F1 2021 Round 7 : French GP (Paul Ricard)

Cool_CM wrote: »

Disaster for Stroll.

It is kind of mad that we've seen 2 red flags in Q1, there looks to be so much space

There is space off the track but it’s like every track is going to be treated like Monaco and Baku(where given the tightness of the circuit need red flags at times).

They really need to review the rules around cars causing red flags and then benefiting from them. First LeClerc in Monaco, now Schumacher. Nothing against either driver, but it seems to me inherently wrong that they can benefit from stopping a session while the likes of Stroll today get hugely disadvantaged by it. Even if they just add 2 minutes to the remaining time to give those on a flying lap at the time their chance to complete it would be fairer

Itssoeasy wrote: »

There is space off the track but it’s like every track is going to be treated like Monaco and Baku(where given the tightness of the circuit need red flags at times).

Aw no, I absolutely understand why they need the flags to protect the marshalls - I meant that it's mad that we've seen 2 cars in the barriers

SureYWouldntYa wrote: »

You're just now allowed crank up the engine for quali and then tune it down for the race

The Mercs might be running different power depending on the condition of the engine, or differences in the setup necessitating a higher engine mode

Only for very limited time

https://www.formula1.com/en/latest/article.qualifying-engine-modes-what-are-the-proposed-changes-and-why-do-they-matter.OI3cSGqWS6mONcBHUFncL.html

That was a decent final session.

It will an interesting start for sure.

Irishjg wrote: »

Great quali. Great lineup for the race tomorrow. Should be a cracker. Is the weather a bit iffy for the early part of the race ?

What is the order?

cj maxx wrote: »

What is the order?

VER HAM BOT PER SAI GAS LEC NOR ALO RIC

Burkie1203 wrote: »

Doeant really matter, he just needs to be in play tomorrow

He is doing what Gasly and Albon couldn't do.

That's a bit generous. He's behind both Mercedes. So he can only hold then up at undercut pitstops. Doing his job well would mean qualifying second, ahead of Lewis.

He's too far off Max's pace to say he did a good job today. Half a second is too big for a gap between teammates. Lucky the gap to the rest of the field is so big.

Zookey123 wrote: »

TBF Perez has never been a good Saturday driver. He has been brought in for his race pace which has been for the most part up there with Max. If you look at his results so far this season he has almost always improved from his grid space (excluding imola). I think RB will be very happy with P4 and I wouldn't be surprised to see him on the podium tomorrow.

That's a bit revisionist in the first few races he was learning the car and nobody expected him to be on, or near, Max's pace. He wasn't on Max's pace at those races. Winning that race in Baku has done wonders for his pace at the previous races.

Not being within 4 tenths of your teammate in quali is very poor by anyone's standards. I like perez but I'm not going to pretend half a second gap between teammates is a good performance.

Perez up there means that Hamilton could be at risk of an undercut, and also that Hamilton will be hesitant in trying to undercut Max, or to try a two-stopper as in Barcelona if it means having to pass Perez.

Burkie1203 wrote: »

Perez was brought in as a support act to Max

All he has to do is be in play on the grid and then be a strategy option on Sunday. That's what RB want and that's what he is delivering.

Yeah he's doing the bottom tier of the job by being a speed bump for Lewis if he tries the undercut. The top tier would be to actually compete with Hamilton.

It just shows that he's not a top driver or anywhere near being a top tier driver. He's OK, and OK is ... OK. Certainly not a bad driver. A Good no.2.

Zookey123 wrote: »

Ah he is more than just OK. He has been taking midfield teams onto podiums for nearly a decade. Yeah he isn't at the max/lewis level but he is still a top driver. And he has made a great start with the RB team showing great race pace including a win already. He was more than just a speed bump in Baku ultimately forcing Lewis into a mistake ensuring Max kept the title lead.

This idea that his race pace has been "great",isn't true. It's been mixed if you look at it without rose tinted glasses. Some good (Baku) some very poor. Finished the guts of a minute behind max in 2 races this year and over a second in another. Baku was a stronger race but the win was pure fluke that (no dispute that he earned third fair and square, but the win relied on the other 2 faster cars crashing/spinning out).

Max is a top driver and he's almost half a second off that in quali. Even if he was as fast as Max (nobody would say he is) he's half a second off in quali. I think ability to qualify is actually a pretty important part of evaluating a driver and it seems like a pretty weak part of his game.

Checo is a really good driver, Max is a phenomenal driver. Signaling him out when he’s half a second behind the most talented driver on the grid in his 8th race in the RB car is a little unfair.

I wouldn’t be surprised at all for him to win out against Bottas and split the Mercedes tomorrow. I hope he does, would make for some fascinating tactical calls.

Top Dog wrote: »

I could be mistaken, but didn't he have 5 of the teams total 6 podiums as Force India, while also having the one and only win for Racing Point?

Yes. As I said he's had some great races, but overall, week in week out, his performance against unspectacular team mates hasn't been anything to write home about. Then he had stroll as his team mate, and beat him well, as you'd expect, even picking up a win in the very competitive pink Mercedes.

I'm not saying he's a bad driver, clearly he's not. But nor is he any better than average. Apart from Lewis and Max, there are quite a few drivers on the grid capable of either matching or beating him over a season.

It's raining it's pouring, the old lady's snoring.

How do people still fall for that shtick in every damn F1 thread.


Perez is exactly what Red Bull have been desperate to get for years.

I doubt Horner is crying over a intra-team time deficit when his drivers are 1st and 3rd with the team itself 1st.