Hamilton 5x World Champion ?

[wes4dbt]

Max took pole. No one predicted that. I don't know what happened to Tsunoda. He looked good in the practices.

HAAS got Bregman into Q3, that was a little surprising to me. The last high speed corner track they were the worst of the field. HAAS screwed up the last practice and never got a soft tire run.

[OptionBase1]

Max took pole. No one predicted that. I don't know what happened to Tsunoda. He looked good in the practices.

HAAS got Bregman into Q3, that was a little surprising to me. The last high speed corner track they were the worst of the field. HAAS screwed up the last practice and never got a soft tire run.

Max on the pole was a shocker. Will he have the pace to hold the lead? Not sure. Even if he can, if McLaren stay 2 and 3 they can try a split strategy (1 overcut, 1 undercut) and have a good chance of taking the lead.

Tsunoda's Q2 elimination was unfortunate. Lawson qualifying higher than Tsunoda is a bit embarrassing for Tsunoda.

I hope Bearman can stay in the points. Seems unlikely, though, since the cars right behind him should be a bit faster.

[OptionBase1]

Total snoozefest of a race. The only drivers that qualified in the top 10 that didn't finish in the same place they qualified in were Hadjar and Hamilton, who simply swapped places.

Tsunoda getting voted driver of the day is a joke. Had he passed a bunch of cars and finished in the points, maybe. Max should have been driver of the day for holding off the McLaren's.

And if Jacques Villeneuve is going to be a regular part of the broadcasts this year, then I'm going to have to watch the race muted, unless he's paired with someone that isn't David Croft. Zero chemistry whatsoever. That being said, Croft was a big part of the problem, he kept throwing out nonsense to try to make the broadcast interesting due to the lack of any sort of on track action, and Velleneuve wasn't having it and just shutting him down.

For the last couple days I was thinking that they need to get the whole grass fire thing under control before the race so that it doesn't screw everything up, but it turns out that it would have been helpful.

[wes4dbt]

Yeah, there wasn't much happening in that race. No one could get close without over heating their tires. I fast worded thru the last part. I was just curious if HAAS was going to keep 10th and score a point.

Got to be hard to announce a race where everyone is just playing follow the leader.

[Shaggy Hiker]

What's the grass fire thing? Out here, that would mean a literal grass fire. Does it mean something else in racing?

[OptionBase1]

What's the grass fire thing? Out here, that would mean a literal grass fire. Does it mean something else in racing?

There were numerous literal grass fires right next to the track during practice and qualifying. The grass was extremely dry, and cars driving over curbs kick off sparks underneath the car, and that was enough to start them.

I believe they had to red flag practice and qualifying at least 4 or 5 different times to bring guys out to put out the fires before they spread too far. I've never seen anything like it.

It was one of those things where you think, maybe Bernie Ecclestone was on to something when he suggested track-side sprinklers?

[Shaggy Hiker]

That happens all the time out here, but I'm surprised they let the grass along the track get to that condition. The sparks are kind of an obvious thing. A few years back, somebody blew a tire on a trailer when driving across Idaho. They didn't notice it, and managed to start fires for miles by riding on the steel rims. It's not exactly an unknown phenomenon. I suppose it is not something that normally wet areas think about.

[wes4dbt]

Yeah, that race is known for rain.

They really weren't much of a fire. The grass was very short but they had to be put out.

https://www.cnn.com/2025/04/05/sport...ntl/index.html

I wish they would have raced with them burning. That race needed something to add entertainment.

[OptionBase1]

That happens all the time out here, but I'm surprised they let the grass along the track get to that condition. The sparks are kind of an obvious thing. A few years back, somebody blew a tire on a trailer when driving across Idaho. They didn't notice it, and managed to start fires for miles by riding on the steel rims. It's not exactly an unknown phenomenon. I suppose it is not something that normally wet areas think about.

Yes, of course. When I said "I've never seen anything like it", the "it" I was referring to was that it happened repeatedly at a Formula 1 (the worldwide pinnacle of racing) race track over the course of multiple days on a race weekend. Not a great look for the venue.

[Shaggy Hiker]

Visibility can be quite poor with grass fires. That was quite likely the reason for putting them out.

[jdc2000]

Unexpected race result for the 2026 Barcelona GP. Hamilton wins in a Ferrari on a 3 stop strategy.

[wes4dbt]

Yeah, I read about it. Don't get to watch the races this year. It seems the races are between Ferrari and Mercedes this year, with Mercedes having a slight advantage.

I noticed 8 cars didn't finish the race, that's a lot.