Abu Dhabi GP Race Report

A lot of the talk this weekend and after Qualifying was about Hamilton; all the sympathy is now going to the pit lane reporters at the press pit who are having to try and interview him.  The three way run in this race for the driver's championship was a welcome distraction.

It seemed to be the general consensus that Verstappen would win this race but Norris would win the championship.  No one really thought Piastri was in contention.  As they left the grid for the formation lap, it was seen that drivers were on a variety of strategies with Piastri on hard tyres and Verstappen and Norris on medium.  Some drivers further back had gone for soft too.

Verstappen made a quick start and it almost looked as though Piastri was going to try and get past Norris but he moved across and blocked him off.  Alonso and LeClerc battled behind them furiously.  Piastri held his place for a short while and then he got a slip stream behind Norris and was easily past him.  Russell dropped back.

After four laps, Russell got past Alonso and then Norris had LeClerc right on his tail.  On lap 17, Norris and LeClerc pitted on the same lap.  They were both ahead of Russell though.  Norris was stuck in a DRS train; he got past Antonelli then Sainz (who pitted afterwards), next up was Stroll and I held my breath.  He got past Stroll and Lawson in the same corner, giving everyone a good reason why he should be world champion.  LeClerc repeated the feat though behind him.  Tsunoda was the next driver up and Red Bull were quick to instruct him to hold Norris up, he tersely told them to leave him alone.  Brundle was not happy with this all, considering it to be "verging on unsporting behaviour".  Norris risked everything and went for the overtake.  This was investigated by the stewards: Tsunoda as weaving but Norris left the track.  It was the Red Bull who would be penalised.

By the middle of the race, I felt I was being held hostage to the tyre strategy of the race.  Piastri was due to come in to pit on Lap 41 but LeClerc pitted and Ferrari were directing the McLaren strategy now.  Norris was brought in instead and Verstappen overtook Piastri.  He boxed on the next lap.

With ten laps to go, Verstappen started to panic that LeClerc may not overtake Norris for third place and he would not be getting the championship despite his late efforts.  He got his first warning for exceeding track limits as well.

Norris held on to the end though to clinch his championship.  Verstappen took the win and Piastri was the biggest loser really having thrown it all away at the end of the season.  Norris celebrated with a cry and doughnuts.

Verstappen was being very sweet to Piastri in the cool down room as they awaited Norris, who was interviewed by Coulthard below.  Norris was interviewed twice and got to stay on the podium as long as he liked.  Piastri was let off doing a long interview.  I think everyone was happy with the outcome.  I wonder how different it would have felt if Piastri had won.

Meanwhile it was the last race for Tsunoda, Renault, Sauber, DRS and ground effect cars.  None of them were going to get much attention but perhaps that was the Plan B for the broadcasters if one of the others won.  We will see what next year brings.  The rise of Verstappen?  A surprise team that excels with the new regulations?  Some jazzy new graphics for TV coverage?

Abu Dhabi GP Qualifying Report

The last ten races at this circuit had been won from pole position.  This was the most important Saturday of the season.

The weekend had got off to a better start for some than others.  Norris, Piastri and Verstappen had fielded many, many questions about their championship hopes.  Also under scrutiny was Hamilton, who then spun out of nowhere in Free Practice 3 and smashed his Ferrari nose-first into the tyre wall.

It was a fairly boring first Qualifying session until after the Chequered Flag was waved and Albon was knocked out followed by Hamilton (who was knocked out by Bortoleto).   The five drivers out were Hamilton, Albon (not how either of them would want to end the year, with their team mate in the top ten), Hulkenberg, Gasly and Colapinto.  The Alpine drivers will be praying the team gets the regulation changes right next year.

The second session was even more boring.  Fastest was Russell, then Verstappen and Norris.  Out went Bearman, Sainz, Lawson, Antonelli and Stroll.  Apart from Sainz, all the others were bested by their teammates who went through, Ocon putting in a very good lap in his Haas to be ninth.

Gloves were off for the final session.  Red Bull sacrificed Tsunoda to give Verstappen a tow down the straight which helped him set a quick lap to be in first position at the end of the first set of laps.  Norris could not get his groove back around the track and left himself in a poor position for the final push.  Piastri's lap kept him second until Norris took it from him.  Verstappen was putting in an even quicker time behind them.  Russell tried his hardest to take it but was fourth.  Behind them was LeClerc, Alonso, Bortoleto, Ocon, Hadjar and Tsunoda (who didn't set a time).

Verstappen had given himself the best possible chance of winning the championship.    There are lots of different permutations and calculations to figure out who will take the crown and number one on their car next season.  I'm sure the commentators will keep us up to speed.

Qatar GP Race Report

After the Sprint, Russell said that the twenty people in the cars enjoy the Qatar race and the track but it's boring for everyone on the sofa at home.  Verstappen said it would be "a long race and anything could happen."  This was a possibility but also a long procession of drivers with no ability to overtake was possible: whoever has been in the lead at the end of lap 1 has gone on to win the race.  Even so, I was looking out for awkward double-stacks for a Safety Car, the Safety Car coming out for gravel on track, punctures from gravel on track, Verstappen doing something dangerous to try and get the win, drivers exceeding track limits and how teams would work with the mandated twenty-five lap maximum run on the tyres.

All the English footballers were out in Qatar for the race; it's amazing what money can buy.  There was so many sportspeople, it's like they can do laundry well.

And straight off the line, Norris lost second place to Verstappen, whilst Piastri made a golden start.  Russell was another big loser, falling to seventh; Hamilton was up to 13th.  By Lap 5, Verstappen was complaining about his tyres.  Then, on the critical Lap 7 (important for the tyre mandate), Hulkenberg had a coming together with Gasly and was beached in the gravel without one of his tyres (it was deemed a racing incident and looked pretty 50/50).  The McLarens stayed out with Ocon but all other drivers came in for new tyres; there were slow stacks for Mercedes and Ferrari.  It seemed like a crazy move for McLaren.  The releases worked in Williams' favour with Sainz ending up in fourth.  Ocon did come in for a pit stop and had to serve a five second penalty, that was announced at the perfect time, for a jump start.

Piastri backed them right up, going very slowly at the restart but it worked out for him.  It didn't take long for the sixth place driver, Alonso, to have a train of cars behind him, all following nose to tail.  Albon was the first driver to be shown the black and white flag for exceeding track limits.

McLaren pitted when they had to, with Piastri coming in first for a three second stop.  He came out ahead of Alonso.  Norris came in the next lap and had a better stop, two seconds and was also out in front of Alonso.  The relief for the team must have been huge.

On L32 there was chaos in pit lane as most drivers needed new tyres as they were up to the 25 lap limit.  Russell almost went into Lawson and Bearman ran over something in his pit and was then given an extra unsafe release penalty as well as losing all the time.  He slammed his steering wheel in frustration.

Piastri was casually discussing what his best strategy would be over the radio but Norris was having a wobble.  He couldn't get the pace back that he had and went off, believing the car sustained damage as he did so.  Verstappen looked like he was going to get a comfortable win because the McLarens were not quick enough and a Safety Car hadn't been needed.  What we needed was Stroll to Latifi things up.  Piastri came in for a stop that nearly surprised his mechanics.  It was a 1.8 second stop by McLaren, which was what was needed.  Norris didn't stay out and push but came in soon after and got a 2.7 second stop.  He came out after Sainz and Antonelli.  Whilst I wanted Norris to do well, I would take a Williams podium over that.  

Alonso had a big spin but didn't manage to bring out the Safety Car, it was too late anyway for him to help out his old team.  With two laps to go, Hadjar tried to help everyone by getting a puncture, it wasn't Safety Car worthy though.  On the last lap, Antonelli went wide and Norris got past him for fourth place. Sainz held Norris off to get the podium; where's Carlando now?

The top ten were Verstappen (who didn't put a foot wrong), Piastri, Sainz (starting from seventh), Norris, Antonelli (making that rookie error in the dying seconds of the race but still ahead of his team mate), Russell, Alonso, LeClerc, Lawson and Tsunoda (in the points at least).  McLaren's strategy let them down.  Piastri was "speechless" and not in a good way.

We head to next weekend and the final race with Norris still leading the championship by twelve points over Verstappen.  Piastri has dropped back to third place, four points behind the Red Bull.  Will McLaren ask Piastri to help if it looks like Verstappen will take the Driver's Championship? Having a baby mid-season has done nothing but spur Max on.

It seems amazing that Hamilton has over twice as many points as Sainz, who he pushed out to take the place in Ferrari.  Maybe that is the Brit's whinging that muddies the water?  Williams have secured fifth place in the Constructor's Championship and it feels unfair that they haven't beaten Ferrari.

 After a swift turnaround it was time for Qualifying proper.  Albon managed a little drama in the first session, getting lap times deleted and going on parts of the track he shouldn't.  In the end he knocked Hamilton out of running.  Gasly took his Alpine from the back of the grid in Sprint Qualifying to fifth.  Russell, Norris, Piastri and Verstappen.  Out went Tsunoda (another one who did well the day before), Ocon, Hamilton (bored of this now), Stroll and Colapinto.  The best Crofty fact of the year was also enthusiastically delivered: Stroll has the most Q1 exits of the season.

In Q2, the championship leader Norris put himself under pressure by not setting any early times as he went off the track.  He was out first for his final hot laps but the track was getting better all the time and Piastri had broken the Q2 lap record.  Piastri was strongest in this round, ahead of Norris and Verstappen.  The big shock of the session was Albon's exit in 15th, ahead of him but not going through was Hulkenberg, Lawson, Bearman and Bortoleto, all drivers he should have beat.

We went into the final session and LeClerc had a big but safe spin, completing a few turns and missing any obstacles.  Albon was released by Williams with a plastic sticker wrapped around his tyre.  He would be investigated for an unsafe release and the session had to be Red Flagged for it to be cleared up.

It wasn't long after the cars went out again that the end of the session came about.  Norris had held pole but this attempt was messy and nothing came of it.  Piastri took pole from him.  They lined up behind his thus: Norris (who was already ready to be interviewed as Piastri came in), Verstappen, Russell, Antonelli, Hadjar, Sainz, Alonso, Gasly and LeClerc.

If Piastri makes a good start in the Race then the win should be his.  Verstappen will be very punchy and Norris will have to watch out for him.  Verstappen could be Piastri's biggest ally.  

Qatar GP Sprint Report

It was yet another bright, sunny day in Doha.  Four drivers would be starting from the pit lane: Stroll, Hamilton (Ferrari admitted that the way they went with the rear wing was wrong) and both Alpines.

On the track, the McLarens got away quickly but Russell stayed between them.  Tsunoda let Verstappen past before the first lap was even completed, as his team mate made it past Alonso.  Further back, LeClerc fell back to 13th.

Verstappen was speaking a lot about how much his car was not only bouncing but jumping.  Brundle fleetingly mentioned that the teams were very worried about tyres getting punctured, why wasn't this brought up before?  By lap ten, the issue of track limits came into play, with Tsunoda getting the first black and white flag to let him know that he only had one chance left to stay on the black stuff.  Other drivers would soon see one too.  Tsunoda didn't manage it and got a five second penalty which was no good in a DRS train of a race.  In the end he only lost one place to Antonelli, who in got 5 seconds, so it made no difference to anyone  In the race though, with more laps to run, this could be real problem for some drivers if they are not careful.

The four pit lane starters could do nothing with the changes they made.  Stroll and the Alpines made a pit stop for soft tyres to have a little practice for Qualifying.  Overall, it was nineteen laps of not much happening, apart for LeClerc who was driving an off-road race.

There were several factors to note for the longer race: Qualifying places would be important, tyres would need to be managed, pit stops need to be sharp, gravel will need to avoided and track limits will need to be adhered to.

Qatar GP Sprint Qualifying Report

Sainz was asked his opinion on the current interpretations of the driving standards guidelines.  He said that there should be no guidelines and recent drivers, like those providing analysis, should make the judgement.  That boy always makes sense.

Bortoleto went into SQ1 with a five place grid penalty hanging over him.   It was a fairly boring session until the last milliseconds when Antonelli knocked Hamilton out - thanks for the seat mate!  It looked like Aston Martin were going to be strong with Alonso hanging onto pole position but Stroll was out.  Verstappen took first place at the very end.  The five drivers leaving Sprint Qualifying were Stroll, Lawson, Hamilton, Gasly and Colapinto.  It was another dire session for Alpine.  Hamilton was as monosyllabic as former Ferrari driver, Kimi Raikkonen, in the press pit.

Antonelli only just scraped through into SQ3 as Hadjar had a lap time deleted.  This session was even more boring than the last.  The two McLarens were fastest with Norris ahead and then Verstappen.  The five drivers out were predictable too: Hadjar, Bearman, Bortoleto, Hulkenberg and Ocon.  Normal order seemed to have been restored.

Alonso was very angry with the number of drivers on track (precisely on the same spot) at the end of SQ2 and Verstappen was very angry with his car and how much it was porpoising at the start of SQ3.  This time the track improved as the time ticked down and Verstappen's hold on pole tumbled away, perhaps his team should have listened to him?  Even Tsunoda beat him and I had assumed he was already out or perhaps forgotten on the baggage carousel at the airport.  The top ten were Piastri, Russell, Norris, Alonso, Tsunoda, Verstappen, Antonelli, Sainz, LeClerc and Albon.  Piastri needed some kind of strong racing event.  Albon seems to be falling into Sainz's shadow.

Piastri will go all out to get in the Sprint to get as many points as he can, the championship is all but lost to him unless he does.   It should be a great Sprint.

Las Vegas GP Race Report

It was all showbusiness and glitz in Vegas for the race.  Mickey and Minnie Mouse waved the drivers onto the truck for the parade, as each was announced American style.  The trophy was a neon rainbow cascade of colour and the Disney marching band accompanied the Star Spangled Banner.

This circuit is easy for overtaking, so nothing was guaranteed for any driver, wherever they qualified.  Norris pulled out an aggressive start and went straight into Verstappen's path and then off over a corner; he dropped to third behind Russell.  Luckily, Piastri had also lost places off the start, having collided with Lawson.  Bearman made up four places and is firmly in contention for rookie of the year, or at least was at that point in proceedings.  Bortoleto won't be, having tried to make up too many places off the grid and tagging Stroll, who spun into others. Gasly also lost seven places from a great starting position.  Hamilton on the hard tyre was in 12th by the second lap, having started at the back.  There were bits of Lawson's wing all over the track so Virtual Safety Car conditions were called for to clear the track.  It was hard to keep up with everything that happened.

Antonelli and Albon were both noted for starting infringements; it was a late call as the stewards were busy investigating things up and down the pack.  Suddenly, LeClerc came to life and started to overtake one car after another.  Russell was less happy as he was encountering problems with his steering.  Albon went into the back of Hamilton; the VSC edict came again to clear up the debris.  

There were very traditional mid-race stops (a few folk went early), Norris and Sainz (running in 4th) led the way.  Piastri got Sainz straight away.  Verstappen took a free stop and there would be little that could happen to stop him winning the race.

It was Lap 34 when Norris finally made a good move and got past Russell for second.  It was incredibly disappointing that Sainz had dropped back to 7th after the pit stops.  After his initial mistake, it was a good recovery race for Norris but it will always be "what could have been".  LeClerc's promise mid-race didn't amount to much.  Antonelli's drive really stood out and could help him overtake Bearman for Rookie of the Year.

There were three non-finishers: Albon, Bortoleto and Stroll, all of whom disappeared quite quietly and presumably went to try their luck elsewhere on the Strip.

Terry Cruz drove the pink Lego Cadillac around the track to chauffeur the drivers to the podium.  All in all it was a great show and, of all the races on the calendar, is the one that I'm most drawn to attending.  There was an epilogue to the show though hours later, when both McLaren cars were disqualified.  I'm slightly annoyed that such a teeny-weeny margin could hand Verstappen yet another championship, although I suppose he will really have to battle now and not just wait and see what happens.  Another ding-dong between Norris and Verstappen could be interesting.  I'm also pleased that it bumps Sainz right up in the points.

Las Vegas GP Qualifying Report

It was "chucking it down" (Ted Sky F1) in Vegas for Qualifying.  There were so many white lines on the street circuit that it would be tricky going on track.  Bearman had said that it was dangerous in these conditions.  There had been problems with manhole covers again this year in practice; with one problem solved the drivers were facing another.

Everyone chose to start on the Intermediate tyres apart from Aston Martin, who went on Wets.  Piastri switched before he even left the pit lane and others followed suit.  The green team were right.  Drivers were spinning off left, right and centre.  Then lap times started being deleted, which left some drivers in a perilous position.  I was surprised but delighted that they didn't stop the session for the wet conditions.  Drivers had to just keep going; anything could upset your lap; towards the end, Norris set two purple sectors but then had to lift for Yellow Flags and set the third fastest time on that attempt.

Bearman was the first driver to make a proper boo boo, going into the barrier but fortunately off track ish, Yellow Flags were waved which meant other laps would not be completed at top speed.  It was a bad session for Williams: Sainz would be visiting the stewards after the session for reentering the track unsafely and Albon crashed at the end (especially annoying when there was no need for him to push on that lap).  Last year's winner, Russell, was fastest followed by Verstappen and Alonso.  Out went Albon, Antonelli, Bortoleto, Tsunoda and Hamilton in last.  Interesting that all of the teams battling in the Constructors' Championship behind McLaren each had a driver out.

Everyone had learnt by the time the second session started and went out on Wet tyres to start with.  The rain had stopped coming down but it would take a long time for the track to dry out.  Stroll was the first driver to go to the Intermediate tyres, Aston Martin leading the way again.  It didn't pay off, he couldn't better his 12th place set on Wets.  Russell was fastest again, this time with Hadjar and Sainz, showing it was all about timing on track.  Out went Hulkenberg, Stroll, Ocon, Bearman (a good job by his mechanics to get the car back out after his Q1 crash) and Colapinto, who had a very wibbly lap.

It was Intermediate tyres for Q3.  The drivers went out and just went round and round.  Russell seemed to have lost it, sliding around as he went.  There were no dodgy moments, so the best ten drivers of the day had definitely been whittled down for this final session (apart from maybe LeClerc).  As the chequered flag was waved, Sainz went fastest but pole was quickly taken off him by Verstappen.  Norris was putting in purple sectors again and this time made it count and took pole to end things, with his face looming large over the track on the Sphere.  The finishing order of the top ten was Norris, Verstappen, Sainz, Russell, Piastri, Lawson, Alonso, Hadjar, LeClerc and Gasly.  It was an outstanding performance by Sainz and he was cleared of reentering the track unsafely, so he held on to the place.  Russell couldn't maintain his stellar run through the sessions, which was a shame.  Piastri doesn't need to be starting four places behind his team mate and the man he is chasing for the Drivers' Championship.  It was an excellent showing for the Racing Bulls.  Gasly deserved to be higher up the grid too, certainly above the Wurlitzer of the Ferrari.

We will have to see how much Qualifying means on Race day, it being only the third visit to the circuit.  Piastri really has nothing to lose now and can go for it.  Norris will need to be much more careful.

Brazil GP Race Report

The drivers raced dune buggies around the track for the drivers parade which looked a lot of fun.  I will look forward to seeing it on TikTok.  They did it through a light drizzle.  The cameras had their waterproof covers on and the teams had their gazebos up on the grid.  There may have been more rain to come.

Verstappen started from the pit line, behind Ocon, who declared he would be doing that first which put the Red Bull at the back.  On the grid, all the grippy rubber had been washed away.  There was a mix of tyre compounds, particularly between medium and soft, with four drivers choosing the hard type.

When the lights went off, everyone got away cleanly.  Alonso had a little off later.  The Racing Bulls did well with Lawson overtaking Russell.  Bortoleto was off again and the Safety Car was brought out.    He claimed that Stroll pushed him off but it looked more like he lost control of the rear.  Hamilton ran straight into Sainz (the pair had a first corner incident just before) and lost his front wing (which was replaced under the Safety Car) but also really damaged the floor and would be in for a horrible afternoon.

The rolling start was a disaster.  Piastri was too headstrong and aggressive and went into Antonelli who went straight into LeClerc, who lost a wheel.  LeClerc's suspension was broken and he was stopped at the side.  It seemed they might clear it under Yellow Flags but then the Virtual Safety Car.  The Racing Bulls also went for it at the restart, with Hadjar just holding off Lawson.  Piastri had second place which seems very unfair.  

Verstappen also got a puncture, presumably from all the bits and he had to pit and give up all the places he had made up from the back.  When the VSC stopped Bearman immediately overtook Gasly.  It wasn't long before Russell got past Hadjar for fourth and Bearman got past Lawson for sixth.  Verstappen and Hamilton were battling at the back.

Tsunoda got a ten second penalty for a collision which we didn't see.  We were given a replay and it involved Stroll.  One were at least the Canadian can say wasn't his fault.  Piastri was given a ten second penalty as well.  McLaren could have played a team game and asked Norris to move over to allow Piastri to build a ten second gap but with Papaya Rules, they won't.  At least, they should tell Piastri not to fight Norris with the penalty in play, it would be too risky to put both drivers out.  When will Brown and Stella intervene?

The first round of pit stops came around and Sainz had a five second one, which was a shame as both Williams were running in the points.  Once those had played out Verstappen was sixth.

Halfway through the race, it was clear how far McLaren have improved their car when Norris sailed past Verstappen down the straight.  

There were penalties everywhere.   Hamilton also got one for colliding into Sainz (I think) and Tsunoda got another for not serving his first one correctly.  Piastri served his and we thought it was going to be a one-stop for him with it but no, same tyres on again.

Hamilton finally got his wish and was allowed by Ferrari to box and retire his car.

There was a second round of late stops for many of the drivers, which left a clear run to the end for battling.  With eight laps to go, Verstappen overtook Russell for fourth place; the crowd went wild, which surprised me.  Why boo Norris and cheer Verstappen, Hamilton's great rival (or one of them)?   The grand finale of the race was Verstappen trying to get past Antonelli for second.  Piastri was disappointed not to be higher than fifth and I think his race engineer was very measured in not explaining exactly why he was not higher.

Norris was supreme all weekend and calmly said so on the radio, wishing it was a greater gap to the driver behind.  Verstappen took Driver of the Day, which was probably deserved as he started from the pit lane and finished third.  Everyone was pleased with Antonelli's second place.  It was a great race, even without the promised weather.  With three races and a sprint to go, including a return to Vegas baby, Sao Paulo left me excited for the rest of the season.

Brazil GP Qualifying Result

The news from the Sprint was that Bearman will receive a 5 second penalty for his incident during the not-race but this will be kept for the next Sprint.  So not really news.

The track temperature had increased since the morning and it was a reset for the teams and drivers.  Bortoleto didn't make it out though after his huge crash at the very end of the Sprint.   Red Bull could not find any grip in their cars, Verstappen slid and we didn't see Tsunoda at all.  Verstappen Senior left the garage in a huff before his son had even made it back.  Verstappen was out in 16th followed by Ocon, Colapinto, Tsunoda and Bortoleto.

In the second session, everyone was sliding about and/or complaining.  Lots of drivers were struggling, Bearman was not.  Williams didn't seem to be putting any effort in at all.  The shock exit of the session was one of the Ferraris.  Out went Alonso, Albon, Hamilton, Stroll and Sainz.  Fastest were Norris, Bearman and Antonelli; all three were having a great weekend.

There was strong competition as the drivers put in their first quick laps in the final session.  Pole was Norris's to lose at this point but he locked up on his first attempt.  Antonelli made a similar mistake, having done so well so far.   After round one, Piastri was fastest followed by LeClerc, Bearman and Antonelli.

Off they went for their final laps: Bearman was first out and couldn't beat his own time.  LeClerc and Norris flew and laid down the markers for the front row times.  Piastri also couldn't do better than his first time.  The Racing Bulls were going well.  Antonelli continued his amazing run in Brazil (the next Mercedes driver to be made an honorary Brazilian?) and took second place, where LeClerc was already parked in parc ferme.  The top ten were: Norris, Antonelli, LeClerc, Piastri, Hadjar, Russell, Lawson, Bearman, Gasly and Hulkenberg,  Norris is really reigning supreme in Sao Paulo.  LeClerc is still showing that he is better settled in Ferrari than Hamilton, even as we approach the end of the season.  It was a shame for Bearman that his last laps fell behind others.  It was a good showing for Alpine with Gasly and Hulkenberg gave Sauber something to be happy about.

It all seems pleasantly shaken up for the race although there are no murmurings about interesting weather.

Brazil GP Sprint Report

Overnight it had rained in Sao Paulo but it was dry and the torrential downpour predicted was nowhere to be seen for the Sprint.  There were plumes of water off the track as they set off.  Norris got off pole cleanly and Antonelli shot straight across the track in a punchy move that saw him secure second.  Verstappen got past Alonso by the first couple of corners.  Towards the back, Lawson tapped Bearman who spun.

Tsunoda and Sainz started from the pit lane having had awful Sprint Qualifying sessions.  For six laps everyone went about their business, trying to keep within DRS of the cars in front of them.  Then, out of nowhere, Piastri hit a wet curb, dragging water onto the track, went into a spin, into the barrier and out of the race.  Right behind him, Colapinto and Hulkenberg did the same thing.  There were two cars right at the side of the track, the medical car was triggered and a Safety Car brought out before they stopped the race with a Red Flag.  Antonelli told his team that it was Norris who had splashed water onto the track.  Hulkenberg got his car back to the pit lane where it could be worked on.

Verstappen and his engineer, JP, had another married couple tiff about how Turn 1 could be bettered on the radio, to entertain the crowd during the halt.  There would be a lot of work for Alpine to do for Colapinto's car to be ready for Qualifying.

It was a rolling start and behind Norris, who left them behind, there were plenty of battles.  Alonso pushed hard at Verstappen and Russell went for Antonelli, neither were successful.  Albon did get ahead to tenth.  Then everyone held their places until, with three laps to go, Antonelli finally caught up with Norris.  It seemed he couldn't quite do enough though.

On the last lap, the commentators could see a huge crash for Bortoleto but it wasn't shown until everyone knew he was okay.  Unusually, the race kept going under waved Yellow Flags.  We also weren't shown LeClerc getting past Alonso.  When we did see the crash, we saw that he was full throttle down the straight and it was very high speed, high impact collision.  Hadjar was sprayed with debris and Albon scooped up the big bits under his car.  None of them were near the points though.  The mechanics would be working very hard for a couple of hours.  Colapinto and Bortoleto, who were the only home town heroes in Brazil, would be catching up in the medical centre.  The Brazilian was later seen running back to the pit lane.

The top eight were Norris, Antonelli, Russell, Verstappen, LeClerc, Alonso, Hamilton and Gasly.  These were great points for Alpine and Mercedes and Ferrari all need points for the Constructor's Championship.

Brazil GP Sprint Qualifying Report

The rain that had been forecast for this event had not arrived on the Friday.  Brazil, a traditional circuit feels like a mad choice to host a Sprint.

The first session was bog-standard.  Norris, Verstappen and Alonso (nice) were fastest.  Disappointingly, Sainz was last, not putting in a final quick lap.  He said it was the worst execution ever.  I don't really know what that means...his fault?  The teams fault?  The four ahead of him but still out of the competition were Colapinto in 16th, Lawson, Tsunoda and Ocon.  Colapinto has signed a new contract for next year, I wonder if Tsunoda will get the same, this kind of performance...

There was a little more drama in SQ2, in the dying seconds LeClerc spun on the track and came to a complete halt before getting going again.  This brought out waved yellow flags which meant cars needed to slow down.  His team mate, Hamilton was the first victim to this.  Out went Hamilton, Albon, Gasly, Bortoleto and Bearman.  Alonso was quickest, followed by Norris and Russell.  Norris seemed to have the upper hand on his team mate and main championship rival, Piastri.  Verstappen was heavily criticising his car.

At the end, there was a final push from all ten drivers in the last couple of minutes.  Norris held pole at the time, followed by Antontelli.  Piastri finished first and couldn't do better than third.  Norris did not better his time but did keep pole, as Antonelli also couldn't do better but neither could anyone else.  Verstappen went purple for the best time in the first sector and then did personal bests in the second two sectors and it appeared that he would take pole for this but actually finished seventh.  There's a real shake up in the line up; I wonder if some teams are playing it safer with engines and parts for the Sprint and others are really going for some cheap points?  The top ten are Norris, Antonelli, Piastri, Russell, Alonso, Verstappen, Stroll, LeClerc, Hadjar and Hulkenberg.

Aston Martin have found something in Brazil and it can't be put down to Alonso's talent as Stroll made the top ten too.  There was a lot of booing for Norris and I don't understand why.  I hope it'll be a great wee Sprint but it might not be short, there is the danger there will be more sitting in the pits than racing.  Fingers crossed.

Mexico GP Race Report

The question that plays on my mind as we enter this race is why are we all suddenly rooting for Verstappen to win the Driver's Championship?  Surely, we want anyone else but him to win...to prove that it is possible?

The circuit was showing itself to be tricky over the weekend, there were various directives about which way you should go if you happened to veer outside the white lines and it was also a little slippery, not to mention the high altitude (please no one mention the high altitude anymore).  There were lock-ups going to the grid and Verstappen's drinks bottle was leaking unless he clamped his teeth down on the straw.  I think this is just the kind of racing impediment that Ecclestone was looking to bring in to spice up the racing.

The start was both absolute chaos and not really chaotic at all.  Verstappen went wide and cut back in, then giving places gained back.  But not to Russell.  Stroll Strolled at the back.  Norris had a gap big enough to avoid DRS by the end of the first lap, out in the lead.  Bearman made up three places and Piastri dropped two.  

On lap two, Lawson pitted for a new front wing but it wasn't long before he had to retire the car.

Then something happened as we were watching the replays of the start.  It was hard to tell what because it was hard to tell if we were still watching the replays or live racing.  Verstappen went off, Bearman got to fourth, Russell dropped to seventh and Hamilton went off over the grass (BBC Five Live kept saying that drivers were "cutting the grass", this irked me because they are racing highly-sophisticated pieces of tech not ride-on mowers).  Then drivers seemed to go off again, or was this a replay, with Bearman getting past.  The coverage was very confused, at no point did they show a long enough shot of one continuous piece of action for you to get the full picture of what happened but cut to other angles or what was happening elsewhere.  They couldn't have known it was too soon to go back to replay the start but actually, they could see that the drivers were still going three or four wide into corners.  Ultimately, I still have no real idea what happened in these two early incidents, one of which resulted in Hamilton getting a ten second penalty and his promising race ruined.

Tsunoda did a good enough job of holding up Piastri for his team mate but by lap eleven, he was passed.  Meanwhile Norris was setting fastest lap after fastest lap but Antonelli and Russell seemed to be in freefall.

Williams gave Sainz a five second pit stop but the limiter was broken on his car so he received a five second penalty for speeding in the pit lane too, which happened again towards the end of the race.  As he was out of the points anyway, he came in and took it with no work happening on the car so that it wouldn't be carried over to the next event.

And now we get to half way through the race, phew!  Russell was getting angrier and angrier on the radio that he was not being assisted to get past his team mate ahead of him.  Contender for radio comment of the season is his engineer who, when told that Russell felt he was quicker than Antonelli, told him he was free to race.  This went on and on until Mercedes capitulated and they switched places, which was tricky going because Piastri was right behind the pair.  It was then clearly pointlessly risky as they pitted Antonelli and McLaren also bought in Piastri.  This seemed like madness as it had been labelled a one stop race with no need to change for fresh soft tyres.  Russell and Bearman also went for it, with Bearman giving up his third place to Verstappen.  The question is whether Bearman secured fourth place or lost third?

At this point Aston Martin retired Alonso, with Hulkenberg having stopped in his garage earlier in the race.

We were nearly at the end now when Sainz stopped in the baseball stadium section, there were two laps to go when it was decided that a Virtual Safety Car was needed, which halted a fierce battle between LeClerc (who had held second for the whole race) and Verstappen.  By now Norris had a thirty-five second lead.  Even though Verstappen might think he was denied a short time to try and get past LeClerc, I would contend that it also game him time not to make a stupid mistake.  He is starting to look hot-headed again as the championship is now in his sight.  Unfortunately, Bearman was fifteen seconds behind, so even if he did something stupid and was given a ten second penalty, it wouldn't promote the Haas driver.  He would be voted Driver of the Day though.  It makes me want to check whether Ocon's contract is secure for next season as he has been so thoroughly trounced by his rookie team mate.

Norris finished the Mexican event as championship leader again and he looked calm, despite the booing.

Mexico GP Qualifying Report

Back to racing straight away on the other side of the pond, Sainz was going to be using his five place grid penalty straight away after he caused a collision last weekend.  The much-discussed repercussions had also been dropped at McLaren, which now seems like a very good way to get everyone talking about you.

All-in-all it was a very standard Qualifying event.  Colapinto seemed to go rallying at the end of the first session and Hadjar shocked everyone by putting in the quickest lap.  He was ahead of Hamilton and Russell; in fact, there were six different teams in the top ten.  Out went Bortoleto, Albon, Gasly, Stroll and Colapinto.  The Williams was having an ongoing problem with it's brakes, which they really need to fix before the race.  This position would have been a big disappointment.

In the second session, there was very heavy traffic in the pit lane with four minutes to go but it didn't lead to any drama.  The drivers leaving Qualifying were: Tsunoda, Ocon, Hulkenberg, Alonso and Lawson.  This time Hadjar only scraped through in tenth.

With less than three minutes until the end of the final session, the drivers were all queued up again but no one missed out on putting in their fastest effort.  No driver really put a foot wrong so it was all down to inherent pace, set up and skill.  Norris was fastest, which looked like a shoe-in, followed by LeClerc, Hamilton, Russell, Verstappen, Antonelli, Sainz, Piastri, Hadjar and Bearman.

LeClerc will have been pleased to pip his team mate to second at the last gasp as Hamilton had been second in both the other sessions.  I can't believe that Hamilton is still chasing his first podium for Ferrari and I expect he has his eye on the win.  He said he was going to be aggressive and I think he will be, not minding getting in trouble with Fred if anything happens with LeClerc and knowing Norris needs to be cautious.

Verstappen said he had no pace and needs other drivers ahead of him to retire if he is going to make up any places (could Hamilton's plan to be aggressive help him out?).  Piastri is still two places behind him on the grid and seems to have lost all confidence in his capabilities.  I wonder if this will be play out in the same way as when Button won his championship with Brawn, in that it was a strong start and then the gap closed and closed until there just wasn't any more races left to lose points at.

US GP Race Report

Before we got racing, Austin provided us with the added excitement of monster trucks to take the drivers around on their parade.  Not all trucks were created equal and some drivers seemed to be going around in glorified golf buggies.  

Qualifying had been a mixed bag: Albon's position of 17th makes me start to be disappointed in him.  However, it was looking as spicy as a hot wing at the front of the grid and there would definitely be some elbows out and other drivers holding their breath and just hoping to get through the start safely.  All the discussion immediately after the first turn incident in the Sprint was that it had been a racing incident, that seemed to have changed to the blame being assigned to Hulkenberg and by the time the race had come around there were digs at Piastri.

Brundle's grid walk was unusual, if you caught it.  He was made to do the first part with actor Glen Powell, who asked questions like: "What is a tyre?" and the straight was packed with people who all seemed to be paying punters rather than slebs.  Apart from Shaboozey, who seemed, like Powell, to be omnipresent.  

Disappointingly, it was a clean start, with Verstappen driving off into the distance.  LeClerc overtook Norris, who had more reason to be cautious, on softer tyres, a Ferrari strategy that was well-thought out for a change.  The pair battled hard for half of the race.  Albon, at the back, collided with Bortoleto, Stroll was in the mix too.  Hamilton and Piastri got past Russell and Bearman fell back.

The calm was short-lived and on lap seven, Antonelli and Sainz came together, putting the Williams out of the race; he was to be the only retiree.  A Virtual Safety Car was put in place and Albon was the only driver to pit during it.  If the whole Williams weekend wasn't such a shambles you might think it had been planned.

The thrilling prospect of track limits came into play fairly quickly (almost exciting as tyre strategy talk); Hadjar was shown the dreaded black and white flag (although I have never sighted it) for exceeding track limits sufficiently that if he did it again, he would get a five second penalty.  He would be followed during the race by Norris, Albon and Bortoleto.  No one actually was penalised though, which just goes to show that it is possible to stay within the white lines.

Ferrari fought hard to try and get LeClerc second place, boxing him ahead of Norris but in the end they had to settle for third.  Bearman tried to bring in more interest by going wide and spewing up a plume of dust as he tried to overtake Tsunoda and spun himself.

With sixteen laps to go Norris's tyres started to go and it looked like the one battle on track was off but they came back to him and it was reignited.  There was six laps to go and he got passed LeClerc with five to spare.

The race finished Verstappen (who we barely saw), Norris, LeClerc, Hamilton, Piastri, Russell, Tsunoda, Hulkenberg, Bearman and Alonso in the points positions.  The fastest lap however went to Antonelli.  Obviously all the talk now is of Verstappen winning the championship and whether McLaren will have to choose to back just one of their drivers.  This will rumble, boringly, on.

US GP Sprint Report

Despite securing the Constructor's Championship, all eyes remain on McLaren: how they treat their drivers and what role "Papaya Rules" will play in the final six races.  On press day, Norris commented that there would be "repercussions" following his collision with his team mate at the last race.  Cue speculation about what form this punishment might take.  The team seemed to be finding it harder to provide a car that would stay out front of all the competition to allow their own brand of racing to play out.

The Sprint Qualifying had led to a promising line up for the Sprint (must keep reminding myself not to call it a race and slap my wrist when I do).  Verstappen made a good start which meant he was well ahead of the carnage behind him.  It was a Turn 1 racing incident but Piastri was definitely making a move to push at Norris and Hulkenberg had got himself into the thick of things without considering an exit plan.  Norris and Piastri were immediately parked up at the side of the track, with the Brit securing quite a lot of damage, his wheel lying a long way from his car.  Alonso was also out but somehow Hulkenberg carried on but didn't get back into a points paying position.  The Safety Car was out for four of the nineteen laps.

The Stewards rightly judged it to be a racing incident but little was made that both Williams had managed to keep out of the mess, which was highly surprising for the team who seem to find a loss in even the most promising of situations.  The question at the restart was whether Sainz could hold of his old team mate LeClerc to keep third position.  It turned out the bigger question was whether LeClerc could stay in front of his current team mate and Hamilton took the position from him when he made a silly mistake.  All of which benefitted Sainz. 

Also largely unmentioned was Tsunoda's rise from the back of the grid to 7th after seven laps, a position he held until the end.

Halfway through the Sprint, Russell had one opportunity to overtake Verstappen for the win but it wasn't really there and didn't happen.  They both went wide and off the track but nobody suffered for it.  There were lots of incidents noted but not much followed up on; we shall see if this is the same during the race.  The potential for drivers being penalised for leaving the track limits too often seems high.

With three laps to go, Stroll locked up at a corner and went straight into Ocon.  He was waving an apology to the Haas driver before his car had even come to standstill.  This meant that the Sprint finished under the Safety Car and Stroll was awarded a five place grid penalty for the Race (the actual race not the sprint race which is not a race but a sprint).  Bearman did something or other to Antonelli (pushed him off the track or gained an advantage by leaving the track...) and was given a ten second penalty.  As the cars were so bunched up in the finishing conditions, this meant that not only did Bearman fall back from his one point position but his classification was right at the end.  Verstappen held his lead from start to finish, with Russell feeling he had done well to get second.  Sainz was happy with third but we didn't get to hear about it.  Off the podium (no, not a podium, a kind of standing hug) but in the points were Hamilton, LeClerc (who comes up as Charlotte Flair on subtitles, a merry distraction but it does mean you can't see what the Stewards are up to), Albon, Tsunoda and Antonelli.

Qualifying later in the day could not possibly be as interesting as the Sprint and lots of engineers and mechanics would be very busy fixing cars over their lunch break to ensure all drivers could get out. 

US GP Sprint Qualifying Report

 As usual there was a lot of talk about how everyone involved in F1 loves going to Austin; so we're all very pleased for them.  The most there was to say about the track on the first competitive event of the weekend was that there was gusty wind but enough about the barbeque beans.

I feel like the last time there was a disaster with traffic it was in America too.  The cars that desperately needed to improve their times all came out of the pits together in a traffic jam, which didn't do anyone any favours as they couldn't get going on a quick lap whilst blocking each other.  Out went Bearman, Colapinto, Tsunoda, Ocon and Bortoleto in last, whose lap time was deleted and therefore failed to set any time at all.  Norris, Piastri and Verstappen were quickest.

Racing Bull have a new livery for the weekend, which appeared to be flames as viewed when the cars were travelling at speed.  This seems to be in poor taste and I hoped poor Grosjean didn't see it.  When I did some research though, it is not flames but a tortoiseshell pattern in honour of a new prepaid Tortoise card from VCarb, their sponsor.  This is being fronted by Shaboozey, whose most famous (or only?) song is A Bar Song (Tipsey).  This seems in poor taste and I hope it doesn't mean that Hadjar and Lawson will be as slow as the animal they are representing.

In SQ2, Ferrari were putting in desperate last laps to try and stay in Qualifying and knocked out Antonelli.  He was followed by Hadjar, Gasly, Stroll and Lawson (who also didn't get a lap time in as his was deleted for track limits).  Norris was the fastest again and it seemed like pole was his for the losing.  (We all know how it will go if something is Norris's for th losing).

For the pundits the big story seemed to be that Hulkenberg was flying and that Antonelli was not in the top ten.  I would argue the bigger story is Tsunoda finishing in 17th.  Is this the Jonathan Wheatly effect, leaving Red Bull for Sauber?  Both Williams were also through to the final session.

All the top drivers waited until the end to put in one quick lap, a risky strategy but as the weekend had not been filled with crashes, Safety Cars and Yellow Flags, it seemed a managable risk.  Norris looked like he had pole, but then, as always, Verstappen took it from him.  They finished Verstappen, Norris, Piastri, Hulkenberg (!), Russell, Alonso (again, no mention of this great performance), Sainz, Hamilton, Albon and LeClerc.  The Williams had beat the Ferraris.

With a Sprint it is all down to the start as there are few laps after it to make up places.  It will be interesting to see how punchy Piastri is, I assume he will not want to risk sustaining damage to his car but is he slowly becoming more hot-headed?  I feel this is a big opportunity for Hulkenberg and Alonso to make a splash this season, with nothing to lose.  How safe Verstappen plays it should be a indicator of how much he believes he is in with a shot at the Drivers' Championship.

Singapore GP Race Report

The biggest disappointment coming out of Qualifying the previous day was that Williams had been disqualified and would be starting from the back of the grid, after the triumph of the podium at the last race weekend.  Sparkles/Sprinkles the Unicorn was back on Sainz' helmet to continue to bring good luck.  Albon was going to be starting from the pit lane.

It had rained during the day and the track was wet, the rubber had been washed away and there was no sun to dry up all the rain (poor Incy Wincy).  Then, more rain!  Then it was drying out.  Lots of stars were out on the grid as well as in the sky for this race.  Lewis Capaldi very much looked like a Scot struggling in foreign heat.

Also looking to the stars were McLaren, wishing on one to seal the Constructor's Championship on their second attempt this year.  The top four on the grid had not won this race before.; it was anyone's at this point.  Russell was able to hold his lead over Verstappen, which looked unlikely because of the Red Bull's choice of soft tyres.  Norris made up two places to get past his team mate for third but did make contact with someone, turned out it was Piastri.  Sparks were flying as they got underway and several drivers had made up places with Antonelli falling back.

Piastri was on the radio asking about the contact and calling into question the Papaya Rules.  He got grumpier and angrier with each interaction.

Suddenly, Bortoleto was in the pits for a new front wing, his was heavily broken; we had a mystery Yellow Flag earlier, perhaps this was it?  At the same time, Norris hit the wall but it looked okay.

A third of the way through, Tsunoda was running in 19th for no apparent reason.  And McLaren did a full dummy stop for Norris to try and trick Red Bull into stopping Verstappen.  Two laps later, stops started happening and Verstappen was in first but it was a slowish one.

Finally, most of the pitstops were done bar a few long runners and Piastri.  There had been no Safety Cars yet.  It was a very long one, five seconds for Piastri, so it was a good call from Norris who, when invited, chose not to go in second.  McLaren really need to practice doing two good stops in a row.  Aston Martin also had a really slow one with Alonso, who had been running really well.  When given a call about how many laps were left, the spirit of Raikonnen appeared in his old Ferrari teammate, as he said that if his engineer was going to speak to him every lap he would disconnect the radio.

Gasly gave the wall it's biggest bump so far on lap 34.  Verstappen was really struggling, genuinely asking for help on the radio and locking up his tyres.  Hulkenberg slid into a spin on lap 45 (of 62), sending out a lot of smoke from his tyres but not causing a Safety Car.

We barely saw Russell all race and then we got a glimpse of him for his celebratory radio call as he won the thing.  It wasn't dwelt on for long because we had to cut to the McLaren drivers being thanked for playing their part in securing the Constructor's Championship.  Piastri insisted in the press pen that he would not comment on the incident with Norris until he had seen the footage, he was surprisingly unmoody and unupset.

The drivers were sat on the floor, trying to recover, smiling but sweaty and exhausted.  The three of them looked very unwell, not fit to be interviewed.  There was no Safety Car for two years running to give them a breather.

All around, the drivers were sporting shiny, glittery, sparkly helmets. which twinkled under the lights.  Most importantly the sticker of Sparkles sent Sainz from 19th on the grid to a 10th place points finish.

Behind Russell, Verstappen seemed happy to take second and Norris had worked hard for third.  Then came Piastri, Antonelli, LeClerc, Hamilton (who nearly lost the place), Alonso and Bearman (who had a strong race).

Singapore GP Qualifying Report

How were things in Singapore?  Very hot, yet it had also rained very heavily in the days leading up to the event.

It continued to all be very leisurely first session until Gasly had to pull over as his car had stopped.  This was in the last minute, so out went Bortoleto, Stroll, Colapinto, Ocon and Gasly.  No shocks there.  Hamilton and Russell were the two fastest cars.  Stroll's lap wasn't great; I wonder when they will announce if he has signed his contract for next year?

There were quite a few drivers either all having a bad day or too tightly packed together in the second session and they all jostled for positions 7-15.  The McLarens did not look strong on the track, whereas the works team, Mercedes, were doing well.  Out went Hulkenberg, Albon, Sainz, Lawson and Tsunoda (back to regular form in the second Red Bull).  Russell, Verstappen and Antonelli were the top three.

Again, they were close and they were pushing in the third session and drivers were routinely brushing the wall.   Several drivers were pushing for pole: Russell, Verstappen, Hamilton, Piastri.  It was George who got it though followed by Verstappen, Piastri, Antonelli, Norris, Hamilton, LeClerc, Hadjar, Bearman and Alonso.  It was a good job from those last three drivers but they weren't mentioned at all.

The Williams' rear wing was investigated after the session and it was too tall somewhere, so both drivers were disqualified and will start from the back of the grid. 

Everyone was sweating once Qualifying was finished, it must have been gruelling and Norris admitted that he was ill too.  Unless there is a dramatic change of conditions, the race was going to be tough.  I wonder if there will be any in-helmet vomiting?

All the words at Baku were still "wind"; either how it affected Qualifying or how much there was for the race.  Ocon was disqualified from Qualifying, as his car failed a rear wing flexi test, so he would be starting from the back of the grid.

On the way to the starting grid, Hadjar had a hydraulics failure and Racing Bull had to work on the car to fix it on the pit straight.

The Azerbaijani anthem is really quite something and there was quite a dramatic version of it.  Sainz managed to contain his laughter whilst Antonelli openly had the giggles.  Hadjar could crack a smile too as his car had been righted.  Causing tears, was the prediction by James Vowles of Williams that rain was coming.

Continuing an awful weekend for the Driver's Championship leader, Piastri was into the wall on the first lap, bringing out the Safety Car.  He locked up and just went straight forwards.  This followed him jumping the start and then stopping, so he was late off the grid to start with.  Otherwise, the top six had remained as they were.  Luckily for Oscar, the lull for the Safety Car meant that we could watch many many replays of the events, from every possible angle and from every possible car.  

In the replays we saw what looked like Alonso also jumping the start, then the stewards looked at it.  He was given a five second penalty.  Piastri got one too and he will have to serve it at Singapore possibly.

Verstappen did a great restart as always.  Antonelli got a good one and Russell fell a couple of places back.  Norris also fell back a place, losing it to LeClerc.  The cars at the back were playing an interesting game with the tyre strategy and pitting at odd times.  Albon was stuck at the back.  Having taken another stop, he came together with Colapinto and tipped him nearly out of the race.  I'm not sure why there wasn't a Safety Car.  Albon was given a ten second penalty.

The first round of proper stops arrived and there was no sign of this rain.  What Williams needed to do was sacrifice Albon, who was running in 16th, to get the Safety Car out for Sainz to get a free pit stop to get him to the end of the race.  On lap 28, Sainz came in.

On Lap 37, I noticed that nothing much had happened for a long time.  There was still only one retiree as well.  Norris did come in for his stop and it was another slow one from his team; there was nothing they could do to make amends for it this weekend.

Russell was the last driver to pit and was the only person who really made a jump through strategy; he overtook Sainz for second place.  Heartbreaking for Williams.  Then Albon reported light rain.  It never came or no one else noticed it.

Verstappen and his pit wall team were delighted with the win.  Russell was relieved.  Sainz was the happiest: "best podium in my career guys, you cannot imagine how this feels, thank you so much."  He was voted driver of the day.  All the staff from the team were there at Parc Ferme to celebrate.

If Carlos was the best, who was the worst?  Albon for being the first crasher in Qualifying meaning he started at the back and got into a lot of bother?  Norris for failing to make up a single place from 7th despite driving the best car?  Piastri?  Well, yes, him.

It was expected that the Constructors' Championship would be McLaren's this weekend and neither of their drivers delivered.  Still, we roll on to Singapore.

Russell looked appalling as he was interviewed before the podium, an awful grey shade of pale but he did congratulate Williams first.  LeClerc had been quick over the radio to check if Sainz was on the podium.  Verstappen didn't manage such manners.