Formula 1 2024 – WILL CONTAIN SPOILERS

Reminds me of the Benetton “traction control software what we never used, honest guv” story.

Well quite. The FIA have stated that it could be used to adjust ride-height. Given the nature of F1 teams I think it’s probably safe to assume that it was. However, like the launch control (Benetton hadn’t fitted the accompanying traction control) there’s probably nothing further the FIA can do, and RB have ‘gotten away with it’

Race on sunday should be interesting, eh?

Fastest lap point to be dropped.

Directing your junior team to pit, fit fresh softs to take the point to your rival seemed like the shitty tactics to everyone watching that it obviously was at the time, even if Horner denies that’s the case. It’s hardly a surprise that its been dropped.

RB have ‘gotten away with it’

I find it interesting theyve stated they decided to modify it, despite the fact it couldn’t be used in parc ferme.   Got away with it indeed, it’s taking the piss / another F1 RB farce.   Maybe Horner has more incriminating pictures than we think in his possession.

Yeah, it’ll be interesting to see if anything changes to RB’s weekend. Texas has been a happy place for RB in the past, and the MacLaren will go well here, but if there’s a huge different in RB’s performance, I think everyone will draw their own conclusions.

I think the dropping of the point for fastest lap is an odd one. I don’t have a problem with it as a thing but what they should do is allow whoever scores the fastest lap to keep the point and not just restrict it to the top 10. That always felt like a bit of a contrived / ill thought through idea.

but what they should do is allow whoever scores the fastest lap to keep the point and not just restrict it to the top 10. That always felt like a bit of a contrived / ill thought through idea.

If they did that then the 5 slow teams would just keep chucking new tyres at it in the last few laps rather than actually racing.

If they did that then the 5 slow teams would just keep chucking new tyres at it in the last few laps rather than actually racing.

And we would actually get to see some cars being driven at the limit rather than just conserving tyres.

And Mazapon would have a had a point for that Belgian GP which never really happened

And we would actually get to see some cars being driven at the limit rather than just conserving tyres.

But they’ve also often been lapped by the faster cars by that point. Having them suddenly speed up massively is just going to get in the way, what if one of them tries to un-lap himself ad it all goes wrong?

I’m struggling to see the issue with that. Surely it helps spice up the race a bit? A chance for the lesser teams to have a moment in the spotlight? After all, they’ve probably spent the majority of the race doing their best but essentially fighting over places where there are no points. To see them given the opportunity to have a bit of flat out racing towards the end of the race adds something interesting / another dimension. In reality though, not sure how many teams might actually do that – but at least it would be an option and give them something positive to fight for?

I think the issue here is more to do with the fact that Riccardo (in the second Red Bull team) was pitted in the penultimate lap of the race to take the fastest lap, thus securing Max an extra point come the end of the year.

Most the gripes seem to be that the extra point is now more of a tactic that a reward. It does seem to be less about mangin a quick lap in the race and more a bonus point if one of the team slap on some softs near the end.

It can be perceived and a ‘cheat’ or ‘unsporting’ when used like Ricardo did, just to get a point off another team and not part of the genuine racing.

I suspect the powers that be decided that few people think it adds much and their is more noise about it being a negative, so why not just remove it?

After looking forward to the F1 this weekend, I’ve seen the headlines and am now considering Netflix as an alternative to several hours of a bemoaning Karen Horner.

Gary Anderson’s take on the Red Bull “it’s there, but we’ve not used it guvnor, honest” bib feature…

https://www.the-race.com/formula-1/red-bull-bib-device-f1-controversy-gary-anderson/

It’s been Max’s championship to lose, but if he picks up a win or two this weekend it’s definitely all over. That Mercedes seems like a dog to drive, they’re very good at doing that to themselves.

Not sure it’s a complete dog – talk is that Lewis would have taken pole if not for Colapinto’s spin.

Anyway – it’s only sprint race pole! 🙂

This is a great sprint race!

Urgh, shame that Lando ran out of tyres at the end – every point is crucial.

As much as I want him to win WDC I don’t think he’s doing enough to catch Verstappen

the-muffin-manFull Member
Not sure it’s a complete dog – talk is that Lewis would have taken pole if not for Colapinto’s spin.

Anyway – it’s only sprint race pole! 🙂

Seems it’s decent when it’s in the (extremely narrow) temperature window, otherwise it just chews up its tyres. Seemed like the Ferrari was the quickest race car today.

PS Norris got summoned for moving in the braking zone,  NFA decided so he retains P3.

Lando proving again he’s not very good racing wheel to wheel.

Brilliant battle, so sick of this track limits stuff though!

This bullshit rule where you can divebomb then push people off at the exit is spoiling the racing.

Brilliant drive by Russell, Colapinto and Lawson. Perez not so much.  Lewis will be smiling with that result,  forza Ferrari!

It was obvious how Max was going to defend that though – he needed the inside line and Max was never going to allow him to have it.

Other overtakes like that were penalised the same.

If the driver on the inside at the entry goes off on the outside of the exit, the should be no penalty for the driver on the outside at entry if he gains a place from going off.

or they should both get a penalty.

Loved that race! I got to watch it live for the first time in years – bought a now tv pass for the football earlier, didn’t expect it to cover the GP too, but it did, woo hoo!

Track limits is a ballache though, ruins the racing. Great track for close racing and some great driving. I thought Lando drove really well, it’s so risky behind Max as he’s unpredictable, getting a move done is so tough!

it’s so risky behind Max as he’s unpredictable

Im not a Verstappen fan but that was a masterclass in respectable clean hard defending.  Equally, Landos drive was bloody awesome, what a pleasure to watch yet watch a shame the 5s penalty.

Landos drive was bloody awesome,

The gaping hole he left at turn one, lap one wasn’t particularly awesome.

Great racing spectacle.  Lando’s team should/could have been a bit more objective about where he was in relation to Verstappen and the apex when making the illegal overtake and suggested he give the place back to then have a couple more goes at a legal move.  And Ferrari coming good for the arrival of Lewis.

Jenson called it. Essentially Max knows he just has to have his nose ahead at the apex, then he can run the overtaking driver off the track, then they either yield/get a shit exit/get a penalty so he comes off the brakes early knowing he won’t make the exit, but it doesn’t matter.

tomhowardFull Member
Jenson called it. Essentially Max knows he just has to have his nose ahead at the apex, then he can run the overtaking driver off the track, then they either yield/get a shit exit/get a penalty so he comes off the brakes early knowing he won’t make the exit, but it doesn’t matter.

Yep bang on

These decisions seem to be judgmental. Russel got a penalty for (IMO) less of a breach than max as he was still partly on the racetrack. Max was all four wheels off and it’s Norris who gets ****ed

The comparison between this incident and the one between Max and Kimi is bollocks, Max over took Kimi by simply cutting a corner, he wasn’t forced off at all.

Yet again, McLarens tactics and strategy fail them. Lando should have made that move a couple of laps earlier, sucked up any 5 second penalty but just ran off over 5 seconds in front of MV over the last n laps (as he obviously had much more speed).

Granted, it’s not “sporting” but neither is MV pushing other drivers off track

I agree about the track limits argument, it seems inconsistent. Lando should’ve given the place straight back and given himself time to have another go at passing which s on the team to give that direction quickly to Lando, but both Max and Lando IMO should’ve been penalized, as both are clearly off the track.

No wonder the drivers are criticising it.

The funniest outcome would definitely have been to announce Lando’s penalty and then announce the same for Max 30 seconds later.

The whole situation is just a farce. That comment from Jenson Button pretty much sums it up. Max knows the limits of the rules very well and has no qualms in going right up to them. It really pisses me off every time he does it, which is often. But, with the way the FIA have written the guidelines he gets away with it every time.

I think Mclaren thought that Norris would be able to pull a 5s gap on Verstappen given how quick he caught him and the tyre delta to cover off any penatly, but that never happened.

Max knows the limits of the rules very well and has no qualms in going right up to them.

I have zero problem with Max driving hard, I absolutely want and expect all the drivers to be 100% when it comes to that. The thing that pisses me off is that while Lando’s overtake was clearly not going to work, he should’ve just either backed off or given the place back. At the same time, while Max’s nose was ahead at the apex, so yeah, he has the corner he had  to brake so late to makes sure he did,  that he couldn’t make the exit – He went from the inside of the previous corner to way outside track limits on the next on the outside. So if George is outside track limits and gets 5 secs for forcing a driver off the circuit, at the same corner, and Lando gets 5 secs for gaining a place while off the track at the same corner, then Max should get the same for doing pretty much the same thing at the same corner.

It’s these sorts of things where the FIA just shoot themselves in the face. Derek Warwick was the race steward yesterday and frankly he should be doing a better job given his experience.

Is this the difference between gaining an advantage and retaining an advantage? Seems that if you’re ahead at the apex and take the “racing line” then more leeway is given than if you’re behind and have to go wider than the racing line in order to pass. I’m not sure how that can be tightened up other than to penalise both drivers for going off-circuit and give another penalty for the overtake. The effect would be much the same, although any drivers closer than 5s behind might be promoted.

I was also confused by the R5 commentary. They suggested that Lando had already been flagged for repeated track limit violations and that the 5s penalty was related to that rather than the overtake specifically?

To an extent, yes I guess it is. But the “rules/guidelines” at the moment effectively give the defending driver a pass to drive off the track as long as they can show that they were ahead at the apex. So if you’re Max (or anyone else) just stuff it into the corner and be the last of the late brakers, it apparently doesn’t matter if you run completely off the track at the exit. Conversely if you want to overtake then better to if you do it on the opening lap, as apparently its OK to exceed track limits then, but later on in the race, if you go off the circuit; that’s bad.

Six of one, damned if you don’t

and that the 5s penalty was related to that rather than the overtake specifically?

A bit of both. I think it was his 4th violation but at the same time, Max pretty much forced him off, so the two are related.

A bit of both. I think it was his 4th violation

It wasn’t. If you go off at T19 or 20, both the lap you are on and the next lap time get deleted. He had 4 laps deleted, but only for 3 infringements. The penalty was for overtaking off the track.

Max knows the limits of the rules very well and has no qualms in going right up to them

See also, brake checking just before DRS detection lines

What Max did with late braking and running off at the exit is within the rules. The rules are wrong for that.

Perhaps the rule about 1st to the apex should remain but only if you actually also make the corner. If you and the car behind both go off track then whoever comes back in front keeps the lead?

Track limits seem to have become a favorite thing to penalise drivers for in the last couple of seasons. Was there loads of dubious driving before that made this such an issue?