2021 Spanish Grand Prix - Catalunya, May 07 - 09

[Mansell89]

Are we going to have a damp or wet track for start?

My forecast has some rain for a couple of hours just before the race.

[Mansell89]

Ignore me- looks like there’s full sunshine haha.

Must have read the wrong forecast

[politburo]

Ignore me- looks like there’s full sunshine haha.

Must have read the wrong forecast

In any case, if you watch the F3 race it will tell you a bit about how conditions may evolve through the afternoon.

[Just_a_fan]

I have not seen him say the words, but looking at them on paper I think it's being taken the wrong way.

English is not his first language and he literally says in the same speech "of course it’s the same car".

I read what he said and see it as him just saying he does not understand the reason... nothing more sister than that.

I agree. it is lost in translation. He was trying to say our setups are very different...

Which translation are you talking about? These are direct english quotes from him. „I have a little bit question mark if it is the same car” - doesn’t sound like he was trying to say that their setups were very different.
He would have not apologized if he had not meant it the way it gave the impression of. He’s not a kid anymore just because he looks like one. He’ll turn 21 in 2 days.

In fairness, he immediately corrected himself saying "of course it's the same car".

I think it's a typical young competitive person that has gone from being a reasonably big fish in a small pond to the smallest fish in the sea. Having had a great first race weekend, he's come back down to reality with a big bump. And he's hurting from it. The mark of the man will be what he does going forward. Will he be moaning or will he get his head down and sort it out? I'd give him a little longer before passing judgement on him.

[godlameroso]

Just cloudy, race on.

[mafeotul]

Just cloudy, race on.

Honest prediction on this one. Who has the car advantage? Who has the driver advantage?

[erudite450]

Just cloudy, race on.

Honest prediction on this one. Who has the car advantage? Who has the driver advantage?

It's difficult to say. I'm sure Mercedes, at least in Hamilton's hands, set their car up for the Grand Prix and I would imagine same for the Redbulls. Mercedes seemed to have the better tyre life in the first two races whether that's still the case remains to be seen.

In conclusion, too close to call.

[Mansell89]

Anyone think Bottas might play a key role in this? I just think if Hamilton and Verstappen are closely matched, Bottas might have that option to undercut or just sit off managing the tyres that little more?

Of course that relies on Lewis and Max being very close and Lewis has been mighty here.

[PlatinumZealot]

I have not seen him say the words, but looking at them on paper I think it's being taken the wrong way.

English is not his first language and he literally says in the same speech "of course it’s the same car".

I read what he said and see it as him just saying he does not understand the reason... nothing more sister than that.

I agree. it is lost in translation. He was trying to say our setups are very different...

It's a bit difficult for me to understand English, he also doesn't know well how to say what he means, because English isn't his birth language, so maybe other people can hear what he means to say.

It was mostly nervous babbling, dont worry about it.

He is clearly nervous speaking in front of the camera which makes his task of translating that much harder. I understand that Japanese is near the top of the difficulty scale of translatability into English and vice versa.

I find most Japanese sportsmen take several years to sound even a little fluent in English. Even the legendary Takuma Sato is not that fluent even after more than twenty years in the west. Kobayashi was actually very decent. Nakajima wasn't bad either. The Honda managers like Arai, Tanabe seem to find it a trying task too, they speak very slowly in English to make sure they say the right things.

[mafeotul]

Anyone think Bottas might play a key role in this? I just think if Hamilton and Verstappen are closely matched, Bottas might have that option to undercut or just sit off managing the tyres that little more?

Of course that relies on Lewis and Max being very close and Lewis has been mighty here.

I think it's pretty safe to say, Bottas will not win a single GP until the championship is decided. Same story as the year with the Diva - 2017. My gut feeling tells me this Championship will be equally decided by the second drivers and the way the teams will utilise them.

[PlatinumZealot]

Just cloudy, race on.

Honest prediction on this one. Who has the car advantage? Who has the driver advantage?

Don't start it yet! Especially the last part!
Let's avoid the driver comparisons. It's actually against forum rules because the "other side" tend to get heated and burst their blood vessels over it. You should see one year I had to ship a couple cases of aspirin and blood pressure pills to a few posters! True story. So, for the sake of their well being, do avoid the direct driver comparisons or putting down of other drivers not carrying numbers 44 or 77.

[MKlaus]

Just cloudy, race on.

Honest prediction on this one. Who has the car advantage? Who has the driver advantage?

Don't start it yet! Especially the last part!
Let's avoid the driver comparisons. It's actually against forum rules because the "other side" tend to get heated and burst their blood vessels over it. You should see one year I had to ship a couple cases of aspirin and blood pressure pills to a few posters! True story. So, for the sake of their well being, do avoid the direct driver comparisons or putting down of other drivers not carrying numbers 44 or 77.

i know their names. it's not easy fighting to maintain the reputation of a certain driver, day in day out

prediction part is easy. mercedes is the car and lewis in it. the most exciting part is looking forward to bottas fighting with williams.

[erudite450]

Anyone watching or at the circuit? What's the weather doing?

It's set up to be a brilliant grand prix anyway but we never say no to a light drizzle.

[dans79]

I find most Japanese sportsmen take several years to sound even a little fluent in English. Even the legendary Takuma Sato is not that fluent even after more than twenty years in the west. Kobayashi was actually very decent. Nakajima wasn't bad either. The Honda managers like Arai, Tanabe seem to find it a trying task too, they speak very slowly in English to make sure they say the right things.

I wonder if it's a social class, or upbringing thing. I've known a decent number of people from japan, and some of them speak nearly perfect fluent english, and others have been horrendous.

[godlameroso]

Nothing happening other than clouds. Soft tire will only be good for like 14 - 17 laps, the balance of the car with overheated and worn tires is horrible. It's the drivers that can get the most out of bad car balance that will be the fastest around here. It is definitely a two stop as I don't see the medium lasting more than 25-30 laps, the hard not much more, but may be equally fast.