|
|
Post by charleselan on Apr 19, 2021 12:27:03 GMT
Really beautiful and picturesque little circuit. I also watched the qualifying live last night and it was very good indeed with an interesting format. So pleased to see Romain looking so happy and enjoying himself, a pretty impressive first qualification by him as well that bodes well as the boy is very fast in the right circumstances. O'Ward is certainly mighty fast but my goodness his laps were very much over the edge, but he has car control to spare. Surprised to see Rosenqvist looking out of sorts but he seems to have got O'Ward in his head right now which doesn't bode well. Dixon will be strong in the race and I have a sneaking feeling that Palou will be quick, and it appears that Sebastian Bourdais qualification was a hick up as he was quick in warm earlier. Should be good viewing. John, Your sneaky feeling was spot on. Palou won and Bourdais recovered into 5th and closing at the end. You are entitled to an expensive cigar from your favorite tobacconist, to be given away since you never indulged. 
Cheers, Carl
Carl, I cannot claim too much credit for my "sneaking feeling" as it was based on what i had observed in qualifying and also read overnight and after warm up times. It was a superb race but could have been ruined by a sort of Jody Scheckter Silverstone 1973 moment on lap one. Such a stupid mistake by Joseph Newgarten, and someone of such experience and quality. It was sad for Colton Herta especially as i am sure he would have had a big part to play as the race panned out. A brilliant win by the young Spaniard Alex Palou however who really looks to be some kind of talent. Will Power had no answer but kept up the pressure to the very end, and all credit to Scott Dixon whose class saw him come through extremely well considering all his dashboard telemetry was not available, that as some drive. It was mentioned in commentary that O'Ward was too hard on his tyres and that is why they adopted the three stop strategy, it nearly worked and his early runs were pretty loose and spectacular. Sebastien Bourdais was superb in his climb through the field from an unrealistic qualifying position, and the comms team were full of praise for him. They feel that he is a major signing for the A J Foyt team, the first highly ranked driver they have had for many years, they also extolled his virtues following his final stint in the damaged IMSA car at the Sebring 12 Hours. He is going to be a factor all season and that is very pleasing. One thing I could not get my head around, and this has happened with Indycar before, why is it that some drivers suddenly appear to loose a whole chunk of time during the race, in this case I am referring to the excellent rookie performance of Romain Grosjean. He lost a big amount of time mid race and I can't see how that happened. |
|
|
|
Post by Carl on Apr 19, 2021 16:52:26 GMT
John, You're absolutely right. I had forgotten that Patricio was routinely sliding the rear spectacularly, wearing his tyres. He will need to learn. Romain Grosjean lost time when he was forced to conserve fuel, at times necessary in Indycar to avoid an additional pitstop, but a brand new skill for Grosjean and his race engineer to better coordinate. I enjoyed the comeuppance Sebastien Bourdais gave O'Ward at Turn 5 (the slow left turn), perfectly judged to bump the youngster offline. Knowing how cleanly Bourdais races, he must have had a good reason. 
-Carl
|
|
|
|
Post by René on Apr 19, 2021 17:10:29 GMT
I did enjoy the race but it could have been better if Josef had not had that brainfade. I'm a Newgarden fan but that was a mistake you wouldn't expect from a champion like him. To his credit, he was very apologetic afterwards.
Good win for Palou, always nice to see a first time winner!
|
|
|
|
Post by charleselan on Apr 19, 2021 17:21:24 GMT
John, You're absolutely right. I had forgotten that Patricio was routinely sliding the rear spectacularly, wearing his tyres. He will need to learn. Romain Grosjean lost time when he was forced to conserve fuel, at times necessary in Indycar to avoid an additional pitstop, but a brand new skill for Grosjean and his race engineer to better coordinate. I enjoyed the comeuppance Sebastien Bourdais gave O'Ward at Turn 5 (the slow left turn), perfectly judged to bump the youngster offline. Knowing how cleanly Bourdais races, he must have had a good reason.
-Carl
Carl, Sebastien's "hip and shoulder" on Patricio was superb, done with a certain deftness as well. Probably just putting the youngster in his place, and as the commentary team mentioned he is a four time champion after all. Of course fuel saving, it also cost a very good performance from Marcus Ericsson who dropped places in the closing stages having to save fuel. JC |
|
|
|
Post by chrisb on Apr 20, 2021 7:03:22 GMT
I only managed to watch the truncated highlights on utub and thoroughly enjoyed what they were, again relived no injuries but farcial opening lap didn't help the race, some good young drivers coming along, I see Patricio is being offered an F1 test when he wins an Indycar test,
must try and find somewhere I can watch this in more depth or live,
|
|
|
|
Post by René on Apr 24, 2021 10:13:27 GMT
St. Petersburg Florida - Grand Prix St. Pete
Second race of the Indycar season this weekend. All eyes will be on Alex Palou to see if he can repeat last weekend's success. Is he ready to race at the front every weekend and can he handle that pressure? And what about Patricio O'Ward who was so fast and 'on the edge' all the time in Alabama.
Josef Newgarden will surely want to do better and leave St. Pete's with a strong result to get his championship on the way. It will be interesting to see how Romain Grosjean will fare on a street circuit this time.
Newgarden and Power were fastest for Penske in FP1, followed closely by the Andretti boys Herta and Rossi. Palou only 20th. But it's only FP1...
This is going to be good. |
|
|
|
Post by Carl on Apr 24, 2021 17:57:19 GMT
St. Petersberg is a well laid out street circuit utilizing an airport runway as the main straight. Passing is very difficult and there are inevitable close calls and collisions entering Turn 1 and also through Turns 2-3 leading onto a short straight. Friday Practice results:
Position | Driver | Best Time 1. Josef Newgarden 1:00.8029 2. Will Power 1:00.8102 3. Colton Herta 1:00.8348 4. Alexander Rossi 1:00.8653 |
|
|
|
Post by chrisb on Apr 25, 2021 8:34:56 GMT
watched a bit of the indylights practice and yet again what a brilliant circuit for real racers, great fun, then managed to find the highlights of the practice on utub and my boy Jack was so so so close, but brilliant, this guy is a winner and one day he will prove that - looking forward to a spectacular race, gosh it really is good,
|
|
|
|
Post by charleselan on Apr 25, 2021 14:34:03 GMT
Sadly missed the qualifying last evening as I have not been feeling too well this weekend with some strange virus, but feeling somewhat better today (Sunday) so will be watching the race later/
I see that Colton Herta is on pole, just ahead of Jack Harvey (great performance); Seb Bourdais is seventh in AJ Foyt's machine so should he pull off a brilliant win at 43 years of age?
|
|
|
|
Post by René on Apr 25, 2021 23:02:42 GMT
Good race and well deserved win for Colton Herta! He was the man this weekend and if he can keep up this level of driving, he will be a serious title contender. Nice to see the interaction with his dad and today Colton equalled Brian's tally of wins in Indycar. Also a good race for Newgarden making up for his mistake at Barber's. The stars of Alabama, Palou and O'Ward were not in the game today and neither was Rossi. This could be a season with a lot of different winners that goes down to the wire....and in the end Dixon wins.  |
|
|
|
Post by Carl on Apr 26, 2021 5:25:09 GMT
Colton Herta was outstanding and controlled the race like a seasoned pro ten years older. His more seasoned teammate Alexander Rossi, despite being guided by team owner Michael Andretti, continues to struggle against the superb talent and seemingly better organized engineer and crew of Herta.
Honda appears to have more top end than Chevrolet. Despite many tries, Josef Newgarden couldn't pass Herta on the longest straight even with a draft and the available turbo pressure boost, which adds 60 bhp for brief periods. Team Penske is always strong overall regardless, but talented Chevrolet drivers Sebastian Bourdais, Felix Rosenqvist, Rinus Veekay, Patricio O'Ward and Scott McLaughlin all had to work hard for a mid-field result.
Nice to have a refreshing diversity of seven different teams among the top ten finishers.
Seasoned drivers Townsend Bell and Paul Tracy are excellent commentators with extensive knowledge of team strategy and driver tactics, while Leigh Diffey, as the designated corporate fanny kisser, rhapsodizes about every sponsor. It seems unfair for the network to ask even more from one so naturally fawning.
|
|
|
|
Post by charleselan on Apr 26, 2021 13:29:28 GMT
That was a hugely entertaining race, which I viewed through a benevolent source and featured the S*YF1 transmission of the American MSNBC coverage. The beauty of the S*Y transmission is that the loathsome Ad' Breaks are not followed one has a none commentary period of action which Carl would enjoy as no Leigh Diffy . Brilliant drive by young Colton Herta, that boy certainly looks quite special and so very mature for a 20 year old. I am surprised he hasn't or isn't on the F1 radar as surely what F1 needs is a top line American driver especially as the rights holder is American. The one thing I would say is do not put him in the second Red Bull and end up doing a Michael Andretti on him, a couple of seasons in a lesser team and then let the lad fly. Great racing throughout, Joseph tried for three in a row at St Pete but just did not have enough for Colton but a very strong second place, also a great drive from Simon Pagenaud in that outrageous gold liveried Penske car. Taku drove splendidly as well and not bad for an old chap either. Scott Dixon did not have the car all weekend but yet again picked a good haul of points with his canny driving, he will always be in the mix. Jack Harvey also drove well and consistently gaining a place better than any place he achieved last year. Unfortunately Seb Bourdais picked up some early race damage in the first corner when he got hemmed in but drove strongly in a car that must have been a few mph down on the straights due to the nose damage. A double header next weekend at the Texas Raceway, very different type of racing but could still be good. |
|
|
|
Post by René on Apr 26, 2021 18:58:23 GMT
Brilliant drive by young Colton Herta, that boy certainly looks quite special and so very mature for a 20 year old. I am surprised he hasn't or isn't on the F1 radar as surely what F1 needs is a top line American driver especially as the rights holder is American. The one thing I would say is do not put him in the second Red Bull and end up doing a Michael Andretti on him, a couple of seasons in a lesser team and then let the lad fly. Exactly what Mario says. The lad is very fast and has certainly F1 qualities. He's also a cool guy with enough bravado to not be impressed with all the possible attention. And a top line American driver would be very good promotion for F1 in the States. But where could he go to assuming there is interest? There is too much talent right now. Red Bull next to Max would indeed not be a good plan but where else? Haas is American but also too slow. He would need a good seat to succeed and it should happen fast, otherwise he will be considered too old. But the idea of Herta in F1 is very cool. This is what Mario said to Autosport: www.autosport.com/f1/news/mario-andretti-america-would-go-crazy-over-herta-in-f1/6468436/ |
|
|
|
Post by charleselan on Apr 27, 2021 10:48:04 GMT
Brilliant drive by young Colton Herta, that boy certainly looks quite special and so very mature for a 20 year old. I am surprised he hasn't or isn't on the F1 radar as surely what F1 needs is a top line American driver especially as the rights holder is American. The one thing I would say is do not put him in the second Red Bull and end up doing a Michael Andretti on him, a couple of seasons in a lesser team and then let the lad fly. Exactly what Mario says. The lad is very fast and has certainly F1 qualities. He's also a cool guy with enough bravado to not be impressed with all the possible attention. And a top line American driver would be very good promotion for F1 in the States. But where could he go to assuming there is interest? There is too much talent right now. Red Bull next to Max would indeed not be a good plan but where else? Haas is American but also too slow. He would need a good seat to succeed and it should happen fast, otherwise he will be considered too old. But the idea of Herta in F1 is very cool. This is what Mario said to Autosport: www.autosport.com/f1/news/mario-andretti-america-would-go-crazy-over-herta-in-f1/6468436/Yes apparently so, Mario is pushing for Carlton Herta to get into F1 and he is specifically calling for it to be a top three team, even going as far as saying that it would be great for Mercedes Benz and their USA marketing. Michael Andretti has also said that he would not stand in the way of Carlton moving to F1 but only if it were a top team. My feelings are that he would be better off in a good mid field team to begin with someone like a transformed Williams team or Alfa Romeo who it is rumoured could be renamed next year as they have been brought into the large PSA Group, even speculation that the name Peugeot might appear. Although I cannot see that fitting in with the new Le mans Endurance project planned for 2021. Either way the kid has to be in F1 for so many different reasons, and all are plus'. |
|
|
|
Post by René on Apr 30, 2021 12:04:41 GMT
Texas Motor Speedway ‘Double header’After a road course and a street course, the Indycar circus has now arrived at the first (two) oval race(s) of the season at the super fast speedway in Texas. A very different discipline yet again so it will be interesting to see who gets it right this weekend.
And it’s still early season so a good opportunity to kickstart the season for guys like Rossi or Rosenqvist. Pietro Fittipaldi will stand in for Romain Grosjean on the ovals as Romain does not feel comfortable enough yet for this high speed challenge. 
|
|
