Netherlands GP Qualifying Report

McLaren were dominant in the practice sessions for the Dutch Grand Prix but not everyone was finding it easy.  Most drivers were caught out by the gusts of wind off the sea, with Hamilton spinning.  Antonelli beached the car but his colleague Russell managed to get through the gravel and back onto track.  Stroll sent it into the wall and cost his father even more pennies to get his Aston Martin fixed for Qualifying.

Six minutes into the first Qualifying session though and Stroll put the car back into the wall.  He went back through the gravel and onto the track to take it back to the pits.  He was lucky the gravel was banked and he just slid back down it.  From then on it was more straightforward.  The McLarens were quickest with Piastri ahead of Norris for the first time this weekend.  Out went Colapinto, Hulkenberg, Ocon, Bearman, with Stroll last.

McLaren were still looking strong in the second session, with Ferrari right behind them.  The bottom five changed quickly as the clock ticked down to zero.  Racing Bull driver Lawson pushed out Tsunoda who replaced him at Red Bull.  Alonso put in the last quick lap to knock out Anontelli.  Not joining the shoot out were Antonelli, Tsunoda, Bortoleto, Gasly and Albon.  The Williams of Sainz was clinging on.  Verstappen was able to split the McLarens from the Ferraris, opening up the last session a little.

Again, the final session was very straightforward.  It was only ever between the McLarens and Piastri put in two quicker laps than Norris.  There was a brief moment of wonder to see if Verstappen could steal it at the end but it was never really in question.  He came in in third.  Hadjar did a belter of a lap to take 4th, with Russell behind him.  The Ferraris ended up in 6th (LeClerc) and 7th, ahead of Lawson, Sainz and Alonso.  The Racing Bulls really should have shared their homework with Red Bull over the summer break.

Hungary GP Race Report

Hamilton was particularly hard on himself following Qualifying; he said that Ferrari should replace him as the driver.  We would hear almost nothing from him during the race, then afterwards, he said that there was stuff going on in the background and that he still loved racing.  It was two downbeat interviews on the trot and it made me wonder if he would even see out the season.  Perhaps if Russell is booted out of Mercedes, he can follow him there.

As Brundle finished interviewing Jamie Dornan and Axl Rose, the Sky team got more excited as a little rain was now forecast for the race.  Tsunoda would be starting from the pit lane as he qualified so far down the grid, he would have the chance to make changes for this if needed.  In the event, there was no inclement weather.

LeClerc got away from pole very well and Norris's launch was great off the grid but then he fell back, losing two places to Russell and Alonso.  With the cooler temperatures, Russell was able to push towards Piastri as his Mercedes preferred the conditions.   Sparks flying, Norris used DRS to get fourth place from Alonso.  It turned out that Hulkenberg jumped the start and was awarded a five second penalty.

Norris was under pressure to overtake Russell and the engineers on the other side of the garage were looking for a way for Piastri to get past LeClerc.  Now there was discussion about whether tyres could be stretched to a one stop strategy.  If we couldn't discuss rain, we were sure as hell going to be discussing tyre strategy.

There were some early pit stops from teams like Williams then Verstappen made one.  Suddenly, Norris was radioed with a change of strategy but McLaren brought Piastri in quickly to undercut LeClerc.  Ferrari responded immediately and Mercedes too.  It was a great call by the Italian team as he was in the front already and they put in a two second stop.  He held the lead.

When the second stops came around, Piastri had checked out, all he wanted was to do was stay ahead of Norris.  Disappointingly, he didn't seem fussed about winning the race.  LeClerc, then Russell, pitted first and Piastri came in in response.  This left Norris, on a one stop strategy, in the lead.  It took until lap 51 of 70 for LeClerc to fully lose his grip on the race.  The McLarens' strategy had pushed them forwards but Ferrari hadn't been that shoddy.  Piastri overtook LeClerc for second place.  It would be a chase between the boys in papaya from that point on.

There was more anger from a Ferrari driver, this time directed at the team, as LeClerc was so insistent he could have done a better job than his engineers.  Russell was able, after a couple of goes, to get past him with eight laps to go.

With three laps to go, Piastri was chasing Norris down for the win.  There was a half second gap.  As we were watching to see what would happen, Gasly was awarded a five second penalty for an incident we didn't see with Sainz.  The world is fixated with the battle between Norris, who has waited patiently for his shot at the Driver's Championship and  Piastri, who has strode into F1 and clasped it.  

With one lap to go, Piastri, went for it into the corner at the end of the straight and locked up his tyres.  It was very close to contact; Russell would comment in the cool down room, he wished they would have T-boned.  He was reminded how the team go racing (i.e. without taking each other off).  The stewards weren't watching the race, they were busy handing out penalties, this time to LeClerc for driving erratically in front of Russell.

Overall, it was a good strategy call for Norris and he managed to make it work to claim victory ahead of his team mate and championship rival.

Russell in third had the fastest lap and  LeClerc remained in fourth despite the time deducted.  (He was told after the race that there was a problem with his chassis.  He was still angry).  After them there was Alonso, Bortoleto (highest finishing place of his career), Stroll, Lawson, Verstappen (barely mentioned apart from his little fracas with Hamilton) and Antonelli.  It was definitely a race where one driver in a team did very well and the other was struggling more.  Still they have the summer holiday now to dust themselves off and prepare for the second half of the season.  See you soon.

Old man Alonso, muscle problem with his back, special seat

Hungary GP Qualifying Report

The questions over Vasseur's future in F1 seem to be in the distant past; Ferrari think so as well, as they made a big song and dance about renewing his contract.  As he pointed out, they are second in the championship and couldn't do too much better.  No one mentioned Horner at all.

There was a little chance of rain for Qualifying; there were some grey clouds nearby.  A few drivers dropped their wheels into the gravel, bringing it onto the track.  So it was slippy for one reason or another.  At least gravel can be swept off the track.  It was Piastri who sent the most debris onto the track but was able to put together good enough lap times to finish the first session in first.  Alonso was in second, then Hadjar, Norris in fourth.  It wasn't looking good for his championship hopes.  Out went Tsunoda (last of the Bulls team), Gasly, Ocon, Hulkenberg and Albon.  The Williams put in three runs and Sainz was able to get up to 8th; not a strong track for the team.

In the second session, there was a tiny drizzle over Turn 6 and possibly Turn 1 too.  There was a mini panic by the teams but much more excitement in the commentary cabin.  This time, Norris was fastest and impressively so but Piastri was hot on his heels.  Stroll was third and the Newey effect was clearly at play with the Aston Martins.  Out went Antonelli, Bearman, Hamilton, Sainz and Colapinto.  Both Racing Bulls and a Sauber were through.

In the final push, pole could have been anybody's.  The McLarens no longer had the lead; the Aston Martins were gunning for them.  LeClerc came out of nowhere to put in the quickest time and then had to wait and see if anyone would beat him.  No one could manage it.  They finished LeClerc, Piastri, Norris, Russell (whose car worked it's tyres better on the cooling track), Alonso, Stroll, Bortoleto, Verstappen, Lawson and Hadjar (who didn't set a time).  The Ferrari driver couldn't believe it but his team mate out in 13th would be even more bewildered.

All in all, it set up a great race with several drivers looking punchy.

Belgium GP Race Report

The drivers looked pretty unhappy to be put on the back of a truck and toured around the track in the cold, wet Belgian weather.  They should also have been down in the dumps about McLaren now having twice as many points as their nearest competitor (Ferrari) half way through the season.  

Then, as they drove their own cars around to get to the grid, it started to rain and the crowd put on their ponchos.

Brundle and Rosberg cornered Jos Verstappen on the grid, who was very uncomfortable answering questions about Horner's sacking and also uncomfortable answering questions about the weather, which should have been a safe topic for conversation.

Alonso, Antonelli, Hamilton and Sainz, the bottom four apart from Stroll in Qualifying, would be starting from the pit lane.  This could have been a very good choice given the conditions.

There was a long, long delay whilst we watched a tractor clearing water from the track; with shots of amusing signs created by the crowd and scenes from inside the pits.  Eventually, they went out on intermediate tyres behind the Safety Car for two trial laps.  

A rolling start was soon underway and it wasn't long until Piastri got past Norris.  There was a problem with his electrical system.  LeClerc did well to hold Verstappen off despite tyres that fell off quickly.  On Lap 12, Hamilton (then Gasly and Hulkenberg) came in for the first sets of slick tyres.  Piastri followed suit, just as DRS was enabled, and they couldn't double stack as they were so close.  A stream of drivers (pretty much everyone) followed them in on the following lap.  In the pits LeClerc pulled out of his box in front of his friend Albon (nothing came of it).

It was clear immediately how much of an advantage the dry tyres gave.  Hamilton was putting in quickest laps and had jumped into the points.  The racing started in earnest.  The Saubers were in 9th and 10th and they moved Bortoleto in front of newly-podiumed Hulkenberg to try and attack Lawson.

Despite Norris trying a bit, he never looked to have a shot of getting the lead back.  Still, at least he had it for a few hundred metres.  LeClerc did an outstanding job of holding back Verstappen to finish third, despite shouting at his colleagues who were providing an inconsistent level of support over the radio.  Hamilton did well coming from the pit lane to finish 7th but couldn't overtake Albon.

You have to wonder whether McLaren have learnt their lesson from last year, when Norris lost the drivers championship.  Will they ask Lando to support Oscar to secure it this year?  It was a real grimace of a smile as he congratulated his team mate.

Off the podium but in the points was Verstappen, Russell, Albon, Hamilton, Lawson, Bortoleto and Gasly.  It was a very quiet day for the stewards.  When was the last race with no penalties awarded?

There is only a week off until the last race before the summer holiday.  How hot will it be in Hungary?  Will things reach boiling point between the McLaren drivers?  Will Bottas announce that he is driving for Cadillac?

Belgium GP Qualifying Report

Fresh information about the track and how cars were running on it had been gained by the teams during the Sprint Race in the morning.  Skinny wings were the way forward.  However, rain was predicted for the Race the next day.  Some drivers made adaptions for this; others didn't.  Some teams split the strategy across their pair of cars.

In the rush to get out into the pit lane to get going for Qualifying, Hulkenberg nudged his way out and Stroll ran over his front wing and broke it.  There were some quick laps, nothing to mention.  Norris won the head to head with his team mate to take the fastest lap.    It looked like it might be between Hamilton and Gasly to see who would be out in 16th.  Out went three rookies and both Aston Martins in their worst outing for a long long time (possibly ever): Bortoleto, Colapinto, Antonelli, Alonso, Stroll.

Between sessions, Hamilton had his lap time deleted and this gave a reprieve to Bortoleto and he was 16 and out after all.  He said it was unacceptable to be out in the first session for both qualifying sessions at this track and took the blame, saying he would apologise to the team.

The second session proceeded much as the first only Verstappen was confident with his time and saved some tyres, not going out for a second fast lap.  It looked like Ocon might knock Albon out but, even with a purple first sector, couldn't manage it.  Out went Ocon, Bearman, Gasly, Hulkenberg and Sainz.  Williams' performance is improving under Vowle's leadership but they can't seem to get both cars in on it at the same time.

In the final shoot out, LeClerc did manage a faster lap but it was between Verstappen, Norris and Piastri, who traded quickest laps.  Russell put in a couple of purple (best time set so far) sectors but overall it wasn't quick enough.  Albon was the last person across the line and even beat Russell to get 5th.  Verstappen was lacking grip in his Red Bull and it was enough to cost him pole and even third place as LeClerc did have more in himself.  Out of the two McLarens, it was Norris who put in the fastest lap to take pole.  It was needed as Piastri had it yesterday.  The top ten finishing order was Norris, Piastri, LeClerc, Verstappen, Albon, Russell,  Tsunoda, Hadjar, Lawson and Bortoleto.