Motor Sport
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@Steve …I agree about your strategy comment, but what I do question is McLaren’s decision not to. When the whole field seemingly comes to the same decision then you have to wonder how they came to theirs.
“Not all of us can do great things. But we can do small things with great love.”
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@goosehd I can only think they were worried about having to stack them, then Norris would probably of dropped behind 1 or 2 drivers - so they are thinking its not fair to hinder one driver? I dont know though, I would imagine Norris coming out say 4th at 7 laps is better than coming out 5th at 47 laps!
@mclaincausey I agree, I think that was the reason - still why use sharp tyre ripping gravel?
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@goosehd two words Andrea Stella
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@mclaincausey I just think it’s odd that they claimed it was degradation, but also that this specific track has particularly sharp gravel (which didn’t affect the decision in 2023 from what I gather. Kerbs did, which were smoothed). And why, rather than accepting responsibility for shitty gravel or weak tires and noting it with enough advance to correct the issue, they figured the 26th lap on any given compound is going to cross the safety threshold. It’s misplaced accountability and a wonky solution.
I don’t know what the timeline was for adding several gravel traps to multiple tracks on the circuit this year, but I question the solution in this case being an arbitrary lap count for all compounds. They’re turning racing into a parade.
I’m all for two-stop GPs and have no problem with arranging compounds to encourage them, but I just don’t buy the claim it’s for safety. A puncture could happen on 1 lap or 50, that’s just the risk the teams assess and take.
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@WhiskeySandwich they didn’t find out about it until looking at the tires after sprint qualifying. Pirelli said the cuts were very deep if not quite to the belts.
Anyway Qatar isn’t an F1 quality circuit and it shouldn’t be on the calendar in the first place. But I’ll take Occam’s Razor here. I think the same idiots who had too sharp kerbs are also dumb enough to have gigantic, sharp rocks as “gravel.” The pictures of the “gravel” were shocking, they fill the palm of a hand and are jagged, not tumbled in any way.
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For one of the world’s most over-specified sports, I would have thought the FIA could/would have dictated circuit requirements to venues.
I mean, Qatar could spare a few more foreign workers to replace the gravel.
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“Hey grab the biggest rock you can find for a photo.”
. Surely the FIA has specs and requirements for the gravel at F1 tracks. They have specs for absolutely everything, including the apparent safety threshold for the exact number of laps you’re at increased risk of gravel puncture.
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Clearly you want there to be a conspiracy for some reason but I am not aware of any hard enforcement. I found this “recommendation” and the gravel didn’t meet it: “They are normally about 25cm deep and filled with spherical gravel stones of a diameter of between 5 and 16 millimeters.
These specifications have been drawn up because they have been calculated to give the best frictional resistance possible, needed to stop a skidding and out of control F1 car.”
Let me ask: what would be the rationale for the conspiracy anyway? To make a bad circuit even worse for what? An even more processional race that is less entertaining?
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I'm just giving a hard time where a hard time is due. It's not directed at you @mclaincausey and it's not a "conspiracy". I'm simply saying the rule is as silly as the people making it It doesn't help using rocks as scapegoats for some phantom danger via punctures. If I were a racing driver, I'd be more concerned about being hit in the visor with one of those asteroids.
High tire deg, and aggressive kerbs aside, if the FIA were to say "We need to establish a regulation for trackside gravel that we overlooked, in the meantime, the best we can come up with is 25 lap recommendation." it'd probably go over better....although many teams would probably ignore it. They don't have a limit otherwise afaik, and slices thru a tire is a one-off and unpredictable occurrence that lap count has zero bearing on.
I'm always skeptical about the necessity of creating new rules that appear arbitrary and disproportionate to the supposed risk. I choose to be critical of regulations and restrictions or mandates that seem inappropriate in their justification. I guess our opinion just differs on the proportionality between freedom/flexibility and regulation/safety, and that's okay, we can agree to disagree.
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@Bridger no doubt it will spell his doom. I think RB just wants two Max's
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@WhiskeySandwich said in Motor Sport:
@Bridger no doubt it will spell his doom. I think RB just wants two Max's
If two Max's were ever in the same room together a black hole would form and everything in a 3 km radius would disintegrate.
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Bummed that Yuki is off the grid though. Was looking forward to seeing his fans go nuts next March in Suzuka.
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@Bridger LOL
Yeah I always liked Yuki, but when he joined RB proper, he kinda counterintuitively was not really in the spotlight. Of course this is because he was overshadowed by the champ, and compared to all the other #2s, but i haven't noticed them showing him much. Shame he wont have a seat. Hadjar will probably be exactly the same. -
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@Bridger I've been assuming that is the case but have they confirmed the cars favor Max at the expense of the #2? I've always wondered how different the cars can actually be. I know they run various downforce, suspension settings, wing settings, etc from session to session, but i have no idea how customizable per driver they are in reality. whatever RB is doing, its DEF negatively impacting their WCC results. Max is carrying them all. I guess i wonder how much is him and how much is the car favoring just him.
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@WhiskeySandwich I watched an analysis of Red Bull's car and Max's driving style confirming that the car is designed for him. From what I recall, he prefers a tight on rails front end and a loose rear end where it's always on the verge of breaking loose. This allows him to aggressively attack the corners and maximize speed coming out of them.
The problem is that it's barely controllable for Max and at one point was even too much for him. The other driver's don't have fast enough reflexes to recover as well as he does creating a lot of problems. They have to drive slower and not push the car as hard to keep it under control.
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@goosehd maybe they need more sims lol
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When you’re a good as Max, I presume you benefit from a car that is extremely responsive. When you aren’t, it amplifies your imperfection.
It seems to me they don’t need to tailor the car to the greatest driver in the world. Just make it within 5% of the field and the guy will win and his teammate might get some points too.
Think it, be it.
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I agree with that
️Now if only they could make a car good enough to afford that wiggle room without sacrificing their first driver. I think they had that when Checo was peaking, then fell off
