Race 18 - 2023 Qatar GP

[N. Jones]

That right there was all Lewis's fault.

[Nitrodaze]

That right there was all Lewis's fault.

I think it should have been teamwork to get one Mercedes ahead of Verstappen, With Hamilton on softs and on the racing line and sufficiently clearly ahead, l think he should have backed off. Piastri did just that a few races back to let Lando have a go at Verstappen. Since Russell is entitled to run his own race and not back off, we could say it was Hamilton;'s fault. But from a team perspective, Russell did not play a team player role.

If Bottas was in that car, chances are the collision would not have happened. Mercedes has a driver problem, l wonder if they realize it. As they are not managing it properly. Finishing 2nd in the constructor is going to be hard for them due to them shooting themselves in the foot at every chance they get.

Lack of intelligent racing produces costly crashes.

[airshifter]

Well the tire fiasco turned out as some feared, with lap limits set low for the race and forcing extra stops for the teams. Though they could run harder and not play the long game, the differences in compounds were too much to really make it any fun regardless. The softs were done quickly, and the hards too hard to push very well for much of the race. But it really tossed a wrench in strategies for the teams, with limited tires on hand to run on.


As for the race, it went south for Ferrari before the race start, and sitting out a start due to a fuel leak had to really hurt. Hulk managed to screw it up on the grid, pulling into the empty spot that Carlos would have started the race from. Lewis managed to screw it up for Merc at the first turn, but at least they got to start. Lewis on the softs promptly turns into George and takes himself out, along with causing enough concern to pit George. Thus George was lucky in his playing catch up the entire race, and did well to get back up near the front. Most likely he got the Merc back to where it probably belonged regardless, but wasn't in place in case of any mistakes in front of him. Other than George catching up spots, nothing really exciting at the front, other than wondering if Lando could catch Oscar. But as it started to look like he might, McLaren gave them the hold in place order and that was done and dusted.

Most of the top 10 had fairly quiet races really. Fred going off a couple times was unlike him, and that re-entry was sketchy for Leclerc I'm sure. The drivers keeping it on track and avoiding the penalties benefitted, and the drivers who kept blowing it with track limits paid a price.

A race of missed opportunities for sure. Ferrari could have made ground on Merc but didn't, Lewis could have made ground on Sergio but didn't, and Sergio couldn't even take advantage of Lewis taking himself out and misses out on a chance to extend his points lead. Stroll fails to pull points again while McLaren make up ground on Aston Martin.


And once again we see the huge loss of pace in the RB due to the wings. They are obviously struggling, Max couldn't even go fast enough to exceed track limits like so many of the other drivers. Even though Max said on the radio at race end that it was a bit close with the McLarens, he was essentially in don't push mode. Not exceeding track limits a single time was telling of how they managed the race.



Lance should be gone.

Sergio should be gone from RB

[Nitrodaze]

It is time for a tire manufacturer change. Time for Pirelli to go supply crap tyres elsewhere.

Qatar was simply not racing proper. Three stops and drivers not pushing to the limits says things gotta change.

[Bagwan]

It is time for a tire manufacturer change. Time for Pirelli to go supply crap tyres elsewhere.

Qatar was simply not racing proper. Three stops and drivers not pushing to the limits says things gotta change.

Did you see those curbs ?
They are vicious , and the Qatar circuit was told they should be ground down as I understand it , and they didn't .

The mandate for the tires is a very difficult one but they have been producing tires that get far fewer complaints for a long time now .

The response of repainting the lines was not adequate , but about all they could do in a short time .
The reason given for going off track by many drivers was that they couldn't see the line . Most were using only the sensation of running on the curbing to judge the edge of the track .

I think this is a real problem for the series .
When I heard George mention he didn't see Lewis , the same thing came to mind .

[airshifter]

It is time for a tire manufacturer change. Time for Pirelli to go supply crap tyres elsewhere.

Qatar was simply not racing proper. Three stops and drivers not pushing to the limits says things gotta change.

I agree the cause was a mess, but drivers probably pushed a harder pace and used up as much tire as they could being the stops were mandated. What I'd like to see is very durable tires that will last long enough to allow drivers to push more. Being a tire compound change is mandated during the race, it would give them more options on pushing vs tire preservation and hopefully give us more strategy options through the races.


As for the track, they should have tested and sorted out issues before the fact. Surely there are ways that would work well with both bikes and cars.

[gm99]

It is time for a tire manufacturer change.

Unfortunately, it was just announced that Bridgestone lost their bid to supply tires to F1 from 2025 onwards, with Pirelli remaining the sole supplier until at least 2027.
IMO, I would have welcomed a change. I think Bridgestone have done a great job in the past, whereas Pirelli have f***ed up quite a bit.
Personally, I wouldn't even mind two manufacturers to spice things up a bit.

[Nitrodaze]

Unfortunately, it was just announced that Bridgestone lost their bid to supply tires to F1 from 2025 onwards, with Pirelli remaining the sole supplier until at least 2027.
IMO, I would have welcomed a change. I think Bridgestone have done a great job in the past, whereas Pirelli have f***ed up quite a bit.
Personally, I wouldn't even mind two manufacturers to spice things up a bit.

Why am l not surprised? Crap tyres for another four seasons. This is why l was concerned with too many ex-Ferrari people taking top jobs in FIA and FOM.

[Bagwan]

That right there was all Lewis's fault.

The real harsh realization for Lewis right there was that he was probably in first out of that corner had he left just a tad more room .

[Bagwan]

Unfortunately, it was just announced that Bridgestone lost their bid to supply tires to F1 from 2025 onwards, with Pirelli remaining the sole supplier until at least 2027.
IMO, I would have welcomed a change. I think Bridgestone have done a great job in the past, whereas Pirelli have f***ed up quite a bit.
Personally, I wouldn't even mind two manufacturers to spice things up a bit.

I'd like to know why anyone thinks that anyone else could have done a better job .