F1 2020: Sergio Perez wins Sakhir Grand Prix

Sergio Perez’s F1 future may be uncertain but whatever happens, the Mexican is now an F1 winner, after he benefited from a nightmare Sakhir Grand Prix for Mercedes to claim his first-ever Formula 1 victory, as Renault’s Esteban Ocon and Racing point’s Lance Stroll completed the podium on a wild evening in Bahrain.

It had initially looked as though George Russell was set to pull off an incredible maiden victory on his first outing for Mercedes, having aced the start to lead pole-sitter Valtteri Bottas for the majority of the Grand Prix. But Mercedes gave Russell the wrong tyres when he was pitted under a Safety Car on Lap 62 of 87, forcing another pit stop to correct the error – while Russell then suffered a puncture that left him P9 at the flag for what was at least his first-ever F1 points finish.

On his 190th F1 start, Perez had been forced to pit at the end of Lap 1, dropping to the last place after getting caught up in a Turn 4 crash that eliminated Ferrari’s Charles Leclerc and Red Bull’s Max Verstappen, and was due to be investigated after the race.

But an incredible turn of pace from the Mexican allowed him to benefit from Mercedes’ pit error – which also left Valtteri Bottas on old hard tyres, the Finn coming home P8 – to sensationally claim his and Racing Point’s first-ever victory, a week after an MGU-K failure had robbed him of a podium.

After a difficult return to F1, Renault’s Ocon claimed his first-ever podium finish in the sport, with Stroll holding off a charging Carlos Sainz to take his second rostrum of the year, ahead of the McLaren driver and Renault's Daniel Ricciardo in P5. Alex Albon was P6 in the sole surviving Red Bull, ahead of the AlphaTauri of Daniil Kvyat. The Mercedes pair of Bottas and Russell in their P8 and P9 positions led home the second McLaren of Lando Norris, who took the final point of what was a stunning evening in Sakhir.

 

F1 2020: Pierre Gasly wins Italian Grand Prix

An incredible 2020 Italian Grand Prix saw AlphaTauri’s Pierre Gasly claim a maiden Formula 1 win from the McLaren of Carlos Sainz and the Racing point of Lance Stroll, as a transgression under the Safety Car saw polesitter Mercedes Lewis Hamilton forced to serve a 10-second stop/go penalty, leaving him seventh at the flag. 

The race was turned on its head by a Safety Car brought out as Kevin Magnussen’s stricken Haas had to be recovered. But with Hamilton diving into the pit lane when it was closed (as did Alfa Romeo’s Antonio Giovinazzi), he was handed his penalty – which he served after the race was restarted on Lap 28 of 53, following a 25-minute red flag period after Charles Leclerc crashed heavily at the Parabolica.

That left Gasly at the head of the field, after he’d pitted before the Safety Car was brought out, with the Frenchman holding on brilliantly to take a sensational maiden win in Formula 1 at AlphaTauri’s home race, as McLaren’s Carlos Sainz finished second, with Racing Point’s Lance Stroll completing the podium.

 

Lando Norris was fourth for McLaren, holding off the leading Mercedes of Valtteri Bottas in P5, after the Finn had suffered a poor start that left him sixth at the end of Lap 1. Ricciardo took sixth ahead of Hamilton, who recovered well from his penalty to take P7, with the Renault of Esteban Ocon, the second AlphaTauri of Daniil Kvyat and the Racing Point of Sergio Perez rounding out the top 10.

Daniel Ricciardo wins Azerbaijan Grand Prix

Red Bulls’ Daniel Ricciardo won a rollercoaster Grand Prix in Azerbaijan, as rookie Lance Stroll took his maiden podium for Williams, pipped on the line by Mercedes’ Valtteri Bottas. Championship leader Sebastian Vettel beat Lewis Hamilton to fourth place, despite being penalized for dangerous driving after hitting his Mercedes rival behind the safety car.

The safety car came out first on lap 12 to clear the stricken Toro Rosso of Daniil Kvyat, allowing Bottas to unlap himself after he had collided with Ferrari’s Kimi Raikkonen at the start, dropping to last place with a puncture. The race restarted on lap 17 but just seconds later it was under safety car again due to debris on track. As the safety car prepared to peel off on Lap 19, Vettel ran lightly into the back of the slowing Hamilton. The Ferrari then pulled alongside and banged wheels with the Mercedes, seemingly in frustration.

Racing resumed seconds later on Lap 20, but again it was short lived. Esteban Ocon tipped Force India team mate Sergio Perez into the wall at Turn 2, bringing out the safety car once more. That quickly became a red flag as race control decided the track needed a proper clean up. Twenty five minutes later, with Perez and Raikkonen back in the race after repairs, they were running once more on Lap 24, with Ricciardo storming from sixth to third into Turn 1 on the restart. It would prove to be the move that won him the race.

The drama continued with Hamilton pitting for repairs to a loose headrest on Lap 32 – and as he did came news of a 10-second stop-go penalty for Vettel for dangerous driving. Somehow Vettel emerged from that in seventh place just ahead of his title rival, but by then the race victory had eluded both. The closing laps were about how close Vettel and Hamilton could get to the podium – and whether teenager Stroll could hold off the ever-closing Bottas. The Canadian rookie almost kept second, but couldn’t stop the Mercedes surging ahead on the line by just a tenth of a second. Four seconds ahead of them Ricciardo had already taken the flag for his fifth F1 win and his first of 2017.