2021 Qatar Grand Prix - Losail, Nov 19-21

[politburo]

Alfa Romeo are actually one of fastest cars on the straightline, it has been like this for quite a while, I can understand the commentators are surprised perhaps they don't much pay attention to the guys at the back.

[NL_Fer]

The word "cheating" keeps getting thrown around carelessly. It's a serious accusation, and should not be trivialized.

None of the teams are cheating. Not RB, not Merc.
All of the teams are trying their hardest to push the rules right up to their limits, but NOT past them. I can assure you significant effort is going in to making sure the car is legal at every team. Suggesting otherwise undermines the contributions and integrity of huge numbers of good people working in this sport. Many of whom will be toiling in the wee hours (probably under paid too) just to make sure they AREN'T violating the rules.

Frankly disgraceful stuff by too many around here. Give it a rest already!

Well said, pushing to the limit is what F1 is al about. Wether it is the given material, the technology or the rules. Even the drivers are pushing the limit of their own performance every weekend,

[jurinius]

Seeing RedBull doing all those experiments makes me wanna give a big Salute to Mercedes for coming back like that. More drama after this weekend if Mercedes wins.

AFAIK the RBR abreviation is obsolete right ? RBR was standing for Red Bull Renault ...

[El Scorchio]

Seeing RedBull doing all those experiments makes me wanna give a big Salute to Mercedes for coming back like that. More drama after this weekend if Mercedes wins.

AFAIK the RBR abreviation is obsolete right ? RBR was standing for Red Bull Renault ...

I use it for Red Bull Racing, which I think is the official team name.

[InsaneX_Badger]

To anyone who's been watching FP3 properly, how much truth is there to the gaps right now? I know the conditions are far from what they will be by quali and race but anyone who has much better insight would be good to know.

[El Scorchio]

Classic DiResta upon seeing the pole prediction. ‘I hope that’s wrong.’

Of course it will be, but he just can’t help himself!

[El Scorchio]

To anyone who's been watching FP3 properly, how much truth is there to the gaps right now? I know the conditions are far from what they will be by quali and race but anyone who has much better insight would be good to know.

I think as usual it’ll be much closer. The conditions will be very different come qualifying.

[Tizz]

The top RW element on the RBR is still flapping about or rocking on it’s pivot point- albeit somewhat slower- after all that tinkering.

Seems to me that it’s by design.

Correct. They are trying to repair the design. But a true solution costs a token.

[El Scorchio]

The top RW element on the RBR is still flapping about or rocking on it’s pivot point- albeit somewhat slower- after all that tinkering.

Seems to me that it’s by design.

Correct. They are trying to repair the design. But a true solution costs a token.

But it hasn’t been like it all season, so why now? They have a design that works just fine and there’s no way a team with their resources doesn’t have the correct replacement parts.

[NathanOlder]

Classic DiResta upon seeing the pole prediction. ‘I hope that’s wrong.’

Of course it will be, but he just can’t help himself!

Love how he was trying to explain Lewis being slower on the straight compared to Bottas. He was desperate to put it down to Lewis braking earlier, and not down to engine modes.

[AeroDynamic]

That wing issue has cost them valuable practice time. If the RB get comfortably beaten this weekend, then it’s starting to look like Implosion. The desperation in sweating the MCS wing with protest threats smells of that.


Whoever said that it’s a waste of time to protest the wing is right, MCS have played this very well; they will be using it till the end of the season because no new test will be implemented in time to catch anything - and that’s if there even is anything going on. The war of the wings saga this season has played out and RB have been mugged off if it turns out to be true that the MCS wing is doing something it shouldn’t, but is illegally ‘legal’ because it passes tests

[politburo]

Since the Summer break it has been like this in Qualy.

Spa (Wet), Merc +0.334 down on RedBull
Zandvoort, Merc +0.038 down on RedBull
Monza, Merc +0.411 up on RedBull
Sochi (Wet), Mixed track cond, Merc +0.705 up on RedBull
Istanbul, Merc +0.328 up on RedBull
COTA, Merc +0.209 down on RedBull
Mexico, Merc +0.350 up on RedBull
Brazil, Merc +0.438 up on RedBull
Qatar (FP3), Merc +0.341 up on RedBull

RedBull have legit only been faster at 2 tracks in the dry in the past 9 races. They have overachieved this season, and Reality is now catching up to them. The Merc F1 Team is just better, they are the gold standard. It's not really as close as the narrative pushers would love to say.

[Magicsenna_41]

They should fix there s*** flapping wing first. What a bunch of pros...

[Juzh]

Alfa Romeo are actually one of fastest cars on the straightline, it has been like this for quite a while, I can understand the commentators are surprised perhaps they don't much pay attention to the guys at the back.

Just goes to show how clueless they are. Button constantly talking about hamilton's speed starting to drop at the end of straights was baffling to me. Of course the speed is dropping as the hotlap is over at that point, he's already crossed the finish line. It's called DERATING you absolute dimwit, something you should be fully aware of as you've driven hybrid cars not too long ago Seriously, a bunch of buffoons in that commentary box.

Bottas being 10 kmh faster on one of his laps was also obvious as day down to slipstream behind ocon, yet they just wouldn't drop that 10 kmh conversation for like half an hour and mentioning power modes difference over and over again for ages, like any power mode could suddenly make 10 kmh extra in fp3.

[AeroDynamic]

quoting Mexico for your argument is a bit pointless. The Mercedes was as much slower n practice, and then even slower again in the race. the conditions pegged the RB back in Mexico during qualifying.

but I do agree the MCS has been stronger in some circuits where the conditions pegged them back in the drivers WC from maximising – Spa / Turkey / . When I tried to point this out, the RB / MV advocates weren't having it. 'thats not luck' they said. But Monza was thrown away by HAM and partly destroyed by that incident from MV.

The tides just might be turning after all. And this is why I told everybody that MV has to look at himself in Silverstone, he amassed 30+ pts lead as he should when maximising the position of having the best package at the time. Hungary wasn't his fault but Silverstone was something he could control – he could have yielded and bagged 18 its that event, and thats if he couldn't battle again for a different corner or let his team do them on strategy.

Now you look at the difference when Lewis has the better package; he moved out of max's way and lived to take the win, and I expect he will manage this phase of the championship with the better package better than MV did when he had it. Because if MCS walk away with 1-2 this weekend, those 18 pts will be really wanting.

MV/ RB have been fortunate enough to stay ahead from some events when the weather and other external circumstances helped them out a lot. It has evened out his pts loss from Hungary