Motorsport Off Topic Thread

[Calm]

First Monaco races in ages I've actually enjoyed watching!

When I tuned in yesterday I thought they were going to treading lightly and nursing them around, but it hasn't been the case, they're playing to win.

 

[Dup]

So Silverstone is the first sprint race.

Practice 1 and sprint quali on the Friday.
Practice 2 and 100km sprint race on the Saturday.

With teams whining about the cost of accidents two races in, I can't imagine there will be much risk taking going on to make this the spectacle they hope it will be. If they're are still having a formal qualifying for it, it nulls the issues of the big teams running away at the front. They'll just do it over less laps then rinse & repeat for Sunday.

 

[CaptainRAVE]

Well, that’ll save me £20 a month.

 

[KiNgPiN83]

So Silverstone is the first sprint race.

Practice 1 and sprint quali on the Friday.
Practice 2 and 100km sprint race on the Saturday.

With teams whining about the cost of accidents two races in, I can't imagine there will be much risk taking going on to make this the spectacle they hope it will be. If they're are still having a formal qualifying for it, it nulls the issues of the big teams running away at the front. They'll just do it over less laps then rinse & repeat for Sunday.

I guess engine wear will be similar as there won't be a third practice but a sprint race? Then again a sprint race will probably be fairly demanding... I can also see the mechanic overtime and spare parts being required!

I've never been a fan of change but I'll try and give it a chance. I guess they are using this season to try stuff out.

 

[CaptainRAVE]

I guess they are using this season to try stuff out.

Given how this season is poised, I’m not sure this is the one to meddle with.

 

[KiNgPiN83]

Given how this season is poised, I’m not sure this is the one to meddle with.

Don't. I could see that happening... It started with the changing of downforce rules for this season, despite brand new rules coming next year anyway!?! (Which probably wasn't cheap for the teams. Well, except Haas. I think they just took tin snips to the car to cut off the offending bits! ) Imagine this season is settled with fines for people going over cost caps and or engine/gearbox/etc penalties!

 

[SKILL]

I don't mind them trying things really, would be better if it was finalised before the seasons started but all the teams agreed so why not.

One thing is it seems it's removing the 'start on the Q2 tyre' rule, and in fact seems to enforce soft tyres through Qualifying. Bit of a shame, but I guess means the sprint race will have 1 stop still.

Parc Ferme starts at the beginning of Q on Friday, so not sure anyone will bother running on the Saturday practice?

 

[englishpremier]

Whats the point of the Sprint races? There is nothing to play for unless you are in the top three, so it's just more points for Lewis, and Max.

It had a little merit when they talked about reverse grid order, but with a regular qualifying the fastest teams are still going to start from the font.

 

[Flibster]

Also, stressing the PU and gearboxes more without giving them any extra? Sounds like a great idea...

Three whole points too... Oooooooooh.....

 

[Yaayuh!]

Sounds like a terrible idea.

 

[Malt_Vinegar]

More races, more days with competitive sessions? What's not to like?
Anything that upsets the order, rewards race craft, and opens up the possibility of cars being "out of position" will make the racing on Sunday more exciting too.

Clearly we will have to see how it goes, but I am fascinated and excited for the possibilities it brings!!

 

[Mr Jack]

Anything that upsets the order, rewards race craft, and opens up the possibility of cars being "out of position" will make the racing on Sunday more exciting too.

I'm expecting it to do the opposite. Usually time racing normalises the order compared to qualifying. Faster drivers/cars recover from bad luck in quali, slower drivers/cars that did badly in quali fall back. The sprint race is likely in end in a more "sorted" order than the qualifying session and result in a duller race.

But we shall see, I'm willing to give it a chance.

 

[Malt_Vinegar]

I'm expecting it to do the opposite. Usually time racing normalises the order compared to qualifying. Faster drivers/cars recover from bad luck in quali, slower drivers/cars that did badly in quali fall back. The sprint race is likely in end in a more "sorted" order than the qualifying session and result in a duller race.

But we shall see, I'm willing to give it a chance.

I think it opens up the options on setup for the midfield teams to be a nuisance for the leading cars in the sprint race, they can set up aggressively, look to 1 stop in the sprint race with the softest available tyres, and cause a problem for the teams who will have to be more conservative and focus on the Sunday race, which may cause all kinds of interesting scenarios in the Sunday grid/race. The free tyre choice for the start will also be interesting to see what teams do.

I like it when F1 actually tries something different, we will never know unless we try it!

 

[b0rn2sk8]

I suspect it will be interesting for the first few races but the teams will quickly work out the optimum way to approach the format and how to react to other peoples strategies and nullify them like they do now.

 

[UTmaniac]

But how will grid start positions be determined for the sprint race, that determines the grid start position for the main race? By a qualifying session.

 

[Deleted member 651465]

They should have done this crap last year when COVID threatened the number of races and they were looking to maximise time on circuit.

Doing it when the championship is likely going to go down to the wire seems a bit like they’re meddling. I cba to watch qualifying on a Friday when I’ll likely be at work.

 

[Kenai]

An idea that had all sorts of potential but is being introduced in seemingly the most benign way possible.

It doesn't feel like it'll end up being much more than a 'two part race' given there's no reverse order or anything going on.

Qualifying on Friday (which loads of people will miss because they're at work)
15 to 20 lap Sprint on Saturday (no pitstops would seem a given, no way you're making up 20-30s in a 15 lap race by trying to go hell for leather)
Normal Race on Sunday (probably with an even more 'normalised' grid than usual)

So it all still hinges off of the first qualifying to set initial positions and then as races often show, without any weird mishaps, the order tends to just normalise more, so the Sprint race will just iron out any 'drivers of interest' who over or under qualified on Friday and the feature race will start off with most cars pretty much in their expected positions.

I think when people initially talked about sprint race qualifying etc. people had hopes that the sprint race grid would be something like the reverse of the previous weekend feature finishing order or something that'd really have mixed things up.

 

[Malt_Vinegar]

Race weekends with less practice are always a fun concept, and with only 1 session available prior to the Qually, its going to make finding/working and improving setup harder, which also makes for interesting racing

 

[UTmaniac]

Would it add to the spectacle if each driver had to use the hardest and softest compound available that weekend in the sprint race for say a minimum of 5 laps, with your starting compund determined by odd/even position on the sprint race grid or how a driver did compared to their teammate?

If I read the proposed rules correctly, it seems odd not requiring a pitstop in the sprint race, even though teams have a free pick of two compounds for it.

 

[englishpremier]

I think it opens up the options on setup for the midfield teams to be a nuisance for the leading cars in the sprint race, they can set up aggressively, look to 1 stop in the sprint race with the softest available tyres, and cause a problem for the teams who will have to be more conservative and focus on the Sunday race, which may cause all kinds of interesting scenarios in the Sunday grid/race. The free tyre choice for the start will also be interesting to see what teams do.

I like it when F1 actually tries something different, we will never know unless we try it!

There is no need to stop since there is no need to use two different compounds. Why would the midfield teams be faster in qualifying to get pole in the sprint race and then do something with it, when they can't even match the top teams in Q2 when the top teams are usually on a slower tyre.