Lewis Hamilton Michael Schumacher’s record of 91 Formula 1 wins at the Nürburgring equaled on another disappointing day for his Mercedes team-mate Valtteri Bottas.

Here are our conclusions from the first – and possibly the only – Eifel Grand Prix.

Hamilton Historic Day

In a race that will be remembered more for what certain drivers have accomplished more than racing on the right track, Lewis Hamilton sparks any notion that the World Championship pendulum might start to swing back Valtteri Bottas.

Even Nico Rosberg, definitely more hopeful than he expected, This raised the suggestion After Bottas, who won in Russia the last time, took first place in the Nürburgring.

But the title race is now over and definitely dusted with the Briton holding a 69-point lead with six races remaining.

Bottas had to retire due to a problem with the power unit, yet the writing was hanging on the wall when Hamilton overtook him fore on lap 13 after locking and running wide at turn 1.

Since then, there was no serious risk that Hamilton would miss Schumacher’s total of 91 victories in a circuit just 55 miles from Kerben, the hometown of the seven-time world champion.

And it was a real touching moment when Hamilton was Presented with one of the German legend’s racing helmets By Schumacher’s son Mick during post-race interviews – a gesture that clearly touched the 35-year-old.

Almost certainly the outright record is Hamilton’s record in the next few races and 100 wins next year.

But even more important is achieving the level with another record for Shumai – the Seven World Championships, which he can look forward to doing sometime this fall.

Maybe even as early as the Turkish Grand Prix on November 11th.

Renault Ricardo regrets?

Finally, the Tattoo story He was put to bed. We are now delighted to look forward to seeing the design and venue that Renault Head Cyril Abitbol has been signed yet Daniel Ricciardo The team has been awarded their first podium since 2011.

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From the driver’s domino rally held during the spring and summer seasons, Ricardo must be the one with the greatest doubts about the move he decided to take.

Not that Sebastian Vettel had any choice, but it gives the impression that he cannot wait to exit Ferrari, while Carlos Sainz will at least have a reputation for joining a prestigious team like Scuderia and is now beginning to express his dissatisfaction with his treatment at McLaren.

However, for Ricardo, things are going well for Renault. The Australian justified his claim as the “man to beat” outside the top three in the tournament currently with P3 in the Nürburgring and climbed to fourth in the drivers’ standings.

There are only two points separating McLaren and Renault in the manufacturers list, but the momentum is there with the French manufacturer, whose CEO Luca de Meo was present at the Nürburgring and has big plans for a team that will rebrand to Alpine next year.

Despite putting a gritty face on his departure, saying he would be happy to leave Renault at altitude, Ricardo must have feared that he jumped off the ship too early … while making way for Fernando Alonso.

Ricardo will need to hope that McLaren will move to the 2021 Mercedes powerhouse, which was high on the list of factors that influenced his decision, to make the profits he hoped for.

All the strength to the chassis

From sitting with a coffee an hour away from the circuit, preparing for some TV work, to finishing the P8 at the Eifel Grand Prix in 29 hours, which means the weekend has been some transformation. Nico Hulkenberg.

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This was, of course, the second time the German had been called up in the Racing Point driver category this season, and after qualifying understandably the slowest out of 20 cars, scoring was an achievement worthy of the Driver of the Day. .

Once again, Hulkenberg has made it clear that he still deserves a permanent leadership. The problem is that there is very little space for next year, especially with the emergence of Alfa Romeo ready to announce Kimi Raikkonen and Mick Schumacher as their partnership.

Sarcastically, Sergio Perez, Who was Hulk’s teammate this weekend – as he was between 2014 and 2016 – finds himself in the same boat. He again announced his credentials to stay on the network by finishing P4, while his successor in Racing Point Vettel had another sloppy race.

It did start to look like Haas or nothing to both Hulkenberg and Perez, unless there’s a huge surprise in store.

Which brings us to …

Albon faces alert Red (Bull)

Alexander Albon

This race couldn’t have been worse for him Alex Albon. He did one of his strongest qualifiers starting the P5, but that wasn’t the first time a factor in the blunt end after the lights turned off.

Eventually retired by the team with a perforated radiator, Albon caused his own problems with a large early lock that showed his tires flat, and he also didn’t do himself any favors upon taking off the front wing of Daniel Kvyat during the overtaking motion.

Another jail on lap 23 for trying to overtake Pierre Gasly’s other AlphaTauri pushed a radio message that “they are racing me too hard” from Albon, an apparent reference to his promotion to Red Bull last year at the expense of the Frenchman with whom he had Cubes.

Red Bull now has a big bind. Christian Horner defended Albon aggressively throughout the year, but he seemed to be clinging to straw when he said the driver had taken “another step forward” … it seemed like a step back for us.

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Hulkenberg and Perez available for next year. It would take a major shift in policy to make either teammate Max Verstappen on the team, but could Red Bull really continue with Albon?

Another option is to bring him back with Gasly, but Sky Sports’s claim by Paul Di Resta that the Italian grand prize winner had “upset quite a few people at Red Bull” seems reliable – and we may hear more about it in the coming weeks.

Friday on their minds

F1

The consensus among drivers was that the two-day running weekend – albeit not unscheduled after the weather pushed FP1 and FP2 – was positive. One training session on Saturday morning and then directly to the qualifiers.

This is what they will test on a planned basis at Imola at the end of this month – and you have to wonder if, if not the norm, it will become a more regular event.

“I don’t think we need to be here on Friday,” Hamilton said at the post-qualifying press conference, while Perez went again after the race and mentioned Thursday as well, referring to media commitments. Come on, Sergio, this will make life harder for us!

The episodes will obviously be in rage about losing one-day’s revenue when the full crowds are able to come back, but you suspect that if the drivers and teams are on their way, the two-day weekends won’t be limited to just this very unusual season.

John Wilde

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