JAPANESE FORMULA ONE GRAND PRIX at Suzuka

[StevB]

JAPANESE FORMULA ONE GRAND PRIX at Suzuka
Race Sunday April 7 6am


Qualifying

1) Max Verstappen, [Red Bull]
2) Sergio Perez, [Red Bull]
3) Lando Norris, [McLaren]
4) Carlos Sainz, [Ferrari]
5) Fernando Alonso, [Aston Martin]
6) Oscar Piastri, [McLaren]
7) Lewis Hamilton, [Mercedes]
8) Charles Leclerc, [Ferrari]
9) George Russell, [Mercedes]
10) Yuki Tsunoda, [RB]

11) Daniel Ricciardo, [RB]
12) Nico Hulkenberg, [Haas]
13) Valtteri Bottas, [Sauber]
14) Alex Albon, [Williams]
15) Esteban Ocon, [Alpine]

16) Lance Stroll, [Aston Martin]
17) Pierre Gasly, [Alpine]
18) Kevin Magnussen, [Haas]
19) Logan Sargeant, [Williams]
20) Zhou Guanyu, [Sauber]

George Russell to see the stewards after qualifying, after overtaking Oscar Piastri in the pit lane.

[mascol]

Another masterclass from Max, lets hope somebody can bring a bit of a race to him tomorrow.
Thanks Steve, this is such a demanding race track

[Corsasport]

JAPANESE FORMULA ONE GRAND PRIX at Suzuka
Race Sunday April 7 6am


Qualifying

1) Max Verstappen, [Red Bull]
2) Sergio Perez, [Red Bull]
3) Lando Norris, [McLaren]
4) Carlos Sainz, [Ferrari]
5) Fernando Alonso, [Aston Martin]
6) Oscar Piastri, [McLaren]
7) Lewis Hamilton, [Mercedes]
8) Charles Leclerc, [Ferrari]
9) George Russell, [Mercedes]
10) Yuki Tsunoda, [RB]

11) Daniel Ricciardo, [RB]
12) Nico Hulkenberg, [Haas]
13) Valtteri Bottas, [Sauber]
14) Alex Albon, [Williams]
15) Esteban Ocon, [Alpine]

16) Lance Stroll, [Aston Martin]
17) Pierre Gasly, [Alpine]
18) Kevin Magnussen, [Haas]
19) Logan Sargeant, [Williams]
20) Zhou Guanyu, [Sauber]

George Russell to see the stewards after qualifying, after overtaking Oscar Piastri in the pit lane.

It looked in practice that Mercedes had made some gains,
But that was all knocked on the head in qualifying,
Everything back to normal,
How Mercedes can waste so much money on uncompetitive cars for 3 years running now is unbelievable.

[StevB]

It looked in practice that Mercedes had made some gains,
But that was all knocked on the head in qualifying,
Everything back to normal,
How Mercedes can waste so much money on uncompetitive cars for 3 years running now is unbelievable.

That has been the story of Mercedes, especially with Lewis Hamilton. "Best car set up for ages", goes well in practice and then doesn't in qualifying, or goes well in practice and qualifying and falls apart in the race.

The design of cars at the moment seem hard to set-up and Mercedes have not cracked it. What they are seeing in computer simulations, and sometimes in practice sessions, they are not reproducing in race conditions. They started with a radical design, hoping it would be much better than the rest. That did not work, but they took the attitude it "should work" and persevered when perhaps they should have tried something else. They have put a lot of effort into something that did not work and now they are trying to catch up.

I suspect it is a bit like clay pigeon shooting. Shooting well and hitting the clays dead centre, all is well. Slightly off, and maybe you hit one slightly low, high, behind or front, doesn't matter, still counts and you get a indication and a warning that your shot was slightly off and you know how to correct it. But, if you are missing and you have no idea whether you are going high, low, front, or behind the clay and even the best shot will have a problem. This is I think Mercedes, they don't really have handle on what their problem is.

[StevB]

George Russell has escaped a penalty. Could have been judged an unsafe release. I suspect stewards are more lenient in practice and qualifying.
Had he done the same in a race I suspect he would have been penalised.

Mercedes have received a €5,000 fine. That won't worry the team much. Lot better than having their driver penalised.

[mascol]

It looked in practice that Mercedes had made some gains,
But that was all knocked on the head in qualifying,
Everything back to normal,
How Mercedes can waste so much money on uncompetitive cars for 3 years running now is unbelievable.

Mercs domination when the turbo hybrid era started is possibly the biggest reason why they are where they are now. They have lost a good number of their top staff since then, some headhunted by other top teams, some maybe wanted more of a challenge and went to lower teams.
Yes you are right since the regulation change about the aero floors their car has been very average.
Back when Merc was dominant they still had their achilles heel of slower tight and twisty circuits but Red Bull seem to have a car that is flawless, which makes for a dull season. Pity

[Corsasport]

Mercs domination when the turbo hybrid era started is possibly the biggest reason why they are where they are now. They have lost a good number of their top staff since then, some headhunted by other top teams, some maybe wanted more of a challenge and went to lower teams.
Yes you are right since the regulation change about the aero floors their car has been very average.
Back when Merc was dominant they still had their achilles heel of slower tight and twisty circuits but Red Bull seem to have a car that is flawless, which makes for a dull season. Pity

Mr Toto wolf has a lot to answer for,
The amount of money he has wasted for nothing 3 years running now is ridiculous

[mascol]

Mr Toto wolf has a lot to answer for,
The amount of money he has wasted for nothing 3 years running now is ridiculous

With the drivers that they have they should definitely should have had at least a sniff at a win now and then. The car's aero and power delivery must be a complete shambles.
Toto's a big guy and I would say if he was ris he would be a handful, but if you want to tell him to his face he's a useless c*nt I'll be there behind you..... well maybe 100 or so meters behind you!
Merc and Ferrari had annual budgets of something like $500m, the past few years that has been capped at 140 or so, still a lot of cash but that kind of drop must be hard to overcome.

[Corsasport]

With the drivers that they have they should definitely should have had at least a sniff at a win now and then. The car's aero and power delivery must be a complete shambles.
Toto's a big guy and I would say if he was ris he would be a handful, but if you want to tell him to his face he's a useless c*nt I'll be there behind you..... well maybe 100 or so meters behind you!
Merc and Ferrari had annual budgets of something like $500m, the past few years that has been capped at 140 or so, still a lot of cash but that kind of drop must be hard to overcome.

Right buddy lets go and have some words with him here lol

[Rachel Divine]

It takes years to develop the best car.

Let's enjoy this race!

PS. Soo early.....