GP Las Vegas; Jun 23-25, 2017

If nobody else is going to step up, I guess I will—very humbly, of course. Long live F1!

https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Las_Vegas

1st Free practice Fri 23 Jun 11:00 - 12:30
2nd Free practice Fri 23 Jun 15:00 - 16:30
3rd Free practice Sat 24 Jun 12:00 - 13:00
1st Qualifying Sat 24 Jun 15:00 - 15:18
2nd Qualifying Sat 24 Jun 15:25 - 15:40
3rd Qualifying Sat 24 Jun 15:48 - 16:00
race Sun 25 jun 15:00

🙂🙂

🍿🍿

🙂

Minimalism at its finest!

And what else do we need?

I am here. ☕

For those who enjoy a good read:

https://www.formula1.com/en/latest/f...zerbaijan.html

First looks at Red Bull Racing's setup. But the heavy hitters are already out there testing things up...

Timothy Castillo6 said:Red Bull's first practice sessions. But I guess the big teams are just playing around...

They were basically the only ones running supersofts before Perez's crash over there—so they're technically first.

Palmer. 🤦
But then you've also got Vettel and Massa just before that.

As long as Red Bull keeps dominating those practice sessions, the odds on Hamilton and Vettel grabbing pole are just going to keep climbing.

I just hope Max didn't wreck his gearbox or something—if he hadn't, he might've actually had a shot at winning this one...

Max is totally losing his mind

Oh, please! What kind of "battle for victory" are we even talking about? It’s common knowledge at this point—it’s just Hamilton versus Vettel...

darkmarlin16 said:he's totally lost it...

And Alonso is just cruising along perfectly fine 😂

neonfox65 said:And Alonso is just driving aimlessly, totally lost,😂

You’re seriously getting on my nerves.

I know for a fact you were cheering for him just yesterday.

darkmarlin16 said:You're getting on my nerves.

You were cheering for him just yesterday.

Signed!!

neonfox65 said:I’m just hoping Max didn’t damage the gearbox or something similar; if he hadn't, there might actually have been a fight for the win.

I agree. Max could potentially pull off something akin to what Oliver Panis did back in '96 at Monaco driving those Galloises cars—anything is technically possible in this sport🤣😁.

Do the math yourself regarding the odds🙂
.
He could also cause absolute chaos right at the start. Honestly, that's what I'm rooting for, just so they finally have a serious conversation about him. The kind of conversation that involves holding a helmet in one hand and going all in🍿.

People keep claiming it wasn't Honda that killed Alonso, but rather McLaren's gearbox...
though I don't see it going down that way at all 🤔

Plus, Vandoorne was running an older engine but hitting 312 on the straights, while Alonso had the new spec and was clocking 327...
Progress is clearly happening. It just doesn't make total sense why they decided to switch Alonso back to the old engine. I mean, there might be some logic to it, but still...

The folks over at Honda are saying they went back to the old unit because they're basically dead weight at the back of the grid anyway with zero chance of anything. Apparently, this is just a move to save the new engine for the next race.

mellowtiger83 said:I honestly think Max could pull off something similar to what Oliver Panis did back in '96 at Monaco with that Galloises gearbox situation—anything is possible if the stars align🤣. 😁.

You can run the numbers yourself and see how slim the odds really are🙂
.
He might even cause absolute chaos right at the start, which is exactly what I’m rooting for. It would finally force everyone to have a serious conversation about him; the kind of talk where you just drop your helmet and go all out🍿.

Look... nobody was actually expecting an Oliver Panis victory. But here, at least someone is holding out hope that Max takes it tomorrow.

That said, Olivier Panis was a legitimate talent, probably in the same league as Jenson Button—it's just a shame that his crash in Montreal in '97 absolutely wrecked his career
. Because that Ligier (Prost)-Mugen/Honda combo was a beast in '97. A rookie almost drove it to victory at the GP Austria that year
.

stormybadger8 said:It’s interesting how some people claim it wasn't Honda that let Alonso down, but rather McLaren's gearbox...
though from my perspective, that just doesn't hold water. 🤔

Besides that, Vandoorne was running the older engine spec with a straight-line speed of 312, while Alonso had the newer spec hitting 327 on the straights...
Progress is clearly happening. It’s just hard to wrap my head around why they decided to revert Alonso back to the old engine. There might be some logic to it, but it still feels a bit strange.

Word from the Honda camp is that they went back to the old unit because they're essentially fighting for scraps at the back of the pack anyway, so they'd rather save the new engine for the next race.

Here is the actual reasoning behind using the older Honda engine this weekend. The Japanese team is playing it smart; they are working hard and refusing to throw in the towel despite all the pressure and chaos. You just have to have faith in them:

https://maxf1.net/honda-isprobala-no...stiti-u-bakuu/

Practice 2 was about as close as it gets.
Qualifying might actually be interesting for once.
It looks like the Red Bull aero is holding up just fine against the rest of the field on this track—at least for now.
I’m not exactly jumping for joy, but the real question is whether Lewis Hamilton can actually find some pace before qualifying and the race starts, or if we're looking at another one of his typical rough weekends.