Congrats to Bottas .
A demonstration of excellent control of car, track and tires.

With regards to Hamilton. May be he should have pitted some laps earlier?
Leclerc said the intermediates really improved a lot after 6 laps.
I believe he would do worse if he had stayed out though.

After yesterday's race Max reclaims the lead in the driver's by six points, but Red Bull fall farther behind in the constructor's, now a 36 point differential. That's not insurmountable, but without a Mercedes retirement that is going to be very difficult to close.

Having watched the replays, and listened to their post-race comments, I have to conclude that Hamilton scuppered his own chances by ignoring the initial call to come in. I'm not convinced he would have held off Perez and Leclerc had he stayed out and as mentioned he ran the risk of a failure. His tires were shot, down to the carcass, and if that had happened he would have gotten no points at all. That's all speculation of course, but I think it's clear that by deciding to come in so late he had too little time left considering the number of laps it takes to get the inters in the right window on a drying track.

He also benefited from Gasly's penalty, which I thought was harsh, as without that 5-second penalty Gasly would have been ahead of Hamilton on the road.

Good result for Ferrari, with both cars scoring and only one McLaren doing the same. McLaren's lead in the battle for third place is down to 7.5 points. Considering Sainz's grid penalty, Ferrari maximized their result, good drives from both. This battle too looks headed or the wire.

Next up is the start of the Americas trio, Circuit of the Americas, which is a great track. The pressure's piling up!

Only one team in the paddock has yet to announce their driver lineup for 2022, Alfa Romeo. And it looks like the reason could be they are about to be sold. By leaving one seat open it allows new owners to install their choice for driver, making it a more attractive prospect. And it looks like it may be close, with Michael Andretti the former driver, and current Indy Car owner seemingly in advanced talks to get this deal done. Could we have a second American team for 2022? It's looking like it.

Oh, interesting news !

Mercedes should have informed lewis a few laps prior of their thoughts, so he could decide if he risked it all or not.

He could have hoped for 4, and could have ended DNF, or, 6.

Mercedes guaranteed him 5, they could have explained it.

They called him in on lap 41/42. He ignored it and stayed out for another what, 8 laps? His response was "why" and he was told new inters are the way to go. Hamilton didn't think so, stayed out and his tires then fell off, not literally of course. They say the evidence is that temps fall flat when you've got no rubber left. Bottoming out they call it. His tires had bottomed out. The pit wall could see this. I understand why Hamilton insisted on staying out, but I think he cost himself one or two possible places since he didn't pit in concert with the other cars. That's two weeks in a row we saw a team defer to the driver on strategy and have it backfire.

https://www.msn.com/en-ca/news/othe...-up/ar-AAPmIfn?ocid=msedgdhp&pc=U531
Adelaide Grand Prix track could be ripped up

My very first taste of Formula 1, before I watched any races, before I knew anything about it really, was the sim Grand Prix 2 from Microprose. Some will recall this great sim. I was really in to Papyrus' Indy Car series at the time, and it seemed natural to branch out in to similar games, so I tried Grand Prix 2 and loved it. Here were more road courses, some of the most famous circuits in motor racing. Adelaide was in that sim, the final race on the calendar. In this sense it's sad to see it go, but that's down to sentimentality, as I didn't find the track all that remarkable. Then again, I tend to find temporary street circuits less appealing, and even now in my F1 2021 careers I remove these types of tracks from the schedule.

(by the way, that reminds me. I asked in my F1 2020/21 thread if there is anyone would be interested in joining me for a two-player F1 career in that sim. We can be teammates and fight for a world title!. I got zero responses, but thought I'd throw it in this thread in case anyone is keen)

So while there is a tinge of sadness watching another track disappear, it's the price of progress in a sense. Like Reims and RIverside before it, Adelaide is a victim of the times.

What year was that released? My first PC racing sim was "World Circuit" by Microprose in 1992. That game didn't have any official licensing so all of the track names and driver names were made up by the developer.

1995 I believe. Had to be right around there, as Adelaide's last season in F1 was 1995.

And a couple years later this led to my GPL obsession, so yeah about '95.

And a couple years later, F1 Challenge 99-02 from EA. And I'm still doing it, nearly 30 years on. But the sims have come a long way since then!

Yup. It's almost surreal for me when I watch a youtube video which has gameplay footage of an old racing sim like IndyCar Racing by Papyrus. The first thought that crosses my mind is "Wow, I don't remember the game looking this crappy!".

Andretti looking to enter F1 as teamowner, that's interesting. He must have a lot of money to spend. How do you make a small fortune in F1? You start with a large fortune

And I hear talk that Volkswagen is rumoured to be taking over The Honda/Red Bull engine business, presumably once Honda finally leaves and ends support.

I'l be missing Adelaide if it goes. I really liked driving around that track in GPL and the various Factor/ISI engined sims. I also hugely enjoyed watching the racing there when it was in the calendar. Something is lost with each classic track that disappears. Like the original Kyalami, or Rouen.

Haha, good one Jens.

Andretti's been looking for an opening in to Formula 1 for a long time now. Of course there's the connection to his pops. But he runs a good racing organization, and they finished 5th and I think 10th in the championship this year. Alexander Rossi of course has F1 experience, though I have no idea who they'd pair with Bottas should this actually come to be.

Kyalami's one of my favorites. It's like the old Glen or Mosport in a sense. Just great flow, natural, without contrived sections (like chicanes) designed to slow 'em down. A driver's course. Would love to see a F1 return.

2022 schedule announced, expanded to 23 races.

https://www.formula1.com/en/latest/...dar-for-2022.2HcIP34fK3Zznx7YZfWL6P.html

Miami's in. Surprised to see it in April honestly, I thought with F1's focus on spending it would fall in line with the other Americas circuits.

Shanghai's out.

I'd be surprised if they actually run the Australia race.

Lost in all of this is Vietnam (Hanoi). This was supposed to be run this year (or was it last year?), fell victim to the pandemic, and is gone already.

After a seemingly interminable week away from Formula 1, it's back to action, this round in Austin Texas at Circuit of the Americas (CotA) which is a great track (in this reporter's opinion). When evaluating a racing circuit some of the things I look for are

Variety of turns -- With a wide variety the track becomes a stricter test, not only of driver skill and car capability, but of chassis setup. CotA has most covered, slow, medium ,fast, sweeping, tight, uphill, downhill, and an esses section right after turn 1. Two long straights. The uphill run/ turn 1 is the signature one here.

Elevation changes -- Not strictly tied to raceability, it's nevertheless a test of both car and driver, and just more fun to navigate. Dead-flat tracks tend to lack soul for me. Purely subjective, but then I'm the one writing this bit

Overtaking possibilities -- This is relative right now in F1. The cars are so aero-sensitive that overtaking is more difficult than it really should be. It's the whole reason we are seeing new cars next year. Unfortunately I can't see much here this year. The main spots will be in to turn 1, and no real chance of getting past from the exit of 1 all the way to turn 11. This is the esses section and it will be follow the leader through here. A good run over the hill at turn 10 could see a dive inside at 11, but more likely a pass at the turn 12 lefthander after the long uphill run down the back straight.

At turn 15 another chance exists, before they exit out in to the long sweeping righthander and back through two lefthanders to the start finish straight. So by my count there are really only four possible overtaking spots, though two follow DRS zones. This is a fairly technical track, but horsepower will be needed to overtake on the straights, especially the uphill back straight.

CotA has been a Merc stronghold, and here's hoping Red Bull find a way to break that. The drivers and teams love coming here. I expect McLaren to be strong. Six races left. Come on Max!

I have to admit that I never would have imagined that Texas would be a suitable place to host an F1 event! It's a real shame what happened with Indianapolis.

Yes, indeed, but F1's been coming here for years and it's very popular. Politics aside it's a good nightlife town, the track is great and it's just a first-class event all around.

I never cared much for the Indy course. A little too contrived, and then we had the farce with that race with just a few cars in it, forget what year. Maybe 10 years ago.

And now we're adding Miami for next year, so two US grand prix. Would be great to see the sport grow in this country. Some facets of Formula 1 go against the American grain I think, not least of which is the technical disparity. Americans tend to like their sports with more of a level field, which is why we have things like inverted draft orders, and spec cars in racing events.

Indy Car is popular, and look at how closely matched those cars are. The Miami event should cause a buzz, at least in year one. Hopefully the series can take advantage of that and push on. I saw some video of Red Bull racing around New York City the other day. Anything to bring attention to F1 is good.

Wow, I had absolutely no clue about this. LOL I'll have to research this online to see where exactly in the Miami area the track will be.


edit: Ok here is the info I found:

Miami Gardens
The track was specifically designed for the Miami Grand Prix, which was placed on the 2022 Formula One World Championship calendar.
...
Miami International Autodrome.
Location Hard Rock Stadium, Miami Gardens, Florida, United States
Coordinates 25°57′29″N 80°14′20″W
FIA Grade 1
Major events Formula One Miami Grand Prix (2022)

How far is it from your place? You should attend, or maybe it goes under your balcony.

Miami Gardens is only about 12 miles north of me. I might indeed attend next year for the inaugural race depending on what the ticket prices are and if I can convince my wife to go with me.

Ah, too bad you don't live on the course. Or maybe it's good so your neighborhood isn't held hostage for four or five days.

I can tell you if there was a F1 race 12 miles from me I'd have already booked my ticket, regardless of whether the wife is keen

Of course that could explain why you still have one and I don't.

Here's the proposed (final?) layout. I have seen a number of different ones laid out, but maybe this one is the final one

The enthusiasm is infectious!

Well, I'm excited, as we get down to the business end of this phenomenal season.

I talked earlier of elevation. It tends not to stand out on television, and even in the sim it seems subdued somehow. Think about a track like the Red Bull Ring, or Spa. Big elevation variance that hardly looks so on television. Same with CotA. Check this image





That run to turn 1 is steep! You can't miss this on TV, but the elevation image is more drastic than one might expect, isn't it? Like a roller coaster really.

So who's favorite this week? If I were a betting man (and not a Red Bull supporter) my money'd be on Merc this week. Texas has been a Mercedes stronghold since they started racing here in 2012. Merc has won the last six races here or so, they look to have superior straight line speed, and are coming off a win in Turkey. The momentum's all with them, isn't it?

But CotA has that design balance I talked about, with all sorts of turns, as if it's equal parts downforce and power. The RB16 I think is slightly superior from an aerodynamic point of view, perhaps giving Red Bull an edge in the twisty bits to offset Merc's speed advantage. Speculation of course. This aero superiority has allowed Red Bull to run slimmer wings over much of the season to offset Merc's speed, as we saw at Baku for example.

So it's all to play for this weekend. Massively important for both teams to get a result. Six to go. Hoping Red Bull pull a blinder and at least match Merc for pace. Then it comes down to drivers and luck. Red Bull cannot afford to fall further behind now. And Max needs to keep Hamilton behind. That won't be easy.