Well, it’s race week and this time it’s a sprint weekend. We know what to expect by now. Weather is gonna be completely clear and dry in Qatar. In other news, the sky is blue.
Lots of close battles in the constructors coming up. Obviously Ferrari and Merc for 2nd is the big one, but Merc may have the advantage in the final part of the season. They were strong at COTA, Mexico, and Brazil (a 1-2 in Brazil, in fact) last year, so there’s a good chance of that being the case once again. Qatar and Vegas are hard to judge with none of the teams driving the 2022-present generation cars on either track.
Then there’s McLaren and Aston. This one is even harder to predict, with AM having a 49 point buffer to McLaren in 5th. However, Aston is essentially running a one-car team and they are basically fighting for single digit points with Fernando every race. Meanwhile, McLaren is fighting for the podium consistently with both cars. Piastri is getting closer to Lando every race, so with a few more good results, they could easily overtake Fernando Alonso Aramco Cognizant Formula 1 Team in the standings.
And of course, there’s the championship. Max will likely lock it up this round officially even though he realistically won it at Round 7 in Spain.
The Middle East is big on track limits it seems. Got Piastri too. Marko is fed up, but what’s he going to do? No one wants to be the number 2 driver at Redbull.
Don’t forget Norris as well. I didn’t expect so many track limit infringements here of all tracks, it’s like Austria all over again.
Great lap by Russell, I hope he does well Sunday because he really needs it right now.
Nice work by Alonso, I didn’t expect this to be a strong Aston track but they did well. Embarrassing for Stroll as usual. Out in Q1, what, 4 races in a row now? Clown behavior.
Alonso F. (AST)
Stroll L. (AST)
Lmao at the Ferraris acting like it’s Sunday and they need to overtake and defend. Did Sainz get any punishment for that moment with Max in Q2? That was ridiculous.
The drivers were given an additional 10 minute practice session when the Shootout was supposed to start, and the Shootout was delayed by 20 minutes. Track limits at T12 and T13 were revised and this way the drivers can quickly get familiar with the new changes.
Pirelli also analyzed the tires, used for around 20 laps, and revealed that “a separation in the sidewall between the topping compound and the carcass cords on many tires were checked”. They’re saying a significant number of laps on the tires can result in circumferential damage. FIA says if the problem persists, new tires can only undergo 20 laps in the Grand Prix.
Feels like 2021 all over again, with all the front left punctures we had that year. Dunno what the hell those curbs are made of but they DESTROY the Pirellis.
Yeah, that’s what I’m starting to think. A few drivers have said that it’s fun to drive on (Russell comes to mind) and it’s a nice track, but not really suitable for F1 considering stuff like curbs.
This was a problem in 2021 as well. Lots of punctures (Bottas, Russell, Latifi) and Alonso barely made it on a one-stop to stay ahead of Perez who was on a two-stop. The curbs here seem to destroy tires and I wouldn’t be surprised about a mandatory 3-stop.
Congrats to Max and RB on the WDC, what a season from them! Even though he realistically won it after Barcelona, it’s official now.
Can he win a WDC normally? 2021, wins after a controversial decision from race control to bring in the safety car and only unlap the cars between him and Lewis. 2022, wins after the race because of a time penalty for Leclerc. 2023, wins on a Saturday halfway through a Sprint Race.
Congrats to Oscar on the win as well, this guy has all the qualities of a future champion.
Jesus, I had forgotten about Indy '05 but now that you mention it, that’s a great comparison.
As much as I like the Losail Circuit, it looks super fun to drive on, you’re right. It isn’t suitable for F1 if they have to mandate 3-stops just so the curbs don’t absolutely demolish tyres. If it’s a safety risk to race there normally, then it shouldn’t be on the calendar.
They should sit out and allocate that 55 million/year to fixing those SAWTOOTH curbs. It’s like someone skipped physics class, or they just have no clue about acoustics etc. Looks to be purely aesthetic.
Not good, not safe, I don’t see the logic behind it.
Doesn’t make sense for anything round to go over a sawtooth surface. That’s too much of a pressure differential on the contact patch? I re-read the post. The FIM needs to change that mess too lol, but I guess they don’t have to if they have nothing to loose and everything to gain from it.
Sucks, but that’s just the way it is when you deal with business and money.
True, but looking at mugello, the square geometry looks to be the better solution (I don’t know much about Moto gp, are there any other tracks that use sawtooth kerbs?). Just reduce the space between the peaks and troughs.
Let’s go Oscar! This guy is impressing me more and more each race. What a drive!
However, I think Russell should’ve been DOTD. Amazing recovery drive after that crash with Lewis.
And, about that…absolutely stupid from Lewis to make that move. He should’ve known what was going to happen with all of his experience. At least he finally owned up to it.
Double points for Alfa! Great job by both of them.
Luckily for Hamilton, Perez had another disasterclass (I think he had 6 track limit infringements?) so only pulled away in by 1 point in the championship. Still a good chance for Lewis to get ahead if Perez keeps these horrible performances going.
And thanks to the DNS from Sainz and Russell beating Charles, Mercedes actually extended their gap over Ferrari despite the DNF for Lewis.
And once again, an absolutely dominant drive from Max. Great work by him. And a great way to end the weekend where he scored his third WDC.
Poor Perez lol, he’s in a pit with the media, and his teammate, and his ego. To top it all off Marko has only made things worse. What’s Red Bull going to do though? Who wants to come in second for their whole career and be happy with it?
It’ll happen sometime down the line, but if Valtteri didn’t want none, and Rosberg retiring after one in his prime didn’t want none, then who? Being 2nd in the fastest car is horrible, and actually being competitive in the fastest car is a recipe for disaster.
Old age I tell you, old age lol. He went on to say Mexican probably because everyone was thinking about that one guy who was also “South American”.
He’s trying to motivate Perez, but that “he’s woken up from his championship dream” just hurt even more even though it’s true. I’ve said it in this thread before, if Perez realizes he’s not touching Max, and just does the best he can do weekend in and weekend out, it wouldn’t even be close between 2nd and 3rd. For heavens sake you’ve gotten into Formula 1 and won a race; multiple races. Nothing to hang your head about because some kid with a father that rivals Earl Woods decided to come along and do what Tiger did. Become a Navy Seal at the age of 15.
I mean 3 Championships and 49 race wins, most in the span of 3 years. On track to bring more efficient than Jim Clark’s record in a season. All time podium finisher in a season. Most consecutive wins in a season.
What more is there to say? Give the kid his respect and be all you can be lol. We all know he can do better than this.
Ego is such a fragile thing when it comes to the best in the world. It’s not everyday that hard work and unrivaled talent come into the space. The determining factor here being unrivaled talent.
in the standings.
