Brendan Lines January 5, 2021

Formula 1’s opening round of its bumper 23-round 2021 season is in doubt as COVID-19 restrictions demanding 14-day quarantine for international visitors may postpone the Australian Grand Prix in Melbourne set for March 21.

The cancellation of last year’s event triggered delays to the 2020 season commencing, Local Goals understands the race is likely to be postponed until later in the year, in the hope of eased restrictions — making the Bahrain Grand Prix the replacement season-opener on March 28.

Melbourne now prepares to host the Australian Open tennis in January, the city’s first international sporting event since coming out of its 112-day lockdown, amid strict two to three week quarantine periods for competitors — six time Open champion Roger Federer has already withdrawn from the event.

It’s believed Formula 1 will be subject to the same rules, which wont allow for enough time between pre-season testing on March 2-4 for teams to travel and complete the quarantine period.

“It hasn’t been postponed yet – and I don’t expect an official announcement today or in the next few days,” said Sky Sports News F1 reporter Craig Slater.

“But one insider has told me that it is impossible that it can take place under the current COVID-19 restrictions in force in Australia.”

Any rescheduling of the race to a later date is limited to very small gaps in the calendar. With round three on the calendar TBC for April 25 and the Spanish Grand Prix on May 9 still subject to contract, that may be the only slot available until August after the European summer break.

The Australian Grand Prix Corporation issued a statement today that read:

“The Australian Grand Prix Corporation continues to work closely with the Victorian Government and Formula 1 on conditions and arrangements relating to the staging of the Formula 1 Australian Grand Prix in Melbourne in 2021.  Further detail will be provided upon finalisation of arrangements with all parties in the coming weeks.”

The sport released it’s provisional calendar in November last year, only confirming the race in Melbourne would go ahead some weeks ago. The sport believed the race was possible after the Victorian Government’s handing of the pandemic and the sport’s own tried and tested protocols after completing its 2020 season.

Just yesterday FIA president Jean Todt warned the 2021 campaign will not be “a normal season” and the sport must brace for more changes to the calendar.

Brendan Lines December 19, 2020

Sergio Perez ends the speculation around his Formula 1 future confirming his place alongside Max Verstappen in Red Bull’s 2021 driver line up, Perez completes the final piece of the 2021 driver market puzzle as Lewis Hamilton is expected to resign with Mercedes.

Perez will join the Milton Keynes based team on a one-year contract, the 30-year old Mexican will be the first driver promoted into a Red Bull race seat who has not come directly from its junior program, since Mark Webber retired in 2013.

Released a year early from his contract with current team Racing Point, Perez made way for Sebastian Vettel as the team re-brand as Aston Martin.

Making his Grand Prix debut in 2011, Perez has since then become one of the sport’s most consistent performers and tenacious racers. Sergio’s recent run of form and victory at the Sakhir Grand Prix made him the favoured choice to join Red Bull Racing.

“I am incredibly grateful to Red Bull for giving me the opportunity to race for Red Bull Racing in 2021,” said Perez.

“The chance to race for a championship contending team is something I have been hoping for since I joined Formula One and it will be a proud moment to step onto the grid in Red Bull colours alongside Max.

“You can be sure that I will give next season my full focus. The Team has the same winning mentality as me and I know I am here to perform and help the team fight for another title.”

Driver Alex Albon steps aside from his current role to make way for Perez, having finished 7th in the 2020 drivers championship and taking two podium finishes in the Tuscan and Bahrain grands prix.

Albon now takes on the role of Red Bull Racing Test and Reserve Driver with a key focus on 2022 development, simulator work and tyre testing.


Red Bull Racing Team Principal, Christian Horner said performance and data gave reason to the team’s decision.

“Alex is a valued member of the Team and we thought long and hard about this decision,” Horner said.

“Having taken our time to evaluate all the relevant data and performances we have decided that Sergio is the right driver to partner Max for 2021 and look forward to welcoming him to Red Bull Racing.

“Alex remains an important part of our Team as Test and Reserve Driver with a key focus on 2022 development and we would like to thank him for his hard work and contribution.”

Brendan Lines November 30, 2020

Lewis Hamilton took his eleventh victory for 2020 at an incident filled Bahrain Grand Prix, the race was red-flagged on the opening lap as Haas driver Romain Grosjean escaped from his car after it exploded into a fireball on impact with a barrier splitting the car in two.

Grosjean made contact with Alpha Tauri’s Daniil Kvyat on the exit of Turn 3 which sent his Haas on a collision course piercing the barrier at high speed. Grosjean was saved from injury by the car’s cockpit survival cell and Halo crash structure.

The Frenchman miraculously emerged from the flames that engulfed the wreckage, as Formula 1 Medical Delegates Dr. Ian Roberts and Alan van den Merwe arrived on the scene to extinguish the flames and come to Grosjean’s aid as he extricated himself.

Grosjean was airlifted the MDF MC Military Hospital in Bahrain’s capital Manama, with suspected broken ribs, and minor burns to his hands and right ankle.

Grosjean spoke on Twitter updating his condition from his Hospital bed.

“I just wanted to say I’m OK, we’ll sort of OK, but thank you to very much for all the messages, I mean I wasn’t for the Halo some years ago but I think it’s the greatest thing we brought to Formula 1, without it I wouldn’t be able to speak to you today,” he said.  

Haas F1 Team Team Principal Guenther Steiner thanked Formula 1’s safety team after the race.

 “We got fortunate today. The good news is that Romain is doing well considering what happened. We are thankful for all the safety advancements in modern Formula 1 in order to protect the drivers.

“We send a thank you to the FIA safety team and the marshals who were on-site immediately to help Romain get away from the scene. As I said, I think we got lucky – there’s not a lot more to say. We hope Romain will recover quickly from the injuries he sustained,” he said.

Over just over 90 minutes later the race was re-started, only to again be yellow-flagged when Lance Stroll’s Racing Point rolled over after contact from an ambitious overtake by Kvyat went wrong under brakes at Turn 8.

There was more carnage and woe as Mercedes Valtteri Bottas suffered a puncture, his day shot before it got started dropping back to P16, the Fin had to fight his way back through the field to finish P8.

With the fight for 3^rd in the constructor’s championship still a four-way fight between Racing Point, McLaren, Renault and Ferrari the mid-field battle heated up under lights in the Bahrain desert.

Racing Point’s Sergio Perez looked to have a firm grip on P3 for most of the race on track to single-handedly take a haul of points and a podium for his team.

 A suspected MGU-K failure on Lap 54 ended Perez’s race in spectacular fashion as the rear end of his car plumed with smoke eventually igniting into a high speed inferno — Perez’s misfortune was an opportunity for Alex Albon to collect a valuable podium finish for Red Bull.

The McLaren’s of Lando Norris and Carlos Sainz finished P4 and P5 respectively, their collective effort won the day for McLaren in the constructor’s showdown, now 17 points clear of Racing Point and 27 points from Renault.

Daniel Ricciardo rebounded from a nightmare re-start to finish P7, the Australian losing out in a wheel to wheel battle with Sainz, who later caused more trouble for the Renault of Ricciardo and his teammate Ocon – Sainz splitting the pair on Lap 26 eventually clearing Ricciardo in the lead Renault the next lap as the McLaren driver went on to take P5.

The Renault cars squabbled as Ricciardo radioed to the team “Why are we racing each other,” unable to catch Alpha Tauri’s Pierre Gasly who finished P6.

Hamilton again controlled the race at the front from Red Bull’s Max Verstappen, the only worry for the Brit was covering Verstappen’s attempt to undercut him pitting for fresh Hard tyres on Lap 36.

Hamilton’s worry of a late charge from Verstappen was put to rest as the race finished under the Safety Car after Perez’s stricken car had to be cleared from the track.

It is the first time the Bahrian Grand Prix has been won by a car leading from start to finish, another feather in the cap for Hamilton’s stellar record-breaking year.

“Today is a reminder for all of us that this is a dangerous sport. It was shocking to see Romain’s accident and I’m just so grateful that the Halo did its job and credit to the FIA medical team who were straight on the scene,” Hamilton said after the race.

 “For Romain to be able to walk away from an accident like that just shows what an incredible job F1 and the FIA have done in their quest for safety.

“Physically it was such a demanding race. Max pushed me all the way and he had a lot of speed today.

“I was struggling a little bit with the car sliding around, but I just had enough to be able to respond to Max’s quick laps when it mattered. I was a little cautious how it would play out at the end of the race once Max pitted, but I’m so thankful to my team because they made the right calls all day on the strategy. What a privilege it is to be able to get another result like this.”

Formula 1 returns to the Sakhir circuit racing on its alternate layout for the Sakhir Grand Prix next week.

Full results:

1	44	Lewis Hamilton	Mercedes	57	2:59:47.515	25
2	33	Max Verstappen	Red Bull Racing Honda	57	+1.254s	19
3	23	Alexander Albon	Red Bull Racing Honda	57	+8.005s	15
4	4	Lando Norris	McLaren Renault	57	+11.337s	12
5	55	Carlos Sainz	McLaren Renault	57	+11.787s	10
6	10	Pierre Gasly	AlphaTauri Honda	57	+11.942s	8
7	3	Daniel Ricciardo	Renault	57	+19.368s	6
8	77	Valtteri Bottas	Mercedes	57	+19.680s	4
9	31	Esteban Ocon	Renault	57	+22.803s	2
10	16	Charles Leclerc	Ferrari	56	+1 lap	1
11	26	Daniil Kvyat	AlphaTauri Honda	56	+1 lap	0
12	63	George Russell	Williams Mercedes	56	+1 lap	0
13	5	Sebastian Vettel	Ferrari	56	+1 lap	0
14	6	Nicholas Latifi	Williams Mercedes	56	+1 lap	0
15	7	Kimi Räikkönen	Alfa Romeo Racing Ferrari	56	+1 lap	0
16	99	Antonio Giovinazzi	Alfa Romeo Racing Ferrari	56	+1 lap	0
17	20	Kevin Magnussen	Haas Ferrari	56	+1 lap	0
18	11	Sergio Perez	Racing Point BWT Mercedes	53	DNF	0
NC	18	Lance Stroll	Racing Point BWT Mercedes	2	DNF	0
NC	8	Romain Grosjean	Haas Ferrari	0	DNF	0

Note – Verstappen scored an additional point for setting the fastest lap of the race.

Brendan Lines November 14, 2020

Red Bull drivers Max Verstappen and Alex Albon were fastest in FP1 for the Turkish Grand Prix, the slippery conditions of the newly re-surfaced track mixed up the field as both Ferrari cars finished in the top ten ahead of Mercedes.

Formula 1 last visited the Istanbul Park circuit on the banks of the Bosphorus Strait in 2011, 9 years on it’s not the familiar territory F1 teams expected, the cooler conditions chilled the newly re-surfaced track temperature well below the ideal conditions for the harder compound Pirelli tyres.

Red Bull’s Alex Albon likened the conditions to being icy for the drivers, taking a cautious approach through the renowned high-speed Turn 8.

“It was a positive day and it’s always fun to try out a new track. In FP1 and FP2, it was like an ice rink out there and a bit weird because it’s not a normal feeling driving what feels like a drift car.” he said.

“You’re just sliding around which of course is a bit fun in a way but it’s also not what an F1 car likes! In order to switch the tyres on and get them to work you’re having to push way out of your comfort zone so it’s tricky but it is what it is.”

Ferrari’s showed some surprising pace with both Charles Leclerc and Sebastian Vettel finishing P3 and P5, Leclerc’s time was +2.0s faster than the fastest Mercedes of Valtteri Bottas, proving high grip setups might be preferred over high-speed.

There was just the one hiccup for Leclerc as he brought out a red flag briefly after knocking over a track bollard

At the re-start the Alpha Tauri’s of Pierre Gasly and Danil Kyvat posted their best times to take P4 and P5 for the session.

McLaren’s Carlos Sainz was sidelined with an electrical issue to his MCL35’s power-unit, his teammate Lando Norris got his 21^st birthday celebrations under way for the weekend with  P7.

Another surprise was Alfa Romeo’s Antonio Giovinazzi taking P8, not only ahead of his teammate Kimi Raikkonen, but faster than Bottas by a tenth in P9.

Esteban Ocon was the fastest of the Renaults finishing P10, Ocon’s best time of 1:38.428s just edged Williams rookie Nicolas Latifi from his first top ten classification by .08s.

Racing Point finished down the order in P12 and P13 well off their best, but it is expected the team will improve its RP20 for better qualifying results than favoring its race setup.

Lewis Hamilton found himself on the back foot to clinch the Drivers World Championship this weekend finishing P15. Hamilton will need to finish 8 points clear of teammate and nearest rival Bottas to equal Michael Shumacher’s record of seven world championships.

Brendan Lines November 2, 2020

Lewis Hamilton has claimed his 93rd F1 victory – his first at Imola for the Emilia Romagna Grand Prix, Valtteri Bottas came home in second, Australian Daniel Ricciardo was third, taking his second podium in three races.

Formula 1’s return to the historic Autodromo Enzo e Dino Ferrari di Imola was the setting for Mercedes to rewrite the history books, its one-two finish secured the team’s seventh successive Constructors World Championship.

Lewis Hamilton delivered another win despite being out-qualified for the second successive race by Bottas, the Brit slipped back to P3 on the opening laps behind Red Bull’s Max Verstappen.

Hamilton played the strategy game to extend his opening stint on the Medium tyres under-cutting both Bottas and Verstappen ahead.

“A big, big thank you to the entire Mercedes family and all of our partners, because we wouldn’t be able to do what we do without them,” Hamilton said.

“The race itself was an exhausting one, particularly with the speeds that we are experiencing around this track. I had a tricky start but extended the stint and managed to fight back to the front. It feels fantastic to clinch the title today at Imola in style.”

Hamilton pitted under the Virtual Safety Car on Lap 31 after Renault driver Esteban Ocon’s retirement, Hamilton covering his rivals to maintain the lead, after Vertappen’s right rear puncture forced his retirement forced a full safety car.

The later safety car period had its winners and losers, as Hamilton and Ricciardo chose not to pit to maintain track position, but for Williams’ George Russell it was disaster as his car spun out of control behind the safety car and hit a wall as he swerved to maintain tyre temperature — ending his day that was set for a points finish.

For Daniel Ricciardo it was all smiles and ‘Shoeys’ as the Aussie drove himself to third from P5 on the grid.

“Two podiums in three races! I’m very happy and I didn’t forget to do the ‘shoey’ this time around! We were pretty settled in fifth but then Max triggered the safety car. It was the right thing to stay out, especially after Perez pitted,” Ricciardo said.

The podium finish now puts Renault just one point ahead in the constructors standings ahead of McLaren — Ricciardo’s team of choice in 2021.

Alpha Tauri’s Daniil Kyvat took P4 his best finish for 2020, the Russian’s pass around the outside of Vettel at the Piratella a highlight, despite teammate Pierre Gasly’s retirement on Lap 9. Kyvat finished ahead of Ferrari’s Charles Leclerc in P5 and Racing Point’s Sergio Perez in P6.

Perez, who started P11, staged another great comeback drive after a compromised qualifying.

The McLaren’s of Carlos Sainz and Lando Norris finished P7 and P8, salvageable performance from the Woking team to remain in the hunt for third in the constructors standings.

It was a double points finish for Alfa Romeo as Kimi Räikkönen and Antonio Giovinazzi finished P9 and P10 respectively, the team’s first double points finish for the season and on home Italian soil.

It was a forgettable day for Red Bull, coming away with no points, Verstappen’s day cut short while in second place, by a puncture in the closing stages after troubling Bottas’ Mercedes all race.

Red Bull teammate Alex Albon was relegated to P15 after spinning out at the Tamburello chicane jostling with Sergio Perez on the restart from the safety car.

Lewis Hamilton is now poised to clinch his seventh drivers title to match Michael Shumachers all time record, at the Turkish Grand Prix in two weeks time.

Brendan Lines October 20, 2020

Lewis Hamilton crushed the competition to win the Portugese Grand Prix, overtaking Michael Shumacher’ s record of the most race wins, Hamilton’s 92nd victory in Formula One is his eighth win of the 2020 season, Valtteri Bottas finished second, with Red Bull’s Max Verstappen third.

The Brit now holds Formula 1’s all time greatest race winning record and is set to equal Shumacher’s record of seven drivers championships.

“I could only ever have dreamed of being where I am today,” Hamilton said.

“I didn’t have a crystal ball when I chose to come to this team and partner with these great people.

” I chose to come to this team and partner with these great people. What I can tell you is that I am trying to make the most of it every single day.

“Everything that we do together, we are all growing in the same direction and that’s why you’re seeing the success that we’re having.

“My dad is here which is amazing, my step-mum Linda is here, Roscoe too. I feel very blessed.

“It’s going to take some time for it to sink in. I was still pushing flat out coming across the line and I am still in race mode mentally. I can’t find the words at the moment.”

Hamilton’s dominance on the race came out of a chaotic start, losing the lead from pole to Bottas at Turn 1, Hamilton was not alone struggling for grip on the Medium tyres in cold slippery conditions as rain sprinkled the Portimao track.

Both Mercedes cars kept losing ground out front as McLaren’s Carlos Sainz astonishingly snatched the lead in the opening fracarr after starting from P7 on the grid.

The biggest loser in the dramatic opening scenes was Racing Point’s Sergio Perez, who was spun around after being clipped by Verstappen rejoining the track after running wide at Turn 4 — the incident went without investigation from race stewards, Stroll retired his car on Lap 54 from its wounds.

Perez slipped back to P20, next to Hamilton, Perez’s recovery drive was another stand out performance of the day to finish P7.

The Mexican single handedly took valuable constructors points against rival McLaren after teammate Lance Stroll’s DNF.

Sainz’s fragile lead on degrading Soft tyres soon sucumed to both Mercedes on Medium tyres, the addition of DRS was no help to Sainz as Verstappen soon overtook Sainz.

The natural order was restored out front on Lap 8, despite Hamilton running +1.6s behind Bottas in P2.

The single DRS zone on the front straight played a heavy influence, Kimi Räikkönen’s mighty P16 to P6 start was eaten away as many of the faster runners were able to account for his Alfa Romeo.

On Lap 18, Stroll rocketed around the outside of McLaren’s Lando Norris with the aid of DRS, leaving little racing room into Turn 1, the two came together in tank-slapping style — the stewards whacked Stroll with a five-second time penalty as Norris was relegated back to P20 dashing his hopes of a good haul of points.

Hamilton continued to hunt his teammate, eventually on Lap 20 the Brit took the lead passing Bottas at Turn 1 and continued to open up his lead over the ensuing laps. Hamilton persisted through the graining phase of his tyres, at his single pit stop for the race, Hamilton had cleared Bottas by ten seconds and Verstappen by +49.0s.

Charles Leclerc race yielded a much improved and sustained effort from Ferrari all weekend, Leclerc qualified and held P4 convincingly in patches just +0.4s off Mercedes pace over a lap — it was ‘okay’ day for teammate Sebastian Vettel finishing P10.

Pierre Gasly continued his claim as the season’s most improved and worth to future contract prospects finishing P5, the Frenchman aggressively went for Perez on Lap 64, but got the job done the next lap on his way to an impressive finish.

Renault’s Esteban Ocon pulled off the mother of all overcuts, going 55 laps deep into the 66-lap race before his pit stop. Ocon came out in front of teammate Daniel Ricciardo as the pair finished P8 and P9 respectively.

Hamilton’s only worry for the day was a slight cramp to a calf muscle towards the closing stages, but his speed was unaffected, as Hamilton stormed home with a commanding +25.592s lead, out-classing the field to now become a class unto his own as the record holder of the most wins ever in Formula 1.

Brendan Lines October 24, 2020

Valtteri Bottas was back-to-back fastest across Friday’s practice sessions, the Finn so far is the only driver to post a sub 1:18s time around Portimao’s green track surface, despite two spectacular incidents red-flagging the FP2 session.

Bottas’ fastest time of 1:17.940s was over half a second clear of Red Bull’s Max Verstappen in P2.

“The track was evolving lap by lap, and it got better throughout the day, but maybe it was reset slightly in between the two sessions, and with red flags in second practice there wasn’t that much useful running,” Bottas said.

“So, I’m still expecting an increase in grip over the rest of the weekend. The balance of the car was also pretty good.

“I was mainly struggling in the slow speed corners with the rear end of the car but it is not too far away from where I want it, as the lap times would also suggest.”

Verstappen’s session ended after a Turn 1 argument with Racing Point’s Lance Stroll, the two cars squeezed together both starting hot laps. but failed to stay out of each others way, coming together for the second red flag.

Stewards later deemed the incident required ‘no further investigation’ and neither driver was penalised.

The first incident of the session came when Pierre Gasly’s Alpha Tauri spontaneously combusted from the right side bank of its power-unit on the exit of Turn 13, the Frenchman abandoned his burning car unscathed, though finishing P7.

Charles Leclerc kept his Ferrari up the front of the order in P4 matching the cars ahead to run in the 1:18s, he was joined in the top-ten by teammate Sebastian Vettel who improved from P11 in FP1 to P6.

Lando Norris’ P3 was a vast improvement on the morning’s session also joining the ‘1:18 club’ with a lap of 1:18.743 in his McLaren, his teammate Carlos Sainz ran four tenths off Norris finishing P5.

Championship leader Lewis Hamilton spent more time in the garage than he’d like to as a result of the red flags, his Mercedes didn’t respond favourably to set up changes, the Brit managing just P8.

Esteban Ocon was the fastest Renault in P9, while Red Bull’s Alex Albon rounded out the top-ten.

FP3 and Qualifying begin from 08:30pm ACDST tonight.

Brendan Lines October 20, 2020

Valtteri Bottas was quickest in FP1 at the Portugese Grand Prix sparring with Merecedes teammate Lewis Hamilton to go fastest, as Formula 1 visits the Autodromo Internacional do Algarve in Portimao, hosting Portugal’s first Grand Prix since 1996.

It’s a thumbs up from the drivers as the cars turned a wheel in anger for the first time, the last time Formula 1 visited the Portimao circuit was for testing in 2009.

Mercedes were quick to adapt its cars to the unknown levels of grip around the undulating high-speed layout, laden with blind corners at Turn 6 and Turn 11. Bottas set the bar some -12.0s below the previous lap record, with a fastest lap of 1:18.410s on Medium tyres.

“It was quite slippery out on track, it reminded me a lot of when we went to Sochi or Austin for the first time, and we drove on the new tarmac there,” Bottas said after FP1.

“This type of tarmac is tricky in terms of getting grip. Once you lose the grip, you can drop the car quite quickly, and I think that’s the reason why we have seen so many spins today.”

“The track was evolving lap by lap, and it got better throughout the day, but maybe it was reset slightly in between the two sessions.”

Red Bull’s Max Verstappen session was without incident after a spin, the Dutchman said his venture off-track was due to an aerodynamic ‘imbalance,’ his time of 1:19.191s for P3 was just over +.708s from Bottas. Red Bull teammate Alex Albon was three tenths off Verstappen finishing P4.

Ferrari’s Charles Leclerc was the surprise performance of the session in P4, his SF1000 was fitted with a new front-end aero package, the Monegasque was just shy of Verstappen by a tenth. Teammate Sebastian Vettel however finished just outside the top-ten in P11.

Carlos Sainz was the fastest of the McLaren’s in P6, his MCL35 seemed be carrying less niggles out if the box than teammate Lando Norris who complained of steering rack issues, finishing some six tenths behind Sainz for P12.

Sergio Perez said finding race pace could leave some ‘compromised,’ adapting to many of Portimao’s unknowns, but the Mexican made a solid start taking P6, ahead of his teammate Lance Stroll some +2.5s off the pace in P15.

Kimi Räikkönen was the quiet achiever slotting his Alfa Romeo into P8, the sister Alfa of Antonio Giovinazzi had a slight off earlier in the session ending up P16.

Daniel Ricciardo was the best of the Renault cars, Ricciardo completed his fastest lap of 1:20.058s l.p. on Mediums with teammate Esteban Ocon sticking solely to the Harder compound tyre.

Rounding out the top ten was Alpha Tauri’s Pierre Gasly, opting to run only on the Hard tyres, his best time of 1:20.124 was +1.71s off Bottas in P1, but just a tenth up on teammate Daniil Kyvat in P13.

Brendan Lines October 12, 2020

Lewis Hamilton has secured his 91st victory in Formula One – his seventh of the 2020 season and second at the Nürburgring from Max Verstappen in P2 and Renault’s Daniel Ricciardo in P3.

Hamilton now equals Michael Schumacher’s record for the most race wins in F1, The Brit was presented with one of Michael’s helmets, by Michael’s son Mick, in Parc fermé in celebration of the significant win.

“It was beyond my wildest dreams to be equalling his number of race wins and it just shows that dreams can come true. It’s an incredible honour and something that will take some time to sink in. But I couldn’t have done it without this incredible team, everyone pushing so hard,” Hamilton said after the race.

“Max was right behind me and I knew I had to have a strong restart to keep him behind. I managed to catch him out which is always nice and that gave me the jump I needed. But you can see the pace Red Bull had at the end, so we’ve got a serious fight on our hands.”

From a front row lock-out start both Mercedes cars pulled away into Turn 1, Hamilton took advantage of a wide moment by teammate Valterri Bottas, Bottas held off the attack coming out in front after the jostling — surprisingly the squabbling cars behind the Mercedes lead by Max Verstappen didn’t take advantage of the jostling struggling for grip on cold tyres to close in.

Bottas drove away into the lead in the opening phase of the race, opening up an average lead of +1.0s. On Lap 13 degrading on Bottas’ Soft-shod Mercedes caused a front right wheel lock-up into Turn 1 allowing Hamilton to sweep past into the lead.

That was just the beginning of a tough day for the Fin, who then fell into the clutches of Verstappen’s Red Bull who was right on Mercedes’ pace — Bottas slipped back to P3.

Hamilton might have thought all his Christmases had come at once with Bottas aside, George Russell parked-up his Williams after damage sustained from an incident with Kimi Räikkönen, Hamilton was able to pit under yellow flags to fit Medium tyres to pull away to a four second lead over Verstappen now in P2.

Bottas, Hamilton’s nearest world championship points rival, slipped back to +21.0s off Hamilton’s lead, but the day was done on Lap 18 when Bottas radioed power loss from his engine and retired his W11 on Lap 19.

That offered clear air to Hamilton and Verstappen back to the field, McLaren’s Lando Norris had clawed his way into P3 without a pit stop, but Racing Point’s Sergio Perez and Daniel Ricciardo were hot on Norris’ heels on fresh rubber.

While things were looking up for Ricciardo, his teammate Esteban Ocon retired the sister Renault on Lap 23 with hydraulic failure. Red Bull’s Alex Albon soon followed the same fate retiring with a terminal issue to his Honda power unit.

With the attrition rate on the rise opportunities were wide open in the midfield to progress.

Nico Hülkenberg, Racing Point’s super sub rocketed from P20 on the grid to finish P8, parachuting into the team for Saturday’s qualifying replacing the ill Lance Stroll.

Hülkenberg proving himself still worthy of a full-time F1 drive, helping Racing Point snatch third place in the constructors standings off McLaren.

Alfa Romeo’s Antonio Giovinazzi backed up qualifying P14 finishing in a well earned P10.

The third step on the podium was still anyone’s at the pointy end of the field.

Norris tried to defend from Perez despite losing power, the McLaren team radioed instructions to stop the power losses for Norris’ car, but on Lap 30 the Brit took a pitstop in an attempt to cover Perez’s taking Medium tyres to make race distance.

Daniel Ricciardo was the benefactor staying out on his Medium tyres slotting into P3. Perez despatched Leclerc’s Ferrari on Lap 35 to begin a charge on Ricciardo, the Mexican catching Ricciardo by seven tenths a lap matching Hamilton’s pace out front.

Norris’ eventual retirement on Lap 44 would bookend to the final stanza, bringing out the safety car.

The leaders took pitstops on offer under the safety car. Perez, now P3, gave himself track position over Ricciardo but the Aussie would be on fresh Soft tyres for the re-start on Lap 50 — it would be a sprint race to the finish line.

Hamilton and Verstappen both radioed their frustration as the long safety car period exacerbated their tyre cooling issues, Verstappen still weaving frantically to get heat into his Soft tyres, leaving himself wide open for Riccirado to make a dive around the outside of Turn 1.

The skirmish let the pair fall back into the clutches of Perez in P4, but Ricciardo let the quicker Red Bull go to consolidate a well earned podium finish, his first since 2018.

“Oh wow, it feels like the first time I ever got a podium. These emotions and that feeling you get when you get out the car, hug the team, the mechanics slapping you on the helmet, it’s just amazing and I am so happy we did it!” Ricciardo said.

Hamilton pumped in some of the fastest laps of the Grand Prix to claim the point for fastest lap in his way to a record win, only to have Verstappen take fastest lap honours on the final lap — the only blemish on a momentus day for Hamilton.

Brendan Lines October 11, 2020

Valtteri Bottas has snatched pole from the clutches of teammate Lewis Hamilton on a flying final lap in Q3, the Finn taking his third pole of the 2020 season and first at the Nurburgring for the Eifel Grand Prix, completing Mercedes’ eighth front row lockout of the season, Red Bull’s Max Verstappen will start from P3.

The big news of the session was the inclusion of super sub Nico Hülkenberg, who was parachuted in to drive for Racing Point with just minutes to spare before qualifying replacing the ill Lance Stroll.

Hülkenberg had been scheduled for a broadcasting appearance for Sunday’s race, but was rushed to the circuit from some 50km away. Although the haste of his arrival was impressive, the German had it all in front of him with no time to prepare, any progress past Q1 would’ve been a miracle, but the sub will start from P20 — though a respectable 1.7s off Bottas’ time.

With just an hour of track time in FP3 after Friday’s washout, Bottas put on a barnstorming final lap in Q3 of 1.25:269s lighting up the timing charts with all three purple sectors after the session was mostly dominated by Hamilton and Verstappen.

“It feels great to be on pole position here and I really enjoyed that session,” Bottas said after qualifying.

“It’s such a nice feeling when you get it with your last chance in Q3. That final lap was spot on.

“I was struggling a little in the first sector beforehand, but I managed to get it right in the end.

“Obviously, it was pretty tricky with just one practice session and the cold conditions, so getting the tyres in the sweet spot on the outlap was really important and I managed to get them in the window.

“It’s a new day tomorrow and is going to be an interesting race, especially with the lack of running we’ve had here and the temperatures.

“I’ve only got one goal for tomorrow, so hopefully I can have a good start and we’ll see what happens from there.”

A surprise performance came from Ferrari’s Charles Leclerc, his P4 was pay-off from some significant aero upgrades to his SF1000’s floor and bargeboards. The Monegasque’s time of 1.26:053s was just over a tenth faster than Red Bull’s Alex Albon in P5.

Conversely, Leclerc’s Ferrari teamate Sebastian Vettel didn’t enjoy the same rewards, the German eliminated after Q2 and will start from P11.

Daniel Ricciardo was the fastest of the Renault cars in P6, his fastest time in Q3 was just over a tenth faster edging his teammate Esteban Ocon back to P7. The result puts the Renault drivers ahead of both its rivals in the constructors championship, Racing Point and McLaren.

P8 went to McLaren’s Lando Norris though his MCL35 looked pinned to the track the McLaren’s top speed looked a little down, his teammate Carlos Sainz finished in P10 some two and a half tenths down on Norris.

Parked right between the McLarens is Sergio Perez’s Racing Point, having carried all the teams expectations for qualifying the Mexican will start from P9.

The Eifel Grand Prix starts 10:40pm ACDST tonight.

Full qualifying results:

Pos	No	Driver	Car	Q1	Q2	Q3	Laps
1	77	Valtteri Bottas	Mercedes	1:26.573	1:25.971	1:25.269	19
2	44	Lewis Hamilton	Mercedes	1:26.620	1:25.390	1:25.525	18
3	33	Max Verstappen	Red Bull Racing Honda	1:26.319	1:25.467	1:25.562	15
4	16	Charles Leclerc	Ferrari	1:26.857	1:26.240	1:26.035	18
5	23	Alexander Albon	Red Bull Racing Honda	1:27.126	1:26.285	1:26.047	15
6	3	Daniel Ricciardo	Renault	1:26.836	1:26.096	1:26.223	18
7	31	Esteban Ocon	Renault	1:27.086	1:26.364	1:26.242	20
8	4	Lando Norris	McLaren Renault	1:26.829	1:26.316	1:26.458	18
9	11	Sergio Perez	Racing Point BWT Mercedes	1:27.120	1:26.330	1:26.704	17
10	55	Carlos Sainz	McLaren Renault	1:27.378	1:26.361	1:26.709	20
11	5	Sebastian Vettel	Ferrari	1:27.107	1:26.738		16
12	10	Pierre Gasly	AlphaTauri Honda	1:27.072	1:26.776		16
13	26	Daniil Kvyat	AlphaTauri Honda	1:27.285	1:26.848		16
14	99	Antonio Giovinazzi	Alfa Romeo Racing Ferrari	1:27.532	1:26.936		14
15	20	Kevin Magnussen	Haas Ferrari	1:27.231	1:27.125		16
16	8	Romain Grosjean	Haas Ferrari	1:27.552			10
17	63	George Russell	Williams Mercedes	1:27.564			9
18	6	Nicholas Latifi	Williams Mercedes	1:27.812			9
19	7	Kimi Räikkönen	Alfa Romeo Racing Ferrari	1:27.817			8
20	27	Nico Hulkenberg	Racing Point BWT Mercedes	1:28.021			10

Q1 107% time – 1:32.361

Note – Practice 1 and 2 were abandoned due to poor weather conditions.