Brendan Lines September 27 2020

Lewis Hamilton scored his 96th career pole position despite a red flag threatening his elimination in Q2 and a stewards inquiry, Red Bull’s Max Verstappen split the Mercedes cars taking P2 from Valtteri Bottas in P3.

Hamilton’s chances looked dashed when Saturday’s Q3 was red-flagged with just 2 minutes 15 left, as Sebastian Vettel’s Ferrari left the track at Turn 4 smashing into the barriers thwarting Hamilton’s current lap, the Brit unable to improve on P15, drivers Lance Stroll, Alex Albon, Charles Leclerc and George Russell were also left compromised at the stoppage.

Ferrari’s day could not get any worse with Vettel dropping out, teammate Charles Leclerc had to evade the debris from Vettel’s stricken Ferrari, Leclerc then had to chew through a set of Soft tyres to improve, but couldn’t get out of Q2.

When the session was green-lit it was a frantic race for the drivers at risk of elimination to make Q2’s cut-off time, Hamilton made it with just a 1.25 seconds to go, his Q2 lap was enough for P4.

The Brit lit up the middle sector around the Sochi Autodrom to post a Q3 lap of 1:31.304 to take pole, Hamilton was later called to the stewards along with Romain Grosjean, Kevin Magnussen and Nicholas Latifi for not following ‘race directives’ rejoining the track at Turn 2 after running slightly wide, but no penalty was given to any drivers.

Sky Sports published a statement from FIA stewards that read:

“The driver accepted that he had not followed the instructions and further he accepted that in a race there would be a penalty. The Stewards determined that there was no advantage, as the relevant lap time was deleted according to Doc 27.“

The Stewards also said its decision was consistent with other previous decisions from the 2018 Spanish Grand Prix and the 2019 Canadian Grand Prix.

Hamilton now takes his eighth pole of the 2020 F1 season and second at the Russian GP.

“That was one of the toughest Qualifying sessions I can remember, proper heart in your mouth the whole way. But I feel super grateful for everyone keeping their cool as it could have been a lot, lot worse,” Hamilton said after qualifying.

“Q2 was hugely challenging, my first attempt was taken away for going over the track limits at the final corner.

“The team brought me in for refuelling and to fit new tyres but when I was on my second lap, the red flag came out.

“After that, it was very close to still get that final lap in – I overtook a few cars in the last sector but then lost time behind a Renault.

“I just heard Bono say ‘go, go, go’, so I was gunning it to get across the line. There was so much going on and I had to just calm down and find my centre.”

The big surprise was Max Verstappen who pulled out a blinding lap of 1:31.867 to pip Bottas by a tenth of second for P2, Verstappen has made himself the cat amongst the pigeons in the prime position to slipstream Hamilton through the opening corners of the race.

“P2 was very unexpected and I don’t say this often but I think this was one of my best ever qualifying laps and it felt really good,” Verstappen said.

“I was struggling a bit in Q1 and Q2 with the balance of the car and we made some small improvements to stabilise everything and in Q3, especially on the second run, they worked and the lap was good.

“Of course we want to fight for pole and wins but this year it is not possible all the time, so then to be able to split the two Mercedes cars is very satisfying and I’m happy to be on the front row here. 

“I’m starting on the dirty side of the grid which does make a difference with the initial launch but I’m also on the medium tyre which is the best way for us.

“If we can have a decent start, the tow effect is very big so who knows what can happen into Turn Two.”

Sergio Perez weaved some final lap magic to put his Racing Point on to P4 of the grid, his final luge was enough to nose Renault’s Daniel Ricciardo by five hundredths. Ricciardo however now equals his best qualifying result at Sochi since 2017 taking P5.

Carlos Sainz was the fastest of the McLaren cars in P6 his lap of 1:32.550s was enough to beat Renault’s Esteban Ocon by just under a tenth in P7, the Renault driver sandwiched between the McLarens as Lando Norris makes up P8.

Alpha Tauri’s Pierre Gasly bounced back from some disappointing pace in the practice sessions to secure P9, while Alex Albon struggled for pace in his final run, the Thai driver now has it all ahead of him starting from P10.

The Russian Grand Prix begins 10:40pm ACST tonight.

Qualifying full results:

Pos	No	Driver	Car	Q1	Q2	Q3	Laps
1	44	Lewis Hamilton	Mercedes	1:32.983	1:32.835	1:31.304	19
2	33	Max Verstappen	Red Bull Racing Honda	1:33.630	1:33.157	1:31.867	21
3	77	Valtteri Bottas	Mercedes	1:32.656	1:32.405	1:31.956	19
4	11	Sergio Perez	Racing Point BWT Mercedes	1:33.704	1:33.038	1:32.317	15
5	3	Daniel Ricciardo	Renault	1:33.650	1:32.218	1:32.364	15
6	55	Carlos Sainz	McLaren Renault	1:33.967	1:32.757	1:32.550	15
7	31	Esteban Ocon	Renault	1:33.557	1:33.196	1:32.624	20
8	4	Lando Norris	McLaren Renault	1:33.804	1:33.081	1:32.847	19
9	10	Pierre Gasly	AlphaTauri Honda	1:33.734	1:33.139	1:33.000	21
10	23	Alexander Albon	Red Bull Racing Honda	1:33.919	1:33.153	1:33.008	19
11	16	Charles Leclerc	Ferrari	1:34.071	1:33.239		10
12	26	Daniil Kvyat	AlphaTauri Honda	1:33.511	1:33.249		16
13	18	Lance Stroll	Racing Point BWT Mercedes	1:33.852	1:33.364		11
14	63	George Russell	Williams Mercedes	1:34.020	1:33.583		11
15	5	Sebastian Vettel	Ferrari	1:34.134	1:33.609		11
16	8	Romain Grosjean	Haas Ferrari	1:34.592			7
17	99	Antonio Giovinazzi	Alfa Romeo Racing Ferrari	1:34.594			6
18	20	Kevin Magnussen	Haas Ferrari	1:34.681			8
19	6	Nicholas Latifi	Williams Mercedes	1:35.066			5
20	7	Kimi Räikkönen	Alfa Romeo Racing Ferrari	1:35.267			5

Q1 107% time – 1:39.141

Brendan Lines 26 Sept, 2020

Valtteri Bottas was fastest again in Friday’s FP2 at Sochi the Fin out-gunning teammate Lewis Hamilton in successive sessions, as Daniel Ricciardo continued his impressive pace finishing P3 for the session.

Bottas’ time of 1:33.519s was two and a half tenths faster than Hamilton who improved to P2 from the morning session, but the Fin has it all in front og him to close in on Hamilton’s 55-point lead in the drivers championship.

“Second practice was better, and we managed a lot of laps, but I still didn’t quite get all the sectors right. The first two sectors felt really good, but the car was a bit too nervous in sector three.

“I was doing some rally-style drifting at times, which probably isn’t the fastest way around, so there’s still a lot of time to find. But we’re in good shape and I’m sure we can make improvements ahead of tomorrow,” he said.

Hamilton’s session got off to a rough start with another brake lock-up that nearly put the Brit into the wall at Turn 13, but despite the shaky start Mercedes are finding an edge around the power-hungry Sochi circuit enjoying a just over an eight-tenth buffer over its nearest rival.

That man is Renault’s Daniel Ricciardo, who continued his consistent Friday pace to finish P3, an encouraging sign for the Aussie who said: “It’s a circuit I’ve not had too much success or confidence on before, so it definitely gives me a boost.” Ricciardo’s teammate Esteban Ocon didn’t improve in the afternoon session settling for P9.

The McLaren’s of Carlos Sainz and Lando Norris were back in the top ten, lead by Sainz who was just two tenths down on Ricciardo on P4, while Norris survived a lock up and a trip through the Turn 2 run off area to finish P5 just over a tenth from Sainz.

Sergio Perez was gain the best of the Racing Point cars in P5, his teammate Lance Stroll lost the rear end of his RP20 through Turn 13, but fortunately no damage was done to the Canadians car, only his lap time suffered finishing P19 some two seconds off the lead time.

Max Verstappen spun at Turn 14 on Medium tyre, a surprise as this weeks softer tyre compounds on paper seem to suit the Honda-powered Red Bull, Vertsappen finished P7 for the session with teammate Alex Albon in P12.

Charles Leclerc was the best of the Ferrari’s as he got his SF1000 in to the top ten for the first time this weekend finishing P8, while Sebastian Vettel rounded out the top ten a tenth down on his teammate.

Pierre Gasly just missed the top ten by two hundredths of a second from Vettel, his teammate Daniil Kyvat finished P13 for Alpha Tauri.

Alfa Romeo’s Kimi Raikkonen finished the session P14 ahead of the Williams pairing of Nicholas Latifi and George Russell of whom ended the session in P15 and P16 respectively.

Haas’ Kevin Magnussen and Romain Grosjean finished P18 and P20 with Alfa’s Antonio Giovinazzi splitting the teammates for P19.

FP3 and Qualifying start from 6:30pm ACST tonight.

FP2 full results:

Pos	No	Driver	Car	Time	Gap	Laps
1	77	Valtteri Bottas	Mercedes	1:33.519		37
2	44	Lewis Hamilton	Mercedes	1:33.786	+0.267s	33
3	3	Daniel Ricciardo	Renault	1:34.577	+1.058s	27
4	55	Carlos Sainz	McLaren Renault	1:34.723	+1.204s	36
5	4	Lando Norris	McLaren Renault	1:34.847	+1.328s	33
6	11	Sergio Perez	Racing Point BWT Mercedes	1:34.890	+1.371s	35
7	33	Max Verstappen	Red Bull Racing Honda	1:35.048	+1.529s	30
8	16	Charles Leclerc	Ferrari	1:35.052	+1.533s	35
9	31	Esteban Ocon	Renault	1:35.139	+1.620s	28
10	5	Sebastian Vettel	Ferrari	1:35.183	+1.664s	35
11	10	Pierre Gasly	AlphaTauri Honda	1:35.210	+1.691s	35
12	23	Alexander Albon	Red Bull Racing Honda	1:35.242	+1.723s	31
13	26	Daniil Kvyat	AlphaTauri Honda	1:35.461	+1.942s	37
14	7	Kimi Räikkönen	Alfa Romeo Racing Ferrari	1:35.516	+1.997s	33
15	6	Nicholas Latifi	Williams Mercedes	1:35.563	+2.044s	31
16	63	George Russell	Williams Mercedes	1:35.575	+2.056s	30
17	18	Lance Stroll	Racing Point BWT Mercedes	1:35.627	+2.108s	34
18	20	Kevin Magnussen	Haas Ferrari	1:35.729	+2.210s	32
19	99	Antonio Giovinazzi	Alfa Romeo Racing Ferrari	1:36.053	+2.534s	36
20	8	Romain Grosjean	Haas Ferrari	1:36.858	+3.339s	32

Brendan Lines 26 Sept, 2020 06:00am

Mercedes’ Valterri Bottas topped the timing charts in Friday’s FP1 at the Sochi Autodrome ahead of a charging Daniel Ricciardo, surprisingly the sister Mercedes of Lewis Hamilton slipped back to P19 struggling for a timed lap.

Bottas revealed during the week he visited a church in search of devine intervention after his fortunes in Mugello, the Fin’s prayers may have been heard as Bottas was right on the pace while others struggled adapting to the evolving Sochi track — once known to have little to no tyre degradation.

“There’s definitely more to come but overall, it was a positive first day of running. Conditions were quite tricky out there and that’s why there were so many drivers making mistakes. There were a few interruptions and that meant we were a bit limited with running, and I also had a big lock-up, which destroyed a set of tyres,” he said.

In a rare hiccup to his so far dominant 2020 season, Lewis Hamilton chewed through his Soft and Hard tyres with early lock-ups compromising the Brit’s session, as Hamilton’s best time was +2.793s off Bottas’ pace.

Australia’s Daniel Ricciardo continued his consistent run of top three finishes in Friday practice with a personal best P2, the Aussie’s best time was +0.507s shy to the Fin, but just over a tenth and a half clear of his nearest rival Red Bull’s Max Verstappen.

Behind Verstappen, the Racing Point cars ran line a stern with Sergio Perez in P4 and Lance Stroll in P5, Perez surprisingly lead the duo despite his RP20 not carrying the same aero upgrades afforded to Stroll for this race.

Esteban Ocon rounded out the top six falling just short of the 1:35.000s mark, his best time of 1:36.021 was just two tenths quicker than Alpha Tauri’s Daniil Kyvat in P7 who ran exclusively on Medium tyres.

Red Bull’s Alex Albon was just two hundredths behind Kyvat on the Soft tyre, but finished ahead of Sebastian Vettel P9 and Pierre Gasly in P10.

A rare spin for Carlos Sainz brought out the first stoppage to the session within the first 30 minutes, the Spaniard left the track at Turn 7 slamming his McLaren’s rear wing into the barriers leaving a trail of debris, enough to warrant yellow flags as Sainz limped back to the pits.

Sainz managed to hold P12 for the session ahead of Lando Norris’ sister McLaren in P13, from the Alfa Romeo’s of Antonio Giovinazzi and Kimi Räikkönen in P14 and P15 respectively.

Later, Nicholas Latifi went off similarly to Sainz at Turn 10, but his Williams suffered far more damage, red-flagging the session.

Latifi’s teammate George Russell managed P17, the Brit sandwiched between the Haas cars of Kevin Magnussen in P16 and Romain Grosjean P18.

Brendan Lines 14 Sept, 2020

Lewis Hamilton has secured the 90th victory of his career, his sixth of the 2020 season ahead of teammate Valtteri Bottas and Red Bull’s Alex Albon in a double red-flagged race of high attrition at the Tuscan Grand Prix.

Formula 1’s much anticipated debut visit to the revered Tuscan Hills track marked Ferrari’s 1000th Grand Prix start and the season’s most drama filled race so far, a first lap DNF for Max Verstappen was followed by scenes of carnage at the race re-start.

Carlos Sainz collides with Kevin Magnussen – Image: Motorsport.com

“Today was one of the most challenging days, physically and mentally, I’ve experienced. I’m pretty exhausted to be honest, but it feels fantastic to win such a crazy race,” Hamilton said.

“It’s all a bit of a daze and felt like three races in one day. It was incredibly tough out there, this track is phenomenal and Valtteri was pushing me hard, so it wasn’t easy at all.

“With all the restarts and the focus that was required, it was really hard. The first start wasn’t great and I lost the place to Valtteri, but then the second start was better and I got the place back.

“I had a comfortable advantage after that point but then there was another red flag. Anything could have happened on those restarts but fortunately on the last one, I got my best start of the day and was able to maintain my position.”

The field had barely made it into Turn 3 on the opening lap, when Max Verstappen’s slowing Red Bull had lost power off the line, the Dutchman fell down the pack and was squeezed by Pierre Gasly’s Alpha Tauri on the outside, an evading Kimi Räikkönen had nowhere to go but into the Red Bull, the incident saw both Verstappen and last week’s Italian GP winner Gasly out of the race on the first lap.

Bottas then lead the field behind the safety car until a re-start on Lap 9, the Fin’s restrained to get back on the throttle causing confusion further back as the field compressed in a high speed concertina effect that sent McLaren’s Carlos Sainz into a triple rear-end collision with Haas’ Kevin Magnussen, Williams’ Nicholas Latifi and Alfa Romeo’s Antonio Giovinazzi, the spectacular carnage brought out the first red flag for the race.

With less than a kilometer raced under green the field reset back to the pitlane, during the 25-minute stoppage, Renault’s Esteban Ocon retired with over heating brakes, brining the field back to 12.

Hamilton used the slipstream from Bottas to pip the sister Mercedes for the lead into Turn 1 on the restart.

Charles Leclerc’s Ferrari tenuous hold on P3 was under fire from Racing Point’s Lance Stroll, in Lap 18 Stroll got the move done, Daniel Ricciardo and Alex Albon soon followed to pass Leclerc unable to defend from his rivals DRS advantage.

On Lap 31 Bottas radioed in his request to take whatever tyres Hamilton wasn’t on, Mercedes fit Bottas with a set of Hard tyres, but the Fins call was countered by Mercedes later pitting Hamilton for his own Hard tyres, Bottas was stuck inntrafgic and Hamilton opened the gap out to 0.7s.

Ricciardo opted to undercut Stroll during the pit stop phase to take third place, as Racing Point’s Stroll sandwiched Albon into P5 with the sister Racing Point of Sergio Perez in P6.

Red Bull’s Alex Albon on the podium – Image: Redbullcontentpool

It wasn’t smooth sailing for Mercedes out front, as the team radio it’s drivers to stay off the kerbs — much like the instruction given at Silverstone.

Effectively holding station, there wasn’t much Bottas could do to reign in Hamilton, the Fin radioed to his team “A safety car would be nice right now.”

On Lap 43 Bottas got his wish, albeit at the expense of Stroll, who left the track at the high speed second Arrabiata turn. Stroll reported a puncture, that most likely caused by a piece of body work seen breaking off his car mid-corner, his Racing Point slammed into the barrier left to ruin as Stroll walked away unscathed.

Stroll’s incident triggered the second red flag, the race re-start would effectively be a 12 lap sprint to the end.

Bottas was gifted a golden opportunity to take the win from Hamiltin on the re-start, but instead couldn’t get his Mercedes swiftly off the line, Ricciardo slipped past and into second place — Albon also slipped back behind Perez into P5.

But P2 was cold comfort for Ricciardo, with no DRS to defend on the re-start the Australian fell ill to the superior speed of Bottas’ Mercedes, his Renault then fell into the clutches of Albon who had accounted for Perez.

Hamilton amassed a four second gap as Bottas clawed back P2, the Mercedes cars powered on to the end taking the teams 100th 1-2 victory, while Albon took his maiden podium finish in P3.

Brendan Lines 13 Sept, 2020 08:00am

Lewis Hamilton has scored his 95th pole position in Formula One, his seventh of the 2020 F1 season and first at the Tuscan Grand Prix, teammate Valtteri Bottas missed out on pole by just 0.059s, securing P2 on the grid having aborted his final Q3 lap after a double yellow flag in the first sector, Red Bull’s Max Verstappen will start the race from P3.

Hamilton’s time on of 1:15.144s on
the Soft tyre sets a new record at Mugello, the Brit posted his fastest lap on his first run in Q3.

“I’m so happy to be up here. It’s been a tough weekend, to be honest. This is a phenomenal track and it’s very challenging,” Hamilton said.

“You’re going through Turns 6, 7, 8 and 9 at around 275 to 285 km/h and the g-forces we’re pulling through there is just insane.

“Valtteri has been quicker than me all through the weekend, so I’ve been working hard in the background to try and improve my lines and set-up. And finally, I got the lap together that I needed in Q3.

“The wind picked up a bit for the second lap, which is why I wasn’t able to go any quicker, but the first lap was good enough.

“Valtteri did a great job and has been pushing me really hard, so I’m glad I could pick up the pace once I got to Qualifying. I’m looking forward to tomorrow, it’ll be difficult on such a high-speed track but that should also make it pretty interesting.

It has been a recurring case for Bottas who had been fastest in every session, gaining the upper-hand only to have Hamilton snatch ascendancy back in a clutch moment.

“It’s disappointing to miss out on pole, especially by such a small margin and after I had to abort my final lap,” Bottas said.

“The yellow flags definitely hampered my Qualifying, as I still had more to come with the last lap and was just waiting for the time to get it all right.

“Coming into the weekend, we thought it would be nearly impossible to overtake here but during practice, we’ve seen how wide the track is and the different lines you can take through the corners.

“So, I’m hopeful I’ll be able to take the fight to Lewis tomorrow and have a good battle. There’s a long run to Turn 1 as well, so we’ll see what happens.

Red Bull lock-out the second row of the grid with Max Verstappen just two tenths adrift of Bottas, teammate Alex Albon put in a career best effort qualifying P4.

“As a Team I think we did a very good job the whole weekend and from the start the car was in a good window which meant it was more about fine tuning,” Verstappen said.

“We are the closest we have been to Mercedes in qualifying so we can be happy about that and also the gap to the competition behind us is bigger.

“I have good hopes for the race and it is always difficult to predict whether we can fight for the win but I feel a bit more confident than some other weekends.

“We have quite decent top speed which I think is good around here and although it won’t be easy to pass at least the last few corners are quite wide and long so you can take a few different lines if you have the pace to follow.

“Strategy wise as it is a new track we will find out a lot during the race, especially about the tyres as track temperatures are going to be quite high tomorrow. A Mercedes is never easy to overtake but we will give it all we have and I love this track so I’m really looking forward to the race.”

Charles Leclerc pulled off an astonishing result in P5, qualifying within a second of Hamilton with a time of 1:16.698s, a rare moment of celebration, just in time for the Scuderia’s 1000th Grand Prix start.

Sergio Perez heads up the Racing Point cars qualifying P6 despite not having the aero upgrades to his RP20, they went to teammate Lance Stroll who took P7 some four hundredths slower than Perez.

Australia’s Daniel Ricciardo will line up P8, the Aussie says he had the pace for a potential P5 having saved two sets of Softs from Q2, but teammate Esteban Ocon’s spin at Borgo San Lorenzo in Q3 thwarted any hopes of improvement for most of the field.

McLaren’s Carlos Sainz would have to settle for P9, sandwiched between the two Renaults.

The Tuscan Grand Prix begins 10:40pm tonight.

Brendan Lines 12 Sept, 2020

Valtteri Bottas finished his Friday at Mugello the fastest of the Mercedes in both morning and afternoon sessions, the Fin had the measure of teammate Lewis Hamilton in P2 by two tenths of a second as Red Bull’s Max Verstappen took P3.

Bottas’ ended his Friday with a time time of 1:16.989, well under the previous F1 fastest time set in testing around the 1:21.000-mark in the V10 era of days gone by.

The field were out on soft-shod tyre cars testing the limits of the track as they wound in qualifying pace to their setups — despite much risk and reward around Mugello, the session was red-flagged twice.

Lando Norris crashed out early in the session dipping a wheel into the gravel on the exit of Turn 3, clipping his McLarens’s front wing off as he hit the wall, calling for a short red flag period.

Kimi Räikkönen’s Alfa Romeo was clipped at Turn 1 by Sergio Perez exiting the pits on a flying lap, despite the incident Räikkönen finished P9 and Perez P7.

Perez was handed a one-place grid penalty for the race from the stewards.

After the session Perez said to F1.com he blamed the pit exit layout for the collision.

“It’s obviously a new place, we’ve never been here before. I was aware that Kimi was there but obviously not that close, because when I’m in the pit lane, I’m not able to see him. It’s quite a distance and unfortunately I couldn’t avoid him and that’s what happened ” he said.

Asked if he’d bring the matter up in the drivers’ briefing, Perez said: “I think it’s something we’ve got to talk about to see what’s the best thing to do.”

The pair sandwiched the Italian Grand Prix’s man of the moment Pierre Gasly in P8.

Max Verstappen maintained his consistent gap of just +.040s of the next Mercedes ahead of him, Alexander Albon, who finished P4 was just seven tenths of the lead Red Bull.

Daniel Ricciardo was back to his fast Friday pace in P5 with a lap if 1:18.039, his Renault teammate Esteban Ocin backed-up the Australian’s efforts with a P6.

Charles Leclerc went out to replicate his FP1 pace, but his Ferrari’s rear end came unstuck at Turn 12, Leclerc managed to scrape into the top ten with a 1:18.400. Sebastian Vettel (P12) had almost an identical spin at the same turn, suggesting there is still some rear end grip deficiency in the Ferrari last week at Monza.

FP3 and Qualifying for the Tuscany Grand Prix begins 7:30pm ACST tonight.

Brendan Lines 12 Sept, 2020 08:00am

Valtteri Bottas was quickest in FP1, topping the time charts for the fifth consecutive Friday morning session this season, ahead of Red Bull’s Max Verstappen in P2 and Ferrari’s Charles Leclerc in a strong P3 to luck off the Scuderia’ s 1000th race weekend.

Bottas’ time of 1:17.879s is the first official fastest lap time in anger, as the field explored the Mugello layout for Formula 1’s first ever race at weekend at the circuit.

“It’s been a lot of fun today and I’ve enjoyed every single lap. The whole opening section with the high-speed chicanes and the second sector is just amazing and the car felt pretty good out there,” Bottas said after practice.

“I struggled with quite a lot of understeer in the first session and still in places in the second session, but it felt better.

“I think there’s still quite a bit of lap time to unlock, both in the car and also as a driver. This track is definitely one of the most physically demanding.

“We’ll only properly get to see the effects of that in the race distance, but even today, I could feel it and it’s going to be tough for everyone on Sunday.

“It’s also quite unforgiving, with little margin for error and that’s how it should be.”

Mercedes teammate Lewis Hamilton was just half a second off Bottas, taking P4.

The high downforce layout has brought Red Bull back into the fold as Max Verstappen was just four hundredths adrift of the Mercedes in P2, with a time of 1:17.927s, his teammate Alex Albon finished the session in P9

It was a fast Friday for Ferrari, as Charles Leclerc finished an encouraging P3 was just two and a half tenths off Verstappen, while Sebastian Vettel finished in P13.

Pierre Gasly was the fastest of the Alpha Tauri cars in P5 his time of 1:18.676s was half a tenth quicker than teammate Daniil Kyvat in P7.

Esteban Ocon was a surprise fastest of the Renault cars in P6, he pipped teammate Daniel Ricciardo in P10 considerably by half a second.

Lando Norris was the sole McLaren in the top ten, the Brit finished P8 with a time of 1:18:981s some seven places clear of teammate Carlos Sainz.

Alfa Romeo’s Kimi Räikkönen took P11 for the session, the Fin was just under a tenth shy of Ricciardo’s P10, Antonio Giovinazzi finished behind his Alfa teammate in P14.

Romain Grosjean managed P12 after a incident filled session, first arguing over the same piece if track as Sergio Perez and losses from his Power Unit in the medium speed corners, his teammate Kevin Magnussen finished three tenths adrift in P17.

It was a more of a learning session for Racing Point it’s drivers Lance Stroll and Sergio Perez ended the session in P18 and P19 respectively.

George Russell was fastest if the Williams in P16, over half a second ahead of the sister Williams if Nicholas Latifi in P20.

Brendan Lines 10th Sept, 2020

Four time World Champion Sebastian Vettel has signed with Racing Point for season 2021 ‘and beyond’ the team confirmed on Thursday, the same day driver Sergio Perez parted with the Silverstone-based team.

Vettel’s future has been the centre of Formula 1’s best or worst kept secret, after his current team Ferrari did not offer the German a contract, opting to sign Spaniard Carlos Sainz in May.

Though Vettel has been aloof about his future prospects in Formula 1, the 33-year old had been linked to the team by many ‘convenient’ sightings, ‘elbow bumping’ with its owner Lawrence Stroll and car-pooling with Team Principal Otmar Szafnauer across the Silverstone Grands Prix weekends in July.

“Everybody at Silverstone is hugely excited by this news. Sebastian is a proven champion and brings a winning mentality that matches our own ambitions for the future as Aston Martin F1 Team,” Szafnauer said.

“On a Saturday or Sunday afternoon, Sebastian is one of the best in the world, and I can’t think of a better driver to help take us into this new era. He will play a significant role in taking this team to the next level.

At the time of writing, Vettel stands as a 53-time race winner, putting him third on the all-time list of Grand Prix victors with Michael Schmacher and Lewis Hamilton, Vettel has a further 67 podium finishes to his name.

The German’s qualifying speed is equally impressive, starting on the front row of the grid 101 times throughout his career to date – 57 of which were from pole position.

Having claimed four consecutive titles with Red Bull Racing between 2010 – 2013 and multiple Grands Prix victories with Scuderia Ferrari in the years since.
“I am pleased to finally share this exciting news about my future. I’m extremely proud to say that I will become an Aston Martin driver in 2021. It’s a new adventure for me with a truly legendary car company,” Vettel said.

“I have been impressed with the results the team has achieved this year and I believe the future looks even brighter. The energy and commitment of Lawrence [Stroll] to the sport is inspiring and I believe we can build something very special together.

“I still have so much love for Formula 1 and my only motivation is to race at the front of the grid. To do so with Aston Martin will be a huge privilege.”

Undoubtedly Vettel is one of the most accomplished and respected drivers in world motorsport and he knows what it takes to win at the highest level.

However, his time with Ferrari hasn’t yielded the success Vettel would have hoped, as he follwed in the footsteps of his childhood hero in Shumacher.

Some unforced errors, like crashing out at his home Grand Prix, a struggling Ferrari in the wake of it’s ‘secret’ engine deal with the FIA, and the emergence of teammate Charles Leclerc as Ferrari’s ‘Golden child’ — we simply haven’t seen the Sebastian Vettel equally revered and feared as a competitor in his time at the Scuderia.

There is one parallel between his tenure at Red Bull and new team Racing Point, in that they are new (or newish) teams on the up with the will to prove themselves against the establishment of the likes of Mercedes is an environment Vettel thrives — four consecutive World Championships is proof of that.

We are sure to see the same hop in Vettel’s step return as the first win, the first pole, the first front-row lockout, the first podium… the first win — all opportunities Racing Point albeit Aston Martin are capable of providing.

With the stage set for 2021, Vettel still has the job are hand to wave the Ferrari flag high at Mugello this week for the Scuderia’s 1000th Grand Prix appreance.

Brendan Lines 10 Sept, 2020

Racing Point and driver Sergio Perez will part ways at the end of season 2020, ending the 30-year old Mexican’s seven-year tenure at the team as it becomes Aston Martin in 2021.

Perez’s departure now leaves the door wide open for the much speculated arrival of four-time World Champion Sebastian Vettel to the Silverstone based team.

With no potential drive in Formula 1, Perez said in his public statement there appears to be no ‘plan B’ for him at the moment.

“I don’t have a plan B. My intention is to continue racing here (F1) but that would depend on finding a project that motivates me to continue giving my one hundred per cent in each lap,” he said.

Racing Point CEO and Team Principal Otmar Szafnauer made the announcement last night ahead of this weekend’s Tuscan Grand Prix at Mugello, Italy.

“Checo has been part of the Silverstone family for seven years and in that time has become one of the most complete drivers on the grid,” Szafnauer said.

“Blisteringly quick on Saturday and Sunday, he’s established his reputation as a tenacious racer and together we have enjoyed some fantastic moments.

“If there was ever a sniff of a podium, Checo was ready to pounce, and those five podiums represent some of the finest days in the history of this team.

“Outside of the car, Checo is a true character and a good friend, and it’s been a pleasure working with him for such a long time.

“Although we will say goodbye at the end of the year, there are still nine races to go and plenty of opportunities for Checo to make some more special memories with this team.”

Perez has taken five of his eight career podiums, helping the team – as Force India – achieve consecutive fourth-place finishes in the Constructors’ Championship in 2016 and 2017.

In 2018, Perez was “asked” to start administration proceedings against the team as one of its creditors, to ward-off a winding-up petition against the team after the financial collapse of its then owner Indian billionaire Vijay Mallya.

Perez’s action helped save the jobs of 400 fellow employees at Silverstone, the team was then brought by current owner Lawrence Stroll who penned the Aston Martin deal this year.

So does Perez’s departure come somewhat unceremoniously?

It might seem that way, as the Mexican says he is hurt by the decision.

“It hurts a bit as I bet on the team during very rough times we managed to overcome obstacles and I am very proud of saving the jobs of several of my teammates,” he said.

Perez did have a contract in place at the team for 2021, the Mexican did signal his intent to see out that contract at the British Grand Prix while sidelined by a positive COVID-19 test.

Racing Point have been linked to Vettel, who was not offered a new contract from his current employer Ferrari this year.

Nico Hülkenberg is Racing Point’s other potential option, having stood-in while Perez quarantined, Hülkenberg qualified third at Silverstone having not driven a Formula 1 car since 2019.

But does the very public Vettel-Stroll elbow bump at Silverstone suggest the German has most likely got the drive?

Perez’s heartfelt public statement made last night, read:

“To the current administration, led by Lawrence Stroll I wish nothing but the best in the future, specially with the upcoming Aston Martin Project.

“I want to thank each one if you who have been with me throughout these 10 years.

“To my family who has been there to support me despite anything.

“To all sponsors who believed in my project, to my staff, and mainly God who blessed me with the opportunity to live thus incredible adventure called F1.

“I hope I can give you some good news, real soon, but for now let’s enjoy together the next race.

I carry you in my heart!”