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Post by René on Sept 9, 2021 10:12:08 GMT
From the orange waves at the beach, the circus has now moved to the red sea in the parc; the home of Ferrari. Ferrari will be the crowds favorite but probably not the favorite to win the Grand Prix. But with the sprint race format used again this weekend we could be in for a few surprises like we saw in Silverstone. For the championship it will be interesting to see if Mercedes can have the upper hand over Red Bull at this high speed circuit. That used to be the case but I’m not so sure if we’ll see that again this weekend.
And what about Valtteri? Realistically seen he has only 8 races left to add another win to his tally. He won't be faster than Hamilton now that he’s ‘free’ but will he still obey orders when the situation arises? The other Finn, Kimi Räikkönen, unfortunately also has to skip the Italian Grand Prix due to his Covid infection. Kubica will replace him again. Let the racing begin! Forza Ferrari!  |
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Post by René on Sept 11, 2021 10:32:49 GMT
It will be interesting to watch the sprint race this afternmoon. Looked very close between Mercedes, Max and McLaren and another fantastic result for Pierre Gasly. The gap between Pierre and Yuki 'the biggest talent for years' Tsunoda is becoming a bit worrying though for the Japanese driver. As for the sprint race, I actually like the idea proposed by Mattia Binotto. Make the sprint race a stand-alone event not connected to qualifying anymore. Qualifying determines the grid for sunday's Grand Prix and the fastest driver earns pole position, as it always was. Then you could have a sprint race with reversed grid based on the championship standings. This way all drivers can earn some extra points and because the race is so short maybe even a Williams or Alfa could end up on the podium.
Ouch, Carlos just had a massive off in the Ascari! But it looks like he's okay... the car isn't though.  |
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Post by charleselan on Sept 11, 2021 11:30:58 GMT
Three crashes in the last four races for Carlos. Something is wrong with that car as he isn't a crasher, apparently a trackside observer noted that both Ferrari's looked very unsettled compared with the other cars on track. Maybe trying to over compensate for the very obvious lack of horse power.
Binotto seems to be one of the few team principles that has his head screwed on properly, and one of the more likeable along with Jost Capito, who I rate highly.
I have read the morning that Alex Albon has had to sign certain confidential agreements in getting the Williams drove, this according to Tonto. They must have something seriously desirable in those Merc power units if that is the case.
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Post by Carl on Sept 11, 2021 22:45:15 GMT
The Sprint Race at Monza was very exciting, the short distance compelling every driver to press for position without the lazy default option of passing on pitlane. The need to conserve tyres compelled drivers to minimize degradation and avoid flat-spotting, in other words, to use more of the spectrum of skills and drive with intelligence. Despite a terrible start compounded by weaving vainly before the first turn, Lewis Hamilton was the focus of attention for much of the race in the broadcast booth. To their credit, with Valtteri Bottas so far in front, they realized Mercedes could no longer order the expected switch of position. 
A great win for Bottas and long overdue podium for Daniel Ricciardo, both well-deserved and good to see! |
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Post by mikael on Sept 12, 2021 9:57:57 GMT
Yes, by the sprint races, the strategists et al. are basically taken out of the equation, and it's more up to the drivers, alone on the race track. So in a sense, it's back to how things were before radio communication and before the advent of the pit stop competition.
And the racing is really much more interesting in this way.
Less is more.
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Post by mikael on Sept 12, 2021 10:41:49 GMT
Didn't realize before that Mick Schumacher races with an exact copy of his father's original helmet design. A nice gesture. I hope it brings him good luck, like it did for Damon Hill.
M. Schumacher 1991
M. Schumacher 2021
G. Hill 1968
D. Hill 1996
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Post by René on Sept 12, 2021 12:01:19 GMT
Didn't realize before that Mick Schumacher races with an exact copy of his father's original helmet design. A nice gesture. I hope it brings him good luck, like it did for Damon Hill.
Yes, I believe it was only intended for demo runs in his father's cars but he liked it so much he decided to keep it. Good choice. Enjoy the race guys! Forza!  This is a nice picture of a very young George Russell waiting to get an autograph of his hero. Ain't that cool?  And now they become team mates.  |
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Post by René on Sept 12, 2021 19:23:01 GMT
Fantastic ‘feel good’ win for Daniel Ricciardo and the McLaren team!
Had they won with Max and Lewis still in the race? Difficult to say but the McLarens were fast all weekend and it seems Daniel finally turned the tables.
The incident? That looked way too optimistic from Max to me but according to the Dutch analysts it was 100% Lewis’s fault… but I guess the British press is equally objective.
Lewis was lucky not to get injured. The halo again proved its worth.
Decent race from Charles and Carlos. This is obviously the maximum for this car. Next year will be the year.
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Post by Carl on Sept 13, 2021 1:53:46 GMT
Once again racing is a game of inches and tenths. Martin Brundle was adamant that Verstappen did nothing wrong. I agreed, but the stewards decided the pass was "attempted too late for him to have the right to racing room” and gave Max a 3 place grid penalty in Russia.
Mercedes and Red Bull were stunned when notified by civil authorities that, according to Milanese custom, the graceless final position obliges Hamilton and Verstappen to be married. Lando Norris and Valtteri Bottas were both outstanding until ambition and tyres both degraded near the end. If he survives the tainted champagne, this race may come to be seen as vindication for Zac Brown. |
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Post by mikael on Sept 13, 2021 6:29:54 GMT
A commenter at MSN suggsted that the chicane at the 3/4 point of the main straight (turn 1 & 2, or "1o Variante") ought to be replaced by something else, like, for example, a more moderate "S" type bend, in the light of the present level of track safety and robustness of the cars. I fully agree. That chicane has the appearance of a "patch-up job"; it shouldn't be there.
From 1971
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Post by charleselan on Sept 13, 2021 11:22:15 GMT
One or two thoughts having given it time overnight.
Two grown up men would probably have reacted like this:-
MV: If he had given me more room on the entry to the chicane I might not have been so intent on looking for a gap through the corner.
SLH: He pushed me wide and off track earlier and I knew that if I allowed him room he would have done the same on the way out of the chicane.
As for Tonto: Shut Up and stop bringing the sport into disrepute with your banal and hysterical comments.
Other thoughts that have crossed my mind this morning is the fact that it is these cars that created the problem along with the sausage curbing. More agile and nimble cars as a F1 car should be would not have brought about this result, or to be more accurate might not have been the route cause of the end result.
Great result for McLaren however and I think they would have won anyway once in position, also hats off to Lando for his mature view in the race, I can think of some others in that race who would not have adopted that position.
Charles Leclerc after the race saying it was one of his best five drives ever, unheralded brilliance! As well as Carlos who was right behind him, amazing considering that huge crash earlier.
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Post by robmarsh on Sept 13, 2021 13:59:38 GMT
I was surprised at the relief I felt when SLH and MV took themselves out of the race. It felt like the bullies had been removed from the playground and the normal kids could have joyous fun.
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Post by chrisb on Sept 13, 2021 15:44:54 GMT
The sprint thing just seemed surreal and unnecessary I felt it just really didn’t happen
As for the race I tried so hard to watch the C4 show and despaired of the compère but persevered well done to McLaren I saw a lot of class from a number of drivers all but 2 that is , I called it the consequences of ego and then saw a bit of the interview with tonto and mr spice and realise just how much both of them like the limelight
I do think given the size of the modern cars they may want to review the two chicanes
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Post by René on Sept 13, 2021 18:51:40 GMT
I was surprised at the relief I felt when SLH and MV took themselves out of the race. It felt like the bullies had been removed from the playground and the normal kids could have joyous fun. Haha, brilliant Rob. I actually had sort of the same feeling. |
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And now they become team mates.
