FORMULA 1 ROLEX BELGIAN GRAND PRIX-->PRACTICE 1.2.3▄▀▄▀ SPOILERS ▀▄▀▄

Yes

 

Too far to arrive in time

 

Even at 2x speed P1 and P2 were dull. Ferrari should just withdraw for the rest of the season, or use it as a training session for young drivers. Even Vettel is being wasted there. The car isn't worthy of being on the grid.

 

"General Douglas MacArthur once said, "quitting wrinkles the soul" and you suggesting Ferrari quit, "Ferrari should just withdraw for the rest of the season" is both soulless and blind. If Ferrari need to take this year to collect data points, strive to become a more efficient team in every little possible way, and maybe as you also suggested run a younger driver in the absence of Vettel, then so be it. This team needs an overhaul from top to bottom which appears to be what they are attempting, they have a much more efficiently run team in AMG to not only see as an example but a marker to strive for and to surpass.

Yes, we all want to see a strong and competitive Ferrari because that is better for the sport we love and as has been stated many times, F1 is Ferrari and Ferrari is F1. Sitting on the sidelines and doing nothing accomplishes nothing. The best athletes and best companies compete when it gets difficult. They don't cut and run or take their ball and cry and go home.

 

Verstappen finished just eight-hundredths of a second behind Mercedes' Valtteri Bottas in opening practice before setting the fastest time in the afternoon session.

Verstappen was able to pip Renault's Daniel Ricciardo to top spot by 0.048 seconds, with Lewis Hamilton finishing 0.096 seconds off the pace in third for Mercedes.

But the Red Bull driver did not think his run to top spot was a sign he could fight for pole position on Saturday, predicting Mercedes would bounce back from its issues.

"I personally think they're still struggling a bit with their balance," Verstappen said of Mercedes. "I expect them to be stronger tomorrow. You can see already on the long runs they are also very competitive.

"I'm not expecting to fight for pole position, but if we can be a bit closer, that would be good."

https://www.motorsport.com/f1/news/verstappen-doubts-red-bull-can-fight-mercedes-for-pole/4864528/

 

When the going gets tough, the tough get going ...

 

Another beautiful weekend here at Scuderia Ferrari! I think we can get pole position in reverse tomorrow.

 

It'll be crickets on this forum.

This year's horses aren't prancing at all.

 

Not sure if those are horses!

 

Hiii-haaaaan

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Looks like my prediction they will be battling with the Williams team is about to come true unfortunately........it goes from bad to dire in two weeks!!

Save face and retire the cars.

 

Two of the three longest running teams in F1 history are now relegated to the back. Sad really.

 

all very true and commendable but this the downward slippery slope has been clearly apparent for over 10 years and little sign of progress.

Winston Churchill - All men make mistakes, but only wise men learn from their mistakes.

Defintion of insanity - Doing the same thing over and over againa nd expecting a different result .A. Einstein

 

If Ferrari were to quit for the rest of the season, they could use Fiorano every day until the start of the new season, find out what is wrong and fix them.

It is the lack of testing that is holding Ferrari back. Quitting is the only way to get enough miles on the car to get back, the only way to get enough miles on the engine to know how hard they can push it, and what then need to make it stronger.

Ferrari is in a place now where a wrinkled soul might be faster than what they have now.

 

I'm guessing if they quit now they would only receive a fraction of their WCC $. Then again that might not matter all that much given how few points they have.

 

You can't just "have a rest" in modern F1. You have to enter two cars at every race, it's in the contract every team has with Liberty. Even when Caterham had to skip a few races because they were bankrupt they needed a special dispensation from Bernie.

Yet, Ferrari's biggest problem right now is not lack of testing but tokens. They can't change the car whenever they want.

 

+1 agree

 

Shades of 1980, when the cars were slower than the year before, and that season was a disaster.

 

Ferrari better pray for rain.

 

best not...Ferrari can't get heat into the tyres to run in the rain. So the performance will be even worse...

 

It isn't about Ferrari even...blame the rule makers. Dull engines. Save the tyres. Save the engines. Save the gearboxes. Tokens. Neuter the tracks. Do environment stuff.

Simply the ever loving **** out of the sport and everything will be better.

 

In that case, enjoy the good old days, when La Source was at the end of the lap, not the beginning, the Kemel Straight wasn't straight, and Les Combes turned left instead of right. Oh yes, and the circuit was 8 miles long!

 

But even the "new circuit" (already 40 years old...) has given us some magnificent races: there is twenty years almost to the day from Mika Hakkinen's Victory in 2000 and his famous pass on Michael Schumacher; that was some race, wasn't it? The "new circuit" has had its "good old days" also, it is not the culprit...

Rgds

 

Spa is still a great circuit. I'm just saddened that it gets neutered again (this time all the fake grass has been replaced with asphalt and green paint...) When will the FIA learn that post the apex of a corner, gravel traps or at least real grass should exist? The tracks will be just as safe but the challenge is back. The shortened Spa layout has a wonderful flow, something very few tracks can claim.

 

Weather update....


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