The most important thing first - there was actual racing! Up and down the grid. Actual racing!!!

That was a good race.

I feel so sorry for Williams. I have no idea what's causing everything to suddenly go wrong for them, but it's depressing. And slightly alarming when a car's brakes set on fire. I would suggest they borrow the exorcist Red Bull ought to hire for that second car. At this point, the reason for the poor performance of that second car being a curse makes as much sense as anything else, because both Tsunoda's performance when he was in the RB and Lawson's now he's in it, suggest that it isn't the driver (see also Albon in the Williams when it is not misbehaving).

On the happier side, well done Sauber! Hulkenbooooom happened again - 20th to 9th. Of course, it fits with the rest of his career that an 11 place rise up the grid doesn't get him driver of the day. But I can't be annoyed, because Bortoleto got his first ever points and F1 fans are as sentimental as the next group.

Ferrari!!! Have pace!!!

Repeat after me for the umpteenth time - I will not be optimistic about Ferrari's performance based on a single race.
I will not be optimistic about Ferrari's performance based on a single race.

(Now if only they could sort out the Hamilton and Leclerc to strategy team communication, because hilarious though it is to hear the drivers having mid-race strategy arguments, I don't think it's efficient.)

In the commentary, I managed to listen to this on BBC radio and then watch the Channel 4 highlights. Channel 4, occasionally home to Mark Webber in the comms box are mysteriously totally in Piastri's corner. Like serious, I'm wondering if they got a memo saying they ought not to make it obvious that as a British broadcaster they were going to cheer for the Brit and have gone too far the other way.

BBC meanwhile are trying to get rid of Tsunoda which makes me both sad and angry. You won't like me when I'm angry BBC comms team.

One thing I will give Channel 4 credit for - bonus Eric Bana who was being lovely and fannishly enthusiastic.

I do wish they'd put up the interview they had with Jonathan Wheatley afterwards. He's so lovely.

Normally the only interesting thing about the Barcelona circuit is any upgrades to the cars. But, was it me, or was that actually an interesting race, or do I just have low expectations for the Barcelona track?

Upgrades
The upgrades themselves seem to have done nothing, McLaren are still miles ahead of the other cars, which suggest the wing flapping is not the only thing making them go faster.

Qualifying

Leclerc's race proved that you get no points for qualifying.

I, alongside most other people, wondered why the (blank) he just sat back and didn't do another lap in Q3.

I underestimated him and the Ferrari strategy team.

I think I'm being nice about the Ferrari strategy team. It feels both good and unexpected.

Mercedes:

That's two races in a row where a Mercedes engine has gone kaboom. Not good times.

Haas:

That was definitely a lurking Valtteri Bottas at Haas. I'm wondering if it's to coach Bearman or as a potential replacement for one of the drivers.

Hülkenboom

How good was Hülkenberg? 15th to 5th in a Sauber and denied 'Driver of the Day' only by the Max fan army, who are, if nothing else, fanatical about their guy.

I am just so happy for Hülkenberg.

I am hoping Audi will be good next season and then he might finally get his race podium. If he wins a race, I will be unspeakable for at least a week.

Verstappen lunacy

Running into Russell, even if he was angry because his own mistake lead to Leclerc overtaking him, was a truly idiotic move. Idiotic, and somehow more idiotic than Red Bull's tyre strategy.

When someone missing the race because they punched something in their garage (https://www.bbc.co.uk/sport/formula1/articles/c14kmj8rd87o) is not the most idiotic rage-induced incident during a race weekend, you know you've screwed up.

I understand Verstappen's frustration with Red Bull's tyre strategy. It was most inexplicable, and Red Bull are normally good at strategy. It's such a fall off in strategy terms that I'm wondering if someone has left from their strategy team?



There's something rotten in the state of Red Bull anyway, judging by that second car. I can believe one driver is that much better than the other but not that Verstappen is that much better than Ricciardo, Perez and Tsunoda.

The title race is really hotting up (https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/2025_Miami_Grand_Prix)

Shame Ferrari are nowhere near the pointy end for either championship. Instead, the drivers are busy taking potshots at each other and the team - https://www.bbc.co.uk/sport/formula1/articles/ce8g5xlmxjgo

Boys, you get to do this when you're winning, not when you're languishing in 4th in the Constructors.

This time, I was only a day late listening to the race. It was a nice sunny day out, so I thought I'd walk home and listen to it.

Did anyone else feel that, as a race, it was lacking? (Some wag on social media phrased it as "this race could have been an email, which is damningly true.)

It's a shame, because Suzuka is a good track.

A couple of years ago, someone, I think it was Mark Gallagher, made a joke that like the rest of us, F1 cars have developed a middle aged spread, and the cars are just too wide for the tracks. I was hopeful that having Ross Brawn involved might have made them fix that problem. Ross Brawn is a very smart man, and if I can see something is a problem, he must be able to too.

Obviously, the next wave of regs haven't come in yet, but all I'm hearing about them is about engine specs, nothing about width, and I'm worried that the increasing ERS/KERS/whatever the energy retrieval system is called this time requirements are going to make the cars even bigger and heavier.

The weekend after (so Bahrain Grand Prix for the F1 and Qatar for the MotoGP) I was reminded exactly how much that potential to have overtakes matters to racing, and how much of it is due to size.

Sure, MotoGP has gone back to being Marquez GP*, but there was definitely racing and overtaking (and the Moto3 boys were terrifying me by going 4 abreast into corners). That the bikes can overtake each other means that when I hear that there is a Jerez Grand Prix in the MotoGP, I am excited because "ooooh racing". The idea of an F1 Grand Prix at Jerez fills me with dread, because nothing would happen. There wouldn't be a single overtake, it would all be pit nonsense and DRS (the DRS button is not overtaking, and it kills joy).

No circuit designer can build around cars that can't go two abreast around corners!



*Nothing against either Marquez brother but I screamed when I heard Vinales has been booted to 14th for an infringement.

An editorial decision was made to skip the rest of my 2024 write ups, on the principle that it's been, gone and done, and I have nothing interesting to add other than I really wasn't expecting George Russell to be that bitey. I think it is going to be the only way that Verstappen will stop knocking into people, if people knock back.

Ferrari totally won the meme contest in Australia, that counts for something, right?

I am aware it counts for nothing. I am trying to make myself feel better given that Ferrari somehow managed to finish behind a Sauber.

A Sauber!!!

(The Hülkenberg fan in me is so happy. If Sauber could get him a podium this year I will be ecstatic. The Ferrari fan in me is not comforted by this joy. It is a very odd feeling.)

(I also feel vindicated in my belief that Binotto was not the problem. In much the way Domenicali, Arrivabene and Vasseur are not the problem.)



The vindication also does not comfort me.

I will stick up for the strategy team however. If that strategy had paid off, they would have been feted as heroes. It's a fine line, and I'd rather them fail by making a decision than fail by dithering. I mean, I'd be even happier if they didn't fail, but I am recalibrating my hopes at this point.

With regard to other teams, that second Red Bull seat remains cursed, I see that Helmut Marko is living up to the Darth Helmut jokes (although Anthony Hamilton is so lovely), and the Aussie curse has hit Piastri.

I'm not going to get this or the Rugby League project finished in time for the start of their respective seasons. There's a reason my next big project will start in September.

See, I am not even a McLaren fan, and the way they were obviously starting to be better than Ferrari, I really wasn't by the time of the Hungarian Grand Prix last year, but I wanted Piastri's first win to be less anti-climactic than that.

And trust me, British commentators, I noticed that suddenly team orders are already when the British teams do it. Like I appreciate the point of McLaren had to appear fair, and they didn't know how close the end of the year would get, but the end of the year also explains why I am okay with teams having rigid "driver 1, driver 2" style team orders. Like, I think Verstappen would have won any way, but it makes it a bit of a "what could have been" for Norris.

(I feel I need to add, I am Papaya neutral, I don't prefer Norris or Piastri.)

I remember assuming this would go the way of all Red Bull Ring races (and yes, the clue is in the name), but then the start of the Verstappen vs Norris crash-a-rama of 2024 began.

To an extent, Verstappen is the monster F1 created for themselves. They've never penalised him for his over the aggressive/dangerous line manoeuvres*, so why is he going to stop. It was always going to take one of the other drivers doing the same back to make him stop, but no one really has since Hamilton, and Hamilton hasn't had the car to take the literal fight to him since 2021.

I admit I hadn't expected it to be Norris that took the fight to Verstappen, I'd assumed that he might have been cowed from previous experience in junior formula. I was wrong **.

Ferrari-wise, it was another race where one car did well, and one car did not. 11th, not good enough.

~~~~


* said with acknowledgement of the various attempted vehicular manslaughters one of my favourites was allowed to get away with

** I was expecting it to be Piastri.

I think this is the one where it became really apparent that the big fight was going to be Norris vs Verstappen*. As an F1 fan, it's good when there is actual racing, as a Ferrari fan, I'd like it to have been Ferrari but c'est la vie. Things that do prevent Ferrari success include a double DNF.

I don't hold the team responsible for racing incidents and driver errors, which collided in much the same way Albon and Sainz did, but maybe avoid power unit issues!!!

*I mean I knew Russell would fight back if pushed by Verstappen but at the time the Mercedes wasn't near enough for that to matter.

This has been delayed as I desperately tried to remember anything about this Grand Prix.

I remember nothing.

This is probably not a good sign about the race.

I continue to disapprove of sprint races. I also disapprove of Alonso thwacking into poor little Carlos!

On the other hand, the race could have gone worse (even if I think this is the race when it started to become clear that McLaren's development team were better than Ferrari's, and that the upgrades weren't) so you know.

Of course, the most important part of the Chinese Grand Prix was that Zhou Guanyu finally got a home grand prix.

https://www.formula1.com/en/video/2024-chinese-grand-prix-zhou-savours-his-moment-in-front-of-the-fans-after-first-home-race.1796936345385336983

https://www.formula1.com/en/latest/article/zhou-proud-and-honoured-to-race-in-china-but-bottas-day-ends-in.4ullkGVXiW2EWSUsHBumMm

https://www.theguardian.com/sport/2024/apr/19/zhou-guanyu-chinese-grand-prix-f1

I'm not crying, you're crying etc.