2022 US Grand Prix: Post Race Analysis

An action packed race covered by a good television direction, so we actually got to see the action.

Red Bull grieved the loss of their owner, Dietrich Mateschitz in a celebratory way. Max Verstappen wins again, which is not a big surprise, but it definitely was not an easy straight forward win. The pitstop put him on his back foot, but had the car and determination to drive back to the front. Had hopes for a more difficult battle for the lead against Lewis, but they still raced hard and clean and inevitably the better car made quick work of the Mercedes. Perez drove pretty good, but its fair to assume his wing damage slowed his progress.

Mercedes brought what is presumed to be their final upgrades, which included an illegal front wing that they did not use. The car was very competitive in the race, and Lewis had spectacular drive as stayed close with Max the entire race. George Russell continues to give signs of being over rated. Throughout his career he has shown many examples of poor race craft, and got caught up once again. In all honesty, I felt the collision was more of a racing incident as Sainz did cut back across in a weird way. Something that can happen when you put 3 or 4 cars through the open turn 1 of COTA.

Ferrari maintains to be a rocket in qualifying, but fails to impressive in the race. Leclerc had a very solid drive with a brilliant pass on Perez. Some good fortune with the Safety Car, and tire wear seemed very reasonable as well. Ultimately, the car just doesn't have the pace on Sundays. Sainz, such a tough break after earning pole position. An unlucky water leak forced the DNF, which is sad because he likely could have driven back into a good points finish.

McLaren looked to be lacking a lot of speed in the start of the race, and then out of nowhere, Super Lando shows up and was on a mission in the end. He was flying and a 6th place result is excellent for the team. Ricciardo stayed in the back the entire race. His season can't end soon enough.

Alpine rode the back of Alonso to stay ahead of McLaren in the WCC. It could be easy to not see just how good he drove this race. Ocon got the latest upgrades, yet was still a good amount off Alonso's performance. Fernando had a very good first stint, got lucky with the Safety Car, and was making moves on his medium tires. Unfortunately he ran into Stroll which sent him airborne and he was extremely lucky not to retire the car. After the hard hit, and no Red Flag to properly check and repair the car, he gets back in the fight and instantly progresses back into the points. Very impressive.

Aston Martin had one of their best starting positions of the season. Some benefits from the Sainz retirement, but the cars were on the pace. Looking like a certain double points day, Stroll reminded everyone he still doesn't deserve to be in Formula 1. He has made these dangerous late defense moves several times before, and this time it sent Alonso in the air at 180 mph. Despite his careless driving, he continues to never claim responsibility. Aston Martin 2023 would be amazing with Alonso and Vettel as drivers, no? Seb Vettel had to get a roar of cheers around the world. He too was compromised badly by the team's horrendous pit stop, but was the rediscovered his race craft and masterclass in his final stint. The pass on Magnussen in the last lap was nothing short of incredible.

Haas needed a good result in their home GP. K Mag provided that with a points finish. For awhile, it appeared that Schumacher was in the better position for points, and then he pitted and stayed 15th or so for the remainder of the race. Given he is racing for his career, that was a poor result after a good opportunity was there. There could be more to his race that we did not get to see.

AlphaTauri also looked pretty strong. Gasly looked to have a shot at points, but a bag of mistakes from driver and team destroyed his chances. Fortunately for the team, Yuki was solid and able to scoop up the final point.

Williams had a fairly decent car around COTA. Albon was very strong in qualifying, and had good race pace as well. We saw some mistakes from Albon, but he still finished 12th with some good scraps. Latifi had a good battle Ricciardo to finish last of the running cars. Way to go.

Alfa Romeo probably had a shot at a good result. The car appeared much better than recent races, and Bottas finally looked back on form. Unfortunately Bottas spun himself out of the race. It was a very windy day and a lot of drivers complained, so perhaps that was the reason. Zhou just wasn't performing at the same level, and didn't really have the pace to move forward.

Driver of the Day: Fernando Alonso. Started 14th with a grid penalty, got himself in a position to fight for 6th. Gets launched in the air, slammed on the ground, and put to of the back. Fights his way all the way back up to 6th, though eventually passed by Lando.

 

Boy, am I glad someone else saw it the way I did !!!

It appeared to me, and to you as well, that it was simply a racing incident, initiated by Sainz in which Russell got involved.

What one is supposed to do when a car cuts in from of you in a corner? Where are you supposed to go ?

 

Just when do you suppose GR was actually planning to turn in for T1? At the point of contact, why was he still aiming at the rim?

 

At 0:43 Russell is pretty much full lock on the steering wheel, and his trajectory appears like it would put him alongside Sainz IF Sainz would have stayed behind Verstappen. Sainz however had turn left to get alongside Verstappen (or avoid running up the back of him).

It looks like they were both going for the same piece of track. Russell did snag a brake and it limited the arc he could take through the corner, so its unclear how much more left he could have turned. But why should he give 2 cars width on the exit instead of just 1?

We can question Russell's awareness and how he gets himself into those situations, but the collision sure seems like a turn 1 racing incident to me.

 

https://www.autosport.com/f1/news/alonso-loses-points-finish-with-time-penalty-as-haas-succeeds-in-f1-technical-protest/10389536/

This is an absolute outrage!

Even if I don't agree with the Russell getting a penalty against Sainz, the Stewards set a precedent that causing a crash that forced a DNF was worth 5 seconds.

Perez has a clear flopping endplate, as bad or worse than anything we seen with Haas multiple times this season and doesn't even get a warning to fix it. Sure enough, the endplate falls off like a spear at near 200 mph.

Stroll dangerously cuts off Alonso at 180 mph, causes an airborne crash and it's considered just a racing incident. Stroll's car is in the middle of the track and debris is scattered everywhere. An immediate red flag seems obvious to everyone, yet it isn't thrown.

Alonso somehow stays in the race, has an incredible drive and his mirror happened to fall off due to the crash. He was given no warnings to pit that I know of. So the FIA/Stewards had no complains as he drove around the track. Damage that could have been addressed under a red flag that should have been thrown anyways. yet they give him a 30 second penalty because a part fell off during the race. That 30 penalty is not only ridiculously harsh, but how can they enforce something that wasn't a problem to the FIA during the race? Also, it's like penalizing any and every driver for having a collision and losing parts during the crash. Guy damages a front wing, and bits fall off on the way back to pits. 30 second penalty. Flat tire that shreds back to the pits? 30 second penalty.

Lewis winning Silverstone on 3 wheels I guess should overturned and he should get a 3 race ban I suppose.

Unreal.

 

Russell was alongside, but Sainz was ahead ... throughout the whole incident.

If the driver ahead leaves enough room, on track, for the driver alongside ... then any contact is the fault of the alongside driver, trying to overtake.

100% Russell's fault ... he was given a gift, with only a 5 second penalty.

 

Image Unavailable, Please Login
GR was carrying enough speed that with his early apex, he would have needed all the track to the right to make the corner. With three cars on his right, I guess he tried to brake heavier to use the empty inside half, but locked, sending him on the angle seen above. I think he was just way too optimistic as to how it could turn out with the speed he was carrying. If Sainz weren’t there, he would have hit Lewis instead.

 

Agreed.

Russell's trajectory (speed, early apex) put him on a collision course with anyone "in his way".

 

I don't get how anybody can call it a racing incident. How much room was Sainz supposed to leave Russel? He left the whole inside of the track open for him, and Russel still hit him.

And it wasn't just Russel. Hamilton hit Sainz, too. Mercedes drivers have a history of giving the chrome horn to other drivers, then getting a slap on the wrist for it.

These kind of incidents call for a drive through penalty, where no work can be done on the car like in the 2000's. That's a penalty. If a driver simply gets 5 seconds added to a pitstop or at the end the race, then colliding into other people becomes well worth it.

Racing is a contact sport and accidents happen. But careless driving should be dealt with harsher. Otherwise F1 becomes an open wheel NASCAR.

 

I don't believe Lewis hit Sainz in T1.

However, Russell did hit Sainz in T1 on Sainz's left rear tire causing Sainz to spin and Russell hit Sainz again causing slight damage to Sainz's floor just below the radiator when Russell t-boned Sainz.

 

@Kimi2007


Image Unavailable, Please Login

Image Unavailable, Please Login

 

Great drive from several drivers:

Max was taking it easy and had it in the bag. Gave up 6.5 second lead due to first SC, then 2nd SC another 1.5 seconds...then has a 12 second pitstop, had to battle Leclerc and close the gap to lewis, all on tyres that shouldn't have lasted this long at that pace. It was after he overtook Lewis the laptimes he was setting that was very impressive to me.

Leclerc had a great drive through the grid after the SC. Clearly showed the Ferrari is very fast right until the tyre life ends and abruptly falls off.

Norris has a fantastic race in what was clearly a poor car this weekend.

Vettel a fantastic race, I loved that last lap battle with kmag!

Alonso had such a stunning drive...a performance that even his biggest critics must realize that Alonso is made from different stuff. The penalty is the FIA covering their own ass but looking like incompetent fools. He deserves a good car.

Perez had a really good drive despite having no endplate.

Strol proved he's a driver only and nothing else. A clear danger.

George Russell has caused crashes in:
Silverstone - ruined Zhou’s race and nearly killed him
Austria - Ruined Checo’s race
Singapore x2 - Broke Bottas’ front wing and ruined Mick’s race with contact
USA - Ruined Carlos’ race

Yet the FIA looks the other way constantly.

 

The problem is the FIA stewards inconsistency in matters of car damage.

Haas claims his cars were made to pit for repairs for front wing damage 3 times during this season, causing them to lose valuable points, whilst Perez and Alonso were not called in and told to fix their vehicles yesterday.
If a broken front wing or a loose endplate is dangerous on a Haas, why is it not on a Red Bull?
Implacable logic here !

 

Regarding Schumacher, he picked up a lot of debris from the Alonso crash, hence his slow speed post SC.

 

+1 on everything except GR deserved a stronger penalty.

He would have hit Sainz irrespective, unless Sainz went wide to avoid him.
Sainz didn't do anything weird. He's the only one in the top 4 that didn't go wide in the 1st corner, and was all set to attack Max on the inside.

 

I don't think Perez did a good race, Charles started 3 places behind, had a slower car and finished in front of him....and had a crappy pit stop, wich forced him to pass Checo, twice...and he was still moaning about it!

 

Charles benefitted hugely from the SC though. Perez had the whole endplate missing which costs downforce.

 

Is there a technical rule that allowed Mercedes to change HAM's brake on the grid? Maybe it's just a safety thing if you can show that your pad or rotor is cracked? Seemed unusual to me, but I admit I have not read the rules.

 

As long as it doesn't change the aero or setup of the car due to parc ferme rules.

 

jgonzalesm6
thanks, maybe just changing brake pads isn't such a big deal.

 

Watching the onboard from Russell and it looks awful, he overcooked it into t1 and speared him off. That said, it was t1 which is always fraught and given some leniency, so I'm assuming that's why he only got 5s.

How Alonso got a 30s penalty and Perez didn't boggles my mind. Alonso got royally screwed, first Stroll moves late and he miraculously survives that only to get dropped out of the points on a nonsensical penalty. I hope that gets overturned as it makes no sense.

As to the rest of the race, Verstappen showed why he's 2x champ and counting, Lewis finally seems on top of the car (and his teammate) as he's consistently on the podium and ahead of Russell, and Charles drove a great race to get 3rd. Sainz screwed again after a great pole.

 

I've read what Gunter was saying about his professed reason for the protest of Alonzo and Perez. He does make an excellent point about capricious steward rulings - Magnussen get black flagged for loose end plates when they have a tether to prevent them falling off while Perez get a "free pass" (in this instance) for a dangling item that does fall off. His logic on Alonzo's car is that the regulations say there must be a LH and a RH mirror, so how is a car without one still a compliant car? What applies to one needs to apply to all and not different rules when it is a mid fielder or back marker versus one the top teams.

He didn't mention it but I think the complaint also needs to include consistency on the drivers too. There have been drivers with Teflon coats when it came to their treatment for years.

Do I like that Alonso got 30 seconds for missing a mirror? No, he did a great effort that deserved being rewarded with the points. Maybe the rules need a clarification on crash damage. And, the stewards need to see a Red Bull the same way they see a Haas or an Alpine.

 

Would like to see the top speeds of Merc, Ferrari and RB in race trim.
Merc couldn't have needed more than just a couple MPH top end to win that race. Sure, only thanks to Max's super long pit stop, several safety cars, Carlos' evading move putting him directly in front of red-mist-George, AND Perez&LeC's penalties, but still.
Lewis drove a great race and despite the WC points continues to show that George has a lot to learn.

 

Lewis, post race interview, said the RB18 has a 10kph lead on the Mercedes.....I believe this is meaning w/o DRS.

 

It is difficult to accurately gather race top speeds, as cars are much more likely to receive a draft, energy deployment, DRS, etc.

Using lap 31 of the race, Ham and Lec did 296-298 kph, while Verstappen did 306 kph. Their acceleration curves are very similar, but RBR always continues to accelerate to the brake point, while the Merc and Ferrari plateau and/or start to nose over around 295-298. So when the Red Bull is doing 306, the Merc and Ferrari are only doing 293-294.