Hopefully this weekend will be less of a joke than last week’s USA GP where HAM and LEC were disqualified four hours after the race because the plank failed scrutineering. Aside from the conspiracy theories that the FIA were looking to support Red Bull and penalise Mercedes & Ferrari, the question many people raised was why, after half the randomly selected cars failed the test, didn’t the FIA check more (all) cars? The FIA’s justification is that checking every component on every car would take too long, but that’s a ridiculous response to a reasonable suggestion; no-one’s suggested doing that; if you expect all cars to be legal then if 50% of a sample are illegal, surely it makes sense to expand the testing to see if it’s a systemic problem e.g. caused by aggressive kerbs. But no-one can convince the FIA that they’re wrong, hence why there’s not been any appeal against the disqualifications… just drivers suggesting that other cars would also have failed that test. Hmmmmm.
Revised result: VER, NOR, SAI, PER, RUS, GAS, STR, TSU, ALB, SAR; HUL, BOT, ZHO, MAG, RIC. (DNF: ALO, PIA, OCO; DQ: HAM, LEC) Fastest lap: TSU.
Other than that FIAsco, news since the last race:
- F1 website reported ‘Verstappen has reiterated that he “always gets on well” with race engineer Gianpiero Lambiase’… but isn’t that what a bully usually claims? Hey GP, why are you punching yourself?
- Reports from the paddock are that VER has more visible personal security (bodyguards) due to the booing; he’s now saying fans should respect the drivers more, despite him whipping up anti-Hamilton sentiment in previous races.
- TSU “will start at the back of the grid for the Mexico City Grand Prix after being hit with a penalty due to wholesale changes on his car in FP1, including a new power unit” [F1]
Qualifying
Qualifying session 1 (Q1)
Air temperature 25°C; track 46°C; humidity 28%
Haas send MAG out on soft tyres, followed by GAS
MAG 1:19.730
PER is on track – you can hear the crowds as he passes by
ALO 1:19.604
PER 1:18.553
VER 1:18.099
(HAM P3 on mediums)
(BOT P2)
(RIC P2 after receiving a tow from teammate TSU)
SAR has his time deleted for exceeding track limits
5mins left; bottom 5 are STR, ALB, PIA; no time yet for NOR, SAR
(PIA P2)
Huge traffic jam at the end of the pit lane as they try to leave a gap to the car in front
VER under investigation for impeding in the pit lane (expect RUS to be added)
Yellow flag – ALO spun in Turn 3
Green again just as the chequered flag is about to come out
Chequered flag; bottom 5 are OCO, MAG, STR, NOR, SAR
Brief yellow flag but that’s ruined any chance to improve
Back of the grid: OCO, MAG, STR, NOR, SAR
RUS and ALO also under investigation for impeding in the pit lane
HAM and SAR under investigation for not slowing sufficiently under a yellow flag
SAR and TSU under investigation for overtaking under a yellow flag
RUS, NOR and ZHO will be investigated after the session for failing to follow race directors instructions, i.e. the maximum delta time
Qualifying session 2
PER 1:18.124
VER 1:17.625
(PIA P2)
5mins left; bottom 5 are ALB, HUL, GAS, ALO; no time for TSU
Just under 4mins left and almost everyone leaving the garages
TSU hit a Williams rear jack as he left his garage
2mins left; everyone on track except VER
HUL P10, ZHO P11
ALO P12
TSU pits without setting a time
Chequered flag; bottom 5 are ZHO, ALO, ALB, GAS, TSU
GAS P10, HUL P11
ZHO P10, GAS P11
HAM 1:17.571
ALB P9, ZHO P11
Middle of the grid: ZHO, GAS, HUL, ALO, TSU
Top 10 shootout is between HAM, VER, RUS, RIC, PIA, LEC, BOT, PER, ALB, and SAI … although the top 3 (and others) will be investigated after Quali for Q1 incidents
Hold on – ALB’s lap time has just been deleted so he’s out (he’s now P14) and ZHO will be in Q3
Qualifying session 3
PER 1:17.788
VER 1:17.286
RIC P2
BOT P4
SAI 1:17.233
LEC 1:17.166
PIA P6
RUS P5
HAM P6
Order after the first run: LEC, SAI, VER, RIC, RUS, HAM, PER, PIA, BOT; no time for ZHO
ZHO has the track all to himself
5mins left
ZHO P9
RUS and HAM are the last to leave the pits
PIA P5
BOT P9
SAI P2
PER P5
VER P3
Chequered flag; LEC, SAI, VER, RIC, PER, PIA, RUS, HAM, BOT, ZHO
RUS P7
HAM P6
Front of the grid: LEC, SAI, VER, RIC, PER, HAM, PIA, RUS, BOT, ZHO
Provisional grid: LEC, SAI, VER, RIC, PER, HAM, PIA, RUS, BOT, ZHO, ZHO, GAS, HUL, ALO, TSU, OCO, MAG, STR, NOR, SAR
but remember there’s a ton of Q1 incidents to be investigated
Check the FIA’s official docs page…
- Infringement – Williams – Equipment in Pit Lane
“The competitor (Williams Racing) is fined €20,000, €10,000 of which is suspended for a period of 12 months subject to there being no further breach of the above Article 5 f) during that period.”
(This is regarding the rear jack that TSU clipped when he left his garage in Q2) - Infringement – Car 2 (SAR) – Overtaking under Yellow Flags
“Drop of 10 grid positions for the next Sprint/Race in which the driver participates. 2 penalty points (total of 6 for the 12 month period).”
So SAR will start P20 - Decision – Car 2 (SAR) – Failing to set a lap time within 107%
This document seems to have been deleted from the FIA site - Provisional Starting Grid
Interesting that they published this while there where still unresolved investigations
Provisional grid: LEC, SAI, VER, RIC, PER, HAM, PIA, RUS, BOT, ZHO, ZHO, GAS, HUL, ALO, OCO, MAG, STR, NOR, TSU*, SAR*
*TSU Required to start from the back of the starting grid – Additional power unit elements have been used
*SAR 10 place grid penalty – Overtaking under yellow flag conditions; Permitted to start having failed to set a lap time within 107% - Decision – Car 63 (RUS) – Alleged impeding at Pit Exit
“No further action.” - Decision – Car 1 (VER) – Alleged impeding at Pit Exit
“No further action.” - Decision – Car 14 (ALO) – Alleged impeding at Pit Exit
“No further action.” - Infringement – Car 24 (ZHO) – Pit Lane Speeding
“The competitor (Alfa Romeo F1 Team Stake) is fined €500.” - Decision – Car 44 (HAM) – Alleged failure to slow under yellow flags
“No further action.”
So after all that, the only penalties that affect the race are for SAR and TSU; there were fines for Alfa Romeo and Williams.
Race
Today is HAM’s 200th race sporting the number 44 on his car; it’s STR’s 25th birthday
Pit lane is open; drivers can make their way to the grid
STR will start from the pit lane after his car was modified whilst under Parce Ferme conditions
PIA’s McLaren caught a piece of paper in the floor so he’s returned to the garage and the mechanics will remove it
I wonder why Martin Brundle isn’t doing his grid walk
ALO under investigation for an incident on the way to the grid
Air temperature 25°C; track 48°C; humidity 28%
FIA feed announces “Risk of rain for F1 race is 0%” – yeah, there’s not a cloud to be seen
LEC leads everyone away on the formation lap
Everyone on medium compound tyres except ALB and OCO on hards, and NOR on softs
ALO takes his time through the final corner, so the front runners have to sit and wait, hoping their car doesn’t overheat
01/71: VER squeezes between the Ferrari pair
PER around the outside; contact; he’s off at Turn 1 but recovering
VER takes P1
LEC has damage to his front wing
RUS all over PIA’s tail
02: VER, LEC, SAI, RIC, HAM, PIA, RUS, HUL, GAS, ZHO, ALB, BOT, MAG, TSU, ALO, NOR, SAR, OCO, STR, PER
PER pits; the team have a close look and decide to retire the car
03: VER fastest lap 1:23.859
Replay of the start; LEC had nowhere to go when PER turned right
04: DRS enabled
VER f/lap 1:23.573
LEC’s broken front end-plate has come off, so he shouldn’t be told to pit
05/71: VER, LEC, SAI, RIC, HAM, PIA, RUS, HUL, GAS, ZHO, ALB, BOT, MAG, TSU, NOR, ALO, SAR, STR, OCO; out: PER
VSC deployed, presumably so they can avoid the debris; a marshal should have time to pick that up once the pack has passed
Incident involving LEC noted – driving in an unsafe condition … so they might penalise him for the damage that PER caused
VSC ended
06: Radio for NOR asking which tyres he’d prefer if there was a full SC; he hesitates, plumps for the hard compound
07: HAM f/lap 1:23.300
08: HAM looks for a way round RIC
Brief yellow flag at Turn 1
09: TSU attacking MAG; TSU locks up, runs wide
Radio from HAM, “Car’s running hot”
10/71: VER, LEC, SAI, RIC, HAM, PIA, RUS, HUL, GAS, ZHO, ALB, BOT, MAG, NOR, SAR, ALO, STR, OCO
VER f/lap 1:23.218
TSU pits; switches from mediums to hard
Radio for NOR telling him he must pull out to the right to cool the car
11: HAM takes P4 from RIC
12: NOR pits from P14; hards go on; rejoins P18 in clear air
TSU f/lap 1:22.501
ALO lets teammate STR take P15
13: Radio for VER telling him to “watch the kerb at turn 3”; VER blames the car because obviously it can’t be his fault
15/71: VER, LEC, SAI, HAM, RIC, PIA, RUS, HUL, GAS, ZHO
ALB takes P10 from ZHO
16: Radio for HAM asking for a balance check; “it’s great, mate”
HAM now has DRS behind SAI
17: GAS tucked up behind HUL
19: Incident involving LEC will be investigated after the race – driving in an unsafe condition (on the first few laps)
Radio from VER, “the tyres are giving up”
20/71: VER pits from P1; hards go on; rejoins P7
Radio for VER telling him “just be sensible” with the new tyres
21: LEC, SAI, HAM, RIC, PIA, RUS, VER, HUL, GAS, ALB, ZHO, BOT, MAG, SAR, STR, ALO, OCO, NOR, TSU; out: PER
22: ZHO pits; hards; rejoins P19
23: VER takes P5 from PIA
NOR passes ALO for P14
24: HUL pits; hards; P15
MAG pits just as his teammate leaves the box; hards; P19
25/71: HAM pits from P3; hards; P7
TSU takes P13 from ALO
VER passes RIC for P3
26: VER f/lap 1:22.354
Radio for SAI proposing they extend and stay with a 1-stop strategy; SAI agrees (Seems odd given the lap times being set on new hards)
PIA pits from P5; hards; he’s a bit slow pulling away; P10
NOR takes P11 from STR
27: RUS pits from P5; hards; P10
PIA takes P8 from BOT
Radio from RUS unhappy that he’s come out right behind ALB
28: RIC pits; hards; P6
29: VER has DRS behind SAI… and breezes past for P2
30/71: LEC, VER, SAI, HAM, RIC, PIA, RUS, ALB, NOR, BOT, STR, TSU, ALO, OCO, HUL, ZHO, GAS, MAG, SAR; out: PER
VER f/lap 1:22.224
ALO pits; hards; P19
TSU takes P11 from STR
31: SAI pits from P2; hards; rejoins P4, about 6.5sec behind HAM
Radio from ZHO reporting that he can smell something burning!
32: LEC pits from P1; no front wing change; hards; rejoins P2 with HAM 2.5sec behind
MAG runs wide out of the final turn
GAS takes P12 from ZHO
33: Radio from HAM asking if they think the hard tyres will go to the end
Yellow flag – MAG is in the wall
SC deployed
MAG has got himself out of the car; no sign of any marshals 🙁
34[SC]: VER pits; new hards; rejoins still P1
NOR and ALB pit
The Haas is on fire but still no marshals… oh, now there’s one
Replay shows MAG’s right rear suspension broke on the T8 kerb and threw him into the techpro barrier
Red flag – race suspended
35/71[SC]: VER, LEC, HAM, SAI, RIC, PIA, RUS, TSU, HUL, NOR, GAS, ALB, ZHO, OCO, SAR, BOT, STR, ALO; out: MAG, PER
SC leads everyone into the pit lane
VER whining about the red flag, saying the fire was out; his engineer blames other drivers for asking for a red flag … because RB have never done that … not that the teams are allowed to talk to Race Control these days
The teams are allowed to change tyres
Radio for NOR asking if he’s ok restarting on hard tyres; he laughs, says yes because that’s all he has available
Race Control confirm it will be a standing start and the order: 1, 16, 44, 55, 3, 81, 63, 22, 27, 4, 10, 23, 24, 31, 2, 77, 18, 14
LEC seems concerned that they’ll be restarting on hard tyres
It seems to be a bit hectic around HAM’s cockpit but they get him ready just in time
Race Control say all cars can pass the SC on their way to the grid so they can prepare their tyres
35/71[SC]: SC leads them out of the pit lane
VER and LEC on hard tyres; HAM mediums; SAI and RIC on hards; PIA and RUS mediums; TSU hards; HUL and NOR mediums
They come round the final turn and take up their positions on the grid
36: HAM looks at the inside of LEC into T1 but the Ferrari keeps P2
NOR dropped 4 places before Turn 2
37: VER, LEC, HAM, SAI, RUS, RIC, PIA, TSU, ALB, HUL, OCO, GAS, BOT, NOR, STR, ZHO, ALO, SAR
38: DRS enabled
HAM right on LEC’s gearbox
39: VER f/lap 1:22.185
PIA steals P7 from TSU
Radio from RUS complaining “SAI weaving down the straight”; “we see it”
40/71: VER, LEC, HAM, SAI, RUS, RIC, PIA, TSU, ALB, HUL
VER f/lap 1:22.059
HAM squeezes inside LEC, kicks up some dust but takes P2
41: VER f/lap 1:21.644
HAM 3.3sec behind VER but on mediums compared to hards
NOR takes P13 from BOT
42: RUS filling SAI’s mirrors
43: VER opens his lead to 4.3sec
Radio for LEC telling him to “increase lift off” but it’s not clear why
44: Radio for LEC telling him they think the hard tyres will be better than the mediums in about 5 laps
NOR takes P12 from GAS
45/71: VER, HAM, LEC, SAI, RUS, RIC, PIA, TSU, ALB, HUL, OCO, NOR, GAS, BOT, STR, SAR, ZHO, ALO; out: MAG, PER
46: NOR inside OCO for P11
47: RUS still harrying SAI for P4
NOR passes HUL for P10
Radio from RUS reporting “moving under braking from SAI”
48: VER’s lead over 6sec; HAM nearly 5sec clear of LEC
ALO pits; retires
TSU attacking PIA; PIA defends; TSU taps the McLaren’s rear-left wheel; PIA hangs on to P7
49: TSU tries to make the same move; contact; TSU spins, recovers
Incident involving TSU and PIA noted – causing a collision … twice
50/71: VER, HAM, LEC, SAI, RUS, RIC, PIA, NOR, ALB, HUL, OCO, GAS, BOT, STR, SAR, TSU, ZHO; out: ALO, MAG, PER
51: NOR catching his teammate
52: VER continues to extend his lead – over 9.5sec now
BOT inside GAS but GAS defends; they run side by side for a few corners
53: With a 10sec lead, will GP dare tell VER to ease off?
54: OCO declares he’s “going for it” behind HUL
55/71: VER, HAM, LEC, SAI, RUS, RIC, PIA, NOR, ALB, HUL, OCO, GAS, BOT, STR, SAR, TSU, ZHO
56: NOR has DRS behind his teammate; will McLaren tell PIA to let him pass?
Radio for PIA basically saying go 0.5sec/lap faster or let NOR past
PIA locks up; NOR takes P7, and says thank you
57: LEC seems to have picked up his pace, but he’s 5sec behind HAM
Did STR weave under braking, defending against SAR?
58: Radio from SAR, “That’s too much moving on the brakes” referring to STR
PER waves to the crowd for the biggest cheer since the start of the race
59: NOR over 3sec clear of PIA, so the team was right to swap them
60/71: VER, HAM, LEC, SAI, RUS, RIC, NOR, PIA, ALB, HUL, OCO, GAS, BOT, STR, SAR, TSU, ZHO; out: ALO, MAG, PER
NOR has DRS behind ex-teammate RIC
RIC defends; NOR cuts back and takes the inside line; steals P6 – that’s why he’ll win Driver of the Day 🙂
62: Closest battle is HUL holding off OCO, GAS and BOT; TSU has DRS behind SAR
64: Radio for NOR advising patience behind RUS
65/71: VER, HAM, LEC, SAI, RUS, NOR, RIC, PIA, ALB, HUL, OCO, GAS, BOT, STR, SAR, TSU, ZHO
66: NOR has DRS behind RUS
NOR has a little lock up but still has DRS
OCO has finally taken P10 from HUL
67: Yellow flag – STR tried to pass BOT, made contact, spun
NOR finds a tiny gap, gets inside RUS for P5
68: STR pits, retires
Incident involving STR and BOT
69: VER has almost 15sec lead over HAM, who in turn is almost 8sec clear of LEC
70/71: VER, HAM, LEC, SAI, NOR, RUS, RIC, PIA, ALB, OCO, GAS, HUL, SAR, TSU, BOT, ZHO
RIC has DRS behind RUS… rapidly closes on the Mercedes
Radio for HAM telling him he could go for fastest lap
71: RIC still reeling in RUS but will he have time to attack?
VER takes the chequered flag
HAM f/lap 1:21.334
RUS held off RIC
Provisional result: VER, HAM*, LEC, SAI, NOR, RUS, RIC, PIA, ALB, OCO; GAS, SAR**, TSU, HUL, BOT, ZHO
*Fastest lap: HAM
DNF: STR, ALO, MAG, PER
**Hold on – the official timing chart says SAR entered the pits instead of crossing the finish line … The provisional classification shows SAR as P16, but he’s also marked as DNF on the penultimate lap
So now we wait for post-race penalties…
- Infringement – Car 14 (ALO) – Pit Lane Speeding
“The competitor (Aston Martin Aramco Cognizant F1 Team) is fined €100.” - Decision – Car 22 (TSU) – Turn 2 incident with Car 81 (PIA)
“No further action.” - Decision – Car 81 (PIA) – Turn 2 incident with Car 22 (TSU)
“No further action.” - Decision – Car 16 (LEC) – Alleged driving a car in an unsafe condition
“No further action.” - Infringement – Car 77 (BOT) – Causing a collision (with STR)
“5 second time penalty imposed after the race. 2 penalty points (total of 2 for the 12 month period).”
That drops BOT from P14 to P15
[2023 calendar and driver line-up]
