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Thread: Bahrain 2021: Post Race Analysis

  1. #1
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    Bahrain 2021: Post Race Analysis

    Getting the first race in the books shined some more light on true performances of the cars, but also brings more questions.

    Mercedes, surprise surprise they win again. But it wasn't without a fight and that's what most have been at least hoping for. I have to say I think Hamilton showed why he is a 7 time world champion today. Brilliant performance by him. I do think Mercedes has more outright pace than it appears, especially in the race. The Mercedes powered cars seem to have little trouble overtaking on the straights. I feel they are still the most fuel efficient engine's on the grid by some margin. The undercut by Hamilton on lap 14, his outlap on hard tires was something like 2.9 seconds faster than Verstappen on not badly worn mediums. That's ridiculous. Bottas 5.0 seems to be a downgrade.

    Red Bull appear to be the fastest car overall. Honda has really good power. Fighting for track position and making Mercedes respond to them may be a better direction. I do like the differing strategies though. Sergio Perez was very impressive. A great recovery drive that has to give the team confidence.

    McLaren's race performance is where many expected, including myself. Currently appear to be the 3rd best car, however the gap to 1st/2nd is greater than I hoped.

    Ferrari had a strong race. A definite improvement in pace over last season, however the finishing positions may not be all that much better. Sainz is a definite upgrade over Vettel. He was up and down during the race and finished only 8 seconds behind Leclerc. Job well done by both drivers. The power unit still seems to be a clunker in race trim unfortunately.

    AlphaTauri, give a hand to Yuki for scoring his first points in his first race. But where was the rest of their pace. I know Gasly destroyed his front wing from the love tap with Ricciardo, but what happened to him afterwards? From qualifying it looked as if they would be battling with McLaren, but their race pace wasn't really there... at least not today.

    Aston Martin did have better race pace than qualifying. Points for Stroll seems like a good result, but their pace overall is not that strong. They seem to be 7th or 8th fastest car right now which is pretty embarrassing. It's also embarrassing hearing Otmar complaining how the rules hurt their low rake car, but didn't affect the high rake cars at all. News flash, but their car used to be high rake until they bought the 2019 Mercedes chassis and then somehow copied a lot of Mercedes' 2021 design elements as well. Beyond an embarrassment is Seb Vettel crashing into Ocon and then blaming him for moving when it was 100% Vettel's fault.

    Alfa Romeo did really really well. If only they were a little bit fastest, they would be in the hunt for points each weekend. Instead they will be the vultures than collect points as the faster cars DNF.

    Alpine, not much to say about the car performance. I doubt they ever get out of that 6-8th best team range. Alonso had flashes of brilliance, but then at other times dropped like a rock. He DNF'd with supposed issues, but who knows. Everyone will focus on Alonso, but I could see Ocon putting in some amazing performances that come out of nowhere.

    Williams are still along way off from points.

    Haas are paying the price with rookie drivers in a car that the team pretty much doesn't give a crap about. The car may be like the 2019 Williams, a distant ways off of the second worst car, but neither Schumacher or Mazepin are as good as Russell to make a difference. Mazepin is quickly showing how awful he is. 2 spins in Qualifying and a self inflected crash out of the race in just 3 corners. Shameful.


    Lastly I must critique the FIA/Stewards. Last season the track limit rule meant warnings and penalties and it worked reasonably well, they just didn't enforce it enough. Now for Bahrain 2021 they put track limits in effect for qualifying which is great, but then say they wont look at it during the race for some strange reason. Lewis and Mercedes of course exploit this and admit to going outside the track limits for the entire first half of the race gaining who knows how much time, and then once Red Bull start doing it, the stewards step in and say it's not okay. Funny that in the end the track limits would be one of the deciding factors in the races results. I don't blame the drivers at all, it's the FIA/Stewards than need to be crystal clear about what the track limits are and enforce them strictly.

    Looking forward to the next race already.

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    As soon as the flag came down, I knew Lewis won.

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    I think mercedes already have the constructor's title in the bag.
    The question is can Max beat Lewis. Sometimes Ham has a bit of a slow start to the season, but now he's already won the first race, RB Honda and Max are going to have to produce something special to win.

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    @ http://www.thescuderia.net/forums/member.php/1635-SS454, perfect analysis of the race, and especially the INCOMPETENCE of the FIA / Stewards outright favoritism... I said in 2014 that Mercedes cheated when they colluded with FIA on the engine specs for F1 hybrid era, and to date the results are as expected, total merc dominance, and bullying tactics to all and sundry who try and buck the trend.
    The cost capping and engine freeze are there to ensure status quo, not for the better show or to allow lesser teams to perform better, currently only williams and haas are minnows in the bigger pool of engine manufacturers, and where has these rules helped them? to the back of the grid you go.
    My simple answer to F1 and the powers that be has been, to cancel my sky subscription, so going forward you thieving *******s will NOT enjoy my money on a scam that you perverse further with commentary by 2 very biased and disgusting commentators.

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    Quote Originally Posted by Ferrarichamp View Post
    I think mercedes already have the constructor's title in the bag.
    The question is can Max beat Lewis. Sometimes Ham has a bit of a slow start to the season, but now he's already won the first race, RB Honda and Max are going to have to produce something special to win.
    I think the WCC will fall to RBR this year for sure, if RBR don't eff up with Perez. Unfortunately, WDC to close to call.

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    If the track limits were enforced, I don't see how Merc would win.
    So with that in mind, this race shows that right now RBR has the fastest car. If Merc feels the need to cheat so blatantly (29 times, not even one warning by the stewards, FIA ?), that only shows they're under pressure.
    Good news.
    "If someone said to me that you can have three wishes, my first would have been to get into racing, my second to be in Formula 1, my third to drive for Ferrari" - Gilles Villeneuve

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    Quote Originally Posted by aroutis View Post
    If the track limits were enforced, I don't see how Merc would win.
    So with that in mind, this race shows that right now RBR has the fastest car. If Merc feels the need to cheat so blatantly (29 times, not even one warning by the stewards, FIA ?), that only shows they're under pressure.
    Good news.
    Relax, it was not cheating, this was not enforced during the race. Even Lecrec said so when asked after the race ... we can all hate on them, it's fine. But this was not cheating ... they played by the rules everyone else could have done the same

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    Quote Originally Posted by Jax View Post
    Relax, it was not cheating, this was not enforced during the race. Even Lecrec said so when asked after the race ... we can all hate on them, it's fine. But this was not cheating ... they played by the rules everyone else could have done the same
    I agree he didn't cheat. The stupid decision to not enforce track limits is the fault of the FIA/Stewards.

    However it appeared that it wasn't until Red Bull told Max to start going past track limits that the Stewards decided it was not longer ok. Even IF that is a bit strange, Hamilton still didn't cheat.

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    Quote Originally Posted by Jax View Post
    Relax, it was not cheating, this was not enforced during the race. Even Lecrec said so when asked after the race ... we can all hate on them, it's fine. But this was not cheating ... they played by the rules everyone else could have done the same
    Quote Originally Posted by SS454 View Post
    I agree he didn't cheat. The stupid decision to not enforce track limits is the fault of the FIA/Stewards.

    However it appeared that it wasn't until Red Bull told Max to start going past track limits that the Stewards decided it was not longer ok. Even IF that is a bit strange, Hamilton still didn't cheat.
    agreed. The FIA (Masi) mucked-up the track limit decision mid-way thru the race. It is either or.....not this grey area

    another video of the same action on T4 with 2 different drivers.....and yet nothing from race control or the FIA.

    https://twitter.com/thomasmaheronf1/...38728571797510
    It's not how start but how you finish.

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    Quote Originally Posted by jgonzalesm6 View Post
    agreed. The FIA (Masi) mucked-up the track limit decision mid-way thru the race. It is either or.....not this grey area

    another video of the same action on T4 with 2 different drivers.....and yet nothing from race control or the FIA.

    https://twitter.com/thomasmaheronf1/...38728571797510
    Maybe because he never overtook him while off the track.
    Forza Ferrari

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    Quote Originally Posted by Greig View Post
    Maybe because he never overtook him while off the track.
    errrm, yes he did. Ocon gained an advantage off the track then overtook Yuki.
    It's not how start but how you finish.

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    Quote Originally Posted by jgonzalesm6 View Post
    errrm, yes he did. Ocon gained an advantage off the track then overtook Yuki.
    He never overtook him while being off track, he passed him on track. That is the difference.
    Forza Ferrari

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    Quote Originally Posted by Greig View Post
    He never overtook him while being off track, he passed him on track. That is the difference.
    OMG....Ocon was wheel-to-wheel OFF THE TRACK with Yuki and then overtook Yuki by getting on the track.
    It's not how start but how you finish.

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    Quote Originally Posted by jgonzalesm6 View Post
    OMG....Ocon was wheel-to-wheel OFF THE TRACK with Yuki and then overtook Yuki by getting on the track.
    No
    Forza Ferrari

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    Merc gave up the 99th pole to R Bull to make fans tune in for the race. They messed up Bottas' pit to keep fans attention . Then.... at the very end they took what they knew they would get; that #96. For me it worked! The race was great to watch. That 1st race for Sainz in his Ferrari will pay off big with his feel for the car. Podiums on the way. And Charles will do all he can to keep things close between them points wise.

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    Quote Originally Posted by Brembo View Post
    Merc gave up the 99th pole to R Bull to make fans tune in for the race. They messed up Bottas' pit to keep fans attention . Then.... at the very end they took what they knew they would get; that #96. For me it worked! The race was great to watch. That 1st race for Sainz in his Ferrari will pay off big with his feel for the car. Podiums on the way. And Charles will do all he can to keep things close between them points wise.
    so you think it's all fixed for the sake of keeping fans entertained adn glued to the TV??????

    i personally think that the speed of red bull honda is REAL.....and that Merc have no answer to it....at least not for now.....

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    Quote Originally Posted by FerrariF60 View Post
    so you think it's all fixed for the sake of keeping fans entertained adn glued to the TV??????

    i personally think that the speed of red bull honda is REAL.....and that Merc have no answer to it....at least not for now.....
    I also believe Honda's speed and Max's driving are real for sure. Merc answer to it was they won the race! Max sure as hell did not move over for Merc. Giving up that 99th pole for fan entertainment worked. No way Merc were also going to give up the win and they didn't. Tire strategy is really something Merc has going fore them. I believe Ferrari will see the podium soon ! 2021 !!! Not 2022 !! Have faith !

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    Quote Originally Posted by Greig View Post
    Maybe because he never overtook him while off the track.
    Overtaking off track shouldn't be an issue here. The issue is that it was okay to go off track at Turn 4 for half the race, and then magically it was no longer okay. At some point in the race both LH and Max were suddenly not allowed to go off track during their laps and it had nothing to do with overtaking.
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    They go about track limits the wrong way IMO. They should let them race and make the track punish them for going off where they don't want them going off.

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    I wonder what was the reason for the awful race pace of Leclerc compared to Sainz? I was looking at the lap times and if Sainz was starting 4th he would of finished in front of Norris. This track might not have suited the Ferrari's well maybe imola is going to be better.

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    Quote Originally Posted by TTRSMAD View Post
    I wonder what was the reason for the awful race pace of Leclerc compared to Sainz? I was looking at the lap times and if Sainz was starting 4th he would of finished in front of Norris. This track might not have suited the Ferrari's well maybe imola is going to be better.
    Charles tunes up his car more to quali pace than race pace, he gets better track position, and then fights to keep that position whole race.
    It is a clever thing to do, I think.

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    Quote Originally Posted by KimiBot View Post
    Charles tunes up his car more to quali pace than race pace, he gets better track position, and then fights to keep that position whole race.
    It is a clever thing to do, I think.
    Once Charles feels the car is good enough I believe he will tune up for the podium. I don't think Carlos is thinking anything but podium! I believe both are capable. The question " Is the car capable?

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    I got the impression that Carlos had better race pace. Rather surprising.
    Forza Ferrari
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    Quote Originally Posted by Jax View Post
    Relax, it was not cheating, this was not enforced during the race. Even Lecrec said so when asked after the race ... we can all hate on them, it's fine. But this was not cheating ... they played by the rules everyone else could have done the same
    Fine.However, if you observe, you'll notice that mercedes were going over the kerbs way easier than the RBR, which makes me wonder, why was this change , not allowing this during Qualifying,but allowing during the race; who benefitted (yes, rhetorical question, it was Mercedes , clearly).
    And simply put, why did the stewards allowed , no, asked for this change, if not to benefit Mercedes? What was the reasoning?

    It was stupid of RBR not to complain earlier. And imo , something must be done so this never to be happen again.
    "If someone said to me that you can have three wishes, my first would have been to get into racing, my second to be in Formula 1, my third to drive for Ferrari" - Gilles Villeneuve

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    Quote Originally Posted by Brembo View Post
    Merc gave up the 99th pole to R Bull to make fans tune in for the race. They messed up Bottas' pit to keep fans attention . Then.... at the very end they took what they knew they would get; that #96. For me it worked! The race was great to watch. That 1st race for Sainz in his Ferrari will pay off big with his feel for the car. Podiums on the way. And Charles will do all he can to keep things close between them points wise.
    No. Just No.
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    Lewis gaining a timed and tire adavantage for leaving track limits 29 times.

    Max gaining an advantage by leaving the track and overtaking Lewis....giving the position back to Lewis.

    Ocon leaving the track and gaining an advantage and then overtaking Yuki.



    Why were track limits so inconsistent in the Bahrain Grand Prix

    https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=0MRmhaUPIg0&t=347s
    It's not how start but how you finish.

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    Quote Originally Posted by jgonzalesm6 View Post
    Lewis gaining a timed and tire adavantage for leaving track limits 29 times.

    Max gaining an advantage by leaving the track and overtaking Lewis....giving the position back to Lewis.

    Ocon leaving the track and gaining an advantage and then overtaking Yuki.



    Why were track limits so inconsistent in the Bahrain Grand Prix

    https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=0MRmhaUPIg0&t=347s
    Everyone makes mistakes, especially referees, stewards etc. My guess is they weren't enforcing the turn 4 limits, Red Bull saw that that Hamilton was gaining so much time and complained. The stewards changed the rule mid race to compensate rather than give Ham a penalty and Red Bull ultimately shot themselves in the foot. I still believe Hamilton should have been penalized for gaining an advantage. I also agree with Verstappen that he should have kept the position and pulled away. Then they could have fought/appealed any penalty post race on the basis that Hamilton was let off 29 times.

    Anyway, the most important part of the video was how to enforce it in the future and make it easy for fans and drivers - enforce the white lines! Easy and simple lol.
    ~FORZA FERRARI~

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    If they really want to enforce track limits - PUT UP BARRIERS
    That will eliminate all this childish bickering among the teams and fans. F1 is acting like professional wrestling with these ridiculous drama queen plots.
    This is what happens when weaklings take control of an entity. Rule by consensus, not logic. Decisions made on emotion, not fact.

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    agree. Track limits should be hard limits, not 3 chances. If you go off the track like at turn 4, automatic time added to lap, .5 to 1 sec.

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    changing the rules in the middle of the race...
    but F1 is the 'pinnacle of motorsport'

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