F1 2021 Season

macheda14

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Yeah, Red Bull tactics were no good. That, combined with the problem with the back end of Verstappen's car and Mercedes being allowed to ignore track limits in corner four for at least 32 laps (at 0.2 seconds gained per lap) put Lewis in the driving seat. I think Lewis did a fine job today but it wasn't this mega race from him a lot of people on here are claiming it to be. For me what stood out was Red Bull"s reliability issues with Perez' car going completely dead on the formation lap and Verstappen having issues with the rear. Another thing that stood out for me was how bad Vettel was. Again. When you see him now it's very hard to believe he's a 4 time world champion. That crash was a rookie mistake. Also, Perez and Norris were very good. Looking forward to seeing how they do the rest of the season.

Leclerc saying that drivers were all aware that they could ignore track limits, most drivers apart from Max were going very wide. It's on Max and Red Bull that they didn't. Max then went wide for around 20 laps until Hamilton was told he would get a black and white flag after lap 38, which I imagine was a message relayed to every team.
 

ArjenIsM3

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Leclerc saying that drivers were all aware that they could ignore track limits, most drivers apart from Max were going very wide. It's on Max and Red Bull that they didn't. Max then went wide for around 20 laps until Hamilton was told he would get a black and white flag after lap 38, which I imagine was a message relayed to every team.
How does that make sense if your lap time during qualification would have been invalidated for doing just that? Perhaps it was a bit naive from Red Bull that they chose to abide the track limits but race control fecked up first and foremost.
 

Robertd0803

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Surely Tsunada should've been in the conversation for Driver of the Day?

9th on debut with only 2 cars not finishing is serious going. He was picking off former world champions for shits and giggles for a while there in the 3rd quarter of the race and then managed to hunt down and take Stroll in a proper battle over the last 10 laps.
He did brilliantly. One to keep an eye on definitley and think it got lost in the shuffle a little.
Why didn't they properly do the champagne? They all just sort of stood there til Hamilton did a bit
Cant have champagne in the Middle East so its fizzy water or something.

Not really. I’d just assume that most F1 fans would be able to see past their bias to actually vote for the best driver of the race.
The Driver of the Day has long been a joke and basically a driver popularity contest.

Outstanding stuff from Hamilton and Mercedes. They shouldnt have won that race but they did. Delighted to see Red Bull and Verstappen make a mess of it.

Vettels lack of wheel to wheel racing ability is starting to get a little hard to watch.
 

Robertd0803

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Haas are getting slaughtered on there...

"Amazing job, Nikita. Turn 3 is better than turn 1"
and
"I’m amazed Nikita made it to turn 3, you guys must be proud! Feel sorry for Mick being part of this team."
They deserve it. Hope Schumachers reputation isnt damaged from being stuck in that piece of junk all season.
 

altodevil

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Vettel's decline is shocking. Folk think he's overrated, but he was a lightning quick driver 2009-2013. Ferrari run had bright moments but he bottled it.
 

sglowrider

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He did brilliantly. One to keep an eye on definitley and think it got lost in the shuffle a little.

Cant have champagne in the Middle East so its fizzy water or something.
I always find it sacrilegious that they spray champagne everywhere on the podium. What a painful waste.
 

Robertd0803

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I always find it sacrilegious that they spray champagne everywhere on the podium. What a painful waste.
Especially the cost of the bottles. :lol: Still though it looks good and one of the few traditions left.

I think Bottas always has a good swig of his before he sprays it and when he was asked about it he said thats the best bit and why waste it? :lol:
 

NWRed

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Vettel's decline is shocking. Folk think he's overrated, but he was a lightning quick driver 2009-2013. Ferrari run had bright moments but he bottled it.
He was definitely very good but there is a factor that contributed hugely to his success that is largely ignored, he was 10kg lighter than Webber at a time when it was included as part of the minimum weight of the car. This meant that Vettel had far more scope to alter his cars balance with the placement of ballast improving absolute lap time but also tyre preservation and ease of handling etc.
 

sglowrider

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Especially the cost of the bottles. :lol: Still though it looks good and one of the few traditions left.

I think Bottas always has a good swig of his before he sprays it and when he was asked about it he said thats the best bit and why waste it? :lol:
He should be appreciative of it. He was never in a position to sip the bubbles until he joined Mercedes.
 

MTF

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He was definitely very good but there is a factor that contributed hugely to his success that is largely ignored, he was 10kg lighter than Webber at a time when it was included as part of the minimum weight of the car. This meant that Vettel had far more scope to alter his cars balance with the placement of ballast improving absolute lap time but also tyre preservation and ease of handling etc.
Didn't remember that that period was when the taller drivers were all basically anorexic because of the min weight being so low.

I really dunno what to make of Vettel in terms of where he sort of ranks among all time drivers. I don't think you'd pick him ahead of any of the 2-time world champions, which in in modern times is Alonso and Hakkinen. He was a good talent early on to win a race in the Toro Rosso, and certainly had to have some poise to win the 4 titles on the trot with Red Bull. But ever since he's just been so clumsy and error-prone.
 

dinostar77

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Vettel's decline is shocking. Folk think he's overrated, but he was a lightning quick driver 2009-2013. Ferrari run had bright moments but he bottled it.
Aston Martin have been hit quite hard by the new rules. They have lost a second a lap in race pace. If and when they get this back vettel will be fine. Its a new team and a new car. He'll do well at AM. He's not at his RB peak but i think he will out qualify and out score stroll over the course of the season.

Perez will be fine as well and will be up there with lewis and verstappen. Its a long season, i think we can reserve judgement till we hit 10-12 of the 21 races.

Lastly, i hope lewis stays another year at Mercedes. Cause Bottas needs to go. Hes a waste of space in that car. I think Russell would have done a better job than him yesterday. Bottas 3.0 is the same as bottas 2.0, just doesnt have "it" to be in the elite tier (Lewis/Max/Alonso) or the tier below that.
 

TheBest

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Didn't remember that that period was when the taller drivers were all basically anorexic because of the min weight being so low.

I really dunno what to make of Vettel in terms of where he sort of ranks among all time drivers. I don't think you'd pick him ahead of any of the 2-time world champions, which in in modern times is Alonso and Hakkinen. He was a good talent early on to win a race in the Toro Rosso, and certainly had to have some poise to win the 4 titles on the trot with Red Bull. But ever since he's just been so clumsy and error-prone.
He got done by ricciardo and leclerc. He made pretty bad mistakes last few years. He isn't that old to be declining this fast. Maybe Alonso and lewis were right earlier, when they didn't rate him that highly. In a car dominant sport, how you perform relatively to your peers is always an important consideration.
 

Grinner

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Nikita Mazepin, Driver No. 9, Uralkali Haas F1 Team
“It was very simple – I made a mistake. It was just one of those things. My start had been good, I got into turn one taking the outside line. I was then going through turn two and I was really trying to avoid Mick (Schumacher) as he was close and got too much on power – the tires didn’t take it. They were cold, I got on the kerb, took too much throttle and spun. It was totally my mistake, it’s very disappointing. I’m very sorry for the team as they deserved to do much better than that. Obviously,

Guenther Steiner, Team Principal, Uralkali Haas F1 Team
“We had a 50 percent success rate today. Mick (Schumacher) did a very good job – I think he learned a lot today, and the team learned a lot, the strategy’s working. Nikita (Mazepin), obviously, we all saw had a spin on the first lap which compromised his race. He doesn’t feel great about it, but we put it down as learning. He will get back at it again at the next race weekend, for sure he’s learned from this weekend. In general terms, the team worked very well over the whole weekend together with the drivers. I think they’ve all started to gel as a team. They’ve been working together, they understand each other. These things always take time. It’s very complex, the whole sport is so complex, and it's only time that gives you some solutions. You cannot force these things and you cannot buy them. Every day we are together working is a plus.”
 

MTF

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He got done by ricciardo and leclerc. He made pretty bad mistakes last few years. He isn't that old to be declining this fast. Maybe Alonso and lewis were right earlier, when they didn't rate him that highly. In a car dominant sport, how you perform relatively to your peers is always an important consideration.
I was being a bit generous by sticking to comparing him to only at least guys with 2 titles, but I think it's a valid question to ask if you wouldn't take guys with 1 or no titles at their prime ahead of Vettel at his prime. Guys like Button, Raikkonen, Rosberg, Ricciardo, Verstappen, Leclerc... not a good discussion to be in when you're a 4-time world champion and 3rd in all-time points scored.
 

Adam-Utd

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He got done by ricciardo and leclerc. He made pretty bad mistakes last few years. He isn't that old to be declining this fast. Maybe Alonso and lewis were right earlier, when they didn't rate him that highly. In a car dominant sport, how you perform relatively to your peers is always an important consideration.
I was being a bit generous by sticking to comparing him to only at least guys with 2 titles, but I think it's a valid question to ask if you wouldn't take guys with 1 or no titles at their prime ahead of Vettel at his prime. Guys like Button, Raikkonen, Rosberg, Ricciardo, Verstappen, Leclerc... not a good discussion to be in when you're a 4-time world champion and 3rd in all-time points scored.
Vettel obviously did have talent from a young age, he had some very impressive results in his early years before the move to Red Bull.

Clearly that car suited him perfectly and he was still hungry/good enough to use it properly. It seems though he's just not able to produce under pressure, his whole career has been littered with mistakes.

I do think they made a mistake leaving him out on old tyres, they probably thought he could do a Perez and extend way past the norm.

One thing for sure is he needs to sort out his qualfying, can't keep ending up so far back as you end up getting stuck on bad strategies.
 

NWRed

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Didn't remember that that period was when the taller drivers were all basically anorexic because of the min weight being so low.

I really dunno what to make of Vettel in terms of where he sort of ranks among all time drivers. I don't think you'd pick him ahead of any of the 2-time world champions, which in in modern times is Alonso and Hakkinen. He was a good talent early on to win a race in the Toro Rosso, and certainly had to have some poise to win the 4 titles on the trot with Red Bull. But ever since he's just been so clumsy and error-prone.
The problem he has is his legacy is tainted by what Ricciardo and Leclerc have done to him in equal machinery. The fact he was unable to adapt his racing style to a car that didn't have the planted rear end of the Red Bulls he won in means despite his 4 world titles he can't be ranked alongside genuine greats. I'd even put him behind people like Rosberg, who bettered an admittedly ageing Schumacher and held up well against a dominant Hamilton.
 

dinostar77

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Vettel has a chance of securing a 5th (i would say undeserved) world drivers title at AM. Lawrence Stoll has a midas touch when it comes to business. Whether that translates to f1 remains to be seen. But there is a chance in the next few seasons of AM delivering a championship contender car. We have no idea what the order will look like in 2022. Its as close to a blank sheet of paper modern f1 gets. The sliding aerodynamic/wind tunnel time will play its part.

What i dont know is how different the driving styles of stroll jnr and vettel are. If they are different whos style do you build the car around? The 4 times world champion or the son of the owner of the team?
 

Robertd0803

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I really dunno what to make of Vettel in terms of where he sort of ranks among all time drivers. I don't think you'd pick him ahead of any of the 2-time world champions, which in in modern times is Alonso and Hakkinen. He was a good talent early on to win a race in the Toro Rosso, and certainly had to have some poise to win the 4 titles on the trot with Red Bull. But ever since he's just been so clumsy and error-prone.
I think Germany 2018 broke him personally. Never really seemed to be the same driver afterwards.

As regards all time rankings or which category of greats he fits in to (you dont become a multiple world champion by being just good) hes in the category of greats. Would count several drivers ahead of him (Hamilton/Prost/Senna,) but hes far ahead of other drivers as well. (Rosberg/Villenueve/Raikkonen/ Hakkinen).

The Vettel/Alonso one Im very undecided on. Alonsos poor choices career wise would have Vettel ahead in my opinion today. Might be a different answer tomorrow.

His race craft (or lack of currently) reminds me more of Schumachers return with Mercs every time Vettel has an incident.
 
Last edited:

Scarecrow

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Alright fellas, new fan here - I binged all of Drive to Survive recently and watched my first full race yesterday (it was often on when I was a kid but wasn't really into that). It was brilliant. I'm all in.

Where do you go for F1 info, discussion, analysis etc? I found the subreddit, obviously. Any good podcasts, youtube channels?

Cheers.
 

mitChley

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Alright fellas, new fan here - I binged all of Drive to Survive recently and watched my first full race yesterday (it was often on when I was a kid but wasn't really into that). It was brilliant. I'm all in.

Where do you go for F1 info, discussion, analysis etc? I found the subreddit, obviously. Any good podcasts, youtube channels?

Cheers.
The official YouTube channel is pretty decent, as is THE RACE, and the Sky F1 channel too.

Podcasts, I listen to Shift+F1, not particularly technical but entertaining.
 

altodevil

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I think Germany 2018 broke him personally. Never really seemed to be the same driver afterwards.

As regards all time rankings or which category of greats he fits in to (you dont become a multiple world champion by being just good) hes in the category of greats. Would count several drivers ahead of him (Hamilton/Prost/Senna,) but hes far ahead of other drivers as well. (Rosberg/Villenueve/Raikkonen/ Hakkinen).

The Vettel/Alonso one Im very undecided on. Alonsos poor choices career wise would have Vettel ahead in my opinion today. Might be a different answer tomorrow.

His race craft (or lack of currently) reminds me more of Schumachers return with Mercs every time Vettel has an incident.
Alonso is in the highest tier of drivers
 

Tom Van Persie

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Alright fellas, new fan here - I binged all of Drive to Survive recently and watched my first full race yesterday (it was often on when I was a kid but wasn't really into that). It was brilliant. I'm all in.

Where do you go for F1 info, discussion, analysis etc? I found the subreddit, obviously. Any good podcasts, youtube channels?

Cheers.
This is an underrated channel for race analysis, general discussion and predictions. https://www.youtube.com/c/RacingReviews

And for podcasts I would recommend Beyond the Grid.
 

Adam-Utd

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Vettel has a chance of securing a 5th (i would say undeserved) world drivers title at AM. Lawrence Stoll has a midas touch when it comes to business. Whether that translates to f1 remains to be seen. But there is a chance in the next few seasons of AM delivering a championship contender car. We have no idea what the order will look like in 2022. Its as close to a blank sheet of paper modern f1 gets. The sliding aerodynamic/wind tunnel time will play its part.

What i dont know is how different the driving styles of stroll jnr and vettel are. If they are different whos style do you build the car around? The 4 times world champion or the son of the owner of the team?
Not a chance. Stroll will be closer to a title than Vettel now and that's saying something.
 

dinostar77

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I wouldnt put him in the same category as Hamilton/Senna/Prost/Schumacher but personal choice I guess.
It is personal choice your right. I definitely would put him in the highest tier. So much of a F1 drivers career is about right car at right time and luck. Prost could have been a 9 times world champion. If a few decisions and mechanical reliability went his way. If Alonso had gone to RB instead of Vettel, we'd be talking about Alonso as a 6 times WDC. That would change the perception of Alonso. Hamilton said he's the best driver he's been up against so did webber.

It was interesting that Tsunoda said he was behind Alonso for a few laps, studied his driving style and mimicked it and improved his own lap times during the go. That a) shows the respect other drivers have for him and b) what a special talent tsunoda could be. On the fly to change your driving style while trying to drive in your first GP ever. Thats not normal. Worth keeping an eye on that boy.
 

dinostar77

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This is an underrated channel for race analysis, general discussion and predictions. https://www.youtube.com/c/RacingReviews

And for podcasts I would recommend Beyond the Grid.
+1 for beyond the grid podcast. Great interviews. There isnt an all encompassing website to recommend, i get my news from few different ones. Ted Kavitz notebook after the GP is always worth a watch. There was a website that would cover all the new parts that the teams brought to a race and used in FP1/FP2 etc. For the life of me i cant recall the name or if it still exists. That happens alot, great websites with tons of deep dive tech details just suddenly arent updated anymore.

The best sites you have to pay for. Autosport F1 (their "Plus" articles are paywalled). Joe Saward since 1988 has been producing the "green book" magazine post race. Great content but you gotta pay for it. Scarbsf1 (Craig Scarborough) and Georgio Piola do the most amazing drawing of f1 car parts and explanations on how they work.
 

Scarecrow

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The official YouTube channel is pretty decent, as is THE RACE, and the Sky F1 channel too.

Podcasts, I listen to Shift+F1, not particularly technical but entertaining.
This is an underrated channel for race analysis, general discussion and predictions. https://www.youtube.com/c/RacingReviews

And for podcasts I would recommend Beyond the Grid.
+1 for beyond the grid podcast. Great interviews. There isnt an all encompassing website to recommend, i get my news from few different ones. Ted Kavitz notebook after the GP is always worth a watch. There was a website that would cover all the new parts that the teams brought to a race and used in FP1/FP2 etc. For the life of me i cant recall the name or if it still exists. That happens alot, great websites with tons of deep dive tech details just suddenly arent updated anymore.

The best sites you have to pay for. Autosport F1 (their "Plus" articles are paywalled). Joe Saward since 1988 has been producing the "green book" magazine post race. Great content but you gotta pay for it. Scarbsf1 (Craig Scarborough) and Georgio Piola do the most amazing drawing of f1 car parts and explanations on how they work.
Good stuff, I’ll check those out. Thanks!
 

Robertd0803

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It is personal choice your right. I definitely would put him in the highest tier. So much of a F1 drivers career is about right car at right time and luck. Prost could have been a 9 times world champion. If a few decisions and mechanical reliability went his way. If Alonso had gone to RB instead of Vettel, we'd be talking about Alonso as a 6 times WDC. That would change the perception of Alonso. Hamilton said he's the best driver he's been up against so did webber.

It was interesting that Tsunoda said he was behind Alonso for a few laps, studied his driving style and mimicked it and improved his own lap times during the go. That a) shows the respect other drivers have for him and b) what a special talent tsunoda could be. On the fly to change your driving style while trying to drive in your first GP ever. Thats not normal. Worth keeping an eye on that boy.
True, I think part of the thing that counts against Alonso in my mind is his somewhat self destructive career choices with the whole blackmailing Ron Dennis fiasco and the breakdown in relationship with Ferrari (not entirely his fault) meant he wasn't as successful as he should have been. Even including that he should have been champion in 2010 at the very least.

And totally agree about Tsunoda, that was a ridiculously impressive debut.
 
Fantasy League 2021 Race 1

pauldyson1uk

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May 20, 2008
Messages
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Here is the first Fantasy League standings pf the season.
Toyoda off to a cracking start.


1st
venkman​
114​
2nd
emm​
EMM
105​
3rd
senorgregster​
100​
4th
evan7788​
99​
5th
chaddyp​
98​
6th
manoucha​
96​
7th
impulse​
96​
8th
f-red​
93​
9th
coleworld​
92​
10th
vangagal​
89​
11th
leg-end7​
89​
12th
tiber​
89​
13th
mtf​
88​
14th
pauldyson1uk​
87​
15th
christy87​
87​
16th
jtw95​
85​
17th
dargonk​
84​
18th
20solskjaer​
79​
 

Hephaestus

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WOW was not expecting that.
Harsh ? I think so.
Not harsh really. Not following the rules under double waved yellows is always 3 points due to the high degree of danger (George Russell got the exact same penalty last year at the British GP and the Turkish GP with Norris also getting that at the latter) and the crash with Ocon was 100% his fault so the standard 2 penalty points.

Just an awful weekend for him yet again.
 

hobbers

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Alonso definitely belongs in the top tier of championship winners.

Vettel I wouldn't even say is level on talent with Rosberg, though they always seemed quite similar to me. In the right cars they were excellent at qualifying and race pace, but neither had particularly good racecraft, something Alonso and Hamilton set the standard for.
 

Wicked_Badger

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Alright fellas, new fan here - I binged all of Drive to Survive recently and watched my first full race yesterday (it was often on when I was a kid but wasn't really into that). It was brilliant. I'm all in.

Where do you go for F1 info, discussion, analysis etc? I found the subreddit, obviously. Any good podcasts, youtube channels?

Cheers.
If you’re into podcasts, there’s a good few around. Beyond the grid is excellent. I like For Formula 1s Sake (FF1S) for a bit of a laugh, F1: The Checkered Flag (BBC) & F1 Nation is good too.

Also listen to some smaller podcasts like 3 Legs 4 Wheels & WTF1 now and again too.
 

pauldyson1uk

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Not harsh really. Not following the rules under double waved yellows is always 3 points due to the high degree of danger (George Russell got the exact same penalty last year at the British GP and the Turkish GP with Norris also getting that at the latter) and the crash with Ocon was 100% his fault so the standard 2 penalty points.

Just an awful weekend for him yet again.
Fair enough, forgot about Russell , agree about the crash it was his fault.
I will take that back, not harsh.