Tag: F1

How to fix Formula 1’s latest ‘Sprint Saturday’ format

Posted on by James Mackenzie
Could alternate layouts provide the answer in F1’s search for the right sprint format?
Max Verstappen won the first edition of the new Formula 1 Sprint format.
Image credit: XPB Images

Formula 1 revamped its polarising sprint format for April’s Azerbaijan Grand Prix weekend, but the fans appeared to remain unconvinced.

Baku saw the introduction of a ‘Sprint Saturday’.

Where previously there had been a meaningless Free Practice 2 session on Saturday morning followed by a Sprint Race to decide Sunday’s grid, in Azerbaijan we had the inaugural ‘Sprint Shootout’ – a half-length qualifying session to decide the grid for the Sprint Race later that day – with Sunday’s grid set by the regular qualifying session on Friday.

Whilst some issues with the Sprint format have been fixed – or at least lessened – by these changes, the overriding ones remain.

This writer, however, feels there may be a solution.

The pros and cons

There was certainly something to be said for the revamp in Baku. It tidied up some of the not overly serious but nonetheless frustrating issues, such as who was officially awarded pole position: initially, not the fastest qualifier but the winner of the sprint race; then the fastest qualifier but not necessarily the driver who actually started on pole…

And, in theory, the drivers had more of an incentive to produce some wheel-to-wheel action.

When the Sprint Race decided the grid for Sunday’s main event, many were cautious, as the risk of starting from the back outweighed the reward of an extra point or two for a lick-the-stamp-and-send-it overtaking manoeuvre. With less to lose, surely there would be more action?

The start of the regular Sunday race during the Formula 1 Sprint weekend in Baku.
Image credit: XPB Images

That didn’t really prove to be the case, though, as the drivers outside of the top eight had very little to fight for and there remained a risk of costly damage – particularly during an era of budget caps – or penalties that could be served on Sunday.

A few new issues also arose.

The structure felt unclear and a little jumbled. The usual, natural crescendo – each session organically building in importance through to Sunday’s grand prix – was no longer present. Going from one qualifying session to another arguably less important one was jarring.

And there were certainly some loopholes to be closed too. We almost saw Lando Norris and Yuki Tsunoda battling it out for P9 on wet tyres in SQ3 due to the fact they had run out of the mandatory option of new softs, but there was no rule to prevent them using the wets.

Overall, a slight improvement, but not enough of one

On balance, despite those concerns, this iteration of a sprint weekend was probably a slight improvement on the previous ones. However, the overriding problems remain unsolved.

The biggest of those is that a sprint race acts as an effective spoiler for the main race. For example, where normally we’d have gone into the Sunday in Azerbaijan wondering whether Charles Leclerc could take an unexpected fight to the mighty Red Bulls, Sprint Saturday had made it clear that he would stand no chance.

Charles Leclerc being passed by Sergio Pérez at the Formula 1 Sprint in Baku.
Image credit: XPB Images

And to what end?

After the obvious excitement of a race start – and a bonus safety car restart – there was precious little action. With no scope for strategic calls, the cars will more often than not just follow one another round in a DRS train.

A potential solution

So, if Formula 1 is going to persist with the sprint format, what could be the solution?

The answer – or at least my suggestion – consists of two words: alternate layouts.

Sprint weekends should only feature on tracks where there is the potential for a second track layout. With all the sprint sessions now condensed down to Saturday, it is surely feasible to make the required amendments between the two layouts on Friday and Saturday night.

It would prevent the sprint spoiling what we can expect from the race, whilst also adding variables and excitement. And we know how FOM feels about both of those.

Some examples

It would make sense to go with short, snappy layouts for a sprint, and there are already plenty of options on the current calendar. Here are just a few…

Bahrain

We have already experienced a grand prix around Sakhir’s ‘Outer Circuit’ in 2020.

It proved fairly popular and produced a good amount of action. It would be perfect for a quick blast on a Saturday.

Great Britain

Silverstone’s ‘International Circuit’ could also work well. It retains the Hangar Straight to enable a DRS zone and plenty of passing opportunities.

Abu Dhabi

Yas Marina isn’t quite at the levels of Paul Ricard when it comes to numerous layouts, but there are a fair few.

Of course, F1’s resident experts could decide which the best option would be, but at a glance this course looks to be a decent one.

Italy

And hey, why not make the Temple of Speed a Temple of Sprint Speed too?

A proper old-school Monza vibe that is basically just an oval with a chicane.

These are just four quick mock-ups of the idea. Zandvoort, Suzuka and COTA all also have existing short-circuit alternatives.

It seems highly likely that Baku and Singapore could provide options with a potential cut-through where two sections of track run parallel to each other and, if called upon, plenty of other venues would surely be able and willing to create options.

If F1 insists on having us Sprint our way through the weekend with constant action, let’s make it a true sprint and at least mix things up with a journey into the unknown that doesn’t ruin the main event on Sunday.

One year on

Posted on by James Mackenzie
Everything has changed and yet nothing has changed.

Exactly one year ago today, the 2021 season came to an end.

What had been one of Formula 1’s greatest ever seasons, right up until the penultimate lap of the final race, ended in one of the sport’s most controversial moments.

Senna vs Prost 1989. Senna vs Prost 1990. Schumacher vs Hill 1994. Schumacher vs Villeneuve 1997.

The 2021 Abu Dhabi Grand Prix will join these truly momentous, contentious entries in the F1 annals.

The key difference, though, is that all the previous incidents were brought about by the actions of the drivers. Not those in charge.

Crashgate and the 2005 United States Grand Prix could be thrown into the mix as things that were – and 2021 had its own equivalent in Belgium – but those were not championship-deciding catastrophes.

Formula 1 and the FIA have tried to move on from the controversy that brought the sport into disrepute. The drivers, the teams, the fans have all tried to do so too. So has this writer. But have any of us succeeded?

The Last 12 Months

I wrote the below at the start of the season.

“A Red Bull and Max Verstappen domination was the last thing the sport needed as it headed into its new era.

“With the huge controversy of Abu Dhabi having left a bitter taste in the mouth for many, a runaway championship for the man who earned his maiden title via Michael Masi’s questionable decisions on lap 57 at the Yas Marina Circuit would not have been a good way for F1 to turn over a new leaf.”

The use of the past tense there was due to Ferrari’s strong start to the season. It looked as though we were heading towards another epic, season-long battle.

Of course, that is not how things played out.

Image credit: XPB Images.

As Ferrari floundered and failed to capitalise on their excellent car, Red Bull claimed six wins in a row.

And what little hope was left for a championship fight disappeared as F1 returned from its summer break. A mid-season Technical Directive had clearly hurt Ferrari, and Red Bull were able to sail off into the distance.

Verstappen broke the record for the number of wins in a season – and number of points in a season – as he claimed seven of the remaining nine winner’s trophies.

Another Cloud in a Stormy Sky

What made the dominance even harder to take was the revelation that Red Bull had failed to comply with F1’s inaugural cost cap in 2021.

In a story that rumbled on for weeks – if not months – the 2022 World Champions’ financial indiscretions were eventually laid bare for all to see.

Talk of catering issues were nonsensical and frankly embarrassing.

One cannot simply pick and choose which areas of a budget were the ones to fall outside the limit. If $600,000 of food ended up outside of the budget, it’s because you spent $600,000 you shouldn’t have somewhere else.

Was their overspending the sole cause of Red Bull’s runaway victory? No, of course not.

Adrian Newey did his thesis on ground-effect cars and they have a generational talent behind the wheel who will win 9 times out of 10 when given the best car.

Image credit: Getty Images

Team and driver had such a clear margin over the field in the final standings that they clearly would still have triumphed had they spent a couple of million less.

But that’s not the point.

A sport that was already trying to recover from perhaps its biggest ever sporting mistake, now has another cloud hanging over.

One that, of course, further taints 2021. But will also now cast its shadow over this season and future seasons as the knock-on effects of that overspend continue to grow.

Speaking From Personal Experience

“I have loved F1 since I was about three years old. I want to continue to do so. Please, stop making it so difficult.”

This was how I finished my previous piece, as the rumours began to emerge about the cost cap.

The fact that I haven’t managed to write another article since somewhat tells its own tale.

People love to throw around the term ‘PTSD’ without any real respect for the genuine condition. Let’s be clear – that is not what any Lewis Hamilton fans, Mercedes fans, or just Formula 1 fans have experienced over the last 12 months.

But that’s not to belittle the pain that last season’s finale caused so many people. Myself included.

Yes, full disclosure, I am a Lewis Hamilton fan. I’d like to think that I’ve always managed to deliver my articles without any unfair bias, nevertheless.

Image credit: Getty Images

I did, however, vent my feelings in an open letter late last year, once the dust had begun to settle.

The truth is, some of that dust still seems to be swirling around, refusing to fully dissipate, obscuring our vision and dampening our enjoyment of the sport.

As much as I may support Hamilton, there are many drivers and teams I like and, above all, I always considered myself primarily a fan of Formula 1.

But when something that you love so much hurts you so deeply, it can be difficult to fully process that and reach forgiveness.

Sport is sport. It has its ups and downs. Every fan will have experienced that, but this was something different.

It was a decision and an outcome that made you question everything. All the emotions, all the time you’d invested – which for me has been a lot, as you can see by this website.

And then when you tried to get up and go again…

Imagine that your partner had cheated on you. They’d apologised, promised to change, and you’d tried to move on. But all you saw over the next year was them having a great time with the person who was the cause of those issues.

That is why it has been so hard to move on.

Hopefully 2023 will bring a closer battle at the front and some form of redemption. If it’s simply another tale of controversy, social media toxicity and Red Bull dominance, there likely won’t be another article this time next year.

Gains that could prove to be ill-gotten

Posted on by James Mackenzie

Three races, three more wins for Max Verstappen.

Domination Across Europe

Image credit: Red Bull Racing

F1 returned from its summer break with a triple-header in Belgium, the Netherlands and Italy.

There was initially hope that things may close up at the front, courtesy of the new Technical Directive focused on porpoising and the ‘flexi-floors’ which Red Bull and Ferrari were widely expected to have been benefiting from.

But as soon as Verstappen topped qualifying in Spa by well over half a second, took a grid penalty for a new power unit, and then proceeded to sail through the field and win comfortably from 14th on the grid, it was clear that – if anything – things had spread out further.

Whilst Spa was always likely to be a track that favoured Red Bull, Ferrari have seemingly been hampered more significantly than their former title rivals by the Technical Directive.

A week later at Zandvoort, the Scuderia arguably fell behind Mercedes in the pecking order.

Lewis Hamilton even looked set to challenge for his first victory of the season. On a different strategy, Verstappen looked like he would have to pass the seven-time world champion on track to take the victory.

However, the Safety-Car curse that has plagued Hamilton since Abu Dhabi last year kicked into life again.

A dodgy-looking debacle at AlphaTauri – which sent social media conspiracy theorists into overdrive – and then former teammate Valtteri Bottas’s retirement nullified Hamilton’s advantage.

A questionable strategy call by Mercedes to pit current teammate George Russell subsequently left him with no chance.

Image credit: Red Bull Racing

As has so often been the case, Ferrari had iffy strategy calls of their own at both Zandvoort and Monza.

Ultimately, though, Verstappen’s race pace looked too strong, irrelevant of those decisions, and he extended his championship lead to 116 points.

A Painful Dose of Déjà Vu

The Dutchman will now have his first chance to clinch the championship in Singapore. With five races still to come after that.

That is a level of dominance over one season that even Hamilton has never managed in the hybrid era. You have to go back to the years of Michael Schumacher to find something similar.

As I mentioned early in the season, a Verstappen domination was the last thing the sport needed in the wake of the 2021 finale controversy.

There was even a painful reminder of how the race in Abu Dhabi could and should have ended as Verstappen took the chequered flag under Safety Car conditions in Monza.

The Tifosi boos rang out, frustrated that their man – second-placed Charles Leclerc – had been denied the chance of a late battle for the win.

Image credit: Foto Colombo Images

They had a point in that the race direction had once again been somewhat shambolic, the Safety Car erroneously picking up third-placed Russell instead of the leader.

But, considering the position in which they found themselves for the final laps, the decision not to restart the race was the correct one. Or at least it followed the rules as they currently read.

Whether or not they should be amended – perhaps for a default red flag within the last x number of laps – is a debate for another day.

But F1 found itself in another sticky situation – one which unfortunately opened up old wounds.

And there may now be salt on the horizon to apply to those wounds.

A new controversy building

I have tried so hard to fall back in love with Formula 1 this year.

As any long-term reader will have noticed, the regular race previews and reports have morphed into occasional catch-ups.

Whilst I am now busier with other journalism work, in truth it is more due to the rug that was swept from under my feet on 12th December 2021 taking a decent chunk of my passion and enthusiasm with it.

Image credit: Getty Images

The lack of a title battle has certainly made it more difficult to rekindle the F1 fire that once burnt so strongly. Decisions made in Saudi Arabia and for the future have also played their part.

And now, it appears there may be another hurdle on the horizon.

The rumours of Red Bull not complying with the budget cap have been rumbling away for a while. Mattia Binotto has even been uncharacteristically outspoken at times.

But they have really built pace over the last 24 hours.

The truth will – hopefully – become clear in the next week or so regarding Red Bull and Aston Martin‘s alleged indiscretions.

If they do exist, F1 simply has to bring down the hammer.

They have to dissuade others from following suit. If the punishment is financial, the budget cap will become a joke even faster than football’s Financial Fair Play.

F1’s popularity in terms of numbers may be at an all-time high, but the integrity of the sport still feels like it is hanging by a thread.

The increased number of Sprint weekends next year was a disappointing if predictable change. But Stefano Domenicali continues to say more and more worrying things.

I have loved F1 since I was about three years old. I want to continue to do so. Please, stop making it so difficult.

The end of the title race, the start of silly season

Posted on by James Mackenzie

The 2022 season has reached the summer break, but it very much feels like the remainder will be a cruise to the finish for Max Verstappen.

After three races, some fans and pundits were fearing the championship was already over on account of Charles Leclerc’s 46-point advantage over Verstappen.

But fast-forward less than four months and the situation could not be much more different.

A series of calamities – mostly mechanical and strategic – have seen that 46-point deficit for Verstappen turn into an 80-point lead heading into F1’s summer holidays.

Picking up where we last left off – after the British Grand Prix – things were looking a little better for Leclerc and Ferrari.

Redemption in Austria

Image credit: Philip Platzer/Red Bull Content Pool

It was redemption on two counts for Leclerc at the Red Bull Ring.

Firstly, making amends for a frustrating Sprint Race on Saturday where the two Ferrari drivers fought amongst themselves to the extent that Verstappen was able to get away.

But more importantly, it was revenge for the 2019 Austrian Grand Prix. A race that looked set to become Leclerc’s maiden victory, only for Verstappen to controversially snatch the lead away in the dying stages courtesy of a particularly impolite pass on the Monegasque.

On this occasion, Leclerc would be the one doing the passing, overtaking his title rival no fewer than three times as they ran differing strategies.

He then clung on commendably despite a late clutch issue to narrow the gap to Verstappen to 38 points and spark hope of a comeback.

Pain in France

That hope would all come crashing down a fortnight later, however.

Yet another Leclerc pole position preceded what looked set to be a fascinating battle between the season’s two main protagonists.

Verstappen had followed Leclerc closely in the early stages before fading slightly, prompting Red Bull to attempt an undercut.

Image credit: XPB Images.

We would never find out whether or not that would work, though, as Leclerc made the biggest mistake of his season – if not his career – thus far, spinning out from the lead and ending up in a barrier.

There have been rumours and suspicions about a throttle issue contributing to the accident, but these are unproven and Leclerc publicly took responsibility.

Verstappen went on to take a comfortable win and extended his lead to 63 points – an advantage from which nobody has ever lost the title.

Another Ferrari Disasterclass To Round Off Part 1

The heat was immediately taken off Leclerc with another strategic blunder by his team in Hungary, though.

Having passed George Russell for the lead and with Verstappen recovering from 10th on the grid, Leclerc had the chance to keep his ever-so-slim title hopes alive heading into the summer break.

But Ferrari would be having none of that.

A bizarre decision to put their lead man on the hard tyre – and then later the soft – had the top three of Verstappen, Lewis Hamilton and Russell laughing in the cool-down room.

It dropped him from the lead to sixth and allowed Verstappen to win, despite having spun shortly after passing the helpless Leclerc.

Speaking of Mercedes, that makes back-to-back double podiums for the Silver Arrows and five in a row for Hamilton.

Lewis Hamilton and Max Verstappen will not be concerned with this silly season
Image credit: Getty Images

They appear finally to be gaining an understanding of their new car and – depending on the impact of the new Technical Directive at the Belgian Grand Prix – could truly fight for wins in the remainder of the season.

Something which would be most welcome to prevent the season petering out in total Verstappen dominance.

And Finally, the Silliest of Silly Seasons

Within 48 hours of the Hungarian Grand Prix, the F1 driver conveyor belt had gone into meltdown.

With Sebastian Vettel having announced his upcoming retirement in Hungary, Fernando Alonso shocked the paddock on Monday by announcing he would be filling the vacant Aston Martin seat.

That led Alpine to announce Oscar Piastri’s promotion… Only for Piastri – after a couple of hours of deafening silence – to totally denounce said announcement.

As things stand at the time of writing, it would appear that he will be replacing compatriot Daniel Ricciardo at McLaren next season.

The Honey Badger star that once shone so brightly is now flickering and in danger of being totally extinguished.

It would appear his only hope is returning to the Alpine seat – albeit Renault at that point – which he abandoned at the end of 2020, and perhaps rediscovering some form there.

There is also talk of the French marque going for an all-French line-up, however, with Esteban Ocon being joined by Pierre Gasly.

F1 silly season could see Pierre Gasly move teams.
Image credit: Getty Images

Gasly supposedly has an exit clause in his contract that allows him to leave for a team who are higher in the standings than AlphaTauri – which is currently most teams – and surely can’t be content stagnating in a Red Bull feeder system from which he will almost certainly never gain a promotion again.

The remaining seats to fill are at Williams, Alfa Romeo and Haas.

Nicholas Latifi is expected to leave the sport, with Formula E champion Nyck de Vries and Williams academy driver Logan Sargeant seemingly the frontrunners to replace him.

Zhou Guanyu looks reasonably likely to retain his seat at Alfa, despite the promising Théo Pourchaire waiting in the wings and fighting for the Formula 2 title.

And as for Haas, it would surely only be a desperate Ricciardo – on a significantly lower wage – that could usurp Mick Schumacher.

Quiz | F1’s nearly men

Posted on by James Mackenzie

After the surprising viral success of my Which F1 Driver Are You? quiz, I thought it was about time I added another one.

Can you name Formula 1’s biggest ‘nearly men’? The drivers who came the closest to glory without ever quite attaining it.

Here are the rules. Drivers have been awarded 10 points for 2nd in the championship, 5 points for 3rd in the championship, 2 points for each 2nd-place finish and 1 point for each 3rd-place finish. Numbers with a * are active drivers and world champions are, of course, excluded.

Once you’re done, be sure to check out my other quizzes here.

2022 British GP report | A race that deserved its own article

Posted on by James Mackenzie

It’s rare that I manage to find the time to do a race report these days, but the British Grand Prix was one that very much deserved a report of its own.

Image credit: vladimirrys

The suspicions of the paddock that Mercedes could find themselves closer to the sharp end on the smooth Silverstone surface looked to be confirmed through Friday, but Saturday saw the form book thrown out of the window as a bit of traditional English summer rain soaked the circuit.

Max Verstappen spent much of the session on top of the timesheets and seemed to have the most outright pace. However, he had numerous spins and off-track moments, including on his final lap, which allowed Carlos Sainz to grab his maiden pole position.

Charles Leclerc also had a moment on his final lap and Lewis Hamilton – who had been threatening to send his home crowd into raptures with an unlikely pole – was told to do a cool down lap at the wrong time and ended up down in fifth.

It was mostly blue skies come Sunday. But the festival atmosphere around Silverstone would suffer a blip immediately after the lights went out, as the crowd watched the Alfa Romeo of Zhou Guanyu fly into the barriers upside down before flipping over them and becoming wedged next to the armco.

Astonishingly – and thankfully – he was unharmed.

Image credit: AFP

The incident had produced a chain reaction that saw Zhou, George Russell and Alexander Albon all unable to take the restart an hour or so later, thus ending the top-five finishing run of the Brit.

When the lights went out for a second time, Sainz defended hard to keep his position ahead of Verstappen. Slightly further back, Leclerc made an optimistic lunge on Sergio Pérez which saw them both sustain wing damage.

The Mexican proved to have more of an issue and was forced to pit, allowing the other two Brits – Lando Norris and Hamilton – through.

Norris had jumped his more experienced compatriot on the first lap, but Hamilton soon found his way back past and set about hunting down the top three.

A mistake from Sainz through the infamous Maggots-Becketts-Chapel complex allowed Verstappen into the lead, but just two laps later, the Red Bull was losing speed and Verstappen pitted with what he suspected to be a puncture.

His suspicions would prove to be wrong, though, damage to his floor done by a stray piece of AlphaTauri bodywork meaning he was in for a long afternoon of damage limitation.

Despite his front wing damage, Leclerc closed in on his teammate and gave Ferrari a difficult decision to make. Hamilton was the fastest man on the track behind them and Leclerc wanted to be released.

Image credit: Sutton Images

Ferrari chose to solve the situation by pitting Sainz slightly early. Leclerc’s pace did improve but Hamilton continued to close in and the second prancing horse was brought in soon after.

Hamilton remained out, continued to set impressive times whilst extending his stint and gave even the most pessimistic of his loyal fans a little hope of ending the joint-longest winless streak of his career.

Once again, the two red cars had met on the track, and this time, with Sainz unable to produced the requested lap times, he was asked to move aside by the team.

After pitting on lap 33, Hamilton began closing in with a considerable tyre advantage, but – yet again – a Safety Car was to be unkind to him.

It would be no kinder to the equally unfortunate Leclerc.

As Esteban Ocon ground to a halt on the former pit straight, Ferrari were given a decision to make once again.

They chose – somewhat astonishingly – to pit Sainz but leave Leclerc out. Hamilton followed suit, as did Pérez, who benefitted most from a free pit stop after having recovered to fourth.

The race got back underway with 10 laps remaining and Leclerc was left with an unenviable task of defending on worn, hard tyres against a string of fast cars equipped with brand new softs.

He survived barely a few corners before Sainz was past. Behind them, Pérez also passed Hamilton as the Mercedes took longer to heat up its tyres.

What followed was some of the best battling in years.

Image credit: EPA/MAXPPP

As Sainz scampered away into the distance, Leclerc defended for all he was worth.

He went through Stowe wheel-to-wheel with Pérez, the fight continued into the final chicane and then as they both ran wide – to quote an excitable David Croft – “through goes Hamilton!”

Pérez dived back in front of the Mercedes a couple of corners later, though, forcing Hamilton wide and also allowing Leclerc back through.

Hamilton tried around the outside of Luffield but had to get off the power and nearly allowed fifth-placed Fernando Alonso a chance to get involved.

Two laps later, car number 44 tried the same move at Luffield, this time getting ahead.

Leclerc wasn’t done, though, stayed in the slipstream and pulled off a quite astonishing move around the outside of Copse, despite his worn tyres.

Hamilton did ultimately claim the place later in the lap, but Leclerc would at least manage to hold onto fourth ahead of the chasing Alonso and Norris.

Out front, there were no such worries for his teammate. Sainz took the chequered flag to become the first driver to claim his maiden pole and win on the same weekend in over a decade.

Image credit: Motorsport Images

The win came at the 150th attempt.

Pérez followed him home in second, perhaps fortunate to escape without a penalty for either forcing Hamilton off the road or cutting the chicane during his battle with Leclerc.

Hamilton may not have made it a record-breaking nine wins at one circuit, but he did break a similar record thanks to a 13th podium around Silverstone.

Leclerc’s fourth place saw him slightly close the gap to Verstappen in the standings, but it remains at 43 points, with the championship leader hanging onto seventh after some sturdy defence against Mick Schumacher in the final laps. Nonetheless, finally some points for the young German.

Civil war at Ferrari?

Reportedly, some of the Ferrari team members – seemingly those on Leclerc’s side of the garage – refused to join in the team celebrations for Sainz’s maiden victory.

Whilst this is never a good look for a team, their frustration is somewhat understandable after yet another tough weekend for their driver.

The swing in the championship battle – if there even still is one – has been astonishing.

Image credit: Formula 1

Since his win in Australia, things have just not stopped going wrong for Leclerc.

He made his only mistake whilst chasing down the Red Bulls in Imola, a late spin demoting him from third to sixth. But since then, he has been blameless as his campaign has fallen apart.

An engine failure from a dominant lead in Spain. A horrible strategy dropping him from the lead to fourth at his home grand prix. Another engine failure from the lead in Baku which then forced him to start from the back in Canada after taking a new power unit. And now another strategy shocker that again turned first into fourth.

Mattia Binotto has dismissed accusations that they are bottling this championship despite having at least the joint-fastest car, saying “our objective is to be competitive, not to win the championship”.

That is simply not the attitude of a winner.

Ferrari should be fighting for both titles this year, plain and simple. And if they harbour any ambitions of doing so, they must turn around their operational issues rapidly.

Especially with a Technical Directive coming into effect from France that could hurt them – along with Red Bull – and Mercedes threatening to join the fight at the front. The Silver Arrows will remember well just how good their Italian opponents are at dropping the ball in a title fight from 2017 and 2018.

Answering the Burning Questions

Whose updates will make the biggest impact? Mercedes certainly appeared to have moved forward the most, but it could have just been the specifics of the track.

Can Ferrari and Charles Leclerc do something to reignite the title battle? Nearly…

Will Mercedes be more competitive on a track which should suit them? Very much so.

The Race in 60 Seconds

Six in a row for Red Bull

Posted on by James Mackenzie

Apologies again for the lack of activity – work has been crazy, but a highlight being my namecheck from Crofty on Sky F1…

Anyway, I’m back for another multiple-races-into-one report!

Last time it was three for the price of one. This time it’s six! And they’ve all been Red Bull wins…

The tide begins to turn in Imola

Really testing my memory here but let’s take a crack at a summary of the Emilia Romagna Grand Prix.

Having taken his first pole of the year, Max Verstappen got off the line poorly in the first Sprint Race of the year and was jumped by Charles Leclerc. He would make amends, though, reclaiming the lead on the penultimate lap.

Meanwhile, the title rivals’ respective teammates – Sergio Pérez and Carlos Sainz – fought their way through the field to third and fourth respectively, having started seventh and 10th after a chaotic, wet qualifying session which also saw the Mercedes caught out by a red flag and eliminated in Q2.

Image credit: Getty Images

The rain returned on Sunday and this time it was Leclerc with the poor getaway, dropping behind Pérez and Lando Norris.

All of Sainz’s hard work during the Sprint was undone immediately as he was punted out at the first corner by an understeering Daniel Ricciardo.

Leclerc reclaimed third from Norris but was never quite able to pass either Red Bull and then made his first mistake of the season as he desperately tried to catch Pérez.

A bad day for the onlooking Tifosi got worse as Leclerc spun at the Variante Alta chicane.

He recovered to sixth – and the fastest lap – after a pit stop for a broken front wing but saw his title lead shrink as the Red Bulls picked up their first 1-2 since the 2016 Malaysian Grand Prix, with Norris taking McLaren‘s only podium of the year so far.

Further back, George Russell made a great recovery drive to fourth, but teammate Lewis Hamilton was less fortunate on the opening lap and found himself stuck in a DRS train for the next 90 minutes.

Welcome to Miami

Will Smith references perhaps became a little less palatable thanks to a certain slap a month or so earlier, but the above was somewhat inevitable as F1 headed to Florida for the inaugural Miami Grand Prix.

In a race that appeared to want to be America’s version of Monaco, celebrities came from far and wide for a look at some F1 cars and a dip – or perhaps not – in the infamous fake marina.

Image credit: Reuters

On track, Ferrari locked out the front row for the first time in over two years but Verstappen would have them split by the first corner.

And eight laps later, he would have the lead.

The next hour or so was largely dull until a somewhat bizarre clash between Norris and Pierre Gasly brought out the Safety Car.

Leclerc gave it his all in the closing laps but Verstappen had enough to hold onto the lead, with Sainz also holding off Pérez for the final spot on the podium.

After a poor performance in qualifying, Russell got lucky with the timing of the Safety Car – not for the first time this season – allowing him to continue his run of top-five finishes, whilst Mick Schumacher threw away a chance of his first points with a clumsy lunge on hero and mentor Sebastian Vettel.

The Pain in Spain Falls Mainly on Leclerc

Having waited over five years for their last 1-2, Red Bull wouldn’t even have to wait five weeks for their next one.

Image credit: Motorsport Images

This time, though, it was not on merit.

Leclerc picked up another pole and proceeded to sail away at the front as Sainz and Verstappen behind him each took a trip into the gravel at Turn Four thanks to a couple of rogue gusts of wind.

That dropped the Dutchman behind Russell and Pérez. Whilst his teammate was predictably easy to pass, the Mercedes would prove far trickier – Verstappen spending almost half the race staring at the INEOS-branded rear wing as the DRS flap on his own rear wing developed a fault.

Their battle became one for the lead when Leclerc suffered an engine failure, his despairing calls over the radio reminiscent of those at Sakhir in 2019.

Red Bull decided to mix things up with a three-stop strategy for Verstappen and it paid off.

However, that was in some part due to the team asking Pérez to let him through, the displeased Mexican saying “that’s very unfair, but okay”.

Russell would take a second podium of the season, whilst his teammate provided arguably the performance of the day.

Hit by Kevin Magnussen on the opening lap, Hamilton had fallen to the very back of the pack but produced a stellar drive through the field to fourth, before a late engine issue saw him fall back behind Sainz.

Toto Wolff said he believed a 104th win would have been possible for the seven-time world champion without the early incident. Signs of life from the Silver Arrows?

The Leclerc Monaco Curse Strikes Again

Image credit: Getty Images

F1 returned to the setting of its favourite real marina in late May, with Leclerc surely standing the best chance to end his run of horrible luck on home soil.

And things looked even better once he’d secured the all-important pole position around the streets of Principality.

In terms of admin and organisation, it was a pretty shocking weekend for the under-pressure event.

A downpour and a local power cut saw a delay to the start of the race that was equal parts embarrassing and confusing, whilst the TV direction was once again poor at the only race on the calendar that insists upon having its own local director.

By the time the race finally got going, most of the rain had disappeared and Leclerc appeared comfortable out front.

Then came the Ferrari strategy blunder, though.

An erroneous stop for intermediate tyres put Leclerc in trouble; a belated call to stay out sealed his fate.

The end result was a top-four order of Pérez, Sainz, Verstappen and then Leclerc.

A nasty-looking crash that ripped Schumacher’s car in two brought out a red flag – as well as adding further pressure to the young German – and gave the leading cars a choice to make.

The Red Bulls chose the medium tyre for the final 45 laps of the race whilst the Ferraris went with the hard.

Ultimately it proved to be a moot point as passing was shown to be impossible once again on the tight streets, even when Pérez’s tyres were well past their best.

Image credit: Getty Images.

So, a third career win for the popular Mexican and one that almost brought him to tears on the podium.

A Definitive Swing in the Title Battle?

A fortnight later and the F1 circus headed to its often-far-more-chaotic street race in Azerbaijan.

It was yet another pole for Leclerc – his sixth in eight races – after a stunning final Q3 lap, but once again things would unravel on race day.

He was passed into the first corner by Pérez, but had been holding Verstappen at bay when teammate Sainz trundled into an escape road with a hydraulic issue.

The Spaniard’s painful 2022 season continues, but his misfortune did allow his team to take a strategy risk and bring Leclerc in for a cheap pit stop under the ensuing Virtual Safety Car.

Despite Verstappen having been tucked up behind his title rival, it was Pérez whose tyres were struggling and he was soon caught by his teammate.

The team informed the Mexican that there should be “no fighting” and car number one sailed past on the start-finish straight.

The race appeared to be heating up nicely with Leclerc retaking the lead on his alternate strategy as the Red Bulls pitted, but the weekend was about to get yet more painful for the Scuderia.

The cameras cut to a plume of smoke emerging from the back of the remaining prancing horse of Leclerc, who pulled into the pits to retire.

Image credit: Formula 1

From there it was a comfortable run to the chequered flag for Verstappen, with Pérez and Russell equally at ease in second and third.

If there was one thing that the weekend wasn’t for many of the drivers, however, it was comfortable.

The new regulations’ bouncing and porpoising issues hit new heights – both metaphorically and literally – with Hamilton barely able to get out of his car at the end of the race due to severe back pain.

F1 Finally Returns to Canada

After three years away, the sport finally made its return to the popular setting of Montreal, and the Circuit Gilles Villeneuve showed F1 what it had been missing.

Another eventful wet qualifying session saw Verstappen secure pole, with Fernando Alonso on the front row for the first time in over a decade and Leclerc starting at the back with an engine penalty.

It was Pérez suffering an early mechanical failure this time and bringing out a Virtual Safety Car under which Verstappen and Hamilton pitted.

Once things had shaken out it was a clear front three of last year’s title rivals either side of Sainz.

With 20 laps remaining, Yuki Tsunoda embarrassingly slid straight into the barriers at the pit exit, bringing out a first full Safety Car of the race.

On fresher tyres, Sainz hounded Verstappen to the end but the Red Bull’s superior traction meant he was always able to stay just out of reach in the DRS zones.

Image credit: Getty Images.

So close, yet so far once again for the Spaniard, who now has 11 podiums without a victory and is closing in on Nick Heidfeld’s unwanted record.

No such problems for Verstappen, though, who further extended his championship lead despite Leclerc recovering to fifth.

After two painful weekends – in every sense – on street circuits, Hamilton and Mercedes showed signs that they might be able to challenge on upcoming smoother tracks, whilst Mr-Saturday-turned-Mr-Consistency Russell continued his impressive record of finishing in the top five at every race.

F1 fans feared that Red Bull’s early-season mechanical woes would ruin the title battle as Leclerc dominated.

With a sixth consecutive race win for the Austrian team and now a 49-point margin to Leclerc in the championship, it appears that it may, in fact, be the other way round.

2022 Miami GP preview

Posted on by James Mackenzie
Will the most hyped new venue in a long time live up to expectations?

The Burning Questions

Who will win round five in the battle between Charles Leclerc and Max Verstappen, or will somebody else spring a surprise?

Who will bring the best updates, and will those at Mercedes finally fix some of their issues?

Will we see a trademark sudden Florida downpour?

The Track

Image credit: F1

The Stats

  • Track Length: 5.412 km
  • Laps: 57
  • Race Distance: 308.326 km
  • Maximum Speed: 324 km/h
  • Lap Time at Full Throttle: 56%
  • First Grand Prix: 2022
  • Race Lap Record: n/a
  • Outright Lap Record: n/a
  • Most Driver Wins: n/a
  • Most Constructor Wins: n/a

The Weather

The Quotes

Martin Brundle | “There’s so much anticipation for this Grand Prix, like I’ve never seen before. I’ve never known so much hype and excitement before a Grand Prix.

Lewis Hamilton | “I’ve been coming out here for a long, long time but I never quite understood why people weren’t into Formula 1. This Netflix show [Drive to Survive], through the pandemic, has just brought massive awareness to the sport – and now it’s booming.”

Pierre Gasly | “I do believe there are bigger things to focus on [than drivers wearing jewellery]. I appreciate the FIA are looking after our safety. But in my case I am religious and there are things I have with me that I do not feel comfortable not having in the car.”

Anthony Davidson | “I think this circuit is a good mixture of high speed and very slow speed that we haven’t really seen so far this year. The Turns 14 and 15 chicanes give us some of the slowest speeds we’ll see the cars go this year – bar the Monaco hairpin perhaps.”

The Friday Form

Practice 2 Top 5

1 | George Russell | 1:29.938 | 18 Laps
2 | Charles Leclerc | 1:30.044 | 21 Laps
3 | Sergio Pérez | 1:30.150 | 19 Laps
4 | Lewis Hamilton | 1:30.179 | 18 Laps
5 | Fernando Alonso | 1:30.372 | 20 Laps

Practice 1 Top 5

1 | Charles Leclerc | 1:31.098 | 26 Laps
2 | George Russell | 1:31.169 | 23 Laps
3 | Max Verstappen | 1:31.277 | 14 Laps
4 | Sergio Pérez | 1:31.301 | 22 Laps
5 | Pierre Gasly | 1:31.498 | 27 Laps

The Photos

The Predictions

Winner

Podium

Pole Position

Fastest Lap

Driver of the Day

2022 Emilia Romagna GP preview

Posted on by James Mackenzie

The Burning Questions

Will Ferrari delight the Tifosi on home soil?

Have Red Bull fixed the issues which saw Max Verstappen retire from two of the opening three races?

Will any of the teams have brought significant enough upgrades for the first European grand prix to change the pecking order?

Could we get another wet and wild Imola race?

The Track

The Stats

  • Track Length: 4.909 km
  • Laps: 63
  • Race Distance: 309.049 km
  • Maximum Speed: 311 km/h
  • Lap Time at Full Throttle: 71%
  • First Grand Prix: 1980 (Imola) | 2020 (Emilia Romagna GP)
  • Race Lap Record: Lewis Hamilton | Mercedes | 2020 | 1:15.484
  • Outright Lap Record: Valtteri Bottas | Mercedes | 2020 | 1:13.609
  • Most Driver Wins: Michael Schumacher | 1994, 1999, 2000, 2002, 2003, 2004, 2006
  • Most Constructor Wins: Ferrari/Williams | 1982, 1983, 1999, 2000, 2002, 2003, 2004, 2006/1987, 1990, 1992, 1993, 1995, 1996, 1997, 2001

The Weather

The Quotes

Charles Leclerc | “I know in the past we have had so much support here, so to be here in that position I am pretty sure it is going to be special.”

Max Verstappen | “I race exactly like I always race because that is how I am. Charles is aggressive, too, and you can clearly see that. We have nice battles, but we don’t touch.”

Carlos Sainz | “I have been in the fight for pole in the three races and maybe I was missing the last 0.1 seconds. Of course Charles has done an exceptional job with this car and is making the difference as a driver and he is doing really well but I don’t feel that far [away].”

George Russell | “I think because we’re at just different stages of our career, there’s no hard feelings either way. From my side, I’m 24 years old going up against the greatest of all time – if he were to finish ahead of me, obviously I don’t like it but I’m not going to cry and sulk about it.”

The Photos

The Predictions

Winner

Podium

Sprint Winner

Pole Position

Fastest Lap

Driver of the Day

One race to fall back in love with F1, one to undo much of that, one somewhere in the middle

Posted on by James Mackenzie

For a variety of reasons, including a lot of work and a trip to Mexico, I haven’t been able to write race reports for the first three grands prix this season.

There was also the issue of my falling out of love with F1 at the end of last year, which left me short on motivation.

However, the first race of the year did a lot to counter that.

A Positive Start in Bahrain

Image credit: Scuderia Ferrari

After pre-season testing, I was wary of a season of Red Bull and Max Verstappen domination. All allegiances aside, that really was the last thing the sport needed as it headed into its new era.

With the huge controversy of Abu Dhabi having left a bitter taste in the mouth for many, a runaway championship for the man who earned his maiden title via Michael Masi’s questionable decisions on lap 57 at the Yas Marina Circuit would not have been a good way for F1 to turn over a new leaf.

Whilst Mercedes have faltered, as their dramatic sidepod – or lack thereof – design seemingly left them suffering worse than most with the returning phenomenon known as ‘porpoising’, Ferrari have fortunately returned to the front to give us a title battle.

And armed with a truly frontrunning car, Charles Leclerc has been reminding the world exactly what he is capable of.

A thrilling battle with Verstappen at the season-opener in Bahrain ended up with the Ferrari man on top, the pair having gone wheel to wheel for a number of laps, but Leclerc using the DRS zones smartly and then building a gap to take his first victory since delighting the Tifosi at Monza in 2019.

Image credit: Getty Images

Things fell apart for the Red Bulls late on – Verstappen was forced to pull into the pits and retire just three laps from the end with a lack of fuel pressure, and teammate Sergio Pérez then suffered the same issue two laps later.

An exciting fight for the win – that hinted towards an exciting fight for the title – culminating in late drama, a Ferrari 1-2 and a surprise Lewis Hamilton podium – how many years has it been since those words would make sense together?.. – meant that the start of this season did a decent job of starting to make amends for the end of the previous one.

The Wrong Kind of Drama in Jeddah

The two drivers – who have been rivals since their karting days – were back at it again a week later in Saudi Arabia.

The scene of perhaps Verstappen’s most contentious performance during the title battle with Hamilton last year, this time the Dutchman kept it clean and ultimately took the win.

Image credit: XPB Images

Another battle revolving around the strangely placed DRS zone before Jeddah Corniche Circuit’s final corner produced what could become an iconic photo as both drivers locked up whilst trying not to cross the detection line first.

This time, happily, there was no contact made and we avoided another brake-test-gate like in 2021.

Verstappen eventually found his way into the lead with just four laps remaining in what was probably the marginally quicker car over the course of the weekend, but was actually fortunate to be the leading Red Bull.

Pérez had finally taken his first ever pole position on Saturday – at the 215th time of asking – and was leading the race until he was scuppered by a poorly timed Safety Car.

Although the on-track action was largely entertaining, this was not a good weekend for Formula 1, and on a personal note, undid a lot of the work the race in Sakhir had done in rebuilding my faith in the sport.

Putting aside the questions about whether F1 should be in Saudi Arabia at all, there were plenty more questions to be raised.

The ‘world’s fastest street circuit’ produced a horrible crash for Mick Schumacher. Luckily, the young German escaped mostly unharmed, but the incident solidified the feeling of many that the track is not truly fit for racing.

The fastest street circuit tag was simply a USP for the Saudi Arabian owners, and there is a reason that F1 cars had not previously been forced to fly through 300 km/h+ sections of consecutive blind corners at any point in its 70-year history.

Image credit: Getty Images

And, of course, there was also the missile attack on the Aramco oil plant just 10 kilometres from the circuit.

The drivers were clearly not okay with racing, and held talks with the various bigwigs deep into the early hours of Saturday morning before eventually agreeing to race.

Paddock rumours swirled about drivers and teams being forced to race, with the threat of ‘having a difficult time leaving the country’ if they did not.

Whether or not there was any truth to them, one thing is clear – the race should not have happened.

The irony of pushing on with the weekend in what was an effective warzone mere days after the Russian Grand Prix was cancelled and the drivers had held up ‘no war’ signs in Bahrain was obvious to all and uncomfortable to behold.

Moving onto Melbourne

A fortnight or so later, Formula 1 finally returned Down Under.

At the track where everything fell apart in March 2020, and at a time when the world appears to be moving past COVID, it felt like things had come full circle.

In terms of the F1 season, things also felt somewhat cyclical.

After a – this time very brief – battle with Verstappen, Leclerc dominated the race, if not the weekend, achieving his first ever grand chelem.

Image credit: Foto Colombo Images

He also extended his lead in the drivers’ standings to a mammoth 34 points as Red Bull suffered more reliability trouble and Verstappen had to pull over with a fuel leak.

The 46-point gap between the Dutchman and the Monegasque is far more than anything Hamilton or Verstappen had to overcome at any point during their battle last year, and it feels like the championship battle we all expected is already slipping away.

Of course, there are still 19 or 20 rounds to go and plenty of twists and turns to come.

Mercedes could well solve their problems and return to the battle at the front; there appears to be a lot of potential within the car.

McLaren also showed huge signs of improvement in Melbourne after a painful start to the season and Alpine have been hinting at a challenge at times.

With so much scope for development at this early stage of the new regulations, the playing field has the potential to change dramatically from race to race.

So, who knows? We could yet even end up with a four- or five-team fight at certain grands prix.

A guy can dream… And after the 2021 Abu Dhabi Grand Prix, an optimistic outlook at F1 is pretty much crucial for this writer.