MorrisF1

Well, the Mexican Grand Prix was a lot more entertaining than I expected, and as profitable as I could’ve hoped for. Both bets came off, helped (one in particular) with rather a lot of good luck. Off the line Leclerc did well to fend off Vettel, who cut across Hamilton. The Briton and Verstappen collided, putting Hamilton a few places back and Verstappen even further down the field. The prime beneficiary was Albon, who was, I think, right behind Leclerc and Vettel. Verstappen set about passing those ahead of him, but had contact with Bottas and suffered a puncture. It was a long way back to the pits, although he did shed some weight when most of a tyre went walkies. The Dutchman ended up plumb last and the virtual safety car emerged (although the real one never made an appearance). It all looked set fair for the Ferraris. They were 1 and 2, with Verstappen (who ended up having sufficient pace to indicate he would’ve been a real contender for the win) relegated to the...

The start of qualifying was, frankly, rather predictable. The end was not, in a number of ways. In the first part of qualifying the Williams were slowest, with the Haas once again unable to make the tyres work (the soft tyres are looking extremely crumbly this time around). Stroll, again, failed to escape as well. In Q2 Perez was the fastest of those eliminated, which isn’t a bad place to start given the four ahead of him will, I think, be on the crumbly cheese soft tyres and Perez is talented at making his tyres last a long time. Medium/hard tyres to start with and a one stop (either one or two could work) seems the order of the day. Behind him are Hulkenberg and Ricciardo, and then Raikkonen and Giovinazzi. Would the Ferraris be as unstoppable as we all thought? No. Verstappen put in the fastest lap on the first run, surprisingly. Bottas was last of the top teams’ drivers, behind Albon. And on the second run the Finn over-egged the cake and ended up slamming into the...

Note from last race: post-race Leclerc got a 15s penalty (5s for the collision with Verstappen and 10s for continuing to drive unsafely). This put him down one place to 7 th and promoted Ricciardo to 6 th . Note 2: both Renaults have been disqualified from the last race. Promoting Leclerc again. Excitingly, they were disqualified for something deemed legal, but also a driver aid. Er… (braking system, I think with some remote fiddling). Mr. Sandpit has helpfully pointed out the device is legal but the manner of its usage was not, so thanks to him for clarifying the situation. In first practice Hamilton was fastest, a tenth ahead of Leclerc and Verstappen. Half a second further back was Albon, Bottas close behind. Vettel was next, then came Sainz, Gasly, Kvyat, and Giovinazzi. Second practice had Vettel top of the time sheet, a tenth ahead of Verstappen. Leclerc was a few tenths further back, followed by Bottas and Hamilton. Kvyat and Gasly came next, with Sainz, Hulk...

The bet failed (in the dry, Japan tends to have few DNFs, which I’d forgotten) but the race was entertaining. Not only was there no drizzle, it looked bright and sunny. A look at the grid, given we didn’t know it beforehand: Vettel and Leclerc were the front row, followed by Bottas and Hamilton. Verstappen and Albon (who set identical qualifying times) were next, then Sainz, and then I can’t recall off the top of my head. Vettel had a false start but managed to stop very quickly and seemingly didn’t trip the sensor. It seems he won’t get any penalty. However, he did cock up the start, Leclerc wasn’t hot either, and Bottas and Verstappen had good getaways. The Finn took the lead and Verstappen was in the process of passing Leclerc round the outside of a corner when the Monegasque collided with the side of the Dutchman’s car. This caused a lot of damage to the Red Bull, necessitated a pit stop, led to a significant lack of pace and, ultimately, retirement. The front wing of L...

Nice sporting scene in Japan, with the Rugby World Cup and now their Grand Prix. Or it would be, if it weren’t for the typhoon bearing down on both events, causing match cancellations and the probable delay and potential cancellation of F1 qualifying. If that happens (and thanks to Mr. B from PB for letting me know) then the second practice results would put Bottas on pole. As it stands, qualifying is planned for Sunday morning, 2am UK time. The race start is scheduled for 6.10am. It seems the main concern for qualifying isn’t actually bad weather but clearing up the effects of the bad weather. In first practice Bottas was fastest, less than a tenth ahead of Hamilton. Vettel was nearly a second down the road, ahead of Leclerc, with Verstappen ahead of Albon. Sainz then broke the Noah’s Ark procession, leading Perez and Stroll, with Norris rounding out the top 10. The second practice results/potential starting grid were as follows: Bottas, Hamilton (the Finn a tenth ahe...