Formula One ( F1 )

Maybe the Toyota boyz'n'girlz just really liked to partaaaaay.

He won at Suzuka, so guessing that's a contributing factor

Weird qualifying today. Nothing exciting happened, still the starting grid is quite mixed up. Biggest surprise for me was definitely Ricciardo dropping out in Q1

I thought Danny Ric was going to be an absolute demon in a Merc powered McLaren. My Red Bull buddies were genuinely worried by the prospect too. I don’t know what happened at Renault but it looks dangerously like he might have lost his edge. I hope not though :(

I didn't expect him and others to deliver right away but p16 is definitely way out of any expectation. Hopefully he will recover during the race.
Also Vettel performed quite well for a change

Also Vettel performed quite well for a change

Highlight of fairly dull qualifying although won't be surprised if DR finishes in front of him today.

I wonder what it’s like to be Vettel.

I'd be surprised if he isn't competitive with Norris later in the season. Probably take a while to settle with the new team/car/engine. Ocon's looking better than Alonso at the moment, Stroll looking better than Vettel, don't expect that to be the case later in the season. Though to be fair, Sainz and Perez are looking relatively decent relative to their teammates at the moment.

Mazepin off within the first five mins of FP1.

Someone's not keeping the website up to date.

He spun a second time already

What's up with the cars not having the drivers's names on them btw?
The halo, rear wing and/or the sides seem perfect so the viewers know who they are watching right now

Unless I've missed something while getting a coffee, the second was a replay. Turn 8 again?

I'm confused now. The second replay showed Leclerc right behind so I assume he actually spun a second time at turn 8?

What's up with the cars not having the drivers's names on them btw?
The halo, rear wing and/or the sides seem perfect so the viewers know who they are watching right now

Sponsorship space I imagine. The only time I recall seeing that sort of thing on an F1 car was when McLaren did that in the style of the West logo which I imagine was just to get around tobacco advertising bans.

Driver numbers are pretty prominent though (also they've got the different coloured T-cams as well as far as I'm aware)

To be fair, spinning out and coming to a stop right next to the access road, he's getting pretty good at it!

Not expecting much excitement from the Spanish GP, but Formula E is racing the full circuit at Monaco today, albeit with the right-hander of Nouvelle Chicane (after the tunnel) much tighter to create runoff space.

FE Practice 2: 1:31.1 (335bhp, 903kg, not much downforce, all weather tyres)
Comparable records:
F1: Max, 2018 RB14 Renault (~1000bhp, 735kg): 1.14
F2 (610bhp, 755kg): 1:21.6
Formula Renault 3.5 (530bhp, 625kg): 1:24.5
Porsche Supercup (GT3; 480bhp, 1200kg): 1:35.5

The F2 and FR3.5 records were both set by Oliver Rowland, current Nissan EDams Formula E driver.

I was wondering why Norris qualified surprisingly low but apparently he got blocked by Mazepin in Q1 which lead to Norris having to use another set of tyres which were meant for Q3.
https://www.formula1.com/en/latest/article.being-blocked-by-mazepin-in-q1-definitely-cost-me-says-norris-as-he.lxmfDwr0q4yIhhSUYQA7d.html

Good to see Mazepin keeping up his consistency in being utterly incompetent.

Bottas moving to a Clio Cup car soon? ;)

After Hamiltons second pitstop I expected Red Bull to pit later but go for soft tyres. I think they underestimated how much Hamilton would catch up and missed the perfect timing.

I don't think they underestimated it, just that there wasn't really anything they could do to counter it. As soon as Hamilton pitted there was a message between Max and his engineer saying "This could be another Hungary" referencing 2019's race where the exact same thing happened (Verstappen leading, Merc/Hamilton having the faster package, pit Hamilton who comes back from a 20 second gap with fresher tyres to take the win). Red Bull would've had to bet for some pretty bad luck with Hamilton's stop or out lap to not have him undercut Max.

Without a rear-gunner Red Bull are always going to be on the back foot relative to Mercedes when it comes to strategy. If Perez was where he really should've been, Mercedes would've been a bit more hesitant to go for that strategy. Though to be honest, I imagine they would've gotten the win regardless, probably just would've had to fight a bit harder for it.

As well as Perez, Red Bull really need another team to be fighting for podiums as well. Stealing some of those podiums and points from Bottas so Mercedes don’t walk away with the constructor’s championship. The commentators (critics?) give Bottas a hard time, but they forget he’s securing the constructor’s championship by consistently bringing those points in.

Monaco Historique on ITV4, 4 wheel drifts all round.

How many laps before Mazepin stops the session? First lap?

First lap?

Straight out the pit lane?

Didn't stop the session or even stop on track but both Latifi and Mazepin have boffed the wall within 20 mins