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

[bestcoins1]

The series of MotoGP races on the European continent will be a test for Takaaki Nakagami in an effort to maintain a seat at LCR Honda for 2023.

The Japanese racer's contract will expire at the end of 2022. And his position is currently threatened by a young Moto2 star as well as his compatriot who is currently defending Honda Team Asia, namely Ai Ogura. Nakagami, supported by Idemitsu, was specially prepared for Japanese racers. Given the same sponsorship of Ogura, he too is a logical candidate to replace his compatriot.

This situation might happen. The reason is, in four years with LCR Honda, Nakagami failed to score a podium and only three times won the fourth best position.
He even started MotoGP 2022 not so satisfying. Only once did he finish in the top 10, bringing him to 16th place in the standings.

"To be honest, I've been under pressure since Qatar," Nakagami said when asked by Motorsport.com if the racing weekend in Portugal added pressure on him to perform for his future.

“But the last four races – Qatar, Indonesia, Argentina, America – were certainly not the best performance. Only a top 10 finish in Qatar.

"I'm not looking for that bad result. Now from Portimao, Jerez, those two races were really important for me to gain confidence again. Then I need to show the team and HRC that I have potential, that I have speed.

"So maybe it's extra pressure, but at the same time I'm looking for my confidence back. These two races will be very important for the future." _{Source: motorsport.com / sport.zone_id}

[LTU_btc]

Qualifying today was quite big wtf. So many accidents, red flags, change of weather and rain. So, after all, length of qualifying was close to 2 hours, almost like a race. Verstappen won pole, but this qualification didn't answered question who is who fully. Mercedes didn't even reached Q3, but it don't show that they are so bad - they simply wasn't able to make their fast lap attempt on dry track because of another red flag. And P4 for Magnussen is amazing achievement, especially after that his accident when he was close to be eliminated.

[lulumiya]

It was a really boring qualifying session in my opinion. Because it stopped so many times that I just wished it ended as soon as possible. The rain made things worse for the drivers and spectators at the same time. Verstappen had a lucky day as he managed to take the pole position for the sprint race. Because Leclerc didn't have the chance to beat Verstappen's fastest lap in Q3 because of a red flag which caused the session to come to an end. But I hope that the sprint race doesn't become boring too.

[Koal-84]

Very event rich qualification yesterday for the sprint race, with many interruptions.

According to the weather forecast, there is only a 20% chance of rain today, but on Sunday it looks like more rain again.

For Mercedes qualifying was a debacle, think the worst result in a decade?

[boltz]

Awful qualifiers for Mercedes yesterday and yes , it was the worst result after 1 decade.

Live right now Practice 2 and I was right to think that RedBull will come full force here as it's the last chance for them to minimize the gap between them and Ferrari. However,I don't think they will take the win in the race as this Ferrari car is simply way better.

Weather predictions : Sky is getting cloudy so we might have some light rain later.

[coinlocket$]

This is the horrible part of the sprint qualify.

The free practice 2 where nobody cares about anything, they are testing race situations so it will ends be boring .

1   George Russell   GBR   Mercedes AMG Petronas Formula One Team   1m19.457s
2   Sergio Perez   MEX   Oracle Bull Racing   1m19.538s
3   Charles Leclerc   MON   Scuderia Ferrari   1m19.740s
4   Lewis Hamilton   GBR   Mercedes AMG Petronas Formula One Team   1m19.992s
5   Fernando Alonso   ESP   BWT Alpine F1 Team   1m20.1741s
6   Carlos Sainz   ESP   Scuderia Ferrari   1m20.258s
7   Max Verstappen   NED   Oracle Red Bull Racing   1m20.371s
8   Yuki Tsunoda   JPN   Scuderia AlphaTauri   1m20.381s
9   Pierre Gasly   FRA   Scuderia AlphaTauri   1m20.439s
10   Guanyu Zhou   CHN   Alfa Romeo F1 Team Orlen   1m20.498s
11   Alexander Albon   THA   Williams Racing   1m20.591s
12   Kevin Magnussen   DEN   Haas F1 Team   1m20.740s
13   Mick Schumacher   GER   Haas F1 Team   1m20.977s
14   Lance Stroll   CAN   Aston Martin Aramco Cognizant Formula One Team   1m21.149s
15   Sebastian Vettel   GER   Aston Martin Aramco Cognizant Formula One Team   1m21.155s
16   Esteban Ocon   FRA   BWT Alpine F1 Team   1m21.179s
17   Nicholas Latifi   CAN   Williams Racing   1m21.263s
18   Lando Norris   GBR   McLaren F1 Team   1m23.821s
19   Daniel Ricciardo   AUS   McLaren F1 Team   No Time Set
20   Valtteri Bottas   FIN   Alfa Romeo F1 Team Orlen   No Time Set

Source: https://www.crash.net/f1/results/1001286/1/f1-2022-emilia-romagna-grand-prix-free-practice-results-2

[tokeweed]

^  Yup, the leaders are clearly sand bagging during FP2...  How many laps are the sprint races again?  If Leclerc doesn't get first position at the start, he could have just a couple of opportunities for a DRS pass.  

Pole position for Max, deserved? Who knows.

Anyway it will be hard for overtake in this track, we will see if Sainz can recover from p10 after the mistake he made.

No way Verstappen deserved pole.  Lol.  And you guys know I'm more lean in favor towards Red Bull over other F1 teams.  It's clear to anyone who watched quali that the red flags fucked Leclerc's chances up to take it away from Verstappen.  

But yeah..  I'm pretty sure with Ferrari's car advantage Leclerc could take the race.  So it's a 'no' in the market I'm eyeing of  putting a little bet on.

Edit:  Sprint race in 7 mins or so...

Edit:  Look like it's a 'yes'. 

[Davian144]

^{Image Source: brake.gp}

During FP1, FP2, FP3 and FP4, Portugal's Algarve Portimao circuit was wet so it was difficult to predict who would be in front, but once we entered Q1 and Q2, the circuit started to dry and some of the riders tried to have the best time to stay on the front grid. , but at the end of qualifying Johan Zarco was able to record the best time thus making it the Pole Position for tomorrow's race.
Who do you think will get Podium 1, 2 and 3 tomorrow ?

[tokeweed]

I guess Verstappen getting pole this time around is well deserved?    Leclerc had the lead for like over 90% of the sprint race til Verstappen came pushing himself towards the end.  I think it was Ferrari's team's fault for not telling Leclerc to save his tires for the last couple laps.  Verstappen probably did and was able to push it and gained the position back.

Anyway, I still think Leclerc will win tomorrow if nothing out of the ordinary happens...

Here are the results.

2022 F1 Emilia Romagna GP Sprint Quali Results

1   Max Verstappen   NED   Oracle Red Bull Racing   21 Laps
2   Charles Leclerc   MON   Scuderia Ferrari   + 2.975s
3   Sergio Perez   MEX   Oracle Bull Racing   + 4.721s
4   Carlos Sainz   ESP   Scuderia Ferrari   + 17.578s
5   Lando Norris   GBR   McLaren F1 Team   + 24.561s
6   Daniel Ricciardo   AUS   McLaren F1 Team   + 27.740s
7   Valtteri Bottas   FIN   Alfa Romeo F1 Team Orlen   + 28.133s
8   Kevin Magnussen   DEN   Haas F1 Team   + 30.712s
9   Fernando Alonso   ESP   BWT Alpine F1 Team   + 32.278s
10   Mick Schumacher   GER   Haas F1 Team   + 33.773s
11   George Russell   GBR   Mercedes AMG Petronas Formula One Team   + 36.284s
12   Yuki Tsunoda   JPN   Scuderia AlphaTauri   + 38.289s
13   Sebastian Vettel   GER   Aston Martin Aramco Cognizant Formula One Team   + 40.177s
14   Lewis Hamilton   GBR   Mercedes AMG Petronas Formula One Team   + 41.459s
15   Lance Stroll   CAN   Aston Martin Aramco Cognizant Formula One Team   + 42.910s
16   Esteban Ocon   FRA   BWT Alpine F1 Team   + 43.517s
17   Pierre Gasly   FRA   Scuderia AlphaTauri   + 43.794s
18   Alexander Albon   THA   Williams Racing   + 48.871s
19   Nicholas Latifi   CAN   Williams Racing   + 52.017s
    Guanyu Zhou   CHN   Alfa Romeo F1 Team Orlen   DNF

[coinlocket$]

Leclerc got problems with his tires an he was unable to fight with Max in the final part of the race.
Good recovery for Sainz.

For tomorrow is not clear which wheater they will face.

[ILuckyGuyI]

It was a really unfortunate sprint race for Leclerc. He could have taken the pole position for the race in fact. But his front right tyre started graining earlier and this was a big opportunity for Verstappen to overtake him again. Verstappen had a really bad start against Leclerc but he still managed to take his place back from Leclerc in the last moments of the sprint race. And I was happy for Sainz too as he climbed to the fourth place from tenth. And it hasn't been the best race weekend for Mercedes drivers. I wonder what they will do in the race.

[swogerino]

Leclerc got problems with his tires an he was unable to fight with Max in the final part of the race.
Good recovery for Sainz.

For tomorrow is not clear which wheater they will face.

I think that Verstappen is the favorite seeing the end results of such qualifying but the reliability problems of Redbull are worrisome for the complete length of the race.I think that Ferrari is still there and they have a big chance to win this race,they were first and second in the initial practice tests.I have bet on Leclerc to win the race because I think a lot of things can happen during a race and the weather conditions are unclear and with such happenings the most reliable car so far which is Ferrari has really good chances to win the race.

[bestcoins1]

It's a shame that @marcmarquez93 and @fabioquartararo20's lap times were canceled because they were both Yellow Flags. Yes, even if it's not Yellow Flag, Marc is still not pole, because his lap time (1:42,295) is still at P4 but at least the starting position is a little better #PortugueseGP #source: gpindonesia.id

Will Marquez make a tougher match in this race ? because he will start the race in 9th position so there are 8 riders that he must overtake in front of him tomorrow.

[tokeweed]

Leclerc got problems with his tires an he was unable to fight with Max in the final part of the race.
Good recovery for Sainz.

For tomorrow is not clear which wheater they will face.

Ferrari did show that they could be fast on the wet track so I'm not really worried about that if I was betting on Leclerc.  He has the pace, he has the car and they're faster than Red Bull overall in all three tire compounds.  I don't know why the books have Verstappen at 1.76.  Lol.  That's a lot of money moving the line that low.  My favorite bet which I'll prolly do if I win one of me UFC tickets would be the grid position of winner market.  Leclerc at 2.60 looks good imho.

[Pulsar77]

It was good to see some action in the sprint race. Leclerc started very nicely and took the lead but he couldn't maintain it until the end against Verstappen. But if he didn't have any problems with his tires, then I was pretty sure that he would secure the pole position. But in the big race tomorrow, I'm confident about one thing that Leclerc will manage to win this race. He is still faster than Verstappen now and this wouldn't change here too unless there is a big surprise. But I hope that it doesn't become a boring race at the same time.

[Koal-84]

Very strong performance from RedBull, was a strong response from RedBull against Ferrari. Once wait and see if it will be the same tomorrow in the long race. The race is long Ferrari and Red Bull are fast, but can the RedBull also make it to the end of the race and if so the pace and engine hold?

[Jackl87]

Very strong performance from RedBull, was a strong response from RedBull against Ferrari. Once wait and see if it will be the same tomorrow in the long race. The race is long Ferrari and Red Bull are fast, but can the RedBull also make it to the end of the race and if so the pace and engine hold?

I could not watch the sprint race live today but from the stuff that i have seen now in the clips that are available it looks like Red Bull has the stronger car this weekend. That Leclerc was on the first place for the most part of the race was the fault of Verstappen on the start and had nothing to do with the car. Closer to the end of the sprint race it became obvious that Red Bull was able to manage their tires better and 2 laps before the end Leclerc had no more chance to hold Verstappen behind him. If the race would have been a few laps longer then i think that Perez would have been able to overtake Leclerc too. This definitely indicates that Red Bull is stronger this weekend. Now of course the car also needs to be able to finish a whole race without breaking.

[coinlocket$]

Very strong performance from RedBull, was a strong response from RedBull against Ferrari. Once wait and see if it will be the same tomorrow in the long race. The race is long Ferrari and Red Bull are fast, but can the RedBull also make it to the end of the race and if so the pace and engine hold?

Keep also in mind that was the Red compound.
What will happen if they go with harder tires? Probably Ferrari will have not the problem they got today and they will stronger, we will se tomorrow.

Right now is raining.

[Velvet78]

I have seen that the rain probability is given around 50 percent after the race starts. It would be really interesting to watch this race under rain. It might not be that fun considering the qualifying session. Drivers were having a really hard time staying on track. But under normal conditions, I think that Leclerc would overtake Verstappen and win the race too. The sprint race shouldn't be misleading. Leclerc is still faster than Verstappen.

[wiss19]

This week showed us that Mclaren may have figured some stuff out, there is no guarantee and they are still not out of the gate yet, but it shows that they are not as horrible as they used to be and they were like out of top 10 for the first two games nearly, just got lucky here and there with DNF of other cars.

So, I am guessing that if Mclaren managed to figure out a way, then it must be close for Mercedes to figure that out as well, after all they are using the same engines if I am not wrong and if one team fixes it, then other could as well even williams may end up figuring it out eventually. That will make the season very entertaining to watch.