Formula 1 2021

[Gareth Collier]

1 minute ago, Darius43 said:

Billy Monger was also commentating along with Alex Brundle for Sky on the F2 races in Bahrain, which were equally as entertaining as the F1 race.

 

I always watch all the F2/3 races and IMHO they are far from "equally as entertaining". Stacks more overtaking and as the cars are basically all the same talent and consistency is far more important than in F1 where the car you're in dictates so much. For entertainment F2/3 is streets ahead of F1. Yep, this weekends race was exciting but just a collection of isolated incidents/battles rather than non stop from start to finish throughout the field.

[New Haven Neil]

I thought Seb drove OK for the first part, and had hopes that he was at least past the silly unforced errors of the last couple of years, then he....#sigh#.  Then his excuse....#double sigh#  Swerving cars that don't - what a wally.

 

Great race, and hopes for a good season, Perez will get his day too I think, when he adapts to the car more, Norris showing class, Ricciardo fair with him, they show much promise.

 

Marzepan should not be in an F1 car.

[woodenhead]

1 hour ago, The Lurker said:

We enjoyed the first grand prix of the season, plenty of drama, and some of the same tropes as last year; Hamilton and Verstappen two talented drivers in the best two cars, the second string Merc and Red Bull drivers not quite being in the same class, the continued resurgence of Maclaren and Vettel demonstrating again that his mojo has gone.

I would agree when it comes to Bottas, he will be shown up this year I believe, but Perez actually drove a storming race and was able to support Verstappen at one point - an electrical problem nearly denied him a drive at all yesterday but he was able to restart his car calmly and get back to the pits for the start.

[RJS1977]

With regards to the commentary, I feel three in the box is too many with - as others have said - poor DC (who I enjoy listening to) hardly getting a word in edgeways. I'm not really sure Hattie Jacques brought anything to the commentary that DC and Billy didn't.

 

However he did give a nice nod to Murray in the closing stages - "as the greatest commentator of all times once said, 'Catching is one thing, passing is quite another'", which turned out to be absolutely the case.

[Zomboid]

Hopefully that pattern of a proper battle between Lewis and Max continues in such a manner that there's a realistic chance that either of them will win it until the end of the season.

[didcot]

2 hours ago, New Haven Neil said:

 

Marzepan should not be in an F1 car

Mazespin as he has been christened looks to be the new Crashtor Maldonardo in waiting!

[PaulRhB]

Quote from BBC website

”And yet it was Verstappen, whose team had triggered the whole thing, who ended up losing out most.”

 

Which might explain why Horner was relatively quiet on the issue of the place. They knew it would be hypocritical to fight it. 

[Pete the Elaner]

17 minutes ago, PaulRhB said:

Quote from BBC website

”And yet it was Verstappen, whose team had triggered the whole thing, who ended up losing out most.”

 

Which might explain why Horner was relatively quiet on the issue of the place. They knew it would be hypocritical to fight it. 

 

Only half a story from the BBC.

Red Bull did not trigger the whole thing, Mercedes did.

The Mercs were going wide at the exit of turn 4 almost from the start.

RB then told their drivers that the Mercs were getting an unfair advantage by going wide, so they should do the same.

The stewards then told both teams that they would start to warn then penalise for leaving the track at turn 4. This was around halfway through the race. When Hamilton was informed of this, he responded that he had been driving the same line for the whole race...which was true.

 

 

[Hobby]

What made it worse, though, was Max passed him there, until then no one had actually used the off track section to pass anyone. 

 

Mind you it's the track design that's at fault, put some gravel down and they wouldn't do it... 

[Pete the Elaner]

17 minutes ago, Hobby said:

What made it worse, though, was Max passed him there, until then no one had actually used the off track section to pass anyone. 

 

Mind you it's the track design that's at fault, put some gravel down and they wouldn't do it... 

 

I don't see your point: He was the first one to pass there & the first to be penalised for gaining an advantage by leaving the track.

 

Put gravel down & cars will get stuck, requiring a safety car.

Put a barrier there & cars will crash, requiring a safety car.

Put a slippery surface there & cars will spin & potentially crash, requiring a........

I don't think there is a perfect answer.

[Hobby]

Put any of those things you mention and they won't go there, that's the point. 

 

You missed the key word, lasting, Max gained a lasting advantage by passing Lewis off the track, that was the difference. Also they'd all been told not to do it earlier after RedBull had questioned it. 

 

https://the-race.com/formula-1/why-repeated-hamilton-offs-were-ok-but-verstappen-pass-wasnt/

Edited March 29, 2021 by Hobby

[RJS1977]

2 hours ago, Hobby said:

Put any of those things you mention and they won't go there, that's the point. 

 

 

Agreed - for all its faults, you never get track limits arguments at Monaco!

 

[Oldddudders]

1 hour ago, RJS1977 said:

 

Agreed - for all its faults, you never get track limits arguments at Monaco!

 

Or much passing in the modern era. 

[Hobby]

True, but the ones we are talking are bespoke modern circuits... 

 

Which should have the ability for cars to overtake whilst on the track designed in...

[njee20]

It does, but to take it to the extreme, if you turned right just after the pit exit and cut all of turn 1 off you'd make up loads of places. Completing the overtake by running wide in turn 4 isn't really any different; he couldn't make the move stick in the available track. Yes, ok, there was no physical penalty for failure, like a gravel trap, but it's a bit unfair to say it's a specific failing of the track that he couldn't complete the overtake on the track as designed.

It's always a shame when a decision like that so directly impacts the race, but I do think it was the right choice here, and crucially this time they made the choice very quickly. Max ceded the position after, what, 8 corners? Where it's been so frustrating historically is when the stewards investigate the event after the race, and impose a retroactive penalty minutes or even hours after the race. 

[Hobby]

7 minutes ago, njee20 said:

it's a bit unfair to say it's a specific failing of the track that he couldn't complete the overtake on the track as designed.

 

But it is the design of the track that allowed him to attempt, and make, that overtake, had they put gravel outside instead of tarmac I doubt he'd have bothered! Then you get back to Pete's point about lack of overtaking... Make the track itself wider at certain corners?

[njee20]

But the design of the track allows him to turn right after pit exit and just cut off turn 1 as well. In fact you could just drive across the infield and cut off virtually all of the lap.

 

I'd be up for gravel traps, I understand why they're not used, but massive tarmac runoffs always feel a bit of a pain. Maybe they could change turn 4, but I'm not sure having a track 50m wide is the answer.

[Hobby]

I don't know what the answer is, njee20, but it seems that all new tracks seen to suffer the same issue. I suppose it's the result of making them safer than having telegraph poles and trees down the sides... Gravel for a few yards and then tarmac so you can get back going but lost any advantage you gained? Or we just live with discussions about track limits after every race but Monaco...

Edited March 30, 2021 by Hobby

[Andrew P]

27 minutes ago, Hobby said:

I don't know what the answer is, njee20, but it seems that all new tracks seen to suffer the same issue. I suppose it's the result of making them safer than having telegraph poles and trees down the sides... Gravel for a few yards and then tarmac so you can get back going but lost any advantage you gained? Or we just live with discussions about track limits after every race but Monaco...

BOLLARDS, Plastic Bollards defining Track Limit, hit one and its a 5 sec penalty.

[newbryford]

2 minutes ago, Andrew P said:

BOLLARDS, Plastic Bollards defining Track Limit, hit one and its a 5 sec penalty.

 

But then how do you replace the bollard during a race to "catch" the next driver?

And nobody is going to like a loose bollard.

Edited March 30, 2021 by newbryford

[Andrew P]

6 minutes ago, newbryford said:

 

But then how do you replace the bollard during a race to "catch" the next driver?

And nobody is going to like a loose bollard.

True Mick, How about inflatable ones, they get hit and puncture and another gets blown up out of the ground.

Edited March 30, 2021 by Andrew P

[4630]

Perhaps F1 needs to look at using some sort of technology to aid the FIA Race Director and officials ‘police’ the line between track and off-track areas.  Something like Hawk-Eye perhaps?
 

Then look at what sort of sanction(s) to impose on errant drivers.
 

 

[Andrew P]

In all seriousness, why not just widen the red and white Rumble strips, they will knock hell out of the tyres so all drivers would avoid them like the plague.

They would also shake the hell out of the chassis, electrics, suspension, and drivers butts.

[PhilJ W]

Its all a load of bollards to me.

[Hobby]

8 minutes ago, Andrew P said:

In all seriousness, why not just widen the red and white Rumble strips, they will knock hell out of the tyres so all drivers would avoid them like the plague.

They would also shake the hell out of the chassis, electrics, suspension, and drivers butts.

 

That's a very good suggestion, lot cheaper than Hawkeye or similar as well. Make them wide enough so the driver has to slow to regain control but not enough to ruin the car... Max and Lewis showed that the current ones on that turn 4 aren't big enough to slow down the car, the fact that they just went across them and carried on at speed showed they weren't doing their job.

Edited March 30, 2021 by Hobby