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

[AndySt]

https://www.formula1.com/en/latest/article.driver-market-russell-wants-2022-plans-sorted-no-later-than-the-end-of-the.6vWcqZDPOtEXShBDzXjKXh.html
Russell wants 2022 plans to get sorted as soon as possible. And there are rumours like Mercedes could decide to bring Russell in the place of Bottas even before the end of the season. I'd really like to see Russell becoming a Mercedes driver very soon. So I hope that they make a decision in this direction.

Yes, the rumours about Russell replacing Bottas are hotting up. I think in large part because of Bottas' poor performance in the last race. The Mercedes hasn't been great for the last two races, but Hamilton nearly won in Azerbaijan, whereas Bottas was nowhere.
Mercedes have Hamilton fighting for the drivers championship, which is fine. But they need their second driver to pull in enough points so that they win the constructors title too. The moment it looks like they're not going to win the constructors is the moment they start to seriously think about letting Bottas go.
As for whether they'd make the change mid-season, I don't think so. It would be at the end of the season. Mercedes have made comments before - and quite recently - that they don't change drivers mid-season, 'other' teams do that (a clear dig at Red Bull).

Bottas said he has the next round of talks with Mercedes next month. I don't think Mercedes will do a Red Bull-style castling of drivers in the middle of the season, but I think there will be clarity for next season. Let's not forget that the poor results in recent races have shaken the position of not only Bottas, but also Hamilton. No one in their right mind would turn down Hamilton's services as a Mercedes driver, but the focus in the negotiating positions has shifted clearly not in favor of Lewis, who already agrees to a salary cut, but wants a doubling of the bonus for the championship.

[Koal-84]

https://www.formula1.com/en/latest/article.driver-market-russell-wants-2022-plans-sorted-no-later-than-the-end-of-the.6vWcqZDPOtEXShBDzXjKXh.html
Russell wants 2022 plans to get sorted as soon as possible. And there are rumours like Mercedes could decide to bring Russell in the place of Bottas even before the end of the season. I'd really like to see Russell becoming a Mercedes driver very soon. So I hope that they make a decision in this direction.

Yes, the rumours about Russell replacing Bottas are hotting up. I think in large part because of Bottas' poor performance in the last race. The Mercedes hasn't been great for the last two races, but Hamilton nearly won in Azerbaijan, whereas Bottas was nowhere.
Mercedes have Hamilton fighting for the drivers championship, which is fine. But they need their second driver to pull in enough points so that they win the constructors title too. The moment it looks like they're not going to win the constructors is the moment they start to seriously think about letting Bottas go.
As for whether they'd make the change mid-season, I don't think so. It would be at the end of the season. Mercedes have made comments before - and quite recently - that they don't change drivers mid-season, 'other' teams do that (a clear dig at Red Bull).

Bottas said he has the next round of talks with Mercedes next month. I don't think Mercedes will do a Red Bull-style castling of drivers in the middle of the season, but I think there will be clarity for next season. Let's not forget that the poor results in recent races have shaken the position of not only Bottas, but also Hamilton. No one in their right mind would turn down Hamilton's services as a Mercedes driver, but the focus in the negotiating positions has shifted clearly not in favor of Lewis, who already agrees to a salary cut, but wants a doubling of the bonus for the championship.

I also can't imagine Mercedes changing during the season, but I'm sure that either Hamilton or Bottas will have to leave the Mercedes team at the end of the season. With Hamilton it will depend on whether he is too greedy in the contract negotiations and wants extra sausages.

[RealMalatesta]

I believe that is quite possible but for a huge team like Mercedes that is going to be a horrible risk to take, a horrible thing if not taken. Bottas clearly doesn't want to be second guy to Hamilton anymore, he has watched his teammate get all the glory and kept hearing all the blame is on him and kept told that he should make way so that Hamilton could race faster, and that is really not something that he can continue to do, he just hates it at this point.

So, it is 100% guaranteed in my mind that Bottas is gone this offseason for sure, but if they get Russel right now that means they would have to bring him up to speed (Pun intended) for how to race behind Hamilton as well, and as a new racer that got a chance, there is a possibility Russel could risk the races and race very dangerously to get great results in order to show he is not a Bottas but a Verstappen for Hamilton.

They are not going to just waste half a season to raise Russel to a good level and try to see if he would be good or not, that is just not a risk worth taking at all. They could do that next season and that would be a much better situation for them, they could at least try to get him better during the off period and they could eat up the losses at the early races and then slowly he will get better and better.

People are not talking about it too much but Hamilton is also not getting any younger, there is a chance he could retire before anyone expects, racers that are THAT good usually end up retiring after they are not that good, I do not see him becoming something like raikkonen and try to be in top 10 each race, that is not what he will do, the moment he is not at the top of his game anymore he will retire, there is like maybe 3-4 more seasons, so the next racer mercedes gets should be the next generation great.

[AakZaki]

Prediction time game for pole on Motorrad Grand Prix Deutschland still ongoing 6 days left for who the lucky guess the exact time. The best time at the moment still holding by Marquez with 1 minute 20,195 seconds. I know this session hard for Marquez, he still hasn't focus, crash every time. my favorite still Quartararo, maybe only a bit different time with Marquez.

In other news, there is an updated lineup moto racer on 2022. Look the same, no changes for team and bike. Only a bit racer didn't yet choose the team like Valentino Rossi.
~snip~

It seems we think the same, I think it's still Quartararo and the other alternative is the Ducati racer. For Marquez I think it is right to clear his doubts and it will take a long time.

For Rossi I think he has started thinking about stopping racing. I think he's starting to not be able to compete with the other youths. Even though we will lose but time goes on, it's just a matter of time and I think this season is the right time for him to retire.

[Koal-84]

Prediction time game for pole on Motorrad Grand Prix Deutschland still ongoing 6 days left for who the lucky guess the exact time. The best time at the moment still holding by Marquez with 1 minute 20,195 seconds. I know this session hard for Marquez, he still hasn't focus, crash every time. my favorite still Quartararo, maybe only a bit different time with Marquez.

In other news, there is an updated lineup moto racer on 2022. Look the same, no changes for team and bike. Only a bit racer didn't yet choose the team like Valentino Rossi.
~snip~

It seems we think the same, I think it's still Quartararo and the other alternative is the Ducati racer. For Marquez I think it is right to clear his doubts and it will take a long time.

For Rossi I think he has started thinking about stopping racing. I think he's starting to not be able to compete with the other youths. Even though we will lose but time goes on, it's just a matter of time and I think this season is the right time for him to retire.

Sachsenring is always interesting and under normal cases a good track for Rossi and Marquez, but it's true if both are not competitive they will stop sooner or later, for Marc it will take a while but if he cannot fight for the world championship he will probably also end his career in 2 or 3 years. At Rossi, the decision should come before the summer break, now it depends on the next races.

Presumably the favorites this year will be Quartararo and Ducati, Honda was only strong at the Sachsenring with Marquez.

[perfect999]

I also can't imagine Mercedes changing during the season, but I'm sure that either Hamilton or Bottas will have to leave the Mercedes team at the end of the season. With Hamilton it will depend on whether he is too greedy in the contract negotiations and wants extra sausages.

There is zero chance Hamilton leaves Mercedes until he retires, Mercedes knows this but they will not push their chances, they will offer him the biggest contract there is and that will continue down that way forever. At the end of the day Hamilton will not be able to win the title without mercedes car and mercedes have near to zero chance to win the title without hamilton, they both need each other.

It will still be a big contract, and there is love between them so I doubt there will be a problem. Bottas however is gone that is I am sure, Hamiltons first team mate was for one season, second teammate was two seasons, third teammate is three seasons, fourth teammate was four seasons, now he is with bottas, his fifth teammate, for five seasons, he is gone and that is a funny coincidence for sure. Russel+Hamilton should be fun to watch next season but there are ton of races and an off-season until we see that, nearly 10 months or so.

[Koal-84]

I also can't imagine Mercedes changing during the season, but I'm sure that either Hamilton or Bottas will have to leave the Mercedes team at the end of the season. With Hamilton it will depend on whether he is too greedy in the contract negotiations and wants extra sausages.

There is zero chance Hamilton leaves Mercedes until he retires, Mercedes knows this but they will not push their chances, they will offer him the biggest contract there is and that will continue down that way forever. At the end of the day Hamilton will not be able to win the title without mercedes car and mercedes have near to zero chance to win the title without hamilton, they both need each other.

It will still be a big contract, and there is love between them so I doubt there will be a problem. Bottas however is gone that is I am sure, Hamiltons first team mate was for one season, second teammate was two seasons, third teammate is three seasons, fourth teammate was four seasons, now he is with bottas, his fifth teammate, for five seasons, he is gone and that is a funny coincidence for sure. Russel+Hamilton should be fun to watch next season but there are ton of races and an off-season until we see that, nearly 10 months or so.

Why does Mercedes need Hamilton for the title? I absolutely don't see that Mercedes wouldn't won the title in the last few years without Hamilton, even Bottas would have been good enough. And if Hamilton should stay forever (which I don't believe anyway) why did he only get a one year contract? He is getting older and is now too greedy, at least that's how I see it.

[tokeweed]

Ok..  So what’s the difference between Ferrari qualifying at the street circuits of Monaco and Azerbaijan with the same Ferrari that’s qualifying in a real track?  Leclerc got pole last GP and almost did at the one before if not for the driver error.  Could he do it again this Sat.?  Leclerc pole at quali for French GP is at 35.

[LTU_btc]

Ok..  So what’s the difference between Ferrari qualifying at the street circuits of Monaco and Azerbaijan with the same Ferrari that’s qualifying in a real track?  Leclerc got pole last GP and almost did at the one before if not for the driver error.  Could he do it again this Sat.?  Leclerc pole at quali for French GP is at 35.

Monaco and Baku are street circuits, but both are so different. I'm not going to predict who is who in French track before seing practice results, but for me it would be difficult to imagine Leclerc pole in this track.
There is more rumours these days that Russel may change Bottas during this season. Even Williams boss Jost Capito said that's possible scenario.

[swogerino]

Finally we are racing 3 weekends back to back which is like a marathon and it will be great for us fans.I know there is Euro 2020 going on but I am not a big fan of soccer compared to F1 racing,the adrenaline when I watch F1 racing at least for me is a lot higher than when I watch football.I hope the battle intensifies between Max and Lewis so we can have a lot of fun watching these 3 back to back races in the upcoming weekends.

[Luzin]

Today I read that Nascar racer Landon Cassill will be paid using crypto. This happened to a new sponsorship deal with Voyager Digital. In 19 races, all will be paid using litecoin (LTC) and voyager tokens (VGX).

Additionally McLaren Racing said it plans to build a non-fungible token (NFT) platform on the Tezos blockchain. They will use the existing Proof-of-Stake on the Tezos network

Source:
https://www.coindesk.com/nascar-driver-to-be-paid-entirely-in-crypto-in-voyager-sponsorship-deal
https://www.coindesk.com/mclaren-to-build-nft-platform-on-tezos

[Cnut237]

Ok..  So what’s the difference between Ferrari qualifying at the street circuits of Monaco and Azerbaijan with the same Ferrari that’s qualifying in a real track?  Leclerc got pole last GP and almost did at the one before if not for the driver error.  Could he do it again this Sat.?  Leclerc pole at quali for French GP is at 35.

Monaco and Baku are street circuits, but both are so different. I'm not going to predict who is who in French track before seing practice results, but for me it would be difficult to imagine Leclerc pole in this track.

Yes, we can't really compare street circuits with normal race tracks; the conditions are just not the same. I think in France we are likely back to the normal order that we saw earlier in the season, with Hamilton and Verstappen vying for pole... and hopefully Perez and Bottas performing well in qualifying to add a strategic element to the race.

[coinlocket$]

As predicted, Mercedes is very strong here and Ferrari will pay here. Atleast for now.

Practice 1 done and these are the results.

1   Valtteri Bottas   FIN   Mercedes AMG Petronas Formula One Team   1m33.448s
2   Lewis Hamilton   GBR   Mercedes AMG Petronas Formula One Team   1m33.783s
3   Max Verstappen   NED   Red Bull Racing   1m33.880s
4   Sergio Perez   MEX   Red Bull Racing   1m34.193s
5   Esteban Ocon   FRA   Alpine F1 Team   1m34.329s
6   Daniel Ricciardo   AUS   McLaren F1 Team   1m34.644s
7   Fernando Alonso   ESP   Alpine F1 Team   1m34.693s
8   Pierre Gasly   FRA   Scuderia AlphaTauri Honda   1m34.699s
9   Lando Norris   GBR   McLaren F1 Team   1m34.707s
10   Yuki Tsunoda   JPN   Scuderia AlphaTauri Honda   1m34.847s
11   Charles Leclerc   MON   Scuderia Ferrari Mission Winnow   1m34.950s
12   Antonio Giovinazzi   ITA   Alfa Romeo Racing Orlen   1m35.116s
13   Kimi Raikkonen   FIN   Alfa Romeo Racing Orlen   1m35.135s
14   Lance Stroll   CAN   Aston Martin Cognizant Formula One Team   1m35.275s
15   Sebastian Vettel   GER   Aston Martin Cognizant Formula One Team   1m35.289s
16   Carlos Sainz   ESP   Scuderia Ferrari Mission Winnow   1m35.342s
17   Nicholas Latifi   CAN   Williams Racing   1m35.612s
18   Nikita Mazepin   RUS   Uralkali Haas F1 Team   1m36.651s
19   Mick Schumacher   GER   Uralkali Haas F1 Team   1m37.329s
20   Roy Nissany   ISR   Williams Racing   1m37.881s

Source: https://www.crash.net/f1/results/980730/1/f1-2021-french-grand-prix-free-practice-results-1

[tokeweed]

No strong opinions here after FP2..  Good to see Leclerc in the top 5 tho.  Let’s see at FP3.  I actually made the bet for him to win at quali at 35.  Lolol.  Just a small bet tho for fun. 

F1 French GP FP2 Results 2021

1   Max Verstappen   NED   Red Bull Racing   1m32.872s
2   Valtteri Bottas   FIN   Mercedes AMG Petronas Formula One Team   1m32.880s
3   Lewis Hamilton   GBR   Mercedes AMG Petronas Formula One Team   1m33.125s
4   Fernando Alonso   ESP   Alpine F1 Team   1m33.340s
5   Charles Leclerc   MON   Scuderia Ferrari Mission Winnow   1m33.550s
6   Esteban Ocon   FRA   Alpine F1 Team   1m33.685s
7   Pierre Gasly   FRA   Scuderia AlphaTauri Honda   1m33.696s
8   Carlos Sainz   ESP   Scuderia Ferrari Mission Winnow   1m33.698s
9   Kimi Raikkonen   FIN   Alfa Romeo Racing Orlen   1m33.786s
10   Lando Norris   GBR   McLaren F1 Team   1m33.822s
11   Antonio Giovinazzi   ITA   Alfa Romeo Racing Orlen   1m33.831s
12   Sergio Perez   MEX   Red Bull Racing   1m33.921s
13   Yuki Tsunoda   JPN   Scuderia AlphaTauri Honda   1m33.955s
14   Daniel Ricciardo   AUS   McLaren F1 Team   1m34.079s
15   Sebastian Vettel   GER   Aston Martin Cognizant Formula One Team   1m34.447s
16   Lance Stroll   CAN   Aston Martin Cognizant Formula One Team   1m34.632s
17   George Russell   GBR   Williams Racing   1m35.266s
18   Nicholas Latifi   CAN   Williams Racing   1m35.331s
19   Mick Schumacher   GER   Uralkali Haas F1 Team   1m35.512s
20   Nikita Mazepin   RUS   Uralkali Haas F1 Team   1m35.551s

[coinlocket$]

No strong opinions here after FP2..  Good to see Leclerc in the top 5 tho.  Let’s see at FP3.  I actually made the bet for him to win at quali at 35.  Lolol.  Just a small bet tho for fun. 

I'm predicting almost 1 second from Hamilton and Ferrari.
Mercedes are in their best scenario in this kind of tracks while Ferrari is in their worse.

Keep in mind Ferrari did a new car but they save all the money to go all-in next year so it's normal they will pay so much in some tracks.

[Juggy777]

No strong opinions here after FP2..  Good to see Leclerc in the top 5 tho.  Let’s see at FP3.  I actually made the bet for him to win at quali at 35.  Lolol.  Just a small bet tho for fun.  

I'm predicting almost 1 second from Hamilton and Ferrari.
Mercedes are in their best scenario in this kind of tracks while Ferrari is in their worse.

Keep in mind Ferrari did a new car but they save all the money to go all-in next year so it's normal they will pay so much in some tracks.

@coinlocket$ so basically this season is just a test practice for Ferrari as all the new upgrades will come next year, hence it makes sense to put money on Hamilton in each race, because there’s a chance of him winning it 9 out of 10 times. Furthermore any sportsbook allows to predict which team will win the F1, or I should only wager on who’ll win the race (Hamilton in my opinion).

[Koal-84]

Looks like that the VR46 Team at MotoGP Nest years drive with Ducati, i'm surprise about this. Ducati mist Bild a lot of biies Nest year or the VR46 Team not become spec A bikes?

https://www.motogp.com/en/news/2021/06/18/ducati-very-close-to-agreement-with-vr46-paolo-ciabatti/379081

At Formula1, it think Mercedes and RedBull have the same performance this years and Max or Hamilton will win.

[RokokGudangGaram]

Verstappen seems to be well on his way in free practice, but what does that actually say? we have seen in the past that this is absolutely no guarantee of success and even starting on pole position nowadays means nothing like the previous race. I would like to see  victory for Verstappen here

[tokeweed]

It’s Max Verstappen again for FP3.  So far only Verstappen and Gasly has gotten the no. 1 slot for FP3 this season.  And here’s a weird statistic:  None who finished no. 1 at FP3 has taken pole at quali so far this season.  

F1 French GP FP3 Results 2021

1   Max Verstappen   NED   Red Bull Racing   1m31.300s
2   Valtteri Bottas   FIN   Mercedes AMG Petronas Formula One Team   1m32.047s
3   Carlos Sainz   ESP   Scuderia Ferrari Mission Winnow   1m32.195s
4   Sergio Perez   MEX   Red Bull Racing   1m32.238s
5   Lewis Hamilton   GBR   Mercedes AMG Petronas Formula One Team   1m32.266s
6   Lando Norris   GBR   McLaren F1 Team   1m32.336s
7   Fernando Alonso   ESP   Alpine F1 Team   1m32.624s
8   Esteban Ocon   FRA   Alpine F1 Team   1m32.681s
9   Pierre Gasly   FRA   Scuderia AlphaTauri Honda   1m32.707s
10   Daniel Ricciardo   AUS   McLaren F1 Team   1m32.759s
11   Charles Leclerc   MON   Scuderia Ferrari Mission Winnow   1m32.820s
12   Antonio Giovinazzi   ITA   Alfa Romeo Racing Orlen   1m33.017s
13   Lance Stroll   CAN   Aston Martin Cognizant Formula One Team   1m33.051s
14   Sebastian Vettel   GER   Aston Martin Cognizant Formula One Team   1m33.200s
15   Kimi Raikkonen   FIN   Alfa Romeo Racing Orlen   1m33.328s
16   George Russell   GBR   Williams Racing   1m33.364s
17   Yuki Tsunoda   JPN   Scuderia AlphaTauri Honda   1m33.424s
18   Nicholas Latifi   CAN   Williams Racing   1m33.584s
19   Mick Schumacher   GER   Uralkali Haas F1 Team   1m34.143s
20   Nikita Mazepin   RUS   Uralkali Haas F1 Team   1m34.642s

[Cnut237]

Verstappen seems to be well on his way in free practice, but what does that actually say? we have seen in the past that this is absolutely no guarantee of success and even starting on pole position nowadays means nothing like the previous race. I would like to see  victory for Verstappen here

He's just gone 7 tenths clear of the rest in final practice, and Perez is ahead of Hamilton, too. Red Bull are looking quite strong... but Mercedes also looked quite good in the earlier sessions, and as ever we won't know until qualifying.
Personally I'm just glad that the street races are done and we're back to proper racing tracks.