Spain GP Race Report

So far the Madring (Which syllable are you emphasising?) had been full of surprises but lacking in real action.  There were a few costly crashes during the Free Practice sessions and Norris's pole.  We were yet to see how it would all play out in truly competitive action.

It was a great start from Norris but Antonelli cut across tight behind him, he went wide twice and took avoiding action over two corners.  This meant that Verstappen was able to get past him.  Hamilton wanted that place from him.  It was all a bit messy but all the drivers knew their best chance to win the race was to take it at the beginning.  Norris got away into the clean air showing that was true.

Behind him, after a lot of pleading over the radio, Verstappen had to move over to let Antonelli past him so that Hamilton could get past him.  The Ferrari was having a slow brake failure though so it wasn't long before Verstappen was back.  In a matter of corners, Leclerc was past too then Russell.  With the failure soon dropping him back to 22nd place, he was getting black and white flags for going off the track.  Ferrari did not want him to stop on track because Leclerc was on the hard tyres and did not want the Safety Car brought out.  He got it back to the pits but we didn't see how they stopped him - did the mechanics grab him?  Was there some sort of net put across?

Stroll's brakes also failed and he did stop at the side of the track on lap 15.  Norris had just passed the pit lane entry as a Virtual Safety Car was declared so Antonelli and all those behind him took the cheap stop and he would have to wait.  Leclerc on the hard tyres did not pit but Russell in the same position did.  Norris was told to box but it was too late and he came in as the VSC ended.  Alonso had to get a whole new nose after colliding with his comadpre Sainz, ruining Aston Martin's weekend.  Norris's mechanics could not get one of the tyres on either.  The whole couple of laps was a disaster for many but, as always, played right into Antonelli's hands.  Leclerc was the race leader with the Mercedes behind him.  Norris was in fifth.  His excellent start should have secured race victory.

There was action amongst the drivers at the bottom end of the points.  At the front, Leclerc just kept going, allowing Verstappen and Norris to catch up with Antonelli.  There didn't seem much chance of any real racing taking place.  The Red Flag or Safety Car that Ferrari wanted did not happen and with five laps to go they pitted Leclerc who came out in fourth.

Antonelli acknowledged straight after the race that Norris should have won.  All the good luck during the whole season has flowed his way, washing aside his competitors, none more so than Russell who was left adrift in fifth place.

In the wind down room, the grown-ups almost ignored the young winner as he gamely tried to make conversation.  The unusual trophy looked like a horseshoe but when you discovered that it is a model of Le Monumentale corner, the greatest on the track, it makes it much more special.

We don't know how many races are left of the season but I do feel we know who the drivers and constructors champions will be.  Antonelli is now 81 points ahead of his team mate in second place.  The best that Russell can hope for is that another team does not put in a big challenge and he will have to then take team orders to protect him.  Yes, I've gone there.  The kind of catastrophe that could stop him is only a Michael Schumacher broken leg kind of one.  I hope we end the season in Italy, that would be amazing.  And I hope that Russell, Norris, Hamilton et al regroup over the winter and come back stronger because I do not need the next decade to be nothing but Antonelli.  Remember when we all thought Vettel was sweet?

Spain GP Qualifying Report

I thought if we were giving up the Barcelona race, we were getting a street circuit right the centre of Madrid.  It turns out we are going around the conference centre and under the motorway just outside the city.  It was tricky though with not a run off in sight.  Linblad was the first driver to have a big crash but that was earlier in the event.  Bearman and Hamilton had bigger crashes in Free Practice 3, which would impact their Qualifying more.

No one was looking at Haas or Ferrari though: all eyes were on the Mercedes drivers.  Russell said he was "being rational" about it which is one way of dealing with unfortunate failure.  Antonelli was the first driver to go off the track during Qualifying. He did end up quickest in the first session though until Russell pipped him in the last milliseconds.  There was disappointment at the other end of the timings board with both home drivers out.  Those who finished their Qualifying then were Sainz, Alonso, Perez, Bottas as well as Bearman and Stroll who both had broken cars and did not set a time.

There was no drama in the second session.  Out went Hulkenberg, Bortoleto, Ocon, Gasly, Tsunoda and Albon (who barely set a lap time).  The final session carried on in much the same way.  For a track where several Yellow and probably Red Flags were predicted for Qualifying alone, nothing came of it.  From out of nowhere, Norris took pole, leaving Antonelli the place beside him.  Behind them would be Verstappen, Hamilton, Leclerc, Russell, Piastri, Lawson, Colapinto and Linblad.

Over a longer race run, we should see more accidents and mistakes which will be critical for making the event enjoyable for spectators because otherwise it will be a procession.  Yo-yo racing came back last week so perhaps that might be a feature?

Italy GP Race Report

The first abomination in the Italian race was the new build-up feature "Gigs on the Grid", which Sky were clearly as obliged to broadcast as the national anthem.  Let's hope this was a trial and the feedback reflects the enjoyment no one derived from it.

The grid had had a glow-up since Qualifying.  Alonso and Lawson would be starting from the pits, having changed power units and Albon and Antonelli had done the same but would start at the back of the grid.  Piastri had received a three place penalty for impeding during his trauma-filled Qualifying.

Gasly made an amazing start but behind him the Ferraris were pushing hard.  They lost out to Russell, Leclerc and Hamilton were too close to each other.  It was too much too soon and the Brit was forced into the gravel. The McLarens pushed forwards.  Before the end of the first lap Russell was close behind Gasly and pushing to get past, he did it the next time they went down the home straight.  Leclerc snuck through behind him but Gasly was able to gather some electrical energy to get second back.  Antonelli had already made it up to 13th in an ominous sign.  All the drivers were running close and easily able to overtake each other.  At the end of the that second lap, Leclerc went off at speed sideways and incredibly heavily into the tyre wall.  With Hamilton in eighth, it was an awful start for Ferrari.   The Safety Car quickly became a Red Flag as the tyre barrier needed a lot of work to fix it.  Where was Mater to tow the car away?

It would have been nice of Liberty Media to put up the restart line-up on screen, as the glare of the hot Italian sun meant it was hard to see the liveries.  It would have helped Tsunoda too as he went into the wrong spot.

This time Russell's start was excellent and Gasly was still behind.  Colapinto was somehow third, I'm not sure how that happened although Verstappen was close as well.  The Alpine was out to impress Briatore and went for the overtake him and then go over the gravel but managed to get himself back on track.    Antonelli was in eighth.  We wondered how long all these frantic overtakes would last before things settled down into a procession like all the races at the start of the year when everyone was adjusting to the new regulation cars.  

By the tenth lap, a fifth of the way through, Gasly was dropping back quickly.  The top ten were Russell with Verstappen close behind, Hamilton, Piastri, Antonelli, Gasly, Norris, Linblad, Tsunoda and Bearman.  The other Red Bull was Lawson in eleventh.  It still seemed that there were any number of drivers who could win the thing.  For example, no sooner was this noted than the podium changed to Verstappen, Russell, Piastri.

The next phase of the race would see a Mercedes one-two in front with Antonelli being told to race clean but on the main straight he got past for the lead and the crowds roared gently.  Verstappen was waiting in the background to see what would happen.  There was no shot of Toto Wolff gripping his monitor with white knuckles.

With Alonso pitting to retire earlier, Aston Martin radioed Stroll to tell him to pull over as he would need to retire due to a hydraulics issue.  Of course he Strolled it up by pulling off the track but not right off to make it easy for everyone.  Virtual Safety Car conditions were brought on.  Antonelli and Verstappen pitted but not Russell.

Just as it looked like Russell had finally lined everything up in order to win a race, it was announced that he was being investigated for failing to lift under a Yellow Flag.  There would be no further action though, so perhaps?  The next obstacle was that Antonelli caught him up with five laps to go.  It was scrappy, Russell locked up into a corner; he was saved when Antonelli went wide and into the gravel.  It gave the older man a lap or so reprieve.  Antonelli took the lead of lap 50 of 53.  He was able to pull away with fresher tyres.  

Now our attention was on whether Norris would get past Piastri for fourth place.  Verstappen seemed safe in third.  It finished thus.  The competition was on, up and down the pack, throughout the race and at last the new regulations seem to be paying off for the spectator.

The second and final abomination was David Coulthard quoting LL Cool J during the post-race interviews.  Not sure why Russell was booed as he went on to the podium, Antonelli shook his hand to try and mitigate it.  Antonelli got a trophy of stacking cups, he'll enjoy playing with those.  There won't be long for the twenty-year old to celebrate as we are racing at a brand new track next weekend in Madrid.  In my mind, he isn't old enough to drink.  I'm sure some good, wholesome fun will happen in Italy before the circus moves to Spain.

Italy GP Qualifying Report

What could be more interesting at the Monza race than whether the Italians were supporting Ferrari or world championship leader (and Italian) Antonelli?  I suspect they will support whoever wins.  The media were devoting a lot of time and discussion to this.  I was more interested to see Lightning McQueen on track (as Mr Pitstop Princess keeps saying, it should have been Francesco Bernoulli IYKYK).

Not everyone did well in the first Qualifying session.  Alonso was out of his car before the time was up, shaking his head in frustration.  Piastri went wide off the corner on his final push lap.  Tsunoda's car was only just ready in time but he couldn't put a lap together.  The drivers out were Tsunoda, Albon (who has a grid penalty anyway), Bottas, Perez (we've stopped hearing that Cadillac are shopping for a replacement for the Finn), Alonso and Stroll.  After finding some form at recent races, Aston Martin seem to have lost it all.  Gasly was the fastest!

Piastri kept being in the wrong place at the wrong time in the second session: he nearly held up Lawson, he was investigated for a pit lane infringement.  There was too much traffic on the track.  Antonelli took his rightful (?) place as the fastest driver despite giving a tow to his team mate.  Out went Bortoleto, Bearman, Hulkenberg, Lawson (the victim of traffic), Sainz and Ocon.  Hamilton scraped through in tenth.

By the time the cars came out for the final Qualifying session, it looked like no one had learnt anything from earlier on.  There was traffic and argy-bargy in the pit lane.  The set of timed laps were set and nothing unusual happened, then the drivers went again.  Piastri went off across a corner again and lost his lap time and meant he wasn't able to give Norris the slip stream.  In the dying seconds, as it looked like Russell was going to take a predestined pole, Gasly put in the fastest lap.  He couldn't believe it as the team went wild in the garage.   Russell said it was "a bit messy" and unhappy with the team's strategy.  Behind them was Piastri (unbelievably), Leclerc, Hamilton, Verstappen, Antonelli, Colapinto, Norrs and Linblad.  A really good show for Alpine and a shame that Briatore will get the credit for it; still in a weekend where everyone is celebrating Schumacher perhaps he should share a little of the limelight.

Having won the race at Monza before, this was still Gasly's first pole position ever which doesn't seem right.  We had the regular F1 farce of a native carrying out the interviews and everyone had to speak English.  Gasly asked to give his second comment in Italian, "prego" was the answer and he spoke well; perhaps this is his pitch for a Ferrari seat or perhaps he just wants to get away from the track alive.  Russell gave this a big round of applause.

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