Batgirl
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Post by Batgirl on Oct 7, 2023 9:39:39 GMT
Oooh you've upset Formula One management Dirty Epic.
The Japanese F1 race really had a lot of DNFs.I was pleased for Oscar Piastri making his first F1 podium. Initially I didn't know how I felt about Oscar with the drama with his Alpine contract etc but he seems quite level headed in interviews and reminds me of his manager, Mark Webber in how laid back and quietly involved he is. Hope he continues to do well.
Race details Date: Sun, 24 Sept, 3:00 pm Track: Suzuka Circuit Race Highlights | 2023 Japanese Grand Prix 1 Netherlands M. Verstappen Red Bull 2 United Kingdom L. Norris McLaren 3 Australia O. Piastri McLaren 4 Monaco C. Leclerc Ferrari 5 United Kingdom L. Hamilton Mercedes 6 Spain C. Sainz Jr. Ferrari 7 United Kingdom G. Russell Mercedes 8 Spain F. Alonso Aston Martin 9 France E. Ocon Alpine 10 France P. Gasly Alpine 11 New Zealand L. Lawson AlphaTauri 12 Japan Y. Tsunoda AlphaTauri 13 China G.Y. Zhou Alfa Romeo 14 Germany N. Hülkenberg Haas 15 Denmark K. Magnussen Haas 16 Thailand A. Albon Williams DNF 17 United States L. Sargeant Williams DNF 18 Canada L. Stroll Aston Martin DNF 19 Mexico S. Pérez Red Bull DNF 20 Finland V. Bottas Alfa Romeo DNF
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Batgirl
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Post by Batgirl on Oct 7, 2023 10:13:40 GMT
Dan Ricciardo still isn't back for the Qatar race. New Zealand driver, Liam Lawson seems a worthy candidate for an F1 seat but there are far too many good young prospects and too many older drivers staying in the game. I like the older drivers prolonging their careers but it is hard on the prospective drivers.
I wonder if they would ever consider Reserve driver races as a few extra races throughout the year in the 'off weeks' that the main drivers take as a break. I suppose the risk of damage to a car and therefore additional expense to the team could be a problem.
This weekend is Qatar F1. I've got a qualifying session to catch up with and then there is a sprint shootout and sprint race before the actual race!
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Batgirl
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Post by Batgirl on Oct 10, 2023 13:10:52 GMT
The FIA response after the race
"The FIA notes with concern that the extreme temperature and humidity during the 2023 FIA Formula 1 Qatar Grand Prix had an impact on the wellbeing of the drivers. While being elite athletes, they should not be expected to compete under conditions that could jeopardize their health or safety. The safe operation of the cars is, at all times, the responsibility of the Competitors, however as with other matters relating to safety such as circuit infrastructure and car safety requirements, the FIA will take all reasonable measures to establish and communicate acceptable parameters in which Competitions are held. As such, the FIA has begun an analysis into the situation in Qatar to provide recommendations for future situations of extreme weather conditions.
It should be noted that while next year’s edition of the Qatar Grand Prix is scheduled later in the year, when temperatures are expected to be lower, the FIA prefers to take material action now to avoid a repeat of this scenario. A number of measures will be discussed at the upcoming medical commission meeting in Paris. Measures may include guidance for competitors, research into modifications for more efficient airflow in the cockpit, and recommendations for changes to the calendar to align with acceptable climatic conditions, amongst others. Research from other series, such as cross-country events in extreme climates, will be examined for potential applications to circuit events. The FIA’s commitment to closer cooperation between technical, safety and medical departments under the leadership of the FIA President will facilitate this process."
Albon needed help to get out of his car after the race, needing to sit on the edge as completely without any energy left and showing signs of dehydration. Logan Saergent had to finish the race early due to feeling so unwell from the 50 degree heat within the car. Stroll said he had blurry vision and felt he lost consciousness at times in the race. Ocon was physically sick in the car during the race. Those four went to hospital for check ups after race. Alonso asked if they could throw water over him during a pit stop (which they couldn't). Even Max sat on the step while waiting for his turn to be interviewed after the race and sat on the floor in the waiting room while Oscar Piastri lay on the floor trying to recover some energy.
They schedule more races than ever, include sprint shoot outs, change the tyre rules to requiring three pitstop due to the conditions affecting tyre degradation but no one thinks about the effects of those conditions on the drivers !
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Post by Dirty Epic on Oct 11, 2023 21:27:31 GMT
Very good post BG and fully agree with everything you've said there. As fit as they are the drivers aren't superhuman and god forbid it if one or more blacked out at high speed due to these conditions. Maximum I think it should be 20 races and not too sure the sprint format has really worked or added anything which wasn't there previously but at least it was an attempt to bring something new to the 'show' and alternating tracks/countries may be a good idea if the races were cut down by a couple a season going forward. Been mad busy in work so need to catch up on the race but looks a good one and congrats to Oscar Piastri winning the sprint race too and love or loathe him Max (Verstappen) on nailing a totally dominant season with the WDC early too.
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Del Boy
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Post by Del Boy on Oct 12, 2023 11:27:47 GMT
Losing consciousness in the car is a situation that could have catastrophic consequences. They need to be careful of tracks with these temperatures in the future as F1 have narrowly avoided a nasty incident here.
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Batgirl
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Post by Batgirl on Oct 21, 2023 9:19:56 GMT
I forgot to mention that of course Congratulations to Max Verstappen on achieving his third championship. It is quite remarkable that he and his car have dominated so convincingly this year. I must say I've lost a bit of interest in who wins now and pay more attention to the rest of the field.
I quite like stats and when a driver has dominated so much all year I find the rest of the field interesting.
Will Perez lose the second position to Lewis Hamilton? Absolutely possible.
Fernando Alonso could finish in the top 3 ! I don't know what Lance Stroll's problems are but he clearly has some lately. I'll be sorry to see the Aston Martin brand leave F1, love that green livery too.
2023 Standings - drivers Rank Driver Points 1 M. Verstappen Red Bull 433 2 S. Pérez Red Bull 224 3 L. Hamilton Mercedes 194 4 F. Alonso Aston Martin 183 5 C. Sainz Jr. Ferrari 153 6 C. Leclerc Ferrari 145 7 L. Norris McLaren 136 8 G. Russell Mercedes 132 9 O. Piastri McLaren 83
10 L.Stroll Aston Martin 47
Constructor Points currently - again Red Bull have it won (yawn) but the best of the rest has shown an amazing year for McLaren and nice work by Williams to be above Alfa Romeo (they've had a dreadful year with their cars). 2023 Standings Rank Constructor Points 1 Red Bull 657 2 Mercedes 326 3 Ferrari 298 4 Aston Martin 230 5 McLaren 219 6 Alpine 90 7 Williams 23 8 Alfa Romeo 16 9 Haas 12 10 AlphaTauri 5
I'm a bit behind on my watching of this weekend's races. I've been watching a show on the Cotswolds. Wow what a stunning looking place. Ok time to watch Austin qualifying - exciting Saturday night in.
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Del Boy
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Post by Del Boy on Oct 21, 2023 18:29:12 GMT
Mercedes vs Ferrari is tight in the race for second place in the constructors. Mercedes have done well considering their early season woes. I reckon they will get second.
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Batgirl
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Post by Batgirl on Nov 25, 2023 12:28:58 GMT
I haven't felt the American races really caught my interest. Bit too much hype and celebrities parading the grid. It has been a long season with more races than ever and with Max V having already won the championship my interest in the sport has waned for the moment.
The one exception for me was watching the telecast of the Las Vegas race. I really just wanted to see the cars race past the flashing lights and brightly lit casinos and ridiculously large sphere next to the track. That did not disappoint visually. It was spectacular and surprisingly turned into an eventful race. Le Clerc finished second to Verstappen beating Perez on the final straight for second spot.
Not good was the damage to Carlo Sainz's Ferrari and Ocon's car due to that drain cover incident in FP1. Damaged chassis, engine, seat, power unit, electronics and more meant Sainz's car had to be rebuilt and a ten grid penalty therefore imposed. I feel that was unfair based on the fault of a poor track inspection. The crowd missed out on watching a whole FP1 and weren't allowed in to watch FP2 due to its delay and lack of security staff etc available for crowd control.safety etc. The people attending seemed quite removed from the event even though the telecast occasionally included shots of enthused fans.
I think Leclerc showed good form and maybe with a better tyre strategy could have reached Verstappen. True Verstappen had a five second penalty (for forcing Leclerc off the track in the first lap) so his win was solid.
Disappointing and heavy crash by Lando Norris in the fourth lap and Hulkenberg DNF and Tsunoda DNF.
George Russell had the frustration of a five second penalty for contact with Verstappen.
Last race this weekend in Abu Dhabi. I think we all need a break from F1 !
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