The main discussion in the few days since Australia has been proposed changes to the start, which Ferrari appear to be blocking.
Ferrari are also getting a lot of attention for their rotating rear wing.
China is the first of six Sprint format weekend, so just one Practice session.
Free Practice
- FP1: RUS (1:32.741), ANT, NOR, PIA, LEC
HAM appeared to slow into the final corner, so NOR passed him but then HAM sped up and they made contact
COL spun into Turn 9 when the Alpine’s rear axle locked up
BEA also spun
LIN had to park his Racing Bull after seeing smoke in the cockpit
Both McLarens ran wide in Turn 1
Sprint Qualifying
PER’s Cadillac has a fuel system issue so he won’t run in SQ
Sprint Qualifying session 1 (SQ1)
RUS 1:33.030
Chequered flag; bottom 6 are ALB, ALO, COL, STR, BOT, PER
COL P15, relegating SAI to P17
SAI P17
ALB P18 after locking up
Back of the grid: SAI, ALB, ALO, STR, BOT, PER
SQ2
VER complains the drivability is “horrendous”
RUS 1:32.241
ANT got in the way of NOR starting a fast lap
Chequered flag; bottom 6 are HUL, OCO, BOR, LAW, LIN, COL
COL P16
LIN P15
VER ran wide across the gravel after complaining that an Alpine was on the racing line
LAW P13
OCO P12
Middle of the grid: HUL, OCO, LAW, BOR, LIN, COL
SQ3
ANT 1:31.880
RUS 1:31.520
VER P3
LEC P3
HAM P3
Chequered flag; order is RUS, ANT, HAM, LEC, VER; no time from PIA, NOR, GAS, BEA, HAD
GAS P5
NOR P3
BEA P8
PIA P5
HAD P10
Front of the grid: RUS, ANT, NOR, HAM, PIA, LEC, GAS, VER, BEA, HAD
Provisional Sprint grid: RUS, ANT, NOR, HAM, PIA, LEC, GAS, VER, BEA, HAD, HUL, OCO, LAW, BOR, LIN, COL, SAI, ALB, ALO, STR, BOT, PER
Post-SQ Penalties:
None; PER was given the OK to race even though he didn’t set a time
Sprint race
A suspension setup change by Williams during Parc Ferme means ALB has to start from the pit lane
Everyone on medium compound tyres except HAD on softs, and LAW, SAI and ALO on hards
01/19: ANT had a very poor start, being passed by NOR and HAM before he really got going
RUS leads into Turn 1, followed by NOR but HAM takes P2
ANT and HAD make contact; bodywork flies off the RB
LEC takes P3 from NOR
HAM inside RUS to steal P1
LIN spins; brief yellow flag
RUS reclaims P1
02: RUS, HAM, LEC, NOR, PIA, GAS, BEA, ANT, HAD, LAW, OCO, COL, BOR, SAI, VER, STR, ALB, PER, ALO, HUL, BOT, LIN
HAM around RUS in Turn 1, taking P1
ANT inside BEA for P7, then inside GAS
10-sec penalty for ANT
03: RUS takes P1
04: HAM takes P1
ANT closing on PIA
05/19: HAM, RUS, LEC, NOR, PIA, ANT*, BEA, GAS, HAD, LAW (*10sec penalty)
ANT past PIA for P5
RUS inside HAM in the hairpin, takes P1
07: ANT inside NOR for P4
08: LEC passes teammate HAM for P2
09: The Ferarri duo going side-by-side but LEC stays P2
10/19: RUS, LEC, HAM, ANT*, NOR, PIA, LAW, BEA, HAD, GAS
ANT takes P3 from HAM
13: HUL has parked his Audi on the outside of Turn 1
Safety Car deployed
14[SC]: Front runners all pit
HAM has to wait while Ferrari service LEC
Mercedes pit crew watch while ANT serves his 10sec penalty
15/19: RUS, LEC, HAM, ANT, NOR, PIA, LAW, BEA, GAS, OCO
VER locks up, runs wide; he’s passed by HAD and OCO
VER passes HAD and OCO in one move
17: RUS, LEC, NOR, HAM, LAW, BEA, ANT, PIA, GAS, OCO, SAI, BOR, ALO, VER, COL, ALB, HAD, STR, PER; out: HUL, BOT, LIN
ANT claims PIA passed him before the restart line
HAM takes P3
18: PIA lets ANT takes P5 to avoid a penalty
RUS takes the chequered flag
Provisional Sprint result: RUS, LEC, HAM, NOR, ANT, PIA, LAW, BEA; VER, OCO, GAS, SAI, BOR, COL, HAD, ALB, ALO, STR, PER
Penalties:
ANT served his 10sec penalty during the race
PER got a 5sec penalty for “exceeding minimum time set by ECU behind safety car” but he finished last so it makes no difference
HAD was given a warning for not following the Race Director’s Instruction about practice starts
Alpine was fined €5,000 for an unsafe release – GAS left the garage with an antenna shield still fitted
Sprint result: RUS, LEC, HAM, NOR, ANT, PIA, LAW, BEA; VER, OCO, GAS, SAI, BOR, COL, HAD, ALB, ALO, STR, PER
Not classified: HUL, BOT, LIN
Qualifying
Qualifying session 1 (Q1)
LEC 1:33.175
Chequered flag; bottom 6 are ALB, LIN, ALO, BOT, STR, PER
LIN P11, COL P17
STR P21
ALO P19
COL P9, BOR P17
BOR P7, SAI P17
BOT P20
Back of the grid: SAI, ALB, ALO, BOT, STR, PER
Qualifying session 2
ANT 1:32.443
Yellow flag – BOR lost it in the final corner
Chequered flag; bottom 6 are HUL, OCO, COL, LAW, LIN, BOR
COL P12
Middle of the grid: HUL, COL, OCO, LAW, LIN, BOR
Qualifying session 3
RUS has stopped on track but eventually gets running
ANT 1:32.322
LEC P2
HAM P3
BEA P4
GAS P5
NOR P2
PIA P2
HAD P6
VER P6
Order after the first run: ANT, PIA, NOR, LEC, HAM, VER, HAD, BEA, GAS, RUS
ANT 1:32.064
LEC P2
HAM P2
GAS P6
Chequered flag; order is ANT, HAM, LEC, PIA, NOR, GAS, VER, HAD, BEA, RUS
BEA P7
PIA P4
HAD P7
VER P7
RUS P2
Front of the grid: ANT, RUS, HAM, LEC, PIA, NOR, GAS, VER, HAD, BEA
Provisional grid: ANT, RUS, HAM, LEC, PIA, NOR, GAS, VER, HAD, BEA, HUL, COL, OCO, LAW, LIN, BOR, SAI, ALB, ALO, BOT, STR, PER
ANT is now the youngest F1 pole sitter
Race
ALB will start from the pit lane
Pit lane is open; drivers can make their way to the grid
Grid: ANT, RUS, HAM, LEC, PIA, NOR, GAS, VER, HAD, BEA, HUL, COL, OCO, LAW, LIN, BOR, SAI, ALO, BOT, STR, PER; ALB in the pit lane
NOR remains in the McLaren garage – apparently there’s an electrical problem
PIA has been pushed off the grid, into the garage – sounds like a different issue
BOR has also been pushed off the grid
ANT leads everyone away on the formation lap
A real mix of tyre compounds: ANT, RUS, HAM, LEC, PIA all on mediums; NOR on hards; GAS medium; VER and HAD softs; BEA medium; HUL, COL and OCO hards; LAW medium; LIN and BOR hards; SAI medium; ALO hard; BOT medium; STR hard; PER medium; ALB hard
Both McLarens still in the garage – you’d expect them to roll down to the end of the pit lane if they’re going to start
BOR is out of the Audi
GAS reverses on the grid because he’d overshot his spot
ALB is out of his car too
Doesn’t look like either McLaren will leave the garage
01/56: HAM past ANT into Turn 1
LEC is past RUS
PER spun in Turn 3 – was there contact with teammate BOT?
LIN locks up, runs a bit wide but rejoins
BEA challenging HAD; HAD spins, recovers
HAD is called into the pits
02: HAM, ANT, LEC, RUS, GAS, COL, LAW, LIN, OCO, SAI, ALO, VER, BEA, BOT, HUL, STR, PER, HAD; out: PIA, NOR, BOR, ALB
HAD pits; new hard tyres go on; rejoins P18/last
ANT takes P1
03: RUS past LEC for P3
04: RUS uses his boost to take P2 from HAM
05/56: ANT, RUS, HAM, LEC, GAS, COL, LAW, OCO, LIN, VER, SAI, BEA, HUL, ALO, BOT, STR, PER, HAD
Replay of the start shows PER went for a gap that wasn’t there and tapped BOT, spinning both of them
06: OCO takes P7 from LAW
07: HUL past SAI for P12
09: LIN has a look at teammate LAW but the rookie locks up
10/56: ANT, RUS, HAM, LEC, GAS, COL, OCO, LAW, LIN, VER
LAW lets LIN take P8
BEA inside VER to steal P9
LAW and VER pit
McLaren report their cars had two different electrical issues
STR off at Turn 1; stopped the Aston Martin on the outside of the corner
Safety Car deployed
11[SC]: Front runners pit, promoting COL to P2
HAD’s stop had a slow front-left; rejoins P17/last
12[SC]: Marshals are about to remove STR’s car
PER pits; rejoins P16
13[SC]: SC in at the end of this lap
Order is ANT, COL, OCO, RUS, HAM, LIN, LEC, HUL, GAS, BEA, ALO, LAW, VER, SAI, BOT, PER, HAD; out: STR, PIA, NOR, BOR, ALB
14: HAM takes P4 from RUS
VER and LAW almost bang wheels
HAM inside OCO for P3
15/56: LEC past RUS for P5
HAM now takes P2 from COL
Radio from RUS complaining he’s got no grip
LEC takes P4 from OCO
16: HAM closing on ANT
LEC inside COL for P3
RUS past OCO for P5, and then COL for P4
18: Yellow flags – debris in the final sector – cleared
Radio from HAM asking for more power; “we’re on it”
OCO harrying COL over P5
Mirroring that, BEA and GAS squabbling over P7
19: VER past GAS for P8… but GAS retakes it
20/56: ANT, HAM, LEC, RUS, COL, BEA, OCO, GAS, VER, HUL, LIN, LAW, SAI, HAD, BOT, PER, ALO
VER makes a forceful pass on GAS for P8; GAS reports he was run off the road
21: HAD past SAI for P13 but the Williams reclaims the place
VER takes P7 from OCO
BEA past COL for P5
23: VER takes P6 from COL
24: LEC past teammate HAM for P2
RUS is right on their tail
25/56: ANT, LEC, HAM, RUS, BEA, VER, COL, OCO, GAS, HUL, LAW, LIN, HAD, SAI, BOT, PER, ALO; out: STR, PIA, NOR, BOR, ALB
26: HAM inside LEC to reclaim P2
27: LEC around the outside in Turn 1, takes P2
HAM fights back; the Ferrari duo are wheel-to-wheel through multiple corners
LEC comes out ahead but it’s allowed RUS to close right up
RUS takes P3 from HAM
28: LIN spins in the hairpin; recovers now P14
Half distance
RUS all over LEC’s tail
29: Radio from a frustrated RUS, “they’re fast in all the right places”
RUS inside LEC into the hairpin, takes P2
30/56: ANT (7.5sec lead), RUS, LEC, HAM, BEA, VER, GAS, COL, HUL, LAW, HAD, OCO, SAI, LIN, BOT, PER, ALO
OCO pits; mediums go on; rejoins P18
32: LEC seems to be fighting his Ferrari; radio: “Plan C could come into play” – a 2nd stop seems likely for many of the front runners
33: COL pits; mediums
Yellow flag – OCO spun – was there contact between OCO and COL?
Replay shows COL came out of the pits, OCO dives for a gap but COL tries to find the racing line; contact and they both spin
ALO pits; retires the Aston Martin
34: Radio from OCO, “That was my fault”
35/56: ANT, RUS, LEC, HAM, BEA, VER, GAS, HUL, LAW, HAD, SAI, LIN, COL, BOT, PER, OCO
Radio from HAM, complaining he has no power out of the last turn
36: LEC locks up; HAM steals P3 from his teammate
LEC looks to fight back
HUL pits; mediums; P16
37: LEC gets very close to rear-ending HAM!
OCO gets 10-sec penalty for the collision with COL
38: ANT still about 7sec ahead of teammate RUS
39: LEC inside HAM into the hairpin, takes P3
40/56: ANT, RUS, LEC, HAM, BEA, VER, GAS, LAW, HAD, SAI
HAM reclaims P3
43: Radio from ANT complaining about traffic; he’s just lapped BOT and PER
LIN pits; mediums; P15, splitting the Cadillac duo
45/56: ANT, RUS, HAM, LEC, BEA, VER, GAS, LAW, HAD, SAI, COL, HUL, OCO*, LIN, BOT, PER (*10sec penalty); out: ALO, STR, PIA, NOR, BOR, ALB
46: VER is slowing; radio for VER telling him to retire the car; he’s limping back to the pits
48: OCO pits; serves his penalty; big pair of bolt cutters used to remove some damaged bodywork; rejoins P15/last
50/56: ANT, RUS, HAM, LEC, BEA, GAS, LAW, HAD, SAI, COL, HUL, LIN, BOT, PER, OCO
Radio from RUS reporting “My rears are gone” – he has HAM ~17sec behind, not enough for a pit stop
52: LEC has a big lock up into the hairpin
53: ANT locks up and runs wide at the hairpin; rejoins with 7sec lead; Bono calmly says “let’s get it home”
55/56: ANT, RUS, HAM, LEC, BEA, GAS, LAW, HAS, SAI, COL, HUL, LIN, BOT, OCO, PER
56: COL closing on SAI
ANT hangs the tail out as he exits the hairpin
ANT takes the chequered flag
Provisional result: ANT, RUS, HAM, LEC, BEA, GAS, LAW, HAD, SAI, COL; HUL, LIN, BOT, OCO, PER
DNF: VER, ALO, STR
DNS: PIA, NOR, BOR, ALB
That’s HAM’s first podium with Ferrari; nice to see Bono and Toto congratulate him.
Post-race Penalties: none.
Result: ANT, RUS, HAM, LEC, BEA, GAS, LAW, HAD, SAI, COL; HUL, LIN, BOT, OCO, PER
Not classified: VER, ALO, STR, PIA, NOR, BOR, ALB
News:
As expected, the Bahrain and Saudi Arabian Grands Prix will not take place in April. “While several alternatives were considered, it was ultimately decided that no substitutions will be made in April. The Formula 2, Formula 3 and F1 ACADEMY rounds will also not take place during their scheduled times.”
https://www.formula1.com/en/latest/article/bahrain-and-saudi-arabian-grands-prix-will-not-take-place-in-april.1hnqllVG85RSt8pbFc5Ivx
