We move on from one hot land to the other, and no, I am not talking about Aston Martin factory with Lawrence Stroll raining down hellfire after every bad race weekend (which has been every race weekend), but rather the high-speed circuit of Jeddah. Reporters seemed ready to trade their remaining lives for any possible information on a potential Max Verstappen transfer to another team, amidst the poor form of Red Bull in Bahrain. The two championship rivals from McLaren seemed on the pace from the get-go, and the prospect of the much-awaited battle between the two was heating up rapidly, and so was the pressure around Lando. Aside from Yuki’s crash in FP2 as a tribute to Max’s record-shattering lap attempt in 2021, nothing quite made the headlines. (It’s free practice we are talking about after all)

Ferrari fans, this might be a good place to tune out as McLaren’s luxurious gap over the other teams seemed to vanish as the green lights lit up at the end of the pit lane. Everyone expected this to be a proper 4-way battle for the pole as the track cooled down, bringing George and Max into the play. Lando Norris crashed in his Q3 warm-up lap (I know, right?) bringing out the red flag and memes, which goes on to show people are rather prepared for a Lando Norris fumble, almost always! Red flag brought some daring strategies into play as Max prepared for a 2 lap attempt to the pole after Oscar and Russel made a great attempt to clinch it for a second each. It gave us an amazing 3-way fight with Max, as always, coming out at the top, snatching the pole from Oscar by barely anything.

Ferrari fans can tune back in again as turn 1 proved to be the epicentre of the drama for the race and had we known how boring the race was going to turn out later, we would have been able to experience it a little better. It is very tough to comment on the nature of the move attempted by Max Verstappen, but it’s safe to say that when you have a soap box under your feet, you gotta resort to violence to keep any hopes alive. This incident was soon followed by a crash between Gasly and Tsunoda (Off-track besties of course) to bring out a safety car in the very first lap. Norris charged up the field (another day in the office after a bad Saturday) and Carlos Sainz relived his Singapore memories, but this time as a cheap second-copy version after keeping Albon in his DRS range to haul a good amount of points for Williams. Oscar came home to win ahead of a very grumpy Max Verstappen, with Leclerc’s brilliant tyre management giving him his first podium of the season.

Join the drivers’ date with Jerez as bike racing finds their way to the high demanding track of Spain to further this Championship domination for ages or throw a potential curve ball and catch us all by surprise. Twists and turns on-track and off-track can never be outruled and take this thrill to another level and unlock the top spot in the fantasy leaderboard by participating in the Spanish GP Contest live only at Grid Master App. Are you going to play it safe or go for a crazy prediction to win big over others? Have it your way in this crazy next round of a crazy racing season and let your passion and love for the sport push you ahead!

Oscar’s second consecutive win has put him at the top of the Championship leaderboard, marking an Australian leading the WDC after a whole 15 years. Who was that guy, you may ask? Mark Webber, of course (Game recognising game). Lando entered the season to be the favourite for the title win by bookies and fans alike (funny how neither of them will make a buck). After the big upset in Melbourne, Oscar has been on a charge, bouncing back in China with a dominating race win to be consistently there in every qualifying session, Oscar has stepped up his game in his third year of the sport. This dominant form of Oscar and back-to-back mistakes by Norris in Q3 might well be pulling the weight of the team in Oscar’s favour, as they aren’t that stupid to realise which basket is safer to put their eggs in.

The scene over at Aston Martin is nothing less than a clown show at the moment. From Alonso’s most unsuccessful start of a season out of the million starts he has had in his ancient career to technical issues, they are having it all. I mean surely Fernando isn’t that much of a GOAT to drive the car without the entire steering wheel, right?…RIGHT? After Lance Stroll’s path-breaking record to have the most Q1 exits in the history of the sport, it seems a little impractical to expect anything from that side of the garage, and if Fernando Alonso is proven not to be immortal, they will need planning. They are now throwing everything at Max Verstappen as it is apparent that Max is their last hope in the long-term future. (Seriously, where is the money coming from?!) Only Time will tell if Red Bull’s performance is enough to tempt Max Verstappen out of the team he is so embedded in.

CURBS AND KEBABS

Presenting a brand new section of your much-loved newsletter, called DID YOU KNOW? A segment where we take random, interesting, shocking facts, trivia and stories, realising how they painted the motorsport world, how we now see and love!

Night races pop-up the picture of sparks flying from the cars going at crazy speed, but wait, WHAT ARE THESE SPARKS? Well this is from the plank or ‘Skid blocks’ at the bottom of the floor of the car preventing the teams to run their car very low to the floor as it will result in an increased skid wear causing a potential disqualification.