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

[FanEagle]

I wonder if we're going to have an exciting season in the battle for the world championship. The start looked promising, Le Clerc seemed to be fully involved but has now retired a few times in a row and Verstappen is currently winning everything you can win. He does have a great team player with Perez, who has already let Verstappen win once. You also have to be able to handle that to play the 2nd fiddle. The battle for the World Cup seems decided: Verstappen easily becomes world champion.

Yeah, it's looking that way. It must be immensely frustrating for Leclerc, who often has the fastest single-lap qualifying car, but not the fastest full-race car, and really suffering from reliability issues. We have to bear in mind he's likely to take further engine penalties as the season progresses, too. The season is in danger of getting boring, as RB need a better second driver who is able to (and permitted to) compete. At least in the Merc era we had Hamilton and Rosberg battling between them, and then a couple of years where Vettel mounted a serious challenge. This season is shaping up to be an easy Verstappen win simply because he's the last man standing.

At the start of the season it looked like Max had the reliability issues, and then it switched sides and that caused Charles to lose a lot of points. But, Max wins almost all races he finishes, so that shows that maybe it is not just about reliability, but more about how Max has a better race pace.

It is not even just about the cars neither, sure Red Bull seems like the better car during the race, but Max really makes sure that there is even no doubts, he is that much better than everybody. I wonder if we are starting to see a situation where it is like Hamilton who is a great driver but also driving the best car on the track, hence a domination type of deal with Max and Red Bull and this new cars.

[bestcoins1]

The 2014 Moto3 world champion and 2019 Moto2 title winner made his debut in MotoGP with Honda in 2020, taking the place of Jorge Lorenzo at the factory squad.
Scoring two podiums in his rookie campaign, the younger Marquez brother was moved to LCR for 2021 on a two-year deal directly with Honda.

However, results have failed to live up to those of his rookie campaign, with Marquez managing a best of seventh so far in a 2022 campaign in which he has scored just 26 points.
His place at LCR has been under threat in recent weeks as the rider market has kicked into high gear, with Suzuki’s Alex Rins heavily linked with his place at the Honda satellite team.

Speaking to es.Motorsport.com, LCR boss Lucio Cecchinello all but confirmed Marquez’s departure at the end of the year.

Source: https://www.motorsport.com/motogp/news/alex-marquez-will-leave-lcr-honda-for-2023-motogp-season/10327329/

[Koal-84]

MotoGP rumors are getting wild...

Oliveira, who had been rumored to be with Gresini, now turned to RNF. Reportedly there are several reasons that made the negotiations between Oliveira and Gresini a bit tough.
The first is about sponsorship, reportedly the two sponsors of Ducati or Gresini are not compatible with Oliviera's personal sponsor. But this rumor has been denied by Paulo Oliveira's father (as well as Oliveira's manager)

The second thing about the salary was then added that it was not in accordance with Ducati's philosophy, which focused on young drivers.
As for Rins, it is reported that he is getting closer to LCR, but it all depends on Honda's approval. _{Source: gpcorner.com}

It will be a good step for Olivera with the Aprilia next year, the Aprilia next year will be the factory Aprilia of this year in the RNF team, so it will be competitive. For Olivera, KTM just doesn't work at the moment, so maybe it's good to try something new.

Also LCR and Alex Marquez will go separate ways next year, instead of him probably Rins will come to LCR Honda (as you already wrote, but nothing is fixed yet), but where will Alex Marquez change to, maybe Gresini?

[Smack That Ace]

The 2014 Moto3 world champion and 2019 Moto2 title winner made his debut in MotoGP with Honda in 2020, taking the place of Jorge Lorenzo at the factory squad.
Scoring two podiums in his rookie campaign, the younger Marquez brother was moved to LCR for 2021 on a two-year deal directly with Honda.
However, results have failed to live up to those of his rookie campaign, with Marquez managing a best of seventh so far in a 2022 campaign in which he has scored just 26 points.
His place at LCR has been under threat in recent weeks as the rider market has kicked into high gear, with Suzuki’s Alex Rins heavily linked with his place at the Honda satellite team.

Speaking to es.Motorsport.com, LCR boss Lucio Cecchinello all but confirmed Marquez’s departure at the end of the year.

Source: https://www.motorsport.com/motogp/news/alex-marquez-will-leave-lcr-honda-for-2023-motogp-season/10327329/

The results obviously have not been up to the expectations and it is totally understandable why this is happening.
They obviously cannot just wait and hope for things to get better.
Alex Rins is a very capable driver and I think he actually might lose his place to Alex Rins. This makes me wonder about his future!


regards

Duke

[Koal-84]

Aprilia had a mistake today, they left the rain deflector on Aleix even with the dry tires mounted and an aerodynamic aid is not allowed, now his times have been cancelled and he is outside the 105% hurdle.

Does this mean that Aleix now has to start from the last grid position?

[coinlocket$]

Small rumor for drivers market.

It is official now, Gasply will stay in Alpha Tauri 1 more year.

[darewaller]

At the start of the season it looked like Max had the reliability issues, and then it switched sides and that caused Charles to lose a lot of points. But, Max wins almost all races he finishes, so that shows that maybe it is not just about reliability, but more about how Max has a better race pace.

It is not even just about the cars neither, sure Red Bull seems like the better car during the race, but Max really makes sure that there is even no doubts, he is that much better than everybody. I wonder if we are starting to see a situation where it is like Hamilton who is a great driver but also driving the best car on the track, hence a domination type of deal with Max and Red Bull and this new cars.

It is easy to see that Max will definitely be the winner this year, there is nothing shocking about that and everyone can see that already. However, we need to realize that cars are just getting started, this is the very first season with these cars, all that bouncing is brand new problem and teams are working on it very clearly.

Of course they can't change everything about a car that quickly, it's milimeter per milimeter changes each race, and if you somehow go to wrong direction on one race, you will have to wait for the next one to go to other way, and this is why it is taking so long. I believe next year everyone else will get there, everyone will be much better. I see even Williams eventually reaching the pace of top 10 this year, but they will do that in a few years probably and not this year lol.

[alegotardo]

I see even Williams eventually reaching the pace of top 10 this year, but they will do that in a few years probably and not this year lol.

Since you touched on this subject, I went to research the evolution of Williams in F1, and a curiosity caught my attention... they went 10 years without winning a victory.

Williams used to be great, but in a sport that needs constant evolution, Renault's exit from Formula 1 in 1997 was a very strong blow and since then they have never been able to stand out.

But they are still in F1, and they are slowly evolving, as their tight budget allows, the purchase of the team by a new group in 2021 seems to have excited them, hopefully this evolution continues.

[Smack That Ace]

I see even Williams eventually reaching the pace of top 10 this year, but they will do that in a few years probably and not this year lol.

Since you touched on this subject, I went to research the evolution of Williams in F1, and a curiosity caught my attention... they went 10 years without winning a victory.
Williams used to be great, but in a sport that needs constant evolution, Renault's exit from Formula 1 in 1997 was a very strong blow and since then they have never been able to stand out.

But they are still in F1, and they are slowly evolving, as their tight budget allows, the purchase of the team by a new group in 2021 seems to have excited them, hopefully this evolution continues.

It was indeed a big blow for them in 1997.
But the good news is they are trying to do better. We all know that in this sport money is really important. And their budget is not very flexible, to be honest.
At that moment something new is obviously going to be good news. That is what happened in 2021. So we can say that things are getting better but not at the level that we can say everything is great.

Small rumor for drivers market.
It is official now, Gasply will stay in Alpha Tauri 1 more year.

Now he is going to stay.
I also thought that he is personally a little interested in Red Bull.
But that place is not going to be available till 2024.

AlphaTauri have confirmed that Pierre Gasly will remain with the team for the 2023 season, ending speculation that the Frenchman might depart for new pastures at the end of this season.

Link- formula1.com

[swogerino]

At the start of the season it looked like Max had the reliability issues, and then it switched sides and that caused Charles to lose a lot of points. But, Max wins almost all races he finishes, so that shows that maybe it is not just about reliability, but more about how Max has a better race pace.

It is not even just about the cars neither, sure Red Bull seems like the better car during the race, but Max really makes sure that there is even no doubts, he is that much better than everybody. I wonder if we are starting to see a situation where it is like Hamilton who is a great driver but also driving the best car on the track, hence a domination type of deal with Max and Red Bull and this new cars.

It is easy to see that Max will definitely be the winner this year, there is nothing shocking about that and everyone can see that already. However, we need to realize that cars are just getting started, this is the very first season with these cars, all that bouncing is brand new problem and teams are working on it very clearly.

Of course they can't change everything about a car that quickly, it's milimeter per milimeter changes each race, and if you somehow go to wrong direction on one race, you will have to wait for the next one to go to other way, and this is why it is taking so long. I believe next year everyone else will get there, everyone will be much better. I see even Williams eventually reaching the pace of top 10 this year, but they will do that in a few years probably and not this year lol.

While it looks like it will be very easy for Verstappen to win the drivers Championship I think it would not be that easy.Ferrari is there,is fast and lately in the last race showed that even in a fast track where Redbull was the favorite they did pretty well,now there are a couple of mixed tracks where the speed is medium in these tracks,meaning they are not fast ones and Ferrari here is clearly the favorite.We have to see the British,Hungarian GP and Austrian GP which are the upcoming events and if Ferrari is not able to get maximum points or the 1st place in these races then it is all set,Verstappen will win the title as there is no real competition to him other than the Ferraris.

[bestcoins1]

The results obviously have not been up to the expectations and it is totally understandable why this is happening.
They obviously cannot just wait and hope for things to get better.
Alex Rins is a very capable driver and I think he actually might lose his place to Alex Rins. This makes me wonder about his future!

Actually the future is clear now and on the one hand LCR also needs better riders like the example of Alex Rins who already has a lot of experience in racing and controlling the bike very well. And for Alex Marquez he also gets a much better place even though he is still in an independent or satellite team, but the Gresini team uses a Ducati motorcycle engine which is very famous for its power.

Does this mean that Aleix now has to start from the last grid position?

It seems YES, because if you look at the news made by MotoGp itself since 16 hours ago that " the Spaniard is now officially the slowest among the 25 riders. Therefore Espargaro will rely on FP3 to dry to give himself a chance to avoid Q1"

Source: https://www.motogp.com/en/news/2022/06/24/aleix-espargaro-penalised-for-fp2-technical-infringement/427451

[Koal-84]

It seems YES, because if you look at the news made by MotoGp itself since 16 hours ago that " the Spaniard is now officially the slowest among the 25 riders. Therefore Espargaro will rely on FP3 to dry to give himself a chance to avoid Q1"

Source: https://www.motogp.com/en/news/2022/06/24/aleix-espargaro-penalised-for-fp2-technical-infringement/427451

Hard to say according to the grid Aleix is still fifth, maybe that would have been the case on Saturday with the 105% rule? I have searched a lot but only found that there is the rule but no consequences for the Friday practice?

But about today's qualifying, Bagnaia once again a dream lap, but Fabio is right behind, it is now finally time that Bagnaia also delivers results in the race.

[coinlocket$]

Now he is going to stay.
I also thought that he is personally a little interested in Red Bull.
But that place is not going to be available till 2024.

Not sure if it is a good choice for Redbull.
They will keep Perez and this year Perez is not so happy with his role as the second driver of the team.

A war with Max could happen soon.

[bitgolden]

Silverstone is coming up next. Max will feel a validation thanks to this race because there is a history there. Last year he was crashed into and Hamilton caused him to have one of the biggest car crashes that he ever had. This year, Hamilton is nowhere near his levels, and Max will be lifting the trophy for sure and if he doesn't have anything to say about it, at least it would be talked about by fans for sure.

It is going to surely be a race where Hamilton would support Charles over Max and hope that Charles could use his new engine to bring a win, otherwise it is going to be a Max fans galore all week talking about how Hamilton sucked and when he couldn't crash, he lost etc etc other stuff. Can't wait to watch it, another week and we will have it.

[bestcoins1]

Hard to say according to the grid Aleix is still fifth, maybe that would have been the case on Saturday with the 105% rule? I have searched a lot but only found that there is the rule but no consequences for the Friday practice?

For too heavy a consequence for Aleix there is no because he fought really well in FP3 yesterday so today he can start the race very calmly and well. And this is despite the Yellow Flags incident after FP3.

But about today's qualifying, Bagnaia once again a dream lap, but Fabio is right behind, it is now finally time that Bagnaia also delivers results in the race.

The record time for the three riders who were in front today was very good because they were able to overtake last year's lap record set by Maverick Vinales when he was still at Yamaha. So the time gap difference for the three is also not too far away and there will definitely be a very exciting race today if Bagnaia and Quartararo don't have any incidents or crashes.

[blue Snow]

But about today's qualifying, Bagnaia once again a dream lap, but Fabio is right behind, it is now finally time that Bagnaia also delivers results in the race.

Quartararo is still my favorite because the winner last year ago, so he won't be stiff to make it again tonight. Even Bagnaia in 1st grid, Quartararo will immediately step on the gas to overtake him. So what about the Miller incident? is he got a penalty?. I don't watch the grid position, maybe he got the last grid for his mistake.

[junmisakiro]

But about today's qualifying, Bagnaia once again a dream lap, but Fabio is right behind, it is now finally time that Bagnaia also delivers results in the race.

Quartararo is still my favorite because the winner last year ago, so he won't be stiff to make it again tonight. Even Bagnaia in 1st grid, Quartararo will immediately step on the gas to overtake him. So what about the Miller incident? is he got a penalty?. I don't watch the grid position, maybe he got the last grid for his mistake.

as usual Quartararo is a strong rider in the race even though he is behind Bagnaia during qualifying, the Yamaha motorbike is now very perfect ridden by Quartararo, he is able to control it very well and at the TT Circuit Assen is a circuit that is very suitable for the Yamaha motorbike , it has been proven in several seasons Yamaha can always appear dominant in this circuit.

[Koal-84]

Quartararo is still my favorite because the winner last year ago, so he won't be stiff to make it again tonight. Even Bagnaia in 1st grid, Quartararo will immediately step on the gas to overtake him. So what about the Miller incident? is he got a penalty?. I don't watch the grid position, maybe he got the last grid for his mistake.

as usual Quartararo is a strong rider in the race even though he is behind Bagnaia during qualifying, the Yamaha motorbike is now very perfect ridden by Quartararo, he is able to control it very well and at the TT Circuit Assen is a circuit that is very suitable for the Yamaha motorbike , it has been proven in several seasons Yamaha can always appear dominant in this circuit.

Assen has always been a good track for Yamaha, I think it depends on the start, is Fabio in front and can pull through his program and set the pace, Bagnaia comes under pressure and like the last race again crash. That would then be the final world championship fight out for Bagnaia. When driving behind and overtake the Yamaha is not so strong.

[uswa56]

Assen has always been a good track for Yamaha, I think it depends on the start, is Fabio in front and can pull through his program and set the pace, Bagnaia comes under pressure and like the last race again crash. That would then be the final world championship fight out for Bagnaia. When driving behind and overtake the Yamaha is not so strong.

Yamaha is very compatible with the Assen circuit, yes that's true and in terms of speed, Yamaha is inferior to Ducati but Yamaha's acceleration and braking are far superior, at the Assen circuit there are not many straight tracks which therefore there is no advantage that Bagnaia can take with his Ducati bike. .
and last season Fabio Quartararo was able to win the Assen MotoGP, and it is not impossible that he will also reap the same success this season.

[Velvet78]

I don't think Redbull and Ferrari are that in disadvantage against Mercedes and McLaren because of this new decision.Both Mercedes an McLaren who runs a Mercedes engine are suffering in speed,meaning in their power unit,the gains that they may make because of this new decision will not make their engines faster thus they remain no threat to Redbull and Ferrari.Redbull so far has the fastest top speed in straights and Ferrari has improved a lot in this direction.In the upcoming race we will see again that it will be dominated by these two teams and in such track like the upcoming one Mercedes won't be a threat to Redbull or Ferrari,I am not counting McLaren at all (although I am their fan) because they have a disastrous car so far in the season.

This regulation can help Mercedes get close to them in time but for now the situation is like you indicated. For the upcoming race, I think that Mercedes won't compete hard against Red Bull and Ferrari again. They still have a long way to go now. It is really difficult to predict which one of Red Bull and Ferrari would be more successful in this race. Ferrari need to collect so many points right now after having those problematic races. Especially Leclerc needs to do this a lot as Verstappen is getting far away from him in the standings.