MorrisF1

  Well, it wasn’t a real tip so doesn’t count but if anyone did back my vague suggestion to put a free bet on Alonso being top 3 it came off. The session started soggy, full wet weather, and while intermediates were in use by the final part the circuit never got quite dry enough for slicks (despite Russell’s attempt in Q3). So we got some useful info on wet weather running, should be get that during the race. In Q1, losing Latifi was not necessarily a shock but it was a surprise to see both Vettel and Gasly out so early. Stroll also exited this stage as did the penalised Tsunoda. Leclerc was the slowest in Q2 but does start 19 th (ahead of also-penalised Tsunoda). Bottas was the fastest eliminated chap, slightly surprisingly as he was outqualified by Zhou Guanyu (let’s hope the Chinese driver can at least have a trouble-free race). Albon’s 12 th for Williams is pretty tasty, especially after he (gently) put his car into a barrier but managed to reverse it. No such luck

Leclerc has a 10 place grid penalty for new electronic parts this weekend. With engine failures, he’ll certainly have some for that sort of thing later in the season. Speaking of engine changes, Tsunoda’s got one and the engine penalty means he’ll be starting from the back. Verstappen was fastest in first practice, a quarter of a second ahead of Sainz. Alonso and Perez were next, then came Leclerc, followed by Russell, Stroll, Hamilton, Vettel and Ricciardo. Second session again had a Dutchman fastest, this time under a tenth ahead of Leclerc, with Sainz just over a tenth further back. Vettel was best of the rest, with Alonso and Gasly right behind him, and Russell, Norris, Ricciardo, and Ocon rounding out the top 10. At this stage it looks like Verstappen’s pole, with Aston Martin, Alonso, and Russell potentially up there if the weather plays a role, which it might very well. McLaren could also upset expectations given the car seems quick with the weak spot of straight line speed

A mixed bag this race, with bad luck threatening both halves of the bet but only determining one aspect. The race was green, the weekend red. I also discovered there is no word in Italian for ‘reliability’. Off the line Perez started well and snatched the lead from Leclerc. Further down, Vettel also made a good start to pass Tsunoda, though elsewhere it was formation flying. Perez immediately pushed hard to pull away from Leclerc, but in so doing buggered his tyres. He was able to maintain a 2s gap to the Monegasque, who was helpfully blocking the fast Verstappen, but this would tell later in the race. Ricciardo (hard) was right behind Norris (medium) and obviously faster but the team decided to hold station even though the Aussie, on pace, perhaps should have been let through. Meanwhile, Russell was doing a better job holding onto Sainz than Sainz was holding onto the top three. The Spaniard’s run of spectacular bad luck continued when a hydraulic failure ended his race and brough

Pole looked set to be tight, and while it seemed that way for much of qualifying Leclerc’s final stonking lap was unbeatable and secured him pole by quite some margin. Red flags have been common this year and at Baku in the past, so a double crash by Stroll (the second parting ways with his front wing) was not too surprising. In addition to Stroll, both Haas drivers and both Williams exited. In Q2 Hamilton earned himself an investigation for driving unnecessarily slowly, so keep your eyes peeled to see if there’s any penalty. However, both Mercedes managed to escape whereas both McLarens failed to do so and line up 11 th and 12 th (Norris leading). Both Alfa’s also went out, Zhou Guanyu ahead of Bottas, and Ocon sits between the team mate pairs. At this stage it was looking very close for pole between the four top chaps, and so it remained after the first runs, with Sainz surprisingly faster than his team mate. Come the second runs, the Spaniard buggered his first sector to the

And so to Azerbaijan, a bonkers but entertaining mix of Monaco and a huge straight. It’s been a happy hunting ground for Perez, who has also struck a rich seam of form recently, so we’ll see how things go for the Mexican. In first practice Perez was top dog, a tenth ahead of Leclerc, with Verstappen two-tenths further back, and Sainz following by the same margin. Alonso was best of the rest, ahead of Hamilton, Tsunoda, Russell, Gasly, and Ocon. Come second practice, the top two had reversed, Leclerc a quarter of a second ahead of Perez, with Verstappen a tenth behind his team mate. Alonso dragged his car into 4 th , albeit nine-tenths off the ultimate pace, and a tenth ahead of Sainz. Gasly and Russell followed, with Tsunoda, Ocon, and Norris rounding out the top 10. At the end of third practice Perez was the fastest man on the track, seven-hundredths ahead of Leclerc. Verstappen was two-tenths further back, with a tenth and a half to Sainz. Norris was next but 1.2s off t