Credit: Daimler AG

It might not have had the chaotic excitement of the Baku race, but the Austrian Grand Prix held some moments of interest. The start of the race saw Bottas investigated for a potential jump start – he was found not to have done that, but it was mightily close on the replays. Daniil Kvyat got a great start, surging forward, but he forgot to stop at the first corner and bashed into the side of Fernando Alonso, who in turn took out Max Verstappen, the latter two retiring from the race.

Bottas led the way from pole and was unhurried until the final few laps where Sebastian Vettel started hunting him for the win. They crossed the line about half a second apart. Daniel Ricciardo was third, picking up that final podium place after having his own defensive fight with Lewis Hamilton. Elsewhere, Romain Grosjean had a quiet but solid race to finish sixth, whilst the rest of the top ten was taken up by both Force India and both Williams drivers.

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Credit: Daimler AG

The first session of qualifying for the Austrian Grand Prix saw disappointment for the Williams team, as both their drivers dropped out early and not only that, they were behind Jolyon Palmer. Kevin Magnussen qualified his Haas into Q2 but also damaged the suspension and had to retire to the pits so was unable to participate in that second session.

Both the McLarens were into Q2, with Daniil Kvyat behind them and Nico Hülkenberg qualifying 11th. Up into the top ten, Hamilton was making some scrappy runs as was Max Verstappen. Valtteri Bottas secured provisional pole with Vettel behind and Hamilton third – the Brit knowing he has a five place gearbox related grid penalty hanging over his head.

As they prepared for the last few minutes and the final flying laps, the Haas of Romain Grosjean stopped out on track bringing out yellow flags and effectively ending the fight. He qualified 7th with two Force Indias and a Toro Rosso behind him. Bottas took pole with Hamilton third on track, but eighth on the grid.

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Credit: Mercedes-Benz Grand Prix

It was a scrappy day of practice as drivers got back to work preparing for the Austrian Grand Prix this weekend. Lewis Hamilton led both practice sessions and Valtteri Bottas was third in both. During the morning session, they were split by Max Verstappen – who had a couple of spins through the gravel and brushed the wall at one point. In second practice, it was Vettel who came between the two Mercedes drivers.

Elsewhere in FP1, Sirotkin was in at Renault and Celis in at Force India. Romain Grosjean hit the kerbs a couple of times and picked up a puncture in his Haas, whilst Honda finished with both their drivers inside the top ten – quite the feat, I’m sure you’ll agree.

For FP2, Alonso was kept in the garage for much of the session whilst the floor on his McLaren was changed. Daniil Kvyat also missed out on running after a brake fire on his Toro Rosso had to be hastily extinguished. Mercedes set the benchmark, Ferrari are still close behind and Red Bull appear to have kept their improved pace from the last few weeks.

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Credit: Clive Rose/Getty Images

It’s impossible to summarise the Azerbaijan Grand Prix in one minute so here are the main things you need to know:

Daniel Ricciardo won after mostly inheriting the lead but doing a good job with it. Valtteri Bottas fought back from another first lap incident with Kimi Räikkönen to finish second, with Lance Stroll keeping out of trouble for an impressive third place.

Sebastian Vettel was fourth after crashing into the back of Lewis Hamilton, who may or may not have brake-tested him under the safety car. Vettel was then penalised for pulling alongside the Mercedes and bashing into him in retaliation, and somehow still managed to finish ahead.

Ocon was next, after a crash with his teammate that knocked Sergio Pérez out of the race. Pérez and Räikkönen were both patched up under the red flag (brought about by debris from oh so many incidents) but both then retired for the second time. And Fernando Alonso finished in the points for the first time this season!

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Credit: Daimler AG

Jolyon Palmer was unable to participate in qualifying in Baku after a fire on his Renault during FP3. That meant there were just four drivers dropped out in Q1, but they were the usual suspects – McLaren, Sauber and Haas.

In Q2, both the Toro Rosso drivers dropped out, as well as the other half of the Sauber, Haas and Renault teams, meaning both Force India and both Williams drivers were in Q3. Stroll got to drive in his first top ten shootout, having previously qualified for Q3 but crashing out.

This time it was Daniel Ricciardo who crashed, bumping his Red Bull into the barriers and halting his run. The incident brought out the red flags, which meant the final shot at pole position was just over three minutes long, piling the pressure on everyone. Lewis Hamilton dealt with that pressure the best, finishing almost half a second faster than teammate Bottas, who scooped second. Ferrari locked out the second row of the grid, with Verstappen in fifth.

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Credit: Mark Thompson/Getty Images

First practice in Azerbaijan was dominated by Sergio Pérez, who crashed his Force India into the barriers at turn eight – a supremely narrow section of track that was the scene of plenty of drama. A lack of grip, smoke from tyre lockups, running wide off track and missing apexes and diving into run off zones was the order of the day, as the tricky Baku track caught out many a good driver.

Red Bull appeared to have improved their pace with Max Verstappen leading the first session, followed by Daniel Ricciardo. In the afternoon, Valtteri Bottas managed to split the two Red Bulls but it was still Verstappen on top. Max did crash it later in that same session, though, so not all glory for him.

Fernando Alonso stopped out on track, with his radio messages now simply reduced to: “Engine.” And in the afternoon Vettel avoided the turn eight barriers off track, only to find his retreat blocked by Massa who was doing the same. Jolyon Palmer topped them all though, copying Pérez and crashing into the wall.

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Credit: Sauber AG

Monisha Kaltenborn has been a mainstay at Sauber for many years, and has seen the team through several financial crisis situations during her time as team principal since 2012. Now, however, her tenure at the top has come to a close as she departs the team effective immediately. A statement made by the new owners, Longbow Finance, said the split was “by mutual consent and due to diverging views of the future of the company.”

There’s no knowing for sure at the moment what those diverging views represent, nor what Monisha may do next, nor even who will replace her at Sauber. Some have suggested the difficulties within the team come from the two drivers, Marcus Ericsson and Pascal Wehrlein, not receiving equal treatment. However, the Chairman of the Board quickly shared his views on that as well, saying: “It would be contrary to the team’s absolute and longstanding commitment to fair competition.”

Ericsson argued that both drivers were given “equal equipment and priorities” but Wehrlein opted for a rather telling “no comment.”

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Credit: Daimler AG

The World Motorsport Council have signed off on the 2018 F1 calendar, a lot earlier than normal, and have approved 21 separate events to equal the largest season, alongside 2016. The most visible changes to the calendar include a return to Germany and France, the latter having been off the schedule for a decade, as well as the departure of the Malaysian Grand Prix.

The season starts in Australia and ends in Abu Dhabi as normal, but with an extra race squeezed in, the timeframe gets a bit tight in the middle. There are five European races across six weeks in the summer months, including a back-to-back-to-back triple header from France to Austria to Great Britain in three weeks.

Chase Carey said: “We wanted to finalise next season’s calendar early, so that all our stakeholders would have more time to prepare and we have managed it, thanks in part through working closely with the FIA.”

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