2022 Formula One Bahrain Grand Prix

LeSunTzu · Mar 22, 2022

I disagree, radio chat is just a cheap trick for the show. They have all the same human reactions, it's the broadcasters picking up radio chat that make them look different. In the last race, Verstappen's whining sounded as bad as last years' Hamilton just because he had the WC treatment on the air.

bi11y · Mar 22, 2022

BillyBobSenna said:
Radio communications are some of the most entertaining parts of F1 coverage. It is very interesting how the various drivers communicate. Some are very calm and technical while others are making excuses and pointing fingers at their own team for doing a bad job. It says a lot about a driver how they behave under stress.

Yeh, I agree. I also think to some extent the radio messages between teams and race director can be quite entertaining and informatively interesting.

There just needs to be clarity that the teams don't manipulate the race director. In many cases decisions are made by the steward so it shouldn't be hard for the RD to be neutral and the interaction being aired to give insight to the team manager's attitude and approach.

Fat-Alfie · Mar 22, 2022

Scrap the radios and bring back pitboards as the only form of communication. Let them be racers, not puppets!

Bring back the early 80s!

bi11y · Mar 22, 2022

Also did Crofty say once or more, that they had 'changed' the rules for safety car procedure from any to all cars to avoid repeat?

It's not a rule change; the spirit, intent and literal comprehension of the sentence is exactly the same. They Abu Dhabi restart was in contradiction to the rules as they were written.

I guess he has to tow the party line being a commentator, but I am still confounded and angered that they have made this meaningless change to appease people who are ignorant, or incompetent, when it comes to comprehending a sentence.

blekenbleu · Mar 22, 2022

bi11y said:
people who are ignorant, or incompetent, when it comes to comprehending a sentence.

You're accusing lawyers of being people??!!

Sasha Jednak · Mar 22, 2022

Fat-Alfie said:
Scrap the radios and bring back pitboards as the only form of communication. Let them be racers, not puppets!

Bring back the early 80s!

View attachment 551825

I wouldn't mind radio being used only for:
1) "check" before race start
2) "stop the car" if needed
Everything else can be done with pitboards and driving a car and taking care of it remains on drivers and ONLY on drivers.

BillyBobSenna · Mar 22, 2022

Sasha Jednak said:
I wouldn't mind radio being used only for:
1) "check" before race start
2) "stop the car" if needed
Everything else can be done with pitboards and driving a car and taking care of it remains on drivers and ONLY on drivers.

Maybe the drivers should have prerecorded comments that they could just press a button to play:

"That guy cheated"
"Was that Nikita?"
"I smell something"
"Is it time to eat?"
etc.

paracletus · Mar 22, 2022

Ban radios, 100%. It will put a stop to whining on the radio, enough to spoil anyone's race that. MV went full Karen on Sunday, embarrassing stuff.

Fat-Alfie · Mar 22, 2022

Indeed. Strategy plays a big part in the quality of a driver. It would be great to see the drivers doing their own races, rather than being told when to push, when to back off, when to pit...

bi11y · Mar 22, 2022

blekenbleu said:
You're accusing lawyers of being people??!!

Which lawyers? The ones consulting about this sham of a cover up.

I am not going to believe that any lawyer will convince any jury of peers or any panel of experts that a sentence phrase "any ___ that ____ are required to" is the same as "any".

You can't select part of a sentence, it works like this:
Any cars [ means one of more of the 19 on track] +
that have been lapped [ means 8 of the cars on track ] +
are required [ means 8 of the cars on track, this not an optional term / parameter ] +
pass and un-lap....

The rule applies to all competitors:
ALO was driving "any lapped car"...
RIC was driving "any lapped car"...
STR was driving "any lapped car"...
VER was not driving "any lapped car"

Damage Inc · Mar 23, 2022

bi11y said:
Which lawyers? The ones consulting about this sham of a cover up.

I am not going to believe that any lawyer will convince any jury of peers or any panel of experts that a sentence phrase "any ___ that ____ are required to" is the same as "any".

You can't select part of a sentence, it works like this:
Any cars [ means one of more of the 19 on track] +
that have been lapped [ means 8 of the cars on track ] +
are required [ means 8 of the cars on track, this not an optional term / parameter ] +
pass and un-lap....

The rule applies to all competitors:
ALO was driving "any lapped car"...
RIC was driving "any lapped car"...
STR was driving "any lapped car"...
VER was not driving "any lapped car"

You need to comprehend that throughout the entire history of sport, officials decisions for right and wrong have affected outcomes of matches/races and trophies. It's a part of sport, always has been always will be (unless we get AI officials in the future). What is brand new is the sheer level of hissy fitting over it. I have a list of personal sporting greivances going back decades.....But I have mentally filed them aways and only mention them with like minded individuals.

We all know Masi didn't follow the regs regarding lapped cars, because those regs were for the CotC. 15.3(e) is the ambiguous reg that gave Masi the Authority to override the CotC regarding the SC. Whether you like it or not, that is the reasoning behind Masi bringing the SC in early. No amount of complaining about the unlapped cars is relevant, it's a technicality. I for one would much rather see races finshed with actual racing than a SC procession.

blekenbleu · Mar 23, 2022

Jan Larsen said:
Verstappen should have known this, stuck to his bumper throughout T1-2-3 and passed at T4.

Per Mark Hughes' F1 Tech Tuesday:

Although the Ferrari was running more downforce, enabling the Red Bull to be 7 km/h faster through the speed trap in qualifying (with Verstappen second fastest to team mate Sergio Perez through there and Leclerc only 11th), it is evident looking at speed traces around the lap that the Ferrari’s acceleration was stronger.
The Ferrari would pull away on the exit of the corners and the Red Bull would only close up towards the end of the straights. This was why all of Verstappen’s overtaking attempts were into Turn 1 and not Turn 4.
When Verstappen’s race engineer reminded him that the T4 overtake was available Verstappen’s response was, “Yes, but I cannot get close enough to him through Turn 1 for that.”
News to me:
- The Ferrari may have had shorter overall gearing than the Red Bull
- Gear ratios within the ‘box are chosen by the teams and set for the season
  (with one change permitted for this year only).
  - That IMO is an insane restriction,
    with gearing as fundamental to race tuning as suspension.

bi11y · Mar 23, 2022

Damage Inc said:
You need to comprehend that throughout the entire history of sport, officials decisions for right and wrong have affected outcomes of matches/races and trophies. It's a part of sport, always has been always will be (unless we get AI officials in the future). What is brand new is the sheer level of hissy fitting over it. I have a list of personal sporting greivances going back decades.....But I have mentally filed them aways and only mention them with like minded individuals.

We all know Masi didn't follow the regs regarding lapped cars, because those regs were for the CotC. 15.3(e) is the ambiguous reg that gave Masi the Authority to override the CotC regarding the SC. Whether you like it or not, that is the reasoning behind Masi bringing the SC in early. No amount of complaining about the unlapped cars is relevant, it's a technicality. I for one would much rather see races finshed with actual racing than a SC procession.

Decisions of the past is not excuse for new mistakes, or to not trying to improve - it might often be a part of the sport, but it's not valid, necessary or justifiable. I don't think the result at the front would have been different if they restarted without unlapping cars, Max would have blue flags and been behind Lewis on the back straight and taken the lead a little later in the lap.

I don't think the difference is just the level of hissy fitting, unless you are using those word to also describe the reaction by the FIA and the media?

It just doesn't make sense, and the FIA report is just a mess that makes it worse for me.

I'm ok with use the 15.3 ambiguity to allow a green racing finish, but the "technicality" of breaking the unlapping rule if is the big F&*& You to everyone - competitors and spectators - interested in anything other than the first two cars.

The safety car situation isn't new, there was 5 minutes of safety car before the "car will not unlap" message...
1 mississippi, 2 mississippi ... 300 mississippi - plenty of time, despite the report BS about time pressure and human error.

Another 3 minutes before they decide to release just 5/8 cars, when there would have been time to unlap all 8.

I think it would have been fine to restart with none unlapped or all unlapped.

The crazy interpretation looked like Drive To Survive style shenanigans - this was not finishing with actual racing but a charade.

Max was allowed to use full advantage with new tyres that were chose with a strategic pitstop that they deserve some credit for - but it is absurd that RIC and STR were disallowed any chance to use their similar new tyres to advance their position. This contradictory situation makes it look like Max was just gifted the title.

Damage Inc · Mar 23, 2022

bi11y said:
Decisions of the past is not excuse for new mistakes, or to not trying to improve - it might often be a part of the sport, but it's not valid, necessary or justifiable. I don't think the result at the front would have been different if they restarted without unlapping cars, Max would have blue flags and been behind Lewis on the back straight and taken the lead a little later in the lap.

I don't think the difference is just the level of hissy fitting, unless you are using those word to also describe the reaction by the FIA and the media?

It just doesn't make sense, and the FIA report is just a mess that makes it worse for me.

I'm ok with use the 15.3 ambiguity to allow a green racing finish, but the "technicality" of breaking the unlapping rule if is the big F&*& You to everyone - competitors and spectators - interested in anything other than the first two cars.

The safety car situation isn't new, there was 5 minutes of safety car before the "car will not unlap" message...
1 mississippi, 2 mississippi ... 300 mississippi - plenty of time, despite the report BS about time pressure and human error.

Another 3 minutes before they decide to release just 5/8 cars, when there would have been time to unlap all 8.

I think it would have been fine to restart with none unlapped or all unlapped.

The crazy interpretation looked like Drive To Survive style shenanigans - this was not finishing with actual racing but a charade.

Max was allowed to use full advantage with new tyres that were chose with a strategic pitstop that they deserve some credit for - but it is absurd that RIC and STR were disallowed any chance to use their similar new tyres to advance their position. This contradictory situation makes it look like Max was just gifted the title.

Of course it's no excuse, but humans make errors and officials are human. I just watched the Superbowl (I have a huge backlog of things to watch!) and the Bengals scored a TD where pass interference by the reciever was missed. shouldn't have stood and Bengals came within 2 minutes or so of winning the Superbowl. Officials WILL make mistakes in the future. Like I say it's part of sport until Ai takes it all over (and then humanity is stuffed!

).

I do see you your point about the other cars, but in all actuality it would have finished behind the SC....and how exactly would that be different to what happened for the other cars? It would have made no difference, all it would have done was gift wrap the title for Lewis. I do agree it reeks of Drive to survive (NEVER going to watch that, sounds awful), but in the end it was an actual race to the flag...still WAY better than a SC finish IMO. (I HATE SCs...thank GOD bikes are easy to move!)

Regarding the time frame, I'm certain that originally things were all set for a normal release of "all" lapped cars and a last lap shoot out (possible invoking of 15.3(e) to bring in SC early), but then Latifi's brakes caught fire and delayed the clear up, that (I think) threw Masi into a bit of a tizzy and he made a hash of things. But ultimately I believe the most deserving driver won the championship. Lewis was only in with a shout because of Max's misfortune and some stellar fortune for Lewis regarding red flag and engine change regs that turned the championship on it's head.

bi11y · Mar 23, 2022

Damage Inc said:
I do see you your point about the other cars, but in all actuality it would have finished behind the SC....and how exactly would that be different to what happened for the other cars?

All VER, GAS, TSU cars on the lead lap that made strategic choice to pit all gained position on the last lap as benefit of the calculated risk they took to stop, RIC and STR that were a lap behind were not allowed the chance.

These scenarios would have been different and fine from a competition point of view in my opinion:

1. Release all cars and restart for the final lap, Max wins a deserving championship and all competitors are give equal treatment. RIC and STR likely pick up a few places. Merc have a bit of a grumble but the consensus is that finishing under green is good so because other rules are followed the early safety car finish is not a problem.

2. Release no cars and restart the final lap. Max would probably win the title, there might be some mayhem with the rest due to blue flags and tyre differences. It would be proper racing for the final lap for sure.

3. Red flag the race with 2 laps to go due to clean up taking longer. Everyone gets new tyres, there a lap for an attack, and a second lap for counter attack or second attack - the winner would be 50% and either would be worthy champion. Plenty of precedent for red flags during the season.

I wonder if he had a brain snap and though group A will complain if they are released group B will complain if they are not, so lets split it and piss off as many people as possible. The team managers are acting like children who cares Max can have the title...

However, I don't think he would have come up with this weird interpretation due to his competent enough handing of the rest of the season. I think he got a call from the $ and was instructed, the report is a massive cover up and he will be promoted to a big $ role involving media silence and a severe non-disclosure contract.

Damage Inc said:
but then Latifi's brakes caught fire and delayed the clear up, that (I think) threw Masi into a bit of a tizzy and he made a hash of things.

Then, he should take option 3 above.

Damage Inc said:
But ultimately I believe the most deserving driver won the championship. Lewis was only in with a shout because of Max's misfortune and some stellar fortune for Lewis regarding red flag and engine change regs that turned the championship on it's head.

I agree, and I don't have a problem with the championship outcome. I am just depressed by the sporting integrity for the rest of the field - I should know better that F1 has been and more toxicly obsessed with the WDC title and win counts etc.

The only asterisk in my mind is the inconsistent steward decisions through the year setup some precedent such that the stewards have also have manipulated somewhat for the show. The Brazil no action was ridiculous and then the delay in time to request Max yield the position in Saudi was a bit of a farce and contributed to the shenanigans there.

Sasha Jednak · Mar 24, 2022

About red flag topic, did they finally change rules so that you can't change stuff on car? And with all the tech that they got, what about re-starting all cars in order and distance on track before red flag? Whole technology for that is there, but nope chosen not to be used.

Damage Inc · Mar 24, 2022

bi11y said:
All VER, GAS, TSU cars on the lead lap that made strategic choice to pit all gained position on the last lap as benefit of the calculated risk they took to stop, RIC and STR that were a lap behind were not allowed the chance.

These scenarios would have been different and fine from a competition point of view in my opinion:

1. Release all cars and restart for the final lap, Max wins a deserving championship and all competitors are give equal treatment. RIC and STR likely pick up a few places. Merc have a bit of a grumble but the consensus is that finishing under green is good so because other rules are followed the early safety car finish is not a problem.

2. Release no cars and restart the final lap. Max would probably win the title, there might be some mayhem with the rest due to blue flags and tyre differences. It would be proper racing for the final lap for sure.

3. Red flag the race with 2 laps to go due to clean up taking longer. Everyone gets new tyres, there a lap for an attack, and a second lap for counter attack or second attack - the winner would be 50% and either would be worthy champion. Plenty of precedent for red flags during the season.

I wonder if he had a brain snap and though group A will complain if they are released group B will complain if they are not, so lets split it and piss off as many people as possible. The team managers are acting like children who cares Max can have the title...

However, I don't think he would have come up with this weird interpretation due to his competent enough handing of the rest of the season. I think he got a call from the $ and was instructed, the report is a massive cover up and he will be promoted to a big $ role involving media silence and a severe non-disclosure contract.

Then, he should take option 3 above.

I agree, and I don't have a problem with the championship outcome. I am just depressed by the sporting integrity for the rest of the field - I should know better that F1 has been and more toxicly obsessed with the WDC title and win counts etc.

The only asterisk in my mind is the inconsistent steward decisions through the year setup some precedent such that the stewards have also have manipulated somewhat for the show. The Brazil no action was ridiculous and then the delay in time to request Max yield the position in Saudi was a bit of a farce and contributed to the shenanigans there.

Largely agree, apart from the red flag. I'm certain in the rules a red flag is only for when lives are in danger if the track stays live. I'd only accept it if as Sasha eludes to above that under a red flag the cars are put in parc ferme and cannot be touched. If damaged then those cars stay in the pits then when the race restarts the mechanics can repair the car and send the car out.

I'm not so sure it was $, because in reality Lewis winning an eighth title would have been a serious money maker, especially in the US/Africa, 2 markets F1 (and the Euro car brands) want to expand into. I'm still certain the only consideration was a racing finish regardless of who won.

BrunoBæ · Mar 24, 2022

GP20 said:
Magnussen grew up, lol what a joke. How many corners did he missed? He still drives bad.

GP20 · Mar 26, 2022

RichardHessels said:
He jumped in a car he never drove before. A year of no F1 driving at all.
Cars are much heavier, 910 kilos with full fuel.
Especially at the start of the race these boats have massive understeer.
And their brakes are on the edge of getting overheated all the time.
If you still finish that high in the points, those few errors are forgiven.

For the other drivers that's not the same deal?

Bad drivers have always excuses (and bad afficionados too

).

2022 Formula One Bahrain Grand Prix

Who will win the Bahrain Grand Prix?

Max Verstappen

Lewis Hamilton

Sergio Perez

George Russell

Charles Leclerc

Carlos Sainz

Lando Norris

Daniel Ricciardo

Other driver

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