I don't get the logic of Sprints, it is just a risk too much in this cost capping era, risk the rest of the weekend for a couple of points, but more to the point, it should be the afternoon race on Saturday, not a breakfast run.. FP1-Sprint Q, then Sprint, the Q, then Race.. Something is wrong...
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2024 Formula 1 Season thread
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Modern F1 rules are so stupid. Due to this cost cap in place, it is literally impossible to beat Red Bull as you cannot simply invest more money to try catch up.
Red Bull and Max is gifted many championship due to this cost cap in place that prevents other teams to catch up.
Red Bull and Max is gifted many championship due to this cost cap in place that prevents other teams to catch up.
We have always had 1 constructor seasons, ever since 1950, every now and again, the owners of F1, and the FIA, get bored, get creative and change the rules, there was a time some German in a red car from Italy was winning too many, the owners of F1/FIA changed the rules, some overpriced soft drink vendor started winning, then change the rules, a German owned brand with a star as an emblem, it started a series of seasons of winning, then rule change, then the cola vendor wins, change the regs, maybe some team previously the wooden spoon winners, named after a great gus, Sir Frank, they might win for a decade... Or PawPaws start.. then the rules change.. Rinse and repeat..
He’s getting a lot of praise for his performance and many seem to be saying to ignore the battle or lack of battle for first and enjoy the racing behind. Seems a strange concept but is becoming familiar.
Love the sprint race this morning. Some good fighting going on.
Lewis demonstrating his years of experience over Lando by taking p1 from him with an excellent start, followed by Lando trying to get back the hard way.
Alonso holding up the grid by doing some excellent defending. Shame his fight with Sainz was slowing down so much and created a huge gap for Checo to overtake both in one swoop. But well done Checo.
LOL Charles winching about Carlos being too agressive.
But in the end another masterclass from super Max on how this is done by just racing consistency.
Love it. Nice morning entertainment.
And then there was qualifying. Also very good. Very exciting seeing the times come in.
Can’t wait until tomorrow.
Lewis demonstrating his years of experience over Lando by taking p1 from him with an excellent start, followed by Lando trying to get back the hard way.
Alonso holding up the grid by doing some excellent defending. Shame his fight with Sainz was slowing down so much and created a huge gap for Checo to overtake both in one swoop. But well done Checo.
LOL Charles winching about Carlos being too agressive.
But in the end another masterclass from super Max on how this is done by just racing consistency.
Love it. Nice morning entertainment.
And then there was qualifying. Also very good. Very exciting seeing the times come in.
Can’t wait until tomorrow.
Starting Grid Chinese Gp 2024
Aston Martin finally finding some race pace?
Dang. Lewis did so well in the sprint. Crazy.
| 1 | 1 | Max Verstappen | RED BULL RACING HONDA RBPT | 1:34.742 | 1:33.794 | 1:33.660 | 18 |
| 2 | 11 | Sergio Perez | RED BULL RACING HONDA RBPT | 1:35.457 | 1:34.026 | 1:33.982 | 19 |
| 3 | 14 | Fernando Alonso | ASTON MARTIN ARAMCO MERCEDES | 1:35.116 | 1:34.652 | 1:34.148 | 15 |
| 4 | 4 | Lando Norris | MCLAREN MERCEDES | 1:34.842 | 1:34.460 | 1:34.165 | 15 |
| 5 | 81 | Oscar Piastri | MCLAREN MERCEDES | 1:35.014 | 1:34.659 | 1:34.273 | 16 |
| 6 | 16 | Charles Leclerc | FERRARI | 1:34.797 | 1:34.399 | 1:34.289 | 20 |
| 7 | 55 | Carlos Sainz | FERRARI | 1:34.970 | 1:34.368 | 1:34.297 | 17 |
| 8 | 63 | George Russell | MERCEDES | 1:35.084 | 1:34.609 | 1:34.433 | 20 |
| 9 | 27 | Nico Hulkenberg | HAAS FERRARI | 1:35.068 | 1:34.667 | 1:34.604 | 21 |
| 10 | 77 | Valtteri Bottas | KICK SAUBER FERRARI | 1:35.169 | 1:34.769 | 1:34.665 | 15 |
| 11 | 18 | Lance Stroll | ASTON MARTIN ARAMCO MERCEDES | 1:35.334 | 1:34.838 | 12 | |
| 12 | 3 | Daniel Ricciardo | RB HONDA RBPT | 1:35.443 | 1:34.934 | 12 | |
| 13 | 31 | Esteban Ocon | ALPINE RENAULT | 1:35.356 | 1:35.223 | 15 | |
| 14 | 23 | Alexander Albon | WILLIAMS MERCEDES | 1:35.384 | 1:35.241 | 14 | |
| 15 | 10 | Pierre Gasly | ALPINE RENAULT | 1:35.287 | 1:35.463 | 15 | |
| 16 | 24 | Zhou Guanyu | KICK SAUBER FERRARI | 1:35.505 | 8 | ||
| 17 | 20 | Kevin Magnussen | HAAS FERRARI | 1:35.516 | 6 | ||
| 18 | 44 | Lewis Hamilton | MERCEDES | 1:35.573 | 6 | ||
| 19 | 22 | Yuki Tsunoda | RB HONDA RBPT | 1:35.746 | 9 | ||
| 20 | 2 | Logan Sargeant | WILLIAMS MERCEDES | 1:36.358 | 7 |
Aston Martin finally finding some race pace?
Dang. Lewis did so well in the sprint. Crazy.
Carlos had the elbows out in the Sprint. I actually enjoyed some of it. Fernando looking very racy as well. The AMR24 is maturing quickly. I knew Max would get to the front, but was not expecting 1.3 sec a lap quicker than anyone else in the field and a 12.7 gap at the end over a 10 lap stint. Maybe some were using the Sprint as a FP session? Like or Hate Max simply can't argue with his ability behind the wheel.
I thought qualifying was entertaining. It was nice to see Bottas make it to Q3. Carlos with his off, then fit a new F Wing and go P2 was impressive. While it was a RB 1-2 it was somewhat exciting to get to the end. At least I thought it was.
It was unfortunate to see Lewis fall off the cliff in Q1 after his Sprint effort. Wasn't unexpected IMO as even someone with his talents can't overcome the W15. I'm sure every time he climbs in he thinks "What car do I have today." He must be ready to join Ferrari yesterday...
If it's dry I think we might see some good racing from near the front on back. Allot of competition between Ferrari, McLaren, and Austin Martin. Carlos will make his Ferrari very wide in the race. I think he needs to keep Sergio out of a podium to have a chance at the seat next year with the way Sergio is driving.
I thought qualifying was entertaining. It was nice to see Bottas make it to Q3. Carlos with his off, then fit a new F Wing and go P2 was impressive. While it was a RB 1-2 it was somewhat exciting to get to the end. At least I thought it was.
It was unfortunate to see Lewis fall off the cliff in Q1 after his Sprint effort. Wasn't unexpected IMO as even someone with his talents can't overcome the W15. I'm sure every time he climbs in he thinks "What car do I have today." He must be ready to join Ferrari yesterday...
If it's dry I think we might see some good racing from near the front on back. Allot of competition between Ferrari, McLaren, and Austin Martin. Carlos will make his Ferrari very wide in the race. I think he needs to keep Sergio out of a podium to have a chance at the seat next year with the way Sergio is driving.
Might be a good race for Lewis starting in 18th, he said he intends to have some fun and I hope he gets through the start chaos. Pressure is off this year but then he could do with taking a leaf out of Alonso’s book and just enjoy the racing without worrying about titles. It’s not harmed Fernando’s legacy and he’s clearly still committed and having fun. They are two of the few drivers who don’t need to win again really but can race hard and enjoy themselves. The fans and the media don’t help.
Checo is a funny one. Whenever he is under pressure, like being watched, he can clearly perform. But a) doesn’t seem to be able to maintain it for for a full length race, and b) when the focus isn’t on his seat he seems to fall asleep.
If there was no cost cap Red Bull would also be spending hundreds of millions to stay on top, so would things really change? Especially when Max is the best driver on the grid?
When Lewis was dominating we all enjoyed the racing behind. Same with Schumacher. It is just how F1 has ended up since the 1990s - one team and driver dominate so the "action" is behind them. At least we now have really competitive fields so there is a lot of action going on and it is no longer just an endless precession with the only position changes happening in the pits.
I think Mercedes waited too late to put him out and he suffered with traffic, though I expect they did so because track evolution was so pronounced. Even Perez barely made it in 15th going out just a minute or two earlier, and then he was super strong in P2 and P3.
Oh dear Lewis, I haven‘t seen any of this weekends racing, but that’s quite the surprise. Hopefully Lando can ouch a bit more and Alonso, well he’s been there before but been overtaking at the start due to lack of race pace.
Let’s hope for some bad weather so it can mix things up a bit. Question is where will Ferrari end up this weekend?
Let’s hope for some bad weather so it can mix things up a bit. Question is where will Ferrari end up this weekend?
No one knows, but it's an opportunity to try and catch up if a team wants to spend the extra money. It's the argument Red Bull fans have used for years - Mercedes spent the most (which is fact) to have the best car. Not saying this would mean any team would suddenly leap from Red Bull, but at least any one of Mercedes/McLaren/Ferrari/Aston Martin could try to reduce the gap in a quicker manner. I think it was the McLaren MP4-24, where mid way through the season HAM was essentially built a new car because the original concept for that year was underperforming.
I think a lot of people overlook this. Even during the Mercedes dominance, there was always action behind, say the top 5. There was never really a focus because there was actual racing for P1-P3 (see: HAM vs. VET). The focus on the rest of the grid TODAY is due to RB being expected to be P1 and P2 because of how much better than RB19 and RB20 is to the rest of the grid.
I think this is how F1 is and will always be - you will always have one team dominate a set of regulations until the next set of regulations comes into play. The only difference now is, we have to wait in between those regulation changes to see if anything happens. I get the idea of trying to keep F1 sustainable and all that other but it's hard to disagree that it's sort of taking away from the sport.
Great P2 drive by Lando. Earns my vote for DOD.
Thank you to Fernando for adding some brief excitement during the final 10 laps.
Thank you to Fernando for adding some brief excitement during the final 10 laps.
Pretty predictable result. 15 second lead. Grim.
But yes Alonso brought some entertainment at the end. Given his progress, I’m surprised no one else rolled the dice on fresh rubber.
Good drive from Norris. But he knows second best is the best he can get unless Max has a DNF.
I think this applies to the rest of the grid and pretty sums up this set of regulations. At this rate, I don't think anyone is going to come even close to Red Bull even towards the end of this set regulations. It's actually fascinating how Adrian Newey has designed a car where no other team can really match or even come close to. Just think about that.
If it wasn’t for the safety cars the lead would be way way bigger. Awesome consistent flawless drive again by Max Verstappen.
Indeed. He and LeClerc once again figured out how to save their tires both to get to the first Virtual Safety Car and then to keep them in sufficient form as to not need to stop again.
Fernando's tire strategy was rubbish so he was fortunate to finish as well as he did, IMO.
Newey has designed so many dominant cars that if he is your Chief Designer and you have a good driver, they will often beat the best drivers because their car will be a fair bit better. When you then also add the best driver to a Newey chassis, the combination are untouchable. And such is the case with Red Bull and Max.
The Red Bull chassis just does not stress its tires, even when pushed, thanks to how the chassis focuses air over and around the tires. So Max can push harder than anyone else which helps him make his passes and clear-air runs look so easy because he is always on much fresher tires than his peers who changed within five laps of him.
Good drives from Lando and Oscar IMO. The images of the damage to the rear diffuser on Oscar’s MCL 38 looked significant after the race. Great drive bringing it home in P8.👍
I‘d imagine a top 5 for Oscar without the impact. I was actually surprised. The contact from Daniel looked extremely minor on replay.
It‘s nice to see McLaren and Austin Martin progressing. I’m not convinced Ferrari has a significantly better set up these days. If only Lance was not in the other AMR24. Things could be exciting depending one one’s perspective….
Have to give credit to George and Lewis as well. Good drives from both in a W15 suffering from Schizoaffective Disorder .
I know, right? I couldn’t believe the call. At least he was full on after the stop. That save on 16 after dropping the R Rear was intense.
I love these races where Nico is on commentary. He is so down to earth, and brutal sometimes. He really cut through the Sky Pundit’s bull**** today. 😉
George yes, Lewis not so. Yes, the raw results looked good, but when watching the race it's mainly him getting lucky with the safety cars; in-between his moaning about his car. I find that fascinating, as George seems to just get on with it. The reference to it at 'that thing' made me gaggle.
I think it's becoming obvious Lewis has moved on to Ferrari. He spends most of his post race just laughing it off. Can’t say that I blame him.
George has far more incentive to get on with it….
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Agreed. The W15 is still junk, but I think George is adapting to it better because junk Mercedes is all he knows so he just adapts his driving style. Even so, he really had nothing for the McLarens, the Ferraris or Perez. If not for Piastri burning his tires even before his diffuser was wrecked and Alonso almost always on the wrong tire at the wrong time, it would have been an 8th and 9th finish for the three-pointed star today.
As for Lewis, I agree he just does not care anymore. He has a fat contract with Ferrari for the next couple of years and they won't put the pressure on him to perform like Mercedes would as I feel Mercedes will want to get Antonelli into the Mercedes sooner rather than later and with Lewis originally under contract through 2025, my guess was the plan was to get Antonelli into Williams next year and see how he and Lewis both did and if Kimi succeeded while Lewis struggled again, they would have shown Lewis the door and promoted Kimi.
Lewis is doing ok considering where his focus is. He’s in an uncompetitive car and turning up and doing what he needs to. He’s got less pressure on him too being a 39 year old multiple world champion with nothing to prove. I’d imagine he’s counting the races now and hoping Ferrari is the one making technical leaps for next year.
2024 CHinese GP Results:
| 1 | 1 | Max Verstappen | RED BULL RACING HONDA RBPT | 56 | 1:40:52.554 | 25 |
| 2 | 4 | Lando Norris | MCLAREN MERCEDES | 56 | +13.773s | 18 |
| 3 | 11 | Sergio Perez | RED BULL RACING HONDA RBPT | 56 | +19.160s | 15 |
| 4 | 16 | Charles Leclerc | FERRARI | 56 | +23.623s | 12 |
| 5 | 55 | Carlos Sainz | FERRARI | 56 | +33.983s | 10 |
| 6 | 63 | George Russell | MERCEDES | 56 | +38.724s | 8 |
| 7 | 14 | Fernando Alonso | ASTON MARTIN ARAMCO MERCEDES | 56 | +43.414s | 7 |
| 8 | 81 | Oscar Piastri | MCLAREN MERCEDES | 56 | +56.198s | 4 |
| 9 | 44 | Lewis Hamilton | MERCEDES | 56 | +57.986s | 2 |
| 10 | 27 | Nico Hulkenberg | HAAS FERRARI | 56 | +60.476s | 1 |
| 11 | 31 | Esteban Ocon | ALPINE RENAULT | 56 | +62.812s | 0 |
| 12 | 23 | Alexander Albon | WILLIAMS MERCEDES | 56 | +65.506s | 0 |
| 13 | 10 | Pierre Gasly | ALPINE RENAULT | 56 | +69.223s | 0 |
| 14 | 24 | Zhou Guanyu | KICK SAUBER FERRARI | 56 | +71.689s | 0 |
| 15 | 18 | Lance Stroll | ASTON MARTIN ARAMCO MERCEDES | 56 | +82.786s | 0 |
| 16 | 20 | Kevin Magnussen | HAAS FERRARI | 56 | +87.533s | 0 |
| 17 | 2 | Logan Sargeant | WILLIAMS MERCEDES | 56 | +95.110s | 0 |
| NC | 3 | Daniel Ricciardo | RB HONDA RBPT | 33 | DNF | 0 |
| NC | 22 | Yuki Tsunoda | RB HONDA RBPT | 26 | DNF | 0 |
| NC | 77 | Valtteri Bottas | KICK SAUBER FERRARI | 19 | DNF | 0 |