The F1 thread

TimmyO

Was an entertaining quali session and a nice mix of car colours at the front 

stickyfiddle

Got up early here to watch the replay. Absolutely brilliant quali (and thank god after Monaco!). 

Lots of cars theoretically out of position so hopefully a good race incoming. 

Cols

That was a nail biter - I genuinely couldn’t predict who was going to be on pole.  Sterling effort by Russell, Norris and Verstappen.

Hopefully Ricciardo’s excellent qualifying performance translates into a good race result, god knows he needs it.  With RB inking a 1 year extension for Yuki to fend off interest from other teams and Lawson waiting in the wings, the net is closing on DR.

As predicted, Perez has settled down for a mid-season nap after securing his own position.  Out in Q1 and the guts of a second off his teammate is not what Red Bull want from him.

Boromedic

Hahaha, Perez......... Enjoy the next 2 years Red Bull

Very close through the top ten, less than 3 tenths between pole and Lewis in 7th, so perhaps we are getting some convergence, although Toro Rosso are the real surprise!

Lewis is really losing out at the sharp end of quali when he's fastest in most of the practices and often in the race too, it's a bit strange all things considered. I mean I'm not one to conform to conspiracy theories but it's odd, although George confirmed the data sharing meant he found some pace, perhaps that's what Lewis alluded to.

Weird to see the Ferraris out in Q2 as well, very surprised. We have limited ideas on race pace, fully expect Max to have Russell off the line unfortunately. I hope McLaren can take win but still a sizeable chance of rain.

I really love Montreal, one of my fave races.

TimmyO

Cols said:

That was a nail biter - I genuinely couldn’t predict who was going to be on pole.  Sterling effort by both Norris and Verstappen.

Hopefully Ricciardo’s excellent qualifying performance translates into a good race result, god knows he needs it.  With RB inking a 1 year extension for Yuki to fend off interest from other teams and Lawson waiting in the wings, the net is closing on DR.

As predicted, Perez has settled down for a mid-season nap after securing his own position.  Out in Q1 and the guts of a second off his teammate is not what Red Bull want from him.

Surely DR would have to put in an alarmingly consistent improvement for the rest of the season to give anyone the confidence in him, particularly with such an apparently talented crop of youngsters about. 

Penn

Let’s hope there’s more overtaking than in Monaco. 

markr76

Boromedic said:

Hahaha, Perez......... Enjoy the next 2 years Red Bull

Very close through the top ten, less than 3 tenths between pole and Lewis in 7th, so perhaps we are getting some convergence, although Toro Rosso are the real surprise!

Lewis is really losing out at the sharp end of quali when he's fastest in most of the practices and often in the race too, it's a bit strange all things considered. I mean I'm not one to conform to conspiracy theories but it's odd, although George confirmed the data sharing meant he found some pace, perhaps that's what Lewis alluded to.

Weird to see the Ferraris out in Q2 as well, very surprised. We have limited ideas on race pace, fully expect Max to have Russell off the line unfortunately. I hope McLaren can take win but still a sizeable chance of rain.

I really love Montreal, one of my fave races.

The thing is with Lewis in qualifying. His age is starting to become a factor in there. We all loose a bit as we get older. Turning it on doesn’t always come as fast as it used to. Once the race is under way and you can settle into a rhythm it’s different. But the younger guys are sharper off the bat. 

Boromedic

^^maybe I suppose, it's a possibility but he was one of the best qualifiers and Alonso is still quick in quali, although Lance is less of a benchmark obviously. 

We'll see next year when he's in red against the fastest one lap driver.

Cols

TimmyO said:

Cols said:

That was a nail biter - I genuinely couldn’t predict who was going to be on pole.  Sterling effort by both Norris and Verstappen.

Hopefully Ricciardo’s excellent qualifying performance translates into a good race result, god knows he needs it.  With RB inking a 1 year extension for Yuki to fend off interest from other teams and Lawson waiting in the wings, the net is closing on DR.

As predicted, Perez has settled down for a mid-season nap after securing his own position.  Out in Q1 and the guts of a second off his teammate is not what Red Bull want from him.

Surely DR would have to put in an alarmingly consistent improvement for the rest of the season to give anyone the confidence in him, particularly with such an apparently talented crop of youngsters about. 

I would say so.  Marko wants to put Lawson in the car next year - if they don't give him a race seat in 2025 he's a free agent.  Horner's apparently pro-Ricciardo, but he's already expended some political capital to keep Perez on at Red Bull.

Lawson's not racing this year and fully focused on his reserve role at RB, so I assume the team are looking at his sim performance and seeing where he is in comparison to DR.  Where DR is relative to Yuki is already established and not encouraging.

My gut feeling is that it's already been decided and it's not good news for Danny.

markr76

Boromedic said:

^^maybe I suppose, it's a possibility but he was one of the best qualifiers and Alonso is still quick in quali, although Lance is less of a benchmark obviously. 

We'll see next year when he's in red against the fastest one lap driver.

I still rate Hamilton and Verstappen as the best 2 drivers  I think everyone else currently on the grid is in a tier slightly below them. But as for Alonso, the same as Hamilton. I think if he was put up against the better younger drivers they’d show him up a bit in qualifying overall. Not the younger version of the 2 drivers.

fretmeister

Well…

Cols

I wonder if Perez’s shiny new contract guarantees him a race seat, but not necessarily in the Red Bull…?

Hoof

Perez's resigning must be purely to appease Max. Is it that Max would not tolerate a competitive team-mate? I know he brings in some cash but I doubt Red Bul are desperate for that. Weird though, a team with a quick car should be looking at scoring 1-2 finishes. That's not a prospect with Perez in the second seat. 

Boromedic

It is 100 percent to appease Max, a better driver in equal machinery would take the shine off his apparent domination.

Cols

Pretty much.  Red Bull’s requirements for Max’s teammate are as follows:

1.  Fast, but not fast enough to trouble Max.
2.  Will hoover up points and, where possible, block the other drivers from troubling Max.
3.  Can win on the days where Max has mechanical issues.
4. Knows his place in the team.

Perez is, on balance, that driver.  There may be a better one out there for ticking the boxes, but by and large Sergio does his job.

It’s boring as fuck, but it’s a winning formula.  Max drives much better when he doesn’t have team mate pressure.  Hamilton’s the same - in fact, Perez could be regarded as Diet Bottas.

markr76

Trouble redbull will have though as the other teams start closing in on them. They’ll need 2 performing drivers to win the constructors. Which is where the main bulk of money is for the teams. 

Boromedic

Cols said:

Pretty much.  Red Bull’s requirements for Max’s teammate are as follows:

1.  Fast, but not fast enough to trouble Max.
2.  Will hoover up points and, where possible, block the other drivers from troubling Max.
3.  Can win on the days where Max has mechanical issues.
4. Knows his place in the team.

Perez is, on balance, that driver.  There may be a better one out there for ticking the boxes, but by and large Sergio does his job.

It’s boring as fuck, but it’s a winning formula.  Max drives much better when he doesn’t have team mate pressure.  Hamilton’s the same - in fact, Perez could be regarded as Diet Bottas.

He definitely is diet Bottas, because at least when Lewis wasn't out front Bottas was more often than not, he certainly added more to the teams/constructors title than the Mexican Minister for fuck all

sinbaadi

Perez has had people saying he's rubbish for over a decade.  I can't believe anyone thinks it's his ability that puts him in that seat at this point, even ability just to be bringing it home.

Dontgiveupyourdayjob

So the conditions look, erm, unpredictable!

Should be fun - could be shades of 2011...

RiftAmps