29/06/2025
NEWS STORY
It is somewhat ironic that on a day that could witness Ferrari's best result of the season thus far, team boss Fred Vasseur will not be present.
The Maranello outfit announced this morning that the Frenchman has returned home for "personal reasons" leaving Jerome d'Ambrosio in charge.
In recent weeks Vasseur has been the subject of much speculation in the media - almost as much as Max Verstappen and George Russell - and it seems strange that he is set to miss what might well be a turning point for his team.
On the other hand, it might be what some of us refer to as a sign.
On Friday morning the Italian team appeared to be at sixes and sevens, but since then the various upgrades have kicked in and even Lewis Hamilton appears happy.
Of course, the Maranello outfit will face strong resistance from McLaren, which appears to be in a different league (again) this weekend. Lando Norris' Q3 lap was sublime, while it was only the antics of Pierre Gasly that prevented Oscar (and Max) from challenging him.
Then again, in the wake of Montreal, the British driver needed something to boost his somewhat fragile confidence.
Gasly's spin aside, Verstappen's qualifying wasn't helped by the fact that he was out-paced by former teammate Liam Lawson, who starts higher up the grid than any of the other three Red Bull drivers, Isack Hadjar having an uncharacteristic nightmare.
That said, it wasn't all bad news for the Class of 25 Rookies, for Gabriel Bortoleto qualified an amazing eighth, the best result for a Stake driver this season.
Other than the battle up front, the midfield threatens to be as frantic as ever with Gasly and Fernando Alonso starting right behind Kimi Antonelli, with Alex Albon and Hadjar in hot pursuit.
Flavio Briatore has seemingly put Franco Colapinto on notice, while Yuki Tsunoda and Carlos Sainz both need to make up for a disastrous Q1.
Over the years we have seen numerous first lap incidents here, and yesterday's F2 race proved that this circuit is no place for reckless over-enthusiasm. As ever, to finish first, first one has to finish.
As for strategy, a two-stop is the quickest choice, running the medium and hard. A one-stop is doable, given that tyre degradation is quite low, in fact probably even lower than expected, but on paper it is still significantly slower, by around seven seconds.
On top of that, overtaking is definitely possible at this track as there are three DRS zones.
It's worth nothing that drivers from three teams - Aston Martin, RB and Alpine - will have a set of hard and one of medium available, while the Haas pair will have two of hard and one of medium.
As for the big guns, they all have two new sets of mediums and one of hard, while Tsunoda has two sets of brand new softs.
The pitlane opens and Piastri leads the way, followed by Hadjar, Bortoleto, Norris, Sainz and Leclerc.
Air temperature is 30 degrees C, while the track temperature is 49 degrees. It is the hottest day of the weekend thus far, which will not suit the Mercedes.
Other than temperatures - and the opening lap - the other major factor to watch out for today is track limits, for this track has history.
Marshals are spraying an area of the trackside grass with water, possibly a wise move after yesterday's red flag.
"The temperature is not ideal," admits Verstappen.
"Today could be good for us," says Piastri. "Temperatures a lot hotter than we have had this weekend, so let's see how that changes things."
All are starting on mediums bar Gasly, Hadjar, Colapinto, Bearman and Hulkenberg who are on softs. Only Gasly, Alonso and Stroll start on used/scrubbed rubber.
They head off on the formation lap, all getting away with no issues... except for Sainz who is "stuck in first gear".
"Something is stopping the car from moving forward," he adds.
As Norris round the final corner, marshals are pushing the Williams. The start is aborted and as the grid waits Sainz heads off into the distance. He will now start from the pitlane.
"It feels like the car is still braking," says Sainz as he parks at the end of the pitlane. At which point flames appear from underneath the car.
With the start now delayed for 15 minutes, the Williams crew are trying to rescue Sainz' stricken car. "Game over, jump out," he is told.
"I cannot tell you the temperature of the seat," says Alonso, "it is maybe 200 degrees."
The second formation lap gets underway. Hulkenberg is slow to get going but he does finally get away.
The grid forms.
The lights go green.
They're away! Strong starts from Norris, Leclerc and Piastri but as they turn into Turn 1 the Australian edges ahead of the Ferrari which is on the inside. Having lost out to the McLaren the Monegasque is almost collected by Russell from behind as he staves off Hamilton.
Through Turn 2 Piastri is closing on his McLaren teammate however Norris has the inside line in Turn 3. Behind Piastri, Leclerc and Hamilton have the inside line and are poised to hold off Russell. However, as they round the corner Antonelli comes from far back, his tyres smoking, he T-bones Verstappen and causes Lawson and Bortoleto to go wide. Hadjar also has to take avoiding action.
The Safety Car is deployed, as Verstappen and Antonelli climb from their cars, which are both badly damaged.
Norris leads Piastri, Leclerc, Hamilton, Russell, Gasly, Albon, Bortoleto, Lawson and Alonso. Gasly has gained four places and Albon 5, while Lawson has dropped three, having been caught out in Antonelli's over-enthusiasm as was Bortoleto.
The Safety Car is withdrawn at the end of Lap 3,
Russell is battling Hamilton for fourth, as Norris posts a new fastest lap (10.254) as he builds a 06.s lead.
"Lewis just closed the door under braking," reports Russell.
With a 1.5s gap to Leclerc, Piastri is hard on the heels on his McLaren teammate. He makes a move in Turn 4 but Norris slams the door firmly shut.
Piastri, 2.2s clear of Leclerc, posts a new fastest lap (9.340).
"Your call on the racing situation," Piastri is told as Bearman passes Colapinto for eleventh.
Hamilot9on has dropped 2s behind Leclerc and Russell a further 1.9s, while Albon, who has passed Gasly, heads a DRS train that includes the remainder of the field.
Struggling on his softs, Gasly is under pressure from Bortoleto.
Check out our Sunday gallery from Zeltweg here.
At the start of Lap 11, Piastri makes his move, Norris fights back and retakes the lead as they battle through corner after corner.
Bearman pits at the end of Lap 11.
Further back Bortoleto passes a battling Gasly for seventh. The Frenchman subsequently pits, as does Hulkenberg.
Albon and Colapinto both pit at the end of Lap 13, as Norris leads his teammate by 0.6s.
At the start of Lap 15 Piastri is all over Norris in Turn 1. Despite a tighter line the Australian is unable to make a move stick on his teammate.
"We need Li-Co (lift and coast) every corner, every lap," Leclerc is told. "That's what I'm, doing," he replies, "that's what I'm doing."
Albon pits and it doesn't appear to be a regular stop.
Norris is advised to watch his line in Turn 6 as Tsunoda bangs wheels with Stroll as he passes the Canadian for tenth.
Albon has retired on what is a dreadful day for Williams.
Russell pits at the end of Lap 18, as does Tsunoda. The Mercedes driver rejoins in 11th.
Piastri makes a move in Turn 4 but locks up big time and almost collects his teammate.
Norris subsequently pits, rejoining in fourth, just ahead of Bortoleto.
"Let's see you pace in free air," Piastri is told. "Let's see what you can do."
Bortoleto pits at the end of Lap 21, as Piastri is advised that his flat-spot doesn't appear to be hampering him.
Hulkenberg passes Bearman for 11th.
"Better to be 4s behind Lando with more Delta, or one and a half behind?" Piastri is asked. "ooh, Delta," he replies. The Australian subsequently pits.
He rejoins 5.4s down on his teammate following another slow stop. Like his teammate there was an issue with the front-left.
At the end of Lap 25 Leclerc pits, giving his Ferrari teammate the lead. The Monegasque rejoins in sixth behind Alonso who is battling Lawson.
"Box, box," Hamilton is told. He obliges and rejoins in sixth, 3.3s down on his teammate.
Further back the two Stake drivers are battling for tenth.
Piastri is told that his earlier move in Turn 4 was marginal and he cannot do it again. He is currently 6.4s down on his teammate.
In his determination to pass Lawson, Hamilton takes to the grass.
"I have no grip," shouts Gasly. "I'm about to spin every corner."
As Ocon passes Bearman, just behind Tsunoda and Colapinto lock wheels as they battle causing the Alpine to spin.
Tsunoda pits and takes on a new front wing, he rejoins in last positon.
After 32 laps, Piastri remains 6s adrift of his teammate.
Ocon is battling his former teammate - and very good friend - Gasly for 10th.
Lawson pits leaving Alonso as the only driver yet to do so. The Spaniard is currently fifth.
Tsunoda gets a 10s time penalty for causing a collision.
Alonso pits at the end of Lap 33. He rejoins in 12th.
A new fastest lap (9.196) sees Piastri close to within 5.3s of his teammate.
"Check if something is broken, it's crazy, I don't know how much longer I can stay on track," urges Gasly.
Hadjar nips through on the inside of Colapinto in Turn 3 to claim 13th.
In third, Leclerc has dropped 13.9s behind Piastri, with Hamilton just 3.6s behind and 15s clear of Russell who is under pressure from Bortoleto, with teammate Hulkenberg riding shotgun.
Gasly makes his second stop at the end of Lap 39, rejoining in 15th.
Bearman and Stroll both pit at the end of Lap 40.
Just 3s down on Norris, it looks like McLaren is preparing for its second round of stops.
"Is he quicker everywhere now, or..." asks Norris. "He is mainly quicker in high-speed," he is told.
Hulkenberg pits at the end of Lap 43, rejoining in 11th, between the two McLaren.
Norris is told that his task is "obvious", and that's to keep his teammate outside DRS range. The Australian is currently 3.5s behind.
In fifth, Montreal winner Russell is 20s behind Hamilton.
"Box, box," the Mercedes driver is told. He subsequently rejoins in tenth, but soon passes Hadjar for ninth.
A snap of oversteer sees Hamilton run wide in Turn 3, while Piastri makes a little mistake in Turn 9.
"It's going to get tough again," Norris is warned, "but you're doing a good job."
Leclerc pits at the end of Lap 49, rejoining in fourth, 11s own on his teammate.
Moments later Bortoleto also pits, the Brazilian rejoining in 10th.
"I don't want to stop," insists Hamilton, but he does and rejoins in fourth, as Ocon also stops.
Norris pits at the end of Lap 52, rejoining 16.7s down on his teammate.
As Hamilton posts a new fastest lap (9.115), Piastri pits. The Australian rejoins 3.2s down on his teammate.
The McLaren driver is immediately entangled in the battle for 15th between Tsunoda and Colapinto. Unbelievably, the Argentine pulls over on the McLaren and forces him wide.
The incident is under investigation. And rightly so.
Piastri posts another fastest lap (8.558) as he seeks to close the 3.3s gap to Norris.
Lawson and Alonso battling hard for sixth, while Bortoleto is closing on eighth-placed Hadjar. Indeed, the Stake driver passes the RB.
Hadjar is passes by the second of the Stakes, the Swiss team looking good for a double-points finish.
As Piastri posts a new fastest lap (8.157), Ocon passes Hadjar for tenth.
Norris' lead is now down to 2.6s.
"I need some pace," urges Norris, "please help." Indeed, Piastri is 1.8s behind with 8 laps remaining.
Check out our Sunday gallery from Zeltweg here.
As Piastri closes, Norris has lapped everyone up to ninth-placed Hulkenberg.
Norris is told of damage to his front wing which is affecting balance.
In quick succession the Papaya pair pass Hulkenberg, next up is Bortoleto.
"You need corner discipline Turns 1 and 3," Norris is warned. He remains 1.9s ahead.
However, the race leader is now caught up in the battle between Lawson, Alonso and Bortoleto for sixth, with Tsunoda in the mix, albeit a lap down.
Bortoleto passes Alonso in Turn 3 but the Spaniard fights back, and retakes the position.
Of course, Alonso is the Brazilian's manager.
Having passed Bortoleto, Norris sweeps by Alonso, leaving Piastri still to pass the battling pair.
Norris takes the flag with his teammate 2.6s behind. Leclerc is third, ahead of Hamilton. Russell, Lawson. Alonso, Bortoleto, Hulkenberg and Ocon.
Bearman is eleventh, ahead of Hadjar, Gasly, Stroll, Colapinto and Tsunoda.
"I rate our weekend as a team really well," says Leclerc. "Unfortunately, the pace today was not enough.
"I think McLaren were too fast for us to stay in second," he adds, "third was the best we could do.
"I don't regret anything we did today, we did the maximum."
"Intense," admits Piastri. "I hope it was good watching, as it was pretty hard wok inside the car.
"I tried my absolute best, probably could have done a better job when I just got ahead.
"A good battle, probably pushed the limits a little far. Close, but not quite enough."
"It was a tough race," adds Norris, "pushing the whole way through, tricky and tiring.
"A 1-2 is exactly what we wanted, and we did it so I'm happy.
"We had a great battle, it was a lot of fun, a lot of stress but a lot of fun.
"A nice battle, so well done to Oscar. Inside the car it was tough, especially when he was in the DRS."
In the cool down room, Piastri urges his colleagues to watch his moment with Colapinto, the incident causing the Australian precious time, and needless, obvious, frustration.
"We trust and rely on Oscar and Lando," insists Andrea Stella. "It was clear to us that the guys needed to have the opportunity to win the race, as long as they did it like they did so today.
"We look forward to many more races like this," he adds, "even if it gives us some nervousness on the pit wall."
Of course, it's fantastic that McLaren is taking the risk by letting its drivers fight for today effectively sees Verstappen ruled out of the fight.
Though we can never right the Dutchman off the McLarens are clearly in another league and will continue to set the standard.
At a time teams are torn between focussing on the current season or switching their efforts to 2026, might today cause Verstappen to start thinking about his future. If so, how ironic that he was taken out by the Mercedes rookie.
Other than the Papaya pair there were some great battles throughout the field, with Bortoleto scoring his first points of the year.
Also, despite the absence of Verstappen, it was a decent performance from the Ferrari pair. A great days for Stake also, and Lawson, while Williams will want to quickly consign this day to history.
Now on to Silverstone.
Check out our Sunday gallery from Zeltweg here.