It is now race week with the first race coming up in 7 days. Preseason testing at least looks like it could at least be a three-way race with Ferrari looking strong.
Printable View
It is now race week with the first race coming up in 7 days. Preseason testing at least looks like it could at least be a three-way race with Ferrari looking strong.
I know it's only testing and next weekend could show a very different picture but yep, Ferrari looking pretty solid all round, Red Bull also looking/sounding relaxed and confident and likely to be up there in the mix.
Merc seem less happy and to be a bit behind in terms of drivability. Car looks too stiff to me in the lower speed stuff. Maybe its just a case of fine tuning, trying to find that fine balance between ground effect achieved downforce and driveability. I suspect they will find that soon enough and I certainly wouldn't bet against them, not over the course of the season anyway.
Hope Alpine and McLaren can also join the party.
Really looking forward to next weekend but half expecting to see a fair few DNF's.
Mick in his Haas was fastest one day .
Just sayin' .
It's been a while since I've returned to the forum. And really looking forward to this first race. Love the Ferrari racing team
In a few days we will find out who has been sandbagging, and who has been pushing for glory laps.
Ferrari have looked fairly well planted since the first test. Likewise RB look to be well planted. Merc look to be a bit twitchy still, and I'm not sure the top end speeds being down was sandbagging or being beaten up by the porpoising. With all the brake problems Mclaren have had, it's hard to tell where they will fall, but all indications seem to point towards the top 4 spots again. From the looks of things the lower end of the field might be tightened up and no real blatant dogs to see. But someone has to end up on the bottom again, and the question is who that will end up being.
Driver lineups at the top still have a couple unknowns. Perez showed at the last race that he can race hard, and he did an excellent job slowing Lewis down. If he can find that fire through a season RB are in much better shape, but last year that consistent fire was lacking. Ferrari and Mclaren are in better shape, with Ricciardo still being somewhat a question mark as to why he can't quite come to grips with the car. And he might miss the first race if he tests positive again. With George going to Merc there are a couple different ways things could play out.... either two great drivers or a bunch of sparks as the youngster tries to fight for dominance and a chance to race against Lewis. It should be interesting to watch either way.
Though Merc are notorious for sandbagging during testing, there are rumors of a new floor and other changes for the race. I think they still have some handling issues to sort out and wouldn't be surprised if it takes them a couple races to find their form and see where they fall. It wouldn't shock me at all to see RB and Ferrari on the podium at the season opener.
With Mick and Magnussen - I am really hoping that Haas can be back in the mid-field battle once more.Quote:
Originally Posted by Bagwan
I fancy Haas a little. Remember they did not invest one piece of development into last years car. They have been concentrating on these 2022 rules earlier than everyone else. That doesn't come without benefit and they've already set the fastest test times in Bahrain despite some reliability issues. They may not end up as the fastest car but it wouldn't surprise me if they were mixing it in the top 6 come Saturday.
Hopefully it works out for them. I hated watching them tumble after a decent start in the series, but it happens.Quote:
Originally Posted by The Black Knight
I'd actually if the podium was filled by the likes of Haas, Williams, and Alfa Romeo for a change. It sure would shake things up if we had a field full of cars all capable of making it to the front.
I came across this - thought you guys might appreciate the humour
https://youtu.be/UIuhbQZUPeE
Through the first 3 practice sessions - there seem to be some reliability issues more prevalent so far this year.
Qualifying
1. Leclerc - Ferrari is back!
2. Verstappen - In the mix
3. Sainz - he has to be happy, he didn't have a stellar weekend
4. Perez - Did what RB needs, he is in the mix.
5. Hamilton - So Mercedes was not sandbagging?
6. Bottas - Bottas have to be happy. The question for the race will be reliability.
7. Magnussen - Haas competing with Mercedes? Guenther and Haas have to be happy
8. Alonso - Good effort, but did they underachieve a little?
9. Russel - Was hanging with Hamilton, but fell off in the end.
10. Gasly - Thought he had a shot to be higher
11. Ocon - Ocon the Underachiever
12. Schumacher - he could have gotten possibly in Q1, but made a mistake
13. Norris - Mclaren looks to have fallen back
14. Albon - good start for Albon comeback
15. Zhou - decent start for rookie or underachievement?
16. Tsunoda - continue to underachieve
17. Hulkenburg - maybe he should have stroll seat
18. Ricciardo -another disappointing effort
19. Stroll - Aston Martin going wrong direction, and Stroll gets beat by replacement driver
20. Latifi - look like Williams didn't make a step up
Seven different manufacturers make it to the top 10. This is the kind of thing I was hoping for and I hope it continues.
True race pace might mix things up even better and of course we know Mercedes will fight back with some of that deficit to the top two.
KMag makes it to Q3 on his return, well done. The track was changing quickly so we still could be in for some surprises.
Looking forward to the race.
Great racing between Leclerc and Verstappen!
Well, well, well.
I was entertained
A small bit of karma and I’m still not over the 2021 season finale. Especially after this safety car restart was the proper procedure.
Anyway congrats to Ferrari. The car is legit
Very pleased for Hamilton and Russell. It was a good recovery and the best result they could have got.
Also an incredible redemption for Haas and Magnussen.
As well as for Sauber with double points. Great drive by Zhou. Bottas had a horrendous start…typical. But came back well. Renault also with double points which is great.solid points for Tsunoda. That is a great top 10 finishing order.
Mclaren and Aston Martin are very troubling. I think along with the mercedes car they have some fundamental issues with their chassis more so than the engine. Which is causing all kinds of issues.
Good start to the season.
Mercedes did well to mitigate their losses and RBR leave this race with powertrain questions. It is looking like another Newey design issue which we have seen before with his mclaren designs back in the day. Superfast car but prone to issues because of the packaging.
Only 7 days until the next race. Lets go!
Sent from my iPhone using Tapatalk
As it is their habit I expect RBR to throw a hissy fit and take a huge dump publicly on their engine manufacturer.
So you see them taking a dump in their diapers (e.g. RB engine Manufacture = RB)?Quote:
Originally Posted by Big Ben
Great race. Good action throughout and the whole race was entertaining. The Charles/Max fight was great. Loved seeing Haas at 5. Ferrari is Back!
I'm just expecting consistency.Quote:
Originally Posted by F1nKS
Overall not a bad race for the track, and a few twists and turns along the way to spice things up a little. With Jeddah in a week, the teams don't have much time to get on top of any troubles, so they better get at it fast.
Ferrari got it right with their big sidepods and whatever they have done, and were the class of the field today. Though Sainz couldn't get by Max he could at least pretty much stay in touch, and I think the cars seem fairly equal overall in performance. Whoever gets their respective setups and qually laps right will be able to compete unless things change quickly for one of them. Leclerc showing once again that he is at the pointy end of the drivers field when he has a car to let him show it. He and Sainz are a great pair of drivers and IMHO probably the best driver lineup on the grid, barring Russel showing he consistently keeps up with Lewis, and then both lineups are great.
RB seemed strong overall, and able to keep up. They were fast until they weren't, which was fairly abrupt. There are mumblings about fuel pump issues, but nothing positive yet. Both cars seemed to have some strange harvesting light activity before or while they were in the process of their death. A decent race by Perez might show that he is more back in the game, but without cars that finish the points will be slow to add up.
Merc still at the tail end of the top cars, but not nearly as bad as some were expecting. George seemed to be fairly strong, and both drivers did a good job staying in a position to collect the points when the RBs failed. Only time will tell how long it takes them to sort things out, but they are still lacking pace.
Seeing a Haas and both Alfa Romeo in the points was great. AT got one car in, and both Alpines as well. I hope this keeps up and the midfield can mix it up through the season. KMag looked pretty strong for a guy that has been gone for a while, and made Mick look like he doesn't belong in the car. Plenty of stops keeping the crews busy, and the tire deg was up high enough that essentially nobody pulled off milking tires through long stints.
Though the cars obviously slowed from last year and the gaps between teams still exist, it does appear that following closely is now very possible, and allows more opportunity to set up passes. This could really make things a lot better to watch IMHO. They will no doubt claw back some time as they progress, and DRS zones will still help things, but more passing opportunity is great.
Hopefully Jeddah this year isn't the crap show it was last year. Though I had hopes for the circuit I think it will continue to cause lots of VSC's real SC's and red flags. That or someone is going to catch up to a car on a slow outlap and it's going to get real ugly.