FORMULA 1 GULF AIR BAHRAIN GRAND PRIX 2022 - Sakhir - Qualifying..▄▀▄▀▄▀ SPOILERS▄▀▄▀▄▀

Just wait for the cheating accusations !

 

Don't believe it !!!

 

The desperate press love Ferrari as an antagonist of F1. What I like is Binotto calling for clarification about the Merc mirrors and referring to Ferrari have LEGAL mirrors off the halo in 2018 that they were forced to remove. They should keep pressing hard on this.

 

"Hello James? It's Valtierri. F You!"

 

If it is indeed a power deficit, this will be locked in for like 3 years now, so that would be great.

And as I wrote already, with full fuel tomorrow and not automatic use of DRS on the straights, we could probably expect the return of porpoising so further eroding their performance.

 

I would love to see a lapped Mercedes but I don’t believe it will happen.

 

it’s funny…everyone else was so certain they were sandbagging. The car has potential but the window is narrow. They’ll figure it out by May or so.

I’m also super-pleased to see Charles up there on pole!!!! I think over-driving a lacking car made him seem less a driver than he is. Sentiments of Max running away to a 2nd WDC were as premature as I expected (he will contend, don’t get me wrong. But I think Charles is equally capable in a good car). Binotto’s smile told me all I needed to know after yesterday’s practices.

The key will be to maximize points in the early part of the season. I suspect that Merc will have a rocket once sorted, so pound while you can.

(I am surprised to see LH in 5th! I had him down in the 7/8 spot for Q. He did outperform Mr. Saturday, for those who assumed he would be trounced by a ‘real driver’)

 

I had F1TV on...you're not the first one to have said that though! Who was commentating on sky?

I actually think Mercedes will be a real force the moment they sort out their porpoising. Only 7 tenths behind now. Russell made a big cock up on the fresh tyres, so can't rule him out this season based on one session.

I hope they don't sort it out, and it'll be RBR vs Ferrari all season!

 

I like Charles for the win. I think Carlos is a more patient driver, but I like Charles’ outright speed. It’s his time to deliver, and you can bet he’s hungry after last year.

 

What happened with Danny Ric? Is this ALL due to the time he missed in testing...?

 

This is freaking madness !!!

 

I don’t think power is their problem. It’s a car with very limited margins, and they haven’t sorted it.

I’m expecting the car to struggle tomorrow also. Hamilton may be able to keep it top 6 or 7, but it will leave him with a headache.

they’ll get it together though, of that I’m certain. May take a couple of months though

 

I love that he’s doing that. Very Machiavellian in the sense that he’s pretending to be concerned about the vanes on the Merc car when they probably determined themselves that they’re probably more of a drag deficit than offering any benefit!

AND exposing the FIA’s inconsistencies in imposing rules on Merc: where Ferrari were made to change their mirror stays mid-year by Technical Directive, for the Merc—even after the FIA explicitly stated that mirrors shouldn’t have an aero function—they’re allowing Merc to run these for the rest of the year and will only enforce the rule next year.

 

But wait! I thought Mercedes never received any assistance from the FIA???

 

So what does the dash to the first corner look like? Max has spent the off season defending against calls to fire Masi because the title was gifted to Max. Max will come out swinging to jump to the front in the first corner. What do we know about the style and emotions of team Ferrari? Will they let Max go (to play safe) and play the long strategy, or are they under pressure not to bow to Max’s bully style of driving?

My prediction sees old man Lewis lagging behind because of his old man reflex’s and happy to take advantage if carnage unfolds in front of him.

 

Talking about me? I'm not tifosi, but well done Ferrari ! That should cheer up a few people on this forum.

I hope Leclerc or Sainz can translate that into a win tomorrow. Anything is better than a Red Bull victory for me.

I fear for the Ferraris with Verstappen on the front row though; the first few laps are going to be like a freaking war zone with Max around !!

 

MB will sort out the car but it remains to be seen how fast it will get. As Mario Andretti said a race horse with 3 good legs and one bad one will never be a winner no matter how much it trains. Don't forget RB aren't rookies at car development either. Ferrari better get their act together on this. Cost caps may come into play especially later into the season and we need to see how the MIA will play this; could be a tumultuous second half of the season. If MB can't figure it out and lag behind then Hamilton walks after this year IMHO and moves to Hollywood.

Let's enjoy this and hope for a Ferrari 1-2 tomorrow. Forza!

 

Thanks for your kind words !
Tomorrow will be a tough battle with Mad Max.

 

they are not that slow. George screwed the pooch on his lap. Bottas finishing ahead of one of them would be epic.

 

Depends on how they will deal with full tank.

 

I think everyone is assuming Ferrari fears Max. Charles and Max have been going head-to-head for years and Carlos was on the same team.

I think of larger importance is the body language of Ferrari as a team. I see quiet confidence, not fear nor wariness. They are legitimate challengers for the WDC (I know it’s early, but they are legitimate, how about that)

 

I obviously have no way of confirming Toto’s assertion about being down on power—and if he doesn’t know, who does?—but with 3 or 4 Merc-powered cars at the back of the grid, he might have a point.

As far as the Merc car is concerned, I expect they went with a very extreme under floor aero design that gave good peak performance but (as is usually the case with that) the floor seems to be very pitch and ride height sensitive. So as they work to resolve their porpoising issues, they’ll have to give up some peak DF generation. Apart from this, the coupling with their suspension also needs to be improved and they don’t have hydraulics and inerters to work with now.

 

Maybe Merc recruited the 2014 Ferrari aero team?