F1 2022

[MrCurry]

Wow, 11C in Montreal. Nasty

 

[1%er]

Kravitz on what Mercedes wanted versus what Mercedes got​

Ted Kravitz reckons what Mercedes wanted from the FIA through their porpoising complaints and what they got are two very different stories. Lewis Hamilton and George Russell have been the two most vocal drivers when it comes to porpoising, the bouncing that this year’s cars experience as a result of using ground effect aerodynamics. The Brackley squad has had it worse than most with pundits putting that down to their zero-pod design not helping to stabilise the floor. But with more drivers voicing their concerns about their long-term health after a bumpy Azerbaijan Grand Prix, the FIA stepped in on Thursday and announced a new technical directive to protect the drivers.

Under that, the FIA will set out a limit on the level of “vertical oscillations” and any team that exceeds that will reportedly have to raise the car’s ride height by 10mm. This is bad news for Mercedes as, already off the pace, raising the ride height means losing downforce and speed. Sky Sports’ Kravitz says this interview is “not one that Mercedes were after”.

“It’s quite a surprise because Mercedes have been spending the last couple of weeks and races saying that something should be done to address the bouncing issues, the porpoising of the cars, which is an aerodynamic phenomenon,” he told Sky F1. “Actually, at the last race, it wasn’t the aerodynamic phenomenon. It was the fact that Mercedes were running their cars very low to the ground and the cars were hitting the track when they hit some bumps. Lewis Hamilton was clearly in pain getting out of his car after his Mercedes suffered more porpoising issues in Azerbaijan, prompting Toto Wolff to apologise to him. So what Mercedes were wanting to hear from the FIA, was some kind of rule on maybe everybody raising their cars up so that the drivers wouldn’t get a bad back. Instead, what they got from the FIA, is almost a taskforce, a technical directive addressing the people whose cars are bouncing, namely Mercedes. So this is working against Mercedes and this could have a very negative effect on Lewis Hamilton’s season. Based on what they’re saying, the FIA are going to look at ways of stopping the porpoising, on the Mercedes all that means is raising the car up so that the car doesn’t hit the ground any more and cause a pain in the back any more to Lewis Hamilton and George Russell. Of course, the consequence of that is the Mercedes cars will go slower because that is not the way they like to be run for maximum speed. They like to be run close to the ground and if you get a bad back, well I’m sorry that’s just the consequence of going quick. You raise the Mercedes up, you’re going to go slow. So that’s the reaction that we’re having here in Canada to what’s been really a surprising intervention by the FIA and not one that Mercedes were after.”

 

[1%er]

Its looking more and more likely that Charles Leclerc will take a 10 place grid penalty, it seems he will have to take a new turbo or electronics control units for the race on Sunday.

Back of the grid start as he has taken extra parts

 

[1%er]

Mercedes to remove second floor stay amid F1 protest threat​

In the wake of a technical directive from the FIA on the eve of the Montreal weekend to help reduce porpoising, F1 teams were advised that they could add a second stay to help stiffen their floor. Mercedes was the only outfit that elected to go down that route, as it trialled an interim solution on George Russell's car during Friday free practice. But Mercedes' actions caught the attention of rival teams, who questioned whether or not the FIA had followed the right processes in allowing the extra stay to be fitted.

Although the FIA has the right to change the regulations unilaterally on safety grounds, that process had not been followed through by the rules actually being altered for the Montreal weekend. That meant in theory the advisory TD allowing a second stay went against the technical regulations, which limits teams to a single stay. Some of Mercedes' rivals believed that if the team ran the stay in qualifying and the race, then there could be grounds for the team to be protested, as the rules did not match the TD advisory.

Alpine team principal Otmar Szafnauer backed up that view ahead of Saturday's track action in Montreal. "As far as the process goes, it's a technical directive and technical directives, as we all know, are not regulations," he said. "So it could very well be that we shouldn't be running this in qualifying in the race. If teams have brought those stays, I would imagine they could be perhaps looked at after and protested. So it's against the regulation as it stands today. We definitely don't have one. And unfortunately, if you do have an extra stay, you can run the car lower and stiffer, and gain some advantage."

While Mercedes committing to running the stays could have prompted action from its rivals, in the end the team has averted any controversy by choosing not the continue with it for the remainder of the Canadian GP weekend on performance grounds. The team's version that it trialled in practice did not deliver the step forward that it had been hoped, so the squad has gone back to the single stay that is allowed in the rules. The FIA could elect to push through a formal change to the regulations for the next race at Silverstone to explicitly allow the second stays, with a World Motor Sport Council meeting scheduled prior to the British Grand Prix that could rubber stamp rules tweaks.

 

[1%er]

Williams plays down Renault engine deal talks​

Nicholas Latifi's boss has allayed fears that he may be unceremoniously dropped immediately after his first home race in Canada this weekend. It is widely reported that Oliver Piastri, Alpine's Australian reserve driver who is the reigning Formula 2 champion, will be loaned to Williams in both 2023 and 2024. Williams boss Jost Capito doesn't deny it. "Oscar is interesting for everyone who has a free place," he is quoted by Sky Deutschland. "There is no question about it." He stopped short of confirming a done deal, though and also moved to end speculation that 21-year-old Piastri's Williams career could kick off immediately after this weekend. "That's definitely not the case," Capito insisted. But yet another rumour is that Alpine's loan of Piastri to Williams could be bundled with a customer Renault engine deal. "It's all speculation at the moment," he said. "We have a contract with Mercedes until the end of 2025, and there will be new regulations in 2026. A lot of water will flow down the Rhine before then."

 

[1%er]

FP3: Alonso shines as the rain falls in Canada​

Fernando Alonso was on top come the end of the final practice session in Canada as the rain and cold air rolled in. In a prelude to the conditions expected for qualifying, Alonso put the intermediate tyres to perfect use, topping FP3 with a 1:33.8. For much of the session it was a back-and-forth battle with Aston Martin’s Sebastian Vettel, the veterans showing that they still have that magic touch in the wet, though Pierre Gasly ultimately ended up splitting the pair with a combined six World Championships.


After a Friday filled with dry running, rain rolled in shortly after FP2 ended and a similar scene met the drivers ahead of Q3, plenty of drops still falling as the final hour of practice got underway. The Haas’ and Alfa Romeo’s ventured out early to assess the conditions, cold and very wet in a nutshell, but with the threat of rain continuing into qualifying it may well be conditions that the drivers must get used to. Charles Leclerc was the first of the traditional front runners to brave it, but the Ferrari man will start from the back in Canada after taking a complete new power unit. A very tentative 1:39.1 from Haas’ Kevin Magnussen set the early pace, the Dane then taking a trip over the grass as Carlos Sainz struggled to keep his Ferrari on the track also.


Lance Stroll found himself in “limp home mode”, but it was a swift fix and he was back up to speed. Sebastian Vettel in the other Aston Martin meanwhile was struggling to get the AMR22 slowed down for Turn 1, improving to P1 once he got to grips with the left-hander. There was little sign of the weather improving as the session reached halfway, though Sainz, who has taken a new Internal Combustion Engine, was making the gains needed to rise to P1, clocking a 1:35.8.


Fernando Alonso, who was looking very competitive on Friday, continued that trend despite the change of conditions, reducing the deficit to Sainz to two-tenths as he comfortably went P2. 25 minutes remained as Mercedes’ George Russell delivered his first timed lap, four seconds down on Sainz, while Max Verstappen also emerged from the garage, though struggling badly for traction in the RB18, he was soon back in the pits. Russell was though finding some grip, elevating himself to P3 with half-a-second to find on Sainz, though there was soon a new pacesetter in the form of Vettel, a 1:35.8 from the four-time World Champion.


Sainz and Alonso were first to try out the intermediate tyres, the track still looking very damp indeed for such a switch. Alonso was making it work though, a 1:34.8 taking him top. Verstappen returned to the track, but he was not tempted by a gamble on the inters, even with Alonso enjoying himself as he chipped away a further six-tenths. Vettel was enjoying it more though as he made the move to inters and returned to the summit with a 1:33.8. ‘I’ll take that P1 back’ was the swift response from Alonso.


Magnussen meanwhile was left perplexed as he went straight on at Turn 1, forcing him to reverse out of the grass down at Turn 2. “What happened there?” he asked. Latifi stressed that the intermediate was “not the right tyre for us”, adding that he was at risk of crashing the Williams at every corner. Speaking of crashes, the rain was starting to come down a bit heavier with a few minutes left in the session, Verstappen spinning off into the grass at Turn 2 on the inters. No damage fortunately for the Drivers’ Championship leader. But it was Alonso keeping it on the track and topping the session, a top three of he, Gasly and Vettel split by 0.055s.

Free Practice 3 results
1 Fernando Alonso Alpine 1:33.836 15
2 Pierre Gasly AlphaTauri 0.053s 18
3 Sebastian Vettel Aston Martin 0.055s 18
4 Esteban Ocon Alpine 0.167s 16
5 Daniel Ricciardo McLaren 0.274s 14
6 Lando Norris McLaren 0.412s 13
7 George Russell Mercedes 0.423s 11
8 Sergio Perez Red Bull 0.662s 10
9 Max Verstappen Red Bull 0.780s 10
10 Carlos Sainz Ferrari 0.942s 18
11 Valtteri Bottas Alfa Romeo Racing 1.180s 15
12 Guanyu Zhou Alfa Romeo Racing 1.377s 15
13 Lance Stroll Aston Martin 1.695s 23
14 Kevin Magnussen Haas 1.807s 17
15 Lewis Hamilton Mercedes 1.856s 12
16 Alex Albon Williams 1.925s 17
17 Yuki Tsunoda AlphaTauri 2.425s 27
18 Mick Schumacher Haas 3.552s 18
19 Nicholas Latifi Williams 4.558s 11
20 Charles Leclerc Ferrari 5

 

[1%er]

Gasly ‘100% confirmed’ as AlphaTauri driver for 2023​

AlphaTauri boss Franz Tost made it clear that Pierre Gasly will certainly continue to race for the team in 2023. Following Red Bull’s announcement that Sergio Perez had extended his contract with the team through to 2024, speculation began to swirl regarding what the future held for Gasly. Having failed to impress in his half-season at Red Bull in 2019, Gasly remained a part of the Red Bull fold following his demotion back to Toro Rosso and has shone since, the Frenchman now a team leader under its rebranded AlphaTauri identity.

Gasly has made it clear though that his ambition is to compete at the front of the grid, so with his Red Bull deal concluding at the end of 2023, he could well depart the programme now that the door to return to Red Bull has slammed shut. There had been talk though that Gasly could jump the gun and secure a switch ahead of the 2023 campaign, McLaren and Aston Martin mentioned as potential destinations.

AlphaTauri principal Tost has though firmly ruled that out. “He will be a driver of us, of Scuderia AlphaTauri, in 2023,” said Tost as he spoke to media personnel at the Canadian Grand Prix. “This is 100% confirmed.” It took Gasly some time to get going in 2022, his P5 finish at the Azerbaijan Grand Prix representing a much-needed strong result. Gasly had scored points only twice before that this season, though Tost said that this was more on their shoulders rather than Gasly’s.


So, with Gasly reaffirming what he can do in a competitive and reliable car, Tost says that is now the job of the team to keep providing the tools for Gasly to deliver. “He is showing fantastic performance,” said Tost. “Unfortunately, at the beginning of the season [he suffered] with a lot of reliability issues for example, in Bahrain when the battery caught fire. Then there were some other reliability issues that were not his fault, it was coming from the team. I am really happy now that at least in Baku we could show how good he is. And I hope that we will provide him with a competitive car for the rest of the season because Pierre has the ability to be in front. It’s in the hands of the team to give him a really good competitive car.”


However, with Gasly’s ambition being to fight at the very front of the pack, it is highly unlikely that AlphaTauri will be able to facilitate this. So, The Race asked Tost how the team was able to keep Gasly committed for 2023. “He has a valid contract, there’s nothing more to say,” was the sharp response.

 

[1%er]

links here

 

[Buddy Bradley]

Wet quali = few people off as they push a bit too hard? Might mess up some team plans.

 

[Buddy Bradley]

Clearly I'm the only one with nothing better to do on a Saturday night...

 

[1%er]

Clearly I'm the only one with nothing better to do on a Saturday night...

It almost 6pm here so we are going out after the qualifying

 

[Buddy Bradley]

What's the weather forecast for tomorrow, any chance of changeable conditions?

 

[1%er]

What's the weather forecast for tomorrow, any chance of changeable conditions?

meant to be dry

 

[1%er]

Qualifying Results​

Q3

1. Max Verstappen Red Bull Racing -1:21.299
2. Fernando Alonso Alpine +0.645
3. Carlos Sainz Scuderia Ferrari +0.797
4. Lewis Hamilton Mercedes +1.592
5. Kevin Magnussen Haas +1.661
6. Mick Schumacher Haas +2.057
7. Esteban Ocon Alpine +2.230
8. George Russell Mercedes +2.258
9. Daniel Ricciardo McLaren +2.450
10. Zhou Guanyu Alfa Romeo +2.731

Q2

1. Max Verstappen Red Bull Racing -1:23.746
2. Fernando Alonso Alpine +1.102
3. George Russell Mercedes +1.204
4. Carlos Sainz Scuderia Ferrari +1.451
5. Lewis Hamilton Mercedes +1.797
6. Mick Schumacher Haas +1.938
7. Zhou Guanyu Alfa Romeo +2.370
8. Esteban Ocon Alpine +2.389
9. Kevin Magnussen Haas +2.508
10. Daniel Ricciardo McLaren +2.629
11. Valtteri Bottas Alfa Romeo +3.042
12. Alexander Albon Williams Racing +3.112
13. Sergio Perez Red Bull Racing +9.381
14. Lando Norris McLaren NC
15. Charles Leclerc Scuderia Ferrari NC

Q1

1. Max Verstappen Red Bull Racing -1:32.219
2. Fernando Alonso Alpine +0.058
3. Carlos Sainz Scuderia Ferrari +0.562
4. Kevin Magnussen Haas +0.738
5. Charles Leclerc Scuderia Ferrari +0.789
6. Esteban Ocon Alpine +0.793
7. George Russell Mercedes +0.941
8. Daniel Ricciardo McLaren +1.417
9. Valtteri Bottas Alfa Romeo +1.470
10. Zhou Guanyu Alfa Romeo +1.473
11. Mick Schumacher Haas +1.488
12. Lewis Hamilton Mercedes +1.622
13. Sergio Perez Red Bull Racing +1.710
14. Alexander Albon Williams Racing +1.828
15. Lando Norris McLaren +1.847
16. Pierre Gasly AlphaTauri +2.273
17. Sebastian Vettel Aston Martin +2.293
18. Lance Stroll Aston Martin +3.313
19. Nicholas Latifi Williams Racing +3.441
20. Yuki Tsunoda AlphaTauri +4.356

 

[souljacker]

That was fun. George taking the sort of gamble I take when I'm watching football with the betfair app open. And a similar result too.

 

[spitfire]

Clearly I'm the only one with nothing better to do on a Saturday night...

I was watching but eating so not posting. Great qually.

Danica Patrick is 3 apples tall. She’s tiny!

 

[dessiato]

I was watching but eating so not posting. Great qually.

Danica Patrick is 3 apples tall. She’s tiny!

48kg and 5ft 2.

I followed her when she drove NASCAR, I used to go to Daytona for my birthday at that time. She had a number of firsts, including the only woman to ever win in Indy series. She was quite competitive in her day.

 

[Buddy Bradley]

She was quite competitive in her day.

Most successful woman in the history of American open-wheel car racing, according to Wikipedia.

 

[dessiato]

Most successful woman in the history of American open-wheel car racing, according to Wikipedia.

One thing I always felt was wrong was the way she was sexualised. She did “sexy” shots, bikini, underwear etc, which, of course, the male drivers never needed to do, nor would be asked to do. NASCAR is a very redneck sport, and this was reflected in the way she was treated.

 

[1%er]

Who is the fastest of them all?​

 

[1%er]

Revised starting grid​

Pos​	Driver​	Team​
1.​	Verstappen​	Red Bull​
2.​	Alonso​	Alpine​
3.​	Sainz​	Ferrari​
4.​	Hamilton​	Mercedes​
5.​	Magnussen​	Haas​
6.​	Schumacher​	Haas​
7.​	Ocon​	Alpine​
8.​	Russell​	Mercedes​
9.​	Ricciardo​	McLaren​
10.​	Zhou​	Alfa Romeo​
11.​	Bottas​	Alfa Romeo​
12.​	Albon​	Williams​
13.​	Perez​	Red Bull​
14.​	Norris​	McLaren​
15.​	Gasly​	AlphaTauri​
16.​	Vettel​	Aston Martin​
17.​	Stroll​	Aston Martin​
18.​	Latifi​	Williams​
19.​	Leclerc​	Ferrari​
20.​	Tsunoda​	AlphaTauri​

 

[Buddy Bradley]

Another race where we keep cutting to Danny Ric getting passed every 10 laps or so.

 

[1%er]

Loads of links available here for the GP

I don't care who wins today as I won a bet last night that nullifies todays race result. I also tricked my mate twice I believe and will tell him how later, with great glee.

​

 

[MrCurry]

So we’ve got Tsunoda, LeClerc & Perez, arguably also Norris and Russell out of position - plenty of overtaking seems to be in store so let’s hope it’s an interesting race. Up the front, I doubt anyone can do much to stop Max winning, but let’s see. I’m sure Alonso won’t be shy in the first corner.

Looking forward to it.

 

[Buddy Bradley]

Far fewer celebs on the grid than Miami...

 

[MrCurry]

So where can LeClerc get to, from his back of the grid starting position? After the reliability problems they maybe won’t have the engine turned up to max, so there’s that to take a little shine off his pace.

Top six should be achievable, but is a podium too much bet on?

 

[Buddy Bradley]

Top six should be achievable, but is a podium too much bet on?

Would need a few DNFs for that, I think.

 

[Buddy Bradley]

Red Bull reliability issues again, maybe Max could be in trouble...

 

[Buddy Bradley]

Nice to have Brundle back commentating.

 

[Petcha]

I've never been to an F1 race and rarely watch it but at a loose end so am watching this one.

Question for those who are actually into this sport - is it the most boring spectator sport live? I mean, it's sort of fun on TV but with cars blitzing past you and on the off chance you might see a passing manoeuvre - is it worth the massive ticket price?