good job Ferrari. finally a legit challenger to Merc
not sure why people say there is no way to pass. it's no different than years before (why F1 added DRS etc. to help) - both Force India drivers managed to do some great overtaking. Perez did a great job esp in first few laps
actually surprised that Bottas was so close to Ham. I suspect he was told to hold position because he was showing better pace than Ham. anyway well done Bottas for his first race in that team.
Unlucky for Grosjean and Ricciardo. Grosjean did much better than I expected.
Alonso was amazing with that McLaren to be in the points for so long was incredible. worryingly, McLaren don't look to have improved. it reminds me of Peugeot who tried and failed.
big disappointment for Red Bull and Renault. both teams were below my expectations, esp Hulk who had done well this weekend - I really expected a closer fight between Renault and Toro Rosso / FI / Williams. hopefully this will improve. any clue why Hulk had to pit 2x?
as for the "rookies"
- kudos to Giovinazzi, I get the feeling this won't be his only start this year. but the sauber is the new Manor now on the grid
- Ocon didn't have a great lead up to the race, but honestly did a good job in the race.
- Palmer and Kmag were not very convincing tbh. it's not their first rodeo so I'd start looking for other drivers if I were team boss just in case this becomes a habit
- Vandoorne didn't look very good either, but then again it is his first race in F1 so give him the benefit of the doubt
- Stroll makes me want to troll. enough said.
with tires lasting longer, seems like pit strategy will be a major deciding factor this year. that said it looks like 1 stop racing, Kyv managed 32 laps on Ultra Softs if I am not mistaken.