F1 2020

[BruceK]

My DVR did not record any of the practice sessions either. Perhaps they weren't broadcast?

[MiniDave]

There was no Friday practice - they're doing it all in 2 days - so there will be one practice session tomorrow, then qually

[BruceK]

Ah. And I thought Monaco was the only place that didn't have a Friday practice.  ;D

[MiniDave]

So, today was a 90 minute practice - nothing new revealed there except the continued good form of some of the mid field players - Gasly for one.

So then they did qually and again no surprises there except it was "not-Hamilton" on first as Bottas beat him by the tiniest of margins, Verstappen was third as usual - 1/2 second behind and Gasly in the Alpha Tauri in 4th - a remarkable score for him yet again.

About the only other constant was Vettel in terrible form - yet again - 14th vs LeClerc's 7th place.

Tomorrow's race could be interesting - weather is supposed to be perfect - but there are a couple of different tire strategies in play - most importantly Verstappen starting on mediums and everyone else in the top 10 on softs.

Also almost all of the drivers have never raced on this track, and they are strictly enforcing track limits again this weekend, so there could be some time penalties handed out during the race. Albon and Kimi in particular were having trouble coloring between the lines, as were Vettel and Stroll.

With some driver changes already locked in for next season, I think some of these guys would just like to get this season over with while others are fighting to even be on the grid next year. Should be an interesting day tomorrow.

[BruceK]

Not Hamilton on pole is good.  Wish it was Not Mercedes for a change.

[BruceK]

Well the final race results first and second were predictable, but how they got there made for a pretty interesting race. What a series of ups and downs for so many people.  Poor Gasley. Poor Russell (self inflicted). Poor K-Mag.  The list goes on.   What great luck on Lewis' pit stop timing.  What bad luck on Vettel's pit stop.  And worst luck of all goes to Max who was doing so well until his RR Pirelli blew!   

And with Danny Rick in 3rd, the Shoey has returned!  Great to see Lewis take part and drink one too! 

[MiniDave]

Well, you have to admire Mercedes for their absolute domination of this sport for 7 damn years!

I wonder if Abitiboul has to get a second tatoo now?

Bottas said he lost 50 downforce points to his damaged floor, I wonder if those are like internet points?  ;D

Such bad luck for Gasly, Verstappen and a couple other guys.

AlphaTauri sure has done a good job with their cars this season, and both Alfa Romeos in the points - the only Ferrari powered team to do this for a while now.

Racing Point/Aston Martin has GOT to be wondering if Stroll/Vettel is the right combo for next season - Perez and the Hulk might have been a better choice!

The next race is in two weeks in Turkey - which IIRC the drivers loved this track. That's the one good thing about this season, the variety of new and interesting tracks they've run at has been the highlight of the season for me.

[BruceK]

Better Shoey photo!

[MiniDave]

I saw a fun photograph on FB today - headline was Ferrari on the podium!

A Mercedes team member was holding a fairly large chunk of bright red bodywork that was embedded in the floor of his car - which he claimed cost him the win......but the part made it to the podium at least!

Wish I could find it again.....

[BruceK]

I think there's a market for people to buy pieces of old race cars. Something to hang on the garage wall. If they look like something identifiable - not like that.

[Jims5543]

This is where F1 lost me. I have not watched but maybe 1 race this year. I really do not care anymore. If Lewis thinks beating Schumacher in this fashion means anything, then I am lost as a fan forever.

Schumacher had 1 season where he was in a dominant car, the rest?  Look at the #2 car, like Vettel in RBR.  The #2 was no where near the winner. There are a couple of exceptions at Mercedes the norm is a 1-2 finish seconds ahead of the nest car.  What a sad sate F1 is in.

This is the moment I realized it is no longer the driver anymore:

Mercedes put a second rate Russian F3 (or was it F2?) pay driver, Nikita Mazepin,  in the Silver Arrow he started throwing down Pole laps in the car.  I think they dialed him back after he did that.  I might be wrong, regardless, it made Mercedes drivers look bad, anyone can jump in the car and turn the same laps.

Just looked it up, Valteri ran a best 1:15.4 is qualifying. (Q1)  Nikita ran a 1:15.7 in practice good enough for pole that year as Valteri ran a 1:16.9 in Q3 and a 1:15.9 in Q2.

https://www.formula1.com/en/latest/article.barcelona-test-day-two-mazepin-fastest-on-first-mercedes-outing.AzcsqDHnzWma7VnU2QEwd.html

https://www.f1-fansite.com/f1-result/qualifying-results-2019-spanish-f1-grand-prix/

[MiniDave]

Mazepin will probably be driving a HAAS next season too....

Rumor has it Lewis will not be back next season - they're not willing to pay him the extra Bux he wants, so he may stomp his little foots and walk out - which would give us a chance to see if someone else could be as fast in his old car.

Truth be told he drove an excellent race - once Bought-ass went in for new tars he put in some smokin laps to get ahead of his teammate. But by then Boat-hos already had picked up his Ferrari penalty weight and was fined 50 downforce points.

[Jims5543]

Because he is a PAY driver.


Not on merritt as a driver. Lets see what he does in a Haas vs. a Mercedes. LMAO!  I will look for the news after I honestly do not have time for F1 anymore.

[MiniDave]

There are a number of pay drivers in F1 these days, in fact they all are in some ways - between the sponsorship $$$ they bring in as well as endorsements.

The one real improvement in this years F1 are the new venues - the next race is in Turkey and I remember the drivers absolutely loving that circuit because of elevation changes and sweeping corners - I may be remembering with rose colored glasses, but it seems like there were a number of places to pass too.

I wonder how Turkey, Imola, Mugello and Portugal got on the schedule this year, was it because they couldn't go to other tracks due to Covid? In spite of that I'm glad they did for the chance to see some new tracks even if the results were all too predictable.

[MiniDave]

Watching F1 third practice this morning from Turkey - it's already been an interesting weekend because they resurfaced the track, and it's not exactly warm - 59* - so the drivers complained that it was like driving on ice.

Today it's even more interesting because it's not only cold out but raining! Even on full wets the cars are sliding around on every corner and anytime they try to apply power the car wants to swap ends. It's like  watching them in slow motion  - times would normally be around 1min20 sec are more like 2 min 20 sec or slower!

It's not really supposed to improve either for qually.

Istanbul is about the same latitude as Chicago, so except for the moderating influence of the Mediterranean sea, it's probably about the same weather too!

Should be interesting to see who goes quickly in these terrible racing conditions - nothing like a wet slippery track to shake up the order!

[BruceK]

Rain delayed qualifying today meaning the broadcast was longer than the time slot and my DVR did not catch who got pole.

A little research shows that it was a COVID-19 surviving Canadian guy.  First F1 pole! 

Hope it rains again tomorrow! 

[MiniDave]

It is supposed to rain tomorrow, but if it rains like it did today there - I think they'll cancel the race - and the Hamster will be champion again. MBZ already has locked up the constructors....

I also love that both Alfas are in the top ten, and no other Ferrari powered car is! That's like the Alpha Tauris out running the Reds Bull!

And the Mercs are 6 and 9! They simply do not like this track much....the Mercedes safety car had a difficult time staying on track too.

If the race does come off tomorrow, it should be interesting....... 77.gif

[BruceK]

What a race! I think every F1 race should be run on a wet track with low grip.  Much more exciting.  There was no way to tell what was going to happen next.  Some incredible drives.  And some incredible good luck and bad luck.   I really thought Stroll might take the win. It looked that way for much of the race.   But at the end he was in ninth place!  And Vettel came in 3rd in front of his teammate!  Perez in 2nd!!

[MiniDave]

I sure didn't expect the Hamster to win, after the terrible start he had, and Stroll fairly rocketed away and I thought he was going to win it also - I think the timing of his pit stop did him in - too bad too as he kept asking them why they were calling him in right then, his tires were fine and he was making great lap times.

Hammy's tires were worn bare by the end of the race and they said that's why he went so well - it was as if he was running slicks without having to stop for them, and since the track was drying out, slicks were exactly what he needed. He ran those what - 40 laps or so?

I agree, nothing like wet, cold nasty weather to shake up the order, except it really didn't did it? A Mercedes still won. I seriously wonder if Bottas will be back next year, he had a terrible race and he spun at least three times that I saw. He is not a rainmeister.....

[BruceK]

Holy shit!  I'm just watching the start of the Bahrain race and what a scary crash.  Reminded me of Kubica's violent crash in Canada all those years ago.  Except this one had a massive fireball.  Truly amazing Grosjean came out of that alive.  Looks like the halo definitely saved his life.

The car instantly split in two and the front half exploded in a fireball.  Grosjean is still in the cockpit consumed in a massive fire at this point.

[MiniDave]

Yeah, the video of him climbing out of the cockpit in the midst of that fireball was scary, the fire marshals were spraying both him and the medical guy helping him over the barrier. They said he's got burns on his ankles, wrists and hands, and maybe some broken ribs.

I haven't seen one go up in flames like that in decades!

The rest of the race was mostly forgettable, with the usual results. Only Bottas didn't have a good race at all. I'm really surprised that Mercedes kept him for another year given the talent down the grid.....Russel is in their drivers academy and has out run all of his teammates so far, Perez is out of a seat for next year so far, Hulk comes in rusty as hell and scores great points.....I mean......

Strolls wreck a few laps later was almost as scary in the result, tho when you see it it such a slow roll....I was surprised it went over like that.....

[BruceK]

[BruceK]

Grosjean, looking great considering what he went through, addresses the fans.

He said he was formerly not a fan of the Halo, but he now credits it with saving his life.   4.gif  Considering that he actually traveled through a hole his car made in middle of the guard rail (!!!) and was sitting on the other side of it, I'm sure he is absolutely correct that the Halo saved his life

 

[MiniDave]

Yep, I have to say it probably did save his life.....that will also pretty much end discussion on whether the cars should have them. Originally they were supposed to save your head from flying wheels and tires or cars sliding over the top of your car, I don't think anyone foresaw this outcome.

Unfortunately this was probably Grossjean's last F1 race as I'm doubtful he'll do a Lauda and be back in the car this season.

So, I wonder who their backup driver is? Who will get the tap for the last two races of the year? Junior Schumi maybe?

[BruceK]

Close.  But the Haas replacement driver will not be a relative of Formula One champion Michael Schumacher.  But, instead it will be a relative of F1 champion Emerson Fittipaldi, his grandson Pietro Fittipaldi.