The season is over before it’s over, as Bottas mugs Vettel at the start.
At the Japanese Grand Prix yesterday Mercedes-AMG Petronas Motorsport won the FIA Formula One Constructors’ Championship for the sixth time in a row. Since drivers Lewis Hamilton and Valtteri Bottas are the only two drivers who can still win the Drivers’ Championship, this marks the first team in Formula One history to win both titles six times in a row.
“Obviously it was a pretty close qualifying and yeah starting third here is never good, but there’s not point ever to give up on anything and I knew anything was possible today and opportunities were there today and the first one was at the start,” said Bottas. “I had a really nice start and obviously Sebastian had an issue, so managed to get in the lead and then the pace was super good. I could really control the race.”
A narrow track with only one DRS zone makes for safety car racing. Grid position is all important. Click to Enlarge.
Ferrari’s Sebastian Vettel helped by blowing the start from the pole position. “Yeah, I mean the lights were on a long time, but it was my mistake, so I lost the momentum them. So, I ended up worse than just having a poor start, it was a really poor start,” said Vettel in the post-race press conference. “It was obviously a tough afternoon to then maintain second.”
Bottas claimed his sixth victory in Formula One, his third of the 2019 season and first at the Japanese Grand Prix. Hamilton finished the race third, claiming an additional point for the fastest lap – his fourth fastest lap at the Japanese Grand Prix, equaling Michael Schumacher’s record for the most fastest laps in Japan.
Lewis Hamilton (338 points) leads the Drivers’ Championship by 64 points from Valtteri Bottas (274 points) with Charles Leclerc of Ferrari (221) a further 53 points behind, giving only the two Mercedes drivers the chance to win the 2019 Drivers’ Title. (F1 Champ Mika Häkkinen to Run Suzuka in McLaren 720s GT3)
The weekend was a disaster for Honda-powered Aston Martin Red Bull Racing Team and Toro Rosso teams, as frontrunner Max Verstappen had his day diminished by opening lap contact. Rookie Alex Albon took his Red Bull machine to a career-best fourth-place finish.
On the Toro Rosso side, Pierre Gasly put together his best weekend since returning to the team, turning a ninth-place starting spot into an eighth-place finish and Daniil Kvyat made up a pair of positions to place 12th.
The blunted feel started well before the lights went out to start Sunday’s race. Typhoon Hagibis cancelled Saturday’s qualifying, forcing the series to run its qualifying session on race-day morning for just the fifth time in the last 20 years. Verstappen led the charge by gridding fifth, joining teammate Albon in locking down the third row. Gasly advanced into the final qualifying session to start ninth while Kvyat took the 14th spot.
When the race started three hours later, Verstappen got a strong start and swept to the outside of Charles Leclerc to make a pass for third, but Leclerc slipped left and contacted the Red Bull car, causing damage that would end the Dutchman’s day after just 15 laps.
About Ken Zino
Ken Zino, publisher (kzhw@aol.com), is a versatile auto industry participant with global experience spanning decades in print and broadcast journalism, as well as social media. He has automobile testing, marketing, public relations and communications experience. He is past president of The International Motor Press Assn, the Detroit Press Club, founding member and first President of the Automotive Press Assn. He is a member of APA, IMPA and the Midwest Automotive Press Assn.
Zino is at home on test tracks, knows his way around U.S. Congressional hearing rooms, auto company headquarters, plant floors, as well as industry research and development labs where the real mobility work is done. He can quote from court decisions, refer to instrumented road tests, analyze financial results, and profile executive personalities and corporate cultures.
He also brings an historical perspective while citing their contemporary relevance of the work of legendary auto writers such as Ken Purdy, Jim Dunne or Jerry Flint, or writers such as Red Smith, Mark Twain, Thomas Jefferson – all to bring perspective to a chaotic automotive universe.
Above all, decades after he first drove a car, Zino still revels in the sound of the exhaust as the throttle is blipped and the driver’s rush that occurs when the entry, apex and exit points of a turn are smoothly and swiftly crossed. It’s the beginning of a perfect lap.
AutoInformed has an editorial philosophy that loves transportation machines of all kinds while promoting critical thinking about the future use of cars and trucks.
Zino builds AutoInformed from his background in automotive journalism starting at Hearst Publishing in New York City on Motor and MotorTech Magazines and car testing where he reviewed hundreds of vehicles in his decade-long stint as the Detroit Bureau Chief of Road & Track magazine. Zino has also worked in Europe, and Asia – now the largest automotive market in the world with China at its center.
Mercedes-AMG Petronas Motorsport Win Formula One Constructors’ Championship for Sixth Time in A Row
The season is over before it’s over, as Bottas mugs Vettel at the start.
At the Japanese Grand Prix yesterday Mercedes-AMG Petronas Motorsport won the FIA Formula One Constructors’ Championship for the sixth time in a row. Since drivers Lewis Hamilton and Valtteri Bottas are the only two drivers who can still win the Drivers’ Championship, this marks the first team in Formula One history to win both titles six times in a row.
“Obviously it was a pretty close qualifying and yeah starting third here is never good, but there’s not point ever to give up on anything and I knew anything was possible today and opportunities were there today and the first one was at the start,” said Bottas. “I had a really nice start and obviously Sebastian had an issue, so managed to get in the lead and then the pace was super good. I could really control the race.”
A narrow track with only one DRS zone makes for safety car racing. Grid position is all important. Click to Enlarge.
Ferrari’s Sebastian Vettel helped by blowing the start from the pole position. “Yeah, I mean the lights were on a long time, but it was my mistake, so I lost the momentum them. So, I ended up worse than just having a poor start, it was a really poor start,” said Vettel in the post-race press conference. “It was obviously a tough afternoon to then maintain second.”
Bottas claimed his sixth victory in Formula One, his third of the 2019 season and first at the Japanese Grand Prix. Hamilton finished the race third, claiming an additional point for the fastest lap – his fourth fastest lap at the Japanese Grand Prix, equaling Michael Schumacher’s record for the most fastest laps in Japan.
Lewis Hamilton (338 points) leads the Drivers’ Championship by 64 points from Valtteri Bottas (274 points) with Charles Leclerc of Ferrari (221) a further 53 points behind, giving only the two Mercedes drivers the chance to win the 2019 Drivers’ Title. (F1 Champ Mika Häkkinen to Run Suzuka in McLaren 720s GT3)
The weekend was a disaster for Honda-powered Aston Martin Red Bull Racing Team and Toro Rosso teams, as frontrunner Max Verstappen had his day diminished by opening lap contact. Rookie Alex Albon took his Red Bull machine to a career-best fourth-place finish.
On the Toro Rosso side, Pierre Gasly put together his best weekend since returning to the team, turning a ninth-place starting spot into an eighth-place finish and Daniil Kvyat made up a pair of positions to place 12th.
The blunted feel started well before the lights went out to start Sunday’s race. Typhoon Hagibis cancelled Saturday’s qualifying, forcing the series to run its qualifying session on race-day morning for just the fifth time in the last 20 years. Verstappen led the charge by gridding fifth, joining teammate Albon in locking down the third row. Gasly advanced into the final qualifying session to start ninth while Kvyat took the 14th spot.
When the race started three hours later, Verstappen got a strong start and swept to the outside of Charles Leclerc to make a pass for third, but Leclerc slipped left and contacted the Red Bull car, causing damage that would end the Dutchman’s day after just 15 laps.
About Ken Zino
Ken Zino, publisher (kzhw@aol.com), is a versatile auto industry participant with global experience spanning decades in print and broadcast journalism, as well as social media. He has automobile testing, marketing, public relations and communications experience. He is past president of The International Motor Press Assn, the Detroit Press Club, founding member and first President of the Automotive Press Assn. He is a member of APA, IMPA and the Midwest Automotive Press Assn. Zino is at home on test tracks, knows his way around U.S. Congressional hearing rooms, auto company headquarters, plant floors, as well as industry research and development labs where the real mobility work is done. He can quote from court decisions, refer to instrumented road tests, analyze financial results, and profile executive personalities and corporate cultures. He also brings an historical perspective while citing their contemporary relevance of the work of legendary auto writers such as Ken Purdy, Jim Dunne or Jerry Flint, or writers such as Red Smith, Mark Twain, Thomas Jefferson – all to bring perspective to a chaotic automotive universe. Above all, decades after he first drove a car, Zino still revels in the sound of the exhaust as the throttle is blipped and the driver’s rush that occurs when the entry, apex and exit points of a turn are smoothly and swiftly crossed. It’s the beginning of a perfect lap. AutoInformed has an editorial philosophy that loves transportation machines of all kinds while promoting critical thinking about the future use of cars and trucks. Zino builds AutoInformed from his background in automotive journalism starting at Hearst Publishing in New York City on Motor and MotorTech Magazines and car testing where he reviewed hundreds of vehicles in his decade-long stint as the Detroit Bureau Chief of Road & Track magazine. Zino has also worked in Europe, and Asia – now the largest automotive market in the world with China at its center.