MorrisF1

Qualifying did not go quite as anticipated, and it’s, in retrospect, a shame I didn’t go with temptation (this time). In Q1 it wasn’t too surprising to see both Haas drivers, Latifi, and Raikkonen fail to progress, although Stroll not escaping is a bit disappointing (especially given Vettel as a back-of-the-grid penalty for an engine change and is team mate does not). Despite some good work giving his team mate a tow, Alonso was unable to help Ocon get past Q2, the Alpine drivers 14 and 11 th fastest respectively but Alonso also incurring a penalty sending him to the rear of the grid. Vettel, Giovinazzi, and Russell also exited at this stage, meaning five teams had both drivers in Q3. The McLarens and Ferraris had looked competitive at the sharp end earlier, but would they be in Q3? No. But there was a surprising pole-sitter after the first hot laps in the form of Perez (15 in the betting), putting his illustrious team mate into 2 nd , provisionally. However, after the second ru...

F1 has released its race calendar for 2022, with the notable absence of China and Bahrain/Saudi Arabia taking the opening of the season from Australia (the third race). Bit surprised Qatar isn’t on given it’s making an appearance this year, and irked that it seems we’ll have a second (first in calendar terms) F1 race in the USA, in Miami. We’ve also seen the comedic release of the F1 fan survey: https://www.formula1.com/en/latest/article.new-global-fan-survey-reveals-f1s-most-popular-team-and-driver.2evqTWEPsWYeBlw9vmSyBs.html “There was also a net positive reaction to F1 Sprint…” And yet it seems just 6.7% of fans surveyed agreed it had improved the show. https://twitter.com/superlicense/status/1451430900441370624   Despite that, we might have them at eight sodding races next year: https://twitter.com/wtf1official/status/1445029728927236105   Anyway, Bottas has a 5 place grid penalty for an engine change, with Russell and Vettel starting from the back ...

Bit off-colour so this will be more concise than usual. Race defied forecast and started damp (inters throughout). Ricciardo took a penalty for a new engine and started last. First lap Gasly was sandwiched with Alonso on the outside, Spaniard spun, Frenchman got an undeserved 5s penalty. Hamilton, Sainz, and Ricciardo made good progress, then the Aussie spun, ruining his race. With Leclerc and Hamilton not stopping, it was Leclerc, Bottas, Verstappen, Hamilton. Ferrari boxed. Hamilton’s pace seemed good but they pitted him anyway and he was not happy to be down to 5 th , (he had been 3rd) behind Perez. Late on, under threat from Gasly due to graining but managed to hold on. Good solid win for Bottas, his first in over a year. Verstappen will be thrilled to make up ground given Hamilton was faster all weekend. Did rain make things harder for the Briton? Maybe. Perez joins his team mate on the podium, ahead of Leclerc (who seemed on for the win, and may well have done better no...

Qualifying started off damp, but just about ok for slicks, and the ‘100%’ chance of rain didn’t see any beyond spots arrive. However, the session was still very interesting and the grid’s a little more shaken up than expected (given Hamilton’s 10 place and Sainz’s back-of-the-grid penalties). Track limits being imposed harmed the Alfa Romeos, both of whom were dumped out in Q1. Mazepin likewise failed to progress, but Mick Schumacher did a great job to get his Haas into Q2. Latifi also exited at this stage but the shock departure was Ricciardo, put out by Sainz (doing a very good job for Ferrari given their tight battle with McLaren). Sainz didn’t bother with Q2, which is fair enough, and he was joined on the departure list by Vettel, Ocon, Russell, and Schumacher. Russell had the pace to make Q3 but buggered up the last corner. All session long the Mercedes had looked somewhat more comfortable than the Red Bull, and Perez seemed more competitive with his team mate than is often ...

Some off-track news in the shape of Qatar arriving. We’ll see how the circuit stacks up. Bahrain is sometimes good (and sometimes very good) but otherwise the Middle Eastern tracks aren’t spectacular. In bad news, it seems F1 wants to stuff half the calendar with sprint races next year. I hope that doesn’t go ahead. Pointless, time-consuming tedium to squeeze money out of ticket sales. Humbug! Anyway, to Turkey. Pirelli believe the tyre choices may end up being too aggressive, so we may see plenty of pit stops, which could be good for the race. First practice saw Hamilton a whopping four-tenths ahead of Verstappen, who was barely ahead of Leclerc. Next up was Bottas, then Sainz, followed by Ocon, Norris, Gasly, Alonso, and Perez. Second practice again saw Hamilton top the timesheets, this time a tenth and a half ahead of Leclerc. Bottas and Perez followed, with Verstappen only fifth. Norris, Alonso, Ocon, Gasly, and Giovinazzi rounded out the top 10. Unusually high overlap ...