Just a week after Austria, it’s the British Grand Prix – the ninth race of the season (because Bahrain and Saudi Arabia were cancelled) and the fourth of the six sprint format weekends. HAM and Ferrari are hitting their stride just in time for the circuit where he’s won nine times.
Free Practice
- FP1: HAM (1:29.260), ANT, LEC, RUS, PIA
McLaren and Williams have a special livery for this weekend, as well as some unique helmets designs
PER reported a problem with his helmet not closing properly
LIN heard a strange noise from the rear
LAW and HUL got a bit close when HUL exited the pit lane
ALB ran wide in Abbey, cutting across Farm Curve
ANT, GAS, LEC and NOR all struggled in Village Corner
PIA spun out of Becketts
Sprint Qualifying
After just the one practice session, it was time to set the grid for the Sprint
Sprint Qualifying session 1 (SQ1)
HAM 1:29.273
Chequered flag; bottom 6 are BEA, OCO, PER, BOT, ALO, STR
OCO P18
BEA P15, relegating ALB to P17
ALO P21
BOT P20
PER P19
STR P22
ALB P14, BEA P17
Back of the grid: BEA, OCO, PER, BOT, ALO, STR
SQ2
HAM 1:28.747
Chequered flag; bottom 6 are GAS, BOR, HUL, COL, SAI, ALB
SAI P15
HUL P13
Middle of the grid: GAS, BOR, HUL, COL, SAI, ALB
SQ3
PIA 1:28.772
LIN P2
NOR 1:28.740
LAW P3
ANT 1:28.387
LEC P2
HAM 1:28.376
VER P3
HAD P7
RUS P5
Front of the grid: HAM, ANT, VER, LEC, RUS, NOR, PIA, HAD, LAW, LIN
Provisional Sprint grid: HAM, ANT, VER, LEC, RUS, NOR, PIA, HAD, LAW, LIN, GAS, BOR, HUL, COL, SAI, ALB, BEA, OCO, PER, BOT, ALO, STR
Penalties
ALB and LIN each received a warning for exceeding the time limit between the Safety Car lines, i.e. being too slow
ALB has to start from the pit lane because the car was modified during parc ferme
Sprint race
01/17: HAM leads into Turn 1 with ANT hot on his heels
NOR takes P3
RUS up to P4
ANT tries to defend but NOR Takes P2
ANT reclaims P2
RUS around the outside of PIA for P4, and then past NOR too for P3
02: HAM, ANT, RUS, NOR, PIA, VER, LEC, GAS, LAW, COL
VER past PIA for P5
Brief yellow flag
03: VER storms past RUS for P4
PER pits
VER cuts across RUS to prevent the attack
PIA has a look at RUS
04: PIA and LEC squabble over P6 – LEC takes it
08: ANT right on HAM’s rear wing
ALO under investigation for causing a collision
ANT takes P1
RUS inside VER for P4
09: VER fights back, reclaims P4 from RUS
RUS retakes P4
10/17: ANT, HAM, NOR, RUS, VER, LEC, PIA, LAW, HAD, LIN
RUS defends from VER, and LEC passes the Red Bull for P5
15/17: HAD complains LAW moved under braking, but it was bit of a lunge from HAD
ANT takes the chequered flag
Provisional sprint result: ANT, HAM, NOR, RUS, LEC, VER, PIA, LAW; HAD, LIN, GAS, COL, HUL, BOR, BEA, OCO, SAI, ALB, BOT, ALO, STR, PER
Penalties
PER was given a 10sec penalty for causing the collision with ALO
LAW got a warning for “Abnormal change of direction”, which I assume they mean moving under braking
HUL received a 5sec penalty for leaving the track and gaining an advantage, dropping him to P15
Qualifying
With the sprint out of the way, it’s time for Quali for the main race
Qualifying session 1 (Q1)
RUS locks up, across the gravel at Luffield, barely touches the tyre wall… but he digs himself out and rejoins the track
HAD 1:29.276
COL spun in Becketts, bounced across the grass and headed for the pits
Chequered flag; bottom 6 are BOT, COL, PER, STR, ALO, BOR
ALO P21
BOR P12, OCO P17
PER P20
Back of the grid: OCO, BOT, COL, PER, STR, ALO
Qualifying session 2
HAM 1:28.864
LEC 1:28.626
Chequered flag; bottom 6 are BOR, GAS, BEA, SAI, ALB, HUL
HUL P12
ANT 1:28.493
GAS P12
Middle of the grid: BOR, GAS, HUL, BEA, SAI, ALB
Qualifying session 3
PIA 1:29.231
NOR P2
VER 1:29.151
LEC 1:28.620
HAM 1:28.591
HAD P3
ANT 1:28.385
RUS P2
ANT 1:28.111
Chequered flag; order is ANT, RUS, HAM, LEC, HAD, VER, PIA, NOR, LIN, LAW
NOR P6
LIN P9
PIA P7
LAW P10
RUS P2
VER P7
LEC P2
HAM P3
HAD P5
Front of the grid: ANT, LEC, HAM, RUS, HAD, NOR, VER, PIA, LIN, LAW
Provisional grid: ANT, LEC, HAM, RUS, HAD, NOR, VER, PIA, LIN, LAW, BOR, GAS, HUL, BEA, SAI, ALB, OCO, BOT, COL, PER, STR, ALO
Penalties
GAS gets a 3-place penalty for impeding STR
Racing Bulls were fined €5,000 for the unsafe release of LIN
STR given a 10-place penalty for power unit changes
Race
Pit lane is open; drivers can make their way to the grid
Air temperature 24°C; track 41°C; humidity 53%
Grid: ANT, LEC, HAM, RUS, HAD, NOR, VER, PIA, LIN, LAW, BOR, HUL, BEA, SAI, GAS, ALB, OCO, BOT, COL, PER, ALO, STR
ANT leads everyone away on the formation lap
Everyone starting on medium compound tyres
Yellow flag – ALO has stopped in Becketts… but he’s got the Aston Martin going again
ALO heads into the pit lane
01/52: LEC gets a great start at takes P1 before Turn 1
HAM past ANT too
Yellow flag – BEA and ALB off, but they recover
Radio from PIA, he thinks he’s got damage
02: LEC, HAM, ANT, RUS, HAD, VER, NOR, LAW, LIN, SAI
PIA is falling down the order
ALB pits
Brief yellow flag
03: HAD lets VER takes P5
PIA pits – new nose; hard tyres go on; rejoins P21
04: Incident involving BEA and ALB under investigation
05/52: LEC, HAM, ANT, RUS, VER, HAD, NOR, LAW, LIN, SAI, BOR, GAS, OCO, COL, PER, BOT, BEA, HUL, STR, ALO, PIA, ALB
Replay of the start shows ANT got wheel spin as he tried to move off the line
Replay of ALB locking up and hitting BEA
06: ALB gets 10-sec penalty for causing that collision
HAM noted for a false start
08: HAM given 5-sec penalty for moving before the start signal
09: ANT closing on HAM
Radio from RUS asking the team to check his gearbox; the answer (a lap later) is it’s ok
10/52: LEC, HAM*, ANT, RUS, VER, HAD, NOR, LAW, LIN, BOR
11: ANT blasts past HAM for P2
12: Radio from VER complaining about the downshifts
15/52: LEC, ANT, HAM*, RUS, VER, HAD, NOR, LAW, LIN, BOR
Radio from PIA reporting his hard tyres are graining
Radio from LIN asking the team to tell LAW to “hurry up” 😀
16: ALB pits; serves his 10sec penalty; mediums; P22
17: VER closing on RUS; goes around the outside to take P4
18: VER pits; hards go on; rejoins P7
20/52: HAD pits; hards; P10
21: LEC, ANT, HAM*, RUS, NOR, VER, LAW, LIN, HAD, BOR, GAS, COL, SAI, OCO, PER, BEA, BOT, HUL, PIA, ALO, STR, ALB
SAI pits; hards; P16
22: VSC deployed – there’s an umbrella beside the track! Marshall grabs it and VSC ends
23: Radio from HAM, “understeer is crazy, car won’t turn”
HAD harrying LIN over P8
24: HAD takes P8
HAM is told to pit but he tells them his tyres are fine
HAM pits from P3; serves the 5sec penalty; hards; P6
RUS pits from P4; hards; P5
25/52: LEC, ANT, NOR, VER, RUS, HAM, LAW, HAD, LIN, BOR
26: LEC pits from P1; hards; P2
HAM closing on RUS
Half distance
27: BOR pits; hards; P10
Radio from ANT, “don’t let them undercut me”; Bono says they’re on it
28: LIN pits; hards; P9
29: NOR pits from P3; hards; P7
LAW pits; hards; P8
30/52: ANT, LEC, VER, RUS, HAM, HAD, NOR, LAW, LIN, BOR, COL, GAS, HUL, SAI, PIA, BEA, OCO, PER, BOT, ALO, STR, ALB
(Yet to pit: ANT, BEA, BOT)
NOR takes P6 from HAD
BEA and BOT pit; just ANT yet to stop
31: RUS and HAM going wheel to wheel through multiple turns
HAM takes P4, but then RUS reclaims it
32: Radio for HAM telling him to be patient
RUS closing on VER
33: ANT has 13.7sec lead over LEC; are Mercedes trying to wait until they can put him on soft tyres?
34: RUS has a puncture?
35/52: ANT, LEC, VER, RUS, HAM, NOR, HAD, LAW, LIN, BOR
RUS pits; mediums; P7
36: ANT pits; hards; P2
RUS past HAD for P6
37: VER defending P3 from HAM
38: HAM filling VER’s mirrors
HAM takes P3 from VER
Yellow flag – HUL’s pulled onto the grass at the pit entrance
39: VSC deployed
VER pits; mediums; P4
NOR pits; mediums; P6
HAD pits; mediums; slow stop; P7
VSC ending
40/52: LEC, ANT, HAM, VER, RUS, NOR, HAD, LAW, LIN, BOR, COL, GAS, SAI, BEA, OCO, PIA, PER, BOT, ALO, STR, ALB; out: HUL
41: LEC laps ALO (P19) for 2nd time
STR gets 5sec penalty for exceeding track limits
Radio from ANT – he sounds flustered
42: ANT pits; mediums; new nose; P5
43: NOR passes ANT for P5; ANT runs wide
Radio from ANT, he think the suspension’s broken
HAD past ANT for P6
44: ANT pits; wheel shield is ripped off; rejoins P10
45/52: LEC, HAM, VER, RUS, NOR, HAD, LAW, LIN, BOR, ANT
LEC over 20sec clear of teammate HAM
Radio from ANT reporting it’s still not right; Bono says pit to retire
46: Radio from ANT wanting to try to hang on to P10 for 1 point, but Bono tells him about exceeding track limits
47: ANT given 5sec penalty for exceeding track limits
ALB pits; retires the Williams
48: VER off, across the gravel but stopped just before the tyre wall; it’s beached
Safety Car deployed
HAD pits, as do LAW, LIN, BOR
49[SC]: LEC pits; softs; rejoins still P1
HAM pits; softs; P3
RUS stays out, so Ferrari just cost HAM 2nd place!
NOR pits; softs; P4
50/52[SC]: LEC, RUS, HAM, NOR, HAD, LAW, LIN, BOR, ANT, COL, GAS, PIA, SAI, BEA, OCO, PER, BOT, ALO, STR; out: VER, ALB, HUL
HAM noted for yellow flag infringement
51[SC]: Lapped cars may now overtake the SC
Looks like SC is going slowly to try to let the lapped cars get out the way so there could be one racing lap
SC coming in at the end of this lap
HAM is on softs that are 14 laps newer than RUS’ mediums
SC re-deployed!
52/52[SC]: No word from race control why the SC was re-deployed
SC comes into the pit lane to avoid taking the chequered flag
Provisional result: LEC, RUS, HAM*, NOR, HAD, LAW, LIN, BOR, COL, GAS; PIA, SAI, BEA, OCO, PER, ANT, BOT, ALO, STR
(ANT’s penalty drops him to P16)
DNF: VER, ALB, HUL
*HAM under investigation for yellow flag infringement – a time penalty will drop him out of the points because they finished bunched up behind the SC
BBC reports… The full post-race FIA statement said: “The safety-car period regulation states that one lap must be completed following the unlapping procedure. “This process was followed by race operations. The ‘safety car in this lap’ message was displayed erroneously due to a software error.”
Penalties
HAM received a reprimand for failing to slow for a yellow flag
SAI was given a 1 lap penalty for a reason I’ve not seen before: Car 55 overtook the Safety Car after the “LAPPED CARS MAY NOW OVERTAKE” message had been displayed, despite not being entitled to do so; this drops him from P12 to P17
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