F1 2022 thread - see post 1 for rules

Hijpo

https://www.boards.ie/discussion/comment/118348134#Comment_118348134

Isn't Albon signed with Williams now?

Wonder what way the three teams would need to play that out

El_Duderino 09

https://www.boards.ie/discussion/comment/118348203#Comment_118348203

Oh yeah you're right. He's with William next year.. So RB would need to buy him back too while helping Mercedes to compete against them next year. It would never happen.

Hijpo

Small child misses out on dream due Merc and Hamilton petulance.

Young karter Zack Zhu sent a heartfelt message to his racing hero Lewis Hamilton after he didn't get to hand him his trophy at the FIA prize giving ceremony.

Zack wears a Lewis inspired helmet and wanted to show him his first star ⭐️💜 https://t.co/4qAGfguibU

El_Duderino 09

https://www.boards.ie/discussion/comment/118350585#Comment_118350585

Puke. Lewis Dreamsmasher Hamilton at it again. I'm fine with legitimate Hamilton bashing but this kind of stuff is silly.

If he now flies half way across the world to spend time with this young fella, I doubt you'll be giving him any credit. No more than posters give him any credit when he does something pro environment or pro gay rights, the same posters find fault in that too.

The naked anti-Hamilton sentiment this year would make you warm towards him. He's a grand lad, just a bit of a nob. Not worthy of scraping the bottom of the barrel for an incident where he disappointed a puppy or a small child. Have you heard the one where he made the baby Jesus cry?

Hijpo

https://www.boards.ie/discussion/comment/118350806#Comment_118350806

Im simply the messenger, i never called him any names.

I will say though, as disappointed as Merc and Hamilton are there's no excuse for making a child feel like that, it's magnified significantly especially when they want to present their own achievements to someone they admire. I don't see that as being bottom of the barrel, it's a child's dream not the hurt feelings of a sensitive adult

The sweet baby jesus as well?? In that case, what a monster!

El_Duderino 09

https://www.boards.ie/discussion/comment/118350865#Comment_118350865

And a puppy. The puppy made a really sad face too, big eyes and everything. Not sure what Lewis did to the puppy but he probably did something. Amiright?

https://images.app.goo.gl/GVbFj8HAi3swNZ8cA

Do you report stories where Hamilton does nice things for people or makes young drivers happy? Do you fcuk. Don't pretend to give a shiny shyte about the gosson. He's just a stick to beat Lewis.

Hijpo

https://www.boards.ie/discussion/comment/118350873#Comment_118350873

Maybe he did, no reports on it so I can't comment.

If he did nice things grand, I haven't seen any reports of them and if I did it's because people have posted about them here already. I didn't look for the story about the kid getting a huge knock back, it was in a feed. His nice guy actions are not a topic of conversation right now, it's Mercs and Hamiltons ridiculous carry on that is.

This is the most irrate iv ever seen you, f***'s and all so ill leave it at that so as not to anger you any further, Mondays can be hard enough sometimes.

quokula

Interesting comments coming in about the 18" tyres.

Pirelli seem far more confident of the structural integrity now that they've got smaller side walls so hopefully this will be the end of the sudden blowouts that have plagued the sport for several years now.

Apparently temperature comes in more consistently, and combined with lower temperature tyre blankets they expect the tyres will need to be worked hard to bring them up to speed. Hopefully this will mark the end of the shambles we currently see in many qualifying sessions with the cars tiptoeing around.

Most interestingly, there is an imbalance of grip with the rear tyres being grippier than the fronts, leading to more understeer. The teams expect to be able to dial this out with increased front downforce in their new cars, but I wonder if this might be an opportunity for the kind of aggressive driving style Alonso was famous for back in his Renault days, on Michelin tyres that had similar understeery characteristics.

Aside from that it doesn't sound like too many surprises, similar durability and steps between compounds as the current tyres so broadly similar strategies to be expected. This is all based on mule car data of course, the 2022 chassis and aero could still throw up some surprises.

El_Duderino 09

The Race podcast suggesting that Mercedes will lobby pretty hard to gave Masi removed from his position for next year.

I wonder if he'll be around next year. If they fire him then it'll be clear that either he was wrong or the gave in to Mercedes demand. They might try to move him to another position without an obvious demotion. Could just keep him in position.

MadYaker

https://www.boards.ie/discussion/comment/118353857#Comment_118353857

I think he has to go. If he doesn’t Mercedes will look for some sort of compensation in terms of favourable regs or something similar.

afatbollix

Been saying for months Masi should be removed. He landed the job by some bad luck of being in the right place at the right time. The Australian V8 series is nothing on the European championships.

I heard a rumor that the race director of the endurance championship quit this year and was to take over F1.

Maybe this has thrown a spanner in the works as you say it would look bad.

But you know what some times hard decisions have to be made and the FIA have thrown people under the bus before.

Dont be at yourself

The FIA need to re-instate the authority they had in the Mosley says. They would not have tolerated the level of criticism and lobbying from teams.

Mosley once gave McLaren a $100m fine, in his words $5m for the offence, and $95m for Ron Dennis being a twat. That sort of thing would quickly put Toto and Horner in line.

quokula

https://www.boards.ie/discussion/comment/118353857#Comment_118353857

Whatever you think of Masi, it's absolutely disgraceful that Mercedes have so much power and influence that they can make these kinds of demands. Imagine a football team demanding to choose the referee for all their games, they'd be laughed out of it but for Mercedes in F1 this kind of thing is just normal.

Mercedes already pushed for and got the hybrid formula that nearly killed the sport and gave themselves an era of dominance, and they've had so many things done for them over the years since, most recently having the pitstop rules changed mid season just because Red Bull were faster than them. Hopefully under new leadership the FIA will start to take control again and not let Mercedes act like they own the sport. As others have said, this sort of thing would never have happened under Mosley's watch.

El_Duderino 09

https://www.boards.ie/discussion/comment/118355307#Comment_118355307

I'd say they're ready looking for all kinds of favourable regs. They might use Masi's dismissal as a bargaining chip and drop it in exchange for favourable regs.

Hard to know. I'm sure they would be praising Masi if the same actions resulted in the opposite result. And Horner would be calling for Masi's dismissal.

I wonder will they keep the radio transmissions public? Or will they just stop teams speaking to the race director.

The Race podcast also suggested using a kind of secretary for the race director. So the teams could speak to the secretary who passes on messages while the race director does their job.

El_Duderino 09

https://www.boards.ie/discussion/comment/118355370#Comment_118355370

Boorrriiing. Red Bull would be demanding his dismissal if the same decisions resulted in the opposite outcome. And you'd whole heartedly agree that the decisions were terrible.

quokula

https://www.boards.ie/discussion/comment/118355390#Comment_118355390

A huge number of decisions went against Red Bull this year and not once did they make demands like this. You're trying to deflect from the actual actions of one team by creating a completely imaginary non-factual scenario where another team would do the same.

afatbollix

Except for the ultra fan no one knew who Charlie Whiting was. I was a big fan and just thought he turned the lights off at the start and that was it. A normal person on the street shouldn't know the names of race directors.

Masi name is in the mainstream media for the past month. This is about the drivers & manufacturers not the race director. When you become the main story something is wrong! I'll be honest if I was him I would resign, Take the lifelong supply of red bull and open a corner shop. (I joke)

Maybe the new FIA president will take it by the scruff of the neck and sort it out.

El_Duderino 09

https://www.boards.ie/discussion/comment/118355500#Comment_118355500

There was only one end to the season and it suited Red Bull and now Mercedes are complaining. Likewise it suited your bias. If the exact same circumstances suited Hamilton, then you and Red Bull would be saying the exact same things Mercedes is saying right now. No doubt in the world about it.

I feel confident saying absolutely nobody here thinks you would be saying the same things if the exact same decisions meant the result went against max.

El_Duderino 09

https://www.boards.ie/discussion/comment/118355572#Comment_118355572

Given the influence the race director has, isn't the director a major part of the race? They have to make huge decisions. Any set of decisions would have influenced the outcome of that race and championship (finish under safety car, allow all cars to unlap, allow no cars to use lap, allow only the the cars between max and Lewis to unlap, follow the rules and bring in the safety car the lap after the cars unlap or override the rules and bring in the safety car on the same lap).

And of those decisions would almost dictate the outcome. So would you be happier if those decisions were made by a nameless, faceless FIA appointee?

I Don't know which way is better. From a storytelling point of view, knowing the protagonist's names is better. Isn't gaining new fans about being to tell the story? Drive to survive certainly suggests it is.

recyclebin

Drive to Survive is going down the wrong road as far as I'm concerned. The last season they just made storylines up. Sports headlines should be about winners and losers, not controversial decisions.

F1 isn't a made up sport like WWE but seems to be acting like it is lately.

El_Duderino 09

https://www.boards.ie/discussion/comment/118356018#Comment_118356018

I don't really think it matters. I watched the f1 season and I'll enjoy watching the drive to survive series based on the season I watched. I wonder if they'll kill off Max in Silverstone and he return form dead in the Christmas special, catches Lewis and Horner in bed together and then wins the championship.

The soap opera around sports is often like this. F1 would be foolish to not get involved.

quokula

https://www.boards.ie/discussion/comment/118356018#Comment_118356018

Drive to Survive had nothing to do with this manufactured controversy, it's mainly been Sky F1 (who deliver the feed to the entire English speaking world) and the Mercedes PR machine in action. I wouldn't be surprised if Netflix have far more level headed coverage. I wouldn't even be surprised if they barely cover it and focus on how Sainz capped an incredible season to claim P3 in the championship in that race, as they have generally been excellent when it comes to covering the entire grid and giving exposure to small teams rather than treating F1 as the Lewis Hamilton show like Sky do.

Speaking of smaller teams, Nicholas Latifi has had to put out a statement in response to all the toxic Hamilton fans who've been giving him abuse and death threats. This is the sort of behaviour that the media have been encouraging with their reckless and partisan coverage.

This is it

https://www.boards.ie/discussion/comment/118357314#Comment_118357314

I refuse to believe you don't see the irony in your posting.

AMKC

I see that Mick Schumacher will be Ferrari's reserve driver next year for 11 races. I wonder what 11 races they will be and who covers the other 12 or 13 races of the season?

skipper_G

https://www.boards.ie/discussion/comment/118363131#Comment_118363131

Giovinazzi covers the rest, the weekends with Mick as reserve clash with formula e races so Giovinazzi not available for them.

AMKC

https://www.boards.ie/discussion/comment/118363317#Comment_118363317

Awe very good. Thanks for that. 23 races we will be having next year all going well.

Frank Bullitt

This is a literal blank slate for the teams to work from, so it is really anyones guess as to who will be good or not.

You would imagine the cream will rise to the top again, but I think we will see Ferrari, McLaren and Alpine make its way back into contention, they all reverted resources to 2022 very early.

RB have generally done ok with aero rule changes in recent years, 2009/2010 they were on the money once they got their diffuser working. 2014 was more of an engine change which was WAY bigger than some had thought, and now most of the engines are within a certain bracket of each other it seems.

I do hope the racing is close, and if the tires aren't as diva-esque then even better.

Wanderer78

https://www.boards.ie/discussion/comment/118367086#Comment_118367086

it ll certainly be an interesting one, but i suspect it ll be the usual, i.e. 'the money will rise to the top'!

Frank Bullitt

https://www.boards.ie/discussion/comment/118367119#Comment_118367119

Possibly, the only caveat for that is that Merc have lost quite a few personal to RB and AM over this year, both in aero and engine department. McLaren are also on the up, which I hope continues.

Wanderer78

https://www.boards.ie/discussion/comment/118367160#Comment_118367160

hopefully the changes brings more competition, its extremely boring if only a couple of teams are truly capable of winning, new cars look great though, sport badly needs big changes, hopefully this is a start

MadYaker

https://www.boards.ie/discussion/comment/118363317#Comment_118363317

Mattia Binotto is banging on about finding him another seat in F1 after next year. Why does he rate the guy so highly?

El_Duderino 09

https://www.boards.ie/discussion/comment/118367719#Comment_118367719

If he's the best the Ferrari young driver programme has then it might be a point of pride for them. They don't want to admit they don't have much talent coming through.

El_Duderino 09

RaceFans: New Spa photos show gravel replacing asphalt run-offs · RaceFans.

https://www.racefans.net/2021/12/23/new-spa-photos-show-gravel-replacing-asphalt-run-offs/

They're making some changes to Spa gra demands and putting in gravel traps instead of asphalt.

El_Duderino 09

@2011

I think Hamilton has retired as he is afraid that he now has a team mate that will comprehension beat him. Despite the fact that the statics from last year (number of laps lead, wins, pole positions) suggest that Max was a superior driver some still believe that Hamilton was the Breyer driver over the season. If Hamilton competes next season that illusion may be shattered.

I don't think there's any real expectation that Russell will beat Hamilton. It will be like when Leclerc partnered Vettel in 2018. If he finishes the season within 10 or 15% of Hamilton's points total then it will be a win for Russell. If he actually genuinely competes with Hamilton week in week out, then its a massive victory for Russell.

I don't think either of those scenarios are likely. I think he'll have a strong start to the season and a difficult middle while he actually gets to really understand the car and a strong finish to the season. I think he'll finish ahead of Hamilton a few times on merit - Bottas did that a couple of times a season too, but I see Hamilton finishing ahead in the points total.

Dont be at yourself

Russell seems a particularly strong qualifier ('Mr. Saturday'), so if he out-qualifies Hamilton regularly, it could cause some issues.

Bottas admittedly did so too, but it was never an issue until this year, when Bottas was clearly relegated to support driver. Will Russell be willing to give up track position or accept a weaker pit strategy?

ongarite

I think Russell will get close to Hamilton on Saturday qualifying but won't be able to keep up on Sunday, very like Bottas IMO.

Hamilton's key skill on race day is outright speed matched with tyre management. Unless Pirelli have totally changed this for 18" tyres, then it will still be vital next year.

Saying that it's hard to judge Russell's tyre management skills when he has been driving the poor Williams car for last 3 years.

Frank Bullitt

https://www.boards.ie/discussion/comment/118374016#Comment_118374016

The tires are massively different from the earth reports. The compounds are similar but their behaviour in terms of warm up etc is not the same at all.

Itll be new for all drivers though.

Wanderer78

i hope Hamilton keeps going, it would be brilliant to see how he deals with a team mate that will probably give him a run for his money

Faugheen

https://www.boards.ie/discussion/comment/118374160#Comment_118374160

He has dealt with team-mates who give him a run for his money for the majority of his career, and he has beaten them all.

El_Duderino 09

https://www.boards.ie/discussion/comment/118374063#Comment_118374063

Young drivers can be far more adaptable. The time Leclerc and vettel were in the 2018 ferrari, they both struggled at the beginning and about 4 races in, Leclerc realised he needed to change his style. He did so and beat Vettel that season against all the odds. Vettel on the other hand, with all his experience, couldn't adapt to the car and struggled all season and the following season was a disaster.

Hamilton hadn't shown many signs of slowing down or losing his nerve, but his ability to adapt to a big change like the aero regulations and new tyres might out him to the test.

Can't wait to see how he does.

Hijpo

https://www.boards.ie/discussion/comment/118374328#Comment_118374328

07 - Level on points with Alonso - Finished 2nd in championship

08 - Beat Kovalainen by 45 pts - Finished 1st in championship

09 - Beat Kovalainen by 27 pts - Finished 5th in championship

10 - Beat Button by 26 pts - Finished 4th in championship

11 - Beaten by Button by 43 pts - Finshed 5th in championship

12 - Beat Button by 2 pts - Fnished 4th in championship

13 - Beat Rosberg by 18 pts - Finished 4th in championship

14 (Hybrid Era) - Beat rosberg by 67 pts - Finished 1st in championship (146pts to next highest placed constructor in 3rd)

15 - Beat Rosberg by 59 pts - Finished 1st in championship (103 pts to next highest place constructor in 3rd)

16 - Beaten by Rosberg by 5 pts - Finished 2nd in championship (Conspiracy year - 129 pts to next highest placed constructor in 3rd)

17 (Introduction of Bottas) - Beat Bottas in 3rd by 58 pts - Finished 1st in championship (46pts to next highest placed constructor in 2nd)

18 - Beat Bottas in 5th by 161 pts - Finished 1st in championship (88pts to next highest placed constructor in 2nd)

19 - Beat Bottas in 2nd by 87 pts - Finished 1st in championship (135pts to next highest placed constructor in 3rd)

20 - Beat Bottas in 2nd by 124 pts - Finished 1st in championship (133pts to next highest places constructor in 3rd)

21 - Beat Bottas in 3rd by 161 pts - Finished 2nd in championship

MadYaker

I’m looking at going Barcelona next year. Is it worth the premium to get into a grandstand or are the general admission tickets good enough? Any other general tips or advice from someone who’s been recently? Never gone to an F1 race before but I’ve been to Barcelona 6 or 7 times at least.

flazio

Way back in 1999 my dad brought me to the Spanish Grand Prix on General admission. We watched the Grand Prix from a bit of grass to the right of the pit straight Grand stand and it really was one of the best points on the track. Clear view of cars coming out of the final corner (faster then because that chicane didn't exist), the big screen was angled that we could see it fine, back of the grid revving up for the start, clear view of the finish line and although the wall was too high for us to see into the pitlane, there was some slanted glass above the first two or three pit boxes that you could see a mirror reflection overhead of the boxes as the stops happened. The race itself wasn't a classic but I honestly had a better time there then I did in Spa 2004.

El_Duderino 09

https://www.boards.ie/discussion/comment/118375177#Comment_118375177

Spain (or maybe catalonia) has some strange laws around selling booze at events. So I think they don't sell booze, but you can buy a ticket which includes booze. A friend goes to pre season testing in Barcelona and they get the premium ticket which includes an open bar.

I don't know the details. Maybe someone knows exactly how it works.

Faugheen

https://www.boards.ie/discussion/comment/118375057#Comment_118375057

Don't know what you're trying to say here to be honest but I get the feeling you're trying to tell me I'm wrong?

Hijpo

https://www.boards.ie/discussion/comment/118375526#Comment_118375526

Beating team mates that have put it up to him for the majority of his career is a big statement. Personally I don't agree with it, I think at a push Rosberg and Button were the only two that may have pushed him a bit but not anyway consistently.

The point of my post was just for information purposes anyway.

Faugheen

https://www.boards.ie/discussion/comment/118375576#Comment_118375576

He also beat the two-time defending champion Alonso in 2007 in his rookie year (Hamilton won the tie break).

He's been in F1 for 15 seasons and in 8 of those (the majority of his career) he had a team-mate that 'put it up to him'.

He beat Alonso 1-0, Button 2-1 and Rosberg 3-1.

You can disagree with it if you want, but it is what it is.

mickdw

Button scored more points than Hamilton over their seasons together. People expected Button to get absolutely trampled on by Hamilton but it was far from the case.

Hijpo

https://www.boards.ie/discussion/comment/118375587#Comment_118375587

Yeah, that's why I only put the information out there, you can take whatever you want out of it depending on the point you want to make.

ctrl-alt-delete

I'm not the biggest fan of Hamilton - I admired him early on in his career.

We can't have it both ways though. We can't say he has had a massive car advantage and at the same time say he has never really had a decent teammate to challenge him, and when he did he was beaten.

Obviously, the new regulations and car design could mix things up, but I fully expect Hamilton to outperform Russell without relying on team orders.