The F1 thread

Boromedic

He's had a tough start to 2022 but I've always rated him, I think they'd favour Charles in a straight fight though, unfortunate I know. I'd love to see Charles lift a title though, Monaco driver lifts title harks back to the romance of the past I guess

stickyfiddle

That's excellent news. I really rate Carlos and he's certainly more than a Barrichello. I think Leclerc will edge him over 3 seasons but if Leclerc isn't 100% on it Carlos will be right there. It'll be a great pairing to watch

Cols

With it sitting at 3-0 in the Charles-Carlos teammate wars, Sainz would need Leclerc to have a real run of bad luck (and for him to have flawless races) in order to avoid being swiftly relegated to a supporting role this year.

 I’ve got an awful lot of time for Sainz; I think he was treated shabbily by Red Bull when Verstappen got the nod for the promotion to the senior team.  They were neck and neck at Toro Rosso, and it would’ve been reasonable to give Max and Carlos three races each in the Red Bull.  

Why Red Bull chose to move Gasly up to Red Bull in 2019 when they could’ve recalled Sainz from Renault is anyone’s guess.  Certainly it didn’t end well for Red Bull or Gasly.

stickyfiddle

@cols Agreed. I can't help feel Carlos has been very astute with his team moves and pretty consistently gone up the grid every time, having been first to spot how toxic the RB culture is/was and get into a better team as well. And he seems a lovely guy. AND handsome. What a bastard!

chillidoggy

LeClerc will wipe the floor with Sainz this year. He’s totally on it.

goldtop

So wet that they might have to forego first practice? 

Yikes. 

Cols

They seem to be going out for a potter around now.

I’m always amazed at how reluctant F1 drivers are to take to the track when it’s wet, considering the cars need to be set up specifically for wet weather running and the racing lines are markedly different.  There’s a lot to learn.

Dontgiveupyourdayjob

Cols said:

They seem to be going out for a potter around now.

I’m always amazed at how reluctant F1 drivers are to take to the track when it’s wet, considering the cars need to be set up specifically for wet weather running and the racing lines are markedly different.  There’s a lot to learn.

It's fair enough when they have wet practice on a Friday, but you know for almost certain that it's gonna be bone dry for the rest of the weekend. Why risk binning it for something totally unrepresentative?

Today is totally different with Quali in a few hours - and everyone seems to be out giving it a decent go at the minute. And nobody's properly binned it yet, which is impressive!

fretmeister

Toto is saying that the porpoising is so bad that both drivers are having to lift on the straights!

Not good at all.

Boromedic

Wow, Merc 1 and 4 in final practice, I can't get me head around this season at all

Fair play to George, I think Lewis is not a happy bunny at the mo. 

stickyfiddle

I’m in the USA so haven’t watched any but have seen the times. 

I assume Merc were running FP2 looking for pure pace, while RB were doing race setups? 

Boromedic

Potentially Mike, Beeb said everyone was running race setups so times not representative. 

Dontgiveupyourdayjob

This DRS down the main straight looks WAY too powerful. The way the Red Bull went past the McLaren was like watching Mario Kart!

TimmyO

Dontgiveupyourdayjob said:

This DRS down the main straight looks WAY too powerful. The way the Red Bull went past the McLaren was like watching Mario Kart!

I'm hoping by the end of the season they've sorted this - the car changes now mean the DRS zones are too long.

Some non-DRS overtakes in the sprint - should be a fun race.

TBH I think those are more representative starting positions for the McLarens - I don't think Norris would have started P3 with fewer red flags yesterday 

sinbaadi

We might have seen Magnussen put up a decent fight, but there's nothing you can do against that DRS advantage.  It also robs us of any serious attempts to overtake anywhere else, because why risk it when you have the easy opportunity coming up? 

RiftAmps

Thoroughly enjoying this Ferrari/Red Bull battle, the McLaren turnaround, the HAAS resurgence, and the Alonso/Bottas mid-field fight.

Starting to feel sorry for GR, I'm a big fan of his but that Merc is doing him no favours.

Dontgiveupyourdayjob

sinbaadi said:

We might have seen Magnussen put up a decent fight, but there's nothing you can do against that DRS advantage.  It also robs us of any serious attempts to overtake anywhere else, because why risk it when you have the easy opportunity coming up? 

True, though they kinda scuppered themselves putting him on the Medium tyres. Made him even more of a sitting duck.

chillidoggy

RiftAmps said:

Thoroughly enjoying this Ferrari/Red Bull battle, the McLaren turnaround, the HAAS resurgence, and the Alonso/Bottas mid-field fight.

Starting to feel sorry for GR, I'm a big fan of his but that Merc is doing him no favours.

But he’s still ahead of his team-mate, which is the best benchmark.

TJT1979

sinbaadi said:

We might have seen Magnussen put up a decent fight, but there's nothing you can do against that DRS advantage.  It also robs us of any serious attempts to overtake anywhere else, because why risk it when you have the easy opportunity coming up? 

With the new regulations I’d like to see them trial removing the DRS completely. It’s too artificial for me… a way to force overtaking. As you say it just makes drivers wait and not risk any more interesting overtakes. 

Dontgiveupyourdayjob

Ooooh, wet race?! Should spice things up nicely!