Mexico GP Race Report

It was a party atmosphere in Mexico, although not for Hamilton, who was booed the whole weekend.  There was great hope that the new design regulations would enable more overtaking here.

It was a good start for everyone, no incidents, Verstappen maintaining his lead but not completely unchallenged.  Russell went for it but after a few corners his team mate passed him and left him to battle Perez.  Selflessly, he let the home hero past for a podium position.

Gasly forced Stroll off the track and was awarded a 5 second penalty.  The team had a new chance this race to see if they can serve a penalty correctly.

There was no way Perez was going to have a good race.  When that many people are cheering you on, there's only one thing that will happen in Formula 1.  It started with a poor first pit stop.  Then slight trouble with his DRS wing, but it came back and he was easily able to overtake the Ferrari of LeClerc.   Sainz also had a troubled pit stop.

Hamilton came out from his pit stop behind Verstappen, who had pitted before.  Russell decided to stay out.  Unfortunately he didn't stay out that long and came out of his pit in 4th.

One of the most interesting tussles of the race was between Tsunoda and Ricciardo.  The Australian was just out for a battle and ended up sending the Alpha Tauri over his front wheel putting him out of the race.  The McLaren served a 10 second penalty for the incident.

Alonso retired at the side of the track and brought out a Virtual Safety Car but his car was cleared very tricky and no one  was able to take a cheap pit stop.

The final lap crept up on me, with Verstappen claiming victory and winning the most races in a season ever.  Hamilton was second and the Mexican third.  Unlucky and frustrated Russell finished 4th.  Miraculously Ricciardo stormed along and finished 7th, keeping 10 seconds ahead of Ocon to keep his place when the 10 second penalty was deducted and being crowned Driver of the Day in the most unexpected twist of the season.  He was also ahead of his team mate, which have been the first time since his win at Monza last year.

In other surprising finishes, Albon was 12th in his Williams.

It wasn't the most exciting of races and more overtaking had been predicted.  It was a shame that when Gasly and Ricciardo did overtake and it went slightly awry, they were penalised, which would also discourage overtaking attempts in the future.  The Ferrari drivers were very downhearted about being one minute behind the Red Bulls

Mexico GP Qualifying Report

The focus for the weekend was firstly, a Mexican, Perez, racing in Mexico which seems to be a more exciting location to have a native driver than anywhere else on the planet and, secondly, Christian Horner being quite irate at being punished for breaking the rules.

We were told this would be a good circuit for Williams but both cars were out in Q1 in 19th and 20th.  I don't need to say what order the drivers were in.  Vettel, who was supposed be on a "winning" streak, was out.  Hamilton was in first place, ruining the fiesta, with Perez in 7th.  Ricciardo, however, was through to Q2, to end the season on a high!

Again, no real surprises in Q2.  Ricciardo headed the drivers leaving Qualifying.

Ferrari had an awful show, qualifying 5th and 7th.  The Alpines might as well have not run as they were 9th and 10th.  Verstappen predictably took pole ahead of the two Mercedes, Russell then Hamilton.  George was kicking himself as he felt he could have taken pole.  It looked like there could be several different potential winners, but only one probable winner, Verstappen.

CotA US GP Qualifying & Race Report

With a few grid penalties being taken, Qualifying was already almost redundant as a method of arranging the starting grid; we just had to enjoy Sainz' supreme performance to gain pole.  LeClerc was clearly frustrated in second and Verstappen had a double-word champion bounce and nonchalance about his third place.  Amidst it all, the paddock was waiting with pitch forks and placards to hear what punishment would be handed to Red Bull for their breach of the cost cap last year, with many people comparing it to the Spygate of yesteryear.  Then the Red Bull camp was shaken by the death of Red Bull founder Dietrich Mateschitz.  How much this unsettles their future is unsure.  The team chose to celebrate their co-founder by playing the Rolling Stones instead of their usual dross and wearing jeans.  

On race day, the stars were out to see the spectacle.  They'd actually already missed it as Ricciardo arrived on track horseback and may as well have continued that way for the heady heights on 17th on the grid and finishing a thrilling one place off last, after a gripping battle with Latifi.  Geri Halliwell manhandled Ed Sheeran about the Red Bull garage for maximum publicity.

The passing of Mateschitz was somewhat preempted as he had been ill but what to do on race day was somewhat hastily prepared with David Coulthard trotted out to ask the crowd to applaud for an unspecified length of time.  Anyone associated with Red Bull was given front line status for this and drivers unblessed by the caffeinated spirit of extreme sports regulated to two lines back.  As Hamilton ranked in this number, he made sure to fist bump a large number of children, who didn't know who he was, who had been lined up next to the grid, presumably to promote inclusivity.

Hamilton then put in a complaint to his team about his brakes on his out lap, mechanics worked furiously to completely replace the brakes on both sides.  No problem with his start though.

Verstappen made a great start from second place and Sainz  a poor start from pole and was then bumped by Russell.  He spun, going to the back of the grid, radioing in with puncture then being wheeled into the garage.  I think he did longer driving Sky TV presenters around the track than he did in the race.  The Aston Martins did very well off the grid, in third and fifth on the second lap.  I'm sure it's not a spoiler to say they didn't finish that well.

Latifi spun his Williams on Lap 6, a notable race for him, as this is the first time his accidents have only had a negative effect on himself.

The race went on and Verstappen was struggling with wind.

People came into the pits, people came out.  Not much happened.  Then Bottas spun and beached himself in the gravel, which is quite a feat as CotA is mainly tarmac run off area.  A Safety Car came out and gave LeClerc, Vettel and Alonso a cheap pit stop.

Just after the Safety Car period finished, another started as Alonso took off over next year's team mate, Stroll.  I wonder who the new boss will blame, his expensive new star or his son?  I have no idea how but Alonso pitted and rejoined the race, still ahead of Ricciardo and Latifi.  Stroll was out of the race and with footage of cars driving through a lot of debris and smoke, the true extent of the damage was to be seen.

Gasly continues to be in the wrong place at the wrong time this season, being more than 10 car lengths behind the car in front during the Safety Car period and getting a 5 second penalty for that.  Turns out that, in the taking of the penalty, he was also in the wrong place at the wrong time and got another 5 second penalty.

Hamilton pitted to try the undercut with 20 laps to go and set off a fantastic chain of events.  Verstappen responded but had a shocker of a stop with a wheel gun failing.  LeClerc must have been told to do whatever Max did and also pitted, exiting the pits ahead of his rival.  In turn, they were behind Vettel leading the race with Hamilton behind him.  Hamilton overtook Vettel and went off to fight for his first win of the season and Vettel went into the pits for an abysmal stop that saw him drop right out of the points.  Predictably, Verstappen hunted down and overtook first LeClerc then Hamilton to take the win.  The action continued to the very end with Vettel and Magnussen racing for a few points and Russell taking the point for Fastest Lap off Red Bull.

Overall, probably one of the best races so far this season: a challenge for the drivers, nothing controversial coming out from the race directors and some great battles for the spectators.

Japan GP Race Report

The race was supposed to be dry at the start and then rain later during the event but the rain came down quite heavily as the drivers took to the track to drive round to their start positions.

LeClerc made a better start than Verstappen (who couldn't go diagonally quick enough to cover off the Ferrari) and clearly thought that in the wet, his rival wouldn't push too hard.  He was wrong and he did.  Verstappen took a risky pass and made it stick.  He was clearly out to race and not play it safe for the mathematically-possible championship.

The rain was coming down hard and the on-board shots showed how little the drivers could see.  One world champion, Alonso, hit another, Vettel.  This was not the biggest event of the first lap, as we were watching Alonso try and take Hamilton, we saw a flash of scarlet at the side...was LeClerc out of the race?  No, it was his team mate Sainz.  The Safety Car was out and we saw Albon pull to the side of the track with car failure and Gasly push a huge piece of hoarding around the track like a snow plough.

The race was then Red Flagged and we fast-forwarded through a lot of the coverage.  The drivers got back in the car and then the restart was suspended and I went  back to fast-forwarding.  I think the FIA needs to consider how racing can happen in wet weather conditions.  Eventually, the cars set off for a rolling start and the rain started to get heavier.  Drivers were asked on the radio what the visibility was like.

Despite the plumes of water behind the drivers, Latifi and Vettel came in for Intermediate tyres.  After a very brief period of analysis most of the rest of the pack came in too.  Russell decried the choice immediately and Schumacher was told that they would change to Inters when there was a Safety Car.  Schumacher led the race for a few metres and can now retire having fulfilled his father's legacy.

The race continued a little damp, with Hamilton and Ocon being the biggest battle on track.  Latifi, miraculously stayed in the points.

The clock counted down to the end of the race.  When it went red and the last lap occurred, Verstappen was in the lead and LeClerc in second and defending fiercely from Perez. To win the championship, Verstappen had to win and have the point for fastest lap if LeClerc was in second.  Zho though, held that prize.  Alpine finished a sterling 4th for Ocon and 7th for Alonso.  Latifi scored points for Williams and the McLarens finished exactly where they started.  Gasly, finishing last, will be glad with his new job at Alpine.

However, the eagle-eyed spotted that LeClerc went off the track and came back on holding his place against Perez.  Race Control also saw this and investigated and put the championship contender back a place, giving Verstappen the World Champion title.  So that's that.  At least someone told Johnny Herbert so he could tell Verstappen.  Probably not how Max dreamed it would be.

Japan GP Qualifying Report

With talk of budget cut fouls and a little driver reshuffle between the Alpine, Mercedes and Red Bull stables, this was going to be an interesting weekend.

Gasley massively struggled with his brakes and was out in Q1 along with the predictables: Stroll, Magnussen and both Williams.  Latifi was both last and 5 places behind last, having "Latified" someone last weekend.

The second Qualifying session was very tight.  Ricciardo had an amazing qualifying, up until the point Russell knocked him out by three milliseconds and put him in 11th place.  Vettel was through to Q3 and home boy Tsunoda was out.  The big news was Perez claiming the fastest time and Alonso (who was fastest in the wet practice session) second fastest time.

To finish it was all very predictable, with Verstappen taking pole despite have an awful final lap, ahead of LeClerc.  Charles was hoping for a little bit of rain on race day.  Vettel was very emotional to have driven his last Suzuka Qualifying.

There was some discussion whether Verstappen would receive a penalty for turning close to Norris.  He got a reprimand and many would say the stewards continue to favour the Dutchman.

Singapore GP Race Report

Tuning into the Singapore GP coverage, it was dry, then it was very, very wet.  And the race was delayed.  Then, just as abruptly, the rain stopped.  Water was cleared from the track and off the cars went to the grid.  

As predicted, Ferrari had put on woolen wheels and Perez took LeClerc at the start.  Hamilton lost out to Sainz and Verstappen was down to 12th from 8th.  Predictably it was a Williams that spun first, less predictably it was Albon not Latifi.  Hamilton radioed in to his team to say that they should have listened to his tyre call.

Zhou was the first driver to retire, colliding with Latifi (of course).  The first Safety Car was out.  It was too soon for anyone to take advantage and pit.  Latifi, having sustained a puncture and got back to the pits, was also out of the race.

By Lap 11, Verstappen was back up to 8th.  Brundle thought this put Verstappen back into contention for the podium.  A third of the way through the race and Verstappen was stuck behind Alonso.  The old man, out for his Sunday drive, must have been thinking that he'd done this 350 times before and will be doing it another 350 times in the future.  Unfortunately the Alpine engine, thought otherwise and conked out.  A Virtual Safety Car was called.  The only driver to pit was George Russell, who gave slick tyres a go.  As the Safety Car ended, we watched the Mercedes slip and slide over the track.

There was a third (Virtual) Safety Car for Albon, who collided with a barrier.  He managed to extricate the car but left his front wing behind in the wall.  That was two Williams out.

Next Ocon's Alpine engine died.  That was two Alpines out.   Fourth Virtual Safety Car and now Ted Kravitz was hallucinating slick tyres.

Rather brilliantly, Hamilton slid into a corner but managed to pull back out in between Norris and Verstappen who were battling.  He massively held up the championship leader, who then radioed in frequently that Hamilton's wing was about to fall off.  The floodgates opened for cars to come in for slick tyres: Gasly, LeClerc, Magnussen, Tsunoda, Vettel, Hamilton.  LeClerc overshot his pit spot and caused himself a 5+ second pit stop and cost himself the win.

Tsunoda couldn't keep his slick-tyred car on the track and, lo and behold, a fifth Safety Car.  At the restart, a frustrated Verstappen attacked Norris and went straight on down a slip round and did a handbrake turn.  He came back on track in...8th!  And needing to pit again.

Next up, Schumacher and Russell rub tyres and Russell picks up a puncture.

With 14 finishers, for Verstappen to start 8th and finish 7th was abysmal.  It wasn't like he was up and down but kept plummeting down and regaining the position.  It was certainly a fantastic race for Perez.  Nobody had Ricciardo finishing the race 5th, right behind his team mate.  Nobody had Latifi finishing the race and he didn't.

Singpore GP Qualifying Report

Well, the weekend kicked off to a thrilling start: rain and accounting.  Have Red Bull cheated the cost cap system?  Well, probably.  Are the other team principals outraged?  Yes.  Have they probably also been cheating the system?  Probably.

Then it was all "will it, won't it rain?"  There were lots of Yellow Flags for drivers having minor incidents, none of which were broadcast.  Despite putting on a second set of intermediate tyres, Ricciardo was out in 17th.  Bottas and Ocon were also out of qualifying, letting their team mates carry the can.

The second Qualifying session was dominated by the decision of when to change from Intermediate tyres to Slicks.  It was Charles LeClerc, de facto Ferrari strategist, who asked for Slicks, however, he was given Inters.  It was Lance Stroll, who actually went first and everyone braced themselves for a Red Flag when he hit the wall.  It didn't help him and he was out with Russell and fellow soft-compounders Zhou and Vettel, who messed up a corner.

In the last couple of minutes, it was close for pole position: Hamilton, then Alonso, then LeClerc.  Verstappen was trying too hard, aborting two laps, being called in, possibly because he was on the edge for fuel testing.  He will start 8th.  There was a lot of swearing.

At the end we saw LeClerc's helmet design for Singapore...gold and shiny...very Monaco.