Month: November 2019

The six-time world champion Lewis Hamilton signs off the 2019 Formula 1 season with an important pole position at the Yas Marina circuit.

The Mercedes driver was fastest on the first runs in Q3 with a time of one minute, 34.828 seconds. Hamilton then shaved a few hundredths off that time on the final run to post a one minute, 34.779 seconds to claim his grid position at the top of the timesheets.

Teammate Valtteri Bottas was second fastest, 0.194 seconds slower, but has to serve a back-of-the-grid penalty for power unit changes.

This means Max Verstappen will start in second position having set the third fastest time, 0.360 seconds off the pace.

Charles Leclerc won the intra-Ferrari battle by beating Sebastian Vettel to fourth position despite not reaching the line in time to start his final lap.

He complained of his teammate’s slowing ahead, although Vettel himself was being backed up as drivers prepared for their final quick laps.

But Vettel did not improve on his final lap, ending up 0.560 seconds off pole.

Alex Albon was sixth fastest for Red Bull, nine tenths off the pace.

All of the fastest six qualifiers will start on medium-compound Pirellis, except for Vettel, who used softs to post his fastest Q2 time.

Lando Norris won the midfield battle with seventh-fastest time, beating Renault’s Daniel Ricciardo by just two-hundredths.

In addition, Norris won a heated qualifying battle against his McLaren teammate. In the end, the Formula 1 rookie beat Carlos Sainz Jr. by 11-10.

Carlos Sainz Jr. was a further 0.003 seconds down in ninth position, with the Renault of Nico Hulkenberg a distant tenth.

Racing Point’s Sergio Perez was eliminated at the last moment in Q2 by Nico Hulkenberg’s late improvement after being pushed down to P11 – although Bottas’s penalty means he will start P10.

Pierre Gasly ended up P12 having briefly dipped into the top ten on his final run before being relegated by Norris and Hulkenberg.

Lance Stroll took the second Racing Pint to P13, 0.038 seconds faster than the Toro Rosso of Daniil Kvyat.

Haas driver Kevin Magnussen was P15, over a tenth slower than Kvyat – who is being investigated by the race stewards for a potential unsafe release during Q1.

Romain Grosjean was quickest of those eliminated in Q1 in P16 after being put into the elimination zone by Stroll at the end of the session.

Grosjean was vulnerable thanks to a poor first sector on his final lap, although he was still 0.341 seconds away from reaching Q2, apologising to the team over the radio for something going wrong on the lap.

Alfa Romeo duo Antonio Giovinazzi and Kimi Raikkonen were P17 and P18, with both briefly lifting themselves out of the bottom five in the final flurry of laps before being shuffled back.

George Russell made sure of a clean sweep of Williams teammate Robert Kubica by taking P19, just over half-a-second ahead.

Congratulations to Lewis Hamilton with this pole position. It’s been a while since the champion last started out front – Germany – so it’s nice to see the Mercedes driver back in the winner’s circle.

Abu Dhabi Grand Prix, qualifying positions:
1 Lewis Hamilton Mercedes 1:34.779
2 Max Verstappen Red Bull-Honda 1:35.139
3 Charles Leclerc Ferrari 1:35.219
4 Sebastian Vettel Ferrari 1:35.339
5 Alex Albon Red Bull-Honda 1:35.682
6 Lando Norris McLaren-Renault 1:36.436
7 Daniel Ricciardo Renault 1:36.456
8 Carlos Sainz Jr. McLaren-Renault 1:36.459
9 Nico Hulkenberg Renault 1:36.710
10 Sergio Perez Racing Point-Mercedes 1:37.055
11 Pierre Gasly Toro Rosso-Honda 1:37.089
12 Lance Stroll Racing Point-Mercedes 1:37.103
13 Daniil Kvyat Toro Rosso-Honda 1:37.141
14 Kevin Magnussen Haas-Ferrari 1:37.254
15 Romain Grosjean Haas-Ferrari 1:38.051
16 Antonio Giovinazzi Alfa Romeo-Ferrari 1:38.114
17 Kimi Raikkonen Alfa Romeo-Ferrari 1:38.383
18 George Russell Williams-Mercedes 1:38.717
19 Robert Kubica Williams-Mercedes 1:39.236
20 Valtteri Bottas Mercedes 1:34.973*
*Grid penalties following power unit changes

Max Verstappen won a crazy Brazilian Grand Prix in which the sister Red Bull outfit scored a podium result as the Ferraris crashed into one another.

Poleman Verstappen had to pass Lewis Hamilton on track twice to score his third victory of the season, while Pierre Gasly beat Lewis Hamilton in a drag race to the finishing line after being handed second position when Hamilton and Alex Albon collided on the penultimate lap.

A collision between teammates Sebastian Vettel and Charles Leclerc caused a safety car and set up a four-lap climax to a thrilling race, with Albon in second because Hamilton had made a switch to the soft compound under the safety and dropped to third.

Hamilton tried to pass Albon for second position on the penultimate lap but Albon turned in, they hit each other and the Red Bull spun, while Gasly jumped Hamilton and then somehow resisted the Mercedes on the run to the line.

Poleman Verstappen maintained the lead at the start as Hamilton attacked Vettel on the outside into Turn 1 and grabbed second.

Hamilton fell away from Verstappen through the first stint as Verstappen held a lead of around 2.4 seconds initially, which Hamilton had whittled down to 1.8 seconds when he dived into the pitlane at the end of lap 20.

That committed him to a two-stop strategy by switching to a fresh set of softs, and though Red Bull responded one lap later Hamilton’s massive pace advantage on new tyres meant he was set to jump Verstappen with relative ease.

He caught Leclerc, who was yet to stop having started P14, at the end of the lap but still moved ahead of Verstappen because Verstappen was baulked by the Williams of Robert Kubica in the pitlane.

Williams released Kubica but the Pole was slow away and swerved into Verstappen’s path at the exit, forcing Verstappen to take evasive action and then sit behind the Williams until they rejoined the circuit.

That allowed Hamilton ahead, but Leclerc put up a stern resistance through the rest of the lap, which meant Verstappen – also on fresh softs – closed back up immediately.

Hamilton passed Leclerc on the outside of the fast left-hander at the end of the middle sector but Verstappen followed him through immediately, diving down the inside of Leclerc into the Juncao left-hander that follows.

Verstappen was then immediately on Hamilton’s tail and dart past into Turn 1, as Hamilton ran out of battery power at the end of the lap and moaned to his team for a lack of information.

The lead gap gradually extended to more than three seconds as Hamilton got annoyed, insisting he could not close the gap and requesting to stop to try to force the undercut again.

Mercedes obliged on lap 43 of 71, but Red Bull covered the move one lap later again and Verstappen retained track position.

He proceeded to keep Hamilton at arm’s length until a safety car emerged with 18 laps remaining, when Valtteri Bottas, who was in a frustrated fifth position behind Leclerc, was forced to retire after an apparent engine failure.

Bottas slowed exiting Turn 3 after smoke emerged from the back of his Mercedes before pulling to a halt on the inside at Turn 4, which was initially dealt with using double waved yellow flags but required a safety car when a recovery vehicle was deployed to retrieve the Mercedes.

Hamilton stayed out while Verstappen dived into the pits for another set of softs, and Hamilton opted not to pit next time by either – giving him the lead, but with tyres 11 laps older than Verstappen’s.

When the race resumed, Hamilton led Verstappen, Vettel, Albon and Leclerc – with Vettel and Albon sticking with tyres they had only just switched to three laps before the safety car, and Leclerc stopping for another set of softs.

Hamilton backed the pack up aggressively at the restart to thwart Verstappen’s attack, but Verstappen drew level on the outside into the first corner and toughed it out to reclaim the lead into the second part of the Senna S.

Behind, Albon aggressively took third from Vettel, then rebuffed the Ferrari’s attempt to reclaim the position into Turn 3.

Albon closed in on Hamilton for second but found himself under attack from Vettel again when the Ferrari launched a move around the outside into the first corner with seven laps remaining, but Albon somehow resisted.

Two laps later, Leclerc mugged teammate Vettel on the inside into the first corner, but when Vettel fought back on the run down to Turn 4 he moved left and the two Ferraris hit each other.

The impact broke Leclerc’s front right wheel and forced the two-time race winner into retirement, while Vettel – who blamed Leclerc – picked up a right-rear puncture.

That triggered at a safety car under which Hamilton dived into the pits yet again, dropping him to fourth behind Albon and Gasly.

A two-lap dash to the flag ensued after the safety car period ended, in which Albon and Hamilton collided – Hamilton accepted the blame for the incident, which dropped Albon to P14.

Gasly then earned his stunning podium finish by keeping Hamilton behind until the Mercedes drew level exiting the penultimate corner, but the Honda-powered Toro Rosso stayed ahead in a near dead heat.

Behind the top three, Carlos Sainz Jr matched McLaren’s best result of the year by making the most of the chaos to finish fourth despite starting last after failing to take part in qualifying.

Kimi Raikkonen and Antonio Giovinazzi nailed Alfa Romeo’s best result of the season in fifth and sixth, ahead of Daniel Ricciardo, who fought back from a broken front wing and a five-second penalty early on in a collision with Kevin Magnussen to finish seventh.

Lando Norris finished eighth for McLaren, with Racing Point’s Sergio Perez and Daniil Kvyat completing the points finishers.

So a fantastic race with Max Verstappen scoring his third victory of the season. This was a redemption from last year’s Brazilian Grand Prix, when he was taken out by Esteban Ocon.

As for Pierre Gasly, this second position is a brilliant achievement for Scuderia Toro Rosso. This is his first podium finish and despite being dropped by the main Red Bull team over Albon mid season, Gasly scored a well deserved result.

Brazilian Grand Prix, race results:
1 Max Verstappen Red Bull-Honda 1:33:14.678
2 Pierre Gasly Toro Rosso-Honda +6.077s
3 Lewis Hamilton Mercedes +6.139s
4 Carlos Sainz Jr. McLaren-Renault +8.896s
5 Kimi Raikkonen Alfa Romeo-Ferrari +9.452s
6 Antonio Giovinazzi Alfa Romeo-Ferrari +10.201s
7 Daniel Ricciardo Renault +10.541s
8 Lando Norris McLaren-Renault +11.204s
9 Sergio Perez Racing Point-Mercedes +11.529s
10 Daniil Kvyat Toro Rosso-Honda +11.931s
11 Kevin Magnussen Haas-Ferrari +12.732s
12 George Russell Williams-Mercedes +13.599s
13 Romain Grosjean Haas-Ferrari +14.247s
14 Alex Albon Red Bull-Honda +14.927s
15 Nico Hulkenberg Renault +18.059s
16 Robert Kubica Williams-Mercedes +1 lap
17 Sebastian Vettel Ferrari DNF
18 Charles Leclerc Ferrari DNF
19 Lance Stroll Racing Point-Mercedes DNF
– Valtteri Bottas Mercedes DNF

Max Verstappen dominates all three segments of qualifying at Interlagos to record his second career pole position. This Brazilian Grand Prix qualifying result is a fantastic birthday present to his boss, Christian Horner. P1 is such a nice bonus on the cake.

The Red Bull Racing driver, who secured his maiden Formula 1 pole in Hungary earlier this season, beat Ferrari’s Sebastian Vettel by 0.123 seconds and the 2019 world champion Hamilton by 0.191 seconds.

Verstappen was quickest on the first run in Q3, but only by tiny margin of 0.008 seconds from Vettel after running wide out of the Turn 9 left-hander.

But he improved on his final run to post a time of one minute, 07.508 seconds, which gave him pole position by 0.123 seconds thanks to Vettel’s failure to improve.

Mercedes driver and the 2019 world champion Lewis Hamilton jumped to third at the end of qualifying, lapping 0.191 seconds off the pace and pushing Charles Leclerc’s Ferrari down to fourth.

Leclerc carries a 10-place grid drop into the race for an power unit change, meaning he will start P14 assuming no new penalties are issued.

In addition, Charles is the only driver to use medium Pirellis to set his time in Q2, meaning he will start on that set of tyres with the rest of the top ten starting on softs.

Valtteri Bottas was fifth in the Mercedes after failing to improve on his second run, with Alex Albon rounding out the top six and 0.427s off his Red Bull teammate.

Pierre Gasly won an ultra-competitive midfield battle by taking seventh position, lapping just 0.007 seconds quicker than Haas driver Romain Grosjean.

Kimi Raikkonen sealed ninth position, with Kevin Magnussen making it two Haas cars in the top ten after lapping 1.529 seconds off the pace.

The first runs proved decisive in Q2 thanks to only one driver improving their time on the second run.

McLaren driver Lando Norris missed out on the top ten by just one-hundredth, apologising to the team over the radio because he “just didn’t put it together”.

Both Renault drivers were also eliminated in Q2, with Daniel Ricciardo P12 and Nico Hulkenberg P14, sandwiching the Alfa Romeo of Antonio Giovinazzi.

Hulkenberg was the only driver who did improve on his second run, which gained him one position.

Giovinazzi spun on his final Q2 lap at the Turn 8 right-hander, which also compromised the lap of teammate Kimi Raikkonen, who was just behind.

Racing Point’s Sergio Perez was P15, falling behind Hulkenberg at the end of the session.

Daniil Kvyat was quickest of those to be eliminated in Q1 in P16, missing out on advancing by just 0.032 seconds.

He failed to improve on his second run after a lockup on his first flier on fresh rubber, then couldn’t find time on his second push lap on that set of Pirellis.

This allowed the Alfa Romeo drivers, Perez and Hulkenberg, to jump ahead of him having been behind after the first Q1 runs.

Racing Point’s Lance Stroll did improve on his second run, but not by enough to elevate him beyond P17.

Williams driver George Russell was P19, six-tenths further down, with Williams teammate Robert Kubica a further half-second back.

Carlos Sainz unfortunately did not set a lap time in qualifying following a problem which occurred on his first flying lap in Q1, forcing him to return to the pits.

He reported “something went, something on the engine” over the radio, later suggesting it was “something on the driveshaft or the gearbox” – with the team unwilling to risk sending him out again while attempting to diagnose the problem. Meaning that’s game over for McLaren and will start the race in last position.

So congratulations to Max Verstappen and Red Bull Racing. This pole position is the best way to celebrate Christian Horner’s birthday. Hopefully Verstappen can seek redemption with victory on race day especially after last year’s controversial moment when Esteban Ocon…

Brazilian Grand Prix, qualifying positions:
1 Max Verstappen Red Bull-Honda 1:07.508
2 Sebastian Vettel Ferrari 1:07.631
3 Lewis Hamilton Mercedes 1:07.699
4 Valtteri Bottas Mercedes 1:07.874
5 Alex Albon Red Bull-Honda 1:07.935
6 Pierre Gasly Toro Rosso-Honda 1:08.837
7 Romain Grosjean Haas-Ferrari 1:08.854
8 Kimi Raikkonen Alfa Romeo-Ferrari 1:08.984
9 Kevin Magnussen Haas-Ferrari 1:09.037
10 Lando Norris McLaren-Renault 1:08.868
11 Daniel Ricciardo Renault 1:08.903
12 Antonio Giovinazzi Alfa Romeo-Ferrari 1:08.919
13 Nico Hulkenberg Renault 1:08.921
14 Charles Leclerc Ferrari 1:07.728*
15 Sergio Perez Racing Point-Mercedes 1:09.035
16 Daniil Kvyat Toro Rosso-Honda 1:09.320
17 Lance Stroll Racing Point-Mercedes 1:09.536
18 George Russell Williams-Mercedes 1:10.126
19 Robert Kubica Williams-Mercedes 1:10.614
20 Carlos Sainz Jr. McLaren-Renault –
*10-place grid penalty for power unit change

Lewis Hamilton won his sixth Formula 1 world championship despite being overtaken for victory late on by his Mercedes teammate Valtteri Bottas.

Hamilton jumped both Ferrari drivers on the opening lap and was then only one among the leaders to opted for a one-stop strategy, which elevated him above Bottas and Max Verstappen.

However, poleman Bottas caught and passed Hamilton with five laps to the flag to take the United States Grand Prix.

Hamilton’s sixth world title, his fifth with Mercedes, appeared a formality before the start of the Grand Prix as he only needed to finish eighth position to wipe Bottas out of mathematical contention.

However, race victory for Hamilton seemed less likely after a disappointing qualifying meant he started behind Bottas, Sebastian Vettel, Verstappen and Charles Leclerc.

Hamilton was ahead of both Ferraris halfway round the first lap, clearing Leclerc immediately then pulling off a bold move on Vettel around the outside of Turn 8 at the end of the sweeping Esses sequence, that gave him the inside line into tighter left-hander of Turn 9.

Once in third position, Hamilton slowly started to build pressure on Verstappen, who had picked up minor front wing damage at the first corner.

Verstappen passed Vettel around the outside of Turn 1 at the start and though he backed off as race leader Bottas moved wide on the exit, there was a tiny amount of contact.

That gave Verstappen a balance offset throughout the race, and meant by the time he pit first on lap 13 – committing to a two-stop strategy – Bottas was several seconds clear and Hamilton was on his tail.

Mercedes responded by stopping Bottas one lap later to retain track position against the threat of the undercut, which was successful, while Hamilton continued until lap 24.

That set up a split of strategies that handed Hamilton track position once Bottas and Verstappen stopped for a second time, and the leaders only converged again in the final few laps.

Bottas moved within DRS range of his teammate with six laps remaining and the next time round Hamilton ran slightly wide into the hairpin, giving Bottas a better run onto the back straight.

Hamilton covered the inside line as Bottas drew alongside and briefly ahead on the outside, but Hamilton braked later and Bottas had to take to the run-off on the exit of the corner.

However, on the very next lap Bottas was able to move inside Hamilton with DRS at the same place, and completed the pass without trouble.

With no chance of responding to Bottas, Hamilton’s attentions turned to keeping Verstappen at bay for second.

Verstappen’s front wing issue meant he never quite got back on terms with Bottas after dropping back early in his second stint, but he caught the ailing Hamilton with three laps to go and was granted “full power” in his bid to steal second position.

However, a yellow flag – caused by Kevin Magnussen having what looked like a brake failure and ending up in the gravel – removed a key overtaking opportunity for Verstappen, who had to settle for third.

Charles Leclerc finished a distant fourth as Ferrari’s strong run of form came crashing to a halt in a dismal race.

Leclerc had a slow first stop as he wound up 52 seconds behind Bottas in fourth, but teammate Vettel failed to finish at all after a left-rear suspension failure early on.

Vettel had already drop down to seventh position from his front-row start after struggling with massive understeer in the early laps, then his car’s suspension broke on lap eight.

Alex Albon came through to finish fifth despite hefty contact with Carlos Sainz on the opening lap, having been squeezed between Leclerc and the McLaren.

Albon had to pit at the end of the first lap because of the damage his Red Bull suffered but he charged back through with two strong stints.

Daniel Ricciardo finished sixth and best-of-the-rest for Renault after overhauling the McLarens.

Lando Norris had a later second stop that allowed him to pick off his midfield rivals and clinch seventh, ahead of Sainz who lost ground early on thanks to his first-lap clash.

Nico Hulkenberg enjoyed a late-race charge to nick ninth in the second Renault, while Daniil Kvyat passed Sergio Perez for the final point on the last lap but is under investigation for the move that won him the place.

So congratulations to Lewis Hamilton in winning the world championship for the sixth time. To achieve this level of success with such quality really showcase how great he is as a champion. Just one more title to equal Michael Schumacher and considering his determination to win, Hamilton has still got that drive to be a winner for a long time.

United States Grand Prix, race results:
1 Valtteri Bottas Mercedes 1:33:55.653
2 Lewis Hamilton Mercedes +4.148s
3 Max Verstappen Red Bull-Honda +5.002s
4 Charles Leclerc Ferrari +52.239s
5 Alex Albon Red Bull-Honda +78.038s
6 Daniel Ricciardo Renault +90.366s
7 Lando Norris McLaren-Renault +90.764s
8 Carlos Sainz Jr. McLaren-Renault +1 lap
9 Nico Huldenberg Renault +1 lap
10 Daniil Kvyat Toro Rosso-Honda +1 lap
11 Sergio Perez Racing Point-Mercedes +1 lap
12 Kimi Raikkonen Alfa Romeo-Ferrari +1 lap
13 Lance Stroll Racing Point-Mercedes +1 lap
14 Antonio Giovinazzi Alfa Romeo-Ferrari +1 lap
15 Romain Grosjean Haas-Ferrari +1 lap
16 Pierre Gasly Toro Rosso-Honda DNF
17 George Russell Williams-Mercedes +2 laps
– Kevin Magnussen Haas-Ferrari DNF
– Robert Kubica Williams-Mercedes DNF
– Sebastian Vettel Ferrari DNF

Valtteri Bottas achieved his eleventh career pole position and ended Ferrari’s run to the top grid slot by beating Sebastian Vettel and out-qualfying Lewis Hamilton by a significant margin.

The Mercedes driver grabbed the team’s first pole after the summer break after beating Vettel by 0.012 seconds.

Red Bull’s Max Verstappen was third ahead of Charles Leclerc. The top four were covered by a tenth of a second.

World champion in waiting Lewis Hamilton could only settle for fifth position after aborting his second run in Q3. The championship leader seemed to be struggling for pace and starting P5 is not ideal in terms of winning title number six. However, he just needs to secure an eighth position to win the championship.

Alex Albon was sixth in the Red Bull, 0.519 seconds off the pace. He will start the race on the soft Pirelli compound compared to his teammate.

Carlos Sainz benefited from having two sets of fresh softs in Q3 thanks to completing only one run in Q1 to secure midfield honours in seventh position with a lap just three tenths slower than Albon.

Sainz’s McLaren teammate, Lando Norris, also earned a place on the fourth row in eighth, almost three-and-a-half tenths slower.

Renault driver Daniel Ricciardo, who completed his sole Q3 run on a clear track before the final flurry, was ninth fastest, 1.459 seconds off the pace, and just over a tenth faster than Toro Rosso driver Pierre Gasly.

The Ferrari and Mercedes drivers will start on mediums having used that tyre compound for their Q2 time, along with Verstappen – with the rest of the top ten using softs.

Renault driver Nico Hulkenberg was quickest of those knocked out in P11 after lapping one tenth slower than Gasly.

He briefly climbed into the top ten as he finished his final lap, only to be knocked down a place by teammate Ricciardo.

Kevin Magnussen was P12 for Haas having failed to improve on his second run, ending up 0.010 seconds quicker than Toro Rosso’s Daniil Kvyat – who had a time that originally put him P11 deleted by going over the track limit.

Racing Point’s Lance Stroll was P14, just over half a tenth quicker than Romain Grosjean’s Haas.

Alfa Romeo duo Antonio Giovinazzi and Kimi Raikkonen were both eliminated in Q1 in P16 and P17 respectively.

The pair were both in the drop zone after the first runs, with last year’s winner Raikkonen briefly climbing to P15 ahead of Gasly before Giovinazzi leaped ahead thanks to his stronger pace in the middle sector.

But Gasly then posted a time good enough to shuffle both back into the bottom five, where they ended the session well clear of the lead Williams of George Russell.

Racing Point driver Sergio Perez must start from the pits thanks to missing the weighbridge in practice two, so completed only one run and was P19.

That put him less than a tenth faster than the second Williams of Robert Kubica.

So congratulations to Valtteri Bottas in scoring pole position. This was important grid position for the sake of the championship. Can his Mercedes teammate and title rival Lewis Hamilton fight back in the race? Bring on the race at the awesome Circuit of the Americas.

United States Grand Prix, qualifying results:
1 Valtteri Bottas Mercedes 01:32.029
2 Sebastian Vettel Ferrari 01:32.041
3 Max Verstappen Red Bull-Honda 01:32.096
4 Charles Leclerc Ferrari 01:32.137
5 Lewis Hamilton Mercedes 01:32.321
6 Alex Albon Red Bull-Honda 01:32.548
7 Carlos Sainz Jr. McLaren-Renault 01:32.847
8 Lando Norris McLaren-Renault 01:33.175
9 Daniel Ricciardo Renault 01:33.488
10 Pierre Gasly Toro Rosso-Honda 01:33.601
11 Nico Hulkenberg Renault 01:33.815
12 Kevin Magnussen Haas-Ferrari 01:33.979
13 Daniil Kvyat Toro Rosso-Honda 01:33.989
14 Lance Stroll Racing Point-Mercedes 01:34.100
15 Romain Grosjean Haas-Ferrari 01:34.158
16 Antonio Giovinazzi Alfa Romeo-Ferrari 01:34.226
17 Kimi Raikkonen Alfa Romeo-Ferrari 01:34.369
18 George Russell Williams-Mercedes 01:35.372
19 Robert Kubica Williams-Mercedes 01:35.889
20 Sergio Perez Racing Point-Mercedes 01:35.808