Welcome back to Formula 1 on the Apex, a blog series where I recap and review all that is happening in the exhilarating sport of Formula 1. In the last edition, I went over an iconic Imola Grand Prix as the school year ended. Even though school stopped, Formula 1 continued with some enthralling races. Over the three months following the Emilia-Romagna Grand Prix there were a total of eight races. Directly following Imola was the historic Monaco Grand Prix.
Monaco
With the gap between the top teams drawing closer, Monaco looked to be an exciting test of what car was truly the fastest on the grid. The street circuit celebrated its 70th anniversary of the historic Grand Prix that weekend. McLaren used this race to continue to pay homage to Formula 1 legend Ayrton Senna by boasting a beautiful tribute livery for the weekend.
In the tight and slow streets of Monaco, qualifying is crucial due to it being a tricky circuit for drivers to overtake at. Home favorite and native Monegasque, Charles Leclerc took pole position in his Ferrari, looking poised to break his curse and finally win his home grand prix. The race itself was nothing short of exhilarating, at least in the opening laps. There was a massive and scary accident involving both Haas cars and Red Bull driver Sergio Perez; all drivers escaped unscathed, but there were massive amounts of debris left on the track, leading to a red flag. Even though there wasn’t much more action until the end, it was an emotional finish as Leclerc won the Monaco Grand Prix, breaking his curse and becoming the first Monegasque driver to win their home race in Formula 1 history.
Leclerc grew emotional through the final laps, tears of joy streamed down his face when he stepped on the podium. I found myself shedding a couple of tears. The Prince of Monaco himself was even seen crying as the national anthem played and the gravity of the moment sunk into fans around the world.
Canada
Following a momentous Monaco Grand Prix, the teams set off to Canada for the always-entertaining Canadian Grand prix. Prior to qualifying, Visa Cash App Red Bull driver Yuki Tsunoda extended his contract with the team. Perez, despite struggling this season, extended his contract with Red Bull. Once again, the weather in the region made for an exciting and unpredictable weekend.
Qualifying was a mix of wet and dry which allowed for some early drama. Ultimately, Mercedes driver George Russell took his second ever pole position. He barely did so, as he set an identical time to Red Bull driver Max Verstappen. The race was as entertaining as a Formula 1 fan could hope for. Following his spectacular week in Monaco, Leclerc struggled and was forced to retire along with his teammate Carlos Sainz late in the race. It was a disappointing double DNF for Ferrari following what was a great weekend in Monaco. Williams also suffered a double DNF as Logan Sargent spun out early on in the race and teammate Alex Albon was caught in a crash with Perez. However, it was not a tough weekend for Verstappen, as he once again took victory in Canada.
Spain
After an exhilarating Canadian Grand Prix, the teams were off to Barcelona for the first race of a triple header in Europe, the Spanish Grand Prix. Barcelona is one of the more historic tracks on and is a staple on the Formula 1 calendar. The gap between the top teams seemed closer than ever, as Red Bull no longer appeared to be the clear fastest car on the grid with McLaren and Mercedes chasing closely behind.
Lando Norris was able to put in an impressive lap to secure his second ever pole position in Qualifying. The race was mostly uneventful aside from a breathtaking overtake by Russell into turn one to take the lead at the start of the race, as well as a couple interesting battles throughout. Nevertheless, Verstappen once again won the Spanish Grand Prix, with Norris once more close behind in second and Mercedes driver Lewis Hamilton taking his 198th career podium in third.
Austria
Following an underwhelming race in Barcelona, the teams headed to the Red Bull Ring in Austria for the Austrian Grand Prix. The circuit is the home race of the Red Bull team and marked the second sprint race of the season, the first being in China. Sprint weekends have become some of my favorite race weekends I’ve watched and Austria lived up to my expectations.
Verstappen took pole position for the Sprint, qualifying with both McLarens close behind. Early on in the sprint, both McLarens charged toward Verstappen, leading to Norris and Verstappen having an intense battle that Verstappen managed to pull away and secure the sprint victory.
Following the sprint race, the drivers once again participated in a qualifying session for the actual grand prix. Verstappen took pole position with Norris starting alongside him in second. The race produced an insane moment: toward the end of what looked to be a dominant showing from Verstappen, Norris arrived to battle him for the lead in the closing laps. Norris and Verstappen collided into turn three, resulting in punctures for both drivers as they tumbled down the order. Russell took advantage of the opportunity and secured his second victory in Formula 1, hitting his signature pose in celebration. Piastri finished in second and Sainz rounded out the podium in third. Verstappen managed to still take fifth and earn some decent points, but Norris was forced to retire.
Great Britain
Just prior to the race weekend buzz circulated around the paddock with the announcement and arrival of the crew for the new Formula 1 film starring Brad Pitt. The movie shows just how big the sport has grown in recent years and how it continues to grow. Following the most dramatic moment and unexpected result of the season so far in Austria, the teams were off to the final race of a triple-header in the UK for the infamous British Grand Prix.
In qualifying, Perez spun out in tricky conditions, causing a red flag. Russell managed to continue his hot streak and took pole position with his teammate Hamilton in second. Norris rounded out the top three to make it an all British top three in qualifying, much to the delight of the home fans.
Similar to Canada, the race was nothing short of spectacular, as tricky weather caused all sorts of chaos with rain coming in spurts and intense battles throughout the grid. Though Russell was in the lead halfway through, he was forced to retire due to a water pump issue. Heartbreak once again arose, this time for Norris, as he made the wrong call and came out of the pits late, allowing Hamilton to take the lead. For Hamilton, however, it was pure unbridled joy as he rounded the final corner and his home crowd roared in celebration. Claiming a record-breaking ninth win at his home race and 104th win of his career, it marked the end of a near 1,000-day drought without a victory for the all-time great. It was an emotional celebration as the veteran took the top step of the podium and lifted the trophy above his head. As a long-time Hamilton fan and supporter, I cried when I saw him raise the trophy once again.
Hungary
After a surreal weekend in Silverstone the teams were off to the Hungaroring for the Hungarian Grand Prix. The Hungaroring is one of my personal favorite tracks as it has some really nice flowing curves and corners and a mix of longer straights. Heading into qualifying, the McLarens looked to be the favorites for the weekend with Mercedes close behind and Red Bull seemingly falling off.
Perez again found the wall in qualifying and crashed out of yet another qualifying session, bringing out a red flag. Tsunoda also crashed out in qualifying, bringing out a red flag in Q3; this resulted in Norris taking yet another pole position and his teammate Piastri joining him on the front row of the grid. The race proved to be one of the most impactful of the season, as drama shrouded what should have been a special moment. Piastri overtook Norris into turn one and led for a majority of the early stages of the race. Yet after the second round of pit stops, Norris was propelled ahead, causing a bit of a predicament when the team called for Norris to give the place back and he refused, arguing with his race engineers on the radio. A bit farther back, Hamilton and Verstappen were battling for the final podium position. In typical Verstappen fashion, he sent it a little too hard into turn one, nearly taking both him and Hamilton out, making contact and launching his car airborne for a split second. As the end of the race drew near, Norris reluctantly gave the position back to Piastri on lap 67/70. Piastri secured his first win in Formula 1, though it was a bittersweet moment. Norris took second, securing McLaren’s first 1-2 finish in three years and Hamilton secured his 200th career podium as he finished third.
Belgium
With a drama-filled Hungarian Grand Prix complete, the teams moved on to the blisteringly fast Circuit of Spa de Francorchamps for the Belgian Grand Prix. The circuit serves as a constant reminder of the dangers of the sport as the weekend marked the fifth anniversary of a tragic F2 crash which resulted in the death of driver Anthoine Hubert. His friend and current Alpine driver Pierre Gasly paid tribute to Hubert by placing a bouquet of flowers where the accident occurred.
A wet qualifying proved to be a bit tricky for some drivers, yet Verstappen managed to prevail through the conditions and take pole position. However, he was forced to take a ten-place grid penalty because he replaced parts of his engine, meaning Leclerc would inherit pole, and his teammate Perez would be second after a bounce-back qualifying performance. Leclerc charged out to an early lead, and Hamilton moved into second after the first few laps. Russell made a bold call to go for a one-stop strategy that paid off as he jumped ahead of his teammate into first place. However, the decision would ultimately be his downfall, as even though he crossed the checkered flag first, he was later disqualified for his car being under the required weight. His teammate Hamilton inherited the victory and Piastri took second with Leclerc rounding out the top three.
A Delightful Dutch Grand prix
After the Belgian Grand Prix, Formula 1 went on its month-long summer break which gave the drivers and teams some time to relax and recharge their batteries for the last part of the season. Over the break, Ferrari driver Carlos Sainz, who is being replaced by Lewis Hamilton next season, shook up the driver market as he signed with Williams for the upcoming year.
Following the break, the teams headed to Zandvoort for the Dutch Grand Prix, which is Verstappen’s home race and he looked to once again be favored to win in front of his home crowd. It was an action-packed weekend from the beginning, as the weather was all over the place and Williams driver Sargent had a massive accident during Free Practice three. His car ended up catching on fire temporarily, yet the American driver escaped unscathed. Heading into qualifying, there was even more drama, as Norris squeezed out pole position over Verstappen, and Williams’ other driver, Albon, was disqualified from qualifying for an illegal floor.
The race proved to be a domination from start to finish for Norris. Even though he lost the lead at the start, once he regained it, he never looked back. Norris was blisteringly fast the entire race, winning by an astounding 22 seconds ahead of Verstappen, closing the gap in the championship and nearing closer to securing his first World Drivers championship. Leclerc took home third in what was a decent weekend for Ferrari. Norris also completed his first Grand Slam, where he took pole position, the win and the fastest lap of the race all in the same weekend.
It has most definitely been an eventful summer for Formula 1 and we’re only just past the halfway point of the season. Next week, the teams head to Monza for the Italian Grand Prix in what should make for another lightning fast race.
