MorrisF1

To paraphrase Sir Edric , the race was a feast for the eyes and a famine for the purse. Ericsson started from the pit lane, but Alonso and Hamilton elected to start from the back of the grid, on medium tyres. Verstappen was on the supersoft (as were those behind Ricciardo, even in the top 10, contrary to my belief), but Ricciardo, Rosberg and the Ferraris started on the soft. Vettel got a good start and Ricciardo a poor one (Rosberg cruising off the line and easily retaining the lead). The German turned in, cutting across his team mate, who had nowhere to go because Verstappen was tight on the inside, forcing a Raikkonen-Verstappen collision. This effectively ended the hopes of all three men as far as the podium went. Hulkenberg, meanwhile, had had a super start and was running either just ahead or just behind Ricciardo (they were 2 nd and 3 rd here, though I can’t recall the order). Wehrlein, sadly, rammed into Button’s rear, which was painful for both chaps and meant...

Qualifying was quite interesting. The grid is intriguingly poised. Incidentally, Gutierrez got a 5 place grid penalty for impeding Wehrlein in practice (the Mexican’s also been criticised for being slow to move for blue flags in previous races). In Q1 a few predictable things, and one surprise, occurred. Hamilton trundled around on a set of supersoft tyres, coming last but curing them (so they’ll last long if he bolts them on during the race). Both Saubers failed to escape. Alonso went out for a run, after a delay, and his car managed about a third of a lap before it decided not to bother working anymore. The surprise? Wehrlein was impressively fast, getting a comfortably quick enough time for Q2 (and looking possible for Q3). His new team mate, Ocon, was half a second down the road. As well as Ocon, the Saubers, Hamilton and Alonso, Kvyat failed to reach the next phase of qualifying. Sadly, Wehrlein didn’t progress much further. His initial Q2 run was aborted due to a whee...

There’s been much chatter over the four week break of who might go where, but little in the way of hard facts. Whilst Button remains likely to lose his McLaren seat to promising youngster Stoffel Vandoorne, most of the rumour mill has focused on Williams, where neither Massa nor Bottas are 100% safe (though the Brazilian is likeliest to go). Renault’s also still likely to drop Palmer, and Magnussen may not remain either. Rio Haryanto, who was more impressive than many thought he would be, has been financially embarrassed from his Manor seat and gives way to the bank manager-pleasing Esteban Ocon. To be fair, Ocon’s tipped as a pretty racy fellow, but it is lack of funding that’s seen Haryanto go into the background. That said, Haryanto is, I think, the team’s third driver, an indication they rate his abilities, if not his finances. Speaking of ludicrous numbers, grid penalties abound like fairy dust in pixieland. Hamilton has a 55 place grid penalty (the sharp-eyed will have...

Fair to say a tip that was plain wrong (whilst Hulkenberg did receive a minor grid penalty after I bet, this did not affect things substantially) and a race that had some interesting moments but was not a classic. The first lap was frantic and exciting. Rosberg had an atrocious start, slipping to 4 th , and Verstappen had a tasty getaway, rising to 2 nd behind Hamilton. Hamilton spent the rest of the race cruising to victory and contemplating what to do on his summer holiday. Gutierrez started 11 th and was the only man on the soft (all others on supersoft). The potential strategic advantage was lost somewhat when he left the handbrake on at the start and fell down to around 16 th . As Rosberg fought back he passed Verstappen after a round of pit stops with an aggressive overtake, very late braking into the hairpin. This level of excitement was clearly contrary to the principles of modern F1 and the German was duly penalised with a 5s penalty [which he took at h...

In the first session of qualifying it was misery for Sauber, who were last. Wehrlein and Haryanto were 18 th and 20 th respectively (it may be the latter’s last race due to money issues. Potential replacements include McLaren future driver Stoffel Vandoorne and Renault chap Esteban Ocon). Kvyat was just 19 th (and sounded quite lost during a rather sad interview afterwards). Magnussen was 17 th . Palmer made Q2, but made no further progress, starting just one place ahead of his team mate. Surprisingly, neither McLaren made Q3 (Button outqualifying his Spanish team mate, 12 th to 14 th ). Grosjean was 15 th , but has a five place grid penalty for a gearbox change, Gutierrez was 11 th and Sainz 13 th . Throughout the weekend, Mercedes appeared to be in a league of one. During the first fast laps of Q3, Rosberg abruptly bailed on a good lap, and dove into the pits. It turned out to be an electronic problem, and whilst it was mended he meant he would get only one fast lap. ...

Some off-track news for next year first. The halo won’t be included in 2017 but will be in the 2018 season. However, wet standing starts appear to be back for 2017. After the first crash, I imagine there’ll be instant calls for a return to the safe tedium of a safety car trundling around for 8 laps at the start, so we’ll see how long that lasts. It also appears radio communication restrictions have been axed, with immediate effect. Perhaps Button getting a penalty for being told what to do when his brake pedal was broken prompted the change. Sadly, that good news isn’t as good as it first appeared: "Looking at 2017, two new rules will be introduced - there will be standing re-starts after a safety car start in wet conditions; and during a race stoppage, teams will no longer be able to change their cars or tyres." from: http://www.bbc.co.uk/sport/live/formula1/36684756 In first practice Rosberg led the way, three-tenths up on Hamilton. Vettel was almost a s...

Must admit, I was unusually tense about the race. I tend not to make short odds bets, and tend not to be very confident about them (to the extent I was wondering if I’d missed something). However, it turned out the race track least likely to have a safety car was unlikely to have a safety car. The short odds bet came off, and there was much rejoicing. The start was pretty much the race. Rosberg started badly, slipped to 3 rd and quickly regained 2 nd , and that was how the top three finished (Ricciardo next up). Button had a brake problem (in that they didn’t work), got guidance from the team after he slipped to last, then got a drive-through penalty for the radio communication. He was, rightly, cheesed off with the powers that be and pointed out over the radio that brake failure was actually a safety issue. Later, his miserable race was capped by an oil leak which forced him to be the only retirement. There were some tight battles (Hamilton and Rosberg, Riccardo and ...