Last year it was a wild one with Gasly, Sainz, Stroll on the podium.
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Last year it was a wild one with Gasly, Sainz, Stroll on the podium.
That was Monza. :)
It all Italy to me...
It is now race week. The two weeks (and 3 weeks by they time they race again) seems like eternity.
1. Redbull/Mercedes - was last race a omen for Mercedes or lost opportunity for Red Bull. Is Perez better than Vettel? Will Red Bull issues with their car (rear differential, power issue) hamper them? Will Perez be in position this race to give Red Bull some strategy options?
2. Alpha Tauri - how will Gasly handle the pressure from Tsunoda
3. Ferrari - looked much improved, will they make some noise
4. Mclaren looked strong in Bahrain, and Ricardo should have good vibes from Romagna race last year.
5. Aston Martin - Vettel, Vettel. It can't get any worse can it for him?
6. Alpine - Ocon/Alonso are looking to bounce back. Renault is investing a lot of money and would probably like to see return on that investment.
7. Williams/Alfa Romeo - Not much to watch, except to see how much George Russell can pull out of his Williams car.
8. Haas - how many spins will they have this week?
My predicted race finish
1. Hamilton
2. Verstappen
3. Perez
4. Bottas
5. Ricardo
6. LeClerc
7. Norris
8. Sainz
9. Yuki
10. Vettel
11. Gasly
12. Alonso
13. Stroll
14. Raikkonen
15. Ocon
16. Giovanazzi
17. Russell
18. Latifi
19. Schumacher
20. Maz-a-spin
It's still early days, but they are predicting rain for Sunday. One can only hope!
When was the last time we had a wet race in Imola? I actually cannot remember ever having a wet San Marino GP.
That is because the last wet race was in 1995. Really all the rain was over before the start. Not a propper wet race, rather drying conditionsQuote:
Originally Posted by The Black Knight
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=Ur7l8JguyoA
Mercedes flexed their muscles in FP1 and FP2
FP1
1. Bottas (1:16:564)
2. Hamilton (1:16:605)
3. Verstappen (1:16:622)
FP2
1. Bottas (1:15:522)
2. Hamilton (1:15:561)
3. Gasly (1:15:629)
Red Bull struggled with Max car breaking down in FP2 and Perez crashing out in FP1.
Winners
1. Mercedes - did you really think they wouldn't have an answer
2. Alpha Tauri - Gasly at 3 and Yuki at 7
3. Ferrari
Losers
1. Red Bull - they are seeming to have reliability issue each week, Perez is underwhelming.
2. Vettel - rumors they may have short lease with him
3. McClaren - were very Ho-Hum
Mercedes
https://www.racefans.net/2021/04/16/...-bull-allison/
Looks like the battle will be for Red Bull and Ferrari for #2Quote:
Mercedes dug deeper and found gains after being “stung” by Red Bull – Allison
OK that's funnyQuote:
Originally Posted by F1nKS
Monza is very different to Imola, as Mugello is also very different to Monza and Imola. Not all ItalyQuote:
Originally Posted by F1nKS
Redbull seems to be losing the initiative. It is clear their operational capability is not standing up to the Mercedes benchmark. This is what might cause them to fall behind Mercedes in the fight for the 2022 Constructors and driver titles. They have to get their act together and win this race or Mercedes would streak away with an early points advantage. It would get harder for Redbull after this race, as we start heading to tracks that favour the Mercedes package.
FP3 - Max Strikes back
1. Max 1:14:958
2. Norris +0.456
3. Hamilton +.557
4. Perez +0.593
We will know the "real deal" in a few minutes where it actually matters.
Cough... Perez.. 😉Quote:
Originally Posted by F1nKS
Qualifying
1. Hamilton 1:14:411
2. PERZ 1:14.446
3. Verstappen 1:14:498
4. Leclerc 1:14:740
Winners:
1. Hamiliton
2. Perez - out qualifies Verstappen
3. Leclerc
Losers
1. Alpha Romeo (could not make it out of Q1)
2. Bottas (went from Pole last year, to 8)
3. Sainz
That Hurts
1. Norris (had a great run but track limits bit him on his last run)
2. Yuki - life of a rookie, crashes in Q1
Comparison from last year to this year for best time between Mercedes and Red Bull
Mercedes - 1:13.609
Red Bull - 1:14.176 (+0.576)
Qualifying this year
Mercedes - 1:14.411
Red Bull - 1:14.446 (+0.035)
Red Bull is +0.270 slower from last year
Mercedes is +0.802 slower from last year
If you look at the similiar splits between last week, Mercedes looks to really have cut into their deficit they had.
Marko: Perez's improvement is unbelievable
Today, 15:27
Red Bull's Dr Helmut Marko was left impressed by Sergio Perez after the Mexican qualified in second place for the Emilia Romagna Grand Prix.
https://racingnews365.com/marko-pere...s-unbelievable
Sergio Perez, is currently 33/1 to win the F1 World Championship.
https://www.oddschecker.com/motorspo...ionship/winner
For me that was the biggest surprise. He hand not really shown that ability yet to challenge for pole. I was just hoping he could be somewhere in the 4-6 range.Quote:
Originally Posted by Fortitude
Now as long as him and Max don't take each other out in the first lap.
Two Redbulls to one Mercedes. A reversal of Bahrain. The start is going to be interesting. I expect Perez to have a great start on the supersoft. Hamilton is going to be mugged by the bulls. This is a race for Redbull to win with ease but do not underestimate Hamilton and Mercedes.
Bottas was shite as usual, 8th in a car sitting on pole wtf. Bring on Russell.
F1nKS,
I was surprised as well… ..but, BUT, his time has come, look at his experience and ALSO the comments by Martin Brundle on Sergio Pérez’s Wikipedia page…
https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Sergio_P%C3%A9rez
“Since Pérez announced his departure from Racing Point there was support from the media for him, with The Race saying it will be a "huge injustice were Perez not to be on the 2021 grid.".[83] Ex F1 driver turned Sky Sports F1 commentator/pundit Martin Brundle also echoed similar thoughts in his online column review the 2020 Turkish Grand Prix where Perez finished second and suggested that Perez "should be on Red Bull Racing's radar" to partner Max Verstappen in place of Alex Albon.[84]
Pérez won his first race at the Sakhir Grand Prix. On the first lap Pérez was hit by Leclerc and went from 2nd place to 18th and last. On lap 64 he took the lead and won the race ahead of Esteban Ocon and teammate Stroll. This was the first win for a Mexican driver since Pedro Rodríguez won the 1970 Belgian Grand Prix 50 years prior”
Persistence and patience ARE OMNIPOTENT and Sergio HAS those MANY racing hours of experience as well…
IMHO, Sergio Pérez has a VERY GOOD CHANCE to become F1 World Champion this year.
Quote:
Originally Posted by Fortitude
Well I wouldn't be putting be putting a penny on Perez becoming WDC this year.. though I'd certainly love to see that fairytale happen.
Even if Perez did become Mr consistent and Red Bull were able to find more gains from their engine to be quicker than Hamilton in the Merc... would Red Bull let him beat Max, their Golden Boy?
If they want to keep a hold of Max and stop him going to Merc they will most likely be handing Perez the No2 strategy Max support role.. and thats something I expect to see in the the race today.
Quote:
Originally Posted by Nitrodaze
Its not an overtaking circuit so strategy is going to be all important here but at least there is still exciting start prospects indeed.
Its a tough ask but if you could choose anyone to try and hold off the Red Bulls and a team to win the strategy battle even if disadvantaged by Bottas not being in the mix, you'd pick Lewis and Merc.
There could be a few accidents and safety cars in this one which means anything is possible, I just hope the Red Bulls don't take each other.. or Lewis out.
Really looking forward to this but the real question is... how many laps will Mazepin last?
Closest wins a years free, free subscription to this forum. Think I'm gonna be a tad optimistic and say 5 laps. 🤔
LOL, that made me laugh. Mazespin! I think he would complete the race this time but dead last. He is looking like a bad joke at the moment but l think he would improve.Quote:
Originally Posted by Zico
The start and race strategy is the winning factor at this track. Whoever makes it into the first corner; ahead and the quality of the work of the strategist on the pitwall would make the difference, l think. Perez is well placed to win this race. If he can get off the line well, those supersofts would most likely give the legs to leap ahead of the Mercedes of Hamilton. He would obviously pit earlier which would give him a chance to overcut Hamilton and Verstappen. He seems weak on the mediums yellow tyres, which may bring Hamiton back into contention. But with clever strategy and his brilliant tyre management, he could win this race.
I am thinking, Softs - Mediums [Long stint] - Softs [short stint] for Checo. But l think Mercedes would counter with Mediums - Softs [short stint to overtake Perez] - Medium, if Perez takes the leads off the start. If Hamilton stays in front through the first corner, then they would run their PLAN-A race which may be Medium - Hard two stop race.
Quote:
Originally Posted by Zico
Redbull is all about winning. They would give support to that driver that presents them with a great chance of winning one or both of the titles. If Verstappen keeps making the mistakes he is making at the moment, and Perez starts winning races and putting it in front of Verstappen. Of course, the support would shift quite quickly to Perez.
That said, Verstappen is currently quicker than Perez in the Redbull. To be so close to Perez who is on soft with the medium tyre suggests that Verstappen is easily 0.300s faster. Hence, he is still the best chance that Redbull has at the moment. But Verstappen would need to clean up his act and recognize that Perez is probably one of the best drivers that he has partnered with in his racing career.
What we have seen at qualifying is that Perez would seize any chance thrown his way. Winning a championship is a percentage game. You do not need to be the fastest. But by Jove, you have to be the most consistent and fast enough to pounce when anyone in front messes up. Perez has all of those qualities and he also happens to be quite fast as well. Hence the chances of Perez becoming a driver world champion is a very realistic one. But that depends very much on how Hamilton and Mercedes perform at all the remaining tracks in this long season. Particularly the new tracks. How many mistakes Verstappen makes and how well Redbull team can operate relative to Mercedes.
That said, Verstappen also has a great chance to be World champion this season.
Hmm. Cleary max didn't give Hanilton any room .even if Hamilton backed off, max still simply drove like nobody was there smh
Perez should not be allowed to overtake those cars.
Perez should have simply given the positions back and he will have been ok. That was his mistake and the team’s not instructing him either
I wonder what Bottas excuse is going ti be this race
Jeezuz. Once again mercedes pit crew botches it. Unbelievable smh
Bottas v Russell
From my first view it looks like Bottas moved to the inside to cover Russelll then as russell moved to the right bottas moved to right pushing him slightly off the track. I blame bottas
He treated Hamilton like Hamilton treated him in Bahrain.Quote:
Originally Posted by truefan72
Boss messed up!
Mercedes Chaos!!!! Exchanging of views and slaps between Mercedes drivers.
I wonder if bottas will end the year in the mercedes.
Also suprising how slow perez is. In 10 laps he was 30 seconds down on verstappen.
Yeah, it looked like Valteri moved left then right, but he drifted over at the bend in the track. I wonder if he was distracted by Russels pass attempt!Quote:
Originally Posted by truefan72
Nice recovery drive by the boss!
Yup. A very eventful race and am pleased to see that the Mercedes (at least in Hamilton's hands) is right on par with the rbr. So they have made gains. It would have been exciting to see what would have happened if Hamilton started behind Max on the restart.
Congrats to Max
Great recovery by Hamilton
Awesome job by Norris in p3
Stroll, Gasly, Kimi, & Ocon should all be applauded.
Perez disappointing as was Tsunoda, but they will both Bounce back.
The Ferrari’s did well. Cant ask for more than P4&5 at the moment so, good job.
Ricciardo finished a solid 6th but his pace vs Lando is concerning.
Vettel continues to be underwhelming. He is killing my FGP lol
One of the very rare mistakes by Hamilton today but the best driver and team on the day won in the end.
When I first saw the Russell Bottas incident I was convinced it was Russells fault but after looking at it in more detail there is definitely a rightward movement from Bottas and that is what initiated the incident. I think that rightward movement caused Russell to believe if he didn’t move right an accident was imminent and he reacted with cat like reflexes to avoid Bottas but there is also a natural right line in the track there, Bottas then jinked left. Russell wasn’t to know at this time that he could have kept his line.
I have to put the blame more at Bottas door than Russell - 70/30 - ultimately it wouldn’t have occurred without that movement from Bottas and I think as a racing driver you cannot expect a driver with about 30km/h extra closing speed than you to back out. You must give room and not jink, like Norris and Hamilton today or any of the other examples we saw of overtaking at that corner throughout the race.
Mercedes should surely have to be considering if they should finish the season with Bottas- two races in and he is nowhere near Hamilton and lapped today. That’s simply not good enough. It was fine last year when they had such a huge advantage but with the field as tight as it is this year 2/3 tenths of a second is
8 grid positions. He is just not good enough.
Close season this is turning out to be, really close. Going to be tight between Max and Lewis all year.