Open Wheel Racing 2021, anyone there to watch?

[Kepler]

And can you imagine if Leclerc wiped out the team on that last lap?

After the last 2 years? Yes. Easily.

[Russell Jaslow]

There is a great Vintage race next weekend at Watkins Glen… the home of road racing in America. Plus, as an added bonus, you can moon Russell as he drives-by in the pace car. :0)

The weather was less-than-desirable last year, but the folks involved with this event are so hard-core, they raced (yes, RACED!) vintage Bugattis in the rain. Nuts!… but awesome. You can check-out the cars up-close and talk with the owners, drivers, and mechanics (Kep - if you can control your arousal, of course). :0P

Check your PMs.

[Kepler]

Europe has MAGAts too.

Red Bull motorsport consultant Helmut Marko, one of the leading figures in the dominant Formula One team, apologised on Friday for blaming Mexican driver Sergio Perez's fluctuating form on his ethnicity.

[MichVandal]

RBR's winning streak is really on the line now- they missed the set up bad, and both cars were knocked out in Q2. Add to that, it Max is getting investigated fro two blocking issues.

[Kepler]

RBR's winning streak is really on the line now- they missed the set up bad, and both cars were knocked out in Q2. Add to that, it Max is getting investigated fro two blocking issues.

That Quali had everything, even Lance Lancing.

[MichVandal]

That Quali had everything, even Lance Lancing.

And Lance withdrawals due to injury....

[Spartanforlife4]

I think Hamilton would have taken first had he been the front of the duo there.

[MichVandal]

I think Hamilton would have taken first had he been the front of the duo there.

Maybe, but Carlos did a brilliant thing by keeping Lando within DRS, making him the plug in a drs train. Had he tried to use outright speed, I think both Mercedes get by quickly.

Curious that George struggled more than Lewis at the end- even before his accident he was sliding around more than Hamilton.

[Kepler]

I think Hamilton would have taken first had he been the front of the duo there.

Lewis certainly thought so.

[Spartanforlife4]

Maybe, but Carlos did a brilliant thing by keeping Lando within DRS, making him the plug in a drs train. Had he tried to use outright speed, I think both Mercedes get by quickly.

Curious that George struggled more than Lewis at the end- even before his accident he was sliding around more than Hamilton.

That’s why I think even with Sainz’s DRS strategy Lewis would’ve pulled it off. He had better pace AND had the tires in better condition despite starting five seconds behind.

Also surprised Yuki retired that early with a puncture. Seems he didn’t even try to see if he could make it back to the pits.

[Russell Jaslow]

Curious that George struggled more than Lewis at the end- even before his accident he was sliding around more than Hamilton.

I'm a huge Russell fan for obvious reasons. LOL

But this end of race performance showed me that a) Hamilton still has it and Mercedes was right to keep him on for two more years and b) Hamilton is clearly a all time great, great driver because Russell is no slouch (even if he did choke at the end there).

In a general comment -- this is what the F1 season could have been like if Red Bull (re: Verstappen) wasn't so dominant. Don't get me wrong, as a long time F1 fan, I have nothing against a team getting it right and dominating. It is in many ways the essence of the sport. But, when you look at how amazingly competitive it is behind Red Bull, you can't help but wonder how thrilling the season could have been.

[Russell Jaslow]

Also surprised Yuki retired that early with a puncture. Seems he didn’t even try to see if he could make it back to the pits.

I haven't read all the post race comments yet (mainly because I didn't get to watch the race till late last night), but I suspect he had other damage as well.

[Russell Jaslow]

Maybe, but Carlos did a brilliant thing by keeping Lando within DRS, making him the plug in a drs train. Had he tried to use outright speed, I think both Mercedes get by quickly.

What I find most interesting about this, is apparently Sainz called this strategy. In fact, he even had to explain to his team why he was doing it when they warned him he was losing ground to Norris.

I remember criticism in the past about how the team would ask their drivers what they want to do. And here, it's still the drivers calling the strategy shots. They got away with it this time (and kudos to Sainz), but this is not the way to run a team. Ferrari is still messed up.

[Spartanforlife4]

What caused the Red Bulls to be so off this week? They’ve dominated all types of tracks this year so it can’t be that it’s a street circuit. Is it literally just the climate of Singapore? Other cars would seem to sit in DRS range for a couple laps before dropping back out and then trying again, but RB was the only one they had radio messages specifically telling drivers to get out of DRS because it was overheating everything.

[MichVandal]

What caused the Red Bulls to be so off this week? They’ve dominated all types of tracks this year so it can’t be that it’s a street circuit. Is it literally just the climate of Singapore? Other cars would seem to sit in DRS range for a couple laps before dropping back out and then trying again, but RB was the only one they had radio messages specifically telling drivers to get out of DRS because it was overheating everything.

The Race has a video about that- mostly a ride height issue. Had a similar issue at Spa, but they could drive around it.