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Post by René on Sept 15, 2023 9:15:47 GMT
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Post by chrisb on Sept 15, 2023 9:47:21 GMT
haven't they changed the circuit a bit Rene?
I just hope you are right and someone actually beats Max, I have gone for Norris as he seems to be one of the few who have grown this year along with McLaren and as Rob reminded me, it is now 60 years since Bruce started this incredible history. Wonder what he and several others from that era would be thinking now
On an aside, MotoGP is heading towards 'sustainable' synthetic fuel in a few years time as are F1 or so I believe surely this is the way forward?
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Post by René on Sept 15, 2023 10:49:45 GMT
Looking good so far!
FP1
1. Leclerc
2. Sainz
3. Verstappen
4. Norris
5. Hamilton
6. Russell
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Post by René on Sept 15, 2023 17:13:48 GMT
Looking even better now. Why is the Bull so slow? Clampdown on flexiwings?  FP2 1. Sainz 2. Leclerc 3. Russell 4. Alonso 5. Hamilton 6. Norris 7. Pérez 8. Verstappen  |
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Post by mikael on Sept 16, 2023 11:31:35 GMT
Finally, again! That beautiful, historic, colour combination :-D
Otherwise, the trend with more-or-less unpainted cars is interesting! - it makes them look very aggressive indeed!
... a bit like the original, unpainted Mercedes "Silver Arrows" of the 30's
P.S. I am "voting" for a yet another Verstappen/Red Bull victory, in the light that I - when I vote - never "hit it" :-D
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Post by mikael on Sept 16, 2023 15:56:43 GMT
So there might be some flexi-wing-trickery behind that extreme Red Bull domination so far during this season? That's very interesting ...!
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Post by René on Sept 16, 2023 17:21:54 GMT
Oh wow, what did we just see? Once again a Ferrari on pole, but even more remarkable, a very uncompetitive Red Bull! But to start with the best news, again a Ferrari on pole and once again Carlos Sainz! Carlos had the speed all weekend, just like in Monza, and was continuously faster than Charles Leclerc. Until recently Charles was the faster of the two, especially when it counts but not the last couple of races so super well done by Carlos and the car is clearly developing in a direction that suits him very well.  John Charles would have been very pleased with this. He was a big Leclerc fan, but he was also a big fan of Carlos Sainz from the start and was convinced that the Spaniard would make it. I think he was right again!  George Russell's lap was also fantastic. Just like Carlos, George had good speed all weekend, always faster than Lewis. And to take a second position is well deserved. Third then for Leclerc and fourth place for Lando Norris, then fifth for Hamilton and a very strong sixth place for Kevin Magnussen. But the moment of qualifying surely was when Liam Lawson knocked out Max Verstappen! Pérez had already kicked himself out with that spin and I honestly think he has also spun himself out of Red Bull for next year with this action. Liam Lawson has now shown that he is the real deal, so he will definitely be with AlphaTauri or perhaps Red Bull next year (but you may wonder whether that is a good move next to Verstappen). I also think that Ricciardo should retire again and give a young driver a chance. But then... Red Bull... what's going on there? Certainly, Singapore is a special track and we have seen unusual qualy results here before. But this uncompetitive? Well, this does make you think about that flexi wing Technical Directive, doesn't it? Anyway, we're in for a good race!  |
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Post by René on Sept 16, 2023 19:01:14 GMT
What’s going on here?
Verstappen impeded several drivers (Sargeant and Tsunoda) and waited 14 seconds at the pit exit in order to create a gap to the cars in front! All three are reasons for a grid penalty. But he was cleared as it emerged that Red Bull sister Formula 1 team AlphaTauri did not attend the stewards hearing. Every driver at every track so far this year received a grid penalty for one of these violations but not Max… this is all very smelly.
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Post by René on Sept 17, 2023 17:20:41 GMT
Yes, yes, yes! What an outstanding drive from Carlos Sainz!  The race started a bit too much as a tyre strategy game but it ended as the most exciting race of the year. Brilliant drive from Carlos and how he used the DRS for Lando as a defensive tool for himself was so clever and in control. I hate the DRS but Sainz made perfect use of it. It looked like the Mercs could challenge for the win but once George got close to Lando he wasn't decisive enough I think. Not easy of course but you really only have one chance. And then crashing in the last lap, wow. That must have been very tough for George but it was a big mistake. He's only human of course but that should not have happened. Great podium still. So happy for Carlos and Lando. Forza Ferrari! Smoooooth operator!   |
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Post by mikael on Sept 17, 2023 19:18:50 GMT
An amazing race finish - fantastic that something like that is still possible, after all.
It will be very interesting to see, in Japan, if this was a one-off for Red Bull - or if it was a turning point of the season.
Spain 1981
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Post by Carl on Sept 18, 2023 0:13:03 GMT
A game of tyres until racing began is better than no racing at all. When free to race near the end, the fight for the lead was more than thrilling and Carlos Sainz an amazingly smooth operator, simply fantastic!
I thought it was emblematic, around midrace, when George Russell conveyed a strong desire to win and asked how best to proceed. The basic decisions surrounding how to proceed were once exclusively the province of drivers, what racing should be. Team input has gone way beyond pitboard chalk messages.
The likelihood of an entire English podium drove David Croft overboard cheering for anyone native to the UK, as though his job description included a flexible brag induction system. Singapore was an English colony for more than a century and may have given rise to nostalgia for the days of old when knights were bold and the sun never set on the British Empire.
Does Formula One have the intestinal fortitude to brave the wrath of Helmut Marko if it determines Red Bull has benefited from blatant illegality and follow through with championship point adjustments? Nope...
A game of thrones is always winner takes all.
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Post by robmarsh on Sept 18, 2023 7:57:16 GMT
I enjoyed this race, quite old school and nice to see different faces on the podium. Very intelligent drive from Carlos, he really has had a turn around since the summer break. It will be interesting to see how Red Bull fare at the next race.
I agree with your assessment Carl re the drivers and having to get help from the pit wall in order to win. Too much interference for my liking. I wonder if the pit wall got their GPS slightly wrong and gave George a slightly wider line than they should have on the last lap?
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Post by chrisb on Sept 18, 2023 10:21:25 GMT
Forza Ferrari, pouvre Charles, sacrifice lamb? but at last the domination of the fizzy drinks has been broken, as Mikael says is it a temporary thing related to new directives or will their domination return next time? apparently the fizzy drinks lot are extremely secretive so we will never know the exact reason for their awful showing, was it the flexible bodywork, Horner says they haven't changed a thing, I wonder who to believe
Andrew Benson suggests not, it was a good tactical victory something that has been sadly lacking for the past few years and pleased that Lando got his podium finish, sad for George and possibly Lewis was prevented from victory
Boring was the usual DRS and tyre business, why can't F1 learn from Indycars and get the push to overtake thingy surely much more of a test and what is more worrying for me is the news that Pirelli have won the contract to furnish tyres for Moto2 and 3, so does this mean we will see mandatory pit stops for motorbikes coming shortly?
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Post by Carl on Sept 18, 2023 17:39:47 GMT
I felt sorry for George Russell. He desperately wanted to challenge for the lead but was impeded by team strategy and could easily have had a better race left to his own devices.
After he came very close to passing into second place, he understandably tried to widen his line on the next lap. Had he been in position a few laps earlier, he might even have caught up to Carlos Sainz, setting the stage for a ferocious duel between two great young drivers for the win.
The corporate mentality, which trends low on cognitive assessment, may be responsible for Pirelli's star turn in the spotlight on center stage. A vindictive Bette Davis would flatter to deceive and open the door for a Michelin takeover.
All teams have secrets, but a good prosecutor would notice that Adrian Newey seemed nervous and worried in his usual perch on the pitwall next to Christian Horner. He could have been anxious about the team's performance in Singapore, but nervous hands and tremulous feet could be indicators of dirty deeds.
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Post by René on Sept 18, 2023 18:21:55 GMT
Forza Ferrari, pouvre Charles, sacrifice lamb? It wasn't that bad I believe because they talked about this before the race. And the idea worked the part. But Charles was unlucky a few times, first when he lost a place when he had to brake hard to avoid a collision in turn 1 and of course with the double stack pit stop. It was well executed but he had to hold because of traffic in the pit lane that cost him an extra two places. The car development has also take a direction that suits Carlos a bit more at the moment. But Charles will be fine and soon the first Ferrari champ since Kimi! |
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