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Tag: Vettel
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Hamilton wins in Hungary ahead of Vettel, Raikkonen: Hungarian GP
Hamilton wins on Sunday. An FIA image Budapest, 29 July 2018: Lewis Hamilton took his fifth win of 2018 with a comfortable drive to victory at the Hungarian Grand Prix, as Sebastian Vettel survived a late collision with the second Mercedes of Valtteri Bottas to take second place ahead of Ferrari team-mate Kimi Räikkönen.
In the later stages of the race Bottas was then involved in a second collision, with red Bull’s Daniel Ricciardo and eventually finished fifth behind the Australian.
At the start, Räikkönen made the best start, but though he tried to pass polesitter Hamilton on the inside, Bottas came across and blocked the path. As the leaders swept through the first three corners, Vettel was then able to get ahead of his team-mate who had taken a wide line.
Behind them, Verstappen made a good start and passed Toro Rosso’s Pierre Gasly, while Renault’s Carlos Sainz, who had started fifth, slipped back to eighth. That meant that Verstappen held fifth place ahead of the Gasly, the fast-starting Haas of Kevin Magnussen, Sainz, the second Toro Rosso of Brendon Hartley and Renault’s Nico Hulkenberg.
Towards the rear of the field Daniel Ricciardo, in the second Red Bull, got away well but on the run to Turn 1, Sauber’s Marcus Ericsson collided with the Australian’s left rear wheel. There as no damage but Ricciardo dropped to P16.
There was worse news for Red Bull a few laps later when Max Verstappen slowed dramatically in Turn 3. He reported a loss of power and was told to pull over at Turn 6 and retire from the race.
Ricciardo was soon on the moved from 16th and by lap 10 he had climbed to 11th place, passing McLaren’s Fernando Alonso under DRS into Turn 1 at the start of the lap.
At the front Hamilton was building a gap, with the Briton 3.9s ahead of Bottas at the start of lap 10 and 6.2s clear of Vettel. Räikkönen was now a second behind his team-mate with Gasly in fifth place ahead of Magnussen and the second Renault of Sainz.
Sainz’s stay in P7 wouldn’t last long, however. Ricciardo’s march through the pack continued and having passed Hulkenberg and Hartley under DRS in Turn 1, he repeated the move on Sainz on lap 16, diving down the inside to steal P7.
The window for first stops was open at this point and prior to Ricciardo’s move on Sainz, both Räikkönen and Bottas had stopped for soft tyres.
Hamilton and Vettel, though, stayed on track. By lap 23 Hamilton had 7.3 seconds in hand over the German, who made a mistake and locked up at Turn 12. Bottas as now third, 27s behind Vettel, with Räikkönen fourth, almost four seconds clear of Gasly and with a stop in hand.
Vettel recovered from his laps and once again began to exert pressure on the ultrasoft-shod Hamilton. The German’s superior pace led to Mercedes pitting Hamilton on lap 25. He took on soft tyres and rejoined in P2 ahead of Bottas and 13.629s behind Vettel who continued to circulate.
Behind them Ricciardo continued to make progress and by lap 28 he was up to P5 having eased past Magnussen and Gasly. Räikkönen, meanwhile, was beginning to close on Bottas and on lap 30 Ferrari’s Finn was just 2.3s behind his Mercedes-driving compatriot.
Vettel was also encountering the traffic and the front his lead over Hamilton, who was in free air, began to shrink and on lap 36 he was just 10s ahead of the Mercedes man.
Räikkönen then backed out of the battle with Bottas and made a second stop, taking on more softs. He rejoined in P5 and immediately began setting purple times as he chased after Ricciardo who was still on starting soft tyres.
A lap after Räikkönen switched tyres, Vettel did the same. The German took on ultrasofts but there was a momentary problem with the front left and he emerged in third place behind Bottas.
Ricciardo was the last of the front runners to pit and the Red Bull driver took on a set of ultrasoft tyres at the end of lap 44. The effect was immediate and he was soon setting purple times as he tried to chase down Räikkönen.
Further back, behind sixth-placed Gasly and seventh-placed Magnussen, late pit stops had also benefited McLaren and after their stops, Fernando Alonso and Stoffel Vandoorne were in eighth and ninth places respectively. It was too good to last, however, and on lap 51 Vandoorne slowed and pulled over at Turn 1 to retire. That boosted Sainz to P9 ahead of Grosjean.
At the front, on lap 55, Hamilton was now 13.7s ahead of Bottas. Vettel was desperately trying to find a way past the Finn but the longer he sat in the Mercedes’ wake the more damage was done to his tyres.
The German kept probing, however, and on lap 57 Bottas radioed through to say he was struggling with his rear tyres. Vettel closed to within DRS range of Bottas, but the Finn did a superb job of managing the gap and his tyres life to hold off the German for a long spell.
It came to an end on lap 65, however, as Vettel launched an attack around the outside into Turn 1. He made the move stick through Turn 2, but as they went into the next corner, Bottas collided with the rear of Vettel’s car.
Despite the showers of carbon fibre as elements of Bottas’ front wing disintegrated, Vettel suffered little damage and carried on to claim an eventual second place behind Hamilton. Räikkönen then swept past Bottas to take third.
In the final laps Bottas now fell back into the clutches of Ricciardo but when the Red Bull driver pounced, around the outside in Turn 1, Bottas went straight on into the side of Ricciardo’s car.
Both drivers were able to carry on but Mercedes soon instructed their driver the cede fourth place to Ricciardo due to the collision and the Australian completed a successful day with a 12-point haul. Bottas was left to take fifth place ahead of Gasly who handed Toro Rosso its best result since his fourth place in Bahrain earlier this season. Kevin Magnussen was seventh for Haas, while Fernando Alonso celebrated his 37th birthday with an good drive to eighth place. The final points positions were taken by Renault’s Carlos Sainz and Haas’ Romain Grosjean.
2018 Formula 1 Hungarian Grand Prix – Race
1 Lewis Hamilton Mercedes
2 Sebastian Vettel Ferrari 17.123
3 Kimi Raikkonen Ferrari 20.101
4 Daniel Ricciardo Red Bull Racing 46.419
5 Valtteri Bottas Mercedes 50.000
6 Pierre Gasly Toro Rosso 1:13.273
7 Kevin Magnussen Haas 1 lap
8 Fernando Alonso McLaren 1 lap
9 Carlos Sainz Renault 1 lap
10 Romain Grosjean Haas 1 lap
11 Brendon Hartley Toro Rosso 1 lap
12 Nico Hulkenberg Renault 1 lap
13 Esteban Ocon Force India 1 lap
14 Sergio Perez Force India 1 lap
15 Marcus Ericsson Sauber 2 laps
16 Sergey Sirotkin Williams 2 laps
17 Lance Stroll Williams 2 laps
Stoffel Vandoorne McLaren 21 laps
Max Verstappen Red Bull Racing 65 laps
Charles Leclerc Sauberends/db
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Vettel takes pole at home race; Hamilton hits trouble
Sebastian Vettel took his 55th career pole position in front of his home crowd at Germany’s Hockenheimring in a qualifying session that saw chief title rival Lewis Hamilton ruled out when he damaged his car running wide at the end of Q1.
Vettel put in a superb performance in Q3 to set a new track record at Hockenheim with a time of 1:11.212. The German’s lap was more than three seconds faster than Nico Rosberg’s pole time of F1’s last visit to this track in 2016. Valtteri Bottas will line up on the front row beside Vettel tomorrow, with Kimi Räikkönen third in the second Ferrari.
After the early pace in Q1 had been set by Sauber’s Charles Leclerc, with a time of 1:13.562, the Ferraris and Mercedes drivers took to the track. Vettel was soon on top with a time of 1:12.765.
As the circuit improved, Räikkönen took over at the top of the order with a lap of 1:12.505 that left him ahead of Vettel, Mercedes’ Valtteri Bottas, Haas’ Romain Grosjean and the second Mercedes of Lewis Hamilton.
Hamilton’s session would end soon afterwards, though. As Q1 entered its final minutes, the Briton ran wide at Turn 1 and bounced hard over the kerbs as he rejoined the track. The impact clearly caused damage and within moments his team told him to stop his car due to a “PU risk”. Hamilton stopped at Turn 10 and pushed his car off track with aid of marshals. His session was over.
Qualifying ended, too, for Force India’s Esteban Ocon. The Frenchman was an unlikely candidate to be eliminated in P16 but his best effort of 1:13.20 wasn’t good enough to beat Williams’ Sergey Sirotkin. Also eliminated at the end of Q1 were Toro Rosso’s Pierre Gasly in P17 followed by team-mate Brendon Hartley, Williams’ Lance Stroll and McLaren’s Stoffel Vandoorne.
At the start of Q2, Bottas was quickly into P1 with a time of 1:12.152 ahead of Räikkönen and Vettel. However, eight minutes into the session the red flags were shown when Marcus Ericsson went off track at Turn 13. In re-joining, the Sauber driver dragged a load of gravel onto the circuit and the session was halted for nine minutes while a road sweeper cleared the mess.
Max Verstappen, who had set his opening time on soft tyres to sit in P9, erred on the side of caution as the action resumed and the Dutchman took the track on ultrasoft tyres.
With the purple tyres on board his final push lap of 1:12.188 vaulted him to P2 behind Q2’s fastest man Bottas and ahead of Räikkönen, Vettel and Haas’ Kevin Magnussen. Romain Grosjean took sixth in the second Haas, with Renault’s Nico Hulkenberg seventh ahead of Leclerc, the second Renault of Carlos Sainz and 10th placed Sergio Perez of Force India, who set a time of 1:13.072.
Eliminated in P11, with a time of 1:13.657 was McLaren’s Fernando Alonso. The Spaniard finished in front of Sirotkin, Ericsson, Hamilton and Red Bull’s Daniel Ricciardo, who faced with a barrage of PU-related penalties and a back-of-the-grid start elected to stay in the garage in Q2.
It was Vettel to the fore early in Q3. Ferrari team-mate Räikkönen set the opening time of the final session with a lap of 1:11.880. However, powered past that to take provisional pole with a time of 1:11.539, bringing a huge roar from the German’s home crowd. Bottas then slotted into P2, 0.170s behind Vettel, leaving Räikkönen third ahead of Verstappen and Grosjean.
In the final runs Bottas was the first to show what kind of improvement he could make and the Finn found a sizeable chunk of time to move into P1 with a time of 1:11.416.
That left Vettel needing to find 0.123 over his opening time if he was to secure his 55th pole position. The German, boosted by his home crowd, was more than up to the task and he found a over three tenths of a second on his final run to claim pole position with a lap of 1:11.212.
Behind P2 man Bottas, Räikkönen took third ahead of Verstappen, with Magnussen fifth and Haas team-mate Grosjean sixth. Hulkenberg took seventh place in qualifying for the fifth time this year ahead of team-mate Sainz, Leclerc and Perez.
2018 German Grand Prix – Qualifying
1 Sebastian Vettel Ferrari 1:11.212
2 Valtteri Bottas Mercedes 1:11.416 0.204
3 Kimi Raikkonen Ferrari 1:11.547 0.335
4 Max Verstappen Red Bull Racing 1:11.822 0.610
5 Kevin Magnussen Haas 1:12.200 0.988
6 Romain Grosjean Haas 1:12.544 1.332
7 Nico Hulkenberg Renault 1:12.560 1.348
8 Carlos Sainz Renault 1:12.692 1.480
9 Charles Leclerc Sauber 1:12.717 1.505
10 Sergio Perez Force India 1:12.774 1.562
11 Fernando Alonso McLaren 1:13.657 2.445
12 Sergey Sirotkin Williams 1:13.702 2.490
13 Marcus Ericsson Sauber 1:13.736 2.524
14 Lewis Hamilton Mercedes
15 Daniel Ricciardo Red Bull Racing
16 Esteban Ocon Force India 1:13.720 2.508
17 Pierre Gasly Toro Rosso 1:13.749 2.537
18 Brendon Hartley Toro Rosso 1:14.045 2.833
19 Lance Stroll Williams 1:14.206 2.994
20 Stoffel Vandoorne McLaren 1:14.401 3.189eom/db
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Sebastian Vettel wins; Hamilton recovers to finish second: British Grand Prix
Vettel waves after winning the British GP on Sunday. An FIA image Silverstone, 8 July 2018: Sebastian Vettel capitalised on a Turn 1 collision between Kimi Räikkonen and Lrewis Hamilton that sent the Briton to the back of the field to claim his 51st career win at the British Grand Prix. Hamilton later staged a superb recover to finish second ahead of the second Ferrari of Kimi Räikkönen.
At the start, Vettel got away superbly to take the lead ahead of pole position man Hamilton. The Briton’s team-mate Valtteri Bottas also swept past and Hamilton found himself third as the field went through Abbey.
The situation was then made worse for Hamilton as Raikkonen braked too late and collided with the right rear of the Briton’s Mercedes. Hamilton spun off track and dropped to 17th place. Raikkonen later received a 10-second time penalty for causing the collision.
At the front, Vettel was free to pull away and by lap eight the German had built a 5.7s lead over Bottas, with Red Bull’s Max Verstappen a further four seconds behind. Raikkonen was now fourth ahead of the second Red Bull of Daniel Ricciardo and the Renault of Nico Hulkenberg.
However, Hamilton was powering through the pack, and on lap eight he had climbed back to eighth place behind Sauber’s Charles Leclerc. He was, however, now 25.7s behind Vettel. He made light work of passing the Monegasque and then breezed past Hulkenberg on lap 10 to sit 13.0 behind fifth-placed Ricciardo.
Raikkonen pitted on lap 13 to serve his penalty and after the hold he took on medium tyres to emerge in 10th place.
Verstappen was the next to pit, on lap 17, with the Dutchman also taking medium tyres. The Red Bull driver emerged in fifth place.
Behind him, Raikkonen was now on a march and in short order he dismissed Carlos Sainz, Esteban Ocon, Leclerc and Nico Hulkenberg to sit in sixth place ahead of the next pit stop, on lap 18, for Ricciardo.
Leclerc was the next to visit pit lane but immediately after his pit stop he reported a problem and he was told to stop his Sauber. He pulled off track at Turn 3 where his strong run of recent points finishes ended.
Vettel then pitted on lap 20, taking on medium tyres. He rejoined in the lead and after Bottas made his stop the German led ahead of the Finn and Hamilton. Hamilton was now 5.8s behind the championship leader but he required a pit stop.
That stop arrived on lap 25, with the Mercedes driver taking on mediums. He rejoined the action on sixth place, 11s behind Raikkonen and 28.2s behind race leader Vettel.
The German was now 3.5s clear of Bottas, with Verstappen almost 10 seconds further back and with Ricciardo fourth ahead Raikkonen.
Bottas then began to close up to Vettel and on lap 30 the gap was down to 2.8s. Hamilton too was picking up the pace and by lap 30 he was running quickest and closing in on Raikkonen.
Red Bull then pitted Ricciardo for a second time on lap 30, with the Australian taking on a fresh set of soft tyres. He rejoined in sixth place, behind Hamilton, who was now just 4.9s behind Raikkonen.
The complexion of the race changed completely on lap 32. Marcus Ericsson overcooked his entry to Turn 1 and he lost the front end of his car. He spun and careered off track and into the barriers.
The safety car was immediately deployed and during the caution, Vettel, Verstappen and Raikkonen all pitted for fresh soft tyres as the field bunched up.
Bottas now led the race behind the SC, with Vettel second ahead of Hamilton, Verstappen, Raikkonen and Ricciardo.
On the restart Bottas held his advantage ahead of Vettel and Hamilton, bit behind them Raikkonen attacked Verstappen. He passed the Dutchman but the Red Bull driver returned the favour in the next corner and he held onto fourth place.
The Safety Car was almost immediately deployed again as behind the leaders Carlos Sainz tried to pass Romain Grosjean in to Copse. It was tight, with Sainz leaving little room, and the result was that the Frenchman clipped the back of the Spaniard’s Renault and they both went off track and out of the race.
The Safety Car left the track at the end of lap 41 and Bottas again held the lead ahead of Vettel and Hamilton, with Verstappen fourth ahead of Raikkonen and Ricciardo.
Vettel than began to exert pressure on Bottas and after a long tussle the German managed to sneak past the Finn with a good move under braking into Brooklands.
Behind them Verstappen spun and then retired from the race.
Bottas, whose tyres were fading, was then passed by Hamilton and he quickly slipped into the clutches of Raikkonen who brushed past his compatriot to take P3.
And that was the way it stayed with Vettel crossing the line ahead of Hamilton to take his 51stcareer win, putting him tied third with Alain Prost on the list of most wins in F1.
Hamilton’s superb recovery from the back of the field was matched to some degree by Räikkönen’s march to the podium from 10th after serving his penalty. Bottas was fourth ahead of Ricciardo with Hulkenberg sixth for Renault. Esteban Ocon took seventh for Force India ahead of McLaren’s Fernando Alonso, Haas’ Kevin Magnussen and the Toro Rosso of Pierre Gasly.
2018 Formula 1 British Grand Prix – Race
1 Sebastian Vettel Ferrari –
2 Lewis Hamilton Mercedes 2.264
3 Kimi Raikkonen Ferrari 3.652
4 Valtteri Bottas Mercedes 8.883
5 Daniel Ricciardo Red Bull Racing 9.500
6 Nico Hulkenberg Renault 28.220
7 Esteban Ocon Force India 29.930
8 Fernando Alonso McLaren 31.115
9 Kevin Magnussen Haas 33.188
10 Pierre Gasly Toro Rosso 34.129
11 Sergio Perez Force India 34.708
12 Stoffel Vandoorne McLaren 35.774
13 Lance Stroll Williams 38.106
14 Sergey Sirotkin Williams 48.113
15 Max Verstappen Red Bull Racing 6 laps
16 Romain Grosjean Haas 15 laps
17 Carlos Sainz Renault 15 laps
18 Marcus Ericsson Sauber 21 laps
19 Charles Leclerc Sauber 34 laps
20 Brendon Hartley Toro Rosso 51 laps.eom/db
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These Ferraris pulled something out in Q3, says poleman Hamilton
Silverstone, 7 July 2018: Reigning World Champion Lewis Hamilton of Mercedes who took the pole at the British Grand Prix, the 10th round of the Formula One World Championship attended the post-qualifying Press Conference along with Ferrari drivers Sebastian Vettel who took P2 and his teammate Kimi Raikkonen, who will start from P3 on Sunday.
Track Interviews: (Conducted by Martin Brundle)
Q: Lewis, congratulations, fantastic. Your fourth consecutive pole position here, a record sixth pole position at the British Grand Prix, your adoring fans looking on. That was a very special lap you had to find there?
Lewis HAMILTON: These guys are the best.
Q: You’re shaking with emotion, literally!
LH: Oh man, I needed… I gave it everything I could. It was so close between these Ferraris. The Ferraris pulled something out when we got to Q3. I was just praying I could do it for you guys, and I’m so grateful for the support, because without you guys I wouldn’t have been able to do it.
Q: Where do you think you made the difference on that last lap?
LH: I don’t even remember it! I honestly don’t remember it, man. Maybe Turn 13… love you too guys!
Q: Congratulations again. Let’s have a quick chat with Sebastian Vettel. Second place, Sebastian, you look like you’re walking wounded here, on your neck.
Sebastian VETTEL: Yeah, I had a bit of an issue in practice, but it was fine in Quali.
Q: Did you think you could take that pole position?
SV: To be honest, this morning, no. I wasn’t sure if I could do Quali. It was very close. I don’t know, the last lap I was very happy with it, but I seem to lose a lot of time in the straights, so I think I’m missing some… missing a bit of tow, but I think it was very close, so I’m happy with second and it gives us a good chance for tomorrow.
Q: Well done. Kimi Räikkönen, it’s the seventh day of the seventh month and you put car number seven in third place. Are you satisfied with that?
Kimi RÄIKKÖNEN: Not really. I think I had all the tools today to be faster but I locked the front wheel into 16 a bit on the last lap and for sure gave away enough time to be in front but that’s how it goes.
You told me two days ago that you’re driving as well as ever, do you still think you have a chance of victory tomorrow?
KR: Yeah, I think I’ve got a good car and my car should be good tomorrow. Obviously it’s hot and it will not be an easy race with the tyres, so I think we might see a few different things happening there, but we’re aiming for the top for sure.
PRESS CONFERENCE
Q: Lewis, it was an incredibly tight qualifying session and ended up with your fourth consecutive pole position here at Silverstone. How does it compare to the ones that came before?
LH: It feels night and day different. These guys really pulled something special into Q3. I don’t know what they did yesterday, but they’ve come so strong today. I knew we were up against it but to really put together the laps was the hardest I can remember it being. It’s such a technical circuit and such a tricky circuit and to really position the car in the right place and get the maximum from the tyres it took everything from me to get it. But the fans were there and I could see them. And I knew they were here so I really, really wanted to do it, and if anything, with the pole, give a boost to England maybe. They won’t be watching obviously, because they’ll be playing, but you know what I mean – maybe start the wave and let them continue it. Huge amount of pressure on today, but so grateful for my team working so hard. Ferrari obviously have picked up a lot of pace this weekend, but we’re in the best position we can be and our long run pace was good yesterday, so I’m excited for a close race tomorrow.
Q: Thank you, Lewis, well done. Sebastian, simply, what was the difference between you and Lewis today?
SV: Half a tenth.
Q: Four hundredths.
SV: Less than half a tenth!
Q: Can you just elaborate a bit more? How did that gap manifest itself on the racetrack today?
SV: I don’t know. It’s so little time, it’s practically the same lap. I was pretty happy with the first run in Q3 and I knew had a little bit more in Sector 3, and bits around the track, which I think I got right on the second attempt, but I seemed to lose a little bit down the straights, I’m not sure why. But more or less I had two laps that were identical. Half a tenth you can always argue you find somewhere. I think he was just a little bit better in the final run, but for tomorrow I think we should be fine.
Q: Kimi, you set the fastest first sector there in Q3. Can you just talk us through the rest of your lap, because you were less than one tenth of a second behind Lewis as well?
KR: Yeah, I think we had first and last sector but in the middle obviously I think I had a small moment on the first try, the first set, into Turn 7, so I took it a bit easier. I was still gaining but I’m sure there were places to gain a tenth easily but obviously it didn’t happen today, so this is what we got. It was close but third is not too bad.
Q: Sebastian, could you just explain the problem you had with your neck after FP3 and the problem it gave you going into qualifying.
SV: It wasn’t the most enjoyable session but it’s not… nothing. I did the session, so I was fine. We had to call it a bit earlier this morning that I wanted but yeah, it was fine in quali.
Q: Another question for Seb on the neck. How confident are you that tomorrow it’s going to be OK – and can you describe how it all started? Was it a bump the circuit or lateral forces? What was it?
SV: No, I don’t know what happened but it went a little bit stiff. We loosened it up and for tomorrow I think the night will help. I’m not worried. Also, the speed tomorrow is less than in quali, because you have more fuel and you’ll be a bit slower so it’s going to be OK.
Q: A question for Lewis. Lewis, can you tell us a little about your poll position lap please? Where are you flat out around this superfast Silverstone circuit now? What does it feel like? And also, the gap to your team-mate Valtteri is quite big today, and a very small gap to the two gentlemen either side of you. How much of this is down to the car and how much is down to the driver?
LH: This is, as I was saying before, it’s such a technical circuit and it’s about car placement and you’ve got to have, obviously, the package. Our downforce level, I think, has been good but, I mean, you see how close it is between us. This has been a strong circuit for me for years, as you can see and my job is try to make… it is to make the difference. So, I think there was… I didn’t leave anything on the table today. The lap was… I mean it was just intense. I left the pit lane, I think the first lap was OK, it was pretty good, and then I saw that I’d dropped to second. Obviously, that naturally just adds a little bit more pressure. Because you know that he’s going to improve again, so I’ve got to improve the same and a bit more. So, to push over the limit just a little bit more, without losing it is one of the toughest positions to put the car. And this is the fastest track in the world, this is. We’re flat-out through Turn One, we’re flat-out through Copse, it’s insane, to turn in there at 300-and-whatever-it-is-kilometres we’re doing. It’s flat-out into Maggotts and Becketts, all the way to 11, 12…
SV: The last one’s called Chapel…
LH: I don’t know all the names but you’re flat-out all the way into it. You have a small lift, then you have a full lift, then you’re back on the gas again. Also, Stowe is just… with the headwind that we have there, it’s incredible how fast it is. I think on the TV it doesn’t look like we’re lifting – but we are. I got to the end of the lap, I think I was up 0.17s, and I came around that last corner and it started to diminish a little bit. I think I came across the line 0.90 better than my previous lap, and you’re just praying that’s enough – that little bit… because you’re gaining and losing throughout the lap. So, yeah, I can’t tell you how happy I am, happy for the fans, and I hope that I can deliver for them tomorrow.
Q: Congratulations Lewis on your lap. You looked like you were on the ragged edge throughout the lap, and obviously when you got out of the car, you were pretty pumped. Where does it rank in terms for you, that pole lap?
LH: I think it’s, for me, with the whole build up, with the whole intensity, with the whole spur-of-the-moment thing, knowing how close we were, for me it feels like one of the best laps that I’ve been able to produce. I would say it felt like the most pressurised lap that I’ve ever had. And then afterwards I was just… I can’t tell you how… I was shaking through the emotion, through the adrenaline rush was way above the limit that I had experienced before, which is kind of crazy for my 76th. But the 76th is so special. I’m so, so happy, and, as I said, the team have just been doing a great job and I’m really happy I have been able to deliver for them as well.
Q: We have a bumpy track, hot weather, extra downforce this year; will this maybe be one of the toughest or the toughest British Grand Prix ever for you guys?
KR: In which way? I don’t think it’s any different. Obviously there’s a big difference in the speed in the race, especially at the beginning of the race to qualifying. I think in the past the circuit layout was different but you could do qualifying laps every lap because you had refuelling and all these things. I think it’s less bumpy, it’s just smaller bumps; last year there were bigger bumps here and there.
LH: I think it is, yes, with the heat the track is the hottest I think we’ve driven on for a long time. The speed that we’re going through the corners, it is up and even on the long runs yesterday, the G-force we’re pulling… the car is faster than last year. I definitely think it’s going to be physically tougher and more intense, being that we’re so close as well. It’s not going to be a case of either of us pulling a big gap, it’s going to be close all the way, so I personally think it’s going to be one of the toughest, yes.
Q: Sebastian, do you side with your teammate or Lewis with this one?
SV: In the middle. I hope it will be, not sure. I think those are the fastest cars we’ve ever had and I hope it will be because next year, I guess, the cars will be a bit slower. I think it depends largely on the tyres to be honest. If they are holding up well, and consistent enough then I think we can push. If not, then obviously it takes a lot of intensity out of it.
Q: To both Ferrari drivers: you had a very impressive simulation race Friday, especially you Sebastian, on medium tyres. You said you were confident for tomorrow. Can you give more details, explain more? It really looks like you have a really fast car in the best conditions.
SV: Yeah, it was yesterday, it was a good Friday for us and I’m confident we can be faster tomorrow. Usually… we see today that we are able to pick up pace on Sunday as well. The race has always been better for us the last couple of races so I’m confident with everything that we have here this year, it seems we are stronger and I believe we can be faster.
Q: Kimi, do you expect to be more competitive tomorrow?
KR: Than today? Impossible to say, hopefully it’s a close fight, not easy to overtake as always but we will see what we can do and so far it’s been OK.
Q: Kimi, in Austria you had the best start among the front runners, it’s quite a difficult track to overtake here. Are you prepared to take a bit more risk than you did in Zeltweg to try and get to the front at the start?
KR: For me? If I didn’t take risks last time then maybe. I don’t plan to do anything different. Obviously we try to make a good start as well as we can but there are things that you will never be able to plan, you do it what you think the right outcome might be different that you expect but that’s how it goes sometimes. Try to make a good start and go from there, see what we can come up with.
Q: Lewis, is it because it’s Silverstone that Mercedes and Lewis are in front of Ferrari? The circuit made the difference or what else? Was it because there is a superiority of driver and car or in your performance…
LH: Both
Q: … or was Silverstone the secret?
LH: All three, I hope. I think for sure, when you come to Silverstone it’s a home Grand Prix so just like when we go to Monza, Ferrari get a boost. It’s the same for us as a team. The team has all their families around, the support we have from the fans is there so we get lifted up from that. There’s obviously an extra push in effort above and beyond to try and make sure that we can pull everything out. Same for me as a driver. I think it’s all those as a whole come together for this race.
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Sebastian Vettel tops FP2: British GP
Vettel tops FP2 at the British GP on Friday. An FIA image Silverstone, 6 July 2018: Sebastian Vettel set the pace in the second practice for this weekend’s Formula One World Championship’s 10th round, the British Grand Prix at Silverstone, with the Ferrari driver edging Friday morning’s quickest man, Lewis Hamilton, by just under two tenths of a second. Sahara Force India’s drivers Sergio Perez and Esteban Ocon remained in 8th and 9th in the second practices session too.
There was more trouble for Red Bull’s Max Verstappen, however. The Dutch driver had stopped on track at the end of the morning session with a mechanical issue and his afternoon session ended early when he crashed out midway through his opening run.
Verstappen lost control of his RB14 on the exit of Luffield corner and spun into the barriers, damaging the rear of his car. The impact to his car was severe enough that he would play no further part in the session.
At the time the red flags were shown for the Red Bull driver’s crash, Ferrari’s Kimi Räikkonen sat at the top of the timesheet and when the session re-started, the Finn was one of the first to bolt on soft tyres for his qualifying simulation. His His best time of 1:28.045 gave him a solid margin at the top of the order but team-mate Vettel was preparing for his run and his time of 1m27.552s sent him to the top of the timesheet.
Mercedes Valtteri Bottas then slotted into P2 behind the championship leader but then Hamilton crossed the line a time of 1:27.739 to secure second place – 0.187s behind Vettel.
Raikkonen dropped to fourth ahead of the second Red Bull of Daniel Ricciardo who ended up 0.856s off Vettel’s best.
The Australian was the last man within a second of the German, with McLaren’s Fernando Alonso best-of-the-rest in sixth place a sizeable 1.754s behind Vettel. Renault’s Nico Hulkenberg was seventh ahead of the Force India pairing of Esteban Ocon and Sergio Perez. Charles Leclerc rounded out the top 10, a full two seconds adrift of the P1 pace.
Verstappen wasn’t the only driver to encounter problems during the session. Toro Rosso’s Pierre Gasly was also forced out of the session early on with a suspected power unit issue.
2018 Formula 1 British Grand Prix – Free Practice 2
1 Sebastian Vettel Ferrari 36 1: 27.552
2 Lewis Hamilton Mercedes 32 1: 27.739 0.187
3 Valtteri Bottas Mercedes 30 1: 27.909 0.357
4 Kimi Raikkonen Ferrari 34 1: 28.045 0.493
5 Daniel Ricciardo Red Bull Racing 31 1: 28.408 0.856
6 Fernando Alonso McLaren 31 1: 29.306 1.754
7 Nico Hulkenberg Renault 35 1: 29.354 1.802
8 Esteban Ocon Force India 33 1: 29.467 1.915
9 Sergio Perez Force India 32 1: 29.522 1.970
10 Charles Leclerc Sauber 30 1: 29.557 2.005
11 Carlos Sainz Renault 36 1: 29.563 2.011
12 Kevin Magnussen Haas 33 1: 29.617 2.065
13 Pierre Gasly Toro Rosso 16 1: 29.831 2.279
14 Marcus Ericsson Sauber 32 1: 30.046 2.494
15 Lance Stroll Williams 34 1: 30.069 2.517
16 Sergey Sirotkin Williams 36 1: 30.103 2.551
17 Stoffel Vandoorne McLaren 31 1: 30.121 2.569
18 Brendon Hartley Toro Rosso 36 1: 30.404 2.852
19 Max Verstappen Red Bull Racing 2
20 Romain Grosjean Haas 0.eom/db
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It is amazing to win here with a Red Bull at the Red Bull Ring: Verstappen
Max Verstappen (Black suit) along with Kimi Raikkonen (left) and Sebastian Vettel on the podium at the Red Bull ring on Sunday. An FIA image Spielberg, 1 July 2018: Max Verstappen of Red Bull Racing notched up his fourth Formula One win and after the race, the top three drivers attended the mandatory post-race press conference here on Sunday. Kimi Raikkonen and Sebastian Vettel made it a double podium for Ferrari.
Track Interviews (Conducted by Mark Webber)
Q: Max Verstappen, your fourth Grand Prix victory. It felt like your first win, with Kimi Räikkönen closing you down, maximum pressure. A Red Bull victory here on the Red Bull Ring. Massive amounts of Dutch fans, it must feel amazing?
Max Verstappen: Yeah, it was amazing. It was very hard to manage the tyres as well. We really had to look after them, a little blistering, but we managed to hang on until the end. Of course, it’s amazing to win here with a Red Bull at the Red Bull Ring and also so many Dutch fans around here. It’s incredible.
Q: So what does this mean for the future, mate. You’ve got Silverstone around the corner, in terms of it being a back-to-back, we’ve got this tripleheader, you’ve had this great run of results off the back of a tough Monte Carlo, so now you’re on fire buddy?
MV: Yeah, I needed to catch up with the points. Today was definitely a very good day for me and I just hope we can continue like this.
Q: Well done Max. Kimi, very solid second place there, buddy. It was a very interesting Grand Prix with tyres, I think there were a few unknowns, a lot of people weren’t sure what was happening. Double Mercedes retirement which was very interesting. Unbelievable start – if it had been Barcelona or Monza you would have led into Turn 1, right?
Kimi RÄIKKÖNEN: Yeah, I had to back off a little bit because we were squeezed together and my decision was already gone there – I was scared that we hit. After that, a bit running wide and that and lost some places. But the car came good but we just run out of the laps and I think we took it easily too long. It’s a shame. We had a great car today and in some points it was a little bit difficult but I think it was a good result for the team.
Q: Well done, Kimi. Sebastian, together with Max here. He did a pretty good job didn’t he?
Sebastian VETTEL: I told him, very good race, very consistent, no mistakes. We were chasing him down at the end but couldn’t quite make it.
Q: So tell us about your race Sebastian? It was a difficult qualifying, after a good start. Tough first corner, got pushed out and then you had to come back from there. One point in the championship, a very interesting day for the silver cars, so not a bad day at the office for you?
SV: No. Obviously it would have been nice to start further up. I tried to get some back at the start, in Turn 1, but it didn’t quite work. I was left with no place to go and then lost momentum. And then it was the same thing a little bit in Turn 3. I had to fight with the Renaults and the Haas in the beginning of the race and I lost a little bit of ground. Obviously we lost a little bit of time at the stop. So for us it was pretty much damage limitation but I think the pace was very good, the tyre management was good, so a positive day, it could have been better but a well deserved win for Max.
Q: (Christian Menath – Motorsport-magazin.com) Question for Seb. I think you said on the pit radio, when you came behind Lewis, after his stop, that they should have informed you a bit earlier that he’s stopping because you had something in your pocket still. Can you describe the situation?
SV: I was aware that we were fighting him but I was of the opinion that we were ahead, and I didn’t expect it to be that close and to be on the back-foot, so I think, if I look back, and I was thinking about it in the race as well, I was told enough. So, I can’t blame the team. Yeah. I thought I was taking it a little bit easy in the beginning because I was anyways a bit further back. There was no point. I didn’t understand in the beginning obviously the necessity to close as soon as possible. So maybe it’s also a bit my fault. But I think I had a bit of pace in hand – but, you know, I looked down, I saw the pitboard as well and there was 55 laps from the time the VSC… well, it doesn’t really come it, but was turned off… so yeah, I tried to save tyres and make sure we make it to the end, not knowing what happens because the first stint was not easy – but yeah, I thought we could have done, I could have done a bit better with a bit more information – but nothing dramatic. I think overall the pace was really good. I mean, I was obviously losing a lot with the pitstop, the double-stop that we did, which was the right call – but I probably had to come back from the longest way. I think the speed was good so I’m happy with the race but obviously it could have been better today. So I’m not entirely happy.
Q: (Daniel Horvath – Motorspormania.hu) Max, congratulations, you’ve got almost 20,000 Dutch supporters here in Austria. Do you have any special message to your fans who stayed in the Max Verstappen village during the weekend?
MV: Yes, of course…
SV: You have a village here?
MV: Yeah! On the other side…
SV: You need to pay tax here then…
MV: No, we skip that bit. Yeah, it’s great to see. I mean of course we’re not playing in the World Cup so it’s a bit easier for them to come over here, but in general, great support. I mean the whole weekend. It was amazing to see so much orange. And then if you win the race and see all the fans lining up there. Yeah, it’s incredible. And this is in Austria, which is still 10, 11 hours away from Holland. So, yeah, amazing that they all came over here.
Q: (Jaap de Groot – De Telegraaf) Max, before the Max it looked like you had to overtake a lot of odds but during the race, the advantages occurred and you took them to the maximum. According to that, do you feel that this was your perfect race. And also explain how you underwent the process I just explained, getting all the advantages.
MV: Yeah, so I think it was a bit unexpected, especially after our Friday pace and in the long runs. I think in the first stint we could actually keep up quite well – and then yeah, I just tried to do my own race. I saw Valtteri disappearing with a problem, and then I think we made the right call when the virtual safety car came out, that we pitted. The team, again, great call on that, and then yeah, virtually I was in the lead, and I just tried to do my own pace. Initially from behind there was no pressure. I think I could build up a gap, and yeah, at one point, when Lewis pitted and Kimi started to put Daniel under pressure, and he started to struggle with his tyres, and then once I think Kimi was in second, and I tried to manage the gap – but at one point, yeah, I could see my tyres also opening up a bit on the rears and the fronts, so, yeah, I just had to drive around the issue and luckily I could manage it until the end of the race.
Q: (Scott Mitchell – Autosport) Max and Kimi; although the race was 71 laps long, it was effectively decided by the move at turn seven on a frenetic opening lap. Can I just get your respective thoughts on the move – we don’t normally see overtaking there? It looked like a little bit of wheel-banging as well.
KR: I think there was a lot happening on the first lap. I think a little bit sideways into… or lost the line a little bit into six and then Max… obviously we were pretty close to each other, I think the car in front of me, the Mercedes, disturbed a bit… like the downforce and then obviously it got the run and I tried to hang on on the outside but I got a little bit sideways because I guess we touched a little bit and lost a place but I think we got the best out of it and not taking each out and still fighting in that kind of corner that is fast speed and not very easy to stay next to each other when you try. That’s what happens sometimes. Not ideal for me but it was still fair enough.
MV: Yeah, it was hard racing but good racing. I think Kimi is experienced enough to handle the situation well. We had a little touch but I think it’s also good for the sport.
Q: (Heikki Kulta – Turun Sanomat) Kimi, it seems to me that this one race every week really suits you fine. Can you improve as much as you did from France to Silverstone in one week also?
KR: I don’t know. Obviously Silverstone is a lot different circuit, layout and I think if you purely take it it wouldn’t probably be the best place last year so maybe there for us but I think I’m looking forward and I think we have certain things that we are trying and probably will help there. Obviously it depends a lot on the conditions there but I think the last two weekends have been quite similar so I will keep pushing and trying and try to do better all the time and obviously try to do better than today in the next races but there could be a slightly better end result but I think as a team we got solid points and we go to the next race.
Q: (Livio Oricchio – Globoesporte.com) Max, you had the first six races of this season very difficult and then from Canada it started to change…
MV: No, Barcelona already.
Q: (Livio Oricchio – Globoesporte.com) … so tell us about how it works inside you, coming from one extreme to the other one, what you are living now?
MV: I think it’s just racing, you know? Sometimes you have difficult moments and then you try to work hard and you keep working hard even when it’s difficult and you overcome the situation. Yeah, it’s as simple as that. It’s racing.
Q: (Peter Vamosi – Racingline.hu) Sebastian, you are the only driver on the internet who has not a social media account, Twitter, Facebook, whatever. Even Kimi has Instagram now this year and he’s doing very well. Why are you not present on the internet?
SV: I rather spend my time on something useful. It’s a shame that I lost Kimi. It was nice to be alongside. I don’t know what happened. I don’t blame anybody, people are free to do what they want. It’s just not my thing, I don’t have the need to share. If there’s anybody who has a question, obviously ask but I don’t find great motivation in telling people where I go, what I do. I find it’s quite boring so yeah, it’s not my thing.
Q: (Rik Spekenbrink – AD Sportwereld) Max, could you hear the Dutch fans on the final lap and secondly, how would you rate this win among the others?
MV: No, I couldn’t hear them, I think I was…
SV: Say yes.
MV: Nah. You always have to be honest.
SV: You have to say yes though.
MV: No. OK, Sebastian says yes.
SV: I heard them!
MV: But I could see some orange smoke, I could see them cheering so I think that’s good enough. Special moment. And I think this was one of the nicest victories but I keep saying that so I think at the moment they are all nice. But maybe hopefully, at one point, you just say yeah, it’s just another one. But at the moment I’m really happy with it.
Q: (Scott Mitchell – Autosport) Max, we heard how emotional your celebrations were with the team over the radio after the race. Can you just explain when you thought that it was actually possible for you to win the race, when you felt under control, and how much does this win mean to you?
MV: Yeah, it was difficult to tell because Kimi was catching, Sebastian was catching and you were not sure maybe they had another half a second in them at the end of the race, so it was just difficult to say. I think with three or four laps to go I was more comfortable and it was not going to happen but still, maybe from one to the other lap my blister opens up even more and then you’re really in trouble. Probably three laps. My fourth victory, I think it’s a good one, very unexpected one so I think they are always good.
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Bottas takes pole ahead of Hamilton and Vettel
Bottas after taking Austrian GP pole. An FIA image. Spielberg, 30 June 2018: Valtteri Bottas edged out teammate Lewis Hamilton by just under two-hundredths of a second to take his second consecutive Austrian GP pole position and the fifth pole of his career in a tight qualifying session at the at the Red Bull Ring in the Austrian Grand Prix, the ninth round of the Formula One World Championship here on Saturday. Sebastian Vettel was third for Ferrari ahead of teammate Kimi Räikkönen.
The first qualifying session (Q1) saw Mercedes quickly to the fore with Hamilton and Bottas trading times on ultrasoft tyres before Hamilton settled into P1 with a time of 1:04.080, just under a tenth of a second ahead of his team-mate. Kimi Räikkönen was third ahead of Red Bull’s Max Verstappen on supersoft tyres. Vettel also opened his session with runs on supersoft tyres to sit in fifth place ahead of the final runs with a time of 1:04.347.
In the final runs Mercedes, Ferrari, and Red Bull opted to remains in their garages, which allowed Haas’ Romain Grosjean to jump ahead of Verstappen and Vettel, and that left the action to focus on the drop zone where Williams’ Lance Stroll made a last-minute escape, vaulting from P17 to P15 with a lap of 1:05.264. That put him 0.007s ahead of McLaren’s Stoffel Vandoorne. The Belgian dropped to 16th and out of the session ahead of Force India’s Sergio Perez, Williams’ Sergey Sirotkin, Toro Rosso’s Brendon Hartley, and Sauber’s Marcus Ericsson.
In the second session Mercedes’ drivers went out on supersoft tyres and Bottas became the first man to dip below the 1m04s mark with a lap of 1:03.756 that put him into P1.
He was soon quickly usurped by Hamilton, however, with the championship leader taking P1 with a time of 1:03.577.
This time Ferrari opted to run on ultrasoft tyres and Vettel took P3 ahead of Räikkönen. Verstappen was fifth, also on supersofts, but it was a trickier opening run for team-mate Ricciardo. He was only 11th after his first flier and second run on the red-banded Pirellis. A second lap boosted him to P9 but with just over three-tenths of a second separating him from P11 man Nico Hulkenberg the Australian would need to run again.
He opted for another go on the spersoft tyres and this time he found time, posting a lap of 1:04.403 that was good enough for P8 over four tenths clear of Force India’s Esteban Ocon who was eliminated in P11 ahead of Toro Rosso’s Pierre Gasly, Sauber’s Charles Leclerc, McLaren’s Fernando Alonso and Stroll.
Leclerc also faces a five-place grid drop for tomorrow’s race following a post-FP3 gearbox change.
At the top of the order, Hamilton was displaced in the final runs by Vettel, who set a time of 1:03.544 on ultrasoft tyres. Second-placed Hamilton was followed by Bottas, Raikkonen, and Verstappen. Haas’s good form continued with Romain Grosjean and Kevin Magnussen sixth and seventh ahead of Ricciardo and the Renaults of Carlos Sainz and Nico Hulkenberg.
In the first runs of Q3 Valtteri claimed provisional pole with a time of 1:03.264 as mistakes from both Hamilton and Vettel compromised their laps. Behind him, Hamilton sat second ahead of Räikkönen with hard-charging Romain Grosjean slotting into an impressive fourth for Haas as Vettel languished in seventh behind the Red Bulls of Max Verstappen and Daniel Ricciardo.
In the final runs it looked like Hamilton and Vettel would put heavy pressure on Bottas as they both began their runs well, but the Finn was untouchable and he found just enough time to set a time of 1:03.130 to take a second consecutive Austrian Grand Prix pole position 0.019s clear of Hamilton and three tenths up on Vettel.
Räikkönen qualified in fourth place, while Verstappen’s final lap was good enough to push Grosjean to sixth, with Ricciardo seventh. Kevin Magnussen was eighth on a good afternoon for Haas, with the Renault’s of Sainz and Hulkenberg in ninth and tenth respectively.
Formula 1 Austrian Grand Prix – Qualifying
1 Valtteri Bottas Mercedes 1:03.130
2 Lewis Hamilton Mercedes 1:03.149 0.019
3 Sebastian Vettel Ferrari 1:03.464 0.334
4 Kimi Raikkonen Ferrari 1:03.660 0.530
5 Max Verstappen Red Bull Racing 1:03.840 0.710
6 Romain Grosjean Haas Racing 1:03.892 0.762
7 Daniel Ricciardo Red Bull Racing 1:03.996 0.866
8 Kevin Magnussen Haas 1:04.051 0.921
9 Carlos Sainz Renault 1:04.725 1.595
10 Nico Hulkenberg Renault 1:05.019 1.889
11 Esteban Ocon Force India 1:04.845 1.715
12 Pierre Gasly Toro Rosso 1:04.874 1.744
13 Charles Leclerc Sauber 1:04.979 1.849
14 Fernando Alonso McLaren 1:05.058 1.928
15 Lance Stroll Williams 1:05.286 2.156
16 Stoffel Vandoorne McLaren 1:05.271 2.141
17 Sergio Perez Force India 1:05.279 2.149
18 Sergey Sirotkin Williams 1:05.322 2.192
19 Brendon Hartley Toro Rosso 1:05.366 2.236
20 Marcus Ericsson Sauber 1:05.479 2.349. -
Vettel fastest in FP3: Austrian GP
Vettell tops FP3 at Spielberg on Saturday morning. An FIA image Spielberg, 30 June 2018: Sebastian Vettel set the fastest ever lap of the Red Bull Ring to edge Lewis Hamilton by just under three-hundredths of a second in final practice for the Austrian Grand Prix, the ninth round of the Formula One World Championship here on Saturday morning.
The Ferrari driver powered past the record set in Valtteri Bottas in 2017 qualifying with around 20 minutes left in the session. With three DRS zones to work with and ultrasoft tyres onboard Vettel posted a time of 1:04.070 to eclipse Bottas’ benchmark by 0.181 seconds.
Championship leader Hamilton got close to pipping Vettel shortly afterward, gaining most time in the final sector, but the Briton ended the session with a best lap of 1:04.099 to finish just under three-hundredths of a second behind his title rival.
Mercedes split the Ferraris, with Bottas taking third place 0.105s behind his team-mate, while Kimi Räikkönen was fourth quickest, though the second Ferrari driver was a full four-tenths of a second off the pace set by Vettel.
Red Bull Racing’s Max Verstappen took fifth place, 0.791 behind Vettel, but there was drama for the Dutchman at the end of the session.
With around eight minutes left on the clock, Verstappen was on the run down Turn 5, when his dashboard display went back and he slowed dramatically before trundling through the gravel trap and then coming to a halt. “The engine just turned off, no power steering,” he reported.
It was the Red Bull driver’s second off of the morning. Early in the session he went to deep into Turn 4, the result is a trip through the gravel to find an escape road from which he could rejoin. Team-mate Daniel Ricciardo was sixth quickest at the end of the hour.
After good showing in both Friday sessions, Haas continued to monopolise best-of-the-rest status, with Romain Grosjean seventh and Kevin Magnussen eighth. They were the last drivers inside a second of Vettel, with Magnussen 0.943s behind the pacesetting German.
Carlos Sainz was ninth for Renault, while 10th place went to Charles Leclerc, who again impressed for Sauber. However, the Monegasque hit trouble late in the session however, stopping on track at Turn 2 just before the chequered flag was shown, with the young star reporting an engine issue.
2018 Formula 1 Austrian Grand Prix – Free Practice 3
1 Sebastian Vettel Ferrari 22 1:04.070
2 Lewis Hamilton Mercedes 24 1:04.099 0.029
3 Valtteri Bottas Mercedes 24 1:04.204 0.134
4 Kimi Raikkonen Ferrari 22 1:04.470 0.400
5 Max Verstappen Red Bull Racing 14 1:04.791 0.721
6 Daniel Ricciardo Red Bull Racing 18 1:04.891 0.821
7 Romain Grosjean Haas 17 1:04.916 0.846
8 Kevin Magnussen Haas 16 1:05.013 0.943
9 Carlos Sainz Renault 22 1:05.086 1.016
10 Charles Leclerc Sauber 25 1:05.219 1.149
11 Nico Hulkenberg Renault 19 1:05.228 1.158
12 Pierre Gasly Toro Rosso 25 1:05.264 1.194
13 Esteban Ocon Force India 21 1:05.444 1.374
14 Fernando Alonso McLaren 19 1:05.448 1.378
15 Sergio Perez Force India 24 1:05.502 1.432
16 Marcus Ericsson Sauber 27 1:05.699 1.629
17 Brendon Hartley Toro Rosso 23 1:05.705 1.635
18 Stoffel Vandoorne McLaren 16 1:05.837 1.767
19 Lance Stroll Williams 23 1:06.029 1.959
20 Sergey Sirotkin Williams 22 1:06.318 2.248. -
Canadian GP: Early sparks, but no fire as Vettel puts Ferrari ahead of Mercedes
Seb Vettel….in a league of his own in Montreal. Photo: Nico Marchand Montreal, 11 June 2018: Formula 1 suffered a back to back embarrassment with the Canadian GP failing to produce an iota of excitement
and followed in the footsteps of the Monaco chapter two weeks ago. The character of the circuits had nothing in common to cause this feeling of ennui.Team Scuderia Ferrari bulldozed it’s title contender Mercedes comprehensively with Vettel taking the lead authoritatively and never having to look in his mirrors all the way to the premature checkered flag at the 68th. That was about the only sense of excitement if at all.
Other than a sporadic clash for positions 12th downward, there wasn’t much to excite the enthusiastic spectators who arrived in full strength to witness an epic battle amongst the likes of the three – Mercedes, Ferrari and Red Bull. The DRS system took the day off and wasn’t summoned since no driver came within striking distance to put it to use and it basked in the fabulous weather that made it worth the while to watch the F1 train go round and round the famous Giles Villeneuve circuit!
The race had a promising start with Hartley and local hero Lance Stroll coming together spectacularly on lap 1 causing the safety car to control the proceedings for the initial 6 laps while the marshals and the wreckage retrieval crew cleaned up the mess . Once the SC exited the fans were buckling themselves for a ride of their lives that wasn’t to be sadly. Vettel’s domination was so emphatic that all Bottas could offer was a weak challenge whilst being threatened somewhat by Max Verstappen who thankfully decided to finish the event rather tamely for a change!
Huge crowds at the Giles Villeneuve circuit in Montreal. Photo: Nico Marchand Lewis Hamilton had a bad day at work with his engine malfunctioning and also having to employ incorrect tires which was a consequence of a choice made earlier on in the championship. That cost Mercedes dearly since this wiped out their name from the leader board in one event while handing over their arch-rivals Ferrari a slender one point lead at the end of it all. Anyway, it’s great for F1 to have a see-saw battle to keep the excitement however contrived it may be! When the behemoths eventually get their act together as the F1 juggernaut moves to Europe, the two back-to-back blah events will be consigned to history hopefully.
Sahara Force India didn’t have a great outing with Perez straying into the kitty litter thus pushing him down to 14th place from which he never recovered. Ocon was all set to put in another sterling drive until a messy pit stop put paid to his potentially top six finish but he yet picked up valuable points for his 9th place effort.
Rumours were flying thick and fast about the potential sale of his team to Rich Energy. These were denied vehemently by the team boss Mallya, but vaguely confirmed by a few in the know. We know that there is never smoke without a fire. Currently, the team is fairly valuable and time to cash in would be now! But Mallya’s passion for F1 may delay or deny the process for a while. After all he did build it to be a team to reckon with from a rather scrappy outfit that he inherited a decade ago.
Ricciardo should be content with his 4th place considering that his Renault engine was not putting out its best. Kimi had another pedestrian day at work. How long will be able to hang on to his precious seat is anyone’s guess! Nico Hulkenberg and Carlos Sainz played it sensibly and earned themselves some valuable points for their attempt with their 7th and 8th finishes for Renault . Alonso 300th race was done with an exhaust med problem . He must easily the most frustrated man in the paddock. After the top 6 finishers, the rest of the best finished over a lap down. Something’s don’t change, do they ?!!!!
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Vettel wins from lights to flag: Canadian Grand Prix
Vettel afterCanadian GP winc. An FIA image Montreal, 10 June 2018: Sebastian Vettel drove a textbook Canadian Grand Prix, leading every lap of the race to secure his 50th career grand prix win ahead of Mercedes Valtteri Bottas and Red Bull Racing’s Max Verstappen.
When the lights went out polesitter Vettel held his advantage into Turn 1. Behind, Verstappen made a good start and attacked Bottas, pulling alongside the Mercedes. Bottas held firm, however, and managed to stay in second position ahead of the Red Bull driver. Hamilton kept fourth but Daniel Ricciardo made his way past Kimi Räikkönen to take fifth place.
Further back, Williams’ Lance Stroll lost control in Turn 5 and slid into Toro Rosso’s Brendon Hartley pushing the New Zealander into the wall. The collision was a big one and debris was scattered across the track as they slid towards the run-off area at Turn 6. The Safety Car was immediately deployed. Both drivers were taken to the medical centre, with Hartley then being sent to hospital for further checks.
When action resumed at the end of lap four, the order at the front remained the same as Vettel controlled the situation well, but further back there was content between Force India’s Sergio Perez and Renault’s Carlos Sainz.
Perez slid across the run-off are and back on track but there was no further contact, though the Mexican quickly dropped to P14.
Vettel then began to put in fastest laps and the gap to Bottas widened to four seconds by lap 13. Behind him a number of drivers who had started on hypersoft tyres began to pit, moving to supersoft tyres as the pink-banded compound quickly faded. The Red Bulls, though, stayed on the softest of the weekend’s compounds as they nursed their starting rubber.
By lap 16 Ricciardo was catching Hamilton and the gap between the two had dropped to 0.7s. With Hamilton visibly struggling for pace, Mercedes took the option to pit the Briton on lap 16. Red Bull pitted Verstappen simultaneously, with both taking supersofts.
Ricciardo stayed out, however, and after a superbly quick in-lap pitted at the end of lap 17, taking on supersofts in overcut to emerge ahead of Hamilton.
Vettel continued on and by lap 23 he was 4.8s ahead of Bottas. Räikkönen was now third, though he too needed to pit, 12.9s behind his fellow Finn and 13.8 clear of Verstappen.
The race then settled until Räikkönen made his pit stop, emerging in P6 behind Hamilton. Bottas pitted soon after, holding P2 ahead of Verstappen and Ricciardo. Ferrari then covered the Mercedes stop and rejoined some 8s clear of the Finn.
The race settled again, with the gaps spreading at the front of the pack. On lap 50 Vettel had 6.0s in hand over Bottas, while the Mercedes man was 5.9s ahead of Verstappen. Ricciardo was fourth, seven seconds behind his team-mate and the Australian had just over a second in hand over Hamilton.
And so it remained until the closing laps when Hamilton began to hunt down Ricciardo as the pair met traffic. The Briton closed to within DRS as Ricciardo cleared Force India’s Esteban Ocon. However he lost out slightly when Ricciardo easily got past Sainz and Hamilton lost grip momentarily.
The battle ebbed and flowed as the pair threaded their way through the traffic but then three laps from the end Ricciardo found clear air and stretched his legs. Verstappen, meanwhile, was pushing for a final attack on Bottas who was having to fuel save in the closing stages.
There was a moment’s confusion as the chequered flag was waved a lap early but seconds later the German crossed the line to take his 50th career F1 victory and Ferrari’s first win at the Circuit Gilles Villeneuve in 14 years ahead of Bottas who nursed his Mercedes home ahead of Verstappen and Ricciardo. Hamilton finished fifth, with Raikkonen sixth ahead of Renault’s Nico Hulkenberg and Carlos Sainz and Force India’s Esteban Ocon. The final point went to Sauber’s Charles Leclerc.
2018 Formula 1 Canadian Grand Prix – Race
1 Sebastian Vettel Ferrari –
2 Valtteri Bottas Mercedes 6.496
3 Max Verstappen Red Bull Racing 7.702
4 Daniel Ricciardo Red Bull Racing 19.625
5 Lewis Hamilton Mercedes 21.408
6 Kimi Raikkonen Ferrari 27.308
7 Nico Hulkenberg Renault 1 lap
8 Carlos Sainz Renault 1 lap
9 Esteban Ocon Force India 1 lap
10 Charles Leclerc Sauber 1 lap
11 Pierre Gasly Toro Rosso 1 lap
12 Romain Grosjean Haas 1 lap
13 Sergio Perez Force India 1 lap
14 Kevin Magnussen Haas 1 lap
15 Marcus Ericsson Sauber 2 laps
16 Stoffel Vandoorne McLaren 2 laps
17 Sergey Sirotkin Williams 2 laps
Fernando Alonso McLaren
Lance Stroll Williams
Brendon Hartley Toro Rosso
and followed in the footsteps of the Monaco chapter two weeks ago. The character of the circuits had nothing in common to cause this feeling of ennui.
