Crown

Yay!  Here we go!  Does Ferrari have it together?  Is RB gone over the horizon?  

great to Alonso on top of P2  the cars look very long....

I’ve read somewhere that they are over 5m long which I find absolutely crazy 

There is no try. Just do.

The thread on Reddit on the FP2 is hilarious

https://www.reddit.com/r/formula1/comments/11h4kgf/2023_bahrain_grand_prix_free_practice_2_results/?utm_source=share&utm_med...

We're at the point where you can be the fastest or just sound like you're the fastest.



The secret of life is to admire without desiring.

Alonso smoking it in his new team!!! Q should be tight - the top 6 say!

Carlos from Spain:

The thread on Reddit on the FP2 is hilarious

https://www.reddit.com/r/formula1/comments/11h4kgf/2023_bahrain_grand_prix_free_practice_2_results/?utm_source=share&utm_med...

The Abba sing along was hilarious 

Wow it is tight, the race shot;ld be fun!!!!

Time for bitchy Twitchy Toto Wolff to be terminated. Your customer team kicks your ass.  Since when can you show up for race 1 and say you're changing your design 'cause you just found out it's wrong?  Toto the joko.

https://www.racefans.net/2023/03/04/mercedes-to-change-car-concept-after-w14-fails-to-close-gap-to-rivals/

PlanetF1 had winners and losers: 

https://www.planetf1.com/features/winners-and-losers-2023-bahrain-grand-prix-qualifying/

Losers 

Mercedes

Mercedes had hoped that by eliminating porpoising over the winter they would unleash a monster, but on this evidence the eight-time Constructors’ Champions still have a mountain to climb.

Sixth and seventh for Russell and Hamilton was not exactly ‘the empire strikes back’ and going slower than an Aston Martin – a customer team running the same engine, gearbox and rear suspension – was the F1 equivalent of being kicked in the head with your own shoes on someone else’s feet.

As Hamilton and team boss Toto Wolff acknowledged after the session, they started six tenths behind last year and six tenths behind now.

Winners - nice job Hulkenbergn

Now that MB is keystone cops, they can hire binotto to replace Toto

https://www.dailymail.co.uk/sport/formulaone/article-11821173/Mercedes-ASTONISHINGLY-preparing-bin-2023-car-humiliatingly-eve-ne...

https://youtu.be/_2ZvJrqep_g

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=EYr3lIU5L1k

ToTO BOZO  shows his management skill set in the daily mail link above:

I have responsibilities. I need to fire myself if I want to do something about it.

Execute yourself toto, free the team

Unlike Horner who is actually just an employee, Toto actually owns the team, can't be fired by anyone but himself. 

For this rules cycle Mercedes didn't get it right, while Red Bull aced it, happens every time rules changes. 

Most teams can only dominate one cycle, Mercedes actually did twice in a row. Will see how Red Bull holds up but early indications says they should be able to. 

Max should be able to win this year's title cleanly finally. There are no more human error handing him the title and Red Bull would have learn already to not cheat again with the cost cap. 

But Alonso looks quite feisty out of the gate, wouldn't it be something if he is able to win a 3rd with Aston, that would have mean so much for him, also for him to pull ahead of Max in the title count. The wild card of course would be if daddy Stroll will let Alonso embarrass junior in the process.

McLaren look lost. Alpine might get the last laugh this year with Piastri. Poor Lando, he deserves to be in a better team.

Too early to call anything on Ferrari, they have an old habit of sabotaging themselves mid season.

Williams, the American seems to be the real deal, they might not finish dead last this year. That spot is currently McLaren's to lose.

Who else is missing. 

Alpha Tauri. De Vries doesn't seems to be up to speed yet, Yuki is still safe from being embarrassed by a rookie.

Mercedes, the succession plan for Hamilton is clearly working, Russell is right there. 

Alfa Romeo. Hmm. Hmm. Pretty nondescript middle of the mid pack. Nothing to add there.

Max and his sidekick should finished the season 1 and 2 like how Hamilton and Bottas did it before. Ferrari might slot one of their drivers into 2nd. Alonso is the dark horse that could finish 1st, 2nd or 3rd. I am cheering for the old man for sure.

From hating him to not liking him to not a fan of him to admiring him and cheering for him. This older Alonso really changed my view of him. 

So many people excited with seeing Alonso and Aston win, he is been there all these years fighting with inferior cars and seems he hasn't given up, at 41 his personality has matured into a better person and still has the racing hunger to fight with the young boys, and now he may have a small chance, guess that story appeals to many of us, certainly does to me. There is such a huge hype train on the web it's surprising with so so many people hoping to see Alonso battling Max's all powerful RB, but I think that is a stretch. Just hope we get to see some tracks when that can happen and see sneaky old fox Alonso trying to best a RB wheel to wheel, could be quite a show, and not going to lie, wouldn't mind seeing Max throwing a tantrum afterwards if he loses 

Amazing what Aston has done in any case, let's see if they only get better during the season or fade in out, given the amount of talent they have hired, the former would seem to be the case.

Feel so sorry for Lando, his talent is totally being wasted, reminds me of Alonso though fortunately Lando is still young and will probably make better team choices down the line than Alonso did and get his chance soon.

Whoopsy:

Unlike Horner who is actually just an employee, Toto actually owns the team, can't be fired by anyone but himself.

Duh. 

I have responsibilities. I need to fire myself if I want to do something about it.

Execute yourself toto, free the team.

It's clear from his comment, he knows there's no one else to blame for the massive value destruction in MB team value he has presided over. And maybe he even is already thinking about being solely an owner and not the manager to try to save his team. It will be interesting to see - who could resurrect MB. Another bad year Russell and other key employees will be gone.

Great fun to have Alonso back in the mix!  such a quick man at such an age  So embarrassing to Toto to be behind AM

As expected RB clearly ahead so far.

But holy crap the hype train is real, Alonso/AM in P3 after some amazing overtakes and clean battles with the Mercs and the Ferrari, the old man still got it, so crafty, that pass in turn 10 on Hamilton was brilliant. And of course P3 was thanks to Leclerc's bad luck too.

Poor Lando.

Ocon and the penalties, wtf where they doing....

Carlos I agree!!!  

" But holy crap the hype train is real, Alonso/AM in P3 after some amazing overtakes and clean battles with the Mercs and the Ferrari, the old man still got it, so crafty, that pass in turn 10 on Hamilton was brilliant. And of course P3 was thanks to Leclerc's bad luck too." Carlos.

Alonso and Aston actually delivered today. Amazing. And "completely hilarious that a two bit team funded by peanuts and crisps can out perform the Merc works team. Comedy of the highest order." Alonso well deserved driver of the day.

As for Mercedes: Toto will make sure the next engine delivery to AM will have some "flaws"...

Indeed, driver of the day by an overwhelming 53% of votes

Alonso and Hamilton after the race:

https://twitter.com/FiftyBucksVT/status/1632445635172376577?s=20

Alonso provided all the limited entertainment today --- who woulda thought an AM would pass an MB, and a Ferrari??????

Love it!!! Let's hope he can keep us entertained and Toto doesn't sabotage him

Carlos from Spain:

Alonso and Hamilton after the race:

https://twitter.com/FiftyBucksVT/status/1632445635172376577?s=20

The two greatest drivers on the grid right now appreciating each other! They have come a long way since their McLaren days. And that was such a long time ago too, think Max was still in diapers or something.

Such a treat to watch these 2 do battles on track, both drive hard but also have respect for each other, and doesn't try to crash the other one out.

Hopeful that both will last till the next regulations cycle and do some more battles with new cars. With Kimi and Vettel gone, they are the last of the old guards. 

Driver of the day should get an extra 20 points. Alonso is the new Kimi. 
looking forward to Max winning a third championship- all of them well earned and deserved.  End of story, we ran out of cheese for the constant whine. 

Carlos from Spain:

Alonso and Hamilton after the race:

https://twitter.com/FiftyBucksVT/status/1632445635172376577?s=20

Amazing to see .

I respected but did not like him in the mid-2000s, due to me supporting Schumacher and him seemingly burning bridges with all his teams. As he aged he lost his initial sass, like all of us. He is also the last of the “dinosaurs”, a giant of the sport from a past era. Such a pure driver with a clean instinct for the kill. Now I am all rooting for him, I would not even check the races if he wasn’t in the mix.

Ziggy:

Carlos from Spain:

Alonso and Hamilton after the race:

https://twitter.com/FiftyBucksVT/status/1632445635172376577?s=20

Amazing to see .

I respected but did not like him in the mid-2000s, due to me supporting Schumacher and him seemingly burning bridges with all his teams. As he aged he lost his initial sass, like all of us. He is also the last of the “dinosaurs”, a giant of the sport from a past era. Such a pure driver with a clean instinct for the kill. Now I am all rooting for him, I would not even check the races if he wasn’t in the mix.

Same here. Also… poor Vettel… 🙈

There is no try. Just do.

Really isn't a surprise Aston made a good car. They were abysmal the last couple years, last of the mid field cars and finished 7th both years. Side benefit of that means they get much more testing time. 

The F1 level the playing field rule is working as intended. 

Even Williams is making some gains against the mid field pack while McLaren is falling way down. 

Mercedes has the least test times among the top 3, so they falling down the ladder is expected. Red Bull's advantage should diminish soon with their dominance in recent years. 

Leawood911:

Driver of the day should get an extra 20 points. Alonso is the new Kimi. 
looking forward to Max winning a third championship- all of them well earned and deserved.  End of story, we ran out of cheese for the constant whine. 

While Max was winning a lot in 2021, it is a universally accepted fact that he was given the driver's title by Masi, which the FIA already admit and stated Masi made an error. 

2022 Red Bull was convicted and punished for cheating. 

Can't argue with facts. 🤷🏻‍♂️

This year however, if Horner doesn't do anything stupid, Max should win his 3rd in a row without much trouble. Will be his first clean title. Last year would have been that had Horner not cheated. In a way Max won last year cleanly, didn't have to resort to crashing people out either. But somehow Horner can't help himself and cheated and tainted the title. 

Ziggy:

Carlos from Spain:

Alonso and Hamilton after the race:

https://twitter.com/FiftyBucksVT/status/1632445635172376577?s=20

Amazing to see .

I respected but did not like him in the mid-2000s, due to me supporting Schumacher and him seemingly burning bridges with all his teams. As he aged he lost his initial sass, like all of us. He is also the last of the “dinosaurs”, a giant of the sport from a past era. Such a pure driver with a clean instinct for the kill. Now I am all rooting for him, I would not even check the races if he wasn’t in the mix.

He has been fighting with mediocre cars all these years getting 105% out of them with no chance to succeed and never lost the hunger, he even wanted to experience and compete at the same time in LeMans with his friend Webber and won it, and even had the guts to try Indy too, and darker, he just loves racing and it shows, he doesn't need the fame and is not there to collect a paycheck, and at 41 he still has de drive and the skills somehow, with the race craft than comes with experience that is fun to watch. I think that is why so many have come to connect with that and support him now, it's a great story in F1, and the hype train behind him is amazing, haven't seen anything like it on decades. If you look at Formula 1 in Reddit, 8 of the first 10 threads are about Alonso.

The RB's may be too far ahead but we should get some exciting battles with him in the mix against the Mercs and Ferraris for us fans to enjoy. Also Stroll will also be right there, Alonso said he is championship material and did an incredible effort with his injuries to get P6. I know he is a pay driver with a rich dad but imo he has earned his place to be there with the rest and will likely be right up there with Alonso. 

Leawood911:

Driver of the day should get an extra 20 points. Alonso is the new Kimi. 
looking forward to Max winning a third championship- all of them well earned and deserved.  End of story, we ran out of cheese for the constant whine. 

HaHa,

check with Nick- I think he’s got plenty stashed in his garage in Vancouver 😂

Whoopsy:

Leawood911:

Driver of the day should get an extra 20 points. Alonso is the new Kimi. 
looking forward to Max winning a third championship- all of them well earned and deserved.  End of story, we ran out of cheese for the constant whine. 

 

While Max was winning a lot in 2021, it is a universally accepted fact that he was given the driver's title by Masi, which the FIA already admit and stated Masi made an error. 

2022 Red Bull was convicted and punished for cheating. 

Can't argue with facts. 🤷🏻‍♂️

This year however, if Horner doesn't do anything stupid, Max should win his 3rd in a row without much trouble. Will be his first clean title. Last year would have been that had Horner not cheated. In a way Max won last year cleanly, didn't have to resort to crashing people out either. But somehow Horner can't help himself and cheated and tainted the title. 

 

Sorry but I have been paying attention to f1 for the last 50 years. By your measures no body has won clean.  The only fact is he won. You are the one arguing that this is not 100% true not me.  Cheers. 
(might be defensive due to that last minute holding call in the Super Bowl that went the Chiefs way. 

watt:

Leawood911:

Driver of the day should get an extra 20 points. Alonso is the new Kimi. 
looking forward to Max winning a third championship- all of them well earned and deserved.  End of story, we ran out of cheese for the constant whine. 

HaHa,

check with Nick- I think he’s got plenty stashed in his garage in Vancouver 😂

He has returned to serving the 2021 whine this season too. Too bad risk mitigation isn’t a strong attribute for him nor Mercedes-Benz F1. 

Leawood911:

Whoopsy:

Leawood911:

Driver of the day should get an extra 20 points. Alonso is the new Kimi. 
looking forward to Max winning a third championship- all of them well earned and deserved.  End of story, we ran out of cheese for the constant whine. 

 

While Max was winning a lot in 2021, it is a universally accepted fact that he was given the driver's title by Masi, which the FIA already admit and stated Masi made an error. 

2022 Red Bull was convicted and punished for cheating. 

Can't argue with facts. 🤷🏻‍♂️

This year however, if Horner doesn't do anything stupid, Max should win his 3rd in a row without much trouble. Will be his first clean title. Last year would have been that had Horner not cheated. In a way Max won last year cleanly, didn't have to resort to crashing people out either. But somehow Horner can't help himself and cheated and tainted the title. 

 

Sorry but I have been paying attention to f1 for the last 50 years. By your measures no body has won clean.  The only fact is he won. You are the one arguing that this is not 100% true not me.  Cheers. 
(might be defensive due to that last minute holding call in the Super Bowl that went the Chiefs way. 

That would be materially incorrect. On most years there aren't any controversies on the driver title. Only other ones I can recalled was the Prost crashing out Senna to win, Senna crashing out Prost in retaliation to win the following year and Schumacher crashing out Hill to win and that's it. 

No need to argue when I am just stating facts. Way back in 2021 I had explained the situation in detail, Mercedes has a bullet proof case for appeal to the Motorsport Council, which they will win as the rules weren't being applied correctly. But there was no avenue for Hamilton to win the title either even if the case is won by Mercedes, only thing FIA can do is voiding the result of the race which still means Max winning the title as he holds the tie breaker. Either driver deserved the title fully, Max shown he was strong all season, Hamilton shown he can fight back and he did, and well on his way to winning it until Masi intervened. Even Max was resigning to aiming for the next year during the last laps of the race.

There was never a year the constructor got caught and convicted for cheating while their driver winning the title. Last year was the first. Even the year when Ferrari cheated with the engine they didn't win. Horner was being stupid, they have the fastest car and with Max at the helm, they don't need to cheat, they are already head and shoulder above everyone else.

As for your Super Bowl thing, that was a hold in the rule book, and I am a rules and order guy, what's written in the rule book needs to be applied fully every time. Chiefs should have played better earlier and not trying to chase so late in the game.