Jordan's Track Talk

Tag: Lewis Hamilton

  • R2 – China Sprint

    Lewis Hamilton has claimed victory in the first Sprint of the 2025 season at the Chinese Grand Prix, the Ferrari driver putting in an assured drive to add to his tally of wins in Shanghai and claim his debut P1 for the Scuderia.

    After a strong start when the lights went out, Hamilton went on to build a commanding lead and while it was not entirely smooth sailing, his SF-25 experiencing graining on the tyres at one stage – the seven time World Champion looked in stunning form across the 19 lap event.

    Max Verstappen spent much of the Sprint running in second but lost out to McLaren’s Oscar Piastri with a few laps to spare, putting the Red Bull third.

    The full top 10 are- P1: Hamilton, P2: Piastri, P3: Verstappen, P4: Russell, P5: Leclerc, P6: Tsunoda, P7: Antonelli, P8: Norris, P9: Stroll and P10: Alonso.

    A wonderful Sprint result from Lewis Hamilton, just what he would’ve set out to achieve after securing pole. It seems like the Ferrari has got some pace behind it as the Brit managed to finish the Sprint with just under a seven second lead.

    A good result for Piastri, made up a move in the race, which makes up some of the lost points from last weekend. As for his teammate, Lando Norris, he finished P8, he had a wide moment early on in the Sprint which cost him places and he just managed to get back up into the points scoring position.

    Good result for Verstappen, P3, he has got pace in the Red Bull, but I think with other teams around him they have just got that extra bit more than Red Bull. But we all know Max can drag stuff out of the car to keep him in the top 3.

    Yuki Tsunoda finished sixth, which is a lovely result, it seems like the Racing Bull car has got pace, as displayed last week in Australia but they just lucked out and didn’t score points. However the Japanese driver has managed it this weekend and it is only the sprint.

    I woke up feeling great today. I really do feel a lot of people underestimated the really steep climb it is to get into a new team, to become acclimatised within a team, understanding and communication, all sorts of things. From Lap 1 here this weekend, really feeling on it. We’ve done a great job – the engineers have done a great job, mechanics have done a great job to really finetune the car and it felt great today. I got a good start and then there’s so much grip on this new tarmac. It’s really hard to look after these tyres but I think everyone was struggling the same.
    Hamilton on Sprint Victory.

  • R2 – China Sprint Qualifying

    Ferrari driver, Lewis Hamilton delivered a stunning performance to secure pole position during Sprint Qualifying at the Chinese Grand Prix, narrowly getting the better of Red Bull rival Max Verstappen and McLaren’s Oscar Piastri.

    Hamilton posted a time of 1m 30.849s during the decisive SQ3 phase to pip Verstappen to the top spot by 0.018s with Piastri and the other Ferrari of Charles Leclerc not much further back in an ultra-close session.

    Hamilton’s benchmark was a new lap record around the Shanghai International Circuit and when informed of his pole over the radio the seven time World Champion could not believe it at first.

    The full top 10 are- Pole: Hamilton, P2: Verstappen, P3: Piastri, P4: Leclerc, P5: Russell, P6: Norris, P7: Antonelli, P8: Tsunoda, P9: Albon and P10: Stroll.

    What a result from Hamilton and Ferrari, very surprising but also very welcomed! It seems that Ferrari may have sorted out some of their issue from last week, plus Lewis absolutely loves this track so I wouldn’t be surprised if that helped a little bit.

    A very nice result from Verstappen, P2, it feels like we’ve gone back 4 years and its Max VS Lewis all over again! The Dutchman took the gamble with a one lap gamble and it paid off with a worthy front row result.
    As for his team mate, Liam Lawson qualified in 20th, he has just struggled so far this weekend, which is so tough to see.

    Now onto McLaren a bit of a mixed bag, Piastri qualified third which is a lovely result and Norris qualified 6th, which definitely could of been better, but they made the call of doing two laps instead of the rest of the top 10 and it didn’t pay off in the end as everyone else was improving on their lap times.

    An okay result for Mercedes, Russell, P5, which could’ve been better but still a decent result. As for Antonelli a much better qualifying for him so far this weekend, it will be interesting to see how the rookie goes this weekend in his first Sprint weekend.

  • Ferrari announce launch date

    Lewis Hamilton’s first Ferrari Formula 1 car will break cover on February 19th, a day after the sport’s inaugural season launch at London’s O2 to mark its 75th anniversary.

    Ferrari boss Fred Vasseur revealed the date during the Italian team’s annual Christmas media event, where it was held at their Fiorano test track.

    Vasseur also confirmed the team will run the 2025 car on February 19th but did not give any more details as to who will drive, nor any information on what the launch will look like.

    Following their event at Maranello, Ferrari will head straight to Bahrain for three days of testing, which begins on February 26th at the Bahrain International Circuit.
    Hamilton and new team mate Charles Leclerc will get one and a half days of running between them at the desert venue before the season opener in Melbourne, Australia.

    We will have a couple of test days with TPC [testing of previous cars] and Pirelli [tyre test running] before Bahrain. It’s a very short period. At the end of the day, you have launch of the car on Feb 19 – and then we are going directly to Bahrain for the first test and to Melbourne. It means this will be a rush, but I’m not worried at all. He [Hamilton] is coming with experience of this. He did almost 20 seasons in F1 – and he will manage perfectly this period. We know that we will have a lot of procedures to assimilate during these couple of days, but I think he is experienced enough to do it. We’ll have the advantage to have the simulator. Obviously he will be able to do a race simulation, quali simulation into the simulator, and to be fully prepared with the steering wheel and the particularities of the race. But honestly, I’m not worried about this. It’s not the biggest challenge.
    Vasseur on Hamilton and testing.

  • RW 14 – Belgium

    Lewis Hamilton has won the Belgian Grand Prix after team mate George Russell, who had originally come home in first, was disqualified following the race for an underweight car.

    The Mercedes duo had engaged in a thrilling late chase, with two-stopper Hamilton charging down his one-stopping team mate, but he was unable to pass on track for the victory, with McLaren’s Oscar Piastri finishing third.

    However, following the conclusion of the Grand Prix, a technical delegate’s report stated that Russell’s car had been found to be underweight, with the matter referred to the stewards.
    The Brit was subsequently disqualified from the results with Mercedes acknowledging a “genuine error” by the team.

    The full top 10 are- P1: Hamilton, P2: Piastri, P3: Leclerc, P4: Verstappen, P5: Norris, P6: Sainz, P7: Perez, P8: Alonso, P9: Ocon and P10: Ricciardo.

    Obviously gutting for George Russell, he did a wonderful drive and made a very good call for the one-stop. But sometimes this is racing… So Lewis now inherits the win, which he did somewhat deserve, he led quite a bit of the race, it makes the Brit the second driver to win two races so far this season!

    A very good race for Piastri, he stuck with the Mercedes duo quite a bit during the race. He did overshoot his pitbox, which meant he lost a couple of seconds doing so, so it makes you think, what if he didn’t would the Australian be celebrating his second win?

    And Leclerc, a very good race for him, unlucky for the Monegasque not to get the win, but he and the team should be very happy with the 3rd place. Sainz, didn’t have the best race he finished 6th but he seemed like he lost time if anything as Leclerc had pace?

    An okay race for Verstappen, again he didn’t really make any massive steps forward apart from the start where he climbed a couple of places. The same also goes for his teammate, he finished P7 after starting P2, this isn’t good for the Mexican as he really needed to be on the podium this race to prove he should be in the Red Bull, so time will only tell what happens next…

    A decent race for Alonso, back in the points again, which is probably is exactly what the Spanish driver would want going into the summer break.

    Now, we have a bit of a wait for the next race, as it is the summer break which means we are not racing for quite a few weeks. But we are back on the 23rd to 25th August for Round 15 of 24 which is the Dutch Grand Prix.

  • RW 12 – Silverstone

    Lewis Hamilton has claimed a long-awaited and record-breaking ninth British Grand Prix victory in a thrilling race at Silverstone!

    While pole sitter, George Russell had led away from Hamilton as the event got underway, an exciting battle soon unfolded between the two Mercedes cars and the McLaren pair of Norris and Oscar Piastri amid changing weather conditions.

    The lead changed hands as the field began to switch to intermediate tyres after the opening phase of the race, before the skies later became dry and Hamilton capitalised from pitting for slicks on lap earlier than Norris – who also face a slow pit stop.

    While Russell retired with a water system issue, and Max Verstappen snatched P2 from Norris in the latter stages – Hamilton held his position to clinch an emotional victory, a record ninth win in a single Grand Prix and his first P1 since the 2021 Saudi Arabian Grand Prix.

    The full top 10 are- P1: Hamilton, P2: Verstappen, P3: Norris, P4: Piastri, P5: Sainz, P6: Hulkenberg, P7: Stroll, P8: Alonso, P9: Albon and P10: Tsunoda.

    WOWWW! What a result from Lewis Hamilton and Mercedes! His first win of the season, and he done it in style, this really does show you how much Mercedes have put so much into getting their car into a race winning way again and it hasn’t been easy but they’ve done it!
    Obviously unfortunate for Russell, as he could’ve easily been on the podium if he didn’t have to retire but I’m sure he will bounce back next race.

    A great result for Max Verstappen, it wasn’t the easiest of races for the world champion and that showed a few times as even himself wasn’t sure where he would finish the race, but it was a good recovery back to P2. However his teammate didn’t make massive moves in the race… He finished 17th… and was two laps down aswell. Not good at all, when is it time for Red Bull to rethink the second seat?

    A decent result for McLaren, P3 for Norris and P4 for Piastri. I think the team threw away a victory here, they definitely left Oscar out for too long when it was raining as they could’ve double stacked like Mercedes did and giving Norris options for slick tyres instead of picking him a certain set. I think the team has to iron out a few little problems as this won’t win them more races…

    Ferrari, P5 for Carlos Sainz, a decent drive for him, didn’t really see much from the Spanish driver but a decent point haul from him. As for the other Ferrari, Charles Leclerc didn’t have the best race either it was a disappointing outcome for him after he made places up at the beginning of the race and then slipped backwards after making an early switch to intermediate tyres.

    Another great result for Hulkenberg! P6, he is on fire at the moment, Haas really have pulled it out of the bag recently and it just seems to be working at the moment!

    A decent result for Aston Martin, a double points finish for the team which is good to see after their recent struggles.

    Albon in the points aswell for the teams home grand prix which is good! His teammate, Logan Sargeant just missed out on points in P11, unfortunate for the American but a decent drive by him.

    Alpine didn’t have the best of weekends, Pierre Gasly didn’t even get to start the race he went into the pits on the formation lap due to a gearbox problem and that was him done for the day. As for his teammate, Esteban Ocon, finished 16th.

    Now the triple header is over, and we have a little break before a double header which starts on the 19th to 21st July and its the Hungarian Grand Prix

  • Hamilton makes shock move from Mercedes to Ferrari for 2025

    Lewis Hamilton, seven-time F1 World Champion will be making a sensational switch from Mercedes to Ferrari next year on a multi-year contract.

    Hamilton has raced for the Silver Arrows since the 2013 season and has won six of his seven world titles with the team, adding to the crown he achieved at McLaren earlier in his career.

    Not only this, but he re-committed to Mercedes last summer, signing a new deal to keep him aboard through 2025, but he used the release clause which has allowed him to move to the Italian team.

    Hamilton’s decision comes after two challenging seasons for the Brackley squad, who have struggled to adapt to F1’s latest ground effect era and have dropped behind Red Bull in the pecking order.

    It means Hamilton will link up with Charles Leclerc, who recently agreed an extension with the Scuderia “beyond 2024” while Carlos Sainz will have to make way at the end of this year.

    I have had an amazing 11 years with this team [Mercedes] and I’m so proud of what we have achieved together. Mercedes has been part of my life since I was 13 years old. It’s a place where I have grown up, so making the decision to leave was one of the hardest decisions I have ever had to make. But the time is right for me to take this step and I’m excited to be taking on a new challenge. I will be forever grateful for the incredible support of my Mercedes family, especially Toto for his friendship and leadership and I want to finish on a high together. I am 100% committed to delivering the best performance I can this season and making my last year with the Silver Arrows, one to remember.

    Lewis Hamilton on the news.

    In terms of a team-driver pairing, our relationship with Lewis has become the most successful the sport has seen, and that’s something we can look back on with pride; Lewis will always be an important part of Mercedes motorsport history. However, we knew our partnership would come to a natural end at some point, and that day has now come. We accept Lewis’s decision to seek a fresh challenge, and our opportunities for the future are exciting to contemplate. But for now, we still have one season to go, and we are focused on going racing to deliver a strong 2024.

    Toto Wolff, Mercedes Team Principal and CEO.

    Following today’s news, Scuderia Ferrari and myself will part ways at the end of 2024. We still have a long season ahead of us and, like always, I will give my absolute best for the team and for the Tifosi all around the world. News about my future will be announced in due course.

    Carlos Sainz on leaving Ferrari.

  • W15

    Mercedes became the penultimate team to launch for 2024 by revealing their new F1 car with a new livery.

    After McLaren showed an online presentation of their 2024 car, Mercedes posted digital renders of the W15 on their social media, with an on track shakedown after.

    Mercedes joined McLaren on track at Silverstone for some initial running with their new car before heading off to Bahrain for pre-season testing next week.

    The team will be hoping to take a step forward in 2024 in what will be Lewis Hamilton’s final season with the team.
    He will again be joined by George Russell as his teammate, with the Brit entering his third campaign as a Silver Arrows driver.

    After a difficult 2022 season amid the introduction of the new ground effect era in the sport, Mercedes initially stuck with their car concept entering into 2023.
    However, when their issues continued last season, the team started on what they called a “period of renewal”, which should put them in a new direction.

    There are no miracles in this sport. But our ambition and determination are strong. Since charting this new course, development has progressed well. We had several items on our priority list for this car. We will soon see if we’ve made the step we’ve aimed for. As the saying goes: when it stings, it sticks. I believe the previous two years were necessary for us to readjust, recalibrate and reinvent ourselves in certain areas.That root-and-branch approach is never easy. But we’ve made progress and look forward to taking the next step with the W15. It won’t be a linear path, but when we stumble, we will get back up and keep climbing.

    Toto Wolff on the struggles over the past few years.

  • Hamilton signs new deal and Russell extends

    Lewis Hamilton has put pen to paper on a new Mercedes contract that will keep the seven-time world champion onboard through the 2025 season, with George Russell also retained for the same period.

    Hamilton, was in his final year of his existing Silver Arrows deal and has been in talks with team boss Toto Wolff for several months, with those discussions eventually resulting in fresh terms.

    It comes halfway through Hamilton’s 11th season for Mercedes having joined the Brackley team back in 2013 and gone on to set a host of record, from championship wins to pole positions, race wins and so much more!

    Hamilton and Mercedes are currently working hard to return to the front of the F1 grid, their respective title winning runs having come to an end in 2021, but both sides are confident that the renewed partnership will yield further success.

    We dream every day of being the best and we have dedicated the past decade together to achieving that goal. Being at the top does not happen overnight or over a short period of time, it takes commitment, hard work and dedication and it’s been an honour to earn our way into the history books with this incredible team. We have never been hungrier to win. We have learnt from every success but also every setback. We continue to chase our dreams, we continue to fight no matter the challenge and we will win again. I’m grateful to the team who have supported me both on and off the track. Our story isn’t finished, we are determined to achieve more together and we won’t stop until we do.

    Hamilton on the new contract.

    I have grown up with this team ever since joining as part of the junior programme back in 2017. It’s my home and it feels fantastic to extend our special relationship through 2025. After stepping up to the Mercedes race seat last year, I wanted to reward the trust and belief that Toto and the rest of the team placed in me. Taking my first pole position and race win last year was an unforgettable feeling. More importantly though, it’s been great to work with everybody at Brackley and Brixworth to make progress with our car and push forward our development. Their loyalty, vision and hard work is inspiring. We have made some significant steps over the last 18 months and are only getting stronger as a team. I’m excited to help continue to build on that momentum as we progress into 2024 and 2025 as we continue to focus on returning to the very front of the pack

    Russell on extending his contract.

    Continuing with our current driver line-up was a straightforward decision. We have the strongest pairing on the grid and both drivers are playing a crucial role in the team to move us forward. The strength and stability they provide will be key building blocks for our future success. Our partnership with Lewis is one of the most successful in the sport’s history. It was always a formality that we would continue together – and it’s energising for us all to be confirming that publicly. His qualities as a pure racing driver are illustrated by his remarkable track record; but over our years together, he has grown to become a pillar and leader of our team. Those leadership qualities are crucial as we focus on fighting for world championships again. As F1’s biggest global star, he has also played a key role in shaping our commitments to diversity, inclusion and sustainability, that will be foundations for our success in the years ahead. George is a leading light of his generation. He has repaid the faith we showed in him when promoting him to a race seat in 2022. His maiden pole position in Hungary and first Grand Prix victory in São Paulo were standout moments last season. As a driver, he combines razor-sharp speed with the tenacity of a true fighter. But he brings, too, an intelligence and attention to detail that will help him to continue to grow, develop and improve further. He is a natural fit to the team and we are delighted to have extended the relationship for the coming years.

    Toto Wolff on the news.

  • RND 12 – Hungary Qualifying

    Qualifying this time was a bit different than normal, with Pirelli’s new ‘Alternative Tyre Allocation’ making its debut. Where Q1 drivers use hard tyre, Q2 the medium and Q3 soft.

    And this time, it was Max Verstappen or Red Bull taking pole position… It was in fact the Mercedes of Lewis Hamilton who stormed to pole 104. Max was close behind in 2nd and Lando Norris rounded out the top three.

    The full top 10 are- P1: Hamilton, P2: Verstappen, P3: Norris, P4: Piastri, P5: Zhou, P6: Leclerc, P7: Bottas, P8: Alonso, P9: Perez and P10: Hulkenberg.

    A great result for Lewis managing to get pole, the only other team apart from Red Bull and Mercedes to get pole this season is Ferrari, so it’s good to see that teams are closing in on the Bulls.

    Obviously another great result for McLaren, starting P3 and P4, they’ll be looking at scoring big points this weekend and looking at the podium aswell.

    The star of qualifying, Zhou Guanyu and the whole Alfa Romeo team really as Zhou took 5th and Bottas 7th, they’ve had a rough season so far but they will be looking to optimise on others downfall tomorrow so they can score good points.

    An okay result for Perez, but he still isn’t where his meant to be, but at least he got into the top 10 this time. He has a bit of work to do during the race, and he will be hoping to stay out of trouble aswell.

    Now looking outside the top 10, Daniel Ricciardo on his return managed 13th for AlphaTauri, and outperformed his teammate Tsunoda in 17th.

    Predictions-

    My top five for the race are- P1: Hamilton, P2: Verstappen, P3: Piastri, P4: Alonso and P5: Perez.

    I feel like we might have a few surprises along the way in tomorrow’s race, maybe a strategy which hasn’t gone right or a bad pitstop or a badly timed safety car? Who knows what will happen, but one thing is for sure… Hamilton and Verstappen front row? Drama!!

  • Hamilton responds after Nelson Piquet uses racial slur

    Nelson Piquet, who is the father of Max Verstappen’s partner, Kelly Piquet and a three time F1 world champion was on a podcast last November discussing the collision between Hamilton and Verstappen during the 2021 British GP, when he used a racially offensive expression in Portuguese.

    The comments have only now came to light, and Piquet has been condemned by Formula 1, Hamilton’s Mercedes team and the FIA.

    Let’s focus on changing the mindset. It’s more than language. These archaic mindsets need to change and have no place in our sport. I’ve been surrounded by these attitudes and targeted my whole life. There has been plenty of time to learn. Time has come for action.

    Lewis took to social media.

    This isn’t the first time Piquet has made unsavoury and unpleasant statements. During his driving career, he publicly questioned Ayrton Senna’s sexuality and called his rival “the Sao Paulo taxi driver”. As well as this, he made offensive comments about Nigel Mansell and the Briton’s wife when they were team mates at Williams.

    Whether your an ex F1 driver, a junior of a F1 team or just a normal person, using racist language is never the way to go forward. I hope we see something done about this as Lewis shouldn’t be having to deal with this…

  • W13

    W13

    The final car launch of the week is completed! The reigning world champions have revealed the car that Lewis Hamilton and George Russell will be driving this season- the W13.

    Mercedes have won the constructor’s title for eight successive seasons but didn’t manage the drivers title last year as it came down to a last lap battle.

    Mercedes junior, Russell has been promoted to a race seat, replacing Valtteri Bottas after three impressive seasons at Williams. He will be joining 7 time world champion, Lewis Hamilton where he enters his 16th season in F1.

    The launch, saw the team be joined by the Mercedes juniors (apart from Paul Aron), in which they were asked questions and as well them being allowed to ask Lewis, George & Toto questions too.

    “It just takes you back to being a kid,” said Hamilton at the launch. “I think it’s always exciting watching, I mean with this new era of car, we’ve never seen such a drastic change, right? So it’s such a huge change in so many ways, that it’s just been really interesting seeing the designers and everyone coming together to find the best ways of creating a masterpiece.”

    “It feels incredible, obviously Lewis and I have driven so many laps in the simulator of this. We’ve seen all the drawings, we’ve had so many meetings and presentations about it, but suddenly seeing it all come together, seeing all of the men and women who have put so much hard work and grit into making this, and coming together here, I think it looks incredible. And I think the silver [coming] back, we’ve had an incredible livery with the black in the past couple of years – but the silver back on track I think is going to look incredible,” said Russell.

    My Opinion-

    What a beast! We all had a feeling it would be silver and we were right! First of all the silver looks amazing, it is good to have the Silver Arrows back and I can’t wait to see it on track! The car looks clean, but again as I have said previously it may be this new design of the car.

    The actual launch itself was brilliant, I want to take my hat of to Mercedes and say what a brilliant idea to have the young drivers in their programme their and the fact they got to be asked questions and them themselves ask the drivers and Toto questions too is brilliantly thought out. It does show that the team is here to stay and their constantly thinking about the future!

  • 18.02.22

    The fourth car date has been revealed, this time it being Mercedes. They will show the world the W13 on the 18th February, in an online event from Silverstone.

    This year we are due to see a new line-up, with Lewis Hamilton sticking with the team but the change comes within his team-mate, this year he is partnered up with Mercedes Junior, George Russell.

    The pair will be seeking to help the team go for a record of a ninth consecutive title this season, whilst Hamilton will be going for a record breaking eight.

    George has been apart of the Mercedes junior programme since 2017, he got the opportunity to then stand in for Lewis Hamilton at the Sakhir Grand Prix in 2020 where he qualified in P2 just missing out on pole position by 26 milliseconds. He then led the majority of the race until 20 laps to go with a mix up of pitstops/punctures which resulted him in finishing 9th where he scored his first ever Formula One points.

    When the W13 has its covers taken off it will be given a shakedown run around the circuit later on in the day.

  • Could Hamilton retire?

    Ever since, the Abu Dhabi Grand Prix, the rumours have been flying about left, right and centre. But the main topic being- Could Lewis Hamilton retire?

    Nobody actually knows if he is going to or not except himself, after after everything which has gone on in the past week he may be possibly be thinking about it. Lewis led the majority of the Abu Dhabi GP and looked set to win, which meant he would get a record breaking 8th title, until the safety car and changes to lapped cars changed the top 2 around. Since then he has been quiet on social media- he didn’t do post season testing due to being knighted (not related to retirement), but the main thing people don’t understand is him not going to Paris for the FIA ceremony, he was then at Mercedes in the UK for Valtteri Bottas’ farewell the day after the ceremony.

    Mercedes Team Principal Toto Wolff threw Hamilton’s career into doubt this week, hinting the Formula 1 icon could retire. He said: “I would very much hope Lewis continues racing because he is the greatest driver of all time. As a racer his heart will say I need to continue because he’s at the peak of his game. But we have to overcome the pain that was caused upon him on Sunday. He is a man with clear values.”

    This isn’t the first time the Austrian has hinted at retirement for the Brit earlier this year they discussed it, he confirmed that before Lewis signed a new deal that they went over the topic.

    Now with this all coming over social media the past week after whats happened, its understandable if he would want to retire, Lewis outs everything into F1/Mercedes, he makes a change even when his not racing on track and his so well-known of course these rumours would come about!

    My Opinion-

    One word. No. I don’t see him retiring for a few years yet, his signed a two year deal with Merc, and his a team person his been so committed even when he didn’t win the 2016 drivers championship he has still carried on and came back to win the championship the year after.

    If anything I think this will fuel him, he will want to come back after the winter break jump straight back in the car and win both championships not just the Drivers, but the Constructors too. As for his social media break, its understandable its been such a tough season for all drivers and his no doubt upset what went down in the race so its fully justified.

  • Round 22- Abu Dhabi Race

    To start firstly I just want to say what an amazing season we have had from all 20 drivers, lots of drama in all 22 races, and its been amazing to see! It’s truly one of the best seasons I have witnessed and I hope we can have more like this soon.

    We do however have some drivers leaving F1 today, Kimi retiring and Antonio Giovinazzi going to Formula E. We also have some driver changes, Bottas to Alfa Romeo, George to Mercedes. We also have the returning Alex Albon who will be joining Williams and we also have Guaynu Zhou who will be making a step up from Formula 2 to join Alfa Romeo.

    Wow, I have no clue what to say in the race we just watched… Just a note before hand I try and keep my blog neutral, so that I don’t favour a driver or a team and just go off pure predictions and how I feel at that time and whenever I state my opinion I make it clear, so thats what I am going to do now.

    MY OPINION-

    I don’t get how the FIA can make their own rules up during the race. Going against their own rule book is insane it doesn’t present itself well to Formula One fans in general. I think this is what Mercedes fans are most upset about, which I do get. The FIA states in the sporting regulations that:

    48.12 If the clerk of the course considers it safe to do so, and the message “LAPPED CARS MAY NOW OVERTAKE” has been sent to all Competitors via the official messaging system, any cars that have been lapped by the leader will be required to pass the cars on the lead lap and the safety car.
    This will only apply to cars that were lapped at the time they crossed the Line at the end of the lap during which they crossed the first Safety Car line for the second time after the safety car was deployed. Having overtaken the cars on the lead lap and the safety car these cars should then proceed around the track at an appropriate speed, without overtaking, and make every effort to take up position at the back of the line of cars behind the safety car. Whilst they are overtaking, and in order to ensure this may be carried out safely, the cars on the lead lap must always stay on the racing line unless deviating from it is unavoidable. Unless the clerk of the course considers the
    presence of the safety car is still necessary, once the last lapped car has passed the leader the safety car will return to the pits at the end of the following lap.
    If the clerk of the course considers track conditions are unsuitable for overtaking the message “OVERTAKING WILL NOT BE PERMITTED” will be sent to all Competitors via the official messaging system.

    In my opinion when cars are allowed to un-lap themselves its normally all the cars which are lapped and not the four in-between the two championship contenders. And I get why Mercedes are appealing it, because it clearly states above that lapped cars can overtake- but to make it even more confusing Masi decided that the lap cars would not over-take on the safety car and then decided a little while later they can!

    No-one wanted the championship to go this way, with it being taken to get looked at by the FIA, but rules are rules at the end of the day and I feel like Lewis should’ve won this race.

    The Race-

    Congratulations to Max Verstappen for being Champion, a hard season for both contenders but neither gave up, it saw Lewis coming home in 2nd and Carlos Sainz grabbing one more podium to end the year, he finished P3.

    The full top 10 are as follows: P1: Verstappen, P2: Hamilton, P3: Sainz, P4: Tsunoda, P5: Gasly, P6: Bottas, P7: Norris, P8: Alonso, P9: Ocon and P10: Leclerc.

    We had 5 DNF’s, first one being Kimi we didn’t want to see him retire on his last race but some things are just out of his control, the next being Russell with a gearbox issue which isn’t the way he wanted his final race with Williams to go.

    Giovinazzi was the next to DNF as he had a problem with his car too, Perez had to retire too due to a problem with his car. Then Latifi, crashed which caused the safety car to come out, thankfully Latifi was okay after the his crash.

    Lewis Hamilton got off the line just superbly starting P2 on the mediums made it think that Mercedes picked wrong as everyone else around Lewis was on softs, but he took the lead on the first lap! And led the majority of the race, with having stopped quite early on people started to doubt the 7 time world champ with tyres and him struggling towards the end.

    WOW, Yuki Tsunoda finishing P4! Making that his best ever finish!! What a way to finish his first year in F1, I cant wait to see how he does next year.

    The Championship-

    Sainz managed to grab P5 of both Norris and Leclerc, with him finishing on the podium which saw Ferrari clinch 3rd in the Constructors! Norris finished 6th ahead of Leclerc by ONE point.

    Mercedes won the constructors by 28 points, it helped having both Mercedes finish and Red Bull only having one car finish the race. Ferrari obviously clinched P3 with McLaren in P4 and Alpine coming home in 5th.

  • Round 21- Jeddah Race

    EPIC. CHAOTIC. BWOAH.

    Where do I even start with the race, we all knew the race would feature a safety car during the race after seeing the 3 F2 races this weekend, but I don’t think we expected what we all just saw!

    Lewis Hamilton takes win number 103, with Max Verstappen in P2 and Valtteri Bottas on a late charge to take the final podium place. Lewis also took fastest lap too.

    The top 10 are: P1: Hamilton, P2: Verstappen, P3: Bottas, P4: Ocon, P5: Ricciardo, P6: Gasly, P7: Leclerc, P8: Sainz, P9: Giovinazzi and P10: Norris.

    Esteban Ocon of France driving the Alpine A521 Renault during the F1 Grand Prix of Saudi Arabia at Jeddah Corniche Circuit on December 05, 2021 in...
    JEDDAH, SAUDI ARABIA – DECEMBER 05: Esteban Ocon of France driving the (31) Alpine A521 Renault during the F1 Grand Prix of Saudi Arabia at Jeddah Corniche Circuit on December 05, 2021 in Jeddah, Saudi Arabia. (Photo by Mark Thompson/Getty Images)

    The first of the accidents during the race was Mick Schumacher who spun and hit the barrier at Turn 23. This brought out a safety car which many of the drivers had pitted, however this then turned into a red-flag which then gave Verstappen a free pit stop.

    We went onto a standing start which saw Lewis lead, but then Verstappen went wide and off track at the first chicane which saw him cutting across Hamilton who dropped to P3 behind Esteban Ocon. The racing didn’t last long as we had two separate incidents the first involving Charles Leclerc and Sergio Perez in which Perez’s race ended there with too much damage. The other incident involving Mazepin and Russell, which saw Nikita go into the back of the Williams car, this caused the second red flag of the race.

    After many radio messages back and forth from Mercedes to FIA or Red Bull to FIA, the restart was Ocon 1st, Hamilton 2nd, Verstappen 3rd. But Verstappen made a good move on his shiny new mediums.

    If you thought the drama was over after that, you are very wrong, we then had three VSC periods from Lap 28 to Lap 36. Lewis attempted a move on Lap 36 for the lead of the race but Max braked too late in which he run wide at Turn 2 and retained the lead. Max was instructed to give back P1 so on Lap 37 max slowed for Hamilton to get caught up in mixed messages and clip the rear of the Red Bull in which Lewis now had front wing damage.

    Whilst the drama was going on with Mercedes-FIA-RedBull, Lewis wanted to keep the fight on track in which on Lap 42 he was looking to get past the Dutchman but Verstappen again went wide . At this point the stewards gave Max a fixe second time penalty.

    Then the rest is history after Lewis managed to over take Max and build up a big enough gap so Max didn’t have chance to push and keep on fighting each other, but further down the field the drama was still going on.

    Valtteri Bottas was keeping the pressure on Esteban Ocon during the race so much so that Bottas beat him by a tenth of a second, literally securing P3 on the checkered line! Obviously gutting for Ocon but for me he deserves driver of the day, he was there where it mattered and stayed out of trouble and he was rewarded with a P4.

    A lovely race for Daniel Ricciardo today, after a disappointing number of races not scoring he managed to bring his car home in P5 and he fully deserved it! As well Gasly a nice strong finish in P6 brings a good set of points which he will be more than happy with.

    The Championship-

    Well, we all know what that has done to the championship now… Lewis Hamilton and Max Verstappen are equal in points going into the final race which hasn’t happened since 1974!

    Leclerc now moves up to P5 with a 4 point gap from Lando Norris, so i’m sure we will see an entertaining race next week for the battle for 5th position in the standings!

    Mercedes now have a gap of 28 points which separate them and Red Bull, this makes next weekend even more exciting with both Bottas and Perez needing to do there all so either of the teams can win the Constructors.

    Now onto next week for the final round of the 2021 Formula 1 Championship, we are back in Abu Dhabi at the newly changed Yas Marina Circuit, all drivers will need to get used to what has changed on the track.

  • Round 21- Jeddah Quali

    That is now qualifying over for today and what a qualifying it was! This circuit is something else and it shows with how close the cars get to the walls!

    It is a 1-2 for the Mercedes boys in Saudi Arabia, get in there boys!!! Lewis Hamilton takes pole position, with his team-mate next to him in second. Max Verstappen joins the pair in third position.

    The rest of the top 10 are: P4: Leclerc, P5: Perez, P6: Gasly, P7: Norris, P8: Tsunoda, P9: Ocon and P10: Giovinazzi.

    Valtteri Bottas of Finland driving the Mercedes AMG Petronas F1 Team Mercedes W12 during qualifying ahead of the F1 Grand Prix of Saudi Arabia at...
    JEDDAH, SAUDI ARABIA – DECEMBER 04: Valtteri Bottas of Finland driving the (77) Mercedes AMG Petronas F1 Team Mercedes W12 during qualifying ahead of the F1 Grand Prix of Saudi Arabia at Jeddah Corniche Circuit on December 04, 2021 in Jeddah, Saudi Arabia. (Photo by Dan Mullan/Getty Images)

    Well lets start with the final lap from MV, he was doing an outstanding lap but he was very much pushing the limits and there was a couple of close calls with the wall during the lap until he got to the final corner… where he did indeed touch the wall quite harshly which ruined his chance of pole position. There could be a potential gearbox change which he already had a new one in this weekend but another new one means a penalty… So we will await and see if there is significant damage to his car.

    It really is not Aston Martin’s weekend, they have been somewhat off there normal pace and that showed even more so during qualifying when both of the cars qualified 17th and 18th.

    Yuki Tsunoda must really like new circuits, last time out in Qatar he qualified P8, and today it was again P8, either that or he is very happy with the car and puts it all together in qualifying for a good lap! His team-mate Pierre Gasly a good qualifying for him too, possibly a good race for both Alpha Tauri drivers tomorrow and score a good set amount of points?

    Now Carlos Sainz… What didn’t happen with him in Q2! He had a big moment on his first flying lap which saw his rear wing touch the wall, so he dived straight into the pits afterwards so his team could assess the amount of damage. Then on his second flying lap he went wide which again ruined his lap… Hence him qualifying P15, this could have a big impact on the Constructors now.

    Predictions-

    I am going to say Hamilton for the win, with Bottas in P2, the final podium place going to Perez, P4: Leclerc, and P5: Verstappen. With fastest lap going to Bottas.

    Hopefully we get a McLaren up there in the points, Norris seems to be enjoying this circuit quite a bit and he will more than likely be wanting to redeem himself after the awful triple header for him and the team.

    Times for tomorrow-

    Sunday 5th- Race: 17:30pm (GMT), 18:30pm (CET).

  • Round 20- Qatar Race

    Well, we have had another drama filled weekend, with Vertsappen being handed a 5 place grid penalty before the race as well as Bottas being handed a 3 place grid penalty.

    Our top 3 finishers for the first Qatar GP were: P1: Hamilton, P2: Verstappen and P3: Alonso. Hamilton made it win 102 this weekend and being the first to ever win at Qatar in F1. But the main talking news is Alonso returning to the podium after 7 years and he fully deserves it!

    F1 Grand Prix of Qatar : News Photo
    DOHA, QATAR – NOVEMBER 21: Third placed Fernando Alonso of Spain and Alpine F1 Team celebrates in parc ferme during the F1 Grand Prix of Qatar at Losail International Circuit on November 21, 2021 in Doha, Qatar. (Photo by Mark Thompson/Getty Images)

    The full top 10 are- P1: Hamilton, P2: Verstappen, P3: ALonso, P4: Perez, P5: Ocon, P6: Stroll, P7: Sainz, P8: Leclerc, P9: Norris and P10: Vettel. With fastest lap going to Verstappen.

    On lap 33, it saw Bottas have a puncture as he fell from P3, he managed to get it back to the pits and comes out in P14. Which brings us to lap 54… Where we saw Norris who was in P4 have a puncture, Russell with a puncture and his team-mate Latifi, with the same problem. Norris and Russell managed to pit for new tyres however, Latifi couldn’t make it back to the pits so had to park near an entrance road which brought out a VSC!

    Amazing race for both Alpines! Obviously the main one being Fernando getting P3, this will help Alpine in the Constructor fight. Esteban done a really good drive too, which saw him start P9 and finish P5, good amount of points for him!

    Gutting day for McLaren, Lando had such a good qualifying and obviously with the two penalties he moved up to the second row. It looked like he secured P4 near the end of the race and then the puncture happened… He hasn’t had it easy the past few races, but i’m hoping he will take away the fact the car is good and has got pace and hopefully he has a clear head going into Saudi!

    Not quite sure what went on with Alpha Tauri, baring in mind Pierre started P2, they pitted him very early compared to everyone else and from then on he was no where, he finished 11th. Tsunoda finished P13, it looked quite promising for him to score points but obviously it didn’t go either Alpha Tauri’s way this weekend.

    The Championship-

    The gap just keeps on coming down now, 8 points between Verstappen and Hamilton. Making it an all very important two races left. Bottas’ P3 is under threat as Perez is only 13 points away, so that DNF for the Merc did not help at all!

    Norris just holds on to P5 with 153 points, with Charles Leclerc in P6 with 152 points, so it will be interesting battle between these two in the final two rounds.

    In the Constructors there is only a 5 point gap between Mercedes and Red Bull now, even more so now the fastest lap points are definitely going to come into play and there will be a lot of switching on who has it.

    Alpine now have a 25 point gap between them and Alpha Tauri. So AT really need both cars scoring good points in these next two if they want to try and get 5th back!

    Now we don’t have any racing next weekend but we will be back from the 3rd to 5th December and we will be in Saudi Arabia for the first ever Grand Prix there and go into round 21 out of 22.

  • Round 20- Qatar Quali

    Welll… Qualifying most definitely had some shock exits! Making this championship even more exciting…

    Lewis Hamilton, takes the first pole position on the Losail Circuit, carrying on his form from last weekend in Brazil! Max Verstappen joins Lewis on the front row and Bottas makes P3, showing that Mercedes are on top form!

    The full top 10 are- P1: Hamilton, P2: Verstappen, P3: Bottas, P4: Gasly, P5: Alonso, P6: Norris, P7: Sainz, P8: Tsunoda, P9: Ocon, P10: Vettel.

    DOHA, QATAR – NOVEMBER 20: Lando Norris of Great Britain driving the (4) McLaren F1 Team MCL35M Mercedes during qualifying ahead of the F1 Grand Prix of Qatar at Losail International Circuit on November 20, 2021 in Doha, Qatar. (Photo by Clive Mason/Getty Images)

    Red Bull are most definitely on the back foot here, with both Mercedes sandwiching Max it could easily be a preview of the podium.

    Talking about RB and them being on the back foot, part of that is because Perez was out in Q2! Not a good weekend so far for him, it’ll be interesting to see what the strategy is for Red Bull considering no-one knows how this race is going to go.

    Charles Leclerc and Daniel Ricciardo also out in Q2, which most definitely shocked a few people. Leclerc has been having problems since yesterday, but it just seems like he isn’t comfortable in the car on this track.

    Russell into Q2, Mr Saturday is back, starting P15, which means free choice of tyres and could potentially score some points tomorrow.

    Both Alpha Tauri’s and Alpine in the top 10, the battles between the four cars will be interesting, especially with Alonso he always provides good and clean fights on track and Pierre being so consistent this year, who won’t give up a position.

    Predictions for tomorrow-

    I’m going to say for my top 5 are- P1: Hamilton, P2: Bottas, P3: Verstappen, P4: Gasly and P5: Sainz.

    Tomorrow should be an exciting race, no-one knows whether it’s going to be a 1 stop or 2 stop so I can imagine teams will be keeping an eye out for tyre degradation.

  • Mercedes appeal rejected

    It has been announced today, that the appeal Mercedes put in on Tuesday has been rejected by the Stewards.

    The stewards have heard from both Mercedes and Red Bull on Thursday in Qatar, then deliberated overnight before reaching a decision on Friday after the first free practice session.

    Their denial of requests means the full race result on Sunday still stands, and Verstappen is not at any risk of a penalty.

    After announcing their decision the stewards explained: “There will always be some angles of video footage, because of limits in both technology and bandwidth, that are unavailable at the time. Whether or not stewards’ decisions are considered to be right or wrong, and just as with referees’ decisions in soccer, it does not seem desirable to be able to review any or all such in‐race discretionary decisions up to two weeks after the fact and the stewards therefore seriously doubt that the intent of the Right of Review in the ISC [International Sporting Code] is to enable competitors to seek a review of such discretionary decisions that do not follow on from a formal inquiry by the stewards and do not result in a published document.”

    The verdict was made public when Toto Wolff and Christian Horner was in a press conference together. The Mercedes boss says: “Completely expected,” he said. “I think we wanted to trigger a discussion around it, because probably it will be a theme in the next few races. I think our objective is achieved; we didn’t really think it would go any further.”

    Horner added: “I think it’s obviously the right decision, because it would have opened Pandora’s Box regarding a whole bunch of other incidents that happened in that race. I think the most important thing now is to focus on this Grand Prix.”

  • Mercedes request review

    Mercedes have announced that they are seeking a ‘Right of Review’ of the incident which occured during the Sao Paulo Grand Prix, which saw Max Verstappen defend Lewis Hamilton and see both drivers run wide.

    But yesterday, the onboard footage of Max Verstappen got released, and Mercedes felt like with the new evidence which was unavailable to the stewards at the time of decision feel that it is enough for a right of review.

    The onboard of Max Verstappen.

    Hamilton started P10 on Sunday, and had been closing on Max for quite some time and finally he attepmted a pass on Lap 48 at Turn 4 but both drivers run wide when rejoining Max was still in the lead.

    The stewards noted the incident but decided soon afterward that no investigation was necessary, 11 laps later and Lewis went on to take the win. But with Mercedes taking to social media, yesterday afternoon they want to review the Turn 4 incident. The stewards will meet with representatives from the team to assess the new evidence.

    My Opinion-

    I’m not surprised by Mercedes wanting to do this, as a key video wasn’t available at the time of the incident they let it slide but now its come to surface they want to see if they can get something out of it. Which I think is fair enough considering that Lewis did get pushed of the track more than necessary.

    Let me know in the poll below if you think this is the right decision by Mercedes!

  • Round 19- Brazil Race

    Lewis Hamilton WINS the Sao Paulo Grand Prix and to take his 101 win! To think he started in P20 in the sprint race to finish 5th and then have a five place grid penalty to start 10th in todays race and go on to win, it for sure shows this championship is far from over and with only 3 races left now!

    Max Verstappen finishes in second place not giving up just yet, but its a good day for Mercedes as Valtteri Bottas finishes in 3rd place on the podium!

    The full top 10 are- P1: Hamilton, P2: Verstappen, P3: Bottas, P4: Perez, P5: Leclerc, P6: Sainz, P7: Gasly, P8: Ocon, P9: Alonso, P10: Norris. Perez took the fastest lap point away from Lewis and Mercedes on the last lap.

    Mercedes' British driver Lewis Hamilton , Red Bull's Dutch driver Max Verstappen and Mercedes' Finnish driver Valtteri Bottas celebrate with Mercedes...
    Mercedes’ British driver Lewis Hamilton (2-L), Red Bull’s Dutch driver Max Verstappen (L) and Mercedes’ Finnish driver Valtteri Bottas (R) celebrate with Mercedes strategic chief on the podium after obtaining the first, second and third positions respectively, in Brazil’s Formula One Sao Paulo Grand Prix at the Autodromo Jose Carlos Pace, or Interlagos racetrack, in Sao Paulo, on November 14, 2021. (Photo by NELSON ALMEIDA / AFP) (Photo by NELSON ALMEIDA/AFP via Getty Images)

    To start, what a race we had! We are so lucky to be witnessing such a close and exciting season, not just between Mercedes and Red Bull but also between the other teams on the track.

    First up, gutting day for McLaren in general, Lando had contact with Sainz on lap 1 which saw him drop all the way down to P20 as he had a puncture, he managed to scrape his way to 10th and finish there, as for Daniel he was having a good race until a PU problem which saw him having to retire… This is the second race in a row where McLaren have scored 1 point, can next week bring them something new?

    Ferrari then have had another strong weekend, both drivers finishing in top 10, looking more and more likely if they keep going this way they will have no problem securing P3 in the constructors!

    There was a collision between Tsunoda and Stroll which brought out a Safety Car, and also saw Tsunoda given a 10 second time penalty… Not a good weekend for him, hopefully next week will be a different story.

    The Championship-

    Now looking at the drivers standings, there is now only an 14 point gap between Max and Lewis… with 3 races to go, who will come out on top? Looking a little further down, Leclerc who is currently sitting in P6 is only 3 points away from P5 which Lando is currently sat at, these two brilliant drivers will want to give it everything now.

    Looking at the constructors, Mercedes now have an 11 point lead over Red Bull, both teams with two talented drivers its going to be a close one for sure! Ferrari have a hefty gap now in P3 making it 31.5 points between them and McLaren, the british based team will be needing something special to happen in the next 3 races if Ferrari carry on like this… Alpine and Alpha Tauri are sat on the same points 112, with Alpine ahead in 5th this is going to be a tight battle!

    Onto the next! We are racing at a completely new circuit next week to finish of our triple header and we are in Qatar for its first ever F1 World Championship race!

  • Hamilton Disqualified, Verstappen Fined

    Well what a 24 hours it has been! What has not happened since qualifying wow…

    First of all Lewis Hamilton got called to the stewards last night about his rear wing it had been deemed that it was not in the regulations for the DRS, but the stewards couldn’t come to a close last night so it resumed at 10.30am this morning…

    Max also got called to the stewards this morning an hour before Mercedes due to him touching the Mercedes of Lewis Hamilton’s in Parc Ferme after qualifying.

    Only now have they come to an answer to both of them. First up Max got a €50,000 fine for obviously touching the Mercedes which isn’t allowed at all and it states that in the regulations so that seems a fair conclusion I’d say.

    Now onto Lewis he has been disqualified from qualifying yesterday which means he obviously won’t be starting the sprint race from pole instead Max Verstappen will.

    Both Mercedes and the stewards came to the conclusion that Max didn’t have anything to do with the DRS infringement on Lewis Hamilton‘s car…

    Merc and the stewards came to agreement that there was an unintentional fault with the rear wing and no obvious reason which has led to the disqualification.

    This means that Lewis Hamilton will be starting the sprint race from P20 meaning all drivers move up one place, where ever he finishes today he will obviously qualify but he also has a 5 place grid penalty for a new ICE which will be put on after the Sprint.

    Now with only two hours to go to till the final sprint of the season all eyes are on Lewis Hamilton and Mercedes to see how well they can do before the 5 place grid penalty comes into play could he somehow get into the top 10 who knows!

  • Round 19- Brazil Quali

    Well… It was our first day of action of the Sao Paulo GP and I had no clue what to expect! Lewis has took a new ICE meaning on Sunday he will have a five place grid penalty, but today was all about qualifying!

    Hamilton tops the charts and goes fastest out of everyone, showing his not giving up in this fight till the very end! Verstappen joins him on the front row of the grid in P2 and his sandwiched by the Mercedes of Bottas in P3.

    Fastest qualifier Lewis Hamilton of Great Britain and Mercedes GP celebrates in parc ferme during qualifying ahead of the F1 Grand Prix of Brazil at...
    SAO PAULO, BRAZIL – NOVEMBER 12: Fastest qualifier Lewis Hamilton of Great Britain and Mercedes GP celebrates in parc ferme during qualifying ahead of the F1 Grand Prix of Brazil at Autodromo Jose Carlos Pace on November 12, 2021 in Sao Paulo, Brazil. (Photo by Lars Baron/Getty Images)

    The full top 10 are- P1: Hamilton, P2: Verstappen, P3: Bottas, P4: Perez, P5: Gasly, P6: Sainz, P7: Leclerc, P8: Norris, P9: Ricciardo and P10: Alonso.

    I’m quite shocked that both Russell and Latifi out in Q1, I thought maybe they would get into Q2 but they now have two chance to redeem themselves starting with tomorrows sprint!

    Another one who shocked me was Stroll who was also out in Q1, starting 16th his right in the middle of any drama that could happen in the beginning of the sprint which could compromise him! Hopefully he gets through it okay if there is any drama, as Aston Martin will be hoping for a strong weekend.

    Predictions for Sprint-

    I can see pole going to Hamilton, if he gets away unscathed I think he wont really have any challenges tomorrow and he will be hoping to keep P1 so then he starts P6 on Sunday. The rest of the top five I think will be: P2: Bottas, P3: Verstappen, P4: Gasly and P5: Leclerc.

    Hopefully we see both McLaren’s and Ferrari’s battling for position tomorrow, with some late overtakes from Danny Ric. Both teams will be wanting to use tomorrow as much as possible so then they can get further up the grid and get more points for Sunday.

    Someone to look out for tomorrow is Alonso, we all see how he does in the Sprint the previous two times, so he may be a surprise and be towards the middle of the top 10!

    Times for tomorrow are-

    Saturday 13th- FP2: 15:00pm – 16:00pm (GMT), 16:00pm – 17:00pm (CET). Sprint: 19:30pm – 20:00pm (GMT), 20:30pm – 21:00pm (GMT).

  • A look into the last 5 races

    Now we only have 5 races left this season so lets take a closer look into them and see what could potentially happen in the next 6 weeks and see who could come out on top at each track…

    Mexico:

    First up starting our triple header we have Mexico, this is a track which both Max and Lewis has won at twice each and Lewis being the last one to win their back in 2019. But that doesn’t mean its going to go his way as the Honda engine thrives in thinner air which favours the high-downforce nature of the car.

    Favourites to win: Red Bull.

    Brazil:

    Again like above it applies to the race at Sao Paulo. Last time we raced here in 2019, Red Bull dominated with Verstappen taking pole and the race win, and if Albon wasn’t hit RB would of took a 1-2.

    RB have a far more competitive car, compared to previous years and this appears to be one of Verstappen’s best tracks. But with the power of the Mercedes engine on what we saw at Austin it could make things interesting.

    We also have the last sprint race of the season here, so this could change things up and we could get a very different result…

    Favourites to win: Red Bull.

    Qatar:

    Now coming into races we have never raced and no past results to look at it makes it difficult to predict who will leave on top. All we can do is guess which car will suit the circuit layout more.

    Looking at it I am more leaning towards Mercedes, as they will gain a lot of time on the Red Bulls due to the 1km main straight and thats only the most possible overtaking spot. But it all depends on track position, qualifying will play a massive part of the Qatar weekend, and as well as this, set up’s, tyre strategy will also play a big part.

    Favourites to win: Mercedes.

    Saudi Arabia:

    Again, the Jeddah Street Circuit is unknown for F1 and the teams so we will be looking at the circuit itself.

    When the words street circuit you initially think of “Red Bull to dominate” but its a completley different circuit to what we are use to. It features some long straights and some high speed sweeping corners, which will benefit the Mercedes more.

    As well as this, Hamilton is known to thrive on street circuits (apart from Monaco this year), where as Verstappen’s aggressiveness has cost him (again apart from Monaco.)

    Favourites to win: Mercedes

    Abu Dhabi:

    Now onto the season finale, Mercedes have dominated here winning every race in the hybrid era, however that changed last year when Max won. But with that being said Mercedes, struggled with their car setups all weekend and had engine issues to add to the problem.

    With the changes coming to the circuit this year as well, making it possible for more overtakes it could change the race completely and we could see both Merc’s having a really good weekend especially if they figure out what set up is the best one.

    Favourites to win: Mercedes.

    I’m very much looking forward to these next 5 races, it will be entertaining to see who comes out on top and as well the fight between Ferrari and McLaren.

  • Hamilton to take grid penalty

    Lewis Hamilton, who is currently leading the 2021 championship by only two points is receiving a 10 place grid penalty for Sundays Turkish Grand Prix.

    His W12 has been fitted with a new internal combustion engine (ICE) and exhaust but the driver has only exceeded his allocations of new ICEs.

    It was expected for this to happen before the weekend, as Turkey is a strong track for Mercedes and Lewis even though he has never been on pole here. There was lots of rumours going around that Mercedes would take a penalty in the next couple of races.

    His rival, Max Verstappen took a full new power unit at Sochi which saw him start 20th and then finish on the podium in 2nd.

    Last year, at the Turkish GP it saw Lewis starting sixth to then win the race, it wasn’t an easy race in the wet either.

    My Opinion-

    I didn’t really see them taking the penalty anywhere else to be honest, and its good the fact its not at the back of the grid either, so he does have some work to do but not as much as we expected. If Mercedes get there strategy right and the rain comes into play then this may be Mercedes and Lewis’ weekend…

  • Round 15- Sochi Race

    GET IN THERE LEWIS! Lewis wins the Russian Grand Prix and its his 100th win! He re-takes the lead of the championship once again. Joining him on the podium is Max Verstappen in P2 and Carlos Sainz in P3.

    The rest of the top 10 are: P4: Ricciardo, P5: Bottas, P6: Alonso, P7: Norris, P8: Raikkonen, P9: Perez and P10: Russell. Fastest lap went to Lando Norris.

    Absolute heartbreak for Lando and McLaren, he led the majority of the race and done so well doing it. But when it started raining in the last few laps, he insisted on staying on his hard tyres rather than going to intermediates, he the dropped down the order after having to pit to change tyres. But I have no doubt for the fact that Lando will bounce back and get his first win this year, he has 7 more races to do it!

    Finally Lewis gets his 100th win! He has kept the Mercedes reign at Sochi alive after it being under threat by McLaren. This is fully deserved in my opinion! It wasn’t an easy race with him dropping down the order at the start and having to fight his way through, and Lewis said he wouldn’t of been able to over-take Lando if it stayed dry.

    Carlos Sainz, drove wonderful today started P2 and took the lead from Lando Norris in the first lap. And he done very well to end in P3, and its good amount of points for Ferrari in the Constructors.

    The rain definitely played into the hands of Max Verstappen and Valtteri Bottas. Max started P20 to finish P2 is amazing, and its all because of the rain he managed so! The same with Bottas he started P16 due to taking an new power unit, but before the rain hit and before he pitted he was out of the points and then he pitted and managed to finish in P5 as they expected earlier on in the race.

    Daniel finishing P4 gives McLaren extra points as well for the Constructors, two great races for him in a row and I am honestly quite looking forward to see what he does at the next race.

    Now the next race is on 10th of October and we are returning to Istanbul Park Circuit for round 16 and its where Lewis took his 7th Championship last year…

  • Hamilton Stays till 2023

    It’s has been announced today that Lewis Hamilton will be staying in Formula One until 2023!

    We all knew that Lewis and Mercedes were talking about contracts early this year compared to last year as they wanted to get it out the way and focus on the year ahead!

    And they have just done that… The Brit who is currently on a one year deal has just signed for two years meaning he will stay till at least 2023, depending on whether he signs another contract or not.

    Hamilton and Mercedes are currently trying to beat Max Verstappen and Red Bull to the drivers and constructors championship this year as Red Bull close the gap down unlike previous years!

    “It is hard to believe it’s been nearly nine years working with this incredible team and I’m excited we’re going to continue our partnership for two more years,” said Hamilton.

    It is still unclear who will partner with Hamilton at Mercedes but the main two who are up for contention are current Mercedes driver Valtteri Bottas and Mercedes junior and current Williams driver George Russell.

    My Opinion-

    I’m very happy about this! Lewis is partly the reason I got into this sport and I’ve watched him since his very first season in 2007! It’s honestly so nice to see how much he has grown within the sport and all what he is doing with BLM and the diversity within F1.

    I think it’s the right move from Mercedes too as the regulations change next year and having someone with so much experience will help with the new car!