Well, we learned that Nico Rosberg will never win the World Championship. We also learned that these days driving indiscretions are being recorded and telecast, and so being pinged for driving straight into another car is objective these days, not subjective! Sorry, Nico but you deserved your 5 second penalty. Not that it mattered, you were well and truly beaten anyway.
Despite ‘only’ qualifying in second, the race was all Lewis Hamilton’s (Mercedes) from the second the lights went out at the start, literally coasting to the win unchallenged.
At the start, the Red Bulls of Verstappen and Ricciardo were next to push Rosberg down to 4th. This was to herald a race Rosberg would like to forget. Riccciardo, on a different tyre strategy from his brash young team mate, was unchallenged after taking over 2nd and while never able to challenge Hamilton, was never challenged himself. He will take the top step of the podium in the second half of the season, but it may need Hamilton to DNF.
Having a lonely race were the two Ferraris of Vettel and Raikkonen in 5th and 6th and it will take every minute of the next four weeks for Ferrari to get up to the front again. More heads will roll and an optimist will be someone who takes their lunch to work at Maranello.
Last car on the same lap as the leader was the Force India of Hulkenberg who drove a well calculated race, conserving his tyres and being able to pass the Williams of Bottas with seven laps to go.
There were many dices during the hour and a half race, with the McLarens of Button (8th) and Alonso (12th) generally in the middle of them, along with the Haas duo of Gutierrez (11th) and Grosjean (13th).
As for the rest? Middle to rear of the pack drivers, struggling with rear of the pack cars. Make-weights and mobile chicanes or, as in the case of poor old Massa, (Williams) another bumper car. They should start Massa from the pit lane each race to try and get Felipe through the first corner without damage.
After the dire threats of “track limits”, the stewards seemed to have dropped that regulation as being unworkable. The other idiocy called ‘communications’ has also been quietly dropped and we heard the dialogues between pit wall and driver once more. However, the signal is so poor, most of the transmission is impossible to understand.
Despite this, I am sure that by the time the second part of the season begins, the FIA will have dreamed up more ridiculous rules to keep everyone confused.
Results:
1 Hamilton Mercedes
2 D Ricciardo Red Bull
3 M Verstappen Red Bull
4 N Rosberg Mercedes
5 S Vettel Ferrari
6 K Raikkonen Ferrari
7 N Hulkenberg Force India
8 J Button McLaren
9 V Bottas Williams
10 S Perez Force India
The next F1 GP is August 28 at Spa. With his confidence at an all-time low, do not put your money on NR, even though Mercedes will have expensive counselors working with Nico day and night for the next four weeks. Time for Mercedes to consider drafting in the other Nico (Hulkenberg) for 2017. They don’t even need to change the signs in the washroom.
