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Canadian GP 2025: Winners and Losers

It's that time again. As always, no hate to any driver, they are all talented but I will be honest about their performances.

Winners:

Mercedes

This was the team as a whole's best result in a while I think. Truly their strengths were at their most locked-in all weekend long. The strategy was solid in all sessions, the pit stops were good, the pace of the car was amazing , the communication was clear and trusting. Usually Mercedes has at least one failure of something during a race weekend, but in truth I could note none this time around. They reminded me a lot of the Mercedes of old, during their dominant years. Clean perfection leading to solid results as both drivers pulled off nearly faultless races. Makes me curious if the regulation changes for 2026 really will lead to another era of their dominance, and if they are finally ready for that. Whatever the future may hold, this was a great race for Mercedes, Russell, and Antonelli (his first F1 podium!!). Also, it pulled them past Ferrari into that second spot in the championship! That's more money everyone, and trust me when I say with the new regulations they will need it.

2. Fernando Alonso

After the dry spell he had at the beginning of the year on points, it is nice to see the typical Alonso back in action. He had a stellar quali and while he was overtaken during the race by Norris and Leclerc, he still kept a solid points scoring for Aston Martin and drove well. I think performances like these are to be expected from Alonso, and hopefully they will put to rest any of the rather snide comments he has gotten all year so far. Great race, great weekend.

3. Nico Hulkenberg

It might become typical to see Hulkenberg on my winners podium. Continuing his great form from Spain, Hulkenberg had yet another fantastic drive. He has clearly grown comfortable in his new team fast, and we are only just starting ti see how he palsy with the Sauber and it's new upgrades. His race was brilliant, his confidence in the car is clear, and he (as a very experienced driver who drive for midfield teams for years) is very aware on how to fight it out cleanly against faster cars. More than that, i imagine it's nice to be so regularly beating his new F2 champion teammate. Just a bit.

Runner Ups: Oscar Piastri (big jump in the championship for him), Esteban Ocon (really really great drive to the points after a bad quali), and Carlos Sainz (great recovery race to 9th after he was impeded into dropping out of Q1).

Losers:

Lando Norris

Are you surprised? If you are, perhaps you need to rewatch the entire weekend. Norris was off pretty much the whole time in my eyes. To start, the new upgrades seemed to suit him better, but when it came down to the wire in quali, he choked and only was able to get into the starting result of P7. But that is fine, he is a great driver at recovering so I expected him to make up positions and make them up fast. And he did... sort of. Making it past Alonso was by far his best move, and McLaren did great at pitting to overtake on Hamilton/hold off Leclerc, and more than that really he had solid pace. But somehow he couldn't get quite there to catch his teammate who was running until the very end, and well... we all saw what happened. Norris went for a too-small gap and put it into the grass, ruining his race and causing him to DNF. Now, I won't knock Norris for trying. In F1 you need to push to the limits sometimes and get your elbows out, and as the late and great Ayrton Senna, if you no longer go for a gap that exists, you are no longer a racing driver. But crucially Norris is my ultimate loser because the gap was not big enough and his elbow was thrown messily, losing him precious points in a tight championship battle.

2. Ferrari

Yeah. Well. This is expected. Another messy weekend for Ferrari, a combo deal of strategy blunders, driver mistakes, poor car pace, and simple bad luck. I will admit, I was a bit optimistic for Ferrari this weekend, even after Leclerc's FP1 crash. Then in quali I really thought that Leclerc could even clinch pole. But Hamilton laced enough pace to get him beyond P5 and Leclerc had a mistake on his last Q3 lap, and it all kind of fell apart from there. In race was really where they sunk down to my losers podium. To start, the car was slow. Even before the bad strat calls and the poor groundhog (rip) that gave Lewis Hamilton damage, they were slow. Some of this had to do with the constant calls to LICO that Leclerc (and maybe Hamilton, I didn't hear) was given throughout the race. But then it all got worse when Hamilton hit the groundhog and well, his race was pretty well over at the point. But then it got even worse after Ferrari had some of the worst communication with Leclerc I have seen in years. Namely they told their driver they were on Plan B (a two-stop) but when Leclerc asked for Plan C (a one stop), they seemingly agreed. Until they pit Leclerc out of the lead of the race and made it clear they were never going with what their driver asked for. Foolishness incarnate, and all of this nonsense together makes them a loser in my eyes.

3. Lance Stroll

I kind of feel bad about putting Stroll here in truth. He just came back after having wrist surgery, and it was his home GP, but unfortunately I have to be honest here. His quali was not great. His race pace was not great. Pretty much everything was not great. I think this was probably his worst performances of the season in truth. I'm not sure if it was that they did not allow him enough time to heal or what, but he has clearly lost touch with the car, ironically when his teammate seemed to finally gain it. Not a great day for Stroll.

Runner Ups: Yuki Tsunoda (another no points finish), Isak Hadjar (his messiness in quali cost him any good results after his grid penalties for impeding), and Pierre Gasly (bad weekend in general)

DNF Graveyard: Lando Norris (crash), Alex Albon (mechanical issue, I think?), and Liam Lawson (Power unit issue)

Race Results:

George Russell

Max Verstappen

Kimi Antonelli +1

Oscar Piastri -1

Charles Leclerc +3

Lewis Hamilton -1

Fernando Alonso -1

Nico Hulkenberg +4

Esteban Ocon +5

Carlos Sainz +6

Ollie Bearman +2

Yuki Tsunoda +6

Franco Colapinto -3

Gabriel Bortoleto +1

Pierre Gasly +5

Isak Hadjar -4

Lance Stroll

Lando Norris (DNF)

Liam Lawson (DNF)

Alex Albon (DNF)

Cheers,

-B

[boxboxblog]

Canadian GP 2025: Race Weekend Overview

Hello everyone, sorry for such a late post. For those of you who read my last post, I was at the GP in person this week, which complicated my update schedule a bit, but furthermore I got sick the day after the race. As they put it in the Victorian times, I have something of a delicate constitution so I have been a bit preoccupied with that nonsense. But here we are, and I can finally dive into the race weekend now that I can get out of bed! Let's go!

Quali:

This quali was a mixture between expected results and interesting ones. To start, we saw pretty much all weekend that McLaren was not really the team to beat this time around, ands their final results made that so incredibly clear. Norris and Piastri both did not have that locked in speed we have come to expect from that, and whether that is due to the fact that they brought upgrades to the car (which as far as I am aware Piastri did not take) or because the Canadian circuit is very low-grip, I am unsure. Regardless, P3 and P7 starting positions was not what they wanted and was kind of a shocked to me in general. Both McLaren driver's just felt a little clicked out of place this weekend, and I suppose we will see in Austria is this is going to be a chronic issue or if Canada was just a bad track for them.

The big story i think of this quali was Mercedes. George Russell taking pole with his final lap was incredible to see, and furthermore Kimi Antonelli also did quite well for himself with a P4 start. Clearly the Mercedes is suited for this track. I wish I knew if they brought any major upgrades for this GP, but honestly I did not see it reported that they did. However, their car performed beautifully and both drivers gave their strongest performance of the year in this quali.

Further back we saw a mix between 'blah' and bad results for Ferrari, with Hamilton starting P5 and Leclerc starting P8,. Not great really, and while Leclerc's quali results may have been due to his own mistake (I really think he could have been on the front row without it), The Ferrari in general just seems slow as usual.

For the midfield my standouts were Fernando Alonso, Isak Hadjar, and Franco Colapinto. For Alonso, he just seemed to be super keyed in to how the Aston martin was running all weekend, and really seemed to trust his car supremely. This led to a brilliant quali result of P6, ahead of both Lando Norris and Charles Leclerc. Hadjar, in my opinion the best of the rookies when you look at what car he is in, had another stellar performance, which really is just becoming typical for him. Really he reminds me a lot of Charles Leclerc in his 2018 Sauber, placing a lesser car continuously in points scoring positions like that. The final I mentioned was Colapinto, who had his best qualifying result of the year. I think more than anything this P12 start, while not brilliant, will be a good confidence booster for the driver who has been under so much pressure since he replaced Doohan.

Race:

I have to be honest, this was not the most interesting race in the world. While we had a few brilliant performances and a few terrible performances, mostly things remained how they really were. The midfield in truth was where the most interesting things happened, so I will be talking mostly about that.

To start off with, great win by George Russell. Going into the race I assumed there would be a dog fight between him and Max Verstappen in that first corner, but he had a really great start that meant he maintained the lead and never really came under real pressure the entire time. Also, I have to give Kimi Antonelli his flowers, he also had a great start and overtook on Oscar Piastri (our current championship leader) and held him off late in the race.

One other big boy I want to mention is Max Verstappen. Namely because I have been seeing some people say he did not have the pace, or could not catch Russell or was just not racing as well as normal. I want to offer a different perspective; if he couldn't get to George in those first few laps easily, Verstappen was never going to kill himself for it. I really do think he was playing the long game here. He was ahead of both Piastri and Norris, his rivals for the championship, While George is running in a strong fourth in the standings, he is not a major threat. How I see it is Verstappen was protecting his championship after Spain's disaster, and while he will never be the type to happily allow someone else to win, he knows champions are won not just through pure aggression, but patience and intelligence. He picked his battle well.

In the midfield we saw incredible performances from Esteban Ocon, Carlos Sainz, and (yet again) Nico Hulkenberg. Ocon went from 15th to 9th, an astounding feat that was marked by great overtakes and solid pitstop strategy from Haas. Sainz went from 17th to 10th really just with pure pace and aggression. He had some of the most exciting overtakes of the race and was really pushing it to the limit. Then finally, Hulkenberg had another race where he was my surprise favorite. All the way up to 8th place, and I really think we need to start looking out for Sauber when it comes to fighting in the 'best of the rest'. They have proven that their upgrades brought great boons, and Hulkenberg is putting in some of his best performances.

Alrighty, that about wraps it up. You will note that I didn't talk about the McLaren collision which caused Lando Norris to DNF or some other less than stellar results. Those will be in my winners and losers post. Also, I will be doing a post about the race weekend and venue from a fan perspective, so stay tuned for that.

Cheers,

-A Still Very Sick B

[boxboxblog]

News: Canadian GP Posts

Hello,

I just thought I would let everyone know who follows along with my race weekend posts that the schedule will be a little different this time around. Namely, I will be at the Canadian GP in person! Due to this, my posts about the race will come out much later and probably look very different (pictures and the like). Also, I will be travelling the day of quali, so that post will also look different.

Aside from the changed post schedule, I wanted to see if there are any particular info or pictures anyone would like from the GP. Many of us fans in the F1 community have been to races, but even more have not, so if there was ever something you were curious about or wanted to see for yourself from a typical stand seat and experience, just ask. Warning, I only have tickets for the Sunday (don't have the cash for multiple days unfortunately), so I have no access to any of the fanzones and will for sure not get close to any of the drivers, but I can do my best to gather info or get any requested pictures.

To those of you who will also be there, let's have a great weekend! I am excited!

Cheers,

-B

[boxboxblog]

Spanish GP 2025: Winners and Losers

Alrighty everyone, let us dive into my winners and losers podiums. As always, no hate at all to any driver. They are all mega talented but I will be honest about their performances.

Winners:

McLaren

Another 1-2 for the orange team (I refuse to call them papaya on principal). It was a brilliant weekend for them, locking down pretty much every barrier to take the top amount of points. More then that, what happened with Verstappen was the ultimate win. That penalty dropping the Red Bull driver to 10th meant that the teams closest rival for the WDC has been shoved way fair back. Now really the fight is even more so just between Norris and Piastri, meaning that no matter what, McLaren comes out on top. A win in so many ways, and I think I can confidently say that this was probably the teams best weekend so far. Both drivers performed brilliantly, they got the 1-2 in quali, and a 1-2 in the race. Also, they avoided any team order drama that may otherwise ruin the good mood. While Lando Norris may not be 100% happy with 2nd, no doubt even he can see how great this weekend was for his team and thus they are my top winner.

2. Charles Leclerc

What a race from Leclerc. After his performance in quali (a self inflicted wound, if you will, after Leclerc chose not to use the extra soft tires to go out on a second lap in Q3) I was unsure how this race would go from him. But he made up positions brilliantly in the first lap, had the pace that called for his teammate to move aside, and really capitalized on the late safety car to swing by Verstappen and take 3rd with measured aggression. More than that, his quali choice actually meant he had an extra pair of softs to use when the safety car happened, so in the end that gamble in quali paid off. Great race, and once more he outperformed his teammate. Net positive in all ways if you ask me, and his second podium in a row.

3. Nico Hulkenberg

I am beyond thrilled to have Hulkenberg as one of my winners today. Make no mistakes, this was one of his best races to date. Eleven positions up by the end. Let me repeat, E L E V E N. In a Sauber of all cars! But intelligent racing, great tire choices, good pit stop windows, and really taking advantage of the safety car brought him up to a high points finish, his best result in years. It was brilliant, it was fun to watch, and his overtakes were just clean and stellar. Absolutely fantastic Hulkenberg, absolutely fantastic, I really could go on for hours about how well he did, but will control myself and just simply say he was one of my MVPs.

Runners Ups: Fernando Alonso (first points finish of the year, stellar overtakes and battles, just a great race to watch from him), Pierre Gasly (good points finish) and Isak Hadjar (another stellar race)

Losers:

Max Verstappen

This is going to be a long one. I am... a little bit baffled. Not by him being my number one, the finish and what it means for his championship fight have made it clear he is my number one loser, but by what happened during the race. Because I have never really watched a driver lose their temper so obviously like that. I rarely call them out or pick sides when they do things that get massive penalties, mostly because they have already been punished and not all choices the stewards make are black and white. But Verstappen pulled a move so illegal, it was almost comical. Ramming into George Russell in a very bad move (allegedly on purpose) was... something. Even more something because he had just been told by his race engineer to give the position back after contact to avoid a penalty. But he lost it, and then his race was entirely ruined because of this. Not what Verstappen needed, and in truth it was all his fault. To his credit, the rest of the race was good, and he really did get shafted by the safety car and his team's choice to put him on hards. But still, a 4th or 5th finish would not have put him as my number one loser, so his place on here entirely comes down to himself. I hate being so harsh, he's a driver I admire a lot, but I have to be honest here. I guess I should also toss in that Red Bull choosing to put him on new hards instead of keeping him out on old mediums during the safety car was foolish. if they had stayed out he would have gotten track position and probably gotten passed by McLaren, but kept third. So yeah, boo on them too.

2. Yuki Tsunoda

Now, Tsunoda had a fine race,. Made up positions from the pit lane, had no really issues on track, kind of just put his head down. But it was his quali that gets him on my losers podium this post. Because it was simply terrible. P20 while your teammate is up in P3 is just not great at al. Watching his final lap I could also see that he looked like he was driving scared almost, far to conservative and tentative. Could this be a car issue? Yes, but it was his worst quali performance to in the Red Bull, so he is up on my losers podium for that. And as I have said a few times in my posts lately, that curse is not gone at all.

3. Lewis Hamilton

This was kind of a blah race from Hamilton. Lost a position, was passed by his teammate and a Sauber, no real strong pace or moves. Did he have a few overtakes? Yes, but it means nothing if the net result is worse then where you started. What I think makes it especially not great is that there was a lot of hope for him after he outqualified his teammate for only the second time this year, and it kind of went down the drain the minute Leclerc was close in his wheel tracks. Not a great day for Hamilton

Runner Ups: Williams (a DNF and a bad result), George Russell (no real impact on the race other than the Verstappen drama), and Gabriel Bortoleto (no movement)

Alright, finished. Just to reiterate, no hate to any driver (and I do mean Verstappen) but I will be clear about their actions, choices, and performance.

Cheers,

-B

[boxboxblog]

Spanish GP 2025: Race Overview

What a race! It really had everything, overtakes, penalties, mechanical failures, contact, drama! I would see this has been one of the most entertaining of the year!

First things first, this was a McLaren race through and through. Verstappen was able to put some pressure on them, but there were really no doubts about it being a 1-2 for the orange team.

I really am not going to dive into Verstappen and his, um, drama during this post (that's for my winners and losers post) but his 10th place finish was.... something. Unexpected but not, and a damn shame after a pretty solid strategy and pace race from Red Bull.

This really was a tire deg race, with even the mediums getting chewed up and spat out in the smallest of windows. Most opted for a two stop, but you could really see how fast the tires were going, grip all over the place. Other than for McLaren, who were just in a different league, the strategy surrounding tires made someones race, or destroyed it.

As for our little fun moments on track, this was a heavier penalty race then we have seen in a while. Albon, who eventually retired the race, had a ten second penalty for contact with Lawson. Verstappen got a 10 second penalty for contact with George Russell toward the end of the race. And while there might not have been more penalties then that, they were both race ruining for the drivers. This doesn't even dive into the many many drivers taht were under investigation by the end (including 3rd place Charles Leclerc, who while I write this is still under investigation for contact with Verstappen, actually.

Another thing to note in more depth was the two DNFs. The first one, in my opinion, was drive induced. Alex Albon and the contact he got with Liam Lawson ended up taking off part of his front wing. That paired with his hefty penalty, basically meant he just had to retire, and it was pretty much do to his mistake, or reckless driving if I want to be mean.

The other was not the drivers fault at all. Poor Kimi Antonelli simply lost all power to his car, even the steering wheel shutting off, and so ended up in the gravel. he did cause a safety car though, so he certainly had an impact on this race.

Well anyways, I will dive in deeper detail into specific drivers races in my winners and losers post.

Race Results:

Oscar Piastri

Lando Norris

Charles Leclerc +4

George Russell

Nico Hulkenberg +11

Lewis Hamilton -1

Isak Hadjar +2

Pierre Gasly

Fernando Alonso +1

Max Verstappen -7

Liam Lawson +2

Gabriel Bortoleto

Ollie Bearman +2

Yuki Tsunoda (pit-lane start, +6)

Carlos Sainz +3

Esteban Ocon +1

Franco Colapinto +2

Kimi Antonelli (DNF)

Alex Albon (DNF)

Cheers!

-B

[boxboxblog]

F1 Technical: Quali vs Race

Hello everyone. This post is a response to an ask about why some cars perform better in quali than race and vice versa. Great ask!

So, before we jump into the answers, I just want to link to a few of my posts that might be helpful for background. They are about how F1 cars work, which I will link here. These posts basically go over how F1 cars operate and run, which will be helpful when discussing this particular topic. Anyway, let's dive in

Many of you have probably noticed that the performance difference between a car in quali and a car in races can be drastically different. We have seen this over the years many times. For example towards the latter end of 2023 the Ferrari had stellar quali pace but lacked the race pace needed to convert the many poles Charles Leclerc got to wins. Looking at this year, we are actually seeing the exact opposite with Ferrari, as their quali pace is dismal but their race pace isn't half bad. It's easy to look at that and say it is up to the fact that some drivers are better in quali or in race, but I can assure you that the real reasons behind this are not so simple as that.

So Why?

Set Ups

As I previously stated, car setup is going to be heavily discussed in this post. This is because teams take very very different set ups for quali and the race, which have significant effects on the cars.

For quali most teams will go for a higher power, low fuel set up. Lighter, faster, more oomf behind their laps, which is what it takes to get solid results. During the race this setup is a lot different, with heavy fuel loads and a more balanced power allocation. They need cars to last and be gentler and more consistent throughout the race as it is a lot longer than the less than 20 laps drivers average during quali.

So you might look at this and think, 'oh so you mean some teams have better setups than others depending on how they do it?'. Well, yes and no, It is true that certain teams just have stellar set ups for races or for quali. But what is a huge part that often gets overlooked is cow the car responds to certain styles of set ups. F1 cars are detailed and temperamental, like a living creature almost. Sometimes they take to high power modes really well, all parts functioning smoothly. Sometimes they seem to despise that kind of mode. There isn't always an exact reason behind this, just that certain engines and styles of chassis take to low-fuel high-power better, while others take to high-fuel, balanced-power better. Usually it has to do with things we as the public are not privy to, the little details and specific designs that teams keep close to their chest.

2. Tire Impact

Another reason is that cars effect tire degradation a lot differently depending on the design and engine. For example, since 2024 the McLaren car has had the best tire handling, with some of the lowest degradation on average on the grid. Could this partially be due to the driver's style? Yes, but it also comes from how smooth the McLaren car drives. If we compare this to the Red Bull, notoriously a bit of a vicious car, you can tell just over the radios that one car chews through tires faster while the other car does not, meaning that by the end of the race the McLaren car has remained consistent, while the Red Bull has lost a lot of performance.

What this means for quali and race is that some teams are only really able to find pace during quali because they do not run on the same tires as long. So essentially they have stellar pace in those quick short laps, but the minute tire degradation becomes a factor in-race, they lose speed. It also means that some teams may be bland during quali, but the minute tire deg becomes important, they shine.

3. Cooling Systems

The general cooling of the car is also a factor to things like tire deg, and engine performance. Some cars just simply have less effective cooling systems, which means when they go out for long laps like in a race, their car overheats. This overheating would not happen in quali, and thus their pace in the race could be slower due to this overheating issue. On the flipside, with some cars their cooling system is a strong point. So in quali when none of that matters, they can perform not as well as other teams, while in the race the benefits of this system come into play and keep the performance of their car strong and consistent when compared to others.

4. Downforce and Dirty Air

So downforce on the car is basically the force that keeps the car shellacked to the track, to put it simply. What this means around this topic is that some cars respond better in the clean airflow and low weight, generating lots of downforce during sessions that are like this (quali). However, the minute these cars get into high fuel loads and the dirty air races offer, they lose performance in comparison to their quali. The McLaren this year is actually one of them. While their speed is stellar everywhere, it is massive during quali. However when they get onto track for a race, sometimes they struggle when they get stuck in the dirty air for too long.

In truth most cars are like this, dirty air is no good for anyone, but that can also explain a massive difference between quali and race performances. Furthermore, there are some unique cars that are literally built to handle dirty air well. When they say some teams have their car optimized for races, this is usually what they mean. So during quali teams like this might not shine, but the minute their car has to handle all the dirty air that not being on pole gets you, they simply perform better than other teams. The Haas car this year is I think a great example of this. Their qualis have been hit or miss, but they do not lose position very easily this year. I actually think in only one race a single driver of their's lost position, and they either DNF'd, held position, or moved up multiple spots in the rest. This to me says they must have a car that works well in the dirty air of a race.

5. Balance and Suspension

One thing that also massively impacts performance in both quali and race is the balance of the car. This all comes back to the fuel load again. The lightness of the fuel load in quali can sometimes mean cars have a much better balance with less weight to throw them off. But in a race, that higher weight and higher load means the car is heavier and unless they have solid balance, this can mean a drop in performance.

Another aspect in a similar vein is the suspension system. A generally stiffer suspension does better in qualis. The goal of quali is to get max performance out of the car. They want drivers to attack every corner, curve, and straight with the utmost aggression, flat out the whole way. A stiff suspension allows them to do this, and thus they can push to the max without worrying about body roll or the suspension compression destabilizing the car when they take everything so aggressively. On the other hand, a softer suspension works best during the race, and is easier on tires (ie less deg, slower heating), gentler over bumps, and smoother with the kerb riding a lot of drivers do in races. Simply, some cars simply have a stiff suspension that lets them have max performance during quali, but means they are slower in the race and vice versa.

I think a good example of this is the Mercedes this year. Their quali pace has been pretty solid (aside from a few outliers, namely Monaco), and we have seen them pull out brilliant performances out of seemingly nowhere. However in races you can see that the roughness they must deal with affects their car a lot (tighter suspension=absorbs continuous shock more inefficiently), impacting performance. This tells me that the basic suspension of their car is much tenser, leading to this effect

Basic Outline

Quali Optimized Car: Low ride height, tailored for lighter performance, fast tire warm-up, high initial grip (high temp), high engine mode with full poor deployment, stiff suspension, sensitive downforce to weight and wind, usually inefficient cooling systems.

Race Optimized Car: Higher ride height (depending on the circuit), set up built for heavier car, easy on tires (slow to heat up), more balanced engine modes, gentler suspension, balanced downforce, solid cooling system.

~

Anyway, I hope this post answers your question. Thanks for asking, I am always thrilled to get questions in my inbox.

Cheers,

-B

[boxboxblog]

Spanish GP 2025: Q3 (The Big One)

Alright, no big shocks in last session. I suppose I was a bit surprised by Albon being knocked, but Williams did say this would be their weakest track so maybe not too surprising. Slightly better quali performances for Bortoleto and Bearman than usual, but their teams are still low-grade midfield level speed.

My predictions for top three is as follows: Piastri, Norris, Verstappen. I doubt anyone is surprised by this at all, though it could really been any of the three on pole.

Anyway, let's get into Q3.

Piastri starts first lap. Ironically he seems to be accidentally giving Norris a tow. He goes to the top. Russell goes ahead of Antonelli in 2nd and 3rd. Verstappen only put sit into 3rd. Norris on flying lap and Hamilton is as well. Hamilton goes to 4th ahead of Antonelli and Gasly. Norris goes to top and take provisional pole. Leclerc on flying and he puts it into 4th. Alonso and Hadjar still have not set times, but they start their laps. Alonso goes to to 5th ahead of Verstappen. They will all go again though, but interesting indicators.

Norris and Piastri on flyings. Piastri takes pole. Hamilton goes to third. Verstappen take sit away from him. Russell goes to fourth ahead of Hamilton. And Ferrari for some reason does not have Leclerc do a second lap.

So my expected top three. Good job me.

Provisional Starting Grid:

Piastri

2. Norris

3. Verstappen

4. Russell

5. Hamilton

6. Antonelli

7. Leclerc

8. Gasly

9. Hadjar

10. Alonso

11. Albon

12. Bortoleto

13. Lawson

14. Stroll

15. Bearman

16. Hulkenberg

17. Ocon

18. Sainz

19. Colapinto

20. Tsunoda

See you tomorrow after the race.

Cheers,

-B

[boxboxblog]

Spanish GP 2025: Q2

Alright, so interesting Q1. The big thing of the session was both Tsunoda and Sainz being knocked in Q1. Its actually dead last for the Japanese driver, which will be massively difficult for him. Another bad quali, another case of that second seat curse rearing its ugly head. In general he looked tentative on his lap, which tells me the Red Bull is being particularly difficult for him this weekend. I suppose we will know the truth in tomorrows race.

Sainz is the other story because this is his home race, and he will be starting in 18th. Not great, especially because his teammate was well out of danger and he seemed... just slow. Not a running theme this year exactly, but Albon out performing him certainly is.

Anyway, greenlight, let's go.

Midfielders out first again, as expected. Albon first to put time on the board so is ofc fastest, and Bearman slots in behind with around a 0.5 gap between them. Verstappen goes and no doubt he will go fastest, s we will not really be able to tell until the other big boys go. he does .

Stroll goes and gets in behind Albon. Lawson goes behind Verstappen and Bortoleto jumps right in behind Verstappen. Gasly goes by him though to get into 2nd. Norris goes to the top and Alonos gets into 3rd behind Verstappen.

Ferrari goes and Leclerc gets to 3rd, with Hamilton going by his teammate. Piastri is on lap and he goes fastest. Antonelli only puts int into 9th, and Russell gets it into 4th ahead of both Ferraris.

In drop right now is Bortoleto, Lawson, Albon, Stroll, and Bearman. In danger is Hadjar, Antonelli, and Gasly. Fastest midfielder is Alonso, who is in 7th, but that is becoming expected this year. Still no points for Alonso, which is comically sad. I still stand by that he is not the unluckiest driver regardless of what he says.

So far, aside from Tsunoda, this seems to be an expected session. Anything can happen though.

Antonelli and Stroll on flyings. So far Stroll is improving but not Antonelli (at least not a lot). Stroll does not improve out of drop, and Antonelli only goes to 8th. Bortoleto goes and only gets to 11th, so he is out. Hadjar and Lawson are going, and Hadjar gets to 6th. Lawson only goes to 13th. Bearman is going as well but he does not improve

Dropped Drivers:

11. Albon

12. Bortoleto

13. Lawson

14. Stroll

15. Bearman

Cheers,

-B

[boxboxblog]

Spanish GP 2025 Q1

Alright everyone, last quali of the triple header. So far the FPs have been pretty basic and expected; McLaren on top usually followed by Verstappen or Russell, and with Leclerc or Hamilton trailing behind.

One piece of news that we were all looking forward to (be it happily or unhappily) is the regulation changes surrounding the front wings. The expectation was that this change would shuffle the order up a little, however from what we have seen so far I am not sure this is an accurate assumption.

One team that brought performance upgrades this week is Ferrari! Will they work? I am not sure. Quali pace is really the Ferrari's worst trait this year, so I am guessing this upgrade heavily influenced the aspect of the car that deals with this, but I guess we will see today.

Alright green light, let's go.

A lot of midfielders are the first ones out, which is expected. So far rankings go Stroll, Albon, Colapinto, Ocon, and Bearman. Out of that I am most surprised by Stroll, the Aston's seem to have terrible pace lately but perhaps this regulation change has effected them. Haas seems slow this weekend.

Hulkenberg goes and jumps to the top of the sheet ahead of the other midfielders, so great lap from him. Lawson jumps by him. He has been looking solid lately, and so has RB, so I expect solid performances from them.

Norris goes and of course goes to the top, with Antonelli following. Piastri goes by them both, then Russell, Albon, and Hadjar get past Antonelli. The Ferrari's go out. Leclerc goes to fourth and Hamilton in seventh. Still unsure about there quali pace.

Verstappen gets in his first lap and goes between Norris and Piastri to take second. For midfielders, the fastest are Albon and Alonso, in 7th and 8th. Hadjar is also up there in 9th.

Drivers in the drop are Hulkenberg, Ocon, Sainz, Tsunoda, and Bortoleto. In danger is Lawson, Stroll, and Gasly. Obviously they will go again, so I expect this to change, especially for Tsunoda.

Midfielders go again. Hulkenberg goes up to 8th and Bortoleto goes to 7th, so good laps for them. Antonelli jumps up to 5th ahead of Leclerc. This pushes Stroll and Lawson down to drop.

Sainz goes and gets to 13th. Unsure if that will be enough, everyone else is improving.

Lawson goes and jumps to 7th. Ocon, Bearman, and Tsunoda go. Ocon gets to fifteenth, but is knocked by his teammate who goes to 11th. This all also pushes Sainz into the drop, a shame at his home race. Tsunoda gets a bad lap and will start in 20th.

Dropped Drivers:

16. Hulkenberg

17. Ocon

18. Sainz

19. Colapinto

20. Tsunoda

Cheers,

-B

[boxboxblog]

Monaco GP 2025: Winners and Losers

Alright everyone, time to dive into my winners and losers podiums. As always, no hate to any driver, they are all mega talented but I will be honest about their performances.

Winners:

Lando Norris

I was actually on the fence about this one. While Norris had a brilliant weekend, and a clean win while getting closer to your championship rival is always a good thing, I was unsure if he would be my number one or two. It is pretty easy to win in Monaco from pole after all. But after his slightly uninspiring performance in the last few races, and also the fact that to win in Monaco is special, I realized I had to put him at number one. His stellar quali is what won him the day. More than that, a win at such a track as Monaco is a massive confidence booster. Norris is a driver that needs confidence and mental strength to perform well, so I foresee that this will only be a jumping off point for him, and as such he is my number one.

2. Charles Leclerc

Funny, we are going in results order with Leclerc in second. He was the driver I debated putting in number one, simply because of how incredible he did. The Ferrari car is slow, we all know that. But Leclerc makes it look like the second fastest out there, and while he was helped by Verstappen, it was him pushing to the limit that got him so close to a win. After all the disappointment of this year, Leclerc really showed people that more than anything he is the type of driver who can pull miracles out of nothing, and a P2 finish in Monaco when they have been slow slow slow is one such miracle. Sometimes drivers really move me, and during today's race Leclerc did just that.

3. Esteban Ocon

I am ceaselessly impressed with Ocon this year. He has really take a hold of Haas, firmly placing himself as their number one driver, and giving some of the best results that team has seen in years. His quali was stellar and what gave him the opportunity to get some great points, but his race was also great. Clean, collected, and he made up a position to get even more points then projected. This may be petty to say, but I also think he might get some enjoyment of watching both Alpines have bad results while he soars to a great finish. I would anyways, after the way they handled his last race with the team. Very very good Ocon.

Runner Ups: Isak Hadjar (stellar quali, stellar results. really showing up as a talent to watch out for in the future, Liam Lawson (good quali, good results), and Williams (great team game got them solid results).

Losers:

Mercedes

I don't often curse in these posts. But what the fuck was that Mercedes. I have never seen worse strategy, I have never seen a team fumble everything so badly as Mercedes did in Monaco. You have got to be really bad to make me forget about all the Ferrari mishaps this year, and point my finger so accusingly. Quali was bad for them, a crash taking Antonelli out and a mechanical failure taking Russell out. But the strategy they chose? Hold off on ALL pit stops until the very end? Nonsense. I know what they were thinking; a safety car would come out and help them. But you can't depend on what-ifs in F1, and they screwed themselves out of any points today. More than that, they riled George Russell up enough that he drove so messy and illegal, he got a drive through penalty on top of his two mandatory pitstops. Really very bad, and so they are my ultimate losers.

2. Yuki Tsunoda

Poor Yuki Tsunoda. I hate to say it so early in the season, but I think whatever pause the Second Red Bull Seat Curse was on has officially ended. Tsunoda performed poorly. His quali was not great, but salvageable. However he did no salvage it. Instead he lost five positions to finish a clear thirteen places behind his teammate. He just had no pace or aggression, and it was kind of sad to see. More than that, results like these are not what Red Bull wants, and I have no doubts that is this continues they will start looking toward Isak Hadjar for the future. Is it probably the hellishness of the car? I say with 75% certainty yes, but that does not matter in truth. At least to Red Bull it doesn't and we all know they are more than comfortable kicking a driver to the curb.

3. Oscar Piastri

He in truth drove fine. His quali was also fine. But that is it. Not particularly inspiring anything from Piastri this weekend. He made many small mistakes throughout it, and although he had some great saves, it does not take away from the fact that Piastri was locked-out, for turn of phrase, in Monaco. More than that, his championship rival chipped away at his lead and he wasn't even able to help play the teammate game when Norris was under pressure. Just a rather blah weekend for the Australian driver, and so he is on my losers podium.

Runner Ups: Lance Stroll (poor quali), Nico Hulkenberg (big drop in positions), and Max Verstappen (unable to make any headways)

Alright, I will see you all for Spain.

Cheers,

-B

[boxboxblog]

Monaco GP 2025: Race Rundown

Alrighty everyone, for sure a more interesting Monaco GP then normal! That was the goal of the mandatory two-stop, so I suppose they succeeded in that regard. I genuinely enjoyed it more than I usually do, and am mega excited for what we will see next year with the new regulations. Let's dive in!

Norris won his first Monaco GP ahead of Charles Leclerc, driving clean and careful, his first GP where in my opinion he did not make a major mistake. But that did not mean that his results came easy, no, for the latter half of the race he had Leclerc hounding him in his DRS. In truth I think a pseudo team-game was played between Leclerc and Verstappen. It did take the Red Bull driver until the final lap to take his second pitstop, after all. I'm of the opinion that it was completely purposeful and not meant for his own race results, but rather Leclerc's. He knew he would finish fourth regardless of when he pit, so he held back Norris to give Leclerc a chance to overtake and win. Was it from a place of generosity? No, probably not. Championship's aren't just won by your own results, and Verstappen has always been keenly aware of that.

Aside from the little fake team-game, there were actual ones across the board. We saw that with Sainz and Albon, where Albon slowed down an entire DRS train in order to allow Sainz to stay within the points and keep his pitstop ahead of drivers like Antonelli and Russell. Did that piss off a few people? For sure, we heard Russell complain about it on the radio (even though they played that game only a few laps later lol). But there are no rules against slowing down, so well done to the Williams team for that.

Russell was another thing today. Messy messy race by him, and really in large part caused by his team, who really seemed to piss him off (for lack of a more delicate way of saying it). His penalty was well deserved for cutting the corner on purpose to gain an advantage and I will get more into Mercedes in my winners and losers post.

Aside from those on the big boy teams, we saw some standouts and some failures. Isak Hadjar had a great finish, as did Esteban Ocon and Liam Lawson. On the flip side, poor Fernando Alonso had yet another DNF, as did Pierre Gasly. Bad luck for those two this year, but at least there issues added some excitement.

Outside of results, there were a few drivers who made a strong impression. We all know Monaco is not an overtake track at all, but some made up positions wonderfully. Ollie Bearman was one of them. Although he did not finish in the points, he went up eight positions, brilliant and very encouraging for when he has abetter quali (ie, no ten-place grid penalty). Franco Colapinto also went up five positions, so very encouraging for our most rookie-rookie this year.

Results:

Lando Norris

Charles Leclerc

Oscar Piastri

Max Verstappen

Lewis Hamilton +2

Isak Hadjar -1

Esteban Ocon +1

Liam Lawson +1

Alex Albon +1

Carlos Sainz +1

George Russell +3

Ollie Bearman +8

Franco Colapinto +5

Gabriel Bortoleto +2

Lance Stroll +4

Nico Hulkenberg -3

Yuki Tsunoda -5

Kimi Antonelli -3

Fernando Alonso (DNF)

Pierre Gasly (DNF)

I will see you for my winners and losers post.

Cheers,

-B

[boxboxblog]

Monaco GP 2025: Quali Chat

Alrighty everyone, I finally got around to watching qualifying! An interesting one I would say, with some surprising results and more than a few heartbreaks. I cannot dive into every single drivers performances (that would be a bit much) but I will discuss my standouts, both negative and positive, in no particular order. But first, a general analysis of what is important in Monaco.

General:

So I think anyone who watched this quali can see that Monaco is a unique track. Tight, windy, supremely technical. The track requires intense focus more than any other, the kind of focus that lets a driver brush millimeters away from the wall but somehow keep it clean. Or not. There are always the or-nots. But what exactly is most important when qualifying in Monaco?

Track evolution is always the first one that comes to mind. Because Monaco is a street circuit. It is pedestrian, it is not like normal tracks with their consistency and regularity and the way racing is constant. Bumpier, rougher, and far less grip to begin with than a classic circuit. So as the quali session went on, the more rubber the tires left down, the more grip increased. This meant that when their laps were completed was extra important. One car might put a 1:10 up but then five minutes later, as more cars go through to lay down more rubber, they could go out and do a 1:09 on the same tires. What changed was the grip. I think we saw that today in the final shoot out for pole, when Norris put in a final lap to snatch it from Leclerc. It was the smallest of gaps between them, but Norris had gone after Leclerc. To me, that was all the difference.

Another major thing was the walls. To be more specific, the skill of getting so damn close to the walls that you get faster pace, but far enough away to cause no damage. Some drivers can do this brilliantly, among them Norris, Leclerc, and Verstappen. Some drivers struggle a little. The big one of the day was Kimi Antonelli, who cut a corner slightly too close, popped a tire and thus went into the barriers. This was a session lost by the smallest of margins. It just shows how important focus, carefulness, and dancing right on the edge in Monaco. Another rider that suffered slightly from this was Oscar Piastri, who had more than a few close encounters with the walls. I think it made him lose a little confidence, and so he played it safer than he probably should have during his final lap. This meant he had a time behinds both his teammate and a Ferrari. The walls are tight and close moments can psychologically shake drivers enough ti have an impact on results. Staying cool matters. Beyond those things, since this track is like this, there are a lot of crashes in Monaco. This means red flags and yellows flags, which have destroyed more than a few drivers qualifyings in the past. Look at Ollie Bearman, who has a ten place grid penalty for a red flag infringement. These kind of things have a major impact on quali results and starting positions

One major aspect of this quali that i will discuss is the traffic. Anyone who had been paying attention to the practices this week probably noticed something There were more drivers complaining about impeding then any race to date this year. All of this stems from the way Monaco is set up, i.e extremely tight. It is super difficult to avoid each other on this track, and because of that there tends to be a lot of impeding. This means a clean lap is more important than a lot of other qualifyings. Anything could happen to ruin one: you could be impeded and have your lap ruined, you could clip someone you are attempting to get around, you could crash into the back of another car. One example we are already seeing of how important traffic can be is the many penalties drivers have already received for impeding. Stroll, four grid drops for impeding multiple drivers. Hamilton, a three place drop for impeding Verstappen. Monaco incarnate; anything can happen, keep calm and carry on.

The final thing I will talk about when it comes to Monaco's quali is simple; luck. It might seem silly to say, but it is true in a certain few tracks in F1. One of those tracks is Monaco. Dreams have been made and destroyed on this intense street circuit. We have seen drivers who have everything, pace, car, team, skill, lose it all in the blink of an eye from something they could have never prevented. So a huge part of quali here is luck. In today's session, the luck unfortunately seemed to be of the bad sort for a few drivers. One of them was George Russell, who experienced some kind of mechanical failure during Q2 that immediately meant he would be starting in fourteenth, right in front of his teammate, who had crashed. That's just one example of how luck can really effect quali in Monaco. It's not something I can say for certain, but it is almost like there is always a heartbreak and hero when it comes to this race. So call me silly, but luck is a big part of good results in Monaco.

Anyway, enough of the general. Let's dive into my standouts.

Lando Norris:

So Norris was for sure one of my standouts of this quali. He kind obviously has to be, setting the all-time lap record and taking his first pole at this track. Norris drove a solid weekend, but he really locked in for Q2 and Q3. He kind of surprised me actually, but his final lap to take pole was flawless. The McLaren car's straightline speed in Monaco is crazy compared to a lot of other cars, even if their cornering is not their their strongest point, and this was pushed to the limits. Norris clearly feels comfortable in his car and when he is in the zone he has some of the smoothest most precise drivers on the grid. He was just in control the last two sessions, and the confidence that he attacked the track with was inspiring.

Charles Leclerc:

There is something magical about Leclerc in Monaco. Going into this weekend there was almost no hope for Ferrari. Imola quali was an embarrassment, the season for them has been a mess, and they seemed to be backsliding more than moving forward. But the performances so far have surprised me. Both Hamilton and Leclerc markedly improved in the timesheets, but it was Leclerc that blew me away. There is no other driver who seems so comfortable around Monaco as him. Let's be clear, he is in the vastly inferior car, yet he was the one driver who could bring the fight to McLaren. His aggression on the corners is perfection, the way he cuts it so tight and clean and stunning. An article said that it almost seems like Monaco sings a song only Leclerc understand. That feels to be accurate, even with pole being taken from him. I have much excitement for tomorrows race.

Isak Hadjar:

I don't usually like to play favorites. But perhaps I have been too obvious in my admiration for Isak Hadjar. Yet another brilliant quali performance, cementing himself as the best rookie qualifier by a landslide. Consistent, clean, well-formed, all of these words just outline how Hadjar is doing. He really is getting the max performance out of the car he has, which to any top team would be an important skill. His confidence in the car today was clear, and on a track like Monaco that made all the difference. There is just something so impressive about such a young driver, on who at the beginning of the year crashed out of his first F1 race, show his hand as the most consistent of the rookies. Just lovely work.

Esteban Ocon:

Every since Ocon joined Haas, he has seemed to bloom. I think a lot of people have had doubts about him over the years. But Ocon is proving them all wrong in my opinion. The Haas may not be the fastest car, but he is having some stellar moments. One of them was this quali, securing a top ten finish. Brilliant results for Haas coming from a driver who seems to be more and more steady and secure each weekend. This showed in Monaco, and it is especially clear because of how technically difficult the circuit is. Skill shines here, and Ocon clearly was showing his own off. More than that, the communication within the Haas team is top tier. Have to give a shout out to his race engineer and their pit wall.

Starting Grid:

Norris

Leclerc

Piastri

Verstappen

Hadjar

Alonso

Hamilton (three place grid penalty)

Ocon

Lawson

Albon

Sainz

Tsunoda

Hulkenberg

Russell

Antonelli

Bortoleto

Gasly

Colapinto

Stroll (four place grid penalties)

Bearman (ten place grid penalty)

See you after the race!

Cheers,

-B

[boxboxblog]

Hi everyone,

Just wanted to make a post telling you all I will not be able to watch quali live tomorrow. Instead, I will watch later and post an analysis of quali and why I think certain drivers got their results.

See you tomorrow for that.

Cheers,

-B

[boxboxblog]

Imola GP 2025: Winners and Losers

Alright everyone, time for my winners and losers podium. As always, no hate to any driver, they are all talented, but I will be honest about their performance.

Winners

Max Verstappen

He kind of had to be my number one. That first corner move on Piastri was a thing of beauty, and the control he held for the rest of the race was brilliant. I really think that especially at the beginning, he had to push to keep ahead of the faster car behind. And he did it. Was it his most battle heavy or impressive race? No. He mostly ran away with the lead once that VSC gave him a 20s gap. But the championship is the championship, and he has cut down the gap once more along with any doubts that he is still part of the fight for the title. Very well done.

2. Lewis Hamilton

Well, we have not seen Hamilton on this list for a while. But he had an absolutely brilliant race, a mixture of his great driving and the fact that luck seemed heavily on his side today. I really didn't expect much from him this race, mostly because he has not had a brilliant year and the Ferrari is slower than tar (11 and 12 in qualifying is.... something). But he had some great overtakes, and really got the advantage of those two safety cars, leading him to finish in 4th. He is mostly on my winners podium because of how everything went with his teammate. Namely that for the first time in a GP, he has beat him. Was this perhaps due to the safety car and Ferrari choosing to pit him over Leclerc? Yes, but the best drivers take advantage of these things. Beyond that, the implications are clear; Ferrari chose him. That is a win if I ever have seen one.

3. Alex Albon

It's quite nice to see this driver up here. Albon had a stellar weekend. His quali results were the beginning of it, putting himself firmly up there with the big boys. Then he drive a very clean and strong race, able to fight with everyone around him to achieve great results. His battle with Leclerc did not end it total clear victory, but rather Leclerc giving up the position back, but nevertheless it yielded him a great result. Very very good race from Albon, and yet again he beat his teammate. So snaps for that.

Runners Ups: Yuki Tsunoda (what a climb, up ten places!), Lando Norris (more points than his championship rival), and Isak Hadjar (finished where he started, good points, or rather, point)

Losers:

Aston Martin

This one had to be team-wide one. Because after such brilliant quali results for both drivers (both from their skill and great quali strategy from the team), my expectations were pretty high for Aston. And then the safety car ruined everything for them (a running theme on my losers list, you will find). It shot both drivers down and out of the points, Stroll dropping 7 positions and Alonso dropping 6, and led to a very amusing and a bit tragic crash out from Alonso over the radio where he called himself 'the unluckiest driver alive'. While I have to gently disagree (have you met Charles Leclerc?) it still was no good for them. Such a shame.

2. Charles Leclerc

I am sure some of you saw this coming, just as I am sure some of you disagree. Leclerc drove a stellar race, he has brilliant battles, defense, and overtakes, finished far higher than he started, and initially was on a pretty solid strategy. Early pit, undercut them all, up to the point that he was on track to be close to 3rd. But then that first safety car ruined the strategy completely. And then that second one led to his own team ruining his race even more. Because Hamilton was chosen (not his fault) to pit for new tires even after Leclerc requested to pit for softs under the safety car, and this left him stuck with very very old hards in front of Alex Albon on freshes, Lewis Hamilton on freshes, and behind Lando Norris on freshes. There was literally nowhere to go but down for him, and it was kind of painful to watch him race his heart out for nothing. Now that I would say is the unluckiest driver alive, no offense Fernando Alonso.

3. George Russell

This might actually be one of the first races I have seen in years where Russell did not benefit from the safety car. Usually this driver has the most insane good luck in the world (not discounting his skill, but we all know it is true), but this was not the case during the Imola race. His quali was great, his race pace was decent, but just like every other loser on this list, the safety car screwed him over. Dropping from third to low points is just not fun, nor is being undercut by multiple drivers. Sorry to George Russell, but at least he didn't DNF like his teammate, right?

Runner Ups: Pierre Gasly (Good quali, bad race), Carlos Sainz (just barely saved his race), and Oscar Piastri (championship lead shrunk)

Alright, that is all. Again, no hate, every driver is talented. I will see you all for Monaco.

Cheers,

-B

[boxboxblog]

Imola GP 2025: Brief Race Overview

Bit late to the party here, but c'est la vie I suppose. Anyway, let's dive into the race.

Well that sure was interesting. I really didn't expect much from this GP, Imola has never really been a very exciting track in my opinion, but this really was a classic. Safety cars a plenty, dramatic strategy decisions that either worked out very well or fell apart, some great overtaking, multiple mechanical failures, and in truth, a surprise winner. Well, perhaps not too much of a surprise considering who it is. Welcome back to the top step Max Verstappen.

There were a lot of stand out moments in this race. The first corner overtake Verstappen did on Piastri was absolutely gorgeous. Measured aggression mixed with just plain instinct saw him surprise everyone, perhaps even himself, by taking the early race lead and not once giving it up. He was able to keep ahead of Piastri's much faster McLaren, and then benefited heavily from the VSC, which gave him and almost 20 second lead for a majority of the race. That was only cut down when an actual safety car came out later, but still he kept the lead.

Further back we saw a whole hubabaloo of drivers having glorious moments, then terrible ones. The safety cars really messed with people during this race, and I swear we saw so much mix up I couldn't keep track of people's net positions until the final safety car ended and it became clear no more craziness would occur. All I know for sure is that the biggest combined team climb came from the Ferrari's, though that was not without it's.... drama. Because of course, they are the most tragic form of entertainment this year. But really, the safety cars really ruined or really helped drivers races. Alonso for example got jipped by it, as did Stroll, Leclerc, and Russell. Verstappen benefitted, as did Hamilton, Tsunoda, and Norris. So really mixed bag for the entire grid.

On a very negative note, both Esteban Ocon and Kimi Antonelli had to retire from this race to to mechanical failures of some kind. A shame for both of them. Ocon has been in great form lately, though not really this weekend, and this was Antonelli's first home race. A shame for him, his twenty classmates who were brought to the race, and Italian fans everywhere.

Anyway, I will dive into the specifics of certain driver's races in my winners and losers post.

Race Results:

Max Verstappen +1

Lando Norris+2

Oscar Piastri -2

Lewis Hamilton +8

Alex Albon +2

Charles Leclerc +5

George Russell -4

Carlos Sainz -2

Isak Hadjar

Yuki Tsunoda +10

Fernando Alonso -6

Nico Hulkenberg +5

Pierre Gasly -3

Liam Lawson +2

Lance Stroll -7

Franco Colapinto -1

Ollie Bearman +2

Gabriel Bortoleto -4

Kimi Antonelli (DNF)

Esteban Ocon (DNF)

Cheers,

-B

[boxboxblog]

Imola GP 2025: Q3 (The Big One)

Okay so there were a lot of surprises in Q2. Both Ferrari's out, Antonelli out, both Astons through, Hadjar through. The only midfielders I am not surprised about being in the top ten are the Williams and Gasly. But wow, what a disappointment for Ferrari at their first home race of the season. There pace is just terrible, and I am not going to even explain why I call them a midfield team this year. I think I can confidently say they are probably the sixth or seventh fastest car this year.

My prediction for top three are as follows: Piastri, Verstappen, Norris. All I can say for sure through is that it will be one of those three on pole today. Absolutely zero doubts.

Alright green light, let's go.

Piastri goes to top, Norris behind him. Verstappen goes past them both. Russell goes into fourth. Hadjar fifth, then Stroll, Alonso, Albon, Sainz and Gasly. They will all go again though, so the order could switch around slightly.

Notably, Russell puts on mediums, which seems to be the fastest tire (according to Aston's results anyways). McLaren and Red Bull are on softs, so perhaps we could even see him squeak into our top three, or even pole? Let's see.

Piastri on flying. Norris also on flying as well as Verstappen and Russell. Piastri goes to top, so on provisional pole.

Albon goes to fifth. Norris stays in third. Verstappen stays in second. Sainz goes to sixth, Russell goes to third and knocks Norris down to fourth.

Provisional Starting Grid:

Piastri

2. Verstappen

3. Russell

4. Norris

5. Alonso

6. Sainz

7. Albon

8. Stroll

9. Hadjar

19. Gasly

11. Leclerc

12. Hamilton

13. Antonelli

14. Bortoleto

15. Colapinto

16. Lawson

17. Hulkenberg

18. Ocon

19. Bearman

20. Tsunoda

See you for the race tommorrow.

Cheers,

-B

[boxboxblog]

Imola GP 2025: Q2

Okay, Q2. The story of last session was the two crashes, Tsunoda and Colapinto. There were also more little moments of drivers almost crashing, or a few gravel scrubs so this just shows that this track is quick and seemingly low-grip.

Other than that, nothing super unexpected happened aside from Bearman's final time being deleted for the red flag stopping it in the last millisecond, which put him into the drop. It is possible they will reverse this decision. It is under review though, and if they give it back Bortoleto would be dropped so regardless of what they pick a rookies will be disappointed. They are delaying Q2 until the decision is made. Ironically, Bortoleto goes into the pitlane before they even choose. That's one way to do it. Looks like they are not giving Bearman his time back, so he is still dropped.

Anyway, green light, let's go.

Borotleto first to go, puts it to the top (obviously), Verstappen after goes by him. Stroll goes to 2nd, but Leclerc and Alonso go by him. Hamilton goes straight behind his teammate into third. Hadjar goes to fifth, Russell goes to second. Norris goes to the top. Piastri goes on flying and goes past his teammate by a small margin. Antonelli slots into 10th, Sainz goes into ninth.

In drop right now is Stroll, Gasly, Albon, Bortoleto, and Colapinto (obviously). In danger is Antonelli and Sainz. They will all go again, so this will change.

Bortoleto only puts it into 12th, so that is it for his quali. Antonelli, Hamilton, Leclerc on flyings. Antonelli goes into eighth. Leclerc goes to sixth, Hamilton seventh. Albon and Sainz and Gasly on laps looking fast. Sainz goes to top ahead of Piastri (wowza). Albon goes into seventh past Leclerc. Gasly goes into seventh and Antonelli is out. Stroll goes to 6th and Hamilton is out. Alonso goes to 6th and knocks Leclerc out. That is both Ferraris out. Wow.

Dropped Drivers:

11. Leclerc

12. Hamilton

13. Antonelli

14. Bortoleto

15. Colapinto

Alrighty, see you for Q3.

Cheers,

-B