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

[AndySt]

Hot weekend in F1 indeed. Let's see how FP2 will end as the start is only 30 min away and I think RedBull won't sand bag this practice season as they say that they will bring all the power they got in order to take the pole and the victory but so far it seems that every practice Redbull have no power at all and suddenly when it's qualify day , they have extra power and all of that so no wonder Toto Wolff said that this championship will be decided by a crash because no one wants to inspect the RedBull car between practice season and qualify/race day. Strange ? yes. But this kind of "games" were always present in F1 so maybe Redbull simply doesn't want to show what they got because I'm sure that Mercedes can copy that in about 24 hours and improve it.

yeah this year the practice sessions have not been the benchmark for what we are going to see in qualification or raceday.
when you look at Maclaren times they see them both not showing their full potential RB cars will be looking to show their full potential in Qualification specially Checo who have not been so impressing in quali needs top 3 qualification to help Max with championship and constructors championship as its still on the table despite that Bottas have been performing well lately just right after announcing his move to Alfa Romeo.

The most important thing is to keep the balance and not to overdo it, because the main task of the practice sessions is not to dust the opponent's head, but to test the possibilities and see the behavior of your car on the track and, if necessary, have time to make changes to the settings of the car before qualifying. No simulators will be able to recreate all the specifics of a certain race track. The increased results of Bottas can also be explained by the fact that the pilot is no longer constrained by the need to prove every time with his results the validity of his stay in Mercedes to the team bosses, fans and the media, and some sports anger that the choice was not made in his favor.

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[Davian144]

There are two more updates that have been implemented by Dorna during the race in Portimao this time, the first is the installation of a camera on the rider's wear on the shoulder and the second is the Safety Light which is usually used when it rains, but this time it will be tested when the sun is hot with flashing lights if there is an accident ahead and this will be very interesting to see too.

[boltz]

I do have a feeling that Serio Perez will snatch the pole today but it won't win as Max will get that 1st position no matter what. Regarding Mercedes...I think right now only Hamilton and Mercedes are still fighting for the title as Bottas simply drives without any purpose so don't expect from him to be the good teammate in this last 5 races.

[coinlocket$]

It seems Redbull dominating here with low grip conditions.

Practice 3 results

1   Sergio Perez   MEX   Red Bull Racing   1m17.024s
2   Max Verstappen   NED   Red Bull Racing   1m17.217s
3   Lewis Hamilton   GBR   Mercedes AMG Petronas Formula One Team   1m17.675s
4   Valtteri Bottas   FIN   Mercedes AMG Petronas Formula One Team   1m17.708s
5   Carlos Sainz   ESP   Scuderia Ferrari Mission Winnow   1m18.029s
6   Yuki Tsunoda   JPN   Scuderia AlphaTauri Honda   1m18.037s
7   Daniel Ricciardo   AUS   McLaren F1 Team   1m18.121s
8   Pierre Gasly   FRA   Scuderia AlphaTauri Honda   1m18.202s
9   Charles Leclerc   MON   Scuderia Ferrari Mission Winnow   1m18.213s
10   Lando Norris   GBR   McLaren F1 Team   1m18.312s
11   Lance Stroll   CAN   Aston Martin Cognizant Formula One Team   1m18.352s
12   Kimi Raikkonen   FIN   Alfa Romeo Racing Orlen   1m18.531s
13   Antonio Giovinazzi   GBR   Alfa Romeo Racing Orlen   1m18.556s
14   Sebastian Vettel   GER   Aston Martin Cognizant Formula One Team   1m18.614s
15   Fernando Alonso   CHI   Alpine F1 Team   1m18.847s
16   Esteban Ocon   FRA   Alpine F1 Team   1m18.999s
17   George Russell   ISR   Williams Racing   1m19.211s
18   Mick Schumacher   GER   Uralkali Haas F1 Team   1m19.238s
19   Nicholas Latifi   CAN   Williams Racing   1m19.313s
20   Nikita Mazepin   RUS   Uralkali Haas F1 Team   1m20.479s

Source: https://www.crash.net/f1/results/991213/1/f1-2021-mexico-city-grand-prix-free-practice-results-3

[Koal-84]

@MotoGP

Very strong performance from Ducati and Bagnaia, even though Fabio deserved the title, I would have been happy if the decision had been delayed.

@Formula1

Looks like RedBull could put in a very strong performance in Mexico, ideally Verstappen #1 and Perez #2.

[sana54210]

The most important thing is to keep the balance and not to overdo it, because the main task of the practice sessions is not to dust the opponent's head, but to test the possibilities and see the behavior of your car on the track and, if necessary, have time to make changes to the settings of the car before qualifying. No simulators will be able to recreate all the specifics of a certain race track. The increased results of Bottas can also be explained by the fact that the pilot is no longer constrained by the need to prove every time with his results the validity of his stay in Mercedes to the team bosses, fans and the media, and some sports anger that the choice was not made in his favor.

That is what most people do not understand. If you ever played "motorsports manager" game and managed a formula 1 team, you know that practice means nothing, the times there means nothing, you may actually never finish one full lap and it is still fine.

As long as the driver has some ideas and the team can see some other stuff and all of that gets as data and changed and tested with new stuff constantly to find the optimum level, then it's fine. Sure having the fastest gives a morale boost and usually means you are already doing fine, but it doesn't mean that you will win the race. Let's check all the f3 fastest cars, and check the winners and I am sure it is not the same at all times. Sure Mercedes had a great car for years now and they may get that, but I am pretty sure it is not like that hits year and there could be some differences for sure.

[alegotardo]

I do have a feeling that Serio Perez will snatch the pole today but it won't win as Max will get that 1st position no matter what. Regarding Mercedes...I think right now only Hamilton and Mercedes are still fighting for the title as Bottas simply drives without any purpose so don't expect from him to be the good teammate in this last 5 races.

It's hard to maintain morale when you live in the shadow of an excellent driver like Hamilton. Until last season, Bottas even managed to deliver good results and sometimes was even ahead of Hamilton, but that's not happening this year, unfortunately.
Maybe Bottas has other plans, as he decided to renew his contract for just one year, I don't think he will continue with Mercedes in 2022.

[coinlocket$]

@Formula1

Looks like RedBull could put in a very strong performance in Mexico, ideally Verstappen #1 and Perez #2.

Well not as predicted
Mercedes dominated and Redbull got pwned.

Sad for Leclerc he got yellow flag on his good lap.

Tsunoda is a dumbass and ruined at least 3 good laps for other people, he deserves a penalty.

[Koal-84]

@Formula1

Looks like RedBull could put in a very strong performance in Mexico, ideally Verstappen #1 and Perez #2.

Well not as predicted
Mercedes dominated and Redbull got pwned.

Sad for Leclerc he got yellow flag on his good lap.

Tsunoda is a dumbass and ruined at least 3 good laps for other people, he deserves a penalty.

I thought the same thing after qualifying 😂😂. Completely wrong assessment, but oh well.

Verstappen needs a very good start to get ahead of Hamilton, if not Bottas will let Hamilton pass soon and try to hold Verstappen off.

Maybe Perez can help Verstappen too and of course RedBull, the constructors' championship is not decided yet, but Mercedes has a clear advantage.

[Davian144]

@MotoGP

Very strong performance from Ducati and Bagnaia, even though Fabio deserved the title, I would have been happy if the decision had been delayed.

Bagnaia has been very consistent this week, from FP to Qualification and WUP, he is really consistent with the performance of the Ducati he is riding so I will make a prediction on the podium this week for MotoGP :
1. Bagnaia
2. Joan Mir
3. Quartararo

[bitzizzix]

@MotoGP

Very strong performance from Ducati and Bagnaia, even though Fabio deserved the title, I would have been happy if the decision had been delayed.

Bagnaia has been very consistent this week, from FP to Qualification and WUP, he is really consistent with the performance of the Ducati he is riding so I will make a prediction on the podium this week for MotoGP :
1. Bagnaia
2. Joan Mir
3. Quartararo

I predict Bagnaia can win at the Algarve MotoGP because Bagnaia has the opportunity to win at the Algarve MotoGP at the Portuguese MotoGP which was held last April, Bagnaia became the runner-up and will be a good capital for Bagnaia.
and Bagnaia just need to calm down to win this race and one of his competitors Marc Marquez is rumored to be absent from the race later.
and I agree with you it looks like Bagnaia will finish first, followed by Mir, and Quartataro.

[blue Snow]

@MotoGP

Very strong performance from Ducati and Bagnaia, even though Fabio deserved the title, I would have been happy if the decision had been delayed.

Yeah, a little bit agrees, seems like we are not much interesting to watch the remaining race because Quartararo has already the champions. But, I bit interesting to watch who the 2nd, Suzuki has followed Ducati with not many different points. That possible be on 2nd if the finish on no.1 podium. Ducati could be shamed if 2nd position is cut off by Suzuki (Joan Mir). There are 3 racers Ducati on Top; Bagnaia, Zarco, and Miller, when calculated on paper should be one the 2nd position.

[Davian144]

I predict Bagnaia can win at the Algarve MotoGP because Bagnaia has the opportunity to win at the Algarve MotoGP at the Portuguese MotoGP which was held last April, Bagnaia became the runner-up and will be a good capital for Bagnaia.
and Bagnaia just need to calm down to win this race and one of his competitors Marc Marquez is rumored to be absent from the race later.
and I agree with you it looks like Bagnaia will finish first, followed by Mir, and Quartataro.

His prediction was indeed very correct, but unfortunately Quartararo had to crash so Yamaha couldn't get the constructors' championship this year because it had to be taken by Ducati.
And because Iker Lecuona hit Oliveira, the Race had to be stopped (Red Flag) without being restarted.

[Jackl87]

@Formula1

Looks like RedBull could put in a very strong performance in Mexico, ideally Verstappen #1 and Perez #2.

Well it did not really play out that way, at least so far. I guess everyone expected Red Bull to completely dominate the mexican grand prix after they were able to win the US Grand prix where Mercedes was the favorite actually. But as much as the result in the US was surprising the same was true for the result of yesterdays Qualifying. I doubt that mercedes found a miracle solution right before the qualifying and i would guess that i was just a tactic to maybe reduce the horse power of the engine a little during the free practices to surprise Red Bull in the qualifying.
It could be an interesting start as hamilton is on P2 and therefore the bad lane, so Verstappen on P3 could actually have an advantage here.

[Davian144]

Today, what is very interesting to watch is the fight for the world championship for the Moto3 class, between Pedro Acosta (Rookie) vs Dennis Fogia (Rocket) which was very exciting, although in the end Pedro Acosta managed to become the Moto3 world champion because Dennis Fogia was hit by Darryn Binder from the Petronas Malaysia team which he himself was disqualified by the FIM MotoGP Stewards due to this.
It's a shame that Dennis Fogia had to be willing to be the runner-up in moto3 for this year.

[Velvet78]

The result of the qualifying was really interesting. Actually, Red Bull were the dominating team until the last minutes of the qualifying session. Verstappen and Perez showed a really impressive performance. But at some point, Mercedes drivers upset the balances. Bottas had a huge lap to which Hamilton also couldn't get very close. Bottas took the pole position and Hamilton finished at the 2nd place right in front of Verstappen. And Perez follows these trio. The first turn of the race will be very exciting I think. I wonder whether there will be changes in the placements or even an accident.

[AakZaki]

Bagnaia has been very consistent this week, from FP to Qualification and WUP, he is really consistent with the performance of the Ducati he is riding so I will make a prediction on the podium this week for MotoGP :
1. Bagnaia
2. Joan Mir
3. Quartararo

Your prediction of Quartararo is wrong.
Podium position is
1. Bagnaia
2. Mir
3. Miller
Bagnaia was too fast he dominated the race until the end of the red flag and the finish was raised. Quartararo who maintained the chance of a factory champion for Yamaha was also increasingly suliy, because he fell in the remaining 5 laps. I feel like it's an exciting third podium fight between jack miller and Alex Marquez. They worked together to defend and overtake.

[Luzin]

Your prediction of Quartararo is wrong.
Podium position is
1. Bagnaia
2. Mir
3. Miller

Here's the full result of today's race.

1. Francesco BAGNAIA   Ducati Lenovo Team   38'17.720
2. Joan MIR               Team SUZUKI ECSTAR    +2.478
3. Jack MILLER               Ducati Lenovo Team    +6.402
4. Alex MARQUEZ       LCR Honda CASTROL    +6.453
5. Johann ZARCO       Pramac Racing    +7.882
6. Pol ESPARGARO       Repsol Honda Team    +9.573
7. Jorge MARTIN       Pramac Racing    +10.144
8. Alex RINS               Team SUZUKI ECSTAR +10.742
9. Enea BASTIANINI           Avintia Esponsorama    +13.840
10. Brad BINDER            Red Bull KTM Factory Racing +14.487
11. Takaaki NAKAGAMI   JPN   LCR Honda IDEMITSU   Honda +20.912
12. Luca MARINI       SKY VR46 Avintia +22.450
13. Valentino ROSSI   ITA   Petronas Yamaha +22.752
14. Andrea DOVIZIOSO   Petronas Yamaha +26.207
15. Stefan BRADL       Repsol Honda Team +26.284
16. Maverick VIÑALES   Aprilia Racing Team Gresini   +26.828
17. Franco MORBIDELLI   Monster Energy Yamaha +27.863

Source: https://www.motogp.com/en/Results+Statistics

[swogerino]

The result of the qualifying was really interesting. Actually, Red Bull were the dominating team until the last minutes of the qualifying session. Verstappen and Perez showed a really impressive performance. But at some point, Mercedes drivers upset the balances. Bottas had a huge lap to which Hamilton also couldn't get very close. Bottas took the pole position and Hamilton finished at the 2nd place right in front of Verstappen. And Perez follows these trio. The first turn of the race will be very exciting I think. I wonder whether there will be changes in the placements or even an accident.

Being a twisty track this starting grid promises for a big good race.I am waiting patiently for the last couple of hours before the race starts.I have a few doubts for which H2H to go for a bet,betting to Bottas vs Hamilton I know 99.99% will be a lost bet unless Hamilton gets some defect in his car which would force him to retire.Most probably would go for Norris vs Ricciardo as the odds are better and there is fair fight between the two compared to other teams,McLaren doesn't bother much with team orders.

[savetheFORUM]

It is going to be a great race. Mercedes front lock is definitely a big challenge for Red Bull, whatever they can do for this race will be a very very important thing, maybe an undercut, maybe a better settings, maybe some other stuff but whatever they do, they need to deal with their strategy very well.

I believe they would be fine with Bottas being first, that is not really a big problem for them if that happens, as long as Max becomes second, the rival here is Lewis and third/second positions are not really that much of a big difference for mexico and even on first lap Max could overtake Hamilton, and even if he fails to do that, he has a lot of chances to do that. It is going to be a great race to watch for sure.