In Formula 1’s silliest of silly seasons seen in eons, Daniel Ricciardo seems, inexplicably, odd man out. But several seats are still up for grabs. And much more news.
15 years racing in the pinnacle of motorsport. 57 pole positions. 53 wins, which is more than Alain Prost by the way. And four Driver’s World Championships. What a phenomenal career. And you’re just 35! Seriously impressive all the way around. Moreover, up and down the grid, you’ve earned admiration and respect as a human being. Perhaps—no—definitely the more impressive result here.
Several drivers received multiple warnings, a few saw black and white flags, and a couple were penalized. None of them gained an advantage. Sprints still seem silly, too. Otherwise, great race!
Rain fell during qualifying again and brought a somewhat unexpected starting grid. A mega crash at the start of the race proved also to be just the start of the action.
Wet qualifying and dry racing brought different strategies, setups, and a scrambled starting grid. Engine penalties didn’t help. And I interview Porsche factory driver, Laurens Vanthoor.
It occasionally rains in Monaco. Changing conditions increased the importance of pit strategy and mistakes bit some teams harder than others. Nice weather prevailed stateside for the Indy500, but high winds played with car balance, as did pit penalties.
Nine of the ten teams brought new parts to their cars to improve performance, with Haas being the one hold out. Chris and I dissect the performance differences we saw in a Grand Prix filled with luck, both good and bad.
