Esteban Ocon, Alpine, Hungaroring, 2021

Ocon emerges from lap one carnage to take shock first win for Alpine in Hungary

2021 Hungarian Grand Prix summary

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Esteban Ocon scored a shock win in the Hungarian Grand Prix, leading the majority of the race after a first-lap crash eliminated several of his rivals.

The Alpine driver also profited from a tactical error by Mercedes, who threw the lead away by failing to bring Lewis Hamilton in to change tyres on a drying track.

The race was red-flagged on the second lap after a huge crash at the first corner as the field headed into turn one on a wet track. The slow-starting Valtteri Bottas ran into the rear of Lando Norris, sending the McLaren skidding into Max Verstappen.

The Red Bull driver was able to continue, despite heavy damage, but his team mate Sergio Perez was not so lucky, retiring on the spot after being hit by Bottas. Norris also did not take the restart.

A second first-corner crash eliminated Lance Stroll and Charles Leclerc from proceedings after the Aston Martin driver ran into the Ferrari. Leclerc also bumped into Daniel Ricciardo, but the McLaren driver was able to continue.

Hamilton took the restart from pole position but, in bizarre scenes, there were no other cars behind him. The rest of the field pitted en masse to exchange their intermediate tyres for slicks. Hamilton did the same after a single racing lap, but it proved far too late, and left him at the back of the field.

George Russell briefly headed the field as they rejoined the track, but had to wave past drivers he had improperly overtaken in the pits. Once that was done Esteban Ocon took up the lead ahead of Sebastian Vettel.

The stayed in that order after pitting to swap medium tyres for hards at half-distance. Vettel initially kept up the pressure on Ocon, but was unable to force an error from the Alpine driver, and crossed the line 1.8 seconds behind.

After falling to the back of the field, Hamilton made little progress until he pitted again to switch from mediums to hards. Then he quickly rose up the order to hold fourth behind Carlos Sainz Jnr. With the Ferrari on newer tyres, Mercedes opted to pit Hamilton again, surrendering one place to Fernando Alonso, but allowing him to charge to the end on medium rubber.

The gamble barely paid off. Hamilton took several laps to find a way past Alonso to regain fourth place, then quickly picked off Sainz for the final podium spot.

Pierre Gasly came in sixth behind Alonso and grabbed the bonus point for fastest lap on the final tour. Team mate Yuki Tsunoda, who let Gasly through earlier in the race, came seventh.

There was joy for Williams as both drivers finished in the points, ending their two-year run without a score. Nicholas Latifi led Russell in eighth, the pair separated by a second at the end.

In his heavily damaged Red Bull, Verstappen clung on for the final point which could prove vital in the final reckoning. However he lost his championship lead to Hamilton, who goes into the summer break ahead by six points.

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2021 Hungarian Grand Prix reaction

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Keith Collantine
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210 comments on “Ocon emerges from lap one carnage to take shock first win for Alpine in Hungary”

  1. ALONSO.

    A-LON-SO

    My god, what a driver!!!

    1. He is back.

    2. Driver of the Day. And very well deserved!

      1. Finally that Driver of the Day prize, that sometimes had been an utterly joke on how blind they were, just noted the “old” guy Fernando doing stuff that looks like miracles, in a relentless effort to maximise his performances and achieve the results needed for the team.

    3. yeah he did a good job defending,,but it was on a track thats extremely hard to overtake on.
      you maybe get 1 or 2 half chances per lap if youre lucky.

      1. @matt
        “yeah he did a good job defending,,but it was on a track thats extremely hard to overtake on”

        Hamilton had a much faster car (2 seconds per lap when he caught ALO).
        Good try though:)

    4. @fer-no65 Don’t understand the hype. He placed the car just like all experienced drivers would do. Nothing special. Meanwhile his team-mate won the race…

      1. Must be something wrong with you then….. Seeing as how every driver, ex-driver, commentator and other experts are all saying it was a super performance.
        These are the moments you get a reality check and need to sync yourself back into balance.

      2. Don’t understand the hype. He placed the car just like all experienced drivers would do. Nothing special.

        But he was more special than Kimi today, wasn’t he? Again. Even considering that Kimi was not bad at defending on this race at all, what just proves the point that holding much faster cars is hard even in Hungaroring, far from easy but still much behind Monaco on the level of difficulty to overtake.

    5. Driver of the day? so being a bitter old man crowding Lewis off track for 5+ laps out of spite and finishing high up ONLY by luck because he avoided the first corner carnage by chance deserves driver of the day? Clueless alonso have no scene of reality

      1. Driver of the day? so being a bitter old man crowding Lewis off track for 5+ laps out of spite and finishing high up ONLY by luck because he avoided the first corner carnage by chance deserves driver of the day? Clueless alonso have no scene of reality

        You don’t know how Formula 1 works but I’ll explain to you, this time in a more clear way: Fernando just prevented, your idol, Sir Still-I-Whine, to win the race, despite having very inferior machinery, and the victory instead went for Ocon and Alpine, his team. There’s no “by chance” on that achievement of mounting a great defense with strategical aim. But you can whine like your entitled idol as much as you wish.

      2. Guess what you got responded with? A counter-attack!

      3. I mean what on earth are you on about? Lewis attacked and Alonso defended. He defended well in a car that was clearly slower. Could Lewis have done the same, Probable yes, Could Vettel have? probably. However they didn’t do that today and so given Alonso stopped Lewis from taking the win of Ocon, I think he did an excellent job.

        Also though, Russell needs to be given some thumbs up for immediately asking to be sacrificed for the team after realising he did not have the pace in his car.

    6. Michael (@freelittlebirds)
      1st August 2021, 22:33

      Yes, it was magical watching him race with Lewis. It was a masterclass by both Alonso and Hamilton in racing.

  2. I tuned in half way into the race with a bit of surprise. lol

    Congrats to Ocon, Vettel and Hamilton

  3. Massive respect to Alonso after that. Holding off Hamilton with that pace advantage is just insane. Massive respect and fair play there.

    1. Alson … still carrying a grudge from their Maclaren days with Hamilton.

      He did a sterling job in holding up Hamilton, other wise Hamilton was on for a top two finish.
      What surprised me was his comments in the sky interview where he got driver of the day.

      Alson said Hamilton should have overtaken early. He apparently judged Hamilton to have made mistakes in the 2 corners before the start finish stright. Basically he was hinting that a better drive,r in faster car would not have taken as much time to make the over take move.

      1. Alson … still carrying a grudge from their Maclaren days with Hamilton.

        It might have given him a marginal increase of motivation, that’s for sure. But I see Fernando giving a masterclass of defending not so rarely at all.

        1. you do know the this track is almost as difficult to overtake on as monaco right.
          and you only get 1 or 2 half chances per lap if youre lucky.
          so its the easiest track to defend on after monaco.
          so yeah alonso used his experience and defended well,but lets not get carried away.

          1. matt

            you do know the this track is almost as difficult to overtake on as monaco right.
            and you only get 1 or 2 half chances per lap if youre lucky.

            That’s how the amazing drivers stand out. Alonso held Hamilton for several laps with an Alpine whilst Sainz was overtaken way sooner by the charging Merc despite driving a Ferrari (granted, on older tyres but not by so much, and that’s part of strategy anyway). So it’s a shame if you can’t recognize a spectacular drive for an experienced driver, instead just look at who won and that’s it, forgetting that had Alonso ceded position earlier giving up the fight, the winner would probably have been different – and not for his team. As hard for overtaking it is, some skilful and determinated drivers just make it even harder, to the point of almost keeping a Mercedes (the fastest car of the track plus having fresher tyres) whining at bay.

      2. Alson said Hamilton should have overtaken early. He apparently judged Hamilton to have made mistakes in the 2 corners before the start finish stright. Basically he was hinting that a better drive,r in faster car would not have taken as much time to make the over take move.

        Max showed a better racecraft than Lewis overtaking Ricciardo despite having an ill car. Of course the wannabe GOAT has had plenty of brighter moments under his sleeve, but yeah. This time he let Fernando shine spectacularly on track position defense, I almost thought Alonso would have made it to hold on in 4th place.

        1. Ricciardo also had a very damaged car. However McLaren were not crowing on about it as much as RB…

          1. Lee1

            Ricciardo also had a very damaged car. However McLaren were not crowing on about it as much as RB…

            But he didn’t managed to make much progress either, did he?

      3. I believe the Alpine has had the highest top speeds this year, which always makes it tough. The Haas and Williams cars were holding up far faster cars, so the speed of the car was relatively less important than the desperation of the driver in front to keep the position (just park it on the racing line) – or not make a mistake.

        1. @williamstaurt
          Look at the top speeds
          https://www.racefans.net/2021/07/31/hamilton-narrowly-leads-verstappen-as-schumacher-crashes/

          The Mercedes is still the best engine and fastest in a straight line. Alonso was just superb on the brakes and braking really late into turn 1

          1. this track is the second hardest track to overtake on after monaco.
            so its one of the easiest tracks to defend on.

          2. @matt
            Well Hamilton didn’t think so and overtaked half the field quite convincingly to me… except that Alonso

        2. I believe the Alpine has had the highest top speeds this year, which always makes it tough.

          Is Alpine the fastest on the straights? That’s odd. Can you provide me the sources of that information? As for the fastest cars, we don’t know how quick Red Bull actually would be in normal race conditions, but very likely to be close to Mercs despite how the qualifying went and previous advantage on RB.

      4. Well he didn’t really do much wrong but it did take him a long time to figure out that line out of turn 1.
        Verstappen with a damaged car did it on Ricciardo crossing over. Its something Leclerc is an expert at it, has been doing it a lot these passed races.

        1. Valinor
          Lewis’ wheel-to-wheel racecraft seems to have got a little bit rusty after years of unchallenged domination by Mercedes. A couple of times now either he fails to find a way fast enough when facing tough opposition or causes a collision when trying too hard.

          1. I don’t thinks so. Look at his move on Tsunoda… It was spectacular.

            However this track is incredibly hard to overtake on (Just ask Vettel). Alonso knew this and did a good job of blocking off the only possible opportunities.

          2. Lee1

            Lewis’ race was very good but not spectacular. Max hadn’t been able to shine too much either, with a car in bad state after the carnage of the start. It’s easy to make some good moves with a strong, not far after dominating Mercedes. The guys who made it hard for him were a pain in the ass, and only when Lewis tried that trick of hitting on the turn exit that he managed to overtake Fernando in a much weaker Alpine and even older tyres, after 12 laps. Still a nice performance from the wannabe GOAT but somewhat flattered by having a team-mate with such a poor racecraft like Bottas as comparision.

        2. Max’s better starts and more daring moves nailed right has been a plus for him, despite his title rival being clearly a better qualifier.

        3. Great to see you conviently forget how Max nearly ended his and MSC races in turn three near the beginning by…. Guess what? Yup chopping back across the track thinking he’s entitled to it all! Hamilton didn’t touch anyone all race and made some fantastic moves like around the outside of t4. Also, Alonso had nothing to lose compared to Hamilton so knew Hamilton would have to back out more often than not, but that is part of racing and it was incredible to watch how close they could get without touching – true racemanship by two of the best drivers on the grid.

          1. @madman

            Great to see you conviently forget how Max nearly ended his and MSC races in turn three near the beginning by…. Guess what? Yup chopping back across the track thinking he’s entitled to it all!

            Hum… Tell me more about the similarities between the crash caused by Hammy and this incident, or better, the non-incident. Why didn’t Max and Schumacher Jr. collide? When two drivers are significantly alongside the turn both of them have a reasonable claim to the inside line, it is in the racing guidelines. If contact or accident occurs, the driver inside and behind but half car sideways might get the most of the blame if he misses the apex. Of course if he follows a safe line, the collision won’t happen if the other also does it. The driver outside needs to avoid a dangerous line as well that would be if he crosses the path of the other despite being behind but it just didn’t happen with Max lately, but of course desperate Hammy fans do need to try finding hair on a chicken’s egg to make up excuses for their king. How pathetic!

          2. Why didn’t Max and Schumacher Jr. collide?

            They did collide. Lap 14, Max goes around the outside of MSC in turn three, MSC is still on the inside with half a car alongside at the end of the corner but Max moves across to his left – despite MSC still being there and rightfully so – to get a better line through four hitting MSC in the side with his rear wheel. Just as Max – knowing there was a car on this inside – cut across the track and collided with Hamilton who was also entitled to be there.

            You said:

            Lewis’ wheel-to-wheel racecraft seems to have got a little bit rusty after years of unchallenged domination by Mercedes.

            And Valinor said:

            Well he didn’t really do much wrong but it did take him a long time to figure out that line out of turn 1.
            Verstappen with a damaged car did it on Ricciardo crossing over.

            Suggesting VES is all superior and can do no wrong and is the best over-taker ever and Hamilton has ‘poor race-craft’ when in this race VES was the one to hit a car whilst trying to pass and Hamilton successfully overtook lots of people and managed to avoid all collisions with Alonso knowing Alonso could be more aggressive and he had to be more sensible and not risk so much knowing he might not win the race but still get a handy lump of points compared to his main competitor – which I would call good race AND Championship craft really.

            but of course desperate

            VES fans do need to try finding hair on a chicken’s egg to make up excuses for their king. How pathetic!

          3. @madman

            They did collide. Lap 14, Max goes around the outside of MSC in turn three, MSC is still on the inside with half a car alongside at the end of the corner but Max moves across to his left – despite MSC still being there and rightfully so – to get a better line through four hitting MSC in the side with his rear wheel. Just as Max – knowing there was a car on this inside – cut across the track and collided with Hamilton who was also entitled to be there.

            Can you call that a collision? Too hyperbolical in my view, but okay, normally we call it contact especially when it doesn’t warrant big consequences. Fernando also made contact with Lewis when they were on that stunning fight, so this sort of contact that doesn’t end up in an accident is quite common in competitive racing. But let’s see: still on the inside with half a car alongside at the end of the corner but Max moves across to his left, so as the assailant driver he’s as entitled of the racing line as much as the defending driver, like Lewis and Max were with the latter in the reverse role. And despite MSC still being there and rightfully so – to get a better line through four hitting MSC in the side with his rear wheel so, did Mick miss the apex like Lewis? If so, they might have had an accident. There was a frustrated expectation by Max that Lewis wouldn’t go that deep into the corner, and Lewis thought he had completed the move. Hence the collision with not so light consequences. The driver behind is the one more responsible for following a safe line into the corner, but to some extent the driver ahead also shouldn’t drive dangerously. That’s why the stewrads correctly ruled Hamilton/Verstappen incident as a shared blame incident but with the driver behind missing the opportunity to avoid the crash as

            predominantly

            to blame. Now you shouldn’t punish if there’s no crime. If Max had taken out Schumacher with that contact, he certainly would face penalty for causing a collision. But the thing is Hammy fans are desperate to find major mistakes and misconducts because their idol is the one having plenty of them this season. Because they suffer from sheer fear watching Max race but at the same time they say Max is not all that as a driver, two contradictory stances being held at once.

            Suggesting VES is all superior and can do no wrong and is the best over-taker ever and Hamilton has ‘poor race-craft’ when in this race VES was the one to hit a car whilst trying to pass and Hamilton successfully overtook lots of people and managed to avoid all collisions with Alonso knowing Alonso could be more aggressive and he had to be more sensible and not risk so much knowing he might not win the race but still get a handy lump of points compared to his main competitor – which I would call good race AND Championship craft really.

            Who in this site ever suggested that Max is all superior and can do no wrong? We see plenty more people here only talking about the pretty side of Lewis but never about his blunders. I’ve said many of times the things Max did messed up, but the simple fact of saying that Max has been a more reliable racer that Lewis recently drive Sir Still-I-Whine fans crazy. So it seems the case of them fighting against who they see on the mirror, actually.
            As for Alonso, I agree completely about your remarks, I enjoy Fernando race so much and rate him higher than Max overall, but in this race he made contact as fiercely as Max did laps later, and that’s okay, in the case. Had he collided with Lewis or had Mick had been taken out things would no doubt be different.
            Haven’t you ever wonder why there wasn’t even an investigation by the stewards on the incident? Because it would be like punishing a football player for stealing the ball from his rival as he reached the ball rather than kicking the legs of a defender. Even if taking the ball away hurts, it’s not a foul if the contact wasn’t deliberate and the tackle was made correctly (in football’s case the aim should be the ball, not the other player’s body, so an improper tackle warrants foul if made carelessly missing the ball as the target). In Formula 1, taking a dangerous trajectory into a corner is the equivalent of an irresponsible or ill-motivated tackle, and Lewis did that more than Max (then not fully to blame) for missing the apex when half car alongside. As such, did Max repeat that approach against Schumacher, and also had Fernando made something similar against Lewis? If they did, it lacked the other role for the blame (a major one) to create a race ending collision. But if you start punishing those “micro-aggressions” harshly then it would be the end of close racing, all that would remain is the F1 version of diving and endless pressure for more penalties).

            VES fans do need to try finding hair on a chicken’s egg to make up excuses for their king. How pathetic!

            The repetition of a witty remark is typical of children, so I’m not impressed at all.

          4. Hamilton didn’t touch anyone all race and made some fantastic moves like around the outside of t4. Also, Alonso had nothing to lose compared to Hamilton so knew Hamilton would have to back out more often than not, but that is part of racing and it was incredible to watch how close they could get without touching – true racemanship by two of the best drivers on the grid.

            That’s exactly the reason why Lewis’ racecraft got somewhat rusty (nevertheless still very good, so you can calm yourself a little bit) by not having to trying too hard most of the time with an all powerful Mercedes all those years. The most notable exception last race was the Príncipe das Astúrias, which was definitively a thorn on his side despite fighting against a 7th fastest car as Fernando was obstinate in helping his team win that crazy race.
            Notice that Alonso didn’t have the choice of taking it lightly, thus he had to take the risk of making contact eventually or else he would lose position easily and Ocon wouldn’t be able to grasp victory for Alpine. Lewis has been having the privilege of not being required to fight for a position as if his life depended on it for quite long recently. But if one crosses the line of hard racing and light contact into dangerous incidents and damaging the car of others, then it’s not excusable and should be held accountable with penalty.
            I agree that Lewis fought clean and fair against Fernando as his former arch-rival did against him, and both had an awesome performance on that battle, with Lewis not far behind at all, but the same cannot be said about the British GP collision. Everyone less biased knows it was a racing incident, but despite Max having his share of blame, again, Lewis had the most of it and certainly his sportsmanship against Fernando in the Hungarian GP was way better than in the previous one (discounting some complaining but it didn’t lead to anything so, still good overall).

  4. Wow, what a race

  5. That was amazing

  6. For all the luck Hamilton had there at the first corner and in the race (and in the season), Red Bull cost themselves here. Verstappen would have been sixth or seventh even with the damage if they had done the strategy smarter like say Gasly. Painful. If this season goes on a few points, they’ll feel that.

    What a race, how amazing for Ocon. Vettel is such a mensch, a beautiful person. Hamilton is insanely good when he’s angered. Alonso’s defending, wow. Just wow all around.

    And we go into the final 11 or so races with 6 whole points between the top two. All views to fairness aside, this is going to be epic.

    1. What luck did Hamilton have in the first corner or the race? It was Bottas’s fault and the bad luck of the drivers involved. Hamilton’s brilliant pace after his 2nd stop got him jumping 4 cars including Ric and Vers which set up his race.

      I mean, I understand that Verstappen took another blow today and you as his fan are pretty sad about it but try to not wear fan blinding goggles.

      It was a briliant display of racecraft from most of the field today.

      1. The luck was not getting taken out at turn 1?

      2. If you look at the replays, Hamilton was only centimeters away from being caught up in the carnage. Had he been only slightly slower off the line, his race could easily have ended there, or he could have caught serious damage like Verstappen. That was lucky.

        He and his team then made a bad mistake, print him to the back of the pack, from which he had an amazing drive with great strategy to get him back on the podium. But he did have some good luck not to be caught in that first corner pileup.

        1. lewis got pole and off to a good start,,,thats called doing a good job,,not luck.

        2. I am not sure it was Hamiltons mistake for the second start. He had been telling the team that the track was dry but they believed rain was on the way so Hamilton had to trust them (give he does not have future weather info in the car).

      3. There were maybe 50cm between Norris hitting Hamilton and Norris hitting Verstappen. If you want to call that Hamilton’s racecraft, well, then your goggles are far more fixated than mine.

        1. Yes, but the reason there was that half a meter was his solid getaway. Turning Bottas mistake & Verstappen very poor luck into Hamilton´s luck is cheap.

          Especially considering the fact, he was in position to cruise to win today.

          1. Wait, what? If Verstappen had BAD luck, in a championship between two contenders, that means that Hamilton automatically has GOOD luck. That’s how luck works in a duel. One side loses, the other profits. Two sides of the same coin. How is that remotely controversial? People so badly want their person to win that something like ‘your title rival got knocked out in the first corner is a stroke of good luck’ becomes a contentious statement. Honestly…

        2. @hahostolze, much more than 50 cms. I mean if bad luck for one means good luck for another is the philosphy you kive by, then I guess you don’t understand much.

          Also, try not to pick only a section of a person’s criticism on your comment to make yourself look good. But I guess you are too busy living in these forums and replying and commenting everywhere.

        3. He did have some luck. But you make your own luck sometimes. By getting a good start he was at an advantage if something went wrong. Max happened to be bogged down and in the middle of the carnage.

      4. Hamilton is lucky that his team mate took out his major rival. The luckiest driver ever.

        1. It’s funny how the best always seem to have the most luck.

    2. It would not be fair to say Red Bull cost themselves. There was quite a bit of damage to the floor and bargeboard areas of the car and it must have been difficult to drive even with the red flag repairs. Moreover, the nature of this track requires a good degree of stability and balance. If it was a power sensitive track, then perhaps outcome could have been different – even in the Hamilton-Alonso battle.
      Also, Perez reported engine issues which again was an outcome of the incident.
      Overall bad luck for the team.

    3. For all the luck Hamilton had there at the first corner and in the race (and in the season), Red Bull cost themselves here. Verstappen would have been sixth or seventh even with the damage if they had done the strategy smarter like say Gasly. Painful. If this season goes on a few points, they’ll feel that.

      Spot on. Red Bull messed around with strategy and wasted the opportunity to profit on a Mercedes’ blunder of their own after Bottas “conveniently” (probably not in purpose but…) took out one RB and provoked damage to the leading one while cars were falling and taking each other out like dominoes.

    4. Yeah, that seems apt there @hahostolze, either they should have jumped to be into the pits earlier or could have kept Verstappen out for longer like Gasly did (depending on how much the damage made it worse for him with tyre degradation), getting Verstappen a bit higher up to stay in the mix a bit.

      Now he dropped back behind Schumacher again and out of the points for good.

    5. Blaize Falconberger (@)
      1st August 2021, 18:10

      It wasn’t bad luck for verstappen, it was a mistake from Bottas. It wasn’t good luck for Hamilton, he qualified better and was therefre ahead and clear of the incident. It’s really very simple.

      1. @timeslides Max has a better average qualifying position than Lewis this season, so still there’s a lot of luck involved. Why didn’t it happen in some races when Max qualified ahead of Lewis? Just to clarify, Lewis has been showing a better performance than Max in qualifying, in contrast with the races when Max was somewhat better especially in the starts, but the thing is that Red Bull had an edge on the Mercs for one-lap pace quite often this year, and many times it didn’t lived up for the race trim.

        1. Blaize Falconberger (@)
          1st August 2021, 19:58

          Yes, very good points. But, there is that old saying that we make our own luck… :-)

          1. @timeslides That’s partially true, indeed. In the end of the day all Max and Red Bull can do is go ahead and keep fighting.

        2. Given that Hamilton was on a much better tyre strategy if the race had not started wet… I think the luck was pretty well balanced, then given that Hamilton ended up Last after lap 1… I mean how many times has Hamilton (and other drivers) had a car damaged or even retired by similar incidents?

          1. Lee1

            I think the luck was pretty well balanced, then given that Hamilton ended up Last after lap 1

            But he ended up in last place because of bad strategy, not an unlucky external factor. And despite damage on the leading Red Bull, they also got it wrong with that failed attempt to respond to a pit stop by Mercedes.

    6. If you like to think Hamilton was lucky in any regard then that is your opinion and a matter of perspective. Come on people. No one can say you are wrong as such. Well they can but what the? Sure they can disagree but it does not mean you are wrong. It’s like you saying “damn these apples taste great” and someone telling you that you are wrong. It’s not simple at all but it is comprehensible.

  7. What a save from Alonso.

  8. Alonso showed his skills today. If he didn’t lock up Hamilton was not getting by.

    1. That was just a matter of time, you can keep a 2-3 seconds a lap faster car behind you for just so long. But still, heroic from Alonso.

    2. @dmw
      So what you’re saying is Alonso eventually cracked under pressure and Hamilton got by? Hamilton was getting closer each time the writing was on the wall tbh.

      1. Without the lock up it is difficult to say that the writing was on the wall. There was tremendous pressure lap after lap from Hamilton no doubt about it. But Alonso kept his wits before the lockup, which indeed was a mistake. A case in contrast being how easily Hamilton overtook Sainz just afterwards. While there was a definite tire differential between Alonso and Sainz, which helped the former to defend better, anyone would expect Hamilton and Mercedes on softer tyres to easily breeze past Alpine in at least a couple of laps.
        Tbh had Hamilton overtook Alonso earlier, there was quite a few laps to win available to win the race.

        1. @pinakghosh

          Without the lock up it is difficult to say that the writing was on the wall

          Not considering Hamilton was on fresher, softer compounds. You only have to look at the evidence of Hamilton finishing 2 and a bit seconds off the lead in a matter of laps. Alonso was fighting hard which I commend him on (especially considering their history) but he was shredding his tyres in the process. That’s why in this Pirelli era drivers don’t fight too hard.

          1. @blazzz Yeah, if he was to defend hard and gain the biggest amount of time possible for his team to win the race then a lockup would happen in a matter of time, as well as increasing tyre deg for repeatedly taking a defensive line. It can’t go smoothly perfect but still a masterclass of defending.

      2. Why not both?

      3. No, what I’m saying is a vastly slower car with a great driver can only keep the tires working so far while going all out. There’s no way anyone can keep a 3 second per lap faster car behind him indefinitely.
        Alonso’s defending was the best piece of driving I saw this season.

    3. Yes, of course.
      Lewis masterfully put the pressure on Alonso and made him crack. It’s all the elite driving skills of Sir Lewis, nothing to do with the car. /s

      1. @ChrisVB

        Thanks for the sarcasm.
        F1 has always been about driver and car combination. Took you a while to figure that out?

      2. lets not forget lewis finished above alonso when they were teammates…
        so in the same machinery,lewis outshined alonso.
        alonso did well to defend,but this track is the second hardest to overtake on after monaco,which makes defending alot easier.

        1. matt
          Oh of course, you’re a sore loser Lewis fan 2007-widow trying to dish out Fernando’s brave display because of the past? They overcame that, you don’t, it seems.

          lets not forget lewis finished above alonso when they were teammates…
          so in the same machinery,lewis outshined alonso.

          Tell me more about Hamilton/Alonso tie-breaking on the standings, zero points difference? When Rosberg finished ahead for the title in 2016 did he outshine him? I don’t think that much, both were shining bright on that season if memories serve well. But how about Button finishing a not too shabby 43 points ahead of Lewis in 2011 WDC? I think on that one is a closer case of a great driver losing his grace, but he bounced back. Unlike you, who is stuck in 2007 despite Lewis and Fernando to a higher extent improving their excellence as drivers since then. So you don’t look any good ruminating the past like if nothing had changed at all.

      3. @ChrisVB If not for the sarcasm, I’d seriously think that you considered an Alpine as match for Mercedes in race pace. The correct comparision is how much each driver has holding on in front of the faster Merc.

        1. Michael (@freelittlebirds)
          1st August 2021, 22:43

          @rodewulf @ChrisVB The race pace was irrelevant – no one could defend the way Alonso did without colliding and no one could overtake the way Lewis did without colliding.

          These 2 guys have been in contention for 18 WDC championships and all you need to do is show these laps for anyone to see why.

          1. @freelittlebirds I definitively agree it was an amazing show like nothing else recently by those two highly experienced drivers, among the greatests of all time. But why do you think Max couldn’t make those overtakes without colliding? That seems a too dismissive assumption for the Mad Max side, maybe on his seventeens he would have a hard time pulling it without causing some incident but he improved a lot ever since. But certainly very few of the other drivers on the grid, if only Max himself, could have built a jaw-dropping on track fight like that. Fernando and Lewis are two geniuses on their own. It felt like watching two magicians casting spells or something like that. Incredible!

          2. Michael (@freelittlebirds)
            2nd August 2021, 3:46

            @rodewulf. That sort of controlled aggression and precision from both drivers takes time to develop. I don’t think Max is at that level yet and it’s a bit unrealistic to expect the young talents to be at that level.

          3. Michael (@freelittlebirds)
            2nd August 2021, 3:49

            @rodewulf ha-ha exactly, it felt like Voldemort and Dumbledore going at it :) this was one for the ages… Max will have his epic moments no doubt.

          4. That sort of controlled aggression and precision from both drivers takes time to develop. I don’t think Max is at that level yet and it’s a bit unrealistic to expect the young talents to be at that level.

            Seems legit. Max is improving in many departments and he had made less potentially high costing mistakes than Lewis this season, but it would be rather overconfident from a Max’s fan perspective to think that Lewis doesn’t benefit from experience in this title fight. Some underhanded tricks only the wily old foxes like Fernando and Lewis are able to perform.

          5. @freelittlebirds

            That sort of controlled aggression and precision from both drivers takes time to develop. I don’t think Max is at that level yet and it’s a bit unrealistic to expect the young talents to be at that level.

            Seems legit. Max is improving in many departments and he had made less potentially high costing mistakes than Lewis this season, but it would be rather overconfident from a Max’s fan perspective to think that Lewis doesn’t benefit from experience in this title fight. Some underhanded tricks only the wily old foxes like Fernando and Lewis are able to perform.

  9. That was a absolutely phenomenal drive from Ocon. Managed to get through the carnage unscathed and simply didn’t put a single foot wrong the entire race. A bit of luck with Seb’s slow pitstop, but all credit to Esteban and a well deserved victory.

    1. Ocon almost got hit really in turn 1… That was really close for him

    2. phenomenal drive from Ocon? are you serious? He lucked a win when literally all of the top drivers was taken out of the picture early on in the race.
      Also this track is one of the easiest to defend after monaco with 2 overtaking zones so basically he had to drive a midfield car within a set delta making minimal mistakes, how is that a phenomenal drive?

      I personally hate races like these, random lottery races where: top drivers get taken out of the picture, average journeyman wins and everyone declares his drive the best in history before disappearing into obscurity… too many of these types of races are happening this year but I guess US owners liberty are happy because they want F1 to be more like NASCAR with randomized ‘drama’ filled races to appeal to a younger demo.

      I am not a VER fanboy but i prefer to see him and Lewis battle and not random clowns winning. If i want to see mediocre drivers at the front winning I would watch F2

  10. Excellent support from Fernando for the team there. 10/10 for Esteban, French driver in French car – first since Alain Prost I think?
    Mature driving from a future star.

    1. Since Alain Prost, yes! Renault from now on. :D

      1. nevermind I’m wrong

        1. Why sharing that info?
          That’s your default here.

          1. Get the hell out of my sight! You’re trash.

          2. “wHy sHArinG THAt INfO? thAt’S youR dEfault HerE.”

            You lost 2-8, didn’t you?

    2. Panis in a Ligier in Monaco.

    3. Lopes da Silva
      1st August 2021, 16:32

      Since Olivier Panis.

    4. You’re correct, last French winner was Prost himself. Shame that he hadn’t been there this weekend, he’d have been grinning like a maniac. Probably still was, but we couldn’t see it.

      Great drives from Ocon, Vettel, Sainz (Who had a lot of quiet periods as he held his position), Alonso and Hamilton.

      Vettel just couldn’t get close enough to Ocon, and Ocon just was not making any mistakes. Sainz was ultimately in a no mans land until near the end – Rarely under threat and no threat to those ahead.

      The Alonso and Hamilton battle was just epic.Alonso was playing the perfect wingman for Ocon today, held off Hamilton for long enough. Considering how close Hamilton was to Ocon and Vettel at the end, a win could well have been possible had he gotten past Alonso earlier.

      Also a shout out for Williams, both drivers scoring points.

      And just watching the podium. Hamilton looks close to collapse. He looks exhausted and dehydrated, breathing heavily.

      1. Addenum, meant last Frnech winner in a Renault (Which technically the Alpine still is)

  11. Bottas has secured his seat with Mercedes for 2022. A “race incident “ where both bulls end up out? What a coincidence. Cue to Master Oogway : “there are no coincidences”

    1. Serious??? It was such an incident that he was a few metres away from taking Hamilton out too. Enough with this absolute nonsense please stop posting this drivel.

      1. It is quite a conicidence how manty times a mercedes has taken out a red bull though

        1. Not really. They are the 2 teams in hard competition for winning both championships, they are normally right next to each other on the track.

          And if you think that any driver would have either of those accidents on purpose, I think you need your head checked. Even Michael Schumacher wouldn’t have purposely pulled those moves. In both, there was too much chance of our going the other way, and the other way would have been too damaging to him. It is absolutely ridiculous to think that.

        2. I think you will find Red Bulls have taken other Red Bulls out of the race far more times than Merc have…

    2. True. Just conspiracies that you need desperately to believe in.

      1. Sadly, nuts that posting these conspiracy theories are just ignoring the obvious logic problems.

        But apparently, as far as they are concerned Mercedes and Bottas were able to predict perfectly exactly which direction Norris’ car would go in after Bottas hit him, who’s car he would hit and that both Verstappen and Perez would be in the perfect position to be hit int he chain reaction.

        It’s like the ones who were sayign Hamilton planned to send Verstappen into the barriers at Silverstone. Apparently, he can predict exactly where to hit Verstappen’s car to throw him off track, that he himself would spin out and not tear off his own front wheel and they overlook that he suffered damage to the wheel itself.

    3. To do so deliberately would have required powers of racecraft and prediction well beyond what Bottas is capable of. Were he that good he’d have held his place easily anyway.

      1. If he could pull that off deliberately he should quit as a racing driver right now, and start playing snooker. He’d be unbeatable.

    4. Its not worthy of Mercedes to take out the championship leader for the second time in a row. There is no glory in winning this way.

      1. Actually it took brilliant planning from Bottas to fall behind Norris, then calculate exactly where to hit him so that Lando cannons into Max. Amazing wingmanship with perfect timing.

      2. You boys who have been celebrating RBs/Max’s get out of the way or crash attitude to racing seem to be going sour on that a bit these days?

        1. Blaize Falconberger (@)
          1st August 2021, 19:03

          Dead right Ian! :-)

        2. ian dearing
          The ironic thing is that “RBs/Max’s get out of the way or crash attitude to racing” hadn’t seen Max the major cause of no racing incident recently, as for Lewis… Well, ask the stewards. ;)

    5. @olivier
      Lol Bottas hit a Mclaren first. Did you even watch the race?

      1. Just goes to show how dastardly Bottas is. If you look closely, you can see Muttley in the car, sniggering (Wacky races reference there).

    6. Oh come on fella, you are joking aren’t you.

      Wheel spin wasn’t planned nor was colliding into x so that x would collid into y. All that was down to the conditions.

      As it is, Bottas now has 5 grid place penalty to look forward to.

    7. The accident was a misjudgement and race incident. There is no need to read into this any other way.

  12. What a drive by the Alpine drivers. Ocon held the lead for 65 laps despite having a slightly faster Vettel at his back and Alonso defended beautifully against Hamilton and gave the win to his team.

    Shame Bottas played bowling into turn 1 and took out 5 drivers pretty much.

    1. ocon and vettel were so close,it would have been impossible for lewis to overtake vettel.
      so i dont think lewis could have won the race anyway.

      1. Michael (@freelittlebirds)
        1st August 2021, 22:48

        @matt I beg to differ – Lewis was going to pass them. He was going to break the DRS by attacking Vettel until he lost it.

        This season Lewis has done some incredible racing. We’re very lucky to have the chance to watch him relentlessly attack drivers and fight for every tenth and gasp of clean air.

  13. Like Yellow Goons of MotoGP now F1 has orange feces.

    1. Josh (@canadianjosh)
      1st August 2021, 16:34

      Orange feces? How Collantine allows such comments stuns me but likely due to a laggy chat room.

      1. Think he means faces. As the MotoGP fans do for Rossi and Marc and the Ducati riders.

      2. Spell check ftw lol. Happens to the best of us.

  14. Did Vettel lock up into the pits and anti stall kicked in? His car had some massive hickups there.

    Congrats to Ocon. Kept his head down and collected a deserved win.

  15. What an insane race.

    So happy for Ocon.

    Alonso won it for him – amazing drive.

  16. A terrible call by Mercedes, which gave 2005 US GP feeling, but still lucky they got both leads back.
    A great achievement for Ocon.
    Bottas and Stroll, though.

    1. @jerejj It wasn’t the team’s call. They’re not allowed to communicate such calls to the drivers on the formation lap.

      It’s also far from clear it was the huge mistake that many are calling it. Mercedes had the first pit, so Hamilton would have had to sit there while the entire field passed. He may not have ended up plumb last, but he’d also be running a big risk of a collision in the chaotic pit lane.

      1. I’m not sure that is correct anymore. Merc did indeed communicate to Lewis on the Formation Lap and told him to not pit as the rain was coming. Lewis had asked to come in. You can’t tell me that every other driver made that call without any info from the teams?

        Also Lewis was certainly likely to not end up last if he had entered the pits with the others.

      2. @scbriml Yes, communication is disallowed on actual formation laps, but the lap in question was technically a race lap, so the rule was unapplicable.

  17. Incredible how much luck Lewis has. They try to lose to badly, but luck just won’t have it.

    1. @aapje Well, just to point out that Verstappen was at least able to run in the race with the red flag repairs. And then Hamilton/Mercedes screwed up massively on the restart. I don’t see where the good luck was – winning pole and starting well under wet conditions is a definite (deserved) advantage. Verstappen had bad luck is more to the point, he started well too.

      1. @david-br I’ll just politely point out that the ‘best start’ statistic for today gave Verstappen the best start. The ‘deserved advantage’ from pole was all fine but that doesn’t make it any less lucky that he was not the one hit.

        1. @hahostolze Why the ‘polite’ bit? I said Verstappen started well, maybe better. Hamilton wobbled slightly out of the first corner too. TBH it’s always a combination of luck and driver skill in dealing with wet patches as they race the first lap and are working out the dry lines. Bottas was culpable, like Stroll, in being too heavy on the inputs, probably because he made a bad start and wanting to fight back immediately.

      2. yeah. I don’t get the decision to stay out.

        Mercedes would have seen all the other garaged prepping for tire changes, they only had to ask Hamilton about track conditons, which the other drivers did from the second corner. Its like Mercedes weren’t thinking ahead for the duration of the red flag. Otherwise Hamilton would have won this. That said, great decision to pit first and get the overlap on verstappen and Ricardo

        1. The team couldn’t call him in on the formation lap.

          Also Mercedes had the very first pit so Hamilton would have to sit there while the entire field pitted. Plus there was a big risk of an incident in the busy pit lane.

          In all honesty, all the teams looked a little foolish not sending their drivers out on slicks for the restart.

    2. Yea, the luck he has taking the lead. Nothing to do with a good launch of course, just luck. And the pure luck he had from going from last to third.

      1. Seems that the harder you work, and the more talented you are, the luckier you get. Lucky Lewis!

      2. F1oSaurus (@)
        1st August 2021, 20:35

        Imagine the luck going from P1 to last. Again.

    3. What utter drivel.

    4. I can only marvel at your thinking process.

  18. Great race, loved the Alonso vs Hamilton segment towards the end, shame Alonso locked up but regardless he probably prevented Hamilton from winning and kept the win for Alpine. Don’t think many other drivers would’ve been capable of that.

  19. Brilliant race for Alpine, Ocon and Alonso both defending brilliantly. Hamilton starting on his own off the grid must be the bizarrest sight I’ve ever seen in Formula 1. All the focus is on the Verstappen damage but Bottas taking out Norris was even crueler, he’d started well in the wet and looked poised to make an excellent race.

    1. but Bottas taking out Norris was even crueler,

      why is that?
      Max had a better start (in fact the fastest) and a lot more to loose.

  20. Lopes da Silva
    1st August 2021, 16:38

    A bad day for Aston Martin. They lost 5th place to Alpine and it will be difficult to get it back. Vettel can’t do it all by himself. Relying on a single Formula One driver can be costly.

    1. or even Karma ;0)

      1. Or even कर्मा

  21. – a phenomenal drive from Hamilton but he didn’t look well at all on the podium. Hope he was just exhausted.
    – Bottas should quit F1 after this race.
    – hugely underwhelming race from Ricciardo. Maybe there was some damage to the car, but so was to the Verstappen’s and Ricciardo was absolutely nowhere. This season is already a disappointment.
    – although Hamilton, Ocon and Alonso (and possibly few others) showed some stunning drives, the Driver of the Day goes to Latifi from me. A solid race all through.
    – I’ve never thought something would ever top the Indianapolis 2005 in terms of bizzare start. There, just when you think the current F1 can’t get crazier.

    1. RE: Hamilton on the podium. He looked about ready to drop face down on a bed and sleep for the summer break. He certainly looked like he needed a good sit down in something roomier and more comfortable than an F1 cockpit.

  22. The Liberty American/Nascar joke red flag & Liberty Standing restart made the early part of the race a bit of a joke & the Liberty/American bonus gimmick point for fast lap made the end & championship look like an even bigger joke. Far too many red flags under Liberty purely to get additional standing starts for ‘the show’ because under Liberty F1 is a gimmick show rather than a sport.

    Hate, Hate, Hate the gimmick point for fast lap, Always have & always will. Especially when you end up with B-teams & #2 drivers been used to play silly games with the gimmick point just makes the whole thing look like an even bigger joke.

    Just imagine such things happening in a final round title decider, Would make the entire championship look like just as big a joke as it did when it happened in Formula E some years ago.

    The racing was good at points (gimmick Dumb Racing System aside) but the Liberty even bigger gimmicks are getting in the way & making the SPORT look like a WWE nascar gimmick filled joke.

    #LibertyOut! #NoGimmicks #NoGimmickPoints #TooManyRedFlags

    1. Must say I agree with the sentiment about the length of the delay. Was it half an hour? No evident reason for it from what I can gather, and was very frustrating to sit through. It also had a huge impact on the race.

      1. There was loads of debris on a wet track and multiple cars to clear. If you don’t throw a red flag in such circumstances, when would you?

    2. @roger-ayles There we’re cars and debris all over the place. The red flag was fully justified.

      1. @scbriml There was 1 car next to an access point at turn 1, One next to an access point at T2 & Perez in an easy to recover place a bit further round. And most of the debris was off the racing line in the runoff.

        Both the cars & debris could have been easily cleared under a safety car. I’ve seen far more cars & far more debris get cleared under a safety car in the past (Melbourne 2002 for example). And also look at the Spa 24 hours over the weekend, 4 heavily damaged cars & tons of debris all over the track (Far more than was seen in Hungary) at Eau Rouge cleared under a Virtual safety car.

        The undeniable fact is that since Liberty opted to introduce the standing restarts (Purely for show purposes) we have seen far more red flags than we did before. I mean how many have we had in the past year alone? Are we suddenly seeing more huge accidents than in the past or is it more likely to give Liberty more super exciting standing restarts.

        The safety car (And later VSC) were both introduced because red flags were disruptive & unpopular & it was felt that apart from the most severe accidents they were also unnecessary. But back then F1 was still run as a sport while now Liberty are looking at a show rather than a sport & have clearly deemed that SC & especially VSC’s don’t create enough show while seeing multiple standing starts is super exciting for the low attention span fan they are catering F1 to now.

        1. Masi made the right call, unlike Baku. He didn’t check his inbox and minded his business.

    3. #CalmDownWithTheseHashtagsOkay

  23. That was very good from Ocon held a visibly faster car for the entire race. Vettel was closing and opening the gap at will in the first stint and made up a whole second on his outlap, and finally said it himself in the slow down lap, we had the faster car the whole race.

    Very good stuff from the alpine drivers, showed their worth

  24. Alpine drove brilliantly, well deserved. Interesting to hear Alonso’s assessment of the battle with Hamilton. But turning out to be quite an entertaining season.

  25. What would have happened if they had all pitted. Would the start procedure have initiated with no one on the grid?

    1. That is very thoughtful question!

    2. AJ (@asleepatthewheel)
      1st August 2021, 17:05

      I believe the lights would have gone out and the pit lane light would have gone green and they all would have come out in formation; like it happened when Lewis went by at the second restart.

      1. No they would have left the pits in the order the teams released them.
        Resulting in a carnage in the pits.

    3. Interesting indeed. What does the rule book say?

  26. Hamilton had this in the bag, what on earth were they thinking by not putting on the slicks at the second restart!! Congratulations to Esteban, Alpine, Alonso, Sebastian and both Williams for their first points. This race had it all: carnage, penalties, red flags, variable weather which made sure no one could predict the strategy until the last minute, surprise winner, heartaches, jubilations and most importantly, an ENGAGING RACE THROUGOUT!!!!

    1. @lems All the teams looked silly not sending the drivers out on slicks for the restart.

  27. 1) Russell – Bottas, 30 seconds after Sir Lewis steered into the gravel
    2) Sir Lewis – Verstappen
    3) Bottas taking out 2 RBs

    Apparently playing bumper cars is how Mercedes is trying to make Sir Lewis WC again.

    And before you start about me wildly exaggerating and spouting conspiracy theories; remember Crashgate?

    1. If you need to believe that, knock yourself out. Do you need us to collude with you in this pretence to make yourself feel even better?

      1. I wrote that, just in case if it proves to be true after all I can say: “See? I told you so!”
        In any other case my lament will most likely be forgotten even before the end of this weekend.

        1. Unless you’re too certain of the truth and the power of your tinfoil hat, of course.

    2. @rinodina Better not affirm things before any proof arrive, or else you’ll just make the wannabe GOAT think he has more reasons to feel entitled.

      1. F1oSaurus (@)
        1st August 2021, 20:37

        @rodewulf I doubt it could get any worse. Verstappen already feels more entitled than any actual GOAT contender ever did.

        1. @f1osaurus Is Max more entitled than Lewis? How? Care to explain why? My reasons to say Hammy seems entitled is because he complains a lot even when winning, says he relishes competition when it doesn’t look like it (strong effort to protest others’ cars even when Mercedes was actually ahead) and claimed that a driver giving an abyss of a space on track, not in condition to fight at all due to worn tyres (Leclerc surrending the british GP lead) is the ideal fight on his vision, this after causing a collision and not recognising his role in it. Those are my points, now why do you feel that Max is the entitled one?

    3. @rinodina It was masterful by Bottas. Make a poor start, let Norris overtake, then calculate exactly where and how hard to hit Norris so he’d take out Verstappen and additionally how exactly to bounce off and take out Perez. Awesome skills!

      1. @scbriml Yeah, if this is a coincidence then it is an outrageously convenient one, that’s for sure.

  28. Perfect race for Alpine and Williams.

    Great stuff from Alonso. At first – during the race – I initially though Alonso was being too personal with Hamilton giving him a payback for their mutual history, but I had to retract because I did not anticipate the pace difference between the two leaders and Hamilton (once past Alonso) would be such great at the end of the race. Therefore, by his defense, Alonso for sure secured Vettel´s second place and most likely Ocon´s victory as well. Well driven from him.

    Also great recovery from Hamilton, who did not take risks in the fights and salvaged good points. Very sympathetic performance from Verstappen, unfortunately just for a single point. Given the massive parts of the car missing, it must have been the most frustrating driving in his career. He kept on driving, no complaining. Very impressed with him.

    1. I thought he took a big risk going around the outside of tsunoda in t4. That gave me chills. That guy is a rookie well know for being a bit wild.

  29. Big congrats to Ocon, F1 is in safe hands with the crop of new generation F1 drivers. Alonso vs Hamilton was epic, eventually Alonso cracked- but Hamilton was going to get by eventually. People saying Alonso cost Hamilton the win- nah, Merc shot themselves in the foot today. They need an overhaul of their strategy team- and not for the first time this season. IIRC Hamilton was vocal about having one chief strategist when he joined Merc (James Vowles) for both cars when, as far as I am aware, every team on the grid has one for each car which also keeps the intra team battles healthy. Good to see Seb is back after the bruising few years at Ferrari.

  30. AJ (@asleepatthewheel)
    1st August 2021, 17:01

    Great great drive by Ocon! Keeping a 4xWDC at 1-2 seconds behind for almost 70 laps is no mean feat. Expected Seb to get past eventually.
    Williams and their drivers finally break their duck. Schumacher was impressive, as were most drivers.
    Mercedes oh mercedes…when was the last time a team which dominated an era also made the weirdest mistakes in the same period? Every year, there have to be 1-2 races in which Mercedes messes it up in the most unimaginable way. Still, a remarkable recovery drive by Lewis. To be almost 27 seconds behind in the beginning and then finish within a whisker of the race victory must be deflating to say the least.
    On to the summer break and a busy second half…

    1. @asleepatthewheel

      Every year, there have to be 1-2 races in which Mercedes messes it up in the most unimaginable way.

      Almost always on strategy.

    2. Red Bull also have thrown some points out the window with that strategy call. No way Max could keep Lewis behind with a damaged car like that, if they expected it by trying to respond the undercut. They sould have looked after a slightly higher points position instead with Max going to a longer stint. Neither Mercedes nor Red Bull are particularly good with damage limitation, as seen with Lewis in Monaco.

  31. Vettel virtue signaling is now beyond ridiculous, especially to the host nation…

    Vive la France!

    1. What virtue signaling?

      1. I assume this refers to wearing the LGBTQ+ shirt during the anthem.
        Bit of a double-standard for the stewards to be unhappy with it when the “We Race As One” is all about equality…

        1. Blaize Falconberger (@)
          1st August 2021, 19:09

          +1

        2. Dave
          “We Race As One” campaign is not above the rules of Formula 1. They have to keep a minimum of political neutrality.

  32. A bit of an unfortunate day for RB again. The sad thing is you hardly blame Bottas as you somehow see it as consistent with your expectations of him. Those RB cars surely get taken out of races quite often by Mercs the last 3 years. 5 and counting. All bad luck and non intentional, I know but still.

  33. Deserved win for Ocon, I’m glad he could do it! Managed Vettel’s pressure with resolve and carried on till the flag. I still rate him high despite some downs. No wonder he has given Nandito a hard time.

    Speaking of the devil, his battle with Hamilton was something. Stuff like that gets me eager for 2022.

    Hamilton, who unusually had to fight hard, drove a great race on the limit all the time. Good thing Mercedes redeemed themselves on strategy after screwing his record-breaking win.

    Of course, can’t refrain from pointing out what a Wingman this guy Bottas is! The son of a gun probably killed the WDC with his clumsiness today. I shouldn’t jump to conclusions at a so tight battle, but I’m getting the 2017 and 2018 vibes. The “Blessed-Factor” has kicked-in since Silverstone. Now, two more power tracks ahead in which Mercedes usually dominate over Red-Bull. Finally, the abysmal pace Mercedes’ showed today is worrisome.

    I just hope the championship survives.

  34. i dont think lewis would have won the race even if he got past alonso earlier.
    vettel was too close to ocon,so overtaking vettel on a track thats very hard to overtake on{almost as difficult as monaco}
    would have been close to impossible,unless vettel made a big mistake.

    1. Blaize Falconberger (@)
      1st August 2021, 18:13

      I agree… taking Vettel AND Alosnso would be like driving through a brick wall on that circuit.
      Alosno’s driving wa sa highlight of the race for me. And Occon’s win, obviously :-)

  35. @huhhii I can’t reply people so this is why this is all teh way down here.

    Alonso was on harder tyres and on a slower car, which is obvious, but you’ve got to look at how Sainz defended against Hamilton which was for a podium finish. Alonso wasn’t just placing the car correctly, he also slowed right down on the exit of turn 1 multiple times so Hamilton wouldn’t get going early enough to overtake on turn 2. The fact that it took the most succesful driver of all time, in the fastest car of the weekend, on softer, newer tyres 10 laps to go by speaks itself. Alonso is very skillful in wheel to wheel combat and it showed.

    Ocon won the race, yeah, but probably half of it was won with Latifi holding everyone up at the beginning and his team mate holding Hamilton at the end

    1. Great observation and i noticed the same tactic. I should have credited you in my similar comment.

  36. A great drive from Ocon, calm and collected, under pressure for the entire race practically, but looked like leading a race was everyday experience for him.
    But for me, Alonso stole the day with his defending against a vastly faster Mercedes, with a very determined Hamilton behind the wheel.
    Also, a great job from Vettel, and I liked the rainbow helmet and mask in Hungary, wery cheeky towards the hard right autocratic regime.
    I’m just sorry we didn’t get to see any wet racing in the end.
    Bottas made a mistake which put his team in the lead, the Mercedes team should play the lottery, they wouldn’t need any sponsors with their luck.
    Nice driving from Mick, very hard racing against incomparably faster cars, was fun to watch while it lasted.

  37. Deciding the WDC with taking out the RB’s two times in a row would be a shame. Verstappen might have missed 30-50 points because of this. I’d rather see them race to decide who is best.

  38. In what different circustance Fernando now sees his team-mate win a race before him with both having a weaker car than the opposition but overcoming them in an unlikely fashion, as the last time it happened was in Monaco 2004 and after that tension grew high between Trulli and Renault.
    Now he’s way more mature and overwhelmingly more experienced, and he helped Esteban to achieve victory the best way he could knowing it’s the smart thing to do for both of them and giving a boost to Alpine, who leapfrogged Alpha Tauri and Aston Martin in the WCC for 5th place mostly thanks to Alonso’s deeds, but also to Ocon coming back to his good form of earlier this season as well.
    But don’t let the wily old fox plays a sneaky trick on you guys if you’re new to the whole thing and might not know Alonso very well. He has been looking quite a nice guy of team-mate to Ocon for a while now but if Alpine would happen to become a dominant team or even build a race-winner car for normal conditions, that Spaniard wouldn’t look so nice but instead probably going be portrayed as a rough team-mate ot of the blue for asserting his leadership at Alpine if they were challenging for titles.
    Of course if one day he stopped playing fair and honourable, like doing the contrary of he did today, or just begun to demand special favours on track without enough performance to back it up then I’d not root for him at all, but Fernando has showed how much more of a complete driver he is when compared to Esteban, despite the Frenchman being very talented and with a long road in Formula 1 still waiting for him.
    So congratulations to Esteban for his deserved victory and as for Fernando, the way to go is keep doing those spectacular drives we’ve been watching and further improving that level of expertise, resilience and cunning that he already shows. Sticking to those qualities constantly is essential for him to reach his goals on that new F1 stint, that is add to his tally of points, podiums and wins with the team he’s very fond for, since long his home team in the shape of Renault. The third title for him with Alpine may or may not come, but his legacy is doing the best he can on a consistent basis to take these chances and enjoy the ride, always sharp behind the wheel and clever on racing strategy.

  39. Hamilton cannot race wheel to wheel apparently says Kingshark. Poor Alonso today his teammate wins the race and he won the “Lewis did not win race”. DOTD and the man absoloute choked HAHA. Also please be kind guys and check on Erikje and Robbie they will need it.

    1. Hamilton cannot race wheel to wheel apparently

      He could against Fernando but not quite against Max. Otherwise he wouldn’t have been deemed as the one who caused the collision and the driver predominantly to blame according to the stewards. But notice that Lewis complained a bit from contact with Fernando. It’s clear that the type of fight he relishes the most are the ones in which the guy ahead promptly surrenders in front of him, as stated by the man himself.

  40. DOTD for missing ya braking point and ya teammate wins the race haha. Poor fred he really must hate it. In 100 yrs time no one will remember his name Hamilton is immortal.

    1. danny
      Poor thing, people remember Senna more than Schumacher despite the latter having more titles. “Fred” needs to fight hard to achieve something in Formula 1, that’s why people appreciate his efforts so much even when fighting for 7th place only. But I’ve seen quite a lot of buthurt Hammy fans bacause the “old” guy who prevented him from winning, keeping the faster Merc at bay for so long, has just managed to severely outshine the wannabe g.o.a.t. as well. They’re kicking themselves out of jealousy because of Fernando giving a better show directly against him despite driving a low midfield car! How epic it is!

  41. Also, I presume just one car on the restart must be some kind of record.

  42. Poor Alonso Ham made his debut in 2007 zero i repeat zero world titles since Ham enterd the sport. He will be forgotten in 100 yrs time Lewis is immortal. DOTD the man had 10 laps older tyres with a compound harder and the track is the 2nd hardest behind Monaco to overtake i would say 3rd btw add singapore to the list. Yet he gets dotd Lewis was struggling to overtake slower cars what made it a gimme he would get Alonso lol. Yet Alonso absoloute choked a huge chokejob

    1. Why so buthurt? Did Fernando spoil Sir Still-I-Whine’s party? Yes! Did he show he still drives better than Lewis despite having less titles because he needs to fight hard to achieve something in Formula 1 unlike the entitled goat? Also true!

  43. Alonso goes life and death vs a man who did same vs Perez. Never on Lewis level or Max. Zero i repeat zero titles since Ham enterd F1.

  44. It was a middfield battle for the win. Imagine if that would have been for 10th and 11th place but it was for the lead. It wasn’t a fight I was hoping for, they drove 65 laps within 2s of each other. Still what a defensive battle for Ocon and one of the best feel good wins of the decade. Vive la France!
    It was an eventfull race and one of the best I have seen. I can’t put this race to words. Just amazing 70 laps of racing but it was mainly down by the first lap which is a totally different story.

    1. @qeki The magic happens when balanced out cars fight each other, even in a track that is hard to overtake. It was a factor for the good racing today, surprisingly, because otherwise much slower cars couldn’t last ahead for so long even being driven by a piloting-machine or something like that.

  45. Alonso still the best out there. He’s the closest we have to M. Schumacher 1992-2006.

  46. Michael (@freelittlebirds)
    1st August 2021, 22:32

    Congrats to Ocon and Alpine – Alonso should get at least 50% credit for that victory ;-)

  47. Defending against the current champ in a far superior car whilst driving a Deux Cheavaux. Can’t think of a more worthy driver of the day. Congrats to both Ocon and Alonso.

    1. I would point out for the tasting notes of this fine drive one more subtle flavor. One of the times Hamilton tried to dummy Alonso on the inside coming into T1, he popped to the outside to try the up and under, but Alonso just “parked” on the apex and took away the move. I feel like so many drivers ignore this tactic when they are being chased. Alonso was like, mijo, no.

      1. One of the times Hamilton tried to dummy Alonso on the inside coming into T1, he popped to the outside to try the up and under, but Alonso just “parked” on the apex and took away the move.

        Yeah! Alonso made a series of outlandish moves and positioning on track that he’d not do if he was racing alone just to disrupt the tow in the braking zone, thinking more about the end of the corner rather than just getting the expected defensive line since the beginning of the straight. This counterintuitive quirks placed at the right time is the type of stuff that makes a distinction for the greatests of the greats. Of course following that unusual racing lines for many laps was fated for a lockup sooner or later, especially considering rapidly increasing tyre deg, but the goal was holding Hamilton as much as possible to make him lose time and prevent him chasing Ocon in the end. That goal was achieved and Alpine scored their first win, one for which I wasn’t putting too much faith that it would come so early actually.

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