Formula 1 2021 - General Discussion Thread (Read 1st post rules)

mickdw

El_Duderino 09 wrote: »

They have explicitly said they haven’t don’t much work for this year’s car and aren’t going to upgrade the car. It’s all about 2022 for them. They might be slower than the Williams this year.

They have had problems with the chassis and they don’t understand what they are. Half way through 2019 they reverted to the Melbourne spec to see if it was faster than the improvements they brought so they could isolate the problem. They never found the problem as far as I know, so they just sacked it off and focused on next year instead.

Grosjean is a very very quick driver but his spin before where he planted throttle and spun himself around in a cloud of tyre smoke into the middle of the track into the path of chasing pack was as close to suicidal as ive seen in a race car. Spain i think it was. Nuts

quokula

Frank Bullitt wrote: »

https://the-race.com/formula-1/mercedes-has-ers-deficit-to-honda-that-reverses-recent-trend/

Seems Honda has an ERA advantage over Merc at this point.

Would be interested in seeing some numbers / reasoning behind this rather than just a quote from Toto Wolff proclaiming it to be so.

In qualifying at the first race, Vettel was fastest through the speed trap in the Mercedes-powered Aston Martin, with a Ferrari powered Haas in second, while the two Red Bulls were 15th and 19th. The Alpha Tauris were a bit closer to the front so obviously aero drag plays a large part too, but I haven't seen any clear evidence that the honda is standing out.

In the battle for the lead it was similar to every other year, even with DRS and the traction of fresh tyres the Red Bull just didn't have the power to get alongside the Merc on the straights the way most other overtakes on that track played out, and instead they had to try and make it stick on the twisty bits.

Seems like the same strengths and weaknesses as always, with Mercedes having the superior straight line speed and Red Bull taking corners better.

Frank Bullitt

quokula wrote: »

Would be interested in seeing some numbers / reasoning behind this rather than just a quote from Toto Wolff proclaiming it to be so.

In qualifying at the first race, Vettel was fastest through the speed trap in the Mercedes-powered Aston Martin, with a Ferrari powered Haas in second, while the two Red Bulls were 15th and 19th. The Alpha Tauris were a bit closer to the front so obviously aero drag plays a large part too, but I haven't seen any clear evidence that the honda is standing out.

In the battle for the lead it was similar to every other year, even with DRS and the traction of fresh tyres the Red Bull just didn't have the power to get alongside the Merc on the straights the way most other overtakes on that track played out, and instead they had to try and make it stick on the twisty bits.

Seems like the same strengths and weaknesses as always, with Mercedes having the superior straight line speed and Red Bull taking corners better.

I think the advantage is more to do with how they harvest and deploy under acceleration out of the slower corners. Honda cars were all very nifty in the middle sector at Bahrain which is very stop start.

Having sad that, we will have to wait and see more of it to be confirmed.

El_Duderino 09

mickdw wrote: »

Grosjean is a very very quick driver but his spin before where he planted throttle and spun himself around in a cloud of tyre smoke into the middle of the track into the path of chasing pack was as close to suicidal as ive seen in a race car. Spain i think it was. Nuts

Yeah that was really bad judgement. He was quick but liable to making terrible decisions. If he could cut out the bad mistakes and only make a normal number of mistakes per season then the would have been a good driver. But in reality he was more of a liability.

SureYWouldntYa

While it's great to see a close race, the race was definitely a missed chance for Max

We've seen in other years like 17 and 18 where Merc only got better as the year went on, we don't know if Red Bull and Honda can develop as the year goes on after a strong start, they have been in the last couple when Merc already have the title wrapped up and take the foot off the gas but it's different when there's 2 chasing at the top

The issues for both Red Bulls at the start are a bit concerning although there wasn't much during the race, and Perez obviously done very well to get up to 5th from 20th

flazio

It's disappointing how big the chasm between the Top 1 or 2 and the rest still is. Like yesterday that botched pitstop for Bottas should have cost him the podium. Instead he was able to open out enough of a gap to Norris to be able to pit again for fastest lap softs.

quokula

flazio wrote: »

It's disappointing how big the chasm between the Top 1 or 2 and the rest still is. Like yesterday that botched pitstop for Bottas should have cost him the podium. Instead he was able to open out enough of a gap to Norris to be able to pit again for fastest lap softs.

On the other hand, Perez didn't have enough margin to be able to get into Q3 on medium tyres. As much as the media are playing up Red Bull's pace, it's clear they have nowhere near the margin for error that Mercedes' car gives them. Like Albon and Gasly before him, I think Perez may have a lot of battles with McLaren and Ferrari on his hands.

pjohnson

flazio wrote: »

It's disappointing how big the chasm between the Top 1 or 2 and the rest still is. Like yesterday that botched pitstop for Bottas should have cost him the podium. Instead he was able to open out enough of a gap to Norris to be able to pit again for fastest lap softs.

Well if Perez car hadn't died in the formation lap he woulda been hounding Bottas like Max was Lewis.

ELM327

jonerkinsella wrote: »

WTF... Ads on sly F1 during qually. It's now a new low. Sky have destroyed F1. It's just like the low that was F1 on channel 4 and even worse, ITV.
Fukc Ruppert Murdoch.

Not "during" quali, in the breaks between Q1/Q2/Q3. They used to have filler in that time.


I dont care about ads when no active racing is happening.


The ads during FP annoy me more.

Anjobe

ELM327 wrote: »

Not "during" quali, in the breaks between Q1/Q2/Q3. They used to have filler in that time.


I dont care about ads when no active racing is happening.


The ads during FP annoy me more.

If its a choice between Sky hiking their subscription or a couple of ads in the breaks between quali sessions eating into the time available to Anthony Davidson or Paul di Resta on the Sky Pad, I think most people would choose the ads. Mind you, I don't ever want to see that Vettel/Aston Martin ad again, nauseating pretentious twaddle.

flazio

pjohnson wrote: »

Well if Perez car hadn't died in the formation lap he woulda been hounding Bottas like Max was Lewis.

Yeah, but he's in a Red Bull, my point is McLaren Mercedes , Ferrari et al are still in business executive class while Mercedes-Benz and Red Bull are up in first class, metaphorically speaking .

Inquitus

flazio wrote: »

Yeah, but he's in a Red Bull, my point is McLaren Mercedes , Ferrari et al are still in business executive class while Mercedes-Benz and Red Bull are up in first class, metaphorically speaking .

Aye, but business class on Emirates is often nicer than First Class on BA!

flazio

Inquitus wrote: »

Aye, but business class on Emirates is often nicer than First Class on BA!

Well Haas are stowing away on the landing gear at the moment.

Anyway, my point is that whether it's down to the car or the driver, Norris was unable to capitalise on both Bottas and Perez misfortunes to grab 3rd. It's almost as bad as Mexico 17 when Bottas pits from 3rd Hulkenberg in 4th passes the pitlane and Bottas emerges still in 3rd because all Hulk did was unlap himself. Within 3 laps he was blue flagged again.

recyclebin

Yes, it's disappointing to see the gap back to the third best team is still quite big. Midfield battle is quite close between a lot of teams again this year. Norris had a vertly good race as best of the rest. He kept ahead of Ricciardo all race which was surprising.

Perez had a good recovery drive to take 5th. If that was Albon, I don't think he would have made up the same amount of places.

pjohnson

flazio wrote: »

Well Haas are stowing away on the landing gear at the moment.

Mick is.

Nikita is still on the runway just running about in a circle.

muckwarrior

Any opinions on the new Channel 4 commentary team?

My first impression of the new guy was that he sounds a bit like a radio DJ, not as natural as Ben was. That said, he didn't annoy me so I'll hold off final judgement for a while.

My bigger worry is that they seem to be grooming Billy Monger to replace Coulthard. Can't say I like listening to him at all.

AMKC

muckwarrior wrote: »

Any opinions on the new Channel 4 commentary team?

My first impression of the new guy was that he sounds a bit like a radio DJ, not as natural as Ben was. That said, he didn't annoy me so I'll hold off final judgement for a while.

My bigger worry is that they seem to be grooming Billy Monger to replace Coulthard. Can't say I like listening to him at all.

I thought it was very bland. Will admit I found them hard to listen to at first but if they can liven up the races abit like what a commentator is supposed to do then I will not mind. It's not like I have any other choice. I do not mind Billy Monger

Glico Man

Not F1 commentary, but I happened upon the F2 sprint race and Alex Brundle sounds like his dad on helium :pac:

He'll probably slot in when Martin decides to hang up the headphones and mic.

Pen Rua

Glico Man wrote: »

Not F1 commentary, but I happened upon the F2 sprint race and Alex Brundle sounds like his dad on helium :pac:

He'll probably slot in when Martin decides to hang up the headphones and mic.

My wife immediately picked up he was a Brundle, and she's a casual F1 fan. Their voices are so similar, it's spooky.

Monger was mentioned in this thread. He was co-commentating on the F2 world feed too (with Alex Jacques - who I gather is the new C4 F1 commentator). He's not bad in any sense. I think he just needs time to get into the flow. There were a couple of instances where Alex was about to say something, Billy started a sentence and there was a very awkward pause.

donspeekinglesh

Pen Rua wrote: »

My wife immediately picked up he was a Brundle, and she's a casual F1 fan. Their voices are so similar, it's spooky.

He's done a lot of commentary work with Radio Le Mans on the Endurance side, especially when he had to take a year off racing due to illness. He's very good.

Pen Rua wrote: »

Monger was mentioned in this thread. He was co-commentating on the F2 world feed too (with Alex Jacques - who I gather is the new C4 F1 commentator). He's not bad in any sense. I think he just needs time to get into the flow. There were a couple of instances where Alex was about to say something, Billy started a sentence and there was a very awkward pause.

This is why Murray and James used to have only one mic between them.

geotrig

muckwarrior wrote: »

Any opinions on the new Channel 4 commentary team?

My first impression of the new guy was that he sounds a bit like a radio DJ, not as natural as Ben was. That said, he didn't annoy me so I'll hold off final judgement for a while.

My bigger worry is that they seem to be grooming Billy Monger to replace Coulthard. Can't say I like listening to him at all.

It was very "Americanised" which im unsure if i like at the moment it might grow on me and he did sound a bit radio dj like. Good enough commentator and the info was flowing quiet well Im not sure i picked up who it is ? ,I thought the 3 were good overall but early days yet.

LollipopJimmy

Eddie Jordans birthday today, there's a man I'd like to go for a pint with. I'd say he has some tales to tell

Jordan 199

LollipopJimmy wrote: »

Eddie Jordans birthday today, there's a man I'd like to go for a pint with. I'd say he has some tales to tell

You should read his autobiography.

El_Duderino 09

LollipopJimmy wrote: »

Eddie Jordans birthday today, there's a man I'd like to go for a pint with. I'd say he has some tales to tell

Yeah but you wouldn't believe a word he says in the entire night. I'm not accusing him of doing anything and I admire the success he had in motorsport, but he gives me the "no" feeling. I wouldn't want to spend 5 minutes alone with him and I doubt he knows the difference between truth and lies.

barryribs

El_Duderino 09 wrote: »

Yeah but you wouldn't believe a word he says in the entire night. I'm not accusing him of doing anything and I admire the success he had in motorsport, but he gives me the "no" feeling. I wouldn't want to spend 5 minutes alone with him and I doubt he knows the difference between truth and lies.

This is partly the reason I find him fascinating to be honest. He's like the a fella that turned up at a casino and bet on black for the whole night and lasted until about 5am when he lost it all. Took so many risks to get to the pinnacle of formula one and it was ultimately what caused his downfall. He had a great interview on the sports show on newstalk a couple of months back.

mickdw

barryribs wrote: »

This is partly the reason I find him fascinating to be honest. He's like the a fella that turned up at a casino and bet on black for the whole night and lasted until about 5am when he lost it all. Took so many risks to get to the pinnacle of formula one and it was ultimately what caused his downfall. He had a great interview on the sports show on newstalk a couple of months back.

Downfall? Sure the team had to go but
Do you know how much he is worth?

vectra

mickdw wrote: »

Downfall? Sure the team had to go but
Do you know how much he is worth?

Quite the opposite of downfall, thats for sure.
I think he did very well for a bank teller.:D

barryribs

mickdw wrote: »

Downfall? Sure the team had to go but
Do you know how much he is worth?

I don't, whats the ball park number on it?

flazio

Daniel has his podium bet.
https://twitter.com/ZBrownCEO/status/1377214280366489601?s=19

Video up on his Instagram @ZBrownCEO

mickdw

barryribs wrote: »

I don't, whats the ball park number on it?

Id take it with a pinch of salt but the internet puts him at 475 million dollars.