When the race started Red Bull's Max Verstappen moved very slowly from the grid and was overtaken by several cars. He also was the reason why Toro Rosso's Carlos Sainz and Force India's Nico Hulkenberg crashed. They both tried to avoid hitting Verstappen and crashed into each other instead. Sainz was able to continue but Hulkenberg was out of the race. The safety car came out right away.
Williams' driver Valtteri Bottas got a puncture and dropped to the back after his pit stop. He also had an unsafe release from the pits when the team gave him permission to go even though Ferrari's Sebastian Vettel was right next to him. Bottas avoided crashing into him and took his spot behind the German Ferrari driver. No penalty was given only because he did the right thing by letting Vettel through.
After the 2nd lap the safety car went in and the race could start. It was a bit too early in my opinion because there was still men on track who had just cleared the last parts from Hulkenberg's car.
Sainz got a black and orange flag on lap 6 because of his accident at the start. If you don't know what the flag is for then I must tell you - it is an order to pit and detach any loose parts from the car that could cause a new accident. Toro Rosso's pit crew ripped the part of in a second and Sainz was on his way again.
Two laps later Mercedes told Nico Rosberg on the radio that he should look after his brakes or he wont last till the end. Not something the race leader wants to hear or any other driver for that matter. Red Bull told Daniel Ricciardo on the radio about Rosberg's problems but he could not overtake him.
On lap 19 and 20 we saw one of the most interesting things - Verstappen was trying to overtake Toro Rosso's Daniil Kvyat who's driver's seat he had taken earlier this season. Kvyat was really making it difficult for the young Verstappen but in the end he could not hold him back any further and lost his position. Great job even though Kvyat couldn't keep him behind.
Ferrari's Kimi Raikkonen did his best overtaking maneuver since he rejoined Ferrari. Hamilton had no chance of keeping the Finn behind him. After the pitstops Raikkonen remained in front of Hamilton but then later on Mercedes decided to take Hamilton in one more time for better tires. Ferrari had to react - keep Raikkonen out on track or make him pit for better tires also. They decided to make Raikkonen pit and it was a mistake. Mercedes did it at the right moment and were faster also so Hamilton got his position back and didn't even have to overtake the Finn. They stayed like that till the end.
Two more things I would like to mention and the first thing is Rosberg winning the race even though he had brake problems. Great job from him! The second thing is Vettel getting valuable points from Singapore even though he started from last position. Superb performance but can you expect less from a four time world champion?
And now my predictions and the results:
Pole position: Lewis Hamilton, Mercedes - WRONG. His teammate Nico Rosberg was on pole.
The Top 3 on Sunday
- Lewis Hamilton, Mercedes - WRONG. His teammate Nico Rosberg won and he was 3rd.
- Nico Rosberg, Mercedes - WRONG. Daniel Ricciardo was 2nd
- Sebastian Vettel, Ferrari - WRONG. He got a penalty and didn't get on the podium.
Fastest lap: Lewis Hamilton, Mercedes - WRONG. Daniel Ricciardo was fastest.
Surprise: Force India will have a good result - CORRECT. They got a better result than Williams.
Don't forget to post your own predictions for the PREDICTORS LEAGUE!
POINTS: 1st - 3
2nd - 5
3rd - 10
+ possible bonus points
HOW IT WORKS: the aim of the game is simply predict who comes where in the race (top3). A total of 18 points can be won on a race day. For example if you get winner and and 3rd place right but 2nd wrong you get 13 points.
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