2022 F1 News and Prediction League

[pharvey]

I know we the "viewers/supporters" don't/can't take much away from the Free Practice sessions as it's teams trying out car set-ups, tyres, fuel loading et. al. - especially here in Miami with it being the inaugural race. However, after FP1 Mercs are looking far better - very little evidence of "Porpoising", bizarrely at the home of the Miami Dolphins

Will certainly be interesting to see how qualifying goes!

On first look, this track looks interesting - plenty of opportunities for overtaking, some very tight corners and a decent straight. Wouldn't be surprised to see a couple of Yellow Flags on Race Day though.

[pharvey]

"Porpoising" far more evident for Mercedes in FP2, but not on the same scale as it has been.

Far better performance-wise from Mercedes, Crashappen having major issues and Sainz suffering again. All teams still with a great deal to do with regards to set-up - it's going to be an interesting couple of days!!

[pharvey]

Free Practice has been all over the place, but after feeling better about Mercedes after FP1 and FP2, disaster follows in FP3!
Very tempted to wait until after Qualifying to make my picks as basically I haven't got a clue at the moment (well, don't normally do ) - BUT, need those "Early Bru Points"!!

Qualifying in an hour or so and I'm not sure what Mercedes can do before then...... I hold out my hopes though, so shall likely do very badly with this weeks picks!!

[pharvey]

Another mixed bag in Qualifying other than the Scuderia and Red BS continuing to make up the front two rows of the Grid.....
Russell struggled and LH did well at the end of the day with a poorly performing car. The feel-good factor of Free Practice somewhat diminished for Mercedes in Qualifying. Crashappen having some issues in Q3, but more "driver error" than problems with the car, so could well make up ground on Race Day - will certainly be interesting to see how things turn out over the full race distance. I for one will be very interested to see tyre selection and longevity with the track temperatures and track layout.

Anywho...... Qualifying Results: -
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Good luck to all!

[huahin4ever]

Alonso on Hamilton: 'Now you see it's about the car'

https://www.gpblog.com/en/news/110892/a ... e-car.html

YNWA!

[pharvey]

Mixed feelings from Mercedes after Friday's practice sessions where Russell and Hamilton finished 2nd and 3rd (FP2) respectively, behind Leclerc in 1st.

Hamilton felt very pleased with the improvements to the car, Russell less so..... Let's see what Saturday brings!

[pharvey]

Still quite a bit of work to do for Mercedes....

Spanish GP Qualifying: -
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Good luck to all

[pharvey]

[pharvey]

Good quality stream @ http://1stream.top/title-game/MTg2NDk3N ... motorsport

[pharvey]

Disappointment in the Ferrari garage no doubt - Leclerc comfortably in control of the race only to retire with a failure with the Power Unit, Sainz finishing in 4th only after passing Hamilton on the penultimate lap with LH suffering with overheating problems.

Red BS finish with a one-two with a rather pi$$ed off Perez being told to allow Crashappen to pass for the victory.

Promising from Mercedes, with Russell finishing in third and Hamilton finishing in 5th despite dropping to 19th after a puncture and damage to the car following a clash with Magnussen on the first lap..... Still a way behind the Scuderia and Red BS, but things certainly looking better than they have been.

Top 10 (Points) Finishers: -
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Congrats (again.... ) to Parahandy on the Yellow Cap this round....
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[Vital Spark]

Not a bad race, all things considered, but I feel sorry for Leclerc who was definitely on for a win. Did spice things up a bit though. Lovely to see Gorgeous George on the podium!
Felt really sorry for Perez having to relinquish his spot, but it was interesting that Verstappen looked mildly (I thought) embarrassed standing on the top platform. Surely any competitior, in any sport, knows that when the place is effectively given to them not really due to their efforts it's a bit of a hollow victory. Ho hum...
Mr. VS is looking far too smug in the yellow cap, and it's about time one of us (I guess it's me ) try to do something about it. Shall I put something in his drink before he makes his picks? Or do you think more drastic action is required?
Not really looking forward to Monaco as, in my opinion, it's one of the most boring races of the season. It would be great to see Leclerc in the top three, but with his history of that circuit it'll be a tough ask.
Best wishes to you all from hot Spain.. x

[pharvey]

Mr. VS is looking far too smug in the yellow cap, and it's about time one of us (I guess it's me ) try to do something about it. Shall I put something in his drink before he makes his picks? Or do you think more drastic action is required?

Best wishes to you all from hot Spain.. x

Personally I'd start with dropping a little something in his Sangria simply for taking advantage of "local knowledge"!! If he continues in this vein however, something a little more drastic (or a little more potent)......

[pharvey]

Will be interesting to see if the top teams get their way (once again), leading to the FIA to changing their own rules and to what degree. The whole idea of implementing the cap was after all to level the playing field with the "smaller teams"..... As an example of the financial clout of the bigger teams, in 2020 Mercedes spent a whopping £325 Million - the Scuderia and Red BS spending will no doubt have been in the same ballpark. It just goes to show the enormous support structure these teams have (pity it hasn't been working at Mercedes thus far this season ).

"Formula 1 teams will be forced to miss races this season unless the sport's budget cap is increased, says Red Bull team principal Christian Horner.

The current budget limit is $140m (£111m).

"Seven of the teams would probably need to miss the last four races to come within the cap this year," he said.

"It's not just about the big teams. It's teams in the middle of the field who are really struggling with inflationary issues."

Horner, whose Red Bull team lead the drivers' championship, through Max Verstappen, as well as the constructors' championship, said F1's governing body the FIA "needs to address" the problem.

He added: "The FIA has a duty of care. I know they are taking it seriously.

"Energy bills, costs of living, costs are going exponentially, and F1 is not exempt. Freight has quadrupled and that's not something we can control."

Horner's position is backed by title rivals Ferrari, world champions Mercedes and McLaren.

But the Alfa Romeo, Alpine, Haas and Williams teams all voted against a proposal for an inflationary adjustment based on International Monetary Fund inflation figures when it was proposed last month at an F1 Commission meeting of teams, the FIA and commercial rights holder F1.

Alpine team principal Otmar Szafnauer said: "We've set our budgets early, we kind of anticipated a little bit of the inflation. Inflation didn't just creep up on us. If we can do it, for sure others can do it too. I'm not for just increasing the cap.

"When freight costs go up by 2.5m or 3.5m but your development budget is 20m, can you not make your development budget 17m and still be under the cap? You can.

"What that then does is it limits your development. So it's a lot easier, if you have the money, to go to the FIA and lobby to raise the cap and keep your development budget the same."

An Aston Martin spokesperson said: "We support a budget cap increase in line with inflation but do not see the need for an increase greater than that."

A spokesman said that the FIA was looking into the issue on an ongoing basis.

Some teams are concerned that the top teams are arguing the case for a budget-cap increase as a way of maintaining their high levels of spending.

Some of the smaller teams have budgets lower than the cap, and they say that increasing it would only increase the inequity across the field - which is counter to the aim of the rule changes introduced by the FIA and F1."

Full Article @ https://www.bbc.co.uk/sport/formula1/61551759

[pharvey]

For those in the HHF Prediction League, remember it's the Monaco GP this weekend (all times local): -
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Can't see the race itself being anything but a bit of a procession (as it normally is), unless as forecast there is a shower or two on Sunday which could spice things up a bit....

Qualifying on the other hand could be quite interesting - I don't think the track suits Red BS so well, Leclerc has certainly not had the best of times at his "home circuit" and Mercedes seem to be bouncing ( ) back. I also think the Monaco circuit could lend itself to the mid-field teams' chances - low speed corners, difficult overtaking et. al.

Decent links for FP, Qualifying and the Main Race should be found at: -

https://live1.formula1stream.cc/game/fo ... ve-stream/
www.footybite.com

[pharvey]

Mercedes seem to be bouncing ( ) back.

https://live1.formula1stream.cc/game/fo ... ve-stream/
www.footybite.com

"Bouncing" being the operative word! Christ, the cars of Russell and Hamilton were all over the place. Interestingly though, those in the know were saying this was not porpoising, but out and out bouncing. Several teams suffered, but Mercedes having the worst of it - so much for the "come back" Russell in 6th, Hamilton in 8th....

Glad to see Leclerc on Pole and Sainz in second. Red BS make up the second row with Crashappen back in fourth.
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Good luck to all..