@themightyant i think part is stopping the bouncing and the no sidepod, if the rest use them, including Adrian Newey designs imo its not right. plus the engine still seems slower.
Practice 3 was exciting but still a little ominous, Max had 3-4 imperfect corners and was still P2 just five thousandths off P1. I also think they might be sandbagging, not long now to find out exactly where they all are.
@themightyant P3 made me quite optimistic for quali. Your right RB weren't probably on 100% but then maybe other teams weren't too and I feel any little mistake might allow someone to profit from it. Not long to find out.
@BearsEatBeets 1st run down and that gives me a little more hope. Fer, Merc, Fer, Aston, RB, RB, Merc. VERY early days but hopeful that is more representative. Fingers crossed
Other end of the spectrum McLaren showing how much work they have to do.
UPDATE 1: Q1 top 5 within 0.2. Top 10 within 0.5. And top 15 within 0.65. Obviously some only ran once but that is promising for more competition
@themightyant yeah the stats for how close the pack is extremely promising. Long may it continue. Gutted for McLaren but was kind of expecting it, hope they can turn it around quick. Lando lucky to get that time in before Sargeant, don't see that very often.
@themightyant Yeah I thought it a bit strange the Mercs, Alonso and Leclerc only did one run. Sounds like they might just want to save a fresh set of tyres? If Merc can continue their trend of being better in race pace than quali it could be a good race tomorrow.
Your right it ended up a bit more predictable than hoped but still some good signs.
@BearsEatBeets absolutely. I would have bitten your hand off for it to be that close in Q1 & Q2 so can’t complain too much if Q3 was a little more open. Also a bit worrying both Max and Checo downplaying their quali car. But fingers crossed till tomorrow.
Also 1 random stat. The last person to win the first race and go on and win the championship was Nico Rosberg in 2016, it’s a very long season.
Ominous from Red Bull. The cold reality is what we feared, Max ahead by 37 seconds over the next team AND he was coasting for a long while.
But behind that there was plenty of drama. Great to see Alonso on the podium, Aston Martin, Ferrari & Mercedes all duking it out nicely. Ferrari more reliability issues but Leclerc looked firmly in third.
Gasly amazing drive to gain 11 places and end in 9th, and good on Williams getting a point. Also a sliver of promising signs for McLaren, despite having a woeful race full of issues Lando was faster than Hamilton and Saint for a spell if they can sort a few things out they have some pace. Silver linings.
So mixed feelings. Happy that there was some good competition and racing but concerned HOW far ahead Red Bull were. They seem miles ahead.
@themightyant You've pretty much summed it all up. You could probably say it's going to be another title for Max already. Unless Perez can improve to give him a fight or the other teams can catch up fast. It will be interesting to see how Merc progress after Toto's statement earlier, will we see a dramatically different car in a few months time. It seems Aston Martin basically copying RB last year has given them a good platform to progress.
@BearsEatBeets yep does seem like that right now but it’s a long season. Hopefully the other teams can catch up otherwise 1 & 2 look pretty wrapped up without an incident / SC. What worried me most was Perez coasting past Leclerc then disappearing into the distance.
Also yes you are right will be interesting to see what Merc change. As others have pointed out the Aston has a Merc engine, Merc gearbox, Merc suspension. The main difference is aero. I think that Aston doing so well will ultimately be a benefit to Mercedes in that they had a clear indicator where they are going wrong, they can’t hide it anymore and pretend their current route is correct. Disappointing for them to finish last season as the second strongest team but now be in fourth.
Forums
Topic: Push Square Formula 1 thread - F1
Posts 441 to 460 of 751
Please login or sign up to reply to this topic