MorrisF1

Once again, F1 in 2024 threw up a shock result, this time to the detriment of Norris. Both Saubers failed to leave Q1, as did Ocon (whose car was poorly). Ricciardo was the fastest man eliminated. And Norris qualified 17th. Rampant track evolution meant the McLarens had to go out again, Piastri ahead of Norris. But Ocon peeling off to the side brought out yellows and Norris aborted his lap. Advantage Verstappen in the title race. Q2 was interesting, although with less dramatic implications, as Bearman did well to outqualify Hulkenberg (11th and 14th respectively). A minor note I’d add is that the German excels at old school tracks like Silverstone and Interlagos and isn’t so hot on street circuits, but even so it’s very impressive by the young British driver. Tsunoda, Gasly, and Stroll were also eliminated. And so to the pole position contest in Q3. Leclerc was fastest of all and even improved late on, and is joined on the front row by Piastri. The second row is Sainz and Perez, who ha

Azerbaijan is a weird track, faster than Monaco but still 90% very tight and then you’ve got a huge straight. Races are sometimes tedious, and sometimes crazy. It’s the first time Colapinto and Bearman (replacing the temporarily banned Magnussen) will go around the streets of Baku. Also, McLaren have indicated they will (finally) favour Norris at the expense if need be, in pursuit of the title. In FP1 Verstappen was fastest, a third of a second ahead of Hamilton and Perez. Norris was a tenth further back, with a similar margin back to Sainz, then Piastri, Alonso, Russell, Leclerc, and Ricciardo. However, both Leclerc and Colapinto crashed out, making this a rather disrupted session. Second practice had Leclerc fastest, six thousandths ahead of Perez and sixty-six hundredths ahead of Hamilton. Sainz was four-tenths further back, a few hundredths up on Piastri, with Verstappen a similar distance behind. Stroll, Hulkenberg, Russell, and Bearman completed the upper half of the time sheet

  As predicted, qualifying was nice and close, but with a couple of surprises. In the first session, Colapinto dipped a tyre into the gravel (unlike Sainz, he did it on the critical second run rather than the first). This cost him progression to Q2 but he did well to save it instead of delivering his Williams into the barriers. The Saubers were slowest, and Tsunoda also departed at this stage. Slightly more surprising was Stroll, who starts 17 th . In Q2 things were ultra-close with the top 8 looking destined for a very close battle and leaving just scraps for the rest. In the end, Alonso was pipped by Hulkenberg. The Spaniard qualified 11 th , just a hundredth off Q1. Ricciardo and Magnussen followed, with Gasly and Ocon bringing up the rear. And so to a private Hulkenberg-Albon duel for glory on the fifth row, and four teams contesting the win. In the end, it was a McLaren 1-2, Norris leading the way, the perfect papaya result for those wanting title battles. There was a tenth betwee