2021 F1 challenge discussion thread: R2: Emilia Romagna

Apparently Marzipan has binned it twice in first practice, consistency may be a winning quality, just not this type of consistency.

That's a pity, the Canuck race can chuck more than a few spanner into the works of any season.

Good to see Cheko putting Max on the spot already.

Funny thing is, Cheko was completely over the line at the same place on his best lap and he kept his time. Consistent in their inconsistency.

Racing incident. I think Bottas saw Russell very late rather than it being a deliberate squeeze and that's coming from someone who thinks the wrong person is in the second Mercedes. Really poor race from Bottas and such a shame to Russell as he was driving well and deserved a point or two.

I agree with the driver of the day vote, Lando was superb all race with some great overtakes particularly at the red flag restart

That's true, but unlike most other cars it's quite different to last year as it's got a new powertrain (so different power delivery) and rear end so Lando will be having to make adjustments as well.   Russell did an amazing job jumping into a different car without any experience of it, I guess that's easier when it's such a well balanced car but there's a lot of adjustment to make (braking points, corner speeds etc) when jumping out of a 2020 Williams in a 2020 Mercedes.

Lego version of the race is available to watch:

George Russell is unquestionably very talented. On the current grid, if one had to name young drivers that could deliver in a top team right now, it wouldn’t be easy. Someone like Ocon would like to be talked about in similar vein. Russell has that going for him, the very fact he was challenging Bottas for position speaks volumes. However, he needs to avoid become the nearly-man. The driver who was tipped for great things in a sub-par car but never quite made it to the top, the driver who almost scored points but didn’t. It must be said, Russell has thrown away points finishes for Williams on a few occasions now. The job he does in the Williams is exceptional. He embarrasses drivers in faster cars, and did the same in 2020. He needs to keep his head and not get too desperate with overtakes, because the pace is there, everyone can see that. I can understand his frustration.

I don’t think that Bottas deliberately decided to edge Russell towards the edge of the track. Its very narrow at that part of the track, the DRS effect is significant. Since they removed the final chicane, the top speeds into Tamburello are a lot higher. If that part of the track was designed today, it would probably be a lot wider on entry. It’s almost like parts of Imola no longer suit 200 mph single seaters anymore, but that would be the case if F1 went to other old tracks too.

Hamilton was a bit clumsy on the opening lap. Trying to go around the outside of Verstappen is only ever going to result in one outcome. I thought he would have just conceded the position and duke it out later. The way that Tamburello turns, Verstappen was always eventually going to have the high ground because it exits left, regardless of whether Hamilton got alongside in the second part of the chicane. Low percentage move. He had a great recovery drive after his trip through the dirt at Tosa, helped by Bottas and Russell colliding. Hamilton would have probably been near the back without the red flag.

Russell owed Hamilton a favour after making him go offline on the previous lap. He reacted quickly.