Obviously the first thing to mention is that the circuit in Madrid, Spain, is called the Madring – genius! However, once fans have entered the circuit they cannot cross from north to south or vice versa, basically meaning you have to decide which part of the track you want to see before you enter – not so genius. There’s also been some concerns about construction being completed in time, but I was at the Markham Indy so I’m not saying a word.
Some people have raised questions about Williams’ temporary livery scheme – it resembles their 1981 colour scheme, which is when F1 last ran in this part of Spain. Apparently they feel it’s insensitive because one of Williams’ sponsors in 1981 (not on the current car) was Saudia, an airline with links to the Bin Laden family. I wonder how many of the current sponsors up and down the grid stand up to scrutiny now, never mind 45 years later!
In other news, Bernie Ecclestone has again been caught entering a country with a firearm – this time he tried to take a shotgun into Portugal, and let’s not forget he was arrested in Brazil for carrying a handgun when boarding a plane in 2022.
Finally, onto racing-related news: LAW is standing in for HAD for the third time, which also means TSU will be in the second Red Bull team again. (HAD has missed the Netherlands and Italy Grands Prix.)
Free Practice
- FP1: RUS (1:34.077), ANT, LEC, HAM, VER
ANT locked up in Turn 13
BOR was ambling along in the middle of the track when HAM arrived at speed, but later HAM played the Audi’s role and impeded teammate LEC
LEC ran wide in Turn 17, where the run-off is a big advert – I wonder if his tyres picked up any of the red surface
LIN complained he was blocked when he came across ANT passing HAM
PIA reported “something in the footwell”, so he pitted to let the mechanics remove it
SAI complained he had to pass HAM in a dangerous place, and HUL wondered why HAM hadn’t let him pass in an easier place
Audi duo BOR and HUL both cut the Turn 5 chicane
PER had a big lockup into T17 - FP2: ANT (1:33.662), LEC, HAM, LIN, RUS
ALO had a clutch issue that delayed his chance to join the session
LIN slid off at Turn 13, into the wall and bringing out the first red flag of the weekend
HAM locked up in Turn 17
TSU was frustrated by HAM
LAW tapped the wall in Turn 21, and BEA did the same in T15
LEC, HUL and PIA cut the Turn 5 chicane
NOR complained the “shifts are really bad”, returned to the pits and ended his session early - FP3: ANT (1:32.797), LEC, PIA, NOR, VER
Both GAS and COL locked up in Turn 1, as did HUL
HAM locked up and ran nose-first into the Tecpro barrier at the final turn, causing a red flag
GAS felt NOR impeded him, and then the Alpine impeded HUL
ALO used the run-off in T20 and had to spin the Aston Martin around to rejoin
BEA lost the rear, spun his Haas, slammed into a wall and tore off the left side of his car
SAI locked up into T7 and only just stopped his Williams before hitting the barrier
Penalties
PER cost Cadillac €700 and €1,000 for speeding in the pit lane
ALB received a warning for leaving the track and re-joining unsafely in T6
BOT was given a warning for not staying to the right of the bollard in Turn 5
Qualifying
Air temperature 30°C; track 53°C; humidity 18%
Williams have replaced a rear track rod on ALB’s car
Haas has confirmed BEA will not run in Quali as they need to change the chassis after his FP3 crash
Qualifying session 1 (Q1)
ANT 1:33.566
LAW 1:33.316
ANT locks up and runs wide in Turn 17
5mins left; bottom 6 are ALO, ALB, PER, BOT, BEA, STR
RUS touches the wall with his front-left wheel, but goes P6
ANT 1:33.267
Chequered flag; bottom 6 are SAI, ALO, PER, BOT, BEA, STR
PER P19
ALO P18
SAI P17
RUS 1:33.211
Back of the grid: SAI, ALO, PER, BOT, BEA, STR – that’s both Spaniards out
Qualifying session 2
ANT 1:32.603
Yellow flag – T12
VER 1:32.557
COL’s Alpine bottomed out in Monumental
HAM and LEC are the only ones on track
5mins left; bottom 6 are BOR, TSU, OCO, ALB, COL, GAS
Only ALB still in the pits with 3mins left
Chequered flag; bottom 6 are HUL, BOR, GAS, TSU, OCO, ALB
TSU P14
OCO P13
Middle of the grid: HUL, BOR, OCO, GAS, TSU, ALB
Top 10 shootout is between VER, ANT, HAM, LEC, LAW, RUS, NOR, COL, PIA, LIN
Qualifying session 3
The Mercedes duo are at the front of the queue
Black and white flag for NOR for failing to follow the race director’s instructions
ANT 1:32.140
RUS P2
COL P3
NOR P3
LEC P3
HAM 1:32.079
LIN P7
LAW P6
PIA P6
VER P5
Order after the first run: HAM, ANT, RUS, LEC, VER, NOR, PIA, LAW, COL, LIN
LIN is released right in front of LEC – unsafe? Noted but no further investigation
ANT 1:31.835
RUS P3
COL P9
LIN P10
LEC P2
HAM P2
Chequered flag; order is ANT, HAM, LEC, RUS, VER, NOR, PIA, LAW, COL, LIN
LAW P5
NOR 1:31.824
PIA P6
VER P3
Front of the grid: NOR, ANT, VER, HAM, LEC, RUS, PIA, LAW, COL, LIN
Provisional grid: NOR, ANT, VER, HAM, LEC, RUS, PIA, LAW, COL, LIN, HUL, BOR, OCO, GAS, TSU, ALB, SAI, ALO, PER, BOT, BEA, STR
Penalties
McLaren fined €900 for NOR speeding in the pit lane
Multiple power unit changes means a 40 grid place penalty for STR
SAI has a 3 grid place penalty for impeding BOT
BOR and ANT each got a warning for being too slow in Quali, whereas Ferrari got a reprimand for LEC being too slow
RUS was given a warning for failing to follow the Race Director’s Competition Notes at Turn 5 by not staying to the right of the bollard
Overnight Haas changed some power unit components on BEA’s car, so he’ll start from the pit lane
Race
Pit lane is open; drivers can make their way to the grid
Grid: NOR, ANT, VER, HAM, LEC, RUS, PIA, LAW, COL, LIN, HUL, BOR, OCO, GAS, TSU, ALB, ALO, PER, BOT, SAI, STR; BEA in pit lane
Air temperature 29°C; track 52°C; humidity 29%; not a cloud in the sky
NOR leads everyone away on the formation lap
NOR and ANT on medium compound tyres; VER and HAM on softs; LEC, RUS, PIA, and LAW on hards; COL and LIN on mediums; HUL on softs; rest of the grid on hards except OCO, ALB and PER on mediums
Grid forms up; BEA in the pit lane
01/57: NOR defends from ANT but that almost lets HAM attack too
ANT cuts Turn 1 but immediately lets NOR reclaim P1
ANT cuts T5, but this time VER passes as well well when ANT lets NOR through
Radio from HAM, feeling VER needs to give a position back
02: NOR, VER, ANT, HAM, LEC, RUS, COL, LAW, LIN, PIA, OCO, HUL, GAS, BOR, ALB, PER, TSU, SAI, STR, ALO, BOT, BEA
VER on the radio trying to justify his off-track pass at Turn 1
03: NOR’s lead is almost 2sec over VER
PIA’s front wing damaged
Radio for VER telling him to give the place back to HAM, which will mean letting ANT through too
04: HAM runs wide
VER arguing with his engineer
VER lets ANT and HAM past, so now he has LEC on his tail
Radio from HAM reporting his brake pedal is going long
05/57: NOR, ANT, HAM, VER, LEC, RUS, COL, LAW, LIN, PIA
VER easily past HAM for P3
RUS is filling LEC’s mirrors
HAM lets LEC through for P4
RUS now on HAM’s tail
06: Yellow flag – HAM briefly off track; he’s dropped to P10
Radio from HAM, “I don’t have brakes, guys” – I’m surprised they didn’t pit him
Black and white flag for HAM for exceeding track limits
Radio for HAM telling him to pit, “don’t stop on track” – that’ll be the end of him being the only driver to finish every lap this season
07: NOR over 4sec clear of ANT
HAM pits, retires the Ferrari
Replay shows PIA’s wing damage was at the start when he tapped RUS’s rear wheel
09: How long will the soft tyres last?
10/57: NOR, ANT, VER, LEC, RUS, COL, LAW, LIN, PIA, OCO, HUL, GAS, BOR, ALB, PER, TSU, SAI, ALO, BEA, STR, BOT; out: HAM
LAW takes P6 from COL
11: PIA’s front wing end-plate is flapping around but doesn’t seem to be an issue
12: LIN and PIA have been noted for yellow flag infringement
13: ALO has a look at passing fellow Spaniard SAI but there’s contact – ALO feels SAI squeezed him
14: Yellow flag – STR off track, stopped in Turn 20
15/57: VSC deployed just after NOR had passed the pit entry
ANT, VER, RUS all pit – hard, hard, and medium tyres respectively
COL, LIN, HUL, OCO, ALB, PER, ALO all pit
New nose for ALO
Radio for NOR telling him to pit
VSC ending
16: NOR pits from P1; problem on the front right; hards to on; rejoins P5
Radio from RUS asking if they’ll go to the end on these medium tyres; “negative”
17: LEC, ANT, VER, RUS, NOR, LAW, PIA, GAS, BOR, COL
Everyone now on hard tyres except RUS on mediums and ALO on softs
Radio from RUS, he thinks they could go to the end
18: SAI and ALO under investigation for that contact on lap 13
20/57: LEC, ANT, VER, RUS, NOR, LAW, PIA, GAS, BOR, COL, LIN, HUL, OCO, TSU, SAI, BEA, ALB, PER, BOT, ALO; out: STR, HAM
21: 5sec penalty for SAI for the collision with ALO
23: LEC laps ALO (P20)
24: SAI pits; serves penalty; mediums; P20
Black and white flag for SAI for track limits
Radio from ANT asking the team to check the car because “the steering wheel feels weird”
25/57: LEC, ANT, VER, RUS, NOR, LAW, PIA, GAS, BOR, COL
Radio for ANT telling him they’ve got 2 track limits infringements so “keep it clean”
27: ALO let RUS and NOR lap him
PIA clipped the wall
28: Radio for PIA discussing pit stop; they will add turns of aero rather than change the front wing
Half distance
29: RUS pits from P4; hards; P6
30/57: LEC, ANT, VER, NOR, LAW, RUS, PIA, GAS, BOR, COL, LIN, HUL, OCO, TSU, BEA, ALB, PER, ALO, BOT, SAI
31: ALO takes P17 from PER
BOT pits; hards; P20
32: RUS closing on LAW – the Red Bull has yet to pit
33: PER pits; retired the Cadillac
SAI pits again; hards; P19
35/57: LEC, ANT, VER, NOR, LAW, RUS, PIA, GAS, BOR, COL
LAW runs a bit wide and RUS steals P5
Did NOR touch the wall?
36: Radio from RUS asking why they pitted him
37: NOR closing the gap to VER; the McLaren is about 0.5sec/lap quicker
38: TSU pits from P14; mediums; P18 but ALB is under 1sec behind
39: ALO makes 2nd pit stop; hards; P17
40/57: LEC, ANT, VER, NOR, RUS, LAW, PIA, GAS, BOR, COL, LIN, HUL, OCO, TSU, ALB, BEA, ALO, BOT, SAI; out: PER, STR, HAM
LEC, LAW, PIA, GAS and BOR are yet to pit
42: VER picking up his pace but NOR is still quicker
44: PIA pits from P7; mediums and a wing adjustment; P11 behind the BOR-COL-LIN train, hopefully they’ll pit soon
PIA takes P10 from LIN
45/57: LEC, ANT, VER, NOR, RUS, LAW, GAS, BOR, COL, PIA
LAW pits; mediums; P7
Radio for SAI telling him to retire the Williams
46: COL attacks BOR but overshoots
SAI pits; retires
48: Radio for LEC telling him to pit
BOR pits; softs; P13
GAS is the only one still yet to pit
49: LEC pits from P1; softs; P4
50/57: ANT, VER, NOR, LEC, RUS, GAS, LAW, COL, PIA, LIN, HUL, OCO, BOR, TSU, ALB, BEA, ALO, BOT; out: SAI, PER, STR, HAM
BOR under investigation for moving under braking… he’s given a warning
51: Black and white flag for PIA for track limits
NOR under 1sec behind VER
52: Radio from ANT, “I touched the wall, entry to Turn 7”; “Pressures are OK”
53: NOR uses his boost to get right under VER’s rear wing… but then VER uses his to open the gap again
RUS closing on RUS
55/57: ANT, VER, NOR, LEC, RUS, GAS, LAW, COL, PIA, LIN
56: HUL makes a move on LIN but cuts Turn 1
VER cuts the chicane when defending from NOR
GAS finally pits; softs; P12
57/57: ANT, VER, NOR, LEC, RUS, LAW, COL, PIA, LIN, HUL
ANT takes the chequered flag
VER noted for leaving the track and gaining an advantage… no further action
Provisional result: ANT, VER, NOR, LEC, RUS, LAW, COL, PIA, LIN, HUL; OCO, GAS, BOR, TSU, ALB, BEA, ALO, BOT
DNF: SAI, PER, STR, HAM
Penalties
Racing Bulls fined €200 for TSU speeding in the pit lane on the reconnaissance laps to the grid
GAS was given a 5sec penalty for speeding in the pit lane
Final Classification: ANT, VER, NOR, LEC, RUS, LAW, COL, PIA, LIN, HUL; OCO, GAS, BOR, TSU, ALB, BEA, ALO, BOT
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