F1 2021
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1%er
Well-Known Member
Decision on Mercedes’ review request delayed to Friday
Mercedes’ petition to get the Brazil incident between Max Verstappen and Lewis Hamilton reviewed will not be ruled upon until Friday. The Sao Paulo Grand Prix stewards reconvened virtually on Thursday at 5pm in Qatar to hear from Mercedes and Red Bull representatives after Mercedes invoked the right of review process. Mercedes wanted the stewards to reassess the Turn 4 incident between the two title rivals after Verstappen carried too much speed into the corner and went off-track, with Hamilton taking to the run-off as well after trying to pass Verstappen on the inside. The incident was noted but not investigated and no clear explanation was given for the lack of action.This initial hearing is simply to decide whether there is another stewards hearing to fully investigate the original incident. The stewards’ discussion took place over several hours, with a brief interlude, before it was confirmed that the decision will not be revealed until Friday. “Following today’s hearing with representatives from Mercedes and Red Bull, the stewards are now considering the matter and will publish their decision tomorrow,” a statement said.
Lord Camomile
Yipchaa!
Several hours?!
There's a number of 5-10 minute videos on YouTube that will tell them all they need to know!
1%er
Well-Known Member
Audi/McLaren tie-up still on the table?
Although McLaren on Monday issued a statement denying recent reports that it had been sold to Audi, a potential tie-up between the two companies hasn't been ruled out. Citing two sources familiar with the matter, Reuters reported that a tie-up with McLaren was discussed by Audi at its most recent board meeting. Furthermore, Audi's decision will ultimately lie on whether Formula One proceeds with a plan to introduce synthetic fuels by 2026, as well as progress made by McLaren in electrifying its supercars, one of the sources told Reuters. When contacted, Audi told Reuters that it remains open to cooperation opportunities, but didn't mention a specific partner.
BMW was also named in those earlier reports as being interested in McLaren's supercar division, with Audi focusing on the McLaren F1 team only, though BMW in a statement to Reuters denied any interest in McLaren's supercar division. McLaren, which is majority owned by the sovereign wealth fund of Bahrain, has been struggling financially since the start of the pandemic. The company has fired staff and sold off key assets, including its famous Woking headquarters and McLaren Applied technology business, plus a stake in the F1 team. McLaren has also taken on additional investment from the governments of Bahrain and Saudi Arabia.
At the same time, there has been plenty of noise about Audi's Volkswagen Group parent looking to enter F1, albeit as a power unit supplier only. New power unit rules to be introduced by F1 in 2026 is expected to make it easier for additional power unit suppliers to enter the sport, with VW Group reportedly keen on both Audi and Porsche entering.
According to previous reports, VW Group has had exploratory talks with Red Bull Racing, McLaren and Williams about potential power unit deals. McLaren currently uses a power unit from Mercedes-Benz AMG, but the team already has a connection with VW Group. Current Team Principal Andreas Seidl was previously head of Porsche's motorsport division and ran the automaker's successful LMP1 program in the World Endurance Championship. We should also point out that current F1 CEO Stefano Domenicali was previously head of VW Group's Lamborghini brand. Should any deal happen down the road, there will also be synergies between McLaren's supercar division and the various supercar brands at VW Group. The list includes Bugatti, Lamborghini and Porsche.
Although McLaren on Monday issued a statement denying recent reports that it had been sold to Audi, a potential tie-up between the two companies hasn't been ruled out. Citing two sources familiar with the matter, Reuters reported that a tie-up with McLaren was discussed by Audi at its most recent board meeting. Furthermore, Audi's decision will ultimately lie on whether Formula One proceeds with a plan to introduce synthetic fuels by 2026, as well as progress made by McLaren in electrifying its supercars, one of the sources told Reuters. When contacted, Audi told Reuters that it remains open to cooperation opportunities, but didn't mention a specific partner.
BMW was also named in those earlier reports as being interested in McLaren's supercar division, with Audi focusing on the McLaren F1 team only, though BMW in a statement to Reuters denied any interest in McLaren's supercar division. McLaren, which is majority owned by the sovereign wealth fund of Bahrain, has been struggling financially since the start of the pandemic. The company has fired staff and sold off key assets, including its famous Woking headquarters and McLaren Applied technology business, plus a stake in the F1 team. McLaren has also taken on additional investment from the governments of Bahrain and Saudi Arabia.
At the same time, there has been plenty of noise about Audi's Volkswagen Group parent looking to enter F1, albeit as a power unit supplier only. New power unit rules to be introduced by F1 in 2026 is expected to make it easier for additional power unit suppliers to enter the sport, with VW Group reportedly keen on both Audi and Porsche entering.
According to previous reports, VW Group has had exploratory talks with Red Bull Racing, McLaren and Williams about potential power unit deals. McLaren currently uses a power unit from Mercedes-Benz AMG, but the team already has a connection with VW Group. Current Team Principal Andreas Seidl was previously head of Porsche's motorsport division and ran the automaker's successful LMP1 program in the World Endurance Championship. We should also point out that current F1 CEO Stefano Domenicali was previously head of VW Group's Lamborghini brand. Should any deal happen down the road, there will also be synergies between McLaren's supercar division and the various supercar brands at VW Group. The list includes Bugatti, Lamborghini and Porsche.
1%er
Well-Known Member
I feel some face-saving going on here, public opinion is clear that Max should have got a penalty and that the stewards got it wrong, some drivers are also making comments such as "“You always need to adapt to every situation, every decision the stewards are doing, So I think that's a bit the same for every driver, we will always try to race at the limits of what we're allowed to do. And that's what I will do if in case where these things are allowed. If this is allowed, then overtaking around the outside is going to be very difficult. But yeah, whatever the situation, the decision is, I'll just adapt my driving to it. So I'm fine with both (penalty or no penalty)” Leclerc explained.Several hours?!
There's a number of 5-10 minute videos on YouTube that will tell them all they need to know!
The stewards will find it hard to say there was nothing wrong with Max's move and then tell the drivers by the way you can't do that
Limejuice
Well-Known Member
I think the stewards will wimp out for face-saving, let's-not-screw-up-the-championships reasons.
They'll say Max's driving was careless and give him a couple of points on his ticket. They'll duck any suggestion that it was a deliberate "understeer".
Honour satisfied all round. Sort of.
Far better would be a reprimand and an instruction to all drivers to aim for the apex or be adjudged as driving dangerously, and consequently penalised.
The thing is: Isaac Newton commands cars to want to keep going in a straight line when the driver turns the steering wheel. All cars will drift to the outside on a bend.
The distinction is whether the driver is applying as much lock as needed on previous laps to hit the apex and safely stay on the track. If yes, ticketty-boo. If not, apply the Schumacher Hammer - disqualified for the remainder of the season.
Sometimes the only way to change bad behaviour is to make it too painful for drivers not to change.
They'll say Max's driving was careless and give him a couple of points on his ticket. They'll duck any suggestion that it was a deliberate "understeer".
Honour satisfied all round. Sort of.
Far better would be a reprimand and an instruction to all drivers to aim for the apex or be adjudged as driving dangerously, and consequently penalised.
The thing is: Isaac Newton commands cars to want to keep going in a straight line when the driver turns the steering wheel. All cars will drift to the outside on a bend.
The distinction is whether the driver is applying as much lock as needed on previous laps to hit the apex and safely stay on the track. If yes, ticketty-boo. If not, apply the Schumacher Hammer - disqualified for the remainder of the season.
Sometimes the only way to change bad behaviour is to make it too painful for drivers not to change.
Ax^
Silly Rabbit
if they give him a few points max won't change will take it as slap on the wrist
as i've not got a favorite driver in this generation of drivers , i try to be natural aside from last race
but Max is a Schumi / Senna type of talent unless they are give harsh reason to change they will never
and even then more than likely they are just going to be petulant
Max actions last week were due to the grudge that been festering since silverstone
don't see that going away not whilst he has marko and Horner blowing smoke up his arse every minute of the day
as i've not got a favorite driver in this generation of drivers , i try to be natural aside from last race
but Max is a Schumi / Senna type of talent unless they are give harsh reason to change they will never
and even then more than likely they are just going to be petulant
Max actions last week were due to the grudge that been festering since silverstone
don't see that going away not whilst he has marko and Horner blowing smoke up his arse every minute of the day
spitfire
Walty McWaltface
Eloquently put.
W.B. Yeats? Am I right?
Always had Ax down more as James Joyce. Sometimes tricky to read but gems in there.
Limejuice
Well-Known Member
For a challenge, I read every published word of Joyce. I've never been the same since.
The sainted and magnificently brained Mrs Limejuice, who has a degree in English, described my Joyce mission as: "fucking stupid".
Apparently, agreeing with me wasn't one of The Marital Vows.
Limejuice
Well-Known Member
She is, of course, entirely correct.ahh tbf have commitments myself in the afternoon so shall be a well behaved bunny with a early race start
the mother is quite angry atm with me most of all for not appearing for a couple of week on a sunday due to late race starts
Your clear duty is to pay for a Sky subscription for yer ma, so you can watch while having a Sunday roast.
(Or convince her a laptop is just a table centre-piece and hook up on a shonky stream...)
1%er
Well-Known Member
FIA to police F1 track limits in five corners at Qatar
Owing to the nature of the Losail circuit, which features sizeable run-off areas around its faster corners, along with flat kerbs around the perimeter of the track, the FIA has elected to enforce limits at Turns 4, 12, 13, 14 and 16. Turn 4 is a 90-degree right-hander leading into the similarly profiled Turn 5, which is expected to lead drivers to test the limits of the corner to open up the following apex.
The trio of Turns 12, 13 and 14 are a series of fast right-handers that will similarly reward treating the series of bends as one corner, while Turn 16 is the final tight right-hander that drivers will explore the limits of the exit kerb on to maximise their straightline acceleration. FIA race director Michael Masi has sent out a document to all teams explaining that each corner will be stringently policed, and that three failed attempts to navigate any of the corners within the white lines will be subject to a black-and-white flag within the race - and further transgressions will be subject to a stewards' review.
Any laptimes that are recorded in which any of the track limits rules are violated during practice and qualifying will be deleted and, in the case of Turn 16, the following laptime will also be deleted if a driver surpasses the limits at that corner. The fast, flowing corners at Losail are expected to require a high-downforce set-up to navigate, although the long one-kilometre start-finish straight partially complicates that.
Given that the start-finish straight is the sole DRS zone on the track, it is expected that the high-downforce packages will create a large advantage for a car with DRS activated. The DRS detection zone sits before Turn 16. It is understood that the Losail track surface has not been changed from when it was laid at the circuit's opening in 2004, and is expected to be abrasive which could result in high tyre temperatures and wear amid some of the higher-speed corners. Although FP1 and FP3 will be held during the day, the qualifying and race sessions will be held at night - placing greater importance on the teams to get the most out of their FP2 running.
Owing to the nature of the Losail circuit, which features sizeable run-off areas around its faster corners, along with flat kerbs around the perimeter of the track, the FIA has elected to enforce limits at Turns 4, 12, 13, 14 and 16. Turn 4 is a 90-degree right-hander leading into the similarly profiled Turn 5, which is expected to lead drivers to test the limits of the corner to open up the following apex.
The trio of Turns 12, 13 and 14 are a series of fast right-handers that will similarly reward treating the series of bends as one corner, while Turn 16 is the final tight right-hander that drivers will explore the limits of the exit kerb on to maximise their straightline acceleration. FIA race director Michael Masi has sent out a document to all teams explaining that each corner will be stringently policed, and that three failed attempts to navigate any of the corners within the white lines will be subject to a black-and-white flag within the race - and further transgressions will be subject to a stewards' review.
Any laptimes that are recorded in which any of the track limits rules are violated during practice and qualifying will be deleted and, in the case of Turn 16, the following laptime will also be deleted if a driver surpasses the limits at that corner. The fast, flowing corners at Losail are expected to require a high-downforce set-up to navigate, although the long one-kilometre start-finish straight partially complicates that.
Given that the start-finish straight is the sole DRS zone on the track, it is expected that the high-downforce packages will create a large advantage for a car with DRS activated. The DRS detection zone sits before Turn 16. It is understood that the Losail track surface has not been changed from when it was laid at the circuit's opening in 2004, and is expected to be abrasive which could result in high tyre temperatures and wear amid some of the higher-speed corners. Although FP1 and FP3 will be held during the day, the qualifying and race sessions will be held at night - placing greater importance on the teams to get the most out of their FP2 running.
1%er
Well-Known Member
2021 F1 Qatar Grand Prix – Free Practice 1 results
World Championship leader Max Verstappen comfortably topped the times in Friday's first practice session for the inaugural Qatar Grand Prix. As the field got to grips with the Losail International Circuit, Red Bull driver Verstappen worked his way down to a time of 1:23.723 to finish just under half a second clear of AlphaTauri's Pierre Gasly.| 2021 F1 Qatar Grand Prix - FREE PRACTICE RESULTS (1) | ||||
| Pos | Driver | Nat. | Team | Time |
| 1 | Max Verstappen | NED | Red Bull Racing | 1m23.723s |
| 2 | Pierre Gasly | FRA | Scuderia AlphaTauri Honda | 1m24.160s |
| 3 | Valtteri Bottas | FIN | Mercedes AMG Petronas Formula One Team | 1m24.194s |
| 4 | Lewis Hamilton | GBR | Mercedes AMG Petronas Formula One Team | 1m24.509s. |
| 5 | Yuki Tsunoda | JPN | Scuderia AlphaTauri Honda | 1m24.648s |
| 6 | Carlos Sainz | ESP | Scuderia Ferrari Mission Winnow | 1m24.713s |
| 7 | Charles Leclerc | MON | Scuderia Ferrari Mission Winnow | 1m24.790s |
| 8 | Sergio Perez | MEX | Red Bull Racing | 1m24.915s |
| 9 | Esteban Ocon | FRA | Alpine F1 Team | 1m24.972s |
| 10 | Lando Norris | GBR | McLaren F1 Team | 1m25.215s |
| 11 | Daniel Ricciardo | AUS | McLaren F1 Team | 1m25.291s |
| 12 | Sebastian Vettel | GER | Aston Martin Cognizant Formula One Team | 1m25.328s |
| 13 | Nicholas Latifi | CAN | Williams Racing | 1m25.688s |
| 14 | Antonio Giovinazzi | GBR | Alfa Romeo Racing Orlen | 1m25.757s |
| 15 | Kimi Raikkonen | FIN | Alfa Romeo Racing Orlen | 1m25.828s |
| 16 | George Russell | ISR | Williams Racing | 1m25.871s |
| 17 | Fernando Alonso | CHI | Alpine F1 Team | 1m25.905s |
| 18 | Mick Schumacher | GER | Uralkali Haas F1 Team | 1m26.699s |
| 19 | Lance Stroll | CAN | Aston Martin Cognizant Formula One Team | 1m26.712s |
| 20 | Nikita Mazepin | RUS | Uralkali Haas F1 Team | 1m27.500s |
1%er
Well-Known Member
Mercedes plea to review Max Verstappen-Lewis Hamilton Brazil incident REJECTED
Mercedes’ request to review Max Verstappen driving Lewis Hamilton off track at the last race in Brazil has been rejected by the FIA. Mercedes had tried to argue that a front-facing camera on Verstappen’s car, the footage of which had not been available during the race, had shown the Dutchman had contravened the sporting regulations. But on Friday in Qatar the FIA backed the original decision of the race stewards and said that, while the new footage seen for the first time on Tuesday was relevant, it was not significant. The FIA said there was “nothing in the footage that fundamentally changes the facts”.The move on lap 48 at Interlagos split opinion. Verstappen and Red Bull were adamant it was a racing incident while Mercedes team boss Toto Wolff argued that Verstappen should have been handed at least a five-place penalty. Verstappen had been facing a potential time penalty from Brazil or else a grid drop in Qatar if found guilty but has been told no punishment will be forthcoming as he looks to defend his 14-point gap in the championship.
In a lengthy statement explaining its decision to take no further action, the FIA said: “The stewards often must make a decision quickly and on a limited set of information. At the time of the decision, the stewards felt they had sufficient information to make a decision, which subsequently broadly aligned with the immediate post-race comments of both drivers involved. Had they felt the forward-facing camera video from car 33 was crucial in order to take a decision, they would simply have placed the incident under investigation – to be investigated after the race and rendered a decision after this video was available. They saw no need to do so. The competitor’s position is that this new footage provides sufficient information for the stewards to come to an altogether different conclusion than they did previously. However, the stewards determine that the footage shows nothing exceptional that is particularly different from the other angles that were available to them at the time, or that particularly changes their decision that was based on the originally available footage. Unlike the 2020 Austria case, in the judgement of the stewards, there is nothing in the Footage that fundamentally changes the facts. Nor even, does this show anything that wasn’t considered by the stewards at the time. Thus, the stewards determine that the footage, here, is not significant.”
1%er
Well-Known Member
Track limits at all 16 corners in Qatar
Following the various issues in opening practice, drivers have been warned that track limits must be observed at all Losail’s 16 corners. Allowing the drivers to familiarise themselves with a track at which only one of them has raced before, though they had been warned about track limits at 5 corners, the stewards opted to take a back seat during the opening session.However, throughout the session drivers were observed running wide at almost every corner, often incurring damage in the process. Fearing that drivers have been lulled into a false sense of security over the break between FP1 and FP2, race director Michael Masi has sent out a new message to the teams. "The track limit on the exit of each corner at this track is defined as when no part of a car remains in contact with the purple and white kerb," he warned. "For the avoidance of doubt, Drivers will be judged to have left the track on the exit of a corner if no part of the car remains in contact with the purple and white kerb."
Previously, the limits were in force at Turns 4, 12, 13, 14 and 16 and exceeding them would result in the lap time being deleted. With so many drivers falling foul earlier it remains to be seen how this one plays out.
[That's how it should be, the track is defined by the white line and all drivers should observe that]
Lord Camomile
Yipchaa!
