Albon And Ricciardo Just Crashed In Lap 1. A Red Flag Was Called, So Clearly The FIA Learnt From Last

I swear people on skysport's instagram commenting under Max's win saying F1 is boring now probably didn't even watch the race because so much happened and yet they're all going "boo max is winning again, I cant believe I woke up at 6 for this, what a snooze fest" ???

Did we even watch the same race? If you focused on any of the actual racing you'd be surprised at how Verstappen winning all the time doesn't take away from the competition in other parts of the race. Yuki finished in the points, Sargeant did several overtakes crashed AND DIDN'T DNF (all with a repaired chassis btw), Alonso defended wonderfully, Leclerc stayed in P4 on a one pitstop strategy, Sainz has a 100% podium rate for every race he's started this year, etc etc etc. but apparently the race is boring because Max won again.

Is the podium all they focus on? Actually, is first place all they focus on? Because if that's it, then maybe F1 isn't the sport for you. It's always been like this. You want more variety in winners, go watch motogp or indycar, where the cars are almost identical and so drivers can compete without the cars being as big of a factor to their performance. But stop complaining about Max's dominance I am so sick and tired of hearing it.

I'm glad Logan got out ok

AUSGP

I'm back! What a chaotic race. Anyways doing it a little differently this week, here's how my predictions held up with the race:

Oscar Piastri placing P5 or above: Piastri started wonderfully in P6 before moving up to a podium spot! Unfortunately McLaren asked him to swap positions with Norris, who did have fresher tires. They also missed the opportunity to pit when Leclerc (who was in front) did, which probably cost him a few places. He did finish P4 though, making my prediction correct.

Daniel Ricciardo in points: Not much to say here. The commentary didn't focus on him much, but he moved up from P18 to P12 which is impressive. Regrettably not enough to get him into the points though.

Ferrari on the podium: Not just one, but both! It's a Ferrari 1-2 in Melbourne, with Carlos getting DOTD and claiming the win behind a last lap virtual safety car to get his THIRD ever F1 win. Sainz's teammate Leclerc had a few issues, but managed to overtake Norris for second place. Ferrari, of course, sang the National Anthem for Sainz on the podium. Wonderful day for Ferrari fans, who have suffered through last year for this.

My tyre is gone front left (Leclerc)

Thank you Ricky, thank you Ferrari (Cue Sainz singing on the radio after the race)

No Red Bull 1-2: With Max Verstappen retiring on lap 3 due to an engine issue and Perez's 3 grid penalty, Red Bull anywhere near the podium was practically impossible. Perez finished P5 though, so one place up from where he started.

I just lost the car there really weird (Verstappen before he DNFd)

Of course the temperature kept increasing...felt like driving with a hand-break (Verstappen in an interview after his DNF)

Nico Hulkenberg in the points: Only 1% of people voted for this in my original poll, which is hilarious as it was one of the few predictions to come true. Of course, wonderful defending against Albon amongst other things let him hold onto P9, getting a few points for HAAS (as Magnussen joins him in the points, finishing P10)

Max Verstappen wins with a less than 5 second lead: ...okay so. Yeah we don't talk about this. 

Alex Albon in the points: William's call to give Sergeant's chassis to Albon did not, in fact, pay off. He finishes P11, just out of points, after being unable to overtake the HAAS. He did attempt to report Hulkenberg moving under breaking, but not penalties were applied.

That's so dangerous, moving under breaking (Albon about Hulkenberg)

I'll of course be making a summary on this race, but it'll take a while. Anyways, I'll see you all after I've had lunch :)

Sky sports just straight up talking about how Sauber hasn't scored a single point and how their current changes haven't paid off as they're RIGHT OUTSIDE their garage... it's kind of depressing to watch atp I hope Zhou gets a point tomorrow

Carlos Sainz points per race in 2024:

bahrain: +15

saudi arabia: -appendix

australia: +25

merc and ferrari and mclaren and red bull watching pierre go P3

All I'm hoping for this weekend is a Max Verstappen win so we can finally see him jump into that pool 😔

Bahrain GP Highlights

It's lights out and away we go for the first time in 2024! Here's what happened in case you missed it:

Max 31 seconds ahead of P2 (Perez) for a bit (and then 41 seconds ahead later)

Zhou Guanyu early pit -> Held P10 for multiple laps (dropped to P17 after pit)

Charles Leclerc locks up...several times

Sainz overtakes Leclerc, gets overtaken, overtakes him again

Mercedes engine (and hence, the Williams car too) having issues with overheating and power

Sargent almost retires from the race after a mechanical issue, ends up 1 full minute slower than P19 and unable to regain his position :(

Albon having issues with the screen on his wheel (most likely too bright for a night race)

Piastri comes out of pits and has the inside line, but Hamilton overtakes him

Russel and Leclerc battle for 4th, Russel locks up and Leclerc overtakes him after a failed attempt before

Ricciardo and Tsunoda chasing Magnussen, with RB making a call to do a driver swap that happened unfortunately too late. The RBs were lapped by Verstappen seconds later.

[ Sainz overtaking Leclerc the first time]

RESULTS

P1 - Max Verstappen, ahead of his teammate by 22 seconds to get his 8th consecutive win!

P2 - Checo Perez, ahead of Sainz by 2.6 seconds

P3 - Carlos Sainz, who also won driver of the day!

P4: Charles Leclerc, after seemingly getting his brakes in check and passing Russel

P5, 6, 7: The Brits, with Norris in a Mercedes sandwich

P8, 9, 10: Piastri ahead of the two Aston Martins by a pretty large margin

P11: Zhou Guanyu, who I personally voted driver of the day for somehow keeping the same set of tires (SOFTS!!) from Lap 10-29, and holding P9/10 for 13 laps

P12, 13, 14: The RBs behind Magnussen, with Daniel trying to catch him after a team ordered driver swap

P15- Alex Albon

P16- Nico Hulkenberg, who qualified P10 again this year

P17, 18: The two Alpines, Ocon in front

P19- Valtarri Bottas

P20- Logan Sargent, who had a mechanical issue and went out, before rejoining the race

maybe all that logan needs to get to q2 is a femininomenon guys