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F1 2025 Dutch Grand Prix Preview and Predictions (Undercutters Ep33 transcript)

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Hello, everyone. After the summer break we return to the McLaren duel that is the 2025 Formula 1 season. I’m your host Morris, and this is the Undercutters podcast. As always, you can find me on Twitter or Blue Sky as MorrisF1, or read the transcripts, and admire the lovely graphs, at morrisf1.blogspot.com. Next up we have the Dutch Grand Prix, and I’ve got to admit this is not one of my favourites due to the difficulty passing (a problem at many circuits, it must be said). Will Norris maintain his momentum? Will Verstappen enjoy a home victory? And will Leclerc be so annoyed he has another radio rant so long it goes off the screen? Quick Look at Zandvoort 00m54s The Dutch Grand Prix is held at Zandvoort, which is 4.259km long and gives us 72 laps in a race. It was actually first created back in 1948, the same year as Silverstone. The circuit is fast and undulating, and if there weren’t dirty air and such large cars it might be rather good. As it is, the track’s not ideal for racing,...
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Summer Break, Standings, and Season Predictions So Far (Undercutters Ep32 transcript)

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Hello, everyone. Welcome to this extra summer break podcast, which only exists because I was vaguely pestilent for the Hungarian review. But that also means I can spend a bit more time on it. Today, I’ll be looking at the standings in a lot of detail, covering the title contenders, top teams, and a fantastically competitive midfield. After that I’ll be running through my surprisingly long list of predictions, including team mate battles, ranking the rookies, and season predictions. As ever, you can find me on Twitter or Blue Sky as MorrisF1, or read the transcript and look at lovely graphs at morrisf1.blogspot.com. Piastri versus Norris 00m51s I’ll start at the top, with the intra-McLaren battle between Oscar Piastri and Lando Norris. After the very first race in Australia it looked like Norris might have the whip hand, but assured performances from Piastri saw him close up and then take the lead. Norris seemed to have something of a psychological battle to hold things together, and...
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F1 2025 Hungarian Grand Prix Review (Undercutters Ep 31 transcript)

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Hello, everyone. This is the 31st Undercutters podcast, looking back at the Hungarian Grand Prix. I’m your host, Morris, and you can find me on Twitter or Blue Sky as MorrisF1. Hungary’s the last race before the summer break in a season that’s been dominated by McLaren so far. But there’s still plenty of racing to come.   Hungarian Grand Prix Qualifying 00m27s Qualifying at the Hungarian Grand Prix was very much on the tasty side for spectators. For Tsunoda, Gasly, Ocon, Hulkenberg, and Albon it was a bit more rubbish because they were all eliminated in Q1 while their faster team mates escaped to Q2. All through practice McLaren looked dominant and that was maintained in Q2. Unfortunately, it was dreadful for Hamilton, who has more poles here than everyone else put together, and he went out, right behind Bearman and ahead of Sainz, Colapinto and Antonelli. The Italian rookie’s also having a tough time of it, with four DNFs in the last seven races, before Hungary, and a single poin...
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Hungarian Grand Prix 2025: pre-race

Well, I didn’t feel brave but if you did kudos for backing Leclerc on 13 for pole. Gosh. The first session was not great for Albon, last and outqualified by a faster team mate (who escaped to Q2). The same thing happened to all those eliminated, who were Tsunoda, Gasly, Ocon, Hulkenberg, and Albon. Things were very close, though. In Q2 we lost some big names. Fastest out was Bearman, and right behind him was Hamilton (who has more poles here than the rest of the field combined). Sainz ended up 13th, ahead of Colapinto and Antonelli, who has having a torrid time of late. Then Q3 decided to spring a surprise and Leclerc reminded us all he’s the best qualifier on the grid with a stunning pole lap. He was right ahead of Piastri, and Norris was relegated to third on the grid, alongside Russell. The third row is Aston Martin territory, Alonso leading Stroll, and the car’s looking tasty this weekend. They could be on for major points. Bortoleto continues to impress with 7th on the grid (1...
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Hungarian Grand Prix 2025: pre-qualifying

And so to Hungary, final race before the summer break. Surprising no-one, McLaren topped first practice with Norris ahead of Piastri by two-hundredths. Leclerc was a couple of tenths further back, followed by Hadjar, who was four-tenths slower. Then, with narrower gaps, we had Hamilton, Bearman, Antonelli, Russell, Verstappen and Stroll. In second practice Norris was again ahead of Piastri but this time by nearly three-tenths. Leclerc was one-tenth off and followed (again a tenth away) by Stroll, with Alonso the same margin behind. Hamilton, Russell, Hadjar, Tsunoda, and Antonelli rounded out the top 10. It’s worth noting Alonso missed FP1, and was replaced by Felipe Drugovich, due to a muscular back injury. Sounds like he’ll be there for qualifying and the race. Verstappen was 9th and 14th in practice and he may end up having a rough weekend. And, at the moment, the forecast indicates only drizzle rather than serious rain which might’ve helped him out. Third practice had Piastri ...
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F1 2025 Belgian GP Review and Hungarian GP Preview (Undercutters Ep30 transcript)

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Hello, everyone. This is the 30th Undercutters podcast, looking back at Belgium and ahead to Hungary. I’m Morris, and you can find me on Twitter or BlueSky at MorrisF1, or read the transcript at morrisf1.blogspot.com Hungary saw Piastri’s first win last year, but can the Aussie repeat the feat? Can anyone stop McLaren dominating the whole season? And will Verstappen and Alonso be as annoyed as they were last year? Belgian Sprint 00m39s The sprint in Belgium was not the most exciting of things. Verstappen and Leclerc passed Piastri and Norris respectively. Norris was able to pass the Ferrari then close up on Verstappen and Piastri, but the Aussie was not able to reclaim the lead despite sitting in DRS range of Verstappen all race long. Despite a lot of drivers being consistently in DRS there was not much in the way of passing. The points scorers were: Verstappen, Piastri, Norris, Leclerc, Ocon, Sainz, Bearman, and Hadjar. Belgian Grand Prix Qualifying 1m20s Qualifying for the Belgia...
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Belgian Grand Prix 2025: pre-race

Sprint qualifying had a few surprises, with SQ1 losing Albon, Hulkenberg, Hamilton, Colapinto, and Antonelli. I think only Hulkenberg and Colapinto aren’t too surprising there. For all his great race results, Hulkenberg’s regularly gone out early. Hamilton spun, Albon was just not quick enough, and Antonelli, from the sounds of it, had some sort of floor damage. That said, it’s worth noting neither Mercedes looked fast. SQ2 saw Piastri scrape through in 10th after a great time was eliminated and he had to set another on used tyres. Lawson, Tsunoda, Russell, Alonso, and Stroll all left, and the track showed immense evolution. SQ3 was a dominant pole for Piastri, and Haas also really punched above their weight. The Aussie led Verstappen on the front row, with Norris relegated to 3rd alongside Leclerc. Ocon was 5th, with Sainz 6th (great for both), Bearman leading Gasly on row four, and Hadjar and Bortoleto bringing up the rear. The sprint itself saw Gasly not start due to a suspected ...
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