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

[swogerino]

Wow, more chaos with Hamilton dropping to last, going straight on at the first turn! Those smoking brakes at the restart weren't a good sign...

I'm a Hamilton fan, but it would have been so unfair to get that huge championship swing, this is much less unfair on Verstappen now.

The funny thing is in the team radio before starting he said this is a marathon and not a dash referring to the whole F1 Championship so I don't know why he did this.Great win,a very deserved one for Sergio Perez who gave 25 points to Redbull team and now they are leading by a big amount of points over Mercedes,thing has not happened from quite some time.Congrats to Aston Martin first podium and to Vettel for being a well deserved driver of the day for today race.

[tokeweed]

^  Yup!  Brilliant race by Vettel.  He was already doing well before the red flag even he wasn’t finishing in the podium.  But getting it and at second place at that is just reeeaally great!  It’s races like these that makes me look forward for the next one.

F1 Azerbaijan GP 2021 Race Results

1   Sergio Perez   MEX   Red Bull Racing   51 laps
2   Sebastian Vettel   GER   Aston Martin Cognizant Formula One Team   +1.385s
3   Pierre Gasly   FRA   Scuderia AlphaTauri Honda   +2.762s
4   Charles Leclerc   MON   Scuderia Ferrari Mission Winnow   +3.828s
5   Lando Norris   GBR   McLaren F1 Team   +4.754s
6   Fernando Alonso   ESP   Alpine F1 Team   +6.328s
7   Yuki Tsunoda   JPN   Scuderia AlphaTauri Honda   +6.624s
8   Carlos Sainz   ESP   Scuderia Ferrari Mission Winnow   +7.709s
9   Daniel Ricciardo   AUS   McLaren F1 Team   +8.874s
10   Kimi Raikkonen   FIN   Alfa Romeo Racing Orlen   +9.576s
11   Antonio Giovinazzi   ITA   Alfa Romeo Racing Orlen   +10.254s
12   Valtteri Bottas   FIN   Mercedes AMG Petronas Formula One Team   +11.264s
13   Mick Schumacher   GER   Uralkali Haas F1 Team   +14.241s
14   Nikita Mazepin   RUS   Uralkali Haas F1 Team   +14.315s
15   Lewis Hamilton   GBR   Mercedes AMG Petronas Formula One Team   +17.668s
16   Nicholas Latifi   CAN   Williams Racing   +42.379s
DNF   George Russell   GBR   Williams Racing   48 laps
DNF   Max Verstappen   NED   Red Bull Racing   46 laps
DNF   Lance Stroll   CAN   Aston Martin Cognizant Formula One Team   29 laps
DNF   Esteban Ocon   FRA   Alpine F1 Team   3 laps

[DIA7]

Wow, more chaos with Hamilton dropping to last, going straight on at the first turn! Those smoking brakes at the restart weren't a good sign...

I'm a Hamilton fan, but it would have been so unfair to get that huge championship swing, this is much less unfair on Verstappen now.

The funny thing is in the team radio before starting he said this is a marathon and not a dash referring to the whole F1 Championship so I don't know why he did this.Great win,a very deserved one for Sergio Perez who gave 25 points to Redbull team and now they are leading by a big amount of points over Mercedes,thing has not happened from quite some time.Congrats to Aston Martin first podium and to Vettel for being a well deserved driver of the day for today race.

yeah its been a long time since both Mercedes cars didn't score points.
and yeah it was not fair for the sake of the competition that  Lewis gets huge lead in a race where Verstappen was leading for the majority of the race.
Pirelli will be in under huge pressure from the FIA since two cars didn't finish the race after their tires blow up before about 10 laps of their lifespin.
as Stroll got his tire blow up after 30 laps in use and Verstappen after 32 laps and those tires should go for more then 40 laps.

[coinlocket$]

Wow, more chaos with Hamilton dropping to last, going straight on at the first turn! Those smoking brakes at the restart weren't a good sign...

I'm a Hamilton fan, but it would have been so unfair to get that huge championship swing, this is much less unfair on Verstappen now.

Unfair? it's racing it always happened and it always will happen.
A stupid mistake by Hamilton after the restart and magnificent Vettel Today.

Sad for Ferrari they are still slow in race timings.  

[yayayo]

Wow, more chaos with Hamilton dropping to last, going straight on at the first turn! Those smoking brakes at the restart weren't a good sign...

I'm a Hamilton fan, but it would have been so unfair to get that huge championship swing, this is much less unfair on Verstappen now.

Unfair? it's racing it always happened and it always will happen.
A stupid mistake by Hamilton after the restart and magnificent Vettel Today.

Sad for Ferrari they are still slow in race timings.  

I think it's part of racing. Nobody could have foreseen what happened to Verstappen today. It is typical that another rider also had a blowout at exactly the same point. Could there have been something there? Or maybe Pirelli made a huge mistake in saying that bang could last a long time, but maybe they're completely wrong. What Hamilton did was not smart, took way too much risk.

ya.ya.yo!

[LTU_btc]

Wow, crazy race! Mixed feelings for Red Bull. Verstappen crash and Perez win. But it's good for them that Hamilton ended without points.
Not a day for Hamilton. First Mercedes failed with very slow pit stoo and his own mistake after restart. And I don't have nothing to say about Bottas....
Vettel, what a race for him. It's even more impressive considering that he qualified outside Top 10.
Gasly, he had intensive fight with Leclerc after restart, but managed to stay in front. And in general, I liked this short sprint race.
And there will lot of questions after today's race for Pirelli...

[Jackl87]

Wow, more chaos with Hamilton dropping to last, going straight on at the first turn! Those smoking brakes at the restart weren't a good sign...

This was really completely unexpected, as Hamilton is actually known for making almost no simple avoidable mistakes. In the end, verstappen was extremely unlucky, as he was completely innocent in his accident, but due to Hamilton's mistake, at least not too much happened in terms of the drivers' standings.
Vettel on P2 is absolutely amazing and he was voted for driver of the day 2 races in a row now. I think that confidence and a positive overall mood are very important in every sports and with that second place vettels confidence should rise even more.

[ingiltere]

It was a very intense race and I don't think anybody expect this dramatic outcome, even Sergio Perez couldn't dream of this. Red Bull got the first position one way or other but it was a sour win. This just shows again that you don't win the race until the finish line. First it was Verstappen's crash, then Hamilton took the lead but he also generously gifted the first place to Perez. We rarely see races like that, so this one was special.

[AakZaki]

~snip~
Unfortunately Marquez and Rossi crash, I hope Marquez is not injured again.

Many people said Rossi should have retired this year. So this is one sign he can no longer compete with other young drivers. In addition, his performance is also not very satisfactory even though he uses a factory motorbike.

For marquez I think he is still very awkward to get back to his best. I think he needs a season to strengthen his mentality. He's still young he should still be able to compete.

[Cnut237]

Unfair? it's racing it always happened and it always will happen.
A stupid mistake by Hamilton after the restart and magnificent Vettel Today.

Sad for Ferrari they are still slow in race timings.  

Yes, unfair is probably the wrong word - of course it is fair. Unlucky is the word, I suppose, if Verstappen had lost a massive points swing just because of a tyre blowout... so Hamilton's incident cancels out Verstappen's bad luck.

Mercedes are saying it was unlucky for Hamilton, he accidentally flicked a switch that took out his braking ability. Difficult to know how much of this is true and how much is to cover the driver from taking a huge amount of blame. I'm a big fan of Hamilton, it's rare that he makes errors, but whatever the cause, this was a mistake that could have a big impact on the season - going from a potential 25 points to 0 is massive. If we expect Hamilton and Verstappen to be P1 and P2 in whatever order in most races, then this is equivalent to 4 race wins that he's lost by flicking that switch.

[coinlocket$]

Yes, unfair is probably the wrong word - of course it is fair. Unlucky is the word, I suppose, if Verstappen had lost a massive points swing just because of a tyre blowout... so Hamilton's incident cancels out Verstappen's bad luck.

Mercedes are saying it was unlucky for Hamilton, he accidentally flicked a switch that took out his braking ability. Difficult to know how much of this is true and how much is to cover the driver from taking a huge amount of blame. I'm a big fan of Hamilton, it's rare that he makes errors, but whatever the cause, this was a mistake that could have a big impact on the season - going from a potential 25 points to 0 is massive. If we expect Hamilton and Verstappen to be P1 and P2 in whatever order in most races, then this is equivalent to 4 race wins that he's lost by flicking that switch.

Mercedes got a problem during the whole weekend with the temperature of their tires.
After the removal of the DAS banned for this year after the only last year appearance they seem to be in trouble when they need to heat their tires.

This is not the first time they suffer from this, even in Monaco and another GP they needed to run 2 laps to heat their tires in the qualify while the other was ok with only one lap.

They need to solve this problem quickly.

[AndySt]

Yes, unfair is probably the wrong word - of course it is fair. Unlucky is the word, I suppose, if Verstappen had lost a massive points swing just because of a tyre blowout... so Hamilton's incident cancels out Verstappen's bad luck.
Mercedes are saying it was unlucky for Hamilton, he accidentally flicked a switch that took out his braking ability. Difficult to know how much of this is true and how much is to cover the driver from taking a huge amount of blame. I'm a big fan of Hamilton, it's rare that he makes errors, but whatever the cause, this was a mistake that could have a big impact on the season - going from a potential 25 points to 0 is massive. If we expect Hamilton and Verstappen to be P1 and P2 in whatever order in most races, then this is equivalent to 4 race wins that he's lost by flicking that switch.

I think it was really an accidental push of the button on Hamilton's part and therefore an unintentional mistake, because in the radio talks Hamilton was talking about the marathon all season and it was clear that he didn't want to risk everything to win this race. Leclair could not keep the speed of his car at the level of the leaders and therefore it is too early to say that Ferrari caught up technically on the level of Red Bull and Mercedes. Perez has finally won his first race with Red Bull, which may help him gain more confidence. Mercedes again lost to Red Bull when changing tires, when Hamilton was able to pass not only Verstappen, but also Perez.

[blue Snow]

~snip~
Unfortunately Marquez and Rossi crash, I hope Marquez is not injured again.

Many people said Rossi should have retired this year. So this is one sign he can no longer compete with other young drivers. In addition, his performance is also not very satisfactory even though he uses a factory motorbike.

For marquez I think he is still very awkward to get back to his best. I think he needs a season to strengthen his mentality. He's still young he should still be able to compete.

Both of them crash, what happens? I think the problem with the tire but I am not sure, Marquez always crashes in 2 last games, the crash happens when he tilting in a bend. However, congrats to Oliviera, he grows up to the 7th position stand. Quartararo still in the top position with 115 points, 14 different left from Zarco in 2nd position.

[Luzin]

Quartararo still in the top position with 115 points, 14 different left from Zarco in 2nd position.

Yes, for Rossi in the FP and Qualification sessions, he performed well but unfortunately he crashed. As for Quartararo did you see him purposely take off his racing suit, and throw away the chest harness? Some of the videos I've seen are not very clear. I heard a lot of news if it was done intentionally then he should be prepared to be disqualified. Maybe the points will be reduced.

[Cnut237]

Mercedes again lost to Red Bull when changing tires, when Hamilton was able to pass not only Verstappen, but also Perez.

That's what I thought, too. That hold up where Hamilton had to wait for (I think Gasly?) to go past looked costly. But in retrospect, he only lost maybe 2 seconds there, and when he emerged from the pits he was maybe 4 seconds behind Verstappen. It was noticeable that as soon as Hamilton pitted, Verstappen and Perez started to improve their lap times considerably, which suggest that Hamilton was holding them up a little. Certainly Hamilton's inability to pass Perez after the stops suggested that Red Bull had the quicker car at this track.

[tokeweed]

^  RBR has the faster car than Merc this season imho.  I don’t think Merc is just sand bagging when Toto Wolff says that they’re struggling to find good pace.  I think they really are struggling and it could take a couple of GP’s to find the right solution.  But all in all, deep inside of me I don’t want Schumacher’s record to be broken..  I kinda like it with Schumacher and Hamilton tied at 8 a piece.  

[perfect999]

Unfair? it's racing it always happened and it always will happen.
A stupid mistake by Hamilton after the restart and magnificent Vettel Today.

Sad for Ferrari they are still slow in race timings.  

Yes, unfair is probably the wrong word - of course it is fair. Unlucky is the word, I suppose, if Verstappen had lost a massive points swing just because of a tyre blowout... so Hamilton's incident cancels out Verstappen's bad luck.

Mercedes are saying it was unlucky for Hamilton, he accidentally flicked a switch that took out his braking ability. Difficult to know how much of this is true and how much is to cover the driver from taking a huge amount of blame. I'm a big fan of Hamilton, it's rare that he makes errors, but whatever the cause, this was a mistake that could have a big impact on the season - going from a potential 25 points to 0 is massive. If we expect Hamilton and Verstappen to be P1 and P2 in whatever order in most races, then this is equivalent to 4 race wins that he's lost by flicking that switch.

It is unfair in the sense that when a racer makes a mistake, or just races and becomes second that is understandable, after all we are talking about regular racing and for example Hamilton lost because of his own mistake, he wanted to be first so bad that while having such a big trouble and having smokes he still tried to gun down and get to that first place, and that is why he didn't finish in points that is understandable as "fair" but very sad for him.

However Max just had his tire blow up, that is not his problem, that is a "mechanical" issue if you will, it is not in the car like gearbox or anything its tire but it is still outside of his problem, it is not even about him putting too much on the tires or anything, it is literally just going on a straight at 32 rounds which pirelli said should go for as much as 36 to 40 laps, that is why Max was out of this race for nothing he did, and it would have been unfair because of that.

[FanEagle]

I think Mercedes engineering team is very good, there is no problem with that, the car itself is a great car and that is awesome, and I believe Hamilton is a great driver as well which I do not even have to say, everyone knows how great he is, you can hate him and I do hate him as well but nobody can deny that dude is a great driver.

However at the end of the day there are people in the pit that can destroy chances or make chances, sometimes it is the pit crew that is super fast, sometimes super slow, sometimes it is strategist gaining you a lap, sometimes not. Basically what happens in that garage can make or break a situation and that is very important. I believe there is a good chance we can see Max win the year as well if Mercedes goes like this, but at the same time Red Bull is not doing amazing neither, they have their own problems time to time as well.

[bounceback]

MotoGP today on Catalunya Spain, Quartararo still on the best grid followed Miller and Zarco on 2nd and 3rd position. Quartararo is defending champion on Catalunya 2020 with 40' 33.176",  when I see how he got the winner week by week for this session, he could make it better than last year. No doubt, he will be the champion. 24 points different from Zarco.

Yes actually quartararo finished in 3rd position but unfortunately for violating the rules of motogp then he had to get 2 penalties, with a total additional time of 6 seconds then quartararo had to accept the finish in sixth position. I hope for next week's race Quartararo will have to do his best to keep his points away from Johan Zarco who is currently only 14 points away.

[swogerino]

^  RBR has the faster car than Merc this season imho.  I don’t think Merc is just sand bagging when Toto Wolff says that they’re struggling to find good pace.  I think they really are struggling and it could take a couple of GP’s to find the right solution.  But all in all, deep inside of me I don’t want Schumacher’s record to be broken..  I kinda like it with Schumacher and Hamilton tied at 8 a piece.  

Yes Honda has a come a long way from their disastrous return at McLaren in 2015.RedBull aerodynamics have always been among the best if not the best compared to all other teams.Now the things are clicking and Redbull for me is the best team in mixed tracks but also they need to find a bit of more speed in fast paced tracks like Monza if they really want to fight for the driver's Championship.I think they will win constructors title because of Perez being a much better driver than Bottas which is far more helpful to the team.