quote:

Originally posted by P250UA5:
Short race, as usual for Monza. Don't 100% agree with the McLaren call after the pit stops.

A record short race.

As far as the call to swap the cars, I could think of arguments for going either way but there was one other thing that didn’t get much mention.

Lando was given the option, as the leading McLaren car, the get to stop first and he asked the team if it would be better to pit Oscar first. Oscar was potentially under pressure from Leclerc, who had new tires at that point.
Lando only asked that if he would be open to an undercut that they would protect him.

Even though this wasn’t the situation anyone had envisioned (as the undercut) it was a generous gesture on his part and to then penalize him for a mistake that wasn’t his fault would be a mistake. In addition, he seemed to have an edge all weekend and after the swap he had no problem holding off Oscar.

Had they not done it, he still wasn’t far behind and could have caught up and set up a potentially messy fight. The team still got the maximum points available to them.

If Lando had elected to pit first and Oscar had to stay out another lap with Leclerc closing, they could have lost that position.
Especially if Oscar was the victim of the poor stop. Ferrari wouldn’t have been so sporting.

TBH, I don’t think Leclerc was really much of a threat to Oscar at that point. He wouldn’t have got past Oscar if the latter stayed out one more lap, especially since the McLarens went to new softs while Leclerc was on used hards.

They did ask Lando, and were correct in theory that Oscar wouldn’t undercut him. If it was a problem free pit stop, they would have been absolutely correct; Lando would have come out in front by over a second. But it wasn’t, and the delay was enough for Oscar to get past. Like Oscar said, that’s racing.

I'd forgotten Lando was offered the option which makes what follows ok. The pit stop couldn't have been factored in. Did Oscar know that Lando made the call? He seemed perplexed and kinda pissed. Not the Macs best day, maybe some building drama for an entertaining run to the WDC.

quote:

Originally posted by Dwill104:

quote:

Originally posted by P250UA5:
Short race, as usual for Monza. Don't 100% agree with the McLaren call after the pit stops.

A record short race.

And a record lap, IIRC Raikkonen [2018?] had it, from JPM [2004]

Y'all see where the guy in Czech Republic who has been motoring around about once a year in a F1-like car was busted finally?

Dude just needed to stop for some Shell gas, and apparently that gave them a lead.

Apologies for the FB link, can't find this good of video elsewhere.

Link
Audio on!

Looked more like a Formula 2 car, but I can't imagine how much fun it would be to drive it on weekends.

Not really sure how it blended in traffic well enough to take 6 years to find him.

Saw a 'Formula' car on FB Market here in Houston. Street legal, with some form of Chrysler V6 in it.
Neat, but impractical & could use a better drivetrain.

Yeah, no, I wouldn't want to see others' differentials while driving in traffic.

quote:

Originally posted by Ripley:
Yeah, no, I wouldn't want to see others' differentials while driving in traffic.

I'm practically on the ground in my Midget. Just a little more exposed than in a Faux-mula car

Being a race week, hopefully we can get beyond all the BS surrounding Max's test last week.

Talk about a tempest in a teacup. You notice the main person not bitching and complaining about the rules being the rules for licensing? Max!

And could we please revoke Ralf's ability to speak, at least in any way that is public, published or picked up? He is an irrelevant sensationalist prick in the spirit of British tabloid writers who continues to tag along solely due to his name.

YMMV....

Well the F2 Sprint and the F1 Qualifying were a massive shit show. They hit the record for most red flags in qualifying. I know there was a little bit of rain in the air, but this was ridiculous. I was sad for Carlos Sainz losing out on pole, but that was a heroic effort in the Williams.

In other news, I found this on YouTube:



The car is a Ferrari F2004 driven by the Argentinian owner at a Ferrari historics event at Daytona. I'm sure I speak for everyone that wants the Miami race driven here instead.

Got a chuckle at this during the Q1 red flag.
Kid in a Houston Texans hat, in Baku. About 7000 miles away.

Looked like the wind gusts were a bigger issue than any rain, as it turned out.
Let's hope tomorrow isn't just chaos from cars being so out of place and desperate moves being made.
If they make it past the first few laps it could be an epic race on an unforgiving track.

Quali today was what everyone expected from the race the first year.
Quali took longer than the expected race total time tomorrow.

Folks on social media are chattering abut how many places Albon will make up on the first lap (before turn 3)

A popular, if wishful, number is 10

This message has been edited. Last edited by: 9mmepiphany,

I love Baku. I'm on team "wall". I will collect many chassis and kiss many tires today.

What a great way to celebrate a contract extension by laying a dud. While it was a 3rd instead of a 2nd, it was great to see Sainz finally get somewhere with the Williams. This will be remembered more for Piastri crashing out and dropping within a race win to Norris.

I enjoyed watching Liam defend against that train of cars at the end. I think he is beginning to get out of his own way.

Oh No Oscar! I feel bad for the guy but him chilling in the chair with a banana is classic. If I were an artist, I would make a picture of a deserted island and all the wrecked drivers would be on it. Charles in the tailgaiting chair, Oscar with his banana etc.

I love Baku because it is beautiful.

quote:

Originally posted by xd45man:
If I were an artist, I would make a picture of a deserted island and all the wrecked drivers would be on it. Charles in the tailgaiting chair, Oscar with his banana etc.

Don't forget Fernando after the GP2 Engine McLaren/Honda