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.