2024 GULF AIR BAHRAIN GRAND PRIX 29 FEB - 02 MAR

[Vassago]

Bottom post of the previous page:

Probably the worst season opener I can remember.

[Everso Biggyballies]

Danny Ric didnt get past KMag .


Race result.

POS DRIVERGAP TYRE
1 Max VERSTAPPENLEADER 2
2 Sergio PEREZ+22.457 2
3 Carlos SAINZ+25.110 2
4 Charles LECLERC+39.669 2
5 George RUSSELL+46.788 2
6 Lando NORRIS+48.458 2
7 Lewis HAMILTON+50.324 2
8 Oscar PIASTRI+56.082 2
9 Fernando ALONSO+74.887 2
10 Lance STROLL+93.216 2
11 GuanyuZHOU 1 L 2
12 Kevin MAGNUSSEN1 L 2
13 Daniel RICCIARDO1 L 2
14 Yuki TSUNODA1 L 2
15 Alexander ALBON1 L 2
16 Nico HULKENBERG1 L 3
17 Esteban OCON1 L 2
18 Pierre GASLY1 L 3
19 Valtteri BOTTAS1 L 2
20 Logan SARGEANT2 L

Driver of the Day Carlos Sainz.

[Aty]

Ruslan was absolutely wrong. He estimated gap to P2 of 12 sec. Well, it's almost double. My estimate was around 6 [sec], with Leclerc on his tail, but what do I know?

Sainz - my hero today. They let you go?

[Ruslan]

So: 0.228 advantage times 57 laps = 12.996 second lead at the end of the race.

The answer is 22.457 seconds.

[Ruslan]

Good thing we have Christian Horner to talk about, because the racing sucks.

[Aty]

Good thing we have Christian Horner to talk about, because the racing sucks.

[Aty]

Carlos Sainz - 31.4%
DOTD

Most got this one right!

[erwin greven]

Good thing we have Christian Horner to talk about, because the racing sucks.

I loved the race. But that is also because Max is winning.

Carlos, who gives a big flipping bird towards Ferrari and CLAP, who is really underachieving.
Russell who finishes before Hamilton.
Norris who finishes before Hamilton.
Tsunoda, who shows that he still can not keep his emotions under control.

[Aty]

Good thing we have Christian Horner to talk about, because the racing sucks.

I loved the race. But that is also because Max is winning.

Carlos, who gives a big flipping bird towards Ferrari and CLAP, who is really underachieving.
Russell who finishes before Hamilton.
Norris who finishes before Hamilton.
Tsunoda, who shows that he still can not keep his emotions under control.

The same here.

[erwin greven]

Look, i can imagine that, Max winning the race with some 20 seconds, is not very inviting when it happens every race. But i really wonder what in Formula 1, does attract you all? Domination is not unique. Everyone raves about great drivers like Fangio, Clark, Stewart, Senna, Prost, Mansell, Schumacher, Hamilton, Alonso...
When Clark was around, no one could defeat him, but his car. Fangio won some 50% of all races he competed in.
I can remember years like 1992, or 2002, 2004... that was also domination.

The lack of attrition is what nowadays makes the difference. Not the pace of the cars.

[Aty]

Max is fast, and he doesn't makes too many mistakes, if any. I think it's wonderful that we have someone like that to entertain us.

[White six]

Good thing we have Christian Horner to talk about, because the racing sucks.

Christian horner sucks whatever he wants

[Ruslan]

You know, we have had seasons where seven different teams win a race. We have had seasons where 11 different drivers won races. We used to have 26 (or even 33) cars on the grid. We have had multiple chassis designs, multiple engines, and different types of engines, we have even had seasons with multiple tire manufacturers (and they were often good seasons). That is the F1 I fell in love with. I used to go to races having no idea who might win. Now it is not worth going to races (and it is expensive). This current version is stale. Simply doesn't measure up. It is almost a controlled spec series, with uninteresting and not very innovative engineering. We actually have a season with no rookies, all the team drivers are the same as last year. And we are now faced with repeated periods of extended domination: Schumacher, Vettel, Hamilton now Verstappen. Tiresome. F1 has been in trouble for over 20 twenty years. It lacks variety. It is not as interesting as it used to be.

Now, the only question is whether Red Bull will win 23 races this season or all 24.

[caneparo]

Ruslan was absolutely wrong. He estimated gap to P2 of 12 sec. Well, it's almost double. My estimate was around 6 [sec], with Leclerc on his tail, but what do I know?

Sainz - my hero today. They let you go?

They should have kept him instead of Hamilton or Leclerc?

[Aty]

Ruslan was absolutely wrong. He estimated gap to P2 of 12 sec. Well, it's almost double. My estimate was around 6 [sec], with Leclerc on his tail, but what do I know?

Sainz - my hero today. They let you go?

They should have kept him instead of Hamilton or Leclerc?

I am not in a position giving Ferrari any advices. For my money I think Sainz is solid bet for any prestigious team.

[MonteCristo]

Look, i can imagine that, Max winning the race with some 20 seconds, is not very inviting when it happens every race. But i really wonder what in Formula 1, does attract you all? Domination is not unique. Everyone raves about great drivers like Fangio, Clark, Stewart, Senna, Prost, Mansell, Schumacher, Hamilton, Alonso...
When Clark was around, no one could defeat him, but his car. Fangio won some 50% of all races he competed in.
I can remember years like 1992, or 2002, 2004... that was also domination.

The lack of attrition is what nowadays makes the difference. Not the pace of the cars.

Well, you say Fangio won half.

In 2002 Chin won 64%.

In 2023 Max won 72%. And 68% in 2022.

Clark did win a huge 70% in 1963. But, I think that importantly, that was his first title. It was novel - new.

The pace of the cars is about the only thing you could say is exciting. It certainly isn't the competition. And given the lack of innovation, you can't say that the technology is exciting either.

Yes, the (lack of un)reliability is a problem. But even in 2002, Chin finished every race. And at least in 2002 the cars looked cool, and they still looked hard to drive - they used to dart around. Now they're just planted to the road.

Another problem is the sheer number of races. We're now bored out of our minds for an extra 5-6 races per season than when I started watching as a kid. A huge problem with constantly having more of the same is having ... EVEN MORE of the same.

Max already has one hand on his fourth title in a row, without any competition from his teammate. At least Clark had Hill. Hamilton had Rosberg put up a fight. Vettel had to deal with Webber from time to time.

This season will almost certainly be dire.