Formula One Round two, Imola Italy

     The pace car and track marshals got their workout as intermittent wet conditions played havoc on the Nothern Italy second round of the 2021 Formula One season, in Imola.  Sergio Perez flanked one side of Lewis Hamilton while Max Verstappen was able to find the apex of turn three ahead of Hamilton, putting Red Bull in first place pursued by Hamilton's Mercedes and LeClerc in the Ferari.

   The chaos of borderline wet and dry conditions left a single dry line on the circuit set car after car off the track, some more devastatingly than others.  The most spectacular being contact between Bottas and Russel, who were both physically fine, which is a grim reminder considering the final resting spot of the incident, although the emotive nature of the crash was lost on the two drivers who let their emotions get the better of them as they exited their dismembered cars.

    As the calamity continued to ensue, a fantastic final battle for second unraveled as Verstappen wandered away from the field, masterfully maintaining first place for the near entirety of the race.  In the end Hamilton's sage patience to wait for a final push in his medium tires put him in second place in front of Norris and Leclerc on their waning soft tires.  

    This race hearlds great expectations of the end of what some have cheekily called "The Mercedes Cup", where the Mercedes drivers needed to rely on their racecraft to better the cars around them.  It appears that there are a great deal of contenders who will play a vital role in this season's championship race.