2018 Austrian Grand Prix

[Four Five Eight]

I decided to open this thread before the start of the race this time. Vettel is starting in 6th with a grid penalty that I think he got a bit unfairly but it'll give Kimi a chance at his first start in a while which could happen since he's on the faster tires. I'm hoping Vettel's race pace is enough to at least get him ahead of Hamilton to get some points back in the championship. Maybe Bottas will win another Austrian Grand Prix this year, it's what I assume will happen anyway.

 

[Four Five Eight]

Verstappen won, punted Kimi earlier during a pass and Kimi didn't have enough pace to catch him back. Good race for Ferrari, hard luck for Mercedes.

 

[Kiskaloo]

Well that was exciting. Seriously.

Spoiler

Max keeps his head on and scores a strong win on RBR's home track. Kimi and Seb coming in second and third, respectively, puts Seb in front in the WDC and Ferrari in front in the WCC.
Good on Ferrari for not engineering a Last Lap Swap and allowing Kimi to take 2nd.
High track temps play havoc with everyone's tires except Ferrari, requiring multiple pit stops for a number of front-runners.
Shocking strategy error by Mercedes in the wake of Bottas' DNF really hampers Hamilton, though it's academic as he also DNFs.
Not a good day for Renault engines as Ricciardo and Hulkenberg both blow PSUs.
A good day for Haas as they finish 4th (Roman) and 5th (KMag).

 

[TC]

That was an exciting race. Glad to see a flaw in the Mercedes armor, actually. A close championship is a good thing.

Also very happy for the Haas team and Romain. Hopefully this gives him the boost that he needs. Crazy to think what could have been if the Kimi sandwich at turn 1, lap 1, or the move Max made on Kimi later in the race when he touched the grass and made contact with the Ferrari, had ended badly. There could have been a Haas or 2 on the podium.

 

[mpicco]

Alonso from pit start to 8th. That guy...