MorrisF1

Well, tickle my tangerines. That was quite the race. A classic, I dare say. Off the line Verstappen left the handbrake on, entered anti-stall and got passed by half the grid (scarcely an exaggeration, he ended up behind his team mate). Vettel had a good start, Norris roared up to just behind Leclerc and Bottas (briefly). Early on, Leclerc simply drove away from the Mercedes with little apparent effort. Hamilton got past Norris easily enough but wasn’t able to progress further. Vettel and Verstappen made slightly heavy weather advancing against Raikkonen and Norris (both of whom were driving very well) but eventually managed to effect passes. The Ferraris, of course, were on the soft tyres, the Mercedes on the medium, but the Mercedes were struggling intensely with overheating, to the extent they had to lift and coast not for fuel preservation but to stop the car becoming molten. The Mercedes weren’t so hot on their tyres so Bottas pitted at the same time as Vettel...

Well, I’ve had a frustrating week so a frustrating bet fits in nicely. There’s a good chance the Vettel bet would’ve come off, likely with him starting 2 nd , but his car developed some sort of problem and he wasn’t able to run in Q3. Still, that’s betting. Sometimes Lady Luck gives you a lapdance. Sometimes she defecates in your kettle. In Q1 the Williams were, as usual, slowest, and both Racing Point drivers failed to progress. Kvyat, who was clearly blocked (see below), was unable to escape and qualified between the Williams and Racing Point teams. In Q2 there was some interesting mixed strategy. The Mercedes used standard operating procedure and went out on the medium tyre, presumed better for starting the race due to better longevity compared to the faster soft tyre. Ferrari, however, who had looked tasty in Q1, leapt the other way and both Vettel and Leclerc set their times on the soft tyre. Red Bull further mixed things up by having Verstappen on the medium and Gasly...

Paddy Lowe has officially left Williams after a period of leave. Given how dreadful the car is, and his job was improving performance (which went backwards), this is not hugely surprising. Last year was interesting because both Mercedes suffered DNFs having qualified 1-2 (Bottas ahead). I think it was a rare double reliability failure. Verstappen went on to win with both Haas in the top 6. In first practice, Hamilton was quickest, a tenth and a half ahead of Vettel. The German was a tiny margin ahead of Bottas, with Leclerc a tenth and a half off the Finn. Verstappen and Gasly were a short distance down the road, with Sainz within a tenth of the Frenchman. Ricciardo was four-tenths further back, narrowly ahead of Magnussen, with Norris next up. However, it was odd to note that every Ferrari time was on the medium tyre and every Mercedes time on the soft. Unusually, I caught some of second practice, and the wind was causing significant problems for many drivers. Ve...

Well, that wasn’t a classic. But it was green, ending the green-red alternating sequence of the first seven races. Only mildly green, but that’s still nice. Off the line the McLarens had a flying start but got a bit squeezed and it was mostly in formation after the first few corners. However, Albon had a horrendous start, dropping half a dozen places and ruining his race. Hamilton cruised off into the sunset. A dramatic spectacle this victory was not. Further back, Vettel struggled more than expected to pass the quick McLarens, but nevertheless managed to do so, eventually. He was closing the gap to Verstappen (4 th , behind Leclerc), but after the pit stops it was the same as before. Although some way off the top five, the McLarens were retaining their best-of-the-rest position and looking quite handy, their only problem being Norris (behind Sainz, who had a better start) nagging to be let through or for the Spaniard to drive faster. The nagging stopped when it b...

Ahead of qualifying, Kvyat had a penalty so would start last (a shame as he looked pretty good in the little running he had), and Hulkenberg is on an inferior engine to Ricciardo, said to be worth a few tenths of a second. Sadly, Q1 once again saw the Williams last by some way. Stroll also continued his run of poor qualifying results, and Grosjean failed to progress (not sure but I think Haas had some upgrades and Magnussen got them rather than him). Kvyat didn’t go any further but won’t really care, and perhaps wasn’t trying his best, as the aforementioned penalty means he starts last anyway. A number of cars (most who progressed, including the Ferraris, Verstappen’s Red Bull, Mercedes, and I think McLarens) went out on the mid-pace medium tyre as the faster soft apparently only lasts half a dozen laps before disintegrating. Those who made it to Q3 with the soft tyres, including Gasly, might be in for a rougher race. Albon did well but not well enough, being the fastest ch...

Checking last year’s result, which has been a fairly good guide so far to this season, Mercedes started on the front row, followed by Vettel then the two Red Bulls with Raikkonen last of the top chaps. Come the chequered flag, things had changed quite a bit, with Hamilton retaining the top spot, but Verstappen 2 nd , Raikkonen 3 rd and then Ricciardo, Vettel, and Magnussen (Bottas was 7 th due to a first lap collision with Vettel). Also worth noting the race last year was dry and there was plenty of overtaking, so top 6 cars out of position should have little difficult carving their way through the field. It also means a fast-qualifying car that’s rubbish on it’s tyres will slide inexorably backwards in the race. In first practice, astoundingly, Hamilton was fastest, half a tenth ahead of Bottas. A few tenths further back was Leclerc, but half a second more to Verstappen and Vettel slower still. Gasly was next, then Norris and Sainz, with Ricciardo and Albon rounding out...

Well, I had felt confident about the Verstappen bet and it ended up coming off. Huzzah! But the race was memorable for rather more contentious reasons. Off the line it was largely formation flying. Early laps saw Vettel pull out a surprisingly lead quite swiftly on Hamilton. Both Bottas and Verstappen struggled to make much early progress, and when the Dutchman found himself behind the Finn he was clearly faster but unable to effect a pass (this harmed Verstappen because Bottas’ medium tyres meant his first stint was relatively long, and Verstappen was on the hard compound, hoping to go long himself). The Renaults, looking racy, had both pitted and were too quick for Verstappen to pit and pass, whilst Gasly had gotten himself stuck behind someone (Stroll, I think) and his inability to make headway meant he ended up behind the Renaults. At the sharp end, Vettel led comfortably, though Hamilton wasn’t too far off, Leclerc was a lonely third and Bottas was quite some way furth...

I was tempted by Bottas and didn’t tip him. On pace, the bet could’ve come off but ill fortune cost Bottas dear. In Q1 it was business as usual at the back, with the Williams slowest of all once more. Russell was a second and a half behind Stroll, who starts just ahead of him on the grid (terrible day for Racing Point, with Perez also eliminated in this session, and Raikkonen between the two Pink Panthers). Q2 was rather more eventful. The top two teams went out on the medium tyre, trying to start on it. This worked out. It didn’t work out for Verstappen, whose pace was just a tenth or two off what it needed to be, and he slipped into the red zone. Red Bull dallied a bit bringing him in for the obviously necessary red soft tyres and when he went out his pace looked good. But then Magnussen touched the wall of champions, floored his throttle, and introduced his car to the pit wall, bringing out a red flag. Verstappen was unable to complete his lap and got eliminated, as did...

O Canada. Home of many great races, including the most satisfying victory and betting win of them all (Button winning in 2011, having been last more than halfway into the race). It was also where tyres crumbled unexpectedly, leading the dimwits in charge to command new tyre supplier Pirelli to make their tyres crumbly, in the mistaken belief that team principals were stupid and would fail to recognise the usually optimal approach would be to make the drivers trundle around more slowly (hence the current era). Canada’s also notable for being one of Hamilton’s best tracks, having a couple of decent-sized straights, and a hairpin suitable for passing. It’s an actual race track rather than a nostalgia procession. Worth noting that all six fastest lap points so far have been evenly spread across the top three teams. Fastest lap positions: 2 wins 1 3rd 1 4th 2 5th Leclerc and Gasly have two each, Hamilton and Bottas one each. Or, to rephrase, 33% have been winners ...