Topic: Motosport General discussion tread --- Formula1, MotoGP, WTCC, ETCC, DTM..... - page 90. (Read 137570 times)

The condition of the Indian MotoGP circuit which is still quite wet will create more interesting surprises in this Sprint Race. I really hope there will be a fiercer battle because the Indian circuit has quite long straight tracks and a rather complicated corner layout so it is possible that some riders might experience unexpected things. Hopefully tomorrow the track conditions will not be like today so that there will be more different competition in the race.

Verstappen is back in business again.    It was such an amazing qualifying performance by him. He took pole position by a really significant time gap. Just as I expected he is very ambitious to make up for the result of the Singapore GP. I will be expecting the same performance from him in the race as well. I can't imagine the time gap there.

By the way Perez's performance was really poor. Maybe he got used tyres but he was still too low than he should have been. He will need to climb the positions in the race.

Max is definitely back and with a good margin of a distance set in the final qualifying lap,more than half a second faster than both Ferraris and McLarens,also than his team mate but his team mate is just a mediocre driver as Hamilton said,Max would not be entertaining himself and definitely would not be laughing that much.

It is a really technical track and in here the aerodynamics design of the car is making a huge difference,of course when driven by a very fast and aggressive driver like Verstappen is,so for tomorrow race if conditions are normal,no rain,no crashes and Safety Car it is going to be a very easy win for Redbull.

2023 F1 Japanese Grand Prix - Free Practice Results (3)
Pos    Driver    Nat.   Team    Time
1   Max Verstappen   NED   Oracle Red Bull Racing   1m30.267s
2   Lando Norris   GBR   McLaren F1 Team   1m30.507s
3   Oscar Piastri   AUS   McLaren F1 Team   1m30.555s
4   Sergio Perez   MEX   Oracle Bull Racing   1m31.004s
5   Charles Leclerc   MON   Scuderia Ferrari   1m31.022s
6   Carlos Sainz   ESP   Scuderia Ferrari   1m31.137s
7   Lewis Hamilton   GBR   Mercedes AMG Petronas F1 Team   1m31.159s
8   George Russell   GBR   Mercedes AMG Petronas F1 Team   1m31.505s
9   Fernando Alonso   ESP   Aston Martin Aramco Cognizant Formula One Team   1m31.549s
10   Zhou Guanyu   CHN   Alfa Romeo F1 Team Stake   1m31.668s
11   Valtteri Bottas   FIN   Alfa Romeo F1 Team Stake   1m31.699s
12   Kevin Magnussen   DEN   MoneyGram Haas F1 Team   1m31.880s
13   Esteban Ocon   FRA   BWT Alpine F1 Team   1m31.924s
14   Yuki Tsunoda   JPN   Scuderia AlphaTauri    1m31.951s
15   Nico Hulkenberg   GER   MoneyGram Haas F1 Team   1m31.979s
16   Logan Sargeant   USA   Williams Racing   1m30.002s
17   Liam Lawson   NZL   Scuderia AlphaTauri   1m32.048s
18   Alex Albon   THA   Williams Racing   1m32.113s
19   Lance Stroll   CAN   Aston Martin Aramco Cognizant Formula One Team   1m32.154s
20   Pierre Gasly   FRA   BWT Alpine F1 Team   1m32.199s

FP3 results, https://www.crash.net/f1/results/1036374/1/f1-japanese-grand-prix-2023-final-practice-results

It seems Max is definitively back.

Qualify just started

The average human can take about 5G and Stroll's accident was almost 50G and he survived with only very light injuries. With that kind of force, I'm sure that an ordinary person's neck would immediately break and be critically injured. This proves how F1 drivers are on a different level compared to ordinary people - they train very hard to get used to the high G-forces.

Max as always, to be fair this was just practice so that doesn't mean anything at all and you wouldn't know if the other team is sandbagging or not, but we can definitely see Red Bull back at top right now. They just had one weak week and that is understandable, we couldn't expect them to have 100% win rate all season long, and that was the one they lost.

They could end up with something that would be a bit more interesting to see, this week Japan race will be quite entertaining because of the fast corners, you still turn but there are plenty of places where you turn with full speed, without braking, and that requires a lot of talent. Most rookies let go off the gas a bit and not go full throttle, we will see how it goes.

2023 Indian MotoGP, Buddh International Circuit - Practice (2) Results
Pos   Rider   Nat   Team   Time/Diff   Lap   Max
1   Luca Marini   ITA   Mooney VR46 Ducati (GP22)   1'44.782s   24/25   340k
2   Jorge Martin   SPA   Pramac Ducati (GP23)   +0.008s   24/27   348k
3   Aleix Espargaro   SPA   Aprilia Racing (RS-GP23)   +0.051s   22/24   341k
4   Marc Marquez   SPA   Repsol Honda (RC213V)   +0.335s   26/28   346k
5   Marco Bezzecchi   ITA   Mooney VR46 Ducati (GP22)   +0.420s   22/24   348k
6   Maverick Viñales   SPA   Aprilia Racing (RS-GP23)   +0.431s   19/21   346k
7   Francesco Bagnaia   ITA   Ducati Lenovo (GP23)   +0.498s   22/24   341k
8   Fabio Quartararo   FRA   Monster Yamaha (YZR-M1)   +0.509s   24/29   344k
9   Johann Zarco   FRA   Pramac Ducati (GP23)   +0.523s   23/24   344k
10   Joan Mir   SPA   Repsol Honda (RC213V)   +0.550s   19/21   346k

This week we also have MotoGP.

These are the results, it is the 1st time they are racing here.

source: https://www.crash.net/motogp/results/1036251/1/indian-motogp-buddh-international-circuit-friday-practice-results

Yup...  Red Bull obv not gonna just allow to be owned like that for a couple of GP's straight.  And it's somewhat a 'home race' as they're representing Honda as part of their team effort.

Anyway, it's funny how Liam Lawson is having a better performance than Ricciardo.  I think he ends Ricciardo's career with as a RBR F1 driver.  Poor guy...  I was rooting for him to do well this season.  Tough luck breaking his hand.  I mean wtf, why now at the most crucial time.

Here are the results for FP2.

2023 Japanese GP FP2 Results

Max Verstappen   NED   Oracle Red Bull Racing   1m30.688s
2   Charles Leclerc   MON   Scuderia Ferrari   1m31.008s
3   Lando Norris   GBR   McLaren F1 Team   1m31.152s
4   Carlos Sainz   ESP   Scuderia Ferrari   1m31.237s
5   George Russell   GBR   Mercedes AMG Petronas F1 Team   1m31.328s
6   Fernando Alonso   ESP   Aston Martin Aramco Cognizant Formula One Team   1m31.492s
7   Alex Albon   THA   Williams Racing   1m31.555s
8   Oscar Piastri   AUS   McLaren F1 Team   1m31.662s
9   Sergio Perez   MEX   Oracle Bull Racing   1m31.710s
10   Valtteri Bottas   FIN   Alfa Romeo F1 Team Stake   1m31.739s
11   Lance Stroll   CAN   Aston Martin Aramco Cognizant Formula One Team   1m31.771s
12   Esteban Ocon   FRA   BWT Alpine F1 Team   1m31.794s
13   Nico Hulkenberg   GER   MoneyGram Haas F1 Team   1m31.797s
14   Lewis Hamilton   GBR   Mercedes AMG Petronas F1 Team   1m31.829s
15   Liam Lawson   NZL   Scuderia AlphaTauri   1m32.141s
16   Zhou Guanyu   CHN   Alfa Romeo F1 Team Stake   1m32.165s
17   Kevin Magnussen   DEN   MoneyGram Haas F1 Team   1m32.169s
18   Yuki Tsunoda   JPN   Scuderia AlphaTauri    1m32.178s
19   Pierre Gasly   FRA   BWT Alpine F1 Team   1m31.179s
20   Logan Sargeant   USA   Williams Racing

Ferrari drivers were doing okay in FP1 and FP2 but it wasn't a superb result. Because Verstappen was so comfortable in both sessions. The gap was really big in both of them. But I was expecting him to be ambitious throughout the weekend in Japan already. It was obvious from his statement after the Singapore GP.

If he is dominating even free practice sessions then I can't imagine the qualifying session and race.    Verstappen is a monster in Japan already. I mean the latest race on Suzuka track was under Verstappen's dominance by far. We are likely to watch a similar race to that.

Therefore it wouldn't probably be much competition for the win this time. But hopefully the podium fight can be enjoyable to follow.

Apart from that, all riders are also studying the layout of the new Indian circuit today because there are several corners that look so difficult that each rider needs to find adjustments for themselves. The weather conditions are quite good and the straight track is also very long so it will be easy food for a manufacturer like Ducati which is very famous for its power. Now I'm watching the P2 session for Moto3 while watching FP1 for WSBK because this weekend WSBK will also be held in Aragon, Spain.

On the new MotoGP track in India, many are still looking for their setup and the best tyre choice, but so far everyone  tried the soft and medium tyres, on the new track there will still be too little grip for harder tyres. So far it looks like Bezzecchi will be the best on the new track, new tracks usually make for an exciting weekend 😊.

Max looks back and with a big margin at his hands despite the Ferrari being second,it is 0.7 seconds in a lap in a technical track like this one meaning will be difficult for any team to have a go at trying to stop these guys.It was a good thing that at least Ferrari won in Singapore as at least this Championship season was not going to have finished with Redbull winning every race,that would have been really bad for fans and viewers of this sport.

The good thing though that come out from this qualifying practice is that most teams are with less than 0.5 seconds distance between all of them and this promises fierce competition in Sunday race.

2023 F1 Japanese Grand Prix - Free Practice Results (1)
Pos    Driver    Nat.   Team    Time
1   Max Verstappen   NED   Oracle Red Bull Racing   1m31.647s
2   Carlos Sainz   ESP   Scuderia Ferrari   1m32.273s
3   Lando Norris   GBR   McLaren F1 Team   1m32.392s
4   Charles Leclerc   MON   Scuderia Ferrari   1m32.574s
5   Yuki Tsunoda   JPN   Scuderia AlphaTauri    1m32.597s
6   Fernando Alonso   ESP   Aston Martin Aramco Cognizant Formula One Team   1m32.650s
7   Oscar Piastri   AUS   McLaren F1 Team   1m32.713s
8   Alex Albon   THA   Williams Racing   1m32.991s
9   Liam Lawson   NZL   Scuderia AlphaTauri   1m33.005s
10   Lance Stroll   CAN   Aston Martin Aramco Cognizant Formula One Team   1m33.040s
11   Sergio Perez   MEX   Oracle Bull Racing   1m33.043s
12   Pierre Gasly   FRA   BWT Alpine F1 Team   1m33.129s
13   George Russell   GBR   Mercedes AMG Petronas F1 Team   1m33.310s
14   Nico Hulkenberg   GER   MoneyGram Haas F1 Team   1m33.448s
15   Esteban Ocon   FRA   BWT Alpine F1 Team   1m33.516s
16   Lewis Hamilton   GBR   Mercedes AMG Petronas F1 Team   1m33.699s
17   Valtteri Bottas   FIN   Alfa Romeo F1 Team Stake   1m33.860s
18   Kevin Magnussen   DEN   MoneyGram Haas F1 Team   1m33.975s
19   Logan Sargeant   USA   Williams Racing   1m34.212s
20   Zhou Guanyu   CHN   Alfa Romeo F1 Team Stake   1m34.831s

Free practice 1 done in Japan.

Source: https://www.crash.net/f1/results/1036174/1/f1-japanese-grand-prix-2023-friday-practice-results


Max is back, Ferraris confirm their strength.

A few weeks ago I saw a video they made to "test" the ability of normal people to deal with the force of gravity on their heads and then comparing it to another video of an F1 driver... it's an absurd difference.
I believe that a "normal" person would certainly come away with some serious consequences from this accident.

Regarding the accident, Stroll compared its impact to the same one he suffered at the Mugello circuit during the 2020 campaign, saying that both had a very similar intensity.

I believe that Stroll took the right action in not racing at the Singapore circuit... unfortunately Aston Martin as a whole is not doing very well either, with Fernando Alonso finishing in last place after a series of incidents he had.
Who knows, maybe things will get better in Japan!?

In the midst of several complaints and delays occurring in India regarding preparations for the MotoGP event for this weekend, Hungary also intends to return to the 2024 World Superbike (WSBK) calendar while thinking about how to enter the MotoGP calendar. This was stated by Dorna, the WSBK and MotoGP promoter, in collaboration with the Hungarian Mobility Development Agency (HUMDA) who will homologate the Balaton Park circuit with the aim of hosting WorldSBK 2024. _{Source: id.motorsport.com}

Fun, terrible fact.

They did the math and the impact of the accident with Stroll the past week was at the force of 50G.

This is impressive, I'm not sure that a normal human (not f1 athlete with huge neck muscles) can survive at it.

We are in Japan this time. Verstappen looked very ambitious after the latest race. He wants to make up for that bad result very much. I remember what he did in Japan last season as well. He completely dominated the weekend by taking pole position and winning the race by a huge time gap at the same time. I think we are likely to watch a similar weekend to that. Rain expectation isn't much for the weekend. By the way maybe there would still be a good fight for pole position.

Because there was a great fight in the previous qualifying in Suzuka between Verstappen and Leclerc as well. It would be nice to see such competition again.

This week MotoGp will be active again at a new circuit and also in a new country, it is the first round for MotoGp at the Buddh International Circuit in India, which according to news reports, the circuit is the former venue for Formula 1. However, I read a little news from the media id.motorsport.com that there has been a bit of chaos ahead of the debut of the Indian MotoGP. Many MotoGP paddock personnel and racers, including Marc Marquez, are currently unable to fly there due to visa problems.

After a quite dramatic race, Sainz finally emerged as the winner. He can prove that Ferrari is still competitive and not as bad as people think. Sainz can maintain his performance and not be too aggressive in taking lanes. He can align himself with the Singapore circuit and that is very good. It was just unlucky for Leclerc because he had to lose his position due to the safety car, even at the end of the race he still couldn't catch P3. And finally Max had to end his winning streak in this race after finishing in P5. It seems that this circuit is not very friendly with Red Bull, it is evident that they have to struggle to catch Ferrari and have to settle for P5 and P8.
Yes, I can say that the Singapore GP is very exciting to watch and I can't wait for the next race.

We go in another race where is difficult to overtake too so in there who starts first also wins the race if there are no complications.We have to see and if Ferrari wins again it means that the car has received much needed upgrades that is showing of now in the race results,we need a team who can face Redbull,no matter which team is it is great to have a new winner like we had today after 14 races dominated by Redbull we have a new team winner,a Ferrari first win for 2023.

The Suzuka track will also point out if Redbull is really suffering or this race was just a mistake in the setup of their car which I highly believe to not have been the case.