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Singapore Grand Prix 2025: pre-race

I’d expected qualifying to be a five horse race but instead it ended up with rather bigger gaps than we’ve come to expect this year. Q1 featured a red flag from Gasly suffering what appears to be a hydraulic failure. Bortoleto, Stroll, Colapinto, Ocon and Gasly were eliminated at this stage. Not too unexpected, save for Bortoleto being outqualified by Hulkenberg for the first time in a long while. Q2 was a little delayed but when it was done we said goodbye to Hulkenberg, Albon, Sainz, Lawson, and Tsunoda. I think Hulkenberg did well to get so far up the grid, and the Williams was pushed to its potential but simply doesn’t gel with this circuit. Lawson and Tsunoda could’ve done better given how their team mates did. And so to Q3, which was feeling like it might be a Verstappen versus Mercedes battle. And so it was, with Russell putting in a cracking first lap to secure provisional pole. Verstappen could only get within a couple of tenths but had to settle for the runner-up spot. Pi...
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Singapore Grand Prix 2025: pre-qualifying

In first practice Alonso was quickest, a tenth and a half ahead of Leclerc. Verstappen was a similar margin further back, a tenth ahead of Hamilton. Piastri was a thousandths off the Briton but two-tenths ahead of Norris, with Hadjar, Sainz, Tsunoda, and Ocon rounding out the top 10. Second practice was disrupted by two red flags caused by Russell and Lawson crashing out. Fastest in FP2 was Piastri, a tenth up on Hadjar. Verstappen and Alonso were one- and three-hundredths respectively behind the Frenchman. Then there was a huge three-tenths gap to Norris, who was followed by Stroll, Ocon, Sainz, Leclerc, and Hamilton. Practice also saw a pit lane crash when Ferrari sent out Leclerc directly into the path of Norris. Very much a case of incompetence from the pit crew. The penalty was just a fine, but if that had happened in qualifying or the race then a grid penalty would’ve been on the cards. In third practice we had another red flag courtesy of Liam Lawson crashing, again. Hamilto...
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F1 2025 Azerbaijan Grand Prix Review (Undercutters Ep37 transcript)

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Hello, everyone, and welcome to the 37th Undercutters podcast, looking back at the Azerbaijan Grand Prix. I’m your host, Morris, and you can find me on Twitter or Blue Sky as MorrisF1. As usual, I’ll post the transcript up on morrisf1.blogspot.com. I said before that Azerbaijan was one of my favourite circuits. Would it live up to my hopes, or be a letdown? Here’s what happened at the Azerbaijan Grand Prix. Azerbaijan Grand Prix Qualifying 00m37s Qualifying was ridiculously long at 2 hours, and this was all down to half a dozen red flags. One was unnecessary, thrown up too rapidly for a Hulkenberg crash when he was able to keep moving, but the other five were all necessary. Between that, late rain, and many a hot lap aborted by the flags we had a chaotic, crazy qualifying. This left the grid in some turmoil. One shock departure in Q1 was Alexander Albon, who had looked very good but crashed out to end qualifying in last position. A similar fate befell Oliver Bearman in 15th, while H...
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Azerbaijan Grand Prix 2025: pre-race

Well, qualifying was a five red flag, two hour affair, with numerous drivers crashing out and a mostly shocking grid. There was even a touch of rain, but not enough to do more than add a touch of stress near the end. Q1 had three red flags, including an unnecessary one for Hulkenberg, whose car was never without power and who was able to get back to the pits and compete again when the track was green. The five eliminated drivers were Colapinto, who crashed out, Hulkenberg, who had crash damage, Ocon, who was just slow, Gasly, who was off-track near the end, and Albon, who crashed out. This was especially galling for Albon, who had looked good up until this point. In Q2 I was astonished Alonso was the fastest man eliminated (thought the Aston Martin would not be good here). He was ahead of Hamilton, who had seemed really competitive but lacked a lot of pace in the middle sector. Bortoleto in 13th being a little disappointing is indicative of what a great job the Brazilian’s been doing...
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Azerbaijan Grand Prix 2025: pre-qualifying

First practice had a predictable McLaren 1-2 at the top, Norris leading Piastri, with Leclerc and Russell next down the road. Albon was next, with Tsunoda ahead of Verstappen. Sainz, Lawson, and Hadjar completed the top 10. FP2 was quite different. Hamilton was top ahead of Leclerc, with Russell leading Antonelli, and then Bearman. Verstappen was in sixth, ahead of Lawson, Ocon, Albon, and Norris, with Piastri in 12th. A few notes are worthwhile: Norris whacked into the wall in FP2 and had about a third the laps of everyone else. First practice also had a long red flag due to a kerb deciding to be loose. Third practice had Norris quickest, two-tenths up on Verstappen, Piastri, and Hamilton. Antonelli and Russell were four-tenths further back, and narrowly ahead of Albon, Bearman, then Lawson and Leclerc (who made an error on his final qualifying simulation run). Hamilton’s been surprisingly close to Leclerc in practice. This is a shock for two reasons: it’s not been the case most o...
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F1 2025 Azerbaijan Preview and Predictions (Undercutters Ep36 transcript)

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Hello, everyone. This is the 36th Undercutters podcast, and we’re going to look ahead to the Azerbaijan Grand Prix. I’m Morris, and you can find me on Blue Sky or Twitter as MorrisF1. Transcripts are posted to morrisf1blogspot.com.  Baku is one of my favourite destinations. It can sometimes be a little steady but can also throw up very chaotic races. The circuit is one where Sergio Perez and Charles Leclerc are both very quick, and as Perez isn’t on the grid this year this may mean Leclerc can do well in qualifying and the race. Or perhaps I’m underestimating Verstappen, and he’ll spring another surprise. The McLaren Monza Strategy 00m50s But before we look ahead to Azerbaijan, I want to talk a bit about the McLaren decision last race, which seemed to catch most people by surprise or look ridiculous to them. While I admit it was a slightly odd situation, it didn't surprise me in the slightest. That's why I didn't comment on it much last time, but given the general reaction ...
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F1 2025 Italian Grand Prix Review (Undercutters Ep35 transcript)

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Hello, everyone. Welcome to the 35th Undercutters podcast, looking back at the Italian Grand Prix. I’m Morris, and I’ve just got a cold, so apologies if things sound worse than usual. Could Norris reduce the damage he suffered with a rare reliability failure at the Dutch Grand Prix? Could Ferrari bounce back from a double DNF to glory at home? Italian Grand Prix Qualifying 00m29s Qualifying in Monza this year was ultra-close. It was a surprise to see both Racing Bulls out in Q1, and both Williams out in Q2. Less surprising was Bortoleto making Q3, but Hulkenberg’s 12th was rather good for him this year. The German was 9th in the standings but has never made Q3, which is rather odd. At the sharp end, Verstappen put in a great lap to claim pole ahead of Norris by less than a tenth of a second. Piastri and Leclerc formed up on row two, with Russell and Antonelli on the third row. Good result for the Italian driver who really needs a steady weekend. Bortoleto and Alonso started on the...
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