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Post by René on Aug 31, 2022 16:57:36 GMT
 Race 2 of the European triple header is only a few hundred kilometres to the north on the Dutch coast. Last year's race in the dunes was a big party with a clear victory for Max Verstappen. And given the race at Spa, he is definitely the favorite again. But who knows, a short winding track should fit Ferrari well. A Ferrari victory on the orange colored Zandvoort would be something!   There are plans to extend the DRS zone through the last banked corner and this will be tested in FP1. Not a fan of DRS at all but for now we’re stuck with it. It could be a challenge though, running full blast with DRS open on the banking… Weatherforecast is still very uncertain but there is certainly a chance of rain, most likely on the saturday. |
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Post by René on Aug 31, 2022 18:55:55 GMT
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Post by chrisb on Sept 1, 2022 8:57:53 GMT
brilliant photos Rene, Zandvoort will always be special to me, as it was my first overseas Grand Prix [1981] and a rare occurrence wanting a Ferrari to do well but he crashed out on the 1st lap, but from a historical perspective it produced some brilliant races for my beloved Lotus, and of course Jimmy still holds the record for the number of wins, and of course it was the scene one of my favourite Niki's wins.
I have voted for Charles, it would be so nice to see him actually get back on track with a win, but Max is driving really well and on a roll, and his momentum is good, Can't see anyone except perhaps Carlos or Checa doing the job
When I read the news that Alonso was going to Aston I was somewhat surprised, especially as it was clear Daniel was going to be available, and after some thought I am still wondering what that is all about
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Post by René on Sept 3, 2022 9:31:09 GMT
Looking good so far for Ferrari but I'm sure Red Bull will bounce back today. Also McLaren and Mercedes seem to be going well on the Dutch track. Fans on their way to the circuit this morning. _ Reading a bit more on the Oscar Piastri saga it does look like Alpine/Szafnauer have made a bit of a mess of the negotiations. Or maybe better, a lack of negotiations and clear communication. Both with Alonso and Piastri.
So Oscar Piastri to McLaren which should be an interesting pairing with Lando. Pierre Gasly will then probably go to Alpine to form a totally French team which is kinda nice... "les blues". And then there's still talk about Andretti, now in connection to Alpha Tauri. There are already signs that Colton Herta will make the switch to F1 with Alpha Tauri and Michael is now trying his way into F1 via the Italian based team. Interesting...
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Post by mikael on Sept 3, 2022 13:09:05 GMT
Fans on their way to the circuit this morning.
Are you there, René, at Zandvoort?
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Post by René on Sept 3, 2022 15:55:21 GMT
Fans on their way to the circuit this morning. Are you there, René, at Zandvoort?
Mikael, no I'm not there. Two races in a row is tiring enough, also for my wallet!  But in all honesty, the orange Max mania army is not really my cup of tea so I'll watch on the tele. But who knows, maybe one day again.
Anyway, an exciting qualifying and very very close between Max and the two Ferraris! And Mercedes not that far off also. WIth even warmer conditions tomorrow, I think this is going to be a very exciting race.
1 Max Verstappen, Red Bull RB18, 1'10.342
2 Charles Leclerc, Ferrari F1-75, 1'10.363, 0.021
3 Carlos Sainz, Ferrari F1-75, 1'10.434, 0.092
4 Lewis Hamilton, Mercedes W13, 1'10.648, 0.306
5 Sergio Perez, Red Bull RB18, 1'11.077, 0.735
6 George Russell, Mercedes W13, 1'11.147, 0.805
7 Lando Norris, McLaren MCL36, 1'11.174, 0.832
8 Mick Schumacher, Haas VF-22, 1'11.442, 1.100
9 Yuki Tsunoda, AlphaTauri AT03, 1'12.556, 2.214
10 Lance Stroll, Aston Martin AMR22, -
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Post by Carl on Sept 4, 2022 0:20:42 GMT
Fans on their way to the circuit this morning.
Are you there, René, at Zandvoort?
Mikael, Great new photograph! Is that someone we know? 
René, You had a golden opportunity. Two beautiful women were shown in choice seats holding a sign which read:
Stoel gereserveerd voor René Claus
-Carl
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Post by mikael on Sept 4, 2022 10:10:19 GMT
I find it very impressive to watch the cars go through the banked corners, in particular the last one (No. 14) before the "home straight".
And impressive that the circuit designers have managed to bring this fascinating yet infamous concept back to life.
To return to an earlier post of mine on this topic, specifically the infamous (original) Fuji Speedway banked corner (posted in the Hungary GP thread), here (below) is good photo that I came across, where one clearly can see what Vic Elford means with the statement: "The reason that banking was so horrific, was that at the end of the straight we went over a blind crest at around 190/200 mph and dropped into the banking. At other tracks (Daytona, Montlhéry, etc.) you climb up the banking."
Below is a good photo of the mentioned approach into the banked corner of Daytona Intl. Speedway. It is clear that the cars "climb up the banking", as Elford tells.
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Post by mikael on Sept 4, 2022 10:18:05 GMT
Mikael, Great new photograph! Is that someone we know?
Carl, you mean my new profile photo? It is Danish 1984 Karting ("Formula K") World Champion Jørn Haase. The photo, from a 1982 race, is "borrowed" from his homepage:
Yes, it's a great photo. Very spectacular.
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Post by René on Sept 4, 2022 10:26:38 GMT
Are you there, René, at Zandvoort?
Mikael, Great new photograph! Is that someone we know? René, You had a golden opportunity. Two beautiful women were shown in choice seats holding a sign which read: Stoel gereserveerd voor René Claus
-Carl
I found them Carl. All is well now...
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Post by René on Sept 4, 2022 10:28:43 GMT
Enjoy the race guys. Forza Ferrari!  |
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Post by mikael on Sept 4, 2022 11:06:45 GMT
Apropos of circuit design, here is a humorous suggestion - anno 1968 - to how international circuits ought to look like ;-)
The drawing is from the Danish motorsport yearbook 1968/69. (I have started to recollect these excellent yearbooks, little by little, as good and reasonably priced copies show up.) The Danish publisher has, in turn, borrowed the drawing from the Swiss "Automobil Revue", the text says. The text furthermore says that Automobil Revue is of the opinion that GP circuits ought to be representative of their countries. (Tyskland = Germany; Frankrig = France; Italien = Italy, ...)
P.S. It's interesting that the Shanghai Intl. Circuit (of Hermann Tilke) actually realized such ideas, in making the circuit in the exact shape of the first character "上" in the name Shanghai (上海).
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Post by mikael on Sept 4, 2022 16:57:25 GMT
A great race to watch! (I enjoyed watching the full race on German RTL - with excellent commentary work - moderated and objective.)
As to the launch of the "virtual safety car" for Tsunoda/Alpha Tauri, which had such a large impact on the outcome of the race (so it seemed at the time, at least), my first thought about Tnunoda going out again after two consecutive pit stops, only to make a stop at one of the most critical spot on the track, was that: it's a trick. The launch of the virtual safety car seemed just too convenient for Red Bull. But then again, such a thought is probably too naive - it might not be possible to "pull off" such a trick now, in the 2020s, with surveillance everywhere, and recording of everything.
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Post by Carl on Sept 5, 2022 0:15:42 GMT
A great race to watch! (I enjoyed watching the full race on German RTL - with excellent commentary work - moderated and objective.) As to the launch of the "virtual safety car" for Tsunoda/Alpha Tauri, which had such a large impact on the outcome of the race (so it seemed at the time, at least), my first thought about Tnunoda going out again after two consecutive pit stops, only to make a stop at one of the most critical spot on the track, was that: it's a trick. The launch of the virtual safety car seemed just too convenient for Red Bull. But then again, such a thought is probably too naive - it might not be possible to "pull off" such a trick now, in the 2020s, with surveillance everywhere, and recording of everything.
Mikael, Because of the absurd clumsiness of Tsunoda's exit, I had the same thought. It wasn't too long ago that flagrant cheating was engineered within Renault by its astoundingly corrupt managing director, Flavio Briatore.
Would Helmut Marko risk his chance of sainthood by playing down and dirty...? Yes, of course, but with his lead driver so far ahead in the championship, there was no need. The only underhanded deal may have been René in a premium seat surrounded by beautiful women.
“Doubt is an uncomfortable condition, but certainty is a ridiculous one.”
― Voltaire
Cheers, Carl
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Post by René on Sept 5, 2022 16:06:03 GMT
Well, what can you say... Max is on a roll and there's no one who can stop him. A well deserved win even if the Yuki incident was rather convenient.
But he's driving very, very strong and is unbelievably relaxed. No stress, no nerves, nothing can destract him, not even a 120.000 people dressed up in orange expecting you to deliver. Impressive.
But on the other side of the garage things are not going that smooth. Checo was a lot closer early in the season but his weekends are now often messy and quite far off Max. What's going on there?
Mercedes may have won without the (V)SCs but I'm not 100% sure. But still, a strong race from the silver arrows. The track suited them, like Hungary. Monza will be another story though.
And then Ferrari. I am still processing the reality that the championship is lost. At Spa, the gap between Ferrari and Max was abnormal, but also in Zandvoort Ferrari was not fast enough to win the race on merit. In fact, this was the first race this season where a Ferrari did not lead at least one single lap! I do hope they will win a couple more races, preferrably in Monza, but it won't be easy now.
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