2021 F1 Calendar:
March 21 - Australia (Melbourne)
March 28 - Bahrain (Sakhir)
April 11 - China (Shanghai)
April 25 - TBC (TBC)
May 9 - Spain (Barcelona)
May 23 - Monaco (Monaco)
June 6 - Azerbaijan (Baku)
June 13 - Turkey, (Istanbul)
June 27 - France (Le Castellet)
July 4 - Austria (Spielberg)
July 18 - United Kingdom (Silverstone)
August 1 - Hungary (Budapest)
August 29 - Belgium (Spa)
September 5 - Netherlands (Zandvoort)
September 12 - Italy (Monza)
September 26 - Russia (Sochi)
October 3 - Singapore (Singapore)
October 10 - Japan (Suzuka)
October 24 - USA (Austin)
October 31 - Mexico (Mexico City)
November 14 - Brazil (Sao Paulo)
November 28 - Saudi Arabia (Jeddah)
December 5 - Abu Dhabi (Abu Dhabi)
2021 F1 Drivers Line-Up:
Mercedes: Lewis Hamilton, Valtteri Bottas
Red Bull: Max Verstappen, Sergio Perez
McLaren: Daniel Ricciardo, Lando Norris
Aston Martin: Sebastian Vettel, Lance Stroll
Alpine: Fernando Alonso, Esteban Ocon
Ferrari: Charles Leclerc, Carlos Sainz Jr
Alpha Tauri: Pierre Gasly, Yuki Tsunoda
Alfa Romeo: Kimi Raikkonen, Antonio Giovanazzi
Haas: Mick Schumacher, Nikita Mazepin
Williams: George Russell, Nicholas Latifi
Early prediction: Lewis Hamilton will win the World Championship again this year.
Id like Portugal to nick that last Spot personally.
Well if he’s greed walks him out of a job that will be a turn up for the books
Inevitably, there's increasing talk of the Australian GP being postponed or even cancelled. A decision is likely within 2 weeks. The main reasons are Australia's strict Covid quarantine laws and the need to begin constructing the circuit before the end of January
Oooh now we can have Portamao AND Imola!
As expected the Australian GP has been postponed cancelled with Bahrain to take over as season opener. That means that 3 of the last 4 rounds will have been hosted at the Sakhir circuit - certainly a record that'll never be matched!
Actually, please can we have the Bahrain outer circuit again in its place, what an amazing race that was.
Portimao is emerging as front runner to replace the Chinese GP, which is likely to by cancelled. Australia potentially reorganised for Nov 21st with Brazil and Saudi GPs shuffled to make room
Also, race starts will return to a 2pm start time from 2021 onwards
Potential spoiler of Alpine's 2021 livery has apparently leaked ahead of an official announcement on the 14th... On the below tweet, I guess if you don't wanna get hopes up for something that *may* not be correct (and I don't know the accuracy of the source. Lol), don't click!
https://twitter.com/startonpole/status/1347082162026262528?s=21
(Edited, because apparently I'm rusty as posting links 😂 - 5th time lucky...)
The livery in that video is this one 👇🏻 from the announcement they were changing name.
Cyril out at Renault
It’ll never happen but I want Flavio back. Reunite the 2003-2006 dream team
As expected Chinese Grand Prix postponed, Imola confirmed as the second race of the season, the TBC race likely to be Portimao.
If they can find a new date for the Chinese Grand Prix, are they going to have 24 races this season then? Or is it looking likely that the Chinese Grand Prix will probably end up getting cancelled?!
Portugal is back as the TBC they reckon. China I think will be a goner but it’s really no loss tbh. It can take a few others off the calendar with it
I wouldn’t be surprised is Nando ended up as our team principal after retiring as driver. Theres something about the combination of Alonso, Renault (or Alpine as it may now be) and Enstone. It’s special. I also have no qualms about Nando calling the shots again. Like I said, bring back Flav let’s get the dream team back together.
Sao Paolo GP’s contract has been suspended by a judge, over financial matters. May yet be sorted out but nothing confirmed.
Ah I was so happy when they extended the contract to 2025, gave me a better chance of going to it. Hope this new issue is resolved.
Jenson Button has joined Williams as a senior advisor for them.
Lewis & Merc laughing at all the nonsense speculation right now!
I still don't get why we haven't had much news about Saudi Arabia, not even the track layout - I'd like to see how boring the circuit is!
The track could be anything really but we know it'll be another insipid, uninspired Tilke-drome like Sochi & Abu Dhabi.
Former F1 driver and founder of the Campos Racing team Adrian Campos has died age 60, his team has announced.
The Spaniard, who spent a year and a half racing in Formula 1 in the late 1980s, passed away on Wednesday night.
“Today is the saddest day in the history of Campos Racing,” his team said in a brief statement on social media.
I can't even bring myself to type that nonsense they want to call the Imola race this year. I shall be referring to it as the San Marino GP
The Imola race is going to be called the ‘Made in Italy and Emilia-Romagna GP’.
What the hell?
Hahahaahahahhaha no.
1980: Italian GP - Fantastic. Monza was off the calendar, and near enough every other GP matches its country's name! Why not?
1981-2006: San Marino GP - Ok... If misleading. Obviously, with Monza back, they can't have the Italian GP anymore. Let's give it the name of the closest country (though, by that logic, Monza should be named the Swiss GP [being closer to Switzerland than Imola is to San Marino])
2020: Emilia-Romagna GP - Actually a more appropriate name than the San Marino GP, at least it lies within the same region of Italy... Sounds clunky and unfamiliar though.
2021: Made in Italy and Emilia-Romagna GP - Clunky and self-absorbant. Horrific title! I'd prefer Italy II GP over that 🤣 Noone will call it this.
For the sake of continuity, could they not have kept it as Emilia-Romagna GP?
Or why not call it the European GP? We are currently missing one of those
We had the Luxembourg Grand Prix I think in 1997 and 1998, yes it would make sense to call it the European Grand Prix.
Track resurfaced for the first time since 1996 at Albert Park.
Changes to turn 3, 6 and 13, mentions of widening corners to try to allow overtaking.
These were all planned for 2022 but delayed race allows them to do it in 2021.
https://www.speedcaf...-remodel-plans/
The new circuit in Rio is officially dead! Interlagos is staying indefinitely now
Thank goodness for that.
An increasing number of sources are saying Hamilton has agreed a deal with Mercedes and it's a one year deal with an option to add a second year. Hamilton retains his salary but has insisted on what is being called 'the Verstappen clause' - essentially blocking the team from signing Max while Lewis is there.
A veto was long rumoured to be the sticking point but many, oddly, seemed to think George Russell was the issue.
Anyhow we might as well crown Lewis now and prepare for another Mercedes walkover with Bottas' challenges fading by May.
As if Red Bull would ever let Max go! At least until he's won titles for them like Vettel before he jumped to Ferrari.
Interesting points you raise there. Yeah agreed there's absolutely no doubt on Mercedes' part if/when Lewis retires they'll want Max immediately but who knows? By 2022/23 the order may be completely upset and Mercedes return to the midfield like in the 2010-12 days.
Firmly believe that if you are going to be the best, you have to beat the best. Being scared of having someone of an elite standard in the same machinery as you is not of that mindset. It’s the mindset of a sore loser with a weak mindset, something we have defo seen from him before. He’s scared of being outclassed and thus everyone correctly attributing his successes solely to the ridiculously dominant car. (Which everyone should be doing already but people are dumb so 🤷🏼♂️ - even Bottas has won in that damn car ffs if that isn’t a ringing statement of “This car is so dominant literally anyone could win in it” I don’t know what is. Or maybe it’s that Russell nearly won in a car with an ill fitting seat in boots that were too small because the car was too small for him and having never really driven it before.)
Urgh contract signed.
That’s 2021 a complete write off then. Why even bother holding any races, just crown him now and save us the boredom
I just want Red Bull to actually come out the gates firing this season rather than being a second off the pace then eventually clawing back the deficit by the final race and thus giving everyone false hope for the following season that they can actually challenge. Rinse & repeat.
And I still maintain that even though last season there was no title fight it was still one of the most entertaining I can remember on a race-by-race basis. I hope all the driver changes this year keeps the intra-team battles exciting too.
Portugal confirmed as 3rd race of the season
Race Format is becoming a hot topic again...
https://www.racefans.net/2021/02/09/f1-wants-to-trial-sprint-races-and-friday-qualifying-at-three-rounds-in-2021/
Since they're persisting with this, my own preference for a sprint race would be that Friday is standard qualifying and sets the grid for Sunday's race. There should be a max of 20 races per season. Saturday's sprint race would see each driver start in a different position in every race, eventually by the season's end they would have all have started from every spot on the grid. However, the race is only 21 laps long and at the end of each lap the driver in last place is eliminated. No DRS. Races are non World Championship and collect no points but do offer prize money and a trophy. No sprint championship set up.
It would force drivers to overtake without relying on DRS, provide unpredictable results and potentially exciting support events without trashing 70 years worth of World Championship tradition. I'd even go so far as to suggest each team could field their test driver and a youth programme/F2/guest driver making it an F1 support race and an opportunity to earn additional points for their super license.
Overall though the problems F1 has right now are nothing to do with the qualifying and race format so I'd change nothing in that regard.
DRS is an element that F1 must address for 2022. Banning it will force teams to design cars that can run closely together and stop drivers from simply waiting until the device gives them total advantage. The racing was better and overtakes were more exciting in the years before its introduction even if they were fewer in number. I can’t think of many exciting passes from the last 10 years but loads from pre2011 races.
I’d be in favour of an Indycar style push to pass system where each driver has an allotted amount of extra power available to use whenever they like- attack or defence. It works really well and rewards clever use and late race reserves.
I would happily see the back of DRS but I’m a bit old school in that I want refueling back and single lap quali. Life can be more interesting when you don’t get the chance for a do over and end up half way down the grid because you fluffed it
Big f*** f*** f*** f*** f***.
Hope Nando is ok and doing well.
(Someone put Nico on standby)
Hope Fernando is all right, get well soon mate.
that's crazy, just heard the news, crazy that a car run over him
AlphaTauri best livery so far.
Sergio Perez has been making some interesting comments about how the Red Bull is difficult to drive. Essentially he's said it's all front end grip and a loose rear end. Admittedly this is what we've known for all of 2020 but Perez is driving the latest spec, the one that looked, in the hands of Verstappen at least, so good in Abu Dhabi.
I hope his wealth of experience means he can adapt to the car or it could be tough for him this year.
Seen a lot in the motor press about this being Red Bulls year. If this years car is just a psycho as lasts then I very much doubt that but respect the efforts of the RBR PR team
Once Mercedes roll out their car I'm pretty sure it won't matter what Red Bull does. The only reason they caught up so much last year is because Mercedes quit developing that car so early in order to focus on this years.
I expect another walkover for Hamilton and Mercedes but Verstappen could take second if Bottas has as much bad luck as last year
I think the only way Hamilton will be beaten is if he has a ropey start to the season. In 2016 he didn't win any of the first 5 races and was on the backfoot from then on. It would take some serious bad luck (remember he hasn't had a retirement since mid-2018!) or for Bottas 5.0 to turn into peak Mika Hakkinen but stranger things have happened. Then again, there are 23 races this season so loads of time to catch up if necessary.
Interestingly Hamilton has only won the first race of a season twice in his career (a mad stat in itself) which is the same as Bottas!
I like the look of the black Mercedes and I respect the gesture but it still feels wrong that they’re not silver
The only car launch today worth paying any attention to is of course the Alpine-Renault who have revealed their beautiful new blue livery in a video featuring famous Alpine-Renault’s from the past including the LMP2 word series winner and their infamous Le Mans winner from back in the day. The Blue is the traditional Alpine Blue which is such a lovely colour.
Very nice livery, just behind AlphaTauri for me so far. Aston Martin is the one I'm looking forward to the most this week.
(Shame their live reveal on YouTube was laggy as hell).
Looks more like a Ligier than a Renault (and let's be honest, it doesn't matter what they call it, it's still a Renault).
That said, it'll be nice to have some traditional French blue back on track even if I still think they should've stayed as Renault and therefore be yellow.
Yeah I do agree that I’d have preferred that it stayed Renault. I do get what the new CEO is trying to do, but Alpine was always Rally and built its rep directly from that. Renault push hard on the link from the F1 to the road car but Heyho I guess he knows what he’s doing as he’s the one being paid the mega bucks and somehow made Seat semi desirable again 🤷🏼♂️
I dislike the AT livery so Alpine is my number one but I was always gonna be a lil bias
Beautiful, love seeing green back on the F1 grid.
Dmitry Mazepin: "Nikita can't race under the Russian flag, so we'll have him race *in* the Russian flag" 🙄
Rankings (in terms of car visuals, obviously not performance) so far...
01 | Alpine Renault - Looks SO SLICK in the blue! Fun fact: Renault powered cars have only won F1 championships sporting a notably blue (with accent colours [Camel, Rothmans, Mild Seven, and Red Bull [at a push, but navy is still blue]) livery...
02 | Alfa Romeo Racing Ferrari - Flipping the colours makes it even more beautiful that the last couple of years!
03 | Red Bull Racing Honda - You know what you're getting, and it looks great
04 | Mercedes - Does similar to Aston, with (understandably) extra sponsors to fill the gaps!
05 | Aston Martin Mercedes - Preferred the pink (only for how different it was), but this is sleek. The pink accents don't feel out of place either...
06 | Haas Ferrari - Livery change for obvious reasons, I quite like it... Even if it is a marked step down from the above...
07 | AlphaTauri Honda - It's a FASHION brand. Why does it look... So dull? Toro Rosso's later liveries were amongst the best...
08 | McLaren MERCEDES - LOVE the orange and blue. That's where it ends. For a team with SO MANY sponsors, why is the engine cover so empty? I know they don't need to have the Merc logo, but people were excited for it coming back... Poor decision to omit, when it's a legendary combination...
Livery not officially revealed
Ferrari
Williams Mercedes
Very meh livery, don't like white F1 cars in general so glad there's fewer of them this season.
Results are in from the investigation into Grosjean's crash. Interesting stuff but I must admit I expected a lot more than 67g
https://www.gpfans.com/en/articles/62450/fia-reveal-findings-into-67g-grosjean-fireball-crash/?fbclid=IwAR294PJyPNPdxu-N8wXBF6xBsPbY2FxhAwvvDd34PKXaYoOd3M_SXhXI554
First day of testing ends with Verstappen fastest but more importantly Bottas had limited runs after a gearbox problem adn Hamilton was clearly struggling with the handling of the W12. Although it must be said that a sandstorm constitutes unusual track conditions.
Formula One commentator Murray Walker has passed away aged 97.
The simple fact of his age always meant it wasn't be unexpected but I'm genuinely sad. It doesn't matter who or how many try, it will be years before any replaces Murray as the 'voice of motor racing' in the UK.
A man who achieved so much in life. His career is well worth a proper look
RIP Murray Walker
Having now watched three full days of testing these are the initial thoughts on the state of each team for the season start
Mercedes - Not looking like the all conquering behemoth of last season. In fact the W12 looks to behave much like last years Red Bull initially did - all loose rear end and instability and some possible engine and gearbox issues thrown in. Both Hamilton and Bottas suffered from curtailed sessions but if anything Bottas looked more comfortable with the car. Hamilton looked to be very unhappy with the handling. I've no doubt the team will identify and cure their problems but they may well start on the back foot.
Red Bull - Comfortably looking the best car on the grid with Vertsappen posting fast times without even having a problem free run. Perez looks to be a solid back up and Red Bull should finally start a season strongly.
McLaren - Ricciardo looking very comfortable straight away and the car looks both fast and stable, meaning they could well spring a surprise or two this year.
Alpine - Renault look strong and Fernando looks to have lost none of his speed and skill. I expect them to fight it out with McLaren for 3rd place and maybe a win or two if luck falls right.
Aston Martin - Limited running for Seb given problems all weekend means it's hard to tell how fast they are. I expected them to be fighting for 3rd place this year but reliability may cost them dearly. Plus Lance is still mediocre at best unless it's wet.
Ferrari - The power unit may well have improved and it did look like they were keeping their true pace hidden but I still think their upper mid table this year. Sainz looks to be struggling with the car and appeared frustrated with it and a lack of laps run. Leclerc still looking strong.
Alpha Tauri - Looks like they've progressed a lot since last year. The car looks great and appears to handle very well. Both Gasly and Tsunoda impressed in the timings and the team had no problems all weekend. Might be the years big surprise.
Alfa Romeo - Quietly carried out their testing with no fuss and no problems. Unlikely to break from the midfield but may well be much faster than last year. It could be the drivers that hold them back this year.
Haas - Virtually anonymous all weekend and they look like running at the back much as last year. Could well be this years worst car again.
Williams - Look to be quicker and better funded than last season and may well have improved but still look like duelling with Haas for the wooden spoon.
A great piece of analysis there, Severin,
Was very sad to hear of Walker's passing on Saturday. I've kept thinking how you hear of all these amazing sports personalities passing over the recent years but Murray Walker just kept going and going. 97 is a fantastic innings! His voice sound tracked large parts of my childhood memories of the sport and no one will ever touch his ability to connect with the viewing public. One of the Sport's greatest icons and his legacy will never ever be forgotten.
Re testing, please don't get your hopes up about Merc not being this dominant behemoth once again. They do this every single season. Remember 2019 when they were sandbagging well behind Ferrari then turned up in Australia and put it on pole by about 1.5 seconds.
I think it will be close between Daniel and Lando, with Lando out-qualifying Daniel 1st half season and Daniel turning it around 2nd half
anyone watch the new season of drive to survive? my god the Grosjean episode gave me full body chills seeing all that new footage..
The new season starts this weekend! I fully expect Lewis Hamilton to win the Drivers Championship for a record breaking 8th time with Max Vertsappen finishing in 2nd place. I think Mercedes will win the Constructors Championship again as well, Red Bull in 2nd place, Ferrari somewhere in the top 4 region.
Looking forward to the start of F1 season...Hope Hamilton can win his 8th Drivers Championship but also hope it will be a more competitive season!
Hoping this is the year that Red Bull finally give Verstappen a car worthy of his talent and that he can actually put Hamilton under pressure as he's had it too easy for too long. I'd also like to see Ferrari and McLaren capable of winning a race or two on merit alone and not through good fortune.
seems like Verstappen is starting the strongest
Renault/Alpine seems to have regressed a lot sadly
tomorrow is max's to lose
having sainz temporarily on pole was exciting to see too
Am looking forward to this, interesting battle at the front and the mid-field seems really tight, thought it was a shame Tsunoda didn't manage to make it higher on the grid after his Q1 performance but he looks good and the car strong.
No way Nikita Mazepin has spun more times than corners raced.
Another year of highlights for me on Channel 4, please let me know fellow F1 fans if it is worth watching the highlights or not thanks
Well worth watching.
Tactically interesting but an early error plays out in a major way.
Last 12 laps or so are cracking stuff.
Bottas remains the unluckiest driver on the grid.
I was hoping to watch but Sky have stolen the rights off RTL and despite the fact that you’re supposed to be able to watch SkyGo immediately once they send your customer number, Sky *still* have not sent the number and so I missed it 😔 but Alonso retired through debris in the brake duct. I blame Mazepin. For both Nandos retirement and Sky Deutschlands incompetence
what happened in the end with Verstappen & Hamilton? bizarre ending!
Well that was some season opener, glad we didn't get a repeat of Canada 2019 or Belgium 2008 with a penalty deciding the race. Shame for Max, . The midfield is very exciting indeed.
Here’s hoping Max can push this all season. He deserves at least one title
Some good performances from Norris and Tsunoda stand out. So disappointing to see another error from Vettel - especially after he showed some good skills with his battle with Alonso
so it was an error from Verstappen then? (error number 45978524397813452978)
he could have easily waited 3 minutes and go for a clean easier pass, which was obviously 100% gonna happen and had an easy win...
Great fight between Sir Lewis & Max, more of that to come please! Definitely ironic that RB were complaining about the Mercs running wide at turn 4 all race then that very thing ultimately costs Max the win. I too thought he was a bit too premature to let Lewis back past but not complaining of course. Love to see Hamilton winning in NOT the fastest car would be good to see Max win the next race though to really wet everyone's appetite for the rest of the season. But Merc always seem to have the upper hand on strategy.
Lando having another great first race of the season. Surprised just how dominant he was over Danny this weekend though of course the latter has just joined the team.
What an embarrassing performance from Vettel. Nowhere to hide now he's out of Ferrari. Had to laugh at him blaming Ocon for their collision!
Shame the next race is a 3 weeks away, too long!
reading now the Italian papers they give Hamilton a 10
while they rate both Vettel and Marzepin with a well-deserved 0
I really thought Vettel couldn't do worst than last year but he actually did
That was a good opening race, really happy to see it actually being a fight and I thought it was one of Lewis' best drives. I was surprised that Verstappen didn't manage to overtake him again in the last few laps but hopefully it's still a great sign that it won't be the Mercedes dominance that we've become used to.
Thought that Norris drove excellently too, pulled off some key overtakes early on with great class to get himself ahead of the chasing midfield.
The more I think about the race the more infuriating I find the stewards decision making. Even though it was Red Bull's error by not pitting Verstappen quickly enough after Hamilton, there's still a faint bad smell around the application of track limits. According to Leclerc the drivers were informed in the morning that they were expected to obey the track limit on Turn 4 and their lap times would be deleted but they would not be otherwise penalised. And according to race director Michael Masi every driver bar one - Lewis Hamilton - obeyed this instruction. Technically not breaking a rule but gaining a 0.2 second profit over every other driver per lap. Hamilton did this for 29 laps and the stewards only started to look into it once Red Bull publicly told Verstappen to do the same. After which the stewards told all drivers again to remain within limits.
An extra 0.2 seconds per lap across 29 laps gave Hamilton 6 seconds over Verstappen which effectively denied Vertsappen more of an opportunity to pass come the race finale. Given that it looks like the Merc still has superior straight line speed over the Red Bull it was a crucial advantage that may have cost Verstappen the win, perhaps more than their poor response to the undercut.
I'm not suggesting Hamilton cheated or the stewards were biased in any way but Lewis was allowed to stretch the rules beyond their intended limit for far too long.
A look at the viewing figures for the Bahrain Grand Prix:
https://motorsportbroadcasting.com/
I recommend this website regarding viewing figures for F1 in the UK.
Track redevelopment down under ready for the Australian GP in November.
https://www.bbc.co.uk/sport/formula1/56604356
According to Autosprint, the Saudis will enter F1 with a team.
Bin Salman was in Bahrain with his partner/friend Matteo Renzi, the Italian Senator who apparently is under fire in Italy for breaking Covid rules regarding this trip. Urgent visit?
Presentation of the team will be in Leopolda, the official headquarters will be in Rignano.
Mazespin kept spinning around in first practice.
Oh yay more sportwashing that makes a complete mockery of „we race as one“
Rumours of Canada being axed. Sad. Imola catching out a rookie in Q1 shows why circuits like Imola and Montreal absolutely need to be on the calendar. They surprise and are close quartered so punish f*** ups unlike the carparks
God the track layout looks awful - as bad as Russia if not worse. As much as I don’t like that F1 are going to Saudi, the track at least doesn’t look this crap!
I wouldn’t be surprised if it’s Canada that makes way for it, there seems to be some rumours that it’s place on the calendar isn’t particularly secure.
A wet race beckons..
5 laps in and already more entertaining than 80% of the races since the start of 2014
Another demo of why circuits like Imola deserve their place on the calendar over Sochi, Abu Dahbi et al
Lewis looking like he's starting to give Max a challenge after that shaky start. Hope we see a bit more rain though. Max's ideal.
Big f*** up from Ham and That red flag could not have come at a better time for him
Don’t think it’s russels fault as auch but it is his fault if you know what i mean. Doesn’t look like Bottas gives him a squeeze from the angles Sky were showing
oops I spoke too soon but yeah ^ such perfect timing for him for that red flag
really hard to quite tell whose fault the BOT RUS crash was. I keep seeing it differently with each angle..
I keep going back And forth on if Bottas moved or not. No move = Russell at fault. Move = Bottas at fault. It’s a very tough one
Spectacular job by the marshalls tho
I'm tending towards Russell being more at fault. There was enough room and Russell could have stuck it out but I feel he overcompensated and lost it on the grass.
you can see Russel caught a bit of grass which caused the collision but like you say it's wether bottas moved or not to cause Russel to move
How many teams is Toto going to threaten to let his crybaby past?
Totally agree Russel sticking it on the Grass is the cause. The on board from Kimi made me think Bottas did move a bit and caused Russell to go wide onto the Grass.
Would not like to be the stewards trying to adjudicate this one
Lewis Hamilton once again proves that not only is he a very gifted driver but also a jammy bast*rd. One of the luckiest red flags ever
Think it also proves again that gravel is essential to a good F1 circuit. If that had happened at Sochi or Paul Richard etc then that would have been like a place lost at most. Gravel gave us 7 lost places and the requirement to fight back.
Best race I’ve seen live in quite a while. Imola is a great track and fitting that on a weekend that another new crap track is announced, it’s a Classic autodrome that throws up a great race
Agreed, tarmac is the worst choice behind gravel, grass, walls and high kerbs, (depending on location and safety)
Can Imola be permanent on the calendar please? Decent race indeed. Great drive from Lando Norris to get that podium. I hope this will be a close championship battle. Mazepin still awful.
Enjoyed that race again, good entertainment from start to finish. So impressed by Lando this season so far, great to see him on the podium.
certainly not gonna complain about a double points finish for Alpine-Renault and Nandos first points back!
Awesome win for Max and podium for Lando.
Lewis did get lucky and it shows how flawless max is going to have to be to win the title
Poor mistake for George - and such a shame as he was having a blinder before that
Mazepin's he's a bit like Mazzacane at the moment with the MAZ identifier.
how long do we think tsunoda's gonna last...
nice race (thanks to the rain), Verstappen was flawless for once
how can Latifi still be in F1? he's been in F1 for a while now but he raced yesterday like if it were his first day
Also awful race for Vettel and I'd say also Bottas, who before the incident was barely fighting for the bottom of the top 10
Alpine has to be the most disappointing car at the moment. Not sure what happened during winter, they were fighting for podiums at the end of last season and now can barely be top 10... but at least Fernando Alonso got 1 point (sorry Raikonen not sorry)
It does worry me that Vettel is being beaten by Stroll....
Surely that is career over if he can’t get in front of Lance
What an epic race that was. Echo the sentiments that not having Imola next year onwards will be a huge shame as we've seen how brilliant it can be. Action all the way through the race and an unforgiving track!
Lewis definitely had the luck with the timing of that read flag but superb fight back especially considering he was carrying end plate damage all race. My thoughts on the crash are it was more Russell's fault (saying that as a big Russell fan). Think it was overambitious and didn't look like Bottas swerved to the extent he claimed he did (haven't seen onboard of Bottas though as of yet if it even exists).
Thrilled to see Lando on the podium and he looks like he's got the measure of Ricciardo on early evidence. Ferrari having a much stronger bounce back than I would have expected as well.
what I don't get is why the Alpines are so much worst this season? they ended up on a high last year and that was like 4 months ago
I think it's just because Ferrari & Alpha Tauri have both massively improved so Alpine are currently at best the 6th fastest team which is only one position lower than they finished as Renault last season. Ricciardo also outperformed the car last season imo.
I don’t think we Are That much worse off. Our podiums came through right circumstances and because Ferrari were diabolical and we were on par with McLaren. The Merc engine has given McLaren a boost and Ferrari have overcome their set back stronger than expected
The Japanese Grand Prix will remain at Suzuka for at least the next three years after a contract extension with Formula 1 was announced.
We're going back to the ice rink!
I like the track at Turkey. It’s the exception to the rule that the modern tracks are shite
Yeah it's one of Tilke's best by far. That, Sepang & COTA are his holy trinity.
Sounds interesting, think if the field as a whole was closer then it would probably be more interesting a concept. Tho I’d like to see a reverse grid for the sprint could end up with some interesting race grids that way and if the tyre could make it through a sprint without disintegrating then a 100km of no holds barred racing would be fab
Talking of modern circuits, Portimão has to be one of the best. It’s incredible. All the elevation changes make for wonderful viewing
Alfa Romeo’s have been granted a review of Kimi’s penalty from Imola:
Leave Nandos point alone you bitter Bettys x
Portimão providing a pretty decent race thus far. Even if I strongly disapprove of the current leader.
Max's fastest lap
Ended up being a great race. Lots of action up and down the pack! And a solid double points finish for RenaultAlpine
Mazespin continues to prove he has no place in F1. Over a Minute behind the car in front and then blocks Perez from lapping him. Get him out
I would also kick Raikonnen out, he's a veteran but today it was like if it were his debut.
the Japanese guy in Alpha Tauri doesn't seem to have adapted yet either
Hamilton and Verstappen were very good today, Norris keeps impressing too
and the two Alpine cars were great too
The worst the usual suspects, Bottas showing once more he is incapable of passing other cars
I'd give a 0 to Ferrari in strategy, they ruined Sainz's chances today
Kimi made one mistake. That does not mean he needs to go!
Mazepin is being outshone and is making stupid errors. Will see if he can improve in any way over the next few races
I thought it was an ok race but the final positions weren’t that much different - save for some fine drives from the likes of Alonso (although that was partly strategy/benefits of qualifying outside the top 10)
Was a bit gutted that Vettel and Russel went backwards
Bottas has the same issue every team mate of Max will have. You cannot compete with an excellent driver
I really hope Max can get the title this year. Lewis is just so strong....
Former Red Bull junior driver Patricio O'Ward has been guaranteed a test with the McLaren F1 team at the young driver session in Abu Dhabi later this year after winning his first Indycar race.
The Mexican was released by Red Bull at the end of 2019 due to insufficient points for a F1 superlicense but a deal with Zak Brown means his victory at Texas Speedway means another chance to show if he could make it in the top tier of motorsport.
Definitely think more F1 teams should be looking beyond F2 and F3 for young drivers
Okish race not the greatest and not one to look back for years to come. I hope it does have an permanent fixture on the calendar in Portugal. Mazespin poor so ever he makes Ide look good from what I've seen, .
At the Bahrain GP, which ended with a spin and a crash, he was criticised for jumping the queue in qualifying with a similar complaint levelled three weeks later at Imola.
As for Portimao, it was again in qualifying where it started, branded a “f***ing idiot” and a “dumbass” by Nicholas Latifi who felt Mazepin had blocked him.
Just over 24 hours later, Sergio Perez called the Russian rookie a ” f***king idiot” too when he ignored blue flags and held up the race leader. Mazepin was handed a five-second penalty for that.
The race didn't quite live up to expectations but I think everyone was expecting a thriller like last year. Plus it had to follow 2 amazing races this year so far. There was some action at the front at least and some interesting midfield battles. Lewis was on fire after dropping to third!
I think everyone knows Mazepin is nowhere near good enough to be an F1 driver and he's only there due to $$$. But like was mentioned if that's what kept us with 20 cars on the grid then so be it. Plus we always need someone who can cause a safety car out of nowhere. *Maldonado flashbacks*
In some much welcome and heartwarming news, Romain Grosjeean will get his dream drive in Lewis Hamilton's 2019 title winning Mercedes W10 at the French GP for a series of demonstration laps and then have a full test day a couple of days later.
Well done Mercedes, well done.
Aaaaah good. Happy to see he gets a final spin out in an F1 car to sign off his career
Mercedes giving Red Bull a lesson in strategy
Yeah Merc does always seem to have RB's number on strategy but I think they could always be more flexible as they simply had a much faster car this weekend. I'm just glad Max made that ballsy move at the start to actually give us an exciting Spanish GP for once!
Was a good race for Spain
I love Lewis Hamilton and he is one of the best of all time (also helps that he is so bloody fit!), but I really want Max to win this years title. If Max never wins a title he should be considered the greatest champion that never was
Some good racing down the pack - getting a bit frustrated for Vettel and Russel though. They canny get into the points
Max is only 23, it'd be unbelievable if he never won a title with potentially up to 15+ more years in the sport. The new regs next year will be very interesting to see if it shakes up the field 2009-style in which case he might himself back in an uncompetitive car.
On the whole a pretty decent race for Barcelona standards. Another race where there was a fight for the win, although if Max hadn’t got ahead at turn 1 it would’ve been decidedly more boring.
I've decided I want Lewis to smash it this year, winning the championship against worthy competition. It's been an enjoyable season so far, each race has been at least decent.
I'm loving seeing Lewis proving that he is one of the most exciting drivers out there. We all got bored of him racing away from the line so often but this year I feel he's driving at his absolute best now that he has real competition from Red Bull.
First time I think that I've heard the radio after a team speaking to a race director during the race when Toto Wolff complained about surprise surprise Mazespin.
I actually think Nico is held in much higher regard now since his retirement because of how close he was comparatively to Lewis. Mind you, the Lewis we see today is on another level to that of 13-16 imo.
Agree with that last sentence 100%
Race organisers have confirmed Baku will host F1 until at least 2024 – but there is no possibility this year’s race will swap dates with the Turkish Grand Prix.
The new contract will see Azerbaijan’s current deal for hosting Formula 1 extended by a further year, with Baku’s scheduled race cancelled in 2020 due to the Covid-19 pandemic.
Formula 1's governing body has launched a clampdown on flexible rear wings amid suspicions teams are bending the rules.
Ha! Such a waste of a Super license
Predictably, Turkey has been dropped from this season's calendar almost as soon as it was added. Another race at the Red Bull Ring will take its place so the Styrian GP will be rolled back out!
I’m inclined to agree. The only reason I could think of that it’s in Austria is that the circuit is owned by an F1 team so from a contractual and logistics pov it might have been easier.
However, I think the replacement shows that F1 are concerned about not meeting the minimum number of races if they aren’t able to hit a bunch of the fly away races.
I hope there’s contingency contracts being drawn up with other European venues in the event of the second half of the calendar falling away due to restrictions
Hamilton and Vettel qualifying on the same row of the grid is definitely something I did not expect to ever happen again! Well done Seb
I’m catching up on Q3 at halftime. I’m actually looking forward to the race tomorrow. There’s a slight chance that for the first time since 2013 we might have a podium free of the f***ing mercs when they both actually finish the race
I'm counting on Seb to screw up the first corner and take Hamilton out. It may be the best hope for keeping this title fight alive.
Also anyone that doesn't want Leclerc to win has no heart
Leclerc's gearbox is too damaged and he will not make the grid. Might make a pitlane start if they can fix it
f*** f*** f***.
2hrs ago they said it was fine 😭
Leclerc is out of the race.
Gutting
Am pure gutted for him. The conversion rate for pole sitters is amazing at Monaco, he probably would have won his actual home home Grand Prix. (I know most of the tax dodging wanks live in Monaco but he’s actually Monacan)
I just learned Verstappen speaks fluent German
Rotten luck for Leclerc.
No gap under 1 sec, classic Monaco.
Mazepin one more corner cut away from a penalty. Lap 13
Im not sure what is funnier. Bottas being unable to get a wheel off and having to retire or Hamilton having a tantrum that a two year old would be embarrassed by and going backward in the pit stops.
The wheels truly coming off Mercedes AMG this weekend………well. Not for Bottas 🤣🤣🤣🤣🤣
Honestly. Best race of the year so far
I like the result of the race but it was a chore to watch with no car being able to takeover not even once
Very happy for Sanz, first great for him in Ferrari. Verstappen was also great, and same for Norris.
I'd give a 0 to Mercedes, their worst weekend in ages.
Also surprised at how long it's talking Ricciardo to adapt. It's not easy for anyone but even Vettel seems to be adapted now.
Cute little wave between the McLarens as Norris lapped The money badger
Monaco is a useless Grand Prix tho. I can’t remember a single overtake that happened after Mick sent it up the inside of Mazespin before the tunnel on the first lap.
Channel 4 how did you fit 60 minutes of highlights in this race?
Probably one of the dullest races I've seen, Monaco is certainly a useless Grand Prix. No safety or virtual safety cars. Amazing for you, Max. For the fans it certainly wasn't.
Was a bit of a boring race
Gutted for Leclerc but I suppose it was caused by his mistake
Happy for the Max win - especially as he now leads the championship
I felt sorry for Bottas as he definitely had the measure of Lewis
Love the result for Vettel - comfortably beat his teammate and that pit stop exit showed his fight
Mercedes did lose Lewis points but he was having a bad weekend anyway
Mazepin not only finished but finished ahead of his team mate! Shockers for Tsunoda and Ricciardo though
Tsunoda has been unanimous since the opening race.
David Coulthard not mincing his words about Tsunoda there .
Not very impressed with him I feel!
wait, the wheel fiasco was Bottas' fault?
just reading in there Italian press that it's his fault cos he stopped too soon
and was off the mark so the mechanic inserted his tool in a weird wrong angle
I always feel like Qualifying is at its peak at Monaco because it basically determines where you’ll finish come the end of the race on Sunday. Give or take a first corner first lap overtake or a under/overcut that was perfectly managed
Bottas sure can drive fast, his weakest point is overtaking, he simply can't
Got me thinking regarding the red flag at the end of Q3, If there's a red flag in the final two mins of a qualifying session, should more time be added?
I think it’s also a bit harsh in terms of what happened to Leclerc this weekend. It was a genuine error and countless people have clipped the wall at turn in to clatter into the wall on exit with a broken suspension.
It’s a tough line to draw between what is deliberate and what is not. I wouldn’t like to be making that call
Very much a case of the race itself was boring but what it has now done to the championship (and various other stories) is much more interesting.
It was actually the first race I didn't watch live all the way through since coincidentally the last Monaco GP.
Baku has been a good event most of the time, can't wait for the race.
To the surprise of absolutely no one, Singapore is next to be chopped. Hope this means Turkey can be restored if things have calmed down there by then or they bring back Mugello and switch it with Russia so we have Monza/Mugello back to back like last year.
Not overly surprised that Singapore is off
Talk is of a second US race rather than Turkey
Yeah heard COTA have offered to host a double header. Would make sense.
Im getting bored of the Mercs sandbagging Friday and then smashing it on Saturday in quali. It’s mean to tease us with the possibility that the race might actually be interesting
another pole for Leclerq thanks to the red flags
Fernando Alonso was very critical with the current rules about red flags saying they need to change
also very critical about the pilots that had accidents yesterday saying some were driving beyond their abilities
That’s not really a lie when you look at some of the people that had the Red Flag accidents. *cough*Stroll*cough*
Living for Fernando causing controversy. God I missed him when he was away for those 2 years. I think he’s rightly irritated tho as Red Flags did f*** up the Alpines run in Q1 and Q2 and Q3 and without the Q2 one the person who caused the Q3 might not have made it.
Sainz knocking his wing off was hilarious though. I can’t deny that. Mental quali
in other hilarious news, was reading in the papers that Mazepin has received a letter from there Russian Army telling him he has to join,
as in Russia it's obligatory and being an elite sportsman doesn't work as excuse maybe we'll get rid of him after all
I’ll keep my fingers crossed!!!
Pirelli are a pure joke. How can you still be f***ing it up after so many years.
I swear back in the day you used to be able to take a restart in the 3rd car. F1 used to be so much better than it is now
Ok I withdraw any complaints about red flag procedures. That sprint finish was a f***ing genius idea.
that was a crazy ending of the race, oh my Lewis!!!
well deserved with for Perez and great race for Vettel, Gasly, Leclerq and Alonso.
didn't watch all the race, what happened with Bottas? how did he end up so low?
Is it wroth watching the highlights tonight?
Totally
Not a fan of a restart with one lap to go. Much prefer the old rules where the order on the red flag was the result, even if it was exciting to watch.
It was however, really rather funny watching Lewis miss the corner.
It was exciting for sure but imagine if both Red Bull’s had been 30 secs up the road. Max crashes out and then Lewis sticks the restart because his brakes haven’t overheated but Perez loses a comfortable win because his have.
Would seem an artificially created win and utterly unfair.
Fun to watch but should have ended under a safety car or Red flagged. Imagine if Lewis had been in fifth when his brakes failed...
Masi is bending the rules to make more of a show at the risk of racing purity and arguably safety
In a Situation where the bulls were a third of a lap clear then aye that’d be bullshit but they were never more than a handful of seconds up the road and kept tabs the whole lap.
If anything it’s Max I feel hard done for. Red Flag v quickly and count back under the old rules would have given him the win eg Brazil 03 and Fisi on the podium. I thought we were gonna see a safety car finish.
I don’t agree on safety. Hamiltons brakes did that because he f***ed up and hit a switch on the steering wheel. Run that another thousand times and no else one does that. Had he been 5th, I don’t think he’d have gone steaming through the pack (although the sport is so much more boring than it used to be without a few 5 car turn 1 pile ups). He made a mistake not even a rookie would make under pressure. I don’t think Hamilton making a tit of himself on global tv equates to the race director risking safety for a tv audience.
But let’s be real for a second. 2 or 3 laps whatever it was, where the drivers don’t have to worry about the tyres falling apart if they push, don’t have to fuel save. It’s the best 5 minutes of racing in any Grand Prix in the turbo era if not the last decade or more. Alonso took 4 spots. That alone is more overtakes than at Monaco this year. Tbh if anything it shows that the sport is broken and that tyre and fuel saving is ruining the sport (along with the dominance of the mercs of course). Give the drivers. Let’s bring back the indestructible Michelin tyres and refueling. If you want to pretend to be green, then lighter cars burn less fuel which over the course of the GP means the cars are more fuel efficient and produce less CO2s. Refueling is better for the planet
Was an enjoyable race, although gutted for Max. He deserved that win
Checo was close enough to pick up the victory and keep it at Red Bull. Was insane seeing Hamilton make that kind of mistake and fail to take advantage of Max’s retirement
Thrilled for Vettel and Gasly - two brilliant performances and both deserving of a good haul of points. It must have been frustrating for Leclerc to be passed by a team mate he destroyed last year!
Also - how was Bottas so off the pace? Lewis last race and Bottas this week. I fully expect Mercedes to bounce back but it’s very unexpected
the Spanish press is ecstatic with Alonso today, Marca says his re-start should be taught at universities (guess they mean F1 or driving schools but still)
think Bottas was not in the race mentally + everybody knows he's not good at passing cars
but both Raikonen and Giovinazzi passed him in the last part of there ace, which is like unthinkable
What an insane watch that latter part of the race was. Try convincing me Baku isn't the most batshit crazy race on the calendar. 4 red flags in quali for starters! Everything that's bad about Monaco is good about Baku. Has the zero margin for error aspect but with actual possibilities of overtaking.
That was a real gutter for Max but maybe he just didn't conserve his tyres as well. We had this scenario at Silverstone last year (and in 2013) so nothing will get changed. I personally like the tyre management aspect up to an extent. When the tyres were more durable the racing was boring, that's why Pirelli joined in 2011 in the first place.
So the mammoth 54-race streak of point scoring has finally ended for Sir Lewis. Must admit it definitely keeps the title fight much more interesting as we head to tracks I'd say are much more Mercedes-suited. But I don't think they've ever had 2 bad races in a row in the hybrid era so I do wonder how much this will have knocked them psychologically.
Super happy for Perez to win his first RB race reasonably early on but he was having his best weekend for the team regardless. Seeing 2 RBs & 1 Merc is the exact opposite of the case for much of the past 3 seasons. Vettel has also come alive in these street races but let's see if he can keep this up hereafter.
Disagree. There's 51 laps so why only do 48? If it was pissing it down with rain or the light was fading (like Malaysia '09) then fair enough but why deny what could be the most exciting racing of the entire season? Don't see how it's any more dangerous than a regular start with a full field. I think if it was anywhere else this debate wouldn't even come up, but let's be honest Baku is a bit of a dangerous track in general.
We had a standing re-start in Monza last year and 2 in Mugello and don't remember anyone talking it about it then. Just so happened the red flags were thrown earlier but it doesn't matter if it's after 1 lap, 50% race distance or 99% in my opinion. Ending the race early is reserved for when actual conditions themselves would prove unsafe.
I’m with Dobbo here. Unless there is a light, weather or serious safety issue then the race should be run until complete/timed out. The one that comes to mind is Brazil 2003.
You could hear, at least on the Sky DE coverage, the radio between the teams and Masi. The race was red flagged in part so everyone could get fresh tyres on and there was no further risk of another exploding tyre.
The cars these days are built to last a lot longer than they used to be, they should be able to do a second standing start. AMD with the sprint quali proposal then they would be doing more racing starts over a weekend anyway. As an elite driver this should be within their wheel house nae bother. I don’t think it’s dangerous. They get to race properly for a handful of laps, I’m willing to bet good money that everyone apart from Lewis thoroughly enjoyed those last couple of laps
Perhaps my view is clouded because I have watched too many drivers killed for the sake of entertainment at the expense of safety.
I’ll reserve further judgment on that restart safety issue but it still feels like overly meddling in a result and the slow deployment of the red flag is still worrying.
Very much agree on the delay to the red flag. The Safety Car was extremely late to be deployed as well, unforgivably so given the high speed area of the track that they crashed in.
Baku and its high speed tyre failures is giving me Michelin Indianapolis flashbacks.
I think I maybe have a different perspective because since I started watching F1 in 2003 there has only been Bianchi who has been killed in an F1 accident - one that was arguably preventable. From memory there's a handful of crashes where I've gone oof. Bianchi of course, but Kubica in Canada, Ralf in the Williams in Indy '04, Roman last year, Alonso in the McHonda at Australia and then also with Nando in Belgium in 2018.
Yeah they were all bad, Unfortunately I can remember a number of awful accidents from standing starts - including Brundle at Melbourne 96, Lehto at Imola 94, Gugelmin at Paul Ricard 89 and most importantly Ricardo Paletti at Montreal 82 and Ronnie Peterson at Monza 78.
I'd never want to lose a standing start from the sport but the idea of doing one after the cars have done over 170 miles, with every driver going hell for leather and marbles covering everywhere off the racing line feels a little like tempting fate for the sake of a show and I don't trust Michael Masi to think of safety first.
I have a feeling you might agree with some of the issues and conclusions in this:
Quite eye-opening. I missed some of these controversies at the time through the language barrier but its certainly an eye opening and concerning pattern. While i do still believe a standing start and sprint finish was a good thing and produced 2 laps of excellent racing, there are other decisions that certainly do call Masi's abilities and judgement into question. Most specifically the speeding under yellows. The FIA should be investigating that and handing out penalty points to those not deemed to have slowed enough and a race ban to the one who didn't slow at all. He could have killed a Marshall
That pretty much sums up my concerns over Masi.
Regarding the other side of the debate around late red flags and restarts - i.e. falsely affecting a result - a perfect example of a potential concern played out in Indycar yesterday.
Will Power led most of the race comfortably when, with a handful of laps to go, Grosjean crashed and his car could easily have been dealt with under a yellow, although the race would likely have finished behind the safety car/ Instead they threw out a red flag and forced every car to stop in the pit lane. Because of the heat and a lack of cool air getting in to his engine Power's ECU overheated and he couldn't restart the race. The unnecessary red flag cost him an almost certain and thoroughly deserved win, artificially affecting the championship and left a slightly bitter taste in the end.
It's something that should be kept in mind and that the sport needs to be careful about.
I heard about that, but haven’t seen it myself. How did the ECU overheat tho, surely under a red flag it’s Engines off, cooling packs on? That was what I understood the F1 grid did anyway but my understanding there might be wrong.
They're not allowed to touch the car until all the cars are stopped in the pit. That's a rule they need to review as it meant Power's car was stationary with no cooling for around a minute, which was long enough in such a high heat environment to end his race.
F1 rules are slightly better in that respect but it's still a potential issue to be wary of.
I suppose they could, in theory, argue that the ECU could have overheated on the circuit in the closing laps (it wouldn’t be the first time a winner lost out on mechanical issues in the dying stages) and so he might have lost the win anyway
Either way it’s a tough pill for Power to swallow
Since we all know this weekends race will be tedious, this might help pass the time
Haha excellent. Just missing "Valterri, it's James"
Figured this might interest you guys:
https://www.msn.com/en-us/sports/motorsports/valtteri-bottas-could-face-a-williams-or-nothing-decision-for-2022-f1-season/ar-AAL4S2s?ocid=entnewsntp
Yep that rumour has been raging for ever and ever but it all depends if Merc lose the constructors title to RB due to Bottas' performances. He could finish a minute behind Lewis at every race but if they win the constructors they won't care and won't want to disrupt the harmony so will just keep him.
I just really can't see Lewis & George both at Merc next year but who knows?
Alpine have announced Esteban Ocon has signed a new three-year deal with the team, confirming he’ll stay until the end of 2024 at the least.
And called him Oxon!
Rain forecast for the race. We'll see.
Stroll 0 - 1 Track Limits
I lasted ten laps. Which is ten more laps of a French Grand Prix than I’ve watched at any point since it returned.
I know that France is the historical home of Motor Racing but dear god how are they so incapable of building a racing circuit. Throw this on the pile of circuits that should be destroyed by a hellfire missile ASAP.
what a race! one of the best in recent years I can think of. the 2 stop strategy for red bull really working for them against Mercedes. full on goosebumps when max overtook lewis on the last lap. bet lewis is fuming, even bottas said it shoulda been a 2 stopper for them.
Typical. I’ll admit to a little bit of a rage quit after the two mctraitors overtook Nando
I’ll record the replay And watch the rest later. Partly just to hear Hamilton crying on the Radio.
amazing race and the last laps were nerve-wrecking
Certainly one of the more interesting French Grand Prix, it was.
That was an amazing race I have to say. Would never have thought Paul Ricard would offer a strategic thriller like that but I do think it all came down to Max jumping Lewis at the right round of stops. Had Lewis come out in front that would have likely been the race over there and then and would have been another processional race like 2018 & 2019.
A lot of criticism at Merc's strategy but the only mistake they made was not pitting Lewis a lap after Bottas to keep Lewis in front of Max. Once Max pitted a second time there was nothing they could do, they had to leave out both cars. Bottas complaining but if he'd done a 2-stopper he'd have been a country mile behind Perez. He did a terrible job of holding up Max as well. Had he done that even for a little longer Max may not have been able to catch Lewis and Red Bull would be being the ones criticised for botching the strategy. As it is, it was nice for Red Bull to pull a reverse Barcelona and it keeps things very interesting. The most significant thing here is Red Bull finally winning on a Mercedes circuit. Everyone knew they were gonna dominate the street circuits but by winning in France fair and square I think this is genuinely the first time they're favourites for the title.
Aside, what on earth happened to Ferrari? Even their 2020 car would have done a better job than the shitshow by them ysterday,
yes, Ferrari were terrible, the cars couldn't handle the wheels for more than 5 minutes
Bottas again was terrible, making an error the second he saw the front of Max's car, and again with Perez... that was his only job to disturb and slow down Max even a tiny bit but he didn't... I'm 100% for a swap with Russell ASAP
Silverstone is to have a full capacity crowd of 140K for the British GP next month. Fantastic to see and I'll be going myself! (Negative test permitting ofc)
That will be a super spreader event.
Hamilton in contract talks and his words to the bbc show how weak a person he is.
Well, that brings a new definition to the phrase unsafe release.
No wonder Mercedes are so keen on penalising Red Bull's 2 sec pit stops.
One might also argue that the McLaren pit crew have now given Bottas more assistance this year than his own team
I am still trying to work out *how* he managed to do that. Some of the McLaren crew had a lucky escape there, they should be playing the lotto.
Merc sandbagging again. It’s getting quite irritating now tbh.
For those that don't yet know, Turkey is back for this year in its original slot and Sochi will be replaced by the Igora Drive circuit from 2023
The new St Petersburg track is a Tilke track though. So as exciting as it is to be rid of Sochi, one of the absolute worst tracks F1 has ever had the misfortune of racing at, I’m reserving judgement until I actually see this new track
Found an onboard. Lots of tarmac run offs where there should be gravel looks mostly uninspiring but the last couple of corners look like they’ll be fun to drive
I just hope the corners get proper names. If someone talks about turn 12 at Spa I have no idea where they mean but if they say Pouhon it couldn't be clearer.
Ocon showing exactly why he was signed until 2024 🤦🏼♂️
Excellent Dominant display from Max. Well managed and absolutely destroyed Hamilton
Another feeble display from Ricciardo this weekend in the McLaren.
Lewis Hamilton has signed a new two-year deal with Mercedes until the end of 2023.
Absolutely furious. Fernando had his flying lap wrecked and now we sit in 14th and the culprit gets through and might get a couple of places penalty. But the penalty doesn’t eliminate the potential of the Alpine at Alonso’s hands. There should be a new rule that if you impede a driver and they are eliminated as a direct result of your actions then you should be given their qualifying place and the driver you impeded should continue into the next round. If the marshals can’t determine that quick enough then the drivers should swap places. If you impede and qualify lower then you get a penalty, but if you cause them to be eliminated then you start from the pit.
Penalties aren’t strong enough especially at a circuit like the Ring where a lap is only 63/65 seconds.
Related. I hope Williams send a case of champers to Vettel coz they owe him for getting into Q3
Vettel given three-place grid penalty for impeding Alonso,
Vettel did deserve his penalty but it wasn't entirely his fault. He slowed at turn eight as permitted but two car passed him (Bottas and Sainz I think) who then slowed up at turns nine and ten which wasn't allowed. Vettel had no choice but to slow up too and it screwed his final run too.
Anyone who slowed between nine and ten should be penalised too.
Vettel's team defo could have done better than unleashing him into the path of a rapidly oncoming Alonso.
The FIA weaselled out of going after Sainz and Bottas saying they couldn't ID the root cause of the hold up. Which is a barefaced lie, they have all the data and are more than capable of it. Just means it is someone they don't want to penalise.
poor Alonso :/ crazy the difference between the 2 Alpines in Q1 with Alonso being one of the top pilots and Ocon in the Botton 5...
same with the Norris/Ricciardo
There was definitely a penalty warranted and the teams didn't do a good enough job of ensuring their drivers stayed out of the way, however on a track which is that short it's difficult to see how you can avoid that situation if close to the whole field in Q2 are doing a run at the end, the first to start their lap will always encounter traffic at the end.
Annoying to see Norris so close to P2 when he got that, imo, unnecessary time penalty.
Nice race, #1 was obvious and not very exciting
but the fight for the rest of positions was very interesting
Norris didn't deserve the penalty, would have been #2 otherwise!!
It looks like Max Verstappen has the Driver's Championship in the bag this year. He's got a 31 point lead over Lewis Hamilton and the gap will probably get bigger soon enough.
And we love to see it. The bigger that gap gets the more desperate and unhinged Hamilton will get. It’s gonna be so fun to watch.
Great recovery drive from Fernando to grab a point!
Most of the recent circuits bar France have traditionally suited the Red Bull and not really been ideal for Mercedes
Mercedes have upgrades coming for Silverstone and that is a track that has always been strong for the German team. If Red Bull win comfortably there then it really will look like Max's title to lose but I expect Mercedes to come back hard.
Eight drivers are being called to the stewards for failing to slow under double waved yellows on the last lap.
Raikkonen given 20 second time penalty following the collision with Vettel.
Latifi and Mazepin given 30 second time penalty for ignoring yellow flags.
to be honest Raikkonen should be banned
he drive like a crazy person sometimes, who crashes into another car in the last lap fighting for like position 17 :/
I have wondered for each of the last like 4 seasons when Kimi will retire.
Who poisoned the stewards' coffee during that race? I've never seen so many needless penalties handed out. What about the "letting them race" mantra they seemed to have cast-ironed these past few seasons? None of the Norris or Perez penalties were correct. The Kimi penalty is completely redundant, should be a grid penalty for the next race, 20 second penalty does nothing. Tsunoda's were fair game though, the hell was he doing.
Not enough criticism at the moment for Ricciardo, as much as I love him. He's having his ass handed to him more than I would ever have believed by Lando. No excuse for adjusting to the car now that Sainz/Vettel/Alonso have the measure of their teammates & Perez is doing a good enough job.
I'm very much intrigued by this title fight though. If it was 32 pts the other way I think we could say it's pretty much done but this way round it's far from over. Hoping for Sir Lewis to break the record but wouldn't begrudge Max the title at all given the way he's performing this season. Should be even further ahead but for the Baku blowout. Silverstone is gonna be wild in 2 weeks
In my opinion none of the Norris/Perez penalties were necessary. All three incidents were worthy of being 'noted' by the stewards but should have been given a pass. Unfortunately once they'd penalised Norris they gave themselves no option but to punish Perez for near identical moves later.
Meanwhile, this looks to be the first true title fight we've had since Rosberg retired (sorry Seb but no) although I'm continually perplexed by Hamilton's post race comments. He constantly talks up the Red Bull's pace advantage in a way that effectively diminishes his own achievements over the last few years and the insinuations of cheating from him and Toto are beneath them both.
If the Red Bull was so much stronger than the Merc then Perez would be outqualifying Lewis and Valtteri almost every time and that's not happening. Max is making a difference in the way that Lewis used to be able to. I said last year that I thought Lewis had lost a touch of his outright pace and given his age thatmay be true. It seems now though that the pressure is back on him the mistakes are beginning to creep back in. He looks more and more like the driver he was in 2011. There have been a few races this year were Valtteri has looked on a par with Lewis and I don't think the Finn has improved.
I've no doubt Lewis will turn it around at Silverstone but there are warning signs appearing.
Yeah you're right they f***ed up with the Norris one from the outset (which was the harshest of the 3 anyway!)
I think Lewis is just pretty chilled about the title fight as there's just so many races left to go. Him saying Red Bull are currently the fastest isn't wrong, just like RB were saying they couldn't compete with Merc in Portugal/Spain. Ebbs & Flows. Also re Perez let's not forget he's never been a great qualifier and Max is simply on another level entirely this season. I've no doubt that car us 100% tuned to Max's style.
I agree Lewis has perhaps lost a slight bit of pace from peak years but 2011? No way, that was his only bad season ever where he was crashing left, right & centre. And Bottas is nowhere near him, Monaco was the only race he has outperformed him in. Throw in those frankly embarrassing displays at Imola & Baku and he's actually regressed even more than last season imo.
This has been an amazing season though so far. It's rare in title fight seasons you even get 1 instance of the actual protagonists going wheel to wheel on track but we've had that at 5 races this season hopefully we can end the current era with an absolute classic season!
Russia’s Deputy Prime Minister, Dmitry Chernyshenko, has confirmed unanimous approval for the country’s grand prix to change venues in 2023.
Formula 1 recently announced the Russian Grand Prix would switch from Sochi, where it has been held since 2014, to Igora Drive just outside St Petersburg.
Helmut Marko has stated that for the Austrian GP Max Verstappen ran with the engine on reduced power. If that is true (and it's Marko so I'm sceptical) then Lewis might as well go home now.
Aww I knew it was coming but that's still sad. One of my favourites back in the day and a true gentleman. Would've been champion in 1981 but for a dodgy gearbox, although some say he simply didn't want it.
Yeah I agree. I don’t really believe much about what Red Bull say when it comes to their engines
Some of these drivers being rumoured for the Williams seat
https://www.planetf1.com/news/williams-hulkenberg-kvyat-short-list/
This weekend is the first sprint format!! Who is looking forward to it?
Im in two minds about it. If the tyres can hang on it could be great but this ain’t the race them hard until the metal shows Michelin tyres of days gone by so I’m not sure if the tyres will actually hold on long enough to make this what they want it to be.
Quali on Friday is a pain with work
I'm intrigued about the sprint format, should create great battles in the midfield, again depends if the tyres can hold on as Silverstone does have a history of tyre failures in recent years.
I'm excited, glad they're trying something out even if it turns out to be not very successful. Put it this way, I'm far more optimistic of this than that awful elimination quali format they trialled for the first 2 races in 2016.
Although I think ultimately it's just gonna be another 6 points for the Ham/Bot/Ver trinity.
I did not! Thanks for confirming that.
I do agree that it’s about money rather than sport. I don’t mind the Concept but I would like to see a genuine sprint with everyone given a set fuel load and everyone given the same rubber that we know can survive the sprint at full pelt and then let them lose with lighter enforcement on racing incidents and muscular overtakes but stronger enforcement on track limits (ie 1 strike and it’s a Black flag). I don’t think it would truly work until overtaking is made easier under the 2022 rules
Still fancy Max for pole position and the race win on Sunday.
But this Friday qual is kinda pointless within this format
I also think the sprint would be more interesting if it were shorter, just 5 laps or something rather than 30 minutes
Am willing to see how it goes but it does just feel like an extra 30 minutes to correct quali over/underperformance tbh
30 mins is a bit long but that was some epic Fernando magic. A clear gamble by Alpine to use the Softs and see what magic they could do on lap one and then just fight like shit to not go too far backwards. I respect that and hopefully it looks like it’ll pay off for them
Superb strategic play from Alpine there and a Fernando masterclass from lights to flag
Having now watched it, I'd say the shorter length (10 laps) is probably ideal. Perez, Sainz and Lewis can feel rightly annoyed by their result but as expected Fernando gained, Russell went backwards and the tyres will struggle with tomorrow's higher temps.
Still feels like little more than a 24 hour red flag period where the race stopped as it was about to get interesting
I think Sainz is the only one with legit cause for irritation. Lewis was beaten fair and Square in a Race battle and Perez made an error and has only has himself to blame. Could have happened in a race or at any time in a normal quali session
If it was 10 laps that would be great, it all went a bit quiet once Ricciardo passed Alonso.
Alonso was the star of the sprint but besides that it was too long and boring
and for me it doesn't feel like a qualy
the qualy should measure who's best at making 1 lap, not a 30 min race
Elimination qualifying was bad, double points was gimmicky, medals was even worse,
I’m not a big fan of this on first impression, it’s just going to reward the top 3 even more than the Sunday race does. It wasn’t particularly interesting to watch either.
3 place grid penalty for Russell for his incident with Sainz.
I did think it got a bit boring towards the end as drivers understandably decided to stick with what they'd got, but if you made it any shorter it would still happen in the last quarter/third, and everyone would just go on the softer compound, at least with 30 mins there was a split of strategies which made it more interesting.
Max out of the British Grand Prix straight away!
I will be disappointed if Hamilton now wins and closes the gap massively.
Desperate move from Hamilton there.
Red flag, certainly been dramatic in the only race Channel 4 show live this season.
Toto Wolff has sent Michael Masi an email with diagrams showing Hamilton wasn't at fault. No, really.
Soft penalty for Hamilton, 10 second time penalty.
10 seconds defo not enough
If Verstappen had done it, he would have been vified by the British media.
Leclerc genuinely has a chance of winning today.
Clean racing once more by Raikkonen, he might be a dog in qualifying now but the race craft is still there.
Norris lost a lot in the pits, but he doesn't seem as comfortable on these tyres compared to the first set.
A grandstand finish ahead?
One of the least deserving wins for me.
Saw both sides of Hamilton today.
The poor judgment and a typical error under pressure but then some fine driving toward the end.
I did feel quite patriotic with that win tho :/
These incidents are quite interesting. On the one hand I don't want to see anyone out of a race, on the other hand I do very much want to see racing and overtaking. When drivers are side by side in effect then it's very difficult to expect them to give in the racing line if they have the inside of the corner - I thought the same about both penalties last week.
Lewis didn't have the racing line though. He was on the inside but that part of the track is dirty and he missed the apex drifting across into Max who had left enough room for him. Onboard footage show Max adjust his steering once he realises Lewis is there but it's too late.
It's a stonewall penalty for Lewis, (that his front left hits Max's right rear is evidence enough in most cases), the only real question is whether the penalty was too soft. Particularly as Hamilton's been making a habit of it recently
Personally I think it should have been a 10 sec stop go
I'm definitely not saying that Lewis was innocent in that incident, more that I'm glad that they're actually racing each other. I wouldn't want to see a situation where they are put off trying to overtake whenever they can.
(ps I'm not being blindly supportive of the british driver either, I'd be more than happy to see Max win the title at the end of the year)
Another disaster race for Raikonen and Vettel regressing to his old bad habits
poor Sanz, his team lets him down with the messy pit stops half of the time
The more I watched the incident the more I thought the penalty was fair, you judge a penalty based on the incident and not the outcome or the strength of the car being driven, if that was say Ocon and Stroll I don't think anyone would have battered an eyelid at a 10s penalty.
It's an exciting result for the perspective of the championship fight as it was in danger of becoming like a lot of runaway seasons, I'm still fully expecting Verstappen to cruise to the title as the Red Bull does look significantly stronger.
Well all these three incidents have one thing in common:
https://www.formula1.com/en/latest/video.all-the-angles-hamilton-collides-with-albon-in-interlagos.1687509946650811542.html
Lewis taking out a Red Bull..
None of those links work Mack!
I didn’t see the race, I’m not generally a fan of Silverstone tbh. But I’ve seen the first lap overtakes and Hamilton was defo at fault there. The line he was on was too wide to hit the apex and for him to be on the normal inside line for that turn. He steamed in late and desperate and Max paid the price. Such a Heavy accident at the highest speed corner on the entire calendar deserves more than a slap on the wrist, first lap or not. I really hope that at the end of the year the gap in points is more than the 25pt gain from Silverstone else it’ll go down with an Asterisk like Schumachers 94 title.
There was no need for the subsequent racist abuse online. I don’t understand why the first thing people go for is skin colour. There’s a rich tapestry of reasons to go after Hamilton and none of them are his skin colour.
I was there Sunday (Hangar Straight like 2 years ago) and my word, what a atmosphere It was bloody hot but that didn't take away from the experience. Absolute scenes when Lewis caught Leclerc with 3 laps to go!
I've ebbed and flowed on the lap 1 incident, initially thinking Lewis was to blame to it being more a racing incident. I'd say overall the penalty is perhaps about right given Lewis was the "aggressor" per se but on the other hand I think Max could have played the long game as I think RB had overall the better racecraft this weekend. It was a bit similar to the first corner at Spain where Max went steaming in & Lewis had to avoid and thus essentially played the long game. Shame we didn't get a longer battle because that half a lap was absolutely epic and will be replayed for generations to come. Important thing is Max is OK cos I've since seen a crowd-height video at Copse and it looked terrifying!
Also I'd been saying for some time that Russell would finally finish top 10 but it would be in the Sprint and thus he'd get no points for it. You really couldn't make it up.
I definitely think you're right there about the first corner in Barcelona. Looking at Max's onboard from the weekend, it was obvious that Hamilton was going to crash into him and he had a large amount of track with a good run off room that he didn't attempt to use. It was definitely Lewis fault but Max could certainly have taken greater action to avoid it, and may not even have lost the lead given how tight Lewis line would have been.
I'll just leave this here -
“Ultimately, when someone destroys your race through an error and it’s kind of a tap on the hand really – they’re allowed to come back and still finish ahead of that person he took out – it doesn’t weigh up. You shouldn’t really be able to finish ahead of him if you took him out of the race.”
– Lewis Hamilton 2018 after the French GP when his teammate Bottas crashed with Vettel.
Formula 1 have confirmed that the Italian Grand Prix will be the host of the second sprint qualifying test event, and announced a revised schedule for the weekend.
Monza is very Friendly to overtakes so that could be good but there’s a solid safety car potential there as well which could ruin a few weekends
Red Bull have formally requested the stewards review the incident at Silverstone. As a consequence both drivers have been summoned tp appear before the stewards on Thursday at 4pm via a video link.
This is only allowed if Red Bull can provide new and significant information so I'm interested to see what comes of this. I imagine their case rests on the acknowledgment that Lewis was 'predominantly' at fault and that the punishment too lenient given it took Max out of that race, has cost the team £1.3m and will almost certainly cost Verstappen again in a future GP as the engine damage will force a change much sooner than was previously needed. They may also highlight Hamilton's recent record of poorly executed moves on Alex Albon.
I don't think they seriously expect the result to be changed although they might hope for extra points on Hamilton's license, I think they're simply going for disrupting Mercedes' weekend in Hungary.
It's also worth remembering that Mercedes (both Toto and James) said they had lots of evidence to exonerate Hamilton of any blame but have made no moves at all to do so following the result, perhaps suggesting it wasn't that solid and they're fearful of incriminating him further and that the 2 penalty points he earned was a lucky escape
Red Bull just need to get over this and move on. Punishments are not given out based on what happens subsequently but what the actual incident was. They've got sour grapes cos Lewis won the race but if he'd have retired as well (or even just finished in a mediocre position) they would have done nothing further despite the "offence" being exactly the same. I think you're right in that they're still licking their wounds and at least want to attempt to give Mercedes a little more grief for what it's worth.
There isn't really any more evidence to obtain given the incident has been replayed and reanalysed to death now.
Whilst I'm of the opinion it should have been a 10 second stop and go I agree Red Bull should move on. I am curious though in what new evidence they claim to have. For the FIA to even agree to a meeting means there must be something new or significant to discuss,. Although I expect the evidence is frivolous it would be very unlike the FIA to call a meeting just to draw a line under it.
Im all for the mind games. Merc and Hamilton have been playing these games for years. It’s about time someone took them both down half a million pegs
But the penalty was weak as shit. Max could have died. The punishment should reflect that fact. 51G crash on the fastest corner on the calendar.
Red Bull's request has been rejected
I know it's technically allowed by the rules but deliberately denying another driver an attempt at their final qualifying run is unsporting behaviour and should be addressed by the stewards.
I don't care what Hamilton says either, his body language clearly showed the booing rattled him a bit.
That was brilliant haha. They should have either a) sent them out before Merc or b) overtook them on the outlap. Not like Perez was any threat at all to the top 3, lucky he didn't fall behind Lando & Gasly if anything.
Max has to take the lead into turn 1 on the softs or its game over for him.
I know I’ve said it before but he is a bad sportsman. He cannot handle competition in the slightest and has to resort to being dirty to stay ahead. The least deserving world champion. The fact that people think he’s some form of goat honestly makes me sick. He lacks the mental strength or good sportsmanship required of a goat. And I don’t mean mental strength in a me Tal health way I mean that the slightest bit of pressure or competition and he completely crumbles with mistakes and unsportsmanlike behaviour. He is a weak human.
He ain’t fit to walk within 1000 miles of the actual goats
Yet both Senna and Schumacher did far worse things on track including intentionally driving into their rivals. The win at all costs mentality is exactly what separates the good from the elites imo.
I'm sure everyone would have been cheering had Max done the same to Mercedes. This added spice is making it one of the best title fights in memory.
His final lap was 2.3 seconds slower than his pole time. That’s. Yeah that’s a lot. Like a suspicious amount.
He’s come out to say there was no gamesmanship involved but anyone who believes that should contact me because I have a Nigerian prince that would like to meet them.
That was the reverse situation to Alonso and Hamilton back in Hungary 2007.
Bottas playing the team game there.
Bottas must be unbeatable at ten pin bowling!
He wants that seat next year! Stroll was even worse with the late breaking, would be interesting to see how much chaos he'd have caused if Bottas hadn't messed up too...
Ham/Merc f***ed it with the tyres, has to be between Ocon and Vettel at this track. Praying for Russell points
It's a shame it's not more of an overtaking track where this has happened - although I guess not such a shame if you're Ocon, Vettel or Latiffi
This is the most stressed and anxious watching a Grand Prix I’ve been in like over a f***ing decade. Not even this stressed last year when we landed Three podiums
Alpine have a very real chance here. 30 laps to hold off. At least we should be able to cling on to a podium. Ocon in the Right place at the Right Time during Bottas‘s moment of pure f***ing insanity. So so so well planned and played out by both Alpine and The Green Merc
Nando seems to have had a fire lit in his soul by leading for a few laps. My boy is on fire
Alonso is a genius
Awwww well done Ocon! Always nice to see a new winner and great for the team too
I. AM. SO. f***ING. HAPPY.
i cant. Im beyond happy. What a beautiful day for Esteban. And what a stunning stunning team drive from Fernando. Now THAT is a f***ing goat. A car over 2 second a lap slower. That is a masterclass in racecraft.
So Bottas gets a 5 place grid penalty but Stroll gets nothing? His mistake was just as bad as the Finn's.
Without Stroll's error Leclerc ends up where Ocon was at the restart.
Sebastian Vettel wearing a pride mask and shirt in Hungary
The boy just won his first race were not used to being at the pointy end and some races have had the top three on the start finish line. It’s an easy mistake to make. If it’s anything more than a tut tut for Ocon and for Vettel (his car wasn’t returned either) then something has gone very wrong with the stewards. The car was returned, he just missed the pit entry and Parked at pit exit instead to make it easier to get back into Parc ferme
Stroll has a 5 place grid penalty too.
Vettel, Sainz, Bottas all get a reprimand for not removing 'political' t-shirts during the anthem
Ocon gets a reprimand too for missing the pit entry to Parc Ferme. In the case of Vettel not returning to the pits it is not relevant as he pulled up before pit entry on the warm down lap
Oh my what a race, Bottas really showed again he's the worst driver but might be very good at bowling instead... but I guess this has been his most efficient race ever, might even give him a seat in Mercedes next year, taking out the 2 Red Bulls at once... no easy task
Alonso really gave a lesson in driving, he's a million times better than Hamilton
Lack of fuel normally means an instant DSQ. That would be a real shame for Vettel, he deserved that 2nd.
No decision on the DSQ yet. They seem to be trying to squeeze every last millilitre out of the fuel system
Scratch that
Apparently the FIA are currently rewriting the rule book so they can work out a way to disqualify Ocon and give Hamilton the win.
Did Hamilton make a deal with the Devil? The guy is ridiculously lucky.
Gutted for Vettel
Hamilton has had two great drives, but feel so much for Max. Basically taken out in consecutive grand prix’s by a Mercedes. Only one person should win the title this year and that person should be Max
It was another great race to watch, the end was superb stuff, Alonso absolutely mega.
Alfa must be truly kicking themselves today, cocking up with both drivers and Williams now getting 10 points, would make them very difficult to catch now.
Hamilton taking the restart alone. Bet you never thought you'd see fewer cars take a grid start than USA 2005?
ohhh poor Vettel thats unfair
reads a bit like they'e doing all they can to give more points to HamiltoN/Merc
Yeah it’s dropped Vettel from comfortably top 10 to outside
On a personal level I love what he has done for the sport/LGBTQIA population in the last couple of races
The Hungarian GP ain’t over yet. Tracing Point have lodged a formal appeal over the DQ and The car has remained in control of the FIA. Assuming they’re intending to strip it under FIA eyes and pull the necessary fuel volume from the tank
Bloody hell what a RIDE that race was. Hungary has a habit of throwing up thrillers (2006/2014/2015 spring to mind) but yesterday eclipsed all of those and then some. I never expected to see another Monza 2020 so soon! Many congrats to Ocon, after a great start to the season he's had some absolute stinkers the past few months so what a zero to hero result. Of course he has to thank Alonso for that epic battle with Lewis but he should also thank Latifi!
So much chaos and drama and Williams getting both their cars in the points has been reduced to a mere footnote. You simply couldn't write it that Russell finally gets points for Williams and yet Latifi still outscores him, such was the craziness.
All the memes about Bottas taking out the RBs on purpose was pretty funny but I'm really gutted for Lando who had a blistering start and was on such an incredible run of form in general.
As much as Merc screwed up leaving Hamilton out on the inters that call to undercut Ricciardo & Verstappen was a masterstroke and 100% saved his race. No chance Max would have let him past even with a broken car. I was also impressed by Sainz's strategy overrule on Ferrari who are notoriously shite in that department. Shame that once again he doesn't get to celebrate a podium properly!
Re Vettel such a huge shame about the DSQ but that's really a black and white case unfortunately. Happened to both him & Lewis in Abu Dhabi/Spain 2012 qualifying and also to Danny Ric at the 2014 Australian GP iirc.
A bit of rain in Hungary certainly makes it quite exciting. Many congratulations to Ocon certainly proved me wrong about his temperament and talent. Shame Vettel got disqualified. And Williams scoring points, Latifi actually outscoring Russell.
Been reading, the sketch artists appeal is hanging on a few things. That they and the FIA can see from the fuel flow meter how much fuel was used And that they knew how much fuel went in And there should be 1.74l left in the car. However they had a failure of some pump within the fuel system on the cool down lap (hence it being parked mid track) and they’re blaming this failure for the FIA being unable to obtain the full sample of fuel even though there remains sufficient volume in the car.
Be interesting to see what happens when the car reaches the FIA labs in France. He might yet keep second
Summer shutdown is sooooooooooo boring. Can’t wait until Spa now. I know Alpine/Renault will be back to mid table mediocrity but I’m still bouncing after the win!
RBR vs Merc at spa will be entertaining AF
This image really hits home how screwed over Verstappen was on Sunday
my top 5 of the year so far
1 Alonso - Doing little miracles with not the bestest car, he's really shown his the best pilot
2 Leclerq - Showing again he's a great driver
3 Norris - Incredible season so far, so much talented, think McLaren should try grab him rather than Russell
4 Sanz - sometimes unlucky but he's very consistent and has lots of potential
5 Verstappen - Some great races but some rookie mistakes too
cannot do a top 10 cos the rest are all pretty bad including Hamilton who's lucky to have the best car
worst driver and someone who shouldn't be there: Bottas but also Stroll, Raikonen, Mazepin
Is it possible to say whoever wins F2 this year is at a big disadvantage as they are almost guaranteed not to walk into an F1 seat?
Tracing point have dropped their appeal. Vettels DQ will stand. The team now have admitted there was less than a litre in the car after all but blame it on a component failure
Japanese GP the next one to be chopped. Like Australia, it might be very difficult for them to host in the future as sponsors will see it as too high a cancellation risk.
I think of the current grid you have to ask whether Kimi will be there next year. Giovinnazi is developing slowly but just enough and likely to stay but there's been plenty of talk that if Toto decides to go with George Russell then he might angle for Bottas to replace Raikkonen, which would probably suit Alfa nicely - plenty of experience, there'd less pressure without Hamilton alongside and it might bring out the best in him. That would leave Williams to opt for someone like Aitken or Nissany. Although now, that Williams don't need a pay driver so much there is the option of someone like Hulkenberg.
Right now I don't see any indication that any other team will look outside their current drivers. Mazepin has shown signs of improvement and given time may be close enough to average but his cash keeps the team afloat so he's safe. Tsunoda has had moments of impressive pace and once he calms down he will be fine. It doesn't help that Gasly is driving particularly well alongside him.
Of the other under-performers, Ricciardo is rated too highly to be in trouble yet and McLaren will give him time (Unless Pato O'Ward blows Norris away at the end of year test), especially as the McLaren is noted to be 'interesting' to drive according to Sainz. Lastly, Perez who has struggled more than many expected but again we know that the Red Bull operates on a knife edge of stability at times and many decent drivers have struggled with it too. With next years changes I can't see much point in switching drivers considering the options
Really cannot see Kimi continuing
and Tsunoda has done badly, they got rid of Albon despite doing ten times better
I do think it was a little bit premature to advance Tsunoda into F1 this year and although he has been vastly outperformed by Gasly his results aren't actually that bad for a rookie imo. 5 points finishes and his only retirement in Spain was car-related. Yes he's crashed a lot but at least he's reserved that for qualifying and not the races. His problem is the unnecessary outbursts on the team radio (as entertaining as they are for the viewer) and accusing the team of giving Gasly a better car.
Tsunoda's mistakes have been glaring and fairly high profile but there are several mitigating factors for all the struggles for this years rookies. The cut back on pre season testing will have hampered them severely, they're not just learning a new formula but also with barely any testing time compared to previous years. Although Schumacher has had the luxury of several runs in an older Ferraris, neither Mazepin or Tsunoda have had such preparation. Combining this with several unfamiliar tracks will have added to their problems and as Tsunoda correctly pointed out the sprint race at Silverstone denied them much pre-qualifying practice to learn the circuit.
It's too easy to think that because they've raced in F2 they should know how to race F1 at the same circuit, but virtually every driver describes the leap between the two as huge and there are so many variables that change a cars behaviour from race to race - from air and track temp to wind, altitude, humidity, tyre choice to downforce and setup.
I would consider all the three are starting to settle in and if you remember Stroll had exactly the same sort of problems through being promoted early and now after three years he's a perfectly average F1 driver with occasionally strong days
Here's my belated mid-season ratings:
Hamilton: not quite at his imperious best this season but still some outstanding drives [9/10]
Bottas: dropped even further back and despite a few decent results is under huge pressure to perform [5/10]
Verstappen: driving at his absolute best so far in his career, deserves to be leading the standings [10/10]
Perez: up and down, doing a better job for rb 2nd driver but still a good way off max on pace [6/10]
Norris: outstanding, driver of the season so far. no mistakes and ahead of a merc & rb in the standings [11/10]
Ricciardo: massively disappointing, recent signs of finally getting to the grips with the car but the damage has been done [4/10]
Vettel: started awfully but picked up strongly in the second quarter, but for unlucky dsq would have a decent points haul [7/10]
Stroll: ticking along relatively well but not really done anything outstanding either [6/10]
Alonso: took a few races to get back up to speed but seriously impressive in the second quarter [8/10]
Ocon: strong start, horrendous middle period and then the ultimate high [7/10]
Leclerc: very impressive on pace but a few high profile errors have proved costly [8/10]
Sainz: adjusted extremely well to the car and carrying on his outstanding form from past few years [9/10]
Gasly: superbly impressive in general, particularly in qualifying, outperforming the car [9/10]
Tsunoda: a few too many mistakes in qualifying but promising enough in the races even if miles off team-mate on general pace [5/10]
Raikkonen: some absolute howlers but otherwise doing about as much as one can in the car [6/10]
Giovinazzi: completely anonymous for the most part, still not outperforming his teammate and time may be running out [4/10]
Russell: incredible qualifying performances somewhat marred by poor starts, still driving the wheels of that car [8/10]
Latifi: aside from the freak result in the last race still being completely outperformed by teammate though has closed the gap somewhat [5/10]
Schumacher: promising pace-wise overall although a few too many crashes in practice/qualifying [6/10]
Mazepin: showing vague signs of improvement in second quarter but still mostly miles off the pace [3/10]
Top 5:
Norris
Verstappen
Hamilton
Sainz
Gasly
Bottom 5:
Mazepin
Ricciardo
Giovinazzi
Tsunoda
Latifi
I broadly agree with everything you've said there Dobbo, the only thing I might quibble is Giovinazzi being lower than Kimi. I agree he's felt a little anonymous and it surprised me when I looked closer to see that he generally outqualifies the former world champion, has had far fewer incidents he can be blamed for and has been the victim of team errors that have cost him places at several races. Kimi meanwhile has often started well but has at times looked like he's been asleep at the wheel and borderline dangerous.
Putting the Italian as the second worst driver of the season feels harsh
Yes perhaps a 4 is a bit harsh actually and could agree he's above Tsunoda & Latifi at least. I did note his qualifying has picked up but the bulk of my weighting leant towards the races. Of course it is close there with Kimi only narrowly ahead 6-5 but we should note that Kimi is nearly 42 whereas Antonio should be near or approaching his prime if he's ever going to kick on and have a long F1 career.
I think if Alfa can get Bottas to replace Raikkonen I'd be tempted to replace Giovanazzi too, to have had any faith he was going to be any good I'd have wanted him to be clearly above Kimi at this stage, and whilst I think he's ahead it's not by loads, I don't think he could complain too much about not getting a fourth season in F1, but at the moment it does look like it could only be Kimi that leaves at the end of this season.
I would definitely have Norris and Verstappen as the top 2 drivers this season, think they've been leagues ahead of the others. Struggle to split the four of Gasly, Leclerc, Sainz and Hamilton to make a top 5.
It'll be interesting to see what they do with the calendar following the Suzuka news, I find it really difficult to see the intended 23 being reached.
I saw some suggestion of a double header in Texas with the second COTA racing being the Texan GP but Texas is like a corona war zone right now so I’m not sure how many teams will be comfortable with that
Think USA, Mexico and Brazil from the current calendar will all get chopped leaving us with 7 races left as it stands. Nurburgring and Mugello will probably be called up but think they're gonna struggle after that.
A chance of Sakhir added before the final two in the Middle East would be a possibility I guess, perhaps the outer ring again?
Brazil surely is not long for this world with it being a red list country and not looking like that’ll change anytime soon.
Would be ok with the outer ring returning again but very very here for a few Euro races stepping in. Sadly I think we gonna end up with two in the UAE
Tbh the sooner that we stop with the sand races the better. There’s no appetite for Motorsport in the Middle East or culture of it really and yet they’ve got like 4 races on the most boring flat carparks.
Shouldn’t race anywhere that doesn’t have a minimum standard of human rights law. We’d probably lose COTA but Brazil and circuits like Spa and Nürburgring will be a lot safer in the calendar while we bully these countries into the 20th Century.
There's plenty of talk about Qatar and the IMS stepping in if needed plus Bahrain to host again
Qatar looking very likely now. Would make for a middle-east triple header to end off the season.
I've played the Losail circuit in the MotoGP games and is decent on that but how that'll translate to F1 remains to be seen. Always intrigued by a new track any way so worth giving it a try.
Qatar that could be interesting, we shall see what happens there.
Fernando Alonso will stay at Alpine for the 2022 Formula 1 season.
The double world champion returned to F1 this season with the team after two years away.
Alpine chief executive officer Laurent Rossi said: "Fernando has impressed us all since he returned to the sport at the beginning of this year.
"His dedication, teamwork and focus to extract the maximum from the team is incredible to b
Rain apparently forecast for three days at Spa-Francorchamps.
Hopefully, they said that last year and it was a bone-dry snoozefest of a race.
Won't be watching it live this weekend though as I'll be at Silverstone for MotoGP but let's hope we get a Spa thriller.
great about Alonso's renewal
wonder if they'll announce something about Russell/Bottas soon?
Sergio Perez is staying at Red Bull for next year.
Who knows what the last half of the calendar is going to look like?
Latest rumblings are that Mugello is tipped to replace Istanbul Park (which wouldn't be a disastrous replacement!).
Losail replacing Australia is a good shout to try out a new track (but non so great in human rights terms...).
Still Japan/Singapore to be accounted for (I think?) and probably (at least) Brazil to be removed - with Indy being touted as a possible choice... COTA also isn't a certainty with the prevalence of covid in Texas...
It's musical circuits!
Turkey is literally doing the hokey cokey this year.
Singapore & Japan have already been confirmed as cancelled. I would like a return to Mugello, proved to be a decent race last year.
Revised 2021 F1 calendar
29 Aug Belgium (Spa-Francorchamps)
5 Sep Netherlands (Zandvoort)
12 Sep Italy (Monza)
26 Sep Russia (Sochi)
10 Oct Turkey (Istanbul Park)
24 Oct USA (Austin)
7 Nov Mexico (Mexico City)
14 Nov Brazil (Interlagos)
21 TBC (Qatar)
5 Dec Saudi Arabia (Jeddah)
12 Dec Abu Dhabi (Yas Marina)
Full credit to Vettel for checking to see if Lando was all right following that crash during qualifying.
George Russell putting a Williams into 2nd absolutely incredible, even Latifi getting 12th between the 2 Ferrari's was good, car really working well at the moment.
Feel for Lando, had a great chance of pole with the times he was putting in in both Q1 and Q2 - hope Danny Ric can use this quali to put in a performance and get on the podium.
wow at Russell... while as per usual, Bottas was a tool
The Williams is clearly very good in the wet and George did exceptionally well but I still expect him to drop back quite quickly tomorrow. If he does his usual poor start it could be a mess at La Source.
Norris was looking like getting pole as well which would have been interesting.
Rain is expected but I wonder how much running will be done in the wet? Safety cars, Red Flags etc
Makes Mercedes' decision about their drivers next season pretty easy when Russell out-qualifies their current no. 1 driver.
Perez has crashed on the way to the grid and is out of the race
What happens if they can't run the race safely? Do the qualifying results become the race results?
it's George's day I hope
the Belgian fans don't give a f*** I love them
hope they can actually race today..
They've now stopped the time limit.
When they went out earlier they should have just gone with it, 5 or 10 laps behind the safety car would have helped to bring out a drier line that would have been enough to use.
Yes, it's raining but it's nowhere near the worst conditions we've seen, it's no worse than '98 for example
Doing 2 laps just to get a result in then! What a pointless day.
Ive been stuck in traffic driving home from Hamburg and thought I’d missed a fab damp spa race and Ive missed absolutely nothing. Farce.
Farcical like Indianapolis 2005.
Not sure anything can beat 6 car Indy on the farce scale
At least Indy 05 had some actual racing!
Very disappointing for the fans there. And doing 2 laps to get an 'official' race means they can probably avoid paying refunds. At least Russell's Saturday heroics have proven very well-timed!
The shortest ever Grand Prix in distance?
Correct. Previous record was Australia 1991.
I think this 2 lap rule needs to be scrapped, I'd never even heard of it. It's absolutely ridiculous to award half points for 2 laps behind the safety car. Should have been cancelled altogether and no points handed out.
As a fan, I’d say to call this a race is more of a farce than Indy 2005. At least that actually had some green flag action. The fact you can award any points for two safety car laps is a joke. They’ve ticked the boxes just to make sure they don’t have to refund anybody or breach any contracts. But a race this was not.
The truly annoying thing is the conditions were far from the worst ever and it could've started on time with 5 or so laps behind the safety car. It would've been red flagged about 30 mins later but would've had some decent running at least.
As Brundle said the throttle moves in both directions but it seems ever since Bianchi there has been excessive fear over rain.
I'm very much in favour of safety but this was overly cautious
Since he got fastest lap does that make Mazepin driver of the day?
I can see that the stewards were fearing a Bianchi situation.
I think I drove faster in the wet on all weather tyres down the autobahn in a 1 litre Golf than they did today.
They could have just declared it null and void.
Wtf
This is insane
There was no race how can he get a Penalty for something that didn’t happen?!
I really hope the fans get their money back.
but it's a weekend ticket, not a daily ticket, so technically you could have seen lots of stuff with the qualies and the other races on Sat
With Spa there is always a major risk that it’s a rain affected race. Everyone who enjoys F1 enough to buy a ticket for Spa does so knowing this risk.
The rules need to be changed to give them more flexibility to race on a Monday for example. We can’t tent a circuit so we will always have to deal with wet tracks, so I would like to see them try and learn about if doing X laps behind the SC or under quasi VSC conditions will dry out the track enough for us to start to see a bit of a useable line. I suspect tho that because Spa is so long that is a bit impossible because by the time you come back around again the track is probably exactly as it was before.
I do agree with Fernando that no point should be awarded for a race that never happened. F1 pushing Russell on the podium hard on social media really leaves a very sour taste because they didn’t earn that at all. Sure they had a great Saturday but every team says every race that you don’t earn points on Saturday and yet here we are. It’s like Truli in The Toyota. Could always stick it up the pointy end of the grid but it was woeful in the race. Even under wet racing conditions that Williams wouldn’t have made it 5 laps in the top 5. Either coz Russell would have binned it (we’ve all seen him crash out behind a safety car) or it would have been picked off by one of the more than a dozen faster cars immediately behind. Like yeah sure it’s nice to have a Williams podium again but not a single person earned their points or podiums
and doing the podium ceremony was the lowest point...
think it was all to throw a bone to the atendees which were the majority Verstapen fans
so they don't ask for their money back
It's clear that they're looking at alternative ways of dealing with it in the future and I think this needs to include driver behaviour too. It's telling that a number of former drivers (Brundle, Berger, Dornbos for example) have stated the race would have gone ahead in their day and I can think of about 10 where conditions were much worse, off the top of my head. 10-15 laps behind the safety car followed by a rolling start and they could have raced but simply lifted off where relevant. However, it seems likely that the Eau-Rouge/Raidilion/Kemmel section was the big worry yet one answer to that is to have double waved yellows in that section (at least until track conditions improve), of course a problem with that is that one of the contributing factors in the Bianchi incident is that Jules didn't slow down as much as the regulations suggested (he wasn't alone here) and it has become an increasing problem recently that drivers are failing to follow yellow flag procedure properly in the quest for fine margins.
The FIA, F1, Liberty, the teams and the drivers all need to work together on this otherwise it's only a matter of time before racing whilst it's raining is a thing of the past.
Incidentally Bianchi's is the only serious wet weather crash I can think of since Didier Pironi's which is almost 40 years ago
Was definitely Eau Rouge/Radillon that swung in in favour of not racing imo, off the back of the Norris crash in qualifying and various others in different disciplines. The lack of visibility at that corner should a car spin off, hit the wall and bounce back onto the track was the biggest issue.
I do agree with your sentiment that wet weather racing could be an eventual no-goer. Specifically, I don't see why they ever need the full wet tyres given whenever it's wet enough for them to be more effective than the inters, the red flag is always moments away. Seems the only time they ever race in rain is when it's very partial and then it's only ever the inters that are needed.
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