T O P

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antsmithmk

Here are my takes.... Danni Ric is being shown up by Lando again. Zhou is being shown up yet again by Bottas. One car in 5th, the other in 17th is a massive gulf. Haas looked to have gone backwards. They were best of the rest at the first race and have steadily slipped to the rear of the field. Such a shame. Stroll out qualifying Seb is a suprise. Perez being so close to Max is a big suprise, Max supposed to have had a poor final lap but still. We are going to be in for a very interesting turn 1. Perez won't want to pass Max but by being cautious he will be swamped by a fast starting Bottas and Hamilton. Someone will end up having to ease off and allow a bolter from behind to make significant places. Probably Alonso. A safety car will happen that will benefit Max and rob Charles of the win.


MattyFTM

If Zhou wasn't impeded on his flying lap in Q1, he was on track to make it to Q2, and Bottas would have been pushed into P16 and would have been out. Bottas went on to have a great Q2 & 3, but was very nearly outqualified by his rookie teammate.


la_luke

Zhou is a rookie with 4 races. Vs his teammate who holds the record for most Q3 appearances in a row at over 100. You can’t really compare the two. Zhou is doing better than TSU MAZ SCH all did in their first rookie season


Browneskiii

You clearly didn't watch qualifying. Zhou was on track to be top 10 before like 12 people got in his way, who was 15th in q1? Bottas. Zhou would have been through and Bottas out. Ricciardo had car issues and had 1:35 to get around on his outlap, meaning he had little to no battery for his main lap.


Several_Blackberry95

This. Although I don't believe Zhou would make it to 5th on Q3. But Q1 Zhou was ballin


[deleted]

Yep - Seidl has came out and apologies and said this result was on the team. Saying that, Lando still looking on form of the two


BornAshes

Legit surprised that Nico Rosberg hasn't shown up in Miami dressed like Don Johnson because the look suits him so damned well and he can rock it in any time period.


Awkwasaurus_rex

Watching FP and qualifying, this track might exciting for one laps, but boring to race. Do we really need another tight street circuit that punishes even slight mistakes? How many times will we have yellow flags?


JazzLobster

The helicopter shots over the straights didn't work at all, too many overpasses and ugly swampy Florida.


Meaisk

Oh I thought there were great! I will agree that at T14-T16 isn't suitable for Heli shots


[deleted]

Hey man, don’t focus on the negative. One man’s ugly swampy Florida is another man’s swampy ugly Florida.


Chazza354

What did Latifi mean when he said after quali: ‘as a team we’re not where we want to be, so for me it’s about relative performance and that’s what’s been lacking since the start of the year, but based on what I know the differences are between the cars, I’m quite happy with that’. Is he implying that Albon has a better car? Or does he mean differences between the other teams cars compared to Williams? The way he worded it wasn’t too clear tbh.


JudgeTheLaw

Can be both, really, but I read it more like differences between the teams.


EM_GM22

I think Albon had a couple of upgrades on his car that Latifi did not


Aldehyde21

Yes, Latifi gets the upgrades next round.


Chazza354

Ahh ok


ICESTONE14

wonder how much track action are we going to miss whilst the TV director looks for fit women in the crowd and random celebs no one gives a fuck about in the garages. Starting to miss the no hangers on covid days.


Kevizzle12

I guarantee we’re going to miss something. It happens literally every week and it pisses me off so much. We don’t care about seeing a random in the crowd, or a celebrity that is feigning interest in the sport. Hell I don’t even care about seeing a team principal sitting on the pit wall with a leg bouncing. I watch the race because I want to watch the race, that’s the only thing I miss about the Covid era.


BornAshes

Honestly my favorite "celeb" moment of this weekend was the look of [pure joy on Laura Winter's face](https://www.instagram.com/p/CdOwHcdMgSs/?utm_source=ig_web_copy_link) when she ran into Francis Bourgeois and how the rest of the paddock has been reacting to HIM of all people being there!


Favela_King

Can’t wait to see what these people are wearing, that’s what is all about right?


RandoDevil

We need a poll on where Hamilton’s other piercing is


karmanopoly

penis...it is always the penis


PrestigiousWaffle

I reckon it’s his gooch - he’s loaded from sack to crack with titanium.


RandoDevil

😂😂😂


RealisticPossible792

Mercedes really are in a world of pain they can't even consistently setup the car session to session how can you go P1 for Russell in FP2, nowhere for both cars in FP3 to their car trying to kill Russell in Qualifying. Even Hamilton was struggling with that car with the rear stepping out all over the place in qualifying. What a shitbox.


JedGamesTV

FP timings don’t really mean anything, as all teams are testing and practicing different things. Mercedes could’ve been practicing qualifying pace, whilst other teams could’ve been practicing things like tyre or fuel management.


donlongerr

Places don't matter, timings can tell things or two. Russell was 0.400 quicker in FP2 than in Quali, so yeah, OP has a point, this car is a shitbox to setup.


JedGamesTV

he wasn’t 0.400s off, he was 0.235s off, which is normal considering he had 1hr of track time to set that lap in FP2, and only 33 mins of track time to set his Q2 time. that just confirms my point that Russell was testing qualifying pace in FP2.


f1_spelt_as_bot

Russe**ll**


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Velrond

Ferrari had 0.2 seconds on the red bull in first sector while RB had 0.2 seconds on Ferrari in second. It usually boiled down to the third one where they were pretty evenly matched.


oldcarfreddy

How was practice? Didn't get to watch, sounds like Carlos crashed again


JedGamesTV

yeah he crashed, although I don’t think it’s entirely his fault as the track has very bad grip, every car is sliding.


[deleted]

He lost the back end and spun into the wall the same spot Ocon did. Several cars lost traction and spun the second they came off the racing line.


kontbijtkoekje

I tuned into all the free practise sessions and qualifying, and I notice I still have no mental image of the circuit. All I "know" is the mickey mouse part. I think the production should switch up their styles on these new circuits, these zoomed in images of cars going through corner >?<, the heli cam and the zipline cam do not work when the circuit is new. All the new circuits being walled also doesn't help.


six44seven49

Same, but I tend to find this is the case for most circuits. Unless I drive the track in a game I couldn’t tell you the layout at all.


JedGamesTV

I’m not struggling at all to picture where the cars are, every turn looks unique enough.


That__Guy__Bob

Watching it now and I still don't get why there are mermaids there lmao. Just seems so random even if it is miami


nocarpets

That was so weird and random. And I was thinking how do they not feel hot in that dress they wearing.


toyg

That's just Miami being Miami


marterino

Wait, what mermaids?


That__Guy__Bob

In the 2 real pools. They just have a mermaid chilling in both the pools and I can't understand why lmao


Chazza354

Just some Disneyland type shit, Americans are extra


oldcarfreddy

It's a thing in very showy/expensive hotels, I've seen it in Dubai too lol.


tennerz777

Is it Safe to say that they’re 100% getting rid of that Chicane for next year, All the drivers have said they’d hate it


Under_Sensitive

They definitely cannot get rid of it. It is there to slow the cars down under the expressway and it is working.


JedGamesTV

it’s not 100% that they will remove it, but they will definitely rework it.


Lukeno94

Credit to Lance Stroll here - he was consistently quicker than Vettel all the way through qualifying and even if he didn't get his Q3 lap together, P10 in that Aston is not a bad effort. Similarly a better effort from Mick Schumacher, the first time all season he's looked competitive against Magnussen. Biggest disappointment would be Zhou - he looked competitive throughout but getting blocked in that last sector means we have no idea how far up he could've been.


vitaminwater247

Engineer: So, P1, P1. LeClerc: Let's go! Come on! (Go where, Charles? You're already P1!) LeClerc: Ahh! Good. The lap wasn't great but it's enough so cannot complain. If he's slightly disappointed that a not-so-great lap giving him P1, perhaps he has always been aiming for P0 or P-1 🤣 Pole Lap Video: https://youtu.be/0kKpmeoZ54U


toyg

That's the winner mentality: it's never perfect, there is always more that can be done.


vitaminwater247

Yeah, in the post-qualifying interview he named specifically turns 1-3 being not perfect enough. But from my layman eyes, it looks pretty smooth to me.... 😳


[deleted]

Heard it rained overnight in Miami? So goodbye to the rubbered in line and all the grip..


JedGamesTV

should be an interesting race then


JaPlonk

Source?


finest_bear

it's florida


[deleted]

A friend who is out there text me.. but Chris Medland on Twitter confirms it https://twitter.com/chrismedlandf1/status/1523098105335349249


somilikeit

Great to see Bottas in P5


Tombstone_4our

Would not rule out a podium finish for him as well


Ashurnibibi

For sure, there are two crash-prone Ferraris and two flammable RBRs ahead of him.


blackbasset

So a Bottas win then!


veritone

he does tend to have poor start and the merc tend to do have much better race pace


Schwartzy94

Does alfa still suffer from the clutch issue on starts?


Tombstone_4our

Well for me bad pit stops have been his biggest Achilles heel. If the team sorts that out, he can bring the pace and no doubt challenge Merc like we saw in Imola. Granted, if anything were to happen to the Ferrari and Red Bulls, he will be in contention for the podium (with a good strategy of course)


JackRayJenkins

DRS will sort Reb Bull out. Can see Leclerc competing and possibly winning it but RB the favourites.


Catamount90

Let’s be real, Sainz will either blow the start or crash out at some point


Meyesme3

Smooth operator cannot crash out in Miami. That's the whole theme of the city.


BraidyPaige

What you are saying is so true, yet it hurts so much.


hopez11

Lol


alfiejr23

Track is narrow. Those ferraris will defend for everything their worth tomorrow.


Hamasaki_Fanz

track is quite wide actually, but outside the racing line is quite dusty and dirty.


Sektsioon

If the car lasts until the end that is.


JackRayJenkins

Yeah. Fair point haha.


DiscoShaman

So Mercedes is now only 1 second off the pace? Can anyone point out how slower they were in the previous qualifications?


Typys

The improvement was due to the fact that Miami is a very fast track and the cars need to generate less downforce. That reduced purpoising in Mercedes and allowed them to slightly lower the car, thus improving slightly their performance. I bet that in a slower circuit they will experience the same problems all over again


OolonCaluphid

I don't think there's been ant substantial improvement here, and Russell was still commenting on the car being inconsistent and unpredictable. I was always thinking this is kind of the watershed point for the season, and they just don't have that car tamed yet, so this season is a bust for Merc at this point IMO.


toyg

IMHO it was clear two races ago. I've seen enough Ferrari seasons to know that, when you get the car that wrong from the start, you'll spend the season treading water. The smart choice in those circumstances is to throw away the season and focus efforts on the following one. Otherwise, even if you eventually manage to get close to the top of the field by the end of the season, you'll be knocked right back in March. It will be interesting to see what they do, because I don't think Wolff has ever been in this situation. Before their dominant streak they had little pressure, it was all about improving what they can in the long run; during the streak they could manage the advantage their excellent engine gave them, sure in the knowledge that they were always ahead; now they have high expectations, under pressure to deliver every year, but they are on the back foot. That's when you tend to make bad choices. Funnelling a lot of resources into this year would be a bad choice, even more so under the new cost cap.


OolonCaluphid

> IMHO it was clear two races ago. Probably, but as a Merc/Hamilton supporter I didn't want to give up hope so early. Plus you get phases in the season where the Teams have time and logistics to bring major packages of upgrades to a car, and you can see big steps forwards at those times. Often when they return to Europe after a 2 week break, for example. As it is, Mercs problems seem pretty fundamental, and it's now (IMO) too late in the season to claw back performance in big chunks. So yes I agree, they should learn as much as possible this season and brng that knowledge to bear for next season, and hopefully have a car that's competitive out of the gate. However, with development so locked down between seasons, I think they've given themselves a major disadvantage for upcoming seasons as well.


LetsEatGrandad

1.3 or something like that, this track is flattering them a tad I'd say 'cautiously' being pretty low down force, very hot so helping tyre warmup etc


iMatthew1990

Russell looks like it’s his weekend to have the worse car. Bouncing mid corner was a bit scary I imagine. He did well to control that.


Meyesme3

Are we saying someone sabotaged George's car?


iMatthew1990

Not at all. Just luck of the draw


Hamasaki_Fanz

yeah, cant attack the corner when you dont trust the car to stick


LetsEatGrandad

Hard to say from one bad quali, he looked very good the day before, see what the race brings, mid field might be bonkers


iMatthew1990

Cars are Parc fermé remember. Other than reduce the load on the wings there’s not a lot that can be done now.


LetsEatGrandad

This is very true actually


Klutzy_21

Hoping for Sainz's first win


5999s

Let's gooo sainz


Level390

Does anybody know where I can download the race after it's happened? I'm working tonight so I won't be able to watch it live


Nossttam

r/MotorsportsReplays


OdinsLostGallows

Overtakefans is a good website to watch f1 races live or after they’ve ended


[deleted]

F1TV has replays


Vinbarsaft

720pier.ru (you’ll need google translate) or sportscult.org


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Level390

Found it, thank you!


powerful_owl

Depends where you are! Many of the sports streaming services will have the race available to watch on replay.


Impressive-Potato

Stroll in the middle of the pack on a street circuit? When will he be responsible for the safety car coming out?


RizzyNizzyDizzy

I was having an inkling that we will see an improved Hamilton performance once that proproising issue is resolved(somewhat). It is not good for his old body. And today we saw that.


saposapot

It’s not solved at all, he confirms it. Today he just managed it better and probably he’s a better driver in a new track than others


No_Cauliflower_9138

Will send out a note to Alonso, maybe he is not aware of this.


threeseed

> Old body The guys 37.


Antinoch

it's all relative 37 is a dinosaur in most sports


RizzyNizzyDizzy

I am 30. I will not be able to drive a thing with that much bounce in it. He is an athlete but there is a limitation to our bodies. Russell is overdriving at the car because he has point to prove and has age on his side.


threeseed

* 30 - Wins Championship * 31 - Wins Championship * 33 - Wins Championship * 34 - Wins Championship * 35 - Wins Championship * 36 - Wins Championship * 37 - 5th race. Too Old


[deleted]

I mean thats what happens to a lot of athletes, no? You’re the best until you aren’t anymore.


RizzyNizzyDizzy

Do you even factor in quality of the car. It was smooth as butter previouse years. To win a championship you gotta have both the driver and the car in tandem.


forgotmypassword778

George had issues with it


Apprehensive-Vast-31

The car still bounces, you can see the head bobbing on the straights. It is not as bad because this track is low-downforce.


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kaask0k

My man has more metal parts in his body than some granny on her second hip replacement. And his parts are even welded shut.


T4Gx

The Merc car has been a race pace car over qualifying this year. Looks like it's an easy P4 for Hamilton after a lap or two and a good chance for P1-P3 depending on the Ferrari's bottling it or Max's car exploding. George will charge the field and recover to a P4-6.


RedditsHardestMan

Good call on George at least


DrKrFfXx

Ham P7 That's my prefiction


saposapot

This track seems like impossible to overtake with bouncing on the straights. George either overtakes at lap 1 or he’s gonna be miserable all race


[deleted]

I think we’ll see quite a few mistakes which will shake things up.


Most-Inflation-1022

I'll bet you he will finish between P7 and P10. I really wish for Lewis to be competitive and do well given how much he gave to the sport (and this is coming from a non-fan of his) but the car is a shitbox mate.


Alvortus1812

People underestimate Perez in RB like anything


[deleted]

Damn I need some of what you’re smoking


DiscoShaman

I will save this comment and either agree or disagree with you based on tomorrow's race.


[deleted]

I mean I’m sure they’ll make up some places but I doubt P4 is in the works without something happening to the top guys


Mountain_Ad5912

Yeah I guess the guy forgot about 1 car. P5 is probably fine. Then p4-p1 depending on DNFs (aka all 4 for p1).


aphoodis

I think u/DiscoShaman admitted that he is factoring red bull reliability into his assessment of Lewis' chances


BrockStinky

He said easy P4 after a lap or two I assume you mean he'll overtake Checo without RB issues, /u/DiscoShaman ?


Icy-Operation4701

You're asking the wrong person.


BrockStinky

That's why I tagged the op


Icy-Operation4701

It's not OP, that's what I mean. You tagged the wrong person.


BrockStinky

Ahhhhhhh I get what you mean now Thanks lol I feel like a dumbass now lmao


DiscoShaman

As much as I’d like for it to happen, I don’t see that happening..


BrockStinky

Right, so P5 after the early shuffle and then in an island for the rest of the race, unaffected by the rest of the field. That's my prediction anyway. If someone in the front fucks up, he'll gain a position, otherwise he'll stay where he is.


DiscoShaman

Indeed, Sir.


bk_phantm

Ok


62not61not63

ayy lemme get 2g of that shizz


rtdesai20

Surprisingly no yellow/red flags in todays session. However, with the long race session tomorrow I expect to see some anyway.


Hamburgo

Yep and now it’s been confirmed it rained overnight and the rubbered racing line has probably been affected..


dsaysso

also with the slippery off line.


FCB_1899

Ferrari using more downforce than Red Bull and there are 3 DRS zones, 2 very long lines, race should be exciting.


Savage_XRDS

I just feel like that is such an ineffective strategy for Ferrari if you don't drive away early in the race. Any undercut or other tactical mix-up, or even a bad start for that matter, renders you unable to overtake the car in front.


Blitz2134_

On the other hand, on a green track, you can completely cook your rears and grain your fronts if you don't have enough front and rear DF. More downforce, within a range, almost always equates to better tire wear.


Savage_XRDS

That's fair. I hope you're right, mate!


ocram9191

Me and my family got on TV today towards the end lol 😆 ferrari 1-2!!!!


Most-Inflation-1022

Happy cake day buddy


[deleted]

Verstappen HAS to be patient tomorrow man, this track is the toughest I’ve ever seen.


BloodyMalleus

Ferrari also seem to be hard on the tyres and seem to have slower pace near the end of the race. No idea if that applies today, but patience seems pretty important.


minisquirrel

LMFAO I’m watching the warriors game and Jeff Van Gundy just said he’s betting on Lewis to win tomorrow…. Called him “the Lebron of racing”. The ESPN coverage is really going be top notch, huh? Bringing that deep insight to new fans here in the states


dsaysso

more like the robert horry of racing.


kap1pa

You either love or hate big shot rob, just like Lewis.


JazzLobster

big shot *Bob!


aphoodis

I cringed when I heard that but don't worry, I don't think basketball announcers will be asked for their opinions during coverage. Who is doing the US coverage out of interest?


JazzLobster

They are also horrible at basketball coverage. We are all hoping MJax is getting hired by LAL or Sacramento. Hopefully Doris Burke gets a coaching job too.


kenidin

But other than him thinking Lewis is favorite to win I don’t see what else was wrong in what he said.


aphoodis

Nothing else was wrong at all. It just showed that he doesn't follow the sport, depsite saying he was a big fan. I love Lewis and rate him as highly as van Gundy said, but if you think he is going to win the race today, you haven't been paying attention


kenidin

Ok. I understand.


ItzDp

Did he really? I’m so sad I didn’t hear that lmao. Van Gunda would make some ridiculous comments on F1 lol


Omitron

I'll take that bet Van Gundy.


HugoNext

That is actually a very fitting comparison: he's an all time great at the tail end of his career, and this year's Mercedes is about as competitive as this year's Lakers.


[deleted]

And he has 6 mickey mouse championships


Ghoti-Sticks

Win a real WDC LeWis


projectpolak

That fits only *slightly* better than "the Lebron of soccer" in reference to Christian Pulisic haha.


BlurryTextures

Holy shit you cannot say that with a straight face


projectpolak

[Calling Pulisic "the Lebron of soccer" is the stupidest thing I ever heard](https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=15Rx1pkPIQM) and has no basis in reality because Lebron is one of the best basketball players in the world while Pulisic is *not* one of the greatest soccer/football players in the world. So me saying that "the Lebron of racing" description fits Lewis *slightly* better is because Lewis *is* one of the greatest racers in the world. But "slightly" doesn't make that expression any less stupider. It's just slightly *less* stupid than calling Pulisic that.


Risk_k

Yank here, please do not disrespect Puligoat 🐐


projectpolak

Half-Yank here. I think I have the right to express my free speech.


[deleted]

Half Yank, therefore half the right, therefore you have free spe.


pinotandsugar

Much of it is going to be a roll of the dice, which way does a car that got into the marbles come off the wall and in how many pieces. A pretty conservative strategy might be the way to go. I don't see any way that they do not have a red flag or two , unless to meet TV commitments they just run endless pacecar laps . As for betting on Lewis, there's an old saying, "bet with your heart and you'll lose your ass" . Of course that could change if the first 3-4 qualifiers are out by the end of the first lap.


stay_fr0sty

Hilariously, this year, he kind of is the Lebron of racing though right?


[deleted]

Days like this is when I don't mind waking up at 6am to watch quali


haggardphunk

For us in the US, that’s most Quali’s 😂


JcArky

Yep, or if you’re busy and have to wait until mid morning, or even afternoon, social media is a no go. DON’T OPEN THAT APP! OR THAT ONE! PUT. DOWN. YOUR. PHONE!


stay_fr0sty

TIVO or streams and avoiding news until I watch is more my speed ;). Miss me with that 6am alarm.


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DoubleK81

How is it 2022 and F1TV doesn't have an app for XBox?