Russian GP 2021 - Practices and Qualifying

[PURE PASSION]

Lando is a very very good young driver!!!BUT i dont think he is on lec's level,but not much behind either. If you put them on the same nutural car,my opinion is that Lec gonna beat him fair and square , noy distroy him but he will be the undisputed winner betwinn them.
As for the cars,well McL has just improve a goodish car from last year and with an extra development time-area for the new engine they had from last year. We on the other hand had to correct the flaws of probably our worst car for decades and not all of it but in very little areas (mostly in the back) ,AND we had to design a new engine for just 1 year so logicaly they dont put a lot od effort/resources on it bacause we thinking about '22
SO under those circumstances , im happy how the team evolve this year and how we managed to compete with Mcl (with the "mighty" Merc engine) and im comfident for next year !!!

[Cavallino]

Ummm, Mclaren last year had a Renault PU......not the best PU when compared to Honda or Mercedes regarding horsepower. The MCL35 is also aero efficient on almost all tracks.

"Average at best"--->????. He's only 21yo and is both good in a wet and dry track while also making a veteran driver, Daniel Ricciardo, look "average at best" which shows that Lando is adaptable from a Renault PU software to a Mercedes PU software in less than a year. Lando is currently 4th place in the WDC standings pre-Sochi 2021---> Max, Lewis, and Bottas are the only 3 in front of Lando. He's also beating Checo Perez whom is also a veteran driver.

In Leclerc's league??? Remains to be seen IMO. Leclerc, to include Sainz, are suffering from a car that is horsepower difficent and aero difficent given the track....to include "wet track" difficent as well.

Leclerc needs a strong car in both horsepower and aero in all tracks to include a wet track to show his driving proweress or race-craft skills.

So how does that change the fact that Sainz more often than not beat him, especially in race pace.

There is no way last year's Ferrari was better than last year's McLaren.

My points remain.

Don't get me wrong, if Leclerc isn't a notch better than all these guys, Verstappen and Russel included, we're in trouble.

Unless Mick is literally the second coming.

[jgonzalesm6]

So how does that change the fact that Sainz more often than not beat him, especially in race pace.

.

I don't understand your logic. Norris is beating Sainz in the points for 2021......by alot.

It's probably not Sainz's fault. It's more likely the car that he has under him.

[FerrariF60]

I don't understand your logic. Norris is beating Sainz in the points for 2021......by alot.

It's probably not Sainz's fault. It's more likely the car that he has under him.

it's like comparing apples to oranges.....norris has a car with a more powerful engine....so you cannot compare how good is one over the other

the best way to compare whos is better than who......is when both of them were driving the same mclaren last year.....

[Cavallino]

I don't understand your logic. Norris is beating Sainz in the points for 2021......by alot.

It's probably not Sainz's fault. It's more likely the car that he has under him.

I'm not talking about this year, i'm talking about last season where sainz and norris were in the same car! so i'm comparing apples to apples.

https://www.racing-statistics.com/en...z/seasons/2020

pretty even

and here for good measure is sainz and verstappen in the same car

https://www.racing-statistics.com/en...n/seasons/2015

if you take into account that Sainz had more mechanical dnfs than Verstappen, he was just as quick really.

[20000rpm]

Sainz had a bit oversteer in final sector. He HAD the pace to beat Lando despite setting the time earlier. Still happy with P2 tho

Oversteer is a characteristic of our car since ages. Don't believe me.. watch this.

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=Z14Zj96g-J0&t=307s

[jgonzalesm6]

it's like comparing apples to oranges.....norris has a car with a more powerful engine....so you cannot compare how good is one over the other

the best way to compare whos is better than who......is when both of them were driving the same mclaren last year.....

I'm not talking about this year, i'm talking about last season where sainz and norris were in the same car! so i'm comparing apples to apples.

https://www.racing-statistics.com/en...z/seasons/2020

pretty even

and here for good measure is sainz and verstappen in the same car

https://www.racing-statistics.com/en...n/seasons/2015

if you take into account that Sainz had more mechanical dnfs than Verstappen, he was just as quick really.

Norris is beating his team-mate Ricciardo and Checo Perez for 2021 pre-Sochi 2021 race.......both of which are veteran and good drivers BUT I consider Ricciardo a better driver than Perez and Sainz as well. Checo has the better car for 2021 than Norris does IMO.

[PURE PASSION]

Norris is beating his team-mate Ricciardo and Checo Perez for 2021 pre-Sochi 2021 race.......both of which are veteran and good drivers BUT I consider Ricciardo a better driver than Perez and Sainz as well. Checo has the better car for 2021 than Norris does IMO.

Well you are just manufacturing a scenario based on your opinion for drivers rating.
The only certain thing is that ,YES this year Lando is clearly defeating Ric ,BUT last year he was no better then Sai .I don't look at the points but on pure car performance and there Sai was was many many times faster then Lando.

[stefa]

Arguing about which driver is better in two different teams, where one, on this case Ferrari has inferior equipment, it is pointless. Give them exactly same equipment, and than we can really see what they are made of!

[stefa]

What is the weather like in Sochi now?

[PURE PASSION]

What is the weather like in Sochi now?

I think it's cold but no rain expected

[Cavallino]

Well you are just manufacturing a scenario based on your opinion for drivers rating.
The only certain thing is that ,YES this year Lando is clearly defeating Ric ,BUT last year he was no better then Sai .I don't look at the points but on pure car performance and there Sai was was many many times faster then Lando.

+1 i agree.

Also, Ricciardo is not better than Sainz. They're probably fairly evenly matched.

Also, Checo is garbage.

[Cavallino]

Arguing about which driver is better in two different teams, where one, on this case Ferrari has inferior equipment, it is pointless. Give them exactly same equipment, and than we can really see what they are made of!

we know that, but that's not what we are arguing. We saw Sainz and Norris last year in the same equipment. It is no mystery where they stand against each other. Sainz is the better driver.

[jgonzalesm6]

Also, Checo is garbage.

Checo "garbage" ???? That's harsh.

Checo has been consistent in bringing valuable points to his team. He did with Force India and then Racing Point. Checo sued Vijay Mallya to save Force India and that's when Lawrence Stroll rolled in to financially help the team and build it to what it is today AMRF1. Checo has beaten Ocon in points, and Stroll in points. Checo was 10 points shy of equaling his 2018 points in 2019 with team-mate Stroll. Checo also in one of the best drivers on the grid when it comes to managing his tires....regardless of the compound.

Checo is also financed by Carlos Slim(Telcel) whom is one of the richest men in the world.

Checo currently for 2021 has one tough team-mate......not to mention the whole team is 100% behind Max. I would say, anyone who has Max as a team-mate is going to get royaly scrutinized....by 3/10's to 5/10's a second. Checo is under immense pressure with team RedBull.....more so than most drivers on the grid because he has a winning car and a winning team. He'll be Max's team-mate in 2022 under a whole new era from an aero perspective.

[Brembo]

Also remember Sakhir 2020. 18th place was a long way to go and doing only one tyre pit and Checo won the race! Media wise Russell out shined that win by getting his first points coming in 9th just behind Bottas. Garbage is really way too tough a word.

[Cavallino]

So, for me, in order to defend Checo like this, you have to admit that the Red Bull cars tend to over flatter certain drivers. Mainly Vettel and Verstappen.

[20000rpm]

Checo "garbage" ???? That's harsh.

Checo has been consistent in bringing valuable points to his team. He did with Force India and then Racing Point. Checo sued Vijay Mallya to save Force India and that's when Lawrence Stroll rolled in to financially help the team and build it to what it is today AMRF1. Checo has beaten Ocon in points, and Stroll in points. Checo was 10 points shy of equaling his 2018 points in 2019 with team-mate Stroll. Checo also in one of the best drivers on the grid when it comes to managing his tires....regardless of the compound.

Checo is also financed by Carlos Slim(Telcel) whom is one of the richest men in the world.

Checo currently for 2021 has one tough team-mate......not to mention the whole team is 100% behind Max. I would say, anyone who has Max as a team-mate is going to get royaly scrutinized....by 3/10's to 5/10's a second. Checo is under immense pressure with team RedBull.....more so than most drivers on the grid because he has a winning car and a winning team. He'll be Max's team-mate in 2022 under a whole new era from an aero perspective.

If I may add, I think with the cars built around one driver or leavin drivers, the incoming ones have faced issues with drive ability. Sainz with Ferrari, Perez with RB, Daniel with Mclaren. With the pandemic and cost cutting, no team was willing to invest lot of resources especially with a major overhaul of regulations for 2021. IMO, the real potential of the present-lacking drivers should be visible next year, if teams build cars as per their drivers requirements.

[Brembo]

So, for me, in order to defend Checo like this, you have to admit that the Red Bull cars tend to over flatter certain drivers. Mainly Vettel and Verstappen.

Remember when Ferrari flattered certain drivers! It worked out great.

[Cavallino]

If I may add, I think with the cars built around one driver or leavin drivers, the incoming ones have faced issues with drive ability. Sainz with Ferrari, Perez with RB, Daniel with Mclaren. With the pandemic and cost cutting, no team was willing to invest lot of resources especially with a major overhaul of regulations for 2021. IMO, the real potential of the present-lacking drivers should be visible next year, if teams build cars as per their drivers requirements.

I don't think I would put Ferrari in that list, maybe historically, but not now. Charles was instantly quick, and by midseason quicker, in a car that in no way could have been built for him in 2019.

[Gilles]

I don't think I would put Ferrari in that list, maybe historically, but not now. Charles was instantly quick, and by midseason quicker, in a car that in no way could have been built for him in 2019.

As he did the previous year in the Alfa, as Mickael did at Jordan --> Talent