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Formula 1 - 2022

LostinSpace

The Gentleman
Staff member
Patron
Joined
Jun 15, 2005
Messages
26,624
I think we need a new thread for the new season.

An interesting problem with new design rules has come to light which nobody was expecting, porpoising. The cars literally start bouncing at high speeds. It's all to do with the downforce being generated from under the car floor rather than external elements such as barge boards and wings.

 
Best looking grid I can remember in a long time
The cars do look good, I can't really explain it in a couple words but aggressive and aerodynamic (fast) is the nearest my limited vocabulary allows. Bigger wheels, better looking wings and no barge boards.

After being totally turned off the sport at the end of last season I'm starting to look forward to it. My enthusiasm is still muted though, I was planning to be at Silverstone for the British GP but that's not happening now.
 
https://www.bbc.co.uk/sport/formula1/60601632?at_medium=RSS&at_campaign=KARANGA

Also Nikita Mazepin won't be allowed to compete at Silverstone, I haven't heard of other countries banning him but I'm guessing the UK won't be the only one. Also I've heard nothing about whether other drivers will race against him. However, FI is closely knit so I can't see the drivers refusing to race against him unless forced.

https://www.bbc.co.uk/sport/formula1/60586914
Being dropped soon. Losing his fathers money means Haas have no reason to keep a poor driver

However, they’ve decided to replace him with Pieter Fittipaldi, who’s only a marginally better driver and is another rookie. Bizarre

Best guess, they’re banking on more sponsor money with a Fittipaldi partnering a Schumacher
 
Being dropped soon. Losing his fathers money means Haas have no reason to keep a poor driver

However, they’ve decided to replace him with Pieter Fittipaldi, who’s only a marginally better driver and is another rookie. Bizarre

Best guess, they’re banking on more sponsor money with a Fittipaldi partnering a Schumacher
As you were saying... :)

They haven't officially announced his replacement though.
 
So Nikita Mazepin has been sanctioned with his father. I don't know anything about their business details other than F1 so have no opinion on it. I would be interested in other's views though.

Seeing that Mazepin the driver has been sanctioned makes me wonder how the fuck Abramovich has got away with it?

 
So Nikita Mazepin has been sanctioned with his father. I don't know anything about their business details other than F1 so have no opinion on it. I would be interested in other's views though.

Seeing that Mazepin the driver has been sanctioned makes me wonder how the fuck Abramovich has got away with it?

Immediate family are always sanctioned. Stops the main perpetrator laundering money through their account
 
So Nikita Mazepin has been sanctioned with his father. I don't know anything about their business details other than F1 so have no opinion on it. I would be interested in other's views though.

Seeing that Mazepin the driver has been sanctioned makes me wonder how the fuck Abramovich has got away with it?


It appears that many Russians like Abramovich have been getting away with it in our captiol for some time now!! :D He's clearly selling up before he is forced to or have the club sanctioned because of him. I do wonder what has been said behind the scenes as to why he hasnt just been sanctioned straightaway!?

The Mazepin Snr thing for me is fairly straightforward. Could you imagine the damage it would do to Haas/ F1 if they continued with Uralkali? Especially with Mazespin Snr being pals with Putin. Haas are quite happy to plug the financial gap left by Uralkali and see any legal battle with Uralkali as preferential to having them as sponsor apparently.

The Mazepin Jnr issue I'm in two minds on. Putting a pin prick in the stuff he got up to just before he joined F1, he's a 22 year old lad who hasnt done anything wrong like many Russian athletes. If he wasnt a Mazepin, I think he probably would still be in F1 racing as a neutral which is what the FIA set out in their rules for Russian/ Belorussian competitors. The fact that K.Mag is replacing him is a massive upgrade for Haas in terms of quality though!!

Oddly the Russian GP was the one race that I was planning on going to this season as it was the last race planned at Sochi. I messaged a friend saying we might have to have a rethink as it could be a bit "bomby" before the Russian invasion began. It's quite strange looking back at the conversation given what we know now!
 
Red Bull looked very good compared to the rest and the Ferrari's werent too bad either. I suspect that Merc were holding back, but they didnt look anywhere near as stable as the Red Bulls and Id guess from what Hamilton is saying is somewhere near the truth. McLaren struggled as well with various issues which is a shame because I was hoping that Norris would be pushing the top this season.

Like you say though, it's hard to tell from pre season testing, but early indications show that the Merc is around half a second down on the RBs. I do wonder if them not using the first test in Barcelona with their new sidepod could have been a mistake?

There will be so many changes in the cars throughout the season with all the new regulations so it's hard to tell who will do what this season. It could be a similar season to last in terms of Merc playing catch up, but at the moment I'd be backing Max and RB with the Ferrari's in the mix aswell.

Purely as a British supporter though Id love any combination of Hamilton, Russell and Norris top 3!
 
Tough to make any sort of judgement from testing, but what we can say is that it looks highly likely Sainz will get his much deserved first win

Early prediction, we will see at least one race where Verstappen and Leclerc crash each other out
 
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