MorrisF1

Norris had looked fast all through practice but would he finally convert that to pole? The first five out in Q1 were Stroll, Ocon, Tsunoda, Sainz, and Hulkenberg. Sainz was complaining of his car being undriveable possibly due to damage. Hulkenberg got comprehensively outqualified by his team mate, but he went out in Q1 in Spain too, and the extra soft tyre late on proved very handy. Tsunoda wasn’t that much slower than Verstappen but the margins were ultra-tight. In Q2 Alonso and Albon were the fastest man eliminated, followed by Hadjar, Colapinto, and Bearman. Hadjar’s been great through the season so it’s unusual to see him behind Lawson in qualifying, but credit to the Kiwi who advanced to Q3. Norris had looked the fastest through all of qualifying. But would he choke again? No. He was faster than everybody else by a mile in both his runs, and was utterly dominant. But behind him was Leclerc, who split the McLarens with a fantastic performance in Q3. Piastri might’ve overtaken...

In the first practice of Austria Russell was top dog, less than a tenth ahead of Verstappen. Piastri was a tenth further back with Dunne (standing in for Norris at McLaren) close behind. Gasly and Bortoleto were a surprising 5th and 6th, with Albon and Sainz following and Hamilton and Hadjar rounding out the top 10. Second practice saw Norris return and go fastest, a tenth and a half ahead of Piastri. Verstappen was a similar margin further back. Then we enter the twilight zone with Lance Stroll in 4th. Leclerc and Russell were two-tenths off the Canadian, and then came Tsunoda, Bortoleto, Alonso, and Hamilton. At this stage McLaren are looking good, and Bortoleto seems to really like the circuit. Verstappen’s also at the sharp end, perhaps Russell too. I was wondering about backing Bortoleto for points but he was only 3.5 after second practice which seems nuts given there are only a few places, tight competition, and the fact he’s never scored. Norris also topped FP3, a tenth ahea...

Hello, everyone. In the 26th edition of the Undercutters podcast we’re looking ahead to the Austrian Grand Prix. Austria and the UK were a double-header that provided a lot of entertainment last season, and they’re a double-header again this time. Will we see another Piastri and Norris battle on-track? Will the McLarens be on the back foot in qualifying? And will Hulkenberg make it three points finishes in a row? Quick Look at the Red Bull Ring 00m34s The Austrian Grand Prix takes place at the Red Bull Ring, which replaced the earlier Osterreichring which itself replaced the Zeltweg airfield circuit. Unlike its previous incarnation, the Red Bull Ring is a short circuit of just 4.3km, which means we get 71 laps in the race. It’s got three DRS zones covering the grid straight, and from turns 1 to 3, which puts the whole first sector except turn 1 within DRS. Between turns 3 and 4 there’s another DRS zone, meaning we get all three in a row. But they all have independent detection points...

Hello, everyone. This is the 25th edition of the Undercutters podcast, looking back at the Canadian Grand Prix of 2025. Would it live up to the glories of the past, or be a little bit more boring, like Suzuka was? 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. But that’s enough waffling from me. Canadian Grand Prix Qualifying 00m32s Canadian qualifying was another very tightly contested session. One key takeaway is that three of the drivers out in Q1, Sainz (who was blocked), Stroll, and Lawson, had teammates who made it to Q3. Alonso was very fast throughout and ended up 6th on the grid, right behind Hamilton and ahead of Norris. Another interesting result was Gasly being slowest on track while Colapinto qualified 11th and started 10th due to Hadjar’s penalty for impeding Sainz. At the sharp end it seemed a Verstappen-Piastri duel but then Russell claimed it at the last moment for a great ...

After the first two practice sessions Mercedes and Williams looked good, McLaren slightly iffy for once. In qualifying, the result was slightly annoying given I’d chosen not to back Russell, but it does set up the race pretty nicely. Q1 saw us lose Bortoleto, Sainz, Stroll, Lawson, and Gasly. The big shock departure in Q1 was Sainz, whose Williams had the pace but who was very badly blocked by Hadjar. However, Stroll going out when Alonso would do very well (half asecond slower in this session) was not great. Also notable was Colapinto escaping while Gasly was slowest on the track. Three of the drivers out in Q1 have teammates who made it to Q3. This session also saw Albon’s engine cover come off entirely, littering the track and bringing out relatively brief red flags. The top three departures in Q2 were covered by a tenth of a second, with Tsunoda, Colapinto, and Hulkenberg leading Bearman and Ocon out of qualifying. Unfortunately for Tsunoda he’ll be starting last due to a 10 pl...

Because third practice is on quite late (5.30pm) I’m posting this early, before that takes place. The first two practice sessions in Canada had some unexpected results. Verstappen topped FP1 ahead of Albon and Sainz, followed by Russell, Hamilton, and Hadjar. Norris was only 7th, ahead of Lawson, Gasly, and Leclerc. Piastri was down in 14th. In first practice we saw Leclerc crash and bring out red flags. This crash cost him about half an hour in first practice and also meant he couldn’t participate in the second session as the damage couldn’t be repaired in time. Second practice was slightly more normal, with Russell top, less than three-hundredths up on Norris. Antonelli was further back, then came Albon and Alonso, with Piastri, Sainz, Hamilton, Verstappen and Lawson rounding out the top 10. Stroll hit the wall and snapped his suspension in FP2. Mercedes and Williams are looking much stronger than last race, with Norris seemingly close and a step ahead of Piastri. Cooler temper...

Hello, everyone. This is the 24th Undercutters podcast, looking ahead to the Canadian Grand Prix. I’ve got to admit, this is one of my favourite tracks on the calendar, partly because of the amazing race in 2011. As always, if you want to get in touch you can find me on Twitter or Blue Sky as MorrisF1, or at the morrisf1.blogspot.com website. Will Piastri continue extending his lead over Norris? Will Williams bounce back after a rare pointless weekend? And will Verstappen keep his cool this time?   Quick Look at the Circuit Gilles-Villeneuve 00m40s The Canadian Grand Prix takes place at the Circuit Gilles-Villeneueve, a short circuit of 5.36km which means we get 70 laps in the race. There are three DRS zones, two of which are in sector 3 (the latter drifts into the start of sector 1) and share a detection point. The other zone is in sector 2. Sector 3 is prime passing territory, with a hairpin at turn 10, and the following straight also having decent potential for getting ahead. ...

Hello, everyone. This is the 23rd Undercutters podcast, and I’m your host, Morris. This time we’re looking back at the Spanish Grand Prix, the ninth of 24 Grands Prix this season and the first that saw the much-discussed flexi-wing ban. Did it have an impact? And could Verstappen fend off the McLarens to keep hold of his title? Before I recap who did well and badly in the race, look at its implications for the standings, and cover the news, just a quick reminder you can find me on Twitter or Blue Sky as MorrisF1. And I post transcripts of each episode on morrisf1.blogspot.com, usually including some graphs that might be of interest. Spanish Grand Prix Qualifying 00m52s Qualifying for the Spanish Grand Prix was a highly competitive affair, as usual. Colapinto suffered bad luck in Q1 when his car let him down, but he was still faster than Tsunoda. Pretty stark contrast here, as Verstappen ended the session second quickest. Unusually, neither Williams reached Q3, with Sainz out in Q1 a...