MorrisF1

Well, I didn’t feel brave but if you did kudos for backing Leclerc on 13 for pole. Gosh. The first session was not great for Albon, last and outqualified by a faster team mate (who escaped to Q2). The same thing happened to all those eliminated, who were Tsunoda, Gasly, Ocon, Hulkenberg, and Albon. Things were very close, though. In Q2 we lost some big names. Fastest out was Bearman, and right behind him was Hamilton (who has more poles here than the rest of the field combined). Sainz ended up 13th, ahead of Colapinto and Antonelli, who has having a torrid time of late. Then Q3 decided to spring a surprise and Leclerc reminded us all he’s the best qualifier on the grid with a stunning pole lap. He was right ahead of Piastri, and Norris was relegated to third on the grid, alongside Russell. The third row is Aston Martin territory, Alonso leading Stroll, and the car’s looking tasty this weekend. They could be on for major points. Bortoleto continues to impress with 7th on the grid (1...

And so to Hungary, final race before the summer break. Surprising no-one, McLaren topped first practice with Norris ahead of Piastri by two-hundredths. Leclerc was a couple of tenths further back, followed by Hadjar, who was four-tenths slower. Then, with narrower gaps, we had Hamilton, Bearman, Antonelli, Russell, Verstappen and Stroll. In second practice Norris was again ahead of Piastri but this time by nearly three-tenths. Leclerc was one-tenth off and followed (again a tenth away) by Stroll, with Alonso the same margin behind. Hamilton, Russell, Hadjar, Tsunoda, and Antonelli rounded out the top 10. It’s worth noting Alonso missed FP1, and was replaced by Felipe Drugovich, due to a muscular back injury. Sounds like he’ll be there for qualifying and the race. Verstappen was 9th and 14th in practice and he may end up having a rough weekend. And, at the moment, the forecast indicates only drizzle rather than serious rain which might’ve helped him out. Third practice had Piastri ...