After weeks of being told what is a Mercedes track and what is a Red Bull track I’m just going to ignore all F1 punditry.
Lord Sir Lewis Hamilton of Stevenage
Max Verstappen
Evil Daniel Ricciardo
Less Evil Sebastian Vettel
There was something in the air that night Fernando
Sharl Leglerg
MSC mk2
Alex Albon
Alex Albon
Alex Albon
After weeks of being told what is a Mercedes track and what is a Red Bull track I’m just going to ignore all F1 punditry.
It hasn't been clear cut at all this season. In 2019 you could predict it quite easily.
First corner clusterfuck ahoy today.
Hopefully. Everything’s been too clean lately.
Mega long straight into turn 1 with the supposedly faster cars in places 3 and 4. Bound to be some smash ups, right?
I think yesterday was teams struggling with the track surface. Getting the tyre switched on for a full-go lap seemed quite difficult. This should explain a little why most were not improving on their last run. Max was on a lap that would have likely sandwiched him between Bottas and Hamilton put Yuki made sure that didn't happen.
Is this one an evening kickoff like Texas?
7pm this time.
Nice. Have the dinner ate, the balls washed, and the hooves up.
Yuki being put on the softs in Q2 to make a tow line for the Red Bulls (did you notice the Alpha Tauris queuing at the pit exit at the start of the sessions?) and then binning it mid-lap is pretty funny, really. Horner then had a massive pop at him afterwards, like the deeply unpleasant man he is.
The entire Red Bull side is getting quite unpleasant isn't it? We already know about Dr Marko and Horner, but even the usually very likeable Max is starting to go that way of late.
But it is the right way around for an entertaining race. I suspect a lot of teammate shenanigans to unfold.
Crap, missed the start. What the hell happened?
Ricciardo forgot his station and speared Bottas off. Max did them all on the brakes.
The Mercedes isn't working in the stadium. Verstappen taking absolutely chunks out of it.
So far all I've seen is everyone overtaking Russell. This will be an absolute borefest.
If you come to a track where overtaking is hard, making it also an easy 1 stop on the tyres is the wrong way to go.
Yuki didn't even bin it, he moved off track to allow Perez and Verstappen through without dirty air. Perez then had a big snap of oversteer entering the corner and went wide and Max lost a few tenths through the same section.Originally Posted by Jimmy Floyd
I really like Max but the Red Bull machine in general is just horrible. Horner saying we were "Tsunoda'd"; how does that make him feel hearing that from his parent team? Just ridiculous to be airing that in public.
What a fucking boring race.
Probably wouldn't have helped him, but why Bottas was letting Verstappen have space around the outside of him into turn 1 is anyone's guess, would have thought double team block the road would have been the better strategy (until you get nuked by some idiot from behind, natch).
For all it's apparent excitement, or should I say early promise, the races this year have been deathly dull (even by F1s low standards) for the most part. Every time there looks like there might be a bit of fight from the back action a midfield fun sponge (quite often a McLaren) puts pay to anyone ever passing anyone.
I think that's a bit harsh on the whole. Today was awful, granted, but it wasn't helped by a really terrible GP track. I'd go as far to say that today was the worst race of the year. But compare this season to the majority of the last decade and it's been world's ahead in terms of competitiveness and close racing.
Going through the calendar, I'd say there's been 7 duds, including the farce that was Spa. The other 11 races have been varying levels of excitement but I think that's better than most recent seasons already.
I feel like that's most seasons, even when things are tight. You might get two, three at a push, races that are actually exciting. The Verstappen DNF's have kept things closer than they should and now he's pulling away.
With this many races on a calendar the best package (this year, the Red Bull) will always win out with 2-3 races to go.
If they want to keep expanding they really have to clamp down on aero and get 3 or 4 cars in the mix for race wins.
Are Alpha Tauri still using Red Bull's Honda engines next season?
Perhaps, but other than early in the season, the 'varying levels of excitement' have been mainly can car X on a different tyre strategy catch and pass car Y, and the answers have invariably been, yes catch to within 1.5 seconds, and then no, no passing.
Sprinklers and massive aero disturbing fans please.
You’re into tacky formula E fan boosts and all that shit then. Hopefully the new cars will help overtaking.
As long as the things are giving out massive aero wash they'll never be able to follow each other. If it wasn't for DRS (which is wacky races in itself) we'd still be having 2000s-style full grid processions.
Not really, but needing to be 2 seconds a lap faster than someone to even have a shout of getting past them is a bit.
Sadly, much like the tax system, I don't think there is an answer. There is always some clever bugger out there who will work a way around anything you try to do. Presumably more tech (moveable aero, driver aids etc) might be able to help, but that doesn't work with the cost cap business. I suppose the best thing about making it open season on wacky ideas would be the associated reliability issues. The cars being (or being managed so they are) completely bulletproof these days is another part of the problem, which again goes to the cost cap I guess.
I'd be intrigued to know whether they deliberately build the aero wash into the design now, and whether it has got bigger in recent seasons to try and dent the chances of a following car getting into DRS range. I'd be amazed if that isn't the case.
Even if Mercedes do have the pace, Red Bull can save time on the pitstops.
Why bottas didn't defend to his left at the start. He just let the dutch lad with the lisp fly past him
Not really, but needing to be 2 seconds a lap faster than someone to even have a shout of getting past them is a bit
Sadly, much like the tax system, I don't think there is an answer. There is always some clever bugger out there who will work a way around anything you try to do. Presumably more tech (moveable aero, driver aids etc) might be able to help, but that doesn't work with the cost cap business. I suppose the best thing about making it open season on wacky ideas would be the associated reliability issues. The cars being (or being managed so they are) completely bulletproof these days is another part of the problem, which again goes to the cost cap I guess.
I'd be intrigued to know whether they deliberately build the aero wash into the design now, and whether it has got bigger in recent seasons to try and dent the chances of a following car getting into DRS range. I'd be amazed if that isn't the case.
This is the main problem in F1. There are just too many clever people trying to solve the same puzzle in order to get more aero on the car. This season is a great example. They reduced the effect a front wing can have and tried to reduce downforce by 10-20% for the year. Well the teams basically managed to gain it all back with changes to the cars.
The dirty air going into the car behind isn't deliberate as such, but given the spec of car they have to build, it's the only place the air can go. Certain cars will obviously struggle more or less with that. Take Mercedes. It's been known for a few years now that the car just does not work as good in traffic, but put it in clear air in first and it becomes a different beast.
I'm not convinced the 2022 spec will solve all of our problems. Either one or more of the engineers will find a way to bring back a big chunk of downforce lost, then the rest copy his/her homework. The positive is that the angled rear wing and the floor tunnels should help push all of this dirty air up and over the cars behind. Should being the key word. If it doesn't, or if some twat finds a way to bypass that, then it's as you were, but with new tyres.
There is a potential answer, no aero devices above the floor, make it entirely mechanical grip or ground effect. That way dirty air is far less of an issue and you can follow someone without toasting half your car. Unfortunately it will be unpopular with teams and could make some of the more traditional circuits unusable.
5 place grid drop for Hamilton for the new engine. Considering this track is all Red Bull, that should just about close the book on the title.
Need a Verstappen head rush DNF to keep this going.
Well that about seals it I would think, unless Verstappen/Red Bull implode in immensely comical fashion.
Is qualifying tonight? I keep seeing stuff from teams on twitter about it.
It is, why is that? Don't tell me there's another stupid sprint?
That’s what I was wondering too. Maybe they’re only posting it because practice is all done but it sort of seems like it’s near time. Maybe small hours?
Also, is there a good source to find out such a thing?
It's just come on now and 'Crofty' confirms there's a sprint. On the plus side, it looks wet or at least gloomy there.
Does this mean qualifying is pointless or not? I’m guessing because the sprint races are shit then it’s the latter.
The Beeb, crap as their website coverage is, normally has the session times. https://www.bbc.co.uk/sport/formula1/47499757
That is often a surprisingly hard thing to google (every outlet wants 5 clicks out of you so hides it hard).
So is Lewis being penalised after this session or the sprint qualifying?
After the sprint.
The George Russell streak is finally over.
The sprint is actual qualifying so any penalties come after that.
Over 4 tenths around Interlagos is serious stuff. Is that really all from the new engine?
f1calendar.com
Lewis and Max to the stewards in the morning.
Lewis because his DRS flap seems to not open within the set allowances. Seems pretty open and shut, likely at the back of the grid for the sprint now.
Max is more interesting. There's video of him fiddling with the rear wing of his own car and Lewis' just after they jumped out, after qualifying. Stewards say this is a parc fermé breach. Seems like another easy one, though I'm not sure what the punishment here would be.
Just seen the results. Presumably, Bottas slowed down on the final corner to ensure he didn't grab that valuable 2nd place.
Not that it would've mastered one jot.
Last edited by John Arne; 13-11-2021 at 11:30 AM.
When will we know the outcome? The two of them at the back will make it worth watching anyway, and will make the engine penalty a master stroke.
I've checked the regulations and unfortunately, the penalty is death. A shame at his age, but rules are rules.
Death by Samba.
If you get demoted are you allowed to take a bunch of new engine bits? I was thinking to myself yesterday that Hamiltons best strategy would be to run Max off the road at the first corner seeing as he was already taking a grid drop. It's a good system when that's the logical thing to do. Imagine Schumacher operating within that meta.
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