[Official] Bahrain Grand Prix 2021: Grand Prix Weekend Thread - Round 1 of 23

[E.B]

Originally Posted by steve nielsen

So Hamilton took an alternative line through turn 4 29 times

https://twitter.com/alfaestiu/status...40472771944457

A few of those are identical and repeatedly edited in. Im not defending Hamilton and agree with the sentiment being suggested but that clip is an over exagerration and not 100% fact. Just sayin'

[Adam43]

Originally Posted by steve nielsen

So Hamilton took an alternative line through turn 4 29 times

https://twitter.com/alfaestiu/status...40472771944457

Did you also see the last lap? Look how much further Hamilton is across this important white line compared to Verstappen.

https://www.racefans.net/2021/03/28/...r-bahrain-880/

[crmalcolm]

Lewis was doing exactly as you would expect.

The directions prior to the race was that Turn 4 track limits would not be monitored until it was felt you were gaining an advantage. So Mercedes exploited that for as long as they could.

[Lancsbreaker]

Coming to this late as had to watch on Ch4......then catch up on other stuff



The whole idea of having one set of rules for a corner for qualifying, but not applying them for the race, until half-way through you decide you will apply them, seems remarkably amateurish for what is supposed to be the pinnacle of motor racing........


But it was an exciting race, with some good performances throughout the field. I'd have liked the Alfas to do better, but such is life



Vettels's performance was mostly embarassing, apart from the brief dice with Alonso......claiming that someone had moved unexpectedly when they had maintained a dead straight course before he swerved behibnd them and then ran into them was , as DC said, "Delusional" !

[bathurst77]

THank God they are changing the formula next year.
We need to ensure they dont have races like that all year, with lots passing and not knowing who was going to get pole or win.
I mean we didnt know who would win til the last lap was nearly over!
And most of the cars finished
There were even good duels for midfield places.

The sooner they get new cars etc and end this nonsense I can go back to pleasant afternoons napping in front of the tv while the race is on.

[E.B]

Originally Posted by bathurst77

THank God they are changing the formula next year.
We need to ensure they dont have races like that all year, with lots passing and not knowing who was going to get pole or win.
I mean we didnt know who would win til the last lap was nearly over!
And most of the cars finished
There were even good duels for midfield places.

The sooner they get new cars etc and end this nonsense I can go back to pleasant afternoons napping in front of the tv while the race is on.

The fact that for me the race started at 2:00 am (and I guess for @bathurst77 as well) made it even more inconvenient. I dont normally expect F1 to interrupt my sleep pattern.

[Knowlesy]

Originally Posted by steve nielsen

It's usualy Red Bull that improve the most during the season

From a much worse starting point previously.

I would argue Mercedes have more gains to find. Actually doing so is a different matter however.

[Skam85]

Originally Posted by E.B

The fact that for me the race started at 2:00 am (and I guess for @bathurst77 as well) made it even more inconvenient. I dont normally expect F1 to interrupt my sleep pattern.

One stopper for me.
Bed at 9.30pm, woke up 2am, bed 3.45am, up for work 7am.

[Taxi645]

One has to wonder how the racing direction judges a situation where one leaves the track when going side by side but the other car is already on the kerbs so there is actually no room to stay on the track?

Is the inside car not leaving the other car room on track or is the inside car simply just using the room the other car is leaving on the inside? Though calls.

I'm ok with the judgement made. I would also be ok if the judgement had been just carry on in light of the above and previous events in that corner during the race.

Anyway I'm happy that the Red Bull isn't simply driving off at the front and we seem to have a nice season to come on our hands.

[ascarracinguk]

Originally Posted by Taxi645

One has to wonder how the racing direction judges a situation where one leaves the track when going side by side but the other car is already on the kerbs so there is actually no room to stay on the track?

Is the inside car not leaving the other car room on track or is the inside car simply just using the room the other car is leaving on the inside? Though calls.

I'm ok with the judgement made. I would also be ok if the judgement had been just carry on in light of the above and previous events in that corner during the race.

Anyway I'm happy that the Red Bull isn't simply driving off at the front and we seem to have a nice season to come on our hands.

Thing is, there was plenty of room, Lewis didn’t squeeze max off, Max’s speed into the corner put him out there

[steve nielsen]

Originally Posted by crmalcolm

Lewis was doing exactly as you would expect.

The directions prior to the race was that Turn 4 track limits would not be monitored until it was felt you were gaining an advantage. So Mercedes exploited that for as long as they could.

They also refered to sporting regulation 27.3 in that:

27.3 Drivers must make every reasonable effort to use the track at all times and may not deliberately leave the track without a justifiable reason

[Knowlesy]

What a thrilling season of arguing about race direction this promises to be.

[ascarracinguk]

Originally Posted by steve nielsen

They also refered to sporting regulation 27.3 in that:

That in itself is confusing though is it not?

Telling drivers that they can run wide, but then not run wide one sentence after each other.

Again let’s not pretend Hamilton was the only one doing this, most drivers did it throughout the race and backed that up in post race interviews.

The 2 bigger questions are...why wasn’t max doing it and giving away all that lap time (if it was such an advantage) and why have the FIA muddied the waters so much.

It should be a simple rule, in or out of the white line, consistent throughout the weekend.

Somehow this has become a ‘Hamilton’ thing when it’s the opposite, people should be looking at the FIA

[Aysedasi]

Well, I only saw the highlights but they were pretty enjoyable. Good battle at the front but RBR dropped the ball really by instructing Max to let Lewis through so quickly. Should have picked a better spot. Great strategy by Merc.

The track limits thing was embarrassing. How can you have a piece of track that has a white line limit in qually but then not in the race - and then change your mind part way through. Just plain stupid.

As to individuals, great race by Norris but I'm surprised Checo's comeback drive has rated so little mention. He did a great job and I believe he will feature considerably more in the rest of the season than any other RBR #2 has in the recent past.

Vettel was truly embarrassing. Nowhere near his teammate, but he did seem to pick up his pace eventually before crashing into Ocon and then blaming Ocon for moving when it was clear that he didn't move at all. He has a mountain to climb....

[S griffin]

Wow, that quite some start to the season. What a shame we had the inevitable 'track limits' happen again. Even Toto says it needs better clarification. The late Niki Lauda said if you don't want drivers running off track, just build bigger kerbs. Otherwise let them race. We don't need the stewards and race control meddling all the time. It made the race an anti climax in the end

Still at least Merc have a genuine challenger in RBR this year. For me Max deserved to win that race, I just hope they are able to repeat this form come Imola. Checo once again showed why he is a valuable asset. After a poor qualifying and the problems on the formation lap, his tyre saving skills came into their own in the race. Justifies the decision to replace Albon with him

Nice to see Ferrari looking more competitive, with both Leclerc and Sainz getting decent results and what a drive from Norris too.

Great drive by Yuki in his first race. Shame the highlights didn't seem to show his move on Fred, apparently that was quite good. It's too early to say whether he is the real deal, but he certainly isn't here to make up the numbers. Speaking of Fred, it seems he just can't escape his customary bad luck, despite all his efforts showing his talent is still intact as ever

It seems Vettel's move to a new team hasn't got rid of his inability not only to avoid other cars, but to take the blame when it's clearly his fault. How could he claim Ocon changed line? As DC said in the commentary, those are the words of a deluded man

Anyway look forward to the next race, hope it's another good one, although please FIA let the drivers race!

[Taxi645]

Originally Posted by ascarracinguk

Thing is, there was plenty of room, Lewis didn’t squeeze max off, Max’s speed into the corner put him out there

I can understand Max's thinking. If you try to remain on track and get a small nudge on the back wheel you'll be backwards in a second. We've been there before. How much trust can you put in the other guy leaving you so much room on track that he stays nice and clear of your rear wheel. In practise relying on the guy to leave you room on track often ends up with a nice kiss on your rear wheel.

Driving a tighter arch actually increases the advantage of the guy on the outside because the relative difference in radius and thus speed becomes bigger. Due to the above you often see people choosing the wider option instead to avoid a collision.

[Greem]

Alonso's race finished by a sandwich wrapper:

https://www.autosport.com/f1/news/al...rapper/5970411

I wonder if it was a Ham sandwich?

[bjohnsonsmith]

Originally Posted by Greem

Alonso's race finished by a sandwich wrapper:

https://www.autosport.com/f1/news/al...rapper/5970411

I wonder if it was a Ham sandwich?

A Ham sandwich in Bahrain...

[Knowlesy]

A Sir-ndwich surely?

[S griffin]

Originally Posted by Greem

Alonso's race finished by a sandwich wrapper:

https://www.autosport.com/f1/news/al...rapper/5970411

I wonder if it was a Ham sandwich?

Wow I knew he had bad luck, but that is something else. As bizarre a reason for a retirement as Johnny Herbert’s at Monza 98

[Greem]

Originally Posted by bjohnsonsmith

A Ham sandwich in Bahrain...

It was a cheesy joke.

[crmalcolm]

Originally Posted by Greem

It was a cheesy joke.

I prefer a cheese and ham sandwich over plain ham

[ascarracinguk]

Great analysis regarding track limits

https://twitter.com/northhertssam/status/1376501204415565832?s=21

[Richard C]

Originally Posted by ascarracinguk

Great analysis regarding track limits

https://twitter.com/northhertssam/st...415565832?s=21

I would say a good statement of facts. My main comment here is that we are now in the realm of having two different tracks. One in which you can run solo and another in which you are allowed to pass. I think allowing this situation to persist will do nothing but to continue to aggravate drivers, teams and fans, create unnecessary drama and lastly puts question marks on race results.

Richard

[steve_r]

At least they quickly told RBR to give the position back. Swift action & decisions were made and acted upon by the race directors, by RBR and by Verstappen, all of whom should all be applauded.

Afterwards, Verstappen and RBR both seemed to agree that giving the position back was the right thing to do. Which is good, otherwise the argument over whether this was the correct outcome would be never-ending.

The fuzzy & contradicting treatment regarding application about track limits is not something that anyone should be congratulated for.