2021 Emilia Romagna Grand Prix - Imola, Apr 16 - 18

[godlameroso]

Got to think Perez will be ahead in to the first corner tomorrow. The softs ought to give him a boost off the line. Having the two cars next to each other ought also to give Red Bull a decent chance of taking the win.

Let's hope the first lap is clean for everyone. Be a real shame if there's a coming together in the first corner that ruins the race.

If Perez gets the jump on Hamilton it will play into Verstappen's hands, because when the softs start going off, he will either hold up Hamilton or force him to pit. If the Red Bull team beats Mercedes in the pits they can jump him, from there Verstappen can use his pace.

If Perez pits first he will undercut Hamilton.

Trust me, Mercedes will race Verstappen not Checo.

You mean Hamilton. Bottas is out of this fight, he'll be lucky to finish P5.

[El Scorchio]

The thing many said wouldn’t happen has happened. Perez out qualified Verstappen. Very interesting to see what Red Bull do if the positions at the end of lap one are the same as the starting positions. Will he have to let him by?

[Zynerji]

Well, I see Checo signing a new, 2yr deal before Spa. For a team that only is asking for MAX +.3s, to be this close is a shoe in for a longer term contract!

[matt_b]

How Mercedes closed a gap of 4 tenths in just 3 weeks is the biggest surprise about this session wow

[mafeotul]

I wonder if by mid-season we will still be talking about the Bulls or just how good Lewis is. He won by himself in 2017-2018. I feel the same vibes today. Man puts that car where it surely has no place. Win and pole with a car that clearly still has a lot of work to catch up. And finally all the Hamilton haters, the “it’s the car army get to see why he is the most successful driver in the history of the sport. Put some bloody respect on that man! Where is Bottas? Exactly!

[mafeotul]

How Mercedes closed a gap of 4 tenths in just 3 weeks is the biggest surprise about this session wow

Only one driver though. Still heavy work to do.

[Just_a_fan]

It's a long run down to the first corner meaning there's a big tow to take account of. Being the lead car isn't always that great in such circumstances, but with two cars behind that might squabble with each other, I still think the first corner might define the result of the race. Cool heads required, and I bet Horner will be telling his drivers in very strong terms not to take each other out fighting in to the first corner.

[mafeotul]

It's a long run down to the first corner meaning there's a big tow to take account of. Being the lead car isn't always that great in such circumstances, but with two cars behind that might squabble with each other, I still think the first corner might define the result of the race. Cool heads required, and I bet Horner will be telling his drivers in very strong terms not to take each other out fighting in to the first corner.

Mhm, however, if you remember Imola from last year, if i trust anyone to fight alone is Lewis. Irrelevant of how good that Bull is, no one does with the Tyres what he does. And also, i really don’t see any sparks not happening between Checo and Max.

[Just_a_fan]

Well, I see Checo signing a new, 2yr deal before Spa. For a team that only is asking for MAX +.3s, to be this close is a shoe in for a longer term contract!

Depends on whether they want Max to be ahead of the other driver or fighting him for places. Of course, Red Bull will look very silly if they sack Perez for being too quick. Sergio being all over Max has the potential to harm both of their chances.

[atanatizante]

We have in prospect some interesting battles tomorrow:
- Checo should pressure real hard Ham, knowing that S tyre race pace is more than what Pirelli expected to be here (had I`m not wrong almost 5 tenths) and between M and H tyre there is almost the same race pace. In addition, we`ll have to see Merc`s and Red Bull`s top speed here, although until qualy they were neck to neck ..
- Leclerc and Gasly are on the same soft tyre;
- Max and Bottas should play the long stint strategy tomorrow had they wanna undercut someone;
- And last but not least it`ll be interesting to see if drivers could overtake easier now with the prolonged DRS zone

[DChemTech]

How Mercedes closed a gap of 4 tenths in just 3 weeks is the biggest surprise about this session wow

Conditions may help, Toto mentioned temperatures were an issue in Bahrein. But yeah, all in all they did a good job.

[mkay]

How Mercedes closed a gap of 4 tenths in just 3 weeks is the biggest surprise about this session wow

McLaren qualified 1 second behind Red Bull in Bahrain... so does that mean they closed a 1 second gap in 3 weeks?

Norris, bar for that slight off at Piratella was faster than Perez/Verstappen.

[ringo]

Two tyre whisperers on the front row..
This could get interesting.

I am expecting to see redbull ask checo to give Max a go at passing Lewis and them not giving back Checo his position.

But overall this looks good for a redbull intrateam battle. Only the second race and the so called fastest driver got outqualified by who people thought was a Journey man. Perez will only get better as he gets more seat time. Thus only adds more pressure to Max's title fight. He has to focus on beating Lewis and supressing Perez because Perez does see himself as the redbull champion. One he has the car, i dont think he focuses on who is in the other seat.

[Hammerfist]

How Mercedes closed a gap of 4 tenths in just 3 weeks is the biggest surprise about this session wow

McLaren qualified 1 second behind Red Bull in Bahrain... so does that mean they closed a 1 second gap in 3 weeks?

Norris, bar for that slight off at Piratella was faster than Perez/Verstappen.

Indeed. I don't know where Norris came from with all that pace. Mclaren looked dreadful all of yesterday and today it seems one driver was able to unlock a lot of performance. I was certain he was going to get pole after he purpled the first 2 sectors. Incredible.

[MKlaus]

How Mercedes closed a gap of 4 tenths in just 3 weeks is the biggest surprise about this session wow

McLaren qualified 1 second behind Red Bull in Bahrain... so does that mean they closed a 1 second gap in 3 weeks?

Norris, bar for that slight off at Piratella was faster than Perez/Verstappen.

only way to explain is, bahrain is more power dominated circuit with not such a great demand on chassis. most likely, honda power made the difference there. except for one big straight, the power needs are not that great here. so it appears that mclaren has a good chassis and will be competitive where power demand is not really great.
max messed up and wasn't really upto the mark today.