MorrisF1

The first session of qualifying was one to forget for both Piastri and Perez. The Aussie locked up on a lap that would have secured him a straightforward progression. After that, he was unable to hook up a lap and went out embarrassingly early. (Last year, Norris went from 17th to 5th so we’ll see how Norris can do). Perez also failed to proceed, and is 18th, one place behind Piastri. Given where their team mates ended up, this is pretty awful. Ahead of them but also out at this stage was Colapinto, while Ocon and Zhou Guanyu were last of all. Q2 was rather more orderly, with both RBs (Tsunoda ahead by four-hundredths), both Aston Martins (Alonso ahead by a tenth) and Bottas going out. Worth noting the Japanese driver also crashed and brought out a very late red flag. And so to Q3 which looked pretty open between the Ferraris, Norris, and Verstappen, with the latter perhaps seeming to be the favourite. In the end it was the Smooth Operator who ended up with an impressive pole, Sainz le

The tedious filling in an otherwise thrilling F1 sandwich is Mexico. First practice had Russell top, three-tenths ahead of Sainz, who was seven-tenths up on Tsunoda. Verstappen and Hulkenberg followed, then came Piastri, Ocon, Bottas, Lawson, and Perez completed the top 10. As the massive gaps at the top indicate, this is not necessarily that indicative of genuine pace. There were also plenty of third drivers standing in for others. Second practice had Sainz top, ahead of Piastri by 0.17s, who was one-thousandth up on Tsunoda. Leclerc was a hundredth further back, and six-hundredths ahead of Norris. The Briton was three-tenths quicker than Magnussen, then Hamilton, Bottas, Perez and Lawson rounded out the top 10. However, this was a tyre testing exercise for the 2025 tyres. This makes it harder than usual to try and assess pace. Verstappen had almost no running at all due to engine problems. A ray of light for McLaren and Norris? Russell also had a bad day with a crash. Between that a

The bet was close, but no cigar alas, Sainz ending up third fastest in qualifying. In the sprint race, pace was slightly hard to assess as the McLarens seemed under-fuelled, improving their starts but requiring lifting and coasting during the event itself. This enabled Norris t get up to 2nd, behind Verstappen but he ended up being passed by Sainz, who had a lovely race, passing his team mate, Russell (who soon drifted back from the Ferraris) and then Norris on the final lap. The lower reaches of the points were Hamilton, Magnussen, and Hulkenberg. At this stage I was quietly hopeful of Sainz for pole. Qualifying had some twists. In the first session both Williams and both Saubers going out was not huge news, but Hamilton failing to escape was. He was 19th but will rise to 18th (assuming he does not go for a pit lane start) due to Lawson’s huge pit lane penalty. Tsunoda and Lawson (the latter lacking a real attempt) were fastest and slowest in Q2. Hulkenberg had a shocker of a second l

The Circuit of the Americas is a very good circuit, sadly besmirched by the money-grubbing nonsense of the sprint this year. I think I’m going to follow my 2024 habit of not bothering to watch it. While very useful for assessing pace, this information can almost always be gleaned from reports and highlights. Anyway, first practice had Sainz and Leclerc lead the way for Ferrari, followed by title rivals Verstappen and Norris. Piastri, Hamilton, and Russell came next, with Magnussen, Alonso, and Tsunoda finishing off the top 10. Sprint qualifying was quite otherwise. Verstappen got pole, followed by Russell, and Leclerc. Norris was only 4th, so if it finishes that way then this sprint bullshit may be what effectively ends Norris’ title aspirations. Sainz and Hulkenberg (!) came next, then Hamilton and Magnussen (!). Tasty for Haas. Perez was down in 11th and Piastri an abysmal 16th due to exceeding track limits. Worth noting Norris and the Ferraris were covered by four-hundredths. Sainz