2021 Dutch Grand Prix - Zandvoort Sept 3 - 5

[PlatinumZealot]

The environmentalist can kiss my bocht!

[zibby43]

[Mogster]

Several fans had their picture taken with Vettel today,[...]
They all said what a nice guy he is.

I used to get annoyed with Vettel in his Red Bull days with that damned finger and his weird exclamations when he won etc. Silly, I know. I thought also thought things like his messing around with the finishing markers after his penalty was childish. But it was heat of the moment so fair enough

These days, the guy comes across as a decent chap that one would happily spend time with. He's shown some real class too with moments like Spa this weekend.

I guess that's the difference between someone under pressure to win and someone who is just happy to be driving. A bit like Alonso these days really.

Finger boy Seb was seriously irritating, I struggled with F1 during that period.

Seb the man seems like a very decent bloke, although he still seems to revert to finger boy on track from time to time. Finger boy seems to be Vettel’s “chimp”

[RZS10]

+ 200 trucks on Monday ??? For 10 teams ?!

The motorhomes alone are all probably half a dozen trucks at least - the old one McLaren had used to be 17 trucks, the new one is "only" 8 trucks.

[Jolle]

+ 200 trucks on Monday ??? For 10 teams ?!

The motorhomes alone are all probably half a dozen trucks at least - the old one McLaren had used to be 17 trucks, the new one is "only" 8 trucks.

I believe that due to the small space available on the paddock, they are in Monaco setup minus the boats, so no big entertainment palaces. A bit like a fly-away. Those 200 trucks is racing teams and support only.

[TNTHead]

Any pace predictions? I expect apart from Merc and RB also Ferrari to be close. Wouldn't they unleash their upgraded engine here?

[Wouter]

Michael Schmidt also said how that could be possible. Also from @Tami.

[Juzh]

It'll be interesting to see if red bull managed to sort out that absurd understeer they were experiencing in hungary when they bolted on maximum wing. I think we'll know after fp2 already based on driver comments and car behaviour. If they haven't then I expect hamilton to run and hide as this track is more of less hungaroring 2.0 but with just a bit less straights.

¯\_(ツ)_/¯

[godlameroso]

It'll be interesting to see if red bull managed to sort out that absurd understeer they were experiencing in hungary when they bolted on maximum wing. I think we'll know after fp2 already based on driver comments and car behaviour. If they haven't then I expect hamilton to run and hide as this track is more of less hungaroring 2.0 but with just a bit less straights.

¯\_(ツ)_/¯

It was supposed to be a clever way of saying they'll likely use their spoon wing.

[godlameroso]

Any pace predictions? I expect apart from Merc and RB also Ferrari to be close. Wouldn't they unleash their upgraded engine here?

Some further notes on the track. Overcut will work around here because of the tires and how they wear. I got 28 laps out of the mediums before they started to go off, the biggest issue with the softs will be temperature management, I attempted one qualifying style lap and got a low 1:12, so I'm guessing that's like FP1 time or something.

If you thought Hungary was exhausting behind the wheel, boy you ain't seen nothing yet. I was actually tired from concentrating so hard for just 35 laps, the drivers have to do that in the actual car twice as long, so hats off to their fitness, they're certainly going to earn their paychecks this race.

[Just_a_fan]

How could Red Bull know where Mercedes have their sensors unless they have inside information? Or is it just a case of throw out some stuff and see if anything sticks?

[codetower]

Any pace predictions? I expect apart from Merc and RB also Ferrari to be close. Wouldn't they unleash their upgraded engine here?

Ferrari will likely bring the new engine at Turkey, maybe Russia at best. Cant bring it too early with 9-10 races still to go. They’d probably need to bring in a 5th if they bring in the 4th too early. Teams are already on their 3rd after only 12 races.

[Zynerji]

Aston Martin is my dark-horse podium pick!

[godlameroso]

How could Red Bull know where Mercedes have their sensors unless they have inside information? Or is it just a case of throw out some stuff and see if anything sticks?

They don't, what I'm understanding is that they have an idea of something they can do, and are asking the FIA for clarification so they can implement it themselves. That they're raising their aspirations from such a worthy competitor.

[Just_a_fan]

How could Red Bull know where Mercedes have their sensors unless they have inside information? Or is it just a case of throw out some stuff and see if anything sticks?

They don't, what I'm understanding is that they have an idea of something they can do, and are asking the FIA for clarification so they can implement it themselves. That they're raising their aspirations from such a worthy competitor.

It says that they have lodged a complaint with the FIA. That's not "we want to do this, is it ok?", it's "they're doing this and we think it's illegal". So that suggests they have technical information that is also likely to be proprietary information.

This isn't publicly visible stuff like wings flexing, it's hidden stuff buried in the middle of the car.