[Official] Bahrain Grand Prix 2022: Grand Prix Weekend Thread - Round 1 of 22

[crmalcolm]

Originally Posted by billy bleach

Controversial - is it me or does George Russel crumble under pressure ?

I think there is a lack of evidence so far to reach that conclusion.

[chillibowl]

Bottas ahead of Russell was surprising and also the Haas drivers!

Merc are not sandbagging but on quali pace and in Ham's hands, he seems to be well ahead of the midfield pace at least?

early days, not sure how i feel about the dropping of the race start tire requirement for the top 10 though.

[billy bleach]

Originally Posted by crmalcolm

I think there is a lack of evidence so far to reach that conclusion.

Really? Not based on just today. It seems when he is in a pressure situation over the past years with Williams it has often ended in the wrong way

[crmalcolm]

Originally Posted by billy bleach

Really? Not based on just today. It seems when he is in a pressure situation over the past years with Williams it has often ended in the wrong way

I can recall maybe 1 or 2 occasions where he could be seen to have made mistakes under pressure, but there are infinitely more where he soaked up pressure and delivered.

[FIRE]

Ferrari engine strong.

[Sodemo]

So Merc weren’t sandbagging then…?

[crmalcolm]

Originally Posted by Sodemo

So Merc weren’t sandbagging then…?

Oh no, they still are.
They need to convince everyone that the size zero sidepods don't give an advantage to prevent them being outlawed.
Once everyone moves on, the porpoise will disappear and they'll be 0.5s quicker than everyone else.....

[Aysedasi]

Hmmm, I don't feel that personally..... Good to see Ferrari on form. And to see Charlie boy keep Max off pole. Hope he's ready for the turn 1 lunge.... Disappointed to see McLaren so far back.

[crmalcolm]

Originally Posted by Aysedasi

Hmmm, I don't feel that personally.....

It was a bit of a tongue in cheek post.

But - if you have identified a performance advantage, how would you go about trying to divert other teams from noticing?

Normally, if an 'ideal' solution is found in F1, one of two things happens:
A) Other teams follow and you lose the advantage.
B) The advantage is written out of the regulations.

So to 'hide' your advantage, you need to let other teams see what you are doing, but also convince them it doesn't work.....

[Richard C]

Originally Posted by crmalcolm

So to 'hide' your advantage, you need to let other teams see what you are doing, but also convince them it doesn't work.....

Misdirection is correct. But misdirection via fake poor performance is not the answer.

Richard

[wnut]

Originally Posted by crmalcolm

It was a bit of a tongue in cheek post.

But - if you have identified a performance advantage, how would you go about trying to divert other teams from noticing?

Normally, if an 'ideal' solution is found in F1, one of two things happens:
A) Other teams follow and you lose the advantage.
B) The advantage is written out of the regulations.

So to 'hide' your advantage, you need to let other teams see what you are doing, but also convince them it doesn't work.....

Why do I get the feeling you may be right on the money CR?

[Skam85]

Valtteri would have to be very, very satisfied with qualifying ahead of George.

[ascarracinguk]

Originally Posted by Sodemo

So Merc weren’t sandbagging then…?

Been saying that for weeks. It’s pretty obvious watching testing that you can sandbag, but having an ill handling car is just an ill handling car.

I still think they can get over it, just depends how long it takes.

[bathurst77]

I dont think George crumbles
When he had his one race in merc he put it in 2nd only 0.03 slower than bottas
He lead the race at times and was taken out by mechanical issues.

At Williams he often did very under pressure in quali
But he is still inexperienced and young and that car is a handful

[ascarracinguk]

Originally Posted by bathurst77

I dont think George crumbles
When he had his one race in merc he put it in 2nd only 0.03 slower than bottas
He lead the race at times and was taken out by mechanical issues.

At Williams he often did very under pressure in quali
But he is still inexperienced and young and that car is a handful

Yup this.

He made 1 mistake in a car which is a bit of a pig to drive today. Other than that he was within a couple of tenths of Lewis

Think we need to give him a bit more time against Lewis before judging him properly

[steve_r]

1st impressions compared with last season

Red Bull - Same
Torro Rosso - Same
Williams - Same

Ferrari - Faster
Alpha - Faster
Haas - Much Faster

Mercedes - Slower
McLaren - Slower

Alpine - Slower / Same ?

Well done Haas. Its easy to forget the fact that they have been a solid midfield team in the past.

All Ferrari engined teams look like they have made a step forward at this early stage

[Tourer]

Utterly rapt for the Haas team - that result is such a turnaround for them after the last couple of seasons and also after some tough decisions were taken about sponsorship and a driver linked to that sponsorship.

That to me is the big news of qualifying - followed closely by track limits. The race director for this Grand Prix was widely reported as confirming that the white line is the limit, full stop - same for race and for qualifying. Q1 didn't appear to be enforced at all (Brundle noticed it too) but Q2 there was at least one time disallowed. Let's hope that it was a hiccup and not the first wave of an inconsistent season.

[ascarracinguk]

Chuffed for Haas and Alfa. Tbh though they HAVE to do well this year after spending all last year on the cars.

Same a bit for Ferrari too, I’m really pleased that they’re back at the top, if Charles or Carlos win the race and championship this year it would be incredible,

I’ve never been much of a Ferrari fan in the Schumacher/ Alonso years but this new team and drivers just seems like a great setup right now, plus Carlos/ Charles being genuinely likeable characters helps.

[BTCC frog]

Ferrari 1st and 3rd on the grid, it seems we are back to the 'big three,' and I hope their race pace is good enough to win the race, or at least challenge Red Bull, although I think Verstappen is still the favourite to win. Also, Perez was closer to him than he often was last year. Mercedes definitely third-best at the moment, but I suspect as the season progresses they will improve to be the fastest again, although perhaps by then it will be too late. It was a poor qualifying for George Russell, but that was down to one mistake in a difficult car, otherwise he would be sixth. It is far too early to write-out Russell, as you can tell just by watching some of his laps at Williams that he is a good driver, and in Sakhir he was outstanding.

For me, the star of qualifying was Valtteri Bottas. I have always thought he seemed like a driver who struggles more with pressure and would be far stronger in a lesser team, and Bahrain hopefully was a sign of better things to come from him. Not only did he continue his record of making it to Q3 that goes back to Abu Dhabi 2016, he also secured the best grid slot for an Alfa Romeo since Belgium 2019 (Raikkonen sixth), and was closer to Hamilton than he was on six occasions last year, and outqualified his replacement. It would be great if he were to beat both Mercedes in the race, although I doubt it. Haas were the other standouts with Kevin Magnussen in seventh, the team's best since Brazil 2019 and his best since Monaco 2019, and hopefully they are back to 2018 form. Mick Schumacher did okay in 12th, but it remains to be seen whether or not the loss of Uralkali was a blessing in disguise. For now it looks great for Haas, as Mazepin would have probably been dead last, but it will not look that way if they fold at the end of the season. Also, impressive lap from Gasly once again, and Zhou did well to make Q2.

At the back, it is not looking good for the Mercedes-powered teams. Given they have the strongest lineup of the three, it is possible McLaren are actually the slowest car on the grid and were elevated to 13th by Norris. It was a difficult session for them, but I think they'll improve over the year. Albon was impressive in making to Q2, and should thrive when not Verstappen's teammate as Gasly is doing. Nico Hulkenberg outqualifying Stroll was another standout performance, although the Aston Martin looks painfully uncompetitive, and given that it's the second time (out of three) that Hulkenberg has come in with only three practice sessions and outqualified Stroll, the majority of the team must be wishing they could have him instead full-time. But that won't happen any time soon, for obvious reasons.

Shame about the track limit problems, but I have a feeling that was more down to some kind of problem with sensors and transponders than a conscious decision.

[ascarracinguk]

Mclaren are a strange one. At Barcelona they seemed to be very good.

I’m starting to subscribe to the theory that we are going to get different teams doing well or badly depending on circuit types this year. With vastly different concepts in suspension and aero, added to the differnet characteristics of the engines It will be interesting to see how this plays out.

Add to that the development war and its unpredictable at the moment. Probably a bit early to tell though, let’s get through the first 3 races and see how it shakes out

[Tourer]

Originally Posted by ascarracinguk

I’m starting to subscribe to the theory that we are going to get different teams doing well or badly depending on circuit types this year. With vastly different concepts in suspension and aero, added to the differnet characteristics of the engines It will be interesting to see how this plays out.

I'm hoping that is how it plays out - will make it all feel more "real" and much more like "them there olden days" when there would be significant differences in team performance relative to each other from circuit to circuit.

Can't see it lasting forever in the modern world of teams employing such vast numbers of staff, simulation programs, assessment of other teams and change to what works best all coming into play.

Here's hoping that we see variety from race to race - I think it would be really good for the sport. Brundle told Croft after qual that he had no idea how it would shake out in the race and I'm with him - been far far too long since it was like that and long may it continue.

[S griffin]

Good to see Leclerc on pole, with team mate Sainz in 3rd. With Max 2nd, it's gonna be very interesting down to the first corner. Red Bull and Ferrari are the form teams atm

Merc really are struggling, Lewis getting 5th on the grid is at least something. Funny how, despite no longer being team mates, there is Bottas alongside him! And good to see Magnussen getting the Haas in the top 10 after all they've been through, shows how much Ferrari have improved their engine

Can't wait till the race, hopefully the new rules will make for an exciting race

[chunterer]

Excellent effort by Ferrari. As long as Leclerc has the eqipment he will deliver as there is no doubting his absolute pace. Sainz seened a bit confused as to why he was slower, all weekend in general.

Why are there posts questioning Russell and inferences to judging him?! We already know he can perform in a top car and I don't think anyone would begrudge him being a couple of 10ths off Hamilton here or there in the first few rounds. His teammate is one of the best qualifiers of all time among other incredible skills in the car!

George made a big mistake on his last qual lap and it cost him several places. He knows it, we know it. Nothing to question him about other than that though is there?

Great jobs by Hass and Alfa! And Enstone seem to be on the right path too. Ocon was unlucky to miss out on Q3 but wily old Fonz was as strong as ever.

Mclaren and Aston were shocking!

[Aysedasi]

Originally Posted by chunterer

Excellent effort by Ferrari. As long as Leclerc has the eqipment he will deliver as there is no doubting his absolute pace. Sainz seened a bit confused as to why he was slower, all weekend in general.!

Yeah, but he was right with Leclerc, quicker in fact, right up to the last lap. He's an honest guy and admits he hasn't got a proper handle on the car yet. When he does, it will be interesting to see which of them comes out regularly on top. I've made no secret in the past where my money is on that one.....

[E.B]

Originally Posted by Aysedasi

I've made no secret in the past where my money is on that one.....

My money is in the same place.