Drive to Survive - Season 6

Season 6 opened with Norris driving through the Monegasque countryside and then the drivers airily discussing their privileged lifestyles.  Verstappen demonstrated that he wears Red Bull team attire off-season too.  Because four drivers playing paddle in Monte Carlo hadn't been  set up at all.  The gear was moved up and we zoomed in on a fancy-schmancy Aston Martin event, painting Stroll (senior) as a villain, in opposition to the people's hero Steiner.  

Forward to Bahrain testing and Vestappen comments they will see the drivers a lot on track, more than over the holiday.  Not how it would end up, Max.  Stroll comes back from breaking his wrists and talks about how painful it is.  Then, boom, Claire Williams!

Despite being presented at the time with a miraculous recovery from his biking injuries, it is revealed that Stroll was in a lot of pain and taking a lot of pain medication upon his return to F1 in Bahrain.  Even his colleagues are commenting that the shouldn't be there.  He moved around the paddock looking stoned and demonstrating a somewhat unusual relationship with his father.

Episode 2 started with Father Christmas (not Santa in Ginger's Posh house) asking Christian Horner if he'd been a good boy this year.  We know now that, no, he was not.  The focus of the ep. was De Vries and Ricciardo.  Luckily Geri, was on hand to talk it through.

Everyone emphasised that Ricciardo was specifically there to do marketing duties, not sim work as outlined at the time.  I suppose this makes the return to racing later much dramatic: from boy holding golf sale sign to F1 hero.

Episode 3 was Piasti's (and McLaren's), once again Norris was portrayed as dismayed until a little victory, or second place.  They didn't do much with this well-told story.  

Circling the bottom, was Episode 4, focusing on Haas and Williams.  Claire Williams star turn had come.  It was the story of old-sweary war horse Guenter Steiner and James Vowles, the new Team Principal in town, who couldn't get his introduction right.  I'd forgotten how good the start of the 2023 season was for Haas and how poor for Williams but then the order switched on race 3 at Melbourne and the writing was on the wall.  For his Netflix career, Steiner came out with: "There's nothing left in the lemon, all the juice has been squeezed."  It will be on a T-shirt already.  The slant of the end was building up to Steiner leaving F1, which wasn't on the cards at the time.  Did the editors have to rehash the storyline?

Then we moved onto the French affair of Episode 5.  I have no recollection of Alpine getting a podium with Ocon  at Monaco.  Gasly, who seems to be popular in the paddock (unlike Ocon), was portrayed as the villain of the piece.  In the end, they showed a bit of the spat but overall it was uneventful.  Netflix must have been contractually obliged to include the team.

Episode 6 was Mercedes and opened with Hamilton mentioning his contract was up for renewal this year.  Ears perked up; would this have had a late edit to include his 2025 news about Ferrari?  After some petulance from Hamilton, we switched to the team boss.  In some sort of Horner-Halliwell vs. Wolff-Stoddart one-up-manship, we saw the Wolves take their son karting.  They dwelled on the doom and gloom at the start of the season, then moved to over-taking Aston Martin in the championship at Barcelona.

There was no last minute edit and the sun shone on the silver arrows as Hamilton said, "There's never going to be a time when I'm not a Mercedes driver."  It hasn't aged well.

And back to Alpine...are they paying Netflix for air time?  We saw the firing of Otmar and it was portrayed quite sensitively, with snide comments shown behind the scenes from other F1 personnel but lots of lovely conversations to his face.  Bruno, the new TP (new phrase for 2024), is shown in the slightly embarrassing position of speaking excellent French but not English like the majority of staff he is now hoping to improve the morale of.

From a flailing TP in Episode 7, we moved on to Red Fred in Episode 8.  We were building up to Sainz's great triumph in Singapore (I'd completely forgotten that Russell crashed on the last lap, losing any chance of the victory) after not winning Monza.  Winning Monza is the number 1 item on the Ferrari Team Principal Job Description.

The next episode focused on box office gold Ricciardo, they went from back in the seat to breaking his hand.  The film crew got a lovely trip to Milton Keynes to meet Liam Lawson.  He couldn't have come across as any greener with Danica Patrick commenting, "He's probably shitting himself."  To make matters worse, we saw all the other drivers bullying him outside the press conference.  He then qualified in his first race ahead of all the other Red Bull drivers and finished in the points.  And after all that, when Danny is given the seat over him, he expresses just how upsetting it is.  I suppose this is the reason behind Drive to Survive's great success.

The grand finale was Vegas baby.  The drivers looked aghast at the showmanship they were being asked to perform.  It felt like Netflix would want to make the Las Vegas race look glossy and all-American top fun but perhaps they were happy to show some of the elements that made it less popular with the teams and drivers.  Ferrari closed up on Mercedes.  We moved on to the last race at Abu Dhabi and the picture widened to include the rivalry between McLaren and Aston Martin.  Creepy Uncle Fernando reared his head.  As Russell had "the drive of his life", LeClerc was left frustrated that Ferrari couldn't even hang on to second place in the constructors championship.

And so it was.  They threw in a card to inform the fewer that Steiner's contract was not renewed but nothing about Hamilton's move to Ferrari; they have that in the bag for next season.

Overall, the episodes were fairly predictable.  The weathered F1 fan who is familiar with the Netflix production, could write the show, as Albon did mid-season.  With Verstappen's domination they were obliged to focus on the race to be best of the rest.  Let's hope 2024 provides them with more interesting fodder.

Abu Dhabi GP Race Report

At last, the final race of the season.  Several drivers had complained they had reached this point tired and sick.

Everyone lined up cleanly.  LeClerc made a good start, with Verstappen going aggressive to stay ahead, cutting him off.  The McLarens made it up to 3rd and 4th.    LeClerc battled to get past and Verstappen moved his Red Bull decisively, cutting him off and after two laps, he was more than a second ahead.  Tsunoda held his 6th place and Sainz was up to 13th from 17th.  Albon fell to 18th, Perez also lost out.

On lap 5, Norris made the crucial pass on his team mate; firmly cementing his 2023 reputation as someone who cannot put a qualifying lap together but knows how to race.  On Lap 11, Russell got past Piastri to finally get back to his starting position of 4th.  The Australian was immediately under pressure from Tsuonda, as Perez got past Gasly.

The first round of pit stops came early, led by Piastri.  Russell got past Norris in these as McLaren had a problem.  Hamilton and Gasly had a racing incident, with the Mercedes coming off worse.

The hard tyres worked really well initially, with the rest of the field all having pitted a few laps later.  Verstappen came out of it a couple of seconds ahead of LeClerc and Russell charged through the pack.  Both Williams were running last.  Gasly was fuming that they played the undercut so his team mate Ocon over took him.  The headline of this phase was Tsunoda leading the race for several laps.

When the second round of pit stops started, with Ocon returning to the garage to get him wheel tightened,  Norris got a clean stop.  Russell's undercut didn't work, with LeClerc coming out ahead of him.

The drivers continued to battle.  Perez and Norris came together, with Norris being crashed into and forced off the track.  Perez was given a 5 second penalty.  Hamilton, then Gasly, were both investigated for pit stop infringements, which turned out to be because the pit crew didn't have their helmet visors down.  LeClerc schemed to back Russell into Perez if they needed to swap the order for the Constructors Championship position.  In the end, he didn't need any help and got past Russell easily as the Mercedes driver was a little sleepy at the end of the long season.

A lot was decided behind race winner Verstappen, who doughnutted to finish: Mercedes beat Ferrari to 2nd place in the championship, Williams secured 7th, Alonso fourth ahead of LeClerc and Norris, Gasly outscored Ocon, Tsunoda outscored Ricciardo but by only by 11 points in 6 races.  LeClerc finishing 5th really doesn't reflect his season of pole to possible podiums/possible crashes.  Of the bottom four teams, Albon was the highest scoring driver, 26 points ahead of his team mate.  Sargeant did beat someone in the championship, the forgotten De Vries.

Verstappen showed himself to be a man of the people by warmly and lengthily embracing his sweaty mechanics.  Tsunoda got Driver of the Day, which was heartwarming.

And the season closes.  97 days until the next one.  I'll be back with a Drive to Survive review, although I think it will underwhelmingly focus on De Vries being dropped and the questions over Perez' position.  Enjoy the rest and pray Newey has forgotten anything he has ever learnt about how to design a car.

Abu Dhabi GP Qualifying Report

It was a long time before anyone came out to start the final Qualifying event of the season.  It was Perez out first, who trailed a number of others.  It became apparent that track limits would be an issue for some drivers, with lap times being deleted, notably Sargeant who didn't set a time on the complete track at all.  Having had some wobbles over the weekend, Red Bull were proved to be sandbagging in Q1 as Verstappen and Perez were first and second.  The Ferraris had looked very strong but Sainz was out in 16th (having had two big shunts over the last 8 days), blaming traffic, in front of Magnussen, Bottas, Zhou and Sargeant.

Again, in Q2, Verstappen was through in first.  There were more shocks lower down though, with Hamilton out in 11th, then Ocon, Stroll, Albon and Ricciardo.  Tsunoda, Alonso, Gasly and Russell were through, so teams were divided between Q1 and Q2.  It was a shame for Williams as they were showing strong in practice.

In the final Qualifying session, the only team looking to compete with the Red Bulls was McLaren.  This was Norris's final chance of the year to pip his pal to pole.  With a huge slide, he lost out in the final sector and not only didn't take pole but lost the front row to his team mate.  In the dying seconds, LeClerc took second, with Perez unable to get close to his team mate and coming in 5th, then 6th as Russell jumped him before having his time deleted and finished 9th.  Verstappen held pole followed by LeClerc, Piastri, Russell, Norris, Tsunoda, Alonso, Hulkenberg, Perez and Gasly.  Over team radio we found out that Red Bull supremo Helmut Marko had bet against Team Principal, Christian Horner that Verstappen wouldn't make the front row - what confidence!

In the press pen, LeClerc was determined to get second in the Constructors Championship.  His opposition, Hamilton, was done with the season and clearly wanted to get away on holiday.  Norris continues to be frustrated that he makes these mistakes and "ruins" his chances.  He thought he had the pace for pole.

The glitz and glamour of Vegas continued as the race arrived.  The gloriously-named Bruce Buffer introduced the drivers on to the parade and when the cars had finally reached the grid, it was so packed no one could move.

Interviewed on the grid, Albon said that the race would be: "all about the graining."  If you can manage the tyres you will have a good race and if you can't you will go backwards.  As was proven later.

Alonso made a prediction about the race too: "You will enjoy it."  He certainly won't have enjoyed the start.  Or the middle or end probably.

It was the biggest of disappointments at the start with Verstappen immediately overtaking LeClerc for the lead.  The track was especially slippery.  Sargeant lost a place to Magnussen off the start but the Williams had great pace on the straight and he was able to retake the place.  There was some debris on the track from something, possibly a spin by Sainz and a Virtual Safety Car was called for.  Alonso, Perez and Bottas pitted.  The cause of the incident was Alonso spinning in the middle of the pack, bouncing off Bottas like bumper cars.

Then, 3 laps in, in a blink of an eye, we saw Norris disappear off the track.  It took him a while to get out of the car but he did radio in that he was okay.  He didn't look okay when he did get out of the car (unaided).  He lost the rear and left the track backwards, nearly taking out his team mate.  The debris showered Hamilton.

LeClerc was sleeping at the rolling start and Verstappen sailed away.  Rookie Piastri showed the grid how it was done and made a sweet move on Tsunoda.

The stewards finally made a decision about Verstappen's opening pass and awarded him a 5 second penalty, which is nothing to the driver this year.  The glib response from him proved this.  As they were running first and second, they should have been made to swap the places.  It turned out that Verstappen damaged his tyres dashing away after the Safety Car, which meant that on Lap 16 LeClerc retook the lead, with the Red Bull pitting immediately.

Piastri and Hamilton had a little bump which gave Piastri a long stop and Hamilton a puncture.

Then it was LeClerc's pit stop and Ferrari only delivered a slow stop but at least they did know he was coming in, had tyres ready, the crew knew it was happening and they overcame all those little hurdles they usually succumb to.

Verstappen was trying to make his way back up to the front of the pack, then on Lap 26 he and Russell made contact, with damage to both cars and a lot of debris on the track.  On a street track debris equals Safety Car, so lots of drivers including Russell and Verstappen made a cheap pit stop.

Russell was given a 5 second penalty for the incident.  Piastri did well again at the restart and found himself in 3rd.  Verstappen was briefly investigated for an unsafe release but nothing came of it.

Somehow, Perez managed to catch and overtake LeClerc for the lead on Lap 32.  Piastri was unable to hold off Verstappen for third place.  Behind them Gasly and Ocon went wheel to wheel and without team orders they battled for 5th and 6th, however someone came swiftly over the radio to put pay to that.  Perez stuck true to form and, when he had it all, fell asleep, took it fore-granted and lost the lead back to LeClerc.  Also swiftly past Perez was his team mate Verstappen.  It wasn't long until he was back in the lead again.

Toto Wolff radioed to Russell urging him to push forward and make some overtakes; he clearly wasn't bothered with encouraging his other driver, Hamilton, to score some points.  Rhianna will be very disappointed in Lewis.

With 7 laps to go, LeClerc made a mistake and gave second place to Perez.  A Red Bull one-two was now on the cards.  However, LeClerc repeated Alonso's Brazil feat and overtook Perez on the last lap for second position.  Disappointingly, Williams were not able to convert their qualifying position into any points at all.  Poor Gasly went backwards too.

Having moaned about the whole event, Verstappen was played Elvis over team radio and he sang along.  Whilst wearing an Elvis tribute race suit.

Instead of the cool down room, the top three drivers were driven in a Rolls Royce to the podium.  They sat uncomfortably thigh-to-thigh, with Perez in his tribute Ferrari race suit.  I'm sure that will be questioned back at HQ the next day.

Finally, they made it to the podium, where their presence was announced with a fruit machine spin.  The lost of the dice this season will be in a week's time in Abu Dhabi.

Las Vegas GP Qualifying Report

Apologies for the radio silence - I had a mechanical failure (of the back).  Hopefully I can sit and type through this event.

The Vegas event hadn't been without controversy already.  The residents had been vociferous in complaining about having streets closed for 10 days straight and all the building works for months prior (Edinburgh and Croydon feel your pain).  The track then brought itself more bother during Free Practice 1 when a water valve man hole thing came loose under Sainz's car.  It also ran under Ocon's car.  Sainz had to have his plank changed which gave him a 10 place grid penalty.  I think you could feel the waves of outrage from F1 fans across the globe.

F1 fans across the globe were geared up to play Crofty Goes to Vegas Bingo.  If you'd like to play during the race the words are: Elvis ✓, The Hangover, cashing their chips, placing their bets...

During Q1 Tsunoda achieved what I felt was unachievable at a street track like this: having a lap time deleted for leaving the track.  Did he run through a casino?  Skim over the Belagio lake?  How did he get off the track?  With a huge following in the US, both McLarens were out, which will be a big hit for them.  Ocon, Zhou and Tsunoda were also out with Sargeant through to a rare Q2 outing at one of his home tracks.

Teams and drivers continued to be caught out in Q2: Hamilton, Perez, Hulkenberg, Stroll and Ricciardo.  Both Williams were through and both Ferraris held the front row.  So far, no red flags and no safety cars - surprising.

Ferrari held on to the two fastest spots in the final session, although Sainz will start 12th, so Verstappen will start on the front row.  Behind them: Gasly, Russell, Albon, Sargeant, Alonso, Magnussen and Bottas.  Being the pole-sitter means your face is projected onto the roof on the top of the pit buildings.

Verstappen said he "maximised performance" today; I wonder how often he uses the phrase "maximised" about things he does.

Brazil GP Sprint Shootout & Sprint Report

It was a sunny day in Sao Paulo for sprint day.  It was going to be a very different qualifying from the day before.

In SQ1 it was all plain sailing for the first 11 and 1/2 minutes, then Ocon lost control of his car, "got out of shape" and went into and over Alonso, the Alpine went spinning into the wall, causing a  lot of damage and the Aston Martin got a puncture and dragged his car, sparking, back to the pits.  There was a Yellow Flag and then the session was stopped, which really damaged the laps for a lot of drivers who were putting in a quick lap including Albon and Sargeant who finished last.  Also out went Ocon, Stroll and Zhou.

Alonso was out of SQ2 with damage so qualified 15th.  Ahead of him and out went both Haas, Gasly and Bottas.  Notably great lap times were made by Norris, first and Ricciardo, fourth.  Perez was ahead of Verstappen but took two shots to get there.

The first half of SQ3 was particularly dull as no cars went out.  It was all or nothing at the end and fingers were crossed for no Red or Yellow Flags (by the teams if not the spectators).  The first time was set by Piastri but the field was quicker behind him.  Norris took the Sprint pole for his first time, followed by his friend Verstappen, then Perez.  Behind them was Russell and Hamilton, Tsunoda, LeClerc, Ricciardo, Sainz and Piastri.

Remarkably, Ocon's car was prepared in time for the Sprint race.  Our prediction for the race was Verstappen from Norris and that was the case by the first corner.  In fact, Russell was also past Norris by the end of the first lap.

DRS handed positions back and forth between drivers as they overtook each other.  There was overtake after overtake until the end, where Verstappen finished in front of Norris and Perez.  For once the Alpha Tauris were fighting near the front, which was great for them, with Tsunoda finishing in the points.  There was a lot of swearing from Danny Ric on his radio as he couldn't make up as many places as he wanted.

Norris felt he had been too cautious and not made the best of his opportunity.  There's always a reason he doesn't do better and they're not excuses but they need to stop happening.  It's all set to be a great race tomorrow, with tyre degradation being quite high, teams who have saved tyres will be rewarded.

Brazil GP Qualifying Report

Once again the hot topic of the weekend, is whether Perez will keep his contract for next year.  Or even until the end of the season.  The Qualifying session was delayed as there was debris on track which the marshals slowly swept away.

There were spits of rain towards the end of the first session but it didn't slow down the last laps the drivers put in.  Both Alpha Tauris went out, Tsunoda one place higher than Red Bull wannabe Ricciardo.  The Japanese driver felt impeded by Hamilton.  Both Alfa Romeos were out and Sargeant in his Williams too.

The second session was dry and uneventful.  Albon, who was in contention, had a lap deleted so went out in 15th, not attempting to put in a qualifying lap in this session.  Both Alpines and both Haas were out too.  Norris was in first.  

At the start of the final session, Ted could feel rain in the pit lane and Ferrari told LeClerc that it would come in 7 minutes.  There were definitely dark clouds in the sky.  Piastri was the first driver to be caught out and was sent drifting across the grass.  Sainz was also  off the track and those who hadn't put an early lap in would not get a good lap in before the rain came down and the session was red flagged.

As the rain fell down, teams were allowed to close their garage doors and Verstappen held pole, LeClerc second and Stroll in third.  The Aston Martins did well getting out quickly, with Alonso in fourth.  Next was both Mercedes, Hamilton then Russell.  Finishing the top ten were Norris, Sainz, Perez and Piastri.

The drivers were interviewed in the Safety Car pit as the thunder rumbled outside.

Mexican GP Race Report

Alonso sped in the pit lane on the way to the grid and we went into the race awaiting the outcome of the steward's investigation.  He got a €100,000 fine.

They were quick off the start, especially Perez and Verstappen.  As Verstappen pushed for the lead, Perez pulled up on the other side of LeClerc but he squeezed it too tight going around the corner with the Red Bull ultimately going up and over the Ferrari.  This put the Mexican immediately out of his home race and broke the Ferrari's front wing.

Ferrari should have told LeClerc to move over to let Sainz through to chase Verstappen immediately but no.  A selfish decision too.  The bit of wing fell off on the next lap, which was good for LeClerc but a Virtual Safety Car had to be called to get a marshal out to remove it from the track.

Ricciardo held Hamilton off for a few laps before a DRS pass.  Verstappen was the first of the leaders to pit, possibly using data from Tsunoda's stop in the sister team.

When LeClerc did pit, he came out 16 seconds behind Verstappen.  Then, halfway through the race, Magnussen had a big off in his Haas.  This brought out the Safety Car.  The suspension failed on the car and whilst he was quick to jump out, he then looked very shaky.  It took the medics quite a while to get to him.  Then the race was red flagged and stopped.

There was a standing start with Norris massively losing out and Ricciardo losing to Russell.  As they went on, Verstappen was able to pull out a lead and Hamilton honed in on LeClerc and took second place.

Alpha Tauri were having a great race until Piastri and Tsunoda started to tangle.  The first time, nothing came of it.  The next time, Tsunoda had a big off and went on a long path across the grass and into penultimate place.

Norris started pretty much in last place and ended up a triumphant 5th.  Both Aston Martins retired.  For some reason Hamilton took Fastest Lap at the end of the race, why he couldn't have done some of these to challenge Verstappen, I don't know.  Albon finished 9th and for some reason, Sargeant went into the pits on the last lap which meant he dropped a few places to finish last of the runners.

Not long until the end of this triple header in Brazil.

Mexican GP Qualifying Report

Coming in to the event from Disqualificationgate, the big questions were...Should more cars have been inspected for floor wear?  Would Verstappen move over to give Perez a home victory?  Was there any chance that Perez could actually get close enough for his team mate to make this even possible?  After the free practice sessions, there was one more question.  Having been second to Verstappen in FP1 and FP3, could Albon qualify his Williams in the top 3?

In Q1, all the drivers apart from Norris came out and put in an early lap.  Stroll, the Williams and the McLarens were loitering at the bottom.  Sargeant went very wide and asked for his floor to be checked.  There was a large queue to get out of the pit lane with two and half minutes to go.  Some drivers were being investigated for impeding others.  With 30 seconds to go, Alonso brought out a yellow flag, with a spin across a kerb, which would also hinder some drivers.  Albon was lucky as he probably would have gone out having struggled with tyres but with the traffic problems he was through.  Out went Norris in last place until Sargeant had his lap time deleted.  The race stewards had a lot to investigate.

Q2 had a bit more silliness at the pit lane exit but otherwise was much more straightforward.  This session saw team mates dividing.  Zhou went out in 11th with Bottas out, Gasly out in 12th following Ocon, Hulkenberg out in 13th following Magnussen, Alonso out in 14th following Stroll and Tsunoda didn't set a time in the end with Ricciardo through in 4th.

Seconds later, Albon had his time deleted and Zhou was through to Q3.  All those saved soft tyres were redundant.  In Q3 it was tight at the top after the first set of runs.  LeClerc led from Sainz, then pole favourite Verstappen.  Ricciardo was 4th and home hero Perez was 7th after the Mercedes.

In the end, Ferrari pulled an amazing one-two front row lock out from nowhere.  LeClerc will lead another race off the grid, as last week.  Verstappen took third, Ricciardo, fourth then Perez.  Using the Mercedes engine, Hamilton was 6th, then Piastri, then Russell with the two Alfa Romeos completing the top ten.

After all these investigations, only Albon was penalised.  From hero to zero.

America GP Race Report

Before the race had started we had both Aston Martins and both Haas starting from the pits, putting both Williams at the back of the grid.  The boxer Anthony Joshua radioed in to his newly owned driver Gasly to wish him good luck, which I suppose gets you extra coverage.

It was an amazing start for Norris and he took the lead from LeClerc, before the first lap had even ended the two Ferraris were fighting.  Russell was fighting to get past Ocon and was investigated for going off the track and gaining an advantage.  As soon as DRS was enabled, Russell and Perez were past the Alpine.  Hamilton then used his DRS to get past Sainz for third.  On lap 5, Verstappen overtook Sainz and on the next lap Hamilton overtook LeClerc.  DRS was really ruining this race.

Ocon retired his car with a big hole in the side after coming together with Piastri at the start; neither good luck wishes from Anthony Joshua nor golf lessons from Rory McIlroy could help him.  A fifth of the way into the race, Piastri had to retire too.

It was half way through the race that Verstappen inevitably took the lead from his pal Norris.  With 20 laps to go, Norris pitted again and triggered a chain reaction.

Poor Norris lost his second place to Hamilton with 7 laps to go.  Mercedes fed Lewis the little nugget he always needs to push: "Verstappen is managing a brakes problem."  With 6 laps to go LeClerc was told to let Sainz by despite messing the drivers about over tyre strategy.  Alonso retired having managed nearly the whole race.  Verstappen managed his brakes to bring the car back in first place, with Hamilton pushing close behind.

We haven't seen a race so determined by tyre strategy in many a long year and I remember being really frustrated by this in the past.  DRS is the new tyre strategy but this made a pleasant change.

Considering LeClerc started on pole, he finished 6th, not what is needed to keep things harmonious at Ferrari.

Considering Alonso decided to use the old car that they started the year with he was able to put in some good overtakes before retiring.

Ricciardo stole the Fastest Lap point from a top ten finisher by finishing both last and fastest, so he won't get the point himself.

The big grumbles about this race were: holes in your side, DRS, inconsistent wind, problems with the floor, track limits (although I think Albon was the only driver to receive a penalty), attending the race only to find out that two drivers were disqualified for shaving their floors on the track, thus running too low and gaining an advantage.

With LeClerc and Hamilton disqualified, both Williams scored points!  Gasly will also be 6th, which is a great result for Alpine.

America GP Sprint Report

Off they went up the crazy steep hill for 20 laps of racing and obviously Verstappen held pole with LeClerc getting away well in second too but being overtaken off the track by Hamilton.  They were battling hard, seemingly without worries for sustaining damage before the main event the next day.

Russell had been given a penalty for impeding LeClerc in the Shootout so was demoted to 11th.  He was up to 7th after a few laps but by overtaking Gasly and Piastri by going wide.  Drivers were pushing each other off the track left, right and centre and if their elbows were this sharp for the Sprint, there could be some tough battling in the race.  Russell was given a 5 point penalty.

A highpoint of the race for me was Albon overtaking the McLaren of Piastri for 9th place.  I wonder if Williams put all their eggs in the Sprint basket to get points this weekend as they qualified higher for the Sprint than for the race.

Piastri was the first driver to receive a black and white flag for track limits.  It took Perez half the race to realise how to drive the car and he suddenly came to life and started overtaking and working his way up the placings.

In the end, Verstappen won by a comfortable margin.  Hamilton was second and LeClerc third.  Norris was fourth ahead of Perez, who just can't find the same pace as Verstappen in that Red Bull.  Great to see four different teams in the top four positions.  Hopefully this can continue next year and there's more of a battle.

American GP Qualifying and Sprint Shootout Report

There was no real news going into the race weekend.  Verstappen is racing as a three times world champion, Danny Ricciardo is back after breaking his hand.  Piastri had trouble in the practice session and hasn't had much time to set up his car.

The first Qualifying session was uneventful until Verstappen was running 5th and told his current time was "on the bubble" for getting through to the next session.  He made it through but both Williams and both Aston Martins were out with the Haas of Hulkenberg (with a lap time deleted).  For such a strong start to the season, Aston Martin are really floundering; they passed on the news much more kindly to Alonso than Stroll.  Apparently they brought upgrades too.  Alonso said they were using these weekends as test sessions for next year.

In the second session, Russell, Perez and Ricciardo (with a lap time deleted) all struggled to show the same competition as their team mates.  Out went Tsunoda, Zhou, Bottas, Magnussen and Ricciardo.

During the crucial final session, Verstappen had a big wobble on his hot lap and then a second off but still hit pole position then had the lap time deleted.  Russell had a lap time deleted but just crossed the line in time to make a final run and qualified 5th, with his team mate in 3rd.  LeClerc took a brilliant pole, showing that Ferrari can be strong at this track, with Sainz in 4th.  Norris lines up 2nd alongside LeClerc, securing a much-needed Qualifying triumph over his team mate Piastri in 10th.  Verstappen was 6th with Perez in 9th and the two Alpines complete the top 10 in 7th and 8th.

Norris felt he could have had pole but wasn't too disappointed as he made mistakes.  Which LeClerc also admitted.  I remember when drivers never admitted mistakes.  It seemed like Schumacher insisted the team publish a problem whenever he made one.  Now, it is all about being humble.  Hamilton came out singing the praises of American and this circuit.

The next day, everyone moved on to the next Qualifying event, the Sprint Shootout.  In the first Shootout (?), LeClerc was 2 milliseconds behind Verstappen.  The Williams had dialled the car in and Albon was in 3rd although Sargeant was in last place.  Ahead of him and also out was an incredulous Tsnuoda, Bottas and the Haas of Magnussen and Hulkenberg,  Russell heavily impeded LeClerc.

In the second Shootout, Verstappen spun the car but reentered the track facing the right way, although his lap time was deleted.  Out went Ricciardo, Alonso, Ocon, Stroll and Zhou.  It makes you wonder what on Earth Williams were doing with their car yesterday as Albon went through in 10th.

By the end, the pole was Verstappen's for the losing, both Ferrari's right behind me looking for the smallest mistake from the Dutchman.  In the end he took it from LeClerc, with Hamilton, Norris, Piastri, Sainz, Perez, Russell, Albon and Gasly behind him.  All this and there's so much more racing to come.

Qatar GP Race Report

The problem with the Pirelli tyres and the corners rumbled on to race day and tyres should only be used for 18 laps including any laps those tyres have run already over the event.  This meant that teams should be using a minimum of 3 stop strategy and there would be a lot of tyre chat during the race.

The second casualty of the race was Sainz whose car had a fatal fuel system problem and couldn't even leave the pits.  He hung about to watch everyone struggle in the heat though.

The second and third casualties were both Mercedes into the first corner, taking each other out.  The wheel came off Hamilton's car but Russell continued in 17th.  This brought out the first and only Safety Car (was expecting many more).  Russell admitted fault and Hamilton stomped across the track.  He was grumpy about his tyres already so probably best he was able to take an early bath.

Next up, Hulkenberg was given a hefty 10 second penalty for starting in Sainz's empty grid spot.

After 13 laps the pit stops started.  By this point, Russell was up to 3rd and back in the podium spaces.  The Mercedes really had some pace.  The Williams were also in 5th and 6th, benefiting from not having used many tyres in Qualifying.  It was hard to keep up with them as most of the cars visited the pit lane.  I looked up and Perez over took for 3rd and then jumped as Albon was running 2nd.  The Williams briefly led the race when Verstappen pitted before pitting themselves.  As the cars fell out of order through stopping, there was a lot of overtaking as normal order was resumed.

By midway through the race Lawson, Albon and Perez had all been shown the black and white flag for going off track limits a significant number of times.  One more time and they would be given a time penalty.  Perez was the first to be awarded a 5 second penalty.  

Alonso really struggled in his Aston Martin, firstly, with a burning bottom and then a massive off, sliding back onto the track immediately in front of LeClerc.  He had to see the stewards after the race.  The drivers were getting hot and bothered.

Sargeant was "feeling poorly", brought on during the race and was called in by the team to retire but pleaded with the team to stay out.  A few laps later he retired himself though; the cameras showed him struggling out of the car until him team moved in front of them.  As Albon had hustled LeClerc before pitting and having led the race and continuing...can Williams afford to hire a driver who is not physically fit enough to complete a race.  Although Albon did get a 5 second penalty for exceeding track limits.

Stroll claimed two 5 second penalties for track limits, continuing his abysmal weekend.  As with Williams, Aston Martin will struggle to justify his position in the team other than that he is the owner's son.

Further up the grid, McLaren, with 9 laps to go, instructed their drivers to hold positions.  Norris was very reluctant to come in behind his team mate (again) and could not see the logic.

With only a few laps to go, Russell then Verstappen pitted for soft tyres.  Despite a slow stop with a sticky tyre, Verstappen managed to retain the lead but Russell would have to overtake both McLarens to resume 2nd.  Norris is definitely getting the same feeling Ricciardo had at McLaren.

Before awarding and discussing final positions, all time penalties would need to be applied.  Whilst Verstappen did win, both McLarens were behind him and they are looking the stronger team.  Or is Perez driving awfully?  Russell finished 4th with LeClerc close on his heels.

Everyone was just happy to finish the race, with conditions beyond challenges.  

Qatar GP Sprint Shootout and Sprint Report

Just when Formula 1 is reaching more fans and becoming more accessible, the FIA throws a spanner at Liberty Media and Lazenby is left trying to explain some imperative technical changes because Pirelli have botched up making tyres, the one thing that Pirelli do.  It turns out that staying on the track at turns 12 and 13 is too much for these tyres.  Or the kerbs.  Something or other.  And they're going to check the tyres more often.  Don't worry, Rosberg was there to grill someone from the FIA, who also struggled to explain the problem.

For light relief, Sky cut to stroppy Stroll.  New footage had emerged of him throwing his steering wheel away.  He was also in trouble for going backstage and pushing his trainer rather than going to be weighed.

The Shootout was delayed for an extra 10 minute practice so drivers could experience the changes to the track.  As it got underway, it became clear that track limits would continue from Qualifying yesterday to be a problem.  On the timing chart, drivers set times and then fell back to the bottom as their time was deleted.

Out went: Stroll, who went wide; Albon who wide, Tsunoda, who cursed all the way back to the pits, having had a time deleted; Magnussen and Sargeant.

In the second session, it seemed much tighter at the top with Norris really pushing Verstappen and Russell and LeClerc in the mix too.  Hamilton and Sainz had lap times deleted but the Ferraris were struggling with wind.  In the end though Sainz pushed Hamilton out of the Shootout in 12th.  He was preceded by Gasly and followed by Lawson (who would be put back after a time deletion to split the Alfa Romeos), Bottas (just like the good old days) and Zhou.

I hesitated to type the final Sprint Shootout classification as lap times continued to be okay and not.  Norris gave the pole position to his team mate Piastri with a huge slide coming out of the final corner.  Verstappen had to settle for third with Russell, Alonso, Sainz, LeClerc, Hulkenberg, Perez and Ocon.

And on to the Sprint...

It was a competitive start, not many drivers seemed to care about keeping the car in one piece for the race tomorrow.  Alonso had stressed the importance of "staying safe" after the Shootout.  The Ferraris made it up to 3rd and 4th and Russell got into 2nd.  Norris fell back to 6th, behind Verstappen.  The McLaren driver wasn't the biggest loser, it was Lawson, in his final race for Alpha Tauri this season, as he spun out into the gravel and beached himself.  It brought out the Safety Car, so we could replay the start lots.  Luckily it didn't take long to remove the car.

Russell had soft tyres and was able to overtake Piastri for the lead when the Safety Car went back in.  Still, it was less than a lap later for the normal Safety Car Whisperer, Logan Sargeant, to beach his car in the gravel and no sooner had Burt Mylander took his helmet off, he was back out again.  It was a long walk across the gravel for the American.

Russell slowed the pack right down, knowing that when he led off the medium-tyred Piastri wouldn't be able to keep up.  Sainz had a good look at the rookie too.  Finally on Lap 9 of 19, Verstappen switched his Red Bull on and sailed passed LeClerc to take 4th.  It was down to the soft tyres the Ferraris were on starting to grain and go off, whilst the medium tyres of the Red Bull and McLaren came into play.  Norris swept past LeClerc too and Piastri overtook Russell for the lead.  Just as things were getting interesting, we got another Safety Car on Lap 11.  Perez tangled with Ocon and Hulkenberg; all three cars tried to go into the same corner at the same time.  As Perez wouldn't be getting any points, as long as Verstappen scored something, he would be world champion.  Checo stood hands in the air in despair beside his car.  Russell was desperate for new tyres but he couldn't retake the places with so little time left and the pack running so close together.  Verstappen was warned that damage was starting to show on his tyres but he was desperate to win.

LeClerc was the biggest winner at the restart, taking his place back from Norris.  A lap later, Verstappen took second from Russell.  When McLaren got their tyres switched on, Norris was past LeClerc and Sainz for 4th.  On the final lap, Norris claimed the third step of the podium from Russell and Piastri was nearly 2 seconds ahead in the lead.  We can see now why Norris was so disappointed after Qualifying, McLaren can challenge Red Bull at this track and he wants to be the driver to do it, not his rookie team mate.

Somehow, and with 5 cars DNF, Albon made it from the back of the grid ish to 8th, getting past the Aston Martin of Alonso on the last lap to claim 1 point.

The Dutch fans who had travelled to the Middle East and paid the extra for the Saturday Sprint, were rewarded by seeing their hero crowned World Champion.  McLaren and Piastri proved that the whole fiasco with Alpine was worth it as he took the Sprint win.

I had wondered why there were no black and white flags for going over the track limits during the Sprint but apparently we just weren't told about them during the race.  There weren't enough for any time penalties to be handed out though.  There shouldn't have been many as so many laps were slow under the Safety Car.

The podium finishers were given their plaques, which look a lot like house door number signs.  Then they stood in front of the neon screens to have their photos taken with them.  Could Norris break his duck in the race tomorrow?  Will Verstappen have one too many Red Bull and vodkas tonight to celebrate his championship and help his pal out?

Qatar GP Qualifying Report

Qatar is quite a straight forward event, even with night racing and a sprint.

Qualifying was uneventful in Q1.  Out went Lawson, Magnussen (trumped by Hulkenberg), Sargeant (just pushed out by his team mate), Zhou and Stroll.  Whilst Stroll starts in 17th, his team mate was the fastest car on the straights and finished the first session in 3rd. Stroll then gave sub-Raikkonen one-word sullen answers in the press pen.  This probably isn't going to quash the rumours that his father is going to sell the team he bought for his son.

Q2 was slightly more interesting.  Tsunoda led the way for those exiting, followed by Sainz, Perez, Albon and Hulkenberg.  With Perez being the only driver who can challenge Verstappen for the championship, he did not need a lap deleted for going over track limits.  Sainz also put in a shocker.  Hamilton came back from being second to his team mate in the first session to put in the quickest lap in this session.

Through Qualifying, Norris had been on and off the track, with lap times being deleted.  Having finished second, it happened again and he ended up in 10th handing 3rd place to his team mate Piastri.  As Piastri was being interviewed, the interviewer was informed that Piastri was now in 6th as he too had gone over the track limits line.  Hamilton had a big slide and finished behind his team mate, who was second.  Verstappen went out to put in some more quick laps but ended up watching the remainder of Qualifying from the pits, out of the car and chatting.  The final classification was Verstappen (didn't even consider going near a white line), Russell (never a rule breaker), Hamilton (still unhappy), Alonso (I thought he was 4th before lap times being deleted, so not sure how he finished 4th and not -2nd), LeClerc (disappointing), Piastri, Gasly, Ocon (cracks beginning to show at Alpine), Bottas and Norris.

Japan GP Race Report

It didn't look like a traditionally wet race in Suzuka so it was then a question of whether Red Flags or Safety Cars would make the race more interesting.  We all knew the answer to this, it was more when than if Sargeant brought out either.  He was already starting from the pit lane with a 10 second penalty as the team had to get extra parts during Parc Ferme to rebuild his car after he smashed it up during Qualifying.

Piastri and Verstappen both aimed for the same piece of track and gave Norris a pass into second place off the start.  There was some kind of coming together behind them, which meant that a Safety Car came out so some debris could be collected from the track.  Bottas hits Albon, giving himself a puncture.  Zhou was also somehow involved.  Hamilton was hit by Perez.  There were new noses all round.  Sargeant came back into the pits for reason unknown, perhaps to run the hard tyres to the end?

Unlike the olden days, there were no team orders with Russell battling with the damaged Hamilton.  The greatest battles of the race were between team mates.

It was Lap 6, that Sargeant fulfilled his promise and ran into Bottas.  Bottas went off the track, into the pits and was sent out 30 seconds later to trundle around before retiring.  Sargeant got a 5 second penalty.  Perez got 5 seconds for a Safety Car infringement.  It was unclear what he was supposed to do exiting the pits.  Things went from bad to worse, as Perez then drove into the Haas of Magnussen and damaged his front wing.

Piastri came in for his pit stop just as a Virtual Safety Car was called and got a very lucky stop.  This was to get him back past his team mate, Norris.

Perez was told to retire the car.

The  Mercedes continued to fight each other.  Russell held second for a long time as he ran a one stop strategy.

Alonso is clearly still keen to stick up 2 fingers to his old team, Alpine, as he fought to get past Ocon, imploring his team to: "think of something".  The McLarens had a bit of a fight but then the team got tired of Norris's whinging and asked Piastri to move over.  He did look quicker.

Sargeant was seen walking back through the pits.  Clearly he was retired.  Then I noticed that Stroll had retired; I've no idea why.  Then Albon pitted and retired.

The Ferraris quietly drove around in 4th and 5th.

Alonso was given some helpful advice from his pit that Stroll had suffered a rear wing failure, so could he avoid the bumpy bits?

Perez was unretired so that he could serve his penalty and not carry it over to the next race.

Mercedes made the call for Russell and Hamilton to swap places but then needed Hamilton to give Russell DRS to defend from Sainz, who did manage to get past.  If they had waited until the last lap, as Russell suggested, they would have kept both places.  Could Hamilton both give Russell DRS and chase after LeClerc?  No

Verstappen took the victory and scored enough points for Red Bull to claim the Constructor's Championship.  Norris was very happy with the team for them to take the final two spots on the podium.  Piastri drove an excellent rookie drive and was awarded Driver of the Day.  

Lawson finished ahead of Tsunoda but neither of them were in the points.

The next race is at Qatar, where there is a Sprint, so Verstappan can win his Drivers Championship without scoring in a race.  I doubt the FIA thought of that when they introduced the format.

Whilst I don't have much to write about it was a great race and there are lots of battles brewing between currently happy team mates.

Japan GP Qualifying Report

The headlines in Suzuka was that Japanese driver Tsunoda along with Red Bull returnee Ricciardo have been confirmed as Alpha Tauri drivers for 2024.  None of the contenders are taking Perez' Red Bull seat and Lawson will continue as reserve and test driver.

Sargeant stopped the first Qualifying session, bringing out a Red Flag, crashing at the end of his (good?) lap.  This only increases his margin at the top of the damages cost table, bringing his total to probably over the $3 million mark.  His position seems to be becoming increasingly untenable, even though Red Bull boss Christian Horner believes Williams won't take Lawson as they'll want a driver for more than a year.  At the end, out went Zhou, Hulkenberg, Stroll and Bottas with Albon just pulling out a good lap in time to go through.  Lawson, rejected by Alpha Tauri went fourth.  You wonder what metrics the team(s) can see that justify their choice of driver for next season.

The second session passed with no incident.  The McLarens put in a strong showing and Verstappen too.  Out went Lawson, Gasly, Albon, Ocon and Magnussen.  Home track hero, Tsunoda made it through; Honda having given him a special engine probably.

The third session was no more exciting than the second.  Verstappen predictably took pole.  The McLarens continued to show great pace, with Piastri out qualifying his team mate in 2nd and 3rd.  LeClerc was 4th, a much-needed two places in front of his team mate who won the last race.  Perez was 5th, again causing everyone to question why he is keeping his seat at Red Bull.  The Mercedes qualified 7th and 8th with Hamilton in front.  The top 10 is rounded off by Tsunoda and Alonso.  

Suzuka can be a big challenge, especially if it's wet but it also feels like it is Verstappen's to lose.  I suspect the McLarens will make it interesting for the first lap or two.  The interest will be whether they can hold Perez up and whether Mercedes can make it forwards with more tyres saved for the race.  Norris looked miffed to be behind his team mate and I expect he will want to get passed him as soon as possible.  Will they come together?  Same for the Ferrari drivers, when are things going to implode there?  Poor, tiny, Yuki is always treated like a small boy so it would be great for him to prove his worth.

 

SIngapore GP Race Report

Following Verstappen acquiring three investigations during qualifying, we may have woken up on Sunday to see the Red Bull even further back on the grid.  He got away with reprimands though and I can hear Hamilton's voice in my head stating his opinion of that.

Lance Stroll had pulled out of the race after his crash as he wasn't quite fit enough and his car definitely wasn't.  Super-sub Ricciardo was out of action after breaking his hand and super-sub-sub Lawson was in his Alpha Tauri seat.

It was a clean start, Sainz getting away well and his team mate, LeClerc too.  Russell made a poor start from second and fell down to third, with his team mate going off the track and rejoining ahead of him to take that third place.  Alonso and Ocon got past the Haas of Magnussen.  Tsunoda stopped and started on the first lap and then stopped for good, parking his car behind the barriers, averting a Safety Car.  It was a puncture, so you wonder why he couldn't have got back to the pits.

As Russell was released by his team mate, he set the fastest lap.  After a bit of negotiation with the stewards, Hamilton gave a place back to Norris too and that was the end of that.

Everyone went around nicely for a while.  Then Sargeant went and did something silly on Lap 19 and ended up with his own wing underneath him.  He dragged it round the track, sending bits of carbon fibre everywhere.  It didn't look like a Safety Car event but it was.  Lots of cars came in for a change of tyre.  Sainz held first position.  Ferrari double-stacked and bought LeClerc in from second behind him but had to hold him in the pit box as Mercedes double-stacked too.  This brought Norris out ahead of LeClerc.  The Red Bulls did not pit.  Alonso did something silly and locked up his tyres, swaying out of the pit lane lines and got a 5 second penalty.

At the restart, Sainz held his lead but it was all change behind him.  For the first time this season we saw Verstappen being overtaken during race (other than off the start).  Once everyone found their new place, they continued going round and round.  With the Red Bull tyres dropping off more and more.  Russell radioed in to let his team know that he did want to go for the win.

Two thirds of the way through the race, Ocon lost power in his Alpine. He was an angry Frenchman, beating the steering wheel and throwing his head support back into the car.  He stomped back to the pits.  This led to a Virtual Safety Car.  It was a close call whether to pit or not.  Albon made a quick decision to come in.  Further on, both Mercedes came in and were in and out swiftly.  Alonso came in and had to wait 5 seconds before his crew could start work.  It was an awful stop though, with tyres not coming off and not going on.  He had radioed in earlier to say the car was "undrivable".  The end of the love affair begins.  Then he spun but kept going.  Ferrari were now racing on wing and prayer as they hoped LeClerc and Norris could hold up the Mercedes on new tyres.

With 9 laps to go Russell took LeClerc for 3rd place.  Then Hamiton was past the Ferrari too.  With three laps to go, Sainz radioed in to say that his tyres were finished.  All four drivers were in shot at the same time.  Sainz had backed Norris into the Mercedes to aid his defence and now Lando had to put in the hard work.  Had Mercedes put in team orders asking Russell and Hamilton not to fight each other?  It didn't look like it and that was hampering Russell's confidence getting past Norris.  This proved to really cost the team in the last few corners, when Russell clipped the wall and crashed out.  The podium was Sainz, Norris and Hamilton.  LeClerc took fourth with Gasly in a commendable and quiet sixth.

With Verstappen finishing 5th and Perez finishing 8th, Red Bull don't claim the Constructors Championship at this race.  As Verstappen didn't win the race his streak is over, so we won't have to hear about that for at least another 10 races.  And Red Bull didn't win the race, so they won't get a perfect season.  So we won't have to hear about that until next year.

Both the rookies, Lawson and Piastri scored points.  With Tsunoda out, his performance won't have been compared to Lawson, which possibly saves for him for the rest of this season.  We haven't seen a race with five cars out in a long time.  Alonso won't be happy to finish plum last either.  Sargeant will be happy not to be last. This last two is a surprise as Lawson brought out the Safety Car earlier.

Not only was Verstappen not the winner but he wasn't on the podium, which was the breath of fresh air that the fans needed.

Singapore GP Qualifying Report

The big news so far at the event, was that Red Bull were less competitive.  I don't think anyone believed that this would result in them being very far down the grid.

In the first session, backmarker Sargeant impeded Stroll.  Verstappen, not used to seeing cars ahead of him, radioed, swearing, back to the pits about how many cars were on the track in the last minute.  The track was cooling so the tyres were improving and the best laps would be put in at the very end.  Tsunoda went fastest and held this against Perez and several others, the Haas' also getting to the top of the chart.  We were riding on board with Stroll as his car veered to the side of the track and went through a huge spin on the main straight.  The director immediately replayed the incident, even though we didn't know whether Stroll was okay.  This was a huge departure from usual protocol but as we had watched it happen it didn't seem to matter.  Finally Stroll radioed in that he was okay.  It took a while for him to get out though and the chassis was ruined.  It didn't look in a state that it could be repaired for the race the next day.  Who would spin on demand during the race for Alonso now?

The Red Flag was brought out which ended the session.  Stroll went into the lap in last place and finished there.  Also out were  Bottas, Piastri, Sargeant and Zhou.  A couple of these were casualties of the accident.  Verstappen was also investigated for impeding drivers in the pit lane.

The second session was delayed so the TV director played some team radio.  Firstly, Verstappen was swearing about the poor balance of the car.  Then Norris was enquiring about Stroll.  Hamilton said the car was very hot.  Everything continued very topsy-turvy.  Lawson, in the sister team, knocked Verstappen out of the top 10, so he qualifies 11th.  Followed by Gasly, Perez, Albon and Tsunoda, who didn't set a time.  This is what we've waited for all season.

Lawson is driving so well, Alpha Tauri won't need to bring Ricciardo back when his broken hand has mended.  Though he finished tenth in the final Qualifying session  behind Sainz on pole, Russell, LeClerc (who will surely be very disappointed but didn't radio his team to tell them what they did wrong), Norris, Hamilton, Magnussen, Alonso, Ocon and Hulkenberg.  It was a very strong showing for the Haas.

Everyone hopes this will be the race that Verstappen and Red Bull don't win.  They'll probably win the Constructors' Championship though.

Italy GP Race Report

A thrilling race seemed to be promised: a Ferrari on pole, with his team mate  behind him, Verstappen looking for his 10th win in a row, everyone (apart from Red Bull) was saying how quick the Williams are in a straight line and will be difficult to overtake.  There have been several names in the running for the second Red Bull seat: the current holder Perez, longest Alpha Tauri driver Tsunoda, new Alpha Tauri driver Lawson, reserve driver Ricciardo but Albon, who is only on loan to Williams has been overlooked.

The first casualty at the cathedral of speed was Tsunoda, who didn't even make it around the formation lap.  I think the engineers can no longer compute hot weather having been to only cold and wet tracks for a while.  LeClerc also found that his car was tricky to handle.

When the race did start, Sainz made a good start and was able to stay ahead of Verstappen for the lead of the first 15 laps.  Albon suffered with a typical Williams poor start and fell back to 9th; Piastri gained three places.  

By Lap 4, Verstappen radioed his team as he had spotted Sainz beginning to slide on his tyres and was told to be sensible.  The race was full of overtakes and battles.  There were a few 5 second penalties; Russell, Hamilton and Piastri.  At the end, Noah brought the animals in two by two: two bulls, two prancing horses, two silver...foxes?  Verstappen got his record-breaking 10 wins in a row.  The Ferraris battled to the very end with no team orders, with Sainz getting the podium.

Monza usually brings out the best of the racers with shorter, tighter laps and always worth watching.