re: 2022 Formula 1 Season Thread

quote:

---

so they can get a big sponsor or two

---

I was really surprised that some American company didn't step up. They would get instant extra advertising in the news stories saying how they replaced the big, bad Russians.

Maybe it is still in the works.

If they can keep running well they should get some more sponsors.

Their recent history works against them so they need results.


Saying that, I kinda chuckle about Google/Android throwing a bunch of money at McLaren before the season only for them to basically end up taking Haas' old spot in the rear.

Did anything come of the Fat Harry's potential watch spot? This weekend would be perfect with the noon start

https://www.f1-tempo.com/

Telemetry

This shows K Mags fast lap compared to Sainz's fast lap. Mag is grey, Sainz white. (It doesn't always use colors so close)

It appears Ferrari was running more downforce than Haas.

I feel like there’s been no discussion of tire strategies at Bahrain. I think I heard the announcers speculating that some drivers might go for a three-stop strategy. A race with an expected mix of two and three stop strategies is exactly what I want to see in a race, so I was pretty happy that there might be some three-stoppers.

There’s a very illuminating pit stop “lap and tire choice” chart here, check it out:
https://f1chronicle.com/2022-bahrain-grand-prix-tyre-performance-analysis/

The first interesting thing that happened was that Hamilton abandoned the Hard tires much earlier than expected. Toto said they were losing a second a lap so they cut their losses and appeared to attempt to finish the race on a really long stint on Mediums. After that happened I was surprised to see other cars going to the Hards, but looking at the chart, only Ocon, Ricciardo, and Gasly put on Hards after Hamilton prematurely abandoned them.

Unfortunately, Gasly’s DNF happened at the perfect time for everyone to pit for Softs, so we didn’t get to see if alternate strategies were going to play out. Some things to note from the chart:

1. It looks to me that only Tsunoda was definitely going for a three-stop strategy. He did a short stint on Mediums, and came out on Softs at the second pit stop, with too many laps to go.

2. Mick and Perez switched to Soft tires after their second pit stop, but I think they were hoping to do a two-stopper with a really long last stint on Softs. Everyone else was on Mediums or Hards and were definitely on original two-stop strategies.

3. Norris, Alonso, and Ocon abandoned their Hards before the FCY, so they were forced to change to a three-stop strategy because they discovered, like Mercedes did, that the Hard tires sucked. Actually, Norris appeared to originally be planning a one-stop race!

4. Mick was the only driver who stuck to a two-stop strategy and didn’t pit during the FCY. Or maybe he intended a third stop and switched plans because the FCY would extend the range of his Softs? Did he gain any places because of that?

My conclusion is that almost everyone originally intended a two-stop strategy, and Tsunoda was the only driver to switch to a three-stop strategy that was not related to the bad decision to use Hard tires. The McLarens started on Mediums so that they could consider a one-stop strategy during the race. And then Gasly’s DNF possibly screwed up the races of some guys who pitted a few laps before the FCY, while giving the fans a nice sprint finish with everyone on Softs. I think I would have rather seen guys fighting on worn Mediums at the end.

Another article I read noted that last year everyone used the Hard tire at Bahrain, whereas this year the Hard tire was a liability. Does the new larger wheel / low profile tire make the Hard compound not work well? If this decreases the number of one-stop races and increases the chances of three-stop races, then I think this is a great development.

Seb still hasn’t tested negative…. Not able to travel u til then, so at risk of not racing again this weekend.

fricking clown world.

quote:

---

Another article I read noted that last year everyone used the Hard tire at Bahrain, whereas this year the Hard tire was a liability. 

---

Last year the Hards were C2 whereas the Mediums were C2 this year.

The tire compounds could have greatly changed in those parameters though. Agreed it will be interesting if the tire degradation remains high. It throws all the current strategy understanding off for the weekend.

The lower blanket temps really showed as well. On their outlaps after the first stop Hamilton looked like he was on ice whereas Max was purposely held back for some reason which hasn't totally been explained.

quote:

---

The lower blanket temps really showed as well. On their outlaps after the first stop Hamilton looked like he was on ice whereas Max was purposely held back for some reason which hasn't totally been explained.

---

If Max had gone out on a banzai lap to undercut he would have had even more problems with tire degradation later in the stint. They have to manage the tires so can't run all out without drastically shortening the life of the tires.

It appears the RB's were running a lot less wing and the lack of downforce made the degradation issue worse for them as they were sliding around more than the Ferraris.

Spa is my favorite race of the year, it would absolutely suck if it got the axe.

gotta make room for vegas.