Mid Season Impressions

Mid Season Impressions

Before the second half of the season takes off, we look back at the first thirteen races and speak of the teams and drivers performances. With the big news coming in from Daniel Ricciardo & McLaren for 2023, we also take a look at the 5 open spots on the grid, and make our predictions for the drivers market.  The second half of the season will see a return to classic tracks like Spa & Monza, and F1 will return to Singapore and Japan after a gap of three years. Will we see a new winner in the second half? Can Mercedes make it to the top step of the podium? And who will claim P2 in the championship?  Twitter: @fivelights_f1 [https://twitter.com/fivelights_F1] Instagram: @fivelights_f1 [https://www.instagram.com/fivelights_f1/]

Highlights From The Hungaroring

George Russell's maiden pole, Carlos Sainz starting P2, Charles LeClerc in P3 and Max Verstappen all the way down in P10 due to a loss of power in his RedBull in Q3! The race promised to be thrilling, and the championship fight was on! But Sunday proved otherwise, with Max charging across the grid to claim his eighth win of the season, and cementing an eighty point lead over Charles in the championship. Ferrari suffered with slow pitstops, and a mind-boggling Hard Tyre call that handed the win to Max, and left both their drivers off the podium.  The gainers in Hungary though were Mercedes who finished 2-3 on the podium for the second race in a row, and are now only 30 points behind Ferrari.  The second half of the season will bring new regulations to combat porpoising coming into place from Spa, announcements on the provisional calendar for 2023, and the final driver lineup, and NINE more races. We can't wait!  Twitter: @fivelights_f1 [https://twitter.com/fivelights_F1] Instagram: @fivelights_f1 [https://www.instagram.com/fivelights_f1/]

A Spielberg Saga

This week, the F1 circus reached Spielberg for the Austrian GP at the Red Bull Ring. The high speed circuit, the second shortest on the calendar, with this seasons second Sprint was an absolute belter! We saw both Ferraris duke it out in the sprint, with Max running away with the most points in P1. However come the race, Charles kept him honest by overtaking him three times with ease due to high tyre degradation on the Red Bull. Ferrari almost made it a 1-2, however rotten luck caused an engine failure and a DNF for Sainz just as he was about to make his move on Max for P2. Perez tangled with George on lap 1 around the infamous turn 4 and came away with enough damage to retire from the race.  Behind this drama, Mercedes made the most of the situation with Hamilton and Russel P3 and P4, and Haas had another excellent double points finish. Ocon and Alonso had another strong showing for Alpine while Daniel Ricciardo struggled a little bit for Mclaren. Listen to us talk about all of this and so much more on this latest episode of Five Lights! Twitter: @fivelights_f1 [https://twitter.com/fivelights_F1] Instagram: @fivelights_f1 [https://www.instagram.com/fivelights_f1/]

Britain's Got Talent

F1 returned to Silverstone this weekend for one of the most awaited races of the year, and the British Grand Prix did not disappoint.  Ferrari were on pole, with Carlos Sainz and the race promised to be eventful with Max Verstappen in P2, and Charles Le Clerc in P3. But a bit of bad luck for Max and a bad strategy call by Ferrari for Charles meant that Carlos was free to chase after his first win! Lewis Hamilton almost won the race, but had to settle in for a P3 instead, while George Russell's race was over on Lap 1, bringing an end to his Top 5 finish streak.  There were so many events that unfolded in this race, some great overtaking, changes in the lead, interesting strategies and one of the most horrific accidents we've seen in a while. So it was great to see Guanyu Zhou & Alex Albon walk away without any injuries!  F1 heads next to Austria - the home of Red Bull - for its second sprint weekend of the season. And we'll be back again to break down the winners and losers from the Austrian Grand Prix. Twitter: @fivelights_f1 [https://twitter.com/fivelights_F1] Instagram: @fivelights_f1 [https://www.instagram.com/fivelights_f1/]

Monaco Curse Lifted?

Charles LeClerc's Monaco curse is famous. He had never won a race at home before 2022. Setting the pace in practise, charging through qualifying, and starting on pole he seemed all set to win his home race. But the weather gods favoured some drama, and Ferrari employed some questionable pit strategies, so he had to settle for a P4.  The race winner? Sergio Perez! Dynamics at RedBull Racing are sure to get more complicated as he emerges as a potential title contender. Will RedBull let them race or will we see team orders come into play again? Only time will tell.  Carlos Sainz was tantalisingly close to his first victory, doing everything he could to secure it, including dictating strategy to Ferrari. But it was not to be. Can he emerge from his teammates shadows to make the 2022 season even closer?  Is this the last Monaco GP for sometime? What is the future of this track as more and more countries are building an interest in F1? Tune in to listen to us discuss it all!  Hosted by Prashast Pittie  Twitter: @fivelights_f1 Instagram: @fivelights_f1