#1998 Australian Grand Prix

[herohimbowhore]

On This Day in F1: March 8th

Present: Saudi Arabia Day 2

History: 1998 Australian Grand Prix

March 8th, 2024 had free practice 3 and qualifying for the Saudi Arabian Grand Prix.

The big news of the day was Carlos Sainz having appendicitis and Ollie Bearman filling in for him. Now is this just another outcome of Alex Albon’s famous appendix? Or will we be seeing a new line of dominoes falling into place in the coming months? Only time will tell.

Timing remains essential to the 1998 Australian Grand Prix.

On March 8th, 1998, Albert Park (then called the Melbourne Grand Prix Circuit) hosted the 1998 season opener. The race was dominated by the McLaren-Mercedes team with its two drivers taking home a 1-2 finish.

While it was no surprise that a McLaren driver took the chequered flag first, there was controversy surrounding it.

For the first half of the Grand Prix, Mika Hakkinen was leading the race. However, on lap 36, he lost the lead due to coming into the pits after a misheard call. This led to Hakkinen's teammate, David Coulthard, leading the race.

Coulthard had a 12-second lead that was reduced to 2 seconds by lap 55. On the front straight during lap 56, Coulthard let Hakkinen pass him. This move and the pre-season agreement between drivers - whoever led the first corner would win the race - drew great controversy and race-fixing allegations.

McLaren Team Boss, Ron Dennis, spoke on the controversy and claimed that someone else had tapped into their team radios which led to Hakkinen losing the lead and coming into the pits.

"We do not and have not manipulated Grands Prix unless there were some exceptional circumstances, which occurred in Australia [1998] when someone had tapped into our radio and instructed Mika Häkkinen to enter the pits."

Eventually, they would go in front of the World Motorsport Council where the verdict was "any future act prejudicial to the interests of competition should be severely punished in accordance with article 151c of the International Sporting Code." Team orders remained controversial in Formula One and were banned following the 2002 Austrian Grand Prix. It wasn't until after the 2010 German Grand Prix that they were allowed again.

In 2023, Hakkinen spoke about the 1998 Australian GP and the agreement that he had with Coulthard:

"The team said something on the radio, I was confused, I thought they asked me to come to change tyres and that was not the case. They were just giving me some different information. So I just drove through the pit lane and I of course lost the lead of the race, David got the lead."

"We were sitting on the front row, me and David – and we just made a deal. The driver who was first at the first corner when the race starts, that driver is going to win the Grand Prix. There's not going to be any fight. We had a deal, so David had to let me past – brilliant!"

_____

Previous: 2004 Australian Grand Prix

Next: Mar. 9th - Saudi Arabian Grand Prix

On This Day in F1 Masterlist

[feraltwinkseb]

David Coulthard hugs and kisses his teammate Mika Hakkinen after his triumph at the Australian Grand Prix

March 8th, 1998 - Melbourne, Australia

Source: Oliver Multhaup/picture alliance via Getty Images

[coimbrabertone]

The Full Story of the Andretti Indycar Team

On September 27th, 2024, Jay Penske's sportico.com website reported that Michael Andretti was relinquishing ownership of Andretti Global and stepping back into a strategic role.

Michael Andretti, who spent over twenty years racing in Indycar in his own right and spent just as long as a team owner, was stepping away from team ownership, handing the reins to investor Dan Towriss.

Now, a lot of people have speculated as to why:

Some people say that Michael and Dan had a falling out earlier this season and Michael ultimately left.

Others say that Michael promised Dan an entry into Formula One, and now that the teams have firmly blocked that, Dan demanded some kind of return on his investment.

Others yet think that Michael stepping away is a way to smooth over the friction between Michael and the F1 team bosses, potentially giving an avenue for the Towriss-led Andretti Cadillac to make it into F1 after all.

There is also, you know, the possibility that Michael Andretti was being entirely truthful. He simply wants to step back to a more strategic role rather than dealing with team ownership.

We don't know the real answer though.

Nor is it the topic of this blog.

Instead, this blog is a retrospective on Andretti as a race team, particularly in Indycar. How they started, how the Andrettis got involved, some of the high points, and what the team means to Indycar now that, in one way or another, it won't even been the same.

The story starts in 1993, when Barry Green (a senior Australian engineer who worked with teams like Forsythe and Kraco) and Gerry Forsythe himself (who had run an Indycar team in the early and mid 80s) partnered with Player's cigarettes out of Canada to create a Formula Atlantic team, with Quebecois drivers Claude Bourbonnais and Jacques Villeneuve.

Claude finished second in the standings that year, Jacques just behind in third.

With a promising debut, the team moved up to CART in 1994, fielding Jacques Villeneuve in a Player's sponsored car. Jacques would finish second at Indy and take his debut win at Road America, to finish sixth in the standings and snatch rookie of the year.

Come 1995, the team experienced an ownership split. Barry Green kept Players and Villeneuve initially, while Gerry Forsythe started his own team with Teo Fabi - who had previously driven for Forsythe in 1983 - as the driver.

That didn't stop Team Green from continuing to be successful.

Villeneuve won the season opening Grand Prix of Miami, the Indianapolis 500, Road America yet again, and Cleveland to win the championship.

All of this was enough for Frank Williams to snatch Villeneuve out of Indycar and bring him over to Formula One.

Furthermore, Forsythe secured the Player's sponsorship for his own team for 1996, hiring Greg Moore to drive.

Meanwhile, Team Green had a pair of mediocre seasons in 1996 and 1997, with Raul Boesel and Parker Johnstone, respectively, however, by 1998, the team was ready to compete.

Barry's brother Kim joined in as co-manager of the team, KOOL cigarettes signed up as sponsor for 1997, and they switched to Honda engines that same year.

Then for 1998, they brought on Penske's Paul Tracy and Hogan's Dario Franchitti as drivers. Paul and Dario in those white, green, and gold KOOL cars would be defining drivers in those golden era of CART.

Dario struck first, winning Road America, Vancouver, and Houston in 1998, finishing third in the standings.

Come 1999, and Dario won Toronto, Detroit, and Surfers Paradise, whilst Paul Tracy won at Milwaukee and Houston. Dario finished second to Juan Pablo Montoya on countback, whilst Paul Tracy finished third.

This was Team Green's finest hour.

Paul Tracy won at Long Beach, Road America, and Vancouver in 2000 to finish fifth, but Dario struggled, and more than that, the two gained a reputation for crashing into each other. They crashed into each other at Houstin in 1998 (which Dario won), Gateway in 1999, Chicago in 2000...they were quite literally doing it once a year.

That wasn't the end of it either, since it happened again in Denver in 2002.

Anyway, also in 2001, Michael Andretti enters the story.

Now, Michael had worked with Barry Green at Kraco, but after that, Michael joined his father at Newman/Haas. From 1989 to 1992, Mario and Michael were teammates, and when Mario retired at the end of the 1994 season, it paved the way for Michael to return to Newman/Haas through the end of the 2000 season.

However, Michael wanted to race in the Indianapolis 500, and Newman/Haas was a CART diehard team. Thus, in 2001, Michael partnered with Motorola, Kevin Savoree, and Kim Green to create a satellite entry in the form of Team Motorola.

Michael won Toronto in 2001 and Long Beach in 2002 with Team Motorola, while also finishing 3rd and 7th, respectively, at Indianapolis in those years.

For 2002, Paul Tracy and Dario joined him, in 7Eleven sponsored cars - really a business-to-business (B2B) deal between KOOL and 7Eleven, effectively saying "come buy your cigarettes here!" - and Paul Tracy was pulling off a pass for the lead on Helio Castroneves as the caution came out.

Helio was deemed to have been ahead as Paul complained on the radio, saying that it was the IRL trying to cheat a CART driver out of the win, but the race finished under caution and Castroneves won his second consecutive Indy 500.

For 2003, Michael bought out Barry, with Kim Green and Kevin Savoree initially staying on as smaller partners.

Thus, Team KOOL Green became Andretti Green Racing, and they moved over to the IRL Indycar Series.

Dario Franchitti remained in the #27 car, picking up the Motorola sponsorship, while the 7Eleven sponsorship led to the other two cars becoming the #7 and the #11. The #7 would be driven by Michael Andretti through the end of the Indianapolis 500, while the #11 would be taken over by Tony Kanaan - Paul Tracy had refused to move over to the IRL, so he signed for Forsythe in CART instead.

Dan Wheldon, in a Jim Beam sponsored #26 car, would effectively replace the retiring Michael Andretti after the Indy 500.

In 2004, with the team adding on Bryan Herta in a fourth car - the XM Satellite Radio sponsored #7 - Andretti Green Racing would become the Indycar superteam. They had more cars than anybody else, their Honda engines were better than the Toyota and Chevrolet engines the competition were running, and the likes of Wheldon, Kanaan, and Franchitti would go on a tear.

Tony Kanaan would win the 2004 championship, Dan Wheldon finished second.

Dan Wheldon won the 2005 championship, Tony Kanaan finished second.

Also in 2005, the team achieved two massive milestones.

First, they swept the top four positions at the Honda Grand Prix of St. Petersburg. The race in Florida was the first IRL event on a road or street circuit rather than an oval, and Andretti dominated it.

Dan Wheldon first, Tony Kanaan second, Dario Franchitti third, and Bryan Herta fourth.

Second, they won their first Indianapolis 500, capping off a career year for Dan Wheldon.

With Wheldon going to Ganassi for 2006, while Chevy and Toyota pulled out - meaning Penske and Ganassi now had those same Honda engines that Andretti was so successful with - marked a bit of a stumble for the team.

Nevertheless, with Marco Andretti replacing Wheldon in the #26, Michael returned for the Indianapolis, the father-son duo finishing second and third, narrowly losing out to Penske's Sam Hornish.

Still, Tony Kanaan won at Milwaukee and Marco won at Sonoma.

2007 marked a return to form, with Dario Franchitti winning at Indianapolis, Iowa, Richmond, and Chicagoland to take his first championship. Five wins for Tony Kanaan ensured he finished third in the standings as well.

Also, Danica Patrick took over the #7 car, putting a woman in top machinery in Indycar for the first time. She'd finish seventh that year, behind Dario and Tony, but ahead of eleventh placed Marco.

In 2008, Tony would win at Richmond to finish third in the standings again, however, the biggest story around Andretti Green Racing that year was Danica Patrick winning at Motegi. Now, a lot of people diminish this win, saying that half the Indycar world was in Long Beach for the the final Champ Car race.

However, those people don't seem to say that for all the wins that Tony, Dario, and Dan Wheldon got for that team.

Furthermore, at this point, the IRL had won the war. Scott Dixon, Helio Castroneves, all the Andretti guys...sure it wasn't a peak field, but neither was Champ Car at this point. There is a reason that the two series had no choice but to merge.

In any case, the team was on a bit of a decline as well, with the team going winless in a 2009 season where Danica beat out TK by seven points to be Andretti's top driver that season, finishing fifth.

Ryan Hunter-Reay would join the team in 2010 - now rebranded from Andretti Green Racing to Andretti Autosport - and lead them back towards the front of the field, eventually winning the championship in 2012 and the Indianapolis 500 in 2014.

Meanwhile, James Hinchcliffe won at St. Pete, Sao Paulo, and Iowa in 2013 to give the team that one-two punch again.

2015 was another struggle, only winning a single win - Detroit Race 1 with Carlos Munoz - but the team bounced back in 2016, with Alexander Rossi winning the Indianapolis 500 in the Andretti/Herta #98.

Takuma Sato in the #26 would give the team back-to-back Indianapolis 500 victories with his win in 2017, the first ever for a Japanese driver.

Then in 2018, wins at Long Beach, Mid-Ohio, and Pocono, Alexander Rossi would finish second in the championship.

Wins at Long Beach and Road America in 2019 would give Rossi another title challenge, finishing third this time.

Rossi - and Andretti proper - would go winless in 2020, but the affiliated Harding-Steinbrenner car of Colton Herta won the second race at Mid-Ohio.

On top of wins at COTA and Laguna Seca in 2019 before Harding-Steinbrenner joined up with Andretti, this marked Colton's ascendancy at the team his dad once drove for. He would finish third in the standings in 2020.

He won St. Pete, Laguna Seca, and Long Beach in 2021 but regressed to fifth, whilst Rossi, Hunter-Reay, and the returning Hinchcliffe all went winless.

A win for Herta at the first IMS Road Course race and a win for Rossi at the second marked a somewhat better 2022, but with Penske and Ganassi continuing their dominance of the series, while Arrow McLaren emerged as best of the rest, it marked a serious decline for Andretti. Especially once Rossi left Andretti to join an expanding Arrow McLaren team.

To add insult to injury, Rossi in ninth was Andretti's best car in 2022.

This got even worse in 2023, when Rossi's replacement, Kyle Kirkwood won at Long Beach and Nashville, but he was eleventh, and Colton Herta was tenth.

This was bad.

The team was making a lot of noise about trying to get into Formula One, and it even rebranded to Andretti Global as part of those efforts, but how were they going to build their own car for Formula One when they weren't even doing well in a spec series like Indycar?

More bad news for 2024 as DHL left the #28 car - most recently driven by Romain Grosjean - to sponsor Alex Palou for 2024. Andretti Global went from four car super team in 2005 to mid table in 2024 - they needed to consolidate resources if they wanted to get back to the front.

So they did.

Colton Herta in the #26 and Kyle Kirkwood in the #27 remained, but the #28 was taken over by Marcus Ericsson, while the #29 of Devlin DeFrancesco went away entirely. The four-car team was down to a comparatively sleek three, and they hoped to consolidate resources.

Well, wins at Toronto and Nashville Superspeedway ensured Colton Herta finished second in the standings, while Kyle Kirkwood was seventh, and Marcus Ericsson was fifteenth.

The team bounced back somewhat, and things looked good in the offseason.

Sure, Andretti seemed no closer to joining Formula One than they had before, but they consolidated resources to improve in Indycar, while getting ready to move into their fancy new headquarters in Fishers, Indiana.

There was some grumblings that two teams held out on signing Indycar's charter agreement all the way up until the final moment, but it wasn't exactly clear who the holdouts were.

Then Michael Andretti announced he was stepping back at Andretti Global. That...was interesting. That could mean he was the hold out, or maybe not.

It could mean that Towriss seized control of the team, or maybe not.

It could be a ploy to win over the Formula One teams, or maybe not.

It's unclear what will happen to Andretti Global going forward, but this is the story of what has happened to Andretti thus far.

[lovelytsunoda]

welcome to wherever you are (the lore behind the verse)

'sup guys, here is the long awaited post about the very real lore behind the welcome to wherever you are series! i am a big fan of music from the eighties, specifically rock and new wave. i was really inspired to write this series shortly after learning about the life and times of inxs, a band i have loved since i was a kid listening to 'the stairs' for the first time. this is a very niche special interest area, and i feel like sharing the lore would really add to the series. so, without further ado, the real life history behind one of my favorite reader inserts. the lore is under the cut :)

y/n elodia heaven hutchence, was two years old when her father, australian rock god, michael hutchence took his own life in a sydney hotel room. while his death occurred in 1997, and lance stroll was born in 1998, i have adjusted (and been purposely vague) about his time of death to make the ages for the story line up. she was raised by her single mother, and eventual stepfather paul, with the help of her father's ex-bandmates, kirk, gary, tim, andrew and jon. of the four, she's closest to kirk for reasons she can't explain.

given her father's popularity in australia, comparisons were not easy to escape. she leads a very private life, away from the prying eyes of the gossip magazines. every few years, she carefully composes a statement that she releases to the press, giving minor, inconsequential life updates.

now, it is important to note that while the basis of this au is based in real life, almost all of it is fiction. the true story of michael hutchence and the people he left behind, including daughter tiger lily, is sad.

here is a link to an article by the new zealand herald that talks about his downward spiral, brought on by a massive brain injury he suffered in the early nineties. as a result of this injury, he was left unable to smell or taste. he also lost his ability to regulate his emotions, and was prone to angry outbursts, a sharp change from a man who friends had said was calm, lively and full of spirit.

helpful links about the life and legacy of michael hutchence: inxs wikipedia page, michael's wikipedia page, podcast episode on michaels death, inxs' first interview since the death of micheal hutchence

to this day, saxophonist and guitarist kirk pengilly maintains that micheal spoke to him in a dream just days after his death, with the singer saying ‘I’m alright now, you don’t need to worry about me any more’

it's stated that micheal had a fear of not being loved, and a confirmed fear of growing old. i'd like to think that these are traits baby hutchence shared with her father until she met lance.

despite being australian by birth, micheal was buried in los angeles, where his mother lived. he is buried in the same cemetery as matthew perry. baby hutchence has never visited his grave.

lance and y/n would have met through a friend. and by friend, of course I mean kirk. kirk and his wife would have gone to a grand prix, and when kirk first laid eyes on lance, he had a gut feeling that he was a good fit for yn.

their first date would have been low key, on the beach at sunset. a picnic followed by a trip out on tim’s boat (before tim lost his fingers in a fishing accident).

they were married two years later. andrew thought they were rushing into it too fast. gary and kirk thought that when you know, you know (they also have four divorces between the two of them, so what do they know?)

all y/n and lance knew was that they were truly and madly in love, and that’s exactly where our au starts.

for those who want the full inxs story, please consider watching ‘never tear us apart’.

[peppermintsugarcookie]

1998 Australian Grand Prix, Albert Park

[crystalracing]

Video ideas

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Why Ocon & Gasly's rivalry means nothing (Peterson, de Angelis, Heidfeld & Fisichella)

How unlucky was Fernando Alonso's F3000 rival in F1 & Indycar? (Bruno junquiera)

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How 1999 French GP nearly led to F1's greatest underdog champions (Frentzen & Jordan)

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How McLaren redefined professionalism in F1 (Lauda, Prost & Ron Dennis)

Why Paul Tracy wrongly lost 2002 Indy 500 (CART vs IRL)

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Who are Ferrari's true rivals in F1? (Clue: themselves)

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How the death of Helmut Marko's friend changed F1 forever (Jochen Rindt)

How 1999 Malaysian GP changed F1 forever (new circuit, title fight, Schumi's return from injury)

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[f1]

Hes a very strong team mate to learn from Piastri excited to work with Norris at McLaren

Oscar Piastri is confident that he will be able to forge a positive working relationship with Lando Norris, and drive McLaren up the Formula 1 grid, when the pair join forces for the 2023 season. Piastri, who boasts an impressive junior record including Formula Renault Eurocup, Formula 3 and Formula 2 titles, has taken the place of fellow Australian Daniel Ricciardo at the Woking operation over the winter. READ MORE: ‘A pretty special one’ – Piastri hails ‘awesome’ first day with McLaren at Abu Dhabi test While the 21-year-old former Alpine protege will be making his F1 debut, Norris, 23, is preparing to enter his fifth season, having firmly established himself at McLaren and within the sport. Asked about the prospect of partnering Norris on Australian Grand Prix podcast In The Fast Lane, Piastri said: “I don’t know Lando that well. I’ve spoken to him a couple of times very briefly and we’ve got a few mutual friends in common. But yes, I’m looking forward to getting to know him, both personally and professionally. “I think our junior careers have been quite similar. He’s obviously proven as well in F1 that he’s a very capable driver and a strong driver as well. Piastri made his first public outing for McLaren at the 2022 post-season test in Abu Dhabi “I’m looking forward to being able to show what I have, but also there’s undoubtedly going to be things to learn along the way, and I think Lando’s a very strong team mate to be able to learn from. I think it’ll be a good working relationship. “We’re both quite similar in age, we’ve got a few friends in common, like I said, so I’m confident that we’ll be able to work well together and hopefully bring the whole team more towards the front of the grid – that’s the aim.” READ MORE: McLaren rookie Piastri explains why he chose #81 as his race number for 2023 Piastri is optimistic that, alongside Norris, he can push McLaren towards a more successful future, with the team last winning the constructors’ title back in 1998, and Lewis Hamilton remaining their last drivers’ champion from 2008. “A lot of McLaren’s history and quite a lot of their winning and championships was either when I was very young or wasn’t born at all, so of course that’s something I want to – hopefully with the rest of the team – try and get back to those ways, and get back further towards the front,” the Melbourne native commented. This feature is currently not available because you need to provide consent to functional cookies. Please update your cookie preferences Oscar Piastri's best moments so far “It’s something that I do have at the back of my mind, that I’m joining a very prestigious team, with a lot of success, and a great pedigree – that’s exciting. Ultimately, they offered me a fantastic opportunity to be on the F1 grid. “I think the team is very motivated to try and get back further towards the front, as am I. I don’t want to be in F1 to make up the numbers, I want to do as well as I can and hopefully win a few things along the way. READ MORE: ‘He’s a true professional’ – Piastri thanks Ricciardo for reaching out after McLaren driver market drama “I think, for me, that’s the biggest thing I’m looking forward to firstly... getting on the grid, but also trying to write a new chapter of success for myself and also for the team.” McLaren recently finished as high as third in the constructors’ standings, placing behind Mercedes and Red Bull in 2020, but the team slipped to fourth in 2021 and fifth in 2022, having been edged out by Piastri’s former outfit Alpine. via Formula 1 News https://www.formula1.com

[a-week-of-formula-1-reviews]

Round XXIV - Abu Dhabi, UAE 🇦🇪

أهلاً ومرحباً بكم في الإمارات العربية المتحدة! 🇦🇪

The sun has set on another F1 season. A Champion driver has been crowned for the fourth time, and a Champion team has been coronated for the first time this century.

For the first time since 1998 (before both if their current drivers existed) McLaren have become the Constructors' Champions. Following a Lap 1, Turn 1 incident with Max Verstappen, Oscar Piastri was left racing at the back of the pack, but his teammate Lando Norris drove on in stunning form to secure the crucial win ahead of Ferrari, sealing the Championship for the papaya, with the help of Oscar's important point in P10.

Red Bull continued their disappointing run of form to finish third in the Constructors', with Max being involved in the tangle with Oscar, and Sergio Perez deciding that a DNF would be a good thing to do, his second successive DNF. He ended the campaign with only 9 points in 8 Grand Prix weekends. Not a great look when you're future is anything but certain...

And in his final race with Mercedes, Lewis Hamilton showed to everyone (hopefully most importantly to himself) that he still has it. Following a woeful qualifying position on P18, he was bumped up a little due to other drivers' penalties. He climbed up through the pack, and was running in the top 10 in no time. Passing his now old teammate George Russell on the last lap, Lewis ended the race in P4, again cementing his place as a great if the sport.

And with that, the 2024 season has come to an end. With 94 days (at time of writing) until the Australian season opener, we pause, reflect, relax and get ready to go again next season, for F1 75.

Until then, God Bless, have a fantastic Christmas and New Year. And I shall see in you, in 2025...

وداعا الآن! 🇦🇪

[maranello]

MELBOURNE, 1998 — Ferrari drivers Eddie Irvine and Michael Schumacher in front of a giant picture of Eddie Irvine ahead of the Australian Grand Prix. (Photo by MichaelCooper/Allsport)

[herohimbowhore]

On This Day in F1: March 9th

Present: Saudi Arabian Grand Prix

History: 2003 Australian Grand Prix

On March 9th, 2024, the second race of the season occurred. In its 4th running, the Saudi Arabian Grand Prix had its first repeat winner with Max Verstappen taking the chequered flag first.

Notable moments of the race included:

Kevin Magnussen's 20 seconds of penalties and his defense that allowed teammate Nico Hulkenberg to pit for new tyres and remain in the points.

Daniel Ricciardo's very long pit stop

Ollie Bearman's great race where he scored points on debut and is currently P10 in the F1 standings while remaining dead last in F2.

On March 9th, 2003, Formula 1 was in Melbourne for the Australian Grand Prix.

Australia was the opening race of the 2003 season and the debut of new rules following Ferrari's dominant 2002 season.

Michael Schumacher put his Ferrari on pole position, but he did not go on to win the race or finish on the podium. Schumacher missed the podium by approximately 3 tenths.

Instead, the podium consisted of:

David Coulthard in P1, taking his 13th and final victory in Formula 1

Juan Pablo Montoya who finished P2 after starting in P3

Kimi Raikkonen took the final step of the podium after starting in the pit lane

Of the 20 entrants, only 11 finished the race with Jos Verstappen down 1 lap from the race leader.

Some important stats from this race include:

The first time that Michael Schumacher missed out on a podium since the 2001 Italian Grand Prix

The first time that neither Ferrari finished on the podium since the 1999 European Grand Prix

The end of Ferrari's streak 53 consecutive podium finishes

The podium domination by Michelin tyres (Coulthard and Raikkonen's McLarens used Michelin tyres, as did Montoya's Williams) for the first time since the 1984 Portuguese Grand Prix

The first time that no car using Bridgestone tyres finished on the podium since the 1998 Italian Grand Prix

_____

Previous: Mar. 8th - 1998 Australian Grand Prix

Next: Mar. 22 - Australia Day 1

On This Day in F1 Masterlist

[race-week]

The History of the Mercedes F1 Team

I was inspired by the videos Sky showed during testing of the histories of Aston Martin and Alpine during testing so I thought I would do Mercedes, as this team has one of the weirder histories in F1, bear in mind I have just used the results from the train from Tyrell down to the present-day Mercedes team - so the two championships the original Mercedes team have aren’t included

Constructors Championships: 9 

(1971, 2009, 2014, 2015, 2016, 2017, 2018, 2019, 2020)

Drivers Championships: 11 

(1969, 1971, 1973, 2009,  2014, 2015, 2016, 2017, 2018, 2019, 2020) Jackie Stewart (3), Jenson Button (1), Lewis Hamilton (7), Nico Rosberg (1)

 Race victories: 148

Pole positions: 147

Fastest laps: 109

Tyrell Racing (1968 - 1998)

First entry: 1968 South African Grand Prix Races entered: 465 entries (463 starts) Constructors Championships: 1 (1971) Drivers Championships: 3 (1969, 1971, 1973) - Jackie Stewart Race victories: 33 Pole positions: 19 Fastest laps: 27 Final entry: 1998 Japanese Grand Prix

Eventually, in 1998 and in the face of dwindling form and ill health, Ken Tyrell sold his team to British American Tobacco, the team becoming British American Racing.

British American Racing and BAR Lucky Strike Honda (1999 - 2005)

First entry: 1999 Australian Grand Prix Races entered: 118 (117 starts) Engines: Supertec, Honda Constructors Championships: 0 (best finish; 2nd 2004) Drivers Championships: 0 Race victories: 0 Podiums:15 Points: 227 Pole positions: 2 Fastest laps: 0 Final entry: 2005 Chinese Grand Prix

At the end of 2005, Honda obtained 100% ownership of BAR from British American Tobacco, completing their ambition to become a full F1 manufacturer team. In addition, Jenson Button's Williams contract was bought out for US$30 million, and Button signed a multi-year contract with Honda.

Honda Racing F1 Team (2006 - 2008)

First entry: 2006 Bahrain Grand Prix Races entered: 43 Engines: Honda Constructors Championships: 0 Drivers Championships: 0 Race victories: 1 Podiums: 4 Points: 106 Pole positions: 1 Fastest laps: 0 Final entry: 2008 Brazilian Grand Prix

Honda suddenly exited the sport at the end of the 2008 season, unwilling to continue the Brackley-based team's $300 million budget and staff of 700 during the global economic crisis.

The team continued to work on the Honda RA109 for the 2009 season while Honda attempted to sell the racing team.

Ross Brawn bought the team for £1 in order to keep the team in the sport   

Brawn GP Formula One Team (2009)

First entry: 2009 Australian Grand Prix Races entered: 17 Engines: Mercedes Constructors Championships: 1 (2009) Drivers Championships: 1 (2009) - Jenson Button Race victories: 8 Podiums: 15 Points: 172 Pole positions: 5 Fastest laps: 4 Final entry: 2009 Abu Dhabi Grand Prix

On 16 November 2009 it was officially announced that Daimler AG in partnership with Aabar Investments had purchased a 75.1% stake in Brawn GP (Daimler AG: 45.1%; Aabar: 30%).

It was rumoured that the partnership paid £110m for the 75.1%. The team would be rebranded as Mercedes GP for 2010. The remaining 24.9% stake is Ross Brawn's in partnership with Nick Fry. The team used the Brawn GP base in Brackley for its operations and Brawn stayed on as team principal until the end of the 2013 season.

 Mercedes-AMG Petronas Formula 1 Team (2010 - Present)

First entry: 2010 Bahrain Grand Prix Last entry: 2020 Abu Dhabi Grand Prix Races entered: 227 Engines: Mercedes Constructors Championships: 7 (2014, 2015, 2016, 2017, 2018, 2019, 2020) Drivers Championships: 7 (2014, 2015, 2016, 2017, 2018, 2019, 2020) - Lewis Hamilton (6) Nico Rosberg (1) Race victories: 106 Podiums: 219 Points: 5685 Pole positions: 120 Fastest laps: 78

[formula-one-thoughts]

2020 Belgian Grand-Prix

Well I think we can safely say that 2020 was not a vintage year for the Belgian Grand Prix. One of the world’s greatest racetracks just didn’t deliver this time round (though I’m certainly not complaining – any racing is good racing in the time of Corona!). Not only were we looking forward to the track itself, but the promise of rain had given extra cause for excitement. Now, I’ve learnt not to be too optimistic when the possibility of a wet weather race is mentioned, and to secretly and silently wish for a downpour rather than voicing my hopes out loud for fear of jinxing it. But with the forecast stating a 100% CHANCE OF RAIN for Sunday, I foolishly allowed myself to believe that we may have a classic race akin to 1998, or at least a mix of tyre strategies necessitated by changing conditions across the track. Alas, it was not to be (though it did of course rain after the race!)

It’s not often that a team finishing 13th and 14th on pace is the major talking point following a grand prix. But when that team is the (once) mighty Ferrari, things are slightly different. How on earth did they go from easily the most dominant car around the circuit last year to one of the slowest? How were they the only car to be slower (1.317 secs to be precise) in FP2 this year than last year? Hmm, well it’s looking more and more like it might have something to do with the 2019 Scuderia engine not being 100% legal. The other Ferrari powered cars suffered too last weekend, yet Raikkonen managed to finish ahead of both of the works team cars, an achievement he was characteristically nonplussed about. But to fall so monumentally from grace to behind the Alfa suggests other issues also – their chassis is far from perfect and the fraught internal politics of the team at the moment can hardly be helping them out. Add to that a team of strategists seemingly incapable of making strategy calls and you have the perfect storm.

A team who have made considerable gains since last year are Renault. It seems like since they gave up protesting the pink Mercedes and started to focus on their own car they have really found their form! Ricciardo though has attributed their good fortunes to a set-up improvement; shall we just call it a combo of the two? In all seriousness though, it seems the team are experiencing the breakthrough they needed, not only with Danny Ric showing the skill and talent we all know he possesses, but also through Esteban Ocon really starting to show up at the last few races. Though we would have all loved to see a Max vs Daniel battle, and admittedly we did for about 15 seconds, Cyril Abiteboul will be very happy with the Australian’s second consecutive 4th place finish and extra point for fastest lap. With their haul of 23 points being the team’s greatest ever at a grand prix weekend, they will surely be feeling positive about their chances in the extremely tight midfield battle, where only 9 points separate McLaren in 3rd and Renault in 6th.

Whilst Ricciardo was a strong contender for driver of the day, that honour went deservedly to Pierre Gasly, whose performance so far this year has been consistently impressive, reminding everyone why he was promoted to Red Bull in the first place. Taking the risk to start the race from 12th on the hard tyres, he stormed through the field, passing cars left, right and centre who were on the speedier soft compound. A highlight of his charge, and a highlight of the race itself, was his sensational pass on Perez through Eau Rouge. Having been mightily squeezed by the Mexican he stuck to his guns and pulled off the overtake of the race. His strategy was sadly hampered by the safety car coming out on lap 11, but he still managed to fight his way through the pack after a late pit stop to finish a very respectable p8. It must have been an unbearably difficult weekend for Gasly at times, with the memory of the tragic accident that took the life of Anthoine Hubert, one of his best friends, still fresh. The Frenchman was honoured respectfully and with heart across the F2 and F1 paddocks, and it brought more than a few tears to my eyes to see Juan Manuel Correa return to Spa to remember his fellow racer. Gasly was driving with his dear friend in mind, putting on a performance that Anthoine would have loved and that was a wonderful tribute to an amazing talent and human being gone far too soon.

Come the chequered flag, the top three positions were occupied by… you guessed it! Hamilton, Bottas and Verstappen, the 1st and 3rd place drivers bemoaning the lack of excitement the race provided, both for themselves and the fans. This is shaping up to be Max’s best season yet. With a top three result in every race he’s finished this season he has hardly put a foot wrong, and though the gap between him and Valterri in the drivers championship is only 3 points (the Dutchman in 2nd, the Finn in 3rd), it’s increasingly looking like he’s the only driver Hamilton has cause to worry about. Elsewhere in the race, a heart stopping crash involving Giovinazzi and Russell fortunately resulted in no injuries. Russell was a sitting duck and there was nothing he could have done to avoid colliding with the wall as he swerved out of the way of Giovinazzi’s wheel. What could have been a very nasty incident indeed was yet another example of how impressive the sport’s safety measures have become (though we have seen a few too many wheels detaching from cars this season). Finally, I strongly recommend you check out the Racing Point social media channels. Whilst they might not have been as strong as they hoped on track in Belgium, they are killing it online, an absolute highlight being the adorable cartoon posters they have created for each race so far. The details on the Spa one were too good, ranging from Roscoe Hamilton at the wheel of his dad’s car, the bright yellow overalls of the two Jordan drivers standing out on the podium, and Sebastian and Daniel enjoying a game of ping-pong! 10/10.

What did you think of the 2020 Belgian Gran Prix? Who impressed you and who disappointed? And what are your predictions for this weekend’s first of three visits to Italy? Let me know!

[coimbrabertone]

Suzuka in April Feels Wrong

So, this weekend F1 will race at Suzuka. Suzuka is an amazing circuit, the esses at the beginning of the lap, trying to take Degner 1 as fast as possible but knowing the gravel trap is right there at the edge of the circuit, and then hard on the brakes for Degner 2, under the bridge, and up and to the right into the hairpin where Kamui Kobayashi seemed to overtake just about everyone in 2012. Spoon curve, the infamous 130R, and the Casio triangle at the end of the lap, Suzuka really is something special.

The only problem is, Raikkonen's 2005 charge (admittedly I was too young to properly enjoy that but it's literally the back to front challenge meme in real life), Kamui's 2012 podium as a Japanese driver, even Vettel's heartbreaking sparkplug failure in 2017, not to mention the historic Prost and Senna collisions...all of those happened at the end of the season, or close enough to it anyway. This year, Suzuka is in April, the fourth round of the 2024 Formula One season.

Now of course, there's a reason for this - the geography of an increasingly bloated F1 calendar - but first, let's just establish why the Japanese Grand Prix being at the end of the season is so important.

The first Japanese Grand Prix, held in 1976 and 1977, marked the first time a world championship race was held in Asia, and it was the finale too, the place where the championship would be decided. The 1976 race in particular, covered in the excellent 2013 movie Rush, saw Niki Lauda pull into the pits in dangerously wet conditions - this was the same year as his Nürburgring crash - which allowed James Hunt to charge up the field and seal his only world title.

The first Fuji trip would only last two years, but in 1987, F1 would find its home in Suzuka. It was the penultimate race - Adelaide, Australia was now the finale - but nevertheless, Suzuka was still the place where titles were decided. In 1988, Senna came from behind in the wet to beat Prost, in 1989 Prost would close the door on a charging Senna in the Casio triangle on lap 47, taking Prost out. Senna cut the chicane rejoining the track, got disqualified, and handed the title to Prost. In 1990, Prost now in a Ferrari, got a better start than Senna's polesitting McLaren, but Senna's wouldn't give an inch, and they didn't even make it past the first corner this time. Senna would seal the 1990 title. And it continued, Senna over Mansell in 1991, Hill over Villeneuve in 1996, Hakkinen over Schumacher in 1998...it was the track where history was made.

That being said, it's position in the calendar started to change as F1 expanded its Asia-Pacific presence from just Suzuka. From 1987-1995, it was paired with the Australian Grand Prix at Adelaide, in 1999 and 2000, it was paired with Malaysia, and from 2004-2008, it was paired with China. After that, the calendar more or less formed two flyaway blocks, with Australia-Malaysia-China-Bahrain at the beginning of the season, and a Singapore and Suzuka towards the end, paired with an everchanging host of flyaway races that included Abu Dhabi, Brazil, South Korea, and India. In 2009, Suzuka was the third to last race, come 2011, it was fifth to last.

The real blow to Suzuka as an end of season race, however, was the emergence of an American block of races late in the season. It started with Austin in 2012, and by 2015, we had Austin and Mexico back-to-back followed by Brazil, making for three western hemisphere races in a row. Las Vegas in 2023 made a fourth, with Abu Dhabi having long ago bought the season finale slot. All of this means that, in 2023, there were a whole two months of racing after Suzuka.

Thus, figuring that history is dead, F1 has decided to move Suzuka to April, so that, much like 2004-2008, it's back-to-back with the Chinese Grand Prix. Which means F1 will now have Baku and Singapore as a doubleheader in 2024...yeah.

For something meant to cut down on F1's travel related CO2 emissions, they really did just decide to make the entire circus fly over the entirety of the Asian continent in a week. Good job.

What the race does succeed in, however, is reminding us of the last time F1 raced in Japan in April, the 1994 and 1995 Pacific Grand Prix. A rare moment of two races in the same country for F1, when in addition to the end of season trip to Suzuka, there was an early season trip to the T1 Circuit in Okayama. It's a pretty neat track, I've raced it on Ride 4, probably better for bikes than cars though.

So yeah, not much for the environment, but it does remind us of an obscure race nobody has ever heard of, so there is that.

[kevrocksicehouse]

Peter Weir helped spearhead a New Wave of Australian cinema. A few films that have come from down under since then.

The Chant of Jimmie Blacksmith. D: Fred Schepisi (1978). This story of an aborigine who tries and fails to “assimilate” with the white Australians who raise him but then exploit his half-caste status and goes on a violent crime spree. It’s like “Invisible Man” turning into “Native Son.”  A great film from a director who never made a bad one.

High Tide. D: Gillian Armstrong (1988). Judy Davis is a backup singer for a third-rate Elvis Impersonator who finds herself stranded in a shabby beach town where years before she abandoned her now teenage daughter. Within this soapy premise Davis and Armstrong fashion an affecting story of a woman emerging from years of self-hatred and self-abuse. And the scene of her drunk on a bathroom floor singing “Dark Eyes” is one of my favorite Dylan covers.

Strictly Ballroom. D: Baz Luhrmann (1992). A rebellious hoofer wants to bring Ballroom Dancing into the modern age and defies his legendary dancer parents and the all-powerful Australian Federation to try to win the Pan-Pacific Grand Prix Dancing Championship (which sounds really funny when said in an Australian accent). He also finds love. Can a film be called a parody when its director loves the clichés he’s sending up this much? Luhrmann spent his career trying to answer this question.

Babe. D: Chris Noonan (1995).  A young pig purchased partly for Christmas dinner is adopted by their dog who trains him to herd sheep. This great children’s story that is surprisingly unsentimental about the food chain was nominated for several Oscars and won for its ingenious talking animal special effects. A charmer.

Dark City. D: Alex Proyas (1998). A man wakes up with amnesia, framed for a murder. This noir premise becomes Kafkaesque as it slowly turns to pure science fiction, incorporating ideas that would later show up in a purer action movie, The Matrix. This is better though. Moodier. Scarier.

[brunobisexuallatiwasalsohere]

George William Russell (born 15 February 1998) is a British racing driver currently competing in Formula One, contracted to Williams.[2] He was the 2018 FIA Formula 2 Champion for ART and the 2017 GP3 Series Champion. Following his Formula 2 championship win, Russell signed for Williams in 2019, making his début at the 2019 Australian Grand Prix, alongside Robert Kubica. Russell is contracted to drive for Williams until the conclusion of the 2021 season, although he stood in for Lewis Hamilton at Mercedes at the 2020 Sakhir Grand Prix. Russell achieved his first F1 podium with Williams at the 2021 Belgian Grand Prix. He is also a part of the Mercedes Young Driver programme.[3] He is due to join Mercedes full time in the 2022 season.[4]

Russell was born in King's Lynn, Norfolk,[5] to father Steve and mother Alison,[6] the youngest alongside two siblings: a sister, Cara, and an older brother, Benjy.[7][8] Russell took up karting at the age of 7, having spent much of his time around karting tracks and his brother Benjy, who was also involved in competitive karting. Growing up in Wisbech, Cambridgeshire, Russell was educated at the Wisbech Grammar School,[9] before moving to Milton Keynes at the age of 18 to be closer to his racing teams.[7]

Like his father, he is a fan of Wolverhampton Wanderers Football Club.

Russell began karting in 2006 and progressed through to the cadet class by 2009, becoming MSA British champion and British Open champion. In 2010 he moved to the Rotax Mini Max category where he became Super One British champion, Formula Kart Stars British champion and also won the Kartmasters British Grand Prix. Russell graduated to the KF3 class in 2011, winning the SKUSA Supernationals title and becoming CIK-FIA European Championship, a title he successfully defended in 2012.[10] In his final year of karting in 2013, Russell finished 19th in the KF1 CIK-FIA World Championship.

In 2014, Russell made his single-seater debut, racing in the Formula Renault 2.0 Alps championship. He originally signed to race for Prema Powerteam,[12] before making a last-minute switch to Koiranen GP.[13] Despite missing a round through illness, he finished fourth in the championship, taking a single podium finish at the Red Bull Ring.[14]

Russell also contested two rounds of the Eurocup Formula Renault 2.0 championship. He took part in the Moscow round with Koiranen GP before switching to Tech 1 Racing for the final round of the season at Jerez. Racing as a guest entrant, he won the final race of the season after starting from pole position.

In 2014, Russell also competed in the BRDC Formula 4 Championship with defending champions Lanan Racing.[16] He entered the final race of the season at Snetterton in a four-way title battle with teammate Arjun Maini and the HHC Motorsport pairing of Sennan Fielding and Raoul Hyman.[17] After starting from pole position, Russell won the race, his fifth of the season, to clinch the title by just three points from Maini.[18]

As a prize for winning the BRDC Formula 4 championship, Russell tested a GP3 car with Arden Motorsport at the Yas Marina Circuit in Abu Dhabi.[19] In December 2014, Russell became the youngest-ever winner of the prestigious McLaren Autosport BRDC Award, beating fellow finalists Alexander Albon, Ben Barnicoat, Sennan Fielding, Seb Morris and Harrison Scott to earn himself a £100,000 cash prize, British Racing Drivers' Club membership and a Formula One test with McLaren.[20]

In February 2015, Russell was announced as one of the twelve drivers selected to join the British Racing Drivers' Club SuperStars programme, the youngest-ever recruit to the scheme.[21]

Russell graduated to Formula Three in 2015, racing in the FIA European Formula 3 Championship with Carlin.[22] He took his first race victory in the opening round of the season at Silverstone, finishing ahead of fellow debutant Charles Leclerc and Antonio Giovinazzi in the second race of the weekend.[23] He took a further two podium places at Spa-Francorchamps and the Norisring to finish sixth in the championship.[24] He also finished as runner-up to Leclerc in the rookie championship standings.[25]

In September 2015, Russell took part in the Masters of Formula 3 non-championship event held at Zandvoort. After finishing fourth in the qualification race,[26] he went on to finish second behind teammate Antonio Giovinazzi in the main race.[27] Russell was also scheduled to compete in the Macau Grand Prix with Carlin, but was replaced by Japanese Euroformula Open Championship driver Yu Kanamaru shortly before the event.[28]

Russell switched to Hitech GP for the 2016 season, scored two victories and finished third in the standings.

Russell signed with ART Grand Prix for the 2017 GP3 Series season.[29] He had previously driven for the team at the post-season test at Yas Marina in November 2016.[30]

Russell made a solid start to the season at the Circuit de Catalunya, Barcelona, where he finished the weekend with 4th and 5th position finishes. The next race at the Red Bull Ring saw him take his maiden pole position and victory in the GP3 Series.[31] Russell scored back to back pole positions at his 'home race' at Silverstone, before converting this into another victory in the first race of the weekend and taking 4th position in the second race, on his way to taking the championship lead.[32]

A dominant performance at Spa-Francorchamps soon followed which saw Russell build his championship lead advantage, after taking a victory and a 2nd position in the two races, alongside Pole Position and Fastest Lap in both races.[33]

The next round at Monza saw only one GP3 Series event take place after adverse weather conditions resulting into the Saturday Race being cancelled.[34] Russell won a titanic tussle with his ART Grand Prix teammates Jack Aitken and Anthoine Hubert to seal his fourth victory of the season.[35]

Russell had taken four victories, three pole positions and five further podiums to put him in a position to seal the championship at Jerez, with a complete round of the championship still to run at Yas Marina. Russell won the 2017 GP3 Series title after taking 4th position in race two, giving him an unassailable lead in the championship standings.[36]

In January 2018 Russell was confirmed as a driver for ART Grand Prix for the 2018 FIA Formula 2 Championship,[37] which would see the new Dallara F2 2018 make its debut in the expanding 12-race calendar.[38] He was also confirmed as the Mercedes' reserve driver, sharing duties with Pascal Wehrlein the following month.[39]

Russell qualified in 2nd position on debut at Bahrain, finishing 5th in the opening round of the championship.[40]

In Baku for the second round of the championship, Russell led the majority of the feature race before a late safety car caused drama at the restart, denying him a maiden victory in the series.[41] Coming through from the back in the sprint race, Russell set the fastest lap on his way to taking victory from 12th on the grid.[42]

Russell took his second victory of the season in Barcelona, after prevailing in a duel with Nyck de Vries, taking his maiden feature race win of the season.[43] He followed that up with 4th in the sprint race to move up to 2nd in the championship standings.[44]

In Monte-Carlo, Russell had an engine failure in free practice which severely limited his running. Russell was on the back foot, qualifying in 16th position and endured two races outside of the points.

Russell hit back in France at Le Castellet, taking his maiden pole position in Formula 2.[45] He led a wet / dry challenging race from lights-to-flag and took his third victory of the season and the championship.[46]

He would later go on to win the title with victory in the feature race at Abu Dhabi after a season-long fight with fellow Brit Lando Norris.

In early 2017, Russell joined Mercedes-AMG Petronas Motorsport as a part of their junior driver programme.[47] It was announced that Russell would take part in both days of the Budapest test on the 1–2 August, which followed the Formula One World Championship and support series races at the same circuit from the weekend before.[48] In November the same year it was announced that Russell would make his Formula One practice debut at the Brazilian Grand Prix driving in the first practice session for Force India. Subsequently, it was announced that he would also drive for them in the first practice session for the Abu Dhabi Grand Prix.[49]

Russell was announced as one of the Pirelli Tyre Test Drivers for Force India at the post-Spanish Grand Prix test in May 2018.[50] He completed 123 laps for the team at the test, his first in a Formula One car with 2018 specifications.[51]

On 13 October 2018, it was announced that Russell had signed a multi-year deal to drive for the Williams team,[52] partnering Robert Kubica for the 2019 season.[53] The Williams FW42 lacked pace and was the slowest car of the field;[54] in most races Kubica was Russell's only on-track competition. At the rain-affected German Grand Prix, Russell crossed the line in 13th place before being promoted to 11th after the Alfa Romeo drivers were penalised post-race for using driver aids.[55] He narrowly missed out on scoring his maiden point in Formula One, having been overtaken by Kubica in the closing laps.[56]

The first retirement of Russell's career came at the Singapore Grand Prix when Romain Grosjean made contact with him during an overtake attempt, sending Russell into a wall.[57] He then retired again at the Russian Grand Prix after suffering a wheel nut issue.[58] The Brazilian Grand Prix provided one of the few opportunities of Russell's debut season to race other cars, where a late safety car allowed him to finish in 12th place, just 1.5 seconds behind a points-scoring position.[59]

Russell ended the season in 20th place in the championship, the only driver not to score a point.[60]

Russell continued driving for Williams in 2020, partnered by former Formula 2 competitor Nicholas Latifi.[61] He retired from the season-opening Austrian Grand Prix from a loss of fuel pressure.[62] Russell started the Styrian Grand Prix in 11th place after a wet qualifying session, beating his previous best qualifying position.[63] Running wide into the gravel in the early laps effectively ended Russell's chances at points,[64] and he finished 16th with both Williams drivers struggling for race pace.[65]

Russell crashed out of the Belgian Grand Prix after a stray wheel from Antonio Giovinazzi's car hit his Williams.[66] At the Tuscan Grand Prix, Russell started 18th but ran in the points positions for most of the race aided by a higher than normal attrition rate. He ran in ninth place prior to the second red flag period but experienced a poor restart, dropping back to 12th and last. Despite passing Romain Grosjean, he was ultimately unable to progress further and finished 11th.[67] At the Emilia Romagna Grand Prix, Russell crashed out from 10th place while following the safety car, an incident he described as the "biggest mistake of [his] career".[68]

Russell stood in for Lewis Hamilton at Mercedes for the 2020 Sakhir Grand Prix, following a positive coronavirus test result for Hamilton.[69] Russell stated in the pre-event press conference he felt "no pressure",[70] following Mercedes team principal Toto Wolff's expectation that the car would finish in the top five.[71][72] Russell qualified for second position on the front row for the race start, narrowly missing out on pole to teammate Valtteri Bottas by 26 milliseconds.[73] Russell took early control from the race start and led most of the race, but with 20 laps remaining, Mercedes team mechanics fitted Bottas' front tyres on Russell's car, causing him to have to re-pit on the next lap to correct the error.[74] He then suffered a slow puncture ten laps before the finish and was forced to pit again.[75] Russell finished in ninth place and earned his first three World Championship points, two points for ninth and one for the fastest lap.[76] Russell was praised by the media and the Mercedes team for his Sakhir performance.[77][78]

Russell performed media duties for Mercedes at the Abu Dhabi Grand Prix, but returned to Williams in time for practice when Hamilton was declared fit to compete.[79] Following Friday practice, Russell said returning to Williams for this event was a "strange feeling", having competed in the faster Mercedes the week before.[80] For the event, Russell wore a special helmet as a tribute to Williams co-founder Frank Williams and former deputy team principal Claire Williams,[81] both of whom had left the team and Formula One earlier in the season.[82] Russell qualified 18th and finished the race 15th.[83][84]

Russell was retained by Williams for the 2021 season alongside Nicholas Latifi.[85] At the Emilia Romagna Grand Prix, he collided with Valtteri Bottas after driving on to a wet patch and losing control of his car during an overtaking attempt, causing both cars to retire and prompting a red flag.[86] Russell initially blamed the incident on Bottas, accusing him of "trying to kill [them] both",[87] but later retracted his claims and apologised to Bottas and his own Williams team.[88]

He ran in 15th place prior to the red flag at the Azerbaijan Grand Prix, but failed to make the restart due to gearbox issues.[89] He finished 12th at the French Grand Prix, ahead of eight other drivers,[90] later remarking that this was the "best race [he had] ever had together with Williams".[91] He qualified 11th at the Styrian Grand Prix, missing out on the third qualifying session (Q3) by eight milliseconds. He was promoted to 10th place after Yuki Tsunoda received a grid penalty, his best grid position for Williams.[92] During the race, Russell gained two positions in the opening laps but later entered the pits multiple times as his team attempted to resolve a reliability issue. He eventually retired from the race.[93] Russell reached Q3 for the first time in a Williams car at the Austrian Grand Prix and started the race eighth, the team's highest grid position since 2017.[94][95] He finished the race 11th, having been passed by Fernando Alonso in the closing laps.[96] Russell reached Q3 again at the British Grand Prix, but was issued with a grid penalty for colliding with Carlos Sainz Jr. in the sprint qualifying session. He finished the race 12th. At the Hungarian Grand Prix, Russell came from 17th on the grid to finish a career-best eighth (after Sebastian Vettel's disqualification), earning his first points for Williams.

In the rain-affected Belgian Grand Prix qualifying session, Russell qualified in second place behind Max Verstappen. This marked the first front-row start for Williams since the 2017 Italian Grand Prix.[97] The race was delayed by wet weather and ultimately only two laps were completed, both under safety car conditions. This allowed Russell to maintain his grid position and claim his first Formula One podium finish.[98] At the 2021 Italian Grand Prix, Russell finished ninth, scoring an additional two points. At the Russian Grand Prix, Russell qualified in third in mixed conditions, before finishing the race in tenth.[99]

Russell is due to join Mercedes in 2022, replacing Valtteri Bottas and joining fellow Briton Lewis Hamilton.[4]

In March 2021, Russell was appointed as a director of the Grand Prix Drivers' Association, replacing previous incumbent Romain Grosjean,[100] who stepped down following his departure from Formula One to IndyCar.[101]

I do genuinely think you are a morally bad person if you donate to ao3 in favor of donating to Wikipedia or someone's mutual aid fund or something

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RISE OF THE ROOKIE: Mark Webbers journey from dirt bike rider to F1 championship contender

Upon entering the sport in 2002, Mark Webber became the 16th Formula 1 driver from Australia, before becoming a nine-time race winner and a championship contender during his years with Red Bull. Webber started out riding motorcycles as a child before making the switch to karting as a teenager. And after taking part in the 24 Hours of Le Mans in 1998, Webber made his first F1 test for Arrows in 1999 at the Circuit de Catalunya. After two years as a reserve driver for Benetton, the Australian was given the Minardi seat in 2002, before making the switch to Jaguar for the 2003 and 2004 seasons. Following two years driving for Williams, Webber made his way to the up-and-coming Red Bull Racing team and won his first race in Formula 1 at the 2009 German Grand Prix. READ MORE: Which driver has racked up over €35,000 in fines so far in 2022 – and who’s been reprimanded the most? Webber could never quite win that elusive Formula 1 World Championship, but did get close in 2010, as the title battle came down to the final race in Abu Dhabi, although it was his team mate Sebastian Vettel – with whom he shared a sometimes turbulent rivalry – who came out on top. Take a look back at Webber’s journey with Aramco Presents: Rise of the Rookie in the video player above. via Formula 1 News https://www.formula1.com