Admin Lineker Posted March 13, 2022 Author Admin Report Share Posted March 13, 2022 Daniel Ricciardo has tested positive for Covid. If he can't race next weekend, Alpine have agreed to allow Oscar Piastri to stand-in. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Adam Posted March 13, 2022 Report Share Posted March 13, 2022 Lewis Hamilton claims Mercedes may struggle to compete for wins. How true that is, we shall see, but he didn't act confident of a quick turnaround. By his reckoning, Ferrari look fastest at the moment followed by Red Bull, then McLaren and Mercedes. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Admin Lineker Posted March 15, 2022 Author Admin Report Share Posted March 15, 2022 Quote Seven-time Formula 1 world champion Lewis Hamilton has revealed he is planning to change his name to incorporate his mother's surname. Mercedes F1 driver Hamilton appeared at Expo 2020 in Dubai today following the end of F1 pre-season testing in Bahrain on Saturday. Hamilton was asked about the possibility of winning an eighth world championship and what that would mean to him, pulling clear of the current record of seven that he shares with Michael Schumacher. Hamilton said it would be "mind-blowing" to reach a landmark that no other driver has before going on to discuss what it would mean to his family, before revealing plans to incorporate his mother's surname into his name. "It would mean the world to my family," Hamilton said. "I'm really proud of my family's name, Hamilton. None of you might know that my mum's name is Larbalestier, and I'm just about to put that in my name. "Because I don't really fully understand the whole idea of when people get married that the woman loses her name. "My mum, I really want her name to continue on with the Hamilton name." Hamilton said the change would happen "hopefully soon" and that he was "working on it". Hamilton's current full name is Lewis Carl Davidson Hamilton. Hamilton's mother, Carmen Larbalestier, has appeared at a number of races throughout his career, and attended a ceremony Windsor Castle in December when he was knighted. His mother and father, Anthony Hamilton, split up when he was a child. Following his appearance at Expo 2020, Hamilton will return to Bahrain in the coming days ahead of the F1 season-opener, for which he has already talked down Mercedes' chances of fighting for victory. The team endured a difficult second test last week, prompting Hamilton to say on Saturday that "at the moment, I don't think we'll be competing for wins". Hamilton revealed in Dubai that he was due to have a call with engineers from Mercedes later today as they continue to analyse all of the data from testing. "I'm really hoping that when I get off this call this evening, they've found some tricks, found some ways to extract more out of this car," Hamilton said. "There's a lot of cars that are looking quite fast. Alfa Romeo were looking fast, Valtteri [Bottas] was looking quick. "Obviously the Red Bull looks ridiculously fast at the moment, and the Ferraris. "But we are the best team, undoubtedly." Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
GWPea Posted March 17, 2022 Report Share Posted March 17, 2022 Danny Ric has tested negative and will race this weekend. At the same time Sebastian Vettel has tested positive and won’t race. Which means the return of one Nick Hulkenberg to the grid. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
JasonM Posted March 17, 2022 Report Share Posted March 17, 2022 The return of Nick O'Hulkenberg Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Chris2K Posted March 17, 2022 Report Share Posted March 17, 2022 As sad as I am that Seb misses out, there is never a Hulk return that I'm not excited about. 2 Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Adam Posted March 19, 2022 Report Share Posted March 19, 2022 I have dorkily decided to have a stab at predicting the first Grid of the year this afternoon. Probably be wildly wrong, but it's encouraging how close the big 3 teams look in Practice for pace. Spoiler 1. Verstappen 2. Leclerc 3. Sainz 4. Hamilton 5. Perez 6. Russell 7. Schumacher 8. Bottas 9. Alonso 10. Magnussen 11. Ocon 12. Norris 13. Ricciardo 14. Gasly 15. Stroll 16. Hulkenberg 17. Tsunoda 18. Zhou 19. Albon 20. Latifi I am here for a Haas shock if they genuinely do have a good car. I may have underrated McLaren also, we shall see. 1 Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
GWPea Posted March 19, 2022 Report Share Posted March 19, 2022 1 hour ago, Adam said: I have dorkily decided to have a stab at predicting the first Grid of the year this afternoon. Probably be wildly wrong, but it's encouraging how close the big 3 teams look in Practice for pace. Hide contents 1. Verstappen 2. Leclerc 3. Sainz 4. Hamilton 5. Perez 6. Russell 7. Schumacher 8. Bottas 9. Alonso 10. Magnussen 11. Ocon 12. Norris 13. Ricciardo 14. Gasly 15. Stroll 16. Hulkenberg 17. Tsunoda 18. Zhou 19. Albon 20. Latifi I am here for a Haas shock if they genuinely do have a good car. I may have underrated McLaren also, we shall see. Based on Q1 so far you’re giving Mercedes too much credit. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Chris2K Posted March 19, 2022 Report Share Posted March 19, 2022 Hulk outqualifying Stroll is already a wonderful moment. I know it's the car, but I like to think that the Russian flag livery was clamping down the Haas and removing it has freed them up. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Chris2K Posted March 19, 2022 Report Share Posted March 19, 2022 Bottas ahead of Russell, Magnussen P7, and a hell of a battle in prospect at the front between Ferrari and Red Bull. This is very nicely set up for the season. 1 Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Adam Posted March 19, 2022 Report Share Posted March 19, 2022 So pleased I was right to big up Bottas and Haas here. Great qualifying to watch, Fwrrari really pulled it out and I think it'll be a fascinating race tomorrow. That Mercedes...it looks very hard to drive. Can see them going backwards off the grid in the race to be honest. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Chris2K Posted March 20, 2022 Report Share Posted March 20, 2022 If you have some free time you could do worse than watch F2 this year. Based on the first two races it's going to be bonkers at every opportunity. 1 Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
lanky316 Posted March 20, 2022 Report Share Posted March 20, 2022 That last few laps just now was certainly... Something! Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Admin Lineker Posted March 20, 2022 Author Admin Report Share Posted March 20, 2022 Quote Formula 1's governing body has said "human error" was responsible for the incorrect application of rules in the 2021 Abu Dhabi Grand Prix. The FIA said race director Michael Masi had acted in "good faith" during the controversial finale which saw Max Verstappen snatch the championship from Lewis Hamilton on the last lap. Masi has since been removed from his post and F1 race control restructured. The report ruled the result and the World Championship "valid and final". The report is final confirmation that Red Bull's Max Verstappen was the 2021 F1 world champion - not that that was ever expected to be in doubt in the process. Published by the FIA 97 days after the race, the official report found a number of key errors were made. Following a late-race crash for Williams' Nicholas Latifi a safety car was released to slow the field and let the track be cleared by marshals. This led to the single final racing lap on which the destiny of the world title changed hands from Lewis Hamilton to Verstappen. It concluded: The race director "called the safety car back into the pit lane without it having completed an additional lap as required by the Formula 1 sporting regulations". There "could be different interpretations" of the safety-car rules in the sporting regulations. The decisions made by Masi "likely took into account previous discussions that made clear the F1 stakeholders' (FIA, F1, teams and drivers) preference to end races under green-flag racing conditions, rather than behind a safety car, when safe to do so. Human error led to the fact that not all cars were allowed to un-lap themselves. From now on, the communication as to the cars that must un-lap themselves will be automated. Direct communications to Masi from both Mercedes and Red Bull teams "had a negative impact on the smooth running of the final laps because they were distracting when the race director needed to focus on making difficult and time-pressured decisions". The FIA confirmed a number of measures taken to avoid the same errors happening again. These include: The establishment of a remote operations centre at the FIA headquarters in Geneva to assist race control, in the manner of football's video assistant referee (VAR). An extended team in race control to run trackside operations. Direct communications from teams to the race director "should be removed to protect the race director from any pressure and allow him to make decisions peacefully". Un-lapping procedures behind the safety car will be reassessed. A new race-management team of two race directors - Niels Wittich and Eduardo Freitas - acting alternately and assisted by former deputy race director Herbie Blash, who has returned to FIA employment after retiring in 2016, to assist in race control as permanent senior adviser. Before the report was published on Saturday, a number of team bosses and drivers said that it was time for F1 to "move on" from the events of Abu Dhabi. Mercedes F1 team principal Toto Wolff said earlier on Saturday: "We need to turn the page. It's in nobody's interests to continue the discussion about Abu Dhabi." Hamilton, who lost a possible eighth world title in Abu Dhabi following Masi's errors, said on Friday: "It's important that, as a sport, we're transparent." Hamilton said he was "looking forward to seeing [the report] come out and for people to know that this sport is transparent and we are learning from what's happened in the past and will make improvements moving forward". Hamilton had been leading the race in Abu Dhabi and in total control until the late safety car. Masi made two key errors that potentially affected the outcome of the championship. The decision to allow only the cars between Hamilton and Verstappen to un-lap themselves gave the Dutchman a clear run at the Mercedes from the restart, but did not afford third-place Carlos Sainz's Ferrari a chance to attack Verstappen. Had all lapped cars been left in place it would have been harder for Verstappen to get close to Hamilton so quickly. And the decision not to allow the extra lap dictated by the rules following the order for cars to un-lap ensured the race did restart for one lap, when a strict reading of the rules as they were suggests it should not have restarted because the extra lap was the final lap. Speaking after qualifying for the Bahrain Grand Prix, the first race of the 2022 season, Wolff added: "It's a massive step change to what we've seen before. "Whether it is complete or not, weak or hard, to release it is a good step forward in terms of governance for us there is the sentence that says human error and the acknowledgement of that is very important and now we close the chapter." "I haven't seen it. I saw it had come out but I've not read it. I've been focused on getting the job done. "I'll read it maybe after the weekend or something like that. I wasn't expecting an apology. We knew that probably wasn't going to happen, but at least there is that transparency that it's a human error. "We can't go back and change the past. I look forward to focusing on the future and getting this car in the right window. We have a bit of work to do." Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Chris2K Posted March 20, 2022 Report Share Posted March 20, 2022 Watching the McLarens crawl around at the back again is depressing, and it all seems to be engine related. Outside of the works team, the other 6 Mercedes powered cars are in the last six places. 2 Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Admin Lineker Posted March 20, 2022 Author Admin Report Share Posted March 20, 2022 Three stop strategies! Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Chris2K Posted March 20, 2022 Report Share Posted March 20, 2022 "Lapped cars may now overtake the safety car". Those words should come with a trigger warning these days. Not a great ending for Red Bull then. Magnussen's going to get P5! Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Admin Lineker Posted March 20, 2022 Author Admin Report Share Posted March 20, 2022 Catastrophe for the Red Bulls. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
JasonM Posted March 20, 2022 Report Share Posted March 20, 2022 Christian Horner: Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Adam Posted March 20, 2022 Report Share Posted March 20, 2022 Wow, what a bloody ending. Loved the race, really enjoyable. That top 10 is quite a lovely list of drivers for an opening result. 1 Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
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