[Other Sport] F1 2023

[Icy Gull]

Not convinced Hamilton is going to sign a further contract with Mercedes. I’d love to see him at Aston, sadly Fernando won’t want him and Stroll isn’t going to bin his son for anybody.

Sounds like one pissed off driver

Lewis Hamilton says Mercedes 'didn't listen' to his concerns about 2023 car

Lewis Hamilton says Mercedes' car for the 2023 season is "not where it needs to be" but the team can still "get it right" to be competitive.

www.bbc.co.uk

 

[JJ McClure]

For Merc to get it so wrong one season was bad, the fact that they have persisted with the concept this season is making them look pretty foolish. I'm not surprised that Hamilton is hacked off.

 

[Audax]

I have a funny feeling we might see a Merc "B" car later this year that looks an awful lot like the current Aston.

Also of note: Aston are talking very bullish. They're saying they are still very early in the development curve for the new car, there's more to learn on unlocking the potential via setups as well as more to come in terms of development parts as the season progresses. I'm going to stick my neck out and say we'll see Alonso in the battle for at least 1 win on pure merit before the end of the season, possibly more.

 

[Icy Gull]

For Merc to get it so wrong one season was bad, the fact that they have persisted with the concept this season is making them look pretty foolish. I'm not surprised that Hamilton is hacked off.

Especially if he flagged up what they needed to do and they ignored him, sounds like that may be what he’s insinuating

 

[Icy Gull]

I have a funny feeling we might see a Merc "B" car later this year that looks an awful lot like the current Aston.

Also of note: Aston are talking very bullish. They're saying they are still very early in the development curve for the new car, there's more to learn on unlocking the potential via setups as well as more to come in terms of development parts as the season progresses. I'm going to stick my neck out and say we'll see Alonso in the battle for at least 1 win on pure merit before the end of the season, possibly more.

They have a driver as good as Lewis at tweaking cars with the feedback his experience brings. I wonder if Seb has some regrets that he quit last season.

 

[Audax]

They have a driver as good as Lewis at tweaking cars with the feedback his experience brings. I wonder if Seb has some regrets that he quit last season.

Don't think so. Reading between the lines, I think Aston approached him about possibly standing in for Stroll for the Bahrain race (it turns out the initial assessment from the doctors was that Stroll wouldn't return until the Melbourne race) and he turned it down (hence Drugovich getting the nod). I think Vettel had reached a point where he was very comfortable saying "I'm done now".

 

[Icy Gull]

I am guessing that this has to be BS but following Hamilton’s criticism of car development, if there is a grain of truth in it, I don’t see Hamilton extending his Merc contract. Talk about rubbing salt into the wounds…by his own team

https://www.gpblog.com/en/news/186781/mercedes-possibly-betting-on-alonso-instead-of-hamilton.html

 

[lasvegan]

Formula 1 Las Vegas Grand Prix Track Layout | F1 Vegas Track Facts

View the Formula 1 Las Vegas Grand Prix Circuit that races down the Las Vegas Strip and weaves past world famous landmarks, hotels and casinos.

www.f1lasvegasgp.com

Anyone going? Can anyone afford to go? Hotel rooms in 4 figures per night…

 

[Audax]

with Horner constantly moaning about the impact of the wind tunnel / cfd penalty on their in-season development

And Marko gets the ball rolling nice and early:

Red Bull: F1 advantage will "melt away" as wind tunnel penalty bites

www.motorsport.com

Also some interesting news on the race for this weekend - they've moved the detection point for the start/finish DRS zone to after the final hairpin corner (instead of before), to avoid the "DRS chicken" that caused some dangerous fun and games in previous races at Jeddah.

Also sounds like all is not well at Ferrari. There's rumours and counter-rumours emerging and sounds like there's some unrest within the team. First, it was press reports of rumours that Leclerc had requested an emergency meeting with Ferrari head honcho Elkann about getting reassurances that Ferrari would be able to offer him a shot at the title - inference being that Leclerc might already be getting cold feet about Ferrari. Vasseur has rejected that rumour, stating that meetings between the drivers and Elkann had always been planned in. Then emerges talk in the press that Ferrari might have a malicious leaker within the team who is deliberately attempting to undermine Vasseur's leadership.

On McLaren: they are now talking up the prospects of recovering from their poor start to the year. They are now claiming that the underlying handling of the car is good, but it just doesn't have enough downforce. This is a product of their original designs for 2023 being heavily affected by the rule change that raised the floor edge height, forcing them to change development direction late. They're talking quite bullish and confidently that they expect their revised concept to be ready for Baku and to deliver significant performance improvements. They also expect their new wind tunnel to become available later this season and be able to contribute towards the 2024 car development - although its full impact won't be seen until the 2025 car.

 

[Audax]

Oh dear...

Ferrari confirm Charles Leclerc will be hit with grid penalty for Saudi Arabian Grand Prix | Formula 1®

Charles Leclerc will have his work cut out in this weekend’s Saudi Arabian Grand Prix after his Ferrari team were forced to fit another control electronics power unit component, which in turn triggers a grid penalty.

www.formula1.com

Each driver is allowed to use 2x control ECU components during the season. Leclerc's car broke both in Bahrain, so they have to take a 3rd for Jeddah. Minimum 10 place grid penalty *already* - we could be seeing the end of Leclerc's title chances already.

 

[Audax]

Verstappen starts 15th after a drive shaft failure in Q2. Perez pole, Alonso starts from P2.

 

[Audax]

(I'll avoid specific names and too much detail in case anyone yet to watch)

Well. Enjoyed the racing, right up to when XXXXX's car expired and necessitated a safety car (did it, really? Think they could have handled it under VSC given XXXXX got the car behind the barrier and it just needed to be pulled back a bit deeper behind).

Stewards covering themselves in ick yet again with a very late penalty call that was then successfully overturned.

In terms of there being a title fight this season, I think we're now very much in the hands of the non-Red Bull teams developing their cars faster than Red Bull can - and how far out front the Red Bull boys can get before they start to be genuinely challenged. Mercedes claim they have a strong development package being worked on (sounds like a change of concept, so expect those zero pods to disappear in a few races time). McLaren claim their Baku package is also showing strong results in development. The key for me, though, is whether or not Aston Martin can pile on some performance and get Alonso into the fight.

Horner and Marko are already talking about the potential of the other teams to catch them up given their development restrictions. I'm less confident than I was that this will happen at the moment, though. Having Newey means they are probably the best placed team to ride out that penalty - the man is an aero genius with pen and paper, I suspect he'll be heavily involved in choosing which developments go into the wind tunnel.

 

[Kinky Gerbil]

Formula 1 Las Vegas Grand Prix Track Layout | F1 Vegas Track Facts

View the Formula 1 Las Vegas Grand Prix Circuit that races down the Las Vegas Strip and weaves past world famous landmarks, hotels and casinos.

www.f1lasvegasgp.com

Anyone going? Can anyone afford to go? Hotel rooms in 4 figures per night…

I am interested to see what they do with the strip in the evening, is it all going to be closed off?

 

[Shropshire Seagull]

Denied a momentous radio convo in the race, as Max, in 2nd, was unable to get close to Checo.
If he had, here's how the radio call might have gone:

Christian Horner: "Er, Checo, Max says he's quicker and wants you to let him pass"

Checo: "Tell Max to go fcuk himself!"

Relating to Max's refusal last year to return the place to Checo as agreed ....
Max being a selfish one-man-team player

 

[Audax]

Denied a momentous radio convo in the race, as Max, in 2nd, was unable to get close to Checo.
If he had, here's how the radio call might have gone:

Christian Horner: "Er, Checo, Max says he's quicker and wants you to let him pass"

Checo: "Tell Max to go fcuk himself!"

Relating to Max's refusal last year to return the place to Checo as agreed ....
Max being a selfish one-man-team player

It's already bubbling away again. Checo is upset that Max went for, and took, the fastest lap.

There is a possibility that Red Bull might have a reliability issue lurking at the back of their car. Max had the driveshaft failure in Qually, then during the race both drivers complained about possible issues at the back of the car. Max was clearly worried he might have another driveshaft failure, and Checo radioed back about unusual vibrations at the back of the car. Red Bull responded by asking both drivers to target much slower lap times to finish out the race (basically back off and match Alonso's pace instead of continuing to gap him by 8 tenths per lap).

 

[Audax]

McLaren have taken steps following their poor start to the season: technical director James Key has been removed, and his role is being broken up into 3 separate roles. 2 of those are being filled from within, with the third to (eventually) be taken up by a recent Ferrari departure. More info here:

McLaren's major tech team exit - and its timing - explained - The Race

McLaren’s technical development did not match its Formula 1 ambitions. That is the blunt reason for James Key being axed in its restructure

the-race.com

 

[Icy Gull]

Great Australian quali, three multi winning world champions in the first four and a pretender between them. Are Mercedes back for this race?

 

[Icy Gull]

What a start!

Russell and Hamilton first and second on lap one and now there’s a safety car because Le Clerc has been spun off by Stroll

 

[Guinness Boy]

Got up early for this with a cracking hangover. Worth it so far and can now get an extra coffee

 

[Icy Gull]

Very interesting now, Russell a big loser and no way will Hamilton be able to stay in front of Verstappen, surely the DRS will see him sail past Lewis if he doesn’t get him at the start. Also interesting that Russell sounded pretty stressed when he was being raced by Hamilton rather than Hamilton backing up Verstappen in the first few laps.

We are also going to get to see a second standing start…on hard tyres

Penalty upcoming for Hamilton being too far behind the safety car on the way to the start?