INDIA in F1

Tag: Hamilton

  • Hamilton takes pole ahead of Bottas, Vettel: Spanish GP

    Hamilton takes pole ahead of Bottas, Vettel: Spanish GP

    Hamilton celebrates after taking the Spanish GP pole on Saturday. An FIA image

    Barcelona, 12 May 2018: Lewis Hamilton powered his Mercedes to top spot in qualifying for the Spanish Grand Prix, the fifth round of the Formula One World Championship here on Saturday.

    It is the Briton’s first pole position since the season-opening Australian Grand Prix ahead of team-mate Valtteri Bottas and the Ferraris of Sebastian Vettel and Kimi Räikkönen.

    In Q1, after the early pace was set by Kimi Räikkönen, Vettel then raised the bar considerably with a lap of 1:17.031 that put him four tenths of a second ahead of the Finn, with Hamilton third. Red Bulls drivers then disrupted things with Daniel Ricciardo jumping ahead of Hamilton and Max Verstappen recovering from an FP3 electrical problem to vault to P2 with a time of 1:17.411.

    In the drop zone as the final runs began were Sauber’s Marcus Ericsson, William’s Lance Stroll and Sergey Sirotkin, as well as Renault’s Nico Hulkenberg and Toro Rosso’s Brendon Hartley.

    After crashing heavily in FP3 Hartley and causing extensive damage to the rear of his Toro Rosso, Hartley was never going to figure in the session, but Hulkenberg, who had qualified in seventh place three times this season, was an unlikely candidate for the drop.

    The German suffered with a fuel pressure issue early in the session but Renault managed to get their driver out for the final runs. His lap, though, was not stellar and in P14 after his run he was still in danger.

    And the danger in the end came from McLaren’s Stoffel Vandoorne whose final lap was good enough to push Hulkenberg out of the session in P16. Eliminated behind the German were Ericsson and Sirotkin. Out, too, went Stroll whose session was ended both by poor performance and by a crash at the very end of the session. The Canadian lost control in Turn 13 and slid off into the gravel trap and out of the session ahead of Hartley.

    In Q2 the frontrunners went out on soft tyres at the start of the session and Hamilton laid down what looked like a solid marker with a lap of 1:17.166. That was swiftly eclipsed by team-mate Bottas and then demolished by Vettel, who became the first man under 1m17s with a lap of 1:16.802. The lap put him 0.269 clear of team-mate Räikkönen.

    Behind Mercedes and Ferrari, Verstappen looked secure in fifth but Ricciardo had not put in the perfect lap and as the final runs began Red Bull chose to send out again, on supersofts, as they did with Verstappen and as Mercedes did with Hamilton.

    In the end, though, Ricciardo’s passage to Q3 was never in doubt as rivals behind failed to find the time necessary to dislodge him and the Australian was eventually told to back of in third sector to preserve his soft tyre lap as his quickest of the session. Thus, like the Ferraris and Mercedes and Verstappen, he will start on the soft tyres.

    Out, though, went Vandoorne in 11th place with the Belgian finishing ahead of Toro Rosso’s Pierre Gasly, Force India’s Esteban Ocon, Sauber’s Charles Leclerc and the second Force India of Sergio Pérez.

    In the first runs of Q3, it was Hamilton who set the pace with a time of 1:16.491, but while it might have been expected that Vettel would respond, the German’s opening time of the final segment was not good and his lap of 1:17.255, slower than his Q1 time, left him fifth.

    Red Bull, meanwhile, found more pace and Verstappen set a time of 1:18.816 to sit just over three tenths behind Hamilton. Ricciardo took third with a time of 1:16.818 ahead of Bottas and Vettel.

    An in the final runs Hamilton converted his advantage, setting blistering pace to claim his 74thcareer pole position and his first since the season-opening Australian Grand Prix.

    Bottas joined his team-mate on the front row, just four hundredths of a second behind his team-mate and Vettel, who made a significant improvement to 1:16.305 finished third ahead of team-mate Räikkönen who used soft tyres to climb from P8 after the first run to P4.

    The third row was annexed by Red Bull with Verstappen taking fifth with time of 1:16.816. Like Räikkönen, team-mate Ricciardo gambled that the soft tyre might provide more lap time but in the end he only improved by four hundredths of a second to finish just 0.002 behind his team-mate.

    Kevin Magnussen was seventh for Haas, while Fernando Alonso took Renault powered McLaren ahead of Renault works driver Carlos Sainz. Tenth place was taken by Romain Grosjean in the second Haas.

    2018 Spanish Grand Prix – Qualifying
    1 Lewis Hamilton Mercedes 1:16.173
    2 Valtteri Bottas Mercedes 1:16.213 0.040
    3 Sebastian Vettel Ferrari 1:16.305 0.132
    4 Kimi Raikkonen Ferrari 1:16.612 0.439
    5 Max Verstappen Red Bull Racing 1:16.816 0.643
    6 Daniel Ricciardo Red Bull Racing 1:16.818 0.645
    7 Kevin Magnussen Haas Ferrari 1:17.676 1.503
    8 Fernando Alonso McLaren 1:17.721 1.548
    9 Carlos Sainz Renault 1:17.790 1.617
    10 Romain Grosjean Haas 1:17.835 1.662
    11 Stoffel Vandoorne McLaren 1:18.323 2.150
    12 Pierre Gasly Toro Rosso 1:18.463 2.290
    13 Esteban Ocon Force India 1:18.696 2.523
    14 Charles Leclerc Sauber 1:18.910 2.737
    15 Sergio Perez Force India 1:19.098 2.925
    16 Nico Hulkenberg Renault 1:18.923 2.750
    17 Marcus Ericsson Sauber 1:19.493 3.320
    18 Sergey Sirotkin Williams 1:19.695 3.522
    19 Lance Stroll Williams 1:20.225 4.052
    20 Brendon Hartley Toro Rosso Honda.

     

  • Hamilton takes over at the top: Spanish GP FP2

    Hamilton takes over at the top: Spanish GP FP2

    Hamilton fastest in FP2. An FIA image

    Barcelona, 11 May 2018: After being beaten to top spot in first practice by over eight tenths of a second by team-mate Valtteri Bottas, Mercedes’ Lewis Hamilton powered forward in the afternoon session to claim P1, a tenth of a second ahead of Daniel Ricciardo in the Formula One World Championship fifth round Free Practice second session of the Spanish GP here on Friday.

    The Red Bull Racing driver bounced back from a first-session crash to edge team-mate Max Verstappen by 0.141s.

    Hamilton’s best lap, in a time of 1:18.259, came on the soft compound Pirelli tyres and was set early in the session. When the Briton later went for a qualifying simulation on the supersoft compound, a mistake at Turn 7 lost him time and his soft tyre time remained the benchmark.

    It was a similar tale for Ricciardo. Despite limited running in the first session following a slide in the barriers that damaged the front left corner of his car in, the Australian quickly found a rhythm in the afternoon session and he joined Hamilton at the top end of the timesheet with a soft tyre best of 1:18.392.

    But when he moved to supersofts his pace ebbed slightly and he found himself three tenths off his earlier time.

    With other drivers struggling to get the best out of the red-banded tyre on qualifying sims, the soft compound times stood until the end of the session with Ricciardo 0.133s behind Hamilton and with Verstappen, who didf improve on the supersofts, marginally further back.

    Sebastian Vettel, third in the opening session, also improved on supersofts, ton finish just five hundredths of a second behind Verstappen, while FP1’s quickest driver Valtteri Bottas finished in fourth place, two hundredths of a second further back. Kimi Raikkonen in the second Ferrari finished in sixth place just over half a second adrift of Hamilton.

    In the opening session it was McLaren who had taken best of the rest honours behind the top three teams, but in the afternoon Haas improved to end with Romain Grosjean seventh on a time of 1:19.579, over 1.3s behind Hamilton but just six hundredths of a second ahead of eighth-placed team-mate Kevin Magnussen.

    McLaren’s decent start to the weekend was confirmed by Stoffel Vandoorne whose lap of 1:19.722 left him ninth, over two tenths of a second clear of Force India’s Sergio Pérez, whose session was brought to an early end, 13 minutes from time, after a pit stop left him with a loose front-left wheel.

    2018 Spanish Grand Prix – Free Practice 2 
    1 Lewis Hamilton Mercedes 39 1:18.259
    2 Daniel Ricciardo Red Bull Racing 41 1:18.392 0.133
    3 Max Verstappen Red Bull Racing 39 1:18.533 0.274
    4 Sebastian Vettel Ferrari 34 1:18.585 0.326
    5 Valtteri Bottas Mercedes 39 1:18.611 0.352
    6 Kimi Raikkonen Ferrari 16 1:18.829 0.570
    7 Romain Grosjean Haas 24 1:19.579 1.320
    8 Kevin Magnussen Haas 39 1:19.643 1.384
    9 Stoffel Vandoorne McLaren 32 1:19.722 1.463
    10 Sergio Perez Force India 28 1:19.962 1.703
    11 Esteban Ocon Force India 38 1:20.024 1.765
    12 Fernando Alonso McLaren 35 1:20.035 1.776
    13 Nico Hulkenberg Renault 43 1:20.183 1.924
    14 Pierre Gasly Toro Rosso 32 1:20.373 2.114
    15 Marcus Ericsson Sauber 37 1:20.501 2.242
    16 Charles Leclerc Sauber 29 1:20.514 2.255
    17 Carlos Sainz Renault 31 1:20.672 2.413
    18 Brendon Hartley Toro Rosso 34 1:21.265 3.006
    19 Lance Stroll Williams 35 1:21.556 3.297
    20 Sergey Sirotkin Williams 36 1:22.060 3.801

  • Bottas sets the early pace ahead of Hamilton in FP1: Spanish GP

    Bottas sets the early pace ahead of Hamilton in FP1: Spanish GP

    Valtteri Bottas of Mercedes F1 team tops FP1 on Friday. An FIA image

    Brcelona, 12 May 2018: Mercedes’ Valtteri Bottas went quickest in the opening practice session for the Spanish Grand Prix, finishing more than eight tenths of a second ahead of team-mate Lewis Hamilton and almost a second clear of third-placed Sebastian Vettel.

    The Mercedes drivers’ dominance of the session was established early with Bottas using soft tyres to push into the 1m18s bracket.

    At that point the were backed up by Red Bull Racing’s Daniel Ricciardo, but the Australian wouldn’t figure in the session for much longer. With grip at the premium on the new track surface, Ricciardo lost control of his RB14 in Turn 14 and slid off through the gravel, hitting the barriers and causing damage to the front-left of his car.

    The incident saw the Virtual Safety Car deployed and when the cautionary period ended, Bottas took a new set of soft tyres and stretched his legs once more, eventually improving to a time of 1:18.4311.

    A second VSC period then ensued when Williams’ Lance Stroll went off at Turn 5, soon after complaining about the poor balance of his car.

    And once again when the VSC period ended, Bottas improved his time, this time establishing a benchmark of 1:18.148 that would remain for the remainder of the session. Hamilton, meanwhile, finished 0.849s behind the Finn.

    Vettel, meanwhile, sat in fourth for much of the session before Ferrari sent both of its drivers out on supersofts. Vettel vaulted to third late on but still could only manage to get to 0.950 behind Bottas. Räikkönens initial foray on the red banded tyre left him 1.6s down on Bottas’s best time but he eventually managed to work his way to a time of 1:19.499, some 1.3s behind his fellow Finn and four tenths of a second behind Vettel.

    The gap was sufficiently large to allow Max Verstappen to slot his Red Bull Racing car between the Ferraris, with a time of 1:19.187, a second adrift of Bottas.

    Behind fifth-placed Räikkönen, McLaren finished as best-of-the-rest, with Fernando Alonso setting a time of 1:19.858 to take sixth spot on the timesheet. The Woking team also debuted a radically redesigned nose and also new bargeboards during the session.

    Ricciardo’s early time was in the end good enough for seventh place, ahead of Haas’ Romain Grosjean, McLaren’s Stoffel Vandoorne and Toro Rosso’s Pierre Gasly, who rounded out the top 10 order.

    2018 Spanish Grand Prix – Free Practice 1
    1 Valtteri Bottas Mercedes 32 1:18.148
    2 Lewis Hamilton Mercedes 22 1:18.997 0.849
    3 Sebastian Vettel Ferrari 24 1:19.098 0.950
    4 Max Verstappen Red Bull Racing 26 1:19.187 1.039
    5 Kimi Raikkonen Ferrari 19 1:19.499 1.351
    6 Fernando Alonso McLaren 26 1:19.858 1.710
    7 Daniel Ricciardo Red Bull Racing 11 1:19.871 1.723
    8 Romain Grosjean Haas 24 1:19.906 1.758
    9 Stoffel Vandoorne McLaren 28 1:20.083 1.935
    10 Pierre Gasly Toro Rosso 29 1:20.508 2.360
    11 Kevin Magnussen Haas 28 1:20.637 2.489
    12 Charles Leclerc Sauber 23 1:20.665 2.517
    13 Sergio Perez Force India 36 1:20.924 2.776
    14 Marcus Ericsson Sauber 18 1:20.984 2.836
    15 Carlos Sainz Renault 28 1:21.053 2.905
    16 Esteban Ocon Force India 27 1:21.144 2.996
    17 Nico Hulkenberg Renault 26 1:21.159 3.011
    18 Brendon Hartley Toro Rosso 28 1:21.373 3.225
    19 Robert Kubica Williams 24 1:21.510 3.362
    20 Lance Stroll Williams 15 1:22.756 4.608

  • Ferrari-Mercedes renew battle in Barcelona; Red Bull in frame as one of favourites

    Ferrari-Mercedes renew battle in Barcelona; Red Bull in frame as one of favourites

    Sebastien Vettel (Ferrari) and Lewis Hamilton (Mercedes) all set to renew their rivalry. Photo: formula1.com

    Barcelona, 10 May 2018: Four rounds ticked off the Formula 1 calendar, and this season has certainly kept us on the edge of our seats. We’ve had two triumphs for Ferrari, and one apiece for Red Bull and Mercedes. So, who has the momentum as we head to Europe for the Spanish Grand Prix?

    It’s very hard to say indeed. Last time out, Baku provided us with a chaotic and thrilling race with Ferrari looking on course for a third win of the campaign before the Red Bull collision set off a chain of events that ultimately conspired to hand Mercedes their first victory of 2018.

    The Silver Arrows still trail their rivals in red by four points in the constructors’ standings, but Lewis Hamilton’s latest triumph – his first of the season – gave him the lead ahead of Sebastian Vettel in the drivers’ championship after four races this season, the Briton having waited until after round 13 to move ahead last year.

    Mercedes have locked out the front row in Barcelona in four of the past five years, but their qualifying prowess has already been questioned this year – Azerbaijan was the third race in a row they have missed out on P1.

    But as we’ve seen already this season, it won’t just be about Mercedes and Ferrari this weekend. In fact, perhaps most of the attention will be on Red Bull, following the clash between Daniel Ricciardo and Max Verstappen in Azerbaijan.

    They have now suffered two double DNFs in the past three races, having previously not suffered one at all since the 2010 Korean GP – and after being read the riot act, their drivers will be desperate to avoid more contact in Spain.

    Barcelona is a track all the teams know extremely well – but who will come out on top?

    The form book

    Looking at the stats, Mercedes have every reason to be confident on their return to Barcelona. This track has arguably been a demonstration of their dominance in the turbo hybrid era.

    In 2014, they locked out the front row with no other car within one second of pole. In 2015, this gap dropped to 0.777s, then 0.680s in 2016, before Vettel narrowed it to 0.051s last year and became the first non-Mercedes to start on the front row here since 2012.

    The qualifying stats suggest the winner will need to come up with the goods on the Saturday. Twenty-four of the 27 Grands Prix in Catalunya have been won from the front row (89 per cent), the highest ratio of any circuit on the calendar with at least 10 previous races, such is the difficulty of overtaking at the Spanish venue.

    Over the last decade, though, we have seen plenty of different drivers triumph, including shock victories for Pastor Maldonado in 2012 and Max Verstappen – on his Red Bull debut – in 2016. Hamilton’s victory last year ended a run of 10 different winners in the same number years in Spain, but could we see another new winner this year? Neither Ricciardo nor Bottas has triumphed here, but both have been in terrific form.

    This is a race where, traditionally, the teams bring significant upgrades to their cars, so whilst no one is expecting the established top three to be toppled, in the supremely tight midfield there could be movement. McLaren, in the midst of a tight battle for P4 in the constructors’ championship with Renault, are one of the teams bringing significant revisions.

    Both teams have Spanish drivers, but it’s Renault’s Carlos Sainz who has the better recent record at Barcelona, finishing the last three races in ninth, sixth and seventh. Alonso, meanwhile, hasn’t scored points at home since 2014 when he was still driving for Ferrari.

    Elsewhere, several teams will be looking to carry momentum into Spain. Force India’s surprise podium in Baku, with Sergio Perez landing P3, kick-started their season, while Toro Rosso were boosted by Brendon Hartley’s first points-finish last time out.

    Sauber’s Charles Leclerc also scored points for the first time, while Williams got their 2018 campaign underway with Lance Stroll scoring four points for P8.

    Source: Formula1.com

  • Spanish Grand Prix: A statistical perspective

    Spanish Grand Prix: A statistical perspective

    Barcelona, 10 May 2018: This weekend’s race will mark the 28th edition of the Spanish Grand Prix at the Circuit de Barcelona-Catalunya. Michael Schumacher tops the all-time winners list, with an impressive six triumphs here. When the drivers take to the grid on Sunday, there will be five previous victors among them – Kimi Raikkonen, Fernando Alonso, Sebastian Vettel, Lewis Hamilton and Max Verstappen.

    The Stats That Matter

    • Hamilton is looking to join a small list of F1 legends to win at this circuit for a third time. Should he triumph on Sunday, he’ll be on the same number of wins as Mika Hakkinen and three behind Michael Schumacher.
    • The Briton, who won from pole here in 2014 and 2017, certainly enjoys coming to Spain. He hasn’t been off the front row here since his final year for McLaren in 2012, when he took top spot in qualifying only to be excluded for having insufficient fuel.
    • Despite leading the drivers’ standings, the four-time World champion has been suffering somewhat of a qualifying drought recently. He took pole in Australia, but has been outqualified by team-mate Bottas in four of the last six races.
    • Vettel has surprisingly never been on pole in Catalunya. But the Ferrari man has been in superb qualifying form this season, topping the timesheet at the last three races.
    • Baku ended Raikkonen’s longest run of front-row starts (3) since Spain-Monaco-Europe in 2005, but he still finished on the podium for the sixth time in the last eight races.
    • The Finn has set the theoretical best lap of qualifying at the last two races (adding up the three best sectors from any lap), without having taken pole at either of them. Consistency in Barcelona could see the Ferrari man take P1.
    • Two years ago, Max Verstappen’s triumph saw him become F1’s youngest-ever winner at 18 years 227 days, become the first Dutchman to win in F1 and the first man to win on a mid-season debut for a team since Juan-Manuel Fangio for Mercedes in 1954.
    • Force India will be hoping to spring another surprise. Perez finished fourth in Barcelona last year, his and team’s best-ever finish on this track. The Mexican is attempting to score back-to-back podium finishes for the first time in his and his team’s history this weekend.
    • Nico Hulkenberg has not been eliminated in Q1 since the 2015 Spanish GP, and this is the only circuit at which the German has never qualified higher than 10th in his F1 career (seven previous visits).
    • It’s safe to say Pierre Gasly has endured an action-packed start to his first full season in F1. And there’s no reason he cannot replicate his fourth-placed finish in Bahrain this weekend. He has scored more podium finishes in Catalunya than on any other circuit in his GP2 career, with three podiums in four starts in 2015-16.
    • Not including retirements, Nico Rosberg, who started the 2013 race in P1, is the only pole-sitter to finish outside the top-5 in a Spanish Grand Prix – regardless of venue – in the history of Formula 1.

    The circuit

    This Circuit de Barcelona-Catalunya is familiar territory for Formula 1 teams. Not only have they raced there every year since 1991, they also take part in extensive testing at the track.

    But this does not mean they’re in for an easy ride. In fact, the venue’s mix of high and low-speed corners plus its new track surface will once again provide the drivers with a physical and mental challenge.

    Teams often struggle to find and execute an optimum set-up here, when you consider tyre wear is particularly high and the varying winds that cut across the circuit.

    Turn 1 provides spectators with one of the best places to watch given it is one of the track’s few overtaking opportunities. The drivers, however, tend to find the latter stages of the track the more challenging. In particular, the final two turns require a fast exit in order to maximise speed down the start-finish straight into Turn 1.

    Source: Formula1.com

  • Lewis Hamilton wins incident-packed Azerbaijan GP; Force India’s Sergio Perez third

    Lewis Hamilton wins incident-packed Azerbaijan GP; Force India’s Sergio Perez third

    Lewis Hamilton celebrates after winning the Azerbaijan GP on Sunday. Photo: FIA

    Baku, 29 April 2018: Lewis Hamilton claimed a fortunate 63rd career win and control of the Drivers’ Championship standings at the end of a chaotic and incident-packed Azerbaijan Grand Prix that saw long-time race leader Sebastian Vettel drop to fourth after a collision between the Red Bull drivers and Valtteri Bottas exit the race from the lead with a late puncture.

    Kimi Räikkönen was left to take second place behind Hamilton, with Force India’s Sergio Perez taking a second career podium finish in Baku thanks to a late pass on Vettel.

    The 2018 Azerbaijan GP was full of drama right from the start. Pole position man Vettel held his advantage when the lights went out, taking the lead ahead of Hamilton, Bottas and the Red Bulls of Daniel Ricciardo and Max Verstappen.

    Behind them, there was drama as Räikkönen and Force India’s Esteban Ocon collided in Turn 1. The impact pushed the French driver into the barriers and out of the race, but the Finn was able to make his way back to the pits for a new front wing and a set of soft tyres.

    More incidents were to follow soon after when Williams Sergey Sirotkin tagged the front right wheel of Fernando Alonso’s McLaren. The Russian driver was forced to retire, but the Spaniard was able to limp back to the pits, though by the time he had reached the McLaren pit box he had shed both right side tyres. He too took a new front wing and soft tyres. With debris strewn across the track, the Safety Car was deployed.

    When the action resumed, Vettel again held his advantage, demonstrably backing the field up to shorten the run to Turn 1. He quickly opened up a gap to the Mercedes and it was further back in the battle for fourth to sixth that the big battles began to happen.

    Verstappen passed team-mate Ricciardo but in doing so Renault’s Carlos Sainz pounced and managed to slot between the two Red Bulls. The Spaniard then began to exert pressure on the Dutch driver and quickly made a decisive move past the Red Bull.

    Behind them, Ricciardo was also a target for Renault. Nico Hulkenberg swiftly passed the Australian and then got past Verstappen as both Red Bull drivers complained of battery charging problems.

    Hulkenberg’s stay in fifth place was brief, however, as on lap 11 he made an error in Turn 4. The German lost the back end of his Renault and the rear left hit the wall. He drove straight down the escape road at Turn 5 and retired.

    The Red Bull drivers appeared to now be recovering from their woes and as Verstappen began to push back towards Sainz, the Spaniard opted to pit, shedding his ultrasoft starting tyres for a set of softs.

    At the front, Vettel was busy constructing a comfort zone back to Hamilton, and by lap 20 the Ferrari driver had built a foufour-secondshion over the Mercedes man. Hamilton was in turn six seconds clear of team-mate Bottas.

    Vettel’s advantage was stretched on lap 21 when Hamilton suffered a huge lock-up into Turn 1, flat-spotting both front tyres. He dropped three seconds to Vettel and immediately headed for the pit lane were he took on a set of soft tyres. He rejoined in P3.

    The race then settled until Vettel, with a 4.8s lead over Bottas and 23.6s in hand over Hamilton, made his pit stop at the end of lap 30, taking on soft tyres. And when they crossed the line next, the German found himself 11.7s behind new leader Bottas (who needed to make a pit stop) and 7.9s ahead of Hamilton who was going to the end on older soft tyres.

    Behind them, the Red Bulls, who had been duelling fiercely throughout the race, traded positions once more. Fourth-placed Verstappen complained of waning grip from his ageing supersoft tyres and Ricciardo, spotting the opportunity, pounced at Turn 1, using a good two from his team-mate to overtake around the outside. The Australian did well to keep his car out of the wall on exit as he locked up. It was all in vain, however, as when they pair pitted the Dutchman jumped his team-mate and re-took fourth place.

    Ricciardo was urged by his engineer to “get it all done again” but in doing the Red Bulls set the pattern for the end of the race.

    Ricciardo tried to pass his team-mate into Turn 1. The interplay between the cars was hard to judge, as Verstappen moved marginally right and then more decisively defended to his left, but the result was that Ricciardo slammed into the back of Verstappen’s car and both crashed out of the race.

    The safety car was deployed, but as it dictated the pace, sixth-placed Romain Grosjean lost control as he weaved to keep heat in his tyres and he hit the wall.

    The medical car was sent on track, the safety car stayed out and it took a number of laps before the Frenchman’s Haas was lifted off the track.

    Racing finally resumed on lap 48, after all of the leading drivers had pitted for ultrasoft tyres, and Vettel desperately tried to get past Bottas. The German locked up though and went wide, allowing Hamilton and Räikkönen to get past.

    The race took and even more dramatic turn later in the lap as Bottas suddenly suffered a punctured rear left, caused by debris, that dropped him out of the race. Further, back Vettel was struggling with his tyres and he was passed by Sergio Pérez.

    And that was how the podium shaped up, with Hamilton taking a somewhat fortunate 63rdcareer victory ahead of Räikkönen and Perez. Vettel was left with fourth place ahead of Sainz, while Sauber’s Charles Leclerc collected his first F1 points with sixth place. Alonso brought his damaged McLaren home in seventh place ahead of Williams’ Lance Stroll, the second McLaren of Stoffel Vandoorne and the final point, for 10th place, went to Toro Rosso’s Brendon Hartley.

    2018 Azerbaijan Grand Prix – Race
    1 Lewis Hamilton Mercedes –
    2 Kimi Raikkonen Ferrari 2.460
    3 Sergio Perez Force India 4.024
    4 Sebastian Vettel Ferrari 5.329
    5 Carlos Sainz Renault 7.515
    6 Charles Leclerc Sauber 9.158
    7 Fernando Alonso McLaren 10.931
    8 Lance Stroll Williams 12.546
    9 Stoffel Vandoorne McLaren 14.152
    10 Brendon Hartley Toro Rosso 18.030
    11 Marcus Ericsson Sauber 18.512
    12 Pierre Gasly Toro Rosso 24.720
    13 Kevin Magnussen Haas 30.663
    14 Valtteri Bottas Mercedes 3 laps
    Ret Romain Grosjean Haas 9 laps
    Ret Max Verstappen Red Bull Racing 12 laps
    Ret Daniel Ricciardo Red Bull Racing 12 laps
    Ret Nico Hulkenberg Renault 41 laps
    Ret Esteban Ocon Force India –
    Ret Sergey Sirotkin Williams –

  • Sebastian Vettel grabs 53rd career pole ahead of Lewis Hamilton: Azerbaijan GP

    Baku, 28 April 2018: Sebastian Vettel grabbed his 53rd career pole position at the Baku Circuit Circuit, edging Lewis Hamilton by just under two tenths of a second in an enthralling qualifying session for the Azerbaijan Grand Prix, the fourth round of the Formula One World Championship here on Saturday.

    Vettel’s party might have been spoiled by team-mate Kimi Räikkönen, who was on course to beat the German’s time on his final flying lap, but a mistake in Turn 16 mean the Finn lost all the time gained in his first two sectors and he finished sixth behind third-placed Valtteri Bottas of Mercedes and the Red Bulls of Daniel Ricciardo and Max Verstappen.

    In Q1, Ricciardo set the early pace with a lap of 1:43.259 that put him three tenths of a second ahead of team-mate Max Verstappen. But the Red Bulls’ hold on the top two spots was brief as Räikkönen and Vettel stole the places, with the Finn topping the order with a lap of 1:42.985. He eventually improved that to a time of 1:42.538 as Hamilton worked his way to a time of 1:42.693 to sit in second place. That wouldn’t last, however, as Verstappen went for another attempt and stole into second place ahead of the Briton with a lap of 1:42.642. Vettel was third ahead of Ricciardo and Force India’s Esteban Ocon and Mercedes’ Valtteri Bottas.

    In the drop zone as the clock counted down to three minutes left, were Sergio Perez, whose opening flyer has been wrecked when he locked up at Turn 15 and was forced to take an escape road, Williams’ Lance Stroll, Sauber’s Marcus Ericsson, Toro Rosso’s Brendon Hartley and Haas’ Romain Grosjean who had driven off track at Turn 3 early in the session with a gearbox problem.

    Perez quickly hauled himself out of danger, rising to 10th before dropping back to 12th place at the end of the session. That dropped McLaren’s Stoffel Vandoorne into the danger area, and as the final runs played out the Belgian was unable to drag himself out of the mire and was eliminated in P16.

    There was drama in the final moments as Toro Rosso’s Pierre Gasly was forced to take evasive action when he came across team-mate Brendon Hartley going slowly. The Frenchman was justifiably furious when his team-mate moved across on track, but he was told that Hartley had a puncture and had no choice but to drive slowly and the New Zealander apologised over team radio for his lapse. Both Toro drivers were eliminated, with Gasly in P17 ahead of Sauber’s Marcus Ericsson and with Hartley behind the Swede. Haas’ Romain Grosjean also exited the session, driving off track early in the session with a gearbox issue.

    In Q2, Mercedes, Ferrari and Red Bull opted to start the session on supersofts, looking to set their quickest lap on the compound and start on the red-banded Pirelli tyres. Räikkönen though struggled on the tyres, locking up twice and ruining flying laps as he tried to find a comfort zone. In P15 in the final minutes, he was forced to switch to the ultrasoft and his final run vaulted him to top spot ahead of Hamilton.

    There were nervous moments for Ricciardo as he abandoned a final run on ultrasofts. His supersoft lap left him 10th and he snuck through to Q3 just a tenth ahead of William’s Lances Stroll who was eliminated ahead of team-mate Sergey Sirotkin, McLaren’s Fernando Alonso, Sauber’s Charles Leclerc and Haas’ Kevin Magnussen.

    Vettel led the way in the first runs of Q3 with a time of 1:41.498 that put him 0.342s ahead of Hamilton, with Bottas third ahead of Verstappen and Ricciardo, who reported that he’d brushed the wall in Turn 15 on his first flyer.

    In the final runs, as Vettel failed to improve and Hamilton made an improvement, but not enough to threaten the German’s opening time, it was Räikkönen who threatened to make the biggest move and spoil his team-mate’s party. The Finn was two tenths up on Vettel after the first two sectors of his final flying lap but a huge slide in Turn 16 wrecked his lap and he remained sixth.

    Vettel, therefore, took his 53rd career pole ahead of Hamilton and Bottas. Ricciardo made a good step on this final run to claim fourth place ahead of Verstappen and Räikkönen. Force India’s good preparation was rewarded with seventh place for Esteban Ocon and eighth for Sergio Perez. Nico Hulkenberg was ninth with Renault team-mate Carlos Sainz tenth.

    2018 Azerbaijan Grand Prix – Qualifying
    1 Sebastian Vettel Ferrari 1:41.498
    2 Lewis Hamilton Mercedes 1:41.677 0.179
    3 Valtteri Bottas Mercedes 1:41.837 0.339
    4 Daniel Ricciardo Red Bull Racing 1:41.911 0.413
    5 Max Verstappen Red Bull Racing 1:41.994 0.496
    6 Kimi Raikkonen Ferrari 1:42.490 0.992
    7 Esteban Ocon Force India 1:42.523 1.025
    8 Sergio Perez Force India 1:42.547 1.049
    9 Nico Hulkenberg Renault 1:43.066 1.568
    10 Carlos Sainz Renault 1:43.351 1.853
    11 Lance Stroll Williams 1:43.585 2.087
    12 Sergey Sirotkin Williams 1:43.886 2.388
    13 Fernando Alonso McLaren 1:44.019 2.521
    14 Charles Leclerc Sauber 1:44.074 2.576
    15 Kevin Magnussen Haas 1:44.759 3.261
    16 Stoffel Vandoorne McLaren 1:44.489 2.991
    17 Pierre Gasly Toro Rosso 1:44.496 2.998
    18 Marcus Ericsson Sauber 1:45.541 4.043
    19 Brendon Hartley Toro Rosso 1:57.354 15.856
    20 Romain Grosjean Haas .

     

  • Ferrari got a phenomenal car this year: Lewis Hamilton in Saturday Press Meet

    Ferrari got a phenomenal car this year: Lewis Hamilton in Saturday Press Meet

    Vettel takes pole on Saturday. An Fia image

    Baku, 28 April 2018: The Press Conference after qualification on Saturday at Baku, was attended by the three fastest qualifiers: Sebastian Vettel (Ferrari), Lewis Hamilton (Mercedes) and Valtteri Bottas (Mercedes).

    TRACK INTERVIEWS

    Q: Sebastian Vettel is in pit lane and will be out here to speak to us soon, but let’s go and talk to the Mercedes guys who had such a quick car today but maybe not quite enough. Lewis, that first sector was phenomenal, just seemed to lose something in the second, but are you happy with your job today?

    Lewis HAMILTON: Yeah, well firstly you’ve got a great crowd here – hi, everyone. That was close! We did the best job we could. Jeez, I think I was up three tenths until Turn 15 and then I came across the line two tenths up, so I lost a little bit in the last sector. But regardless, Sebastian did a good job. They were quickest all weekend. They’ve obviously got a phenomenal car this year. But really happy with the job the team did to get us from where we were yesterday to where we are today. Valtteri did also a great job. We’re in the mix. This is the fifth-best track to overtake, I think. It doesn’t mean it’s impossible but I’ll try to give Sebastian a hard time tomorrow.

    Q: As we saw from even the place markers being pushed away by the wind when you got here, how windy is it out there? How hard is it?

    LH: Down the straight particularly it’s hard to keep the car straight. You’re getting crosswinds in between buildings, so you’re constantly correcting the car, but the track has been great today, so I appreciate everyone in Azerbaijan for having us.

    Q: Great job, Lewis, and what about this guy? Seb, unbelievable job, three poles in a row, looked phenomenal out there. I know on your second run you were going for faster but a bit of a lock-up stopped you from doing that but you were phenomenal today.

    Sebastian VETTEL: Thank you. I felt the car was good in Q2 and Q2 and then in the last segment of qualifying I knew I have it, I have the car that does what I want. Not have it as in pole position, but that I could get a good lap together. The first lap I was really happy, there were maybe two tiny bits where it wasn’t exactly perfect, but I knew on the second run that the track would ramp up and that I would have to go out and get it again. I was a little bit down on the time, a little bit faster and then I locked up. It caught me by surprise for Turn 3 and then I wasn’t sure, do I go straight or do I try to hang on to it. I tried to hang on to it but, yeah, fortunately it was enough. I really had a good lap on the first attempt, so really happy.

    Q: Beautiful job. Don’t go anywhere. Hey Valterri, great car, quick car, can you take the fight to Ferrari tomorrow?

    Valtteri BOTTAS: Yeah, for sure we can. We are there with both cars now. It’s been really happening this season so we are starting very close. The race here can be really crazy, so we are up for the fight.

    Q: Right until the last lap, to the last inches it can be crazy, you know that better than anyone from last year?

    VB: Yeah, sure. Last year I was one lap down after lap one and I ended up second, so anything can happen but at least now we have a good starting point.

    Q: Seb, we come back to you. It’s been a great day, but this is only the start. Mercedes are in the mix, Red Bull are in the mix. How hard is it going to be tomorrow? Even just that run down to Turn 1, how tough is it going to be tomorrow?

    SV: It’s not that long. That way is a lot longer! I think it will be an intense race. Here, anything can happen, safety cars are very likely. The good point is that our car was really good this afternoon, so we should be in a good place tomorrow. Yesterday I struggled a bit with confidence, with trust in the car, and just rhythm, which is important around here, but today, when it clicks it just keeps coming and it was really enjoyable. I’m a bit upset with my final run because I thought I had a little bit more but we got pole so we can’t be much happier with how the day went.

    PRESS CONFERENCE

    Sebastian, how happy are you after this one, particularly after yesterday when you said you were lacking confidence in the car?

    SV: Well, lack of confidence in the car, leading into lack of confidence around the track. I think around this place you need to have the trust, otherwise you don’t dare go as quick as you might be able to. At the end of the session I was quite confident and today I was able to carry that into the day and the car was amazing. It just kept getting better. The track picked up quite a bit through qualifying. Q3 run one I was really happy. There was maybe a tiny bit in the middle sector – in Turn 6, Turn 11 – where I was a bit greedy and went a bit wider than I should, but the rest of the lap was really good. Also, I ha da good exit from the last corner, which was incredibly difficult today, with the wind playing tricks on all of is I guess, and even a little bit of a two with the car five, six, seven seconds ahead, so I was really happy how that lap came together. And then for the second run I knew there was a little bit more in those places that I mentioned and the car was on fire straight away but then I think I got a bit too excited for Turn 3 and tried to brake later, quite a bit later, than the laps before. I must have hit the bump as well and locked the front. From then onwards the front left was flat-spotted. I was quite upset at the time in the car, because I burnt my shot at an improvement and I didn’t know what was going around me. So when I then aborted the lap and I was told pole position then obviously I was really happy. I think the team has done well. We’ve changed the car again overnight and found even more performance.

    Lewis, we haven’t had you in the qualifying press conference for the last couple of races, so what news from Mercedes? Is the car much more to your liking?

    LH: It’s good to be back. I hope you haven’t missed me too much. Sebastian did a great job today, congratulations to him. Ferrari have been so dominant in the last couple of races and pace-wise we knew that they would be very quick here. Which they have been all weekend. I think Red Bull also looked really promising, not sure what happened to them. And we were struggling yesterday, but we came into today and the engineers did some really great work last night to understand where we were and how we could progress forwards, so a big thank you to them for all their hard work. Today was much more reasonable car. There were still areas where we were lacking but it’s a work in progress I would say and to be that close to the Ferraris is definitely a positive and to have me and Valtteri up there is a good booster for the team, to be right there in up in the mix. Excited for the race. It’s very hard to overtake here as it is anywhere around the world, but we’ll give it everything we’ve got.

    Q: Valtteri, how was the session from your point of view, and can we also have a word from you about the conditions. The wind seemed to be changing direction the whole time.

    VB: I think, like Lewis said, we made some good progress since yesterday. The end result today was a lot better than what we saw and thought it could be today. We believed we can fix the issues, just like we did here last year here actually, from Friday to Saturday and, yeah, we were still finding out way with the setup in Practice Three and made it even better for qualifying. Definitely the best car I had this weekend, so far. I think the session was pretty straightforward. At the beginning lots of yellow flags and difficult to put the lap together but after that Q2, Q3, really straightforward. I felt that I could never quite get the perfect lap. It is extremely difficult here – and, especially the second run I was still missing something. I feel maybe still Ferrari was too quick for us but yeah, as a team reasonable result now. We have both cars in pretty good position to fight for the win.

    QUESTIONS FROM THE FLOOR

    Q: A question for the two Mercedes drivers. What exactly did you have to change after yesterday’s session and how much of a difference did it actually make in the car? What was different about the cars’ handling today?

    LH: Just setup. Yesterday we were sliding around a lot, so setup wing level, ride heights. Pretty much everything on the car. Did a lot of changes.

    Valtteri, anything to add from your point of view?

    VB: No, no I think we had similar direction where we were heading since yesterday with both cars and definitely it was better.

    Q: Also for the two Mercedes drivers. You seemed to be able to match the Ferrari’s pace in Sector One, almost in Sector Three but Sector Two as the most difficult for you guys. What’s not happening in your car in the Old City section?

    VB: Yeah, I think we have seen that all weekend really. Especially the sessions earlier to qualifying. Sector Two is the twisty section and I think we’ve been struggling a little bit more than other cars, riding over the kerbs in some places, which might cause a bit of lap time loss for us. I think the main issue has been getting the tyres to work, and that can be made through the setup of the car. I think we’ve made it better. Obviously, they are still doing something better in Sector Two and getting the tyres to work, and being able to ride over the kerbs.

    Lewis, anything to add?

    LH: The middle sector, I can’t really explain it. I think they have a little bit more downforce than us.

    Q: Lewis, Bernie Ecclestone had some complimentary things to say about you yesterday. Said you’re super quick, super talented and a super nice guy – but he also said that he didn’t think you’re the racer you once were and that you appear fed up with things. Do you have any response or comment about that?

    LH: Not really, no.

    Q: Are you as good as you’ve ever been, do you think?

    LH: We’ll see at the end of the year.

    Q: Question for Sebastian. Sebastian, were you being made aware by your team how close Kimi had come to nicking pole from you. He was two-tenths up on you after the first couple of sectors. A second point to that, how much are you feeling from Kimi’s side of the garage this year. Are you noticing a renewed level of performance from him?

    SV: I think one thing is always to look at the result and the other one, if you look a little bit deeper… I think it’s been incredibly close this year so far. He’s obviously… to be honest, most of the Fridays I think he had the upper hand so far. Yeah, here and there was struggling to understand the car and feel the car so I think knowing him, knowing his strength, he’s incredibly talented and able to drive around problems. So, as I said, it’s been quite close this year. The last lap, I wasn’t aware, obviously I was out because I took myself out but if you look also the previous years the image is a bit distorting. It wasn’t as one-sided as you might think if you look at the results. I think we’re… I don’t know where you’re going or why you’re asking but I think we’re a good pair, a good match. We just said recently there’s so little problem… there’s no problem at all between us ever and there were races where I messed up, crashed into him, took him out and yeah, life goes on. I think that’s a really big bonus for the team and for us to just enjoy our job.

    Q:  Lewis and Valtteri, you said that the Ferrari probably has more downforce and here also the power unit is also very very important. Can you make a comment about it? It looks, from the outside that they have a little step in front of Mercedes, which is a great surprise in Formula One.

    LH: Well, I don’t know if that’s a surprise because they’ve had the same power units for all the races this season, so they’ve shown they’ve been very quick on the straights. They’ve got a very strong DRS in particular, quite efficient DRS as far as I’m aware. Yeah, but honestly I’ve not looked at the data so I don’t know where they are faster than us and where we’re faster than them but obviously they’ve made a big step forward this year and they are the number one team to beat at the moment.

    VB: I think that was everything, really.

    Q:  To Seb: you’ve been involved in Formula One now for a great number of years. How hard is it to sustain it at that level? I say that slightly… bearing in mind Bernie’s remarks about Lewis. How demanding and draining is it for a high level driver?

    SV: It’s certainly different… going into the season certainly feels different than it did ten years ago. I think that’s what ten years do to you. Don’t get me wrong, not in a bad way but I think as you grow up you change your views on some things, you hopefully get a bit wiser so you change… your horizon changes and also your motivation is different. Maybe you are looking at things a bit differently. It always depends on how you are as a person, which targets you have and what you’re ultimately trying to achieve. For me, I’m enjoying what I do, I love what I do, I love racing. Obviously there’s a lot of people that have an opinion on every single day that I’m in the car and sometimes they are right, sometimes they are not. I think the most important thing is that you know who you are and you’re true to yourself. Then, I think you can afford to listen less to what’s going on around, not be distracted and simply enjoy your racing. Whether you are at your prime or not, I think then – once you retire – you have enough time to analyse and look back and say… Of course, the level is high, if you want to fight at the front, you cannot afford to do many mistakes and for whoever is at the top and was at the top in the past for many years, usually has a high level and there’s a lot of effort going into it, not just putting everything together at the track but also away from the track. Yeah, without making it longer than it already is, it is a lot of work and sometimes it gets appreciated, other times less but ultimately it’s about yourself.

    Q:  The first two editions of this Grand Prix were very different. One was very tame, almost dull, and last year we had a crashfest, so what can we expect from tomorrow’s race, especially with the weather conditions getting even worse with more wind?

    SV: I don’t have a crystal ball so I don’t know. The thing nowadays, that I don’t like, is that people tend to judge our sport straightaway based on one race. After Australia we had ‘catastrophe, these cars blah blah blah.’ I mean yes, it might have been a boring race but also it’s down to many things: the track, the race, whatever. Then we had, I think, an entertaining race in Bahrain and in China. Maybe tomorrow’s boring, maybe it’s exciting. I don’t know. Maybe it rains. Who knows? In the end, that’s why we go racing so that we will find out, I guess.

    LH: Yeah, hopefully it will be fun and hopefully challenging. If you look at the GP2 (F2) race, there were lots of safety cars as there were last year. I really have no idea what’s in store for us but I know it’s going to be exciting and I just hope that we’re there in the mix, fighting with them.

    VB: Yeah, I think it’s going to be a good race, because we have such a tight field this year and on a track like this, where we have a massive long straight and there’s the possibility for overtaking so at least we try to make it exciting with Lewis and battling for the win.

    Q:  Seb, it’s obvious that the guys next to you want to make the next undercut tomorrow. Will you be prepared for it?

    SV: Well, I think certainly what happened in China, we didn’t like it but I think we have a good team looking after this sort of stuff. I think we will see how the start goes, how the first stint goes but certainly we are aware that this is a long lap here and the undercut power is probably there. Equally it’s tough, I guess, to make the tyres work straight away for everyone. I think what there was to learn from China we learned and we should be fine tomorrow.

    Ends

  • Vettel and Ferrari burn competition with a hot lap; tough task ahead for Hammy!

    Vettel….continues his charge. Photo: FIA

    By Harish Samtani

    Shanghai, 14 April 2018: The fans of Mercedes and those who believed that Ferrari couldn’t possibly sustain its superiority over the German outfit, are currently busy consuming big portions of humble pie after Saturday’s qualifying session in the Chinese Grand Prix here.

    The Scuderia steamrolled Mercedes with over a half second advantage in qualifying in a relatively cooler environment and circuit than in Bahrain that had Hamilton incredulous and questioning Ferraris’ back-to-back superior performances in qualifying.

    Vettel, the eventual pole-sitter, is on song and his last minute record breaking lap had even his team-mate stunned and Mercedes humbled. His car is not only reliable and quick, but seems to be running on rails with nary a twitch.

    The Renault-powered Red Bulls were not exactly slackers, but were made to appear so by the Maranello outfit’s duo. Even Kimi was stunned by Vettel’s last second gasp which dethroned him from his almost certain pole.

    At this rate, Hammy’s quest for title No. 5 has to wait patiently. In hindsight, the five championship title holders of the past have to be acknowledged with greater respect. There will be ifs and buts, but every year and era has its own set of challenges. No one has it easy.

    The top six cars qualified within a 0.853 seconds of each other. Grosjean rounded up the 10th position 1.760 seconds adrift in his Ferrari-powered Haas! That’s quite a bit as it is. So, it would be safe to assume that around 12-14 cars will be lapped in the 56-lap race.

    Force India had a decent outing with Perez eighth on the starter board. I suspect that they have taken a step back to go two steps forward. So, the aero package or something else has not delivered as expected, but the good thing is that once they get sorted, they are going be in the thick of action and will leapfrog over a few of the pretenders such as Haas etc. Their fourth overall in 2017 will gain even more legitimacy.

    While it is early days, the die is cast and some serious action is on the anvil on and off the track!!!

  • China GP: With chasing pack closing in on the front-runners, frenetic action on the cards!

    Circuit Map – Courtesy China Grand Prix

    By Harish Samtani

    Shanghai, April 13: The land of mystique spoke with me on arrival at the airport in Shanghai. The customs department was scrutinizing incoming passengers and I had to restrain myself from asking the stern looking officer as to what on earth was he looking for! Everything that I had with me, including my luggage and my undies, were made in China! Maybe, they had a bizarre reverse smuggling regulation in force!

    All that flippancy transformed quickly to respect once I reached the F1 circuit. China had exceeded itself in building a state-of-the-art circuit that has the approval of all the teams. From the perfect surface of the track itself to the facilities on offer were bang on.

    Add to this a picturesque location – the team paddocks are located idyllically on the banks of a meandering river and the Media Centre that has the best view ever of the circuit’s many corners and looking out on to the start/finish line. Top class. Period!

    One tends to overlook the shortcoming of lack of the English language and the overwhelming presence of the Special Forces on duty. There was a sign posted on the glass window stating that it was dangerous to take pictures from there and strictly not permitted! In short, you shoot pictures and we shoot you. Fair.

    The 5.45 Km circuit allows for a maximum straight line speed of about 320 KPH and seems to be favored by most drivers. Tyre wear isn’t all that much and hence one can expect – I am guessing – that most teams will opt for the ultra super soft option of tyre and then stop just once for a change after about 15 laps. Looks like, it’s going to be fast and furious all the way to the checkered flag.

    The other rhyming word is curious, as to the tremendous build up of tension in the midfield. The time difference is tantalizingly close from 6th downward to the 14th position. With fractions of a second separating them, finally boredom may have to take a back seat, thankfully. That is, if the cars get thru’ the first two laps without taking each other out, like they stupidly did in Bahrain.

    Photo: McLaren F1 team

    Alonso’s team McLaren had brought grief upon themselves in Bahrain by opting to focus more on cornering speed via better downforce and which as a downside affected their straight line speed by about 7 Kph. Their Bahrain Sheikh sponsor didn’t quite enjoy that event from his royal box obviously! So, one can hopefully see this legend back and thrilling his legion of faithful followers.

    Now, if one was to throw in Max Verstappen (good news that he and a forgiving and forgetting (?) Hammy have kissed and made up) and Ricciardo into the mix, it’s going to be frenetic action surely. This will hold good through the entire season, of this I am sure. Practice timings only flatter to deceive and hence I won’t dwell on that for now for the Chinese chapter.

    Photo: Redbull Racing 

    The leaderboard will have its independent numbers and stories since the big boys such as Ferrari, Mercedes and Red Bull are in a different league and only major mishaps can derail their charge to the top. But they are a bit confused and worried about the emergence of team Haas and Toro Rosso as challengers.

    Gasly (Toro Rosso, 4th in Bahrain) and Magnussen (Haas, 5th in Bahrain) have been quite proficient behind their respective wheels. Vicious rumors are doing the rounds about probable reasons for their superlative performance, but I think that’s rather unfair and uncalled for. Time will tell and time can be a bitch when push comes to shove.