#rip Red Bull and Ferrari in constructors

[the-f1x]

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[rycbarmerlin]

I remember how happy I was when Lando scored his first points in 2019. I remember seeing Carlos not letting Lando talk himself down when he was met with disappointment. We all watched as Lando brought Carlos out of himself, let him be himself in a way no one had really seen before, and together they drove the team forward.

I remember waiting in suspense after the Brazilian grand prix to see if Lewis would get the penalty that would give Carlos the podium after steaming through the pack from P20. Lando being so down and disappointed by his own performance, his own pace, but putting a smile on for the team, and Carlos acknowledging how much that meant to him.

And then we're back in Australia for the start of the 2020 season, only for the team to have to pull out due to a positive Covid test. The pandemic. The months away. MTC shutting up shop, making ventilators instead of F1 cars. Carlos announcing he would be leaving for Ferrari at the end of the 2020 season. The feeling of wanting to make every race count that bit more.

Then BAM, P3, Austria, first race back. First podium. Zac hugging him so hard Lando hurt his ribs. Monza - chasing down Carlos in for a podium but missing out. Wondering what it would be like for Carlos and Lando to feel what Pierre was feeling. Securing P3 in the constructors on the final day of the season against Racing Point, giving Carlos the best possible send off to Ferrari.

All the podiums in 2021: Imola, Monaco, Hungary, Austria, Monza. The one/two with Daniel at Monza - such happiness for the team he'd spent two years fighting on track for, but the bittersweet taste of first being just out of reach.

Anyone who watched Sochi knows how much that hurt. It was the perfect weekend; maiden pole, Carlos in second, George starting third in the Williams, but then it just gets ripped out from under you as the cars just fly past.

That one stings for a while.

Races continue and people say when are you going to get your first win? Can you do it with McLaren? Can McLaren get you fighting for the lead?

2022, there's Imola, but the podiums don't come like they did in 2021. The team isn't going forwards, and the happiness we felt when the team picked up a P8, P7, P10, isn't the same as it was in 2019. Faith in the team remains unwavering, but maybe a little tested.

2023. Pre-season testing. A sinking feeling. First race, double dnf. Oh, this is going to be a long season.

Miami 2023 felt like it lasted the whole day. The media pressure was unrelenting. Why can't anyone believe that McLaren is the place and people that Lando wants to win things with, win things for. Sure, the season has been bleak, but that desire doesn't fade.

Austria is the most unexpected, but most euphoric feeling. McLaren can do this in half a season... bring these upgrades and utterly transform a car that was by far the slowest? Seriously compete?

Silverstone. Front row. The ROAR of the crowd as Lando sends it past Max Verstappen to take the lead. And sure, it doesn't last for too many laps, but it was a pure, shining, tantalising moment where you realise once more what it could be like for Lando to win. You're transported back to all the moments that got you here, and he's not even winning. But now, now it really feels like this time, maybe this time, McLaren have really got something they can fight with.

A podium at Silverstone. A podium at Hungary. Oscar proving his class, and suddenly all the chatter on McLaren has become hype and excitement.

Feeling SICK as Lando defends against George at Singapore, working with Carlos in an instinctive, symbiotic way. Clipping the wall, and then seeing George go off. Fireworks. The dream one/two realised.

Ending the season in a place that felt completely unobtainable in Bahrain.

And now this year. Seeing where we were come the first few races, disappointed not to be as close to Red Bull, but in a decent fight with Ferrari.

A truly special podium in Australia. Shanghai too.

And now Miami.

This has been the journey. Small highs and lows, crushing lows, and euphoric highs, setbacks and disappointments, massive gains and top class drives. Rumours, gossip, media pressure, team pressure. Moving up in the championship, then sliding back. Coping with the messy fallout from the 2018 car. Learning how to be kinder to yourself, wheel to wheel racing with childhood heroes. Missing out by a tenth here, team orders, teammate victories.

Now finally, a win with the team Lando's stuck by, and that have stuck by him. An unwavering loyalty to papaya, a second family. A win from pace. A win from strategy. P6 to P1. The respect of the whole grid.

This has been coming for such a long time, and the journey to it has been long and winding. There is SO much more to come still. And we're with you, like we have been this whole time 🧡

[maxcuntstappen]

hi! i was wondering, why are some cars faster than others? what makes red bull different from other teams when they're all subject to the same reg changes? is it just due to their resources or a lack thereof?

hello! i will try to answer this the best that i can with my limited tech knowledge and vocabulary <3

tldr; basically, yes, there is a difference between the teams' performance cause by the variation in the amounts of money, sponsors and overall resources. but as certain teams have showed time n time again (eh-em scuderia ferrari), it's not just about having money but what you do with it; largely when it comes to aero development and the wiggle room the regs give

first things first, while the regs are same for all teams, the way the regs are interpreted by the teams differ largely. everything from the floor to the wings to the nuts and bolts can be customised by the teams. Some choices work in their favour, others not so much.

something to remember is that, while building a f1 car, you're always choosing to sacrifice one thing or another. for example, during the merc domination era, their cars were rarely ever following another due to always qualifying in the top 2. that's how they designed their car then; to lead, not to follow. which means that when they did have to follow another their car, their aerodynamics struggled and the car got much harder to drive. but that's a risk they chose to take because they knew that their car had good qualifying pace.

the teams try to build a car that suits to all tracks; ones with mostly slow speed corners or fast speed corners or mid. long straights or not. all that jazz. the ideal car is one that can do well or at least relatively well in all of these tracks. but as last year showed, even the best developed cars (rip rb19 u will always be famous) will struggle on some tracks (singapore; marina bay circuit; heartbreaker). it is extremely hard to be able to build a car that's always in the top 2, and often, it requires other teams massively fucking up their interpretation of the regs and the parts and features they believe makes for a fast f1 car.

a BIG part of setting up and building a car is having drivers that can give you feedback on how the cars act and react on the track. the simulators are great and helpful but they cannot be compared to the feeling of being in the actual car, going 300 miles an hour and feeling it in your bones. time and time again, it's been seen that teams who have ignored their drivers' suggestions on what to change about the car (lewis @ merc since the last two years) have suffered a decline in the quality of their machines.

all of this comes down to the development of the car and the people involved in developing said car. of course the resources matter but the development philosophy (especially when it comes to what they do with their aero package) often plays the biggest part.

but to come to the resources part,

sponsorships, the finishing position in the wcc; the price money that comes along with it, and whether the team is backed by an engine manufacturer/major brand does give that monetary boost that leads to massive differences in lap time on track. for one, it influences the people you can hire; right from the drivers to the strategists and aerodynamicists. talent comes with a massive price tag in f1.

with teams with lesser sponsors (for eg, haas), there also comes the limitation of not being able to afford extra, spare engines or front/rear wings which can then limit and lead to a drop in the car's performance. while rbr can afford to switch out their PU if it's not giving them peek performance, williams or haas cannot do that simply because of not having enough money to be able to buy another engine from the manufacturer.

f1 is trying to decrease the difference between the teams' performance based on access to resources with adding a cost cap and giving more aero development time to the teams that finish lower in the constructors championship. but so far, it doesn't seem to have made too much of a difference to the finishing order. although, the gaps between the teams in terms of lap times has come down significantly.

i have to mention (thank u @epylonia for reminding me of this) that merc has definitely struggled since the cost cap was put in place. do with that what u will <3

also, i cannot write an essay without bringing up adrian newey. there have been talks of him retiring since 2016 but rbr has kept a deathgrip on him and paid a good amount (10 milli dollars/year) to do so. that man is a genius and rbr is fucking lucky to be able to have him/afford him.

[racingliners]

F1 Re-Watch 2022: Round 22 - Abu Dhabi

😭

Well friends, here we are 🥲

While it has been more enjoyable than I thought watching (almost) the entire season back, it’s also been very emo whenever the TV feed would cut to Seb and realise it was his last race at each circuit.

Obviously, I had to follow AD live in some way so I actually listened to the BBC Sport radio coverage for quali and the race, and then watched C4 highlights so I’ve heard the race in full and seen chunks of it (and I started full on ugly sobbing on the last lap at the time, bc you know, feelings)

Well, let’s whip out the tissues and see Seb’s last ever F1 race (😭😭😭😭😭)

How coherent will this liveblog be? Great question I have no idea

Also worth noting I’m watching the International feed, as I have done with the other 19 races, I’ll likely watch Seb’s onboard cam in my own time and blubber in peace

Also they really had Seb last on the F1 intro I’m not okay 😭

Less starting grid whiplash as I was vaguely aware of the grid order at the time

but SEB TOP 10!!!! 😭

argh, I’m getting emo already and we’re not even at the formation lap.

I genuinely thought I’d be fine watching this back, apparently not.

[Formation Lap]: Virtually everyone starting on the mediums apart from Kevin and Bottas on the hards and Gasly on the softs bc ?????

Also I find it so wild how close the battles for P2 in the drivers and constructors championships were like, especially when you consider how many more races Ferrari won compared to Merc

cut to Norbert and Antti in the AM garage 😭

[Start/Lap 1]: Lewis jumping Sainz at the start!! 🥳🥳

And Sainz pushes him off bc 🙃

[Lap 2]: Well that was a surprisingly eventful first lap, by Abu Dhabi standards anyway

I will not be talking about FIA bullshittery bc I want to be able to enjoy the rest of my day after this 🥲

[Lap 3]: Anyway Seb watch: He’s still in P9 💚

[Lap 4]: Bono sounding more done than normal at the FIA nonsense, a mood

[Lap 5]: And Lewis getting P4 back, noice

[Lap 6]: The Red Bulls being 2 and a bit seconds clear of everyone just about sums up 2022

Also like... having the final race of the season at Abu Dhabi is not the brightest idea bc the track is... eh.

I mean is it pretty and looks good on camera? Yes. Does it give us entertaining races? No.

[Lap 7]: Seb closing up to the back of Ocon, go get him!!!

(I am usually a pro-Estie Bestie household, but the needs of the Seb outweigh the needs of the many)

[Lap 8]: Sainz re-passing Lewis, I hate it here

but Seb and Esteban racing for 8th >>>>

midfield spice (beloved)

[Lap 9]: And Russell passes Lewis for 5th, I know Lewis eventually retires with a mechanical issue but I can’t remember what specifically

[Lap 10]: Lewis switching between engine modes and nothing works... pain

Meanwhile Seb is the filling in and Alpine sandwich 

yes I’m very biased, but I will never, ever tire of watching Seb race. It’s very beautiful to watch

And livery watch: Aston Martin under floodlights very very pretty

[Lap 12]: Another cut to ultimate Grid Dad Norbert in the AM Garage, and one of the AM mechanics sporting a very snazzy stache for Movember

god that shot of Seb trying to swoop round the outside of Esteban, fucking gorgeous

I mean he didn’t get the move done, but it was still beautiful 

[Lap 13]: I love how much the TV feed is sticking with the Seb vs Alpine battle, Seb and Fernando always know how to bring the drama no matter the season

and you know... it is by far the most entertaining action on track rn

[Lap 15]: and Esteban pits, mediums for hards

lol at Crofty saying Alpine had to tell Esteban and Fernando to behave themselves for their final race together, 

[Lap 16]: Lewis was on the radio saying his tyres were getting better????

This is the wonky timeline, rip ��Bono my tyres are gone” 2014-2022

SEB PASSES PEREZ!!!!!

Oh, that sparks so much joy, Aston Martin 1, RBR 0

[Lap 17]: Meanwhile the rest of the front runners are making their first stops, but Russell had an unsafe release 😬

[Lap 18]: Anyway back to Seb vs Fernando, I genuinely could watch an entire race of them just cashing each other down - the poetic cinema of it all

[Lap 19]: Anyway Lewis thinks he has a broken floor so 🙃🥲

[Lap 20]: “He’s [Seb] entitled to fight Sainz every metre of the way” You’re damn bloody right he is Brundle!!!!

That’s my boooooooy

You keep that Ferrari behind you

nvm Sainz made a DRS pass

It was great fun while it lasted though

[Lap 21]: Seb in 5th, stioll yet to stop, iirc he was kept out for ages and ages bc ????

I love Team Green, I really do, but they are not immune to dumb strategies

also Russell given a 5 sec pen for the unsafe release

[Lap 22]: Charles pits for hards and comes out in 3rd in front of Sainz

Seb. Bottas and Kevin the only drivers left to pit

[Lap 23]: Lewis passes Seb for 6th, one last on track Seb and Lewis interaction 😭

Meanwhile Yuki, Bottas and Fernando are having a little scrap over 11th-13th

[Lap 24]: Fernando in 2010 🤝 Fernando in 2022: stuck behind a slower car at Abu Dhabi

ah, Lando adds himself to the “I passed Seb bc he hasn’t pitted” party

It’s fine it’s just bc they all want to see him and give him a proper send off right... right???

[Lap 25]: Seb having one last whine over team radio, which Chris saying that everyone around them is two-stopping, which means Seb is on the one stop

[Lap 26]: HE PITS!!! 😭

and it was a bit slow 🥲

“Is that Sebastian Vettel’s last ever F1 pit stop” Brundle please SHUT UP

Anyway it’s fine we get a Seb overtaking masterclass of making up 8 places over the second half of the race.

[Lap 27]: “Charles Leclerc catching Sergio Perez” Yes, good, excellent.

[Lap 28]: Aaaaaand Alonso DNF. (Helmet watch: no I am still not over his Seb tribute helmet 😭)

And speaking of, Seb just passed Gasly for 16th, the comeback is on besties!!!

[Lap 29]: Livery watch: you know what... I don’t hate the matte Ferrari under the floodlights actually. I will let it off just this once (though pleeeeeease bring black glossy liveries asap I MISS THEM)

[Lap 30]: Perez asking for Verstappen to speed up so he can gain some distance on Charles... if I speak

Anyway, back to Seb, now in P15 after passing Bottas.

And Gasly passed Bottas as well after Bottas locked up.

the replay of Seb’s mechanics applauding his overtake I’m 😭💚

[Lap 32]: Tag yourself I’m Shaquille O’Neal looking very happy to be seeing some F1 cars go zoom

[Lap 33]: Charles is almost in DRS range of Perez 👀

“Lewis is closing in on Russell is anything” putting that broken floor in it’s place, as he should

[Lap 34]: Ah, Perez pits. inch resting.

Lewis purple sector one, feels good feels organic

also helmet watch: Lando’s ultra-black stripes with the metallic blue is sooooo pretty. I love mixed finishes on helmets. JMD never misses.

[Lap 35]: Seb watch: they didn’t play it, but he’s up to P14!!!

[Lap 36]: “Question can you keep this pace with Plan C?” Xavi I will fight you with my fists

I genuinely have mild trauma now whenever I see the Ferrari team radio graphic come up on screen. The downside of watching the 2022 season across 12 weeks 🙃

[Lap 37]: Seb up to P13 after Albon’s stop.

Also it’s proper night time now. Yas Marina is pretty I will give her that.

[Lap 38]: Oh Lewis has been catching up to Russell! He’s within DRS range

“Let me tell you about Sebastian Vettel” We are Ted and Ted is us 💚

[Lap 39]: Mick and Nicky having a little spin into the barriers 🙃🙃🙃

Yuki pits, Seb up into P12!!

Lewis even closer to George since he’s suddenly somehow a chunk faster

[Lap 40]: ah, Sainz and Russell pits. 

Mick and Nicky now under investigation for their little spin.

Yelling. Sainz and Russell pitting puts Lewis into third. !!!!

I shouldn’t laugh, but the synchronised spin with Mick and Nicky is ever so slightly funny. Very dance of the sugarplum fairies.

[Lap 41]: Lance pits, Seb is into P11!!!!

Ted doing everything he can to manifest Seb points on his last race I cannot 😭

How has Teed been post-Seb retirement? Is he okay? Do we need to book in another Seb nation group cry and invite him along?

anyway, racing

[Lap 43]: Seb half a second behind Zhou!!!

and again he tries round the outside, doesn’t make it stick but it looks beautiful!!

Meanwhile Lance has joined the party after making his second stop.

[Lap 44]: and Seb makes the pass!! HE’S INTO P10!!!! 🥳🥳🥳

Lewis P3, Seb P10. We can stop the race now. 

“I forgot which letter of the alphabet we’re trying this afternoon” I feel like it’s a bit of a paddock in-joke about Ferrari and their strategy woes at this rate 

[Lap 45]: Perez passes Lewis but then Lewis re-passes him. That was fun actually.

“Like some sort of sleeping praying mantis” ...okay Crofty. (that was about Lewis btw)

[Lap 46]: Perez passes Lewis and makes it stick this time. 

[Lap 47]: *10 Laps remaining klaxon*

“Just tell Checo to go full send” Maybe I’m biased but if I was his team mate I would not find that helpful in the slightest adfvnifvfdvgh

[Lap 48]: “Sebastian Vettel is gaining a bit on Daniel Ricciardo” oh yeah

[Lap 49]: Finally Crofty is getting on the livery watch bandwagon, F1 cars do look pretty under floodlights

argh Lance passes Seb for P10, but granted he was faster 🥲

and Seb having another little whine, god I miss his sarcy team radios.

[Lap 50]: “Yeah leave me alone please thank you” CHARLES I ADORE YOU

You tell em hun, you tell Ferrari to fuck off, I’m so proud.

[Lap 51]: And Lance passes Dan for P9

[Lap 52]: Seb also catching up to Dan

also I forgot how late on Lewis’ DNF was sheesh

also also he just got a black and white flag for track limits svhaegheuh

[Lap 54]: Mick and Bottas having a very spicy little fight for 16th.

[Lap 55]: Meanwhile Perez is about 4 second behind Charles

ughhhhhhhhh and there’s Lewis hydraulic failure 😭😭😭😭

Pain, so so much pain. But it does put Seb in the points. Lewis we honour your sacrifice. I’ll join you to smash the W13 to pieces very soon.

[Lap 57]: I find it so wild that despite all the W13′s failing, that was it’s first mechanical DNF for the entire season. WILD.

the gap between Charles and Perez down to just under 2 seconds.

[Lap 58]: Final lap. and I’m once again a little bit weepy.

I do not give one shit about Verstappen show me Seb 😭

I’m literally just watching Seb’s name on the leaderboard.

[Finish]: Verstappen wins, no one is surprised. Charles finishes P2 and clinch the runners up spots in the drivers and constructors titles.

ahhhhhh Seb chasing down Dan!!!!

and Seb finishes P10. I am weeping at quarter to 1 on a Wednesday morning 😭

Well the race was very meh. Mild midfield spice with the proper battles for almost all the positions from P2 downwards. And a lot of it was down to strategy as opposed to actual racing. So overall a very average 6 front wings out of 10.

And whew, the 2022 season as a whole. We really thought it was going to be a proper title fight after Australia and then Ferrari happened 🥲.

However, my beloved midfield spice saved the season, with Alpine v McLaren and Aston Martin vs Alfa Romeo especially. Like honestly just ignore the title fight and watch the midfield it’s so much more enjoyable (especially with the way 2023 looks to be going asduhsui).

Anyway, the whole reason why I started this was to watch Seb’s last season and there was some great races, some very not good races, but I will forever be so so proud to call him my favourite driver (yes he’s still my fave after retiring this is my blog I can do what I want).

The 2002 season was certainly something. While the title fight wasn’t as entertaining as it could have been, we still had some decent races (Monaco, Silverstone, Austria and Brazil were my faves). And I think we all have the Dutch and Austrian anthems burned into our memories to come degree 🥲. 

Auf wiedersehen, and danke fur alles Seb 💚

[podiumdan]

HERE ARE THE RESULTS FOR THE 2022 F1 PREDICTIONS. LIGHTS OUT & AWAY WE GO.

Under the cut because this is a lot of info 💕

Teams: Triumphs & Fails: Lets start with the positives; Merc, Ferrari, RB & Mclaren all win at least one race & all teams will score points. McLaren to achieve another 1-2. Some conjecture about the WCC - with the title fight between Mercedes, Ferrari, RB & Mclaren. Unfortunately for Alpine they’re predicted to have a underwhelming year. Some suggest last in the constructors, with record number of DNFs (all Alonso’s car) rip el plan. Alpha Tauri will be in the fight for ‘best of the rest’, & Williams will find form & out-perform Alpine, AR, & AM (P6 in the constructors anyone?). The fall of Red Bull is predicted - with a DNF Monaco to rub salt in the wound. Haas are predicted to be bought out mid-season- though someone did predict that if they were to get rid of eggman (done) they will get double digit points, resulting in a morale boost & the new driver (k-mag) will catapult them to unforeseen heights. Haas Reputation Era confirmed?

Podiums & Wins: Let’s start off strong with the prediction that Lewis will get at least his 108th win this season. George, Lando, Carlos will get their first wins. Seb will win in Singapore. Another Estebestie win. Lando to win at least 3 races, with 3 Brits appearing on the podium at least once. Speaking of podiums, this season will see a win for diversity with Lewis, Yuki & Guanyu appearing together on the podium. The return of the HAM VER BOT podium. A prediction for Daniel to go back to back at Monza thus breaking the monza returning winners curse - also more than one win is on the cards for Daniel this season. Some podium predictions for Yuki, Mick, Lance & Pierre. Lastly, Antonio will sub in for Carlos in one of the Italian races and make it onto the podium; which will be just as good as a win.

Driver Predictions: We already have one prediction that has come to fruition. No Mazepin. Should we call it a day? Lewis winning his 8th title in Brazil & Daniel becoming world champion were both submitted in capital letters. Oscar Piastri will race (the prediction of 2 drivers testing positive to covid was also predicted coincidentally). Predictions were pretty brutal for drivers this year - Charles will not finish his home race due to last lap damage. George doesn’t get a win - some think he might become washed and people will see Valtteri in a different light. Max has a flop season. Mick won’t have a contract for 2023 because Haas won’t be in F1 (ouch). Lewis will complain about the safety car going too slowly. Daniel to finish above Lando this season in points & qualifying sessions. George will be asked to give his place to Lewis and he’ll say no. Because that was all quite dramatic let’s finish with the prediction of Seb being unhinged & with Mick all the time.

Track Walk: F1 is a walking red flag, so let’s start there; the predictions are that there will be between 5-7 red flags this season, most of them in the Saudi Arabia GP - the vibe for this GP is chaotic with many predicting incidents & safety cars (prayer circle for a safe race pls). We have the prediction of multiple wet races. DNFs in Monaco (someone made the bold prediction of 10 dnfs in one race). One race will finish under a safety car and all hell will break loose. This brings us to our next part involving the FIA.

That Was Legal!?: Let’s start with safety cars. A race that doesn't need to finish under SC finishes under SC anyway just so the FIA can get good media about "learning from their mistakes". The new race directors are going to make questionable decisions, again. There will be at least three (3) bullshit penalties awarded. FIA will continue clowning and fuck up massively again sometime this season, causing ww3 on f1twt. FIA and RB Drama - FIA retract Verstappen’s 2021 win leading Christian Horner to have a public meltdown.

2022 Cars: Unsurprisingly people are a little unsure about the new cars this season - strong predictions that the new ground-effect cars will fail in the first couple races, causing problems for basically everybody & a revamp will be required. RB are going to try and pull some shithousery over the Merc side-pods. One car is illegal. Pirelli tyre dramas & the Netflix Curse will strike again.

Drama: Beginning with the team bosses; Christian will say stupid things in interviews. Toto destroys something again, & has to replace headphones 12 times. No Toto-Horner drama, Otmar vs Binotto instead. Onto the drivers - Ferrari fighting, Charles & Carlos drama after they’re consistently fighting for wins (bonus points for a monza altercation). McLaren will struggle with battles between the two drivers (Lando physically fights Daniel). Messy Merc v RB.

Last Dance: Driver changes as follows; Alonso re-retires, Seb’s final season, Pierre signs with a different team. Lewis winning his 8th championship and retiring.

BOLD: If you made it this far let me give you a big smooch right now! Here are the boldest predictions for the 2022 season. It turns out the reason Ferrari were so good is because it was illegal. Alonso gets covid just before the triple header so Oscar get 3 f1 races in and immediately is better than him. George tries hitting Lewis over the head like Valtteri (it doesn't go well.) Gasly burns down RB headquarters. Yuki steals Gasly's house meanwhile. A fan sneaks into an F1 car before a race. Ferrari podium every single race. Seb WDC. There is a wet race in Abu Dhabi and the final race is completed by only six drivers which are actually backmarkers -Mick Schumacher wins. Horsey Albon, Roscoe Hamilton, and Angie Schumacher all meet. Nico R finally gets Lewis for his podcast. RedBull is going to start a Youtube conspiracy video channel. Mick Schumacher F1 2022 Champion. Charles Leclerc wins the world championship in the last race by taking out the driver who he is level on points with.

Leaving you with these three final predictions we can all agree on: Whomst knoweth. Cars go fast. We will have to watch another season of this clown car racing 🤡.

[meaningofmotorsport]

No stopping Hamilton!

There were points during qualifying, where it looked as though Verstappen may have a chance at pole, in fact after the first run in Q3, he was only a tenth behind Lewis. However, the 7 time champion then stretched his legs and destroyed everyone else. What is incredible about the turn around in pace, is that it isn’t just done on the straights, the car is good everywhere. I truly believe that the disqualification may have been a positive for the team in Brazil, as it fired up the team to fight back. In the race, if Hamilton leads into Turn 1, he should have the win, and given how dirty the inside is, I doubt Max can beat him. Bottas would do well to challenge Max, it is more likely he just sits in behind, and grabs the fastest lap point.

Is it starting to fall apart for Red Bull? Probably to early to say, but Perez qualifying in 11th is a huge blow, especially for the constructors, and it leaves Verstappen exposed to attack from all sides. The Red Bull car just looked too stable all weekend, which probably meant they went to conservative. We saw the Mercedes sliding about more, as it was on edge, which would produce lap time when handled correctly. 2nd is by no means a disaster for the team, and who knows what can happen tomorrow, Mercedes is clearly pushing the engine hard, and a DNF would almost hand Max the title. There is the worry hanging over the team of Max not slowing for yellow flags in Q3, as there were no yellow lights on the steering wheel or boards, I think the FIA may let it go, although it wouldn’t be out of the question to penalise him, and Bottas and Sainz for that matter.

Gasly was yet again right on the money, nearly able to challenge Bottas and Verstappen, in fact his final lap could potentially have beaten one of them. It wasn’t to be though, as he took the kerb aggressively in the 2nd to last corner, which ripped the front wing off, and cut the tyre instantly, an unfortunate way to end a great day. Tsunoda can hold his head high too, as 8th is promising for him, only 2 tenths behind Pierre. Can they get ahead of Alpine tomorrow?

To be fair to Alpine, they have fought back well against the challenge, with both their cars also in Q3, right behind the AlphaTauri’s. This could be really interesting to see who has the better race pace, and how much risk each team and driver will take to get one over on the other. Fair play to Alonso too, who is showing age is just a number.

McLaren and Ferrari had worse days than we expected, as Leclerc and Ricciardo were knocked out in Q2, with Charles seemingly totally lost with his car. Then, Sainz and Norris had nothing for Alpine or AlphaTauri, and lining up together again tomorrow, it could get even more spicy in the midfield tomorrow! Aston Martin sat on that 10th place bubble, with Vettel just inside it, and Stroll barely out. They seem to be one of the few teams with little to fight for!

Russell did his usual work on a Saturday, although it only gave him 15th, as the car just lacked the pace for anything more. Alfa Romeo usually race better than they qualify, however given how it should be hard to pass it here, I can’t see them getting near the points. Schumacher is beginning to latch himself onto the back of the midfield pack, which in that car is worth shouting about! You can’t blame Mazepin for the poor qualifying, as he missed nearly all of practice, on a brand new track for everyone!

The run from the start to Turn 4 will likely be the most exciting part of the race, with so much at stake, and dirty air being so bad after that. Sadly, Pirelli have gone a step too hard here I feel, although you can’t blame them much for it really. Even if it is slightly dull, given how important this part of the season is for so many reasons, you should not miss a second of the action!

-M

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[formula365]

A thing of the past - Bahrain GP review

In 1973, the Formula 1 season closed with the US Grand Prix at Watkins Glen. The title had already been decided in favour of Jackie Stewart, who had secretly decided to retire at the end of the season, and leave the mantle of leading driver of Tyrrell to his teammate, François Cevert. Stewart would leave at the peak of his powers, with 100 GPs to his name, tired of seeing friends die on track. It had been a dark era for the sport, and there had been an impact on his and his wife’s mental health. It had taken too much of a toll for them to bear it any longer.

As fate would have it, they were in for another sad ending. On the Saturday practice session, Cevert lost control of his car in the Esses, hit the barrier on one side and was sent careening towards the barrier on the other side at an 90 degree angle. The second impact ripped the barrier from the ground; Cevert was killed instantly, from injuries caused by the barrier that was meant to save his life.

A lot has changed since those days, and Stewart was one of the men who most contributed to that. After retirement, he lead a campaign for improved safety in both tracks and cars. It took time for safety to arrive at today’s standards, but F1 can now boast an incredibly positive record. Despite some big shunts, only one driver lost his life in the past 25 years. People like Stewart, Charlie Whiting and Dr. Sid Watkins were instrumental in achieving this remarkable record, and the changes they campaigned for have saved many drivers. 

Romain Grosjean added his name to that list yesterday. As the replays of his accident hit our screens, and the carcass of his survival cell became visible in the wreckage, it was clear that the barrier had given in. His head would have gone straight into the upper section of the barrier, at a speed of over 200km/h; just like his countryman 47 years ago, the car headed to the barrier at close to an 90 degree angle. Had it not been for the halo, the last great measure championed by Whiting before his untimely death, Grosjean would surely not have survived.

But for all that was impressive in how the car, the marshals and the medical car protected and ultimately rescued the driver, there are questions to be asked, particularly about the barrier. Improvements in barrier technology were one of the most important steps towards driver safety; accidents like the one that killed Cevert showed the importance of improving the design and build of the barriers to ensure that they could sustain heavy impacts without breaking apart. Barriers that were supposed to save lives were taking them instead.

Which is why we have to question what happened to Grosjean’s car. The similarities between Grosjean’s and Cevert’s crashes are inescapable, and in both cases the barriers failed to do their job. Yes, the halo saved Grosjean’s life, but the main point should be the fact that the halo should not have been necessary at all. If the barrier had fulfilled its purpose of absorbing the impact and throwing the car back out, the halo would have played no part in this crash at all.

To make matters worse, the way the fail structures of the car are meant to work, once the survival cell was stuck in the guard-rail, the back of the car had nowhere to go and, as it’s meant to do, it split from the monocoque. The violence of the impact and the fact the chassis was wedged between sections of the barrier probably led to the break happening further back in the car structure than it should. (I am in no means an expert in this, so take this sentence with several grains of salt) This, in turn, led to a fuel line rupturing, which led to the fire. The barrier failure not only caused the accident to be more serious than it should have been, it also caused a fire that made the driver escape harder and more dangerous than it should have been.

Don’t get me wrong: I don’t want to diss on the FIA, when their relentless pursuit of safety has significantly contributed to saving many drivers’ lives. Grosjean’s survival was not a matter of luck, or a miracle, as many have said; it was the product of decades of work and science by those in charge of the sport. If news of tragedy are now rare in motorsports, we owe it to them. There is also no way to entirely remove the danger factor off these sports: every time a driver straps themselves to a cockpit, there is always a possibility that it will be their last time.

But certain elements of danger should be a thing of the past, and what happened to Grosjean is definitely one of them. There will certainly be a thorough investigation into the crash and the causes of this failure will come to light. If the past is any indication, the FIA will learn new lessons and will implement new measures to ensure that barriers will be improved and will continue to do their job. Most importantly, I am certain they will ensure that barriers will not endanger drivers’ lives rather than save them.

The comments made by Ross Brawn after the race were very encouraging. Instead of the usual platitudes about what a great job they have done to protect drivers, he talked about the things that did go wrong. It shows that the willingness to admit problems and study solutions has not gone away and that there will be a continued resolve towards protecting the stars of the show.

We should rejoice that Grosjean survived with only minor injuries what was quite possibly the scariest accident of the past 25 years. Witnessing a car burst into flames was something that we thought belonged to the distant past and brought home the stark reality of the risks these super humans take for our entertainment. But we should also not allow such an incredible escape to blind us to glaring problems that led to this big scare in the first place. There were other times in the past in which we were lulled into a sense of false security by miraculous escapes. Let’s not repeat that mistake.

Talking points

•  When the race eventually got underway, it significantly helped to clear the fight for third in the constructors’ championship. What little hopes Renault and Ferrari still had were ended, and Racing Point lost a bag full of points when the chequered flag was in the horizon. Perez had another masterful race, taking third place early on and controlling Albon from a distance. His engine giving up the ghost was a cruel moment for the team, with the despair etched on Otmar Szafnauer’s face and body language in the pit wall.

•  The major beneficiaries of Perez’ misfortune were McLaren, who leapfrogged Racing Point and are now 17 points clear in third. Even without that retirement, they would have still outscored the pink panthers, but this has made them overwhelming favourites in this particular battle. As mentioned in an earlier review, they continue to maximise their results even when they don’t have the fastest car. That ability to get the job done even when the odds are against them is an excellent sign for the team’s future.

•  And Sainz’s race was enormous. P5, coming from P15 on the grid? Bwoah.

•  Daniel Ricciardo, who will replace him at McLaren, left his teammate in the dust once again. The first time he was stuck behind Ocon he asked to be let by on the radio, as he was clearly faster; the team obliged and he quickly left his teammate behind. Later on, after a round of pit stops, he found himself behind Ocon again but this time passed without the assistance of the pit wall. The Frenchman is not a bad driver, but the Aussie’s superb form is making him look vulgar.

•  Albon inherited a spot on the podium, and, after his big crash on FP2, the champagne must have tasted sweet indeed, but it was not lost on anyone how he lost the battle to Perez, the one driver vying for his seat, while driving superior machinery. Nevertheless, it is a moment that can give him a boost of confidence for the final two races and allow him to relieve some of the pressure.

•  When asked after the race about the potential for drivers refusing to drive after witnessing such a terrible accident, Verstappen said that if he was a team boss he would fire them on the spot. The Dutchman’s alpha male attitude is beginning to grate a lot of people the wrong way, especially when his words have such a negative connotation in terms of mental health. It was heartening, though, to see a few of the drivers of the 2019 F2 grid were quick to denounce his words, having lived through something even worse than Grosjean’s crash. There is a different mentality in the new generation of drivers coming through, making Verstappen’s attitude look more and more out of place in today’s motorsports.

•  Pierre Gasly drove another masterclass, this time in terms of tyre management. He was struggling by the end and was saved by the late safety car, but would have nevertheless (quite probably) finished P8 on a one-stop strategy in one of the most tyre abrasive tracks on the calendar. It was risky, but with Perez’ failure at the end, it proved to be a good roll of the dice by AlphaTauri.

•  At the front, nothing new. Hamilton controlled the pace from start to finish, keeping Verstappen at bay and always responding when the Red Bull driver pushed that little bit harder. In the end, the Dutchman had nine of the ten fastest laps of the race, but it was still no match for Hamilton’s consistency over a grand prix distance. Try as he might, his car is no match for the W11 and that is robbing us of a mighty fight between arguably the two best drivers on the grid.

•  Dr. Ian Roberts deserves all the plaudits he is getting, and then some, for the way he ran towards the flames to help Grosjean escape the wreckage. With protective equipment that is far less safe than the drivers’, he still dared to run towards the fire. Enormous bravery.

•  A different type of bravery was shown by the Haas team members, who still had a car running in the race and carried on with their jobs. Even knowing that Grosjean was ok, it must have been difficult to continue their work after that enormous scare. But carry on they did; a special bow to them for that as well.

•  To cap off another miserable weekend in terms of safety, a marshal crossed the track with a fire extinguisher in his hands right in front of Lando Norris’ car. He was trying to reach Perez’ stricken Racing Point, and the safety car had been deployed, so the speed of the cars had been significantly reduced, but this is a risk that simply should not be taken. An eerily similar situation killed Tom Pryce in 1977. And once again, Michael Masi shrugged it off by saying that, while not ideal, we should not castrate (his words, not mine) anyone for trying to help put out a fire. Non-chalant, flippant, callous. I miss Charlie Whiting.

[thisdaynews]

Brazilian Grand Prix: Ferrari's 'silly' problem is a rather large one

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Brazilian Grand Prix: Ferrari's 'silly' problem is a rather large one

It took 20 races, but finally the inevitable happened at Ferrari at the Brazilian Grand Prix. Their drivers Charles Leclerc and Sebastian Vettel collided, taking both out of the race and leaving the team with a rather large problem on their hands.

“Silly” was the word team boss Mattia Binotto used to describe the incident. In his cool, detached way, he deflected a series of opportunities to lay the blame, and said he would reconvene with Vettel and Leclerc at the factory in Maranello this week to analyse what happened, come to some form of judgement and decide on next steps.

The question now for Binotto is what he does next and how he manages what has become the most combustible driver pairing in F1, not so much for the one remaining race this year, but to prevent the internal competition from derailing their 2020 campaign.

Verstappen wins in Brazil as Ferraris collide

How the Brazilian Grand Prix unfolded

Listen: “Come on guys!” Hamilton feels the heat in Brazil

What happened?

The collision occurred on lap 66 of a frenetic race, with five to go, as the two Ferrari drivers found themselves at the back of a queue of cars being held up by Lewis Hamilton’s Mercedes, running second to Red Bull’s Max Verstappen on much older tyres than those behind.

Ahead of them, and behind Hamilton, was Red Bull’s Alexander Albon, who was trying to pass the Mercedes while also holding back Vettel, who in turn had Leclerc behind him.

Leclerc saw an opportunity and dived for the inside of Vettel into Turn One. It was a daring move, aggressive certainly, but absolutely clean. But not one that Vettel was likely to take lying down.

The German had use of the DRS overtaking aid on the run towards Turn Four, and Leclerc moved to the inside to defend his position, leaving just enough room for Vettel – but not an inch more – on the outside.

Approaching the corner, Vettel then moved across on his team-mate, his left rear tyre touching Leclerc’s front right. Although light, the contact broke Leclerc’s suspension and ripped the tyre off the rim, and also gave Vettel a right-rear puncture.

Both cars retired from the race, prompting the final safety car that triggered a bonkers last two laps, in which Mercedes did what technical director James Allison described as “plain dumb” in pitting Hamilton for fresh tyres, the world champion collided with Albon, costing the Anglo-Thai a first podium, and Toro Rosso’s Pierre Gasly finished a wholly unexpected second.

What did the Ferrari drivers say?

Vettel did what he always does in controversial situations and kept his public pronouncements to a limit, repeating the same few sentences in every interview.

Whose fault was it?

“It doesn’t matter now,” Vettel said. “We both didn’t finish the race, which is bad for us as a team.”

What happened?

“There is not so much to say, I think it’s pretty clear. But obviously it’s bitter and a shame for the team to lose both cars. I didn’t have much space on the right. I had a better run out of the chicane and tried to pass and then we touched.”

Vettel is 19 points behind team-mate Leclerc in the drivers’ championship

Leclerc was a little more forthcoming.

“We will have to analyse better the crash,” he said. “I overtook in Turn One, then on the run to Turn Four I closed the door.

“I was aware he was on the outside. I left little space but enough for him and then I think he tried to squeeze me a little bit towards the inside and we were very close so we touched straight away. Very disappointing to end a race like this.”

The stewards – to the surprise of some, given that Vettel had clearly changed his line and instigated a collision – ruled it a racing incident and took no further action.

How did it happen?

How the two Ferrari drivers came to this juncture is a rather longer story than the events of this weekend.

To those on the outside, it was only a matter of time before something like this happened. The pressure inside Ferrari has been building all year as Leclerc has established himself as a star and threatened – and perhaps usurped already – Vettel’s seniority in the team. Vettel, meanwhile, is a proud man who, in the car, is as stubborn as they come when it comes to protecting his competitive position.

All year, Binotto has been doing his best to manage the inevitably tense situation.

Ferrari started the season with Binotto saying Vettel, as the senior driver, would have priority in any “50-50 decisions”, and the first few races passed with a series of team-order calls, the majority in Vettel’s favour.

Vettel’s refusal to move over for Leclerc in Russia eventually played into the hands of race winner Hamilton

Leclerc said he accepted the situation but also that he would do his best to change it. And as soon as the second race in Bahrain, he dominated Vettel and everyone else and was on the way to a superb victory when his engine developed a problem in the closing stages.

Tensions cooled after the first few races, as it became apparent that Ferrari did not have the pace to mount a title challenge, and Vettel established the upper hand as Leclerc’s chances were comprised by a few too many mistakes in qualifying, usually by him, but sometimes also by the team.

But at the French Grand Prix in June, Leclerc turned a corner and went on a run of nine races in which he out-qualified Vettel, while the German continued to make the sort of pressure errors that have blighted his last three years at Ferrari.

Leclerc won twice in Belgium and Italy as Ferrari made a flying start to the second part of the season. In Monza, there was a controversy when Leclerc failed to do his part of a prearranged team strategy for the drivers to give each other tows in qualifying, which angered Vettel.

Vettel then won in Singapore, but only after the team inadvertently got him ahead of Leclerc, who has been leading from pole position, by pitting Vettel first to try to pass Hamilton for second place.

Then in Russia Vettel directly refused team orders to let Leclerc by – which had been agreed pre-race following a decision to get Leclerc, again on pole, to let Vettel past with a slipstream into the first corner, so both Ferraris could be running one-two in front of Hamilton.

Since then, Vettel has been on a bit of a run, and has out-qualified Leclerc in the last two races, and the battle for primacy at Ferrari has taken another twist. And now this.

What next?

It’s not hard to work out what has happened here. Vettel will not have taken kindly to being passed by his team-mate. He has then made what many will see as a misjudgement in trying to reclaim the position and been too aggressive in moving over on Leclerc.

As Leclerc put it: “The result was a huge disaster but the incident itself was a very small touch. It’s unfortunate.”

Vettel has form at this sort of thing. Those with long-ish memories will recall the Turkish Grand Prix in 2010, when in trying to pass Red Bull team-mate Mark Webber, he moved over and the two touched, handing a one-two to McLaren drivers Lewis Hamilton and Jenson Button.

In 2010 Vettel had this to say about his collision with team-mate Webber: “I dived down the inside and I had the corner.”

And in the past two years, Vettel has become infamous for making a series of errors in racing situations. Many will see this as the latest example.

After Russia, the two Ferrari drivers were sat down by Binotto to discuss the situation. But the issue for Ferrari is that in the past Vettel has proven time and again that he is reluctant to be managed – unless the situation is in his favour.

What will Binotto do about this aspect of his former number one driver, he was asked?

“It is not a matter of managing,” Binotto said. “It is matter of recognising what has been the actions and mistakes. Whether you are a driver or engineer or whatever, recognising mistakes is important because it can only make you better.

“It is not for me to blame them, it is for them to recognise it.”

On the other hand, while Vettel undoubtedly triggered the incident, Leclerc – who was making his own point in the psychological and on-track battle between the two – may come to conclude that in pinching his team-mate so close to the grass, he was making himself vulnerable to exactly the kind of move Vettel made.

“We need to clarify within the team what is silly and what is not,” Binotto said, “where is the limit of the actions. But when you have a crash, something was wrong, no doubt. When you are free to fight, it is a driving matter how much you can take the risk but today the risk was not necessary.”

The potential consequences

In Brazil, the two Ferrari drivers were free to race because the team had secured second place in the constructors’ championship and all that was left was to decide which finished ahead in the drivers’.

Heading into Brazil, Leclerc was third in the championship, ahead of Red Bull’s Max Verstappen and Vettel. Verstappen’s superb win at Interlagos, coupled with the retirement of the Ferrari drivers, has promoted the Dutchman to third and given him an 11-point cushion on Leclerc, a margin that the Monegasque will not find it easy to overhaul at the final race of the season in Abu Dhabi on 1 December.

More important for Binotto, though, is how he handles the Vettel-Leclerc situation going into 2020.

Vettel and Leclerc are under contract with Ferrari until the end of the 2020 season

Leclerc is likely to finish this year ahead of Vettel on points, on race wins, on pole positions, and on their qualifying head-to-head, despite the advantages Vettel had at the beginning of the year, and despite the fact that he is in his first year with the team and only in his second in F1, against a four-time champion with 53 wins.

To all intents and purposes, Leclerc is now Ferrari’s lead driver, and Binotto cannot go into next year giving Vettel priority. But nor will Vettel accept it being given to Leclerc. He just doesn’t work that way. He believes his status in the sport demands more.

As for Binotto, he has a number of times this year described having two such closely matched and competitive drivers as “a luxury”. Does he still think that way?

“I am still convinced it is a luxury because they are both very good drivers,” he said. “They both represent a benchmark for each other and they have improved during the season.

“Seb in the second half has been very fast. What happened today, I would say it was even lucky it happened this season because there will be an opportunity to clarify with them for it not to happen next year.

“Currently they have a good relations and are going well together. Certainly what happened today may not help. But I don’t think there is a drama at all and I see it more as an opportunity in view of next year to clarify what is needed.”

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