Topic: Motosport General discussion tread --- Formula1, MotoGP, WTCC, ETCC, DTM..... - page 321. (Read 144195 times)

If you look at the final statement from Dorna Sport and the FIM after the Pre-season Test was held, there were indeed some points that needed to be improved there and when it came to percentages, there were around 17.5% they had to improve from all the tracks there and this had to be done quickly, but this is what it is. tends to be normal for me because this is a really new circuit and there will definitely be updates on every existing track.
on the other hand the response from some of the drivers is also quite good and likes the layout, circuit design, security and the very wide gravel. But indeed their complaints are quite the same, namely the dirty circuit and this must be addressed immediately

Yeah...  I guess it could also be about getting that 8th driver’s championship too and break Schumacher’s record.  But there’s never enough money.  They live lavish life styles and there will never be far more money than they’ll ever need.  More is better.  

Did Hamilton and Wolff pressure Michael Masi to quit?  *Searches online*  

Ah it looks like there was something going on behind the scenes.  There will be structural changes with also some changes in personnel within a few days which could remove Masi from his role.  

https://www.foxsports.com.au/motorsport/formula-one/f1-2022-latest-news-michael-masi-set-to-lose-race-director-job-fia-abu-dhabi-investigation-lewis-hamilton-future/news-story/0ea2378386032410c54ed206622a64c7

After the asphalt on the Indonesian track is very bad and stones are coming loose, see Bagnaia, the track will be partially resurfaced, it is too dangerous to ride there like that. I guess the track will be completely resurfaced after the race, it's a pity that the operators didn't use the proposed asphalt, so the costs are doubled.



https://www.world-today-news.com/pecco-bagnaia-shows-off-his-bruised-arm-after-riding-a-motorbike-at-the-mandalika-circuit/

And a German article about the partly new asphalt.

https://www.motorsport-total.com/motogp/news/feedback-nach-motogp-tests-mandalika-kurs-bekommt-zum-teil-neuen-asphalt-22021602

I think maybe Vettel will be the next driver, because I see he has very good skills and talent, so I think it can be an advantage for the Mercedes team for a change for the better.

I like the new points system for F1 as it is a clear indication that they want to give a chance to many teams to fight for the title,you cannot get away soon with this type of points and you cannot definitely make a comeback like Mercedes did in the last part of last season,so everyone has to be careful to not miss a single race and a single point otherwise it will become difficult.This has also the bad side effect that the drivers fighting for the Championship may think with their heads and not their hearts thus driving a bit slow and making calculations.As every new system being implemented it has good and bad things to it but I think overall this is good for us the fans.

Indeed, there is still a lot of work that must be done by the Mandalika Circuit because in general the circuit has not been completed for a long time so it is not known what things are still lacking, but over time with the pre-season test this month, the circuit has been able to evaluate which things which is still lacking so that it can be immediately fixed before the Race takes place in this season there.

There is a consensus that Masi was asked to do too much, and was left quite isolated in that role, so everyone understands he was in a difficult position... but at the same time, there already are clear rules that don't leave any room for misinterpretations and personal preferences. The issue isn't that there weren't any clear rules, so Masi decided on what would be the best course of action, rather it was that he specifically broke the clear rules not once but twice. I mean, he really went out of his way to break the rules to achieve his desired outcome. I can't see how the FIA retain any credibility if he remains in his role. There are also the issues of simple incompetence and corruption, I mean, if you want to break the rules to force a single lap winner-takes-all shootout, then anyone with even a basic grasp of F1 knows how to do it, you simply red flag the race, get everyone tidied up and on fresh tyres, and run the restart... anyone should know this. So that's the incomptenence part. But Masi isn't anyone, he's supposed to be an expert who knows what he's doing. The idea that he thinks two drivers side-by-side, one on fresh soft tyres and one on 40-lap old hard tyres is a "race" is just not credible, there's no way he could think that, so that's the corruption part. How can he remain in position without the FIA losing all credibility?

Who wants to go Mate
Supposedly when you don't know about it you should try to find out the truth first, and I had long read the news about Bagnaia's contract extension with Ducati until 2024 a week ago before the pre-season test in Mandalika was held.

"Bagnaia completed his renewal with Ducati until 2024. Pecco Bagnaia and Ducati are finalizing the final details of a new contract for the current world runner-up, which will see him continue to wear the official Borgo Panigale brand team suit for another two years.

Pecco Bagnaia has earned the right to be considered the spearhead of the red motorcycle company project, having won four grands prix last year and amassed a total of 9 podiums."

And for a threat from Ducati, I don't think it's only directed at Yamaha, but it is aimed at all the teams competing this season in MotoGP, especially this season there are 8 Ducati motorcycles in the MotoGP grid.

The whole 8 point thingy is a bit sad to be honest. Not the system itself but dropping it to 8 cars, 10 was good enough, to be fair I would love it if everyone got a point. I would have turned that into 20 point thing where the first would get 20 and last would get 1. This way we would see everyone getting at least some points. It is more about how teams that are usually outside of the top 10 are jumped together. Like aston martin, williams, alfa romeo and haas all got nearly nothing at all.

I mean sure aston has 77 and people do not see them same as haas, but it is still usually nothing and they are usually getting zero, aside from few races. That way it would have been everyone getting some money and it would have been quite profitable for most teams as well, everyone would actually get some points based on where they are outside of 10 and not lumped all together. Dropping it instead of increasing it makes no sense but they probably know what they are doing better than I do.

As in previous years, the Austrian GP will have two races per year, this year a sprint race will be held on Sunday in addition to the normal Grand Prix. It is not 2 weekends as in the past Corona years (would be boring in a normal racing calendar) but 2 races per weekend, a total of 3 tracks have been confirmed by the F1 Commission for the coming season.


https://www.formula1.com/en/latest/article.formula-1-to-hold-three-sprint-events-in-2022-with-more-points-on-offer.4UXmrMDm6We04ZFlW0Ieo9.html

I'm especially happy for Imola, I just love an old school track.

I read some news the other day that Mercedes and Hamilton are demanding that Masi must be replaced and maybe Hamilton was kinda playing with the rumors that he might not come back to the formula 1 in order to increase the chances to have the decision regarding Masi be made in his and Mercedes way. I also saw an interview with Vettel during the presentation of his new 2022 car and there he said that he wants Masi to stay. I also think that what happened back in Abu Dhabi it is not really Masis fault alone. The FIA needs to introduce clear rules that don't leave any room for misinterpretations and personal preferences.

I think we all expected him to come back, yes. I don't think it's about finishing off a lucrative contract though, he surely has far more money than he'll ever need. I imagine he wants to come back because he wants to fight for the championship again, and get that 8th title.
He's only on 7.5 at the moment. 

And I don't think the retirement talk was for publicity, I think it was an attempt to affect the FIA investigation of what to do after the Abu Dhabi debacle, a way to exert power and to prevent the FIA from trying to brush it all aside and not make changes, a way to say 'you need to make some serious changes to how you're running this thing, or your star attraction leaves'.

So wait...  Qualifying will decide grid placement for the race with and the sprint race but the sprint race will be having no bearing over anything except for getting extra points?  I mean I guess for entertainment value it’s fine but I don’t see the point.



Lol.  I mean really...  What did everybody really expect?  I had no doubt Hamilton will be back and finish off his lucrative contract at Mercedes before calling it quits.  All the retirement talk was all for good publicity I guess.  Keeps everybody talking.

The real question is if he’ll go drive for another team after Mercedes.

Until now there has not been a single driver who praised and commented positively on the Mandalika circuit, all the drivers complained about the Mandalika circuit which was still dirty and dusty, even the world champion motorcycle GP rider complained of neck pain after starting one lap at the Mandalika circuit, homework that must be fast in the fix so that the Mandalika circuit can be on par with other countries' circuits..

The Mandalika Circuit still needs a lot of repairs now, such as the asphalt peeling off at some corners and it must be repaired immediately before the official Race Title held by Dorna on 20 March 2022.
In general, the pre-season test is very necessary and should not be taken lightly because it is the first step for all teams in working this season before their engine is sealed by Dorna.

when talking about Ducati, Is Bagnaia still on the team?, I heard rumors about him wanting to leave. I don't know what the true. I see the Ducati team is enough powerful on Mandalika, they have dominated on the top seven. Ducati is being the biggest threat for Yamaha, especially after they upgraded the machine to be Desmosedici GP22. that means Ducati motor become more powerful and nimble. The competition for next season is certainly not far away from them.

Yeah they knew for a long time it is too late now for replacing him with another driver... we are 1 week away from the start of the tests.

Two years ago the young Yamaha rider was still in the Petronas SRT satellite team with a collection of 6 wins, 3 times each through Morbidelli and 3 more times through Fabio. The Yamaha factory team only won 1 time through Maverick Vinales in 2020 so that Suzuki who appeared consistently to win the 2nd and 3rd podiums managed to collect a lot of points, because Suzuki in 2020 only experienced victory twice through Alex Rins and Joan Mir. So it was only Suzuki's luck in collecting the number of points not in the number of wins, because if you look at the total wins in 2020, Yamaha had 7 wins at that time. And last year was a little different.

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If Ducati is able to combine their speed in the straight with speed in the corners, then not only Yamaha will have to give up, but all manufacturers will also give up if Ducati is able to combine the two things.
But giving up before a match is a very embarrassing thing, and it would be great for Yamaha if they were able to win with weak or little power.

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I agree with what you are saying because from what I have seen during 2013 until now Ducati has never won a MotoGP World Championship except for only winning in a few series, so in general it can be concluded that speed on the straight track must also be balanced with speed. in corners so that the motor becomes very strong on all tracks or circuits.

Even without looking deep into Alpha Tauri car, it looks obvious that's just demo car. If we talk just about livery, previous season it looked better for me. Aston Martin looks closest to car which we will see on track. What I noticed is shape of their front wing, it looks interesting and it's  quite high.
Interesting news about sprint. Seems that sprint racewill have more importance. Also, F1 changed point rules after last year disaster in Spa. Now at least 2 laps of distance is needed to get points. And different amount of points will be given, according to distance, whether it's 25%-50% or 50%-75% of distance. To get full points, at least 75% of distance is needed.
BTW, Look what Mercedes posted on Twitter. I think it leaves no questions
https://twitter.com/MercedesAMGF1/status/1493228445962321924 

F1 news.

For the following year, we will have 3 sprint races and they will be Imola Austria and Brazil.
We will also have some changes, points will be assigned to the top 8 and not only to the top 3, and who will make the pole position for the statistical purpose will be given on Friday and not to the winner of the sprint race.