Formula E has just had a nightmare. Basically every team miscalculated the length of the race, so on the start of the last lap Mercedes were running 2nd and 15th. They finished 1-4 (I think?) because everyone else ran out of energy. There might only be 4 or 5 finishers.
Probably fairly soon? I think it was to do with the revision the race director makes to the allowed energy usage as a result of a safety car. They lose 1 kWh energy per minute of safety car. A late safety car meant they lost a chunk of allowed energy with only minutes left. Normally it works ok, but with this being the first time Formula E have races on "real" tracks, I don't think they realised just how great the energy usage was per across the longer laps at the circuit. The race is 45 mins + 1 lap, and the revision to usable energy just left everyone without the energy to complete the final lap. Mercedes got really lucky, it wasn't good planning from them, they'd told De Vries to use energy up before the final safety car, he just hadn't quite got down to the level of the others.
I love Formula E, that was a great race, right up until the last few laps. This one ended up as a farce, they need to have another look at the rules and make sure this doesn't happen again.
I missed this announcement on Friday. That will be two senior figures Mercedes have lost on the engineering side. I must also have missed the confirmation that Redbull did manage to purchase the IP from Honda. All pretty significant. Formula 1: Senior Mercedes figure joins rivals Red Bull - BBC Sport
Also reports that he is trying to persuade others to come with him to Red Bull!!! Currently he has to wait till end of 2022 though!!! I am a bit surprised Honda sold the IP. Maybe they just sold the IP for use on F1 power units. I am sure they will have learned a lot over the last few years so to 'sell' that knowledge seems silly?
Given this is Honda's last year in F1, if Red Bull win the constructors this year that won't be a bad result for Honda, 6 years to beat the field. Out performimg Ferrari and Renault in reaching the top, both of who will have been at it for many years previous (Hybrid not F1). Of cource they will have outperformed Mercedes too, if they achieve that, when Mercedes have the GOAT then arguably big time down to Honda. Max is not yet as skilled and Lewis. Honda can leave the sport proud. F1 humiliated Honda at the beginning, failing to allow them to catch up. Alonso humiliated Honda too but he was impatient for success and Ron's expectations were too high. My only problem is I don't know I can cope with Horner's smugness. Honda however, a satisfactory way to leave the sport. I will smile if Redbull get the Constructors and Lewis the Drivers championship. Justice. Really hope there is a three way fight in 2022.
Sprint races agreed for 3 venues as an alternative qualifying (for this season). Points awarded to the top 3 (3 for 1st, 2 for 2nd, 1 for 3rd)
Back to Honda- I originally couldn’t believe they’re pulling out just as they’ve started to reach the top. Then I got reading the other day that F1 is apparantly due to switch to simpler, and thus cheaper power units from 2025? With that in mind, it looks like Honda decided it wasn’t worth the additional investment other than to accelerate and bring forward their 2022 plan to this year and go out with a bang. Annoyingly, Red Bull will now claim they make engines, whereas they really mean they’ve rebadged another one I wonder what the Mercedes team plan is going forwards. Lewis tested the 18 inch tyres last week (they do kinda look beasty to be fair- it’s hard not to like them) so he’s obviously considering beyond this year- I suspect he’s waiting to see what Mercedes Benz are planning to do. Interesting that he has been building some soft bridges with McLaren in the press this past year or so. He will only race for someone with a Merc engine in my view now based on his Merc legacy.
Not sure if it’s the right thread, but just enjoy this lap from Imola - it’s Norris’ deleted lap. Sector 1 is an absolute thing of beauty.
As for the sprint races... I can't say I'm sold on the idea at all. Especially implementing them on a test basis mid-season. With a potentially close title, one minor screw up in this format could cost one of the contenders the title. I'm more sold on the idea of doing away with convoluted formats of qualifying and returning to the days of opening up the track for an hour and letting the drivers decide when the best time to set a lap is. More racing will be great, but not sure what it actually offers. The F1 season has a crazy amount of races already, so we're already getting a pretty good fill.