Official 2023 Saudi Arabia Grand Prix Thread ***SPOILERS***
Poll: Official 2023 Saudi Arabia Grand Prix Thread ***SPOILERS***
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Discussion
What shocked me is that the FIA clearly don't have sky, otherwise they would have known (from Crofts constant coomemts) they they can ride along with any driver via the red button.
Would have easily seen Stroll was out of halms way. Maybe they should wheel Ant and the pad up to their office 🤣
Would have easily seen Stroll was out of halms way. Maybe they should wheel Ant and the pad up to their office 🤣
SturdyHSV said:
pablo said:
Not sure I agree there based on events in the last year or two but Truth be told there wasnt a lot Checo could do about fastest lap. On lap 58, they said he had it but he will have known that Max would go for it so he either goes hard on the final lap too and risk binning it or just sits back and hopes that Max doesn’t get it. I can’t see anything untoward about it. Hell it’s not like had Checo been leading the championship this morning they’d have suddenly backed him for the title!
I was thinking about this when watching the race.We saw Max dropped off by about 2 seconds when preparing for the final lap (gap went from ~5 to ~7 seconds) presumably cooling the tyres a little and recharging the battery etc.
Perez wasn't really in a position to do this, if he suddenly started dropping back a couple of seconds, he'd bring himself closer to Max, which isn't ideal as it's an unnecessary risk.
He also already has the fastest lap, he knows Max hasn't been gaining on him, and Max's tyres will be in a similar (or possibly worse given the following after the safety car) state than his. So there is a possibility that Max won't get fastest lap if he goes for it anyway.
There is also the risk / chance for either driver when "going for it" that there's a mistake and a wall is clipped etc. and suddenly either Perez is throwing away 25 points if he makes a mistake or he's gaining an 18 point lead if Max makes a mistake.
Then finally based on the entire weekend leading up to the race, there is the fact Max has been almost half a second faster than him, so if they do both go for the fastest lap, he must expect there's a fair chance Max will get it.
WIth those things in mind, it seems fairly understandable he didn't go for it.
Both drivers were crafty - neither asked for permission to go for it, presumably so they could play the 'well you didn't say don't go for it' card.
Overall I don't think RB could've plausibly been any fairer over how the whole race was managed.
You only have to flick back in this thread to immediately pre race to see that the prevailing opinion on here seemed to be that Checo would be instructed to back the pack up.
Daston said:
What shocked me is that the FIA clearly don't have sky, otherwise they would have known (from Crofts constant comemts) they they can ride along with any driver via the red button. Would have easily seen Stroll was out of harms way. Maybe they should wheel Ant and the pad up to their office ??
they would still have been quick to put the safety car out. The Americans love to see the field packed up tight every few laps. RichB said:
Daston said:
What shocked me is that the FIA clearly don't have sky, otherwise they would have known (from Crofts constant comemts) they they can ride along with any driver via the red button. Would have easily seen Stroll was out of harms way. Maybe they should wheel Ant and the pad up to their office ??
they would still have been quick to put the safety car out. The Americans love to see the field packed up tight every few laps. Everyone’s concern is that the FOM (Liberty) people, who very much are American in attitude, are being allowed to influence the FIA and the in-race decision-making, to prioritise “The Show”. That’s an FIA problem.
I don't know if it was because of where they were or because of Red Bulls pace but in most of the interviews I saw all drivers ,with the exception of Fred and Perez, looked thoroughly miserable and just wanted the weekend to end.
In one interview, Norris looked like he was going to burst into tears.
With that level of dominance, it could be quite a dull season.
In one interview, Norris looked like he was going to burst into tears.
With that level of dominance, it could be quite a dull season.
honda_exige said:
Watching your hate boners for RB and Max really is entertaining 
but again you're blinkered approach to Max is boring as is your response again to anyone with a different opinion to yourself.As has been asked many times before, that you ignore, please stick to the facts, present your argument without the insults. There's no need.
The Hypno-Toad said:
I don't know if it was because of where they were or because of Red Bulls pace but in most of the interviews I saw all drivers ,with the exception of Fred and Perez, looked thoroughly miserable and just wanted the weekend to end.
In one interview, Norris looked like he was going to burst into tears.
With that level of dominance, it could be quite a dull season.
pretty much all teams other than RB and aston have found their expectations of their 23 car have fallen short. 17th and 18th so far for lando must be quite a blow at this point in his career.In one interview, Norris looked like he was going to burst into tears.
With that level of dominance, it could be quite a dull season.
honda_exige said:
Hamilton saying the RB is the most dominant car he's ever seen.
Gave me a little chuckle that he'd forget 2014 and 2016 already. Spain 2014 they lapped every car up to 6th!
https://the-race.com/formula-1/hamilton-2023-red-b...
Gave me a little chuckle that he'd forget 2014 and 2016 already. Spain 2014 they lapped every car up to 6th!
https://the-race.com/formula-1/hamilton-2023-red-b...
straight into drama queen 5 mins after his nanny disembarked.
Wollf disagrees:
Lewis Hamilton - who knows a thing about domination, having experienced it for a number of years with Mercedes - said he had "never seen a car so fast".
"When we were fast, we weren't that fast," the seven-time champion said. "That is the fastest car I have seen compared to the rest."
His team principal Toto Wolff disagreed - "we have had those years when we were as strong," he said - but then underlined the hard truth that Red Bull are demonstrating this year, just as Mercedes did from 2014-16 and again in 2020.
EmailAddress said:
andyA700 said:
Just watched the highlights, the difference between the RB's, Aston and the rest is mad. Look at when Max overtook Lewis, the difference in speed was crazy.
Can't help but feel that three DRS zones was unnecessary as well.RBR's DRS pace appears to be coming from low drag aero, rather than from any difference in BHP to any other team ..... their drive out of corners is no better than any other team, for example.
andyA700 said:
Just watched the highlights, the difference between the RB's, Aston and the rest is mad. Look at when Max overtook Lewis, the difference in speed was crazy.
lol i liked the commentary of it looks like a f1 car passing an f2 car. the pain must be so real for merc. I feel bad for lando too - the car is a bit of a turd
The Hypno-Toad said:
I don't know if it was because of where they were or because of Red Bulls pace but in most of the interviews I saw all drivers ,with the exception of Fred and Perez, looked thoroughly miserable and just wanted the weekend to end.
In one interview, Norris looked like he was going to burst into tears.
With that level of dominance, it could be quite a dull season.
It was Saudi Arabia, nobody wants to be there. Apparently many drivers made that clear before the weekend started! In one interview, Norris looked like he was going to burst into tears.
With that level of dominance, it could be quite a dull season.
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