Formula 1 2024

[Deadlines? What Deadlines?]

On 7/3/2022 at 4:23 PM, williamjm said:

That is a horrible looking accident.

In the commentary I think it was Mark Webber who made the point that the impact wasn't really that big by F1 standards so the important thing was the car remaining intact and the driver's head being protected. Webber is something of an expert when it comes to flipping racing cars.

This was the crash that convinced me that maybe paved runoff isn't all its cracked up to be. When Webber came back down he broke two corners of the car (right front and left rear), and the other two look to be been intact to some degree. Regardless, he was a surf board; and he lost zero speed between the track boundary and the tire wall.

Maybe I wasn't paying attention because I don't remember much commentary about it beyond the severity of the accident. But I think the FIA came to the same conclusion because we're starting to see gravel in some places again. 

[Winterfell is Burning]

Brazilian press link (Portuguese)  reports that tomorrow's France GP will be the last. Guess they have to open space for more petrostates dictatorships.

[Werthead]

7 hours ago, Winterfell is Burning said:

Brazilian press link (Portuguese)  reports that tomorrow's France GP will be the last. Guess they have to open space for more petrostates dictatorships.

Ironically, before last year people would have not cared so much (about losing France, not the petrostate thing) because Paul Ricard has traditionally been quite crap. However, last season's race was good and I suspect, in pursuit of Sod's law, tomorrow's will be as well.

Leclerc does have some pace but Ferrari did have to resort to slipstream tactics to put him on pole, and he has the problem of both Red Bulls being in his wing mirrors with Sainz at the back of the grid. He probably has to hope for  a great getaway and maybe the Mercedes nailing Perez. If Sainz can do a thunderous jump up the grid from the back - his best qualifying lap was outrageously fast - he might also become a factor later on if there's a safety car. Otherwise I think Verstappen might take it a bit too easily.

[TheLastWolf]

Ham showed spirit...hope he continues

[Loge]

15 hours ago, Winterfell is Burning said:

Brazilian press link (Portuguese)  reports that tomorrow's France GP will be the last. Guess they have to open space for more petrostates dictatorships.

The contracts of the French, Belgian and Monaco GP all expire. Monaco will probably be renewed, though they might not get special treatment anymore. There's to be a third GP in the US and the Qatar GP is back. That leaves the calendar maxed out. Any new race would require F1 to drop an existing one and the French and Belgian GP would be likely candidates. 

[polishgenius]

I can take or leave France but dropping Spa from the calendar should be a crime punishable by law.

[TheLastWolf]

I want an "Eat my dust" tweet after Hunga-roaring 

[Werthead]

Interesting call by Ferrari. Some people saying that got it wrong, but apparently Ferrari felt that Sainz's tyres were right on the limit and could fail at any second. Calling him in seemed dumb, but it worked out. If he'd stayed out he might have hung on to one place higher or he might have crashed out or dropped off the cliff and been overtaken by other drivers.

So yeah, I think that was a good call by Ferrari, but a tricky one.

Leclerc has to be feeling right up against it. A 63-point gap to make up in 10 more races is not insurmountable but it will be very tough based on Ferrari and Red Bull's respective forms.

Fernando Alonso is now the single most experienced driver in F1 history.

[Wilbur]

Sad to see Vettel retiring.

I feel like Ferrari killed off his momentum with their poor team management when he made the move from Red Bull.

[Werthead]

The main thing is surprise at how many people who hated Vettel a few years ago are expressing sadness over him leaving. It feels like he really levelled up as a human being over his time in the sport, even if his driving skills went in the opposite direction.

Good to see all the praise from Alonso and Hamilton for him as well.

[TheLastWolf]

8 hours ago, Werthead said:

The main thing is surprise at how many people who hated Vettel a few years ago are expressing sadness over him leaving. It feels like he really levelled up as a human being over his time in the sport, even if his driving skills went in the opposite direction.

Good to see all the praise from Alonso and Hamilton for him as well.

me too

He created an Insta handle just for this...

[Werthead]

Ah, Ferrari. No other team is so adept at snatching defeat from the jaws of victory.

[TheLastWolf]

What a race man! Watched in UHD TV after making do with a crappy, mobilephone for long. Ham was at the top of his game, a bit of rain and he'd have eaten little Maxie. Poor luck and strategy on Ferrari's part, George was ok, but he should have fought harder if he'd really desired to convert that maiden pole to a win. I was erroneous earlier about the break, see ya'll fter Belgium.

Edited July 31, 2022 by TheLastWolf

[Mr. Chatywin et al.]

31 minutes ago, Werthead said:

Ah, Ferrari. No other team is so adept at snatching defeat from the jaws of victory.

Have you met Democrats? 

Excellent race. Just finished cooking eggs and bacon in time to watch the last dozen or so laps, though it was thrilling just to hear it from the other room. 

[williamjm]

38 minutes ago, Werthead said:

Ah, Ferrari. No other team is so adept at snatching defeat from the jaws of victory.

I did like the bit where they showed the podium trio chatting and watching replays before the ceremony and I think it was Hamilton saying in disbelief, "was [Le Clerc] on hard tyres there?", and Verstappen and Russel laughing about it.

[polishgenius]

1 hour ago, williamjm said:

I did like the bit where they showed the podium trio chatting and watching replays before the ceremony and I think it was Hamilton saying in disbelief, "was [Le Clerc] on hard tyres there?", and Verstappen and Russel laughing about it.

 

[Iskaral Pust]

Good race, and DRS makes the Hungaroring more open to overtaking now.  Verstappen drove an incredible race to win from tenth place on the starting grid.  Ferrari have egg in their face for their race strategy once again.  M-M-H was a weird call when all the other teams seemed to be avoiding the hard tires today — did they all know that the cooler temps and track surface would not be friendly to hard tires?  Hamilton showed that M-M-S was fine, while Verstappen used S-M-M to help him move up the race order as early as possible.

Mercedes are much more competitive in recent weeks (and somehow the career-threatening danger to drivers from the new downforce regs/design has mysteriously disappeared once Merc finally reached a balance in their set-up), although as it turned out they have helped Red Bull widen the lead for Verstappen as the podium is more hotly contested.

At this stage Ferrari could run a lottery among the Tifosi to select a new race strategist.  When you look at what Leclerc is facing, on top of Vettel, Alonso and others, it just shows how much Schumacher achieved — with Todt and Brawn — to turn Ferrari from glamorous, well-funded incompetents into serial champions.  It was a lot more than just driving the car.

[Raja]

53 minutes ago, Iskaral Pust said:

 it just shows how much Schumacher achieved

Nah, I just don't think Ferrari have been used to competing for the top spot and pressure sitiuations like this. This is really the first season they have done it in 4-5 seasons, which is why they have been found wanting. I don't think it's a reflection on Schumacher etc at all. Red Bull have had the advantage of being close-ish the last 2-3 seasons, that's why they were ready when the chance came last season.

Ferrari haven't been anywhere close except for this season, and that lack of experience is hurting them.

[Iskaral Pust]

13 minutes ago, Raja said:

Nah, I just don't think Ferrari have been used to competing for the top spot and pressure sitiuations like this. This is really the first season they have done it in 4-5 seasons, which is why they have been found wanting. I don't think it's a reflection on Schumacher etc at all. Red Bull have had the advantage of being close-ish the last 2-3 seasons, that's why they were ready when the chance came last season.

Ferrari haven't been anywhere close except for this season, and that lack of experience is hurting them.

Aside from the Schumacher era, they’ve been inept for decades.  They’ve had good cars and very good drivers at other points in time without really bringing the whole combination together.  Vettel and Alonso were let down by them too.

[Raja]

2 minutes ago, Iskaral Pust said:

They’ve had good cars. Vettel and Alonso were let down by them too.

I disagree. From 2015 to 2020, they had okay cars but they were always a bit behind Mercedes as opposed to now where the pace is clearly there in the car. They've never been as competitive as the Red Bull & Merc were last season.