Mikkelsen Confirmed at Citroën for Rally Germany
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Andreas Mikkelsen will be racing for a third time this year with Citroën, having confirmed he will represent the French marque at Rally Germany in August.
Brett Smith has been announced as the replacement for his father Jeff Smith at Eurotech Racing, following the latter’s season-ending accident at Croft.
Craig Breen has compared Rally Poland’s stages as a “battlefield”, after heavy rain overnight transformed the roads surrounding the Mikołajki service park into a heavily rutted mudbath.
Thierry Neuville was fastest through shakedown for Rally Poland, but overnight rain has changed the stages from a hard sandy surface to being muddy and rutted, potentially turning the competitive order upside down.
Daniel Ricciardo has suggested that Sebastian Vettel’s run-in with Lewis Hamilton at the Azerbaijan Grand Prix is down to an impulsive temperament on the part of the four-time world champion.
As the 2017 edition of Rally Poland approaches, Sébastien Ogier is hoping for rain to avoid another dreaded weekend of road sweeping, while Andreas Mikkelsen looks to usurp Kris Meeke as team leader at Citroën.
A review of the initial collision between Lewis Hamilton and Sebastian Vettel has confirmed the former’s assertions he did not brake-test the championship leader, but Vettel found himself awarded 3 penalty points on his license for the “potentially dangerous” manoeuvre that followed shortly after.
Daniil Kvyat was an early retirement from the Azerbaijan Grand Prix, leaving the Russian to watch in envy from the sidelines as chaos unfolded on the streets of Baku.
Max Verstappen was left ruing a second consecutive retirement from a podium position, and with this being his fourth DNF in six races, Red Bull will face increased pressure from rivals Mercedes and Ferrari to hang on to the Dutchman for 2018.
Carlos Sainz Jr was left as bemused as the onlooking fans at the events which transpired during the Azerbaijan Grand Prix, having recovered from his own spin to climb back to eighth place by the finish.
Kevin Magnussen turned in Haas’ best performance of the 2017 season, running in the podium places for a number of laps before eventually bringing his car home in seventh place.
Valtteri Bottas is happy to have recovered a second place finish in Baku, having dropped to the rear of the field by the end of the first lap following a collision with compatriot Kimi Räikkönen
Daniel Ricciardo is still struggling to process his path to victory during a “crazy” Azerbaijan Grand Prix, having climbed from 17th place early in the race to the lead shortly after the final restart.
Lewis Hamilton refuted accusations from Sebastian Vettel he had brake-tested the German driver during the second safety-car period at Baku, and criticised the championship leader for his conduct in the seconds following their initial contact.
Daniel Ricciardo took a shock win around the streets of Baku, with Vettel running into Hamilton under the safety car, and Lance Stroll benefiting from the madness to secure his first ever Formula 1 podium.
Having suffered his own tyre issues in qualifying for the Azerbaijan Grand Prix, Felipe Massa gave praise to his rookie team-mate’s career best qualifying performance, one place ahead of him in eighth.
Lance Stroll is on a roll after his career-best finish at his home race at Montreal, having secured his career-best grid position ahead of tomorrow’s Azerbaijan Grand Prix.
