20/10/2024
NEWS STORY
If today's race is anything like yesterday's Sprint we could well be in for some real fun and games.
As if Fernando seeking to "screw" Liam wasn't enough, we have Max and Lando starting on the front row again and both Mercedes drivers starting from the back.
Mercedes opted not to make drastic changes to Lewis' car after all and consequently the seven-time world champion will start from 18th, however teammate George will start from the pitlane after his team had to work on his car overnight following his Q3 crash, fitting Singapore-spec parts to the damaged Mercedes.
Going back to Fernando, the Spaniard starts 8th, while his nemesis starts from the back of the grid after taking on a new engine. Still, if the Spaniard is determined to mess with the RB driver we're sure he'll find a way.
We're bored stiff with saying it but we feel we have to, races cannot be won at the first corner, but they can be lost, so both Max and Lando are going to exercise caution... which is easier said than done when you consider that Carlos, Charles and Oscar will be breathing down their necks.
The battle between the Ferrari pair yesterday was a joy to behold, and one cannot help but feel that the Spaniard has a point to prove.
Starting fifth Oscar will not be able to assist his teammate at the start, but at least he's not in Max's position who will be waiting all afternoon for Sergio to appear on the scene.
Despite the Alpines looking better this weekend, we expect the Haas drivers to be more likely of pulling off a surprise, while Fernando will be happy simply to be in the mix.
Watching the Mercedes pair work their way through the field should be fun, though the German team has had a tough weekend, the car once again fluctuating wildly in performance between sessions.
While the Red Bull, certainly in Max's hands, looks much improved, the McLaren is clearly an all-rounder, and we wouldn't be surprised to see another Singapore, with Lando leading home his Dutch rival.
While a two-stop is clearly the quickest strategy and with nine of the ten teams having already used one set of hards in the only free practice session, it's clear the most likely option involves the use of two sets of the mediums and the remaining one hard.
As to how their use will be split between the stints, we expect that everyone will try and start the race on the yellow-banded rubber. So, to sum up, the quickest strategy, based on a preliminary analysis, is a first stint on the medium, with a pit stop between laps 16 and 22 to switch to the hard, then a second stop between laps 35 and 41 to finish back on the medium.
Those who want to run their final stint with the hard could pit for the first time between laps 11 and 20 and a second time between laps 32 and 38.
Finally, a third but unlikely route would be to use all three compounds: start on the soft (first stop between laps 10 and 14), switch to the hard (second stop between 34 and 40) and finish with the medium.
Another factor to watch out for today is track limits, with a number of drivers already having been punished for violating them.
Air temperature is 28 degrees c, while the track temperature is 45 degrees.
The pitlane opens and Norris leads the way, followed by Magnussen, Russell, Zhou, Bottas and Hamilton.
Norris warns that his car is "nervous" into Turn 19, while Russell's car is bottoming in Turn 11 and Hamilton's is "slightly right-hand down.
Russell complains that his drink hasn't defrosted... much like the yoghurts we bought the other day.
"Strategy will be a big thing today," says Russell, "pit stops will be a big thing, they can win us a race or lose us a race. We've made some tweaks that should make the car better. It's going to be a tough one.
"Yesterday's race wasn't bad, but it just wasn't as good as the Ferraris. I've gone through the data and I'm going to try and do a better job from my side."
All are starting on mediums bar Stroll, Colapinto, Hamilton, Lawson and Russell who are on hards. All on fresh rubber bar Stroll.
"This is far back," says Hamilton ahead of the formation lap.
They head off, all getting away cleanly bar Russell who waits in the pitlane.
The grid forms.
They're away! Norris and Verstappen both get away well, into Turn 1 the Dutchman is on the inside of the McLaren and forces the Briton out towards the edge of the track.
However, as he focusses on his title rival, the Dutchman allows Leclerc through on the inside, and as Norris rejoins the track he has lost out to Leclerc, Verstappen and Sainz.
Moments later, Ocon is hit by Albon in Turn 1 and spins, dropping to last in the process, allowing Hamilton to take advantage of the confusion and move up to 12th.
As Sainz pushes Verstappen, replay shows that Piastri and Gasly were very close to colliding.
At the end of Lap 1, it's: Leclerc, Verstappen, Sainz, Norris, Piastri, Gasly, Magnussen, Tsunoda, Perez and Alonso.
Sainz continues to pressure Verstappen while a DRS train forms behind Piastri.
Hamilton is off and stuck in the gravel at Turn 19, the same corner his teammate came to grief yesterday.
The Safety Car is deployed as Hamilton climbs from his car. "Lewis, Lewis," cheers the crowd.
He's lost the left-rear wheel, but we've yet to see a replay.
The stewards have noted the Albon/Ocon incident.
Replay shows Hamilton simply lost the rear due to a lack of grip.
"We've reported the incident at Turn 1," Norris is told. "He clearly pushed me out. He had no intention of making the corner," claims the McLaren driver. "Even he didn't make the corner, I just had to avoid crashing into him or him crashing into me."
"He overtook me by going in so hard, same as Budapest. Identical," he adds.
The Safety Car is withdrawn at the end of Lap 5, as Verstappen clings to the rear of the leading Ferrari.
It's not clear why but Stroll dropped to last at the restart, while Russell is up to 16th.
There's a vicious battle at the back involving Ocon, Stroll and Albon, the Williams driver having pitted.
Leclerc posts a new fastest lap (38.951) as Hulkenberg passes Alonso for tenth.
2.1s down on his teammate, Piastri is under pressure from Gasly and Magnussen.
"No power on the exit of the corners, no power," warns Sainz, who adds that there is the smell of fuel.
"It smells like fuel in the car guys," says the Spaniard again.
Zhou drops from 15th to last after spinning in Turn 1.
Guess what, Lawson is all over his old mate Alonso as they battle for eleventh.
"It seems better," Sainz is told as he maintains a 2.2s gap to Norris, "just hang in there."
Lawson passes Alonso to claim 11th, the Spaniard attempts to fight back but runs wide in the process.
"Feedback on Plan A," Piastri is asked. "Ambitious," he replies.
As Russell force Bottas wide to claim 14th, Verstappen is told that he's free to hold sixth gear.
"If you keep this gap to Verstappen we're happy with Plan A, but we're basically still Plan B," Leclerc is advised.
"We've found a bit of an issue with the car this stint, we'll fix it at the stop," Verstappen is told.
Russell is under investigation for forcing Bottas wide.
Norris has slipped to 3.6s behind Sainz but is 3.7s clear of his McLaren teammate.
Russell is given a 5s penalty for forcing Bottas off track as the Finn is among the first to pit.
Russell is nonplussed at his penalty, while Perez is within DRS range of Tsunoda, his potential 2025 teammate.
"Total joke with the penalty, George," says Toto Wolff as Russell closes on Alonso.
After 16 laps, Leclerc is 7.3s clear of Verstappen, as Perez passes Tsunoda for 8th.
As Albon makes his second stop of the afternoon, and Magnussen his first, Russell passes Alonso for 11th.
The looks like an undercut for the Haas driver as his teammate battles Tsunoda for 8th.
At the end of Lap 18, Gasly and Tsunoda pit, clearly triggered by Magnussen's stop.
They rejoin some way behind the Dane.
"Tyres feel quite good," reports Piastri, "the graining has cleared a bit." 13.4s clear of Perez, the Australian is 4s down on his McLaren teammate.
Russell passes Lawson for 8th as Sainz pits, the Spaniard clearly going for the undercut on Verstappen.
On hards, Sainz rejoins in 5th, ahead of Perez.
Magnussen runs wide as he battles Albon for 14th. A typically feisty performance from the Dane.
Colapinto passes Alonso for tenth.
On his fresh rubber Sainz goes quickest in S2 and again in S3.
"We appear to have lower deg that the others," Norris is told. "Pace zero, has been for a while," he replies.
"Don't leave me out too long," urges Leclerc, "I don't want to be under pressure"
Sainz posts a new fastest lap (38.731) as he seeks to close the 10s gap to Piastri.
"How many more laps can you do at this pace," Leclerc is asked. "I'm OK like this," he replies, "let's focus on Plan C."
11s down on the leader, Verstappen is just 2.7s clear of Norris.
The Dutchman pits at the end of Lap 25, rejoining in 5th on fresh hards.
Leclerc finally pits at the end of Lap 26, the Monegasque rejoining in third behind the two McLarens who have yet to stop. Perez also pits, as does Alonso.
Gasly is battling Stroll and Albon for 13th, the Frenchman not happy with his set of hards.
Hulkenberg pits at the end of Lap 27 as Piastri is told to "keep going".
Stroll pits, much to the relief of Albon but not Gasly who complains he was pushed off track by the Williams driver.
"More phase 1 brake release for Turn 1" Sainz is told. "I don't know what that means," he replies.
"We don't want to pull the trigger too soon," Norris is told.
Leclerc closes to within DRS range of Piastri, the Ferrari driver passing the McLaren in Turn 12.
At which point Norris pits, the Briton rejoining in 5th, 5.2s down on Verstappen, who is 3.7s down on Sainz. Elsewhere, Ocon pits.
In clear air, Leclerc goes quickest in S1.
Piastri pits and rejoins in fifth, 5.9s down on his teammate, as Gasly is given a 5s penalty for leaving the track and gaining an advantage.
As Norris posts a new fastest lap (38.641), Russell is closing on the second McLaren.
Perez closes on Colapinto as they battle for 8th.
Albon makes his second stop at the end of Lap 33.
Tsunoda is under investigation for forcing another driver (Albon) off track.
"I'm happy to keep extending, it depends what race we're in," says Russell.
Tsunoda gets a 5s penalty.
Lap 35 sees another fastest lap for Norris as he closes to within 4.472s of Verstappen.
"These tyres aren't good," says Verstappen. "I can't brake, I can't attack."
Lawson pits from seventh at the end of Lap 36, the kiwi rejoining in 12th on mediums, 0.6s ahead of his RB teammate.
"How has this happened," asks an incredulous Tsunoda.
"Box Kev, you must box now," Magnussen is ordered. The Dane duly obliges, rejoining in 13th on fresh mediums.
Lawson passes Gasly for tenth as Leclerc posts a new fastest lap (37.834).
Colapinto finally pits at the end of Lap 39, leaving Russell as the only driver yet to stop.
The Argentine rejoins ahead of Magnussen, which should be interesting.
As Russell pits, Magnussen makes a move on the Williams but Colapinto slams the door firmly shut.
Out come the yellows at Tsunoda spins at Turn 1 after losing the rear.
Sainz posts a new fastest lap (37.786) on Lap 41.
Norris is just 1.465s down on Verstappen and closing, while Sainz is within 5.5s of the leader and setting a strong pace.
Lap 42 sees a new fastest lap form Russell (37.656), as he seeks to close the 1.8s gap to Hulkenberg.
Norris is within DRS range of Verstappen. He closes, closes, closes...
Russell passes Hulkenberg in Turn 1 to claim 7th, Perez is just 6.3s up the road.
As attention focusses on the Max/Lando battle, Sainz gas closed to within 4.6s of his teammate.
Norris tries to go around the outside in Turn 12, but Verstappen has it just about under control.
Colapinto posts a new fastest lap (37.611) as he builds a 4s lead over Magnussen.
Bottas moves aside as Verstappen and Norris approach, while Leclerc up his pace to build a 5.3s gap to Sainz.
A lock-up for Verstappen in Turn 12, but Norris can't take advantage.
On Lap 52, they're side-by-side through the Esses, neither Verstappen nor Norris giving an inch.
Norris makes a move in Turn 12 and passes the Red Bull.
"He overtook me outside the track," claims the Dutchman.
"Was I ahead at the apex, let me know otherwise," asks Norris.
"We are in Max, we know, we've also seen the moving under braking."
Norris is under investigation for leaving the track and gaining an advantage.
Elsewhere, Russell is all over Perez, the Briton having started from the pitlane, the Mexican from ninth.
"Our opinion is you went off at apex," Norris is told. "We both went off," he replies.
"Lando has exceeded his track limits," Verstappen is told, "so a penalty for that."
Russell makes short work of Russell, the Mexican looks to retake the position but the Mercedes has already disappeared up the road.
Norris is given a 5s penalty for leaving the track and gaining an advantage. On the final lap he has a 3.8s lead over the Dutchman, but it isn't enough.
In the meantime, Leclerc heads a famous 1-2 for Ferrari.
Norris, told of his penalty, says he should have been told at the time as he should have simply given the position back and then sought to reclaim it.
"You drove hard for that," Christian Horner tells Verstappen, "we weren't as competitive in the second stint. You deserve that podium today."
"That was a hard race," replies the Dutchman. "I tried everything, but it was fun. Just a bit weird that you can overtake outside the track."
"Well you can't," says Horner, "the FIA got that right."
"For me it was a difficult race," says Verstappen, "I never had the pace to attack.
"It was a tough battle, tried everything I could to keep him behind but in the end a podium is a great result.
"I have my opinion," he says of the incident in Turn 12, "but I don't need to say it here, I'll just let the stewards do their thing."
"Obviously, first of all congratulations for the whole team," adds Sainz, "that puts us in the fight for the constructors'.
"I knew a lot of the race would get decided at the start," he continues, "I knew Lando and Max would go hard and unfortunately I got the worst of it.
"I had to settle for P2 but that is still a good race. How little deg we have is something I enjoy, and makes me enjoy racing. We can just go on attack mode and just push and overtake, which is just fun."
"I'm very, very happy," says Leclerc. "It hasn't been an easy weekend until now, I was struggling with the car but today in the race the feeling was better.
"We thought after the Sprint the others would improve a lot, but we still had the upper hand.
"It was a pretty good Turn 1, that as exactly what I wanted to do. That helped out first stint as we had mega pace. The pace of the car was really, really good."
In the cool down room ahead of the podium, Verstappen continues to criticise Norris' move.
"We were just fighting, he got me in 12 outside the track limits when we both ran wide but I think that was his last strike with track limits," he says
"He got what, four seconds?" asks Sainz.
"Four point one," replies the Dutchman, smiling. "We got traffic on the last lap. Carlos, was it you that went over that kerb?"
"It's an amazing track to go racing, no?" says Sainz.
"Yeah, you can go side by side," agrees Verstappen.
At a time relations between McLaren and Red Bull are already fractious - we have heard talk that Zak Brown wants current and ex-employees of the Austrian team to sign affidavits about the ride height device - this isn't going to make things any better.
"It's not an easy decision otherwise it could have come a bit sooner," says Norris. "He also went off the track, and if he's gone off the track he's gone in too deep and also gained an advantage, but I don't make the rules.
"He defends by going off track, he attacks by going off track. I don't know."
And while it is this controversy that will sadly dominate the headlines, it shouldn't be allowed to take the shine off a remarkable, and well-deserved, 1-2 for Ferrari, a result that puts the Maranello outfit in the fight for the constructors' title.
The rest of it aside, great performances from Russell, Lawson and Colapinto, who, like Leclerc and Sainz, are likely to get overlooked over the next couple of days.