2021 Formula 1 Thread

[DLSTR]

5min to start race #1 woohooo!

[Ventruck]

Can't take away anything from Ham, but eh.

I'm actually a bit more pooped that Ferrari is probably going to have another underwhelming season.

[DLSTR]

Originally Posted by Ventruck

Can't take away anything from Ham, but eh.

I'm actually a bit more pooped that Ferrari is probably going to have another underwhelming season.

Ferrari team management stated earlier their focus is for 2022. Better engine now but not enough time to clean up the aero for this year or worth the resources.
Hope 2022 is better as they predict with the new rules/regs.

[axmea?]

5h!t. All I needed was another lap

[ZCanadian]

Are you able to stream from tsn.ca? Maybe it’s going to be geographically limited to Canada, but they have the Sky Sports coverage from the pre-race to the interviews after chequered flag.

[danegrey]

exciting race, my son and I were both yelling about the penalty...
but the rest of the field at the end, there wasn't a whole lot action after the first two..
impress with Lando and Tsunoda. Perez did a great job, starting in the pit lane...
hopefully the entire season will be like this, with maybe a few others running up there...

[ZontheRocks]

All I can say is poor Haas. Everyone involved.

[DLSTR]

Nice review of the current F1 status after Race-1

https://www.espn.com/f1/story/_/id/3...nger-round-one

[DLSTR]

I give Vettel 5 more sub-performing races and Stroll-daddy punts his azz

https://www.grandprix247.com/2021/03...-a-pulp-in-f1/

[ZCanadian]

Originally Posted by DLSTR

I give Vettel 5 more sub-performing races and Stroll-daddy punts his azz

https://www.grandprix247.com/2021/03...-a-pulp-in-f1/

He might get spun out on license points before his spinning the car out causes this!

[DLSTR]

Red Bull won't "burn" rough diamond Tsunoda in F1 - https://www.autosport.com/f1/news/re...in-f1/6060146/

By: Jonathan Noble
Co-author: Christian Nimmervoll

Red Bull insists it will not ‘burn’ Yuki Tsunoda by promoting him from AlphaTauri too quickly, despite his impressive Formula 1 debut.

The Japanese youngster marked himself out as a future star with a great showing at last weekend’s Bahrain Grand Prix.

He set the second fastest time in Q1 and finished the race in ninth place, having pulled off a great overtaking move on Aston Martin’s Lance Stroll on the final lap.

Tsunoda’s pace and the hype surrounding him has already prompted suggestions he could be in the frame to step up to the main Red Bull team from 2022.

However, Red Bull’s motorsport advisor Helmut Marko has urged caution about such talk, despite clearly believing that Tsunoda has a bright future.

Marko remains well aware of the fact that Daniil Kvyat, Pierre Gasly and Alex Albon have all failed to reach their full potential at Red Bull after being promoted and there is a sense to not rush things this time.

In an exclusive interview with Autosport’s German language sister site Formel1.de, Marko praised the impact that Tsunoda had made but said Red Bull was ready to be patient.

“The way he goes about it, the way he makes the car fly [is fantastic],” Marko said about Tsunoda. “He's also a charismatic, funny guy. We are very happy to have him.”

Asked about the prospect of a 2022 drive at Red Bull, he replied: “We’ve had the first of 23 races, so let's see how things develop.

“We have an incredible rough diamond in Yuki. We're not going to burn him. We will look at the development and then make our decisions in a timely manner.”



A move to Red Bull for Tsunoda would be bad news for Sergio Perez, who is currently on a one-year deal to drive for Red Bull this season.

The Mexican had a mixed weekend in Bahrain, after getting dumped out of qualifying in Q2 before recovering well in the race to take fifth place.

Tsunoda “wouldn’t sleep” if he hadn’t attacked Stroll on last lap
Marko said that in terms of race pace there were no concerns about Perez, but the key for him now was putting a lap together in qualifying.

“The race speed is on the same level as Verstappen,” said Marko. “When he was in free air, he set the same times, so, so far, so good. Unfortunately, it wasn't like that in qualifying.

“The positive thing was that he lost most of his time in one turn, Turn 1. Already during testing, in sector three, he was faster than Max on average. The only issue is: you have to get the lap together.

“But we are convinced that he will get much closer to Max in qualifying as well.”

[DLSTR]

The next race weekend is soon upon us!! Imola is round #2

https://www.autosport.com/f1/news/br...ction/6203027/

Brundle: F1's rake focus is a "distraction"
By:
Tom Howard
Apr 11, 2021, 10:31 AM

Martin Brundle believes the current intrigue in Formula 1 surrounding car rake is "a distraction" from the real issues at play between Mercedes and Red Bull.
Brundle: F1's rake focus is a "distraction"

The pace shown by F1’s top two teams at the season opening Bahrain Grand Prix left Mercedes in no doubt that its form had been hit by new rules introduced this year.

In particular, it believes that changes to the floor aimed at cutting downforce have hurt lowrake cars like its own and Aston Martin much more than high-rake models like Red Bull.

Aston Martin even went as far as suggesting the rule changes resulted in its car losing one second per lap of performance compared to high-rake rivals.

Sky Sports F1 pundit Brundle is not convinced that the rake issue offers the full explanation behind Mercedes apparent pace struggles.

He is confident that despite its early struggles with the W12, the Brackley squad will “get it together” as he still thinks Mercedes and Lewis Hamilton are the team/driver combination to beat.

“I think the rake thing is a little bit of a distraction and I think the Mercedes is not really working that well at the moment,” Brundle told Autosport.

“Red Bull and Honda are working particularly well, as are a few other cars.

“The regulations mean you can’t just keep throwing new upgrades at it every week like they have perhaps done in the past, but Mercedes will get it together.

“[Lewis] Hamilton and Mercedes are still the combo to beat for the world championship.”

Looking ahead to next weekend’s race at Imola, Brundle is predicting another closely fought contest between Mercedes and Red Bull.

The ex-F1 driver turned distinguished broadcaster says that Hamilton’s Bahrain victory proved that Mercedes, even on the back foot, cannot be underestimated.

“It depends what they do to their car in between times,” added Brundle, when asked if he thought Mercedes would have a tougher battle to overcome Red Bull at Imola.

“It is obviously more limited as to what you can change anyway now.

“I wouldn’t underestimate Mercedes. I mean everybody is talking about rake and how it has damaged Mercedes and therefore Aston Martin, but unless I’m mistaken, a Mercedes won the race in Bahrain with Red Bull having dominated the last race [in Abu Dhabi] last year.

“I think it will be really close, they will sort the Mercedes out.

“Hamilton was absolutely magnificent in Bahrain and for me he won the race as much as anybody else lost it, or any team lost it.

“I really don’t know who will be best around Imola and that is the wonderful thing about live sport.”

[DLSTR]

Formula 1 Emilia Romagna GP Analysis
The themes to watch in F1’s Imola return
By: Alex Kalinauckas
Apr 13, 2021, 9:09 AM
Three weeks is a long time in Formula 1, but in the reshaped start to the 2021 season the teams head to Imola to pick things up after the frenetic Bahrain opener. Here's what to look out for and the developments to follow at the Emilia Romagna Grand Prix

The second Emilia Romagna Grand Prix possesses something reassuringly familiar in the current uncertain climate: it’s the start of the European F1 spring.


Usually, the teams would be heading to Barcelona after a travelling back from Australia via the Middle East and Asia, but 2021 had just one initial flyaway. The Bahrain season opener was a thriller, with notable themes at the front of the field immediately emerging. But, as well as those motifs likely continuing this weekend, the Imola event is significant for every squad.

At the front, Red Bull has F1’s fastest car, but hasn’t got a victory to show for it thanks to Mercedes’ aggressive Bahrain strategy calls, plus Lewis Hamilton’s continuing tyre management excellence. The question is whether Red Bull can stay ahead and convert its promise into a nerve-settling win this weekend. Mercedes certainly expects its rival to be so thanks to the high-speed sections of the 19-turn layout, which don’t suit the W12.

But a return to Europe plus the three-week gap since Bahrain means there’s every chance that the teams will take this opportunity to tweak their 2021 machines with update packages within the limits of this season’s design-carryover rules. Mercedes hinted in pre-season it would reveal its token upgrade spend in due course, which suggests it still has something to add to the W12 given it ran its testing specification to victory in Bahrain.


Red Bull can of course make further tweaks to improve the RB16B package that looked so good last time out, but with the need to consider when to switch resources to the 2022 cars and keep under the new cost cap, it’s not a given that teams will bring updates to every race this year.



In the pack behind the leaders, Alpine has already acted, opting to bring an aerodynamic upgrade package to this weekend’s event after confirming “some of the weaknesses of our package” in Bahrain, per team executive director Marcin Budkowski.

But while the physical changes will be apparent when the cars take to the track on Friday, there will be additional unseen elements of progress that the teams will be eyeing this weekend.

Red Bull needs Sergio Perez to make an impression in the lead fight. The Mexican was dropped to the back of the field through no fault of his own in Bahrain, but he would’ve been starting outside the top 10 even without what is now described as a formation lap electrical issue by the team. He fought back impressively in the race, but that just won’t be possible this weekend if he qualifies down the order again given passing will be a rare event should the race run interrupted throughout.

If, as Mercedes expects, Red Bull and Verstappen lead the way again in qualifying, plus there’s the potential Perez improvement against the clock, then it will be interesting to see which of the Black Arrows drivers is the nearest challenger
“My goal is to have a good race and I’m looking forward to the weekend,” Perez says ahead of the race. “Hopefully in Imola we can come back and be in contention to fight for a podium and hopefully the win. Unlike Bahrain, qualifying is very important at Imola as you can hardly overtake there – but I like it.”


The 2020 Emilia Romagna GP showcased exactly why Red Bull needs two cars in the lead fight, as Mercedes was able to put Hamilton onto a strategy that would’ve likely got him back ahead of Max Verstappen even without fortuitous virtual safety car timing, using its 2-1 advantage to great effect.

In that race, Hamilton triumphed despite it being a weekend where Valtteri Bottas had had an edge, right up until he ran over a piece of Ferrari bodywork that Sebastian Vettel had lost against Kevin Magnussen’s Haas.

If, as Mercedes expects, Red Bull and Verstappen lead the way again in qualifying, plus there’s the potential Perez improvement against the clock, then it will be interesting to see which of the Black Arrows drivers is the nearest challenger. Hamilton looked more at home in the troublesome W12 in Bahrain, where Bottas also compromised his race with a slow first lap, but the Finn can look back on F1’s last visit to Imola for inspiration.


Although Ferrari has taken a significant step forwards compared to its 2020 nightmare, it seems as if the Scuderia will need its drivers to deliver their own brilliance this weekend.

Charles Leclerc shone at Imola last year with a performance similar to the one he produced in Bahrain – qualifying higher than the car deserved to be and then hanging on in the race. Imola’s tight-but-rapid nature means he won’t necessarily slide backwards this time around if he can get another lofty grid spot. Carlos Sainz Jr gets a first chance to race for Ferrari in Italy and will be out to make an impression.

Another home-hero squad for this weekend is AlphaTauri, which lost the chance for an impressive 2020 result at Imola to a radiator weld failure on Pierre Gasly’s car. The Frenchman put in another impressive qualifying display in Bahrain, but ruined it clattering Daniel Ricciardo early in the race. This weekend, he gets the chance to reinforce his team’s potential at a track where he was very fast last year, while the early career momentum gathering around Yuki Tsunoda will increase if he impresses again at this tricky track.

While Aston Martin seems to have gone from podium chasing with Perez at Imola last year to a likely struggle to make Q3 and the points in 2021 – largely thanks to the rear floor changes that have also hampered Mercedes considerably – McLaren was best of the rest in Bahrain. This weekend offers the perfect chance to solidify its progress after the team was unexpectedly at the back of the fluctuating midfield scrap and in a weekend of ‘damage limitation’ on its way to seventh and eighth at Imola last year.

Alfa Romeo is another team out to show its Bahrain pace and progress was not a one-off, while Haas will be hoping its drivers can keep their cars pointing in the right direction across the weekend.

At Williams, a George Russell redemption story is waiting to be written given his embarrassing safety car crash here in 2020. But he’ll need to ace qualifying, as he did last year and in Bahrain last time out, plus race as strongly as he did nearly six months ago to be in points contention if something unexpected occurs.



That’s what Imola offers. It’s a fearsome track – an “iconic old-school track with a fast and flowing layout that provides little room for error”, per McLaren’s Daniel Ricciardo – with many bumps to test the drivers, as well having an unusual anti-clockwise layout.

A straightforward race will mean a certain one-stopper because the pitlane time is so high, but the challenging layout (with close gravel traps at most corners hopefully putting the tedious track limits debate on ice for a while!) means there’s every chance a dull affair could be enlivened very quickly.

But overtaking will still be very difficult, even with a longer DRS zone this year. So, if it’s close – from the off or late-on as things shake out – it’ll likely be tense.

[DLSTR]

This is the coolest cat in the paddock lol

The secret of Imola’s lucky F1 paddock cat
By: Luke Smith
Apr 15, 2021, 4:50 AM

Following an enthralling tussle in Bahrain three weeks ago, the close fight between Mercedes and Red Bull looks set to rage on as Formula 1 returns to Imola this weekend.

It's not like you will find a lucky black cat crossing your path at Imola. But you will find a grey tabby cat.

His name is Formulino. And he is the secret cat king of the Imola F1 paddock.

Little was known about Formulino prior to last year's Emilia Romagna Grand Prix, which marked Imola's first F1 race since 2006, but as various preparations were carried out on Thursday in the paddock, he became a regular visitor to the teams' garages, keeping a close eye on those who had entered his paddock.

Then-Ferrari driver Sebastian Vettel was graced by Formulino as he spoke to Sky Sports F1 in the media pen. "It's good luck if he comes and sees you," presenter Ted Kravitz told Vettel.

But Vettel wasn't so enthused. "I don't like cats," he said. "I have nothing to offer it. He's a bit overweight though…"

Lewis Hamilton was far more welcoming to the cat, who had a good nose around one of Mercedes' team units. Formulino was quick to say hello to the reigning world champion, who took a moment to give him a stroke and pet his head.

Aware his subject's interest was waning, Hamilton duly went on his way - but as Mercedes' Twitter account pointed out, both he and the team had been "blessed by the Imola cat".

Since his starring role at Imola last year, Formulino has joined the ranks of F1's many famous pets, including Hamilton's dog Roscoe and - this writer's personal favourite - Alexander Albon's various furry friends on the @AlbonPets Instagram account, led by the adorable Horsey Albon.

Formulino's Instagram account - in which he rightly claims to be "the owner of Imola" - features pictures of him sitting in on all of the circuit's important meetings, including scrutineering and planning for the return of this year's grand prix. If the boss is around, you need to be on best behaviour.

In the build-up to this weekend's race, F1 rightly credited Formulino by producing him a very special VIP paddock pass. As we all know, paddock access is currently extremely limited due to the COVID-19 restrictions, with exceptions made where deemed necessary, such as for one-eyed charity teddy bears (which strangely sparked one protest…). But Formulino does what he wants. After all, who is going to stop him?

Formulino's pass lists him as a member of Imola's personnel, his position being "cat", and grants him access for all days of the event. He even posed for a paddock pass photo like a true professional.

https://www.autosport.com/f1/news/th...k-cat/6271815/

[DLSTR]

Fun qualy today!
---------------------
What To Watch For in the Emilia Romagna GP: Hamilton vs two Red Bulls and Tsunoda’s fightback

Special contributor

Chris Medland

https://www.formula1.com/en/latest/a...dC2tN3peE.html

From Lewis Hamilton facing a two-pronged attack to extremely quick drivers out of position, and from Williams realistically fighting for points to a rookie looking to atone for an error, we highlight five key things to look out for in Sunday’s race at Imola…
1. Hamilton versus two Red Bulls

Unlike the pattern we've got used to recently, it’s Mercedes under pressure strategically

We’ve become accustomed to seeing Lewis Hamilton, Max Verstappen and Valtteri Bottas together as the top three – in varying order – over the past year or two, and they key thing about that combination is that it’s two Mercedes drivers up against one Red Bull.

Even when the second Red Bull has been at the sharp end it is rarely been able to stay there for a full race, so even at the best of times that still means it’s an equal fight between two teams of two cars.

But that’s not the case this weekend, where Sergio Perez pulled out an excellent performance to outqualify Verstappen – the first time the Dutchman has been beaten by a team mate since 2018 – to start on the front row alongside Hamilton, with Verstappen in third place. And with Bottas down in eighth, that gives Red Bull two cars to fight with against the lone Mercedes early on.

Perez also starts on the soft compound compared to mediums for Hamilton and Verstappen, meaning Red Bull already have two different strategies in play from the word go, and potentially an advantage off the line. It means the tables are turned when it comes to the strategic battle, and it will be fascinating to see how both sides respond to this unusual dynamic.

'We're not robots' - Verstappen on 'messy' Q3 that led to being out-qualified by a team mate for first time since 2018

Verstappen starts third – right behind Hamilton – while team mate Perez starts second

2. Bottas and Norris with ground to make up

Sharing the fourth row, both drivers should have been much higher

Bottas is definitely out of position, but what was interesting about his qualifying performance is we never actually saw his true pace. The Finn had a poor first lap and couldn’t rectify it with his second, as he complained of a nervous rear end in Q3.

Given the fact that Bottas was on pole here last year, it’s definitely an underachievement, but in an extremely close qualifying session there were a number of drivers left to rue their final results, none more so than Lando Norris.


The McLaren seemed to come alive in the hands of Norris on Saturday and the British driver was already looking quick before his final Q3 attempt, when he grabbed everyone’s attention by setting the fastest first sector overall. When he followed it with the fastest second sector, a stunning pole position looked on the cards, but after crossing the line in P2 he saw his lap time deleted for marginally running wide at Turn 9.

The pace was massively impressive – Norris would have been within 0.1s of pole had he kept the car on track – but he admits he only has himself to blame for taking a tiny bit too much risk. He’ll now need to take a few more to make up for it on Sunday.

3. A crucial start

Overtaking was extremely tough at Imola last year

Speaking of taking risks, the whole field will be contemplating being on the aggressive side when the lights go out, based on last season’s visit to the Autodromo Enzo e Dino Ferrari. On that occasion, track position was king as overtaking was extremely difficult, with Perez seeing a podium slip away after being called into the pits during a late Safety Car period.


The drivers were expecting a tough time in 2020, but now they have that experience and know exactly how tough it is, they’ll be aware that the first lap can make or break their race as they are unlikely to be able to gain multiple positions on track after that point.

That said, the forecast is for a chance of rain, and even if it’s dry the DRS zone has been extended this year to try and increase the opportunities for overtaking. We’ve also already seen a number of drivers at least dip a wheel into the gravel at the final corner that leads into the DRS zone – with both Charles Leclerc and Nikita Mazepin crashing there on Friday.

Gaining an early foothold at Imola is crucial; the narrow layout does not make overtaking easy

4. Tsunoda's fightback

A crash in qualifying means the rookie is starting last

Speaking of crashes, the most spectacular one was suffered by Yuki Tsunoda, and it proved to be extremely costly. AlphaTauri have looked rapid all weekend at their home track – just like they did last year – and both drivers were eyeing a top-10 start at the very least. But Tsunoda spun into the barriers at the Variante Alta – Turn 15 – on his first timed lap in Q1 and brought out the red flags.


The damage to the rear of the car was substantial, and might even necessitate a pit lane start depending on repairs, but either way Tsunoda is going to be the last car in the order whether he’s on the grid or in the pits.

And for the neutrals, that could be a mouthwatering prospect.

Tsunoda was the standout driver when it came to overtaking moves in Bahrain, scything his way through the field on the brakes after a cautious opening lap. Imola is a track he knows well after extensive testing at the venue during the off-season (albeit in old machinery), and he’s got a much quicker car than a number of those ahead of him. He can’t really rely on an epic first lap to erase the damage, so he’s going to need more of that braking confidence to get himself anywhere near the points.


5. Williams' dream of points

Both drivers reached Q2 and had a shot at a top-10 qualifying position

The majority of the field will be after a point-scoring finish at Imola after a remarkably close qualifying session. All 10 teams were in with a chance of advancing from Q1, with Haas just 0.4s off courtesy of Mick Schumacher.


But the most eye-catching performance in the first part of qualifying came from Williams, where Nicholas Latifi continued his strong weekend to advance in P12 and ahead of team mate George Russell. Both drivers were eyeing Q3 but were unable to quite find the required time on their final soft tyre runs, with Russell ending up 12th and Latifi 14th, but properly in the midfield mix.

The car is quick enough to fight for points, and while the difficult overtaking might mean they need to rely on early gains or a strategic move to get into the top 10, the pace is such that they should be able to stay there.