Abu Dhabi GP Race Report

All the attention was on Lewis Hamilton and his last race with Mercedes in Abu Dhabi.  It was the last race of their career for Zhou, Bottas and Magnussen (and possibly Colapinto), who received less attention.  A fair deal of attention was on Brad Pitt's film, it was their last race too.

There seemed to be some extra penalties applied over night but because of the nostalgia-fest if was very hard to see what they were.  We were also treated to Will.I.Am and Jackie Stewart DJing.  Hulkenberg was given a penalty for something during Qualifying and his team mate Magnussen did a practice start before the race somewhere he shouldn't have and would be investigated and penalised after the race.  Surely the stewards could have found time before the race started.

Ferrari were on the back foot vis-a-vis the championship with LeClerc starting at the back of the grid.  Initially it looked like a clean start when the lights went out but Piasti and Verstappen touched unnecessarily and both spun, each to one side of the track.  This put Norris out front, with Sainz behind, then Gasly.  LeClerc was up to 12th then Perez spun and a couple more cars came together.  There was a high chance of a Safety Car at this track.  It was the McLaren of Piasti now at the back.  Perez came together with Bottas and was left stranded on the track, a Virtual Safety Car was set.

Then Piastri drove into the back of Colapinto, giving him a puncture.  The McLaren came in but did not get a new wing just tyres, possibly to see him through to the end of the race.

Verstappen was given a 10 second penalty for his early incident, which was fairly clear from the overhead shot.  Piastri's radio as he spun was replayed: "Move of a world champion, that one."  Bottas was also given 10 seconds for taking Perez out.  Then...10 seconds for Piastri for hitting Colapinto.

Magnussen had a very slow stop to continue his unfortunate last race.  Zhou also got a last race penalty, for a false start.  Clearly, everyone was tired and not operating at full potential.  Racing Bulls did not put Lawson's tyres on properly at his first pit stop.  Williams ended an awful season retiring Colapinto.

Verstappen made an annoyed comment to his team after taking his 10 second penalty during his stop.  I felt it was unclear whether he was criticising the time it took his team or the stewards but it wasn't necessary.  It really confirmed all the comments Russell reported.

Bottas locked up and went into Magnussen, ruining both their final races and leaving a lot of debris.  Bottas was out but Magnussen limped on although he went on to set the fastest lap but wouldn't get the point for it because he didn't finish in the top 10.  It said, "What next?" on the top of Valteri's helmet.

Rookie Doohan had a good race; he didn't crash into anyone or worse.

With 11 laps to go, Piastri had a big off to avoid crashing, he was looking ragged too.

It looked like it was going to end Norris, Sainz, LeClerc.  Could Ferrari do anything to take the championship by getting Norris to drop back even one place?  The panicking started: LeClerc thought his tyres were graining too much and then Sainz thought he had run over debris and got a puncture.

With 3 laps to go, Albon had fallen out of the points unfortunately.  Let's hope next year sees better results for the team with the arrival of Sainz and Vowles being deeper embedded.  On the last lap, Lawson stopped somewhere on track with an engine fire.  His car was rolling downhill.  Hamilton was hoping to overtake his team mate on this lap but the Yellow Flags were hindering him.

The fireworks heralded Norris the race winner, he drove cleanly and triumphantly.  The Ferraris of Sainz and LeClerc were behind him; they could not have done more to try and win it (well, not needed to change LeClerc's battery).  The mechanics of both teams congratulated each other in the pit lane.  Hamilton snatched 4th place from Russell in the last couple of corners.  Rounding out the top ten was Verstappen, Gasly, Hulkenberg for his last race for Haas, Alonso (who it feels should be going somewhere or retiring but ploughs on) and Piastri.

Hamilton did doughnuts on the pit straight.  It was a long wait for the interviews and the podium, in fact it seemed very poorly planned.  We head into 2025 with some intrigue and I wonder what Drive to Survive will make of it all?

Abu Dhabi GP Qualifying Report

There was old news and new news going into the final race event of the 2024 season.  It would Hamilton's last race for Mercedes before he heads to Ferrari.  I assume that Ocon, Bottas, Magnussen, Colapinto and Zhou will be getting similar coverage in their nation's output as they leave F1.  This weekend will also decide the Constructors' Championship between Ferrari and McLaren.  The new news is that Ocon was told his services would not be required by Alpine this weekend and they would prefer to run their new driver Jack Doohan in the car instead.  LeClerc would be taking a 10 place grid penalty and both Williams would be moved back 5 places, all for changing parts.

The track improved so much that it came down to the last person over the line before the Chequered Flag came down in the first Qualifying session.  There was a big queue in the pit lane which hampered things too.  Extraordinarily, Bottas finished 2nd but out went Albon, Zhou, his old team mate Hamilton, Colapinto and Doohan in his first ever F1 Qualifying.  Magnussen had knocked a bollard down which Hamilton ran over and it was completely stuck under the chassis.

In the second session, all the drivers set a first time.  Verstappen was happy enough with his first place position that he got out of the car, whilst all the other drivers queued up in the pit lane.  He lost the place to LeClerc but the lap was deleted as he went off the track limits.  This was disastrous for Ferrari.  Bottas went 9th to get through to the final session for the first time this season.  Also notable was Hulkenberg in 3rd and Gasly in 4th.  Out went Tsunoda, Lawson, Stroll, LeClerc and Magnussen.  

From the excitement in the commentator's voice, you would have thought that the drivers' first set of fast laps was the main times set.  Verstappen won the first round, then got himself in the best position by being the last over the line so the last driver to set the last time.  With thirty seconds to go, Hulkenberg took pole.  He didn't hold it for long.  Norris took pole, with Piastri next to him, setting the McLarens up well for the Constructors' battle.  Sainz took third in his last Qualifying lap for Ferrari.  After that was Hulkenberg because Verstappen did not put anything near a good lap together when he needed to.  Completing the top ten was Gasly, Russell (hero to zero and right behind the man he's been exchanging fighting talk with all week), Alonso, Bottas and Perez.  I think we can all now expect an announcement from Red Bell as he couldn't out-qualify a Sauber.

Toto Wolff was very angry with the team's performance but everyone else seemed happy enough with where they were.  It seems likely that Verstappen will come through to win the race but it feels too close to call with the Constructors' Championship.  It's been such a long season but it feels unreal that it's over so soon.

Qatar GP Race Report

The drivers were cold in the desert at night, wearing extra layers on the grid and weaving furiously on the formation lap.

It was a good start by Russell but much better by others.  Vesrtappen took the lead and Norris nearly got it but had to settle for second place.  In the first corner, Ocon lost control and ran into both Hulkenberg and Colapinto.  The Haas spun and kept going with the tyre hanging off the rim.  Ocon and Colapinto were out, which was yet another crash Williams did not need, having borrowed parts from old Mercedes cars in order to be able to keep going this season.  Zhou watched Stroll collide into Albon ahead of him and made a comment on the safety of the Aston Martin boss's son continuing driving in F1.  The Safety Car was out.

At the restart there were some winners (Piastri) and losers (Alonso) but Lawson and Bottas had a coming together and both spun off before returning to the track.  Zhou watched this one too.

There were offs up and down the grid.  Hamilton was discovered to have had a false start.  Stroll retired, taking a ten second penalty in the pit lane as he did.  Lawson was also awarded a penalty.

Halfway through, drivers started coming in for a set of new tyres.  Russell was the first of the leaders and had a long stop waiting for a driver to come past in the lane.  He exited in 11th, much worse than Mercedes would have expected.  His team mate was also on the radio grumbling.

Albon's wing mirror came off on the straight and it took everyone a long time to decide what to do about it.  So long in fact that Bottas ran over it (perhaps signalling why he's out of a drive next year as everyone had managed to avoid it for several laps).  It shattered and then Sainz and Hamilton both got bad punctures on the debris.  As there was a mad rush to the pit lane, a Safety Car was called for.   The front runners were able to get a much more efficient stop than Russell had.

It was fast and furious when the race restarted again.  Norris nearly took Verstappen, Sainz attacked Gasly and Piastri and LeClerc battled.  Perez lost drive and then got hit from behind and stopped.  A Virtual Safety Car was called and then Hulkenberg spun out.  A real Safety Car was called for and Mylander went straight back out.  It was the first DNF for Perez for a long time but it won't have made any kind of impact on his racing record this season.  Again some drivers chose to pit.

Another restart and Verstappen was away cleanly but Norris had to defend from LeClerc, who was chasing the Constructors' Championship.  There were cold tyres and five drivers already out, so no one took great risk.

It was then revealed that Norris hadn't lifted under Yellow Flags when the wing mirror was still on the track and was given a ten second stop go penalty.  He came out last.  Hamilton got another penalty for speeding in the pit lane and asked if he could just stop.

With three laps to go Albon was suddenly given a ten second penalty for causing a collision and no one knew why.  Magnussen also had a penalty.

In the end, it wasn't easy but it was easiest for Verstappen to take the win.  LeClerc took a much needed second and Piastri an unexpected third.  Russell will be disappointed with fourth, whilst Gasly should be elated with fifth.  Behind them was Sainz, Alonso, Zhou (finally points for Sauber), Magnussen and Norris.  The Sauber driver also got Driver of the Day.  

Verstappen's engineer made a particularly snide remark about winning whichever side of the grid he started on.  Russell was then awarded a five second penalty for some sort of infringement; he was ahead of Gasly by five seconds though so it meant nothing.

Despite the win, Red Bull were now out of contention for the Constructors' Championship but either McLaren or Ferrari could still win it at the final race of the season.

Qatar GP Qualifying Report

After McLaren's dominance in the Sprint Qualifying and Sprint, it would have seemed unlikely that anyone could challenge them for the front row of the grid.

In the first Qualifying session, Norris had a lap time deleted.  He made it safely through though.  Perez made it through too, which was much-needed.  With both Saubers through, some drivers had an early bath who weren't expecting it: Albon, Lawson, Hulkenberg, Colapinto and Ocon.  Norris was 4th and Piastri was 9th with Russell and then the Ferraris at the top.  Past performance is no guarantee of future success.

In the second session it looked like there might be a battle to get through to the final part but it never materialised.  Gasly, Zhou, Bottas, Tsunoda and Stroll went out.  It reinforces the gulf between old man Alonso's talents and the lack in his team mate Stroll.  Perez scraped through in 10th whilst his team mate Verstappen finally pulled the speed out of the Red Bull to go quickest ahead of Norris.

They were speeedy from the off in the final session, Alonso put in a quick lap on used tyres but had the time deleted.  In Fernando Fashion, he refuted it over the radio with charm.  Russell set the quickest lap of the weekend.  Norris was pushing hard and had a small off.  The Ferraris were not quite on it in the end, finishing 5th and 7th.  Verstappen did have the ability, after a long break from the front of the grid, to get pole, ahead of Russell.  The McLarens took the row behind them.  Hamilton split the prancing horses in 6th.  The tail of the top ten comprised Alonso, Perez and Magnussen.  The Dane is without a drive next year but benefited from a better tyre strategy than his team mate.  Will 9th be enough to save Perez's drive next year?  He always emphasises how much of a team effort any result is.

Russell had a dig at McLaren for enforcing team orders that morning and over the last couple of races but I don't think he'd be complaining if he was in that position.  I suppose he knew that Hamilton would never give him an inch.

As the grid was being outlined, viewers were treated to a shot of Verstappen heavily impeding Russell on track but not given the information as to whether that was on a hot lap or in/out laps.  It was hot lap and the top two positions were reversed by the stewards to penalise Verstappen for the move.

I would say all eight drivers from the top four teams would be in for the chance of a race win but that doesn't take into account Perez, who hasn't won a race this year.  It would take something awful to happen for him to score a victory.

Qatar GP Sprint Qualifying Report

The dust had settled from Las Vegas and we were back at the dustiest of tracks, Qatar.  Once again, LeClerc looked to be the favourite but would the weekend leave him cursing again?

In the first Sprint Qualifying session, Norris was the strongest but the others were snapping at his heels.  Perez let his team down again by finishing SQ in 16th, ahead of Tsunoda, Ocon, Zhou and Colapinto, a nice mix of the teams at the slower end of the field.

In the second session, the McLarens continued to look strong but Piastri was all over the shop with Norris quickest again.  Out went Alonso, Albon, Bottas, Stroll and Magnussen.

The third session held no surprises for who took pole: Norris.  Russell managed to outpace Piastri for second place.  Sainz and LeClerc were 4th and 5th, then Verstappen, Hamilton, Gasly, Lawson and Hulkenberg.  It was so comfortable for Norris that he was out of the car whilst others were still coming round the track.

Overnight Perez and Colapinto decided to start from the pit lane with everyone else lining up on the grid as expected.  Piastri was able to overtake Russell off the line and Hamilton also got a good start and made up a place, with Verstappen losing three places.  Perez was running last.

During the race LeClerc made an excellent overtake on Hamilton and Russell had a couple of unsuccessful attempts on Piastri but other than that there was nothing of any note in the Sprint until the last milliseconds.  As the two McLarens approached the finish line, there was an incredibly tight switch were Norris gave Piastri the win as he had done for him in Brazil.

Behind the top three were Sainz, LeClerc, Hamilton, Hulkenberg and Versappen.  It was good points for Haas but not what Red Bull needed.  Horner commented after the race that Perez hadn't actually got going quick enough when the lights went out at the end of the pit lane, just ambled out.

Norris spoke that the team didn't want him to risk handing the win to Piastri but he managed it.  It was telling how little the Sprints mean to the drivers that he said he wasn't bothered about it.

For those wondering who the hell James Hinchcliffe is, as he keeps popping up, he was a Canadian Indycar driver.

Las Vegas GP Race Report

As the drivers were introduced individually onto the truck to be driven around the track, you got a sense of what the weather was like.  The gusting winds blew hair about and all the drivers were in the thickest of team coats.  

The grid was absolutely rammed before the formation lap but no celebrities for Martin Brundle to chat to until he hit gold with Sly Stallone.  Then the anthem was performed by Boyz II Men.  More man than boy now, the harmonies lasted well into the night.

Colapinto would be starting from the pit lane, which should have seen him clear of any first corner incident.  Against all predictions, Russell made a great start and everyone was safe through even though they were four a breast in some places.  LeClerc held a good line and jumped Gasly and Sainz for second place.  Vestappen and Norris remained in 5th and 6th.

After ten laps a few drivers had swapped places.  Verstappen had made his way up to 3rd position with Norris sufficiently far behind to lose the championship.  Alonso had already pitted and LeClerc and Norris were called into the pits.  They were followed by several other drivers including Piastri who had to serve a penalty for a false start.

Gasly had done so well to stay with the leaders in the race but then he was frantically messaging the team and being reassured by them.  He was right though, his engine blew.  Let's hope with all the celebrity investment, it's a better car for him next season.  And we can say that with true hope as Ocon wouldn't also benefit.  Further down the track, there were further woes with Albon also having to retire.

Verstappen drove to defend his championship lead and hopefully hold it and take it.  He radioed his team to see if he should defend to the two Ferraris as he was sitting in 3rd.  With Norris in 6th, he could take it easy but his team suggested he had better try to hold them off.  With a couple of laps to go, both red cars were past him and the positions were back where we had started with Verstappen in 5th and potentially world champion and Norris in 6th.

There were many great drives in this race.  Russell drove flawlessly to win from start to finish, massively overshadowed by Verstappen taking the championship.  Hamilton came from 10th to finish 2nd.  Tsunoda was quietly 9th.  Colapinto recovered from his big crash in Qualifying to finish 13th having started from the pit lane.  There were no complaints about the weather or the tyres graining too much.

Verstappen was crying inside his helmet, you'd think he could cope better with this after so much practice now.  Russell whooped and cheered.  Hamilton was Driver of the Day; no points for it though.  The Ferrari drivers were not happy and LeClerc let off a torrent of abuse at his team over the radio.

None of the drivers put on their seat belts in the back of the Rolls Royces that drove them to the podium.  The whole routine was painful as they were taken around. The interviews were well-delivered and then it went on.  It's one small area Vegas needs to improve on.  With two more races to go, some drivers will want to be having fun and others will have to focus on getting the Constructor's Championship secured.

Las Vegas GP Qualifying Report

Everyone seemed very excited to be back in Vegas.  If Norris didn't finish at least 3 points ahead of Verstappen, the Red Bull driver would win the Driver's Championship.  However, it was Ferrari who were the team expected to be at the top here.

On Qually Day though, it looked like Mercedes would be very, very quick.  There was no big drama on track but out went Stroll in last place (whose mechanics couldn't fix a problem on the car in time), Bottas (whose car is awful and will be retiring at the end of the year), Albon (who had a time deleted), Alonso (for no apparent reason) and Perez (because he is a poor driver and the Red Bulls are struggling).

There was nobody unexpected out in Q2, for a minute.  It looked like both Alpines, both RBs, Zhou and Colapinto.  Then the Argentinian smashed up his Williams and it made an awful sound, scraping along the track.  Then Tsunoda made it through and put out Magnussen.  There was a lot of damage and it was the last thing the team needed.  It really doesn't matter if Sainz is an awful driver next year, as long as he doesn't smash it up.

In the final session, drivers started to make mistakes.  Hamilton and LeClerc both had wobbles that lost them a timed lap.  The track was getting quicker: Norris took pole, then Russell, then Sainz (Gasly splitting the Ferraris).  It was up to Russell who had been out last and he got it.  The top 10 was a jumble of teams.  Russell took advantage of how quick the Mercedes were, then Sainz, Gasly continuing Alpine's strong streak, LeClerc, Verstappen struggling with the Red Bull one place ahead of Norris, crucially for the championship, Tsunoda, Piastri, Hulkenberg and lastly, Hamilton.

The line up looked to make a great race.

Brazil GP Race Report

After a tumultuous Qualifying earlier in the day; Albon wasn't able to get his car fixed in time and would not be starting.  The other four Red Flag causers all did little enough damage to be grid-ready for the race.  Last time Albon couldn't start they gave him Sargeant's car, I suppose the Argentinian money must be talking and also the driver is significantly better than his predecessor.   Sainz was going to be starting from the pit lane.

As the drivers set off on the formation lap, Alonso deliberately held up the rear end of the field.  Following this his team mate, Stroll, spun, got back going, then spun again and got himself beached in the gravel.  The start was aborted; all the drivers should have stayed where they were however Norris set off.  Several drivers followed him but lots remained behind believing themselves to be in the right and then some of them decided that they would go after all.  Norris was investigated for some kind of infringement and all the drivers and their mechanics regrouped at the grid and got ready to try again after a few minutes.  The Brazilian GP event was going from absurdity to absurdity.

This time, Verstappen held up the field to disadvantage those at the front who would have to sit for longer, tyres getting colder.  As they drew up to the grid, the top dogs at the pit wall stuck their hands out from under their shelters to feel if it was raining, it was.

Russell made an excellent start and took Norris into the first corner.  They immediately put some clear air between themselves and Tsunoda.  Perez spun but managed to get going again in last place.  Verstappen made up 7 places on the first lap, including getting past Hamilton.  As the everyone was on Intermediate tyres, there wouldn't need to be a pit stop for a while.

By Lap 10, Verstappen was behind Piastri in 7th.  Having already given Norris a solitary point (and a Sprint win) this weekend, he could now give his team mate even more by holding the Red Bull up for as long as possible.  Unfortunately he wasn't able to.  The next driver he needed to get past was Lawson, who very compliantly moved over for his stablemate.

Meanwhile, Bearman was given a 10 second penalty for coming together with Colapinto, which we didn't see until the Stewards had completed their investigation and the TV directors decided it might be worth showing.  Colapinto lost no time over it through and was then battling Hamilton for 12th place.  Even though the Mercedes had just gone off the track and over the grid, it was a straight battle and the Argentinian made it stick and the crowd roared.

A few other drivers had been added to the list of those being investigated for getting it wrong at the start.  It was announced that it would be investigated after the race, confirming that the Stewards have a partiality for allowing themselves to decide the winner of a race after it has finished.

Eventually, Sainz started to make up some places but ran very wide when he tried to overtake Colapinto, nearly running into Hamilton.  The Mercedes driver was really struggling to keep his car on the track.

Halfway through the race, the rain started coming down much heavier and this was also in a pit window.  The order was changing up and down the field.  LeClerc was pitted and came out behind Hamilton and could not overtake him.  Norris was very close to overtaking Russell for the lead.  Suddenly, Hulkenberg got his Haas stuck on a bump and a Virtual Safety Car was called.  Norris had to slam on the brakes as Russell hit the speed limiter.  Lots of drivers pitted and Perez was the first driver to change to Wet tyres.  

Whilst this was happening, it was revealed that the Mercedes cars were being investigated for changing their tyre pressures on the grid.  As the VSC ended, Russell and Norris both pitted, too late.  They came out behind Gasly in 5th in torrential rain.  Russell struggled on his new tyres and Norris was able to overtake him.  Ocon led the race as the Safety Car was called to try and mitigate the rainy conditions.

Colapinto pitted and came out with new tyres.  He didn't cope well with them and had a big spin, which stopped the race with a Red Flag.  It was an awful weekend for the Williams team.

The body language of Norris and Russell as they walked down the pits (and the radio) was furious, as Verstappen and Ocon had been handed a free pit stop.

Bizarrely, I had noted that Hulkenberg pitted for new tyres, which I thought was odd as he was out of the race.  It turned out that 4 marshals pushed him back into the race, which isn't allowed, so he was served a Black Flag as he sat on a chair during the Red Flag period.

The race stoppage did allow us to catch up with everything that had happened.  Piastri had run into Lawson and been given a 10 second penalty.  He took the opportunity to go down to RB to apologise.  There had never been so much activity during a Red Flag before.

It was a rolling start to get the race going again; Ocon would be in charge.  Before he did though, Bearman and Zhou went off over the grass but got back on track straight away.  The drivers were struggling on an unknown track.. Norris went off and let Russell get back ahead of him, then LeClerc did it as well.

Again, Bearman spun off and kissed the tyre barrier with his nose intact.  Unlike his team mate he was able to get going again under his own steam.  A lap later he went off again.  Then Sainz spun and smashed his rear wing against the barrier and the Safety Car came out.

Ocon did restart the race well but Verstappen easily took him; so it was Alpine second and third.  A number of drivers were able to put in an overtake but Norris went off and ended up 7th behind his team mate.  Again, Hamilton went backwards.

The remaining laps were dry and, whilst drivers were still battling with each other, where relatively quiet.  Alonso was in a lot of pain at the end of the race, with the bumping caused by the poor track resurfacing.  Verstappen kept putting in Fastest Laps.

It was a shame that the RBs wound up 8th and 9th, whilst the Alpines got the podiums but you have to make the most of days like this.  It was telling on a day when Verstappen went from 17th to win, that his team mate didn't finish in the points.  Surely Perez cannot be kept on at Red Bull next year.

Alpine made a huge leap in the Constructors Championship and everyone must be thrilled with the result for them, even if you support one of the teams that they leapfrogged or think Ocon is a little bit creepy and weaselly.

Brazil GP Qualifying Report

Due to torrential rain and lightning storms at the circuit, the original time slot for Qualifying was a wash out.  It was delayed until early morning, 7.30am in local time.  It would be a very long day for the teams with the Race to follow at 3.30pm (adjusted to fit around the weather but giving the teams less time to set up).

When the first session started, the drivers were queued up as rain was predicted 15 minutes later.  It was tricky going from the off, with spray and Yellow Flags quickly out for Lawson.  The flags continued to flash green and yellow.  Stroll could not keep it on the track at all.  With 8 minutes to go, Colapinto crashed his Williams into the hoarding, ending covered in Rolex signage.  The session was stopped with a Red Flag.  If they didn't restart the session, his team mate, Albon, both Saubers and both Mercedes would be out.  The mechanics were very disappointed, particularly because they would only have a short time to reset before the race.  It restarted fairly quickly but the rain was falling harder.  Some drivers were improving but Russell was struggling to stay on track, going off and cutting back on in front of Albon.  As they were on wet tyres they were able to stay out and put in lap after lap.  Hulkenberg also went off and over the grass.  Then lap times started to be deleted.  This included Norris, who was caught amongst traffic whilst being in 17th place.  The last corner and straight was do or die; he pushed Hamilton out, just staying safe.  Vestappen was quickest followed by Albon and Russell.  It was lap by lap, minute by minute, to succeed on the track.  Hamilton was 16th, then Bearman, Colapinto, Hulkenberg (out-qualified by his rookie team mate who had never driven in the wet in an F1 car before) and lastly, Zhou.

In the second session, less to no rain was forecast.  The track got quicker and quicker and Intermediate tyres were put on.  It was being discussed how late drivers could come out to try and get the latest and fastest time.  However, with 6 minutes to go, Sainz took a slow spin off the track and his rear-end thudded into the wall.  It would be a bigger job for his mechanics than Colapinto.  The Red Flag came out and this session was stopped.  Every driver was lined up to leave the pit lane when the session restarted.  By this time there were two minutes left, Alonso was quickest.  The stewards let a number of drivers complete laps under double-waved Yellow Flags, as Stroll was stuck at a corner, having spun off.  Two drivers who did not get to finish a fast lap were Verstappen and Perez.  With less than a minute to go, the session would not be restarted.  Out went Bottas, Verstappen (who will also receive a five place grid penalty for an engine change), Perez, Sainz and Gasly.  It was felt that the Red Bulls went past the crash as it happened so must have known that they could not complete that lap as they should have dropped pace at the start of their final lap and would not have been able to go quicker than any previous times set.

Back in the pit lane, Sainz went around and apologised to everyone in the garage.  Stroll took a drink and went for a chat and smile with one of his engineers.

Even with a delayed time for the third session, drivers started queuing up very early.  This was because it was starting to rain.    After another few minutes, the session was Red Flagged for Alonso going nose-first into the wall.  It would be a busy and expensive afternoon for Aston Martin.  At that moment Norris, Albon and Piastri were the top three.  The worst smash then came for Albon, who was okay but the car was not going to be able to be fixed before the race.  This was the first off that caused the Medical Car to come out, so it was a much greater impact.  He had said he was okay on the radio but didn't look it when the medic got him out of the chassis.  There was a lot of debris to clear.

Norris was given a message that seemed very good advice; there was no need to go fast when not starting the race if your car couldn't be fixed in time was also a possibility.  After five Red Flags, this was pertinent.  Norris hammered home the point that he was the quickest driver out there by continuing to put in pole lap after pole lap.  Second was Russell, putting in one very quick lap.  Following him was Tsunoda, Ocon, Lawson, LeClerc, Albon, Piastri, Alonso and Stroll.  Despite both cars crashing, it was a good result for Aston Martin and Williams.  The RBs outshone their sister team, Red Bull.  Unfortunately, Tsunoda was being investigated by the stewards for not following the race director's instructions.  The commentators felt that was due to him not knowing where he should have been parking his car and were hoping he would be exonerated.

Brazil GP Sprint Qualifying

With only one practice session and a new track surface, there was quite a bit of jeopardy going into this first competitive outing of the event.  Bearman was back driving again, replacing Magnussen who was ill.

In the first Qualifying Session, the Haas continued to look good again, finishing in 7th and 8th.  The Williams' took 3rd and 9th too.  Out went Alonso, Ocon, Tsunoda, Stroll and Zhou.  It seems that Aston Martin are going backwards in their progress, they are urgently needing Newey's input.  Norris took 1st place comfortably.

In the second session, Red Bull messed things up for Perez by not sending him out soon enough to cross the line for a final hot lap, he qualified 13th.  Hamilton was also out in 11th.  Bearman beat his team mate, as Hulkenberg finished 12th whilst he went through.  Colapinto was 14th and Bottas 15th.  Norris again was fastest.

The final session brought a surprise though, with Piastri pulling a lap out to take pole.  Norris aborted his final lap and held 2nd place.  LeClerc also found something extra and got 3rd.  Verstappen, once again, ran out of steam and came in 4th, ahead of Sainz, Russell, Gasly, Lawson, Albon and Bearman (another good drive by the new super sub).  Piastri seemed to be contemplating a win but surely will need to give any points to Norris if he is in a position to do so.

The bumpy track made it hard for the drivers to see and Hamilton had found it painful.  It wasn't known how this would affect the drivers and their vehicles during a long race.  There was a lot of talk about possible wet weather and different tyre usage across the teams.

When the Sprint came, Alonso, Stroll and Zhou all started from the pit.  Piastri admitted going to the grid that he probably wouldn't be allowed to win.

It was touch and go off the start.  Norris made a great one but couldn't get past Piastri and Verstappen was nearly past LeClerc but he held him off.  By lap 7, Norris was on the radio wondering why Piastri hadn't let him past already.  Given that he had been complaining to the media about being asked about the Drivers' Championship; either he wants Piastri to help because it is important to him or he has given up and shouldn't be asking the team.

Nothing much happened for most of the race but with a couple of laps to go, Hulkenberg's engine blew and he pulled up at the side of the track.  McLaren's hand was forced and Piastri was told to switch places with Norris before any action was taken to bring out a Virtual Safety Car, Safety Car or Red Flag, which would mean they couldn't maximise Norris's points.  This proved wise as a Virtual Safety Car was called, which meant that the drivers had to hold position.  This ended with a couple of corners to go.  Piastri had allowed Verstappen to get too close during this and was nearly overtaken.  It was important that Norris gave his team mate DRS.

Lawson, the Williams and Hamilton were unluckily just outside the pits.  Before the race, everyone had said that Ferrari were streets ahead of Red Bull but this didn't prove to be the case in the Sprint, let's hope that they have more in the tank for the actual race.

As soon as the drivers were out of the car, a notice came from the Stewards that Verstappen was being investigated for a Virtual Safety Car Infringement.  He also carries a five place grid penalty for an engine change.  Perhaps the new engine is what helped him challenge Ferrari in the Sprint.  We would see in Qualifying and, more so, in the Race, if Red Bull just needed a little power boost.

Mexico GP Race Report

Again, this was a very quiet night between Qualifying and Race.  There were no grid penalties and no surprises.  The biggest news was that this would be Alonso's 400th race start, and he still has two seasons ahead of him (potentially).   I'm sure the celebrations would have been greater were it not for Perez and Mexico's complete admiration for him.  He had done very little to deserve this in Qualifying and his position was coming back into question since he had been awarded a new contract in May.

The tyres were a slight unknown with cooler temperatures on race day than the day before.  Ocon was starting in the pit lane but it was likely that that would make little difference to the race.

Verstappen made an excellent start and overtook Sainz for the lead.  With an incident further back, drivers were caught out as the RB of Tsunoda was spun up the pack, Sainz took a wide cut across the corner and had to give the place back.  Tsunoda also took Albon out, who is having a shocking time in the Americas.  The Safety Car came out to clear the cars and the debris.  Tsunoda should not have been pushing to be four across the track.

Perez made up five places off the start but only because he jumped it, starting way ahead of his grid place and was awarded a five second penalty.  The Red Bull stop watch would be roundly tested in this race.

Verstappen slowed the pack up to an almost standstill before restarting the race.  As soon as DRS was enabled though, Sainz was passed him.  At this point, Norris was also behind and Verstappen had a problem with his ERC and an empty battery.  During his overtake, Norris had to go off track again, as Verstappen forced him off the track.  Then they both went off track and LeClerc went through for second place and Hamilton was hanging about right on the back of this row.  Finally, Verstappen received a ten second penalty for this behaviour.  His engineer reported that there was "a lot of whinging" about his move.

Russell, without any upgrades having trashed them, was able to overtake his team mate, who had the upgrades, pretty easily.  Further up, the Ferrari team mates were starting to battle.

Alonso was retired from this special race.

As if listening to the voice of F1 fans across the globe, but not the Dutch, Verstappen was awarded a further ten second penalty for his altercations with Norris.  Behind him Perez and fellow Red Bull driver Lawson were battling for the final points position with both going off the track.  They, however, did not receive a penalty.

There was plenty of overtaking and interest during the race; later on the Mercedes started to spar for fourth place.  Kimi Antonelli watched on at Toto's side; I remember when Mick Schumacher used to stand by him.  An incident between Lawson and Colapinto, battle of the late-coming rookies, was investigated after the race.

With ten laps to go, LeClerc lost the grip in his rear tyres altogether and was nearly into the wall but managed to get back on track.  This gave Norris a pass through into second place.

Then, with one lap to go, Ferrari pitted LeClerc to try and get the Fastest Lap point from Lawson and then Red Bull pitted Perez for the same reason.  LeClerc won it and Perez finished last.

Everyone praised Sainz for his excellent race and time will tell whether Ferrari made the correct decision with their line-up for next year.  Carlos himself was allowed to speak in Spanish, which was unusual but he chose not to, having just been handed a Spanish flag by his brother.

Mexico GP Qualifying Report

There were some incidents during the Free Practice sessions: Russell, Albon and Bearman all got into trouble.  Most talk though was still on the Norris/Verstappen overtake controversy.

It was hot and steamy in Mexico and the track was improving with every lap of Pirelli rubber laid down and tyres coming into the sweet spot with the heat.  Zhou was out in last place, Ocon ahead of him and then there were a couple of surprises with Perez (the home track hero) not being able to go quick enough, then Piastri having lap times deleted.   Out in 16th was, more predictably, Colapinto.  Bottas was through to the second session, for a very rare outing there.

The second session was very pedestrian until Tsunoda crashed with less than two minutes to go and brought out a Red Flag.  This gave several drivers a buy through to the next session as fast laps were nullified.  Surprisingly this didn't lead to any big scalps.  Out went Tsunoda, Lawson, Alonso, Stroll and Bottas; team mates travelling two by two.  An Aston Martin occasionally makes it through to the final session but with two drivers for top teams already out, Albon, Gasly and both Haas were through.  What could they make of the opportunity?

The start of the final session was a little delayed to get the barrier fixed.  The drivers went out for their first flying lap, with Verstappen putting in a very quick lap.  The stewards then established that it was quick because he went outside of track limits so the time was deleted.  Many drivers were trying to get a slip stream from their team mates or other drivers.  Sainz had put in the fastest lap in the first tranche.  Hamilton was out of step putting the laps in.

With four and a half minutes to go, all the drivers apart from the Mercedes came out.  This was a risky strategy for them.  The battle seemed to be between the two Ferrari drivers.  Sainz took the pole from his team mate, Verstappen then split them.  Norris went fastest in the middle sector but the other two sections of the track weren't quite quick enough and he was third.  Poor LeClerc finished fourth.  The Mercedes of Russell and Hamilton were behind them, then Magnussen, Gasley, Albon and Hullkenberg.

It could be a tricky Mexican race with four drivers all in with a good chance of winning it and, everyone apart from Verstappen, probably willing to take a risk to get it.

US GP Race Report

After his big spin in Qualifying, Russell would start his Mercedes from the pit lane, changing all the parts overnight that he could.  Other than that there was no new news.

Norris made a great start but Verstappen came up the inside, taking a gap left open and they were both forced off the track.  Albon hit Ocon, who spun off and ran last.  LeClerc was able to come from 4th to lead with Verstappen behind him, in a dream start for the Ferrari hopeful.  Sainz was 3rd and then Norris and Piastri.  Hamilton and Lawson both made up 5 places.  This all seemed well but then Hamilton spun and beached his car in the gravel.  On only Lap 3 it was too early to take the cheap pit stop.  Lewis stood looking at his car.

Norris spent some time on the radio whilst the Safety Car came out and reported how Verstappen had pushed him off.  The tag between the back markers had already been dismissed as a racing incident.  

After LeClerc held his position after the restart. the stewards were busy investigating minor complaints and refusing to hand out any penalties, in what must be a drastic change of policy for them.  LeClerc pulled out a 5 second gap from Verstappen and teams began to discuss tyre strategy with their drivers.  Lawson had made significant progress through the pack and loitered outside the points.

But clearly they caught themselves as Russell was swiftly awarded a 5 second penalty to not really going anywhere near Bottas on an overtake.

By the halfway point, tyres were starting to wear beyond drivability but there was always the possibility of a Safety Car or trying to stay on the road to outstay your rivals.  Sainz went early as a guinea pig for his team mate and then Verstappen, the undercut worked and Sainz was ahead of him.  LeClerc was next in and came out ahead of his team mate, so it was a successful play by Ferrari however the McLarens were 1st and 2nd.

The stewards had now warmed up and seemed to be looking back through the race to find more drivers to penalise.  Gasly was the first.  Then Tsunoda.

We also had to see how the cars would react to the change of tyres.  Verstappen was hating his.  Tsunoda too, who had a big spin but managed to get going again.

For the final ten laps, Norris got close enough to Verstappen to be able to overtake him.  It took a few nail-biting laps before it happened and then there was confusion about whether Norris went off the track to take the position.  Or was he forced off?  McLaren told Norris he was ahead at the apex, which seemed to matter.  It was noted by the stewards.  Norris had asked his team to make this decision as they were able to review the footage, if only they had really done this rather than saying pleasant, rallying things to please their driver.

In front of them, LeClerc had held a 5 plus second gap to his team mate Sainz in second.  We didn't hear any team orders over the radio so it must have been a fair fight.

The note by the stewards moved to be under investigation and it seemed like a better move to give the place back.  Still McLaren didn't act.

Colapinto had held the Fastest Lap and he looked like he would get the point for it as he was in 10th position and thus in the points and eligible.  On the last lap, Ocon put on fresh soft tyres and took it off him.  I don't know who benefits from that, there is no team link.

With corners to go, the stewards did award a 5 second penalty to Norris, so the whole thing was pointless.  We only just saw the Ferraris cross the line victorious.  Piastri held 5th and Russell 6th, which was an excellent effort starting from the pit lane.  Perez was 7th, Hulkenberg 8th, Lawson 9th (again from the back of the grid) and Colapinto 10th for points for Williams.  Magnussen and Gasly seemed like they should have been awarded points too.

The talk following the race would all be of the dubious awarding of penalties by the stewards.  Also whether McLaren should have given the place back quicker.  One of the big tragedies was that we didn't really see anything of the Ferraris drive.  Sainz praised the progress made by the team, he must be looking at Williams and wondering what is ahead of him next year.  LeClerc also thanked the team copiously.

Whilst it's a step towards the Drivers Championship for Verstappen, the Constructors Championship stretches wider open.  The pace is picking up with two more races on consecutive weekends, with some Sprints coming up too.

US GP Qualifying Report

There was no news between the Sprint Qualifying, Sprint race and the Qualifying session itself.  Lawson had a sixty place grid drop to take, with copious changes to the car.  RB could make this gamble as losing Ricciardo's Drivers Championship points makes no difference anymore.

In the first session his team mate, Tsunoda, could not stay on the track and had his lap time deleted twice but was ultimately able to get through in 9th, with his kind-of rookie team mate in 3rd.  Out went Albon, Colapinto, Bottas, Hamilton and Zhou.  Williams did not seem able to get some pace back at this track and are travelling backwards down the championship.  Still at least they were ahead of the multiple world champion.

With Lawson pretty much out of the running, RB played the team game and had him tow Tsunoda twice; to no success they were both out in the second session, book-ending the five drivers out.  In between was Hulkenberg, Ocon and Stroll.

In the final session, track limits came into play again.  Perez struggled.  Gasly also pretty much ran into Verstappen in the pit lane for a particularly unsafe release.  With just over a minute to go most drivers were out for a final flying lap, Norris holding pole from the first attempts.  It was all in vain as Russell spun off the track and into the safety barrier, the impact triggered the release of the medical car.  The double waved Yellow Flags meant that no one could put in a quicker lap legally.  One Brit gifted another pole.

Verstappen's best lap was only good for 2nd, then Sainz and LeClerc, Piastri, Russell, Gasly, Alonso, Magnussen and Perez last with no time set.  Russell had his hand to his helmet, which he kept on, as he got swiftly into the car without waving to the crowd.  

Vestappen seemed very happy with his front row position, positively beaming.  Sainz also believed he would be in the fight for the win.  Smiliest of them all was Norris.

US GP Sprint Report

There were some new bits of tarmac to worry about on the Austin track and Red Bull had some bit of kit on their car that other teams were worried about, not the FIA though.  We were back after an unusual wee holiday mid-season.

Sprint Qualifying is always hyped up but not really worth the interest.  Obviously both Saubers were out at the bottom, then Albon, who did a magnificent 360 degree spin at the end of his hot lap, Ocon and Piastri, whose fastest lap time was deleted after running wide and exceeding track limits, were out in the first session.

The second Qualifying session saw little grumbles from cars and drivers, all starting to trip over each other.  Perez could only manage 11th, Alonso 12th, Lawson (replacing Ricciardo) 13th and then Gasly and Stroll.  Both Haas were straight through to the final session at their home track.  Alonso suffered with a lap time deletion and was dropped to 15th.

In the third session, the other Williams of Colapinto also spun.  It was uncertain who would take pole, any driver from at least four teams could have taken it.  In the end Verstappen took it on the last possible lap, ahead of Russell.  Behind them was LeClerc, Norris (who needs the Sprint points), Sainz, Hulkenberg, Hamilton (who won't be happy sandwiched between two Haas), Magnussen, Tsunoda and Colapinto.

The next day, for the Sprint itself, Albon started from the pits and the Qualifying order was somewhat jumbled from all the deleted times.

There were plenty of battles off the line; Norris quickly made it up to second, with LeClerc and Russell battling behind.  Verstappen held his lead.  Things were quiet for a couple of laps and then the two Ferraris started to battle, dangerously so.  Russell caught back up with Norris and started to demand his place back.

Halfway through teams were beginning to get concerned about tyre wear; the Mercedes seemed to suffer the most with Russell losing places to both Ferraris.  Piastri was awarded a 5 second penalty for forcing Gasly off the track, with such a short, well, Sprint, it seemed to take an enormous length of time for the stewards to make this decision.

It looked like the main interest in the last couple of laps would be whether the Ferrari or Mercedes team mates would take each other out.  However, as the last lap started, Norris locked up and Sainz got past.  As it was looking like he could take the place back, he slid off again.  LeClerc held a massive drift as Verstappen rounded the corner ahead of them to win.

The podium was completed by Sainz then Norris, who will be kicking himself.  Tyre wear could potentially be a massive factor, alongside track limits in the main race.  LeClerc was ahead of the two Mercedes, then the two Haas, who ran a quiet race.  The top ten was completed by Perez and Piastri.

To round off the event, it was left to Sting to present some funny, large metal cards.  The FIA really can't decide how to celebrate and reward these races that aren't races without it seeming like the anti-climax it is.

Singapore GP Race Report

There has been a Safety Car in every single race at this venue.  Would this be a rare race without one?  Could Norris hold his pole position off the start?

He did make a good start for once and kept Verstappen in second place.  It was particularly difficult to tell the Mercedes and the Aston Martin cars apart, fortunately no one really changed places so it didn't matter beyond the first couple of laps.  Something happened to Albon, who dropped four places off the start, not what he needed, caught out by his own rookie team mate.  Piastri seemed to be holding up a train very early, was this a team plan?  Part of Papaya Rules?

The race continued in a procession with Albon and Ricciardo rolling the dice and taking an early pit stop.  The Williams would then retire.

By half way through-ish, Norris was 24 seconds ahead of Verstappen in second.  There had been some overtakes, not sure who would win best overtake though.  Norris gave the wall a healthy whack a couple of times but survived.  Magnussen however, made the slightest touch with his Haas on the wall and had a puncture.

LeClerc chased Russell all the way home, for fourth place.  Ricciardo went in for soft tyres at the last minute and took the Fastest Lap.  It was disappointing that Colapinto finished just outside the points, but this race was long, hard and physically demanding without a Safety Car, virtual or otherwise.

The pit strategy worked well for Piastri, who finished 3rd.  Alonso managed 8th ahead of Hulkenberg and Perez.

Ricciardo has probably finished his F1 career but he only finished 6 places behind his team mate (with an extra pit stop).  Perez was 8 places behind his team mate, in the sister team.  Verstappen thanked Ricciardo over the radio for taking the bonus Fastest Lap point from Norris and McLaren.  He was also awarded Driver of the Day, with fans sending a clear message to Horner and Marko about who they want to see in the car for the rest of the season.

The drivers in the interviews immediately after the race looked like they might cry or faint.  The length of this post shows just how boring this race was, I'm sure it used to be exciting.  Has the talent of the field overcome the challenges of the track?  Do we miss Latifi and Sargeant?  Where was Stroll?  He can usually be counted on to cock up something.

In terms of the championship, there are still 3 sprint races to come as well as real races; so nothing can be banked yet.

Singapore GP Qualifying Result

There were remnants of the silly season kicking about before this race.  There were strong rumours that this would be Ricciardo's last ever F1 race and that this will be Bottas's last F1 season, as he will be replaced by a younger driver, perhaps the F2 current leader (managed by Alonso) or Colapinto.

Qualifying was McLarens to lose (excluding the Qually Lap King, LeClerc).  In the first session, a lot of drivers had slides, Sainz failing to go around some bollards after his and having to go and get his knuckles rapped after the event.  There were lots of shots of drivers kissing the concrete wall with their tyres.  Everyone had to put on fresh tyres and go out for a second run, which was unusual.  Russell made a panicky call to the pits about the tyres feeling completely different to Free Practice.  Ocon knocked Ricciardo out of Qualifying (7 places behind his team mate) and possibly out of F1.  Behind him Stroll, Gasly and both Saubers.  Norris was first ahead of Verstappen.

Again in the second session, the drivers were sliding about all over the place.  Out went both Williams, then Perez (back to being awful again after shining at the street track in Baku last week), Magnussen and Ocon (who had over-driven the car to be in the session in the first place).

Finally a Red Flag came in the third session, the first in a long long time.  Sainz spun his car and ended backwards in the barrier.  The drivers waited for a long time to come out after the track was reopened.  They had to move quickly get over the start line before the chequered flag flew.  It looked fast and furious.  LeClerc's lap time was deleted for going off track limits, so it didn't pay off for Ferrari.  Norris took pole position ahead of championship rival Verstappen, followed by Hamilton and Russell, Piastri, Hulkenberg (who set a quick lap before the Red Flag), Alonso, Tsunoda and then the Ferraris.

The drivers looked shattered when they got out of the cars and this was only Qualifying; the race would be a challenge, especially for Colapinto in his third F1 start.  With grid position being so important in Singapore, no one was changing any parts and suffering the penalty.  There would be no Latifi or Sargeant on the track, so the predictability of a Safety Car or Red Flag was lessened.

Azerbaijan GP Race Report

Post-qualifying, the stewards were busy.  McLaren wanted the procedures undertaken during the Qualifying sessions investigated after Norris saw a Yellow Flag and aborted his lap, rightly or not.  Gasly was disqualified despite Alpine showing that the flow of fuel at the speed it was gave him no benefit.  

Ocon, who had a technical problem during Qualifying, decided to start from the pit lane rather than last on the grid.  Joining him was Hamilton who changed some bits and pieces on the car and were basically planning a testing session.  There was a big shunt off the start in the Formula 2 race when someone stalled on the grid.  This was a reminder that there are many different ways to make up places on the grid.  Ocon, Hamilton and Norris would all be hoping for some of those.  With so few Red Flags and Safety Cars this season, would they be out in this race?

It wasn't a Piastri special start and LeClerc was able to get away cleanly.  The Red Bull launch is good and Perez overtook Sainz for third and Verstappen also made up a place.  Bearman fell back from his excellent Qualifying position and ended up behind the Williams.  Stroll picked up a puncture in a coming together with Tsunoda.

Norris was up to 11th by lap 3.  His team mate Piastri was close to taking the lead; over the following laps it looked like Piastri would get into LeClerc's DRS zone and push past but slowly the Ferrari built up a gap and held a one second then two second lead.

On Lap 20, after the pit stops, Piastri overtook LeClerc for the lead, with the Ferarri on newer but colder tyres.  Norris had really helped his team mate by holding Perez up to give him a clean pit stop.  There was a lot of battling up and down the pit lane.  Albon and Norris held out a very long time before pitting, waiting to see if the race would be paused any way at any point.  They held up long queues.  Albon pitted on Lap 32 and gave Norris some space to push before his stop.  He came out in 10th behind his team mate, Hulkenberg immediately overtook him.

There were two main battles going on: Piastri, LeClerc and Perez for the top three and then Sainz, Norris, Verstappen, Russell behind them.  Sainz was pretty much on his own, this not being his circuit by his own admission.  The similar make-up team-wise caused a lot of confusion; with all the graphics options available you'd have thought they would be able to let us know who we were watching.

When Norris did pit on Lap 38 of 51, it was a longer one as he overshot his marks and came out in 7th ahead of Alonso.

In the last few laps, LeClerc's newer tyres went off and he was under pressure from Perez and needed Sainz to help.  This didn't seem likely but then Sainz picked up the pace and was right behind the Red Bull, Perez went to make the move but LeClerc held him off and Sainz was able to slip through the hole left for third.  Off LeClerc went for a clear second position on the podium.  Something happened to Sainz's car and he snapped to the side, collecting Perez and sending them both into the wall.  Perez's body language was very upset inside the car.  A Yellow Flag was shown and Verstappen pitted, banking on a Safety Car pit stop, presumably so he could get the point for Fastest Lap.  Norris, who had started 15th, 8 places behind him and his main championship contender was now 3 places ahead of him.  Hands were raised in the Italian garage.  A Virtual Safety Car was called so Norris and Verstappen finished 4th and 5th.

Just before this Colapinto got past Hulkenberg for the final points position but no one showed or told us this.  I also don't know how Hamilton suddenly jumped the two Haas to get into the points.

In the end, Stroll retired himself, the Saubers finished last again and McLaren lead the Constructor's Championship.  There must be some former McLaren leadership who are slowly realising that it was them who had been holding the team back for so long.  Christian Horner said that Sainz "had got a nip up the inside", which made me think that Perez had touched Sainz but the Mexican was adamant that he should get a penalty.  The stewards looked at it and said that no driver had driven erratically (which I guess they will have seen on the data) and both drivers could have done more to avoid the collision.  No penalties were awarded.

Perez needed this strong race more than Red Bull needed the points that were eventually lost (well, nearly).  Alonso was strong but I don't think we saw his car at any point during the race.

What they will need to improve next season (and I don't know if this is due to a change in the time of year we are visiting) is the camera angles.  With the low sun, all the cars were shadowed and appeared black so it was very hard to keep abreast of what was happening.  It didn't help that Sky had dispatched their B Team to commentate.

Azerbaijan GP Qualifying Report

 The past fortnight had brought some big news to the paddock.  Firstly, that Adrian Newey has chosen Aston Martin and the Stroll dollars for his new home.  There were lots of reasons for this choice: the money, the location, the new factory, the two-time world champion...no mention of Lance Stroll though.  Secondly, McLaren decided to get some headlines for themselves as they finally made the choice to give Norris any and all the help they can to get Norris the drivers' championship ahead of Piastri.

Into Qualifying, LeClerc was the favourite to take pole  He had to have three shots at getting through in the first session with various problems.  Sainz was struggling and took the car off the track; not his favourite track.  Colapinto was flying in his Williams, having crashed in Free Practice.  Bearman, subbing for Magnussen in the Haas, also crashed in Free Practice.  Lots of drivers were pushing.  LeClerc was first at the end of the session, with the Williams in second and eighth.  There were lots of brief yellow flags as mistakes were made.  This caught Norris out.  Ocon was last, then both Saubers, Norris and Ricciardo (back to putting in a poor show again).  This was good news for Piastri and Stella as no difficult team orders decisions will need to be made during the race.

The second session was quieter.  Verstappen took the lead, which was needed, with LeClerc in second.  Bearman finished in 11th, 3 places ahead of his team mate Hulkenberg in 14th.  Also out were Tsunoda, Gasly and Stroll in 15th ( a mere 10 places behind his team mate).

In the final session, Verstappen slid the rear end of his car off the track on his first run, piling the pressure on himself for the end.  Williams left the airbox on the car as it went out; his crew pointed this out on the television monitors.  Albon managed to get it out himself and threw it away.  It was an unsafe release of the car and his tyres and time to the line was compromised.   He didn't make it in time and lost his last chance to set a time.  LeClerc predictably took pole, followed by Piastri and Sainz, Perez, Russell, Verstappen, Hamilton, Alonso, Colapinto and Albon.  It was still a worthy out-qualifying by the rookie at Williams.  

What Norris needs during the race is for as many drivers as possible to finish ahead and take points from Verstappen.  I think there are several contenders who not only want to do that but are in the position to do it.  It lines up to be a great race.  There has been a dearth of safety cars and red flags this season...will the Baku GP bring them?

Italy GP Race Report

There was no big news after Qualifying apart from Hamilton saying that he is really struggling with Qualifying this year and cannot put the lap together.

Zak Brown promised that there were no team orders for the drivers for the race.  It was hot and there were a lot of unknowns: how long the tyres would last, would everyone make it safely through the first chicane, would it rain?

It was a clean start and everyone made it around the chicane, however Russell locked up and hit the gravel coming out of it and had to go down the escape route.  It was neck and neck, Piastri took the lead from Norris, with both Ferraris having come through, LeClerc then took Norris as well in the melee.  Hamilton had overtaken his team mate and Verstappen had gotten up to 6th, claiming that Hamilton had pushed him off.  We suspect that the McLaren drivers were told to hold places in whichever positions they came out of the first corner, so Norris was not expecting Piastri to make a move?

Further back, Ricciardo had run into Hulkenberg, who had to go for a long pit stop but not before bumping into Tsunoda.  Ricciardo was given a 10 second penalty, which the team didn't carry out properly, so he got another penalty, with an instinctive touch to the car from a mechanic.

There were some early stops made, including a hasty and messy pit lane entry for Norris, coming out a lowly 9th from 3rd.  LeClerc and Hamilton came in on the next lap to respond.  Piastri was able to pit and come out in front of LeClerc and Norris.  Verstappen was late but was served an unusual extra long stop by Red Bull.

There was a lot of talk on McLaren radio about "Papaya Rules", which everyone was uncertain about.  It turned out that it meant they were allowed to race each other, fairly.  It was fairly argy-bargy up and down the order.  The Haas were all over the shop.  Russell had a run in with Perez.  Norris left the track as LeClerc chased him down and then made an early (and slow) pit stop.  Mercedes also gave Russell a slow stop; as Crofty said, "Sticky nuts here today."

With twelve laps to go, Norris had to overtake Verstappen for 4th and it made for good viewing.  The Ferraris were in the lead and possibly going for the one-stop.  Williams were in 10th and 12th, a good showing for the rookie.

With 8 laps to go Piastri took Sainz for second, as the Ferrari tyres started to wear out.  Then Norris overtook him.  The Tifosi roared LeClerc on, as Piastri couldn't decrease the gap.  How could they Ferrari it up?  He had been on radio and told the team to stay quiet in a Raikkoneneque message.

With a lap to go, Stroll pitted, he wouldn't get the point for the fastest lap from 19th and last.  Williams came home a respectable 10th and 13th.  Norris took fastest lap on the last lap for a bonus point.  Beyond the top 4 of the Ferraris and McLarens, Hamilton took 5th, Verstappen 6th, Russell 7th, Perez 8th, Magnussen 10th with a penalty to take and Albon scored a point too.  With Stroll 8 places behind Alonso, you must wonder how much longer this situation is tenable at Aston Martin.

LeClerc gushed in Italian over the radio.  The two races he would have most wanted to win this year, he has.  Good for him for choosing to answer some of the pre-podium interview in Italian, Roberg did a hasty translation.  It's a shame they were wearing a black and grey chequered suit for the home win.

McLaren are now only 8 points behind Red Bull in the Constructors Championship, and the gap between Norris and Verstappen has decreased.  McLaren have now said they will need to consider bringing in team orders to help Norris secure the Drivers Championship.  I think we have to look forward to Piastri being a very boring dominant champion - duller even than Vettel or Mansell.

Magnussen had a penalty and was then given some points on his licence, which means he will miss the next race.

Italy GP Qualifying Report

Another week, another driver announcement.  Eighteen year old Kimi Antonelli sat next to Toto to hear him sing his praises as he takes the Mercedes seat for 2025.  He looked like a tiny little boy.  The wee man drove the car during FP1 and gifted Wolff an expensive crash.  Also making his F1 debut in Free Practice was Franco Colapinto, who was replacing Sargeant (at last) in Williams.  Monza is a strong track for the team, so the pressure was immediately on.  Vowles said that there was nothing more Williams could do to help Sargeant with his driving career, so it will be interesting to see why they have gone for a rookie instead of Mick Schumacher,

In the first Qualifying session, there were a few offs, Sainz had a moment towards the start.  Colapinto had the second biggest run in with the gravel.  Magnussen however bought out the yellow flags with his, which was right at the end and damaged other people's laps too.  This may have been because his car had broken down.  Out went Tsunoda, Stroll, Colapinto (no surprise, Vowles only wants him ahead of the Saubers and Haas) and then both Saubers.

Alonso was happy with 11th in Q2, he was ahead of Ricciardo, Magnussen, Gasly and Ocon.

McLaren weren't sure how strong they would be at this track but Norris took pole, with Piastri behind him.  Russell put in a quick lap to take 3rd place, then both Ferraris at their home track (LeClerc ahead of Sainz), Hamilton, Verstappen, Perez and finally Albon in the Williams beat Hulkenberg in the Haas.

It looks like it could be a great race as Ferrari will turn up the wick, Mercedes have something to offer and Verstappen will push for a podium, if not a win.  (Perez will fall backwards).

Netherlands GP Race Report

There were slight changes to the grid since Qualifying, Albon's disqualification putting him last and next to his team mate, as his upgraded floor was too wide.  Hamilton lost three places from an already disappointing Qualifying position, having impeded Perez.  Magnussen started from the pit lane after changing his engine.  However, it was a dry if very windy start to the race, with the potential for it to catch some drivers out, the out lap would be a very important information-gathering exercise.

Verstappen made an excellent start and Norris didn't get a look in, with the Red Bull being over a second ahead by lap 3.  Piastri struggled off the line and lost a place to Russell.  The cars are very evenly matched at the top and there is no room for mistakes.  Norris did reel him in over the next 18 laps and was able to get past easily and cleanly.  

The pit stops were spread about, with some choosing to undercut or cover off competitors but there were no direct head-to-heads.  Norris was out ahead of Verstappen after the pit stops, luckily he had built up a 5 second plus gap which allowed for the McLaren mechanics to make a slight error in the stop.  During Gasly's stop, he clipped his mechanic's hand as he left the box, which the stewards investigated.  Surely it is up to the team whether they choose to sacrifice staff not the FIA?

Piastri fell away during the race and could not chase LeClerc in the inferior Ferrari for third position.  Russell, who had looked racy couldn't challenge Piastri though.  He was pitted for an extra stop and fresh tyres but came out behind Sainz and Perez, he may as well have stayed out to see what would have happened.  Albon had fought his way into the points but then kept losing places lap after lap.  

Norris took the win and was able to grab the point for Fastest Lap on his final time around the track.  Vestappen and LeClerc completed the podium, with the Ferrari driver bewildered how he got there.  It was then Piastri, Sainz, Perez (holding up quite well and needed), Russell, Hamilton, Gasly (a good result for Alpine) and Alonso.

Hulkenberg finished just outside the points, having made an usual early one stop.  He would be leaving the track but the Haas motor homes would be staying behind as the team haven't paid the Russians money owed.  Ricciardo finished 12th, 5 places ahead of his team mate, which is a result he needed.

Both Saubers finished last, it makes you wonder what Audi see in the team.  Have they discovered an oil reservoir under the factory?

Very unusually for Zandevoort, there were no Safety Cars, not even a Yellow Flag - we were all relying on Sargeant to spice things up a bit but, as always, he didn't deliver.

Netherlands GP Qualifying Report

Logan Sargeant had Latified up FP3 with a huge smash and a resulting fire.  You could see a mechanic say "Fuck's sake" in the Williams garage.  He wouldn't be participating in Qualifying and it reduced other drivers' track time.  The team will be very glad when Sainz steps into the seat next season.

This big summer break announcement has been overshadowed by Jonathan Wheatley's resignation from Red Bull and new position at Audi, which in turn has been overshadowed by an interview given by Toto Wolff to a Dutch newspaper hinting that George and Kimi Antonelli will be the Mercedes drivers for 2026 if not 2025.

Finally, after 25 days off, we went racing, at least to score the best place possible on the grid.  In the first session, there was a bit of argy-bargy between Perez and Hamilton.  Sargeant didn't make it out, with both Saubers, Ocon and Ricciardo.  The questioning will continue about his position at RB now.  The Ferraris put in quick laps as the circuit got faster, being pipped by Russell, who was complaining about lack of grip and, finally, Perez, who had to use a new set of tyres.

The second session saw a lot of the top drivers driving furiously to get through to the final session.  Sainz and Hamilton were both knocked out, along with Tsunoda and both Haas.  Albon was 7th in his Williams, Sainz's team next year.

Again, there was no drama in the third session and the quick laps were all put in over the last couple of minutes.  Verstappen held provisional pole but it was taken by Norris.  Piastri and Russell line up behind them followed by Perez, LeClerc, Alonso, Albon (before he was disqualified), Stroll and Gasly (vastly out-qualifying his team mate).  Both Williams will start from the back of the grid; the car was heavily updated and the floor did not comply with regulations.  Hamilton was given a three place penalty for the incident with Perez.

I think the drivers at the front will fight hard and, if there's rain and wind, it could be anybody's race.

Belgium GP Race Report

The beady eye of Ted Kravitz spotted that there was fluid leaking from Hamilton's Mercedes as it left the pit lane.  The team were confident that it would have no ill effect.

Tsunoda and Verstappen had taken their grid penalties and were starting further back.  It might have been interesting to see them move through the pack.

All cars started with medium tyres apart from Sainz playing the long, hard game and Ricciardo going for a punchy, soft start (it didn't work out well for him).  Hamilton got a great start and Perez went aggressive to block him off, losing the place.  Norris made an awful start and lost two places.  With DRS enabled, Hamilton was close to the leader and past LeClerc on lap 3.

As always, when Hamilton is in the lead, the worries started to come.  This time he was feeling something moving down by his legs.  As always, it came to nothing.

Most drivers took a pit stop within fairly quick succession of each other; apart from Sainz who kept going on his hard tyres, Norris also stayed out as long as possible.  There were no big winners or losers and everyone pretty much held position.

The pack stayed close together.  Piastri put in the quickest times and was able to overtake LeClerc for a place on the podium with ten laps to go.  Determined to make the tyres last a very long time, Russell held on to first place.  No one was sure how he had got there, other than one-stopping.  His team mate was close behind him and they were allowed to race.

Unusually for Spa, there were no Safety Cars.  There was a delight in witnessing a race where you could see all three cars together on the home straight and it was an olden days classic in that we weren't watching Verstappen ten plus seconds out ahead.  The lack of a safety car was to be Russell's undoing as he was later disqualified for not having sufficient fuel on board for testing at the end of the race.  This was due to using up more fuel than usual, not having any slow laps behind Burt.  Russell really celebrated the victory and Spa is one that you would want to win and it was due to his call to change to a one-stop strategy.  He danced up to embrace his engineers.

We head into the summer break, Verstappen moved up to fifth from eleventh and Perez went backwards from second to eighth.  Will we expect an announcement from Red Bull?

Belgium GP Qualifying Report

It had been a rainy weekend so far and the Qualifying sessions were too.

There was a queue of cars to leave the pits with two thirds of the cars getting out quickly.  Different teams had different forecasts though and McLaren thought the rain was coming soonest.  This meant that the cars out first were clearing away the rainwater for others.  The track started to dry off.  Piastri took the fastest lap.  Zhou went out last with his team mate commendably finishing 12th.  Predictably Sargeant was 19th, then Tsunoda, who would be starting at the back of the grid anyway.  The two Haas, both drivers now confirmed as departing the team at the end of the season, were 16th and 17th.

The second session was drier but with conditions changing ever so slightly to mix up the order.  Out went Albon, Gasly, Ricciardo, Bottas and Strolll (who had to have his car rebuilt after a big off in practice).

The drivers went into the third session also unsure what the weather would throw at them.  Slowly, everyone made their best laps and then again.  Verstappen took, what feels like, a comeback pole; although he will be starting 10 places back after taking new parts for his car.  LeClerc pulled out an excellent lap to come in second and Perez finally showed a bit of pace and was third.  Behind them was Hamilton, Norris, Piastri, Russell, Sainz, Alonso and Ocon.

Despite starting second, Perez still could tell his interviewer that he could win the race from that position.  Has he lost all confidence?

Hungary GP Race Report

Going to the grid, Norris, the pole sitter, had a gremlin with his throttle.  It was a mechanical problem and tricky to fix on the grid.  Luckily, it was fixed and he headed into the race on an equal footing to the others.

Everyone got off the starting grid well.  McLaren will need to question their strategy, allowing their drivers to race from the start allowed Verstappen to draw alongside them and they went into the corner three abreast.  Verstappen was run off the track and pushed back in front of Norris.  Norris had lost his first place to Piastri, Verstappen and Hamilton.  He was quickly back past the Mercedes and on the radio to complain about the Red Bull.  The McLarens battling each other had allowed Verstappen to get a slip stream from them.  He was persuaded finally to give the place back.

There were some pit stops.  There was talk of undercuts and overcuts.  Verstappen moaned about his car, which is what he does when he is not in a clear and confident lead.

By the half point, Ricciardo had stopped twice and was running at the back, Albon was complaining as Williams flip-flopped between strategies, Russel had got to seventh and Piastri was holding the lead.

Hamilton had a good battle with his old nemesis Verstappen, with Hamilton holding third place.

McLaren were struggling to persuade Norris to give first place back to Piastri; he replied to his engineer that they should have pitted Piastri before him.  It seemed that they had agreed a team situation based on whoever entered the first corner first, which seems silly and liked they didn't learn anything from the bad old Red Bull days of Vettel and Webber.

It was all kicking off in the last ten laps.  Norris continued his battle with the team; making some very harsh comments.  Behind them Verstappen was trying to battle forwards and took a big risk going down the inside of Hamilton and up and over his car and off.  Verstappen had also been complaining bitterly about every choice his team had made.  JB, his engineer, told him that he wouldn't discuss it over the radio as it was "childish".  The stewards decided it was a racing incident.

The McLaren team radio got incredibly cringe-worthy and with two laps to go, he slowed down dramatically and let Piastri through to first place.  The team also needs to learn from how Red Bull handled things over the radio.

The audience was voted Piastri as Driver of the Day; there is clearly a lot of world wide support for team orders.  He didn't sound very emotional over the radio; pre-arranged race wins aren't the most satisfying.

Hamilton took third, ahead of the Ferraris of LeClerc behind him and Sainz in sixth; how will he reflect on his 2025 team switch over the summer break.  Verstappen held fifth.  Perez made it up to seventh and Russell up to eighth.  Tsunoda and Stroll completed the top ten, just ahead of the their team mates.

The most enjoyable thing about this race was the team radio.  Verstappen continues to blame his team when they cannot deliver the perfect car from him.  He does this much more than anyone else ever did.  Hamilton could throw his toys out of the pram and LeClerc will tell Ferrari when they have let him down and usually they have.

Rosberg was probably the best person to host the post-race interview, as he is relentlessly upbeat and more focused on his performance and appearance than what the drivers are saying.  Hamilton did most of the talking in the cool down room.

Hungary GP Qualifying Report

With one week to go until the Summer break, the silly season was in full force.  It didn't feel like there was much more to say after Sir Lewis announced his departure from Mercedes to Ferrari.  However, Perez' Red Bull seat was being intensely discussed.  Bearman and Ocon look likely to be the next Haas line-up, with Magnussen having to look at Sargeant's Williams' seat.  Hulkenberg is off to Sauber/Audi (Saudi??) but his team mate is not yet confirmed.  

To more immediate problems, the weather was throwing itself about.  The pit lane was flooded earlier in the week, followed by 35 degree, or higher, heat for the Free Practice sessions.  As Qualifying began it started to rain again though and set-up for these conditions had not been explored.

Having put in a good first lap, better than Verstappen, Sargeant ran off the track, rattled along and went into the wall.  Just as Verstappen was complaining about tyre temperatures and being told by the team to stop talking over the radio about it, the rain started coming down again and caught his team mate out.  It was a biggish hit into the wall and Perez had to go to the medical centre.  Despite renewing his contract, this did nothing to stop the questions about his future.  As the session had been stopped and the track was no longer dry, once restarted the drivers were unlikely to find a quicker time and the bottom five drivers would probably be out.  Ricciardo had been having trouble with his brakes and was in danger.  

Despite doom predicted for those at the bottom, those drivers came out and the track was drier, hotter and quicker.  Ricciardo went fastest.  Out went Perez (predictably), then Russell (big scalp, hero to zero etc.), Zhou, Ocon and Gasly (a major mistake not sending either driver out by Alpine).  You have to be in it to win it.  I don't know why Russell both apologised and then discussed why the team didn't fuel the car for the whole session.

Most of the second session was fairly boring then all the bottom teams came out for a second push.  Hamilton was lucky not to be out but scraped through in tenth.  The Williams cars were too soon out and got pushed down into 13th and 14th as the track got quicker.  Hulkenberg was 11th, then Bottas, with Magnussen in 15th.  Sargeant blamed the traffic.

Once again, rain fell in the final session.  Teams had put in a quick lap already and Norris was sat in pole position.   Cars came out early for their final attempt.  Drivers were putting in quick laps in an effort to beat the clouds but then a yellow flag and then the session was stopped as Tsunoda had a big off, scooping through bollards, into the wall and over the grass.  Again, it was large enough that the medical car came out.

There was 2 minutes and 13 seconds to put in a suit for pole and 7 cars took the opportunity.  Piastri had been instructed not to go too slowly away from his position in the front of the queue; as the McLarens were then 1st and 2nd, they wanted to hold everyone up but without incurring any penalties.  Tsunoda wasn't able to go out again and Verstappen and Alonso chose not to, perhaps because they only had old tyres left.  Sainz did not get round to the start line in time and went into the pits.  Norris and several others aborted their laps. Ricciardo was the only person to better their time and took 9th.  Ahead of him was Stroll, Alonso, LeClerc, Hamilton, Sainz, Verstappen, with the McLarens taking the front row.  Norris was happy with his pole position.

If the weather is like this tomorrow, it will be a great race.  If teams mess up their strategies like today, it will be a great race.  If the McLarens are allowed to battle each other, it will be a great race.

GB GP Race Report

There was great enthusiasm for the three Brits in the top three grid places and also for the changeable weather before the race.  Russell came out with platitudes such as: "Teamwork makes the dream work."  And Hamilton spoke about the energy from the crowd.  He brought up England's win at the Euros and he should know how to use the crowd with eight British Grand Prix victories.

Perez decided to start from the pit lane and it appeared that Gasly would too but retired on the first lap.

It was a clean getaway from the grid but Verstappen fought Norris hard to take third place.  Hulkenberg fell back in his Haas; the driver had caused a collision by re-entering the track into Alonso, who moved over and into Albon.  Albon came off the worst, although he would eventually get two points for Williams.

It took sixteen laps but Norris got back past Verstappen, just as the crowd started putting on their rain coats.  Piastri followed suit on the next lap.  There were huge cheers on the next lap, when Hamilton got past Russell for the lead.  The McLarens seemed to be coping with the drizzle better than the Mercedes, as the two leaders followed each other off the track.  Norris was able to overtake Russell from this.  It was an outright overtake with pace from Norris to take the lead from Hamilton; Piastri was able to go round the outside of Russell and Hamilton on the same lap.  DRS had been switched off because of the slipperiness on the straights, so the passes were outright.

LeClerc, Perez, Ocon and Zhou went early for Intermediate tyres.  In a few laps, LeClerc was lapped and then went off.

Halfway through the race when the rain came down heavily enough the drivers for both Mercedes and McLaren were too close to double stack.  Mercedes went for it but Norris came in and Piastri stayed out.  Verstappen also pitted and came out in between the Mercedes.  When Piastri did stop, he came out in sixth behind Sainz.

Before the rain cleared up, Russell had to retire with a water pressure issue.  He would be disappointed there wasn't enough water about on this of all days.

When it did clear up, most drivers came in quickly whilst McLaren and Norris were busy debating which sort of slick would be best and the team then served him a long stop.  He came out behind Hamilton.

With only three laps to go, Verstappen took second place from Norris and flew off to see if he could overtake Hamilton for the win.  It was the wrong tyre for McLaren to use, which was born out by Piastri's better use of the opposite choice, nearly taking the point for Fastest Lap until Sainz stole it at the very end.

With such a long wait since his last win, Hamilton was in tears in his helmet on the cool down lap.  Russell was right there in Parc Ferme, to be the first to stick his hand into the cockpit to congratulate his team mate.

The crowd seemed to enjoy the race and Silverstone brought what it usually brings, changeable conditions and the drivers that can make good decisions in a timely fashion benefited from that.  Let's hope Hungary does the same.

GB GP Qualifying Report

Sky TV's coverage opened with George Russell relaying how he has memorised the Silverstone circuit.  I'm not sure if this is supposed to be impressive but I can do the same for my trip to work.

The first Qualifying session started on Intermediate tyres as it had been raining however, because that would be too interesting for F1 (F2 had a wet race), it dried up and people put on the Slick tyres.  Perez was caught out and beached his Red Bull in the gravel, which brought out a Red Flag.

When the drivers were allowed back out on the circuit, it started to rain, which was unexpected.  Verstappen and Magnussen were caught out and went over the gravel but managed to keep going.  Drivers put in lap after lap.  Then it started to dry up again.  I don't know what Incy Wincy Spider would have made of the situation.  Piastri had held the fastest lap but as the seconds ticked by, each car that crossed the line was quicker than the last.  Those who had chosen to stay in the pits, like Norris, could have been in danger.  Gasly was last but was going to be starting from the pits anyway.  Ahead of him was Perez, Ocon, Magnussen and Bottas.

It was a more straight forward second session, the excitement coming from Verstappen waiting until the very end before putting in a time that got him through to the final session. LeClerc pitted too soon, with other drivers still putting in quick laps.  Through went the Aston Martins, Albon and Hulkenberg.  Out went the Ferrari with Sargeant, Tsunoda, Zhou and Ricciardo.

Verstappen was carrying some damage from his off early in Qualifying.  With a minute to go, all ten drivers went out to put in their final push lap for pole.  Albon crossed the line first.  As the Mercedes went first with Russell and second with Hamilton, Norris went into the pits.  Several drivers couldn't find any more time.  Norris was third to make it a British top three at their home track.  Behind them was Verstappen, Piastri, Hulkenberg, Sainz (a poor showing all round for Ferrari), Stroll, Albon and Alonso.

Austria GP Race Report

Austria is traditionally a good race set at a boring race.  There were no celebrities on the grid and nothing had happened since the last two days of full reporting to be discussed.

So on to the race, Verstappen got away well.  The Mercedes hustled behind him, Russell trying to overtake Norris with Hamilton and Sainz jostling behind.  Le Clerc lost some of his front wing, coming together with Piastri (he later blamed Perez for the first corner incident), and had to go to the pits for a new one.  He would have come out last were it not for Sargeant also pitting, we didn't find out why.

By Lap 3, Hamilton overtook Russell for third place, although with DRS, Russell took it straight back.  This was a defining feature of the weekend and they need to reconsider where the zones are for the next season.  Hamilton subsequently lost a place to Sainz.

LeClerc trundled around at the back of the pack, with even a Williams overtaking him.  It became clear that the Medium tyres did not last well.

There were all sorts of things happening up and down the pack.  Alonso shunted into the back of Zhou, unaccountably.  Norris was stuck in launch mode and had to try and reboot his car.  Hamilton was given a five second penalty for crossing the white pit line and was given a pep talk by Wolff.

The stewards were busy handing our penalties left, right and centre.

Verstappen was treated to an extraordinarily slow pit stop of six and a half seconds.  He was still out ahead of Norris, who pitted at the same time but the battle was closer.

Then, with less than ten laps to go, it all went wrong between the best buddies.  There was contact between Verstappen and Norris, having had a few battles around the previous corners.  They were busy on the radio arguing, for the stewards' benefit about who had pushed who off the track.  Norris was pushing it for getting a penalty for exceeding track limits.  Both cars ended with shredded rear tyres, going off the track.  Norris boxed and told the team to retire the car as he also received a penalty for going off the track too much.

Russell was now in the lead of the race.  Piastri went around Sainz for second place.  Verstappen was able to pit and come out in fifth but received a ten second penalty for causing the collision.

A Virtual Safety Car was called to clear the track but no one benefited from it.

The top three held their positions to the end.  It was initially frosty in the green room, as Sainz and Piastri discussed the damage the McLaren sustained.  Russell broke the ice and there was some banter and sympathy when they saw Lando's episode.

It was only Russell's second win in F1.  Norris claimed that he had led a blame-free race which wasn't true when you look at track limits.  I wonder if the pair will recover their friendship by next weekend?  For Norris it was a question of fairness and owning up to it.  Verstappen took the pressure from the British press on the chin but placed the blame fairly at Lando's door, partly also blaming the shape of the curb.

Gasly finished in tenth and was able to beat his team mate, who finished in twelfth.  Ricciardo finished in ninth and also trumped his team mate, Tsunoda was 14th and this is a small victory he needs. Magnussen was the lowest finishing Haas in eighth; Hulkenberg in sixth made a great points haul for the team.  Perez was seventh and should have been nearer the top to take the victory for Red Bull when Verstappen couldn't.  The wisdom of resigning him seems dubious.  Hamilton was fourth and will probably be ruing the lost opportunity.  LeClerc had been promised a points finish by the team but came home in eleventh.