2022 French Grand Prix - Race Thread

[nani_s23]

Positive thing is we had very good race pace & tyre deg under control.

10 races to go.

[Aziz]

Don't forget Alonso had 50 point lead after the summer brake, anything is possible

[Hornet]

If I calculated correctly, we'll need 6 races of 1-2 finished to overcome the 60 points gap, assuming Max always comes in P3 which we have to.
Not sure if the team or drivers are ready to handle the pressure of such target.

We'll just have to take each race one at a time. If something happens to Max's race that allow us to close the gap faster, great. Else, I hope we can use this season to battle-harden the team and the drivers. Afterall, we've not been in a WDC fight for a long time, I guess that's one advantage Max and RB have. They have clearly learned and mature alot from the competition with Lewis last year.

[elnano14]

Positive thing is we had very good race pace & tyre deg under control.

10 races to go.

+1. Sainz was the fastest man on track today. Even Leclerc had been managed his tyre so well in the 1st stint...We're at least on par if not even faster than Red Bull in the track labeled as one of our's kryptonite (front limited, hot temp, not 100% engine, tyre deg,...). So take that as a positive
But man, 11 points when our cars are the fastest is hurt

[SilverSpeed]

Gutted for CL, and those pit wall clowns, replace them?

[stasera]

I'm bored of seeing RB victory.

that scenario is happening every race.
we get the pole
we get rid of max's DRS

then scenario is seperated here

scenario 1
we go to pit lane and we make mistake here

scenario 2
we go to pit lane and we get off there without any issue, we race perfectly without anyproblem. but suddenly we suffer some engine failure problems


scenario 3
we go to pit lane and we get off there without any issue, we race perfectly without anyproblem. but suddenly we suffer some driver mistakes



scenario 4, but this scenario happens very very rarely

we have some issues anywhere, some mistakes on the track, some car failures like throttle pedal, some terrible pit stop, weird strategies,
but finally we survive from all of these conditions. and we can see chequered flag. I dont care what position we are in, i want our drivers to see chequered flags

but this scenario happens very rarely. because we cant survive from all of these things. if you survive from one thing, then another issue sticks to our neck.

this is realy weird

[stefa]

Don't forget Alonso had 50 point lead after the summer brake, anything is possible

But he was driving Ferrari... So...

[stefa]

If I calculated correctly, we'll need 6 races of 1-2 finished to overcome the 60 points gap, assuming Max always comes in P3 which we have to.
Not sure if the team or drivers are ready to handle the pressure of such target.

We'll just have to take each race one at a time. If something happens to Max's race that allow us to close the gap faster, great. Else, I hope we can use this season to battle-harden the team and the drivers. Afterall, we've not been in a WDC fight for a long time, I guess that's one advantage Max and RB have. They have clearly learned and mature alot from the competition with Lewis last year.

As much as I would love that to happen I am ready to put anything on bet that that will not happen!

[Redfive]

I had to record the race as I was out all day. Just got back and watched it. WHAT!!!!!!!!!!

I'm gutted for Charles, another unforced error? and as for the pitwall, Carlos was in the podium place, why pit him?!!!
He could have had 2nd!

So disappointed :(

[elnano14]

I had to record the race as I was out all day. Just got back and watched it. WHAT!!!!!!!!!!

I'm gutted for Charles, another unforced error? and as for the pitwall, Carlos was in the podium place, why pit him?!!!
He could have had 2nd!

So disappointed :(

Nah pitting was the right choice, I doubt he could catch Hamilton after chasing Russell + Perez multiple laps on worn mediums, but they could have pitted him sooner. Remember Sainz had 5s penalty as well, if he didn't pit, he must push more to be +5s ahead of Perez + Russell and could destroy his tyres => risk of puncture or even DNF

[Greig]

Last year in France, Charles was lapped and Sainz 1m40s behind Max.....

Some perspective on where we are coming from.

[wisepie]

I'm gutted for Charles even though he said it was his error, honesty doesn't excuse it but I really feel for him. Poles don't matter any more as far as I can see, something always goes wrong, be it tyres/strategy/reliability or just pure bad luck. As for the pit wall and Carlos, we'll never know if they did the right thing. I'm tired of working my nerves into a frazzle every GP weekend and I'll have to miss Hungary, probably just as well.

[ferrari1.8t]

Last year in France, Charles was lapped and Sainz 1m40s behind Max.....

Some perspective on where we are coming from.

Yes, we have improved a lot, but so has Red Bull and now Merc. I really believe this year was our best shot a both titles. Next year will be tough as red bull continue to get stronger and Merc continue to cheat their way into contention.

[Greig]

Yes, we have improved a lot, but so has Red Bull and now Merc. I really believe this year was our best shot a both titles. Next year will be tough as red bull continue to get stronger and Merc continue to cheat their way into contention.

So we are not able to continue being strong? Ah well that's it decided.

[stefa]

Last year in France, Charles was lapped and Sainz 1m40s behind Max.....

Some perspective on where we are coming from.

Try. But that is one way to see things. Like when you have ZERO (0) of something and than get ONE (1) it is 100% in growth, but that doesn't mean it is good!
Any way as this season is over in terms of winning any championship, as boss said championship wasn't really the goal this year, we'll have to wait yet another year....

[stefa]

What I don't get is why every time when some one tries undercut over Ferrari driver, Ferrari always remains clueless and oblivious to the fact that overcut works, and has to be defended in the VERY NEST LAP!!!! Why are you guys always inventing hot water?!?!?!? Just mirror what Red Bull does with Max!!! It is easy as that!

[Greig]

What I don't get is why every time when some one tries undercut over Ferrari driver, Ferrari always remains clueless and oblivious to the fact that overcut works, and has to be defended in the VERY NEST LAP!!!! Why are you guys always inventing hot water?!?!?!? Just mirror what Red Bull does with Max!!! It is easy as that!

Did you watch the Austrian GP?

[prancing horse]

Well done to Carlos Sainz. Great drive. If Charles keep tripping up, he will be the No.1 driver and go from strength to strength.
Well done Charles for manning up and owing to his mistake. Schumacher used to make mistakes too.
Well done to the team for developing the car. Keep it up.

There is so much negativity around even though we are very fast. Yes Mercedes are picking up the points, but they are doing what we were doing last year. Just sticking around and picking up the scraps.
We will keep getting better and better. This is how F1 works. We started this new cycle on the front foot and we will go from strength to strength. Mercedes even with rule changes have a lot of work to do and will take them a long time to catch up. Red bull will be the main threat for this cycle up to 2025/2026.

[stefa]

Did you watch the Austrian GP?

Honestly no! I was enjoying my stay in London!
If they did that in Austria, congrats! Finally. What stopped them for doing it again today?

[Greig]

Honestly no! I was enjoying my stay in London!
If they did that in Austria, congrats! Finally. What stopped them for doing it again today?

No they didn't.....we ran our own race and won without reacting to Red Bull.

[Aziz]

True story

[Kyss4k]

Honestly no! I was enjoying my stay in London!
If they did that in Austria, congrats! Finally. What stopped them for doing it again today?

Leclerc binning it.

[RossTheBoss]

FYI, it was not a throttle issue. Leclerc simply cracked and spun out.

I'm going to say something unpopular, but here it goes.

Sainz rightfully gets crap for when he makes mistakes or shows signs of immaturity, but there are some here pretending that Leclerc has it all together. I've heard him put on the level of Max as far championship material. It's simply being blind.

The truth is, Leclerc is way too emotionally unstable for a championship. He's not ready. Can't handle the pressure. He hasn't won enough races, so his ability to handle the pressure of being in the lead of races is still very green, and it frankly shows. When something happens there's this explosive reaction from him on the radio, instead of keeping his cool so he can recover as best is possible. You can blame every last thing on the team if you want, but Leclerc is error prone, and ignoring it doesn't make it go away. I do worry that his emotions will be his downfall and he'll turn into Vettel 2.0 without intervention.

Leclerc is not ready for a WDC. Sorry. Don't get me wrong, I love his driving and personality, but I don't believe he's ready for a WDC.

[faloupas]

Don't forget Alonso had 50 point lead after the summer brake, anything is possible

Alonso had 40 points lead after 2012 Hungaroring and that was a huge achievement because Ferrari F2012 was a mule...
This season only a miracle can change the situation.Max and Red Bull have a very good and reliable car.It is enough for them finishing every race P2-P4... Ferrari is not gonna win more than 2-3 races...

[faloupas]

Well done to Carlos Sainz. Great drive. If Charles keep tripping up, he will be the No.1 driver and go from strength to strength.
Well done Charles for manning up and owing to his mistake. Schumacher used to make mistakes too.
Well done to the team for developing the car. Keep it up.

There is so much negativity around even though we are very fast. Yes Mercedes are picking up the points, but they are doing what we were doing last year. Just sticking around and picking up the scraps.
We will keep getting better and better. This is how F1 works. We started this new cycle on the front foot and we will go from strength to strength. Mercedes even with rule changes have a lot of work to do and will take them a long time to catch up. Red bull will be the main threat for this cycle up to 2025/2026.

Mercedes will be front runners 2023.This year was a great chance for Ferrari.The team had the car...but nothing more at the required level.

[RossTheBoss]

I see some on Twitter saying "even the greats make mistakes in title fights!" in defense of Leclerc.

Um, what title fight? Leclerc was 39 points behind Max and Ferrari were some 70 points adrift of Red Bull. What fight do people think is going on? Red Bull were far out ahead even before today, and Max has had an edge all season long. You've been deluding yourself if you thought we had a chance just because Austria went well.

Ferrari and Leclerc are deluding themselves to think the titles are within reach. When they should be focusing on trying to come home with both cars in the top 4, they THROW away races in some deluded attempt to win the titles, and Mercedes laughs their asses off at the immaturity of the team, and happily takes double points when Ferrari collapses under self created pressure on Sunday.

[Kyss4k]

And don't forget we will have to take another engine penalties and our engine reliability is... let's say I wouldn't bet on our cars finishing all remaining races.

[RossTheBoss]

And don't forget we will have to take another engine penalties and our engine reliability is... let's say I wouldn't bet on our cars finishing all remaining races.

In the years before 21', when Red Bull were rebuilding in the post-Vettel era, they'd look at the calendar, and accepting their cars strengths and weaknesses, would plan for what races they anticipated they'd be strong at, and just focus on finishing the rest. They got better every year doing that, until both they and Max were ready to fight Hamilton and Mercedes.

Ferrari need to use the rest of this season and next season to gain experience fighting Red Bull and Mercedes. Mature the drivers and pitwall better. Win races where the car has a clear advantage over the Red Bull, and stop this disaster of trying for a championship that waived bye-bye in Baku.

You guys see Mercedes out there trying to beat Red Bull and us? Nope. They're just focusing on coming home in the top 4, and letting the other chips fall where they may.

[paolo lalli]

Well said Rosso the bosso lecrec has a lot of nervous energy that he must learn to harvest correctly he will learn that being emotional and at times self reckless will not win you Races and ultimately W D C he will improve.Max had similar issues early in the piece but has now become measured and calculated balanced and calm.I believe max is the complete f1 package backed by a team whom is not hit and miss.

[RossTheBoss]

Red Bull learned lessons for last year, even as they won the WDC. They said to themselves "that Mercedes straight line speed almost cost us a title! We need to design our cars for more top speed!" and just look at that, they've perfected low downforce racing and let the top speed do the work.