Tag: sebastian vettel

2019 Azerbaijan Grand Prix: Post Qualifying Press Conference

DRIVERS 1 – Valtteri BOTTAS (Mercedes) 2 – Lewis HAMILTON (Mercedes) 3 – Sebastian VETTEL (Ferrari)

TRACK INTERVIEWS

(Conducted by Paul Di Resta)
Q: You’ve got to be the happiest man here today, Valtteri; what a sensational last lap to grab pole position. An interrupted session, you kept your composure, and I guess you stole that pole position from Ferrari, because they have been ever so strong?
Valtteri BOTTAS: Yeah, I’m really happy for that. It was a nice feeling to get it done on the last lap – it was a nice lap. As you said, Ferrari have been really strong, so obviously Charles was out, by a mistake, and as a team we did really good to be where we are now after such a difficult practice.

Q: After everything that happened in China in Q3, it looked like you and Lewis had some traffic, but then, crucially, we heard your engineer saying you picked up a tow in the last sector, was that the difference to get it?
VB: Well, it’s all about small margins and I did get a good tow in the last lap. Of course, the corners I have to drive as well. It’s all about fine details and I managed to hit the sweet spot.

Q: How difficult was it to get the temperature into the tyres with the cold conditions?
VB: Yeah, it was getting trickier and trickier. We’re not supposed to race that late here but yeah, I got them to work somehow.

Q: Lewis, a Mercedes front-row lockout again. I know you always want pole position, but it’s a good job by you all to re-engineer this car and take the fight to Ferrari.
Lewis HAMILTON: Absolutely. It’s been so close all weekend. Ferrari have looked incredibly quick and Valtteri did an exceptional job in qualifying. It’s just a massively great result for us, because we came here, we didn’t have an upgrade, the Ferraris looked like they were particularly quick, also with Max, so for us to lockout the front row due to circumstances, I’m really grateful for it. It puts us in a good fighting position for tomorrow.

Q: Do you think you can continue that? What can we look forward to tomorrow? Do you think you can take the fight to Ferrari?
LH: I hope so. I think that pace-wise we are slightly closer in race trim than it seemed in qualifying. Sebastian… I don’t know if he got a great lap but he may not have been in the right space, because it’s all about tows here. But nonetheless, we’ve got a good crowd here; I hope the weather is good. Valtteri is always quick here so I’ve had my work cut out so far this weekend.

Q: Sebastian, P3 on the grid. It was looking so good this weekend for you and Charles. An interrupted session. These guys just stole it at the end?
Sebastian VETTEL: I don’t know if they stole it. I think they were a bit quicker than us today. For me it started a bit slow. Towards the end it was getting better, but it was quite tricky. The session was very long, the sun is going down, the track cooled down, so it was difficult to get the right balance of pushing on the out lap and playing with tow, trying to get something. I had a good lap but I had no tow to close the lap, so that cost a bit. But happy that we sort of got the maximum out, but I’m not happy that overall from a team point of view we were expecting to have a better session, with Charles and myself closer to the front.

Q: Just give us an insight: how much can the tow be worth? You were obviously at the front of the queue but that gives you the best preparation but they obviously maximized it by gaining that [tow]?
SV: Well, it depends, but up to half a second. Then it’s always a compromise, as if you are too close in the middle sector you lose out, but I would say going with the other people, probably around three tenths. So yeah, it could have been a bit closer with somebody in front, but yeah, as I said, the track was getting cooler, the car was more difficult to drive and I prioritized to push on the out lap to have the tyres in the window when I started the lap. Now I sort of regret that I maybe didn’t take the gamble on, but I still think it was probably the right call.

PRESS CONFERENCE

Q: Valtteri, your second pole position of the season, but is it fair to say this one is a little more unexpected than the first?
VB: You could say. Definitely after the practice yesterday and then this morning we saw Ferrari was extremely quick. Also Red Bull was quick. Even at the beginning of the qualifying they seemed kind of out of reach. But you never know what can happen. We don’t give up. In the end, Charles went off and it came down to one lap at the end. So I’m really happy for us. Obviously also a nice lap at the end and that really feels good.

Q: You mentioned the lap at the end. How good was your final lap and how tough was it to get that lap clean when you had Lewis behind you and a car in front as well?
VB: Well, it’s obviously also the weather, because everything was delayed and it was a lot cooler, so the tricky bit was to get the tyres to work. When it comes down to one lap on this kind of track the tow effect is quite important and I managed to get quite a pretty good gap to the car ahead. But yeah, it feels good when you have a good lap when it matters.

Q: Congratulations. Lewis, it was so close between you and Valtteri and on your final lap I think you made a small mistake in the first sector. Is that where it got away from you, or did that help you later in the lap as you improved in the final two sectors?
LH: Well, firstly, Valtteri did an exceptional job. It was a great result for us as a team. Coming into the weekend it didn’t look like we had the pace. The race pace looked good but the pace in qualifying we thought we might not be as c lose as we would like to the Ferraris. But we worked on the car and improved it today. Yeah, unfortunately my first two corners were pretty shocking. I had a small moment in Turn 1 and then in Turn 2. So already by Turn 4 I think I was three tenths down. But I recovered that in the next two sectors but unfortunately it wasn’t enough, and Valtteri did a great job.

Q: You mentioned the fact that both of you have got the job done. How big an advantage was it having two Mercedes cars in the final part of qualifying, and do you think that will help you in the race, given that Charles wasn’t in Q3 and that Pierre didn’t take part in it either for Red Bull?
LH: Sorry, I didn’t understand that…
Q: How big an advantage was it to have the two Mercedes cars in Q3? Certainly when you’re working out the tow and trying to prepare those final laps.
LH: I don’t know that it makes a big difference, in the sense that you can still find your way behind someone else but it was definitely perfect for the team to have both cars there, and ultimately that’s the ultimate difference that Valtteri and I have been able to make at the moment, so we need to capitalise on that.

Q: Sebastian, moving on to you, a similar sort of question. Were your chances affected at all by the fact there was only one Ferrari in Q3?
SV: Well, we would have loved to have two Ferraris in Q3 but I don’t think it makes a difference obviously. You try to find a sweet spot in the track, which is always tricky and you can see everybody is just waiting in the pitlane and doesn’t want to be the first one out. In the end I didn’t have a tow on my final lap, which cost some time in the last sector but it was quite tricky; the conditions were changing; because of the long qualifying session temperatures were dropping and yeah, I think it was even more important for me to feel the tyres and make sure they are there from the first corner. So, yeah, it was a difficult session but I think having one or two cars doesn’t necessarily make a difference. It’s trying to find that sweet spot. It’s a bit of a gamble always.

Q: You mentioned on the grid that you were happy with the lap that you produced in the circumstances – but after the final practice session, did you really expect Mercedes to be able to overturn the gap that yourselves had?
SV: Yeah, I think it’s been a trend that we are a bit faster in free practice compared to them, so I think it’s just down to doing things a bit differently but… yeah… certainly I struggled a bit in qualifying. It wasn’t straightforward this evening. So, mostly I think with the track changing, going with the conditions was quite difficult. Only in the end I think it started to come back. The last two runs, and especially the last run, seemed to be a bit more straightforward in Q3. Before that obviously it was key to make it through which, with the interuptions that we had, and the cleaning going on on the track, wasn’t the most straightforward thing. Certainly not happy from a team point of view because the pace looked really, really good in the practice sessions so far – yet we find ourselves behind those two again! But, tomorrow is a long race and I believe we have a better car with continuous laps.

Q: Valtteri, returning to you. Taking this pole position, after what happened last year in Baku, does it feel like you’ve got a bit of unfinished business tomorrow?
VB: Well, for sure it was… yeah, I kinda feel like that. Even though starting from pole, in some races it might feel like 50 per cent is done but here it’s nowhere near 50 per cent. Anything can happen here. We’ve seen that once I was one lap behind and I finished second in the race. Once I was leading three laps from the end and I didn’t finish. I’m glad, as a team, we’re at the front and it will be fun tomorrow.

QUESTIONS FROM THE FLOOR

Q: (Christian Nimmervoll – motorsport-total.com) Sebastian, you’ve had quite a moment in the same corner where Charles crashed a couple of moments before he did. Can you elaborate on just how close it felt from inside the cockpit?
SV: Well, you obviously try to go as close as you can here because it’s faster as close as you can to the wall. So, I don’t think you can seriously calculate the difference of a centimetre or two more or less. So, in the end, I think we all find ourselves in the same boat with some moments across the weekend where we think yeah, it could have gone wrong as well. I was surprised when I clipped a little bit the wall with the rear axle. Not much, but enough to upset the car – but I caught it, which was obviously crucial to carry on. But yeah, we had two incidences in the same corner now in qualifying – but there’s a lot of corners here where things can go wrong.

Q: (Luis Vasconcelos – Formula Press) Question to all three. Sebastian mentioned that it was a difficult and a long qualifying session. Qualifying has its own rhythm and you’re all used to it and prepared for it. How difficult was it keep the concentration and then have the rhythm with the two long interruptions we had today?
VB: Obviously sometimes it can be tricky but today it didn’t really seem to matter. When I was in the car and focussing on the lap it didn’t feel like we had a break. So, it’s all about trying to be on the moment. Don’t care if there was a 15 minute break or a two minute break.

Lewis, your thoughts on trying to keep the rhythm through a qualifying session that was so disjointed?
LH: I didn’t have a problem with the rhythm.

Seb, anything to add?
SV: Yeah, I think well done to those two for keeping the rhythm. Especially with doing a practice start in Q3 – that’s usually quite a rhythm-breaker – they did well.
LH: hmmm?
SV: Just on about your fake starts in Q3. Did you do a start or did you just stop?
LH: We just dummied you basically!
SV: Well, did you do a start or did you just stop?
VB: Kind of. Clutch calibration…
LH: Definitely clutch calibration.

Q: (Dzhastina Golopolosova – Youth Information Agency) Question for Valtteri Bottas. Today in qualification you were quite confident – what are your expectations for tomorrow’s race and what can you say about the eighth turn where Kubica and Leclerc made a mistake – is it a section of the track that is difficult?
VB: Like I said, here is a very unpredictable race. Obviously we are pretty happy we are starting with a 1-2 as a team. We feel we do have a strong car in the race – but here, anything can happen. It’s a very eventful race. Who’s tyres are going to last the best, who’s going to have the best pace. Also, with Safety Cars, how everything pans out. You can get lucky or unlucky. Many unpredictable things can happen, but we need to keep focussed as a team, and for me as a driver, and focus on taking it corner by corner. Where the accidents happened in qualifying, for sure it’s one of the most difficult parts on the calendar. It’s extremely tight, you’re going over the kerb. If you do a small mistake, you’re in the wall, as we saw, especially when it was getting cooler, it’s easier to lock the tyres up under braking. So, it can happen.

Q: (Zsolt Godina – F1vilag.hu) Sebastian, you said a few times that your car was working better in the winter testing. Do you think that something is missing, and if so, what do you think was the problem?
SV: Well, I think we are getting better at understanding where I think we are weak compared to Mercedes, so obviously the first couple of races have been difficult for us — the tracks have been varying, the conditions have been varying, but I think there’s a sort of pattern emerging. I think we were in a much better place here, considering that the corners here are fairly low speed. I think we are much more competitive but not yet there, otherwise the picture today would have been a bit different.

Q: (Scott Mitchell – Autosport): Seb, you mentioned the difficulty of the track temperature dropping when the session ran on. Yesterday — I know obviously we only had FP2 really — you were particularly strong in the middle sector, but maybe that fell away today. Do you think that was just down to track temperature? Is that where you felt you lost car performance today, just not adjusting to the lower track temperatures as well as the others maybe?
SV: Well, I don’t know. I don’t know how it felt for the others, but I think it was tricky for us with the track conditions, with the temperatures dropping. Obviously in sector two you have more so the corners, so it’s quite normal when you struggle with the car and don’t have the confidence around here, the place you lose most is sector two. I think it goes hand in hand. Other than that, I think the car was quite good today when we were in the right place, but it was difficult to get it in the right window.

Q: (Michael Schmidt – Auto Motor und Sport): Question to Sebastian. You started in Q2, like Charles, on the medium tyre, you gave it even another go then. Was it too much risk, were you forced into too much risk in order to make it in Q3 on that tyre?
SV: No, I don’t think so. I mean, we tried, it was clear to see, but obviously by then the track has dropped already and that didn’t make it easier, so it was quite tricky the first lap but I was quite confident that the second lap will be better, so yeah. Obviously I only started it and then I was right behind Charles when it happened, so yeah. I think it’s just a tricky place, I don’t think it’s down to tyres at that point. Obviously a shame that we lost one car, that we couldn’t go through. Especially he was very quick this weekend, so. Now we look forward to the race and I’m sure we can recover.

Q: (Beatrice Zamuner – Motorlat.com) Question to all three drivers. Obviously after Charles Leclerc’s crash we all heard that he was very critical towards himself. Later he wrote on social media ‘I was just useless today’. Do you think that he was way too hard on himself?
LH: I’d be the same. That’s how we’re tuned as racing drivers — when it’s your mistake, we’re tough on ourselves. I think probably when you’re younger as opposed to being older you’re maybe a little bit less when you’re older. But still, it’s painful. There’s a lot of pressure around a track like this, on his young shoulders, so it’s totally normal. Years and years ago I didn’t come out of my room for two or three days when I had some experience like that, so I totally understand how he feels. It’s cool that he’s open about it, because he can get it out and move forwards tomorrow.

Q: Valtteri, your thoughts on being critical?
VB: Yeah, the own mistakes you do yourself and you could have avoided, they hurt the most, I think. And it’s annoying, so I definitely can understand. Maybe Finns, maybe we don’t shout it out loud so much, but we still have feelings.

Q: Well Seb, you had a Finn as a teammate previously — have you seen a change with Charles as your teammate?
SV: Well, I think it’s normal — if you do a mistake, you’re not happy about it. Being critical I think is also the reason why he’s here, why we’re here. I don’t think anybody of us enjoys that part of our racing life, but every now and then it’s part of it, so. The weekend isn’t over yet, I think we have a good car, and I’m sure we can recover as a team tomorrow.

Q: (Christian Nimmervoll Motorsport-Total.com): Valtteri and Lewis, do you think — given the potential of the tow around this circuit — that being on the front row might actually have a downside too? And Sebastian, do you think there could be a chance in the first lap?
Q: So Valtteri, you’re starting on pole — do you think it could be a downside on the first lap?
VB: I honestly don’t think it’s going to be a downside. I think here still in the middle sector is full of corners, and it’s quite difficult to follow very close by. We hope the race pace between top teams is going to be very close, so if I could choose I’d definitely be sitting right where I’m sitting now. We’ll see tomorrow.

Q: Lewis?
LH: I agree with Valtteri.

Q: And Seb?
SV: Yeah, what to say? Obviously I’m not on pole so it’s going to be a big help tomorrow. It’s a long race, anything can happen here. Certainly if we have a good start, that might help, and then it’s a long straight after closing the first lap and we’ll see where we are. It’s a long race ahead of us. It’s definitely possible to overtake around here.

April 28, 2019
F1 2019: Azerbaijan Gp Preview: Must Win For Ferrari

The Baku circuit, the newest street track on the F1 calendar, was first introduced in 2016 and delivered one of the most stunning races of the year. Amid a melee or crashes and safety cars a year later Daniel Ricciardo emerged to take victory ahead of Valtteri Bottas and a surprised third place finisher in the form of then Williams driver Lance Stroll.

Against a stunning backdrop of the old town the circuit is characterized by two distinct but opposite sections. The massively long start/finish straight is perfect of slipstreaming but after Turn 1 the layout quickly transforms into a tight and twisty tour through the city’s medieval walls. The close proximity of the walls means that the slightest mistake is more often than not punished severely. The dichotomy of the track layout also prompts a compromise in car set-up, as one half requires downforce and the other less drag to achieve the ultimate top speed.

It should ostensibly favour Ferrari then as, in China, their advantage in straight-line speed was considerable. But on race day that supposed advantage was nowhere to be found. This could be an indication that Ferrari is not running its power unit to its full potential on race day due to reliability concerns. What adds fuel to this fire is the fact that all Ferrari-powered cars, except Alfa Romeo were forced into changing the control electronics ahead of the Chinese grand prix. Alfa’s reluctance to not change the system ended in regret as it kept Antonio Giovinazzi from competing in the qualifying session.

If reliability isn’t a genuine concern for the Italian squad that Baku’s enormously long straight should play well into their hands. But already team principal Mattia Binotto has played down any suggestions of a performance advantage. “I don’t think there is much on the straights in between us and the others”. And on top of the standings Mercedes are sitting pretty without having been truly pushed in 2019. Yes, if Leclerc didn’t have a reliability issue in Bahrain he would’ve won the race by the reality is that he didn’t and Ferrari are already playing catch-up in several areas heading into only the fourth races of the season.

There is no doubt that behind the scenes Mercedes are pushing to the absolute limit to extract everything from its car, engineers, and drivers. But from the outside there is something very comfortable about the situation in which they find themselves. Even psychologically they’re playing the game better than their rivals by continually pushing the message that Ferrari have the quicker car. It’s obvious that Ferrari need desperately to get some momentum going in their 2019 campaign and this weekend’s Azerbaijan grand prix is where it has to start.

April 22, 2019
F1 2019: Chinese Gp Review – Merc Make it Three in a Row

For all the hype that surrounded the 1000^thgrand prix event the Chinese grand prix didn’t underscore it in the way many would have hoped for.

For the seventh time in his career Valtteri Bottas lined up in pole position alongside teammate Lewis Hamilton. Ferrari locked out the second row of the grid with Sebastian Vettel and Charles Leclerc respectively. Bottas’ sojourn at the front was short-lived though as Hamilton steamed in the lead of the as soon the red lights went out.

Behind Leclerc got the better of Vettel into the ever tightening turn one but neither Ferrari seemed able to keep in touch with the Mercedes’ who were steadily disappearing up the road. The opening stint of the race suggested that Vettel had a dash more speed than Leclerc and Ferrari agreed as they ordered the Monegasque driver to let his teammate through. Ferrari’s decision to employ team orders were met with displeasure not only by fans but also by Leclerc himself who voiced his annoyance on the radio. This marks the third time in three races that Ferrari has issued team orders and it was only Leclerc’s choice to ignore the call in Bahrain that meant they weren’t instituted on that occasion.

Ferrari will have their reasons for issuing team orders this early in the season. But it’s unlikely that many would agree with or accept those reasons. What it is indicative of is that Ferrari still has not learned from past mistakes. In the days of Schumacher team orders worked a treat for Ferrari but then they had the quickest car by a country mile. That certainly isn’t the case now and they need to understand that attempting to fight for a championship with one car is not a winning strategy. They will calm things down with Leclerc but for how long will it suffice before it starts affecting his morale? Strategic decision-making has been one of Ferrari’s most glaring weaknesses over a number of years and what we’ve seen so far in 2019 is that they have not done anything to address or rectify this.

It’s the polar opposite at Mercedes as they secured a third one-two victory in as many races. Lewis Hamilton led easily from teammate Valtteri Bottas who in turn matched the race leader’s pace without facing any real threat from Vettel in third. What is absolute fact so far in 2019 is that Mercedes’ W10 is the quicker car for now. But it isn’t the only area in which the team is head and shoulder above their closest rivals. If you were to look for a tangible example of the organizational excellence and strategic brilliance of this team then you need not look further than lap 37 of the Chinese grand prix. The pit crew turned around both Hamilton and Bottas within seconds of each other and it was seamless brilliance. What’s more it was a message, a statement of intent that if Mercedes are to be beaten in 2019 then it will require near perfection from that team.

While Merc strolled to the chequered flag and Vettel salvaged third for Ferrari Max Verstappen was fourth for Red Bull and never in contention for the podium. Ferrari’s dubious strategy meant Leclerc eventually finished fifth with Pierre Gasly in the second Red Bull significantly adrift in sixth. Renault’s Daniel Ricciardo scored his first points of the season in seventh with Sergio Perez in eighth Racing Point. Kimi Raikkonen maintained his and Alfa Romeo’s run of finishing in the top ten in 2019 with a ninth place finish but driver of the day goes to Toro Rosso’s Alex Albon. The Thai driver was forced to start from the pitlane after a 49G crash in the final practice session precipitated a change of chassis. Albon drove remarkably well to go from the pitlane to tenth place by the time the chequered flag dropped.

With two wins from three races Lewis Hamilton holds a four-point lead over teammate Bottas in the driver’s standings. More importantly the gap to Vettel and Leclerc already stands at 31 and 32 points respectively. It might only be three races into the season but if Ferrari has any designs on trying to win either title in 2019 they must address their glaring weaknesses and it has to start with their decision-making.

All images courtesy of Pirelli Motorsport

April 15, 2019
2019 Chinese Grand Prix: Post Qualifying Press Conference

TRACK INTERVIEWS

(Conducted by Martin Brundle)

Q: Congratulations Valtteri, the 1000^th championship event, the world championship leader, and you’re on pole position; you worked for that one?

Valtteri BOTTAS: Yeah, it’s been a good weekend so far, I mean, starting from the pole. I felt already really comfortable this morning in the practice. In the qualifying, honestly, I struggled a bit in Q3 to get the perfect lap in, but it was good enough.

Q: It looked like you had it covered, though. You just had an ounce of extra speed. And the lap unfolded nicely?

VB: Yeah, the lap was OK. Like I said, not completely how I wanted, but luckily it was good enough for pole and the car has been really good this weekend. And Lewis also managed to improve a lot during the qualifying; it was super close.

Q: Well, your fans seem very happy up there. Lewis: 59^th front-row lockout for the team and second place for you today, though. Valtteri certainly showed some speed, but you didn’t give up on it.

Lewis HAMILTON: No, I didn’t give up. I kept pushing right to the end. Big congratulations to Valtteri, he’s been stellar all weekend. I’ve been struggling and fighting the car all weekend. We’ve been chipping away at it and I’m much, much happier. You know, it was eight tenths at once stage, the gap between us, so to be as close as we are at the end is fantastic. This is an incredible result for the team. There was a little bit more time left on the table there, but that’s cool, I’ll try and get it tomorrow.

Q: So, race pace – you’ve got the Ferraris in your mirrors, are you comfortable for the race?

LH: Well, they’re particularly quick in the straights but it’s evident this weekend that we’ve been able to pull some performance from the corners so just great work from the guys at the factory analyzing the test and the last two races, so this is really, really positive for us, really happy.

Q: Well done. Sebastian, take us through the lap. Mercedes just had a little bit too much for the Ferrari team today?

Sebastian VETTEL: Yeah, unfortunately it seems to be like that. I think right from Q1 they just seemed to start off from a better place. I think we had a good session. Maybe there was a tiny bit more but I actually was quite happy that I managed the final attempt, because I was quite marginal with time, the team told me that we only had 10 seconds margin. So I then hurried up and made sure I crossed the line in time. I think there was maybe a little bit more, but overall not enough to beat these guys today.

Q: So, satisfied with third, but you’ve got a very fast car in a straight line and you’re sitting pretty for the race?

SV: Yeah, but they are bloody quick in the corners! So you choose! For us, obviously when we get close I think we have an advantage in a straight line so maybe we can do something there. But the race is long and we’ll take it from there, but it should be a good day tomorrow.

PRESS CONFERENCE

Q: Valtteri, congratulations, you’ve been quick all weekend. How were those laps in Q3, both of them good enough for pole position?

VB: Yeah, the weekend so far has been very good. Obviously tomorrow is the big day but at least on single lap it’s been competitive and as a team we’ve been super strong. I think in the Q3, honestly, during those two runs I never got the perfect lap, there was always something, but that’s how it goes. The pace was good, so yeah, it was enough for pole.

Q: The one-lap pace is clearly very good, but what’s the long-run pace like?

VB: That’s something we will honestly find out tomorrow but looking from Friday it’s been pretty close among the top three teams, so there are many question marks but today is encouraging and we’ll go for it.

Q: Well done Valtteri, good luck tomorrow. Lewis, you said a moment ago that you’ve been fighting the car this weekend but you seemed to make good gains with it during that qualifying session. Where have you improved it?

LH: The car hasn’t improved from… you can’t change it in qualifying so it was just really… As I said I was struggling with the car throughout the weekend, all day yesterday and even today, even into Q2. But I made a couple of changes to the settings on the wheel and some changes to the line and I managed to bridge the gap. Honestly, I’m quite proud of the job we’ve done considering how far away I was earlier on in the sessions and Valtteri has been quick all weekend, so he deserved the pole.

Q: And what are your thoughts on the gap to Ferrari this weekend?

LH: I don’t even know what it is, so…

Q: Well, given that you were behind them in Bahrain two weeks ago, the pendulum has swung the other way here.

LH: Yeah, I think that’s how it’s going to be from race to race. Some cars suit some tracks better than others.

Q: Sebastian, first of all your thoughts on the gap to Mercedes.

SV: Too big. We’d like it to be the other way around, obviously. I think we had a decent session. Obviously important if we can’t beat them to be right behind them, buying us some options tomorrow, hopefully.

Q: Talk to us a little bit more about that session. How was it for you? How did the track conditions improve?

SV: The track, I think, ramped up. I think you can see the lap times, from where we started in Q1 to Q3. Obviously there’s a bit in yourself, a bit in the engine modes and stuff what people are doing but I think that’s fairly normal. On our side we were able to improve the car from where it was yesterday, so I’m reasonably happy with that, but not entirely happy. I think there was a little bit more. It was a bit tricky today to put the laps together.

QUESTIONS FROM THE FLOOR

Q: (Christian Menath – motorsport-magazin.com) Queston for you Seb. There was quite a busy out-lap in Q3, the last one, think you overtook several cars; Max wasn’t happy because he didn’t make his lap. Think the other Red Bull didn’t, both Haas. Can you talk us through that – and is it a general problem in F1 now?

SV: No, I don’t think… I guess everyone timed it around the same, so we all left for the same spot. And if you’re at the end of the train, which I was, then it was quite difficult. And when the team told me we only have ten seconds margin to cross the line in time to make another attempt. I had to think of something. I do not know if others were not told. If everyone would have sped up the way I did, then yeah, we would have all made it. But I obviously prioritised to make the lap. It felt like others were not aware.

Q: (David Coath – Motorlat.com) A question for each of you. It is the 1000^th grand prix and we know it’s another race for you. Can you enjoy the moment or is it something you’ll have to look back on more further years down the line?

Lewis?

LH: For me it’s not really much of a moment. It’s just another race. We’re here to win. It’s great for the sport.

Valtteri, your thoughts?

VB: Yeah, here to focus on myself, our team’s job and try to do the best job we can. In the end it’s only numbers but obviously it’s a big one, so congrats to F1.

Sebastian?

SV: Well, it’s not up to us, obviously. It’s a bit more colourful than other races but I think inside the car and for the result itself, it makes no difference.

Q: (Lawrence Edmondson – ESPN) Question for Seb. You said you weren’t very confident with the car in Australia, it seemed to be the same again in Bahrain. Has that changed coming here? Have you started to get what you want? And, if you’re not, how much more is there to get out of this car?

SV: I think we have a strong platform to work from. Obviously we started very well in Barcelona and the feeling was really good, and really strong. Since then, I think we’ve struggled a little bit to repeat that, so yeah, the past two races, we’ve had little issues here and there. Bahrain didn’t go my way. Saturday was not bad, we had a small problem, otherwise I could have been better, Sunday yeah, struggling in the first stint as much as in Australia the second stint. Here and there not happy. Obviously you try to drive around the problems and try to set up the car differently. I think we are getting more and more there, understanding maybe some things related to different tracks, which Barcelona doesn’t show because it’s different but, as I said, the car is strong, so it’s up to us to extract the performance.

Q: (Phil Duncan – PA) Seb, Bernie Ecclestone was speaking earlier this week suggesting that it could take into consideration that you might want to retire. Do you envisage being in the sport beyond your next contract?

LH: It’s the moustache!

SV: He’s got one too now, I don’t know what you call it when it’s all around. Goatee. Well, certainly I’m not going to drive… I’m not going to be in Formula One as long as he was, that’s for sure. Yeah, but I hope I’m going to be as fit and as sharp as he is today when I’m hopefully that old. Yeah, I don’t know, to be honest. At the moment I feel on top of my game, I feel that I know what I’m doing and yeah, I’m very very self-critical, very ambitious and I put a lot of expectation on to myself. I love driving, I love the sensation of the speed, I love fighting with these guys so there’s a lot of things that at the moment I really like and I’ll miss so that’s why it’s not an option to quit tomorrow, I’m quite happy to race. And then, yeah, I’ve got the contract but that’s a piece of paper and then we see what happens.

Q: (Car Magazine, Greece) Valtteri, you were under a lot of pressure last year and you had an outburst at the beginning of this season with your win. You’re now leading the championship, you have pole position, where are you confidence-wise?

VB: Confidence-wise I’m good, thanks for asking. It’s been a good start of the year, first of all for me personally and for us as a team. It’s been optimal but it’s all at the beginning of the year I feel confident. Today was a good day and hopefully tomorrow will be again, but it’s a long season ahead.

Q: (Stuart Codling – Autosport) Lewis, you said in response to Tom’s question you tried different lines and settings to cure the problems you’ve been having. Was that purely a function of trying to get the tyre temperatures balanced across both axles? It kind of looked – certainly in FP3 around turn three – as if you were having particular difficulty getting the car to bite in at the exit of turn three compared with other people.

LH: I don’t know. Valtteri was particularly quick in the first sector so I was experimenting throughout the session, finally got the quickest sector in the end but a little bit too late but still, it’s all about making improvements. It wasn’t to do with tyre temperature, it was just really to do a balance and getting the flow, utilising the grip in the right areas. But as I said, I’ve been struggling with the car so I was just battling the thing. It’s obviously a great car but this year I think the first few races are always quite tricky with a new car. You see it shifts a little bit later on in the season when you get a better understanding.

Q: (Christian Menath – Motorsport-magazin.com) It looked a bit strange with the soft tyre and the medium tyre; I think Lewis, you went in Q2 on another set of mediums and you were the fastest. Do you think it’s a bit strange here, the behaviour between soft and medium? Do you expect that this could swing around something for tomorrow, because you’re probably not going to drive on the soft as you did today?

SV: I’m not sure I understood the question. Yeah, Valtteri understood. Go ahead. No, I didn’t really…

VB: Yeah, I can explain to you and then you answer Well, the thing is here the soft tyre… it’s a very high energy track. There’s long corners which put a lot of load on the tyres and actually the soft degrades more during the lap, even one lap, than the medium so soft might be a lot quicker at the beginning of the lap but by the end of the lap it is slower than the medium tyre, so that’s why there’s no massive time difference. I think tomorrow, as normal, medium’s going to the better tyre after a few laps as usual, but that’s something we will find out tomorrow.

SV: Thank you, Valtteri, for the explanation. It makes complete sense what he was saying so… Yeah, I should listen more in these meetings about tyres. Not much to add. I think it’s always a bit of a surprise to us when we are much closer with the harder compound compared to the softest compound. But Valtteri explained why very well.

April 13, 2019
F1 2019: Chinese Gp Preview – 1000 and counting…

At the end of the 2019 season I will have, officially, covered twelve complete seasons of the Formula 1 world championship. While this is not trivial by any means consider that this weekend’s Chinese grand prix marks the 1000^thworld championship race.

Without fail there are two questions I am asked. Almost always the first question is who is the best driver of all time? While it gives rise to superb conversations and debates the question is impossible to answer. For one, it is impossible to compare different eras of the sport given how much it has changed. If you’d have told Jim Clark that one day Formula 1 would not only be the technical and engineering pinnacle of any motorized sport in the world but that it would also lead the way in terms of safety he probably would’ve scoffed at such impossibility. In this era death was expected and several of the sport’s most dazzling drivers, including Clark, died in the cockpit of a racing car.

In the 1950s Juan Manuel Fangio won five world titles with his tally of race wins reaching twenty-four. Imagine how staggered he would’ve been to know that someday a German driver named Michael Schumacher would not only win seven titles but also rack up a staggering ninety-one race wins. In 2000 a rookie named Jenson Button made his debut for Williams at an exceedingly young twenty-years-old. The mutters were that, at only 20, the young Brit couldn’t possibly be ready for F1. Imagine the outrageous thought then that less than two decades later Max Verstappen would make his F1 debut at a mere 17 years old.

In its 999 races Formula 1 has endured great tragedy, celebrated the greatest champions, and made inconceivable advancements. Fans have lived through and run the gamut of emotions from drama to extreme stress to anger to unbridled passion. And that just in the first two races of the 2019 season!

The second question that is consistently asked is why Formula 1? But here is the real question: How do you condense such passion, such unadulterated bliss and glorious emotion to just a few words? This is the deepest truth – It’s the greatest sport in the world and I am irrefutably richer for getting to live every magnificent moment of it. Here’s to 1000 more.

Amongst the celebrations and nostalgia there is a race to be had this weekend. As the third round of the season the Chinese grand prix was the last of Michael Schumacher’s career wins in 2006. On the calendar since 2004 the Shanghai International circuit has delivered a fair few crackers in its time. It could even be considered as the watershed moment for Mercedes when in 2012 Nico Rosberg scored the team’s first race victory since its return to the sport.

Last year a masterstroke on strategy from the Red Bull pitwall allowed Daniel Ricciardo the opportunity to pull off a remarkable string of overtakes that ultimately culminated in a thrilling and memorable victory for the Aussie. Twelve months later Ricciardo, now a Renault driver, arrives in China with a completely different mindset and slightly on the back-foot. The 7-time grand prix winner has admitted to still needing to understand the idiosyncrasies of the Renault before being able to unleash his considerable talent. Similarly, Pierre Gasly, teammate to Verstappen at Red Bull, has struggled in first two race weekends and will have to up his game before being catapulted out of the seat by the ruthless Dr. Marko.

Though it’s only two races into the 2019 season there are no such difficulties for Charles Leclerc who has settled in quickly at Ferrari. A devastating mechanical issue robbed him of victory in Bahrain but he is well served by accepting it as part of the sport.

The good news for Leclerc is that his Ferrari team is confident that the Bahrain-issue caused no lasting damage to the engine and he will be able to race it in China. What’s more, while he rightly receives plaudits for his performance his teammate, Seb Vettel, is once again putting out fires in the media who have begun to ask uncomfortable questions of the German following his spin in the last race.

Meanwhile, Mercedes will arrive in China with a quiet confidence. Leclerc may have outpaced them at the last race but they are beginning to understand the W10 more and more. Merc have also won four of the last five Chinese grand prix and it is generally a track where they excel. All that is missing then is Red Bull. While Honda is still not on par with Ferrari and Mercedes it has clearly made progress in 2019. It isn’t the only culprit either for Red Bull’s lack of pace in Bahrain. Instead teamboss Christian Horner has highlighted a need for improvement on the chassis and aero package.

The questions then for this weekend is if Charles Leclerc can once again outpace his four-time world champion teammate or whether Mercedes will have a pace advantage. The ever-tightening battle in the mid-field certainly won’t relent either and with Kimi Raikkonen confirming that following one another is now easier it sets up then for overtaking fest like no other.

April 10, 2019
F1 2019: Bahrain Gp Review – Ferrari Falter in the Desert

As Formula 1 celebrated its 999^thrace in Bahrain through all of it what has remained true is the undeniable fact that it is the most unpredictable sport in the world.

The 2019 Bahrain grand prix dished up a cracking race filled to the brim with drama, overtakes, and astonishing turnarounds. For the first time in his fledging F1 career Charles Leclerc lined up in pole position for the start of a grand prix. As the 99^thpole sitter in the history of F1 the Monegasque driver did everything right. He outpaced not only the Mercedes pair of Hamilton and Bottas but also showed his 4-time world champion teammate Vettel the way in qualifying. Still it was a big day for Ferrari. The front row lockout of the grid finally showed the pace that was indicated in pre-season testing but so conspicuously missing in Melbourne.

Leclerc didn’t make the best of start from pole and quickly fell behind Vettel and Bottas who had jumped his Merc teammate at the start. It was too long though before Leclerc fought his way back past Bottas and into second. Vettel seemed to clear off at the front but such was Leclerc’s pace that by lap 5 he’d let the team know that he was planning to go for the overtake. A lap later he drew alongside Vettel and a thrillingly inch perfect wheel-to-wheel battle ensued before Leclerc took the lead with a move around the outside of turn 4.

Leclerc opened a gap to Vettel relatively easily as the second Ferrari came under increasing pressure from Hamilton. While the first round of pitstops saw Hamilton ahead, thanks to the strategic undercut of pitting a lap earlier, the Merc driver began to struggle on the soft tyre. After the second round of stops the Ferrari and Merc were running in close proximity and ultimately the two went wheel-to-wheel in a breathtaking battle for position. Hamilton, with a slight pace advantage, got the job done around turn 4. It would end far worse for Vettel lost the rear of the Ferrari sending him into a spin. It was shades of 2018 all over again for the German driver who had flat-spotted his tyres so badly the vibrations caused the front-wing to detach itself.

For Leclerc it was easy-going in the lead of the race until lap 46 when he reported that there was something strange with the engine. The Ferrari pitwall confirmed that the MGU-H (Motor Generating Unit-Hybrid) had failed. It resulted in a loss of 160 horsepower and decimated any chance of converting pole position into his first race win. On lap 48 he was little more than a sitting duck as Hamilton overtook him for the lead. Credit to Hamilton who waved regretfully as he passed the young Ferrari driver. A handful of laps later he was passed by the second Mercedes of Valtteri Bottas and looked set to relinquish the final step on the podium to Max Verstappen with two laps to go. But almost unbelievably both Renault’s of Nico Hulkenberg and Daniel Ricciardo simultaneously retired within meters of each at turn 1 which prompted the appearance of the safety car.

As it were Lewis Hamilton scored the 74^thwin of his career ahead of teammate and championship leader Bottas. Some would term Hamilton’s win as lucky and they’d be right to a degree. Reliability has and always will be part of motorsport. But because Hamilton kept enough pressure on Vettel and ultimately overtook him for second on the track he placed himself in the right position to scoop up the win when Leclerc hit problems. That is simply the way the F1 story goes sometimes.

The late safety car meant that Leclerc maintained third place. There would be very few in the paddock or indeed in their living rooms around the world that wouldn’t have been gutted for the 21-year-old. For the entire weekend he’d done everything right only to find out was a cruel mistress Formula 1 can truly be. The good news is that Leclerc has enormous potential and a second chance to secure that first race win will come soon.

Max Verstappen ran a fairly anonymous race for Red Bull and finished fourth while Vettel recovered to fifth. Lando Norris underlined his talent with a fine sixth place finish in the McLaren while Kimi Raikkonen pulled the Alfa Romeo to a seventh place finish. Pierre Gasly recovered from a sub-par quali performance to finish eighth as Alexander Albon in the Toro Rosso and Sergio Perez in the Racing Point finished ninth and tenth respectively.

All images courtesy of Pirelli Motorsport

April 3, 2019
F1 2019: Australian GP Preview – Ready to go

It’s been an awfully long wait but the start of the 2019 season is here. Twenty-one races, several countries and continents and a excess of expectation await.

Everyone is clamouring to understand and predict the pecking order and while there is a rough idea of who sits where, at least at the top, Formula 1 has always been better when it’s been unpredictable. Still, the probability is that Ferrari are a smidge ahead of Mercedes on pace. But given the unique layout of Australia’s circuit this may not count for much.

The traditional season-opener around the semi-permanent Albert Park circuit is unlike any other on the calendar and thus makes it an outlier in terms of performance. The fiddly track is akin to a street circuit albeit with a bit more run off area should the odd mistake arise. The layout comprises a mixture of medium speed corners and places an emphasis on stability under the braking. It is highly possible for a car to go well around this circuit and not truly be one in the running come Abu Dhabi in December but there are still 25 points for the one who sees the chequered flag first which makes it as important as any of the races in the line-up.

New for 2019 are the aero regulations surrounding the front and rear wing area of the car as well as the simplification of the barge boards. In addition, three colours have replaced the rainbow selection of tyre compounds for this season. White, yellow, and red will make up the range of compounds with white being the hardest of the weekend, yellow the medium, and red the softest tyre available.

It’s a big year for the teammates. At Mercedes Valtteri Bottas has to impress Toto Wolff and co enough to keep Esteban Ocon out of his seat. Not in the Finn’s favour is the fact that in order to do so he has to beat, or at least match, his teammate and five-time world champion Lewis Hamilton. It’s a tall order for the Bottas but his task is crystal clear.

At Ferrari expectations are high for young Charles Leclerc too. All indications are that the Monegasque driver has all the speed he needs to well at the Italian team but it remains to be seen how he’ll handle the pressure of racing for the most famous mark in motorsport.

The rivalry between Max Verstappen and his new teammate Pierre Gasly hasn’t been given as much attention as the previous two but is no less intriguing. The French driver arrives from Toro Rosso where he easily had the beating of Brendon Hartley. It will be significantly more difficult to consistently out-perform someone like Verstappen.

All of this and the incredibly tight battle for mid-field supremacy hasn’t even made into the conversation yet. While Williams, now sans technical director Paddy Lowe, are unfortunately expected to prop up the rear of the grid the battle between the likes of Renault, Haas, and Alfa Romeo appears especially tight. The most important thing that needs to be known, for now, is that Formula 1 2019 is here.

March 13, 2019
F1 2019: Ferrari – Gamble or Guile?

Much has been written about Ferrari’s drafting youngster Charles Leclerc into one of the most coveted seats in Formula 1. While expectations are exceedingly high for the young Monegasque driver there are other quite significant changes that have been made at Ferrari for the 2019 season.

The sudden death of Sergio Marchionne was a big blow for Ferrari. As the architect and saviour of Ferrari Marchionne was a tremendously important figure for the company and the F1 team. It’s no surprise that, internally, his loss was felt in a big way. A new CEO was announced in the form of Louis Camilleri, the former boss of Phillip Morris International and Ferrari board member. He immediately walked back Marchionne’s threats of quitting F1 and vowed to work in favour of keeping the iconic team in the world’s premier racing series.

Camilleri also stated that there was no need for him to intervene or make any changes to the team given its positive performance. However, it wasn’t too long before he began to ring the changes. First, it was Charles Leclerc in for Kimi Raikkonen followed by an announcement that team principal Maurizio Arrivabene would be replaced by technical chief Mattia Binnoto. Rumours swirled throughout the season of unease between Arrivabene and Binnoto, which, at the time, were dismissed as untrue by Ferrari. However, the rumours sustained and grew to include several suspicions that the relationship between Sebastian Vettel and Arrivabene too wasn’t in a good way.

Binnoto’s new role as team principal will mean that the technical department must be restructured too. After all, Binnoto can hardly be expected to wear both caps of team principal and technical chief at the same time. As team principal of Ferrari he will be tasked with and face an inordinate amount of pressure. First, he’ll be responsible for heading a team with a brand-new driver in the line-up. If, according to many expectations, Leclerc pushes teammate Vettel, ala Hamilton and Alonso in 2007, all the way he’ll have quite a job on his hands to contain such a situation. There is no doubt that as Ferrari team principal he will face relentless and unforgiving pressure to guide the famed team to championship success which has eluded them for a decade.

It is curious however to know why Ferrari has chosen to restructure in this manner, as it isn’t a recipe followed by other front-running teams. At Mercedes it has been stability that has been one of its major strengths. As team manager Toto Wolff has James Allison, formerly of Ferrari, overseeing the technical side of the team while Christian Horner relies on Adrian Newey to keep his hand over the technical side of Red Bull. Even at Williams Claire Williams has Paddy Lowe at the helm of the technical department.

The restructuring at Ferrari signals intent from the Italian team. But equally it reveals that they are still playing catch up with the likes of Mercedes and are yet to hit on an efficient method of running a cohesive team that can execute at the highest level week in and week out. The expectation will be that this reorganizing, across several departments, is the catalyst for finally getting the team onto the front foot from day one.

January 28, 2019
Season Wrap: The Year that was F1 2018

The 2018 Formula 1 season is in the history books and with a number of impressive and standout performances will be revered and talked about for some time to come.

Mercedes, Lewis Hamilton

Comparing different eras of the sport is usually discouraged but it is difficult to remember a more dominant team in the sport’s history than Mercedes Benz. Of the 100 grand prix in the turbo-hybrid era, which started in 2014, Merc have won a staggering 74 races. It is a nearly unbelievable statistic until you factor in the Mercedes F1 organisation. From the management structure to the drivers to the irrefutably flawless execution of all processes they leave no stone unturned and nothing to chance. They were pushed in the first half of 2018 and responded in emphatic fashion. Even with the aero changes for next season this team is going to be incredibly difficult to beat.

Of the 74 victories Lewis Hamilton has taken an astounding 51 and with that four world titles. Somehow, despite the car and team at his disposal, he seems able to continually improve from one season to the next and will undoubtedly by a contender in 2019. There will be those who point to his car as the reason for his success but they will do well to recognize that a racing car is only as good as its driver. If you’re still not convinced by this argument consider the fact that Valtteri Bottas, in the same car, finished fifth in the driver’s standings.

Ferrari, Sebastian Vettel

The 2018 season couldn’t have started much better for Ferrari. Evident from the first day of pre-season testing it was clear that Maranello had delivered a car that could fight for, and potentially, win the title. Sebastian Vettel hit the ground running too and for the better part of the first half of the season landed blow after blow on Mercedes and Hamilton. It was the Vettel of years gone by. The unyielding driver who racked up four titles in a row with Red Bull was seemingly on his way to a fifth crown.

But the cardinal rule of Formula 1 is its unpredictability. Before the summer break Ferrari’s chairman Sergio Marchionne passed away. The effect of this shouldn’t be underestimated. Marchionne almost single-handedly turned around Ferrari and that includes the F1 team. He arrived to a team in near ruin and not only righted the ship but made reignited the sense of pride and passion that seemed to be missing in previous years. He was a colossal presence and his sudden death left a gaping hole in the organization. Perhaps this increased the pressure on Sebastian Vettel; an expectation to win for Marchionne and the Ferrari name he nurtured.

Rookie of the year

Charles Leclerc – exceptionally impressive, especially the lap with dry tyres on a greasy track to get into Q3 at the Brazilian grand prix. A few chinks in the armour throughout the season such as silly mistakes and the odd crash. But the Monagasque can hardly be lambasted for them. After all, 2018 was his first year in the sport.

He has one of the biggest challenges next year as a Ferrari driver expected to immediately take the fight to teammate Sebastian Vettel, Lewis Hamilton and co. It’s clear to all that Leclerc has the speed to hack it in F1. But being a Ferrari driver is completely different challenge. Unrelenting pressure and expectation will be a new test for Leclerc whose performances as Sauber stood out because there was little anticipation that the car would be able to perform as it did in 2018. In 2019, the uncompromising, often brutal, Italian press and fans will exert a level of pressure Leclerc wouldn’t have experienced before.

On the face of it the 2018 Williams may have masked Sergey Sirotkin’s strong rookie season. But dig a little deeper and it will reveal that the Russian’s season has been quite impressive given the car at his disposal. With a quiet resolve Sirotkin worked away on the car. He kept his head down, remained calm, and continually improved his driving ability. He may have come into the sport with significant financial backing but he attracted those backers with his talent that is far different from buying your way into the sport with family money.

Race of the year

The Circuit of the Americas easily produced the best race of the year. Drama at the start, a plethora of overtaking ensured 56 lap of exhilaration. Most of all, the battle between Hamilton, Verstappen, and Raikkonen in the final laps of the race capped a race for which few would’ve been able to predict the victor. Ultimately, it was Kimi Raikkonen who took victory for the first time in 113 races. There were few, if any, in the paddock disappointed with seeing the Iceman on the top step of the podium in Texas.

The Chinese grand prix deserves a mention. The Red Bull team strategy was played to a tee but it was still up to Daniel Ricciardo to make it work on track. The Aussie’s sublime overtakes will stick in the memory for quite some time and so will the remarkable victory.

Driver performance of the year

While Mercedes and Hamilton are rightly team and driver of the year there were some individual performances by drivers this season that stand out. Not least of all was Ricciardo’s drive to a maiden victory on the streets of Monte Carlo. The Red Bull driver had dominated the entire weekend including a pole position on the Saturday. However, a mechanical issue nearly robbed Ricciardo of finally winning in Monaco. Somehow, and despite being as much as 25% down on power, Ricciardo was able to hold Vettel off take the famed chequered flag.

2019 brings it with a major change to aerodynamics and potentially a reset in the running order. It also brings with a number of questions. Can legendary teams like Williams and McLaren make their way up the grid? Will Mercedes’s domination continue? How will Leclerc fair as a Ferrari driver?

December 5, 2018
Abu Dhabi Gp Review – Hamilton Win Brings Down the Curtain

Despite the fact that the 2018 Formula 1 season consisted of 21 races it ran through the calendar rather quickly. As the season finale Abu Dhabi grand prix brought down the curtain on a season that will be remembered by many for a variety of reasons.

One of the biggest and most lasting memories of F1 2018 will be Lewis Hamilton. An unrelenting and near faultless charge has earned him a fifth drivers’ title which he easily capped with victory in Abu Dhabi. The victory marks the eleventh of the season for Hamilton who was never troubled on his way to the chequered flag.

The race got underway in dramatic fashion as a clash between Romain Grosjean and Nico Hulkenberg sent the latter into a barrel roll. Stewards rightly deemed it a racing incident as Hulkenberg was able to walk away from the spectacular crash without injury. The safety car was needed to clear up the debris by which time the fast starting Charles Leclerc had already dispatched Daniel Ricciardo to be running fifth.

Up ahead Lewis Hamilton’s easily gapped teammate Valtteri Bottas at the restart after the safety car period. The Ferrari’s of Sebastian Vettel and Kimi Raikkonen followed in third and fourth. Though he started sixth on the grid Max Verstappen dropped to tenth at the start of the race as his engine engaged a safety mode off the start line. At the restart of the race he found himself in close attendance with none other than Esteban Ocon and his Force India teammate Sergio Perez. He got past the Perez relatively easily but it would take slightly more to get eighth off Ocon. Nevertheless, from quite a long way back he dove for the inside line into the Turn 7 hairpin and with a bit of contact was past the Frenchman. There is no doubt that he would’ve had the Brazil incident well in his mind.

A lap later Kimi Raikkonen pulled off to the side of the start/finish straight as his Ferrari succumbed to an electrical failure. Despite attempting to restart the car there was nothing to be done as the Finn signed off his career at Ferrari with a DNF. Raikkonen’s stricken Ferrari did bring out the Virtual Safety Car (VSC) which allowed race leader Hamilton to score a relatively cheap pitstop.

While Hamilton pitted early Red Bull attempted the opposite strategy with Daniel Ricciardo by running the Australian driver much longer on his Ultrasoft tyres. Though he led the race for some time it was clear that Hamilton had the pace to negate any advantage Red Bull would get from running longer. Astonishingly and despite being in the desert the camera picked up spots of rain. The few drops though weren’t enough to affect the track surface and Ricciardo dived into the pits on lap 34. He emerged in fifth and seemed to set to make a go of getting on the podium in his final race for Red Bull.

Further ahead Vettel took advantage of Bottas’ mistake and snatched second place from the Finn. It wasn’t too long before another error allowed Verstappen onto his gearbox and eventually past him. Ricciardo too made short work of the doleful Bottas who eventually finished fifth. There is much for the Finn to contemplate over the winter as he now has the unenviable stat of being the first Mercedes driver since 2012 to not win at least one race in the season.

While there was little in the way of a close battle at the sharp-end of the race the midfield ensured for several dices with a three-way battle for position between Stoffel Vandoorne, Romain Grosjean and Sergio Perez providing the best entertainment.

It was as easy a Sunday drive as Hamilton has likely experienced in 2018 and it demonstrates a shift in his own mentality too. In previous years his motivation would take a determined dip after securing the title but it never materialized in 2018. It is a great testament to Hamilton and his ability that despite a near faultless season he still sees room for improvement.

While Hamilton upped his tally of wins to 73 Sebastian Vettel secured second with Verstappen in third for Red Bull. Daniel Ricciardo’s late charge fizzled before the chequered flag but in his 100^thrace for Red Bull still finished a solid fourth. While Bottas dejectedly trundled home in fifth Carlos Sainz was best of the rest in sixth. 2019 Ferrari driver Charles Leclerc was seventh ahead of Sergio Perez in eighth while Romain Grosjean and Kevin Magnussen completed the top ten. Though Nico Hulkenberg was out on lap 1 he maintained his seventh position in the championship standings. Elsewhere, Kimi Raikkonen finished third in the driver’s standings despite not seeing the chequered flag in Abu Dhabi.

There should rightly be a few days of reflection about the 2018 Formula 1 season. After all, it provided extreme highs and created memories that will likely live on for quite some time. But Formula 1 is a sport that relentlessly focuses on the future and with 107 days to go to the Australian grand prix it cant come soon enough.

All images courtesy of Pirelli Motorsport

November 26, 2018