Formula 1

[droopsnoot]

The second part of the recent programme about the Monaco Historic GP was pretty good, though it was a bit unpleasant to see a few good cars badly damaged. I didn't enjoy the first of that mini-series because it concentrated on the older cars, which of course were much slower. I watched the highlights yesterday and it wasn't incredible, but I do generally try to watch Monaco because of the setting. I hadn't realised there was another street circuit, so I'll have a look at Baku in a couple of weeks, too.

A few years back I spotted some Australian V8 racing in the small hours on some Freeview channel and recorded it. That was from a circuit that seems to be half circuit and half street. Now that really was boring - the cars were so evenly matched that they basically seemed to run around the circuit in one big "lump", all the cars very close to each other. At least with the Monaco GP the cars spread out, there's some challenge getting past the back markers (though they all seemed very good at getting out of the way). I'd like to go there, once, for the atmosphere, but I suspect the whole weekend would be tainted by me wandering around various bars (the lower end ones, that might let me in) shouting "HOW MUCH?" when I see the price list.

 

[Nick DV]

..................I'll have a look at Baku in a couple of weeks, ............

Not a bad circuit, and plenty of places for overtaking - unlike Monaco

 

[Danez]

I for one enjoyed it, Saturday qualy was good and sunday had enough drama to make it interesting. It may have helped I was in the pub and had a fair few scoops


I still get PTSD flashbacks to france 2019, now that was dull. At least with monaco there's very little room for error and requires more skill

 

[Nick DV]

It may have helped I was in the pub and had a fair few scoops

I would say it definitely helped!

 

[mr haynes]

Did anyone else see the overtake?
Not sure if i was under some mind altering influence....

 

[Monkey Harris]

There was more overtaking on one lap of the SSP300 ( World Superbike class) yesterday than in ten seasons of F1.

excellent races from wsbk....
glad for tom ...

 

[Screwdriver]

Did anyone else see the overtake?
Not sure if i was under some mind altering influence....

I think there were two although one of them was a sort of pit exit thing. Didn't really get to see it because the director is specifically chosen for this race only and had no idea how to direct. He missed it, then he messed up the replay.

The other one was a boy called Marzipan. His dad is a Russian Oligarch and bought an F1 team for his son to play with. Marzipan forgot he wasn't running around at the back stone cold last and his team mate had enough room to overtake him at the hairpin on the inside! I've ridden around that hairpin and it's so tight I am surprised you can get an F1round there at all.

What else happened? Err. They all kneel down to support Marxism. That's a new feature though I tend to skip that rather than throw a brick at the telly.

 

[ukracer]

Did anyone else see the overtake?
Not sure if i was under some mind altering influence....

Not me....

 

[slim_boy_fat]

because the director is specifically chosen for this race only and had no idea how to direct. He missed it, then he messed up the replay.

He managed to show quite a lot coverage of Hamilton cruising round in 7th place though.....

 

[jsf55]

He managed to show quite a lot coverage of Hamilton cruising round in 7th place though.....

And all the commentary of him blaming the team for the tyre stop

 

[Greeves246]

Can you imagine what he would have said if it had been his wheel nut that was stripped and not Botass's. Apparently still stuck until they get back to the factory and can dremel it off.

 

[Screwdriver]

And all the commentary of him blaming the team for the tyre stop

It is one of those circuits where tyre stop strategy is the most important thing since without David Coulthard, hardly anyone actually overtakes these days.

All F1 teams have a room full of specialists working out exactly how a given strategy will work. They work it out real time all the time non stop throughout the entire race monitoring every single car. It is quite a technical challenge which relies on a driver getting in/out at a predictable rate and of course a well drilled pit crew. Red Bull and McLaren got their strategies absolutely bang on.

Mercedes got theirs wrong and despite my newfound dislike for LH, he can't be blamed for not knowing exactly what the gap might be 20 odd seconds behind him.

 

[Gragson]

Mercedes "strategists" seem to have dropped a fair few and not just this year.
Although when they get it righ like the previous race - its very clever

 

[ukracer]

Mercedes "strategists" seem to have dropped a fair few and not just this year.
Although when they get it righ like the previous race - its very clever

Swings and roundabouts. It's just that Monaco is a procession and Hamilton qualified badly. Add to that Ferrari went well on the low speed track on a single lap.

 

[slim_boy_fat]

he can't be blamed for not knowing exactly what the gap might be 20 odd seconds behind him.

Wouldn't he be able to call that info up on his 'all singing, all dancing' c.$50>70k steering wheel - I'd be very surprised if not, since they appear to be capable of anything except make coffee...

 

[Screwdriver]

Wouldn't he be able to call that info up on his 'all singing, all dancing' c.$50>70k steering wheel - I'd be very surprised if not, since they appear to be capable of anything except make coffee...

All of these drivers (except I suggest Marzipan) have exceptional abilities which allow them to focus constantly on a task for long periods. Blink too long around Monaco and you'll hit something very hard, very fast. I don't know how they do it tbh, sounds easy especially when they appear to be chatting on the radio buteven if you had a heads up display I cannot comprehend how they can switch attention so quickly and accurately. That's after my experience of years of speeding on high power motorcycles. It takes tremendous concentration and one momentary lapse to lose all.

So no, I don't think they would be able to assimilate a full chart, maybe an individual competitor or a single "time slot" but htf you could navigate a menu system while dodging a solid wall at 200mph is honestly beyond my ability to imagine.

 

[slim_boy_fat]

^^ You just need to be superhuman like LH.

 

[Screwdriver]

^^ You just need to be superhuman like LH.

Thank goodness you didn't say as politically correct.

I beat him hands down on ecological grounds.

 

[Gragson]

have exceptional abilities which allow them to focus constantly on a task for long periods.

There was some study on this, and while the majority of the test group could focus and perform to a reasonable level, it dropped away rapidly and only a certain "human species" of the test group could autistically saventesque repeat and repeat.

 

[Nick DV]

Interesting to see Toto the boss man is now saying some of the blame for Bottas' wheel nut problem was due to Bottas stopping slightly out of position causing the wheel gun not to go on straight! Err, how about the mechanic didn't get it on straight - the left hand side was fine afterall! Talk about sticking the knife in