Verstappen Wins Easily as Drivers Struggle with the Heat
Max Verstappen led a pretty comfortable race out front to take his 14th win of the season whilst Oscar Piastri and Lando Norris rounded out the Podium in another great day for McLaren as plenty of drivers struggled with the extreme conditions.
The Biggest Talking Points
At Turn 1, Lap 1, calamity struck for Mercedes as George Russell and Lewis Hamilton collided resulting in Lewis being out of the race whilst George was sent to the back of the field. This was a complete disaster for Mercedes and for me, this was definitely Hamilton’s fault as he could’ve gone much wider whilst Russell had nowhere to go due to Max Verstappen being on his righthand side. A Safety Car was called out and this saw Valtteri Bottas, Lance Stroll, Kevin Magnussen, and Liam Lawson all pit at the end of Lap 3 meaning they all could do three 18-lap stints to the end due to the new regulation that was brought in due to safety concerns. In terms of the rest of the race, not much happened, but there are still some things to talk about. Fernando Alonso went off a couple of times which is pretty rare for him whilst there were quite a few penalties handed out for track limits (Sergio Perez ended up receiving a total of 15 seconds worth of penalties during the entire Grand Prix). George Russell was also able to climb back through to take a great P4 whilst Alfa Romeo scored double points for the first time all season. However, maybe the Biggest Talking Point of all in this race (besides the Mercedes’ colliding) was the fact that plenty of drivers were struggling to cope with the extreme weather conditions plus the fact that they were basically pushing flat out for the entire race due to only being allowed on a certain tyre for 18 laps. Logan Sargeant had to retire early due to feeling unwell whilst the likes of George Russell, Esteban Ocon, Lance Stroll, and Alex Albon were all seen struggling either during or after the Grand Prix. It’s very concerning and I hope everyone is feeling okay.
The Standout Drives in the Race
I’ve given out three 10’s for this race and the first one is obviously for Max Verstappen. On a weekend where Max was crowned a 3-time World Champion, he’s shone his class throughout. The second driver I’ve given a perfect 10 to is Oscar Piastri and the reason for that is because I feel like he drove a super race. Oscar has been really good for the second half of this season, but this feels like the weekend where he properly lifted himself into another tier. The final driver I’ve given out maximum points to Valtteri Bottas and for me, this was probably Bottas’ best drive of the season and certainly his best weekend. I also thought Lando Norris, George Russell, Esteban Ocon, and Zhou Guanyu all had great races for different reasons.
Drivers who had a Shocker
In total, I’ve given out two 1’s for this race, and the first one is for Liam Lawson. After a really impressive first four weekends with Alpha Tauri, Liam’s fifth (and what looks to be final) weekend with the team has been pretty poor, and finishing last of the running cars isn’t a particularly good look. The other driver that I’ve given the worst possible grade to is Lewis Hamilton and that’s simply because I feel that it was definitely Lewis’ fault when the two Mercedes’ came together. I’m surprised that someone of Hamilton’s experience would’ve turned in on his teammate like that, but I’m also maybe more surprised about the fact that a Hamilton and Russell collision hasn’t happened sooner. I also thought Nico Hulkenberg was slow and Logan Sargeant struggled (even though I will be less harsh on Sargeant as he was feeling unwell) whilst Sergio Perez and Yuki Tsunoda also had tough days for very different reasons.
Overall Race Results and My Ratings
Max Verstappen: 10 (FL)
Oscar Piastri: 10
Lando Norris: 9
George Russell: 9
Charles Leclerc: 7
Fernando Alonso: 7
Esteban Ocon: 9
Valtteri Bottas: 10
Zhou Guanyu: 9
Sergio Perez: 3
Lance Stroll: 5
Pierre Gasly: 4
Alex Albon: 4
Kevin Magnussen: 4
Yuki Tsunoda: 3
Nico Hulkenberg: 2
Liam Lawson: 1
Logan Sargeant: 2 (DNF)
Lewis Hamilton: 1 (DNF)
Carlos Sainz: - (DNS)
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