Leclerc and Verstappen are the Future of F1, by Nancy Miles

Let's all be frank – Formula 1 has turned boring in the past few years. Mercedes' dominance is great news for fans of the German manufacturer, but to be honest, its superiority has made F1 stale. There's obviously need for changes in order to make the championship more competitive. Sure, Michael Schumacher was dominant in the past with Ferrari, but now with five consecutive title doubles Mercedes is surpassing even that run. On the positive side of things, at least we've been blessed with the brightest young stars the championship has seen in over a decade – Max Verstappen and Charles Leclerc.

Photo: Octane Photography

Verstappen, a Red Bull driver who won the Austrian and German Grands Prix recently, has been brimming with potential for a few years. Racing is in the 21-year-old Dutch driver's veins – he's the son of former F1 pilot Jos Verstappen. The youngest driver to compete in F1, Max Verstappen has been growing with each race and season. He's also the youngest race winner after claiming the 2016 Spanish Grand Prix when he was only 18.

With a pair of Austrian Grand Prix wins and a total of seven firsts in F1, Verstappen's odds at bookies have been constantly on the rise. Sure, his odds don't make him a major favourite for the title, but he's among the top four or five drivers. Verstappen may be lagging behind Lewis Hamilton, but is a much better option from a punter's point of view. Hamilton's odds are not very exciting @ 1/100, but Verstappen's (33/1), Sebastian Vettel's (150/1), and Leclerc's (175/1) look much better.

Inside Line F1 Podcast - What Year Will Alonso Be Back In F1?

Will Fernando Alonso give us a chance to miss him? What year could Alonso be back in Formula 1 - 2020, 2021 or 2022? Also, more than what year, it will also be a question of with which team. We certainly don't think it would be Ferrari, Mercedes or Red Bull.

Photo: Octane Photography

In this week's episode of the Inside Line F1 Podcast, Mithila and Kunal wonder if Alonso's exit would see a mass exodus of fans from Formula 1 - that's exactly what happened when Michael Schumacher quit. History and statistics tell us why Stoffel Vandoorne can be a Formula E Champion. We offer Racing Point creative ways to announce their signing of Lance Stroll. Did Ferrari back the wrong driver in 2018? Forget a fast car, Renault better have a witty social media team for Daniel Ricciardo. And finally, was Lewis Hamilton's 'shirtey' moment a lame attempt to give us something more than Ricciardo's 'shoey'? Tune in!

(Season 2018, Episode 39)
Subscribe to the Inside Line F1 Podcast on iTunes and on audioBoom (RSS feed) for your weekly dose of Formula 1 humour

Here is what's in store for you this week:

0:00-3:00: Did ALO take a legion of fans away from Formula 1 like MSC did?

3:00-6:00: Will ALO let us miss him in Formula 1? How soon before ALO is back - 2020, 2021 or 2022?

6:00-9:00: History tells us why VAN can be a Formula E champion and can we get started with McLaren-One Plus jokes already?

9:00-12:00: We offer Force India creative ways to announce their signing of Lance Stroll

12:00-15:00: Did Ferrari back the wrong driver in 2018? What if KUB still has it in him?

15:00-18:00: Mercedes win the Esports Championship too. They are the chosen ones this year. Forget a shoey, HAM did a shirt-y!

18:00-21:00: PER has been Force India's saviour in every way this year. Red Bull's discarded drivers coming to to the team’s rescue. But do they really have a future in Formula 1?

21:00-25:00: RIC's Mercedes promotion. No one saw it coming! Mithila's 'What Wolff Said This Week' section.

25:00: Moments in Time with Lucien and the end!

Inside Line F1 Podcast - Mick Schumacher To Join Red Bull Junior Program?

Helmut Marko has denied being in talks with Mick Schumacher to join the Red Bull Junior Driver program. Could this actually be a hint that Red Bull are already in talks with the young Schumacher? There's going to be a race to sign him - who will win this one?

In this week’s episode of the Inside Line F1 Podcast, we have Ashley give us a brief summary of the Singapore Grand Prix and her experiences from the Marina Bay Circuit. Also, we discuss the ‘mini race’ in Miami, how Ferrari may have beaten Red Bull and Mercedes to the ‘junior driver’ game, if Formula E is already using the ‘concept 3’ Formula 1 car and if a certain Flavio could be the ambassador for Formula 1’s newly announced betting partnership. Tune in!

Here's what is in store for you this week:

2:00-5:00 - HAM seeking a new challenger in his title battle, LEC could be one?

5:00-8:00 - RBR has seats, but no drivers. Mercedes have drivers, but no seats. Can RBR give KUB’s Formula 1 dreams wings?

8:00-10:00 - Ferrari ahead of the ‘junior driver’ game. We tell you WHY RBR could be talking to Mick Schumacher…

10:00-13:00 - Todt vs. Brawn when it comes to new teams joining Formula 1? And of course, a ‘universal engine’ for Motorsport? Btw, Todt said ’23 Grands Prix’ calendar, yay or nay?

13:00-15:00 - Just how many manufacturers has ALO pissed off? IndyCar vs. Formula 1 at COTA in 2019

15:00-17:00 - Formula E using Formula 1’s Concept-3 already?

17:00-20:00 - Let’s make VAN have some fun; c’mon. Hats off to SIR - fantastic defences in Singapore!

20:00-23:00 - Are RBR and VER talking down Renault way too much? Did you know that VJM is RT’ing Force India’s tweets? Miami to host a ‘mini race’; what does that even mean? Turkey to make a comeback?

25:00-28:00 - What Wolff Said This Week section

28:00-end - Flavio to be the ambassador for Formula 1 Betting?

(Season 2018, Episode 32)

Subscribe to the Inside Line F1 Podcast on iTunes and on audioBoom (RSS feed) for your weekly dose of Formula 1 humour

Inside Line F1 Podcast - Mercedes To Join Ferrari's F1 Quit Threats In Bahrain?

Liberty Media will present a draft of their future plans for the sport and business of Formula 1 to the teams on the Friday of the 2018 Bahrain Grand Prix. History has shown that such discussions usually end up with Ferrari threatening to quit Formula 1. But this time, we wonder if Mercedes will join Ferrari in Bahrain. After all in the recent past, Mercedes have been repeating Ferrari's quit threats as though they were their own.

In this week's episode of the Inside Line F1 Podcast, Mithila and Kunal hope that the racing will keep us as interested as the sport's politics do. Also, has Robert Kubica missed an BIG opportunity by letting go of his WEC drive for 2018? Will Fernando Alonso have a fall-out with McLaren owing to pay-cut issues? If so, the driver silly season for 2019 will heat up immensely. Finally, do remember to hear our 'What Wolff Said This Week' segment; we're excited by the comments it has already generated. Tune in!

(Season 2018, Episode 10)

Inside Line F1 Podcast - Bernie Ecclestone - Ferrari's Breakaway Series

Ferrari's breakaway series is no longer news. In fact, apart from grabbing headlines for the last decade, there's never been further movement. But will the out-of-work Bernie Ecclestone take up Ferrari's breakaway series as a project to bring him back into force in the world of Motorsport? Ecclestone's love for Ferrari is public knowledge, but how serious could Ferrari be?

Frankly, if there's any series who can benefit from Ecclestone's administrative experience, it would be Formula E. But that's for another episode.

In this episode, we talk about Robert Kubica's possible comeback and if he would be the fastest pay driver ever. Did Lewis Hamilton take piano lessons from Adrian Sutil? Will Lewis Hamilton skip the F1 Live events planned in 2018, or will Liberty Media make it mandatory for drivers to attend? Finally, instead of the grid girls vs. grid boys debate, let's have grid pets.

Finally, Formula 1 recorded an increase in circuit attendance in 2017. This is when we registered a 22% increase in our listenership. Thank you for your support, listens and comments. Here's wishing you a Happy New Year. We'll see you in 2018! Tune in!

(Season 2017, Episode 38)

Subscribe to the Inside Line F1 Podcast on iTunes and audioBoom for your weekly dose of Formula 1 humour. 

Brazilian GP Betting Preview - Brazil nuts?

You know what they say about crises and opportunities. Brazilian Grands Prix at Interlagos may bring an F1 gambler out in a cold sweat, given that it's a place where anything goes down. Even more so than Monaco.

Might it be Ferrari and Red Bull on top again?
Photo: Octane Photography

But with it comes perhaps opportunities to win big, and maybe specifically so this time. Mercedes has been worried about this one apparently and not just because of the Sao Paulo track's idiom. It fears, it is said, that the twisty middle sector will suit Red Bull and Ferrari more. Plus while Interlagos's altitude isn't quite that of Mexico City it's still something and we saw in Mexico last time out that the silver car can be vulnerable when having to pile downforce on in such conditions.

And the bookies haven't quite twigged, still making Lewis Hamilton firm favourite for pole and win. The odds on Sebastian Vettel at 19/5 to claim race victory and 4/1 to get the pole look very generous - particularly the latter as in Mexico Seb showed that he remains a qualifying master even if his car isn't entirely a stick-on for pole.

Inside Line F1 Podcast - Do We Have To Blame Someone For The Singapore Car-nage?

Formula 1 tested a live 360 degree telecast of the 2017 Singapore Grand Prix. While this wasn't available for fans to consume, if it was, the footage would've only offered more angles to fans to dissect the Verstappen-Raikkonen-Vettel clash and pinpoint the blame on a driver. But do we really have to blame this on someone? Let's take the FIA's lead, classify it as a 'racing incident' and move on. Or like Mithila said, she'd love to use the 360 degree footage to see Fernando Alonso's air-borne 360 degree spin!

In this week's episode, we tell you why a Lewis Hamilton win in Singapore is actually an unusual result, why Carlos Sainz Jr. might need to drop the 'Jr.' from his name next season and wonder if Nico Rosberg has any clout whatsoever to help Robert Kubica make a heroic comeback to the sport. Also, we can't believe that Daniel Ricciardo actually admitted to farting at an official press conference!

Has Mercedes forgotten their other junior driver, Pascal Wehrlein? And will both of Ferrari's junior drivers (Giovinazzi and Leclerc) make it to Formula 1 next season? And finally, should Jolyon Palmer take the money and make way for Sainz to make his Renault debut in Malaysia?

Tune in!

(Season 2017, Episode 31)

Inside Line F1 Podcast - James Bond In Formula 1?

Basis recent reports, Aston Martin are considering Formula 1 - that is if the costs of operations are affordable, of course. If Aston Martin do join, we're betting on a James Bond sequence in Formula 1 as one of their cross promotions. Brilliant advertisement for Formula 1 too.

Wishful thinking aside, we're excited about the Hungarian Grand Prix, a race fans usually aren't the most excited about it. But this year's interest lies on the Monday after the official Grand Prix event, for Robert Kubica's super-human comeback attempt to Formula 1.

Lastly, the FIA confirmed the 'halo' for 2018. Since this ruling doesn't seem like it'll be rolled back, we discuss how teams could compete next season for the best implementation of this life-saving but visually-disturbing device. Tune in!

Subscribe to the Inside Line F1 Podcast on iTunes and audioBoom for your weekly dose of Formula 1 humour.

(Season 2017, Episode 28)

Inside Line F1 Podcast - Ferrari's Most Crucial Race Of 2017 Yet?

Ferrari arrive under pressure at the Red Bull Ring - one of the most beautiful circuits on the Formula 1 calendar. Has the FIA evened out the supposed bias towards Ferrari? On one hand, it's let go Sebastian Vettel fairly leniently (says the public!) and on the other hand, it's clamped down 'oil burn' which most rivals believe has slowed down Ferrari. The general perception is that Ferrari is back to chasing Mercedes; so is the 2017 Austrian Grand Prix Ferrari's most crucial race of the season yet?

In this week's episode of the Inside Line F1 Podcast, we applaud the FIA's humour on the serious investigation of Vettel's transgressions in Baku and we wonder whose word we trust more - Toto Wolff's or Eddie Jordan's? With nearly a quarter of a million pounds after his McLaren exit, should Ron Dennis buy-out Force India - or the to-be-named Force One Formula One Team? Finally, Robert Kubica's heroic comeback will be granted super-heroic status if it is with the scarlet red Ferrari instead of the taxi-coloured Renault. Tune in!

Subscribe to the Inside Line F1 Podcast on iTunes and audioBoom for your weekly dose of Formula 1 humour.

(Season 2017, Episode 25)

Further thoughts on the Italian Grand Prix

Ice flee?
So the phoney war is over. The first shots in the 'who drives where in 2014' battle have been fired. Daniel Ricciardo last week was been confirmed for the Red Bull gig. And, if the word of the street at Monza and since is to be believed, we're about to have a major scud land, with Kimi Raikkonen's red return to Ferrari apparently to be finalised imminently.

Kimi Raikkonen - waving goodbye to Lotus?
Photo: Octane Photography

Like a lot of people, I met the initial rumours of Kimi's return to Maranello with general incredulity. After all, it comes just four years on from the Scuderia paying him rather handsomely not to drive for them. His disdain for PR and other legwork - which Lotus it seemed were uniquely able to tolerate - is well known. And he hardly seemed to fit with the Alonso-Santander plan for supremacy either.

More broadly, the move seemed against history. Ferrari has only signed four world champions to join its driving staff ever; it apparently hasn't had two world champions on the books since 1953. But by now, and with incumbent Felipe Massa today confirming that he is indeed looking for alternative employment for 2014, the momentum behind the Kimi transfer seems unstoppable.

Hungaroring Preview: The heat is on

The Hungaroring is important. No, really.

Have you ever ruminated over the sort of track that gets added to the F1 calendar in modern times, almost exclusively it seems: that which is purpose built from ground up especially to hold an F1 event, is super safe, has gleaming facilities, no expense is spared, and all is bankrolled by the national government keen to promote the country? And have you in turn wondered which venue was the first of these? (And if the answer to either of these two questions is 'yes' then well done for being about as nerdy as me). Well, the most likely answer is Hungary's Hungaroring.

Hungaroring: tight and twisty
Photo: Octane Photography

The Hungaroring debuted as an F1 host in 1986, constructed in just the seven months prior to the event on a greenfield site not far outside the city of Budapest. And 27 years on (gulp) it's easy to forget what a complete step into the unknown this represented for both the F1 circus and its hosts, stepping as the fraternity was behind the Iron Curtain into the 'Eastern Bloc', as Hungary was then part of. Without hyperbole, neither party had the first idea what to expect.

Bernie Ecclestone - F1's very own Henry Kissinger - had eyed a race in the Eastern Bloc for some time, and indeed as early as 1983 a street race in Moscow appeared on the provisional F1 calendar. That plan foundered on insurmountable bureaucracy, but by 1986 Hungary, always the most outward-looking of the Eastern Bloc countries, stepped in and Bernie was sold on the idea.

Alonso looking ahead?

Naturally, much of the focus at Silverstone yesterday was on the somewhat out of the blue announcement that this year will be Mark Webber's last in F1, as he's off to drive sportscars for Porsche from 2014.

Fernando Alonso - thinking beyond F1?
Credit: Ryan Bayona / CC

And yet it was something that Fernando Alonso said when asked about Webber's move that sticks in my mind. In the drivers' press conference the Spaniard said: 'I think he’ll have a lot of fun behind the wheel, as he’s doing now, with a little bit of less problems outside the wheel that we have now in Formula One. We enjoy 19 Sundays a year and the rest of the time is a little bit of a stressful time. With the new series I think he will have a little bit more fun.' It follows on from fairly similar sentiments uttered by Alonso in his excellent interview with Mark Webber on the BBC a few weeks ago - wherein he noted the stress of performing in F1 as well as the potential for greater enjoyment in other motorsport categories.

Alonso is a driver who remains something of an enigma, certainly to those party to the English-speaking media. And before these comments I'd never really known of any indication of whether, when the inevitable day comes that his F1 career ends, whether Alonso would be more at the Michael Schumacher end of the scale, with little or no interest in taking part in other forms of motorsport, or whether he'd be more towards the Robert Kubica end, willing to try his hand at pretty much anything.

Montreal's Circuit Gilles Villeneuve - a modern classic

Here's a little task for you. Go around your friends (those who like F1) and get them to name their favourite circuits on the current calendar. Spa is likely to come up a lot, as are Suzuka, Silverstone and Monza, while many of a certain persuasion may select Monaco and Singapore.

But there is another track that, despite not having the most immediately obvious qualifications to be included among this haughty group, despite appearing rather incongruous with the others mentioned, would be right up there in the forefront of people's minds too. Perhaps it would be cited more commonly even than any of the venues that I specified. This is the Circuit Gilles Villeneuve in Montreal, the scene of the Canadian Grand Prix.

Daniel Ricciardo and a typical
Montreal backdrop
Credit: Nic Redhead / CC

Why is this so? As I said it doesn't appear to have a great deal of overlap with the other popular tracks cited. It isn't the major driving challenge with fearsome turns that Suzuka and Spa are; it doesn't have Monaco's or Singapore's glitz and glamour; it hasn't been around since the year dot like Monaco, Spa, Monza and Silverstone have. But perhaps inadvertently we've gone some way to answering our own question. In my view, a central tenet of Montreal's appeal to the F1 fan is that it is different. Very much so.

The track is sited on a man-made island barely 150 yards across in the Saint Lawrence river (and TV pictures really don't give the full sense of the extent that the track is squeezed onto an island), and is surrounded immediately by lush parkland and flower beds, dusted with quirky, other-worldly architecture, with an exciting, vibrant, international city just a short metro ride away and providing the backdrop. The weather is usually wonderful, though there is just enough of a threat of rain to keep things interesting. The walls are close, meaning the passionate and knowledgeable fans - always there in great number - are close too, almost overhanging the track, while the local welcome is warm. Yes dear reader when the F1 circus pitches up in Montreal it certainly could not be mistaken for being anywhere else. And somehow when F1 is there for once everything feels right with the sport.

Perhaps also the passing of time and the parallel shifts of the F1 itinerary, with the sport's move to new (and sometimes tepid) venues mostly at rather identikit and cold Tilke-dromes, has added to Montreal's legend. Its status as a venue like no other, a venue with a quirky and refreshing sense of the distinct, as well as one with a warm, vast and passionate crowd in attendance, has got more acute over the years. It has now reached the point that as far as almost all of the sport's fans are concerned an F1 calendar without Montreal on it would be a greatly diminished one. The Circuit Gilles Villeneuve can truly be said to be a modern classic.

Mounting the Prancing Horse? Contenders for the 2013 Ferrari seat

If you think the faces who occupy the drives in the 'big four' F1 teams seem a bit familiar, that's because they are. We're now into the third season in a row of the same drivers in the same seats at Red Bull, McLaren, Ferrari and Mercedes.

But before you think that F1 is losing its reputation for musical chairs, as well as its notorious 'silly season' of rumour and counter-rumour about who is going where in the future, for 2013 all of this will change. None of the teams I listed has its drivers' line up set, or even reasonably clear, for next year. This includes Ferrari: while Fernando Alonso is under contract to drive for them all the way until the end of 2016 there is an ever-increasing number of hats in the ring for who'll be partnering him.

Here I assess some of the runners and riders in the Prancing Horse seat race.

Credit: Mark McArdle / CC

Felipe Massa
First of all, let's not forget that there is an incumbent.

What does Ferrari want from the guy who'll drive alongside Alonso from 2013? Well, ideally it wants someone who can co-exist with the Spaniard, and not 'rock the boat' unduly. The Ferrari-Santander-Alonso plan for glory is a clear one. But, with this, Ferrari is an outfit that wants to win constructors' titles as much as drivers' ones. Therefore, most probably, it requires someone humble enough to accept 'the role', but also good enough to bring home big points and be close to Alonso's pace.

Turning a Renault 4 into a Lotus 2

For the second year in a row there isn't much doing in the drivers' market for the front running teams. The 'big four' teams - Red Bull, McLaren, Ferrari and Mercedes - won't be changing their race line ups, barring something unusual happening, making 2012 the third season in a row that the familiar faces are occupying those seats.

Instead, we've had to look to the next team up in the constructors' table for our dose of driver market intrigue. It's just as well they've been providing plenty of this all by themselves, enough for the big four teams put together.

Renault have had a four into two conundrum for their 2012 line up (by which time they'll be called Lotus - do keep up at the back) for some time. The drivers in question, all currently on the Renault payroll one way or another, are Robert Kubica, Vitaly Petrov, Bruno Senna and Romain Grosjean.

In recent days though something resembling clarity has descended upon the situation. First off: Robert Kubica, who appears to have been ruled out rather than ruled in.

Robert Kubica was mighty for Renault in 2010,
but looks likely not be with them in 2012
Credit: Morio / CC

Of course, in terms of pedigree Kubica is on a different level to the other three potential pilots, and all things being equal he'd be the first pick for a seat. But as is well known, all things aren't equal.

F1 2011 Season Preview: Renault - Hamlet without the Prince?

Renault was in many ways the revelation of 2010. The team emerged from the littered wreckage post Singapore 'Crashgate', with the understated Eric Boullier replacing the flamboyant and controversial Flavio Briatore, and the Renault company rolling back their involvement. And what do you know, they produce a fine handling machine for 2010 which, alongside their inspired decision to recruit the brilliant Robert Kubica as driver, resulted in three podium finishes and a comfortable fifth in the constructors' table (as well as troubling the top teams regularly along the way). This very much ended three years of Renault going nowhere.

And the momentum appeared to be continuing into 2011. In addition to producing a neat, attractive chassis in the R31, with interesting detail (clearly putting their new wind tunnel and CFD resources to good use), they also showed the confidence to produce the most innovative design concept of the winter: forward-facing exhausts. The idea is that the exhaust gases enter the car's undersides from the front of the sidepods, and thus ensuring a faster airflow under the car and through the diffuser (a development of the exhaust-blown diffusers seen throughout the field last year), thus increasing the downforce. Ross Brawn has gone so far as to say that forward-facing exhausts are the new double-diffuser, a concept that everyone will have to copy.

Thoughts on Bobby K and Renault

Robert Kubica's crash last Sunday while competing in the Ronde di Andora rally is by now well-documented. And despite the encouraging early signs of recovery and his own clear determination, such are his injuries it looks like he'll be out of racing for some months.

This of course is a tragedy on many levels. Most of all it's a tragedy for Robert, who has an almost primal urge to compete and take machinery to its limit. Further, it comes literally days after the evidence from the Valencia test was that Renault could well have made a large performance step at the start of this season, raising the possibility that Kubica would finally get his hands on a car as competitive as he deserves it to be.

It's also a tragedy for F1 - it is the sport's pinnacle and the more top drivers that are in it the better it is for everyone. And make no mistake, Kubica, without hyperbole, can be bracketed among the top of the top. He's spent his time in F1 invariably getting his car into places it has no right to be, including still being in title contention right up to the penultimate race in 2008, while driving a BMW that had barely been developed since mid-season. He's bloody quick, incredibly consistent, highly committed and pushes his team effectively. Moreover, he has a Prost-like ability to avoid driving errors - if you try to think of a time that he has trashed an F1 car it's incredibly difficult to cite an example. It's not for nothing that the likes of Fernando Alonso and Lewis Hamilton really fear the day that Kubica gets his hands on a set of wheels that do justice to his towering talent. As his technical director James Allison said, 'If we can give him a car that's even half capable of getting a championship he'll get one'.

My Top 10 F1 Drivers of 2010: Six to Ten

Following on from one to five below... 

6: Robert Kubica
Robert Kubica is another who may be disappointed with where he's ended up in this list. To an extent, if we're purely to judge drivers on what they achieved with the equipment at their disposal then Kubica would certainly be placed comfortably within the top five. But there also has to be a premium on fighting at the front for wins and the championship when judging drivers, the pressure is of an entirely different level (and pressure does funny things to all of us).

These considerations aren't to take anything away from Kubica, who, after a slightly underwhelming and frustrating 2009 in the lame duck BMW (in which he was outscored by team mate Nick Heidfeld), successfully restored his formidable reputation this year. Like Alonso, he appeared to successfully build his team around him and galvanise them, ending what many thought was a terminal decline. Some in the Renault camp rated him better than Alonso in this regard - high praise indeed. Also like Alonso, he seemed to be getting the absolute maximum from his machinery, and consistently. Unlike Alonso, he didn't pepper this with mistakes, I cannot recall an error of Kubica's costing him points this year.

Kubica's finishing and qualifying records are models of consistent brilliance, and he didn't miss an opportunity to give the front runners hell when such moments arose. He qualified in the top three at the three circuits where the driver has the biggest potential to impact the outcome - Monaco, Spa and Suzuka. At Singapore, Silverstone and elsewhere he showed that there's nothing wrong with his abilities when wheel-to-wheel either.

Consistent, good with the team, bloody quick - with all due respect to Renault it's unfathomable why none of the 'big four' have found a place in their line-up for Robert Kubica.

Interlagos Preview: Rain makes things interesting

Thank goodness for rain. Some of it fell between practice yesterday and practice today, and it'll clearly be at least damp for today's qualifying hour at Interlagos. This will make things interesting.

For most of Friday it appeared that the Interlagos weekend was going to follow the pattern of that pretty much everywhere else, at least in recent races. The Red Bulls appeared to have the legs on everyone. Further, of the two Red Bulls Vettel was a smidgen ahead of Webber, continuing the theme of the last couple of races. It seems astonishing how Seb seems capable of consistently outpacing his team mate by that tiny, yet massive, margin. Further continuing the recent pattern, Alonso was brooding not far behind the Bulls, and poised to take advantage of whatever opportunity they present him with.

However, the weather will make things a lot less straightforward. It is tricky to draw conclusions from the practice session just passed, given that times tumbled as the track dried and Webber and the two Ferrari pilots didn't complete many laps. But certainly the Ferraris and the Red Bulls both looked strong even in the wet (perhaps showing that quick cars in the dry are often still quick cars in the wet), so shuffling of the established order in qualifying may be limited. And it doesn't currently appear that we'll get the monsoon-type conditions that we did last year at Interlagos

Korea GP Report: Fred cleans up as others fumble

Turns out those who set their alarms were rewarded, eventually. After well over an hour of false starts and touring behind the safety car (occasionally enlivened by driver politicking via their radios), what do you know, once the Korea race got under way proper it turns out to be a great one.

Fred took P1, and all of a sudden he looks to be in a strong position leading the championship table, with but two races left. Everyone laughed when mid-season he told all he would win the world championship this year, but now the only one laughing is Fred himself, as he gave us a demonstration of via the radio having taken the flag.

Yes, Fred took advantage of Red Bull fumbles to take the win, but there's always been an art to staying out of trouble to win races, particularly in these conditions, and Fred put them to full use today. He was never far behind the Bulls in any case.