It’s the start of a new season; there are new drivers (Logan Sargeant, Nyck de Vries, Oscar Piastri) but there’s also been some shuffling of the team principals.
Just a couple of weeks before pre-season testing STR had an accident (fell off his bicycle) and has a pin in his right wrist but the team say he’s OK to race.
Grid: VER, PER, LEC, SAI, ALO, RUS, HAM, STR, OCO, HUL, NOR, BOT, ZHO, TSU, ALB, SAR, MAG, PIA, DEV, GAS
Formation lap:
Everyone except MAG starting on the red-wall soft tyres (MAG starting on white-wall hard compound)
Air temperature 27°C; track 31°C
The grid is taking a while to form up; long wait for VER and PER
01/57: PER swarmed by the Ferrari pair
ALO and STR touched
02: VER, LEC, PER, SAI, HAM, RUS, ALO, BOT, STR, NOR, OCO, ALB, SAR, HUL, TSU, PIA, ZHO, MAG, GAS, DEV
Yellow flag in sector 2
Replay shows ALO was turning in to Turn 4 and STR couldn’t slow enough, hit ALO’s rear right
Yellow flag cleared
03: VER has opened 2.5sec lead over LEC
Replay of HUL’s Haas losing part of the front wing
05/57: VER, LEC, PER, SAI, HAM, RUS, ALO, STR, BOT, OCO
LEC locks up and probably flat spots his front right
06: Race control: Turn 4 incident involving STR and ALO – no further investigation
07: RUS has DRS behind HAM
08: RUS asks if HAM is managing or struggling for pace? Struggling, he’s told!
10/57: VER, LEC, PER, SAI, HAM, RUS, ALO, STR, BOT, OCO
GAS pits; hard tyres go on; rejoins P20
VER reports a problem when he down-shifts
11: ALO closing on RUS
NOR pits; team are topping up the hydraulic(?) system – that doesn’t bode well
12: BOT pits, followed by ALB then HUL and DEV
Race control: start incident with OCO noted
13: HAM pits; rejoins P9
RUS defends as ALO challenges for P5
ALO passes the Mercedes but RUS fights back
ALO stays ahead
14: LEC pits, as does teammate SAI
RUS pits; slow stop
Radio from PIA, “lost gearbox”; told to box so they can replace the steering wheel
PIA pits; very long stop; are they going to retire him?
15/57: VER pits
16: Yeah, PIA is wheeled into the McLaren garage
OCO has been given a 5sec penalty
RUS takes P8 from STR
17: OCO pits; new front wing
RUS closing on ALO
ALO passes BOT
18: RUS takes P7 from BOT
NOR pits again; double retirement for McLaren? No, they top it up and send him out again
19: ALO now closing on HAM
20/57: VER, LEC, PER, SAI, HAM, ALO, RUS, BOT, STR, ALB, TSU, GAS, SAR, DEV, ZHO, HUL, MAG, OCO, NOR; out: PIA
Race control: OCO did not serve his 5sec penalty correctly
21: PER fastest lap 1:37.448
22: PER f/lap 1:37.240
23: PER f/lap 1:37.169
24: Race control: OCO now has 10sec penalty for not serving his 5sec penalty correctly
25/57: VER, LEC, PER, SAI, HAM, ALO, RUS, STR, BOT, ALB
PER has DRS as he closes on LEC
26: PER takes P2
27: Radio from HAM asking if he needs to pick up the pace; told to continue tyre management
28: Race control: OCO under investigation for speeding in the pit lane… and he’s given a new 5sec penlty for that
Half distance
29: NOR’s 3rd stop for another top up
Radio from VER reporting his front left tyre is giving up a bit
30/57: VER, PER, LEC, SAI, HAM, ALO, RUS, STR, BOT, SAR
VER’s lead ~13.5 sec
HUL f/lap 1:36.981
31: HAM pits from P5; another set of hard tyres; rejoins P7
STR pits; hards
32: SAI pits from P4; hards go on; rejoins P5
RUS pits; hards; rejoins just ahead of STR into Turn 1
STR takes P7 into Turn 4
33: STR f/lap 1:36.546
34: LEC pits; hards; rejoins P4
35/57: PER pits from P2; hards go on; rejoins still P2
ALO pits from P3; hards; rejoins P6 just behind HAM
37: VER pits; hards; rejoins still easily P1
ALO f/lap 1:36.156
ALO dives inside HAM and takes P5
HAM fights back and reclaims the position
ALO still has DRS and continues to attack
38: HAM defends and keeps ALO behind
but then ALO cuts back and steals P5
40/57: VER, PER, LEC, SAI, ALO, HAM, STR, RUS, BOT, ALB
41: Big lock up from NOR, nearly rear-ending HAM despite being a lap behind
LEC has pulled off track and parked the Ferrari
VSC deployed
Marshals push LEC’s car behind the barriers
42[VSC]: A bunch of midfield runners pit
VSC ends
43: OCO pits, parks in the garage and retires
44: ALO now has DRS behind SAI
45/57: VER, PER, SAI, ALO, HAM, STR, RUS, BOT, GAS, ALB
Radio for SAI telling him to push, but SAI says if he does push then he doesn’t think the tyres will last to the end
SAI defends; ALO almost makes contact
46: ALO inside the Ferrari to take P3
47: The Red Bulls are 26 secs down the road so ALO can focus on tyre management and hanging on to P3
48: HAM now has DRS behind SAI
49: NOR pits again – stop number 5!
50/57: VER, PER, ALO, SAI, HAM, STR, RUS, BOT, GAS, ALB, TSU, SAR, ZHO, DEV, MAG, HUL, NOR; out: OCO, LEC, PIA
Black and white flag for HUL for exceeding track limits
52: MAG sails past DEV to take P14
STR runs wide and recovers
53: Radio from ALO, “This is a lovely car to drive”
54: Race control: 15sec penalty for HULfor exceeding track limits
55/57: Black and white flag for NOR for exceeding track limits
56: Closest battle is TSU behind ALB
VER takes the chequered flag
Provisional result: VER, PER, ALO, SAI, HAM, STR, RUS, BOT, GAS, ALB; TSU, SAR, MAG, DEV, HUL, ZHO, NOR
DNF: OCO, LEC, PIA
Fastest lap: ZHO (1:33.996) but he finished outside the top 10 so no bonus point for him
[2023 calendar and driver line-up]
