Yes Please More Rain
This week we see the Formula One circus arrive in Istanbul, Turkey for round 14 and the last leg of the season. After Turkey the teams hit the Middle East for the remaining 3 races which I think they have done remarkably well to finish a demanding season under challenging conditions.
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Delaying the start of the season by such a long time left the F1 Group no alternative, but to race the majority of races in Europe. Weather finally caught up with them today however which we were all hoping would happen a few races sooner. Rain takes out the majority of the technology they have at their disposal and a majority of it is then down to luck and drivers skills. Luck as in today Verstappen was stuck behind Raikonnen in qualifying 3 and only finished second being sandwiched by Racing Point's Lance Stroll and Sergio Perez.
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This weekend is all about a few things that are up for grabs. Firstly Lewis Hamilton needs to beat his racing team mate to clinch the World Championship equaling Michael Schumacher's record of 7 titles. He has plenty of time on his hands and surely wither tomorrow or in the 3 races left he will accomplish this.
There is forecast for rain tomorrow during the race but no one knows how much and if it will be too late. The teams having qualified with the wet tyres today will now have a choice of tyre which could turn out to be crucial.They have to use two different sets so expect the soft and medium tyres to be used, but in what order is the crucial factor. Some teams will be gambling hoping their theory is proved correct.
The batlle of the weekend though is not just the race victory but the position of finishing third in the constructors title. Mercedes and Red Bull have wrapped up first and second already, but there is only one point separating the next 3 teams. There is literally millions of Dollars in prize money separating third and fifth so it is all to play for. racing point starting Turkey in 1st and 3rd on the grid with McLaren not even in the top 10 could be a massive boost. Something tells me will will have a safety car during the race tomorrow so it may even itself out depending on luck of course. Where you are around the track and if you can basically get a cheap tyre stop before others have a chance of coming in.
Whatever happens tomorrow I hope Bottas can drag Hamilton until later into the season before clinching his record equaling 7th world title. Lets hope for rain and plenty of it as lets be honest this is way more interesting.
Impressive performance by Stroll, I guess Pérez would very dissapointed after he was blocked by an Alfa Romeo in is last lap. I think It will be a very interesting race tomorrow, with a lot of spins.
It was fascinating to watch today. What I think was the most interesting was the different car set ups and how they changed in performance as the race went on. The camber settings on the tyres was crucial in the beginning and why Stroll and Perez did so well having heat in their tyres. That wasn't the right set up however as they lost their early advantage as the tyres started wearing quicker.
Yes, great race. Impressive drive by Vettel, I think with a faster Ferrari, he would have won the race easily, or Leclerc. Hamilton did a great job to win the race and his 7th championship. I think the Red Bulls espected wet conditions, that is way they didn't go so well at the end of the race.
I think this shows the importance of car set ups. Stroll hammered around the warm up lap so that the top cars on the grid would have cooler tyres by the time the race started. Their camber and toe was obviously set to create more heat into the tyre and it worked for half the race until the others had caught up with them. The first 10 laps or so they were pulling away by as much as 4 seconds per lap. Once the others changed tyres then they had heat in them from the blankets and the advantage disappeared. Vettel is an experienced driver and to be honest glad he is moving teams as I think he has so much to still offer. Ferrari looked decent for parts yesterday but believe they need another season to be competitive.
Yes, indeed, this shows the importance of the mechanichal set up in order to obtain an optimal performance. Very good analysis. I hope Vettel keep showing is talent in 2021 and Ferrari provides Sainz and Leclerc a competitive car.