The 2021 Season

[Penfold]

Hopefully third time's the charm!

Been pondering who might have a good run at Monaco - besides Merc & Red Bull! Ocon's optimistic for Alpine to have a decent weekend, good in the twisty bit of Barcelona and been stronger on one-lap pace than in the races.

[Chrill]

Leclerc has DNFed in his last four outings in Monaco, including F2. So this is not a track for him. By that logic, I expect a P3 for him.

Alpine does have reason to be optimistic, they were OK in Spain's S3 last time around as was Ferrari. Alonso's experience could work in his favour and see him elevated slightly.

[Penfold]

I'll go with 'It is I' clipping a barrier on lap 52....

[Chrill]

Ferrari 1-2 on Thursday in Monaco. Leclerc was P1. Should I go for him as my weekly? I mean... his track record is poor. 4 DNFs including 2 in F1 and 2 in F2. And he had a gearbox failure in FP1 too.

[Penfold]

Yes, please pick him... will be hilarious when he smacks it into the wall 

[Chrill]

I have to go Ferrari. Especially as my preliminary pick is nowhere.

[Chrill]

https://www.motorsport.com/f1/news/bottas-wheel-nut-still-stuck-mercedes/6514622/

So that's a 21 hour pit stop and counting...

[Penfold]

So I was wrong about 'It is I' clipping a barrier on lap 52....

Not bad for a Monaco race, though a shame about Bottas (doesn't he just get all the luck at Mercedes!) and that the cretinous director cut away from Vettel on Gasly.

[Chrill]

and that the cretinous director cut away from Vettel on Gasly.

I'm one of them cool kids, so I use the app TikTok. I currently see one of two things:

* People getting horny over the Eurovision Song Contest winners
* Videos where something is about to happen, but just as it's about to they cut to a replay of Lance Stroll running wide by the Swimming Pool

[Chrill]

https://www.motorsport.com/f1/news/how-bottas-pitstop-ended-up-being-43-hours-long/6516768/

That's a 43 hour pit stop for Bottas, who will not be winning the Monaco GP.

[Penfold]

... and that's only for removing the wheel

[Penfold]

Singapore is gone: https://www.racefans.net/2021/06/04/singapore-grand-prix-cancelled-three-replacement-races-under-consideration/

They seem determined to find a replacement, with Shanghai, Istanbul, and a second trip to CotA all mentioned.

[eurobrun]

Yes, please pick him... will be hilarious when he smacks it into the wall 

Oh damn, you're a fortune teller! 

[eurobrun]

Watching F2 sprint race one and it really irritates me that its taken 3 laps to remove 2 cars that went off at turn 2 on lap 1.
One resting against the barrier with a damaged wing, but not something that can't be rolled away.  The other parked down the escape road.  2 cars that would be gone within 40s at Monaco. And at worst dealt with under a VSC.

Doesn't bode well for F1 tomorrow. 

This has become a theme of late.  They've gone so far with the draconian rules about marshals not entering the track without permission, that even on a track with a lap of almost 2 mins, they can't remove the car in a 2 min gap in traffic, they have to wait 90s until a safety car is called, then wait for the pack to pass the first time. 

The start of the race is always known as the most exciting part, hence why they were so desperate to have the red flag grid restarts and in my opinion, its the whole reason for the "sprint qualifying" race idea.  Yet they will throw a safety car for a crash at T1 when they are racing out of T3 rather than letting them actually race the majority of the 1st lap before slowing before the scene of the incident.  Kills all the drama and excitement of the 1st lap. 

Sorry if I sound over dramatic.  In the BTCC, unless the crash is on the grid, when a safety car is called, you still race to the line, then slow down, so you still get that 1st lap action and drama.   

Anyhow, hopefully we'll get a great F1 race tomorrow.  Personally hoping for a Red Bull 1-2.  For the benefit of the championship fight, they need to take full advantage of any Mercedes issues, cos we know Mercedes are the best at regrouping and fighting back.

[Chrill]

They held the SC until cars came back around. There were FOUR cars to remove. It took 2 laps. I think F2 handled it really nicely.