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.

Qatar GP Race Report

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

Qatar GP Qualifying Report

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

Qatar GP Sprint Qualifying Report

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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.

Qatar GP Race Report

It was an absolutely shambolic start to the race with last minute penalties being handed out.  All grid place.  With very hard-to-see waved yellow flags here and there, Verstappen, Bottas and Sainz went before the stewards with Verstappen being given a five place demotion, Bottas three places and Sainz nothing.  Horner blamed a rogue marshal.  That Paw Patrol can't be trusted.

This all led to a higgledy-piggledy grid, with four top placed drivers starting on softs which would give them a starting advantage over Hamilton, Bottas and Verstappen.  Gasly second, Alonso third and Norris fourth.  The grid was also shambolic, plenty of slebs, with the new Brundle Mandate that they must give interviews.  They didn't.

Alonso made a champion's start and it looked good.

On the first couple of laps, I realised Aston Martin really need to consider their paintwork next year as they look exactly like Mercedes at night races.  Or Mercedes could go silver again.  What if McLaren give up the papaya though...  Then I realised that it was Bottas' Mercedes I was looking at back in 10th place.

By Lap 4, Verstappen had made third place from seventh.  Really, you just had to consider the real race, the race for third place.  By contrast, it was a poor opener for Bottas, in eleventh and out of the points, Wolff had to call him and tell him to "take these cars".  By half way through both him and Perez had recovered themselves and made it to the sharp end of the action.

Then Bottas got a puncture.  He was a good boy and went into the gravel trap and then brought a lot of gravel back onto track to spice things up a bit.  The points haul for Mercedes disappeared.  He did manage to get back to the pit for both tires and a new nose and came out in 14th having lost all he'd made up.

With Perez moving up through the pack, Alpine called Ocon to hold off Perez.  Just as his team mate did for him to get his maiden win.  I think he lasted a couple of seconds.  If Alonso got on the podium, it would be all his own work.

With seven laps to go, everything heated up again.  Norris came in for new tires as he suspected a puncture.  He reported "a strange feeling" and his engineer replied that was just puberty. So the driver who started fourth became eleventh.  David Beckham gave the McLaren pit stop a "wow".   Gasly did two stops and ended up tenth, having started second.  Bottas retired.  Russell had to come in after losing his front wing and tires over the big curbs, was it worth the cost of a new front wing for the number of laps left.  Just as he came out, his team mate also had a hard tire failure.  Latifi radioed in to say that it gave no warning.  I held my breath whether Alonso, a one stopper, could hold onto his third place and stand on the podium, with three laps to go he was 9 seconds ahead of Perez.  Vestappen was holding fastest lap, for a point, and Bottas could no longer steal it from him.  

With two laps to go, a Virtual Safety Car was brought out to clear Latifi's car off the track.  This greatly helped Verstappen to hold onto fastest lap.  He also pitted for new tires.  Alonso didn't have to risk riding the curbs with his old, old tires.  The pressure on Ocon in fifth from Stroll and Sainz was eased.

Lots of positive messages to Hamilton on his winning in lap.  Toto telling him: "Let's go to Saudi Arabia".  Yes.  Most of the track will be doing that.  For Alonso it was: "Ole, ole ole ole."  Vestappen and Alonso clearly enjoyed racing in Qatar, perhaps they lose less sleep over human rights issues than Hamilton.

For a moment it seemed dubious whether the aged Alonso would remember the podium procedure.  Cue Brundle and Crofty discussing geriatric podiums of the past.  What could have been a very dull race was actually quite a hot one, the punctures and diverse tire strategy helping greatly.  Two races go and it's all to play for.  Apart from Ricciardo, who is now just playing for laughs.

Qatar GP Qualifying Report

As we head to the Middle East, all the talk is of Sportswashing.  Should we be visiting these countries?  Should we be viewing sports being held in these countries?  Should I be writing about sports taking place in these countries?

Still, the circus rocked up and put on a show.  It didn't take long in Qualifying for Mazepin to lose his front wing.  Despite this being a brand new circuit for every driver, there were no surprises in Q1.  Both Alfa Romeos out, both Haas and Latifi in his Williams.  So that was a pointless 15 minutes.

The Alpha Tauris and Alpines shook things up in Q2, running the soft tires and looking like they would easily get through to Q3.  LeClerc felt he couldn't find any more time in the lap, sitting in last place with Norris, Perez and Ricciardo also with him.   Ultimately, when the flag fell, Gasly finished second to Hamilton, Ocon was sixth, Tsunoda seventh and Alonso third!  Meaning Stroll, LeClerc, Ricciardo and Russell were out with, shock of the session, Perez in 11th place.

Hamilton looked set to take pole position and was secured in that with Gasly getting a puncture and bringing out the yellow flag, obliging drivers to go slower (he still got 4th though).  The puncture was caused by his front wing coming off on a curb, something to watch out for in the race.  Vestappen split the Mercedes.  I predict that they will end in that order too.  Possibly with Bottas falling back.

Going into the race, everyone with an even number was going to have a poor start with a very dirty side of the track.  Ricciardo suggested that he complain to the stewards about someone and have them penalised, so everyone move one place up the grid.

If you don't want to discuss sportswashing or dirty tracks or racing, the other main topic of conversation is rear wings and gaps and front loads.  Perhaps someone will fail scrutineering over night?