motorsports: F1 2020 Resumes with Austria Race

Leclerc drove a pretty solid race, like Vettel, to come up with P12/13 to a podium position. Although I was quite annoyed with Ferrari once again cocking up Vettel's pit stop. How much bad luck can a man endure in one season?

 

They never showed a proper replay of what happened with Leclerc on the last lap, as they were too busy focusing on Hamilton. But it looks like he passed Perez at the chicane, when he went off. But Perez had a good run out of the chicane, whereas Leclerc had to take the long way around him. As a result, Perez was able to get a good run on him down the back straight. Leclerc's inexperience showed as he went off the narrow racing line and defended the inside, promptly locking his tires. You saw earlier in the race when Vettel got attacked by Albon (?), Vettel stayed on the racing line, gave Albon the inside, who promptly went deep as he couldn't slow down the car, and then swooped by him. That's exactly what Leclerc should've done. Made Perez try and pass him off line. His inexperience cost him P2/P3 today.

 

I agree, what an awful day for Red Bull, when they could've easily have won this race. Verstappen probably had the best raw pace today but threw it away with mistake after mistake. Albon should've easily had a podium but I think his latest results have sealed his fate for 2021 and it's not likely to be Red Bull. Perez made a great case for himself to land that second Red Bull seat.

Back to STR for a minute...after his pit stop he was complaining that his new tires were graining almost immediately and had no grip. That?s when his voice was nearly squeaking over the radio and you knew he lost composure.

 

So what happened there? Other guys on Inters were going quickly and having a pretty good time.

Yeah it was a very tricky race with the ever changing conditions. In the beginning it requires full wets for sure. But once it started drying, it became a case of who managed their inters the best. After the track dried even more, there were a few that were still running on such old inters that they had effectively worn down to slick tires, and as long as they kept them at the right temperature, they had a decent amount of grip (e.g. Hamilton, Perez, Norris).

Back to STR for a minute...after his pit stop he was complaining that his new tires were graining almost immediately and had no grip. That?s when his voice was nearly squeaking over the radio and you knew he lost composure.

 

So what happened there? Other guys on Inters were going quickly and having a pretty good time.

 

 

Link:

Ahhhhhm okay - thx Morphinity. I was thinking that someone might have really screwed-up with tire pressure over inflation but this ends that theory.

Watched the entire race again, with my son this time. It was just as good as seeing it the first time. VET showing sportsmanship at the end was great too.

Yeah I thought it was only fitting that Vettel was the first to congratulate Hamilton at the end of the race. The undisputed top 2 F1 drivers of the last decade.

Obviously the story of the Bahrain GP was the Grosjean crash. I wasn't watching live, but I've watched most of the coverage at this point, and I am just amazed he survived. Even though the barrier and some sort of fuel components failed, leading to the explosion/fire, everything else performed admirably. Major props to the marshals for acting quickly and risking their lives to help Grosjean out of the fire. I still can't get over him climbing out of the fire the way he did. Incredible stuff.

 

The Halo has now directly saved two lives. If you were in doubt about it after the Leclerc Spa incident in 2018, you surely cannot doubt it after this crash. The Halo carved the barrier away from Grosjean's head and if it wasn't for the Halo we would be talking, at least, about a level of force to Grosjean's head that would have been completely unsurvivable.

 

Ted Kravitz said it best, "We could have lost a driver today."

A very lucky man and it was nothing short of a miracle. Obviously all the safety measures did their part in preventing this from being a fatal accident but looking back, this was an accident of inches. A few changes here or there and he would not have survived...

I watched late last night...oof! Glad GRO survived. The STR roll-over shows that the HALO may need a bit more height because he could barely climb out. ARMCO has some 'splaining to do IMO. How is it that the barrier design allowed a car to pierce it the way it did? Reminiscent of the Kubica crash even though that one happened at a different angle. ALB was lucky too, not only from his crash but with a podium result due to good driving and Perez's motor expiration.

 

Back at the same track next week, right? Slightly new configuration or will it be the same?

I watched late last night...oof! Glad GRO survived. The STR roll-over shows that the HALO may need a bit more height because he could barely climb out. ARMCO has some 'splaining to do IMO. How is it that the barrier design allowed a car to pierce it the way it did? Reminiscent of the Kubica crash even though that one happened at a different angle. ALB was lucky too, not only from his crash but with a podium result due to good driving and Perez's motor expiration.

 

Back at the same track next week, right? Slightly new configuration or will it be the same?

Different configuration - the outer ring of the circuit. It's never been used in F1 before. Long straights, high speed if I recall correctly.

These images show just how little space Grosjean had to climb out.

He first tried to get out from the top opening of the halo from the right side (closer to the ground) visible in the first image. But found that to be blocked by the barrier.

He then somehow managed to squeeze through the left side of the top hole on the other side of the barrier, visible in the second image below which shows how narrow of a space he had to clamber out through, all while engulfed in flames, dealing with the seat belts and steering wheel in your way. I cannot even imagine the sheer terror and panic in those moments...

 

 

 

 

Unreal. Unreal lucky.

So lucky in so many ways but none more than that he didn't get knocked out because there's no way they were going to get to him in time to get him out if he did. Just amazing that he was able to escape and walk away with such minor injuries. It's unfortunate that it took so long for F1 and Indy car so long to figure out the halo was a common sense life saving safety need.

And also lucky he didn't break a leg or an arm. He'd have a much tougher time getting out if he had some fractures. That just speaks to how strong those cockpits are.

So lucky in so many ways but none more than that he didn't get knocked out because there's no way they were going to get to him in time to get him out if he did. Just amazing that he was able to escape and walk away with such minor injuries. It's unfortunate that it took so long for F1 and Indy car so long to figure out the halo was a common sense life saving safety need.

 

Yeah exactly. When I look at videos of the accident, the one thing that sticks with me is the sheer deceleration of the car. Usually in big crashes we are used to parts flying in all directions, big debris fields, car skidding/flipping meters from the impact, all while dissipating energy. But in this case it just shocks me everytime when I see the car impact the barrier and just...stop dead. I can't even imagine what that level of G forces would feel like and how he stayed conscious.

the crash impact registered at over 50 G's. Incredible.

 

 

https://abcnews.go.com/Sports/haas-driver-romain-grosjean-involved-huge-fiery-crash/story?id=74448120#:~:text=Haas%20driver%20Romain%20Grosjean%20involved%20in%20huge%20fiery%20crash%20at%20Bahrain%20GP,-ByESPN%20via&text=The%20incident%20occurred%20when%20Grosjean,and%20immediately%20burst%20into%20flames.

50G - Amazing.

 

Mercedes will be without Lewis Hamilton for this coming weekend?s Sakhir Grand Prix in Bahrain after the seven-time world champion tested positive for Covid-19.

 

Hamilton needs a negative test before being allowed to return to the paddock, and therefore remains a doubt for the final race of the season in Abu Dhabi.

 

https://www.formula1.com/en/latest/article.breaking-hamilton-ruled-out-of-sakhir-grand-prix-after-testing-positive-for.43GvWfdyvajkyisofT26LX.html

50G - Amazing.

 

Mercedes will be without Lewis Hamilton for this coming weekend’s Sakhir Grand Prix in Bahrain after the seven-time world champion tested positive for Covid-19.

 

Hamilton needs a negative test before being allowed to return to the paddock, and therefore remains a doubt for the final race of the season in Abu Dhabi.

 

https://www.formula1.com/en/latest/article.breaking-hamilton-ruled-out-of-sakhir-grand-prix-after-testing-positive-for.43GvWfdyvajkyisofT26LX.html

 

Toto's phone must be ringing off the hook. Stoffel will most likely fill the seat though.

I don't think Hamilton will race anymore in 2020. Abu Dhabi has very strict quarantine procedures.

I know Vandoorne and Gutierrez are the official reserve drivers for all Mercedes engined teams but lots of rumors circulating about Russell being the replacement. I personally would love to see how he performs in that Mercedes as an early preview. Plus from Mercedes' point of view, he would perform a lot better than Vandoorne for the simple fact: active F1 race driver > active F1 test driver > non-active F1 test/simulator driver

Agree - Russell should get the seat.

Russell confirmed for Mercedes this weekend and possibly Abu Dhabi too depending how soon Hamilton can return a negative test. Aitken (Williams junior) will step up from F2 to take Russell's seat. Excited to see how these 2 promising guys do, especially Russell in the top car. Incredible opportunity for him to show case his talent which has looked pretty promising this year.

Surprised they went with Russell, but he obviously deserves it. Hope he gets some points!

 

Sucks for Stoffel though... poor guy

Imagine qualifying for a moment if it turns out RUS P1 and BOT P2... :eek:

A brief look at the 'outer' circuit at the end of this Ferrari promo:

 

https://www.ferrari.com/en-EN/formula1/articles/2020-sakhir-grand-prix-preview