Lewis Hamilton bounced back from a spin in Q2 to claim pole position for the British Grand Prix, breaking the track record as he did.
Q1
Max Verstappen initially separated the two Mercedes drivers at the top of the times in Q1. But as Hamilton and Bottas swapped better sectors the Red Bull was shuffled down to third place. Bottas won the first exchange, edging Hamilton by less than a tenth of a second.Nico Hulkenberg made an error at The Loop on his first effort and ended up only 12th. He tidied up his final run and jumped up to fourth place.
He was fortunate to complete his run without being affected by the yellow flags which waved when Nicholas Latifi spun off on his final run. The Williams driver ended the session in last, and eliminated.
George Russell posted the 13th-fastest time, continuing his run of Q2 appearances. However the stewards are investigating whether he did not back off sufficiently when he passed the yellow flags triggered by his team mate.
“I definitely backed off,” said Russell on the radio. “You’ll see it on the throttle trace. And I was fully in control.” Nonetheless, with one FW43 through to Q2, it meant the four Ferrari customer cars all dropped out in the first round of qualifying. Among them was a frustrated Kimi Raikkonen, who accused Esteban Ocon of holding him up, which the stewards also decided to investigate.
strong>Drivers eliminated in Q1
| 16 | Kevin Magnussen | Haas-Ferrari | 1’27.158 |
| 17 | Antonio Giovinazzi | Alfa Romeo-Ferrari | 1’27.164 |
| 18 | Kimi Raikkonen | Alfa Romeo-Ferrari | 1’27.366 |
| 19 | Romain Grosjean | Haas-Ferrari | 1’27.643 |
| 20 | Nicholas Latifi | Williams-Mercedes | 1’27.705 |
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Q2
The Mercedes, Red Bull and Racing Point drivers all opted to run the medium compounds tyres in Q2, as did Charles Leclerc, hoping to start the race on a potentially advantageous tyre. Sebastian Vettel did not follow his team mate, opting for the soft compound, as did the rest.
However on the harder rubber Lewis Hamilton’s Mercedes got away from him at the exit of Luffield. “Tyres are OK,” he told his team on the radio after spinning through 360 degrees. The gyrating Mercedes distributed gravel across the exit of the corner, and the session was swiftly red-flagged.
Bottas had set his first flying effort by that time, leading Verstappen by a healthy margin of 1.1 seconds. Leclerc put his Ferrari up in third place, followed by the soft-tyred Esteban Ocon, the McLaren drivers, and his team mate.
When the session restarted with eight minutes to go, Mercedes did not hesitate to send Hamilton out on a fresh set of medium tyres. He moved into to second place with no drama, securing his spot in Q3.
The fight for the places in the top 10 was beyond closed. Lance Stroll and Pierre Gasly set identical times to within a thousandth of a second, but as the Racing Point driver set his first, he made the cut while Gasly was eliminated.
Despite switching to soft tyres for his last run, Alexander Albon also failed to make the cut. The Red Bull driver, whose final practice session was badly disrupted by a power unit problem, missed out on the top 10 by just four hundredths of a second.
Drivers eliminated in Q2
| 11 | Pierre Gasly | AlphaTauri-Honda | 1’26.501 |
| 12 | Alexander Albon | Red Bull-Honda | 1’26.545 |
| 13 | Nico Hulkenberg | Racing Point-Mercedes | 1’26.566 |
| 14 | Daniil Kvyat | AlphaTauri-Honda | 1’26.744 |
| 15 | George Russell | Williams-Mercedes | 1’27.092 |
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Q3
As the cars joined the track for the pole position shoot-out, Lance Stroll had to hit the brakes to avoid the Ferrari of Charles Leclerc, which was waved into the pit lane ahead of him. “Very unsafe release,” remarked Stroll on the radio, as the stewards’s inbox continued to fill up.
With the full potential of their car unleashed, the Mercedes drivers were untouchable. Hamilton bounced back from his scrappy second practice session, recording a 1’24.616, lowering the track record, to take provisional pole position. Bottas slipped to second place behind him.
No one else was within 1.1 seconds of Hamilton. Verstappen and Stroll, the sole remaining representatives of their two teams, took up third and fourth places, followed by the Ferrari, McLaren and Renault drivers in formation.
That formation was disrupted by the final runs – except at the front, where Mercedes continued to reign supreme. Hamilton went even quicker with his final run, lowering the record to a 1’24.303, with a useful three-tenths margin over his team mate.
Verstappen held on to third, but he had to respond to a challenge from Ferrari and McLaren. Leclerc popped up in an unexpected fourth, narrowly beating Lando Norris’s McLaren. Stroll failed to improve on his last run, and slipped to sixth place as a result.
Vettel blamed understeer for his sub-par final effort, which was then deleted due to a track limits violation. That left the second Ferrari tenth on the grid, with Sainz and the two Renaults ahead of him.
Top ten in Q3
| 1 | Lewis Hamilton | Mercedes | 1’24.303 |
| 2 | Valtteri Bottas | Mercedes | 1’24.616 |
| 3 | Max Verstappen | Red Bull-Honda | 1’25.325 |
| 4 | Charles Leclerc | Ferrari | 1’25.427 |
| 5 | Lando Norris | McLaren-Renault | 1’25.782 |
| 6 | Lance Stroll | Racing Point-Mercedes | 1’25.839 |
| 7 | Carlos Sainz Jnr | McLaren-Renault | 1’25.965 |
| 8 | Daniel Ricciardo | Renault | 1’26.009 |
| 9 | Esteban Ocon | Renault | 1’26.209 |
| 10 | Sebastian Vettel | Ferrari | 1’26.469 |
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2020 British Grand Prix
- Racing Point given 15-point deduction and fined £360,000 as stewards uphold Renault protest
- Missed chance to avoid Hamilton’s puncture “a mistake that could have cost us dearly”
- 2020 British Grand Prix Star Performers
- Silverstone restoring Becketts kerb to previous specification following tyre cuts
- Pirelli investigation reveals ‘highest forces ever’ contributed to Silverstone punctures
SpaFrancorchamps (@spafrancorchamps)
1st August 2020, 15:19
Well, that’s it for this season and the next one. Great job, Mercedes. You are too good. I am done here. See you in 2022.
CarWars (@maxv)
1st August 2020, 15:20
Shows how mediocre Bottas is, can’t put pressure on a team mate that spins out.
Pinak Ghosh (@pinakghosh)
1st August 2020, 15:28
In Silverstone, one has to make clever use of the tyre over the entire lap.
Ben Rowe (@thegianthogweed)
1st August 2020, 15:54
Why does Hamilton making a mistake in Q2 then recoving from that and setting an incredibly fast lap record make Bottas mediocre? Or do you think that lap of Hamilton’s wasn’t that good either. Bottas had been strong all through qualifying, But Hamilton just got on top of him in Q3. That is Hamilton proving his great ability rather than Bottas being underwhelming.
F1oSaurus (@)
1st August 2020, 15:54
@maxv And then to think he’d probably beat both Ferrari drivers. Especially Vettel.
JacquesNotVilleneuve (@jacquesnotvilleneuve)
1st August 2020, 16:06
@f1osaurus
I reckon that both Mercedes drivers, both McLaren drivers, Max, Perez, Stroll, Ricciardo and George would beat Vettel in the same car.
44Cbo
1st August 2020, 16:39
Don’t be ridiculous. Do you really think Lance Stroll, who has only beaten Sergei Sirotkin in the same car could beat even an average F1 driver?
You should maybe pay some attention to F1 before making outlandish statements.
Rockgod (@rockgod)
1st August 2020, 19:00
+ 1
Tor
1st August 2020, 19:07
Hamilton fans.. Just 3-4 more years and they will all be gone.
JacquesNotVilleneuve (@jacquesnotvilleneuve)
1st August 2020, 16:03
If Bottas had Vettel has a teammate, he would look great.
David BR (@david-br)
1st August 2020, 16:25
@maxv Hamilton is actually quite good at qualifying. Here he is demolishing Verstappen in Styrian qualifying by 1.2 seconds. It might explain why he’s the F1 record holder in setting polls, but maybe you know something he and everybody else doesn’t, always possible I guess. Though near zero likelihood.
Tor
1st August 2020, 19:11
Nothing to do with car of course
Bobby (@f1bobby)
2nd August 2020, 7:21
Sigh, this argument is so tired. I respond with, “F1 has always been about man and machine“ you come back with a line about how anyone could win in that car, I say why isn’t Rosberg a 5 time champion then? Round and round we go.
hunocsi (@hunocsi)
1st August 2020, 17:08
I might be a fool, but what does a spin half an hour before the deciding laps matter in that? If we didn’t have the 3 part qualifying, it might matter more, but when you start with a fresh slate in 15 minutes and your car is in one piece, it doesn’t matter much. Ok, slight psychological distraction, but he had enough laps done in Q2 after the spin to shake that feeling off.
Rott
1st August 2020, 17:10
At least Lewis has a teammate riding on his heels and even allowed to race and win.
Look at max, 1 sec GAP to Albon, which means that redbull is bolted to Max’s rib cage.
This is the best season ever. Long live Merc dominance.
JacquesNotVilleneuve (@jacquesnotvilleneuve)
1st August 2020, 16:03
Lewis is making the difference.
VilleneuveNotJacques
1st August 2020, 16:45
@jacquesnotvilleneuve
Very easy to make the difference when all the difference you need to make up is with your number 2 teammate. I’m not directing any hate at Mercedes here, but realistically the lowest position than an F1 driver would qualify that car would be second place. Even stick Nicholas Latifi in that car and he’d be second.
DAllein (@)
1st August 2020, 16:53
Don’t let the door hit you on the back!
cduk_mugello (@cduk_mugello)
1st August 2020, 15:21
Thoroughly boring. Mercedes are destroying my passion for F1. I can’t take another season like this.
CarWars (@maxv)
1st August 2020, 15:23
Well, Ferrari is to blame with their illegal engine and they challenged Merc to do this.
LEMAYIAN (@lems)
1st August 2020, 15:36
@maxv , it’s not just Ferrari, but the rest of the grid. Mercedes is doing brilliantly thanks in part to Ferrari questionable P.U from last year that pushed them to new levels.
Michael (@freelittlebirds)
1st August 2020, 18:10
@maxv I was going to say the same thing. Ferrari pushed Mercedes to make improvements which they did.
Bio
1st August 2020, 19:27
Are you so delusional to think Mercedes are completely legal? The only difference between Mercedes and Ferrari is that the red team got caught because a whistleblower spoke about something it shouldn’t with the FIA and their opponents. Preety sure tight now Ferrari is the only team which fully comply with the rulebook…
Bobby (@f1bobby)
2nd August 2020, 7:22
Where’s your evidence? Share what you know.
Dom (@3dom)
1st August 2020, 15:24
@cduk_mugello Surely it should be that the other teams not keeping up with Mercedes is killing your passion for F1. How can you blame a team for doing a better job? At least they let their drivers race each other.
slowmo (@slowmo)
1st August 2020, 15:30
You’ll not be missed.
cduk_mugello (@cduk_mugello)
2nd August 2020, 11:53
@slowmo nobody’s leaving mate!
Jeffrey (@jeffreyj)
1st August 2020, 15:32
@cduk_mugello
Well, won’t you be happy to know that both the engine en chassis will be frozen for next year with very limited development allowed as well over the winter…. Hamilton’s 7th and 8th championships are all but confirmed already.
LEMAYIAN (@lems)
1st August 2020, 15:33
@cduk_mugello , well Mercedes are doing their work, blame the competition for not rising to the challenge.
asherway (@asherway)
1st August 2020, 15:52
@lems – YEAH! The competition should be doing so much better in this “sport” that is entirely rigged. Shame on them!
Dom (@3dom)
1st August 2020, 16:03
@asherway you love a conspiracy theory 😉. How is the sport rigged?
asherway (@asherway)
1st August 2020, 16:08
@3dom – if you pull on the thread that is the question: “why is DAS legal?”, you might figure it out…
NS Biker (@rekibsn)
1st August 2020, 17:07
Haven’t seen any commentator discussion or in-car-video to show if the Merc drivers are actually using the DAS.
The other aspect of the question, has anyone figured out what the DAS is achieving.? There have been discussions in several different directions, toe in/out variation, ride-height (not likely), Ackerman adjustment …. some to heat the tires, some to cool the tires. Assuming everyone knows and that there are diverging definitives, inquiring minds need to know.
anon
1st August 2020, 18:29
asherman, that response makes it look as if you can’t actually explain yourself and are throwing out the sort of stock phrases spouted by conspiracy theorists to deflect attention to the lack of substance to their claims.
It has already been shown that the supposed claims that Mercedes came up with the current rules is rubbish, given that we know Renault was the team that lobbied for the current rules and was the first team to run single cylinder bench testing to prove the concept.
Is the real problem that it is easier for you to claim that the sport is rigged than to accept the more painful truth that the team you support has screwed up?
Rott
1st August 2020, 17:06
Rigged?
Stupid fans like you are ruining the sport.
bob (@riptide)
1st August 2020, 17:20
Is it! Im shocked. Who is rigging it and why? Send a link asap!
cduk_mugello (@cduk_mugello)
2nd August 2020, 11:57
@lems I mean whatever way you look at it and point the finger it doesn’t really matter. The gap at the front is too big. A few seasons of dominance I can handle. But now the 7th season of serious speed and dominance on the same level it was 7 years ago is a bit too much for me. Yep, every other team should be doing a better job. But whatever way you cut it, F1 is a bit boring at the moment…
StefMeister (@stefmeister)
1st August 2020, 15:55
@cduk_mugello Mercedes are only doing what they are supposed to be doing & what they are doing is kinda the whole purpose of F1, Designing the fastest car possible while aiming to beat the competition by as much & as often as possible.
This is simply what F1 is & has always been to varying degrees. Even after 2022 with the new rules, Budget caps etc… your still going to see periods of dominance like this.
I’m enjoying F1 for what it is & I applaud Mercedes for producing such an amazing car just as I did when Red Bull, Ferrari, Williams & McLaren did in the past. What Mercedes have done is for me the definition of F1 & one of the things that sets it apart & above everything else.
cduk_mugello (@cduk_mugello)
2nd August 2020, 11:58
@stefmeister I know what F1 is mate, I’ve been a fanatic since the mid 90s. But it doesn’t stop it being boring right now. A few years dominance I can handle. But it just gets a bit predictable after 7 years now!
F1oSaurus (@)
1st August 2020, 15:56
@cduk_mugello This is the first season since 2016 that they are actually dominant again. The season isn;t even over. Red Bull always takes a long time to “understand the car”.
Besides, Mercedes is clearly quicker in Q3, but not so much so in the long runs.
asherway (@asherway)
1st August 2020, 16:01
@f1osaurus – Toto, is that you??
F1oSaurus (@)
2nd August 2020, 15:57
@asherway Red Bull could have won the race …
petebaldwin (@)
1st August 2020, 20:00
I agree they’re not as quick in the long runs – not quite a full second a lap faster. Almost but not quite.
In regards to the season though… unless you think Bottas is going to start beating Hamilton, it’s very much over.
F1oSaurus (@)
2nd August 2020, 15:55
@petebaldwin Well everybody thought Vettel was going to ease through the 2017 season, until he pulled that stunt in Singapore. Then Vettel looked well set to win in 2018 again, until he threw it all away from Germany.
Same in 2016, Hamilton was destroying Rosberg even though he had much more technical issues. Then one DNF later and his championship was over.
I guess after Silverstone it looks pretty much done, but you never know.
NeverElectric
1st August 2020, 15:57
Mercedes are doing the best job at building a winning car, and you blame them for their excellence Do you realise F1 is first and foremost a constructors’ championship??
You’re exactly the sort of “fan” that F1 doesn’t need.
Bye, and you won’t be missed.
Joe Pineapples
1st August 2020, 16:01
At least there’s Donny to fall back on ;) (under normal times)
FT
1st August 2020, 22:24
Joe Pineapple,
I couldn’t give a damn for the rest of the teams if they could not up their games. Remember these teams have enough resources to build F1 car to challenge Mercedes unfortunately they failed when they are asked to deliver. Redbull always promising to build a car capable of the task, however with mad Max at the wheel he is bound to make mistakes.
Lewis is class act let us enjoy his time in F1.
David (@davidjwest)
1st August 2020, 16:05
Don’t blame Mercedes, need to blame their competitors for not being good enough.
Ajay
1st August 2020, 17:49
Heard, commentator mentioning that rb and fer are slower than 2019… so its on them..
Velocityboy (@velocityboy)
1st August 2020, 17:45
Blame the rules. In the past, if a team started the season with a dominant car, the others could go back to the drawing board, improve their cars and at least put up some semblance of a fight. The 1998 and 1999 seasons are an example, where the McLaren started the season looking like it would crush the field and Ferrari were able to close the gap and give us a decent fight for the championship.
Dom (@3dom)
1st August 2020, 22:07
@velocityboy are you bemoaning the token system brought in for ‘20 and ‘21 due to Covid or the rules in general?
Whitedog
1st August 2020, 18:22
Well stop watching simple
Kribana (@krichelle)
1st August 2020, 15:22
Red Bull, you can’t hide. At some point, if the other driver continues perform poorly, you will be held accountable. I get it that the midfield is tight. But he went out on soft tyres while Verstappen’s lap was on the Mediums. Some drivers perform better in qualifying than in the race. However, this is silly now.
Jeffrey (@jeffreyj)
1st August 2020, 15:30
Albon is done imho. Not good enough.
MacLeod (@macleod)
1st August 2020, 15:33
Will we see Perez soon?
Kribana (@krichelle)
1st August 2020, 15:45
Red Bull have no choice to keep Albon, or they could demote him to Alpha Tauri and risk putting Kyvat or Gasly in that seat. I mean Marko wants to stick to the young driver program right?
Jere (@jerejj)
1st August 2020, 15:49
@krichelle Indeed. Replacing him with either Gasly or Kvyat during the season wouldn’t necessarily lead to a different outcome.
@krichelle Also against Seb and Stroll on a step harder compound.
Jeffrey (@jeffreyj)
1st August 2020, 20:33
@krichelle @jerejj @macleod
Why not take Vettel out of his missery and put him in the RBR next week? That way Sainz, Ricciardo and Alonso can all get started at their new jobs early as well. And as for Albon, either him Gasly or Kvyat loses his seat and becomes the new back-up driver in case any drivers at RBR or Toro Rosso tests positive for Covid-19. Surely a better option than Buemi, who hasn’t been in F1 for almost a decade now.
F. T
1st August 2020, 17:01
He is out for 10 days that means he will also miss next race. After his isolation he will be assessed and test again for Covid19 if that is negative he will be allowed to return.
Jere (@jerejj)
2nd August 2020, 7:19
@jeffreyj Contractual situations would make that many team changes during a season difficult.
Jeffrey (@jeffreyj)
2nd August 2020, 10:24
@jerejj Yeah probably. But this season anything can happen I guess!
LB (@burden93)
1st August 2020, 15:40
Something is not right there. If Gasly hadn’t been there last year, I would 100% put it on the driver.
Like Russell said a couple of weeks ago, Albon in previous categories has shown he is not slow. He’s clearly not on Max’s level, but that gap suggests something more
NeverElectric
1st August 2020, 15:58
Thank you.
Agree 100%.
Adam (@rocketpanda)
1st August 2020, 15:59
Really starting to think Red Bull just don’t care about the second car at all.
Jordi Casademunt (@casjo)
1st August 2020, 17:07
To make things funnier, Albon was faster last year with a Toro Rosso than this year with a Red Bull. And the Red Bull is most definitely a faster car than last year’s Toro Rosso (and the track conditions weren’t that much slower).
Keith Campbell (@keithedin)
1st August 2020, 22:55
@burden93 The gap between Ver and Alb was around 4 tenths in Q2, which is the comparable time. Not that huge a gap – it’s 1 tenth more than the gap from Hamilton to Bottas and I don’t see anyone saying there’s anything strange going on between the 2 Merc cars or calling for Bottas’ head.
LB (@burden93)
2nd August 2020, 8:59
@keithedin while I’d agree 4 tenths would be acceptable, they were on different tyre compounds. Being on the softs, which lets say are a minimum of half a second quicker, that gap is more like 9 tenths to a full second
Carlos Medrano (@carlosmedrano)
2nd August 2020, 1:43
Its not a conspiracy red bull give max a much faster car. There is no possible way max is that much faster then his teammates. Especially when both his teammates were faster in the toro rosso then they are in a red bull. People who think red bull treat their drivers equally are clowns
ruliemaulana (@ruliemaulana)
1st August 2020, 15:22
Well at least we have end racism gestures to that about tomorrow.
John H (@john-h)
1st August 2020, 15:27
This is a post about qualifying, I don’t know what this has got to do with it. Give it a rest.
Carlos Medrano (@carlosmedrano)
2nd August 2020, 1:43
Racists gotta racists
Wayne
1st August 2020, 17:28
I feel for albon. A driver doesnt suddenly lose his speed or talent. What a lap by Lewis stamping his authority. Well done to verstappen for being best of the rest and leclerc for being up there too. But the competition really have to raise their game to atleast match the mercs. To the people that dislike lewis and merc always winning i say tough luck!
Stubborn Swiss (@stubbornswiss)
1st August 2020, 15:23
HAMMERTIME!!!
lucifer (@lucifer)
1st August 2020, 20:35
more like demolition time
LB (@burden93)
1st August 2020, 15:25
You have to take your hat off to Mercedes and Hamilton, just ultimate domination.
I’m very confused what is happening at Red Bull. Ferrari and themselves are slower than last year. I know Verstappen is top top level, but I cannot believe the 2nd Red Bull can be the same car. It’s make no sense given last year, for Galsy in the Toro Rosso beating Albon in the Red Bull when the opposite was happening last year.
George.be
1st August 2020, 17:56
The RedBull seems designed to Max’s driving style. That might work reasonably well for Max.
But possibly this limits even Max, if he’s moved away from an ideal developed car.
If Albon isn’t happy with that car, and is left to figure it out on his own, he’ll under perform the rest of the year. Setup only can do “so” much to mask handling issues.
This looks similar to the issues Vandoorne had with the Alonso-spec McLaren.
Carlos Medrano (@carlosmedrano)
2nd August 2020, 1:46
Red bull are trying to make max look better then he actually is. Red bull is all about pr, they don’t have a champion anymore so they need to rely on pr
Rott
2nd August 2020, 4:35
Max will not be able to survive in other teams. He is vettel 2.0.
Completely useless.
Pinak Ghosh (@pinakghosh)
1st August 2020, 15:25
Solid effort from Charles and Lando. Max as usual left to fend for himself even if he is able to overtake one Mercedes at the start. Bottas was using the tyres too much in first sector.
JacquesNotVilleneuve (@jacquesnotvilleneuve)
1st August 2020, 16:09
I agree. I also think that Vettel needs to be replaced.
Pinak Ghosh (@pinakghosh)
1st August 2020, 16:13
He is going anyway at the end of this season
Rott
1st August 2020, 17:14
Redbull is on self destruction mode. Too much faith in max and the car 8s built to Max’s exact requisites.
This team will never win anything.
Pinak Ghosh (@pinakghosh)
2nd August 2020, 12:22
The trophy room at Milton Keynes HQ disagrees.
Rott
2nd August 2020, 4:37
Max doing solo effort? Entire redbull is tuned to optimize the car for him….and ONLY him.
Redbull sucks, they do this all the time and eliminate competition within their own team and cry about The show is no good, when they are the bumps who are ruining the sport.
LEMAYIAN (@lems)
1st August 2020, 15:31
Well, that was unusual for Lewis to spin, but recovered brilliantly to set two lap times that were enough for pole.
Whatever’s happening to Albon? The pressure will soon become unbearable for him from those calling the shots at RBR.
Good performances from Russel, Norris and Leclerc, gutted for Seb really.
Lee1
1st August 2020, 23:47
What in earth happened to the investigation in to leclercs unsafe release which was clear as far as I could see?
Neil (@neilosjames)
1st August 2020, 15:33
It’s a great shame the other ‘well-funded’ teams with top drivers have dropped the ball so badly this year. For various reasons…
Mercedes just make the best car they can and put two drivers in the cockpit. It’s not their fault their rivals, despite having similar resources, are so far behind.
AliceD (@aliced)
1st August 2020, 15:33
Mercedes have their calculations spot on again. Dialled their magic engine to be exactly one second ahead of everyone else, like they always do.
MacLeod (@macleod)
1st August 2020, 15:34
if you can’t handle the pressure your not good enough (while he has the talent to be one of the best)
wsrgo (@wsrgo)
1st August 2020, 15:44
Anybody else notice Leclerc’s unorthodox racing line at Club? He was widening his entry into the corner, slingshotting out tight with less throttle maybe, but a shorter run up to the line. Given how close the line is to the final corner, I’m surprised nobody else has been trying the same trick. Getting a strong exit on your hot lap isn’t useful, since you don’t need to carry all that speed into Abbey anyway.
Jere (@jerejj)
1st August 2020, 15:51
@wsrgo I didn’t notice anything unusual with his racing line there. Hopefully, there’d be a chance to have a better look at how he did this specific corner.
wsrgo (@wsrgo)
1st August 2020, 16:56
@jerejj I saw it twice, on both his Q3 laps. Hope it gets pointed out by someone else and I wasn’t just hallucinating :P
Cap SF (@dudebv)
1st August 2020, 18:30
You’re right, he shortened the distance to the line.
AMG44 (@amg44)
1st August 2020, 15:50
As i said earlier, Albon is no Tier 1 driver like Max and Charles. His RBR exit countdown has begun. Also hope Vettel is still motivated and impress another team. These performances are not impressive.
F1oSaurus (@)
1st August 2020, 16:00
@amg44 Charles is hardly top tier either. He’s somewhat Better than Vettel clearly, but not to the extent that Ricciardo destroyed Vettel in 2014.
Verstappen is also not a qualifying wonder really, but usually he has better pace in the race.
Edvaldo
1st August 2020, 16:53
If Charles is not top tier, who’s top tier then? Ricciardo? Hamilton is a fluke? Stroll is good?
Verstappen and Leclerc are clearly the drivers of the future and among the best.
Norris and Russell are going to be there too. Can’t say about Ocon.
Albon is still a rookie and shouldn’t even be there to begin with as he did nothing to be promoted, Gasly is the one who did something to lose the seat.
Rott
1st August 2020, 17:18
What’s with max and Charles are the future?!?!?!?
They are already in f1 and currently sulking in their respective teams.
Future of f1 is hatching in the f2 nest right now.
The Chinese driver in Renault looks very promising, while Mick Schumacher sucks.
Edvaldo
1st August 2020, 17:43
by future i mean the next 10 years or so, after Hamiltom and Vettel OBVIOUSLY.
They’re the ones that are going to take over.
Fritz
1st August 2020, 22:05
Max and Charles are not tier 1 drivers. Definitly tier 2 with slightly ahead. Hamilton is imo the best there has ever been.
Max is prone to misstakes and when you have a car deficit you have to maximise all you performance and minimise your own misstakes. To a certain degree he’s done so but after all this time in F1 i feel he’s faults are to much a part of him, for him to achieve Hamiltonesque percfection.
NikTJ
1st August 2020, 15:55
I think it will be a cracker of a race tomorrow.
The start will be Bottas’ chance to apply pressure – and give an opportunity for some out of position cars to make up some places.
The grid behind Merc is very interesting and bodes very well for some great racing there.
We’ve had some amazing final laps recently, and there’s good reason to hope for more tomorrow.
I’m actually a huge Ferrari fan, but they did themselves no favors with their decisions last tear.
Having been required to comply with the rules, they find themselves with a 2nd tier engine, and aerodynamics that are woefully unsuitable for such a lower-power engine.
I agree that Red Bull are a mystery.
If their troubles truly are knife-edge balance of their aero, then hopefully they can get back to winning races this year.
And with Max keeping the points rolling in the meantime, he could still figure in the championship…
Maybe…
F1oSaurus (@)
1st August 2020, 16:02
Shame for Albon and Hulkenberg just not to make it into Q3. The commentators on RTL Television wondered if doing an extra stint on medium wouldn’t have been better.
knightameer (@knightameer)
1st August 2020, 16:16
Toto already thinking who to hype up for next weekend. This week seems done and dusted.
DAllein (@)
1st August 2020, 16:55
Nice!
Well done, Lewis, Valtteri and Mercedes!
The hard part is tomorrow!
AMG44 (@amg44)
1st August 2020, 17:06
What is the excuse for RBR and Ferrari to be slower than last year? Had they made the normal 0.5-0.7 sec gain year on year, they would have been close to Mercedes but they have dropped the ball. On the other hand the performance gains of Mclaren and Williams are impressive.
FT
1st August 2020, 17:13
I was not surprised at all at Lewis’s performance, he always delivers when required and I don’t think that concept will change soon. What a joy to watch him every time he sits in that car.
Ben Rowe (@thegianthogweed)
1st August 2020, 17:34
See some people seem to be rather critical of Vettel here. This weekend I think he’s probably had some of the worst luck of any driver over two separate days. He missed all of FP1, had an issue with something loose by his breaks in FP2 and this issue continued in FP3 today. He never got much of a chance to get a feel of the circuit with the car as it should be. The gap between him and Leclerc shouldn’t be judged this time out as Vettel was at a major disadvantage.
Leclerc to me got the car where it should be. I don’t think it was quite as amazing as people think. We can’t compare him to Vettel this time out. We can look back at practice and he was 5th, 4th and 6th. To me, Ferrari are clearly not as weak as they were a few weeks back. I’m also wondering if some people just are just assuming Vettel is showing where Ferrari really are and think Leclerc was simply amazing. Both of these are a bit hard to judge really. One thing was for certain though and that was that vettel’s car had a great deal of issues throughout and he barely had any time to get used to it.
Jay
1st August 2020, 17:56
Leclerc is just as good and younger, so he will have his days/circuits.
If Vettel had a teammate like Bottas, he would be on top regularly.
Edvaldo
1st August 2020, 18:17
Or he would make Bottas look better. You choose.
Carlos Medrano (@carlosmedrano)
2nd August 2020, 1:48
Nah he would make bottas look really good
Velocityboy (@velocityboy)
1st August 2020, 17:47
It wasn’t that long ago when Mercedes got pole that there was a great celebration in their garage. Today, they got pole and the team just kind of looked like same old same old.
Mick
2nd August 2020, 3:12
That’s because F1 has been exactly the same for over 7 years now and counting.
How exciting.
DonSmee (@david-beau)
1st August 2020, 17:47
God King GOAT!
Jay
1st August 2020, 17:51
After the championships are over, maybe Mercedes will fake competition with Red Bull.
isaac (@invincibleisaac)
1st August 2020, 17:54
Anyone else notice that Hamilton’s first Q3 lap (1:24.616) was identical to Bottas’ second Q3 run?
LosD (@losd)
1st August 2020, 21:53
Yep. If the times are correct, I guess that would have meant two times in the same qualifying that someone lost out, because the same time was set earlier in the session.
LosD (@losd)
1st August 2020, 21:54
@invincibleisaac
Jeffrey (@jeffreyj)
1st August 2020, 20:45
As fantastic as he is, Lewis will win over a hundred races and pole positions when all is said and done, and with the cars and rules staying the same next year he will have won 8 DWC’s…
But is he really thát historically good? We know for a fact Hamilton matched reigning double world champion, Fernando Alonso, pound for pound as a rookie and that he is better than Kovalainen, Button, Rosberg and Valtteri (at least in most years), but does he really, really belong on the highest step in the F1 pantheon with Fangio, Senna and Schumacher? I mean, someone like Vettel statistically belonges in there too and although a great driver, most will agree that he doesn’t. Lewis is a fantastic driver and great champion too but the Merc being so clearly the better team since 2014 does seem to flatter his numbers imho.
bob (@riptide)
1st August 2020, 21:53
It seems that the majority of people who know what they are talking about seem to think he is that good. With all the onboards and slow mo’s etc, it always surprises me that there are so many who can’t tell the good from the not so good. Why the likes of Bottas struggles towards the end of a race whilst the other guy knocks in some fastest laps, why the likes of Hamilton and Max chose completely different lines on a wet track or takes a different apex in a corner to most others. And how the likes of Ham, Max, Norris, etc can have the car perfectly balanced before changing direction and others have to dive into it.
Dom (@3dom)
1st August 2020, 22:45
Look at how much F1 has changed each season since 2007, he’s still been up there all that time. His race craft in general is great. Look at the toll that a single championship challenge has taken on certain other drivers. To be there year in year out can’t be underestimated. Unfortunately sometimes people are only really appreciated after their time, we need to appreciate seeing the greats when they’re active
Julian Sark
1st August 2020, 21:16
You may pick up some pebbles off of the street now but I’m gonna say it anyway:
The last years would have been a lot more exciting AND a heck of a lot cheaper if they all had had the same car.
I mean, they could still plaster their brand all over (or in the case of Ferrari their weird subliminal messages) for all I care …
Green Flag (@greenflag)
1st August 2020, 21:37
Except that F1 is above all a car constructor’s championship. Why do you think manufacturers like Ferrari, Alfa Romeo, Lancia, Lotus, Maserati, Mercedes, Toyota, Honda, Porsche, Lotus, and more, entered F1? To win, that’s why.
cduk_mugello (@cduk_mugello)
2nd August 2020, 11:52
Haha as you can see I like to be depressed with every sport I watch!