Formula One

[Jimbuna]

The next race Formula 1 Aramco Grosser Preis Der Eifel 2020 is in Germany.

Practice starts tomorrow and the race is on Sunday 11th.

[Jimbuna]

Free Practice 1 and FP 2 were cancelled because of fog so hopefully FP 3 will take place tomorrow.

[Jimbuna]

FP 3 did happen and here are the top ten standings for tomorrows race.

[Jimbuna]

Mercedes’s Lewis Hamilton has matched the career win record of Michael Schumacher with his 91st F1 victory at the Eifel GP, triumphing over the Red Bull of Max Verstappen at the Nurburgring, as Daniel Ricciardo secured his first podium for the Renault squad.

Hamilton had been outmuscled by his polesitting team mate Valtteri Bottas at the start of the race, but passed the Finn on Lap 13 of 60 after Bottas locked up at Turn 1 – before a loss of power forced Bottas into retirement six laps later, Mercedes’s first DNF of 2020.

[Jimbuna]

Racing Point say they cannot do any more to protect against coronavirus, despite driver Lance Stroll testing positive after the last Grand Prix.

Stroll was confirmed to have coronavirus after the Eifel GP, where he did not race because he was unwell, but he was not tested at the event.

Team principal Otmar Szafnauer said: "If I thought our process was wrong, I would change it.

"I'm not going to do anything else. There is nothing else to do."
https://www.bbc.co.uk/sport/formula1/54645756

[Jimbuna]

[skidman]

And for all those who are into real motorsports: The Total 24hrs of Spa-Francorchamps will start Saturday 15:30 CET. The Top20 qualifying was won by AKKA ASP (AMG GT3), WRT (Audi R8 LMS) in 2nd position and Team HRT (AMG GT3) in 3rd.

One of the best GT races of the season. No DRS buttons, no engineers telling their remote controlled tintookies how to drive, no letting teammates pass.

Real racing - twice around the clock.

Live stream and live timing (Because watching a endurance race without a live timing website is rather pointless):

https://www.total24hours.com/live

[Jimbuna]

Out of nowhere, Lewis Hamilton delivered his best lap of the weekend to topple Mercedes team mate Valtteri Bottas and take a sensational pole position for the returning Portuguese Grand Prix…

The reigning world champion was second-best to Bottas through all three practice sessions and the first two segments of qualifying, and was slower after the first runs in Q3 at Portimao.

Mercedes changed strategy for the final runs, swapping over to the medium tyres on both cars. However, Hamilton opted to head out early to squeeze in two flying laps on that compound, while Bottas went for one.

[Jimbuna]

Lewis Hamilton has become the most successful driver in terms of victories in Formula 1 history, after a dominant display at the Portuguese Grand Prix saw him claim his 92nd victory from team mate Valtteri Bottas and the Red Bull of Max Verstappen.

[Buddahaid]

Domination.

[Jimbuna]

Yes and still only 35 years old.

[Jimbuna]

Q1 Bottas found himself in the unusual position of being in the drop zone in Q1 with three minutes to go after a scrappy opening run, forcing him to box for fresh rubber and going again.

He made no mistake this time, the Finn going quickest, 0.008s ahead of Hamilton, with Verstappen in his customary position of third, albeit 0.8s off the pace.

Q2 There was high drama in Q2 when Verstappen sounded frantic on team radio as he warned his team he had a power issue. The Dutchman recovered to the pits and was then forced to wait as Red Bull removed bodywork and investigated the issue.

With just a few minutes to go, Verstappen got back out and pumped in a lap under pressure that was easily good enough to get into Q3 – and on the medium compound tyres to boot.

Only the Mercedes duo also managed to get through on the mediums, as Bottas led Hamilton in a one-two again.

[Jimbuna]

Q3 Beating Lewis Hamilton is no easy feat these days, but his Mercedes team mate Valtteri Bottas found a way to do just that at Imola as he took a sensational pole position for the Emilia Romagna Grand Prix.

The Finn trailed Hamilton by just 0.031s after the first runs, but having topped both opening segments of qualifying, Bottas found the time when it mattered, lighting up the timesheets to take pole by 0.1s.

Mercedes were in a class of their own at the historic and picturesque Italian track, with Max Verstappen unable to get within half a second of the silver cars, but fortunate to get to Q3 at all after encountering a power issue in Q2.

[Jimbuna]

Lewis Hamilton sealed a record-extending 93rd Formula 1 victory after recovering from third to win the Emilia-Romagna GP ahead of Valtteri Bottas, after Max Verstappen's crash led to a chaotic finish.

Mercedes, who were pushed hard by Verstappen, clinched their record seventh straight Constructors' Championship with the result, while Hamilton, 85 points clear in the standings, can wrap up his seventh title at the next race in Turkey.

[Jimbuna]

“It’s like driving on ice,” said Max Verstappen, a statement echoed by his rivals as Formula 1 cars hit the track at Turkey’s Istanbul Park for the first time since 2011 in first practice, with Dutchman setting the pace in a Red Bull one-two…

The Turkish circuit was drafted back in F1 after Covid 19 forced sweeping changes to the 2020 calendar, leading to delight from the drivers who were excited by the challenge.

However, what they were not anticipating was just how slippery the 5.338km circuit would be, the lack of grip down in part to the surface having only been re-laid a few weeks ago and Pirelli bringing their hardest tyre compounds, having made their selection before it became clear new asphalt would be put down.

Valtteri Bottas set the early pace, but it was around 20 seconds slower than anticipated lap times, so tricky were the conditions as drivers worked the steering wheel hard in a bid to keep the car pointing in the right direction.

Practice 1