Sidebar: Christian Horner was fired as CEO of Red Bull Racing.
Let me paint the picture of how I found out. I woke up at 6 a.m., as one does when they’re nervous about starting a new job. I checked my phone to see how much time I had left to sleep. My sleep-encrusted eyes widened at three separate notifications that Ginger Spice’s husband was no longer steering the Bull. LOL. I gather he was probably just as surprised as I was.
Anyway … back to my favorite race of the year: the British Grand Prix.
Welcome to episode 239 of your favorite game show, “Will Nico Hülkenberg score a podium in Formula One?” I’m your host, Olufolake Okunsanya, and our question of the race weekend is, as always: “Will Nico Hülkenberg score a podium in Formula One?”
Ladies and gentlemen, we have a historic event. Sound the alarm! For the first time ever, the answer to our question of the race weekend is “yes!”
I told you it would be a great viewing, and it was. See what happens when a strategy team does its job really well?
Ferrari and rain. I guess that’s one way to show how nice the weather is in Italy. A few drops of rain and speed just disappeared like half the population at the end of “Avengers: Infinity War.”
For the first time since 2013, Lewis Hamilton did not stand on the podium at the British Grand Prix. He was pit into traffic, again. I’m on my way to buy a large pizza with pineapple and a bottle of ranch.
Charles Leclerc finished in 14th. Note that only 15 drivers finished the race.
Only one rookie, Oliver Bearman, finished. The rookie graphic that gets displayed at every race was too funny, because every time it appeared, another did not finish, or DNF, had been added to it.
Lando Norris won the race. Nice. But Oscar Piastri had quite the time. He was leading the race and then he did something a little naughty. He hit the brakes right in front of the other drivers to allow the safety car to peel away. Note that you can’t overtake the lead car at the end of a safety car period until the start or finish line. So, Piastri slamming on the brakes could be seen as dangerous. All the cars could concertina up into a very expensive pile of carbon fiber.
Max Verstappen was quickly on the radio complaining, before he had a little incident of his own.
Here’s my take on Piastri’s penalty. Ten seconds was harsh, but who am I to tell the stewards how to do their jobs? It was definitely not a cool move from Piastri, but — and I’ve said this several times — the standards have to be applied uniformly across drivers. George Russell did the same thing in Canada and the stewards decided not to pursue any action.
I understand Piastri venting his frustrations on the radio. It seems what is good for the goose is not also good for the gander. The goose in this case is Russell and the gander is Piastri, if that wasn’t clear.
Pierre Jean-Jacques Gasly. That is the most French sounding name I’ve ever heard. But he’s good at making the best out of a car. In terms of ability, he’s up there with Norris and co., but he’s driving an Alpine, so you’ll never hear about it. He was moving like the 2021 version of himself until he got unlucky with strategy. But, he was my Driver of the Day — or he would have been, if I had remembered to vote.
Spa-Francorchamps up next, the site of Hamilton’s most recent grand prix win and Leclerc’s first win. It’s also a sprint weekend! At least there’s that to look forward to. Ferrari, I’m begging you, let the new suspension work.
