Pick the Podium - F-1 - Aramco United States Grand Prix, Circuit of The Americas, Austin, Texas, October 2021

[Retroram52]

F-1 makes its only appearance in the United States this weekend at the Circuit of The Americas in Austin, Texas. All of the celebs who mean anything like Mario Andretti is going to be there. I just wish I had the cash and time to attend in person as my plans have crumbled. No worries, I suspect Hamilton with his one-race, new powerplant is going to come after Verstappen to bury his rival. Expect Bottas to have a say in the matter as well. Should be fun as usual. BTW, Pirelli finished its tire test with the coming 18-inch wheels and man do I like the look of the livery system. Check it out.

Pirelli conclude on-track development programme for new 18-inch tyres with Paul Ricard test | Formula 1®

Daniil Kvyat capped off Pirelli's 18-inch tyre testing on Monday as he completed 167 laps on intermediate compounds at Circuit Paul Ricard – concluding F1's tyre supplier's on-track development programme for the all-new 2022 compounds.

www.formula1.com

 

[Retroram52]

Looks like the Mercs have improved their straight-line power to match the Hondas now that the new powerplant suspension has been served.

Is Mercedes’ improved straight-line speed down to some clever ride-height engineering? | Formula 1®

Mercedes have managed to make up ground on the straights compared to Red Bull – but is it down to increased power or an elaborate piece of engineering? Mark Hughes delves into the topic, with technical illustration from Giorgio Piola.

www.formula1.com

 

[Retroram52]

With all that is going on, if this is true, it'll be interesting to see what Michael does in F-1, again.

Michael Andretti Rumors Are Talk of the Paddock at F1 U.S. Grand Prix

American racing team owner believed by many to be in talks to acquire Alfa Romeo F1 team.

www.yahoo.com

 

[Retroram52]

Bottas looks pretty stout in FP2 but Norris and Perez are still ahead of the Mercs so far.

 

[Schmoopy1000]

the race isnt until Sunday. correct?

 

[ckhokie]

Bottas looks pretty stout in FP2 but Norris and Perez are still ahead of the Mercs so far.

Bottas took another ICE

RB must have been running lower downforce today. Fastest in sectors 1 and 2, HAM in sector 3

 

[Retroram52]

Hamilton is out front in FP3. Working on a few things for qualifying.

 

[forty_three]

Cracks me up when guys are getting lap times deleted for going 2 inches over the white line at T19 when Indy Cars were going into another county at that turn when they ran there.

Will be interesting to see if F1 bans the negative baffle setup on the back of the Merc. It would be incredibly hypocritical of Red Bull to complain since it was Newey who perfected it and it delivered 2 championships to Vettel. So it's even money that they will complain.

 

[forty_three]

Think the Mercs will have better long run pace, and we've already seen how Lewis does up the inside into one.

Pretty good showing from Perez though. The broadcast even said that he is starting to reject upgrades that are aimed at Verstappen, opting to have a setup better suited to him. Getting more comfortable in the car. If he were to win in Mexico it would be amazing.

HAM
VER
BOT
PER

 

[ckhokie]

VER
HAM
PER
SAI

 

[Hank Kingsley]

Verstappen
Hamilton
Ricciardo
Bottas

Desperation picks... Not going to catch up if I do exact same.

 

[Retroram52]

I'll go with Verstappen, Hamilton, Perez, Bottas.

 

[Schmoopy1000]

Verstappen
Hamilton
Perez
LeClerc

 

[Retroram52]

I am liking all of the new changes for 2022 including the wheel winglets and 18" wheels.

10 things you need to know about the all-new 2022 F1 car | Formula 1®

There’s a revolution coming in Formula 1 in 2022 and it’s shaped… well, much like the car you see in the image above. Here are the 10 key things you need to know about the game-changing 2022 car, a full-scale model of which broke cover at the British Grand Prix on Thursday.

www.formula1.com

 

[Retroram52]

Verstappen wins it, followed by Hamilton, Perez, and LeClerc.

 

[ckhokie]

We’re gonna hear it from Schmoopy

 

[ckhokie]

Fun race, but I actually think the camera work on the broadcast was terrible. Not sure if it was a US crew, or the normal one is just trying to find a groove at COTA, they seemed to regularly be missing the action and fighting on angles.

 

[Retroram52]

Here's How We Did:

ckhokie: 12 points-Correctly selected Verstappen for the win; Correctly selected Hamilton for Second Place; Correctly selected Perez for Third Place
Forty_three: 0 points-Skunked
Hank Kingsley: 10 points-Correctly selected Verstappen for the win; Correctly selected Hamilton for Second Place
Retroram52: 12 points-Correctly selected Verstappen for the win; Correctly selected Hamilton for Second Place; Correctly selected Perez for Third Place
Schmoopy1000: 15 points-Correctly selected Verstappen for the win; Correctly selected Hamilton for Second Place; Correctly selected Perez for Third Place; Correctly selected LeClerc for Fourth Place; 2-point Bonus for running the table

2021 Season Totals

ckhokie: 94 points
Forty-three: 69 points
Hank Kingsley: 82 points
Retroram52: 106 points
Schoompy1000: 90 points

Next Race: Grand Prix of Mexico. November 05-07, 2021

 

[Retroram52]

Congrats to Schoompy for running the table. Pretty stout for a newbie! LOL!

 

[Retroram52]

See everyone in two weeks for the Mexican GP!