Paul Henman formula1 Grand Prix of Austria – Race

Grand Prix of Austria – Race

Rain and controversial kerbs led to an exciting Qualifying session. After applying penalties for six drivers (VET, ROS, KVY, PAL, HAR, NAS), here’s the grid: HAM, HUL, BUT, RAI, RIC, ROS, BOT, VES, VET, MAS, GUT, WEH, GRO, ALO, SAI, PER, MAG, ERI, PAL, HAR, NAS, KVY*. (*KVY will start from pit lane)

Spots of rain on the main straight as the drivers head off on the track parade, on the back of a truck to tour the circuit.

MAS is also going to start from the pit lane (instead of P10) after a nose change

HAM leads the 20 car grid away on the formation lap, as MAS and KVY sit in the pit lane
Half of the top 10 are starting on ultrasoft tyres, the others on supersoft
WEH has stopped in MAS’ spot on the grid!
Oh no – now he’s reversing into his spot!

01/71: BUT in to P2 before Turn 1
VET carving his way through
ROS inside VES

02: HAM, BUT, RAI, HUL, ROS, RIC, VES, VET, BOT, SAI
Replay shows HUL’s poor start as he dropped 4 places before Turn 1

03: DRS enabled
KVY has parked the Toro Rosso

04: RAI closing on BUT

05/71: HAM has opened a 2.5sec lead
ROS fastest lap 1:11.681

06: HAM f/lap 1:11.661
ROS takes P4 from HUL
VES passes HUL too

07: RAI looking for a gap to pass BUT
VET past RIC for P6
RAI makes his move on BUT and takes P2

08: HAM f/lap 1:11.250
ROS inside BUT to steal P4

09: VES lining up BUT now
HUL and ALO pit to lose their ultrasofts
VES makes a forceful dive inside BUT

10: BUT pits, as does MAS, PER and SAI

11: ROS first of the Mercedes to pit; switches to soft tyres

12: Radio for RIC – might be stopping soon, push
GUT down the inside of MAS for P9

13: HAM’s lead over RAI is about 4.5sec
Radio from WEH – there’s some light rain

14: WEH pits; takes on ultrasofts

15/71: RIC pits
PER gets very close to SAI’s rear wing
ROS f/lap 1:10.738

16: VES pits
Radio from WEH – rain in Turn 4
ROS f/lap 1:10.069
VES past GRO for P5

17: Close-up of HAM’s tyres show they are on their last legs but he’s still 3.5sec ahead of RAI
RIC past GRO

18: GUT passed by both NAS and BUT
HUL passes GUT too

19: HAM 4.1sec ahead of RAI, who in turn is about 5sec ahead of VET
BOT inside GUT for P11

20/71: HAM, RAI, VET, ROS, VES, RIC, GRO, NAS, BUT, HUL, BOT, GUT, ALO, PER, SAI, HAR, WEH, MAG, PAL, MAS, ERI; retirement: KVY

21: ROS f/lap 1:09.929
Mercedes pit crew preparing
BUT around HUL for P8

22: HAM pits; slow stop – left rear was slow coming off; rejoins P4, behind ROS
ROS f/lap 1:09.666

23: RAI pits from P2; rejoins P6, behind RIC
ROS f/lap 1:09.536
Radio from WEH complaining about multiple direction changes by MAG

25/71: VET, ROS, HAM, VES, RIC, RAI, GRO, BUT
HUL pits; good stop

26: BUT takes P7 from GRO
MAG under investigation for multiple direction changes to defend his pass

27: VET’s right rear tyre lets go just as he crosses the start/finish line; throws him into the pit wall, then bounces back across the track
Safety Car deployed
Everyone dashing for the pits
Radio from VET – rear right exploded
Radio from ROS – I went over the debris

28[SC]: VET’s car being moved off the track
Cars directed through the pit lane which track is being cleared

29[SC]: Replay shows VET’s tyre debris thrown so high some went over the light gantry

30/71[SC]: ROS, HAM, VES, RIC, RAI, BOT, NAS, BUT, GRO, MAG, MAS, PAL, ALO, PER, ERI, HUL, SAI
Lapped cars may now overtake

31[SC]: SC in at the end of this lap
Incident under investigation: GRO speeding in the pit lane
ROS slowing to bunch everyone up as SC heads into pits

32: Clean restart
5sec penalty for MAG for change of direction

33: Couple of scraps at the tail end of the field
PER closing on MAS

34: ROS f/lap 1:09.521
DRS enabled
SAI locks up but still manages to pass PAL

35/71: ROS, HAM, VES, RIC, RAI, BOT, NAS, BUT, GRO
ROS f/lap 1:09.449

36: 5-sec penalty for HUL & GRO for speeding in the pit lane

38: ROS, HAM, VES, RIC, RAI, BOT, NAS, BUT, GRO, MAS, PER, ALO, HUL, SAI, GUT, MAG, PAL, ERI, HAR, WEH; retirements: VET, KVY
BUT harrying NAS

39: HAM f/lap 1:09.288
BUT takes P7 from NAS

40/71: PER attacking NAS into Turn 1 but can’t make it stick
Radio for RIC – light rain in Turn 2

41: HAM f/lap 1:09.010

42: ROS almost 2sec ahead of HAM

43: ROS f/lap 1:08.995

45/71: Left barge board loose on ROS’s car
Radio for HAM – suspension loads in Turn 9 are critical so be careful on the kerbs

47: HAM sitting just over 1.1sec behind ROS, but 10sec ahead of VES

48: BUT closing on BOT

50/71: ROS, HAM, VES, RIC, RAI, BOT, BUT, GRO, MAS, PER, SAI, ALO, HUL, MAG, PAL, ERI, WEH, HAR, GUT, NAS; retirements: VET, KVY
Radio from HUL complaining about vibration

Aaargh! Stupid Rogers PVR has messed up the recording! 🙁

51: HUL pits, followed by PAL
HUL has to serve his 5-sec penalty before team can change tyres

52: BOT pits, so BUT inherits P6

53: HAM f/lap 1:08.872
Looks like RIC is struggling for grip

54: Radio for HAM telling him to close the gap (to ROS) – presumably means he’s pitting soon

55/71: HAM pits from P2; rejoins P3 just ahead of RIC
HAM runs wide allowing RIC to close up

56: ROS pits, so VES leads; quicker stop than HAM’s; rejoins ahead of HAM

57: Radio for HAM telling him ROS is on supersoft tyre; “why is he on a softer tyre than me?”; told “we think it’s the right tyre to get to the end”
(That’s because of the available tyres – HAM & ROS had picked different allocations for this race)

58: RIC runs wide and RAI steals P4
RIC fights back but the Ferrari stays ahead

59: VES is only 2sec ahead of ROS but surely the Red Bull has to pit again
VES laps HUL (P17)

60/71: VES, ROS, HAM, RAI, RIC, BUT, GRO, PER, SAI, ALO, BOT, WEH, GUT, MAS, NAS, PAL, HUL, MAG, ERI, HAR; retirements: VET, KVY
HAM f/lap 1:18.744

61: VES leads ROS by 0.2sec, with HAM 0.7s behind
RIC pits
ROS uses DRS to reclaim the lead from VES

62: HAM stuck behind VES as ROS pulls away

63: Radio from RAI asking for blue flags
HAM passes VES as they lap PAL

64: RIC on new ultrasofts closing on BUT, whose soft tyres are 36 laps old

65/71: ROS, VES, HAM, RAI, BUT, RIC, GRO, PER, SAI, BOT, WEH, GUT, ALO, PAL, NAS, MAG, ERI, HUL, HAR
MAS pits, retires the Williams
HAM f/lap 1:18.598

66: HAM f/lap 1:08.442
RIC takes P5 from BUT
ALO pits and retires the McLaren
HUL pits and retires too

67 = 5 laps left: HAM 1.08sec behind ROS
HAM closing, now within DRS zone

68: HAM under 0.5sec behind ROS as they close on more back markers

69: HAM later on the brakes, closing right up on ROS
ROS’s front tyres looking tired

70/71: ROS and HAM lap WEH (P11) but BOT is only slightly ahead

71 = final lap: ROS only 0.6sec ahead
HAM attacking on the outside into Turn 2
ROS pushes HAM wide; brakes his front wing as he taps HAM
HAM off track; ROS hugging the white line, not letting HAM rejoin!
Toto Wolff thumps his fist
ROS’s front wing is stuck under the car, throwing off sparks and debris
HAM passes ROS for P1 but there were yellow flags just appearing
PER is off in the tyre wall
VES and RAI pass ROS

HAM takes the chequered flag
Radio from HAM – “I was on the outside; it wasn’t me that crashed”
Replay of PER shows him going straight across the gravel – another suspension failure?

Provisional result: HAM, VES, RAI, ROS, RIC, BUT, GRO, SAI, BOT, WEH; GUT, PAL, NAS, MAG, ERI, HAR
DNF: PER, ALO, HUL, MAS, VET, KVY

ROS cost himself P1 by pushing HAM off track
His car looks a mess in parc ferme
Might have been smarter to settle for P2 rather than damage the car and end up P4

Before the podium:
HAM: That was intense
VES: What happened there?
HAM: He made a mistake into Turn 1 on the last lap. I was ahead under braking.
HAM’s reactions suggest he knows there’ll be more fallout within Mercedes

Podium:
Crowd booing HAM – because of the pass on ROS or because he’s a Brit?
Wow, who is the clueless woman? Can’t manage to form a coherent question 🙁

Stewards are going to investigate ROS/HAM collision, and ROS for not stopping the damaged car

ROS: “I was in the battle and I had the strong inside position. I was surprised Lewis turned in where I was.”
ROS: “We were battling and I was struggling a little with my brakes. I went a bit deep but that is fine because I am on the inside so I can dictate. So I was surprised Lewis turned in and caused a collision. It’s unbelievable.”
HAM: “He made a mistake into Turn One and I had an opportunity to go around the outside in Turn Two. I left a lot of room on the inside and I guess he looked up and crashed into me.”
HAM: “He made a mistake and crashed into me. So I am definitely not at fault there.”
Toto Wolff described the collision as “brainless”, and said introducing team orders is a possibility.

“Nico Rosberg has been penalised by the FIA stewards after they deemed him ‘responsible for the collision’ with team mate Lewis Hamilton while fighting for the lead on the final lap in Austria.” “Rosberg was handed a 10-second time penalty, but was 14 seconds ahead of Red Bull’s Daniel Ricciardo at the chequered flag, meaning he stays fourth overall. Rosberg was also given two penalty points on his licence, and reprimanded for completing the race with a damaged car, thereby spreading debris on the track.” [FIA]

2 thoughts on “Grand Prix of Austria – Race”

  1. It’s amusing to read about “Rosberg’s mistake” or his “brake problems”; if you watch the video, the only thing you really need to focus on is Rosberg not turning the wheel until he was almost at the outside of the corner. That’s not a mistake or a problem; that’s deliberately pushing the other car wide.
    I’m not saying he’s wrong to try to keep his lead by forcing the other car off the track (although the stewards decided it is wrong and punished him), but let’s not pretend it was anything other than deliberate.

  2. Pingback: paul

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