Poll: Official 2024 Miami Grand Prix Race Thread - Miami International Autodrome - Race 6/24

[jaybee]

Meanwhile, norris finished over 10 seconds ahead of max but apparently he was lucky and max was being held by norris...

Maybe norris has an invisible rear shield that spams between 3/4 corners in miami that held max...

I'm going to give you the benefit that you genuinely are confused. I said this:

Yes he held off Max which was still very impressive

In what way would you interprete the above to mean that Lando held up Max from after the safety car right until the end of the race? I said "held off", not "held up". i.e. He held off the attack from Max and then yes, pulled away.
Ironic considering you were trying to teach me the meaning of the word, whilst using it incorrectly both in tense and in meaning.

 

[Mr Jack]

Ferrari and McLaren are consistency better than Merc with Alonso doing what he can for AM, whereas previously those teams were wildly inconsistent; this leaves Merc as a solid 4th (5th if Lance Stroll left).

Aston aren't behind Merc because of Lance (although he doesn't help) - even Alonso is behind Russell.

 

[Mesai]

Aston aren't behind Merc because of Lance (although he doesn't help) - even Alonso is behind Russell.

I more meant "at risk of being 5th" depending on how upgrades go, but currently the Merc is mildly better than the AM.

 

[cuke2u]

It depends on how you look at it.

Ferrari and McLaren are consistency better than Merc with Alonso doing what he can for AM, whereas previously those teams were wildly inconsistent; this leaves Merc as a solid 4th (5th if Lance Stroll left).

The W13 and W14, while not great, were just more consistent at a time where teams were still trying to fully understand their concepts.

Quite, Lewis stated that his car felt good in the race and was able to challenge Red Bull at the end. But then Russell said he had no pace and a lack of speed. Unfortunately it seems the archillies heel of the Mercedes might be still the narrow tyre temperature range. But then many drivers at Miami had issues with either switching on their tyres or overheating them so let's see what happens in Italy..

 

[OldKitMan]

It was quality to see Fred getting involved in the Maclaren celebration. Doubt we'd see Toto or Christian doing the same.

 

[imtoooldforthis]

That was a pretty good race by f1 standards... even if Lando had not won. It was pleasantly surprising given the track is pretty uninspiring.

It seems the more soulless tracks tend to produce more interesting races a lot of the time purely because they have walls which result in higher chance of a safety car and things getting mixed up.

 

[KiNgPiN83]

have merc made a step forward. i wasnt paying full attention to the race but seem to remember hamilton all over perez for a good few laps after the safety car, just unable to pass due to no top speed.

he finished 2 seconds behind in the end.

Someone mentioned that they went one direction with zero side pod and then wen the opposite way with the current car and now know what direction they should be going in. Whatever that means?! (Probably means, they still don't really know... lol)

Voting wise i would've given the race a 7 but gave it an 8 because i was carried away with the emotion of everyone and Lando's first win. To be honest though, a great driver in a dominant car driving off into the distance will never be a high ranking really. There can be great action behind but its ultimately not as exciting. 2021 was awesome because we had two beasts in the best cars absolutely driving their wheels off. (And sometimes each others...)

 

[KiNgPiN83]

It was quality to see Fred getting involved in the Maclaren celebration. Doubt we'd see Toto or Christian doing the same.

That did make me laugh. (Although at first i thought you were talking about Alonso though and though i'd missed something... lol)

 

[Scam]

That was a pretty good race by f1 standards... even if Lando had not won. It was pleasantly surprising given the track is pretty uninspiring.

Looking back it seemed that most drivers were making/attempting overtakes at unusual places. You know, like (hold the phone guys!) around corners. So was DRS nerf'd or something? I don't recall seeing a single DRS driveby, and Miami has a fairly long straight. So what gives?

I've said it before and I'll say it again, ditch DRS and we'd have far better racing.

 

[SpartaP]

Looking back it seemed that most drivers were making/attempting overtakes at unusual places. You know, like (hold the phone guys!) around corners. So was DRS nerf'd or something? I don't recall seeing a single DRS driveby, and Miami has a fairly long straight. So what gives?

I've said it before and I'll say it again, ditch DRS and we'd have far better racing.

I think the problem with DRS activation zone 2 on the back straight at this track was that it was far too late. By the time the car behind turns onto the straight, from what is essentially a 90 degree corner (Turn 16), the car in front accelerates at least a cars length before hand and puts down the power a lot sooner, so it has the pace to stay in front long enough before the end of the straight, plus using their battery if needed.

The other 2 zones again I think have a late Activation zone compared to their detection zone.

 

[Feek]

Race highlights part 1

“Adrian…. Adrian…”

 

[KiNgPiN83]

I think the problem with DRS activation zone 2 on the back straight at this track was that it was far too late. By the time the car behind turns onto the straight, from what is essentially a 90 degree corner (Turn 16), the car in front accelerates at least a cars length before hand and puts down the power a lot sooner, so it has the pace to stay in front long enough before the end of the straight, plus using their battery if needed.

The other 2 zones again I think have a late Activation zone compared to their detection zone.

I honestly feel like we need a DRS free race just to see what happens. I.e. you can’t use it for quali or the race in its entirety. These new regs were supposed to make following easier so let’s see how well theyve done.

 

[Feek]

These new regs were supposed to make following easier so let’s see how well theyve done.

I don't think there's any doubt they've made following easier. Cars are able to follow much closer.

Overtaking is a different matter.

 

[cuke2u]

I don't think there's any doubt they've made following easier. Cars are able to follow much closer.

Overtaking is a different matter.

They'll be zero overtaking if DRS is ditched, however we don't need to test without the system, but I'm sure it has been by the FIA. History speaks for itself and it was in response to fans complaining loudly in the past that the races had no overtaking.
As the saying goes, you can't please everyone but some obviously wear rose tinted glasses.

 

[Jono8]

Quite, Lewis stated that his car felt good in the race and was able to challenge Red Bull at the end. But then Russell said he had no pace and a lack of speed. Unfortunately it seems the archillies heel of the Mercedes might be still the narrow tyre temperature range. But then many drivers at Miami had issues with either switching on their tyres or overheating them so let's see what happens in Italy..

It was really interesting to see Perez actually holding up Lewis.

Lewis was within half a second of him for absolutely ages, but the Merc just seems to draggy on the straights/with DRS compared to the RB making an overtake extremely difficult. I'd read that Perez had his car more set up for straight line speed than Max too which didn't help.

Now, it's difficult to take too much from the above though, as based on 2021, it's pretty clear that Lewis is a much faster driver than Perez. Therefore I still think there was likely a reasonable car performance deficit that was being bridged by driver skill.

It was relatively encouraging for Merc nonetheless though.

 

[GravyMonster]

They'll be zero overtaking if DRS is ditched

I'm not so sure that's true. A lot of overtakes happen under DRS now because it's the simplest way. Drivers just wait for the straight and go through, no need to try anything audacious or brave in to a corner - in fact at some tracks you're actively punished for doing that, ie. Jeddah 2021, where the DRS detection on the last corner means that you couldn't overtake there as you'll instantly lose the place again. It also means less wheel to wheel action because there's absolutely no point defending against someone going 15kph quicker than you down a straight. If you have pace to fight, then it makes sense to let them pass you, then try and hold on in DRS range to either try and re-pass again, or to get dragged along slightly quicker than you would be going in clear air.

There is no benefit to fighting.

However if DRS wasn't there would there be less overall overtakes? Most likely, but in reality most races these days have stats like '60+ overtakes' - but how many of those were memorable? How many got you on the edge of your seat? How many can you remember even a day later?

If we got rid of DRS would we instead see drivers defending more aggressively? Would we see more overtakes in unusual places? Would we see more bravery and skill? Would it improve the show? I'd suggest it's a 'yes' to all. A case in point being the 2 Alpines going side by side for the fist 3-4 corners of the Miami race, because they couldn't just open their wings and drive past the other. They have to battle it out properly for track position.

 

[Scam]

They'll be zero overtaking if DRS is ditched, however we don't need to test without the system, but I'm sure it has been by the FIA. History speaks for itself and it was in response to fans complaining loudly in the past that the races had no overtaking.
As the saying goes, you can't please everyone but some obviously wear rose tinted glasses.

I distinctly remember even when Merc had a car that was vastly superior to others, if they got stuck behind traffic for more than say, a lap, they found it really hard to get past. Their car, and others absolutely couldn't follow closely for more than half a lap without overheating and wrecking the tyres. Cars would regularly pull up behind a much slower car, if they couldn't get past within a lap or so, they'd have to drop back for a couple of laps to cool the car/brakes/tyres before giving it another go. Now that we have ground effect and cars can follow more closely for longer, DRS is fairly defunct.

And more overtakes doesn't necessarily mean better racing. I'd rather see two drivers battle it out for 3 laps with perhaps no overtake at the end of it, compared to someone waiting for DRS and pulling a motorway driveby down the pit straight. *yawn*

 

[edGfaCTor]

I honestly feel like we need a DRS free race just to see what happens. I.e. you can’t use it for quali or the race in its entirety. These new regs were supposed to make following easier so let’s see how well theyve done.

Or try something like DRS can be used only once per lap and its up to drivers when they use it.

 

[Mesai]

Or try something like DRS can be used only once per lap and its up to drivers when they use it.

Might as well give it to all cars, without needing to be within 1sec. Gives everyone more straight line efficiency without creating an overwhelming speed advantage for the car behind.

 

[Psymonkee]

Part 2 is out!