An exceptional performance by Lewis Hamilton at a rain-lashed Red Bull Ring saw the Mercedes driver take pole position by 1.2 seconds ahead of Max Verstappen.
Carlos Sainz Jnr made it three different cars in the top three. He’ll share the second row of the grid with last week’s winner Valtteri Bottas.Q1
The prolonged period of heavy rain which arrived at the Red Bull Ring on Saturday had already forced the cancellation of final practice when the qualifying hour rolled around. Teasing, the rain relented for a while as 3pm approached, only to return with a vengeance. Clearly, qualifying could not begin at its allotted time, as was duly postponed.
It finally began after a 46-minute delay on a track which was soaked but nonetheless passable. It was full wet weather tyres all round for the field as they assembled at the pit lane exit, led by Sebastian Vettel, some queuing for more than two minutes, anxious not to miss what could be the best of the conditions.
In the event almost all of Q1 ran to schedule without interruption. Lap times steady fell throughout, but a largely flawless show of driving by the field kept cars out of barriers.
Romain Grosjean, the last driver onto the track, was the first one off it, skidding into the turn four gravel on his out-lap. He rejoined but only drove as far as the pits, where he stopped with a suspected water pump problem, and took no further part in the session.
Most drivers opted to take second, fresh sets of wet weather tyres as the session wore on, to benefit from the superior grip of unworn tread. Seven drivers resisted the temptation including both Mercedes and both McLarens. The Red Bull pair did too, though Alexander Albon was only 14th, and Daniel Ricciardo did the same. Both Ferrari drivers made it through, but
George Russell took advantage of the adverse conditions to secure Williams’ first appearance in Q2 for more than a year. But Antonio Giovinazzi brought the session to an early end, crashing his Alfa Romeo at the end of the lap. After being told to rejoin he dragged debris onto the track, then came to a stop as the session was red-flagged.
Kimi Raikkonen joined his team mate in elimination, while Nicholas Latifi was over a second off his flying team mate and also went out. Sergio Perez also dropped out along with Grosjean.
Drivers eliminated in Q1
| 16 | Kimi Raikkonen | Alfa Romeo-Ferrari | 1’21.372 |
| 17 | Sergio Perez | Racing Point-Mercedes | 1’21.607 |
| 18 | Nicholas Latifi | Williams-Mercedes | 1’21.759 |
| 19 | Antonio Giovinazzi | Alfa Romeo-Ferrari | 1’21.831 |
| 20 | Romain Grosjean | Haas-Ferrari |
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Q2
Hamilton and Verstappen swapped quickest times throughout the second part of qualifying, ending up separated by a tenth of a second. They were half a second clear of the chasing pack, which was led by Lando Norris, the McLaren driver in good shape having had therapy for the pain he suffered yesterday.
A week earlier only one of the Ferrari drivers made the cut for Q3. The same happened again, but this time it was Charles Leclerc who progressed no further than Q2. Sebastian Vettel had a messy moment on the kerbs at the exit of turn one, but gathered it up and claimed the final place in the top 10 by a tenth of a second from his team mate.
The two Ferraris were followed, impressively, by Russell’s Williams in 12th place. Daniil Kvyat, who was involved in an incident with Leclerc, joined the Ferrari driver in progressing no further. The second Racing Point and Haas, of Lance Stroll and Kevin Magnussen respectively, were also eliminated.
Drivers eliminated in Q2
| 11 | Charles Leclerc | Ferrari | 1’19.628 |
| 12 | George Russell | Williams-Mercedes | 1’19.636 |
| 13 | Lance Stroll | Racing Point-Mercedes | 1’19.645 |
| 14 | Daniil Kvyat | AlphaTauri-Honda | 1’19.717 |
| 15 | Kevin Magnussen | Haas-Ferrari | 1’20.211 |
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Q3
The conditions had visibly worsened further as the final 10 drivers took to the track for the pole position shoot-out. Verstappen set the pace initially, but Hamilton unleashed the potential of the Mercedes with his final two runs.
The first lifted the black W11 seven-tenths of a second clear of the field. His final effort added another half a second to that margin.
Red Bull told Verstappen “we’ll give you all the performance for this final lap”, and he began his decisive effort with the fastest time of anyone through sector one. But Hamilton, running behind him, soon pegged that back. Verstappen remained on course for a substantial improvement in his time, but as he reached turn nine he found a pit-bound Vettel at the apex.
The Red Bull snapped sideways, and though Verstappen’s awesome reflexes kept it out of the wall, his chance to improve was gone. Nonetheless he secured the second spot on the front row.
Pierre Gasly briefly had the AlphaTauri up in third place, but slipped back over the final runs. Sainz took advantage, placing his McLaren in a superb third, cheering “ole, ole, ole” as the team confirmed the result. Esteban Ocon, who had a disappointing qualifying session one week earlier, put his Renault an excellent fifth, Bottas separating him from Sainz.
Having been third in Q2, Norris was a disappointed sixth, which will become ninth after his grid penalty. That will promote Albon, Gasly and Daniel Ricciardo. Vettel qualified 10th.
Top ten in Q3
| 1 | Lewis Hamilton | Mercedes | 1’19.273 |
| 2 | Max Verstappen | Red Bull-Honda | 1’20.489 |
| 3 | Carlos Sainz Jnr | McLaren-Renault | 1’20.671 |
| 4 | Valtteri Bottas | Mercedes | 1’20.701 |
| 5 | Esteban Ocon | Renault | 1’20.922 |
| 6 | Lando Norris | McLaren-Renault | 1’20.925 |
| 7 | Alexander Albon | Red Bull-Honda | 1’21.011 |
| 8 | Pierre Gasly | AlphaTauri-Honda | 1’21.028 |
| 9 | Daniel Ricciardo | Renault | 1’21.192 |
| 10 | Sebastian Vettel | Ferrari | 1’21.651 |
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2020 Styrian Grand Prix
- Binotto expects 16-year-old Mugello lap record to fall at Tuscan Grand Prix
- Bottas edges Hamilton, Perez a tenth away in final practice
- Mercedes still “not 100% clear” what caused gearbox problems
- 2020 Styrian Grand Prix Star Performers
- F1’s trophy robots are ‘a bit over the top’ – Hamilton
Lums (@lums)
11th July 2020, 16:01
GOAT!
medman (@medman)
11th July 2020, 16:10
Lewis absolutely blistered the field today. Rain, the great equalizer, threw some of the grid into disarray, but Hamilton was having none of it. In quali 1 & 2, job done. In q3, job obliterated.
Carlos Medrano (@carlosmedrano)
11th July 2020, 16:01
Lewis has to be the best rain driver on the grid
Lums (@lums)
11th July 2020, 16:03
‘Has to’? With 1.2 secs, he is. Even before today he has always been.
OOliver
11th July 2020, 16:29
You might want to calm down a bit. Tricky conditions and no two drivers meet the exact same condition.
Swiftnesses
11th July 2020, 16:37
You ‘find’ the conditions – that’s why the weather is seen a skillbase equaliser.
GtisBetter (@)
11th July 2020, 16:48
You don’t “find” the conditions. That is nonsense. You can find a gap. But the weather decides how much rains falls and dictate track conditions. And then it also depends how much water the total amount of drivers can clear of the track.
It’s also not an equalizer. That is some romantic notion. Still same teams at the top and same teams at the bottom. It does require a certain skill and people who have it shine a bit more. But Hamilton couldn’t do pole in a haas or maybe even in a Ferrari.
Gigantor (@kbdavies)
11th July 2020, 16:55
But is Mercedes 1.2s faster than the Red Bull? Of course not. Furthermore, RBR are known for their downforce and areo, which is a great factor in wet and mixed conditions. Thus we can conclude that ICE aside, wet weather is indeed a driver equalizer.
The data suggests Lewis would have put the Red Bull on pole if he was driving it.
Swiftnesses
11th July 2020, 16:58
You don’t find the conditions? Okay… Watch multiple races with Senna Vs Prost in the wet and tell me it’s not about ‘finding’ grip and defining the line (raw racing, with minimal technical influence). Watch any of the wet karting championship races (you can basically remove performance prejudice from these races too).
The fact is, Hamilton nailed it – as he always does. Max was overdriving and caught the less efficient lines on multiple occasions (clear from watching the onboard footage).
qazuhb
11th July 2020, 17:21
@passingisoverrated
Grand Prix de Montecarlo, 1984
David BR (@david-br)
11th July 2020, 18:39
@ Swiftnesses
You’re right I think. In the wet you have to search constantly for the right line, feeling the track, applying the inputs as smoothly and accurately as possible at exactly the right moment. The idea that Hamilton lucks into a good qualifying time, or is just ‘a bit better’, is one of the most absurd I’ve ever read here.
Drg
11th July 2020, 19:26
Somebody not raced in the wet @passingisoverrated ?
I can assure you after ten years at the top of amateur 250 gearbox racing it certainly shows when someone has talent rather than speed.
Today True talent showed.
Regardless of JB pretending otherwise the sheer statistics show LH as the greatest wet driver we have seen.
Simply look it up…
Samouri (@samouri)
11th July 2020, 21:47
DRG…I’m not surprised at all, by the response of JB.
Tony Mansell
12th July 2020, 1:18
I’m not going to calm down ! All time great sesh and the rain master reigned. If you don’t like this enough to wet your bed than you no longer racing fan
Mashiat (@mashiat)
11th July 2020, 16:01
That lap by Hamilton…WOW. I’m not his biggest fan, but take a bow.
mystic one (@mysticus)
11th July 2020, 20:57
Well today/tonight Red Bul wont bow and will dig all the videos to protest Ham’s lap time… lets watch and see :)
Jack (@jackisthestig)
12th July 2020, 4:06
Amazing lap, Russell wasn’t too bad either. Imagine Lewis and George as teammates at Mercedes, the others may as well stay warm and dry in the garage whenever it starts raining.
AMG44 (@amg44)
11th July 2020, 16:03
Ham shows why he is still the Benchmark. The best driver on the Grid. Smashed Max and Bottas in equal machinery and conditions.
Search
11th July 2020, 17:25
Ermm… when I was watching, Max was in a different car —which was clearly quite a handful… Nevertheless, Max was magnanimous in defeat and admitted he would not have beaten Lewis to pole even if he had nailed his last lap.
Neiana (@neiana)
11th July 2020, 22:32
There seems to be a lot of people who think all machinery is equal once the rain falls. It’s funny to see people just talk as if Russell in the Williams could have had pole if only he had more talent, because obviously rain “equals” all.
Lee1
11th July 2020, 23:14
It becomes far more equal. Aero is limited more in the slower rain conditions. Power is all but nullified, mechanical grip and balance are the only things that do not really change. Basically it brings the field much closer which is why people call it an equaliser. Are they exactly equal? No but they are very close. There is no way in earth that the Merc is 1.2 seconds quicker than the red bull in those conditions, in fact I would expect the red bull to be quite equal as both are very well balanced cars. The wet always has and always will show off the skill far more than the car.
Gigantor (@kbdavies)
11th July 2020, 23:53
@Lee 1 – very well said and succinctly put.
Ajaxn
12th July 2020, 2:29
Agreed! The pole today was showcased the driver’s ability. In an era of capped spending, the natural abilities of the driver will be telling.
Pironi the Provocateur (@pironitheprovocateur)
11th July 2020, 16:03
Nice laps by Sainz and Ocon.
Sravan Krishnan (@sravan-pe)
11th July 2020, 16:03
You can only grab that much popcorn. For another Hamilton vs Verstappen duel.
Kribana (@krichelle)
11th July 2020, 16:04
This guy needs to be banned from racing in wet conditions. I would have to see the telemetry on that, and compare it to Bottas. No words for that performance. We still have a race tomorrow, and this is not over yet.
Kribana (@krichelle)
11th July 2020, 16:05
*would love to see the telemetry
Blazzz (@blazzz)
11th July 2020, 16:06
Some Hamilton haters will never give him the credit he deserves but honestly Hamilton is one of the greatest F1 drivers of all time. GOAT pub talks will have to wait until he retires but amongst the top names- the Prosts, Fangios, Sennas- obviously he has fully reserved his seat at the top table.
MrBoerns (@mrboerns)
11th July 2020, 16:08
Does Vettel even care snymore…?
Klon (@)
11th July 2020, 16:16
You’d think outqualifying Leclerc would show to that, but whatever.
TurboBT
11th July 2020, 16:26
would the number 1 leclerc?
Adam
11th July 2020, 17:16
The ferrari car is garbage and he beat his teammate…. what more do you want him to do?
MrBoerns (@mrboerns)
11th July 2020, 18:37
Well i felt like he could have shown *something* in Q3
Invisiblekid (@invisiblekid)
12th July 2020, 8:18
He did. He showed the Ferrari is absolute garbage.
LB (@burden93)
11th July 2020, 16:09
So glad to see Williams getting better, George Russell is a future superstar, a tenth off the Ferraris!
Incredible lap from Hamilton, one of the greatest (if not the best) of all time in the wet. No surprise him and Verstappen are 1 and 2. Tomorrow should be great fun!
OmarRoncal - Go Seb!!! (@)
11th July 2020, 16:32
If Stroll hadn’t slipped at the end of his last lap, both Ferraris would have been out. But it seems inevitable that in one of the next races both Ferraris will only reach Q2.
Neiana (@neiana)
11th July 2020, 22:33
@omarr-pepper watch it be Italy.
Jay Menon (@jaymenon10)
11th July 2020, 16:10
Wow…hats off to Lewis…not a fan, but credit where it’s due. What a lap.
Bottas should look at himself here, he dropped the ball.
What a session though. 10/10.
ruliemaulana (@ruliemaulana)
11th July 2020, 16:10
Bottas 3.0 is already over.
DeanR
11th July 2020, 16:24
Points are won tomorrow but BOT 3 never existed. Reports of Lewis’ demise are always greatly exaggerated.
Nerrticus (@nerrticus)
11th July 2020, 16:30
To be fair this is just the base model. The Bottas 3.1 update will include improved wet weather performance and waterproof porridge
ruliemaulana (@ruliemaulana)
11th July 2020, 16:58
I’m gonna curb my enthusiasm until they released Bottas Professional Plus Multimedia Edition.
Lee1
11th July 2020, 23:18
No, Bottas cloud edition is going to be the one to watch for.
Michael (@freelittlebirds)
11th July 2020, 18:58
Tough moment for Bottas. Just when you think you are as good as he is, Lewis does something that makes you feel like a Formula 3 driver. Happened to Rosberg, Button, and probably Alonso.
medman (@medman)
11th July 2020, 16:12
Congrats to F1 for putting on great performances in the face of what the world is suffering through….I hope they can get as many races in as possible this season, offer up a great championship fight, and things continue to go well in the F1 bubble.
budchekov (@budchekov)
11th July 2020, 16:17
I want to watch the last 5 minutes again !
Bravo the top 10, going fast in that stuff is truly amazing: @ Lewis, respect, what a wheel man.
Blazzz (@blazzz)
11th July 2020, 16:18
Paddy Lowe- who worked with both Hamilton and Senna, was asked if he felt Hamilton had the same raw pace as Senna, replying: “Yeah, undoubtedly. Those great drivers are able to pull out an extraordinary lap and I think you kind of saw that with Lewis [in qualifying]… probably on Mercedes estimations and simulations, that time wasn’t in the car.”
Nuff said.
Blazzz (@blazzz)
11th July 2020, 16:19
This was after the Canadian GP in 2017 btw.
Lewisham Milton
11th July 2020, 16:18
Black Clouds Matter.
Todfod (@todfod)
12th July 2020, 8:16
Ha
Neil (@neilosjames)
11th July 2020, 16:21
Ridiculous gap at such a short circuit. Verstappen might have been closer had he not encountered Vettel at the pit entry, but I don’t think he’d have got within half a second.
Overall, one of the best qualifying sessions I’ve seen for a long time. Lots of really good performances and the whole field deserves credit for managing all three parts and only losing a handful of minutes to flags. Worth the wait, and so happy they got on with it and didn’t postpone until tomorrow.
Adam
11th July 2020, 17:18
sky showed their laps side by side and by the time they got to turn 9 they think verstappan was already 6 tenths off Hamilton
MacLeod (@macleod)
12th July 2020, 8:50
correct Max wasn’t beat Lewis today and Max said so! Hats off for Lewis (I think all three were enjoying the Quali)
Ipsom
11th July 2020, 16:23
I really really wanted to see that verstappen vs Hamilton one lap fight :((
Surely that’s a penalty for vettel right?!
petebaldwin (@)
11th July 2020, 16:30
I don’t think you can really blame Vettel – he was entering the pits and in the wet, you can’t really see what’s behind you due to the spray. Maybe his team could have told him Max was catching him but at that part of the track, I don’t see where else he could gone. Verstappen would have been starting 2nd even if he completed his lap so I doubt they’ll take any action.
Swiftnesses
11th July 2020, 16:35
You saw it. The results are clear.
Adam
11th July 2020, 17:19
no way is that a penalty for vettel. He wasnt on a lap and was heading to the pits and verstappan was trying to follow him
F1oSaurus (@)
11th July 2020, 17:46
Verstappen was slower up till that point anyway.
Robbie (@robbie)
11th July 2020, 17:55
Yeah SV did nothing wrong and even if he coincidentally distracted Max that would be on Max and yet post-quali he (Max) certainly had no issue with SV and knew there was no way he was beating LH anyway.
GnosticBrian (@gnosticbrian)
11th July 2020, 16:26
The best driver in F1 gave all the young pretenders a masterclass in wet weather driving.
On one of the shortest laps in the calendar, one and a quarter seconds clear of the field. Awesome!
Boomerang
11th July 2020, 16:26
The spirit of Ayrton lives!
LEMAYIAN (@lems)
11th July 2020, 16:34
Get in there Lewis. Sometimes we just have to appreciate greatness without all this “it’s all but the car BS”. Am lucky to be witnessing one of the greatest if not the GOAT.
ayrton
11th July 2020, 16:37
Lewis was very very good today
Kringle
11th July 2020, 16:56
DAS how you do it.
Camber 3.0 on the mid straight, 1.0 in the corner… Maybe.
René (@)
11th July 2020, 20:23
DAS changes toe. Not camber ;)
Yaru (@yaru)
11th July 2020, 17:05
Disappointed that Bottas only got P4 but woahhhh Hamilton’s on fire!
AJ (@asleepatthewheel)
11th July 2020, 17:16
“Leave it to me Bono, leave it to me”
-Lewis Hamilton
2020 Styrian Grand Prix
Nulla Pax (@nullapax)
11th July 2020, 17:54
@asleepatthewheel Quote =
“Leave me to it Bono, leave me to it – I’m on it”
I loved it when I heard him say that.
It was so obvious from his tone of voice that he was in charge and working hard. Top stuff ;)
Boomerang
11th July 2020, 17:24
I just love commentators of F1TV. Their favorite driver, driver that travels faster than light, is being outpaced by 1.2s and they just keep on commentating about what he’s done or didn’t do in the past. I must admit it’s very amusing to listen those comments especially if you are not Verstappens fan.
JeroenJ
12th July 2020, 8:33
What language commentary do you listen to? I didn’t notice this in the English stream?
Josh (@canadianjosh)
11th July 2020, 17:24
What a performance by Lewis today. One of the best qualifying sessions I have ever watched, even without Max slipping up 2 or 3 times on that last lap, he would have had trouble beating Hamilton’s time.
Nulla Pax (@nullapax)
11th July 2020, 17:39
After last weekend I expected Lewis to be seriously fired up but boy oh boy …. :)
Top work from the McLaren’s and Russell plus Gasly quite surprised me.
One of the best Qualy’s for a long long time.
F1oSaurus (@)
11th July 2020, 17:44
Staggering lap!
Again Hamilton dominates in the wet.
The rest of the top ten is only tenths of a second apart (7 tenths from P2 to P9) . Yet Hamilton hammers in a 1.2s gap over the lot of them.
Jay
11th July 2020, 18:06
Maybe wet qualifying sessions instead of reverse grids on Saturdays.
MXMXD (@mxmxd)
11th July 2020, 18:38
Sprinklers, lol.
Mouse_Nightshirt (@mouse_nightshirt)
11th July 2020, 18:43
Somewhere, Bernie’s ears are feeling warm…
Steven Robertson (@emu55)
11th July 2020, 21:10
Sprinklers on a Saturday and safety cars on a Sunday.
Mariano (@mariano)
11th July 2020, 18:41
Hamilton’s lap was incredible! And as usual it seems that for Sky commentators Sainz doesn’t exist, everything is about Lando Norris.
Michael (@freelittlebirds)
11th July 2020, 18:52
fair point
anon
11th July 2020, 20:08
@mariano well, to play devil’s advocate, Norris had set faster laps than Sainz did in Q1 and in Q2, so it’s perhaps not surprising that he was drawing more attention at that point in time.
Mariano (@mariano)
11th July 2020, 21:12
@anon Indeed. I do like Norris, he is a very fast driver. Having said that, Sainz’s 3rd place was an excellent achievement which deserved to be pointed out by the Sky commentators.
David BR (@david-br)
11th July 2020, 18:42
Hamilton is simply the best ever driver in F1 in wet weather.
A bunch of other drivers also showed their skill, including Verstappen, Ocon, Gasly, Russell, Sainz, a great session.
Ferrari though?! They seem to be slipping into mid-midfield levels of performance. With two very good drivers. Awful.
RebelAngelFloyd (@)
11th July 2020, 20:20
Lewis clearly drove better than his last wet race, Germany?
David BR (@david-br)
11th July 2020, 21:37
@rebelangelfloyd Where he was leading the field easily until put on the wrong tyres and then span precisely where Leclerc and Verstappen, among others, also span, aquaplaning onto a stretch of runoff tarmac that turned into an ice rink with zero control possible. Plus he had heavy flu. Possibly some extenuating factors apply.
erikje
11th July 2020, 23:44
Your memory about that race is very peculiar.. Lewis made a lot of errors ( VER only once spun on the wrong tires) and it was VER leading the race every SC again and again..
Applebook
12th July 2020, 0:26
Who spun today in qualifying?
David BR (@david-br)
12th July 2020, 3:28
As Applebook points out, not the best day to talk down Hamilton and up Verstappen.
DeanR
12th July 2020, 6:35
Oh look…Erik has decided to join us! Enjoy that session Erik? Ver often spins in the wet. Brazil 18, Germany 19 (twice), Austria 20. You can’t say the same for Lewis. He did last year in Germany but I can’t think of another? He is the best driver in the wet (best driver period) even a patriotic Dutchman like yourself can see that, surely?
Dom (@3dom)
12th July 2020, 10:33
Hamilton led for half the race easily. They all made mistakes when put onto the wrong tyres, it’s a bit of lottery on the wrong tyres in those conditions. It doesn’t detract from his obvious amazing ability in the wet. Verstappen is great in the wet also, which is another reason why people find this performance so remarkable.
erikje
12th July 2020, 12:35
ah, al lot of HAM worshippers i see ;)
All with the same very colored glasses.
Ham put in a great lap in Austria, no question about that. But Germany 2019 was one of his off moments a race long. He even wanted to quit that race but Toto made him race to the end.
And no, the place VER spun ( and recovered without any damage) was nog the same as the multitute of spins HAM had.. but heee.. do not let facts get in the way of your fiction ;)
Michael (@freelittlebirds)
11th July 2020, 18:51
Lewis belongs in another category… this was a clinic
Geo
11th July 2020, 18:59
It’s a shame that in his Merc years Lewis has never had a teammate who could consistently push him. It seriously flatters his talent.
Michael (@freelittlebirds)
11th July 2020, 19:05
The guy is a god. He keeps doing it too…
Nuggy1980
11th July 2020, 19:12
Lol, *yawn*
Lums (@lums)
11th July 2020, 19:28
I agree Geo
Cant compare mere humans to gods.
ian dearing
11th July 2020, 20:38
It’s a shame that a F1 fan, unlike most F1 fans, drivers, press, engineers and F1 bosses can’t appreciate a once in a generation talent.
Jay
11th July 2020, 21:24
Maybe you are right but saying it here is kinda pointless.
DonSmee (@david-beau)
12th July 2020, 1:07
Driving Gods cannot be pushed.
Ben Rowe (@thegianthogweed)
11th July 2020, 19:25
The article is saying grosjean skidded into the gravel trap. He was already going really slow and it litrally looked like the breaks were not working. Even sky commented on his onboard replay that none of his wheels locked up. There was yet again some issue that i can’t see how it was his fault. His luck is jus shocking and haas has way to many potentially dangerous issues with the car.
Niefer (@niefer)
11th July 2020, 19:26
Now that was a decent session! Mega lap from HAM and subpar from BOT. By the way, interesting to notice who came on top under those conditions: Hamilton, Verstappen, Sainz, Ocon, Gasly and Vettel. To me, though, the name of the day gotta be Russell, really impressive!
Amusingly, odds reversed for Hamilton, Sainz and Vettel today. However, I don’t expect SAI and VET to overtop their mates results last week, under normal circumstances. Let’s see how Bottas is gonna cope with the conditions tomorrow. Given he struggles way more than Hamilton following the cars, I suppose the risk of a failure is imminent?
NewVerstappenFan (@jureo)
11th July 2020, 19:36
Amazing.
People say rain is a great equalizer.
But nobody mentioned that to Hamilton.
Just look at that gap to Verstappen – a spectacular wet track driver by all standards.
Then there was Vettel pipping Leclerc surprisingly.
Bottas nearly 1,5s of pole.
Maybe more evident was how many good laps he did before that.
Saddly Bottas is not close.
Ajaxn
12th July 2020, 2:21
Conditions like these where you can’t resort to outright pace f the car demonstrates the ability of the driver. Vettel pipping Leclerc shows his greater experience. Hamilton’s margin over the rest of the field, shows his natural talents.
MG1982 (@mg1982)
12th July 2020, 9:03
Really?! It’s a math formula?! Mercedes is faster than 2nd fastest car by at least 0.55sec, how do you know that this particular car is not even faster in wet conditions?! I mean, in the last few years Ferrari (when they were titles contenders) were worse in wet conditions than dry, I guess we can say that…. sometimes…. certain cars… might be faster in wet conditions than dry conditions. Overall, Mercedes IS WITHOUT DOUBT the best car on the grid since 2014.
MG1982 (@mg1982)
12th July 2020, 9:07
Yes… and no. I mean, it’s not the 1st or 2nd time he’s beating LEC fair and square so, don’t know why it’s so surprising. Plus, I guess now we have the proof Ferrari wasn’t favouring VET, cause now they are not favouring VET 110%, yet things are the same performance wise.
Bobby (@f1bobby)
11th July 2020, 19:43
Best of all time. I don’t say that lightly. Hamilton is the greatest.
Geo
11th July 2020, 23:31
Your profile picture says differently…
Applebook
12th July 2020, 0:27
Senna was fastest. That doesn’t mean that he was necessarily the greatest.
praxis (@praxis)
11th July 2020, 19:52
Let’s hope for an interesting race.
NewVerstappenFan (@jureo)
11th July 2020, 21:09
One can hope the new AMG black will have cooling issues, or Max gets a better start?
Kaku Kedeba
11th July 2020, 20:27
There must be something amiss.
As I write this Red Bull haven’t lodged a protest with the stewards.
Maybe they could try saying they suspect Mercedes mixed cross ply with radial wet tyres, hence LH’s incredible pace in the wet?
Wayne
11th July 2020, 20:33
1.2 seconds is some serious whipass! Especially on such a short track. But then again lewis probably lucked into it lol!!! Or its because of the car. Or its because the rain fell less on the part of the track he was on throughout his lap. And also the water ran off the track to create a grippier path for lewis.
Colly
11th July 2020, 21:05
None of that. It was just the rain was different rain for Max, it was wetter.
if it was the same rain he would have been faster…
NewVerstappenFan (@jureo)
11th July 2020, 21:11
Hehe, this Hamilton guy, when the stars align every second weekend, and whatever witchcraft needs to happen, maybe teamate bearly being ahead of him in the last race… Then he is fast.
LEMAYIAN (@lems)
12th July 2020, 0:13
The irony is next level lol!!
assad khan
11th July 2020, 21:29
Sainz, Unsainz himself from Ferrari after beating them in qualy.
Pironi the Provocateur (@pironitheprovocateur)
11th July 2020, 21:51
What tyres will the drivers use tomorrow at the start, is it up to them?
anon
11th July 2020, 21:59
@pironitheprovocateur it would be under normal circumstances, since it is reasonable to assume that the weather conditions will be different tomorrow and therefore the “change in climatic conditions” clause kicks in.
Search
11th July 2020, 22:54
As tomorrow is expected to be a dry race, all drivers have free choice of tyres.
Ajaxn
12th July 2020, 2:15
Well there you have it. The surest indicator of ability and talent. That gap to the next driver says it all. That’s the thing about rain, suddenly it’s not about out and out pace. Lesser cars have a better chance of beating the faster cars, if their drivers are up to it.
This is Hamilton showing why he is the driver of his generation. By comparison look where Bottas finished without the benefits of outright pace.
DaveW (@dmw)
12th July 2020, 2:36
Looking at the onboard interesting that Hamilton took a more “normal” line than verstappen and the ferraris. Especially in the infield section. And he had a lot less wheel spin—-he seemed to wait a long time to get on the gas, driving way over to the other side of the track first. Then went super fast up the gears keeping the revs low instead of trying to feed in the gas from the exit and trying feather off wheel spin.
Nikki (@nikkit)
12th July 2020, 6:09
As impressive as Hamilton’s time and performance was, especially considering the conditions. I’m surprised more people aren’t talking about Russel.
Yes, conditions may have played a part, but still, to get a Williams not only into Q2, but to then put it 12th on the grid (starts 11th with Leclerc’s penalty) That’s pretty damn impressive for a driver only in his second year of F1 in a car that has been well off the rest of the grid.
Jose Lopes da Silva
12th July 2020, 6:22
So, should we penalise Vettel? Or not? Did Verstappen suffer from bad luck? Should Ferrari have warned Vettel of the incoming Red Bull?
I think we were all robbed of seing how would Verstappen fare in an amazing lap, because the qualifying system makes them race closely. The odds are always high that these things gonna happen.
Then you have people saying “Verstappen was slower anyway”, like 0,078 is a huge difference.
And people saying “That gap to the next driver says it all.” No, it doesn´t! The gap tells us that we could not see how Verstappen lap would unfold!
Change the qualifying system.
aezy_doc
12th July 2020, 8:00
By T9 Verstappen was already at least 6 tenths down. You could also argue that the proximity of Vettel helped Verstappen by clearing water from the track. Hamilton was ahead by a long way today, nothing more to it.
DeanR
12th July 2020, 6:43
Someone’s sore. Her was pushing too hard. His pace exceeded his talent and round he went. We got to see what he could do. He spun round in circles while Lewis went even faster.
T1 P
12th July 2020, 7:36
Lewis Hamilton is the GOAT!