2022 Formula 1 Season thread

[Pezimak]

I used to have a chipped box where I could watch the SkyF1 channel and pretty much every Sky channel for about £50 and did that for a few years. I found though I am not getting time on a Sunday to sit down and watch races like I could when I was in my 20’s. I just stick with highlights now or YouTube roundups. Nearly all my F1 loving friends who used to go to GP’s years ago have ceased watching altogether. The Sky deal killed a huge audience off in the UK and it’s never recovered and I know the same happened in Spain, France and Germany. I have toyed with the idea of going back to IPTV and getting a Sky feed back on the cheap again but yet to do it. Not paying full price for Sky and never will.

I worked out I can plug my new iPad Pro into my TV. I don't get it full screen but as it's a 55" the picture size is still decent enough to watch. I'll take this route, a VPN and the F1 TV app, although they said they will ban you and not refund you if they find out your using the app and not in the US etc. I refuse now to pay for Skys monopoly. I may also look into this IPTV too.
I will reduce my package to the minimum others want in the house, if it were up to me Sky would be gone completely. I now the teams were also upset with Sky having the monopoly on the TV rights. Some have expressed they want it back on terrestrial TV even.

 

[pachyderm]

1	16	Charles Leclerc	FERRARI	1:19.861	1:19.969	1:18.750	12
2	1	Max Verstappen	RED BULL RACING RBPT	1:20.091	1:19.219	1:19.073	16
3	55	Carlos Sainz	FERRARI	1:19.892	1:19.453	1:19.166	16
4	63	George Russell	MERCEDES	1:20.218	1:19.470	1:19.393	14
5	11	Sergio Perez	RED BULL RACING RBPT	1:20.447	1:19.830	1:19.420	17
6	44	Lewis Hamilton	MERCEDES	1:20.252	1:19.794	1:19.512	15
7	77	Valtteri Bottas	ALFA ROMEO FERRARI	1:20.355	1:20.053	1:19.608	18
8	20	Kevin Magnussen	HAAS FERRARI	1:20.227	1:19.810	1:19.682	18
9	3	Daniel Ricciardo	MCLAREN MERCEDES	1:20.549	1:20.287	1:20.297	15
10	47	Mick Schumacher	HAAS FERRARI	1:20.683	1:20.436	1:20.368	18
11	4	Lando Norris	MCLAREN MERCEDES	1:20.838	1:20.471		12
12	31	Esteban Ocon	ALPINE RENAULT	1:20.880	1:20.638		9
13	22	Yuki Tsunoda	ALPHATAURI RBPT	1:20.707	1:20.639		15
14	10	Pierre Gasly	ALPHATAURI RBPT	1:20.719	1:20.861		15
15	24	Zhou Guanyu	ALFA ROMEO FERRARI	1:20.476	1:21.094		15
16	5	Sebastian Vettel	ASTON MARTIN ARAMCO MERCEDES	1:20.954			6
17	14	Fernando Alonso	ALPINE RENAULT	1:21.043			5
18	18	Lance Stroll	ASTON MARTIN ARAMCO MERCEDES	1:21.418			6
19	23	Alexander Albon	WILLIAMS MERCEDES	1:21.645			6
20	6	Nicholas Latifi	WILLIAMS MERCEDES	1:21.915			9

 

[Pezimak]

1	16	Charles Leclerc	FERRARI	1:19.861	1:19.969	1:18.750	12
2	1	Max Verstappen	RED BULL RACING RBPT	1:20.091	1:19.219	1:19.073	16
3	55	Carlos Sainz	FERRARI	1:19.892	1:19.453	1:19.166	16
4	63	George Russell	MERCEDES	1:20.218	1:19.470	1:19.393	14
5	11	Sergio Perez	RED BULL RACING RBPT	1:20.447	1:19.830	1:19.420	17
6	44	Lewis Hamilton	MERCEDES	1:20.252	1:19.794	1:19.512	15
7	77	Valtteri Bottas	ALFA ROMEO FERRARI	1:20.355	1:20.053	1:19.608	18
8	20	Kevin Magnussen	HAAS FERRARI	1:20.227	1:19.810	1:19.682	18
9	3	Daniel Ricciardo	MCLAREN MERCEDES	1:20.549	1:20.287	1:20.297	15
10	47	Mick Schumacher	HAAS FERRARI	1:20.683	1:20.436	1:20.368	18
11	4	Lando Norris	MCLAREN MERCEDES	1:20.838	1:20.471		12
12	31	Esteban Ocon	ALPINE RENAULT	1:20.880	1:20.638		9
13	22	Yuki Tsunoda	ALPHATAURI RBPT	1:20.707	1:20.639		15
14	10	Pierre Gasly	ALPHATAURI RBPT	1:20.719	1:20.861		15
15	24	Zhou Guanyu	ALFA ROMEO FERRARI	1:20.476	1:21.094		15
16	5	Sebastian Vettel	ASTON MARTIN ARAMCO MERCEDES	1:20.954			6
17	14	Fernando Alonso	ALPINE RENAULT	1:21.043			5
18	18	Lance Stroll	ASTON MARTIN ARAMCO MERCEDES	1:21.418			6
19	23	Alexander Albon	WILLIAMS MERCEDES	1:21.645			6
20	6	Nicholas Latifi	WILLIAMS MERCEDES	1:21.915			9

Yeah sure is going to be an interesting race. RB reliability questions, but seemingly faster then the Ferrari's and George and Lewis 'potentially' catching up on the pace. And of course Sainz may crash.. again.. ?
Would be great to see George and Perez have a battle.

 

[The-Real-Deal82]

I worked out I can plug my new iPad Pro into my TV. I don't get it full screen but as it's a 55" the picture size is still decent enough to watch. I'll take this route, a VPN and the F1 TV app, although they said they will ban you and not refund you if they find out your using the app and not in the US etc. I refuse now to pay for Skys monopoly. I may also look into this IPTV too.
I will reduce my package to the minimum others want in the house, if it were up to me Sky would be gone completely. I now the teams were also upset with Sky having the monopoly on the TV rights. Some have expressed they want it back on terrestrial TV even.

The most popular one now is Duplex Play for Smarters apparently. I asked a friend who doesn’t follow F1 but watches football and he said that is by far the most reliable one now and it’s £50 a year rather than paying Sky £60-£70 a month. I might go back to it at some point although I’m a bit busy at weekends to catch the GP’s lately as I am building an extension on my house. Worth a look into though.

 

[Pezimak]

The most popular one now is Duplex Play for Smarters apparently. I asked a friend who doesn’t follow F1 but watches football and he said that is by far the most reliable one now and it’s £50 a year rather than paying Sky £60-£70 a month. I might go back to it at some point although I’m a bit busy at weekends to catch the GP’s lately as I am building an extension on my house. Worth a look into though.

Thanks, I'll take a look into that.

 

[CWallace]

So "normal service has been restored" at the 1/3rd mark of the Season with Red Bull 1+2 and Mercedes 3+5 (arguably should have been 3+4).

A race to forget for Ferrari, with LeClerc dropping out with a PU failure with a commanding lead and Sainz spinning due to a gust of wind and falling back. Finishing 4th with a last-lap pass on Lewis for position was, IMO, fortunate.

Lewis had a solid race - 19th on the last lap to 4th on the next-to-last lap. He was ready to retire on Lap 2, but the team said points were possible and they were right once Lewis put his head down and focused.

Driver of the Day for me was Russel. Did a good job keeping Max behind him (even if helped by Max's DNS working only half-the-time) and played the on-track strategy well to finish 3rd at the end.

 

[pachyderm]

Spoiler: Race Overview

So "normal service has been restored" at the 1/3rd mark of the Season with Red Bull 1+2 and Mercedes 3+5 (arguably should have been 3+4).

A race to forget for Ferrari, with LeClerc dropping out with a PU failure with a commanding lead and Sainz spinning due to a gust of wind and falling back. Finishing 4th with a last-lap pass on Lewis for 4th was, IMO, fortunate.

Lewis had a solid race - 19th on the last lap to 4th on the next-to-last lap. He was ready to retire on Lap 2, but the team said points were possible and they were right once Lewis put his head down and focused.

Driver of the Day for me was Russel. Did a good job keeping Max behind him (even if helped by Max's DNS working only half-the-time) and played the on-track strategy well to finish 3rd at the end.

Who actually won the DotD vote?

I voted for Russell.


Mercs look to be back in the hunt so maybe we have a 3 way fight for the title?

 

[The-Real-Deal82]

A good result for the Merc’s, another podium for George, get in there

 

[The-Real-Deal82]

Who actually won the DotD vote?

I voted for Russell.


Mercs look to be back in the hunt so maybe we have a 3 way fight for the title?

I voted for Lewis for the recovery drive but George would have been a worthy winner too. He got on the podium which is cool.

 

[pachyderm]

I voted for Lewis for the recovery drive but George would have been a worthy winner too. He got on the podium which is cool.

Good shout, I almost voted for LH.

He, LH, won it by the way...

 

[Phil77354]

Darn, what a disappointment for Ferrari. It will be interesting to learn what the power plant issue was that took Leclerc out.

Such an unexpected strong showing for Mercedes! Russell continues to do well and Lewis had a great drive from down the grid.

Red Bulls in control, however. Max looked to be in some trouble after that (wind-induced) spin, but as it turned out the result was terrific for him. Red Bull is looking strong . . .

Some great racing, too. Several terrific passes. Enjoyable race.

 

[Apple fanboy]

A very interesting race. Especially on a track that doesn’t usually have a lot of passing!
Shame for LeClerk to drop out. Seems like it will take a miracle for Max not to win the WC now. Only more DNF’s will stop him.
Good to see Mercedes’ up much closer with the front runners. Will be interesting to see how they can develop from here. Too late for a title, but some wins could be on the cards.
McLaren seem to be nowhere right now. What has gone so wrong?

 

[Pezimak]

RB had to work for that! But once in the lead they were gone. George did well to keep a broken RB behind him, but it showed how much faster Max was as he could keep up. Shame Max got so hot headed.
And Lewis is so defeated, calling to retire on lap 1 or 2 I think it was. No idea what Magnussen was doing though on lap 1? But then Lewis gets right up the field.

Shame RB ordered Max to win, and more if a shame Bottas couldn't fight for 3rd as he has no tyres to do it with. Bottas is my driver I think.

But notes Charles car DNF and Lewis on the last couple of laps had a water leak so had to slow down.
Also Max and Carlos spun due to wind gusts on that corner, bit dangerous.

But again, George out in front, Lewis behind.

Still and excellent battle up and down the field.

 

[Pezimak]

Who actually won the DotD vote?

I voted for Russell.


Mercs look to be back in the hunt so maybe we have a 3 way fight for the title?

I don't think they can now? It's a fair few races in now. Still we will see how it goes. Reliability playing its part across all the front teams still.

 

[NotTooLate]

I am not quite sure where all the pessimism is coming from regarding Ferrari vs RB , if anything I would say that Ferrari should come out encouraged , they had the faster car over one lap and race pace (albeit only when Charles is driving it , not sure where Carlos is.... he is soooo far from the front).
Why is it that you guys feel that Max will run away with it ? Charles hammered him on Qualy this year , and they got the tire deg figured out for this week and it showed in the race , he was winning it EASILY without the engine failure.
If you think Max will run away with it because Ferrari engines will keep blowing up , then that's a scenario that will of course be the end of Ferrari , but if we believe its a one off , as it tends to happen (mainly when its hot as it was) and get fixed , then I am far from losing hope , Charles will win Monaco barring an engine explosion.

Also that RedBull team orders were embarrassing for a team that berated Mercs for years , actually picking a **** startegy for Perez just to slow down a future leclerc pit , pitting him early in his stint , not letting him by Max when they knew they are going to pit Max soon and Max was stuck behind Russell and then telling him to let Max go instead of letting them race when he could've hold him back as Max DRS didnt work , embarrassing this early in the season , not to mention practicing a tow for Max in qualy it self .... Checo will not be winning any race where Max finishes next to him , he was SOOOO demoralized after the race , he said in the interview that he thinks he should've and would've won the race, not a good weekend for the intra team dynamics at all.

What is going on with Carlos , the guy is getting destroyed , didnt win a qualy vs Charles nor a race (when Charles finished , cant could this one) , he has the best car and cant challenge anyone , fails at the starts , fails at qualy , fails at race pace , Hamilton passing him when Carols was running its own race in clean air for most of the race was peak shame even if he did have some damage , he always finds a reason to blame for how slow he is vs Charles , they will need to use him like RB uses checo if they want to win the WDC , but that will kill the team spirit , so maybe Binotto wont go that route.

 

[pachyderm]

I am not quite sure where all the pessimism is coming from regarding Ferrari vs RB , if anything I would say that Ferrari should come out encouraged , they had the faster car over one lap and race pace (albeit only when Charles is driving it , not sure where Carlos is.... he is soooo far from the front).
Why is it that you guys feel that Max will run away with it ? Charles hammered him on Qualy this year , and they got the tire deg figured out for this week and it showed in the race , he was winning it EASILY without the engine failure.
If you think Max will run away with it because Ferrari engines will keep blowing up , then that's a scenario that will of course be the end of Ferrari , but if we believe its a one off , as it tends to happen (mainly when its hot as it was) and get fixed , then I am far from losing hope , Charles will win Monaco barring an engine explosion.

Also that RedBull team orders were embarrassing for a team that berated Mercs for years , actually picking a **** startegy for Perez just to slow down a future leclerc pit , pitting him early in his stint , not letting him by Max when they knew they are going to pit Max soon and Max was stuck behind Russell and then telling him to let Max go instead of letting them race when he could've hold him back as Max DRS didnt work , embarrassing this early in the season , not to mention practicing a tow for Max in qualy it self .... Checo will not be winning any race where Max finishes next to him , he was SOOOO demoralized after the race , he said in the interview that he thinks he should've and would've won the race, not a good weekend for the intra team dynamics at all.

What is going on with Carlos , the guy is getting destroyed , didnt win a qualy vs Charles nor a race (when Charles finished , cant could this one) , he has the best car and cant challenge anyone , fails at the starts , fails at qualy , fails at race pace , Hamilton passing him when Carols was running its own race in clean air for most of the race was peak shame even if he did have some damage , he always finds a reason to blame for how slow he is vs Charles , they will need to use him like RB uses checo if they want to win the WDC , but that will kill the team spirit , so maybe Binotto wont go that route.

I personally think VER is a much better driver than LEC. I'm rooting for LEC though. That's one reason why. The other reason is that I believe Horner is a much better team principal than that Marx Brother looking dude for Ferrari and REDBULL is better at making race cars than Ferrari as well.

Fingers crossed though.

 

[NotTooLate]

I personally think VER is a much better driver than LEC. I'm rooting for LEC though. That's one reason why. The other reason is that I believe Horner is a much better team principal than that Marx Brother looking dude for Ferrari and REDBULL is better at making race cars than Ferrari as well.

Fingers crossed though.

Much better? on the account of what ? Charles has a bigger gap to his teammate , and I dont think Perez is better the Carlos , the dream is to put both of them in the same car , but it wont happen.
Both are strong racers , but Charles has a better one lap pace , he got poles with tractors , while Max only ever got pole with a mega car.
Race wise , Max is amazing , he is aggressive and makes great moves , on that Charles is behind , but both are quick ,and If max is an overall better driver , its certainly not by "much".
Lastly , team principal wise , lets see , Mattia takes the team to places where they haven't been for years , I like him a lot !

 

[Pezimak]

I am not quite sure where all the pessimism is coming from regarding Ferrari vs RB , if anything I would say that Ferrari should come out encouraged , they had the faster car over one lap and race pace (albeit only when Charles is driving it , not sure where Carlos is.... he is soooo far from the front).
Why is it that you guys feel that Max will run away with it ? Charles hammered him on Qualy this year , and they got the tire deg figured out for this week and it showed in the race , he was winning it EASILY without the engine failure.
If you think Max will run away with it because Ferrari engines will keep blowing up , then that's a scenario that will of course be the end of Ferrari , but if we believe its a one off , as it tends to happen (mainly when its hot as it was) and get fixed , then I am far from losing hope , Charles will win Monaco barring an engine explosion.

Also that RedBull team orders were embarrassing for a team that berated Mercs for years , actually picking a **** startegy for Perez just to slow down a future leclerc pit , pitting him early in his stint , not letting him by Max when they knew they are going to pit Max soon and Max was stuck behind Russell and then telling him to let Max go instead of letting them race when he could've hold him back as Max DRS didnt work , embarrassing this early in the season , not to mention practicing a tow for Max in qualy it self .... Checo will not be winning any race where Max finishes next to him , he was SOOOO demoralized after the race , he said in the interview that he thinks he should've and would've won the race, not a good weekend for the intra team dynamics at all.

What is going on with Carlos , the guy is getting destroyed , didnt win a qualy vs Charles nor a race (when Charles finished , cant could this one) , he has the best car and cant challenge anyone , fails at the starts , fails at qualy , fails at race pace , Hamilton passing him when Carols was running its own race in clean air for most of the race was peak shame even if he did have some damage , he always finds a reason to blame for how slow he is vs Charles , they will need to use him like RB uses checo if they want to win the WDC , but that will kill the team spirit , so maybe Binotto wont go that route.

It is a well known fact that RB uses team orders, has done for years, it’s no secret or embarrassing in the slightest. It’s a none issue really and one every driver is made perfectly clear off when they join the team. As for Charles winning, well he was but Max’s car had a DRS fault so we never got to see him challenge Charles properly, if Max had DRS working he’d have blasted pass George and caught up to Charles. Not going to argue who is a better driver, I just feel some of the points your making are false.

 

[The-Real-Deal82]

It is a well known fact that RB uses team orders, has done for years, it’s no secret or embarrassing in the slightest. It’s a none issue really and one every driver is made perfectly clear off when they join the team. As for Charles winning, well he was but Max’s car had a DRS fault so we never got to see him challenge Charles properly, if Max had DRS working he’d have blasted pass George and caught up to Charles. Not going to argue who is a better driver, I just feel some of the points your making are false.

I’m not sure RB make it clear when drivers join that there are team orders to be honest. They openly deny team orders are used unless absolutely necessary. They also have three ex drivers who had issues with favouritism being showed to team mates despite public statements on the contrary. It makes sense from a management point of view to have a one and two driver, but for competitive individuals it is a harder strategy to accept. I only really support team orders if it’s late in the season and the driver behind in the points has no chance of winning the title.

 

[NotTooLate]

It is a well known fact that RB uses team orders, has done for years, it’s no secret or embarrassing in the slightest. It’s a none issue really and one every driver is made perfectly clear off when they join the team. As for Charles winning, well he was but Max’s car had a DRS fault so we never got to see him challenge Charles properly, if Max had DRS working he’d have blasted pass George and caught up to Charles. Not going to argue who is a better driver, I just feel some of the points your making are false.

He was falling behind before his spin (which was his mistake as he was pushing and trying to stay in touch ) , also not related to anything you wrote , but I reddit , when Charles spun in Imola the sub went "look how the pressure is getting to him , he cant keep up " , when Max is struggling to keep up and spins then it was the Almighty wind and ppl just brush it aside , regarding the RB team orders , you could see in Checo interviews he was very unhappy and made a point that he would've won the race if allowed to , doesn't seem like something that is obvious or was made perfectly clear when he signed , to me it seems like you made that one up , if you can link anywhere to a source it would be great.

Both are great , I just find it annoying when ppl say Max is unstoppable and Charles has no chance when nothing so far suggested it , Max won 1 WDC in 8 years in top cars , sure he couldn't win any other WDC as the Bulls were no where near the Mercs , but the amount of hype around him has gone beyond any reason, I actually like Max , but his fans are making it impossible to like as a Ferrari fan.

Good season so far , I feel its far from over regardless of the "Max is unbeatable when he finishes the race, all he needs is fixed reliability and its over" .

 

[Apple fanboy]

I’d have liked Perez to win, ignore team orders and come out with the classic ‘not bad for a number two driver!’

 

[Phil77354]

Team orders? Haven't there always been these debates, are they good or bad, do teams have them or not? Teams will do what they feel is in their best interest - always - and if they have a 1-2 locked up then they will be asking themselves if there is an advantage to have one driver vs another finish first, and then make sure that is the way it turns out. In this case RB obviously feel that Max is most likely to win the championship, so they will give those orders whether overt or not.

Ferrari will do the same for Charles in the equivalent situation, I am sure.

And they will also criticize the other team when they do the same thing they do themselves - psychological warfare!

 

[Pezimak]

I’m not sure RB make it clear when drivers join that there are team orders to be honest. They openly deny team orders are used unless absolutely necessary. They also have three ex drivers who had issues with favouritism being showed to team mates despite public statements on the contrary. It makes sense from a management point of view to have a one and two driver, but for competitive individuals it is a harder strategy to accept. I only really support team orders if it’s late in the season and the driver behind in the points has no chance of winning the title.

Absolutely, by design a driver is competitive and must annoy them no end when the order is give, but it’s been the nature of the sport for years now. I say let them race each other, but then you have the risk of a collision and neither driver finishing.

 

[Pezimak]

He was falling behind before his spin (which was his mistake as he was pushing and trying to stay in touch ) , also not related to anything you wrote , but I reddit , when Charles spun in Imola the sub went "look how the pressure is getting to him , he cant keep up " , when Max is struggling to keep up and spins then it was the Almighty wind and ppl just brush it aside , regarding the RB team orders , you could see in Checo interviews he was very unhappy and made a point that he would've won the race if allowed to , doesn't seem like something that is obvious or was made perfectly clear when he signed , to me it seems like you made that one up , if you can link anywhere to a source it would be great.

Both are great , I just find it annoying when ppl say Max is unstoppable and Charles has no chance when nothing so far suggested it , Max won 1 WDC in 8 years in top cars , sure he couldn't win any other WDC as the Bulls were no where near the Mercs , but the amount of hype around him has gone beyond any reason, I actually like Max , but his fans are making it impossible to like as a Ferrari fan.

Good season so far , I feel its far from over regardless of the "Max is unbeatable when he finishes the race, all he needs is fixed reliability and its over" .

Max’s spin was due to wind, they have sensors all over the car and track so they knew exactly what it was. You can argue if he made a mistake or not but need to remember Sainz did the exact same thing. Drivers do get put under pressure, it’s the nature of racing with your opponent right behind you lap after lap. It’s how they handle it that’s key and partly why they are paid the big bucks. I think Charles is more then able to battle with Max and hold his own as he’s proven. And don’t go on Redit or You Tube, real cesspit of biased comments.

 

[The-Real-Deal82]

Absolutely, by design a driver is competitive and must annoy them no end when the order is give, but it’s been the nature of the sport for years now. I say let them race each other, but then you have the risk of a collision and neither driver finishing.

It can become a very difficult situation to manage. I know Mercedes allowed drivers to race in ‘14, ‘15 and ‘16 and by the time Nico won the title the situation had become very volatile with drivers barely on speaking terms. At McLaren in 2007 the team refused to employ team orders and we saw a team split down the middle with both sides of the garage in fierce competition with mechanics/colleagues barely speaking to each other. In the end they lost the title because of mismanagement and I think the whole paddock learned from that. Still, I think it can work as long as both drivers are aware they will be supported as long as they qualify better and maintain a better race pace. It starts to fall down when a team asks a driver to slow their pace in order for the other teammate to catch up like we’ve seen in recent seasons. I can why Perez and even Bottas and Danny Ric have been pee’d off.