The main news has been that “the Bahrain and Saudi Arabian Grands Prix will not take place in April” – it’s interesting that the FIA didn’t say cancelled, but realistically there’s no room in the calendar to reschedule. (This was announced during China GP weekend.)
The other news is that Jonathan Wheatley has left Audi; he’s rumoured to be moving to Aston Martin. Mattia Binotto is filling in as team principal.
Mercedes have been the team to beat in both races so far, but all the teams are working on updates to make the most of the new regulations. McLaren have had an array of issues – PIA has yet to complete a racing lap!
Free Practice
- FP1: RUS (1:31.666), ANT, NOR, PIA, LEC
Aston Martin put Jak Crawford in ALO’s car; the veteran driver skipped media day due to the birth of his first child
The Haas duo have Godzilla prominent in their new livery, and Mercedes have a special front wing design
RUS drifted wide in Spoon curve, as did LIN, LAW and VER
ALB ran into the gravel in Degna 2 and managed to avoid the bridge
PER blocked RUS out of the final turn
ALB made a late dive up the inside of PER into the final turn; PER turned in and they collided
PIA was upstaged by LEC and GAS when they both passed him at the end of the session - FP2: PIA (1:30.133), ANT, RUS, NOR, LEC
NOR’s McLaren had a hydraulic leak
GAS complained when ALB left the garage just ahead of him, but it wasn’t really a problem
LEC seemed to be fighting his Ferrari more than usual; HAM reported he had “no confidence in the car”
LIN had problems and spent much of the session in the garage, unable to set a time - FP3: ANT (1:29.362), RUS, LEC, PIA, HAM
NOR’s McLaren had a problem with energy recovery system this time
LEC continued to struggle with his Ferrari
BEA spun coming out of Spoon – looks like he lost it as he put his foot down
LAW ran wide in Spoon again
BOT got caught out by a dawdling BEA, and again a few laps later
PER had a big lockup and ran into the gravel at the chicane
HUL encountered a weaving PIA
Penalties
COL was given a warning for impeding VER in FP2
PIA also received a warning; his was for impeding HUL in FP3
Qualifying
Qualifying session 1 (Q1)
LEC 1:29.915
Chequered flag; bottom 6 are COL, ALB, PER, BOT, STR, ALO
ALB P16, relegating BEA to P17
STR P21
ALO P21
COL P16, ALB P17
Back of the grid: ALB, BEA, PER, BOT, ALO, STR
Qualifying session 2
LEC 1:29.303
Chequered flag; bottom 6 are VER, OCO, HUL, COL, LAW, SAI
SAI P16
LAW P14
ANT 1:29.048
VER P11, and of course blames the car
Middle of the grid: VER, OCO, HUL, LAW, COL, SAI
Qualifying session 3
ANT 1:28.778
RUS P2
BOR P3
GAS P3
LIN P5
NOR P3
PIA P3
LIN’s time has been deleted
HAM P5
LEC P5
Chequered flag; order is ANT, RUS, PIA, NOR, LEC, HAM, HAD, GAS, BOR, LIN
HAM P6
BOR P8
HAD P7
LIN P10
GAS P7
LEC P4
Front of the grid: ANT, RUS, PIA, LEC, NOR, HAM, GAS, HAD, BOR, LIN
Provisional grid: ANT, RUS, PIA, LEC, NOR, HAM, GAS, HAD, BOR, LIN, VER, OCO, HUL, LAW, COL, SAI, ALB, BEA, PER, BOT, ALO, STR
Penalties None.
Race
Grid: ANT, RUS, PIA, LEC, NOR, HAM, GAS, HAD, BOR, LIN, VER, OCO, HUL, LAW, COL, SAI, ALB, BEA, PER, BOT, ALO, STR
Pit lane is open; drivers can make their way to the grid
Interesting modern take on the national anthem
Jack Black isn’t as funny as he thinks he is
10 minute delay to fix a barrier in Turn 12 that was damaged in the support race
Looks like everyone will be on the grid for the start, unlike the previous two races
ANT leads everyone away on the formation lap
They’re all on medium compound tyres except BOT on hards
VER almost passed LIN
HAD concerned his tyres as cold as he takes his place on the grid
01/53: ANT bogs down and is passed by PIA and LEC before Turn 1
NOR has passed RUS and ANT too
HAM ahead of ANT
02: PIA, LEC, NOR, RUS, HAM, ANT, GAS, LIN, HAD, VER
ANT takes P5 from HAM
VER past teammate HAD for P9
OCO has a look at HAD
03: OCO past HAD for P10
RUS takes P3 from NOR
ANT closes on NOR but the McLaren hangs onto P4
04: RUS past LEC for P2
05/53: PIA, RUS, LEC, NOR, ANT, HAM, GAS, LIN, VER, OCO, HAD, LAW, COL, BEA, BOR, SAI, HUL, ALB, PER, ALO, STR, BOT
VER past LIN for P8
06: Replay shows ANT got a lot of wheel spin at the start
07: RUS still under 1sec behind PIA
08: RUS closes on PIA but hangs back through Turn 1
RUS dives inside PIA into the final chicane and takes P1
09: PIA reclaims P1 before Turn 1
10/53: PIA, RUS, LEC, NOR, ANT, HAM, GAS, VER, OCO, LIN, HAD, LAW, COL, BOR, BEA, SAI, HUL, ALB, PER, STR, ALO, BOT
11: ANT steals P4 from NOR
12: HAD harrying LIN over P10
14: ANT closing on LEC but the Ferrari holds on to P3
Radio from VER complaining that it feels like he’s driving without power steering
15/53: PIA, RUS, LEC, ANT, NOR, HAM, GAS, VER, OCO, LIN
Pit window for medium runners is lap 15-31, and some drivers are struggling for grip
Black and white flag for LIN for moving under braking
ANT dives up the inside of LEC into the final chicane
16: LEC reclaims P3
17: NOR pits from P5; hards go on; rejoins P9
BEA pits too
18: LEC dives into the pit lane; hards; P7, just ahead of NOR
COL pits too
19: PIA pits from P1; hards; P6
LIN pits too
20/53: RUS, ANT, HAM, GAS, VER, PIA, LEC, NOR, OCO, HAD
OCO and HAD pit
Radio from RUS, he thinks he’ll lose a lot of time by extending this stint (i.e. he doesn’t want to delay his pit stop)
PIA closes and looks to pass VER but VER defends into the chicane
21: PIA takes P5 from VER
22: RUS pits from P1; hards; rejoins P6
Yellow flag – BEA is in the barriers at Spoon
Safety Car deployed
Radio from RUS, “unbelievable”
23[SC]: ANT pits; hards; rejoins P1
HAM pits; hards; rejoins P4
GAS also pits, as do LAW, SAI, BOR
BEA is limping away from his Haas
Replay: BEA caught a slow COL, dives left to pass him but touches the grass and slides straight into the wall
Medical car has arrived to check on BEA
24[SC]: RUS still complaining about his bad luck
Did ALO pit twice? He’s on mediums, as are STR and BOT
25/53[SC]: ANT, PIA, RUS, HAM, LEC, NOR, GAS, VER, LAW, BOR, OCO, HUL, HAD, LIN, SAI, COL, ALB, PER, STR, ALO, BOT; out: BEA
26[SC]: Marshals are busy sweeping the track
Radio from RUS asking the team to confirm “Kimi is going (to restart) in the place that we trained”; “Not sure” is the concerning reply
Half distance
27[SC]: SC coming in at the end of this lap
SkySports confirm the closing speed of BEA on COL was 45kph
SC turns its lights off
ANT starts to bunch everyone up
28: HAM closes on RUS and steals P3
29: VER closing on GAS
30/53: ANT, PIA, HAM, RUS, LEC, NOR, GAS, VER, LAW, OCO
Radio from HAM reporting PIA keeps going off-track in a couple of corners
31: STR is told to pit, “We have an issue”; he’s pushed into the garage
32: ANT is 2.8sec clear of PIA
Haas report that BEA’s impact was 50G; he has no fractures
33: LIN locks up and cuts the chicane; HUL reclaims P13
34: HAD all over BOR’s rear wing
McLaren’s pit wall has lost power!
35/53: ANT, PIA, HAM, RUS, LEC, NOR, GAS, VER, LAW, OCO, BOR, HAD, HUL, LIN, SAI, COL, ALB, PER, ALO, BOT; out: STR, BEA
ANT’s lead now over 4secs
36: Is that smoke from HAM’s exhaust?
37: RUS closes on HAM; thinks about a move into Turn 1 but holds off
LEC dives past RUS to take P4 – does RUS have a problem?
38: RUS is hanging on to LEC’s tail, so maybe that was just a temporary glitch
39: McLaren pit wall has power again
40/53: ANT, PIA, HAM, LEC, RUS, NOR, GAS, VER, LAW, OCO, HAD, HUL, BOR, LIN, SAI, COL, ALB, PER, ALO, BOT
Radio from LEC saying he’s losing time behind teammate HAM
LEC has a look into the chicane but HAM defends P3
41: LEC has another look into Turn 1; HAM defends again
LEC almost alongside into the chicane but HAM hangs on to P3
42: LEC attacks his teammate again; this time he takes P3 from HAM
RUS now closing on HAM
43: ANT now has 10sec lead over PIA
RUS squeaks past HAM to take P4
NOR is under 1sec behind HAM
44: HAM locks up into the chicane and cuts it
Radio from NOR; he thinks HAM should give up the position
45/53: ANT, PIA, LEC, RUS, HAM, NOR, GAS, VER, LAW, OCO
46: HAD defending P11 from HUL
47: BEA has made it back to the Haas garage; he’s limping a little but seems ok
NOR takes P5 from HAM out of 130R and into the chicane
48: HAM reclaims P5
49: ALB pits again – that’s his fourth stop! Looks like a test session for the Williams as well as for Aston Martin
50/53: ANT, PIA, LEC, RUS, HAM, NOR, GAS, VER, LAW, OCO, HUL, HAD, BOR, LIN, SAI, COL, PER, ALO, BOT, ALB; out: STR, BEA
51: LEC around the outside of RUS in Turn 1 – you can hear the crowd roar
HAM reclaims P5 from NOR
ALB pits again
52: NOR inside HAM again, and this time he holds on to it through Turn 1
53/53: ANT’s lead now over 14secs
RUS closes on LEC but the Ferrari is still P3
ANT takes the chequered flag
PIA P2
LEC has RUS right on his tail
Radio from PIA, “Turns out, when we start these things we’re quite good” 😀
Provisional result: ANT, PIA, LEC, RUS, NOR, HAM, GAS, VER, LAW, OCO; HUL, HAD, BOR, LIN, SAI, COL, PER, ALO, BOT, ALB
DNF: STR, BEA
Penalties None.
ANT now heads up the Drivers’ Championship table, 9 points ahead of RUS, followed by LEC, HAM and NOR.
Reminder: no F1 in April; next race will be Miami on May 1st-3rd.
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