What to watch this F1 weekend (Aug 27th - Sept 1st)

• Formula 1 - Grand Prix of Belgium; from circuit de Spa-Francorchamps, Belgium. Practice 1. Friday @ 5:25am - 6:30am (ESPN2) live
• Formula 1 - Grand Prix of Belgium; from circuit de Spa-Francorchamps, Belgium. Practice 2. Friday @ 8:55am - 10am (ESPNU) live
• Formula 1 - Grand Prix of Belgium; from circuit de Spa-Francorchamps, Belgium. Practice 3. Saturday @ 5:55am - 7am (ESPN2) live
• Formula 1 - Grand Prix of Belgium; from circuit de Spa-Francorchamps, Belgium. Qualifying. Sunday @ 8:55am - 10am (ESPN2) live
• Formula 1 - Grand Prix of Belgium; from circuit de Spa-Francorchamps, Belgium. Race. Sunday @ 8:55am - 11am (ESPN2) live
• Bitchin Rides. Mon/Tue @ 6pm - 7pm (MotorTrend) replays
• Garage Squad. Mon @ 7pm - 8pm (MotorTrend) replay
• Bitchin Rides. Wed @ 5pm - 6pm (MotorTrend) replays
• Auto Mundial. Tuesday @ 7pm - 7:30pm (MotorTrend) replays
• Motorweek. Tuesday @ 7:30pm - 8pm (MotorTrend) replays
• Top Gear America. Wednesday @ 9pm - 10:30pm (MotorTrend) new

Hungary was a wilder ride than even Silverstone; and once again Red Bull got the short end of the stick. A surprise result for Alpine as their car was incredible and Ocon took his first race win with the help of the wiley Alonso holding up Hamilton's run through the field after the Merc blunder of not switching off wets when the entire field did, following the red flag Valtteri's bowling ball impression caused. I say blunder due to the result, but at the time they were at the front of the field and had no idea what anyone else was doing. So they primarily lost a game of chicken. Back to that bowling ball impression though; plenty of DNFs resulted from that crash, McLaren and RedBull getting the worst of it -- Max continued his race but his barge boards were so destroyed they couldn't be repaired so he raced with jacked up aero all race, but was miraculously able to finish tenth. Another beneficiary of the rain was Vettel, but....as you'll see below his second place finish wasn't meant to be, due to some other issues his car had which lead to him getting DQ'd after the race. That DQ was quite a big deal, because plenty of folks downstream gained points accordingly. William's scored with both cars, but got even more points with the bump. Max got another point, moving from 10th to 9th. Sainz got bumped up to the podium and Alonso got bumped to 4th to bring in the biggest haul for Alpine ever in a single race. And of course Hams moved from 3rd to 2nd, after falling to the very back of the field. Vettel lost out due to the inability to turn over 1L of fuel after the race. Aston Martin put up a fight during the Summer break (video below) but at this time they have no recourse. Everything that's happened has lead to a few things; one, Ferrari has closed the gap to McLaren in the Constructors and has another engine upgrade on the way. Merc has taken the lead over in both Drivers and Constructors Championships. Ricciardo still hasn't gotten a handle on the McLaren and Alonso is as good as he's ever been. Spa is a legendary track where drafting and power are keys to success. It'll be interesting to see how RBR responds and how Valtteri continues working on his bid to keep the Merc seat in 2022. 

Enjoy your motorsport weekends.

Video courtesy of Peterwindsor.

Video courtesy of Autosport.

Watch the Formula 1 Hungarian GP race recap here.

What to watch this F1 Weekend (Dec 4th - Dec 9th)

• Formula 1 - Sakhir Grand Prix. From the Bahrain International Circuit in Manama. Practice 1. Friday @ 8:25am - 10am (ESPNNEWS) live
• Formula 1 - Sakhir Grand Prix. From the Bahrain International Circuit in Manama. Practice 2. Friday @ 12:30pm - 2:05pm (ESPN2) live
• Formula 1 - Sakhir Grand Prix. From the Bahrain International Circuit in Manama. Practice 3. Saturday @ 8:55am - 10am (ESPN2) live
• Formula 1 - Sakhir Grand Prix. From the Bahrain International Circuit in Manama. Qualifying. Saturday @ 12:55pm - 2pm (ESPNNEWS) live
• Formula 1 - Sakhir Grand Prix. From the Bahrain International Circuit in Manama. Race. Sunday @ 12:05pm - 2pm (ESPN2) live
• Bitchin Rides. Mon/Tues @ 5pm - 6pm (MotorTrend) replay
• Auto Mundial. Tuesday @ 7pm - 7:30pm (MotorTrend)
• Motorweek. Tuesday @ 7:30pm - 8pm (MotorTrend) 
• Garage Squad. Tuesday @ 9pm - 10pm (MotorTrend) new
• Bitchin Rides. Wednesday @ 9pm - 10pm (MotorTrend) new

We're back in Bahrain this weekend for a different configuration of the same track, for a night race. Last week's twilight race on the normal Bahrain circuit was crazy battle for 3-6th place in the constructors, but before we get to that the leading story was Romain Grosjean's close call after a pretty one-in-a-million accident on lap 1. He crossed tires with Kvyat while accelerating which shot him almost straight into an armco barrier that essentially split open, while tearing his chassis in half, releasing fuel and quite the shocking explosion. Fortunately, Romain successfully extricated himself from the car, while ablaze, with the help of track marshals and the johnny-on-the-spot safety car crew (driver Alan van der Merwe and Dr. Ian Roberts), who follow the drivers around the first lap before pulling into the pits. Thank the halo, thank Romain not getting knocked unconscious and getting out of the halo in a ball of fire, thank the FIA safety measures and the guys who acted quickly and without hesitation, but it's almost unbelievable that he made it out of that wreck with minor injuries given that impact and the resultant fire. I'm confident investigations will be deep to ensure this doesn't happen again. Thankfully Grosjean is doing ok and has since been released from the hospital. The very next lap (lap #2) Kvyat was involved in another incident, this time his fault, flipping Stroll onto his halo. Then the race actually started. Skipping to the end to keep this brief, Hamilton had another strong drive and took the checkered flag. Albon surprised many and ended up on the podium in 3rd, Verstappen took second and unfortunately the reason Albon was alongside Hams and Max on the podium is because Perez's engine went up in a ball of fire with two laps to go, taking away a potential 3rd place finish from Racing Point, which they desperately needed in order to seal up 3rd in the constructors Championship; instead they got a double DNF which helped McLaren and Renault out significantly. Now McLaren is solidly in 3rd place and Renault is 10pts behind Racing Point, in 5th, with just two races left. Bottas had a rough race but ended up taking 8th, the  Ferrari's were MIA and Renault did pretty well. Ricciardo is 4th in the Driver's Championship right now by two points. The other big story coming into this weekend's race is that Hams tested positive for covid the Monday after the GP so he'll be sitting out; there was a lot of conjecture on who would take his seat and after some work behind the scenes, George Russell made the cut to fill his seat for the weekend, which is an extraordinary opportunity for him. So this weekend will be a showcase for what George can do behind the wheel of a championship car. 

Enjoy your motorsport weekends.

Video courtesy of Formula1.

What to watch this F1 Weekend (Oct 9th - Oct 14th)

• Formula 1 - Eifel (German) Grand Prix; from the Nuerburgring in Nuerburg, Germany. Practice 1. Friday @ 4:55am - 6:30am (ESPN2)) live 
• Formula 1 - Eifel (German) Grand Prix; from the Nuerburgring in Nuerburg, Germany. Practice 2. Friday @ 8:55am -10:30am (ESPN2) live
• Formula 1 - Eifel (German) Grand Prix; from the Nuerburgring in Nuerburg, Germany. Practice 3. Saturday @ 5:55am - 7am (ESPN2) live
• Formula 1 - Eifel (German) Grand Prix; from the Nuerburgring in Nuerburg, Germany. Qualifying. Saturday @ 8:55am - 10am (ESPN2) live 
• IMSA WeatherTech Sports Car Championship. Racing action from Charlotte Motor Speedway. Saturday @ 8pm - 10pm (NBCSN) live
• Formula 1 - Eifel (German) Grand Prix; from the Nuerburgring in Nuerburg, Germany. Race. Sunday @ 8am - 10:30am (ESPN2) live, replay @ 4pm - 6:30pm (ESPNNEWS) same-day delay
  
• DTM. 2020 Action from Zolder. Sunday @ 9pm - 11pm (CBSSN) same-day delay
• Bitchin Rides. Mon/Tues/Wed @ 4pm - 5pm (MotorTrend) replay
• Garage Squad. Mon/Tues/Wed @ 6pm - 7pm (MotorTrend) replay
• Auto Mundial. Tuesday @ 7pm - 7:30pm (MotorTrend) 
• Motorweek. Tuesday @ 7:30pm - 8pm (MotorTrend) 
• Garage Squad. Tuesday @ 9pm - 10pm (MotorTrend) new
• Wheeler Dealers. Wednesday @ 9pm - 10pm (MotorTrend) new

Russia was another interesting race with some unexpected results for unexpected reasons. Hamilton took pole again and was poised to taking his 91st GP win, starting from the front and getting clear of Bottas who qualified third behind a very quick Verstappen. However, things didn't quite shake out that way once FIA handed him not one but two 5sec penalties (and two points on his super license which were later withdrawn) were applied to Hams after he did some practice starts too far out of the pitlane after his pit told him he was good to do so. This effectively put him in mid-field after the penalty was served, which was even rougher since he had to qualify on softs in Q2 after losing his lap time on his first run for going beyond the line on the final corner then Seb putting his car into a wall bringing a red flag with two minutes to go and Hamilton on a flyer. He barely made the cutoff to start a qualy lap and already had too much distance on his mediums since they would be race tires. In other Merc news, Bottas was an opportunist and used this chance to get as many points as he could over Lewis, which ended up being a delta of 11 points; he managed fastest lap and Hams finished 3rd behind Verstappen. Outside of this top three there were some important result and critical news. Renault looked extremely strong, with Ricciardo taking 5th after getting a 5sec penalty himself and Ocon taking 7th. Sergio took 4th in this installment of the 'give me a seat for 2021' tour. Leclerc took 6th, performing much better than anyone from Maranello expected, but notably, positions 8 through 10 were two AlfaTauri's and Albon brining up the rear, in tenth. The reason this is important is because these three cars, along with P2 Verstappen, are all Honda powered -- Honda just announced they were pulling out of F1 after the 2021 season. This is going to have big implications as Red Bull and Alfa Tauri will need to either get Renault power-plants again or go Ferrari on either one or both teams. Red Bull and Renault are like Alonso and McLaren in some ways. With the smoke cleared, the Driver's Championship standings are as follows: Hamilton, Bottas (-44), Verstappen (-77), Norris (-140), Albon (-141), Ricciardo (-142). Bottas' and Verstappen's point delta to the driver they're behind is quite the coincidence and there's a virtual free for all from 4th back.

This weekend we're heading back to the Nurburgring for the first time since the early 2010's and you know Merc is looking to show out at home. Bottas is feeling good about himself and Hamilton is trying to correct the blemish that was Sochi, so I'm sure he'll be on it to finally match Schumi and get this milestone behind him. Ricciardo is still trying to get a tattoo on Cyril and McLaren is looking to bounce back after an awful weekend in Sochi.

Enjoy your motorsport weekends.

Video courtesy of Formula1.

Video courtesy of Autosport.

What to watch this F1 Weekend (Aug 28th - Sept 2nd)

• Formula 1 - Grand Prix of Belgium; from circuit de Spa-Francorchamps, Belgium. Practice 1. Friday @ 4:55am - 6:30am (ESPN) live
• Formula 1 - Grand Prix of Belgium; from circuit de Spa-Francorchamps, Belgium. Practice 2. Friday @ 8:55am - 10:30am (ESPN2) live
• Formula 1 - Grand Prix of Belgium; from circuit de Spa-Francorchamps, Belgium. Practice 3. Saturday @ 5:55am - 7am (ESPN2) live
• Formula 1 - Grand Prix of Belgium; from circuit de Spa-Francorchamps, Belgium. Qualifying. Sunday @ 8:55am - 10:30am (ESPN) live
• Formula 1 - Grand Prix of Belgium; from circuit de Spa-Francorchamps, Belgium. Race. Sunday @ 9:05am - 11am (ESPN) live
• Garage Squad. Mon/Wed @ 4pm - 5pm (MotorTrend) replay
• Bitchin Rides. Mon/Tues/Wed @ 5pm - 6pm (MotorTrend) replays
• Auto Mundial. Season Premier. Tuesday @ 7pm - 7:30pm (MotorTrend) new
• Motorweek. Tuesday @ 7:30pm - 8pm (MotorTrend) replay
• Geared up. 1971 Mercedes-Benz 280 SE 3.5 Coupe. Tuesday @ 9pm - 10pm (MotorTrend) new
• Wheeler Dealers. Audi Avant. Wednesday @ 9pm - 10pm (MotorTrend) new

We're heading to Spa for another F1 weekend with the new technical directive of removing high-power 'party modes' from the entire paddock, come the Italian GP. The race in Spain was as hot as ever, but Merc's changes post-70th Anniversary GP seem to have worked. Their tire management was solid and race pace was typical top shelf quality. Hamilton broke more records this weekend with his 156th podium while taking his 88th race win, spoiler alert, but what was more intriguing was what happened elsewhere in the field. Bottas had a bad start which has lead to him spending the race trying to get back into his starting position, without success -- he tried to salvage it a bit by taking the fastest lap point on a new set of tires, late. Verstappen split the two Mercs, taking 2nd, showing really good race pace and tire management although Albon got caught up in mid-pack fighting and took 8th as result; his performances on Saturday are what he's trying to get a better handle on. Leclerc had some really bad luck, with his engine cutting off late in the race, requiring a restart, a long pit-stop and some seatbelt re-fastening, which lead to a retirement decision. Seb's strategy from Ferrari was a bit flakey, but he ended up one stopping after no safety cars showed up and his tire management looked ok and was able to hold onto 7th for his first points in some time. Perez came back from quarantine and picked up right where he left off, looking strong in the race and finished 4th before a pretty odd blue flag penalty (based on the replays I saw) and it's associated 5-second penalty was applied, leading to him swapping spots with Stroll who was 2.3 seconds back at the checkered flag. Stroll had a great race and between his strong outings and Perez looking consistently sharp, the decision for the Racing Point 2021 driver line up will be difficult to say the least. Mclaren got points from both cars despite this not being a strong track for them and Gasley finished in the points once again, just behind Albon, who replaced him on the top Red Bull team. With the checkered flag dropped, the Driver's Championship standings are as follows: Hamilton, Vertstappen (-37), Bottas (-43), Leclerc (-87), Stroll (-92), Albon (-92), Norris (-93). As you can see, there has been some shuffling at the top, but this season is far from over. Spa rewards top end power so this should be another Merc powerplant favorable circuit. We'll see how the new regulations, tire selection and temperatures all factor into the race finish.

Enjoy your motorsport weekends.

Video courtesy of Formula1.

Video courtesy of Autosport.

What to watch this Weekend (May 17th - May 20th)

• Garage Squad. Monday @ 5pm - 6pm (MotorTrend) replays
• Garage Squad. Tuesday @ 5pm - 6pm (MotorTrend) replays
• Chasing Classic Cars. Tuesday @ 7pm - 7:30pm (MotorTrend) replay
• Motorweek. Tuesday @ 7:30pm - 8pm (MotorTrend) replay
• Overhaulin'. Tuesday @ 9pm - 10pm (MotorTrend) new
• Faster with Finnegan. Tuesday @ 10pm - 11pm (MotorTrend) new
• Wheeler Dealers. Wednesday @ 8pm - 9pm (MotorTrend) repeat
• Vintage Voltage. BMW 1602. Wednesday @ 10pm - 11pm (MotorTrend) new

While not our specific demo if your starving for motorsport the restart of NASCAR is happening this weekend, which is great news. They're going to jam several races into less than two weeks starting this Sunday at 3:30pm on FOX, with the Darlington 400.

Enjoy your weekends.

Video courtesy of Autosport.

What to watch this Weekend (Mar 28th - April 1st)

• Chasing Classic Cars. Tuesday @ 7pm - 7:30pm (MotorTrend) replay
• Motorweek. Tuesday @ 7:30pm - 8pm (MotorTrend) replay
• Vintage Voltage. Wednesday @ 10pm - 11pm (MotorTrend) 

Enjoy your weekends and stay safe out there.

Video courtesy of Autosport.

What to watch this Weekend (Mar 6th - Mar 11th)

• Garage Squad. Tuesday @ 6pm - 7:30pm (MotorTrend) replays
• Motorweek. Tuesday @ 7:30pm - 8pm (MotorTrend) replay
• Chasing Classic Cars. Wednesday @ 5pm - 6pm (MotorTrend)
• Bitchin Rides. Wednesday @ 7pm - 8pm (MotorTrend)

Enjoy your weekends.

Video courtesy of Autosport.

What to watch this Weekend (Nov 15th - Nov 20th)

• Formula 1 - Brazilian Grand Prix; from Autodromo Jose Carlos Pace-Interlagos, San Paolo, Brazil. Practice #1. Friday @ 8:55am - 10:30am (ESPNU) live
• Formula 1 - Brazilian Grand Prix; from Autodromo Jose Carlos Pace-Interlagos, San Paolo, Brazil. Practice #2. Friday @ 12:55pm - 2:30pm (ESPNU) live
• Formula 1 - Brazilian Grand Prix; from Autodromo Jose Carlos Pace-Interlagos, San Paolo, Brazil. Practice #3. Saturday @ 8:55am - 10am (ESPNU) live
• Formula 1 - Brazilian Grand Prix; from Autodromo Jose Carlos Pace-Interlagos, San Paolo, Brazil. Qualifying. Saturday @ 12:55am - 2:30pm (ESPNNEWS) live
• Formula 1 - Brazilian Grand Prix; from Autodromo Jose Carlos Pace-Interlagos, San Paolo, Brazil.  Race. Sunday @ 11:30am - 2pm (ESPN2) live
• Garage Squad. Tuesday @ 7pm - 7:30pm (MotorTrend) replay
• Motorweek. Tuesday @ 7:30pm - 8pm (MotorTrend) replay
• Wheeler Dealers. Tuesday @ 10pm - 11pm (MotorTrend) new
• Bitchin Rides. Wednesday @ 9pm - 10pm (MotorTrend) new
• Garage Squad. Season 6 Ep 9. Wednesday @ 11pm - 12am (MotorTrend)

F1 in Brazil this weekend. Hams is a six time champion, taking second at COTA. Bottas is showing his worth taking the checkered flag at COTA for his first time after taking pole. Verstappen took third and is calling out Ferrari for cheating after their pace disappeared post-clarification from the FIA. McLaren is looking strong heading into 2020. Renault is looking a bit more racey, getting ready for next year. The 2021 F1 regulations are firming up. The short and technical Interlagos circuit awaits us, it should be another interesting race.

Enjoy your Veterans Day Weekends.

Video courtesy of Autosport.

Video courtesy of Hooniganautofocus.

What to watch this Weekend (Oct 25th - Oct 30th)

• Formula 1 - Grand Prix of Mexico; from Autodromo Hermanos Rodriguez in Mexico City, Mexico. Practice 1. Friday @ 10:55am - 12:30pm (ESPNU) live
• Formula 1 - Grand Prix of Mexico; from Autodromo Hermanos Rodriguez in Mexico City, Mexico. Practice 2. Friday @ 2:55pm - 4:30pm (ESPNU) live
• Formula 1 - Grand Prix of Mexico; from Autodromo Hermanos Rodriguez in Mexico City, Mexico. Practice 3. Saturday @ 10:55am - 12pm (ESPNNEWS) live
• Formula 1 - Grand Prix of Mexico; from Autodromo Hermanos Rodriguez in Mexico City, Mexico. Qualifying. Saturday @ 1:55pm - 3pm (ESPNNEWS) live
• Formula 1 - Grand Prix of Mexico; from Autodromo Hermanos Rodriguez in Mexico City, Mexico. Race. Sunday @ 2:30pm - 5pm (ABC) live
• Garage Squad. Tuesday @ 7pm - 7:30pm (MotorTrend) replay
• Motorweek. Tuesday @ 7:30pm - 8pm (MotorTrend) replay
• Wheeler Dealers. Tuesday @ 10pm - 11pm (MotorTrend) new
• Bitchin Rides. Wednesday @ 9pm - 10pm (MotorTrend) new
• Garage Squad. Season 6 Ep 10. Wednesday @ 10pm - 11pm (MotorTrend) new

Welp, things are pretty much sown up -- Merc AMG took their sixth consecutive Constructors Championship in a row, since the start of the turbo-hybrid era in 2014, as well as all six Drivers Championship's even though that hasn't officially been decided upon yet. Bottas took the win in Suzuka despite Ferrari still being the fastest and Red Bull Honda hoping that the new spec power upgrade was going to put them at the front. Hamilton took 3rd after team strategy betting on a one stop not being good by the end of the race; while he wasn't pleased with not topping Vettel for second or Bottas for first, he's another step close to taking his sixth championship -- it's between him and Bottas now. Merc is trying to claw back some performance from Ferrari heading into 2020, but time will tell if that'll be possible. In the meantime we're headed to Mexico; Leclerc is trying to take control of Ferrari, Vettel is trying to stay the clear number one, Mclaren is looking to finish strong and maintain fourth in the constructors take best of the rest, Albon is still interviewing for a job on the main Red Bull team for next year and Hulkenberg is still looking for a 2020 drive. This weekend should be another entertaining race; hopefully Perez can give him home fans some excitement to cheer for.

Enjoy your motorsport weekends.

Video courtesy of Autosport.

What to watch this Petit Le Mans Weekend (Oct 10th - Oct 16th)

• Formula 1 - Japanese Grand Prix; from the Suzuka Circuit in Suzuka, Japan. Practice 1. Thursday @ 8:55pm - 10:30pm (ESPNNEWS) live
• Formula 1 - Japanese Grand Prix; from the Suzuka Circuit in Suzuka, Japan. Practice 2. Friday @ 12:55am - 2:30am (ESPN2) live
• Formula 1 - Japanese Grand Prix; from the Suzuka Circuit in Suzuka, Japan. Practice 3. Friday @ 10:55pm - 12am (ESPNU) live
• Formula 1 - Japanese Grand Prix; from the Suzuka Circuit in Suzuka, Japan. Qualifying. Saturday @ 1:55am - 3am (ESPN2) live
• WeatherTech Sports Car Championship. Petit Le Mans, from Road Atlanta. Saturday @ 5:30pm - 11pm (NBCSN) live
• Formula 1 - Japanese Grand Prix; from the Suzuka Circuit in Suzuka, Japan. Race. Sunday @ 1:05am - 3:05am (ESPN) live
• Garage Squad. Tuesday @ 7pm - 7:30pm (MotorTrend) replay
• Motorweek. Tuesday @ 7:30pm - 8pm (MotorTrend) replay
• Wheeler Dealers. Tuesday @ 10pm - 11pm (MotorTrend) new
• Bitchin Rides. Wednesday @ 9pm - 10pm (MotorTrend) new
• Garage Squad. Season 6 Ep 8. Wednesday @ 10pm - 11pm (MotorTrend) new

We're loaded this weekend with the IMSA WeatherTech Sports Car Championship race season finale at Road Atlanta this weekend, the Petit Le Mans, and the first of six remaining races in the F1 season. The last race in Russia shows you why Merc has a strangle hold on the Manufacturers and Driver's Championships this year -- consistent, even-keeled, strong performances. A signature Mercedes 1-2 finish, again, after Ferrari took pole (Leclerc's 4th) and looked to have even or better race pace during simulations. Ferrari had some bad luck with what appeared to be a kinetic component failure, on Vettel's car, while he was in the net lead of the gp. Leclerc's strategy was a little off when Vettel's DNF brought the virtual safety car out, Ferrari choosing to play the new tire game rather than sticking with track position given the low deg of the circuit. This turned out to be a 3rd place strategy as Merc, while not as fast as Ferrari, are fast enough to stay ahead of a Ferrari. Leclerc also learned what Webber learned back at Red Bull in terms of Vettel's mean streak, as he has a rich history of not sticking to team orders when it doesn't serve his own interests -- something just about every winning racing driver has, but the real issue is this occurring between teammates, at Ferrari, while Ferrari is trying to continue building momentum late this season after resolving its aerodynamic correlation issues. Leclerc seems to adjust to every challenge Plenty of DNFs this race, it wasn't just Seb (wishing the N/A V12s was the F1 powerplant again), it was also both Williams (albeit Russell with a front axel failure), Grosjean/Haas and Ricciardo/Renault. Meanwhile in the top ten, McLaren continues to be at the front of the mid-field with another double points finish, Hulkenberg takes the final point in 10th, Perez performs well again taking 7th and Albon comes from the last spot to finish behind Vertstappen in 5th, earning his keep after putting his car in a wall during Q1. With the race over the current driver standings are as follows: Hamilton, Bottas (-73), Leclerc (-107), Verstappen (-110), Vettel (-128),  Gasly (-253). Notables here are Leclerc taking over third (well ahead of Vettel) and Gasly still hanging on to 6th -- Albon or Sainz will likely take 6th sooner than later. This weekend the very technical Suzuka circuit should be another great showcase for where things have progressed across the field.

Enjoy your motorsport weekends.

Video courtesy of Autosport.

What to watch this Weekend (Aug 2nd - Aug 7th)

• Formula 1 - Grand Prix of Hungary; from the Hungaroring in Budapest, Hungary. Practice 1. Friday @ 4:55am - 6:30am (ESPN2(HD)) live
• Formula 1 - Grand Prix of Hungary; from the Hungaroring in Budapest, Hungary. Practice 2. Friday @ 8:55am - 10:30am (ESPNU(HD)) live
• Formula 1 - Grand Prix of Hungary; from the Hungaroring in Budapest, Hungary. Practice 3. Friday @ 5:55am - 7am (ESPN2(HD)) live
• Formula 1 - Grand Prix of Hungary; from the Hungaroring in Budapest, Hungary. Qualifying. Saturday @ 8:55am - 10am (ESPN2(HD)) live
• Formula 1 - Grand Prix of Hungary; from the Hungaroring in Budapest, Hungary. Race. Sunday @ 9:05am - 11am (ESPN2(HD)) live
• IMSA Weathertech Sports Car Championship - From Road America in Elkhart Lake, Wisconsin. Sunday @ 6pm - 9pm (NBCSN(HD)) same-day delay, live @ 2:25pm on imsa.tv & nbcsportsgold
• Chasing Classic Cars. Tuesday @ 7pm - 7:30pm (MotorTrend) 
• Motorweek. Tuesday @ 7:30pm - 8pm (MotorTrend)
• Bitchin Rides. Tuesday @ 8pm - 9pm (MotorTrend) replay

Just when I said Silverstone was the best race of the 2019 season so far, the German Grand Prix has a swan song of epic proportions. It's a short week so I won't run too long here, but it was nothing short of a victory for those looking for a different podium, action on the race track and hell, even for those looking for a different top ten. Hockenheim delivered everywhere. Hams took pole Saturday, but finished 9th -- with the help of technical regulation compliance fault on both Alfa Romeos (vid below). Kubica scored the final point, in 10th, with this same help! Sainz finished 5th with another strong weekend after nearly collecting himself into the barrier early (drag strip victim #245); his teammate Norris wasn't so lucky and ended with a DNF. Kvyat finished on the podium in 3rd! Lance Stroll took 4th! Bottas, Hulkenburg and Leclerc all crashed out in different ways on the skating rink/drag strip area, late in the race. Vettel had car troubles in Qualy that made him start from 20th and he took 2nd! Max Vertstappen stopped 6 times in this race, spun 360* in the wet and not only took the checkered flag, but the fastest lap. What a magical, rainy, safety-car laden race this was. There were more victims of the DNF bug too, Gasly (a bit too eager to pass Albon and broke the front of the car), Perez (lost the car in the rain off the racing line on lap 2, hitting a barrier) and Ricciardo (engine #1 of the season went up in smoke) couldn't make it out unscathed. The result? Everyone on the podium was elated to be there, the small teams off the podium celebrated like they were on it; quite the scene. I was on vacation watching this race off DVR on my phone and I can't count how many times I put my hand of my head, saying 'holy crap' as unpredictable things happened time and time again. Amazing. Anyways, with the smoke cleared, Merc had one of their worst weekends ever, Ferrari split the difference with one car getting 18pts vs Mercs 2pt haul for Hams. Meanwhile Red Bull chipped even deeper into Ferrari's lead in the Constructors Championship. With the Hungarian Grand Prix around the corner, the drivers standings are as follows: Hamilton, Bottas (-41), Vertstappen (-63), Vettel (-84), Leclerc (-105), Gasly (-170). Hungary will be the last race before the summer break. There's a ton of talk about multiple drivers that may be losing their seats this year, but time will tell how this will shake out. The Hungaroring will be the next battle ground for who stays and goes; most of those team decisions will likely be determined afterwards.

Enjoy your weekends.

Video courtesy of Autosport.

What to watch this Weekend (June 6th - June 12th)

• Isle of Man TT. 2019 insane action from the infamous Isle. Thursday @ 11pm - 12am (VelocityHD) new
• The Grand Tour. Season 3. Episodes on demand. Friday (Amazon Prime) 
• Formula 1 - Canadian Grand Prix; from Gilles Villeneuve Circuit in Montreal, Canada. Practice 1. Friday @ 9:55am - 11:30am (ESPNU(HD)) live
• Formula 1 - Canadian Grand Prix; from Gilles Villeneuve Circuit in Montreal, Canada. Practice 2. Friday @ 1:55pm - 3:30pm (ESPNU(HD)) live
• Isle of Man TT. 2019 insane action from the infamous Isle. Friday @ 11pm - 12am (VelocityHD) new
• Formula 1 - Canadian Grand Prix; from Gilles Villeneuve Circuit in Montreal, Canada. Practice 3. Saturday @ 10:55am - 12pm (ESPN2(HD)) live
• Formula 1 - Canadian Grand Prix; from Gilles Villeneuve Circuit in Montreal, Canada. Qualifying. Saturday @ 1:55pm - 3pm (ESPNNews(HD)) live
• Isle of Man TT. 2019 insane action from the infamous Isle. Saturday @ 11pm - 12am (VelocityHD) new
• Formula 1 - Canadian Grand Prix; from Gilles Villeneuve Circuit in Montreal, Canada. Race. Sunday @ 1:30pm - 4pm (ABC(HD)) live
• Chasing Classic Cars. Tuesday @ 7pm - 7:30pm (MotorTrendHD) replay
• Motorweek. Tuesday @ 7:30pm - 8pm (MotorTrendHD) replay
• Wheeler Dealers. Wednesday @ 8pm - 9pm (MotorTrendHD)

Monaco was quite the weekend. Merc finally failed to get a 1-2 finish, but they still got a 1-3 finish. Ferrari got on the podium, but only because Red Bull released Max into Bottas and there was contact; this lead to a 5 second penalty, which put Max in 4th even though he hounded Hams until the very end -- Hamilton taking a set of mediums into uncharted territory, 60+ laps on a tire only supposed to do 50. However Monaco is a track position dominant track, so once you get your stop in you can typically run to the end if you have the separation needed at right sections of the circuit, which Merc had in spades; Hams rears were perfect even though his left front was graining so he could hook up out of corners without issue. Verstappen was in a pickle once he realized there would be a time penalty for the unsafe release, so he could either run to the end to get as far ahead of 3rd and 4th place as possible to maintain a podium finish, which would require he get past Hamilton, or pit, take the penalty then and try to overtake his way back onto the podium, which didn't look likely unless there was another safety car. No additional safety car came, it didn't rain, so he tried to take on Hamilton for his position. Hams drove a strong race through some old tires and defended like the grizzled vet that his is. Vettel got a surprisingly good finish despite not qualifying to well, on behalf of Ferrari, but Ferrari is still trying to figure out why they can't turn tires on. Honda missed out on making the podium in Monaco, but has been superior to Renault in every way in 2019. Bottas looked strong again this weekend, but was unable to take pole despite a great lap; Hamilton pushed his Merc to the limit and just managed to edge him out in his final lap while Bottas couldn't warm his tires up well enough for the end of Q3. Ferrari's strategy is still suspicious, Leclerc fell victim to that in Q1 -- he should've been told to go back out since the track was getting faster while he sat in the pit (after a salvaged weigh-bridge snaffu, Leclerc missing his call in and his pit pushing him back to avoid penalty). Gasley had another strong race, finishing 5th behind Max and taking the fastest lap point late in the race on softs. McLaren did well enough to get Sainz into 6th, but Norris missed the points in 11th. Torro Rosso finished 7-8, getting all four Honda powertrains well into the top ten. Ricciardo had a scrappy race and got a point for Renault in 9th, but they still have plenty to sort out. Alfa Romeo was MIA and Williams didn't finish in the last two places (15th (Russell) and 18th (Kubica)). The Driver's Championship standings are as follows: Hamilton, Bottas (-17), Vettel (-55), Verstappen (-59), Leclerc (-80), Gasely (-105).  Canada should be a chance for all the teams to reassert themselves; unfortunately Merc is getting an engine upgrade. Red Bull is slowly putting themselves into position to overtake Ferrari; let's see how that effort shakes out.

Enjoy your weekends.

Video courtesy of Autosport.

What to watch this Memorial Day Weekend (May 23rd - May 29th)

• Formula 1 - Monaco Grand Prix. From Circuit de Monaco. Practice 1. Thursday @ 4:55am - 7am (ESPN2(HD)) live
• Formula 1 - Monaco Grand Prix. From Circuit de Monaco. Practice 2. Thursday @ 8:55am - 11am (ESPN2(HD)) live
• The Grand Tour. Season 3. Episodes on demand. Friday (Amazon Prime)
• Formula 1 - Monaco Grand Prix. From Circuit de Monaco. Practice 3. Saturday @ 5:55am - 7:30am (ESPN2(HD)) live 
• Formula E - Berlin. Race. Saturday @ 6:30am - 8am (FS1(HD)) 
• Formula 1 - Monaco Grand Prix. From Circuit de Monaco. Qualifying. Saturday @ 8:55am - 10:30am (ESPN2(HD)) live; replay @ 2:30p on ABC(HD)
• Formula 1 - Monaco Grand Prix. From Circuit de Monaco. Race. Sunday @ 9:05am - 11:30am (ESPN(HD)) live; same-day replay @ 3:30pm (ABC(HD))
• IndyCar Series - The Indianapolis 500. From Indianapolis Motor Speedway, from Speedway, Indiana. Sunday @ 12am - 3:30pm (NBC(HD)) live
• Chasing Classic Cars. Tuesday @ 7pm - 7:30pm (MotorTrendHD) replay
• Motorweek. Tuesday @ 7:30pm - 8pm (MotorTrendHD) replay
• Bitchin Rides. Tuesday @ 8pm - 9pm (MotorTrendHD) replay
• Wheeler Dealers. Wednesday @ 8pm - 9pm (MotorTrendHD) replay

What can we say about Spain? Bottas was faster than Hams in qualy, which is more of the new page in this team dynamic, but Hamilton got the jump in the race and never gave it back, taking the win and the fastest lap (making a point to counter Bottas' race domination of Australia) -- which is something we've seen before. Red Bull out paced the Ferrari with Verstappen at the wheel on a track where Ferrari looked the strongest in pre-season running; Maranello is still looking for answers to why they can't take their power to the front, still working to figure out how to turn on their tires at will aaaand how to best work team race strategy. Haas looks like they figured out their tire warm-up problems (Ferrari engineers were looking at their car at various points of the weekend) and are competitive with their latest package; bur was it the upgrades or the track or both? Merc's new package has proven another step on, which is making things interesting all around. Mclaren still looks strong and are chipping away at the results every week, but Norris got pulled a short straw with contact and a DNF leaving only Sainz bringing in points. Renault is making it to the end of races, but are still no better than some of the teams they're supplying engines to. It's going to be a long season for them. Kvyat put together another decent race, taking a couple points, Albon in the partner Toro Rosso finishing in 11th behind Grosjean. Mercedes 1-2, for a fifth race in a row, with Spain being a send off present to retiring Daimler CEO Dieter Zetsche. It looks like the Manufacturers Championship is a wrap at this point, but there are a ton of races left. With the checkered flag dropped the Driver's Championship standings are as follows: Hamilton, Bottas (-7), Verstappen (-46), Vettel (-48), Leclerc (-55), Gasley (-91). If Red Bull keeps progressing they'll be fighting for second in the constructors -- hopefully some appearance of parity will show up by summer to make this more interesting.

This weekend in picturesque Monaco, the low speed corner heavy street circuit awaits. Merc looks strong on every different type of track thus far. Let's see if they can perhaps be knocked off one of the top two podium steps this weekend. Oh and don't forget the Indy 500 later in the day (although Alonso didn't qualify due to a myriad of struggles with McLaren's IndyCar entry).

In sadder news, in case you missed the news on Tuesday, F1 legend Niki Lauda passed away on Monday. I was just thinking how it was odd that I hadn't seen him in the Merc pits for some time now, but I didn't realize he was dealing with an number of ailments going back to a lung transplant last Summer. He was involved with a number of incredible events in the history of the sport, he was a three time F1 world champion, a successful entrepreneur and team Chairman and more importantly he was a respected man and racing driver with a rcers resolve that is second to none. He'll be missed.

Enjoy your motorsports weekends.

Videos courtesy of Autosport.

Current Events: What made 'unfiltered' Niki Lauda so special in F1 (Autosport)

RIP Niki.


Video courtesy of Autosport.

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.

What to watch this Weekend (April 26th - May 1st)

• The Grand Tour. Season 3. Episodes on demand. Friday (Amazon Prime) 
• Formula 1 - Azerbaijan Grand Prix; from the street circuit in Azerbaijan, Baku. Practice 1. Friday @ 4:55am - 6:30am (ESPN2(HD)) new
• Formula 1 - Azerbaijan Grand Prix; from the street circuit in Azerbaijan, Baku. Practice 2. Friday @ 8:55am - 10:30am (ESPNU(HD)) new
• Formula 1 - Azerbaijan Grand Prix; from the street circuit in Azerbaijan, Baku. Practice 3. Saturday @ 4:55am - 6:30am (ESPNNEWS(HD)) replay
• Formula 1 - Azerbaijan Grand Prix; from the street circuit in Azerbaijan, Baku. Qualifying. Saturday @ 8:55am - 10am (ESPN2(HD)) live
• Formula 1 - Azerbaijan Grand Prix; from the street circuit in Azerbaijan, Baku. Race. Sunday @ 7:30am - 10am (ESPN2(HD)) live
• Chasing Classic Cars. Tuesday @ 7pm - 7:30pm (MotorTrendHD) replay
• Motorweek. Tuesday @ 7:30pm - 8pm (MotorTrendHD) replay
• Garage Squad. Wednesday @ 10pm - 11pm (MotorTrendHD) new
• Wheeler Dealers. Wednesday @ 9pm - 10pm (MotorTrendHD) new

Last we left off in China, the 1000th F1 race, Bottas took pole, Ferrari looked suspiciously slow and inept with strategy and Merc took another 1-2 in a row. Renault had another mechanical failure related DNF, Hulk the victim by himself this time around, and Ricciardo finally finished a race. Verstappen split the Ferraris again, which is putting Maranello in a bit of a pickle. If they can't keep up with Merc it leads to them shooting themselves in the foot by not covering off Verstappen with their strategy. Also, if Leclerc is as good as he appears to be and Ferrari seems to be favoring Vettel with the benefit of team strategies, this lack of letting their drivers race each other will likely decide this years Championship; probably in favor of the silver arrows if they continue to remain as reliable as they've been thus far. Albon crashed out in P3, which took him out of Qualy, but he made it up to his team by taking back one championship point from the starting at the back of the field during the race -- great drive to take 10th. Gasly finally performed up to expectations, finishing right behind Leclerc in 6th. He also wisely snagged the fastest lap since he had a big enough cushion to pit late for softs, keeping the front runners from holding onto it. Kimi took 9th, Perez too 8th and both Haas couldn't find any real pace and finished out of the points. Daniil regained his torpedo status with a 7-10 split of McLaren's on lap one, which he got penalized for, but it lead to both himself and Norris not finishing the race. Sainz finally finished a race, but it was only in 14th. Hamilton's start proved to be both decisive and the deciding in this grand prix; he never looked back and drove an excellent race. He now leads the championship.

With the checkered flag dropped the current Driver's Championship standings are as follows: Hamilton, Bottas (-6), Verstappen (-29), Vettel (-31), Leclerc (-32), Gasly (-55). This weekend in Azerbaijan should be another entertaining race, we'll see if Ferrari can respond after a lackluster performance in China.

Enjoy your weekends.

Video courtesy of Autosport.

What to watch this Weekend (Mar 1st - Mar 6th)

• The Grand Tour. Season 3 Episode 8. Friday (Amazon Prime) new
• Pirelli World Challenge. 2019 action from Austin/COTA. Sunday @TBD (TBD) new
• Chasing Classic Cars. Tuesday @ 7pm - 7:30pm (MotorTrendHD) replay
• Motorweek. Tuesday @ 7:30pm - 8pm (MotorTrendHD) replay
• Restoration Garage. Tuesday @ 10pm - 11pm (MotorTrendHD) new

Enjoy your weekends.

Video courtesy of Autosport.

Collector Car Pron: My picks from Silverstone Auction Sale at Autosport Show Saturday 12th Jan (HarrysGarage)

Harry gives his picks before the Silverstone Auto Auction a few weekends ago.


Video courtesy of HenrysGarage.

What to watch this Weekend (Oct 19th - Oct 24th)

• Formula 1 - US Grand Prix; from Circuit of the Americas in Austin, Texas. Practice 1. Friday @ 10:55am - 12:30pm (ESPNU(HD)) live
• Formula 1 - US Grand Prix; from Circuit of the Americas in Austin, Texas. Practice 2. Friday @ 2:55pm - 4:30pm (ESPNU(HD)) live
• Formula 1 - US Grand Prix; from Circuit of the Americas in Austin, Texas. Practice 3. Saturday @ 1:55pm - 3pm (ESPNNEWS(HD)) live
• Formula 1 - US Grand Prix; from Circuit of the Americas in Austin, Texas. Qualifying. Saturday @ 4:55pm - 6pm (ESPNNEWS(HD)) live
• Formula 1 - US Grand Prix; from Circuit of the Americas in Austin, Texas. Race. Sunday @ 1:30pm - 4pm (ABC(HD)) live
• Chasing Classic Cars. Tuesday @ 7pm - 7:30pm (VelocityHD) replay
• Motorweek. Tuesday @ 7:30pm - 8pm (VelocityHD) replay
• Bitchin' Rides. Season 5 Ep3. Tuesday @ 9pm - 10pm (VelocityHD) new
• Garage Squad. Season 5 Ep9. Wednesday @ 9pm - 10pm (VelocityHD) new
• Wheeler Dealers. Wednesday @ 10pm - 11pm (VelocityHD) new

Since I didn't get around to a recap last week, we'll quickly revisit the last two races, both at Sochi and Sazuka. Sochi will be quick; Merc was fast again, Bottas taking pole for a second year in a row, but Verstappen was flying in the race which sped up Merc's decision to swap places between Bottas and Hamilton -- a decision that neither of them was comfortable with, but made the most big picture sense in terms of the Driver's Championship. Bottas switched to second for the last third and ended up becoming a buffer for Verstappen whose car made it to the flag, unlike his teammates, while still suffering a strange driveability problem which effectively didn't ruin his race. Switching to Sazuka and the season outlook, what more can you say besides Ferrari is just about out of both the Driver's and Constructors Championships. The season could be decided for the Drivers Championship this weekend in Austin, TX, where Hams is quite strong. Vettel has made some questionable moves in retrospect, in some recent races that may have cost him pretty big this year. Hams meanwhile hasn't set a foot wrong and they've made up whatever advantage Ferrari has had earlier in the season, with interest. Ferrari's upgrades don't seem to be working for top overall race pace and when it comes down to in-race execution, it hasn't been great at times. Verstappen is on a roll of podiums, very strong and fast as of late, Ricciardo finally had a good result in Japan, taking 4th behind his teammate and the Ferrari's finished 5th and 6th. Bottas took second for yet another race; I'm sure he's looking forward for the last few races of the season after the Championship is decided to see if he can get a victory under his belt. Ricciardo is looking to make a mark before he departs Red Bull and I'm sure has had words with his new employer concerning Renault power-unit woes. Ocon had a points finish which he'll continue working to replicate in hopes of not taking a full season off sans drive. Heading into the USGP, the Driver's Championship standings are as follows: Hamilton, Vettel (-78), Bottas (-124), Raikkonen (-135), Verstappen (-158), Ricciardo (-181). This should be another great race at COTA, a technical and flowing track that allows plenty of overtaking and rewards big power.

Enjoy your weekends.

Video courtesy of Autosport.

What to watch this Weekend (Sept 28th - Oct 3rd)

• Formula 1 - Russian Grand Prix; from the Sochi Autodrom in Sochi, Russia. Practice 1. Friday @ 3:55am - 6am (ESPNU(HD)) live
• Formula 1 - Russian Grand Prix; from the Sochi Autodrom in Sochi, Russia. Practice 2. Friday @ 7:55am - 10am (ESPNU(HD)) live
• Formula 1 - Russian Grand Prix; from the Sochi Autodrom in Sochi, Russia. Practice 3. Saturday @ 4:55am - 6:30am (ESPN2(HD)) live
• Formula 1 - Russian Grand Prix; from the Sochi Autodrom in Sochi, Russia. Qualifying. Saturday @ 7:55am - 9:30am (ESPN2(HD)) live
• Formula 1 - Russian Grand Prix; from the Sochi Autodrom in Sochi, Russia. Race. Sunday @ 7am - 10:30am (ESPN2(HD)) live
• Chasing Classic Cars. Tuesday @ 7pm - 7:30pm (VelocityHD) replay
• Motorweek. Tuesday @ 7:30pm - 8pm (VelocityHD) replay
• Bitchin' Rides. Tuesday @ 8pm - 10pm (VelocityHD) replays
• Garage Squad. Season 5 Ep6. Wednesday @ 9pm - 10pm (VelocityHD) new
• Wheeler Dealers. Wednesday @ 10pm - 11pm (VelocityHD) new

Singapore was another important and exciting race. I think the most significant thing that came out of Singapore was that Red Bull was really fast, but Mercedes via Hamilton proved much faster than anyone expected and Ferrari couldn't match it despite their best efforts. Qualy was the same story as the actual race. You would assume Ferrari would show race pace and chase Hamilton down, but that's not what really happened. Whatever Merc is doing to improve show corner pace seems to be working, and it's lead to some larger gaps between Hams and Vettel, along with Merc and Ferrari as constructors. Verstappen was quick and was faster than even Vettel with his Renault powertrain around the streets of Singapore. Ricciardo was also quick and thankfully his car didn't let him down so he finished 6th -- Fernando was in a similar boat, where his car didn't fail him; he finished 7th.

The biggest talking point from this race was Sergio Perez. He was involved with two major incidents in this race, the first being putting Ocon in the wall on lap one (which looked like more of a racing incident and an optimistic outside line attempt by Ocon, but the cynical among us have doubts) and later a high-speed incident with Sirotkin -- the latter seeming to be clearly the result of him being frustrated and complaining that the Williams wasn't getting out of the way after his poorly timed pit stop put him behind him after running in the top ten. The Williams Merc power kept Sirotkin ahead of Perez everywhere it mattered and it eventually boiled over. This resulted in Perez ramming his car into him during an attempted pass on lap 33 that looked like it wouldn't stick; for this second incident he was penalized 5 seconds. However, he had to pit as well due to a puncture that resulted. These two incidents lead to the team potentially getting a double points finish to snake eyes, plus a damaged car. Plenty of F1 talking heads and fans were calling for a race ban given the seeming deliberate dangerous action at very high speed. Point Force India is trying to get as many points as they can after the re-entry into the F1 field a couple races ago, but this is quite the setback which will make the new ownership think much harder about keeping Perez in the lineup for 2019.

With the checkered flag dropped, the Driver's Championship standings are as follows: Hamilton, Vettel (-40), Raikkonen (-107), Bottas (-110), Verstappen (-133), Ricciardo (-155). The other notable is that Alonso is in 8th spot and Merc has a 37pt lead over Ferrari. Sochi Autodrom is another technical track that typically favors Red Bull and Ferrari, but Merc has had a strong run since this track was added to the calendar. This weekend will be absolutely critical for Ferrari to make a run at both Chips.

Enjoy your weekends.

Video courtesy of Autosport.