F1 - 2023

Started by MiniDave, December 04, 2022, 02:46:01 PM

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BruceK

#50
And once again Mini Mokes are part of the Miami race taking the podium finishers from Parc Ferme to the podium.

Well, fake Mokes anyway. They got a full 60 seconds (I timed it) of onscreen time to literally hundreds of millions of viewers on the worldwide F1 feed.  Plus Crofty mentioned the Mokes by name. That's some pretty impressive product placement! 
1988 Austin Mini
2002 MINI Cooper S
1992 Toyota LiteAce (JDM)
1997 Jeep Wrangler Sahara

Brit_in_TX

Quote from: MiniDave on May 07, 2023, 03:06:29 PMWell, 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.

Agree on all points.

The Red Bull DRS is so effective, the other teams need to work out how they are doing that.  Hamilton not being able to pass Albon easily with DRS is really a sign that they have not got it right.

 

MiniDave

#52
I think it was interesting how Alonso's race was so quiet that he had time to watch the big screen TV's around the track and compliment Lance on a pass he made!

Those electric Mokes are selling so well (especially in Florida) that I think it won't be long till there are more of those on the roads than the real ones. First questions I see from new owners are "how do I get it to go faster?" (can't, it's speed limited to 25 mph) and "where can I buy parts/get it fixed, it's bricked and won't move now and the dealer won't take my calls"
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BruceK

A little window into attending an F1 race in person. At least in Miami.

Hungry for some nachos during the Miami F1 race?  Then you're in luck!  Nachos are only $275.  Sure, they say that's for a 4 person serving, but are they kidding? You're hungry! 

https://www.motor1.com/news/666110/formula-one-miami-grand-prix-food-prices/
1988 Austin Mini
2002 MINI Cooper S
1992 Toyota LiteAce (JDM)
1997 Jeep Wrangler Sahara

MiniDave

#54
Cheese Louise!!!!!!

Otmar's job is on the line if Alpine doesn't show improvement - fast. Current management will not accept anything less than they did last year - 4th place in the constructor's championship. Right now they are in 6th place.

https://racer.com/2023/05/08/szafnauers-future-under-threat-amid-alpine-struggles/

I know it's early in the season, with 18 more races to go, but they are tied with McLaren on 14 pts, Ferrari is next up in 4th with 74 pts. I think that's one hell of an ask.....to get ahead of Ferrari.....I think the absolute best they'll be able to do is 5th since Aston is going so well - there are 4 solid teams ahead of them now, not just 3.
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Brit_in_TX

Quote from: MiniDave on May 09, 2023, 11:30:44 AMI think it was interesting how Alonso's race was so quiet that he had time to watch the big screen TV's around the track and compliment Lance on a pass he made!

Those electric Mokes are selling so well (especially in Florida) that I think it won't be long till there are more of those on the roads than the real ones. First questions I see from new owners are "how do I get it to go faster?" (can't, it's speed limited to 25 mph) and "where can I buy parts/get it fixed, it's bricked and won't move now and the dealer won't take my calls"

All the same issues with anything battery powered and the parts are sourced from the cheapest supplier.  One our neighborhood facebook groups is full of people complaining about similar issue with the electric bikes they bought.

Brit_in_TX

Quote from: BruceK on May 09, 2023, 01:06:31 PMA little window into attending an F1 race in person. At least in Miami.

Hungry for some nachos during the Miami F1 race?  Then you're in luck!  Nachos are only $275.  Sure, they say that's for a 4 person serving, but are they kidding? You're hungry! 

https://www.motor1.com/news/666110/formula-one-miami-grand-prix-food-prices/

If you want to sit in a grandstand at the Vegas F1 race and like Max, you can pay $3500 for a 3 day pass!  Even the GA tickets at COTA are now almost $500 each when you include all the fees.

https://wtf1.com/post/heres-what-a-ticket-in-max-verstappens-las-vegas-f1-grandstand-will-get-you/

Brit_in_TX

F1 is not happening this weekend due to the weather around the Imola circuit.  I saw photos on Reddit earlier that showed that parts of the paddock were flooded.

The press release did not say if it was cancelled or postponed, I imagine with the congestion in the calendar it will be cancelled eventually.

MiniDave

Disappointing......I think you're right, it won't be re-scheduled for this season.
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MiniDave

Monaco-

The race started as expected, everything moving along at a good pace until....

RAIN!

The whole race got scrambled with cars hitting each other and hitting the walls all around the track. At first it was only wet on three corners so most drivers tried to stay out and just tip toe thru the wet parts, but eventually the whole track was under the cloudburst.....it didn't last too long and there was crazy action in the pits as teams first went for inters, then full race, then back to inters....

Verstappen and Red Bull called it right and kept his lead - Perez had to start from the back as he wrecked out in Q1 and had a difficult day - with 5 laps to go and from 16th place he changed to slicks again as the track was drying out to see just how far he could improve. He wound up in  17th, so definitely not a good day for him.

Alonso was within 5 sec of the lead most of the race,, but by the end Max had almost 30 seconds on him for 2nd. Hamster got close to Ocon for the podium spot at the end, but just couldn't quite pull it off. Still, both Mercs finished in front of both Ferraris, so they can take heart in that improvement.

So, at the end in the top 10 we had both Mercs, both Ferraris, both Alpines and both McLarens...

Nothing like a little rain to scramble things up!

Max takes another win, Alonso get's second and Ocon gets another podium - and well earned.
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2009 Clubman S
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MiniDave

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2009 Clubman S
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MiniDave

Espana

What an interesting grid.....pretty much one of everything, and notable by the absence of a couple of "names"

So, once again Max does the trick, at one point he was over a second quicker than P2, but towards the end of Q3  Sainz managed to get within 1/2 second.

So
P1 Max Red Bull
P2 Sainz Ferrari
P3 Lando  McLaren
P4 Gasly  Alpine
P5 Hamster  Merc
P6 Stroll Aston Martin
P7 Ocon  Alpine
P8 Hulk  HAAS
P9 Alonso  Aston
P10 Piastri  McLaren

Now the shocker - the best LeClerc could do is P19, behind Albon's Williams. He said the car was undrivable in left turns and unpredictable in right turns. Betting money says they'll pull an all nighter and he'll start from the pit lane.

Perez could only manage 11th and was also off the track as much as he was on it. Russell said pretty much the same things, the car was bouncing and he couldn't keep the back end behind him....he'll start 12th

Alonso was disappointed to only come 9th, no idea why he was so slow in qually... and behind Stroll no less.

After having good seasons compared to his teammates, the Hulk is making Kmag look slow this year, tho he usually manages to finish close or ahead on race pace.

Should be a fun race, the track is well known to everyone, it's not supposed to rain so we could have an interesting day. I expect Max to run off and leave the field, but the rest of the race could be a corker!
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MiniDave

Spain....the rain in Spain mostly stayed away, although Russel was convinced it was raining in turn 5, turned out to be sweat inside his visor!

Max as expected ran away from the crowd, and while Mercedes did well to finish 2nd and 3rd, they were still 24 and 32 sec back at the end, and that's with Max easing off in the final laps. I can't see any way that Max and Red Bull can lose this championship at this point, only tho we're only 8 of 24 races.....the performance difference is just that great.

Perez had an OK race to finish 4th, Sainz came 5th and Leclerc was a nowhere 11th at the end. Stroll drove a good race to finish just ahead of Alonso, who I think "allowed" him to finish ahead of him.

McLaren's race was over in the first lap as Norris and Hamster touched and Norris had to pit for a new wing.....

One interesting note, several teams pitted 4 times in this race, most did at least 2 pit stops, definitely not the norm. I don't know what it is about this track that caused such tire wear but that def spiced up the running order for everyone except Max, who led from the bell and never gave up the lead, even during the pitstop rotation.
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Brit_in_TX

Don't feel that George Russell for the recognition for an awesome race. Starting 12th and finishing 3rd.  Should have been driver of the day in my opinion.

Biggest disappointment of the day goes to Sainz starting 2nd and finishing 5th.  Race pace and perhaps race strategy was terrible.

Agree that Max and Red Bull have this championship all but won.  No sure how quickly he can have it wrapped it, but will be will before the end at this rate.

MiniDave

Canada

FP1 cancelled due to unspecified problems with the timing, scoring and TV cameras.

FP2 - headed by the two Mercedes to the surprise of almost everyone - including Mercedes. But to point out just how far they've come in evening up the field - the top 14 places in FP2 were covered by one second!

Then it rained in the last 10 min or so.

Somehow the opening races promise shown by Aston seems to have faded just as the Mercedes has made leaps and bounds towards the front. However, in the last race they were still half a minute behind the Reds Bull.

Tomorrow FP3 and qually - where we'll see whether the Merc pace is real, and whether the Ferraris have anything for any of them.

Gasly and the Hulk both had major problems and retired from practice early in the session, but it looks like both cars were repaired and will be back out on track tomorrow
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MiniDave

Canada Qually

Think it'll rain, eh?

Yes indeed it will and it did!

Qually turned out to be a strategy tire call as it rained all thru P3 too, so by the time qually started the track was drying, but there was more on the way, by the time it got towards the end of Q3 it was really pouring it down.

Good timing and keeping it on the track meant Max got pole again, but the surprises included the Hulk in P2!

So, for the race tomorrow

P1 Max
P2 The Hulk
P3 Alonso
P4 Hamster
P5 Russell
P6 Ocon
P7 Norris
P8 Sainz (but he may get a grid penalty for impeding)
P9 Piastri
P10 Albon
P11 LeClerc (once again a victim of Ferrari's poor strategy calls)
P12 Perez (likewise, Red Bull missed the call for him to go to slicks)
P13 Stroll
P14 KMag
P15 Bottas
P16 Tsunoda
P17 Gasly (victim of Sainz's impeding)
P18 DeVries
P19 Sargeant
P20 Zhou (victim of his car's transmission in Q1, fixed in time for to get back out, but by then the rain had started again)

So, tomorrow's race could be interesting for some of the faster cars out of place. Interesting to see how far the Hulk will fall and how far Kmag might come forward. Can Alonso stay ahead of the Mercs?

Lastly - will it rain again?
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MiniDave

Well, that one went pretty much as expected - the race was dry so no rain dramatics. The finish was a little closer because of a mid race safety car which closed things up again and gave Lando a penalty for trying to back up the cars behind him to get a run on them when they got the green again. That penalty took him from the points and left him in 13th as things were really bunched up from 7th on back.

Speaking of 7th - Alex Albon took the Williams there, so they def have made some real improvements to that car.

Demoting Lando put Stroll and Bottas into the points in 9th and 10th.

The Ferraris were able to move up to 4th and 5th, but all race Sainz was told not to pass LeClerc, and they were coaching LeClerc as to where Sainz was quicker and where he could improve. Sent a pretty clear message to Sainz, didn't they?

Russell hit the wall and had to retire later in the race, his lack of points coupled with Stroll getting into 9th let Aston get a little closer in the points to Mercedes, Ferrari bringing up a distant 4th but also helped by getting both drivers in the points
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Brit_in_TX

I was amazed that Russell managed to continue after that impact with the wall.  The rear suspension and gearbox must be strong on the Merc.

Norris' penalty was a strange one.  I thought that he was already far enough back to not have had an issue with double stacking anyway.  And I thought that the drivers had a time to drive to on there steering wheels. 

MiniDave

New livery for Alpine

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MiniDave

Silverstone

Mad Max again on pole, his 5th in a row......but not by much.

Encouraging to see - both McLarens in P2 and P3, the two Ferraris behind them and the two Mercs behind them.

The crowd gave a mighty roar when "give it a go Lando" went fastest of all, a few moments later you could also hear the groan as Max pipped him for P1.

Still, a fun qually, and should be a good fight tomorrow.
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MiniDave

Well, that was a corker!

Lando getting ahead for the first few laps was fun to watch, but just as Alonso did earlier in the season, it was fait accompli as soon as Max got DRS.

Lots of strange tire strategies, and - as usual - Ferrari got it all wrong.

Good race to watch tho! Seems like it was over pretty quickly - I guess the combination of a long track but really fast made for a quick race.
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Brit_in_TX

And the safety car generated a little bit of excitement when Hamilton was on used soft tires and Norris on new hard tires.

The other driver/team that did well was Albon and Williams with a competitive finish in 8th in front of both Ferraris and pushing Alonso all the way to the line.

Ferrari have had terrible race strategy all year.  Also, from the casual observer, seems that Ferrari engines are down on power.  The highest placed Ferrari powered car was 9th.  Does not bode well for Monza later in the year.


MiniDave

Yeah, putting the McLaren on hards seemed like a real gamble, but it paid off. The Hamster was amazed that he couldn't pass and later couldn't even catch Lando....

Ferrari has been woeful all season, I DO wonder what they heck is going on over there. I look at the condition Fred left Alfa in and really wonder if he was the right choice for Ferrari.

I guess it could be that Alfa has just stopped developing the car or spending money till Audi does their final takeover and the flood of Deutschmarks can start washing over the team.

McLaren clearly has made a big step forward, almost like Aston seemed to do early in the season.

Max is saying that he can win both championships for the team by himself - heck of a jab at Perez, wasn't it? I don't expect to see Checo at Red Bull next season even tho he has a 2024 contract in his back pocket. I'm not sure it will be DannyRic tho......even tho Max seems to think he'd be the better teammate at this point.
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Brit_in_TX

I doubt Red Bull will pull Checo mid season, he is experienced enough and has an experienced enough team of advisors to make the contract iron clad, so he will see out the season to the end.  Next year they may just pay him off, not the first or the last time that has happened (Ferrari paid Kimi his full salary so they could sign Alonso in 2010).   

De Vries on the other hand, I don't see him lasting the whole season.  Helmut Marko does not tolerate bad choices well, so I wonder if we will see De Vries after the summer break.  Two rumors I saw 1) Danny Ric will get the seat effective as a test/competition with Tsunoda for the second seat at Red Bull next year or 2) Liam Lawson is currently top of the Red Bull juniors pile and is racing in Japan in the Super Formula series, he could be slotted in to De Vries seat for the second half of the season. 

Danny Ric has openly said he would take an seat at Alpha Tauri, if he was certain it would provide a route to the Red Bull team.