Lewis Hamilton will seek to equal Michael Schumacher’s record 91 victories when he starts from pole position at the Russian Grand Prix after dominating qualifying in Sochi.
Hamilton’s time of 1m31.304s was a new track record and put him more than half a second quicker than the rest of the field.
But the Briton didn’t have things all his own way. A red flag for a Sebastian Vettel crash in Q2 put him at risk of missing the top-10 shootout after his only representative lap of the session had been deleted for exceeding track limits.
Continue reading on RACERLewis Hamilton underscored Mercedes’s stranglehold on the field ahead of qualifying with a dominant display in final practice at the Russian Grand Prix.
The Briton’s time of 1m33.279s was 0.776 seconds quicker than teammate Valtteri Bottas and 0.817s quicker than McLaren’s Carlos Sainz.
Bottas’s best lap was compromised by traffic, after which he wasn’t allowed to access his more powerful engine modes to compensate, while Sainz’s lap was set less than 10 minutes before the end of the session when the circuit appeared to be coming back towards the drivers thanks to cloud cover cooling surface temperatures.
Continue reading on RACERValtteri Bottas maintained his domination of Friday practice at the Russian Grand Prix in the second session, putting Mercedes atop the time sheet by more than a second ahead of any other car in Sochi.
The Finn’s fastest time of 1m33.519s was 0.267s quicker than second-placed teammate Lewis Hamilton and almost 1.1s faster than Renault’s Daniel Ricciardo in third.
Both Mercedes set their fastest laps in the first half-hour of the session despite the circuit improving as it was cleaned up though the 90 minutes.
Continue reading on RACERValtteri Bottas set the one-lap benchmark at a dusty Sochi Autodrom in a messy first session for Mercedes at the Russian Grand Prix.
Bottas, who typically performs well in Sochi, was 0.507s quicker than Renault’s Daniel Ricciardo despite the Australian setting his quickest time nearer to the end of the 90-minute session when the circuit was cleaner.
Max Verstappen was third for Red Bull Racing and 0.654s off the pace.
Continue reading on RACERLewis Hamilton is one win short of equalling Michael Schumacher’s F1 victory record after triumphing at a chaotic Tuscan Grand Prix, while Alex Albon became Thailand’s first podium-getter with a strong third place.
F1 first visit to Mugello was high attrition, featuring two red flag interruptions and several multi-car crashes that left only 12 drivers still running when the chequered flag fell.
Hamilton wielded the disruption to his advantage. After losing pole to fast-starting teammate Valtteri Bottas on the first lap, he was able to seize back the lead at the first standing restart to break the Finn’s challenge.
Lewis Hamilton is one win away from Michael Schumacher’s all-time victory record after claiming his 90th F1 triumph in a marathon Tuscan Grand Prix at Mugello.
Continue reading on RACERLewis Hamilton has snatched pole position for the Tuscan Grand Prix from teammate Valtteri Bottas after a yellow flag truncated the top-10 shootout at Mugello.
Hamilton had nosed ahead of Bottas after their first laps but had failed to improve with his final lap to seal the deal. However, Bottas was forced to abandon his own second lap when Renault’s Esteban Ocon spun his car through the gravel ahead of him at Poggio Secco, handing his teammate pole.
The Finn had clean swept all three practice sessions before qualifying, and Hamilton admitted to feeling on the back foot in the fight for pole.
As he did in both Friday sessions, Valtteri Bottas led the way in Free Practice 3 sessions for Mercedes at Mugello ahead of qualifying for the Tuscan Grand Prix.
Continue reading on RACERValtteri Bottas was fastest again for Mercedes in a hot second practice session for the Tuscan Grand Prix at Mugello. Bottas took the top spot from teammate and championship leader Lewis Hamilton by 0.207s.
Continue reading on RACERLewis Hamilton claimed the inaugural pole of the Tuscan Grand Prix after a yellow flag interrupted the end of qualifying.
Continue reading on RACERValtteri Bottas set the fastest lap at F1’s first official timed session at Autodromo Internazionale del Mugello for the Tuscan Grand Prix.
Continue reading on RACERLewis Hamilton has defied rule changes in part aimed at slowing his Mercedes to storm to pole at the Italian Grand Prix with an all-time speed record.
Hamilton lapped the 5.793-kilometre Monza circuit in 1 minute 18.887 seconds. At an average speed of 264.362 kilometres per hour, it set the record for fastest lap in Formula 1 history.
It was enough to pip teammate Valtteri Bottas by a slender 0.069s in a Mercedes front-row lockout, though the Finn is optimistic he has better race pace than Hamilton in his mission to slice into his 50-point championship deficit on Sunday.
Lewis Hamilton has taken pole with the fastest ever lap in Formula 1 while home team Ferrari failed to make it into the top-10 shootout for the second week running at the Italian Grand Prix.
Continue reading on RACERValtteri Bottas set the fastest time of the weekend so far to take top spot in final practice at the Italian Grand Prix.
Continue reading on RACERLewis Hamilton turned the tables on Mercedes teammate Valtteri Bottas to top the time sheet at the end of Friday practice at the Italian Grand Prix.
Continue reading on RACERValtteri Bottas went fastest ahead of Mercedes teammate Lewis Hamilton in first practice for the Italian Grand Prix at Monza, with home team Ferrari stuck outside the top 10.
Continue reading on RACERFerrari is cooked. Like, really cooked. Lewis Hamilton won the race but Ferrari is absolutely roasted. Did you see it? It’s no good. That guy supporting Max Verstappen but doing a shoey was also questionable, but that still wasn’t as bad as Ferrari.
I review the action from the 2020 Belgian Grand Prix with Luke Smith from Autosport.