Official 2023 Saudi Arabia Grand Prix Thread ***SPOILERS***
Poll: Official 2023 Saudi Arabia Grand Prix Thread ***SPOILERS***
Total Members Polled: 168
Discussion
Vanity Projects said:
honda_exige said:
Wills2 said:
Red9zero said:
There is just no need is there however a photo catches a split second moment he could have exploded with joy milliseconds after it was taken. 
well, it filled a few pages...Happy for Perez, Max did what was expected by driving through the rest of the field like they weren't there - the speed advantage of the RB is a joke.
Unlucky Alonso, and an interesting Merc dynamic, took Lewis to catch him for George to find the overdrive switch on the gears.
Can someone let me know when the Ferraris cross the line?
Oscar Pastry must be chuckling doing Norris by the end - about all he has to smile about in a McLaren.
I’m sure Piastri is regretting moving to McLaren right now.
usn90 said:
Can’t help but feel that there was nothing wrong with Max’s car, just a face saving exercise becuase he couldn’t close the gap
Perhaps there was nothing wrong, perhaps it was coded chat.But whilst the RB cars are head and shoulders faster than the rest, it's hard to believe Max's car, even if he does have some advantages perhaps, was fast enough to catch and pass his team mate, safely, after already battling through the rest of the grid to get there. His car + his very good driving is still only fractionally faster at best than Checo in his car.
The only safe and sensible way to do get it done would have been team orders which would just have been unpopular in general this early in the season and also hugely unmotivating for Checo. He was in front, he could win, why should he not? Max could have pushed faster than he was going, and so could Checo. Both were being pace managed from the point Max had caught back up.
I note they did speed Checo up a little and held Max back to allow Max the space for a fast final lap to take the fastest lap point from Checo - giving him the WDC lead. I think that's enough team influence in the WDC at this point, given it's only the second GP.
kambites said:
HustleRussell said:
kambites said:
Has there been any news on what caused Stroll's retirement?
Looked like engine mechanical to me, turbo or MGU-H- couple of little puffs of smoke and then a bit of a stream. Commentators didn’t seem to see it. Niponeoff said:
nordboy said:
Blimey, Bernie is SO much better to listen to than 95% of all the other pundits.
Lazenby obviously thinks so as well, hardly wanted to hear from Hill
Frrrrnprrrrrr rrrrrpnnnnrrrrrr rrrrrrpppprrrrrLazenby obviously thinks so as well, hardly wanted to hear from Hill
Certainly a pleasure to have a decent pundit in the box without the lead commentator being Croft.
StRemy said:
ChocolateFrog said:
The main story that seems to be developing is the fight against AM and Merc.
AM have the faster car, Merc have a better driver pairing.
If Ferrari can sort their s
t out (doubtful) it could be a decent 3 way battle for 2nd in the constructors.
Don’t think any of the Merc drivers is any better than a fortysomething FA tbh. AM have the faster car, Merc have a better driver pairing.
If Ferrari can sort their s
t out (doubtful) it could be a decent 3 way battle for 2nd in the constructors.Vanden Saab said:
Byker28i said:
Sandpit Steve said:
The stewards still haven’t published their written explanation of the second penalty.
Just watched the video on sky, no way you can see that Jack touching, can you?Derek Smith said:
RichB said:
Sandpit Steve said:
I know it’s said every time this happens, but you’d think the stewards would have been able to hand Alonso his penalty, before the actual podium ceremony! As it was, he got interviewed, stood up there, received his trophy, sprayed whatever is they spray, then left the dais to be told he actually finished 4th. So now all the world’s newspapers will have to run with the story of the penalty, to explain why the pictures of the post-race ceremony don’t line up with the result.
There should be a policy that no ceremony happens until any outstanding investigations are complete. That would put pressure on the stewards to get their arses in gear. Frankly there's no reason why they couldn't have made that decision 10-15 mins before the end of the race.It's laziness. An do we wait for appeals?
Graham Hill is being feted as the winner of the Indy 500 in 1966. A reporter tells him that there is some confusion about the lap charts and he might not have won.
A pause. A wink. “Too late - I’ve drunk the milk”…
https://twitter.com/SkySportsF1/status/16375367757...
Alonso could have pulled an 11 second gap in the 35 laps after the pit stop if he had been given the penalty during the race?
Alonso could have pulled an 11 second gap in the 35 laps after the pit stop if he had been given the penalty during the race?
TheDeuce said:
Perhaps there was nothing wrong, perhaps it was coded chat.
But whilst the RB cars are head and shoulders faster than the rest, it's hard to believe Max's car, even if he does have some advantages perhaps, was fast enough to catch and pass his team mate, safely, after already battling through the rest of the grid to get there. His car + his very good driving is still only fractionally faster at best than Checo in his car.
The only safe and sensible way to do get it done would have been team orders which would just have been unpopular in general this early in the season and also hugely unmotivating for Checo. He was in front, he could win, why should he not? Max could have pushed faster than he was going, and so could Checo. Both were being pace managed from the point Max had caught back up.
I note they did speed Checo up a little and held Max back to allow Max the space for a fast final lap to take the fastest lap point from Checo - giving him the WDC lead. I think that's enough team influence in the WDC at this point, given it's only the second GP.
The time max lost was probably him charging the car for a hot lapBut whilst the RB cars are head and shoulders faster than the rest, it's hard to believe Max's car, even if he does have some advantages perhaps, was fast enough to catch and pass his team mate, safely, after already battling through the rest of the grid to get there. His car + his very good driving is still only fractionally faster at best than Checo in his car.
The only safe and sensible way to do get it done would have been team orders which would just have been unpopular in general this early in the season and also hugely unmotivating for Checo. He was in front, he could win, why should he not? Max could have pushed faster than he was going, and so could Checo. Both were being pace managed from the point Max had caught back up.
I note they did speed Checo up a little and held Max back to allow Max the space for a fast final lap to take the fastest lap point from Checo - giving him the WDC lead. I think that's enough team influence in the WDC at this point, given it's only the second GP.
As Mike Krack says the rules say you cannot "work" on the car. Even if the jack was touching they were not doing working on the car.
https://twitter.com/SkySportsF1/status/16375371447...
https://twitter.com/SkySportsF1/status/16375371447...
carlo996 said:
paulguitar said:
I can get this on Twitter. Usually it's a bit better here.
You should ask for your money back? You are so begrudging of anything that RB/MV does, perhaps you should focus a bit more on why LH couldn't match his team mate on better tyres instead of whining about a genuinely decent drive from Max?Just struggled to find Verstappen's drive particularly interesting or special, that's all.
Sandpit Steve said:
Vanden Saab said:
Byker28i said:
Sandpit Steve said:
The stewards still haven’t published their written explanation of the second penalty.
Just watched the video on sky, no way you can see that Jack touching, can you?
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