Flying Verstappen makes it three-in-a-row in Bahrain practice

27 comments on “Flying Verstappen makes it three-in-a-row in Bahrain practice”

1. 

   hahostolze (@hahostolze)
   27th March 2021, 13:21

   And yet Q3 will end with the entirely familiar sight of Hamilton on top.
   1. 

      bosyber (@bosyber)
      27th March 2021, 13:25

      The way the Red Bull/Verstappen looks versus how much more Hamilton had to do to get that time, I am not at all sure of that, even if Mercedes has more fuel by ~0.2s, and better power when it counts, it will at best be close I think.
   2. 

      David (@nvherman)
      29th March 2021, 8:27

      This didn’t age well
2. 

   Adam (@rocketpanda)
   27th March 2021, 13:27

   I mean… it looks promising for a good fight, doesn’t it? I’m trying to keep expectations low but admittedly I’m hopeful. I’d really love to see Red Bull taking command as the frontrunners for a change, but I got this horrible suspicion the normal order will resume.

   Other than the front, there’s some interesting stories. Mainly curious at Alpine and Aston Martin – are they quite as bad as they look?
   1. 

      bernasaurus (@bernasaurus)
      27th March 2021, 14:09

      Ditto, I don’t think it’s worth forming conclusions until we see what happens in Q3, as much as I’d love to see a competitive Red Bull this year.
3. 

   Roger Ayles (@roger-ayles)
   27th March 2021, 13:36

   It would be rather amusing if the rule changes that have hindered Mercedes ‘dominance’ results in Red Bull/Verstappen dominating by an even greater margin.

   I think it’s quite clear now why they made the rule changes they did specifically focussing on the rear floor/diffuser. They surely would have known making those specific changes would be great for the high rake concept cars like Red Bull & would badly hurt the low rake cars such as Mercedes so I think it’s clear why they made those specific changes.

   These sorts of messing with rules to obviously try & hinder one teams advantage & benefit others has always been something that’s never sit well with me. Especially as it has seemed to become something done a more frequently over the past 20-30 years.
   1. 

      hahostolze (@hahostolze)
      27th March 2021, 13:43

      I mean, during testing nobody had a clue if low or high rake would be an advantage and prior to testing everyone was convinced that low rake would benefit. If FIA wanted to give RB an advantage they knew something that nobody in the paddock knew.
      1. 

         Roger Ayles (@roger-ayles)
         27th March 2021, 14:03

         @hahostolze They were talking about it going against the low rake towards the end of last year & Sky went into there coverage of testing talking about how the rules were going to benefit the high rake concept & it was the same with some of the tech programs on F1TV.
      2. 

         David BR (@david-br)
         27th March 2021, 14:17

         @hahostolze @roger-ayles The changes were supposed to affect both types of car (rake) through new regulations in different areas. However, it does seem the low-rake cars have been more heavily impacted. Bottas in particular was clearly finding it difficult to handle. In some ways, that’s cool, it makes driver skill more critical. I doubt Red Bull will stay 0.7 in front, possibly not even in qualifying in an hour’s time, certainly not over a season. But it’s supposedly what Mercedes want, real competition, so great. (Even if it is generated by regulations whose sole purpose was to slow the cars down.)
   2. 

      BasCB (@bascb)
      27th March 2021, 13:57

      I’d say that would be rather typical of F1 actually @roger-ayles! But I don’t expect anything the like. I think it will be close between Verstappen and Hamilton for pole. WHo knows, maybe Bottas hooks up a lap without going off too wide at turn 4 and getting that lap deleted and can be in the mix too.

      I would expect the Red Bulls to have a proper shot at winning the race, since the car looks more stable and hints are towards it’s greater race pace. I would think that Perez would be a solid backup then to keep at least 1 Mercedes off the podium.

      It also bodes well for a season, since we all know Mercedes ARE going to claw back some of the performance, while Perez will also grow into things at Red Bull during the next few races to keep the stakes up a bit.

      What you say is not completely true though @hahostolze. First of all, this was mentioned several times during testing when it seemed that the Mercedes cars were clearly more unstable than they had been in the last decade. But I had heard this as soon as the rule change came out already, it was quite predictable that it would have somewhat more effect on an aero concept like what the Mercedes has vs. the high rake approaches.
   3. 

      Robbie (@robbie)
      27th March 2021, 14:03

      @roger-ayles I find it rather amusing that you put dominance in quotes. Personally I was concerned that the changes would affect RBR negatively as they already had a rear end that was not planted last year and I thought taking away from downforce at the rear would give them a big headache. But they have also changed their rear suspension geometry from what I understand, and I don’t think Honda and their apparent improvements can be ignored either. I certainly thought at times in some races that Max didn’t need much more than just a little extra grunt for some higher top speeds on the straights last year, at some tracks anyway.
4. 

   Homerlovesbeer (@homerlovesbeer)
   27th March 2021, 13:37

   Why do you all love Redbull so much? The team is full of toss bags such as Horner, Helmut and Verstappen.

   I hate the Mercedes dominance just like everybody else and I’m sick of it too but not to the extent that I’d rather Redbull win.

   Any other team other than them.
   1. 

      Robbie (@robbie)
      27th March 2021, 14:04

      Doh
   2. 

      John H (@john-h)
      27th March 2021, 14:09

      Because the same team winning all the championships since 2014 does tire after a while. I mean, I’m a Hamilton supporter but to be honest I’d rather see Max win it this year in some respects. Agree about Horner though, I wouldnt trust him with a barge pole. @homerlovesbeer
   3. 

      Barry Bens (@barryfromdownunder)
      27th March 2021, 14:16

      >disliking everyone with a personality at Red Bull

      Seems like they only have 1 thing in common: YOU dislike them. Ever wonder that maybe it was you who is the biggest ‘toss bag’?
   4. 

      Aapje (@aapje)
      27th March 2021, 14:31

      @homerlovesbeer

      It’s a very professional team that has very stable results and that doesn’t seem to cheat, unlike a certain other team that many people love.

      I quite like Horner. He pretty consistently seems to do what is best for the team. There’s a reason why he has kept his job for 15 years. Yet it’s often pretty clear how he is really feeling, so it’s interesting to follow him.

      Helmut seems very analytical and undiplomatic, which is probably why he rarely interacts with the media. Basically, a lot like Niki Lauda, but without the humor. Niki was loved by many, so I think it’s a bit unfair to be so harsh on Helmut.

      I just see it as a very Germanic team, harsh, but fair.
   5. 

      David BR (@david-br)
      27th March 2021, 14:34

      @homerlovesbeer In Max’s case, you just have to admire the skill with which he’s driving already this season, smooth, mistake free, assured. And I am looking forward to see how that might pan out in a real title pressure situation as the season progresses. Will those earlier career mistakes come back if winning a championship becomes a possibility? It’s just a far more interesting story than can Hamilton yet beat Bottas again? (Yes, obviously.)
5. 

   iCarbs (@icarby)
   27th March 2021, 13:42

   Expect a Verstappen pole position and win this weekend. Mercs got more work to do.
   1. 

      John H (@john-h)
      27th March 2021, 14:13

      I expect a pole, but either an engine failure or crash tomorrow. Bottas I think will win.
6. 

   Qeki (@qeki)
   27th March 2021, 13:55

   Without looking FP3 at all. Verstappen is champion in the middle of the season.
   It would be a chance to the norm but lets hope it will be a tight fight
7. 

   LEMAYIAN (@lems)
   27th March 2021, 14:14

   That qualifying session and race is not one to be missed, we might just have that super season we’ve all been craving for. So excited!
8. 

   John H (@john-h)
   27th March 2021, 14:17

   1.3 seconds though. Not sure Perez would have been expecting that. If Perez struggles this year, it will at least help Albon’s credibility. I don’t really know what will happen of course, but Max is clearly a formidable force.
9. 

   Blazzz (@blazzz)
   27th March 2021, 14:26

   No doubt Red Bull seem to have nailed this one- but a fundamental issue that seems to be getting overlooked, is if this is track specific. Mercedes have been beatable in Bahrain over the years, particularly when Vettel and Hamilton had their wars in 2017 and 2018. I’m also not dispelling Merc’s rear end issues but I am just saying- even with Max and Red Bull as favourites, this might not necessarily shape the story of the season. Can’t wait for more answers in qualy and the race.
10. 

    Sviat
    27th March 2021, 14:30

    Alonso is incredibly slow. He doesn’t look competitive in all three practices. Although in his last attempt he was on par with Ocon, but then lost about 4 tenths in two corners in the third sector.

    Alpine also doesn’t look competitive.

    On SkySports, they were discussing the fact that it’s unclear what Alpine is doing and how fast they’re. But to me it’s clear that if a team is sandbagging and is 3-4 seconds down on the top teams… they are not sandbagging, they are just slow.

    Also, if Alonso doesn’t beat Ocon in the next 3-4 races, I don’t think he should continue racing in F1. And Alpine should immediately sign someone younger with reflexes. They should think about Hulk, who signed with Mercedes and Aston Martin as a third driver.
    1. 

       David BR (@david-br)
       27th March 2021, 14:56

       Kind of harsh @Sviat given the huge gap between Verstappen and Perez, also new to his team, but with the benefit of racing in F1 the last couple of years. Or Gasly-Vettel for that matter.
    2. 

       David BR (@david-br)
       27th March 2021, 15:14

       Oops, Stroll-Vettel.
11. 

    baasbas
    27th March 2021, 14:46

    who knows.. maybe using the ‘next years engine’ this year will result in regular Honda blow ups.
    Looks interesting but I won’t allow myself to hope for a proper title fight just yet

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