The Polesitter

  Last night's race was a reminder that the risks all Formula 1 drivers take are very, very real.  Yes, Lewis Hamilton may have won. Yes, Red Bull may have achieved a double podium. Yes, Sergio Perez should have been up there in 3rd place. But none of that surpasses the very real threat to life that Romain Grosjean experienced in the first lap of a traumatic Bahrain Grand Prix.  In the 13 years that I have watched Formula 1, I have never seen anything so shocking to the point that I had goosebumps as I worried for the Frenchman's life. It takes me back to the day Jules Bianchi had his horrific incident in Japan. And I am not going to lie, at one point I thought Romain had lost his life in that very accident. Car split in 2, fire consuming the entire vehicle, and in the middle of that Grosjean trying to get out of the cockpit, it was an unbelievable sight to see.  Fortunately, a figure emerged from the flames and Ian Roberts, F1's medical doctor, pulled him away from ...

  Disclaimer: I try to keep an unbiased perspective in all my posts however on this very occasion that unbiasedness has been compromised.  After a qualifying session that stunned the F1 world, the Turkish Grand Prix was always going to be an eventful race especially with the heavy rain that had been forecast.  With the grid jumbled up in positions they had never been in before, the outcome of the race was something nobody could have ever predicted. Stroll on pole, Perez in 3rd, Lewis in 6th, Raikonnen in 8th, and Bottas in 9th. Now if you were to guess who was to win this race what would your guess be? Following the strong qualifying displayed by both Red Bull and the men at Force India, one would only believe that they would occupy all 3 podium positions. Yet the grand Prix ended with a Brit, Mexican, and German sharing the top 3 steps.  Yes, you have heard me correctly, a German occupied the third step and who else would that be than 4-time world champion Sebastian...

  It's been a first of many this year and a return of racing to Istanbul only increased that tally.  Now I know what you're thinking. The race is over. Yes, that is the case. But, I needed to highlight what probably was the most insane qualifying I've been able to witness in the 14 years that I have been following the sport.  A rain filled session that brought out multiple red flags, paired with the extremely slippery resurfaced track meant that drivers had to drive out of their skins to not only keep the car on track, but to get a decent enough lap time in. And whilst some were able to do that, others were not as fortunate. The number of spins that took place were probably more than all the spins we have seen so far this year.  Fast forward 2 hours and you could say that Mercedes did snatch pole in the end, albeit with their 2019 car. An intense battle between the Red Bull's and men in pink from Force India saw Lance Stroll take his first ever pole position with Ver...

  The return of Formula 1 to Imola was something nobody expected at the start of the 2020 season. But it ended out as a return worth remembering.  Imola has been regarded as one of the greatest races that Formula 1 has been able to race at. However, its significance does not come from the twisty high-speed corners and narrow roads but rather the shock that hit the F1 world in 1994. The year which saw a devastating crash leading to the death of arguably the greatest Formula 1 driver ever, Ayrton Senna.  A looming sense of sadness filled the paddock I would assume as memories of that day were reprinted into the heads of the F1 community, many of which witnessed the horrific accident live. Nonetheless, the weekend ended off with smiles and jubilation as a Grand Prix of 2 radically different stages saw Lewis Hamilton extend his win record to 93 races and Mercedes AMG Petronas claiming a 7th straight constructors title - another new world record.  Overshadowing all of thi...

  Last time out the record for race wins was equalled in Germany. This time out history was created.  The F1 world were convinced that the great Michael Schumacher's insane record of 91 race wins was never going to be beaten but yesterday the boy from Stevenage proved them wrong.  In front of a grandstand that was finally packed with fans, the first ever race to be held in Portimao got underway in slippery conditions. With a light drizzle and the track being resurfaced just a month ago, there was plenty of action as the lights went out. Carlos Sainz in the lead, Lewis Hamilton falling to 3rd, Kimi Raikonnen making 11 places on his opening lap and Perez at the back of the grid were just a number of significant events that created a certain level of organized chaos around the track.  As the drivers settled into their groove and tyres began warming up to temperature, Sainz was soon overtaken by both Mercs as Bottas took the lead of the grand prix following a brilliant m...

  "Records are created so that they can be broken." Wise words from arguably the greatest racer in all of F1, Michael Schumacher. And on Sunday his tally of 91 Grand Prix victories was finally equalled by none other than Lewis Hamilton as Formula 1 returned once again to the Nurburgring - host of some of the most incredible racing the world has ever seen.  Firstly, I would like to apologise for missing my review of the Russian Grand Prix 2 weeks back. Being an avid F1 fan, there's simply no excuse for me not writing about the sport that I love. Having said that, congratulations to Valtteri Bottas on a brilliant drive to bring home a 1-3 for the Mercs with Max Verstappen yet again splitting the two Silver Arrows.  Fast forward a couple weeks and Sochi's winner failed to complete a race that saw the Hulk return, a surprise podium, and 9 different teams in the points - the first time this has happened since 2010.  A clean getaway from the grid saw Bottas lead Hamilton f...

  It has been 2 weeks since the Tuscan Grand Prix and only now has the chaos in my head finally cooled down. A race with ups and downs from start to finish resulted in many firsts: Mercedes finally clinching their first 1-2 of the season, Alex Albon coming home to finish P3 - his first ever podium and Mugello hosting an F1 race for the very first time.  Looking back, this race had moments that would remind one of the Italian Grand Prix that took place a week earlier - a crazy tussle for the points, an unlikely sequence of events and not one but 2 red flags.  Within the first few laps of the race, last week's Italian Grand Prix winner Pierre Gasly and runner up Carlos Sainz were both out of the race along with a whole list of drivers. The twisty high speed nature of the Mugello circuit proved all to fierce for them to fight as later in the race Lance Stroll who completed the podium positions in Monza was also out.  A race to forget for the Scarlet Prancing Horses who ...