| Race Date | April 18, 2021 | |
| Location | Imola, Emilia Romagna, Italy | |
| Track Name | Autodromo Internazionale Enzo e Dino Ferrari | |
| Course Length | 4.909-kilometer (3.050-mile) | |
| Laps | 63 | |
| 2020 Pole Winner | Valtteri Bottas | |
| 2020 Pole Time | 1:13.609 | |
| Past Five Grand Prix Winners | ||
| 2020 | Lewis Hamilton | Mercedes-AMG |
| As San Marino Grand Prix | ||
| 2005 | Michael Schumacher | Scuderia Ferrari |
| 2004 | Feranando Alonso | Renault |
| 2003 | Michael Schumacher | Scuderia Ferrari |
| 2002 | Michael Schumacher | Scuderia Ferrari |
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| Photo Credit: FIA Pool/LAT Images/Pirelli |
An all-new season for Formula 1 has arrived with a slew of pre-season storylines set to be explored as engines turn over for the 2021 Bahrain Grand Prix.
A consistent source of astonishment and a fair level of distain of competitors is the dominance of the Mercedes-AMG Petronas F1 Team. A constant fore-runner since the series’ adoption of the current turbo/hybrid power unit format, Mercedes-AMG with Valtteri Bottas as well as seven-time and reigning Formula 1 World Drivers’ Champion Lewis Hamilton continued to have winning pace last season. However, the 2020 season gave glimpses that Red Bull Racing could potentially achieve the enviable task of matching the performance of the German factory team. Max Verstappen’s Honda-powered race car frequently had the pace to fill the mirrors of Bottas and Hamilton last year, At the 2020 season-ending Abu Dhabi Grand Prix, Verstappen and Red Bull Racing put on an impressive showcase taking pole along with the race win convincingly. Though just one event, Red Bull Racing’s performance on the Yas Marina Circuit gives reason to consider 2021 may present Mercedes-AMG with battle unlike any experienced since their seven consecutive Constructors’ championship-winning seasons.
Ahead of Formula 1's season-opening 57-lap event, the 5.412-kilometer Bahrain International Circuit hosted Saturday qualifying to set the grid for the Bahrain Grand Prix. Setting fastest time in the Q1 session, Max Verstappen and his Red Bull Racing team became concerned with the underside of his #33 RB16B race car after the Dutch driver rode a track curb. Though he was bettered on pace in Q2, Verstappen valiantly fought to take pole for the Bahrain Grand Prix late in Q3. Shortly after Lewis Hamilton grabbed the top spot with a 1-minute, 29.385-second lap time, the Honda-powered Red Bull flew across the start/finish line setting the pole of 1 minute, 28.997 seconds. Accounting for his top grid position at Formula 1'a last race of 2020, Verstappen has become the first non-Mercedes driver to score back-to-back poles since Charles Leclerc accomplished the feat during the 2019 campaign.
Though Max Verstappen provided Red Bull Racing with a major reason to celebrate after Bahrain Grand Prix qualifying, the second car driven by new team driver Sergio Perez had a less successful outing. Perez will start 11th after attempting to advance beyond Q2 on medium compound Pirelli tires.
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| Photo Credit: Sebastian Kawka for Mercedes-Benz Grand Prix ltd. |
Lewis Hamilton starts second for tomorrow’s Bahrain Grand Prix as the defending winner of the event. Setting a top time in the Q3 session that was 0.589 seconds short of Max Verstappen’s benchmark, Hamilton’s Mercedes teammate Valtteri Bottas will launch from third on the second row of the race grid alongside Charles Leclerc. Leclerc and his new teammate Carlos Sainz Jr. gave Scuderia Ferrari and their Tifosi to cheer taking the top two spots in the Q2 session aided by the use of soft compound tires. Sainz will start the Bahrain Grand Prix in eighth place.
Pierre Gasly’s Honda-powered AlphaTauri race car was fifth fastest in Formula 1 qualifying and will start the race beside Daniel Ricciardo who is making his debut with McLaren. McLaren’s return to Mercedes-Benz power showed promise for the squad through Friday practice and contributed to a sixth place after qualifying for Ricciardo and seventh for Lando Norris.
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| Photo Credit: Mark Sutton/LAT Images/Pirelli |
Two-time Formula 1 drivers’ champion Fernando Alonso’s return to Formula 1 racing after a two-year hiatus sees the Spaniard in ninth place ahead of Sunday’s main event driving for Renault’s rebranded Alpine F1 Team. Aston Martin Racing, the rebranded entity that was known as Racing Point last year, starts 2021 with a top qualifying effort coming from Canada’s Lance Stroll who will roll off the grid in tenth place. Stroll’s high-profile new teammate Sebastian Vettel will start the Bahrain Grand Prix in 17th place after being impeded by local yellow flags in his Q1 session run.
The 2021 Formula 1 season opener is scheduled for Sunday at 6 p.m. local time or 11 a.m. Eastern time.
| Pos # | Car # | Driver | Team | Engine |
| 1 | 33 | Max Verstappen | Red Bull Racing | Honda |
| 2 | 44 | Lewis Hamilton | Mercedes-AMG Petronas F1 Team | Mercedes-Benz |
| 3 | 77 | Valtteri Bottas | Mercedes-AMG Petronas F1 Team | Mercedes-Benz |
| 4 | 16 | Charles Leclerc | Scuderia Misson Winnow Ferrari | Ferrari |
| 5 | 10 | Pierre Gasly | Scuderia AlphaTauri | Honda |
| 6 | 3 | Daniel Ricciardo | McLaren F1 Team | Mercedes-Benz |
| 7 | 4 | Lando Norris | McLaren F1 Team | Mercedes-Benz |
| 8 | 55 | Carlos Sainz Jr | Scuderia Misson Winnow Ferrari | Ferrari |
| 9 | 14 | Fernando Alonso | Alpine F1 Team | Renault |
| 10 | 18 | Lance Stroll | Aston Martin Cognizant F1 Team | Mercedes-Benz |
| 11 | 11 | Sergio Perez | Red Bull Racing | Honda |
| 12 | 99 | Antonio Giovinazzi | Alfa Romeo Racing | Ferrari |
| 13 | 22 | Yuki Tsunoda | Scuderia AlphaTauri | Honda |
| 14 | 7 | Kimi Raikkonen | Alfa Romeo Racing | Ferrari |
| 15 | 63 | George Russell | Williams Racing | Mercedes-Benz |
| 16 | 31 | Esteban Ocon | Alpine F1 Team | Renault |
| 17 | 6 | Nicholas Latifi | Williams Racing | Mercedes-Benz |
| 18 | 5 | Sebastian Vettel | Aston Martin Cognizant F1 Team | Mercedes-Benz |
| 19 | 47 | Mick Schumacher | Uralkali Haas F1 Team | Ferrari |
| 20 | 9 | Nikita Mazepin | Uralkali Haas F1 Team | Ferrari |
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| Photo Credit: LAT Images for Mercedes-Benz Grand Prix Ltd |
A year many of us are pleased to have in the rearview mirror, 2020 presented some unprecedented challenges as we pursued (and continue to pursue) a manner to globally battle COVID-19 while attempting to maintain as much normality as possible. As a series intended to transverse across five of the Earth’s seven continents, the 2020 Formula 1 championship needed to be greatly shuffled their travel schedule in order to provide an entertaining 17-round season.
Operating under the improvised, abbreviated calendar, this past year’s Formula 1 competition was held with some complications but ultimately concluded as a season of note. For the seventh-time in his career, the recently-knighted Sir Lewis Hamilton claimed the World Drivers’ Championship winning 11 of the 2020 season’s 17 grand prix events. Although the dominance of the Mercedes-AMG Petronas F1 Team fielding drivers Hamilton and Valtteri Bottas spent another season at the front of the majority of the time, there were a number of impressive feats performed throughout the 2020 Formula 1 paddock. The surprise win of Pierre Gasly at the Italian Grand Prix, Sergio Perez's long-awaited first victory and a re-ignition of the Mexican's career, Canadian Lance Stroll's first pole on a wet Intercity Istanbul Park circuit for the Turkish Grand Prix and the one-off showcase of George Russell at the Sakhir Grand Prix were so of the bright spots defining a sport's 70th Anniversary season.
As teams and drivers prepare for what will be a challenging 2021 tour, 1 Racing Mind wishes to shed light on their performances in the past year’s 17-race calendar. In addition to grading the team and their driver lineup during the 2020 Formula 1 season for the following race squads, this review will also contain detailed highlights:
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| Photo Credit: XPB / James Moy Photography Ltd./ F1 Renault Group |
Besides Racing Point, the Formula 1 constructor name that comes to mind when mentioning biggest year-to-year gains is the Renault DP World F1 Team. The 2019 season was regarded as a disappointment when accounting the team’s commitment, resources and driving talent. Competing in a 2020 season that was four races shorter than 2019, the French automakers’ grand prix team came a point short of doubling their total point tally in the constructors’ standings. Though the Renault name has a storied history in Formula 1, the results since their 2016 return to the sport as a factory constructor team had been a rough affair up until this past year.
Renault DP World F1 Team’s 2020 challenger, the R.S. 20 race car, showcased itself as not only a reliable top-10 finisher but as a vehicle that could be a spoiler in some grand prix races. Three times, the race car was driven to a podium finish including a runner-up position at the second-last race of the season. Navigated around the Formula 1 tracks by the popular Australian driver Daniel Ricciardo teamed up with new Renault pilot Esteban Ocon. Ricciardo captured a pair of third-place finishes while Ocon claimed a surprise runner-up finish at the Sakhir Grand Prix.
On-track success for Renault DP World F1 Team was marked by Seven races for the Renault DP World F1 Team ended with both cars finishing in the top 10.
Not an event that accounted for one of their three podium results in 2020, the Belgian Grand Prix was probably one of the most triumphant moments for the team. A track known to demanding supreme engine power as well as stable handling for some challenging corners, Renault’s R.S.20 race cars and drivers gave a profound demonstration of the team’s potential. Daniel Ricciardo started fourth and finished fourth while Esteban Ocon qualified sixth and gained a spot to finish fifth in the race at the Circuit de Spa-Francorchamps. In addition to the consistently strong effort over 44 laps, Ricciardo recorded the fastest lap in the Belgian Grand Prix race. The Australian and the Renault team would also post the fastest race lap in the Abu Dhabi Grand Prix.
A weak outing for the Renault DP World F1 Team was the Spanish Grand Prix. While it was a common sight to see at least one of the R.S. 20 race cars within the first five rows of a grand prix grid throughout 2020, Daniel Ricciardo started the event in 13th place and Esteban Ocon would leap on the opening lap from 15th place. This result for the team came after a Friday practice session where Ricciardo was fourth and Ocon was ninth. On race day, neither driver was able to significantly improve from their grid positions over the course of the 66-lap ordeal on the Circuit de Barcelona-Catalunya.
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| Photo Credit: XPB / James Moy Photography Ltd./ F1 Renault Group |
Leaving Red Bull Racing after the 2018 season for the Renault DP World F1 Team, it was seen as a well-calculated gamble for Daniel Ricciardo joining an organization that possessed resources to be a leading contender in the sport but lacking track success since their 2016 return. While entering the 2019 season with great positivity and optimism, Ricciardo endured a somewhat disappointing 21-race run scoring the least enough of drivers’ championship points since he was with Scuderia Toro Rosso in 2013.
In the second year of a two-year contract with Renault DP World F1 Team, Ricciardo announced prior to the start of the 2020 Formula 1 season in July that he would jump to McLaren Racing for 2021. Despite the news the driver would be departing the team, the Renault organization remained supportive of the Australian throughout the past year realizing their mutual interests of a strong 2020 campaign. Over the course of 17 races, Daniel Ricciardo scored points in 14 events and finishing in the top-5 in the final results 7 times.
In the opening nine races of the 2020 Formula 1 calendar, Daniel Ricciardo finished fourth on three occasions with one of those being an exceptionally strong performance at the Belgian Grand Prix where he started a season-best fourth on the grid. Knocking on the door for a podium finish through the first-half of 2020, the Australian was finally able to partake in his personal ritual of drinking champagne out of his driving shoe with a third place finish at the Eifel Grand Prix at Germany’s Nurburgring. Ricciardo would return to the podium two races later at the Imola circuit for the Emilia Romagna Grand Prix.
Daniel Ricciardo has also been the Renault DP World F1 Team’s primary source of speed behind the wheel of the R.S. 20 race car. Out-qualifying his teammate Esteban Ocon on all but two occasions over 17 races, Ricciardo made the Q3 session in qualifying for all but three of the seventeen events. The Australian driver was also the source of Renault’s two fastest race laps of the season at the Belgian Grand Prix and the Abu Dhabi Grand Prix.
Daniel Ricciardo’s season-long points total were enough to place him fifth in the 2020 Formula 1 World Drivers’ Championship.
Experiencing a very consistent season in the top-10, Daniel Ricciardo’s only major faltering came in a two-race span.
The first of the outlying races for the Ricciardo was the 70th Anniversary Grand Prix held on the Silverstone Circuit. The weekend for the #3 car started off well earning a fifth place grid position during a Saturday qualifying session but Sunday’s main event was deflating for the Australian. On lap 31 while competing in the middle of a tight battle between 8th and 12th places involving drivers Daniil Kvyat, Sebastian Vettel, Carlos Sainz Jr. and teammate Esteban Ocon, Ricciardo spun his Renault coming out of Silverstone’s turn three. Daniel Ricciardo finished the race in the 14th place spot.
Following the 70th Anniversary Grand Prix, the Spanish Grand Prix was generally regarded as a lousy weekend for the entire Renault DP World F1 Team. Ricciardo showed a moment of brightness for the organization when he was fourth fastest in the second Friday practice session but the event went downhill during Saturday and Sunday. Starting 13th, the driver of the #3 Renault settled with a 11th place result.
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| Photo Credit: XPB / James Moy Photography Ltd./ F1 Renault Group |
The most elite form of racing in the world, Formula 1 is an exclusive club only a handful of motorsport drivers gain entry. With only 20 driving spots in the field in the current tour, hundreds of aspiring auto racing athletes compete for a slim chance simply to drive a Formula 1 machine in a single grand prix. Last year, French driver Esteban Ocon was squeezed out of the sport after competing with the former Manor Racing for a nine-race stint ending the 2016 Formula 1 calendar and two season with Force India. For 2020, Ocon rejoined the premium open wheel racing tour by signing with the Renault DP World F1 Team.
One of only two driver moves heading into the 2020, Esteban Ocon’s arrival to Renault coinciding with the complications of the shortened, altered competitive season resulted in a potentially greater challenge for the Frenchman than other returning drivers. Despite posting ten top 10 finishes in the 17-race Formula 1 season, Ocon was viewed as having more difficulty than Renault teammate Daniel Ricciardo. Ocon’s #31 car suffered four retirements during the 2020 season compared to just one by Ricciardo but the French driver’s races were cut short three times by mechanical issues.
Esteban Ocon ended the season strong in the second-last event in Bahrain capturing a runner-up finish.
After a one-year hiatus from Formula 1, Esteban Ocon scored four championship points in his debut with Renault by finishing the Austrian Grand Prix in eighth. “It felt good to be back racing properly today. Finishing in the points is a great result, especially as I’m still a little rusty!” said the Frenchman in a post-race press release from Renault after the event on the Red Bull Ring.
Over the span of the first 15 races, Esteban Ocon’s best finish has been a respectable fifth place in an overall strong effort for the entire Renault DP World F1 Team. The 16th race of the 2020 season was a career-defining event for Ocon occurring on the 3.543-kilometer track within the Bahrain International Circuit. Starting in the middle of the grid in 11th place, the French driver of the #31 Renault moved up the field of Sunday’s 87-lap main race thanks to a single pit stop strategy and some spiffy driving through the early stage of the tire run. Aided in part by the mayhem of the latter third of the Sakhir Grand Prix, Esteban Ocon held on to second place capturing his first-career Formula 1 podium.
Rejoining the Formula 1 tour after a one-year absence, Esteban Ocon quite possibly experienced one of the longest learning curves (besides Williams Racing’s Nicholas Latifi) among full-time drivers in 2020. In truth, Ocon’s performance with Renault DP World F1 Team was pretty close to the consistency he displayed in 2018. However, his previous stint in Formula 1 did involve Force India’s turbulent mid-season transition to Racing Point’s ownership. The big downside to Esteban Ocon’s 2020 season was his efforts were overshadowed by his Renault teammate.
Only twice in qualifying for the 17 events of 2020 was Ocon able beat Ricciardo for grid position. Ocon also missed the top 10 in event qualifying on 8 occasions while his Australian teammate had just three events where he placed outside of the Q3 session.
Esteban Ocon experienced four of the total five retirements recorded by the Renault DP World F1 Team but that was more due to bad luck than driver-related causes. In fact, all of Ocon’s DNFs are attributed to mechanical failures such as an overheating problem in the Styrian Grand Prix and failing hydraulics at the Eifel Grand Prix.
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| Photo Credit: Zak Mauger/ LAT Image/ Pirelli |
A team known under the Toro Rosso name from 2006 to 2019, Scuderia AlphaTauri made it clear that their rebranding is more than just a superficial change limited to a team name and colours. Under the same ownership as Austria-based Red Bull Racing but having a home base in Italy, AlphaTauri made it clear the constructor will no longer operate as a junior team used mainly to develop drivers.
The 2020 Scuderia AlphaTauri’s Red Bull Racing influence remained strong, however, with a driver lineup consisting of two pilots that had previously competed under Christian Horner-led squad. Russian driver Daniil Kvyat and Frenchman Pierre Gasly have both shown to be promising Formula 1 talents but were dropped by Red Bull Racing in rather demoralizing manners.
As the season got underway, Gasly seemed to get the most out of the team’s AT01 race car. Receiving the same Honda power units as what is used to propel the Red Bull Racing cars, AlphaTauri’s AT01 was gifted with ample performance towards the rear portion of the vehicle. Both AlphaTauri drivers scored points in the first two rounds of the 2020 Formula 1 season on the Red Bull Ring in Austria falling in line with the expectations many observers had for the team. Triumph later at the season with Pierre Gasly’s victory at the Italian Grand Prix was an unexpected surprise in the Formula 1 world but also showed how the organization can capitalize when the situation allows.
Scuderia AlphaTauri definitely made a powerful statement in the sport in their inaugural season. Capturing points in all but two grand prix events in 2020 would have been a reasonable achievement for the team to have expected. However, AlphaTauri over-achieved at the year’s eighth round at the historic Autodromo Nazionale di Monza.
Starting in 10th place on the grid for the 2020 Italian Grand Prix, the #10 AlphaTauri AT01 race car piloted by Pierre Gasly advanced through the field early. In a race that featured a safety car period, red flag stoppage and a second standing start, Gasly drove a near flawless grand prix as he would outshine all competition to win the Italian Grand Prix. The victory for AlphaTauri occurred on the same track where team won the 2008 event under the name Scuderia Toro Rosso.
Although Scuderia AlphaTauri did not return to the podium in the remainder of the season, Daniil Kvyat scored fourth for the team at Imola while Gasly best finish after his Monza win was fifth in Portugal.
Statistics would show that the Turkish Grand Prix was the team’s most disappointing event with both cars qualifying in the lowest five positions and failing to score points in the Sunday main feature being only the second time in the 2020 season Scuderia AlphaTauri did not have a car finish in the top 10. However, the wet race weekend proved drastically challenging for the entire field.
Team's Drivers
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| Photo Credit: American Honda Motor Co Inc |
By the middle point of 2019, Pierre Gasly was possibly at the lowest point in his short Formula 1 career. Receiving the call-up from Scuderia Toro Rosso to Red Bull Racing, the Frenchman was under pressure to at least maintain a close pace with the team’s top driver Max Verstappen. Gasly sadly fell short of Red Bull Racing’s expectations resulting in him being sent back to Toro Rosso in the middle of the 2019 season. For the remainder of year, Pierre Gasly worked to rebuild his confidence in the sport. A second-place finish at the Brazilian Grand Prix did a lot to lift the spirits of the driver and secured a position with the newly rebranded team for 2020.
With the start of the 2020 Formula 1 season, the popular French driver continued to showcase his skills. Gasly finished seventh in the opening round in Austria but placed out of the top 10 in the Styrian Grand Prix and suffered a gearbox failure at the Hungarian Grand Prix. Initially appearing to be another season as a mid-marker, the Italian Grand Prix at Monza was a breakout moment. With the help of some extreme circumstances in the September race at the Autodromo Nazionale di Monza, Pierre Gasly added himself to the exclusive fraternity of Formula 1 race winners.
Through the remainder of the 2020 Formula 1 after his great victory, Gasly ran respectfully highlighted by the collection a fifth place finish at the Portuguese Grand Prix and a pair of sixth place results.
Pierre Gasly’s 2020 season will be defined by the Italian Grand Prix win. Though his path to the upset victory was aided by the struggle of typical Formula 1 front runners, Gasly still drove a magnificent race that involved fending off a determined McLaren race car wheeled by Carlos Sainz Jr. in the event’s closing laps. The victory by Pierre Gasly came shortly past the one-year anniversary for when is rejoined the team and functioned as a popular moment in the season as the elated Frenchman took to the podium. The French driver was the first by a competitor to win a Formula 1 race since 1996 when Olivier Panis drove his Ligier to win the Monaco Grand Prix.
Although the win at the 2020 Italian Grand Prix was unexpected, many Formula 1 observers would have correctly guessed that Pierre Gasly would have been on a mission to prove himself still recovering from his forced departure from Red Bull Racing in the middle of 2019. With Scuderia AlphaTauri, Gasly showed some brilliant speed in qualifying as well as over the course of races. The Frenchman’s was able to break into the Q3 session in 11 of the 17 grand prix events posting a season-best effort of fourth at the Emilia Romagna Grand Prix. For the Sunday main events, Gasly grabbed a top 10 result in 10 of the 17 rounds.
Suffering three retirements during the 2020 season, Pierre Gasly’s latter two DNFs were perhaps the most disappointing.
One week after his first grand prix win, Gasly and the rest of the Formula 1 tour converged on the Mugello circuit to run the Tuscan Grand Prix. Celebrating in Monza, Gasly’s second week racing in Italy was a deflating experience. After qualifying a season-worst 16th place, Pierre Gasly retired from the race on the opening lap after he was caught between Kimi Raikkonen and Romain Grosjean entering turn two.
The second and final time Pierre Gasly’s #10 car failed to make it to the chequered flag was at the Emilia Romagna Grand Prix. In a race where he launched from a season-best grid position of fourth place, Gasly exited the event after just eight laps completed after his car suffered a coolant leak.
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| Photo Credit: American Honda Motor Co Inc |
First competing in Formula 1 during the 2014 season at the age of 19, Russian driver Daniil Kvyat spent much of his career in the open wheel series part of Scuderia Toro Rosso. With the name change to Scuderia AlphaTauri, the team selected to keep Kvyat after a decent 2019 campaign that included a podium at the German Grand Prix.
Paired with Pierre Gasly during the 17-race 2020 Formula 1 season, Daniil Kvyat would prove to be a reliable runner within the middle of the field. Kvyat scored points in the conclusion of seven events and failed to finish for just two grand prix races. His first DNF was a suspension failure in the Austrian Grand Prix while the second incident occurred on lap 12 at the British Grand Prix. Attributed to a failure of a rear tire, Kvyat’s #26 AlphaTauri AT01 was sent into a sudden spin in the Maggots section of the Silverstone Circuit and, despite travelling through a gravel trap, heavily impacted the track retaining barrier. Daniil Kvyat fortunately left his wrecked vehicle unhurt after the crash and returned the following week to take 10th place at the 70th Anniversary Grand Prix also held at Silverstone.
A fixture on the competitive Formula 1 circuit for six seasons, 26-year-old Kvyat ends the 2020 season with an uncertain future in motorsports as AlphaTauri has replaced him with Japanese driver Yuki Tsunoda for 2021.
For only the second time in his career, Daniil Kvyat scored a point-paying finish in his home grand prix in Russia crossing the line at the Sochi track in 8th place. The only other time he posted a top-10 run in the Russian Grand Prix was in 2015 when he drove for Red Bull Racing.
The best race result of the year for Daniil Kvyat was a fourth place at the Emilia Romagna Grand Prix held in Imola. The Russian driver narrowly missed out on a chance at a fourth career podium crossing the finish line 0.821 seconds behind the Renault of Daniel Ricciardo.
Kvyat finished the 2020 Formula 1 season in 14th place in the drivers’ standings with 32 points scoring just one fewer point than his former Red Bull Racing teammate Sebastian Vettel.
In the Bahrain Grand Prix, Daniil Kvyat’s #26 car was connected to two major accidents at the beginning of the race.
During the rush of the first lap of the race coming out of turn 3, Romain Grosjean’s Haas F1 Team car aggressively swerved down into the path of Kvyat making minor contact. While the #26 AlphaTauri vehicle continued largely unaffected, the Haas VF-20 race car of Grosjean heavily impacted the track retaining wall. “On the opening lap, I was a bit angry at first with Romain for his move, but then I was just worried about him because I saw the flames and how bad the crash was - I was just hoping he was OK and fortunately it wasn’t as bad as it looked.” Kvyat stated in a team press release following the Bahrain Grand Prix.
Daniil Kvyat’s second incident occurred shortly after the second standing start of the Bahrain Grand Prix. Proceeding through turn eight at the 5.412-kilometer Bahrain International Circuit track, Kvyat’s AlphaTauri AT01 made an adventurous move low on the #18 Racing Point entry driven by Lance Stroll. The two race cars made contact with the point of impact sending Stroll to flip upside-down and out of the race. Kvyat was handed a 10-second time penalty ruled to be at-fault for the impact.
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| Photo Credit: Steven Tee/ LAT Images/ Pirelli |
With the year of 2020 has been tough time for almost everyone, the Williams Racing team and its personnel were almost a financial casualty what ended up being a more than three-month delay in the Formula 1 season. With a sale of the team in August securing at least the short-term future of the organization, founder Sir Frank Williams as well as his daughter and deputy team principal Claire Williams left the team ahead of the middle of the season. The new Dorilton Capital ownership will continue to use the Williams team name as well as the FW designation for race cars.
As off-track issues for the team were in the process of being resolved, the team arrived at the season opener in Austria with sophomore Formula 1 driver George Russell paired Canadian Nicholas Latifi who finished runner-up in the Formula 2 championship in 2019. For the first time since the team’s opening season in 1977, Williams Racing finished a Formula 1 season without a constructors’ championship point. Despite the fact Williams Racing finished 2019 with a point, this year’s on-track performance appeared more improved.
Although Williams Racing failed to score championship points during the 2020 calendar, the team did come close to a coveted top-10 finish. The organization’s drivers finished in 11th place in four grand prix events (three times by Latifi and once by Russell). A major shining moment for Williams Racing and their FW43 race car was George Russell in qualifying. In 9 of 17 grand prix events, Russell escaped the initial Q1 session in qualifying often outrunning Alfa Romeo Racing and Haas F1 Team vehicles for the short, timed outings on Saturday.
Although the 2020 performance by the team showed improvements on-track compared to the 2019 season, Williams Racing’s best efforts were still well off the pace of the team’s efforts five years ago. The main reason for the team’s finishes of 11th place were race retirements of fellow competitors. With close not being close enough to gain constructors’ points this year as neither George Russell or Nicholas Latifi were given a chance to mount a true fight against on-track competition.
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| Photo Credit: Glenn Dunbar/ LAT Images/ Pirelli |
In his second full year of competition in the top open wheel racing series, 2018 Formula 2 champion George Russell spent much of the 2020 season in the latter half of the race field. Despite not being within the top 10 for the majority of the year, Russell garnered a great deal of attention for his ability behind the wheel of a lower tier race car. His expertise has been on full display during qualifying for several grand prix events successfully mustering runs in the FW43 race car that allowed him to escape the Q1 session.
The best qualifying placement for George Russell for 2020 came at the Hungarian Grand Prix where he and his Williams Racing team claimed 12th place. The Brit’s best finish of the year came at the one-off Tuscan Grand Prix at the 5.245-kilometer Mugello circuit where he was behind the 10th place Ferrari of Sebastian Vettel late but lost ground as the 59-lap race concluded. George Russell’s season performance with Williams Racing has been overshadowed by his effort with the Mercedes-AMG team.
Though George Russell displayed a remarkable amount of competence in his sophomore year, his 2020 campaign with Williams was not without a few follies. The most unfortunate mishap for Russell came at the Emilia Romagna Grand Prix held on Italy’s Imola circuit. During a safety car period in the latter stage of the event caused by a tire failure on Max Verstappen’s Honda-powered Red Bull race car, Russell was running in 10th place. As Russell was waiving his vehicle in order to warm his tires, the British driver spun and crashed into the track barrier. Potentially the best chance for a Williams point finish in 2020, the effort ended in an embarrassing retirement.
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| Photo Credit: Mark Sutton/ LAT Images/ Pirelli |
Representing one of two driver changes for the 2020 Formula 1 season, Canada’s Nicholas Latifi was the only rookie competitor to take the grid for the 17-race schedule. Combining factors such as his rookie status in general, the complications of COVID-19 in starting this year’s race season and the instability of Williams Racing earlier this year, it could be argued Latifi faced a more difficult than normal freshman start in Formula 1 competition. Although the 2019 runner-up in Formula 2 appeared to struggle to match pace in qualifying with teammate George Russell, race results were respectable considering the situation. Latifi finished 11th on three occasions and failed to finish in only three races.
The only rookie involved in the 2020 Formula 1 tour, Nicholas Latifi had a rough initial outing as a new pilot installed in a struggling team during an uncertain year. Latifi’s first season in the series involved starting around the back of the grid for almost every event but also contained some steady race performances. Incredibly, three of the four 11th place finishes by Williams Racing were achieved by the Canadian.
Latifi’s overall performance in qualifying lagged behind his teammate George Russell in every event in the season. The Turkish Grand Prix was one of the more miserable outings for Nicholas Latifi. After a Saturday qualifying that started with a wet and slippery Q1 session where many drivers struggled, Latifi was unable to record a clean timed lap. Allowed by the race stewards to start the 58-lap main feature from pit lane, the Canadian was finished Sunday's event in 19th place retiring due to crash damage.
A 25-year-old British-Korean driver with career accolades including the 2015 Eurocup Formula Renault 2.0 championship and a second-place overall result in the 2017 GP3 Series, Jack Aitken has spent the past three years as a Formula 1 reserve driver. After two years as a back-up and test driver with Renault, Aitken joined the Williams Racing team in 2020 and would be granted his first Formula 1 series start at the Sakhir Grand Prix as George Russell was called over to the Mercedes-AMG race team. Jack Aitken’s debut outing went as expected with a lower-tier team but also contained an unexpected element.
Although Jack Aitken’s first start ended with the a finish, his debut with Williams Racing did ultimately have an unperceived impact one of the race team’s regular drivers. On lap 61 of the Sakhir Grand Prix, Aitken spun his Williams on the circuit’s 11th turn and lost his front wing colliding with a barrier. Though Aitken continued to the pit for a new front component, the debris of the incident drew a virtual safety car that would later become a full safety car. Williams Racing’s season-long driver George Russell was leading the event in a Mercedes-AMG race car at the moment of the changing race condition. While by no means intended and certainly also not to blame for the Mercedes-AMG’s pit stop disaster that happened two laps later, the aftermath of Jack Aitken’s spin created circumstances contributing to Russell missing out on a Formula 1 victory.
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| Photo Credit: Kamran Jebreili / Getty Images / Red Bull Content Pool |
Serving as the seventeenth and final event for Formula 1's 70th Anniversary tour, the Abu Dhabi Grand Prix on the Yas Marina Circuit provides a closing to what has been a season like no other. The race on the 5.554-kilometer track follows a surreal outing in Bahrain where Sergio Perez took victory for Racing Point.
Though Perez’s win Sakhir Grand Prix was a thrilling affair on the merits of the Mexican driver recovering brilliantly from an opening lap collision, the race is best remembered as a moment where the Mercedes-AMG Petronas Formula One Team suffered a rare bumble as a result to a pit stop where the tires of the team cars were mixed up. Also missing the seven-time championship winning driving talents of Lewis Hamilton due to a positive COVID-19 test, the unusual event for Mercedes-AMG is one they want to set behind them as they prepare to finish another strong Formula 1 season in Abu Dhabi. The pairing of Hamilton with teammate Valtteri Bottas was put back into place at the Mercedes factory team ahead of the Abu Dhabi Grand Prix while last week’s replacement George Russell returns to his regular seat at Williams Racing.
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| Photo Credit: LAT Images for Mercedes-Benz Grand Prix Ltd |
For all 16 races in the 2020 Formula 1 season ahead of Abu Dhabi, the pole position was captured by a driver propelled by a Mercedes-Benz power unit (15 by the Mercedes-AMG factory team and 1 by a Racing Point driven by Lance Stroll). In the finale for the 17-race schedule, Max Verstappen and Red Bull Racing were determined to disturb the German-based propulsion’s attempt to sweep the year with Honda power. Mounting a strong threat against the Mercedes-Benz factory team throughout the season, Verstappen and his #33 RB16 race car suffered several narrow defeats in qualifying in past 2020 grand prix events. With one more chance to claim the top spot in a qualifying session this season, the Red Bull Racing machine succeeded in beating the rival Mercedes-AMG outfit.
With the final times being set in Q3 on Saturday for the Abu Dhabi Grand Prix, Max Verstappen scored the pole position over the Mercedes-AMG duo. Posting a 1-minute, 35.246-second lap time, Verstappen and his Red Bull Racing squad achieved their first pole since the 2019 Brazilian Grand Prix.
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| Photo Credit: Kamran Jebreili / Getty Images / Red Bull Content Pool |
Upon claiming the fastest time in qualifying, the Austrian-based race team broke the Mercedes-AMG team’s consecutive pole streak at the Yas Marina Circuit that ran since 2014. Just 0.025 seconds slower than Max Verstappen’s pole time, Valtteri Bottas grabbed his 14th front row start for the 2020 season. Holding a 16-point advantage over Verstappen for the second-place spot in the year-long Formula 1 World Drivers’ Championship, Bottas can secure the position with a 5th place or better finish.
Returning to the race car after one race away, Lewis Hamilton swiftly regained his competitive poise standing at the top of the time sheet for Q1 and Q2 qualifying sessions. Hamilton fell short of setting the pole-winning time in the final session and will start the Abu Dhabi Grand Prix in third place alongside the McLaren Racing race of Lando Norris who set the fourth fastest lap time. The second Red Bull Racing of Alexander Albon will roll off the grid in fifth place accompanied in the third row by Carlos Sainz Jr. making his final appearance in a McLaren race car as the Spaniard prepares to compete with Ferrari for the 2021 season.
Starting seventh, Russian driver Daniil Kvyat out-qualified his Scuderia AlphaTauri teammate Pierre Gasly for the second consecutive Formula 1 event as he faces an uncertain immediate future in the sport. It’s strongly suggested Kvyat will not be racing for the team next year and is likely eyeing a reserve driver role in preparations for a possible return to competition in 2022.
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| Photo Credit: Steven Tee/LAT Images/Pirelli |
Canadian Lance Stroll starts at the highest position of the two Racing Point race cars for the Abu Dhabi Grand Prix. Formula 1's newest and most recent grand prix winner Sergio Perez is relegated to a 19th place grid position as a penalty for receiving a new Mercedes-Benz power unit. Sunday’s race will be Perez’s final drive with Racing Point with no solid plans announced in regards to his future in racing.
The ninth fastest car on Saturday, the Ferrari of Charles Leclerc will actually start the race in 12th place. The opening lap incident at the Sakhir Grand Prix was scrutinized by the FIA after the race and ruled Leclerc at-fault that resulted with him colliding with Sergio Perez and contributed to Max Verstappen’s retirement. AlphaTauri’s Pierre Gasly is promoted to ninth place for the start of the Abu Dhabi Grand Prix joined by the Renault of Esteban Ocon.
For what will be the final 55 laps of the 2020 Formula 1 season, the Abu Dhabi Grand Prix is scheduled to start at 5:10 P.M. local time at the Yas Marina Circuit (8:10 A.M. eastern time).
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| Photo Credit: Zak Mauger/LAT Images/Pirelli |
Since entering the sport in 2011 with Sauber, Mexican driver Sergio Perez has been recognized as a skillful, talented Formula 1 competitor. With the underfunded race team, Perez almost pulled off an upset victory at the 2012 Malaysian Grand Prix but instead finished a strong second to Fernando Alonso’s Ferrari. Despite his promise (and even strong rumours of a seat at Scuderia Ferrari), the driver affectionately nicknamed “Checo” had spent much of his career in the sport with mid-field teams. Perez moved to a regressing McLaren team in 2013 but spent only a season in the ride until joining Force India. Between 2014 and 2018, the Mexican scored five podiums with the squad. Sergio Perez stayed with Force India after it was purchased by a consortium led by Lawrence Stroll hopeful of the direction for the renamed Racing Point team. His prediction was correct as Racing Point has now become a solid top-five effort in Formula 1. However, Perez’s loyalty was seemingly betrayed after news of the soon-to-be named Aston Martin team signing four-time world driving champion Sebastian Vettel to pair with Canadian Lance Stroll for next season.
In a 2020 Formula 1 season derailed early by being the first driver to miss grand prix races due to a positive COVID-19 test (Nico Hulkenberg filled his Racing Point ride for the British and 70th Anniversary Grand Prix), Sergio Perez actually boasted a remarkable feat. Until last week’s Bahrain Grand Prix, Perez had finished in the points in every Formula 1 race he entered. Running second last Sunday, a failure with his Mercedes-Benz power unit was a heartbreaking outcome as the 30-year-old seeks to finish strong with Racing Point while his place in the 2021 tour is in doubt. In the race after the disappointing retirement that cost him a podium, Sergio Perez would have the moment he had been waiting for over his 10-year career.
Arranged on the Bahrain International Circuit’s 3.543-kilometer Outer Circuit layout, the Sakhir Grand Prix was immediately viewed as an unusual race. A short race course showcased by Valtteri Bottas’ 53.377-second pole time in his Mercedes-AMG F1 W11 EQ Performance race car, the penultimate race during the 2020 Formula 1 season also lacked two regular drivers. Reigning and 2020 Formula 1 World Drivers’ Champion Lewis Hamilton had to step away from his team after a positive COVID-19 diagnosis. Surviving what was one of the scariest Formula 1 crashes in years one the opening lap of the Bahrain Grand Prix, Romain Grosjean suffered burns to his hands and was unable to race for the Haas F1 Team. George Russell was called over from the Williams Racing team to fill in Hamilton’s big shoes with the Mercedes-AMG Petronas Formula 1 Team (ironically needing to wear smaller racing shoes to fit into the championship-winning race car’s cockpit) while Pietro Fittipaldi was tapped to replace Grosjean in the second Haas VF-20 machine.
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| Photo Credit: Andy Hone for Daimler AG |
With two Mercedes-AMG cars at the front of the grid, the 87-lap Sakhir Grand Prix was sent underway but an opening lap incident would prevent the completion of the second race in the Bahrain International Circuit complex. Thankfully not as severe in impact as Grosjean’s fiery race car last week, the Sakhir Grand Prix’s first-lap accident had major ramifications for the final results. For Max Verstappen and Charles Leclerc, their race ended on the exit of the fourth turn. The #16 Ferrari dived to the right of the Racing Point of Sergio Perez for what was the inside line heading into the corner. As Perez turned right, Leclerc remained alongside resulting in the left front wheel impacting Perez’s car. The Racing Point spun while the Ferrari with a damaged front suspension coasted slowly to a stop. Attempting to avoid the nearby collision, the Red Bull Racing car of Max Verstappen arched wide into turn four but lost traction on the gravel in the runnoff area. Verstappen’s car nosed into the track wall close to Leclerc’s derelict Ferrari. Though Charles Leclerc and Max Verstappen was out of the race, Sergio Perez remained in the race but dropped deep down to 18th place after making a pit stop for new medium compound Pirelli tires.
Just before the safety car had been called to allow track crews to clean up the lap one crash, the Mercedes-AMG team drivers duelled for the early lead with substitute driver George Russell gaining an advantage over Bottas. On the short Outer Circuit track, laps clicked off quickly during the Sakhir Grand Prix. While there were 87 laps to the event, the majority of the field completed the race on no more than two pit stops. George Russell maintained a small yet steady lead on Valtteri Bottas until he pitted on lap 45. Although he encountered a brief sensor issue on his #63 Mercedes, Russell soon cycled back to the lead as Bottas came to his pit crew on lap 49.
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| Photo Credit: Wolfgang Wilhelm for Daimler AG |
Behind the two Mercedes-AMG team cars, many competitors between third and seventh place remained close with the total reach among the vehicles being roughly three seconds. Deeper in the field early in the race, Sergio Perez performed an ambitious charge back to the front-running cars. By lap 20, the Mexican had returned to the top 10 and continued to make his way up the running order as other drivers made pit stops. After making a stop for new tires on lap 47, Perez returned to the track behind his Racing Point teammate Lance Stroll. By this point in the race, Stroll had been following the Renault of Esteban Ocon but was unable to pass the yellow and black car. Sergio Perez approached the pair and would pass his teammate on lap 56. The following lap, Perez passed Ocon into turn four gaining the third place spot behind the Mercedes-AMG cars.
On lap 61, seemingly minor on-track incident involving the Williams driven by Jack Aitken reshaped the entire 2020 Sakhir Grand Prix. Running wide at the track’s eleventh and final turn, Aitken spun and lost his car’s front wing when he clipped the wall. Though the Williams was able to continue to the pit for a replacement front end piece, the debris resulted in a safety car period. Looking to capitalize on their significant lead over the rest of the field, the two Mercedes-AMG drivers were summoned to pit lane for new tires. The winner of seven consecutive Formula 1 Constructor Championship, the Mercedes-AMG team is often seen for its brilliance as it achieves race win after race win. However, on this occasion with the strategy call, the group made an uncharacteristically colossal mistake. Pitting George Russell first during what was a hastily planned move, the wrong tires were placed on the #63 car. When Russell left, the problem was compounded when the pit crew was unable to mount new tires to the #77 car of Valtteri Bottas. Within the confusion that involved an attempted tire change on Bottas’ car, the Mercedes-AMG team needed to remount the previously used tires to the Finnish driver’s machine. Russell was brought back to the pits dropping him to fifth place.
With the faltering of the Mercedes-AMG race team, Sergio Perez inherited the lead until the safety car followed by Esteban Ocon and Lance Stroll. The pace car returned to pit road at the end of lap 68 setting up a late-race fight among competitors. Losing the lead, George Russell began to chart a path to Perez. Russell climbed to third place by lap 72 and snatched the runner-up spot from Ocon on the following lap. The #63 Mercedes-AMG race car slowly reeled in the Racing Point closing to 2.2 seconds with nine laps remaining. Sadly, any chance of a late race battle for the lead was defeated by a tire puncture on Russel’s car.
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| Photo Credit XPB / James Moy Photography Ltd for Groupe Renault |
Crossing the finish line with a comfortable 10.518-second lead, Sergio Perez piloted himself and the Racing Point team to a first-ever victory. In addition to being the first victory for the driver and team, the triumph in the Sakhir Grand for Sergio Perez and Racing Point established several other notable achievements. Perez becomes the first Mexican national to win in Formula 1 since Pedro Rodriguez captured the 1970 Belgian Grand Prix. The Mexican’s first Formula 1 win came on his 190th start in the series setting a new record for most driver starts before achieving victory. The record was previous held by Australian Mark Webber when he won the 2009 German Grand Prix driving for Red Bull Racing on his 130th start. The latest Formula 1 victor commented on his great career moment in a statement on Racing Point’s website saying. “It’s still sinking in that I’ve won the race; I’m almost afraid to get too excited in case I’m dreaming!”
With the victory for Racing Point, four constructors have currently won races in the 2020 season. The last time more than three teams posted wins in a single season was in 2013 before the initialization of the current turbo/hybrid power unit era. The second Racing Point piloted by Lance Stroll finishing in third-place provided an extra reason to celebration. Though Stroll was disappointed by the result reflecting on several matters that could have potentially granted him victory, the 22-year-old was pleased with the effort of the entire team and the victorious Perez. “It’s one of those things, but the important thing is the team result. I’m delighted for the team and so happy for Checo. He’s been a part of this team for a long time. He’s been running up at the front so many times in his career and he totally deserves a victory.” said Stroll. Since his third-place result at Monza in early September, the Canadian had battled a string of unfortunate incidents on race day that involved just one point-paying finish in the previous seven grand prix events. Collecting a total of 40 points between Perez and Stroll, Racing Point has reacquired the third place in the constructors’ championship with one race remaining.
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| Photo Credit: Mark Sutton/LAT Images/Pirelli |
Between the two Racing Point competitors on the Sakhir Grand Prix podium, France’s Esteban Ocon grabbed his first career top-three in Formula 1. Ocon’s Renault DP World F1 Team pitted him only once in the race on lap 41 mounting hard compound tires on his #31 machine. The result serves as a major bode of confidence for the Renault driver as he prepares to partner with Fernando Alonso next season. Driving for Force India/Racing Point in 2017 and 2018 as a teammate for Sergio Perez, Esteban Ocon’s first podium coming on this particular occasion is fitting.
Close behind Lance Stroll across the finish line, Carlos Sainz Jr. takes fourth for McLaren in his second-to-last race for the team ahead of a 2021 relocation to Scuderia Ferrari. Finishing in fifth is Sainz’s replacement at McLaren for next season. Daniel Ricciardo took the chequered flag a little more than half a second before sixth-place Alexander Albon driving the last remaining entry for the race for Red Bull Racing. Russian Daniil Kvyat scored the only points for Scuderia AlphaTauri concluding an impressive qualifying performance with a seventh-place finish after 87 laps in Bahrain.
After appearing poised to take their 14th grand prix in the 2020 Formula 1, the Mercedes-AMG team’s rare stumbling near the end of the Sakhir Grand Prix resulted in their entries finishing in eighth and ninth place. Valtteri Bottas uncomfortably drove the last laps of the event on a well-used set of Pirelli tires but finished ahead of his teammate for the weekend. Bottas’ quest to end the season in the second-place spot in the Formula 1 World Drivers’ Championship was bolstered by his points-paying result in Bahrain and Max Verstappen’s early retirement from the event. The margin between Bottas and Verstappen is 16 points heading to Abu Dhabi.
Driving the race of his relatively young Formula 1 career, George Russell’s interim ride allowed the Brit to convince many observers of his prowess. Following up on topping both Friday practice sessions and narrowly missing pole on Saturday during the Sakhir Grand Prix weekend, Russell led a large portion of Sunday’s main event and posted the fastest lap in the race. With victory appearing to be in his grasp, the 22-year-old Brit stated through Mercedes-AMG’s website, “I’ve had races before where I had a victory taken away from me, but it felt like that happened twice today, I still can’t quite believe it.”. George Russell does earn his first career Formula 1 points with a ninth place finish and the single-point obtaining the fastest lap time. Russell finished ahead of fellow British driver Lando Norris.
Set to wrap up the 2020 Formula 1 season as the 17th round on the schedule, the Abu Dhabi Grand Prix will run on December 13th.
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| Photo Credit: LAT Images for Mercedes-Benz Grand Prix Ltd |
The third and final time the 2020 Formula 1 season which two races will be held back-to-back at a single venue, the Bahrain International Circuit is the only setting where two different track configurations will be used as teams set to run the first Sakhir Grand Prix.
At 3.543 kilometers in length, the 11-turn Outer Circuit layout within the motorsport complex is considerably shorter than the 5.412-kilometer Grand Prix Circuit used for last week’s Bahrain Grand Prix. In Formula 1's 70-year history, the track for the Sakhir Grand Prix is the fifth-shortest ever competed upon.
Due to several events that have transpired in the past week, the driver lineup for the Sakhir Grand Prix has been noticeably shuffled. Following news of Formula 1 superstar Lewis Hamilton’s positive test for COVID-19, Williams Racing driver George Russell will belt into the car of the seven-time world driving champion. With Russell’s acting role with the Mercedes-AMG Petronas Formula One Team, Brit Jack Aitken will make his debut in the series driving for Williams. The 25-year-old Aitken boasts four wins in the Formula 2 championship over three years and has claimed championships in the two Formula Renault 2.0 series in 2015. Jack Aitken has operated as a test driver for Williams Racing throughout 2020.
Another driver making set to make has first Formula 1 grand prix start in his career will be Pietro Fittipaldi filling in for the injured Romain Grosjean at the Haas F1 Team. The grandson of two-time Formula 1 champion Emerson Fittipaldi, the 24-year-old American-born Brazilian already boasts a diverse, respectable driving background that includes the 2017 World Series Formula V8 3.5 championship as well as the track championship at Hickory Motor Speedway in the NASCAR Whelen All-American Series.
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| Photo Credit: Zak Mauger/LAT Images/Pirelli |
At the controls of a Mercedes-AMG F1 W11 EQ Performance, George Russell demonstrated an apparent affinity for the race car fielded by the championship-winning team. Fastest in both Friday practices, there were some high hopes for the British driver heading into Saturday. In the final practice session before Saturday qualifying, Max Verstappen and Valtteri Bottas were at the top of the time sheet showing the advantage of drivers handling their familiar vehicles around the Bahrain International Circuit’s outer track.
Qualifying for the Sakhir Grand Prix would be highlighted by some of the shortest lap times in Formula 1 history as competitors ran on the short and high-speed race course. After qualifying was completed, all 20 drivers had set a track time well under a minute. Eliminated in Q1 with the slowest time, Haas F1 Team’s Pietro Fittipaldi lapped the Outer Circuit in a time of 55.426 seconds.
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| Photo Credit: Pirelli & C S.p.A. |
Clocked with setting a 53.377-second lap in Q3, Mercedes-AMG regular driver Valtteri Bottas found a slight notch of speed that spoiled interim teammate George Russell’s best-ever opportunity at a pole in his career. Not entirely pleased with his pole-winning run, Bottas said, “It was fairly close in the end, so I’m pleased it was enough for pole position” following qualifying in a Mercedes-AMG team news release. Valterri Bottas’ fifth pole for the 2020 season comes as the Finnish driver is fending off Red Bull Racing pilot Max Verstappen in the runner-up spot in the drivers’ championship. Heading into the Sakhir Grand Prix, the margin between second and third place in the standings is 12 points.
Falling just short of his first Formula 1 pole by 0.026 seconds, George Russell in the #63 Mercedes pulled off his most successful qualifying effort during a nearly two-year career in the series. Russell’s second-place starting spot also secured an all-Mercedes front row for the 12th time in 2020.
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| Photo Credit: Pirelli & C S.p.A. |
Max Verstappen placed his Honda-powered Red Bull race car into third following Q3 starting alongside Charles Leclerc who mounted a magnificent lap in his Ferrari. Sharing the third row of the Sakhir Grand Prix is Racing Point’s Sergio Perez and the Daniil Kvyat driving for Scuderia AlphaTauri. This qualifying performance for Kvyat is only the third time this season he outpaced his teammate Pierre Gasly in the time trials for setting a race grid. Australian Daniel Ricciardo will start in seventh place for Sunday’s race positioned beside Carlos Sainz Jr.’s McLaren race machine. Occupying the fifth row of the 2020 Sakhir Grand Prix is Pierre Gasly and the second Racing Point of Lance Stroll. Between Bottas and Stroll in Q3, a gap of 0.823 seconds separates the 10-car group.
Making their debuts at the 2020 Sakhir Grand Prix, Jack Aitken will start from the 18th place spot in the #89 Williams/Mercedes-Benz race car while Pietro Fittipaldi is placed at the tail-end of the field in the #51 Haas F1 Team VF-20.
Start time for the 87-lap Sakhir Grand Prix in Bahrain is scheduled Sunday at 8:10 P.M. local time (12:10 P.M. eastern time).
