MorrisF1

Hello, everyone. This is the 36th Undercutters podcast, and we’re going to look ahead to the Azerbaijan Grand Prix. I’m Morris, and you can find me on Blue Sky or Twitter as MorrisF1. Transcripts are posted to morrisf1blogspot.com.  Baku is one of my favourite destinations. It can sometimes be a little steady but can also throw up very chaotic races. The circuit is one where Sergio Perez and Charles Leclerc are both very quick, and as Perez isn’t on the grid this year this may mean Leclerc can do well in qualifying and the race. Or perhaps I’m underestimating Verstappen, and he’ll spring another surprise. The McLaren Monza Strategy 00m50s But before we look ahead to Azerbaijan, I want to talk a bit about the McLaren decision last race, which seemed to catch most people by surprise or look ridiculous to them. While I admit it was a slightly odd situation, it didn't surprise me in the slightest. That's why I didn't comment on it much last time, but given the general reaction ...

Hello, everyone. Welcome to the 35th Undercutters podcast, looking back at the Italian Grand Prix. I’m Morris, and I’ve just got a cold, so apologies if things sound worse than usual. Could Norris reduce the damage he suffered with a rare reliability failure at the Dutch Grand Prix? Could Ferrari bounce back from a double DNF to glory at home? Italian Grand Prix Qualifying 00m29s Qualifying in Monza this year was ultra-close. It was a surprise to see both Racing Bulls out in Q1, and both Williams out in Q2. Less surprising was Bortoleto making Q3, but Hulkenberg’s 12th was rather good for him this year. The German was 9th in the standings but has never made Q3, which is rather odd. At the sharp end, Verstappen put in a great lap to claim pole ahead of Norris by less than a tenth of a second. Piastri and Leclerc formed up on row two, with Russell and Antonelli on the third row. Good result for the Italian driver who really needs a steady weekend. Bortoleto and Alonso started on the...

Qualifying’s been very competitive this season and Monza was a perfect example, as drivers from one of three or four teams could’ve credibly taken pole. Q1 saw us lose Hadjar, Stroll, Colapinto, Gasly, and Lawson. The Kiwi made a mistake on his last lap which is why Lawson’s last, and most of the others aren’t a surprise. Hadjar is, however, and apparently he had problems with warmup as well as making a mistake on his lap. Q2 was also very close and I was surprised to see both Williams exit at this stage. Bearman was fastest of those out, ahead of Hulkenberg (in a shockingly High For Hulkenberg 12th), Sainz, Albon, and Ocon. Seven-hundredths would’ve put either Bearman or Hulkenberg into Q3. And so into Q3. The McLarens hadn’t been looking as dominant as expected through qualifying, with Russell (on mediums, weirdly) and the Ferraris looking like they might pose a threat. But it was Verstappen who put in a fantastic final lap to take pole away from Norris. Piastri ended up 3rd, ahea...

Quick reminder that Hamilton has a 5 place grid penalty from speeding under yellows in Zandvoort, which is a shame. First practice had a Ferrari 1-2, with Hamilton a tenth and a half up on Leclerc. Sainz was third but half a second off the ultimate pace, and narrowly ahead of Verstappen. Antonelli was three-tenths further back, slightly ahead of Norris, with Albon, Russell, Alonso, and Hadjar completing the top 10. Piastri didn’t drive, his seat was occupied by Alexander Dunne. Second practice was back to business as usual, with Norris top, less than a tenth ahead of Leclerc. Sainz was a hundredth further back, making him top 3 in both sessions at this point. Piastri was a tenth off the Spaniard, and a hundredth ahead of Hamilton. In turn, Verstappen was seven-thousandths behind Hamilton, with Albon, Hulkenberg, Tsunoda and Russell filling out the upper half of the time sheet. Due to the timing of my Saturday I’m not going to be able to watch FP3 then bet, or not, but I was pretty t...

Hello, everyone. This is the Undercutters podcast, and I’m your host, Morris. You can find me on Twitter or Blue Sky as MorrisF1, and the transcript is available on morrisf1.blogspot.com. We’ve just had the Dutch Grand Prix, and the Italian Grand Prix is around the corner. Things have been tight between Piastri and Norris all season, and the Zandvoort event was dramatic. But who will triumph in Monza? And can Ferrari pull out an unlikely home victory? Dutch Grand Prix Qualifying 00m39s Qualifying for the Dutch Grand Prix was eventful. Spare a thought for Aston Martin’s mechanics. They stayed up overnight mending Lance Stroll’s car after a practice crash only for him to immediately hit the wall in qualifying. He was able to get back to the pits but had to retire. Otherwise the qualifying was highly competitive. Norris had looked the man to beat and while Piastri did get pole it was by just twelve-thousandths of a second. This was not a case of Norris bottling it or making an error, ...

Qualifying was close and competitive. At the front, this was only between the McLarens, but the rest of the field was much tighter. Lance Stroll didn’t delight his engineering team. The mechanics worked overnight to put his car together after a practice crash, then he immediately crashing in qualifying. While he was able to get it back to the pits, it had to be retired. Bearman could’ve gone faster but made an error and ended up going out, as did Ocon. Colapinto was the fastest man eliminated in Q1, right ahead of Hulkenberg, who continues to be outqualified by Bortoleto. Q2 was very tight indeed, but we said goodbye to Antonelli, Tsunoda, Bortoleto, Gasly, and Albon. Yes, Albon was the slowest one, rather surprisingly as both he and the Williams had been looking good. His tyres (perhaps warmup) were not there for the final, critical lap. If there’s a safety car or strange situation tomorrow then he has the pace to make up ground in clear air. All weekend long it had looked like Nor...

Shocking precisely no-one, Bottas and Perez have been confirmed for Cadillac in 2026. Good for them, and the team too, I think. Level heads, good speed, and a bag and a half of experience. Speaking of shocks, McLaren were 1-2 in first practice. Norris was three-tenths up on Piastri, who was two-tenths ahead of Stroll (somehow). Alonso was half a second off his team mate, but three-tenths ahead of Albon. Verstappen was down in 6th, ahead of Russell, Sainz, Bortoleto, and Gasly. Ferrari were 14th and 15th. FP1 also saw Antonelli going off and beaching himself in gravel. Practice two had red flags from two drivers, namely Stroll and Albon. Norris was quickest again, less than a tenth of a second ahead of Alonso, who was two-thousandths faster than Piastri. Three-tenths further back was Russell, then two-tenths to Vrstappen. Hamilton was 6th but another three-tenths away (eight-tenths off the fastest), ahead of Tsunoda, Leclerc, Colapinto and Hulkenberg. While Aston Martin are looking g...

Hello, everyone. After the summer break we return to the McLaren duel that is the 2025 Formula 1 season. I’m your host Morris, and this is the Undercutters podcast. As always, you can find me on Twitter or Blue Sky as MorrisF1, or read the transcripts, and admire the lovely graphs, at morrisf1.blogspot.com. Next up we have the Dutch Grand Prix, and I’ve got to admit this is not one of my favourites due to the difficulty passing (a problem at many circuits, it must be said). Will Norris maintain his momentum? Will Verstappen enjoy a home victory? And will Leclerc be so annoyed he has another radio rant so long it goes off the screen? Quick Look at Zandvoort 00m54s The Dutch Grand Prix is held at Zandvoort, which is 4.259km long and gives us 72 laps in a race. It was actually first created back in 1948, the same year as Silverstone. The circuit is fast and undulating, and if there weren’t dirty air and such large cars it might be rather good. As it is, the track’s not ideal for racing,...

Hello, everyone. Welcome to this extra summer break podcast, which only exists because I was vaguely pestilent for the Hungarian review. But that also means I can spend a bit more time on it. Today, I’ll be looking at the standings in a lot of detail, covering the title contenders, top teams, and a fantastically competitive midfield. After that I’ll be running through my surprisingly long list of predictions, including team mate battles, ranking the rookies, and season predictions. As ever, you can find me on Twitter or Blue Sky as MorrisF1, or read the transcript and look at lovely graphs at morrisf1.blogspot.com. Piastri versus Norris 00m51s I’ll start at the top, with the intra-McLaren battle between Oscar Piastri and Lando Norris. After the very first race in Australia it looked like Norris might have the whip hand, but assured performances from Piastri saw him close up and then take the lead. Norris seemed to have something of a psychological battle to hold things together, and...

Hello, everyone. This is the 31st Undercutters podcast, looking back at the Hungarian Grand Prix. I’m your host, Morris, and you can find me on Twitter or Blue Sky as MorrisF1. Hungary’s the last race before the summer break in a season that’s been dominated by McLaren so far. But there’s still plenty of racing to come.   Hungarian Grand Prix Qualifying 00m27s Qualifying at the Hungarian Grand Prix was very much on the tasty side for spectators. For Tsunoda, Gasly, Ocon, Hulkenberg, and Albon it was a bit more rubbish because they were all eliminated in Q1 while their faster team mates escaped to Q2. All through practice McLaren looked dominant and that was maintained in Q2. Unfortunately, it was dreadful for Hamilton, who has more poles here than everyone else put together, and he went out, right behind Bearman and ahead of Sainz, Colapinto and Antonelli. The Italian rookie’s also having a tough time of it, with four DNFs in the last seven races, before Hungary, and a single poin...