Formula 1

[Nicholas Lewis]

Glad I watched the “highlights” rather than the whole race….

Indeed i thought we had left procession racing behind us

 

[CharlieSpotted]

Glad I watched the “highlights” rather than the whole race….

I saw a "highlights" video on social media that was literally seconds long and consisted of the lights out, the Max/Lando pit exit incident, and the chequered flag. About right too.

 

[sannox]

Dreadful race. Season had been good up till now, but seems Suzuka just turned into a 1 stop tyre management bore.

 

[Broucek]

The only meaningful overtake involved a 7 time champion in a works Ferrari overtaking a rookie in a Minardi....

 

[BingMan]

Dreadful race. Season had been good up till now, but seems Suzuka just turned into a 1 stop tyre management bore.

Russell is complaining that Pirelli gave them too hardwearing tyres and that softer tyres all round would have allowed some real racing where tyre management and stop strategy would have been important.

 

[DarloRich]

Caught up with the Suzuka race: A superb performance from Verstappen. The qualifying lap was incredible. He won the race on Saturday.

• I wonder if McLaren missed a trick by not swapping cars as Piastri seemed the faster car. Perhaps he could have put pressure on Verstappen.
• Did Norris throw his chnace away with his grass cutting antics?
• Is Doohan doomed?
• When will Tsonda be sacked?

 

[Nicholas Lewis]

Caught up with the Suzuka race: A superb performance from Verstappen. The qualifying lap was incredible. He won the race on Saturday.

he rung out 12 thousandth of a second over Norris with Piastri only 32 thousandths further down the road the margins are ludicrously close

• I wonder if McLaren missed a trick by not swapping cars as Piastri seemed the faster car. Perhaps he could have put pressure on Verstappen.

certainly should have let him have a shot if it didn't pay off swap them back

• Did Norris throw his chnace away with his grass cutting antics?

yes

• Is Doohan doomed?

yes

• When will Tsonda be sacked?

not yet

 

[DarloRich]

he rung out 12 thousandth of a second over Norris with Piastri only 32 thousandths further down the road the margins are ludicrously close

it was close but that is F1. The McLarens were unable to catch and pass during the race.

certainly should have let him have a shot if it didn't pay off swap them back

i wonder why they didnt!

 

[Pete_uk]

I think you should have to use all three tyre compounds in the race.
At least that would mean 2 pit stops

 

[66701GBRF]

I think you should have to use all three tyre compounds in the race.
At least that would mean 2 pit stops

That would pretty much ensure every car is on the same strategy, not good for racing.

 

[gswindale]

That would pretty much ensure every car is on the same strategy, not good for racing.

Driver on pole gets their pick of tyres for starting the race with. Driver in 2nd gets the next pick, but can't use the same as the pole sitter. Driver in 3rd can then pick either the remaining compound or the same as the pole sitter and so on down the grid. Thus no two drivers next to each other will be on the same compound at the start.

They're all on pretty much the same strategy these days anyway.

 

[najaB]

Driver on pole gets their pick of tyres for starting the race with. Driver in 2nd gets the next pick, but can't use the same as the pole sitter. Driver in 3rd can then pick either the remaining compound or the same as the pole sitter and so on down the grid. Thus no two drivers next to each other will be on the same compound at the start.

They're all on pretty much the same strategy these days anyway.

That feels way to gimmicky. Perhaps make the top ten start on the hardest tire compound (assuming that it's dry) and give the rest of the field free choice.

 

[Tetragon213]

Perhaps raise the pit lane speed limit so that you don't lose as much time in pit stops? This way you can open up strategy options by making pitting less of a time loss from the get-go.

 

[Peter Mugridge]

That would pretty much ensure every car is on the same strategy, not good for racing.

I'd bring back refuelling but with the twist that they may not change tyres in the same pit stop as they refuel.

The strategy people would then have to balance two completely different factors into every pit stop; tyre wear would have to be calculated against a varying car weight plus it would guarantee a minimum of two stops per car. They'd also be highly unlikely to use two consecutive laps for their stops because of the loss of track position.

Under this, there would not be a mandated point at which to do the fuel stop - so some will start light while others will run heavy, but by not allowing a tyre change on the same stop they could not easily use a light fuel load with soft tyres.

This should really mix things up and generate some serious racing.

 

[Tetragon213]

I'd bring back refuelling but with the twist that they may not change tyres in the same pit stop as they refuel.

The strategy people would then have to balance two completely different factors into every pit stop; tyre wear would have to be calculated against a varying car weight plus it would guarantee a minimum of two stops per car. They'd also be highly unlikely to use two consecutive laps for their stops because of the loss of track position.

Under this, there would not be a mandated point at which to do the fuel stop - so some will start light while others will run heavy, but by not allowing a tyre change on the same stop they could not easily use a light fuel load with soft tyres.

This should really mix things up and generate some serious racing.

I'm not too keen on bringing back refuelling. Not only was the on-track action quite processional during the refuelling era, it was also quite excessively hazardous, with Jos Verstappen famously being set on fire in '94, and even as late as 2009 mishaps were hardly rare, with Kimi being set alight by the careless Kovalainen and Co. at McLaren at the first round of pit stops.

 

[najaB]

Can't say that either of the suggestions - increased pit lane speed limit or refuelling - seems like a good idea to me. They come across as introducing danger just for the sake of it.

 

[yoyothehobo]

The changing tyres and pit stops to introduce changes are plastering over the fact that the cars are simultaneously too easy to drive at 95% of what is capable and also unable to follow the cars in front closely due to the strong reliance on clean aerodynamic grip, to the point you need to be about 2 seconds a lap quicker to overtake. Braking zones for the cars are too short and the cornering speeds too high to enable many passes.

 

[43096]

I'd bring back refuelling but with the twist that they may not change tyres in the same pit stop as they refuel.

Bring back refuelling, but make it like the rest of us, so the drivers have to get out and fuel the cars themselves...

 

[DarloRich]

Bring back refuelling, but make it like the rest of us, so the drivers have to get out and fuel the cars themselves...

AND make them pre release £100 on thier card, have a few terminals that just don't work for no obvious reason and have a spotty kid in a glass booth above the track wait ages to press the button to release the fuel. For added stress you could then have a randomising delay in the fuel actually coming out of the pump!

We could have some jeopardy by making them decide whether to scan thier Clubcard for points that could add up at the end of the season OR save time and just not bother but miss out on bonuses!

THE FIA really need to sort thier game out!

 

[66701GBRF]

Can't say that either of the suggestions - increased pit lane speed limit or refuelling - seems like a good idea to me. They come across as introducing danger just for the sake of it.

I'm neither for nor against refueling but I'd bet there are a lot more unsafe releases through loose wheels then incidents involving refueling. Refueling would naturally allow longer to put the tyres on.

 

[Peter Mugridge]

I'm not too keen on bringing back refuelling. Not only was the on-track action quite processional during the refuelling era, it was also quite excessively hazardous, with Jos Verstappen famously being set on fire in '94, and even as late as 2009 mishaps were hardly rare, with Kimi being set alight by the careless Kovalainen and Co. at McLaren at the first round of pit stops.

The Verstappen incident was due to the team removing a piece of the equipment on the nozzle so that they could pump fuel faster than the regulations allowed wasn't it?

 

[Cloud Strife]

Can't say that either of the suggestions - increased pit lane speed limit or refuelling - seems like a good idea to me. They come across as introducing danger just for the sake of it.

I was thinking about this late last night in bed, and I had an excellent idea, or at least it seemed that way at midnight!

Why not simply change the technical regulations every year, so that teams have to effectively build a new car from scratch? I would keep some of the most important safety-related things like the halo and the monocoque, but other than that, why not force the teams to adapt to constantly new regulations? Of course, the engine would stay the same, but I don't see any harm in giving teams regulations relating to wings, sidepods, the floor, etc at the end of the season.

You could, for instance, release the new technical regulations and unveil next year's car after the final race of the year. This way, teams are free to keep improving this year's car until the last race, but then they have to prepare for brand new technical regulations over the winter. Essentially, they'd have about three months to design and build a new car.

Many of the current issues are caused by teams simply having the resources to outwit Ross Brawn's design. With new and unpredictable rules each year, you'd turn it into a test of who can actually understand and implement the new rules in a given year.

Let's take DRS as an example. The rules one year might allow for automatic DRS, but the cost of developing such a system might not be worth it. Or you might allow for teams to experiment with flexi-wings, or perhaps you might only allow 'clean' floors, or you might remove the fuel flow limit and introduce a standard fuel tank, whatever.

The idea would be that the changes are significant enough from season to season that it would make a serious difference if, for instance, Red Bull got it wrong, but teams also wouldn't be able to rely on a design season after season.

 

[66701GBRF]

New technical regulations every season that means teams have to design a brand new car every year would be prohibitively expensive and goes against the principles of the cost cap.

 

[SynthD]

Many of the current issues are caused by teams simply having the resources to outwit Ross Brawn's design.

Ross retired a few years ago. His designs these days are fishing poles.

If a team finds out they guessed wrong at the start of the year, they have less motivation to fix it if there are new rules next year. It’s too short a timeframe.

 

[gswindale]

The main problem is that the rules are too restrictive, which I know is partly to keep costs down, but it does mean that at a reset the team that gets it "right" has a baked in advantage for the rest of the cycle. I would actually be in favour of making the rules a little bit more open to innovation (6 wheeled Tyrell anybody?) and lengthen the duration of the regulation period - remember that the dominant Cosworth DFV was in use for over a decade with relatively little change.

It seems that the modern approach is set the rules, realise 1 team is too dominant, so then decide to change the rules again.

 

[JD2168]

The ongoing issues at the FIA have continued with Deputy President Robert Reid resigning on Wednesday.

A bizarre incident occurred during FP2 at the Bahrain Grand Prix when Fernando Alonso’s steering wheel malfunctioned & came off at the final corner. Before he later went back out the whole steering column was replaced.

 

[Cloud Strife]

Ross retired a few years ago. His designs these days are fishing poles.

I know, but these cars are his baby. I would say that these cars were fantastic at the start, but I think Brawn would be first to admit that he probably didn't expect the teams to quickly figure out how to chuck dirty air behind the cars. The idea was good, but Brawn and his team creating the regulations simply lost the technological arms race.

New technical regulations every season that means teams have to design a brand new car every year would be prohibitively expensive and goes against the principles of the cost cap.

I'm not so sure that it would be a problem. The teams would have to reduce a lot of their spending on things that make F1 so clinical and precise, which would almost certainly result in much more interesting racing as the cars wouldn't be so reliable. Right now, teams can afford to throw resources at parts to make sure that everything is highly reliable and very unlikely to fail. With a new design every year, you can't manufacture a bolt to incredibly high standards because you simply don't have time or money to do it, so you have to make compromises.

It seems that the modern approach is set the rules, realise 1 team is too dominant, so then decide to change the rules again.

I'm actually not sure that it's possible to solve this with the current way that F1 is. We can see right now that the teams have figured out how to make it difficult to overtake again, and Suzuka was a textbook example of this. So, changing the regulations will put a stop to that, but then one or two teams will be dominant again.

I think this is why the only realistic option is to change the regulations every year, and to force teams into a development cycle where they need to spend 3 months to build a good car, then 9 months on improving what they've got. You'd then also avoid the situation that teams just give up on a car in the last year of a cycle, which is one reason why this season is unlikely to be very interesting.

Ultimately, the problem is really that the level of knowledge is just so high in F1 now that the FIA are never going to be able to compete with them. That leaves two options: either move to a spec series, or change the regulations significantly enough from year to year that it guarantees changes in the pecking order.

 

[JD2168]

Oscar Piastri has qualified on Pole position for the Bahrain Grand Prix. George Russell originally qualified second but he & teammate Kimi Antonelli each received a one place penalty after being sent down the pit lane early following a crash in Q2 for Esteban Ocon in the Haas. Charles Leclerc has moved up to second. Lando Norris will start sixth & Max Verstappen seventh.

A poor part was Nico Hulkenberg’s lap that got him through to Q2 ahead of Alex Albon was only removed for track limits in the middle of the Q2 session, denying Albon a genuine chance of Q3.

 

[D365]

To the best of my knowledge, at the 2025 Bahrain Grand Prix, Piastri led every lap and set the fastest lap. This would make it his first ”Grand Chelem” - and the first for McLaren since 1998..?

To add to this, Verstappen recorded a Grand Chelem at the 2024 Bahrain Grand Prix. I wonder how many times in the past a Grand Chelem has been recorded at consecutive editions of the same Grand Prix.

***

The posting above can more-or-less be ignored as I see now that Leclerc led two laps after Piastri’s first pit stop. In any case, an impressive hat-trick from the young Australian. Two calm, collected and controlled wins from pole vindicate my feeling that Piastri may be emerging as favourite for a McLaren drivers championship.

 

[JD2168]

A very good drive from Oscar Piastri today to win the race, controlled it from the start with great pace & tyre management. George Russell might get a penalty for using DRS incorrectly but had various issues in the car towards the end including a brake-by-wire failure & issues with the steering wheel.

Other good drives today were Lewis Hamilton 9th to 5th, Ollie Bearman 20th to 10th & a point.

The Red Bull pace today was poor with the choice of the hard tyre for Max producing no pace & only able to recover to sixth. Yuki Tsunoda did finish ninth but had contact during the race with Carlos Sainz who was the only retiree.

Other teams to have dreadful races were Aston Martin & Racing Bulls.