F1 2022 Round 8 - AZERBAIJAN GP
Eventfull race last year with tire fails and Brake magic and Aston Poduims
will it be more of the same ? , Will the Really really long straight show more bouncing than previous races .
Start times :
Probably the usual suspects up front. Fast track but usually has low grip. These cars should be fairly mega through the last sector
Merc look like they'll have the continuing problem of bouncing.
I'm tired of all the nonsense about Checo being a Championship contender now. He isn't in the same league as Verstappen. The race fell into his lap last year, just like Monaco did. I'm predicting him to be off the podium here.
Watch out for a big race from Bottas who has genuine good form here and could sneak a podium if avoiding the carnage, and Ricciardo who has a habit of bouncing back from criticism with a big performance. I think top 6 for him.
Bc couldn't bring themselves to rule Hamilton out as a title contender after the last race. They just have to say these things to keep it spicy. Same with "Bottas 2.0" which went on for a few years. Nobody really thought he was a title contender either, it's just something journalists have to say to make it seem more interesting.
Nobody really thinks Checo is a title contender and nobody thinks he's in the same league as Max. He's a no.2 for a reason. I'm sure he was upset at being treated as a no.2 in Spain, but he can't have been surprised.
Perez isn't on Max's level but he's shown that he's close enough to pick up the pieces despite the opposition being so close. It would only take a few well-timed DNFs for Max and a couple of weekends where Perez is quicker for him to have a shot.
He's a certified no.2 driver at red bull. Unless max retires from f1, he doesn't have a shot.
His problem isn't beating max on pace, which he can't. His problem is beating Charles on pace, which he also can't.
I would love to see Bottas do really well here and get on the Podium and would love to see Kevin Magnussan do well to and get a podium. Really hopefully that Ricciardo can at least get into Q2 in qualifying and finish in the top 6 in the race.
Hopefully Mick doesn't split the car in two again at another street circuit, Haas surely can't afford him having another big accident this season
I am going to reserve judgement on Perez for a few races. I just wouldn't put him out of the title race as things could change drastically by mid-season.
I will think back to when Button won his WDC, right place right time. and that's how I could see Perez winning a WDC.
yeah but he only needs Max to have a few bad rounds or to trip over Charles and he is fully in contention.
Do you honestly think he could be genuinely faster than max? And if he had the speed to take points off max, do you think Red Bull would change tack and not use team orders?
Are you looking at a situation where max has an accident and misses several races like Schumacher 99? Because that's a real long shot.
Unless Max gets Monkey Pox I'd say he has enough talent to safely stay ahead of checo whether that be for a WDC or a battle for 19th
All the the Teams with Updates for the weekend
If both Red Bulls had finished all races it would likely be 6 - 1 to Max on races. And Perez was still pretty lucky to get that 1 as he got Quali red flagged and burned through his tyres at Monte Carlo but you can't pass anyways.
I'd say he has practically no hope of winning the championship unless Max keeps DNFing and Ferrari get things majorly wrong for Charles every week.
Checho is a title contender the same way Rubens was a title contender at Ferrari.
+0.363
-0.261
+0.086
+0.809 (changing conditions but was about 0.5 off before that)
+0.045
+0.347
-0.037
Average gap (including Imola) through 7 races is 0.193s. He's right in there in the mix but it'll take constant consistency and a bit of bad luck for Verstappen on Verstappen's otherwise good weekends. He's a number 2 who would still have a chance at the title just in case something happens with Max, which is pretty much perfect. I thought he got off a little lightly last year when he wasn't a whole lot better than the previous team mates but the car seems to suit him well and he's driving well.
FP1 Results
Latifi and MickShu had car trouble so no times for them
It's not looking good for Schumacher. Too many mistakes AND not keeping up with KMag.
KMag is OK, but not top tier. He was a good benchmark for Schumacher IF Schumacher was going to be a potential Ferrari driver. But he isn't looking like he's even as good as KMag and certainly not a Ferrari contender.
Seems like a sound man though.
Perez topping P1 interesting as it looked at one stage it would be Max.
Anyone know what tyres Perez used for that fastest lap ?
All Drivers put in the Fastest laps on softs Grahphic only shows what Tires they used /and order of use
Third sector is a problem for Mercedes
Why do the 2 worst drivers get no luck either?
Alonso flying in P2.
FP2 Results , Seen Alonso flying in FP2 before this season , Failed to live up to expectation yet.
(not him really Apline )
He had a decent P1 as well but yeah he has had a few false dawns.
Goddamn it but it's a travesty Alonso only got 2 titles. The man is unbelievable through multiple eras. Indy 500? Just put it on the second row and battle for the lead til the engine blew up.
Long runs data form FP
He's been difficult to work with so nobody really wanted to design him a title winning car.
Alonso can be real picky with his words , I really disliked his final year at Mclaren where he said he was having great season beating his team mate a "former GP2-GP3 champion" ...and left out the part where he was 5-6 races ahead in upgrade parts as Mclaren tired to appease him . And Vandoorne was in a Massey Ferguson at that stage . But that's for a different thread
Merc bouncing like nuts again
Alonso came very close on two occasions, 1 - 3 points off winning two titles.
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