I review the action from the 2020 Spanish Grand Prix with Lawrence Barretto from F1.
After a week of hype that Red Bull Racing had gleaned a Mercedes weakness and was ready to go for the jugular, Lewis Hamilton dominated the Spanish Grand Prix in typically demoralising style to take a stronghold on the championship race.
Mercedes had genuine concerns for its ability to keep the tyres alive after severe blistering lost it the race last week and tyre failures almost cost it victory two weeks in the British Grand Prix. Toto Wolff even singled out Max Verstappen as the favourite for the race win despite the Dutchman qualifying third behind polesitter Hamilton and Valtteri Bottas.
Hot weather has long been a weakness of the German marque, and the step in downforce taken in 2020 combined with the sport sticking with 2019-specification tyres means the Pirellis suffer more significantly in the heat.
Lewis Hamilton dominated every stage of the Spanish Grand Prix to extend his championship lead to 37 points over Max Verstappen.
Continue reading on RACERLewis Hamilton has broken the record for most podium finishes with a dominant victory at the Spanish Grand Prix.
Hamilton led the race from pole to flag for his 156th appearance on the rostrum, breaking the record set by Michael Schumacher in 2012.
It was also the 88th victory of Hamilton’s career, taking him to within three of Schumacher’s record 91 wins.
Mercedes has comfortably locked out the Spanish Grand Prix front row, but the team doesn’t consider itself favourite to convert pole to victory.
It’s been a complicated month for Mercedes. The W11 is obviously extremely quick over a single lap, but this unusual season, with races run in the height of summer, when teams are normally on break, the car is showing signs of weakness over a race distance.
At the British Grand Prix his manifested in tyre blowouts at the very end of the race. Admittedly the final stint was ambitious long, but only one other car suffered similar issues.
Lewis Hamilton will start from pole position alongside Mercedes teammate Valtteri Bottas for the Spanish Grand Prix in Barcelona.
The Briton’s 92nd career pole was won by just 0.059 seconds, but the battle for P1 fizzled out when neither Hamilton nor Bottas could improve their times with their second laps in the top-10 shootout.
High track temperatures of around 50°C put a premium on tyre preparation, and though several drivers failed to find time at the end of the session, both Mercedes drivers lamented second laps that were simply scrappy.
Lewis Hamilton edged Mercedes teammate Valtteri Bottas to pole for the Spanish Grand Prix. It was his fifth pole in Spain and 92nd of his career.
Continue reading on RACERLewis Hamilton edged teammate Valtteri Bottas in final practice at the Spanish Grand Prix on another sizzling day in Barcelona.
Continue reading on RACERLewis Hamilton ended second practice fastest on a promising afternoon for Mercedes at the Spanish Grand Prix.
Continue reading on RACERValtteri Bottas narrowly edged teammate Lewis Hamilton at the top of the FP1 time sheet at the Spanish Grand Prix after another dominant morning for Mercedes. The Finn, on pole but third at the flag at last weekend’s 70th Anniversary Grand Prix, was 0.039s quicker than the Briton.
Continue reading on RACER“I didn’t see it coming!” a gleeful Max Verstappen said after winning the Formula One 70th Anniversary Grand Prix at Silverstone. And he wasn’t the only one.
Mercedes had been utterly dominant in qualifying on the previous day, having locked out the front row by almost a full second. On Saturday night another one-two finish seemed a certainty.
But unbeknownst to the paddock, the German marque was harbouring a critical weakness.
Williams deputy team principal Claire Williams joins us to discuss the improved fortunes of one of the most beloved teams in Formula 1® and we break down the verdict of the protest against Racing Point while analysing Max Verstappen’s upset win for Red Bull Racing at Silverstone.
Mercedes’s tyres and Sebastian Vettel’s Ferrari relationship engage in a race to see which can dissolve faster. Lawrence Stroll kidnaps himself.
I review the action from the 2020 70th Anniversary Grand Prix with Jack Nicholls from BBC F1.
It’s hard to believe only a week after three tyre blowouts marred the end of the British Grand Prix that we’re praising Pirelli for spicing up a race, but little in 2020 has gone according to expectation.
Whereas previously the soft tyres seemed destined to only increase the requirement for tyre management, instead it forced teams to consider multiple stops, and the combination of softer compounds at higher pressure and the warm, high-energy circuit meant not everyone got their thinking correct.
Mercedes, so dominant last week that Lewis Hamilton won on three wheels, seriously misjudged the tweaked conditions. Using only one set of mediums during practice and saving both hards for the race, the reigning constructors champion didn’t sufficiently grasp the effect high pressures would have on tyre life.
Max Verstappen has broken Mercedes hearts with a perfectly judged strategy at a sizzling Silverstone to snatch his first win of the season.
Verstappen qualified fourth on the grid behind an all-Mercedes front row, but poleman Valtteri Bottas and Lewis Hamilton’s races came undone when their Mercedes car struggled to keep its tyres alive in the heat.
All three got good starts — Verstappen scythed past Racing Point’s Nico Hulkenberg to take third on the first lap — but Mercedes immediately fell into a rhythm of tyre management to make sure the medium-compound rubber both drivers started on would make it to the first pit stop window.
Verstappen had no such troubles, starting on the hard after an astute qualifying gamble. He was free to close in on the two leaders unimpeded while both Bottas and Hamilton complained of severe blistering.
By lap 14 — barely one-quarter distance — both Mercedes cars had switched onto the hard, but while they had a momentary boost in grip, before long the more durable rubber too started to expire on their rims.
Verstappen, having inherited the lead, was suddenly able to build an advantage over the stricken black cars, and Red Bull Racing smelt opportunity.
Waiting until lap 26 to make his first stop, he raced with Bottas for the lead as he exited pit lane and dispatched the Finn. He matched the times of the Mercedes cars behind, and when he and Bottas stopped on lap 32 and rejoined the race in the same order, Verstappen was able to gallop away and secure victory.
“I didn’t see it coming!” Verstappen said. “An incredible result to win here.
“We had a lot of pace in the car. We didn’t really have a lot of tyre issues at all we just kept pushing.
“Everything worked out well — we had the right strategy, everything was running smooth.”
The victory took Verstappen up to second in the drivers championship, 30 points behind title leader Hamilton.
Hamilton had been left in first place after Verstappen’s final stop, but his tyres were badly damaged. After considering and dismissing an unlikely defence of the lead without another set of tyres, he dived into pit lane for fresh rubber on lap 40.
But catching Verstappen was never going to happen, with 12 seconds to make up in as many laps. Instead Hamilton’s final stop allowed him to fight with teammate Bottas for second.
The Finn was at a nine-lap tyre disadvantage and could offer little defence, the Briton cutting past him with two laps to spare to consolidate second place.
“It was a massive challenge,” he said. “Definitely unexpected to have the blistering as hardcore as we experienced it, but I’m really grateful to have progressed and manage my way through the race.
“I’m sure the team will be working as hard as its can because we’ve not had that before.”
It left Bottas to trail home a disconsolate third, now third in the title standings and 34 points behind his teammate. … Continue reading
Max Verstappen pushed Mercedes to its limits in the heat of Silverstone to clinch victory in the F1 70th Anniversary Grand Prix.
Continue reading on RACERYou wouldn’t have guessed after the triple failure one week ago that tyres would be the saviour of the second race at Silverstone, but at the F1 70th Anniversary Grand Prix the sport owes a great deal to Pirelli for spicing up the race.
Pirelli some time ago made the decision to bring a set of tyres one set softer to the second race at Silverstone, in part addressing concerns that back-to-back races at the same venue would be a recipe for repetition.
At first glance the extra step seemed unlikely to make much difference, but not much in 2020 is going to plan.