Topic: Motosport General discussion tread --- Formula1, MotoGP, WTCC, ETCC, DTM..... - page 52. (Read 143067 times)

It was not a very exciting race, but at least it seems like there are more watchable races compared to last year. Last year there were races that I turned off in the middle of the race. It was a problem-free race for the teams, but the race, which we expected to be tense, if not about the passes, then about the risks, was very calm. I would like one of sainz, norris, piastri to win. Of course, there is also a max who received 3 track limit warnings in 11 laps and drove 52 laps without error. Towards the end, whether it was due to tyres or some other reason, his pace dropped, but he knew how to win again.

short week off.

In 4 days we'll be back on track in Monaco at Leclerc's home.
Rain is forecast for the weekend, without rain let's prepare for the most boring Grand Prix in F1.
Once it was interesting as a Grand Prix with many accidents of drivers crashing, with these cars and their technology it has become a very rare event.

They are very near to McLaren I would say in the start when using the medium tires,the only difference was with the hard tires,McLaren looked like the best car with those tires compared to every other single team so they have to find how to manage the tires better.Good thing next week we have a great race like that in Monaco which is Leclerc home race and in there the overtaking is much more difficult than here if not impossible,most likely the pole winner will also win the race,so it would be nice for Ferrari or McLaren to hit the pole there and to make another win.It won't be that easy but in a track like Monaco seeing Redbull is only good because of Verstappen it can be beaten,Perez is really not performing with the car now.

Yeah, whole race wasn't most exciting, I was struggling not to fall asleep literally. There wasn't much action, but probably it was something expected, considering that Imola isn't easiest track for overtaking. But end when Norris gave some good pressure for Verstappen made it worth watching.
If Mclaren will manage to keep what they did today, they're capable to fight for wins in some races. While if Ferrari with upgrade expected to fight with Red Bull, now they will have to reach Mclaren somehow.

Max is a masterpiece of a driver I must say in the last laps fighting without battery and with tires gone against a McLaren that surely has upgraded their car to a huge performance and if there were just 2-3 couple of laps more I am sure Lando would have gotten his 2nd win which would have been also a back to back yet Max managed to win the race against all odds.This shows that the driver can make a difference in such situations but are exactly these situations that decide a Championship as who has more chances to win,Leclerc unfortunately remains just an average driver and no one should expect world Championships from him,he is simply not good enough as this race showed once again.

I'd like to say "What a race!" but I can't. It was quite boring as we didn't see much change in top places. However the last moments of the race were really exciting. I don't know how but Verstappen started to lose a lot of pace and a new chance was born for Norris to go for his 2nd win in his career right after achieving the 1st one. 

Verstappen still won but in the last lap my heart was beating at a much higher rate.    Thanks to them we saw some action. Leclerc did a good job by finishing right behind Norris but maybe he could have also been more competitive for 2nd place if he didn't make a big mistake at a turn.

Full results:

I'm rooting for Leclerc because I think he's a good driver who hasn't been given much of an opportunity to win because his team can't design a competitive enough car to win podiums or races in every grand prix.  As for not really believing enough in the upgrades...  Not my fault.  I just watch these races for the lulz.. 

Rooting for Leclerc to be on the podium and not to win the race shows that you don't believe much in the upgrades of Ferrari although we have not seen them how well will behave in a race,we have only seen in a single lap where they made a small difference compared to other races yet not the big one promised by Ferrari.

I am rooting for the first time for Verstappen to be out in the first corner and we to enjoy a very good race without him like in old times Ferrari vs McLaren,by out I don't mean DNF for him,I just hope he goes 9th or 10th place so we can see a very beautiful race or if this does not happen,a Safety Car is all I pray for  .

Note to self, whenever the books make someone else than Verstappen as the favorite to get pole position in quali, always bet on Verstappen.  Lmao.  Verstappen lined at 3.00 was like a holiday present just waiting there.  Had to be clever and went for Sainz. 

Anyway let's hope the Ferrari upgrade boost the cars to give both the McLarens a good race.  Rooting for Leclerc to get on the podium.

It sounds and it looks a lot to me that this Piastri fellow is a great driver and has done quite some brilliant race performances even when McLaren was not at the top of performance and I am sure this is also noticed by other big teams who I am sure have an eye to him and they will be offering him great contracts as soon as the occasion is presented.I am also sure that McLaren also realizes this better than any other team since they have him on board and I am sure they will renew his contract as soon as they see fit in order to have to talented drivers with them,I am also in knowledge that Piastri and Norris both are very happy at McLaren right now.Can't wait to see what they will show us during the race that starts in less than an hour from now.

The qualifying was really delightful.    Verstappen had some difficult time at the weekend but still didn't let anyone else get that pole position. He is a really hardworking driver also.

Because he was actually having some issues in one of the sectors but fixed it by trying a different method. There is only an hour to go for the race! I hope to see an exciting race. 


Yeah, Piastri got penalized by 3 places. Otherwise he did an amazing work during the qualifying.    Sometimes he shows what he can do more and I'm excited about his future in F1.

McLaren has 2 young and really skilled drivers which I think is a big privilege.

1   Max Verstappen   NED   Oracle Red Bull Racing   1m15.762s   1m15.176s   1m14.746s
2   Oscar Piastri   AUS   McLaren F1 Team   1m15.940s   1m15.407s   1m14.820s
3   Lando Norris   GBR   McLaren F1 Team   1m15.915s   1m15.371s   1m14.837s
4   Charles Leclerc   MON   Scuderia Ferrari   1m15.823s   1m15.328s   1m14.970s
5   Carlos Sainz   ESP   Scuderia Ferrari   1m16.015s   1m15.512s   1m15.233s
6   George Russell   GBR   Mercedes AMG Petronas F1 Team   1m16.107s   1m15.671s   1m15.234s
7   Yuki Tsunoda   JPN   Visa Cash App RB F1 Team   1m15.894s   1m15.358s   1m15.234s
8   Lewis Hamilton   GBR   Mercedes AMG Petronas F1 Team   1m16.604s   1m15.677s   1m15.465s
9   Daniel Ricciardo   AUS   Visa Cash App RB F1 Team   1m16.060s   1m15.691s   1m15.504s
10   Nico Hulkenberg   GER   MoneyGram Haas F1 Team   1m15.841s   1m15.569s   1m15.674s
11   Sergio Perez   MEX   Oracle Red Bull Racing   1m16.404s   1m15.706s   1m15.980s
12   Esteban Ocon   FRA   BWT Alpine F1 Team   1m16.361s   1m15.906s   
13   Lance Stroll   CAN   Aston Martin Aramco F1 Team   1m16.458s   1m15.992s   
14   Alex Albon   THA   Williams Racing   1m16.524s   1m16.200s   
15   Pierre Gasly   FRA   BWT Alpine F1 Team   1m16.015s   1m16.381s   
16   Valtteri Bottas   FIN   Stake F1 Team Kick Sauber   1m16.626s       
17   Zhou Guanyu   CHN   Stake F1 Team Kick Sauber   1m16.834s       
18   Kevin Magnussen   DEN   MoneyGram Haas F1 Team   1m16.854s       
19   Fernando Alonso   ESP   Aston Martin Aramco F1 Team   1m16.917s       
20   Logan Sargeant   USA   Williams Racing   No Time Set       


Source: https://www.crash.net/f1/results/1048653/1/2024-f1-emilia-romagna-grand-prix-qualifying-results

This was the official qualify session but PIASTRI got penalized for impiding.
So the evertone scale up by 1 position.


It will be fun race/fight with max and lando.

The win looks difficult so far for Ferrari unless some crash puts out of the positions Max and McLaren and this is the only possibility for Ferrari to win a race.I doubt they can fight in the race pace and they win during the laps there against Verstappen and McLaren during tomorrow race.It is going to be interesting as we have a really different starting grid for the first 10 drivers for the first time this season and as I have said before,beautiful races start when Europe races start.We are in the legendary track of Imola where racing action is guaranteed and I am very much looking forward to that race for tomorrow.

I am very optimistic that Charles can get a podium in this race, seeing how he consistently got good positions in the free practice and qualifying sessions. However, it seems that we will see how the race will be quite tough for him, because there is Verstappen and the McLaren duo in front of him, and Sainz also doesn't seem to want to lower his ego to allow his teammate to get first position. But I hope that Ferrari can at least win this race because it's been a while since they won on their home turf.

Qualifying session is still going on and we are in Q3 now. There have been surprising eliminations like Alonso in Q1 and Perez in Q2 now. It's really unbelievable to see Perez messing it up like that. 

His elimination is because of his own mistake as well by the way. Perez is slowly returning to his bad look in the 2nd part of the 2023 season recently. This isn't good at all for his future at Red Bull. He isn't confirmed to keep his seat next season for now. Red Bull might think of a replacement maybe who knows. 

Who do you say for the pole? There is a fierce Verstappen - Leclerc fight. Maybe a chance for Leclerc here?

Judging from FP1 to FP3, we could have an interesting qualifying coming up in less than a couple of hours.  Will Verstappen and Red Bull come out on top like they usually do?  Possible...  But what will Ferrari have in store for us with the new upgrades and the motivation since it's their home turf?

And here's another thing...  Will McLaren surprise everyone?  :/  

2024 F1 Emilia Romagna GP FP3

1   Oscar Piastri   AUS   McLaren F1 Team   1m15.529s
2   Lando Norris   GBR   McLaren F1 Team   1m15.829s
3   Carlos Sainz   ESP   Scuderia Ferrari   1m16.067s
4   Charles Leclerc   MON   Scuderia Ferrari   1m16.087s
5   George Russell   GBR   Mercedes AMG Petronas F1 Team   1m16.095s
6   Max Verstappen   NED   Oracle Red Bull Racing   1m16.366s
7   Alex Albon   THA   Williams Racing   1m16.470s
8   Esteban Ocon   FRA   BWT Alpine F1 Team   1m16.481s
9   Lance Stroll   CAN   Aston Martin Aramco F1 Team   1m16.543s
10   Nico Hulkenberg   GER   MoneyGram Haas F1 Team   1m16.547s
11   Daniel Ricciardo   AUS   Visa Cash App RB F1 Team   1m16.560s
12   Sergio Perez   MEX   Oracle Red Bull Racing   1m16.631s
13   Yuki Tsunoda   JPN   Visa Cash App RB F1 Team   1m16.669s
14   Valtteri Bottas   FIN   Stake F1 Team Kick Sauber   1m16.695s
15   Logan Sargeant   USA   Williams Racing   1m16.794s
16   Kevin Magnussen   DEN   MoneyGram Haas F1 Team   1m16.923s
17   Lewis Hamilton   GBR   Mercedes AMG Petronas F1 Team   1m16.960s
18   Fernando Alonso   ESP   Aston Martin Aramco F1 Team   1m17.339s
19   Pierre Gasly   FRA   BWT Alpine F1 Team   1m17.361s
20   Zhou Guanyu   CHN   Stake F1 Team Kick Sauber   1m17.891s

Interesting how Leclerc is the favorite to get first in quali at 2.75 and Verstappen is at 3.  If the books think one of the Ferraris get pole position would it be worth it to put a little something for Sainz at 10?

FP2 results:



So far Leclerc is really consistent by finishing both sessions as the leader.    McLaren looks promising for this weekend also but let's see. In 20 minutes, FP3 is going to start. We would get more realistic times there I guess as it is the last FP session before qualifying.

Verstappen looks quite slow though. However I still don't want to think like there is something wrong. We are talking about a Red Bull - Verstappen combination. I expect Verstappen to have his usual performance during qualifying.

2024 F1 Emilia Romagna Grand Prix - Free Practice Results (1)
Pos   Driver   Nat.   Team   Time
1   Charles Leclerc   MON   Scuderia Ferrari   1m16.990s
2   George Russell   GBR   Mercedes AMG Petronas F1 Team   1m17.094s
3   Carlos Sainz   ESP   Scuderia Ferrari   1m17.120s
4   Sergio Perez   MEX   Oracle Red Bull Racing   1m17.233s
5   Max Verstappen   NED   Oracle Red Bull Racing   1m17.240s
6   Yuki Tsunoda   JPN   Visa Cash App RB F1 Team   1m17.388s
7   Lewis Hamilton   GBR   Mercedes AMG Petronas F1 Team   1m17.408s
8   Lando Norris   GBR   McLaren F1 Team   1m17.602s
9   Oscar Piastri   AUS   McLaren F1 Team   1m17.807s
10   Fernando Alonso   ESP   Aston Martin Aramco F1 Team   1m17.876s
11   Pierre Gasly   FRA   BWT Alpine F1 Team   1m17.905s
12   Lance Stroll   CAN   Aston Martin Aramco F1 Team   1m18.072s
13   Daniel Ricciardo   AUS   Visa Cash App RB F1 Team   1m18.142s
14   Esteban Ocon   FRA   BWT Alpine F1 Team   1m18.612s
15   Oliver Bearman   GBR   MoneyGram Haas F1 Team   1m18.667s
16   Valtteri Bottas   FIN   Stake F1 Team Kick Sauber   1m18.827s
17   Zhou Guanyu   CHN   Stake F1 Team Kick Sauber   1m19.129s
18   Logan Sargeant   USA   Williams Racing   1m19.901s
19   Alex Albon   THA   Williams Racing   1m20.050s
20   Nico Hulkenberg   GER   MoneyGram Haas F1 Team   1m21.059s

1st hour has been completed con Ferrari ahead, a good sing.

Source: https://www.crash.net/f1/results/1048553/1/2024-f1-emilia-romagna-grand-prix-friday-practice-results

I have been watching the session. Ferrari drivers look really promising for the weekend just as I hoped for.    What do you say for a Ferrari pole in the qualifying session tomorrow?    I think Ferrari really have no joke about that. We all know Ferrari have been better when it comes to qualifying performances. This upgrade can push one of the drivers to top in Imola.

But for the race... It is hard to believe in Ferrari. They need a similar help to the one happened to Norris in the last race.

I hope Leclerc wins a race as soon as possible. The last time he did was in the 2022 Austrian Grand Prix. 

Is anybody watching FP1?  I see the two Ferrari drivers at the top with Russell with just 16 minutes to go.  Lol.  I guess nothing could really be said except Red Bull doing the whole sand bag FP1, give a little at FP2 and a little more at FP3 before going all out at quali.  

And I'm hearing Verstsppen is competing in a sim racing event too?  What a psycho...  But I guess he's having fun, so good for him.