Oscar did what his teammate has yet to do at Azerbaijan, win a race whilst not having the fastest car. After executing a fantastic overtake on Charles Leclerc for the lead, Piastri defended for dozens of laps against a Ferrari that was fundamentally faster on the streets of Baku. He described the race as the most stressful afternoon of his life, yet proved that for some characters, extreme stress brings out the best of them.
2. Fernando Alonso-
Fernando dominated the midfield in Azerbaijan, taking advantage of the retiring cars in front of him to finish in sixth and bag eight points for the team. Whilst that Aston has been firmly in the midfield after the first few races of the year, Fernando has turned his season around recently, returning to the form that saw him dominate Lance Stroll that appeared lost earlier in the year.
3. Alexander Albon-
Whilst largely finishing ahead of his teammate due to being on a preferred strategy, Albon was still able to show fantastic pace throughout the race, even keeping cars like Verstappen’s Red Bull and Norris’ McLaren behind him on old hard tyres.
4. Franco Colapinto-
Franco Colapinto has been one of the biggest good surprises in F1 for a long time and has fully justified Williams’ decision to drop Logan Sargeant. In only his second F1 race, in the upgraded Williams, Franco has already scored four points, three more than Sargeant could manage in a year and a half.
5. Sergio Perez-
As I said in my review, it was a real shame that Sergio Perez didn’t score in Azerbaijan after a collision that was not his fault. For the first time this year, he comprehensively outperformed Max Verstappen and was on his way to a first podium since twelve races previously in China.
The Azerbaijan Grand Prix was another thriller. Oscar Piastri, Charles Leclerc and Sergio Perez all fought valiantly for the win, with the three cars seldom separated by more than a second. Whilst the Australian crossed the line in first, all three drivers had a genuine shot at victory if the race had played out slightly differently. And for one of the drivers, not getting into the race lead kickstarted a chain of events that led to his retirement. And in all this, Verstappen was nowhere, being thoroughly outclassed by his teammate for the first time in forever.
On Saturday during qualifying, Charles Leclerc was mighty. He kept his foot on the throttle in corners where every other driver lifted and snatched pole by over three tenths of a second, a mighty gap when the top teams are so close. And Charles initially looked to have the race in the bag during the first stint, as he briskly pulled a six second gap to Oscar Piastri in second. In the first stint of the race, I was incredibly excited to see Charles take a dominant win and thought the fight for second would prove more dramatic than the fight for fist. The aforementioned fight for second was ignited on lap thirteen, as Red Bull brought in Sergio Perez in an attempt to undercut Piastri.
Whilst the undercut was powerful in Baku McLaren were able to efficiently play the team game to survive. After pitting, Perez found himself behind Lando Norris, who was running a long stint on the hard tyres after starting the race in fifteenth. At this point, McLaren requested that Lando slow down Perez in the tight and twisty middle sector, where it is impossible to overtake. Lando responded to this request and held Perez up, which when combined with Piastri’s pit stop being about half a second faster than Perez’s, meant that when Piastri came out of his pit box two laps after Perez, he retained second place. Given the subsequent events of the race and Red Bull’s superior top speed, it appears likely that if Perez had got past Piastri, he would have won the race. Whilst it was not to be for Perez on this occasion, it is worth praising his performance in Baku. Sergio has come under rightful criticism during his time at Red Bull for being consistently slower than Max and came very close earlier this season to being fired. Yet, in recent races he has begun to turn his season around, showing that there are circumstances where he can deliver a solid performance. Perez may have saved his seat for next season last weekend, an achievement I would make no effort to downplay.
After Leclerc pitted, his Ferrari proved to have issues with warming up the hard tyres. Whilst these issues were minor and the Ferrari still appeared to be the fastest car in the race, Oscar Piastri snatched his opportunity to take the lead, catching Leclerc napping to make a fantastic overtake on the inside of turn one. For the rest of the race, Leclerc harangued Oscar, but Piastri defended his lead perfectly, ensuring that Charles would never get the chance to take the inside line where it is easier to overtake. For both his overtaking and defending, Piastri deserves plaudits. He delivered an Oscar-worthy performance last weekend and has established himself as a top F1 driver. Oscar Piastri thoroughly deserved that win, even if I wish Leclerc had won it.
Whilst Charles tried his best to get past Piastri, the extent of time he spent pushing in dirty air had only one inevitable consequence. Thus, near the end of the race, Charles’ tyres began to fall off a cliff. Sergio Perez attempted to take advantage of this and looked to have a solid overtake lined up, but Charles was incredibly late to brake to ensure that Perez wouldn’t get past. This put Perez out of shape, allowing him to be overtaken by the fast-charging Carlos Sainz, who had slowly dragged his way into the battle for the podium places. Yet, as Perez attempted to come back on Sainz after turn two, Sainz failed to take of note of Perez and took the normal racing line. He promptly crashed into the side of Perez, taking them both out of the race and promoting George Russell into third. As Sainz made no erratic movements, the stewards deemed it to be a racing incident and did not penalize Carlos. Yet, even so, it showed an incredible lack of awareness by Carlos. Additionally, it made me feel awful for Sergio Perez. After his best weekend of the year, he had it all taken away from him on the penultimate lap. It was a real shame to see, and I really hope Sergio can bounce back in Singapore, another track that he has won at before.
In conclusion, it was another great race. The person I wanted to win didn’t and I felt so sorry for Sergio Perez, but still, it was full of great moments. A three-way fight for the win; Verstappen’s pace being non-existent; Norris charging from fifteenth to fourth; a double Williams points haul and even a lovely little tenth for Ollie Bearman. In reflection, a lot of good did happen in this race.
Charles drove a perfect race, managing his tyres perfectly to pull off an unlikely one-stop strategy and win the race. This is possibly his greatest victory in F1 yet and one the Tifosi won’t forget anytime soon.
2. Oscar Piastri-
Oscar proved both the more aggressive and stronger McLaren driver on Sunday, making an amazing move for the lead on the first lap. Tyre graining and strategy may have prevented him from taking a victory, but Oscar is continuing to show that he sees himself as a championship worthy driver. If his qualifying improves next season, Oscar could be a real threat for a title.
3. Alexander Albon-
Albon utilized his upgraded Williams to great potential, taking a couple of points to take the team closer to Alpine in the standings. His car hasn’t allowed Alex to show off his obvious talent this year, so I’m happy that this appears to have changed for the season’s home stretch.
4. Kevin Magnussen-
How Kevin managed to simultaneously score points and a race ban on a race weekend is beyond me. Many people are angry at Kevin for some of his performances this year, but personally I find him kind of iconic.
5. Franco Colapinto-
Franco Colapinto was announced to replace Logan Sargeant at the beginning of the week and finished in twelfth place by the end of the week. This was an impressive debut, if followed up with more solid performances, this could really put Colapinto in the shop window for a potential future F1 seat.
The Italian Grand Prix was a fantastic watch. McLaren and Ferrari fought for victory on the famous Monza circuit, with differing strategies keeping the race tense up to the finish. Part of what made me love the race was that the driver that the crowd and I wanted to win won. However, even from a neutral perspective, it’s exciting to see a two-team battle for victory that doesn’t involve Red Bull. F1 feels like it’s never been more competitive, with part of the excitement behind Leclerc’s victory being how utterly unexpected it was.
After qualifying, it looked likely that a McLaren would win the race. They locked out the front row and held their positions at the first corner. Yet, one of their drivers, Oscar Piastri, was not prepared to play second fiddle. Oscar has a vicious streak, which was visible when he pushed George Russell onto the grass to maintain second place. After this cheeky maneuver ruined George’s day, Oscar proceeded to ruin his teammate Lando Norris’ day, making a perfectly precise move for the lead at the second chicane. This move was not only aggressive, but led to Ferrari’s Charles Leclerc passing Lando, pushing him down to third. Not only was this move decisive in setting up the fight between Leclerc and Piastri for the win, but also showed that McLaren is not prioritizing the driver’s championship. They clearly don’t believe that Lando Norris can catch Max Verstappen and are instead willing to defer to ‘papaya rules’, which give their drivers permission to fight each other. If I were a Lando Norris fan, I would feel incredibly annoyed by McLaren’s conduct. However, as I am not, I can only acknowledge that McLaren are not running their team particularly well and enjoy the fireworks. Especially if they lead to more Ferrari victories.
During the initial stint on mediums, the McLaren appeared to be a slightly faster car than the Ferrari. Whilst Leclerc was able to hang with Piastri for a number of laps, eventually his pace began to fall, to the point where Lando successfully undercut him for second place at the beginnnign of the second stint. At this point a McLaren 1-2 seemed incredibly likely. However, tyre graining was affecting the McLaren more heavily than the Ferrari on race day. This meant that, whilst Ferrari were able to extend their second stint, McLaren was forced to stop again. Tyre graining was a problem for many teams during the weekend, due to a resurfaced track and high temperatures. Yet Ferrari seemed just about able to hang with the graining, whilst some other teams’ tyres would completely fell off when it appeared. This led to Ferrari making a bold strategy, leaving their cars out after both McLarens stopped. As they would have finished third and fourth if they did stop, it was a gamble worth taking, albeit one that seemed incredibly unlikely to work. But Ferrari’s secret weapon, Charles Leclerc, was not about to let an opportunity for a second Monza win fall by the wayside.
As the laps counted down, Charles managed his tyres perfectly. Every lap had me on the edge of my seat, as I was afraid that the tyres were about to fall off. But this never happened. And as much as Oscar Piastri could close up, he did not have enough time to catch Charles. Thus, Charles Leclerc crossed the finish line in first to win the Italian Grand Prix, five years after his famous 2019 victory. The emotions were high, the Tifosi were ecstatic, and I was relieved. Nothing in F1 is as emotional as a Ferrari win at Monza, it’s honestly beginning to seem like this season was scripted.
Because of the fantastic combination of sold strategy and great driving at the front, I completely lost track of the race’s other events. The Williams upgrades appear to be solid, with Alexander Albon getting a couple of points and his new teammate Franco Colapinto impressing on debut, finishing only thirteen seconds behind Alex. I also missed Kevin Magnussen’s eventful race, as he possibly became the first driver to simultaneously score points in a Formula One race and get banned for the next race. Only Kevin could manage that one. Either way, it was a fantastic race across the field, even if my focus was fully on the fight for the win. I’m excited for the rest of the season, as it seems genuinely uncertain if Red Bull will even win another race, they really appear to have fallen off a cliff.
I haven’t written any of these articles in a while, since frankly, it was getting tiring. But I have been slowly collating the data from the last few races. All the qualifying, race pace and teammate head-to-head data from the Spanish, Austrian, British, Hungarian and Belgian races are contained within this article. I will continue to collect the data from races in my free time and post bulk articles like these when appropriate.
Qualifying:
Spanish Grand Prix-
Austrian Grand Prix-
British Grand Prix-
Hungarian Grand Prix-
Belgian Grand Prix-
Race Pace:
Spanish Grand Prix-
Austrian Grand Prix-
British Grand Prix-
Hungarian Grand Prix-
Belgian Grand Prix-
Further Resources-
Qualifying Pace:
Spain
Fastest Qualifying Time
Lando Norris
71.383 (0%)
Max Verstappen
71.403 (+0.028%)
Lewis Hamilton
71.701 (+0.445%)
George Russell
71.703 (+0.448%)
Charles Leclerc
71.731 (+0.488%)
Carlos Sainz
71.736 (+0.495%)
Pierre Gasly
71.857 (+0.664%)
Oscar Piastri
72.011 (+0.880%)
Sergio Perez
72.054 (+0.940%)
Esteban Ocon
72.109 (+1.017%)
Fernando Alonso
72.128 (+1.044%)
Valtteri Bottas
72.227 (+1.182%)
Nico Hulkenberg
72.31 (+1.299%)
Lance Stroll
72.372 (+1.385%)
Zhou Guanyu
72.738 (+1.898%)
Kevin Magnussen
72.937 (+2.177%)
Yuki Tsunoda
72.985 (+2.244%)
Daniel Ricciardo
73.075 (+2.370%)
Alexander Albon
73.153 (+2.480%)
Logan Sargeant
73.509 (+2.978%)
Austria
Fastest Qualifying Time
Max Verstappen
64.314 (0%)
Lando Norris
64.718 (+0.628%)
George Russell
64.84 (+0.818%)
Carlos Sainz
64.851 (+0.835%)
Lewis Hamilton
64.903 (+0.916%)
Charles Leclerc
65.044 (+1.135%)
Oscar Piastri
65.048 (+1.141%)
Sergio Perez
65.144 (+1.291%)
Nico Hulkenberg
65.262 (+1.474%)
Esteban Ocon
65.274 (+1.493%)
Daniel Ricciardo
65.289 (+1.516%)
Kevin Magnussen
65.347 (+1.606%)
Pierre Gasly
65.359 (+1.625%)
Yuki Tsunoda
65.412 (+1.707%)
Fernando Alonso
65.639 (+2.060%)
Alexander Albon
65.736 (+2.211%)
Lance Stroll
65.819 (+2.340%)
Valtteri Bottas
65.847 (+2.384%)
Logan Sargeant
65.856 (+2.398%)
Zhou Guanyu
66.061 (+2.716%)
Great Britain
Fastest Qualifying Time
George Russell
85.819 (0%)
Lewis Hamilton
85.99 (+0.199%)
Lando Norris
86.03 (+0.246%)
Max Verstappen
86.203 (+0.447%)
Oscar Piastri
86.237 (+0.487%)
Nico Hulkenberg
86.338 (+0.605%)
Carlos Sainz
86.509 (+0.804%)
Lance Stroll
86.585 (+0.893%)
Alexander Albon
86.64 (+0.957%)
Fernando Alonso
86.73 (+1.062%)
Charles Leclerc
87.097 (+1.489%)
Logan Sargeant
87.175 (+1.580%)
Yuki Tsunoda
87.269 (+1.690%)
Zhou Guanyu
87.867 (+2.386%)
Daniel Ricciardo
87.949 (+2.482%)
Hungary
Fastest Qualifying Time
Lando Norris
75.227 (0%)
Oscar Piastri
75.249 (+0.029%)
Max Verstappen
75.273 (+0.061%)
Carlos Sainz
75.696 (+0.623%)
Lewis Hamilton
75.854 (+0.833%)
Charles Leclerc
75.891 (+0.883%)
Fernando Alonso
76.043 (+1.085%)
Lance Stroll
76.075 (+1.127%)
Yuki Tsunoda
76.121 (+1.188%)
Daniel Ricciardo
76.202 (+1.296%)
Nico Hulkenberg
76.317 (+1.449%)
Valtteri Bottas
76.384 (+1.538%)
Alexander Albon
76.429 (+1.598%)
Logan Sargeant
76.543 (+1.749%)
Kevin Magnussen
76.548 (+1.756%)
Sergio Perez
77.886 (+3.535%)
George Russell
77.968 (+3.644%)
Zhou Guanyu
78.037 (+3.735%)
Esteban Ocon
78.049 (+3.751%)
Pierre Gasly
78.166 (+3.907%)
Belgium
Fastest Qualifying Time
Max Verstappen
113.159 (0%)
Charles Leclerc
113.754 (+0.526%)
Sergio Perez
113.765 (+0.536%)
Lewis Hamilton
113.835 (+0.597%)
Lando Norris
113.981 (+0.726%)
Oscar Piastri
114.027 (+0.767%)
George Russell
114.095 (+0.827%)
Carlos Sainz
114.112 (+0.842%)
Fernando Alonso
114.258 (+0.971%)
Esteban Ocon
114.46 (+1.150%)
Alexander Albon
114.473 (+1.161%)
Pierre Gasly
114.635 (+1.304%)
Daniel Ricciardo
114.682 (+1.346%)
Valtteri Bottas
114.764 (+1.418%)
Lance Stroll
115.716 (+2.260%)
Nico Hulkenberg
116.308 (+2.783%)
Kevin Magnussen
116.5 (+2.952%)
Yuki Tsunoda
116.593 (+3.035%)
Logan Sargeant
117.23 (+3.598%)
Zhou Guanyu
117.775 (+4.079%)
Average Race Pace:
Spain
Pace
Max Verstappen
79.574 (0%)
Lando Norris
79.599 (+0.031%)
Lewis Hamilton
79.834 (+0.326%)
George Russell
79.847 (+0.342%)
Charles Leclerc
79.876 (+0.379%)
Oscar Piastri
79.981 (+0.511%)
Carlos Sainz
79.989 (+0.522%)
Sergio Perez
80.073 (+0.626%)
Pierre Gasly
80.399 (+1.037%)
Nico Hulkenberg
80.567 (+1.248%)
Esteban Ocon
80.597 (+1.285%)
Zhou Guanyu
80.882 (+1.643%)
Fernando Alonso
80.903 (+1.670%)
Lance Stroll
81.062 (+1.869%)
Yuki Tsunoda
81.313 (+2.185%)
Daniel Ricciardo
81.333 (+2.211%)
Kevin Magnussen
81.415 (+2.313%)
Alexander Albon
81.431 (+2.334%)
Valtteri Bottas
81.563 (+2.499%)
Logan Sargeant
82.054 (+3.116%)
Austria
Pace
Max Verstappen
70.079 (0%)
Lando Norris
70.238 (+0.226%)
George Russell
70.443 (+0.519%)
Oscar Piastri
70.461 (+0.545%)
Carlos Sainz
70.486 (+0.580%)
Charles Leclerc
70.567 (+0.696%)
Lewis Hamilton
70.697 (+0.882%)
Sergio Perez
71.057 (+1.395%)
Nico Hulkenberg
71.125 (+1.491%)
Daniel Ricciardo
71.265 (+1.692%)
Pierre Gasly
71.271 (+1.700%)
Kevin Magnussen
71.28 (+1.713%)
Esteban Ocon
71.365 (1.834%)
Alexander Albon
71.508 (+2.039%)
Fernando Alonso
71.515 (+2.048%)
Yuki Tsunoda
71.52 (+2.055%)
Lance Stroll
71.526 (+2.064%)
Valtteri Bottas
71.628 (+2.209%)
Zhou Guanyu
71.947 (+2.665%)
Logan Sargeant
72.038 (+2.794%)
Great Britain
Pace
Oscar Piastri
93.605 (0%)
Lewis Hamilton
93.82 (+0.230%)
Max Verstappen
93.976 (+0.397%)
Lando Norris
94.042 (+0.467%)
Charles Leclerc
94.106 (+0.536%)
Carlos Sainz
94.578 (+1.040%)
Sergio Perez
94.686 (+1.155%)
Fernando Alonso
94.879 (+1.361%)
Alexander Albon
94.939 (+1.425%)
Nico Hulkenberg
95.002 (+1.493%)
Lance Stroll
95.075 (+1.571%)
Kevin Magnussen
95.126 (+1.626%)
Yuki Tsunoda
95.242 (+1.749%)
Logan Sargeant
95.339 (+1.853%)
Daniel Ricciardo
95.715 (+2.254%)
Zhou Guanyu
96.05 (+2.612%)
Valtteri Bottas
96.132 (+2.700%)
Esteban Ocon
96.487 (+3.080%)
Hungary
Pace
Lando Norris
83.313 (0%)
Oscar Piastri
83.364 (+0.061%)
Lewis Hamilton
83.543 (+0.276%)
Charles Leclerc
83.591 (+0.334%)
Max Verstappen
83.622 (+0.370%)
Carlos Sainz
83.625 (+0.375%)
Sergio Perez
83.818 (+0.606%)
George Russell
83.925 (+0.735%)
Lance Stroll
84.385 (+1.287%)
Fernando Alonso
84.538 (+1.470%)
Yuki Tsunoda
84.692 (+1.655%)
Daniel Ricciardo
84.815 (+1.803%)
Logan Sargeant
84.953 (+1.968%)
Nico Hulkenberg
84.977 (+1.997%)
Esteban Ocon
85.043 (+2.077%)
Alexander Albon
85.056 (+2.092%)
Valtteri Bottas
85.157 (+2.214%)
Kevin Magnussen
85.179 (+2.240%)
Zhou Guanyu
85.375 (+2.475%)
Belgium
Pace
Lewis Hamilton
108.01 (0%)
Oscar Piastri
108.037 (+0.024%)
Max Verstappen
108.183 (+0.160%)
Charles Leclerc
108.272 (+0.242%)
Lando Norris
108.293 (+0.262%)
George Russell
108.419 (+0.378%)
Carlos Sainz
108.488 (+0.443%)
Sergio Perez
108.523 (+0.475%)
Daniel Ricciardo
109.109 (+1.017%)
Esteban Ocon
109.166 (+1.070%)
Pierre Gasly
109.378 (+1.267%)
Alexander Albon
109.419 (+1.305%)
Fernando Alonso
109.556 (+1.431%)
Valtteri Bottas
109.617 (+1.488%)
Lance Stroll
109.772 (+1.631%)
Logan Sargeant
109.791 (+1.648%)
Kevin Magnussen
109.853 (+1.706%)
Nico Hulkenberg
109.916 (+1.764%)
Yuki Tsunoda
110.022 (+1.862%)
All Stints:
Best Stints (Spain)
Pace
Norris 3rd (18L/US)
78.063
Verstappen 3rd (21L/NS)
78.329
Piastri 3rd (19L/US)
78.433
Leclerc 3rd (18L/US)
78.471
Hamilton 3rd (22L/US)
78.714
Perez 4th (16L/US)
78.842
Russell 3rd (29L/NH)
79.07
Sainz 3rd (29L/NH)
79.265
Perez 3rd (16L/NM)
79.34
Alonso 3rd (19L/UH)
79.4
Norris 2nd (22L/NM)
79.525
Hulkenberg 3rd (17L/NH)
79.578
Gasly 3rd (27L/NH)
79.623
Leclerc 2nd (21L/NM)
79.662
Ocon 3rd (28/NH)
79.714
Zhou 3rd (23L/NH)
79.734
Verstappen 2nd (25L/NM)
79.878
Piastri 2nd (23L/NM)
79.97
Hamilton 2nd (25L/NM)
80.053
Russell 2nd (19L/NM)
80.175
Stroll 3rd (27L/UH)
80.341
Sainz 2nd (19L/NM)
80.353
Tsunoda 4th (20L/NS)
80.429
Albon 3rd (20L/NS)
80.448
Ricciardo 3rd (22L/NH)
80.577
Verstappen 1st (15L/US)
80.81
Gasly 2nd (22L/NM)
80.835
Perez 2nd (16L/US)
80.852
Norris 1st (21L/NS)
80.992
Tsunoda 3rd (15L/NH)
81.001
Magnussen 3rd (35L/NH)
81.042
Sainz 1st (13L/NS)
81.075
Alonso 2nd (24L/UM)
81.084
Russell 1st (13L/US)
81.1
Hulkenberg 2nd (24L/NM)
81.173
Hamilton 1st (14L/US)
81.202
Ocon 2nd (22L/NM)
81.218
Leclerc 1st (22L/NS)
81.23
Stroll 2nd (18L/UM)
81.274
Bottas 3rd (36L/NH)
81.31
Zhou 2nd (30L/NM)
81.344
Gasly 1st (12L/US)
81.345
Ricciardo 2nd (24L/NM)
81.358
Albon 2nd (23L/NS)
81.409
Piastri 1st (19L/US)
81.544
Ocon 1st (11L/US)
81.601
Sargeant 3rd (29L/NH)
81.63
Bottas 2nd (15L/US)
81.674
Magnussen 2nd (17L/NM)
81.676
Hulkenberg 1st (10L/NS)
81.783
Perez 1st (11L/US)
81.794
Tsunoda 2nd (16L/NM)
81.979
Stroll 1st (15L/NS)
82.103
Sargeant 2nd (18L/NM)
82.122
Alonso 1st (17L/NS)
82.327
Bottas 1st (9L/NS)
82.392
Ricciardo 1st (14L/NS)
82.478
Magnussen 1st (8L/NS)
82.491
Zhou 1st (7L/NS)
82.673
Albon 1st (16L/NM)
82.692
Sargeant 1st (12L/NS)
82.974
Tsunoda 1st (7L/NS)
82.985
Best Stints (Austria)
Pace
Verstappen 4th (5L/NS)
68.864
Norris 3rd (11L/NM)
69.294
Verstappen 3rd (11L/UM)
69.408
Piastri 3rd (18L/NM)
69.453
Sainz 3rd (22L/NM)
69.856
Russell 3rd (23L/NH)
69.863
Hamilton 3rd (15L/NM)
69.989
Verstappen 2nd (26L/NH)
70.097
Norris 2nd (26L/UH)
70.1
Leclerc 5th (18L/UM)
70.123
Piastri 2nd (24L/UH)
70.429
Leclerc 4th (16L/UM)
70.454
Russell 2nd (22L/NM)
70.476
Sainz 2nd (23L/NH)
70.498
Perez 3rd (17L/UM)
70.538
Hamilton 2nd (30L/NH)
70.68
Verstappen 1st (21L/NM)
70.698
Gasly 3rd (27L/NM)
70.711
Hulkenberg 3rd (29L/NH)
70.771
Leclerc 3rd (15L/NM)
70.779
Ocon 3rd (26L/NM)
70.86
Norris 1st (21L/NM)
70.903
Ricciardo 3rd (32L/NH)
70.919
Zhou 3rd (16L/NH)
70.938
Magnussen 3rd (31L/NH)
70.943
Perez 2nd (28L/NH)
71.058
Russell 1st (20L/NM)
71.073
Leclerc 2nd (13L/NH)
71.076
Stroll 3rd (25L/UH)
71.122
Sainz 1st (20L/NM)
71.165
Tsunoda 3rd (24L/NH)
71.18
Hulkenberg 1st (9L/NM)
71.186
Albon 3rd (29L/NH)
71.199
Hamilton 1st (19L/NM)
71.284
Piastri 1st (23L/NM)
71.284
Magnussen 1st (8L/NM)
71.311
Bottas 3rd (26L/NH)
71.316
Riccardo 1st (8L/NM)
71.362
Sargeant 4th (18L/UM)
71.494
Hulkenberg 2nd (26L/NH)
71.497
Perez 1st (19L/NM)
71.52
Tsunoda 2nd (21L/UH)
71.534
Alonso 3rd (30L/UH)
71.554
Gasly 2nd (20L/NH)
71.575
Alonso 2nd (22L/UM)
71.582
Stroll 2nd (21L/UM)
71.607
Alonso 1st (9L/UM)
71.647
Bottas 2nd (21L/NH)
71.648
Magnussen 2nd (26L/NH)
71.673
Riccardo 2nd (25L/UH)
71.678
Albon 1st (10L/NM)
71.687
Ocon 2nd (22L/NH)
71.688
Ocon 1st (17L/NM)
71.719
Gasly 1st (18L/NM)
71.771
Albon 2nd (25L/NH)
71.794
Zhou 2nd (21L/NM)
71.797
Tsunoda 1st (19L/NM)
71.933
Stroll 1st (18L/UM)
71.992
Bottas 1st (17L/NM)
72.081
Sargeant 3rd (27L/NH)
72.104
Sargeant 2nd (17L/UM)
72.509
Zhou 1st (26L/NH)
72.689
Best Stints (Great Britain)
Pace
Vestappen 3rd (13L/NH)
89.387
Piastri 3rd (13L/NM)
89.394
Sainz 3rd (9L/NH)
89.727
Hamilton 3rd (13L/US)
89.767
Stroll 3rd (12L/NM)
90.054
Norris 3rd (12L/US)
90.124
Albon 3rd (13L/NM)
90.247
Alonso 3rd (13L/NM)
90.372
Hulkenberg 3rd (12L/US)
90.406
Leclerc 4th (13L/NS)
90.419
Sargeant 3rd (13L/NS)
90.956
Perez 4th (8L/NM)
91.075
Tsunoda 3rd (13L/NM)
91.242
Magnussen 3rd (14L/NS)
91.287
Zhou 5th (12L/US)
91.701
Ocon 5th (11L/NM)
91.925
Ricciardo 3rd (13L/NS)
91.957
Bottas 3rd (13L/NS)
92.539
Leclerc 1st (17L/NM)
92.918
Piastri 1st (25L/NM)
93.006
Norris 1st (25L/NM)
93.008
Perez 1st (17L/NH)
93.05
Sainz 1st (24L/NM)
93.121
Hamilton 1st (25L/NM)
93.142
Verstappen 1st (24L/NM)
93.19
Russell 1st (25L/NM)
93.263
Hulkenberg 1st (24L/NM)
93.79
Stroll 1st (24L/NM)
93.973
Alonso 1st (25L/NM)
94.248
Tsunoda 1st (25L/NM)
94.288
Albon 1st (25L/NM)
94.312
Magnussen 1st (25L/NM)
94.329
Zhou 1st (10L/NS)
94.433
Sargeant 1st (25L/NM)
94.455
Ricciardo 1st (24L/NM)
94.584
Ocon 1st (17L/NS)
94.736
Bottas 1st (24L/NM)
95.035
Zhou 2nd (5L/NM)
95.575
Norris 2nd (10L/NI)
101.326
Hamilton 2nd (9L/NI)
101.555
Verstappen 2nd (10L/NI)
101.828
Sainz 2nd (11L/NI)
102.297
Piastri 2nd (8L/NI)
102.317
Russell 2nd (5L/NI)
102.57
Leclerc 3rd (8L/NI)
102.622
Hulkenberg 2nd (11L/NI)
102.66
Stroll 2nd (11L/NI)
102.955
Perez 3rd (7L/NI)
103.114
Alonso 2nd (9L/NI)
103.143
Ocon 4th (10L/NI)
103.335
Albon 2nd (9L/NI)
103.457
Tsunoda 2nd (9L/NI)
103.671
Zhou 4th (9L/NI)
103.908
Sargeant 2nd (9L/NI)
104.126
Ricciardo 2nd (9L/NI)
104.159
Bottas 2nd (9L/NI)
104.249
Magnussen 2nd (8L/NI)
104.336
Best Stints (Hungary)
Pace
Sargeant 4th (5L/NS)
81.736
Norris 3rd (22L/UM)
82.295
Russell 3rd (16L/NH)
82.335
Piastri 3rd (22L/UM)
82.372
Perez 3rd (22L/NM)
82.408
Verstappen 3rd (19L/NM)
82.594
Russell 2nd (18L/NM)
82.762
Sainz 3rd (22L/NM)
82.61
Hamilton 3rd (29L/NH)
82.902
Leclerc 3rd (29L/NM)
83.031
Perez 2nd (17L/NM)
83.141
Stroll 3rd (24L/UH)
83.211
Leclerc 2nd (15L/NH)
83.317
Sainz 2nd (24L/NH)
83.65
Norris 2nd (26L/UH)
83.678
Verstappen 2nd (26L/NH)
83.709
Piastri 2nd (27L/UH)
83.721
Hamilton 2nd (22L/NH)
83.819
Alonso 3rd (32L/UH)
83.853
Piastri 1st (16L/NM)
84.123
Norris 1st (15L/NM)
84.172
Tsunoda 2nd (40L/NH)
84.2
Ricciardo 3rd (40L/NH)
84.334
Hamilton 1st (14L/NM)
84.439
Verstappen 1st (19L/NM)
84.53
Leclerc 1st (21L/NM)
84.561
Bottas 3rd (23L/NH)
84.608
Hulkenberg 3rd (39L/NH)
84.709
Albon 3rd (39L/NH)
84.742
Sainz 1st (19L/NM)
84.769
Magnussen 3rd (34L/NH)
84.803
Zhou 3rd (32L/NH)
84.842
Sargeant 3rd (28L/NH)
84.857
Ocon 3rd (32L/NH)
84.857
Stroll 2nd (29L/UM)
84.951
Alonso 2nd (28L/UM)
85.03
Stroll 1st (12L/US)
85.364
Hulkenberg 2nd (25L/NH)
85.394
Albon 2nd (21L/NH)
85.404
Bottas 2nd (27L/NH)
85.412
Russell 1st (31L/NH)
85.421
Perez 1st (26L/NH)
85.453
Ricciardo 2nd (19L/NH)
85.457
Sargeant 2nd (23L/NH)
85.465
Ocon 2nd (22L/NH)
85.472
Tsunoda 1st (27L/NM)
85.481
Magnussen 2nd (26L/NH)
85.492
Bottas 1st (14L/UM)
85.568
Zhou 2nd (27L/NH)
85.801
Gasly 1st (26L/NH)
85.869
Sargeant 1st (6L/NM)
86.115
Alonso 1st (5L/US)
86.167
Ricciardo 1st (5L/NM)
86.216
Zhou 1st (5L/UM)
86.481
Best Stints (Belgium)
Pace
Piastri 3rd (13L/NH)
106.666
Norris 3rd (14L/NH)
106.874
Verstappen 3rd (15L/NM)
106.916
Hamilton 3rd (17L/NH)
107.095
Sainz 3rd (15L/NH)
107.117
Leclerc 3rd (18L/NH)
107.393
Ocon 3rd (13L/NH)
107.779
Bottas 3rd (8L/NM)
107.892
Perez 3rd (19L/NH)
107.965
Norris 2nd (12L/NH)
107.994
Russell 2nd (33L/NH)
108.002
Piastri 2nd (17L/NH)
108.007
Sainz 2nd (6L/NM)
108.086
Gasly 3rd (15L/NH)
108.109
Hamilton 2nd (13L/NH)
108.121
Leclerc 2nd (11L/NH)
108.221
Ricciardo 3rd (22L/UH)
108.23
Verstappen 2nd (16L/NH)
108.394
Sargeant 3rd (19L/NH)
108.511
Albon 3rd (20L/NH)
108.606
Perez 2nd (8L/NM)
108.672
Magnussen 2nd (26L/NH)
109.046
Alonso 2nd (30L/NH)
109.102
Ocon 2nd (16L/NH)
109.191
Stroll 2nd (31L/NH)
109.329
Tsunoda 2nd (28L/UH)
109.358
Hulkenberg 3rd (23L/NM)
109.496
Hamilton 1st (9L/NM)
109.58
Bottas 2nd (22L/NH)
109.664
Sainz 1st (18L/NH)
109.765
Ricciardo 2nd (11L/NM)
109.833
Gasly 2nd (17L/NH)
109.857
Leclerc 1st (10L/NM)
109.908
Perez 1st (9L/NM)
109.992
Albon 2nd (13L/NM)
110.061
Piastri 1st (9L/NM)
110.072
Norris 1st (13L/NM)
110.098
Verstappen 1st (8L/NM)
110.136
Russell 1st (8L/NM)
110.138
Hulkenberg 2nd (11L/NH)
110.211
Albon 1st (6L/NM)
110.742
Alonso 1st (11L/NM)
110.791
Sargeant 2nd (14L/NM)
110.831
Ocon 1st (10L/NM)
110.927
Gasly 1st (7L/NM)
110.936
Ricciardo 1st (6L/NS)
111.006
Bottas 1st (9L/NM)
111.037
Stroll 1st (10L/NM)
111.144
Hulkenberg 1st (5L/NM)
111.199
Magnussen 1st (15L/NM)
111.252
Sargeant 1st (6L/NM)
111.414
Tsunoda 1st (13L/NM)
111.451
Key: 1L= One Lap, 2L= Two Laps, NH= New Hards, UM= Used Mediums, NM= New Mediums, NS= New Softs, NI= New Inters.
Lando had a fantastic weekend at Zandvoort. He took a mighty pole position and then converted that into a decisive win. Whilst the start did not go perfectly, Lando more than made up for that for the rest of the race. This may be Lando’s best race in F1 so far and is a great way to respond to the criticism he’s received for his performances this year.
2. Charles Leclerc-
Leclerc had a fantastic Dutch Grand Prix, taking the fourth fastest car all the way to the podium. Bolstered by a fantastic strategy and a perfect pit stop, Leclerc put that Ferrari in a place it shouldn’t have been and deserves all the plaudits in the world for it.
3. Carlos Sainz-
Sainz did not have a very good qualifying, placing his Ferrari in P11. But, in the race, he made great progress, finishing in front of cars he wouldn’t have expected to given his grid position. Whilst not the highlight Ferrari performance of the weekend, Sainz still delivered a solid race, better than most of the frontrunners.
4. Pierre Gasly-
Gasly placed himself as the king of the midfield this weekend, after a fantastic start that saw him jump both Aston Martins. Whilst not being able to keep the front running cars behind in his Alpine, Gasly still scored two points for the team, which could prove incredibly valuable in a tight midfield.
5. Fernando Alonso-
It feels strange to call a tenth place a success for Fernando Alonso, given his podium heroics last year. Yet, in a car that is fundamentally not fast enough to beat the midfield, Alonso still proves a consistent performer to place that car in the points. One can only hope Aston can improve their car, as we deserve to see Fernando fighting at the front of the field.
Ryan's Lil' F1 Blog 