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

[LTU_btc]

Here’s the track at Qatar:

There seems to be a decent amount of straights which is really good and more advantageous for Hamilton and Mercedes.  Hamilton to win the race is at 1.70, Verstappen is at 2.55...  What do you guys think?

Fastest lap for Hamilton is at 2.85.

Wouldn't say that this track have decent amount of straights - in general just one, where only DRS zone will be. And simulated average speed isn't very high compared to some tracks.
But yeah, now Mercedes have speed advantage. There is rumours that Mercedes can change Lewis engine again and if he will receive 5 places penalty, probably it won't be big deal for him.
For fastest lap, I would pick between Bottas and Perez.

[1715442160]

1715442160

[1715442160]

1715442160

[1715442160]

1715442160

[1715442160]

1715442160

[doomloop]

When you win a race by 10 seconds even though you started at 10 (and 20th in sprint) and you still want to punish the person who came in second, you know you are getting desperate like crazy . I mean what are they going to gain here, hopefully maybe few more points? That's all they could gain from this, and if Max ends up winning even one, then things are going to be so much easier for max, he could literally let Hamilton win and still end up becoming second and still become champion which we know if Max wants to and there is nothing wrong with the car then he could finish second very easily.

To think that Hamilton could get the championship with the help of this is just such a small calculation and shows how annoying Mercedes could become. I mean they were always annoying, it was always annoying and it will stay annoying for a long time, I hate that team, but the pettiness they have right now looks awesome, I am enjoying their tears.

[coinlocket$]

There seems to be a decent amount of straights which is really good and more advantageous for Hamilton and Mercedes.  Hamilton to win the race is at 1.70, Verstappen is at 2.55...  What do you guys think?

Fastest lap for Hamilton is at 2.85.

Hamilton IMHO has a good advantage now in the rest of the tracks. He has 1 engine for 4 races (1 already done) while Verstappen has only old engines.
He can push higher hp in the engine.

I can see Mercedes dominating in the end of the season.

[Cnut237]

Here’s the track at Qatar:


There seems to be a decent amount of straights which is really good and more advantageous for Hamilton and Mercedes.  Hamilton to win the race is at 1.70, Verstappen is at 2.55...  What do you guys think?

Fastest lap for Hamilton is at 2.85.

I think that out of the remaining tracks, this is the one where Red Bull should be strongest. The task for Mercedes will be staying close enough to Red Bull around all the corners, so that they can emerge close enough at the start of the long straight to pull off an overtake. Will be interesting to see how much (if anything) Hamilton's new engine advantage has degraded after Brazil.

At those odds, I'd be tempted to bet on Verstappen for the race win, as I think it's too close to call. If the start line had been at the very beginning of the straight rather than halfway down it, I'd be tempted to bet on Hamilton getting the lead on the first lap. As it is, I'm not sure the run-in to turn one is long enough for Mercedes to use their raw pace.

Fastest lap I never bet on, it has nothing to do with the driver and everything to do with the relative positions of everyone towards the end of the race. If it's Hamilton and Verstappen vying for the lead, then you'd expect Perez and Bottas to be trying to take the fastest lap away from the lead driver of the other team (assuming they don't lose position in the race to do so).

[coinlocket$]

FIA officially accepted the recall for Mercedes about the "push up" from Verstappen to Hamilton.

A decision will be made soon and remember if they accepted the recall there are the bases for a punishment.

(I think he clearly deserve it)

[waelov]

FIA officially accepted the recall for Mercedes about the "push up" from Verstappen to Hamilton.

A decision will be made soon and remember if they accepted the recall there are the bases for a punishment.

(I think he clearly deserve it)

After Mercedes asked to review Verstappen and Hamilton's footage
Red Bull may require a careful examination of the rear wing .
Red Bull suspects that the Mercedes' rear wing has curved downward at high speeds to reduce drag in the straight line and is difficult to see from the outside.
It is rumored that a former Mercedes employee told Red Bull about the ploy.

[AndySt]

There seems to be a decent amount of straights which is really good and more advantageous for Hamilton and Mercedes.  Hamilton to win the race is at 1.70, Verstappen is at 2.55...  What do you guys think?

Fastest lap for Hamilton is at 2.85.

Hamilton IMHO has a good advantage now in the rest of the tracks. He has 1 engine for 4 races (1 already done) while Verstappen has only old engines.
He can push higher hp in the engine.
I can see Mercedes dominating in the end of the season.

The next race may be the determining factor that will decide the fate of the entire season, because Verstappen's victory will make him practically the winner of Formula 1. Mercedes made a very bold, but right step that changed the power plant on Hamilton's car in the last race and the risk was fully justified, allowing Lewis to win the race. Therefore, Hamilton's win in the next race, on the contrary, will greatly increase his chances of winning a record eighth title, given what results were in the previous race with a new engine and the advantage will shift in his favor. Therefore, it is no exaggeration to say that in Qatar we will see the hidden finale of the season, which can solve a lot.

[Juggy777]

There seems to be a decent amount of straights which is really good and more advantageous for Hamilton and Mercedes.  Hamilton to win the race is at 1.70, Verstappen is at 2.55...  What do you guys think?

Fastest lap for Hamilton is at 2.85.

Hamilton IMHO has a good advantage now in the rest of the tracks. He has 1 engine for 4 races (1 already done) while Verstappen has only old engines.
He can push higher hp in the engine.
I can see Mercedes dominating in the end of the season.

The next race may be the determining factor that will decide the fate of the entire season, because Verstappen's victory will make him practically the winner of Formula 1. Mercedes made a very bold, but right step that changed the power plant on Hamilton's car in the last race and the risk was fully justified, allowing Lewis to win the race. Therefore, Hamilton's win in the next race, on the contrary, will greatly increase his chances of winning a record eighth title, given what results were in the previous race with a new engine and the advantage will shift in his favor. Therefore, it is no exaggeration to say that in Qatar we will see the hidden finale of the season, which can solve a lot.

@AndySt the popular opinion is for Hamilton to win, but I would like Verstappen to win and end Hamilton reign, and don’t get me wrong I have 100% respect for Hamilton, but I like Verstappen more so want him to win it.

Lastly if Hamilton wins the record title then I’ll be happy for him because he definitely deserves it, but I’m also hoping that we do get to see some more drama before the season ends, as that’ll set the tone for the next season.

[Cnut237]

Verstappen was much quicker than Hamilton in first practice just now, nearly a second clear. Not sure how representative the times will be, given that it's only first practice, and also that the race will be at night whereas this was during the middle of the day. But first impressions are that this might be a Red Bull type track, as we would have expected from the layout. We'll see more as we go into second practice.

Also the Mercedes appeal against Verstappen in the last race has now been rejected. Again, I think we all saw that verdict coming a mile off. It's not often that F1 overturn their own decisions.

[tokeweed]

^  Ultimate pace, yeah Red Bull is faster.  But here’s the thing, Mercedes is faster at sector 2 which is weird cos it’s the part of the track that has more turns.  Does this mean RBR has faster straight line speed now?  Dunno...  Hamilton and Bottas could be sand bagging as usual.

[Cnut237]

~

Yes, very difficult to tell. Hamilton should still have some advantage from his newer engine, but he's been behind Bottas in both practice sessions... this might suggest that he's holding something back.

Regarding the FIA throwing out the Mercedes appeal from the last race... does this mean that overtaking from the outside is now effectively impossible? If the driver on the inside line is able to force the one on the outside line off the track, with no requirement to make the corner, then it seems that's the way it will go now. Not sure if F1 haven't set a bit of a strange precedent here.

[coinlocket$]

both practice runs are already over with Redbull and Mercedes very close.

The surprise of the day is Gasly.

I mean he has been very consistent for the entire year but with this paste, he can even aim for the 1st row.

[tokeweed]

^  Yeah..  Gasly is quick but it’s just the second practice.  Let’s see how he performs at FP3 vs the usual grid leaders the we’ll judge.  But even then, qualifying is where the real pace really shows cos that’s when they’ll really be pushing it.

Funny how after FP2 Hamilton went from 1.70 to 1.66 and Verstappen from 2.55 to 2.70. 

[coinlocket$]

^  Yeah..  Gasly is quick but it’s just the second practice.  Let’s see how he performs at FP3 vs the usual grid leaders the we’ll judge.  But even then, qualifying is where the real pace really shows cos that’s when they’ll really be pushing it.

Funny how after FP2 Hamilton went from 1.70 to 1.66 and Verstappen from 2.55 to 2.70. 

Don't forget, Alpha Tauri is the second team of Redbull.
Redbull could "order" Alpha Tauri to push more the engine risking the engine itself to be closer to Mercedes.

Let's see tomorrow but I think it can be a possibility, even Tsunoda was doing good.

[Koal-84]

There seems to be a decent amount of straights which is really good and more advantageous for Hamilton and Mercedes.  Hamilton to win the race is at 1.70, Verstappen is at 2.55...  What do you guys think?

Fastest lap for Hamilton is at 2.85.

Hamilton IMHO has a good advantage now in the rest of the tracks. He has 1 engine for 4 races (1 already done) while Verstappen has only old engines.
He can push higher hp in the engine.

I can see Mercedes dominating in the end of the season.

Hamilton certainly has an advantage with the engine and will run the engine at the limit. Just wait for the next race to see how it turns out this weekend, a small mistake, a defect in the car or a collision can decide the world championship. Verstappen and Hamilton will have to rely on their team-mates to a certain extent.

[waelov]

both practice runs are already over with Redbull and Mercedes very close.

The surprise of the day is Gasly.

I mean he has been very consistent for the entire year but with this paste, he can even aim for the 1st row.

I think Mercedes will be on top in this one because they are going to push harder and if they are able to damage the ICU they will replace it with a new one and push it even more.
They now they are the fastest then the other cars except Redbulls without pushing the limits but with them pushing it they are going to be much faster then RBs so I think they are not going to be afraid of 5 grid penalty I next race if they are sure that they can win those spots in no time.
For Constructors championship I belleive it will be going to Mercedes as for Championship it will be decided on final race.

[jostorres]

Verstappen was much quicker than Hamilton in first practice just now, nearly a second clear. Not sure how representative the times will be, given that it's only first practice, and also that the race will be at night whereas this was during the middle of the day. But first impressions are that this might be a Red Bull type track, as we would have expected from the layout. We'll see more as we go into second practice.

Also the Mercedes appeal against Verstappen in the last race has now been rejected. Again, I think we all saw that verdict coming a mile off. It's not often that F1 overturn their own decisions.

As with every single formula race ever, practice runs means absolutely nothing at all. Teams try to adjust their cars, wing angles and many other tiny details that make up for the most of the pace difference. Of course cars are very important and they improve their cars every year, but if you adjust the car horribly then it could mean something will be off for many seconds and not just even one second.

A horribly designed Mercedes car today (same car, just adjusted horribly) versus a williams that is adjusted perfectly with 100% accuracy for the track would end up losing, that is how much difference there is. Obviously teams know their cars so they get near perfect but during practice runs there could be seconds of difference whereas in race that difference will not happen, even by qualifiers they may end up fixing some stuff and get faster.

[boltz]

It seems that Bottas will remain on the 1st or 2nd spot until the end of the season as he seems the faster in qualifiers and practices by far so I think it will be another pole for Bottas and then the same strategy like in Brazil but this time Lewis has no penalties which means that Max will most likely fight 1 vs 2. However, PEREZ is the only driver on the grid who raced here in F2 Asia and he was on the podium alongside Hulkenberg so pay close attention to Perez this weekend.

[oHnK]

It seems that Bottas will remain on the 1st or 2nd spot until the end of the season as he seems the faster in qualifiers and practices by far so I think it will be another pole for Bottas and then the same strategy like in Brazil but this time Lewis has no penalties which means that Max will most likely fight 1 vs 2. However, PEREZ is the only driver on the grid who raced here in F2 Asia and he was on the podium alongside Hulkenberg so pay close attention to Perez this weekend.

Several times, Bottas has indeed shown good results, it is only natural that he predicts he will be in the top 3 again.  Seeing his teammate's comments, Hamilton towards Bottas, which left the door open for Ferez, showed a hint of disappointment which was immediately re-confirmed that after all they were one team, losing and winning was a shared responsibility.

[Davidvictorson]

It seems that Bottas will remain on the 1st or 2nd spot until the end of the season as he seems the faster in qualifiers and practices by far so I think it will be another pole for Bottas and then the same strategy like in Brazil but this time Lewis has no penalties which means that Max will most likely fight 1 vs 2. However, PEREZ is the only driver on the grid who raced here in F2 Asia and he was on the podium alongside Hulkenberg so pay close attention to Perez this weekend.

Several times, Bottas has indeed shown good results, it is only natural that he predicts he will be in the top 3 again.  Seeing his teammate's comments, Hamilton towards Bottas, which left the door open for Ferez, showed a hint of disappointment which was immediately re-confirmed that after all they were one team, losing and winning was a shared responsibility.

Bottas should be proud of what he's achieved in this sport. It's a shame his sport has so many rude armchair fans who think they should be the Mercedes no.2 instead of him. His handling of the ruder fans with grace and pride is a real sign of who he is as a person. Bottas is an inspiration, Just due to his mental strength. Many people in his position would have quit by now. He was harassed almost every post on social media up until recently. He’s a strong person. I think after Monoco 2021 people see the result isn’t always on him. he’s becoming loved which is great to see. I really love F1 but at the end of the day driving in circles does not define a persons self worth. People hate but he’s getting paid millions to travel the world and drive the fastest cars on earth. He’s winning at life