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W Series drivers are writing a series of columns for The Race this year, giving their verdicts on what’s going on in Formula 1. This week, Alice Powell reflects on a history-making Eifel Grand Prix.
Lewis Hamilton will now gallop clear of Michael Schumacher, having equalled his record of 91 race wins at the Eifel Grand Prix. In doing so, he took a giant leap towards matching the German’s record of seven world titles too, but there were signs on Sunday to suggest that Hamilton will find it tougher to surpass that mark.
Hamilton showed again at the Nürburgring what a fearsome frontrunner he is, controlling the race comfortably once in clear air. He was very emotional afterward and I don’t mind admitting that I had a lump in my throat in the F1 TV commentary box watching Mick Schumacher hand Hamilton one of his father’s race helmets and with it the sport’s baton.
I remember watching the last of Schumacher’s 91 victories at the 2006 Chinese Grand Prix and if you had told me then that someone would go on to match that tally just 14 years later, I – and no doubt the vast majority of others watching – would have laughed.
I was a huge Schumacher fan growing up. He was my idol and everything I had was Ferrari red, so seeing his records challenged is tinged with sadness. However, Schumacher always said that ‘records are there to be broken’ and I am proud that it is a fellow British driver who is smashing down the barriers, in so many ways.
Casual observers will roll their eyes at such dominance but, while it is impossible to compare drivers from different eras, the feats of Schumacher and Hamilton are a testament to their skill, bravery, determination, dedication and team-work. I feel privileged to have seen both at the peak of their powers.
It now seems inevitable that Hamilton will match Schumacher’s record of seven world titles this season. Valtteri Bottas trails his Mercedes team-mate by 69 points in the championship standings, admitting he “needs a miracle” to overhaul that deficit with a maximum of 156 points up for grabs.
Avoiding driving errors and mechanical failures is the key to winning championships and Bottas could do neither on Sunday. On a cold weekend he was not alone in locking a wheel, but Bottas’ snatched brake when leading the race was a big one that may well have cost him victory even without the power unit issue which eventually forced him to retire.
The Finn was flying after reigniting the title fight with victory in Russia a fortnight ago, so he will have come back down to earth with a bump in Germany. However, I believe he has reasons to be cheerful. Hamilton got the better launch off the line at the start of Sunday’s race and I fully expected him to take the lead as he moved down the inside of Bottas at Turn 1 and the pair ran wide on the exit.
We have seen Bottas buckle in similar situations previously, but he was aggressive here, really sticking it to Hamilton to retain his lead and pull out an advantage of more than one second at the end of lap one. This is the feisty, racey Bottas that we have all been desperate to see, but he must get those elbows out earlier and more often next season.
He pulled out a sensational lap in qualifying to take pole position by a decent margin over Hamilton, too. We have been used to seeing Bottas dominate practice on Fridays before Hamilton goes away to work through the data overnight and comes back stronger for final practice and qualifying. He couldn’t do that at the Nurburgring where rain and fog put paid to Friday’s running, meaning Bottas had the upper hand on Saturday. The idea of condensing the weekend’s running into two days has long been mooted by F1 bosses and doing so would play into Bottas’ hands.
Interestingly, Hamilton’s first thought after the race – both over the team radio and in his interview – was not Schumacher’s record but Red Bull’s pace. |They’re getting really fast, we’ve got to keep pushing,” said the breathless Brit, and he’s right. Max Verstappen is closing the gap and outperforming his Red Bull, who don’t seem too put off by their Honda woes just yet.
How long team and driver can afford to put the engine issue to the back of their minds remains to be seen. The vultures will be circling, but for now at least their form bodes well for next year when, it shouldn’t be forgotten, Mercedes’ Dual Axis Steering system – vital, said Red Bull boss Christian Horner, at the safety car restart during Sunday’s race – will be gone.
Let’s hope some others can join the party at the front on a more regular basis too, because it was fantastic to see Renault back on a Formula 1 podium. I have been around that team for a few years, made some great friends at Enstone and they deserve some success after plenty of bad luck in the past. They finally got fortunate on Sunday when the safety car helped to ease the pressure being applied to Daniel Ricciardo by Sergio Perez. The Australian is in fine form and drove a brilliant race to bring the car home in third, to make it seven teams and 10 drivers with podium finishes to their names this season. The future is bright.
Alice Powell finished third in the inaugural W Series championship in 2019, winning the final race at Brands Hatch last August. The 27-year-old Briton was the first woman to win a Formula Renault championship and score points in GP3.
