MorrisF1

Ahead of qualifying I offered no tip on it, but the ones I had a fuzzy idea about (before declining due to lack of certainty over weather and necessarily missing third practice) were the Ferraris. Vettel was just under 3 and Raikkonen was 13. As it turns out, they had quite contrasting results from qualification. In the first session of qualifying there was a reliability failure. For the first time this year, it afflicted Ferrari. Vettel lost power and though he managed to limp back to the pits, his car could not be fixed in time. He will start last, likely changing everything he can to take the penalties, as it were, when they don’t alter his grid position. To Vettel’s credit, he was calm throughout, thanked the engineers and was very cool and relaxed when taking questions even whilst qualifying was ongoing. Unsurprisingly, both Saubers exited at this stage, as did both Haas cars. In the second session, the Toro Rossos were slowest, but Gasly got very close to Sainz an

It’s the last race in Malaysia. A shame, as I rather like it. Of the new circuits, only the US track stands out as better. Unfortunately, it seems that the new owners (Liberty) want more street circuits. I saw a diagram of a proposed Danish track, a collection of straights and ninety degree corners. It did not make me tingle at the prospect. There has been an unexpected minor churn in the driver lineup. Renault, it seems, failed in a bid to pay Palmer to sod off early to get Sainz in. So, Sainz stayed at Toro Rosso, but Kvyat has been shunted aside (unsure if it’s for the whole season but sounds like it might be) for Pierre Gasly. Next year, Gasly could well be joined by Japanese driver Nobuharu Matsushita. Whether there’s any place for Kvyat (or, indeed, Palmer) remains to be seen. Whilst I’m wibbling about drivers, Williams are looking at options for Massa’s seat. They may retain the Brazilian, opt for Kubica (if he passes testing) or perhaps go for di Resta, who had an im

Quite the result, both for the title and in the old betting stakes. Must admit to being a little frustrated that three out of four contingencies occurred for the 67 bet and Palmer’s team mate had a reliability failure, but he finished in the points. Also a bit irked at myself I didn’t back Mr. Sandpit’s suggestions of laying Vettel for the win at 1.7, or backing Hamilton (20ish, I think). However, this was a green weekend for me and I can’t be displeased about that. Worth noting the further ‘silly’ Alonso win suggestion at well into three figures actually was very credible and, but for misfortune, could have come off. These things sometimes are possible (Verstappen 251 in Spain 2016 did come off, Perez 201 in Azerbaijan this year should’ve but for Force India civil war). Congratulations also to Mr. M, whose bet on a Bottas podium at 7 also came off. I think everybody ended up green, which is a rare event indeed. It had rained heavily earlier, and was still drizzling at the s

Qualifying was really rather enthralling, and produced a grid that might just tilt the title. Contrary to my expectations after Q2, Vettel produced a pair of stunning laps to grab pole position. Even better for him, he had both Red Bulls and his team mate ahead of Hamilton. No surprise that the Saubers were slowest in qualifying, and Williams had an unsurprisingly poor day, also exiting at the first opportunity. Magnussen was the fastest of those departing in Q1. In Q2, both Force Indias failed to progress. Grosjean was slowest, with Palmer the fastest not to advance and Kvyat middle of the pack. At this stage, I thought a Red Bull front row was looking quite likely, and Hamilton was looking roughly on par with Vettel. However, the German had other ideas and stuck his Ferrari on pole (fastest on the first run and then improved on the second to extend his advantage). Verstappen and Ricciardo were very close and lined up behind, with Raikkonen 4 th . So Hamilton starts o

Bottas has signed a new deal with Mercedes and will drive for them next year. Not too surprising, to be honest. After a slightly iffy start, he’s been driving very well. That said, it sounds like a one year deal which is a bit shorter than I’d expected. In more surprising news, an engine rumour is making the rounds. But not the Toro Rosso-Honda/McLaren-Renault one. It seems Renault may ditch Red Bull at the end of 2018, forcing Red Bull to take on Honda engines. A season or two ago, Red Bull were whining excessively about Renault. The engine then was a bit lacklustre, but nothing like the horror show of Honda (which McLaren have been extremely patient about). With the Renault-McLaren deal apparently already signed, Red Bull might just regret not exercising their veto over Renault taking on McLaren and opting for Honda engines for Toro Rosso. Not only that, unless Honda narrow the performance gap swiftly, Ricciardo and Verstappen will be looking for new teams. [The confirmation of

The weekend bet just about came off, making it the first green weekend since Spain, which was quite some time ago. My general prediction about this being great for Mercedes (both team and engine) was correct. The early bets were only one for three, down just under two stakes. But you can’t have everything. I also had a small sum, not tipped but mentioned early elsewhere, on both Force India to double top 6 (didn’t happen) and all Mercedes-powered cars to score, which did. Only had a little on, but it was 11 (and I’m a bit miffed I didn’t specifically tip it, but there we are). Off the line Ocon made up a place on Stroll, but Hamilton retained the lead. The biggest gainer was Verstappen who had leapt up to 8 th or so by the end of the first lap. However, the Dutchman then got a puncture and had to pit very early. Later this required a second stop, ruling out his participation at the sharp end. Bottas picked off Stroll and then Ocon, and from then on the Mercedes cruised arou

Both Renaults also have penalties (along with the Red Bulls, Alonso and Sainz). After initially going out in wet conditions, and kudos to the decision-makers for not taking the easy option of delaying, the first session of qualifying was red-flagged after Grosjean crashed, and we endured about two and a half hours of delay. In the latter part of Q1 Raikkonen was released in an unsafe manner, almost hitting Perez, so he may get a penalty for that. Magnussen, Palmer, Ericsson, Wehrlein and the crashed Grosjean left at this stage. In Q2 cars went out on a mix of intermediates and wets. Perez was the fastest to be eliminated, followed by Hulkenberg, Alonso, Kvyat, and Sainz. Stroll and Vandoorne both were impressive, and reached Q3 (Stroll being fifth fastest in Q2). Rain intensified in Q3, and again a mix of full wets and intermediates were used. Hamilton, Bottas and Vettel went for intermediates. Everyone else went full wet. Those three soon regretted it and immediat

I offered, somewhat tentatively given every bet I’ve offered recently has either been ill-judged or damned by the gods, three early tips. These were Verstappen not to be classified at 3.25 (Betfair Sportsbook), and Bottas to ‘win’ qualifying at 6 each way, and to ‘win’ FP1 at 7.5 each way (the latter two are both Ladbrokes). My reasoning was pretty straightforward. For Verstappen, he has a 50% DNF rate. For Bottas, I believe (although others disagree) that Monza should be great for Mercedes. It’s clearly the best car in a straight line, and Monza is mostly straight lines. Alonso has a 35 place grid penalty, at the time of writing. Both Red Bull drivers also have substantial penalties. I wonder if a Force India on the podium is a worthwhile bet... certainly to be top 6 is worth a look. Sainz also has a 10 place grid penalty. Elsewhere, Mr. B wisely suggested that Alonso’s penalties are due to prioritising Singapore, and Red Bull might be doing something similar. The resu