Formula 1 2023 Season

I guess we get to see whether Checo can pass the field tomorrow...

Tight quali.  Fun session to watch.  Half a dozen cars in contention for second place...

Max is stinkin' up the show.

Streetwiseguy said:

I guess we get to see whether Checo can pass the field tomorrow...

First step would be to complete a lap.  He really struggled all day yesterday.

It was a great session. Interesting that Checo says there is a technical problem with the car and Horner just talked about Checo struggling. I think this is all part of the psychological warfare that is applied to every one of Max's teammates. 

NY Nick said:

It was a great session. Interesting that Checo says there is a technical problem with the car and Horner just talked about Checo struggling. I think this is all part of the psychological warfare that is applied to every one of Max's teammates. 

The curious thing to me is that RB didn't seem to even work on Checo's car during FP3 when he had so many lock up problems.  Happened all over the track, and then the exact same thing happened in Q1.   

If they suddenly figure out what's wrong, maybe he has a chance.  But since they appear to have no clue, it seems that just finishing the race will be a struggle.

In reply to alfadriver :

You make the positive assumption that they don't know what's wrong. The other side of that is they want him to fail to create separation with Max and then they can say we'll max is leading the points so we need to craft our strategy around that. 
There is also a chance that Checo just forgot how to drive over the past 2 weeks and he is the problem (which is what I think Horner is trying to indicate with his comments). 

In reply to NY Nick :

I honestly find it hard to conceptualize that RB would intentionally sabotage Checo's race like that.   It's not as if it was his side of the garage that caused Max's axle breakage in the last race.  I really don't like Horner and had no faith in Max, but that would be the worst of the worst things to do to your team. 

Horner's implication is pretty normal to me, he'll rarely admit there's a real problem if you can put blame on a driver.  Even when both drivers were commenting on brake issues.  Just another reason to really dislike Red Bull.  Checo has had plenty of times where he could have forgotten how to drive, and hasn't.  So while it's a possibility, it's far less likely than there being a car problem as I see it.

I will say that I think Karun Chandhok's guess is right the RBRs are running an engine overrun for some powertrain or chassis stability reason that Max seems to like or can tolerate or handle but Perez can't adapt to it. 

Like when one team (I think it was RBR) a few years ago, had to manually close the DRS before starting to brake for one particular corner at one track or the car would have a weird oscillation that resulted in brake lockup. One driver may be able to better remember and time that compared to the other. Or maybe it was MB? 

The Mercs were a real surprise!

Kudos to the Hulk for getting into the top 10, same to Albon! Hulk is proving Gunter right, picking an experienced driver vs a rookie is paying off this season. Now if he can get Kmag up there with him....

I'd like to see George win his 2nd - it wouldn;t take much to really shake up the order - a little rain, an off by someone in the front, a mixup at the first turn, it could all be different.

I'll be curious to see how the 4 (!) DRS zones play out too, and of course to see if Checo can carve thru the field the way Max did.

alfadriver said:

Streetwiseguy said:

I guess we get to see whether Checo can pass the field tomorrow...

First step would be to complete a lap.  He really struggled all day yesterday.

I bet in race trim the car will come alive. He has earned a spot in F1 with his skill, it didn’t just go away, and besides he likes winning from last place starts......

Advan046 said:

alfadriver said:

Streetwiseguy said:

I guess we get to see whether Checo can pass the field tomorrow...

First step would be to complete a lap.  He really struggled all day yesterday.

I bet in race trim the car will come alive. He has earned a spot in F1 with his skill, it didn’t just go away, and besides he likes winning from last place starts......

Maybe.  But I think there's really something wrong with the braking system.  And post qualifying, they can't change much.

In reply to alfadriver :

Can't they fix / change a bunch of things and then take a pit road start? It's not a lot o worse than starting 20th. Especially if there is a lap 1 incident. 

In reply to alfadriver :

I agree that it is a braking issue. I assume rear braking forces are somewhat generated by the rear electric motors. Thus the powertrain settings directly affect the overall brake balance and force. 

So the brakes and powertrain are the same system. If there is some quirky behavior with keeping the engine in an overrun mode it can be considered both a brake by wire and powertrain issue.

Perez is awfully consistent in going past the corner straight like he only once seemed to have the rear step out entering a corner. 

Heck they may just find that Perez is trying new shoes and he can't feel that he is accidentally hitting the throttle pedal.

In reply to NY Nick :

Last is last, good point.

Still, they had plenty of time to figure it out in FP3 and up to Q1, and that happened on the second corner of his first lap.... 

Is it wrong to hope for Max's gearbox to fail ;)

 Also hoping for a good scrap between Alonso and Lewis

I suppose that the way the weekend has progressed, whichever team guessed right about the setup using the runs during the cold rainy sessions will have a good day. Albon or Stroll could get a first win just as much as Hulk or Sainz. 

26 laps in.  Many interesting things so far.  I thought for a half second the Mercs might hold Max back for a while, but that was foolish.

Not often you see fire out the back of a Merc these days.

This is such an odd track, really bringing all the lap times closer together.  Well, other than Max.

Another red flag?  Really?  Is the new policy to not allow a loader near the track without a red flag?  

Was it Gasley last year that was cooking on around to catch the field when he came on a loader?  Maybe a reaction to that.

Green white checkers always bring out the best on a race driver. 

Don't these guys watch nascar?

That was a bit if a pointless exercise.  Top three ended up right.

A couple of hundred thousand dollars from Alpine that was not necessary. 

After sleeping on it, I'm reminded of Ross Chastain after COTAs triple green white checkers rodeo of last weekend.

"Were you not entertained?"

Wtf did I just watch?

In reply to wae :

And the moment I hit "post", the other Hass breaks down on the track after the finish. 

Watch the replay of an F1 race, see the finish of a NASCAR race.

I know Sainz hit Alonso to start all of that off, but to get a penalty?  If that happened in the middle of the race, that would be one thing, but to happen off a grid start, I dunno.  I guess with that penalty, the lawsuit from Renault to Ferrari has some traction, lol.  They lost out so very badly there.

Nice to see Mercedes close the gap, but there's still a long way to go.

That ending brings up an old question for all racing- why must the finish be under green?   Had there not been an accident, the race ending would have been pretty set anyway, so why force some made up drama?