MorrisF1

A hectic race, but, sadly, not a profitable one. The Renault tip was plain wrong, and the Bottas one narrowly failed due to misfortune. However, given the tremendous fluke at Styria I can’t complain too much about the twists of fate. It had rained before the start, with everyone set up with intermediate tyres, excepting Magnussen, who was on the full wet. Kvyat got on the radio to wisely suggest pitting at the end of the formation lap for slicks. His team refused, whereas Haas leapt at the opportunity and boxed both Magnussen and Grosjean. Off the line both Bottas and Perez went backward at a rate of knots, the Finn slumping back to about seventh or so during the first lap. The Ferraris had a better start, but Hamilton easily retained his lead, as he would throughout the race. Within a few laps the drying track compelled everyone except Haas to pit, putting Magnussen and Grosjean temporarily as high as third and fourth. Vettel and Sainz both suffered significant time loss...

As expected, Mercedes locked out the front row and Racing Point had a very strong qualifying session to line up right behind them. Hamilton snagged pole, with Bottas close but not close enough for the hedge to be matched, so a red session. Life continues to be tough for Alfa Romeo, both of whose cars were slowest, Raikkonen being dead last. Barely ahead of them were the Haas cars, the bread of a Kvyat sandwich. Good for Williams, though, to have both cars escape Q1. They were unable to do likewise in Q2, but Russell’s 12 th is a stronger start than we’ve seen from the team in recent seasons. Latifi could only manage 15 th , with Ricciardo, Albon (who was very unhappy about his car and traffic over the radio), and Ocon also failing to progress. Q3 in Hungary was the first of the year to feature two Ferraris. They had a pretty good performance too, getting the third row to themselves with soon-to-be-ex-driver Vettel half a tenth ahead of Leclerc. We shall see how they get ...

And so we leave picturesque Styria for the rather flatter Hungaroring. Passing’s very hard and safety cars are historically unlikely, but the circuit has thrown up some classics over the years, so the weekend might yet live up to the last two races. Rumours abound that Vettel might get Perez’s seat next season. We shall see. In shocking news, Hamilton topped first practice, with Bottas less than a tenth behind. Half a second down the road was Perez, four-tenths ahead of Stroll. Ricciardo, Vettel, and Leclerc were next, with Verstappen, Norris, and Ocon rounding out the top 10. Second practice was soggy, starting with full wets and ending with inters. Only 13 chaps set times. Of these, Vettel was quickest with Bottas a couple of tenths behind. More than a second further back was Sainz, then came Stroll and Perez, ahead of Gasly, Verstappen, Grosjean, Raikkonen, and Leclerc. Not the most illuminating of sessions. In third practice Bottas was fastest, less than a ten...

Bloody hell. That was an exciting finish. And delightfully profitable too. One thing I didn’t realise before the race start was that Norris had some sort of problem with his ribs. Probably wouldn't've offered that tip had I known. Off the line it was mostly holding positions, with a few major exceptions. Leclerc mounted a curb after trying an improbable pass on his team mate, which had the effect of damaging the Monegasque’s floor (forcing him to retire a few laps later) and destroying Vettel’s front wing, and his race as well. Nightmare for Ferrari, who had brought forward some upgrades for their car and have no idea if/how well they work. It also brought out an early safety car, which didn’t, ultimately have much effect on anything. Upon the restart the McLaren of Sainz started going backwards, but this was very understandable as his car isn’t as fast as the Mercedes or Red Bull. However, Norris also started going backwards, and was soon behind the Renaults ...

Very soggy conditions in qualifying made for a very entertaining hour or so. It was delayed by 46 minutes or so, and set up the race nicely. Q1 started on full wets, and although it got a little bit drier there was never any question of changing tyres (this persisted throughout the whole of qualifying). The Racing Point was oddly slow in the wet, with Perez surprisingly failing to make it out of the first session. Both Alfa Romeos also departed at this stage, Giovinazzi having the only real crash (he managed to keep going although the last 12 seconds got red flagged). Grosjean also went off-track and pitted, never to return. Latifi, in his second ever qualifying, got 18 th , which isn’t bad. In Q2 it was very similar stuff, Russell doing well to qualify 12 th for Williams, and Stroll only managing 13 th . Given Racing Point might by the third or fourth fastest team in the dry, that’s a pretty big Achilles’ heel. Kvyat and Magnussen also left at this stage. But the shock depa...

There was a rumour that an old driver might be returning to Renault in 2021. Hulkenberg was an obvious choice, but in surprising news it’s actually some Spanish fellow called Fernando Alonso. He’s undoubtedly talented but also prone to rocking boats. Time will tell if this is wise or silly. In sad news, those concerned about the Russian Grand Prix were depressed to learn it’ll be going ahead. The Tuscan Grand Prix has also been added to the calendar, bringing the current total of races in 2020 to 10, with every chance of more being included. Meanwhile, we have the peculiar situation of a back-to-back race at the same circuit, an event to be repeated in the United Kingdom in the near future. Teams will have obviously learnt a lot, but weather conditions may be different for qualifying and/or the race. It’s possible qualifying will be a washout, and with tight timing between races a more cautious approach could be prudent. If that’s the case then the result for second pract...

Well, that was quite the race. The sort where if I kept notes they’d come in handy for this review. Suffice to say my bet did not come off, but the race was thoroughly entertaining. Hamilton got a super late penalty, knocking him back three places for insufficiently slowing during the yellow flag in qualifying. Off the line it was formation flying, despite some close contests. Norris slowly drifted back through the field as Albon and Hamilton passed him. At the front Bottas was cruising with Verstappen a few seconds off the pace. Then the Dutchman started to reel in the Finn despite being on the slower tyre. Was the contra-strategy going to work? We’ll never know because Verstappen’s Red Bull fell victim to a reliability failing, probably electrical, and it forced a retirement and removed any serious threat (or so it seemed) to Mercedes’ dominance. And this wasn’t the last of the reliability failings. Not by a long, long shot. Magnussen’s Haas decided front br...

An entertaining and profitable session, so huzzah for that. Would Mercedes be as dominant as many thought? Would Racing Point or McLaren be best of the rest? Just how fast were Ferrari? The first session confirmed that the Alfa Romeo and Williams teams are the slowest, with all their drivers departing. However, things were quite tight and Raikkonen felt traffic prevented him making the most of his potential. Magnussen was also eliminated in Q1. In Q2 we discovered that Ferrari are so slow that a four time world champion failed to make it through. Vettel was 11 th fastest, Leclerc scraping through in 10 th . Until they get a big upgrade, Ferrari are perhaps the fifth or sixth fastest team (their engine looks a particular weak spot). It’s the most dramatic slump in form perhaps since McLaren (who, by contrast, got both cars into Q3). The two Alpha Tauris also failed to progress, as did a lacklustre Ocon, and Grosjean (who was just one place ahead of Magnussen, indicating...

Well, that was quite the delay. We got about a day away from the season starting then had to wait four months or so. Although a global pandemic’s a pretty good reason, to be fair. And so we finally come to Austria, for the first of two back-to-back Grands Prix at the same circuit, with the same happening a little later at the UK. Mercedes are back in black, and they’ve even brought last year’s car in a fetching shade of pink. Ferrari, meanwhile, have disappointed Ferrari fans by designing a Ferrari. Elsewhere, McLaren are looking racy and, in shock news, Vettel’s less than thrilled to have been ditched by the bespectacled Ferrari team principal whose name I can’t remember and who is distinctly less cool than Arrivabene. We don’t really have even testing mood music as a guideline because it was so long ago all the cars have been updated and testing performance is now about as much use as alcohol-free beer. In first practice the world was shocked by a Mercedes 1-2...