There was a sombre feel going into the race weekend. Everyone's mind on the tragedy which had befallen the sport the previous weekend. Jules Bianchi was a talented young driver who had the potential to be a champion one day. Taken too soon from his family, friends and dedicated fans around the world. Everyone pushed their hardest to create a thrilling and dramatic race; one Jules would have been proud of.
Massa caused an aborted start by not lining up on the grid properly. That gained him a 5 second stop and go penalty for him to take during his first pit stop. One of many penalties the stewards gave out. The start was spectacular, a sign of things to come. With both Mercedes enduring a bad start, Vettel flew past both Mercedes with Raikkonen right behind him. Rosberg and Hamilton battled it out for a few corners before Hamilton ran wide and dropped down into tenth. Meanwhile there was contact between Bottas and Ricciardo, causing the Australian to fall down the pecking order to seventh.
The safety car was brought out when Nico Hulkenberg's front wing broke sending the German straight into the tyre barrier at the end of turn one. The restart was one which kept many fans on the edge of their seats. Hamilton made contact with Ricciardo. Lewis was later given a drive through penalty for his actions. Raikkonen was not able to fend off Rosberg due to his engine problem. He later lost a place to Ricciardo before he retired on lap 57. Max Verstappen ran into the back of Bottas during the restart which lost Bottas time and moved the youngster up to seventh.
Rosberg and Ricciardo were catching Vettel who had led from the first lap of the race. When they collided which resulted in Rosberg getting a puncture. That left Rosberg and Hamilton with work to do to fight through the field for points. Also meant Kvyat moved up to second as Ricciardo needed to pit for a new front wing. The race ended with Kvyat scoring his first ever podium finish in F1 beating his team mate. Both Mercedes managed to finish in the points with Rosberg eighth and Hamilton sixth. The Brit now goes into the summer break knowing he is 21 points ahead of his team mate.
Toro Rosso were running both cars in the points until Sainz suffered an issue with fuel pressure and had to retire the car. However, if you were in Max Verstappen's garage you would have had reason to celebrate. Verstappen finished 4th, his highest race finish in only his first season in F1. Lotus had a similar day. Both cars were running in the points at one point. The team were plagued with penalties, with Maldonado earning himself 3. This caused Maldonado to drop out of the points and finish fourteenth. Grosjean finished seventh, probably hoping to have brought more points home than that.
Sauber had a good day at the office. Marcus Ericsson finished tenth on a track that the team knew didnt suit their car. Nasr wasn't far behind and finish eleventh. The team have been struggling with pace lately but are bringing big upgrades after the summer break. McLaren finally had some good luck and left the track knowing they just achieved their first double points finish of the season. Fernando Alonso finished fifth which gives the team a reason to be happy. Button also added to the number tally by finishing ninth.
Williams had bad luck and both cars fell out of the points. Massa's chances of a good points finish was hindered by his penalty. And Bottas lost time after the collision with Ricciardo. Force India had a worse day. After Hulkenberg's incident with his front wing, Perez later retired due to a brakes problem. Manor also had a retirement in Will Stevens. Although he was still classified as he didn't retire till close to the end of the race. Merhi finished fifteenth in what was a quiet race for him.
This race was thrilling and had lots of people of the edge of their seats. I sure was! It is going to make the summer break a lot harder. Three weeks with no race, I have no idea what I'm going to do! But if there are going to be more races like this then I wont complain too much. Would be worth the wait.
-ShortySian
Massa caused an aborted start by not lining up on the grid properly. That gained him a 5 second stop and go penalty for him to take during his first pit stop. One of many penalties the stewards gave out. The start was spectacular, a sign of things to come. With both Mercedes enduring a bad start, Vettel flew past both Mercedes with Raikkonen right behind him. Rosberg and Hamilton battled it out for a few corners before Hamilton ran wide and dropped down into tenth. Meanwhile there was contact between Bottas and Ricciardo, causing the Australian to fall down the pecking order to seventh.
The safety car was brought out when Nico Hulkenberg's front wing broke sending the German straight into the tyre barrier at the end of turn one. The restart was one which kept many fans on the edge of their seats. Hamilton made contact with Ricciardo. Lewis was later given a drive through penalty for his actions. Raikkonen was not able to fend off Rosberg due to his engine problem. He later lost a place to Ricciardo before he retired on lap 57. Max Verstappen ran into the back of Bottas during the restart which lost Bottas time and moved the youngster up to seventh.
Rosberg and Ricciardo were catching Vettel who had led from the first lap of the race. When they collided which resulted in Rosberg getting a puncture. That left Rosberg and Hamilton with work to do to fight through the field for points. Also meant Kvyat moved up to second as Ricciardo needed to pit for a new front wing. The race ended with Kvyat scoring his first ever podium finish in F1 beating his team mate. Both Mercedes managed to finish in the points with Rosberg eighth and Hamilton sixth. The Brit now goes into the summer break knowing he is 21 points ahead of his team mate.
Toro Rosso were running both cars in the points until Sainz suffered an issue with fuel pressure and had to retire the car. However, if you were in Max Verstappen's garage you would have had reason to celebrate. Verstappen finished 4th, his highest race finish in only his first season in F1. Lotus had a similar day. Both cars were running in the points at one point. The team were plagued with penalties, with Maldonado earning himself 3. This caused Maldonado to drop out of the points and finish fourteenth. Grosjean finished seventh, probably hoping to have brought more points home than that.
Sauber had a good day at the office. Marcus Ericsson finished tenth on a track that the team knew didnt suit their car. Nasr wasn't far behind and finish eleventh. The team have been struggling with pace lately but are bringing big upgrades after the summer break. McLaren finally had some good luck and left the track knowing they just achieved their first double points finish of the season. Fernando Alonso finished fifth which gives the team a reason to be happy. Button also added to the number tally by finishing ninth.
Williams had bad luck and both cars fell out of the points. Massa's chances of a good points finish was hindered by his penalty. And Bottas lost time after the collision with Ricciardo. Force India had a worse day. After Hulkenberg's incident with his front wing, Perez later retired due to a brakes problem. Manor also had a retirement in Will Stevens. Although he was still classified as he didn't retire till close to the end of the race. Merhi finished fifteenth in what was a quiet race for him.
This race was thrilling and had lots of people of the edge of their seats. I sure was! It is going to make the summer break a lot harder. Three weeks with no race, I have no idea what I'm going to do! But if there are going to be more races like this then I wont complain too much. Would be worth the wait.
-ShortySian
