This last race at the famous Temple of Speed was full of surprises as the two title championship contenders crashed into each other and McLaren came home to take their first 1, 2 finish since Brazil 2012.

The big incident in the race was the crash between Lewis Hamilton and Max Verstappen. It all came to blow after Verstappen pitted on lap 23 and was held for 11.1 seconds, an very unusual Red Bull pitstop. Then the lap after Hamilton pitted and also didn’t have a great pit stop at 4.2 seconds. As Hamilton came back on to the track, Verstappen was just beside him. As they went into turn one they were too close and they collided. Verstappen’s car went airborne and he rolled onto the top of Hamilton’s car.

Now, my personal opinion is that it was a racing incident. However, it doesn’t really matter as the judgment has already been passed. Verstappen will get a three place grid penalty for the start of the Russian Grand Prix and two penalty points. Instead of dragging out the unnecessary process of who blames who, I would just like to take the opportunity to praise how far safety has come in this sport. Verstappen’s right rear tyre actually rolled on top of Hamilton’s head, and if it wasn’t for the halo, the crash would have had a very different outcome. If you want to know more about why the halo is so important check out my other post on it: https://aracerseducation.opened.ca/2020/12/03/the-halo/

McLaren had an amazing weekend. They lined up for the race with Daniel Ricciardo in P2 and when the lights went out and they made their way to the first corner, he was in first. There he would stay and go on to win the race after an incredibly close battle with Max Verstappen and Valtteri Bottas. Lando Norris also drove a brilliant race staying in P3 for most of it before finally clawing his way to finish P2. As mentioned in the first paragraph, this was the first McLaren 1, 2 since the 2012 Brazilian Grand Prix. Needless to say, there were big celebrations. It was so great to see the two of them up on the podium and Ricciardo really deserved it. It seems he has finally found his form in the car and I hope to be seeing many more shoeys to come. On a side note, it was really gross to see them all drink from his shoes, but it was great to see the celebrations.

McLaren’s main rivals this season is Ferrari. They had a good weekend in terms of points, but I think that might be it. While Charles Leclerc and Carlos Sainz finished fourth and sixth respectively, it was not great morally. Monza is Ferrari’s home race, and it’s all about the Tifosi there. To be beat at their home race, by their biggest rivals has got to hurt. However, I still think that they finished really well and they are really starting to come back from the disaster that was the 2020 season.

Valtteri Bottas was one of the best drivers on the grid in this race. He came from the back of the grid to finish P3. He started the race in P19 due to changing his power unit. Before the race he said he would finish on the podium, and he did. Now some people say he did it to prove he’s still a Mercedes level driver, I think he did it for himself, and he deserved that podium so much. I was not impressed, however, with his post race interview. It was so focused on his thought about the Verstappen/Hamilton crash and you could see he really didn’t care. The questions should have been about his accomplishments, but instead it was all about Hamilton.

Alpha Tauri had an awful race. Up until this race, they were the only to team to score points in every race this season, but that is no more. Yuki Tsunoda failed to start the race due to a brake issue. Pierre Gasly retired on lap three due to an unknown problem that proved to be too terminal to continue. It is always upsetting to have a double DNF, but it’s even more upsetting when it is your home race. Hopefully they will be back to their usual racey form in Russia.

There were five DNFs for this race. I have already discussed four of them, meaning Tsunoda, Gasly, Hamilton, and Verstappen. The last retirement was Nikita Mazepin who made contact with his teammate Mick Schumacher. He also received a five second time penalty for causing a collision. Antonio Giovinazzi also received a five second time penalty during the first lap of the race after spinning off the track and rejoining unsafely.

Daniel Ricciardo, as mentioned, couldn’t keep a smile off his face as he stepped onto the podium to take first place. He was joined on said podium by Norris in second and Bottas in third. Charles Leclerc finished fourth followed by Sergio Perez in fifth, Sainz in sixth, Lance Stroll in seventh, Fernando Alonso in eighth, George Russell in ninth, and Esteban Ocon rounding out the top ten.

We are at the beginning of the next race week in which we go back to Russia. It will be interesting to see if Mercedes can continue their dominance at the track, or if someone else is going to take the race win this time.