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

[AndySt]

I expect some competition at the very beginning of the season, and then again the superiority of Mercedes

I want to see real competition, but have a feeling that the advantage of best 2020 car plus most development time on the 2021 version will give Mercedes a big headstart which will mean easy initial victories, and then, if they cease development midway through the season, we'll see the same second half as 2020, with other teams starting to close the gap.
I hope to be proven wrong of course, as a one team procession does not make for the most exciting racing.

On the contrary, according to my modest feelings, what has been happening for a year now is that Mercedes usually rolls hard into the season at first, but at most after the middle of the championship, Mercedes ' clear dominance begins to emerge. Therefore, a similar option is not excluded this year, but more or less any conclusions can be made only after the first races. Moreover, I am not sure that the engineers of other teams sit idly by and do nothing. But still, the main events in the competition should be expected for the next year.

[swogerino]

Reminder, 5 days at the only test session of this year.

From this year for cutting costs, we will have only 1 session of 3 days of test.
In my opinion, this is a bulls**t, if a team will ending with 1 problem they will need to skip almost every available test before the start of the season.

It makes no sense.

The start of the season in 3 weeks-ish.

It looks like it is like that.Although is not good for the teams it may be good for us fans if the problem for example happens to Mercedes and they start the season with a small disadvantage that would be beneficial for this season and the F1 in general.I don't wish this happens but if it has to I hope it happens to Mercedes as they are the strongest team.

[tokeweed]

Has anybody tried paying for streaming the races from the F1 TV app in IOS?  How much is it really?  I see there’s a subscription for like 5 bucks a month but it isn’t the real subscription for the live races.  The review on the app says you have to pay more but it doesn’t say how much it is unless you pay the 5 bucks first.  Lol.

[LTU_btc]

Has anybody tried paying for streaming the races from the F1 TV app in IOS?  How much is it really?  I see there’s a subscription for like 5 bucks a month but it isn’t the real subscription for the live races.  The review on the app says you have to pay more but it doesn’t say how much it is unless you pay the 5 bucks first.  Lol.

I haven't tried it, but in previous seasons often I saw complaints from people that it doesn't work well. Though, this year they updated their service.
Price of F1 TV Pro subscription which allows to watch live races costs different in every country. For example, in my country it costs €7.99/month. But it's not available in some countries like UK. You can find more details here:
https://www.formula1.com/en/subscribe-to-f1-tv.html#en-LT

[aesma]

I like the Alpine livery. Nice touch to add some France themed elements, let's hope it brings them luck and not the opposite.

[tokeweed]

Aston Martin looks more less similar like I imagined. Classic their green, it should look great on track. But how guys do you like Haas design? Nikita Mazepin won't be allowed to use Russian flag because of ban by WADA. So, they decided to paint whole car with Russian flags:

...

I think it can be quite weird for Mick Schumacher to drive an F1 car with a Russian flag on it as he is German.    He doesn't seem like he is unhappy about the new design according to his tweet yesterday but he could maybe not very content with it.

SOURCE: https://twitter.com/SchumacherMick/status/1367435085956407296?s=20

Well Haas claims that the design was already approved before Mazepin signed at Haas. https://www.autosport.com/f1/news/haas-claims-russian-flag-car-livery-not-a-result-of-wada-ruling/5578405/

So they say...  But we all know that Mazepin’s dad was already interested in Haas way back in October last hear, almost buying the team but settled to be a sponsor.  It’s the sponsorship money that’s supporting the team.  So it’s his son and the Russian flag in there.  Lol.

[AakZaki]

A series of trials have been carried out for all classes in motor racing. All have been tested at Losail Qatar, for the MotoGP class they enter the final test on Wednesday. Then on March 19-21, it was the turn of the Moto2 and Moto3 classes. These are preparations for the opening series on March 28 at Losail. The plan will be 19 series races. Another interesting news is that Marquez has been included in the list of riders who participated in the opening series at Losail Qatar. They signed up Marquez because he was getting better.

The following is a list of the riders who will appear in the Losail Qatar opening series, which I have quoted from the official MotoGP website:
5 - Johann Zarco (Pramac Racing)
9 - Danilo Petrucci (Tech3 KTM Factory Racing)
10 - Luca Marini (SKY VR46 Avintia)
12 - Maverick Viñales (Monster Energy Yamaha MotoGP)
20 - Fabio Quartararo (Monster Energy Yamaha MotoGP)
21 - Franco Morbidelli (Petronas Yamahaa SRT)
23 - Enea Bastianini (Avintia Esponsorama Racing)
27 - Iker Lecuona (Tech3 KTM Factory Racing)
30 - Takaaki Nakagami (LCR Honda Idemitsu)
32 - Lorenzo Savadori (Aprilia Racing Team Gresini)
33 - Brad Binder (Red Bull KTM Factory Racing)
36 - Joan Mir (Team Suzuki Ecstar)
41 - Aleix Espargaro (Aprilia Racing Team Gresini)
42 - Alex Rins (Tim Suzuki Ecstar)
43 - Jack Miller (Tim Ducati Lenovo)
44 - Pol Espargaro (Tim Repsol Honda)
46 - Valentino Rossi (Petronas Yamaha SRT)
63 - Francesco Bagnaia (Tim Ducati Lenovo)
73 - Alex Marquez ( LCR Honda Castrol)
88 - Miguel Oliveira (Red Bull KTM Factory Racing)
89 - Jorge Martin (Pramac Racing)
93 - Marc Marquez (Repsol Honda Team)

Source: https://www.motogp.com/en/news/2021/03/09/marc-marquez-included-on-qatar-provisional-entry-list/363255

[Spack17]

And the new F1 car of Ferrari, SF21 is here. I don't see any fundamental change on the look of the car and it looks nice again I think. The most important thing for them is to improve their engine and get more competitive in top places. But it still looks like they will have another problematic season. I hope they get much better as of 2022 season.

https://twitter.com/ScuderiaFerrari/status/1369646574557618177?s=20

[coinlocket$]

Besides colors Ferrari changed a lot, finally a new engine, last year engines were frozen so they couldn't touch it, what a retard rule to have.




Source: https://www.formularace.it/interattivo-f1-a-confronto-le-differenze-tra-la-ferrari-sf1000-e-la-sf21/

New, engine.
New, design for flaps and front wing.
A new back, slimmer.

A lot of new things.

[coinlocket$]

Finally, it's the time!

We will have TV coverage too!

We are starting with the following Schedule.

MERCEDES - Bottas / Hamilton
RED BULL - Verstappen
McLAREN - Ricciardo / Norris
ASTON MARTIN - Vettel / Stroll
ALPINE - Ocon
FERRARI - Leclerc / Sainz
ALPHA TAURI - Gasly / Tsunoda
ALFA ROMEO - Raikkonen / Giovinazzi
HAAS - Schumacher / Mazepin
WILLIAMS - Nissany

Source: https://sport.sky.it/formula-1/2021/03/11/test-formula-1-bahrain-calendario-orari

Remember we will only have 3 days of test this means the team will go always ASAP on the track and it also means that a stop for a problem is a disaster since you can't recover the time lost.

[Koal-84]

A photo series with a comparison of the TOP 4 teams in Formula 1.

https://www.autobild.de/bilder/die-formel-1-autos-der-top-4-im-vergleich-11355595.html

I hope for a more exciting season that Ferrari can catch up with the top again, last year with the big Mercedes dominance it was rather boring even if not much will change this year.

[coinlocket$]

They did again, all the spotlights are on Mercedes again even this year on test.

They have a new revolutionary bottom of the car.



and ASTON MARTIN ALREADY COPIED IT. 



https://it.motorsport.com/f1/news/f1-aston-martin-il-fondo-e-gia-copia-di-quello-segreto-mercedes/5694492/

[Juggy777]

A photo series with a comparison of the TOP 4 teams in Formula 1.

https://www.autobild.de/bilder/die-formel-1-autos-der-top-4-im-vergleich-11355595.html

I hope for a more exciting season that Ferrari can catch up with the top again, last year with the big Mercedes dominance it was rather boring even if not much will change this year.

@Koal-84 I highly doubt that Ferrari will be able to challenge in this season, hence I’m keeping my hopes really low on them.

They did again, all the spotlights are on Mercedes again even this year on test.

They have a new revolutionary bottom of the car.



and ASTON MARTIN ALREADY COPIED IT. 



https://it.motorsport.com/f1/news/f1-aston-martin-il-fondo-e-gia-copia-di-quello-segreto-mercedes/5694492/

@coinlocket$ I don’t think that anyone will be surprised because Mercedes are the leader, and if you can’t innovate then copying the leaders is only the way to survive in this sport.

Source:

https://www.crash.net/f1/news/940675/1/ferrari-won-t-be-competitive-f1-until-2022-says-chairman

[coinlocket$]

@coinlocket$ I don’t think that anyone will be surprised because Mercedes are the leader, and if you can’t innovate then copying the leaders is only the way to survive in this sport.

So they magically copied the Mercedes project again? How they even know if Mercedes was working in a wavering bottom of the car?  

Second session stats in minutes... times of the morning, with problems for Aston, Ferrari, Mercedes.

1. Daniel Ricciardo, McLaren, 45 laps, 1:32.203
2. Pierre Gasly, AlphaTauri, 74 laps, +0.028
3. Max Verstappen, Red Bull, 68 laps, +0.042
4. Esteban Ocon, Alpine, 68 laps, +0.756
5. Charles Leclerc, Ferrari: 59 laps, +1.039
6. Kimi Raikkonen, Alfa Romeo: 63 laps, +1.117
7. Sebastian Vettel, Aston Martin, 51 laps, +1.539
8. Roy Nissany, Williams, 39 laps, +2.586
9. Mick Schumacher, Haas, 15 laps, +3.924
10. Valtteri Bottas, Mercedes, 6 laps, +4.647
11. Nikita Mazepin, Haas, 11 laps, +4.855
12. Yuki Tsunoda, AlphaTauri, 6 laps, +4.856
13. Antonio Giovinazzi, Alfa Romeo, 7 laps, +5.595

Source: https://www.skysports.com/f1/live-blog

[tokeweed]

A photo series with a comparison of the TOP 4 teams in Formula 1.

https://www.autobild.de/bilder/die-formel-1-autos-der-top-4-im-vergleich-11355595.html

I hope for a more exciting season that Ferrari can catch up with the top again, last year with the big Mercedes dominance it was rather boring even if not much will change this year.

@Koal-84 I highly doubt that Ferrari will be able to challenge in this season, hence I’m keeping my hopes really low on them.

They did again, all the spotlights are on Mercedes again even this year on test.

They have a new revolutionary bottom of the car.



and ASTON MARTIN ALREADY COPIED IT. 



https://it.motorsport.com/f1/news/f1-aston-martin-il-fondo-e-gia-copia-di-quello-segreto-mercedes/5694492/

@coinlocket$ I don’t think that anyone will be surprised because Mercedes are the leader, and if you can’t innovate then copying the leaders is only the way to survive in this sport.

Source:

https://www.crash.net/f1/news/940675/1/ferrari-won-t-be-competitive-f1-until-2022-says-chairman

Yup, just like how Redbull was doing really good with blown their blown diffuser back in the day and with some of the other teams criticizing Redbull that ‘it’s against the rules’.  After the FIA said it was legal, a couple of months later almost every team had a blown diffuser. 

[coinlocket$]

1. Max Verstappen, Red Bull, 139 laps, 1:30.674
2. Lando Norris, McLaren, 46 laps, +0.215
3. Esteban Ocon, Alpine, 129 laps +0.472
4. Lance Stroll, Aston Martin, 46 laps, +1.108
5. Carlos Sainz, Ferrari, 57 laps, +1.245
6. Antonio Giovinazzi, Alfa Romeo, 68 laps, +1.271
7. Daniel Ricciardo, McLaren, 45 laps, +1.529
8. Pierre Gasly, AlphaTauri, 74 laps, +1.557
9. Yuki Tsunoda, AlphaTauri, 37 laps, +2.053
10. Lewis Hamilton, Mercedes, 42 laps, +2.238
11. Charles Leclerc, Ferrari: 59 laps, +2.568
12. Kimi Raikkonen, Alfa Romeo: 63 laps, +2.646
13. Sebastian Vettel, Aston Martin, 51 laps, +3.068
14. Roy Nissany, Williams, 83 laps, +4.115
15. Nikita Mazepin, Haas, 70 laps, +4.124
16. Mick Schumacher, Haas, 15 laps, +5.453
17. Valtteri Bottas, Mercedes, 6 laps, +6.176.

Source: https://www.skysports.com/f1/live-blog

Ok this is onty the 1st day but so far

REDBULL  140 LAPS 0 PROBLEMS AND FASTEST LAP
FERRARI 120 LAPS 1 STOP
MERCEDES 48 LAPS A LOT OF STOPS AND SOMETIMES THEY CAN'T EVEN STAY ON THE TRACK!

well tomorrow will be another day.

[aesma]

I see Ferrari are still sponsored by "mission winnow" aka Marlboro. I must say I don't understand how that works, do people really buy cigarettes after having seen "MW" on a Ferrari F1 car ?

[yayayo]

Before last year, Verstappen and Hamilton were completely given the same chances to win the world title. But then the Mercedes team had a brilliant hidden trick, and it was already clear that after 1 race the title would go to Mercedes. This year might be different, but I think we can jump to conclusions after the 1st race.

ya.ya.yo!

[swogerino]

I see Ferrari are still sponsored by "mission winnow" aka Marlboro. I must say I don't understand how that works, do people really buy cigarettes after having seen "MW" on a Ferrari F1 car ?

Ferrari fans I believe they surely do.A normal Tv viewer of the race who is a smoker may be influenced but may also be not.Personally as a technology person I pay attention to sponsors like Dell and Microsoft and I think everyone looks advertising related to their profession.I have seen Marlboro for years in Ferrari but I never cared to buy a Marlboro packet of cigarettes.

[Cnut237]

Looks like Mercedes are back on track (literally, after Hamilton's trip onto the gravel earlier). After a difficult day and a half, Bottas took top spot overall this afternoon.
I was starting to wonder whether there was a fundamental problem with the car. But I suppose that is what testing is for, to iron out any bugs and get everything running smoothly. Mercedes look in a lot better place after this afternoon's session.