Nuts & Bolts --April 10, 2025

After the Japanese GP, 2025 ...

• Has Stroll finished the race yet?

• Carlos Sainz's results have to be the most disappointing so far.

• Jack Doohan's mistake in practice of forgetting to close his DRS entering the first corner. Wow. I am going give the rookies some more time before I make any more comments on them.

• The season is reminding me of 1986. Two drivers in perhaps the best team, and the defending champ in another, battling for the title. If we have a season nearly as exciting as '86, we will be well entertained.

• Saying that, the Japanese race was awfully dull and featured a lack of passing. Not wanting to jinx anything, last year's Bahrain GP had Max leading the entire race, and the top 3 stayed in their positions for about the last 40 laps. At least Bahrain will be at a time that'll make it easier for me to stay awake.

• We never get to hear Jacques Villeneuve as a commentator here in Canada, but we did for Japan. It's always made to seem he is very critical, but he was not, and was a bit humourous at times.

• Eddie Jordan passed away on March 20. The Jordan team was just about the last of the non-corporate teams, run by people who love the sport.
  

Nuts & Bolts -- March 25, 2025

• Red Bull are trying to change the decades old belief that slow, difficult-to-handle cars are difficult to drive, to something we have never heard before--fast cars are hard to drive. Are they saying it is easier to go fast in a slower car?

• Rumours have been swirling (when aren't they) that Yuki Tsunoda will be in the Red Bull for the next race in Japan, his home race. We need to see this, if not for the lone sake of just seeing it.

• Here's an idea: How about Red Bull put whatever driver is at their home race in the second seat? Lance in Montreal, Lewis in Britain, Sergio back for Mexico City. Lawson can keep the seat when there is no local driver.

• Helmut Marko has an enviable position. Promote young, inexperienced drivers to race-winning seats. If they thrive he looks like a genius, if they fail he can blame the driver.

• Kimi Antonelli won the fan-voted driver of the day in China. Apparently if you are young, score pole position, and dominate the race in a race-winning car, you do not win driver of the day, but if you are young and tour around in 8th in a race-winning car, you do. At least Antonelli was as surprised as I was.

• While it's been an interesting enough season so far, let's point out that the pole sitter has won both full races and the sprint race. Has there been an on-track pass for the lead yet?

• The Japanese GP will be run on Oscar Piastri's birthday. A driver has won on his birthday twice before: James Hunt in 1976, and Jean Alesi in 1995. One of those went on to win the world championship that year, the other never won another race.

• Max Verstappen has led all but 8 laps at the previous 3 Japanese races.
  

• Of course, after suggesting Lewis Hamilton would not be as fast as Charles Leclerc, Hamilton immediately dominates the sprint race in China. I should have learned my lesson about saying such things during the Schumacher years.
  

Nuts & Bolts -- March 20, 2025

• The standard of driving from the rookies in Australia was unacceptable. All but Bortoleto qualified well behind their teammates. However, Antonelli had a decent race. Bearman trailed around at the back after completing no laps all weekend. The rest chucked their cars off in the race.

• Referring to the rookies, Martin Brundle said "all these things you got to learn". I can hear Nikki Lauda saying something like "F1 is not kindergarten." F1 is not a learning series, by the time you reach F1 you are supposed to know the lessons and be one of the best in the world.

• Contrast this to the hate Jacques Villeneuve gets about his debut, when he scored pole position and nearly won the race. People dismiss it, saying, "Oh he was in the best car." Note than Antonelli is in a car that won four races last year, and Lawson is in the car that has won the last four drivers' championships.

• Yep, I realize veteran Alonso spun off, too.

• The moment when Norris and Piastri slid off the track, and Lando was able to better recover, might be one of those moments that decide the championship between the two McLaren drivers. It will be interesting to see how the 16 points Piastri lost make a difference at the end of the year.

• Does anyone believe Lewis Hamilton will outperform Charles Leclerc this season?

• Yuki Tsunoda doesn't get the credit he deserves. He was unlucky not to score some big points.

• Looking at the session times for the Chinese Grand Prix, this Canadian will be PVRing and watching later.
  

• I will keep saying it: F1 needs to get rid of the dumb rule allowing lapped cars to unlap themselves during a safety car.