Yet again, two weeks ago there was a Formula One race which I never wrote about. I’m sitting watching the first practice session for the Hungarian Grand Prix as I type this. I will certainly try to keep up to date over the Summer.
The biggest talking point of the race was Nico Rosberg who becomes the first driver to fall foul of the new for this year radio regulations.
Rosberg was rapidly losing pace towards the end of the race and third-placed Max Verstappen was hunting him down. His Mercedes team informed him to attempt a different setting, before suggesting he “avoid seventh gear”.
Rosberg then asked for clarification as to whether he “should shift through it”, to which he received an immediate response – “Yes, shift to eighth gear quickly”.
It was an exchange that allowed Rosberg to keep Verstappen behind him over the final six laps, finishing 1.339s clear of the teenage Dutchman.
As a result of this, Rosberg was handed a 10 second penalty, added to his race time, meaning he was classified third, with Verstappen moving up to second. This has the double effect of closing up the championship lead to Lewis Hamilton to just a single point.
In the rain hit race, Hamilton took a comfortable win by 6.9 seconds over his team-mate (as they crossed the line), for the third straight season at Silverstone.
The race started with six laps behind the safety car after a heavy shower, though it had stopped raining by the time the grand prix began. Several drivers dived straight into the pits for intermediates when the safety car pulled in but Hamilton, Rosberg and Verstappen chose to stay out.
It proved to be smart decision as the virtual safety car was introduced when Pascal Wehrlein beached his Manor in the gravel, allowing the top three to pit and rejoin with a sizeable gap on the rest.
At various points in the race, cars were sliding off the tracks as puddles remained and caught drivers out. The track dried in the end though and the race settled quickly.
Red Bull’s Daniel Ricciardo finished fourth for the fifth time in 10 races this season, with Kimi Raikkonen fifth after a late pass on Sergio Perez – who had gained ground by staying out on wets as long as the leaders – into Stowe.
Nico Hulkenberg was seventh, ahead of Carlos Sainz Jr and Sebastian Vettel, who held onto ninth despite a five-second time penalty for forcing Felipe Massa off track at Village.
Daniil Kvyat completed the top 10 to ensure Toro Rosso’s fourth double-points finish of the season.
