UK: post-race analysis 2019

A fantastic race for the eyes and a frustrating one for the wallet. One bet straight failed, the other was likely to have come off but for misfortune (reminded me a bit of Button bringing out a pointless Monaco safety car when he was sitting in for Alonso and I’d backed no safety car at 8).

Off the line it was close at the front, and Vettel passed Gasly. Hamilton was super close but couldn’t pass until after the first lap, but Bottas immediately retook the place. It was great on-track action and was merely the appetiser.

Verstappen appeared faster than Leclerc but couldn’t pass the Monegasque despite the pair being very close to one another indeed. Come the first pit stops, the Dutchman entered behind his rival, emerged ahead, found the tyres lacking grip, made a small mistake, and was immediately past by Leclerc.

Bottas pitted first of the Mercedes, coming in for a second set of medium tyres. Hamilton and Vettel stayed out. And were soon to reap the rewards.

Giovinazzi spun, and found himself marooned in a gravel trap. Cue the safety car (perhaps unnecessarily).

Hamilton and Vettel pitted, for hard tyres. The order was notionally Ham-Bot-Vet, but Bottas would have to box again because he’d run two sets of medium tyres. Verstappen pitted immediately, Leclerc did so a lap later, and found himself behind both Red Bulls, and somewhat confounded and annoyed (understandably, he’d driven extremely well all race).

Further back, Sainz was a beneficiary and Norris suffered, the pair 7^th and 8^th at this stage, but Norris needing another stop, with older tyres than his team mate. Ricciardo was some way down the order as well.

It was plain sailing for Hamilton at the restart. He was ahead of his team mate, with longer lasting tyres, and Bottas was guaranteed to stop again. Further back, Verstappen was let past by Gasly, and caught Vettel, though it took him a while.

The Dutchman managed to pass the German, only for Vettel to attempt to occupy the same co-ordinates in time and space as Verstappen. This involved a collision, with Vettel pathetically attempted to blame on the other driver (Vettel ran into the back of Verstappen due to locking up his brakes). Annoyingly, Verstappen was likely, though not certain, to have been ahead of Bottas after the Finn’s necessary stop, meaning the each way aspect of the bet could well have come off.

Vettel’s car was more damaged than Verstappen’s, and the Red Bull chap did well not to get trapped in the gravel. However, this gave Bottas some handy breathing space and promoted Leclerc (who had passed Gasly, the Frenchman having easily his best race of the season to date) to the final podium spot.

Further back, Ricciardo had hauled himself up from the nether pointless regions and was hassling the posterior of Sainz. For lap after lap the Spaniard fended off the Aussie’s attempts to get past him, an important battle as McLaren and Renault are in a tight tussle for best of the rest. Sainz did very well and managed to retain 6^th (because Vettel was out of the points). Behind them, old man Raikkonen got 8^th, Kvyat nabbed 9^th, not bad considering he didn’t even escape Q1, and Hulkenberg, who was running a bit slowly after a spot of contact, got the final point.

As well as Giovinazzi, both Haas cars (who had some on-track contact between themselves) had to box and retire. It’s a bloody odd car. Occasionally best of the rest, often tyre-munching, and sometimes just plain slow.

Hamilton also got the fastest lap, just to add some salt to Bottas’ porridge.

The Briton racked up yet another win. Unlikely he’ll beat Schumacher’s record this year, but I think in 2020 it’s highly probable.

Bit unlucky for Bottas. He raced very well to retake the lead and keep Hamilton behind him, and got buggered by the timing of the safety car. That said, had Vettel not forgotten he wasn’t playing dodgems then the Finn might’ve had to settle for 3^rd behind Verstappen.

Fantastic driving from Verstappen and Leclerc, and strong performances from Sainz and Ricciardo too. Verstappen ended up 5^th behind Gasly.

As an aside, that Giovinazzi retirement is Alfa Romeo’s first DNF of the year.

Drivers:

Hamilton 223

Bottas 184

Verstappen 136

Vettel 123

Leclerc 120

Nice and competitive for third spot. But this title seems very much to be Hamilton’s. Bottas might have narrowed the gap but for the safety car.

Constructors:

Mercedes 407

Ferrari 243

Red Bull 191

McLaren 60

Renault 39

Alfa Romeo 26

Toro Rosso 19

Racing Point 19

Haas 16

Williams 0

I’d be surprised if the top three change, although it’s possible Red Bull will end up passing Ferrari. McLaren very slightly extend their advantage over Renault, the pair pulling away from the midfield pack. Likewise, Alfa has once again improved its position, Raikkonen doing sterling work. Racing Point and Haas are pretty much treading water at this point.

The next race is Germany, in a fortnight.

Morris Dancer