Ferrari rattles Merc in F1
GREAT DICE: BUT GREAT TEAM WORK BY MERCEDES LED TO VETTEL LOSING THE LEAD
The championship is still wide open and the racing continues to be really good.
So yet another – well, almost – down to the wire race from the all new improved F1. The weekend had many of us worried, as the Mercedes team’s performance during practice indicated a return to total dominance.
Fortunately Saturday was to prove that Ferrari had this pretty well controlled and we were set for a great race.
With Sebastian Vettel alongside pole sitter Lewis Hamilton and Valtteri Bottas plus Kimi Raikkonen right behind their team mates, the run down to turn one would prove to be interesting. With three protagonists line abreast something had to give – and it did.
Bottas tagged the rear wheel of Raikkonen who slewed into Red Bull’s Max Verstappen, ending the race for both the young Dutchman and the Ferrari driver.
Vettel had a great start and led by over two and a half seconds from Hamilton before a virtual safety car and subsequent pit stops changed the scenario.
Tyre choice was the turning point, with Mercedes getting it right and Maranello taking a gamble that was to cost them the win. Great team work by Mercedes led to Vettel losing the lead.
Bottas slowed the German, allowing Hamilton to quickly reduce the deficit. Sadly, Bottas had to retire when his engine lunched itself.
It looked as though we were set for a nail-biting finish, but Hamilton on his worn soft compound tyres was able to control the gap on Vettel who was on a set of medium compound tyres – something Ferrari had not expected.
It was a podium spot at long last for Red Bull when Daniel Ricciardo took third spot, albeit over a minute behind.
So the championship is still wide open and the racing continues to be really good.
But all this was overshadowed by a superb piece of public relations for F1 following Raikkonen’s retirement.
A cameraman spotted a young fan of the Finn who was so distraught by his hero’s misfortune that he had burst into inconsolable tears.
Wearing full Ferrari clothing, the little five-year old’s pain was shared worldwide.
Sometime later, images arrived of the same small gentleman next to Raikkonen in the team’s hospitality unit and later still, right under the podium for the trophy ceremony.
This was a moment when the powers that be made a spot on decision, locating the subject and allowing his idol to resolve his sadness.
Young Thomas had come from France to watch the race and ended up touching the hearts of millions, demonstrating that perhaps the sport really does care about its fans.
The stewards of the meeting were determined to allow racing without penalty wherever possible, but were not so lenient on the cause of that virtual safety car period.
They decided that Stoffel Vandoorne was the man to blame and I agree.
The determined turn in from the McLaren driver resulting in a collision with the Williams of Filipe Massa was just too dramatic.
Vandoorne described it as a racing incident, but he was handed a three grid position penalty for the next race in Monaco and added two points to his licence.
The media buzz regarding Fernando Alonso leaving the track during free practice to play tennis after yet another engine failure leaves me cold.
After all, there was not much he could do by staying there.
How many of us wait at a garage for our car when it has gone in for an engine transplant?
Next time out, of course, we will see the return of Jenson Button in the McLaren for the Monaco Grand Prix, standing in for Alonso while the Spaniard tries his luck in the Indy 500.