F1 2023 - Round 18 - Qatar

PsychoPete

Lol Piastri

sioda

https://www.boards.ie/discussion/comment/121210715#Comment_121210715

His thanks mercedes quip love it 🤣

PsychoPete

https://www.boards.ie/discussion/comment/121210715#Comment_121210715

The young lad is a menace

Andrew76

Nico setting Naomi straight there about the first corner incident - zero doubt about who’s fault it was.

PsychoPete

https://www.boards.ie/discussion/comment/121210767#Comment_121210767

She's talking the same sh!te I've seen on social media from Hamilton fans, it was 100% Hamiltons fault

Andrew76

OK so it turns out it wasn’t Hamilton’s fault after all… 😂😂

Andrew76

McLaren only 11 points behind Aston, for sure they will overtake them and get 4th in the championship. Incredible progress from them coupled by Stroll being awol almost all season.

Burkie1203

https://www.boards.ie/discussion/comment/121210808#Comment_121210808

That's why I think red bull have a decision to make. Need a 2nd car up there consistently. Perez just hasn't delivered

pjohnson

https://www.boards.ie/discussion/comment/121210767#Comment_121210767

https://www.boards.ie/discussion/comment/121210790#Comment_121210790

Standard.

JeffKenna

Heard on some podcast that Perez has $20 -$30m of sponsorship with him that Red Bull would lose if they cut him.

Think they'll have to seriously consider it though as the way McClaren are performing next year they'll probably need a second driver to compete.

Andrew76

https://www.boards.ie/discussion/comment/121210829#Comment_121210829

Agreed. I think they will try and get Danny Ric into the car as soon as he’s ready for it - he needs to get rid of any rustiness first though so hopefully he gets 5 clean races to the end of the season.

https://www.boards.ie/discussion/comment/121210855#Comment_121210855

Standard?

Hijpo

Not to mention needing two cars to help strategically fend off two attacking McLarens because there will be two not one.

pjohnson

https://www.boards.ie/discussion/comment/121210871#Comment_121210871

Standard that Lewis is never blamed for his accidents.

Andrew76

https://www.boards.ie/discussion/comment/121210883#Comment_121210883

Ah ok.

😋😋

Ocon said he puked for a few laps from lap 15. Yikes.

jammiedodgers

https://twitter.com/LewisHamilton/status/1711085330374295864

...

-F1-

Them curbs!

Jordan 199

https://www.boards.ie/discussion/comment/121211075#Comment_121211075

The end of them reminds me of Toblerone.

jammiedodgers

You'd wonder how safe it was to be racing in those conditions. Lance Stroll is saying in his post race interview that he was passing out in the high speed corners. Both him and Albon had to be assessed by medical personnel after the race. Ocon said he was puking in the car. Fair play to Logan Sargeant for realising the danger he was putting himself and everyone else in.

ShamoBuc

A month later next year should make a difference re the temps at least.

Andrew76

On top of the crazy heat what made it worse was the shorter stints they were forced to run - they were pushing harder than they normally would since they didn’t have to babysit the tyres as much.

Those curbs do look a bit severe from that angle. Wonder if they’ll be replaced for those few supper high speed corners for next year.

dulpit

https://www.boards.ie/discussion/comment/121210767#Comment_121210767

I really enjoy Naomi, except when it comes to her coverage of Hamilton. She's said multiple times that he's an idol of hers and she simply doesn't cover him fairly. She has a general bias towards Mercedes, but Hamilton in particular.

dulpit

Also, that was an interesting race. Not sure if it was good, but interesting. Big question about the suitability of such a venue with the impact it had on drivers health. Also, at the start of the race they showed a sold out full weekend audience of only 120k, meaning it's only 40k there. Did seem pretty empty alright.

klose

https://www.boards.ie/discussion/comment/121211382#Comment_121211382

Aren't they building a street circuit for Qatar?

Longing

And so it begins.

Horner: Red Bull "desperately needs" Perez to find F1 form

-F1-

https://www.boards.ie/discussion/comment/121211627#Comment_121211627

Imo, Ricciardo will be in the RB seat for 2024 on a 1year contract with Lawson replacing him in Alpha Tauri or whatever the team will be named.

Sergio will be gone.

mickdw

I think that was 100 percent the plan but may be upset by the ricciardo injury.

Ricciardo may miss out on a redbull seat altogether now.

klose

https://www.boards.ie/discussion/comment/121210862#Comment_121210862

Isn't the RedBull F1 team essentially a glorified advertisement for their brand at its core? Along with all the other mad sports/events they sponsor. So I would assume the sponsorship money isn't that big a worry, I'd assume Danny Ric would bring in his fair share of sponsorships too, probably the most marketable driver around also.

Hard to imagine Perez lasting too much longer at the rate he's going, if Mclaren and Mercedes continue improving into the next year they'll need a number two driver consistently delivering.

Longing

I think after Mexico GP if Sergio has not razed his game ten fold. He will be replaced.

Today he was very poor, I know he started from the pit lane but getting those penalty's would have put Horner's blood boiling and it was properly already with the heat.

ShamoBuc

McClaren pitstops..... fair dues.

ricimaki

I'm wondering if Lawson will be Perez's replacement. He's outdriven Yuki, and Ricciardo hasn't really stood out either. They'll probably not announce anything until at least the Mexico grand prix, maybe announce Perez is retiring there?

Anyway, back to the race itself. I'm not sure what to make about the mandatory maximum lap count for the tyres. On the one hand it threw strategy out the window and made it kind of predicable, but on the other, it forced the drivers to go flat out for the entire race (save for fuel saving, but didn't hear much of that due to the safety car) - and really showed the true pace of the grid. Obviously the kerbs should have been fixed to avoid this, but it was interesting none the less. I wonder if F1 are thinking of doing something with this idea now, even if its just for the sprints or something.

Seeing the drivers after the race shows just how dangerous this event was though - multiple drivers feeling sick in the cars, struggling to get out of their cars, sweat seeping off of them, many visiting the medical center, and apparently a few passed out afterwards. Qatar should not be on the calendar for a variety of reasons, but not having the race in December is down right dangerous. The tyre situation made this a lot worse.