2023 - Race 8 Spain

[F1nKS]

So the big question, has Mercedes made a big step foward?

[Tazio]

Fred messed up his qualifying. He should get a few places back in the race, if he doesn't get clocked, or clock someone else.

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[Nitrodaze]

So the big question, has Mercedes made a big step foward?

I think they have but not that much it seems, I suppose we shall see how good their race pace is tomorrow. I really wonder what happened to Leclerc??? The Astons were a disappointment, l expected them to be well up there with the Redbulls but they turned out to be nowhere.

[F1nKS]

I think they have but not that much it seems, I suppose we shall see how good their race pace is tomorrow. I really wonder what happened to Leclerc??? The Astons were a disappointment, l expected them to be well up there with the Redbulls but they turned out to be nowhere.

Yeah, Alonso yesterday looked like he was capable of having a shot for pole.

I have read that Leclerc was having problem with "left turns" with his car.

I have seen data analysis that showed Hamilton had a chance for front row, but just could not hook up his best sectors at the same time.

[airshifter]

Crazy session. I think we have a good chance of some things getting fun in the race tomorrow, as I think some cars will eat tires, and race pace vs qually pace are often different things.

Leclerc so far back is strange, but I suspect car damage. Likewise Fred, he knows when he just had a bad lap and when the car isn't right. Sergio is another story, but I suspect both Max and Fred own free space in his head lately, and he's just pushing too hard.

No shock that Gasly got penalties, and the team didn't help any there. Speaking of teams getting it wrong, Merc managed to not let George even know Lewis was there, and the resulting contact took away both of their last laps. Great job Merc!

At least Carlos got it right for a change, but that's another reason this qually was one with a lot of unexpected things happening!



As for Max and RB..... I think there was more in the tank.

[Nitrodaze]

Yeah, Alonso yesterday looked like he was capable of having a shot for pole.

I have read that Leclerc was having problem with "left turns" with his car.

I have seen data analysis that showed Hamilton had a chance for front row, but just could not hook up his best sectors at the same time.

The dynamics of Hamilton changed after the crash with Russell. Was that crash odd or what? But it happens. Alonso would move up the order during the race. The question is can he get onto the podium? He would need to get past Hamilton and Norris at least, which l think may be harder than usual on this track where all the cars are closer than we have seen so far this season.

[Nitrodaze]

Crazy session. I think we have a good chance of some things getting fun in the race tomorrow, as I think some cars will eat tires, and race pace vs qually pace are often different things.

Leclerc so far back is strange, but I suspect car damage. Likewise Fred, he knows when he just had a bad lap and when the car isn't right. Sergio is another story, but I suspect both Max and Fred own free space in his head lately, and he's just pushing too hard.

No shock that Gasly got penalties, and the team didn't help any there. Speaking of teams getting it wrong, Merc managed to not let George even know Lewis was there, and the resulting contact took away both of their last laps. Great job Merc!

At least Carlos got it right for a change, but that's another reason this qually was one with a lot of unexpected things happening!



As for Max and RB..... I think there was more in the tank.

Sainz is quietly establishing himself as the lead driver of the Ferrari team, contrary to what most people are thinking. He is ahead in points and seems to be outperforming Leclerc in the last few races. Perez just watched his championship chances take a nosedive again. I think he would be settling into the number driver again this season, which nis a bummer. It means there is no real competition for the title this season. An easy ride to Abu Dhabi for Verstappen it is looking at the mo.

[Nitrodaze]

Can we say Ferrari is in crisis? What is going on at Ferrari?

[Nitrodaze]

Russell was mighty at this race. 11th to 3rd, what a drive. Perez as well actually.

[F1nKS]

It does look like that Mercedes took a step forward as it was a good weekend for them. It will be interesting to see if Hamilton can make a push for 2nd in the standings.

Ferrari just continues to go backwards. It is mind boggling.

[airshifter]

I'm still on the fence about the Merc upgrades. Both drivers had good races, but Merc was the only team that ended up never putting either driver on the hard tires for the race. Being that the hards weren't very good on any stint for any driver, this alone might have made up a lot of time. Since Lando had to stop early, Lewis only had to pass Carlos to reach #2. George had more work to do to get to P3, but had some help along the way. Sergio lost ground to George, but was on the less favorable tire strategy. To lose one place isn't that bad when you have run the harder tire for the majority of the race. The softs lasted much better than expected, so Merc pulled one out of the hat with the strategy they ran.

So at this point, it's hard to say if Merc took a big leap forward, Ferrari and AMR lost the plot, tires made the difference, or a combination of the above. RB is still obviously way up front, and I think they only went to a 2 stop strategy to be safe, and since they had time in hand to give it a go. It looks like Merc also considered a one stop race and then went to two.

There is also the potential rain factor, so I'm sure the setups were quite varied. That might have contributed some to the shaking up of the field we saw as well.


Either way, some hope for Merc and jumping ahead in the WCC should motivate them. Ferrari can't seem to be able to get a break, and the upgrades might not have helped them much if at all. But they have struggled with race pace before, so it's nothing new. Lewis draws closer to Alonso in the WDC points as well, and a double podium for the drivers lifts spirits quite a bit, which they need right now.