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

2018 German Grand Prix review

First of all I can't believe how good Valtteri Bottas' reflexes are. He almost always has a very good start but this time he didn't gain any positions and stayed 2nd behind Sebastian Vettel.

The next thing to mention is Daniel Ricciardo retiring again! Red Bull is having big problems this season. What will happen next season when they get Honda engines?? We shall wait and see. It will be interesting!

What about Ferrari's team order? I just posted a video about the illegal team order from 2010 with Fernando Alonso and Felipe Massa. This time it was Raikkonen who had to give his position to Vettel. I get pissed off when we can't see any battles between teammates.

Another battle was Bottas pushing on Hamilton like crazy and Mercedes also told Bottas to back off. I mean come on!! Stop team orders already. BAN TEAM ORDERS!! This sport is getting too boring. Mercedes also messed up Bottas' win by taking too long in the pits. They didn't even have the tyres ready for him! So frustrating....

I was surprised when Vettel drove into the wall and his home crowd cheered. What was that all about??

But the race got really interesting and I was waiting for a first ever 1-2 for Finland with Bottas and Raikkonen in the lead. This was the time when Mercedes messed up his pitstop and got Hamilton into the lead. Or did they mess up on purpose? Could it be? I don't even wanna know...

Hamilton ended up winning after starting from 14th place. Not used to see him win like this. Usually he wins from pole or from 2nd place. Great job!

Here are my predictions for the 2018 German GP:

Pole position: Valtteri Bottas, Mercedes - WRONG. He was 2nd and Vettel took pole.

The race:

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

Fastest lap: Lewis Hamilton, Mercedes - CORRECT

Surprise: Fernando Alonso, McLaren - He retired from the race

That's it for today!

2018 DRIVER STANDINGS AFTER THE GERMAN GP

2018 CONSTRUCTOR STANDINGS AFTER THE GERMAN GP

FORMULA 1 EMIRATES GROSSER PREIS VON DEUTSCHLAND 2018 - RACE RESULTS

FORMULA 1 EMIRATES GROSSER PREIS VON DEUTSCHLAND 2018 - PRACTICE 3

FORMULA 1 EMIRATES GROSSER PREIS VON DEUTSCHLAND 2018 - PRACTICE 2

FORMULA 1 EMIRATES GROSSER PREIS VON DEUTSCHLAND 2018 - PRACTICE 1

2018 German Grand Prix preview

Hi there! It's time for some Grand Prix racing again this weekend and the event will take place at the legendary Hockenheim ring in Germany.

The track used to be a bit different and here you can see the difference:

I personally liked the old circuit more with the forrest part. I know it was mainly just driving straight but you could see a lot of overtaking there. Smaller teams that didn't do that good could get an advantage in Hockenheim too if they were fast on the straights. 

Before I reveal my predictions here are a few videos from the 2010 German GP:

 
 

I hope something like this doesn't happen this year but I hope the weekend will be unforgettable anyways. 

Here are my predictions for the 2018 German GP:

Pole position: Valtteri Bottas, Mercedes

The race:

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

Fastest lap: Lewis Hamilton, Mercedes

Surprise: Fernando Alonso, McLaren

That's it for today! Enjoy the Grand Prix.

2018 British Grand Prix review

First of all sorry for posting this so late after the weekend. Sometimes I just don't have the time even though I would like to write these for you.

One thing people talked a lot about was Kimi Raikkonen crashing into Lewis Hamilton. Do you really think he did that on purpose? Ridiculous if you ask me. It would be extremely hard to lock your tyre like that and crash into Hamilton perfectly so that you get to continue the race. I mean not even the world's best drivers can do stuff like that unless they train it every day. But why would they train that?? just stupid! He got a 10 second penalty which was 5 seconds more than his teammate Sebastian Vettel got a week ago for crashing into Valtteri Bottas.

Speaking of Bottas... He was again so close of winning the race!! His tyres were just too old and the top3 passed him easily on the last laps. How much bad luck can one driver have? Feel sorry for him.

Another guy I felt sorry for was Charles Leclerc. Would someone mind telling me what happened to his car after he pitted and retired?? Suddenly no power and has to stop the car on the side of the track.

And if Leclerc's retirement wasn't enough bad luck for Sauber then what about Marcus Ericsson crashing into the barriers?? I mean this guy has done nothing meaningful in F1 and still he is in the series year after year. Money talks I guess...

After this the safety car was deployed and all the top drivers pitted but not Bottas. Mercedes wanted to risk it with him and maybe take a win. I am sure that if it would have been Hamilton they would not have risked it. I already talked about what happened to him when the race restarted so not really anything else to talk about.

Here are my predictions for this year's Grand Prix at Silverstone:

Pole position: Lewis Hamilton, Mercedes - CORRECT

The race:

1. Lewis Hamilton, Mercedes - WRONG. He was 2nd.
2. Valtteri Bottas, Mercedes - WRONG. He was 4th.
3. Sebastian Vettel, Ferrari - WRONG. He won the race and his teammate was 3rd.

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

Surprise: McLaren might get some good points in Silverstone if they don't retire - Well Alonso got one point.

FORMULA 1 2018 ROLEX BRITISH GRAND PRIX - RACE

FORMULA 1 2018 ROLEX BRITISH GRAND PRIX - QUALIFYING

FORMULA 1 2018 ROLEX BRITISH GRAND PRIX - PRACTICE 3

2018 British Grand Prix preview

Nino Farina in his Alfa Romeo. Silverstone 1950.

Silverstone is one of the most legendary F1 tracks in the calendar. Did you know that the whole F1 series started back in 1950 at Silverstone? That's why this circuit is so important!

In the first GP Giuseppe "Nino" Farina won from pole position also setting the fastest lap of the race (1'50.600). The current lap record is by Mark Webber 1'33.401. The track has changed several times so it's hard to compare.

Who might be good here this year? The Mercs most definitely...

Remember how good Bottas was here in 2015 with Williams?

The start was amazing for both Felipe Massa and Valtteri Bottas. Massa overtook both Nico Rosberg and Lewis Hamilton and so did Bottas. He just couldn't keep his position and lost one spot to Hamilton.

On lap 3 Hamilton did a very stupid move on Massa and almost took both of them out of the race. Bottas was right behind and took 2nd place from Hamilton.

On lap 9 Williams told Bottas to back off and didn't let him overtake Massa even though he was faster.

Now I know it's easy to make race strategies at home while watching the race on TV but it doesn't take a genius to realize that Williams were making a big mistake. If you were in Bottas' shoes what would you do?! The two fastest cars of the grid are behind you and trying to overtake you and your own team tells you to slow down because the slower car must be in front. What is the point of this?! No wonder Bottas left the team when he got the chance!

I have criticized Williams before for making poor decisions but this was one of the worst in years. Bottas was braking behind Massa for several, several laps destroying his tires etc. and then suddenly they gave him the permission to overtake but it was too late. His tires weren't in good condition anymore and Massa didn't leave him any room to overtake. I understand why Massa did this because I wouldn't wanna let anybody pass me either but I can not understand why Williams were working the way they were. Just stupid.

If they had decided to move Bottas to the front right away he could have pulled away for 20 laps, maybe 0,5 sec per lap. Instead they wanted him to stay between a driver who was slower and the two fastest drivers.

When they finally pitted, Hamilton managed to overtake both of the Williams drivers which was no surprise for me. This was because they couldn't pull away in time and had Hamilton behind them from the beginning.

Rosberg didn't pass them during the pitstops but did that on track afterwards anyway. His new tires were working much better and when the rain started it was all over for Williams. The fight for the victory I mean. They didn't even get a podium.

This time Bottas is with Mercedes and the chances are much better. He has a chance to win! On the other hand Hamilton is always super good here in front of his own people. He has won the British Grand Prix 5 times! Mercedes is definitely going to be in front with Vettel behind them.

Here are my predictions for this year's Grand Prix at Silverstone:

Pole position: Lewis Hamilton, Mercedes

The race:

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

Fastest lap: Lewis Hamilton, Mercedes

Surprise: McLaren might get some good points in Silverstone if they don't retire.

FORMULA 1 2018 ROLEX BRITISH GRAND PRIX - PRACTICE 2

FORMULA 1 2018 ROLEX BRITISH GRAND PRIX - PRACTICE 1

2018 Austrian Grand Prix review

I was glad when Valtteri Bottas took pole but somehow knew that Lewis Hamilton would overtake him at the start and so he did. Hamilton chose different settings than Bottas and it clearly paid off.

Ferrari's Kimi Räikkönen almost took the lead but dropped back a few spots after a nice try. I really would like to see him still win races but the race starts have been really bad for him. I have no idea why but he almost always looses positions. Then later he takes them back but it would be nice if he could get a good start for once and keep the positions he gains. He got up to 2nd but was overtaken by Bottas and Red Bull's Max Verstappen.

What was up with all of the technical difficulties?? Renault's Nico Hulkenberg, both Mercedes drivers Bottas and Hamilton, Red Bull's Daniel Ricciardo and Toro Rosso's Brendon Hartley. Usually when we see this many retirements it's because of a crash or something.

Another thing we all were wondering was why didn't Mercedes pit sooner so that Hamilton would have stayed ahead? they said that they were concerned that the Ferrrari's and Red Bull's would stay out and overtake him but in this way they all got better tyres and still got ahead! But it doesn't really matter does it? when Hamilton had to retire from the race for the first time this season.

Verstappen also was having difficulties but luckily crossed the finish line in 1st position and took a home victory for Red Bull on the Red Bull Ring! Congratz lad. Good job! I always enjoy races where my predictions go totally wrong.

I have to say that I really would have wanted Räikkönen to win the race... he hasn't won a single race since he rejoined Ferrari in 2014.

Then it's time for my predictions and the results:

Pole position: Lewis Hamilton, Mercedes - WRONG. His teammate Bottas took pole

The race:

1. Lewis Hamilton, Mercedes - WRONG. He retired from the race and Verstappen won
2. Valtteri Bottas, Mercedes - WRONG. He also retired from the race and Räikkönen was 2nd.
3. Daniel Ricciardo, Red Bull - WRONG. He ALSO retired from the race and Vettel was 3rd.

Fastest lap: Daniel Ricciardo, Red Bull - WRONG. Räikkönen was fastest.

Surprise: Red Bull will do better than Ferrari - CORRECT. Red Bull's Verstappen was 1st at the finish line 

FORMULA 1 EYETIME GROSSER PREIS VON ÖSTERREICH 2018 - RACE