F1 - 2023

[MiniDave]

I heard the Adrian has taken a "step back" from daily operations again

[Brit_in_TX]

I heard the Adrian has taken a "step back" from daily operations again

Needs to be several steps back until F1 car design is a dot to him!

[MiniDave]

Well, 2023 is off to a bang up start - that is to say a lot of things are going "Bang"!

So tomorrow's grid was expected to be all Red Bull on the first row, but because Max broke a driveshaft in Q2, he'll be starting in 15th

Checo got his second pole at Saudi, and even tho LeClerc was second in Q3, because he had to replace his computer controller for the third time this season he will start 12th

Aston had a good day.....well Alonso did.....and he will start 2nd tomorrow and given how easy the Aston is on its tires, Alonso may have a shot at his first win in YEARS!

So with LeClerc and Max out of their usual positions, I expect them to come storming thru the field....I hope that doesn't lead to tears and recriminations!

Piastri easily out qualified Lando - he is not having a good season so far - and Sargeant actually had the measure of Albon till his first lap was deleted for just clipping the pit entrance line (or was it pit out?) and then he broke something when he brushed the wall on a later lap.

LeClerc being moved to the back means George will start third, it will be interesting to see if he can hold onto the place and Sainz will start 4th....so an interesting grid. The Hamster could only manage 8th.....

Should be a fun race tomorrow - can Max win from 15th? I wouldn't be surprised - he was fastest all weekend by a good margin, and he has won from 14th before.....but it will be a struggle - or maybe not!

[MiniDave]

Well, to answer the big question - No, Max didn't win, Checo did.
Because of the track layout, 2nd place actually had a better run to the first corner than pole does, and Alonso took full advantage to lead the first two laps, but as soon as DRS was enabled, Sergio surged ahead and never looked back.

Max had a good race to finish 2nd, about 6 seconds back but the last 10 laps or so he thought he was losing another drive shaft. But just to keep things in their proper order, he did the fastest lap on the last lap of the race, otherwise Checo would be ahead in the championship - now they're tied instead.

So congrats to Checo, great race drive.....

The finishing order was interesting, two Red Bulls, Alonso, two Mercs, two Ferraris, two Alpines and Kmag got the 10th place and final point. I think Stroll could have been 4th but his brake by wire system died so they retired the car.

LeClerc carved thru the pack on his soft tires in the first half of the race, but at the pit stop they went to the hards and both he and Sainz just didn't seem to be able to do anything from there.

[MiniDave]

So, 45 min after the race was over they took Alonso's 3rd place away saying that the mechanics had touched the car while he was serving a 5 sec penalty because the rear jack touched the car (and was immediately pulled back) much like they did with Ocon in Bahrain.

Now they have reversed again and reinstated Alonso's 3rd place (and 100th podium too) saying that there actually is no rule that says they can't touch the car, only that they can't work on it - it's ambiguous at best and I'm sure they will have a clarification in place by the next race.

But, even George said Alonso deserved his 3rd place.....

[MiniDave]

Australia qualifying:

Max does it again, but the real surprise are the Mercedes in P2 and P3! George ahead of the Hamster.....all it will take is a rain shower or an off and things could get really interesting.

Perez has had an absolutely terrible weekend so far, he never even made it out of Q3 and will start dead last. We'll see if he's got it sorted, btu not a good look compared to his teammate.

The Ferraris seem to have been passed by both the Aston and Mercedes teams this season....who all seem to be in better shape

A real shoutout to Alex Albon at Williams to get 8th, and the Hulk rounding out the top 10!

P1 Max
P2 Russell
P3 Hamster
P4 Alonso
P5 Sainz
P6 Stroll
P7 LeClerc
P8 Albon
P9 Gasly
P10 Hulk

[MiniDave]

What a mess!!!

So, George gets a super start and gets away first, the Hamster and Alonso followed thru and put Max in 4th, LeClerc wrecks out on the 3rd corner and within a few laps George's engine blows up, as soon as the track clears and they get DRS, Max motors past both and takes the lead, then motors out about 10 seconds and eases up to keep that gap.....until....

3 red flags, on the second red flag restart with 4 laps left about 6 cars wreck out - while they have the cars parked in the pits after the last restart they have to decide exactly how to end the race, as there is only the last lap left.

The decision is to go back to the running order of the previous last lap, BUT then they give Sainz a 5 sec penalty - which he can't defend because they're only going to run that last lap behind the pace car, and there is no passing behind the pace car! So, that means all the cars gridded behind him on the last lap will be well within the 5 sec! That takes Sainz from 4th to 12th

Checo drove a decent race from dead last to finish 5th, the Hulk finished 7th for HAAS, which is a great run for him but he def benefited from the red flags and Sainz' penalty. Lando 6th and Oscar gets his first points in 8th, but again both only because of Sainz' penalty.

The two Alpines were having a super race but wrecked each other out in the second red flag kerfluffle and came away with nothing.

Crazy race.....

3 teams went from having a great race to absolutely nothing - Ferrari, Alpine and Williams - Albon was running a terrific 8th but he caused the first red flag when he hit the wall.

[BruceK]

Crazy race indeed. 

Who could have predicted Alonso getting a 3rd place in every race so far this season?  He's still very much got "it".

[MiniDave]

And he has a fairly competitive car to do "it" with....but the Alpine is not far behind.

Mercedes is the one that surprised me the most, they've gone from horrible to 2nd place in two races....what happened?

While I don't think they're able to beat the Red Bull once it gets DRS, it sure has improved.

So, can Checo challenge Max for the title this year? The way I see it the only way he beats him is for Max to have a run of bad luck, car failures, wrecks etc. Although like Seb did when he won his 4 titles, if you drive off into the distance from the first lap, it's pretty hard to have trouble in the race.

Once Max got clear of the Hamster, he pulled a 2 sec gap in less than a lap.

Seems like the new rules have done exactly what they were after (except for Red Bull) in that the whole field is now within a second from first to last, its just that the Red Bull has the straight line speed that no one else seems to be able to match that allows them to carve thru the field or run off and hide while the others duke it out for 2nd on back.

Ferrari is not that far behind, but I put them the best of the midfield now, not race win contenders.

The Hulk sure had a great race for HAAS, and yet it seems like Kmag has gone the other way since the Hulk joined the team....I wonder what happened there?

[Brit_in_TX]

I felt bad for Carlos, as the impact to Alonso was wiped out, they should have done an alternative penalty than the 5 seconds.  Not sure if they could do that with the way the rules are written, but a fine and some penalty points seemed more appropriate. 

Not sure why we needed to have 2 of the red flags.  The Albon crash, the reason for the red flag was gravel on the circuit - really?  The KMag incident, could have been a safety car as well to clear his car and pick up the debris. I get that the world has become highly risk averse, but with the safety car and them having all lined up, they should have had plenty of time to clear everything up within a few laps.

The final lap behind the safety car seemed pointless, they should have just called the race or even just let them continue under the safety car rather than reset and then have the farcical single lap behind the safety car with no overtaking. 

Anyway - now there is almost a month to the next GP due to the cancellation of the Chinese GP.  Hopefully, this gives the teams a chance to try and catch up to Red Bull so there is a chance of some competitive races at the front this season!

[MiniDave]

Someone said they should have gridded them up and let them drag race to the finish line (a few hundred feet?)  Cause that's what drag racing needs, more passing!   

[Brit_in_TX]

Someone tried that recently, it did not go so well.

[Brit_in_TX]

So after a long spring break, F1 is back this weekend with a new Sprint race format.  The intent is to make the sprint races more exciting, so the results will not impact the grid for the main race on Sunday (unless there is a penalty from the sprint race). 

Lots of teams are bringing updates, so it will be interesting to if the order is shaken up at all.

[MiniDave]

Baku

LeClerc has pole for the Sprint race, but as soon as DRS is enabled Checo eases by on the straight......and that's pretty much the race. Max got hit in the sidepod by George in the first lap and the resulting body damage limited his performance in the rest of the race - or so they said -finishing third and NOT happy with George after the race.

Sunday and again LeClerc is on pole, and again as soon as DRS is enabled both Max and Checo ease on by.....and that's pretty much the race. This time Max's race was compromised by a safety car, after which he could not close up on Checo enough to pass him. George stopped on the last couple of laps for new softs so he could set fast lap and deny Red Bull that one point, but does it really matter?

With a 100 pt lead in the constructor's after only 4 races it's doubtful that anyone can catch them. Ferrari has great one or two lap speed but their race pace just isn't there. LeClerc said after the race that he doubts Red Bull is running full out, but Checo says he and Max were both going as fast as they could - proven by the fact that both clipped a wall at some point....so who do you believe?

Much has been made about Mercedes improved pace, but they still finished 6th & 8th, same with big Mac, and at least Lando managed to get into the points in 9th. Alonso and the Hamster had a couple of good dices with Alonso coming out ahead in 4th. He also took a moment during the race to pass along some helpful advice on brake settings to Lance.....

Next up is Miami, another street race and Checo seems to do well on those, this could really tighten up the driver's championship at least...... as there are only 6pts between them now. If Pez wins in Miami that should tie things up.

[Brit_in_TX]

You missed the main drama of the race, when officials were setting up parc ferme in the pit lane and Ocon still had to pit.  And then the comical FIA summons to the race stewards of themselves!  Apparently a similar thing happen with Albon last year (might have been Australia), but nothing was done then.  The cynic in me thinks that was because it was not caught on the main TV feed!

On to the actual race, I was really disappointed as Baku usually creates some really good racing.  Maybe the shortening of the DRS on the main straight will be reversed for next year as it seemed only the Red Bulls could pass. 

In terms of the championship, it is Red Bull's - they just need to decide which driver is going to get it.

There was talk about them having only 1 practice session at this race was great, but if they want the rest of the field to close the gap on Red Bull - they need to give more testing not less.

[MiniDave]

Oh, I saw that! Unbelievable.....

I think it's terrible that the championship is already decided, so I was happy to see Checo giving Max some actual real competition....

I saw a funny meme, Horner whispering to Checo - "Just imagine there are walls around every track and the championship is yours"

[Brit_in_TX]

I saw a funny meme, Horner whispering to Checo - "Just imagine there are walls around every track and the championship is yours"

If driver contracts allow Checo to win!

Red Bull seems to be going down the same path of previous partnerships with lead drivers:
- Vettel left after Riccardio started beating him
- Riccardio left after Verstappen started beating him
So if Checo starts beating Max on a regular basis, is that the end of Max's time at Red Bull?  Even if he has a contract until 2028.

[MiniDave]

Yes, it could get "interesting".....could Max start taking the "If I don't win, no one does" attitude and take Checo out - kinda Prost/Senna style?

Or would he pick up his marbles and go somewhere else?

Nah. He knows the best chance he has is with Red Bull, but now that he has a couple of titles under his belt, it doesn't seem to be as important to get more.....or so he says.

If Ferrari can keep their shit together can they overtake Aston and Merc to finish 2nd again?

Right now Alpine, McLaren, Williams, Alfa - Romeo and Tauri - and HAAS are just grid fillers......

[BruceK]

Personally, I like F1 just a little bit more when the prima donnas like Hamilton and Verstappen get upset when things don't go completely their way. And it's even better when it's a teammate causing the upset.

Separately, I'm really enjoying Alonso this season.  Glad he's still in F1.   
 

[Brit_in_TX]

Ex F1 driver is a mini fan!

[MiniDave]

I agree with Bruce, Perez taking it to Max this season is a fun thing to watch, and Alonso being in the Mix and fighting with the Hamster adds a little fun.....George is feeling his oats too and if one of the front runners slips back a bit he's ready to pounce.

I wish the Ferraris could find some more race pace, but right now they (and everyone else) are pretty much defenseless against the Red Bulls when they have DRS.

All in all, I think this season will still have some fireworks before it's all done - I'm up for that!

[BruceK]

Ex F1 driver is a mini fan!

Karun is one of my favorite commentators - I like his style and insight.  And he was great as a presenter on Fifth Gear too.

Great to see he's also a classic Mini owner!

[MiniDave]

Miami

Well, this will be interesting......

Last part of qually and LeClerc is going for pole and backs it into the wall on the same corner he wrecked in during practice. Since there was only a minute left they ended qually early and to his surprise I'm sure, Checo found himself on pole!

So, the grid has a bunch of surprises, which should make things interesting for the race.....

P1 Checo
P2 Alonso
P3 Sainz
P4 KMag!!!!!
P5 Gasly
P6 Russell (Where's the Hamster?)
P7 LeClerc (Unless he damaged his gearbox and they have to change it)
P8 Ocon
P9 Max !!!!
P10 Bottas
P11 Albon
P12 Hulk
P13 The Haminator
P14 Zhou
P15 "Not quite as quick" Nyckk
P16 Lando
P17 Yuki
P18 Lance out for a Stroll
P19 Piastri
P20 The Sarge

Quite an interesting grid, we know Max will be charging as hard as he can but this track is not supposed to be good for overtaking - still the Red Bull on DRS is faster than any other car on the track. Alonso is loving his car right now and says the balance is perfect. Sainz has something to prove and really needs a good weekend. The mix of other quick drivers down the grid means there should be some passing during the race.

[BruceK]

I love when there's a bit of a shake up in the qualifying lineup.  And boy does this count!  Perez is getting some momentum!  I'm loving seeing Alonso up toward the front this season.

[MiniDave]

Well, as expected Max simply was quicker than anyone else and managed his tire wear brilliantly too.....Checo has to be disappointed.

Speaking of disappointments - Ferrari just looks sad these days - tho not as sad as McLaren.

Mercedes seems to get stronger as the race goes along, with George's pass on Sainz and the Hamster's on LeClerc really putting the exclamation point down.

Kmag got everything he could out of the HAAS and did manage to keep 10th.