F1 2023 - Round 8: Spain

ctrl-alt-delete

https://www.boards.ie/discussion/comment/120676713#Comment_120676713

Yeah he had a great getaway off the line.

Faugheen

https://www.boards.ie/discussion/comment/120676727#Comment_120676727

Exactly. He already made up those positions before going into turn 1.

I said he was rattled before the race but fair dues to him. He looked really good today.

Ghost Train

Mercedes looking a bit better, Ferrari not not looking very good. Aston Martin, maybe tyre strategy a bit mixed up, seemed to fall back a bit

Andrew76

https://www.boards.ie/discussion/comment/120676711#Comment_120676711

Understood. 🙂

Delighted with the result but also disappointed there wasn’t more wheel to wheel behind Max. Some nice overtake by the Mercs. Shame the Aston’s didn’t do much.

Very cordial in the waiting room there. 😎

Andrew76

Not that it matters much but bit of a crap looking trophy that.

Jordan 199

Double points finish for Alpine, so I'm happy with that.

Montreal in two weeks time so an evening race again. Jordan did well there.

Widdensushi

https://www.boards.ie/discussion/comment/120676707#Comment_120676707

Fair play to him but not great for the sport when one driver/team is dominant.

Andrew76

Toto a little off in his thinking that Lewis was only 15s behind Max in reality. Max only pushed at the start of the race to get out of DRS range and that fastest lap, he would’ve been much further up the road if he wanted to.

Hijpo

If there was someone exiting the pits when occon and alonso were coming down that straight all three of them were dead... instantly... insane...

This is it

Ferrari are so **** it's ridiculous.

Jordan 199

https://www.boards.ie/discussion/comment/120677140#Comment_120677140

It never rains, it pours 😀

Frank Bullitt

Christ, that was just a glorified test session. Much cooler temps went against some and for others.

Not one yellow flag even…

Ghost Train

https://www.boards.ie/discussion/comment/120676985#Comment_120676985

It looked a bit extreme but looking at the replay there was enough visibility for Alonso to see there was nobody exiting the pitlane

MadYaker

Boring race but it's interesting to see that Mercedes seem to have made a step, hopefully they can start to bother the RBs. Ferrari still a shambles. Binotto clearly wasn't the problem there.

Hijpo

https://www.boards.ie/discussion/comment/120677576#Comment_120677576

Hard to know what the breakdown of the Merc podiums was, did they actually make that much of a jump or were the others off the pace, mix of both maybe? I didn't think Merc really look on it in qualy or practice.

@Ghost Train that second jump to the right was very very late. Whatever about visibility for the first move to the right but the second actually took him into the pit, just past the grass. In saying that I didn't see another angle other than the head on shot.

Frank Bullitt

https://www.boards.ie/discussion/comment/120677635#Comment_120677635

Sounds like it was a mix of things. They went well at Spain last year as well, it’s pretty smooth and is also front limited, along with the much cooler temps today over the Friday.

AM general go better at rear limited, like Canada next. So I’d reserve judgement for a few races yet. But they made a step, but will others make a step with them over the next few races?

Hijpo

https://www.boards.ie/discussion/comment/120677831#Comment_120677831

Wonder how much of an impact its made in wind tunnel time and cost cap. Sidepods, suspension and probably floor upgrades.

Anywhere to get data on upgrade costs?

Frank Bullitt

https://www.boards.ie/discussion/comment/120677902#Comment_120677902

I suspect it’s all relative to the teams. The Merc upgrade would have been pricy enough I imagine, but most upgrades are.

RB and AM and meant to bring pretty big upgrades later this year also, so like Al things in F1 it’s a moving target.

chicorytip

https://www.boards.ie/discussion/comment/120677576#Comment_120677576

Leclerc was shambolic. I think he wants to jump ship.

Hijpo

I think Leclerc would take a cut to join merc if they can't come to an agreement with Hamilton.

PsychoPete

https://www.boards.ie/discussion/comment/120678083#Comment_120678083

What were ferrari at starting him on hards then pitting him after 17 laps. Makes no sense

Faugheen

https://www.boards.ie/discussion/comment/120678175#Comment_120678175

I’m pretty sure they sent him back out on the same set of hards after his soft stint too. Very bizarre altogether.

Frank Bullitt

I wonder, and I have my long shot hat on here, the reason Merc and Hamilton haven’t signed together is because Leclerc could be on the market soon, very soon.

If you were Merc, you’d maybe want a younger driver to fill that gap, I think Russell is possibly good enough, but he has faltered a bit so far this year.

Leclerc is probably the fastest driver over one lap. He isn’t as fine tuned as Max, but he is up there with him on his day.

Just a theory, but big teams have dropped big drivers before. (Not dropped, just not continued with).

Andrew76

I don’t think Lerclerc or Hamilton are going anywhere, Lewis will sign for another couple of years and Charles will stay put because there’s nowhere else to go. Toto should be happy enough with his driver pairing seeing as they seem to doing a better job than others of maximising available points based on car performance. The only driver worth shoving Hamilton out the door early for is Max and that won’t be happening. Charles might get you an extra place up the grid in qualifying, but come race day he won’t do any better than Hamilton imo. Yes he’ll be around for longer, but I don’t see much point trying to sign him now. Actually, I’d sooner sign Lando or Piastri if I was looking for a young, fast driver for the future.

On a semi related note, the driver standings makes for interesting reading - Stroll is 64 points behind his teammate and the sole reason why AM are no longer 2nd in the championship. Other than a decent performance in the first race of the year he’s been rubbish. Perez, 53 points behind Max, is closer to George Russell in 5th place than he is to his own teammate in 1st.

Looking forward to the next few races to see if that Merc improvement will carry over to other tracks, Aston might have a battle on their hands for second place.

Dave0301

All indications on that Hamilton will be signing this week. BBC have an article with some decent quotes from the weekend.

McFly85

Yeah, I would have thought Leclerc to Mercedes to be a long shot. Their current drivers seem to work well together(although it would be interesting to see how that develops in a winning car!), and moving Leclerc in for Hamilton will have 2 young race winners butting heads. Mercedes see George I think as their long-term no.1 driver so I wouldn’t be surprised to see Hamilton’s replacement be a Mercedes rookie.

2011

Earlier in the season some seemed to think that Perez could have a shot at this year’s championship. I very much doubt that anyone thinks that now. I think Perez is great driver, but not compared to Max. He is in a class of his own.

It’s great to see the Mercedes improving and a pity to see Austin Martin going backwards (in Spain at least). I was surprised by both teams.

Frank Bullitt

https://www.boards.ie/discussion/comment/120678752#Comment_120678752

Totally, it was always a long shot but I suspect Leclerc is looking at his options very carefully now. Another year in a Ferrari and he will be lucky to get a win at any point right now. If he went to Merc, I would see him getting the better of George over the course, but that is all dreamland.

Hamilton for another 2 years I reckon at this point.

PsychoPete

https://www.boards.ie/discussion/comment/120678342#Comment_120678342

You start on hards to go long into the race and hope for a safety car, rain etc. Leclerc asked for another set of softs after the first soft stint but put him on hards again, mental stuff. I will say I'd very be in favour of mandatory 2 stop races with that level of tyre degradation, the race would have an absolute bore fest if it was a 1 stop

peterm57

Ryanair flight to Barcelona.

9.10pm. - Departure time

FR6875 - Flight reference

Anyone who flew from Dublin to Barcelona on Thursday 1st June for the Grand Prix is entitled to compensation from Ryanair as the flight was delayed over 3 hours.

Can be applied for through Ryanair Website using flight number and booking reference.