2022 car reveal in a few minutes

https://www.formula1.com/en/latest/...iled-for-the.2PKkkKeoTPmPKauEztKuu0.html

Another article on the 2022 car. https://www.msn.com/en-ca/autos/new...ort/ar-AAMc0cL?ocid=msedgdhp&pc=U531

Qualifying today. The sprint format has shaken up the routine, with practice limited to two sessions, and with FP1 now being very important, as what you get out of FP1 will be what you run in the sprint. Also important to note is points are awarded on the sprint results, three for first, two for second and one for third. Those points could have a telling effect come the business end of the season.

I'm really excited to see how this new format shakes out. There will be two more of these this season with the tracks TBD. Word is that Monza will be one and possibly Austin the other one.

I don't know if there's any field inversion after the sprint. Is there? I mean, they run a sprint race and all the fastest cars come to the front and the full race will be even more boring with potential less passing.

I think a random order for the top 6 after the sprint race would provide more entertainment and still keep the bad cars at the back. Whatever, I don't run the show. :P

No inverted grid. Standard qually sets sprint grid. Sprint results set grand prix grid.

I think the sprint is more interesting than that and there's a risk/reward to how the teams approach the sprint. By nature it should scramble the order a bit more than regular qualifying does. We'll see, as anything can happen, but I think it's a neat twist.

Wow!

Devastating pace early on out of the Red Bulls. Merc brought upgrades to SIlverstone and we expected a narrowing gap, and it's still early doors. But Red Bull is blistering out of the box. That was so important for this new format, to hit the track with the car already well balanced. Merc hit the top laps right out of the gate, but both Red Bulls then lit it up. I'm shocked by the early disparity frankly.

Checked again a bit later and Checo was down the order. Did he have a lap deleted for track limits? A second off the pace is too far. Anyway, Max is flying, seven tenths back to Hamilton who must be wondering where he'll make up that sort of gap. Good results for Lando and the Ferraris. Now they need to go straight to qualifying.

Max is on a different level at the mo.

1:26-flat for Hamilton in Q2. He was sandbagging. Wow, great pace on the Silver Arrow. Let's see what Q3 says.

Bah! Hamilton on pole by the slimmest of margins. Merc found a lot of pace since FP1, that's for sure. Well done to them. The sprint should be quite the affair!

So, it will be interesting to see how the different teams will interpret and translate the new rules into their 2022 cars and if these wil look the same as the concept car just unveiled or if there will be surprises.

And Saturday will see a mini-prix for the first time ever. Let´s see how this works out. My initial feeling is that it will only be a little bit more of the same; the strong teams will probably tend to rise to the top and for any upsets to happen to that, the Formula 2022 - if it works - will be required.

The strong teams move to the front, yes, but in the sprint a spin, an off, puncture, failure, shunt or anything really can drastically affect the order. In standard qualifying any of those are significant too, but you only need one lap to count. In sprint it's the entire body of work so to speak, and this could send a front runner to the back or send a backmarker toward the front, which is highly unlikely to happen in normal dry weather qualifying.

Not sure what we can take from the FP2 results. Max topped it, but you get the sense that teams are keeping their powder dry. Ferrari looked really good this morning. This sprint is wide open, a mystery at this point. I'm not sure what to make of it, how to predict anything. That's cool, and I like the sprint idea if for no other reason than it shakes everything up. All the teams are scrambling a bit with the unknowns and this is good.

Well done to Max, winner of F1s first sprint race. In the end the format didn't result in too many surprises for tomorrow's grid, aside from Perez. He'd never be at the back under normal rules, but yet there he is. That is a killer for Red Bull. Just cannot let that happen, to spin on your own. This exposes Max to Merc, although his result today suggests he'll be OK tomorrow. We shall see. But there's also the constructors' to consider and Perez really hurts them today.

I couldn't watch this sprint as I had to work and followed it on live timing. Not ideal!

Anyone watch? I want to see how Max got by Lewis. That was first lap?

Lewis made a bad start, that's all.

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=mU2nr8mFV5U

Ah thanks. Nothing gets me going like the start in a F1 race. Love that stuff!

Moments like that just kill me. Glad Max walked away but Hamilton gets to keep on, and we'll see what the stewards have to say.

I know it was a "racing incident" and both parties could have avoided the incident. I think it should have been a separate stop/go penalty or a separate 10sec hold penalty. He punts off his chief rival, causing him to get zero points and at the end of the day, finished at the maximum result. hmm I can see an additive 10 sec hold at a pit stop if you take the guy out, but continues. But the guy retired. Oh well.

It's times like this that make me wish I were a neutral. Horner said it best I think, calling it a hollow victory.

Well, both participants in that stupid affair imo would at any time be able and willing to pull such a stunt. They've done so before and now I won't be surprised if Max will unconsciously or consciously look towards pay-back time. It could get very ugly from now on.

Yes, I blame LH until I see evidence that MV deliberately and unnecessarily turned into LH. And I'm really not a fan or supporter of either driver or team so my position is not biased in that respect

A race driver can legitimately go for an opening if indeed there is one, but to box and punch his way through is not ok.

Never mind that today's cars are so safe that a driver is expected to survive such a shunt. In years past that could have been a deadly move. On that account alone such antics imo should be strongly discouraged. It also demeans the sport and I'm convinced it has a trickle down effect, not only to the lesser formula but also into the arena of esports. Unwanted in my opinion.

Max left Hamilton room, and still got punted off the track at high speed. A really bitter taste after this one and at the end when Hamilton was doing his victory lap with the flag streaming I flipped him off and turned the channel. Up to now I've been hoping for a great fight all the way until the end. Now I hope Red Bull crush it and that bad juju follows Lewis to the end. His post-race comments just make it worse.

I can't be bothered with analysis through the rest of the finishing order, but well done to Ferrari. Too bad Leclerc couldn't hold on and deny those points to Merc. A bad weekend all around for Red Bull.

I've had nearly two weeks to simmer down, and I'm still bitter about the last race. A good result for Red Bull this weekend will put paid to that.

Hungary is one of my least favorite tracks, but I'll be watching and not driving.

No sprint this weekend of course and back to normal proceedings. I'd expect Ferrari to show well. Hungary is not Monaco, but there are some similarities, and Ferrari has shown they can be fast on the tighter twisty circuits. Of course Silverstone is anything but a slow turner, and they looked great there too, so I expect they'll be strong. Can Lando keep it up? Need Perez to bounce back with a strong run and of course Max as well. If Merc end up with two cars in the garage or the barriers I won't shed a tear

This is the last race before the summer break and during that down time we should see some action in the driver market. Merc is expected to announce their second seat for next season. My money's on Russell, with Bottas going somewhere like Alfa Romeo. Kimi has not announced if he will be driving next year, but I expect another season. Giovanazzi has not lit the world on fire, but they also probably have some contractual obligations with Ferrari and maybe need to keep him? Not sure what the arrangement is.

I could see Haas wiping the slate clean again. The two rookies have not performed well, even taking their slow car in to account. Mazepin especially has looked out of his depth, but he is gaining experience every day. His father's money is the key though, and Haas won't want to see that gone. So it will be interesting if they prioritize the sporting or financial side.

I've never watched a race at Hungaroring but it is one of my favorite tracks to drive in the F1 Codemasters sims. It's a short and mostly fast track with easy to memorize turns and chicanes.

There's no accounting for taste. From a racing sim perspective my favorite current F1 track is easily Interlagos. Love driving there. And then Zandy, which has been a favorite since my GPL days, such a fun track to drive. I love tracks with elevation changes, off-camber turns and that sort of thing. Old school stuff that some of the modern tracks just don't have. Bahrain for example is a fabulous facility and a really nice track, but it lacks the soul these classic tracks have. Imola is another classic old-school circuit and why I am looking forward to it.

Never driven Portimao or Saudi Arabia, so these will be new for me. I'm not much of a fan of street circuits though, so we will see when I get F1 2021.