MorrisF1

Not too many surprises in qualifying, though Verstappen was closer than expected and the Renaults discovered some pace. Gasly was the fastest chap to be eliminated in Q1, ahead of Giovinazzi, both Williams, and Magnussen.  Q2 saw some big names drop, though it’s no longer surprising to say farewell to a Ferrari at this stage. Vettel qualified a mere 14 th , ahead of Grosjean and behind Norris, Kvyat, and Raikkonen. As usual, midfield times are very competitive. Hamilton was half a tenth ahead of Bottas after the first runs in Q3, but there were no real improvements, save for Leclerc, as Ocon’s Renault stopped working on track and almost nobody else had the chance to go faster. Verstappen did narrow the gap a bit and was a few tenths off pole in 3 rd . However, the Mercedes hates traffic, and high temperatures, so maybe the Red Bull will stand a chance in the race. Albon lines up alongside his team mate, and Leclerc managed to put his Ferrari into 5 th , which is rather above ...

Italy again, for the second of three races this season. In not especially shocking but still significant news, Vettel has signed for Aston Martin next year which means that Perez is likely out of the sport unless he can find safe harbour somewhere soon. Rather sad to see as he’s a talented chap (reminds me a bit of Hulkenberg not being around any more). Having watched a bit of practice, the circuit looks narrow and fairly twisty, excepting one long straight. That makes me think overtaking will be hard almost all race, the main place being the straight but only early on as following another car through the twisty stuff is hard. In addition, it sounds like the heat and the track are making tyres, especially the soft, churn badly, so this may be like the second British or Belgian races. There also isn’t much forgiveness, so going a few feet off track meant hitting gravel and/or the wall in many places. Ricciardo’s tyres were great towards the end of Spa, whereas the Mercedes and Red...

Well, that was a chaotic but entertaining race. Hamilton drove off fine but Bottas had an atrocious start, getting passed by Sainz immediately, then Norris, then Perez, then Ricciardo. Phenomenally bad from the Finn. But not as bad as things got for Ferrari. Vettel’s brakes failed, necessitating a DNF. Later, Magnussen car also stopped working and he was forced to pull over by the pits. The safety car emerged and the pit lane entry was closed but that didn’t stop Hamilton and Giovinazzi pitting. Both ended up with 10s stop and go penalties. Just after Magnussen’s car stopped working, Leclerc lost control on the final corner and ploughed into a barrier. This ultimately brought out a red flag. Cars that had either pitted earlier (Gasly) or not at all (Stroll) benefited greatly, and Hamilton’s huge penalty of 30s or so ended up putting him at the back once the re-start, off the grid, occurred. Stroll buggered things up and Gasly inherited the lead, with Raikkonen and Giovinazzi (who had t...

Qualifying was somewhat farcical, though not quite as hilariously stupid as last year. It was the same old story at the sharp end but some of the competitive midfield were rather tasty. The race could be very good. Except at the front. Probably. In Q1 the cars predictably all get sent out at the same time to try and take advantage of the fabled slipstream and most ended up buggering themselves. Vettel ended up leaving at this stage, as did Grosjean, Giovinazzi, and both Williams.  Q2 saw much the same nonsense, the Mercedes (perhaps surprisingly setting fast times on the soft rather than medium tyres) cruising serenely at the sharp end whilst the rest scrambled in their wake. Kvyat, Ocon, Leclerc, Raikkonen, and Magnussen all left proceedings here. In Q3, the Mercedes went out early for the second run, helping the rest of the field to avoid idiocy and everyone got a decent shot at a lap. Kudos to the top team. Hamilton was fastest by half a second ahead of Bottas, and a very ...

Williams are no longer in F1. The family has stepped back from the team, marking an end, after this race weekend, to the days of individuals and families such as Sauber, Jordan, and Brabham. A rather sad day. They’d been down on their luck for a long time despite rare resurgences such as the 2012 Maldonado victory in Spain and a strong initial season under the new rules. Hiring Paddy Lowe managed to make the slowest team on the grid go backwards, and they’ve been propping up the table for some time now, but I can still remember the glory days of Damon Hill. The team remains and will stay under the Williams name, for now, at least. Also, this weekend marks the end of engine mode changes, which may affect things a bit. First practice had, shockingly, the Mercedes fastest. Bottas was top, a quarter second ahead of Hamilton, who had half a second over Albon. Kvyat was next, surprisingly, with Verstappen, Gasly, Perez, Norris, Ricciardo, and Sainz rounding out the top 10. Verstappen cra...