Motosport General discussion tread --- Formula1, MotoGP, WTCC, ETCC, DTM.....

[tokeweed]

Biggest loser in this rwce was Leclerc.

why? he did an amazing job considering he got problems with brakes since the start.

It is an unusual problem and Brembo is already investigating the problem.

That he did but still the biggest loser given the result of the race.  I was thinking he could get to the podium instead of Perez.  But I guess it's better to move on and focus on the next race.  Leclerc is as good as at least second place barring any technical issues.

2024 F1 Saudi Arabian GP Schedule
Track:  Jedda Corniche Circuit



March 7:  Practice 1  16:30 - 17:30
March 7:  Practice 2  20:00 - 21:00
March 8:  Practice 3  16:30 - 17:30
March 8:  Qualifying  20:00 - 21:00
March 9:  Race  20:00

Which car was fastest in the straights at the last race?  :/

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[Koal-84]

Lets see how slowly and if Marquez can adapt to the Ducati.

He may be able to win something this year.

I don't expect much more from Marc, he will still be able to fight for the podium in the next few years and for one or two wins, but I think the changeover to the Ducati will take too long to become world champion again.

I also don't think that other teams will have a chance to win this season after seeing Ducati's speed during pre-season testing and there is news circulating that Bagnaia will be able to win again this season like last season. Ducati will increase Bagnaia's salary next season to a number which is quite fantastic in my opinion, because this is certainly quite reasonable considering Bagnaia's potential on the Ducati motorbike which has been known for being fast over the years.

Bagnaia has done very well in the tests, almost frightening (even the second factory Ducati) for the competition. But the contract has already been signed and the salary will suit Bagnaia, I don't think it will be raised again after the contract is signed, there will be bonuses for victories and the world championship title.

[FanEagle]

After the big news that Hamilton will join Ferrari, now we have something even much bigger, which is Max maybe going to Mercedes as well. There are news about it if you google, and that could be just leverage as well to keep Horner in place.

Max as we all know loves Horner, and that means that he will want him to stay, so this could be a ploy to say to the team that if you fire Horner, then next year I will join Mercedes. He already won so many titles, and he is not the type of racer that cares about even more, he will have like what 4 titles this year? That's more than enough for him, he is not the type that will want 8th. So I feel like it could very well be something special if that happens, and I wonder who will get Red Bull spot.

[coinlocket$]

After the big news that Hamilton will join Ferrari, now we have something even much bigger, which is Max maybe going to Mercedes as well. There are news about it if you google, and that could be just leverage as well to keep Horner in place.

Max as we all know loves Horner, and that means that he will want him to stay, so this could be a ploy to say to the team that if you fire Horner, then next year I will join Mercedes. He already won so many titles, and he is not the type of racer that cares about even more, he will have like what 4 titles this year? That's more than enough for him, he is not the type that will want 8th. So I feel like it could very well be something special if that happens, and I wonder who will get Red Bull spot.

Not only that.

Mercedes is trying for Max as they said and it not they only big thing.

According to rumors if Horner will be "sacked" a release clause will be active for Adrian Newy, and Ferrari is monitoring the situation.

[retreat]

After the big news that Hamilton will join Ferrari, now we have something even much bigger, which is Max maybe going to Mercedes as well. There are news about it if you google, and that could be just leverage as well to keep Horner in place.

Max as we all know loves Horner, and that means that he will want him to stay, so this could be a ploy to say to the team that if you fire Horner, then next year I will join Mercedes. He already won so many titles, and he is not the type of racer that cares about even more, he will have like what 4 titles this year? That's more than enough for him, he is not the type that will want 8th. So I feel like it could very well be something special if that happens, and I wonder who will get Red Bull spot.

I also heard this rumor and was a little surprised how Max could possibly want to move from Red Bull. But I think that this is just a rumor, because Max is very comfortable at Red Bull now and he is already getting along with the car and especially he has signed a contract with RBR until 2028, so his chances of moving to Mercedes are probably very small. However, that does not rule out the possibility that Max could move, because the political situation at RBR is quite stressful and when he loses motivation to stay there, it is possible that he will decide to move.

[Davian144]

Bagnaia has done very well in the tests, almost frightening (even the second factory Ducati) for the competition. But the contract has already been signed and the salary will suit Bagnaia, I don't think it will be raised again after the contract is signed, there will be bonuses for victories and the world championship title.

What you say is not wrong, but based on what I read in the media id.motorsport.com it says "the Italian manufacturer's salary policy shows that the #1 driver will get around seven million euros as a base salary, which will be increased by a variable amount depending on results. If Bagnaia defends his third title in a row, his salary will most likely reach 10 million euros".

But for now I am not really focused on that issue except on how the first race of this season will take place in Qatar, because as has been seen before, Ducati is indeed holding more dominance in Qatar so it is likely that Ducati motorbikes will fill all the podiums. This is quite reasonable because other manufacturers are not as scary this season even though they can still provide surprises in certain conditions.

[swogerino]

After the big news that Hamilton will join Ferrari, now we have something even much bigger, which is Max maybe going to Mercedes as well. There are news about it if you google, and that could be just leverage as well to keep Horner in place.

Max as we all know loves Horner, and that means that he will want him to stay, so this could be a ploy to say to the team that if you fire Horner, then next year I will join Mercedes. He already won so many titles, and he is not the type of racer that cares about even more, he will have like what 4 titles this year? That's more than enough for him, he is not the type that will want 8th. So I feel like it could very well be something special if that happens, and I wonder who will get Red Bull spot.

Not only that.

Mercedes is trying for Max as they said and it not they only big thing.

According to rumors if Horner will be "sacked" a release clause will be active for Adrian Newy, and Ferrari is monitoring the situation.

I don't think Horner will be sacked based on the investigation so far and judging by the behavior after the first race the Redbull team looks more solid than ever.So I don't think Ferrari will have a real chance to get Newey under these circumstances.They can try to make him a direct offer as I am sure Newey had his glorious time at McLaren first and now at Redbull so he may like to achieve something at Ferrari too.

[püsür]

After the big news that Hamilton will join Ferrari, now we have something even much bigger, which is Max maybe going to Mercedes as well. There are news about it if you google, and that could be just leverage as well to keep Horner in place.

Max as we all know loves Horner, and that means that he will want him to stay, so this could be a ploy to say to the team that if you fire Horner, then next year I will join Mercedes. He already won so many titles, and he is not the type of racer that cares about even more, he will have like what 4 titles this year? That's more than enough for him, he is not the type that will want 8th. So I feel like it could very well be something special if that happens, and I wonder who will get Red Bull spot.

I also heard this rumor and was a little surprised how Max could possibly want to move from Red Bull. But I think that this is just a rumor, because Max is very comfortable at Red Bull now and he is already getting along with the car and especially he has signed a contract with RBR until 2028, so his chances of moving to Mercedes are probably very small. However, that does not rule out the possibility that Max could move, because the political situation at RBR is quite stressful and when he loses motivation to stay there, it is possible that he will decide to move.

All the big drivers are now preparing for 2026. For Max, it's more of a case of "mercedes" being better suited to the engine rules that will change in 2026 - because it's a car company. So, with the rumours about the redbull engine being negative, max is already looking to move to the team with the most potential. Obviously the most exciting part of this season will be wondering who will race where next year and following the developments. First alonso and then vettel's name was mentioned for the seat to be vacated at the end of the season in mercedes. Then, after the horner - jos verstappen controversy (I don't know how true and I don't know the details), rumours that max will move to mercedes and alonso to red bull. As crazy as it seems, I feel like there might be some truth in that.

[tokeweed]

After the big news that Hamilton will join Ferrari, now we have something even much bigger, which is Max maybe going to Mercedes as well. There are news about it if you google, and that could be just leverage as well to keep Horner in place.

Max as we all know loves Horner, and that means that he will want him to stay, so this could be a ploy to say to the team that if you fire Horner, then next year I will join Mercedes. He already won so many titles, and he is not the type of racer that cares about even more, he will have like what 4 titles this year? That's more than enough for him, he is not the type that will want 8th. So I feel like it could very well be something special if that happens, and I wonder who will get Red Bull spot.

Not only that.

Mercedes is trying for Max as they said and it not they only big thing.

According to rumors if Horner will be "sacked" a release clause will be active for Adrian Newy, and Ferrari is monitoring the situation.

I don't think Horner will be sacked based on the investigation so far and judging by the behavior after the first race the Redbull team looks more solid than ever.So I don't think Ferrari will have a real chance to get Newey under these circumstances.They can try to make him a direct offer as I am sure Newey had his glorious time at McLaren first and now at Redbull so he may like to achieve something at Ferrari too.

So I did a little reading and asking around on what's really going on at Red Bull.  So from what I've heard the team has split into two factions...  Horner's side which has the support of the crew and Jos Verstappen's side which has the support of Marko Helmut.  And here's the hilarious part...  The girl that Horner supposedly harassed?  Rumor is it's Jos Verstappen's girlfriend.    No wonder the guy is pissed.  Lmaoo. 

So yeah, that's where the Max Verstappen rumor is coming from.  It's either Horner leaves or Verstappen leaves.

[Koal-84]

After the big news that Hamilton will join Ferrari, now we have something even much bigger, which is Max maybe going to Mercedes as well. There are news about it if you google, and that could be just leverage as well to keep Horner in place.

So it won't be that easy again, Max Verstappen still has a contract with RedBull until 2028, so that will take a while, a lot of things would have to happen for Max to terminate his contract, so I don't think Max will switch to Mercedes, RedBull won't pay worse than Mercedes in terms of salary either.

[wiss19]

All the big drivers are now preparing for 2026. For Max, it's more of a case of "mercedes" being better suited to the engine rules that will change in 2026 - because it's a car company. So, with the rumours about the redbull engine being negative, max is already looking to move to the team with the most potential. Obviously the most exciting part of this season will be wondering who will race where next year and following the developments. First alonso and then vettel's name was mentioned for the seat to be vacated at the end of the season in mercedes. Then, after the horner - jos verstappen controversy (I don't know how true and I don't know the details), rumours that max will move to mercedes and alonso to red bull. As crazy as it seems, I feel like there might be some truth in that.

Is that the reason, or are we just seeing him leveraging his position? Mercedes may look like they will have a good engine, but with that logic Ferrari should have a great engine as well, they make their own engines and a car company, but I doubt that they would. Look at previous time, Mercedes did well, but Ferrari didn't do as well as Mercedes did. Does that mean it's just about the team, or does that mean engine?

I feel like if Red Bull keeps being this good, then even with a better engine Mercedes may fail. I still think that Max may end up leaving, not because of anything engine related, but more like team related in the end. If he doesn't feel happy with changes, he could just go somewhere else and get wins there, he is that good.

[coinlocket$]

Sainz is sick!

Ferrari is not sure if he will able to race this weekend yet.

At the moment he can't speak.

[joniboini]

This season, however, it looks like the title will only go to a Ducati after the test rides, as the other teams seem to have little chance.

It's been so long since I've watched a MotoGP race, surprised to see Ducati being competitive. I guess it is not surprising if you've been following GP from a few seasons ago considering they dominated the 2023 season with 700 points. Hopefully, things won't be too predictable and we will have different winners so that the sport does not become stale. I also heard there is a new youngster with great potential this season (Pedro Acosta), let's see if he can do anything or if will he finish in the bottom standing just like previous rookies before him.

At the moment he can't speak.

I thought he suffered some serious accident or illness, but I guess this is not as serious as I thought since he just returned to the hotel to rest[1]. Do you have any details related to his illness? Does he suffer from another case of food poisoning? IIRC, he also missed the first day/media duties in the past due to sickness, doesn't he?

[1] https://racingnews365.com/sainz-absent-from-first-day-at-saudi-arabian-gp-due-to-illness

[Distraction]

I thought he suffered some serious accident or illness, but I guess this is not as serious as I thought since he just returned to the hotel to rest[1]. Do you have any details related to his illness? Does he suffer from another case of food poisoning? IIRC, he also missed the first day/media duties in the past due to sickness, doesn't he?

[1] https://racingnews365.com/sainz-absent-from-first-day-at-saudi-arabian-gp-due-to-illness

He is normally expected to recover and be back by tomorrow but there isn't any guarantee given to that also.    I would like to see Sainz getting ready as quick as possible. He started the season really great by finishing on podium. Leclerc could have got past him though if he didn't have a serious lock-up issue. But we are always looking at what we have in hand at the end of the day.  

By the way the quarrel recorded between Jos Verstappen and Christian Horner is said to be due to a secretary girlfriend problem. It is said that while Horner was writing to his secretary she was with Jos Verstappen already.

[swogerino]

I thought he suffered some serious accident or illness, but I guess this is not as serious as I thought since he just returned to the hotel to rest[1]. Do you have any details related to his illness? Does he suffer from another case of food poisoning? IIRC, he also missed the first day/media duties in the past due to sickness, doesn't he?

[1] https://racingnews365.com/sainz-absent-from-first-day-at-saudi-arabian-gp-due-to-illness

He is normally expected to recover and be back by tomorrow but there isn't any guarantee given to that also.    I would like to see Sainz getting ready as quick as possible. He started the season really great by finishing on podium. Leclerc could have got past him though if he didn't have a serious lock-up issue. But we are always looking at what we have in hand at the end of the day.  

By the way the quarrel recorded between Jos Verstappen and Christian Horner is said to be due to a secretary girlfriend problem. It is said that while Horner was writing to his secretary she was with Jos Verstappen already.

Looking like rose romances between Jos Verstappen and Horner.This only adds up to the quarrel but I don't think that it will impact the race of this weekend.I think that Redbull is still the strongest team although it showed that Ferrari was improved compared to last season and that see how things fold up in a very fast track like this one in Saudi Arabia,it should be a good and fun race to watch.

[Davian144]

It's been so long since I've watched a MotoGP race, surprised to see Ducati being competitive. I guess it is not surprising if you've been following GP from a few seasons ago considering they dominated the 2023 season with 700 points. Hopefully, things won't be too predictable and we will have different winners so that the sport does not become stale. I also heard there is a new youngster with great potential this season (Pedro Acosta), let's see if he can do anything or if will he finish in the bottom standing just like previous rookies before him.

A newcomer like Pedro Acosta does have the potential to compete in the class of kings, namely MotoGp, but he still has to explore more of his potential in the MotoGp class this season even though he showed his potential last season when he was still in Moto2. However, this is certainly not enough for him because there are still many young players who also have the potential to win and it is not easy at this level. But on the one hand, I also don't think that he (Pedro Acosta) will finish in the bottom position because he is on a team that uses KTM motorbikes.

[coinlocket$]

1st hour has been completed.

1   Max Verstappen   NED   Oracle Red Bull Racing   1m29.659s
2   Fernando Alonso   ESP   Aston Martin Aramco F1 Team   1m29.845s
3   Sergio Perez   MEX   Oracle Red Bull Racing   1m29.868s
4   George Russell   GBR   Mercedes AMG Petronas F1 Team   1m29.939s
5   Charles Leclerc   MON   Scuderia Ferrari   1m30.030s
6   Carlos Sainz   ESP   Scuderia Ferrari   1m30.164s
7   Lando Norris   GBR   McLaren F1 Team   1m30.231s
8   Lewis Hamilton   GBR   Mercedes AMG Petronas F1 Team   1m30.236s
9   Lance Stroll   CAN   Aston Martin Aramco F1 Team   1m30.580s
10   Alex Albon   THA   Williams Racing   1m30.747s
11   Valtteri Bottas   FIN   Stake F1 Team Kick Sauber   1m30.783s
12   Daniel Ricciardo   AUS   Visa Cash App RB F1 Team   1m30.917s
13   Esteban Ocon   FRA   BWT Alpine F1 Team   1m30.945s
14   Logan Sargeant   USA   Williams Racing   1m30.966s
15   Oscar Piastri   AUS   McLaren F1 Team   1m30.977s
16   Yuki Tsunoda   JPN   Visa Cash App RB F1 Team   1m31.036s
17   Pierre Gasly   FRA   BWT Alpine F1 Team   1m31.046s
18   Zhou Guanyu   CHN   Stake F1 Team Kick Sauber   1m31.131s
19   Nico Hulkenberg   GER   MoneyGram Haas F1 Team   1m31.411s
20   Kevin Magnussen   DEN   MoneyGram Haas F1 Team   1m31.577s

source https://www.crash.net/f1/results/1045151/1/2024-f1-saudi-arabian-grand-prix-free-practice-results

remember the race will be Saturday this week too.

[Captain Corporate]

I am not one to judge a team or any racer too quickly, but this whole weekend didn't go well for Yuki, and now this week he has a chance to recover that, if not then its going to be not that great. I understand that they were both not in points positions, so making a big deal out of it seems like something Red Bull would never want, they are already looking for a backup for Max, someone to replace Perez, and there is now even fears that Max may leave, so it feels like its going to be very very impossible for Yuki to get that position if he keeps this fighting style going. They want someone to be silent and help Max out, just like how Perez did so far and not made any scenes at all.

[aylabadia05]

A newcomer like Pedro Acosta does have the potential to compete in the class of kings, namely MotoGp, but he still has to explore more of his potential in the MotoGp class this season even though he showed his potential last season when he was still in Moto2. However, this is certainly not enough for him because there are still many young players who also have the potential to win and it is not easy at this level. But on the one hand, I also don't think that he (Pedro Acosta) will finish in the bottom position because he is on a team that uses KTM motorbikes.

It is predicted that Pedro Acosta will be a rider who can make a surprise in the upcoming season's racing series because of his potential. Due to the achievements that Acosta has achieved in the Moto 3 and Moto 2 classes, Pedrosa even gave his assessment to this young rider who moved up to the main class. Even though I don't know much about MotoGP, I still have hopes for Marco Bezzecchi in 2024.

[coinlocket$]

2024 F1 Saudi Arabian Grand Prix - Free Practice Results (2)
Pos   Driver   Nat.   Team   Time
1   Fernando Alonso   ESP   Aston Martin Aramco F1 Team   1m28.827s
2   George Russell   GBR   Mercedes AMG Petronas F1 Team   1m29.057s
3   Max Verstappen   NED   Oracle Red Bull Racing   1m29.158s
4   Charles Leclerc   MON   Scuderia Ferrari   1m29.180s
5   Sergio Perez   MEX   Oracle Red Bull Racing   1m29.300s
6   Lance Stroll   CAN   Aston Martin Aramco F1 Team   1m29.336s
7   Carlos Sainz   ESP   Scuderia Ferrari   1m29.455s
8   Lewis Hamilton   GBR   Mercedes AMG Petronas F1 Team   1m29.504s
9   Pierre Gasly   FRA   BWT Alpine F1 Team   1m29.528s
10   Oscar Piastri   AUS   McLaren F1 Team   1m29.594s
11   Yuki Tsunoda   JPN   Visa Cash App RB F1 Team   1m29.666s
12   Lando Norris   GBR   McLaren F1 Team   1m29.758s
13   Zhou Guanyu   CHN   Stake F1 Team Kick Sauber   1m29.777s
14   Alex Albon   THA   Williams Racing   1m29.789s
15   Esteban Ocon   FRA   BWT Alpine F1 Team   1m29.901s
16   Logan Sargeant   USA   Williams Racing   1m29.934s
17   Kevin Magnussen   DEN   MoneyGram Haas F1 Team   1m29.985s
18   Nico Hulkenberg   GER   MoneyGram Haas F1 Team   1m30.077s
19   Daniel Ricciardo   AUS   Visa Cash App RB F1 Team   1m30.088s
20   Valtteri Bottas   FIN   Stake F1 Team Kick Sauber   1m30.153s

Source: https://www.crash.net/f1/results/1045151/1/2024-f1-saudi-arabian-grand-prix-free-practice-results

this is the second hour, We are already in the past year timers.

We may go 1 second faster for the polepostion and this is crazy.