Tag: alpha tauri

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
F1 2020: Turkish Gp Preview – Return to Istanbul Park

If you are a fairly new fan of Formula 1 you may not be all that familiar with the Istanbul Park circuit in Turkey. The anti-clockwise circuit, designed by Herman Tilke, was first introduced in 2005. Due to the worldwide pandemic it makes it’s re-introduction to the calendar for the first time since 2011.

F1 has moved on a fair bit since the last Turkish grand prix. Aside from the worldwide pandemic making short work of the official race calendar much has changed in the sport that never sleeps. For one 2011 would have seen the sport in the thick of the Red Bull and Seb Vettel period of domination with Mercedes trundling around as nothing more than midfield contenders. There would be no inkling of a Max Verstappen nor a Charles Leclerc let alone the suggestion that Vettel himself would pull up stakes and swop Red Bull for Ferrari red. The turbo-hybrid era too was still a few years off as in 2011 F1 cars were still being pushed around the circuits of the world by a screaming V8. Heck not only was Lewis Hamilton still a McLaren driver but he had just one championship title under his belt.

Along with Malaysia’s Sepang circuit the 5.3 km Turkish circuit is widely regarded as some of track designer Tilke’s best work in F1. Turn one is akin to Brazil’s Senna S and has been compared to Laguna Seca’s corkscrew albeit with a slightly less dramatic dip. The famed turn 8 is a quadruple-apex left-hander that truly tested not only the prowess of an F1 car but also the commitment of the driver. In 2020 the once fearsome turn 8 will be far easier to negotiate for the modern F1 car. In fact, the expectation is for the cars to blast flat out around turn 8. Nevertheless, the circuit does present several overtaking opportunities and DRS too will have a bigger impact, especially when used on the back strait.

The first race in 2005 was won by then McLaren driver Kimi Raikkonen. One year later a 19-year-old Vettel made his F1 debut in a 2006 practice session for BMW Sauber. 2006 was also the year in which Felipe Massa earned his first pole position and race win and proceeded to take three wins in a row around the Istanbul Park. A few years later in 2010 Vettel, now at Red Bull, would dramatically crash with teammate Mark Webber.

It is very much a foregone conclusion that Mercedes go into the weekend as the favourites for victory. Last time out at Imola has already seen the team claim a record-breaking seventh constructor’s title and this weekend presents the first opportunity for Hamilton to clinch a seventh driver’s championship title.

The permutations are straightforward for Hamilton too. Currently, the six-time champion holds an 84-point lead over teammate Valtteri Bottas with a maximum of 104 points still on the table. Hamilton needs only to finish ahead of teammate Bottas to be crowned world champion. Bottas, as the only driver able to ‘challenge’ for the title, must outscore Hamilton by eight points to move the fight for the championship on to the next race. Stranger things have certainly happened in the past. However, barring unreliability it is difficult to imagine that Hamilton won’t leave Turkey as a seven times world champion.

November 11, 2020
F1 2020: Eifel Gp Preview – F1 Returns to Nurburgring

The last time the Formula 1 paddock visited the Nurburgring was in 2013. Back then the sport was vastly different to how it’s known today. For one the sports was still running the 2.4-liter V8 and were standing on the cusp of switching to the hybrid power unit packages still being run now in 2020. There was some expectation that works team would excel in the hybrid era but no one could have foreseen the utter Mercedes dominance that ensued.

In 2013 F1 too was on the eve of welcoming Honda back into the sport after its so stunningly quit the sport three months before the start of the 2009 season. Seven years later it’s rather frightening how history repeats itself. Though they’ve given more notice than they this in 2008 Honda has again announced its intention to leave F1 at the conclusion of the 2022 season. It leaves Red Bull, and Alpha Tauri, without an engine supplier and it also leaves F1 in a difficult spot.

For Red Bull they’ll have to consider whether they want to go knocking on a current manufacturers door or even consider building its own engine. There is peril in both choices. For one they may, and probably will, get turned down by Mercedes and Ferrari as neither would want to provide an engine to a direct competitor. Designing and manufacturing an in-house engine is an enormous financial undertaking not to mention the resources required. And there’s no guarantee that it will work as needed straight away. Case in point is Honda who toiled under extreme pressure and were only able to reap the rewards years later. Heck, even the might of Ferrari’s resources can’t get it right.

If all options are exhausted Red Bull could revert to once again running Renault engines. The split between the pair was anything but amicable and Christian Horner and Cyril Abiteboul have nothing but a hate-hate relationship. However, the Concorde has a provision that just might save Red Bull. It states that the manufacturer who has the least amount of customer teams will be compelled to provide an engine should a team have no other option. In this case it will be Renault which will have no customer teams when McLaren switch to Merc power in 2021. It might be some time before anyone knows what Red Bull’s decision will be.

Back in 2013 it was Sebastian Vettel, on his way to title number four, that stood on the top step at the Nurburgring with Kimi Raikkonen and Romain Grosjean alongside. It will be some race if those three end up on the podium this weekend. Nevertheless, the Nurburgring is a technical circuit that comprises mostly of high-speed corners and only one or two obvious overtaking opportunities. The level of grip that a 2020 car produces will also shorten the braking distance and even negate some altogether which will make for a exhilarating lap. It may well be even more of an adventure as cold and, potentially wet, weather is predicted for the weekend.

This weekend also marks the 323rd race start of Kimi Raikkonen’s F1 career. It started all the back at the Australian grand epic in 2001 and was followed by glittering stints at McLaren and Ferrari for which he won the world championship in 2007. It also included a deviation to rallying and even some NASCAR in 2010 and 2011. The enigmatic Finn returned to F1 for a two year run at Lotus which was highlighted by a third place finish in the driver’s standings, a slew of podiums, and two memorable wins. The wins were elusive in his return to Ferrari before an outstanding drive secured him victory in Austin in 2018. When most expected him to hang up his gloves off he went to Alfa Romeo.

Though the Ferrari power unit has severely stunted the competitiveness of the Alfa in 2020 Raikkonen has shown that he’s lost none of fire or pace with some outstanding drives this season; not least of all in Mugello. Raikkonen’s so-called imminent retirement has been a story probably the last seven or eight years. And while he is definitely in the twilight of his career his prowess and technical ability means that it’s up to him to call time. But Alfa team boss Fred Vasseur wants the Finn to stay on and it seems likely that the Iceman, easily on the most beloved drivers on the grid, may well line up again in 2021.

October 7, 2020
F1 2020: Russian Gp Preview – A reckoning for Bottas

In 2014 Russia make its re-entry to the Formula 1 calendar. Unlike previous plans to host a race in Moscow the race instead is situated in the Black Sea resort town of Sochi.

The Russian grand prix is likely to be the only semi-street circuit on the 2020 calendar as Australia, Monaco, Baku, and Singapore have all been cancelled as a result of the coronavirus pandemic. The Sochi Autdrom is a 5.8 km semi-street circuit built around the Olympic Park, which hosted the 2014 Winter Olympics. It is doubtful that the circuit would rank highly as a favourite amongst drivers. Sector one is dominated by full throttle blast of more than ten seconds and what is likely to be the only ‘straightforward’ overtaking opportunities. Pulling out of the slipstream and under braking for turn two is the first opportunity of the lap to make a move stick but not necessarily the last. The 750m constant radius left-hander that is turn three is taken flat-out before having to get hard on the brakes for the 90 degree turn four where overtaking is certainly possible. The rest of the lap comprises of low to medium speed 90-degree corners without any genuinely obvious spots of overtaking.

In the championship Lewis Hamilton holds all the cards with a mammoth 55-point gap over Valtteri Bottas in second place. Such is his lead that even if Hamilton were to miss two races, with the assumption that Bottas would win both, he could still return in the lead of the championship. Given how Bottas has performed in 2020 there is nothing to suggest that Hamilton will be beaten or even challenge as he strolls to a record-equaling seventh title. Realistically the only challenge can come from a driver in a car equal to Hamilton’s Mercedes. But Bottas simply isn’t up to the task and wont miraculously come to life. Since joining Mercedes in 2017 this season is most likely Bottas’s most disappointing.

As a fairly young driver catapulted into a championship-winning team he could have been forgiven for trying to find his feet in a new environment. But four years down the line it is abundantly clear that Bottas just hasn’t found what he needs to win a championship. His last two race performances underline this. In Monza he had a golden opportunity to claw back some points with Hamilton down in seventh. Instead he finished a lowly fifth in the quickest car on the grid. And though he was momentarily leading in Mugello he let that win slip through his fingers. He may well rack up a P1 this weekend in Russia where he has always perfomed well. But the championship title is probably further away than it’s ever been.

While the sharp-end of the driver’s title seems to be all but settled it certainly isn’t the case in the mid-field. Behind third-placed Max Verstappen the next five positions (fourth to eighth) is covered by only sixteen points. The mid-field battle between McLaren, Racing Point, and recently Renault has been an enthralling and unpredictable one in 2020. In addition to Pierre Gasly’s unforgettable win at Monza the fact that Lando Norris, Carlos Sainz, and Lance Stroll have all stood on the podium season is indicative of just how colossal the fight has been in the mid-field. And there is every indication that it wont only linger for this weekend, but will likely go down right the to the season finale in Abu Dhabi.

September 23, 2020
F1 2020: Tuscan Gp Review – Mugello Madness

For several months it seems unlikely that formula 1 would turn a wheel in anger. All indications were that it would be near impossible to get sort of calendar together for 2020. But behind the scenes F1, Liberty Media, and the circuit stakeholders were working overtime to put something together. The announcement that F1 would race at Mugello, more known for motorcycle racing, was met with excitement. But not in our wildest dreams could we have predicted the utter madness that Mugello delivered.

A yellow flag in the dying seconds of Saturday qualifying kept Valtteri Bottas from going for pole position. He made amends though on Sunday bad he surged into the lead of the race. But the racing pack had barely managed three corners before chaos descended.

Three cars next to each other on the narrow Mugello circuit just don’t go as Pierre Gasly, Kimi Raikkonen and Max Verstappen found out. For Verstappen and Gasly, last week’s race winner, it was he end of the race while Raikkonen escaped albeit with damage to the front wing, bargeboard, and floor. Verstappen had initially roared off the starting line and look for a moment to be challenging Hamilton for second. But the Red Bull suddenly lost power and the Dutchman was swallowed by the pack, which left him in the dreaded carbon fiber zone. The safety car, clad in red to celebrate Ferrari’s 1000 Gp, was deployed while the stricken cars were recovered.

The Mercedes of Bottas led the pack as the safer car pulled in but mere seconds later utter chaos erupted on the start/finish strait. Several drivers, bidding to get a run on one another, had misjudged the restart. It meant that they had to slam on the brakes but those following behind had zero time to react. It resulted in a scary pile up which involved Kevin Magnussen, Nicholas Latifi, Antonio Giovinazzi, and Carlos Sainz. Thankfully, all drivers escaped without injury. As carbon fiber and destroyed cars were scattered across the track the race was red flag to accommodate the cleanup process. Renault’s Esteban Ocon would retire from the race during the red flag period with rear brake failure.

The cars lined up on the grid for the re-start as in Monza seven days ago. The drag down to the first corner meant that Bottas was always at a detriment and it proved to be exactly so as Hamilton leapt into the lead of the race as soon as the lights went out. Charles Leclerc valiantly held onto third place for several laps but was ultimately unable to hold off Lance Stroll who took third off the Ferrari driver on lap 18. Daniel Ricciardo, Sergio Perez, and Carlos Sainz too easily overtook Leclerc.

The race seemed to settle for a spell with Hamilton in the lead. Bottas kept his teammate mostly insight until running into trouble with his medium compound tyres. The Finn lost a handful of seconds in traffic before stopping for a set of hard tyres. Despite telling the Mercedes pitfall that he wanted the opposite tyre strategy to his teammate the team opted to fit hard tyres to Hamilton’s car too. Meanwhile, with Ricciardo, Renault opted to affect the undercut by bringing Ricciardo into the pits before the Racing Point. It worked a treat as the Australian secured third place over Stroll.

There was another lull in the race during which Stroll, now in 4th, and Albon, in 5th, were beginning to close the gap to Ricciardo in third. But just as Stroll was beginning to exert pressure on the Renault he appeared to suffer a tyre failure and crashed hard into the barriers at the second Arrabiatta. Though Stroll walked away without any injury his car was completely totaled. The barrier too had sustained some damage, which prompted the second red flag of the race.

At the second re-start the roles were now reversed and Bottas was in prime position to pick up Hamilton’s slipstream. However, he just couldn’t seize the opportunity and even briefly dropped behind Ricciardo as the lights went out. Albon too had a poor getaway but recovered brilliantly with a move around the outside of Perez for fourth. Next the Thai driver pulled off a brave move around the outside of turn 1 on Ricciardo to slot his Red Bull into third.

Daniel Ricciardo eventually finished an impressive fourth ahead of Perez in fifth. Lando Norris kept his nose clean and netted a solid sixth for McLaren while Daniil Kvyat was seventh for Alpha Tauri. On the track Kimi Raikkonen finished eighth ahead of Leclerc in ninth. However these positions were reversed on the timing sheets due to a five-second penalty for Raikkonen.

The penalty, for cutting across the pit entry line, was nearly negated by Kimi Raikkonen who drove a stunning final stint to ensure at least two points on the day. Seb Vettel, who announced this weekend that he would be an Aston Martin driver in 2021, finished tenth. George Russell was achingly close to scoring his first point in F1 but just didn’t have enough pace to overtake the Ferrari.

There was great uncertainty as to what modern F1 would produce when combined with the epically fast and flowing Mugello circuit. It’s an old school circuit with no asphalt run-off areas to be seen. It’s a great test of driver and car. It’s a track layout that is unbelievably fast and extremely challenging. And it’s a place that surely deserves a spot on the F1 calendar.

All images courtesy of Pirelli Motorsport

September 17, 2020
2020 Formula 1 Italian Grand Prix: Sunday Press Conference

DRIVERS
1 – Pierre GASLY (AlphaTauri)
2 – Carlos SAINZ (McLaren)
3 – Lance STROLL (Racing Point)

TRACK INTERVIEWS
(Conducted by Jenson Button)

Q: Lance, fantastic podium finish. Are you happy with that P3?
Lance STROLL: I am. It’s been a couple of years since I stood on a podium. It feels good to be back. It was such a crazy race. I’m so happy for Pierre. He really deserved it. He had a great start and he just stayed consistent all the way throughout the race. It’s a bit of a bummer as I think it was mine to lose, starting from second. But I just had no grip at the start and I had a ton of wheel spin and everybody flew by me. I had a good scrap with Carlos there in the first couple of laps. I overtook him around the outside and then he got me again into Turn 1. We were battling out there and I’m happy to pick up third. I think the win slipped away from us today but third is great.

Q: It’s a fantastic result. It’s such a young podium. The young guns on the podium is fantastic to see. How strange is it starting a race again half way through?
LS: It’s bizarre. You’ve got to reset. We’re not used to that intermission half way through a race, but great to finish third.

Q: Carlos, what a drive. You’ve been getting the maximum out of the car for so many races. I’m sure it’s exciting and it’s great to get a P2 but you were so close. You pushed him so hard at the end.
Carlos SAINZ: Yeah, it’s incredible. I’m half way disappointed with P2 you know. I wouldn’t have believed that I would have got a chance to fight for victory today, we were very, very close. Honestly, with a normal race I think I would have got P2 behind Lewis because we had really, really good pace. So I think it’s what we deserve. But with Pierre there in front is like, ‘wow, how could that happen?’ I guess a bit of bad luck with the safety car but then we did a good job to recover it and with the red flag also. Very happy with P2, we’ve been super-quick all weekend and I felt like I could dominate the midfield pretty easily today, so I’ve got to be happy with that.

Q: This isn’t a lucky P2. You didn’t luck in with the safety car or strategy. You guys have just been quick all weekend?
CS: I was faking it! No, especially getting back from P6 to P2 and then chasing Pierre and managing to finish three or four tenths behind him at the flag, we need to be proud of that, we need to be proud of the pace of the car and then that red flag I think I would have finished behind Lewis today, but it is what it is.

Q: Pierre! Pierre, I mean sensational. In your short period in Formula 1 you’ve been through so much, so many emotions, highs, lows… This is phenomenal. It must feel very special?
Pierre GASLY: Honestly, it’s unbelievable. I’m not realising what’s happening right now, you know. It was such a crazy race. We capitalised on the red flag. The car was fast. We had a pretty fast car behind us. As you said, I’ve been through so much in the space of 18 months. My first podium last year, I was already like ‘wow, with AlphaTauri and now my first win in Formula 1, in Monza, I struggle to realise.

Q: The emotion for your team. In Italy, they won as an Italian team. You can see what it means to them and it must be so nice celebrating with them?
PG: I’ve got no words. This team have done so much for me. They gave me my first opportunity in F1. They gave me my first podium and now they are giving me my first win. It’s crazy, honestly, it’s just crazy and I’m so happy, I can’t thank them enough. Everyone from AlphaTauri, to Honda. I mean, it’s a power sensitive track and we won the race ahead of all the Mercedes, Ferrari and Renault cars, so just an amazing day.

Q: I’m not sure I’m 100 per cent correct but I think you are the first French winner since 1996.
PG: That’s right. Olivier Panis was the last one. I’ve always said coming in F1 that’s one thing we need to change because it’s been so long but I never expected that it would happen to us with AlphaTauri and we just kept focusing on ourselves since last year, working, improving step by step. It’s crazy. I’m just so happy.

PRESS CONFERENCE

Q: Pierre, such a happy podium today. No doubt you’ve dreamt of this moment. How does the reality compare to the dream?
PG: It’s amazing. Honestly, I’m lost for words right now. I’m still struggling to realise what’s happened for us. My first win in Formula 1… A couple of months ago I got my first podium in Brazil and then today it’s my first win, in Monza with AlphaTauri, which is an Italian team. It could not have been better and we worked so hard, day by day, race after race, after everything that happened to me in the last 18 months, I could not have hoped for a better way to get my first win.

Q: And it seems you really did want to soak up that podium. You didn’t want to leave?
PG: I didn’t want to leave, because these kind of moments… You never know how many times you are going to be able to enjoy these kinds of times. I wish we could have had all the tifosi and all the grandstands full of people, because it’s probably one of the best races to be on the podium, right up there. Obviously 2020 style is a bit different but nevertheless I just wanted to sit down and take a moment for myself to go through the thoughts that were crossing my mind and just enjoy that moment.

Q: And just about the race: the timing of your pit stop was perfect but also those last few laps when Carlos Sainz was closing in on you, how much pressure were you under?
PG: After the restart I think we had 28 laps to go. I managed to pass Lance into Turn 1 and I think this really helped me for the rest of the race. Lewis pitted, I think on lap one, and then after that I was on my own. It reminded me of my Formula 2 days when you are leading the race and just focusing on your own driving, corner by corner. I pushed so hard at the start because I wanted to break the tow from the guys behind and I didn’t have anyone in front on me so I knew I had to make the time in the corners and the last five laps were really hard and my tyres were completely gone. I was sideways in every corner and I could see Carlos slowly closing the gap and I know myself I would have been so pissed with myself if I would have lost that win in the last few laps. I just gave everything I had and I’m so happy I managed to get my first race win in Formula 1.

Q: Carlos, coming to you, lovely to actually see you on the podium this time, unlike in Brazil where you got promoted after the race. Pierre has already told us that his tyres were shot at the end of the race. What conditions were yours in?
CS: Well, my tyres were four laps older and obviously I was struggling also. But the pace we had today was incredible. Honestly, the gap that I managed to open with the rest of the midfield in the first stint and after that, managing to go through the whole five cars I had in front to end up chasing Pierre. Definitely felt really nice and felt like I had a good shot for victory. Then once I got to 1.5s I got stuck. The tow, as we see with these cars and the dirty air, starts affecting you a lot in traction, in braking. Mini lock-ups, oversteers and I think we were both a bit rallying for a minute because we were both struggling with tyres. But yeah, happy. Happy to finish in P2. Obviously disappointed to not get the win because today we had a lot of pace and we felt that without that red flag it would have been a different story because I know I was the virtual race leader with Hamilton’s penalty. But that red flag came, and I managed to recover my positions and made it nearly to Pierre – which would have been nice but I think he deserves it and congrats.

Q: As you say, you were running P2 on merit. Are you surprised by the pace of the McLaren this weekend?
CS: Yeah, a bit surprised, of course – because we didn’t expect to be that strong. Especially what I didn’t expect is for everyone behind us to not be able to overtake us and to open that five-second gap that gave me that buffer before the first stop, then the Safety Car came out and I knew I had lost all that hard work earned. And then I very quickly realised that Lewis was going to get a penalty and I would have been the virtual race leader on the fresher tyres, and I just had to go through the field and get myself to P1 and push like mad – but the red flag came out. It was a rollercoaster of emotions because I was then lying in P6 with the same tyres as everyone in front of me. Even on a used tyre for me from the Safety Car, and I was a bit angry – and a bit disappointed, to say the least. But I managed to recover, and nearly made it. I think we can be proud because today I left nothing on the table in Monza. So I’m going to bed calm that I know that I didn’t leave one single tenth out there.

Q: Many congratulations, well done Carlos – and many congratulations to you too Lance. First podium since Baku in 2017. How sweet does this feel?
LS: Yeah, it’s been a long time coming. A part of me is a little bit frustrated. I had a terrible restart after the red flag. I fell back to P6 and had a good fight with Carlos in the first lap after the restart but lost out to him and then I made my way back to third. Yeah, I gave it everything I could – but I’m very happy for Pierre and I think everyone drove a great race in this room. It was an awesome race and I’m really happy to be back on the podium.

Q: We’ve seen great pace from you and the RP20 this weekend. Is it fair to say there’s been a bit of a breakthrough in performance with the car?
LS: Yeah, we made a big step from Friday to Saturday. I didn’t have the best day yesterday, to be honest, so I was bit on the backfoot coming into today but, y’know, this game, a big part of it is luck and timing and staying out on the Soft tyre for that long gave us an opportunity to fit a new set under the red flag and make up some positions. We gave it everything today and I’m just really happy for the team to get this great result.

VIDEO CONFERENCE

Q: (Alex Kalinauckas – Autosport) Question to both Pierre and Carlos please. What were you thinking in terms of tactics when the gap was coming down right at the end. Pierre, at one stage we saw you weaving to try to break the tow. Carlos, you mention sliding and both of you rallying at one point. What were you thinking about? Where to attack and where you were stronger or weaker compared to each other.
PG: I knew the closer Carlos was getting, the more slipstream he would get, so I knew he started around four seconds and then at three seconds which was probably the idea gap for the slipstream. So he was going to get closer and closer. I tried to push as hard as I could in the corners on the tyres, which obviously means you have more degradation but it was my only way to make lap time. The last few laps I had big, big moments through the Lesmos, through Ascari, just trying to give everything because I could see him becoming bigger and bigger in my mirrors. I knew I was struggling with traction a lot in Turn One. So, there was one place he could try was either DRS the first chicane or the second chicane but I tried to… yeah I saw he wasn’t getting closer and closer and once he got to 1.5s, except for that last lap, I managed to save the energy, just to be able to defend in case he would try something. And yeah, we kept him behind but lucky the race wasn’t much longer because with this Medium tyre I think I didn’t have any rubber left at the end. So, it was the right time to finish the race.

Carlos?
CS: Difficult to explain everything that was going on but I guess since the moment I started catching Pierre, my main target was to get within DRS and then knowing that he would have to defend and use the battery to defend. Honestly, we’ve been very strong here on the straights this weekend, we’ve been very, very quick all weekend on the straights and the only thing I haven’t done this weekend is to get a tow – because I know that our car doesn’t work very well on the tow, we are very affected by the dirty air. So, as soon as I got to within 1.5s I started feeling that dirty air; I started feeling the car a lot more loose, a lot more difficult to get the lap time and the grip in the corners. So, I was trying to maximise the tow, maximise everything I could but the car was starting to struggle a bit behind Pierre. Then suddenly in the last lap and a half I saw him start doing the small mistakes that allowed me to get into the DRS and then I crossed the start finish four-tenths, which would have given me a good run into Turn One if it was one lap more. But, unfortunately it wasn’t one lap more and it is what it is. He did a tremendous job defending and I’m not going to say anything. I know I left nothing on the table. I think those four-tenths reflect very well what we both did and I think it’s a good finish to the race.

Q: (Julien Billiotte – Auto Hebdo) Question to Pierre. First of all, many congratulations. It’s fair to say French fans were not really emotionally ready for a day like this. Are you aware of how big this is on the scene of French motorsports? And also, what went through your mind at the end on the podium when we saw you sitting in a reflective mood?
PG: How big it is? Personally I know how important it was for me to get my first race win in Formula 1 and in the end it’s only my third season in F1, even though I’ve been through a lot in the last two years, I still feel I’m quite new to this world and improving year after year and just getting better the whole time. So, I would have never expected that a year ago when I got back to Toro Rosso. The podium was already unexpected and a big, big highlight last year. And then I wasn’t ready for that win today, even though you always try to imagine the best scenario, the best car, the best race, everything the best way. We know that it happened only once in the whole history of Toro Rosso in Formula 1. Franz actually told me, “you know we’ve done it in the wet, I’m really proud of you because today we’ve done it in the dry now.” Yeah, it was very difficult but I’m just happy to show my speed. I’ve worked on myself day after day, race after race since last year and just trying to get stronger all the time. I’m really happy that today I get the reward for all the hard work that we’ve done with AlphaTauri and also with Honda.

And all that was going through your mind on the podium?
PG: Yeah, exactly. I sat down and had a lot of things crossing my mind. First of all, I through of my family, my friends, my brothers and all these people that supported me and just kept pushing me the whole time, and you just remember everything you’ve been through. I was just trying to imagine all of these people down from the podium, all the tifosi that should be there. It was a very special moment. As I said, being a crazy ride in the last few months and it’s just unbelievable. I’m still struggling to realise what we’ve just achieved.

Q: (Alan Baldwin – Reuters) Pierre, the only guy to have won a race for your team was also at Monza and he was fast-tracked up to Red Bull pretty quickly. I just wondered is that a move you would like next season, is it a good move, and are you ready for it?
PG: I think I’m ready but as I said, it’s not up to me to make that call. The only thing I’ve done since they moved me back to Toro Rosso has been just to focus on myself and just show what I can do. When I get the right tools in my hand I’m really happy that the performance we’ve shown – and I’m not only talking about Brazil but I think generally, we’ve been pretty strong most of the time. We’ve had some really strong qualifyings, really strong races since. We’ll see what happens but I think there have been many, many strong drivers in Toro Rosso. I’m really happy to be one of the two that have managed to get a win for this team. Obviously I guess the strong results should be rewarded with something but we will see what happens. At the moment it’s not something I really want to think about. I just want to enjoy this moment, because it’s my first win in F1 and I will have time to think about this later.

Q: (Abhishek Takle – Midday) Carlos, as a future Ferrari driver, what would it have meant for you to win at Monza today? Not winning, not withstanding, what was it like to stand on the Monza podium? I know there weren’t any fans today but if you could describe that, especially as a future Ferrari driver.
CS: Well, what I’m sure is today, if there would have been tifosi there, they would have been pretty happy and proud and that makes me excited about the future and a bit gutted that there was no one today down there, apart obviously from my team and everyone involved in Formula 1, but it makes me excited and makes me look forward to the future and hopefully it’s my first podium in Monza, not my last and hopefully many will come with Ferrari. I’m ready for it, I cannot wait for it to happen and I just cannot imagine what it would have been with 100,000 people. We get to finish on the podium in the coolest race of the season and no one is there to see us. Hopefully we will get it in the future. I think we all have the potential to do it again so let’s see.

Q: (Edd Straw – The Race) Pierre, obviously the key was the timing of the first pit stop but what were you thinking at the time that happened, because it could have gone a lot of different ways and it also seemed that maybe the early timing was partly motivated by having to release your teammate on the other side, behind you, so were you thinking that could have actually been a bad move at the time, even though it turned out, the way the race happened to be the making of it?
PG: Yeah, to be fair, once we pitted and I just exited the pit lane I saw safety car, I came on the radio and I was like ‘is that a joke? We just pitted like exactly at the worst time possible.’ They just told me ‘OK, the pit entry is closed’ so that’s what happened, and in the end it turned out to be a very lucky move. There was no way we could have planned this. I think today we’ve had a little star with us, a little angel, let’s say, taking care of us and obviously we’ve got pretty lucky on that one and after obviously there was still thirty laps to do which were very difficult but that was clearly a turning point.

Q: (Laurence Edmondson – ESPN) My question is about the red flag period because at that point we knew that Lewis was going to have to take that penalty, so you were all in contention for the win so for each of you, what was going through your head in that moment, how much were you talking to your engineers and how did you get yourself in the frame of mind to go and actually race again?
LS: Yeah, it definitely threw a curveball at us. We’re not used to getting out of the car halfway through the race. I think it was just important to re-set and get back into it. It was an amazing opportunity in the race to start from second, knowing that Lewis had a ten second time penalty. I wasn’t actually aware of the stop and go, I just thought it was a ten second time (penalty). It was unexpected but it created a lot of excitement in the race, that’s for sure.
PG: Yeah, to be fair, they told that to me when we had the red flag and I was like, just not focused on Lewis because he was just going to pit and come back through the field and finish 20 seconds ahead of us to I was like let’s do our own race, focus on the guys around. I think for us it was a tricky call between the hard tyre and the medium tyre at the time because we didn’t know if it was a rolling start or a standing start. We opted for the medium, which was better for the race start and yeah, he boxed on lap one and to be fair, I expected him to come back through the field and the same with Valtteri. I thought these two guys would just coming flying past us but it wasn’t the case but yeah, the team knew, apparently, that it wasn’t going to be that easy for them to catch us and yeah, apparently it was the case.
CS: Yeah, a roller coaster of emotions really. As you can imagine, I was very, very disappointed with the red flag and angry and I had rage in myself and again, I was again thinking about the bad luck and this season and everything and we had to re-start on four lap old medium tyres which is not easy and I knew that the two Alfas in front of me had new softs, one of them had to pit, Hamilton to pit so maybe I was in contention for a podium but maybe the win with Pierre knowing how quick they had been all weekend, I knew it was going to be tricky if Pierre and Lance got a good start. So disappointed because I knew it was going to be a race with them and maybe I could make it to third but honestly, since the restart, I just put my head down, tried to do everything I could to focus on catching them both and had a great battle with Lance on lap one and then from there on, with that medium tyre that didn’t feel great, I just pushed as hard as I could, to try and making it to Pierre and I nearly did but at the point of the red flag I was negative and I was disappointed and I thought I had lost the chance of a win and potentially of a podium also, which would have been nice. But we recovered nicely and we didn’t make it.

Q: (Andrew Benson – BBC Sport) Pierre, you’ve obviously been through a lot in the last year. Can you tell us how you’ve managed to stay strong in your self-belief after your demotion back to Toro Rosso last year and then of course you lost Anthoine Hubert as well and how you rebuilt yourself to this position, to get this win and how it feels to achieve this?
PG: That was a purely a tough moment last year. I grew up with four brothers and I think, like personally, as a child, I had to work through quite difficult moments, which built me a pretty strong character and I always had to fight for everything I wanted. I always, in some way, managed to turn that negative energy into something positive and I knew last year what happened, deep inside me, obviously I felt hurt and I didn’t feel it was fair to myself and I really wanted to make a clear point in that moment but look, I know I’m fast, I know what I can do, I know I can believe, I’ve been fighting for victories, for pole, championships in my early years, in my career and that’s what I want in F1. I really worked very hard with the team and I knew that with them I had everything in my hands to show my potential. After, I just tried to focus on my own performance, not really looking at the others, taking race after race, looking at what I can improved on my side, what I can improve with the team, with my engineers, just to extract more from myself and more from that package and combination and yeah, honestly I can’t be happier with the team I have at the moment. They are doing an amazing job; they are giving me everything I need to be competitive every single weekend. Sometimes we are fast enough for the top eight, sometimes for top ten, sometimes top twelve but at the end of the day, they really put all the energy for my own performance which I really appreciate and I’m really thankful for because thanks to that, today gave us my first race win in Formula 1.

September 7, 2020
F1 2020: 70th Anniversary Gp – Verstappen Aces Red Bull Strategy

A masterful and bold strategy call on Saturday qualifying and a stellar drive by Max Verstappen on Sunday proved the perfect combination for Red Bull’s first win around Silverstone since 2012.

For Red Bull and Max Verstappen it would’ve been easy to cover the bases in quali and run the medium tyre as everyone else did. But Red Bull has never been a team that’s fit the mold. They have always pushed the boundaries and always dared to do things out of the ordinary. The call to start the race on the hard tyre, made by strategist Hanna Schmitz, was as definitely Red Bull as it comes.

It still had to be executed though and Max Verstappen did so in extraordinary fashion. The early part of the race saw, as usual, the two Mercedes of Valtteri Bottas and Lewis Hamilton leading the way. However, what was different this time was Verstappen’s ability to stick much closer to the Mercs than he’s been able to at any stage this season. Overworking the tyres in the dirty air of Hamilton’s car quickly became a concern for the Red Bull pitwall. Verstappen was instructed to drop back slightly from the car ahead but opted not to in typical Verstappen fashion by firing back that he wasn’t going to sit behind like a grandma. It proved the correct decision as pressure on the Mercs forced them into upping their pace and pushing their tyres into high levels of degradation.

It was clear early on that Verstappen had the race firmly under control. Through his own driving style and the make-up of the Red Bull car he never experienced the same tyre issues as Mercedes. The win on Sunday marked his ninth in Formula 1 but also showcased how much he has matured since his early days in the sport. There is no doubt that if Verstappen had a car capable of it he would be serious contender for the title.

Despite their tyre degradation issues Mercedes still finished second and third with Hamilton and Bottas respectively. It was announced this past weekend that Valtteri Bottas has signed a new one-year deal to remain at Mercedes till the end of 2021. While the Finn seemed happy enough with the deal one can’t help but surmise what this really means. A one-year deal with any driver is most often indicative of a team that doesn’t have long-term faith in the driver and that said driver is not in the teams long-term plans. Mercedes can’t be blamed for this stance towards Bottas. He simply doesn’t have what it takes to be a champion. Case in point was his performance in the weekend’s race. While an argument can be made that he was slightly hard done by when it comes to strategy it will also be where the excuses end. For the opening stint the race he was holding his own in the lead after securing pole the day before. But as soon as the pressure started to mount he folded. Verstappen emerged from the pits, after the first round of stops, slightly behind Bottas. It should be noted that Verstappen was a man on a mission and in a mood like that, with a sniff at the victory, he’s hard to resist. But Bottas put up a meager resistance. In a peculiar ‘defensive’ move he pulled to the outside of Brooklands and left Verstappen acres of space to send the Red Bull up the inside. For good measure he repeated the same move against Hamilton later in the race. So poor was his defense that if you didn’t know better you’d have thought he was moving over to be lapped. Bottas has dropped to third in the driver’s standings and its difficult to imagine how he could beat Hamilton to the title from there.

Behind the top three Charles Leclerc completed an impressive one-stop strategy to finish fourth. The afternoon wasn’t as good for his teammate Sebastian Vettel who could only recover to twelfth after a first-lap spin. The strategy to put Vettel on the hard tyre for ten laps and the less durable medium tyre for twenty laps made little sense other than the fact that it is Ferrari’s strategy calls as its diabolical best. It clear too that the relationship between Vettel and Ferrari is completely broken down. It’s almost as if Ferrari has already bid farewell to Vettel and has focused all of their attention on the other car.

In the sister Red Bull Alex Albon pulled off several impressive overtakes to finish a solid fifth ahead of Racing Point’s Lance Stroll. Stand-in driver Nico Hulkenberg was seventh after making a third stop late in the race while Esteban Ocon was eighth for Renault. Lando Norris was ninth for McLaren ahead of Daniil Kvyat in the Alpha Tauri.

The decision by Pirelli to run softer compounds around Silverstone this weekend added a tremendous excitement and unpredictability to the race. It’s clear too that the Mercedes has a bit of weakness when it comes to tyre management in high temperatures. Formula 1 travels to Spain this weekend where temperatures are expected to soar.

All images courtesy of Pirelli Motorsport

August 10, 2020
F1 2020: British Gp Review – Late drama at Silverstone

The majority 2020 British grand prix wasn’t exactly one that spiked the heart rate. Here and there a few tasty fights and overtakes in the midfield piqued the interest but overall the race around Silverstone was turning into a bit of a damp squib.

Lewis Hamilton led away from pole position with teammate Valtteri Bottas and the ever-present Max Verstappen in third. Not even the two appearances from the Safety Car added any spice to the racing at the sharp end. The first Safety Car was brought out for a clash between Red Bull’s Alex Albon and Haas F1’s Kevin Magnussen. A 50/50 move from Albon to take position off Magnussen saw the latter end up in the gravel trap with a destroyed car while Albon was subsequently given a 5-second penalty. The second Safety Car was prompted by a high-speed crash for Daniil Kvyat who’s Alpha Tauri appeared to suffer some type of failure in the Magotts-Becketts complex.

It was still plain sailing at the front for Hamilton and Bottas with Verstappen unable to make any impression. Further adrift in fourth Charles Leclerc trundled around in the Ferrari without any challenge from behind. The same couldn’t be said for Seb Vettel who struggled significantly all weekend. The German driver eventually finished a lowly tenth. The midfield battle between McLaren, Renault, and the lone Racing Point of Lance Stroll did their best to entertain with several laps of overtaking. It was a difficult weekend for Racing Point who had to replace Sergio Perez following his positive test for Covid-19. Nico Hulkenberg was drafted in at the eleventh hour and seemed to hit the ground running. Unluckily, the German driver was not able to take the start of the race due to a fault on the car. Hulkenberg is also expected to be in the car this weekend as Perez has been advised to self-isolate for ten days.

Still the race itself wasn’t all that enthralling. In fact, it’d do well to crack the ‘top 50 most exciting’ races of the decade. But then with just two laps to go Bottas ran wide and appeared to be limping around the circuit. The Finn had suffered a left-front tyre delamination. It proved disastrous for the number 77 car who slipped down to eleventh place. Red Bull immediately called in Verstappen as a pre-caution and he emerged back into second place. The camera quickly picked up the McLaren of Carlos Sainz who was also stricken with a left-front puncture. And if that wasn’t dramatic enough Hamilton next suffered the same fate on the final lap of the race. With Verstappen bearing down on him at a rate of knots Hamilton somehow made it around the lap and to the chequered flag for an unforgettable victory.

The British grand prix had suddenly exploded into life and delivered a stunning run to the flag. Though Red Bull could have won the race had they left Verstappen out on track it was confirmed after the race that they were seeing a worrying level of wear on the tyre. Even with the benefit of hindsight it appears to have been the correct decision to call Verstappen in for fresh tyres.

What we know for sure is that Pirelli will conduct a meticulous investigation this week to determine why the front-left tyre on three cars failed. They’ll get down into the nitty gritty and pour over every single megabyte of data in order to understand what happened. The compounds prescribed for next weekend’s race around Silverstone are a step softer. In other words, the soft tyre shifts from C3 to C4 for the next race. The weather too is expected to be much hotter on race day, which means higher degradation. Unfortunately, it may prompt them to shift the tyre compounds for next weekend’s race around Silverstone. Teams were given a directive by Pirelli, which stated that the hard compound should last for an estimate of 40 laps. What is important to note is that the directive from Pirelli on tyre life is an approximation. Throughout the ever-changing conditions of a 52-lap race there is no way that weather, track condition, car behaviour, or driving style can be taken into account.

While Hamilton, Verstappen, and Leclerc climbed onto the podium Daniel Ricciardo delivered an impressive fourth place finish for Renault. Lando Norris continues to impress with fifth place ahead of Esteban Ocon in sixth. Pierre Gasly was seventh for Alpha Tauri while Alex Albon’s late charge netted him eighth place. Racing Point will be disappointed with only ninth for Lance Stroll ahead of Vettel in tenth. Bottas’s eleventh means he scored zero points on the day and has dropped a nearly insurmountable 30 points behind Hamilton in the driver’s standings.

There is every chance that Pirelli could practice an abundance of caution and shift the tyre compounds for the race this weekend. For the sake of racing and the potential of seeing a great strategic race let’s hope they leave it as is.

All images courtesy of Pirelli Motorsport

August 5, 2020
F1 2020: Austria Gp Preview – It’s A GO….Finally

It is finally here. After months of no on-track action to speak off this weekend the 2020 Formula 1 season will finally kick-off.

The season-opener will run around the picture-perfect Red Bull Ring situated at the foothills of the Styrian Mountains. It’s been more than half a year and an awfully long dry spell for all involved but the Austrian grand prix may make the wait more than worth it.

At the outset every new season there are unknowns. Pre-season testing may have provided a rudimentary pecking order but the Red Bull Ring is a far different prospect than the traditional first race of the season around Australia’s Albert Park circuit. Instead of the unique semi-permanent street circuit F1 2020 will start on an Austrian circuit dominated by straights and heavy braking.

Though the teams all observed a compulsory shutdown period work on improving their cars has been progressing. Mercedes and Ferrari are guaranteed to bring a raft of upgrades to their cars. The number of parts may vary in comparison to the bigger teams but all teams are likely to run updated packages this weekend. Ferrari are supposedly bringing only ‘minor’ upgrades to their car. But it is believed that a new smaller and narrower nose configuration will also be introduced. Reports also suggest that Ferrari are readying an engine upgrade that is rumoured to be worth 20 to 30 BHP which could prove valuable on a circuit dominated by straights.

At Mercedes Technical chief James Allison confirmed that the team has made “significant progress” on the 2020 car and will bring a “chunk” of upgrades to Austria. It might mean that Mercedes will maintain the pre-season favourites tag. But Austria hasn’t been overly kind to Mercedes in the last few years. For one, the traditionally sky-high temperatures have severely affected the Merc on several occasions. However, as it stands the weather is forecast to be in the low twenties with 60% chances of showers on Sunday.

The more than three month delay to racing, caused by the coronavirus pandemic, ensures that the 2020 F1 season will long being remembered as one of the most unusual. In addition to the conjecture around Ferrari’s pace and Mercedes’s ability to preserve their dominance Red Bull too enter into the equation. It’s been seven years since they last won a title and the biggest question around the Austrian-owned team is whether or not a sustained challenge can be mounted for the championship. The opening rounds of this season, which include the double-header in Austria and a third round in Hungary, are circuit tailor-made to the characteristics of the Red Bull car. It is as good a chance as they’ve ever had to assert themselves in the championship fight.

In the midfield too there is great sense of anticipation. Can McLaren maintain their position as best-of-the-rest? They have momentum on their side but team’s financial difficulties add an extra layer of pressure to maximise every point-scoring opportunity. Was the pace shown by Racing Point in pre-season testing legitimate and can they keep their eye on the ball despite the team’s imminent re-branding as Aston Martin? Dubbed the ‘pink Mercedes’ due to its overwhelming similarity to the 2019 Merc the Racing Point team made a big statement in testing. It’s now though that they’ll need to prove that their pace is legitimate. Will Renault, undoubtedly under pressure from France, move forward? For a works team Renault has been languishing further down the field than it should be and must begin to show progress up the grid if it is justify its participation in the sport. Has Williams produced a car capable of scoring points? There were signs early on that the 2020 Williams was at least better than its predecessor. However, the 2019 car didn’t exactly set a high bar. The team seemed cautiously optimistic that it is moving in the right direction.

The 2019 Austrian grand prix, which culminated in a last gasp win for Max Verstappen, was easily one of the best races of the season. If the 2020 Austrian grand prix has even the slightest resemblance to it then we’re in for a cracker.

July 2, 2020