F1 - 2021

[MiniDave]

Ha!   :D

[MiniDave]

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.....

[MiniDave]

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.

[MiniDave]

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

[BruceK]

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.

[MiniDave]

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?

[BruceK]

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."

"

[MiniDave]

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?

[tsumini]

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

[Brit_in_TX]

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. 

[MiniDave]

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.

[BruceK]

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. 

[MiniDave]

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

[BruceK]

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

Excerpt from the article.

The 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

[MiniDave]

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......

[MiniDave]

"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

[Brit_in_TX]

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/

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/

[MiniDave]

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.....

[Brit_in_TX]

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. 

[MiniDave]

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.

[Brit_in_TX]

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

[MiniDave]

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...

[Brit_in_TX]

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? 

[MiniDave]

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......

[Brit_in_TX]

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