F1 Saudi Arabia GP 2022 Post-Race Report
Maybe it's time to take a brake on those DRS.
This weekend's GP prove to be dramatic on and off the track. The uncomfortableness of racing in a country where human rights are oppressed, and missile attacks do have an impact on drivers and their teams. Politics and sport are not separate entities and seeing the drivers meet till 2 in the morning tells you how important the political stability of a nation is to them. These are some of the variables that will need to be accounted for, and I am unsure how and where I can gain those data points yet. Suffice to say, a more polarized society and uncertain geopolitics will create greater mental and physical stress on drivers whose reputation and life rely on representing a sport that shakes hands with questionable governments.
So what can we glean from this weekend's race compared to our pre-practice predictions? From the driver score perspective, most drivers in the top 10 seem to end up where they should be, with a few exceptions. Perez and Norris have a very low score, but, unsurprisingly, they ended the race in 4th and 7th. However, looking at the social score (Pre-Practice data), we do find a lot more support for Perez and a few points for Norris. The way I read Column X (at this moment) is the amount of support for a better outcome in the race. So, some things social media and news sites got it right, and some things they did not. There was a higher expectation for Bottas, but it was a DNF for him.
In terms of Hamilton, his social score is quite out of wack as he is a very public figure, and there is a lot of expectations for a 7 times world champion. With that said, being in 10th is far from anyone's expectation at the moment.
In terms of bright spots in the midfield drivers, I would say keep picking Zhou Guanyu! He finished in 11th and continued to finish better than where he started. The Alpine drivers are also ones to keep an eye on. Ocon is looking quite race-y, especially with his teammate Alonso; I just hope the team keeps the two drivers under control. K Mag. continues to maximize those HAAS cars, and I think he will keep reaping the results for the team, at least for the next 3 races.
Lastly... now that the cars can follow and fight back and forth with one another, I wonder if DRS is beneficial anymore. Watching the battle between Max and Leclerc shows how driver DRS strategy can become artificial and, if there were others drivers behind them, dangerous. Maybe the FIA will need to reassess where DRS zones for each circuit are to avoid such intentional braking? What do you think about DRS in light of this new era of cars?
Meme of the Grid:
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