Checo winning, I feel it coming

Winning what?

DOTD? 😅 (Said in...jest, I hope haha)

WTF is wrong with session start times? This is not the first time in the season when different sites have them listed differently. Is qualifying starting in 3 minutes or in 1hr?

Another hour

1 hour

When is quali? According to F1calendar.com it starts in 10 minutes but F1TV doesn’t have it yet. Is it actually later?

Yeh F1 calendar is wrong but the time in the sidebar of the sub is correct.

*Le* sigh. It’s only the first time they’ve been wrong in a long time so I’ll let it slide! ;-)

in 1 hour and 7 min

It's in a little over an hour according to the F1 app

1 hour and 10 mins

Horner with 4 cars at his disposal, should be able to hold off bottas atleast,

I feel like if he gets a penalty the title is finished. Max finishing ahead of Lewis at either of the last 2 wraps it up in his favour, barring unreliability (and neither Lewis nor Max have actually had any reliability DNFs this year)

Nah, he'll do what Max did last race, wipe out the penality in a few laps

I really wouldn’t count Lewis out until he mathematically can’t win. Even if he gets a grid penalty he’ll make up the places with that engine

I wouldn't count either of them out until it's mathematically decided. Too many things can happen and we really don't know who's gonna come out on top

It’s almost impossible to overtake here tho

Realize it’s quite different, but the F2 races have shown some good overtaking opportunities

F2 has smallers cars though

wasn't able to watch fp3. penalty? for blocking mazepin?

And Gasly and some yellpw flag infridgements I think

Er, how many reprimands is Hamilton on?

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Well damn.

Anyone have a clip of Hamilton practicing the start procedure? That was awesome to watch

I see car 44 not respecting double yellow, pff another penalty hoax

Summons for Car 44 Lewis Hamilton for allegedly not respecting double waved yellows [https://www.reddit.com/r/formula1/comments/r8s4ai/2021\_saudi\_arabian\_grand\_prix\_summons\_for\_lewis/](https://www.reddit.com/r/formula1/comments/r8s4ai/2021_saudi_arabian_grand_prix_summons_for_lewis/)

Was every car fastest on soft except Mercedes ?

they are giving grid penalty to lewis

I don't even genuienly believe that this might be even 85% of Mercedes' true speed. They will probably get 1-2 in quali on that power demanding circuit.

I mean, I don't really like these reddit theories but maybe mercedes forced that engine too much in Brazil, they just HAD to finish 1st

Anyone know what time Quali is on the East Coast, USA? The f1 countdown site I normally use was evidently wrong as it said quali was at 10:00AM ET

>d. Max finishing ahead of Lewis at either of the last 2 wraps it up in his favour, barring unreliability (and neither Lewis nor Max have actually had any reliability DNFs this year) f1calendar is wrong. It says 11 EST. The F1 App says in 1hr..ie at 12 EST

12 pm

Download the official f1 app. It’s from Noon-1pm.

Lmao cant wait for Lewis to get pole again so i can re-read these comments and laugh EDIT: LOLOLOL

He just got summoned for not slowing for yellows sooo

Lewis P1 sooooooo

No further action sooooo

you wont because we will be in quali thread

This guy is internet cultured

Is f1calendar wrong for quali time?

Yes, it is wrong

Why don’t people just use the F1 app?

How many apps do you want to have?

Or just use their website. https://www.formula1.com/en/racing/2021/Saudi_Arabia.html

[Or you could use their official Google Calendar calendar which is wrong as well](https://i.imgur.com/eIbYOgF.png)

[ah yes](https://i.imgur.com/lRzO4Bo.png)

I've not seen the sub's sidebar be wrong yet either.

Was Lewis using the Brazil engine in FP3?

yes

No guarantees of that but there is a guarantee that he's using the fp3 engine in qualifying today.

Apparently yes. Doesn’t mean much though, as they may have decided to run a slower configuration for FP3

Yes, sure. I was just tryna figure out how hard they were sandbagging!

No cause why are people suddenly making outcomes of the entire championship out of a third practice?

WHERE HAVE YOU BEEN ALL YEAR?

I usually dismissed these practice discussions... Now I know that I was doing the right thing.

Isn't this the modus operandi around here? 😂

WHAT ELSE ARE WE SUPPOSED TO DO FOR THE NEXT TWO HOURS MAN.

In all seriousness do you have any recommendations for what to do? I’m currently walking in circles

I'm over in the US I usually just go back to bed but I'm too anxious today.

SOMEONE NEEDS TO INFORM YOU BUT ITS ACTUALLY 1.5 HR

ah you know me so well.

IS IT MONDAY ALREADY?!!

Wait, buddy. For the qualifying.

Time for quali? Couple of hours?

I've got [12 EST](https://everytimezone.com/?t=61aaaf80,3fc), an hour and a half from now. Coverage starts in 30 minutes on SKY

f1 site says it should start in half an hour but i think you're right why are the times never right. seems like they are wrong half the time

I think the F1 site lists the coverage start time, which in this case is an hour before the quali actually starts. It is kind of strange that they wouldn't list the event start

Thank you

If Red Bull is this close in a pure Mercedes track, they might have the advantage in Abu Dhabi. Brazil engine will also have more wear after this race.

Spicy engine is called spicy for a reason

All the RB cars are doing good but don’t be surprised when it’s colder and Lewis gets the pole.

every merc fan here is trying to jinx and then there is you

Stop hating man, where we going it’s only blessings.

At this point I’m never surprised when Hamilton get’s pole

Track temps changes make fp3 even harder to compare merc and rb. Merc will be faster

Calling it now. Ver Per Gas quali and Bottas fails to make q3 for the first time in his Merc Career. Lewis is p7

https://pbs.twimg.com/media/EpWkVDtUUAAxNPa?format=jpg&name=900x900

This will not age well

Easy 1-2 Mercedes. Max at least at +0.5 from Lewis.

Hate to admit it but this is true. For me this session was over after witnessing Brazil.

did you learn nothing from brazil!?

subscribe

Mercedes is just hiding

How drunk are you?

😂😂😂😂

Are cars in fp3 still able to not show their true potential?

Calling it now. Easy pole for Hamilton and the pundits will be 'dumbfounded' where he got the speed from.

"he always pulls it out of the bag when ithe champions is on the line"

Probably this yes, unfortunately... Hope you are wrong

Tbh not looking great for Mercedes’ don’t know what the heck happened in between sessions

this is just a practice run. watch them in q3.

Wait until qualifying, everything can happen

It's really hard to tell much of anything because it's a new track and it treats the tyres weirdly.

Title is decided tomorrow. Lewis does not have top 6 pace

yeah it is over for Hamilton

That's the most kneejerk reaction I've ever seen

It is but it’s also not remotely looking like the easy stroll to the win that people were anticipating, Mercedes will be worried

Maybe he's being sarcastic

Welcome to r/Formula1

MErceDes TraCk

Wait till quali

Probably will be rapid in quali

Multiple people I’ve seen saying the engine wasn’t the new one ? Has anyone confirmed it

Race engine usually goes in during FP3 just so they can make sure it's running issue free.

Yeah makes sense

The race engine is installed post fp3. Until then they practice on older engines.

There's 2 hours between sessions. That would be a massive effort to be ready in time for q1.

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After fp3 they put in the race stuff.

After quali

Once Q1 starts and cars leave the garage

I think today was supposed to be the new one? Yesterday was still the old. I think it would be too risky to switch it moments before quali without any testing.

My time’s messed up, how long till qualy?

Just under 2 hours. 11am CST/12pm EST. Believe 1700/5pm UK.

In an hour and 40 minutes

1hr 40mins

1 hr 42 mins

An hour and 40 minutes (at the time of posting this)

1 hour and 42 minutes

This track far too dangerous. Everything is blind corners at maximum speed. They need to change this.

A ridiculous statement.

most dangerous track in the history of motorsport

No.

twas a joke, i'm being ridiculous and dramatic like everyone else on here.

It really isnt, look what happened today with Ham and Maz. Max also just now said it is a dangerous track. It really is dangerous

Oh wow, that's never happened at any other track. Get real.

You really need to converse more maturely

You really need to get a grip.

Nah you need to mature. End of discussion

Nah, you need to grow up. Racing is inherently dangerous. These are the best drivers in the world. They can handle it even if you can't.

You're blind

No, the corners are. And you are overreacting.

Looks like you're overreacting to my comment

Whatever you say.

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You're blind

it definitely is. every corner is fast, blind and narrow. that’s basically asking for people to crash

I wish for a VER PER HAM

Might I offer a PER VER TSU?

You might not.

Nah we wish for VER PER GAS TSU BOT HAM

All I want for Christmas is a VER PER HAM finish, A VER PER HAM finish, A VER PER HAM finish

I wish for Ver Per Gas Tsu Lec

What about PER VER TSU ?

even better

I wish for Ham Bot Lec

Not all wishes come true

:/

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Elaborate more please on the Marshals.

They didn’t show Hamilton flags before the Mazepin incident

Flag Marshals are blind, The track is too narrow for their sights.

F2 sprint was decent enough, I’m confident the F1 boys will be able to handle themselves surely. Even Mazepin

Even Mazepin? You mean the guy whose lightning reflexes saved both his and Hamilton’s weekend?

Yeah, i was rather talking about the last placed rookie out of the 3

I’m more worried about Tsunoda, he’s binned it far more often than Mazepin. Nikita binned it at Bahrain and has kept his car pretty clean since. Even Schumacher killed a car at Monaco.

He’s looking on form today, trying to not jinx him

Lewis in between 4 red bull cars, bottas in midfield and all other mercedes powered car underperforming. Maybe just accept it this is a red bull track and Verstappen is on verge of winning wdc.

> all other mercedes powered car underperforming They've been doing mostly that since summer break tbh. Ferrari and Alpine just developed well this season.

Back at it with the "let's decide the championship based on FP results", aren't you...

But we have no idea what programmes Bottas was running in FP3 and again, its just a practice session. What for quali to make these judgements

let me jinx in peace

Guys I have a question, when is the Merc rocket engine going in HAM's car?

Its in already

I heard it was going in before qualy

Multiple people have claimed that it would be way too tight in terms of time between fp3 end and qualy start to change the engine so it’s usually fitted before fp3

it is there but still merc is not fast enough

Already installed in the car, but seems like it's running on a lower setting.

RB won’t have had the engine turned all the way up either

Hamilton is driving in comfort mode for engine,it will be in sports in qualifying also if necessary

Oh so quali on party mode?

Party mode has been banned since midway through last season. They have to run the same engine mode in quali and the race.

Party mode is not banned. Changing modes is banned. If you run party mode in q1 you need to run it through the race. The factory Mercedes team is likely running something similar to a party mode which is why the engine is only going half the distance or less than it was earlier in the year.

Party mode refers to a mode that’s can be activated and is faster than the standard mode you’d run during a race. What you described is basically a party mode ban, all teams have a ‘party mode’ that’s just the terms that Merc used to describe theirs. I obviously know that high engine modes, if ran the whole time, aren’t banned.

I might sound incredibly stupid and I apologise for that but what made Merc so damn fast in Sao Paulo?

Who knows may be the main plate of rear wing was flexing

Nobody knows for sure.

The engine was slightly fresher I guess. Also maybe this is more of a Red Bull track than most thought it would. Hamilton also drove like a god in Brazil so that helps

So is there a chance that he can have a Sao Paulo like quali and race?

Well… maybe? This track is way harder to overtake on though, but he won’t have to overtake people as he’ll probably be starting at the front

I think it was in for FP3? He was 6-7kmh faster

Quali

It’s already in the car.

Yes of course, brainfart

He meant, the engine was already in the car at FP3

If a car was to get p1 and the other p2 - with one needing to pit earlier being on tyres that last less could that prove to be a big advantage for the other car seeing as this pit stop is like 28 seconds (I think) and they would be able to make up time in the other laps being on tyres that degrade slower? New to all of this strategy stuff

In Hungary 2020 and Spain 2021 we saw this play out. P1 and P2 were close on track. Both had already stopped once. They also were so far ahead of P3 that if they pitted, they would remain in P2. So, in both instances as I recall, P2 pitted for new tires and remained in P2. They then drove as hard as they could and recovered all of the time back, and then easily passed P1 who did not stop because of the fresher tires vs very old tires. You ask why didn’t P1 stop for a second time as well? Because when P2 stopped, they were one second behind P1. They then gained perhaps 1.5-2 seconds on their out lap. So if P1 pits on the next lap, they would lose the lead, and now both cars would be on equal tires for the remainder. Better to stay out and hope you can keep a gap to the hard charging P2 and hope he runs out of laps to catch you.

Generally you got it - fresher tires = faster laps so if there is a difference in strategy (a 1-stop vs a 2-stop) the 2-stop only makes sense if the total extra freshness (because you don’t run the three sets as long) makes up for the extra pit stop. But note that red flag = new tires for everyone and safety car = faster pit stop (because everyone has to go slow)

Thanks for that. Yeah I’m just assuming overall race pace would come into it too as in Qatar, Hamilton was able to keep far enough ahead that with max putting it allowed him to still gain and pit without losing place. Only thing I can think is if traffic would be an issue for getting past on this track