MorrisF1

It’s a long way back now, but the start of the season was actually really promising. Lotus, Ferrari, Mercedes and Red Bull all looked competitive. Lotus and Ferrari were kinder to the tyres, but Mercedes and Red Bull has better raw pace. It was finely balanced. Force India made a cracking start to the season, and them beating McLaren seemed possible. McLaren, by contrast, had managed to turn what was the fastest car in 2012 into perhaps the sixth fastest in 2013. Hamilton’s jumping ship to Mercedes had been considered by many (including me) to be bad for 2013 but possibly good for 2014. As it happened, it was a great decision for this year. However, a huge change occurred around the halfway point. Crumbly tyres are desired by the sport’s bigwigs, but tyres that explode around Silverstone are a step too far. So, the tyres were hardened and swapping left and right rear tyres was banned. The former gave Red Bull a critical advantage, and the latter really harmed Force Ind...

Sadly, Rosberg didn’t really get near a podium place, and his 5th place finish flattered him as Massa and Hamilton got drive-throughs. It might have been different if it had rained, but it didn’t. For the first time this weekend it was dry in Sao Paulo, making it hard to predict how the cars would go (particularly as some would have wet setups and others setups suited for the dry). The start was pretty good. Rosberg dove into the lead, and Alonso had a pretty nice start. However, it soon became apparent Rosberg lacked speed, and a radio transmission revealed this was due to lack of rear grip. He began an inexorable decline through the order. Once Vettel was ahead he had an easy time of it, yet again. Red Bull forgot to get the tyres ready for his pit stop, but his advantage at that point was such it didn’t materially alter the state of play. Webber had a nice tussle with Alonso, whose Ferrari was motoring along nicely, and eventually ended up on top. A decent fin...

Qualifying began drier than it’s been all weekend, but with the rain starting to fall again. Intermediate tyres were the order of the day, and all teams rushed to set early laps as conditions worsened. Gutierrez and Maldonado left along with the pointless teams in Q1. Not too surprising. Both Force Indias and both McLarens failed to escape Q2, and Perez ended the session by crashing his car. Kovalainen could only manage 11th, and Bottas was 13th. The start of Q3 was repeatedly delayed because the rain was too torrential even for wet weather tyres. Rosberg’s lay value dropped to 4.3 (as I mentioned on pb.com for those who wanted a safe hedge). Eventually Q3 got under way, and so much time had been wasted that by the time they got out it was only a lap or two before they switched wets for intermediates (not unlike the over-cautious use of safety cars in the wet). Sadly, Vettel got pole, with a surprisingly and suddenly huge margin. Not sure, but I’d hazard a guess he...

The tyres for this weekend are medium and hard. P1 was wet, for the first time I can remember this season. It’s hard to read into the times as the tyres for the conditions were wet and intermediate, and weather conditions determined pace more than anything else. Rosberg was fastest, followed by Hamilton. Vettel and Button were next, then Alonso, Webber, Perez, Kvyat, Kovalainen and Hulkenberg. Rosberg seemed much happier with his setup than his team mate, and had little work done compared to the Briton. In P2 there was little running, because it was also wet and the teams have relatively few intermediate and wet tyres. Rosberg was fastest again, ahead of Vettel and Webber. Kovalainen, Hamilton and Vergne came next, followed by Massa, Hulkenberg, Ricciardo and Grosjean. Interesting that Kovalainen had beaten Grosjean in both practice sessions so far, and Rosberg has been fastest in both as well. In P3 there was very little running, and the fastest time was large...

The final race of the 2013 season is at Brazil’s excellent Interlagos circuit. This is one of my favourites. There’s great opportunity for passing and it rains very often, meaning that we may well get to see the intermediate and wet tyres (I’m not sure, but I can’t recall a wet race this year). On the driver market, it’s quite remarkable just how long this Quantum/Lotus deal has taken to get done, and the money still hasn’t arrived. Lotus still want Hulkenberg, but he hasn’t been signed yet. It’s nonsensical. If Sauber can afford to keep him (afford in the sense of taking talent over money) then how can Lotus not afford to hire him? For now, they’re still waiting, but it can’t last forever. After Hulkenberg, there’ll be many dominos waiting to tumble. Di Resta and Perez will scramble for the leftovers after (presumably) Maldonado’s money (and certainly not his manners) gets him a seat at a cash-strapped team. A couple of decent drivers could well leave the sport this year, s...

I only realised after the pre-qualifying piece that the race would finish about 20 minutes or so before Homeland, so instead of trying to rush the post-race analysis I decided to delay it until today. The early discussion for Brazil (next weekend) will be put up tomorrow. The bet didn’t come off, alas. Whilst Rosberg did have a poor performance in a car that’s second or third in pace terms, he managed to climb up to 9th. It’ll be useful, however, to remember this driver-circuit weakness for next year. The race started according to the script. Vettel retained the lead, and Webber had a bad start and went backwards, being passed by both Grosjean and Hamilton. Interestingly, as per last year, the even numbered cars appear to have had relatively bad starts (Webber, Hulkenberg, Alonso all lost places at the start, I think). That’s worth recalling for 2014 as well. One thing not in the script was Sutil going off almost immediately. This prompted an immediate safety car, and wh...

Q1 saw the pointless teams ditched as usual, but there was a stark divergence between the Williams’ drivers. Bottas was 1st (in Q1 only), and Maldonado 18th. Turns out money can only buy seats, not speed. Surprising to see such a difference between the two drivers, though. Sutil went out in 17th, and may have suffered some sort of technical problem as he peeled off after his final lap. During Q2 it was confirmed Sutil had a problem, namely a slow puncture. Q2 saw the surprise departure of Rosberg. The Mercedes seemed to be the best of the rest, so that’s quite a shock. Not only that, he’s 14th, behind Ricciardo, Di Resta and Button (although Button suffers a 3 place grid penalty for ignoring red flags during practice). Massa is behind Rosberg, followed by Vergne. Impressively, Sauber got both of their cars into the top 10. Q3 was surprisingly close, but Vettel narrowly got pole ahead of Webber. Grosjean continues his strong form with 3rd, followed by Hulkenberg, who is...

The tyres for this weekend are medium and hard. P1 saw another red flag due to fog/the medical helicopter not being there. That’s the second time such issues have affected practice, after the smog of India. The session was curtailed because of this, and Button ignoring the red flag has earnt him a 3 place grid penalty. In P1 Alonso was fastest, followed by Button, Bottas, Gutierrez, Rosberg, Hamilton, Massa, Webber, Hulkenberg and Maldonado. I’d give that list zero credence when it comes to betting, frankly. P2 was business as usual, both in terms of no delays and of Vettel being fastest. Webber, Rosberg and Hamilton were next, with Kovalainen, Gutierrez, Hulkenberg, Grosjean, Button and Alonso rounding out the top 10. I’m not going to read huge amounts into P2, but it’s nevertheless interesting that Kovalainen and Gutierrez were faster than their team mates. I may keep an eye on the odds for either the Finn or the Mexican to make Q3. Because the qualifying will ...

News broke last week that Raikkonen, whose back problems are apparently flaring up again, is to miss the final two races (here and Brazil). He’s having surgery. The replacement isn’t yet clear. Most seem to think Valsecchi, Lotus reserve drive, will get the seat, though a fair minority reckon they’ll try and move Hulkenberg (assuming he’s there next year) a little early. What is certain is that this will damage the team’s hopes of progressing from fourth in the Constructors (which was a bit unlikely anyway, as they’re 26 points off third-placed Ferrari). Since Abu Dhabi Ecclestone’s been making more negative noises about New Jersey. Mexico also looks unlikely, and Korea could well drop off the calendar (which makes one wonder why the first two were on it in the first place). On Thursday it emerged that McLaren were actively looking at taking on reportedly talented youngster Kevin Magnussen to replace Sergio Perez in 2014. This would be a big setback for Perez, not just b...

I listened to this on ye olde radio. I felt more confident about the Hulkenberg bet than the Rosberg one, but ironically the latter came off and the former didn’t. Slightly weirdly, this race is the first this year where my profit has been between £1 and £40 (assuming the standard £10 stake per bet). Off the line Webber, shockingly, had a bad start. Vettel, amazingly, got into the lead. Who would have suspected this could happen? Anyway, Webber also got passed by Rosberg, and Hamilton got passed by Grosjean and Hulkenberg, though he soon took the place back from the German. Ricciardo, having qualified well, immediately went backwards. Interestingly, Massa was ahead of Alonso (the pair were right behind the Hamilton/Hulkenberg tussle) and the Spaniard couldn’t pass him. It seems Fernando was not faster than him. After the first pit stops Webber was able to get ahead of Rosberg, and the top three remained in their positions throughout the race (effectively). At one p...

In Q1 we lost the pointless teams, as usual, as well as Sutil and Gutierrez. Slightly surprising Gutierrez left this early given how strong the Sauber seemed earlier. Alonso was the biggest casualty of Q2, managing only 11th (Massa was 10th). Di Resta, Button, Vergne, Maldonado and Bottas were also out. It’s the first time this year that Alonso failed to make the top 10. Q3 was notable for Webber getting pole, ahead of Vettel. Hamilton spun on his final lap, and starts 4th, with Rosberg 3rd. Raikkonen was 5th, and starting alongside him is Hulkenberg, who did very well to beat Grosjean (7th). Massa, Perez and Ricciardo round out the top 10. After qualifying Raikkonen was excluded as his car failed a floor flex test, so he’ll start either last or from the pit lane. I’ve backed Hulkenberg to finish in the top 6 at 2.63 with Ladbrokes. Given he starts 5th and has been highly competitive in recent races, and the Sauber is hard to overtake, this seems a reasonable bet. ...

Ross Brawn is to leave Mercedes at the end of the season, according to the BBC’s Eddie Jordan: http://www.bbc.co.uk/sport/0/formula1/24725406 This has long been on the cards. He said a few weeks ago he was in negotiations with the team, and wished to remain but only on condition he was clearly the leader of the F1 team. Mercedes takes a hydra approach to leadership, and will, apparently, have Wolff, Lauda and Lowe as leaders once Brawn goes. It’s unclear where Brawn will go, or if he’ll even stay in F1. Soft and medium tyres, same as India, will be used in Abu Dhabi. The race is a bit of a weird one because qualifying and the race occur during the transition from late evening to dusk. Because of this P1 and P3 are less useful because they happen earlier, during the heat of the day. So, unusually, P2 is the best for the teams because the temperatures and conditions are the most similar to both qualifying and the race. In P1 Grosjean was fastest, ahead of Hamilto...