Two weeks after the Saudi Arabia Grand Prix and the news/rumours continue to make F1 look pretty bad:
- “The woman who made accusations about Christian Horner’s behaviour is to appeal against Red Bull’s decision to dismiss her complaint.” [BBC]
“BBC Sport has learned that one [complaint] was made to the FIA ethics and compliance hotline on 2 February, and made direct reference to Horner’s behaviour towards a female employee, asked the FIA to look into it, and expressed a fear that Red Bull could try to cover it up. The second complaint on 6 March referenced the first and warned that the whistleblower would next inform the media.” [BBC]
The sooner this gets to a real court (i.e. outside F1) the better – I can’t imagine any FIA committee will point the finger at one of their own.
There are still all sorts of rumours about various splits in the Red Bull management/ownership and VER is still backing Marko rather than Horner. - “Formula 1’s governing body has cleared its president of claims he interfered with races in Saudi Arabia and Las Vegas last season. Mohammed Ben Sulayem was alleged to have intervened to overturn a penalty for Aston Martin’s Fernando Alonso at the Saudi Arabian Grand Prix.” [BBC]
Wow, what a surprise – an FIA committee finds their boss did nothing wrong. Not at all suspicious. - “Susie Wolff has taken legal action against motorsport’s governing body the FIA following its controversial conflict of interest inquiry into her last year. Wolff said she had filed “a criminal complaint in the French courts in relation to the statements made about me by the FIA last December”. “There has still not been any transparency or accountability in the relation to the conduct of the FIA and its personnel in this matter,” she said.” [BBC]
The FIA made a lot of noise when the started making the accusations, and then went silent when they were shown to be baseless. - “Lewis Hamilton says there is “no transparency and no accountability” in Formula 1 as the sport continues to be rocked by off-track wrangles.” [BBC]
So I guess we can expect HAM to get a penalty from the FIA for daring to say that.In other news:
- “Mercedes have signed former Ferrari designer Simone Resta as their new strategic development director.” [BBC][F1]
- “Ferrari’s Carlos Sainz is set to return at this weekend’s Australian Grand Prix in Melbourne after recovering from surgery for appendicitis.” [BBC]
Free Practice:
- FP1: NOR (1:18.564), VER, RUS, LEC, TSU [highlights]
ALB put his Williams in the wall at Turn 8, bringing out the red flags [video]
Williams said ALB will not run in FP2 while they assess the damage to the car
ALO ran wide at T10, bumping through the gravel trap but managed to continue
BOT spin at T9 but recovered
SAI seems to be OK post-surgery, talking more about the car’s setup than any pain - FP2: LEC (1:17.277), VER, SAI, STR, ALO [highlights]
Both Aston Martin drivers struggled, causing frustration for impeding some fast runs and running wide a couple of times
SAR spun his Williams but kept it out of the wall, which was lucky given the team don’t have a spare chassis with them
HAM and RUS continue to struggle with their Mercedes setups - FP3: LEC (1:16.714), VER, SAI, HAM, RUS [highlights]
“Williams have announced that Alex Albon will take over the car of his team mate Logan Sargeant for the remainder of the 2024 Australian Grand Prix weekend, following his crash in Free Practice 1 on Friday morning.” [F1]
That means SAR will have to sit out quali and the race; bit unfortunate for SAR given it was ALB who had the accident & broke his car, but I think it’s the right decision as ALB is more likely to fight his way towards a point (and not just because it’s ALB’s birthday!)
Qualifying
The Mercedes mechanics seem to be busy on both RUS and HAM’s cars just ahead of Q1
Williams have confirmed that ALB’s broken chassis is already on its way back to the UK for repair, and they won’t have a spare for Japan or China either!
Qualifying session 1 (Q1)
Air temperature 18°C; track 34°C; humidity 54%
2mins before the start of the session and there’s already a queue at pit out, headed by ALB in the sole Williams
Radio from ALB reporting leaves on the track – good thing he’s not a British train 🙂
ALB 1:18.709 but it’s deleted for exceeding track limits
MAG 1:17.874
Radio from LEC asking for a darker visor for his next run
VER 1:17.478
Radio from VER complaining of “so much understeer”
Race control: Incident involving PER impeding HUL in Turn 13 will be investigated after the session
OCO brushes the tyre wall in the final turn; looks like he’s damaged the rear-left wheel
LEC 1:17.244
ALO 1:16.991
SAI 1:16.731
Race control: noted GAS crossed the pit exit line
Radio from RUS complaining “the front brakes don’t feel like they’re working”!
5mins left; bottom 4* are ZHO, RUS, GAS, OCO (*Only 4 will be eliminated because SAR isn’t able to take part)
Chequered flag; bottom 4 are HUL, GAS, ZHO, OCO
ZHO P18
OCO P15, MAG P16
ZHO P19
Back of the grid: MAG, HUL, GAS, ZHO
No, wait – RIC’s time has been deleted, so he’s now P18
Back of the grid is now: HUL, GAS, RIC, ZHO
Qualifying session 2
SAI 1:16.671
VER 1:16.387
SAI 1:16.189
5mins left; bottom 5 are ALB, TSU, MAG, BOT, OCO
ALB is still in the pits – Williams have settled for P11 (at best)
MAG P12
BOT P12
Chequered flag; bottom 5 are ALB, BOT, MAG, TSU, OCO
TSU P8, STR P11
STR P8, HAM P11(!)
Middle of the grid: HAM, ALB, BOT, MAG, OCO
Top 10 shootout is between SAI, LEC, VER, PIA, PER, ALO, NOR, STR, TSU, RUS
Qualifying session 3
ALO runs wide in Turn 6; recovers
SAI 1:16.331
RUS P2
LEC P2
TSU P4
PIA P3
VER 1:16.048
NOR P4
PER P4
ALO aborts his lap, heads into the pits
Order after the first run: VER, SAI, LEC, PER, NOR, PIA, RUS. TSU; no time yet from ALO, STR
STR P8
VER 1:15.915
PER P2
SAI P2
PIA P5
NOR P4
Chequered flag; order is VER, SAI, PER, NOR, LEC, PIA, RUS, STR, TSU, ALO
RUS P7
LEC pits
STR P8
TSU P8
ALO P10
Front of the grid: VER, SAI, PER, NOR, LEC, PIA, RUS, TSU, STR, ALO
Provisional grid: VER, SAI, PER*, NOR, LEC, PIA, RUS, TSU, STR, ALO, HAM, ALB, BOT, MAG, OCO, HUL, GAS*, RIC, ZHO
*Post-Quali investigations:
- PER impeding HUL in Q1 -> PER given three grid position drop, so he’ll start P6 behind PIA
- GAS crossed the pit exit line in Q1 -> GAS was given a reprimand
Race
Pit lane is open; drivers can make their way to the grid
Grid: VER, SAI, NOR, LEC, PIA, PER, RUS, TSU, STR, ALO, HAM, ALB, BOT, MAG, OCO, HUL, GAS, RIC, ZHO*
*ZHO will start from the pit lane (instead of last on the grid) because the team had to change his front wing
(Reminder: SAR won’t take part because ALB is using the only Williams chassis)
Air temperature 99°C; track 39°C; humidity
Most are starting medium compound tyres, except ALO & HUL on hard, and HAM, RIC & ZHO on softs
Radio from HAM questioning the choice of tyre to start on – he just seems generally unhappy in the Mercedes
VER leads everyone away on the formation lap but the field seems to be moving pretty slowly
ZHO makes his way to the end of the pit lane
01/58: VER leads into Turn 1
SAI filling VER’s mirrors
RUS takes P6 from PER
HAM up to P10, passing ALO on the hard tyres
02: VER, SAI, NOR, LEC, PIA, RUS, PER, STR, TSU, HAM, ALO, BOT, MAG, ALB, OCO, HUL, GAS, RIC, ZHO
DRS now enabled
SAI squeezes past VER to take P1 just ahead of Turn 9
There’s a lot of fans appreciating that move by the Ferrari
03: SAI fastest lap 1:22.600
VER has DRS behind SAI
Radio from VER complaining “the car is loose”
04: Smoke from the rear of VER’s Red Bull
More smoke – that engine is about to go bang
Finally VER pulls off the racing line
Radio from VER reporting “I have smoke, fire, fire, brake my brake”
05: SAI, NOR, LEC, PIA, RUS, PER, STR, TSU, HAM, ALO, BOT, MAG, ALB, VER, OCO, HUL, GAS, RIC, ZHO
SAI f/lap 1:22.433
VER pulls into the pits – the right-rear brake is on fire
Commentator says “And then Ferrari lead” but let’s remember that SAI passed VER before the car failed
06: VER getting annoyed at the team – what an idiot
07: Replay shows VER dropping large lumps of the car on the last few corners – will he be penalised for not pulling off track sooner? No, of course not
08: HAM pits from P9; hard tyres go on; rejoins P14
LEC closing on NOR
09: SAI f/lap 1:22.303
RUS pits from P5; his mediums didn’t last much longer than HAM’s softs; hards go on; rejoins P11
BOT pits; long stop; Sauber mechanics have a problem with the front-left wheel;
Radio from SAI suggesting he opens the gap and goes long
10/58: SAI f/lap 1:22.025
LEC and PIA pit; both go onto hards; rejoin P7 and P8
HAM struggles to turn in to T1, runs a bit wide but recovers
11: SAI, NOR, PER, ALO, HUL, GAS, LEC, PIA, RUS, STR, HAM, TSU, ALB, OCO, MAG, RIC, ZHO, BOT; out: VER
SAI f/lap 1:21.715 – he has 4.4sec lead
12: LEC and PIA moving up to P5 and P6 after their pit stops
VER talking to Whiny Spice on the pit wall; there’s been no suggestion that VER’s brake failure might affect PER
14: Now is the start of the expected pit window for medium tyres, so there have been a few early stops
15/58: NOR and PER pit; both onto hards; did NOR cut across the pit exit line?
16: SAI, ALO, LEC, PIA, NOR, HUL, GAS, RUS, STR, PER, HAM, TSU, ALB, OCO, MAG, RIC, ZHO, BOT; out: VER
17: SAI pits; hards go on; rejoins P2
Radio from HAM, “engine failure”; he’s coasting, staying off the racing line
HAM has found a gap in the wall and parked
Virtual Safety Car deployed
18[VSC]: ALO pits from P1; mediums go on (because he started on hards); rejoins P5
HUL and and GAS pit too
VSC ending
DRS enabled
PER takes P7 from STR
19: Replay of OCO’s pit stop – his right-rear brake is smoking too
20/58: SAI, LEC, PIA, NOR, ALO, RUS, PER, STR, TSU, ALB
21: SAI f/lap 1:21.602
PER has DRS behind RUS… and takes P6
23: SAI f/lap 1:21.471
24: Radio for the Haas pair telling them to swap positions, so HUL goes P11
25/58: SAI, LEC, PIA, NOR, ALO, PER, RUS, STR, TSU, ALB, HUL, MAG, RIC, ZHO, GAS, BOT, OCO; out: HAM, VER
SAI f/lap 1:21.458
26: SAI f/lap 1:21.243
HUL tucked up behind ALB
27: SAI f/lap 1:21.078
PER closing on ALO; now has DRS
PER sweeps past the Aston Martin and takes P5
28: ALB pits; rejoins P15
NOR has DRS behind teammate PIA but NOR will probably need to pit soon
29: NOR takes P3 from PIA (I didn’t see it due to TV adverts)
Half distance
30: SAI, LEC, NOR, PIA, PER, ALO, RUS, STR, TSU, HUL
31: VER says the telemetry showed the right-rear brake was stuck on right from when the lights went out; “it’s like driving with the handbrake on”
32: ALO still hanging on to PER’s tail
33: SAI has 8sec lead over his teammate; LEC is 2secs ahead of NOR
34: NOR reeling in LEC
Radio from LEC saying his front-left tyre is gone
35/58: LEC pits from P2; new hards go on; rejoins P4, inches ahead of PER
36: PER pits from P5; hards; rejoins P9
37: ZHO pits; another slow stop from Sauber; problem with the rear right
MAG defending aggressively from ALB
Radio from ALB saying MAG was “so dangerous, moving”
38: LEC f/lap 1:20.688
Replay of BOT’s pit stop shows a wheel nut roll across the “fast lane”
39: PIA locks up, runs wide in the penultimate turn
40/58: SAI, NOR, PIA, LEC, ALO, RUS, PER, STR, GAS, TSU, HUL, ALB, MAG, RIC, OCO, BOT, ZHO; out: HAM, VER
PIA pits; rejoins P5
41: NOR pits; hards go on; rejoins P3
42: SAI pits; hards; rejoins still P1
LEC f/lap 1:20.675
PIA takes P4 from ALO
ALO pits; those mediums lasted a long time; rejoins P7
TSU takes P9 from GAS
43: RUS is the only one yet to make a 2nd stop; he stopped on lap 8 so that’s a long run on the hard tyres
Radio from RUS, “tyres are feeling good”
44: NOR f/lap 1:20.652
PIA f/lap 1:20.485
MAG has a look inside ALB but the Williams driver defends P11
Race control: BOT pit lane infringement noted (Was that the escaping wheel nut?)
45/58: SAI, LEC, NOR, PIA, RUS, PER, ALO, STR, TUS, HUL, ALB, MAG, RIC, GAS, BOT, ZHO, OCO; out: HAM, VER
PIA f/lap 1:20.395
MAG takes P11 from ALB
46: RUS pits from P5; more hards; rejoins P7
47: NOR f/lap 1:19.971 – he’s slowly catching LEC but there’s still a 4sec gap
Race control: GAS cutting the pit exit line noted
49: GAS gets 5sec penalty for crossing the pit exit line (It wouldn’t be a race without GAS getting a 5sec penalty)
50/58: SAI, LEC, NOR, PIA, PER, ALO, RUS, STR, TSU, HUL, MAG, ALB, RIC, GAS, BOT, ZHO, OCO; out: HAM, VER
NOR f/lap 1:19.915
53: SAI has 5sec lead over LEC; LEC nearly 4sec ahead of NOR
Closest battles are RIC 1.7sec behind ALB, and OCO 1.6s behind ZHO; the closest battle near the front is RUS just over 1sec behind ALO
54: RUS has DRS behind ALO
55/58: RUS fills ALO’s mirrors
SAI has lapped ALB (P12)
56: Radio from SAI reporting “tyres don’t feel great now”
NOR closing on LEC but it’s still a 3sec gap
57: LEC f/lap 1:19.813
58/58: RUS is in the wall!
RUS’s Mercedes is in the middle of the track
VSC deployed – why isn’t that a red flag?
SAI takes the chequered flag
Provisional result: SAI, LEC, NOR, PIA, PER, ALO, STR, TSU, HUL, MAG; ALB, RIC, GAS, BOT, ZHO, OCO
DNF: RUS, HAM, VER
Fastest lap: LEC
The medical car has picked up RUS
Replay shows RUS got close to ALO, but ALO seemed unexpectedly slow in the corner; RUS had to brake, run wide into the gravel trap, which spun him around and at least one wheel came off, and then the wheel gets trapped under the car, turning it on its side.
I can’t believe that wasn’t a red flag – are the stewards more concerned about the spectacle than safety? 🙁
Post-race:
- “Fernando Alonso has been given a 20-second time penalty following the Australian Grand Prix after the stewards determined that his driving before George Russell crashed out of proceedings was “potentially dangerous”.” [F1]
That drops ALO to P8, bumping STR and TSU up one place
I just read the official Stewards report and ALO also received 3 penalty points on his super license.
Result: SAI, LEC, NOR, PIA, PER, STR, TSU, ALO, HUL, MAG; ALB, RIC, GAS, BOT, ZHO, OCO
[2024 calendar and driver line-up]
