I think Sanz has still time to grow and improve, he's much younger than Leclerq

Other way round. Charles is 3 years younger than Carlos.

Sainz is now 27. He should be peaking now or within 3 years if he's gonna make it stick

really? thought he was much much younger!

for some reason I thought Leclerq had been around for ages :D

Probably just seems that way because Leclerc was tipped for success for sometime.

Carlos is in his 8th year in F1, having started in 2015.

Charles began at Sauber in 2018

Both had done tests before of course.

As it's that time of year again we might as well raise the question.

 

Is the sprint format even worse this year?

 

If Leclerc were to be fastest in qualifying on Friday he will be at the front for the sprint but if he should bin it at the start or get passed, (let's say by Sainz) he would start further back for the Grand Prix yet the record books would show him as the Pole Winner. As such (in this example) Carlos Sainz would start Sunday's prestige event, the Grand Prix, first but still have never earned pole according to the record books.

 

I have no issue with the change in points awarded but the whole format is a mess as it stands

Edited April 19, 20223 yr by Severin

It's better this year because it was stupid last year for example with Hamilton at Silverstone that he didn't earn 'pole position'. The Speed King or whatever it was called sounds horrendous...

 

And for your Sainz example you could argue the same thing for Maldonado who only inherited pole in Spain 2012 thanks to a Hamilton penalty. I don't think that should count as 'earning' pole position either. They're just small nuances in the records books after all.

It's better this year because it was stupid last year for example with Hamilton at Silverstone that he didn't earn 'pole position'. The Speed King or whatever it was called sounds horrendous...

 

And for your Sainz example you could argue the same thing for Maldonado who only inherited pole in Spain 2012 thanks to a Hamilton penalty. I don't think that should count as 'earning' pole position either. They're just small nuances in the records books after all.

The difference with Maldonado is that it still kept to the definition of pole position, the competitor at the front of the field when the race starts. Hamilton was the fastest in qualifying but lost the right to keep pole position due to an infringement. Pole position has only recently, through sponsorship become an award the driver can win. It always was and by definition is the physical spot at the front of the grid. Pole position never has been only about fastest in qualifying.

 

Changing that destroys any meaning in the record books

 

Ayrton Senna - 63 pole positions and we know exactly what that meant. 63 times he started at the front of the grid.

 

In a sprint based future it'll be an equation we have to work out based on entirely new criteria

It was indeed stupid last year but it seems even worse this time

Edited April 19, 20223 yr by Severin

With Friday qualifying very likely to be rain-affected (even if it's a damp-drying track) I can't wait for this weekend to come! Weather for Sunday is still uncertain,

Sainz contract extended which puts pay to the Schumacher seat-warming theory everyone was expecting. Sainz fully deserves the seat of course even if Ferrari will turn him into the new Barrichello.

There's no way Ferrari would put Schumacher in a seat right now, he's being outpaced by Magnussen and clearly isn't ready for a top seat yet, if ever. Meanwhile, Sainz is both quick and consistent enough (normally) to make an extension a formality and regardless, we know from history that they aren't shy of sacking better drivers than him in mid-season (Prost) if they feel they have to.

Oh I know they wouldn't do it now, think they were expecting Schumacher to have a Leclerc 2018 style first season, although I don't think any driver on the grid could have pulled that Haas from last year into the points. I think this season now is make or break for him in a way though, if he's dominated by K-Mag then I can't see him being a future champion (bearing in mind most of those swim in their first ever sink or swim scenarios).

 

Wasn't Prost openly critical of Ferrari in the same vein as Alonso vs McLaren Honda? Neither of their current drivers give me that vibe, wholly different era of course!

Oh I know they wouldn't do it now, think they were expecting Schumacher to have a Leclerc 2018 style first season, although I don't think any driver on the grid could have pulled that Haas from last year into the points. I think this season now is make or break for him in a way though, if he's dominated by K-Mag then I can't see him being a future champion (bearing in mind most of those swim in their first ever sink or swim scenarios).

 

Wasn't Prost openly critical of Ferrari in the same vein as Alonso vs McLaren Honda? Neither of their current drivers give me that vibe, wholly different era of course!

Yeah, Prost said something along the lines of the car handling like a truck, but given he was undoubtedly the best or second best driver in the world (depending on your POV) it shows how brutal they could be. I don't envisage any scenario where they would need to do that with Sainz or Leclerc but the point is that they could if they want to. They're not quite as trigger happy as Red Bull and they're still very loyal to their staff but they're much more of a business now than they were back then.

 

With Schumacher, he's been shown to be a slow but steady leaner and his first season in each formula he's started in has been underwhelming, with him winning the title in his second. With the new regs I'd view this as a second debut season in F1 and that he probably has to show real promise next year, meaning he still looks earmarked to replace Sainz in 2025, IF (and right now it's a big if) he's good enough. Sainz will be 30 by then and may even be passed his best. Sainz should really be hitting his peak right now and he doesn't look like a team leader

Edited April 21, 20223 yr by Severin

I can't at the Sprint :/ worst thing ever in F1

I wouldn't mind if it were 5 laps, 10 max but it's 1/3 of the race... makes no sense to me

5 laps would barely be worth it.

 

I'd like to see a wet Sprint before shelving it completely, that woudl be spicy.

Farcical qualifying. Watching a clock run down instead of cars on track, throwback to the failed 2016 elimination quali experiment.

Par for the course with dry-wet qualifying and happened a lot years ago. That's one of the main reasons they now split it in to three sessions.

True!

 

This will be a controversial pole if it stays like this as despite lifting Max set a green sector 3 despite a yellow flag.

He lifted heavily though. I wouldn't think it the FIA would have a problem with it.

 

 

 

I just think it's a shame that, after a qualifying session throws up a mixed(ish) grid that a sprint race is going to reset it back to something like normal and suck much of the fun out of the Grand Prix

Potentially but it's very hard to overtake at Imola so at the expense of a processional sprint we might end up with a similar grid come Sunday. Kevin P4 is mega!

True, overtaking is tough but I still expect Sainz, Perez, Schumacher, Ocon and Stroll to all make gains. Especially those last three as they all got stiffed by Sainz making another silly error.

Schumacher's pace was close behind Magnussen's too. That is a good car this year and it's great to see

very disappointed with Sanz, he's making suddenly these silly rookie mistakes