Alfa Romeo “can have fun this year” with more competitive car – Giovinazzi

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In the round-up: Antonio Giovinazzi predicts a more competitive season for Alfa Romeo in 2021 after their improved showing in the season-opening grand prix.

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In brief

Giovinazzi hails Alfa Romeo gains

While Alfa Romeo failed to score in Bahrain, Giovinazzi is optimistic they will be more competitive this year0

“I think what we saw in the test we confirmed also here in race one,” he said. “We are much closer to Q3.”

Giovinazzi was 12th in Q2, less than a tenth of a second away from beating Lance Stroll into Q3. He finished in the same position on Sunday, one place behind team mate Kimi Raikkonen.

“We are confident we have a better car and better power unit as well and we can have fun this year to try to score more points compared to last year,” Giovinazzi added.

Quotes: Dieter Rencken

Smolyar leads day one of F3 test

Aleksandr Smolyar, ART, Red Bull Ring, 2021
Smolyar led F3 testing for ART
ART’s Alexandr Smolyar was quickest in the first day of Formula 3 testing yesterday, lapping the Red Bull Ring in a best time of 1’18.894. Red Bull junior Jonny Edgar was second for Carlin ahead of another ART driver, Frederik Vesti, and another Red Bull junior, Jak Crawford, for Hitech.

Juan Manuel Correa placed 14th for ART as he continued preparations for his return to racing this year.

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Comment of the day

The Drag Reduction System has been with us for 10 years, but to some it seems much longer than that.

I honestly had no idea it was introduced as recently as 10 years again, it seems so normal now, that anyone would think it has always been there.

Surely there must have been something similar before, or was over-taking in the past done ala natural.

Just goes to show how easily the artificial and contrived becomes the normal and acceptable.
Ajaxn

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On this day

  • Born on this day in 1958: Christian Danner, who made his F1 debut with Zakspeed in 1985. He later drove for Osella and Arrows, and scored a remarkable fourth place for Rial at Phoenix in 1989, his last year in the sport.

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43 comments on “Alfa Romeo “can have fun this year” with more competitive car – Giovinazzi”

  1. I know it’s a big “what if”, but damn I wish Magnussen had joined Toro Rosso, he might even have landed a Red Bull seat by now.

    Wreckfest is a really good game, I bought it in Early Access on Steam, but I wasn’t a big fan of it then (mostly bc the parts deteriorated over time so you had to keep buying new ones every race). However I started playing it this year again, and I was hooked, I recommend it to anyone who wants a fun, crash-filled racing game.

  2. Ready to following restoring the car by popeofwelding for Kimi. Good news!

    1. @bullmello Is it? It looks to me like they’re going to turn it into a ghastly hot-rod – vandalism of such an original historic car.

      1. We don’t know exactly what Jesse James is going to do with this car for Kimi. It could be interesting, or maybe a skedaddle of an overblown atrocity that most people would never drive, not be seen in. It is newsworthy, whatever happens.

        My taste for me, for the car rebuilt closest to original. That is a thrill.

        Also, some customization can be fine, with some cars. Not too “ghastly”.

    2. Expect a ridiculously lowered car with an engine protruding through the bonnet, a firearm in the glove compartment, and a dog with breathing difficulties on the back seat.
      At least based on previous posts from these guys.

      1. @tflb @coldfly While there is no question Jesse James is one to Hotrod stuff up bigtime, I’m hoping that isn’t the case here, and I’m encouraged when he speaks of the 87 year preservation level of the car and honouring that.

        But that said, it is up to the customer Kimi as to what the end goal is. If he wants it to be a Hotrod then so be it, but I don’t know that that is a given, and I would like to think if that was the goal they wouldn’t use this car to do it, but rather use another car that has already been taken beyond it’s originality. I’d like to think Kimi truly wants it Old School which is why they sought out a car such as this.

        That said, if he wanted it truly restored to original I would have thought there would be others more expert in that, but of course Jesse James’ people would be very expert and likely capable of that. It’s an assumption on my part but if Kimi wants to cruise with the wife and kids the end goal will be something that is much sturdier than the original (make it last another 80 years) and the original small hp putt-putt style ride and feel that it would have had.

        Just to say though, let’s not blame JJ for whatever ‘harm’ he does to this gem, for he will only be doing what it is Kimi wants from the project.

        1. @robbie They’ve already wrecked it by tearing out the original interior. What I don’t get is why these hot-rod bunch don’t use cars that are already wrecks, as they end up with very little of the original car anyway. New custom chassis, new suspension, new drive train are standard – the only bit they use is the body, and even then chopped.

          ‘Make it last another 80 years’ – well, clearly it was sturdy enough to survive in good condition longer than that already, so it doesn’t need modernising!

          Ford V8s of that era are perfectly fine performance-wise as it is, can keep up with modern traffic with just a few tweaks. Doesnt need a showy big engine like it’ll probably have.

          Still, no accounting for other people’s taste!

          1. @tflb Oh I do hear you on that, and am only suggesting they sought out such a car as they have for Kimi because of what Kimi specifically wants from the project. Do we know they ‘tore out’ the interior, or perhaps they carefully removed it? Showy big engine? Again, that is an assumption on your part that that is what Kimi wants. But I agree, if Kimi wants something totally Hotrod-ed out it does seem a shame to use this particular car, but I’m just riffing off a few things JJ says that make me think it might not be so Rodded out as many of his projects. If Kimi wants to take his wife and kids cruising in this car I envision a pretty comfy interior and ride, and a relatively mundane V8, but not some rumbling behemoth of a hemi with a supercharger sticking out of the hood that makes it a loud handful to drive and wants to jump off every green light.

  3. Wreckfest is my absolute fav arcade racer right now. If you want an arcade style racing game, I highly recommend it.

  4. So Magnussen would’ve been in the team either instead of Kvyat or Albon, but I wonder which one? Albon is the one who got a drive later, so maybe him.

    1. Albon would be a Formula E driver instead.

      1. But if they got Magnussen instead of Kvyat, they would have had an experienced driver either way, so it’s mostly down to when they contacted hin which we’ll probably never know.

    2. It looks like another one of F1s great what ifs. Magnussen could have been in a Red Bull by now. Or at least had a chance in one.

  5. F1 has a purpose.

    It develops road going technology in a competitive environment, it provides entertainment and escapism for millions of fans all over the world, and it make a lot of money.

    As a side effect it also bring a lot of different people together in appreciation for what it is; and as a truly global sport it does it’s part in bringing the whole world closer together.

    I’m not sure We can ask any more from Motorsport.

    1. I think Rosberg’s point is we can do that, but also save the world. At least that is what he and others are trying to do in Extreme E. Not sure how that’s all going to work out, but if yesterday is anything to go by it’s a pretty good spectacle. Apart from the usual guy on pole; this time as an owner.

    2. Politicizing sport is such rubbish. Sports and politics are practically opposite things.

      1. Politics itself has degraded to the lowest form of soap opera so needs external pressure from all concerned. We can’t afford to leave even wiggle room to the politicians and vested interests any more, they’ve already shown their misanthropic irresponsibility and wasted any margin that existed.

      2. @balue Actually, bread and circuses have been at the core of politics for thousands of years.

      3. @balue
        Can’t agree more with you. Rosberg, as a sustainability entrepreneur, is actually pushing for his own “green” agenda. While it’s good thing to be aware of climate change and take the necessary actions accordingly. However, this whole Greta Thunberg hysteric style of turning everything green straightaway and at all costs is not going to work.

        1. It may not work for everything, but Rosberg, Hamilton, Button, Newey, Andretti and Ganassi amongst others seem to believe they can make it work for their brand of motorsport.

      4. @balue F1 is one of the most political sports on the planet, up there with international football and the olympics.
        Just because you don’t like a thing, doesn’t mean it isn’t true.

        1. @ferrox-glideh Just because some want to project politics onto sports, doesn’t mean they have anything to do with each other

          1. @balue Well there certainly is politics within F1, and there is also the fact that most countries hosting F1 races have political and financial backing from sitting governments in order to host said races. It isn’t private individuals or firms that are ponying up the tens of millions being asked for by F1. In exchange, governments get hosting and tourism and tax revenues not to mention employment from the injecting of money and attention to a city or a country an F1 race brings.

            I seem to recall a time when BE had asked an exorbitant amount from Montreal/Quebec/Canada, as I believe the three levels of government get involved with an event this size, and I believe it was the federal level that rejected the amount and the talk was there would be no Canadian GP as a result. But the teams and the fans balked at that because the event is so loved and popular, so BE backed off his demands by I think about 20 mill, and the race/new contract went ahead.

          2. @balue Every organized human activity has a political aspect, and the more money and people involved, the more political that activity is. The development of the sport, the funding of races, the broadcasting of races, even how we discuss these things is inextricably enmeshed in politics. Saying that they have nothing to do with each other is untrue, even if it is pretty to think so.

          3. @ferrox-glideh Saying everything is political is what’s untrue here.

            Sport is at its core is for fun only. Not to promote any way of societal governance. That some want to do that, and that it’s done, doesn’t mean it is.

          4. @balue Sport is ritualized politics, and it being for “fun only” may apply to amateur sport (not in everyone’s experience haha), but surely doesn’t apply to professional sport in the real world (the matter at hand).

          5. Sport is not “ritualized politics”. It was kids playing around in the stone age, to adults picking it up. Measuring strength and skill for fun.

            Yes it was later hijacked for political purposes and that should stop is my whole point here.

            Specifically F1 where everyone and their dog now wants to use F1 for their agenda. Even regimewashing for godssake. It’s completely out of hand.

          6. @balue I think you have confused sports with games. I agree that politics has gotten out of hand, but that is the reality of the situation, and we all have to deal with it.

    3. “Now the next step has to come. I would like Formula 1 to use synthetic fuels. Because there is still a lot to be done, the price has to be reduced and more efficient manufacturing options have to be found. If this could be used for developing countries, for example, it would be a great bridge until electric cars make the breakthrough there too. If Formula 1 could play a pioneering role in this regard, that would be mega.
      Lewis and Formula 1 did a great job last year with the black lives matter movement and the fight for more diversity. You can do the same with the environment. That actually makes a difference, because millions of people are watching.”

  6. That COTD is scary. For anyone who has watched F1 for 10 years (a big chunk of time in anyone’s life) or less they have only ever known DRS.

    Even if you’ve been watching it for 29 years, that’s over half the races in that time period with DRS.

    I for one never imagined it being around for this long when I saw it introduced in 2011.i thought it would be there for 2 or 3 years whilst they worked out an alternative way to make ‘natural’ passes happen easier. Work still ongoing…

    1. someone or something
      4th April 2021, 11:39

      @unicron2002
      That was my initial thought as well, scary to see a generation of fans unable to imagine F1 without DRS …
      But then I saw who posted it, and … I don’t know how to put it nicely … It kind of checks out.
      May be more of a personal than a generational matter after all.

    2. @unicron2002 Fair comment but I would just say to your ‘work still ongoing…’ that at least the work started immediately upon Brawn being hired and him putting 2 cars in a tunnel to head them away from too much clean air dependence, and to me that was immediately encouraging. They could not have done this sooner due to contracts etc and wanting to give the teams their say in sorting all the key aspects of F1 that needed addressing, and if not for the pandemic we’d be seeing the results this year. I’ve been stoked about Liberty and Brawn’s takeover of F1 from the start.

  7. AllTheCoolNamesWereTaken
    4th April 2021, 8:58

    Oh, to think how differently Magnussen’s career might have panned out if he had gone to Toro Rosso instead of staying at Haas.

    Rather than being fired by Haas last year, he might instead have been fired by Red Bull. Such a missed opportunity.

  8. Imagine they had DRS in at Spa in 1995 or Imola 2006…

    1. …or Dijon 1979!

  9. COTD kinda highlights the concern I raised back when DRS was introduced.

    Once you start introducing artificial or gimmicky things to ‘spice things up’ it’s very easy to become reliant on them & once you do it can then become harder to get off them, Especially as you start hitting a point where the newer/younger segment of your audience has never known any different.

    You kinda saw that with refueling where those who grew up with it wanted it to stay & felt that F1 needed that aspect of strategy. Even now when you suggest ditching the rule forcing them to use 2 compounds you hear the cries that having the ability to no-stop would not be F1…. Even though having the ability to run a race without making a stop was the norm through the 60s/70s & something that was still a regular occurrence in the 80s & didn’t stop been something you saw until 1994 (Although Mika Salo did run the 1997 Monaco GP without stopping).
    .

    Think about this. In the early years of DRS they were regularly coming out with undertaking stats that at times were well above 100 a race. When you have made such a big deal about how many overtakes have occurred any drop in that will be perceived as a negative so even a few years later when the averages were done at around 30-40 overtakes a race those who had become used to seeing them in the 50-100 range started complaining there wasn’t enough overtaking.

    The problem F1 has is the same one NASCAR has with the plate tracks. When you constantly talk about & promote a high figure (In NASCAR’s case things like lead changes & Position changes each lap at Daytona/Talledega), Even if the actual racing becomes better if the figure you are quoting drops it will still be seen as a negative because after the race it’s easy to get bogged down only on the stats & ignore most of what actually happened in the race, Especially for the more casual fan & marketing people who will use those stats for promotion.

    1. @stefmeister I hear you and would only say I think the new gen cars are going to reveal a more exciting way to race, and those who obsess over numbers of passes will forget about that when they see close combat between drivers and the tension and anticipation from that. I think the majority of racing fans that need to see passing for the sake of the numbers have figured out that F1 is not for them, as it has never been about that other than for this terrible DRS chapter that should be put to bed with the new philosophy ahead of us. True race fans, I think, understand that a DRS pass is meh when all is said and done. To me DRS was borne of BE’s last and worst chapter in F1 of money grab with CVC and letting the top four teams run amuck with their aero addiction, and now this is a new time and a time to right the ship.

  10. It seems that passes with DRS are given the same weight as “real” passes when volume is considered. It’s completely different. Quality beats quantity in this case for me. Skill and guile rather than pressing a button.
    DRS has “dumbed down” our sport.

    1. Gmacz Exactly and well said. Although I think there is a healthy percentage of people that realize DRS passes are forgotten the second after they have happened. Thankfully Brawn has spoken about the quality vs quantity thing that was always preferred until DRS was introduced to mask off the ultra aero downforce addiction of particularly the last decade or so. The new cars should not need DRS and we should head back to quality vs quantity and only an increase in chances and close combat which does not necessarily mean quantity of passes. We should see the art of defending come back as well. I predict great excitement.

      1. I really hope that you are right.

  11. Rosberg “doesn’t have a great purpose” – F1.

    1. Fun wordplay, but it he is right.

      F1 hardly has a higher purpose, but neither do most sports.

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