2023 Miami GP: Post Race Analysis

Evidently emails out to fans about discounts of 40% with race tickets more than available before the race. Race organizer looking at a night race potentially as well. Of all the new races, I could see this having major issues vs Austin or Vegas for the USA. Add not so exciting race and saturation is easily achieved and the popularity of the race declines.

 

FORD versus Ferrari showed the 427 in the GT40 was derived from the NASCAR engine of the day.

 

Illien and Morgan were 2 engineers working at Cosworth; they left, created ILMOR and became a competitor to Cosworth.
They designed Indy engines to Mercedes, before being bought by Mercedes, to become their F1 engine branch.

 

You mean the MKII. The GT40 only received 289.

 

Ford used 2 official racing contractors to do their engine work on different racing programs, and run teams on their behalf.
Holman & Moody and Kar Kraft shared the bulk of the work. H&M mostly in the engine department, KK more on the chassis side.
Most of the racing engines on Falcon, Cobra, Mustang, Galaxy, GT40, MKII and MKIV, and Honker used in NASCAR, Transam, Endurance and NHRA came from these 2 outfits.
Kar Kraft designed gearboxes for the MKII and MKIV, capable to handle the torque of the 427 in long races .
Shelby and Holman & Moody shared the workload to run the cars in the endurance championship (Sebring, Daytona, Le Mans).

When the FIA banned 7 liter in endurance, Ford commissioned Alan Mann Racing (they had led the Cobra endurance program in Europe) to build a 3L prototype designed by Len Bailey. The Ford P68 used a V8 Cosworth engine, but wasn't a success. The program was closed the following year not long after a huge accident at the Nurburgring.

 

While I don't have a preference between Checo and Max, though I find Checo more personable, even though Max can be personable in his own way, was Checo done a disservice by the Red Bull team concerning race/tire strategy? I understand from a team perspective it is "safer" to split strategies between the two drivers, but if I'm Checo, and I'm starting eight positions in front of Max, wouldn't I ask to use the exact same race/tire strategy that Max is using, in order to match his performance? It was expected that Max would make his way to front fairly quickly as other drivers wouldn't seriously challenge Max as he moved up through the field, because they knew that their race was not with him. It seemed to me that Max was able to pass Checo because Max had better tires, and followed a better strategy. Checo didn't seem to make any mistakes during the race. Or is it simply that Max is that much better of a driver than Checo?

 

No matter how many ways you cut it, Checo cannot compete at Max's level regarding that tire strat at the MiamiGP.

So let's say you put Checo on the hards. Here's the rub-->there are 8 cars behind Checo on the mediums. Checo has a full tank of gas. It's gonna take Checo 8 to 10 laps before he starts getting heat into those tires. The track wasn't rubbered in due to the rain the track experienced the night before. Checo would have lost places at the very start of the race bringing him closer to Max for the overtake.

They did Checo right on the mediums. Checo couldn't build a huge gap to distance him from Max and could not maintain the lap times that Max was delivering from lap 18 thru lap 42.......Max built over an 18 sec gap...almost enough to pit for mediums and come right behind Checo for the overtake.

Nothing Checo could do any different.

 

If perez started on hards, he'd still have lost...and people would say he was sabotaged.

Perez started on the prefered strategy, lost the race...and people say it's sabotage.

 

Im a Ferrari guy. Max is an amazing driver. He has matured. I think Charles is more technical, but he doesnt have the car. Perez and Carlos are a nice match. Checko has the car now. Same car..... IDK. I like Carlos. Just me. Carlos makes mistakes, but he gets a result on a **** car.

 

I'm thinking that Checo's race is against Max, and no one else, since the Red Bull cars are so superior that over the length of the F1 season, the F1 champion will either be Max or Checo (and I hope that it is not decided before the Qatar race which I'm going to attend!). Thus, even if Checo doesn't win the race, all he (should, in my opinion) cares about is finishing ahead of Max. Further in my nonexpert opinion, I think the easiest way to beat Max, if starting in front of him by a number of position is to match Max's race strategy. I realize in doing so, he loses the race, but he would gain points on Max.

 

IMO Max is a better driver than Checco. Max wins with the same strategy, different strategy, same set-up, different set-up he is just better. Clearly the best driver currently in F1. I think Checco is a very competent driver and a good complement to Max at RB but there is no way he is winning the WDC without some major accident or other mishap that takes Max out of the car for multiple races. He may break the record he set last year which would be sad for the other drivers but a real possibility from what we've seen o far this year.