MorrisF1

Next year we have Saudi Arabia on the provisional calendar. Looking forward to Hamilton et al. protesting about the human rights there, or the concentration camps in China. Alfa Romeo have confirmed they’re keeping their drivers for next year, after some speculation that Mick Schumacher might get a seat with them. Also, Russell's been confirmed at Williams despite some rumours his seat might have gone to Perez. There’s only one practice session, of an hour and a half, at this third Italian race of the year. The Red Bull looked pretty good during practice, but at the end of the session Hamilton was fastest by three-tenths, ahead of Verstappen with Bottas a further two-tenths back. There was then a gap of about half a second to Gasly, (AlphaTauri looking good this weekend), who was just ahead of Leclerc. Ricciardo and Ocon followed, ahead of Kvyat, Albon and Stroll, but the midfield is going to be very tight indeed. The track’s tight and passing may be tricky so bear that in ...

An unexpected and exciting start, with many tight battles and good performances lower down, whilst the sharp end dissolved into predictable tedium, alas. The bet came off, if hedged. Slightly surprised by that, but there we are. Off the line it was, frankly, bizarre. Hamilton started badly and was soon passed by Bottas. Verstappen had a poor start and low a few places. Hamilton then got passed by Sainz, whose soft tyres were working much better off the start than the medium of the Mercedes, and the Spaniard then passed Bottas and trotted off into the lead. Further back, Leclerc slumped to 8 th from 4 th and Raikkonen roared up into 6 th . Not to mention (although I am) Verstappen gave Perez a nudge which punted the Mexican around and put him last of all. Gosh. Fortunately for my bet, and unfortunately for those who like exciting contests for the win, the medium tyre then started to work. The Mercedes chased and passed Sainz, who spent the next few laps falling prey to various o...

And that’s why I don’t really bet on qualifying. Bottas ahead throughout practice and qualifying until the last moment when the talented but tediously predictable Hamilton got pole. Impressive, but not exciting. Q3 was mostly as you’d expect with Latifi slowest and both Haas and Alfa Romeos departing. However, Russell did well to escape. Q2 had a few interesting notes. Late on Ricciardo, having reached the top 10, went off the track and had a minor collision with a barrier. However, this necessitated a rear wing change and he was unable to participate in Q3. The Ferraris and Mercedes set their best times with the medium tyre which bodes well for them, except Vettel who ended up slowest and eliminated. Russell was also unable to progress but may feel pleased to qualify 14 th , with Kvyat, Stroll, and Ocon ahead of him. In Q1 it was Bottas fastest, then Verstappen, then Hamilton, until the Briton impressed and bored in equal measure by taking yet another pole. Leclerc qualified 4 t...

  In surprising news, Haas is to drop both its drivers for financial reasons. Coincidentally, this may also lead to a driver lineup that crashes less frequently. Also, there are rumours Perez might be off to Williams next year. If I were Red Bull and had an Albon/Perez choice, not sure I’d be sticking. There remain, of course, open Haas seats, though I’m not sure what Perez’s financial situation is. In first practice Bottas was quickest yet again, a third of a second ahead of his team mate. Verstappen was next but four-tenths off Hamilton, with Leclerc, Albon, and Sainz following closely. Perez, Raikkonen, Ricciardo, and Gasly rounded out the top 10. Second practice also had Bottas top, six-tenths ahead of Verstappen, with Norris two-tenths further back. Leclerc, Sainz, and Vettel were next, raising the possibility of a Ferrari-McLaren tussle for best of the rest. Gasly, Hamilton, Ocon, and Albon followed. Bottas was also fastest in third practice, a whole two-hundredths ah...

An interesting race, mildly profitable, and I’ll take that. Off the line Bottas and Verstappen both started slowly, unsure if that was due to the side of the track or a coincidence. Bottas lost a place to Hamilton but fought back to reclaim it, and Verstappen skilfully fended off Leclerc to retain his position. Early on it was largely as expected, formation flying from the top three as they opened a gap to the rest of the field. Hulkenberg and Norris had both made good starts with Ocon falling further back. The top three stayed nice and close together until Bottas’ tyres started going off. Then he locked up and Hamilton passed him and he pitted early. Almost as soon as he emerged from the pit lane he developed a massive power loss and was forced to box and retire. Not great, and not his fault. Raikkonen and Russell were in close proximity, and then too close for comfort with the Finn locking up and colliding with the Briton. This caused a puncture and suspension damage, necessitated a ...

Ha, I felt like a banana for not backing Verstappen at 9 then he ended up slightly disappointing to start only 3 rd on the grid, having been in provisional pole position. Still sitting very pretty for the race, however. Hulkenberg got thrown in at the deep end of qualifying and was, perhaps unsurprisingly, slowest of all. Hard to criticise him for this given the acute lack (ie none) of practice beforehand. Off chance of points in the race due to a combination of his experience and the car being pretty good, but odds against. Both Williams and Raikkonen failed to progress, as did Grosjean. In Q2 Magnussen was the slowest of the eliminated drivers, with Giovinazzi faster than the Dane (and his Finnish team mate). Rumours of Mick Schumacher may be looming large in the Italian’s mind, but it’s driving him to go faster, if so. Both Gasly and Kvyat were likewise unable to advance and Vettel was fastest of those departing at this stage. The Ferrari is, however, looking a shade faster tha...

The last race wasn’t covered at all by me due to having no internet connection. In somewhat surprising news, Honda have announced they’re withdrawing after next year leaving Red Bull and AlphaTauri without engine suppliers for 2022 and beyond. In more surprising and worse news, the idiots in charge of F1 have abandoned the excellent Interlagos circuit (probably my favourite on the calendar) and will instead shortly be having the Brazilian Grand Prix at a new circuit. The current site is full of pesky rainforest, but don’t worry, they’ll soon cut that down to needlessly create a track almost certainly far inferior to Interlagos. Morons. Both first and second practice were cancelled due to rain and fog. Stroll wasn’t feeling well and so didn’t make a third practice appearance. Racing Point’s qualifying plans will be confirmed after practice. Hulkenberg may return. Tricky for teams to pack all their practice into a single hour, especially for the single driver Racing Point. Bo...