Del Boy
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Post by Del Boy on Apr 8, 2022 15:45:51 GMT
Australia always puts on a good show and has been a favourite track of mine since it's inception. I'm hoping the upgrades to this circuit improve it. The fan day looks a cracker Batgirl, what a great four day festival of motorsport this must be.
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Post by Dirty Epic on Apr 9, 2022 14:51:24 GMT
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Batgirl
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Post by Batgirl on Apr 10, 2022 4:15:20 GMT
Interesting qualifying. It seems that all drivers are still mastering the quirks of their cars and the mechanics are busy trying to rectify Mercedes issues.
Drivers parade is currently on. Nice, they are being driven in AC Cobras this year, not the same old MG roadsters. (Love a MG roadster but a change is good!) I won't be commenting on the finish of the race as I know many of you won't want a spoiler of the results before you get a chance to watch it, as it is on in the early hours in England.
I am hoping that the drivers' comments that they don't like the Australian race not being first for the season will be noted for next year. It is too long a trip for them to come from the North to the South and I think it is a privilege to get the first race of the year. Also Melbourne is still in daylight saving earlier in the year so they won't have their issues with sunset like they had yesterday in qualifying.
Apparently 40% of tickets sold to women this year, compared to 25% in 2019.
Pity that one DRS zone has been removed for safety reasons so just three today. Apparently Fernando Alonso complained about it.
Gosh why is it always Latifi causing incidents?! Gosh Alonso could be in the top 5 the way he has started his season. Love the blue and pink of Alpine livery. Spotted Jackie Stewart behind the scenes of an interview. Gosh does he go to every race around the world? What a legend. The Fox Sports commentary is SO much better than our local Australian telecast and interviews.
Poor Vettel, though I enjoyed seeing his bike ride after P1 back to the garage. Pity he was fined $5432- for doing it, though that is like 20 cents for him!
So good luck Dan Ricciardo, hope you finish the race and get points in the top ten. I'd like to see Leclerc win the race. I'd also like to see Hamilton with points and Bottas or Perez make the podium. No logic, just a preference for drivers I like seeing do well. But my prediction is Leclerc first, Verstappen second and Norris third.
Here's to a good race.
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Del Boy
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Post by Del Boy on Apr 10, 2022 22:25:51 GMT
This race was strange in that it saw the teams run closer than the other two circuits, however not too much movement in the top six. There seemed to be plenty of movement in the field between the midfield and the back. Australia showed too that if you grain tyres these cars really struggle. Alonso went backwards after his second stop, after graining the front left. Leclerc was flying again and deserved his win. Perez, Russell and Hamilton were solid. Good to see the McLarens score well. Not so much luck for Verstappen who picked up a second DNF. Sainz really struggled here too.
Next stop Imola.
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Post by Dirty Epic on Apr 11, 2022 21:00:43 GMT
Great write up Del a good race and at least we're getting some unknowns in the races unlike recent seasons. Next stop Imola that will be immense for Ferrari right now.
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Batgirl
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Post by Batgirl on Apr 20, 2022 13:18:32 GMT
I agree with Del Boy that it was a strange race. I was hoping for a lot of passing and opportunities for many to better their positions.
The newly worked track still has some way to go. I expect that the feedback of drivers will be noted and Daniel Ricciardo has said as much; the 2023 race track will be laid with more opportunities for good racing.
Apart from that, the Melbourne crowd loved the race and I love the emergence of Ferrari with Leclerc driving possibly the best car with confidence. He managed his tyres and other cars couldn't compete with his speed, though Perez tried. Ricciardo finished the race and got points which was great for the Aussie fans. I never would have thought that Ricciardo would finish and Max Verstappen would have the DNF. I would have expected the reverse. A power unit failure is a concern for Red Bull but it is such early days of the racing calendar that anything can still happen and probably will !
George Russell's third result was a good one, and was closely followed by Lewis Hamilton. George seems a top bloke and though he still has a lot to learn, I think he is a good choice for Mercedes.
Aston Martin had their troubles with Vettel spinning into the wall and Stroll not making it into the points.
Fernando Alonso seems to be reviving his career with competitive drives and it was a shame that he ended with a DNF. When the first three positions seem set before the race's finish the mid field is really interesting. There was a lot of talk afterwards about Williams getting their first point in 2022 at tenth position by Alex Albon. Happy result for Williams.
Position Driver Team 1 Charles Leclerc Ferrari 2 Sergio Perez Red Bull 3 George Russell Mercedes 4 Lewis Hamilton Mercedes 5 Lando Norris McLaren 6 Daniel Ricciardo McLaren 7 Esteban Ocon Alpine 8 Valtteri Bottas Alfa Romeo 9 Pierre Gasly Alpha Tauri 10 Alex Albon Williams 11 Zhou Guanyu Alfa Romeo 12 Lance Stroll Aston Martin 13 Mick Schumacher Haas 14 Kevin Magnussen Haas 15 Yuki Tsunoda Alpha Tauri 16 Nicholas Latifi Williams 17 Fernando Alonso Alpine DNF Max Verstappen Red Bull DNF Sebastian Vettel Aston Martin DNF Carlos Sainz Ferrari
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Del Boy
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Post by Del Boy on Apr 27, 2022 12:01:28 GMT
Imola was similar to Australia in many respects. Not too many places to past on this historic narrow old circuit but a good race regardless. Tyre graining was a big factor here and limited some teams race. Charles Leclerc pushed his Ferrari a little too much and made the mistake which allowed Verstappen to profit. Was Charles trying too hard in front of the tifosi? Seems that way.
This weekend saw the revised sprint race. I have to say I don't like the format and while there's extra points on offer it does little to improve a race weekend.
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Post by Gene Hunt on May 1, 2022 17:30:05 GMT
28 years ago today, we lost one of the best drivers ever to race. R.I.P Ayrton Senna.
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Post by Dirty Epic on May 1, 2022 19:50:41 GMT
RIP Ayrton taken way way too soon! This is a fitting tribute .
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Post by Sam Tyler on May 1, 2022 23:50:10 GMT
28 years ago today, we lost one of the best drivers ever to race. R.I.P Ayrton Senna. A tragic weekend also with the loss the previous day of Roland Ratzenberger I remember the shock of the events so well. Thankfully track safety improved significantly and the only loss (although still one too many) since that weekend was of Jules Bianchi in 2014. Senna was a fantastic driver and who could forget the side-by-side race into Turn 1 at the 1991 Barcelona GP with Mansell only inches apart at 185mph. Mansell said after that that Senna was the only driver he'd trusted to be that steady that close and at such speed. Proper close racing that DRS has since put paid to. R.I.P. Ayrton
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