The Official F1 Thread

[Kawazaki]

I watched it flag to flag.

There's 82 minutes and 7 seconds you'll never get back!

[Dogbert]

Driver in the 4th best car won from pole , a consummate drive

[Kawazaki]

Driver in the 4th best car won from pole , a consummate drive

It's a car conceived, designed, built and developed literally with the sole purpose of Verstappen driving it.

No other driver, since perhaps Schumacher in the Ferrari 20+ years ago, has a car like this on the grid.

[Dogbert]

Driver in the 4th best car won from pole , a consummate drive

It's a car conceived, designed, built and developed literally with the sole purpose of Verstappen driving it.

No other driver, since perhaps Schumacher in the Ferrari 20+ years ago, has a car like this on the grid.

Yet over a full distance race the Red Bull no match for the Mclaren / Merc , or Ferrari - and if what you say is true regarding the car being built around MV this is denied by other drivers & Newey ( when he was at Red Bull), you still have the fact that Verstappen has the massive disadvantage of not have the rear gunner to allow any strategic calls in race strategy.

It was a simply lovely win in the end though

[Guy Smiley]

Driver in the 4th best car won from pole , a consummate drive

It's a car conceived, designed, built and developed literally with the sole purpose of Verstappen driving it.

No other driver, since perhaps Schumacher in the Ferrari 20+ years ago, has a car like this on the grid.

Yet over a full distance race the Red Bull no match for the Mclaren / Merc , or Ferrari - and if what you say is true regarding the car being built around MV this is denied by other drivers & Newey ( when he was at Red Bull), you still have the fact that Verstappen has the massive disadvantage of not have the rear gunner to allow any strategic calls in race strategy.

It was a simply lovely win in the end though

At a track where passing is almost impossible for closely matched cars and RB gave him a package with reduced downforce to give him more straight line speed.

[Dogbert]

It's a car conceived, designed, built and developed literally with the sole purpose of Verstappen driving it.

No other driver, since perhaps Schumacher in the Ferrari 20+ years ago, has a car like this on the grid.

Yet over a full distance race the Red Bull no match for the Mclaren / Merc , or Ferrari - and if what you say is true regarding the car being built around MV this is denied by other drivers & Newey ( when he was at Red Bull), you still have the fact that Verstappen has the massive disadvantage of not have the rear gunner to allow any strategic calls in race strategy.

It was a simply lovely win in the end though

At a track where passing is almost impossible for closely matched cars and RB gave him a package with reduced downforce to give him more straight line speed.

And Mclaren could have given both Norris and Piastri a reduced downforce package to match, but chose not to, of course reducing the downforce makes the car slide more and more difficult to drive, and the RB is hard work at the best of times, so it would take a very special driver to handle.

[Guy Smiley]

where passing is almost impossible for closely matched cars...

what sort of 'package' do you suggest McLaren should have used?


The only things that could have made this race interesting would have been rain or a Safety Car, otherwise it's just a procession. Max's brilliance was in his qualifying lap and even there luck plays a part with the wind unsettling cars at various spots around the track.

He did well but I'm not convinced he deserves the gargling.

[Sandstorm]

Max having a shite evening in Bahrain.

[fishfoodie]

Lando ain't winning no World Championships driving like that !

The McLarens are utterly dominant this weekend, & he smacks his car into the wall, so he'll start in 10th, while his teammate scampers off from the front

[Dogbert]

Max having a shite evening in Bahrain.

Simply Lovely evening in Saudi

[Sandstorm]

Max having a shite evening in Bahrain.

Simply Lovely evening in Saudi

Still a dickhead

[Guy Smiley]

Interesting stat from the timing sheets,

each of the top 3 qualifiers had a fastest sector in their last qualifying runs. I wonder how often that happens?

[Dogbert]

Max having a shite evening in Bahrain.

Simply Lovely evening in Saudi

Still the best driver on the grid

FTFY

[Sandstorm]

Simply Lovely evening in Saudi

Still the best driver on the grid

FTFY

Still a dickhead

[Slick]

Is there anywhere to pass on that Saudi circuit?

[Guy Smiley]

Is there anywhere to pass on that Saudi circuit?

Not really, typical street circuit with bugger all room for error. I’m sure there will be some moves but it’s likely to be a bit of a procession. Slightly softer tyre compounds might open up the possibilities for tactical changes but I reckon a lot of teams will hang back waiting for safety cars for tyre stops.

Piastri onto Verstappen into turn one will be interesting. He’s a fast starter.

[Slick]

Is there anywhere to pass on that Saudi circuit?

Not really, typical street circuit with bugger all room for error. I’m sure there will be some moves but it’s likely to be a bit of a procession. Slightly softer tyre compounds might open up the possibilities for tactical changes but I reckon a lot of teams will hang back waiting for safety cars for tyre stops.

Piastri onto Verstappen into turn one will be interesting. He’s a fast starter.

Thanks, was watching qualifying thinking that with all that cash and a relatively new Grand Prix surely they could have come up with an exciting track - I appreciate the skill to drive around the thing of course

[Guy Smiley]

It seems there's a trend to develop street based circuits with Liberty Media looking to increase the number of tracks (and races) per season. No-one is really building new circuits suitable for F1 so we've seen these 'new tracks' added that are street circuits. I'm not a fan myself as I find them boring and the races tend to be processional, but that was the expectation with Los Vegas last year and it turned up quite an exciting race. The cars are too big to allow much space for dicing and passing while the aero doesn't usually like being in 'dirty air' behind another car.... I did hear a comment from someone the other day that they feel the effects of a car in front even when they're a long way back, even 20 seconds.

So for me, street circuits are a bit shit from a racing perspective but it suits the type of driving developed in SIM with ultra tight margins and the need for robot precision.

If you look at Norris' qualifying crash closely, he was less than a tyre width wide going through the left but tried to carry too much speed there, putting him wide into the next right, onto the kerb, snap over steer with the power on and bang, around he went. On a track, he just goes around and hopefully digs himself out of a gravel trap. On this and other street circuits, he's into a wall with wheels hanging off.

[Guy Smiley]

Piastri onto Verstappen into turn one will be interesting. He’s a fast starter.

Typical Max, he was beaten to the corner fair and square so he just gets off the brakes, runs wide and blames the other driver. Lucky to only get a 5 sec penalty I thought, but ironically if he had given the spot back he'd have been better off overall and possibly had a better chance for the win.

Very nice drive from Piastri and he now leads the championship. Both Lando and LeClerc were putting in some ferociously fast laps throughout as well.

[Kawazaki]

Piastri onto Verstappen into turn one will be interesting. He’s a fast starter.

Typical Max, he was beaten to the corner fair and square so he just gets off the brakes, runs wide and blames the other driver. Lucky to only get a 5 sec penalty I thought, but ironically if he had given the spot back he'd have been better off overall and possibly had a better chance for the win.

Very nice drive from Piastri and he now leads the championship. Both Lando and LeClerc were putting in some ferociously fast laps throughout as well.

The group lack of self-awareness from everybody at Red Bull with regards Verstappen is astonishing. He's literally a spoilt child.

[Guy Smiley]

Video breakdown of Verstappen vs Piastri turn 1. i think this is a very diplomatic way of saying


Max is a truculent cnut.




The post race behaviour says it all. Ok if you're going to play the stewards and try to gain a result off track but the shitty attitude exposes the character flaw here that is being actively supported by his team and supporter base. Take your lumps Max. Phenomenal talent who can't handle being beaten.

EDIT... clip won't allow embedding, it's the regular weekly content breakdown from Driver 61, Jolyon Palmer's excellent analysis channel.

[Guy Smiley]

Kimi Antonelli has grabbed pole for the Miami sprint... youngest pole sitter ever, apparently. Mercedes look to have a decent package. McLaren rounding out the top 3.

[fishfoodie]

Kimi Antonelli has grabbed pole for the Miami sprint... youngest pole sitter ever, apparently. Mercedes look to have a decent package. McLaren rounding out the top 3.

I wonder if Landos question as to how the car is legal will prove prophetic ?

[Guy Smiley]

Kimi Antonelli has grabbed pole for the Miami sprint... youngest pole sitter ever, apparently. Mercedes look to have a decent package. McLaren rounding out the top 3.

I wonder if Landos question as to how the car is legal will prove prophetic ?

I think that was Albon... dunno, there's always that radio gamesmanship they play and while teams do miscalculate surely having the thing too low during quali is too dumb and obvious...

surely?

[fishfoodie]

Kimi Antonelli has grabbed pole for the Miami sprint... youngest pole sitter ever, apparently. Mercedes look to have a decent package. McLaren rounding out the top 3.

I wonder if Landos question as to how the car is legal will prove prophetic ?

I think that was Albon... dunno, there's always that radio gamesmanship they play and while teams do miscalculate surely having the thing too low during quali is too dumb and obvious...

surely?

Could definitely have gotten the wrong driver, but I think the Sky comms picked up on the important point that this was Sprint qually, & they know that they can play fast & loose with the regs, because it's a short race, so the block wear probably won't be enough to get them penalised, but for the full GP they'll have to add a mm to the ride height

[Sandstorm]

Miami Sprint Race about to start and it’s raining!!

[ScarfaceClaw]

And LeClerc gets to sit the race out after binning the car on the way to the grid.

[fishfoodie]

And LeClerc gets to sit the race out after binning the car on the way to the grid.

Can't really blame him; it was a case of wrong place, wrong time, once you start aquaplaning your just a passenger

[ScarfaceClaw]

And LeClerc gets to sit the race out after binning the car on the way to the grid.

Can't really blame him; it was a case of wrong place, wrong time, once you start aquaplaning your just a passenger

Absolutely nothing he could do. Verstappen must be raging at his pit crew. Jos will be off home to batter the missus. The wanker that he is.

[fishfoodie]

I WANT A LEGO F1 CAR !!!!

[Sandstorm]

I WANT A LEGO F1 CAR !!!!

[Enzedder]

Bloody Lawson needs to learn to drive. Where did he expect Doohan to go?

[fishfoodie]

I certainly wasn't convinced the Hamilton going to Ferrari was a good idea; but a little, frank, Anglo-Saxon language about the clusterfuck that is the teams strategy can only be a good thing !

[Enzedder]

Woohoo for Mclaren. Been a fan since the days of Bruce and Denny and good to see them back on top.

Brilliant from Piastri too.

[Sandstorm]

Piastri wins again and leaving Norris in his dust.

I called it before the 1st race: Lando just doesn’t have the stones to be World Champion.

[Guy Smiley]

Piastri wins again and leaving Norris in his dust.

I called it before the 1st race: Lando just doesn’t have the stones to be World Champion.

People said that about Alain Prost, too. Lando is very fast and the perception about his character is influenced by his vocal tone over the radio. He plays the team game nicely and does what they want.

I said Piastri had the goods back in his first McLaren season. He's a genuinely quick driver who stays cool under pressure and calculates well. That move he put Verstappen into for the lead was a masterclass.

[Dogbert]

Piastri wins again and leaving Norris in his dust.

I called it before the 1st race: Lando just doesn’t have the stones to be World Champion.

People said that about Alain Prost, too. Lando is very fast and the perception about his character is influenced by his vocal tone over the radio. He plays the team game nicely and does what they want.

I said Piastri had the goods back in his first McLaren season. He's a genuinely quick driver who stays cool under pressure and calculates well. That move he put Verstappen into for the lead was a masterclass.

For a track that was denigrated as 'old school' and too difficult to pass on , Imola proved anything but, would be a great shame to lose it from the calender.

That move that Verstappen put on Piastri for the lead was a masterclass.

Simply Lovely

[fishfoodie]

On the other side of the pond in Indycar, Team Penske has been caught cheating for a 2nd time this season, & while it's more deniable than the previous incident, which stank to high heaven, this being a 2nd occurrence in a situation where thousands on an mph are critical I think the team & people involved are getting off lightly.

The other teams were furious after the, push-to-pass cheat, so I can only imagine how they'll feel about these cars being allowed to race, even if from the back of the field !

https://www.indycar.com/news/2025/05/05 ... -penalties

[Guy Smiley]

Piastri wins again and leaving Norris in his dust.

I called it before the 1st race: Lando just doesn’t have the stones to be World Champion.

People said that about Alain Prost, too. Lando is very fast and the perception about his character is influenced by his vocal tone over the radio. He plays the team game nicely and does what they want.

I said Piastri had the goods back in his first McLaren season. He's a genuinely quick driver who stays cool under pressure and calculates well. That move he put Verstappen into for the lead was a masterclass.

For a track that was denigrated as 'old school' and too difficult to pass on , Imola proved anything but, would be a great shame to lose it from the calender.

That move that Verstappen put on Piastri for the lead was a masterclass.

Simply Lovely

I've been waiting for some sort of telemetry analysis to come up for this race... might have to wait a few more days yet. I wouldn't call it a masterclass but it was a balls piece of very precise driving. Watch the start again and Piastri has a great launch but gets bogged down with everyone bunching up behind him going into the turn one complex. You hear George Russell swearing about him, saying what is he doing on the radio as he's baulked badly after getting maybe the best start of the top 4. Post race, Piastri admits to learning a lesson in letting Verstappen through... I think he fucked up and went too cautious, leaving a generous gap. Max couldn't help himself but take the chance and it paid off... then he got all the luck with the VSC and SC timing later.

Piastri's pit boxed him for tyres around lap 12 and from there his race for the lead was over. Teams thought the mids were going to cook and pitted early... those who gambled and stayed out had the tyres come back to them and ended up putting in something like 30 or more laps on them.That includes Maz, Norris and a few others.

I thought Norris put on a similar quality pass on Russell (had a look at highlights, it's lap 11) into turn 4, going around the outside into the turn. Ballsy piece of very precise driving.

Red Bull have got a car good enough now to match the McLaren, especially high speed corner circuits. Piastri's pit will have some heavy reviewing after this round because I think they made a few mistakes and maybe fried their own race a bit but the contest for the season is definitely game on. Hamilton looked very comfortable and charged up in the Ferrari, Tsunoda showed good pace and made up 10 places and the Aston Martins had real speed until they pitted onto the hards.

1/4 into the season and it's all very much alive. Someone's going to crash into someone else at a critical juncture before the year is out, there's pressure on all over the field.

[Dogbert]

People said that about Alain Prost, too. Lando is very fast and the perception about his character is influenced by his vocal tone over the radio. He plays the team game nicely and does what they want.

I said Piastri had the goods back in his first McLaren season. He's a genuinely quick driver who stays cool under pressure and calculates well. That move he put Verstappen into for the lead was a masterclass.

For a track that was denigrated as 'old school' and too difficult to pass on , Imola proved anything but, would be a great shame to lose it from the calender.

That move that Verstappen put on Piastri for the lead was a masterclass.

Simply Lovely

I've been waiting for some sort of telemetry analysis to come up for this race... might have to wait a few more days yet. I wouldn't call it a masterclass but it was a balls piece of very precise driving. Watch the start again and Piastri has a great launch but gets bogged down with everyone bunching up behind him going into the turn one complex. You hear George Russell swearing about him, saying what is he doing on the radio as he's baulked badly after getting maybe the best start of the top 4. Post race, Piastri admits to learning a lesson in letting Verstappen through... I think he fucked up and went too cautious, leaving a generous gap. Max couldn't help himself but take the chance and it paid off... then he got all the luck with the VSC and SC timing later.

Piastri's pit boxed him for tyres around lap 12 and from there his race for the lead was over. Teams thought the mids were going to cook and pitted early... those who gambled and stayed out had the tyres come back to them and ended up putting in something like 30 or more laps on them.That includes Maz, Norris and a few others.

I thought Norris put on a similar quality pass on Russell (had a look at highlights, it's lap 11) into turn 4, going around the outside into the turn. Ballsy piece of very precise driving.

Red Bull have got a car good enough now to match the McLaren, especially high speed corner circuits. Piastri's pit will have some heavy reviewing after this round because I think they made a few mistakes and maybe fried their own race a bit but the contest for the season is definitely game on. Hamilton looked very comfortable and charged up in the Ferrari, Tsunoda showed good pace and made up 10 places and the Aston Martins had real speed until they pitted onto the hards.

1/4 into the season and it's all very much alive. Someone's going to crash into someone else at a critical juncture before the year is out, there's pressure on all over the field.

VSC - certainly , but the SC on lap 47 ? , that helped Verstappen's rivals far more than Max , surely.

Up until that point Max had a stable 18/19 second gap to Norris and a 32 second gap to Piastri. Max was able to go onto 'Prost' mode, look after the tyres, use less curb , be more mechanically sympathetic to the car, stroke it home, and even if you make a mistake you have a big enough gap to recover without losing the race

All that the full safety car did was to put Max's main rivals back to his gearbox, one bad shift , one to big a bit of a curb to try get out of DRS range , and that's the race lost.

Why do you think the full safety car was to Max's advantage ?