1: 25
2: 18
3: 15
4: 12
5: 10
6: 8
7: 6
8: 4
9: 2
10: 1
Printable View
1: 25
2: 18
3: 15
4: 12
5: 10
6: 8
7: 6
8: 4
9: 2
10: 1
So that makes it even closer:
Max: 332.5 pts
Hamilton: 318.5
Hamilton wins the next 2 races, adding 50pts for a total of 368.5. Max takes second adding 36 to his total for 368.5 ...
That would send the championship tied into the final race, meaning who ever finishes in the points in front of the other would take it.
It's getting down to the wire... as it should be.
-tg
Did they actually hand out points for that so-called "race" in Belgium?
Yeah it was quite odd.
The race started behind the safety car and after several laps the race was cancelled/stopped.
The winner (actually of the qualification) received 12.5 points, place 10 got 0.5 points
Doesn't look good for Max. Ever since they put the new power unit in Hamiltons car it just has to much power for Max to keep up with. It also has a great driver, with a wing man supporting him. I think it's going to take a mistake or some type or mechanical failure for Max to win. I sure would like to see a different champion.
Does anyone know if they are still going to the new car design in 2022?
I dunno... if they continue to have collisions like they did at the end of the Saudi race... anything could happen. On the other hand, with points being the way they are, all it takes is for one to finish in front of the other... in theory they could play it safe (HA!) But neither of them are probably capable of that and have this need to win. And given how the last few races have gone, at this point, anything is possible.
-tg
Well maybe there is hope for Max. P1 for tomorrows race. I checked out practice 2 and Max was down .3 - .6. Hamilton seem to have a lot more speed, like the last 3 races, since that new power unit. I have actually watched qualifying yet so maybe something happened, I'll check it out later today.
Based on my past posts in this thread, you should see that I'm very much a Max and Red Bull fan, so keep that in mind.
There needs to be a full review of all communications (radio, text, computer, and any other) at the end of the race. It seemed like no one knew what was going on, including Masi, and the plan was constantly changing. Lewis got hosed, partly because of strategy decisions by his team, but mostly because of wishy-washy decisions from race control.
Perez retiring at the end makes literally no sense. It's the last lap ever for this equipment, he's in podium position, he might get second if he can also pass Lewis*. For God's sake, even if he has to limp around because of some supposed equipment failure, he'll finish in the points. The radio replay of them telling Perez he needed to retire had the sound of a very panicky person. Why the panic?
*That's why I think there's shenanigans afoot. Bottas was lumbering around the tail end of the points positions all day. Imagine a scenario where, on the last lap, Lewis's tires are so worn that he gets passed by Max, Sergio, Sainz... Suddenly Red Bull can win the driver's championship AND the constructor's championship.
All the money is in the constructor's championship. And money talks. To me, there's a non-zero chance that Perez was forced to retire to "let" Mercedes win the constructors championship in exchange for the last-minute decision to let the lapped cars between Max and Lewis pass the safety car and give them a 1-on-1 lap for the championship.
I couldn't be happier for Max, but if there is ever anything even hinted at publicly that gives credence to my theory above, that will taint F1 for me forever.
We are the champions, we are the champions :)
I let you find the video on every platform
Well done Max, a worthy winner. :thumb:
The strategy decisions by his team all made sense... for example not pitting under the safety car was the right thing to do, because if Lewis pitted and Max stayed out (which he almost certainly would have - Lewis was faster, so doing the same as him wouldn't work) and the safety car period lasted for the rest of the race (it almost did, but the marshalls were fast enough to allow one lap), Max would have won by default.Quote:
Originally Posted by OptionBase1
The decisions by race control were sensible given the circumstances, and both drivers have been on the bad side of that in recent races.
That does seem very odd, and hopefully we'll get clarification of why it happened.Quote:
Perez retiring at the end makes literally no sense. It's the last lap ever for this equipment, he's in podium position, he might get second if he can also pass Lewis*. For God's sake, even if he has to limp around because of some supposed equipment failure, he'll finish in the points.
Based on the amount of hassle that was happening on the radio between the teams and the race director, I can't rule out your theory, but it would surprise me.
There is a God. At least a racing God. lol
I'm happy for Max. I'm still confused how Lewis's car was so much faster than Red Bull after the power unit change 4 races ago. The change has been dramatic, I could understand some improvement but not that much. Even all that power couldn't overcome bad luck.
Sure was entertaining.
"Suspected loss of oil and water pressure" is the reason given for the Perez retirement. So, the panicky message to Perez to pit and retire immediately could have been because they didn't want to risk him potentially leaking fluids on the track, causing an extension of the safety car, and the race ending without going back green. At least, I hope that is all there is to it.
Ahhh, I was just going to start a new thread about Verstappen's win, but this is already here.
I've been an F1 fan for years, but the Mercedes dominance has made it almost boring. I am sooooo glad we've had some new blood rise to the top this year (to mix metaphors). :) Max seems like a genuinely nice guy.
Watch his acceptance speech if you haven't already. He's a wonderful champion.
I watch the races, but I'm still watching YouTube replays of things. I think this picture sums up the season. "If I have to, I'll go over you." :)
Attachment 183340
It'll be interesting to see what the off-season brings. Hamilton snubs the awards ceremony ... I've been seeing reports about how Wolff and Hamilton are now "disillusioned" with F1 and now Hamilton may not return next year, which would be interesting because that would leave Mercedes scrambling for another driver since they let Botas go. But I don't know how accurate those cliky baity articles really are. I usually just roll my eyes and move right along.
-tg
Are they going to the new car next year?
Well, I know the wheels and tires are completely revamped next year ... from a 13" rim to an 18" rim. Apparently this is a massive change for two reasons: 1) with all the sidewall associated with a 13" rim, they don't have to worry as much about actual suspension mechanics, and 2) apparently acceleration is slowed down because of the additional energy required to spin-up a wheel-tire with more weight distributed near the outer part of the radius. There's a YouTube video that explains all that, but I can't quickly put my finger on it.
Also, although I'm not totally sure about this one, but I believe they're going to allow more Venturi effect next year (the same phenomenon used on the old Bernoulli drives). I'm not sure of the differences, but Bernoulli and Venturi effects are quite similar.
If you want an example of the Bernoulli effect, poke a straight-pin into the middle of a playing card ... then put the pin into the hole of a thread spool and then blow on the other end. Intuition says you should blow the card off the spool, but what actually happens is, the harder you blow, the more the card sticks to the bottom of the spool. It's sort of cool.
p.s. It does have to be an old-style spool with some flat surface around the hole. These modern plastic spools just have venting around the hole, and I'm not sure that'll work.
Si has been talking (for a few years) about a new car with significant changes to hopefully improve overtaking capabilities. It was suppose to start in 2021 but was delayed because of COVID. I was just curious if this was still happening.
I definitely think drivers should be able to overtake. I used to be into Nascar (but not so much lately), but on the Super Speedways they always talked about the slingshot effect they could get from drag. Not sure why but they don't talk about that as much in F1.
But my feelings are mixed about the DRS. In a way, it just doesn't seem fair. If one car (behind) should get it, why don't both cars get it. Sure, I like passing, but I don't want to see it go back and forth on every lap. That gives too much to "playing with position strategy" rather than the best driver/team wins.
I do sure hope Red Bull keeps up their front-runner status with Honda backing off of their support. Apparently they're starting a multi-year process where they're giving all their F1 engine technology to Red Bull (but not sure "giving" is the right word). Apparently, in a couple of years, it'll just be the Red Bull / Red Bull team (with them actually manufacturing their own engines).
It certainly seems to be (I heard some stuff in commentary in the last race), but a quick web search didn't show anything recentQuote:
Originally Posted by wes4dbt
Here's some highlights of the changes, which do seem like they will help overtaking by changing the air-flow in multiple ways:
https://www.formula1.com/en/latest/a...oGrbqp6ye.html
...tests in the windtunnel (and simulator) have given good results.
With the designs of the tracks and the cars (until now) it doesn't tend to help much. Next years cars should improve things for it, but I don't know if it will become significant.Quote:
Originally Posted by Elroy
It was added as a way to avoid a fast car being stuck behind a slow one for ages (so the fast car can race against an equal for better action), and until now has been good.Quote:
But my feelings are mixed about the DRS. In a way, it just doesn't seem fair. If one car (behind) should get it, why don't both cars get it. Sure, I like passing, but I don't want to see it go back and forth on every lap. That gives too much to "playing with position strategy" rather than the best driver/team wins.
With next years cars they might be too close in terms of performance for the DRS to be a good thing, so there might be too many overtakes and bringing in strategy for using it. I hope that isn't the case.
I'm going to predict that the Haas slump continues. I know the story last year was that they didn't spend any money developing their 2021 car, so that they could focus resources on the 2022+ car. It could have been a convenient excuse. I don't expect much from them this year. I do think Williams jumps out of the bottom Tier of teams this year.
I'm most excited to see how Russell performs this year. I'll be rooting equally for Max and George each race. Bottas has moved from my "root against each race" column to my "meh, whatever" column. Hopefully the mid-pack competition is as tight this year as it has been the last couple years.
OT post about American All Left Turn Racing:
Nascar Cup Series switched to a wheel that uses a single lug nut this year. So far, it seems to be problematic. One car lost a wheel completely, one car had the wheel assembly break apart and the tire came off, and one car had issues where the wheel wouldn't attach properly. Not a good look at the biggest Nascar race of the year.
And Team Penske had several wheels confiscated for alleged illegal modifications. https://racer.com/2022/02/21/penske-...modifications/Quote:
Originally Posted by OptionBase1
Yeah, as much as I'd like to expect more from them this year, I agree. Not so much because of the hardware, but the installed software behind the wheel, if you catch my drift. the one may be OK, the other not so much.Quote:
Originally Posted by OptionBase1
-tg
I didn't realize they were changing to single lugs this year (or at all for that matter) .. might have to watch the next couple of races just for the entertainment value.Quote:
Originally Posted by OptionBase1
-tg
Thanks for the link, I hadn't heard about that situation.Quote:
Originally Posted by homer13j
You see where HAAS has cut ties with the Russian sponsor and Mazepin. Good for HAAS. That probably cost them a lot of money.
I felt sorry for Mazepin as a driver, but then I remembered that he's the son of one of the Russian oligarchs, good friend of Putin. He'll be a billionaire, whether he gets to drive F1 cars or not.
If Mazepin had earned his seat rather than it being paid for (and then some) by his dad's company, I would feel sorry for him. Haas had no reason to keep him in the seat when the Russian money train derailed.Quote:
Originally Posted by wes4dbt
One more Off Topic post about Nascar.
The cup series has a gigantic problem on their hands right now. The new car + new tire configuration so far has been a complete disaster. Way too many wrecks caused by a car just losing control all on its own, way too many cautions, way too many tire issues. I would imagine there are going to be some frantic conference calls this week between Nascar executives discussing what they can do. If nothing changes, this season is looking like it will be a disaster. There's nothing entertaining about 10-20 green flag laps followed by a caution.
Yeah, I went to NASCAR to watch the demolition derby and a car race broke out.
You're mixin' your message...or language...there.
Nice that Kevin Magnussen is back in the Haas seat. There were several names being thrown around for who might fill the empty Mazepin seat, but I never saw his name until it was announced he got it.
I hadn't seen any video of the "porpoising" that has been widely reported during test runs this year, until FP1 this morning. Holy crap that looks crazy scary and uncomfortable for the drivers. Having to go through that on several different stretches of track for every lap must be hell on your brain and eyes.
It's obviously very early, but it sure looks like HAAS came to play this year after all.Quote:
Originally Posted by OptionBase1
Ferrari (and Ferrari engine affiliated teams, for that matter) seem like they might be in the hunt this year. 4 Ferrari engines in the top 5 of Q1.
The Mercedes powered teams seem to be struggling. Ferrari powered teams are surging. It would be really nice to see a 3 way battle for the constructor's championship - Red Bull, Mercedes, Ferrari - and 4 or 5 way battle for driver's championship - Max, Lewis, Russell, Leclerc, and maybe Sainz. I don't see Perez being in that battle. That's my assessment of the entire 2022 season before the first lap has been run :)
Wow... what a race.. Ferrari 1-2... Merc 3-4... Haas with a top 5... and both RBs DNF....
Great to see Ferrari as a front contender once again.
The battle between LeClerc and Vesrtappen in trns 1 & 4 was a lot of fun to watch. LeClerc, Verstappen, LeClerc, Verstappen, LeClerc, Versta-- LeClerc....
-tg
Yikes for Red Bull...I remember several years ago when Red Bull was having reliability issues, I hope this isn't another year like that.
Ferrari engines in 3 of the top 5, 5 of the top 10.
I really hope Haas can be in the midfield mix all year. Too bad Mick was 1 spot out of scoring his first points.
Really happy for HAAS. Mag gave that car a really good ride. Think he will also help Mick to improve. The last couple of years has been hard to watch.
I'm sure Mercedes will sort out there suspension problems and then we will end up with a three team battle at the top. Looking forward to the season.
The race was a good one.
I was a bit confused why a full safety car wasn't deployed late when there were multiple stationary cars on track that needed to get pushed off by marshalls. From a "don't want to have the potential to greatly affect the outcome of the race" standpoint, I get it, but safety always needs to come first, and in this case it didn't seem to be.
Also, the last two laps when there was a stopped car on the side of the track was odd. The graphics on tv seemed to indicate a ping-ponging of a localized yellow, back to green, back to yellow. Not sure how "official" the broadcast flag status is, but generally, it seems to be instantly on point, to where it will indicate a yellow flag status on screen several seconds before it is acknowledged by the announcers and the camera switches to the incident.
Mercedes vying for "best of the rest" this year? Or will they be a tier 1.5 team, with Alpine, Alfa Romeo, Alpha Tauri and Haas vying for "best of the rest"?
How a stopped car is dealt with depends on various factors, primarily can the marshalls remove the car without risking themselves.Quote:
Originally Posted by OptionBase1
In this case it seems that they had all the space/time/equipment/etc that they needed to deal with it in a safe way, so a full safety car wasn't needed.
It can seem a bit bizarre sometimes... I wasn't paying attention at that point so didn't notice, but in the past I have seen that kind of thing caused by automatic sensors having issues (so they trigger the yellow due to car speed/position etc, but go back to green almost immediately because the "issue" is gone).Quote:
Also, the last two laps when there was a stopped car on the side of the track was odd. The graphics on tv seemed to indicate a ping-ponging of a localized yellow, back to green, back to yellow. Not sure how "official" the broadcast flag status is, but generally, it seems to be instantly on point, to where it will indicate a yellow flag status on screen several seconds before it is acknowledged by the announcers and the camera switches to the incident.
Probably... I'm guessing they'll be 3rd/4th best this year, but it depends on how long it takes them to fix their issues and how well they do it.Quote:
Mercedes vying for "best of the rest" this year?
They have a unique design, so if they get it working properly it could make them very dominant, but it could just as easily be like McLaren's 18 (from about 2004) which never got sorted out (and because there hadn't been rule changes, they just kept using the previous car).
It will be interesting to see. Right now I'm enjoying the fact it's not always Red Bull and Mercedes at the top. I hope their problems last long enough that Lewis isn't even in the conversation for the championship. But I'd be surprised if Mercedes doesn't sort out their problems pretty quickly.Quote:
Mercedes vying for "best of the rest" this year?
Probably... I'm guessing they'll be 3rd/4th best this year, but it depends on how long it takes them to fix their issues and how well they do it.
They have a unique design, so if they get it working properly it could make them very dominant, but it could just as easily be like McLaren's 18 (from about 2004) which never got sorted out (and because there hadn't been rule changes, they just kept using the previous car).
It's funny, I wasn't a Ferrari fan until Mercedes started dominating year after year after year. The enemy of my enemy is my friend. lol
Great race for Red Bull. It was nice to see that places 2 through 9 were cars from 8 different teams. Hamilton must be seething after being stuck in 14th place pretty much all race. Painful to watch, there's no way he's back next year if Mercedes struggle continues.
That's a bold prediction. lolQuote:
Painful to watch, there's no way he's back next year if Mercedes struggle continues.
Are you predicting Lewis will leave or that Mercedes will replace him?
As for the race, it was OK. No race for the lead. Nothing like the NASCAR Cup series race at Talladega.
My prediction is that Lewis would leave/retire if Mercedes struggle continues. If Mercedes turns it around, and they win some races and get consistent podiums, then maybe he comes back again.
I don't think it is that bold at all. Remember, his return this year was up in the air for a while. Imagine after a year of running mid-pack, if that continues to happen? It's already been reported that he and Toto have been having extremely heated arguments about the car issues. I don't think either one of them want an entire year of that happening, and then turn around and want to do it again next year.
I read an article yesterday following the race, where he seemed to double-down on his commitment to the team. I could go either way at this point. But we're also what, only 4-5 races in? It's still early. Drivers though are starting to complain about the porpoising that's going on and the toll it's taking on them. I suspect we'll see a sudden breakthrough on both fronts (Merc's power issue & the porpoising) some where around mid-season ... or we'll see an emergency regs change that will change the game dramatically.
-tg
There seem to be at least 2 overpasses directly above part of the track in Miami. I really hope no one tries to do anything idiotic from them to try to disrupt the race. I would imagine they are going to be closed to traffic, so that should help prevent something from happening.
It's Miami. Somebody will probably be molesting an alligator on those overpasses...while wearing oxygen due to the altitude.
Again Red Bull's straight line speed was to much to over come. Strange how things change. It wasn't that long ago that Red Bull was known for it's maneuverability but lacked straight line speed. I'm surprised Mercedes still not competitive with RB and Ferrari. Have to admit, I'm glad. lol
Nice to see HAAS staying competitive for 8-10, though they self destructed yesterday.
I thought this year was shaping up to be a real battle between Red Bull and Ferrari, maybe Mercedes joining the fight about now. The last three races has started to ruin this battle. Man, Ferrari just can't put a whole race together. They are kicking butt in qualifying but on race day they keep shooting themselves in the foot.
They better turn this around quickly or the championship battles will be over.
Not breaking news, of course, but it is clear that Ferarri were not prepared, from top to bottom, for a driver or constructor's championship title fight this year. Sainz in 2022 reminds me of Perez in 2021. LeClerc can't seem to handle the pressure. Team strategy is haywire. They appeared to have had two bad options yesterday regarding Sainz strategy. Leave him out for 35 laps on Medium tires, or pit again with about 18 laps to go for new tires and give him time to try to drive back through the field. But somehow they managed to come up with a third option that was even worse than the other two.
The real battle for the remainder of the year seems to be the battle for 2nd through 6th place in the driver's championship. If I had to pick who I would root for to get 2nd, it would be Russell, but I don't think that will happen unless Mercedes finds more performance and soon.
Yeah, the championship seems to have been settled. I just don't see Max or Red Bull making enough mistakes to let Ferrari back into the battle. It's a shame, Ferrari has had a great qualifying car. But reliability and driver mistakes have ruined their chances. This could have been a real fun championship fight to watch.
I still think Leclrec should get second but it's a tight race now. I'm sort of amazed that Mercedes is even in the conversation. But like usual, they are reliable and get the most out of a race.
The rest of the field have been fun to watch, they all seem to stick it in deep on corner and then claim "it was my corner" after they collide. lol
I spoke too soon apparently. Although, it is just one race, and no matter what happens tomorrow Red Bull will lead the constructor's championship by a good margin, and Max will lead the driver's championship by a good margin. But what an absolute meltdown for Red Bull today.
George Russell getting his first pole was spectacular. I'd love to see him get his first win tomorrow, but I don't think that is likely without more Ferrari difficulties.
Mercedes does seem to be closing the gap. That's good but I have to admit I have been enjoying seeing them struggle. lol
Now lets work on getting rid of all these colored smoke bombs.
Ferrari just put LeClerc on hard tires even after they've been trash for everyone else that has used them today...that's what happens when you Medium-Medium the first 40 laps I guess, but man, they should have planned this out differently.
Great race by Verstappen, but the Ferrari team should really be ashamed of themselves
That late VSC screwed up Perez's chance to pass Sainz, he was closing on him by 1.5-2 seconds per lap before it came out. And LeClerc not being able to steam ahead on his fresh Soft's for the last 15 laps or so was very odd. I thought for sure he would pass Perez easily after 5 laps or so.
Yeah, that was odd.Quote:
And LeClerc not being able to steam ahead on his fresh Soft's for the last 15 laps or so was very odd. I thought for sure he would pass Perez easily after 5 laps or so.
Ferrari just let Max dictate the race. There was no need to pit Sainz so soon, they even pitted Leclerc to soon. They needed to go Medium - Softs. I think they miscalculated the effects of the cold weather.
Yeah. Basically, they needed to run their own race strategy that made sense and not worry about the team that started 10th and 11th. And George wasn't going to win the race on pace in a straight up battle of 2-stops, and any alternate strategy by him (like some longshot one stop) wasn't going to do it either.Quote:
Originally Posted by wes4dbt
They started on Mediums and should have gone longer on the first stint than everyone that started on Softs. Then, they should have gone even longer on their second stint if the plan was Med-Med-Soft (which it should have been) all along. Stints of 26-26-18 laps, something along those lines.
If Med-Med-Hard was plan A all along, then I guess we're witnessing what happens when MonkeyPox takes the form of F1 strategy.
I believe Bottas was already for 10 laps on white, and it wasn't a success.
Why not observe what others do?
And the last stop for Leclerc to change the white to red with only 5 laps to go? What was the purpose, beside losing positions??