F1 2017: Singapore Grand Prix Race Recap

Lewis Hamilton won the 2017 Singapore Grand Prix, a race marked by multiple Safety Car periods, the first coming after Sebastian Vettel, Max Verstappen, and Kimi Raikkonen came together on the start. None of the top three starters would finish. Rain fell before the race and continued through the early stages, though conditions remained dry enough for inters to be the tire of choice though the middle stages before the switch to dries.

Daniel Ricciardo finished second, where he spent much of the sometimes chaotic race. Valtteri Bottas made for a double Mercedes podium, with Carlos Sainz and Sergio Perez completing the top five of the time-shortened race. Crashes hit the early portion of the race hard, with attrition in the heat and humidity pulling drivers from the lineup neared the end. Only twelve drivers finished the race.

F1 2017: Hungarian Grand Prix Race Recap

Sebastian Vettel won the 2017 Hungarian Grand Prix, fighting a steering issue and pressure from teammate Kimi Raikkonen in the closing stages. Raikkonen hoped to be allowed into the race lead as Valtteri Bottas and Lewis Hamilton caught up the Ferraris in the final twenty laps. Though they finished third and fourth, Bottas gave up his position to the slightly faster Hamilton in an effort to pressure the Ferraris. Hamilton, as he offered to do, allowed Bottas back through on the final lap.

The race started cleanly, until fifth-place finisher Max Verstappen locked up and forced teammate Daniel Ricciardo into a spin and retirement and brought out the Safety Car. Verstappen received a ten second time penalty for his contact. Watching timing and scoring marked the excitement for much of the race, though Fernando Alonso and Carlos Sainz periodically made things interesting. The back of the field often came together spectacularly. Both McLarens both finished and scored points, with Alonso managing the race fast lap on the final lap.

F1 2017: British Grand Prix Race Recap

Lewis Hamilton won the 2017 British Grand Prix from lights to flag, despite a Safety Car very early and the consistent threat of rain. He led a Mercedes 1-2, with Valtteri Bottas charging through the field to third. Bottas gained second in the final laps as Kimi Raikkonen’s Ferrari forced him into the pits with a left front tire issue. He finished third, with Max Verstappen fourth. Verstappen also pitted in the final moments, saving position as the Ferraris disintegrated. Daniel Ricciardo gave a masterclass on moving through the field, starting nineteenth and finishing in fifth place, going around the outside, inside, and wherever possible to make up places.

Though the race felt like it ended in chaos, multiple scraps throughout the field and throughout the race kept things interesting for an hour and a half. Toro Rosso drivers Daniil Kvyat and Carlos Sainz came together on L1, bringing out the SC, ending Sainz’s day, and giving Kvyat a drive-through penalty. Bottas had a gorgeous scrap in the last ten laps with Vettel, who dropped to seventh after a probable fourth fell apart along with his left front tire. Despite the final failure, Vettel kept the championship lead by one point.

F1 2017: Austrian Grand Prix Race Recap

Valtteri Bottas won the 2017 Austrian Grand Prix, leading from a brilliant start and remaining clear of the drama behind him all afternoon. The final laps were nail-biting for the podium positions, but the drivers behind could not quite make passes work. Though Sebastian Vettel complained the Finn must have jumped the start, the Ferrari had nothing for the Mercedes and finished second. Quietly confident in third, Daniel Ricciardo continued his summer-long points and podiums streak. Lewis Hamilton powered through tire complaints to finish fourth, with Kimi Raikkonen forcing his way through technical issues to complete the top five. Romain Grosjean finished a quiet sixth.

Max Verstappen did not finish for the fifth time in seven races, with a clutch failure on the start dropping him through the field and into contact with Fernando Alonso that spun him into a retirement. Alonso got caught by Danil Kvyat. Though the start was messy, it provided space for the Williams duo to move forward from a dismal qualifying to score points.

F1 2017: Monaco Grand Prix Race Recap

Sebastian Vettel won the 2017 Monaco Grand Prix, taking the lead from pole-sitting teammate Kimi Raikkonen by virtue of fast laps around the single set of pit stops. Daniel Ricciardo made his way up to finish third through his own quick driving. Valtteri Bottas lost third to the Australian, finishing fourth, with Max Verstappen, also losing out to his teammate, rounding out the top five.

Lewis Hamilton moved up to finish seventh, but the most dramatic portion of the race came in the final twenty laps. Jenson Button, filling in for Fernando Alonso, attempted to pass Pascal Wehrlein at Portier. Instead, they came together, the McLaren pushing the Sauber sideways and onto its left wheels, exposing the floor to the world, and pushing the roll hope not too gently against the barrier just before the tunnel. All were unhurt.

The final few laps were frantic as drivers pushed further than the track allowed, leading to quite a lot of attrition between damage and failures, drivers attempting passes far more ambitiously than physics allowed.

Culture Shock: Fernando Alonso & Chatting with Teammates

“We don’t talk much there” are now famous words, said with a sly, sheepish grin, and resulting in much laughter. Fernando Alonso touched upon a chasm between Formula One and American motorsport at a press conference discussing his entry in the 101^st Indianapolis 500, for which he will miss the F1 Grand Prix of Monaco.

It is a culture shock, to come to America, it seems. We call people we’ve barely met friend, we smile all the time and bigger than other places, and our racers skip down pit lane arm-in-arm, at least when one of them is Canadian.

F1 2017: Spanish Grand Prix Race Recap

Lewis Hamilton won the 2017 Spanish Grand Prix, despite second place finisher Sebastian Vettel taking the lead on the start. They would run with the German ahead for the first half of the race, despite a messy start behind them and a Virtual Safety Car. Hamilton fought back, with the two coming together as Vettel rejoined from a pit stop. Hamilton would not gain the lead then, but would do so soon after, sweeping around the Ferrari on the outside with DRS assistance. Daniel Ricciardo had a lonely race to finish third, gifted the position when Valtteri Bottas’ Mercedes suffered engine failure in the latter stages.

As expected, drivers gave a show on the start, with Max Verstappen, Kimi Raikkonen, and Bottas trying to put three cars side by side into T1. Neither Verstappen nor Raikkonen would complete the race due to damage. Despite the difficulties in passing at Barcelona, Formula One gave a good show for fans at the track and at home. Sergio Perez and Esteban Ocon made massive headway for Force India, rounding out the top five finishers. Though Pascal Wehrlein finished seventh, he had a five second penalty added to his time.

F1 2017: Russian Grand Prix Race Recap

Valtteri Bottas won the 2017 Russian Grand Prix with a decisive move on Kimi Raikkoknen at the start and a sweeping acceleration around Sebastian Vettel through the first turn. The German finished ahead of his Ferrari teammate. Though Vettel tired to claw back the gap after late pit stops, he could not take away Bottas’ first F1 win. Lewis Hamilton, who suffered from an overheating Mercedes in the early stages, finished fourth, with Max Verstappen rounding out the top five. His teammate Daniel Ricciardo retired early on, his right rear brakes on fire.

Though Romain Grosjean and Joylon Palmer collided on the first lap, bringing out the Safety Car, the race generally proceeded without the excitement shown in the first few races of the 2017 season. Most drivers made their ultrasoft starting tires last to at least the halfway point of the race.

F1 2017: Chinese Grand Prix Race Recap

Lewis Hamilton won the 2017 Chinese Grand Prix, controlling the race from the start. Though Sebastian Vettel clawed his Ferrari closer in the final stages, he could not challenge for the race win, finishing second. Max Verstappen put on a good show, passing through the field from starting sixteenth to finish third, holding off teammate Daniel Ricciardo at the end. Despite power issues throughout the race, Kimi Raikkonen completed the top five.

Early laps saw a Virtual Safety Car after contact beached Lance Stoll’s Williams in the gravel. Antonio Giovinazzi brought out a physical Safety Car, crashing onto the front straight. The first quarter of the race saw plenty of action, as the Red Bull and Ferrari teammates squabbled. Bottas factored little, spinning behind the SC and dropping to the mid-pack for much of the race. Despite a slow start to 2017, the Chinese Grand Prix lagged little, with plenty of action for the duration.

F1 2017: Australian Grand Prix Race Recap

Sebastian Vettel won the 2017 Australian Grand Prix, a race marked by mechanical failures and attrition. Lewis Hamilton got a good start from pole, but could not maintain the lead in the single pit stop of the race. Vettel stayed out, allowing Hamilton to be caught in traffic for a couple of laps, and kept the lead the rest of the race. Valtteri Bottas rounded out the podium for Mercedes. Kimi Raikkonen and Max Verstappen completed the top five, with the youngster trying for the race fast lap at the end. Only thirteen of the twenty drivers finished the race, despite a remarkable clean race. Notably, despite a retirement, Fernando Alonso kept his McLaren in the final points paying position for much of the race.