MorrisF1

This is up a day earlier than usual due to the early nature of the events this weekend (third practice is 7-8am and I’m not sure I’d be able to listen that. I’d be up, but have other things to do that early). Qualifying is at 10am, and I think the race starts at 8am. Alonso has a 30 place grid penalty due to having a new engine. There’s been confirmation that, after a safety car start in the wet, races in 2017 will be restarted off the line (ie they’ll line up on the grid then start). I think this is a backward step because the safety car will be forced to stay out for longer than is currently the case. The race organisers cannot risk heavy spray at the start because cars could easily be unsighted and ram into one another, causing carnage. So, a wet safety car at the start would see it out for longer. If it’s too wet to race, don’t race. If it’s dry enough, let them race. The wet tyre is hardly ever used in race conditions nowadays. Anyway, onto Malaysia. A race

The race was a cracker from start to finish. So much happened I may struggle to mention everything of note. The bet didn’t come off, but I was a little surprised the hedge wasn’t matched, which is a shame. It was close enough to be considered value, but hats off to Mr. Sandpit for his 5.9 pre-weekend tip on Rosberg. Before the start, Grosjean recorded a first DNS (did not start) in his career. The Frenchman is not a happy bunny at Haas. Off the start, it was formation flying for the top three and Raikkonen, but Verstappen left his handbrake on and slid down the order like a dancer with a pole. This led to Hulkenberg, who had started well, going around the Dutchman only to be tagged by Sainz, leading to him crashing out on lap 1 (indeed, the opening straight) and the safety car coming out for a couple of laps. Bottas suffered a puncture at this stage which meant a very slow lap, an early stop and woe. The misery continued later on when he stopped again, his seat belt cam

Qualifying was rather interesting. Resisting temptation proved wise, as Verstappen was nowhere near pole. In the first session, Vettel had a serious problem, with suspension or a role bar or suchlike. The team tried to keep him out to squeeze into Q2 (there was likely insufficient time to mend it within Q1 because they’d sent him out relatively late). However, he was miles off the pace, brought the car in and ended up last. Both Renaults and both Manors exited at this stage, with Nasr also out. The second session also had its moment(s) of high drama. At the end, when everyone was improving, Grosjean’s Haas slid like a giraffe on ice and struck a barrier. Double-waved yellows emerged, and, at the same time, Button (who appeared to have both a broken front left and a punctured rear left) left the circuit. This prevented any hope of the Williams getting up to the top 10, and Perez passed a car, going fast enough to make Q3, to the consternation of Massa. Both Williams, Button,

Verstappen has the only upgraded Renault engine, said to be worth 0.1s a lap. I’m sure Ricciardo is thrilled. In first practice Verstappen led Ricciardo by half a tenth, both Red Bulls a few tenths ahead of Vettel, with Hamilton and Rosberg following on. Raikkonen, Sainz and Kvyat were next, with Massa and Gutierrez. Hamilton had a hydraulics problem in P2. It doesn’t appear to be serious but it did prevent him getting in long run practice. Rosberg was fastest in P2, three-tenths ahead of Raikkonen. Verstappen and Ricciardo were a short distance back, again separated by less than a tenth. Vettel and Hulkenberg were next, the German pair followed by Hamilton, Sainz, Alonso and Kvyat. At this stage, the Red Bull looks tasty and Toro Rosso may well return to the points. In third practice, Hamilton didn’t get a proper run-in as his qualifying simulation was derailed when he made a mistake and went into a run-off area. Rosberg was fastest, half a tenth ahead of Ver

One bet came off, the other didn’t, but short odds meant the profit for both race and weekend was minimal. Bit frustrating as I’ve got two out of three right and much of it proceeded as I expected, but a lack of judgement (perhaps) with the lap 1 bet diluted any profits. Still, nice to finish ahead, even if only by a small sum. Off the line, it was nearly glorious. Hamilton left the handbrake on and both Ferraris (and Bottas) got ahead of him. Vettel nearly pipped Rosberg to the first corner, but it wasn’t to be. Further down the grid. Verstappen, Gutierrez and Button all fell down the order (the Briton was forced wide on the first lap, I think). Hamilton was bottled up behind Bottas for quite a few laps, but eventually managed to pass the Finn, who was driving rather well. The first pit stops were disappointing, however. Ferrari switched both cars to new supersoft tyres (having begun on that compound, it necessitated a second pit stop). The Mercedes, starting on the soft, s

To paraphrase Emperor Palpatine, everything is proceeding exactly as I have foreseen (with the exception of Bottas’ pace in the Williams). As expected, Mercedes dominated qualifying, Rosberg got 2 nd on the grid, Ferrari form the second row. The tip came off with a tiny profit, but given the dominance of the Mercedes I think it was sensible. In the first part of qualifying Ocon (his nickname may be Doc Oc, or Doctor Octagon, debate rages), peeled off the track when his car stopped working. The Renaults were next last, simply due to dire pace, with the two Saubers just ahead. Kvyat was the fastest of those eliminated here (I wouldn’t be surprised if half those out in this session lose their seats at the season’s end). The second session was interesting because the Ferraris, having gone out in Q1 on soft tyres, then went out on supersofts (unlike the Mercedes). This may give the Prancing Horse the jump on the Silver Arrows come the start [word of warning, though, there’s near

Felipe Massa has announced he is retiring at the end of the season. Speculation had been rife about him going, whether of his own accord or due to being replaced by Williams. I think the stand-out moments from his career (the horrendous 2009 accident aside) will be Rob Smedley’s comedy radio transmission at the 2009 Malaysian Grand Prix [Felipe, baby, stay cool!] and the great dignity with which he acted when he lost the 2008 title to Hamilton by the narrowest possible margin. He’s a very likeable chap, according to all accounts, but all things must end. Button and Perez are those I’ve seen most commonly mentioned in the running for his seat, although it’s worth noting Bottas isn’t guaranteed to stay either. [During third practice commentary a Force India chap said Perez was under contract for them for 2017]. Monza, the circuit at which we are this weekend, has finally been given the go-ahead for next year, to the annoyance of Imola (who had been in the running to replace th