RaceFans Live: 2018 Azerbaijan Grand Prix

542 comments on “RaceFans Live: 2018 Azerbaijan Grand Prix”

  1. Hello everyone and welcome to RaceFans Live for the first practice session for the Azerbaijan Grand Prix!

  2. Track clearly really dirty at the moment despite there already having been an F1 practice session. Got half-a-dozen runners now though so it should clean up quickly.

  3. Verstappen: “Yep it is in first gear.”
    “That’s fine.”
    Verstappen: “It’s not doing anything.”
    “Press the brakes and K start Max.”
    Verstappen: “No the button is not working.”
    “OK Max P1, P0 please and jump out.”

  4. “OK Nico there’s a very good chance we’re not going to make another timed lap. In fact we can call it now, box this lap.”
    Hulkenberg: “Copy.”

    With the 40-minute time limit coming up for returning the first set of tyres, the rest of the drivers do the same.

  5. oh Williams, that is funny!

    1. Wow that was taken down quickly

  6. Verstappen seems to crash every time his team mate is beating him, or putting the pressure on, such as China vs. Lewis.

  7. Hello All :)

  8. Best times by team so far:

    1. Red Bull – 1’45.369
    2. Mercedes – 1’45.629 +0.26
    3. Ferrari – 1’46.861 +1.49
    4. Renault – 1’46.993 +1.62
    5. McLaren – 1’47.436 +2.07
    6. Williams – 1’47.506 +2.14
    7. Haas – 1’48.120 +2.75
    8. Toro Rosso – 1’48.220 +2.85
    9. Force India – 1’48.402 +3.03
    10. Sauber – 1’49.230 +3.86

  9. maybe the safety rule should require one to have better calves than mine

  10. Big improvement from Hamilton but quite a way off last year’s times – 0.8s.

  11. Interesting that Hamilton lost out to RIC in S3, ie. the straight.

  12. Bottas showing more like the kind of pace we expected to see.

    1. Guess Hamilton had the engine turned down a bit?

  13. to all the doubters, Hamilton has just confirmed he can touch his fore finger with his thumb, amazing how F1 continues to bring us new challeneges

  14. Cool new graphics over the halo, quite natural reading also

    1. When I first glanced at the screen and they were on, I thought someone was running a HUD! Certainly making the best of a bad camera angle though!

  15. Any clear indication Ferrari are having their engines turned down a lot?

    1. Their S3 times are probably the best indication – 1.5s slower makes me think they are turned right down

    2. I suspect there’s games afoot here. They seem to have made a big step with their engine this year and Baku is a track which will show it up. Vettel yesterday was talking about the straights being “too long” but not saying why. I suspect they’re hiding the true extent of the progress they’ve made.

      1. oh, right, hadn’t made that connection yet, but makes a lot of sense.

  16. To Ocon: “Esteban we’re losing a little bit of lap time turn three turn four braking We’re braking a little bit earlier and not quite as hard.”

  17. Team mate gaps so far:

    1 HUL -1.992s SAI
    2 ALO -1.502s VAN
    3 RIC -1.282s VER
    4 BOT -0.958s HAM
    5 OCO -0.73s PER
    6 MAG -0.544s GRO
    7 LEC -0.198s ERI
    8 SIR -0.11s STR
    9 GAS -0.062s HAR
    10 VET -0.021s RAI

  18. Complaints about Magnussen holding drivers up again.

  19. Worth nothing that after Ocon got that bit of constructive criticism he set the fourth-best time of the session. Force India clearly aren’t plagued by the same drag problems as Williams.

  20. Any explanation yet for Max’s crash? Looks like it might actually be the car’s fault this time.

    1. Max like this…

  21. Second practice is go!

    First practice indicated the cars aren’t much quicker than last year, but that may have been down to the condition of the track.

  22. It’s clouded over since first practice, track conditions are quite a bit cooler, 31C surface temperature.

    1. Hello, Keith
      May u please tell me why there are no more team radio transcripts?

      1. A few reasons: First, because we’re present at all the races this year we’re getting a lot more newsworthy stuff which is taking priority and leaving no time to get them done. Second, they seem to be broadcasting less so there wouldn’t me as much to put in the articles. Third we were expecting F1 TV Pro to arrive in time for the start of the season and that it would include a lot more team radio. As it hasn’t, we’re still waiting to see what that will have and what time commitment will be involved in following it.

  23. I love the fact how they are adding visuals of speed, throttle and braking on the Halo

    1. Smart move.

    2. I like all the graphics this year. They’ve really improved the way that the information is being displayed, makes the race a lot easier to follow, particularly when the action might not be on screen.

  24. Ricciardo already inside the best time from first practice.

  25. sorry, whats the tyre allocation

  26. is Mag faster than Gro

  27. The RBR mechanics are really earning their money this year, that’s for sure

  28. Hi Keith,
    Force India carrying an upgrade. Top speed is better here or is it the cooler track temperature?

    1. It’s only a few minor changes, the big upgrade for the VJM11 is coming at the next race. That’s the one they hope will address the problem they’ve had from the beginning of the season which arose from poor correlation.

      This track probably just suits them well. It’s got long straights, they’ve got a good engine and decent efficiency. Their handling problem is a weak rear on turn-in, but as the corners here are so short it’s probably not hurting them too much. Remember they were very strong here 12 months ago.

      1. Well, 10 months ago to be accurate!

  29. Riccardo looking sharp and focused. Not sure if the Red Bull has the legs to get on pole, but if he can carry this pace into the race I wouldn’t be surprised if he gets a second victory. The car looks so planted on the twisty bits.

    1. Verstappen said yesterday they’ll only be pole contenders on Saturday if they have several tenths in hand on Friday, which they don’t compared to Ferrari. But they may well be in good shape for the race.

      1. Crucially they seem to have gotten on top of the chassis from the start of the season and have a car that appears to go well at a variety of different types of circuit. It’s a great foundation to build upon for the rest of the season.

  30. Sainz great performance in this session.

    1. You’re joking are you not?

      1. sorry.. i read season ;(

  31. Qualifying simulations done, here are the best times by team so far:

    1. Red Bull – 1’42.795
    2. Ferrari – 1’42.864 +0.07
    3. Mercedes – 1’43.570 +0.78
    4. McLaren – 1’43.700 +0.91
    5. Force India – 1’43.814 +1.02
    6. Renault – 1’43.834 +1.04
    7. Haas – 1’43.977 +1.18
    8. Williams – 1’44.459 +1.66
    9. Toro Rosso – 1’44.712 +1.92
    10. Sauber – 1’44.940 +2.15

  32. Definitely can’t rule Mercedes out at this stage. Red Bull were fastest in practice last year, then Hamilton stuck it on pole by 1.1 seconds from the next non-silver car.

  33. It just occured to me that Williams will have their big upgrade on the car in Spain which happens to be the first weekend Kubica will be in the car during FP1. If he is first to test all the new parts he could end up looking really good compared to their other two drivers…

  34. The average lap times on ultrasofts:
    1.47.5 for Verstappen
    1.47.5 for Vettel
    1.47.7 for Ricciardo
    1.47.7 for Raikkonen
    1.48.7 for Hamilton
    1.48.8 for Bottas

    RB en Ferrari looks to have a better race pace on ultrasoft.

  35. Thanks for joining in everyone, here’s the second practice session report:

    https://www.racefans.net/2018/04/27/ricciardo-pips-raikkonen-in-second-practice/

  36. I wish they would show free practice 2 during race weekends. Free practice 3 is a waste to watch as it’s only launches. And aborted runs. I also miss the announcers. Steve, Hobo, and Lee.

  37. Final practice for the Azerbaijan Grand Prix is about to begin. Time to see what the front runners can really do.

  38. Magnussen: “The track is more dirty from leaves and stuff.”
    “OK. And there are reports from marshals of a few drops of rain in 17 and 18.”

  39. Each team’s fastest time before final practice:

    1. Red Bull – 1’42.795
    2. Ferrari – 1’42.864
    3. Mercedes – 1’43.57
    4. McLaren – 1’43.7
    5. Force India – 1’43.814
    6. Renault – 1’43.834
    7. Haas – 1’43.977
    8. Williams – 1’44.459
    9. Toro Rosso – 1’44.712
    10. Sauber – 1’44.940

    1. Mclaren is up there, interesting.

  40. loving the toe game between PER and GRO

  41. So far only the Williams drivers have improved on their times from yesterday, plus Vettel who didn’t set a representative time.

  42. Grosjean: “Sorry guys I’m really struggling here. What happened into turn 15 was it rear locking?”
    “OK we’re double-checking.”

    Grosjean: “OK I’ve got [censored by FOM] loads of oversteer mid-corner, pretty much everywhere.”

  43. Want the live sector times back on live timing ? Press F12 and paste this into the console :
    https://gist.github.com/tomchiverton/546631228075800f1eb08f2edb1e4637

    1. I get a scam warning when I try this.

      “This could allow attackers to steal your identity or take control of your computer.”

      I don’t think I’ll risk it, much as I would like sector times rather than coloured bars on my Live Timing.

      1. It’s totally safe. Feel free to ask a techie what it does. I could package as an extension for Chrome or FireFox but that’s a lot of work when F12 is a quicker way to help people out.

        1. does it work for mac?

          1. Yes. SHould work on any browser.

          2. It seems to give me a Uncaught SyntaxError: Unexpected end of input

          3. You did not cut and paste the whole string, probably. See forum :
            https://www.racefans.net/groups/f1/forum/topic/live-timing-enable-sector-times/

          4. Couldn’t make it work. Windows 10 and Firefox 59.0.2 (64 bit)

            Maybe post more detailed instructions with screenshots.

          5. reply in forum

          6. Thanks, it works great!

  44. Now is the time not to clip the wall and knacker your qualifying session…

  45. ooh, Sirotkin, doing so well and now that.

  46. Why is Ricciardo way down in 12th place? Does ha have a problem?

    1. focussing on race pace and was just heading out for a qualy sim when sirotkin binned it

  47. Vettel fan 17 (@)
    28th April 2018, 11:55

    Who is fastest so far?

  48. My pole time prediction: 1:39.540.

  49. Hello everyone and welcome back to RaceFans Live ahead of qualifying for the Azerbaijan Grand Prix.

  50. Hopefully, there won’t be too many yellow-flag worthy incidents, at least not at the end of Q3.

  51. I love this circuit and definitely gives its own taste of street circuits as a great reminder of monaco but with a high speed straight and good glimpse of the city

  52. Toro Rosso and Sauber look like the likely suspects to fall in Q1, probably along with Sirotkin following his crash.

  53. Remember the scheduled end time for qualifying is also the scheduled start time for the Formula E Paris Eprix which we’ll be following live here:

    https://www.racefans.net/live/fe/

  54. More problems for Grosjean, he had a rotten time in final practice.

    1. And it seems his luck hasn’t changed as he’s stuck with a gearbox problem.

  55. a bit off topic but, any thoughts on bottas and a full championship chaallenge?

  56. OMG massive near miss for Gasly.

  57. Wow that was scary.

    1. That was a few centimetres away from being a monumental crash.

  58. Hartley: “I got in the way of Gasly, I tried to get out of the way, I’m so sorry.”

    1. Are Gasly and Hartley the new Ocon and Perez?

  59. Who’d have thought that both Williams would have made it to Q2

    1. And both ahead of Alonso. He must think he’s going backwards.

  60. Ben Rowe (@thegianthogweed)
    28th April 2018, 14:21

    Leclerc 1.8 seconds ahead of Ericsson. That was no doubt an impressive time. But Leclerc has yet to look better than him in the race. I don’t think this is a true reflection on the pace difference.

    1. 2nd track he’s driven on before, 2nd time out-qualifying Ericsson. Finally starting to deliver.

  61. Very nice lap from Leclerc.

  62. Vandoorne is looking pretty far off Alonso once again – he was getting there at the end of last season, wonder if he’s a late bloomer.

  63. Disallow STR’s last lap? All 4 off.

    1. I don’t think so. This is not a kind of corner where you can gain any kind of advantage by driving around the outside and hopping over the kerb. It didn’t cost Stroll an awful lot of time, but I don’t think this is one of the corners the Stewards are looking at.

  64. Alonso has mods on his car for Baku, whereas Vandoorne doesn’t, accounting for the scale of the gap.

    1. And the updates certainly seem to work.

  65. Slipstreaming at Ferrari:

    Vettel: “Tell Kimi I’ll give him a tow.”
    “OK.”
    Vettel: “Ah, he went wide.”

  66. Kimi is busy doing a 15 point turn.

  67. That’s a decent time by Sirotkin.

  68. Mercs look very quick

  69. wow, Leclerc, almost the same time as Alonso

    1. I think he even lost 3 tenths compared to his Q1 run. He could’ve put his car on P11 with that time.

  70. So is this going to be decided by which teams arrange their slipstreaming best?

  71. Ooh, an uncharacteristically messy quali session from Kimi thus far. Let’s hope his last shot works out!

    1. My table took a Toto treatment when he messed up sector 3 in the final lap.

  72. Still nowhere near last year’s times.

    1. Any idea why, Keith? Are they still running the engines slightly conservatively due to the need for longevity? Or is it the lower temps due to the earlier schedule?

      1. halo weight bogs it down, affect more in this track than others

      2. yea lower temps so lower grip apparently

      3. No conservative engine modes in quali. Temperatures are much lower than last year (race was moved from early summer to spring), and the gusty wind is having a visible effect on the cars. With a hotter track and less wind, they would’ve smashed last year’s record as usually, though not as much as on other tracks, as it’s hard to gain much time on those long straights.

  73. FI only 1sec down

  74. Oh Kimi…

    1. :-( seriously. Especially after purple sector 1 and 2.

  75. The first time this season that a pole time from last season didn’t get beaten. Of course, Kimi had to mess up the last proper corner of the circuit after having gone purple in both S1 and S2, LOL.

    1. “Tankslapper” Yeah! very nice recovery though..

  76. Now Kimi will be 6th with US tyres

  77. Did Seb forget to park it outside the pit lane, or was he called?

  78. AYYY Kimi… Seb is vulnerable thanks to that

  79. Had Ocon already passed the yellow-flag zone caused by Grosjean before they became active as he set a purple sector time for S1 on the same lap?

  80. I can’t watch but my buddy tells me RIC lucks in front of max because of a tow from Kimi. Is that true?

    1. Debatable. Ricciardo did get a bit of a tow, but Verstappen was a bit over a tenth faster in the final sector. Therefore, I’d say it was coincidence, not causation.

    2. I doubt it. At least, it didn’t look like that.

  81. Hope ESPN keeps this up all season, I can definitely live with it, even getting used Krusty. Nice recovery from the 1st race.
    @Notice that first, Lewis always thanks the crowd for showing up..?
    Smart lad. Knows PR.

  82. Ferrari party mode looks to be very effective

  83. The Formula E Live Chat start link seems to be broken.

  84. Thanks for joining in everyone, here’s the session report:

    https://www.racefans.net/2018/04/28/vettel-on-pole-again-as-raikkonen-slips-up/

  85. My top-5 predictions (set before qualifying): 1. Hamilton, 2. Vettel, 3. Bottas, 4. Raikkonen, 5. Ricciardo.

  86. Hello everyone and welcome to RaceFans Live for round four of the 2018 championship.

  87. A couple of stories to update you on pre-race. The Mercedes-powered drivers will have quite a bit more power boost for this one:

    https://www.racefans.net/2018/04/29/mercedes-teams-have-10-more-power-boost-for-race/

    And how much longer will F1 be going to Baku? They could cut their deal short as they aren’t happy with how much they’re paying:

    https://www.racefans.net/2018/04/29/baku-faces-june-deadline-to-decide-future-of-f1-race/

  88. How many times will the SC come out on track if any? I think once or twice.

    1. It’s been hyped a bit this one, it could just be a procession – yesterday’s F2 race nearly was. But I suspect it will be a bit hectic.

  89. Good evening from Malaysia

  90. Many drivers nearly crashing during the out-lap. Wind causing issues? This could potentially get really interesting

    1. The strong wind gusts I guess

  91. Did I just see someone playing a piano on the starting line??

  92. Gridwalk is disaster on sky

  93. Not sure why this is but there won’t be any podium interviews today. The drivers will be interviewed straight after they get out of their cars, before the podium ceremony. And in no specific order so it may not be race winner first.

    1. I don’t mind. Podium interviews are the worst thing since landmines.

  94. I have to say, I am glad to have a C4 stream to the side for when RTL germany goes to commercials. But, I am really very much over EJ.

  95. Strong winds in the F2 sprint race this morning, although no safety cars. Should make for an interesting race.

  96. Bet this was a juicy chat:

  97. Salam All :) Enjoy the race!

  98. Woah crazy 1st flying bits and Ocon into the wall.. Surely SC..

    1. Ocon obviously didn’t learn from last year.

  99. Oh man, safety car already.

  100. haha so early surely SC

  101. Well, that could have used patience kimi

  102. Dear me Ocon. That was no good.

  103. Mercedes team waiting to pit someone

  104. petebaldwin (@)
    29th April 2018, 13:16

    Well that was all a bit clumsy… I wonder if anyone will pit and try to go to the end?

  105. Ocon could have left some space for Kimi instead of closing the door

    1. Don’t know what Ocon was thinking. Perhaps he mistook Raikkonen for Perez.

  106. Oops Alonso’s loose wheel pitting, Kimi Pitting front wing and tyres change – soft tyres – Can they make it to the end of the race?

  107. Brave try Alonso, but that looks rather damaged

  108. Oucha Fernando…

  109. Should they just start this race under the safety car in future?

    1. Hard to say. It’s usually just as bad on the safetycar restart

  110. Immense effort by Alonso to get that car back.

    1. It was squirming around something rotten.

  111. Vettel sped away at the start, the two mercedes cars were a bit too slow

    1. Both mercs were cautious.

      1. Yeah very cautious

  112. So now we have a Safety Car restart with Vettel leading Hamilton, which after last year will be plenty of fun…

  113. Oops damage to Alonso’s floor as well, can he continue?

    1. come on Sainz

  114. Ocon should have just been happy with 7th. Now he will get zero points

    1. Well, Kimi too should just have known, like last year it won’t work there. Ocon was ahead.

  115. Looks like sirotkin already had debry on the right side of his front wing before he braked too late into Perez’ back. From stroll squabble corner before?

  116. I think this is the 2nd race in a row Perez has pitted late in a safety car period. It really costs places to do it that late. I think he would only have had diffuser damage, which they can’t fix. Maybe he wants to never pit again?

  117. Stroll looking for another podium at his favourite track…

  118. Omg Vettel!Playing games

  119. Woah Verstappen! Great move!

  120. Vettel 3sec ahead. Mercs did not get heat

    1. Vettel is flying in a race of his own

  121. Look at Sainz!

  122. 3 sec gap within 1 lap for VET?

  123. Was that Verstappen giving a place to Sainz and if so how on earth does that count after Spa 2008?

    1. I believe he cut the corner I think

  124. Ham was not warming his tyres on that long crawl to the restart. And now he’s 3secs beind. Not impressive.

  125. Zzz race over

  126. I thought after Spa 08 that it was decided that if you have to give up a place, you have to wait until after the next corner before you can launch an attack. Unless something has changed in the rulebook surely Verstappen should have to give the place back again to the Renault

    1. nah, that was never more than a way to put down Hamilton, I guess.

  127. So, Stroll and Leclerc 9 and 10.

  128. Go Renault!

  129. Renault showing the ultra-softs are working well. If they don’t grain – which was a big concern for the race – we might see someone risk a two-stop, but it could leave them vulnerable to a Safety Car.

  130. Cool! Both Renaults overtaking the bulls

  131. So, USoft tyres not such a bad race tyre so far.

  132. ALO ahead of HAR and MAG, how did that happen?

  133. Verstappen: “Mate my battery is not charging.”
    “It’s the overtake button usage, Max.”

    Translation: You pressed the fun button too much.

  134. So Max has a car issue again

  135. Hamilton loses out on the middle sector. The first and the last he is faster. Especialy the last

  136. Wait, so Gasly lost three spots to be behind Kimi now in one lap? guess Honda not quite there yet.

  137. Raikkonen is not aggressive in overtaking slower cars

  138. Just as I was thinking podium for hulk. Jinxed it

    1. Stop thinking thoughts!

  139. Red Bulls are slowpokes.

  140. Shame Hulkenberg! He was doing so well!

  141. Hülkenberg does it again 😔

  142. “An unforced error ruling him out of a good position on this track,” says Jolyon Palmer on BBC radio, possibly suppressing a smirk…

  143. Wonder when Verstappen gets a team order

  144. Think Verstappen crossed a line with that contact on Ricciardo.

  145. Yikes the bulls.. Come on behave

  146. Good racing between the red bulls but what’s the probability of them taking each other out?

  147. Max, Daniel is faster than you..

    1. It is Max who made the overtake after all.

  148. Top 2 pit they will come ahead of VER

  149. RIC Has same issue as Max. Redbull cars are not good today. A shame

    1. As far as I could discern from the radio, they kept deploying their energy ot fight instead of recharging for a long burst.

  150. Sainz pits

  151. Renault had better tyres but RBs are catching up now.

  152. Lewis doing a Kimi thankfully no one was behind him

  153. RBR are so slow. Kimi has got back to them

  154. So Ferrari is the new Mercedes!

  155. Kimi back where he started and back on the tail of the Red Bulls. Shows how badly it’s going for Red Bull today.

  156. Can we take a minute to talk about Leclerc and the incredible performance he’s putting in so far?

    Hunting the Red Bulls on the same strategy …

    1. Absolutely. Living up to his reputation.

  157. Ericsson likes that corner

  158. Hamilton: “The warm-up on these tyres is poor.”
    “OK copy.”

    Hamilton: “The rears are fine now but talking about out-lap.”
    “Yeah copy we’ll sort it out for the next one.”

    Hamilton getting ready to pit, swapping fastest sectors with Vettel now.

  159. Alonso doing very well in 11th with a damaged car.

  160. Vettel still very hot in the middle sector, took half a second out of Hamilton there.

  161. Is Stroll napping? His defensive maneuvers on Leclerc and Perez were both very late, and Perez divebombed him.

    1. It is well known that Stroll has no idea about the cars around him.

  162. petebaldwin (@)
    29th April 2018, 13:56

    Another mistake from Hamilton. Lost 2 seconds in sector 1

    1. I don’t think it was a mistake, tyres had nothing left to give.

      1. Its still a mistake if you go off the track and lose seconds….

  163. Huge lock up for Lewis!

  164. Boxing Ham

  165. It’s Vettel’s to lose now.

    1. Bottas will jump Hamilton soon. Terrible pace. Vettel will be doing ultra soft final stint too so that’s the race over.

  166. Jelle van der Meer (@)
    29th April 2018, 13:58

    Red Bulls finally seem to have found the pace

    1. Seems more like Merc hasn’t found the pace yet.

  167. What Ham said?

  168. Little bit of paper flying in front of Vettel.

  169. What’s the total time required for pit stop here?

      1. Thanks

  170. Interesting sequence of messages from Hamilton around the time of his mistake and pit stop.

    Bonnington: “Can we go chassis default 40, four-zero.”
    Bonnington: “So cancel chassis default.”

    Hamilton: “Something’s happened, I don’t know what man.”
    Bonnington: “OK copy we’ll look into it.”

    Hamilton: “These tyres are done.”
    Bonnington: “Copy so box box we are ready for you.”

    Bonnington: “Should be…”
    Hamilton: “Don’t mess with me with the switch changes, OK.”

  171. why is Raikonnen so slow, 10 seconds behind the red bull

    1. Both Finns.

  172. Love how they have to remind Max to keep it clean lol.

  173. I think after lap 30. All cars will go to US.

    1. +1 that lockup cost Hamilton a podium.

      1. Bottas could potentially come out ahead of Hamilton here.

        1. He’s responding to that threat now.

  174. Time for an afternoon nap..

    1. I shouldn’t of drank that coffee…

  175. Phew keep it clean bulls

  176. Limping horses drivers have gotten away with murder at this track. Last year Petulant child got away now Kimi has gotten away with hitting another car .

  177. Ricciardo should punch Verstappen after the race. Teammates shouldn’t be doing that.

    1. You misunderstand the term ‘F1 teammate’. It means your enemy. The only guy on the planet people can judge you against.

    2. That was good racing. They’re both aggressive, they both left each other just enough space.

  178. Well, there are some interesting things happening behind the podium, but it seems the Ferrari is just a bit faster than Bottas, so not much going on there.

    1. I think Bottas’ focus is on getting in front of Ham ATM. Responding to him with a FL.

  179. Hamilton: “Just messed my race up.” I think he blames a switch change for that off at turn one.

  180. Lewis complaining that his tyres won’t last him and he’s told they should easily last till the end.

  181. Vettel in his ace

  182. When is Vettel going to pit ?

  183. With Verstappens mistakens so far this season, I think he should have a team order. This is only going well because it is RIC he is up against.

  184. Now lets see when Bottas will pit, I think he is waiting for a Virtual safety car

    1. Nah, he’s gonna milk everything from these tyres for a free pitstop.

  185. At least RB is proving you can actually follow other cars.

    1. I’m not sure how they are doing that on a track that is entirely 90 degree corners ….. maybe you don’t understand the following problem?

  186. Vettel should not have pitted. Bottas will wait 5 more laps and go to US tyres

    1. He’s only got used ones left so that’d be a bit of a risk.

      1. But they can do 15 laps on used US

        1. Others can, not necessarily Mercedes.

    2. As long as its not an RB on ultrasofts he will be fine.

  187. “Just do what you can mate”, says Bonnington to Lewis. :-/ Doesn’t sound great.. Hopefully he manages to keep P2..

    1. No chance. He’s locked into 3rd

      1. He’s closing the gap to Bottas. He’ll make the Finn fight for it.

  188. These replays from long ago don’t really help my enjoyment of the race, I have to admit

    1. Confused me a bit too

  189. Finally Ricciardo does it! P4

  190. Mercedes should roll the dice and pit both cars for ultras. They’re far enough ahead to not lose any places, except to the Red Bulls, who still need to pit anyway.

  191. Perfect overtake. Just on the edge.

  192. The Red Bulls could pit and still come out in front of Kimi. o.O

  193. Ferrari have screwed up again. They have the best car, but their own pitwall decisions might just lose them the championship.

    1. Mercedes had the advantage of doing different strategies for both the drivers since Kimi is not in the picture

  194. Has Bottas pitted?

  195. What is wrong with Stoffel?

    1. No coverage on him. He’s had 2 stops, apparently.

  196. Vettel will be beaten by Bottas on US for race win

  197. @nin13 OK, now Bottas on ultra-softs is starting to look realistic!

    1. Merc need to pit Bottas sooner, bcoz he will need laps to catch up to Vettel plus warm up those tyres

  198. Verstappen overcuts Ricciardo, oh that’ll go down well…

  199. Ric dropped the ball, now he have to do it all over again.

  200. Ric must be frustrated, undercut worked for Max.

    1. err.. overcut

  201. Ferrari should just put Kimi on US. Nothing to lose, he could catch up to the Bulls.

  202. Holy… Red bull

  203. Ben Rowe (@thegianthogweed)
    29th April 2018, 14:29

    Verstappen weaved into ricciardo!

  204. Noor waaaayyy!!!!!!

  205. Happy times in the RB camp tonight.

  206. Yup Adrian Newey walks away can’t blame him… Wth!

  207. i knew it!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!

  208. Verstappen is back!!!!

  209. That was inevitable

  210. Pit Hamilton now?

  211. petebaldwin (@)
    29th April 2018, 14:31

    Two movements from Verstappen. He went to the right and then back to the left.

  212. I think RIC lost it

  213. I knew VER moving in the braking zone would eventually cause a wreck some day. Didn’t think it would be him blocking his own teammate though.

  214. I keep having that feeling of Deja vu…Jeez, this ain’t funny anymore…or is it?

    1. I burst out laughing. But that’s just me.

  215. Expecting a penalty for Verstappen, those were two moves, and the second one was away from the racing line.

  216. Alonso, sneaky quick

  217. At first glance I’d say Verstappen changed his line twice.

    1. I would say that at second and third glance, as well.

    2. I think it was Danny trying to do a dummy but failing instead.

      1. Verstappen moved to defend, then moved to defend again. It doesn’t matter what Danny did because he was all legal. Verstappen was 100% at fault, needs suspension or something.

    3. I don’t think Verstappen moved to the outside that much… The gap was probably never there on the inside but Ricciardo was hungry.

  218. Bottas is lining up a victory

  219. Sergey Martyn
    29th April 2018, 14:32

    Happy birthday, dr. Marko!

  220. sad that Vettel just lost out on a race win for no fault of his own

  221. Someone please ban Verstappen already.

  222. Mercedes saw it happening. :D

  223. Why did they do a restart? Was there really that much debris on the track?

    1. I meant safety car.

      1. Hmm. Seeing the slo mo replay, there was quite a bit.

  224. Ferrari strategy mistake again….

    1. Nah. Bottas lucked in, that’s all there is to it.

    2. You think Vettel should have waited for the long-awaited Red Bull/Verstappen caused SC? Maybe, but perhaps his tyres were gone?

  225. There must be a severe penalty for Max…enough is enough.

    1. Nah, let them settle it in the boxing ring.

    2. Ben Rowe (@thegianthogweed)
      29th April 2018, 14:37

      I first thought it was Verstappen at fault, But I’m not sure.

  226. It was bound to happen…
    The Danny Ric Dive bomb didn’t pay off, Max moving under braking as well as two moves…

    Speechless

  227. Max’s fault, he moved back in front of Daniel in a second defensive move which you just cannot do.

  228. How bad will be this SC for Leclerc

    1. It doesnt look bad at all.

  229. If Mercedes play their cards right here they could use Bottas to help Hamilton pass Vettel at the restart.

  230. Just watch some replays: RIC went for a non existing gap and max moved to the inside

    1. Verstappen was already in motion to defend, therefore the gap was opening. Ric turned back to take the opening gap and Verstappen turned again to shove his butt in front of Ric. Max is… so many words that aren’t allowed in any language.

      1. There was no gap. It was a stupid move from RIC regardless what max did or didn’t do

        1. Are you blind fool? Max defended Danny’s dummy to the right, then moved again when Danny went back to the inside. The move was on and the gap was there until Max closed it on his second move. If there’s any justice in this world Verstappen will get at least a 10 place penalty for that dangerous move!

  231. Alonso does not want lapped cars to get back

  232. Well, we had Formula 1’s most aggressive overtaker attacking Formula 1’s most aggressive defender… there you go.

    1. Well the second most agressive at least

  233. Tye SC should be mandatory, these late race sprints are awesome.

  234. Grosjean, you’ve got to be kidding me

    1. Can we please get Rossi in that car ?

  235. GROS LOL!

  236. Another one into the wall! SC till the end?

  237. Grosjean, not his weekend. What was that?

  238. Thats the race right there

  239. Looked like Verstappen moved twice under braking but hard to say for sure without telemetry. Ricciardo maybe over-committed as well.

    Ohh, Grosjean out now too! Plays into Bottas’s hands.

    1. Was my impression as well that he moved twice…

    1. Gosh, Grosjean really needs to take stock of himself.

      1. It’s weird, he had purple ultra softs on, so you’d think he’d be OK with tyre warm up.

  240. Red flag it!!!

    1. Yes, I want to see a proper end not a defeat car end

      1. *safety car

  241. Nice ‘graphics’ on the Halo…..

    1. They have to cover up that ugly pos somehow!

      1. Precisely..

    2. Really?….I hate it

  242. what the hell Gro??

    1. Yeah what the hell is he smoking. “Ericcson hit us”

      1. thought he was in a mustang when I saw the replay the first time.

    2. Now Bottas is going to win….

  243. Will this crash end the race?

  244. Does he really think he was hit?

  245. I hope not, but they’re running out of laps…

  246. Did Gro try to blame his crash on Ericsson?

    1. Yes. I will not be surprised if he isn’t back at Haas next season. Between this and crashing on the way to the starting grid in Brazil.

    2. I think his enginner tried it.

  247. Classic Romain Grosjean…

  248. It’d be a surprise if Grosjean has a seat next year :’D

  249. Anticlimax

  250. Ericsson should hot Romain

    1. Hit…… :)

  251. Why is the truckie taking the strap out while he’s still behind the car?

  252. is it possible to win a race on one compound?
    All I know is it’s a MUST to have 2 different sets of tyres to finish a race .
    Am I missing something?

    1. Top three have all changed compounds…

      1. haha, yes, seems i missed those pitstops :D

    2. I think that’s the rule.
      Who is risking that?

    3. It has to be two different compounds

    4. It isnt a must if you finish during safetycar but everyone have changed already so its np.

  253. Neweys expression said it all. Verstappen was weaving too many times. The commentators were speaking as though it was Dans fault. Who are the commentators on Star Sports in India?

  254. ?
    Everyone’s raced at least two different compounds so far.

  255. Bottas has some luck at Baku.

  256. Alonso into the points now

  257. So, when will Max be demoted back to Toro Rosso?

    1. He won’t be , but this is a terrible season for him…

  258. Bottas and Vettel crash on final lap? Anyone? No?

    1. Just as RAÍ overtakes and wins the race

    2. Ohh there’s a bet for HAM and VET to crash, crank up the cars to quali-mode and go for it!

  259. Come on! Safety car in!

  260. This truck was paid to keep the safety car out long for Merc

  261. Max moved under braking. He does this since his debut. Actually it took some time for this to happen.

  262. Hamilton said the race should be stopped because of the truck on the circuit – completely agree, Grosjean crashed into the wall under the SC. Someone could easily crash into that truck.

    1. Valid point

  263. petebaldwin (@)
    29th April 2018, 14:49

    SC in this lap

  264. I am happy for Bottas and Lecrec.

  265. Ok here we go…!

  266. Here we go restart!

  267. I think that was 100% Max Verstappen’s fault.

    When you have a car braking hard, If a car ahead moves across his front wing it takes all the air off the front wing & reduces braking efficiency.
    This is why moving in the braking zones, Especially when you have another car behind you is not allowed in most categories.

  268. over cookeD!

  269. Yessssss!!! Mercedes 1-2!!!! Yess!

  270. Ha bloody ha!

  271. Kimi, Seb is faster than you

  272. Silly move by Vettel. That wasn’t going to happen in any dimension.

  273. Now will HAM go after BOT?

  274. Will they activate DRS?

  275. petebaldwin (@)
    29th April 2018, 14:52

    WOW!!!!!

    1. Looks like some crap on the track.

  276. Omg omg omg omg omg!!!!! Bottas!!!!

  277. NO!!!!!! No!

  278. I can see Perez winning this.

    Seriously, this is madness!

    1. He has 5 sec penalty right?

    2. LOL Keith

  279. It looked like he hit a bit of debris coming by the pit entry.

    1. Yeah. Horrible, absolutely horrible. He was in championship lead contention.

  280. What an ending

  281. petebaldwin (@)
    29th April 2018, 14:53

    How silly does Vettel’s move look now!

  282. Unbelievable…

  283. Well, lady luck shines on HAM, what a race…

  284. OOOOOOMG

  285. Did Perez serve that 5 second penalty though?

  286. This is fast becoming my favourite race…

  287. Hamilton leads the championship

  288. What was that puncture from?!

    1. There saying a big chunk of debris! Poor guy

    2. He drove over a piece of debris o the straight. Made sparks and everything…

    3. Guess debry from the clash of the bulls

  289. GRO would have had a chance of a podium if he had kept it out of the wall.

  290. Aww, sorry for Bottas

  291. Bottas deserved that win. :/

    1. He did, didn’t put a foot wrong. Looks like debris was the issue.

  292. petebaldwin (@)
    29th April 2018, 14:56

    Confirmed – Perez has severed his 5s penalty in the pits.

    1. Severed? Sounds dangerous. ;)

      1. petebaldwin (@)
        29th April 2018, 15:00

        :D Oh yeah. Harsh penalties these days…..

  293. Yup.. Perez has a penalty anyway.

    1. Yep, Perez position is legit, how does this affect the driver standings?

  294. Vettel threw away the win with that lockup, painful to be a Ferrari fan

    1. It isnt that painfull, at least he went for it.

    2. Not as painful as being a McLaren fan

    3. He was under pressure, I wouldn’t be too hard on him.

  295. WHAT A RACE

  296. Lewis winnns!!!!!!!!

    1. And takes the Driver championship lead.

  297. I did joke about Bottas and Vettel wrecking on the last lap, but don’t you think the results would have been similar if they had? :P

  298. Hamilton is the most prolific winner now? Has he won at Magny Cours?

    1. So a win at France is all he needs to win at every track he’s driven on now?

  299. Driver of the day: Sainz. Crashtappen strikes back, LOL.

  300. safety cars this season are playing in favour of HAM.

  301. Fantastic race, wasn´t aboring minute in there… except safety car… clearly a 10

    1. Only if you are a HAM fan. Perhaps a 9 or 8 for Ferrari. For me its 10 (go ALO).

  302. petebaldwin (@)
    29th April 2018, 14:59

    Well done Perez in 3rd! Special mention to Leclerc as well who finished 6th but was right up there all race! Brilliant drive.

  303. why force india happy and they have a 5 second penalty?
    Could anyone explain please?

    1. they served already

    2. They served the 5s,i think and are on the p

  304. Point for Hartley! Yeah!

  305. You know what the big story is actually off the podium, i want to be in the Red Bull debrief!!!!

  306. Amazing season so far. Amazing

  307. I think Ericson did it… That was a good one!

  308. Perez may be in trouble – think he served his five second penalty during the Safety Car period.

    1. is that illegal?

      1. good question

    2. I’ve been saying this for a while. He had to have served it under the safety car. That’s when he pitted? He got the penalty. His only other stop was when everyone stopped behind the SC. It is 100% not allowed, that part’s not in question. He has to go? Shame coz great underdog result but surely?

  309. Leclerc or Perez driver of the day

  310. Two MCLs in the points….more than you can say for RB!!!!!!!

  311. This kind of race is what I’d like to (not) see in IndyCar, but definitely not in F1. Hardly anyone finished where they deserved to. Especially the top 2, that was farcical.

    1. Is that the second time Raikkonen has finished ahead of Vettel this season?

    2. It was an exciting race but not nice to see it decided by a puncture

  312. Is that the second time Raikkonen has finished ahead of Vettel this season?

    1. Yep, twice consecutively now.

  313. All teams got points only in 4 races…This season going be exciting…..

  314. I wonder how this will affect Riccardo’s contract talks…

    1. I hope he’s smart enough to either demand Verstappen isn’t his teammate or to just leave outright.

  315. If you are a Red Bull Fan, you certainly would think of it as a 0 ☺️

  316. The safety car is going to win this championship…

  317. Another important point is it’s just not only about the car…

  318. I think VET just forgot about the 1st corner because he was just behind BOT. when BOT went to the right to take the corner it was too late.

    1. Bad time to make a mistake for Vettel, threw the win away.

  319. Hamilton’s win rate is pretty impressive. No doubt this one was gifted & he acknowledges it, but he’s never gone ten races without a win his entire F1 career.

    1. Almost correct, I count 3 instances of Hamilton going without a win for 10 races:
      Brazil 2008 – Germany 2009
      Brazil 2012 – Germany 2013
      Belgium 2013 – Australia 2014

      You could say he’s never gone eleven races without a win.

  320. Chaos favors Ricciardo everyone is excited. It favors Hamiton or Vettel people complaint. You don’t like racing, you like your drivers and teams. Valteri deserved it? Yes, but he was there because of the safety car also…
    Great season so far, a lot happens in the races.

    1. they (well we) prefer it favours someone who never gets to be at the front, putting them for once at the front.

      Understandably.

    2. Well said, though here Vettel could have kept his cool and still win, or Ferrari might have tried a similar strategy to Bottas and, again, stayed ahead (and even: not come in, stay on softs, with how many laps there were to go)

  321. Many team are getting strategy wrong. I guess not many teams are able to understand tyres. Like Bottas on old SS was able to increase gap to Vettel on new Soft. Ferrari knew Kimi is already struggling on them, he was 20 sec down on RBR. 2 races where Ferrari have made strategic error. Hamilton has just kept clean in 2 races where he had no pace and got back to Vettel. Looks good for Hamilton.

  322. Sergey Martyn
    29th April 2018, 15:15

    Fourth race of the season, time to call Kvyat.

  323. Bonkers start to the season. Still feels like it’s going to boil down to Vettel v Hamilton in the end, but it looks like there’s going to be a lot of supporting characters in this story…

  324. Hello everyone and welcome to RaceFans Live for the first practice session for the Spanish Grand Prix!

  325. Robert Kubica back in the cockpit for Williams in first practice only. As with his two other planned appearances this year he’ll be in Sergey Sirotkin’s car.

  326. Is McLaren still doing their ‘maximum softest compound’ tyre choices? Seeing Alonso 2nd behind Kimi made me think that, but am I correct?

    1. Think Williams are the most aggressive here aren’t they?

      1. Ah, okay. I was in hospital for an operation last week, recovering this week, so haven’t been able to really read up on it much.

        1. Sorry to hear that!

    2. McLaren has brought 6 supersoft sets which is fewer than most except Mercedes

  327. Bottas lowers the best time to a 1’18.703, that’s four-tenths of a second inside last year’s pole position time and a new track record.

  328. For a second thought was Max…force of habit

    1. Same here. Thought it was Max in wall.

      1. Can’t imagine why you thought that…

  329. The F1 TV stream really needs some more work. Getting disconected constantly, video resolution is bad half of time, UI couldn’t be more minimalistic. Hope that’s gonna improve because it’s really not cheap here in France.. 170€.

    1. I thought there was something wrong with my internet connection. This is really embarrasing for Liberty. Hope they get it sorted quickly.

  330. Interesting to note Cyril Abiteboul has pulled out of today’s press conference. Remi Taffin will appear instead.

  331. Some details on Tyre choice please?

  332. Bottas really flying in this session. He seems to thrive on tracks which have this new, high-grip, low-abrasion surface.

    1. Its FP1….dont be so easily impressed

  333. Awful move by Magnussen.

    1. Hulkenberg was right!

  334. Magnussen summoned to the stewards as follows:

    Alleged breach of Articles 27.4 and 31.5 of the FIA Formula One Sporting Regulations, unnecessarily impeding car 16 and a potential dangerous manoeuvre at 12:28.

  335. Welcome back to RaceFans Live for the second practice session.

    To clear up one piece of business from FP1, Magnussen was given a reprimanded for his incident with Leclerc. He’ll be relieved it wasn’t more penalty points, as he’s already on eight:

    https://www.racefans.net/2018/05/11/magnussen-reprimanded-for-potentially-dangerous-incident-with-leclerc/

  336. Grosjean is Haas-deep in the gravel.

    1. Nice work :)

  337. So far the F1 TV stream hasn’t been great. The quality isn’t particularly good, and the reliability is worse than some pirated streams. In fact, I haven’t seen anything since Grosjean beached his car. I guess I’ll open a backup pirated stream to see at least some of the action.

    1. Oh, looks like I spooked it. It’s come back to life.

      1. Dead again.

        1. Unwatchable for me too here in Barbados.

          1. Germany here. I hear it’s a global problem.

  338. Bottas does the first super-soft run but it’s a messy end to the lap, 1’18.644.

  339. Hamilton abandons his first performance run after dropping two wheels into the gravel.

  340. Verstappen is the latest driver to back out of his performance run. These super-softs are tricky. It’s already looking like the soft might be the preferred Q2 tyre.

  341. Vettel also backs out of his performance run after catching Raikkonen, of all people.

  342. Well, that session was marred by the problems the F1 TV stream had. They need to work on that asap.

  343. That was a pretty inconsequential second practice session here’s the results:

    https://www.racefans.net/2018/05/11/hamilton-leads-the-red-bulls-after-raikkonen-hits-trouble/

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