Formula 1 – Fortunebets

Max Verstappen sensationally won his first Formula One world championship ahead of Lewis Hamilton as an epic title race concluded in predictably contentious circumstances at the Abu Dhabi Grand Prix.

In only the second championship chase to see the top two enter the final race of the season all square on points, Verstappen had to match Hamilton but struggled to do so for much of Sunday’s remarkable race.

Red Bull were furious following an early flashpoint that had Hamilton ahead, yet Mercedes were outraged by the chequered flag as Verstappen, on fresh tyres, was allowed a single lap after a safety car to take the title.

Hamilton looked to have done everything right but paid for Mercedes’ call not to bring him into the pit lane in the closing stages.

A tough start had been forecast for Hamilton when he stuck with medium tyres while Verstappen – and others close behind – used softs. Instead, rapid reactions at lights out put the Mercedes in front.

But then the drama truly began, as Verstappen looked to go up the inside at Turn 7 and Hamilton was forced wide and off the track to avoid contact.

The defending champion clearly gained an advantage and pulled away from his rival, only for the stewards – in a decision Verstappen considered “incredible” – to deem Hamilton had given enough time back.

Verstappen and Hamilton both switched to hards in the pits, putting the frontrunner behind Sergio Perez in the second Red Bull car.

Perez doggedly held Hamilton up and brought Verstappen back into play before the Silver Arrow finally got through, able to again build a big lead until a virtual safety car provided another twist.

With Hamilton staying out, Verstappen headed in for a cheap pit stop, potentially setting up a nervy finish with a 17-second deficit on fresh tyres.

Verstappen struggled to find the requisite pace but was given another lifeline by a safety car with four laps remaining.

Again he pitted as Hamilton did not and a dramatic finish saw lapped cars allowed to pass the safety car, infuriating Mercedes and leaving Verstappen one lap to go at the race leader, who he decisively passed at the last.

WHAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAATTTTTTTTTT!!!!!

‘NO, MICHAEL, NO!’

This was a day to tune into the team radios, with a number of intriguing exchanges as momentum swung back and forth.

Verstappen hailed Perez as a “legend” for delaying Hamilton, while the Mercedes man considered his team’s decision not to box “a bit of a risk” long before another gamble spectacularly backfired.

But Toto Wolff’s pleas to race director Michael Masi were the obvious standout, as Hamilton was left exposed on the final lap. “We went car racing,” replied Masi.

MAX MAKES HIS MARK

Hamilton fell just short of history on this occasion, stuck on seven titles alongside Michael Schumacher, but there was a new landmark for champion Verstappen.

His 18th podium of the year was undoubtedly the sweetest and made the Dutchman the first man to reach that mark in a single F1 season.

RAIKKONEN RETIRES IN PITS

Away from the title race, Kimi Raikkonen’s record-extending 351st and final grand prix in Formula One did not end as planned, with the veteran experiencing braking issues and hitting the barriers at Turn 6 as his rear axle locked up.

Although Raikkonen’s Alfa Romeo limped back to the pits, he could not continue and was given a standing ovation as he prematurely exited his car.

TOP 10

1. Max Verstappen (Red Bull)
2. Lewis Hamilton (Mercedes) +2.256s
3. Carlos Sainz (Ferrari) +5.173s
4. Yuki Tsunoda (AlphaTauri) +5.692s
5. Pierre Gasly (AlphaTauri) +6.531s
6. Valtteri Bottas (Mercedes) +7.463s
7. Lando Norris (McLaren) +59.200s
8. Fernando Alonso (Alpine) +61.708s
9. Esteban Ocon (Alpine) +64.026s
10. Charles Leclerc (Ferrari) +66.057s

CHAMPIONSHIP STANDINGS

Drivers

1. Max Verstappen (Red Bull) 395.5
2. Lewis Hamilton (Mercedes) 387.5
3. Valtteri Bottas (Mercedes) 226
4. Sergio Perez (Red Bull) 190
5. Carlos Sainz (Ferrari) 164.5

Constructors

1. Mercedes 613.5
2. Red Bull 585.5
3. Ferrari 323.5
4. McLaren 275
5. Alpine 15

Formula 1 season starts 4 months later in a different world

There will be no fans on hand at the remote Spielberg track in Austria, with the coronavirus still creating uncertainty over how many races can actually be held and where.

Four months after the opening race was called off at the last minute, the Formula One season finally gets underway this weekend on another continent and in a different-looking world.

There will be no fans on hand at the remote Spielberg track in Austria, with the coronavirus still creating uncertainty over how many races can actually be held and where.

That may not be the only unusual sight, as drivers are discussing whether to take the knee together on the grid before Sunday’s race in support of the Black Lives Matter movement. Defending F1 champion Lewis Hamilton has been an outspoken supporter of the movement and will be competing in an all-black Mercedes car instead of the usual silver as a statement against racism.

“It is so important that we seize this moment,” said Hamilton, the only Black driver to become F1 champion.

The truncated campaign kicks off with back-to-back races in Austria, as part of a hastily reworked schedule. It was meant to start nearly 10,000 miles (16,000 kilometers) away in the Australian city of Melbourne.

But the fast-spreading impact of the coronavirus pandemic led to the Australian GP being canceled on March 13, two days before the scheduled race, while people were still queuing for the first practice sessions. Several other races, including the showcase Monaco GP, were also canceled.

A rescue package with eight European races squeezed into 10 weeks, culminating with the Italian GP on Sept. 6, was scrambled together. F1 still hopes to rearrange some of the postponed races in order to finish the season with 15-18 of the scheduled 22.

There will also be two consecutive races at the British GP. If the season continues beyond Europe, it will end with races in Bahrain and Abu Dhabi in December.

We actually don’t even know the amount of races we are going to do,” McLaren and future Ferrari driver Carlos Sainz Jr said.
“It’s an unprecedented scenario.”

Spielberg’s Red Bull Ring, cut off from major towns or cities, offers a reassuringly secluded feel amid coronavirus fears.
But strict health and safety measures have been put into place.

Everyone entering the track, including a greatly reduced number of media representatives, must have tested negative for Covid-19 and further tests will be carried out every five days. F1 teams are not allowed to mingle with each other, on or off the track, and media have no access to F1’s paddock area.

Drivers would normally have faced a barrage of questions in a news conference room, but health requirements dictate that drivers hold news conferences via video link and with questions sent in advance.

And, of course, Spielberg’s 4.3-kilometer (2.7-mile) circuit will be largely empty. It is normally swarming with tents, camper vans, makeshift barbecues and tens of thousands of orange-shirted Max Verstappen fans.

The Red Bull driver, hugely popular back home in the Netherlands, has won the past two races here.

The track is among the shortest in F1 but also one of the most aggressive. Drivers spend about 72 per cent of the time at full throttle, second only to Italy’s Monza track with 77 per cent.

That’s perfectly suited to Verstappen’s bold and abrasive racing style. Last season he chased down the leading trio before making a typically brazen overtaking move on race leader Charles Leclerc’s Ferrari.

The 22-year-old Verstappen showed last season that he is closing the gap to Hamilton in terms of wheel-to-wheel driving. Red Bull’s car also made a considerable jump in speed, while Ferrari’s faded, and Verstappen is emerging as a major title threat to Hamilton.

The 35-year-old British driver is chasing a record-equaling seventh F1 title to equal Michael Schumacher’s record, and only needs to win eight more races to beat Schumacher’s mark of 91.

Aside from Verstappen and possibly Valtteri Bottas Hamilton’s improving teammate at Mercedes, the other main challenger is Leclerc.
The 22-year-old Monaco driver is extremely quick and impressed observers in his first season at Ferrari with seven pole positions, two more than Hamilton, and two wins.

He is now Ferrari’s No. 1 ahead of four-time F1 champion Sebastian Vettel, whose star has faded after he wasted mid-season leads in 2017 and 2018 and lost those titles to Hamilton.

The German veteran is leaving at the end of the year after failing to agree on a new contract, and his future in F1 is uncertain.
Like so many other things this season.