Sunday 21 April 2024
China GP Race Report
Saturday 20 April 2024
China GP Qualifying Report
China GP Sprint Report
Norris was on pole for the Sprint and everyone was willing him on. However, he lost the lead off the start as Hamilton made a good one, causing Norris to go very wide and off the track ending up 7th. It was up to Alonso to chase Hamilton initially. Sainz was pushing Verstappen but it only took 7 laps for Verstappen to get past Alonso.
There were many laps for Hamilton to hold off Verstappen, and he told his engineer he could see him and let him race it. That was only for 2 laps.
With 3 laps to go, Sainz made his move on Alonso and the battle that ensued allowed Perez to get past the Ferrari and the Aston Martin. The Ferraris then battled each other but unfortunately one Spaniard had given the other a puncture and Alonso had to retire. LeClerc finished the event ahead of his team mate at last with Sainz battling his friend Norris behind him.
Verstappen will be pleased that everyone gave him that Sprint victory. The crowd (or as Lewis called them "Team LH China") went wild for Hamilton, especially when he gave them a "Ni Hao".
Getting points were Verstappen, Hamilton, Perez, LeClerc, Sainz, Norris, Piastri and Russell. Zhou was a great 9th but didn't get any points. China was also looking to become Ricciardo's comeback event.
China GP Sprint Qualifying Report
The first sprint race of the year saw us introduced to the new sprint format. The sprint idea has been in place for 4 years and is now in its 4th reincarnation. I thought I would have something meaty to look forward to after work on Friday but it was only the measly Sprint Qually.
Homeboy Zhou made it through the first session just ahead of Gasly, Ocon, Albon, Tsunoda and Sargeant. At the close of the session the grass at the side of the track caught fire again. The sparks from the skid blocks keep setting the hot, dry grass on fire. What will happen if this occurs during a race?
The fire delayed the start of the second session, despite the rain. Rain was predicted for the end of the session and it arrived bang on time with 3 minutes to go. This killed the best laps of Russell and Ricciardo but you have to question why they didn't do better times earlier. Out went Russell, Magnussen ahead of his team mate Hulkenberg, Ricciardo (at least beating his team mate for the first time this season) and Stroll (a mere 6 places behind his team mate, who has signed a 2 year contract this week).
The third session was properly wet and, thrillingly, they didn't red flag it but let the drivers get on with their job. LeClerc spun off and clunked his rear wing against the tyre wall (the amount of damage was never reported). Verstappen also went off but only after setting the fastest lap. Zhou set a good time and then had his time deleted for track limits. Vestappen did this a couple of times, along with Hamilton and Norris. Pole kept changing as the laps were set and then times deleted (including Norris holding pole). Just when it was looking like experience was the best quality to help you secure pole with Hamilton first then Alonso, Norris's deleted lap time was reinstated and he did take pole. Behind him was Hamilton, Alonso, Vestappen, Sainz, Perez, LeClerc, Piastri, Bottas and Zhou.
Verstappen isn't known for his wet weather performance but with the rest of the weekend forecast to be dry this won't make any difference to whether or not he will win everything.
The most exciting thing was nearly Albon's panda helmet, which scored him a lot of airtime until he went out early but the rain made this a thriller but his friend Norris on pole is the big news. Can he win it?
Sunday 24 March 2024
Australia GP Race Report
There was no news between Qualifying and the Race, so off we went. Verstappen held the lead from the grid but LeClerc took Norris's third place straight away. Hamilton, who wasn't sure about his soft tyre choice, made up one place, whilst his old nemesis, Alonso, fell back.
Just as I picked my phone to complete Wordle, Sainz makes a DRS pass on Verstappen round the outside of a corner, perfectly timed to take a second helping of open wing. This is the first time in a long time that someone has overtaken him. He radioed in to say the car was "loose"; was there something mechanically wrong with the car as it smoked it's way about and then his brake was on fire, or his tyre, or his engine. Verstappen pushed on for a while until the flames coming out the back of the car stopped in. It's his first reliability failure for a many a season. At this point, Perez was in 6th and ino position to step in to his team mate's shoes.
There was a flurry of pit stops by Lap 10, early on the 58 lap race. Sauber, once again, had a poor stop and will need to make changes.
Just as Sainz pitted from the lead and came out second behind Alonso, Hamilton radioed in with an engine failure. The moaning minnie pretty much manifested it for himself. A Virtual Safety Car was called, which was a gift for those who hadn't already pitted: Alonso, Ocon and Gasly.
Sainz and LeClerc were told to hold positions and later on there were more team orders, with Piasti moving over for Norris.
Everyone carried on from this point until the last lap when Russell had a major collision with the wall that left his car on it's side. This meant that everyone finished under a Virtual Safety Car. Alonso was subsequently given a 20 second place penalty for driving "unusually" and causing Russell to crash. Sainz invited LeClerc to move close to him and celebrate the 1, 2 finish together, but he didn't...sour grapes? He took Fastest Lap though; it feels likes a long time now since he has won a race. The McLarens were 3rd and 4th and Perez was 5th, hardly scooping up the points upon Max's retiral.
Sainz climbed very slowly and gingerly out of the car, so his recent surgery was apparent. The officials were trying to rush him about but it wasn't going to be possible. To make matters worse, he was then interviewed by Guenther Steiner.
The top ten was finished by Stroll, Tsunoda, Alonso and both Haas, which is a massive result for the American team. Albon, Ricciardo and Gasly came next, which was decent.
What can we look forward to in Japan and China? The return of a second chassis for Williams? Further wins for Ferrari? Further mechanical failure for Red Bull? Certainly more speculation about who will drive for which team in 2025.