Tag: AustrianGP

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MotoGP: Perfection from Pecco In Spielberg!

Feature Image Credit: Joel Cooper Photography LTD

Pecco Bagnaia obliterated the field today and showed everyone why he’s the current reigning world champion. Total domination from the Ducati number 1 in the Austrian mountain’s. A fantastic performance and 50th Grand Prix podium for Pecco. Pecco was simply too strong for KTMs Brad Binder finishing 2nd and Marco Bezzecchi, to the delight of team boss Valentino Rossi, finishing in 3rd place.  

AS IT HAPPENED

Ducati have clearly made improvements to the launch control, as Pecco got off to a fantastic start leading after turn 1. KTM’s home race rider Binder in 2nd, teammate Jack Miller and VR46s Luca Marini side by side, 3rd and 4th as they came out of turn 1, heading to the chicane at turn 2.

 

Jorge Martin up 4 places to 8th on the first lap, still with a long lap penalty to serve for the antics at turn 1 in the sprint race yesterday afternoon. Maverick Viñales down to 11th place from the front row of the grid, another disastrous start for the factory Aprilia rider.

Across the line to start lap 2 and Pecco leads from Binder in 2nd and almost a second gap to Miller in 3rd place. Binder eager to get by Pecco here as the KTM rider can’t sit too long on the wheel of Pecco, as front tyre temperatures will go through the roof fairly quickly.

Onto lap 3 now with Binder setting the fastest lap of the race , the KTM stand cheering on Binder doing all he can to keep up and possibly get by Pecco to take the lead. Coming to the end of lap 3 and Miller is beginning to fade as Miller is falling into the clutches of Alex Marquez and the the VR46 riders Bezzecchi and Marini close behind.

Pecco responds to Binder posting the fastest lap of the race on lap 3, and as we head into lap 4, Jorge Martin serves his long lap penalty to come back out just ahead of Yamaha’s Franco Morbidelli in 13th place.

Lap 5 and getting the drive from turn 8 and down into turn 9, Marquez made it look easy as he went by Miller. Things going from bad to worse for the Australian, as VR46 Ducati’s Bezzecchi and Marini go by as Miller goes from 3rd to 6th.

Miguel Oliveira’s woes continue as we see Oliveira return to the pits retiring from the race, the performance of the bike matching the special livery for today’s Grand Prix. Hopefully Oliveira can catch some good fortune next time out in Barcelona.

As the laps tick by its clear Pecco is in control at the front, although trying all he can it doesn’t look like Binder has an answer for bike #1 today. The dream win for KTM at their home Grand Prix is slipping away from them.

Jack Miller under further pressure now as Viñales who started on the front row is desperate to get passed and up to 6th place. Viñales getting frustrated running wide at turn 4 giving Miller some breathing room as Viñales shakes his head coming out of the corner.

Bezzecchi now the fastest rider on track battling with Marquez for the final podium position. Viñales eventually getting through on Miller with Pecco holding station at the front.

Lap 12 now and quickly coming up to half race distance. Aleix Espargaro goes by Miller as he continues to go the wrong way. Enea Bastianini now hot on the heels of the Australian, gets by and Martin quickly follows. Surely something is wrong with the Australians KTM this afternoon. Losing 3 places on lap 12.

Martin eager to make up the time lost in the long lap penalty goes up the inside of Bastianini as Bastianini gets it wrong at the chicane. A slow exit gifting the place to Martin as Martin goes by into turn 3. Jorge Martin now up to 8th place and a great recovery from the Prima Pramac Ducati rider.

At the half way point now, and a great midfield battle is developing as Bastianini is dicing with Zarco getting by into 10th place. At the front of the race its business as usual. Pecco is controlling the race with over as second of a gap to Binder in 2nd.

Bike number #72 fighting with bike number #73 for the final podium position now on lap 16. Bezzecchi runs up the inside of Marquez but too deep into turn 1 and unable to get by into third place. On equal machinery can Marquez hang onto 3rd for what would be a great podium for the Gresini Racing team.

 

Midway through lap 19 now. Pecco with a 2.558 seconds gap to Binder in 2nd. Binder to Marquez in 3rd with a gap of 2.923 seconds. Unless the front two riders have taken too much out of their tyres, it looks like the front two positions are settled already here in Austria. A masterclass from the world champ and a great ride so far from Binder,  who celebrates his contract extension this weekend at the home Grand Prix for the KTM team.

Bezzecchi ever determined to get by Marquez has another failed attempt at dive bombing into turn 1 and has a look at turn 8 later in the lap but not quite close enough to attack. Bezzecchi right up behind Marquez as they cross the start finish straight now with 7 laps to go. Bezzecchi trying to get by in the first few corners running too deep again, brings his teammate Marini into the mix now. The battle for 3rd heating up in the final phase of the race.

Bezzecchi now with better traction out of turn 8 and down into turn 9 goes by Marquez and up into 3rd. Marini now onto the back wheel of Marquez with 6 laps to go as they come across the straight finish line.

5 laps to go now and Pecco is 5 seconds clear of Binder in 2nd and Binder almost 3 seconds clear of Bezzecchi in 3rd. Bezzecchi already pulling a gap to Marquez after battling with Marquez for so long in this race. Marini keen to get by Marquez in the closing stages. The front two of the race seemingly cruising to the finish.

In the midfield, Martin up to 7th place and a great recovery after the long lap penalty starting in 12th place. Fabio Quartararo also in 9th. A much better race weekend for Yamaha with Morbidelli also in 11th after the torrid time in Silverstone.

As Valentino Rossi cheers on his VR46 riders Bezzecchi 3rd and Marini now up into 4th, Pecco is way ahead with 3 laps to go here in the Styria mountainside. A picturesque setting with a performance to match, as nobody can keep up with Pecco here today in Austria.

Onto the last lap now and factory Ducati superstar and bike #1 is comfortably clear of Binder in the KTM and cruising to victory. Bezzecchi set to take the final podium position here in Spielberg.

A 62 point lead now in the championship for Pecco as we have a brief rest before racing again in Catalunya at the beginning of September. What a performance from the Bologna Bullet as he marches on towards his 2nd world title in MotoGP.

Image Credit: MotoGP

 

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Moto3: First Pole for Veijer in Austria!

Stunning sunshine here in the Styria Mountains today at the Spielberg circuit.  Collin Veijer took his first ever pole position in Moto3 for the Husqvarna team. The first Dutch pole position in any class since Jurgen van den Goorbergh way back in 1999. 

AS IT HAPPENED

Q1

As always the top four riders will be heading into Q2 to battle it out for pole position and in the early stages it was Matteo Bertelle and Ivan Ortola the top two as the riders posted their first run times. Ortola a surprise name in the Q1 session and will be hoping to get through here with 8 minutes remaining of the session.

After the riders made a quick stop in the pits for any last minute changes, they all made their way back out onto the circuit for the final 5 minutes of the session. Ortola seen hanging back in the pits watching on, who may feel like he’s done enough to get through to Q2.

The top four riders currently going through to Q2 with a few mins remaining of the session are Bertelle quickest followed by Ortola,  Diogo Moreira and Ryusei Yamanaka clinging on to 4th.

All riders now out on circuit on hot laps and Yamanaka comes through first going quickest with a 1:41.960. As the next swarm of Moto3 bikes come across the line, Taiyo Furusato manages to knock Moreira out of the top four posting the 3rd quickest time.

With yellow flags waving cancelling lap times including Moreira’s, the top four heading into Q2 are Yamanaka, Bertelle, Furusato and Ortola.

Q2

The session started and in no time at all we had yellow flags in sector 1 as veteran of Moto3 Romano Fenati stopped on route out of the pitlane.

Race winner last time out in Silverstone, David Alonso the first rider to post a time in the session of a 1:41.959. Deniz Öncü opting to come into the pits at the end of his first run instead of posting a time as the other riders had lap times cancelled due to the yellow flags in sector 1.

Championship leader Daniel Holgado a tenth quicker than Alonso now moving to the top of the time sheets with 8 minutes remaining of the session. The top guns yet to get going here, with Jaume Masia now up by two tenths coming through sector 3. As Alonso now gets a box call message from his team, we currently have a front row of Holgado, Alonso and Veijer. Ayumu Sasaki and Öncü still yet to post a flying lap time.

Riccardo Rossi and eventually Öncü posting quick times with Rossi up to 3rd and Öncü posting the fastest time of the session with a 1:41.591. Only 10 riders of the 18 have got a time on the board so far with only a few mins left of the session. We could be gearing up for a frantic dash to the line for pole position here in Austria.

Holgado now back to the top of the pile, as Masia now comes across the line up to 4th, losing time in sector 4 nearly going into the back of Stefano Nepa during his flying lap. Nepa could be heading to the stewards after this session to explain that one.

The last few seconds of the session remaining now and Veijer comes through up into pole position with a stunning lap. With no riders currently on track improving it looks like it will be the Dutchman set to take his first ever pole position in Moto3.

Another front row start for Holgado tomorrow, with championship rivals Öncü and Masia closely behind starting in 3rd and 4th. Öncü and Masia will be looking to reduce Holgado’s 22 point championship lead in tomorrow’s race.

Image Credit: MotoGP

Featured Image courtesy of IntactGP

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Ducati Dominance continues!

Austrian GP news: 

The big news of the weekend was that the Austrian track had been changed. Turn 2 had now been split into two sections, a “flip-flop chicane”, now being re-named turns 2a and 2b. It caught some riders out over the weekend but, in the end would hopefully create some interesting overtaking opportunities.

Qualifying:

Cloudy conditions greeted the riders on Saturday, but they remained undeterred.

Aleix Espargaro (Aprilia) looked to be confident, taking an early provisional pole in Q2. Jack Miller (Ducati) was also on fine form and soon took the pole spot. The championship leader, Fabio Quartararo on the other hand seemed to be struggling getting to grips with his Yamaha.

The Ducati’s though were dominant at the Red Bull Ring as Enea Bastianini took his first Moto GP pole, with a flying lap time: 1:28.772, ahead of Francesco Bagnaia (Ducati) and Miller – an all Ducati front-row.

Happy with his pole – Bastianini celebrates. Courtesy of: Moto GP website.

Race:

The weather remained cloudy for Race Day, leaving many fans to wonder if it would indeed rain as the bikes lined up on the grid, ready for lights out:

Undulating track and foreboding clouds at Austria. Courtesy of: Moto GP website.

Bagnaia got a great start, leading Bastianini and Miller into the first corner and through the new chicane for the first time.

However, turn 4 saw Joan Mir (Suzuki) take an early tumble from the race. Seen holding his ankle in the gravel, (it was later confirmed that he had had medical checks and that he had broken his ankle. We wish him a speedy recovery).

Mir crashes lap 4. Courtesy of: Moto GP official Twitter page.

On lap 4, Maverick Vinales (Aprilia) had managed to pass Quartararo for 5th place and the four front Ducati’s started to gain a lead ahead, with Jorge Martin in 4th taking the first fastest lap of the race, (1:30.364). Another pass came from Miller to take 2nd place from Bastianini, but ‘The Beast’ was having none of it and passed him right back.

By lap 5, A. Espargaro had taken fastest lap (1:29.979), while his teammate had been given a track limits warning and if that wasn’t bad enough, Maverick also got passed by 2 riders on the same lap (lap6), forcing him back to 8th place.

Back at the front, the four Ducati’s suddenly got broken up by the Yamaha of ‘El Diablo’, taking 4th spot from Bastianini. Seconds later, Bastianini appeared to have a technical fault and pulled out of the race. On the same lap it was Remy Gardener’s (KTM) turn to bow-out early as he crashed out – turn 4.

Bagnaia then led Miller, Martin and Quartararo onto lap 7.

With 22 laps to go Miller passed his teammate to briefly take the lead, but Bagnaia out-braked him, re-claiming his lead.

Fastest lap was soon taken by Martin – lap 9. Could he get close enough to the factory Dukes, with only a 1.023 second gap between them, to fight for the win? Further down the field Takaaki Nakagami (Honda) took to the gravel, finishing his race early.

Martin indeed managed to eat into the leading gap and soon got it down to 0.311 seconds. By lap 12 he was right on the back of Miller. Which Ducati would be dominant?

With 16 laps until the end, another track warning got issued, this time to Quartararo. Behind him Luca Marini (VR46) took 6th place from A. Espargaro and behind them Darryn Binder crashed out.

The next lap, Martin clipped the gravel forcing him to take evasive action and he took to the run-off section of the track, Fabio passed to take 4th place, but Martin also needed to make sure he wouldn’t incur a penalty so also gave back a second, but quick-thinking meant he also managed to keep his new position – 5th.

Two laps later and bad luck continued to keep hold of Vinales who got passed not just by Johann Zarco (Ducati) but also Suzuki-man Alex Rins.

10 laps to go – The front 3 riders had all managed to create gaps between each-other. Bagnaia still led Miller by 0.896 seconds. Quartararo continued to hunt down Miller with 0.515 seconds between them. A few places behind them Espargaro put up a great fight from the Italian – Marini, but in the end Marini passed him again on lap 21, this attempt the pass stuck.

Things were heating up, with only 4 laps until the finish line, a surprise move came from the Yamaha in 3rd – Quartararo passed Miller on the new turn 2b, to take 2nd place, leaving Miller in the clutches of Martin, who quickly seized the opportunity and passed Miller to take 3rd spot. Miller fought back though to re-take 3rd. Meanwhile, another yellow flag waved, this time for Yamaha rider Frankie Morbidelli, who crashed out turn 2.

Due to the on-going battles behind him, Bagnaia managed to extend his lead further to 1.554 seconds from the Championship leader.

Then it was Martin’s turn to receive a track-limits warning 2 laps later, as a result of his tussle with Miller.

Last lap – the clouds above still seemed dull and grey but the rain had stayed away.

Rain stayed away. Courtesy of: Moto GP website.

Turn one saw Martin try to overtake Miller once more, but this time resulted in him seeing the gravel instead. He managed to get back into the race and still finished in the top 10. This error meant that Miller could now finish comfortably on the podium.

Podium hopes fall from beneath him. Courtesy of: Moto GP official Twitter page.

Bagnaia managed to remain in complete control of the entire race and passed the finish line to take his 3rd consecutive race win in a row ahead of Quartararo and Miller. Behind them in 4th was an elated Marini.

Celebrates with team. Courtesy of: Bagnaia’s official Twitter page.

Top 10 race finishers:

1st

F. Bagnaia

2nd

F. Quartararo

3rd

J. Miller

4th

L. Marini

5th

J. Zarco

6th

A. Espargaro

7th

B. Binder

8th

A. Rins

9th

M. Bezzechi

10th

J. Martin

Top four championship:

1st

F. Quartararo

200 points

2nd

A. Espargaro

168 points

3rd

F. Bagnaia

156 points

4th

J. Zarco

125 points

The racing was super exciting and had fans on the edge of their seats through-out.

Can Ducati continue their streak into the next round at Misano on 4th September? Or would Someone else step onto the top spot? 

 

 

Featured image – Courtesy of: Moto GP official Twitter page 

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The Red Bull-Honda collaboration could become the new F1 powerhouse

Max Verstappen showcased that a Honda-powered Red Bull is capable of winning, even in the 9th race of their collaboration.

Honda is a colossal company, an immensely powerful player in the automotive industry, immune to the ‘group trend’ that other manufacturers have gone into. Since its return in F1, though, back in 2015, it has been hit year with multiple reliability problems, publicly blamed for the misfortunes of the McLaren collaboration, to the point that nobody thought it could be able to stand back on its feet and rise to the challenge in this hybrid era.

The move to Toro Rosso in 2018 was a crucial one for Honda and its F1 plans, because it gave them the opportunity to make a fresh start, with a team that has minimal aspirations, fighting for the best possible result in the midfield battles. McLaren is a team that is used to be a front-runner, Fernando Alonso is a driver who wants to be the protagonist, not a bystander, and that played a huge role in the McLaren-Honda relationship through that 3-year spell. Toro Rosso, on the other hand, have been just the sister team of Red Bull, the first step for young Red Bull Academy drivers to make their way into F1.

Now, Honda had its chance to make everything the way it wanted it to be. No pressure, no strings attached.

Effort and grind run in the Japanese people’s blood. Japan is known for its commitment to work hard, trying and succeeding. And Honda does represent that mindset in the best of ways.

When the Red Bull-Honda collaboration was announced during last year’s French Grand Prix, it became apparent almost immediately that this is not a project that could give a championship in its first year – not even in its second.

Even though RB had all the essential data regarding the Japanese power unit from Toro Rosso, it was crystal clear that this is a long-term relationship, planned out thoroughly, with patience and determination to succeed.

“When they came back into the sport they had a very tough time in the years that they were with McLaren,” said Christian Horner.

“They then moved to Toro Rosso last year and they had some time to get their house in order and start to progress.

“All we have seen is a real dedication and determination, and that is why having won that race, Tanabe-san went to collect the trophy for the constructor.

“After all the effort that they have put in, it is great to see Japan represented up there and Honda picking up the constructors’ trophy.”

This has always been the right path for Honda in this era of F1, with the complexity of the engines playing a big part in a team’s success. McLaren didn’t realise that when it mattered, and the rest is history. Red Bull did understand that time would be needed for Honda to make the difference and bring back the championship to Milton Keynes.

The Austrians have built a well-run organisation, where people understand their role in the company, and fully commit to the goal, whichever that is. It is no coincidence that, even during the adversity with Renault over the last 5 years, they were able to win races and fight for podiums consistently.

This is the case in 2019, too. Honda has started a new cooperation with a team that can really help them propel their growth and get the coveted land as soon as possible.

Winning in Austria, in their home race, with hundreds of thousands of Verstappen fans cheering for him, is really the stuff of dreams. It is certain that Red Bull targeted that race, and took all the necessary measures to be able to fight for the victory in Red Bull Ring – the first with Honda.

Verstappen himself stressed the importance of the timing of this win:

“I’m just very happy that it happened today and it just gives us a lot of confidence as well to the boys and maybe a few doubts are going away because of it.”

The Dutch driver is the noncontroversial leader of this outfit, and that’s very positive for them. Last time there was an alpha-dog in that team was the Sebastian Vettel era and they won 4 consecutive world titles.

They have a clear path if Max decides to continue believing in this team and this project, because he is a driver that can be the star of this sport for the next 15 years. He is a talented young driver, a proven winner, and having him as their leader, it just makes everything easier for them and their road to a title.

It is really fortunate for Red Bull (and Honda, subsequently) that Verstappen does support this collaboration, despite his comments about the power of the engine, or his surprise that he was able to win in Austria. He just puts pressure on them, but not in a negative way.

Having said that, it’s necessary to remember that this project is not short-term. It’s a five year planned out cooperation, and no one stops either side to extend that contract and 2021 is going to be their breakthrough year.

Even if the new regulations don’t provide many changes to the technical side of the sport, Red Bull and Honda understand that this is the best timing for their push to a championship-winning campaign. They will try their hardest to keep Verstappen, and if they do, they will have all the ingredients to get to that trophy.

Red Bull has that reputation of a team that can exploit every change in the regulations every time they change drastically (namely, 2009), and Honda will by then have an even better PU to provide to them, better suited to their needs.

F1 is all about long term commitments, plans that run through the next 4 or 5 seasons – it’s the only way a team can reach the top.

Honda understands that, Red Bull does, too. No one can guarantee that they will get their chip fast or easy, but they will be contending.

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Orange Magic: Max Verstappen wins 2018 Austrian Grand Prix

The second race of the first ever ‘triple header’ saw F1 return to the mountains of Austria, for the Grand Prix at Spielberg’s Red Bull Ring.

As it’s the team’s home race, Red Bull Racing had high hopes. These hopes were, however, seemingly shattered when a disappointing qualifying on Saturday meant that Max Verstappen would start the race on Sunday from P5 (which ended up as P4 when Vettel got a three-place grid penalty for impeding Sainz in Q2), with Daniel Ricciardo in P7 behind the Haas of Romain Grosjean. There was no reason for them to be yodelling just yet.

This weekend not only was a special Grand Prix for the Austrian team’s management, but also for Max Verstappen personally. With a sea of orange shirts in his very own ‘Max Verstappen Grandstand’, it is no surprise that this is seen as the second home Grand Prix for the Dutchman (with Belgium being the other one). Not only that, shortly before the weekend he announced he would be driving with a special helmet design. Rather than its normal dark blue, his helmet instead shone yellow as a thank-you to his first big sponsor, the Dutch supermarket Jumbo. Were these things the trigger for Verstappen to get the luck he so desperately needed?

Start of the Austrian F1 race. Image courtesy of Getty Images / Red Bull Content Pool

He had a pretty good start, and went from P4 to P3 after turn one as Kimi Räikkönen and Valtteri Bottas ran wide. Still taking risks on the first lap, he made slight contact with Raikkonen, who then had to run wide a bit. He was briefly under investigation for the touch, but the stewards decided it was just a racing incident as the consequences for the drivers were little.

Shortly after Nico Hülkenberg retired with a spectacular engine failure – resulting in some big flames – another car retired. It was none other than Mercedes’ Valtteri Bottas, whose gearbox got stuck in second gear, resulting in a loss of drive. This brought out the Virtual Safety Car on lap fourteen. Some teams decided to use this VSC to change their strategy, as Ferrari and Red Bull put on the soft tyres on their cars.

One team that didn’t decide to change their strategy, however, was Mercedes, and Lewis Hamilton stayed out on track. This led to a gap of just thirteen seconds to Verstappen, who emerged from his pit stop in P2. It takes roughly twenty-one seconds to complete a pit-stop in Austria, including time spent driving down the pit-lane, so it was looking disastrous for Hamilton. When he finally did pit, Max Verstappen inherited the lead and, from that moment onwards, dominated the race. Things later when from bad to worse for Hamilton, and he eventually had to retire the car due to engine problems.

Max Verstappen leading the Austrian Grand Prix. Image courtesy of Getty Images / Red Bull Content Pool

One critical issue during the race for lots of drivers was tyre degradation. Daniel Ricciardo for instance had changed to the softs during the Virtual Safety Car period, but after just twenty-two laps it became clear he would not be able to make it to the end, as his rear-left tyre was destroyed.

Someone that didn’t seem to struggle at all with the soft tyres, however, was Verstappen. He drove over fifty laps on those tyres to bring home the victory for Red Bull Racing, claiming his fourth career win. The orange crowds went insane and it didn’t look like the party would end very soon for the fans and the team.

Max Verstappen. Image courtesy of Getty Images / Red Bull Content Pool

Criticised for his aggressive driving style many times this season, Verstappen has surely shown the press they were wrong. Whilst his teammate struggled on the same tyre compound after just twenty-two laps, Max managed to make it to the end and keep both Ferraris behind. Once again his aggressive driving style brought him a brilliant victory. Should he really change his driving style?

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Austrian Grand Prix Review, Valtteri Bottas wins like a Bull

Bull Sculpture at Formula One World Championship, Rd9, Austrian Grand Prix, Preparations, Spielberg, Austria, Thursday 6 July 2017.

Valtteri Bottas secured his second victory in his Formula 1 career and he achieved it with the same way as he won his first Grand Prix, by starting from the pole and defending his position from Sebastian Vettel, who finished second.

A perfect start allowed to the Finn to remain first and despite Ferrari’s and Vettel’s acquisitions for a jump start, the stewards didn’t take any further action. After lights out, Kimi Raikkonen had a poor start which cost him two positions, the Finn dropped down to fifth and both Daniel Ricciardo and Romain Grosjean moved up one place. Ricciardo had a great pace during the race and scored another podium which gave points for his team.

Max Verstappen and Fernando Alonso retired after the start of the race after a collision with the Toro Rosso. Kvyat lost his breaks and collided on Alonso which cost the race to the Spaniard and Daniil had to pit for a new nose.

Lewis Hamilton started eighth, after the five-place grid penalty who received because his mechanics had to change his gearbox on Saturday. The Britt, had a good start and moved up to the fifth position behind Kimi Raikkonen. Lewis was struggling to pass Kimi and remained behind him until the 45th lap, Kimi pitted and re-joined behind Hamilton.

The three-time world champion lost time behind Raikkonen, Ferrari decided to waste Raikkonen’s chances for a place on the podium as they were seeing that it was very difficult to close to Red Bull for the third place. Raikkonen’s excellent drive didn’t allow to Hamilton to take advantage of his super-softs tyres and forced the Brit to pit on lap 33.

When Hamilton re-joined with the ultra-softs he was struggling with his tyres and could not follow the leaders. Mainly he was unable to close the gap with Ricciardo.

Everything changed during the final laps, Lewis Hamilton closed with Daniel Ricciardo and was looking for a space to make his move. At the same time, Sebastian Vettel with the super-softs was less than a second behind Bottas.

Red Bull Ring, Spielberg, Austria.
Friday 07 July 2017.
World Copyright: Andy Hone/LAT Images
ref: Digital Image _ONY0445

Hamilton made his move, took the outside, but Ricciardo defended his place and remained third, it was Ricciardo’s fifth consecutive podium. Sebastian Vettel was on Botta’s tail, but didn’t have the chance to attack.

After 71 laps Valtteri Bottas took the second chequered flag of his F1 career, and scored 25 points. Whilst, Vettel scored six more points than Hamilton and increased his leading on the drivers’ championship to 20 points from Lewis Hamilton.

Very good race for Romain Grosjean, the French passed Raikkonen in the beginning but lost the fifth place a few laps later, at the end he finished sixth and scored crucial points for Haas.

Williams, despite their poor qualification, managed to finish in the top 10, Felipe Massa finished ninth, while his team-mate finished tenth and scored one point.

The next race will take place at Silverstone in one week.

Twitter: @FP_Passion

(Image Courtesy of Pirelli F1 Media)

 

 

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