I know Monaco doesn’t produce the best races, but one of the things I like about the qualifying is that, because the track is so slow and therfore aero is less of an influence, you are more likely to see the best drivers nearer the top, which is broadly speaking what we had today

Some great stuff from Ferrari and McLaren there. Verstappen starts in 6th, couldn’t happen to a nicer guy lol

Lovelt!

Omg amazing!

Verstappen is saying that Red Bull are struggling, but then again he said that last weekend and then went on to get pole and win

Do you think it has to be someone who can’t fight too well, just in case Jos gets a bit ‘overexcited’ again?

Very possibly!

More likely that he was teammates with Max at Torro Rosso and there was friction

I was wondering if that was part of the decision making process, from either side

Until last week he was the only non-RB driver to have won a GP in the last 18 months. He may not be the very tippity-top, but in an equal car I’d bet him against Perez every time, and RB really do need a driver that can routinely nailed 2nd on the grid now that Ferrari and Maclaren are there or thereabouts, and Perez can’t do that.

This is how I see him too, Checo has his good days but Sainz has shown much better consistency

It says quite a lot about the unusual dynamics at Red Bull that Sainz hasn’t been signed to them already

Mercedes 1 and 3 in first practice

Yep, shaping up to be a snoozefest

And Yuki is making a strong case for that second Red Bull seat next season.

He’s had an amazing weekend so far, it’s hard to see him at Red Bull tho.

Business as usual then. The McLarens look close though!

McLaren and Ferrari are looking quick, should be a good qualifying

Newey is saying that he would rather change F1 team rather than retire. It would be so exciting if he ends up at Ferrari!

2012:

https://en.m.wikipedia.org/wiki/2012_Formula_One_World_Championship

It was either 2010 or 2012, I can’t remember which, but we had something like 7 different winners over the first 7 races, it’s hard to imagine that ever happened now!

Is anyone else thinking that the F1 press are over-hyping McLaren’s B Spec car and its going to be business as usual this weekend?

It’s definitely what normally happens, but it would be nice to be surprised for a change. More than 2 teams in serious contention for the championships would be an incredibly exciting prospect for next year, and the first time it’s happened for over ten years

Where next for Newey? Your questions answered before Miami GP – https://www.bbc.com/sport/articles/ckr5mnd25nyo

Andrew Benson reckons it will most likely be Ferrari for Adrian Newey

My money is on him just stepping back from work.

Mine too tbh

Hulkenberg to join Sauber from Haas in 2025 – https://www.bbc.com/sport/articles/cjew54g41ego

Possibly not the biggest news in F1 right now, but Hulkenberg has signed to Audi/Sauber

Lol, I see Bez has edited out his predictions so no one can laugh at him later! 😉

That’s a shame!

It’s got to be Ferrari or Aston, hasn’t it? Assuming he’ll stay in F1? I know in the past he’s said he’s not as fussed about ticking the Ferrari box as some people, but at least there driver line up isn’t as compromised as Aston Martin, and at some point even Lawrence Stroll’s gonna realise that his son is a very unlikely world champ and pull out, taking his money bags with him. On the other hand, Newey might want to stay in the UK?

That’s much more like an Alonso power play…

Alonso normally manages to do the opposite, doesn’t he?

I feels to good to be true to me! It’s probably his plan right now, but we may see Horner given the boot over the next few days and Newey staying at Red Bull instead

Newey leaving RB is the most interesting thing to happen to F1 for a while. 🙂

It is!!

tbf, Rosberg did win a world title driving the same car as Hamilton. How many other drivers can claim that?

No-one, and the only other person to beat him over a season was Jenson Button, so he’s in some pretty rarified air up there

Great to see Hamilton take second, at one point I thought it might look like a win

1. This is what real elbows out driving looks like (these two guys were teammates too, BMW must have been thrilled)

That was outrageous lol

Genuinely crushed that we’re not going to see Alonso and Verstappen go head to head in the same car! I guess it might be a good opportunity at Audi for a relatively young driver though, maybe they could sign both Albon and Sainz?

“I’d pay actual money to watch 20 F1 drivers tackle the M25 in Vauxhall Astravans.  Everyone of a certain age will have seen a smoking, grubby 1.6 litre Astravan being driven with gusto up the chuff of a fast moving Porsche 928 or similar on the M25 before speed cameras became a thing”

Fastest vehicle known to mankind. Fact!

Andrew Benson answers the tyre question here:

https://www.bbc.co.uk/sport/formula1/68649304

Andrew: It’s not for me to say what the F1 rules should be, but I can tell you that there is no appetite among F1 stakeholders for a ‘tyre war’, as it is known when there is more than one tyre supplier in competition.

But to address the central issue in the question – ie tyre degradation and management – it does not require multiple suppliers to stop those being such an issue as they are now.

The Pirelli tyres supplied to F1 are most unlike what might be called a typical racing tyre, in that they are very thermally sensitive, and typically require gentle treatment to prevent them overheating. If they become too hot, then the grip never tends to come back.

This means drivers can hardly ever – even on qualifying laps – push to the limit. This is a very abnormal situation – and was certainly not the case when predecessors Michelin, Bridgestone and Goodyear were in F1 in the 1990s and 2000s, whether there was competition or not. And it’s not how the tyres behave in other categories where Pirelli is not the supplier, for example in endurance racing or IndyCars.

Pirelli has repeatedly been asked in recent years to stop the tyres behaving in this way, and in addition to widen their working temperature window as well as to make the ‘extreme’ wet tyre better.

F1 had the opportunity to change tyre suppliers last year, when Bridgestone made a bid to return. Many people were pushing F1 chairman Stefano Domenicali to make the switch, but in the end he preferred to stick with Pirelli.

“I found it depressing reading the Andrew Benson article today, that all drivers are having to manage their tyres over one quali lap, 3.6 miles! Is this the best that Pirelli can do, or are F1 tyres still designed to wear quickly to make things interesting?”

Pirelli have been repeatedly asked to address this issue, and either can’t or won’t do so, no-one seems to know which.

Ted Kravitz fact from this morning: there was as much time separating the top eight as there was between Verstappen and p2 last year

I feel like it’s the lack of transparency that’s key here. If you don’t have anything to hide, then don’t hide it

I think it would be amazing to see Alonso and Verstappen on the same team, two of the greatest ever drivers in F1 going head to head! Please make this happen!

Update: I bought a nearly-new Coros Pace 2 for £100 off ebay, I’ve done a few hikes with it and it’s been amazing. I’ve never really enjoyed navigating, and I love the fact that a glance at my wrist is all I need to keep on track

He’s checked out of Mercedes

Hilarious!

There’s those who like what the Tories are doing.  Like with Tump.

There’s those who (like with Trump) will hold their noses and vote like they always do anyway..

The big difference is that Trump has polled a consistent ~40% since 2016, a genuinely unwavering fan base, whereas the Tories plummeted during Liz Truss’ brief tenure and didn’t recover too much since, they are now at 24% and not looking like it will get any better for them. The reason for this, as far as I see it, is that Trump has created a very effective cult of personality, and his followers are not interested in hearing anything else

It’s a bit weird that superbike prices are now just normal prices