1835 replies to this topic

[TomNokoe]

Race day in Austin! Start 8pm BST / 9pm CEST (3 hours, 10 minutes from this post)

 

It's a box office Sunday at CoTA - the title rivals share the front row for the 7th time this season, with a 140,000 crowd expecting fireworks at Turn 1.

 

Will Max land what could be a knockout blow in the championship battle, or can Hamilton counterattack after a humbling Saturday?

 

Perez lines up third after surely his strongest weekend as a Red Bull driver, and is in a great position to support Verstappen.

 

It's a Noah's Ark grid thereafter with the two Ferrari and two McLaren undercard primed for a race-long battle.

 

Bottas, Vettel, Alonso and Russell should provide ample action in the midfield, for 56 scorching, strategic laps where temperatures and tyres will play a key role.

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

[MKSixer]

Thanks Tom!!  

[Ivanhoe]

Thanks Tom   Voted for a Hamilton win, I think we’re gonna see some master class in tyre management.

[yolo]

It's been an overcast morning so far in Austin. It will clear up but remain cloudy despite air temps of 30C. Wonder what impact this could have on track temps, and on Merc's rear grip issues.

 

 

Thanks Tom    Voted for a Hamilton win, I think we’re gonna see some master class in tyre management.

 

It didn't work in 2019 for HAM. BOT easily passed HAM for the win, and HAM was saved by Magnussen's yellow flag otherwise VER would have overtaken him for P2. Both VER/BOT were on the 2-stopper whilst HAM was on an aggressive 1-stop.

Edited by yolo, 24 October 2021 - 15:56.

[ARTGP]

It's been an overcast morning so far in Austin. It will clear up but remain cloudy despite air temps of 30C. Wonder what impact this could have on track temps, and on Merc's rear grip issues.

 

 

 

It didn't work in 2019 for HAM. BOT easily passed HAM and HAM was saved by Magnussen's yellow flag otherwise VER would have overtaken him for P2. Both VER/BOT were on the 2-stopper whilst HAM was on an aggressive 1-stop.

 

 

Cars are more or less 1 second slower than 2019. Tires have also gotten "better", or whatever it is Pirelli tell themselves at night....

 

I think its too soon to rule out a 1 stop.

[Kleli]

Better long run pace, better tyre management, higher top speed. I would be very surprised if Ham doesn't win this one.

[yolo]

Cars are more or less 1 second slower than 2019. Tires have also gotten "better", or whatever it is Pirelli tell themselves at night....

 

I think its too soon to rule out a 1 stop.

 

I think it's going to be a situation like Barcelona or France, where the 1-stop is an option but the 2-stop can work very well due to the fact that overtaking is relatively easy around this track (unlike the other two).

 

If the Merc slides around as much as it did yesterday, no way can they make a 1-stop work. If anything, I could see PER try a 1-stop to act as roadblock for HAM if he ends up in a such a position.

 

Better long run pace, better tyre management, higher top speed. I would be very surprised if Ham doesn't win this one.

 

HAM won't be able to stay close to VER through Sector 1 unless VER makes a mistake. He lost 0.15s through T1 alone in qualifying. Car just doesn't have good balance in those rear-limited sections.

Edited by yolo, 24 October 2021 - 16:14.

[TomNokoe]

Zero chance it's a one stop, zero

[MKSixer]

Thanks Tom   Voted for a Hamilton win, I think we’re gonna see some master class in tyre management.

I think this is the best possibility.  Long race and better tire construction at this point in the season play into HAMs hands.  The temp plays into VERs hands.

[Jovanotti]

Tyre management? Sounds like a job for Perez then.

Fingers crossed for a great race for this amazing crowd

[yolo]

Zero chance it's a one stop, zero

 

Agreed. This won't be a tyre management race at all. HAM will likely have one shot to pass VER up the hill at T1, and then that'll be all she wrote unless we get SC shenanigans (which this track doesn't have a history of).

[Atreiu]

May it be a clean race. Have a great day everyone. Cheers.

[renzmann]

Agreed. This won't be a tyre management race at all. HAM will likely have one shot to pass VER up the hill at T1, and then that'll be all she wrote unless we get SC shenanigans (which this track doesn't have a history of).

Don't be so pessimistic. As long as Hamilton keeps his eyes on Verstappen strategy-wise (and not on Perez), he has at least two more chances to pass him. The undercut is powerful in Austin.

[TomNokoe]

Agreed. This won't be a tyre management race at all. HAM will likely have one shot to pass VER up the hill at T1, and then that'll be all she wrote unless we get SC shenanigans (which this track doesn't have a history of).

I still think it will be a tyre management race, but a management two stop.

 

Reminds me of Bahrain where Bottas arguably was on the best strategy because Max and Lewis were focussing exclusively on each other. Might be the same today.

[Ivanhoe]

I still think it will be a tyre management race, but a management two stop.

 

Reminds me of Bahrain where Bottas arguably was on the best strategy because Max and Lewis were focussing exclusively on each other. Might be the same today.

Could be Checo‘s race.

[Jordan44]

Better long run pace, better tyre management, higher top speed. I would be very surprised if Ham doesn't win this one.

On Friday… they changed the setup for Saturday as it was too aggressive and the car was bottoming out. With a 3 tenth advantage over one lap, it would not surprise me if RBR also have better race pace now.

[Ivanhoe]

On Friday… they changed the setup for Saturday as it was too aggressive and the car was bottoming out. With a 3 tenth advantage over one lap, it would not surprise me if RBR also have better race pace now.

Didn’t they change after FP1?

[ARTGP]

Very high chance this goes down like Barcelona and/or France.

 

So basically don't be the 1 stopper. Commit to aggressive 2 stopper early. 

 

Trouble is most of midfield is on mediums.

Edited by ARTGP, 24 October 2021 - 16:34.

[yolo]

Don't be so pessimistic. As long as Hamilton keeps his eyes on Verstappen strategy-wise (and not on Perez), he has at least two more chances to pass him. The undercut is powerful in Austin.

 

When has Merc been able to undercut RB successfully this season? I can't even remember. It's rare to see Merc being the more aggressive of the two teams and their pit crew is atrocious when pressure is on.

 

Also, the fact that Merc can't put the power down early at T1 means that RB will have an easier time fending off any attacks down the main straight. Unless heavy fuel loads help settle the rear of the Merc...

 

I still think it will be a tyre management race, but a management two stop.

 

Reminds me of Bahrain where Bottas arguably was on the best strategy because Max and Lewis were focussing exclusively on each other. Might be the same today.

 

Depends if the M-H-M strategy is marginal, IMO. 

Edited by yolo, 24 October 2021 - 16:35.

[RainyAfterlifeDaylight]

I always have this belief that for front running cars, more stop strategy is always faster than less stop strategy.

[Lucky13]

Sainz on the softs could provide some early interest. Guaranteed 2 stop so it’ll be fun to see what he can do early to mix things up.

[yolo]

Could be Checo‘s race.

 

Checo doesn't have new mediums though which could be crucial if indeed M-H-M is the fastest strategy.

[TomNokoe]

Undercut was worth about 3s at the first stops in 2019.

 

Pit delta is 19-20s

[ARTGP]

This wait is painful...

[Hellenic tifosi]

Undercut delta will be huge, indeed, however an early undercut could really compromise you at the end of the race.

[Goron3]

So the rain has stopped but the sun isn't as strong as it was yesterday or on Friday.

 

As such, degradation might not be an issue like it was on Friday. The key giveaway will be how long the soft tyre runners can go before pitting.

[ANF]

Q3 drivers' starting tyres (only six races left with this silly rule):

M
Verstappen
Hamilton
Pérez
Leclerc
Ricciardo
Norris
Gasly
Bottas

S
Sainz
Tsunoda

[ARTGP]

Sainz wn't be representative. The Ferrari is traditionally quite abusive to the tire.

[monolulu]

Undercut was worth about 3s at the first stops in 2019.

 

Pit delta is 19-20s

It was freezing in 2019 so may not be representative in these hotter temps.

[jonpollak]

Just my luck ….the gig here in Atlanta is beyond slow and full of unmotivated stagehands…


I’ll go set the tape machine.
Jp

[Fastcake]

Winnie Harlow is about in the paddock. I hope no one lets her near the chequered flag this time.

[PayasYouRace]

Winnie Harlow is about in the paddock. I hope no one lets her near the chequered flag this time.

 

She seemed to a have a good sense of humour about it all when interviewed on the W Series grid.

[jjcale]

Winnie Harlow is about in the paddock. I hope no one lets her near the chequered flag this time.

 

Good that her interest in F1 seems to have been sparked ....

[ARTGP]

Winnie Harlow is about in the paddock. I hope no one lets her near the chequered flag this time.

 

One more time....for the Netflix...ya know! 

[ANF]

Driver parade:

 

Edited by ANF, 24 October 2021 - 17:24.

[AustinF1]

Remember when all the mechanics were looking at the diffuser area in the Merc garage? Seems they had to modify the car to avoid "breaking the car".

 

 

 

“So what we did is that the car was bottoming out quite heavy, and that breaks the car,” said Wolff. “So we took some mitigating steps to not break it, or massacre it that hard, in order to survive the race. 

 

"Definitely a compromise for going faster on the track, but maybe a necessity to actually finish.”

 

 

https://us.motorspor...-bumps/6706618/

[ARTGP]

Ricciardo's texan impersonation on the parade is EPIC.

Edited by ARTGP, 24 October 2021 - 17:30.

[TheMessiah]

Sausage curbs removed at T1.

[gillesfan76]

Better long run pace, better tyre management, higher top speed. I would be very surprised if Ham doesn't win this one.

 

So much preparatory cope in this post! 

[Kleli]

It feels like an advantage starting 2nd here. You can just break a little bit later and force the driver on the outside wide compromising their exit.

[Albertino]

Perez usually has awful starts, if he could compromise HAM then it'll make Max's life easier.\

 

Wouldn't be surprised if LEC is P3 at the end of Lap 1.

Edited by Albertino, 24 October 2021 - 17:32.

[AustinF1]

Hook Em, Danny!

 

[Kleli]

So much preparatory cope in this post! 

Only way I can stand watching F1 these days. So fed up with the same guy winning year after year. Doesn't mean I'm wrong though.

[OvDrone]

This wait is painful...

 

Hopefully the race won't be.

[Hellenic tifosi]

Sausage curbs removed at T1.

This could negate the effect of drivers on the inside "understeering" into their rivals, but really, even though I love this track, the track limits really ruin it for me.

[ANF]

Sausage curbs removed at T1.

Wise decision. Abbie Eaton (below) got a T4 compression fracture at Turn 15 yesterday, and today Fabienne Wohlwend's car was launched at the outside of Turn 1.

[AustinF1]

BTW, I see this often, but it's not the "USA GP". It's the "USGP".

 

Just sayin' ...

[ANF]

Yuki says he loves Texan food (too).

[ARTGP]

Sausage curbs removed at T1.

 

That's rather significant. It's means being pushed wide is no longer a disadvantage.  Driver can just open up the wheel and floor it.

Edited by ARTGP, 24 October 2021 - 17:39.

[ANF]

Uh-oh, Vettel disobeyed "some words in your own language, please". I'm sure there will be repercussions!