F1 - 2023

[BruceK]

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! 

[Brit_in_TX]

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.

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]

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"

[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/

[MiniDave]

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.

[Brit_in_TX]

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"

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]

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/

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.

[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.

[MiniDave]

Rumor mill......HAAS Alfa Romeo????

https://www.msn.com/en-us/sports/other/alfa-romeo-to-partner-with-haas-f1-team-in-2024-report/ar-AA1bSWC6?ocid=msedgntp&cvid=e3f26136dc79446ba43ed05e20941d9d&ei=24

[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!

[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.

[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.