Formula 1 2023 Season

759NRNG said:

This quali tire rule is exactly what this venue needs.....a true display of driver talent on a level playing field....bring it!!!!

I don't think today's qualifying session was the result of the trial rule, at least not in any sustainable fashion.

The Hungaroring is described as "Monaco without the houses".  It's tight, short, has limited straights with limited passing opportunities, is much less aero-sensitive than most, and because it's not used most of the year there's a "getting faster every minute" effect.  Taken together you have track where there's a huge premium for doing a perfect lap as late in the session as possible.  Things came together for Hamilton, not so well for Russell.

The new tire rule meant that instead of having all of the best options worked out ahead of times, the teams were kind of improvising a bit in Q1 and Q2.  That created opportunities for people to make mistakes (George Russell again), but that effect would go away within a race or two if it were the standard rule.

The whole reason why they introduced multiple tires (along with the now-gone "start the races on the tires you qualify with" rule) was to create opportunities for teams to do different things and trade off speed in one session/part of the race for speed in another.  Taking them away just moves F1 back towards the processional racing that was so common 20 years ago.

If nothing else, Maclaren update from last race seems real.  What a remarkable turn around for them.

Get in there,  Lewis.  

Post fp2:  "Worst car all year."

Post quali, pole. 

Honestly, part of the reason I like him is his appreciation of success, his demands for, and ability to create, speed.  And, he's either the best actor in the world, or is the best team leader/staff motivator in history.

codrus (Forum Supporter) said: .......Taking them away just moves F1 back towards the processional racing that was so common 20 years ago.

 

Exactly what I think.. reduce tires and keep tires in ambient temp chambers if you think it is the best for sustainable F1, but let the teams put them on the car when they wish in qualifying and the race. 

F1 has done a great job of allowing teams to innovate and not be afraid of periods of domination. The cost cap is still gelling as a equalizer and F1 seems to know that the drive to survive fans can evaporate after one poorly edited episode. 

They are enjoying the show and planning for the belt tightening.

There will be bad races due to the rules but the recent rules work out to give awesome races more often than not

A confessed Lewis fan, even so, I'm still impressed that every time he is faced with a microphone after a race he always thanks the fans.

This year, after 60 some years of being a fan, I've come to better understand the variety of the tracks that are visit in one season.  I still favor those that have grass on the sides of the pavement.  To me, losing credit for a lap by going outside the lines is better than losing at least the rest of the session from hitting a concrete barrier on the very edge of the racing surface.

I think the tire change for qually may have been effective in getting some new faces at the sharp end of the grid.....Zhou in 5th? Bottas in the top 10?

Should be a fun time tomorrow, I expect Lewis to get a good start, but we could be in for a pretty good tussle between him and Max....I'm looking forward to the race!

And just like that.............

Pretty boring race, overall. Mostly tire and heat management. 

So at this point, the cost cap is both working and not. 
Working so that the low budget teams can catch each other up. Not so that the high budget teams can't fix mistakes quickly. Making the midfield slightly more interesting and the front not at all. 

So I watched the latest episode of Formula Max and while there were some brief moments of interest it was a snooze for sure.

alfadriver said:

Pretty boring race, overall. Mostly tire and heat management. 

The trick is to ignore Max.  The pace change of Lewis from the first two stints to his third was odd.  The Maclarens dealing with Checo was fun.  

I was hoping for, but not optimistic about, a Mac 2-3 finish.  I was pleased for Checo re-discovering where the edge of the track is.

And George managed a very good day.

In reply to Streetwiseguy :

Normally, I would agree. But the other than max race was not good, either. 

Because I watch with the sound off....was there an explanation as to why Checo was called into the pits on lap 43 being a straightaway from DRSing  LH down the front straight? Gentlemen's agreement to avoid embarrassment perhaps?

759NRNG said:

Because I watch with the sound off....was there an explanation as to why Checo was called into the pits on lap 43 being a straightaway from DRSing  LH down the front straight? Gentlemen's agreement to avoid embarrassment perhaps?

Didn't want to get hung up chasing.  I think.

759NRNG said:

Because I watch with the sound off....was there an explanation as to why Checo was called into the pits on lap 43 being a straightaway from DRSing  LH down the front straight? Gentlemen's agreement to avoid embarrassment perhaps?

I don't think there are any gentleman's agreements between Red Bull and Mercedes.

Most likely it was just because that's what the strategy said was the right time for new tires.

alfadriver said:

Normally, I would agree. But the other than max race was not good, either. 

The Hungaroring kind of sucks as an F1 track.  This race was a lot better than many in the past have been there!

I know what you mean about turning the sound off......why can't these guys take a breath once in a while? Why does every sports broadcast require non-stop jabbering? Most of the time it's "like I said before" and "I'll say it again"......please stop.

I thought Max and the Hamster would have a pretty good fight at the front, at least for a few laps but that didn't happen. In fact, he still has 30+ seconds in hand at the end of the race - that's pretty amazing this deep into the season. 

They say both championships are probably wrapped up by Monza......so what will they do the rest of the season? They've already broken so many records......

DannyRickyBobby didn't disappoint, tho I'm sure he was hoping for better than 13th

Checo drove an inspired race, got his elbows out a few times, but here's to Lando for holding him off to the end!

In reply to MiniDave :

I stream F1 tv and listen to the B team,this race was Palmer and Couthart.

 A little less talky talky then Brundle and gang.

 Nice to see Daniel mesh with a car pretty quickly,considering he was last and stopped after getting punted/doing some punting into turn 1 that was a pretty good recover from the 10th best car on the grid.

MiniDave said:

I thought Max and the Hamster would have a pretty good fight at the front, at least for a few laps but that didn't happen. In fact, he still has 30+ seconds in hand at the end of the race - that's pretty amazing this deep into the season. 

They say both championships are probably wrapped up by Monza......so what will they do the rest of the season? They've already broken so many records......

In the pre-race interviews, George said "we all have up weekends and down weekends.  Look at Max, he only won by 5 seconds at Silverstone"...yeah, because he stopped an extra time to get softs for the fastest lap.  

I know it's boring, but I want to see this car win all the races this year.  That's what RB has to go for once they clinch the titles.  

Here's a weird idea, once Red Bull and Max wrap up both championships, maybe they just don't show up for the rest of the races? Let someone else have some fun and save a bunch of money not going to races -maybe spend it on next season's car or the 2026 motors?

In reply to MiniDave :

I'll bet the FIA would have something to say about that, if they don't already. Remember how pissed they got when Lewis didn't show up to the fancy dinner after the 2021 championship debacle?

I'll bet they'll run up the score. RB would love to have a perfect season, and Max undoubtedly wants the records for most poles and most wins.

In reply to Keith Tanner :

I really thought I had heard that the agreement was that every team shows up for every race and runs both cars every time.  And if I didn't hear that somewhere, I would be absolutely astonished if it's not in there.  Just like the drivers typically have a clause that says that if the car is being driven, they're the one doing the driving except for the handful of pre-agreed tests.

wae said:

In reply to Keith Tanner :

I really thought I had heard that the agreement was that every team shows up for every race and runs both cars every time.  And if I didn't hear that somewhere, I would be absolutely astonished if it's not in there.

I believe that is correct. It has been in the past. Perhaps part of the Concord Agreement.