Tag: motorsports

2022 Saudi Arabian Grand Prix- The perfect second round to follow up the season opener in Bahrain

Round 1 of the 2022 Formula 1 season gave us a lot to talk about, and simultaneously left us with a fair few questions to be answered. But, considering the new regulations, more unknowns than known variables was expected. Testing was always going to be something that we used as an opportunity to look at the cars out on track. No real significant conclusions to be drawn from there. Reliability is arguably the most important thing you look for in there. You can’t finish first if you can’t finish the race. Testing lap times don’t really matter either because nobody really pushes hard and goes all in. Despite that, the fact that McLaren looked pretty solid in Barcelona, to then turning up for the race at Bahrain and finishing 14th and 15th (this is after 3 other drivers DNF) is a concern. It’s not just that they finished terribly low down the order. It’s that they genuinely looked like the car with the slowest race pace. And that is surprising to say the least. McLaren have been on a steady upward climb for the past few years. To be this far off? Definitely things to work on.

And yes, I know that this is just the first round in a 23 race season. Overreaction and over analysis is not the right thing to do. But I need to put out content, so let’s go ahead and overreact & over analyse just a little bit more. FERRARI ARE BACK! Bahrain was painted scarlet red last weekend as the Scuderia Ferrari team got their first win in 46 races, which was also a 1-2! The last one was in Singapore, with Vettel taking the win and Leclerc taking P2. Ferrari have been quietly confident with their car this season. Team principal Mattia Binotto has been calm and cool and quietly confident- very un-Ferrari like. The team as a whole feels a lot calmer. Even during and after the race, Leclerc looked and sounded like a more seasoned campaigner. They know that they have a solid package in this F1-75 car of theirs, but Red Bull still look like the car to beat.

Speaking of Red Bull. They had a mixed weekend. Topping the time charts during free practice. Looked all set to take pole position with Max when Charles and Ferrari had something to say about that. But despite that, they looked like they have a very good, fast, competitive car on their hands. Even during the race when Max reported a steering issue, he was still quick enough to build a gap to Sainz in P3. That Red Bull still looks like the car to beat, for me. And yes, 3 of the 4 cars with a Red Bull Powertrain DNF. And people love to jump on that and question the reliability of the cars. But that’s not how it works. 1. We still do not know the exact issues on the cars. 2. All of them had different problems. Max had a steering issue, and a loss of power that just shut down his car. Checo had the loss of power issue too. Gasly and Alpha Tauri though had an MGUK issue and not the same problems as the Red Bull cars. They just have to put this down to a bad weekend (0 points hurts) and focus on Jeddah in a couple of days time.

The other team who I think will be in the title fight- Mercedes. Right now, they are clearly the third fastest team on the grid. Comfortably ahead of the rest but still a way off from Red Bull and Ferrari. But that’s where having someone like a Lewis Hamilton comes in. Mercedes got more points than even they would’ve expected, with Lewis finishing on the podium after the two Red Bulls DNF. But you need a driver as driven and focused as Lewis in order to always stay ready and pounce on an opportunity. The car clearly is not the easiest to drive. Porpoising, hard to handle, the straight line speed. Some things need fixing. But Merc know what they have to do, and I’m sure that in 4-6 races, they will be right up there, and could potentially even pip Ferrari as the main competitor to Red Bull. It’s hard to write off a 7 time drivers’ champion and an 8 time constructors’ champion- the last 8 years at that. I’m sure they’ll get their act together. I don’t expect a massive performance jump in the next race, or even in the one after that. But I am certain that this will be a three horse race between Mercedes, Red Bull, and Ferrari.

Jeddah should be fun. The fastest street circuit in the calendar. 79% of the track is driven at full throttle. The most corners of any track in the calendar with 27 of them. Under the lights. It is a nice change from Bahrain and offers such a different set of challenges. Will McLaren, Aston Martin, and Williams still struggle? Will Haas and Alfa Romeo prove that they are genuinely here to fight for the “best of the rest” midfield battle against the likes of Alpine? Will Red Bull have sorted out their “reliability” issues (or whatever little fixes they need to look at). And will the Ferrari, who are so good at slow speed corners, show that they are good enough and fast enough for a rapid street circuit, and put another marker down for being a genuine title contender? We shall see! I think we’re in store for a very exciting Saudi Arabian Grand Prix!

A Beauty from the Beast at the Qatar GP

Qatar GP 2022- Round One of the 2022 MotoGP season got underway with Enea “The Beast” Bastianini getting an emotional win for Gresini Racing. Bastianini and the entire Gresini Racing team were visibly emotional as they saw their rider take the chequered flag in the season opener under the lights in Doha, at the Lusail International Circuit. The team dedicating this win to their former team boss- Fausti Gresini, who passed away last year after contracting COVID-19. This was one of those moments where the entire paddock was happy to cheer on Bastianini and Gresini as the riders made their way back to Parc Ferme.

Bastianini started 2nd on the grid, behind pole setter Jorge Martin on the Pramac Ducati, and ahead of Marc Marquez on the Honda, completing the first row. Bastianini overtook Pol Espargaro and his Honda with 4 laps to go, after the Spaniard led the race up to that point. He was eventually 3rd and took the final podium spot as KTM rider Brad Binder overtook him in the closing stages of the race, as Pol was pushing to stay with the lead Ducati. With his 2nd place finish, Binder ensured that this was KTM’s highest ever finish in Qatar. They couldn’t break into the top 6 before this.

Jorge Martin had a race to forget. The Pramac man could not capitalize on pole and was swallowed up by the pack behind him. And to top it all, Pecco Bagnaia on his Ducati lost control and crashed into Jorge Martin on lap 12 and took both of them out. A disappointing weekend for Ducati’s factory outfit as Jack Miller retired the race on lap 6 after facing a technical issue. Fellow Aussie and debutant Remy Gardner on the KTM got his first point as a MotoGP rider, crossing the finish line in 15th.

Elsewhere, the Suzukis of Rins and Mir had a disappointing outing. They showed a lot of promise on Saturday but just couldn’t convert that into a result on Sunday, with Mir and Rins finishing 6th and 7th respectively. The Suzuki did this a lot last year too- a lackluster showing on Saturday that was followed by tremendous race pace and race craft on Sunday. They will need to look at both this time round if they want to get their hands on the championships this year. There were a few positives for Suzuki- the bike still looks like the most balanced, the GSX is a race pace bike and we saw that in spurts, and finally we got to see the increase in power of that Suzuki engine when down the start-finish straight, we in fact did NOT see the Ducati breeze past it, like we would have seen a year ago.

Defending champion and last year’s race winner, Yamaha rider, Quartararo didn’t kick off his title defense the way he would have wanted to. He started in 11th and on the final lap, down the start-finish straight was pipped to 8th place by Pramac Racing’s Johann Zarco- that Ducati showing that it is still an absolute missile in straight line speeds. The Yamaha looked surprisingly average. Quartararo even said post-race that he pushed as hard as he could. They need to get back to the factory and work on the M1 before the next round in Indonesia. They will be desperate to get back on track sooner rather than later, especially considering how many riders this season are gunning for the driver’s championship. Even Aleix Espargaro on the Aprilia looked rapid as he brought the bike home in 4th place, just behind younger brother Pol. A couple more laps and I reckon the Aprilia would’ve taken the final podium spot.

Qatar isn’t always the best indicator as to where teams stand compared to each other. It’s a hard track to read too much into. But you can still certainly see how teams “look” on the track. Body language, strategy, rider mindset, etc. And the fact that we had 8 teams finish in the top 10 is a wonderful sign for the fans. Yamaha, Suzuki, Honda, Ducati, and Gresini will all be bullish over their title hopes this season. Looks like we’re in for another season long dog fight with endless storylines to unfold over the next 20 races. BRB, ‘bout to grab some popcorn.