Mexico: pre-qualifying
In not very shocking
news, Mexican eyebrow-enthusiast Esteban Gutierrez (former Sauber
driver) is to join Haas, alongside Grosjean. Whilst he seemed amiable
at Sauber, Gutierrez never really set the world alight and Grosjean
will be a de facto, if not de jure, number one in that team.
Graeme Lowdon and John
Booth are reportedly going to leave Manor at the end of the season.
I’ve seen Lowdon interviewed a couple of times, and he always came
across as someone with his head screwed on right, working hard to try
and secure the team’s ongoing existence and propel it up the grid.
It also seems technical chief Bob Bell is to leave the team.
If Manor do leave the
sport it would be a great shame after it was rescued at the 11th
hour last year, and as it has Mercedes engines and Williams
components due for 2016, which would really help the team improve its
pace.
There are also talks
going on between Aston Martin and Force India, though nothing has
been announced as yet.
The tyres this weekend
are soft and medium.
The track is slipperier
than a Blair apology, and from the little footage I’ve seen (as of
yet) the circuit seems to have relatively little run-off. There may
be potential for overtaking. The qualifying could be wet, though the
race is likely to be dry (both start at 7pm UK time).
A safety car seems
eminently possible, and I’ll be checking the Not To Be Classified
market too (as well as the obvious example of Maldonado, the other
Lotus of Grosjean, McLarens and Hulkenberg may be worth a look).
Speaking of McLaren,
changing their engines a lot means they get grid penalties and will
(unsure if it’s certain or merely likely) start from the back.
The circuit’s
altitude means, as Mr. Sandpit helpfully related yesterday, the teams
run Monaco levels of downforce but his Monza-like top speeds, which
may present some interesting challenges and opportunities.
In P1 Verstappen was
fastest, with Kvyat and Raikkonen following (the two drivers having
identical times). Vettel was next, then Ricciardo and Rosberg, with
Bottas, Sainz, Perez and Massa rounding out the top 10.
The first practice
session was also notable for Rosberg’s rear brakes bursting into
flames. Mercedes decided, quite understandably, to cut a few more
holes in the car to enhance ventilation.
In P2, Rosberg led
Ricciardo and Kvyat, followed by Hamilton, Vettel and Raikkonen.
Bottas, Alonso, Button and Massa came next.
Rosberg was fastest in
P3, a hundredth ahead of Hamilton. Ricciardo and Vettel were close to
the Briton, followed by Kvyat, Perez, Bottas, Sainz, Massa and
Hulkenberg.
Grosjean ground to a
halt in P2, and suffered some reliability issues in P3 as well. May
be value, in the race, to back Not To Be Classified. I’ll cover
that in the pre-race piece.
Potential bets:
Rosberg pole
Sainz Q3
Perez Q3
Rosberg was only 2.34
with Betfair. Whilst he’s had 2/3 poles recently (the other being
Vettel), that’s not tempting given the track’s slipperiness and
narrow confines.
Sainz and Perez are
both under 1.8 for Q3. Again, not tempted.
So, no bet.
The pre-race piece will
be up tomorrow, probably in the morning. That’ll give me a chance
to sleep on it, check the highlights online and let the markets warm
up.
Morris Dancer
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