MorrisF1

While I still dislike sprints immensely this was one of the better ones. It seemed the Mercedes were destined to drive away from the field, but whether it was the squabbling, tyre wear, or something else, they ended up being caught by Norris who had their pace if not better. Antonelli clearly looked quicker than Russell but couldn’t get past and when the Briton introduced the Italian to the side of the track the youngster lost his cool, ranted on the radio, locked up, and lost out to Norris. One suspects their garage will not be entirely harmonious. All three were very close together. A little way further back, the next three were also very tight. Hamilton seemed set for 4th but ended up very narrowly losing out to Piastri and Leclerc (who finished 0.1s behind the Aussie). In the corners the Ferrari’s very good but it lacks straight line grunt. If it rains, this might mean a relative pace advantage for the Prancing Horse, but they’ll also have to survive Ferrari strategy. Verstappen...

Ah, sprint weekends. I wish they’d go away, but at least we will have a decent track this time. Kind of glad I didn’t bet on sprint qualifying as I probably would’ve gone for Piastri each way. Anyway… In SQ1 a red flag emerged after an Alonso crash, although this didn’t stop him beating his team mate, yet again. He’s slated to start 16th, ahead of Perez, Stroll, Gasly, and Bottas. Gasly in particular was screwed, and wasn’t helped when Hamilton deliberately paused in the pit lane to limit the number of drivers who could make a real attempt to put in a competitive time. Lawson and Albon failed to set a time at all as their cars weren’t working. SQ2 was mostly two by two, with the two Audis fastest of those eliminated, Hulk faster, and the two Haas slowest, Ocon being the faster. The meat in the Audi-Haas sandwich was Colapinto. In SQ1 it was even more Noah’s Ark. By just under a tenth Russell leads Antonelli on the front row, and then there’s a couple of tenths back to Norris and Pia...

Well, I was very tired yesterday which did mostly make the sprint easier to watch. Might just be the circuit but it seems the current, updated, regulations have made overtaking much trickier. Not impossible, though, the Mercs had a tussle, and so did Hamilton and Verstappen. But dirty air seemed to cause Leclerc, who looked fast, problems whenever he got too close to Piastri. Rain is possible for the race which might be brought forward, which is one reason I’m posting this sooner rather than later. Update : the race is now starting 3 hours earlier than initially planned, at 6pm UK time. Anyway, in qualifying we had Bortoleto struggle to get out on time and then his rear brakes turn into a barbecue, which unfortuately meant he ended up last. The Aston Martins and Cadillacs also went in Q1, with Lindblad fastest of the men eliminated (the Racing Bull has looked weak this weekend). In Q2, Hulkenberg and Lawson were the fastest men to leave the stage, with Bearman, Sainz, Ocon, and Albo...

F1 is back. Huzzah! Such a shame it’s contaminated with the sprint bullshit. Anyway, ahead of the sprint and qualifying today the idea that struck me was Piastri for the Grand Prix win… but he’s only 7 and I think this is going to see some fierce competition between Ferrari and Mercedes. Leclerc for 7 to win the sprint is worth considering, I just wish it were each way. He does start 4th, but may start tastily. And a first corner incident is eminently possible. But decided not to back anything for the sprint/qualifying. Briefer than usual, rather tired. Morris