Formula 1 Talk

[Ron L]

I think the Mercs repeat, but McLaren will be in the mix since I read they're finally at parity with Mercedes on the engine software. Ferrari will struggle, and probably Red Bull since they need to revert their Macarena wing. I might also go Alpine over Racing Bulls this weekend.

Lando is taking a grid penalty for his new engine!

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[romanLegion9574]

Lando is taking a grid penalty for his new engine!

Wow, my predictions came wrong. Norris did look good in quali, but the grid penalty did hurt, and Red Bull look better than I expected, although Max's pace is harder to sustain without Hadjar to tow him.

Ferrari struggling on a power circuit is no surprise.

 

[Ron L]

It looks a lot like Kimi race, but you can never be sure. Turn 1 comes up really quick at Spa.

 

[26StratMT]

It looks a lot like Kimi race, but you can never be sure. Turn 1 comes up really quick at Spa.

So do mechanical failures lol.
So far those have been his biggest problem this season.
We shall see tomorrow how it shakes out!

 

[Ron L]

IMHO, a pretty good race. Up front Kimi had to catch and pass Charles late and then hold him off. Further back there were a couple of good racing challenges as the race ended.

I think it's interesting that Max fell back a spot and Hadjar finished only about a dozen seconds behind him after fighting through most of the field. I think he may become a real challenge for Max down the road... maybe next season.

 

[tracer bullet]

I was kind of surprised in the post race interviews that Russel wasn't pissed off at Hamilton for basically knocking him out. Kimi on top again is amazing, so recently the questions were if he was old enough to handle it, and that answer is definitely yeah. I still can hardly believe how often the leaders swap places, once Max for example is in front you expect him to stay there the rest of the race but only 10 seconds later he can be 2nd or 3rd, and then back again shortly after.

 

[26StratMT]

IMHO, a pretty good race. Up front Kimi had to catch and pass Charles late and then hold him off. Further back there were a couple of good racing challenges as the race ended.

I think it's interesting that Max fell back a spot and Hadjar finished only about a dozen seconds behind him after fighting through most of the field. I think he may become a real challenge for Max down the road... maybe next season.

Agreed, another great win for Kimi.

Hadjar has been pretty impressive, he’s certainly doing better than the last few people to occupy that seat.
He typically hangs right with Max and even doing a little better now and then.
That’s not the easiest seat in F1 to occupy either.

Overall it was a good race and I’m happy for Kimi.
With George out on the 1st lap it’s helped Kimi increase his lead in the championship and gain a small amount of breathing room.
I’m sure he won’t stop pushing but a little space helps!

 

[26StratMT]

I was kind of surprised in the post race interviews that Russel wasn't pissed off at Hamilton for basically knocking him out. Kimi on top again is amazing, so recently the questions were if he was old enough to handle it, and that answer is definitely yeah. I still can hardly believe how often the leaders swap places, once Max for example is in front you expect him to stay there the rest of the race but only 10 seconds later he can be 2nd or 3rd, and then back again shortly after.

It’s hard to really be pissed at Hamilton, that was typical opening lap stuff.
Most tires are not warm enough to be in their window yet, everyone is pushing for position, and the field is super crowded.
He looked like he got a bit more under steer than expected, and George also could have moved left a little more.
I was surprised he got a penalty as that kind of thing happens pretty often in the opening corners.
He probably wouldn’t have gotten one if George had been able to continue on.
Tough break for George but opening corners are where the chaos usually happens lol.
Sometimes it pays to be a little more defensive in lap 1.

Kimi is just incredible, it’s hard to believe he’s only 19.
Win or lose I’m rooting for him and he’s my favorite for sure.

The swapping is crazy sometimes.
A lot of it is all the crazy rules around harvesting and deployment.
I need like a diagram to understand it lol.
It makes for more exciting racing but sometimes it can feel a little artificial, especially when you get the yo-yo passing.
I feel like to understand what’s actually going on sometimes you need to do a 30 minute data log analysis to really get at how a pass (or defense) was able to happen.
I don’t think Max has fully mastered the new hybrid systems, it’s no secret he loathes them.

 

[26StratMT]

Good race today, McLaren looking pretty good again and Aston’s new car seems to be a big step forward.
If Honda gets it right with the new PU coming they could be looking decent again.
Some wild blue flag infringements lol.

 

[tracer bullet]

McLaren looking pretty good again

Possibly could have had 2 on the podium.

 

[Ron L]

It was a fairly entertaining race, especially since it was Hungry which is usually just a parade with almost no passing. The new rules make passing easier in places where nobody ever passed during the years of DRS zones!

McLaren seems to be back on their game, good to see. Even Red Bull looked better. Aston Martin looked much better, good for Adrian. And now it's kind of up to Honda to take the next step. Poor Williams, now they will be fighting with Cadillac to stay off the bottom. Oh, and Audi seems to be getting better and better and it's the first year with their new engine. They are making Haas and Cadillac really look bad. They both have Ferrari engines and can't seem to get it together... especially Haas who has been around for quite a few years now.

So it's the summer break. I guess it's time for me to go to the beach!

 

[26StratMT]

Audi has done extremely well for its first year.
To be fair though, they didn’t have to start quite from scratch as a team like Cadillac did.
However they also did their own PU which is no small feat.
Can’t imagine anyone could be disappointed with what they have accomplished so far this year.

I kind of hope Toyota buys Haas eventually.
Gene isn’t a spring chicken anymore so anything is possible.
I kind of miss Guenther though lol.

Beautiful pics of the Supra!

 

[kaj]

It’s hard to really be pissed at Hamilton, that was typical opening lap stuff.
Most tires are not warm enough to be in their window yet, everyone is pushing for position, and the field is super crowded.

That's something Hamilton should know, at this stage in his career.

Possibly could have had 2 on the podium.

And if their mum had balls, she would be their dad.

I'll say that it is a lot of fun not know who will win each week. Car development is so varied, since it's also so new. With everyone taking different approaches, the tracks have influence on who wins. For now, anyway.

I had picked a LeClerc / Kimmi / Max finish until I saw the grid penalties then changed to Norris / Kimmi / Max. I was close but (thankfully) it's not so easy to predict.

I was really impressed with Kimmi keeping LeClerc within 5 sec of Hamilton to help his points situation. Or maybe it was his engineer. Either way, that was great thinking.

It turns out I'm slightly more a fan of Max than the other drivers I follow (online algorithms showing Max videos, his time in GT racing, etc), so I'm happy to see him on podium AND a slight bump to P2. If we ended up with Lando, Max, Kimmi, and one of the Ferraris battling it out for wins each week, that would be great.

Whomever it was in the FIA/F1 administration that orchestrated all of this is a genius. They knew we were bored of the cars. They knew we were bored of dominant drivers and teams. If we can't have exciting cars, at least give us some anticipation of next week's winner.
Okay, I did really, REALLY enjoy seeing Kimmi pole/win so many races. I think almost everyone has a favorite driver... and Kimmi.

If you are into drama and rumor (I'm not, but many are) then you have:
Is McLaren trying to make Oscar leave?
Will they try to get Max to replace him?
Is Ferrari favoring Lewis or Charles?
Is Mercedes favoring Kimmi or George?

For better or worse, the new regulations seem to be giving everyone a lot to talk about. Hopefully the teams don't everything figured out by next season so that we end up with the same person winning everything.... again.

 

[Ron L]

If you are into drama and rumor (I'm not, but many are) then you have:

Is McLaren trying to make Oscar leave?
I don't think so. Oscar is a great 2nd seat driver.

Will they try to get Max to replace him?
I wouldn't take Max as a replacement. He is getting way too cranky about cars he thinks aren't good enough for him. He bitches and Hadjar just drives on. Max would likely destroy the moral at any other team. Just look at who he has driven away from Red Bull.

Is Ferrari favoring Lewis or Charles?
So far I think they have been pretty fair with both drivers. That may change if one of then gets closer to winning the Championship.

Is Mercedes favoring Kimmi or George?
Again, too early to say for sure. But wouldn't you, if you were in charge. Kimi has been awesome so far!

 

[tracer bullet]

I wouldn't see McLaren taking Max, I guess you could argue he has more raw talent than Norris or Piastri but typing at a keyboard here this morning I'm going with - nope.

Lewis / Charles is interesting. Lewis has far more experience and wins, obviously, I'd expect them to consider him as the team lead. If and only if Charles became way ahead in points would I expect that to change, for them to ask Lewis to let him by or something.

Kimmi or George is a fun one, who would have thought Kimmi would be so good, so fast? I thought George would be on top in the points for a year or two at least but here we are. The veteran taking 2nd position. George must be happy and disappointed at the same time, knowing he's behind in the same car. It might be that Kimmi is so far ahead, Mercedes won't have to be in a situation where they ask him to let Kimmi pass him for a win. Wolff is probably relieved.

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