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

[coinlocket$]

It's very unfortunate that Stroll broke his hand as we approach the start of the season. The Bahrain GP starts next week. I'm looking forward to it anyway. It's nice to see Vettel driving again, if that all continues. Stroll will be unable to race for a while with his injury. That will have little effect on the standings because it is not a driver who seriously participates in the World Cup. But for him it is of course very frustrating, he didn't have a bad season at all last year. I tip Max as the winner of the GP of Bahrain.

It is not sure that Vettel will race it is only a rumor for now.

Vettel will be exited if he will have the opportunity, Aston Martin is a very strong team after tests and they can aim for Podium.

[swogerino]

It's very unfortunate that Stroll broke his hand as we approach the start of the season. The Bahrain GP starts next week. I'm looking forward to it anyway. It's nice to see Vettel driving again, if that all continues. Stroll will be unable to race for a while with his injury. That will have little effect on the standings because it is not a driver who seriously participates in the World Cup. But for him it is of course very frustrating, he didn't have a bad season at all last year. I tip Max as the winner of the GP of Bahrain.

It is not sure that Vettel will race it is only a rumor for now.

Vettel will be exited if he will have the opportunity, Aston Martin is a very strong team after tests and they can aim for Podium.

While I agree that usually Alonso do not get a seat without being promised a good car,well except the case at McLaren which really screw up in their first return to Honda engine,so I am assuming the tests are real for Aston Martin and they did not want to hide anything.I have heard the rumors and some local newspapers here and also in the Internet I saw that Aston Martin had offered a seat to Vettel and that would be a perfect duo for the team,Vettel with Alonso but this would be a bit strange as Lance Stroll the son of the owner of that team would be without a seat,maybe he needs one year off as a test driver,who knows.

[dothebeats]

A possible comeback in Formula 1.
Vettel can race at the start of the season with Aston Martin.

Stroll has his hand broken and it is not sure he will race, it is improbable.

In his place, it will race their 3rd driver or Vettel.

It will be their 3rd driver who will race for Bahrain: https://www.planetf1.com/news/aston-martin-felipe-drugovich-potential-replacement/

Quite unfortunate for the hand injury to happen right before Bahrain starts. Must have been really frustrating for Stroll even though he's not racing for the win and mainly just for the points. I'm actually more invested in Vettel possibly handling the wheel for Aston Martin, but somehow okay with their decision to let the responsibility be given to the 3rd driver. At least, we'll get to see how well Drugovich performs on track and not just testing but we'll see. It's as if they're trying to get Lance up to speed before the race starts.

[swogerino]

A possible comeback in Formula 1.
Vettel can race at the start of the season with Aston Martin.

Stroll has his hand broken and it is not sure he will race, it is improbable.

In his place, it will race their 3rd driver or Vettel.

It will be their 3rd driver who will race for Bahrain: https://www.planetf1.com/news/aston-martin-felipe-drugovich-potential-replacement/

Quite unfortunate for the hand injury to happen right before Bahrain starts. Must have been really frustrating for Stroll even though he's not racing for the win and mainly just for the points. I'm actually more invested in Vettel possibly handling the wheel for Aston Martin, but somehow okay with their decision to let the responsibility be given to the 3rd driver. At least, we'll get to see how well Drugovich performs on track and not just testing but we'll see. It's as if they're trying to get Lance up to speed before the race starts.

Glad to know that the father is not somewhat "firing" his son but he has hand injury as I found it hard to believe.Now I see the reason is good enough but I think Vettel should accept the offer to just race once more in Bahrain as that would be a good opportunity for him to race with this new improved car as his last race ended somewhat well with a lot of overtakes if I remember correctly so it would be nice to see for at least one race team mates Alonso and Vettel.The testing showed that this new Aston Martin was good enough and it can be fighting for top spots,a simple Safety Car who knows how can impact the race for such car,I am looking forward to the first race next week.

[coinlocket$]

3 days at the start.

Small update about the weather, no rain on the radar.

It should be a 100% sunny weekend.

[Davian144]

After seeing the opening race for the first round of WSBK in Australia to be precise at the Phillip Island circuit. It looks like Alvaro Bautista with his Ducati motorbike will still dominate the race this season. Because from the results of Race1, Sprace, and Race2 all of them were wiped out by Alvaro Bautista even though the race was in wet conditions. And I think this is proof at the start of the season that Ducati is still very strong in WSBK and gives a little signal that the Ducati competitors still have to work harder on different bike setups in order to be able to fight the higher RPM Ducati bikes.

This week the WSBK riders will leave for Indonesia for the next race, to be precise in Lombok with the circuit name Mandalika. And I see from several media that the Mandalika circuit has also been repainted to make it look cleaner and newer. Hopefully there will be more interesting competition in Mandalika this week. _infoworldsbk

[swogerino]

3 days at the start.

Small update about the weather, no rain on the radar.

It should be a 100% sunny weekend.

I don't think we should worry for rain in races like this one in the middle of the desert,usually we have not seen a rainy race in such places but maybe I have forgotten about one such race that we had in the past.In here it is a night race I am assuming like has always been and that enough is a great key factor in usually making a Safety Car coming in from what we have seen at the past races here.

I also can't wait for it to start,in this race we will see the true colors (power) of all the teams,I am sure they have not given their 100% performance in the testing.

[wiss19]

Glad to know that the father is not somewhat "firing" his son but he has hand injury as I found it hard to believe.Now I see the reason is good enough but I think Vettel should accept the offer to just race once more in Bahrain as that would be a good opportunity for him to race with this new improved car as his last race ended somewhat well with a lot of overtakes if I remember correctly so it would be nice to see for at least one race team mates Alonso and Vettel.The testing showed that this new Aston Martin was good enough and it can be fighting for top spots,a simple Safety Car who knows how can impact the race for such car,I am looking forward to the first race next week.

It would have been nice but it's not going to work. Think of it this way, Vettel and Alonso in a good car... my god that sounds like a dream come true for all the F1 fans that are old like me, I have barely seen Micheal Schumacher to be good, he was basically at the end of his career when I started watching and barely remember his last title, after that it was all Alonso and when I was out of college it was pure Vettel domination as well, and for a while he was seen as the only chance to stop Mercedes and Hamilton domination as well.

Both these drivers in a good car could actually end up fighting for the top spot. Vettel retired for a reason, BUT if they could get him, somehow, these two could get them the third position, I am sure of it.

[Dump3er]

A possible comeback in Formula 1.
Vettel can race at the start of the season with Aston Martin.

Stroll has his hand broken and it is not sure he will race, it is improbable.

In his place, it will race their 3rd driver or Vettel.

Vettel never seemed like the kind of guy who will take his word back and join the Formula 1 again. He is a racer at heart, but when I saw his goodbye message I thought that this is surely final. Alonso can't get enough and people thought he might stop driving years ago. Perhaps he is still driving when he is 45.

[swogerino]

A possible comeback in Formula 1.
Vettel can race at the start of the season with Aston Martin.

Stroll has his hand broken and it is not sure he will race, it is improbable.

In his place, it will race their 3rd driver or Vettel.

Vettel never seemed like the kind of guy who will take his word back and join the Formula 1 again. He is a racer at heart, but when I saw his goodbye message I thought that this is surely final. Alonso can't get enough and people thought he might stop driving years ago. Perhaps he is still driving when he is 45.

As long as Alonso feels confident and has reflexes he can race.We all saw in the last season that he did some pretty nice races despite him racing in a middle to low performance team like Alpine and in certain tracks where driving skills prevail he surely put himself in the spotlight and the fact that he manages to easy beat and overtake young drivers says a lot about his personality.

I never liked him in the Ferrari or Renault era but I changed my mind when he joined McLaren and made those funny statements like "GP 2 engine,GP2 engine" as I thought this guy must be crazy talking against his team like that but in the end he was right,since then I have only respect for him as a driver.

[Davian144]

Many local social media wrote Marquez was a little disappointed with Honda. This was because Honda's development of the Bike did not appropriate expectations. This left him dissatisfied and there were rumours of Ducati being interested in him. This is because he also hasn't gotten a contract renewal that expires in 2024. Indeed, if you look at the current strength of Ducati I am pessimistic about the strength of Honda and Yamaha. In addition there are four Ducati teams at the moment, that means there are eight riders.

This rumor seems to have begun to be debunked now, although I did not have time to read about the rumor because in the past two days there have also been many local media saying that Ducati is no longer interested in Marquez. And that was said directly by the Director of Sport for Ducati, Paolo Ciabatti, by emphasizing that there was no need for Marc Marquez in the ranks of his racers for MotoGP. The current material is quite satisfactory. Which means that Ducati has closed the door for Marc Marquez because maybe his time has passed, and besides that, Ducati itself also has many young riders in their satellite team at this time. _{Source: id.motorsport.com}

[tokeweed]

A possible comeback in Formula 1.
Vettel can race at the start of the season with Aston Martin.

Stroll has his hand broken and it is not sure he will race, it is improbable.

In his place, it will race their 3rd driver or Vettel.

Vettel never seemed like the kind of guy who will take his word back and join the Formula 1 again. He is a racer at heart, but when I saw his goodbye message I thought that this is surely final. Alonso can't get enough and people thought he might stop driving years ago. Perhaps he is still driving when he is 45.

Yup and if ever he's gonna return to F1 again, I think it's gonna be as a team principal or a team strategist role.  He has a good mind for the sport and has always showed his interest behind the scenes in the paddock.  I remember before when he used to be a young racer in Red Bull whenever he had a DNF, he's always there beside Horner and Newey in front of the monitors and trying to learn new things about the sport.

I hope we see him as a team principal as I think he'll be good at it.

[swogerino]

Many local social media wrote Marquez was a little disappointed with Honda. This was because Honda's development of the Bike did not appropriate expectations. This left him dissatisfied and there were rumours of Ducati being interested in him. This is because he also hasn't gotten a contract renewal that expires in 2024. Indeed, if you look at the current strength of Ducati I am pessimistic about the strength of Honda and Yamaha. In addition there are four Ducati teams at the moment, that means there are eight riders.

This rumor seems to have begun to be debunked now, although I did not have time to read about the rumor because in the past two days there have also been many local media saying that Ducati is no longer interested in Marquez. And that was said directly by the Director of Sport for Ducati, Paolo Ciabatti, by emphasizing that there was no need for Marc Marquez in the ranks of his racers for MotoGP. The current material is quite satisfactory. Which means that Ducati has closed the door for Marc Marquez because maybe his time has passed, and besides that, Ducati itself also has many young riders in their satellite team at this time. _{Source: id.motorsport.com}

They at Ducati must be feeling really confident to close the door to a talent like Marquez.They only could have benefits from him as I think someone needs to remind them of the Stoner era where Honda was the best bike but Casey Stoner could ride a Ducati like no one couldn't at that time and he won a season with this team.I think that if they left the door open for Marquez,it would be the same,he would win with a good bike normally thanks to his skills but he would also be a great challenger to the title even if Ducati had not the best bike.

I have difficulties confirming the above for their satellite drivers.

[SquallLeonhart]

As long as Alonso feels confident and has reflexes he can race.We all saw in the last season that he did some pretty nice races despite him racing in a middle to low performance team like Alpine and in certain tracks where driving skills prevail he surely put himself in the spotlight and the fact that he manages to easy beat and overtake young drivers says a lot about his personality.

I never liked him in the Ferrari or Renault era but I changed my mind when he joined McLaren and made those funny statements like "GP 2 engine,GP2 engine" as I thought this guy must be crazy talking against his team like that but in the end he was right,since then I have only respect for him as a driver.

I think it's not even about that, it's about getting contracts as long as he can. Look at Dany, he didn't do so well and he couldn't find himself a team, he could have easily gone to Haas and still be racing today, just ask for as little as possible, ask literally nearly nothing to cover just expenses of a season and all that, and you would be racing today, and yet he declined and now he is third string in Red Bull for some reason.

This is why I believe that Alonso is still driving not just because he can, but because he is offered to and that's a very important distinction because we have seen plenty of drivers who can drive, and yet asked not to.

[coinlocket$]

1 day at the start

Hamilton said: we are not at the level of Red Bull and Mercedes

Leclerc said: Mercedes will be competitive.


Someone here is lying.

[alegotardo]

1 day at the start

Hamilton said: we are not at the level of Red Bull and Mercedes

Leclerc said: Mercedes will be competitive.

Someone here is lying.

Although liars, at least they are humble

But this "friendly" atmosphere should end as soon as the cars enter the track (it's what we all hope), and I'm sure that Ferrari and Mercedes will "spice up" a lot the title dispute in the 2023 season against Red Bull, which will probably will see its domain, conquered last year, be threatened now in 2023.

Both the Italian team and the German team have their cards up their sleeves to try to surprise the current champion.... There were many technical changes and reformulation in general for the tracks and races.
Something "new" should happen this year (it's very unpredictable) and it should change our bets on the new "favourite" of the competition this year.

I won't risk any bets until I see how everyone's "presentation" goes.

[Davian144]

They at Ducati must be feeling really confident to close the door to a talent like Marquez.They only could have benefits from him as I think someone needs to remind them of the Stoner era where Honda was the best bike but Casey Stoner could ride a Ducati like no one couldn't at that time and he won a season with this team.I think that if they left the door open for Marquez,it would be the same,he would win with a good bike normally thanks to his skills but he would also be a great challenger to the title even if Ducati had not the best bike.

The current era and the era during Casey Stoner's era are far different, including the talents of each rider. Casey Stoner debuted in MotoGP with the LCR Honda satellite team in 2006 before he moved to the factory Ducati team in 2007 because in his debut year Casey Stoner had made such a brilliant appearance that Ducati immediately glanced at him to be placed into the factory. And when Casey Stoner left the factory Ducati by accepting a contract from the Honda factory, Casey Stoner didn't take long to tame the Honda motorbike so he could win the championship in the MotoGP class.

Whereas Marquez, who at the time of his debut went straight to the Honda factory, until now still feels Honda motorbikes without feeling other factory motorbikes, I don't think Marquez will immediately win if he can be at another manufacturer like Ducati. Because the Ducati motorbike needs to be tamed differently by each rider and this certainly takes time for a Marquez even though he is a rider who has great talent in MotoGP racing.

I have difficulties confirming the above for their satellite drivers.

The average satellite rider who uses a Ducati motorbike is a young rider (except for Johan Zarco) who is in the Pramac Racing team and it is indeed difficult to confirm their talent on a motorbike because they still don't have that much experience and their talents are very different. But this year it will be very interesting to see a rider from the satellite Ducati team who will try to make his performance even better than last season.

[Captain Corporate]

Stroll is "unfortunately" back, not like Drugovich would made that much more difference but its really hard to watch Stroll. Aston Martin looks to be doing something right, and if they are this good, I would have rather not seen him there, obviously they are basically running the whole team with Strolls dads money so its totally understandable why he is there. In the end they have Alonso, they should be doing fine. I also do not believe that Mercedes is as bad as people make it out to be, and even Wolf himself talks like they have a terrible car, but in reality we are going to see them fight for wins for sure, and they will definitely have some good podiums this season.

[ryzaadit]

-snip-

Toto admitted that, but the action they're gonna do is to push the rules to FIA like usual.

If they have a terrible car, and cannot upgrade it or make it better and they're gonna make other team cars downgrade by their protest to FIA for some rules. Like usual, you can see from the previous season.

Nothing surprise.

[Pulsar77]

Leclerc talked about some understeer and oversteer problems both. He said that he was still having issues with having full control of the car. This is not a good sign for Ferrari at all if this continues within the new season as well. It would be a big disappointment for Tifosi as well. Because Ferrari were really assertive about their car in this season to be one of the bests. The problems I mentioned existed for Ferrari back in the day as well. It is kinda disappointing to see it happening again.

In this case I won't be surprised to see another Red Bull and Verstappen domination. But I hope Ferrari make a good start and make us watch a more competitive season.