2025 F1 News and Prediction League

[pharvey]

Another Round, another Sprint Race.... Track temperature and tyre selection/management could be the key at the Miami circuit. Only the single Free Practice, so the Sprint will be interesting.

Miami Schedule and Circuit (All Times UK): -
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[PeteC]

I'm not going to try to explain that Sprint race. What a mess and does little to help with main race picks. If it rains tomorrow as it did before the sprint race, it will be a huge mess as well.

[pharvey]

I'm not going to try to explain that Sprint race. What a mess and does little to help with main race picks. If it rains tomorrow as it did before the sprint race, it will be a huge mess as well.

With you there PeteC - struggling with my picks this round. Certainly not what I was expecting. It's difficult to take anything away regarding track temperature and tyre wear/heat. Pit Stops were an issue in the Sprint, Yellow Flag incidents etc. As you say, changing conditions are not helping...

Anyway, just getting my excuses in early

[pharvey]

Well, despite a very powerful performance from the McLarens finishing P1 & P2 and Piastri being a significant 37 sec ahead of Russell in P3, this was a very enjoyable race IMHO. Crashappen put in a hell of a fight against both McLaren drivers, but in some respects that in itself may have cost him P3 due to additional Tyre Wear/heating whereas he may have been better off letting the far faster cars go a little earlier. That said, Russell was on a different tyre strategy to the Dire Dutchman and did benefit from a "Free Pitstop" under the Safety Car....

Red BS certainly still have their woes with the car (and Pit Stops ) though and fair play to Verstappen who is quite frankly outperforming the car (said through gritted teeth)!! A 5 second penalty certainly didn't help Tsunoda who is struggling somewhat at the moment to get into the Top 10 and the points. If Red BS have their woes, Ferrari seem to have more - an underperforming car, baffling tactics and very frustrated drivers (LH certainly making his feelings clear and quite rightly so on this occasion). Battling for P7 and P8 is hardly where they want to be!!

Mercedes are looking good with Russell finishing in P3 and despite a P6 finish for Antonelli, he and the team must take huge positives from the weekend. At just 18 years old, Antonelli has a very bright future in the sport . Williams (Mercedes) also doing well and a big P5 for Albon.

Race Results - Top 10: -
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HHF/Superbru Prediction League: -
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That man "Parahandy" is galloping up the Table like a mad giraffe , PeteC takes a bit of a hit and Rucku Moke takes the dreaded Wooden Spoon this weekend.... A long way to go yet though!!
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A short break before we move across the Atlantic to Europe. Next up is the Italian GP over the 16th to 18th of April

[pharvey]

As a little add-on to the photo posted in the "Caption Competition" thread, this is a snippet from the "Drivers' Parade" at the Miami GP - certainly looked like fun for them and perhaps the Scuderia need to take some design tips!!

IMHO, Far more fun and interest than the usual razmataz at the US GPs...
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[pharvey]

Some fascinating pics and facts....

"F1 at 75"

https://www.bbc.co.uk/sport/extra/v7yyk ... tty-images

[pharvey]

Well, it's back to Europe and the ridiculously fast track of Imola. Long Straights, low speed AND fast corners and just the single DRS Zone.... Team Tactics will be interesting!!

Schedule and Circuit (UK Times): -
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[PeteC]

Thailand Time

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[PeteC]

In the 2nd practice the time difference for the top 11 drivers was between X.XX.293 and X.XX.943. It could be a good race!

[pharvey]

In the 2nd practice the time difference for the top 11 drivers was between X.XX.293 and X.XX.943. It could be a good race!

That circuit does not appear to lend itself to overtaking, so I feel Qualifying is going to be absolutely vital along with any time gained or lost through Pitstops..... There was also several instances of obstruction during the first 2 Practice Sessions which would be investigated/possibly penalised in Qualifying.

[pharvey]

Christ, well Qualifying was not short on excitement, incidents or surprises!! The debut of the C6 Tyre (softest to date) certainly had an impact!!

Huge and spectacular prang by Tsunoda in Q1 to bring out the Red Flag and a significant delay to proceedings. Thankfully Tsunoda was fine, unlike his RB. Whether or not we'll even see him in the main race is questionable.



Both Ferraris out in Q2 along with Mercedes' Antonelli.... Russell though put in a hell of a final lap in Q3 to take P3 from Norris who completes the Second Row with a disappointing P4.

[pharvey]

Certainly not the result I was after, but it was a decent race it must be said!!

Verstappen took the win after a stunning start - although Piastri should have got his elbows out a tad more at T2/T3 IMHO. That said, Red BS and Crashappen did a hell of a job with the car prior to Qualifying where it was a different machine from the Free Practice sessions.
It really wasn't Piastri's day after losing the lead to the Dire Dutchman, he had two pretty poor Pitstops one of them too early quite honestly which lead to him having to fight his way back through the pack. Norris on the other hand did well despite being very unlucky with the timing of a Pitstop/Yellow Flag.
It was a bad day for Mercedes suffering a lack of speed and Antonelli forced to retire due to a throttle issue. Ferrari on the other hand bounced back from a poor Qualifying session with LH fighting back from P12 to finish P4 ahead of teammate Leclerc who himself fought back from P11 to P6.

HHF/Superbru Prediction League: -

Congrats to "Bamboo Grove" (and Dai_L ) on the Yellow Cap, with Rucku Moke taking the Wooden Spoon this Round.
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Next up is the Monaco GP taking place over the weekend of 23rd to 25th of May

[pharvey]

So it's that time of year again and the Monaco GP Despite the narrow circuit and difficulty in overtaking (the count was zero in 2023) this is still the Jewel in Formula 1's Crown. With a significant rule change for the race this year, strategy and Qualification are going to be key - you're not going to see drivers pushing their way through the pack on this circuit.

Last weekend's results have made things a whole lot tighter at the top, with just 22 points separating the Top 3 drivers. It's not going to be pure power on this circuit and McLaren will not want a repeat of their "Pitstop Woes" from Italy, Ferrari must also feel a bit more confident after their Race performance last weekend and after all, Monaco is Leclerc's backyard. All good stuff for the sport IMHO!

Monaco Schedule and Circuit (All Times UK): -
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[PeteC]

Thailand Time

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[pharvey]

Well - disappointingly, the rule changes at Monaco didn't work. Primarily because Red Bull as a whole simply abused them (some (parahandy ) may well call it superb tactics) - but what's new for this team and the Dire Dutchman?

The simple fact that Red Bull have four drivers on the Grid needs to be seriously looked at - there is much discussion regarding "Team Orders" at times and obviously there is a need or at least desire for two teammates "Assisting" with regards to both the "Drivers'" and the "Constructors' Championships", but having Lawson hold up traffic for Crashappen and his first Pitstop was a farce.

Monaco will not disappear anytime soon from the F1 Calendar, But it's Qualifying that is pretty much the only interesting aspect leading up to a Parade of extremely fast cars at an opulent venue.

As an F1 Fan, I truly do welcome a new team in the form of Cadillac, but that should have been at the expense of "Red Bull Racing" - yes, there are several "Feeder Teams", but.... And anyway, 22 cars on the track next year??!!

Anywho, despite the Red BS and Crashappen spoiling my day and LH getting a 3 Place Grid Penalty, a cracking result for Norris who stuffed my Gypsy-like prediction of Leclerc winning, but very happy for him. Whilst Leclerc had dominated Free Practice and pretty much the majority of Qualifying, Norris banged in a last second end of Q3 lap to take not only Pole but the Monaco Lap Record held by LH - fair play that man and a lap that won you the GP!! Big hand also to the likes of Ocon who did wonderfully well for Haas, Hadjaar once again (outscoring Tsunoda) and the Williams team with both drivers in the points . Hadjaar mate, you're a cracking driver - for the love of God move away from Beelzebub's own before your soul is ripped away!!

HH Forum/Superbru F1 Prediction League: -
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Next up Spain over the weekend of May 30th to June 1st (almost the backyard for Parahandy and VS methinks)