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.
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.
