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

[retreat]

None of us would have expected Gasly to take pole position. Damn, that guy surprises us every year in a car that never finishes on the podium. He beat Russell and Piastri at the end of the lap. While I'm not entirely convinced they can win this race, a podium should still be possible if they have the right strategy.

Ferrari, again and again, only gives false hope. As usual, they are inconsistent. In this qualifying session, they only managed to get P4 and P5. That's a pretty disappointing result. I didn't expect them to perform so well in the race later (Hopefully, I'm wrong.)

2026 F1 Italian Grand Prix - Qualifying results
Pos    Driver    Nat.   Team    Q1   Q2   Q3
1   Pierre Gasly   FRA   BWT Alpine F1 Team   1m22.612s   1m22.077s   1m21.786s
2   George Russell   GBR   Mercedes AMG Petronas F1 Team   1m22.779s   1m22.161s   1m21.846s
3   Oscar Piastri   AUS   McLaren Mastercard F1 Team   1m22.924s   1m22.017s   1m21.966s
4   Charles Leclerc   MON   Scuderia Ferrari HP   1m22.902s   1m22.509s   1m22.004s
5   Lewis Hamilton   GBR   Scuderia Ferrari HP   1m22.847s   1m22.516s   1m22.011s
6   Max Verstappen   NED   Oracle Red Bull Racing   1m22.631s   1m22.188s   1m22.070s
7   Kimi Antonelli   ITA   Mercedes AMG Petronas F1 Team   1m22.758s   1m21.882s   1m22.093s
8   Franco Colapinto   ARG   BWT Alpine F1 Team   1m22.662s   1m22.400s   1m22.220s
9   Lando Norris   GBR   McLaren Mastercard F1 Team   1m22.659s   1m22.067s   1m22.256s
10   Arvid Lindblad   GBR   Visa Cash App Racing Bulls F1 Team   1m22.727s   1m22.345s   1m22.286s

[goodpunt]

Here are the pre-race odds before the race.

There shouldn't be many changes in the markets before the start - so that should also be the starting price (like we say in horse racing) more or less.

I saw the market was overreacting after FP3 and Hamilton's odds steamed on average down to 4.5.
After qualifying he obviously drifted away from 4.5
Fortunately not much changed for my win bet that I placed before qualifying.

None of us would have expected Gasly to take pole position. Damn, that guy surprises us every year in a car that never finishes on the podium. He beat Russell and Piastri at the end of the lap. While I'm not entirely convinced they can win this race, a podium should still be possible if they have the right strategy.

Ferrari, again and again, only gives false hope. As usual, they are inconsistent. In this qualifying session, they only managed to get P4 and P5. That's a pretty disappointing result. I didn't expect them to perform so well in the race later (Hopefully, I'm wrong.)

Indeed! Gasly was already surprising but Ferrari....well....what a disappointment that was.
I read something about battery problems in Q2.

Fortunately not all hope is lost since Piastri got a grid penalty.
And if Ferrari can replicate the long-run simulation from FP2, they should be in the mix!

[karabiber]

Today was a race in which Antonelli made history and did so on his home turf a victory he fully deserved from start to finish. I watched one of the most thrilling races in a long time, filled with plenty of overtaking. Antonelli started from 19th place and climbed to the top at Monza. After a long hiatus, an Italian driver has once again written a victory story in Formula 1. Antonelli didn’t just win a race; he left an unforgettable mark on the stands at Monza, on Italy’s passion for motorsports, and on his own legacy. Some victories don’t gain their true meaning when the checkered flag falls, but when they go down in history.

[tokeweed]

None of us would have expected Gasly to take pole position.

And def none of us thought Antonelli would win the race from the back of the grid...  Lmaooo.  I didn't even think about him getting into top 3 from a betting perspective.

I guess with the new power unit he'll be a good bet to get pole at qualifying and win the race for the next couple of weeks.  

2026 F1 Italian GP Race Results

Pos   Driver   Nat.   Team   Laps
1   Kimi Antonelli   ITA   Mercedes AMG Petronas F1 Team   53
2   George Russell   GBR   Mercedes AMG Petronas F1 Team   +3.8s
3   Max Verstappen   NED   Oracle Red Bull Racing   +14.7s
4   Lando Norris   GBR   McLaren Mastercard F1 Team   +19.0s
5   Oscar Piastri   AUS   McLaren Mastercard F1 Team   +19.2s
6   Lewis Hamilton   GBR   Scuderia Ferrari HP   +24.6s
7   Pierre Gasly   FRA   BWT Alpine F1 Team   +27.3s
8   Arvid Lindblad   GBR   Visa Cash App Racing Bulls F1 Team   +45.1s
9   Franco Colapinto   ARG   BWT Alpine F1 Team   +47.3s
10   Yuki Tsunoda   JAP   Visa Cash App Racing Bulls F1 Team   +58.1s
11   Gabriel Bortoleto   BRA   Audi Revolut F1 Team   +65.1s
12   Nico Hulkenberg   GER   Audi Revolut F1 Team   +66.1s
13   Carlos Sainz   ESP   Atlassian Williams F1 Team   +74.1s
14   Liam Lawson   NZL   Oracle Red Bull Racing   +75.6s
15   Oliver Bearman   GBR   TGR Haas F1 Team   +78.9s
16   Esteban Ocon   FRA   TGR Haas F1 Team   +1 Lap
17   Alex Albon   THA   Atlassian Williams F1 Team   +1 Lap
18   Sergio Perez   MEX   Cadillac F1 Team   +1 Lap
19   Valtteri Bottas   FIN   Cadillac F1 Team   +2 Laps
DNF   Lance Stroll   CAN   Aston Martin Aramco F1 Team   DNF
DNF   Fernando Alonso   ESP   Aston Martin Aramco F1 Team   DNF
DNF   Charles Leclerc   MON   Scuderia Ferrari HP   DNF

2026 Italian Grand Prix:  Race Highlights
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=uptj3to1l7o

[retreat]

And def none of us thought Antonelli would win the race from the back of the grid...  Lmaooo.  I didn't even think about him getting into top 3 from a betting perspective.

I guess with the new power unit he'll be a good bet to get pole at qualifying and win the race for the next couple of weeks.  

Yeah, it's just unbelievable to start a race from the back of the grid and still manage to smoke everyone and win the race. I think that not only does he have such a good car, but he also has the skills to back it up. Right now he has 66 points more than Russell in the WDC standings. With the points lead and the car he has, I think Kimi's chance of becoming the youngest WDC could actually happen.

Ferrari just missed another opportunity to take the win at the Italian GP. It's really disappointing that despite all the upgrades and excitement they built up in Italy, it only ended with Charles DNF and Hamilton in P6.

[goodpunt]

Antonelli's victory was indeed quite surprising - not sure what his SP was but his odds surely drifted during the weekend.
So even the bookies were not really prepared.

Anyway, my win bet only lasted two laps
To be fair, it wouldn't have mattered anyway since nobody could have stopped Antonelli.

[tokeweed]

I didn't realize it was an F1 weekend again...  But yeah, here's the schedule for the Spanish GP.  This would be a good race for Antonelli again.  Get pole at qualifying then fly at P1 for the whole race.  Lol.

2026 F1 Spanish GP Schedule
Track:  Madring Street Circuit



Sept 11, Friday:  Practice 1  13:30 - 14:30
Sept 11, Friday:  Practice 2  17:00 - 18:00
Sept 12, Saturday:  Practice 3  12:30 - 13:30
Sept 12, Saturday:  Qualifying  16:00 - 17:00
Sept 13, Sunday:  Race  15:00

The Ultimate Track Guide To Madrid's NEW Circuit:  Madring
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=Gfu48zoFbi0

[retreat]

So, another race weekend for us. And it's on a new circuit, so everything feels a bit unfamiliar. This is a hybrid circuit, with most of the sections being city streets. This will likely be a more challenging circuit due to its curvy corners and sharp banked turns. Even in its F3 debut yesterday, there were 19 red flags and three broken chassis and broken suspensions. Sainz also added that it's like a mix of Jeddah, Baku, and a bit of Singapore. So, its characteristics are quite unique and challenging.

In this race, Antonelli is still favored to win, along with Russell and Lando. Their car performance looks convincing to perform well on this circuit.

https://www.motorsport.com/f1/news/five-things-to-look-out-for-at-the-f1-spanish-gp/10853925/

[alegotardo]

And it's on a new circuit, so everything feels a bit unfamiliar.

Yeah!!! It is the big debut of Madring in F1 as Madrid’s replacement to Spanish GP... its the first brand new track in at least 3 years, so it is been a long time since we’ve seen something new like this.
The excitement of a track like this is that nothing driver or team has real race data from previous years, so the work done with simulator, setup choices and the adaptations during free practice is much more important than at any other circuit.

Will it be a difficult track? From what I’ve seen, it has fast corners, lots of elevation changes and some of very heavy braking zones... does it compare to the difficulty of Monza!? I think it is more difficult!

Ia m looking forward to watching it.

[goodpunt]

Maybe I can finish my current run of DNFs
I already backed Antonelli and hope it won't backfire.

Anyway, it will be interesting to see if Norris and McLaren can strike back here.
Here are the current odds - if I had to guess market movements I would say that Piastri's odds will definitely steam after the first two FPs.

[retreat]

Maybe I can finish my current run of DNFs
I already backed Antonelli and hope it won't backfire.
-snip-

Sticking with Kimi is the safest choice for now, because right now he's the fastest on the grid and has better performance. The only consideration is that this is a new circuit, so drivers' knowledge is still limited to simulations, and as far as I know, only Sainz tried the circuit first and most intensely. So it will all depend on the free practice later, whether Kimi can perform as impressively as in the previous race, or not. But my feeling strongly says that he'll be on the podium again.

[goodpunt]

Well....fortunately I'm not a pre-race trader anymore.
My prediction regarding Piastri's odds went the other way and drifted
Can't see McLaren competing in Spain at the moment.

Here are the current odds after the two FPs - the Ferraris are suddenly in contention after a good showing in FP2 just like last week.

Sticking with Kimi is the safest choice for now, because right now he's the fastest on the grid and has better performance. The only consideration is that this is a new circuit, so drivers' knowledge is still limited to simulations, and as far as I know, only Sainz tried the circuit first and most intensely. So it will all depend on the free practice later, whether Kimi can perform as impressively as in the previous race, or not. But my feeling strongly says that he'll be on the podium again.

I agree there is really not much room for error for any of the drivers here, otherwise we will see many red flags.
And from what I have read overtaking opportunities will be very rare so qualifying will be crucial - a bit similar to Monaco but still better

[retreat]

The Madrid track has just opened, and it has already claimed a victim. Lindblad crashed during the second practice session after losing control of his car, forcing him to cut his run short. And Kimi seems so consistent in securing P1 – just like FP1, he topped the practice session. On the other hand, Ferrari also performed really well, with Charles and Lewis both managing to get P2 and P3. But Ferrari's habit is that they can be so strong in practice sessions, yet drop in the race. So there’s no need to have high expectations for them.

2026 F1 Spanish GP - Practice Results (2)
Pos   Driver   Nat.   Team   Time   Laps
1   Kimi Antonelli   ITA   Mercedes AMG Petronas F1 Team   1m33.662s   23
2   Charles Leclerc   MON   Scuderia Ferrari HP   1m33.775s   25
3   Lewis Hamilton   GBR   Scuderia Ferrari HP   1m33.811s   22
4   Arvid Lindblad   GBR   Visa Cash App Racing Bulls F1 Team   1m33.890s   15
5   George Russell   GBR   Mercedes AMG Petronas F1 Team   1m33.999s   24
6   Max Verstappen   NED   Oracle Red Bull Racing   1m34.063s   21
7   Oscar Piastri   AUS   McLaren Mastercard F1 Team   1m34.200s   23
8   Yuki Tsunoda   JAP   Visa Cash App Racing Bulls F1 Team   1m34.758s   25
9   Esteban Ocon   FRA   TGR Haas F1 Team   1m34.867s   25
10   Liam Lawson   NWZ   Oracle Red Bull Racing   1m34.938s   20

FP3 coming up in the next few minutes...

[YellowSwap]

I've always loved Motorsport as a kid and it's why I can't do without Forza games, it's been a long time since my last followup on this sport, back then it was only DStv streaming service that was available, today it's no more.

If you are in Africa, Nigeria, Ghana, others, how are you still watching Live Motorsport? I want to be back in the game for good, where should I start from and for someone from a developing country where can I start watching Live?

[retreat]

Even though Kimi was the favorite in this race, Norris was still able to push and even secured pole position in this qualifying session. Norris managed to push in the final minutes with a very narrow time gap to Kimi. I think Norris was lucky to secure pole position.

And I didn't expect Max to still be able to push his cart all the way to P3. He even recorded the fastest time in several sectors. It seems the characteristics of this circuit really helped Max push his cart.

For Ferrari, as usual, Charles and Hamilton remained close to P4 and P5. If Ferrari is unable to manage their drivers, contact between Charles and Hamilton could occur again later in the race.

2026 F1 Spanish Grand Prix - Qualifying results
Pos    Driver    Nat.   Team    Q1   Q2   Q3
1   Lando Norris   GBR   McLaren Mastercard F1 Team   1m33.469s   1m32.873s   1m31.824s
2   Kimi Antonelli   ITA   Mercedes AMG Petronas F1 Team   1m33.267s   1m32.591s   1m31.835s
3   Max Verstappen   NED   Oracle Red Bull Racing   1m33.381s   1m32.431s   1m31.964s
4   Lewis Hamilton   GBR   Scuderia Ferrari HP   1m33.531s   1m32.710s   1m32.013s
5   Charles Leclerc   MON   Scuderia Ferrari HP   1m33.532s   1m32.755s   1m32.019s
6   George Russell   GBR   Mercedes AMG Petronas F1 Team   1m33.211s   1m32.850s   1m32.149s
7   Oscar Piastri   AUS   McLaren Mastercard F1 Team   1m33.829s   1m33.204s   1m32.294s
8   Liam Lawson   NZL   Oracle Red Bull Racing   1m33.310s   1m32.780s   1m32.316s
9   Franco Colapinto   ARG   BWT Alpine F1 Team   1m33.963s   1m33.038s   1m32.903s
10   Arvid Lindblad   GBR   Visa Cash App Racing Bulls F1 Team   1m34.340s   1m33.204s   1m33.041s

If you are in Africa, Nigeria, Ghana, others, how are you still watching Live Motorsport? I want to be back in the game for good, where should I start from and for someone from a developing country where can I start watching Live?

Well, I subscribe to one of the local streaming services here at a very affordable price. Since I live in Asia, I'm not familiar with your local services, but I have a few illegal services bookmarked in case my subscription expires. Sharing that here might be inappropriate, though.

[goodpunt]

Needless to say, Norris surprised me.
Before Q3, it looked like a battle for pole between Verstappen and Antonelli.
Then too many things happened at once - like Hamilton appearing too, a counter from Antonelli and Norris with his final monster lap
The live odds in the qualifying market were quite volatile....and that's an understatement

Here are the current odds before the race.


The bookies still favor Antonelli over Norris but something tells me that this race could become very chaotic.

[Koal-84]

In MotoGP, the Aprilia riders (especially Bezzecchi) are making it too easy for Marc Marquez to make up over 100 points in 7 races, this is due not only to Marc’s almost always perfect races, but also to the competition’s inability to keep up.

But now there are just under 10 minutes until the Formula 1 race starts, let’s see how it turns out there.

[retreat]

As predicted, Kimi ended up being the winner of this race. He got P1 after the VSC was deployed and gained a good advantage with fresher tires. Kimi managed to take advantage of the situation after Ferrari's decision to "gamble" that a safety car would be deployed didn't turn out as they expected. On the other hand, Max secured P3 after really pushing his car to the limit. With the Madrid GP, he has already achieved 6 podiums so far. A very impressive achievement, even with a car that's not competitive at the moment.

Overall, the Madrid GP was quite exciting, but it was still a bit off from my expectation that it would be a 'tough' race like they said.

2026 F1 Spanish GP - Grand Prix results
Pos   Driver   Nat.   Team   Laps
1   Kimi Antonelli   ITA   Mercedes AMG Petronas F1 Team   57
2   Max Verstappen   NED   Oracle Red Bull Racing   +4.3s
3   Lando Norris   GBR   McLaren Mastercard F1 Team   +5.0s
4   Charles Leclerc   MON   Scuderia Ferrari HP   +29.1s
5   George Russell   GBR   Mercedes AMG Petronas F1 Team   +29.8s
6   Liam Lawson   NZL   Oracle Red Bull Racing   +86.7s
7   Franco Colapinto   ARG   BWT Alpine F1 Team   +94.2s
8   Oscar Piastri   AUS   McLaren Mastercard F1 Team   +95.8s
9   Arvid Lindblad   GBR   Visa Cash App Racing Bulls F1 Team   +1 Lap
10   Nico Hulkenberg   GER   Audi Revolut F1 Team   +1 Lap

The next race is the Azerbaijan GP.

[tokeweed]

^  Lots of straights...  Pretty sure it's gonna be a win for Antonelli again.    Changing the power unit is def working out really nicely for him. 

Got it changed and got a penalty to start behind the grid and win anyway.  At the next race, win again.  Now he's going to race on a track that's well suited for his car.  But yeah...  Notice how Verstappen got good pace too.  Could he be on the podium again in the next couple of weeks? 

[alegotardo]

^  Lots of straights...  Pretty sure it's gonna be a win for Antonelli again.    Changing the power unit is def working out really nicely for him. 

Got it changed and got a penalty to start behind the grid and win anyway.  At the next race, win again.  Now he's going to race on a track that's well suited for his car.  But yeah...  Notice how Verstappen got good pace too.  Could he be on the podium again in the next couple of weeks? 

True, the fact of Antonelli came out Monza with an extraordinary recovery really boosted his confidence... who would have thought that after starting in 19th he would be in this comfortable situation today with another win in Madring? I confess that even I was not betting on that, but I was still happy with this sequence of good results.

To Azerbaijan GP I think that Verstappen will definitely fight for tihs podium (and achieve it if there are no unforeseen problems), because if Redbull preserves the straight-line speed that we’ve been seeing in the last few races, then he has a lot of chances since Baku rewards exactly straight-line efficiency and medium traction on the exits of slow corners... and Verstappen has this!