- Hamilton
- Bottas
- Vettel
I think this track favors the Mercs.
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So, an update on Friday's proceedings...
A completely damp squib. Literally. Bad weather conditions that were predicted for Friday happened as expected - unfortunately, Practice 1 and 2 (FP1 and FP2) were curtailed by the excessive mist. Actually, on the track, conditions were fine. BUT - the medical helicopter was unable to land at the hospital. And no, the session couldn't have continued if the helicopter could not land - no one wants a repeat of Suzuka 2014 where the medical helicopter wasn't able to transport the late Jules Bianchi to the hospital due to the treacherous rain.
The cars only combined for a total of just over 120 laps in FP1, and did not run at all in FP2, meaning they would have a lot to do in FP3 tomorrow. There's even concerns that the race itself will be similarly curtailed today due to yet more predicted rain, and the people are discussing possible alternatives. (EDIT: it won't be rescheduled)
More info on the official website and the excellent Sky Sports F1 site.
Lastly, with FP2 completely shut down by the weather, it was up to the fans and teams to make their own entertainment today... (pics from multiple sources)
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Update on Saturday's proceedings (and, as per OP):
To make things more interesting you will have to predict the top three finishers in the correct order and do so before the start of the qualifying session on Saturday.
Guesses were closed about 8 hours ago. Any new ones after this won't count.
Luckily, the rain dried up as expected, so a dry FP3 and qualifying were in order. Teams would rigorously test throughout FP3 due to the reduced running time, with Ferrari looking good (but of course this wasn't necessarily a representation of the actual order). Results
Notably, Bottas' T-wing fell off during the session. Oo-er!
Qualifying was an even more magnificent affair. Max struggled with an engine software problem that left him stranded down in 19th (17th after penalties applied). At the end of Q1, super-sub Giovinazzi crashed his car into the wall heavily (he's fine), bringing out the yellows and preventing people from bettering their laps - leaving Grosjean (one of the penalised people due to ignoring yellow flags) and Ocon down in the relegation zone. Giovinazzi himself was 15th at the time, and team-mate Ericsson was 14th; likely they wouldn't have gone further had Giovinazzi not crashed. (ETA: Giovinazzi naturally gets penalised 5 spots because they had to change the gearbox after the crash so Max starts 16th instead)
Alonso did incredibly well to drag the GP2 McLaren into Q2 and qualified 13th, while "driving like all the animals" in the process. While Ferrari looked good throughout Q1 and Q2, Q3, the decisive section, was where Hamilton finally fought back to secure pole. Vettel again did well to split the two Mercs (edging Bottas by just 0.001 seconds!) while Raikkonen, who topped Q2 at the death, wasn't comfortable with the car in Q3 and qualified a distant 4th.
Tomorrow's race is set to be a good one in the (widely predicted to be) wet...let's just hope the rain doesn't derail the helicopter again!
Qualifying Results
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Thanks for this update as well, K3W3L. Great work!
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I'm back home again; seems I missed a great race by Max.
Edit: Ph03n1xSA had it right! (I first thought he was a day too late; I need to learn to read. ;)
Next week: Bahrain!
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Oh, I see. My bad. 😥
Edit: Wait, what?! So, he posted it before the qualifying?
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I'm confused with all the edits. :D
But I seem to have spoiled the ending for myself...I watched the first half of the race and set catch-up to watch the end later today. :(
So how does the comp work, is there a table our points for predictions get added?
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All winners (so that includes you) will be able to enter a special winners event I will create at the end of the season.
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Nice, thanks man.
I'm just happy there are other F1 enthusiasts on SG to discuss with. :)
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Chinese Grand Prix
Yes, it's another prediction event. :) Unfortunately I will be at sea so I doubt I'll be able to see the race. (Also running: Paris-Roubaix event.)
How it works
Predicting the winner would be much too easy in a field of twenty where only four drivers will likely contest most wins. To make things more interesting you will have to predict the top three finishers in the correct order and do so before the start of the qualifying session on Saturday.
Once the season has finished I will create a special winner's event for everyone who correctly predicted a race giving them a shot at some nice games.
Race Preview
The second race of the season; after Australia it looks pretty clear Red Bull can't challenge Mercedes and Ferrari. This circuit has the longest straight of all circuits, doing the RB13 no favors either.
Overtaking wil be easier cause of the long straight but tactics might again win the day and Mercedes has shown to be lacking in that department.
Leave your predictions below; you can use this template:
Sites
Official Site
Wikipedia
Giveaway
Result
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