The 'easy' thing you could do to improve it would be to redesign the circuit. If you turn left at Lowe's, (instead of right to go under the tunnel) the Ave Princess Grace is a 2km straight -'ish' that ends in a roundabout. Gary Anderson proposed it, so it's not completely a stupid idea.
That's quite interesting. It's quite interesting to see what the streets look like when not set up for racing. Perhaps they should keep the parked cars and planters too.
They tried that devil format in qualifying. That lasted for two races.
Ultimately we just need smaller, more nimble cars
I actually think they did ok. Yeah it wasn't fine tuned over takes, but it equally wasn't certain what the outcome was from lap 1 - even at 90% of race distance it wasn't quite clear who would win. Team tactics actually spiced it up. A bit of rain or a crash and it would have totally shaken things up - the fact nobody further back crashed trying to pass the Williams, or the leaders trying to get through the congestion is probably as much luck as anything.
It strikes me a simple variation on yesterdays rule would be possible. Set a maximum lap time. Any car which exceeds the maximum lap time on a lap (or average of X laps) where no yellow flags and no rain can be blue flagged to let the person behind past. All sort of ways to work out the threshold time - could be dynamic as a multiple of the race leader, or fastest lap or set based on qualifying etc.
Monaco is about an amazing qualifying.....and about the occasion/party/venue and heritage. The race is almost an irrelevance at this stage in car development. .
So I'd propose....
Qualifying as is or longer to make it the main event with points allocated like they would be for the race - 25 for 'pole' and the like. Maybe you could make it Goodwood festival of speed meets an alpine downhill ski race with the last 10 runners that will get the points going off in reverse order for their flying laps.
Then Sunday is basically a bigger better version of Goodwood Revival. Scrap the race It's about heros of a bygone era doing laps in F1 cars from the past.
Then maybe.....a one off for bragging rights only race with the current F1 drivers driving cars built by current teams to a heritage 1950s spec. Or in karts. An event to allow driver character to shine through like a tennis exhibition match. A day of joy and smiles and friendly competition and spectacle.
To be honest I think you might get a decent race if they just gave them those full size Lego cars.
Traditional track, excellent in the 1950s?
So make it the heritage round with 1950s aero (ie little if any)
Modern cars, but no front or rear wing (removing the underfloor might be a bit taxing).
Virtually undriveable you say? Fantastic.
They need to remove the Nouvelle Chicane and provide a runoff/widened area at Tabac in advance of the corner. There is some space to do something with Portier too.
Sorting out portier would allow cars to exit into the tunnel much closer and the long run would allow a full drag battle right to a heavy braking zone.
If in addition, you forced all cars to run a high downforce package, DRS in this zone would be hugely powerful.
Heritage round you say? Great idea - make the cars the same spec tyres and wheels as Farina's Alfa 158 from the first world championship GP, that'll make the cars narrower so passing's easier. 🙂
With H-gate gear shift lever
and clutch
Anyway - Spain this weekend - and the supposed clamp down on flexi-flaps kicks in!
So will Red Bull and Ferrari suddenly become the front runners or will the status-quo remain?
Personally I don't think anything will change.
...and Lewis will continue to upset the Ferrari old-guard.
It was hardly a surprise to anyone that every team that has drivers one behind the other was going to play the back the pack up card to make space for the other. It was equally predictable that we would have last lap pit stops as some chose to hang on out int he hope of a full or virtual safety car or help. The short answer is that Monaco isn’t for purpose and unless the half the size of the cars or knock a load of buildings down to make the track wide enough nothing will change. It’s a classic case of you cant polish a turd
Instead of DRS, allow each driver to cut a corner or chicane 5 times in a race.
So McLaren's front wing wasn't as flexi as everyone thought after all!... 😬
I thought they'd already changed the front wing for Monaco?
I've seen pictures of the McLaren that has a support at one of the rear elements of the front wing.
On further reading this is from PlanetF1*...
As for Mercedes, the new parts for the W16 for Spain include a floor edge, floor fencing and a new rear wing.
This list, however, does not discount McLaren and Mercedes having already run their TD-compliant wing in an earlier practice session in order to avoid scrutiny.
It is understood both McLaren and Mercedes trialed their revised front wings at the Emilia Romagna Grand Prix at Imola meaning they did not have to feature on the list of FIA submissions for Spain.
PlanetF1.com’s tech guru Matt Somerfield said of the W16: “Mercedes actually introduced their new specification at Imola and the onboard footage has suggested it doesn’t back off as much as the old one.”
https://www.planetf1.com/news/f1-teams-wing-it-in-spain-with-one-notable-exception
(*PlanetF1 have really stepped up their coverage this season - gone from click-bait to some really in-depth stuff).
So McLaren's front wing wasn't as flexi as everyone thought after all!
You don't know what the internal structure is like. You can't tell anything from just looking at it. However, I suspect that there's much more to McLaren's speed than just flexy wings and I doubt that they will suddenly fall off the pace.
Also, you can't draw any conclusions from one race. The Red Bull is very fast on some circuits but much weaker on others. We should have a much better idea by Hungary whether the pecking order has changed.
(*PlanetF1 have really stepped up their coverage this season - gone from click-bait to some really in-depth stuff).
Ineresting to see PF1 returngin so some semblance of actual journalism/reporting. They used to be pretty good, then several years ago went all in on the click-bait and adverts making their site almost unusable. It seems that places like The-Race have maybe maybe them rethink?
Well, I guess the flexiwing wasn't the secret to McLaren's pace.
So, Stroll out of the race with a hurty wrist, that has apparently been giving him jip for a while, but he still did qualifying.
But because he did quali, they can't put a reserve driver in for the race. Conspiracy theories abound
How’s anyone making conspiracy theories out of that?
How’s anyone making conspiracy theories out of that?
The Stroll's are Jewish so... (insert whatever insane conspiracy theory you want.)
Just guessing but if Drugovich did the weekend instead and was on Alonso's pace how secure would Lance's place be? Although TBF he has scored 100% of Aston's points, which this far into the season is surprising
Just guessing but if Drugovich did the weekend instead and was on Alonso's pace how secure would Lance's place be?
Seeing as his dad owns the team, 100% secure.
So, Stroll out of the race with a hurty wrist, that has apparently been giving him jip for a while, but he still did qualifying.
But because he did quali, they can't put a reserve driver in for the race. Conspiracy theories abound
Sounds like he had a wee temper tantrum
There is only one Aston Martin in the Spanish Grand Prix after Lance Stroll withdrew because he was, the team said, “experiencing pain in his hand and wrist, which his medical consultant believes is in relation to the procedure he underwent in 2023”, when Stroll broke both wrists in a bike accident.
It has emerged on Sunday morning that Stroll lost his temper in the garage after being knocked out at the end of Q2, in which he lapped 0.535 seconds slower than team-mate Fernando Alonso. Word was going around the paddock that Stroll had broken things in the garage and sworn at team members. Asked about this, a team spokesperson said: “Lance was upset.”
The spokesperson said that the loss of temper and the injury were unrelated.
Stroll then failed to go to be weighed as required by regulations, for which he has been given a warning by governing body the FIA.
Stroll is to have a “procedure to rectify these issues before focusing on his recovery”, so his participation in the Canadian Grand Prix in two weeks’ time is in doubt.
https://www.bbc.co.uk/sport/live/cp8dz9zddz2t?post=asset%3A61282856-38f8-44a7-9321-22611740cc0b#post
So does the grid shuffle forward one place or is his position left empty? It'd be good news for the Hulk if that happens.
Well that just got interesting. Must surely be approaching a DQ?
Comedy gold end to race, toys launched into orbit by Max.
10s seems rather lenient. I'm no expert but that looked like a simple loss of temper and deliberate act.
DQ 100% for verstappen. 10 seconds is very lenient and Merc should appeal it
Flexiwing ban was a fizzle. My guess is that everyone will stop developing for this year and focus on 26. Max's lawyers will be looking at the fine print and on the phone to Merc for next year.
I’m not a Norris fan but “I’ve done that before on Mario Kart” was brilliant 😂
I stand by my assessment of Max. Every time I think “you know, he really is an amazing driver” he goes and acts like a complete ****.
At least he’s getting penalties now. Though I’d rather see a DSQ for that
Verstappen refused to answer whether the contact was intentional. “Does it matter?” he answered when asked by Sky.
Yes it matters, you petulant child. Intentional contact isn’t welcome, should result in being thrown out. And if you don’t know that already, maybe ask your dad to explain.
Oh, second thoughts, maybe not
So, it turns out that the stewards weren't going to ask Max to pull over for George. That'll make for an interesting chat in the Red Bull trailer later...
At least he’s now got 3 penalty points for it, which puts him 1 incident away from a ban. Fingers crossed
Utter madness by Max closely followed by DC trying very hard not to criticise him and make excuses for his in the post race
I wonder what the Italian press will be saying about Hamilton. Pretty aggressive on Charles at the start, overly defensive against Charles after a few laps, still lacking pace and then being passed by a Sauber at the end. Il Drake would have been a little unimpressed… Too much more of that and I’m going to have to leave my shiny new number 44 cap at home when I go to Monza 🙂
Should apply the same punishment Schumacher got for Villeneuve in Jerez.
Until the safety care came out as a race I thought it was a bit dull. But then again I always find Spain a bit dull.
There was some talk on SM that Lewis had a damaged floor for most of the race, but not seen anything on the mainstream F1 sites yet.
I know it's a bit tin-foil-hat brigade - but does anyone else get the feeling Lewis is being knobbled from within? A black, flash, opinionated, Englishman is going to rub some people up the wrong way within Ferrari. I know his qualifying form hasn't been great in recent years but his races have still been good, now he seems to go nowhere. Something doesn't feel right.
Utter madness by Max closely followed by DC trying very hard not to criticise him and make excuses for his in the post race
I like DC, I think on the whole he does a very good job at commentary and analysis. But being on the Red Bull payroll clearly compromises his ability to say what he actually thinks in situations involving Max Verstappen, not great for objectivity.
I know it's a bit tin-foil-hat brigade - but does anyone else get the feeling Lewis is being knobbled from within? A black, flash, opinionated, Englishman is going to rub some people up the wrong way within Ferrari. I know his qualifying form hasn't been great in recent years but his races have still been good, now he seems to go nowhere. Something doesn't feel right.
He's not as young as he was and he has to get used to a completely different car and team, his teammate is extremely quick and is familiar with how the team operates. Not at all surprising that Leclerc is beating Hamilton.
I know it's a bit tin-foil-hat brigade - but does anyone else get the feeling Lewis is being knobbled from within?
Fred Vasseur was cock-a-hoop when he signed Hamilton, he saw it as a massive coup to get someone who might be the GOAT signed for Ferrari, there is no way they aren't doing everything to get Hamilton up to speed.
