Restoration-Mini

To start next seasons news off....

Russian Formula 2 driver Nikita Mazepin will step up and make his Formula 1 debut with Haas next season after signing a multi-year contract with the American team.

Can't blame HAAS for signing this guy, not only is he a good driver, but he brings a TON of rubles with him......of course that had nothing to do with signing him wink wink, nudge, nudge.....

So they'll be two Russian drivers in Formula One now? And zero Americans? It's an outrage I tell you it's an outrage!

And now the Mick has been signed at HAAS for 2021 too....

So, what seats are still open for Perez? I think the only thing left is one at Red Bull (unlikely as they like to bring drivers up from their own program rather than hire from outside) and maybe AlphaTauri? (same problem)

Williams has Russell locked up for another season - although I really think they should bounce Bottas  - or maybe a dealer trade - Bottas back to Williams and Russel to Mercedes.

I would really like to see Hamilton retire at the end of this season, but I don't think his ego will let him not get that 8th title so he can say he's better than Schumacher.

Speaking of Russell, he's replacing Hamilton for this coming race.  It would be really interesting to interview him to learn what he thinks of driving the Mercedes.

Most of the drivers are settled for next year, even HAAS has a whole new crew, something I think they should have done a couple seasons ago, but at any rate it will definitely be a big change for them.

Mercedes is still up in the air right now, Boughtass still has a contract for 2021 but we all know how much that means in F1!

The Hamster's contract is still in the works but I think it will still be him and Valteri next year - but they could surprise us. In fact, if they win in 2021 will they still compete after that with the F1 landscape changing so much, Wolf leaving and so on?

Ferrari is supposed to have regained all the HP F1 took away and this year will once again have the power to compete, it remains to be seen if they will have the chassis, organization, strategy and everything else it takes to win in F1 but it would be nice to see them competitive again.

Other teams are on the rise too, both Renault and McLaren have shown huge improvement - I don't know what to think with Racing Point/Aston Martin next season. neither Stroll nor Vettel are impressing right now, maybe a new season will help them both - don't know.

So, who's left?

AlphaTauri has a new driver in Tsunoda to pair up with Gasly - who also showed real improvement in the second half of the season.

HAAS has the two newbies - bad boy Nikita and golden boy Schumi junior. should be a really interesting season for them, especially at the start - a head strong German and a bad little rich boy Russian? Explosive combination there.....

They only get 1 1/2 days of testing this year.....I think that's ridiculous but that's how it is..... 

So looks like the calendar could be up in the air before testing has started!

https://www.motorsport.com/f1/news/formula-1-season-opener-in-australia-set-for-postponement/4935595/?ic_source=home-page-widget&ic_medium=widget&ic_campaign=widget-6

And that one event could send ripples all thru the rest of the calendar, with one possible (probable?) outcome being the cancelation of the Australian GP - again.

I think it will be the first of a number of cancellations.

Since Lewis is unemployed, I think it would be fun to have him and George do a dealer trade, and put Russel
in the Mercedes and the Hamster in the Williams! Let's see if it's the driver or the car.... 8.gif

So, Lewis is still unemployed and the new revised schedule has been revised again....now the Aussie race is in November, there are three triple header races in the second half, and still a couple of maybe/maybe nots on the calendar. A couple of tracks that really resonated with the drivers are not on the schedule - yet - Portimao and Turkey for example, but it's very possible they may be before the season is over. Another player possibly coming back back from the dead is Korea!

I think the race in Vietnam is a dead issue, as is (probably) the government guy backing it, as he was arrested for corruption and spending money on stuff he shouldn't have - like an F1 race, and he hasn't been seen or heard from for a while.....

Teams are complaining about the cost of doing 23 races this year - both in actual cash - and wear and tear on crews - but then I think about Nascar doing 36 races a season, almost all of them on consecutive weekends - although admittedly they don't fly around the world.

So Far:

March 28, Bahrain (Sakhir)
April 18, Italy (Imola*)
May 2, TBA
May 9, Spain (Barcelona)
May 23, Monaco (Monaco)
June 6, Azerbaijan (Baku)
June 13, Canada (Montreal)
June 27, France (Le Castellet)
July 4, Austria (Spielberg)
July 18, United Kingdom (Silverstone)
August 1, Hungary (Budapest)
August 29, Belgium (Spa)
September 5, Netherlands (Zandvoort)
September 12, Italy (Monza)
September 26, Russia (Sochi)
October 3, Singapore (Singapore)
October 10, Japan (Suzuka)
Octobe4, 24, USA (Austin)
October 31, Mexico (Mexico City)
November 7, Brazil (Sao Paulo)
November 12, Australia (Melbourne*)
December 5, Saudi Arabia (Jeddah**)
December 12, Abu Dhabi (Yas Island)

So Lewis finally signed a contract with Mercedes - key points - the $$$ amount was not disclosed, but the interesting thing is that it's only for one year. He was asking for a multi- year deal.

I think they want to keep him driving for them even as George waits in the wings.

It's also interesting that he reportedly did not get the teammate veto he wanted, which leaves an opening for Verstappen to drive for them in 2022.

So the grid is mostly set now, all the revolving doors have stopped turning and everyone found a seat except those who were shoved out early like the boys at HAAS. HAAS says they won't be developing their car at all this year, so watch for little Nikita and Mick to be going at it around the back of the grid every race.

So.....

Will this be another Mercedes walkoff?

Ferrari doesn't seem to thrilled with their current package either.

McLaren is hopeful of some wins with their new Merc engines, but who knows if they got it right? Williams hasn't exactly set the grid on fire with their Merc engines.

And what of Renault/alpine? Will Ocon rise to the top, or will Fred kick his ass all season?

Vettel in the Force India/Racing Point/Aston Martin....will he show Lance the way to go or fall back into his old ways? (Well, his old ways lately anyway)

Could be interesting, could be yet another year where we watch the Mercs drive off into the sunset with Verstappen and maybe Perez following them

I would have like to see Hammy out for 2021 due to greed or ego.  Instead he's been rewarded for both.

https://www.motorsport.com/f1/news/fernando-alonso-injured-hit-car/5382674/

Alonso was taken to hospital following the accident, but is conscious and "well in himself" according to a statement from the Alpine F1 squad.

The report from Gazzetta dello Sport claims that initial examinations by the medical staff have shown suspected fractures, but multiple sources have denied he's suffered any serious injuries.

With their engine preparations underway for the new Formula 1 season, Mercedes have acknowledged they are fighting some 'issues,' but are optimistic they will have changes in place for the first race.

Engine chief Hywel Thomas has announced that Mercedes are facing some difficulties at the start of the year, "We have got some issues with the power units," he said in a video released by Mercedes. "We know we have issues but we have plenty of plans in place to fix all of those issues. I'm sure it will all be ready for the first race.".

Thomas added: "This year there have been a few extra additional things thrown at us. It's been the first winter where we've had to react to a change to the regulations, which limits the amount of dyno hours we're able to run. This means we have to make every single dyno run count and must make sure that we are entirely productive, to learn about the performance and the reliability of the Power Unit during each hour,"

"Also, it's the first winter where we have prepared for only one single upgrade for the whole season,"

"So, we have to get all of our performance into the first PU that goes to the first race, whereas in previous seasons we have been able to split that up into different packages for each PU that gets introduced. So, with that challenge, we have to get absolutely everything there for the first race and make sure it's completely reliable."

ATTENTION F1 FANS! Rich Energy's much anticipated return to F1 will be confirmed tomorrow (Sunday) at 2pm. In the words of CEO William Storey they are set to make the greatest F1 comeback 'since Lazarus'.

People have been guessing who Rich Energy will return with since the news was announced, with Williams or Alpine seeming like the most likely destination for the energy drinks company. However, today, Formulanerds are aware Alfa Romeo have emerged as a front runner to be sponsored by Rich Energy, but with Orlean already being their title sponsor it seems it will be a smaller deal than the title sponsor one they had with Haas.

Excited to see Rich Energy back? Who do you think they'll go with? Let us know on Formulanerds social media.

Quote from: MiniDave on February 13, 2021, 10:06:43 AM
ATTENTION F1 FANS! Rich Energy's much anticipated return to F1 will be confirmed tomorrow (Sunday) at 2pm. In the words of CEO William Storey they are set to make the greatest F1 comeback 'since Lazarus'.

People have been guessing who Rich Energy will return with since the news was announced, with Williams or Alpine seeming like the most likely destination for the energy drinks company. However, today, Formulanerds are aware Alfa Romeo have emerged as a front runner to be sponsored by Rich Energy, but with Orlean already being their title sponsor it seems it will be a smaller deal than the title sponsor one they had with Haas.

Excited to see Rich Energy back? Who do you think they'll go with? Let us know on Formulanerds social media.

I read a couple of articles about the teams being very wary after Haas F1's experience with Rich Energy.  I would be surprised if any team goes with them, as it has been openly questioned whether they are real company. 

So at the conclusion of the one and only test it looks like Mercedes could be in trouble.  They completed the least number of laps of any team, and given the problems Aston Martin had, that is saying something. 

A few things that stood out to me:
The Alpha Tauri times seem to be a little artificial as Yuki Tsunoda was using the DRS outside of the areas approved for the GP.  Gasly's time seems more representative.
Williams giving their test drive a full day in the car (the only team to give a non race driver any seat time at all) - I wonder if it was intended to put pressure on Latifi. 
Aston Martin look like they are in trouble as they look both slow and unreliable.

Less than 2 weeks until the season starts!

You know, after posting that - I never heard or saw another thing about Rich Energy - I also don't think they're a real company. I meant that post to be sort of tongue in cheek, but forgot to add the appropriate emojis!

Vettel in particular looked lost in the Aston Martin.....they should have kept Perez.

Max looks strong, and Checho looks like he is going to be a great partner for him.

Ricciardo is getting there in the big Mac, and Lando is going stronger every year.

I'm excited to see the Alfa Tauri's going so well again this year.

Ferrari claim they've gotten back 30 hp they lost, and the strong performance by Kimi's Alfa helps back that up, but I'm sure they can find plenty of other ways to shoot themselves in the foot.

I think we could have some new winners this season again. It would be nice to hear some new or different anthems on the podium.

However, I don't buy the Mercedes "troubles" - they do this every year, get everyone's hopes up then at the first race drive off and leave everyone.  ::)

so, the first F1 race of 2021 is tomorrow, and guess who is on pole?


NOT HAMILTON!

Of course he's second, and Bought-Ass is third, but here's a shocker - LeClerc is 4th......the Ferrari is clearly "better" than last year, although it's not exactly fighting for the front. The Alpha Tauri's are surprisingly fast too. Unfortunately Perez didn't back Verstappen up like they hoped, he's starting well down the order.

Alonso surprised too, he'll be starting 9th

The two Big Macs are in the top 10 too.....and even Lance is in the top 10....

Vettel had what seems like the continuation of his season with Ferrari, starting 18th - the only cars he's ahead of are the two Haas, who look like they'll be bringing up the rear all season, well behind the Williams.

The guy I think we'll really have fun watching this year is Yuki, even Brundle had some fun things to say about his driving style!

I watched qually, but I haven't been keeping up on ANY preseason F1 news so I'm coming into this whole thing very fresh and wide-eyed.   I didn't realize that Alonso was back this season.  That's great.  Nice to have old guys Fred and Kimi still knocking around. 

I'm not British so maybe I shouldn't have an opinion but shouldn't someone have to be at least 40 or 50 years old before they become Sir?  I mean if Hamilton's head wasn't big enough already...

Sebastian's race chances may not be any better with Aston Martin but they're damn sure going to treat him better than Ferrari did last year.

I am looking forward to the race today and getting up to speed at all the changes this season. 

Nice to be able to see one "live" this year, starts in 5 minutes!

Interesting start to the race, Alonso seems to not be as rusty as I thought he might be.....

Well, that did not end the way I thought it would, but some pretty good racing thru out the grid....notable finishes - Tsunoda in the points in his first race. Perez finishing5th after starting from the pit lane. Ferrari's finishing 6th and 8th - not a huge improvement, but maybe better than expected? BigMacs in 4th and 7th, with Lando finishing ahead of RickyRacer.

Vettel did not have a good race, incurring a penalty late in the race for running up the back of Ocon......so far, it looks like 2020 all over again for him.

Yes, good racing I think was the important take away. Nice to see some other teams fighting for the lead and top 10.
Very difficult to predict but I think we are in for a great season!

Bahrain qualifying times
Team            2020            2021   Lap time lost
AlphaTauri    1m28.448s    1m29.089s    0.361s
Ferrari           1m29.137s    1m29.678s    0.541s
Alfa Romeo    1m29.491s    1m30.708s    1.217s
Red Bull           1m27.678s    1m28.997s    1.319s
McLaren           1m28.542s    1m29.927s    1.385s
Alpine           1m28.417s    1m30.249s    1.832s
Williams           1m29.294s    1m31.316s    2.022s
Mercedes           1m27.264s    1m29.395s    2.121s
Aston Martin    1m28.322s    1m30.601s    2.279s
Haas           1m30.111s    1m32.449s    2.338s

What this chart shows is the best time by team at the same track this year and last, and shows that Alpha Tauri (Toro Rosso) seems to have made the biggest step forward, with Ferrari right behind them. One thing's for sure, I really like their new livery, and the white wheels look terrific!

So after all the talk about how the new regs would be hampering Mercedes the worst, they go and win the first race in Bahrain, and the Hamster is on pole for the 2nd race at Imola.

Uh huh.....

some little bits of good news, they are really enforcing track limits - which I think is a good move - make the cars stay on the damn track.

secondly, LeClerc in 4th for Ferrari and Norris also in the top 5 for Big Mac (until he had his time removed for exceeding track limits )

But the real news is Perez outqualifying Mad Max! I would love to see him beat Max at the end of the season - i think Max (while he deserves a lot of it) has been overhyped as the next great white hope in F1. Time to back him down a peg, let him regain a tiny bit of humility....and Perez has earned every one of his stripes. I'm glad he's with a team that will let him show what he really can do.

Lastly, Gasly is showing his stuff, quallifying 5th for Alpha Tauri. Honda is def making the most of their last season in F1 - they've brought both the power and reliability, and AT is punching well above their weight class now. That's fun to watch....if Tsunoda can keep it on the track he'll be in there too I think,...

Could be a real dust up between the TR and Merc in the first corner, Max usually gets away well at the start, and Pez will be right there too.....

Bottas looked good most of the weekend, then somehow faded to 8th in qually. don't know what is up with that boy but I think they made a real mistake not bringing Russel on board this year to learn from and challenge Hammy.

Watching the Imola race now and I'm just 9 laps in.   Rain is the great equalizer and I absolutely love these races in the wet.   It comes down to driver skill, luck and daring.   Hope it remains a wet track the entire race.

I'm watching too.....it's about to restart after the red flag.

Well for those of you wondering - "Not" Hamilton won the race, tho to be fair, after he binned it in the kitty litter I thought he was done for, just like his teammate - but they got him off the beach and back to the pits where the crew went to work on his car during the red flag period and got it pretty ship shape again. Enough so that he charged from 9th to 2nd by the end of the race, tho he was still a good 20 sec behind the winner.

Verstappen had a Hamilton sort of race in spite of the rain, muscled past him at the first corner and never looked back - well done to him! They said his good getaway was due to starting in 2nd gear - smart!

Ferrari's finished 4th and 5th, they seem to have found their limit tho.

Another well done to Lando Norris for holding off the Hamster as long as he did and managing to finish on the podium.

Russel did not have anything good to say about Bought-Ass after their mega crash! In fact, he may get taken to the woodshed later as modern F1 drivers are not supposed to use language like that against their fellow drivers  ;D

I'm not a Hammy fan, but I've got to give him credit for the 9th to 2nd run. 

Overall, good racing!  VER vs HAM is the main show, but plenty of action behind that, with McLaren, Ferrari, Alpha Tauri mixing it up!
I wish the old guys Alonso and Kimi would do better, tho great job by Lando lad.

MIAMI will be suberb!!!!!!!!!!

Quote from: BruceK on March 28, 2021, 06:20:41 AM
I'm not British so maybe I shouldn't have an opinion but shouldn't someone have to be at least 40 or 50 years old before they become Sir?  I mean if Hamilton's head wasn't big enough already...

As the resident Brit, I feel it is my place to comment on this.  They have started awarding them quickly after someone has achieved something exceptional - multiple gold medals at the Olympics etc.  So a number of sportspersons have received them in their late 20s and early 30s. 

Today they announced sprint races at 3 races this year.  They have not confirmed the venues, but I saw it reported that it would be British, Italian and Brazilian rounds.

The issue I have is that the grid for the sprint race is determined by qualifying and then the result of the sprint race determines the grid for the actual Grand Prix.  So ultimately it will be a shorter race, the same action and drivers will be cautious as not to mess up their GP start position.  I think they should have tweaked it more to give a bit more excitement especially as the most exciting races are often when the top drivers/teams are out of position.  Maybe they will add more tweaks after the first round.

Mind you loads of people complained when they changed qualifying from the original format, and the current version is widely accepted as the best there has been.

Today's F1 race was in Portugal, and while there were some fireworks at the start, in the end it followed pretty much the same pattern as it has for years now......

Bought-Ass started on pole but only lasted a few laps before the Hamster passed him and then it all fell into place. Hammy did lose the lead for a bit in the pit stop rotation, but got it back again and was well clear of second place at the end.

I just don't see a 30 sec gap at the end of a race between 1st and 2nd is "close" racing. Likewise there was 30 sec between 3rd and 4th.

I think I see how this season will go......despite all the talk of Red Bull being "right there" to Mercedes, the times at the end of the race tell a different story.

Redbull will be better than the Mercs on certain tracks and visa versa. I think it will be closer than in the past.  Did I read that the Canadian round is cancelled?

The main reason there was a 30 second gap between 1st and 2nd at the end was Verstappen pitted for soft tyres (tires) to get the fastest lap.  He did get the fastest lap then his lap was deleted for exceeding track limits. 

The race had its moments, but it was not a classic.  Couple of stand outs for me was Norris as best of the rest, did a mega long stint on the mediums.  Mick Schumacher, was battling with Latifi and ultimately beat him, but also finished over 1 minute in front of his team mate (Mazespin).

Disappointment was Russell, after a great qualifying he dropped like a stone back to Williams regular position.

Quote from: bikewiz on May 02, 2021, 07:23:45 PM
Did I read that the Canadian round is cancelled?

Yes, has been replaced by Turkey. 

Boring race in Portugal. But Barcelona will be better because the drivers know the track very well and will be willing to take more risks. It's
going to be hard to catch HAM but they are all trying, including faster shows from Ferrari and McLaren, and Seb and Alonso the old timers

I was surprised to see where the two Alpines finished in the last race, the midfield is where the real race is every weekend!

So the Spanish race was three days ago and nobody else has posted anything yet about it. I guess that's because it was pretty boring with the predictable result of a Hamilton win. Again.

But if there had not been a safety car, do you think Max could have continued to run away from Lewis and prevailed? 

And what did you think about Bottas' little version of "none shall pass!" which lasted about one lap until Lewis decided to ignore him? 

Yeah, I guess I'm just disgusted with the Mercedes "we're in trouble this year" rhetoric that no one believes any more anyway......

Bought-Ass got his elbows out but it really didn't matter did it? Lewis was on fresh rubber and simply said "see ya" But it does make me wonder what a young, studly George Russel might have done in that car this season. Also, their strategy does seem biased towards a hamster win, despite all the nonsense (more rhetoric) about their drivers being free to race.....

Once again Red Bull's strategy and planning seemed weak - reminds me of Ferrari - no one knows what to do and when they finally decide to do something anything it's too late.

Speaking of the boys in Red jammies, Ferrari may not be up there on the podium, but they're as close as they can be and one mis-step by either of the other two they could be. Definite improvement in their season, but still a ways to go. I wish the FIA hadn't slapped their engine down, it was the only thing making F1 interesting a few years ago.....

One other topic, other than the Hamster - it looks like it's time for the old champs to retire - Vettel, Alonslow and Kimi all need to make way IMHO. None of them are beating their young teammates these days, and Vettel is the most painful to watch.

I disagree that it was a predictable Hamilton win.  Verstappen beat him to the first corner and from there (on equal tires) Hamilton could not pass him.  Mercedes rolled the dice on the strategy after the first stop and by the time Red Bull could respond they would already have lost the lead.  Also Hamilton made the strategy work, but Bottas did not and could not catch Verstappen on equal or better rubber. 

I don't think the Safety Car made any difference to the outcome.

Bottas little tantrum about not making it easy for Hamilton, it is not the first or last time that a number 2 driver has been PO'd at being asked to move aside for the number 1 driver.  Barrichello @ Ferrari, Webber @ Red Bull are both examples. 

Perez is underperforming in the Red Bull, but it is getting closer.  Apparently he had an issue in qualifying with his shoulder which caused the spin.

McLaren and Ferrari battle is going to go all season, and it will be down to track characteristics as I believe all 4 of the drivers are pretty equally matched.

George Russell and Mick Schumacher continue to out perform both of their pay driver team mates by a decent margin.  They both deserve better machinery.

I was looking through some of the post race data and a few of things stood out for me:
Verstappen's fastest lap was 1.2 seconds fastest than Bottas and Perez of the drivers that tried to get the point for fastest lap.
Being fast over one lap does not make for a good race.  Alonso had 6th fastest lap but came 17th.  Ocon had the 18th fastest lap and come 9th.
Schumacher's fastest lap (12th fastest) was 1.4 seconds fastest than Maze(s)pin
Giovinazzi had a reasonable recovery after the tire valve failure on the stop under the safety car.

And the biggest surprise of the day was that Maze(s)pin was 4th in the driver of the day vote!

Quote from: Brit_in_TX on May 03, 2021, 06:25:45 AM

Quote from: bikewiz on May 02, 2021, 07:23:45 PM
Did I read that the Canadian round is cancelled?

Yes, has been replaced by Turkey.

And now Turkey has been cancelled due to COVID travel restrictions in the UK for anyone returning from Turkey.  As a result, France moves a week earlier (18-20 June) and Austria will host a double header (25-27 June and 2-4 July).

Monaco......

Always a crap shoot, so easy to hit a barrier or go too high over a curb and be slammed into the barrier on the other side.

But, it sure makes for an interesting qualifying!

And this one was exactly that, although I'm sure more than a few drivers were not happy with how it ended.

Leclerc, Sainz, Bottas and Verstappen were all trading fast times, but with two minutes left Leclerc was on top, till he hit the barrier and stopped the session. Verstappen had just gone purple in the first section so it's possible he could have gotten pole.

No matter now tho....

Interestingly, the best the Hamster could do all weekend was 7th, and that's where he'll start. Bought-Ass did much better to get 3rd.

Gasly a strong 6th.

Vettel looking better each race, in 8th

Pez only able to get 9th, not living up to Red Bulls hope of him running right on Verstappen's gearbox this season.....not happening so far although he's always stronger in the race than in qually.

Giovinazzi in 10th for Alpha Romero

Danny Ricky Bobby only able to come 12th.

Alonslow in 17th - not exactly showing Ocon in 11th the back of his helmet as expected.

Schumi was in 14th in the Haas till he hit the barrier in Q1!

So, some interesting battles to be had in the midfield, I'm sure Mercedes has a strategy planned to get the Haminator to the front by the end of the race. Leclerc's car is a question mark after crunching it up against the barrier.

Lots of things to watch tomorrow.

Well, some highs and lows....

First, holding true to tradition, the guy who gets to the first turn first, usually wins - and did this time too.

Real disappointment for both Leclerc, who couldn't get his car fixed in time even tho they had all night to work on it, and for Bought-Ass, who was certainly in for a podium till they couldn't get a wheel off his car, no matter how many guns they tried.

However, there were some new faces on the podium for a change, and for the first time in YEARs Mercedes is not running away with both championships - in fact they're not even leading right now!

I'm sure things will be back to normal in 2 weeks time at Azerbaijan  ::)

The little glimmers of hope from both Ferrari and McLaren, not to mention Vettel at Aston were fun to see.

Danny Ricky Bobby just could not get the Big Mac to work for him, no could Alonslow in the Alpeen.

I would add that again Sir Major Whiner certainly can't deal well when things don't go his way.  What a complainer! 

And good on Vettel for doing so well.

Considering his first few races, I'm starting to see some of the old Vettel coming out, the overcut (undercut?) he pulled to get two places was pretty impressive!

Alonslow and Danny Ricky aren't quite there yet with their teams, I'm a little surprised that Danny is so far off his teammate.....but if he can come to grips with the car it's clear it's a top tier performer now.

As for the Hamster, once it was clear he wasn't in the running for pole, his performance showed his attitude.... he becomes sort of just out for a drive at that point. It's a shame because he is clearly capable of pulling of some massive comeback drives - we've seen him do it. But when the car isn't there - neither is he.

Bought-Ass has been showing some fire lately - I wonder if they told him his contract wasn't being renewed?

And I wonder about the Ferraris? Have they finally turned the corner? Or was this just a track that suited their package better than the others? I think Sainz is ready to not be the #2 driver! At least in his mind.....

Agree it was typical Monaco - processional!

Hamilton's race was defined by his poor showing in qualifying.  He was PO'd  that the undercut didn't work, but that also all on him as he had the space to make the times he needed to leap a few places.  Maybe the strategy was off, but the Merc does seem to have had some issues with tire warm up at times this year. 

A saw an article that said that Bottas has already been told he won't be renewed, and they have told him early so he can pursue other opportunities.  Mercedes have a problem that they have to many drivers, as they technically have 4 drivers contract at the moment Hamilton, Bottas, Ocon and Russell.  Have to wonder if they need to give Russell an opportunity otherwise he could go elsewhere. 

Not sure we should read anything into the Monaco result in terms of the rest of the season.  I recall reading an interview years ago (can't remember who it was) but it said that being quick at Monaco is bad for the rest of the season as it is such a unique track. 

With that news about Bottas, I can see him being a lot more of a challenging teammate to Lewis in the coming races.  Whenever that opportunity presents itself of course. Which won't be too often.

......and we won't have Max Mosely to kick around anymore either.....

https://www.formula1.com/en/latest/article.one-of-the-most-outspoken-colourful-and-intellectual-men-in-motorsport-max.1XkFUiYjbvJIiR3mwbJngz.html (https://www.formula1.com/en/latest/article.one-of-the-most-outspoken-colourful-and-intellectual-men-in-motorsport-max.1XkFUiYjbvJIiR3mwbJngz.html)

Quote from: MiniDave on May 25, 2021, 01:23:24 PM
......and we won't have Max Mosely to kick around anymore either.....

https://www.formula1.com/en/latest/article.one-of-the-most-outspoken-colourful-and-intellectual-men-in-motorsport-max.1XkFUiYjbvJIiR3mwbJngz.html (https://www.formula1.com/en/latest/article.one-of-the-most-outspoken-colourful-and-intellectual-men-in-motorsport-max.1XkFUiYjbvJIiR3mwbJngz.html)

Ah... um.... didn't he rather like people to kick him around? 

Ha!   :D

So, Ferrari's faces are as red as their uniforms, as they could have changed the axle and upright that failed on the warmup lap without incurring a penalty, and Char could have started on pole after all. I wonder how THAT race would have played out? But, they didn't check it because it was on the side away from the impact.....

Mercedes couldn't get that wheel nut off even with Ferrari's big hammer. They had to send the whole car back to the factory. Makes me wonder if the nut had galled it's way onto the threads and it wasn't the tire guys fault after all. Maybe someone forgot the secret lube on that one?

They'll take a dremel to it and slice it off, then see what they can learn, but the fact that they've never had one do this before makes me think it's not the parts, someone just screwed up somewhere either in the assembly or on that one nut. But they'll spend a gazillion dollars redesigning it anyway.....

Baku - so "not" Hamilton on pole!

Char makes it two in a row with an incredible lap, thanks to the Hamster giving him a massive tow down the front straight.

BUT, will he be able to turn that into a win? If the Haminator and Verstappen stay close on the first few laps as soon as they get DRS both should be able to sail right on by down the long straight.

It would be nice to see other teams continue to be on the podium, and to hear some new anthems being played.

It could be a crazy race, there will be safety car periods  - maybe several of them - based on the number of cars that crashed in practice and qually.

All weekend long the Mercs were slow, but as usual at least one of them managed to find the pace by qually.

I see where Russel has let Mercedes know that he's tired of racing for 16th and he wants them to poop or get off the pot as it were and get him into a race car capable of wins.

Baku - WoW!, what a finish to this race!

Once again, "just not Hamilton" won the race although not the not Hamilton we expected........

Lots of passes, a couple of terrible wrecks due to tire failures and a sprint to the end after a red flag.

If you have it recorded, go watch it....def worth your time today.  77.gif

WOW. What a crazy race.  Just seeing the 1-2-3 teams react with unbridled joy after the finish was incredible.

Sux so much for Max (and Lance) but seeing Lewis screw himself at the restart was golden.   So neither of the top two points leaders scored anything.  Nice.

Vettel was super impressive.   Bottas was just awful.

Pirelli what's going on?   Shades of the tire issues on the 2005 US F1 race.

So much fun, actual racing, tho truth be told if Max hadn't had a tire failure the race at the front would have been another Sunday F1 drive.....

Clearly the Merc's did not have the right stuff today, tho Lewis gave it everything he had. They claim he "hit a button" on the steering wheel that changed the brake balance, but I think that's just typical Hamster face saving. I don't buy it for a minute.

Bottas is not helping his future employment possibilities by having these kinds of races. I've heard he's headed straight back to Williams, in a dealer trade for Russel.

Wonderful to see Checo hang on and keep the Haminator at bay thru most of the race, and the end run by LeClerc against Gasly was some more really good stuff, both guys did some really masterful driving there to not wreck.

Oh, and Vettel deserves a mention too - 11th to 2nd? Not bad for an old man. Even Kimi got a point!

Edit: Pirelli says they found cuts in both the tires of Max and Lance, and on the Hamster's tires too - wonder why his didn't go down and pitch him into the wall?

Hmmmm.   So cuts in the tires of both cars, eh?  Not tire failures?  And they both just happen to be the left rear? 

Yeah. Sure. 


Edit:  Max also thinks debris is not the cause.

https://www.motorsport.com/f1/news/verstappen-pirelli-will-blame-debris-for-baku-f1-tyre-blowouts/6541671/amp/

" Red Bull's Max Verstappen has hit out at Pirelli after the tyre blowout which cost him the Formula 1 Azerbaijan Grand Prix win, suggesting the manufacturer will blame debris.

Verstappen dominated the race after taking the lead from title rival Lewis Hamilton during the pitstops. The Dutchman looked on course for a certain win until his left-rear tyre failed with five laps ago and he suffered a massive shunt on Baku's long start-finish straight.


Verstappen was the second driver to have a left-rear medium tyre fail, with Aston Martin's Lance Stroll subjected to a similar fate earlier in the race.

Speaking straight after the race, Verstappen said he was "pissed off" because of what happened, suggesting that Pirelli would blame debris for the two blowouts rather than take responsibility.

"I didn't feel anything up until the moment that I suddenly went to the right, the tyre just blew off the rim and it's not a nice impact to have, it's quite a dangerous place to have a tyre blowout at that speed," he told TV crews.

"For sure [there will be talks with Pirelli] but we know the result from that conversation already and that's a bit hard to accept.

"It will be related to debris, it's like that. I'm sure there will be talks, Pirelli isn't happy with what happened here today, but it doesn't change anything to the race and the result I got here.


"Of course I'm pissed off because of what happened today. It was a fairly easy race for me.

"Sometimes this sport is very harsh when things like this happen, it's shit."

"

Yes but.....

On that track the left rear tires sees the least amount of wear and stress.....no one else had an issue with their tires and some went longer than Max did. Checo ran his tires even longer than Max did and he had no issue.

If you watch carefully, right when Max has his blowout there is a small piece of something that goes flying into the air - could have come from Max's car, could be what he ran over?

I understand what he's saying - that they'll blame debris to deflect the issue, but in this case I think they may be right. They've had this issue in Baku before, with Bottas in what, 2018?

Actually looking at the tires damage (forensic evidence) would nail it down. Plato proved this centuries ago.

It was a good race to watch! However, the qualifying was also exciting, and really shows that alot of drivers struggle with track limits, when the limit is the wall!

Pirelli get blamed for a lot of stuff, but they are dammed if they do and dammed if they don't!  At face value it does not look good for them, but this is the first tire failures this year (correct me if I am wrong). 

It was great to see a different podium and useless fact of the weekend, Perez is the only driver to win with different constructors in the turbo hybrid era of F1!

One side story is that Tsunoda has been forced to move to Italy by Red Bull to be supervised more directly by the team.  They have given him a trainer, spending one and one time with engineers and english lessons. 

And it's working if this weekends results are any indication.

Next up, Paul Ricard, where the Benzer boys are supposed to get things back to "normal"

They're talking about an extra race at CoTa this year since Singing poor was cancelled.

Here's a video review of fast pitstops from the last race.

I am still amazed that all four tires can be changed in less time (!) than it takes to say "change the tires". Freaking crazy. 

I wonder how many practice stops it takes to get under 2 seconds consistently like Red Bull do? Hundreds? Thousands?

So... the tire failures at the last race were NOT due to debris, Pirelli sorta admits.  Shocked I am.

Excerpt from the article.

QuoteThe causes of the two left-rear tire failures on the Aston Martin and Red Bull cars have been clearly identified.

"In each case, this was down to a circumferential break on the inner sidewall, which can be related to the running conditions of the tire, in spite of the prescribed starting parameters (minimum pressure and maximum blanket temperature) having been followed."

https://www.thedrive.com/accelerator/41102/pirelli-admits-f1-baku-tire-debacle-happened-despite-teams-following-its-instructions

Yes, they decided both teams were running them underinflated.....but i feel like this is also available in the data streams the teams have and should be easy to verify once and for all......

"The causes of the two left-rear tyre failures on the Aston Martin and Red Bull cars have been clearly identified," Pirelli has now announced.

"In each case, this was down to a circumferential break on the inner sidewall, which can be related to the running conditions of the tyre, in spite of the prescribed starting parameters having been followed."

The implication is that while Red Bull and Aston Martin followed the letter of the prescribed minimum pressures and maximum tyre blanket temperatures, the teams may have found a work-around.

"Too many teams find a way to run with lower tyre pressures than is prescribed," reports Corriere dello Sport newspaper.


"A few words will be added to the FIA's technical regulations to plug this leak."  :D

Corriere dello Sport said one work-around could be the removal of moisture from the inflation gas, while another could be the way the tyres are heated before the pre-race tyre pressure test.

The newspaper added: "The problem stems from the fact that the sensors are supplied and developed by the individual teams. In short, each team checks itself.

"This is obviously a joke, so from 2022 these sensors will be distributed by the FIA itself."

I'm shocked....shocked I say! to find out that the teams may have been cheating!    ;D ;D ;D

Ocon has signed a multi year deal with Alpine/Renault.  Which basically means Mercedes have told him he is not required by them in the short term. 

https://www.motorsport.com/f1/news/esteban-ocon-signs-new-alpine-f1-deal-until-2024/6575083/ (https://www.motorsport.com/f1/news/esteban-ocon-signs-new-alpine-f1-deal-until-2024/6575083/)

Rumors about Bottas getting the boot from Mercedes also refuse to go away, Williams seems like his only option to stay in F1.  I also saw some suggestions that he may come to the US for an Indycar drive rather than run around at the back of the F1 grid. 

https://www.autoweek.com/racing/formula-1/a36732773/valtteri-bottas-could-face-a-williams-or-nothing-decision-for-2022-f1-season/ (https://www.autoweek.com/racing/formula-1/a36732773/valtteri-bottas-could-face-a-williams-or-nothing-decision-for-2022-f1-season/)

Well, Grosjean and KMag are both driving Indy cars, and Grosjean loves it so I would not be surprised to see him come here either.

The question about Russel is more when than whether he will join Mercedes, and the rumor mill has it that the Hamster is the only real stumbling block. If Toto had his way Russel would have been there in 2021 so he's ready for 2022 rules changes.....but Hammy put his foot down.

However, I think the Hamminator's powers are waning at Mercedes. You know how it is "what have you done for me today?" Oh, you didn't win the race? Next driver please.....

Also Mercedes need to have a succession plan in place for Hamilton as he has not got a huge amount of time left. 

It is also possible that Russell has a clause in his contract with Mercedes that if they don't give him a seat then he can go elsewhere, that is probably the same reason that Ocon got placed at Alpine/Renault. 

I think Ocon to Alpine was actually a good move - for both.

They also have to be looking past Alonslow's contract at who their next driver will be too.

In fact I think several seats will open up for next season. I think Kimi has reached his sell-by date and will not be back. I think Giovanazzi will stay on at Sauber, he's starting to do better for them at last and that opens up another slot for either Mick or one of their other Ferrari driver academy guys to get a seat at the big dance.

I think Bought-ass has had enough of being treated like #2 at the Hamster's behalf and will go to Indy, Georgie boy will go to Merc and start kicking the Hammybutt and if he does I'll bet the Hamster will "retire" and go off and count his money and do videos or record an album or start a clothing line or something.

Williams will need a new (or maybe two) driver, so Mercedes can drop a couple of their boys in there like Ferrari does at Haas. Sainz has another year at Ferrari, but no idea what will happen after that for him. Giovanzzi was supposed to go there, but now I wonder if they'll jump Mick over him?

Lots of strong candidates in the junior ranks these days....the Russians are complaining that even when they bring tons of money to a team they still get treated like shit, so they want to start their own series - and there's some truth to that if you look at how they've been treated in the past, and so far this year with Mazepin.

Lots of talent chasing very few seats in F1 these days.

Well the Russians might just buy their own team!  I don't think Gene Haas is going to hang around much longer. 

Red Bull having a great season so far!

Not only are they winning races, but Perez is starting to be a factor as well, supporting Max in his quest for his first championship.

No question Red Bull has gotten the measure of Mercedes....not sure they're dominant, but they've definitely taken another step forward.

Marko is revelling in Red Bull and Verstappen's acceleration into an arguably new dominant position in Formula 1, with the Austrian observing: "When we put Mercedes under pressure, they mistake mistakes.

"And we will only increase the pressure in the future," he is quoted by f1-insider.com.

Nice to see not-Hamilton, not-Mercedes win again!

Also interesting to hear a real band playing the anthems, even if not particularly well done...

Quote from: MiniDave on June 21, 2021, 12:22:38 PM
Also interesting to hear a real band playing the anthems, even if not particularly well done...

My wife pointed that out and then posed the question "how many do they practice in advance?"  My answer "judging by the sound, not many!"

Some other things that I took away from the race in addition to what Dave mentioned:
- Lando Norris made his strategy work admittedly with help as team orders got him around "Darren: Riccardio.  Whilst watching, I thought that McLaren had screwed him.  However, both Norris and Perez showed it was the way to make a one stop strategy work.
- George Russell managed 12th on pure pace, and when compared to his team mate he is out performing that car.
- Aston Martin managed to salvage points after a bad qualifying session.
- Alonso seems to got the car sorted as he out performed Ocon convincingly. 

And final questions - why did Merc not bolt on some softs for Bottas to get fastest lap? 

From F1.com

"Mercedes were hoping that Perez would receive a five-second penalty for what they saw as a potentially illegal pass on Bottas on Lap 49, and therefore kept the Finn out just in case, rather than pit him for fresh tyres for an attempt to take the bonus point for fastest lap. In the end, the stewards ruled Perez's move was legal."

To me, Mercedes has looked more like Ferrari the last few races - unable to make a decision in time and then when they do it's the wrong one.

I don't think that in itself spells then end of MBZ dominance in F1, but it has been interesting to see the cracks appear now that someone is really pushing them. We saw some of this in 2018-2019, when Vettel and then LeClerc were winning one here and there, then Ferrari's wheels fell off and they could just cruise again......

Bought-Ass sure let them have it over the radio when they didn't make the race a two-stop for him....It's clear he knows he won't be back so it doesn't hurt his situation any to let them know how he feels. If they don't put lonesome George into a Mercedes next year he will jump to another front team - maybe Red Bull? wouldn't that be interesting?

One other small thing I noticed - all 22 cars finished the race! That does not happen often.....

Also, typical Hamster tactics "My tires won't finish the race" "My tires are shot" 'Can't go another lap".....and then he goes another 20 laps and sets fastest lap along the way! Only in this case, he was right - by the end he couldn't defend...or just didn't. Rosberg was pretty critical of him for not fighting harder on the last lap, he said he just let Max by......

Bottas has received a 3 place grid penalty for spinning in the pit lane. That will mess with his weekend a little bit.

The fix is in for the Hamster to win yet again!

;D ;D ;D ;D

Well, in the first of the two races at the Red Bull ring - not-Hamilton on pole yet again. Bought-ass got a penalty so even tho he was faster than the Hamster he will start 5th.

So....

Mad Max
The Hamster
Lando Calrissian
Sergio
The Gas man
Bought-ass
Cher Le Cler
Yuki
Nando
Lance

4 Red bull cars in the top 10 tells me that Honda has got the engines turned up to 11, if they hold up then good for them!

Well, as has become the tradition in F1, the leader pretty much drives away from the rest of the field to get the win unless there's a safety car or rain.

But back in the field there is all sorts of exciting racing - real wheel to wheel stuff and cars charging thru the field to make up a huge deficit.

This year's championship is really starting to shape up - and for a change the Hamster is not in front and going away, someone else is. If they have a similar race next weekend Red Bull will have a distinct advantage over the Benzer boys.

Race margin at the end of the race was significant, even tho the Hamster dove in and got new tires to get the fastest lap.

This makes 4 in a row that Mercedes has NOT won.....a new world record for them, and not a happy one.

So the FIA is not too happy Max braked at the finish line near his waving team and then peeled out.  Geez. 

Really? didn't some of them (Seb? The Haminator?) used to do donuts at several places around the track?

I think the issue was he did that before crossing the finish line, not after like the other guys.

They should get over it and move on!

McLaren (McLaren?) on the front row!?!?!?   Ahead of both Mercedes!?!?!? 

Just Wow.

Lando Norris is the man.

Lando is really having a breakout year.....and RickyRacer is not.....

and another youngster getting ready to launch a real career trajectory - Russel in 9th in the Williams, ahead of the Ferraris!

Not to mention the two ToroRosso....erm....AlphaTauris in 6th and 7th.....

Once more.....with feeling!  ;D

Well, has Red Bull sewed up the championship already? Can Mercedes catch up? There are a lot more races yet to come but given the way Max is running can anyone catch him?

A lot of penalties in this one, but many of them just looked like good ol elbows out racin....

I think the real fight will be for second, McLaren - especially Norris - are really taking it to Mercedes.....if they can get  Danny Ricky Bobby up to the front too things will get interesting towards the end.

So

Bottas 18 sec back, Norris 3 more secs back (after serving a 5 sec penalty), and Lewis 46 sec back of the leaders......

Red Bull 44 pts ahead of Benz at this point

McLaren 101 pts back of Mercedes

Ferrari only 19 pts back of McLaren.

Help please.  My DVR somehow jumbled the middle of the race - glitches in video and audio and perhaps 20 minutes was unwatchable. When it cleared up and became watchable again around lap 60 Lando was ahead by 20+ seconds of Lewis?  What happened? 

Lewis pitted for tires.....

so did Bought-Ass, and with fresh tires they let him past Lewis (!) to go after Lando

Wow. Thanks.

So Lewis was sent to the hospital for a severely damaged ego?

;D

Quote from: BruceK on July 04, 2021, 02:43:36 PM
So Lewis was sent to the hospital for a severely damaged ego?

:D :D

I am not a follower of F1, but I do read this thread and Bruce's post was just too funny not to respond.  If I had been drinking anything, I think I would have snorted.

Ha!   ;D

He just signed up for another 2 years with Toto, so I would think his ego (and his bank account) are both still intact, however I am curious to see who will be paired with the golden boy next season.....all will be revealed after the summer break.

Quote from: MPlayle on July 04, 2021, 04:15:16 PM

Quote from: BruceK on July 04, 2021, 02:43:36 PM
So Lewis was sent to the hospital for a severely damaged ego?

:D :D

I am not a follower of F1, but I do read this thread and Bruce's post was just too funny not to respond.  If I had been drinking anything, I think I would have snorted.

4.gif

Silly season - engage!

Latest rumors.....

Russel is going to replace Bought-Ass at Merc - much to the Hamster's disappointment. I'm sure he liked having someone to fill that number 2 spot whom he didn't have to fight off for wins.

Bought-Ass will replace the Kimster, who will retire - or go back to rallying.....who knows?

Giovanazzi will also be shown the door, to be replaced by Nyck De Vries, the German F "E" champion......Tonio will be retained as third driver and may be enlisted to drive for the Ferrari LeMans Hypercar effort.

Alex Albon (remember him?) will go to Williams to replace Russel - the tallest man in F1! (maybe? I dunno, but he sure didn't fit in the Hamster's car the one time he drove it)

The second driver at Williams will probably still be La Fifi.......so far.

All the rest are already under contract for 2022 so there shouldn't be any other musical seats.....but we'll see.

Russell versus Hamilton should be epic. I fully expect a rivalry like Senna versus Prost, or closer to the mark since they'll be on the same team, one like Alonso versus Hamilton back at McLaren.  Considering how well George did moving into a strange car and driving for Mercedes that one time I believe he will kick Sir Lewis' arse. 

Yeah Lewis really hasn't had much competition for a number of years now - and while I appreciate his skills and determination when he gets his teeth into a race most of the time he's just out for a Sunday cruise. It's speculated that not only will Russell give him a run for his money, but will also make him step up his own game a notch or three...... something he hasn't really had to do with Bought-ass.

We'll see if any of this actually happens but with Russell getting ready to move to the big time - Mercedes will either be fighting with him or against him. I would think "with him" would be a better choice for them to make at this point in Lewis' career.

I'm watching FP1 and I sure do like this "new" track.  Last used for F1 36 years ago - just before I became an active fan of F1.  Very old school layout.  Love the banking and the undulating terrain. 

Yes! Great track.....I was there years ago and thought it looked more like a go kart track than an F1 venue......this should be an epic race.

Like how the boys in the red cars did in FP2 today.....

Someone is getting rich selling orange smoke flares these days!   ;D

Kimi will miss the race at Zaandvoort, as he has tested positive for Covid, he'll be replaced by Robert Kubica!

Max is P1, but just barely in front of Lewis. Should be a very interesting race.   But based upon the number of crashes in practice and qually, I think there will be a lot of safety cars and/or red flags during the race tomorrow.  A lot.   And not much passing I fear.

Yeah, considering there have been red flags in every session, I wonder how they're going to do that in the race, and how it will impact things.

VERY tight qualifying, in Q1 .6 sec from 1st to like 13th......

One thing's for sure, you have to watch those gravel traps!

What a crazy roller coaster fun track tho, I would love to drive this at speed in a Mini or even a MINI!

Quote from: BruceK on September 04, 2021, 12:59:49 PM
Max is P1, but just barely in front of Lewis. Should be a very interesting race.   But based upon the number of crashes in practice and qually, I think there will be a lot of safety cars and/or red flags during the race tomorrow.  A lot.   And not much passing I fear.

Boy was I wrong!  Completely.  No safety cars.  No red flags.  And barely any yellow flags.   One very small spin from Vettel produced a quick local yellow flag that lasted maybe 15 seconds.   

Max led from lap 1.  The fans could not have been happier.    Lewis just could not catch him.  And Mercedes really liked screwing Bottas over by taking the fastest lap away from him.

And I love me the banking and how different drivers take different high and low positions. 

And Perez passing cars where they said no one could pass - and he did it again and again!

Heck of a race...a real nailbiter.....I love how Lewis was complaining about his tires almost from the time they put them on, then went out and set fastest lap shortly after that!

It's a full-on Finn replacement! 

Bottas will join Alfa Romeo next year taking Kimi's old seat.

That and Russell going to Mercedes are the worst kept "secrets" in F1..... ::)

So, all the dominoes are falling into place......once Kimi announced his retirement Valterri could announce he was going to Alfa in Kimi's place, then George could announce he was going to Mercedes.....

Now there are only a few places left open to finish up. Red Bull is set with Max and Checo for next season, the Hamster is signed thru 2023.

All that's left are the open seats at Williams and maybe Giovanazzi's seat. Alex Albon will probably be signed by Williams almost immediately and LaFiFi will stay on.

Hass, Alpine, McLaren, Ferrari are all staying with their drivers......Nyck is slated for the other seat at Alfa, but we'll see if that happens....

The one interesting thing that's happening is Michael Andretti trying to buy an F1 team, Haas says theirs is not for sale, so that leaves Alfa or Williams.....OR....maybe McLaren?

So Albon and Latifi are confirmed at Williams next year.  Random fact, in my late teens and early/mid 20s I worked a race mechanic in the British and European karting championships. I worked with Alex Albon for 2 races in 2006 or 2007.

Motorsport.com had an article that Vettel is not confirmed next year at Aston Martin https://www.motorsport.com/f1/news/vettel-not-worried-about-aston-martin-f1-future-expects-news-soon/6663292/ (https://www.motorsport.com/f1/news/vettel-not-worried-about-aston-martin-f1-future-expects-news-soon/6663292/).  I am not sure if Stroll is confirmed, but I doubt Daddy Stroll will give him the boot.

The other seat left is with Bottas at Alfa Romeo, but probably depends on how free they are on who they choose.  I am sure a Ferrari Academy driver (Callum Ilott has tested for them this year), but then Mercedes are keen to get another junior on the grid so may finance Nick de Vries, he is the Formula E World Champion and managed to beat Verstappen to the record of the first Dutch car world champion. 

I'm betting on the Chinese guy and his $30million going to Alfa in place of Giovanazzi.....

I don't think Aston wants to get rid of Vettel, and I thought sure he had a 2 year contract, which will take him thru next season?

I'm really enjoying these short sprint races - they provide a tasty little appetizer on Saturday for the main course on Sunday.

Plus, qually appears a day earlier with the sprints.   So, action on Friday, Saturday and Sunday.   77.gif

Quote from: Brit_in_TX on September 09, 2021, 03:01:31 PM
So Albon and Latifi are confirmed at Williams next year.  Random fact, in my late teens and early/mid 20s I worked a race mechanic in the British and European karting championships. I worked with Alex Albon for 2 races in 2006 or 2007.

Very cool. Alex looks kind of like a kid now - back then must looked like a toddler.

Boy, the Haminator did not do well in the sprint race, and Bottas is kinda giving the finger to Mercedes, isn't he?

He should enjoy it, as next season he may be back in the mid pack again.....too bad about the engine penalty for this race, but it shows what a fresh new engine can do far a racecar......

Giovanazzi held off Perez.....that was a surprise.

Monza - another corker of a race! With yet another surprise winner.....

This season has finally delivered what we've been waiting for - enough parity across enough teams that every weekend has become a raffle to see who's got the winning ticket!

Fun stuff

Bought-Ass was going great guns, it looked to me like he could have possibly won it from last place, but about 10 laps from the end he seemed to fade.....

Of course, anytime the two top protagonists take each other out, it opens things up for some new players.

I'll save the results till later, but it's worth watching!

After he successfully pulled out in front of Max on the first lap I told my wife that I predict that we are going to see a Shoe-y in about 52 laps!

What a great race! 

Yay for Ricky Bobby!!   So max was on hamsters hood so how was he scored behind him?  Lol, not like it mattered since both were out of the points.

The crash is full of controversy, some say it was Max's fault, some say the Hamster who was just coming out of the pits and not up to speed cut in front of Max who was doing 220 mph....

My opinion is the Hamster got away with it in England and thought he could do it again.

On the other hand, there's a reason some call him Crashstappen

It was in second turn of the chicane.  The pit/track speed had nothing to do with it.  Hamster pretty much squeezed max to the point that his only option to not crash would have been to cut the corner and as seen several times in the race, give up the position.  So pretty sure that's what hamster was thinking.  Force him to cut the corner and get the position for free, unfortunately he forgot he was dealing with crashtappen and he wasn't having it.  Good thing of all of it was they were both out so nothing gained nothing lost. 

I thought it was 50/50 in terms of blame.  I have watched it a few times and if Verstappen had not been flicked into Hamilton by the kerb they would have made it around the corner with a bit of contact, but nothing race ending. 

However, Crashtappen is pretty apt name for him, he does seem to have an attitude that he will pass or crash.  Most of the time that strategy works as the majority of the drivers are not really racing him for the championship or even the race win.  However, Hamilton knows the championship is going to decided on a few points so is going to defend anytime he is around him.  Also Hamilton backed out of a move earlier in the race when Verstappen did not give him room. 

To quote Fangio "to finish first, first you must finish".

Aston Martin have confirmed Vettel and Stroll for next year.

Quote from: MiniDave on September 09, 2021, 04:02:39 PM
I'm betting on the Chinese guy and his $30million going to Alfa in place of Giovanazzi.....

Dave looks like your odds are shortening https://www.motorsport.com/f1/news/guanyu-zhou-favourite-alfa-romeo-2022/6667750/ (https://www.motorsport.com/f1/news/guanyu-zhou-favourite-alfa-romeo-2022/6667750/)

Yeah, funny how a $30 mil check can affect their thinking......  ::) ;D

F1 Related = Netflix reciently published a documentary on Schumacher. reads like its a good watch... In my que.

Saw Shumacher win the 2001 Australian Gran Prix in Albert Park Melbourne . General Admission walking around circuit mostly in the back straight. My first in person F1 race attendance. Also the MINI debut with Aussie celebrities racing identical cars. Also Mark Weber's first F1 Race for Minardi.

The sticking point for Zhou going to Alfa might be that he wants a 2 year deal and Alfa are only offering one.

Vasseur says the 30 million Euros number is "bullshit", in fact the quote is "The numbers you give, it is pure speculation and bullshit."

That sounds like either it's 29 million or way more - to me.

However, it does look like they want to promote their own junior driver Theo Pourchaire in 2023, which could be why they only want to give the Chinese guy a 1 year deal.

Sochi.....

Nothing like a little rain to screw things up......and I mean that in the fun way!

so rain before qually started, but it stopped during Q1, and by Q3 the track was mostly dry and the fastest runners were on slicks. Mercedes left it too late for both their drivers, Bought-ass couldn't get his tires up to temp in time to set a fast lap and will start 7th. The Hamster hit the wall coming into the pits and damaged his front end, they changed the wing and got him out in time for one more banzai lap but by then other teams had already done their recharge/warm up lap and were going for it so the best he could do was 4th, based on his earlier banker lap.

So, that left a big hole at the front as the track was rapidly improving, Russel took 5 seconds out of his previous best to finish 3rd (right in front of his new teammate for next season!  ;D )

Sainz thought he had his first ever pole in F1 in the Ferrari, but at the very end Norris pipped him for HIS first pole in F1 in the McLaren.

After last weeks 1-2, McLaren have to be feeling pretty good about this season and ready to challenge for the championships next year - except all the rules changed and now everyone will be starting from scratch again - sort of.

So, could this be Norris' week to win one at last? Could be fun - cause it's supposed to rain buckets tomorrow!

Well, as predicted......if you want to make an F1 race interesting, just add rain. In this case it waited almost to the end of the race before the heavens opened up.....

So the end was not what I thought it would be, one team's radar was better than some of the others and their strategy worked. One driver thought he could stay out and win it with only a few laps to go but slick tires and a wet greasy track just don't work.

One thing interesting to me - what the heck is going on with the pit stops? Seems like every race now there are several extremely slow stops.....I wonder if (shades of Bernie) they're manipulating the green light to shake up the race order?

If that isn't it, then some drivers must be really frustrated by seeing their race disappear and all the careful strategies go out the window.

There should be unexpected rain at every race - would for sure make it more interesting.

Quote from: MiniDave on September 26, 2021, 08:04:38 AM
One thing interesting to me - what the heck is going on with the pit stops? Seems like every race now there are several extremely slow stops.....I wonder if (shades of Bernie) they're manipulating the green light to shake up the race order?

There was a rule change for Belgium, were the systems were no longer allowed to anticipate success.  So there has been a procedure change which some of the teams are struggling with.  The wheel guns do some sort of automatic check, but the operator has to press a button at the right time to confirm they finished tightening the nut (previously they could just hold it down and the gun would complete the checks).  If they press it to early the gun does not give a "check mark" that once all 4 have completed signals the jack operators they can drop the car.  The wheel gun operator then has to re apply the gun to the nut to get the automatic checks to be completed. 

Ahh, thanks for the detailed info Craig. 

I was on the road when the race happened, so I just watch the recording two days ago. What an incredible race!   Poor Lando, he was in such a tough position as to whether to stay out on the slicks or pit for intermediates.  With the amount of rain coming being the big unknown, either way could be very wrong.   Even though it turned out that he made the wrong decision, I think he still did the right thing by trusting his gut.

Considering the conditions, I found the Turkish GP to be dull. 

Hamilton tripped himself up by arguing about strategy and if he loses the championship by a few points - this will be the reason. 

Glad Bottas got a win this season, he has been deserving of it. 

I agree it was mostly boring - damp without really raining.   

Loved the special Honda colors livery on the Red Bulls for the race. 

The little battle between Hamilton and Perez was great racing!

Lewis really is World Champion...  of Bitching and Moaning, isn't he?     ;D

As you all know I'm not a Ham fan, but he has won races in the past by disagreeing with his pit's strategy, he's also lost races based on their strategy so to me it all works out over time.

Still, it was interesting to see him getting called in and ignoring them....

Like 95% of F1 races in the past 20 years or so, the leader simply runs off and leaves the rest of them - as long as he can maintain the more than a second gap, he's pretty safe up front.

It was fun seeing some of the other drivers giving no quarter to the Hammy.....

Still getting the odd really slow pitstop.....fairly well eff's up some of the driver's races.

I don't know where we're headed championship wise - Mercedes a ways out in front in the Constructors, and Max still building his small lead in the Driver's.....having Checo come in right behind Max sure helps in the points for the team tho.

Vettel's experiment with the slick tires was fun to watch, but not fun for him!

Interesting that Hamster thought he could go the whole race on the one set of intermediates.....

Also fun to see the Ferrari's in the mix at the front, Sainz really made some great moves as he went thru the field, and Char held them off for a while at the front. I'd like to see some more winners from different teams the rest of the year. I think there could be one for Gasly and maybe LeClerc before the season is out.....

I will be interested to see if we can get some other winners.  I saw something online that said this season has the highest number of winners since 2012.

Hamilton has always gone well in Austin in the past, so be interesting to see what happens there. 

COTA is def a HP track, so I think the Mercs will have an advantage there......I also would like to see more different winners, Norris is overdue and I think Gasly might be capable of pulling one off again too

Yes, I agree. Been there to see 3 GP and it's a great track to watch at, and a super town!  Go LandoLad!

Argh!    Just retuned home from a car show to find no F1 qually on my DVR.   Was it broadcast? 

Just started, they're only thru Q1 so far, turn it on!

Thanks. But I checked again. Unfortunately the F1 Qualification is nowhere on my cable system.  Don't know why.  Other than sometimes on the US and Canadian F1 races they show up on different channels.

It was on ESPN for me......I'm on Google Fiber and it records it whenever or wherever it shows up for me.

I wish my cable company did that. 

I found Qually appearing on an ESPN Standard Definition channel — which was not part of my "package"  so I could not see it.   WTF? (with HD who the hell watches Standard Definition TV anyway?)

Looks like tomorrow the race will be on plain old ABC network?!    With commercials I wonder?

God I hope not, it's been one of the real benefits of the last two seasons not having to cut away to commercials!

Have you seen the results already?

I'm watching Q3 now.....

I checked.  Yes, the Austin race will only be shown on ABC tomorrow, not ESPN.  Sure hope it's Sky coverage - not some American commentators.   I seem to remember back in 2019 being delighted that ABC didn't have commercials for the Austin race.    Hope that is the case this year.

Qually was on some obscure special cable channel called ESPNews - I didn't even know that channel existed. And, as I said, I don't have access to it.

I'll look for the Qually highlights to pop up on YouTube - should be released soon.

OK, I won't spoil it except to say it was so close to being a NEW not-Hamilton on pole!   ;D

Checo!!!!    4.gif

That was great.

Well, I only got to see the start of the race today, it was on our local ABC affiliate and they cut away to the weather as we had tornados dropping right and left about 30 miles north of us. While I can't fault them for cutting away from the race it meant we missed all the excitement.....at least in Austin!

I know who won, but I'll not post it just yet in case any others have it on record delay.

The good news - no commercials!

So sorry you missed it. Most of the "excitement" in the race was in the final 20 laps in the duel between Max and Lewis.  Could Lewis with the newer tires catch up to Max who was 8.5 seconds ahead?  And how would lapped traffic and DRS affect things? 

It was great there were no commercials. Kudos to ABC for that.  But how the hell can a major network like ABC still be broadcasting HD in only low resolution 720p?  What year is this, 2011?  It was definitely a downgrade from the usual higher ESPN video quality.   

Here's a video of the highlights, but it can't be played here and can only be played on YouTube so you can follow this link.

https://youtu.be/-Ee08uFurok

I wonder why pole was on the outside of the first turn, isn't it usually on the inside?

Fun race, good to see action thru out the field!   4.gif

Satisfying to see the Brit Git not win.

I attended the Grand Prix at COTA and it was awesome.  We had general admission tickets, so were sat on the outside of turn 11. The commentary at the circuit made it pretty easy to follow the race trackside, although the video screen was a little small to see much of the detail without using binoculars!

The final part of the race was pretty intense and the crowd really wanted Verstappen to win. 

There was over 400,000 attendees over the weekend which one article told me was 40% higher than the previous race.  And the logistics at the track certainly seemed to confirm that, there was a lot of queuing for drinks and food. 

Next year I might get tickets for a grandstand, but it really depends what the prices will be for next year.

This was walking around on Friday between the practice sessions.

(http://www.restorationmini.com/forum/MGalleryItem.php?id=2755)

When Bruce and I went a few years ago, turn 1 hillside was the place to be!

We didn't see an F1 race, rather Aussie Supercars, but boy would I like to drive that track!

CVAR does a vintage sports car race there in Nov.....might be fun to go to that....I'll know quite a few of the racers that will be there so I'm pretty sure I can get into the pits OK

I watched from turn 1 in 2012 and also for MotoGP at the beginning of October (but I was in the Red Bull hospitality area).  As my wife is 6 months pregnant so turn 1 was not happening as Turn 11 was right near where we parked. 

For MotoGP, I was in the bleachers at Turn 12 for part of the day (before my friend called to tell me he had passes for Red Bull hospitality (free beer!)) and you could see a huge amount of the circuit and turn 12 is the main passing spot. 

I also watched NASCAR from Turn 2, and the good thing about that is you are really close to the track so you get to see the cars up close.  You can also see Turns 16-19 across the track

It is a fantastic facility, no question. We had tix for turn 2 in 2020, but of course we didn't go.....

We were there in 12, 13 and 14 , I think that's right. Great town, great track, much more crowded this past weekend.  Go Max!

Re: Mexican Race.    How do you say "YAWN" in Spanish?   

Oh, I don't know......anytime 'not Hamilton" wins, it's a good race to me, however it was a traditional F1 race, the guy leading the first lap seems to drive off and leave the rest.

However - also like the new version of F1 - everything from there back was pretty fun, including Checho almost getting the Hamster at the end for 2nd.

When the Mercs quallied 1-2, I was seriously thinking that Bought Ass would move over an let the Hammy in front - (the announcers said they thought that's part of what caused the 1st lap mess, Bottas let off to let Hamster ahead and that's when Ricky racer hit him) and that the Haminator would win.....but Max simply drove ahead and made the turn ahead of the Benzer boys and that was that.

It was a pretty good race, but as expected the Red Bull's dominated on this style of circuit.  Also Mexico is unique in terms of altitude as well. 

I think Bottas was focusing more on not hitting Hamilton and then that let Max around the outside, who had almost the racing line so more grip.  However, Max would have probably won if he had come out further down, his pace was a level above.  He was unlucky with Riccardo sliding into him.

It was another example of the Mercedes being crap behind other cars, late in the race Hamilton could not get close enough to Norris to initiate the blue flags.  Bottas should have been able to drive through the field more as his car is so much quicker than the ones he was around, but the Mercedes just cannot follow close enough.  Riccardo pitted and he went much faster, but then lost out with a slow stop. 

Final observation, the Alpine front suspension is really strong after breaking the rear suspension on the Alpha Tauri and the Haas at the same time!

I remember about 30 years ago watching a video of Ayrton Senna taking a brand new Honda NSX around Suzuka. 

Pierre Gasley just took a vintage NSX around COTA.  Now he wants one! 

Just realized it should be really easy to find that old video, and of course well the miracle of the Internet it was.

Great video of Senna

A classic NSX is one of those cars I would love to own! The value is trending upwards and wish I had done it a few years ago!

Well that was intense!

Regardless of what you think of Hamilton, that was one of the drives of his career!

Agreed.  Full credit to Lewis for both the Sprint and the Race.

I don't know, it's clear that after they gave him the new uprated engine he had the fastest car on the track by a good margin......so I don't know how much was him and how much was just having a more powerful car. That coupled with good strategy that worked to their favor gave him the win.

The fact that he could just carve thru the field like that tells me he clearly had a much faster car.

It does seem like he has developed a few driving skills as well. I am really not a fan of his, but ..... that was some doing

There was a post of Reddit that speculated that the reason that Mercedes had been taking new engines is they have been working on a configuration/engine modes that will provide them with more power, but it shortens the life of the engine.  With only 3 races left, they do not need to last like the 4 from the beginning of the year.  The total distance now is probably less than 1000 miles on the each of the relatively fresh engines that he has left (One he took in Brazil and the one in Turkey).

Adds to the intrigue of the championship. 

The Qatar race delivered more entertainment than I expected.  And judging by some of the team radio clips, than the teams expected. 

The penalties for Verstappen and Bottas were odd to say the least.  However, a car stopped on the circuit should have a yellow flag, especially as they do not know if the driver needs to exist the vehicle quickly regardless of whether they are off the racing line.  Also showed that the drivers have become reliant on the indications on their dash for yellow flags, rather then looking for yellow flags and lights around the circuit. 

The punctures added some excitement to the race, and I do not recall seeing that many punctures in a race for a long time.  Vaguely remember issues at Silverstone a few years ago, but cannot remember the year. 

Bottas showed why he has been replaced at Mercedes, after his terrible start he made little progress initially through much slower cars.  Compare that to Perez who was making places up from the start.

Verstappen and Hamilton are on a different level to the rest of the field - without the last pit stop by Verstappen they would have both been over 50 seconds ahead of 3rd.  Which is almost a second faster per lap over the distance. 

It was great to see Alonso on the podium, even though I think he was saved by the Virtual Safety Car at the end.  Only the 3rd driver over 40 in the last 30 ish years!

RIP Frank Williams.....

https://www.formula1.com/en/latest/article.breaking-legendary-f1-team-boss-sir-frank-williams-dies-aged-79.mCPM4nj5n62elIhFoPhtv.html?fbclid=IwAR3ebJi3w4qqhwOMAuIDzMsRDVAqSM0pmomK-bYDbUJPtItP-ySHSbu4n3Y (https://www.formula1.com/en/latest/article.breaking-legendary-f1-team-boss-sir-frank-williams-dies-aged-79.mCPM4nj5n62elIhFoPhtv.html?fbclid=IwAR3ebJi3w4qqhwOMAuIDzMsRDVAqSM0pmomK-bYDbUJPtItP-ySHSbu4n3Y)

RIP Sir Frank - one of the best

The first step in getting VW/Porsche/Audi into F1?

https://www.gpfans.com/en/f1-news/72930/williams-sign-ex-vw-motorsport-boss-as-sporting-director/?fbclid=IwAR2sTK2PqBfHlSfvBMuYDFQ4-1Y_qpH-cN-LJB8OsPEZq3C_VhlxV19sma8 (https://www.gpfans.com/en/f1-news/72930/williams-sign-ex-vw-motorsport-boss-as-sporting-director/?fbclid=IwAR2sTK2PqBfHlSfvBMuYDFQ4-1Y_qpH-cN-LJB8OsPEZq3C_VhlxV19sma8)

The Williams team principal (Jost Capito) also came from VW (via McLaren).  More old boys network than an indication of VW/Audi coming into the sport in my opinion.

Wow.  Has to be the craziest race I can remember watching.   

Yes, terrible all around......

I've said it before, those Mercs are made out of some strong stuff - and even if they rip half the front wing off they go just as fast or faster......

Spend millions of dollars on wind tunnel time for aero.  Rip part of the car off and it goes faster!

That race was crazy, but the number of VSCs, Safety Cars and Red Flags was being predicted before the race.  It does seem bizarre that the permanent tracks have acres and acres of run off, yet a street circuit which is faster than many of the permanent ones has virtually none. 

With the controversy over track limits is going to continue, mainly passing outside of track limits. I wonder if we will get to a technology solution, eventually, where a car leaves the track engine power is cut to 20% whilst off track. 

That's certainly doable, but would it be safe? And when would the power come back on, when the front wheels hit the track again or the rears? I'm in favor of time penalties for going off the racing surface, much like in autocross and I think they should be draconian, as in stay off the damn curbs too.

How about truly draconian:
Time penalties for first 2 or 3 curb infractions, disqualification for continued infractions. 

Immediate disqualification for the kind of deliberate "off track" behavior shown in that race (I looked up the highlights based on the above comments).  Repeat offenses of deliberate "off track" and "passing off track" get multi-race suspensions.

Truly accidental "off track" instances without turning them into "passing off track" incur their own penalties. 

Well, that's a bit of a double edged sword.....some of the passes that were made in this race were standard fare when the likes of Senna, Mansel, Prost and even Schumi were racing....and we thought it added to the excitement of the race back then - to see someone make a banzai pass and pull it off.

I'd be concerned that you would take all of the risk taking out of the race and make it truly into a parade again. At least this season we've seen some battles. But I think using all of the curbs and even well over the curbs in the race in general as the track surface is wrong.

I don't know what the answer is, but it seems like they need to make up their minds, either they can exceed track limits or they can't - not just on certain turns that the stewards pick for that race.

Quote from: MiniDave on December 06, 2021, 06:35:34 PM
I don't know what the answer is, but it seems like they need to make up their minds, either they can exceed track limits or they can't - not just on certain turns that the stewards pick for that race.

The issue last weekend was partially to do with track design, the first and second corner allowed the overtaking or defending driver to brake very very late, go off at the exit of turn 1 and cut turn 2, which Crashappen did at least twice.  Kimi also did it on another turn trying to pass Vettel. 

The other thing that messes with the consistency is the negotiation that the race director has with the teams before sending stuff to the stewards.

Somethings I would like to see:
- If you cut the track or leave the track whilst passing or defending you then have to give up that place. 
- When giving up a place it must be within a certain number of turns or sectors which reduces the likelihood of being strategic about it so they try and make it happen around DRS zones.
- The 10 second penalty thing needs to be rethought.  As the impact of a 10 second penalty can be so different depending on when that penalty is served.  If you get the penalty early in the race and serve it during the pit stop, it has a much bigger impact than after the race.  They should go back to place penalties. 
- When drivers are pushed wide on the outside, there should not be penalties.  They happen in Austria and the following driver should be expected to lift if the door is closing like that. 
- Tire changes during red flags need to stop.  Or they need to make a racing pitstop compulsory even if you change tires during a red flag.
- Penalties for consistent breach of the rules need to ramp up.  If you pass off track in one race and do it again the next race, the penalty doubles.
 

Why no tire changes under red flags? All teams get to do it.....

Are you concerned about a team that changed tires just before the pitstop?

I dislike the "free" pitstop that it gives drivers and teams when it happens.  Yes, everyone can change the tires during a red flag, but if you changed your tires right before or during the preceding safety car it massively disadvantages the driver.  In other series, no car maintenance is allowed during a red flag, even if there is damage. 

I'm sure we all remember the 2008 Singapore Grand Prix where Flabbio Briatore and Nelson Piquet Jr artificially created a safety car event (by crashing into the wall) which allowed teammate Alonso to gain the race lead while other cars pitted during the resulting safety car period.  I don't think that kind of cheating would ever be attempted again, but it does point out how a Safety Car, VSC, (and red flag) events can be quite tactically beneficial, but should that type of rapid response to changing situations be outlawed entirely?  e.g. no pitting under a SC or VSC?  Hope not.   But I can see what Craig is saying about work during a red flag period.

Well, it's over........and not without controversy too.

Somehow this whole season I've felt like a "fix" was in.....but it certainly has been the most interesting season for the driver's championship in a very long time.

Congrats to the teams and all the engineers, mechanics and transport people who make this show possible.

This may be the last season I get to watch it on TV, Google has decided to get out of the TV business so from now on the only TV we'll get is either OTA or some sort of streaming service and I'm not sure who will be carrying it, or that I can afford enough of the various streaming services to suit SWMBO's needs and mine. I might be down to watching highlights the week after the race.

Michael Massi when questioned by Toto after the race about what the hell they were doing said "It's motor racing - we were having a car race Toto"

No matter where you come down in support of the title champion - whether Hammy or Max - it was good hard racing all season, and Hammy certainly won his share of races in the last or very closing laps.

And this was the first year where a competitor was able to race them all season......best year in F1 in a LONG time IMHO.

It will be interesting to see just who comes out of the gate hard in Feb 2022, and whether any other teams will be up there at the front too - I think Toro Rosso.....erm, Alpha Tauri had a terrific season too, and big Mac, Renault...erm, Alpine and even Ferrari had pretty good seasons too.

My DVR failed to record the race this morning (I was so pissed off when I found it missing!), so I spent the entire day purposely keeping myself in the dark about the race results until I could watch a rebroadcast of it this evening. After the poor start by Max and the obvious much faster car of Lewis, and the fact Lewis was able to keep the lead after his shortcut, things did not look good for Max's chances. By the 20th lap or so it sure seemed like a foregone conclusion that the race, and of course the championship, belonged to Lewis.  And it was just a matter of how badly Max would be beaten.  By the 40th or so lap, my guess was Max would finish at least 8 or 9 seconds behind Lewis - unless something extraordinary happened like the Mercedes engine blowing up.  Like everyone else, I was totally shocked by what happened on the final lap.  Well, not as shocked as Lewis or Toto Wolff!   Can't believe it came down to the final lap of the final race to determine the championship. 

Dave, was Google your only "cable" option?  No Charter or Dish or DirecTV?   I keep seeing ads for YouTube's streaming TV service which is supposed to be comparable to cable TV with 85+ channels, but I haven't researched exactly what it offers. Might be something that could be useful to you.

Rose is studying our options, we do have Spectrum Cable (formerly Time Warner) available to us but I swore I would never darken their door again, so.....

We'll probably keep Google internet and go with YouTube TV or Hulu or some such.

All we know for sure at this point is that it will go dark by Feb22

Before today I was so sure that Lewis would win it all again that I decided not to watch the race. It was only when all the bruhaha started showing up on FaceTube and other places that I decided to watch it and see what had actually happened. Even tho I knew the outcome I wasn't sure how they were going to get there in the end until the very end.

That said, Red Bull called a hell of a strategy play and Max took full advantage of it.....even then, Lewis almost pulled it off again - with completely worn out tires no less. There is no quit in that guy when he thinks he can win it.

The emotions shown by these two F1 fans kind of sums up the final lap roller coaster ride for anyone who wanted to see Max (and Red Bull/Honda) win! 

Quote from: MiniDave on December 12, 2021, 09:31:33 PM
We'll probably keep Google internet and go with YouTube TV or Hulu or some such.

I have Hulu with live tv and have not had any issues with it. 

Well that was intense.

Whether it was how the TV edited the radio comments, but it does appear that Michael Masi bent to the demands of the Red Bull pit wall for one more racing lap. 

Mercedes had the perfect opportunity to pit Hamilton immediately after Latifi crashed, but they made a conservative strategy decision (which they have done all year in my opinion).  Also they should have pitted under the Virtual Safety Car for the Alfa Romeo, as so many races have come down to having tires at the end.  Red Bull tried everything to win it and Mercedes tried not to lose it.

Verstappen is a worthy champion, but equally Hamilton would have been.  The people who came out negatively after the final race were Toto Wolff, Christian Horner and Michael Masi.  Wolf and Horner have both come across as cry babies when things don't go their way and it has been a terrible thing to watch. Masi's decision making comes across as inconsistent and he seems to bend who is shouting the loudest.

I suspect there will be a tweak to the rules on who can talk to the Race Director a) during the race and b) during an incident.  Similar in the way the rules changed earlier in the season that Team representatives could not go and see the stewards uninvited during the race.   

I did say in another forum, that I am pretty certain this season will finish in a court room.  As Mercedes have said they are going to consider appealing the results of their initial protests, it seems that is likely. 

What good will that do them? They get paid for the constructor's championship - not the driver's - and they won that.

I think they will let it go other than trying to get Masi fired or something.....just to soothe everyone's butthurt.

I agree that the race director's decisions have been "flexible" this year, but I've seen it go MBZ's way more than a few times too.....

I think Red Bull won on strategy and fair to them. Lewis has won his share of races due to better strategy, this time it bit them. Got to say Lewis gave it everything he had and well done to him and Max both. Max won 10 races this year, I think it should not have come down to the last lap of the last race, but it sure did make the championship races more interesting than just seeing one team run off with it.

You get F1 on Hulu? I didn't think they carried it - I know You Tube TV does......

I wonder about next season, with the supposed cap in place that will level the field on development, I wonder if some of the backmarkers might make a surprise move forward again. Otherwise, poor Bought Ass will be watching all his races from the rear from now on.

I would be fun to see the HAAS for example running up where Alpha Tauri is these days.

I also wonder about the Honda engines for next season - even after hiring most of the Honda engineers (or getting them on loan as they said) I question whether they'll have both the power and reliability they've had this season in particular.

Oh, and let's talk about the driver's standings for a moment.....by finishing third in the last race Carlos Sainz finished ahead of golden boy Charles LeClerc in the standings - that had to butthurt Char a bit, since he's getting all the big money?

After getting his contract sorted for next year about mid season, Checo seemed to really come forward, and while he finished well back of even Bottas, his 4th place bodes well for Red Bull next year too - assuming they have a competetive car again like this year.

I also hope Ferrari can field better than a third place car.

Lando was as high as 3rd most of the year, but fell off towards the end of the year as development of their car ended about mid year. I expect both him and Danny Ricky Bobby to be in the thick of it next year.

Alonso started out slow but got better and better each race, his racecraft, experience and wiles put him in a better position than the car should have and made bringing him onboard look like a pretty good move for Alpine.

Vettel looked pretty good at times, at others he seemed to be back in the Ferrari and back in the back.....but he looked like he's having fun anyway, and he has to be a good influence and teacher for young Stroll - they finished 6 points apart, and when you're only getting one point per race, that's pretty close.

Quote from: MiniDave on December 13, 2021, 08:28:02 AM
You get F1 on Hulu? I didn't think they carried it - I know You Tube TV does......

Hulu comes with ESPN.

Quote from: MiniDave on December 13, 2021, 08:28:02 AM
What good will that do them? They get paid for the constructor's championship - not the driver's - and they won that.

I think they will let it go other than trying to get Masi fired or something.....just to soothe everyone's butthurt.

I agree that the race director's decisions have been "flexible" this year, but I've seen it go MBZ's way more than a few times too.....

I think Red Bull won on strategy and fair to them. Lewis has won his share of races due to better strategy, this time it bit them. Got to say Lewis gave it everything he had and well done to him and Max both. Max won 10 races this year, I think it should not have come down to the last lap of the last race, but it sure did make the championship races more interesting than just seeing one team run off with it.

You get F1 on Hulu? I didn't think they carried it - I know You Tube TV does......

I wonder about next season, with the supposed cap in place that will level the field on development, I wonder if some of the backmarkers might make a surprise move forward again. Otherwise, poor Bought Ass will be watching all his races from the rear from now on.

I would be fun to see the HAAS for example running up where Alpha Tauri is these days.

I also wonder about the Honda engines for next season - even after hiring most of the Honda engineers (or getting them on loan as they said) I question whether they'll have both the power and reliability they've had this season in particular.

Haas openly said at the beginning of 2021 they would not be developing their 2021 car as they were investing all their wind tunnel and CFM time in the 2022 car.  I do hope it works out for them.  I am surprised that Haas has not been sold to Maze-spin's dad. 

The engine previous known as Honda, will be interesting to see how it develops.  I suspect that Red Bull will sign an automotive brand to name the engines, as it worked well for them with Aston Martin previously.  They also need some super cars to do the driver demos etc in.  Won't make good publicity photos if they are driving around in a McLaren, Ferrari or Mercedes road car!

Also they are moving to 18 inch wheels from 13 inch, so suspension design changes will be needed. Having said that, they have been running the a similar style in F2 for some time, so will probably get the knowledge from there.

Pretty impressive welcome back to the team home for Max.

And to put the final pin in this year's F1 story.....

Mercedes Withdraw Abu Dhabi Appeal

Mercedes has dropped its appeal against the handling of the Abu Dhabi Grand Prix — confirming the results and Max Verstappen as drivers' champion — but "will hold the FIA accountable" during its review process.

https://racer.com/2021/12/16/mercedes-withdraws-abu-dhabi-appeal/?fbclid=IwAR1BQPIZPluzbCFpmAPciaFr8FRID5rx4fkBTt1PFti4PRjFTQsVLZcwVZ4 (https://racer.com/2021/12/16/mercedes-withdraws-abu-dhabi-appeal/?fbclid=IwAR1BQPIZPluzbCFpmAPciaFr8FRID5rx4fkBTt1PFti4PRjFTQsVLZcwVZ4)

Quote from: MiniDave on December 16, 2021, 09:16:32 AM
And to put the final pin in this year's F1 story.....

Mercedes Withdraw Abu Dhabi Appeal

Mercedes has dropped its appeal against the handling of the Abu Dhabi Grand Prix — confirming the results and Max Verstappen as drivers' champion — but "will hold the FIA accountable" during its review process.

https://racer.com/2021/12/16/mercedes-withdraws-abu-dhabi-appeal/?fbclid=IwAR1BQPIZPluzbCFpmAPciaFr8FRID5rx4fkBTt1PFti4PRjFTQsVLZcwVZ4 (https://racer.com/2021/12/16/mercedes-withdraws-abu-dhabi-appeal/?fbclid=IwAR1BQPIZPluzbCFpmAPciaFr8FRID5rx4fkBTt1PFti4PRjFTQsVLZcwVZ4)

Absolutely the right thing to do!

OK, one last thing to talk about in the F1 2021 season....

Here is a list of what the crash damage cost the teams per driver.....

Starting with the least:

20) Ocon - $316K

19) Alonso - $355K

18) Vettel - $744K

17) Ricky Bobby - $804K

16) Giovanazzi - $965K

15) Checo - $1.09M

14) Gasly - $1.256M

13) Hamster - $1.416M

12) Norris - $1.639M

11) Sainz - $1,981M

10 Russell - $2.082M

9) Kimster - - $2.2M

8 ) Mazespin - $2.785M

7) Yuki - $2.941M

6) Stroll - $3.31M

5) Bought-Ass  - $3.311M

4) Latifi - $3.517M

3) Max - $4.389M

2) LeClerc - $4.56M

1) Schumi Jr - $4.754

so. by team but not in any particular order

Alpine - $671K

Aston - $3.775M

Mac - $2.443M

Alfa - $3.163M

Ferrari $6.547M

Williams - $5.99M

Merc - $4.726M

HAAS - $7.539M

Red Bull - $5.448M

AlphaT - $4.197M

Interesting to see what this does to a team's cap - especially the smaller teams.