2023 Qatar Grand Prix

Doc Austin

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Someone had to do it:

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It's just FP1, but the lineup so far is interesting. For a lot of the session Max was barely top 10, but he always seems to pull something out when he needs it. Alonso seems to be right about where he was at the first of the year and 0.5 sec back is a good place for them to be after FP1.

Probably doesn't mean anything, but the last three cars turned the most laps! What the heck happened to Lawson?

Nice run for Carlos. The tide has definitely turned in the Ferrari pecking order.

 
The entire qualifying session was just "oh noez track limits" while we waited for Verstappen to get pole. This is not ideal IMO.
 
The entire qualifying session was just "oh noez track limits" while we waited for Verstappen to get pole. This is not ideal IMO.
Put the grass back in and if they can't deal with it, they crash. Worked in the old days.

As of the last time I looked, Max is putting it on them. He's going to wrap this deal up with style.
 
The entire qualifying session was just "oh noez track limits" while we waited for Verstappen to get pole. This is not ideal IMO.
The difference is so stark from Suzuka, where pretty much every corner is at the limit with no margin for error, to another lifeless Middle Eastern venue with acres of runoff at every corner.

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Lance was heated:

Something is truly off with Lance this season.

Channeling peak Kyle Busch.

Saw he also may have shoved his trainer in the garage when he got out of the car. Going up against Alonso in competitive equipment is going to wind up breaking him. It has to suck seeing your teammate always get that much more out of the car.
 
Wow. Crazy quali.

Mercedes and Aston look kind of good. Coming in, I would have thought this track would have been bad for them. George is really a top tier qualifier. He just needs to finish out races.
 
The two biggest complaints I've seen from anyone but Red Bull is slow speed corners and bumpy surfaces, which this track has neither of. I'm not surprised troublesome cars like the Merc, and lately Aston, are running better.
 
Channeling peak Kyle Busch.

Saw he also may have shoved his trainer in the garage when he got out of the car. Going up against Alonso in competitive equipment is going to wind up breaking him. It has to suck seeing your teammate always get that much more out of the car.
Allegedly, that is exactly what has happened.

 
Lewis, Sainz and a bunch of others summoned and cleared. Only took the FIA 5 hours to solve the issue.

Sainz got off with a warning for driving "erratically."
 
Lewis, Sainz and a bunch of others summoned and cleared. Only took the FIA 5 hours to solve the issue.
It's ridiculous there are so many penalties every single race in what is supposed to be the pinnacle. There's no point in even watching qualifying because wherever they finish will just change. I don't know if the stewards are the problem, or if the current bunch aren't careful enough to avoid them.
Sainz got off with a warning for driving "erratically."
It wasn't that long ago cars were crashing into each other on the straights and everyone seemed ok with it. The FIA really cleaned everything up after the Abu Dabi disaster
 
More fun with cheese tires. Pirelli sure gets a lot of publicity, but do they want this kind?

 
As of right now, the Mclarens are 1 ,2 but we know Max has another 1/2 second when he needs it.

 
If I read this right, SS2 is over and the grid for the sprint set. Surprise!

 
None of the TV schedule is showing up on Racer. My DRV schedule doesn't show it either. Anyone know when the sprit is on and what channel? All it shows is football games.

This is looking so good I don't want to miss it.
 
None of the TV schedule is showing up on Racer. My DRV schedule doesn't show it either. Anyone know when the sprit is on and what channel? All it shows is football games.

This is looking so good I don't want to miss it.
Weird that RACER seems to have omitted F1 entirely this weekend. It’s 1:30 on ESPNews.
 
My tv guide on the DVD says "college football," so we will have to see if I can get it. With the McLarens and Russel so fast we might be in for a good show. Hopefully they hand Max his ass instead of the other way around. I'm betting the Mclarens try to play the DRS game like Carlos did in Singapore.
 
Thanks. I don't know how they got it so messed up but hopefully I'll get it. Eight minutes to go.
 
Still have football on ESPN, so I guess I won't see it unless it's tape delay.

Looks like Sainz got a hell of a start.
 
More fun with cheese tires. Pirelli sure gets a lot of publicity, but do they want this kind?

They need cheese tires at every track. One stop races are boring as hell.
 
It does make a difference if a driver is able to conserve tires and go for a two-stop race or if he has to stop five times.
If the FIA let Pirelli make the best tire they can, without the engineered fake deg, they wouldn't take so much heat every race. Every week it's nothing but what is wrong with the tires or how teams can't get them to "switch on" or get into the right "window. It's not good publicity for them, especially since IMSA and WEC drivers brag about getting three stints out of them and how great they are in the wet. Which brand would you put on the wife's car? I honestly don't see what Pirelli gets out of it except a lot of complaints.

Personally, I've seen enough people get hurt on pit stops that I de rather not have them. That's just me though.
 
Perez in the gravel, Max is world champion for the third consecutive time.
Max just can’t win a title normally.

2021 - Abu Dhabi - lapped cars wave around/restart controversy
2022 - No one knew if he clinched at Suzuka or not since it was rain-shortened and the points were being calculated pro-rata based on distance
2023 - Clinches in some dumb 100km sprint
 
Typical racing incident but I'm sure some folks will still blame Perez for it.
Yep, can’t blame anyone in particular, at least definitely not Checo. Three wide into a corner just doesn’t work.

That was actually pretty superb racing among the top six or seven. Piastri is having an awesome rookie season. Alpine fumbled that contract situation big time.
 
Max just can’t win a title normally.

2021 - Abu Dhabi - lapped cars wave around/restart controversy
2022 - No one knew if he clinched at Suzuka or not since it was rain-shortened and the points were being calculated pro-rata based on distance
2023 - Clinches in some dumb 100km sprint

Isn’t there another dumb sprint at the next race at Austin? Great idea, add more sprint so whoever is dominating can win it by early September next time.
 
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