Official 2021 Saudi Arabia Grand Prix Thread ***SPOILERS***

[Piginapoke]

kambites said:

Why are the front runners continuing to take life out of the tyres they're going to be racing on? Or has Hamilton put on a new set?

I’m wondering if Hamilton put a new set of mediums on

[JonChalk]

kambites said:

Why are the front runners continuing to take life out of the tyres they're going to be racing on? Or has Hamilton put on a new set?

No - just put 8 laps on them.

Because in quali, they're getting faster and faster with use, within the bounds of fast / cool / fast / cool.

It's dilemma - if you change to newer ones, you won't have time to get them to be faster.

[jimPH]

kambites said:

Why are the front runners continuing to take life out of the tyres they're going to be racing on? Or has Hamilton put on a new set?

Looks like merc can't switch the tyres on, so need the laps to get heat in.

[anonymous-user]

Bottas and Kimi was the closest binning it mess yet.

[kambites]

jimPH said:

kambites said:

Why are the front runners continuing to take life out of the tyres they're going to be racing on? Or has Hamilton put on a new set?

Looks like merc can't switch the tyres on, so need the laps to get heat in.

But Hamilton was easily through with his second flying lap, why did he do the third?

[RichB]

Great to see Hamilton quickest in Q2 but Q3 is where it counts and I want Bottas in P2. Come Merc get it together...

[Hungrymc]

kambites said:

Why are the front runners continuing to take life out of the tyres they're going to be racing on? Or has Hamilton put on a new set?

I think Lewis was still looking to find the balance. Scruffy session before that lap.

[TheDeuce]

Kimi on bottas was nearly the incident that's been predicted here..

Danger aside, or maybe as a factor.. this is so far an epic quali session.

[95 fiesta si]

Derek Smith said:

Shame for Sainz. He looked as if he'd do something special today. He'll have problems getting back to the front tomorrow.

LH puts in a flyer.

Will Perez lose his time? I've not seen anything to suggest the Norris incident will be investigated.

The fact that LN still made it through to Q3 anyway....reckon that makes any difference to stewards decision if it gets taken up at all ?

[Tyre Smoke]

Will Valtteri get a penalty for clipping a charging Kimi? It looked like Valtteri's fault, dawdling on the racing line. What was his spotter/engineer doing?

[Derek Smith]

kambites said:

But Hamilton was easily through with his second flying lap, why did he do the third?

Odd tactic.

[paulw123]

Not sure what Lewis did so many laps on his race set. He wasn’t in danger of being knocked out!

[kambites]

RichB said:

Great to see Hamilton quickest in Q2 but Q3 is where it counts and I want Bottas in P2. Come Merc get it together...

With the struggles Mercedes were having on the softs, I think there's a good chance of a Redbull front row lockout (now watch Mercedes get one).

[Mark-C]

Piginapoke said:

Mark-C said:

Lando needing to got to the softs to get into the top ten ...

Ricciardo out

And Giovinazzi through on Mediums ... wonder what Kimi was on for before Bottas messed his lap up for him

[Brainpox]

kambites said:

jimPH said:

kambites said:

Why are the front runners continuing to take life out of the tyres they're going to be racing on? Or has Hamilton put on a new set?

Looks like merc can't switch the tyres on, so need the laps to get heat in.

But Hamilton was easily through with his second flying lap, why did he do the third?

Seems an odd choice. Maybe they are planning on an early stop tomorrow anyway, they have been caught out by undercuts a few times this year.

[vulture1]

Red9zero said:

Sainz will be running out of pants

I need to change mine watching that onboard the second time he went off

[kambites]

Tyre Smoke said:

Will Valtteri get a penalty for clipping a charging Kimi? It looked like Valtteri's fault, dawdling on the racing line. What was his spotter/engineer doing?

I guess it'll come down to "were there blue flags?" again. Did anyone notice?

[simonw67]

If you're a sky glass customer you can watch highlights at the same time. Or you can just watch the live feed which has constant highlights too!

[velocemitch]

Jeez this track is dangerous!
Somebody is going to get hurt this weekend

[TheDeuce]

Hungrymc said:

kambites said:

Why are the front runners continuing to take life out of the tyres they're going to be racing on? Or has Hamilton put on a new set?

I think Lewis was still looking to find the balance. Scruffy session before that lap.

Also worth putting in a strong Q2 just in case of a Q3 incident here. Been very lucky not to have a Q2 red flag given all the near misses and lucky escapes.