F1 grand prix

[Angleseyite]

Clever driving by Hammy, but I could see why  Vettel wasn't happy, not much he could do once he left the track, but he did interfere with Hamilton's process. Bit tough but that's the rules. 

[Biggin]

Hamilton crosses the line 2nd but wins the GP  he was putting pressure on Vettel and Vettel made a mistake went into grass and came back onto the track forcing Hamilton to break heavily  and Stewards awarded a 5 sec penalty to Vettel .
To say he was not a happy bunny was an understatement.
Hamilton lost ground at that point but then made it up again but admitted in Interview that in the last few laps although only half second behind he did not have the brakes for him to make an overtake and knowing that he only needed to finish within 5 secs did not take the chance. he also said that is not the way he likes to win a race

1 Hamilton
2 Vettel
3 Le Clerc
4 Bottas

Fastest Lap Bottas

[Biggin]

Mercedes discovered a Hydraulic leak in Hamilton's engine that required a complete strip out a job that normally take about 6 hrs was completed in just over 2 and Half hours . Will reliability be an issue???

[Dunedin]

Vettel takes pole from Hamilton followed by Leclerc.

[Dunedin]

Hamilton led Bottas in first practice in Canada with Leclerc in 3rd and Verstappen in 4th.

In second practice Leclerc was quickest with Vettel behind him again. Hamilton collided with the wall while Bottas came in 3rd. behind Vettel.

Leclerc is proving he is a quicker driver than Vettel.

[Dunedin]

You never know what can result from a bad decision.

If Ferrari hadn't kept Leclerc in the pits during the first session of qualifying, he would probably have started in the first or second row and wouldn't have got the bit between his teeth in the race having to drive like crazy.

[Biggin]

Red Bull & Stewards cost Mercedes another 1-2 top 4 came into the pits under safety car  Bottas in 2nd place held up 3&4th car as Mercedes had to stack on way out Red Bull made an unsafe release so Verstappen hit Bottas  resulting in a puncture for Bottas which  meant he had to pit on the next lap so coming out behind Vettel in fourth .
Unsafe release normally results in a  drive through and stewards award a 5 second penalty but give another driver 10 seconds for causing an accident.
Mercedes had went for the medium tyres at the pit stop and had Bottas been behind Hamilton it woul have been no problem as they would have dictated the pace and managed the tyres. Red Bull and Ferrari went for the hard tyre so would easily make the finish. However with Verstappen behind Hamilton he pushed Hamilton into going faster than he would have liked, but he could not get by.
Hamilton did 67 laps on the medium tyre that Pirreli say has a life of 50 laps.

1 Hamilton
2 Vettel
3 Bottas
4 Verstappen

[lmj52]

Agree, Ferrari management not clever again. I wonder what lap the safety car will come on?

[Biggin]

Yes big mistake from Ferrari as regards Leclerc and Vettel again not going well crashing in the free practice 3 , Bottas a bit unlucky going for final run got held up in traffic so tyres were not where he wanted and abandoned his final run.
It had been nip and tuck between him and Hamilton and he was just ahead right until the last.
What an improvement in the Mercedes as Monaco was not one of there stronger circuits but they seem to have sorted out the slow corner problems they have had for the last few seasons  so looks like they are going to be very difficult to beat this season.

Good drive from Verstappen in the Red Bull who are usually very strong here.

Leclerc has said in an interview he is going to have to take chances to improve his position even to the point of crashing so it could be an interesting race.

[Dunedin]

I think that although Monaco is generally a train/street of following cars, it will make it more interesting to see if Leclerc can fight his way through the pack like Hamilton used to do and catch Vettel.😎

[Angleseyite]

Yes , leclerc is not a happy bunny, but great for Hammy, hope he can convert it into a win....

[Dunedin]

Hamilton took pole position today in Monaco with Bottas close behind. Verstappen took 3rd place ahead of Vettel. Another Ferrari cockup as they didn't send Lercerc out for a second run in the first session, so he took no further part and starts 16th on his home race.😕

[Dunedin]

It is being reported in some quarters that F1 is losing its interest from some of its followers in the UK due to single coverage by Sky. In the days when the BBC had covered it, it was good. It wasn't so bad when it has been shared. But now you have to pay Sky or watch later when you allready know the result as it hits all the news channels.

[Dunedin]

Hamilton Quickest in both of today's practice. Very subdued in the pits due to the passing of Lauder.
In the first practice he edged out Verstappen who was followed by Bottas and Leclerc.
Second practice was Hamilton, Bottas followed by Vettel. Leclerc missed out most of the practice with a water leak coming in 10th.

[steveconway24]

It has been weird not seeing him in the paddock since mid last season.
I loved how brutally honest he was with the TV presenters.

But, after the horrendous crash he had back in the day, he was extremely lucky, not only to continue racing but to have lived up to 70 years old.

[Biggin]

He will be sadly missed  a great competitor RIP Nikki

[Angleseyite]

A very inspirational man, sadly now gone.

[Dunedin]

Formula 1 and 3 times World Champion legend Nikki Lauder dies at the age of 70. He was badly burned in a serious crash in 1976. He had a lung transplant last year but passed away yesterday. A film called 'Rush'was made about his constant rivalry and battles both on and off thr track with playboy driver James Hunt.

[Dunedin]

Rising future F1 star teenager Billy Monger, who had both his legs amputated after a crash 2 years ago has returned to the track and took his first win since his tragic accident.😎

[Dunedin]

Bill, I can't see there not being a British Grand Prix as the majority of constructors are based here. You could say the UK is the home of F1. I can't see Spain giving up F1 either.

[Biggin]

I think I read somewhere that they will not increase it above the 21 races currently on the Calendar so the likelihood is that we will lose a couple that are currently on the Calendar , two that are in doubt at the moment are Silverstone and Barcelona

[Dunedin]

The new owners of F1 are looking to increase the number of races in the future. Negotiations are taking place to have an African Grand Prix which has not run since 1993. The venue will be Morocco.
I hope for the drivers sake it will be in January.😎 Marrakech is also a possibility. The Dutch Grand Prix will return next year for the first time since 1985 due to the popularity of Max Verstappen.

[Biggin]

Hamilton gets off to a flyer and takes Bottas at the first bend and led from start to Finish, Vertsappen gets past the two Ferraris in the first couple of bends and kept them behind. So another 1-2 for Mercedes. Ferrari again getting in a tangle Vettel flat spotted his front tyre at the first bend and with Leclerc behind an faster they kept him there for 4 or 5 laps as the front 3 disappeared then they put Leclerc onto the slowest tyre hoping I suppose to do a one stopper and when Vettel caught up kept him behind for a few laps before telling Leclerc to move over. They just cant get it right at the moment.
A safety car near the end brought them all together again but Verstappen easily held off the Ferraris

1 Hamilton
2 Bottas
3 Vertsappen
4 Vettel
5 Leclerc

[Dunedin]

I noticed that Leclerc was quicker than Vettel in the practice sessions.

[Biggin]

Bottas on Pole for Spanish GP doing his time on the first of his 2 runs setting a new track record and 6tenths ahead of Hamilton. Leclerc damaged his under carriage in Qualy 2 so only had 1 run in Qualy 3

1  Bottas
2  Hamilton
3  Vettel
4  Verstappen
5  Leclerc

[Dunedin]

Vettel says it's getting very boring with Mercedes dominating the tracks. 4 ones and twos in 4 races and dominating the Championship for the last 4 years. Is that because he is not winning.? 

[Biggin]

Good win for Bottas who held off Hamilton in the first few corners great driving from them both keeping the cars apart and they pulled away from Vettel , He Pitted first and Bottas and then Hamilton followed this allowed Leclerc to take the lead , and Ferrari did keep him out far too long and I think that was to ensure Vettel stayed ahead of him , but even if they had pitted him earlier Bottas and Hamilton would have passed him in the pit stop, although it would have made it a much more interesting race.

4 1-2 finishes in a row for Mercedes and this over the Ferrari that is supposed to be Faster

[Dunedin]

Bottas wins from Hamilton to take the lead in the Championship.

Bottas,
Hamilton,
Vettel,
Verstappen,
Leclerc.

Leclerc lead most of the race until his tyres gave up their grip. Many comments coming regarding Ferrari keeping him out for two thirds of the race on the tyres he started on. Is this the strategy to stop him beating Vettel.

[Biggin]

Bottas takes pole from Hamilton Vettel  Verstappen and Perez  Leclrec crashed in Q2

[Rtis]

I don't bother to watch it now !! It is just a parade, if the wrong person is in the lead they are told to move over, that is NOT racing !!! Formula E more interesting.

[Dunedin]

I don't know if I am the only one who didn't realize that Sky have the sole rights on F1 for this season.
C4 will not have any live races but only show races later. I for one will not subscribe to any channel that shows adverts that are being paid for and to show every 15 minutes and charges subscribers for watching.

This will surely reduce the interest in the sport. At least in the past it has always been shared between 2 Chanel's.

[Dunedin]

It's all happening,(or not) in Azerbaijan first practice as a manhole cover on the track became loose after it was loosened by Leclerc's Ferrari, which led to British driver George Russell's Williams being damaged as it smashed his floor which then shut down. This led to the practice being cancelled.

The farce continued as the truck taking Russell's car back to the pits, crashed into a bridge over the track.  :laugh.

You couldn't make it up.

After a delay the second practice commenced with young Leclerc being the quickest 0.324 seconds ahead of Vettel and Hamilton. During practice, twice red flags stopped the session due to two crashes involving Stroll and Kvyat.

[Dunedin]

Red Bull are using the upgraded Honda engine this weekend and it will be interesting to see if it performs enough to improve their track times.

[lmj52]

Ex Ferrari driver from the past has slammed Ferrari for given team orders in all 3 races this year. Gerard Berger said it should be an open game when racing as they have a new young driver capable of being quicker than Vettel and capable of winning the Championship. Many are agreeing with his sentiments.

Me too.

[Dunedin]

Ex Ferrari driver from the past has slammed Ferrari for given team orders in all 3 races this year. Gerard Berger said it should be an open game when racing as they have a new young driver capable of being quicker than Vettel and capable of winning the Championship. Many are agreeing with his sentiments.