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Post by René on Sept 13, 2024 9:14:42 GMT
 It's definitely going to be interesting again this weekend. The circuit is unique and always produces spectacular races.  And with the end of Red Bull dominance (phew) it's hard to predict who will come out on top. Sure, McLaren clearly has the fastest car at the moment, but the team isn't really used to winning yet and is making unnecessary mistakes. And Ferrari and Mercedes are great one weekend and nowhere the next. But that does make it unpredictable and exciting again.   It's going to be fun again so bring it on! |
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Post by robmarsh on Sept 13, 2024 11:27:35 GMT
It will be interesting though after FP1 Verstappen was fastest and Leclerc in the wall. Mclaren fourth and sixth.
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Post by René on Sept 13, 2024 14:49:02 GMT
It will be interesting though after FP1 Verstappen was fastest and Leclerc in the wall. Mclaren fourth and sixth. Leclerc fastest in FP2! He's so like Gilles, put it in the wall in session 1 and fastest in FP2.  Ollie Bearman p10! FP2 times 1 Charles Leclerc Ferrari 1:43.484 2 Sergio Perez Red Bull Racing +0.006 3 Lewis Hamilton Mercedes +0.066 4 Carlos Sainz Ferrari +0.466 5 Oscar Piastri McLaren +0.499 6 Max Verstappe nRed Bull Racing +0.545 7 Lance Stroll Aston Martin +0.609 8 Nico Hulkenberg Haas F1 Team +0.991 9 George Russell Mercedes +1.052 10 Oliver Bearman Haas F1 Team +1.063 |
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Post by robmarsh on Sept 13, 2024 16:42:57 GMT
Max seemingly beaten by his team mate though Checo did say that changes to fix the car's handling would benefit his style more than Max. Norris didn't get a proper run on softs so a bit far back. Ferrari looking the best overall so far.
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Post by chrisb on Sept 14, 2024 10:53:32 GMT
Well it seems Ferrari have found that certain something that has elevated them to success What with George quickest in the 3rd practice and Charles second, the McLarens 3rd and 4th. the qualifying does bode well.
I have never been happy with team orders and the historic thoughts of controversy resurface again, this one is about Carlos and Alan in South America, and Carlos's refusal to cede to Alan. An old argument with both perspectives understandable to a certain degree and one wonders will we see Oscar giving away a certain win one day. My thoughts are throughout the history of F1 if you were truly better than your team-mate you didn't need team orders other than don't take each other out to win.
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Post by René on Sept 14, 2024 16:10:24 GMT
Wooohaa, pole position for Charles Leclerc! He’s an absolute master around this track so now it’s time to convert that pole to a win. Ferrari looks really strong around the streets of Baku.  Lando Norris had a very bad session and ended up in 17th. The teamorder discussion is irrelevant now for this race with Oscar on p2. But with Max only on p6, Lando should have been in front of him. Checo faster than Max and the two ‘rookies’ Colapinto and Bearman out qualifying their respected teammates! Colapinto looks like the real deal. As for Red Bull, I don’t know what to think of them. Ever since Newey left and they had to remove this asymmetrical brake thing from their cars, they are lost. And suddenly Checo is no longer being destroyed by the ‘greatest of all time’…. The grid for Sunday’s race: 1 Charles Leclerc Ferrari 1:41.365 2 Oscar Piastri McLaren +0.321 3 Carlos Sainz Ferrari +0.440 4 Sergio Perez Red Bull Racing +0.448 5 George Russell Mercedes +0.509 6 Max Verstappen Red Bull Racing +0.658 7 Lewis Hamilton Mercedes +0.924 8 Fernando Alonso Aston Martin +1.004 9 Franco Colapinto Williams +1.165 10 Alexander Albon Williams +1.494 11 Oliver Bearman Haas F1 Team +0.926 12 Yuki Tsunoda RB +0.993 13 Pierre Gasly Alpine +1.137 14 Nico Hulkenberg Haas F1 Team +1.149 15 Lance Stroll Aston Martin +1.362 16 Daniel Ricciardo RB +0.772 17 Lando Norris McLaren +0.834 18 Valtteri Bottas Kick Sauber +0.843 19 Zhou Guanyu Kick Sauber +1.471 20 Esteban Ocon Alpine +1.729 |
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Post by robmarsh on Sept 14, 2024 17:16:13 GMT
Lando was the victim of a yellow flag that probably should have only been a white as it was due to a slow moving car and not a car off the track. He has his work cut out for him now unless Max fails to finish. Either way a blow to his championship chances so the whole Mclaren team orders thing may become moot after all.
I have never had a problem with team orders, especially if the one driver is slower than the other or has no chance of winning a championship, or it is written into a contract. In fact with the current difficulty of overtaking, they make sense to me, especially if the one car is going to be quicker than the other car over the whole race.
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Post by René on Sept 14, 2024 17:33:21 GMT
Lando was the victim of a yellow flag that probably should have only been a white as it was due to a slow moving car and not a car off the track. He has his work cut out for him now unless Max fails to finish. Either way a blow to his championship chances so the whole Mclaren team orders thing may become moot after all. I have never had a problem with team orders, especially if the one driver is slower than the other or has no chance of winning a championship, or it is written into a contract. In fact with the current difficulty of overtaking, they make sense to me, especially if the one car is going to be quicker than the other car over the whole race. Yes indeed Rob. Lando was very unlucky there with the brief yellow. When was Max’s last DNF?  |
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Post by Carl on Sept 14, 2024 18:09:50 GMT
Well it seems Ferrari have found that certain something that has elevated them to success What with George quickest in the 3rd practice and Charles second, the McLarens 3rd and 4th. the qualifying does bode well. I have never been happy with team orders and the historic thoughts of controversy resurface again, this one is about Carlos and Alan in South America, and Carlos's refusal to cede to Alan. An old argument with both perspectives understandable to a certain degree and one wonders will we see Oscar giving away a certain win one day. My thoughts are throughout the history of F1 if you were truly better than your team-mate you didn't need team orders other than don't take each other out to win. Well said! |
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Post by Carl on Sept 14, 2024 18:32:25 GMT
Team orders are an effective counter to self-centered second drivers reluctant to put the team first when they are slower than the number one. The problem with that reasonable arrangement is team principals interfering for their own benefit when a second driver is as fast or faster than number one.
I've never seen this, but sometimes a middle finger salute past the pits can be appropriate, but only if another team has offered a contract for next season.
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Post by René on Sept 14, 2024 19:52:58 GMT
If Charles Leclerc wins tomorrow and Norris fails to finish in the points, Charles will be second in the championship. And suppose that Max has a DNF, it could actually be Charles and not Lando challenging Max for the title…  |
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Post by mikael on Sept 14, 2024 20:24:05 GMT
Nice to see the appearance of young talented drivers, like Colapinto and Antonelli, from countries with great racing traditions, like Argentina and Italy :-)
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Post by René on Sept 15, 2024 9:00:08 GMT
Nice to see the appearance of young talented drivers, like Colapinto and Antonelli, from countries with great racing traditions, like Argentina and Italy :-) Definitely. Colapinto, Antonelli and Bearman all have the talent to do well. Italy has been longing for a top driver for ages and another Argentinian driver is cool. South America has been underrepresented for a while now so it’s good to have a driver from that continent. And I think Théo Pourchaire would deserve a seat and most certainly Liam Lawson. It’s time for certain drivers to make way. |
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Post by mikael on Sept 15, 2024 13:40:55 GMT
Just a couple of observations:
- It was a pleasure to watch pos. 1-2-3-4 run very close for a large part of the race; almost like "a train" - and even on such a super-fast circuit. This gave the impression that the "new" aerodynamics may work quite well, after all.
- Nothing new in terms of the present race, but it's quite extraordinary that the top-7 drivers (in the standings) all have at least one victory. This certainly wasn't expected early in the season ...
- Verstappen has seven victories to his name this season; and now, including Azerbaijan, seven victory-less races. What a season it has turned into!
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Post by René on Sept 15, 2024 16:04:10 GMT
That was a very exciting race! Slipstreaming like the good old days! And a very impressive drive from Oscar Piastri. I’m afraid Rob, you’ll have to get used to more Oscar from now on…   Charles could, or better should have won the race. But as he said himself, he was too conservative in the defense when Oscar made his move. But a daring and great move it was, just like the one in Monza. The Ozzie is very good and as I said after the Hungarian GP, I am reminded of Coulthard and Håkkinen at McLaren years ago. Lando will surely win more races but Oscar is the future champ. The crash between Sainz and Pérez was a racing incident as far as I see it, but kinda difficult to judge. It did look that Checo had enough space on the left. But unfortunate for both. It saved Leclerc’s p2 though. Strong recovery drive from Norris and Verstappen was never really in the game. But the points he scored early season may just be enough to clinch the title again, just. Franco Colapinto was very impressive again. F1 suits him. Ollie Bearman also drove a strong race. Great to see these new kids on the block doing so well. All in all an excellent race. This is what we want to see, isn’t it. Yes, I was disappointed that Charles didn’t win but we saw a race. A real race. |
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