MorrisF1

A quite entertaining race, book-ended by tedium at the start and concern at the end. Frustratingly, when it seemed the race might be a 2 lap trundle behind the safety car (making my bet a winner), not only did it not come off, the 1.5 hedge didn’t get matched. To be honest, given it was red-flagged after barely a lap I was surprised it didn’t get matched, and a bit disappointed. It was wetter than expected at the start. So much so that everyone started not only on full wets but behind the safety car. After completing a single lap, the safety car led the whole field into the pit lane. (Technically, this meant they ‘completed’ lap 2, making half-points available for award, when crossing the line in the pit lane). Later, the rain eased, but was still heavy, and all departed the pit lane, once again following the safety car. Alonso suffered some sort of electrical failure and his car ground to a halt, taking him out of the race before it got really underway. When the safety...

Woke up just in time to catch a fairly interesting qualifying session, and to hear the even more interesting news. It is confirmed that Vettel is leaving Red Bull and will be replaced by Kvyat. The German’s destination is currently unknown (officially) but everyone seems to think it’ll be Ferrari. Alonso, in turn, is expected to move to McLaren, but that is also unconfirmed (replacing Button, it seems). Q1 saw the four backmarkers assume the position. Lotus’ woes continued with both their drivers leaving at this stage. To make matters worse, an engine change means Maldonado has a 10 place grid penalty and because there aren’t 27 cars on the grid some of that will carry over to the next race. In Q2 neither Force India managed to escape, Perez 12 th and Hulkenberg 14 th . Likewise Toro Rosso, with Vergne 11 th and Kvyat 13 th . Perhaps unsurprisingly the Saubers also left the stage, bringing up the rear in 15 th and 16 th . Q3 unfolded in a slightly unexpected manner. ...

There was an interesting Q&A with Eddie Jordan which can be read here: http://www.bbc.co.uk/sport/0/formula1/29422678 The line that really caught my eye was this: "Honda and McLaren want to hit the ground running. They want Alonso or Sebastian Vettel and it's possible both could wind up there.” That sounds incredible, but it’s worth noting that Jordan was months ahead of the curve when it came to Hamilton jumping to Mercedes. In other off-track news, Simona De Silvestro will not become a Sauber driver. It was a credible possibility but, for financial reasons, has not happened. I feel this may (financially) be a mistake, as being the only woman driving in F1 (and the first for decades) would be good for sponsorship and Sauber’s profile. Caterham have been visited by bailiffs, but has sworn it will race on. This is rather weird. The firm was acquired in-season by a Swiss-Middle East consortium, so one would’ve thought they’d be at least financially stable for the near fut...

As well as vague musings about Japan and the title race, I’m going to try and analyse why my recent form has been patchier than a pirate convention. But first: Japan. The Suzuka circuit is a proper racing circuit, no namby-pamby street nonsense. Fast, has a flowing quality similar to Silverstone and the early part of the Texas circuit, and with relatively little room for error (hopefully they won’t copy the wimps of Monza and add massive run off to areas that are traditionally guarded by gravel traps). Which makes it a bit surprising Hamilton has never won there. He’s got a very good chance this weekend. The gremlins struck Rosberg at the perfect time, and it’s hard to see anyone other than Mercedes taking the win (reliability notwithstanding). The higher speed nature should also be handy for Williams, and I’d expect them to have the beating of Ferrari and probably Red Bull as well. Rain is entirely possible in Suzuka, so we should keep an eye on the skies. ...

Must admit I found the race a bit gruelling. There was a good helping of on-track action, but from both a title and race bet perspective it seemed things didn’t quite go right. Ricciardo’s bad start and power problems prevented him from running second for a long while. If he had, I feel confident the hedge would’ve been matched. Still, it’s easier to bet with hindsight. My bad patch continues, but we’ll see how the next race goes. Rosberg and Kobayashi had nightmare formation laps. Rosberg couldn’t even get off the line and Kobayashi suffered a reliability failure on the formation lap. Though Rosberg started from the pit lane his car had a terminal electronic problem which robbed him of any pace, and at the tragically comic effort at a pit stop he was forced to call it a day. Off the line Hamilton retained the lead, Ricciardo bogged down and was passed by both Vettel and Alonso and Button made up a few places. For a long while the tedious track saw the gaps increase with rel...

I missed the first half of qualifying as the BBC’s Judas Iscariot approach to broadcasting F1 doesn’t seem to cover having it on either Radio 5 or Sports Extra, and I had to go online. Sutil and Maldonado joined the usual suspects in leaving in the first part of qualifying. In Q2 Button, Vergne, Hulkenberg, Gutierrez, Perez and Grosjean went out. Grosjean sounded furious over the radio due to some engine problem or other which really angered him. Sounds like he’s at the end of his wick with Lotus’ shoddy reliability. Force India continue to slide down the competitive order. Particularly tricky at a circuit like Singapore. In Q3 Hamilton was fastest, ahead of Rosberg. Ricciardo and Vettel have the second row, with Alonso and Massa on the third (Massa had been fastest earlier in the session but failed to improve later). Raikkonen and Bottas are next, with Magnussen and Kvyat rounding out the top 10. Commentary info suggested Rosberg set his fast lap in Q3 on a u...

Ah, Singapore. Tight, twisty and tedious as Monaco, although it does look nicer due to being nocturnal. The tyres are soft and supersoft. In P1 Alonso was fastest, ahead of Hamilton and Rosberg (but don’t get excited, Alonso has topped a session or two earlier this year and it didn’t translate to marvellous pace in the race. The car’s simply not good enough). Vettel and Ricciardo were next, followed by Vergne, Raikkonen, Button, Kvyat and Perez. In P2 Hamilton led Alonso and Ricciardo, with Raikkonen, Vettel, Magnussen, Button Perez, Hulkenberg and Kvyat rounding out the top 10. Rosberg was one and a half seconds off the pace, as a Maldonado crash brought out a red flag during his fast lap. P3 had Alonso fastest again, barely half a tenth ahead of Ricciardo. Rosberg was third, then Vergne and Vettel, wuth Hamilton sixth, then Massa, Bottas, Raikkonen and Gutierrez. The mini-forecast on the sport’s official site suggests that storms could hit on both Saturday ...