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

[Luzin]

Last season there were already 20 races due to the cancellation of the Finnish Grand Prix, in 2021 there were 18 races, in 2019 before Corona there were 19 races. So next year's season is already particularly long with 21 races, even though I'm a big fan of Moto GP races, but I think that's already too much for the team in development and for the riders.

There is a gap of 4 months for each season. I think that's long enough. But maybe for development and testing it is very fast. I'm just watching so sometimes waiting 2 weeks is too long.

Then the latest news I heard in the local media. It is reported that the VR46 Team, which currently uses Ducati, will move to Yamaha in 2024. This is because the Yamaha RNF Team has gone to Aprilia. So Yamaha doesn't have a satellite team at the moment and this is an opportunity for VR46 to step in to fill this void.

[swogerino]

The FIA is thinking of changing the rules of the formula again.
This time they are talking about changing the penalties in case a team has to change engine parts over the limit.

Currently, anyone who goes beyond the limit of permitted changes takes a penalty on the starting grid, they are thinking of moving the penalty to the first pit box.

They think it's more severe as a penalty but I think it can have the opposite effect.

This move can be a double edge sword as if the driver with such penalty to have it do it during the first pit stop he can be well ahead of the opponent and may not get any real penalty at all.Of course if the cars are balanced and there is not a big domination of a team against another this as penalty can be much more effective then starting last on the grid as for example if the driver having the penalty is in close fight with the closest follower he will lose the lead and risk also to lose that race,in this context only as a penalty this becomes more severe.

[BitcoinAccepted]

How would the F1 drivers actually enjoy themselves in these months? They have quite a lot of free time now, because the season will not start again until around March. Vacation and being free is nice, but eventually you have had enough of that. And you can't just go racing in a car, it's not like football that you train for an hour. Perhaps they spend a lot of time on the simulator and go to the gym regularly. What can we expect from Nick De Vries next season? Would he get another chance at Mercedes or will it be Hamilton and Russell?

[swogerino]

How would the F1 drivers actually enjoy themselves in these months? They have quite a lot of free time now, because the season will not start again until around March. Vacation and being free is nice, but eventually you have had enough of that. And you can't just go racing in a car, it's not like football that you train for an hour. Perhaps they spend a lot of time on the simulator and go to the gym regularly. What can we expect from Nick De Vries next season? Would he get another chance at Mercedes or will it be Hamilton and Russell?

I think De Vries will race for Williams in 2023 in place of Latifi together with Albon,I don't think he can jump right away just because of a good race he did in Monza to deserve a place in the Mercedes team.Maybe Mercedes will keep an eye on him and if he does well with Williams and beats his team mate which has a lot more experience than him this can make Mercedes think to give him an offer after 1 or 2 years when Hamilton will stop.

For the moment Hamilton said in a public post in his social medias that he feels he have got still a lot to give and can't wait to be on track next season.

[Koal-84]

Now it's official, the Chinese Grand Prix for 2023 has been canceled and the Shanghai Grand Prix for the fourth year in a row.
However, the will is to continue racing over 24 races

Source: https://twitter.com/F1/status/1598633240947851266

It's a bit strange, and I don't understand why the China Grand Prix would be cancelled again? It can't really be because of the Corona policy anymore, can it? Very strange I think... and also a little pity.

[coinlocket$]

This move can be a double edge sword as if the driver with such penalty to have it do it during the first pit stop he can be well ahead of the opponent and may not get any real penalty at all.Of course if the cars are balanced and there is not a big domination of a team against another this as penalty can be much more effective then starting last on the grid as for example if the driver having the penalty is in close fight with the closest follower he will lose the lead and risk also to lose that race,in this context only as a penalty this becomes more severe.

I'm not so sure about it.
In a track where it is very hard to overtake like Monaco is always better to start ahead instead of being behind in the grid.

Now if you are ahead and you can't overtake you need 1 safety car to be "penalty-free" and you can even fight for the win.

[LTU_btc]

Furthermore what’s more annoying is that F1 hasn’t announced a replacement yet for this race, and they probably won’t be having a replacement which is really sad in my personal opinion.

In the message about cancelation of Chinese GP it's said that they're looking replacement and announce it later, same thing said in article that you linked. It's said that most likely that it will be Portimao track and it would be great option IMO.

It's a bit strange, and I don't understand why the China Grand Prix would be cancelled again? It can't really be because of the Corona policy anymore, can it? Very strange I think... and also a little pity.

You're sarcastic, right? Considering China Covid policy where they're still acting like Covid would be plague, racing is impossible there.

[Velvet78]

Maybe it is unfortunate that Chinese GP isn't going to take place in the new season again. However this is the right call actually. Because if they didn't remove it from the calendar then it would have just made things easier for covid-19 to spread among the spectators. It wouldn't have even been limited to the spectators so it might have caused a much bigger problem.

As far as I know it isn't going to be replaced with any other GP. This is at least good news for the drivers in terms of having a less busy schedule.

[Koal-84]

You're sarcastic, right? Considering China Covid policy where they're still acting like Covid would be plague, racing is impossible there.

Actually, it shouldn't be sarcasm, I don't think China's 0 Corona policy makes sense anymore, let alone that it can be enforced until next year (or more than half a year) in China.

So a China Grand Prix shouldn't be a problem, or is it assumed that China will continue with their Corona policy for the whole of next year?

[swogerino]

You're sarcastic, right? Considering China Covid policy where they're still acting like Covid would be plague, racing is impossible there.

Actually, it shouldn't be sarcasm, I don't think China's 0 Corona policy makes sense anymore, let alone that it can be enforced until next year (or more than half a year) in China.

So a China Grand Prix shouldn't be a problem, or is it assumed that China will continue with their Corona policy for the whole of next year?

Chances are high that the Covid outbreak will continue at least until May and the Chinese grand prix is usually in March or April meaning being early on the calendar.I hope if it can be extended to be in the last races of the calendar when we usually go to Asia but this time for the new season the last races will be in the Americas,we finish with Mexico and USA as the last race of the tournament from what I have seen from the official calendar.It is a shame as I said for this race not to go on as the track is really great and with the new regulations making the F1 Championship more competitive we would be seeing a great race.

[RealMalatesta]

Maybe it is unfortunate that Chinese GP isn't going to take place in the new season again. However this is the right call actually. Because if they didn't remove it from the calendar then it would have just made things easier for covid-19 to spread among the spectators. It wouldn't have even been limited to the spectators so it might have caused a much bigger problem.

As far as I know it isn't going to be replaced with any other GP. This is at least good news for the drivers in terms of having a less busy schedule.

It is not just about the disease itself but also the rules as well. I mean when you are doing a GP, as the hosts you have some responsibilities, would you not have a media place ready? Would you not have stands? Would you not have garage for each team* There are some things that is asked of you, like can you have cracks on the track? Of course not, which means that F1 tells these hosts to do "some" things, and all hosts follow those rules because F1 is the one who makes the decisions, even when it is purely about racing, and yet all nations follow it, without doubt, %100 following the rules.

And yet here, when it is about the pandemic suddenly "nothing is going on!!! it's all part of a master plan!!" type of theory stuff, I am sorry but it is just the rules, just like any other rule that F1 requested.

[tokeweed]

The FIA is thinking of changing the rules of the formula again.
This time they are talking about changing the penalties in case a team has to change engine parts over the limit.

Currently, anyone who goes beyond the limit of permitted changes takes a penalty on the starting grid, they are thinking of moving the penalty to the first pit box.

They think it's more severe as a penalty but I think it can have the opposite effect.

It's not about the effect, it's about fairness.  It's all about optics and how it will all look from the fans' point of view.  I don't want to see my favorite driver get pole but then get a 5 grid penalty and start at third row or something.  If he got pole position, I want to see him start from pole.  The same thing goes if my favorite driver got pole position because the guy in front of him got a penalty. 

So yeah...  Getting a time penalty from the pit box is a good adjustment imho.  I mean what difference does it really make in a sport like F1.  We've seen Verstappen start from 10th on the grid and still get to the podium.

[coinlocket$]

It is official now for F1.

The following year we will have 6 Sprint races and they will be

Baku, Austria, Spa, Qatar, Austin and Brazil.

Source: https://www.formulapassion.it/motorsport/formula-1/sprint-2023-baku-austria-spa-qatar-austin-e-brasile-calendario-drs-642925.html

[safari88]

I have also seen the news regarding the chosen host cities. It will make little difference to Red Bull where they will drive. Regardless of which cars the competitors are going to put out, red Bull with Max Verstappen is the towering favorite for me. We have all seen how good Hamilton is in a good Mercedes car, but if the car is not optimal then he has no chance of winning the world title. Even with Russell as 2nd driver that will not work. Mercedes' last race was not bad, but it is not enough to compete for the championship. Or can we expect a number of changes to the regulations again?

[Distraction]

I have also seen the news regarding the chosen host cities. It will make little difference to Red Bull where they will drive. Regardless of which cars the competitors are going to put out, red Bull with Max Verstappen is the towering favorite for me. We have all seen how good Hamilton is in a good Mercedes car, but if the car is not optimal then he has no chance of winning the world title. Even with Russell as 2nd driver that will not work. Mercedes' last race was not bad, but it is not enough to compete for the championship. Or can we expect a number of changes to the regulations again?

Technically Verstappen is going to be favoured by bookmakers again also. Because for now we can just be more confident about Red Bull's car as we have seen it very strong for a long time. However there is a feeling inside me like next season could be a little different than this one. Because we should take Mercedes' big improvement into account also. They started the season really poorly. They weren't only behind Red Bull. They were so weak against Ferrari also. Mercedes gave up on every championship very early in the season.

However they started to develop their car very much in the recent times. It made a big impact on the drivers. They started to close up the gap with Ferrari and Red Bull both. They even started to be better than Ferrari later on. Even Verstappen was worried about keeping up with Mercedes drivers in some of the final races. Therefore if Mercedes start the new season with a strong car then the balances can change a lot.

[boltz]

I don't think Ferrari can compete with RedBull next year but I'm sure the battle will be tighter than what we had this year. As long as Max has a great car , he pretty looks unstoppable and I'm not a fan of him but the kid is one of the greatest but Charles is up there as well , he just needs Ferrari to develop a steady car for an entire season. 

[coinlocket$]

I don't think Ferrari can compete with RedBull next year but I'm sure the battle will be tighter than what we had this year. As long as Max has a great car , he pretty looks unstoppable and I'm not a fan of him but the kid is one of the greatest but Charles is up there as well , he just needs Ferrari to develop a steady car for an entire season. 

Well, this year Ferrari was competitive at the start but Redbull did progress better and maybe doped the car this year too.

For the following year, I will bet on Mercedes.

[retreat]

How would the F1 drivers actually enjoy themselves in these months? They have quite a lot of free time now, because the season will not start again until around March. Vacation and being free is nice, but eventually you have had enough of that. And you can't just go racing in a car, it's not like football that you train for an hour. Perhaps they spend a lot of time on the simulator and go to the gym regularly. What can we expect from Nick De Vries next season? Would he get another chance at Mercedes or will it be Hamilton and Russell?

What I hear is that next year Nyck de Vries will be on AlphaTauri to replace Pierre. We know he's had good performances, but Mercedes still has Hamilton and Russell, and it's going to be difficult for Nyck to replace them.

Next season will be very interesting because there are some new names and new changes, and I bet that next year Red Bull will also lead the way.

[bitgolden]

I don't think Ferrari can compete with RedBull next year but I'm sure the battle will be tighter than what we had this year. As long as Max has a great car , he pretty looks unstoppable and I'm not a fan of him but the kid is one of the greatest but Charles is up there as well , he just needs Ferrari to develop a steady car for an entire season. 

Well, this year Ferrari was competitive at the start but Redbull did progress better and maybe doped the car this year too.

For the following year, I will bet on Mercedes.

Mercedes showed signs of improvement all season, they started barely top 10 at first, then they became arguably third, then they became clearly third best, then they even fought for second best, and maybe on the last two races competed against the very best as well. That type of improvement over course of one season, and then moving to next season where there aren't much regulation changes, means that they are going to start at the top for sure.

The real big shuffle will happen in 2026 when cars are basically new, but until then, Mercedes still has one of the best turbo engines ever, and that should give them a good chance to be at the top for sure.

[Distraction]

Ferrari just have a consistency problem indeed. Their beginning to this season was amazing. Their car was very promising as it was even faster than Red Bull's. We all know how Leclerc started to the season in the end. Red Bull started to deal with durability problems earlier than Ferrari but fixed it in a shorter time than them anyway. If Ferrari were able to do the same they would still be in a championship race. We could have watched a great competition between Leclerc and Verstappen for the championship also.

Maybe even Ferrari pit crew would have been more concentrated on their job. Because I think the reason of those some big mistakes in pit lane was some decrease in their mental condition. Ferrari just needed better mechanics for success. I hope they can change to be better after this resign by Binotto.