2022 Formula 1 Thread

[danegrey]

Day three times
1. Russell (Mercedes) 1m19.233s, C5, 66 laps
2. Verstappen (Red Bull) 1m19.756s, C3, 59 laps
3. Vettel (Aston Martin) 1m19.824s, C4, 48 laps
4. Leclerc (Ferrari) 1m19.831s, C3, 44 laps
5. Latifi (Williams) 1m20.699s, C4, 5 laps
6. Norris (McLaren) 1m20.827s, C3, 52 laps
7. Alonso (Alpine) 1m21.242s, C3, 12 laps -
8. Zhou (Alfa Romeo) 1m21.939s, C3, 41 laps
9. Gasly (AlphaTauri) 1m22.469s, C2, 40 laps
10. Albon (Williams) 1m22.652s, C2, 21 laps
11. Mazepin (Haas) 1m26.229s, C3, 9 laps

Morning summary
- Russell puts Mercedes on top for first time
- Best lap of 1m19.233s was set on softest C5 tyres
- Alpine ends its test early after hydraulic issue
- Haas limited to nine laps by suspected oil leak
- Five red flags in total
- Only Mercedes (66), Red Bull (59) and McLaren (52) clear 50 laps

[danegrey]

"Impossible to hold the Russian Grand Prix in the current circumstances"
Here's a full statement from F1, which says itself, the FIA and the teams agreed the Russian GP cannot go ahead at present.

"The FIA Formula 1 World Championship visits countries all over the world with a positive vision to unite people, bringing nations together. We are watching the developments in Ukraine with sadness and shock and hope for a swift and peaceful resolution to the present situation. On Thursday evening Formula 1, the FIA, and the teams discussed the position of our sport, and the conclusion is, including the view of all relevant stakeholders, that it is impossible to hold the Russian Grand Prix in the current circumstances."

[DLSTR]

https://www.autosport.com/f1/news/ha...-week/8486683/

Haas set to review future of Uralkali F1 deal next week
Haas is set to review the future of its Uralkali Formula 1 title sponsorship deal next week after removing the company's stickers from its car following Russia’s invasion of Ukraine.

Luke Smith
By:
Luke Smith
Feb 25, 2022, 6:49 AM

Haas announced on Thursday evening that it would be completing the final day of F1 testing in Barcelona without any Uralkali sponsorship or colours, which resembled the Russian flag.

It has left the future of the deal and that of driver Nikita Mazepin unclear ahead of the new F1 season.

Team principal Gunther Steiner made his first media appearance since the decision was taken on Friday, and explained that it would go through the legal ramifications next week.

“We removed it yesterday, we have to sort out all the legal stuff, which I cannot speak about, next week,” Steiner said.

“At the moment, I said we’re not going to do it today. We made the decision yesterday with our team partners. This is what we’re going to do.

“I need to work on the rest next week.”

Russian troops commenced a major military assault on Ukraine on Thursday morning after months of growing tensions.

The outbreak of war has also left the future of the Russian Grand Prix in serious doubt, leading to crisis talks between F1 officials and team bosses on Thursday evening in Barcelona.

Further information on the fate of the race is expected soon, but drivers and teams have already indicated it would not be viable to race there in September.

The Champions League final, which was due to take place in St Petersburg at the end of May, has already been moved to Paris.

Steiner said the call to remove the Uralkali sponsorship and colours had the full backing of team owner Gene Haas, and that it was “the right decision to take”.

“There is no setback for the competition side because of this, none at all,” Steiner said.

“We just need to go through the commercial issues. As I said before, we will do that in the next weeks.”
Nikita Mazepin, Haas F1 Team

Nikita Mazepin, Haas F1 Team

Photo by: Carl Bingham / Motorsport Images

Asked by Autosport how much of a financial headache it would be for the team to potentially lose its title sponsor, Steiner said that “financially, we are OK”.

He also confirmed that the sanctions issued so far by the US, UK and EU had not impacted the team.

“It has no [impact] on the team, how we are running it or how we are doing, how we plan this season,” Steiner said.

“There are more ways to get the funding. There is no issue with that one.”

Uralkali is co-owned by Mazepin’s father, Dmitry, and has backed the Russian driver throughout his racing career.

Mazepin continued to test the Haas VF-22 car on Friday morning in Barcelona, but was pulled out of the planned F1 press conference at lunchtime. His media engagements on Thursday were also cancelled.

Steiner acknowledged that Mazepin’s future with the team “needs to be resolved” as there were bigger factors at play, such as government involvement.

“Not everything depends on us here, what is happening,” Steiner said.

“There are governments involved and I have no power over them. We need to see also the situation, how it develops in Ukraine.”

[danegrey]

Wet Session for this afternoon
The Race
7:40:36 AM
Gary Anderson:
I've never been a big fan of artificially soaking a circuit for wet running using methods like F1 will use this afternoon.

[ZCanadian]

Originally Posted by danegrey

Wet Session for this afternoon
The Race
7:40:36 AM
Gary Anderson:
I've never been a big fan of artificially soaking a circuit for wet running using methods like F1 will use this afternoon.

I loved Bernie Ecclestone's suggestion of putting lawn sprinklers on some corners and randomly turning them on and off!

[ZCanadian]

Next year's DTS Episode 1 starts out with:

"Hello. Michael Andretti? This is Gene Haas calling"

[DLSTR]

Summary - for today final. Next is Bahrain!!


Leaderboard

Hamilton, Mercedes, 1m19.138s, C5 - 94 laps
Russell, Mercedes, 1m19.233s, C5 - 66
Perez, Red Bull, 1m19.556s, C4 - 74
Verstappen, Red Bull, 1m19.756s, C3 - 59
Vettel, Aston Martin, 1m19.824s, C5 - 48
Leclerc, Ferrari, 1m19.831s, C3 - 44
Sainz, Ferrari, 1m20.072s, C3 - 92
Albon, Williams, 1m20.318, C4 - 94
Latifi, Williams, 1m20.699s, C4 - 13
Ricciardo, McLaren, 1m20.750, C3 - 86
Norris, McLaren, 1m20.827s, C3 - 52
Alonso, Alpine, 1m21.242s, C3 - 12
Zhou, Alfa Romeo, 1m21.939s, C3 - 41
Gasly, AlphaTauri, 1m22.469s, C4 - 40
Mazepin, Haas, 1m26.229s, C3 - 9
Bottas, Alfa Romeo, 1m30.433s, C3 - 10

[DLSTR]

Mercedes on the upgrade path already!

https://www.autosport.com/f1/news/me...ution/8512081/

Mercedes set for Bahrain F1 upgrade as it chases porpoising solution

Mercedes is to add a raft of aero upgrades to its car for the next Formula 1 test in Bahrain, as it seeks a permanent solution for its porpoising problems.

Jonathan Noble
By:
Jonathan Noble
Feb 26, 2022, 3:34 AM

The Brackley-based squad was affected this week by the bouncing car phenomenon that struck a number of teams throughout the first pre-season test at Barcelona in Spain.

And, as Autosport.com’s exclusive photograph below shows(see the attached photo below I uploaded), it was only able to overcome the problem on the final day by adding some stiffening stays to its floor to help better manage flexing at high speed that was contributing to its issue.

The team knows that the stays are not a solution that it can carry forward, so much of its focus over the next week will be on revising the car to find a long-term answer to the headache.

But while Lewis Hamilton openly confessed that the team had faced some ‘obstacles’ in Barcelona, it has emerged that the team’s performance in the next Bahrain test is set to be lifted by a potentially major upgrade of aerodynamic parts.
Read Also:

There has even been speculation in the Barcelona paddock that it could include a heavily revised sidepod area to help further reduce the car’s drag on the straight and better manage airflow.

George Russell said that bringing upgrades would be a fairly common thing for the opening phase of the championship as teams better understand the potential of the new regulations.

“I think we'll see it with all the teams,” he said. “We've got this massive regulation change. We've all arrived in Barcelona with our best estimate of where we need to place the car.

“But obviously, there's a lot of things on track that were quite different to what some people may have expected. So, we need to go away and try and optimise from the limitations we've had.

“I think we'll see some changes come Bahrain, and throughout the season. I'm sure the development slope is going to be pretty rapid for everyone. Whoever can get on top of that the quickest and most efficiently will be the ones on top come the end of the season.”
Mercedes W13 stiffened floor

Mercedes W13 stiffened floor

Photo by: Giorgio Piola

Mercedes is no stranger to running a base car at the first test and then introducing a more definitive version at the final pre-season run.

In 2019, it introduced a fairly basic car at the opening week of action before unleashing a complete revamp for the second and final test as it went on to secure an F1 championship double.

Although Mercedes ended the Barcelona test 1-2, Russell said that the laptimes meant absolutely nothing in terms of car potential.

“It's been incredibly intriguing and for all of us there's been a lot of unexpected issues, which have been quite visible,” he said.

“Some teams have it quite well under control, and some clearly do not. Lap time wise, I don't think it's representative at all.

“We were obviously on the softest compound of tyres, and the C5 is a very strong tyre around this track. So even though we were on the top of the timesheets, I wouldn't read too much into it.

“I think the Ferrari and McLaren were looking incredibly strong. And I think we've got some improvements to be made as we're not fully happy with the balance of the car and the limitations we have currently.

“But at the end of the day, it is only testing. We're here to learn. And I think we've made some good experiments this week and got a good indication of the direction we need to go in.”

[DLSTR]

Assessment of "porpoising" issue teams have - If someone gets it right after Bahrain and it takes 5 or 6 races to fix for a major team = season almost over lol.

https://www.espn.com/f1/story/_/id/3...word-does-mean

--However, most technical directors believe it can be fixed with updates, albeit ones that were not part of the original development plans. McLaren's James Key suspects it will be less of a talking point by race five or six once teams have had time to solve the issue.--

[ZCanadian]

[DLSTR]

Maze-spin Oligarch child cannot race in the UK - He is done unless Haas dont see the reality of all this

Russian-licenced drivers banned from British motorsport

Russian-licenced drivers and teams are to be banned from competing in motorsport events in the UK, it was announced on Wednesday.


The Motorsport UK decision potentially has huge implications for drivers competing at international and national level.

It means that Russian driver Nikita Mazepin, who races for Haas in F1, would not be able to compete in this year’s British Grand Prix if the team decided to keep him on. A decision on his future at the American-owned team is expected to be made imminently.

The only way such drivers could continue would be to race under a different nationality’s licence, as the Motorsport UK decision is based on its refusal to recognise licences issued by the Russian Automobile Federation (RAF) and the Belarus Automobile Federation (BAF).

[DLSTR]

https://www.autosport.com/f1/news/ho...-2022/8631973/

How porpoising could trigger a qualifying dilemma in F1 2022
Formula 1 drivers were in for a nasty surprise at Barcelona pre-season testing when the age-old ground effect problem of porpoising reared its head again.

By: Filip Cleeren
Mar 2, 2022, 10:13 AM
Until teams find permanent solutions, they might face a profound qualifying dilemma in 2022's opening races.

As explained in depth over the past week, porpoising occurs when ground effect cars bottom out on the straights, which severely disrupts the process of generating downforce via the floor. The result is a series of dramatic oscillations as the cars get stuck in a loop of being sucked down to the floor, only to lose downforce again once it hits the track and then rise up again.

That bouncing motion is not just a mere annoyance for drivers, but as Mercedes' George Russell said, it has the "potential to be a real safety concern if it gets out of control" during the race.



While some outfits suffered more from the issue than others, they are all looking for solutions to first mitigate and then eliminate the effect.

But with most teams genuinely caught by surprise that the porpoising phenomenon struck as dramatically as it did in Barcelona, and the long lead times involved to come up with permanent design changes, some compromises might need to be found to get through the first couple of races of 2022.

A quick fix to keep porpoising to a minimum is simply to raise the rideheight of the cars, and hence stop them from constantly bottoming out on the straights.

But 2022's new generation of cars has been conceived to be heavily dependent on the ground effect, meaning they need to be run as stiff and as low to the ground as possible to seal the floor and produce the highest amount of downforce possible.


Raising the rideheight by more than a few millimetres could therefore incur a lap time loss of several tenths, meaning teams will need to decide whether to leave performance on the table or risk suffering from more dramatic porpoising.

And while it was just about manageable in testing circumstances at the smooth Circuit de Barcelona-Catalunya, it could prove more hazardous elsewhere at high-speed, bumpy venues.

The dilemma of performance over drive comfort is especially compounded in qualifying, because teams found DRS use to mitigate the issue. That is because by activating DRS, the aero load on the car is reduced - so it does not squat down as much to the ground as when the flap is closed.

On a flying lap in qualifying, DRS is deployed in every zone, whereas in the race it naturally can only be used when nearing the car in front.

It means there could be a temptation of going for a set-up that is quick in qualifying with DRS open, but more troublesome on Sunday when the porpoising cannot be eased by opening the flap regularly.

With parc ferme preventing set-up changes between qualifying and the race, teams therefore look set to face some tough decisions.

"We'll have to understand the cars well, but you have to make a lot of compromises in qualifying," Red Bull driver Sergio Perez said.

"Everyone is looking to go as low as possible, but you also have the porpoising. That will be important because in qualifying, to get the maximum, you have to go there [low to the ground]. But when you don't have the DRS open, we have the problem."

Carlos Sainz Jr, whose Ferrari was one of the cars that suffered the most from porpoising, added: "It depends on the set-up you run, it depends if you use the DRS or not.

"It's a whole new world and understanding that we need to get on top of, because it looks like it could be a topic for this year."

Alpine's sporting director Alan Permane recognised teams are unlikely to go against their nature and sacrifice performance to solve the issue.


While a straightforward solution appears to be on the table, he's "not convinced" teams are just going to increase the rideheight until a permanent solution is found.

"It's definitely a real problem, but I'm thinking we need to get on top of it, and I think they will get on top of it, I'm sure," Permane said.

"But I'm not convinced. When you say, we can stop that but you're going to go half a second slower, I don't think anyone's going to put their hand up and say: 'We'll do that. We'll make the aerodynamic changes to stop it porpoising but actually, it's going to cost us a load of downforce to do it.' No one's going to do that.

"I think it has caught everyone by surprise."

Attention now will be on how much teams have solved the issue in their factories before next week's final test in Bahrain, and whether or not the headaches are really going to ramp up for the first race of the season.

[DLSTR]

P-ss of Nikita. I hope Haas fire him ..........

https://www.autosport.com/f1/news/fi...ivers/8690540/

FIA outlines code of conduct for Russian drivers
The FIA has outlined the restrictions under which Russian drivers will be allowed to compete in events this year – and it covers logos, social media and comments they may make.

Jonathan Noble
By:
Jonathan Noble
Mar 4, 2022, 5:46 AM

Motor racing’s governing body announced earlier this week that, while it was cancelling all sanctioned competitions in Russia and Belarus, it would allow the country’s drivers to continue if they did so in a neutral capacity.

In a document sent out on Friday, the FIA outlined exactly what drivers from those two countries would and would not be allowed to do.

The key points are:

The display of Russian/Belarusian national symbols, colours or flags are banned in public and on social media platforms.
Russian/Belarusian flags, emblems, symbols, and words linked to the country are banned from display on uniforms, clothing, accessories and other personal items.
The signing or playing of the Russian/Belarusian national anthem at any event or area controlled by the FIA is outlawed.
Comments, actions or conduct that is prejudicial to the interests of the FIA, and in particular any support for the Russian invasion of Ukraine, is banned.

The FIA has also not ruled out taking more action against Russian and Belarusian drivers.

In a note sent out on Friday it said: “The FIA continues to carefully monitor the events in Ukraine and reserves the right to take any further actions or implement further measures in the future, including any necessary actions required to comply with its obligations under any applicable sanctions regime and/or any contracts to which the FIA is a party.”


Drivers have been explicitly warned that they could yet be refused entry to events if the FIA elects to adopt a tougher stance.

In the commitment document drivers must sign, it states: “I acknowledge and accept that the FIA may implement further measures or issue further decisions in relation to my participation in Covered Events in light of the ongoing conflict in Ukraine, including the right to refuse me entry into or prevent me from participating in and/or attending any Covered Event. I will comply with any such further measures and decisions.”

While the FIA is allowing Russian drivers to continue competing, some national motorsport authorities have banned competitors from their country completely.

Motorsport UK announced earlier this week that Russian teams and drivers would not be allowed to take part in events in Britain.
Read Also:

Ferrari expects Mercedes to bring "big upgrade" to second F1 test
Domenicali: Drive to Survive has to add value for F1 to continue
F1 drivers confident of adjusting to reduced visibility in 2022 cars

On Friday, the German motorsport federation, the DMSB, announced that it was banning Russian and Belarusian drivers and teams from competition.

DMSB president Wolfgang Wagner-Sachs said: “We want to do our part to increase international pressure on the regime in Moscow to end the acts of war immediately.

“Sport should normally build bridges, but in this extreme situation, which is the fault of Russia, clear signals must be sent against the aggressors.”

[DLSTR]

Ha ha he is gone. I hope you are sent somewhere and you get your a-- shot off. Funk you and your corrupt shite family!!

Haas F1 team splits with Mazepin, Uralkali after Ukraine invasion
The Haas Formula 1 team has announced it has terminated its contract with Nikita Mazepin and title sponsor Uralkali with immediate effect as a result of Russia’s invasion of Ukraine.

Lewis Duncan
By:
Lewis Duncan
Mar 5, 2022, 4:08 AM

On 24 February, Russian forces ordered by president Vladimir Putin began an invasion on neighbouring Ukraine, which has so far spanned a week .

The invasion has been condemned by Western nations, with sanctions being imposed from countries worldwide on Russia.

Sporting authorities have also moved in recent days to ban Russian athletes and sporting events, though motorsport governing body the FIA has only so far banned Russian and Belarusian drivers from competing under their national flags.

During the Barcelona pre-season F1 test, when war broke out in Ukraine, Haas moved to strip its cars of Uralkali branding and Mazepin’s future remained unclear given his family ties to Putin.

But on Saturday morning, Haas announced it had parted ways with both Russian chemical giant Uralkali and Mazepin.

A short statement from the team read: “Haas F1 team has elected to terminate, with immediate effect, the title partnership of Uralkali, and the driver contract of Nikita Mazepin.

“As with the rest of the Formula 1 community, the team is shocked and saddened by the invasion of Ukraine and wishes for a swift and peaceful end to the conflict.”

Haas is yet to make any further updates on who will replace Mazepin going forward, or what its plans will be in terms of the upcoming Bahrain pre-season test next week.

[DLSTR]

Horner just wont shut his ugly trap...........

https://www.bbc.co.uk/sport/formula1/60651647

Christian Horner accuses Mercedes of 'bullying' behaviour leading to Michael Masi's removal