Spain: post-race analysis 2018
Another red bet. Mildly
aggrieved this weekend. Two bets, both red. A qualifying bet that was
0.04s off, and a two-halves DNF bet which involved a driver crashing
into someone else, and being ok to continue. Humbug.
Off the line, Hamilton
easily held the lead but there was a tussle behind him which led to
Vettel getting ahead of Bottas. Grosjean lost control in dirty air,
his car spun (generating a lot of smoke) and he ended up taking out
not only himself, but Hulkenberg and Gasly too. This prompted an
immediate safety car (and pit stops for Sirotkin and Hartley).
That was mostly it as
far as race excitement went.
Hamilton pulled away
effortlessly from Vettel and retained total control throughout the
race. Bottas failed to pass Vettel at the pit stop despite pitting
later, because of a slow stop. However, in the latter part of the
race Vettel pitted under the virtual safety car. Few others did, and
he emerged (due to being delayed as Perez entering the pit lane meant
he couldn’t be released) behind Verstappen, in 4th.
Leclerc and Alonso had
a great, and prolonged duel, with the Spaniard eventually getting
ahead. However, the driving prowess Leclerc displayed will do his
career prospects no harm at all, and he eventually came home in 10th.
Verstappen, under the
virtual safety car, ran into the back of Stroll, damaging his front
wing slightly but not causing significant damage.
There were a number of
reliability retirements, including Ocon and Raikkonen.
Hamilton got a
flawless, and tedious, win, with Bottas in 2nd. Verstappen
completed the podium, with Vettel 4th. Ricciardo and
Magnussen are next, providing much needed points for both Red Bull
and Haas.
Sainz and Alonso
enjoyed their home race in 7th and 8th, with
Perez nabbing 9th and Leclerc impressing again with 10th.
After that ‘race’
was finished, the drivers’ standings are:
Hamilton 95
Vettel 78
Bottas 58
Raikkonen 48
Ricciardo 47
Verstappen 33
The second race in a
row that Vettel has lost points he probably shouldn’t’ve. In
Baku, he cooked his tyres. In Barcelona, he stopped once more than
the other frontrunners (although his tyre wear was high so it may be
that it wasn’t entirely optional). The race was in cooler
conditions, which seem to harm the Ferrari’s relative pace.
Constructors’:
Mercedes 153
Ferrari 126
Red Bull 80
Renault 41
McLaren 40
Haas 19
Force India 18
Toro Rosso 13
Sauber 11
Williams 4
The very close tussle
for the top has become rather less close, though it’s still early
days. The contest to be best of the rest, however, remains
ultra-competitive, with Alonso and Sainz both scoring whilst their
team mates suffered DNFs. Magnussen’s strong finish pulls Haas
ahead of Force India, and Leclerc’s point narrows the gap from
Sauber to Toro Rosso to just 2 points.
The chatter about panic
at McLaren and Toro Rosso doing really well appears to have died
down.
On the betting front:
red, yet again. Pretty terrible season so far. Frustrating to get
close with numerous bets (and suffer clear misfortune at the first
couple of races).
Next up is Monaco.
Morris Dancer
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