[Official] United States Grand Prix

[S griffin]

Originally Posted by broadrun96

And now possible DQ penalties for Leclerc and Hamilton for skid plate wear

https://racer.com/2023/10/22/hamilto...er-plank-wear/

Maybe it’s just as well Hamilton didn’t win on the road…

[broadrun96]

Well they were DQ'd

https://racer.com/2023/10/22/hamilto...s-first-point/

First points for an American driver since Michael Andretti in 93 with Sargent 10th

[bathurst77]

I think Checo will be smiling. That makes his 2nd place in WDC and 2024 drive seem much more secure. Not sure that Danny will be smiling as much-

[Tourer]

Enjoyed that race - even though the likely podium was evident from fairly early on, the order they'd be in wasn't and the likelihood for each of them ebbed and flowed through the race. Was quite an arm wrestle really.

Shame for MB & Ferrari that they got the setup wrong re plank wear but they did the crime and are doing the time. Really pleased for Logan Sargent that he ended up in the points as a result of the DQs.

[GT6]

Well again F1 is turned into a farce with results decided off the track t=rather than on it. Race was as usual Max first and other scrapping for the rest but even those trying to catch him now have to wait until the officials decide who finishes were.

[Mike Harte]

Originally Posted by GT6

Well again F1 is turned into a farce with results decided off the track t=rather than on it. Race was as usual Max first and other scrapping for the rest but even those trying to catch him now have to wait until the officials decide who finishes were.

It is unfortunate that the final classification wasn't as per the finishing order, but how do you suggest that the scrutineers scrutinise the cars as they are racing?

Surely this can take place at any race anywhere in the world; if the technical specification of a car differs from the regulations, the cars will be excluded from the race results after they are placed in parc ferme.

[peebee2]

Originally Posted by Mike Harte

It is unfortunate that the final classification wasn't as per the finishing order, but how do you suggest that the scrutineers scrutinise the cars as they are racing?

Surely this can take place at any race anywhere in the world; if the technical specification of a car differs from the regulations, the cars will be excluded from the race results after they are placed in parc ferme.

Exactly, they can't check the cars while they are racing.

The MB problem for the last two years has been being unable to run the car as low as they'd like so at least it looks like they are getting on top of that problem!

[Tourer]

Originally Posted by GT6

Well again F1 is turned into a farce with results decided off the track t=rather than on it. Race was as usual Max first and other scrapping for the rest but even those trying to catch him now have to wait until the officials decide who finishes were.

Sorry, not a farce at all - race results are always subject to scrutineering, stewards decisions & any protests or appeals. Can’t turn a blind eye to cars not complying with the regulations - now that WOULD be a farce.

[Sodemo]

I actually really enjoyed the US GP. I dont mind that Max wins as long as its not a cakewalk and it actually seemed like he had to fight a bit to get that win, so fair play. I think though that at the next races the RB performance will be higher again as they can lower their ride on the smoother circuits.

[PhilipR]

As a merc fan I was happy to see Ham fighiting for the win - I do think they botched the strategy and also lost 2 seconds to Ver in the pits (start of last lap gap was under 2 seconds)
Not sure how this performance corelates with the updated floor of the merc or just the typical Ham performance at COTA and Red Bull getting the set up wrong with just one practice session

Oh well DQ is what it is - again with just one practice session and parc ferme conditions afterwards limited chance to review and update set up for race

I also enjoyed listening to Ver's radio transmission - the difference between his laid back jokey radio comments when he is blitzing the field compare to yesterday sounding flustered and annoyed and even angry - shows how little he was pushing /trying when he is dominating. Also enjoyed hearing him like that shows he is still pushing and trying hard even when there is nothing to gain for him at this point

[Sodemo]

Originally Posted by PhilipR

Also enjoyed hearing him like that shows he is still pushing and trying hard even when there is nothing to gain for him at this point

His 500K win bonus?

[Richard C]

Originally Posted by GT6

Well again F1 is turned into a farce with results decided off the track t=rather than on it.

I know I am piling on here, but they were decided on the track. The plank is designed to show if the cars have too low of ride height "during the race". It was just post race inspection that exposed the issue.

Maybe we should have an overly complex and heavy system that measures this during the race, so that we can just black flag cars during the race. Or maybe multiple mandatory pit stops in which the car is inspected by the FIA.

Or maybe just use a simple plank that wears down and they measure it at the end of the race.

Richard

[Akrapovic]

Originally Posted by GT6

Well again F1 is turned into a farce with results decided off the track t=rather than on it. Race was as usual Max first and other scrapping for the rest but even those trying to catch him now have to wait until the officials decide who finishes were.

What should F1 do if they find cars outside the regulations?

[Sodemo]

Why can't they just have a roller to roll under the cars like in other series? Wouldnt that be easier and the teams could check on the fly if they had their own "rollers"?

[Richard C]

General thoughts on the race...

As noted, due to the bumpy surface of the track Red Bull was probably running a less than optimal ride height. Max also called out brake issues. So Max had to work hard at it. I loved the "don't talk to me in the braking zone" messages!

The return of Daniel continues to be an interesting journey. The delta between him and Yuki was large. But Daniel also had early brake duct damage and then later collected some debris from another car and while that was removed during a pitstop they say he also had floor damage. So I think the jury is still out on this situation.

Stroll forgetting he was starting from pit lane and driving to the grid was funny. In the post race interview, he said it was a miscommunication. Not sure where that would have happened! Somewhere between his ears and his brain?

It is a change of pace with Logan finishing close to Alex. And with the DQs it is nice to see Logan get his first point.

I was really crossing my fingers for a Lando win, but wasn't particularly confident it would happen. It was going to require others to make mistakes. Bad day for Oscar.

Richard

[Richard C]

Originally Posted by Sodemo

Why can't they just have a roller to roll under the cars like in other series? Wouldnt that be easier and the teams could check on the fly if they had their own "rollers"?

Do you mean to check ride height? If so, that is static ride height. That is not the issue. The planks measure dynamic ride height. Otherwise teams might just design the cars to run with nearly zero dynamic ride height. The plank system is elegant. It allows for some bottoming out, but not excessive amounts.

Teams probably run as low as they dare. Sometimes they get caught out when pushing the limit. And with limited practice they didn't have a lot of data. Or maybe they thought they had the data, but arrived at the wrong conclusions regarding ride height.

Richard

[peebee2]

Originally Posted by Sodemo

Why can't they just have a roller to roll under the cars like in other series? Wouldnt that be easier and the teams could check on the fly if they had their own "rollers"?

They could measure after the race and do what? Or do they measure before the race when it isn't so worn?

And it would be difficult to measure at top speed when it's bouncing around!

[Richard C]

Originally Posted by Sodemo

Why can't they just have a roller to roll under the cars like in other series? Wouldnt that be easier and the teams could check on the fly if they had their own "rollers"?

Even static ride height checks are gamed by the teams...

https://www.motorsport.com/f1/news/d...icks/10335974/

Richard

[Aysedasi]

Teams will always find a way......

[broadrun96]

Originally Posted by Akrapovic

What should F1 do if they find cars outside the regulations?

Make them sit on the naughty step I guess, can't take away what the fans saw on track that's just unfair

I do hate it for anyone who's first podium is as a result of DQ or penalty and they miss out on getting to be up there. Finish 4th get bumped to 3rd but never get to celebrate, feels like Gasly winning in 2020, never got the real fun of the podium with fans. Ok yes different valid reason but y'all get what I mean

[Lancsbreaker]

I understand the need for post-race scrut, but it did seem a very lengthy gap between end of race and there even being any sign of it - I was watching live at my friend's who have Sky, and waited until almost the end of Ted's whitterings, so way after the race, and the first I heard of the DQ was from a friend who watched the C4 coverage this morning, and it seemed to be a late addition to their coverage.


I did really enjoy watching the live timing and counting down the gap as Lewis hunted down Max towards the end......

[TrapezeArtist]

Originally Posted by fergus_r

Like in Singapore, they don't like the bumps, so have had to raise the ride height, which doesn't suit the car.

Mercedes and Ferrari didn’t like the bumps either, and they didn’t raise the ride height (enough).

[TrapezeArtist]

Originally Posted by Sodemo

Why can't they just have a roller to roll under the cars like in other series? Wouldnt that be easier and the teams could check on the fly if they had their own "rollers"?

That was tried in the 80s. Initially Brabham devised a hydro-pneumatic system that was low on-track and rose up for measurement. Then everyone just drove a coach and horses through the rule and raised the suspension via a little lever in the cockpit. Farcical, and achieved nothing.

[Skam85]

Originally Posted by GT6

Well again F1 is turned into a farce with results decided off the track t=rather than on it. Race was as usual Max first and other scrapping for the rest but even those trying to catch him now have to wait until the officials decide who finishes were.

And what if the car had not enough fuel for the FIA to run a sample and was DQ? Is that a farce for being decided off track too? It's exactly the same thing and has happened countless times in the past.

Heck, Brundle and Bellof were DQ from the entire 1984 season after many races.

[Teretonga]

Originally Posted by Tourer

Sorry, not a farce at all - race results are always subject to scrutineering, stewards decisions & any protests or appeals. Can’t turn a blind eye to cars not complying with the regulations - now that WOULD be a farce.

Yes they werent complying by the end of the race.... but they probably were at the beginning....
And they only looked at 4 of the finishers.... not the other 13 finishers, nor the cars that were elevated into the points after the DQ's.

I'm not arguing with your point because if the car doesn't comply the reward is a DQ, but surely if we're to be fair all the cars should be checked in the same way.
They aren't, for entirely pragmatic reasons, but that does bring into question the whole process of measuring the cars after the event.