F1 2021

[1%er]

Red Bull threaten protest over “score marks” on Mercedes rear wings in Qatar​

Red Bull team principal Christian Horner says the team will protest Mercedes’ rear wing design at the Qatar Grand Prix over what it believes is a “hidden” means of improving its car’s top speed. During today’s FIA press conference involving Horner and Mercedes team principal Toto Wolff, Horner directly asked his opposite number “how do you explain the score marks on the rear wing end plate?”

“I think it is within what is allowed and therefore that’s okay,” Wolff replied. Red Bull believe the marks allow Mercedes to reduce the drag produced by their rear wings at high speed even when the Drag Reduction System is not in operation. Its chief technical officer Adrian Newey and chief engineer Paul Monaghan have raised the matter with the FIA in recent races.

“Make no bones about it, if we see it on the car here it will be protested,” Horner told Sky. “It’s probably less of a factor here although we obviously saw significant straight-line speed in that [first practice] session again, probably a 7kph difference between our cars, but particularly Jeddah and Abu Dhabi you could have a situation like Brazil where the car is quite simply un-raceable.” Horner believes Mercedes has changed its rear wing design since the summer break to improve its straight-line speed, which has given it a clear edge in recent races. Red Bull and other teams had to change their rear wing designs earlier in the season after a technical directive was introduced in order to reduce how much they could flex at high speed.

“There’s very specific regulations about this,” said Horner. “Obviously the directives that came out prior to Azerbaijan had material effect. I think this is something even more advanced, it’s hidden in the way that it operates so it’s harder to spot from a camera. But you can see the straight-line performance since Hungary, and particularly in the last two grands prix, has gone exponential. That obviously concerns us. And that’s why Adrian and Paul have been discussing it with the FIA.”

Wolff said he has no concern about the possibility of a protest. “I think that his opinion is his perspective and absolutely fine within the regulations to seek clarification or protest,” said the Mercedes team boss. “That’s how things are in Formula 1.”

 

[Zapp Brannigan]

That judgement (non-judgement) in one fell swoop has ended overtaking round the outside. The car on the inside owns the corner, and any car can stay far enough alongside on the inside if they have no intention of braking early enough to stay on the track.

 

[1%er]

That judgement (non-judgement) in one fell swoop has ended overtaking round the outside. The car on the inside owns the corner, and any car can stay far enough alongside on the inside if they have no intention of braking early enough to stay on the track.

That's also what some of the drivers have said, but I believe this issue will be taken up at the drivers briefings and the FIA will make a big point about it but in private. The rules are clear that you must leave a cars width and you can't force a car off the track. those rules are still in place and I'm sure Michael Masi will make that clear while also pointing out that the Brazil incident has not changed that.

 

[1%er]

FP2: Bottas quickest, rear wing issues for Red Bull​

Rear wing talk continues to dominate discussion at the Qatar Grand Prix weekend, with Red Bull suffering from oscillation issues in second practice. While Mercedes replaced Red Bull at the top of timesheet with Valtteri Bottas quickest of anyone in FP2 – setting a 1:23.148, two tenths clear of Pierre Gasly who was a surprise P2 the main focus was once again on wings as Red Bull’s upper flap on the rear was blighted by severe oscillation. The Red Bull mechanics spent time addressing the issue on both cars throughout the second session, Verstappen finishing the day in P3 three tenths off the pace set by Bottas. Title rival Lewis Hamilton, in P4, was four tenths slower than his team-mate. As darkness descended on the Losail International Circuit and temperatures cooled, the FP2 session offered the drivers and teams much more representative conditions of what they can expect once the lights go out on Sunday.

Just 19 drivers would be able to get the vital track experience they needed as Haas’ Nikita Mazepin sat out the session because of an unscheduled chassis change. Visbility was proving to be a slight issue for some drivers as their eyes adjusted to the dazzling floodlights beaming down on the dark tarmac. Sergio Perez needed to come back into the garage to replace the visor on his helmet. After the opening stints, it was Mercedes who were top of the pile as Bottas held a two-tenth gap over team-mate Hamilton. The latter almost got in Bottas’ way in the early stages but, thankfully for them, they managed to avoid an embarrassing collision between them. Bottas then returned to the track and pumped in a 1:23.154, but that lap was deleted for clearly exceeding track limits at Turn 7.

At Red Bull, their focus was on rear wings, but their own on this occasion, as there was an issue with the DRS on Verstappen’s car which was soon fixed…or so we thought. Back on track, Verstappen’s team-mate Perez was starting a flying lap, but soon backed out due to traffic problems in sector two. Verstappen found a quieter moment to throw down his first qualifying sim run, yet found himself two tenths down in the first sector. That gap extended to four tenths by the time he crossed the line, but there was a suspicion that his car was carrying a slightly heavier fuel load compared to others. There was also a firm eye staying fixed on Red Bull’s rear wing, which was still misbehaving with the upper flap oscillating when the DRS was open. The problem kept Perez in the garage for much longer than he would have liked.

Meanwhile, Verstappen’s former team-mate Pierre Gasly found himself sandwiched in between the two Mercedes drivers after an eye-catching lap on the softs. Verstappen re-emerged for another crack at dislodging Bottas, but again was no match for the Mercedes through the first sector. He did find improvement, but only by a tenth. Work to do, it appears, for Red Bull ahead of qualifying day on Saturday.

FP2 timesheet​

1 Valtteri Bottas Mercedes 1:23.148 27
2 Pierre Gasly AlphaTauri 0.209s 26
3 Max Verstappen Red Bull 0.350s 19
4 Lewis Hamilton Mercedes 0.422s 24
5 Lando Norris McLaren 0.484s 23
6 Lance Stroll Aston Martin 0.557s 26
7 Yuki Tsunoda AlphaTauri 0.587s 27
8 Sergio Perez Red Bull 0.639s 20
9 Sebastian Vettel Aston Martin 0.872s 27
10 Carlos Sainz Ferrari 0.885s 27
11 Esteban Ocon Alpine 0.893s 28
12 Fernando Alonso Alpine 0.908s 25
13 Charles Leclerc Ferrari 0.947s 23
14 Daniel Ricciardo McLaren 0.987s 22
15 Kimi Raikkonen Alfa Romeo Racing 1.483s 25
16 George Russell Williams 1.806s 26
17 Antonio Giovinazzi Alfa Romeo Racing 1.924s 23
18 Mick Schumacher Haas 2.427s 26
19 Nicholas Latifi Williams 2.061s 28
20 Nikita Mazepin Haas

 

[1%er]

Two loose screws led to Hamilton Brazil DSQ​

Toto Wolff says “two screws” were to blame for Lewis Hamilton’s qualifying DSQ in Brazil as they became loose during the session. Hamilton qualified fastest in Friday’s qualifying for the Sao Paulo Grand Prix only to be referred to the stewards for an alleged technical infringement. Jo Bauer, the FIA technical delegate, said in his report that Hamilton’s DRS flap opening was greater than the permitted 85mm. His W12’s rear wing assembly was removed and impounded as the matter was investigated, Mercedes not permitted to examine it at the time. The Brit was later disqualified from the results, forced to start Saturday’s sprint qualifying from the back of the grid.

Wolff said at the time that Hamilton’s wing had failed the test by “0.2 of a millimetre”, the Mercedes motorsport boss adamant that something had gone wrong. The wing was eventually returned to Mercedes with Wolff revealing it was two loose screws that created the drama. “We got the rear wing back and, as we thought, it was broken,” he said. “It broke in qualifying. We didn’t pass the 85mm slot gap test on the far right side. We passed it on the left and the middle, but not on the middle by a fraction of a millimetre and that’s fine. “We weren’t allowed to inspect it, nor to make the argument that the part is being broken and consequently we found out that two screws became undone in qualifying and that caused that right side to be irregular. You know probably it was even detrimental to the lap time but it is what it is. It was reported to the stewards and that was very different to how these things were handled in the past where you would be able to patch up things that got broken during parc ferme but we’ve moved on.”

 

[1%er]

Wing-gate
Red Bull are still moaning on about the Mercedes rear wing, they claim it is illegal but will not protest it. Following on from last weekend when the FIA and the stewards had the Mercedes wing all weekend nothing was mentioned by anyone from the stewards or the FIA about the wing being illegal other than it failed the 85mm test.

Horner asked Wolff: “How do you explain the score marks on the rear wing end plate?” “I think it is within what is allowed and therefore that’s okay,” Wolff answered. If they believe it is illegal then Red Bull should protest, but they haven't, I think they are waiting for the last race or the 2nd last to make their protest to try and put presure on the FIA and stewards just befor the end of the season and to try and unsettle Mercedes. F1 cars are checked all the time to ensure they are with-in regulation and if Mercedes rear wing was illegal I'm sure it would have been picked up by now as it is out in the open and clearly visable, it isn't hidden with-in the engine or gearbox where it would be hard to spot.

Just more whinging from Red Bull, Marko and Horner who are bad loses. (well that's the view from a Lewis and Mercedes fan anyway)

 

[1%er]

Free Practice Results 3​

Valtteri Bottas topped a Mercedes 1-2 as Red Bull’s rear wing actuator issues continued in final practice in Qatar. Another hot session awaited the drivers as the pit lane light turned green and Mick Schumacher was first out on track for Haas. His team-mate Nikita Mazepin, who is running a new old chassis for the remainder of this weekend after Russian driver having damaged it on the kerbs in FP1, followed him out. Needing as much running as possible, he found himself stuck at the end of the pit lane as he told Haas that the “car did not sound right, the engine sounded different”. An aborted start for the Haas driver and the rest of the field as the red flags were waved for his stationary VF-21. Haas reported that Mazepin’s car needed a new engine control unit fitted, the Russian driver out of the session.

While all that was going on, Red Bull were once again busy with a rear wing, this time working on both Max Verstappen and Sergio Perez’s RB16Bs. Schumacher was the first man out again after the red flag, but pitted before setting a time. As such it wasn’t until 11 minutes into the session that Esteban Ocon clocked the first time for FP3, a 1:24.864. Valtteri Bottas was the next to hit the front before he was pipped by Lewis Hamilton, the first driver into the 1:23s for the session while Perez went wide at Turn 14, pitting after for a new front wing, and Pierre Gasly spun at Turn 2.

Fernando Alonso went quickest on the medium tyres, but that didn’t last long with Bottas and then Hamilton jumping ahead. The reigning World Champion posted a 1:23.152 as his title rival, Verstappen, finally ventured out of the pits halfway through the session. He immediately went P1, a 1:23.121. Carlos Sainz was up to third. The tussle between the Mercedes drivers and Verstappen continued with Bottas using a tow from Ocon to go quickest by 0.082s ahead of Hamilton. Verstappen upped his pace, but stayed third. And then he was back in the Red Bull garage for yet more work to be done on his rear wing actuator with the DRS flag clearly, well, flapping when open.

Charles Leclerc joined his team-mate up near the front, P4 to Sainz’s P5, with Gasly sixth quickest. Sainz asked Ferrari to check his floor after a moment over the Turn 3 kerbs. A few minutes later it was the other Ferrari, Leclerc, in trouble as he lost the rear out of Turn 2 and went off into the gravel. Verstappen was back out for a late run, one that was almost ruined by a spinning Schumacher. The German kept the engine running and was able to return to the Haas garage.

The session ended with Mercedes 1-2, Bottas 0.078s up on Hamilton, Red Bull 3-4, Verstappen 0.341s off the pace with Sergio Perez a further two-tenths down, and Sainz fifth ahead of Gasly, Alonso and Leclerc. Lance Stroll finished down in 16th place having told Aston Martin that his car was beep. He was told to take it easy as he banged his steering wheel in frustration.

Times​

1 Valtteri Bottas Mercedes 1:22.310 17 laps
2 Lewis Hamilton Mercedes 0.078s 16 laps
3 Max Verstappen Red Bull 0.341s 10 laps
4 Pierre Gasly AlphaTauri 0.525s 17 laps
5 Sergio Perez Red Bull 0.536s 13 laps
6 Carlos Sainz Ferrari 0.738s 17 laps
7 Fernando Alonso Alpine 0.876s 13 laps
8 Esteban Ocon Alpine 0.899s 18 laps
9 Charles Leclerc Ferrari 0.966s 17 laps
10 Yuki Tsunoda AlphaTauri 1.257s 20 laps
11 Daniel Ricciardo McLaren 1.401s 14 laps
12 Sebastian Vettel Aston Martin 1.574s 17 laps
13 Lando Norris McLaren 1.585s 16 laps
14 George Russell Williams 1.613s 17 laps
15 Lance Stroll Aston Martin 1.844s 17 laps
16 Kimi Raikkonen Alfa Romeo Racing 1.936s 19 laps
17 Antonio Giovinazzi Alfa Romeo Racing 1.978s 17 laps
18 Nicholas Latifi Williams 2.189s 15 laps
19 Mick Schumacher Haas 2.370s 20 laps
20 Nikita Mazepin Haas no time

 

[Zapp Brannigan]

Should be a cracking qualifying, Merc look strong. Would be a real cat among the pigeons if they can get a 1-2.

DRS in the race is going to be a powerful tool along the long straight. With a high downforce setup for the mid to high speed corners, DRS is going to be worth a good 20kph so overtaking is possible.

Red Bull's problems with DRS flaps. Moveable aero device, disqualification coming up?

 

[MrCurry]

If there are any neutral spectators remaining in this title fight, then they must surely be wishing for a Lewis win this weekend to help level the points up a little more heading into the final two races. A Merc 1-2 with Max making it only to the third step of the podium would do nicely

 

[spitfire]

8000 people that's a fucking joke.

 

[1%er]

McLaren 'has questions' over stewards' ruling on Verstappen incident​

McLaren boss Andreas Seidl says the FIA's decision not to reopen the case involving Max Verstappen and Lewis Hamilton in Brazil has led to more questions than answers regarding defensive moves by drivers. Verstappen was absolved of any wrongdoing by the stewards following the Red Bull driver's controversial move in Sao Paulo, when he defended in the middle of Interlagos' Turn 4 by running wide and pushing himself and Hamilton off the track.

The FIA confirmed the stewards' view by rejecting Mercedes' request for a review of the incident, permanently closing the case. But Seidl believes the decision not to punish Verstappen in Brazil was not consistent with previous decisions calls, citing Lando Norris' move on Red Bull's Sergio Perez in Austria earlier this year for which the McLaren driver was handed a time penalty.

"Looking at the comparison with Lando’s case, we definitely have some questions," Seidl said, "Lando got a penalty in Austria for something which, from our point of view was debatable. You can definitely argue that what happened in Austria was Lando’s corner. It was different to what we have seen in Brazil and therefore we are very interested on, not necessarily the ruling from today, or the outcome of today’s investigation, because that’s a different process, but more understanding what Michael [Masi] will brief to the drivers in the drivers’ briefing, on how they see things moving forward. I think whatever the outcome is, it will definitely change the approach of the drivers to certain manoeuvres on track. That’s why it’s interesting to clarify."

Seidl is a strong proponent of a 'let them race' policy. But in light of the FIA's most recent decision, he's urging FIA race director Michael Masi to put forth a clear policy. "That’s why it will be very interesting what the drivers will hear from Michael in the drivers’ briefing," he added. I think, compared to the past and some years ago, definitely we have switched more towards let them race. But again, knowing how difficult it is also to judge all the different cases, what is inconsistent is clearly the penalty for example that Lando got in Austria and what we have seen last weekend. That’s why I think it’s just important to clarify that every driver knows what he can do and what he can’t do."

 

[Badgers]

Afternoon RaceFam

 

[Ax^]

afternoon


this should be fun

let see if Max wing starts flapping around like a letter box in the wind again
whilst horner screams about the Mercs

 

[Badgers]

May the force be with Hamilton

 

[Badgers]

Fast

 

[Ax^]

watching traffic

 

[1%er]

Medium tyre the best to start the race, so I'd expect the top four to qualify on those, Red Bull and Mercedes that is

 

[Ax^]

i think Gasly might sneak into the top four here embrassing bottas or Parez

 

[MrCurry]

Don’t want to be Mr Moany, but god this circuit looks like a boring identikit Tilkedrome. We could be anywhere, they all look the same these days. I hope I’m wrong, but I’m not seeing many overtaking spots apart from the main straight.

 

[Ax^]

well you can do over takes in corners any more


you;ll just get taken off the track by the car on the inside

 

[Ax^]

how did the merc wing take Perez out of Qualifying

 

[1%er]

Mercedes really need a 1 & 2 now Perez is out of the picture, doesn't matter which is 1 or 2 just need to get it done

 

[MrCurry]

Christian Horner, wise man, decided Perez was a much better prospect for their second seat this year than Pierre Gasly. Just saying

 

[spitfire]

Don’t want to be Mr Moany, but god this circuit looks like a boring identikit Tilkedrome. We could be anywhere, they all look the same these days. I hope I’m wrong, but I’m not seeing many overtaking spots apart from the main straight.

And I think the fact there are no grandstands or visual landmarks makes it even more bland and anodyne to watch.

I can't follow where they are on the track. It all looks the same.

 

[Ax^]

Marko hates Gasly


so thats a thing

 

[Ax^]

And I think the fact there are no grandstands or visual landmarks makes it even more bland and anodyne to watch.

I can't follow where they are on the track. It all looks the same.

you might not like the next 2 GPS either

 

[spitfire]

you might not like the next 2 GPS either

Yas Marina isn't as bad, bit more going on.

 

[Ax^]

oh yas marina is a not a bad circuit

but as a venue to end the season its pony

 

[spitfire]

oh yas marina is a not a bad circuit

but as a venue to end the season its pony

At least it has boats and some landmark buildings so looks pretty in comparison to this one that looks like it's in a car park.

 

[Ax^]

gasly 4th