F1 2022 Discussion Thread

[GrandSlamFinale]

After many weeks and months of waiting, we finally have an F1 discussion thread on MN!

Anyone who wants to join is welcome - regardless of how long you've been watching the sport or who you support. My only request is that we keep it respectful even when criticising our favourite driver's rivals.

We're in Barcelona this weekend for round 6 of what has been a thriller of a championship so far. I'm really excited to see how the race unfolds today, if overtaking will prove as difficult as it historically has here, if the Mercs have done a step forward in race pace, how RB and Ferrari will play around with strategy and tyres.

I'm really pleased that on his debut for Williams in F1, Nyck De Vries managed not only to get points on the board, but he got Driver of the Day too!

It was a bit of a meh race and I'm finding a lot of the races a bit meh too. I thought the new car designs and the closer racing was supposed to stop a single team having such dominance, but clearly not. Apart from the Ferrari strategy team making some strange calls throughout the season so far, it's been a bit boring to be honest.

I was seriously having flashbacks when they mentioned the possibility of finishing the race under the safety car....at least it turned out not to be another Abu Dhabi....

Furious that they finished under a safety car. Couldn't do that last year oh no but today it's fine. Should have been red flagged and restarted.

I would have thought for safety reasons alone the race should have been stopped. A car and a breakdown vehicle so close to the track and yet they let the race continue!

Also a restart with LeClerc on newer tyres could have been interesting. It's so boring this year just seeing Mr Golden Boots win week after week after week

I wonder how long does it take to recover from appendicitis? I wonder if De Vries will be around again in Singapore for Williams? That would really put Latifi's spot in serious doubt.

@mydogisthebest - I was frustrated last year watching the Abu Dhabi race because only some of the lapped cars were allowed to unlap themselves but I think they dealt with it well today. They followed the rules today.

They really would have been caught between a rock and a hard spot today - entirely based around what happened in Abu Dhabi in 2021. They would be damned if they did and if they didn't.

I was genuinely hearing Toto in my head saying "No, Michael, No!!!!!" and throwing his headphones on the table with such force when they mentioned the safety car in the final laps.

I couldn't agree more!

I thought latifi wasn't coming back after this season? It would be good to have De Vries in the main line up!

I know they followed the rules today, bloody shame they didn't follow them last year.

It annoys me because I can't stand Verstappen and would like to have seen him and LeClerc restart. LeClerc may not have won but he had newer tyres so it could have been possible.

Also it was dangerous to have a car and a breakdown vehicle so close to the track. I thought in those circumstances it was meant to be red flagged.

They just seem to change the rules as it suits them

It is interesting that in Abu Dhabi it was RBR up against their closest rival for the championship at the time which was Mercedes and RBR managed to come off best in that instance.
In Monza, it was RBR up against their closest rival (though not this time for the championship), Ferrari, and yet again, RBR managed to come off best.

The constant in both of those situations is RBR.

It does go to show that in Abu Dhabi, Masi was at fault for not applying the rules as they were written and intended to be used. He was instrumental in deciding which driver ended up winning the F1 World Drivers Championship for 2021.

This year, Max has it in the bag and much as I dislike the guy, he deserves this championship. He has driven out of his skin this year. He just needs to show up and finish in the top 10 now for the final races of the season. Even if Charles was to win every single race from now to the end of the season, Max has it won. He can win it outright with no further challenges if he wins in Singapore in 3 weeks time. Last year however, he didn't deserve to win.

I'm not exactly happy with the statement from the FIA about how they were able to finish under the safety car, when they essentially disputed that they could do that in Abu Dhabi. I think Mercedes should consider challenging the ruling, even at this stage, to the outcome of that race.

I agree. It seems very much in RBR favour every single time

Fantastic drive by de Vries who seemed to have made the step up from F2 with ease; (Latifi must be seriously worried); always glad to see Russell on the podium; and yet another questionable pit stop strategy by Ferrari. Overall, not a vintage one at Monza this year.

Yikes, I’ve just seen that Alex Albon suffered respiratory failure and was treated in intensive care after his appendix operation on Saturday (BBC story). Thank goodness he appears to now be doing well. Hope he has a smooth recovery from this point.

Wow, how scary! Hope he recovers well now.

Eeek! That's scary! Glad he's on the mend!

Is it a bit optimistic for the team to think he will race in Singapore?

Agree. I think I was reading that for some people, it can take up to 6 weeks to recover from the operation for appendicitis. I would imagine that while Alex may be given the all clear to leave hospital, it probably won't have been given the all clear to excert several G-Forces on his injury. We may yet see De Vries in Singapore, stepping in for him.

I can't see Alex driving in Singapore. I am sure his recovery won't take too long as he is young, fit and healthy but that would seem too soon really.

Small point of order.

The race did not 'finish under a safety car'. The SC pulled off after Parabolica and the field crossed the line under full green conditions.

Formula1.com has said that Verstappen takes his first ever Italian GP win behind the safety car...
www.formula1.com/en/latest/article.verstappen-takes-his-first-ever-italian-grand-prix-win-behind-the-safety-car.3Jo49yrxzyLb1G4FPtePdV.html

Make of that what you will @XDownwiththissortofthingX .

Don't know if any of you have seen the chaos of Silverstone's ticket release for next year's race? I think we've decided it's a no from us, for the first time in over a decade 😕

I wondered if any of you have experience with taking young childeen to races abroad and if there's any you'd recommend going to, or keeping clear of! Our children love F1, between them have done Silverstone 6 times, but they are 3 and 5, so for example, I am not sure that a race like Zandvoort is the place for us.

The places that I would go to for a F1 race would be Silverstone, Spa (weather permitting) and if there was a race there, Canada or Houston (COTA).

They seem to have the best atmosphere.

I was surprised to read about the ticketing issues for Silverstone '23 but that is the exception rather than the norm so I'd not rule it out. It also seems to be very well run and safety-wise seems to be one of the better ones for the paying fans.

Silverstone is well and truly ruled out! If we bought our normal tickets, we'll be paying over 50% more than last year! No thank you, the price rises have been unjustified, fans are being taken for a ride. Which is a shame because it has been great to take kids too.
COTA and Canada are maybes. Spa is more likely, and it might fall in school holidays too, but not sure it would be good with young children. Was hoping someone might have been with kids to one or two racss and could share their experience. Monza is high on our list, or maybe Hungary. If there's even any tickets left!

I bought tickets for hungary last week but they are really selling fast. Flights and hotel will have to be booked later when the date is confirmed but its usually the last weekend of july. We will have DS 9 & 4 with us.

I had Monza booked in 2020 but then that didnt go ahead. It was impossible to get tickets for Monza this year. I was on the list to get an email notification when ticket sales opened. By the time I got the mail, the tickets had sold out.

Thanks @Autumnwinterspringsummer. Hungary will be a great race to watch, I hope you enjoy it! I thought I heard there been talk that the British and Hungarian GPs swapping places in the race order, but can't remember where I saw it now.

We have resigned ourselves to not being able to watch live F1 next year I think, especially with tickets flying out like that. It's great to see the sport thriving, I hope not at its expense though.

Latifi is gone from Williams at the end of the season!
wtf1.com/post/williams-confirm-latifi-wont-be-staying-with-the-team-next-year/

The writing was on the wall on this one. I wonder who they will get in to the second seat to partner Alex Albon for 2023?

Any ideas???

Also - Monaco will be staying ON the calendar until at least 2025.

<snooze fest> It's just a procession circuit and it has had it's time on the calendar. Time to let a different circuit have a go...but not another Miami as that's a silly circuit too.
<end snooze fest>

Surely de Vries is on their radar, unless another team ends up shuffling their drivers and makes him a more appealing offer? I thought he looked the biz at Monza.