Sebastian Vettel took pole position for the third race in a row after team mate Kimi Raikkonen missed out on a chance to beat him again in Q3.
Vettel will be joined on the front row of the grid by Lewis Hamilton. Raikkonen took sixth behind Valtteri Bottas and the Red Bull pair.
Q1
Both Toro Rosso drivers failed to make it beyond Q1 after a terrifying near-miss between the pair approaching turn 15. Brendon Hartley was driving slowly with a puncture when Pierre Gasly appeared behind him on a flying lap. Gasly made to pass his team mate on the inside, then switched to the outside, missing the other car by millimetres at a point on the track where speeds approach 300kph, and coming to a safe stop in a run-off area.Gasly was predictably furious, a mood which was not improved by his inability to reach Q2. His team mate joined him in elimination, apologising profusely on the radio for the mix-up.
Also out in Q1 was Romain Grosjean, who went off up an escape road and never came out, reporting a problem with his gearbox.
One of the stand-out efforts of the session came from Charles Leclerc, who put his Sauber 11th with his last run. Marcus Ericsson didn’t make the cut in the team’s other car.
Both Williams drivers did make it through, however, including Sergey Sirotkin in his car which had to be repaired after his crash in final practice. Lance Stroll made the cut with his final lap, knocking out Stoffel Vandoorne’s McLaren.
Drivers eliminated in Q1
| 16 | Stoffel Vandoorne | McLaren-Renault | 1’44.489 |
| 17 | Pierre Gasly | Toro Rosso-Honda | 1’44.496 |
| 18 | Marcus Ericsson | Sauber-Ferrari | 1’45.541 |
| 19 | Brendon Hartley | Toro Rosso-Honda | 1’57.354 |
| 20 | Romain Grosjean | Haas-Ferrari |
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Q2
Kimi Raikkonen and Daniel Ricciardo flirted with disaster in Q2, both coming close to elimination. The Ferrari driver spun into an escape road on his initial run on super-softs and was unable to set a time. He switched to a set of ultra-soft tyres for his final run and made it in comfortably, setting the fastest time of the session, but compromised his strategy for the race as his closest rivals will all start on the preferred super-soft tyres.
Ricciardo also made it through despite dropping to 10th place when the chequered flag fell. Stroll came within a tenth of a second of knocking the Red Bull driver out, but had to settle for 11th place alongside team mate Sirotkin.
Drivers eliminated in Q2
| 11 | Lance Stroll | Williams-Mercedes | 1’43.585 |
| 12 | Sergey Sirotkin | Williams-Mercedes | 1’43.886 |
| 13 | Fernando Alonso | McLaren-Renault | 1’44.019 |
| 14 | Charles Leclerc | Sauber-Ferrari | 1’44.074 |
| 15 | Kevin Magnussen | Haas-Ferrari | 1’44.759 |
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Q3
A near-miss with the barrier at the exit of turn 16 meant Raikkonen’s Q3 started little better than Q2 had. He crossed the line a second down on his team mate, who headed the field after the first runs.
The Mercedes pair came next, Hamilton three-tenths of a second behind the Ferrari, and a tenth quicker than his team mate. Max Verstappen led the charge for Red Bull, Daniel Ricciardo four-tenths adrift after brushing the wall at turn 15.
Hamilton got closer to Vettel with his final run but not close enough to threaten his pole position – the pair ended up separated by less than two-tenths of a second. A lock-up for Vettel on his final run meant he failed to improve his time.
Vettel’s biggest threat for pole position might have been his team mate. Raikkonen flew through the first two sectors of the lap, visibly committed, but asked too much of his car at the exit of turn 16. The SF71H slewed sideways as he tried to apply the power, sapping him of forward momentum at the beginning of the long drag to the start/finish line. That ruined his lap, leaving him sixth behind the Red Bulls.
The Force India pair delivered on their car’s potential by taking seventh and eighth ahead of the two Renaults. However a penalty means Nico Hulkenberg will start 14th instead of ninth.
Top ten in Q3
| 1 | Sebastian Vettel | Ferrari | 1’41.498 |
| 2 | Lewis Hamilton | Mercedes | 1’41.677 |
| 3 | Valtteri Bottas | Mercedes | 1’41.837 |
| 4 | Daniel Ricciardo | Red Bull-TAG Heuer | 1’41.911 |
| 5 | Max Verstappen | Red Bull-TAG Heuer | 1’41.994 |
| 6 | Kimi Raikkonen | Ferrari | 1’42.490 |
| 7 | Esteban Ocon | Force India-Mercedes | 1’42.523 |
| 8 | Sergio Perez | Force India-Mercedes | 1’42.547 |
| 9 | Nico Hulkenberg | Renault | 1’43.066 |
| 10 | Carlos Sainz Jnr | Renault | 1’43.351 |
2018 Azerbaijan Grand Prix
- Ricciardo: Baku “s***show” was Red Bull’s fault
- Bottas “cried like a baby” after losing Baku win
- Williams denies targeting rivals by requesting review of Sirotkin’s Baku penalty
- Magnussen texted second apology to Gasly after Baku
- Ricciardo: No way to avoid Verstappen crash after he changed lines
Jere (@jerejj)
28th April 2018, 15:12
Had Ocon already passed the yellow-flag zone caused by Grosjean before they became active as he set a purple sector time for S1 on the same lap?
Sravan Krishnan (@sravan-pe)
28th April 2018, 15:12
He can win this tomorrow
Jonathan Parkin
28th April 2018, 16:27
Of course he can. He has his front row start slot and his blown exhaust. He doesn’t need anything else
javier javier (@j3d89)
28th April 2018, 18:20
@jonathan parkin Lol you haven’t read any news lately?? Only Renault was found with that… And is almost negligible… And the car geometry and length meet all the FIA parameters.. so still people don’t Know what the third paddle is for.. but not exhaust blowing..
Jonathan Parkin
28th April 2018, 18:29
Oh, I thought Ferrari had it. My bad.
Rockie (@rockie)
28th April 2018, 23:03
Salty much!
Makana (@makana)
28th April 2018, 15:12
Ferrari slipping Kimi once again to give Seb pole. Boooooo to the Italian villains.
Phylyp (@phylyp)
28th April 2018, 15:25
You’re joking, right? @makana
I’m gutted to see Kimi miss the front row/pole, but there’s no way you can attribute that to the team, that tankslapper was all on him.
bobec
28th April 2018, 16:00
@phylyp Yes, he’s joking
kpcart
28th April 2018, 16:14
we need to stop these jokes though, it is like in America with Donald Trump calling real fair news “fake news”
Phylyp (@phylyp)
28th April 2018, 16:54
LOL, thanks bobec. Hard to judge that without a /s (slash-S sarcasm tag… in case the slash doesn’t come through) :-)
Makana (@makana)
28th April 2018, 17:49
Yes I’m taking the mick! 🤣
Funny it was believable, that goes to all the hard work made by all the tin foil hat racing pundits* out there.
Makana (@makana)
28th April 2018, 17:50
OF COURSE 🤪 @phylyp
Phylyp (@phylyp)
28th April 2018, 17:55
My apologies @makana 😁
The one thing I’ve learnt is that on the internet is that there is always someone out there who believes some extreme (in my eyes) position, so it’s hard to distinguish sarcasm like yours from those other type of posts!
Makana (@makana)
28th April 2018, 18:07
@phylyp No no need to apologize, as you said; the amount of extreme views out there makes it very plausible!
Mateusz Nowacki (@powerglove)
29th April 2018, 2:00
@makana
What else do you expect from a Pasta Factory.
FlatSix (@)
28th April 2018, 15:13
Kimi had a guaranteed front row slot, we can’t know whether Vettel would’ve improved too as he hadn’t finished his first sector yet. Real shame.
Though once again this proves that if the car is right Kimi isn’t so washed up as some pretend he is.
Michal (@michal2009b)
28th April 2018, 15:28
He wouldn’t, Vettel made a mistake and Kimi had outright fastest sector one and two times, quarter of a second faster than Vettel’s benchmark. But he screwed it, along with many errors in qualifying.
schudha (@reganama)
28th April 2018, 15:40
Maybe ‘Iceman’ refers to having to lay in the sun to warm up before functioning optimally…
He always flops when the the pressure is on.
budchekov (@budchekov)
28th April 2018, 15:47
He was going for it, damn the torpedoes..Stuff happens, you win, you lose.
Kimi’s due a little lady luck, hopefully tomorrow.
nase
28th April 2018, 17:29
@budchekov
He was already pretty lucky in Shanghai, that podium finish came out of nowhere. Today, he simply screwed up. Massively and repeatedly. First in Q2, ruining his set of Supersofts and compromising his race strategy. Then, two attempts in Q3 where he was all over the place. In a way, he’s lucky to start 6th, because with a mistake like that, both Force Indias might as well have slipped past him (0.057 seconds saved him from P8). He’ll have to pray to the Safety Car god, or else his season will already be so damaged that he might as well take the rest of the year off and go on a gardening leave.
David Not Coulthard (@davidnotcoulthard)
29th April 2018, 6:11
He was pretty unlucky to have ended up “npwhere” to begin with though (witht he blame lying, if on anyone, on Ferrari’s eate-reacting strategists)
Martin
28th April 2018, 16:21
How does starting 6th in the best car prove he’s not washed up? 🤔
David Not Coulthard (@davidnotcoulthard)
28th April 2018, 17:29
It doesn’t. Today’s first 2 sectors on the other hand……🤔
Egonovi
28th April 2018, 18:27
do we have sector times – how far was he ahead after 2 sectors?
Egonovi
28th April 2018, 18:32
already found it – 0.223s after two purple sectors.
Paul A (@paul-a)
28th April 2018, 17:59
Somebody (not me) once wrote: “Life is not a journey to the grave with the intention of arriving safely in one pretty and well-preserved piece, but to slide across the finish line broadside, thoroughly used up, worn out, leaking oil, and shouting ‘hooray’.” Seems to me that Mr. Räikkönen might follow this philosophy.
Big Joe
28th April 2018, 18:52
It’s not the best car. On par with Merc with the drivers getting more out of it. Anyone woud think Ferrari have Mercs old 1.5 second advantage the way some people inc the BBC’s journalists are talking.
Buffy
29th April 2018, 0:47
Ferrari clearly have the best car at the moment. No ifs or buts. Had Kimi hooked up his lap, the Ferrari’s would have been approx half sec up on the Mercs. That’s a massive margin. Baku really should have been a 3rd ferrari front row lockout.
They were a whopping 6ths up in China. Clearly the quickest thing our there at the moment. No question
These kind of margins is edging towards domination levels by ferrari
kpcart
28th April 2018, 16:23
Kimi has been washed up to me since 2006. he was the fastest driver in f1 to me and many others over many races in 2003 to 2005, in 2006 he was still was on it for half a season .. but in 2007 even though he won the championship (because of hamiltons last 2 race choke and massa team orders in last race), he seemed to start lacking speed, massa became a match for him and started beating him into 2008. he came back into a winning car after rallying, a kubica/Hamilton/Alonso would have taken that Renault/Lotus far higher up the grid. Kimi’s second tenure at Ferrari has been all about being TOO SLOW. now that he is matching vettel now and then, that is more about Vettel not being in top form rather than Kimi suddenly finding super new found speed. If Ferrari were to give KIMI preferential treatment and deside he is their number 1 driver for 2018, that would be Ferrari’s biggest mistake ever in driver management.
Hugh (@hugh11)
28th April 2018, 15:15
Shame for Kimi, that lap was mega up til then. Ferrari looking to be quickest again here, but hard to stay ahead, especially on lap 1 with the slipstream down to turn 3, and then at the end of the lap into turn 1. Hopefully another exciting race here
NewVerstappenFan (@jureo)
28th April 2018, 15:29
Kimi has the raw speed again. But to be 2 tenths up on Vettel he had to have overdriven his car.
Entire Quali he was over the limit, he did maybe two mistake free laps.
Simply not good enough. When you look at Hamilton, his lap was properly good on all corners, very composed and within the limits of the car.
Kimi should aspire to be that good.
SaraJ (@sjzelli)
28th April 2018, 16:55
Your comments turn my stomach.
nase
28th April 2018, 17:29
@sjzelli
In that case I’m inclined to say it’s your stomach’s fault.
anon
29th April 2018, 8:14
nase, it is probably not surprising that such an overtly xenophobic poster would be “sickened” by somebody happening to be complimentary towards somebody whom they have an obsessive and psychopathic hatred of.
sethje (@seth-space)
28th April 2018, 18:31
The number of mistakes HAM made before that “composed” but slow lap was impressive indeed.
And to get pole you need the fastest time, not the “most composed” lap ;)
NewVerstappenFan (@jureo)
28th April 2018, 18:43
I only say Hamilton because he is only the most acomplished qualifier in F1. When it matters his lap was good.
MarcSaunders
28th April 2018, 22:41
Oh, yes, sure. I´m perfect, … up to my mistakes …
bogaaaa (@nosehair)
28th April 2018, 15:25
Thought the bulls could challenge for pole! A good start they can challenge for the win.
Phylyp (@phylyp)
28th April 2018, 15:28
So… Vettel on P1, with Hamilton on P2. And the Merc is better attuned to speeding down sector 3. And we had Vettel already stating that the straight was too long. Nice. Let’s hope for a clean race tomorrow.
I’m not sure why the TR pitwall also didn’t properly caution Hartley to move aside and Gasly to warn him, seeing as Hartley was limping for some time. The onboard from Gasly was scary in terms of the speed involved, and am glad that nothing untoward happened.
LeClerc – let’s hope this marks the start of him showing us what made him a hot driver in the lower formulae.
Mateusz Nowacki (@powerglove)
28th April 2018, 15:29
Sirotkin is faster than you. Fernando, do you copy?
OmarRoncal - Go Seb!!! (@)
28th April 2018, 15:32
So you changed your avatar where you are holding a camera right?
Phylyp (@phylyp)
28th April 2018, 15:39
On the topic of avatars, there isn’t enough red/it isn’t bright enough a red to identify you @omarr-pepper :-) Your older one was more recognizable.
OmarRoncal - Go Seb!!! (@)
28th April 2018, 15:44
@phylyp hahahaha I know. It’s only I’m always using Vettel’s latest victory (the pic now is from Bahrain, and as it was a night race, it’s a little dim).
Phylyp (@phylyp)
28th April 2018, 16:05
Well, keep your fingers crossed for tomorrow!
anon
28th April 2018, 16:16
@omarr-pepper, I agree that it looks strongly like that same poster, but it looks more like he has created additional sock puppet accounts to spam this forum with abusive messages about Alonso.
Now, I might be mistaken here, but is it not against the site rules to create multiple accounts for the purpose of spamming the message boards and something you can be banned for?
Mateusz Nowacki (@powerglove)
29th April 2018, 1:58
Excuse me? I only had this avatar since the beginning of the F1Fanatic site
Duc Pham (@ducpham2708)
28th April 2018, 15:29
Even if Ferrari did give preferential treatment to Vettel, can you honestly blame them? Kimi messed up 4 out of his 5 runs in Q2 and Q3, costing him and his team both positions and the preferred strategy for tomorrow.
A driver who cracks when it matters the most 80% of the time should be questioned on whether he belongs in the sport, let alone at a top team like Ferrari.
Jorge Lardone (@jorge-lardone)
28th April 2018, 16:57
+1
javier javier (@j3d89)
28th April 2018, 18:25
That’s what I always say… If Ferrari were to give Seb special treatment.. I wouldn’t blame them… 2015… 2016.. 2017… When Seb was fighting the Mercedes kimi was fighting one of Redbull for 5th position or 4th instead of being close to Vettel and Mercedes so strategy could work in forcing things… So it was Sebastian vs 2 Mercedes all the time…. See what happened in Bahrai? Obviously it wasn’t kimis fault .. but he not being there forced Seb to go longer, and that was the case for the first 3 years.. Mercedes forcing Vettel with one of the driver cuz raikonen was never there
Sviat
28th April 2018, 15:36
Ferrari is dominant on every track – Vettel must be happy now. Now he can relax and take the championship. In a good-enough car he wasn’t good enough (watch 2017). And in a dominant car any driver can be fast.
I am disappointed with McLaren and Alonso. Four races in a row, and Alonso cannot get a clean last lap. He is definitely getting old for racing.
SimRacer (@simracer)
28th April 2018, 15:40
I assume this is sarcasm.
SaraJ (@sjzelli)
28th April 2018, 16:56
That or he’s a few bricks short of a load
MG1982 (@mg1982)
28th April 2018, 17:35
Just in case you’re not joking: 0.18sec is by no means enough to be “dominant”.
MarcSaunders
28th April 2018, 22:45
So you assume all Ferrari leaders are insane and love to throw their money out of the window?
Dewald Nel (@ho3n3r)
28th April 2018, 15:39
Death, taxes and moaning Kimi fans blaming the team/Vettel/the moon for his continual failures.
The 3 guarantees in life.
David Not Coulthard (@davidnotcoulthard)
28th April 2018, 17:31
Nobody’s saying anything to that effect unsarcastically. @ho3n3r
Nigel
28th April 2018, 18:52
Haha……. very true!
Baba
28th April 2018, 15:40
Forceindia back to their Customary positions
Gigantor (@kbdavies)
28th April 2018, 15:42
When i claimed the Ferrari the faster car at the beginning of the season after Melbourne, i was told i was talking tosh (i paraphrase) – including by @keithcollantine.
What say ye all now? Still waiting to make up your minds?
The only way Mercedes can beat Ferrari at the moment is on strategy, and not raw speed. And that doesn’t look like happening anytime soon as they consistently shoot themselves in the foot by not splitting the strategies between their drivers.
FlatSix (@)
28th April 2018, 16:29
@kbdavies Except you conveniently forget Mercedes was about the win each of the last three races had they played their cards better or if there wasn’t a SC.
Mercedes still has a package that is ridiculously close to Ferrari, and it’s little track variations that make the difference.
Papaya
28th April 2018, 17:16
“coulda shoulda woulda”
Ferrari was about to win Baku, Singapore, and Malaysia last year as well…
this year Mercedes is 3rd team in terms of raw speed, had it not because of the horsepower deficit, Red Bull will be in front of them in this Qualifying. Mercedes’ conservative car design (relative to 2017) kills their championship.
MG1982 (@mg1982)
28th April 2018, 17:44
You must be rewatching 2013 to say such thing!
Now, as of 2018, RBR is obviously only the 3rd fastest car. But they’re closer to Ferrari and Mercedes than last year, especially on race day, that’s true. Ferrari is the fastest in Quali, but not that much anymore in race day tho.
Niefer
28th April 2018, 17:41
I’d add that 2nd and 3rd place after dealing with their worst nightmare, tire temperature, is a hell of a good result. Their moment will come, and when it does, it’ll probably be a train of success.
Papaya
28th April 2018, 18:46
“coulda shoulda woulda”
using these assumption, raikkonen was about to getting pole just now and Bottas would be 4th, juz saying…
Jason S
28th April 2018, 19:55
RBR will not be “3rd fastest” tomorrow. The difference was purely quali engine power that Renault does not have up its sleeve. But Merc and Ferrari do not have this advantage in race mode.
David Not Coulthard (@davidnotcoulthard)
28th April 2018, 17:31
@kbdavies
Like in China.
Joao (@johnmilk)
28th April 2018, 15:43
Btw the supermarket finally opened up. What a lap, right behind Kimoa
Vettel fan 17 (@)
28th April 2018, 15:54
Great job from Vettel. Kimi had it in his palm though, and he threw it away.
NewVerstappenFan (@jureo)
28th April 2018, 22:48
To be honest Vettel threw it away aswell, but atleast had a good enough banker lap.
L (@lebz)
28th April 2018, 15:56
If the SC or VSC could only come out to help out Kimi… My heart goes out to him… He’s such a great driver but so unlucky…
He’s been outperforming his teammate this season (especially on one lap pace)…
Mashiat (@mashiat)
28th April 2018, 16:05
@lebz He’s not unlucky this time, just couldn’t handle pressure.
Phylyp (@phylyp)
28th April 2018, 16:07
Yeah, today looked like overdriving for Kimi, as @mashiat said. Q2 is excusable as he’d never run those tyres before, but in his final Q3 run I think he was treading that fine line between pushing the boundary and overdriving, it worked out great in the first two sectors and he blew it in the third. Combined with a poor banker lap, that’s what led him to end up in P6.
FlatSix (@)
28th April 2018, 16:30
@lebz When exactly was this outperforming happening, must’ve missed it.
nase
28th April 2018, 17:33
@flatsix
I think he’s referring to the Australian GP. There was quite a bit of outperforming going on there. But there hasn’t been anything like that since. Except Free Practice, maybe.
FlatSix (@)
28th April 2018, 18:50
And even then, Vettel had no way of passing Kimi so why bother. It’s too soon for teamorders too, once Vettel had the free air like Kimi had in the first stint he opened up a gap of 10 seconds to him while being hounded down by Hamilton. I’d say that’s clear evidence Vettel had pace in hand over Kimi the entire race.
nase
28th April 2018, 19:25
I’m not going to defend Räikkönen, but the gap at the end of the first stint was the real deal. 4 seconds are simply too much to be attributable to sitting back and waiting for the right moment. If Vettel’s leaving that gap was really intentional (and the fact that it rose gradually speaks against that), he was wasting time, which would’ve been a stupid thing to do, as it narrowed down his strategic opportunities. Therefore, I think that’s very unlikely.
The same goes for the second stint: That pace was genuine, but you have to keep in mind that Vettel’s tyres were 8 laps fresher than Räikkönen’s, and that Räikkönen’s 40-lap stint wasn’t too far from the maximum those tyres were capable of.
Therefore, I’d say that Räikkönen has outperformed Vettel in qualifying and in the first stint of the race in Australia – but that was it.
Aleš Norský (@gpfacts)
28th April 2018, 16:08
What is happening to Stoffel Vandoorne?
Francorchamps (@francorchamps17)
28th April 2018, 16:14
He’s 5 tenths behind one of the best drivers on the grid, I don’t think anything is “happening”. He can probably close the gap a little bit more before the end of the year.
5 tenths was a regular margin between Alonso and Raikkonen/Massa, a WDC and a nearly-WDC.
Aleš Norský (@gpfacts)
28th April 2018, 17:55
I just don’t think that his career is going as planned. After his extraordinary rise through lower categories, I really thought he would be able to match his teammate by now…
Ruben (@)
28th April 2018, 19:42
He was talking big that this would be his year. But so far only excuses and a pace that’s not even close to Alonso. I think with this form he will be replaced next year. Drivers of McLaren are send away for less.
Sundar Srinivas Harish (@sundark)
29th April 2018, 3:37
Apparently he didn’t get the low drag update.
KevinY
28th April 2018, 18:04
Alonso having number 1 driver treatment in the team as always in his career (bar 07). I dont think there is much to worry about Vando.
George
28th April 2018, 21:18
There isn’t anything wrong with Vandoorne, but maybe the son of the British rich dude will get him sidelined anyway.
There is something very wrong with the McLaren car though, and to me it seems Alonso driving it doesn’t help at all: Alo drives around the problem so it doesn’t get fixed, and engineers listen to the experienced guy first, if the numbers don’t match the performance on track. The simulator sessions are probably off too, so a youngster like Vandoorne comes to track with a set of bad assumptions and the time to get experience is awfully short.
Daniel (@db01)
28th April 2018, 20:04
I don’t think he has the same updates as Alonso this race.
TGS
28th April 2018, 16:19
the halo killed my love for F1, i cant take it anymore
Serg (@serg33)
28th April 2018, 19:15
Unfortunately, I feel the same way.
Ruben (@)
28th April 2018, 19:43
Can’t even see the waving hand of Vettel :S
Michael (@freelittlebirds)
28th April 2018, 21:05
Not sure what it is but it definitely is less fun watching F1 now – is it Sky sports, is it the Halo, is it both?
I can’t put my finger on it but it’s not as much fun.
Nigel
28th April 2018, 16:37
That engine mode Mercedes finally gave Force India is working beautifully!! 🙂
RicoD (@ricod)
28th April 2018, 17:45
I thought the customer teams got the same engine/software already, apparently not…
Happy for Force India though.
anon
28th April 2018, 18:44
@ricod, according to Szafnauer, those engine modes were already available in the past – what Mercedes’s customers are now being told is that they can afford to run the engines in their higher performance modes for a longer amount of time as Mercedes have found that the predicted wear rates on track are lower than they had originally anticipated and therefore take a bit more wear and tear.
RicoD (@ricod)
28th April 2018, 19:59
Ah, @anon, thanks for the explanation. I had missed that.
Aaditya (@neutronstar)
28th April 2018, 16:43
We’ve had four different teams winning the midfield battle in the four qualifying sessions so far this season. Haas, Toro Rosso, Renault and now Force India.
Phylyp (@phylyp)
28th April 2018, 16:56
@neutronstar – and McLaren consider themselves a cut above the midfield, so aren’t bothered to win there :-)
Nigel
28th April 2018, 17:03
Correct me if I am wrong but was it Alonso the one who said earlier this season “Now we can fight”.
KevinY
28th April 2018, 18:08
Also “q3 every race this season”
Big Joe
28th April 2018, 19:03
@mg1982
To be fair , the BBC are in full propaganda mode to limit the damage to Lewis’ reputation. This may as well be the 2002 Ferrari to them. Never any credit to Vettel with the cars close enough for drivers to make a big difference.
Big Joe
28th April 2018, 19:05
Alonso said Q3 was the “target” some thought he wasn’t being ambitious enough. Turns out it was a fair target to set.
Aaditya (@neutronstar)
28th April 2018, 18:49
@phylyp Their upgrades in Spain will take them to new heights…
George
28th April 2018, 21:23
Funny, Since F1 is all about downforce :)
Jorge Lardone (@jorge-lardone)
28th April 2018, 17:03
It is the opportune moment for Kimi to retire with dignity. There are too many mistakes and lack of speed in the races. It is seriously damaging Ferrari. There are many drivers who could be doing a better job next to Vettel today, like Perez, Ricciardo, Hulkemberg, Grosjean, Magnussen.
Nigel
28th April 2018, 17:11
I agree Perez tics all the boxes for Ferrari and he will not be a challenge for Vettel.
Ruben (@)
28th April 2018, 19:52
I agree, but replacing with Grosjean or Magnussen won’t change anything good for Ferrari. Grosjean is not performing well when the car is not 100% perfect and Magnussen showed to many mistakes at McLaren and Renault. What I would like to see is a young driver like Charles Leclerc to give it a shot. RB is performing well with a young and experienced driver.
Nigel
28th April 2018, 21:56
Traditionally Ferrari has gone for solid experienced drivers. Perez has waited like everyone else. Even when Perez was getting podiums he had to wait. What has Leclerc done in F1 yet?
NewVerstappenFan (@jureo)
28th April 2018, 22:56
Traditionally Ferrari also failed to win a chsmpionship for many years at many periods in their history. Then they changed.
Niefer
28th April 2018, 17:35
Man, I loved that slide from Kimi, not because of the outcome, of course, but because what that meant, at least for me: he’s committed with the speed. He’s finding that lost rapidity he once had. And for me, as an “old-school” Raikkonen fan, that’s true bliss.
As for Vettel, nice lap, but good luck for him. He’ll be vulnerable, and somehow I can see a puncture coming from Bottas, and a podium composed by HAM, RIC and RAI.
Btw, nice move from Gasly! Hope he has extra boxers though.
javier javier (@j3d89)
28th April 2018, 18:34
Or maybe both Mercedes taking each other out? Verstappen crashing.. so Seb Ricci raikonen
matt
28th April 2018, 18:14
Well, it appears that Mercedes dominance has indeed come to an end but that does not mean that they cannot continue to take the WDC and WCC, only that Ferrari and RedBull have caught up, with a little help from a strangely slower Mercedes car this year.
What have they done to it to make it lap here a second slower than last year? Is this a side effect for addressing their non-performance at that far eastern track who´s name I can´t recall? (was it Malaysia or Singapore?)
Game on, I like Hamilton winning all the time, if only for my thin veneer of national pride but i´m ready to see some new winners again and would love to see a three team fight this year. I hope it´s not an easy WDC for ferrari.
Frederick Mann (@myst)
28th April 2018, 20:15
I think, Mercedes is sandbagging with their PU and will unleash it after July. Since many years RBR is outstanding to develop the car during a season. They were so quick at the end of last year. What has change over the years is the PU. And that is still a Mercedes territory.
Sainz jr. is 1.5 Seconds behind Ric…. Ham vs. Ocon 0,8……
Frederick Mann (@myst)
28th April 2018, 20:06
So it is Vettel over and over again. Against Brawn 2009, McLaren, Ferrari, Webber 2010 (Webber was P1, Vettel was P5 in the standings before Singapore GP……), 2011 hehehehe, 2012 again against Ferrari…. And from 2015 onwards it is again Vettel against two Mercs…
I think he is just lucky….
Alonso beat Leclerc in a Sauber today. Congratulations Hinwil!
NewVerstappenFan (@jureo)
28th April 2018, 22:59
Yeah Vettel is just lucky, first he got Alonso’s seat at Red Bull, then his seat at Ferrari, and maybe some day when McLaren becomes good he will luck in to that aswell.
Jason S
28th April 2018, 20:14
No chance it can be an easy WDC for Ferrari. I think we now know Ferrari (and Mercedes) is not faster that RBR on race day. It is now a three way fight on Sundays. I just hope Max doesn’t take anyone else out this race.
Sanguine
28th April 2018, 20:46
Williams quicker than McLaren..looks like Fernando’s night of the long knives will continue, expect more purges.
Frederick Mann (@myst)
28th April 2018, 21:31
Frederick Mann (@myst)
28th April 2018, 21:32
https://i.imgur.com/oxskg1a.png
Sanguine
28th April 2018, 22:15
Keep ya head up, Fernando. Things are gonna get easier. 😂
Alonso (@alonshow)
29th April 2018, 0:27
Question about Hulk. He got to Q3, but he starts outside the top 10, does he have to start with the tyres from Q2 or can he choose whatever he wants?
Sundar Srinivas Harish (@sundark)
29th April 2018, 3:41
Free choice, I think. Only 9 drivers will be starting on scrubbed sets.
F1 frog (@f1frog)
29th April 2018, 10:45
No, he starts on the tyres he used in Q2
IJW (@ijw1)
29th April 2018, 8:53
@alonshow He will start on the tyres he used in Q2. It’s a double whammy for the Hulk.
ajay
29th April 2018, 2:38
and thats why kimi will forever be #2 till he is in ferrari. screw up at the moments that matter.. ham, vet rarely do those mistakes..