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Formula 1 2021

Oldddudders

By Oldddudders
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EddieB

EddieB

Posted
Posted

Despite being slightly slower than Max yesterday, Lewis had two chances. 

 

The first was that he had a better set of tyres (medium vs. hard, or new mediums vs. old mediums) for the final stint - but only if he shortened the session to maximise that advantage.  The Mercedes strategists c0cked up - they pitted him too early (is "wonder woman" back in play?) and a good pit stop fed him back out into traffic.  They over-ruled Lewis's feedback that there was plenty of life left in his first set of mediums (that seemed to work a wee bit better on his car than Max's).  Still a fair chance that a better strategy might have failed, but at least more of a fighting chance of winning.

 

The second factor was the ability of Bottas to keep Max behind for at least three or four laps - a difficult track to overtake on - not only impeding Max's race-pace, but wearing out his tyres.  Whether it was deliberate/petulance or lack of racing ability (or both), Bottas made it very easy for Max.  That he went on to set fastest lap - snatching the bonus point away from Lewis (until it was regained on the final lap) suggests petulance - and a driver who has given up on loyalty knowing that his time at Mercedes has run out. 

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Pete the Elaner

Pete the Elaner

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2 hours ago, EddieB said:

Despite being slightly slower than Max yesterday, Lewis had two chances. 

 

The first was that he had a better set of tyres (medium vs. hard, or new mediums vs. old mediums) for the final stint - but only if he shortened the session to maximise that advantage.  The Mercedes strategists c0cked up - they pitted him too early (is "wonder woman" back in play?) and a good pit stop fed him back out into traffic.  They over-ruled Lewis's feedback that there was plenty of life left in his first set of mediums (that seemed to work a wee bit better on his car than Max's).  Still a fair chance that a better strategy might have failed, but at least more of a fighting chance of winning.

 

The second factor was the ability of Bottas to keep Max behind for at least three or four laps - a difficult track to overtake on - not only impeding Max's race-pace, but wearing out his tyres.  Whether it was deliberate/petulance or lack of racing ability (or both), Bottas made it very easy for Max.  That he went on to set fastest lap - snatching the bonus point away from Lewis (until it was regained on the final lap) suggests petulance - and a driver who has given up on loyalty knowing that his time at Mercedes has run out. 

 

None of those would have worked.

 

It was not possible to follow within 2 seconds unless the car was much faster, but they were not. The lap was short & RB's pit stops are known to be faster than Merc's so it was impossible to make up the gap by pitting a lap earlier. All RB had to do was react by pitting Verstappen the lap after Hamilton then fit the same tyres.

They didn't have medium tyres available though. This was the only chance Merc had, so they tried it. After 5-10 laps, their only hope was that the hard tyres on Verstappen's car would not last. This was unlikely & they proved to be fine. The mediums were not fast enough to make a difference.

 

Regarding Bottas holding up Verstappen; he had to stay out on his initial tyres to do this. They were dead by the time Verstappen caught him up. This also made him lose loads of time so that when he did eventually pit, he was well behind.

As for the fastest lap, It is highly unusual for someone to set it with full fuel tanks or old tyres, so when he came out late on with low fuel & fresh soft tyres, fastest lap was pretty easy in F1 terms.

 

Mercedes simply didn't have the pace they needed to make a winning strategy.

Maybe it was lost in P2 when Hamilton had to sit out most of the session with a mechanical fault?

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Andrew P

Andrew P

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1 hour ago, didcot said:

Albon to Williams confirmed.

https://www.formula1.com/en/latest/article.breaking-alex-albon-returns-to-f1-race-seat-with-williams-in-2022-alongside.46oM1Ffk7ngYX3yIpyciXC.html

Yes great news and another Brit back on the Grid, and I think he will be like GR, and push into the  top of the pecking order if the Cars are the same as this years pecking order. He does have raw talent. 

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woodenhead

woodenhead

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Hasn't Gasly already been told he's staying put at Alpha Touri, Perez looks to be the weakest link in the RB arena, it's a case of will they won't they replace him if he doesn't start doing his job, it's great seeing him come from the back, but he's needed up front tussling with Mercs and forcing strategy rethinks.

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The Lurker

The Lurker

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that seems to be a problem that RB have had on and off for a few years now; the car is set up for Max who has a preference that makes the car unstable at the rear, which makes it very hard for the number two driver to get to grips with, especially over one lap. The car is generally quick, especially the back of last year and this year, so you see the number two driver slicing through the field, having initially struggled in quali, Perez more successfully than Albon, Albon initially at least more successfully than Gasly, and probably Gasly more successfully than Kvyat.

 

Gasly has since proven he is quick driver at Alpha Tauri. I would not be surprised to see Albon do well at Williams.

 

This would suggest that actually the weakest link might not be the drivers but that the Red Bull set up is useably fast for only one of its drivers. Maybe they can't get a more stable set up to go as fast as the Mercedes.

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Andrew P

Andrew P

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2 hours ago, woodenhead said:

Hasn't Gasly already been told he's staying put at Alpha Touri, Perez looks to be the weakest link in the RB arena, it's a case of will they won't they replace him if he doesn't start doing his job, it's great seeing him come from the back, but he's needed up front tussling with Mercs and forcing strategy rethinks.

 

1 hour ago, The Lurker said:

that seems to be a problem that RB have had on and off for a few years now; the car is set up for Max who has a preference that makes the car unstable at the rear, which makes it very hard for the number two driver to get to grips with, especially over one lap. The car is generally quick, especially the back of last year and this year, so you see the number two driver slicing through the field, having initially struggled in quali, Perez more successfully than Albon, Albon initially at least more successfully than Gasly, and probably Gasly more successfully than Kvyat.

 

Gasly has since proven he is quick driver at Alpha Tauri. I would not be surprised to see Albon do well at Williams.

 

This would suggest that actually the weakest link might not be the drivers but that the Red Bull set up is useably fast for only one of its drivers. Maybe they can't get a more stable set up to go as fast as the Mercedes.

Gasly and Tsunoda to remain at AlphaTauri in 2022

https://www.racefans.net/2021/09/07/gasly-and-tsunoda-to-remain-at-alphatauri-in-2022/

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RJS1977

RJS1977

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Posted
1 hour ago, Andrew P said:

Kubica to remain in absent Raikkonen’s seat for Italian Grand Prix.

 

I still think Kimi might call time, he has history of that.

 

https://www.racefans.net/2021/09/08/kubica-to-remain-in-absent-raikkonens-seat-for-italian-grand-prix/

 

Even if Kimi does return for later races, this prevents him reaching the milestone of 350 GP starts.

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RJS1977

RJS1977

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10 minutes ago, black and decker boy said:

Just rumours of the second seat at Alfa. Nick de Fryes being linked in preference to Giovanizzi 

 

 

Would I be right in thinking this would be the first time a driver has gone from FE to F1 rather than the other way around? 

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Andrew P

Andrew P

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8 minutes ago, rob D2 said:

What the sport really needs is “ characters “. 
 

I never warmed to kimi, as he didn’t really have any noticeable personality and and absolute lack of speech 

Most of the current crop of F1 Drivers are as good in front of the camera, as they are at the wheel, articulate, smiley, positive, well spoken and polite. 

Compare that to most Footballers, that's if they can fit a few words in between SPITTING.

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rob D2

rob D2

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1 hour ago, Andrew P said:

Most of the current crop of F1 Drivers are as good in front of the camera, as they are at the wheel, articulate, smiley, positive, well spoken and polite. 

Compare that to most Footballers, that's if they can fit a few words in between SPITTING.

That's true .

I think Lewis v George will get some people interested again like me , who haven't watched it for years 

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Oldddudders

Oldddudders

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1 hour ago, Andrew P said:

Nice idea

Mandatory rookie tests on Fridays “maybe something we should entertain”.

https://www.racefans.net/2021/09/09/mandatory-rookie-tests-on-fridays-maybe-something-we-should-entertain/

Yes, nice idea. A sort of planned succession, which the sport needs. But I have deep suspicions about one or two current Friday drivers, who are never going to make the F1 team in a lifetime. Roy Nissany is one such. It is my assumption that Williams get a fee for letting him drive. Will they give that up in favour of the future of the sport? And what of the inevitable damage that a whole raft of rookies will inevitably create among them from time to time? I mean, having one or two rookies among the pros is one thing, but a number of them together will  get all red-mist, Mazepin style, and not being used to the F1 speeds there is scope for lots of new bits being needed for FP2 at least. 

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Dunsignalling

Dunsignalling

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Posted (edited)
1 minute ago, Oldddudders said:

Yes, nice idea. A sort of planned succession, which the sport needs. But I have deep suspicions about one or two current Friday drivers, who are never going to make the F1 team in a lifetime. Roy Nissany is one such. It is my assumption that Williams get a fee for letting him drive. Will they give that up in favour of the future of the sport? And what of the inevitable damage that a whole raft of rookies will inevitably create among them from time to time? I mean, having one or two rookies among the pros is one thing, but a number of them together will  get all red-mist, Mazepin style, and not being used to the F1 speeds there is scope for lots of new bits being needed for FP2 at least. 

Maybe each team could keep one of the previous year's cars for that.....

 

 

Edited by Dunsignalling
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