Formula 1 Gulf Air Bahrain Grand Prix 2022Formula 1

[Blitz24]

@Famine What's the issue here?

Did Verstappen change his number back?

 

[Dennisch]

Did Verstappen change his number back?

Incompetence at the FIA!

#BringMasiBack!

 

[Famine]

@Famine What's the issue here?

Did Verstappen change his number back?

He's on the Bahrain GP entry list as #1, but the car has been submitted for - and passed - scrutineering as #33.


There's also a fake FIA/ben Sulayem Abu Dhabi statement circulating at the moment (which lots of people are saying looks plausible, but it's rammed with idiotic wording and typos) that says he won't be allowed to run #1 this season.

Incompetence at the FIA!
#BringMasiBack!

The ocean becomes the drop.

 

[DG_Silva]

Do we know if it was RB or the FIA making that mistake? If RB, would that be seen as a typo, or would they come down on RB like they did to Porsche in FE at Mexico for submitting the wrong documents?

 

[Liquid]

Should have stuck to the old system.

 

[GroupB]

Apparently car #1 has been assigned to Michael Masi.

 

[GingerBredMan]

Imagine they waited until the start of a new season to overturn last year’s result?

I also was questioning why the numbers on Lewis’ car were neon yellow. I guess it was a subtle spoiler alert:

I kinda like it! Gives me some Rossi vibes.

 

[Veinz]

Don’t like it, the purple one was awesome.

 

[Roo]

Looks like a Nico Rosberg tribute livery.

 

[Blitz24]

FP2 has Max in front. At what point do we consider that MB isn't sandbagging? Russell has been in top 5 in both sessions. Magnussen has also been quick in both sessions I believe.

 

[Veinz]

Ferrari looks legit.

 

[McLaren]

Looks like a Nico Rosberg tribute livery.

He's remarked that it's apparently a throwback to his original helmet of his karting days.

 

[AshenGraey]

Ferrari looks like a solid contender this season. Mercedes is definitely on the back foot. Looking at the car on track, they for sure have some more work to do. I think the Alpha, Alpine and Haas could all be shockers this season!

 

[pumaATTACK]

I hate the neon yellow for Hamiltons car, number and helmet.

 

[pumaATTACK]

Ferrari looks like a solid contender this season. Mercedes is definitely on the back foot. Looking at the car on track, they for sure have some more work to do. I think the Alpha, Alpine and Haas could all be shockers this season!

That Ferrari engine sure helps those works teams

 

[McLaren]

I totally get the wheel covers have a purpose, but seeing this picture shared on Reddit, I definitely wouldn't mind if some teams found a way without them. The BBS' look good.

 

[RACECAR]

The BBS 18' wheels look awesome (Granted, I've rarely seen an application where BBS wheels didn't look good)

 

[EngieDiesel]

He's on the Bahrain GP entry list as #1, but the car has been submitted for - and passed - scrutineering as #33.

The only thing I can think of is that since #1 isn't a permanent assignment, the team is still referring to his side of the garage as #33 to prevent someone else from coming in and taking that number while he's not using it.

I mean, drivers' numbers are just as much marketing branding as they are identification, so I could understand why RBR wouldn't want to leave even a chance that someone else would claim that number should Max hold the championship spot long enough for another driver to enter the series and possibly say "yeah, I want #33 please and thanks".

That's just 100% speculation though. I have no idea how the FIA handles such matters internally, since this is the first time we've seen a number swap in a good long while.

 

[TheElbows]

Yeah, my money is that the car is technically the #33....but that the championship driver is allowed to simply plaster #1 on his car in place of the actual "submitted and registered" car number, etc.

 

[Jezza819]

The only thing I can think of is that since #1 isn't a permanent assignment, the team is still referring to his side of the garage as #33 to prevent someone else from coming in and taking that number while he's not using it.

I mean, drivers' numbers are just as much marketing branding as they are identification, so I could understand why RBR wouldn't want to leave even a chance that someone else would claim that number should Max hold the championship spot long enough for another driver to enter the series and possibly say "yeah, I want #33 please and thanks".

That's just 100% speculation though. I have no idea how the FIA handles such matters internally, since this is the first time we've seen a number swap in a good long while.

The driver's number can not be reallocated until they have been out of the sport for two seasons. So Max's #33 is still his even if he wins 4 championships in a row and still wants to use #1 on his car. He would have to be completely out of the sport for two seasons then someone else can choose #33.

Car number

A Formula One car number is the number on a car used to identify a car and its driver. Currently, drivers are allowed to pick their own number for their career from 0, 2 through 99. Only the World Champion is allowed to use number 1. This number cannot be reallocated unless the driver has not...

f1.fandom.com

 

[NickGuy]

I cant wait for this first race

Merc is def in early trouble. I dont buy for a second that theyre sandbagging. Red bull looks good as does ferrari…**** everyone looks good at this point to me

 

[Saidur_Ali]

The Red Bull looked the best performing car since they made that update in final test day and so well behaved. Apparently it is delivering more than they expected. They have also got improvements to power unit this year so they look like they will be very hard to beat. If Ferrari can get P2 in qualifying somehow and their drivers get great starts then maybe can get a race at the front. The other way would be if Sergio manages to outqualify Max. It could be a really dominant year for Max if Red Bull constantly have the edge.

Hopefully Mercedes can improve their car quickly as at the moment, it looks far from optimal but also causing strain on their drivers and wear on car which can't help development when there is a budget cap in place. Another thing is unlike the other cars which seem easier to get the speed out of the car, theirs is more out of the drivers hands with the bouncing so if they can get P5 and P6, it would be a decent start but always will hope they can somehow win. Will be interesting to see driver battles today, George seems to have settled in well. Should get feedback on power unit performance too as everyone will likely turn it up, they all seem close together now.

All the teams seem to have done a decent job and it seems majority of them have a decent budget to get closer to the front which should make for an exciting season. Hopefully the racing is indeed better with cars being able to follow more closely.

 

[McLaren]

Q1 is off to a wild start.

Edit* Track limits not being enforced? Perez's time, I'm almost positive, crossed the lines on the last turn.

 

[MSZ]

The Ferrari powered cars are really fast.

 

[NotThePrez]

The Ferrari powered cars are really fast.

Indeed. Ferrari 1-2 so far, with Bottas splitting the Red Bulls and Zhou in 10th.

The porposing also looks really bad on the McLarens.

Danny Ric out of Q1.

 

[McLaren]

Perez & Gasly both broke track limits. First weekend, new race control doing a bang up job on the new rules.

 

[NotThePrez]

Perez & Gasly both broke track limits. First weekend, new race control doing a bang up job on the new rules.

Brundle pretty much called this out a few minutes ago, too.

 

[JoaoSilva]

4 Mercedes powered cars out on Q1, ouch. Ferrari looking really good, they're letting me dream 😂

 

[MSZ]

Holysmoke that helmet cam looks insane.

 

[AshenGraey]

Mercedes seems to be a solid #3 on the grid right now after Red Bull and Ferrari.