FORMULA 1 PIRELLI 2018 UNITED STATES GRAND PRIX - RACE RESULT

2018 American Grand Prix - First practice session

FORMULA 1 2018 HONDA JAPANESE GRAND PRIX - QUALIFYING

Best single lap times from Suzuka 2018 (Friday)

2018 Japanese Grand Prix preview

Hello again! It's the 30th time Suzuka hosts an F1 event. So many championships have been decided here and so many legendary memories.

Take a look at Ayrton Senna's pole lap from 1988:

My best memories are the Senna-Prost battles in 1988-1990, Häkkinen-Schumacher in 1998-2000 and also Kimi Räikkönen overtaking Fisichella on the last lap and winning the race in 2005.

 

Then of course four years ago Jules Bianchi had his accident which lead to his death a year later. Very sad stuff. Everybody will be thinking about him I am sure. I hope the safety is better this year.

Jules Bianchi

Let's move on to something less sad...

Lewis Hamilton has won the Japanese GP four times. He won last year, three years ago, the year before that and also the very wet Japanese GP back in 2007 only it was at Fuji, not at Suzuka. This track is more important for Hamilton than Fuji because his idol, Ayrton Senna, secured his championship here more than once. Hamilton will be very hungry for this win.

My guess is if Hamilton's car works he will have a perfect weekend and Valtteri Bottas will be right behind him. 

Here are my predictions:

Pole position: Lewis Hamilton, Mercedes

Race:

1. Lewis Hamilton, Mercedes
2. Valtteri Bottas, Mercedes
3. Sebastian Vettel, Ferrari

Fastest lap: Lewis Hamilton, Mercedes

Surprise: Charles Leclerc will be phenomenal here! I am sure.

2018 Russian Grand Prix review

I have always said that Valtteri Bottas is the best driver here in Russia and he clearly was this time as well.

At the start Bottas was a clear leader and fighting for second was Lewis Hamilton and Sebastian Vettel. Kimi Räikkönen settled for fourth.

Charles Lecler's pass on Kevin Magnussen was fantastic! wow what a move! I hope he will really challenge Vettel next year at Ferrari. I am also very interested how good Sauber will be when Räikkönen switches teams. I am very happy that Räikkönen is going to stay for another two seasons but would like to see him on the podium in the future as well.

On lap 6 both Toro Rossos retire! What a day for them...

9 laps later Vettel gets in front of Hamilton due to Ferrari's race strategy. Usually it's Mercedes who wins Ferrari on race strategies but not this time!

On lap 16 Hamilton overtakes Vettel after a few tries and it was a pretty good maneuver in my opinion.

Almost 10 laps later they asked Bottas to move out of Hamilton's way even though it seemed that Bottas was going to win this race. This just makes me mad! Let them race!! Loosing respect for Hamilton when he needs a helper to win. I mean Hamilton usually beats Bottas but I was sure that Bottas would have been best here! I also knew that they would do the team order so that's why I predicted that Hamilton would win even though Bottas got everything else (pole and fastest lap of the race).

After this team order I was just bored out of my mind... F1 you used to be cool. I still love you but damn...

What are your thoughts?

The last thing are my predictions with results:

Pole position: Valtteri Bottas, Mercedes - CORRECT

Race:

1. Lewis Hamilton, Mercedes - CORRECT
2. Valtteri Bottas, Mercedes - CORRECT
3. Kimi Raikkonen, Ferrari - WRONG. He was 4th and his teammate Vettel was 3rd.

Fastest lap: Valtteri Bottas, Mercedes - CORRECT

Surprise: Keep an eye on Bottas. He might be very fast this weekend - CORRECT

FORMULA 1 2018 VTB RUSSIAN GRAND PRIX - RACE

FORMULA 1 2018 VTB RUSSIAN GRAND PRIX - QUALIFYING

FORMULA 1 2018 VTB RUSSIAN GRAND PRIX - PRACTICE 2

2018 Russian Grand Prix preview

The fifth Grand Prix ever in Russia is up next! I don't remember much from the previous races besides Raikkonen's and Bottas' crash so I will talk about the first race instead.

At the start Nico Rosberg challenged his teammate Lewis Hamilton for the lead but braked too late and had to cut the corner. He was told to let Lewis through and he responded that he would actually want to pit for new tyres. That was his only stop of the race and it seems that it was a good strategy. He was 2nd right after Lewis in the end.

The only man who could have challenged Rosberg for second place was Valtteri Bottas. He actually was 2nd for a long time but got overtaken by Rosberg eventually.

Rosberg overtook Bottas by forcing him off the track and after this maneuver Bottas didn't have the speed to overtake him back.

Now Bottas has taken Rosberg's place at Mercedes as we all know and I am sure he will do great this year.

I really hope they don't do any team orders! Can't believe Niki Lauda would approve that.

Valtteri Bottas had a great race in 2014 but we shall see if he is up for the challenge this year.

Here are some Vital statistics from Formula1.com:

Circuit: Sochi Autodrom

Circuit length: 5.848 km (only Spa and Silverstone are longer)

Circuit width: ranges between 13m to 15m

Number of corners: 18 (12 right, 6 left)

Projected maximum speed: 320 km/h (between Turns 1 and 2)

Projected average speed: 215 km/h 

Projected lap time: 1m 36.9s

Longest straight: 650m (between Turns 1 and 2)

DRS zones: 2 - the first is between Turns 1 and 2 with the detection point prior to Turn 1; the second is between turns 10 and 12 with the detection point prior to Turn 10

Race laps: 53

Race distance: 309.732 km

Fascinating fact: - Sochi Autodrom is the only racing circuit in the world to be located in an Olympic venue, Sochi having played host to the XXII Olympic Winter Games in February this year

Number of Russian drivers to have started at least one Grand Prix: 3 (Vitaly Petrov, Daniil Kvyat, Sergei Sirotkin)

Best finish by a Russian driver in F1: 2nd (Daniil Kvyat)

The last thing are my predictions:

Pole position: Valtteri Bottas, Mercedes

Race:

1. Lewis Hamilton, Mercedes
2. Valtteri Bottas, Mercedes
3. Kimi Raikkonen, Ferrari

Fastest lap: Valtteri Bottas, Mercedes

Surprise: Keep an eye on Bottas. He might be very fast this weekend.

FORMULA 1 2018 SINGAPORE AIRLINES SINGAPORE GRAND PRIX - RACE

FORMULA 1 2018 SINGAPORE AIRLINES SINGAPORE GRAND PRIX - QUALIFYING

FORMULA 1 2018 SINGAPORE AIRLINES SINGAPORE GRAND PRIX - PRACTICE 3

FORMULA 1 2018 SINGAPORE AIRLINES SINGAPORE GRAND PRIX - PRACTICE 1 & 2

2018 Italian Grand Prix review

First of all it was a very interesting starting grid with Ferrari's Kimi Räikkönen on pole. I was sure that this would motivate him enough to give everything he's got and more. The Iceman took his best start of the season and stayed in front. His teammate Sebastian Vettel tried a little too much and smacked into Lewis Hamilton. Of course he blamed Hamilton for the crash... He dropped to the back and had to pit. This was clearly not Hamilton's fault because he was already ahead of Vettel... or if you disagree then please send me a message and explain your point of view. 

On lap 4 Hamilton overtook Räikkönen for the lead and when we all thought that Hamilton would fly to the distance the Iceman took the lead back!! I loved that! Finally we see some real racing for once! All it takes is a 4 time world champion and the oldest driver out there. At this point I was cheering for  Räikkönen and not because he is a Ferrari driver but because he is the legendary Iceman! Never really been a Ferrari fan. I love the cars but not the team. I mean look what they did to Rubens Barrichello and Felipe Massa for example! They are doing it to Räikkönen as well... everybody were saying before the race "how will Ferrari screw up Räikkönen's race this time so that Vettel gets ahead?". Räikkönen was lucky Vettel spun!

Räikkönen could have won the race easily but the tyres were too damaged. He could have saved the tyres more if he could have driven in the lead for a longer time. His tyres got bad when he had to drive behind Hamilton's teammate Valtteri Bottas for too long.

Mercedes had a much better race compared to Ferrari, better tactics and scored more points. Just a pity they had to use Bottas as Hamilton's help. Bottas could have fought for the win as well but they kept him out longer to slow down Räikkönen.

Bottas had some drama with Max Verstappen when they had a slight collision. It was clear that it was Verstappen's fault and he got a 5 second penalty. He has done that move before as well and got a penalty for that time too so why not learn from your mistakes? Because of this Bottas moved ahead of Verstappen in the final results and was on the podium.

Räikkönen was chosen "driver of the day" and I couldn't have agreed more.

And now it's time for my predictions and the results:

Pole position: Lewis Hamilton, Mercedes - WRONG. Räikkönen took pole for the first time this season.

Race:

1. Lewis Hamilton, Mercedes - CORRECT
2. Valtteri Bottas, Mercedes - WRONG. Räikkönen was 2nd and Bottas was 3rd.
3. Sebastian Vettel, Ferrari - WRONG. He was 4th.

Fastest lap: Lewis Hamilton, Mercedes - CORRECT

Surprise: Keep an eye on Esteban Ocon - He was surprisngly bad compared to his teammate.

FORMULA 1 GRAN PREMIO HEINEKEN D'ITALIA 2018 - RACE

FORMULA 1 GRAN PREMIO HEINEKEN D'ITALIA 2018 - QUALIFYING

FORMULA 1 GRAN PREMIO HEINEKEN D'ITALIA 2018 - PRACTICE 3

FORMULA 1 GRAN PREMIO HEINEKEN D'ITALIA 2018 - PRACTICE 1 & 2

2018 Italian Grand Prix preview

A picture from the old part of the track (the loop).

Are you ready for the Italian grand prix and the Monza track? This is one of the most legendary tracks in F1 history and it is also Ferrari's home grand prix.

Several Formula One legends have died on this track. The list is long so I shall mention just a few.

• In 1955 the Ferrari legend and two time world champion Alberto Ascari died here during a test session. 
• Wolfgang von Trips and 14 spectators were killed after he collided with Jim Clark in 1961. 
• Jochen Rindt was crowned as the Formula One world champion at the end of the 1970 season. Unfortunately he had passed away before that at Monza. The points were enough to make him the champion.
• The best Swedish F1 driver ever lived was Ronnie Peterson. He died in a hospital after a serious crash at the start of the 1978 Italian grand prix.

The Monza track has changed several times over the years. At first it looked like this:

This was in 1922-1933 before the F1 series even existed. The track was 10 kilometers with 4.5 kilometers in the loop and then 5.5 kilometers on the road track.

Later in 1935-1937 the track was changed and looked like this:

In 1950 the Formula One series started and Monza was the last race on the calendar. The race was won by Nino Farina even though Juan Manuel Fangio had been faster all weekend. Fangio got pole position and set the fastest lap of the race. Unfortunately he retired due to a gear box failure and Farina won the race and the first championship. The track was again different and it looked like this:

In 1955 it looked again like it did in the beginning (with the road- and loop-part). After 1969 the oval part was not used anymore and the track looked about the same it looks today.

The fastest lap on the combined track (in a race) was set in 1960 by the American F1 world champion Phill Hill. The record was 2.41.400 and the time was set with a Ferrari.

The fastest lap on the modern track (in a race) was set by Rubens Barrichello in 2004 and also with a Ferrari. The current record is 1.21.046 and the reason why it is so much faster is that "the loop" is no longer in use.

If we talk about wins then Michael Schumacher is the king of this track. He has won this race 5 times. From the current drivers the king would be Lewis Hamilton. He has won on this track 4 times before and I am sure he will win again this weekend.

Sebastian Vettel took his maiden victory in Monza back in 2008 with Toro Rosso. That was strange if you ask me! To win a race with the former Minardi now known as Toro Rosso. Everybody were sure that Heikki Kovalainen would win the race but he couldn't get pass Vettel and stayed 2nd.

And now it's time for my predictions and here they are:

Pole position: Lewis Hamilton, Mercedes

Race:

1. Lewis Hamilton, Mercedes
2. Valtteri Bottas, Mercedes
3. Sebastian Vettel, Ferrari

Fastest lap: Lewis Hamilton, Mercedes

Surprise: Keep an eye on Esteban Ocon.

FORMULA 1 2018 JOHNNIE WALKER BELGIAN GRAND PRIX - RACE

FORMULA 1 2018 JOHNNIE WALKER BELGIAN GRAND PRIX - QUALIFYING

FORMULA 1 2018 JOHNNIE WALKER BELGIAN GRAND PRIX - PRACTICE 3

2018 Belgian Grand Prix preview

Finally the break is over!! Could not have taken one more weekend without a race.

Spa is one of my favorite tracks because in almost every race they host we see something unforgettable.

Everybody remembers what happend in the beginning of 2012 when Romain Grosjean caused a terrible crash and got banned from the next race. There was also a terrible crash in the beginning of the 1998 race which was one of the worst in F1 history. Check the video below. Jordan also took their first 1-2 in the race with Damon Hill and Ralf Schumacher.



In 2000 Mika Häkkinen made one of the coolest moves on Michael Schumacher when he overtook him with Ricardo Zonta in the middle of them in full speed. See Hakkinen and Schumi from this video:



Spa is also the track where Giancarlo Fisichella took pole position for Force India in 2009 and Kimi Räikkönen won the race even though Ferrari had a lot of problems that season. See Fisichella's comments of the good qualifying session:



Here Kimi overtakes Fisichella:



Great memories! Now it's time for my predictions!

Pole position: Lewis Hamilton, Mercedes

The race:

1. Lewis Hamilton, Mercedes
2. Valtteri Bottas, Mercedes
3. Kimi Räikkönen, Ferrari

Fastest lap: Kimi Räikkönen, Ferrari

Surprise: Keep an eye on Kimi Räikkönen this is his favorite track and he has won here more than once.

FORMULA 1 2018 JOHNNIE WALKER BELGIAN GRAND PRIX - PRACTICE 2

2018 Hungarian Grand Prix review

Kimi Räikkönen dropped a spot at the start again. I have mentioned this many times before and I am really sad that he always loses at least one position at every start this season. It always looks good at first and then he drops. His teammate Sebastian Vettel was the one who overtook him from the outside.

On lap 6 Red Bull's Max Verstappen had another retirement due to technical issues. He was furious and very angry with Renault for providing them such bad engines. Well next year you will have Hondas on so let's see how that will work out for you guys... Toro Rosso have been better than McLaren with Hondas which is kind of funny and sad at the same time.

The other Red Bull of Daniel Ricciardo was just flying and didn't seem to have a problem like his teammate did. In the previous race it was Ricciardo who had to retire so maybe he will retire in the next race and Verstappen will finish? I will try to remember this comment if this actually happens.

Lap 40 Vettel pitted and got overtaken by Bottas. Ferrari's pit crew were too slow with his front left tyre and that cost him a position. Ferrari have had several screw ups like this in 2018 but usually on Räikkönen's car.

Stoffel Vandoorne had a DNF which was very sad if you look at how well he was doing the whole weekend until that point. If you look at the practice sessions and qualifying then it was the best pace for him all season. Räikkönen usually says that the race is on sunday so nothing else matters.... so maybe it doesn't then.

Vettel and Räikkönen overtook Bottas almost at the same time 5 laps before the finish line when his tyres were losing grip. Then out of nowhere he had contact with Vettel who luckily escaped without damage. People were speculating that Bottas might even get a penalty because of it. In my opinion Vettel turned too soon in front of him and touched his front wing.

If you thought that was it then you are wrong. Bottas also crashed into Ricciardo and had to give the position back and was 5th in the final standings. The car was very hard to steer with those tyres but Mercedes thought they would last better.

Let's move on to the predictions and the results:

Pole position: Lewis Hamilton, Mercedes - CORRECT

The race:

1. Lewis Hamilton, Mercedes - CORRECT
2. Valtteri Bottas, Mercedes - WRONG. Vettel was 2nd and Bottas was 5th
3. Kimi Räikkönen, Ferrari - CORRECT

Fastest lap: Lewis Hamilton, Mercedes - WRONG. Ricciardo was fastest

Surprise: Romain Grosjean, Haas - He got a point but I don't know how big of a surprise that was

FORMULA 1 ROLEX MAGYAR NAGYDÍJ 2018 - RACE

FORMULA 1 ROLEX MAGYAR NAGYDÍJ 2018 - QUALIFYING

FORMULA 1 ROLEX MAGYAR NAGYDÍJ 2018 - PRACTICE 1 & 2

2018 Hungarian Grand Prix preview

OK F1 fans! The wait is almost over. This weekend it's time for the Hungarian Grand Prix. A track where it's hard to overtake and also a place were surprises are more than welcome. 

We all remember one of the biggest surprises - Jenson Button's first victory back in 2006 with Honda. It was a very exiting GP and the excitement started when Räikkönen retired from the lead. Liuzzi (as a backmarker) braked to fast in front of him and Kimi smashed his silver arrow into his back almost flying over him.  

Later Renault had a bad pitstop with Alonso therefor he lost a tyre and needed to retire. Alonso did not retire very often back then because Renault was a very good and reliable car.

Fisichella and Schumacher could have had a good race but they spun of the track ruining it.

Another driver who could have ruined his GP but didn't - Pedro de la Rosa! He was second which was his best result ever. Pedro had replaced Montoya after he had made his last mistake with McLaren by crashing into Räikkönen in the American Grand Prix.

The 2006 Hungarian GP was also Robert Kubica's first race in F1. I knew right away that this guy is going to be a star! Unfortunately he is not driving in F1 anymore because of the rally accident in 2011. Kubica scored his first 2 points in his first GP but was disqualified after his car failed to meet post-race minimum weight requirements. 

But in the end we all remember this face! (picture below)

Now a few words about who might do well in the 2018 Hungarian Grand Prix.

Which drivers are usually good in this race? -Kimi Räikkönen and Lewis Hamilton!

2001 - Kimi was 7th with Sauber which was pretty ok with that car.

2002 - Kimi was 4th leaving him just barely outside of the podium.

2003 - Kimi was 2nd after starting from 7th on the grid.

2004 - Kimi retired after having electrical problems with his McLaren

2005 - Kimi takes the checkered flag 35,5 seconds faster than Schumacher and wins!

2006 - Kimi retires from first position overtaking nervous back-markers on a very slippery track.

2007 - Lewis wins in Hungary for the first time! And guess who was 2nd? Kimi!

2008 - Kimi was 3rd when Heikki Kovalainen took his only victory with McLaren.

2009 - Lewis wins again and guess who is 2nd this time? Kimi again!

2010 - Lewis had gearbox issues and Kimi had left F1 in the end of 2009.

2011 - Lewis was fourth when his team mate Jenson Button took another victory in Hungary.

2012 - Lewis wins for the 3rd time in Hungary and after coming back to F1 Kimi is again 2nd 1 second behind.

2013 - Same thing! Lewis won and Kimi 2nd.
2014 - Lewis was 3rd and Kimi was 6th. Both of them had technical problems.

2015 - Lewis was 6th and Kimi retired. Both of them had technical problems again.

2016 - Lewis won the race and Kimi was 6th after a few problems.

2017 - Kimi 2nd and Lewis was 4th

This year I am sure that both of them will be on the podium and I am pretty sure that Vettel's bad luck will continue.

Let's move on to the predictions.

Pole position: Lewis Hamilton, Mercedes

The race:

1. Lewis Hamilton, Mercedes
2. Valtteri Bottas, Mercedes
3. Kimi Räikkönen, Ferrari

Fastest lap: Lewis Hamilton, Mercedes

Surprise: Romain Grosjean, Haas