Formula 1 2021

[slogen51]

Mad Max just came to me and it does seem apposite.

No, but what I mean is that from what Lewis said in his interview he himself didn't want to pit and lose track position to Norris but he listened to his team and came in just before it rained heavily, another lap and he would have been slip sliding in to the pits or wall.

I think Max is a tremendous F1 driver but for me over a season Lewis is still the main man.

[seven]

I'm still not convinced that Hamilton is the same driver he was pre-covid, but when you look at where he is in the championship against someone who clearly has a faster car, then I guess he's still there.. Unless of course Bottas really is as bad as his results make him look.

[seven]

F1 managements BAe-146 is currently returning from Belgrade, Serbian GP hype

[raptor9]

Bearing in mind that Lewis is now 34. It is a fact of life that one's abilities decrease with age. I know, I'm 79 in five days time. However, his tactical head is still in the right place and he uses it well. On another note, I bet the Yanks were a bit miffed at having their top notch Indycar Championship won by a 24 year old Spaniard!!. Well done Alex Pallou!.

[seven]

36! But its less than a year ago he was still putting in those performances that no one else on the grid could. Apart from Silverstone this year, there aren't really any of those stand out achievements.

[raptor9]

Typo. I knew he was 36.There are stand-out achievements, but it is fact that the Red Bull car is faster, rather than Lewis being slower!!.

[seven]

I disagree, there's no wonder qualifying laps, wins from nowhere etc.

And yes at least one red bull car is faster than the Mercedes, but the evidence is there that he is still suffering from the effects of covid. Plus of course now what kind of hidden injuries could he have from having a red bull to the head..!

[seven]

Interesting statistic on Insta last night, when (if) mad max wins the drivers championship, he will be the first Champion since Niki Lauda to have NOT raced against Michael Schumacher!

Also, anyone seen the forecast for Turkey this weekend?

[plmc135]

Forecast for turkey; stuffed with sage and onion and served with gammon, pigs in blankets, roast and mashed potatoes, peas, carrots and cabbage and any other trimmings you may enjoy.

[Nighthawke]

Unless supplies run out! Already got ours on order.

Oops, thread drift!

[seven]

Forecast for turkey; stuffed with sage and onion and served with gammon, pigs in blankets, roast and mashed potatoes, peas, carrots and cabbage and any other trimmings you may enjoy.

#carboverload

[raptor9]

No penalty for Lando for the pit lane entry violation???. How can this be!!. The drivers were told in briefing that the white line was to be treated as a wall. Lando crossed it twice!!. Getting rather p..d off with the Stewards inconsistency. Rules are rules. Conditions were bad, but it was the same for everybody, and if the team/driver are on the wrong tyres, then that doesn't negate the offence!!. It either happened, or it didn't!!. Stewards, get a grip!!!. I am a Lando and Mclaren fan, but rules apply to everybody!. Lewis on a 10 place grid drop this week-end for a new engine.

[James Cutting]

He's British. Like Alonso said, they seem to favour each driver differently (See Tsundoa's penalty in Austria for doing the same) He really threw his own race down the gutter (a shame) but he should have been penalised.

[plmc135]

10 place penalty for car number 44, using too many parts.

[James Cutting]

ICE part swap for a newer one.

[Malcolm]

Interesting one for the "Its not fair" brigade. Hamiltons tactics for this one.

Don't bother with Qualy and start last on whatever tyre suits. Risky if it turns out wet from the start on Sunday.
Try to qualify '11th' (deliberately get knocked out in Q2) giving free tyre choice, so end up starting last anyway. No real advantage over don't bother.
Take it easy so as not to stress the new engine, but get into the lower reaches of Q3 (5-9th) and start 15th-19th.
Go for pole and start 11th, possibly on the wrong tyre if the start is dry.

If they're confident it'll be a wet start on Sunday, I'd say go for pole, start 11th because everyone will be on inters/wets.
If it's a dry qually and start then I dunno which is best. Guess that's why they have teams of experts analysing all the possibilities.

[raptor9]

All these options are sensible. Should make for an interesting race, whichever option is taken.

[seven]

No penalty for Lando for the pit lane entry violation???.

IMO, and my interpretation of the rules it warrantied a penalty.

But if your not going to decide to carry mad max's penalty over as he didn't bother qualifying (and therefore not serving them), then fair enough. Obviously having a lenient weekend.

However to say British drivers get a a better time of it is grossly unfair. Hamiltons at Silverstone was undeserved(debatable) and a touch harsh, Alonso (the one kicking this off) on lap 1 in Russia NOT getting even investigated, Mazepin somehow not being banned, Alonso's questionable defence in Hungary, red bull for berating Micheal Masi on a nearly every race basis... the list goes on. What happened to we race as one?

[seven]

Interesting one for the "Its not fair" brigade. Hamiltons tactics for this one.

Don't bother with Qualy and start last on whatever tyre suits. Risky if it turns out wet from the start on Sunday.
Try to qualify '11th' (deliberately get knocked out in Q2) giving free tyre choice, so end up starting last anyway. No real advantage over don't bother.
Take it easy so as not to stress the new engine, but get into the lower reaches of Q3 (5-9th) and start 15th-19th.
Go for pole and start 11th, possibly on the wrong tyre if the start is dry.

If they're confident it'll be a wet start on Sunday, I'd say go for pole, start 11th because everyone will be on inters/wets.
If it's a dry qually and start then I dunno which is best. Guess that's why they have teams of experts analysing all the possibilities.

Not sure quite what your referring to with your opening statement, but if you have a 10 place penalty, then the best option is to go for pole/P11. Why on earth would you give yourself even more cars to pass...

The general consensus is Qually is quite likely to be wet, with Sunday a smaller chance of rain(that says to me its going to be dry). Again, not sure why you think having 19 cars to try to pass instead of 10 is a good idea, especially with Hamiltons recent starts..

[Malcolm]

Not sure quite what your referring to with your opening statement,

I was referring to the people who didn't like Verstappen using the rules to take a new engine and effectively avoid the 3 place grid penalty last time out

but if you have a 10 place penalty, then the best option is to go for pole/P11. Why on earth would you give yourself even more cars to pass...

Because taking pole on a dry track is going to mean running the highest power modes. There are 7 races till the end of the season. Hamilton already has one dead engine, and 2 that are presumably life limited such that they won't reach the end of the season on their own. Bottas has already taken 2 new engines this season. How confident are Mercedes that they can get Hamilton to the end of the season on the one new engine and 2 life limited ones? Do they need to take another new engine to do the remaining 7 races (one of which will also have a sprint race). Or will reducing the strain on this new engine be enough if they don't go for pole?

The general consensus is Qually is quite likely to be wet, with Sunday a smaller chance of rain(that says to me its going to be dry). Again, not sure why you think having 19 cars to try to pass instead of 10 is a good idea, especially with Hamiltons recent starts..

Which is probably the best case scenario for Hamilton. You can't use full engine power in a wet qually anyway.

Starting 11th is fine if you come out of turn 1 still in or around 11th and with everything still intact (4 wheels on and a front wing). But IMV starting mid-field puts you in the lap of the gods for the first few turns on lap one and Hamilton can't really afford a DNF if he's caught up in a mid-field lap one racing incident.

Passing cars in 19th-10th should be relatively easy - no need for a good start, or indeed risking anything at the start. The two Red Bulls, two Mclarans, Bottas and Alonso are the ones that would worry me.