MorrisF1

After Brazil, Verstappen and Hamilton were seen as having an equal shot of the title with three races to go. After Qatar, Hamilton cut Verstappen’s lead to 8 points and, with two races remaining, has now become the favourite for the title. But should he be? Over the course of the season it’s been very nip and tuck, with the lead changing hands multiple times. In the last two races, however, Hamilton has had a clear pace advantage over his rival. If that advantage is maintained then, frankly, Verstappen needs a Hamilton DNF in order to win the title, or something remarkable to happen. In terms of weather this is almost certainly not going to happen, as the Middle East is not renowned for its rainstorms and there have been a grand total of no wet races in Abu Dhabi during the many years we’ve gone there. However, the Mercedes power unit has been a surprising (relative) weak spot this year, both being less reliable than other engines and prone to losing more horsepower. The latter sho

I backed Alonso and it turned out alright in the end, which was a relief given how things transpired. Many things happened during the race so I’ll do my best but cannot guarantee I’ll remember it all just so. Verstappen had a 5 place grid penalty and Bottas a 3 place penalty for failing to slow sufficiently under yellows, promoting Gasly, Alonso, and Sainz. Off the line Gasly and Alonso both had good starts but the Frenchman was unable to take Hamilton and it was the wily old Spaniard who ended up second to the Briton. Indeed, in doing so Alonso put a temporary halt to Verstappen’s charge (the Dutchman roared from 7 th to 4 th right away). Verstappen soon dispatched Gasly and Alonso, and, although he was never quite on Hamilton’s pace (possibly due to front wing damage) the two title contenders amused themselves trading fastest laps and effortlessly surging away from the field. The gap in pace was alarming. Further down the grid, Bottas had gone backwards at the start while Per

Maybe it’s a good thing there wasn’t a Bottas each way market given he ended up where he did. In Q1 we had pretty much the chaps you’d expect departing (Mazepin being over 2s slower than next-slowest driver Schumacher). Both Alfa Romeos and Latifi also failed to progress. Q2 was interesting. Gasly, who had cruised through Q1 on the medium tyres, shifted to the softs (all the Aston Martin, AlphaTauri, and Alpine drivers did likewise). Initially, the Ferraris and McLarens were on the medium but some at least were compelled to put on the softs for their second runs, as did Perez. However, this was not enough to get Perez out, as he qualified 11 th , behind Sainz (who might have set his fastest time on the medium, not sure). Bit of a shock and really not what Red Bull need. Excepting Russell, 15 th , every driver eliminated had their team mate make it to Q3, with Stroll, Leclerc (also very surprisingly out), and Ricciardo failing to progress. Q3 had both Mercedes, and both Alpines/Al

Glad not to have another race weekend besmirched with the filth of a sprint race. Anyway… In off-track news we now know Bottas’ Alfa Romeo team mate for next year. As many had suspected it’s the first Chinese chap to make the grid, in the form of Guanyu Zhou (pronounced ‘jo’ if my memory of pinyin is correct). He does bring money but is also second in F2 at the time of writing. Slightly surprisingly, despite the new cockpit camera footage of Verstappen the FIA deemed no new investigation was necessary. In first practice Verstappen was fastest by four-tenths over Gasly and Bottas, with Hamilton three-tenths down the road. Tsunoda, Sainz, Leclerc, Perez, Ocon, and Norris rounded out the top 10. Second practice had fastest, but once again it was Gasly as best of the rest (two-tenths down), with Verstappen and Hamilton within a tenth of one another. Norris, Stroll, and Tsunoda followed, then came Perez Vettel and Sainz. Too early to call pace at the sharp end, I think. And likewi

Well, I predicted Hamilton would have a great race, and, just like Emperor Palpatine, everything proceeded as I had foreseen. Both bets came off, which was a relief. Off the line it was the reverse of the sprint race as Bottas got edged out by Verstappen to immediately lose the lead, and dipping a tyre onto the turf slowed him sufficiently that Perez was able to pass him too. Meanwhile, BFFs Sainz and Norris suffered woe when the Briton tried a move that might be politely termed optimistic, putting the Spaniard down a few spots and giving Norris himself a puncture that had him dead last. Hamilton had a stonking first lap, passing many and aided by Norris’ misfortune to end it all the way up in 5 th . He gained another place on the next lap and was then gifted the final podium position by his team mate. The Red Bulls were still a few seconds up the road but then Tsunoda had a very clumsy passing attempt on Stroll that littered the first corner with debris and brought out the safet

Sprint races as a concept remain the most tedious nonsense, although Hamilton being sent to the back of the grid following disqualification for a technical infringement related to his rear wing did mean there was a lot of passing at this one. Including off the line, when Verstappen’s second phase was so poor he immediately lose the lead to Bottas and shortly thereafter lost second to Sainz. He did pass the Spaniard but, although he spent a fair few laps just behind Bottas (and the Finn was on soft tyres to the Dutchman’s medium) that order remain unchanged. Perez was just behind Sainz for the whole race but unable to effect a pass. Good for the Spaniard but not great for the Mexican. Hamilton scythed through the field, passing the backmarkers and lower midfield with effortless ease before encountering a bit more resistance from the likes of Ricciardo and Vettel (who succumbed nevertheless in the end). He ended up 5 th , but does take a 5 place grid penalty for changing engine parts

I loathe sprint races. Anyway… Qualifying that wasn’t really qualifying began with a surprise. In a Williams, Russell was outqualified by Latifi. Impressive work from the Canadian, one of two (Stroll the other) eliminated in Q1. Naturally, both Haas were also out at this stage. In Q2 saw Alpine at the cut-off with Ocon fastest of those who failed to progress and Alonso squeaking through. Vettel, Tsunoda, and both Alfa Romeo chaps also exited here. At this moment it seemed Hamilton was the dominant force by a clear margin, with Verstappen/Bottas quite close to one another. And so it proved in Q3, with the Briton (who has a 5 place grid penalty in the proper, actual, entertaining race) taking pole by four-tenths. Verstappen did manage to put his Red Bull on the front row for the stupid sprint race, however, with Bottas and Perez on row two. Gasly was impressive again as best of the rest, ahead of the Ferraris of Sainz and Leclerc. The Prancing Horse seems to have become the best

Well, if you had a free bet then Bottas for pole would’ve come off nicely. Didn’t back that myself but did have an earlier dinky bet on him winning (23) which I shall likely hedge. Sainz was ahead of Leclerc but it was Gasly who was best of the rest (the Frenchman’s been one of the most impressive drivers all year). Bucketload of red flags this year, mostly in qualifying, and we got another one in the first session before most people had a time on the board. Stroll had a somewhat rubbish crash, just going a bit wide, losing grip, then introducing his car to the barriers. It seemed to take an excessively long time for the session to restart, but eventually it did. Joining the Canadian (who had a back of the grid penalty anyway and may now start from the pitlane if his chassis needs changing) were the two Haas cars, of course, plus Latifi and, weirdly, Alonso. The Spaniard had an odd failure to get things together, compounded by his team mate (also going to the back of the grid) just n

Russell has a 5 place grid penalty for a gearbox change. It’s also ironic that Mercedes have raised Senna-Prost and crashing, given that it’s their man who punted Verstappen off in the UK. I suspect this is actually a quite smart (or cynical, as you like) mind game to needle Verstappen/Red Bull. Also, China isn't on the grid next year but has been confirmed as sticking around until at least 2025.  The top three in first practice were separated by just over a tenth of a second, with Bottas fastest, then Hamilton, then Verstappen. Perez was only another tenth further back, with Gasly over six-tenths off the ultimate pace. The Frenchman was followed by Sainz, Alonso, Leclerc, Ocon, and Vettel. In second practice had Verstappen faster than Bottas by four-tenths, with Hamilton another tenth further back. Perez was less than a tenth behind the Briton, and half a second ahead of Sainz. Then came Gasly, Leclerc, Tsunoda, Vettel, and Alonso. Very much looking like the top two team