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29/11/2015 Abu Dhabi 2015 Review
15/11/2015 Brazilian Grand Prix Review
10/11/2015 2015 Russian Grand Prix Review
01/11/2015 2015 Mexican Grand Prix Review
25/10/2015 2015 American Grand Prix
05/10/2015 GP2 Spanish Review 2015
27/09/2015 2015 Japanese Grand Prix Review
20/09/2015 2015 Singapore Grand Prix Review
06/09/2015 2015 Italian Grand Prix Review
23/08/2015 2015 Belgian Grand Prix Review
23/08/2015 GP3 Spa-Francorchamps 2015
12/08/2015 GP3 Silverstone 2015 Review
12/08/2015 Silverstone GP2 2015
27/07/2015 Hungarian Grand Prix 2015
05/07/2015 British Grand Prix 2015
21/06/2015 2015 Austrian Grand Prix
21/06/2015 2015 Austrian GP2 Review
07/06/2015 2015 Canadian Grand Prix Review
24/05/2015 2015 Monaco Grand Prix Review
10/05/2015 Spanish Grand Prix Review
10/05/2015 GP3 Spanish Review 2015
06/05/2015 Bahrain 2015 GP2 Review
19/04/2015 2015 Bahrain Grand Prix Review
12/04/2015 2015 Chinese Grand Prix Review
29/03/2015 2015 Malaysia Grand Prix Review
19/03/2015 Australian Grand Prix 2015
13/12/2014 Uruguay Formula E Review 2014
28/11/2014 Malaysia Formula E 2014
23/11/2014 2014 Abu Dhabi Grand Prix
09/11/2014 2014 Brazilian Grand Prix Review
04/11/2014 US Grand Prix 2014 Review
12/10/2014 2014 Russian Grand Prix Review
05/10/2014 Japanese Grand Prix 2014
01/10/2014 Beijing Formula E 2014-15
21/09/2014 Singapore 2014 Review
24/08/2014 2014 Belgian Grand Prix Review
22/08/2014 GP2 Hungaroring 2014
21/08/2014 GP2 Hockenheim 2014
11/08/2014 GP3 Hockenheim 2014
27/07/2014 Hungarian Grand Prix 2014
23/07/2014 GP2 Silverstone 2014
20/07/2014 German Grand Prix 2014
10/07/2014 GP3 Silverstone 2014
09/07/2014 Italian Grand Prix 2014
06/07/2014 2014 British Grand Prix Review
30/06/2014 Austrian GP2 Review 2014
26/06/2014 Austrian GP3 Review 2014
23/06/2014 Austrian Grand Prix 2014
08/06/2014 Canadian Grand Prix 2014
25/05/2014 Monaco Grand Prix 2014
22/05/2014 2014 Spanish GP3 Review
11/05/2014 2014 Spanish Grand Prix
20/04/2014 Chinese Grand Prix 2014
07/04/2014 Bahrain Grand Prix Review
07/04/2014 Bahrain Grand Prix Review
30/03/2014 2014 Malaysian Grand Prix Review
30/03/2014 2014 Malaysian Grand Prix Review
16/03/2014 Australian Grand Prix 2014
24/11/2013 Brazilian Grand Prix 2013
18/11/2013 US Grand Prix Review 2013
03/11/2013 2013 Abu Dhabi Grand Prix Review
03/11/2013 2013 GP2 Abu Dhabi Review
03/11/2013 Abu Dhabi GP3 2013 Review
27/10/2013 2013 Indian Grand Prix
13/10/2013 Japanese Grand Prix 2013
06/10/2013 2013 Korean Grand Prix
22/09/2013 GP2 Singapore Review 2013
22/09/2013 2013 Singapore Grand Prix Review
08/09/2013 2013 Italian Grand Prix Review
08/09/2013 Monza GP2 2013 Review
08/09/2013 Monza GP3 2013 Review
25/08/2013 2013 Belgian Grand Prix Review
25/08/2013 GP2 Belgian Review 2013
25/08/2013 GP3 Belgian Review 2013
28/07/2013 GP2 Hungary 2013 Review
28/07/2013 GP3 Hungarian 2013 Review
28/07/2013 2013 Hungarian Grand Prix Review`
07/07/2013 2013 German Grand Prix review
07/07/2013 GP2 Nürburgring Review
07/07/2013 GP3 Nürburgring Review
30/06/2013 2013 British Grand Prix Review
30/06/2013 GP3 Silverstone Review
30/06/2013 GP2 Silverstone 2013
09/06/2013 2013 Canadian Grand Prix Review
26/05/2013 2013 Monaco Grand Prix Review
25/05/2013 Monaco GP2 2013 Review
12/05/2013 2013 Spanish Grand Prix Review
12/05/2013 Spanish GP2 2013 review
21/04/2013 2013 Bahrain Grand Prix
14/04/2013 2013 Chinese Grand Prix
01/04/2013 Malaysian Grand Prix Review
24/03/2013 2013 Malaysian GP2 Review
18/03/2013 Australian Grand Prix Review
13/12/2012 Brazilian Grand Prix Race Review
13/12/2012 U.S.A Grand Prix Race Review
05/11/2012 Abu Dhabi Grand Prix Review
29/10/2012 Indian Grand Prix Race Review
15/10/2012 Korean Grand Prix Race Review
07/10/2012 Japanese Grand Prix Race Review
21/09/2012 Italian Grand Prix Race Review
13/09/2012 R.I.P Professor Sid Watkins.
07/09/2012 GP3 Belgian Grand Prix Weekend Review.
07/09/2012 GP2 Belgian Grand Prix Weekend Review.
26/08/2012 GP2 Hungarian Grand Prix Race Review
26/08/2012 Hungarian Grand Prix Race Review
26/07/2012 German Grand Prix Review
Jolyon Palmer was the news of practice in Russia, with an engine problem preventing him getting anywhere near the laps in prior to qualifying.
Sainz had a 3-place penalty after colliding with Stroll in Bahrain, while Vandoorne lost 15 places for a new MGU-H and turbocharger exceeding the limit of 4 of each of the 6 components in a season. The fact this was happening at only the 4th race did not bode well for McLaren.
The first mistake in qualifying, surprisingly, was by Lewis Hamilton, dropping the car and running wide, forcing him to abort his lap while teammate Bottas set the pace.
Palmer and Wehrlein both spun on their last Q1 laps, the Renault hitting the wall head-on and the Sauber avoiding the barriers but wasting the final lap.
Palmer, Vandoorne, Wehrlein, Ericsson and Grosjean all fell, the last few laps from the drivers further up the order unable to go faster due to yellow flags.
Q2 was a more orderly affair, Alonso slowest behind Magnussen, Kvyat, Stroll and 11th-placed Sainz.
Hamilton had a scrap with Hulkenberg at the start of Q3, complaining the Renault driver was driving “dangerously” before going 12 seconds slower than the Renault on their respective first timed laps, following a pattern from all 3 sessions that really should have told Hamilton to move aside a lot earlier.
Ocon continued his love affair with 10th in Q3, although that was his best qualifying to date. Vettel stole pole from Raikkonen, Bottas taking 3rd before Hamilton went through to take only 4th. Ricciardo and Verstappen were split by Massa, Hulkenberg then ahead of the row 5 lockout for Force India.
Verstappen was lucky not to have an engine change on Sunday morning, with a water leak proving elusive for a while.
Everyone started the race on ultra-soft tyres, with the exception of the Saubers and Vandoorne who opted for super-softs instead. From the back of the grid with a pace deficit, the alternative strategy had to be worth a shot.
Alonso made it to the pit entry on the formation lap before parking the McLaren, forcing an aborted start.
Bottas led from Bettel, Raikkonen, Hamilton, Verstappen, Massa, Ricciardo, Perez, Ocon and Hulkenberg. Ericsson and Vandoorne switched to ultras under the Safety Car, brought out after Palmer ploughed into Grosjean at turn 2. Stroll was running 17th after a spin that appeared unforced, although Hulkenberg was put under investigation for contact. No further action was taken, while Grosjean/Palmer was investigated after the race.
Lap 4 saw the Safety Car pull off and promptly Ricciardo's brakes catching fire, forcing the Red Bull to retire.
Magnussen received a 5-second penalty for breaching the track limits at turn 2. Vandoorne received the same penalty, both presumably for the first lap.
Hamilton reported “sensations”, the team telling him to maximise cooling for an intermittent fault.
Wehrlein was the first driver to pit under racing conditions, taking ultra-soft tyres and probably not aiming to run to the flag from lap 21.
Massa, Magnussen and Kvyat all pitted on lap 22, all taking on super-soft tyres. Ericsson also took his second stop.
Lap 27 saw Bottas become the first front-runner to pit, taking super-soft tyres and releasing Vettel into the lead. The Finn rejoined behind Hamilton, but far enough back that there was no risk of the two interfering with each other. Perez followed him in, Ocon having stopped the lap before.
Raikkonen, oddly, was the first Ferrari into the pits on lap 29. Verstappen chose the same time to stop. Hamilton pitted a lap later, a lick of flame from the left front brakes apparently not a problem for the Mercedes. Vettel in the lead was being told his laps were still fast enough not to pit, although he was called in on lap 34, dropping back to 2nd ahead of Raikkonen.
Bottas gave himself a pair of flat spots, losing a huge chunk of time to Vettel as a result. Further back Sainz was told to keep off the kerbs due to “something strange” at the rear.
Hulkenberg pitted on his 40th lap, rejoining 9th behind the Force India pair. Massa stopped a couple of laps later, dropping in turn behind the Renault. Unfortunately for the Brazilian, he had a slow puncture which forced that stop.
Bottas led to the flag, Vettel compromised by lapping Massa on the final lap and finding himself unable to prevent Bottas winning his first F1 race. Raikkonen took 3rd from Hamilton, Verstappen, Perez, Ocon, Hulkenberg, Massa and Sainz. Stroll led the non-scorers ahead of Kvyat, Magnussen, Vandoorne and the Sauber pair. Ricciardo, Alonso, Palmer and Grosjean was the order of the retirees, if not the actual retirements.
Bottas taking his first win in commanding fashion was undoubtedly the story of the day, but credit was also due to Verstappen and Red Bull for getting car number 33 to the flag – and even the grid, really. Similarly Vandoorne managed to drag the remaining McLaren home, albeit not in the points.
Tufty