2023 Spanish Grand Prix - Catalunya, June 02 - 04

[AR3-GP]

I think what will be found tomorrow is that DRS is way overpowered here. Everyone running high downforce wings which means the slipstream will be at it's most powerful already. T12 is the only real corner in between the DRS zone between T9/T10, and the main straight which is a full DRS zone. To have the DRS into T10, have to drive one real corner, and then immediately start slip streaming with DRS all the way up to T1? It's going to be laughable.

[langedweil]

But it is a shame to see Perez being questioned after just a couple of messy races. Not long ago folks were talking of Perez as a championship contender!

Well, he's kinda in a championship with himself lately; until he stops thinking he can be WDC and just aim for a thorough 2nd place by years end, he will keep messing himself and the team up.
If he somehow seriously becomes a liability for the WCC, I wouldn't be surprised Marko would step in to change some things.

[organic]

I think what will be found tomorrow is that DRS is way overpowered here. Everyone running high downforce wings which means the slipstream will be at it's most powerful already. T12 is the only real corner in between the DRS zone between T9/T10, and the main straight which is a full DRS zone. To have the DRS into T10, have to drive one real corner, and then immediately start slip streaming with DRS all the way up to T1? It's going to be laughable.

overpowered DRS, mixed up grid and high degradation should make for an interesting race.

[napoleon1981]

Worried about Stroll tomorrow, hope he doesn't do anything stupid at the start.

He never holds back that's a given. It will be up to the ones around him if it will be clean or not.

[marvin78]

I think what will be found tomorrow is that DRS is way overpowered here. Everyone running high downforce wings which means the slipstream will be at it's most powerful already. T12 is the only real corner in between the DRS zone between T9/T10, and the main straight which is a full DRS zone. To have the DRS into T10, have to drive one real corner, and then immediately start slip streaming with DRS all the way up to T1? It's going to be laughable.

overpowered DRS, mixed up grid and high degradation should make for an interesting race.

Or, as usual, for interesting first 15 laps of the race.

[Wouter]

Red Bull do have a formerly highly rated reserve driver in the form of Mr. Ricciardo!

But it is a shame to see Perez being questioned after just a couple of messy races.
Not long ago folks were talking of Perez as a championship contender!

.

At Red Bull they are happy with the work Ricciardo is doing for the team, although advisor Helmut Marko has determined that
the 33-year-old driver from Perth has lost some of his qualities. In the simulator he is 'not at the level of Max Verstappen or Sergio Perez', says Marko in a video* conversation with the German colleagues of Motorsport.com. However, Marko does not want to reveal how much Ricciardo loses to Verstappen and Perez in the infamous 'Helmut round', which Red Bull internally regards as a simulator comparison between the drivers: "Those are internal details," said the Austrian.

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* https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=isPZLUK4OIc

[Edax]

Perez is a competent driver. What is preventing RB to achieve what you said is that their car is nowhere near as dominant as the 2014-2021 Mercedes.

He isn’t. He’s shown he’s not. He’s slow, mistake prone, and mentally in a very bad place now. It’s the accumulation of beatings that’s gets you, and Miami looked like the knockout blow.

You put a Norris type in that RB, and they achieve those 1-2’s. I’m not buying this stuff that this RB is not dominant. It might not be quite at the Merc levels of dominance, but it’s pretty darn close.

Red Bull do have a formerly highly rated reserve driver in the form of Mr. Ricciardo!

But it is a shame to see Perez being questioned after just a couple of messy races. Not long ago folks were talking of Perez as a championship contender!

Would he really fared better though? Ricciardo no doubt was a fine driver, but not in the rain.

Think yesterday favored the drivers that excel in slippery conditions like verstappen, Hamilton, Norris and Stroll, and and amplified the differences with those who don’t. Perez certainly falls in the latter category, but so does Ricciardo.

The real mystery is still what was going on with Leclerc. I was expecting him either to be on top or in the wall, but it became neither.

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The real mystery is still what was going on with Leclerc. I was expecting him either to be on top or in the wall, but it became neither.

Leclerc said that the car wasn't working properly, and the data shows that he lost a couple of tenths in every left-hander indeed. So he probably isn't the one to blame.

[search]

Tyres left + race strategies from Pirelli:

[Edax]

The real mystery is still what was going on with Leclerc. I was expecting him either to be on top or in the wall, but it became neither.

Leclerc said that the car wasn't working properly, and the data shows that he lost a couple of tenths in every left-hander indeed. So he probably isn't the one to blame.

Ah I missed the part about the left hand corners only I just figured the rears weren’t working. That indeed makes it likely that it is a setup snafu, or a failing component.

Can be nasty though. I remember with Vettel it took them two races to find out he had a crack in the chassis.

[search]

The real mystery is still what was going on with Leclerc. I was expecting him either to be on top or in the wall, but it became neither.

Leclerc said that the car wasn't working properly, and the data shows that he lost a couple of tenths in every left-hander indeed. So he probably isn't the one to blame.

Ah I missed the part about the left hand corners only I just figured the rears weren’t working. That indeed makes it likely that it is a setup snafu, or a failing component.

Can be nasty though. I remember with Vettel it took them two races to find out he had a crack in the chassis.

yeah, going by the comments from the Italian journalists on Twitter, Ferrari wasn't able to sort it out yesterday evening. No idea if this has changed meanwhile, or if they even know themselves.

edit: doesn't seem like they do, so they just changed everything

[Sieper]

What is also bad about situations like this, is the lingering doubt, both for the driver himself as the outside world. That is something you don’t need.

[basti313]

What is also bad about situations like this, is the lingering doubt, both for the driver himself as the outside world. That is something you don’t need.

Well, it seems like the diff was not working well. That should be solved with the new gearbox. I just wonder how many they have used so far, this is not the first defect?

[Sieper]

What is also bad about situations like this, is the lingering doubt, both for the driver himself as the outside world. That is something you don’t need.

Well, it seems like the diff was not working well. That should be solved with the new gearbox. I just wonder how many they have used so far, this is not the first defect?

Would be good if that was it, he had issues with the clutch (maybe diff?) at the practice start as well. Yeah penalties will certainly be incurred at some point.

[Juzh]

I predict hamilton in P2 on lap 10 at the latest. Mclaren has got no speed on straights and ferrari has no speed in sector 3, so they'll be sitting ducks. And if anyone jumps him off the line it'll only prolong the whole thing by a lap or two.
I think he's also got perez covered.