MorrisF1

Hello, everyone, and welcome to the 37th Undercutters podcast, looking back at the Azerbaijan Grand Prix. I’m your host, Morris, and you can find me on Twitter or Blue Sky as MorrisF1. As usual, I’ll post the transcript up on morrisf1.blogspot.com. I said before that Azerbaijan was one of my favourite circuits. Would it live up to my hopes, or be a letdown? Here’s what happened at the Azerbaijan Grand Prix. Azerbaijan Grand Prix Qualifying 00m37s Qualifying was ridiculously long at 2 hours, and this was all down to half a dozen red flags. One was unnecessary, thrown up too rapidly for a Hulkenberg crash when he was able to keep moving, but the other five were all necessary. Between that, late rain, and many a hot lap aborted by the flags we had a chaotic, crazy qualifying. This left the grid in some turmoil. One shock departure in Q1 was Alexander Albon, who had looked very good but crashed out to end qualifying in last position. A similar fate befell Oliver Bearman in 15th, while H...

Well, qualifying was a five red flag, two hour affair, with numerous drivers crashing out and a mostly shocking grid. There was even a touch of rain, but not enough to do more than add a touch of stress near the end. Q1 had three red flags, including an unnecessary one for Hulkenberg, whose car was never without power and who was able to get back to the pits and compete again when the track was green. The five eliminated drivers were Colapinto, who crashed out, Hulkenberg, who had crash damage, Ocon, who was just slow, Gasly, who was off-track near the end, and Albon, who crashed out. This was especially galling for Albon, who had looked good up until this point. In Q2 I was astonished Alonso was the fastest man eliminated (thought the Aston Martin would not be good here). He was ahead of Hamilton, who had seemed really competitive but lacked a lot of pace in the middle sector. Bortoleto in 13th being a little disappointing is indicative of what a great job the Brazilian’s been doing...

First practice had a predictable McLaren 1-2 at the top, Norris leading Piastri, with Leclerc and Russell next down the road. Albon was next, with Tsunoda ahead of Verstappen. Sainz, Lawson, and Hadjar completed the top 10. FP2 was quite different. Hamilton was top ahead of Leclerc, with Russell leading Antonelli, and then Bearman. Verstappen was in sixth, ahead of Lawson, Ocon, Albon, and Norris, with Piastri in 12th. A few notes are worthwhile: Norris whacked into the wall in FP2 and had about a third the laps of everyone else. First practice also had a long red flag due to a kerb deciding to be loose. Third practice had Norris quickest, two-tenths up on Verstappen, Piastri, and Hamilton. Antonelli and Russell were four-tenths further back, and narrowly ahead of Albon, Bearman, then Lawson and Leclerc (who made an error on his final qualifying simulation run). Hamilton’s been surprisingly close to Leclerc in practice. This is a shock for two reasons: it’s not been the case most o...

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, ...