Williams dominate the front row of the grid; HAM had his flying lap disallowed for running off-track in Turn 8, and VET didn’t even make it into Q3.
After Qualifying, the provisional grid: MAS, BOT, ROS, ALO, RIC, MAG, KVY, RAI, HAM, HUL, PER*, BUT, VET, MAL, VER, GRO, SUT, GUT, BIA, KOB, CHI*, ERI
PER will start P16 thanks to his penalty from Canada, and CHI’s 3-spot penalty will mean he’ll start P22.
GRO qualified P16 but starts from pit lane after gearbox and set-up changes. [FIA]
So the grid will be: MAS, BOT, ROS, ALO, RIC, MAG, KVY, RAI, HAM, HUL, BUT, VET, MAL, VER, PER, SUT, GUT, BIA, KOB, ERI, CHI, GRO (in pit lane)
Lots of drivers had lap times disallowed in qualifying for running wide in Turn 8; they’ve been warned that doing that in the race will mean a penalty if they gain an advantage.
Air temperature 23°C; track 48°C: wind 0.9m/s; humidity 34%
Tyre compounds: prime=soft (yellow), options=supersoft (red) – same as Monaco and Canada.
The top 10 qualifiers all start on the supersoft tyres on which they set their fastest lap; the rest of the grid is split about 50:50 between primes & options.
MAS leads everyone away on the formation lap
Both Mercedes drivers reporting oversteer
01/71: Great start from ROS – up to P2 before Turn 1
BOT reclaims P2
HAM already up to P5, behind ALO
HAM passes ALO
02: MAS, BOT, ROS, HAM, ALO, MAG, RAI, HUL, RIC, KVY
VET slowing – radio from VET: “I lost drive”
03: VET still limping around the circuit
Looks like VET has managed to pick up his pace, just as he’s lapped
RIC runs wide
04: GRO back in the pits
05/71: MAS, BOT, ROS, HAM, ALO, MAG, RAI, HUL, KVY, RIC
DRS enabled
06: Radio for RIC – “do not press the overtake button at all”
07: HAM’s tyres looking tired already
09: VER pits
10/71: MAS, BOT, ROS, HAM, ALO, MAG, RAI, HUL, KVY, RIC
HUL pits; good stop
11: MAG, KVY & RIC all pit
Unsafe release for KVY?
12: ROS pits from P3; clean, fast stop; rejoins P7, behind BUT
13: GUT pits; problem as he leaves the box; pushed back
14: HAM pits; slower stop than ROS; rejoins behind ROS
Radio for MAS – pit at the end of this lap
Replay shows GUT’s rear right not attached when he left the box – unsafe release
15/71: MAS pits from P1; rejoins between ROS and HAM
HAM up the inside as MAS gets up to speed
16: BOT pits; quicker than MAS; rejoins between ROS and HAM
RAI pits
17: PER leads the race because he has yet to pit
18: Radio for PER – stay ahead of ROS as long as it’s not costing time
20/71: PER, ROS, BOT HAM, MAS, BUT, ALO, MAL, MAG, HUL; no retirements
10 second stop-go penalty for GUT for the unsafe release
21: Radio for HAM – you can have a few stabs with the overtake button; use them wisely
22: VET pits from P22
23: GUT serves penalty; rejoins still ahead of VET
24: Radio for HAM – coast to preserve brakes
25/71: PER, ROS, BOT, HAM, MAS, BUT, ALO, MAG, MAL, HUL
Radio for HAM – well inside the limit now for front brakes
26: KVY limping off track – rear right wheel damaged
27: ROS inside PER in Turn 2; BOT follows through
28: ROS fastest lap 1:13.706
BUT pits
HAM inside PER, replay of ROS’ move
29: HAM f/lap 1:13.558
Replay on-board with KVY shows lots of vibration under braking and then his right-rear is broken
30/71: BOT attacking ROS
VET pits for new nose – he ran into GUT
31: ROS about 1.5sec off the pace – he ran wide in Turn 1
32: PER f/lap 1:13.169
34: Incident involving cars 1 (VET) and 21 (GUT) under investigation – causing a collision
35/71: ROS, BOT, HAM, MAS, ALO, MAG, HUL, PER, RIC, RAI; retirements: KVY
Incident involving cars 1 (VET) and 21 (GUT) – no further action warranted
Half distance
36: Radio for VET – “box, box, retiring the car”
37: VET pits and is pushed into the garage
HUL told to let PER through; the Force India cars swap position
38: Radio for ROS – push hard now (must be coming up to a pit stop)
Radio for HAM – “it’s hammer time”
39: Radio for MAS – close the gap to the car in front
40: HAM pits first; slow stop (4.0sec); rejoins P5 just ahead of MAG
41: ROS pits; 1sec faster than HAM again; rejoins P4 ahead of HAM
HAM setting fastest sector times
42: BOT pits; rejoins P5 behind HAM
HAM f/lap 1:12.217
43: Radio for RAI – do not go off track in Turn 8
Radio from ROS – “what do I need to do?” – “you’re racing Lewis to the end”
44: MAS pits; rejoins behind PER
Radio from HAM asking about his brakes; told they’re ok
45/71: ALO*, ROS, HAM, BOT, PER*, MAS, BUT (*yet to pit)
RAI pits
46: RAI told again not to run wide in Turn 8
47: Radio for BOT telling him he’s P3 once ALO pits
48: ALO pits from P1; 2.5sec stop; rejoins P6 between MAS and BUT
Radio for MAS – think PER needs to stop again (yes he does, to take on options)
50/71: ROS, HAM, BOT, PER*, MAS, ALO, BUT, MAG, HUL, RIC; retirements: VET, KVY
52: Radio for HAM telling him his rear tyres looked better than ROS at end of previous stint
But FIA data says HAM’s tyres have done 31 laps compared to 13 for ROS
54: Radio for RAI – “we are racing BUT, need 2/10ths”; “then give me more power” 🙂
55/71: ROS, HAM, BOT, PER, MAS, ALO, BUT, MAG, HUL, RIC
56: PER pits; rejoins P8, ahead of teammate HUL
Lots of brake dust from VER
57: MAL pits – he’s the last to make the mandatory stops
58: Radio for HAM – brakes are on the limit
59: BUT pits – I missed that he hadn’t used options
60/71: ROS, HAM, BOT, MAS, ALO, MAG, PER, HUL, RIC, RAI
PER f/lap 1:12.142
61: VER slowing as he enters the pit lane
Radio from VER – brakes are gone
VER waved straight into the garage
62: Radio for MAS – ALO is in DRS range
63: MAS laps ERI, opens gap over MAS
65/71: ROS, HAM, BOT, MAS, ALO, MAG, PER, HUL, RIC, RAI; retirements: VER, VET, KVY
Radio for PER – told he has 2 laps at overtake power “so use it wisely”
66: MAG runs a little wide; PER pounces and takes P6
67 = 5 laps left: HAM still sitting just over 1sec behind his teammate
-3 laps: HAM not closing, probably because that will cause his brakes to overheat
-2: Radio from ROS asking if he can use overtake; told he can
Radio for HAM telling him he can use overtake until the end of the race
Final lap: HAM closes on ROS
HAM pushing hard; both Mercedes drivers making small errors
ROS takes the chequered flag
RIC around the outside of HUL for P8
Provisional result: ROS, HAM, BOT, MAS, ALO, PER, MAG, RIC, HUL, RAI; BUT, MAL, SUT, GRO, BIA, KOB, CHI, ERI, GUT
DNF: VER, VET, KVY
My GridBids picks for the race are: ROS (P1), HAM (P2), GRO (P14) & MAG (P7).
“You scored 49 points for this race and have a total of 388 points this season. You ranked 37 for this race and 99 overall.”
I don’t see anything on the FIA or BBC sites, but F1 Minute says GUT has a grid spot penalty at the next race for his unsafe release.