This is going to be the race I'm most looking forward to this year. I haven't understood why if you're going to do more than one race over multiple weekends, then why not run an alternate version of the track? Most tracks (especially Tilke tracks) have more than one layout that are FIA Grade 1 Approved, and this "Oval" at Bahrain looks to be like a fantastic change of pace.

I will say in regard to Alex Albon that Christian Horner said something quite positive about him that was more than the typical NFL Owner saying "This Head Coach Has My Full Support" kind of approval in this news story:

https://www.planetf1.com/news/...bon-red-bull-belief/

“I think Pierre is doing a great job and he drove another great race today, some great moves,” said Horner.

“You can see his confidence is there, that AlphaTauri car is an easier car to drive, it was an easier car last year when Alex stepped out of it that was one of the first comments he made.

“But I’ve got no reason not to think that if the tables were turned it would probably be the same situation. I think Alex in that car would probably perform equal to that as Pierre is at the moment.

“We have so much information on these drivers, and the characteristics of our car are very different, and that’s something that Alex in certain conditions is struggling with as Pierre did 12 months ago.

“So that’s obviously something we need to work on, but you can see in difficult conditions the segregation between the drivers, whether its [Charles] Leclerc and Seb [Vettel] at the moment or even Lewis [Hamilton] and Valtteri [Bottas] in the race there, you see quite a big offset and that’s obviously what we’ve seen again today.”

So how do Red Bull go about making Albon more comfortable in his car?

“Quick cars tend to be difficult cars to drive, Max is showing what the car’s potential is and we want both drivers obviously to be up there,” Horner explained.

“We need to get Alex to a point where he’s within a couple of tenths, as Valtteri is with Lewis so that it gives you different strategic options in the race.

“Everybody is doing their very best to try to help Alex find a setup, to find a balance that he’s got confidence with because we all still believe in him, he’s a great kid, he’s got great talent, and obviously he’s only in his second year of Formula 1 and everybody is rooting for him to really claim that seat, but obviously today has been a really difficult day for him.”

Asked when Red Bull must make a decision on their 2021 line-up, Horner replied: “That moment in time is converging, within the next few weeks.

“We know the options that are available to us and we want to give Alex every opportunity to find his form and claim that seat.”

And no matter what anyone thinks, Sergio Perez is a pay driver who's sugar daddy is Carlos Slim. In a fair world, Esteban Ocon would still be at Force India driving a fake pink Mercedes W20 instead of Perez. I really want to see Perez in IndyCar and help bolster that series so more North Americans get highlighted and become a possible feeder series to Formula 1.

If Albon does get tossed back to AlphaTauri, the only driver I'd like to see get his ride is Scott Dixon. The man is a 6-Time IndyCar Champion where everyone drives the same car he does on Ovals, Super Speedways, Road Courses, and Street Circuits, but knows how to make fuel while driving fast and has probably done more for Honda than any driver in the world. In my perfect world, Dixon would get 2021 in a Red Bull while Albon and Gasly duke it out to see who replaces him. Dixon isn't a long term replacement, but he can figure out who the "future" of Red Bull will be along with thanking him for everything he's done for Honda who's the reason why Red Bull is 2nd in the Constructor's Championship this year.

Another question from a newbie; Does F1 have multiple resources on each continent, or do they fly everything around in transport planes?

I see these pit / paddock areas, motorhomes, 18 wheel semis and all of the other assorted gear that goes into racing every other weekend. Do they have identical equipment stationed in Europe, Asia and the Americas so there is less shipping cost? Or do they pack up the whole carnival every Sunday night and air freight it off to the next location?

This question is assuming a normal season (not COVID) where there are 21 races on 5-6 continents.

It’s a traveling circus

quote:

Originally posted by Georgeair:
This is outstanding news!
Unless your name ends in Bottas....

Not necessarily. Could be a deal maker or breaker for either of them. While Russell has the most to gain and the expectations are lower for him due to less experience overall and in this car/team, his pattern of a great qualifying but poor race would be a real downer too.
Once your in the big show you have to perform at all aspects of the event. Years ago Fisichella got his dream opportunity to finally race in the Ferrari and effectively ended his chances with one poor performance.

https://www.theguardian.com/sp...ferrari-felipe-massa

I'm a Bottas fan, so I hope he really puts it all right this weekend, but also hope GR has a good race & has a chance to show what he's made of in a front-running car.

Saw this posted on another forum & got a laugh:

Mr. Saturday: 54.546 sec lap.

We'll see what FP2 brings. Prior to today, Lauda held the record for the fastest lap time at 58sec at Dijon.

Curious to see the quali sims & what those times are.

Bottas -2.0 today. Getting owned by a guy who’s never driven the car before is pretty bad. Mercedes excuse train already left the station, saying Bottas had damage in FP1. Expect something similar for FP2 debacle.

Would be interesting to see Russell vs. Hamilton, but it won’t happen. Fully believe the main reason they kept Bottas for 2021 was to ensure Hamilton would have a clear shot for a record breaking eight F1 championships. Merc wouldn’t take a chance on Hamilton getting beat by Russell next year, but Russell to Merc in 2022 definitely.

Looks like sucking Ferrari is back too.

Bottas looked like he was practicing for some WRC with how much he was off track.
He put in some quick laps, but track excursions got them deleted.

If he had floor damage, that could explain the pace offset. Seems he was trying to find the limits around the track.

AWS/Commentary estimates have Bottas on pole & Russell ~0.2 behind on quali pace.
RBR seems to have the best average race pace, again according to info from the commentators.

Russell has driven this car before. He is contracted to Mercedes and does test driving from time to time.
I wouldn't count Bottas out just yet but it was a good day for Russell.
Still, Russell has yet to put in a great performance over race distance. On the other hand it's trickier in a bad car than in a great car & team behind him.
Still another practice session to go tomorrow where they all will work more on their qualifying setup after having todays data to work from.

quote:

Originally posted by 220-9er:
Russell has driven this car before. He is contracted to Mercedes and does test driving from time to time.
I wouldn't count Bottas out just yet but it was a good day for Russell.
Still, Russell has yet to put in a great performance over race distance. On the other hand it's trickier in a bad car than in a great car & team behind him.
Still another practice session to go tomorrow where they all will work more on their qualifying setup after having todays data to work from.

Whether he has a contract with Mercedes or not, I doubt that he was allowed to test the current year Mercedes car while still driving for Williams.

Russel did pretty damn good. New car, lots of pressure, oddball circuit and don’t forget DAS and different wheel from Williams. I’m impressed. Russell had a good day, Bottas looked out of sorts so will call it a bad day for him. Pink Mercedes is next contender IMHO, this is a horsepower drag race.

Grosjean talks with Martin Brundle --

Compelling

I know it's only qualifying and the track is kind of gimmicky, but if Russel can manage to not fuck this up Chinstrap, not Bottas, should be concerned. It could be a real hit to his legacy and claim to GOAT, if a guy with two days experience driving an unfamiliar car can podium.

So with lap times in the 50s, how many laps down will the Williams & Haas be by the end of the race?

I think the only open question is how many places will Bottas lose in the first few laps. Think it will be a race between Russell and Max with Bottas limping into third.

Heck of a race.

Russell was pretty awesome

Toto: "A colossal f**k up."

I have to agree with him.

Great race with a great podium.

Exciting race right until the end.
Great to see a first time winner, just not the one everyone expected before the race started.
Lance Stroll, born on third base and thinks he hit a triple. Couldn't keep from being passed when he needed to, couldn't pass when he needed to.
I thought Max was going to break his foot when he kicked that concrete wall.
Hope Russell gets another chance next weekend on a different track.
Not sure who has more buyers remorse towards next years drivers, Racing Point or Mercedes.

That race truly was lost on pit lane. Feel bad for Russell who drove a great race. He could have survived the second VSC but not the tire puncture

Bottle was royally screwed again by the mistress of bad luck.

Given how well George slipped into chinstraps car it makes one wonder if it’s the driver or the vehicle that gives Merc the edge.

I can't say I've felt worse after a race than this one, excluding loss of life or limb.

When Russel jetted to the lead, I told the wife if Merc screws him, I'm done with F1. But no, he got screwed twice, it felt like election night. So bad you can't believe it, eat it and like it. Before anyone slates me for injecting politics, I'm not, I'm talking about seemingly impossible results we have no choice in accepting.

At least the Legendary Little Lew Lew's deification remains intact, Merc needs his marketing presence too much.