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

[Distraction]

The first practice session wasn't good for Mercedes drivers at all. One of them was the 4th and the other was the 6th. But things changed in the second practice session actually. We saw Russell and Hamilton as the 2nd and 3rd respectively. Russell was only 0.1 seconds away from the leader Leclerc. Of course I know that this is only a practice session. It doesn't show the complete reality. But I've started to be hopeful about the qualifying for Mercedes drivers. I hope that both of them can capture strong positions before the race.

[1715550315]

1715550315

[1715550315]

1715550315

[1715550315]

1715550315

[Shishir55]

Please give me merit

[coinlocket$]

The first practice session wasn't good for Mercedes drivers at all. One of them was the 4th and the other was the 6th. But things changed in the second practice session actually. We saw Russell and Hamilton as the 2nd and 3rd respectively. Russell was only 0.1 seconds away from the leader Leclerc. Of course I know that this is only a practice session. It doesn't show the complete reality. But I've started to be hopeful about the qualifying for Mercedes drivers. I hope that both of them can capture strong positions before the race.

Yeah, but we don't know how hard Ferrari and RBR pushed.

On this track, they did the tests before the start of the season in February and got faster timers than Today.

Different condition for sure but they were at 1.18 something.

Pole position will be 1.17 closer to 1.16 IMHO

[alegotardo]

The first practice session wasn't good for Mercedes drivers at all. One of them was the 4th and the other was the 6th. But things changed in the second practice session actually. We saw Russell and Hamilton as the 2nd and 3rd respectively. Russell was only 0.1 seconds away from the leader Leclerc. Of course I know that this is only a practice session. It doesn't show the complete reality. But I've started to be hopeful about the qualifying for Mercedes drivers. I hope that both of them can capture strong positions before the race.

Yeah, but we don't know how hard Ferrari and RBR pushed.

On this track, they did the tests before the start of the season in February and got faster timers than Today.

Different condition for sure but they were at 1.18 something.

Pole position will be 1.17 closer to 1.16 IMHO

The red car is still faster, but the evolution of Mercedes in this last practice is remarkable.
Mercedes has brought to the Spanish GP a radical package of changes in its cars, ranging from its front wing, the floor whose edge has been redesigned and the rear spoiler that technically should have the function of considerably softening the car's jumps (the porpoising effect) was that what helped to gain a better position?
I really hope to see more competition between Ferrari and Mercedes at the next GPs.

[bestcoins1]

as the commercial rights holder of MotoGP officially announced that the Losail Circuit will not be the opening series in the 2023 season. Because the paddock area will undergo renovation and remodeling. This was announced on Sunday (15/5/2022).

Losail has joined the MotoGP racing calendar since 2004, and has always been the opening series since 2007. Since 2008, the races there have always been held at night.
The circuit which is known to be friendly with Ducati has been confirmed to continue to be on the MotoGP calendar until at least 2031, but next season will not be the opening series as usual.

Work on changing the shape of the Losail Circuit paddock will begin this year, and different areas will be redeveloped to create a better experience for participants and spectators alike. Dorna Sports stated that Qatar will host a MotoGP race in 2023 towards the end of the season. Even so, it is not yet known which circuit will be the opener for next season. _{Source: Bola.com/gpmaniac.id}

[Cnut237]

The red car is still faster, but the evolution of Mercedes in this last practice is remarkable.
Mercedes has brought to the Spanish GP a radical package of changes in its cars, ranging from its front wing, the floor whose edge has been redesigned and the rear spoiler that technically should have the function of considerably softening the car's jumps (the porpoising effect) was that what helped to gain a better position?

Ferrari is fastest over one lap. Red Bull still looks comfortably the fastest on full race simulation. Expect Leclerc to challenge for pole, and Verstappen to blast past him in the race.

Yes, the issue with Merc has been the porpoising, and them having no choice but to raise the ride height in order to reduce the effect, which reduces the speed. Their challenge all season has been to find a way to eliminate (or reduce) the porpoising so that they can lower the car and gain some speed. I think the general consensus is that Merc have a fast car, enough to challenge RB and Ferrari, if they can just optimise the set-up. FP2 suggests they just may have found an improvement. I'm not yet fully convinced it's enough to challenge the leaders, but they seem to have found something at least... we'll see.

Please give me merit

It's a great post, full of helpful and informative content, and it really adds to the discussion, but for me it's not quite enough, sorry.

[tokeweed]

I feel like it's going to be just like the last race.  Leclerc has the edge at qualifying but come race day, Verstappen has the race pace and steals the show once again.

And I guess questions have been answered regarding the Mercedes cars.  Results show that they've been having huge improvements in fixing the bouncing issue.  I think by the middle of the season they'd be fighting for their spot at the top too...  It could be another great season ahead guys.

Here are the results.

2022 F1 Spanish GP FP3 Results

1   Charles Leclerc   MON   Scuderia Ferrari   1m19.772s
2   Max Verstappen   NED   Oracle Red Bull Racing   1m19.844s
3   George Russell   GBR   Mercedes AMG Petronas Formula One Team   1m19.920s
4   Lewis Hamilton   GBR   Mercedes AMG Petronas Formula One Team   1m20.002s
5   Carlos Sainz   ESP   Scuderia Ferrari   1m20.129s
6   Sergio Perez   MEX   Oracle Red Bull Racing   1m20.260s
7   Lando Norris   GBR   McLaren F1 Team   1m20.403s
8   Kevin Magnussen   DEN   Haas F1 Team   1m20.646s
9   Valtteri Bottas   FIN   Alfa Romeo F1 Team Orlen   1m20.781s
10   Esteban Ocon   FRA   BWT Alpine F1 Team   1m20.882s
11   Daniel Ricciardo   AUS   McLaren F1 Team   1m20.910s
12   Sebastian Vettel   GER   Aston Martin Aramco Cognizant Formula One Team   1m20.944s
13   Fernando Alonso   ESP   BWT Alpine F1 Team   1m20.981s
14   Guanyu Zhou   CHN   Alfa Romeo F1 Team Orlen   1m21.201s
15   Yuki Tsunoda   JPN   Scuderia AlphaTauri   1m21.449s
16   Lance Stroll   CAN   Aston Martin Aramco Cognizant Formula One Team   1m21.520s
17   Alexander Albon   THA   Williams Racing   1m21.572s
18   Nicholas Latifi   CAN   Williams Racing   1m22.419s
19   Mick Schumacher   GER   Haas F1 Team   1m25.467s
20   Pierre Gasly   FRA   Scuderia AlphaTauri   No Time Set

[Cnut237]

I feel like it's going to be just like the last race.  Leclerc has the edge at qualifying but come race day, Verstappen has the race pace and steals the show once again.

And I guess questions have been answered regarding the Mercedes cars.  Results show that they've been having huge improvements in fixing the bouncing issue.  I think by the middle of the season they'd be fighting for their spot at the top too...  It could be another great season ahead guys.

Yes, Ferrari have the edge in qualifying, but can't match RB in race pace. Same again.

And I'm starting to be convinced that Merc are on the right path now, and could soon be up there. Having three teams fighting for wins sounds too good to be true... just hope it is true.

If it's just Leclerc and Max, and one messes up, you still know they'll finish second and not lose much... If this means a mistake can drop you down to fourth behind both Mercs, it gets a lot more interesting.

[coinlocket$]

Ferrari should be faster in qualifying but RBR should be faster in the race.

At least according to the telemetry so far this weekend.

[tokeweed]

Verstappen losing power in his last fast lap at Q3 is concering.  Not finishing the race could happen again.  They're prolly pushing that engine way over its limit.

2022 F1 Spanish GP Qualifying Results

1   Charles Leclerc   MON   Scuderia Ferrari   1m19.861s   1m19.969s   1m18.750s
2   Max Verstappen   NED   Oracle Red Bull Racing   1m20.091s   1m19.219s   1m19.073s
3   Carlos Sainz   ESP   Scuderia Ferrari   1m19.892s   1m19.453s   1m19.166s
4   George Russell   GBR   Mercedes AMG Petronas Formula One Team   1m20.218s   1m19.470s   1m19.393s
5   Sergio Perez   MEX   Oracle Bull Racing   1m20.447s   1m19.830s   1m19.420s
6   Lewis Hamilton   GBR   Mercedes AMG Petronas Formula One Team   1m20.252s   1m19.794s   1m19.512s
7   Valtteri Bottas   FIN   Alfa Romeo F1 Team Orlen   1m20.355s   1m20.053s   1m19.608s
8   Kevin Magnussen   DEN   Haas F1 Team   1m20.227s   1m19.810s   1m19.682s
9   Daniel Ricciardo   AUS   McLaren F1 Team   1m20.549s   1m20.287s   1m20.297s
10   Mick Schumacher   GER   Haas F1 Team   1m20.683s   1m20.436s   1m20.368s
11   Lando Norris   GBR   McLaren F1 Team   1m20.838s   1m20.471s   
12   Esteban Ocon   FRA   BWT Alpine F1 Team   1m20.880s   1m20.638s   
13   Yuki Tsunoda   JPN   Scuderia AlphaTauri   1m20.707s   1m20.639s   
14   Pierre Gasly   FRA   Scuderia AlphaTauri   1m20.719s   1m20.861s   
15   Guanyu Zhou   CHN   Alfa Romeo F1 Team Orlen   1m20.476s   1m21.094s   
16   Sebastian Vettel   GER   Aston Martin Aramco Cognizant Formula One Team   1m20.954s       
17   Fernando Alonso   ESP   BWT Alpine F1 Team   1m21.043s       
18   Lance Stroll   CAN   Aston Martin Aramco Cognizant Formula One Team   1m21.418s       
19   Alexander Albon   THA   Williams Racing   1m21.645s       
20   Nicholas Latifi   CAN   Williams Racing   1m21.915s   

Edit:  It wasn't a power issue, the DRS didn't open.   

[Cnut237]

As everyone expected, pole for Leclerc, but he cut it fine by ruining his first lap... nice final lap when the pressure was on.
As everyone expected, Verstappen second. More reliability questions for RB, too. Could be interesting.
As everyone (probably) expected, Mercedes still some way off the pace, at least in qualifying - let's see what they're like in the race.

[coinlocket$]

Huge pole for Charles.
Verstappen got a problem on his final attempt like the previous GP.

In this track the start will be the key moment, it is very hard to overtake others.

[swogerino]

Huge pole for Charles.
Verstappen got a problem on his final attempt like the previous GP.

In this track the start will be the key moment, it is very hard to overtake others.

It is only the bravery of Verstappen that brought him second and he will keep the pressure on Leclerc tomorrow,here we have a great straight in the beginning of the first lap so it would be interesting to see how the start will unfold.Even if we don't have position changes I think this track does not permit you to create a huge gap so it would be interesting as a race and I predict a difficult race for Leclerc,lately he hasn't been keeping the pressure very well and I am sure there will be a lot of pressure for him tomorrow.

Mercedes is there and any mistake by the leaders can be a chance for them,especially Hamilton which has got a lot of experience.

[Distraction]

The first practice session wasn't good for Mercedes drivers at all. One of them was the 4th and the other was the 6th. But things changed in the second practice session actually. We saw Russell and Hamilton as the 2nd and 3rd respectively. Russell was only 0.1 seconds away from the leader Leclerc. Of course I know that this is only a practice session. It doesn't show the complete reality. But I've started to be hopeful about the qualifying for Mercedes drivers. I hope that both of them can capture strong positions before the race.

Yeah, but we don't know how hard Ferrari and RBR pushed.

On this track, they did the tests before the start of the season in February and got faster timers than Today.

Different condition for sure but they were at 1.18 something.

Pole position will be 1.17 closer to 1.16 IMHO

We saw a 1:18.750 time for Charles Leclerc on the pole. He wasted his first chance in Q3 by a simple mistake. But he still made a great comeback later on. Verstappen's not being able to use his last chance was a big help for Leclerc also. He lost power and couldn't try to beat Leclerc's time. Russell impressed me too by leaving Perez behind and capturing the fourth position. He missed getting past Sainz also by a gap like 0.017 seconds. This is promising but I still can't trust Mercedes too much. We will see what they will do.

[Cnut237]

It is only the bravery of Verstappen that brought him second

I think it's more him having the fastest car. Well, not as fast as Ferrari in qualifying, but faster over race distance. Sainz and Perez really need to step up, otherwise every race will be Leclerc in the fastest qualifying car getting pole, with Verstappen in second... and then Verstappen in the fastest race distance car overtaking him for the win, with Leclerc second. The thing that could make it interesting is one of these teams having a quality second driver who can give a tactical edge, but at the moment it isn't happening. At least Sainz got close to Max in qualifying this time, but you know that when the race starts he'll just fade slowly out of contention. Perez finishing amongst the Mercs and only just ahead of Bottas is a joke.

Mercedes is there and any mistake by the leaders can be a chance for them,especially Hamilton which has got a lot of experience.

Their qualifying pace was nothing special, about the same as we've seen so far this year. But it does look like they might have made a step up on full race simulation runs. I think in previous races they've been losing around 0.5s a lap to the front teams. If they can cut that down to just 0.1s or 0.2s, it might be enough to cause some problems for the teams up front... and enable some overtaking in the pit window if not on the track.

[bitgolden]

People keep claiming every single week about how "Mercedes is bringing something different this week" and how "Mercedes will get back to fighting at the top", but they are still the third team, sure they were barely in top 10 at the start of the season and they are clearly third best team right now but that's about it, I do not see them fighting Red Bull nor Ferrari at all.

I feel like Charles and Max are leagues above everyone else right now, and they are going to end up with the championship fighting and Ferrari and Red Bull will be fighting for the title this year, Mercedes will be third and they will most probably not get any better than that.

[swogerino]

People keep claiming every single week about how "Mercedes is bringing something different this week" and how "Mercedes will get back to fighting at the top", but they are still the third team, sure they were barely in top 10 at the start of the season and they are clearly third best team right now but that's about it, I do not see them fighting Red Bull nor Ferrari at all.

I feel like Charles and Max are leagues above everyone else right now, and they are going to end up with the championship fighting and Ferrari and Red Bull will be fighting for the title this year, Mercedes will be third and they will most probably not get any better than that.

I think they have made small progress from race to race and I hope the promise of Totto Wolf in the beginning of the season to Hamilton that we will start fighting to win races in the second half of the season comes true.I know that is to late at that time but it would just add better view-ability to the races.I know that Max and Charles are the best drivers of this season so far,we can see from their individual results that they have so far which they have shared victories in these first 5 races of the season and I doubt this will change tomorrow.

[Koal-84]

Crazy lap from Leclerc, and Verstappen could no longer be a concern. So the two fastest drivers this season start the race from the front row. Mercedes has also shown that the updates work and are again closer to Ferrari and RedBull. Once wait and see today whether Russell can go the speed in the race.

[coinlocket$]

Incredible what happened to LeClerc.

He got the win in his hand and got a mechanical issue.

Sad.


Max should win now.

[bestcoins1]

This week I saw a very fierce race at the WSBK event which was held at the Estoril circuit in Portugal where only three riders were on the podium with three different manufacturers and what was unique was that they always competed in front of the podium (Bautista, Jonathan Rea, and Toprak).

Superpole Podium:
1. Jonathan Rea
2. Toprak
3. Bautista

Race1 Podium:
1. Bautista
2. Toprak
3. Jonathan Rea

SP Race Podium:
1. Jonathan Rea
2. Toprak
3. Bautista

Race2 Podium:
1. Jonathan Rea
2. Bautista
3. Toprak

And what is very unfortunate is that Toprak with his Yamaha motorbike had to be willing to lose on the straight track with Bautista and also with Jonathan Rea's Kawasaki so that Toprak could not feel victory in all the races that took place at the Estoril Portugal circuit and this became a very important lesson for Yamaha in develop a better bike for next season.