short-lived advantage for Verstappen though as Hamilton aced the start and swept into the lead of the race. But Verstappen wasn’t about to give up and sent a move up the inside of Hamilton at the turn 6 chicane. Though Verstappen kept within the white-lines Hamilton ran off the track and maintained the lead of the race. Most were sure that Hamilton would have to yield the place to Verstappen but race stewards felt otherwise and deemed no investigation necessary.

On soft tyres Verstappen steadily lost time to Hamilton in the opening stint. On lap 13 Verstappen fitted the hard compound tyre which Hamilton too opted for one lap later. It was clear fairly early on that the Hamilton had a definite pace advantage over Verstappen. Red Bull would need to rely on strategy if they were going to have any chance of beating Hamilton. Enter Checo Perez. The Mexican, dragging his Red Bull around on severely worn soft tyres, was told to hold-up Hamilton as much as he could. It seemed for all money that Hamilton would merely breeze past Perez on his fresher tyres but not only did he miraculously hold off Hamilton but Perez did so long enough for Verstappen to close down a nearly seven-second gap to roughly one-and-a-half seconds. But again, Hamilton’s raw pace allowed him to re-build the gap to Verstappen. Perez’s work wouldn’t be in vain however as a Virtual Safety Car (VSC) was deployed on lap 36 to recover the stricken Alfa Romeo of Antonio Giovinazzi.

Hamilton stays out while Verstappen chooses to pit for new hard tyres. He emerges only 17 seconds behind Hamilton and the race is on to catch the race leader. However, somehow Hamilton, a master of tyre conservation, appears to be doing enough to stymie the Verstappen-threat. On lap 53 of 58 the Williams of Nicholas Latifi crashes into the barrier of Turn 14 and it requires a full Safety-Car to be cleaned up safely. Red Bull rolled the strategy dice one more time and brought Verstappen in for fresh soft tyres while Hamilton stayed out. Initially, it appeared that the race would end under the Safety-Car. However, while originally lapped cars were told to hold position, they were then instructed to overtake the Safety-Car as Race Director Michael Masi was set on returning to racing conditions, even if only for one lap. Five lapped cars overtook and left Verstappen right behind Hamilton for the re-start. Mercedes team principal Toto Wolff bemoaned Masi’s decision to allow lapped cars to overtake as “unfair”. Verstappen made his move for the lead of the race by diving down the inside of the re-profiled turn 5. He held off Hamilton on the two straits and crossed the finish line to become the 2021 world champion.

Instead of accepting defeat however Mercedes immediately lodged an appeal against the race result by citing that not all lapped cars had overtaken the Safety-Car and therefore the regulation was not adhered to. This after Wolff demanded that the result be counted back one lap in order to hand Hamilton the victory. In the steward’s hearing, which dismissed Mercedes’s protests, it was pointed out that the regulation prescribes that any lapped cars and not all lapped cars can be instructed to overtake. It was further pointed out that the race director is imbued with overriding authority over use of the Safety Car. Still, Mercedes have stated their intent to appeal the steward’s decision.

There is little doubt that the stewards and race director’s decision-making has been ambiguous at many points throughout the season. And there is some scope for understanding why Mercedes feels aggrieved. But then there is scope for pretty much all the teams to have felt aggrieved sometime in the season. The fact is however that the issue of clarity in decision-making must be addressed.

The regulation allowing lapped cars to overtake was brought in for the simple reason that having back-markers amongst the frontrunners could interfere with racing. Case in point, Hamilton would’ve been advantaged by Verstappen having to pass all five lapped cars thereby giving him a leg up.

Elsewhere, Kimi Raikkonen’s storied 20-year career came to a close with a wheel-nut failure on lap 29. The 2007 champion bows out after a staggering 349 races, 21 wins, and 105 podiums. He doesn’t leave empty-handed though as his legion of fans around the globe combined to vote the Iceman as Driver-of-the-Day. Perez’s retirement promoted Carlos Sainz to third. The Spaniard, in his first year at Ferrari, beat highly-rated teammate Charles Leclerc to fifth in the final driver’s standings. Yuki Tsunoda and Pierre Gasly were fourth and fifth for Alpha Tauri while Valtteri Bottas trundled home in a lowly sixth in his final race for Mercedes. In seventh was Lando Norris ahead of Alpine duo Fernando Alonso and Esteban Ocon in eighth and ninth. Leclerc scored the final point in tenth.

Seven years has been a long time coming for Max Verstappen but there has always been an air of inevitability about it. If there were stand-out moments that genuinely solidified the fact that Verstappen could be champion this year those moments came in France and Texas. The manner in which he drove the in- and out-laps around his pitstop in France was so magnificent that not even Mercedes could understand how they had been undercut. And then there was the defensive drive in Texas. Red Bull had left him with an awful lot of work to do but instead of questioning the team he pumped in the laps and held off a faster Hamilton in true Schumacher-esque style. Oh, and the other eight wins and ten poles helped some too.

In 2014 Max Verstappen arrived in Formula 1 as an uncompromising, self-confident, and blindingly quick teenager. Over the last seven years he has not only become, astonishingly, even quicker but he has also refined into an unquestionably deserved world champion. Goed gedaan Max.

All images courtesy of Pirelli Motorsport

December 13, 2021
F1 2021: Saudi Arabian Gp Review – Red-flags, Controversy, Penalties, and Chaos

The sheer speed achieved around the Jeddah circuit raised many eyebrows. Add to this that is lined with barriers and you have yourself the perfect ingredients for chaos. And bedlam most definitely ensued. As has been true of the entire 2021 season Hamilton and Verstappen were far and away to biggest story of the race. Here follows a breakdown of events.

Saturday Qualifying – The first run of the Q3 session has Lewis Hamilton in pole with teammate Valtteri Bottas in second with Max Verstappen third. On the final run of the session however Verstappen is flirting with disaster as he skims the walls but is on his way to a stunning pole position. It wouldn’t eventuate though as he clips the wall on the final corner with his right-rear. He starts the race in P3.

Mick Schumacher crash, lap 10 – The Haas drivers crashes heavily into the Tecpro barrier of turn 23. A safety-car is immediately deployed which prompts both Hamilton and Bottas into the pits for hard tyres. Verstappen opts for track position and does not pit. The race is then red-flagged, which Hamilton deems unnecessary. However, since the death of Jules Bianchi, safety protocols dictate that whenever machinery is on track a session will be red-flagged.

Hamilton’s displeasure with the red-flag decision is motivated by the fact that Verstappen, per regulation, is allowed to change tyres under red-flag conditions. A rule Hamilton himself benefitted from earlier in the year at Imola.

From a standing-start Hamilton gets the better of Verstappen but the Red Bull driver cuts across the turn ½ runoff area and takes the lead. Hamilton clashes with Ocon and loses another place to the Alpine. Chaos ensues behind bringing to an end Perez, Russell, and the second Haas driver’s races. With a sea of carbon fibre littering the track another red-flag is shown.

Race director Michael Masi gives Red Bull the opportunity to drop behind Hamilton for the restart following Verstappen’s cutting on the chicane. This has been noted as controversial by some but is no different than race-control instructing a team to return a position on-track. Red Bull accept and Verstappen drops to third on the grid with Ocon now in P1.

Crucially, Verstappen takes the re-start on new medium tyres while Hamilton remains on hards. It works a treat as Verstappen pulls off a sublime move into turn 1 to take the lead of the race. Hamilton momentarily falls behind Ocon but is back into P2 by lap 22.

JEDDAH STREET CIRCUIT, SAUDI ARABIA – DECEMBER 05: Max Verstappen, Red Bull Racing RB16B , leads Sir Lewis Hamilton, Mercedes W12, and Valtteri Bottas, Mercedes W12 during the Saudi Arabia GP at Jeddah Street Circuit on Sunday December 05, 2021 in Jeddah, Saudi Arabia. (Photo by Sam Bloxham / LAT Images)

Virtual Safety Cars – On lap 24 Yuki Tsunoda clashes with Seb Vettel in turn 1 and strews debris over the track, prompting the VSC. On lap 30 another VSC is needed this time to collect more debris from a clash between Kimi Raikkonen and Vettel. Racing resumes on lap 33 with Hamilton within DRS range of Verstappen. However, the canny Dutchman stretches his advantage just enough in sector-1 to ensure he stays ahead. On lap 36 another VSC is called on to collect debris that had fallen off Vettel’s wounded Aston Martin.

Lap 37 – Hamilton is closer than ever on the main-strait and makes his move. Verstappen brakes late and again cuts across the run-off of turn1/2. Verstappen is instructed to give the place back to Hamilton and he slows on the back part of the track to do just that. However, because Hamilton doesn’t want to get to the DRS activation point first, thereby giving Verstappen DRS, he too, bizarrely, brakes and runs into the back of Verstappen.

Hamilton would allege that Verstappen had brake-tested him, while Mercedes would say that Hamilton was ‘confused’ about what was happening. The question remains however as to why Hamilton would not overtake a slowing car? The answer we now know is DRS. Laughably, Verstappen was given a post-race 10-second penalty for the incident, which did nothing to the final classification.

Lap 42 – Hamilton is back on Verstappen’s gearbox and makes a pass into turn 1. Again, Verstappen cuts across the run-off and maintains the lead. Verstappen then gives the place back to Hamilton but, peculiarly, still incurs a five-second penalty. To say that race control was a bit shambolic on the day wouldn’t be completely untrue.

To the end – Verstappen, with diffuser damage and worn medium tyres, nurses his Red Bull home in second place. Hamilton’s win means that both championship protagonists head into the finale this weekend equal on points. Verstappen still leads the championship by virtue of more race wins.

Third and fourth were Bottas and Ocon as the Finn just pipped the Alpine to the podium. In fifth was Daniel Ricciardo as Gasly, Leclerc, Sainz, Giovinazzi, and Norris occupied the rest of the top ten places.

The Saudi Arabian Gp could not have delivered a more chaotic and controversial race if it tried. And regardless of who has your loyalty and support it should be recognized that as fans of F1 it is an utter privilege to be living through one of the most intense and fascinating seasons in living memory.

December 6, 2021
F1 2021: Saudi Arabia Gp Preview – Into the Mix

In 2021 Formula 1 has served up what is easily going to be one of the most memorable seasons in the last two decades. With breath-taking racing on-track F1 and commercial rights holder, Liberty Media, has also taken F1 to venues that have never before formed part of the calendar. Some of those venues, over the last two years, have produced inspired racing while other additions have raised some eyebrows.

There will be no beating around the proverbial bush in acknowledging that this weekend’s race in Saudi Arabia is a controversial addition to the calendar. The vociferous debate around Saudi Arabia’s human rights, and women’s rights, are, arguably, the most prominent issues within which there exists stern opposition. These issues are as pressing and vital to address as any other. But the reality is that it is not only Saudi Arabia which is a controversial venue for F1. Countries such as Bahrain, Russia, Hungary, even China continue to form part of the calendar despite their own questionable approaches to human rights and equality. Stefano Domenicalli, group CEO of F1, has stated that his hope that is to stimulate a conversation around these issues by bringing a global sport to these countries.

In the meantime, the show will go on around what is being billed at the world’s fastest street circuit. As the second longest track on the 2021 calendar the Jeddah Corniche circuit’s 6.175 km will three DRS zones and run for a total of 50 laps in Sunday’s race. The track, divided into a hefty 27 turns, is a high-speed rollercoaster through the floodlit streets on the shores of the Red Sea. Due to its flowing, high-speed nature most of the corners are likely to be driven at full throttle with an estimated top speed being set at 322 kph. To illustrate the high-speed nature of this circuit computer simulations put the average speed of a lap around 252 kph.

It begs the question then as to whether this track will suit Mercedes or Ferrari? Throughout the season high-speed circuit have been the bread-and-butter of Mercedes. What’s more, Mercedes is also expected to fit Hamilton’s fresh Brazil engine to his car. This will undoubtedly give Hamilton an advantage in terms of horse power. Couple this with Mercedes’ and Hamilton’s form over the last few race weekends and you have yourself a team and driver sitting somewhat pretty. Nevertheless, if anything is known of Max Verstappen and Red Bull it is they won’t go quietly, if at all. After all, one of the biggest flubs of this entire season has been believing that one track will suit either Mercedes or Red Bull only to show up and be proven categorically wrong. Circuit designer Herman Tilke believes that a powerful engine would help but that the fast corners could give Red Bull the advantage. But comments and computer simulations are just that – speculation. And as the stop watch never lies it’s only on-track on Friday, Saturday, and Sunday that will reveal the truth of each car and driver’s performance.

As it stands Max Verstappen will start the weekend with an eight-point lead over Lewis Hamilton. Mathematically, Verstappen could clinch the title this weekend. However, unlikely this permutation is what we have learned from F1 2021 is not to rule out anything. Nevertheless, it remains a fairly unlikely outcome. And should Hamilton win, and score an extra point for fastest lap, with Verstappen in second place it will move the championship fight on to Abu Dhabi with both drivers equal on points. Spicy indeed.

November 29, 2021
F1 2021: Brazilian Gp Review – Hamilton Produces Epic Drive

Max Verstappen’s win at the season-ending Abu Dhabi grand prix in 2020 provided a little hint that Red Bull may be able to fight Mercedes come 2021, especially since the regulations stayed mostly stable. But the 2021 season, so far, has turned out to be far beyond the wildest expectations of most F1 fans.

And as if determined to write its own dramatic chapter into the history books of 2021 the famed Interlagos circuit hosted an incredible Brazilian grand prix weekend. The sprint format was called upon again, which meant that running was reduced to only two practice sessions. As the Mercedes of Lewis Hamilton hit the track the FIA documentation confirmed that car number 44 would start five places lower on the grid from where he qualified due to fitting a new internal combustion engine. It wasn’t ideal, but also not the end of the world given the that the circuit is significantly easy to overtake on than at last week’s Mexican grand prix.

It wouldn’t be the only setback for Hamilton and Mercedes though as a technical rule infringement sent him to the very back of the grid for the start of the Saturday sprint qualifying race. The infringement centered on the rear-wing DRS flap and the slot gap, which was found not be at the compulsory 85 mm when in operation. It felt team principal fuming and uncharacteristically disparaging. Nevertheless, there was a job to be done and Hamilton had to do it.

What followed from Hamilton was a mesmerizing 24-lap exhibition of overtaking. While Valtteri Bottas got the jump on Max Verstappen and held off the Red Bull driver to win the Sprint Hamilton carved his way through the field to finish a highly impressive tenth. But if Saturday’s performance was impressive then what he delivered on Sunday was breathtaking. The ‘Still We Rise’ mantra, a play on a famed Maya Angelou poem, has adorned his helmet for several years now but this weekend he truly exemplified it. By lap five of the race, he had already carved his way through the field, from tenth to fourth. He eased into third with some assistance from Bottas and set off after the Red Bulls. The Safety-Car was deployed on lap 6 as debris littered turn 1 after a more-than-ambitious move from Yuki Tsunoda resulted in a clash with Aston Martin’s Lance Stroll. Cognizant of Hamilton’s prodigious straight-line speed Verstappen would have to be smart about the restart, which he left until the very last to nullify the slipstream effect, at least temporarily. Two laps later the Virtual Safety Car (VSC) would deploy, this time to gather up debris from Mick Schumacher, who lost his front-wing.

Racing resumed on lap 15 and Hamilton took only three laps to close the gap to Perez. The Mexican did all he can to hold off Hamilton, even re-overtaking him into turn 4, but Hamilton returned the favour a lap later and was into second place. Verstappen had built around a four second gap at this stage and Hamilton wasn’t making as much in-roads. Instead, Mercedes called Hamilton into the pits on lap 27 to affect the undercut. Verstappen responded with his own stop a lap later and emerged in the lead of the race but with Hamilton now only 1.5 seconds behind.

Another VSC was needed on lap 30, this time to collect debris falling off Stroll’s car. The gap between Verstappen and Hamilton hovered around the one-second mark until Verstappen stopped for the hard compound tyre on lap 41. Hamilton stayed out for three more laps before making. His stop on lap 44. Again, he emerged, again, just behind Verstappen. He was soon within DRS range and on-board graphics showed a 30 kph advantage in Hamilton’s favour over Verstappen. On lap 48 Hamilton attempted a move around the outside of Verstappen in turn 4, but both ran off track as the Dutchman opened his steering and defended the position. While race stewards noted the move, no investigation was deemed necessary and thus Verstappen got no penalty. You’d be hard-pressed to find a Hamilton fan who’d agree with the steward’s decision just as you’d struggle to find a Verstappen fan who sees anything wrong with the move. But, in reality, the move was on the edge of deserving a penalty. In fact, Verstappen should feel like he got away with one for that move. Nevertheless, everyone would rather see it chalked up to hard racing that decided with penalties.

Eventually, Hamilton would take the lead of the race on lap 59 and sailed off into the distance. Meanwhile, Verstappen cruised home in second knowing that he didn’t have the pace to challenge Hamilton. Third-place finisher Bottas benefited from the Schumacher-VSC with a cheap pitstop and jumped Perez, ultimately fourth, through the pitstop phase. The Ferrari duo of Charles Leclerc and Carlos Sainz finished fifth and sixth ahead of Alpha Tauri’s Pierre Gasly in seventh. Esteban Ocon scored his first points in Brazil with a fine eighth place finish in front of Alpine teammate Fernando Alonso and McLaren’s Lando Norris in tenth.

Fan or not, Hamilton’s performance in Brazil deserves all of the praise and recognition. It was a stunning performance against a seemingly insurmountable task and it should be celebrated for the breathtaking drive it was. Three races remain in 2021 and what has gone before shows that whether it is Verstappen or Hamilton who walk away with the big prize both would be deserved of the 2021 crown.

All images courtesy of Pirelli Motorsport

November 15, 2021