The DRS Zone

Tag: Belgium Grand Prix

  • Dutch Grand Prix

    Is The Title Fight Over

    The Dutch Grand Prix was going perfectly to plan, until Lando Norris’ engine gave out just a handful of laps from the end. The McLaren pair, closely matched as usual were in a class of their own, even with two safety cars to neutralise the race.

    In a season where the margins between the two McLaren drivers are closely matched, one has to wonder how hard it will be for Lando to overcome a now 34 point deficit. Obviously we still have another eight races to go, and as they say anything can happen in F1, I just feel that Piastri seems so unflappable that the only way he will drop significant points is via a DNF, which to be fair as we saw with Lando, is possible. You also have to assume that at some point Lando is likely going to have to take a number of penalties with the need to have some new parts for the engine. The next few races will certainly show us how strong Norris’ resolve really is, he would have no doubt have been disappointed to finish second in Zandvoort having dominated everything up until Q3.

    Ferrari Woe

    It was a weekend to forget for Ferrari, they looked absolutely no where in practice, but managed to pull it out the bag for qualifying. Their race pace initially, although they could not get past Hadjar, looked strong. When the drizzle came the race started to unfold, Hamilton got onto the damp paint at turn 3 and couldn’t avoid hitting the wall bringing out the first safety car. It looked like a slightly clumsy accident to be honest, however looking at the off-board Hamilton was also caught out by the camber change at the top of the corner and was always going to head for the wall.

    After a VSC restart, Leclerc seemed to have intent in him, he made a cracking pass on Russell and had some great close wheel racing with him, despite Russell’s complaints on the radio. Unfortunately a few laps later he came across Antonelli as he exited the pits. Antonelli, who pitted the lap before made a wild lung up the inside of turn 3 that was never going to work and made contact with Leclerc which sent him into the barrier and back across the track, bringing out the second safety car.

    Ferrari have an odd car, on their day they seem like they can be unbeatable, however that day doesn’t happen very often and the drivers are often left chasing performance. I had been hopeful that after last seasons close battle between Ferrari and McLaren, we would get a close battle again this year, however that has not been the case and whatever they have done with the car has not worked. With their home race at Monza up next, they will be hoping for a repeat performance that got them the win last year.

    Hadjar Gets His First Podium

    With Norris retiring late on, it promoted Isack Hadjar into the final podium place. Having ran strongly all race in 4th he was in the best place to benefit from any issues the top three ran into. It was a perfectly managed race from Hadjar and the VCarb team. The strategy worked and they made no errors in the pits when the safety cars came out. It was throughly deserved and he seems a million miles away from the driver that started in Australia.

    With Hadjar’s podium however, it once again showcased the inability that these generation of F1 cars have at overtaking. Hadjar had several cars that are much faster than his, but the nature of the circuit combined with the ground effect cars and the dirty air they throw out means overtaking is almost impossible unless you have a significant speed advantage.

    Safety Cars Make The Race Interesting

    Had it not been for the safety cars, it would have meant for a very boring race. We hoped the rain would come and make it more entertaining but it didn’t really. Last year we saw over 100 overtakes on track, i’d be surprised this year if we had 15. With the loss of DRS next season, I really worry that overtaking in F1 is going to become even rarer, the last few years very few overtakes have taken place without the aid of DRS.

    Final Thoughts

    A final thought about Aston Martin. I don’t know what they have done with that car, but the last couple of races it has looked much better. I don’t know if its because the last few tracks have suited the car or if we are starting to see the Newey affect. What is clear however is that Stroll is not the drive they need if they want to be challenging the top teams. There is a potential that Stroll will have his hands on an Adrian Newey championship contender next season and I fear the teams hopes with rest solely on Alonso.

    Monza will be interesting to see how Norris recovers from this setback. Its probably a good thing that it is this weekend so he doesn’t have too much time to dwell on it. In some ways you could probably say now that being 34 points being, the pressure is now off him.

    Results

    1stOscar Piastri11thFranco Colapinto
    2ndMax Verstappen12thLiam Lawson
    3rfIsack Hadjar13thCarlos Sainz
    4thGeorge Russell14thNico Hulkenberg
    5thAlexander Albon15thGabriel Bortoleto
    6thOliver Bearman16thKimi Antonelli
    7thLance Stroll17thPierre Gasly
    8thFernando AlonsoDNFLando Norris
    9thYuki TsunodaDNFCharles Leclerc
    10thEsteban OconDNFLewis Hamilton

    Race rating 6/10

    Up Next…

    Monza, Ferrari will be hoping for a better performance and Norris will be looking to bounce back. Its a great circuit that promotes overtaking so I am hoping for a good race.

    Leave a comment

  • Belgium GP – A Damp Squib

    This weekend past we had the Belgium Grand Prix at Spa. It is one of the classic circuits that has produced some classic races. It is also known for its changeable weather; a lot of these classic races have been thanks to the changeable conditions that get thrown up. This weekend’s race, however, was destined to not be one of them.

    The rain came down before the race, like it had done for all the other races earlier on Sunday and immediately I knew we were either going to get a delayed start, or they would trundle off behind the safety car before getting a red flag. Sure, enough, I was not wrong, we had a 90-minute delay due to an overly risk adverse Race Director, followed by several laps behind the Safety Car and by the time they went racing the Intermediate Tyres were already struggling and it was not long before we saw dry tyres.

    Why Won’t F1 Race in Wet Conditions Anymore?

    The above question is not really accurate; however, it does feel like they don’t. For me personally I think it is a combination of several things. Let me explain below.

    The Cars.

    The reason they gave for the delay was because the amount of spray that would be produced would make racing unsafe. I can understand this however, the spray that the cars produce is not a new thing and it is not going anywhere and these F1 cars are the safest cars we have ever had. The problem is this generation of ground effect cars, make the spray a more exasperated issue because they suck more water off the surface than previous generations of cars. I have long believed these cars are the worst generation of cars we have ever seen in F1. Originally, they were intended to make the racing closer and more competitive, which in the early stages was the case. With the rate of R&D that goes into F1 cars, this is no longer the case, and we hear more often drivers complaining of the dirty air and now it has come to the point where the spray they produce deems them unsafe to drive in the wet.

    The Tyres

    If I say that this is the worst generation of cars we have seen in F1, then I have to say that the Pirelli Tyres are the worst we have had in F1. It says something when Pirelli produces an “Extreme Wet” tyre and absolutely no one wants to use it. There used to be a rule in F1, whereby if the race started behind the safety car in the wet, the drivers must use the Extreme Wet tyre. That rule has changed now and in Spa everyone chose to run the Intermediate Tyre. Not only does the Extreme Wet not disperse enough water, the compound is too hard and is also therefore too slow. We have seen previously when they have had to use Extreme Wets, they dive into the pits as soon as they can to put on the Intermediate and go immediately 4-5s a lap quicker. Rumor has it that Pirelli have never invested much time and effort into their wet tyres, hence the poor performance. I have long been a critic of Pirelli; I was hoping the sport would move away from them but that did not happen. Tyres are so important to a racing series and these Pirelli tyres are just abysmal. You can’t push them properly, they degrade like no one’s business and as a result most races, the drivers are just trundling about in a time trial to try and make the tyres last. Bring back Bridgestone!

    The Drivers

    In generations gone by, F1 drivers had this Gladiatorial aurora about them. They drove these super quick cars, that took real strength and skill to muscle around a race circuit for 40 plus laps. Long gone are the days where drivers are physically and mentally done after a race save for the occasional race. Back then F1 cars were too hard for a teenager to drive, now it is not uncommon to see teenagers driving an F1 car and very quickly get up to speed. I feel like some of the drivers today seem to have a fear of driving in the wet, George Russell is a perfect example whenever it rains and you hear team radio or interviews with him, you just get the impression that he wants to do anything but race in the wet. You get outliers like Verstappen, Alonso and Hamilton that always want to go racing but the rest seem to just want to leave it. In my opinion the current crop of F1 drivers is more moddy coddled and less tough than their predecessors.

    Final Thoughts

    I feel that the fans were once again robbed of a decent race, other former F1 drivers also felt the same and some have even said that the days of getting a classic wet race are long gone. As a result, aside from Lewis Hamilton passing several cars and Piastri taking the lead from Norris, almost nothing happened once they got onto the dry tyres. I would love to know other people’s thoughts on this.

    Results

    1stOscar Piastri11thOliver Bearman
    2ndLando Norris12thNico Hulkenberg
    3rfCharles Leclerc13thYuki Tsunoda
    4thMax Verstappen14thLance Stroll
    5thGeorge Russell15thFranco Esteban Ocon
    6thAlexander Albon16thKimi Antonelli
    7thLewis Hamilton17thFernando Alonso
    8thLiam Lawson18thCarlos Sainz
    9thGabriel Bortoleto19thFranco Colapinto
    10thPierre Gasly20thIsack Hadjar

    Race rating 3/10

    Up Next…

    Hungary is this weekend, I like the circuit, however it never really produces any great races with overtaking difficult.

    Leave a comment