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

[Jackl87]

Sebastian Vettel is leaving Formula 1 after Season 2022
https://www.motorsport.com/f1/news/vettel-announces-retirement-from-f1-after-2022-season/10344454/

I also saw that news today and i was really surprised that he is already leaving the formula 1 after this season. I mean he is "only" 35 years old and even though you need to be fit to be a formula 1 driver you can still be at your absolute top level with 40 years. Fernando Alonso is proving that all the time. So Vettel could have at least 5 or 6 more years in the formula 1 if he wanted to. I watched his announcement video and it seems to me that he is just not really that motivated anymore to be a formula 1 driver because it just takes away way to much time from his personal live and it seems like now he just wants to see his kids grow up.

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[BitcoinAccepted]

I think Vettel has found it beautiful enough. Moreover, he is no longer so good that he can ride for a really top team. And someone like Vettel wants to compete at the highest level, so you want to participate in the battle for the world championship. That is impossible with his current team and if you want to become world champion you have to drive for Ferrari, Red Bull or optionally Mercedes. I don't think he wants to act as an extra in F1 anymore. He has had a pretty impressive career.

[FanEagle]

We are in another race week now right before the summer break. This race is going to be very important mentally for Verstappen and Leclerc both. Because in case one of them captures a significant advantage against the other, that driver is going to have a more satisfying ending in the first half of the season. Leclerc desperately needs to win the Hungarian GP this weekend. After that very unfortunate crash the gap with Verstappen has been opened too much. He needs to win as many races as possible to still have a chance for the championship.

While I agree with you from the past races we have seen there is no real big difference between the cars as even Ocon with Alpine has won this race with the right circumstances that favored him a couple of years ago.This means that the upcoming race will be a fierce full battle and most probably if only one of the two drivers have a reliability or some other problem can make the other one to get a significant advantage over the other,mostly Leclerc should win this race otherwise if Verstappen wins this I think the title war ends here.

And if you take into consideration that this year's cars have been closer than it has been over a decade, we all know that this race was possible for Ocon to win with a car that Mercedes dominated for 8 years, and Max finally won a title, with THOSE cars, if we are talking about this year? It means that it is going to be something that is very dangerous for all drivers.

Vettel has been bad this year for example, it has been a terrible season for them but he is one of the best there ever was, and even with that in mind he could win this race, it is such a know and obvious answer. All in all I believe that we are going to watch one of the most closest races ever.

[LTU_btc]

Vettel retired - I think we all saw this coming. He is legend - 4 times World Champion after all and great personality. But few recent seasons were decline. Interesting what he will do now.
And damn, times flies so fast. I still remember his debut race in 2007 when he replaced Kubic like it was yesterday. His first win with Toro Rosso and dominace in Red Bull were like few years ago...

Was he strong or did he only get lucky to be in the right spot at the right time with RBR?

I think both.

I think I have never seen rain in the Hungarian GP

There was few wet Hungarian GP's, but quite long time ago. I think that most recent was in 2014 https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=crEjfg7I5ps

[Captain Corporate]

I think there are two possible scenarios for the rest of the season for Vettel now. Either he is going to race all the remainder of races and going to "try" (has a terrible car) the best he can, and do wild stuff only Vettel can do. Or he is going to take it easy and even "miss" a few races here and there to let some younger guy get some experience for next season. I am sure Aston Martin already knows who will replace Vettel, so why not try to give that racer some more experience this year in 2-3 races to see what happens. Sort of like what happened with Russell so far, he raced with Mercedes a few times before he got there.

[alegotardo]

I know it's a touchy subject to talk about first and second drivers when they should all be treated equally.
But, thinking about it, will Stroll be Aston Martin's main driver or are they thinking of hiring some heavyweight driver to take over the leadership of the team?
My opinion is that Nico Hülkenberg is the chosen one, as he is the reserve driver for Aston Martin and replaced Vettel at the beginning of the season, when the four-time champion was diagnosed with Covid-19.
But... F1 always has a lot of surprises and can impress us again at any time

[Davian144]

Jack Miller mentioned that for now there is no such thing as a Ducati track where in 2022 so far, Ducati has won victories at former weak spots like Assen, Jerez and the Circuit of the Americas, as well as clinching wins at the fun hunting grounds of Mugello. And I think that's true because in reality that's the way it is now that Ducati has been able to be competitive on tracks that are not favorites to win.

https://www.motorsport.com/motogp/news/miller-no-such-thing-as-a-ducati-track-anymore-in-motogp/10343715/

[el kaka22]

It was understandable, I mean if he was in red bull or ferrari this season, then he could had a chance to win it all over again, but he won it 4 times already, and he is the best racer I have ever seen in my entire life on "pure talent" base, he knew the car better than anyone else.

Yeah, maybe Lewis knew how to race better, who knows, I am not here to argue about that, but Vettel knew his car better than anyone else did, and on a period where Mercedes was a few seconds faster than anyone else on track, this dude gave them a run for their money when nobody got close, hell usually half of the track just got outlapped each race, and Vettel deserves to be with his family after such a compact but hardcore career.

[swogerino]

Jack Miller mentioned that for now there is no such thing as a Ducati track where in 2022 so far, Ducati has won victories at former weak spots like Assen, Jerez and the Circuit of the Americas, as well as clinching wins at the fun hunting grounds of Mugello. And I think that's true because in reality that's the way it is now that Ducati has been able to be competitive on tracks that are not favorites to win.

https://www.motorsport.com/motogp/news/miller-no-such-thing-as-a-ducati-track-anymore-in-motogp/10343715/

There is only one real track that historically has favored Ducati and that is Catalunya where the straight is huge and the Ducati moto has the absolute top speed or at least used to have the top speed in MotoGP because it is some time that I don't follow MotoGP closely due to the lack of riders like Rossi,Biaggi,Lorenzo,Marquez which hopefully will be back and other legends that a couple of years ago made this sport really enjoyable to watch.

The fact that Ducati has won at a track like Assen which is not a favorite to Ducati having a lot of narrow turns and not that much speed either shows something,shows that Ducati is improving further.

[boltz]

I do hope they will bring Mick to Aston Martin next year as that would make perfect sense right now. Vettel leaves , Mick takes it's place and continue to develop the Aston Martin car. Besides this , Stroll always said that Aston Martin plan is to conquer the motorsport public from Germany and by signing Mick that would bring only positive aspects to the team and also to German fans. Also this move would be great for Mick as we all want to see him in a better car than Haas and believe or not , Aston martin has the biggest budget right now when it comes to new facility and last tech on the market because ARAMCO is keep pumping money there.

[tokeweed]

^  Ugh please no.  Have some mercy on Michael Schumacher's son and heir.  Lolol.  He's better off with Haas.  The team doesn't have much money but their car development is more sound and the results more positive than Aston Martin.

And Mick Schumacher is a Ferrari guy.  I think Haas is Ferrari's somewhat unofficial junior team.  So it makes more sense for him to stay and learn with Haas.

FP1 results...  Sainz is quick.

2022 F1 Hungarian GP Free Practice 1

1   Carlos Sainz   ESP   Scuderia Ferrari   1m18.750s
2   Max Verstappen   NED   Oracle Red Bull Racing   1m18.880s
3   Charles Leclerc   MON   Scuderia Ferrari   1m19.030s
4   George Russell   GBR   Mercedes AMG Petronas Formula One Team   1m19.299s
4   Lando Norris   GBR   McLaren F1 Team   1m19.606s
6   Sergio Perez   MEX   Oracle Red Bull Racing   1m19.622s
7   Lewis Hamilton   GBR   Mercedes AMG Petronas Formula One Team   1m19.710s
8   Daniel Ricciardo   AUS   McLaren F1 Team   1m19.841s
9   Esteban Ocon   FRA   BWT Alpine F1 Team   1m20.348s
10   Fernando Alonso   ESP   BWT Alpine F1 Team   1m20.377s
11   Sebastian Vettel   GER   Aston Martin Aramco Cognizant Formula One Team   1m20.383s
12   Lance Stroll   CAN   Aston Martin Aramco Cognizant Formula One Team   1m20.414s
13   Pierre Gasly   FRA   Scuderia AlphaTauri   1m20.456s
14   Yuki Tsunoda   JPN   Scuderia AlphaTauri   1m20.695s
15   Guanyu Zhou   CHN   Alfa Romeo F1 Team Orlen   1m20.810s
16   Alexander Albon   THA   Williams Racing   1m20.834s
17   Kevin Magnussen   DEN   Haas F1 Team   1m20.921s
18   Mick Schumacher   GER   Haas F1 Team   1m21.027s
19   Robert Kubica   POL   Alfa Romeo F1 Team Orlen   1m21.179s
20   Nicholas Latifi   CAN   Williams Racing   1m21.413s

[coinlocket$]

FP1 results...  Sainz is quick.

Fast is relative they should be 2 seconds faster than the 1st hour in the next free practice.

[tokeweed]

^  True but just saying.  FP1 was pretty quick for Sainz.  This time around at FP2 both Ferraris are really quick.  But it's not a couple of seconds quicker than FP1.  We're prolly gonna see these goes push it a tad more tomorrow at FP3 then go all out at qualifying.

Here are the results.  Guess who has a problem at fourth in the grid.  Lol.  And it looks like McClaren is fast on this track too.  Mercedes needs to work harder and claw their way back up.

2022 F1 Hungarian GP Free Practice 2 Results

1   Charles Leclerc   MON   Scuderia Ferrari   1m18.445s
2   Carlos Sainz   ESP   Scuderia Ferrari   1m18.662s
2   Lando Norris   GBR   McLaren F1 Team   1m18.676s
4   Max Verstappen   NED   Oracle Red Bull Racing   1m18.728s
5   Daniel Ricciardo   AUS   McLaren F1 Team   1m18.872s
6   Fernando Alonso   ESP   BWT Alpine F1 Team   1m19.049s
7   Sebastian Vettel   GER   Aston Martin Aramco Cognizant Formula One Team   1m19.253s
8   George Russell   GBR   Mercedes AMG Petronas Formula One Team   1m19.355s
9   Sergio Perez   MEX   Oracle Red Bull Racing   1m19.397s
10   Valtteri Bottas   FIN   Alfa Romeo F1 Team Orlen   1m19.411s
11   Lewis Hamilton   GBR   Mercedes AMG Petronas Formula One Team   1m19.547s
12   Guanyu Zhou   CHN   Alfa Romeo F1 Team Orlen   1m19.605s
13   Esteban Ocon   FRA   BWT Alpine F1 Team   1m19.614s
14   Lance Stroll   CAN   Aston Martin Aramco Cognizant Formula One Team   1m19.702s
15   Pierre Gasly   FRA   Scuderia AlphaTauri   1m19.730s
16   Kevin Magnussen   DEN   Haas F1 Team   1m19.818s
17   Mick Schumacher   GER   Haas F1 Team   1m19.985s
18   Nicholas Latifi   CAN   Williams Racing   1m20.488s
19   Yuki Tsunoda   JPN   Scuderia AlphaTauri   1m20.521s
20   Alexander Albon   THA   Williams Racing   1m20.615s

[Velvet78]

Hamilton has struggled in free practice sessions so far but we will see what he will do in qualifying session. Practice sessions still give us a little idea about what can happen at least. Ferrari and Red Bull are very quick as always. Norris have been making me surprised so far by his solid effort in both sessions. Ricciardo also did well so I wonder if McLarens will manage to have a decent success in this Grand Prix. Things haven't gone just as they expected for them so far and they would make use of some good amount of points here.

[Jackl87]

Hamilton has struggled in free practice sessions so far but we will see what he will do in qualifying session. Practice sessions still give us a little idea about what can happen at least. Ferrari and Red Bull are very quick as always. Norris have been making me surprised so far by his solid effort in both sessions. Ricciardo also did well so I wonder if McLarens will manage to have a decent success in this Grand Prix. Things haven't gone just as they expected for them so far and they would make use of some good amount of points here.

Well Hamilton was around 2 tenths of a second slower than George Russel which is quite a bit but not that big of a gap. I am also positively surprised about the performance of both Mclaren drivers. I mean it is nothing special anymore that Lando Norris is able to go all the way into Q3 in the qualifying but Daniel Ricciardo was way slower then his teammate so far this season. It seems like the news that he will also drive for Mclaren in the next season definitely have boosted the confidence of Ricciardo which is a great thing because he is a very likeable guy. Now he also needs to deliver in the qualifying and of course also in the race.

[coinlocket$]

Something must be wrong here 

Why Mclarens are so fast today? Timers are still slow.

Rain is expected tomorrow.

[BitcoinAccepted]

We get the race in Hungary this weekend. Verstappen has never won here. That bodes well for Leclerc. We still have a lot of rounds to go, but if Verstappen manages to win here and Leclerc drops out again, then there is a 95% chance that Verstappen will become world champion. It would be nice for the fans and general spectator if Leclerc wins this and maybe we can also experience the necessary spectacle. I don't know who the favorite is, but it seems pretty clear to me that it is between Verstappen and Leclerc. Perez and Sainz are the best of the rest.

[Pulsar77]

McLaren drivers really surprised us today. Especially Norris made a solid effort today. I'm curious about if he will manage to carry his performance to the qualifying session and race both. It is the same for Ricciardo also because he also had a decent day. Hamilton wasn't in the mood today but we will see if he will improve tomorrow. Mercedes have made a really good progress recently and I'm expecting the same in the Hungarian GP also. Leclerc seems fired up about winning the remaining races but he has a very hard job to do.

[coinlocket$]

Ferrari is solid on this track as in all high drag tracks, and they could have a comfortable pole position tomorrow IF it does not rain.

According also to RedBull Ferrari is not beatable here.

[el kaka22]

We are seeing Vettel at a top 10 position after being like the last, and we are seeing Mclarens being quick enough for a podium, I mean let's be honest with each other here, even Hamilton sucked. So, if you are thinking that these practice sessions mean anything other than checking data and adjusting the cars for it, then you are lying to yourself and you haven't watched too many F1 races so far and only checking because of the netflix series.

These practice runs are there for one reason only and that reason is to make sure that mechanics could see the car perform and decide on what little change they could do before the actual race starts (well quali first) and that's it.