F1 2020

[Crazed_Insanity]

Yeah, it turned out Bottas was handicapped testing for 2021 without DAS and stuff... that’s why he was so slow in earlier practices...

So I think the divergences between teammates won’t always be immediately transparent to us outsiders. Teammates may or may not have identical equipment.

With limited testing, I’m sure teams may be testing different parts/configurations on different cars at the same time?

I wouldn’t be surprised Vettel did a lot of 2021 testing for Ferrari... ;)

[Rare White Ape]

I think Bottas with score the dub this time around, but what a show from Russell. His real chance to shine is tomorrow, but then he’ll have to return to the back of the grid for next season :lol:

Maybe 2022 will see him promoted to a new team.

[Rare White Ape]

So we have seen qualifying. I love the track, it's got some tricky corners up the top end there, but will we see any passing?

There are two DRS zones and a third long straight with a fast entry that has no DRS zone. Slipstreaming in these areas is a given. Along the top... not so much. But if the F2 race is any indication we might well see some heroic manoeuvres on the outside of the fast sweepy bit that leads into the tight chicaney bit.


https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=tje-KNHp1jw&t=29s

[samoht]

If you were just watching this race on TV without having heard the news about Hamilton, would you notice anything different? The lead Merc gets a great start, aces the restart and pulls a >1 second gap on Bottas in second place, escaping the DRS window before it's enabled.

[FaultyMario]

Lively race!

[FaultyMario]

Did anybody touch Verstappen? I reckon he just got greedy and thought the black stuff was all tarmac.

[XHawkeye]

https://pbs.twimg.com/media/EokznJTVoAAjYEr.jpg

Pretty sure I know what happened to George Russell’s rear tire. #SakhirGP (https://twitter.com/AxisOfOversteer/status/1335655515905433604)

[XHawkeye]

https://pbs.twimg.com/media/Eok01MjW4AAUpe7.jpg

This was Perez on lap one... #WTF1 #SakhirGP (https://twitter.com/wtf1official/status/1335656930652663809)

[JoeW]

Yep. Clearly Max was just greedy and was totally at fault.

I see someone hasn’t watched the race before passing their usual undeserved judgement.

For better or worse Russell proving pretty anyone in a Merc is faster than Bottas.

[Crazed_Insanity]

I thought Max was perhaps trying to avoid getting all tangled up with Charlie boy and Paris... (it does sound like the announcers just kept calling him Paris, right?)

Anyway, overall I thought it was a great race. For the 1st time, I felt bad for Mercedes...

Pit crew really screwed it up for both drivers... and the unfortunate puncture suffered by George..., but I think George has proven that he has more than what it takes... at least compared to Bottas...

[Rare White Ape]

Oh man I'm gutted for Russell, what an unfortunate sequence of events in the last 20 laps.

But congrats to Perez! An amazing drive to haul that car up the field from lap 1.

[CudaMan]

George really showed something special putting on that performance with so little time to adapt to a very different car (the way it drives, the steering wheel controls, fitting in it, DAS, the much different way it loads and heats its tires, etc). He wasn't just having respectable pace, he showed Bottas, who has years of experience with the team and 17 (?) races in that exact car, who's boss. George had speed but also racecraft, making key overtakes when he needed to. I kinda thought he was a decent talent having seen a few of his qualy laps in the Williams and watching the way he drives, but he really sent a message today. And he didn't choke under pressure, not only being with "THE" team and all the expectation that goes along with that, but having to deal with car problems, pit mistakes, getting put back in traffic twice, and the emotional roller coaster of his race. Well done George! He and Perez are making great cases for themselves being in competitive drives in the future.

Perez says he'll be in for 2022 if nothing else. Who has a contract that expires in 2021 besides Bottas? You'd think Merc would bring George up instead of Perez. Unless Hamilton is retiring soon...

[FaultyMario]

I liked the racing. all the Perez overtakes were cool specially the one on Albon after he reeled him in after three or four laps and his first one, i think it was raikkonen, after they both had pitted following their lap one pirouettes, it set the tone for the rest of the race.

RP said that they thought, based on their simulation, that they hoped they could keep Russell behind; I'm not sure about that, but, Perez wasnt going to give up his place without a fight, he kept trying to not give George more that .3 or lap.

speaking of George, i think his performance today shines a brighter light on kubica's year. he went on up against one of the best drivers on the grid and gave it all, and then some, to be competitive.

[FaultyMario]

one more thing, i think one of the contributing factor to the entertainment was that all of the drivers locked up in the fight for third in the WCC brought their A game to Sakhir. With the notable exception of Norris who drove shit.

[Crazed_Insanity]

speaking of George, i think his performance today shines a brighter light on kubica's year. he went on up against one of the best drivers on the grid and gave it all, and then some, to be competitive.

That’s true, huh? I’ve completely forgotten about Kubica was a teammate until you mentioned it...

[XHawkeye]

A thought that occurred with Racing Point winning today and AlphaTauri winning earlier this year: the teams that began as Jordan and Minardi have won 2 GPs this year.

Also: 2 non-Mercedes, Ferrari, RedBull wins in last 9 GPs. [The previous] 147 GPs [from] 2013 [until Monza] 2020 [there was only 1 non-Mercedes, Ferrari, RedBull win], Kimi, Lotus, AUS '13.

https://twitter.com/tonydizinno/status/1335735040018436096

[FaultyMario]

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=McpnNdmOrn8

Merc team radio.

[Godson]

Wow.

Russell drove way better than I could have imagined.

I was wondering when RP would nab a win. Pretty cool.

Fittipaldi finished within 4 seconds of Magnussen. Also impressive drive.

[Rare White Ape]

Update on the Merc tyre fuckup:

No points taken off Russell, Mercedes cops a €20,000 fine.

Reading this article, it's clear how much of a giant screw up this was!

https://www.racefans.net/2020/12/06/russell-keeps-first-f1-points-as-stewards-fine-mercedes/

[Freude am Fahren]

So Bottas and Russell removed Mercedes and Williams respectively from their Instagram Bios, and threw the world into a tizzy.

Mercedes updated their Bio as well.

https://cdn.images.express.co.uk/img/dynamic/73/590x/secondary/Mercedes-played-down-the-Instagram-changes-2797606.webp?r=1607458760593

[Godson]

Ha

[Crazed_Insanity]

Yeah, don’t over think it and end up putting the tires on the wrong car!

[FaultyMario]

Hamilton tests negative. Expected to race at UAE race.

[FaultyMario]

Point is, [Camilleri] can try to change the DNA of Ferrari's history and mission (good luck with that, probably easier to make Trump a commie) but he cannot change how the public perceives F1.
F1 in Europe and Asia is like Nascar in US: nothing else exist and matters. Not even MotoGP or Le Mans.
You are a racing team and out of it? You do not exist.

I take a bow, my friend.


Ferrari has announced its CEO Louis Carey Camilleri has stepped down from the company and its board of directors “with immediate effect”. His retirement is due to “personal reasons”, Ferrari confirmed. Its executive chairman John Elkann will act as interim CEO and begin a process to choose a replacement for the 65-year-old.

Camilleri took over in charge of Ferrari in July 2018, when his predecessor Sergio Marchionne stepped down suddenly due to ill health, shortly before his death.

[FaultyMario]

At those levels, "personal reasons" can only mean stealing from richer dudes than him or having entered a guilty plea with authorities.

[Blerpa]

I dunno much else but he was recently very sick with Covid-19.

[FaultyMario]

Who knows! it might be a health issue or he could have had an epiphany about his life now that he looked death in the eye and decided that he doesn't need to put that much effort into making money, he'll just rent the fuck out of his capital assets, like most capitalists.

Or, there could be some Agnelli Drama coming up in a few weeks.


Anyway, Verstappen ahead of Albon by some margin, and the track seems to suit the RB. Bottas ahead of Hamilton by some margin, but #44 reported brake problems. Ocon ahead of Ricciardo by some margin. Perez is going to take on new PU components so he'll also take a penalty. Carlando are fifth fastest. So with 22 points separating third from fifth place, the WCC is going down to the wire.

[XHawkeye]

https://pbs.twimg.com/media/Eo8rRNxXEAAmXBW.jpg

https://pbs.twimg.com/media/Eo8rRNqW4AETZZ-.jpg

Who wore it better? (https://twitter.com/EliGP/status/1337335274926469120)

[XHawkeye]

R25 Flyby (https://twitter.com/F1/status/1337371554074816513)

[samoht]

Lewis Hamilton seems to be suffering from some post-Covid ill effects, some level of 'long Covid'

https://www.bbc.co.uk/sport/formula1/55289009

As with many people who have come out of the other side after coronavirus, Hamilton says the main issue for him is one of "overall energy".
"One of the symptoms is it really drains you," he said. "I have been trying to sleep as much as I can but recharging is not as easy as it has been in the past.

Obviously this race doesn't much matter, but I'm concerned that worst-case, he could be less than 100% for months. Probably I'm over-worrying tho and he'll be fine by the end of the year.

[FaultyMario]

or, as said elsewhere, maybe he's going to suffer from fluffy dick.

[JoeW]

Is that something you actually “suffer” from?

[FaultyMario]

Here is what [Dena] Grayson said: “We now know that people can have long term health effects from this virus, neurologic complications, and now, for men who are watching this — there is some real concern here that men could have long term issues of erectile dysfunction from this virus, because we know that it causes issues in the vasculature,” (https://www.forbes.com/sites/brucelee/2020/12/09/can-covid-19-coronavirus-cause-long-term-erectile-dysfunction/?sh=4c739ac373ab)

[JoeW]

Oh. I looked up fluffy dick in the urban dictionary and saw this...

“When you nut so hard you become Asian and your dick is super fluffy now.
I fucked this Swedish housemaid super hard and now I think I have a fluffy dick.”

I guess the ED meaning is slightly different :)

[FaultyMario]

:lol: @ at the UD definition.


With both Albon and Lando starting on softs and with no pink cars in the vicinity, this should be a good opportunity for Albon to launch an attack on the Mercedes and help Verstappen build up a lead. If he can't do that and Perez's fresh engine allows him to climb up to the tail of the second McLaren I can't see Mateschitz not picking up the phone to Horner.

[Freude am Fahren]

Speaking of long-term covid effects on athletes...

University of Florida had their star basketball player collapse during a game today, and he's in critical but stable condition. No word on the ailment, but he did have Covid-19 earlier in the year, so there is speculation it's heart related from covid. But it's just speculation at this point.

[Crazed_Insanity]

Yeah, get the feeling that Hamilton probably wasn’t 100% today.

Should just let George Russel have some more fun and become more Asian in his car...

[JoeW]

I doubt Hamilton is all that motivated right now anyway. Already wrapped everything up and coming off Covid. He would probably rather be watching from a Monaco flat with his head on a fluffy pillow. But he can’t let down the adoring fans or let anyone keep thinking George could replace him...pffft.

[FaultyMario]

... Or make it easier for his boss to cut his productivity bonuses.

[JoeW]

Or that...

[Freude am Fahren]

Or he actually is happiest when driving the car, and would rather be doing exactly what he's doing?

:random:

Also, his BLM shirt today has the same design as a shirt I bought a few months ago:

http://gtxforums.net/attachment.php?attachmentid=3649&d=1607864595

[FaultyMario]

Stroll disappointing! What a moody driver, he needs to make his lows higher.

[JoeW]

Stroll is such a poor representative of North America.

[FaultyMario]

I sense an attitude thing that stands out in that "do or die" crowd. He had 2 offs where he bailed from a lock-up and instead chose to take a time penalty from going around the bollard, I think that showed a real lack of commitment that you don't see with, for example, Leclerc attacking T21 and getting it wrong and being shown the black and white flag, Leclerc got it wrong because he was trying to get it right, but Stroll, he's like: "meh, next time", and maybe that's what keeps him going so low on his performance downswings.

Anyway, this race felt so much like a chore, like the season should have ended last week. Even Verstappen wanted to get it done with.

[JoeW]

Agree on all counts. I was watching it live and I even got up a few times to do things. I usually pause it when I have to step away...today I was like fuck it...nothing is happening anyways. Even the announcers were bashing it.

[XHawkeye]

Vettel takes the mic after his swansong for @ScuderiaFerrari #AbuDhabiGP (https://twitter.com/f1/status/1338153959337431040)

[XHawkeye]

https://pbs.twimg.com/amplify_video_thumb/1337404190344310787/img/ki4WTTPpmZMQQTLL.jpg

Now time for Driver of the Day. Only one choice. (https://twitter.com/RenaultF1Team/status/1337407883386949635/video/1)

[FaultyMario]

That Renault looks weird with the rounded tires.

[Crazed_Insanity]

15 years later. That car does not look nor sound dated at all. What's up with that?

[Rare White Ape]

Man he gave that a proper thrashing too.

[JoeW]

Jeezus. They better stop doing these exhibition runs with the old cars. Newer fans will start calling for the old engine formula as well as the older fans.

Damn that sounds and looks fantastic.

[Crazed_Insanity]

Seriously, never have I looked back at a 15 year old F-1 car and thought it looks and sounded better than the current generation of F-1 cars...

Maybe they have done too much cost cutting? Or perhaps just do away with the hybrid powertrain to cut cost?

If it weren't for Max, I think I'd stop watching F-1 because Mercedes and Hamilton are making it too boring! :p

How is it possible that Ferrari needs to cheat just to keep up?

Mercedes's penalty for being so good should be to supply all teams who want their engines. The other engine manufacturers can figure out how to beat Mercedes 1st before thinking about supplying engines to other teams. Testing restrictions should be lifted for the slower manufacturers...

Anyway, I may not know how to fix this, but seriously the show has not improved if we're yearning for cars 15 years old...

[FaultyMario]

There's an image of Vettel's farewell gift to Leclerc doing the rounds in those part of the internet that don't like hotlinking. It's one of his 'normal' (white) helmets with a dedication that says something like:


To Charles, you are the most talented driver I came across in 15 years of F1. Don't waste it. But [illegible] whatever you have do to be happy and smile. Thanks for everything!

[Crazed_Insanity]

As the only driver beaten by both Max and Charlie, I wonder which driver Vettel would rate higher... sounds like he’s more impressed with Charlie boy...

[FaultyMario]

Vettel has been a full-time teammate to Liuzzi, Bourdais, Webber, Ricciardo, Kimi and Leclerc. Max has never raced in the same team as him, in fact it was his dad's tantrum over Kvyat getting Vettel's vacant seat what has kept some of us off from jumping in the Verstappen bandwagon.

[Crazed_Insanity]

Oops, yes, my bad, Vettel’s faster mate was Ricciardo, not Max...

[FaultyMario]

l guess that means he rates Leclerc higher.

[Crazed_Insanity]

Well yeah, he has to be, if that’s the only young up and coming teammate he had...

The only thing interesting about F1 now IMHO are these 3 up and coming young drivers... Max, Charles and George!

Of course we should not consider Alonso a young driver! :p

[FaultyMario]

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=NEPFMBds_FA

360°

[Crazed_Insanity]

Oh wow!

[FaultyMario]

Going over some YT stuff, I have to lay the blame of Tuscany's pile up on Latifi. The leaders were feigning a start and He fell for it hook, line and sinker; He was way out of his depth.

[JoeW]

there’s a video on the F1 site about some of the funny moments from the season. There is a bit from the Sainz’s radio during qualifying where his pit says...
“You are still the only car out there”.
Sainz...”Ok, but say....I am P1.”
Pit...”You are P1. Purple in all sectors.”

this is hilarious.

[XHawkeye]

https://pbs.twimg.com/media/EsVJq8RXcAEoyzN.jpg:large

https://pbs.twimg.com/media/EsVJrTwXcAAl_qH.jpg:large

https://pbs.twimg.com/media/EsVJrskXEAAJmZQ.jpg:large

https://pbs.twimg.com/media/EsVJsEtXMAE3EKg.jpg

https://pbs.twimg.com/media/EsVJse6W4AIgP_g.jpg:large

[Rare White Ape]

Just in case anyone’s interested, Spark Models have announced that they’re doing a George Russell Merc from the Sakhir GP in 1/18 and 1/64 scale.

[Freude am Fahren]

:up: