Review 1
Opening Commentary
We open 2018 in pretty good shape considering the divisiveness that grips the country. Is Trump doing an ‘A’ job, or an ‘F’ job? Those seem to be the only choices. Meanwhile, the economy seems to be doing well (always a plus for a luxury goods manufacturer like Ferrari) and the stock market (spurred by tax revisions) is up big since the new president took office (another plus for Ferrari). However, success seems to have emboldened Trump to take some strong and controversial positions concerning tariffs which have caused some turmoil in the markets and some loss in economic confidence. And, allegations of impropriety (of little importance to me) and collusion (more important) continue. So, once again, we are all waiting to see the outcome of all this to-do.
In retrospect, it seems clear that the market for classic Ferraris peaked about 2-3 years ago, and has undergone a 10-15% correction since. This correction is likely a good thing so that a bubble was averted. Confidence in the market is evidenced by the fact that prices have remained stable now for the past 18 months, or so.
With that in mind, here is a recap of what transpired in the first half of 2018. We sincerely hope you were able to attend a few of these events, and that you will attend some future events over the next few months. Meanwhile, don’t forget to visit our NEW! IMPROVED! website at ferrariclubvegas.com for the latest news and information.
January 16: Board Meeting at the home of Dave and Elda Fanucchi
With 6 Board members (Chuck Damus, Elda Fanucchi, Ted Schlazer, Dan and Jan Fogle, and John Ratto) present, we had a good turn-out. New Board member Jan Fogle was seated as secretary and Elda Fanucchi was repositioned to event chairperson. Several non-Board members also attended, as they (and you!) are always welcome to do. Our financial situation was discussed, with an increase in the bottom line noted. It was especially nice to see that the Holiday Party generated some income. Other than that, the subject matter was the same as it has been for the previous several meetings: creating and selling merchandise to generate income, new members, past events (including the Holiday Party which all deemed a huge success and for which we thank the efforts of our Dealer – Towbin Motorcars), future drives and other events, and the progress of the Website, which is mostly complete and ready to be used. The next Board meeting was scheduled for March at the Bravo Cuccina Italiana in the Galleria Mall.
January 25: Social at Brio in Town Square
A good turnout was experienced despite the cold and blustery weather, and the rampant flu bug that forced several members to cancel attending at the last moment. The popular restaurant was quite crowded on a Thursday evening, so the atmosphere was festive and a nice evening was had by all.
February 22: Social at Mastrioni’s Italian Restaurant on Hualapai
By all reports, it was an excellent turnout and an animated evening of good food, excellent wine, and fine conversation at this local hot spot, known for its gourmet Italian cuisine and high priced wines. It might have even been better if the persistent flu bug had not reduced our numbers (we were part of the group that called in sick this time).
March 13: Board Meeting at Bravo Cucina Italiana in the Galleria Mall
With 6 Board members in attendance, along with 4-5 regular members to boot, we had a stellar turnout. In fact, it seemed like half the entire club was there, and more like a social than a Board meeting, especially since this is such a nice restaurant with quite good food. If you are looking for a nice affordable Italian place, check Bravo Cucina Italiana out. Most of the meeting was devoted to discussion on updating and maintaining the website (ferrariclubvegas.com – check it out), our relationship with Towbin Motorcars (our dealer), and future events and activities. One of the attending members, Gentille Chhun, presented an idea being considered by several Hollywood producers for a series of TV lifestyle programs centering on the Ferrari mystique. This was discussed and we generally agreed to participate, with further discussions and considerations to be held if the concept develops toward reality. Sounds interesting!
March 22: Social at The Bootlegger
After an extended period of mingling at the bar during which everyone ‘got in the mood,’ our large group moved in for the main course. A highlight of the evening was Oz passing around a phot of his 20 year-old self beside a 1948 Buick, his first car. Then, he passed around another photo of his present self with the same car, which he still owns. Wow! In the investing world that is known as a maximum buy-and-hold strategy.
April 22: Concorso Ferrari in Pasadena
After two disappointing years with little participation by the older, classic Ferrari models, this year saw a spectacular turn out of a massive number of ‘the greats.’ There were numerous examples of 250 Series 2 PF Cabriolets, 250 GT Lussos, 275 GTBs, 330 GTCs, and Daytonas and Dinos. Then there were a few real rarities: an exquisite Series 1 250 PF Cabriolet, certainly a one-off, a Vignale bodied 212, and even a 166 coupe (one of the very first Ferraris ever built). For the younger crowd, there were the modern supercars: several 288 GTOs, at least one F40 and one F50, a couple of Enzos, and a slew of La Ferraris (open and closed). In all, these lovelies made up about a third of the 150+ cars on display. The others were your run-of-the-mill (by Ferrari standards anyway) 308s, 328s, 360s, 550s, etc. Most impressive and I have to take my hat off to our brethren of the Southwest Region for making this happen. Bravo! Forza! To boot, the 328 GTS owned by one of our members, Lindsey Freeman, kicked butt and took names to the tune of 99 points (of a possible 100) in the tough FCA judging.
In short, if you missed this one, you missed a great show. And, admission was free.
April 26: Social at the Italian-American Club
We had a strong turn-out of nearly 20 members for this excursion into the world of fine Italian dining. We began with drinks at the commodious bar, and then moved to a private VIP room set aside for our group. The food was excellent and moderately priced, and the service was spot-on. The conversation was animated and jovial. A fine evening was had by all.
April 29: Drive to Seven Magic Mountains and the Pioneer Saloon
On a perfect late April Las Vegas morning, 13 members set forth in their intrepid steeds to visit one of Las Vegas’ lesser known, but most interesting, attractions, the Seven Magic Mountains, a massive display of modern art just 8 miles south of the M Resort. After some photos, and a few hijinks, the group saddled back up and drove to the Pioneer Saloon in Goodsprings for a fine lunch and one or two high octane jots to their tanks. Everyone seemed to have a great time, as is evidenced by the photos displayed on our website (go to NEWS and then DRIVES).
Late April/Early May: Michael Obradovich
We were stunned to learn that Michael Obradovich, a guy who seemed hale and hearty, had suffered a stroke. Michael chose to counter this setback the way he does everything – full tilt. As a result, it now seems that he has overcome the malady and is well on the way to a full recovery. We all send our prayers and well wishes to Michel and his wife, Karen, for a speedy recovery.
May 8: Board Meeting at the Home of Jan and Dan Fogle
We thank Dan and Jan for hosting the Board. Several guests attended to spice up the proceedings, but the usual issues, including ways to generate income and potential future events (including the upcoming drive to Echo Bay), dominated the discussion. Website maintenance costs were also addressed, and it was noted that our Chapter has several new members.
May 20: Drive to Lake Mead – Echo Bay and Lunch at Lake Las Vegas
Las Vegas is a place where nothing stays the same – we all know that. But, sometimes the changes are so fast and furious (would that make a good name for a movie franchise, maybe one about fast cars and street racing, I wonder) that it is impossible to stay ahead of them. Our first starting point was pre-empted by the Electronic Daisy Festival. Our planned route was pre-empted by the EDC and Project Neon road closures. In response, to avoid these snafus, we completely revised the drive, and in the process changed the original destination from The Valley of Fire to Echo Bay. So, a disaster, right? Nope, it was a great event even though only 4 cars participated. The road along the Lake was deserted, virtually no traffic and no smokies. And the temperature, which could have easily been over 100 degrees, was in the low 90s. The cars all ran without fault. And, everyone gave a big thumbs up to the food at our lunch spot, Luna Rossa in Lake Las Vegas. A good event to close out Spring 2018.
May 31: Social at Table 34
We had a strong turnout (15 – 20) for this social at one of the Club’s favorite restaurants. As usual, we started with appetizers (delicious and kindly provided by Table 34) on the patio. A bit later, we judged the evening so pleasant that the attendees voted 100% to also have dinner al-fresco. Everyone seemed to love the food and congenial conversation – a good time was had by all.
But the real highlight of the evening was the attendance of Michael Obradovich and his wife Karen. Only a month after suffering his stroke, Michael looked great and seemed to be in excellent spirits. We all welcome him back and wish him well in his path to a 100% recovery.
UPCOMING EVENTS
Socials will resume in September, after the heat of summer is a fading memory. The big Columbus Day event at Siena Restraint should be in mid-October. Meanwhile, be sure to visit our new website for the latest information. FerrariClubVegas.com
WRAP UP – JANUARY THROUGH JUNE 2018
We have all survived another 6 months, relatively unscathed. Despite many dire predictions, life and society are moving forward in measured steps and the sky has not fallen. The stock market is at about the same level as it was in January, and I don’t think many would have predicted that.
So, everything is progressing well except for this nasty TRADE WAR thing that seems to be the new, number one issue of discussion.
FORMULA 1 NEWS RECAP
Introduction to the 2018 F1 season
The word emanating from testing in Spain was that the cars are faster than ever (when it wasn’t snowing!), and that the top teams are very close. As two weeks of testing drew to a close, Mercedes still looked like top dog, but Ferrari and Red Bull were hot on their tail. It seemed a different manufacturer ‘won’ each practice session. Sound familiar? Yes, that’s basically what I said last year. But, that should make you happy because 2017 was a great, competitive year on track. In fact, at the midpoint of 2017 I said, “This is one of the best seasons in recent memory.” So, let’s have more of that in 2018 – with Ferrari on top this time! Then, on the penultimate day of testing, Vettel, in the Ferrari, set what would be the fastest overall time of all. Then, on the last day of practice, Raikkonen, in the second Ferrari, set the second fastest overall time (just 4/100 of a second slower than Vettel). This doesn’t mean a lot, but it is certainly better than not having the fastest times. The other big news concerns McLaren’s switch to Renault engines, which (along with top driver Fernando Alonso) should bring a perennial powerhouse back to the front of the field. Also, Pirelli has added a new tire compound, the hyper-softs, which is even softer than the ultra-softs (super-hyper-ultra-soft tires will be coming next year).
Another big change – F1 is on a different network this year. ESPN will be our new provider, and it is different. The announcers (with Martin Brundle and someone known as ‘Crofty?’ in the booth) and Paul De Resta doing commentary) with Martin Brundle are different, the graphics and the music are different, the F1 logo is different. Leigh Diffey is gone. David Hobbs and Steve Matchet are gone. It all feels younger and hipper. Strangely, ESPN butchered the first race of the season with commercials, and then broadcast the next races with virtually no commercials at all. Have no fear as to what may transpire on this front though; you can always find kindred souls at Siena on Sunday mornings watching Qualifying and the races – with the commercials deleted!
This year will see 21 races, tying 2016 for most ever. While the Malaysian GP has been removed from the schedule, GPs have been added in France and Germany, two stalwarts that have been absent in recent years. The race in the US will be run on October 21.
As for changes concerning the cars and drivers, there are a few including two rookie drivers. The Saubers are now the Alfa-Romeo Saubers, with corresponding Alfa-Romeo livery and (again) with Ferrari engines; the Red Bulls are now the Aston Martin Red Bulls. Toro Rosso has switched to Honda engines, the only team that will be using them. Rookie drivers include Frenchman Charles Leclerc (the highly regarded, reigning F2 champion who will team up with Marcus Ericsson at A-R Sauber) and Russian Sergey Sirotkin, who will join last year’s impressive rookie, Lance Stroll, at Williams-Mercedes, which performed terribly at Barcelona testing. Last year’s new comers, Pierre Gasly and Brandon Hartley will drive for Toro Rosso. Felipe Massa is retired; Daniel Kvyat has been banished to the minor leagues. There are still 20 cars in the field.
Oh, and one more thing: the cars have some sort of a protective frame (called the Halo) in front of and around the driver’s cockpit for additional protection. It looks really, really weird, almost as strange as Sebastian Vettel’s new punk-rock haircut.
March through June: F1 Viewing at Siena and other venues
March 25: GP of Australia (1)
Pirelli supplied the soft, super-soft, and ultra-soft tires for the 58 lap race around the 3.3 mile circuit in Melbourne. It didn’t matter much as everyone was on the intermediate wet tires for most of the rain plagued practice sessions. Despite treacherous conditions, local favorite Daniel Ricciardo (Red Bull) managed to earn a 3 grid spot penalty for failing to slow sufficiently quickly for a red flag. Meanwhile, the Red Bulls, along with the McLarens, looked to be fasted in the wet.
It was sunny and cool for Qualifying, and the times were very close, with Ferrari and Mercedes quickest in Q1 and Q2, followed closely by Red Bull-Renault and Haas-Ferrari!, our own American team (as Jim Nabors would say, ‘surprise-surprise!’). Bottas in the Mercedes had a massive shunt at the start of Q3, and was out of the fray. To add insult to injury, he damaged his transmission in the crash and was penalized 5 grid spots (to 15th) for changing it. His mechanics did manage to repair the car so that he could participate in the race. With Qualifying drawing to a close, Hamilton did a ‘perfect’ lap and grabbed the pole while Vettel made a small mistake and had to settle for third. The starting order would be Hamilton, Raikkonen, Vettel, Verstappen (Red Bull), Magnussen and Grosjean (both for Haas), and Ricciardo (demoted to 7th as a result of the aforementioned penalty). The Red Bulls opted to start on the super-soft tires while every other team chose the ultra-softs.
Race day brought out the famous Australian sunshine and it was very warm, quite different conditions than during Practice or Qualifying. The start was tight and highly contested, but there were no collisions and the running order remained unchanged at the end of lap 1, except that Magnussen in the Haas passed Verstappen for 4th place. Of greater significance, after the first few laps were completed, Hamilton was not pulling away from the Ferraris, and the leaders were not pulling away from the rest of the field. The top 7 or 8 cars were all running at pretty much the same pace. Perhaps of even greater importance, Bottas was still mired in 15th. Was his rebuilt car having problems? Or, have the Mercedes lost their advantage over the field? Very interesting.
After 10 laps were in the books, the running order remained Hamilton, Raikkonen, Vettel, Magnussen, Verstappen, Grosjean, and Ricciardo, all running relatively close together. Bottas, meanwhile, had moved up to 13th, not much progress. On lap 18, Raikkonen was the first to stop for fresh rubber, switching to the soft tires, which everyone believed would make it to the end of the race. Hamilton and Verstappen stopped for tires in the next few laps (also choosing to go with the softs), leaving Vettel in the lead over Hamilton (about 13 seconds behind) and Raikkonen (a few seconds behind Hamilton) and the two Haas-Ferraris (several seconds farther back). Then, starting on lap 23, both the Haas cars stopped, and all hell broke loose. First, Magnussen stopped, rejoined the fray, discovered that one of his wheel nuts had not been properly tightened, and parked his car at the side of the track. Then, two laps later, the exact same calamity hit Grosjean in the other Haas. Faulty air gun(s)? Faulty wheel nuts? Idiots in the pits? Whatever the cause(s), it was a cruel blow to Haas, which was experiencing its finest hour ever. And, there were now two cars stranded beside the track. Consequently, the Virtual Safety Car was deployed (lap 26).
Naturally, Vettel pitted for tires (softs) immediately and, because Hamilton was going so slowly on track to conform to the requirements of the VSC, he was able to rejoin still in the lead! Riccardo also pitted (softs) and also gained an advantage over the cars ahead of him. Then, the real Safety Car was deployed and the field bunched up behind it, which gave a further advantage to the Red Bulls who by this time had dropped some distance behind the leaders. When real racing resumed on lap 31, the running order, all nose-to-tail, was Vettel, Hamilton, Raikkonen, Ricciardo, Alonzo (McLaren), and Verstappen. With the retirement of both Haas cars, Bottas jumped to 9th.
From that point to the end of the race, it was advantage Vettel. Running in clear air and on fresher tires, he was able to hold off Hamilton despite Hamilton’s ability to use the DRS to gain a speed advantage on the straights. Hamilton mounted a few challenges, but he never got close to passing Vettel. He eventually had to drop back to preserve his tires, and at the end of the race was being pressured by Raikkonen for second. The final outcome was Vettel, Hamilton, Raikkonen, Ricciardo, Alonso – in the rejuvenated McLaren, Verstappen, Hulkenberg (Renault), and Bottas. Rookie Charles Leclerc, driving quickly and smartly, managed 13th in the A-R Sauber-Ferrari,
The Australian Grand Prix was great for Ferrari…and not so great for cars powered by Mercedes engines. Yes, Hamilton finished second, but Bottas had a most difficult time working his way up the field after starting 15th. Last year he would have finished 4th, not 8th. The Force India-Mercedes cars were a threat for podium finishes last year; they were far off the pace in Australia, qualifying poorly and finishing out of the points entirely. The Williams-Mercedes were back-markers in Australia, not even in the mid-pack where they ran last year. And, last year, Hamilton, with the superior power of his Mercedes engine and so many laps to do so, would have simply forced his way by Vettel to take the lead and the win. This year in Australia, Vettel was able to defend his position from Hamilton’s advances, and Haas, with Ferrari power, was challenging for the podium. So, this all begs the question: Has the Mercedes engine lost the horsepower advantage it has enjoyed for the past 5 years??
April 8: GP of Bahrain (2)
Pirelli supplied the medium, soft, and super-soft tires for this 57 lap, night race in the hot Middle East. The Ferraris looked to be fastest in the Practice sessions, while the Mercedes looked to be having cooling problems in the heat of the day. To make matters worse for Mercedes (and better for Ferrari), Hamilton was given a 5 grid spot penalty for changing his transmission.
Verstappen in the Red Bull crashed heavily in Q1, and was relegated to 15th on the starting grid. In response to his penalty, Hamilton contested Q2 on the soft tires (everyone else in the top 10 qualified and would start on the super-softs), meaning he would start on the softs, and indicating he planned for a long first stint and a one stop strategy. With the Mercedes cars running better in the cooler evening temperatures and Raikkonen complaining of traffic, the Qualifying order was Vettel, Raikkonen, Bottas, Hamilton (who would start 9th, on the soft tires, after his penalty), Ricciardo, Pierre Gasly (of all people) in the Toro Rosso-Honda (of all cars-engines), and Kevin Magnussen in the Haas (another surprise). The Mercedes powered Force Indias and Williams were non-factors in Qualifying, lending credence to the belief that the Mercedes engine has lost its horsepower advantage. In the post-Qualifying interviews, it was obvious that Vettel was most happy with the characteristics and performance of the car, always good to hear.
Except for Bottas’ pass of Raikkonen in the first corner, the first lap was relatively uneventful. On lap 2, though, Verstappen, who had made an amazing start, tried to push by Hamilton, resulting in a collision and a punctured tire for Verstappen. He had to pit, and immediately thereafter retired from the race due to unspecified issues. His teammate, Ricciardo also parked his Red Bull (electrical gremlins) at about the same time. In response to all the dead Bulls strewn about the track, the Virtual Safety Car was deployed. When racing resumed on lap 4, a series of wheel-to-wheel tussles broke out that were most entertaining to watch. These continued through lap 12, when Magnussen and Alonso were the first to stop for fresh rubber, both switching to the medium compound tires, indicating they planned a one-stop race. By lap 18, Vettel was clearly slowing and having tire problems. In response, he stopped for fresh rubber, opting for the soft tires, indicating he planned a two stop race. This prompted a rash of stops, including Raikkonen on lap 20 (to the softs) and Bottas on lap 21 (mediums). Clearly, the Ferraris and the Mercedes were on different strategies. At lap 22, the running order was Hamilton (no stops), Vettel, Bottas, Raikkonen, and Gasly.
Hamilton, who had started on the soft tires, delayed his pit stop to lap 27. Like his teammate, he also switched to the medium rubber and was good to the end of the race. He rejoined in 4th place and now on the freshest tires of the leaders, began to reel them in. Then, on lap 36 something really bizarre happened. Raikkonen made his second stop and there were problems. A wheel refused to come off…a mechanic was struggling with it…Raikkonen got the signal to go…and the mechanic was smacked (broken leg). (All I can say is that when 2 second pit stops are de-rigour, there will be occasional problems.) When the dust settled, Raikkonen was out and Ferrari decided to switch Vettel’s to a one-stop strategy, meaning he had to go to the end of the race on the soft tires that had been on his car since lap 18. Vettel had the lead, but could he hold it for 20 more laps from his pursuers who were on fresher and more durable tires?
With Vettel now nursing his worn tires and finding it difficult to pass lapped traffic, Bottas and Hamilton began to cut into his lead at about ½ second per lap. Initially, the Mercedes duo was making ground quickly, but then around lap 45 their advantage seemed to lessen, and Vettel’s lead was only diminishing by a few tenths of seconds per lap. Then, finally, on lap 55, Bottas (Hamilton never did mount a real challenge) caught the struggling Ferrari, but even with the advantage of the DRS and far superior tires he could not pass. Vettel wins! The final result was Vettel, Bottas, Hamilton (petulant in the cool-off room), Gasly (Toro Rosso), Magnussen (Haas), Hulkenberg (Renault), and Alonso (McLaren).
This was a tremendously exacting race, with all sorts of cloak-and-dagger plots and a finish for the ages. Vettel’s victory was just sort of miraculous, perhaps something ordained from the Vatican? With two wins in two races, his drive to the championship has had a resounding start. Is this year the ever hoped for ‘next year’ we have been waiting for?
One more note: After my complaints regarding too many commercials during the Australian GP, there were essentially NO commercials during the Practice, Qualifying, or the race this week. Very strange.
April 15: GP of China (3)
Practice sessions were run in cold and windy conditions. The lap times of the top 6 cars (Ferrari, Mercedes, and Red Bull) were very close in P1 and P2. Then, in P3 on Saturday morning, Ricciardo (Red Bull) experienced transmission issues, and then he blew his engine. It looked as if he would not be ready for qualifying that afternoon and therefore be out of the race. In addition, Hamilton had a massive spin (540 degrees) and was lucky not to have damaged his car.
Pirelli supplied the medium, soft, and ultra-soft (skipping the super-soft) tires for the 56 lap race over the 3.4 mile course. This track is known for being abrasive and wearing tires quickly. Either one or two stop strategies were being contemplated. It was still cold, windy, and damp for Qualifying on Saturday afternoon. Ricciardo’s pit crew managed to change engines in the few hours available and have him ready for the final minutes of Q1; he managed to set a quick enough time to squeeze into Q2. Meanwhile, the Ferraris topped the time charts. The Mercedes and Ferraris contested Q2 on the soft tires, meaning they could start the race on them, indicating they planned a one stop strategy. Most of the others, including the Red Bulls, opted to start on the ultra-soft rubber, indicating they planned two stops. Everyone contested Q3 on the ultra-soft tires, and the final order at the front of the grid was no surprise: Vettel, Raikkonen, Bottas, Hamilton, Verstappen, and Ricciardo. The surprise was that the Ferraris were ½ a second (a big margin) faster than the Mercedes.
Sunday was sunny and breezy, much warner than the previous days. The grandstands in Shanghai were notably packed (mainly with Kimi Raikkonen fans), a good sign for the sport in that country and that part of the world. Immediately after the start, Vettel veered hard right and cut off Raikkonen, which seemed a dumb move. In response, Kimi had to back-off, allowing both Bottas and Verstappen to pass him. So, Vettel had opponents instead of a friend behind him. Otherwise, the start was uneventful, and at the end of lap 1 the order was Vettel, Bottas, Verstappen, Raikkonen, Hamilton, and Ricciardo. The order remained the same at lap 10, by which time Vettel had established a three second lead over Bottas (who was applying no pressure to the leader) in second, and Hamilton seemed to be falling progressively farther behind Raikkonen. It looked as if Vettel would win easily at this point. Despite the lack of action at the front, there were several heated battles in the mid-field that were worthy of attention.
Verstappen and Ricciardo, who had started on the ultra-soft tires, were the first of the lead group to stop (lap 18), but Hamilton also stopped on the following lap. Bottas then stopped (a quick one) on lap 20. Rejoining in clean air and on new tires, he proceeded to set a blistering lap (I bet Vettel wished he had Raikkonen between them to ward off Bottas’ charge), and managed to wrest the lead from Vettel who stopped (a slow one) on lap 21. Everyone mentioned switched to the medium tires, indicating all were planning one stop strategies. So, on lap 25, the running order was Raikkonen, who had not stopped, Bottas, Vettel, Verstappen, Hamilton, and Ricciardo. Bottas and Vettel, both on fresh tires, then quickly tracked down Raikkonen and passed him easily (on lap 27) for the lead, at which point Raikkonen stopped for fresh tires and rejoined in 6th place. Therefore, it seemed that both the Mercedes and the Red Bulls had used superior pit stop timing to snooker both of the Ferraris!
Then, on lap 31, all previous strategies were thrown out the window. It started out innocently, with the two Toro Rossos contesting a corner and colliding softly, causing damage to their front wings. But, the damaged wings scattered sharp debris across the track, forcing the safety car to be deployed (lap 32) so that the debris could be removed. Blind luck put the two Red Bulls just a few hundred yards short of pit entry when the safety car deployment was announced. Shrewd, quick thinking led to them being called into the pits for fresh tires while everyone else stayed out and paraded slowly for a couple of laps. The Red Bulls rejoined the fray on brand new soft tires (everyone else was on worn mediums) having lost almost no track position, Verstappen in fourth (lost one spot) and Ricciardo in sixth (ditto). They were now sharks on a feeding frenzy to the front of the pack. It was fast and furious – absent Vin Diesel.
On lap 37: Ricciardo blew past Raikkonen for fifth place.
On lap 39: Verstappen attempted to pass Hamilton, failed, slowed, and was in turn passed by Ricciardo.
On lap 41: Ricciardo caught and passed Hamilton (with an audacious move) for third.
On lap 42: Verstappen re-caught Hamilton and passed him for fourth. Ricciardo passed Vettel for second. Meanwhile, Raikkonen (who was the last to stop for medium tires and therefore had the best of those) caught Hamilton and was challenging him for fifth.
On lap 43: Verstappen caught Vettel (running third) and made an ill-advised attempted to pass him. They collided. Both came to a virtual stop. Vettel’s car and tires were damaged and Verstappen was given a 10 second penalty. Despite having to swerve and slow down to avoid contact, Hamilton was able to pass them both, but this allowed Raikkonen to cruise by Hamilton and claim third place. With a compromised car, Vettel slowed and was never again a factor. He finished eighth.
On Lap 45: Ricciardo passed Bottas for the lead.
On lap 48: Verstappen passed Hamilton for fourth on the track, but fifth considering his 10 second time penalty.
So, did you get all of that? Substitute begetting for passing and it could be the Book of Genesis. But, seriously, these were probably the most tense and exciting 10 laps of F1 racing ever. After all of this strangeness, the final official finishing order was Ricciardo (who barely made it into Qualifying), Bottas (extremely lucky to place this high), Raikkonen (whose day was compromised by bad team strategy and Vettel’s strange antics at the start), Hamilton (who was never on the pace or a serious contender), Verstappen (with his 10 second penalty, if he had bided his time he could have won), Hulkenberg, Alonso, and Vettel (the God’s didn’t favor him today, that’s for sure).
Poor strategy and bad luck robbed Ferrari of a deserved 1-2 finish in China. To win the championship, a team must win the races where it has the fastest cars. Down the road, Ferrari may come to lament its poor race management in China.
Vettel still leads the driver’s standings with 54 points. Hamilton (45) and Bottas (40) are now close behind him. Mercedes (85 points) and Ferrari (84) are in a virtual dead heat atop the constructors’ standings, with Red Bull significantly behind (55 points). This is getting interesting.
April 29: GP of Azerbaijan (4)
Qualifying was contested in cool, breezy conditions, meaning it was hard to get the tires up to temperature…resulting in low grip. This made for scary conditions on a street circuit with little run-off area and top speeds well over 200 mph. Pirelli supplied the soft, super-soft, and ultra-soft tires for the 51 lap race over the 3.7 mile circuit. The drivers, meanwhile, believed that the new hyper-softs might have been best. After the dust, and more than a few raindrops, had settled, the starting order was Vettel, Hamilton, Bottas, Ricciardo, Verstappen, and Raikkonen, who would have been much closer to the front absent a big spin in Q3. Of note: Raikkonen was to start on the ultra-soft rubber, while all of the other top cars would be on the super-soft tires.
Race day was even colder and windier than Qualifying. Grip was going to be a serious concern, especially if tires were cold. Meanwhile, there was a large crowd at Siena to view the proceedings. They were treated to the de-rigor collision on lap 1. Sirotkin (Williams) smacked Ocon (Force India) who veered into Raikkonen. Both Sirotkin and Ocon were out, while Kimi had to pit immediately for new tires (he opted for the softs, which might be good to go to the end of the race) and a new nose. The Safety Car was deployed, and when racing resumed on lap 6 the order was Vettel, Hamilton, Bottas, Ricciardo, and Verstappen. Sainz and Hulkenberg, who had started on the (faster) ultra-soft tires, were moving fast and immediately challenged the two Red Bulls, while Raikkonen was near the rear of the field. A real battle royal then developed between the Red Bulls themselves and also between the Red Bulls and the Renaults over positions 4 – 7. Sainz squeezed by Verstappen, and then Hulkenberg passed Verstappen and Ricciardo (who both seemed to be having issues with their electrical motors). Meanwhile, the two Red Bulls were going at it lap-after-lap, wheel-to-wheel (including banging wheels several times) between themselves as they fell further behind the leaders. Very exciting stuff! While all of this was happening, Vettel was serenely in the lead and pulling away from the field, and Raikkonen was picking off the cars ahead of him, working his way back to the front. He was 8th by lap 15 and 6th by lap 17.
Despite the fact that lap times were not slowing, meaning that the super-soft tires were long-lived, Hamilton stopped early for new tires on lap 22, opting for the soft rubber. He returned in third place, and his out lap was slow, emphasizing the point that cold tires were slow tires. All the others soldiered on, waiting for something to happen (an accident and Safety Car period) to gain an advantage in their pit stop. On lap 25, the running order was Vettel, Bottas (10 seconds behind), Hamilton (18 seconds farther behind, but on new tires after his stop), Ricciardo, Verstappen, and Raikkonen (who had stopped on lap 1). Hulkenberg was out after hitting a wall; Sainz had stopped for fresh tires. Of note was that the two Red Bulls were still running in lock step and battling tooth-and-nail for 4th place, far behind the leaders. Although lap times continued to be consistent, Vettel stopped for tires (he opted for the soft rubber-the safe choice, although the ultra-softs were a reasonable alternative at this point in the proceedings) on lap 31. He rejoined in second place (behind Bottas) and, like Hamilton had to suffer through a couple of slow laps while his new tires came up to temperature. Meanwhile, Bottas (who had not yet stopped) consolidated his hold on the lead. On lap 38, Ricciardo, the leading Red Bull, stopped for tires (going to the ultra-softs). He also experienced a slow out lap, and lost 4th place to Verstappen who stopped (going to ultra-softs) on lap 39. With Verstappen now on the colder, slower tires, Ricciardo caught him quickly and made several attempts to pass, all of which Verstappen countered most aggressively. Finally, on the long straight, Ricciardo moved into Verstappen’s slip stream and tried to dispatch his teammate on the right – rebuffed, and then the left – rebuffed, and then on the right again – BIG collision. Both Red Bulls were out!
With the Safety Car deployed to allow the course workers to remove the massive amount of debris on the track, everyone pitted and mounted new ultra-soft tires. All this was a huge advantage to Bottas, who got to make only one stop, and in a Safety Car speed environment to boot. He was thus able to retain first place. Then, as the cars were moving slowly behind the Safety Car, Grosjean (Haas) had brain fade while swerving about to try to warm his tires; he smacked the wall. Result? A lot more debris on the track and an extension to the Safety Car period. Now everyone’s tires were really cold.
Immediately after the Safety Car left the track on lap 48 (only three laps from the finish), Vettel tried a bold move to pass Bottas and regain the lead. It looked good, but his tires were cold and he failed to maintain control, sliding across the track, allowing both Hamilton and Raikkonen to pass him. To add insult to injury, Vettel’s new ultra-softs were flat spotted and he could no longer challenge those ahead; instead he was passed by Perez (Force India) for fourth place. Then, to heap some further insult, race leader Bottas ran over a piece of debris that was inexplicably missed in the clean-up effort, and shredded a tire. He had to stop immediately. If Vettel had bided his time, he would have won! After all of that action, the final two laps were without further incident and the final finishing order was Hamilton, Raikkonen, Perez, Vettel, Sainz (Renault), Leclerc (Alfa-Romeo Sauber-Ferrari), and Alonzo (McLaren).
So, Vettel and Ferrari were robbed of another victory that was seemingly ‘in-the-bag.’ This is becoming an old tale, and a disheartening one. At the end of the season, will Ferrari, and Ferrari fans, be looking back at these results and crying over what might have been? Meanwhile, Hamilton, who has really done very little this year, leads the championship battle over Vettel by 4 points, with Raikkonen third, Bottas fourth, and Ricciardo fifth. Crash Verstappen is eighth, 52 points in arrears.
The church bells were not ringing in Maranello this Sunday.
May 13: GP of Spain (5)
Pirelli supplied the medium, soft, and super-soft tires for the 66 lap race over the 2.9 mile track in Barcelona, a venue the drivers were familiar with as it hosted winter testing. It was so windy during Friday practice that the handling of the cars was being affected. That, combined with the fact that the track had recently been resurfaced – reducing grip, resulted in difficult conditions and problems bringing the tires up to temperature. As a result, there was little difference between times set on the soft and super-soft rubber. Raikkonen had some engine issues in Practice 2 that were an omen for problems to come.
Qualifying was run in cool, cloudy, and windy conditions with rain possible, meaning that tire temperature and grip problems continued to plague the cars. Virtually every car ran Q2 on the soft tires so that the race could be started on them. Conversely, everyone chose the super-softs for Q3, but the resulting times were not much faster. It seemed that the teams were hoping that one stop at about lap 20-25 (and switching to the mediums at that point) would be sufficient. The starting order was Hamilton, Bottas, Vettel, Raikkonen, Verstappen, Ricciardo, Magnussen, and Alonso, not a surprising result as this was seen as a track were Mercedes would do well.
After a big rain on Saturday night that washed the track clean of its built up rubber (further reducing grip), race day was cool, cloudy, and windy, with rain possible. Vettel managed to pass Bottas into corner one, but the obligatory collision in the mid-field (due partly to the lack of grip) was postponed to corner 3, eliminating Grosjean, Hulkenberg, and Gasly. The Safety Car was deployed and racing resumed on lap 6. On lap 10, the order was Hamilton (pulling away slowly from the field), Vettel, Bottas, Raikkonen, Verstappen, and Ricciardo. Barcelona is a track where it is notoriously difficult to pass, and not much happened at the front until lap 18, when Vettel was the first to stop for fresh tires, switching (as expected) to the mediums. The question: would they make it to the end of the 66 lap race? Bottas was the next to stop (lap 20), also switching to the medium rubber. Raikkonen’s iffy engine gave up on lap 25, and he was out; at about the same time Hamilton stopped for new tires.
Meanwhile, having delayed their stops, the Red Bulls were now out front. They finally stopped for fresh tires on laps 34/35, also mounting the mediums. So, with everyone now having stopped, the running order was once again Hamilton (unchallenged at the front), Vettel, Bottas, Verstappen, Ricciardo, and Magnussen. Not much happened until lap 41, when Ocon (Force India) suffered an engine failure that caused the Virtual Safety Car to be deployed. Sensing a possible advantage and that running his existing tires (on since lap 18) to the end was risky, and thinking that the Mercedes might also need to make second stop, Vettel pitted for new medium tires (why not softs?). His stop was longer than normal and Vettel returned in fourth place behind ‘Crash’ Verstappen, a driver who is notoriously difficult to pass. At first, it seemed that Verstappen would make matters simple. As soon as the green flag flew, he immediately tried to pass lapped traffic, and, in a crazy move, ran his front wing into the rear of Lance Stroll’s Williams. He was lucky: the damage was minimal, and he managed to continue and to maintain third place ahead of Vettel, who was clearly faster but unable to get close enough in Verstappen’s dirty air to make a move. The final result: Hamilton, Bottas, Verstappen, Vettel, Ricciardo, and Magnussen (Haas).
The pundits predicted that Mercedes would do well at Barcelona, and they were proved correct. At the completion of Qualifying, there was little doubt that Hamilton would win, absent extenuating circumstances. On the other hand, unlucky Vettel and Ferrari were again dealt a strange hand. Stuck in second place with the oldest tires in the field, making a second pit stop under the Virtual Safety Car seemed the correct thing to do. It might put Vettel in a position to challenge Hamilton at the end, and it almost certainly would lock-up second spot over Bottas. It did neither. The slow stop dropped Vettel behind both Bottas and Verstappen, and Vettel was unable to pass either of them. I still wonder why they chose to mount the mediums instead of the (faster) softs, but that was obviously what the Ferrari engineers deemed best at the time.
So, once again, Ferrari failed to score the points they deserved, and now Hamilton has a 17 point lead over Vettel in the Drivers’ championship.
May 27: GP of Monaco (6)
Pirelli supplied the super-soft, ultra-soft, and hyper-soft (the first time these have been made available) for this 78 lap race through the streets of the principality, where the path is narrow and twisty, and passing is tres difficile. It was hot during the Practice sessions, when the Red Bulls set fastest times, and it looked like the hyper-softs would be fast, but very short lived. ‘Crash’ Verstappen was up to his tricks and had a massive shunt in P3. His car could not be repaired for Qualifying, and he was relegated to the back of the field.
Temperatures were again high for Qualifying, when even the fast drivers (the top 10) were essentially forced to run (and thereby start the race on) the new hyper-soft rubber to make it into Q3. When all was said and done, there were no surprises in the starting order: Ricciardo, Vettel, Hamilton, Raikkonen, and Bottas. Verstappen would be last, but on the more durable ultra-soft tires.
The Gods threw a weather curve-ball for the race; it was cloudy, cool, and windy, with rain possible. The start was clean with no collisions, and the leaders finished lap 1 in the same order they started. It looked as if Ricciardo was not pressing at the front, but was still managing to pull away slowly from Vettel. Meanwhile, Verstappen was progressively passing the cars ahead of him. He was 16th by lap 7, and 14th by lap 8.
As expected, the hyper-soft tires faded fast. Hamilton was the first to stop for tires (lap 12), mounting the ultra-softs (which, given the temperatures, might make it to the end). Soon thereafter, Vettel, Ricciardo, Raikkonen, and Bottas also stopped, all opting for the ultra-softs except Bottas, who made a more conservative choice, the super-softs. Not much changed as a result of these stops, and the running order was still Ricciardo, Vettel, Hamilton, Raikkonen, and Bottas at lap 25.
Then, on about lap 30, things got interesting. Ricciardo was having problems with his hybrid power unit and losing overall power, and slowing down. Vetted caught him easily, but passing proved impossible. In the process, Vettel wore his tires and had to drop back. Although he tried to pass Ricciardo several more times, he never really mounted a serious threat and simply had to give it up. Meanwhile, all the other front runners, also on ultra-softs, were also experiencing greater tire degradation than expected, and slowing down. Only Bottas, who had chosen the super-softs, looked like he would make it to the end without another pit stop. As a result, the leaders were slowing and the field was bunching up behind them. At lap 50, the running order was Ricciardo, Vettel, Hamilton, Raikkonen, and Bottas, all running in close formation. Verstappen, who had delayed his first pit stop to lap 48, was in 11th, and had the best tires that allowed him to set the fastest lap times.
This set up a dilemma for the team strategists. Would the leaders need to stop again? If so, were they staying out in hopes that a Safety Car period would mitigate their time penalties for such a stop? Were they delaying such a stop to about lap 60, when they could switch to the hyper-soft tires for a last, mad sprint to the finish? In the end, they all did nothing. The wisdom said that stopping for tires and then being able to go significantly faster would be more than countered by needing to pass the field of bunched up cars that they would be behind when they rejoined the race.
In the end, the field crawled around the track behind the leaders and the finishing order was much the same as the starting order: Ricciardo, Vette, Hamilton, Raikkonen, and Bottas. Verstappen was 9th. And so, with respect to points and championships, the status quo was essentially maintained. It is close!
June 10: GP of Canada (7)
Pirelli chose to supply the super-, ultra-, and hyper-soft tires for this 70 lap race around the very fast 2.7 mile circuit in Montreal, a speed-horsepower track that should favor the Mercedes and diminish the Red Bulls. Despite the northern clime, it was warm and sunny pretty much all weekend, and the fans turned out in droves. Not much of significance happened in any of the Practice sessions; most of the teams had revised doo-dads for their steeds, and were trying to sort their cars to accommodate them. Surprisingly, Verstappen in a Red bull was fastest in all three Practice sessions.
Grosjean suffered some sort of major engine failure in the first seconds of Q1 in his Haas-Ferrari and was out. He would start last. Subsequently, strategy and fakery dominated Q2. The Ferraris and Mercedes set their initial fast times on the longer lived ultra-soft tires, hoping that these times would be fast enough to get them through to Q3. Then, both Ferrari and Mercedes tried to fake each other out by coming out on the hyper-soft rubber at the very end of Q2. However, this was merely a ploy as both Ferrari and Mercedes aborted their last laps, choosing to start on the ultra-softs, and handily making it into Q3. With all trickery in the rear view mirror, Q3 was a mad dash for pole with everyone on the hyper-soft rubber. The starting order was a mixed bag: Vettel, Bottas, Verstappen, Hamilton, Raikkonen, and Ricciardo; under half a second covered the top 6. It is close.
The cars rolled to their grid positions with most of the cars (including the Red Bulls) on the faster hyper-soft tires, while the Mercedes and Ferraris were on the longer lived ultra-softs. Perhaps this assisted Ricciardo, who managed to pass Raikkonen in the first set of corners. Nothing could help Stroll (Williams) and Hartley (Toro Rosso), who collided and were out of the race almost before it began. The Safety Car came out for a short time, and racing resumed on lap 4. Then, things settled down and at lap 10 the running order was little changed: Vettel, Bottas, Verstappen, Hamilton, Ricciardo, and Raikkonen, with Vettel slowly pulling away from everyone. This essentially meant that Red Bulls’ strategy had failed. They could not move up the order on the faster tires, and would have to stop earlier as well.
The first pit stops of note were on laps 17 and 18, when both Red Bulls (on the hyper-soft tires) stopped. Numerous others who had started on the hyper-softs also stopped before lap 20. Hamilton, who was experiencing overheating, also stopped for tires at this time, but what he really needed was some bodywork modifications to help cool his engine. Raikkonen was the first of those who started on the ultra-soft tires to stop, but much later, on lap 33. Then Bottas and Vettel both stopped a few laps later. All the leaders chose the super soft tires, hoping they would be good to the end. At lap 40, after everyone had stopped at least once, the running order was Vettel, Bottas (6 seconds behind), Verstappen (6 seconds further back), Ricciardo, (5 seconds), Hamilton (2 seconds), and Raikkonen (3 seconds). So, it was pretty close at the front; from this point forward threats were mounted and rebuffed, but not much happened and the running order at the end remained unchanged.
So, this was a pretty uneventful race. Vettel finally won a race he clearly deserved to win. Red Bull’s variant strategy accomplished little if anything, and the Mercedes were never a serious threat on a track where they normally dominate. All of this bodes well for Ferrari’s hopes for a championship season. Overall, Vettel retakes the lead in the drivers’ championship, by one point over Hamilton. The constructors’ championship is also close: Mercedes 206, Ferrari 189, and Red Bull 134.
Meanwhile, back in the pack, rookie Charles LeClerc again drove well to finish 10th in his Sauber-Ferrari. The pundits have anointed him a future star, and rumor has him replacing Raikkonen at Ferrari next season.
June 24: GP of France (8)
After a 10 year absence, the GP circus returned to southern France and Circuit Paul Ricard; they were greeted with high heat and sweltering conditions that persisted throughout the weekend. Pirelli supplied the soft, super-soft, and ultra-soft tires for the 53 lap race around the 3.6 mile track, which looked spectacular, but which is known for wearing tires quickly.
The Mercedes (running their upgraded engines) were quickest in Practice with the Red Bulls close behind; the Ferraris were off the pace. The rains finally arrived on Saturday morning (before Qualifying), cooling the air but washing away the grip providing rubber build up from the track surface. As a result, despite attempts otherwise, none of the leaders was able to qualify on the soft tires. The Qualifying order would be Hamilton, Bottas, Vettel, Verstappen, Ricciardo, and Raikkonen, with the Mercedes and Red Bulls on the super-soft tires and the Ferraris on the faster but shorter lived ultra-softs. The situation looked bad for the Ferraris, who, like all the others, were planning only one stop.
As is becoming the norm, there was much contact in the first couple of turns. Bottas and Vettel were but two that came together; both stopped for new nose cones. In the process, they both also switched to the far more durable soft tires, hoping to go to the end without stopping again. When the Safety Car exited the track on lap 6 and racing resumed, the running order was Hamilton, Verstappen, Sainz (Renault), and Ricciardo, with Vettel (19th) and Bottas (20th) at the very back of the field. In response to the situation, Vettel went wild, driving like a demon and passing left, right, and center (well, maybe not center). By lap 10, he had jumped to 11th, and by lap 22 he was back up to 5th overall! Impressive! Unfortunately, these antics compromised his tires and he could no longer make much headway.
Verstappen was the first to make a scheduled stop for new tires (lap 26), with Ricciardo, and Hamilton following soon thereafter. All chose the soft tires. Raikkonen, however, delayed his stop several laps and chose to take a shot on the super-soft rubber. On lap 35, after all of the leaders had stopped once, the running order was Hamilton, Verstappen, Ricciardo, Vettel, Raikkonen, and Bottas, and it was a sprint to the end. Meanwhile, there was an inordinate amount of passing throughout the field, perhaps more than I have ever seen in a F1 race. These cars are closely matched, and they are fighting tooth-and-nails for points, and the money they bring. At the front, Raikkonen, on his faster and newer tires passed Vettel on lap 41 (at which point both Vettel and Bottas stopped for fresh tires), and then did the same to Ricciardo on lap 47. At the end of a most entertaining race the order was Hamilton, Verstappen, Raikkonen, Ricciardo, Vettel, Magnussen, and Bottas.
With this result, Hamilton reclaims the lead in the drivers’ championship by 14 points over Vettel (with Ricciardo, Bottas and Raikkonen not far behind) and Mercedes takes a 23 point lead over Ferrari in the constructors’ championship (with Red Bull not too far back). A close competition it is, and that makes for an exciting season.
July 1: GP of Austria (9)
The track in Austria is short (2.6 miles) and fast (lap times are just over a minute, giving an average speed of nearly 150 mph). Pirelli opted to supply the soft, super-soft, and ultra-soft rubber for the 71 lap race. It was cool and cloudy for Practice on Friday, and the ultra-soft tires responded by refusing to get to temperature; the soft tires were giving lap times nearly as fast. This put a big question mark over the data being gathered (both as to speed and tire life). In any case, two things seemed obvious: the Ferraris weren’t that fast, but their tires seemed to last longer than anyone else’s, and everyone was planning a one stop strategy.
All of that was interesting, but the real news that came out of Practice was that Red Bull has decided to use the Honda engines next year. On the surface, that is a bold move. But really Red Bull had no choice. Neither Ferrari nor Mercedes would supply engines to such a close competitor, and the engines Renault has been supplying to Red Bull are neither powerful nor reliable enough to consistently run out front, even when mounted in one of the very best chassis. This move is the first salvo in the war that will be the 2019 season.
Saturday Qualifying was also run in cool, cloudy conditions, meaning that no new information regarding tire wear or relative lap times could be gleaned. Mercedes decided to run Q2 (and therefore start the race) on the super-soft tires (indicating that they were not happy with their tire wear), while most of the others (including Ferrari and Red Bull) opted for the ultra-soft rubber. After everyone put in their best efforts in Q3, the starting order was set: Bottas, Hamilton, Vettel, Raikkonen, Verstappen, Grosjean (Haas), and Ricciardo, clearly a poor result for the Red Bulls.
Wow, what a difference a day makes. First, race day dawned clear and hot, and getting hotter by the hour. This meant that all data that had been collected was worthless and the plans made based on that data were now subject to change. And second, Vettel was penalized three grid spots for inadvertently blocking another car during Qualifying. He would start 6th.
When the lights went out, Raikkonen made a fabulous start and passed Bottas, whose start was marred by excessive wheel spin which allowed Hamilton to squeeze by as well. Unfortunately, Kimi was carrying too much speed into the initial turns and slid a bit, allowing Bottas (and Verstappen) to pass him back. In the end, Ferrari lost a spot, but it sure was exciting. At the end of lap 1 the running order was Hamilton, Bottas, Verstappen, Raikkonen, Ricciardo, and Vettel. Things then settled down a bit until lap 14, when Bottas experienced a gearbox failure and came to a stop at the side of the track. This brought on a Virtual Safety Car period during which most of the cars pitted for new tires, with everyone mounting the softs, hoping they would last to the end. Race leader Hamilton, however, missed this opportunity to pit due to a snafu by his strategy team, and he was suddenly on a different strategy than everyone else. Shortly thereafter, Ricciardo, on a charge, managed to pass Raikkonen on lap 20.
Hamilton, slowing down on worn tires and being caught by his pursuers, finally made his pit stop on lap 26 (15 laps later than the others) and rejoined in 4th place. The running order was Verstappen, Ricciardo, Raikkonen, Hamilton (all pretty much nose to tail), and Vettel. To me it seemed Hamilton had the advantage because he was only about 10 seconds behind the leader and was on much newer tires than everyone else. If he took his time, he could pick off the cars ahead and win. Instead, Hamilton berated his team over the radio for the pit stop snafu, and proceeded to try to force his way past Raikkonen with no regard for the life of his tires. At about this point, an unpleasant realization hit the teams: the hot weather was bad for tire life and it was unlikely that the soft tires most had mounted on lap 11 would make it to the end. Instead, they were beginning to show serious degradation on only lap 30. Ricciardo’s tires were the first to blister, perhaps because of his charge to pass Raikkonen many laps earlier, and he began to slow significantly and then made a second stop on lap 38, opting for the super-soft rubber. Hamilton was next to experience tire woes (surprising since his tires were virtually new), likely the result of his antics in trying to pass Raikkonen. He had to slow down and was summarily passed by Vettel. The next to experience tire woes was the leader, Verstappen. But his degradation was mitigated because, as leader, he was always running in clean air and was never attempting to pass a contending car. What was clear was this: the Ferraris, as hinted in Practice, were far more gentle on their tires than the other front runners. They alone had managed to post decent lap times without blistering their rubber. But, by about lap 50 (when the running order was Verstappen, Raikkonen, Vettel, Hamilton, and Ricciardo), everyone, including the Ferraris, was experiencing significant tire degradation and another pit stop seemed in the cards.
In fact, Hamilton stopped again on lap 53, just as Ricciardo experienced an engine problem and dropped out. Meanwhile, Raikkonen was now catching race leader Verstappen, Vettel was catching Raikkonen, and Hamilton (on fresh rubber) was catching everyone. It was tense because the Ferraris were walking a fine line – they had the speed to catch Verstappen (whose tires were shot), but if they used that speed their tires might not make it to the end of the race. Then, on lap 63, Hamilton experienced an engine failure and dropped out of the race. With this, everyone relaxed a bit and cruised to the end. The finishing order was Verstappen, Raikkonen, Vettel, and Grosjean and Magnussen (both in the Ferrari powered Haas cars).
F1 Recap (January through June 2018 – Races 1 – 9
With the season nearly half complete, we can draw some conclusions:
The performance of the top three teams, Ferrari, Red Bull, and Mercedes-Benz, is very close, and significantly better than the rest of the field. Any of these cars can win at any time.
The performance of the rest of the field is very close as well.
Individual tracks favor individual cars.
Tires, and relative tire wear, are of great significance. The Mercedes seem to be harder on their tires than the Ferraris and Red Bulls. With performance being about equal, tire management may decide both championships.
After 9 races, the standings look like this.
Top Constructors Top Drivers
Ferrari 247 Vettel (F) 146 Ricciardo (R-B) 96
Mercedes 237 Hamilton (M-B) 145 Verstappen (R-B) 93
Red Bull 189 Raikkonen (F) 101 Bottas (M-B) 92
Yes, it is THAT close. This spells exciting racing ahead. Be sure to watch, at home on ESPN or at Siena with the rabid Ferrari fans, and that good Italian food.
Meanwhile, back in the pack…Force India has fallen from ‘best-of-the-rest’ to just average. They have 28 points…McLaren switched engines (from Honda to Renault) but they still languish near the back of the field. They have scored 40 points, but that is mostly due to the brilliance of Fernando Alonso, who has tallied 32 of them…The Haas cars (our American team!!) have been competitive, but have made so many mistakes (most notably the wheel nut SNAFU) that they have little to show for it. They have scored 27 points, but should have many more.
Looking at the new drivers, Pierre Gasly (who has scored 18 points in a Toro Rosso) and Charles LeClerc (11 points in a Sauber) must be lauded for making lemonade from their lemons. Meanwhile, our old buddy ‘Crash’ Verstappen deserves a mention. This guy is ungodly fast and bold, and his car control is sometimes astonishing, but he often shoots himself in the foot with idiotic maneuvers. He should have many more points than he does, which must anger Red Bull to no end. But, like a train wreck, he sure is exciting to watch.
So, enough of the past 6 months. Forward we go – the future awaits.
John Ratto