Formula 1 2023

[Chewbacca 7783]

2 minutes ago, VABuckeye said:

Sainz got fucked. 

Yeah, he did.  But there had to be a penalty for that, right?  I think what he got was too harsh, but no penalty seems wrong, too.

[NoName 16397]

enjoyed this article - nothing groundbreaking but a solid read.

The Athletic: How Formula 1 drivers beat back jet lag: Bagging sleep, lots of caffeine, and surfing

Text:

 

Spoiler

How Formula 1 drivers beat back jet lag: Bagging sleep, lots of caffeine, and surfing

By Madeline Coleman

Apr 1, 2023

9

---

Formula One drivers commonly navigate a slew of pressures like G force, hot temperatures and the threat of dehydration. But this weekend’s Australian Grand Prix poses another tricky aspect of tackling Melbourne’s Albert Park: jet lag with a massive time zone shift.

A truly global sport, F1 will hit 20 countries this year in a nine-month season. Its athletes are used to long travel times and toggling time zones, but Australia is a lesson in extremes. Given the two-week gap between the Saudi Arabian Grand Prix and this one, most teams will be jetting in from their bases in Europe — adding up to a 10-hour time difference.

The human body isn’t built for that kind of disregard for circadian rhythm. And the consequences are real: Jet lag can trigger sleep problems, mood changes, lack of focus and more, per the Mayo Clinic. Not so good if you’ve made the trip to whip a race car around Melbourne’s speedy pseudo-street circuit at triple-digit speeds.

 

And experience doesn’t make it any easier.

“The first two days, no matter what, it kills you a bit,” said 11-year veteran Valtteri Bottas.

But it can equip you for the fight, according to Yuki Tsunoda’s performance coach, Michael Italiano. “Doesn’t mean you adapt quicker,” Italiano said. “What we get used to is understanding the protocol.”

So how do the drivers cope with jet lag? Italiano recommends a few strategies: shifting sleep schedules early, caffeine, light exposure and exercise.

‘Bagging sleep’

“Generally speaking, it usually takes one day per hour of the time zone change,” Italiano said. F1 teams don’t have the luxury of arriving 10 days before hitting the track — the calendar setup has the races “so tight in between,” Italiano said. Instead, the teams arrive up to five days ahead, earlier than for a typical race.

During the week before heading Down Under, Italiano recommends everybody “bag some sleep,” knowing the first few nights will be rough. “If you need around seven hours to function, get nine, 10 hours,” he said.

Bottas has caffeine covered as a registered coffee fanatic, and he bikes for exercise. His Alfa Romeo teammate, Zhou Guanyu, takes a different approach. Last year was his first F1 season, and he listened to the plan from his trainer and physio.

“But then after the whole year, I was quite happy to be just following myself. Like, when I feel tired, I fell asleep, and then I didn’t have much problem of jet lag,” Guanyu said. “Maybe I’m still young!”

However, with the larger jumps, the Alfa Romeo driver added, “You have to be here a few days before, at least two days to be ready.”

But it’s not just the drivers and teams at the track who have to shift their sleep schedules. Some staff back at the factories also have to adjust their body clocks — as well as reporters like myself and my editors covering this weekend remotely.

Inside look at Carlos Sainz’s ‘jet lag plan’

Ferrari’s Carlos Sainz described how he combatted jet lag through an Instagram story series this week. He began his journey with a seven-hour flight to Dubai and said the key is to avoid sleeping. “Plenty of caffeine is allowed, but most importantly, plenty of light exposure. Keep the reading lights on, watch a film,” said Sainz, who also added chatting with colleagues is an option.

Light exposure affects your circadian rhythm and can influence sleep-wake cycles. Stanford University School of Medicine researchers say light exposure can speed up one’s adjustment to the new time zone. Drivers can even use the plane’s reading lights. It’s all about “staying in bright places with plenty of sun or artificial light,” as Sainz said, even if it means putting yourself in what he called “a zombie state.”

On the trip’s final leg, Sainz slept the last 10 hours of the 12-hour flight, explaining: “I was destroyed.” He landed in Australia at 7 a.m. The Ferrari driver planned to stay awake for the remainder of the day, get “plenty of light” and possibly play a round of golf, a game of padel or take a long jog. “(My) past experience tells me that at 7 p.m., I’ll be dead and wanting to go to sleep, but (I) will try my best.”

 

 

 

 

 

 

View this post on Instagram

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

A post shared by Charles Leclerc (@charles_leclerc)

 

Indeed, the drivers got creative with how they stayed active in Melbourne. To name a few, Bottas opted for biking, while Lando Norris and Sainz played a round of golf together. Charles Leclerc did some quiet sightseeing with his camera, and Pierre Gasly drove a V8 Supercar, did some drifting, played a round of golf and surfed.

Consistency and recovery

Finding consistency off track, like with schedules, in the hectic nature of F1 is another tactic.

Mercedes will haul mattresses around the world so its drivers get the best shot at proper sleep. “We know that not sleeping properly will have an impact on simple reaction time, which is critical for the start, for example,” George Russell’s performance coach Aleix Casanovas said in Mercedes’ “Can Sleep Really Help an F1 Team Go Faster?” video.

F1 fans saw during first practice on Thursday how critical quick reaction times are. Numerous drivers had near-misses with one another when a GPS hiccup left teams unable “to monitor car position and closing speed,” per the FIA.

The lead-up to the grand prix weekend isn’t the only fixation when tackling jet lag; recovery also is a component. After Australia, F1 has an unusual four-week (or three weekends) break with the cancellation of the Chinese Grand Prix. This will allow drivers and teams to catch up on rest as they reset to European hours, but the recovery journey extends beyond a few hours of shut-eye.

Part of this recovery is nutrition, Italiano said. Drinking plenty of water, stretching, massaging and eating “quality nutritious foods” all help drivers reset and recover, whether during a solo race or when F1 heads into the doubleheaders and tripleheaders later this year.

Though Australia is a long journey with a hefty time change, some drivers like Bottas have found the positives in the experience. However, the reason may be different from what fans expect.

“It’s a long trip and exhausting, and I always feel like it’s worth it,” he said. “And actually, one thing that I enjoy here is the difference in the time zone, especially when you have a holiday, because then nobody can really reach you in the daytime. It’s pretty cool.”

 

[Levi 2592]

 

As a Star Wars fan I had no clue that red bull did this. The car is meh but the pit crew and especially their helmets are pretty cool. 

[Guest]

Looks like a clown show.

[Burt Macklin 19050]

It sucks that we have to wait four weeks until our next race, but one upside is that probably every team but Haas will bring significant upgrades. If Ferrari or Merc are going to figure out something with their car with what they learned from testing it should get on the car in Baku. Same for Aston, if they are going to develop rapidly this year, we should see the first evidence there. Supposedly RB has a big upgrade planned for Baku, so I guess we could also see the gap grow even more considering how well all their upgrades seem to work. 

[kevwun 15878]

Aston needs an engine upgrade.  They've got the aero figured out, but Mercedes and Red Bull are both faster on the straights.

[Burt Macklin 19050]

3 hours ago, kevwun said:

Aston needs an engine upgrade.  They've got the aero figured out, but Mercedes and Red Bull are both faster on the straights.

They use the exact same engine as Merc. It’s not an engine issue, it’s an aero issue. Their car is too draggy compared to the others. Their floor is still very basic, so they have more room to develop than probably any other team on the grid. 

[wood 11260]

5 hours ago, Burt Macklin said:

It sucks that we have to wait four weeks until our next race, but one upside is that probably every team but Haas will bring significant upgrades. If Ferrari or Merc are going to figure out something with their car with what they learned from testing it should get on the car in Baku. Same for Aston, if they are going to develop rapidly this year, we should see the first evidence there. Supposedly RB has a big upgrade planned for Baku, so I guess we could also see the gap grow even more considering how well all their upgrades seem to work. 

Yep. Aston says they're bringing upgrades to Baku, Imola, and Montreal. Many are speculating that at some point they'll try to bring a rear wing similar to RBR's. Who knows if that would work, though, because the rear ends of those two cars aren't really the same, due to the Merc pu and rear axle, and the gearbox that's optimized for Merc's aero package.

Edited April 4, 2023 by wood

[Dutch 4479]

Apparently Massa's considering suing over the 2008 WDC after Bernie ran his mouth last week about crashgate. You distinguished surly assholes who were enthusiasts of F1 during the 2008 season.... any chance this succeeds?

https://us.motorsport.com/f1/news/massa-to-look-into-legal-options-over-2008-f1-title-outcome-/10453166/

Edited April 5, 2023 by Dutch

[ConferenceRoom 6146]

I don't know but Felipe Massa deserves a WDC. Yes, I know, deserve's got nothing to do with it. 

[wood 11260]

25 minutes ago, Dutch said:

Apparently Massa's considering suing over the 2008 WDC after Bernie ran his mouth last week about crashgate. You distinguished surly assholes who were enthusiasts of F1 during the 2008 season.... any chance this succeeds?

https://us.motorsport.com/f1/news/massa-to-look-into-legal-options-over-2008-f1-title-outcome-/10453166/

I dunno the legalities, 'cuz not a lawyer, but I'm not sure Bernie knowing really gives Massa that much of a case ... but who knows. My first reaction when I heard that stuff from Bernie initially was that he said for a reason. He's old, but his intellect & craftiness is still very much intact. I just wonder what the reason was. Maybe it was said to help Massa, or maybe something else, but Bernie doesn't saying anything, even crazy shit, without a reason for saying it.

[Buzzrock 14937]

https://instagram.com/stories/natalie_pinkham/3074211832974436692?utm_source=ig_story_item_share&igshid=YmMyMTA2M2Y=

[wood 11260]

How rude ...

[VABuckeye 2472]

On 4/3/2023 at 8:39 PM, Chewbacca said:

Yeah, he did.  But there had to be a penalty for that, right?  I think what he got was too harsh, but no penalty seems wrong, too.

Agreed but a five second penalty on a formation lap?   They knew what the result of that would be and they did it anyway.  And did it with no penalty to two other drivers who caused major incidents (Sargent and Gasly).

Edited April 6, 2023 by VABuckeye

[wood 11260]

1 hour ago, VABuckeye said:

Agreed but a five second penalty on a formation lap?   They knew what the result of that would be and they did it anyway.  And did it with no penalty to two other drivers who caused major incidents (Sargent and Gasly).

I agree Sargeant should have had a penalty, but I'm not sure Gasly knew Ocon was there, and Ocon stuck it in there when Gasly was already re-entering and was of course going to be coming back to the right. Sticking it into a narrowing gap is a habit for Ocon. Racing incident, for me at least. That's collision #1 for Gasly and Ocon. I wonder how many we'll see between them.

Re: Sainz's penalty, it does suck for him, but the stewards had to penalize him imho, and that was the smallest penalty they have available to them within the rules. I've always said that they should have a penalty available that simply moves a driver down x number of positions in the final classification. That would have worked great here imho, but it's not an option within the rules.

[deft 6879]

Someone’s gotta go something about this French on French violence.

[wood 11260]

26 minutes ago, deft said:

Someone’s gotta go something about this French on French violence.

Ne pouvons-nous pas tous nous entendre?

[utee94 15861]

14 hours ago, deft said:

Someone’s gotta go something about this French on French violence.

Encourage it?

[Burt Macklin 19050]

Reddit actually has a decent thread on how to deal with red flags, and I saw a pretty good idea that if a Safety Car turns into a red flag, they should go back to the order of the cars at the time of the safety car. That way stewards have time to decide if a red flag is required, but cars that out under SC before a red flag is determined aren’t completely screwed over like Russell and Sainz last week. This seems like the fairest way to handle red flags instead of just making teams completely guess if a SC will turn into a red flag. 

[wood 11260]

Yeah, when the standing restarts were first mentioned I think most people were excited about it, including me to some extent. But it’s clear that they don’t really work … especially in the closing stages of a race. They should just end the race if a red flag occurs so late in the race. Stretching out 4 laps for another hour is just going to turn people off, just as it's doing with NASCAR. By the old rules, a red flag after 75% would instantly end the race and the result was taken from 2 laps earlier. We can quibble about whether it should be 75%, or whatever, but that sounds good to me.
 

[utee94 15861]

21 minutes ago, wood said:

Yeah, when the standing restarts were first mentioned I think most people were excited about it, including me to some extent. But it’s clear that they don’t really work … especially in the closing stages of a race. They should just end the race if a red flag occurs so late in the race. Stretching out 4 laps for another hour is just going to turn people off, just as it's doing with NASCAR. By the old rules, a red flag after 75% would instantly end the race and the result was taken from 2 laps earlier. We can quibble about whether it should be 75%, or whatever, but that sounds good to me.
 

Yeah for me it's probably more like 85% but even at 75 it would be better than what has ended up happening.  

And I, too, liked the idea.  Until I saw the way it was carried out in practice.

[utee94 15861]

In unrelated news, I stumbled across this racing sim of Monza as it would have been for the Word Sportscar endurance race in 1966.  It recreates the track configuration as it was setup then for the sportscar series for a few years in the late 60s, utilizing both the oval and the road course.  I knew they did this but could never really picture how it worked.  But following a few laps of this, I can now see it clearly.  And, I now wish I'd been born 30 years earlier.  In Italy, I guess.

 

 

 

 

Anyway, I just thought it was really cool to see the track in that configuration.

[G650 14277]

16 hours ago, wood said:

 They should just end the race if a red flag occurs so late in the race. 

This

[NoName 16397]

Luke Smith @ Athletic: Red Bull’s RB19 isn’t the fastest F1 car ever. It could be the most dominant.

 

Spoiler

Early in the Saudi Arabian Grand Prix, Lewis Hamilton looked into his rearview mirrors and saw Max Verstappen lining up a move.

Just two years after going head-to-head with Verstappen in a historically toxic and controversial title fight, Hamilton knew he had no chance of keeping the navy blue Red Bull behind him. He didn’t even put up a fight.

“I’ve never seen a car so fast,” said Hamilton. As a seven-time world champion in his 17th F1 season, Hamilton knows quite a bit about the fast cars.

Verstappen’s overtake on Hamilton in Jeddah was one of many in his breezy recovery from 15th on the grid to second, finishing behind teammate Sergio Pérez. The Australian GP saw Verstappen make it three wins in three races for Red Bull, negotiating the flurry of red flags and safety cars to continue the team’s perfect start to the season.

 

The Red Bull RB19 car is so dominant, this year’s championships already look settled. Mercedes’ George Russell even said in Australia he thought Red Bull was “holding back,” and that the team was “almost embarrassed” to show its full potential in races, for fear the rules could change to rein in its performance. Ferrari boss Fred Vasseur noted the car has “a mega big DRS effect, bigger than everybody else,” saying, “we have to understand how they are able to do something like this.”

If Red Bull continues to ride roughshod over the field, the RB19 could enter the pantheon of the greatest F1 cars of all-time. But does that mean it’s the fastest ever?

For comparison, let’s look at two of the cars widely regarded as the quickest in F1 history: Ferrari’s F2004 car from 2004, and the Mercedes W11 from 2020. For a long time, the F2004 held lap records at a number of F1 circuits, only to be beaten by the W11 as F1’s rules (which strictly govern how cars are designed) allowed the cars to get quicker and quicker.

The RB19 vs. the all-time greats

Ferrari F2004 (2004)	14 (17)	12	14
Mercedes W11 (2020)	13 (17)	15	9
Red Bull RB19 (2023, to date)	3 (3)	3	2

We could all say which is our favorite. The W11 was a beast, but the sound of the V10 in the Ferrari’s F2004 is hard to beat. Objectively, the answer is pretty clear. All three cars took pole position for their respective year’s Bahrain Grand Prix. The comparison isn’t perfect, given changes in regulations and conditions — the 2004 race was run in daytime — but it’s the closest we’ll get to a guide.

Michael Schumacher’s pole time in the Ferrari F2004 was 1m30.139s. Under that year’s rules, he had to complete Q2 — then a one-lap shootout system — with his race starting fuel, but given he pitted on Lap 9, there can’t have been a ton of fuel in the car. He was also on grooved tires; it wasn’t until 2010 F1 returned to using slicks.

 

Michael Schumacher driving the Ferrari F2004. (Nico Casamassima/AFP via Getty Images.)

In the 2020 Bahrain race, the Mercedes W11 was by then near the end of its development cycle, as the pandemic-induced calendar reshuffle pushed the Sakhir track to the third-to-last round of the season. Still, Lewis Hamilton’s pole time of 1m27.264s, even on slick tires and low fuel, puts the car a step ahead of the Ferrari.

In fact, Schumacher’s time would have put him only ahead of Nicholas Latifi on the Bahrain 2020 grid — a sign of the overall speed of that generation of cars. Hamilton’s fastest race lap may have been slower, but this was because in 2004, refueling meant the cars could run light throughout instead of slowly burning off a full tank through the race, as they do now.

This year, Verstappen’s pole time was 1m29.708s. Compared to the 2020 regulations, the cars have become heavier by around 48 kilograms (106 pounds) and more sluggish in slow-speed corners because of aerodynamic rule changes. Schumacher’s 2004 lap would have got him 11th on the grid, missing out on a Q3 spot by three-tenths of a second.

The Bahrain comparison

Ferrari F2004 (2004)	1m30.139s	1m30.252s	P1, P2
Mercedes W11 (2020)	1m27.264s	1m32.864s	P1, P8
Red Bull RB19 (2023)	1m29.708s	1m36.236s	P1, P2

There you have it: The Mercedes W11 is fastest F1 car ever.

The Red Bull RB19 will be developed further and get quicker as the season goes on, but the 2020 cars are likely to remain the fastest F1 has ever seen for quite some time, given F1’s focus on using the regulations to provide competitive racing, not outright speed.

Speed vs. dominance

So, when Hamilton said he’d never seen a car as fast as the RB19, he has wrong. But let’s give him the benefit of the doubt, and assume he was speaking comparatively, rather than objectively. That changes the standard from “fastest car ever” to “most dominant car ever.”

And there, the RB19 has a shot.

Again, both the F2004 and W11 are in that conversation, but the car that is regarded as the most dominant ever is the 1988 McLaren MP4/4, driven by Ayrton Senna and Alain Prost. If you think Red Bull’s advantage this is year is big, it’s nothing compared to McLaren in 1988, when it would regularly outpace the field by a full second in qualifying.

 

Ayrton Senna and Alain Prost fight for the lead at the 1988 Belgian GP in the McLaren MP4/4. (Paul-Henri Cahier/Getty Images)

The MP4/4 won 15 of the 16 races in 1988, the only blot on its copybook coming at the Italian Grand Prix, when Senna collided with Jean-Louis Schlesser (whom he was lapping at the time) and Prost retired due to an engine issue. McLaren ended the year with a strike rate of 93.8%.

The closest a team has come since to matching such domination was Mercedes in 2016, when it won 19 out of 21 races (90.5%) and set a record for the most victories in a single season. Red Bull certainly has a shot at these records with the RB19. It’s 3-and-0 so far, and is working on making the car even quicker.

A question of dominance

McLaren MP4/4 (1988)	15 (16)	93.8
Mercedes W07 (2016)	19 (21)	90.5
Ferrari F2002 (2002)	15 (17)	88.2
Mercedes W06 (2015)	16 (19)	84.2
Mercedes W05 (2014)	16 (19)	84.2
Red Bull R19 (2023, to date)	3 (3)	100

What makes the challenge even greater for Red Bull this year is the sheer number of races in 2023. Staying perfect over 23 races will be an enormous ask. For one thing, work is ongoing at Mercedes and elsewhere to improve its competition. For another, Red Bull has had its aerodynamic testing time cut by 10% as punishment for breaching the cost cap in 2021, which could limit its own development as the season goes on.

The very fact it is even a conversation shows just how good the Red Bull looks this year. There’s a long way to go, but 2023 could be a big, record-breaking year for the team — and the sport.

 

[wood 11260]

:Sigh: These stupid fucks just can't stop stepping on their own dicks. I don't know if any of these asshats have noticed, but the current format is NOT broken. Ratings are through the roof. Attendance is maybe the best it's ever been. So of course, they simply can't restrain themselves from fucking with it, tryong to fix it. Unreal. What a bunch of clowns. They won't be happy until the golden goose is dead, floating in the water. 

https://racer.com/2023/04/06/all-teams-agreed-on-sprint-changes-to-two-race-f1-weekends/

Quote

All Formula 1 teams have agreed an updated Sprint format that will see two races from the Azerbaijan Grand Prix weekend onwards, with Saturdays becoming a standalone event with a separate qualifying session.

To address concerns that the FP2 session on a Saturday morning was largely pointless during a Sprint weekend — taking place after Friday’s qualifying so cars were under parc ferme conditions — the format change has been discussed to replace FP2 with a competitive session.

Now, FP1 will be followed by Friday qualifying to set the grid for Sunday’s grand prix, with Saturday becoming solely about the Sprint. A morning qualifying session will follow a similar format to the usual Q1/Q2/Q3 schedule but with shorter timings so that only one lap is possible in Q3, and that will set the grid for the Sprint that same day that will carry the same points as previously.

So even less running of F1 cars on Saturday now? FP3 + Q = 2 hours. SprintQ&R will be much less than that. Probably only about an hour total. Saturday will become a travel day to see races on Sunday. Essentially we'll have back to back qualifying sessions over Friday afternoon and Saturday morning, with the same format, just shorter on Saturday. And it sounds like parc ferme starts with the beginning of Friday qualifying. So then we'll get another qualifying session on Saturday with cars running the exact same spec as Friday. Awesome. 

Here's an idea, if they absolutely must have sprint weekends. Have FP1 and the Sprint on Friday with the grid set by reverse points. Then FP2 and Qualifying on Saturday. Points for Sprint races go to the Sprint championship, not the actual championship. Having two Qualifying sessions back to back with the cars in parc ferme is beyond idiotic.

 

 

Edited April 7, 2023 by wood

[NoName 16397]

17 minutes ago, wood said:

:Sigh: These stupid fucks just can't stop stepping on their own dicks. I don't know if any of these asshats have noticed, but the current format is NOT broken. Ratings are through the roof. Attendance is maybe the best it's ever been. So of course, they simply can't restrain themselves from fucking with it, tryong to fix it. Unreal. What a bunch of clowns. They won't be happy until the golden goose is dead, floating in the water. 

https://racer.com/2023/04/06/all-teams-agreed-on-sprint-changes-to-two-race-f1-weekends/

So even less running of F1 cars on Saturday now? FP3 + Q = 2 hours. SprintQ&R will be much less than that. Probably only about an hour total. Saturday will become a travel day to see races on Sunday. Essentially we'll have back to back qualifying sessions over Friday afternoon and Saturday morning, with the same format, just shorter on Saturday. And it sounds like parc ferme starts with the beginning of Friday qualifying. So then we'll get another qualifying session on Saturday with cars running the exact same spec as Friday. Awesome. 

Here's an idea, if they absolutely must have sprint weekends. Have FP1 and the Sprint on Friday with the grid set by reverse points. Then FP2 and Qualifying on Saturday. Points for Sprint races go to the Sprint championship, not the actual championship. Having two Qualifying sessions back to back with the cars in parc ferme is beyond idiotic.

reverse grid will never happen because they don't want to stand up to the big teams. pathetic. that would be awesome to watch.

Edited April 7, 2023 by NoName

[Prepuce of Doom 21103]

Just finished Australia (doing a very poor job so far at keeping my New Year's resolution to watch live more often...) but that was a NASCAR Truck Series-level shitshow. 

[Guest]

Offseason sucks.

[Goofyboy 3296]

reverse grid will never happen because they don't want to stand up to the big teams. pathetic. that would be awesome to watch.

Why would a team ever agree to it? The amount of crashes that happen on lap one would keep me from agreeing to it.

[Guest]

Honestly, if you're Red Bull there may be a Sprint Race later in the season where you say, nah, I'm good.

[wood 11260]

Sprints are stupid anyway.

Hell, under the current rules, they have to run the cars like they're in an endurance race as it is. Having a sprint under those conditions is tripling down on the stupid.

[utee94 15861]

I like the sprint races.

More racing = good

The stakes could be altered, but I'm cool with the change of pace in the format from time to time.

[wood 11260]

:notf1: Marquez out for this weekend at COTA. Can't blame him. I can't imagine riding there with a broken anything.

[dieucla98 2942]

30 minutes ago, utee94 said:

I like the sprint races.

More racing = good

The stakes could be altered, but I'm cool with the change of pace in the format from time to time.

Agreed - the Sao Paulo sprint was great racing and highly entertaining and that's ultimately why I watch - to be entertained.

[wood 11260]

2 hours ago, FirstTimeCaller said:

Offseason sucks.

Here, maybe this will help.

 

[Pescado_Rojo 19428]

1 hour ago, FirstTimeCaller said:

Honestly, if you're Red Bull there may be a Sprint Race later in the season where you say, nah, I'm good.

"Danny, want to run the sprint race next weekend? Max is going to have a stomach bug"

[ConferenceRoom 6146]

That doesn't save the car if it goes into the wall or gets attacked by Ocon. 

[Guest]

56 minutes ago, ConferenceRoom said:

That doesn't save the car if it goes into the wall or gets attacked by Ocon. 

Yeah, that was my thinking when I said that. Max seems like he could race 24/7 if he could. But it's just that much more stress and risk on the hardware.

[wood 11260]

Something's been bugging me about this announced new sprint format, but I couldn't put my finger on it until now (while listening to the podcast linked below). Why have they put GP Qualifying on Friday, before Sprint Qualifying and the Sprint?

It seems to me that ...

Fri: FP, Sprint Qualifying
Sat: Sprint Race, GP Qualifying
Sun: GP

... makes far more sense. Then you could have parc ferme from the start of Sprint Q until the start of the Sprint, then open it until the start of GP Qualifying. It also prevents you from having two Qualifying sessions back to back with the cars in parc ferme the whole time, allowing for more variability between the Sprint portion of the weekend and the GP portion.

 

Edited April 11, 2023 by wood

[ChickenSandwich 9852]

3 minutes ago, wood said:

Something's been bugging me about this announced new sprint format, but I couldn't put my finger on it until now (while listening to the podcast linked below). Why have they put GP Qualifying on Friday, before Sprint Qualifying and the Sprint?

It seems to me that ...

Fri: FP, Sprint Qualifying
Sat: Sprint Race, GP Qualifying
Sun: GP

... makes far more sense. Then you could have parc ferme from the start of Sprint Q until, the start of the Sprint, then open it until the start of GP Qualifying. It also prevents you from having two Qualifying sessions back to back with the cars in parc ferme the whole time, allowing for more variability between the Sprint portion of the weekend and the GP portion.

 

Only makes sense if Saturday was a one lap qualification format. As is, agreed. 
 

Fri’s 90 min practice makes sense before the GP quali. Having no practice before GP quali on a Saturday is probably the reason for the schedule. 
 

In a way it makes the Sprint quali a little less predictable with no practice beforehand on Saturday

Edited April 11, 2023 by ChickenSandwich

[wood 11260]

Just now, ChickenSandwich said:

Only makes sense if Saturday was a one lap qualification format. As is, agreed. 

Yep. Having two of the same format Q sessions is stupid af. Esp back to back. Fucking morons.

[wood 11260]

Bastianini also confirmed out for COTA, while rehabbing his shoulder. Oliveira also still not confirmed, pending medical eval Thursday.

This is starting to look like the 'Replacements GP of the Americas'.

[elfenix 34332]

13 hours ago, Goofyboy said:

Why would a team ever agree to it? The amount of crashes that happen on lap one would keep me from agreeing to it.

do it in formula vee cars. 

[Burt Macklin 19050]

10 hours ago, wood said:

Bastianini also confirmed out for COTA, while rehabbing his shoulder. Oliveira also still not confirmed, pending medical eval Thursday.

This is starting to look like the 'Replacements GP of the Americas'.

Add to that Pecco Bagnaia’s inevitable crash and there’s really not going to be much to see in the race. 

[wood 11260]

Not F1, but. In Portimao...

Luckily nobody was in the stands and the driver was uninjured. Maybe time for a rethink of that's turn's safety features?

Edited April 14, 2023 by wood

[wood 11260]

 

[Updawg 2286]

Damn. Those people were lucky


Brake failure or something ?

[wood 11260]

37 minutes ago, Updawg said:

Brake failure or something ?

That's my guess. Or maybe a puncture.

[dieucla98 2942]

41 minutes ago, Updawg said:

Damn. Those people were lucky


Brake failure or something ?

Fence failure.

[Anton Chigurh 3319]

The gravel isn’t nearly deep enough there. It didn’t slow the car down at all. Nor did it for Pol Espargaro’s bad crash in MotoGP