Tag: Formula 1

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
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: Belgium Gp Review – Hamilton, One hand on the trophy

The writing was on the wall as early as Saturday qualifying during which Lewis Hamilton secured a dominant pole position. The only chance, and it was a small one, that anyone would have of delaying his progress was at the start of the race. However, he led serenely from the front and strolled on to the top step of the podium for his fourth win in Belgium.

Valtteri Bottas came home in second place some eight seconds adrift of Hamilton. The Finn now languishes a massive fifty points behind in the driver’s standings and has seemingly no chance of getting his hands on the coveted trophy. For some of the opening laps Bottas kept himself relatively close to Hamilton’s gearbox. However, we he asked for an increased power mode in order to attack his teammate it was shot down by the pitwall. Effectively, the team had ordered Bottas not to race his teammate and he obeyed. For Mercedes Bottas is the perfect wingman to Hamilton. Yes, he may sometimes score a pole and maybe even a few wins but he is never going to disrupt Hamilton enough to truly take the fight to him over an entire season. The chance to win the title this year has already gone for Valtteri Bottas. Since joining in 2017 he has never mounted a serious and sustained challenge and is very much in danger of becoming F1’s nearly man. For while Mercedes will be happy with Bottas as a second driver at this stage there is some serious talent, in the form of George Russell, ready and waiting to slot into the Mercedes team.

Max Verstappen racked up another podium finish but described his race as fairly boring. The Red Bull driver was caught somewhat in no man’s land, as he wasn’t quick enough to challenge the Mercs and saw no one behind mounting an assault on his third place either. There is no doubt that Verstappen is ready to win a championship however he simply doesn’t have the car to challenge the might of Mercedes weekend in and weekend out. He can try his level best and sometimes even snatch the odd win but the reality is that Mercedes will not be conquered in 2020.

Formula 1 has always been better off when it has produced a battle for the championship titles but in 2020 the question is not if Hamilton will take his seventh crown but rather when. A dominant pole on Saturday saw the writing on the wall for 47 points It will have to be a bungling of monumental proportions for Mercedes and Hamilton to lose the titles from here.

Daniel Ricciardo not only set the fastest lap of the race but also drove a stellar race to finish fourth in the Renault ahead of teammate Esteban Ocon in fifth. The low-downforce setup adopted by Renault for the race paid huge dividends and will bode well for this weekend’s race in Monza too. Alex Albon was sixth in other Red Bull ahead of McLaren’s Lando Norris in seventh. Pierre Gasly’s choice to start of the hard compound tyre paid off the final stint of the race as he netted an impressive eighth place finish. Racing Point would likely have hoped for more on the power-dominant Spa circuit but has to be satisfied with ninth and tenth for Lance Stroll and Sergio Perez respectively.

While Carlos Sainz was unable to take the start of the race due to an exhaust failure only two driver retired from the race proper. Antonio Giovinazzi lost the rear of his and destroyed his Alfa Romeo. The pursuing George Russell had to take avoiding action which pitched the Williams into the barriers. Though both drivers escaped unscathed the incident brought out the safety car.

It was by all accounts as miserable a day for Ferrari as they have experienced in some time. With thirteenth for Seb Vettel and fourteenth for Charles Leclerc there was never even an inkling of scoring any point. In fact so poor was the works Ferrari team performance that Kimi Raikkonen easily finished ahead of the pair of them in a customer Alfa Romeo. It used to be an honour to don the red overalls and drive for Ferrari and maybe one day it would be again. But what is happening in 2020 is utterly embarrassing. Some serious conversations need to be had over the next while and some serious changes will need to be implemented if Ferrari is ever going to recover from the doldrums.

To add insult to an epic lack of pace F1 heads to Monza this weekend, an even more power sensitive circuit. If Spa was a painful experience Monza is likely to be even more so. The only saving grace is that the grandstands around Monza will be empty which means that, at the very least, Ferrari wont have to face up to the Tifosi.

All images courtesy of Pirelli Motorsport

August 31, 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: British Gp Preview – Silverstone Primed for Merc Dominance

After a short break F1 returns this weekend for the first of two races at Britain’s Silverstone circuit.

Given what’s transpired in the first three rounds of the season it is difficult to look past Mercedes for the victory. With one win for Valtteri Bottas and two for Lewis Hamilton the Mercedes team has established itself well ahead of the rest of the field. Red Bull, seemingly the closest challenger, languished well behind in Hungary and chalked up their lack of pace to setup issues.

Traditionally the Hungaroring, and the Red Bull Ring for that matter, have been circuits where Red Bull has excelled in the last few years. But it hasn’t been the case in 2020 and it all has to do with timing. By the time F1 normally arrives in Austria and Hungary teams would have already run several races and would know their cars inside and out. What we know of Red Bull in the last few years is that they have tended to start the year slowly and gradually built momentum as the season progresses. However, in 2020 they haven’t had that luxury.

Instead they arrived in Austria and Hungary still learning the behaviour of the car and still discovering exactly how to extract best performance from it. Unfortunately for Red Bull the 2020 season will not afford any time for teams or drivers to find their way. The good news is that the calendar has been extended by three more races with the inclusion the Nürburgring, Portimaõ, and Imola. More good news is that the Red Bull does appear to be a quick car but unlocking the pace is reliant on hitting the setup nail on the head. And even then it might not be enough, on merit, to challenge the might of Mercedes.

Valtteri Bottas sits only five points behind teammate Hamilton. In the next two races at Silverstone he has a big opportunity to not only regain the lead in the driver’s standings but to land a significant mental blow on Hamilton. It’s been repeatedly proven that over the course of a season it is highly unlikely that Hamilton will be beaten in terms of pace.

The only way to ensure eventual victory over the six-time champion is to get inside his head, as proven in 2016 by Nico Rosberg. It will be a monumental effort but if Bottas manages to beat him two weeks running, especially at Silverstone, he will force Hamilton to take notice and adjust his approach.

For Ferrari it was slightly better in Hungary but still nowhere near where they are expected to be. A restructuring back in Maranello has taken some of the pressure off team principal Mattia Binotto but there is a substantial amount of work ahead of Ferrari to return to the top step of the podium. Silverstone should produce a better yardstick for the upgrades introduced in race two but the power deficit of their engine will likely be even more telling around the British circuit.

For much of the first half of 2020 the Formula 1 season was seriously in doubt. It is a real treat then to have back-to-back races on, arguably, one of the most iconic and historic circuits in the world. Silverstone hasn’t only been on the F1 calendar since 1950 but was the first circuit to host a championship race. The power dominant circuit has been re-modeled since and newish layout is possibly even better than its predecessor. Formula 1 too has raced through seven decades that has delivered unforgettable moments and memories. This latest iteration seems primed for Mercedes domination unless Max Verstappen can coax enough pace out of his Red Bull to contest the victory.

July 29, 2020
F1 2020: Hungarian Gp Review – Merc in a class of one

Ninety-one race victories and seven world championship titles seemed inaccessible for so long. But now it is case of when rather than if Mercedes and Lewis Hamilton will reach and break the lofty records set by the great Michael Schumacher.

Lewis Hamilton cruised to a dominant victory in round three of the 2020 championship. An eighth win around the Hungaroring, with a fastest lap and pole position to boot, has also given Hamilton the lead in the driver’s standings. So comfortably dominant was Hamilton’s pace that he was able to pit near the end of the race and still emerge well ahead of second-placed Max Verstappen and Valtteri Bottas who completed the podium in third.

The races started in damp condition but the switch to slick tyres happened within a few laps of the race start. There was drama before the race even started for Red Bull as Verstappen fell foul of the slippery conditions on the way to the grid. The Dutchman clouted a barrier with the front-left of his car breaking the track rod and front-wing. Somehow his mechanics were able to change the track rod in record time to get their driver into the race. Max Verstappen may have been voted Driver of the Day by fans on social media but the real MVPs were unquestionably his mechanics.

Saturday qualifying confirmed Racing Point’s pace as they locked out the second row of the grid with Lance Stroll and Sergio Perez. It is often easy to dismiss Lance Stroll seeing as his father owns the team he’s driving for. But his performance and fourth place finish in the Hungarian Gp deserves praise. He thoroughly outpaced Checo Perez whom is the much more highly rated of the Racing Point drivers.

Alex Albon recovered from a nightmarish qualifying position of 13^th to finish fifth ahead of Ferrari’s Sebastian Vettel in sixth. Ferrari’s woes were eased somewhat with Vettel but Charles Leclerc was only able to bring his Ferrari home in 11^th. It’s going to be a long old season and, unfortunately, the light at the end of the tunnel is nowhere near in sight for the Scuderia.

Sergio Perez was seventh for Racing Point however Renault hit them with another protest after the race. Renault had also lodged a protest with the FIA following the Stryrian Gp (Austria Part 2) challenging the legality of the Racing Point’s car design. Racing Point has made no secret about the fact that they had copied, from pictures, the design of the 2019 Mercedes. Renault believe though that Mercedes lent more of a helping hand than was legal.

Renault would likely not have raised the issue if they were ahead of Racing Point on pace, but they aren’t. As it were Daniel Ricciardo finished eighth for Renault ahead of McLaren’s Carlos Sainz in ninth and Haas F1’s Kevin Magnussen in tenth. Magnussen had finished ninth on the track but was subsequently dealt a ten-second-time penalty for receiving prohibited instructions during the formation lap.

On current pace it is clear that Hamilton might only have one challenger in 2020 – Valtteri Bottas. Valtteri Bottas started the season like he has in the last few years. Victory in race one is almost a given for the Finn but inevitably he is bested by Hamilton in the next few races. Bottas made two mistakes in the Hungarian grand prix. A stutter, nearly a jump start, at the beginning of the race saw him lose several places but luckily avoid a penalty as he was adjudged to still be in his grid slot despite a small amount of relative movement before the lights went out. The second slip-up was his inability to overtake Verstappen despite having significantly fresher tyres and boatload more pace. Yes, overtaking around the Hungarian circuit isn’t the easiest feat but if Bottas is serious about taking the challenge to Hamilton then he must make that pass for second. The fact is that Bottas is not going to beat Hamilton, over a season, on pace. The only way of beating Lewis Hamilton is to get inside his head. Bottas needs to be utterly relentless and to make Hamilton aware that he isn’t going to yield.

The good news for Bottas is that there is unlikely to be a consistent challenge from anywhere else. Mercedes Benz is simply in a class of its own. The on-board footage of Hamilton’s qualifying lap pretty much defied the laws of gravity so ridiculously planted was the Merc around the Hungaroring.

It is quite astonishing that the Mercedes factory and engineers is still able to produce an even quicker car than they have in the previous six years. Every year the car created is a masterpiece of engineering and innovation to the point where one thinks it surely cannot get any better. But it does. And what they have conjured with the W11 in 2020 is gob-smacking. It is unfathomable to imagine that the championship titles will be going anywhere other than Mercedes’s undoubtedly overflowing trophy cabinet in Brackley. In fact, the rest would do well to get a win off them this season, on merit.

July 23, 2020
F1 2020 Game Review: Codemasters Set New Benchmark

When Codemasters took over the franchise of F1 games there were those who had doubts and there were those that had a wish list twice as long Belgium’s Spa-Francorchamps circuit.

Year on year the doubters have been silenced and Codemasters have steadily chipped away at the lengthy wish lists. But surely those most outlandish dreams on said wish lists were assumed to be mere pipe dreams destined to remain fantasy. After all, it is a title based on the F1 season of a given year; a race around a set calendar with real-world teams. You would assume then that there’s only so much evolution that can take place in terms of gameplay. But Codemasters has set such a lofty benchmark for itself with every new F1 release that now even some of the most incredible wishes have been granted.

Not only has Codemasters produced a brilliant F1 racing game but also they have combined it with a fully-fledged management sim. In F1 2020 you are the boss. In the new ‘My Team’ features players can, for the first time ever, create their own teams from scratch and line it up on the F1 grid as the 11^th team in the paddock.

You won’t only be the boss though as you’ll be pulling double-duty as a driver too. In addition to customizing your own character there is a whole host of important decisions to be made. From selecting a team name, a second driver, a new livery, main sponsors, and an engine supplier to managing the various departments the new game mode is stuffed full of content that will keep you busy and engaged for some time to come.

The handling model of the title has been overhauled too. In many instances the handling of the 2020 cars feels slightly easier to manage but you’ll have to take more care accelerating out of corners as the cars now have slightly less traction. There are a litany of things that standout in F1 2020 from the razor sharp graphics to the minute details of the asphalt on the different track surfaces. The sound deserves its own mention. From the ultra-realistic gear shifts to the throaty off-throttle growl of the Honda engine to the plank of the Alpha Tauri skimming along the main strait of Brazil’s Interlagos circuit – the sound in F1 2020 is a marvel.

A tour, or several, around the newly added Zaandvoort circuit is highly recommended too. The experience is a spectacular tear around the undulating Dutch circuit akin to an exhilarating rollercoaster jaunt. You don’t have to feel daunted by F1 2020 either as a new set of assists allows even the most inexperienced gamers to try their hand at it and have fun while doing so.

In addition to the sparkly new features it also maintains several customary game modes (Time Trial, Grand Prix) including a traditional career mode, which allows the player to step into any of the current F1 teams and perform simply as a driver. And if you’re not ready for the cutthroat world of F1 you can ply your trade at F2 level with the full rostrum at your disposal.

If you are looking for the most complete racing experience possible then look no further than F1 2020 by Codemasters. Dazzlingly authentic, stunningly engrossing, F1 2020 is a wonder.

July 15, 2020
F1 2020: Styrian Gp Review – Hamilton Opens Win Account

Lewis Hamilton has taken his first win of the 2020 season with teammate Valtteri Bottas in second to make it one-two for Mercedes. Though he never had a true chance of fighting for the win Max Verstappen took the final step on the podium for Red Bull.

A severe rainstorm nearly saw the cancellation of Saturday qualifying but fortunately a break in the weather allowed the session to go ahead. In extremely difficult conditions all driver performed brilliantly but none were as dazzling as Lewis Hamilton who secured pole position by a staggering 1.2 seconds over Verstappen.

After qualifying tenth and eleventh for the second race in a row it didn’t seem like it could get worse for Ferrari. But it did as Charles Leclerc was given a three-place grid penalty for ignoring yellow flags in qualifying. It dropped the Monegasque driver to fourteenth on the grid from which he never recovered. A cautious start from Vettel saw him side by side-by-side into turn 3 with the Racing Point of Sergio Perez and George Russell’s Williams. In what can only described as a rush of blood to the head Leclerc shoved his Ferrari up the inside of Vettel, clunked across the inside kerb, and destroyed the rear-wing of his teammate’s car. The incident, which was far too optimistic, ended both Ferrari drivers’ races. It also accounted for the only safety car period of the race.

Daniel Ricciardo and Esteban Ocon fought briefly on track before Ocon was called into the garage to park his Renault with suspected cooling issues. Up front Hamilton was five seconds in the lead and undoubtedly managing the race. Verstappen and Red Bull rolled the dice with an early stop for the medium tyres but he simply didn’t have the pace to challenge Hamilton. In fact, Verstappen had picked up some front-wing damage, which ultimately left him defenseless against a late charge from Valtteri Bottas. The pair put on an entertaining fight for second place but the Finn was clean through on the next lap with Verstappen unable to do much about it.

While Verstappen was happy enough on the third step of the podium Alex Albon finished fourth in the second Red Bull but the Thai-born driver was significantly off his Dutch teammate’s pace. In fact he just held off a racy Sergio Perez. The Mexican driver attempted a move on the final lap of the race but came away with front-wing damage for his effort.

Enter Lando Norris. Norris didn’t have the pace of last week’s Austrian grand prix but he delivered yet another stunning drive. The young McLaren driver started the final lap of the race in seventh and finished a stunning fifth by the chequered flag delivering yet another stonking final lap. Perez eventually finished sixth while his Racing Point teammate, Lance Stroll made a late lunge on Ricciardo to finish seventh. Behind Ricciardo in eighth was the second McLaren of Carlos Sainz in ninth ahead of Daniil Kvyat who secured the final point in tenth for Alpha Tauri.

It was a ‘run away and hide’ victory for Hamilton but the Brit also held some pace in hand. Formula 1 next heads to the Hungaroring for the third round of the 2020 season this weekend.

All images courtesy of Pirelli Motorsport

July 14, 2020
2020 Formula 1 Styrian Grand Prix: Sunday Press Conference

DRIVERS

1 – Lewis HAMILTON (Mercedes)

2 – Valtteri BOTTAS (Mercedes)

3 – Max VERSTAPPEN (Red Bull Racing)

TRACK INTERVIEWS

(Conducted by Martin Brundle )

Q: Lewis, congratulations, normal service resumes: pole position, victory. You had it covered today.

Lewis HAMILTON: Firstly I just want to say a big thank you to my team and everyone back at the factory. This has been… what a weird year it is but it is great to be back up here and to be driving and to be driving with this kind of performance. The team did a fantastic job with the strategy and then it was just for me to keep it together, stay off the kerbs and bring it home.

Q: You didn’t quite get the point for fastest lap, that went to Carlos Sainz in the McLaren on a fresh set of tyres, but you had to look after the car a little bit through the race did you?

LH: Yeah, well I tried to get the fastest lap but of course on 40 lap-old mediums I wasn’t going to get it over someone on new, fresh tyres. But that’s OK, I’m so grateful to be back in first place and honestly it feels like a long time coming, obviously since the last race last year, and to come back this weekend after a difficult weekend last week, this is a great, great step forwards.

Q: it was certainly a champion’s drive and we get to race again just next weekend don’t we?

LH: I love this. I love back-to-backs. Can we just go back-to-back all year long. I might need a holiday in between though!

Q: Valtteri, you’re still leading the world championship, that’s the good news, but Lewis had the pace today.

Valtteri BOTTAS: Yeah, Lewis started from the pole, he had a good start, so he could really control the race and there was not so much happening as last weekend. But from my side, I think today was damage limitation, so still got good points, still leading, so it’s not too bad. Yesterday was not ideal so that’s why no 25 points today.

Q: A good fight with Max. You got past him, he got past you, but eventually you got the job done in the end. Exciting at Turn 4 there?

VB: Yeah, it was a good battle with him. Obviously I think I had quite a bit more pace than him at the end as we extended the first stint, but yeah racing closely is always good fun.

Q: So you can leave Austria and head to Hungary very satisfied?

VB: Could have been more satisfied but it’s been a not bad first couple of races so looking forward to next week.

Q: Great drive Max, you tried your best to split the Mercedes and gave it everything you had.

Max VERSTAPPEN: Yeah, I tried but we’re just a bit too slow, so I pushed as hard as I could and also when Valtteri was trying to pass me I tried to make it a bit difficult. I knew he was going to get by one lap later but it was at least fun because the rest of the race was pretty boring. A podium is good but still a lot of work to do.

Q: You got points on the board. Can you find any speed between now and next weekend? Have you got any goodies, any presents coming in the car?

MV:I don’t know yet. We’ll look into it and then we’ll see next week.

PRESS CONFERENCE

Q: Lewis, many congratulations. It’s been a pretty dominant couple of days for you with that pole position yesterday and the win today. Now, races are never as easy as they look, or are they? Were there any concerns for you today?

LH: Thank you. It’s never easy. It was a challenge this weekend, especially with the Red Bulls really picking up their pace on Friday and we obviously had some sort of issue that we were able to rectify from Friday afternoon. Nothing major. And also, the team did a fantastic job over the week to improve on some of the issues we had in the last race. Today, being able to attack a little bit more and really utilise the car… I think the Red Bulls…. well Max, was quite quick today, so it just shows that they’re definitely not a pushover. I think they’ve done a fantastic job so we’ve got to stay on our toes. We’ve got to go to places like Hungary, where the shorter Red Bull is usually very, very strong. Otherwise, it’s been a great two days and a great way to bounce back from a difficult weekend in the first weekend, where Valtteri was incredibly strong and just a big, big thank you to everyone back at the factory and everyone here who has stayed. The team has stayed all week and been in every single day, not leaving a stone unturned, so that’s a huge confidence boost.

Q: Valtteri, P4 on the grid to P2 at the flag. You mentioned damage limitation earlier. How was the performance of the car?

VB: I think the performance of the car was great, obviously yesterday as well I should have been stronger. There was obviously some things affecting the performance but even from my side the lap was not that clean and I should have been at least P2, so that’s why in some things I’m going to have a look in the mirror why today was a bit more difficult and could have been possibly a good battle with Lewis. But I think, from where I started and how the race went, I think it felt like I and us as a team, we could really maximise everything, so being able to, as a team, get the first 1-2 of the year, only the second race, is obviously really impressive. Like Lewis said, I’m just really thankful for everyone. It’s a privilege to drive for this team. But, of course, I’m not 100 per cent happy because I didn’t win. That’s how it goes as a driver but Lewis did a great job this weekend and… yeah… still points-wise it’s still early days and everything is looking good, so that’s why I can’t wait for the future.

Q: Max, you were carrying some front wing damage for a large proportion of that race. How much was that compromising the performance of the car?

MV: I don’t know, I didn’t look in the data. I was just pushing as hard as I could to try and stay with them, y’know? But clearly, it’s still not good enough. The gaps, compared to the guys behind were massive. I was a bit shocked. I tried everything I could but it’s still not enough. So, we’ve still got some work to do but to bounce back from zero points last week to a podium now is a good start – but I think, as a team, we want to win and we want to fight for the Championship and if you want to fight for the Championship of course you need to win races, so yeah, we need to look into it. I think we were losing quite a bit on the straight as well. So it’s a bit of both at the moment. Just need to keep on working harder to try and close the gap.

VIDEO CONFERENCE

Q: (Alex Kalinauckas – Autosport) Lewis, how much was the gearbox issue over the kerbs, how much did that affect you again today and did you have to drive within yourself as a result – or were you able to push flat-out throughout?

LH: No, it wasn’t a problem today. The guys did a great job during the week, understanding what the issue was. It was nothing particularly major but of course it could have had quite large consequences, so, they did a great job to rectify it and we haven’t really heard them mention it since we started the weekend. So, we were able to drive as normal today.

Q: (Scott Mitchell – The Race) Max, you said you haven’t dived into the data. Can you just talk a little bit through how the car was changing and handling through the race. Heard you talking about some traction issues or driveability issues at times. How was the car for you as the race developed?

MV: It was OK. Of course when the tyres are dropping off automatically you struggle a little more with the balance but there was nothing like dramatic, just the last 10-12 laps I started to struggle with the tyres but that’s it.

Q: (Dieter Rencken – Racing Lines) Max, we heard you querying the timing of your pitstop, and then you seemed to run out of tyres towards the end. Do you believe that was the decisive factor?

MV: No, we were just too slow so we can do whatever we want: pitting early, late or the same, I don’t think it’s going to change the end result. So, at the time I thought we were pitting a bit early, and I knew of course that towards the end of the race I was going to run out of tyres but yeah, it is what it is. I said also on the radio at one point, never mind, just get on with the job.

Q: (Mark Hughes – The Race) Question for Max. In the initial part of the race it looked like you were hanging on to Lewis reasonably well but then they seemed to step it up. Is that a problem that you had or do you think that they just had performance in hand?

MV: No, I think it’s more just Lewis pace-managing. Of course, he knows my lap times, that the gap is not closing or growing. I’m just doing my laps. There’s always a bit of margin but if I would push more, Lewis would push more, so yeah. You could see once you have to push a bit more and you have the tyres to do so, then I’m just a bit too slow.

Q: Max, how confident are you that you’re going to be more competitive in Hungary next weekend?

MV: Well, we’ll just find out, don’t we! Honestly, at the moment I’m not really… I don’t know. That’s the simple answer: I don’t know. But I hope it’s going to be a bit better.

Q: (Andrew Benson – BBC) Valtteri, we know all athletes have strong self-confidence, but when Lewis has a weekend like he has this weekend and a performance on Saturday like he did, how hard is it to keep that belief that you can beat him to the Championship?

VB: I think in any sport, and especially in Formula 1 – it’s quite a special sport, it’s quite easy to doubt yourself – but for the moment I have no reason to. Obviously over the years you find the right tools, how to find your confidence and the trust in yourself and what you are doing. I have no reason to doubt any of my ability or skills. I know Lewis had a strong weekend. He did a good job. Also, based on last weekend, I know what I’m capable of. So, I really feel many improvements in my driving since last year – so that’s why I’m confident it’s going to be a good battle for the Championship this year. So, I’m not going to let one weekend, even multiple weekends, drag me down. I’ve learned that. Just going to focus on the job and improving myself as we go.

Q: (Mathias Brunner – Speedweek.com) For Max: how and when did the damage to the front wing happen, and how much of a difference did that make to the balance of the car?

MV: I didn’t know that. They just suddenly told me that I had damage to the front wing, so honestly I don’t think it was doing that much. It’s of course not ideal but I also realised that my rear end plates were also falling off, like a few bits. I don’t know, the balance is just fine but it’s just not fast enough over a lap so we just need to work on a bit of power on the straights and a bit more grip.

Q: But was the front wing damage as bad as Spain 2018; do you remember that?

MV: Yeah, that was not so lovely. It was fine, yeah, there is a bit of the endplate missing but honestly they told me that I suddenly had wing damage and honestly, while driving, it felt alright.

Q: (Alex Kalinauckas – Autosport) Max, you said that you were shocked by the gap to the guys behind. Now that includes your teammate so I just wondered how costly was it today, not having Alex up there with you, particularly when it looked like Mercedes were waiting to play the threat of the undercut against you with Valtteri?

MV: No, it wouldn’t have mattered, at the end. No. I don’t think so. It’s of course nicer, also for himself, to be up there but I don’t think today it would have mattered like last year, for example, in Hungary or whatever.

Q: (Mark Hughes – The Race) Valtteri, when you came out after your stop, much newer tyres than Max, you were catching immediately but then it seemed to stabilise and it looked as though it wasn’t going to happen and then you seemed to get a second wind. What was going on there?

VB: Yeah, initially it was good. I think why the lap time stabilised, I don’t know if it was shown on TV but I went through quite a bit of traffic, there were many backmarkers and there was actually some of them, it was pretty shocking that sometimes I spent more than a lap with them having blue flags and just not moving away. They were racing each other in front of me and not really caring that they had blue flags so I hope that will be looked into so I think that’s why I lost quite a bit of momentum that time and then finally got again through pretty good free air and managed to find the rhythm again and really then it was pretty consistent and the car felt good and the pace was good so I think that was it.

Q: (Andrew Benson – BBC) Lewis, we saw you do a black power salute, both stand on the car after the race and on the podium. There was another anti-racism protest before the race, it looked a bit messier than last week with not everybody there. Have you thought about how you’re going to continue this push through the rest of the year and how are you going to bring the rest of the Formula One drivers along with you?

LH: Well, we’re learning along the way. I think this weekend the drivers spoke after the drivers’ briefing about what we intended to do. The question was how long do we… some people were asking how do we have to continue to do this? Some felt like they’d… one was enough last week and I just had to encourage them that racism is here, going to be here for probably longer than our time here and people of colour who are subject to racism don’t have time to take a moment to protest and that be it. We’ve got to continue to push for equality and really to raise awareness of it so I don’t really know what else we can do moving forward but for me to have Valtteri and my team also lining and acknowledging and kneeling before the start of the race I think was really huge and I’m incredibly grateful for their understanding and this contribution to it. I think we’ve really got to think as a sport what we can do because of course those are nice signs but passion is needed, it needs taking. It’s great to… as I said before… to see Chase being so kind as to donate $1m and it’s great to see the FIA to step up and also give me a $1m but if you don’t know the problem then you can’t fix it and you know $1m doesn’t really go that far so a lot of work needs to go on with Formula 1, the FIA do really need to be a part of it and I think the drivers need to be a part of it also as we have great voices and platforms. For me, as a team, we’re keeping the car black all year long so it is… we’re going to be fighting and pushing for it all year and me personally, I think this is going to be a lifelong thing for me.

Q: (Scott Mitchell – The Race) For all three: we’re obviously all done with the double header at the same track, the first time that’s happened in F1 history. Just wanted to know what your take is from it. Were you surprised that it was exactly the same format two weekends in a row? Do you think there was a missed opportunity not to try something different and do you think that when we do it at Silverstone, just simply changing one of the step of tyre compounds, is really going to shake things up one weekend to the next?

MV: Well, yeah, I didn’t really do a race last week so for me this was basically the first race. It was fine. Mixing tyre compounds? Well, you can only really, on most of the tracks, go harder because they don’t really allow you to go softer because then probably you end up blistering and stuff and you don’t want to go with even harder tyres so… I don’t know. I don’t really think there’s a lot of option to play with because simply I don’t think they allow us to use softer tyres for safety reasons. I don’t know really what you can do. Yeah, they stopped about the reverse grid but yeah, it would have been a bit weird to know that if you retire in the first race as I had, then you start from pole in the second. I don’t know what you can do and I honestly think it’s fine. It’s more important that we are racing.

LH: I’ve not watched the races so it’s difficult to have the same perspective as you will because we’re in this bubble, it’s a bit of a different viewpoint. I definitely think we should be trying to be more creative maybe, but I don’t know what that is, I don’t have the answers for it but just shifting a tyre is not going to make any difference, literally no difference really for us. It’s a question of format: if you’re going to do back-to-back, it’s a shame we can’t reverse the circuit and go the other way but obviously that was never in the game plan when designing these circuits so… Reverse of grid? I think it would just be mayhem, if you put us all… if we qualified at the front and then you put us last it would be a bit of a difficult one and we would probably just end up not trying to qualify for the front so, it is a difficult one. I wonder if there are other series that are doing anything different that we could look into. We have these two races in Silverstone and we could definitely do something to spice it up, particularly for the second one I think.

VB: I think we saw two different races even though it is the same place. Obviously the weather played a part and mixed things up a bit yesterday and it was a completely different kind of race weekend even though it was the same format, the same track. I think that’s the beauty of the sport, there are always so many unknowns and so many things that can happen, so for me it’s not really a big issue. But, yes, I agree with Lewis, I think we could be creative, it just needs to be done in the right way. I don’t know what’s the right way but I know Silverstone has lots of track layout options but who knows.

Q: (Dieter Rencken – Racing Lines/racefans.net) – To all three, based on what Lewis said and the conversation you’ve just had. Lewis you said during the podium interview you love racing, double-header bring it on etc. How many races in a row do you think your system could take? We’ve got another one coming up next weekend. How many in a row do you think we can handle?

LH: Me, as a driver, I feel that we can do a lot of back-to-back races, the three days in between are definitely enough. So, in this kind of season I think it’s fine, but it’s not just about me, it’s about a large group of people who are on the road constantly and are going to be away from their families even longer. It’s such a challenging time to have to stay in your bubble and not see people. I think it’s really going to be heavy for our team members. I know they love racing but they do have families they would love to see, so I really hope things in the world get a bit better for us. But I think we will manage. I don’t there is anything currently that we can’t achieve if we all pull together.

VB:I really have the same feeling as Lewis. From a drivers’ point of view we are really committed to this sport, like any team member is, and we just love racing, so it’s hard to put a hard limit from a driver’s point of view. At least we are in Europe so travelling distances arte pretty easy so that makes things easier, so triple-headers I don’t really see them as an issue, even if there will be many of them. But, for sure, there are many team members who have families, small kids at home, and it’s not fair to be such a long time away from their family. But it is how it is.

MV: I agree with Lewis and Valtteri. It’s good that it’s all in Europe at the moment as that makes travelling a bit easier. But I do think that after here or four weeks it’s good to go home and have a bit of time off. Not only for the driver but especially for the mechanics, you know, with a family. Otherwise they could file for divorce and you don’t want that to happen! It’s good to visit family and friends and that it’s not only F1 in your head. Sometimes you need to relax and think about other stuff, because F1 is not everything. It’s part of your life but there are also other things you have to do.

Q: Are you going to squeeze in a sim race on that weekend off between Hungary and…?

MV: No! I did it a bit too much, so I’m on a break, a long break hopefully!

July 12, 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