After an eventful qualifying in France, Wheel2Wheel Reports looks forward to the first installment of a triple-header, this weekend.
Max scores vital pole to make another huge statement.
So, now we can take Max Verstappen’s title chances extremely seriously. No longer is the car or driver secondary to Mercedes and Hamilton respectively. In Formula 1 right now, Red Bull and the Dutchman are the best performing combination. Another pole ahead of tomorrow’s race around Paul Ricard gives Verstappen another excellent chance to extend his lead at the top of the drivers’ standings. For Lewis and Mercedes, some serious questions to ponder.
Gasly impresses yet again…
To be putting yourself in the top six of qualifying is difficult enough, but for Pierre Gasly to do it in an Alpha Tauri is surely catching the eyes of the so-called “top teams”. Sixth place on Saturday means anither excellent opprtunity for some serious points for the Frenchman, this time in his home race. This result, as well as his maiden win last year and podium finish last time out, raises a serious argument that perhaps, Red Bull were just a little premature when cutting him from the team back in 2019.
Is ‘the’ Alonso back?
Maybe those years away from F1 left Fernando Alonso a little rusty. With Estaban Ocon impressing this year to the extent that Alpine offered the Frenchman a contract extension ahead of the action this weekend, the two time champ has sort of gone under the radar. After a disappointing start, Fernando has followed last week’s decent points haul with a strong qualifying result on Saturday. Splitting the McLaren’s is an excellent result, and he will no doubt try to do even better, on Sunday. With a Hugh salary, there has been pressure from the off for Alonso to impress. It is only now that fans are starting to see glimpses of his true ability.
Is Kimi done…
This may be an extreme statement following a solitary qualifying session off the back of his first points of the season last time out, but Kimi Raikkonen is struggling. Out paced and qualified by his teammate for much of this season so far, doubts are there that the 2007 world champion may be calling it a day at the end of this current campaign. The Finn was put in Q1 again in Qualifying and doesn’t seem to be able to put his car anywhere near the points. There is no doubt he is still a quality driver with a wealth of experience, but without two crashes in Baku, he would not have scored points and without two crashes in qualifying, he could have been second bottom, only ahead of Mazepin in the Haas.
Another surprise podium, anyone?
Behind the obvious front four, many drivers have the ability to take advantage of any mishaps in front of them and claim a podium on Sunday. Carlos Sainz impressed in qualifying and gave himself a real chance to score some serious points. The aforementioned Gasly is in a similar position. With Lando Norris and Charles Leclerc not that far back in a good race car, anything can happen. That being said, this particular track offers less “risk” than Baku so a bet on VER HAM BOT being on the podium is a lot more safe.
Predicting the final order:
1. VER
2. HAM
3. PER
4. BOT
5. LEC
6. SAI
7. NOR
8. OCO
9. GAS
10. ALO
WHEEL2WHEEL REPORTS 