Welcome back, Zoomies (y'all have a nickname now!). Can we just say how cool looking the graphic art work is for the 2024 F1 American Grand Prix in Austin, Texas, the 19th race on the 2024 circuit.
Lets get to the juicy stuff first!
So what happened during the three week break? Well, If ya read the latest Grab Bag, Sir Lewis Hamilton of Mercedes was named co-chair of the 2025 Met Gala- first time the committee is all black males! This next paragraph may look familiar to Grab Bag readers as I'm doing a copy n paste! Hey, that stuff is supposed to be in the Zoom Zoom side, but since they are on break, I've got to announce here, that FINALLY, Red Bull's junior team RB, has officially cut loose driver Daniel Riccardo! Myself, and a whole lot of other fans, feel Red Bull did Daniel dirty, by not officially making the announcement during Singapore GP so he could go out on the track, instead of a press release days later!
The "more is" that to no one's surprise, Kiwi youngster Liam Lawson is taking Daniel's seat for RB; so know we have TWO new drivers to finish out the final six races of the 2024 season. Just learned that with the two new drivers, there are now 16 nationalities represented on the track.
Welcome to the big track, Liam, now you just need to survive your team owners machinations!
Speaking of Red Bull/RB, Helmut Marko is an asshat- yep, this jerk strikes again, this time slamming a competing drivers mental health. Why Red Bull keeps him around baffles me, but that's why they are referred to as the Death Star, and Marko is definitely their Darth Vader! I'm going to post a summary of the controversy written by Lydia Mee of the Sporting News as she succinctly sums up the story and the reactions to those remarks: Red Bull's motorsport advisor Helmut Marko has come under fire for remarks made about McLaren driver Lando Norris. The comments, characterized by McLaren CEO Zak Brown as "inappropriate," have raised questions about mental health awareness in Formula 1, a topic that has gained significant traction in recent years.
During an interview with the German outlet Motorsport Magazin, as quoted by Autosport, Marko drew a comparison between Red Bull's Max Verstappen and Norris, stating:
"[Max] is the best, he's the fastest and, above all, he has the mental strength to theoretically fight for the world championship more than Charles Leclerc and Lando Norris.
"We know Norris has some mental weaknesses. I've read about some of the rituals he needs to do to perform well on race day."
The backlash was immediate and notable. Zak Brown did not mince words when addressing Marko's comments.
"I read Helmut's comments, which I thought were disappointing but not surprising. Lando has been kind of an ambassador for mental health. Toto [Wolff] has spoken about mental health, so I think it's a serious issue that we've tried to talk about and bring to the forefront.
"Poking at that situation I think is pretty inappropriate and kind of sets us back 10-20 years. But it's all fun and games in how some people go racing and what tactics they use from a sporting perspective, but I thought that one was in pretty poor taste."
Lando Norris has often spoken candidly about his battles with nerves and mental health challenges, something that adds gravity to Marko's offhand comments. The McLaren driver has previously explained:
"I still get so nervous for qualifying and for the races, I still get just as excited and just as nervous," Norris said. "I barely eat anything on Sundays. I struggle to drink anything on Sundays, just because of nerves and just because of pressure.
"I think it's just about how you turn that into a positive thing. How do you not let it affect you in a bad way, and how can you actually use it in a good way, to help you focus on the correct things?"
The McLaren team, in collaboration with the UK charity Mind, continues to advance mental health conversations within the sport, joining a larger movement against stigmatization. The Woking-based squad are also not the only ones to speak out on mental health issues. Others from the sport to advocate for open conversations about mental health include seven-time champion Lewis Hamilton, Mercedes chief Toto Wolff, and Hamilton’s teammate George Russell. I just despise this Marko asshat, despise!
On to more pleasant news with this tidbit: During her interview with Howard Stern last week, Vice President and Presidential nominee, Kamala Harris let the world know that she is a HUGE Formula One fan, and that Sir Lewis Hamilton is her favorite driver! Yes, I will be insufferable about this, and looking for my invite to the White House to watch a Grand Prix with her next year!
Your driver outdated grid (by two):
and the two new kids: Argentine Franco Colapinto for Williams (replacing Sargent)
New Zealander Liam Lawson for RB (replacing Riccardo)- yep same pic!
Now onto the racing, with only one Practice session, as we will have A Sprint Quali and a Sprint race (about 20 laps, basically a mini-GP, points can be had in these sprints for the top ten).
P1: Sixty minutes. It's HOT and dry in Austin Texas, with the temps in the 90's. The track length is just under 3.5 miles, with 20 turns. It's a partly resurfaced track with slow speed corners/turns, high speed swoopy sections very snaky. Ten minutes in, both Gasly and Hamilton had minor spinouts on Turn 1. Next lap Hamilton has a nasty spinout on Turn 4 but is able to continue racing, but will be heading to the pit stop to change his tyres and check the floor of the car- was that close to being very messy! Russell also has an adventure, as his car spins round like a record and slides BACKWARD a few inches on Turn 1. 4D Geometry was a beast for me in school, but apparently this Turn 1 has a high elevation entry, dips down while on a curve/turn, and then flattens out. The crosswinds are also not helping drivers on this turn either. A lot of drivers are swinging wide on the last two turns, which may bring up track limit violations when we get out of practice. Track evolution seems quite raw, hence the above incidents-we shall see how the track settles as the weekend progresses. with 15 minutes to go, Zhou power unit has decided to call it a day, so his P1 is done.
And that wraps the only practice session of this GP weekend.
Driver Eye Candy! For this race, I have chosen Aussie Oscar Piastri of McLaren. Oscar is the second youngest driver on the circuit, is very good and smart for someone his age, and has a very dry Aussie sense of humor, and adorably shy!
Oscar Piastri- Very demure, very mindful! And likes shiny hats!
A note on how Qualifying works: There are three quick races to determine grid position for the GP race. First quali the last five drivers are cut, second quali again, last five drivers dropped, and 3rd and final quali determines the top ten on the grid and the ever important pole (1st) position. This also applies to the Sprint Qualis, you will just see me use SQ1 to show the difference.
SQ1: A note on the McLaren cars, they have a very shiny chrome paint job thats very cool- getting lots of compliments! It's a few hours later after P1, and 80 degrees, hot, overcast, and winds at 12 MPH (that could play a factor. 12 minutes for SQ1, and the mandatory tyre usage for these three qualis (I just learned this!) are: Medium, Medium, and Soft. No incidents as the drivers have tamed the track evolution, except for Alex Albon, who on his last lap, did the prettiest pirouette I've seen an F1 car do and keep racing, but that cost him. Also, Piastri, on his last lap, did cross the white line on Turn 19 and had that lap deleted (track limit violation!) and as this session ends, finds Piastri, Albon Zhou, Bottas and Ocon with the slowest lap times, and will start in th back for the Sprint Race.
SQ2: 10 minutes. No incidents to report, so the next bottom five are: Perez, Lawson, Gasly, and both Aston-Martin's, Alonso and Stroll.
SQ3: Eight minutes and for grid position and pole on soft tyres. No incidents, so your Sprint Race top ten are: Verstappen, Russell, Leclerc, Norris, Sainz, Hulkenberg, Hamilton, Magnussen, Tsunoda and Colapinto. A very good race for the Haas team, with both drivers in the top 10, and a nice showing by the rookie Colapinto to make the top 10.
Driver Eye Candy! Aussie post race cool down time routine!
Oscar never leaves home without having his ducks in a row! (tip your servers!)
U.S. Texas Sprint Race: 19 laps, points are eight points for first down to one point for eighth place. Weather is very hot, the track even hotter, which will lead to some tyre degradation for some of the drivers, who are all running on Medium tyres, and no strategic pit stops. It's LIGHTS OUT, and Max keeps the lead on the first turn, but Lando jumps from 4th to 2nd with a nifty inside move to get ahead or Russell, who (teaser alert) is going to have a rough race. For most of these laps, the Ferrari drivers, Sainz and LeClerc, are in a scrappy battle for 4th, very entertaining. Piastri did move up during the race from 16th to 10th, but was slapped by the stewards with a five second PENALTY for forcing Gasly off the track to gain an advantage. Another fun scrap was Piastri and Tsunoda battling it out for 10th, with Tsunoda getting quite feisty (watch the language, Yuki!), before Oscar overtook him for that 10th spot placement...for now.
Oh, poor Georgie! Russell was basically ganged up on by both Ferrari drivers as each overtook George on basically the same move! We learn later in the race that Russell and his Mercedes teammate, Hamilton, were finishing the last laps on burnt out used tyres. With Verstappen still in the lead, Sainz made a charge at Norris, and Lando locked up, allowing Carlos to pass him for 2nd, and LeClerc was right on Lando's tail wing and nearly collided with Lando when Lando braked to prevent the overtake (Lando revealed post-race his front tyres were toast in the last couple of laps!). In the end, it was Verstappen in first by three seconds, Sainz- 2nd, Norris-3rd, LeClerc- 4th, Russell- 5th, Hamilton-6th, Magnussen-7th and Hulkenberg-8th; drivers who scored points. This was Max' sixth Sprint Race win in a row, btw! I would also add that so far, the Haas team is having a great weekend, getting into the points. Later in the day, we move on to Grand Prix Qualifying, which is the same as I wrote above for the Sprint qualis- fastest lap times determine track grid for the Grand Prix on Sunday! Race time was around 45 minutes, and we have two more Sprint Races left, so as I have recommended, Sprints and Qualis are best viewing for newbies to F1 as they are rather quick! :)
More Oscar Eye Candy!
Oscar, you from Sydney, reside in Monaco...go to the beach and get some sun!
GP Quali 1: 18 minutes under cloudy skies on a very warm afternoon with 40% humidity, and winds at 9 MPH. No incidents for this quali, but there is a shocker in the bottom five which consists of both Saubers- Zhou and Bottas, both Williams- Albon and Colapinto and <gasp> Mercedes Lewis Hamilton, who has always made it to Q3 for the last several seasons! A hush fell over the crowd once the realized Lewis was in the bottom five, that's how much of a shock it was! GP Quali 2: 15 minutes. Lawson of RB who finished 3rd, has withdrawn from the last 2 qualis, as he has to carry massive penalties that RB sustained back in Singapore, and will start from the back of the grid. Basically Liam and everyone else happy with Liam's GPQ1. No incidents, so the next bottom five are : Lawson and Tsunoda-RB, Hulkenberg-Haas, Stroll- Aston-Martin, and Ocon-Alpine.
GP Quali 3: 12 minutes. I thought I was going to have a clean "no incidents" for all three qualis, and technically, I did, as the checkered flag was being waved to signal that the 12 minutes are done, but not so fast! With time expired, Russell smashed his car into the barrier at Turn 19 on an oversteer at 125 MPH, he is okay, the car moderate damage. So your U.S. Grand Prix in Austin top ten grid is: 1) Norris 2) Verstappen 3) Sainz 4) LeClerc 5) Piastri 6) Russell 7) Gasly 8) Alonso 9) Magnussen and 10) Perez.
U.S. Grand Prix: 56 laps. It's a hot clear sunny day, and winds at about 10 MPH. News after last nights quaili is that Mercedes needed to use extra time and parts from their previous race to fix the car George Russell crashed into the barriers, and that is a no-no, so Georgie will start last from the pit lane! This track (which i like, very wide, good for overtakes (39 last year! and an elevated hill right out the gate leading into Turn one. I suspect that the start, and Turns 1, 4, 11 and 19 (out of 20) will be challenging for the drivers; something to be aware of. Also, track is hot, so the tyres will take a beating with graining and tyre degradation, majority of drivers are starting on Medium tyres. With that, It's LIGHTS OUT, and as I suspected, on the approach to the hill, Lando was trying to defend against Max, but ended up having Max AND both Ferrari's, LeClerc and Sainz pass him on the downslope towards Turn 1, leaving Leclerc the race leader early on. Also at the start, we had Albon clip Ocon's car, sending Ocon spinning off the track momentarily, but is in last place! Also happening is both Liam Lawson and Lewis Hamilton made up five places on that start, with Lewis now in 12th, on Lap 2, but not for long (DUN DUN DUN DUN!), as Lewis rear tyres can't get grip on Turn 19, and into the gravel he goes! SAFETY CAR out, Lewis is okay, but his race is done for the day (DNF); the bittersweet irony here is that Lewis LOVES this track, and has done quite well in Austin, Texas, but as you have read, this has NOT been Lewis' weekend. Safety Car removed, Green flag is up, and away we go (FYI: if there is a safety car involved, all drivers MUST hold their position they had before the safety car shows up). LeClerc still in the lead but Max hot on his rear wing. Lap 16, no changes in the grid, but George Russell is probably looking to ride a wild horse out of Texas after this weekend, as Georgie is hit with a five second PENALTY for forcing a driver off the track.
Lap 26: Almost all of the lower 10 drivers have done their first pit stop, Gasly, who was in 6th, after he pitted, dropped all the way back to 16th! Max has done his first pit stop (2,7 secs), and came out on track in 5th place, behind Sainz, Piastri, Lando, and LeClerc, who has a commanding lead of 13 seconds over Lando! LeClerc makes his first pit stop (2.5 seconds) on hard tyres...hmmm. Possible one stop strategy. Now have the two McLaren's 1-2, and the Ferrari's 3-4. Norris pits at Lap 32, now in 5th, with Max, Sainz, Piastri, and LeClerc, who is in th lead. Five second PENALTY for Gasly for taking a track advantage (on Alpine, you were doing so well this weekend, glad to see you are not letting my shade game down!). Getting in on the five second PENALTY is Yuki, for forcing a driver off the track on Lap 35.
Since Lap 45, we have had an epic battle for 3rd place between Max and Lando, as Max has been defending hard against Lando, with offense and defense being displayed by both drivers, with just a car length tween them! On Lap 52, Lando goes wide off the track to avoid colliding with Max, and comes back on with the lead! Both are still fighting in these last three laps for 3rd place! The crowd is going wild over this battle! Bad news for Lando, as the stewards have hit Lando with a five second PENALTY for gaining an advantage on the move I described earlier! Can Lando find an extra second on this final lap to overcome that penalty and hold on to 3rd place? No he does not, as Lando crosses the line 4.1 seconds ahead of Max, meaning the two places switch, and Lando finishes 4th, with his teammate 5th.
The Lone Star winner to the U.S. Grand Prix in Texas is Charles Leclerc, 8.5 seconds ahead of his teammate, Carlos Sainz, with Max rounding out the podium in 3rd. A very nice 27th birthday (a few days late) present for Charles! It's been 18 years since Ferrari had a 1-2 finish in the United States!
That's a great birthday present, Charles!
Some notes: The kids did an outstanding job, with Lawson and Colapinto finishing in the points at 9th and 10th, respectively. Ocon snags a point for fastest lap, and LeClerc Gets the fan vote for Driver for the Day!
Russell actually saved his day, finishing 6th!
It's off to Mexico City for their 2024 Grand Prix. With five races to go, McLaren is ahead of Red Bull by 55 points, and now Ferrari is only eight points behind Red Bull! We have a RACE for the Constructors (team) Cup!
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