Category: Formula One

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Paul Ricard: A maze of a race

French Gp 2018 race start. Image courtesy of Getty Images / Red Bull Content Pool

Last weekend saw the return of the French Grand Prix, this time at Paul Ricard. Overall the expectations for this race were low, as this is not particularly the best circuit France has. With all of its 167 different layout options, there were enough options to make the track more interesting for racing. Many did think though that this layout was not the best they could have chosen, and that it wouldn’t provide any good racing. How wrong many people were then when this race made up for the previous two races at Monaco and Montreal, which were criticised for being too boring.

First of all, there were many debates even amongst the drivers about the track. One of the problems being discussed was the pit lane. Especially the exit was deemed very dangerous as drivers re-joining the track will get on the racing line of the upcoming drivers. The other problem was the chosen layout, with focus on the chicane on the Mistral straight. This, according to Brendon Hartley and Sergio Perez, would not provide many overtakes and thus asked for it to be removed. They were proven wrong, as this race with all of its 57 overtakes provided the most overtakes of this season yet. For sure it helped that the DRS zone before the chicane was 700 metres long, which helped Vettel and Bottas to regain some positions after their terrible start.

Other drivers like Lewis Hamilton and Nico Hülkenberg complained about the confusing blue and red lines. These lines disorientated not only the drivers, but for fans watching it on TV it was very confusing too. The Free Practices on Friday demonstrated that the drivers struggled with the braking points due to the many lines surrounding the circuit. Vettel almost took a turn too early at the Mistral chicane and Hamilton almost drove straight into Vandoorne as he missed his braking point as well. It was not going to be an easy race for the drivers.

For some drivers their weekend even started disappointing after qualifying. With both McLaren drivers in only P16 for Alonso and P18 for Vandoorne, it really was an embarrassing Saturday for the Woking team. This disappointing result in the light of rumours that employees are unhappy doesn’t help their situation at all. Another team that has to feel embarrassed was Williams. They didn’t stand a chance as they qualified in P19 and P20, filling up the last places on the grid. Luckily for them Hartley had to start in last position as he had a 35-place grid penalty, so both drivers moved up a place.

Circuit Paul Ricard, Le Castellet, France.
Saturday 23 June 2018.
Fernando Alonso, McLaren MCL33 Renault.
Photo: McLaren
ref: Digital Image SUT_French_Grand_P_1630069

The race however, which started an hour later than normal because of the World Cup, didn’t disappoint at all. The start of the race was very chaotic. Vettel had a better start than Bottas in front of him, but couldn’t get past Lewis who seemingly didn’t have a good start as he held Vettel up. This all resulted in a crash between Vettel and Bottas, as Vettel locked up his brakes and drove into Bottas. Verstappen had to evade them and, as he said himself after the race, took ‘the fast chicane’. Vettel did get a five second penalty from the stewards for the incident. However, for Lewis and many fans alike this penalty was not enough as he still finished higher than Bottas. The crash looked like just a racing incident as Vettel locked up and as a result hit Bottas, which is something that can happen at the start of the race especially with a tight corner like the first at Paul Ricard. It got even worse when it was announced after the race that Sebastian was voted Driver Of The Day, which seems very strange after he caused a collision and many fans thus were surprised.

French GP 2018. Image courtesy of Getty Images / Red Bull Content Pool

After the race no other than second placed Max Verstappen took this crash as the opportunity to joke about criticism towards him about his driving style. ‘’I think the next time you see Seb you should ask him to change his style, you know, because honestly it is not acceptable. That’s what they said to me in the beginning of the season so I think they should do the same.’’ Again he got a well-deserved podium, just like he did at Canada. It looks like Max has proven indeed that his driving style is the right one as his teammate Ricciardo didn’t get on the podium. Surely he didn’t have the best start of the season you could get, but now he has gotten himself two podiums in a row. With the home race for Red Bull coming up this weekend it will be his job to achieve this again, this time maybe even a win.

The start crash between Vettel and Bottas did liven up the race though, as they had to fight their way through the field. However, this was not the only crash at the start of the race. Two of the three starting French drivers at their home Grand Prix crashed after just three turns, as Pierre Gasly and Esteban Ocon crashed into each other. Neither of them did get a penalty for it though, as the stewards decided that they were both at mistake and it wouldn’t matter anyway as they were both out of the race. In front of the cameras a seemingly very emotional Gasly explained that he hoped for a better result as this home grand prix means a lot to him. It was a disappointing weekend for the French fans, as Grosjean didn’t deliver too with just an eleventh place.

Kimi Räikkönen on the french gp podium. Image courtesy of Ferrari

Overall then this French GP was a good one. It saw the most overtakes of the season yet, delivered some chaos, controversy and drama. There were many doubts about this race as this circuit wouldn’t make for an interesting race, but instead we got one of the more interesting races of the season. Now the question is, after we’ve seen this race, should there be changes made to the track like some drivers suggested? It looks like it isn’t necessary. Will Vettel ruin his chances for the championship on his own again just like last year? Is the new Mercedes engine good enough for Lewis to dominate again? We shall see, as this week we head down to the second GP of the ‘triple header’ in Austria, the Red Bull Ring.

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Tales of Woe: Whatever happened to two of F1’s most dominant teams?

So far this season we’ve had a Mercedes winner, a Ferrari winner and Red Bull winner. This is completely normal and what we’ve come to expect, given that those teams have become F1’s ‘big three’. The only other team to get a podium so far was Force India at Baku, such is their stranglehold on F1. Two of the names most notably missing from that list are McLaren and Williams who are both having shockers of a season amid growing tensions.

Ayrton Senna. Image courtesy of Paul Lannuier

This was not always the way. McLaren are not only the second-oldest active team after Ferrari, they are also the second most successful team – also after the Italian marque. Over 52 seasons and 833 races entered, they’ve racked up 155 pole positions and fastest laps, 182 wins, 12 drivers’ titles and 8 constructors’ titles. That is quite some record! However, their last podium came back at Australia 2014 and you have to look even further back for their last win – Brazil 2012. So, where did it go wrong for McLaren?

If you ask them, the first word you’ll get will almost undoubtedly be “Honda”. It’s true, through their most recent three-year partnership they scored no wins, no podiums and only had a best result of fifth. Throughout that time, McLaren repeatedly claimed to have ‘the best chassis on the grid’ which, rather sceptically at first, we all ended up buying into. Truth be told, they evidently didn’t as now they’ve switched to Renault engines, the same as Red Bull and Renault, for this season, they’ve been pretty awful. Best result of fifth, a lot of no-scores and DNFs… oh wait, this is sounding a lot like it did with Honda! The majority of the problem still lies with McLaren.

Circuit Paul Ricard, Le Castellet, France.
Saturday 23 June 2018.
Fernando Alonso, McLaren MCL33 Renault.
Photo: McLaren
ref: Digital Image SUT_French_Grand_P_1630069

In truth, it all starting going downhill way before Honda came back on the scene. McLaren lost their star, their prodigy that they’d supported since day one, they lost Lewis Hamilton. Most people were puzzled, to say the least, at Hamilton’s move away from the race-winning McLaren to the struggling Mercedes for 2013 but, with countless race wins, three world titles and a lot of success, it all makes sense now! Hamilton not only wanted a new challenge, he knew the direction McLaren was headed and that direction was down.

Under the year’s of Martin Whitmarsh, management structures had been put in place that just don’t fit F1 while Ron Dennis took a step back, removing some of the atmosphere of fear. When Whitmarsh went, Dennis came back into control and signed the Honda deal, citing that they would only be successful if they were a works team. We all know how that went but now Dennis’ has been pushed out of his own company in favour of Zak Brown and Eric Boullier. This seemed like it was going to be a new McLaren revolution, they’d signed with Renault, they’d kept Fernando Alonso (somehow!) and now they were going to get back to winning races. They believed it and, for a moment, we believed it but it came to nothing and this reflects the mood at McLaren now.

The way out of this rather large hole seems a long one and they’ll probably have to wait for the 2021 rule change before they can even dream of being competitive again. But, with a diminishing amount of sponsors, a disgruntled star driver who’s looking for the door and general staff dismay, the question is if they can stay afloat until then?

Williams’ story is equally tough and also lacks a clear way out. Now Williams hasn’t been quite as successful as McLaren in the past but their record is still one to be coveted. 128 poles, 133 fastest laps, 114 wins, 7 drivers’ championships and 9 constructors’ championship is nothing to be ashamed of for a racing record but, like McLaren, those tallies haven’t been added to for some time. Their last win was the 2012 Spanish GP where the much-maligned Pastor Maldonado surprised us all by winning over Alonso but that was a long time ago.

For Williams, it has been a slow but constant demise. Founder Frank Williams was left with no choice but to reduce his roles as his health deteriorated, leaving the reins to daughter, Claire Williams. The team have been solidly in the midfield for the past few years, battling with Force India for fourth in the constructors’ championship and while that wasn’t where Williams wanted to be, they were still getting some podiums and decent points.

This year, however, it’s all gone to pot. The season was troubled before it even got going with the questionable driver choice of Lance Stroll and Sergey Sirotkin. Both vastly inexperienced with patchy racing records and no real scope to develop a car. But really, their biggest problem this season has been the car, not the drivers. They still have arguably the best engine on the grid with the Mercedes but something has gone drastically wrong with the design of the car, meaning that they have been stone dead last all season.

This is not how they used to be but equally, their last championship of any description came back in 1997 and they haven’t really been a factor in the championship since the dawn of the 2000s. Next year they’ll lose their title sponsor of Martini and, beyond that, even surviving in F1 could be a problem. They, like so many other teams, have pinned all their hopes on the 2021 regulation change and, if that doesn’t help, we may have seen the last of the Williams name in F1.

It’s not been good, by any stretch of the imagination, for these two teams and it looks like it’s going to get worse before it gets better.

Featured image courtesy of Andrew Hone/Williams F1 ref: Digital Image _ONY4604

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F1 VS Football

You might have seen that I went a bit viral this week, with my commentary of the England v Tunisia World Cup match. However, despite its players’ fine coiffures and fancy footwork, football is not my sport of choice. I much prefer motor racing. I’ve been a big fan of Formula 1 and other motorsport since I was a young child watching battles between Michael Schumacher and Mika Hakkinen. So, what’s the appeal? After all, there’s no diving in F1 (apart from Piquet Jr that one time, perhaps); the largely sub-par haircuts are hidden under helmets (although Marcus Ericsson and Kevin Magnussen are putting in valiant footballer-esque efforts); and, sometimes, the races are undeniably boring (recent visits to Canada and Monaco don’t so much spring, but limp, to mind).

However, some races have more than their fair share of craziness. Two out of three visits thus far to Baku have resulted in bizarre crashes, last-minute drama and surprise podium appearances (Well Done Baku, indeed). Meanwhile, even in less exciting races there’s usually some drama to discuss, whether it’s a first lap clash or a teammate rivalry. Just like football then, not every race is exciting, but there’s usually still something to talk about.

In place of the referee and VAR we have the all-powerful stewards and their sometimes questionable decisions, and there’s just as much fruitless protesting – only we get to hear it. This has given us gems such as “When did I do dangerous driving?” from an aggrieved Sebastian Vettel, who surely must have known that driving alongside, and then into, Lewis Hamilton under a safety car just might be considered dangerous.

Instead of aerial duels we have, well, aerial duels, with more than a few cars being launched into the air over the years. Even when cars don’t make it off the ground there’s plenty of dramatic crashes and clashes. From Grosjean’s repeated trips into the wall this season to the numerous clashes between Force India teammates Sergio Perez and Esteban Ocon last season, there’s always material for a heated discussion about who was at fault or how an incident could have been avoided.

From a personal standpoint, this season hasn’t been the most enjoyable for me, mainly because I’m a Williams fan, and, unfortunately, they’ve produced a car so terrible it’s often slower than last year’s model. My second-favourite team, Force India, are going through some testing times as well, with poor results on track and financial problems away from it. They have, however, enjoyed a podium this season, with Perez standing atop the third step at Baku, so that has buoyed my spirits somewhat. However, it’s another reminder that, just as in football, you have to take the lows and the highs with your team of choice, and supporting a team or driver adds another level of emotion and intrigue into the sport.

So, what else might we be missing in Formula 1? Football has their transfer season, and we have ours. Will Fernando Alonso stay or will he go? Will Daniel Ricciardo accept a cool 20 million to drive for McLaren? Will Robert Kubica ever return to an F1 race seat? These questions and more keep discussions interesting even when the racing is not.

So, while my forays into football commentary have seen my tweets go viral, and years of tweeting about motorsport have done nothing of the sort, Formula 1 remains the sport closest to my heart. And while I might watch a few more football matches than I used to, nothing will hold my attention like Formula 1 has done for so many years of my life.

 

Featured image courtesy of Sven Mandel

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TrackGuide: Paul Ricard Circuit

Location: Le Castellet, Marseille

Built: 1969

Track length: 3.63 miles

Last F1 race: 1990

Most Successful Driver: Alain Prost (4 x Wins – 1983, 1988, 1989, 1990)

Paul Ricard was a famous pastis, and often saw sport as an effective tool in marketing. He was the first commercial sponsor of the Tour de France. He decided to invest into a track and saw it as a huge gap in the market. This track was built in 1969 and first used in 1970. Formula 1 had a contract from 1971, it was used on and off until 1990 generally sharing with Dijon.

Paul Ricard sadly passed away in 1997 and some of his assets were sold on. In 1999 Excelis, owned by former chief executive of Formula 1 Bernie Ecclestone brought the track.

The track had serious investment placed into it, as it hadn’t been used frequently. It was developed into one of the most advanced test tracks in the world. It was recently used for Formula 2 and their pre-season testing programme. The most recent use for Formula 1 though was for wet tyre testing in May. Pirelli manually drenched the track to get knowledge on a new wet tyre they were researching.

France Gp tyre and circuit layout courtesy of Pirelli

The majority of track when first opened was the Mistral Straight, it was 1.1miles long. Elio de Angelis in 1986 testing had a horrific crash which resulted sadly in his death. The track was not at fault, it was a failure on the car, but the straight was shortened to make it safer to prevent such high speeds. They ran on a shorter track for the Grand Prix for the remaining 5 years, 1986 to 1990.

The track has been modified further for 2018, Mistral Straight’s length is what it was prior to de Angelis’ death but they have placed a chicane in the middle of it. This is to keep it safe with speeds down as well as with slipstreaming and DRS to create a further overtaking opportunity.

The track is great for the F1 fans due to the high speeds and its flowing nature. Great for the paddock too as there are three French drivers on the grid, Gasly, Grosjean and Ocon.

Looking at the circuit it should suit Mercedes better especially if the new engine is ready. With having a slight advantage on the straights expect to see Force India and Williams closer in the midfield battle.

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F1 2018: French Grand Prix Returns After 10-Year Absence

The French Grand Prix returns to Paul Ricard this week, ten years after the last race in the country was held. Spare a thought for all the teams, who will no doubt be bracing themselves for the prospect of Formula One’s first ever triple-header, with the French, Austrian and British Grand Prix all taking place over the coming weekends.

Last time out in Canada was something of a shock to the system for many. Past form would have suggested Mercedes were set to dominate the weekend, but that was not the case at all. It may not have been the most exciting race in the world – it was really so very, very far from that – but Sebastian Vettel was sublime all weekend and he cruised to victory from pole position, followed home by Valtteri Bottas and Max Verstappen. With Lewis Hamilton in P5, it means that Sebastian Vettel is now in the lead of the championship, by just one point.

Ferrari won the last French Grand Prix – which was held at Magny Cours in 2008 and was won by Felipe Massa – and Kimi Raikkonen is one of only two drivers on the current grid, the other being Fernando Alonso, who have won the Grand Prix before. The power unit upgrades Ferrari introduced for Canada proved fruitful, and with Paul Ricard’s long straights you can expect the team to go very well again this weekend.

Mercedes, meanwhile, are set to finally introduce the power unit upgrades that were originally meant to be brought in for Canada, but were ultimately delayed because of quality control issues. There is no getting away from the fact that they were very underwhelming in Canada, and will definitely be grateful for the upgrades in France given the nature of the track.

Max Verstappen finished P3 in Canada – the first race this season that he has put in a weekend without incident – continuing Red Bull’s tradition in the hybrid era of performing better there than otherwise might be expected of them. With Daniel Ricciardo also finishing in the top five, and both drivers happy with the upgrades introduced, there is no apparent reason to suggest that Red Bull won’t be able to replicate that sort of performance in France.

Force India’s Esteban Ocon’s first win in a single-seater was actually at Paul Ricard, and he believes that he is potentially on for a good result this weekend. “On paper, the track should suit us,” he said, “with a long straight and some slow corners where we can use our car’s mechanical grip really well. It’s a track which will be new for everyone and we’re usually good at finding a set-up quickly, so I’m not too worried.”

Renault are currently enjoying their best start to a season since they returned to F1 as a works team in 2016, and they head into their home race having been bolstered by the power unit upgrade they brought in Canada. They are a respectable P4 in the WCC, 16 points ahead of McLaren. If both Renault and McLaren perform in France as they did in Canada, expect that gap to grow considerably.

Last time out at the Canadian Grand Prix, Haas introduced a new front wing and floor plus a revised bargeboard, and they are optimistic that these will suit the layout of the Paul Ricard track after two consecutive races of not getting either car into the points. This will actually be Romain Grosjean’s first home race in F1 – his rookie year was in 2009, a year after the last French Grand Prix took place – so expect him to be especially keen for a good result.

Both Toro Rosso drivers are similarly optimistic about what they might be able to achieve in the race. Pierre Gasly, for whom this is also a first home race in F1, has either won or at least gotten on to the podium every time he has raced at Paul Ricard, and Brendon Hartley, who crashed out of the last race in Canada along with Lance Stroll after contact between the pair, has said: “Paul Ricard is a circuit I know well, although not in a Formula 1 car. We did a lot of testing there with WEC in the LMP1 car and I won the LMP2 category in 2013. It was always a popular track for endurance testing and I’m also pretty handy round there in the night-time, although that’s not going to come into play in a Formula 1 car!”

Circuit Gilles-Villeneuve, Montreal, Canada
Sunday 10 June 2018.
Fernando Alonso, McLaren, and Stoffel Vandoorne, McLaren, on the grid.
Image courtesy of  Andy Hone/McLaren ref: Digital Image _ONZ4265

Speaking of the World Endurance Championship, there is no doubt that the majority of the off-track spotlight will be on McLaren’s Fernando Alonso, fresh from winning the 24 Hours of Le Mans alongside his #8 Toyota co-drivers Sebastien Buemi and Kazuki Nakijima. However, it may be a case of coming back to reality with a bump for Alonso, as well as for team-mate Stoffel Vandoorne. They struggled around Canada – Vandoorne finished two laps down in P16 and Alonso retired – and with Paul Ricard’s long straights it may unfortunately be more of the same for the Woking-based outfit.

Charles Leclerc is on a very impressive run of performances at the moment. In Canada he finished ahead of Gasly, both Haas cars, the McLaren of Stoffel Vandoorne, Sergey Sirotkin and even Sergio Perez in the Force India, and managed to hold off Fernando Alonso in several wheel-to-wheel duels before the Spaniard retired from the race.

Williams’ Lance Stroll is a lot more muted about the track than some of his rivals. “I know [it] from when I drove in Formula 3. I had a good time there and won a race, but I have to be honest because I can’t say I like it,” he said in Williams’ race preview. “It is just run offs everywhere and I am not a big fan.” As mentioned, he crashed out of the Canadian Grand Prix on the first lap – that just about sums up the luck he and the Williams team have been having this year – but maybe don’t expect the French Grand Prix to be the best place for a turn in fortunes.

Featured Image courtesy of Getty Images / Red Bull Content Pool

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Red Bull to Honda – why the change?

image courtesy of Red Bull Content pool.

Red Bull and Renault started off as the perfect love story; good performances, good results, the first win and one-two in 2009, and just the four championships in a row.

However, this wasn’t to be the fairytale ending. The partnership between the Austrian team and the French engine manufacturer has ended up as a splattered mess all over the carpet, and now Red Bull, following three-and-a-half years of arguments, will now embark on a new relationship.

Truth be told, it isn’t by choice. If you run through the list of options that Red Bull had for engine suppliers, you’ll find that Honda was the only name on it. Aston Martin, who not only have shares with the team but are now also incorporated in the name, are not expected to be able to supply engines until 2021. With the big engine regulation changes coming into force in three years, it would be a wasted investment for them, not mentioning the difficulty of coming into the sport and making an engine straight away, such are the technical and financial complexities of building modern day Formula One engines.

Honda, therefore, will be supplying engines next year to Red Bull. The question is, will it work?

Well, despite the torrid three seasons Honda experienced supplying McLaren, there is promise in that Red Bull junior team Toro Rosso have been using Honda engines this season, and have actually been a fairly competitive midfield team. Their relative performance has not really changed from last year. Couple that with the much tighter chassis that McLaren run compared to the Austrian and Italian Bulls, and Red Bull might just be alright.

Furthermore, it looked from the outside as though Honda, when supplying McLaren were frankly incompetent, but with the news breaking out about McLaren employees forming a rebuke against the team’s management and even contacting former team Principle Martin Whitmarsh for support, it seems that a big part of the blame perhaps did have to fall to McLaren, with stubborn management an apparent lack of willingness to work with others. Let’s not forget that, under Renault power, McLaren have actually not improved much at all.

So what happened with Renault? Well, it was all going smoothly until the end of the V8 era. The V6 turbo engines proved all too much for Renault; lack of performance and reliability led to limited and frustrating running in pre-season in 2014, and it all went downhill from there.

After 2015, Infiniti, who were also working technically with Red Bull, parted ways with the team, and Red Bull, having salvaged some sort if supply deal with Renault, opted to replace the Renault name with Tag Heur on their cars.

A series of reliability issues for Max Verstappen and Daniel Ricciardo last year was the final straw. The inevitable happened, and Red Bull will now be racing with engines from the Japanese manufacturer from next season onwards.

Who exactly will Honda be supplying? We know Max Verstappen will be one of the names, having signed a new contract With Red Bull late last year, but the other is less secure. Daniel Ricciardo, despite winning 2 races so far in 2018, is strongly considering a move elsewhere – perhaps to Ferrari to team up again with Sebastian Vettel if and when Kimi Raikkonen retires, which may well be at the end of this season. That could then see a move up to Red Bull for young Frenchman Pierre Gasly, or maybe Carlos Sainz, who is on loan at Renault from Red Bull.

Honda, you have to feel, is very much a short-term solution for Red Bull as they wait for Aston Martin’s arrival, but let’s see what they can manage next season, and whether Honda can repair their reputation so badly damaged by their time with McLaren.

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The 24 Hours of Alonso

The Canadian Grand Prix was a milestone for one of the drivers. Fernando Alonso would start his 300th Grand Prix in Formula 1 (although some still argue it was his 297th start as he did not start all of them). This was enough reason to make it a memorable weekend for the Spaniard. Knowing that he doesn’t have a winning car in the McLaren-Renault, the expectations were not that high. Finishing in the points would be more than enough. After a very disappointing qualifying; he only ended up in P14, hoping to get just one point as overtaking at Montreal can be difficult. He didn’t have an amazing start, which doesn’t happen often to the Spanish McLaren driver, but he did fight his way through the field. This ended in vein as he had to retire the car again due to problems with the electronics.

A disappointing 300th Grand Prix in F1 it was then for Fernando. However, he did have something else to look forward to. As part of his pursue to the Triple Crown, he would participate at the 24 Hours of Le Mans with the Toyota LMP1 team. He already won the Monaco GP twice, but he didn’t have an overall victory at the 24 Hours of Le Mans yet. The third piece of the Triple Crown is a victory at the Indy 500. Fernando did participate at that race last year and it looked like he could actually win the race as a rookie, until his Honda engine blew up near the end of the race. He thus still has to win both of them. This weekend Alonso had his first try at the 24 Hours of Le Mans. Could he get this important victory after another disappointing weekend in Formula 1?

Circuit Gilles-Villeneuve, Montreal, Canada Fernando Alonso, McLaren.
Image courtesy of Steven Tee/McLaren ref: Digital Image _1ST9206

The Toyota number 8 car with Nakajima, Buemi and Alonso as the drivers took pole as Nakajima posted the fastest time in Qualifying 3 with a 3:15.377, putting them in front of their sister car number 7 with a gap of two seconds. This of course meant that the first ever victory for the Toyota team at Le Mans was within reach.

As Alonso was a rookie at Le Mans, it would be a risk to put him behind the wheel for the start of the race as it can be quite busy. That’s why Buemi was allowed to go first. Their race could’ve ended very early as Buemi had to defend hard to keep his first place, which led to a light touch with the Rebellion number 1 car which then went on and crashed into the Dragonspeed car.

It was at night, with thirteen hours left on the clock, where Alonso showed his full potential. The Spaniard took the wheel over from Buemi who had a good stint, but the gap to the number 7 Toyota kept growing. Fernando solely closed the gap to the number 7 Toyota from 1 minute and 30 seconds to just 40 seconds. Finding his way through the traffic he posted some very fast lap times. With eleven hours to go, Nakajima took over from the Spaniard and the fight for victory would go on between the Toyotas. They didn’t have a complete flawless race, as both cars got stop-and-go penalties for speeding during a slow zone. These penalties eventually got the number 7 car out of the running for the victory as they got two penalties in succession near the end of the race. Toyota, however, decided to not let Fernando take the flag, but the Japanese drivers Nakajima for the number 8 car and Kobayashi for the number 7 car. This was a good choice, as Nakajima finally could get his redemption for the drama in 2016, where the car stopped working with just one lap left. After 24 hours, the Toyotas took the flag in P1 and P2, giving them their first ever overall victory at Le Mans.

#8 TOYOTA GAZOO RACING / JPN / Toyota TS050 – Hybrid – Hybrid / Sebastien Buemi (CHE) / Fernando Alonso (ESP) / Kazuki Nakajima (JPN)
Image courtesy of fia wec

Of course this victory for Toyota couldn’t come without complaints from critics. With Toyota being the only factory team in the LMP1 class, there wasn’t any competition . The privateer teams like Rebellion and SMP couldn’t match the pace of the Toyotas at all. Bykolles retired early in the race after a crash, and Rebellion number 1 with Lotterer behind the wheel knew a difficult start after hitting the Dragonspeed LMP1 car.

Many fans thus say that the victory wasn’t that unexpected and some even say it was undeserved because of the lack of competition. This might be partially true as it was indeed just a fight between the Toyotas up front. However, the last two years the Toyotas retired from the lead, with perhaps the most dramatic finish ever at Le Mans in 2016, But to win at Le Mans you have to battle against Le Mans itself.  It was not a battle against an Audi or a Porsche, but a fight against themselves as they still had to survive those 24 hours. An engine problem could end their race in a second, a crash could end their race, a suspension failure could end their race  and so on. Even with the fastest car you’re not safe from the wear and tear of Le Mans, hence the comment “to win at Le Mans you have to beat Le Mans”.

And it isn’t just the cars that have to survive, the drivers need to survive as well. Especially with a rookie, in endurance racing that is, it can be tough. Keeping up the pace all 24 hours long, fighting through the always unpredictable traffic and driving for more than two hours straight each stint wears those drivers out. A good example of that were the faces of Alonso and former F1 teammate at McLaren Jenson Button in their cars near the end of the race. They both had very tired eyes and in interviews they looked and sounded very tired as well.

A win at Le Mans therefore is never undeserved. It might be less special without the competition from other factory teams, but it is still a tough race on itself.

#8 TOYOTA GAZOO RACING / JPN / Toyota TS050 – Hybrid – Hybrid / Sebastien Buemi (CHE) / Fernando Alonso (ESP) / Kazuki Nakajima (JPN)
Image courtesy of Joao Filipe/fia wec

Winning at Monaco and Le Mans, Alonso just needs one win to be the second person ever to take the Triple Crown, the Indy 500 victory. The Le Mans win could mean then that he will focus fully on Indycar and this might be his last season of Formula 1. The WEC ‘superseason’ ends with the Le Mans race of 2019, where Alonso potentially could get a second victory there. He already has two wins at the Monaco GP. Could Alonso be the first driver ever to achieve the Triple Crown twice?

 

Featured image courtesy of Steven Tee/McLaren ref: Digital Image _1ST0758

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Canadian GP Driver Ratings

The Circuit Gilles Villeneuve is one of the greats on the calendar. The last time Ferrari won in Canada was in 2004. Ferrari’s last pole in was 2001, but Vettel changed that.

Sebastian Vettel – 9.5

Faultless, the German had it covered all weekend. Pole position on Saturday and lights to flag victory on Sunday. Ferrari sand bagged like they do on Friday and just gathered information on the lower power settings. Vettel is a driver that likes his figures and stats, maybe a little annoyed he didn’t get the hat-trick of pole, win and the fastest lap though. Ricciardo set that on his final tour. He retakes the lead as we head back into Europe. 50 wins and counting.

Valtteri Bottas – 8

Not many would have expected for Bottas to come away with the bigger points haul for the Silver Arrows, let alone out qualify his team mate. A strong weekend for Bottas and retakes third in the driver’s championship. He showed a bit more resilience at the start keeping Verstappen behind something in previous races he lacked. Drove a great race, pretty boring for him though as wasn’t challenged throughout.

Max Verstappen. Image Getty Images / Red Bull Content Pool

Max Verstappen – 8

Proved some doubters wrong this weekend, so hopefully no headbutting happens. Under fire for a string of mistakes the Dutchman had something to prove, which he did. He put that anger into the wheel of his Red Bull with a superb third in qualifying and race. Got close at the start but no collision with anyone. Held the pressure in the early stages and placed it late on. Very much a confidence booster for himself, Red Bull and indeed his fans.

Daniel Ricciardo – 7

Was a tenth or so behind his team mate all weekend. He missed out on quite a bit of action on Friday with an engine problem not related to his failure in Monaco. He tends to not run well around Canada on Saturday and was out qualified again by his team mate. A better Sunday as he finished two places higher than he started thanks to some great tyre management. Still a great win in Monaco but must look forward now as we re-enter Europe. 

Lewis Hamilton – 6

For a track where Hamilton took his maiden win in 2007, and has 6 wins at he was very off colour. Could only manage P4 on Saturday and with problems in the race resulted him finishing P5. A poor race from a man who has such high standards of himself. Has the excuse of a 6 race old engine whilst others had upgrades but Bottas was in the same situation.

Kimi Raikkonen – 6

Another weekend where in qualifying he blew it, when he ran wide at turn 2, flashback to Baku earlier in the season. The car had the pace to win as it did in Vettels hands. The Finn with fresher tyres after making the stop later than the others around him looked strong for a podium, but he never challenged. He faded to finish a lonely P6. 

Nico Hulkenburg – 8

144 races and counting for Nico and his quest for a podium. They should maybe create a space for the best of the rest after Mercedes, Ferrari and Red Bull as more often than not this has been the German. Qualified in P7 and finished P7. Not much else he can do really as his car restricts him to move higher up the field.

Carlos Sainz – 7

A solid haul of points for Carlos as Renault strengthen their claim as the best of the rest. Besides the collision at the restart with Perez he had a fairly quiet race. Did well to overcut Ocon at the pit stops.

Esteban Ocon – 7

Ocon had a great weekend considering his team made a mistake in the pits on raceday. The Frenchman battled back but it seems like most suffered from following a car.

Charles Leclerc – 9

This kid has talent, true talent. Charles bounced back from another disapointing home race where his brakes failed to score more points for Sauber. Had a great battle with Alonso and for a while kept him at bay. We are seeing a future Ferrari driver in him, it is only when now they decide, could it be next race, or 2019? 

Pierre Gasly – 8

A good recovery drive from Pierre as Honda’s power looks strong albeit still a little bit worrying with reliability. The Frenchman has used the most components out of the entire field. Was hampered in qualifying with the old engine at a power based track. Due to penalties he started on the back row of the grid. Avoided first lap and restart collisions to finish P11. 

Romain Grosjean – 8

The Groundhog’s revenge, Romain qualifying lasted seconds as his engine let go after exiting his pitbox. A poor groundhog was collected by the Frenchman on Friday. Romain started last but with a great stint on the ultrasoft tyre put him back amongst it all and finished ahead of his team mate. No points but did so well considering, good Sunday, needs a good weekend though, home Grand Prix up next.

Sergio Perez – 6

A great effort from Sergio to make Q3 on a track that suits the Force India better than Monaco. Overall though was off the pace on his team mate by 0.6 in the final session. An erratic restart caused him to collide with a Renault. Damage was never made clear but never recovered from it.

Kevin Magnussen – 6

Started in one of the best places on the grid P11, one up on his team mate due to his troubles but Sunday was a shocker. He was never at it, and finished a woeful P14.

Marcus Ericcson – 5

Leclerc is making Ericsson look a little bit silly now. Ericsson scored points in Bahrain but hasn’t seen any yet. He exited FP3 early after a collision with the wall, and never recovered from that.

Stoffel Vandoorne – 4

Wheres Stoffel? A quiet weekend once more for the Belgian. He was out qualified by his team mate and was nowhere on Sunday. The pressure continues to rise. I feel his future is dependant on Alonso’s decision.

Sergey Sirotkin – 5

Another lacklustre display as he finishes last of the cars to take the flag. A mistake in practice, he never got to grips with a track he’d never raced at. Kubica continues to look on in the background.

Fernando Alonso – 7

His 300th Grand Prix weekend and one in his collection to forget. A man who is in a fork on the in his career. He out qualified his team mate and was running well in the race to be best of the rest before the exhaust failure mid-race. Le Mans is next on the agenda which he hopes to win for the second stage of ‘The Triple Crown.’ Think the result there will give us a bigger idea of where the F1 great will be next year.

Lance Stroll – 5

The Canadian had a weekend in his home country to forget. The Williams is a bit of a dog this year. He hit the wall in practice and then exited again in Q1. Sunday didn’t last long after losing the rear and hitting Hartley. Claire Williams pinned the sole blame on Hartley. Looking at various camera angles and public opinion the blame swings back to Stroll. 91% of people blamed Stroll on our twitter poll. (@PitCrew_Online)

Brendan Hartley – 6

One of his best Saturday’s in the car, the Kiwi qualified ahead of both Mclaren drivers and wasn’t far away from the Q3. It was a shame that Sunday ended so early, going into the end of sector 1 he was outwide on the marbles alongside Stroll. He collected the Williams and lost control of his car. Poor placement you could say from Hartley, but unlucky at the same time.

Final Thoughts

Mercedes have an excuse with their engine not being ready but certainly did not expect Hamilton to finish as low as fifth at one of his favourite tracks and lose the lead. Vettel takes the smallest of leads to the next race.

F1 returns to Europe next time as we have a triple header! We return to France for the first time since 2008 at a track that hasn’t seen competitive action since 1990. The Paul Ricard circuit is a favourite for some to test at. It followed by Austria and then Britain the following week.

Will Mercedes have their engine ready for France? Do Ferrari have the better car again with their new bargeboard improvement?

Featured image courtesy of Ferrari.

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