Tag: daniil kvyat

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 Review – Hamilton equals win record

With visits to Mugello and the Nurburgring it is all but confirmed that old school circuits far outclass the passionless supermarket car parks that pass as F1 circuits these days.

The Nurburgring, back in the line-up for the first time since 2013, is a proper challenge to car and driver with the peril of gravel lurking just beyond the edge of the circuit. Friday’s practice sessions were cancelled to due fog and the subsequent inability of the medical helicopter to fly should it be needed. The absence of running on Friday, and extremely cold conditions, heightened the challenge on an already highly technical circuit.

Nevertheless, Valtteri Bottas was able to secure pole position ahead of teammate Lewis Hamilton and the Red Bull of Max Verstappen. Charles Leclerc drove an outstanding lap too to qualify fourth fastest for Ferrari. Saturday morning also brought the announcement that Lance Stroll would be unable to drive for the rest of the weekend due to illness, not Covid related. In stepped super-sub Nico Hulkenberg who had subbed for Checo Perez at Silverstone several races ago.

Miraculously, the rain held off for all of Sunday which left Bottas a clear run into turn one. He momentarily lost the lead to Hamilton but steamed around the outside of turn one to retake P1 while Verstappen followed behind in third. Bottas’s aggression came as a bit of surprise given his reputation of not getting his elbows out when it matters most. Unfortunately, the Finn’s ascendency was short-lived as he locked up into turn one on lap 13 and allowed Hamilton into the lead of the race. While Verstappen was keeping relatively close in third the top three quickly gapped fourth placed Leclerc. The lofty heights of fourth have been uncharted territory for Ferrari in 2020 and it didn’t last very long at the Nurburgring either as Daniel Ricciardo quickly dispatched of Leclerc. It was even worse for Vettel who spun off at turn one while running outside of the points. Vettel was forced into the pits to get rid of his flat-spotted tyres while Kimi Raikkonen, in his 323^rd race, locked up into turn one and careened into the side of George Russell. The Williams drive was forced into retirement with rear suspension damage while Raikkonen was handed a ten-second penalty for causing a collision.

As if surrendering the lead of the race wasn’t bad enough for Bottas it got a whole lot worse on lap 18 retired from the race with a lack of power. The retirement decimated even the smallest chance that Bottas had to win the title. It did prompt an enticing battle for the final step on the podium with Ricciardo, Lando Norris, and Sergio Perez well within range of snapping it up. While Verstappen was cruising in second Alex Albon’s difficulties at Red Bull continued as he wiped the front-wing off Daniil Kvyat’s car by pulling in front of the Alpha Tauri before being completely clear of him. For what can only be described as a rather embarrassing driver error Albon was given a five-second penalty for the incident. It all came to naught though as he too retired from the grand prix with a mechanical issue. He was followed a lap later by Renault’s Esteban Ocon who retired with a hydraulic failure.

Though Verstappen was able to keep Hamilton within six seconds the gap behind the leading duo was heading towards a minute. Ricciardo, running third, in turn held a healthy gap over Norris but the McLaren driver still fancied his chances at third place. It wasn’t to be though as a sensor issue put paid to his race. Norris’s retirement on lap 44 brought out the safety car and set up a ten-lap sprint to the chequered flag. Hamilton and Verstappen pitted while Ricciardo, Perez, and Sainz too followed suit into the pitlane. The Safety Car was a saving grace for Ricciardo who was facing a near impossible task of keeping Perez, on fresh tyres, at bay.

There was little Verstappen could do in second to challenge Hamilton who secured a record-equaling 91^st race win. Ricciardo’s third place finish is the first for Renault since 2011 while Sergio Perez came home in fourth ahead of Sainz in fifth. Pierre Gasly churned out another solid drive in sixth as Charles Leclerc salvaged seventh for Ferrari. Nico Hulkenberg completed only a handful of laps in qualifying before the race and finished a stunning eighth after qualifying 20^th. Romain Grosjean scored his first points of the season in ninth ahead of Antonio Giovinazzi in tenth. The two former teammates Vettel and Raikkonen finished 11^th and 12^th.

The achievement of Michael Schumacher’s 91 race wins seemed a near impossible record to break. Lewis Hamilton’s win in Germany equals that staggering number but there is no doubt whatsoever that it will be surpassed in the coming weeks. Some will always put the Mercedes forward as the reason for Hamilton’s unfathomable success. They would be right but it simply doesn’t tell the whole story. To maintain the motivation and desire and level of skill that he has must be commended. The Schumacher family too recognized Hamilton’s incredible achievement with a presentation of Schumacher’s 2012 Mercedes helmet by son, Mick Schumacher.

October 15, 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: Italian Gp Review – 100% Full Gas

At the midpoint of the 2019 season Red Bull announced that Alex Albon would replace Pierre Gasly with immediate effect. It didn’t come as much of a surprise given Gasly’s less than impressive run in the Red Bull team. But what has been most impressive about this story is the manner in which Pierre Gasly responded to being thrown out of the senior Red Bull team.

There are likely dozens of points that could be elaborated on when it comes to the last eighteen months of Pierre Gasly’s life. But what is most important and most impressive is the revelation of his incredible character and how risen to the very top of Formula 1. In dramatic fashion the 24-year-old Frenchman became the 109^th grand prix winner on unforgettable day.

The race started as normal with Lewis Hamilton leading away from pole position. Carlos Sainz, who qualified an impressive third, made short work of Valtteri Bottas to run second to Hamilton but was unable to hang on to the rear of the Mercedes. Lando Norris roared off the starting line from his sixth place grid slot and scythed past Bottas to run third behind his McLaren teammate for much of the opening stint of the race. Bottas’s dismal start left him in sixth overall and unable to even get close enough to the Renault of Daniel Ricciardo to affect a pass. It’s clear that Bottas has some big questions to ask himself after this race. Whether he will find the answers though seems doubtful.

At the front the race settled relatively quickly with Hamilton easily extending his advantage over Sainz by roughly half a second each lap. After failing to get either car in the top ten shootout in qualifying it hardly seemed possible that Ferrari’s weekend could get any worse. But it did. Sebastian Vettel became the first retirement of the race with brake failure on lap 17. By lap 20 Hamilton had built a gap of around thirteen seconds when Kevin Magnussen pulled out of the race at the exit of Parabolica with a suspected engine issue.

The Haas’s proximity prompted the deployment of the safety car and seemingly presented Hamilton with a perfect opportunity for a cheap pitstop. Alfa Romeo’s Antonio Giovinazzi seized the same opportunity as Hamilton but both failed to notice that the pitlane was closed to facilitate the recovery of Magnussen’s stricken Haas. Meanwhile all the other drivers stayed out and only made their stops once the pitlane was reopened. The race resumed a few laps later with Hamilton still in the lead but with Sainz now down in P8.

A hefty crash into the Parabolica barriers for Charles Leclerc not only brought an end to the Ferrari driver’s race but also necessitated a red flag in order for the car to be recovered and the tyre barrier to be mended. Hamilton and Giovinazzi’s illegal trip into the pitlane netted each of them a ten-second stop/go penalty. After a twenty-five minute delay the race was restarted with Hamilton still leading but yet to serve his penalty. Through pitting just before the Magnussen-safety car Gasly and Kimi Raikkonen found themselves at the sharp-end. The decision to put Raikkonen on the soft tyre for the remainder of the race did not pay dividends as the Finn ran out of the rubber and eventually finished thirteenth.

With Hamilton serving his penalty and emerging in last place it left Gasly in the lead while Raikkonen was quickly swallowed up by the pack. In P2 was Carlos Sainz and the McLaren had a better pace than the Alpha Tauri. But Gasly had crucially built a bit of a buffer while Sainz was making his way to second place. Meanwhile Lance Stroll was fairly secure in third while Norris, in fourth, held off Bottas in fifth. In sixth was Daniel Ricciardo with Lewis Hamilton recovering to seventh overall. Esteban Ocon, Daniil Kvyat, and Sergio Perez rounded out the points paying positions.

Though he came agonizingly close Williams’s Nicholas Latifi ultimately finished eleventh overall. It was a monumental day for F1 as earlier in the week it was announced that the Williams family would be stepping aside from the team after its sale to Doritol investment. Despite being asked to remain as team principal Claire Williams declared her decision to leave the team. Though the team will continue to run under the Williams name it is an end to an unforgettable era of the sport. As the last of the independent teams Williams reached epic heights of a staggering sixteen championship titles, 114 victories, and 312 podiums. And even during their lowest moments they never lost the ethos of what made the team great – never, ever giving up. Through Williams Racings’ 43 years Sir Frank and Claire has written an indelible part of Formula 1’s history. The sport will be irrevocably poorer without them.

As a new era dawns for Williams so does it for Pierre Gasly too. In his return to then Toro Rosso he showed incredible mental strength and gave us all a glimpse of his steely character. And again in Italy we were let into something a bit special as he delivered, under significant pressure, a stunning drive to the chequered flag and the first win of his F1 career.

It may not have been the race that Mercedes, Red Bull, or Ferrari fans would’ve wanted. But many are likely to agree that days like these reaffirm why Formula 1 is greatest sport in the world. Grandé Pierre!

All images courtesy of Pirelli Motorsport

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: Breaking News – F1 Calls Off Season-Opener

Formula 1 has announced that it is calling off the opening round of the 2020 season.

The first race of the new F1 season was scheduled to take place around Australia’s Albert Park circuit this weekend. Despite fears of the coronavirus pandemic F1 surged ahead with plans to kick of its season of racing while several other major sporting codes have called a halt to activities.

Earlier on Thursday afternoon the McLaren team released a statement detailing their withdrawal from the race weekend due to a positive coronavirus test by a team member.

Towards midnight on Thursday all team principals were huddled in a meeting to discuss the way forward. By three am Australian time no decision had been made despite several rumours running rampant that the season-opener was to be postponed. Fans and journalists alike waited seemingly in vain for an official update from the power that be but nothing was forthcoming. It wasn’t until several hours later than an announcement was made that a majority of the teams had decided against racing this weekend.

“We appreciate this is very disappointing news for the thousands of fans due to attend the race” the official statement read. “All parties took into consideration the huge efforts of the AGPC [Australian Grand Prix Corporation], Motorsport Australia, staff and volunteers to stage the opening round of the 2020 FIA Formula One World Championship in Melbourne, however concluded that the safety of all members of the Formula 1 family and the wider community, as well as the fairness of the competition take priority”.

Though there are several aspects that needed to have been considered the amount of time that was taken before an official announcement was forthcoming has not endeared F1 to the racing community of its fans.

While Bahrain has already announced a race ‘behind closed doors’ it is difficult to imagine that it can go ahead. Similarly, the threat that Vietnam could soon be added to the postponement list, along with Australia and China, remains very real. The best-case scenario for F1 2020 is a season-opening race in Zandvoort. But even this remains up in the air.

March 13, 2020
F1 Season Review: Greatest Hits of 2019

In less than one hundred days a brand-new season of Formula 1 will kick off in Australia. A new decade and new challenges awaits but there is one more moment to appreciate the greatest hits of the 2019 season.

Team of the year

The easiest choice would be to pick Mercedes as team of the year. Their staggeringly impressive run of six consecutive double world championship triumphs certainly makes them one of the most prolific teams ever. And such is there record in the Hybrid era that is seems near impossible to be matched or beaten by anyone else.

But the team of the 2019 Formula 1 season is McLaren. Just two years ago, in 2017, McLaren ended the season in ninth place with a paltry thirty points scored by then-drivers Fernando Alonso and Stoffel Vandoorne under the leadership of Eric Boullier. In 2019, now headed by former Porsche LMP1 boss Andreas Seidl, McLaren scored 145 points to finish fourth overall.

It hasn’t been so much of a turnaround for McLaren as it has been a rebuilding. The relationship with Honda never hit its stride and the atmosphere created by one Fernando Alonso simply wasn’t conducive to an environment needed to move a team forward. The appointment of Seidl and various other changes to the management structure to McLaren is one part of a concerted effort that began to stimulate the team’s resurgence.

They haven’t yet reached the point of challenging the ‘Big Three’ (Mercedes, Red Bull, and Ferrari) but they are trending upwards in a manner that is very exciting. The misery that the team endured was tantamount to torture for the once majestic championship outfit. Before Carlos Sainz’s third place in Brazil the team had last visited the podium in 2014. But the podium finish was just a bit of icing on the cake. They also outscored the Renault works team but most impressively had built a car that worked, nearly, in all areas.

Here’s to the dark days of McLaren languishing down the bottom of the field being truly behind them. And here is too an extraordinary resurgence and long may it continue.

Driver of the year

With six world titles a convincing case could be made for Lewis Hamilton. But it is difficult to look beyond Carlos Sainz. Throughout the season the Spaniard continually proved his prowess and exceptional talent. His sixth place finish in the driver’s championship is all the more impressive when his season is deconstructed.

His season started with zero points in the first three rounds and he would fail to score on eight occasions in total, which included three retirements. But the thirteen point scores he did rack up with mightily impressive. From the sixth place in Monaco to the fourth in Hungary and certainly his first-ever podium in Brazil were all marvelous successes. But what truly underlined Sainz’s splendid ability and underlined his tremendous season was the tenth place finish in Abu Dhabi. In the context of Sainz’s season that tenth place finish meant that he finished sixth overall in the driver’s championship and ahead of Alex Albon and Pierre Gasly. And he did by passing Nico Hulkenberg on the final lap of the race too.

There were a lot of doubts when Carlos Sainz severed ties with Red Bull and moved to McLaren, not least of all for the driver himself. But now he’s proven himself more than capable of mixing it with the best of them.

Race of the year

The 2019 German grand prix is likely to go down as of the most chaotic and exhilarating races of all time. But this year’s Austrian grand prix just edges it in the stakes for best race of the year. It was an emotional weekend at the home race of the recently departed Niki Lauda and it turned out to be a race most befitting of the three-time champion.

Anti-stall at the start of the race seemed to fell any chance Max Verstappen had of challenging for the win as he dropped from second to eighth by the first corner of the race. But if unyielding tenacity were a person it would be Max Verstappen. Dazzlingly, he carved his way through the field and by the time the pitstops were sorted he was running fourth.

In the true uncompromising Verstappen fashion he made short work of Seb Vettel on lap 50 and a few laps later dispatched of Valtteri Bottas for second place. Only Charles Leclerc stood in his way now. With three laps to go Verstappen spectacularly barged his way past the Ferrari and was on his way to the most impressive win of his career.

It was an amazing feat for Red Bull to win their home race. But even more so for Honda who had reclaimed the top step of the podium for the first time since 2006. To say that Honda has had a torrid time in F1 would be an understatement. As a proud Japanese company they suffered the blows to their reputation with grace and humility. To see Toyoharu Tanabe, Honda F1’s technical director, in tears is all you needed to know just how difficult it had been and how much the victory meant.

Rookie of the year

Three rookies started the season in Australia and all three conducted themselves in a genuinely impressive manner. But Lando Norris’s relentless consistency and standout performances in, amongst others, Bahrain, Belgium, and Singapore announced the Brit on the world’s biggest motor racing stage.

As the season progressed Norris suffered, effectively, five retirements overall and racked up twelve points-scoring races. Aside from the numbers his race craft proved faultless to the point that most forgot that he was a nineteen-year-old rookie. It is unquestionable that if McLaren should produce a competitive car in 2020 that Lando Norris will be more than equal to the task.

December 17, 2019
2019 Formula 1 Abu Dhabi Grand Prix: Thursday Press Conference – Part 2

Part Two: Pierre GASLY (Toro Rosso), Carlos SAINZ (McLaren) Daniil KVYAT (Toro Rosso), Kimi RÄIKKÖNEN (Alfa Romeo)

Q: Pierre, how’s it been since Interlagos? Have you been home? What’s the reaction been like in Frand?

Pierre GASLY: Yeah, it was a pretty crazy weekend in and, yeah, after the race it was probably the worst celebration I’ve had, because I had to fly straight back home, so 11pm I was in the plane, and landed Monday afternoon back in France. The only thing I really had was a nice dinner with my family, brothers, back in France, in Paris on Monday night, just to celebrate and enjoy the moment altogether. And yeah, it was great to see the reaction back in France. All the news and the support. The messages from everybody after a great race and yeah, my first podium in Formula 1.

And the reaction within the team and within Formula 1 as well.

PG: No, I must say it was quite impressive. The reactions from everyone. Of course it’s been such a rollercoaster for me this season. And just, yeah, to end the season with my first podium in F1, in Toro Rosso, which was their third podium in history, of course, was something really special. So, to celebrate with everyone; mechanics; engineers, it’s also their second podium this year and year, just to see the passion, the excitement that was going on in the paddock in Brazil was something really special.

And of course, 2019’s not over. You’re battling with Carlos Sainz, the man on your right for sixth place…

PG: It’s not the first time we’re battling, is it!

Carlos SAINZ: No!

Q: True, and both tied on 95 points now and, as you say your careers have crossed in the past. How much rests of what happens in that battle this weekend?

PG: I think it makes it really exciting, you know, coming in the last race of the season with something to play in the championship, so really looking forward to that battle. Carlos and McLaren have been fast all year long. Consistent. So, we expect it to be tough but it will be our job to execute the perfect weekend to hold to that sixth place until the end.

Q: Carlos, coming onto you. Let’s start by talking about that sixth place. How confident are you?

CS: I think as confident as we can be but at the same time you’re obviously cautious. You can never know what’s going to happen in the last race but, you know, I already consider it a bit of a success to be fighting for P6. It’s a bit of a bonus because you never expect, when you’re in the midfield, to fight for P6. Maybe you would expect to fight for P7. And now that we have the chance, we’ve created ourselves an opportunity, and we want to take it, obviously. I’m sure it’s not going to be easy. Pierre and Toro Rosso during the last few weekends have been very strong. They’ve executed some really nice races and I’m sure we’re going to have some fun and some tough competition.

Q: And, the podium in Brazil. How do you reflect on it? What was the reaction back home in Spain?

CS: It was good. To see a team celebrate a podium in that way, and to have them in the podium with me was quite special, quite different to what I expected of my first podium but definitely good fun. Then when we went back to the factory. To see a whole factory taking pictures with the trophy, enjoying it with me for a couple of days, was great fun – then I went back home to my family and friends to celebrate a bit – but at the same time, as we have this battle going on for P6, you know I was like, yeah good fun – but at the same time I want to go to go to Abu Dhabi and try to finish off on a high.

Q: Carlos, some people questioned your move to McLaren this year, yet it’s turning into your best season in Formula One. How much satisfaction has it given you?

CS: Obviously quite a lot. I had good feelings when I moved to McLaren, even if things didn’t look very promising at the end of 2018. I did have some conversations with a lot of engineers, a lot of people, Zak. I don’t know, the project itself just gave me good vibes. I don’t know if it has anything to do with the good results but those good vibes. I don’t know if it has anything to do with the good results but those good vibes translated very quickly into results and into a change of approach by McLaren, a very big change in the structure of the team, and all of a sudden we’re here with one race to go, having secured P4 in the standings, the first podium in five years and, all of a sudden, it looks like the right move. I’m very happy, and very pleased to see such a great group of people performing at such a very high level and being so hungry and motivated to move forwards still.

Q: Daniil, coming to you now: you’ve scored a podium, Pierre’s scored a podium, Honda are making good progress. Can you just describe the atmosphere in the team at the minute and how bullish Toro Rosso is about the future?

Daniil KVYAT: Yeah, certainly it was a very strong year for Toro Rosso, perhaps the best in the history you may say, so yeah, it’s obviously great to be able to fight for a very high position in the Constructors’ championship, the highest it has been in recent years. Yeah, so great to be a part of it and the atmosphere in the team this year… I think the team has always performed very well; since the beginning of the year it was quite consistently in the points and always taking the opportunities quite well; with strategy, taking the points which weren’t even there, to still get them was very crucial sometimes and now at the end of the year we find ourselves in a good strong position, so certainly it was also a very good boost for next year.

Q: And what about your own performance this year? You sat out 2018, how do you feel you’ve progressed as a driver in 2019?

DK: I feel very satisfied, to be honest. I would put it in line with one of my best years in F1 so I’m pretty happy. Some races go your way, some races don’t go your way but this is how our midfield works, it’s very tight and some small mistake can cost you some opportunities like myself in Brazil for example. I definitely lost a very big opportunity there which luckily Pierre, for the team, managed to take. Yeah, but these are the parts of our sport that we all know. I think this year I have been a lot more better driver than my last years in F1.

Q: Kimi, coming on to you: it’s been an up and down kind of season for Alfa Romeo. When you reflect on it, what has the team done well and where does it need to improve?

Kimi RAIKKONEN: I think it’s two different halves of the year where the first part of the year was pretty decent and most of the races and also we had some bad races around Barcelona, Monaco but it improved from there and then since the summer break, first we had good speed still but didn’t score any points as a team and then it’s been very difficult apart from the last couple of races where we at least had some speed to fight in the top ten. Only in the last one could we score good points with two cars but it’s a bit too late, looking more as a team halfway through but that’s how it goes. I think we learned some things; last race we brought a new front wing which helped a bit, so we’re still trying to improve so it’s all learning for next year and we try to do a better job as a team.

Q: Kimi, how much have you enjoyed this season, away from the pressure cooker environment of Ferrari?

KR: I don’t think the pressure was any different. Obviously we want to do well and like I said, it’s a shame we’ve kind of fallen down as a team but as a driver, I think everyone puts a lot of pressure on themselves and in the end the work that we do over the race weekend is not really any different whichever team you’re in, it’s just that the meetings are very similar between teams, the driving is there and the racing. Outside of racing it has been less busy so that’s nice part of it plus obviously the team is very close to where I live so I don’t need to travel to different countries, in many ways it helps, I have a bit more time to stay with the family. It’s a nice thing.

Q: And this is race number 312 for you, taking you ahead of Fernando Alonso to second on the all-time list of starts. Are you excited to come back next year and become the all-time most experienced…

KR: On that, not. It gives me nothing but I’m excited now to have another go and we can improve from this year and learn the lessons from what we’ve done wrong and what we’ve done good and get a bit closer to the front but time will tell, it’s way too early. Once we start running the cars in the first race next year we will get a good idea.

QUESTIONS FROM THE FLOOR

Q: (Beatrice Zamuner – Motorlat) Pierre, after your latest achievement in Brazil, do you personally feel you needed to go back to Toro Rosso and let some pressure off your shoulders in order to perform at a higher level?

PG: I don’t think so. l think in a way it was a positive chance to show myself as well the right things and the things I needed. Of course I’ve seen in both teams and I know what worked, what didn’t and then on both sides. It obviously was a good experience to see that but I don’t think it was needed to perform at a better level because I don’t feel that I’m performing better, I’m still driving the same way, approaching every weekend the same way. I always try to deliver the best performance I can and give 110 percent of myself every single weekend. It’s not like I feel I’ve changed anything but it was good to get the results in this second part of the season.

Q: (Adrian Rodriguez Huber – Agence EFE) Carlos, your Dad is a very great champion. Could you share with us what he told you after your podium?

CS: Oof. He was probably happier than me. My Dad has been there with me since I’m three years old, travelling the world, travelling, sacrificing a lot of stuff for me and to become a successful driver, teaching me a lot of things. And once the podium happened, he knew all the effort that I had put into this year in the change of environment, going to live in UK etc, so he’s been very close to that change and yeah, as I said, I think he was happier than I was. Probably the only guy but yeah, happier.

Q: (Jesus Balseiro – Diario AS) Carlos, last season you were dropped by Red Bull and Renault but this season you have scored more points than both Renault drivers and you’re fighting in the championship against two Red Bull drivers. Which message do you think you’re sending this season and also is there any kind of feelings of revenge?

CS: No. Obviously I didn’t go into this season with willing revenge or anything like that. I have a lot of friends in Renault and in Red Bull who I still feel are happy for me to do well now at McLaren. I got a lot of messages from people, congratulating me and at the same time you go into a Formula One season just wanting to perform at your best, the same way I went into 2017, ’18 and this year I’ve just got the results on board and I’m just very proud of it.

Q: (Heikki Kulta -Turun Sanomat) Kimi, your first season without a podium since 2014. Which one was more difficult to go through, this season or the first season with Ferrari?

KR: I think the expectation at the start of the year is completely different in those two different teams. For sure this year has generally been much better than if you have such a difficult year in Ferrari as a team or as a driver.

Q: (Daria Panova – Motorlat) Next season [sic, 2021] we will have three-day race weekends; what do you think about it? Isn’t it too much to have so many activities in one day for you?

KR: It should happen next year, already. I mean today is an absolutely useless day. Honestly, we’re going to talk the same things, half of the things we talk at least on Sunday after the last race and tomorrow again. I think it will be a good step because people don’t need to be away that many days and there’s no cost and hotels and (indistinct) that much and all things will be better for the team… so stop wasting time.

CS: I have a bit of mixed feelings. Personally I like when Formula One goes to a place it makes a big impact so it becomes a week of having Formula One there. I think it still involves too much travelling and too much effort from the mechanics but I think this is a way of preparing for a bigger calendar which is something I’m totally against. I mean 22/21 races already feels too much. I think that last extra day that we take off doesn’t fully compensate those 22/25 races that we want to have in the future.

PG: I think everyone in this room is happy about it: more days at home, more days with the family. I think it’s needed, clearly I agree with what Kimi says, that not so much for us, because I would say we almost have the easy life, easiest life in the paddock but for all the guys – mechanics, engineers – well, you can see, talking with them, that to have a personal life in that world, working in that environment is really difficult. No, I think it’s a good thing but then after, I join the point of Carlos, that if we increase the number of races as well, it’s never going to balance it, so I think it’s a good step for ’21 but hopefully they don’t increase the number of races too much. That’s about it.

DK: Not much left to say but yeah, I agree with that, that more races will… it will become more races but we obviously need to shorten the weekend, which is good. Maybe more real car driving, also some more testing and less simulator for example, from my side, I think because we also need… we don’t need to forget that with the racing we also do a lot of simulator, a lot of PR events, so it becomes a very difficult calendar. Some guys have families within the team including myself and yeah, so I agree with what’s been said.

November 29, 2019
F1 2019: US GP Review – Six Titles for Hamilton

The 2019 American grand prix wont go down as one of the most exciting races but it will undoubtedly be remembered as the day when Lewis Hamilton became a six-time Formula 1 world champion.

Valtteri Bottas made the perfect start from pole position and drove a stellar race to take the seventh win of his career. The victory in Texas makes 2019 Bottas’s most successful season to date in which he will finish as runner-up in the driver’s championship.

Max Verstappen ran comfortably second for the opening stint of the race while Hamilton, starting fifth, made relatively short work of both Ferrari’s of Charles Leclerc and Sebastian Vettel. A cunningly slow formation lap from Bottas had meant that neither Ferrari was able to get their medium compound tyres in the operating window that subsequently saw them struggle for grip.

In addition to struggling for grip there was clearly something amiss with Vettel’s Ferrari as Lando Norris and Daniel Ricciardo easily passed him. Vettel appeared to be recovering and closing the gap to the McLaren and Renault ahead of him but a few laps later the German driver suffered a startling right-rear suspension failure. It didn’t get any better for the Italian team as Leclerc ran a distant fourth for the remainder of the race without ever having the pace to threaten even the last step of the podium.

Up front Bottas and Verstappen opted for a two-stop strategy while Hamilton banked on a one-stop strategy. However, unlike in Mexico a week earlier Hamilton was not able to hold onto the lead. On lap 52 a charging Bottas swept past his teammate and into the lead. Hamilton’s problems weren’t over though as Verstappen too closed to within less than a second of him in the closing stages.

However, the Dutchman never got close enough to attempt an overtake and eventually finished third while Leclerc trundled home a distant fourth.

After being squeezed off the track, forced into the pitlane on lap 1, and being plumb last Alex Albon drove a brilliant race to bring his Red Bull home in fifth. The Thai driver, only seven races into his Red Bull career, has grown in confidence at every race weekend and seems to be a shoe-in to remain at the team for 2020.

Daniel Ricciardo too delivered an impressive driver to finish sixth in the Renault ahead of the ever-impressive McLaren pair of Lando Norris and Carlos Sainz in seventh and eighth. Nico Hulkenberg was ninth while for a second straight week Daniil Kvyat was given a last-lap penalty for causing a collision. Sergio Perez, the casualty of the collision was promoted to tenth as a result of the Russian’s penalty.

One of the most beautiful things about sport is that it cannot be predicted. There was simply no way to know that the young boy from humble beginnings in Stevenage would one day become a six time Formula 1 world champion.

There will be those who protest vehemently against the idea that Hamilton is one of the greatest drivers in the history of the sport. And while opinions can certainly be made they cannot be quantified. But titles can and Lewis Hamilton has six of them.

All images courtesy of Pirelli Motorsport

November 4, 2019