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?

Saudi Arabia GP Race Report

With Verstappen on pole, Piastri would be nipping at his heels and whether he would be the world championship leader at the end of the race was being highly predicted.  No one was interviewing Norris.  The other bet was how many Safety Cars there would be and whether the race would be stopped with a Red Flag.

Usher refused to speak to Martin on the Grid Walk; the Saudi money must be sufficient that slebs don't need to get any publicity from their appearance too.  Then his former boss Briatore didn't recognise him; he predicted that Gasly would finish in 6th.

The first Safety Car came quickly as Briatore's prediction came undone.  Verstappen only just held first place from Piastri and had to cut a corner to maintain it, he could possibly have argued that he was forced off the track.  Antonelli did something similar to Russell but clearly did not gain an advantage whether through poor driving or deliberate manoeuvre.  Behind them though Tsunoda and Gasly came together with the Red Bull spinning but was able to keep going in last place and the Alpine slammed into the wall and was out of the race.  However, once Tsunoda came into the pit to be checked out, it was decided to retire him.  Both drivers were equally to blame.

So early into the race, only three drivers took the cheap pit stop: Ocon, Bortoleto and Doohan.  They hoped to go to the end of this short race.

The restart was on Lap 3.  Verstappen backed them almost impossibly up and then sped away.  However, he was simultaneously handed a 5 second penalty for his earlier incident with Piastri.  Brundle was unhappy with this and thought he should have been made to give the place back.

In the Williams garage they were having to manage having two drivers nose to tail in the points.  In front of them Norris and Hamilton were fighting harder.  It would be lap 15 when the McLaren got past.

Approaching the middle of the race, teams were now playing chicken with their pit stops to see if there would be another Safety Car.  Piastri pitted to get some clean air and then Verstappen made his.  McLaren were slow though, negating the penalty.  Both Williams came out very far back.  On Lap 30 LeClerc finally came in from the lead to pit and came out in 5th, not too bad.  Next, it was Lap 34 when Norris pitted from the lead.  There was also the possibility that he went too fast in the pits, or some similar atrocity.

There was lots of overtaking on the street circuit, both at the front and the back of the grid with the rookies getting involved with each other.

Team orders started to come into play at the end of the race.  Ocon, on old tyres, had to let rookie Bearman through.  Sainz was instructed to let Albon into his DRS zone, to try and hold off rookie Hadjar.  Then rookie Bortoleto let Hulkenberg through, in the tense battle for 15th and 16th.

Piastri was moderately pleased with his win and points haul that took him into the lead of the championship.  Verstappen needs to moderate his aggressive driving choices if he is going to get the wins, although I suspect he will continue to blame the car.  LeClerc scored a creditable third.  Norris made up six places, the most of any driver, to finish fourth.  Russell, Antonelli and Hamilton were next, then the mini fight of Sainz, Albon and Hadjar.

As Piastri is now ten points ahead of Norris, I can see that this will end up as a Rosberg versus Hamilton battle, with Norris as Rosberg.  He will have to start sacrificing much more if he is going to achieve his world championship dream.

Verstappen made a short but smiley statement instead of being questioned during the pre-podium interview.  He did not want to defend his early, penalty-receiving move.  He will have to play it cooler if he wants a shot and maybe coach Yuki to support him.

Saudi Arabia GP Qualifying Report

Apart from exhaustion from a triple header, everyone was ready to go racing in Saudi Arabia.

The only drivers to hit the wall in the first session were Hadjar and Albon.  Verstappen was fastest, ahead of the two McLarens, Antonelli and Tsunoda.  Some people looked like they were sandbagging.  Out went the usual clutch of suspects: Stroll, Doohan, Hulkenberg, Ocon and Bortoleto.  The Williams wunderkind of last year had his first lap time deleted and spun into the path of Verstappen on his third.

There were no incidents in the second session.  Albon went out early for his second lap, to cover off any chance of it being red flagged or raining but it didn't pay off and he went out in 11th.  Behind him was Lawson, Alonso, Hadjar and Bearman.  Antonelli continues as the best-performing rookie but should with the equipment he has at his disposal.  Norris was fastest, followed by Verstappen and then Piastri.

The third and final session saw drivers out fairly early to get a lap in, which was a good idea as Norris went over a curb, which propelled him hard into the wall, putting him out of contention and red flagging the competition.  His team mate, Piastri, was just across the line to set his time; for the first time, we saw the Australian's eyes light up inside his helmet.

In the final shoot out, it was between Piastri and Verstappen only Russell put a corker of a lap in and nearly got in the way of things.  The Red Bull took it by one hundredth of a second from the McLaren, with the Mercedes in third.  Behind them was LeClerc (a good showing by the lead Ferrari), Antonelli (does Hamilton wish he'd stayed in that car now?), Sainz (yes, quicker in a Williams than in his old Ferrari seat), Hamilton, Tsunoda, Gasly (who had shown such promise in practice) and Norris with no time set at all.

The FIA were trying out something new with the messages for viewers and letting us know who the last car across the line at the chequered flag was, which is fairly apparent anyway.   I wonder what else they'll come up with this season?

Saudi Arabia GP Race Report

The big news in Saudi should have been the teenager in the Ferrari.  If Bearman does well and is kept on as reserve driver for Ferrari, should LeClerc's insides also explode then there could be two Brits driving for the Italian national team next year. 

The big news was still the Horner vs. Marko clash.  No has denied the authenticity of the revealed WhatsApp messages, so we can only assume they are genuine screenshots.  How long can Mr Halliwell hold on to power for?  

Before the race, Norris and Tsunoda had an unsafe release incident leaving the pits.  Gasly had a problem with his gearbox on the way to the grid but it was lights off and away we go.  Perez nearly got second place from LeClerc but the Ferrari driver clung on tenaciously.  Russell snitched on Norris for jumping the start.  Bearman was very aggressive but just seemed to be hanging on.

Once DRS (that great race-killer) was enabled, Perez was straight past LeClerc.

We were waiting for Sargeant or Bearman to Latifi up the race but Stroll went for it early doors on Lap 7.  Daddy must be very proud; watching his son bounce around tracks internationally.  The team radioed in to him when he told them he'd hit the wall, "Can you bring it back in?"  "No," he replied, "I've hit the wall."  The Safety Car came out.  With everyone pitting, the lane got stuffed up and some drivers suffered being held up, particularly LeClerc.  Norris, Hamilton and Hulkenberg didn't stop.  I'm beginning to feel that Lewis is just dialling it in this year. Norris led the race when the Safety Car went in and was nearly able to maintain the one second required to hold off Verstappen getting DRS.

Perez was given a 5 second penalty for unsafe release in the pits.  Magnussen was given a 10 second penalty for causing a collision with Albon.

For the first half of the race, Ricciardo pootled about plumb last.  Netflix executives will be willing him on to boost the ratings.  For the second half of the race he was second to last, ahead of Bottas and then Zhou too, when he had a slow stop.  Even when he spun the car, he stayed ahead of the Saubers.

Magnussen was given another 10 second penalty for forcing another driver off the track.  Norris was given a black and white flag for weaving on the straight.  Busy day for the stewards.

Alonso kissed the wall but told his team there was no damage.  Very much the small boy excuse for doing anything.  He brought the car home in 5th.

Perez held on to Verstappen and made it a Red Bull one-two with LeClerc in 3rd, claiming an extra point for Fastest Lap.  Piastri, Alonso and Russell were next, ahead of Bearman, with an excellent finish in his debut race.  The 18 year old Brit received Driver of the Day too, with Sainz straight back from surgery to watch the race.

Max is no longer shouting how much he loves the team over the radio at the end of races.  Is this complacency?  Is this a reflection on the turmoil within the team?  Is this maturity?  Is it a sign that he is looking to drive elsewhere?

Saudi Arabia GP Qualifying Report

The biggest breakingist news from Jeddah was that Sainz arrived with appendicitis and had to undergo surgery immediately.  This meant that their reserve driver was called up, a young whippersnapper called Bearman.  He was able to have a little go in Free Practice.

Zhou and Sargeant both came to Qualifying having dinted the car.  Whilst Piastri hit the wall during Q1, it was Zhou suffered, only just getting out in time to try and put in a timed lap but didn't make it.  So both Saubers went out with both Alpines and Sargeant too.

During Q2, I spied a car in the background of a shot.  A while after, the commentators picked up that a car had stopped.  Then, finally, the Yellow Flags were waved followed by a Red Flag to stop the session as Hulkenberg's car had lost power and was waiting at the side of the track.

Ricciardo was out next to Hulk, with his team mate through to Q3; he needs to pull his socks up.  Magnussen was next up, then Albon and rookie Bearman in P11 on his first shot.

Traffic was a bit of a problem in all three sessions but LeClerc went out on a different pattern from the rest which meant he had to overtake slower cars, compromising his first hot lap.  In the dying moments of the final session, Alonso stole a tow from Hamilton whilst Russell aborted his lap.  LeClerc and Alonso put in the final quick laps.  Verstappen took pole, sharing the front row with LeClerc.  Perez is behind him, next to Alonso.  The McLarens fill the next row (Piastri ahead of Norris), then the Mercedes (Russell ahead if Hamilton).  Finally was Tsunoda then Stroll.

Could a rookie in the mix for the race shake things up?  Can LeClerc take the race to Verstappen?

Saudi Arabia GP Race Report

Alonso was starting his Aston Martin from the front row for the first time for the team since 1959, although he wasn't starting it from the right place it turned out.  I don't know if it's the broken bones or the improved performance of his daddy's car but the press are devoting a lot of coverage to Stroll.  Overall it's great to have a new team to talk seriously about.

Alonso made an excellent start and took Perez.  Stroll took Sainz.  But then we were told that Alonso was being investigated for being in the wrong place in his starting box.  Piastri was also immediately into trouble with missing body parts and had to pit for a new front wing.  It looked like Perez would possibly take Alonso when he got DRS, although this would be unnecessary as the Spaniard was awarded a 5 second penalty, he did it anyway.

As Verstappen scythed his way through the field, Alonso was given a cheap pass for his penalty as his team mate Stroll stopped on the track and a safety car came out.  Was this a Singapore-style strategy?  As the race restarted, Perez was first, followed by Alonso, Russell and Verstappen.  The Ferraris were 5th and 7th.  Everyone got away cleanly when the safety car went in.

Alonso had predicted that Verstappen would be in second place by lap 25, half way through the race and on lap 25 he overtook Alonso to make the prediction come true.

Albon suffered from brake issues and was slowly out of the race.  Meanwhile, Russell and Hamilton were battling, with Russell refusing to follow team orders to let his team mate through. Lots of team mates were running side-by-side: the Ferraris, then Alpines, Haas and McLaren.

In the end, despite some mild arguing between the Ferrari drivers and the Mercedes drivers, it was an easy one two for the Red Bulls.  Alonso was very happy with his podium position in 3rd and continued to be very cheery when he was awarded a 5 second penalty for a jack touching the car during his first penalty.  Why was this awarded 35 laps after the event?  Could it be that Mercedes or Alpine reported it late?  I'm sure he was equally cheery to be reinstated after the media circus had departed.  Even Russell who briefly held 3rd place from the press conference to midnight-ish felt it was the right decision for Alonso to be reinstated.  It will be interesting to see if the Aston Martins, running the Mercedes engine, will continue to be stronger than the works car.  Will there be foul play with the engine supplier?  Will Ferrari hook everything and have a strong weekend.  Will Ricciardo do a bit of media work in Australia and mention how relieved he is not to be driving that McLaren (note, also a Mercedes engine).

Saudi Arabia GP Qualifying Race

Pole position seemed to be Verstappen's to give away.  I felt like he would want to stamp this track as his, just as he did in Bahrain, and prove that he is the clear Number 1 driver at Red Bull, as Perez took pole here last season.

As we went into the first Qualifying session, there were lots of spins and Norris tagged the wall.  The Red Bulls and Aston Martins were very strong, with Ferrari behind them.  The Williams were both out, with a yellow flag affecting their final runs.  Norris was out after his incident and Sargeant ran high over the kerb and hit the wall.

Delightfully, in the second session Verstappen had a big problem, stuck in 3rd gear.  Other than Verstappen in 15th, there were no big surprises out.  Hulkenberg continues to outshine his more established Haas team mate, Magnussen; so both Haas out and both Alfa Romeos.

The field was wide open with Verstappen out for Q3.  Perez, ultimately in the fastest car on the tarmac took the pole with the teams jumbled up behind him.  LeClerc took second but will drop back 10 places for a grid penalty.  Alonso was thrilled with third and was grinning from ear to ear as he will start on the front row.  Russell continues to drive strongly ahead of his seven times world champion team mate and qualified 4th/3rd and was looking forward to fighting with Fernando.

Saudi Arabia GP Qualifying & Race Report

Well, everyone was very happy with the result of Qualifying, Checo Perez taking his first pole position, with a lap that he couldn't explain.  Mick Schumacher lost control of his Haas in a big incident; big enough that we weren't shown it until he was in the ambulance, having spoken to the medics.  For those of us who watched Senna's crash, it feels like such a paradigm shift.  With his car finishing in two parts, he wasn't able to take part in the race, which is a huge shame as Haas need to capitalise on being ahead of other, better-funded, bigger operations.  Magnussen started in 10th.   It's no shock that there was another big smash at Jeddah, it's a tricky, street-style circuit with concrete barriers.  The big shock was that Hamilton couldn't put the lap together to get out of Q1 and started 15th.   Williams seem to have been completely unable to work the regulation changes to any kind of advantage, starting 16th and 18th.

Following all the drama with Red Bull Power Trains (their engines) last race out, Tsunoda breaking down en route to the grid wasn't a good sign for those Red Bulls trying to catch up with Ferrari and Mercedes.  Perez was still in the lead off the grid, with Verstappen overtaking Sainz.  The Alpines held their places and theirs was also the early battle, the team mates really going head-to-head down the main straight, with Alonso finally getting the DRS advantage.  They did help Russell keep ahead in 5th though.

Ferrari and LeClerc tricked Red Bull into stopping early, even radioing in "Box to overtake".  The advantage was definitely given when Latifi (the championship decider from 2021) crashed into the straight wall and brought out the Safety Car.  Ricciardo, who went for an early stop and committed to a one-stop race, was also a big winner (or so it seemed).  Betting on the Safety Car coming out at Saudi is all the bookmakers' favourite.

After the Safety Car went in, LeClerc held on to first place.  And the race trundled on...

Suddenly, lap 36, Bernie's Big Magnets (a bit like his plan to use water sprinklers) were switched on and Alonso lost power, then Ricciardo and then Bottas was in the pits retiring.  And the Virtual Safety Car was brought out.  After a lot of clearing up, there was 9 laps of racing to go.  Verstappen took LeClerc, LeClerc took Verstappen.  Verstappen might be an aggressive and instinctive driver but LeClerc has the smarts.  With 3 laps to go, Verstappen finally got it right and now had to defend.  Ferrari took second and third.  Hamilton gained a point for finishing 10th.  Magnussen got 2 points from Haas.

Just to make Williams' day even worse, Albon and Stroll came together.

Going Up

• Say what you like about the Saudi's but they know how to paint some damn fine run-off pictures
• Alpine - team mates allowed to race
• Marshals - handling any and all crisis'

Going Down

• Sportswashing

Saudi Arabia GP Race Report

The question mark hanging over the race was whether Verstappen really did need a new gear box.  After his qualifying smash, he might have damaged his but he didn't want to take the 5 place penalty to change it.   Ultimately it was not discussed at all...

In new tech madness, we saw a drone light display in the sky.  It counted down to the race.  Brave new world.  (I'll stick with Shakespeare.)

There were no incidents off the start, everyone clean away.  We had to wait 10 laps for Mick Schumacher to hit the wall and bring out the safety car.  Most cars came in to pit for new tires, including Hamilton and Bottas from 1 and 2.  Verstappen didn't pit so was in the lead (right ahead of them).  Williams made yet another excellent stop for Russell to overtake Stroll.  THEN the red flag came out, which meant that Verstappen could change his tires without taking a pit stop.  Cue Hamilton questioning his team's every decision.  After just 14 of 50 laps, the drivers were already looking very sweaty and tired.  We also enjoyed Michael Masi cam.  It looked like everyone would go to the end of the race on the hard tires with no more pit stops necessary.  The race was truly on.

Returning to the grid for a standing start, Verstappen would be on pole, with Hamilton second and Bottas third.  The Dutchman started with brand new tires and Hamilton's having been worn in behind the safety car.  You could tell the pressure they were under from the radio and the games they were playing.  Hamilton held the pack right back; more than 10 cars?  Verstappen complaining the whole way round.

The second start brought lots of thrills and spills.  Hamilton got the better start, overtaking Verstappen into turn 1.  The red mist was clearly down as he locked up, cut a corner and aggressively retook the lead.  Bottas also made this move, allowing Ocon through though.  Was Max's mistake due to cold tires from Hamilton's game?  Behind them, Perez spun, having been the middle of a sandwich of other cars, with no space to go, he gets squeezed by LeClerc and spins.  Perez  loses his front wing and tries to limp back to the pits but didn't make it.  The drivers behind slowed to avoid, including Russell; Mazepin didn't see this and ran at near full force into the back of him.  A scary shunt which he did climb free of (although we haven't heard from him since???).  We also learnt the Haas team, call him "Maz".  Obviously the red flag came out again.  With all the attention back at the turn of the big smash, Perez was abandoned out on the track.  Hamilton got his scooter out.

With a furious Wolff storming about the paddock, Masi (race director) was on the radio with Red Bull.  It's so good that we are now privy to this.  Masi offered Red Bull second place on the grid instead of their recent incident going to the stewards.  After a minute, Red Bull accepted if Ocon was on pole.  He was second in the race.  Masi declined this as Hamilton would be pole, then Ocon, the Verstappen, so the offer wasn't second, it was third.  He had just forgotten Esteban  existed, like the rest of us.  Finally they accepted.  Having walked through the Williams garage, Hamilton got a nice head massage from Angie.

Helmets back on and back round to the grid for a third standing start.  With the astonishing stat that Ocon has led more race laps than any other driver than Hamilton and Verstappen this season, even Bottas!  Do you think Alonso gave him a wee pep talk in the pause?  Ricciardo had done well out of everything too, sitting in fourth.  Norris, Alonso and Raikkonen were towards the very back of the pack.  This time, Ocon went off and cut the corner, Verstappen took Hamilton and Ocon had to give the place to Verstappen, who went off in the lead.  Lewis and Esteban got away with a wing to tire touch.

Three laps later, the yellow flags were out for Tsunoda as he was tapped by Vettel.  With parts of his car all over the track and his brakes on fire, he set off for the pit lane.  DRS was turned off, much to Verstappen's advantage as Hamilton was getting near 1 second away.  Then a virtual safety car was announced.

Vettel was further damaged by Raikkonen, who also needed a new front wing.  During this, there was a quickie virtual safety car, to enable a brave marshal (not last race's rogue marshal) to run across the track to grab a bit of car.

We got racing again and almost immediately VSC was declared again, for debris to be cleared up.  Alonso got on the radio to ask for a real safety car as the track was covered in shards of carbon fibre.  This one took a while longer.

Back racing and Hamilton got up to 0.7 second behind Verstappen and the Virtual Safety Car came out again for another hazard, neutralising the battle for a minute (were Red Bull employees positioned around the track lobbing bits of car on?).  This was a brief one again and they were very soon wheel to wheel, with a heart-stopping move.  This was noted by the stewards...  

Next thing we know, Red Bull told Verstappen to give Hamilton the place back, he slows slightly to one side but Lewis is unaware and drives straight into the back of him.  This was also noted and then investigated by the stewards.  Wolff was again furious, throwing his headphones to the floor.  Meanwhile Ricciardo and Bottas had a little battle, with Danny Ric staying out in front at first before being defeated.  Hamilton was going round dropping debris, trying to bring out another safety car.  We heard that Verstappen was going to be told to give the place back, again.

He waited for the perfect spot, moved over and then immediately took the lead back.  We were then told Verstappen was to get a 5 second penalty for gaining an advantage cutting a corner.  Very much unnecessary intervention from the stewards, surely there was enough happening on the track to negate the need?  Hamilton did then get past Verstappen on merit.

At one point, it looked like Hamilton and Verstappen would end up on exactly the same points, going into the final race.  Vettel retired with 4 laps to go with too much damage done to his car.  Ocon was 24 seconds behind Verstappen with Bottas behind him, Mercedes needed Bottas closer to prevent Verstappen being able to take another stop.  No wonder Bottas's serviced are being declined for next season.  He did overtake Ocon on the line to come home third, such a shame.  Bottas said that he finally got it in the end, it was like after many laps he remembered what his job was.

Verstappen finished the race still in the lead of the championship, saying "it is what it is".  Late into the night the stewards were still deliberating over it all and everyone went to bed not knowing the full outcome of the race.  As the crowd booed, Max looked close to tears.  He is definitely from the Schumacher School of Driving.  The Dutch voted with telephones, getting him Driver of the Day.  Sainz now has the most points without a win in history.  A day of stats.  

It should be said, the track was amazing, so quick through the walls, with the spectacular banking.  Fifteen drivers made it to the end of the race.  A track that showed who has the skill and who doesn't.  The light display was also incredible.

Saudi Arabia GP Qualifying Report

As coverage went on air for Qualifying, Hamilton was doubly under investigation by the stewards for ignoring waved yellow flags and impeding Mazepin in FP3.  He was immediately let off on the first count as it was an error that the flags were shown for less than a second.   He was given a reprimand for the second.  Mercedes were more heavily penalised because they should have warned him to speed up earlier.

Another key focus of all the coverage of this weekend is whether F1 should be in Saudi Arabia to start off with.  Hamilton has made it very clear that he is "uncomfortable there", Vettel too.  Coverage of Sir Frank Williams' passing should have been slightly higher profile, I feel.

The first session was anyone's with Perez taking first position and Bottas' stopping in the pit lane with a broken engine (despite being through).  Latifi in the Williams, both Aston Martins and both Haas out of the game.

It's such a speedy circuit, heart in your mouth as the drivers carreer around with almost no run-off.  As we drive around with Verstappen on his final flying lap, I almost felt like this could be his weekend for a major, major accident.  Then he crashed, just a bump but deadly for the car.  Now we all had to wait to see whether the car would be damaged a la LeClerc, Monaco 2019 (?).  So he handed Hamilton pole and Bottas second, securing himself third.  Ferrari were looking stronger, with LeClerc in fourth (Sainz in 15th after being held up by Gasly).  A good showing from Norris ahead of Ricciardo in 11th, Ocon in 9th ahead of Alonso in 13th and Giovinazzi  in 10th ahead of Raikkonen in 12th.