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Lmao Rosberg to interview Ham
Merc maybe in a better direction with car, but 24 seconds will not be made up this year
Verstappen in a league of one once more.
Mercedes will be very happy with their performance though
Ferrari… urghhh
Walkover for Max but good to see Merc getting back into the game.
This track always produces this. This track needs something different.
Why is Ver having track limits issues with an 18 sec lead.
Why is Max exceeding track limits?
Time for Perez to go to work
Should get Russel, Hamilton will probably escape by 3 or 4 secs.
Perez needs to pull his fingers out no laps left really
Yeah I thought he’d have had him by now
Free pit for Max then, lets see what this fastest lap is going to be
I wonder if that’s a move by Mercedes to ask Red Bull to show true pace
Softs, that’s a bold move!
Rain :) :) :)
False alarm, only…. sweat.
The sweaty little Pleb.
He got me worked up then! ;)
Perez is catching Russell, Max put an additional 2 secs on Hamilton…
but if Merc are insanely going to try a one stopper it might work?
George has to be kidding, surely.
Trying to scare Red Bull?
Anyone know what happened to the predictions standings this year? Did I miss some announcement?
@keithcollantine what’s up this year?
Why Lec pits? On H tyres?
Sudden drop off of Hulkenberg’s pace on the mediums has … triggered Ferrari to switching to the mediums. Sainz inevitably asks why…
I seem to recall Fernando stealing some places at the start not so long ago but no action was taken?
I may be mistaken but I think more slack is given for the the first half of the first lap?
I think you’re thinking of Russia some year. But I dont’ think he made as many as 4-5 places.
Russell gets away with gaining 5 places…
Even if I was *professional*, I wouldn’t want to be a steward judging what penalty to give George Russell for corner cutting. There’s no precedent for this incident.
Wow! No penalty at all given! He took the escape road correctly, but he did overtake 4 cars in the process…
Norris getting no luck :(
Why almost everyone on softs?
Interesting Tyre strategy for Rbr
Oh no Rosberg is on the commentary team
Should be a good race, still think Max will smoke everyone
McLaren’s mechanics are doing some work on the Right Rear wheel on Nando’s car.
Look at those clouds
Fernando has had the floor replaced “like for like” on his car without receiving a penalty.
Hopefully, Russell didn’t pick up sny floor damage before the race has even started.
Dark clouds in the east or south-east direction, but sunny westwards, interesting.
Top 5 prediction: VER-PER-ALO-SAI-HAM
No rain during the driver parade, but dark clouds in the background.
Max and Carlos on the front row. Lando Norris and probably Lewis on the second row (Pierre was faster than Lewis, but he will probably get some penalties for impeding, promoting Lewis to 4th place on the Starting Grid).
Alonso’s floor damage was evident, but a good final lap for Norris & Gasly, although the latter will most certainly drop to P10 with 2x 3-place grid penalties.
Look how close they wrre
Almost a second faster and has another fresh set of tyres available
It is beyond lame that Mercedes are only willing to commit their communications director to the broadcast. Every other team is accommodating.
Need the McLarens in there too
The Stewards have noted George Russell impeded Lewis Hamilton. Lewis lost a piece of his front wing when he hit Russell’s car.
Wonder how much effect that had on the car, the changed nose plus likely floor damage in the collision. Lewis seemed to have no pace in Q3 after very good Q1 and Q2 pace. Can’t help feeling that things in are about to go south between the Mercedes boys.
I thought something happened with the Merc s
Russell did a dangerous move against Hamilton. Penalty incoming.
Lack of spacial awareness seems to be a thing today.
We’ll both Russell and Perez out…
Interesting – both Russell and Perez out.
What a terrible qualifying for Checo, another surprise elimination & the same with Russell.
They’ve missed the contact between George and Lewis. What happened there!
There’s the replay! Awkward. Looks like George was avoiding the Ferrari and didn’t realise how close Lewis was. Lucky there wasn’t more damage. Hopefully it’s just the wing change for Lewis.
Leclerc will be hoping to at least be starting 18th if Gasly keeps this up ;)
And Gasly is already at 8 penalty points. If he gets two per impeding, that’s a raceban innit?
The Stewards are going to also investigate Pierre for impeding Max Verstappen.
Gasly will lose six places rather than three, lol.
19th – good grief :(
Charles LeClair has been eliminated from Q2.
Perez got lucky to avoid elimination.
If we can just end qualifying there, that would be great… That’s the most excited I’ve heard Crofty for a little while!
Something must be wrong with Leclerc’s car, but a surprise elimination nevertheless.
I wasn’t sure Charles would make it.
Glad he did.
Whoa – LOL – I may have spoke too soon
Pierre Gasly will be investigated after the session for impeding Carlos Sainz.
Dangerous move by Gasly. Penalty guaranteed.
The Red Flag has ended with about 14 minutes of Q1 remaining.
Q1 has been Red Flagged. The commentators speculate this is due to gravel on the track. 6 cars had gone off the track, and put gravel onto the track when they were getting back onto the track.
They should only race cars in the simulator. Doing it on an actual track is clearly too dangerous.
Unnecessary Red flag. Maybe to delay the runniny in hope it rains to try and mix things up more.
A common trend now it seems to put the show above the sport.
people complained about Michael Masi and this is what we get in return
The most pointless Red Flag in the entire history of Formula One. Good job FIA.
Unless the red was for track conditions, given Albon’s nearly simultaneous off, but Bottas started moving almost immediately yet race control didn’t bother to wait for five more seconds.
Oh dear – if it starts to rain now things will be very weird on the grid
Pointlessly hasty red flag. The most pointless ever AFAIR
Weird error by Yuki
For now, seemingly similar conditions to FP3.
Apparently, more rain.
Pole time (if dry): 1:11.888/VER
They say you cut the course.
Interesting corner-cut at Campsa.
Wonder if we are in for a wet qually.
Hopefully, not.
Weird error
That’s it for dry running in FP3.
Dark clouds in the background & 80% rain chance.
Some racing practice between Gasly & Sargeant.
The first lap time lower than 2006 Q2 pace-setter of 1:14.637, i.e., the fastest pre-2007 time on any configuration.
Ofc Alonso will be first on track.
Yeah slam dunk, good job, we’ll done to Ocon
Red Bull are at risk of ruining F1 :(
Hamilton very slow…
Lewis is complaining ….. so all is normal ;)
Can’t stop laughing at Stroll
Renault did a good job with Ocon
Nando is bloody lucky
This is madness
Hahaha
KMag nearly crashed at a wet Mirabeau. Just avoided skiding into the outside wall.
The fun is about to begin
There’s not going to be any rain…
Don’t bet lots of money today ;)
LOL – say what you think Carlos :)
Oh Perez … all too easy
Perez hit Stroll and overtook him by cutting the chicane. He’s not given the place up. But it wasn’t on the TV, so he might have got away with it.
I really find the FOM feed lacking, hardly seeing anything from 3rd to 8th place, I’m all for seeing the rest of the field, but there’s only so much I need to watch the guys out of the points
At least the weather is unpredictable ;)
Logan is getting mugged all over the place
Nice Kev, Lance and Serg
OCO pushed him to use his front wing
Oh Carlos
Smart move of Red Bull, Perez has free air and net is top 10 at the moment
Can Perez go to the end?
I don’t think it will help him much even so :/
ROFL Hulk smash!
Rain looks like a possibility, definitely getting a bit darker
Come on Fernando.
Make it fun :)
I do hope the sound of the car engines isn’t so loud as to cause make the dog’s ears hurt.
Dog on a grandstand is an unusual sight.
Based on how the sky looked during the driver parade, the race will indeed likely be entirely dry, so I’ve very low expectations for racing quality as always with dry Monaco GPs.
Checo & Ocon could provide some excitement in different ways.
Ocon 4th – Epic :)
Hoping Fernando has one of his killer starts and pips Max into turn 1
What the heck?!?! How did he pull that one out???
It looked like he touched a few walls
Respect Max, I salute that
Bah – spotty face got it :/
Nando!
Go Go Fernando :)
Carn Alonso!
Ocon ????
Wow
Less than a tenth for top 3 😳
Please grab that Pole Fernando.
Max will take you in the race, but please grab that pole :)
Wow, that was impressive
I think he’s out
He’s in trouble again…
Ocon overshot the weigh bridge but it looks like he’ll be able to reverse back onto it.
Don’t often see straight tyre changes during quali
Get the laps on early before red flag. Track seems to be developing quickly though. Might need 3 or 4 laps somehow.
Less than 1 second covered the first 15 drivers.
So awesome. Any mistake and you’re out.
Wow, that was close
Phew Lewis ;)
Lewis going to have to pull it out now!
Ham might not make it out
This is interesting
Is Gasly allowed to use the pit lane like that? He is trying get out of the way, but like that? He could’ve pulled over just after the line
Whoah. That crash might just have cost Red Bull the 2024 championship. Just that photo of their underfloor magic…
Sergio has crashed. The best he can hope for is to start at P15. Potential damage to the gearbox.
What a …… idiot Perez.
It will be a challenge for him to score points tomorrow.
Also think Red Bull is very unhappy with their car in the air and their floor for all to see/study.
As Goat looks on watching his IP broadcasted to the world
All too easy…
Nando is quick
Hi all, predicting a Rbr pole
Pole time: 1:10.990/LEC, race top 5: LEC-VER-ALO-PER-SAI, while I’m skeptical LEC could convert pole into victory, I still decided to try something different, also with PER’s position, for a change, given Monaco’s track position importance.
Meme opportunities
Risky recovery
What a mess
First he made rejoining from St. Devote escape space unnecessarily difficult & shortly afterwards got an issue.
Weird situation for Ocon
Almost identical to Leclerc’s 2021 Q3 incident.
Second swimming pool chicane, typical place for errors in Monaco.
Drifting proved costly
Silly error, but a pointless red flag because nothing seeming dropped.
For the first time ever Monaco has helicopter view & some other camera angles also seem different from before after FOM’s takeover.
I also notice that the familiar giant screen on the run towards Massenet is missing & trackside advertising is lie everywhere else, i.e., clear-cut portions for a particular sponsor.
Huh?????????? Keith?
I watched this, rather stupidly thinking that Perez could actually put up a fight against Max.
Battle for 5th to 9th was quite good though.
Yes. I am clutching at straws!!
Why did Checo not pitted for the fastest lap?
Good question. I think it was 22s to Fernando. But, I guess something could go wrong at the stop. And maybe Max needs the points.
It’s a bit of shame just how powerful DRS is, especially for Red Bull. There’s no real tension cause you know a pass is inevitable. Remember when Kimi was so much faster than Fisichella but there was no guarantee of a pass so after a few laps he made the move on the last lap. I can’t see that happening anymore.
Another race where Sir Lewis recommended parking his car in the garage, but ends up getting a decent finish and points.
That woman screaming…… is living on a different planet to me. I am still awake. And I suggest we give her some kind of ‘best thing about the Miami GP award’. She’d probably be ecstatic with a sticker.
Imagine spending $5,000 to sit through this.
Thankfully most are looking the other way or having a chat with a friend, it’s Brundle I feel sorry for. He is obligated to talk.
It’s Abu Dhabi all over again minus the Masi madness
Has F1 ever been in a worse state? Any fans they’ve gained in the last few years from DTS will start leaving by the masses soon
Thos is just what F1 is. Always has been and always will be.
Some years are more competitive, others less, Sometimes you see a team dominate and sometimes you don’t.
The problem recently is that through DTS they tried to see it as something it’s never been.
Tried to sell it as something it’s never been.
It just me or does it look like people are leaving?
Stands seem to have a lot more empty seats than earlier on
Full marks to Max for driving like a true Champ – but damn this is dull :(
Crowd looks dead.
Even when there’s something going on there only seem to be a few in the stands that have any reaction to it.
Just lacks the passion and enthusiasm you see elsewhere.
Sainz ran off the road at turn 6ish, letting Russell by.
Ocon, not Russell.
People are waiting for safety cars
Speeding in the pitlane is 5 seconds only? That should be worse really
Another snoozer despite the mixed up grid. Good thing we have DRS this track is bogus
Rbr + Max is literally unstoppable
Max is catching Checo pretty fast
Great move Max
Alonso train on the way?
Max and checo on different tyres
USA USA USA USA USA
Predicting a Perez win, just needs to get a good start and keep his nose clean. As long as Rbr done hurt his chances
Yes, probably with Verstappen second, but his chance of getting in trouble is higher
I haven’t watched any pre race shows in forever. I have to ask, is this how it’s done before every race these days or is this a special for Miami? It’s shocking. What have they done?
It’s a one off. So far.
It certainly left me speechless.
This is ridiculous, just get to the racing
well, not as bad as I’d expected
At least better than the 2017 US GP introduction format.
Oh my.
Oh this is embarrassing
Top 5 predictions: PER-VER-ALO-LEC-SAI
If only Max didn’t mess up his forst attempt, but luck is part of motorsports, so sometimes it goes against.
Leclerc returning Perez’s gift from Monaco last year lmao
Max will be happy with Charles…
Well that’s a nice mixed up grid
I wonder what Vettel is doing right now. Camping in Sauerland or getting back in shape in case Stroll senior replaces Stroll Junior.
This is getting silly. getting thrown out of Q1 in an easily Q3 car.
F1 International listner’s guide to British pidgin English:
Star or stah = the beginning of the race
Ba or burr = but
Exa = leaving the race
Owe = cannot continue the race
Wore = any barrier that defines the race track
Sworded = concluded or decided upon
(no offence)
I bet Oscar Piastri regrets jumping the Alpine ship for McLaren.
Hamilton out lol immediately blaming the team for his lack of pace
Dangerous from the Mercs
Learn to drive, Sir
This is such an awful track. Just no part of it thats exciting to watch which you can’t wait for them to get to each lap.
Just another really uninspiring car park track.
Even the commentators are struggling to find ways to try and hype it up.
Mickey Mouse parking lot circuit in the armpit of the USA.
I am still looking for the Caesars Palace Parking Lot sign.
Interesting qualifying, with the exception of who is getting pole
Great to have Martin Brundle back in the commentary box.
For ever Ferrari fan.
Pole time: 1:26.300, pole position: VER
Ok
Another funny radio rant (somewhat) by Yuki.
Thanks
Slightly wide, loses rear, nothing extraordinary.
Although, grip level from tarmac may have contributed.
Relaid tarmac, still slightly slippery.
Zero red flags
The pitlane regulations clarified before Australia suddenly seem justified now…
Though whichever member of FIA staff let all those people in the pitlane should have a very stern talking to at the very least.
Jesus they are so blatant at Rbr,
That’s better Checo, see where more improvements can be made
Who will Max blame today
What a circus
Perez has given his detractors nothing to say today has he.
Great drive Perez, make it interesting
5 laps to go. Lando time
Perez apparently has Verstappen covered really
Think people are 1 stopping
Unless you are turtle Bottas!!!!
This track is terrible frustrated its still on the calendar.
Race so far showing that reducing practice isn’t a guarantee to create an action packed unpredictable race.
Losing Friday sessions sometimes creates a more interesting race only because teams lose the run plan they went into the weekend with.
If they go into a weekend knowing they will have less practice they will optimise there runplan to maximize the time they have.
And having a race yesterday probably benefitted them by giving them more real world race data.
Lol, he probably shouldn’t have touched his brake balance
Nando is literally telling Lance how to drive the car
Red Bull showing how much faster they are when they need to turn it up
As was Alonso’s. Basically a battle behind red bull here now
That was a high risk but cracking move by Hamilton there
Wasn’t Russel’s pit overtake under yellow/safety car?
I think it’s okay once in the pit entry, not 100% sure though
Apparently it’s ok
Silly error by De Vries & sneaky tactics by Russell.
Weird weird decision by Red Bull, Hamilton got absolutely screwed on again too
Max got caught out but he’ll repass.
Terrible timing by Red Bull
All mediums runners should stop
De Vries is a goner isn’t he.
Knew that would happen
Hamilton will be passed
Do AMR still have Drs issues?
That was insane
Fia should have been firmer on RBR penalty
Any predictions for the number of red flags?
4
3
Top 5 predictions: VER-PER-LEC-HAM-ALO
Doth protest too much
I don’t think you’ll be doing the same back to him Max as he’s not driving to win the WDC.
Well this is the part of being in the best car he is learning and probably understanding what other drivers are likely to do, if he fights with them he has a ton more to lose, doesn’t excuse what happened to him but now he realises
Verstappen could have backed out but he refused.
What an entitled little brat.
very poor sportsman as usual!
I try to like Max – but he really is a bit of a sad little man.
He doesn’t help himself sometimes – but we only really see these guys in the times when their adrenaline is high – he isn’t the only one.
I totaly agree.
It is one of reasons I would never want to know any professional athletes.
Their desperate need to win and be admired just makes me pity them to be honest.
Are sky sports announcers completely oblivious to the giant hole in the side of Max car?
Apparently so
I wonder whether Perez is deliberately keeping Perez in his DRS zone by driving a bit slower than he could? It wouldn’t surprise me.
Nice pass by Max too
Are we going to lose 25% of the distance here to safety cars?
These things happen I guess
I think they should’ve thrown the safety car immediately and only had 2 laps of it. 4 laps was excessive.
Curious as to why you are bothering to watch – I thought you posted previously that you detested Sprint races.
Nice elbows out there from George
Meh, it was not wheel banging but just driving into Max’s floor.
Racing :)
Yeah hard racing but poorly performed so wouldn’t call it nice
and Max whining already…..coz is not in first position, he finds it difficult to race.
All drivers whine – we just hear the whines that Liberty want to air
If you get hit you’ll probably always complain. Especially when someone hits you on your left rear with his front right
Drivers whining is like footballers throwing themselves on the floor – hard to take seriously
I’m still not a fan of the Sprint concept but this is a far better way of doing it than before.
Hopefully, good racing throughout the field & even better, a lead battle even if unlikely.
Another pole for Leclerc as I expected but Ferrari’s general race pace disadvantage will probably be against him winning in sprint too.
Leclerc… oh what happened there with Russell
What a stupid rule this “new tyres in sprint quali” is. How did no-one see this coming?
How can you run out of soft tyres
Norris & Tsunoda simply used all of their soft sets across yesterday’s session.
Did Russell get caught with the yellows
No
Better lap from Nando
I think saying the Ferrari was “in the middle of the road” is a bit soft to be honest.
Tsunoda still had green lights when he crossed the timing line.
As soon as this format was announced my first thought was they should make anyone that brings out a red flag start at the back of the grid.
Sargeant perhaps arrived into the corner a bit too fast, although Sainz didn’t help matters.
Not sure if these rules are having the desired effect, there will be more incidents like this …
Unlucky red for Alfas & Tsunoda.
I don’t have much sympathy for Tsunoda missing out given how many qualifying laps he’s ruined for others with over driving.
I expect mostly similar order to yesterday’s qualifying.
Nice one.
Ferrari can now start planing how to throw it away on Sunday :)
Mercedes is surprisingly slow & Sainz didn’t necessarily impede Albon.
To what extent of Mercedes upgraded their car for this race?
Not enough it now seems :/
Bottas the faster Alfa driver in quali trim for a change while Ocon was lucky he stayed within the top 15 by mere 2 hundreds.
An hour earlier start for qualifying would be better & I already pointed out this the last time Azerbaijan GP occurred in late-April.
Sprint has the same issue with 30 min later start despite being a shorter session by default.
At this rate we will be demanding more practice sessions! ;)
Sainz can’t get anything right & is only lucky red has saved him twice.
Great show to have qualy at Baku without proper training
Come on, another red caused by a driver error.
De Vries seemed to have a brake by wire issue
Yes, possible, in which case he gets more slack.
The red came for the right time for Magnussen.
A small lock-up cost him. The season is in its early-phase, but he could be under threat at the current rate.
Already red
Bit of a shake up for this weekend.
Bring on the chaos :)
VER-PER-LEC-ALO-RUS for race starting order.
Quite a bit of drama already.
Hello everyone and welcome to RaceFans Live for the only practice session for the Azerbaijan Grand Prix. After this hour of running it’s qualifying and racing all the way…
Did I say farcical before? Man was I kind.
A less than satisfactory finish.
If my calculations are correct, the final 3 laps took just short of an hour. Just sheer stupidity.
Just woke up and missed all this drama 😂
340 am. I’m off to bed!
This is ridiculous.
5 seconds for that collision would be justified in normal circumstances. But according to the restart order, that collision didn’t happen (I.e. Alonso will return to P3). I understand there’s a safety element to penalising Sainz as well, but as Button has just mentioned, the penalty could make things make unsafe, but FIA are making this completely ridiculous.
Not sure about this Carlos pen.
In football if you’re offside then there’s a foul the foul isnt given as the offside was first. Carlos is being punished for a race that didn’t theoretically happen. Either we go with sector 1 results or the count back means the penalty didn’t happen.
Tell that to the cars the crashed as a result of the incident precipitated by Sainz bad move
Watching the replays I see no clear connection between the Carlos/Fernando incident and the Alpine crash.
The argument is Sainz instigated the entire incident backing up those behind, so while Alonso got back in the race, the Alpines didn’t.
It depends how lap 57 is classified. How cross he the line both 12th and 3rd?
Why would 5 cars behind Sainz bunch up? The one car behind him needs to be within 5, not 0.05.
And the others can’t pass that one car
This could be dangerous with the whole grid piling up to be within 5 secs of Sainz.
This is a debacle.
Ferrar may maintain more brand prestige by withdrawing from the sport.
Sainz penalty so at least some common sense at last
Normally I’d agree but a penalty from a crash caused after a restart that shouldn’t have happened….
Penalties coming now 🤣🤣🤣
Carlos got a 5 second penalty…
Since when did Crofty decide you needed 58 laps to give a classification? Spa 2021, Monaco and Singapore last year, Brazil 2003, Japan 2014, Malaysia 2009 to name just a few?
I’ve said it already: absolutely farcical.
Hilarious. Lewis looks like he’s having a sandwich and a cup of coffee. Some refusing to get out of their cars. And the big meeting with the rest about overtime,.meal money and a taxi voucher.
Ludicrous. Brazil 2003 ended short of the full race distance – 54 of 71 laps officially recorded after countback. What has changed? That was handled sensibly. This is farcical – and I genuinely didn’t think it could get worse than Abu Dhabi but this is definitely in the conversation for having worse officiating.
Lots of comments saying F1 got what it deserved, but be wary that F1 sees only what it wants to see. Seems the commentators, a significant portion of social media and apparently some F1 “journalists” supported and continue to support the two-lap sprint at the end.
F1 will see this as the future.
Just call it like they used to.
No reason at all to restart even if it just ends up been a safety car finish.
Sainz will get away with this?
Apparently so
A very serious penalty. 5 secs with everyone together. Out of the points surely. Harsh for a first lap incident.
Absolute farce. Completely ridiculous. No need to restart, just realise your mistake and take the positions from the previous lap where everyone should have been if the race finished under SC.
There should be a significant investigation into this.
At this race, they’ll end up awarding Ricciardo the win.
At this race, they’ll end up awarding Ricciardo the win. No he is happy in RB garage with Kylie.
Drama that FIA always wanted
So they didn’t complete the sector so they are rolling it back to the order they last had before the last red flag, according to the rules… so they can do it.
I wonder who’s going to have a mechanical issue on the formation lap.
Would like to say that Crofty and any other member of mainstream F1 media are also partially the reason that this level of “entertainment” is being prioritised over the sport. And safety.
Clown show.
Red Bull tweated, its on countback.
Alonso will get the podium
That’s one good thing, assuming the SC driver doesn’t bin it
FIA/Formula 1 got what they deserve. They wanted artificial drama with a standing start with two laps to go and they will end up having to finish it now in the pitlane or behind SC.
There’s lots of discussion regarding which starting order would be used if the race will go to 58 laps or not.
Behind SC
This makes a VAR decision seem like lightning quick. Good to know the rules are clear and they know what happens next…
Why not penalise Sainz with a 5 second time penalty, keep the race positions as per the red flag otherwise, Hulkenberg podium…
There’s not thinking of another restart are they?
If they weren’t then surely they would have called it by now.
Complete farce.
I’m so glad they called a red flag so that there was no debris on the Jones straight…
These red flags and safety cars for a lost balloon need looked at.
If this Red Flag causes the race to finish and they go back to previous positions from the first red flag (essentially the positions before this farce began), then good riddance. Exactly what everyone – the drivers, the teams, and race control – deserves.
Feel very sorry for the fans at the track though, because I expect the communication to them at the track is probably far more difficult to understand than it is for people on TV.
And just as a note, when I say it’s what the drivers deserve, I’m not trying to criticise them for this mess – they’ve done nothing wrong. I just mean they would finish in the positions they were before the second red flag, which is the positions they would have finished under SC.
Even if the finish is from before the restart, so much damage, unnecessary repairs and the massive unnecessary risks to safety.
Exactly
Hopeefully, never again. The first concrete reason against red flagging for show.
They’re trying to make hamilton win at all cost lol
This has nothing to do with him.
This will be interesting
Good job Wittich. Pointless red flag so close to the end.
Wittich needs to face some real consequences for this. Ridiculous.
He’s probably under just as much pressure from liberty to prioritise the show over the sport as Massi was.
Agreed, it’s not his fault alone. Definitely not absolved, though.
What a farce.
Pathetic.
This is what happens when you put the show above the sport. You see this in nascar all the time.
It’s a joke. A complete jokea d if this is what Liberty Media want F1 to become then they can show themselves the door.
Pathetic, Utterly pathetic!
Funny how all this chaos develops when Masi came back to F1
So predictable. Standing restarts were always a poor idea and Alonso has potentially lost a podium for nothing. Insulting.
Basically lost all respect for Liberty – none of their changes have had a positive effect on the sport.
Ridiculous. Absolutely ridiculous.
Never needed a red flag, only caused more problems, completely predictable.
And this has actually caused the race to finish.
Dear Steffano
1 lose the white shoes you’re giving Italian fashion a bad name
2 Lose ALL street races forever
3 Lose yourself
Surely this is a count back?
Good point. I don’t know the rules anymore though.
Thats what they deserve.
Complete and utter joke!!! .m
Going back through the f1tv onboards most of the drivers disagreed with that gimmick red flag.
There has to be a turn 1 incident this time surely…
You’re a prophet! *Or just common sense
This is the short race that fans have been demanding
Not really.
A grand Prix race just because a lottery joke.
Where was that brake magic button?
Are we not at the 2 hour limit here? Only one lap?
Not with red flag I reckon
Does the red flag negate the race time? Or is it 2 hours from start to finish. I can’t remember from Spa 21. In any case I think it’s 2hrs + 1 lap so would be ok for 2 laps
The 2 hour timer is paused during a red flag.
There is also a 3 hour time limit that includes red flag stoppages, and that’s what came into play in Spa 2021 and also Monaco last year.
Perfect thanks
No more rehearsing and nursing a part. We know every part by heart. Overture, curtain, lights. This is it, we’ll hit the heights. And oh what heights we’ll hit. On with the show this is it!
Yeah im done with this wwe show.
I think the Safety Car was justified, particularly with the tyre in the middle of the straight, and how spread out the grid is.
No need for a red flag though. I don’t mind when Indycar do it, because they’ve done it for years, but we’ve not done it in F1 (with the exception of Baku a couple of years back) and there was no need for it there. Could have been covered by a Safety Car. Completely understand the driver’s reaction.
I actually do mind – it cost Will Power a certain win when his car failed to restart in Detroit. Makes more sense on ovals but there’s a lack of consistency – 2020 ended under yellow but they went red last year despite similar circumstances from a sporting POV.
Stranding start so Hamilton can win a race. What a surprise
Start of the payback for Abu Dhabi.
No Otho g will payback the farce of 2021.
Entertainment wins, lol.
Soft tires. I wonder how VER’s warm up will be. Wasn’t great on hard tires. And no DRS
Show over sport red flag.
That is completely unnecessary.
Red flag??? Oh man
Oh he hit the wall
Show over sport full safety car.
Could easily be covered by a vsc.
Kmag lol
Was waiting for that to happen, tyre failure
Well done Lando
Perez should be able to get to at least 5th maybe 4th
Checo is struggling to catch Norris
The issue with the DRS gimmick wing is that there’s no balance. It’s either far too powerful or not that effective when you have a DRS train.
Your not really getting any proper competitive racing from it on a consistent basis.
A P2P type system would be so much better. Easier to tune to be an assist rather than a pass generator, Puts it more in the hands of drivers and introduces an extra little element of strategy as far as when you use it.
It should be about overtaking still been a challenge so it’s more in the hands of drivers skill rather than just something aimed at creating a lot more passing to pad the stat books!
Plus when drs is more effective it tends to front load the action where all the passing happens early leaving the ender stages to be less interesting.
Pre drs and with p2p in indycar and stuff the action tends to be more spread out as cars out of position aren’t cruising past easily early on.
So swap one gimmick for another – excellent reasoning.
But at least P2P is something that improves the quality of the racing while maintaining a higher element of driver skill and brains.
Drs is just get to a zone and push a button. No real skill or strategy involved as you get it in the same places all race when within 1 second for unlimited usage.
…except that P2P is a much fairer option. Take indycars version, set amount of use per race (up to 200 seconds total) that you can you however you want.
I wonder if Mercedes tried turning up their engine?
Wgen you have a 15-20kph speed boost with the gimmick wing coming at a car ahead with so much more momentum it’s basically impossible to defend sadly.
Quantity over quality.
People tyre saving… ?
Checo*
Insane move from Checho! That corner is so fast
Glad I got up to watch this live though :)
Tough luck that for George
What an absolutely farcical race
Perez only 12th…
Not his day, it happens…
And blocked put exit too
Russell is finished
Flamed out
He has the worst luck
Dare I say it is Hamilton slow ?
Ham is too slow. Straight swap Lewis for either of the McLaren boys
He’s his usual self. Just has a poor car relative to the red bull.
I was talking about to George 😵💫
DRS killing racing as usual.
Jesus that car is rapid in a straight line
Alonso helped Ham there, he equally got a good start
Nearly had another red car there
Standing start? I’m so out of touch with procedures these days.
Yes but look at all the extra TV commercials we are getting here free!
Think things will get a bit tasty this time around at turn 1
They’ve prioritised safety… and thereby totally ignored the dangers of a standing start here…
Suggestion: If tyres are changed under red flag, get a drive-through penalty (closest thing to an actual pit stop) to offset the large gain?
But…If debris damages tyres that wouldn’t be fair
A red flag for gravel is completely unnecessary.
Don’t recall a red flag for gravel before in F1
No no no no don’t you cry baby
Wonder why the red flag was needed… was interested to see how it would work out between those who pitted and those who didn’t, but sadly now it’s just the pitters who got screwed. No more strategy this race – all on hards till the end now.
So annoyed, George did so well
Russel’s race messed up by the red flag. Mercedes team too.
Free tyre change if they want it, why red flag though
because if they can damage Ferrari they will do it
It didn’t look a red to me, there’s a gap in the fence 20m away. Crane access is the only thing I can think of.
Hmm early pit stop for Russell
Top 3 are quick
Ouch. Another safety car
Mature Max chooses not to take himself out on lap 1
disgusting. no investigation. totally disgusting.
Wasn’t expecting that…
Safety car?
There it is
Morning all, expecting this to be a formality, just not sure who will be occupying the other podium places…
Formality for P1. Hopefully other stuff to keep me awake.
Greetings,
I hope to be able to watch Formula 1 here in the Philippines!
Jason
Perfect weather here in Albert Park. And one of the biggest crowds I’ve seen since the inaugural event in 1996.
Hopefully, an exciting race at least further down the field, if not for the win.
Expected result for Red Bull let’s face it. Good result for Mercedes, but very happy for Albon, putting that Williams to essentially top of the midfield down in 8th. Very impressive.
So Perez has been locking up his F/R pretty much all day both days.
Driver or team?
Would be interesting if it started raining now, locking in the drivers who already put in a lap!
Very, nothing is impossible in Melb. Current grey skies could mean deluge or heatwave 🤔
Sergio in the kitty litter…..again
Red flag
Hulk Albo Mag Pia Nor
Most of “main players” no time
1:16.000/VER, race top 5: VER-PER-ALO-LEC-STR
I don’t get RBR drivers having the helmet cam on the left-side as opposed to right like others.
Rain coldd make things challenging soon, though.
I like morning sessions.
Greetings from Australia (albeit on the other side of the country). Predictions are Red Bull quickest then Aston then Merc.
They could beat the number of 1-2-1’s for the season
Glad for Perez.
Hope Fernando keeps 3rd.
Max still has this in his pocket ;)
Good drive Checo
So the remaining tension is all about the FLAP
Will it be Williams or McLaren? (for 15th…)
My money’s on Sgt.
Ah, the Oscar goes to 15th.
Any chance of a replay?
That McLaren is an absolute skip. Even with DRS and a slipstream on the Williams it’s struggling to keep up in a straight line.
Piastri proving his worth well
Both Red Bulls complaining about stuff?
Get ready Fernando?
Rbr really do have a rocket ship
What’s with the unsynced audio on the onboards?
Our pundits have just made great fun of it :D
By saying “he have not downshifted 3 gears in the middle of the main straight” :D
Yes, it not really helps to be connected with the broadcast.
Imo really enjoyable broadcasting from a track like this would require much more aerial, drone and onboard footage.
Hmm ok, interesting at Mercedes
Why didn’t he go in the pits!
Uh oh!
Why the hell did he go past the pits?
I just noticed thete are 7 teams running together.
Rbr, metc, ferrari, alpine, haas, williams & mclaren.
Verstappen said he wanted to do better than 4th by lap 25, there you go…
With DRS there’s no real penalty for fast cars starting at the back as DRS lets they pass too easily. No real racing anymore sadly.
Think back to Suzuka 2005 where it too Kimi until the very end.
With DRS he’d have been at the front by half distance.
Rbr is a lightning
FIA attempting to cover it’s own back with BS explanations
This would be great if they didn’t turn DRS on…
Good point Charles
Classic Ferrari incompetence!
Hmm did we need that safety car…
Kieth, I hope you make an article this week blasting that SC. This sport is so inconsistent it’s sickening sometimes
Completely unnecessary safety car.
Show been put above the sport again!
SC for the show. what a circus
ridiculous Showbiz Car. Stroll couldn’t get any more out of the way.
full SC seems very unnecessary, the car is basically already off the circuit
Worst SC I’ve ever seen
It did sound odd to bring in Sainz on M before Leclerc on S…
Needless white stripes in that flag
Nando needs to get by Pérez soon for a podium chance. Max is coming
Having Alonso back at the front is so refreshing
Can we have a replay of what we missed during all the replays?
Alonso clearly outside the box
Perez’s only job is to clean up when Verstappen is out, and he can’t even do that, just embarrassing
:O Hamilton on hards.
Would be nice to see either Checo or Fernando win in order to make the next couple of races worth watching.
It would also be cool to see Max drive like a Pro and take the win ;)
“If there is no safety car, this race could be over in 1h17m,” says Brundle. What are the chances?! Can’t help but expect some interruptions, cups of tea etc.
Hopefully, another exciting Saudi Arabian GP awaits.
Horrible lap Hamilton
Russell likes this car…
Unlucky for max, I reckon Nando could get pole
ALO pole?
Oooo what’s this??
Guess we’ll get to see Max coming through the field
LeClerc too of course
What happened? I wasn’t watching
Max had a transmission issue. Last in Q2
Well well.
A bit of interest :)
Did they really let go Herbert and DiResta for “Bernie”? That is hard to believe, other than a cost reduction play.
Punditry has been dominated by former drivers basically forever. Don’t get me wrong I like Johnny & Paul. But a strategist with very recent experience I think could be invaluable to offer a new insight. They’re basically as valuable as a driver (unless you’re Ferrari). It’s her first broadcast, she seems a bit nervous, but given time I can see her being far more interesting than say Nico Rosberg or Jenson etc.
Well, she has recent knowledge into a team that’s now near the top. And, let’s be honest, Sky can use someone that actually understands the technicalities of strategy in f1.
Strategy so often dominates the race. Be good to hear something new.
RB 1-2 incoming. I can’t see any other front row outcome.
1:27.666/VER, race top 3: VER-PER-ALO-LEC-SAI
Good to see George is back in blue. That’s one self-inflicted problem Mercedes have fixed.
There could be a whole highlights reel of the Ferraris crawling around blocking people in FP2. The stewards need to have a word with everyone otherwise there’s going to be a lot of penalties in quali.
Cool flow-vis rear wing & flapping.
This is such a boring track to watch.
Awful to drive in the game as well as i discovered yesterday while playing last years game.
Lando nearly made an unplanned pit return.
I stand corrected. He was supposed to enter.
Interestingly Max has a helmet cam fitted into the left-side interior material.
Hamilton is using helmet cam for the first time as is Mercedes.
T22-23 doesn’t seem any different from before.
Yay
Even the photographers joining in with Fernando lol
Merc better crack on with the Rbr b spec there concept was destroyed today
Redbull podium , lol
Rbr and Max if they keep this up will have it won by just past the midway point
I wonder how bored Verstappen is
Need to see how Max will deal with Nando, pretty sure with some of those moves Nando did he’d probably would’ve crashed with Max
Verstappen/Alonso is a disaster waiting to happen, Alonso is a cleaner driver than he used to be but he’s no angel, and we all know what Max is like
Nando is 10 seconds up the road, car is awesome I hope they can still develop through the season
Stroll sucks and will continue to
Stroll not too far behind Hamilton
…until now
That Merc is a pig, but Nando has finally a car worthy of his talent.
Fernando is probably the most aware driver of what is going on not only in his own race but what others are doing. Unreal
It’s a shame that Nando didn’t qualify higher
He had pace to fight Bottas and Gasly probably
Lando and McLaren looked quick there
“We are checking” – another bingo square ticked!
Fernando the Beast.
Nando my goodness
Alonso has so much speed it’s incredible, Sainz did his best all things considered
“Try to protect position”…great advice
Nice Suki
Nightmare for Ocon, not sure what he was whining about on the radio. Being out of position and speeding in the pits are slam dunk penalties, if he’s done that “all his career” he’s a very poor driver
Nando smells blood
I hope Nando has tyres left
Ferrari doing a Ferrari! Absolute comedy
There a correlation here, the better leclerc is driving the more likely the Ferrari breaks down. And why is is always Bahrain