MorrisF1

Well, my race bet didn’t come off due to bad luck, but I did fluke qualifying so it’s swings and roundabouts. Race was pretty good and came alive (with some elements of farce) towards the end. Because I knew I’d be writing this the day after I kept notes, so this might be longer than usual…   Problems started pre-race as Sainz had a wiring loom issue (which was resolved) and Tsunoda suffered a DNS. With Schumacher out after the previous day’s crash, we had only 18 cars on the grid. Everyone save Magnussen, Hulkenberg, and Hamilton started on the medium tyre, with those three on the hard. Off the line, Sainz found himself on the outside and Verstappen needed no second invitation to take the Ferrari’s place and move himself into 3 rd . His team mate, meanwhile, retained the lead. Further back, Zhou was sluggish and not helped when anti-stall kicked in on his Alfa Romeo. Over the first few laps Norris passed Gasly for 10 th and then the Frenchman took the place back. A more perma

Part of the bet came off, and luckily it was the most lucrative part with Perez snagging a first ever pole position. Huzzah! However, the qualifying was also notable for some less happy reasons. In the first part of qualifying we had a brief red flag due to a Latifi crash but he still starts ahead (probably) of Tsunoda who had to retire with a reliability failure. Hulkenberg and Albon also exited at this stage. Bizarrely, so did Lewis Hamilton, who was over six-tenths behind his team mate and seemed confounded by the lack of pace. A second and far longer (almost an hour) red flag came in Q2 when Schumacher, then provisionally in the top 10, lost control and had a high impact crash that scattered debris across the circuit and gave him a hospital trip. Big hit but it seems that he’s ok, which is great news. Both McLarens failed to escape, but they have looked more competitive at this track than last weekend. Zhou and Stroll also didn’t get any further. At this stage Sain

And so to Saudi Arabia. But not for Vettel, who remains sick and replaced by Hulkenberg. I saw a bit of first practice and while Leclerc was nice and smooth Sainz was seeing serious porpoising, though he should be able to correct that by copying his team mate’s setup. Leclerc was a tenth ahead of Verstappen in first practice, with Bottas just two-tenths further back. Sainz was close behind, then a couple of tenths back was Gasly, ahead of his team mate Tsunoda. Perez, Ocon, Hamilton, and Alonso rounded out the top 10. Because it’s an evening race, as per last time, the first and third practice sessions aren’t tremendously useful but so far it does look like another Red Bull/Ferrari contest. Note that second practice didn’t see competitive Ferrari times really because both had minor knocks with the wall late on. In P2 Magnussen stopped on-track, as did Tsunoda. Leclerc was again a tenth ahead of Verstappen in second practice, with Sainz third, just half a tenth ahead of Pere

An entertaining start to the season, slightly irked to have opted for the wrong one of two bets, but that’s the way things go. A mildly red start to the year, but only a smidge. Leclerc started on new soft tyres but those around him opted for used (new softs on later). Off the line, the top two started well, Sainz was a little sluggish but managed to cling to his spot, whereas Perez found himself on the wrong part of the track and passed by both Hamilton and Magnussen. Bottas, meanwhile, had an appalling start and dropped 8 places. The top two stretched slowly away from Sainz, with Leclerc not miles ahead of Verstappen but able to build a few seconds’ gap. Magnussen engaged in brake-locking that enabled both Hamilton and Perez to get past him, the Mexican also passing the Briton. In the first pit stops Verstappen made his move first and was close enough to challenge and then pass Leclerc, who drove smartly to reclaim the place shortly thereafter. This repeated on the next l

I’ll be honest, I thought Verstappen was nailed on for pole. How close both Ferraris were surprised me a lot, but that’s not bad thing. In Q1 both Aston Martins were out, but Hulkenberg outqualified Stroll. Ricciardo continued his terrible start to the season (but he’s not helped by the car’s unexpected lack of pace). Latifi was slowest, and Tsunoda the fastest of the eliminated drivers. Every single Q2 elimination came from a different team, highlighting how competitive the midfield is looking this season. Albon and Norris outqualified their team mates but could not proceed further, while Zhou, Schumacher, and Ocon were left behind by their fellow drivers. In Q3, I expected Verstappen to get pole. Which shows what I know. After the first run he and the Ferraris were all covered by half a tenth, with Sainz leading Leclerc. On the second runs, the Spaniard could not hold on for a maiden pole and had to settle for 3 rd on the grid, behind Verstappen, with Leclerc grabbing po

In an unexpected COVID-19 twist, Ricciardo is now recovered and racing but Vettel’s pestilent and replaced by the ever-returning Nico Hulkenberg. Gosh. Practice will be a better indicator than testing of pace but there will still be some sandbags attached so don’t get too absorbed in precise timings, although a vague pecking order, broadly in line with expectations, appears to have emerged. Also, note that second practice, unlike the first and third, is at the same sort of time as qualifying and the race, so may well be the most representative session in terms of time. In first practice it was a surprise to see Gasly topping the timesheet, a third of a second ahead of Leclerc, who was followed by his Spanish team mate. After Sainz were Russell and Verstappen, with Stroll, Hamilton, Alonso, Tsunoda, and Perez rounding out the top 10. Second practice had the more expected Verstappen as fastest man, but only eight-hundredths up on Leclerc. Sainz was next but half a second off th

And so the Bahrain pre-season test has concluded. As always with modern testing, the times are irrelevant, but testing can reveal poor reliability, mood music, and some other matters. Kevin Magnussen gets the unexpectedly vacant seat, formerly of Russian lout Nikita Mazepin, who lost his place due to his billionaire father’s proximity to slaughter enthusiast Vladimir Putin. Magnussen’s a good and pretty obvious choice for the team as he was their driver before the Schumacher-Mazepin pairing, and he can be quick (he’s also sometimes rubbed drivers up the wrong way with his on-track antics, but he’s a mote compared to the Mazepin beam). Ricciardo has another bad start to a season with McLaren. He only got one and a half days of running at the previous not-officially-a-test, and for this one had COVID-19, which meant Norris did all the driving. However, the team had the fewest laps completed of anyone due to a still unresolved brake problem which meant they couldn’t do long run work.