Dope Vid. #237

Video courtesy of Hoonigan.

What to watch this Weekend (May 10th - May 15th)

• The Grand Tour. Season 3. Episodes on demand. Friday (Amazon Prime) 
• Formula 1 - Spanish Grand Prix; from Catalunya Circuit, Spain. Practice 1. Friday @ 4:55am - 6:30am (ESPN2(HD)) live 
• Formula 1 - Spanish Grand Prix; from Catalunya Circuit, Spain. Practice 2. Friday @ 8:55am - 11am (ESPNU(HD)) live 
• Formula 1 - Spanish Grand Prix; from Catalunya Circuit, Spain. Practice 3. Saturday @ 5:55am - 7am (ESPN2(HD)) live  
• Formula E - Monaco. Race. Saturday @ 11:30am - 12:30pm (FS1(HD))
• Formula 1 - Spanish Grand Prix; from Catalunya Circuit, Spain. Qualifying. Saturday @ 8:55am - 10am (ESPN2(HD)) live
• Formula 1 - Spanish Grand Prix; from Catalunya Circuit, Spain. Race. Sunday @ 8:30am - 11am (ESPN2(HD)) live
• Chasing Classic Cars. Tuesday @ 7pm - 7:30pm (MotorTrendHD) replay
• Motorweek. Tuesday @ 7:30pm - 8pm (MotorTrendHD) replay
• Wheeler Dealers. 1985 Mercedes 300TD. Wednesday @ 9pm - 10pm (MotorTrendHD) new

Azerbaijan was quite eventful besides the same general outcome as previous races. The circuit at Baku, with its trademark ultra long straight, lends itself to teammate slipstreaming and low downforce, but not everyone was able to take advantage. Gasley, arguably the biggest loser of the weekend (Russell's loss of a floor to a loose manhole cover in FP1 aside) had unfortunate circumstances take him from the top of Q1 to starting from the pitlane for a previous infraction during FP2, only to not even finish the race. Meanwhile, Bottas, fresh off a bad start after taking pole in China which lead to his 2nd place finish, got the job done in his start and took that lead to the checkered flag after Ferrari didn't execute so well on strategy, losing their typically strong bet on a safety car. That brings us to the strategy conundrum for Leclerc (see video below), who crashed in Q2 and baked himself into starting 8th (and got fresh mediums due to those damaged during the crash), was that his long-run pace was much better on the mediums than the field on softs which led to him taking the overall race lead, but the window in which he could've competed for a podium position passed while Ferrari's strategists waited for solid gap or a safety car; the gap passed, the safety car never came and Leclerc ended up on an island in 5th, behind Verstappen and way ahead of Perez. The silver lining was that he snagged fastest lap points with a late pitstop onto the softs, keeping Bottas from taking it. This is important, because this shaved a point off of what Bottas would've had by the end of the race, one position ahead of Hamilton. The Racing point boys had a great race, Perez taking 6th in a very strong field. McLaren took 7th and 8th, Sainz getting the better of Norris on a great weekend for both drivers; looks like they're getting a bit more consistent in the mid-field. Kimi took the final point for Alfa Romeo in 10th. Haas bad luck continues with Grosjean DNF, Ricciardo too never saw the flag. Gasley and Kvyat round out the four cars that didn't make the end. Ferrari was fast, but not fast enough in race, so they'll be looking to rectify this issue once again in Spain. Merc has managed another 1-2 finish in a row and the manufacturers championship gap is growing at an incredible rate. Verstappen continues to play spoiler, he's only one point behind Vettel through race 4. The Driver's Championship standings are as follows: Bottas, Hamilton (-1), Vettel (-35), Vertsappen (-36), Leclerc (-40), Perez (-74). Spain should be another exiting race.

Enjoy your weekends.

Video courtesy of Autosport.

Track Pron: Ferrari Pista vs Porsche GT2 RS lap times! w/ Aventador SVJ vs McLaren Senna. Silverstone w/ Topaz (Lovecars)

Lovecars crew pits four of the top track supercars out right now against one another; Lamborghini Aventador SVJ, Manthey Racing Porsche 911 GT2 RS, Ferrari 488 Pista and McLaren Senna. Guest racing driver is Le Mans competitor, Oliver Webb.


Video courtesy of Lovecars.

Automotive Workshop: Aston Martin Rapide E: Goodbye V12, Hello EV (Carfection)

Henry talks to Aston Martin Rapide lead John Caress, to go over the low-production Rapide E all-electric model.


Video courtesy of Carfection.

Neo-Vintage Feature: 1985 Renault R5 Turbo2 (JayLenosGarage)

Jay hosts Randy Nonnenberg, CEO and owner of Bring A Trailer, and his 1985 Renault R5 Turbo2.


Video courtesy of JayLenosGarage.