Ferrari had looked strong going into the Italian Grand Prix but did not make the most of it while Max Verstappen shows the trait of champions in believing he can do no wrongFerrari and Sebastian Vettel must have concerns about how they did not manage to return the win that had looked so likely as the Italian Grand Prix weekend progressed. Related: Pressure on Lewis Hamilton in F1 duel the ‘highest I can ever remember’ Related: Lewis Hamilton wins Italian Grand Prix after early clash with Sebastian Vettel Continue reading...
The famous circuit stages the Italian Grand Prix on Sunday but it needs a new deal with Formula One’s owners to keep goingThere are few Formula One circuits that stir the heart quite like Monza, where the sense of history and passion for the sport is palpable. There are fewer still where you can reach out and touch the fabric on which this tradition has been built. The past is still very much in evidence but at this weekend’s Italian Grand Prix, for Ferrari and for Monza, the future is very much the most immediate concern.Walk the grounds inside the track and its grand history is clear. It is being maintained and developed as a sort of automotive listed building....
Ferrari paid the price for a slow stop at the Hungaroring while Red Bull’s Max Verstappen blew a fuse after a power failureHaving made three strategic errors this season, the pressure has been on the Mercedes pit wall. With qualifying crucial in Hungary they were on top of their game in a chaotic wet session. Tyre choice at the right time was key and it was by no means easy. The team handled it well and ensured their drivers were on the right rubber at the right time. After this it was Lewis Hamilton who was once again exceptional. As Mark Webber pointed out, on his pole lap he took the inside line for traction on the penultimate corner. Always...
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...