[David993S]

I actually thought it wasn't too boring today. But it was predictable, unfortunately. I'm always amazed at Mercedes ability to out-strategize the competition. That's the real advantage Hamilton has. Combine that with a top notch car and he wins........way too often. The Red Bulls performance is close to or even on par with Merc, and Max and others (such a Russel) have demonstrated they are as good as Hamilton. But they just don't measure up to Mercedes' race strategy.

[Gator_86_951]

Brutal but true from Lando on Daniel at McClaren: https://www.planetf1.com/news/lando-nor ... 9cVBfeT4R0

[SeanR]

I bet Norris is missing having Carlos as a teammate.

On a sort of F1 front, Romain took pole in the Indycar race that is on TV right now. Worth checking out for sure.

[David993S]

^^ He had a good shot at 1st and that would have been great. But it was nice to see him finish 2nd.

[Scott at Team Harco]

Interesting qualifying today at Monaco. We'll have to see if Char holds pole, or if his car needs a transmission. Hammy is 7th. It will take some crazy stuff for him to win this one...

Hopefully Max can pull it off and make points on his primary rival.

[JustBud]

Been reading all of the internet experts saying CLC crashed his red car to keep pole..... you have to wonder how these jokers aren't running an F1 team themselves, they seem so versed in strategy.....

Ferrari will be something to deal with this race, if CLC remains on pole and the way both he and Carlos are running here.

Nice to see Bottas getting somewhat of a break and LH struggling a bit, although I'm sure Lewis will fight back, he always does (I'm no hairdo fan but the guy has balls in a race car and is a great driver)

Max is Max, and Red Bull is ALL AND EVERYTHING Verstappen. Checo is finding that out. Too bad because Perez could make a great second and be really helpful to Max in his battle against the Silver Empire.......

The smiling assassin is struggling but he is still smiling and his attitude is fantastic..... I don't think he is or will be looking to Lando for help, and I think Lando is perfectly right in his outlook too. The way Danny Ricc is learning the McLaren and the way Lando is tearing it up right now, there still may be another team to battle up front soon.

In other news, the McLaren team is like a SUPERMODEL this week. the livery and the rest is just

And Danny Ricc (the winner of the UGLIEST helmet every week) is sporting one I would love to hang in my garage.... Lando's isn't too shabby either (love the goggles airbrushed on)

[SeanR]

Going to be an interesting race for sure. At least turn 1 lap 1.

Just an FYI, during the pre-race warm up show they have a segment that is annoying as shit. So record 15 minutes and then be prepared to fast forward at the 20 minute mark.

[Scott at Team Harco]

Bad news for Char. Transmission problems in the pre-race warm-up. He might not even be able to start the race. This should be interesting. Now if we could just get some rain...

[SeanR]

Bad news for Char. Transmission problems in the pre-race warm-up. He might not even be able to start the race. This should be interesting. Now if we could just get some rain...

Yea, watching that. What a bummer. Bottas/Verstappen make contact at T1, Sainz wins. My hopeful prediction.

[SeanR]

Well my prediction was off, as usual. Wasn't a bad race to watch, strategy wins the day for some of the guys. Can't think of a single on track pass the entire race but quite a bit of movement with the over/under cuts in the pits with zero yellow flags. Glad Carlos and Norris were able to get podiums and was pretty happy to see Mercedes have a bad weekend but it was unfortunate for Bottas on that wheel nut. When it was happening I said to myself "that's metal coming off the wheel gun, that tire isn't going to move" and sure enough, I was right about one thing this race.

Toto said they are not going to be coming out with any new or major upgrades for the car and the way RB is running, this could be a great year for them. Poor Richiardo though, he can't seem to get a handle on that Mc.

[Multi21]

I don't believe anything Toto says.... with this being the last year of the formula, they're going to develop the car to the very end.

Poor Charles, but the damage was at his hands.... I'm sure the Mercedes engineer who came on the radio on Saturday and said that Charles "conveniently" crashed it in Q3 is eating his words right now. Of course, Mercedes had one of those weekends and the whining and b!tching from Hamilton was enough to turn the volume off. You would think a 7 time world champion would be able to absorb an off weekend with some form of grace.... his race engineers know otherwise. Can you imagine if Lewis had Bottas' luck over the past few years and not been able to finish the last 86 of 87 races, including one on 3 wheels? What would he have said then? As I've always said, he's the luckiest SOB in F1 history.

First time anyone has removed the mighty Mercedes from the top spot in the turbo hybrid era. I still believe the Mercedes and Lewis will win the titles this year, but Max and RBR are giving them all they can handle right now.

[Scott at Team Harco]

^^ Agree with all of this.

Unfortunate for Char and, of course, Val. It's easy to second guess Ferrari, but taking that chance would never have been an option if I were running the team. Granted, it's nearly impossible to pass on that 'track', but some potential at points is a lot better than zero.

This result is a big shot in the arm for the sport. For so long, the whiny bitch has had everything his way. Now we have the closest thing to parity from the top two teams in recent history. Good to see McLaren and Ferrari not too far back. Even Vettel had a good showing. Damn!

Anyone that thought Chuck intentionally crashed his car to preserve the pole, is a fool.

[David993S]

Boring race but I liked the results.

And you knew this was coming............

[SeanR]

NASCAR was entertaining in between the red flags, so there's that.

[JustBud]

Boring race but I liked the results.

And you knew this was coming............

I do have to say he whined quite a bit..... (and as somebody said above, just think if he had half of VB's bad luck)

[Multi21]

NASCAR was entertaining in between the red flags, so there's that.

I watched that and found it entertaining. Anytime you have NASCAR on a dedicated F1 track it's sure to be good, especially in the rain.

[linderpat]

Well Monaco is surely one of the most storied places for F1, but with such a narrow road track, one of the least exciting - no room for passing. Glad to see Max win one outright, he was overdue. Agreed, LH is a whiner.

[SeanR]

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[FlatSix]

Is it just me, or does anyone else wonder how what should be the most rock-solid pit crew in F1 manages to make such fatal mistakes (George Russell's tires, Valteri's nuts ) but somehow this never befalls LH?

[Scott at Team Harco]

Is it just me, or does anyone else wonder how what should be the most rock-solid pit crew in F1 manages to make such fatal mistakes (George Russell's tires, Valteri's nuts ) but somehow this never befalls LH?

Along those lines, what if little Lewie had Val's luck?

Could you imagine the whining?

[Multi21]

Is it just me, or does anyone else wonder how what should be the most rock-solid pit crew in F1 manages to make such fatal mistakes (George Russell's tires, Valteri's nuts ) but somehow this never befalls LH?

It's NEVER Lewis or Lewis' fault. If we go down the list of bad luck Bottas has had in the 5 years he's been at MB, it's absurd. Case in point, we're approaching the GP at Baku. The last time we were there, Bottas is leading the race and picks up a puncture and is out of the points.

Last year, Bottas is leading a race and suffers a puncture with 2 or 3 laps remaining. Hamilton suffers a puncture as well, but it's on the last lap and is able to limp the car to the finish line on 3 wheels for the win.

This year at Imola, Hamilton goes into the gravel, breaks his front wing on the wall and is lapped by Max and would have been 2 laps down if there wasn't a crash with Russell into Bottas bring out the safety car, which then brought out the red flag. End result? Hamilton goes from being 1 lap down and potentially 2 laps down if it stayed green, to getting his lap back due to the red flag, having his damage repaired under red flag conditions and ultimately goes back into the race in 9ths to finish 2nd! The guy was born with a horse shoe and 4 leaf clover in his ass.

[FlatSix]

The bad luck with the punctures and the red flags, I get. What I don't get is how the pit crew seems to make catastrophic mistakes but not with Lewis's car while Lewis is driving. I wonder what the pit dynamics are like; if they're so worried about the prima donna that the second drivers somehow don't rate.

[Multi21]

Simply explained, LH has extraordinary good luck IN ALL RESPECTS of F1. I've never seen a pitstop that was compromised with him in the car. He has also finished 86 of the last 87 races.... a 99% percentage rate - that's unheard of in F1 history. Even when he has bad luck (puncture) it happens on the last lap and he's able to drive on 3 wheels. When he cocks it up like Imola and crashes into the wall, it's not enough to break the car and still gets a podium. It's almost every race weekend.

The only time he experiences some type of issue is when the team hasn't dialed in the car like at Monaco last weekend. That happens once, maybe twice at the most per year. After qualifying he threw his mechanics under the bus and whined like a little bitch on the radio for most of the race. STFU and drive. There's no denying his talent, but he's had such a charmed life since 13 that an off day will mentally throw him off. If he had the issues in the pit box that Bottas or Russell had in that one race, he would have been fit to be tied.

[SeanR]

Singapore has been cancelled and there is talk of having a double header at COTA. That I would like to see happen.

https://wtf1.com/post/the-2021-singapor ... mnTFLr-AJU

For the second year running, the Singapore Grand Prix looks set to be cancelled. The intense street track around the city is one of F1’s most prized modern events but is another race that appears to have been cancelled because of the global pandemic.

It looks like a double-header could be the most likely replacement at COTA, which currently hosts the United States GP.

Singapore is yet another race that has been rescheduled or cancelled as a result of the Coronavirus pandemic.


The first race of the year in Australia was moved to November. Then the Canadian GP was cancelled and replaced with a return to Turkey, which was then also cancelled a couple of weeks ago.

The BBC revealed today that F1 and Singaporean authorities have agreed the October 3 race cannot be held due to immigration restrictions amid the COVID-19 pandemic.

F1 declined to comment on the Singapore GP specifically, but a spokesperson said: “We continue to work with all promoters during this fluid time and have plenty of options to adapt if needed.”


The race was supposed to happen in the middle of a triple header in between Sochi and Suzuka. Whether the Japanese GP would be moved earlier so that F1 can travel to the US earlier is yet to be announced but seems to most likely outcome with the October 17 earmarked.

Another possible outcome is that a second Austin race could take the slot held by the Mexican GP the week after because that’s another race still up in the air because of the pandemic.

Formula E had to change venue in Mexico because the Autodromo Hermanos Rodriguez was being used as an emergency COVID-19 hospital in the capital city.


A second US race has been one of the goals of Liberty since they took over F1 in 2016. This would be hugely popular considering it comes a year earlier than the Miami GP, which was announced for 2022.

The other options are to return to Shanghai for the Chinese GP or call up Turkey again.

[Multi21]

Would they have 3 races in US and Mexico combined? IDK if they would get the numbers. I'd like to see Mugello back on the calendar in place of Singapore. Even though it's a MotoGP track, the drivers really struggled with the high G forces and super fast layout. The race was very good as well.

[Multi21]

Well....that was an interesting qualifying session!! At least 1 red flag for Q1, 2 and 3. It looks like the Ferrari strength is on street circuits with low grip levels. That's pole position for Char in the last 2 race weekends! Who would have ever thought we'd say that? Happy for LEC as he truly seems to be a quiet but quick driver that has endured some bad luck.

Unfortunately the Ferrari race pace doesn't seem to be as good and the Mercedes has the definite advantage of straight line speed on this track. Even if LEC and/or VER find a way in front of the Mercedes of Hamilton at some point in the race, with 1.4 miles of straight to finish the lap, the Merc will overtake both.

Anyone see the top speed of Norris' car with the Mercedes engine? Appx. 20 kmh faster than the Red Bulls down the straights!! Speaking of Norris, he's received a 3 grid spot penalty for the red flag incident and will start 9th.

[SeanR]

Well....that was an interesting qualifying session!! At least 1 red flag for Q1, 2 and 3. It looks like the Ferrari strength is on street circuits with low grip levels. That's pole position for Char in the last 2 race weekends! Who would have ever thought we'd say that? Happy for LEC as he truly seems to be a quiet but quick driver that has endured some bad luck.

Unfortunately the Ferrari race pace doesn't seem to be as good and the Mercedes has the definite advantage of straight line speed on this track. Even if LEC and/or VER find a way in front of the Mercedes of Hamilton at some point in the race, with 1.4 miles of straight to finish the lap, the Merc will overtake both.

Anyone see the top speed of Norris' car with the Mercedes engine? Appx. 20 kmh faster than the Red Bulls down the straights!! Speaking of Norris, he's received a 3 grid spot penalty for the red flag incident and will start 9th.

Norris is at 8 points on his super license and then it's a race ban. Hope that doesn't happen as I enjoy watching him race. Daniel sure can't come to grips with that Mclaren. Happy for Charles, hope he can somehow pull this one out but for the reasons you stated, I'm only hopeful.

I've been enjoying the FP2 races also, well worth watching ESPN online.

[Scott at Team Harco]

That was a crazy last few laps. No spoilers for those that haven't seen it - but very interesting.

[SeanR]

Just now watching the start. Got up late today.

[SeanR]

That was a fun race to watch and I really enjoy Baku. Going to have to watch this one again.

image.png

[Multi21]

What an entertaining race - they should swap out Singapore for Baku and run it back to back. This circuit has everything.

Congratulations to Sergio Perez, Vettel and Gasly. All three really drove exceptional and kept their heads to be where they ended up. It was interesting to see Max as the clear dominant driver today as he was able to put space between himself and Perez even after the restart. Bad luck for Max for sure and again, GREAT luck for Hamilton as the race was pretty much over and Max had a 15 pt. lead with 5-6 laps left. Even with Lewis' mistakes and no points, it only 4 point lead for Max so again, somehow, Lewis' luck seems to have worked out for him. Max's tire issue had nothing to do with driver error.

All that being said, that's 2 HUGE mistakes for Lewis in 5 races (Imola, Baku) and should have been about 40 pts. clear of Lewis at this point, but again, the guy was born with a horse shoe up his arse and that's just the way it goes. Interesting to see how Lewis is handling the pressure when someone has a halfway decent car now and he doesn't have the wingman like Max did.

Speaking of wingmen, Bottas seemed uninspired today after being hung out to dry on Saturday's qualifying session... Mercedes didn't score any points today and they are going to need Bottas' help to get back into the constructors championship. Mercedes will bounce back in France in two weeks, time, they always do, but if Perez is now comfortable with the Red Bull as he seemed today, RBR has the better driver line up as compared to Lewis and Bottas. I highly doubt they would bring up Russell after the summer break, but if Bottas can't perform, then who knows.

Regardless, great race....

PS: Anyone seen Mick Schumacher draft Mazespin down the back straight on the last lap and Mazespin turn in and squeeze MS to the wall? Mick nor the team wasn't impressed. This guy might kill someone and/or himself....

[Scott at Team Harco]

Now that those that might care, should have seen the race by now - I'll add a little more.

I've always had a bias against street circuits and have criticized Baku in the past. This time, I am happy to eat my words. That was a great race. It's always nice to see a fresh reset on the podium. This one delivered. Other than Vettel, the other two have not been there very often. Good for Checo and RBR on the win. Puts the team up even more over Mercedes.

It will be interesting to know what happened with the LR tires on Lance and Max's cars. I think Pirelli has some 'splainin' to do.

I'll also admit to being happy to see Hammy fail to make turn one after the late-race restart. The smoking brakes prior to lights-out should have been a clue that not all was right.

It will be interesting and hopefully entertaining the rest of the way. I am pulling for anyone other than Lewie, and have been for a few years. There was a time when I rooted for him. Not any more. After getting a better look, I now root against him. And not the way I used to root against the guys that won more than their fair share (e.g. Senna, Shumi).

Max has the best chance of being that guy, so my hope rides on him. It's great to finally see he is a position to make a run for the driver's championship.

[SeanR]

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[Multi21]

Read today that George Russell will most likely be named the 2nd driver for Mercedes F1 in 2022 at Silverstone. It's a good bet that Bottas knew in Baku which may explain his unenthusiastic performance.

[David993S]

Hamilton complaining again about his car when Max beat him for pole by 2.5 tenths for the French GP. The race might produce a different result. Does anyone think Hamilton may be getting rattled due to the pressure from Max?

[Multi21]

Yes. Hamilton has only raced one other person in the last 10 years and that was Nico Rosberg so yes, Hamilton knows that WDC #8 is not a gift this year. That being said, he and Bottas swapped chassis for this race... didn't matter as LH still got him at the end.

All that being said, it looks like the Merc has better pace on long runs on harder tires. Barring a safety car or Red flag, they'll start with the mediums and do a 1 stop to hards. I expect LH to win this race, Max 2nd, Perez 3rd and Bottas 4th.

[SeanR]

That was a hell of a fun race to watch and wasn't sure how it would turn out until the last lap. RB made the right calls and the car was fantastic. If RB can beat the Mercs at this track, they can take them on at any track the rest of the year. Debrief for the Mercs is going to be fun to hear, Bottas is pissed.

Also great job by the McLarens, a 5/6 finish is a fantastic result. WTH happened the the Ferraris? They bare seemed to have shown up to race.

[Spanky]

Doing a 1 stop race today doomed both MB drivers. Bottas looked like he was standing still when max passed him. Hamilton almost limped home for the win but when pressure was applied by Max he also had nothing left in his tires. RB gave up track position for new rubber and ran them down. Bottas was really pissed on the radio
A fun race to watch near the end

[Spanky]

Doing a 1 stop race today doomed both MB drivers. Bottas looked like he was standing still when max passed him in that corner. Hamilton almost limped home for the win but when pressure was applied by Max he also had nothing left in his tires. RB gave up track position for new rubber and ran them down. Bottas was really pissed on the radio

[SeanR]

What a great race for Max. Total domination which doesn't bode well for next weekend for the Mercs. Overall an uneventful race after the first few laps but enjoyable to watch. What is going on with Danny Ric? He is no where near where Norris is in the same car. Things looked real hopeful for Russel but that car.

Glad to see that Haas is keeping the humor alive.

https://wtf1.com/post/steiner-presents- ... N95iZVmqPA

[Multi21]

What a great race for Max. Total domination which doesn't bode well for next weekend for the Mercs. Overall an uneventful race after the first few laps but enjoyable to watch. What is going on with Danny Ric? He is no where near where Norris is in the same car. Things looked real hopeful for Russel but that car.

Glad to see that Haas is keeping the humor alive.

https://wtf1.com/post/steiner-presents- ... N95iZVmqPA

Ricciardo was running very well and high up until he lost power about a quarter way through the race and subsequently 4-5 positions. No explanation on why he lost power.

RBR just seem to get stronger and stronger. Max is just on a different level than everyone else at this point. LeClerc ran a great race from that early pit stop.

Norris has turned out to be quite the driver.

Too bad for Russell as he was running up in the points for the very first time in the Williams... bad luck.

[linderpat]

well it does seem like Red Bull has figured out MB. VerS crushed them.

[Scott at Team Harco]

It's nice to see a change from Hammy and MB having their way for so long. Go Max!

[Spanky]

Total domination by RB and Max yesterday. Watching the RB increase its lead over the MB was different. It isnt ofton you see a car open up a gap on LH/MB over the entire distance of a race with being able to blame the MB lack of pace on a mechanical problem

[Multi21]

Mercedes saying they had a "weird" set up on their cars this past weekend which contributed to tire deg. The great thing about having back to back races on the same circuit is we can all see how well the teams adjust to what their particular issues were. The tire compounds will be softer for this weekend which almost assures everyone will have to stop twice. In that part of the world rain is always a threat so that could shake things up a bit too.

[Scott at Team Harco]

Mercedes saying they had a "weird" set up on their cars this past weekend which contributed to tire deg. The great thing about having back to back races on the same circuit is we can all see how well the teams adjust to what their particular issues were. The tire compounds will be softer for this weekend which almost assures everyone will have to stop twice. In that part of the world rain is always a threat so that could shake things up a bit too.

This weekend's race should be interesting for all of the reasons you mention. The guy that talks too much (Croft), mentioned altitude as well. The implication was that the Honda turbo may be better suited for this than the Mercedes. Might be true - might just be crap.

Regardless, Hammy was kind of whining about rear wing. It will indeed be interesting to see if MB can adjust. Or... will we see Max dominate again? And yes - rain is always a great variable.

[SeanR]

No spoilers but Quali was absolutely awesome today.

[Scott at Team Harco]

Very interesting results from qualifying. Mercedes may not have resolved the issue(s) experienced last week.

[Scott at Team Harco]

All that orange smoke has to be an assault on air quality.

[JustBud]

All that orange smoke has to be an assault on air quality.

It sure is making the eyes at Mercedes fill with tears.......