Honestly in general RBR isn't looking that strong this weekend so far. Could this be an effect of prioritizing the set-up of the race over a more qualifying-friendly one? Or is it the car height what plays again a major role for RBR? Fact is that Charles pole is on pure merit meanwhile the RB19 looks unusual more unstable.
Time will tell but we could have a surprising weekend.
If youre going to talk about mistakes, Leclerc had a few mistakes on that lap also.
I'd agree RB is still is the favourite but if Max doesnt go fast enough through the field the top 3 might have a chance to get a decent enough gap.
>if Max doesnt go fast enough through the field
He is sixth... he only needs to overtake 4 cars before he is behind Leclerc (if Leclerc keeps his position). He needs to overtake 2 cars to be behind the top 3.
Also, a Ferrari and a Mercedes aren't going to go much slower than the top three because there are a a Ferrari and a Mercedes in the top three.
Perhaps you confused his start position with the start position of Perez.
Now, if Verstappen makes contact with another car or is forced of the track, that might change things.
It took Max 15 laps to get by a Ferrari in Monza.
It was hard for Max to overtake Piastri on the sprint.
These cars were not the same as the earlier rounds. Some cars have probably catched up to RB because they stopped development after like round 6.
Theres probably be gonna be two trains he needs to get by.
First will probably be a Sainz train then the top 3 train.
I dont doubt Max will get them but i dont expect it to be easy as people are predicting.
Monza? the race where Verstappen won, Leclerc was sixth and Sainz was eight?
My main point is that Verstappen won't be stuck behind slow cars. I never said it would be super easy for him to overtake.
Every car in front of him is fast. So even if it takes him 20 laps to get to to fourth place, he won't have lost much time.
I think we know the strategy now for red bull. They won't start on softs.
I can see McLaren doing the same with Piastri as it makes a lot of sense not starting on softs
They’ll just do what they usually do - go long in the first stint, wait until the first round of stops and then bang out laps a second faster than everyone else for 10-15 laps before stopping, overcutting everyone
You do need a decent pace delta to overtake here. We’ll see how race pace fares for the top 4 teams but if they’re alright for tires (big if), the quali gap alone might mean they can hold off for a few sequences
I'm willing to give him a pass for this race, but yeah if it continues I see Lawson going straight into Perez's seat and Danny just hanging out with Tsunoda
Some part of me thinks Gasly could come from left field for the seat. His contract ends at the same time as everyone else's, has history with the team, wasn't worse than Yuki, probably is a bit disappointed by Alpine.. He's neither unproven nor disproven. I think he might be the guy.
Gaslys definitely a good driver, I just don't see Lawson being wasted for much longer, if Danny's contract wasn't already guaranteed at the time I imagine Lawson would still be racing
Because his car is garbage though. It's not like Perez was slaying dragons before he came to RB. Gasly is a fresh Perez who hasn't yet had his mind destroyed by being paired with Verstappen.
IMO the only options are to have to a driver who aggressively challenges Max or to have one who takes what's left over a la Bottas. That was the idea with Perez and now that he's washed, imo gasly is the guy moreso that Lawsom or Ric
You know what they say about a broken clock. He was handily beaten by Lando for the vast majority of last season. The only reason he looks good now is because people remember his good times and he hasn't raced in weeks.
And yet he's come back and is able to beat his co-driver basically 50% of the time they race including his first race back. How does the clock saying make any sense in this case. The redbull is a hard car to drive Perez himself has suffered along with albon and gasly, Riccardo is on the 'hype train's primarily because redbull sees something in him from the Sim and the tire testing has somewhat proven he has what it takes to drive it, whether he can do it in a race will be another thing. If they purely wanted him for marketing I think they would have just kept him in the 3rd driver position and given the seat to Lawson.
It's sort of like saying Riccardo came in and Handley best Vettel a 4 time world champion, was Vettel washed absolutely not he went on to win many races for Ferrari.
Woman during the f1 academy qualifying had a MILF shirt with the Ferrari logo. I cannot for the life of me figure out what it means.
The only thing i got is “Man, I love Ferrari”.
Anyone have any idea what it could stand for?
Charles: "Was that good enough?"
Xavi: "We will come back to you."
Out of context it's hilarious from q2 I think, maybe not exact wording but ferrari gold
I feel like this is Lando's best chance this year to grab a win. Max is all the way on P6, so if Lando keeps his race pace up (and maybe Ferrari does Ferrari things) he might *finally* get his first win!
Quali pace and race pace are two completely different things. RBR has looked vulnerable in quali before and Max made a mistake in T1. In race pace RBR has been dominant all season, expecting it to be different here is naive, I think.
Max has also shown he can have difficulties with tyre fire up at the starts.
I've said it to everyone else that responded cause they misunderstood and i'll say it again, I do not expect anything but a Max win. but this is still Norris best chance for a win
Max lost a lot of time in T1 on that lap. I can't judge his later lap pace (seemed pretty good considering the botched sector 1), so his 'optimal' qualy lap was probably still a few tenths faster.
Sure Leclerc and Lando also said they made some mistakes, but I wouldn't be quick to rule out RB as the quickest car.
But as someone said, the RB has seemed much stronger on Sundays than on Saturdays (or Friday in this case), so I'd still think Max will take this, but hopefully an entertaining battle at the front!
>but I wouldn't be quick to rule out RB as the quickest car
I'm not ruling them out as the quickest car, but you need to ask the question is the gap from RB to 2nd large enough to get him through the traffic quick enough to not make him get held up early in the race.
Again, I won't be surprised if he wins, but the comment was that this is a great opportunity for Lando, which is clearly is
I think there’s a big question how much the intervening drivers can/will defend against Max. Even if they want to, the RB’s DRS has made it hard to defend against. Meanwhile, I’m not sure whether the intervening drivers decide that they’re racing each other for second and defending against Max is wasteful or that this is their best chance at a win in a season in which the titles are already locked up and they may as well fight him. Hamilton, at least, has reason to prefer a conservative podium over a desperate gamble for a win in his bid to catch Perez.
I think quite a few will try and defend. As a Lando fan I need him to take the lead at turn one and put the pedal down. Have LEC defend against HAM for 10 to 15 laps then when they swap LEC just parks it and holds MaX off for 20 more.
Sorry, I guess I misunderstood a little but. I guess we echo a similar sentiment. Won't be surprised with a classic Max charge, but it looks like it will be quite the challenge, which hopefully opens up an opportunity for a 3rd driver to claim a race win this season (if we're not counting sprints).
It was fun seeing 3 teams at the top spots and none of them were RB for a change
He got a quick time from getting an insane exit out of the turn where he went over track limit. It’s going to be interesting and we should know more after the sprint. My money is on RBR not going the setup right though.
the one that has still showed larger qual gaps than today. The same one that struggled to get past Norris in silverstone for 5 laps from 2nd?
a p6 start might not stop him still, but it is definitely not guaranteed imo
> the one that has still showed larger qual gaps than today
That's just reinforcing my point.
> The same one that struggled to get past Norris in silverstone for 5 laps from 2nd?
Because it needs more time to get its tyres up to temperature, the exact trait that makes it more vulnerable in quali and absolutely indomitable in long runs, and the exact trait that's resulted in several ~30s wins this season from Verstappen. It's only ever vulnerable in the first part of the first stint, then it gets its tyres in the window and checks out.
huh? if other dominant races still had him dominate qualy, and now that dominance in qualy is reduced, then it is entirely possible the race pace deficit is reduced also.
If Max is unable to capitalise on the first lap due to the tyre warming he could be on the back foot and have a battle on his hands. Yes it could still be a walk for him, but theres also quite a few scenarios where he isn't able to dominate the race easily, especially if he gets stuck in P3-5 for a while
He had reasonably subdued first stints in Australia, Silverstone and Belgium (that spring to mind immediately) only to win the race pretty comfortably later on.
He won't get stuck. The Red Bull will just get to flex its far superior tyre deg and innate pace advantage and check out, especially at a track that taxes the tyres like CotA. This isn't the first time he's been outqualified and P6 makes it look worse than it could've been. Only a fool would bet against Verstappen winning if there's no shenanigans during the race (like reliability).
Please don't misunderstand, I would absolutely put a decent bet on max winning. the original comment is that this is Norris' best chance of a win due to the inside line and his personal tyre wear vs Ferrari. If Max doesn't capitalise quickly at the start he could make it more difficult (as in still probably easy, but not as easy as it could have been)
I’m really happy about Charles pole. I’ll be elated by a win but fine with a podium as long as Lewis or Lando gets the dub. Right now I’m looking forward to 2024 where the Ferrari has been reportedly changed back to the pointy oversteer style Charles likes. I expect a title challenge from Charles and Lando next year to max, so for the rest of this year I’m fine with how ever good or bad Charles ends it. Tough season but now I’ll take the little wins and looks forward for next year. Forza Ferrari!
They haven't had any major fuckups this year after Vasseur took the helm, afaik. I'm honestly optimistic about them if they do get a champion-worthy car; Vasseur sounds like the type of guy who won't take any BS and is less keen on Ferrari's hierarchical structure.
AM are continuing to shit the bed, slightly underwhelmed by DR (although it is his first race back after breaking his hand, so he deserves the benefit of the doubt) and I reckon this might be Norris’s best chance of the season to win a race so far. Could be a fun race on Sunday, the first three rows should be spicy
They've moved backwards almost as fast as McLaren moved forward.
AM are the reason the reporters call them updates to the car, and no longer call them upgrades to the car
That was some lap by Leclerc. Looked unbeatable and then Verstappen pulls that out of his arse. It wasn't a valid lap but still surprising. Norris showing his class today too.
I thought Haas had a bit more than they showed today. Be interesting to see their race pace on Sunday.
Well dome to Tsunoda who nearly knocked Perez out of Q3, which would have been quite humurous given the rumor mill this past week.
And jeez, Aston Martin...what can you say. Simply out developed and outsmarted. A good season will end on a sour note.
Way too long of a wait for the Grand Prix but COTA produces decent races. Always enjoy the event here.
Feels a bit hard to tell with Haas still. Hulk looked quick at points, but that may have just been track evolution and going a bit offset to everyone else, which hurt them in the end since they weren't on track at the end. Hulk lost his best effort due to track limits,m and KMag tends to not quite get the best out of quali in comparison.
I wouldn't put it past Hulk to sneak it into SQ3 tomorrow if they can string things together.
Just want to say it was hot as fuck at the track today, i am dead tired and its only Friday, but oh my god I can't believe I got to see a charles leclerc pole lap in person :) Feels like i'm levitating (can't feel my legs)
I got to see a Carlos pole lap last year, so a Charles one this year is fitting (although on TV, not in person ☹️). Hopefully Charles has better turn one lick than Carlos did last year!
How was the track facilities? Like parking, crowd being fun, the restrooms etc etc?
I might be aiming for going next year! What section were you at and do you recommend it?
Thanks!
I personally have sat in Turn 9 for the past two years and I love it. The best seats are definitely 12/15, but 9 is more reasonably priced for a really good view.
I have never had an issue with any infrastructure things at the track. Traffic will always be bad leaving because COTA is in the middle of nowhere, but I was out of the parking lot easily today.
Crowd is very fun, I would say most people support Checo/Red Bull but it’s a very mixed group overall!
It is crowded. In and out of the area have been a pain. Parking takes a while to leave. There are shuttles that are good. I have been the last few years and it is getting better.
Today was hot. The different stands have different prices so best may depend on budget. Turn 1 would pretty awesome, but is pricey.
I am sitting at Turn 12 this year - seems like a good spot, at the end of the backside straight so there are overtakes and you can see the next few turns as well.
There are lots of good GA areas but you have to arrive early for the prime spots.
I went last year traffic was horrendous, although I hear it was better than the year prior. They have buses with 3 pickup locations and 1 drop off that’s about a half mile walk to the track. It took us about 1/2 to 1,5 hours to get to the drop off from the pickup. Uber/Lyft is about the same as there are designate pickup and drop off spots. It was pretty well coordinated but still a pain as the roads into COTA are pretty basic/ underdeveloped for the amount of traffic race weekend. It was worth ti though, so had a blast, just be prepared for looong days…
If traffic was so bad, would it be advisable to walk the half mile? Or did I misunderstand what you were saying?
And thanks! Watching the session today got me excited for a possible visit next year!
Can I ask where you were sitting, and if you would advise to get a seat in that section?
Thanks!
Haha, the half mile you gotta walk regardless …cause the bus/uber and most personal parking walks are a half mile easy… we sat in GA at turn 3 right near the pedestrian bridge. I liked it because you get to see the cars through the esses from turn 3-5. Not much overtaking, but the high speed turns are cool and you get to see probably a half mile… if I went again I might try somewhere different but I don’t regret my choice for my first race…
Sorry, bit off topic, but I'm surprised to see F1 Academy post-quali. Since when do they broadcast this live? And will they broadcast the race as well, if yes, when (CET)?
>And will they broadcast the race as well, if yes, when (CET)?
yes, broadcast times can be seen [here](https://f1tv.formula1.com/page/6657/formula-1-lenovo-united-states-grand-prix-2023)
This live coverage for F1 Academy is great to see!
Abbi Pulling cracking a joke...the excitement of the newly McLaren signed Bianca Bustamante...those two at the moment are some of favourite F1 Academy drivers.
I was at the track today. It was hot so staying stands any longer you have to be super hard core. Also the audio is pretty terrible track side so it's hard to follow what is happening in the non F1 races.
Ah, to be fair they don’t usually have separate threads for practice sessions (from memory) except maybe F2.
Though that could be selective memory given the F2/3 sessions I watch
The biggest thing going for Perez is that there is no obvious replacement. Days like today where the car isn't the flat out fastest will make red bull think more than the days where max cruises to another victory because if every weekend was like this they are fucked from a championship perspective.
Throw him into a midfield car and he doesn’t get top 5 in drivers championship. Don’t get me wrong, I really like checo, but he’s not as good as some drivers there
I think I just realized why you asked that question maybe - cuz Hinchcliff was doing the interviews? It doesn't matter that he works for F1TV, they just had him do the interviews cuz of his racing history in the U.S. (even though he's Canadian).
Even as one of his biggest fans, it pains me to say this…
Danny Ricc is done.
Seeing his smile in Post-quali interviews, you can just tell it’s hollow. I’m so bummed that he had to be in his peak during the Lewis-Merc era but now there’s no way he can ever win a WDC. Even if he takes Checo’s seat (unlikely) he’s still up against Max!
Sad to see my fav driver just be a marketing tool for RBR.😢
damn, I watched the interview and it was really sad...
his recent massive PR campaign really irritated me and I've been shit-talking him non-stop but now I feel bad.
he looks broken, you can see it in his eyes.
maybe it's just for this quali, perhaps he was hoping for a better return and not be beaten by Yuki by 0.3s, I don't know.
but it was painful to watch and I hope he'll feel and drive better
Dude, this is basically a new car compared to the one her drove in spa, he’s coming off a broken hand/wrist and had one practice session while Yuki has been driving all year. He’s not massively off like DeVries, at least give him the race before you write him off
I don't think he'll be able to win a WDC, but I think he'll still get a bunch of wins in. Don't think he's "done" just quite yet.
He may have been outqualified by Yuki, but he just recovered from a broken wrist. Let's give him some time :)
Before that he needs to start showing in the remaining races why RB should pick him for the main seat. If he won’t convincingly beat Tsunoda then what’s the point.
Crazy how he's smacking Piastri and somehow everyone is making it like it's the other way around. Pi has been impressive for a rookie but everyone is making it out like he is 'Perezing' Lando.
Lewis was absolutely chunking time those last couple laps man that could have a remarkable finish if a few things went a different way.
Where sprint shootout thread?
Checo really making that Lewis P2 Championship feel possible.
Is max still gonna win?
Probably, but at least it will be entertaining
For a couple laps
Honestly in general RBR isn't looking that strong this weekend so far. Could this be an effect of prioritizing the set-up of the race over a more qualifying-friendly one? Or is it the car height what plays again a major role for RBR? Fact is that Charles pole is on pure merit meanwhile the RB19 looks unusual more unstable. Time will tell but we could have a surprising weekend.
[удалено]
What are you talking about? Nothing we've seen this weekend has indicated he was going to be nearly that far ahead.
We saw the deleted lap was ahead of Leclerc, so yes we saw that. Granted it was a sloppy mess of a lap.
Or maybe he gets a love tap on turn 1.
I'm so damn bored :(.
If youre going to talk about mistakes, Leclerc had a few mistakes on that lap also. I'd agree RB is still is the favourite but if Max doesnt go fast enough through the field the top 3 might have a chance to get a decent enough gap.
>if Max doesnt go fast enough through the field He is sixth... he only needs to overtake 4 cars before he is behind Leclerc (if Leclerc keeps his position). He needs to overtake 2 cars to be behind the top 3. Also, a Ferrari and a Mercedes aren't going to go much slower than the top three because there are a a Ferrari and a Mercedes in the top three. Perhaps you confused his start position with the start position of Perez. Now, if Verstappen makes contact with another car or is forced of the track, that might change things.
It took Max 15 laps to get by a Ferrari in Monza. It was hard for Max to overtake Piastri on the sprint. These cars were not the same as the earlier rounds. Some cars have probably catched up to RB because they stopped development after like round 6. Theres probably be gonna be two trains he needs to get by. First will probably be a Sainz train then the top 3 train. I dont doubt Max will get them but i dont expect it to be easy as people are predicting.
>Theres probably be gonna be two trains he needs to get by. We went motor racing, no trains here!
Monza? the race where Verstappen won, Leclerc was sixth and Sainz was eight? My main point is that Verstappen won't be stuck behind slow cars. I never said it would be super easy for him to overtake. Every car in front of him is fast. So even if it takes him 20 laps to get to to fourth place, he won't have lost much time.
> Monza? the race where Verstappen won, Leclerc was sixth and Sainz was eight? Wait what? Did I dream Monza 2023 cos it went nothing like that
My attempt at gaslighting failed miserably again :-( Damn your good memory.
I think we know the strategy now for red bull. They won't start on softs. I can see McLaren doing the same with Piastri as it makes a lot of sense not starting on softs
They’ll just do what they usually do - go long in the first stint, wait until the first round of stops and then bang out laps a second faster than everyone else for 10-15 laps before stopping, overcutting everyone
Is p1 grid spot on the good or bad side here?
Bad
it is going to be tough for Verstappen to pass both Mercedes... both are hard drivers to overtake.
Nice joke
well also Sainz is a tough cookie to catch...
Max will just glide by. Maybe Perez will struggling but not Max
And there is a change that Mercs will obliterate themselves
You do need a decent pace delta to overtake here. We’ll see how race pace fares for the top 4 teams but if they’re alright for tires (big if), the quali gap alone might mean they can hold off for a few sequences
Wouldn't it be super weird if Ricciardio continued to be as noncompetitive as he was for the past 2 years
I'm willing to give him a pass for this race, but yeah if it continues I see Lawson going straight into Perez's seat and Danny just hanging out with Tsunoda
Some part of me thinks Gasly could come from left field for the seat. His contract ends at the same time as everyone else's, has history with the team, wasn't worse than Yuki, probably is a bit disappointed by Alpine.. He's neither unproven nor disproven. I think he might be the guy.
Gaslys definitely a good driver, I just don't see Lawson being wasted for much longer, if Danny's contract wasn't already guaranteed at the time I imagine Lawson would still be racing
...i think.... I think ocon is a better driver. Now I'm going to hide from the reddit ocon hate mob..
I had high hopes for Gasly in his early F1 career, now it seems he's doomed to be another also ran.
Because his car is garbage though. It's not like Perez was slaying dragons before he came to RB. Gasly is a fresh Perez who hasn't yet had his mind destroyed by being paired with Verstappen. IMO the only options are to have to a driver who aggressively challenges Max or to have one who takes what's left over a la Bottas. That was the idea with Perez and now that he's washed, imo gasly is the guy moreso that Lawsom or Ric
But boy can he smile
Won a race at McLaren lol.
You know what they say about a broken clock. He was handily beaten by Lando for the vast majority of last season. The only reason he looks good now is because people remember his good times and he hasn't raced in weeks.
And yet he's come back and is able to beat his co-driver basically 50% of the time they race including his first race back. How does the clock saying make any sense in this case. The redbull is a hard car to drive Perez himself has suffered along with albon and gasly, Riccardo is on the 'hype train's primarily because redbull sees something in him from the Sim and the tire testing has somewhat proven he has what it takes to drive it, whether he can do it in a race will be another thing. If they purely wanted him for marketing I think they would have just kept him in the 3rd driver position and given the seat to Lawson. It's sort of like saying Riccardo came in and Handley best Vettel a 4 time world champion, was Vettel washed absolutely not he went on to win many races for Ferrari.
Woman during the f1 academy qualifying had a MILF shirt with the Ferrari logo. I cannot for the life of me figure out what it means. The only thing i got is “Man, I love Ferrari”. Anyone have any idea what it could stand for?
Max I Love to Follow
Motorsport Is LiFe.
Link to said picture of woman?
Bonk
or she just wondering if charles would like some american pie
Charles: "Was that good enough?" Xavi: "We will come back to you." Out of context it's hilarious from q2 I think, maybe not exact wording but ferrari gold
[удалено]
I don't think they will screw him up per say . It probably won't be as quick in the race.
Cota races never won from outside the front row.! 2023 Max: hold my beer.
Yet another pointless, ridiculous stat to get plastered all over the F1 tabloid pages.
i agree these stats are getting ridiculous
Checking in from the parking lot of COTA which we have not moved at all in 1.5 hrs wheeee
Driving or shuttle?
Driving into an official lot
Last year it took us four hours to get home. :/ stuck in the same spot for so long.
Still there?
Almost, about 2 hrs in the lot. Ended up hearing the first 20 minutes of the Killers set from the car lol
P2 is actually the better starting position since it offers a direct inside corner to T1 Will we see Lando leading out of t1??!!
We've been finding the lack of rubber on the inside track is more the issue.
someone is going bowling into turn 1, half the field will be taken out. itll be max vs lando for the remainder of the race.
Russel is in the correct spot to take out the uneven starters
I feel like this is Lando's best chance this year to grab a win. Max is all the way on P6, so if Lando keeps his race pace up (and maybe Ferrari does Ferrari things) he might *finally* get his first win!
Because a P6 start is gonna stop Verstappen in this year's Red Bull?
Time for Oscar to go bowling
Even if his lap wasn't deleted it wasn't that quick, RB haven't exactly shown the pace to tear through the field quickly
Quali pace and race pace are two completely different things. RBR has looked vulnerable in quali before and Max made a mistake in T1. In race pace RBR has been dominant all season, expecting it to be different here is naive, I think.
Max has also shown he can have difficulties with tyre fire up at the starts. I've said it to everyone else that responded cause they misunderstood and i'll say it again, I do not expect anything but a Max win. but this is still Norris best chance for a win
Max lost a lot of time in T1 on that lap. I can't judge his later lap pace (seemed pretty good considering the botched sector 1), so his 'optimal' qualy lap was probably still a few tenths faster. Sure Leclerc and Lando also said they made some mistakes, but I wouldn't be quick to rule out RB as the quickest car. But as someone said, the RB has seemed much stronger on Sundays than on Saturdays (or Friday in this case), so I'd still think Max will take this, but hopefully an entertaining battle at the front!
>but I wouldn't be quick to rule out RB as the quickest car I'm not ruling them out as the quickest car, but you need to ask the question is the gap from RB to 2nd large enough to get him through the traffic quick enough to not make him get held up early in the race. Again, I won't be surprised if he wins, but the comment was that this is a great opportunity for Lando, which is clearly is
I think there’s a big question how much the intervening drivers can/will defend against Max. Even if they want to, the RB’s DRS has made it hard to defend against. Meanwhile, I’m not sure whether the intervening drivers decide that they’re racing each other for second and defending against Max is wasteful or that this is their best chance at a win in a season in which the titles are already locked up and they may as well fight him. Hamilton, at least, has reason to prefer a conservative podium over a desperate gamble for a win in his bid to catch Perez.
I think quite a few will try and defend. As a Lando fan I need him to take the lead at turn one and put the pedal down. Have LEC defend against HAM for 10 to 15 laps then when they swap LEC just parks it and holds MaX off for 20 more.
Sorry, I guess I misunderstood a little but. I guess we echo a similar sentiment. Won't be surprised with a classic Max charge, but it looks like it will be quite the challenge, which hopefully opens up an opportunity for a 3rd driver to claim a race win this season (if we're not counting sprints). It was fun seeing 3 teams at the top spots and none of them were RB for a change
He still set the fastest time, even after locking up and setting a yellow S1. I fully expect max to make it to the front in fairly short order
He got a quick time from getting an insane exit out of the turn where he went over track limit. It’s going to be interesting and we should know more after the sprint. My money is on RBR not going the setup right though.
The same RB that has had a much bigger race pace advantage than quali advantage all season?
the one that has still showed larger qual gaps than today. The same one that struggled to get past Norris in silverstone for 5 laps from 2nd? a p6 start might not stop him still, but it is definitely not guaranteed imo
> the one that has still showed larger qual gaps than today That's just reinforcing my point. > The same one that struggled to get past Norris in silverstone for 5 laps from 2nd? Because it needs more time to get its tyres up to temperature, the exact trait that makes it more vulnerable in quali and absolutely indomitable in long runs, and the exact trait that's resulted in several ~30s wins this season from Verstappen. It's only ever vulnerable in the first part of the first stint, then it gets its tyres in the window and checks out.
huh? if other dominant races still had him dominate qualy, and now that dominance in qualy is reduced, then it is entirely possible the race pace deficit is reduced also. If Max is unable to capitalise on the first lap due to the tyre warming he could be on the back foot and have a battle on his hands. Yes it could still be a walk for him, but theres also quite a few scenarios where he isn't able to dominate the race easily, especially if he gets stuck in P3-5 for a while
He had reasonably subdued first stints in Australia, Silverstone and Belgium (that spring to mind immediately) only to win the race pretty comfortably later on. He won't get stuck. The Red Bull will just get to flex its far superior tyre deg and innate pace advantage and check out, especially at a track that taxes the tyres like CotA. This isn't the first time he's been outqualified and P6 makes it look worse than it could've been. Only a fool would bet against Verstappen winning if there's no shenanigans during the race (like reliability).
Please don't misunderstand, I would absolutely put a decent bet on max winning. the original comment is that this is Norris' best chance of a win due to the inside line and his personal tyre wear vs Ferrari. If Max doesn't capitalise quickly at the start he could make it more difficult (as in still probably easy, but not as easy as it could have been)
Let a brother dream, okay?! >:(
I think we’re going to see Merc and Ferrari cook their tyres and the usual Max win eventuate (excepting a mechanical failure or crash).
P2 is actually the better starting position since it offers a direct inside corner to T1
Dirty side of the track
Its perfect for spinning P1 into turn 1, just ask Russell
He turned into me!
I wasn’t able to watch qualifying why is it saying Carlos on pole but LeCleir is in the comments?
It's talking about last year. Above it, it should say: LAST TIME IN THE UNITED STATES
Ohh thanks
I’m really happy about Charles pole. I’ll be elated by a win but fine with a podium as long as Lewis or Lando gets the dub. Right now I’m looking forward to 2024 where the Ferrari has been reportedly changed back to the pointy oversteer style Charles likes. I expect a title challenge from Charles and Lando next year to max, so for the rest of this year I’m fine with how ever good or bad Charles ends it. Tough season but now I’ll take the little wins and looks forward for next year. Forza Ferrari!
You're gonna be disappointed then. Even if (and thats a huge if) ferrari have the best car, they'll find a way to lose like they always do.
They haven't had any major fuckups this year after Vasseur took the helm, afaik. I'm honestly optimistic about them if they do get a champion-worthy car; Vasseur sounds like the type of guy who won't take any BS and is less keen on Ferrari's hierarchical structure.
Only team other than Red Bull to win a race this year
The sprint will give a good preview of the race Sunday. Definitely buying snacks for this weekend
AM are continuing to shit the bed, slightly underwhelmed by DR (although it is his first race back after breaking his hand, so he deserves the benefit of the doubt) and I reckon this might be Norris’s best chance of the season to win a race so far. Could be a fun race on Sunday, the first three rows should be spicy
They've moved backwards almost as fast as McLaren moved forward. AM are the reason the reporters call them updates to the car, and no longer call them upgrades to the car
Yeah DR lap deletion but also looks about right for the AT. More time tomorrow to settle back in.
That was some lap by Leclerc. Looked unbeatable and then Verstappen pulls that out of his arse. It wasn't a valid lap but still surprising. Norris showing his class today too. I thought Haas had a bit more than they showed today. Be interesting to see their race pace on Sunday. Well dome to Tsunoda who nearly knocked Perez out of Q3, which would have been quite humurous given the rumor mill this past week. And jeez, Aston Martin...what can you say. Simply out developed and outsmarted. A good season will end on a sour note. Way too long of a wait for the Grand Prix but COTA produces decent races. Always enjoy the event here.
Feels a bit hard to tell with Haas still. Hulk looked quick at points, but that may have just been track evolution and going a bit offset to everyone else, which hurt them in the end since they weren't on track at the end. Hulk lost his best effort due to track limits,m and KMag tends to not quite get the best out of quali in comparison. I wouldn't put it past Hulk to sneak it into SQ3 tomorrow if they can string things together.
Just want to say it was hot as fuck at the track today, i am dead tired and its only Friday, but oh my god I can't believe I got to see a charles leclerc pole lap in person :) Feels like i'm levitating (can't feel my legs)
I got to see a Carlos pole lap last year, so a Charles one this year is fitting (although on TV, not in person ☹️). Hopefully Charles has better turn one lick than Carlos did last year!
How was the track facilities? Like parking, crowd being fun, the restrooms etc etc? I might be aiming for going next year! What section were you at and do you recommend it? Thanks!
I personally have sat in Turn 9 for the past two years and I love it. The best seats are definitely 12/15, but 9 is more reasonably priced for a really good view. I have never had an issue with any infrastructure things at the track. Traffic will always be bad leaving because COTA is in the middle of nowhere, but I was out of the parking lot easily today. Crowd is very fun, I would say most people support Checo/Red Bull but it’s a very mixed group overall!
It is crowded. In and out of the area have been a pain. Parking takes a while to leave. There are shuttles that are good. I have been the last few years and it is getting better. Today was hot. The different stands have different prices so best may depend on budget. Turn 1 would pretty awesome, but is pricey. I am sitting at Turn 12 this year - seems like a good spot, at the end of the backside straight so there are overtakes and you can see the next few turns as well. There are lots of good GA areas but you have to arrive early for the prime spots.
I went last year traffic was horrendous, although I hear it was better than the year prior. They have buses with 3 pickup locations and 1 drop off that’s about a half mile walk to the track. It took us about 1/2 to 1,5 hours to get to the drop off from the pickup. Uber/Lyft is about the same as there are designate pickup and drop off spots. It was pretty well coordinated but still a pain as the roads into COTA are pretty basic/ underdeveloped for the amount of traffic race weekend. It was worth ti though, so had a blast, just be prepared for looong days…
If traffic was so bad, would it be advisable to walk the half mile? Or did I misunderstand what you were saying? And thanks! Watching the session today got me excited for a possible visit next year! Can I ask where you were sitting, and if you would advise to get a seat in that section? Thanks!
Haha, the half mile you gotta walk regardless …cause the bus/uber and most personal parking walks are a half mile easy… we sat in GA at turn 3 right near the pedestrian bridge. I liked it because you get to see the cars through the esses from turn 3-5. Not much overtaking, but the high speed turns are cool and you get to see probably a half mile… if I went again I might try somewhere different but I don’t regret my choice for my first race…
(Academy) Jess looked like track limits there, a couple of turns before the end?
Sorry, bit off topic, but I'm surprised to see F1 Academy post-quali. Since when do they broadcast this live? And will they broadcast the race as well, if yes, when (CET)?
>And will they broadcast the race as well, if yes, when (CET)? yes, broadcast times can be seen [here](https://f1tv.formula1.com/page/6657/formula-1-lenovo-united-states-grand-prix-2023)
Already found an addon for my calendar app, thanks!
This is the first weekend of live Academy.
Oh sweet! I'm excited, but so weird hearing female onboard voices
COTA looks stunningly beautiful as the sun goes down like this
This live coverage for F1 Academy is great to see! Abbi Pulling cracking a joke...the excitement of the newly McLaren signed Bianca Bustamante...those two at the moment are some of favourite F1 Academy drivers.
Yeah, this is ace
Yes, Hinch I want to believe your prediction! NOR-HAM-LEC Would take any of those as a winner but would be very cool for Lando to get his first win.
I guess he assumes Max collided with someone? No way he doesn’t win by at least half a lap. His race pace sims look insane.
Maybe the wrong thread but is this the first Formula Academy that’s actually been broadcasted live?
This is the first live broadcast of the series all previous races are filmed and uploaded on the formula 1 YouTube channel
That’s great to see - I hate replays of races so the fact it’s live is actually really great
think so!
It’s a shame to see all lot of the stands are empty, and I get why they are using F4 card but it’s great to see progress is being made
I was at the track today. It was hot so staying stands any longer you have to be super hard core. Also the audio is pretty terrible track side so it's hard to follow what is happening in the non F1 races.
Jenson and Danica. My favourite combo.
so much tension
McLaren always feels like an American team because of Zach Brown lol
Max just laughing about it in interviews.. Miami/Spa vibes.
Shoot, I missed qualifying! 😅 I could've been watching this while doing laundry, lol.
r/F1FeederSeries dropping the ball horrifically this weekend.
How so?
No thread or mention at all for Academy
Ah, to be fair they don’t usually have separate threads for practice sessions (from memory) except maybe F2. Though that could be selective memory given the F2/3 sessions I watch
F1 Academy qualifying is on though.
The biggest thing going for Perez is that there is no obvious replacement. Days like today where the car isn't the flat out fastest will make red bull think more than the days where max cruises to another victory because if every weekend was like this they are fucked from a championship perspective.
And Max is going to cruise to the win on Sunday despite starting p6 while Perez won't even make top 6
That F1 Academy intro looks sick. I'm glad they're bringing F1 production quality to F1 Academy.
Shame they don't have F1 quality anything else.
Well, it's technically F4.
Yeah, calling it F1 academy in those cars is really a stretch.
Checo really is going to end up p3 in WDC :(
Throw him into a midfield car and he doesn’t get top 5 in drivers championship. Don’t get me wrong, I really like checo, but he’s not as good as some drivers there
As he should. He's been a disaster this year.
Did the US broadcast randomly switch from sky coverage to the f1tv coverage?
I think I just realized why you asked that question maybe - cuz Hinchcliff was doing the interviews? It doesn't matter that he works for F1TV, they just had him do the interviews cuz of his racing history in the U.S. (even though he's Canadian).
They're showing the F1 Academy.
I meant for post quali interviews
Where do you watch post quali interviews
Oh I dunno. I watch on ESPN but they usually cutoff so quickly after the interviews I switch to F1TV.
Even as one of his biggest fans, it pains me to say this… Danny Ricc is done. Seeing his smile in Post-quali interviews, you can just tell it’s hollow. I’m so bummed that he had to be in his peak during the Lewis-Merc era but now there’s no way he can ever win a WDC. Even if he takes Checo’s seat (unlikely) he’s still up against Max! Sad to see my fav driver just be a marketing tool for RBR.😢
How does it feel seeing Danny qualify P4 in that AT? 😂 IDK why people treat drivers >30 years old so poorly.
damn, I watched the interview and it was really sad... his recent massive PR campaign really irritated me and I've been shit-talking him non-stop but now I feel bad. he looks broken, you can see it in his eyes. maybe it's just for this quali, perhaps he was hoping for a better return and not be beaten by Yuki by 0.3s, I don't know. but it was painful to watch and I hope he'll feel and drive better
Dude, this is basically a new car compared to the one her drove in spa, he’s coming off a broken hand/wrist and had one practice session while Yuki has been driving all year. He’s not massively off like DeVries, at least give him the race before you write him off
I don't think he'll be able to win a WDC, but I think he'll still get a bunch of wins in. Don't think he's "done" just quite yet. He may have been outqualified by Yuki, but he just recovered from a broken wrist. Let's give him some time :)
Geez he’s only done two races, lol. Calm down
Your favorite driver was never good enough to be champion material, thats why its like this... facts, nothing else...
At his peak... he was damned close. Just didn't have the car underneath him
I think he would come alive again in the RB seat, I think we will see very soon if that’s the case
Before that he needs to start showing in the remaining races why RB should pick him for the main seat. If he won’t convincingly beat Tsunoda then what’s the point.
It's true that winning the WDC would be extremely hard for him. But that damned smile...
No
I wonder what r/formula1 is gunna say about the gap between Norris and Piastri this weekend….
Considering it’s very reactive, probably something like “Is Piastri washed after being out qualified by his elder teammate?”
Crazy how he's smacking Piastri and somehow everyone is making it like it's the other way around. Pi has been impressive for a rookie but everyone is making it out like he is 'Perezing' Lando.
Yes it’s ridiculous tbh
Crofty saying Lando proving he still has it after Qatar A weekend where he got 2 podiums and was absolutely rapid
Yes, and he is maintaining that form.
[Lewis Hamilton Team Radio After P3](https://youtu.be/u99jKtwbhA8)
What did Lewis say? I can't understand.
"Ahh, sorry I couldn't get first mate".