2021 Monaco Grand Prix - Monte Carlo, May 20 - 23

[siskue2005]

Let's just assume it was all Mercedes but I think Lewis needs to be a bit more respectful towards his team. They've given him a mega car for 8 seasons.

Nah. Let him show his real face, not fancy smiley when everything goes nice and easy.

the guy has always been like this, plays the role of a priest when he wins then at the slightest problem throws everything and everyone under the bus.

i guess he didn’t gather enough “blessings” and “energy” from his fans today lmao

yet it’s still better than bottas who gets awfully screwed up race by race and never calls out his team

Really?
How many races has he thrown his team under the bus? Could you list them? When has he done that at a slightest problem??

It looks like after fp3 the team over ride his decision and made changes to the car which left his car in very bad condition compared to Thursday.

Hamilton admitted that the team had failed to build on an encouraging practice day on Thursday, as changes to the set-up had sent it in completely the wrong direction when track action resumed on Saturday.

"There were lots of changes that we did in the car after FP3, because FP3 was a disaster," he said.

"And that's from the work that we've done in the last couple of days. It was completely the wrong direction, completely missed the ball.

"We then made some changes to try and take steps backwards and move the car to a different place, and the car was worse than ever. So I think we really lost our way from Thursday."

So looks like the team effed up his setup and also his race with poor strategy...so any normal human being is allowed to he critical.

Every team and driver does the same.

[nzjrs]

You've got to feel for Bottas here

[Jolle]

If you loose 2-3 places due to strategy calls, yes, you can criticise them, especially when you’re the biggest team. Plus, it’s not the first time they effed up Monaco.

True, but if you qualify 7th when your teammate is in contention for pole, a bit of self criticism would be appropriate as well.
But with many drivers on the grid self criticism always comes a bit later. Somehow being a top driver requires a level of self confidence that makes them not immediately see their own mistakes.

Today Hamilton drove a Monaco GP how you should. Don’t crash and stay as close as you can (preferably within 1.5 seconds) behind the guy in front of you. This is a race done from the strategy center. They lost in 2015, almost in 2019 and now costing them a whole bunch of points plus the lead in the championship.
That he started from seventh was, I presume, discusses in interviews yesterday. Hamilton isn’t shy of self criticism or praising the team.
As thé top team, dropping 2-3 places is bad, very bad, not to be brushed away with “oh well, I do sometimes crash too”.

[siskue2005]

You've got to feel for Bottas here

Yup, he was on for atleast 2nd

[ringo]

Two poor races from Hamilton in five. It's fair to say that Verstappen is leading the championship in an inferior car. But, expect the narrative to remain that Mercedes is slower!

The season reminds me a lot of 2017. I do think reliability will come and haunt RBR at some stage in the year. Merc historically is bullet proof.

I do think Merc playing "we were just slow" here is a bit of exaggeration. The difference between Max and Bottas was only 0.025 in qualifying.

They did not have the car advantage they usually do yes, but they were competitive and could have taken pole with Bottas. Certainly Bottas felt his lap before the red flag was "the lap". A good strategy call also was enough to change the complexion of the race.

Lewis had a bad day in quali. Just like Ricciardo and Perez but no one is saying the Mclaren and RBR were too slow.
Ricciardo and Perez are owning their lack of performance, but Lewis answer to the question: “Any lessons to learn?”

Lewis: “For me personally, no! The team, for sure.”

His engineers must walk on eggshells when he is around.

Check the espn article i posted. The team went against Hamilton's feedback after practice and went the wrong direction with the setup.
Hamilton is accurate in saying there is nothing he could have done or has learned.
These cars are complicated, and setup. determines if a car is fast or slow. A "fast" car just means a car that is fast relative to the others when it is setup correctly and is exploiting its potential.
If that same car is setup incorrectly it is no longer a fast car and there is nothing the driver can do about it.
This is exactly what happened to Hamilton and explains the different between Bottas and himself.
It was just a bad weekend for the team overall.

And you can read it here:

https://www.espn.com/f1/story/_/id/314 ... rand-prix

[taperoo2k]

The reality is that if Liberty F1 was out looking for race venues and Monaco asked to join, the circuit would either be a lot different to what it is currently, or there would not be a race in Monaco. The track is totally unsuited to single-seater cars, and most of the drivers keep their enthusiasm for it well under control. Nelson Piquet described it as like trying to ride a bicycle in your living room, and Gerhard Berger compared it to trying to run a powerboat in a duck pond.

IDK man, Formula E was awesome, it's that the cars are too fast. The faster the car, the faster the reaction time needed. There comes a point that the cars are faster than a person can react to and re-adapt which is ~.5 sec. Bigger tracks give you more time, Monaco, there's 1 line, and your car is too fast for the human brain to adapt in such a narrow place with such narrow margins.

Cars cant follow.
F1 should ban front wings and bargeboards for monaco. That might fix the cars cant follow problem.

Almost purely ground effect and tyre grip.

Lets wait and see what if any impact the regulation changes in 2022 have on the racing in terms of cars being able to follow and overtake (simplified front wings and ground effect amongst other changes). It may or may not improve the racing around Monaco. But for me the race has always been about two things for the drivers
1. Tyre Management to maintain track position.
2. Concentration for 78 laps to keep it out of the barriers come rain or shine.

I did feel for Bottas today, that was a cruel way for his race to end. Good drive from Lando today, his rate of improvement is impressive. I just hope Riccardo can find his groove at McLaren.

[Steven]

People should know by now that Monaco is not about overtaking.......

True I think there was just 1 on track overtake in 78 laps and ironically the race director cut away from it at the worst possible moment

Actually, there were two non-start overtakes in lap 1 as well.
Alonso made a pass in Turn 3, and Schumacher passed Mazepin at Loews
And of those, we only saw the latter.

[Sieper]

Yeah, the direction misses a lot here. I hear it is an own team. Not the usual team who do the other races. It is also a very tough job. I’ll give em that.

[Sieper]

People should know by now that Monaco is not about overtaking.......

True I think there was just 1 on track overtake in 78 laps and ironically the race director cut away from it at the worst possible moment

Actually, there were two non-start overtakes in lap 1 as well.
Alonso made a pass in Turn 3, and Schumacher passed Mazepin at Loews
And of those, we only saw the latter.

The schumacher pass was shown though. Or better said, the Mazepin “well if you are going to do this impossible manoeuvre I will take it for the team and keep us both alive”. Very good show by Mazepin there. Yes he made a lot of mistakes already but I also see him doing good things. Hope he keeps improving, as Schumacher. F1 is hard.

[Steven]

Yeah, the direction misses a lot here. I hear it is an own team. Not the usual team who do the other races. It is also a very tough job. I’ll give em that.

That explains why we saw almost every flying lap of Leclerc, Gasly and Ocon in qualifying yesterday.

[Restomaniac]

Luckily for you, you have 22 other races to enjoy


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Why can’t we have 23?

That snoozefest in on the Calendar for $$$$$$$$ it’s certainly not for racing ideals.

It has not bothered for the last couple of decades where it has been exactly the same situation... Doesn’t bother me nowadays either.

Is it a procession? Yes... Is the “race”
Boring? Yes... Does it bring something different to the calendar? Yes!

Toughest track for the driver’s and teams... Usually a surprise or 2... Best qualifying session of the year and a historic event... I can live with it... For those that can’t, there are other 22 races in the calendar to enjoy


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So we should accept an event that would put a glass eye to sleep then.

[Restomaniac]

Why can’t we have 23?

That snoozefest in on the Calendar for $$$$$$$$ it’s certainly not for racing ideals.

It has not bothered for the last couple of decades where it has been exactly the same situation... Doesn’t bother me nowadays either.

Is it a procession? Yes... Is the “race”
Boring? Yes... Does it bring something different to the calendar? Yes!

Toughest track for the driver’s and teams... Usually a surprise or 2... Best qualifying session of the year and a historic event... I can live with it... For those that can’t, there are other 22 races in the calendar to enjoy


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I feel exactly the same about Monaco, I love the fact that it is so different than the other gp's, qualifying is great, the race is just about getting things right and collecting the points earned in qualifying.

So let’s just qualify on The Sunday and save all the hassle then.

[Restomaniac]

It is a legendary track. Even if it is a snoozefest, it has its place on the calendar. What you are saying is like someone would say that Ferrari should be thrown out or quit, because they are not winning races... Let it go, even if it was boring to watch, the race itself atleast made the championship interesting. It is one race of many in the calendar.

No it really doesn’t have a place in F1 in 2021. 2M wide cars on that track isn’t a race it’s a procession. It’s pointless and an utter waste of a race weekend when we could be at a track where racing can actually take place.

Christ a car with broken engine can win it. I’ve literally seen more overtakes in a traffic jam.

You write it like there werent 2m wide cars there in the past ...You will have your mind blown in Baku, when there will be DRS overtakings on that 2km long straight. Your heart will pump dramatically for whole 90 minutes.

Yes because it’s only there you can overtake

Monaco has been fit for purpose for years.

[Steven]

So let’s just qualify on The Sunday and save all the hassle then.

So, rather than this fancy sprint race thing, we convert the race into a second qualifying session of 90 minutes

[Restomaniac]

So let’s just qualify on The Sunday and save all the hassle then.

So, rather than this fancy sprint race thing, we convert the race into a second qualifying session of 90 minutes

Well I may have stayed awake at least.