Re: 2024 Season Grand Prix Megathread

Possibly controversial but they really need to change up the qualifying format. We've not had an interesting session all year and only the last lap in each session matters (providing it's dry).

Some ideas I quickly had:

• Limit them to one set of tyres per session so they don't pit.
• I don't fully understand the ERS but make it so they don't need a charge lap and can just do hot lap after hot lap.
• Potentially change up the format even more and have two 20 minute sessions with 10 cars on track in each (1 per team to stop team mates giving the aero boost). Could have a top 5 shootout after this if they really wanted to.

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@ScarDuck14 wrote:
@AlastairhufcIm thinking they should get 2 single hot laps and draw numbers to decide the what order they go out in. Regardless of changing track conditions due to weather. The top teams will hate it, so will their drivers. But the increased jeopardy will mix up the starting grid 🤘🏻

It’s the only way to get different qualifying outcomes whilst keeping it fair.

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Hot laps wouldn't be of interest to the less hard core fans. You need cars constantly crossing the finish line to interest them.

Also think how dull it'd be seeing 90 second of action then waiting another 2-3 minutes while that car leaves the track and the next one gets their out lap in.

Awfully quiet for race weekend 😔🤷🏻‍♂️

Im waiting for the race to kick off 😂

@Alastairhufc the quali can get depressing at times, but honestly I've come to blame it more and more on the TV broadcast. Noticed it recently while watching onboards in other categories and even on simracing.

I'd love to see more onboards with live commentary from pundits.

Those tracking shots from barriers are doing a disservice to F1, honestly. I'm referring to those shots close to the track, just behind the fence, where the camera operator tracks the car with the camera. They undersell the speeds and the work those drivers are putting out to handle those cars on the limit.

Wide shots for race action, onboards for push laps. Fewer tracking shots from the barriers. Those are my top items in my broadcast wishlist 🙏

Oh, let's throw that horrendous onboard graphics out of the window too!

Regarding your suggestions, I'm a little biased towards the current format. Besides the broadcast being suboptimal as I said, this is the format that gave us that spectacular Monaco quali - one of my all time F1 sessions!

What I love about it:

• Having cars on quali trim. Low fuel, no care for tyre saving. Seeing these machines operating at the highest single lap performance output they can. That also helps with the racing as cars with an unbalanced quali pace vs race pace performance relationship would often have interesting strategies and battles on Sunday
• Traffic. Spicy.
• Having all cars able to go out under optimal track conditions. I'm not too keen to see Max wasting his go on a relatively green track. I want to see top drivers wrangling every drop of performance out of their cars in the fastest state the track can get

ERS would not allow for 2 consecutive push laps as regs make it so that the maximum and minimum state of charge of the ES can never be greater than 4MJ.

Tyres also have such a narrow operational window two push consecutive push laps would probably be unfeasible depending on the compound. And putting them on a harder compound of having the drivers hold back on their banker lap would detract from my points above (100% effort laps).

Miami is a dull track though. My gut feeling is that anything would look lame on it. I'll definitely agree with you that this quali was dour.

This Board: Man, The Miami GP is so lame and fake...

Lando Norris: I think I'll have a go and get my maiden victory in Miami this weekend.

This Board: Man, The Miami GP is the GOAT.

@Cpayne32 Indeed it was, but sometimes you get a little lucky and sometimes you get a little unlucky, and I doubt it will dampen the spirits of those who have been waiting for a Norris win.

🟠🟠🟠

🟠🥑🟠

🟠🟠🟠

Oscar died for this 😭

What a day for McLaren! Incredible pace, incredible effort from the team 

In frigging Miami! Unbelievable haha

Now I'm hoping Ferrari can deliver with their update package in Imola. Perez was absolutely nowhere.

@TheRagebeard   I’ve been saying for years that Miami would be awesomely perfect place to host a GP.  😁

Safety car or no safety car..  Lando would still won.  Although nice to see a safety car not hand Max a win over a another British driver 😂😝

@TheRagebeard  Where are the posts relating to people on this board calling Miami the Goat..  🤷🏻‍♂️.  First post that mentioned it was yours 

@ScarDuck14 No, I meant that now that now that Lando won in Miami everyone is going to switch from complaining about Miami to loving Miami. My post should be interpreted as a chronological order of events.

@TheRagebeardOnly for a short while. Lando has a large fanbase that have been desperate to see him win. Me included Before today no one else has had a as many podium as him without a win. With Max domination it seemed we’d have to wait until the new regs came in and hope McLaren nail. So yes right now anyone wanting to see Lando win. Love’s Miami. But make no mistake once the euphoria wears off we all go back to wanting it removed from Calendar. Cause it’s a hateful circuit regardless off what happened today

But it’s also not fair to say what people will do before they do it.  My ex doesn’t let my daughter do things because of what mischief she thinks she’ll get up to.  I tell her she’s basically punishing for what she might do and not what she has done 

F1 Hot or Not

If "this board" dislikes the Miami GP it will be anything but original with that take.

@ScarDuck14 Lol, It was sarcasm/ a joke. It might get meme immunity next year as people fondly look back on Norris's victory but then they'll go right back to complaining about it, I'm sure.

@Alastairhufc still on the subject of quali, this piece by Motorsport may interest you. Now this was a surprising set of circumstances, but with tyres being peaky like this having two consecutive push laps at 100% effort most likely isn't feasible.

Obviously tyres can change, but I'm partial to hotlap bangers myself 🫶

A few quotes from the article. Berra is from Pirelli

"Most people have been complaining about it," Norris said. "It's just so easy to overdo it like, you push one per cent too much and it's kind of game over."

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Because of how easy it was to overheat the softs, Berra explained that drivers who pushed too much in Miami's demanding first sector would pay the price later on in the lap.

...

"The problem is that the [soft] C4 is very peaky, so when you overheat the C4 and you exceed the target temperature, you start to slide a lot.

"You have to manage a little bit and not to be too aggressive in the first sector with prolonged corners, where you lean a lot on the tyres."

Think I will watch C4 highlights off Landos win as it’s happens to be at Miami the host of  the best track ever designed and made.