Race Recap - Blog Posts
Montreal ✅
Daniel in the points + Alex's overtake + Hamilton setting the fastest lap + Max win means this weekend is officially one of my favourites this season. If only Logan didn't DNF and Yuki didn't crash 🥲🥲
Monaco ✅
Forced myself to get this done before the end of the week...is anyone even active on F1blr rn 😭😭
Imola ✅
Dunno if I should draw those race summary things for this,, anyways the gravel traps were rlly catching everybody out this weekend but I couldn’t really find photos to put here or I would’ve made a compilation of it 😔
Miami ✅
Absolutely insane race, I still can’t believe Lando’s got a win now but it makes so much sense that his first would be in Miami lol
Anyways I couldn’t fit in in here but congrats to RB for getting double points this weekend!! So deserved 💙💙
I also forgot the incident with Perez locking up and going wide losing his P3 spot and !!almost!! hitting some drivers at the race start
The Chinese GP summary! Ft. Sprint Shenanigans, RB and Alpine suffering, Zhou Guanyu (💚💚💚), Nico being Lewis's number one fan and Max Verstappen doing his thing
Took my sweet time with this one but its done. As always, click to see it better and enjoy! :]
2024 Chinese GP: Recap + Results
Another one! Fair warning that it's the longest one so far, but I blame that on the 3 safety cars
P1 is Max Verstappen, who takes his first Chinese GP win, leading by about 14 seconds!
Yes the car is great, but the guy behind the wheel is also having to deliver - Crofty about Verstappen post-race
Red Bull also sets the fastest pit stop of the race, double stacking Verstappen and Perez under the full safety car and setting 1.9 and 2.0 seconds respectively.
Lando Norris is P2, his best finish since 2023 brazillian GP. He was also voted DOTD, winning just ahead of Hamilton and Alonso, who were also fan favourite picks. He was a little unhappy after he missed out on pitting under the safety car, but all ends well for him.
He [Norris] is not a happy bunny - Crofty, probably, about the missed pit stop
Woop Woop! I told you we would get past the Ferraris. - Norris, after crossing the finish line
Checo Perez places P3, yet another Red Bull double podium! There was an interesting 5 second gap from him to Norris, likely due to Norris having fresher tires. At the beginning though, he pulled some nice moves, regaining his position from Alonso within a few laps of him losing it.
P4 and 5 were the two Ferraris, Leclerc finishing in front of Sainz for the first time this season. They had a bit of a clash at the start, but nothing that the broadcast really focused on.
P6 was George Russell
P7 was Alonso, who was placed on an interesting strategy for the last several laps. He pitted for mediums, allowing him to overtake Ocon, then Hulkenberg, then Hamilton and Piastri.
P8 was Piastri who, keep in mind, has never driven at this circuit before
P9 was Hamilton, who is DOTD in my heart. He struggled with his tires at the start, being only one of four drivers on softs (everyone else on mediums, except Magnussen). He seemed to fare better after pitting for mediums, making his way to finish P9 after starting P18 :)
We also got a few moments of Nico Rosberg trying to be on some sort of wavelength with Lewis while commentating:
He's Lewis Hamilton, so yes he can…get into the points…im sure he'll move up fine - Nico Rosberg
I'm making no ground with this tyre - Lewis Hamilton That's not what we want to hear - Nico Rosberg
I can't even catch him, Mate. This car is so slow. - Lewis Hamilton That's exactly what I was going to say - Nico Rosberg (Lap 17)
P10 was Hulkenberg, yet again managing points for HAAS
P11 was Esteban Ocon
P12 was Alex Albon, who had a complaint about Ocon "moving like a ---- everywhere on the breaks." on Lap 1
P13 was Gasly, who set the slowest pit stop (19.3 sec) after an incident in the pits where a loose tire hit a mechanic when he was set to be released.
Is he okay? - Pierre Gasly All good here Pierre - Alpine
An unfortunate no-points finish for Zhou, who places P14 at his home GP, but still a very emotional day for him.
This is a dream to me as a kid, so thanks for all the Chinese fans here and back home watching TV and thank you to my team…let's keep working. - Zhou Guanyu, after he gets out of the car
Sauber, as always, had issues with their pit stops. Zhou's first one was quick compared to their previous ones, at only 3.0 seconds, but his stop under the physical safety car was the second slowest at 5.3 seconds.
He had a short fight against Sargeant and picked up some damage after contact with Magnussen near the end, losing his front wing end plate in the process, which couldn't have helped his position.
P15 was Magnussen, who always seems to be at the scene of the crime. He also picked up a 10 second penalty for infringing on the safety car.
P16 was Stroll, after picking up a 10 second penalty for causing a collision. He also had a battle for 16th with Magnussen, which was pretty interesting.
P17 was Sargeant, who was doing pretty well for the most part. Then, he stacked up a 10 second penalty for the same reason as Magnussen.
DNFS
The first yellow flag was also the first DNF of the race, caused by Bottas whose engine reportedly failed. The FIA changed the yellow flag to a virtual safety car, then a full safety car, all within a minute or two. Truly a testament to their amazing decision making skills.
The second yellow flag was caused by Yuki Tsunoda's spin out at lap 27, after contact with Kevin Magnussen that led to Tsunoda having to DNF and Magnussen going into the pits for a punctured tire.
Just minutes later, his teammate also DNFs, as Stroll collides with the back of Daniel Ricciardo's RB under the safety car. This was likely due to the fact that Ricciardo was the only one who hadn't pitted for fresh tires during the last safety car, as well as the fact that he was trying to avoid bumping Piastri, who was trying to avoid Russell, who was trying to avoid Alonso. Stroll recieved a 10 second penalty for causing a collision, but Daniel retired on lap 33 after reporting floor damage.
This idiot just slammed on the brake! Check wing damage - Lance Stroll
I've got no fucking rear on exits - Daniel Ricciardo
Before that though, his drive was going "superb" (in the words of Nico Rosberg), as he was P9 and had made a switcheroo overtake on his teammate at turn 3.
Another chaotic race, another race summary! Usually I'd make these digitally but I got a new set of pens and really wanted to use them,, anyways I love this circuit and GP a lot so I'm glad it was at a normal time for us Aussies :'))
Race so wild I had to colour code it. Anyways the quality is terrible so you'll have to click to see a better image.
Of course I missed some stuff (like Ocon having a tear-off in his air duct or whatever happened with Alonso) but I ran out of space so this is all I could get lol
AUSGP
I'm back! What a chaotic race. Anyways doing it a little differently this week, here's how my predictions held up with the race:
Oscar Piastri placing P5 or above: Piastri started wonderfully in P6 before moving up to a podium spot! Unfortunately McLaren asked him to swap positions with Norris, who did have fresher tires. They also missed the opportunity to pit when Leclerc (who was in front) did, which probably cost him a few places. He did finish P4 though, making my prediction correct.
Daniel Ricciardo in points: Not much to say here. The commentary didn't focus on him much, but he moved up from P18 to P12 which is impressive. Regrettably not enough to get him into the points though.
Ferrari on the podium: Not just one, but both! It's a Ferrari 1-2 in Melbourne, with Carlos getting DOTD and claiming the win behind a last lap virtual safety car to get his THIRD ever F1 win. Sainz's teammate Leclerc had a few issues, but managed to overtake Norris for second place. Ferrari, of course, sang the National Anthem for Sainz on the podium. Wonderful day for Ferrari fans, who have suffered through last year for this.
My tyre is gone front left (Leclerc)
Thank you Ricky, thank you Ferrari (Cue Sainz singing on the radio after the race)
No Red Bull 1-2: With Max Verstappen retiring on lap 3 due to an engine issue and Perez's 3 grid penalty, Red Bull anywhere near the podium was practically impossible. Perez finished P5 though, so one place up from where he started.
I just lost the car there really weird (Verstappen before he DNFd)
Of course the temperature kept increasing...felt like driving with a hand-break (Verstappen in an interview after his DNF)
Nico Hulkenberg in the points: Only 1% of people voted for this in my original poll, which is hilarious as it was one of the few predictions to come true. Of course, wonderful defending against Albon amongst other things let him hold onto P9, getting a few points for HAAS (as Magnussen joins him in the points, finishing P10)
Max Verstappen wins with a less than 5 second lead: ...okay so. Yeah we don't talk about this.
Alex Albon in the points: William's call to give Sergeant's chassis to Albon did not, in fact, pay off. He finishes P11, just out of points, after being unable to overtake the HAAS. He did attempt to report Hulkenberg moving under breaking, but not penalties were applied.
That's so dangerous, moving under breaking (Albon about Hulkenberg)
I'll of course be making a summary on this race, but it'll take a while. Anyways, I'll see you all after I've had lunch :)
A summary of the Saudi Arabian GP! You’ll never believe who won this one
Jeddah GP
I'm knackered but I just finished watching the GP so here's the highlight reel
Another terrible week for Alpine, Estaban Ocon finishing outside of the points (P13) and Pierre Gasly forced to retire after a gearbox issue on lap one.
Lance Stroll, who was the only other driver to DNF, went into the barriers early into the race causing a yellow flag and a safety car.
"Can you bring it back Lance?" "No I'm in the f**cking wall"
Behind the safety car, everyone except Norris, Hamilton, Hulkenberg and Guanyu pit. Despite the pit-lane traffic, Perez managed to get away before Alonso. Leclerc had to wait a bit, but came out behind Perez. Norris led the lineup until lap 13, when he was overtaken by Verstappen with DRS.
Almost every driver boxing got chaotic quick, but no one had it as bad as Daniel Ricciardo who had a 45 second pit stop. It almost rivals the 52 second pit-stop Bottas had in Bahrain. The Aussie also spun out on Lap 49 for seemingly no reason, a depressing end to a frustrating weekend for him.
Bearman, of course the talk of the paddock these last few days, placed P7 in his first ever F1 race after qualifying P11, becoming the 68th driver to ever score points on debut! He was also voted driver of the day (48% of the vote) but will likely not be racing in Australia, as Sainz is set to recover by then.
"You're doing a mega job out there" - Ferrari to Bearman
"Just uh yeah, difficult to overtake. but uh…thank you. I really enjoyed it. It was so much fun." - Bearman after the race
Lando Norris, who joked in an earlier interview that he would have to jump start as the car was "so slow on the straights [they] can't even overtake," was seen accidentally jump starting. He was not penalised, as the sensors did not sense him crossing the border.
Piastri, on the other hand, was stuck behind a defending Hamilton. On two separate occasions, he gained enough to overtake, but went off into the run-off area and had to give the position back. Mclaren tried to appeal to the stewards when Hamilton was suspected to be moving under breaking, but no penalties were applied.
"That was Hamilton moving under breaking, that was almost an accident we're reporting it"
The fight ended anti-climatically when Hamilton had to box, coming out of the pits just behind Bearman and ending up behind Norris when Bearman moved up. This position was kept until the end of the race, with Norris finishing P8 and Hamilton P9. Norris did get a black and white flag for weaving, but no penalty. Piastri finished P4.
"They're killing us in the high speed!" - Hamilton about Oscar, who was gaining on him
"That's impressive through the high speed with him" - Hamilton about Norris
Talking about defending, Magnussen (who had 20 seconds worth of penalties after "causing a collision" with Albon in turn 4 and "leaving the track and gaining an advantage" in a separate incident) held back all the cars behind him for his teammate. This put Hulkenberg into the points, with Albon just missing out despite passing Tsunoda with a brilliant move.
"He's getting frustrated, to be honest here, behind Magnussen" - Vowles about Albon
Verstappen crossed the finish line in P1, making his 100th podium in F1 (only the 7th other driver to achieve this). The Red Bull engineers cheered for him and Perez from the balcony above the podium.
"...another fantastic weekend.." - Verstappen, after crossing the line (I couldn't hear the rest and I replayed it 3 times)
Perez and Leclerc finished behind him in P2 and P3 respectively.
All 4 Brits finished in a row (Russell in front of Bearman, Norris and Hamilton) and Sargent placed 14th, an improvement from his last weekend where the Williams seemed to have a lot of mechanical issues.
And that's it! The 2024 Saudi Arabian GP :)
Got illustrator and photoshop earlier today and I've been trying to figure it out..
Bahrain GP Highlights
It's lights out and away we go for the first time in 2024! Here's what happened in case you missed it:
Max 31 seconds ahead of P2 (Perez) for a bit (and then 41 seconds ahead later)
Zhou Guanyu early pit -> Held P10 for multiple laps (dropped to P17 after pit)
Charles Leclerc locks up...several times
Sainz overtakes Leclerc, gets overtaken, overtakes him again
Mercedes engine (and hence, the Williams car too) having issues with overheating and power
Sargent almost retires from the race after a mechanical issue, ends up 1 full minute slower than P19 and unable to regain his position :(
Albon having issues with the screen on his wheel (most likely too bright for a night race)
Piastri comes out of pits and has the inside line, but Hamilton overtakes him
Russel and Leclerc battle for 4th, Russel locks up and Leclerc overtakes him after a failed attempt before
Ricciardo and Tsunoda chasing Magnussen, with RB making a call to do a driver swap that happened unfortunately too late. The RBs were lapped by Verstappen seconds later.
[ Sainz overtaking Leclerc the first time]
RESULTS
P1 - Max Verstappen, ahead of his teammate by 22 seconds to get his 8th consecutive win!
P2 - Checo Perez, ahead of Sainz by 2.6 seconds
P3 - Carlos Sainz, who also won driver of the day!
P4: Charles Leclerc, after seemingly getting his brakes in check and passing Russel
P5, 6, 7: The Brits, with Norris in a Mercedes sandwich
P8, 9, 10: Piastri ahead of the two Aston Martins by a pretty large margin
P11: Zhou Guanyu, who I personally voted driver of the day for somehow keeping the same set of tires (SOFTS!!) from Lap 10-29, and holding P9/10 for 13 laps
P12, 13, 14: The RBs behind Magnussen, with Daniel trying to catch him after a team ordered driver swap
P15- Alex Albon
P16- Nico Hulkenberg, who qualified P10 again this year
P17, 18: The two Alpines, Ocon in front
P19- Valtarri Bottas
P20- Logan Sargent, who had a mechanical issue and went out, before rejoining the race