Red Bull Racing Archives

F1/Round 8: Preview & Starting Grid For 2021 Styrian Grand Prix

Race starts at 3 pm in Austria/9 pm in Malaysia

Last year, as the COVID-19 pandemic swept across Europe, virtually all public activities had to be stopped. This included motorsports and the 2020 Formula 1 World Championship never even got a chance to start as the season-opener in Australia had to be cancelled at the last moment as the government decided that the crowds would be a health risk.

The cancellation of the first round led to the rest of the calendar having to be revised, but only after the situation was clearer in the second half of the year. Finally, when the organizers could get venues that would permit racing, the calendar had to be compressed into 6 months which was quite a strain on the teams. After a delay of almost 16 weeks, the 2020 championship finally started on July 5 with the Austrian Grand Prix at the Red Bull Ring in Spielberg, Austria, followed by the Styrian Grand Prix at the same circuit the following weekend.

Strict procedures were established and enforced, with a limited number of participants allowed into the circuit – and no spectators. ‘Bubbles’ were created for each team, and interaction was kept to a minimum and of course, measures like wearing face masks and social distancing were adopted. These measures continue to be enforced this year although some circuits have allowed a limited number of spectators to attend.

Second running of Styrian Grand Prix
This weekend sees the Red Bull Ring being used for the eighth round of the championship and like last year, it will again be used the following weekend for the ninth round. The difference is that this round is known as the Styrian Grand Prix (named after the region the circuit is located in) and the following one will be the Austrian Grand Prix. This is only the second time that there has been a Styrian GP.

The Red Bull Ring was originally known as the Osterreichring and hosted the Austrian Grand Prix continuously from 1970 to 1987, as well as from 1997 to 2003. It was later bought over by Red Bull’s co-founder Dietrich Mateschitz and, after being renovated, renamed as the Red Bull Ring in 2013. From 2014, F1 rounds were held at the track as the Austrian GP.

The teams are therefore familiar with the circuit which has the shortest lap (less than 64 seconds) in the regular F1 calendar. However, while the Red Bull Ring has the quickest lap time, the track length of 4.318 kms is only fifth shortest, behind Brazil, Mexico, the Netherlands and Monaco.

While many F1 tracks are cut into hillsides, few can compare to the Red Bull Ring for elevation change. From the lowest point to the highest point around the circuit, the change in elevation is 63.5 metres.

High risk of bodywork damage
Mercedes-AMG’s Toto Wolff describes the track as ‘one of the most aggressive’ when it comes to the shape, depth and spacing of the kerbs. The high ‘sausage kerbs’ on the corner exits are also aggressive, so therefore it’s one of the harshest on the car’s suspension. “Because of the aggressive nature of the kerbs at the Red Bull Ring, the risk of bodywork damage is high, and we often see drivers picking up damage in practice as they push the limits of the track,” he said.

The track has a high amount of track warp, where the banking of the track changes from one side to the other, with Turn 3 being one example. Here, the track drops towards the apex, with the racing car passing over the crest of the hill, whilst picking up power on exit. This causes the car to lift a wheel, which can lead to struggles with braking, stability and traction.

Medium level of difficulty for brakes
According to Brembo engineers, the Red Bull Ring has a medium level of difficulty for brakes. On a scale of one to five, it earned a three on the difficulty index, matching the score of other tracks such as Budapest and Zandvoort.

At turns 2, 5 and 8, the drivers do not need to use the brakes. On average, over an entire lap, the braking system is active for 10+ seconds. Only Imola has recorded a lower value, despite having 8 braking sections compared to 7 at the Red Bull Ring. From the start to the finish of the race, the drivers will use the brakes for no more than 12 minutes, or 16% of the race and the load on the pedal will be more than 100 kgs their weight.

Pirelli doesn’t consider this track especially demanding on tyres, which makes it possible for the softest tyres in the range to be used. “Once again after last year Austria hosts a back-to-back race, which means that the teams have plenty of data on this track and recent experience of how to deal with its particular challenges and tactics,” said Mario Isola – Head of F1 and Car Racing at Pirelli. “However, having two different tyre nominations is a first for the Red Bull Ring, so it’s going to be interesting to see how the teams get to grips with the softest C5 tyres for the second race weekend – and how the new selection influences strategy.”

Pirelli, in agreement with the FIA, Formula 1 and the teams, has also tested a new rear construction of tyre in free practice yesterday to evaluate its effectiveness to further improve robustness of the tyres. Each car was given two sets of the new tyres during the free practice sessions. If the test results are successful, the new rear specification will be introduced from the British Grand Prix onwards, replacing the current specification. With this new structure, Pirelli says it can provide a tyre that can guarantee even greater levels of integrity under the extreme conditions that can be generated by the current cars.

F1/Round 7: Preview & Starting Grid For 2021 French Grand Prix

Race starts at 3 pm in France/9 pm in Malaysia

Historically, the French Grand Prix has been one of the regular rounds of the Formula 1 World Championship since 1950 and, apart from 1955, was in every year’s calendar until 2008. Then there was s 10-year break and it was reintroduced in 2018. This year should be the 62^nd running of the French GP but it is the 61^st because the event had to be cancelled last year due to the COVID-19 pandemic.

The Paul Ricard Circuit at Le Castellet has hosted the French GP 16 times since 1971, with six other circuits used on other occasions. It is a ‘traditional’ type of circuit, which is a change from the street circuits of the last two rounds in Baku and Monaco. Most of the long track has been resurfaced for F1’s return this year, and many of the corners have been very subtly reprofiled.

About the coloured stripes
The coloured stripes at Paul Ricard aren’t just for show: they make up a high-grip asphalt run-off system that replaces traditional gravel traps. Both colours use a mix of asphalt and tungsten to create an abrasive surface that helps slow the cars down if they go off track. However, the abrasion level is different, depending on the colour. The ‘Blue Zone’ isn’t as abrasive and is only mildly punishing, but the ‘Red Zone’ – close to the barriers – is much more abrasive and effective at slowing down the cars.

According to Pirelli, the tyre suppliers for F1, there are varied characteristics of the track but tyre degradation is generally low. However, Turn 13 is particularly demanding in terms of continuous energy demands on the tyre, as is the Signes corner after the Mistral straight.

“We’re back to the combination of tyres used for the first two races of this year, right in the middle of the range. This is the most versatile combination, well suited to a wide variety of different demands, and this is also what makes it a good match for the Paul Ricard circuit, which contains an interesting mix of corners,” said Mario Isola, Head of F1 and Car Racing at Pirelli.

He noted that the winning strategy in the 2019 race was a one-stopper, from medium to hard. This was adopted by all the podium finishers, with all but seven of the drivers starting the race on the medium tyre.

Finding the balance between speed and agility
The 5.8-km layout of the circuit presents a strong challenge for teams to find the optimum set-up. With high-speed straights and the fast Signes Corner at the end of the Mistral Straight, as well as the complexes of low and medium-speed corners at the end of sectors 1 and 3, the choice of downforce is not easy. The teams will have to carefully balance outright speed with agility through the corners.

Of all the tracks being used this year, Paul Ricard has the highest average track temperature (50°C) and second-highest maximum track temperature (55°C). This means the teams will want to ensure that the brakes can cool quickly and Brembo supplies six different front disc solutions. There is the medium cooling option with 800 holes, high cooling with 1,250 holes and very high cooling with 1,480 holes. Each of these then offers a sub-option with a process on the outer diameter – the so-called groove.

In the case of very high cooling, the holes are arranged in seven different rows; in the intermediate case in six rows; and the other case in four rows. They measure 2.5 mm in diameter each and are precision-machined individually. It takes 12-14 hours to punch all the holes on a single disc. The mechanical component tolerance is only four hundredths.

Championship positions
With Lewis Hamilton having lost his chance to collect any points in the previous round, and Max Verstappen having been forced out due to tyre failure, the difference between the two divers remains slim with the Dutchman just 4 points ahead of the reigning World Champion. Sergio Perez’ first win of the season in Baku has elevated him to third place with 69 points, 3 points ahead of Land Norris.

While Verstappen didn’t collect points for Red Bull Racing in the last round, the 25 points Perez collected for his win have extended the team’s lead to 26 points from Mercedes-AMG. McLaren and Ferrari are just 2 points apart, and the same for Scuderia AlphaTauri Honda and the Aston Martin Cognizant team.

F1/Round 6: Highlights & Provisional Results For 2021 Azerbaijan Grand Prix

As the cars in the front got off to a good start, Williams Racing’s George Russell quickly headed to the pits for a change of tyres to a Hard compound.

While fighting to get ahead at the start, Aston Martin’s Lance Stroll and Haas F1’s Michael Schumacher banged wheels, but fortunately remained on the track and didn’t hit the walls to bring out the dreaded red flags that upset Qualifying.

Lewis Hamilton, determined to rectify his loss of championship lead, pushed hard to pass Charles Leclerc and did it within the first 3 laps. The Mercedes-AMG could outrun the Ferrari on the straight but the Italian car had the edge through the tight corners. Meanwhile, Hamilton’s team mate, Valtteri Bottas, seemed unable to improve from the 10th position he had started from.

For Esteban Ocon (Alpine F1), the race ended after just 3 laps as his car lost power. Fortunately, he was able to reach the pits and get off the track so there was no need for disruption with a Safety Car.

On lap 8, Red Bull racing’s Max Verstappen slipped past Hamilton into second for a while but by Hamilton managed to regain it and then when Leclerc went into the pits for a tyre change, inherited the lead while being chased by Verstappen. Though Leclerc’s stop was not slow, when he rejoined the race, he was already down in 10th.

Both Mercedes-AMG cars came in on lap 12, Hamilton first. He had lost the lead not to Verstappen but Red Bull Racing’s Sergio Pererz who had been setting quicker and quicker laps and then passed his team mate. As Verstappen also came into the pits, Aston Martin’s Sebastian Vettel moved into second position with Perez visible just ahead.

Then Perez had to pit so Vettel took over the lead, but it wouldn’t be for long as he would have to go for new tyres. Verstappen was back in second and with fresh tyres, waiting for Vettel to get out of the way.

Hamilton’s pit stop dropped him to 4th place and he had to deal with Perez, who had managed to get ahead of him, before he could start going after the leader, He was certainly trying as he recorded fastest laps.

The two Aston Martins were still staying out of the pits as lap 15 passed, the only two remaining not to get new tyres. Stroll had started on Hards while Vettel was on Softs, and came in on lap 19.

With Vettel dropping out of the lead position, Verstappen took over with Perez and then Hamilton 3 – 4 seconds behind him. It was a reverse of the usual situation where the Red Bulls are seeing the rear end of the Mercedes… It was vital for Hamilton to minimise the points Red Bull could score so they would not move further ahead in the championship.

As the race passed the halfway mark, Stroll was still amazingly on his original set of tyres – the only car that had not come in. That Hard compound must have been really hard!

It seemed like Hamilton just could not find a way past Perez and it didn’t help that he was also in the ‘dirty air’ behind the Red Bull. The gap from Verstappen was also widening, from 4 seconds to 8 seconds as the Dutchman put in faster laps.

After 26 laps, Bottas was still in 10th place, with drivers like Norris and Tsunoda ahead of him. In spite of urging from his team, Bottas just didn’t seem to be in the groove today.

On lap 30, the ‘Tyre King’ Lance Stroll went into the wall, bringing out the Safety Car because debris was all over the track. He was travelling quite fast on the straight when it appeared that the rear left tyre failed but he was able to get out of the car on his own.

With the Safety Car circulating, a number of drivers chose to visit the pits and have the tyres changed. Up to that point, all of them had only done one change. The Safety Car would come in on lap 35 and off went Verstappen again, with Perez and Hamilton on his tail.

With fresh tyres, Vettel could afford to push harder and got past Gasly to fourth place and start thinking about the possibility of a podium placing if he could challenge his old rival Hamilton.

Leclerc, who had started from pole position, saw his race worsen and with the restart after the Safety Car, he locked up and flat-spotted his tyres. Bottas too was having a very bad day and seemed unable to prevent 4 other cars from passing him.

With 10 laps remaining, Hamilton was pushing harder, setting the fastest laps on each round of the Baku City Circuit. He didn’t have Bottas behind him as would sometimes be the case, so it was all up to him to get the points for the team.

Disaster struck on lap 46 as Verstappen crashed while speeding along the main straight. Tyre failure (also at the rear) lost him the race that he most likely would have won. Out came the Safety Car as Perez inherited the lead and Hamilton was elevated to second, with Vettel now on a podium position – if the tyres didn’t fail too.

With 2 laps remaining, the Stewards decided that the race would be suspended as there was a lot of debris on the track. Some drivers were beginning to wonder about the tyres as well. A tyre-change was allowed if any team felt it necessary to be on the safe side.

The race did not end with the suspension even with two laps left and there was a standing start, with Perez in the first slot. All eyes were on the Mexican and how he would hold off Hamilton in the 12-km sprint to the chequered flag.

And Hamilton lost out – trying too hard to outrun the Red Bull, his car went off the track into the run-off and rejoined at the tail end of the pack. Just before the restart, he had been thinking of just completing the race and getting the points, but not necessarily pushing too hard for an overall win. Neither he nor Bottas would bring home any points from Baku, Bottas finishing in 12th and Hamilton in 15th.

Perez had a clear run to the end, pursued closely by Vettel, with Gasly less than 3 seconds behind. It was a bitter-sweet victory for the Red Bull Racing team and a heartbreaking day for Verstappen who could have led a 1-2 finish.

F1/Round 2: Highlights & Provisional Results For 2021 Emilia Romagna Grand Prix

♦ The day started with rain that continued to the start of the race, and some drivers had incidents even while preparing to get to the starting grid. Lance Stroll’s Aston Martin had brakes on fire while Sebastian Vettel had brake issues without a fire, and Carlos Sainz slid off and damaged part of the front wing which needed to be quickly replaced. Charles Leclerc also spun during the formation lap, showing how slippery conditions were.

♦ Not surprisingly, the start of the race saw a mess in the first corner. Verstappen was quick off the line and then got in contact with Lewis Hamilton. with the latter heading into the grass. Nicholas Latifi was less lucky though, colliding with Nikita Mazepin and ending up heading into a barrier, triggering deployment of the Safety Car.

♦ Yuki Tsunoda, who had broken his gearbox in an accident during qualifying, had to start from the back of the grid but was able to speed through the pack to 15th place in the first lap. The wet conditions also saw Mick Schumacher crashing at the pit lane exit, and he had to go with a damaged front end for a couple of laps. Fortunately the Safety Car was still out but it didn’t help that he could not get into the pit lane again due to the debris – from his own car earlier.

♦ Racing resumed when the Safety Car pulled in on the 6th lap, and Max Verstappen shot off again, pursued by Hamilton. The wet conditions were slowing tyre-warm-up so the drivers had to adjust accordingly. Only Pierre Gasly and Mazepin had chosen to start off with wet tyres.

♦ By lap 13, Sergio Perez was in fourth but was informed that he was given a 10-second penalty (stop/go) for overtaking while the Safety Car was leading the convoy earlier. He would have to work hard to stay well ahead of Daniel Ricciardo who was tailing him.

♦ The track was slowly drying by lap 15 but still slick in some parts, and Carlos Sainz was caught on wet patches twice. While Latifi’s race ended early, his Williams team mate George Russell was up in tenth place and holding on well.

♦ With one-third of the 63-lap race completed and the track conditions slowly drying, the teams were watching each other to see who would come in to change from the intermediates. It was Vettel who would be the first but he was also hit with a 10-second penalty (stop/go) for not having wheels fitted at the 5 minutes signal (before the race started). He came back in on lap 24, while in 17th place, to serve his penalty.

♦ Verstappen came in on lap, and Hamilton slipped into the lead, still with the damaged front wing. When the Red Bull driver rejoined, he was in third place but quickly got Hamilton in his sights and started the chase. He didn’t have to work hard as the Mercedes-AMG driver also came in to change tyres. By lap 28, every car had come into the pits at least once.

♦ On lap 31, Hamilton slid off into the gravel and touched the barrier, coming to a stop for a short while. But he managed to reverse out and rejoined the race, though down in seventh.

♦ His team mate, Valtteri Bottas was not so lucky – he had a collision with Russell which got debris all over and the Safety Car was called into action. Hamilton took the opportunity to get back and have the damaged wing changed. There was some much debris that the Stewards decided to stop the race on lap 34 for clean-up work. All cars were required to return to the pits and wait. For Hamilton, it may have been a small blessing as his team could work on the repairs with less pressure.

♦ At the time the race was stopped. Leclerc was 15 seconds behind race leader Verstappen but things would be different when racing resumed. 17 cars were still in the running and there would be 29 laps left to run.

♦ The race was restarted after 23 minutes with a rolling start after the cars circulated for one lap with the Safety Car at the front. And though track conditions were drier, Kimi Raikkonen slid off into the gravel! Verstappen shot off (and almost crashed), while Leclerc was quickly passed by a determined Lando Norris. Tsunoda was in tenth but a spin dropped him all the way to the back.

♦ Hamilton was ninth when the race restarted and within 2 laps, he had passed Stroll and Raikkonen to move into 6th, and was working hard to get to the front. In the process, he set the fastest lap which would get him one extra point if no one else was quicker in the race.

♦ With 10 laps remaining, Verstappen was still in the lead and 17 seconds ahead of Hamilton who was in 4th and trying to get past Leclerc. Norris was closest to the leader and even he was about 16 seconds away.

♦ Hamilton got past Leclerc on lap 55 but Verstappen had been pushing harder and the gap to third place (Hamilton) had extended to 18 seconds – and would extend to more than 20 seconds with 4 laps remaining.

♦ With 3 laps remaining, Hamilton pushed past Norris but the gap was just too big to reach Verstappen, and unless the Dutchman had very bad luck, he would take the chequered flag. He had beat Hamilton’s fastest time but in the effort to pass Norris, Hamilton had set an even faster time so he would still claim that 1 extra point even though he would not win the race.

♦ Further back, while Vettel had to pull out with gearbox issues Alpine and Alfa Romeo Racing Orlen could celebrate with the first points of the season as their cars finished in the top ten.

Infiniti ends involvement in Formula 1

Infiniti, Nissan’s luxury brand which was created in 1989, will no longer be involved in Formula 1 after a 10-year presence. The brand entered the F1 scene in 2011 as a commercial sponsor of Red Bull Racing, progressing to become title sponsor of the team in 2012.

Contribution to electrification of vehicles
Following the introduction of hybrid powertrains in the sport in 2014 and given the brand’s extensive experience in hybrid performance, Infiniti became a more active F1 participant in 2016. It became technical partner of the Renault DP World F1 Team for the co-development of the Energy Recovery System (ERS).

The development work on the ERS led to an electrified performance powertrain explored through the Infiniti Q60 Project Black S. The main aim of the prototype is to test how F1 electrified performance and thermal efficiency can potentially be transferred and applied to the brand’s future electrified vehicles.

*Infiniti entered F1 with Red Bull Racing in 2010 and then switched to the Renault DP World F1 Team.*

5 years with Renault team
The 5-year technical collaboration with the Renault DP World F1 Team has been very successful for Infiniti. During the partnership, several Infiniti engineers have worked with the team in the development of the racing car’s ERS. Both companies have raced 100 Formula 1 rounds together, achieving a total of 459 championship points and 3 podiums.

The Infiniti Engineering Academy has also thrived during this technical partnership, given the unique opportunity it offered to work 6 months with Infiniti and 6 months with Renault DP World F1 Team. This global recruitment program received nearly 30,000 registrations from engineering students in 44 countries and 133 universities throughout the 5-year period, hosted 28 final events around the world and selected 33 winners, 50% of whom went on to secure full-time positions with Infiniti or in motorsport after completing their placements.

“This decade in Formula 1 has been an incredible and fruitful journey for us. We have had the privilege of collaborating very closely with companies that shared our goals and supported our vision, and we certainly come out of this experience wiser and stronger. We wholeheartedly thank all of our partners, and especially everyone at Renault DP World F1 Team, for the fantastic work we’ve done together during the past few years and for their continued support as we begin a new chapter focused on our development,” said Tommaso Volpe, Nissan and Infiniti Global Motorsports Director.

“Our involvement in the sport has gone from strength to strength during these past 10 years, and we have not only increased our brand awareness but also strengthened our technical credentials and capabilities. Now it is the right time for us to concentrate our resources and all the knowledge gained through our Formula 1 activities in the research and development of our new technologies and future powertrains,” he said.

Renault’s Formula 1 team to be renamed Alpine F1 Team from 2021

Honda to withdraw from Formula 1 after 2021 season

Honda has announced that it will not participate in the Formula One World Championship as a power unit supplier after the 2021 season ends. The carmaker, which was the first Japanese manufacturer to participate in Formula 1 in the 1960s and a regular name in the decades that followed, made the decision in order to concentrate corporate resources on research and development of new power units and energy technologies.

Why Honda is stopping
“At this time, Honda made a decision to further accelerate such initiatives and strive for the realization of carbon neutrality by 2050, in order to realize a sustainable society. To this end, our current goal of electrifying two-thirds of our global automobile unit sales in 2030 will become a checkpoint we must pass before we get to the 2050 goal, and therefore we must further accelerate the introduction of our carbon-free technologies,” said Takahiro Hachigo, President, Representative Director and CEO of Honda Motor Co.

“For the future realization of carbon neutrality, as a part of this change, we decided to allocate our energy management and fuel technologies as well as our human resources amassed through F1 activities to research and development of advanced power unit and energy technologies. Under such an enhanced R&D system and capability, Honda will focus on the creation of advanced power unit and energy technologies and the realization of carbon neutrality in the future,” he explained.

Racing is in Honda’s DNA
Declaring that ‘racing is in Honda’s DNA’, Mr. Hachigo said that the company will continue to be passionate about taking on challenges and striving to become No. 1 in all categories of racing in which Honda participates.

“Ever since our founding, Honda has been advancing its technologies, developing its engineers and nurturing its strong passion for victory through challenges we have taken in motorsports,” he said. “We still have 7 more races this season, and we are introducing a new power unit with improved performance for the next season. In order to fulfil expectations our fans place on Honda, we will work together with Red Bull Racing and Scuderia AlphaTauri to continue competing with our utmost effort and strive for more victories all the way to the end.”

Honda had resumed its involvement in F1 in 2015 after a 9-year absence, but it did not enjoy the sort of great successes as it did in earlier years. In 2019, it scored three wins last season and has had two wins so far in the 2020 season. The victory of Scuderia AlphaTauri at this year’s Italian Grand Prix was the first time a power unit manufacturer had won with two different teams since the start of Formula One’s hybrid era in 2014.

Commenting on the announcement, Red Bull Racing’s Team Principal, Christian Horner, said: “As a team, we understand how difficult it has been for Honda Motor Company to reach the decision to step back from Formula One at the end of the 2021 season. The shifting focus within the automotive industry has led to Honda’s decision to re-deploy their resources and we understand and respect the reasoning behind this. Their decision presents obvious challenges for us as a team, but we have been here before and with our strength in depth, we are well prepared and equipped to respond effectively, as we have proven in the past.”

“Scuderia AlphaTauri and Honda have built up a very good and professional relationship since we started to cooperate in 2018,” said Team Principal, Franz Tost. “We enjoyed great success together in the last few years, winning a race and finishing on the podium twice, with one second and one third place. It’s unfortunate that Honda has decided to stop their commitment in Formula One, because their Power Unit’s performance has been improving constantly and dramatically to become one of the best engines on the grid in a short period of time, since they returned to the sport.”

F1 (Round 5): Results And Highlights Of Emirates Formula 1 70th Anniversary Grand Prix 2020

♦ A spin in Turn 1 for Sebastian Vettel saw the 4-time World Champion drop from 11th to last in the pack as the cars headed away.

♦ After 10 laps, tyre issues began to start as temperatures rose and the cars came in for tyre changes. Carlos Sainz and Sebastian Vettel stayed out up to 23 laps but Red Bull Racing’s Max Verstappen chose to hang for 27 laps before pitting and giving up his leading position momentarily.

♦ Tyre management became increasingly critical for the two Mercedes-AMG cars as the hard compounds blistered.

♦ With 15 laps to go, Hamilton captured the lead but was very concerned about his tyre condition and the blistering.

♦ Understanding that the Mercedes-AMG driver could only do so much with his well worn tyres, Verstappen was told to put the pressure on and close the gap which was about 11 seconds.

♦ With 10 laps to go, Hamilton came in to get fresh tyres and Verstappen took over the lead, with Bottas 4 seconds behind. Charging confidently ahead and setting a new lap record, he got past Charles Leclerc and closed in on Bottas.

♦ In the closing laps, Hamilton got past his team mate but ran out of time to close in on Verstappen who was 9 seconds ahead.

♦ The win today at Silverstone makes it 9 for the Red Bull Racing DutchmanThe 25 points don’t advance his position in the standings but narrow the gap with Bottas.

F1 (Round 20) – 2019 Brazilian Grand Prix Results and Highlights

♦ Max Verstappen took a well-deserved third win of the 2019 season, starting from pole position all the way to the chequered flag.

♦ In the closing stages of the race, the two Ferrari drivers made contact and knocked themselves out of the race.

♦ Lewis Hamilton finished third but was deemed by the stewards to be at fault for an incident with Alexander Albon Ansusinhan, Red Bull Racing’s Thai-British driver, As a result, Hamilton received a 5-second penalty which dropped him to 7th in the official classification.

♦ Hamilton’s demotion gave Carlos Sainz the third position – his first ever F1 podium. He had started from 20th and fought hard to move up the field. The podium finish was also McLaren’s first one since 2014 in Australia.

♦ Pierre Gasly also had a great day with his first podium, having gotten ahead after the Hemilton-Albon incident. Although the Mercedes-AMG driver tried to out-accelerate him to the finish line, Gasly pulled ahead to cross first and claim second position.