Racing: 2021 Formula 1 Season

[JoVel]

Toto calling the stewards as soon as Mazepin got one blue flag was pretty great.

I am not sure why I bother with F1 Twitter, but I do like the fact that some people seem to be up in arms because of that message as if it doesn't happen dozens of time every race. It just hasn't been broadcasted before.

If they decide to keep doing that I can't wait to see the content we're gonna get from F1's official Karen, Christian Horner.

 

[Siamese Dream]

just seems like Mercedes is having a big advantage on pit strategies over Red Bull.

Yeah that was a huge call by them to not pit Hamilton immediately after Verstappen's slow stop

 

[SoupyFIN]

Yeah that was a huge call by them to not pit Hamilton immediately after Verstappen's slow stop

It looked like a puzzling decision at first, but Hamilton's rapid pace after the pitstop forced Verstappen to up his pace and wore out his tyres. Verstappen didn't need to up his pace because it's so tough to overtake on that track, but he and RB kinda panicked and didn't think about a scenario like Hungary 2019. Hamilton was clearly faster of the two, but there wasn't that big of a difference between their strategies that Hamilton would've passed him had Verstappen just used full ERS on the main straight.

If Hamilton had pitted the next lap, Verstappen would've probably controlled the pace and won.

 

[Siamese Dream]

It looked like a puzzling decision at first, but Hamilton's rapid pace after the pitstop forced Verstappen to up his pace and wore out his tyres. Verstappen didn't need to up his pace because it's so tough to overtake on that track, but he and RB kinda panicked and didn't think about a scenario like Hungary 2019. Hamilton was clearly faster of the two, but there wasn't that big of a difference between their strategies that Hamilton would've passed him had Verstappen just used full ERS on the main straight.

If Hamilton had pitted the next lap, Verstappen would've probably controlled the pace and won.

Yeah I was thinking surely they'd have to pit him that lap and get the overcut after Red Bull's 4 second pit stop if their own went smoothly

 

[Khelandros]

It looked like a puzzling decision at first, but Hamilton's rapid pace after the pitstop forced Verstappen to up his pace and wore out his tyres. Verstappen didn't need to up his pace because it's so tough to overtake on that track, but he and RB kinda panicked and didn't think about a scenario like Hungary 2019. Hamilton was clearly faster of the two, but there wasn't that big of a difference between their strategies that Hamilton would've passed him had Verstappen just used full ERS on the main straight.

If Hamilton had pitted the next lap, Verstappen would've probably controlled the pace and won.

You think a track with a 1,000m long DRS zone is hard to pass on? Hamilton would have passed him regardless of the pit strategy.

 

[JoVel]

You think a track with a 1,000m long DRS zone is hard to pass on? Hamilton would have passed him regardless of the pit strategy.

1,000m straight is kinda irrelevant when the previous 5 corners make sure you don't get within 1 second unless you're significantly faster.

 

[SoupyFIN]

Yeah I was thinking surely they'd have to pit him that lap and get the overcut after Red Bull's 4 second pit stop if their own went smoothly

It would've been really close even if Hamilton had pitted the next lap, the gap was going to Verstappen's favour at ridiculous speed.

You think a track with a 1,000m long DRS zone is hard to pass on? Hamilton would have passed him regardless of the pit strategy.

Except Hamilton had the whole first stint to try and he chose to hang back, because he knew it's not possible. The car in front can just save most of his ERS to the main straight and it doesn't matter if the car behind gets DRS, the last chicane makes it very difficult to follow right behind.

2016 race is a good example, Ferrari clearly had the faster car, but there was no way to get past because Verstappen and Raikkonen were on the same strategy. You need the tyre advantage, whether it's a softer compound or less wear, to stay close enough through the final corners.

 

[PanniniClaus]

Tim and Friends giving a shout out to F1 tonight... ratings are way up..

 

[Siamese Dream]

 

[Ceremony]

That livery is utter sex. Outstanding stuff. If only current F1 cars didn't have all that black plastic hanging off the side of the aero pods, then it'd be perfect.

 

[SoupyFIN]

This is what MSC should've done in '06.

(doubt Leclerc did it on purpose though)

 

[MXD]

... Theo. Oh Theo. Winning the F2 Monaco Feature Race as a 17-old rookie is... Something.

 

[JoVel]

... Theo. Oh Theo. Winning the F2 Monaco Feature Race as a 17-old rookie is... Something.

It's starting to look like Pourchaire is the next big star to come into F1 after Russell and Leclerc. Which is going to be interesting since he's not part of any of the big driver academies but rather the Sauber academy which frankly, not all that many people even knew was a thing before Pourchaire. So he's basically waiting for Kimi to retire to grab that seat.

It's gonna be interesting to see how that'll pan out, because if he indeed joins F1 as a Sauber academy driver he could have all the big guys after him if he were to have a Leclerc type rookie season. Let's say things go well for him for the next 2 or 3 years, he could be a big player in the driver market.

I was thinking the first season in F2 would be for finding his feet. Those cars are difficult to get accustomed to. Especially since ART have a history of not really getting the most out of two cars. But no he's just gonna qualify on pole at Monaco by half a second and win the feature race. He probably would've already grabbed a podium in his very first start in Bahrain had his car not given up.

 

[JoVel]

The conspiracy theorists are looking real smart currently.

 

[SoupyFIN]

Hopefully

1) Bottas or Sainz takes the lead into turn 1
or 2) There's a crash involving most of the top10

Otherwise there's nothing to look forward to with Max running away with the race.

 

[adsfan]

The polesitter, Charles Leclerc is not starting due to a gearbox issue!

That is a shame since he would be running in his home country of Monaco.

 

[Siamese Dream]

Hamilton is absolutely seething.

You love to see it

 

[Tobias Kahun]

Why was Hamilton so much slower at this track.

 

[MXD]

Why was Hamilton so much slower at this track.

Car setup, basically. And confidence in the car being affected by setup issues.

And God knows you need confidence around Monaco.

 

[MXD]

...A car, on the championship winning team no less, retired due to, basically, a stripped bolt.

 

[SoupyFIN]

I think Bottas ruined his tyres at the beginning staying so close to Max. Funny how it's always the 2nd car with mechanical issues..

Mercedes made an odd call, hards take so long to heat up that it was unlikely Hamilton would make the difference in one lap to Gasly. Vettel took advantage with Gasly and Hamilton slow, Perez smart for staying out and overcutting them all. Stroll with a good overcut too.

 

[MD thaivuN]

Why was Hamilton so much slower at this track.

overtaking is super hard in Monaco. Track position, tyre management and not hitting the walls are pretty much everything there.

 

[umma gumma]

Hamilton is absolutely seething.

You love to see it

Yeah, it bugs me how he is often doubting his team's strategic decisions, even though they have been right majority of the time. Yeah maybe they got the strategy wrong, but it wouldn't have been a problem if he put the car where it was supposed to be on Saturday.

 

[umma gumma]

overtaking is super hard in Monaco. Track position, tyre management and not hitting the walls are pretty much everything there.

Ya, just ask Coulthard about his race in 2001.

 

[SoupyFIN]

Yeah, it bugs me how he is often doubting his team's strategic decisions, even though they have been right majority of the time. Yeah maybe they got the strategy wrong, but it wouldn't have been a problem if he put the car where it was supposed to be on Saturday.

He was right though, it would've been a better strategy to go long like Perez did and Hamilton hanged back from Gasly on purpose for most of that stint, so his tyres were probably still good.