2023 F1 News and Prediction League

[pharvey]

^ Thanks PeteC

Friday was a strange one. Not a great deal gained from the Practice Session other than from the teams themselves - single Practice, different tyre selection, different fuel loads etc.
The Qualifying Session also raises a few question marks - Q3 Red Flagged due to a huge change in the weather - within 10 odd minutes from Q2, it literally turned to night, strong winds and later heavy rain. I certainly don't think the times or Grid Positions are representative - could well be an interesting race come Sunday!!

Main Race Grid (Provisional): -
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The "Sprint" coming up tomorrow!

[Big Boy]

No reminder again.

[Big Boy]

It arrived, but too late

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[pharvey]

No reminder again.

Oh come now BB - PeteC did drop a subtle hint!

The Brazilian GP coming up this weekend is yet another of the "Sprint" versions. Be sure to make your picks after Practice #1 on Friday, November 3 as qualifying follows 2 1/2 hours later.

I've not seen the "Sprint" as yet, so avoiding results (NOT part of the HHF/Superbru League), but will hopefully catch up before the main race and will post results afterwards.

[Big Boy]

No, I agree, I saw Pete's reminder, and thought I must do that soon, but then was distracted and forgot. I only read these posts once. With the e-mail, it stares at me in my Inbox until I've done the deed.

[pharvey]

Oh bugger... So much for Mercedes clawing back ground on Red BS!! If anything the Brazilian GP was their worst performance of the season - an absolute disaster! The car was slow on the straights, slow into the corners and the tyres were simply giving nothing. Russell only avoided the embarrassment of being lapped by Crashappen due to the fact that he retired due to a hydraulic fault.... Hamilton finishing in 8th.

Leclerc retired on the FORMATION LAP!! There is nothing right going for him this season. Magnussen and Albon out on the first lap after getting a tad "too close" - and both Alphas out mid-race.

On the brighter side, a big race for Aston Martin and a spectacular race from Alonso in particular - finishing in P3 after holding off Perez in a spectacular end to the race. Great from Norris again to come in 2nd and take the extra point for Fastest Lap. Predictably Crashappen and Red BS take P1.

Full Brazilian GP Results: -
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Superbru/HHF F1 Prediction League: -

Not very high scoring this round - Congrats to Parahandy takes the Yellow Cap and increases his lead on PeteC at the top of the table. The Wooden Spoon is awarded to PeteC this week although he shares equal points with BigBoy this Round and lost actually failed to score after missing his picks.

Anywho - Current Standings: -
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Next up, the "Glitz and Glam" (or over-the-top malarkey) of Las Vegas 17th to 19th Nov. Details to follow.

[pharvey]

Reminder for those in the HHF/Superbru F1 Prediction League (BigBoy/Lost ).....

The third US race on the F1 Circuit is here and no doubt will be an over-the-top extravaganza.

New circuit, new surface, cold desert nights, zero historical data - could be interesting! Teams will certainly want to get the most out of the practice sessions - unfortunately P3 is at silly-o'clock for me, but the schedule will suit Thailand/Asia.

Weekend Schedule - All Times UK: -
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[Big Boy]

Done, thank you.

[pharvey]

Done, thank you.

For those interested.... You may have to subscribe, but it's quick, easy and FREE!

LIVESTREAM: Watch the 2023 Las Vegas Opening Ceremony Featuring an All-Star Cast of Performers

"The inaugural Las Vegas Grand Prix weekend is officially kicking off in the most eye-catching of ways possible with an opening ceremony featuring a star-studded line up of big-name performers alongside the F1 drivers themselves.

The stellar cast of musical acts includes Andra Day, Bishop Briggs, J Balvin, Journey, Keith Urban, Steve Aoki, Thirty Seconds to Mars, will.i.am, Tiesto, Kylie Minogue and John Legend, plus appearances by Blue Man Group and Cirque du Soleil.

This event will see both music and motorsport fans coming together to enjoy memorable performances by multi-award-winning musicians and the stars of the F1 grid, set against the backdrop of the world-famous Las Vegas Strip."

https://www.formula1.com/en/latest/arti ... Swb8n.html

[pharvey]

Well, thought I'd catch FP1 at Silly-O'Clock, only for it to be Red Flagged after 8 mins and the decision made not to restart. The reason? A bloody Drain Cover! Sainz forced to stop on track after sustaining significant damage and Alpine later reporting that they will change Ocon's chassis again due to damage from a Drain Cover. So much for the "new track"!! Thankfully though no injuries....

There has been an update from the FIA:

"Following inspection, it was the concrete frame around a manhole cover that has failed. We now need to check all of the other manhole covers which will take some time - we will be discussing with the local circuit engineering team about the length of time it will take to resolve and will update with any resultant changes to the schedule."

Ho hum.....

[pharvey]

Surprise, surprise... P2 delayed whilst the issues of the Drain Covers/Supports are resolved - quite possibly, P2 will not run at all and an "Extended P3" tomorrow

Certainly not the greatest of starts and under the strictest of rulings, both Ferrari and Alpine could be looking at Grid Penalties for making the necessary repairs (and what parts are replaced) - add to this the expense of the repairs and the hit on Team Budgets/Cost Caps. Hopefully the FIA will show some common sense (not a given) and perhaps class this as "Force Majeure" and not penalise the teams any further - who knows....

Still zero track data for any of the teams to work on.....

[pharvey]

Well, we did have FP2, FP3 and Qualifying - under 2 hours now until the main race. Qualifying was interesting with some big names going out before Q3 - amongst others, Hamilton and Perez out in Q2, Norris and Piastri out in Q1 - very disappointing from McLaren.

Ferrari looking very quick throughout and should have locked out the Front Row had it not been for the ridiculous decision by the FIA to hit Sainz with a 10 place Grid Penalty As a result, he starts in P12. Crashappen moves up to P2 Very happy to see Russell in P3 though!

Starting Grid: -
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Good luck to all.....

[pharvey]

He may well be a bloody good driver in without doubt the best car on the Grid, but Crashappen is a disgrace!

Has done nothing but bitch and moan about Vegas, takes out Leclerc on the first turn and has the complete and utter arogance to not even give the place back. Instead he finally gets a 5 second penalty after building a decent lead - Red BS yet again benefit from a joke decision by the FIA/Race Stewards. Something must be done about this b*ll*cks!!

[pharvey]

I truly thought it wasn't possible to dislike Crashappen and Red BS as much as I do, but you live and learn! I'd also love to know how the hell Russell receives the same 5 second penalty as Crashappen did - come on FIA!!!

Screaming "Viva Las Vegas" on the win and after his constant bitching of the venue simply adds to the sour taste of this "win"... Great racing from Leclerc, Sainz and Hamilton - sadly an early departure for Norris, will be interesting to see what the hell happened there!!

It was at the end of the day a great race though - loads of excitement!!
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[Nereus]

I have no idea if the following is correct, but I guess that they have expense accounts as well, just in case they have to buy a hamburger or something:

Top 10 Highest Paid F1 Drivers in 2023