F1 - 2021

Started by MiniDave, December 01, 2020, 09:53:28 AM

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BruceK

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.
1988 Austin Mini
2002 MINI Cooper S
1992 Toyota LiteAce (JDM)
1997 Jeep Wrangler Sahara

MiniDave

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

#27
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
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BruceK

I'm not a Hammy fan, but I've got to give him credit for the 9th to 2nd run. 
1988 Austin Mini
2002 MINI Cooper S
1992 Toyota LiteAce (JDM)
1997 Jeep Wrangler Sahara

pbraun

#29
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!!!!!!!!!!
Peter
65 Moke
60 Bugeye modified
66 Jaguar XJ13 ( I can wish )

Brit_in_TX

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. 

Brit_in_TX

#31
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.


MiniDave

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.
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bikewiz

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?

Brit_in_TX

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.

Brit_in_TX

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. 

pbraun

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
Peter
65 Moke
60 Bugeye modified
66 Jaguar XJ13 ( I can wish )

MiniDave

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

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? 
1988 Austin Mini
2002 MINI Cooper S
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1997 Jeep Wrangler Sahara

MiniDave

#39
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.
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Brit_in_TX

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!



Brit_in_TX

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).

MiniDave

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.
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MiniDave

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.
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BruceK

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.
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1997 Jeep Wrangler Sahara

MiniDave

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.....
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Brit_in_TX

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. 

BruceK

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.
1988 Austin Mini
2002 MINI Cooper S
1992 Toyota LiteAce (JDM)
1997 Jeep Wrangler Sahara

MiniDave

Complete failure at retirement

1989 Cooper Racing Green
2009 Clubman S
2014 Audi Allroad

BruceK

1988 Austin Mini
2002 MINI Cooper S
1992 Toyota LiteAce (JDM)
1997 Jeep Wrangler Sahara