Ferrari appear to have the edge in terms of engine speed but something was lost over the radio for Kimi RäikkönenThe rain played its part in Hockenheim, as did good fortune and Sebastian Vettel’s very costly mistake but there was no doubt that by t,he time Lewis Hamilton took the flag, he had deserved it. He opened with a piece of clinical driving to move up to the front-runners, careful at the start where any contact could have ended his race and then passed 10 cars within 14 laps, all cleanly. He did so while managing to make his tyres last 42 laps – while in dirty air – an achievement that put him on the ultrasofts at the end,...
After a dramatic race Minttu has her say; Ferrari handles the conditions; McLaren and Williams hang their headsWhat had been a thrilling race to the end was still disappointing for Lewis Hamilton and Mercedes and they closed it with what felt like sour grapes. The suggestion that Ferrari were deliberately targeting their cars and that Kimi Räikkönen had intentionally hit Hamilton was farcical on many levels, not least that planning to do so would have had to anticipate Hamilton losing places.Equally with damage likely to go both ways and Ferrari very much in the constructors’ fight it would have been self-defeating. Hamilton and Mercedes have since accepted it was a racing incident. Their reaction was perhaps a reflection of the...
How Mercedes fare in Barcelona will be telling – they must work the tyres at the correct temperature to unlock performanceLewis Hamilton was absolutely honest after his unlikely victory in Baku. He knew he had inherited a win that with three laps to go was looking like a third place and a further deficit to Sebastian Vettel in the world championship. He came out of it on top and rightly did not opt to celebrate as he might have were it a harder won victory. He is four points ahead of Vettel but made it clear that relying on good fortune would not be enough in what is shaping up to be a highly contested season. The reality, Hamilton knows,...
Ferrari driver’s quiet confidence is ominous going into the Azerbaijan GP and it will only grow if he can win at a Mercedes-friendly track where the red mist came down last yearLast season the Azerbaijan Grand Prix produced a dramatic end to what had been a good-natured rivalry in battle for the championship between Lewis Hamilton and Sebastian Vettel.When Vettel lost his temper and barged the British driver his lack of control exposed a weakness from which Hamilton emerged psychologically with the upper hand. A year on in Baku, however, the German could not be exhibiting a calmer, more controlled disposition and his quiet confidence is ominous for Hamilton. Related: Max Verstappen will need to learn fast from Shanghai overtaking...
It was a fine race for Sebastian Vettel but in different ways Lewis Hamilton and Pierre Gasly also made their markThe Scuderia might have been fortunate to win in Melbourne but victory in Bahrain was anything but a fluke. The team had the pace all weekend and their car proved, at the Sakhir circuit at least, to be superior to Mercedes. But they also had to be willing to take a risk and trust their driver. Switching to a one-stop mid race was a bold move and Vettel had to put in a superlative performance to turn it into a win. He made his tyres last 39 laps when Pirelli’s predicted lifespan was just 30 and did so without going...