Mexico GP Race Report

The question hanging over the weekend was not whether Antonelli could win the drivers' championship but what on earth Sky TV would do with their build-up in the next race if he didn't.  Eventually we did get on to the race in hand and found out that Lawson had been disqualified from Qualifying for some safety regulation infringement that I can't quite follow.  His boss, Alan Pomaine, said that Lawson had messed it up.

Apart from a few Mexican Day of the Dead figures hanging around there was no one on the grid to be interviewed. Ferrari were at the front and had had a strong weekend so far; it was now a question of how the team would Ferrari it up. Hamilton locked his wheels up on the formation lap and gave himself a flat spot on his right front tyre - ouch,

There was a little funky madness at the start. Hamilton went well, Russell worse and Leclerc steamed ahead. Leclerc wanted the lead and went for it but drove wide and whilst he did Verstappen got past Hamilton which meant that he would need to lose two places if he gave the place back. He did not. In the background, Hadjar spun off. It was a tricky situation and at times the cars were four abreast.

A few laps in there were questions: what would Ferrari do, what would the stewards do, did Russell send Hadjar off the track and why were there two Aston Martins in the pits? The first questions were not answered immediately but Alonso was called to the pit lane to retire and then Stroll was told to stop at the side of the track. Of course, that called for a Virtual Safety Car. No one used the opportunity to pit for fresh tyres. Finally Leclerc was given a five second penalty which would be fine if he could maintain that gap at the front. It was lesser than him giving away those places. Russell however was given ten seconds.

There were mysterious early pit stops. We didn't know why Gasly had fallen four places at the start. Not to mention the astonishing fact that Haas have replaced Ocon with a thirty-two year old in Hirakawa. It was a Halloween spooky spectacular.

The front runners stopped just before halfway through and reassembled from fourth down. Others went later and there were some slow stops about perhaps some ghoulish gremlins hanging about in the pit lane causing mischief. Those that hung about waiting for a Safety Car opportunity had forgotten that Stroll had already retired from the race.

It was Lap 45 when the beleaguered Bottas spun after a suspension failure, crashed and brought out the Safety Car. It was bad news for Antonelli who had only just pitted; he did jump Hamilton though. As the Medical Car came around to check him out, the race was stopped with a Red Flag as the barriers needed repairing. Bottas had given a thumbs up to say he was okay and it took a long time for him to get out of his chassis and for us to see a replay, you could hear the crowd gasping.

Hamilton came on the radio to say that "we have problems. Big big problems." He stomped off into his pit when he got out of the car. From absolute delight with the team the previous day, he was now embittered. The cameras were trying to get as far into the Ferrari garage as possible.

Poor Gasly was not having any luck in the race as he lost power at the start and then, as he exited the pit lane under the Safety Car the exit traffic light turned red just as he was crossing it and was under investigation.

The race director decided to go back an extra lap to take the order for the race restart. Verstappen got away well from first place despite Red Bull's launches being abysmal this year. Leclerc was second but the dirty side of the track did him no favours and he lost the place to Hamilton in third. Then he locked up and got large flat spots on his tyres which left him vulnerable to those behind him and it wasn't long until Antonelli was past. Somehow he held Norris and others off despite everyone reporting that the holes were down to the canvas. I don't know if this is real canvas or just what we refer to as canvas these days.

Verstappen was investigated for being over the white line at the restart but was cleared. Further back Hulkenberg collided with Bearman, running straight into the back of him and putting him out of the race. He got a ten second penalty for that.

On lap 59 of 71, another Safety Car came out because Linblad had pulled over in his Racing Bull after coming together with Piastri and being sent into the air. The Medical Car came to get him.

Verstappen backed them right up for the rolling restart. No one made an overtake. It stayed that way until the finishing line. And there we were, the first words came from Bonno as Antonelli cried. He is the youngest ever world champion and spoke to Nico Rosberg whilst Verstappen, the winner and Hamilton, the runner up, watched on. Russell had made his way over from wherever the also-rans parked to congratulate his team mate, probably knowing he would get a little bit of TV coverage. Hamilton had chilled out a bit by the time he was interviewed so Rosberg poked the bear. It must have galling to lose the win in a Ferrari watching his replacement take the ultimate prize. Everyone is babying the new champion - there were lots of cuddles and lifting him, then Hamilton gave him another in the cool down room before Verstappen sorted out the confetti on his face by wetting a towel...the youngest champion ever.

There are a few more races to enjoy this season and Antonelli can sit back to enjoy them and watch things implode around him. How is Russell going react and will he finally get some wins now the pressure is off? What will be said in the Ferrari debrief? Will there be anymore fallout from the Ocon debrief debacle? Will Bottas be sacked having survived the imploding car? Will Stroll finally be sacked? Will we have some new race winners this season? It's still all to play for.

US GP Race Report

It was almost a clean start apart away from the grid apart from a tiny tap between the two Ferrraris and the US GP was underway.  Antonelli was off into the distance.  Leclerc took third and then second place from the Red Bulls and then Verstappen took it back.  This argy-bargy meant that Antonelli left them far behind and was over two seconds clear after the first lap.  There was a very quick Virtual Safely Car to clear some debris; no time to make a pit stop.  Alonso was the only real loser at the start and dropped five places, the debris had come from Albon's car as it came past him.

After only eight laps, Piastri was asked to let Norris through.  They were both on medium tyres with no other discerning difference between the cars, it may have been unfair although Piastri was told they were on different strategies.  This didn't seem to be put back later and Norris went for some risky strategies to stay ahead and finished fifth.

Russell, who is one of the few drivers who could challenge Antonelli for the championship, was given a five second penalty for leaving the track at the start.  It seemed petty.

The first round of stops were very early.  I felt we had only just begun.  Norris was served poorly with a long stop and Hamilton came out behind Lawson.

In between quite a lot of overtaking, Bearman was given a ten second penalty for a collision with Gasly at the beginning of the race.  He received an unusual radio message from the team telling him they were happy to retire the car on lap 26.

Antonelli made one stop whilst many others were going for two.  He made it pretty much in the middle of the race and came out in fourth between the Ferraris and bequeathing the lead to Verstappen.  After the second round of stops everything was refreshed and he was back at the front.

On lap 52 of 56 a Virtual Safety Car was called because Bottas had come to a stop at the side of the track.  It had all been a bit racy up front and now the race was put on a freezehold.  Apparently, Antonelli was going to make a stop but he didn't ,which seemed like the right thing to do.  He had 19 seconds at the end of it.

Ferrari finally came good, having lost direction in Qualifying, and Leclerc finished second.  Verstappen took third place, which he wasn't unhappy with and then it was Hamilton, Norris, Hadjar, Piastri, Russell, Lawson and Gasly.

It was an awful outing for Cadillac and Williams with Aston Martin coming out ahead at the back.  Further up it was a real mixed bag with team mate quite far apart from each other.  Antonelli did everything he could to secure the championship at CotA: pole position and race winner.  Hamilton and Russell were both only one place away from handing it to him.  Has he won it this year or did everyone else lose it?

Singapore GP Race Report

Race day finally arrived in Singapore and it felt long-awaited for.  Hamilton turned up in special spangly jeans.  Another fashion he has pioneered is use of a scooter by the drivers to get around the paddock; even Hulkenberg had one.  Somewhere children are going without.

There was no Safety Car last year and no rain before this race so there was a feeling that anything could happen at this year's race.  Somehow Verstappen kept his place at the start despite a formidable challenge from Leclerc.  The car floors sparked in the night's darkness as they ran down towards the corners.  Russell started from the back of the grid and by the end of lap two, he was in seventeenth place, so it was looking good for him.

After that there wasn't much competition so it was disappointing to be shown a great team mate battle between Bearman and Ocon in the mini-screen rather than full frame.

The Safety Car opportunity came at the end of lap eight when Bortoleto pulled his car over to park it at the end of the pit lane.  It was a Virtual Safety Car though and too early to be capitalised on.  The teams tried to figure out their next move.  Norris talked with his engineer who asked him if he wanted to go with his idea from the briefing, which the driver agreed to.  This was much more coded than Ferrari who told Leclerc that they would be going for Plan C with the opposite to Verstappen.

Those first stops came on lap 17 with Hamilton moving from medium to the preferred soft tyre, Leclerc doing the reverse seven laps later.  With perfect timing at exactly half way through the race, Colapinto stopped, he drove off the track and into what appeared to be a civilian car park.  Norris and Piastri sensed a Safety Car coming and pitted with Piastri getting a delay and slow stop.  But Safety Car came.

Meanwhile Antonelli diced with track limits as he often does.  The one person who we can rely on to bring drama to a race finally did.  Stroll stopped on lap 39, retiring from the race and calling for Virtual Safety Car conditions.  Leclerc and Antonelli pitted at the front.  Russell came in but of course just missed out on it being a cheap stop because it finished.

McLaren called Piastri in for an unusually early second stop and it seemed like their were losing their strategic nous but it turned out he had a slow puncture.  The Aussie has had no luck this year.  He and Russell should form a club.

Ferrari were handling strategy in their own special way and there were times when it would have been a good idea to switch the position of their drivers but they waited until lap 46 of 62.  Verstappen, whilst seeming to be cruising to an easy victory out front, suddenly had a very slow lap.  We couldn't figure it out because his radio transmissions were not broadcasting, to us or to his team.

Towards the end of the race it became do-or-die time.  Norris had decided that he was going to get past Hamilton, who was not on good tyres.  This was his own call and he apologised for it later.  However both drivers went wide and Antonelli got past them both.  Norris is now back to self-recrimination.  Eventually Norris did get past Hamilton and we were treated to Kim  Kardashian's reaction.  Bonno was busy telling Antonelli off for exceeding track limits but the race was done.  Norris offered to help Piastri get past Hamilton was but was told not to worry, it wouldn't have been any recompense for tipping him out of the Sprint anyway.  Piastri managed it himself.

Russell started from the back of the grid and made it to ninth.  Hadjar started in the pit lane and made it to tenth.  Both were points positions but is it what their team mates would have achieved?

Singapore marks a new milestone in this season of F1; a driver can now secure the championship at the next race.  Exciting times and Antonelli did do the usual play of saying they would not think about it but took on the challenge with glee despite looking absolutely exhausted at the end, clutching his water bottle for dear life.

So there we are, a week off for good behaviour and we are on the championship straights.  Austin is always amusing and I feel we are heading into Kardashian territory now.  Yee ha!

Bahrain in Malaysia GP Race Result

With Max Verstappen on pole, this race seemed to be an inevitable win for him and with spits of rain in the lead up to the start, this could only help him.  The other aspect looming over the race was the more textured track than usual which would eat up tyres, so we might get a lot of tyre chat.

As the pit lane opened for drivers to go to the grid, the rain came down heavily.  The track was very hot so it would evaporate quickly but the mechanics were scurrying around to find wet weather tyres.  Everyone was keen to get out to discover what this track, nay any track, would be like for these regulation cars.  By the time Martin Brundle hit the grid, it was raining torrentialy; the surface was a vast pond.  The start would be delayed but it would have been much better to have a rolling start behind the Safety Car as Jean Alesi had requested.  Most drivers went back to sit in the garage but some stayed inside their car on the grid or at the side under an umbrella.  The medical car went around and around displacing some water whilst the marshals went out with brooms and water-sucking vehicles drove about.

When the start time was announced all the drivers came out on their scooters to get to their cars.  The tyre strategy was now a free-for-all because the formation lap would be behind the Safety Car.  Hadjar and Norris were the only drivers to go off on that lap with Lawson stuck on the grid but eventually getting going.  Hamilton's car broke down as well and he dropped to the back crawling around.  He got back around the final straight but the Audis had not overtaken him so he powered down and got the whole system going.  I think it was too much for the Race Director, who decided to stop the ridiculous carry on and brought all the cars back to the pit lane to try again in a few minutes.  The mechanics scrambled back out.  It was a shambles.  Meanwhile Antonelli said the track was drying out very quickly, so all our excitement about the potential of a wet race was dying out quickly.  No one knew what order the cars would start in.  The Safety Car was parked in the middle of all the race cars.  All the drivers were back in the garages with their headphones on.  It was decided that the race would start again from the original grid line-up.  It had been over an hour since the race should have started.

At this point, it had stopped raining and drivers were hanging out in the pit lane.  Bearman was hanging with Bortoleto, Russell was chatting to Piastri, Stroll was chatting with his engineers.  Finally, we got a third start time and I was two cups of tea down.  There was a complete mix of tyre choices amongst the cars with no one wisdom prevailing.  Verstappen on pole was on intermediate wets as was third place Antonelli and their team mates, the Racing Bulls and the Williams.  The McLarens and Aston Martins were on the medium compound and everyone else was of soft tyres with Haas splitting their strategy.  Gasly went off on his, it was a big backwards cruise across the grass.  Hamilton also regretted his choice.  

We thought the race was underway.  Then the Safety Car took them around for another lap.  Perez came in to change his tyres to wet tyres before we went to the standing start.  Several drivers including Norris and Hamilton asked to come in for wet weather tyres and were effectively given a shush and stroke over the radio.  We would see who has the deeper level of talent to get around the first few laps.  McLaren didn't trust Piastri and gave him them, splitting their strategy.  Bortoleto came in too so those drivers would all start from the pit lane.  It would make sense if you were changing to dry tyres as you would have to start from the pit lane but to go wets and know you will have to change again some time soon was madness.  

They were tentative off the start and looked like they were on ice.  Both Mercedes made an awesome getaway and got past Verstappen.  All the drivers on dry weather tyres dropped straight to the back with Hamilton in 12th being the highest running after the first lap.  Leclerc came in for intermediates and a new nose as he had come together with Hulkenberg.  The gap between wet and dry runners was then a pit stop's worth of time.

Lawson made it up to fourth place by overtaking Hadjar.  Hamilton could not make his soft tyres work and was asked to pit but he negotiated and decided to stay out and gamble.  Verstappen got into the groove and was able to get past Russell. There was certainly lots of overtaking.

Hulkenberg was the first driver to change from wet to dry tyres.  As the intermediate tyre lap time matched the soft tyre lap time, Bottas spun into the gravel and beached his car to help out all the other drivers.  It was obvious that a Safety Car would be needed and it gave all the intermediate tyred drivers a chance for a free stop.

At the restart experience showed, Verstappen and Russell were both past Antonelli.  We seemed to be back where we were to start the whole show off.  The race calmed down and as we approached half way one of the most important overtakes happened: Antonelli took Russell for second place.

With twelve laps to go, Williams had lost all the advantage they had gained through basic ineptitude, a collision with Hulkenberg and then Albon's car was done and he pulled over to the side of the track.  A Virtual Safety Car was called for to slow the cars down, thus completing the F1 Procedures Bingo Card.  There was a rush for new tyres.

Something was amiss with the rescue of the stranded car and it was switched to a full Safety Car and anyone who hadn't piitted went now.  The tractor came out and the vehicle was lifted.  All the cars pulled up close behind Verstappen and it would be a sprint to the end.

Crofty said that it should be the Safety Car ending this lap several times.  As it began to look more likely that the Race Director might call it, Russell pulled up to the side of the track from third, his whole body language showing the disappointment and frustration as he climbed out.  Norris went off into the gravel as he took avoiding action as the cars in front slowed down, it was some kind of telepathic sympathy but regained the track.

There were three laps to go when the Safety Car came in.  Unfortunately Hadjar was not able to hold on to third position to gain a second podium in eight days as Hamilton overtook him to try and get back to close to where he was to start off with, around 36 hours ago.  Leclerc had fallen back at the restart but was also able to get past the Red Bull for a good Ferrari resurgence which will help Fred, whose abilities are being questioned.  

It was a race with everything apart from an actual Red Flag and perhaps a lot of on-track action.  Alonso scored some points.  Other than that there were no surprises in the top ten.  Singapore can throw up some surprises and as the last race in a triple-header some of the drivers might find it additionally challenging.  With Abu Dhabi and Qatar confirmed for the calendar this year, the end is not in sight yet.

Azerbaijan GP Race Report

Lots of drivers were looking for positives and only finding negatives in Baku.  Sainz had secured a points position grid place but had been awarded a five place grid drop for going fast under Yellow Flags.  Norris had a fuel injection problem before he even got to the grid.  Antonelli went off on the Formation Lap and found that Leclerc did not follow immediately meaning he would end up sat at the start of the grid by himself for a good long while.

Russell and Piastri were away quicker than Lerclerc.  There was quickly some separation between the cars at the front.  Unusually, Antonelli went backwards rather than forwards off the grid, losing a place.  The Red Bulls were flying, Verstappen made up three places in three laps and Hadjar up in front of him was flying as well.  On Lap four, Hadjar got passed Leclerc for a podium place.  It would have been nice for Hadjar to get a podium but he had to give the place up to Verstappen.  Would this turn out to be the best strategy for them?

On Lap nine, a potential problem, Stroll was called on to stop his car, which he managed to do at a good place where he was right off the track; no controversial VSC would be needed.  Alonso would also retire before we were half way through the race as well.

After twenty laps Antonelli was in a position to score one point but we had not been shown one of his overtakes in full screen.  At the front however, Hadjar was calling to be let past Verstappen because he was close behind on medium tyres.

On Lap 30 I was wondering whether anyone had made a pit stop as we hadn't been shown any.  In fact, we had only watched Verstappen and Hadjar not-battle for many, many laps.  The other teams needed to do something to get some airtime for their sponsors.  Norris locked up his brakes, went wide and had to do a big loop to continue.  Not to be outdone, Albon put his Williams nose-first into the barrier, excellent promotion for Barclays (Fred the Shred is finally vindicated).  There was a Yellow Flag then a Safety Car but who was past the pit lane entry?  The question for teams was whether a Red Flag would be put out shortly and no pit stop would be needed for the whole race and a pit under Safety Car would be a mistake.  The Red Bulls would need to double-stack.  

The restart was wild: everyone was weaving back and forth to pick up heat in their tyres and it looked like Russell was taking it too far.  I thought everyone was going to get passed him but off he went.  Verstappen was ready to pounce though and passed Piastri.  Behind them it was chaos with half a dozen drivers running into each other around a corner: no one seemed to stop they just kept sliding into the next car.  I don't know how Norris got involved in it from ninth position but he was out.  The Safety Car was immediately back out with no break for Mylander.  Colapinto had been in too tight a space and ran out of braking room and into his team mate Gasly, they both slid into Norris.  Meanwhile Linblad T-boned Lawson; he was pushed off the track but manged to get going again.  Somehow lucky Antonelli got through it all safely.

Colapinto was apologising immediately.  The Alpine Team Principal was off the pit wall and across to shout and I can only imagine what Briatore will say to him and on Netflix.  I imagine his phone has "run out of battery".

With the race about to restart again, Verstappen was ready to push past Russell.  As the pack being six cars down, this was a clean start.  Antonelli was in seventh with both Ferraris, both Red Bulls and Piastri between him and his championship-challenging team mate.  Hadjar was pushing Piastri for third place and the Australian locked up and went wide where Norris had.  This dropped him back to 15th; Villeneuve called this a rookie mistake.  An awful weekend for McLaren too.  And Antonelli was up into sixth.

Then Antonelli was passed Hamilton and Verstappen was getting closer and closer to Russell and he started to panic.  Race Control suddenly said that they were investigating Verstappen for not following race director's instructions (nothing came of it).  Russell managed to pull out the crucial one second gap but with two laps to go it was down to half a second and everyone would be holding their breath for the three minutes until the end of the race.  Somehow I looked up again and Russell had found something and it was a second again.  To add to the comfort for George, there were Yellow Flags for them to get past Bottas who had put his car into the barriers on the last lap.  There was a tenth of second in it with Hadjar getting a very well-deserved podium in third.  Linblad overtook Ocon almost on the line.  The final points-scoring ten were Russell, one tenth of a second ahead of Verstappen, Hadjar, Leclerc (who had a very quiet race), Antonelli, Hamilton, Linblad, Ocon, Bearman (lots of points for Haas) and Sainz (Williams should have scored a lot more points this weekend).

Red Bull played the strategy game very well and it does feel that Verstappen should have earned a win so far this season.  Some drivers really earned their stripes during this race and others just didn't seem to be able to join the dots and achieve as much as they should.

Seven cars did not finish the race so it was a tricky one to either keep it on the track or avoid being collateral damage.  Norris said Colapinto should be given a one race ban for the incident, as though he has never done anything like that.

There will mechanics locked up in containers to try and fix the damage before Free Practice in Bahrain/Malaysia.  It's a triple-header with a week off before another.  Tough for the mechanics, tough for the drivers and even tougher for us F1 bloggers.

Spain GP Race Report

So far the Madring (Which syllable are you emphasising?) had been full of surprises but lacking in real action.  There were a few costly crashes during the Free Practice sessions and Norris's pole.  We were yet to see how it would all play out in truly competitive action.

It was a great start from Norris but Antonelli cut across tight behind him, he went wide twice and took avoiding action over two corners.  This meant that Verstappen was able to get past him.  Hamilton wanted that place from him.  It was all a bit messy but all the drivers knew their best chance to win the race was to take it at the beginning.  Norris got away into the clean air showing that was true.

Behind him, after a lot of pleading over the radio, Verstappen had to move over to let Antonelli past him so that Hamilton could get past him.  The Ferrari was having a slow brake failure though so it wasn't long before Verstappen was back.  In a matter of corners, Leclerc was past too then Russell.  With the failure soon dropping him back to 22nd place, he was getting black and white flags for going off the track.  Ferrari did not want him to stop on track because Leclerc was on the hard tyres and did not want the Safety Car brought out.  He got it back to the pits but we didn't see how they stopped him - did the mechanics grab him?  Was there some sort of net put across?

Stroll's brakes also failed and he did stop at the side of the track on lap 15.  Norris had just passed the pit lane entry as a Virtual Safety Car was declared so Antonelli and all those behind him took the cheap stop and he would have to wait.  Leclerc on the hard tyres did not pit but Russell in the same position did.  Norris was told to box but it was too late and he came in as the VSC ended.  Alonso had to get a whole new nose after colliding with his comadpre Sainz, ruining Aston Martin's weekend.  Norris's mechanics could not get one of the tyres on either.  The whole couple of laps was a disaster for many but, as always, played right into Antonelli's hands.  Leclerc was the race leader with the Mercedes behind him.  Norris was in fifth.  His excellent start should have secured race victory.

There was action amongst the drivers at the bottom end of the points.  At the front, Leclerc just kept going, allowing Verstappen and Norris to catch up with Antonelli.  There didn't seem much chance of any real racing taking place.  The Red Flag or Safety Car that Ferrari wanted did not happen and with five laps to go they pitted Leclerc who came out in fourth.

Antonelli acknowledged straight after the race that Norris should have won.  All the good luck during the whole season has flowed his way, washing aside his competitors, none more so than Russell who was left adrift in fifth place.

In the wind down room, the grown-ups almost ignored the young winner as he gamely tried to make conversation.  The unusual trophy looked like a horseshoe but when you discovered that it is a model of Le Monumentale corner, the greatest on the track, it makes it much more special.

We don't know how many races are left of the season but I do feel we know who the drivers and constructors champions will be.  Antonelli is now 81 points ahead of his team mate in second place.  The best that Russell can hope for is that another team does not put in a big challenge and he will have to then take team orders to protect him.  Yes, I've gone there.  The kind of catastrophe that could stop him is only a Michael Schumacher broken leg kind of one.  I hope we end the season in Italy, that would be amazing.  And I hope that Russell, Norris, Hamilton et al regroup over the winter and come back stronger because I do not need the next decade to be nothing but Antonelli.  Remember when we all thought Vettel was sweet?

Italy GP Race Report

The first abomination in the Italian race was the new build-up feature "Gigs on the Grid", which Sky were clearly as obliged to broadcast as the national anthem.  Let's hope this was a trial and the feedback reflects the enjoyment no one derived from it.

The grid had had a glow-up since Qualifying.  Alonso and Lawson would be starting from the pits, having changed power units and Albon and Antonelli had done the same but would start at the back of the grid.  Piastri had received a three place penalty for impeding during his trauma-filled Qualifying.

Gasly made an amazing start but behind him the Ferraris were pushing hard.  They lost out to Russell, Leclerc and Hamilton were too close to each other.  It was too much too soon and the Brit was forced into the gravel. The McLarens pushed forwards.  Before the end of the first lap Russell was close behind Gasly and pushing to get past, he did it the next time they went down the home straight.  Leclerc snuck through behind him but Gasly was able to gather some electrical energy to get second back.  Antonelli had already made it up to 13th in an ominous sign.  All the drivers were running close and easily able to overtake each other.  At the end of the that second lap, Leclerc went off at speed sideways and incredibly heavily into the tyre wall.  With Hamilton in eighth, it was an awful start for Ferrari.   The Safety Car quickly became a Red Flag as the tyre barrier needed a lot of work to fix it.  Where was Mater to tow the car away?

It would have been nice of Liberty Media to put up the restart line-up on screen, as the glare of the hot Italian sun meant it was hard to see the liveries.  It would have helped Tsunoda too as he went into the wrong spot.

This time Russell's start was excellent and Gasly was still behind.  Colapinto was somehow third, I'm not sure how that happened although Verstappen was close as well.  The Alpine was out to impress Briatore and went for the overtake him and then go over the gravel but managed to get himself back on track.    Antonelli was in eighth.  We wondered how long all these frantic overtakes would last before things settled down into a procession like all the races at the start of the year when everyone was adjusting to the new regulation cars.  

By the tenth lap, a fifth of the way through, Gasly was dropping back quickly.  The top ten were Russell with Verstappen close behind, Hamilton, Piastri, Antonelli, Gasly, Norris, Linblad, Tsunoda and Bearman.  The other Red Bull was Lawson in eleventh.  It still seemed that there were any number of drivers who could win the thing.  For example, no sooner was this noted than the podium changed to Verstappen, Russell, Piastri.

The next phase of the race would see a Mercedes one-two in front with Antonelli being told to race clean but on the main straight he got past for the lead and the crowds roared gently.  Verstappen was waiting in the background to see what would happen.  There was no shot of Toto Wolff gripping his monitor with white knuckles.

With Alonso pitting to retire earlier, Aston Martin radioed Stroll to tell him to pull over as he would need to retire due to a hydraulics issue.  Of course he Strolled it up by pulling off the track but not right off to make it easy for everyone.  Virtual Safety Car conditions were brought on.  Antonelli and Verstappen pitted but not Russell.

Just as it looked like Russell had finally lined everything up in order to win a race, it was announced that he was being investigated for failing to lift under a Yellow Flag.  There would be no further action though, so perhaps?  The next obstacle was that Antonelli caught him up with five laps to go.  It was scrappy, Russell locked up into a corner; he was saved when Antonelli went wide and into the gravel.  It gave the older man a lap or so reprieve.  Antonelli took the lead of lap 50 of 53.  He was able to pull away with fresher tyres.  

Now our attention was on whether Norris would get past Piastri for fourth place.  Verstappen seemed safe in third.  It finished thus.  The competition was on, up and down the pack, throughout the race and at last the new regulations seem to be paying off for the spectator.

The second and final abomination was David Coulthard quoting LL Cool J during the post-race interviews.  Not sure why Russell was booed as he went on to the podium, Antonelli shook his hand to try and mitigate it.  Antonelli got a trophy of stacking cups, he'll enjoy playing with those.  There won't be long for the twenty-year old to celebrate as we are racing at a brand new track next weekend in Madrid.  In my mind, he isn't old enough to drink.  I'm sure some good, wholesome fun will happen in Italy before the circus moves to Spain.

Netherlands GP Race Report

At last our prayers were answered and it started raining in Zandvoort before the race started.  The drivers went to the grid on Intermediate wet tyres.  It stopped though.  Would there be a tricky transition for drivers between wet and dry tyres or would the track be back to normal before they needed to?  Before we got to find out a woman sang the national anthem in a dress with black pointy shoulders and black pointy breasts and a train approximately 100 metres long that celebrated the history of the track.  It was Madonna meets Mansell.

So, with all the excitement, the tyres were revealed and...it was dry tyres.  It was still looked a little bit hairy on certain corners but it was lights off and away we go.  Mercedes poor starts let Russell down again and Antonelli got ahead of him but Norris was away in the lead.  The final corner looked to be the wettest part of the track, the rear end of the cars on the high camber were sliding around.  And so, at the end of the first lap, Verstappen lost it and went hard into the wall and sprayed Bortoleto with his debris.  Verstappen seemed the most unlikely driver to make this error although if he had qualified better then he would not have been in the middle of it all.  The mistake was perhaps inevitable wherever he was.  He hung his head as the medical car collected him.  The race was stopped.  It was preposterous that no other drivers were caught up in it as they were all racing so close together.

In the midst of it the incident, Ocon overtook Albon and then Bortoleto did a full 360 degree spin with Hulkenberg's reflexes causing him to dart to one side to miss it through the smoke from the tyres.  Linblad and Colapinto were both under investigation for overtaking under Yellow Flags.

With the cars stopped in the pit lane, the drivers could stretch their legs and the techno music was switched on.  Eventually there was going to be a second dry standing start.

There was a mix-up in the pitlane and some drivers were held back by a red light or flag which meant Norris would get to the front of the grid a very long time before the back of the pack.  To make matters worse, Bearman pulled over to the side of the track as his power unit failed.  I am getting to grips with calling it a power unit and not an engine.  I wonder when we will all have power units rather than engines in our cars just like we got ABS and then F1 outlawed it?

An extra formation lap was needed to clear away Bearman's Haas.

Now the Mercedes made a great start and Antonelli got past Norris.  Russell's start was pretty good too but he fell back as Piastri somehow got past him.  They followed each other around for a dozen laps and then Russell was the first of the front runners to pit.  It was a bold move but he was under pressure from Leclerc.  Piastri responded but was given a five second plus pit stop from his team so it didn't work out well at all and Russell took his place back.  Antonelli was the next driver to pit closely followed by Norris, Leclerc and Lawson.  Hamilton took the lead of the race, I bet he was hoping that was the moment Kim decided to switch on the telly to check in on him - who are we kidding?  She is never going to watch a race.

Towards the middle of the race there was an epic mid-field battle between five or six cars.  Halfway though all of Norris's promise was gone as first Leclerc then Hamilton got past him and he was back in sixth.  Both passes were nicely done, with Hamilton imitating his team mate.  It was also pointed out by the stewards that Piastri was driving erratically.

When the second round of pit stops were happening it was hard to see who was where in reality.  You would have thought the FIA could have tweaked the graphics to show this at this stage of the game.  Hamilton appeared to be leading the race from Antonelli but did he need another stop?  This was the subject of much debate between team and driver.  Norris, Russell, Leclerc and Piastri were behind them.  

A panicky Antonelli was on the radio asking how to manage the car on tyres that were not suiting it.  Norris took advantage and got past him.  On old tyres Hamilton could not defend the lead any longer and both Norris and Antonelli got past him.  Ocon pulled the other Haas onto the side of the track to retire and, just as those big overtakes had happened, the Virtual Safety Car was declared.  Hamilton was frustrated on the radio wondering whether and when he would get new tyres and then he was allowed to pit and get a cheap stop.  They double-stacked with Leclerc.  Piastri was nearly the only other car to pit under these conditions but then Antonelli came in when it was clear the marshals could not move the stricken Haas quickly.

With seven laps to go, Mercedes made the call for Russell to swap places and give Antonelli second place.  He questioned it but gave way swiftly.  It was a big demand of the teenager to make up the eleven second gap to Norris over seven laps and overtake him.  Hamilton was immediately preying on Russell and was on much fresher tyres.  Should they have made the switch right at the end?  Russell did some excellent defending but could he hold Hamilton off for three laps?  The question was deferred as a Virtual Safety Car was called in order for the marshals to collect debris from the track after the Williams drivers collided.  This was not the team unity that they had been presenting as part of their re-signing announcement.

With laps to go Colapinto, Lawson and Sainz were all given ten second penalties for one misdemeanour or the other.  Leclerc had caught up with Hamilton and Russell and nearly got too close to his team mate.  I don't know quite how it happened, when he took the lead again and why no one else got close but Norris won the race.  He thought the strategy won it for him.

There was a lot of outside influence in this race: long pit stops, two starts, mismanaged tyre strategies.  However the Sprint Qualifying, Sprint and Qualifying  promised a particularly dull race and it was actually full of carry on.

Piastri was sixth and not showing any of the spirit he brought to last season.  Hulkenberg scored points for Audi and, more surprisingly, Alonso scored points for Aston Martin.  At some point Stroll retired but nobody noticed or cared.  Tsunoda finished ahead of his team mate which was excellent going for a sub driver; I do think Red Bull were too quick to dispatch him from Formula 1.  Only sixteen cars finished the race, a high level of attrition and Norris looked very tired.

The points from the Sprint and third place promoted Russell to second place above Hamilton.  The problem will be that if Antonelli keeps on going at this pace and everyone else squabbles, the teenager will win the championship.  With back-to-back wins, Norris seems to have joined Hamilton and Russell as contenders.

Hungary GP Race Report

The breaking news at the Hungarian race event was not about the Formula 1 in Budapest at all but that Malaysia was going to host the Bahrain Grand Prix at the start of October; a strange mix of countries there.  Sepang is a notoriously hot circuit; Raikkonen famously got out of his broken Ferrari mid-race and went straight to get a Magnum out of the freezer.  It was hot in Hungary as well apparently but no one told us how hot.  With all the sunshine, thoughts were on the summer break which could not come soon enough for George Russell and if he felt that before the race, it would be even more welcome at the end.

Piastri was able to take the lead from his team mate off the start by the second turn and Verstappen was up to third.  Leclerc also lost out and was down to fifth.  Hadjar was seen darting out to the middle when the lights went out but it became apparent he had to do that to avoid Russell, whose anti-stall had kicked in and he went backwards down the grid to 20th.

I watched the Channel 4 highlights package for this event and none of the action further towards the back of the pack was shown, certainly not full screen, including Russell's overtaking manouevres to come back through.

Hamilton was the first of the lead runners to pit and came out in ninth.  It would be a race with unusual and changing tyre strategies.  Verstappen responded by pitting on the next lap but was overtaken. He then pulled out an amazing overtaking move to get past Lawson and Hamilton in swift succession.

It wouldn't be a race without Cadillac woes; Bottas' brakes caught fire again and he brought the car into the pit lane.  Piastri was about to box but had to stay out as the burning vehicle moved slowly in.  Norris had been waiting for his team mate to get out of his way and for some clean air for a long time and had been complaining on the radio.  Hadjar was in second and tried to hold the McLarens back when they came out from their pit stops, less so for his team mate Verstappen who was behind them.  I have a sneaky feeling that he may be retained for the whole of this season, possibly even for next year, unless he is Lawsoned.

With more complaints from Norris, McLaren bought in Piastri for another pit stop, giving him some clean air.  He was impeded by Sainz and the pair came together.  There seemed to be something wrong with the blue flag system at the track although surely team radio could have assisted the matter.  This gave Norris the chance to put in some quick laps and come out ahead of his team mate after his pit stop and was able to overtake Antonelli too.

Then Perez' Cadillac had a suspension failure, or something and retired.  There was no Safety Car needed but then Piastri's gearbox went on lap 56.   This was another retirement for him following two races at the beginning of the season where he didn't even start.  Stella didn't know whether to be thrilled for Norris (probably was) or upset for Piastri but he made the valid point that a "world champion doesn't have a car which stops on the track".  A Virtual Safety Car was called for and Norris and both Ferraris pitted.  Verstappen didn't which ultimately gifted him a podium finish.  Hamilton and Antonelli had a very close approach to the pit exit and Hamilton had to give the place back to his usurper. 

In the end, it was a relatively easy victory for Norris although it probably didn't feel like that for him.  Verstappen was second and Antonelli was third after Hamilton was given a five second penalty for speeding in the pit lane (another reason Ferrari should not have brought him in for the final extra stop).  Leclerc had a very nowhere race.

Williams would have finished last if Bearman had not received a penalty and there is little comfort that they are only in that position because both Cadillacs retired.  It was even more of a kicker because Stroll finished 13th and Alonso 14th for Aston Martin although I don't know how it ended up in that order (perhaps Alonso wants more pay for next year and is buttering up to Lance's pop?).

Hadjar had a well-deserved sixth place and Russell ended up seventh (he was practically wearing his trunks and snorkel in the press pit).  Both Racing Bulls scored points and Hulkenberg scored his first points for Audi.  Those had the back have a big battle ahead not to be at the back by the end of the season (not that Cadillac have scored any points yet, maybe they will have a special do-or-die engine for Austin or Vegas?).  Those at the front have a battle to stay there.  My message to the pit lane is do as much as you can in the one week you allowed before the shut down and then rest and relax because the rest of the season is going to feel like an uphill battle, or I really hope it does.  Thanks 2006 Part 1.

If Norris had "over peformed" according to McLaren team principal Stella in Qualifying, the win must have been a Verstappen drive.  We are not labelling types of performance by drivers as well as the more usual "Ferraring things up".  I suppose we used to have Sargeant to describe a poor performance.  This vernacular charge is being led by Lee Mackenzie who said that Piastri must be "feeling a little bit Russell" at the end of the race, a very apt phrase.

Belgium GP Race Report

It was a fine, sunny day in Spa as the drivers lined up on the grid.  The back of the Qualifying order was a mess with several drivers taking grid penalties for making changes to their cars.  The bottom four were Sainz, Stroll, Hadjar and Alonso.  Gloomy as it was there, the skies were clouding over and the radar weather monitors were in use, gloom growing in the skies.

It didn't take long for Verstappen to get past Antonelli off the start but he got it back.  Verstappen fell back behind him and Hamilton went into Russell and tipped him off the track.  It was all clean at the back of the pack though.  Leclerc had got past Antonelli behind the Red Bull but by lap two the Safety Car was out.  It would be a very early pit stop but cheap; the hardest tyre could go to the end of the race; no one really risked it.

Antonelli held it well at the restart but Verstappen was quickly past Leclerc, the Ferraris struggling for straight line speed.  Piastri was not far behind, wanting that third place for himself.  When he did go for it, Leclerc cut him off and Piastri lost a bit of his car in the process; it would affect his aerodynamics for the first half of the race until he changed his tyres.  Piastri said that he did not leave enough space (so he could overtake?).

Bearman snitched on Sainz, pointing out over the radio that the Williams' wing was hanging awkwardly.  We couldn't see it because that would give the team airtime and they probably don't record the Williams cars anyway.

Verstappen was the first to pit from the front-runners and almost lost the advantage when a Virtual Safety Car was called to allow the marshals to clear some debris from the track.  It didn't last long and all was well.  Antonelli pitted which put the Ferraris at the front.  Hamilton was angry that Ferrari had not gone with the tyre strategy that he wanted and he had not noticed.  They may not have told him he also had a five second time penalty for his collision with Russell, even though the Mercedes driver thought it was a racing incident.  Leclerc got away with his coming-together with Piastri though.  

The VSC came again and this time both Ferraris pitted; they were double-stacked and it was perfectly timed although Hamilton had to wait five seconds and then he nearly ran over a mechanic.  Leclerc was able to jump Antonelli.  Piastri pitted and he had been scrapping with Norris despite allowing him past a couple of laps earlier.  Norris took the lead, having started in 13th place.  

From there, Norris's tyres deteriorated until he fell right back and then was given a 7.8 second pit stop which meant he came out of the pits and into eighth.  Hadjar fought back from the back of the grid.  It was inevitable that with clever deployment of the tools available to him, Antonelli took the lead back eventually and maintained it to the end.  Leclerc was happy with his second place and Verstappen happy with third.  The most upset man at the track was Russell.

What was notable about this race?  Ferrari had plenty of opportunities to Ferrari up this race and didn't.  There seems to be nothing the plucky and unlucky George Russell can do to catch a break.  Antonelli seems pretty unstoppable and not in a Piastri way which was stoppable.  This season, upgrades are not enough.  Weather radars mean nothing in Spa.

GB GP Race Report

The wind had been discussed for the whole of the weekend but the weather must have been a little chilly because Naomi Schiff was wearing a knitted, woolly dress.  

There was extra time for the build-up because the drivers' parade would take over fourteen minutes in the Lego go-karts.  The crowd roared with laughter after several drivers tried to cut a corner and beached their cars in the gravel.  It was all such a novelty to rookie Linblad that when his on-board camera was being used for the feed, he got his phone out to video it on the big screen.  Alonso, having sat back to cuise an old man Sunday afternoon drive, finished first.  

After that, the Sky team had to fill a lot of time before they could play the VT of Bearman driving one of Senna's cars.  It was emotional for him and he had a cry; if I could hazard a guess it's because he realised he will never drive anything as good as that.

Gasly had been moved back on the grid for impeding during Qualifying.  Alonso wasn't last on the grid because his team mate took a ten place grid penalty for a new power unit.  He ended up there though, going into the pits after coming to a stop on the track during the formation lap.

Mercedes poor starts were back and both Ferraris were past Antonelli off the start.  Hadjar got going well but I found it hard to tell which car is which now that McLaren have changed their livery.  There were a few incidents on the first lap including Piastri sustaining some damage in a tangle with Lawson, Ocon doing something we never saw and Albon lost control and ran into Bearman and ended up last, with a ten second penalty to come.  It was an odd start for Williams with one driver falling to last place and the other getting into the points in tenth.

The starting three's order was changed again when Hamilton was given a five second penalty for moving before the green lights.  After eleven laps, Antonelli made an easy pass on him.  If the Mercedes were performing better in race conditions, it was an easy boosted pass by Verstappen on Russell, so all did not seem equal for some reason or other.  He went straight into the pits after.

Halfway through the race a Virtual Safety Car was set which meant that many drivers should have been able to claim a quicker pit stop but it was an umbrella that had blown onto the track.  It was quickly removed by the marshal which was a relief for Red Bull as they had both already pitted.

Hamilton didn't want to pit as his tyres were still good and he would have been doubly angry as they only told him about his penalty as he was coming in.  It's no wonder the radio wasn't broadcast.  Ferrari gave Leclerc a clean stop.  Verstappen and Hamilton fought hard then the Red Bull got past Russell for third.  He was keen to fight back but was radioed by his team that he had a puncture.  

As Hamilton got past Verstappen for third position, to the crowd's delight, Hulkenberg had to pull off to the side of the track.  A Virtual Safety Car was called for and Verstappen, Norris and Hadjar pitted.  I was surprised Leclerc didn't risk it from the lead because Antonelli was catching him quickly.  

The next time penalty was given to Stroll for exceeding track limits more than five times; this is not a track where it is hard to stay between the white lines.  With eleven laps to go, Antonelli radioed in that something was broken on his car.  He was asked for more information and spoke in a panicked, rushed way.  They replaced the nose which took twenty seconds, coming out in fifth place behind Russell.  It seemed strange that they would make that change and permit him to box taking his word for it and then just changing the nose without knowing what the problem is.  As he went back out, he reported that the suspension was broken; Antonelli offered to carry on and the team radioed that they thought it was a broken wheel shield.  He was struggling to turn the car precisely; they asked him to retire but he begged to carry on.  A compromise was reached that he should pit and they would try to rip it off.

It was all go in the last five laps: Antonelli decided to go for it with a broken car, Albon retired and Verstappen crashed.  The Safety Car came out and everyone pitted except for Russell, who took second place.  The commentators were very keen for the race to restart before it ended but I could only see that they wanted Leclerc to lose the lead and more places so that it would be an all-British podium.  It would have been very unfair for Leclerc to lose the place but his tyres were brand(ish) new and Russell's old.  Then, just as we were going to see one lap of racing the Safety Car was redeployed.  I can see this will be a big controversy after the race.  The pundits would have a dilemma - do they get upset that Ferrari pitted Hamilton and so losing the place to Russell?  Or should they be pleased for Russell's canny manoeuvre with Mercedes?

The top ten were: Leclerc, Russell, Hamilton, Norris, Hadjar, Lawson, Lindblad (a nice four points for his first British Grand Prix), Bortoleto, Colapinto and Gasly.  The Alpines (and Bortoleto) really scooped up the points from the teams who had drivers falling back.  Piastri finished eleventh and outside the points.  Leclerc was overjoyed and manic over the radio.  Hamilton was under investigation for an infringement under the Yellow Flags; it would come to nothing.  

At the start of the season, it looked like Mercedes would be dominant but, as in the past, other teams do catch up.  Ferrari seem to be there now, helped with better strategy calls and reliability.  Red Bull and McLaren now need to do the same.  There are two races until the summer break.

Austria GP Race Report

It was nearly 40 degrees hot in Austria for the race so pole-sitter Russell had on his special inflated silver, puffy Adidas jacket.  This could have a big effect on the race (the heat not the jacket).

Russell got away in the lead easily but the Ferraris were close behind with Leclerc trying for the lead but Antonelli went off the track twice as he pushed.  The teenager got past Leclerc by going off the track so would have to give the place back; Verstappen saw it all happen and waited behind to get past both of them when Antonelli had to make the switch.  The first retirement due to the heat was on lap three when Bottas's tyres caught fire.  His team mate Perez would be out two laps later when his car caught fire.

The Ferraris lost out during the early laps: Antonelli pushed past Leclerc, then Verstappen took second from Hamilton.  They went in for early pit stops.  

A third of the way through the race, Sainz lost power in his Mercedes engine and pulled over to the side on the straight.  There were Yellow Flags and Antonelli pitted.  He was leading the race as the other drivers had taken their first or only stop.  The Virtual Safety Car was about to come out and he should have waited.

In the middle of this race there was some overtaking and some pit stopping but other than Alonso speeding in the pits, it didn't feel like much was happening.  Stroll would be the fourth retirement.

Russell took a pole to chequered flag victory with Verstappen and Antonelli right behind him; Alonso too but he had been lapped.  George was very happy and needed to be back on top.  And so it was done.

When we come back next season, I would like the drone camera to be gone - it gave nothing new visually and made me feel sick.  Just like [INSERT NAME OF DRIVER HERE].

Barcelona GP Race Report

I had predicted that Hamilton would be in first place by the first corner but the Mercedes cars seemed to have shaken off their bad starts and Russell was away well and leading the race.  The Ferrari gamble on soft tyres for the start did not pay off.  Most people did well off the line but Hadjar went backwards.  With no opening incidents the race would proceed in a fairly boring fashion for 66 laps.

Alonso started in the pit lane, came out and started going around but his team mate was to only do seven laps and then bring his Aston Martin into the pit to retire.

Hamilton was the first driver to pit on lap twelve.  Then Lawson responded and had a double time, over six seconds pit stop.  It was the first time we had seen a poor stop in a long time.  The flood gates had opened and everyone went in, earlier than Pirelli predicted.  Leclerc was left in charge of the race and he pitted at the time recommended.  Linblad, Bearman and Alonso were the three drivers staying out.  

It was another race of attrition.  We were shown Bottas then Hulkenberg retiring in the pits but not Albon who mysteriously was out of the race.  With 25 laps to go, Alonso stopped at the side of the track and Virtual Safety Car conditions were instigated to remove the car.  Cheap pit stops were available, leading to unsafe releases galore.  Hamilton was on a three stop strategy.  Then Albon reappeared; an F1 camera had come loose on top of the car and needed to be fixed.

McLaren were gunning for Antonelli to get a five second penalty for leaving the track more than some number of times prescribed and permitted by the FIA.  Hamilton was now clearly in the lead.  Behind him, Russell had been going well but Antonelli had already shown him that he was up for a scrap and second place.  With five laps to go he went for it and took the place from his team mate, who had started confidently on pole.  Just as these places looked secure, with a rattle and a groan, Antonelli's engine gave up and he pulled up at the side of the track.  A Virtual Safety Car was called for so all the cars would be going slow.  This was doubly needed as Leclerc went through the gravel and into the pits as his power steering  died.  It was all change at the top.

We were informed by double-first-named Harry Benjamin that it was the first all-English podium since 1968.  It was a very emotional win for Lewis Hamilton.  Norris really lucked into third place on the podium.  There were shots of the Ferrari team milling about in the garage seeming unsure what to do when you win.  For them, they have finally realised the prize they paid for when ditching Sainz for Hamilton.

Red Bull (and Racing Bull) should also do well at their home track in Austria but it looks like they just don't have the pace.  Ferrari are really pushing Mercedes and it looks to me like they are going to be the two teams battling it out until the summer break.

Monaco GP Race Report

The big day at Monte Carlo got off to a shaky start: Lawson's car almost wasn't ready, Bortoleto's was but it stalled and was pushed back into the pit lane and Brundle couldn't interview the Kardashians.  The grid was rammed with people and Martin got more and more irate as people either shoved him or refused to talk to him.

Antonelli made a great start but it might have been an optical illusion as Verstappen, who was alongside him, lost power.  It was well done by everyone that he was not hit as he was stationary in his grid spot.  The only driver to overtake off the start was Gasly, who got past Norris, helped that he was avoiding the Red Bull  As we got over that excitement, we saw that Russell was being investigated for a false start.  Norris had grassed on reported him being outside his box but it was dismissed.  Perez was given a drive through penalty for a false start; he did make a flying one.  

After the stewards had finished their duties, there was nothing to report until we were a third of the way through the race.  Hadjar's car was slowly breaking, losing different elements each lap.  Russell had caught right up behind him and his car was jumping about wildly; I'm not sure if that is how the Mercedes are running or if that is the effect of turbulent air.  Finally, it was the undercut at his pit stop nearly halfway through the race that got Russell past.  As the drivers started making their one and only pit stop, Hamilton sped in the pit lane and received a five second penalty.  He must have wanted the race over quickly so he could whisk Kim back to his Monaco pad.

Norris was the next driver to start to lose function in his car.  David Croft speculated that the bumps on the track were knocking the cars apart: Norris, Hadjar, Verstappen had all lost power.  Bearman and Bottas had also quietly retired.  Russell also then got a five second penalty too for speeding in the pit lane.  As the phrase goes, if he didn't have bad luck, he'd have no luck at all.  The gremlins were serious and Norris had to retire.  Piastri joined the speeding in the pit lane club.  If it wasn't one thing it was another.

Both Williams were in the points then they were asked to swap places.  Albon wasn't happy but did it and then we waited to see what would happen.  After Sainz' stop they swapped back and Sainz was left to defend against Hulkenberg for a while.   The strategy didn't work out because Linblad in front of them got a cheap pit stop...

Just as I was wondering whether we would get all the way through Qualifying and the Race without a Safety Car and only one Red Flag and whether Stroll would bring this about, Stroll went nose first into the wall at the chicane.  Not all drivers came in for fresh tyres.

 

At the start, Hamilton got fairly close to race leader Antonelli but not enough for the pass.  Leclerc behind his team mate had cold brakes and couldn't get them working at the restart and went into the tyre wall and out came the Safety Car again.

Gasly then sped in the pit lane.  But Russell forgot to take his penalty so there would be more coming to him.

The crane and operators were well-practised and moved quick and Leclerc was almost immediately back in the garage and his car lifted off the track.  The cars were going around the track behind the Safety Car and then the race was Red Flagged and suspended.  Finally, we were shown what had happened: the tarmac on one corner was coming up in chunks.

Hamilton was investigated for some infringement but it was dismissed.  Russell had a drive through penalty for not taking his penalty at his pit stop.  Then the long wait was over and I have no idea what they actually did to the track to fix the problem.  Antonelli's engineer thought they just swept it up and the problem would continue for the final eight laps of the race.

The Safety Car led the cars around to the grid for a standing start sprint shoot-out to end the Monaco GP.  Antontelli kept his lead, with Hamilton right behind.  Hulkenberg, who had been giving Williams grief all afternoon, tagged Sainz and put him out of the race as he was then tapped by Colapinto to seal the deal.  The Audi then overtook Albon very naughtily.  The German should not get any points for that race and those final laps.  He gave the place back.  He did get a ten second penalty in the end which did indeed put him out of the points.

As they raced close together, yet more infringements were reviewed by the stewards.  Hadjar would be investigated after the race.  Russell took his drive through and Gasly still had a second penalty to take.  Hadjar was battling to get onto the podium but kept losing power in his Red Bull.  Perez was also out of position at the restart and to be looked into.

The commentators effusive words during Antonelli's last lap made it seem fateful that he would crash during it.  Hamilton took a great second place, which may feel like a win.  Hadjar would stand on third place on the podium but might lose it later, which would be unfair on Piastri who needed a stand on the podium for his confidence.  Hulkenberg's drop down the order meant that Cadillac scored their first ever point with Perez (even though he was still under investigation).  It would be Alonso and Aston Martin who would get it if he were demoted.

Hamilton was the first to congratulate Antonelli before he was even out of the car.  It was a good haul for Racing Bull in (potentially) sixth and seventh.  Only fifteen cars finished the race.  The top ten were Antonelli, Hamilton, Hadjar (who was cleared by the stewards in the end), Piastri, Lawson, Linblad, Gasly, Albon, Ocon and Perez.

With five races won in a row, Antonelli is firmly in the lead in the championship.  There is only one week's gap before racing in Barcelona so he has the momentum and Russell is now behind Hamilton as well in the championship.  When does George become a desperate man?

Canada GP Race Report

As promised, it was raining in Montreal - ish.  The race had been pushed back because of the forecast and then there was the opportunity to undo that but IndyCar wanted the viewers too so a last minute compromise was reached and the race stayed at the revised time.  I was yawning by the end.

No one felt intermediate wet weather tyres were necessary we were told but then it seemed a few drivers did start the race with them.  I say "start the race" but I shouldn't get ahead of myself.  The formation lap went smoothly but the lights came on individually as normal and then it was a long time until they went off.   Nobody went.  It was strange.  Next we were told there was going to be an extra formation lap because Linblad had stalled.  On this extra formation lap Piastri said it was time for intermediates over the radio.

Linblad had to be pushed back down the grid, whilst cars were going past to get to their grid slots.  It was all incredibly strange.  Once the cars were all settled in their places, they were sent off for another formation lap so the marshals could keep pushing.  Everyone would have to undertake fuel saving measures because there were three formation laps which are extra to the race length.  It was then decided that these laps would come off the race distance.  Piastri continued to debate tyre choice with his team (he was on the intermediates).

Despite heavily pointing right, Russell lost two places to Antonelli and Norris, who took the lead.  Hamilton was up into fourth.  Piastri pitted at the end of the first lap.  It turned out there were lots of drivers on intermediate tyres, including race leader Norris, who pitted at the end of the second lap.  The two Audis also changed and had to double-stack.  

The drivers behind Linblad had also gone into the wrong positions after Linblad vacated a space on the grid, so that was something else for the Stewards to consider.

What the pundits all wanted was for Antonelli and Russell to have a real go at each other on the track.  On lap seven, Russell wanted the lead and took it causing Antonelli to lock his wheels and go wide off the track.  As Verstappen went past Hamilton, the Ferrari driver was quickly on the radio to complain that he had no power.    

Russell and Antonelli started going for it again, the Italian really pushing his team mate.  Suddenly there were Yellow Flags: Piastri went across the hairpin and into the side of Albon, putting him out of the race and sending the McLaren  in for a new nose.  Things kept going wrong for the team and they had to bring Norris in shortly after to remove grass and debris from the sidepods.  

It was lap 23 that saw Antonelli finally get past Russell for the lead and Piastri was given a ten second penalty for taking the Williams out of the race.  Unfortunately Antonelli went wide on the next lap and at last they touched as he took the lead back.  Halfway through, Russell went across the kerbs because he had lost power, giving Antonelli the lead.  He was furious, throwing the headrest  in front of the car, thumping it then throwing his gloves down after he he had climbed through the hole in the fence.  Antonelli now had an easy lead, six seconds ahead of Verstappen.  A Virtual Safety Car was brought about.  Lots of drivers came in for fresh tyres.

Norris soon had to drive his McLaren into a nice tidy corner as his gear box failed.  Perez brought a broken car into the pits with collapsed suspension, making him the sixth car to retire (Alonso had retired, been in the pits and retired again).  

Leclerc and Hadjar had battled for fourth quite heavily earlier in the race.  The stewards were so busy that it took them many laps to review and award Hadjar a ten second penalty for weaving in front of him.  The other Ferrari v Red Bull driver battle was between Verstappen and Hamilton for second.  With six laps to go Verstappen was left with nothing to defend with and Hamilton got past.

The top three were interviewed by Hamilton's former team mate Heikki Kovalainen (a name I haven't typed for a very long time).  The linguist thanked his team and the spectators in their native tongue; all those hours on Duo Lingo have not been wasted.

Monaco is the next race and will be a bigger challenge for the young Antonelli.  Ferrari also are prone to silly mistakes at the circuit.

Miami GP Race Report

I wonder how many people tuned in for the race only to have found that they had missed it.  The race start was brought forwards because of storms that were heading for that part of the world.  There were still concerns about rain during the race though.  If there was a lightning strike within eight miles of the track that would be an automatic red flag.  Would any driver give us a performance that puts us in that kind of awe.

There were further tributes to Zanardi during the F1 programming; which really put into perspective what an outstanding sportsperson he was as we watched the race in comfy clothing, eating chocolates whilst he was winning hand-cycle races at the same old age as us.

The question at the start was not whether Antonelli would have a poor start but how many places would he fall back from pole position.  Hadjar was starting at the back after being disqualifed from Qualifying because his bargeboard was a tiny bit too small.  Leclerc made an amazing start in between Antonelli and Verstappen and was into the lead.  Somehow Verstappen went wide and then into a full 360 degree spin in the middle of the opening corners, amongst all the cars, he lost a lot of places through it.  Both Williams went forward dramatically, by several laps.

Colapinto and Hamilton were investigated for a first lap incident at turn 11.  It came to nothing but Hamilton's car was badly injured and radioed in that he couldn't race like this.  On the replay we saw that it was clearly a racing incident.

On lap four, Antonelli got past Leclerc for the lead.  On the next lap it was reversed.  Norris had been told to hold back and let them battle.  Norris was then past Antonelli.  We were waiting for a Safety Car to be called as Hadjar had just crashed, running into the wall twice.  Afterwards he told the press that he was just too eager.   Gasly confirmed that it would need to just be the full works, as he was tilted up against the barrier.  Hadjar stayed in his car for a long time thumping the wheel in frustration.

They took a while to show Gasly's incident, which hadn't looked too bad from the position, however Gasly had overtaken Lawson who had locked up whilst defending the place and gone into his side flipping him completely over and back again as he rolled over his halo (definitely doing a good job there).  No wonder he had been so quick to let everyone know he was okay over the radio.

At lap seven, it would be a very early cheat pit stop.  The only driver to take it was Verstappen who came out in 16th and he would have to get through the pack all over again.  He had been criticised by his former team mate Sainz about his attitude to taking "just because he's in the midfield.".  Lawson was forced to retire after coming together with Verstappen earlier in the race and running over Gasly's debris later.  Hulkenberg was brought into the pits too to have his car fixed and he sat in the car but ultimately was out.

The teams took advantage of the slower pace to let their drivers know that rain was expected in fifteen laps' time.  Leclerc backed them right up at the restart but went well before the start line and seemed to get away well.  Russell had a good go at Piastri.  I was wondering if we would see the battling racing after the restart we normally see at the start with the change in regulations.  Norris was able to get past Leclerc for the lead soon after.  Russell however was berating his team for being in the wrong strat mode.  Antonelli was able to get past Leclerc soon after but Leclerc was able to hold it, then back again.  This was what Norris was told to just spectate earlier only now he was in front of it.

By lap sixteen, Verstappen had made up ten places and was in the points (just the one) and behind both Williams.  Driving the Williams' cars were two disgruntled former team mates of his.  Leclerc and Antonelli were still going back and forth in second and third to Norris's great advantage in the lead.  

A few laps before the rain was due Russell and Leclerc both came in for fresh tyres; this was a great risk.  Ferrari's pit stop was slow and allowed Russell to get in front of him.

On lap 25, as predicted, some spots of rain began to fall.  Verstappen was up to fifth and behind Hamilton and past him.  Antonelli pitted from second place and came out behind Verstappen, who did not need to pit again on the one hand but on old tyres on the other.  It triggered stops from several other drivers.  

There were minor battles throughout the pack for a while.  By lap 46 of 57, Verstappen was in third, Norris second and Antonelli in the lead.  Black and white flags were beginning to be handed out for track limit violations.  Antontelli received one.  It must have been tricky to stay in the lines because veteran Alonso got one too.

With a few laps to go it looked like the top two were set but the battle was on between Verstappen and Russell behind him.  Russell tapped Verstappen's tyre with his front wing and damaged it.  Leclerc was up against Piastri, who overtook him on the final lap and wasn't able to grab the place back in the straight after a slide.  To compound the error, he span, hit the wall, recovered and had damage, which cemented his fourth place until he was overtaken by Russell and Verstappen in the last corner.  He would be investigated for leaving the track and gaining an advantage and also whether he was driving in a car in an unsafe condition.  Would be strange if that stood up in court.

Norris gave the team a pep talk on the cool down lap.  He was sure McLaren could get back to their winning ways; he was sure he could have won that race.  The top three were interviewed by Button and then put on a huge truck (it could have held a pool and I think the drivers would have appreciated it) around to the podium.  The top ten was Antontelli, Norris, Piastri, Russell, Verstappen, Leclerc, Hamilton, Colapinto, Sainz and Albon.  It was great to see the Williams scoring points again and a double points finish at that.  It didn't look as though this was something they were going to be able to do for a long time, if at all this season as the sounds coming from the team were quite negative (in a can-do attitude way).

Is Antonelli going to become annoying the way Vettel and Verstappen did?  At the moment he seems happy-go-lucky and everyone is enjoying his wins.  It seems like tension may grow between team mates in Ferrari, McLaren and Mercedes because it seems everyone has the skill and opportunity to challenge Antonelli but  no one is.

There are three weeks until Canada and I wonder what they can work on between then.

Japan GP Race Report

The first shock discovery of the Japanese race was that Button has abandoned Williams to be an ambassador for Aston Martin.  Everything to do with Lawrence Stroll's team is started to feel grubbier and grubbier.

It was an exciting line-up on the grid, just for this year, normal for any other season: all twenty-two drivers and cars started.  There was also Honda on the grid which the Japanese like and occasional shots of Tsunoda in the Red Bull garage looking sad but trying to look purposeful.

The drivers wernt for a very wide variety of start strategies, at least by the level of success achieved.  Some had to pop out from behind the cars in front to avoid a sudden collision.  Piastri went into the lead and LeClerc got up to second.  By the first corner, Norris was in third.  Antonelli started sixth but got past Hamilton at the start of the second lap.  That quick, back-and-forth stage is really a feature of the opening laps this season.

Less successful were Bortoleto, Bottas and Hulkenberg but behind those quick changes were starting to happen.  On lap three, Russell got past Norris.  On lap four, Russell got past LeClerc.  On lap eight, Russell got past Piastri for the lead.  Then there was the big switch around.  Over the following laps, Antonelli was quick to come back through the pack and up to Russell.

A lot of drivers, those behind the Mercedes in the lead anyway, pitted around lap 20 and Russell voiced concerns.  Obviously as soon as he did get fresh new tyres, Bearman crashed into the wall and a Safety Car was called which meant his team mate Antonelli would get a cheap stop.  It was his decision though!  

It would also benefit Hamilton and Gasly.  Antonelli got out ahead which left Russell in third between Piastri and Hamilton.

Bearman limped away and fell down at the side of the track, which probably should not have been shown.  He had completely misjudged an overtake on Colapinto and went off on the grass then back across the track, in a scary moment.

At the race start, Hamilton was able to get past his former team mate Russell but Verstappen was not stuck behind one of his, Gasly.  We watched a long train of cars when we would all have rather been watching Pierre beat Max.

LeClerc was able to get past Russell when the Mercedes had some slight mechanical problem.  Antonelli looked cleanly in the lead with Piastri safe behind him.  The Ferraris would be allowed to fight each other.  LeClerc did get past and Hamilton was left to Russell, who took full advantage.

With three laps to go, Russell went to overtake LeClerc but he fought back and it was thrilling racing.  With one lap to go, Norris made a move on Hamilton that finally stuck for fifth place.

Saved from his awful start by Safety Car luck, Antonelli took an easy win.  Piastri never looked like he could challenge him from second place.  A third different team took the third podium place in LeClerc and Ferrari.  Behind them was Russell, Norris, Hamilton, Gasly, Verstappen, Lawson and Ocon.  The Frenchman will be glad to get points in his Haas and the other Frenchman will be looking over his shoulder with glee at his former team mate Verstappen.  Antonelli has promised to do his homework and practice his clutch starts with the month off over April.

As the youngest person to lead the Driver's Championship, Kimi looked young and wasn't allowed champagne on the podium.  Hamilton wasn't happy that he was third at one point and ended sixth, perhaps it is the end of an era for older drivers.

A lot of people predicted five or more cars would DNF.  Only Stroll and Bearman did retire; with Albon semi-retiring and then doing a bit of a test drive.

With a month off a lot of drivers will have things to think about.  Bearman sparked concerns about the closing distances.  Russell will be wondering how he is losing out to his baby team mate now his big chance has at last arrived.  Hamilton will be wondering if he could get back Mercedes, ever be able to get changes to happen at Ferrari or if he should retire.  Aston Martin need to figure what staffing line up will work for them.  Antonelli will consider which flavour ice-cream he should have for his special treat for leading the championship.

China GP Race Report

Before the race a mechanic was face down, bottom up inside Norris's McLaren to try and solve an electric gremlin and they didn't get out of the pit lane before it closed, meaning he would be starting there.  Albon would be starting from the pit lane again, albeit not in his car.

Ted and Bernie did the Grid Walk for Sky and the only celebrity they could find was one Imagine Dragon but they could find cars with faults being fixed including some vigorous work on Verstappen's Red Bull.  By the time we were getting ready to start, Bortoleto and Piastri were both also in their garages.  The Brazilian having been pushed back there from the grid.  Having not got to the grid last week, it wasn't what Piastri needed.

The loss of the McLarens on the grid meant Gasly lost track of where he was meant to be and had to reverse into his grid slot, having overshot it.  I'm glad he wasn't penalised.

Hamilton went straight into the lead and LeClerc to third.  Behind them everyone was going around very tentatively and locking up left, right and centre.  Gasly had dropped a couple of spaces back but before the first lap was over Hadjar had a big spin and Bearman, who he was tussling with, went off behind him in order to avoid him as he sprawled across the track.  This meant the Alpines were fifth and sixth.  Where has this come from?  Is this the Briatore effect?

You must pay close attention at the start because the regulation changes mean it's very close and back and forth at the start.  I don't think this is any more manufactured than other initiatives but the debate is on.  Enjoy the close racing whilst you can.  The Mercedes straight line special boost button kicked in on lap two and Antonelli took Hamilton for the lead and Russell got past LeClerc.  None of the four drivers who started in the pit lane were still in their cars by this point but getting changed into their civvies.  On lap four, Russell got into second place.  Lawson had the best opening laps as he had made up seven places.

With the increase in action at the start of the race, the replay of the start is being shown later and later, so any questions are left unanswered.  Finally we saw how far Verstappen dropped back at the start as he just didn't get underway quick enough.

Verstappen and Lawson came in very early on lap ten for new tyres.  It was terribly timing as Stroll pulled over at the side of the track just as they had come out and the Safety Car was called.  Mercedes and Ferrari double-stacked but Alpine did not.  Not everyone came in for tyres.

At the restart, Antonelli was at least protected from his team mate and the Ferraris with a Colapinto cushion, who was in turn attacked by Ocon, who definitely sniffed an opportunity, which doesn't always end well.  After a while, we stopped watching the front runners.  Temporarily, Colapinto was safe in fourth but behind him both Haas were going for each other and Gasly was watching Verstappen in his mirrors.  The fighting was tight.

Intra-team battles were not restricted to Haas with LeClerc overtaking Hamilton, who fought back hard.  This gave Russell more of a chance behind them.  We would have loved to have heard the team radio.  Once they took a breather, Russell was passed Hamilton.  It took a couple of laps more to get past LeClerc; the only person ahead of him then was Antonelli.

On lap 33, Colapinto finally made his stop and came out ahead of Ocon.  The Haas driver made a foolish move to overtake and they collided.  It didn't look good for either car.  Meanwhile, Alonso had pulled into his garage to retire from the race, as he was losing feeling in his hands.  There might have been a Safety Car, Virtual or otherwise, to clear the debris from the incident but nothing was called.  Then Hamilton radioed to his team that he had no power.  Despite this, he overtook LeClerc and they had another ding-dong.

Ocon admitted that the collision was his fault and received a ten second penalty for it.  I can see why it was good for him that he left Alpine when he did because I don't think Briatore would have a kind word to say to him.

With ten laps to go, Verstappen, who had been trailing about in the bottom of the points, started to go slowly and was called in to retire the car.

As the commentators began to wax lyrical about Antonelli's race and counting down the laps, he locked his tyres, as the spectators gasped, and went off.  His lead to Russell was reduced but everyone was suffering with worn tyres.

It was a Mercedes one-two, with Hamilton behind them.  There were only fifteen finishers.  The most notable for me was Sainz bringing home two points for Williams.

Every car seems to have something different in it's favour.  Gasly got the top speed in the race in his Alpine.  Mercedes are good in some places but not the right places according to Russell.  Ferrari can get off the start.  Haas clearly have something too.

I'm sure Hamilton would have liked the Italian national anthem playing for him as he stood on the podium but everyone seemed cheery enough for Antonelli to take the win.  It bodes well for some sort of championship battle that each Mercedes driver has one win each.  There is just Japan before a very long Spring break, a third race winner would be ideal.

Australia GP Race Report

I don't think there were any huge shocks in Qualifying.   Yes, Verstappen spun out in the first session but he had been complaining about the revised sport for a while.  We knew Mercedes were very strong and Ferrari and were doing well too.  The whole championship seems to be Russell's to lose.

No one had any educated guesses about what was going to happen in the race and there were huge questions over reliability.  And it was proven so...home track hero, Piastri had to radio to the team that he was okay after crashing out on his way to line up on the grid, smashing into the wall.  He went into the wall and took the front wing and nose clean off.

A couple of cars were starting from the pit lane and then Hulkenberg had radio problems and his card was returned to the pits.  It was a new starting procedure to enable the new electrics to work at their most efficient.  I thought the lights almost went off for the race start before all five had come on.  It seemed to catch some drivers out.  LeClerc commented on this after the race.  Hadjar nearly had Russell before he'd even put his foot to the throttle but LeClerc made it past easily.  His team mate Antonelli went back several places because he had no battery.  Lindblad got an amazing start and, after jostling with Hadjar, ended up fourth.  Everyone had said that Ferrari had a strong start mechanism.

It was hard to tell which passes used the electrics because it was fast and furious as they were close from the starting grid.  Russell and LeClerc got away from the pack, Hamilton hung back a little but still had a gap to the rest of the pack.  Lap after lap the front runnering two overtook each other and got the place back whilst Hamilton watched on.  When Russell locked up, he pounced.  Meanwhile, Verstappen was coming up through the pack and was in 10th place on the 10th lap then his team mates' engine went up in smoke.  It was a great time to pit under the Virtual Safety Car.  Lots of cars came in.

I noticed that Hulkenberg did not make the start.  Alonso had to stop his car.  The first retirement was Bottas who pulled his Cadillac onto the side of the track and there was another Virtual Safety Car.  Hamilton was firing instructions at his team for their tyre strategy.

There were fights further back too, including old rivals Gasly and Ocon.

Ferrari did not stop under either Virtual Safety Car and they had to pit during regular racing.  Alonso came back out onto the track with car/body fixed.  Whatever was happening with the nerve damage to the Aston Martin drivers' fingers, it seemed to have been resolved for the race.

On lap 38, another Virtual Safety Car was called to allow the marshals to pick up a bit of Perez' Cadillac; it was a little dicey.  At this time, Verstappen was now on Norris's tail and he pitted to avoid the competition.

Having come back out, Alonso pitted and retired as did Stroll.  Then Stroll was back out.  Aston Martin were doing the Hokey-Cokey.

Really Ferrari lost the win because they did not put under Virtual Safety Car conditions; they will need to start listening to Lewis.  Russell took a well-deserved first place and Antonelli capitalised on Ferrari's mistake for second.  LeClerc was ahead of Hamilton behind them.  Wolff looked very relieved.  Norris was fifth and Verstappen sixth.  Bearman took a good seventh, four places ahead of his team mate Ocon.  Lindblad scored points for eighth place on his first F1 race and Bortoleto handled the Audi well for ninth.  Gasly beat the slowly-diminishing Ocon for tenth.  It wasn't a good sign that Williams were 12th and 15th.

There were seventeen finishers including Stroll who was several laps down.  I wonder if much can be done before the next race weekend in seven days time and which features a Sprint qualifying and race too.  The drivers have a better idea what they are facing but the teams have little time to make changes.  Russell, Antonelli and LeClerc seem happy with what they have but how quickly can other teams and drivers catch them up?