Yes but never in F1 with the Gulf Blue and orange livery, that was used in sportscar(GT40, 917, Mirage) racing only. FWIW the current Gulf has no relation to Gulf Oil of the 1960s and 70s, that company was acquired by Chevron in 1984.
What Monaco GP clues can we get from Spain's Sector 3 data By: Jonathan Noble May 17, 2021, 4:52 AM The unique tight and twisty nature of Formula 1's Monaco Grand Prix often makes it a pretty tricky track to try to predict form. Image Unavailable, Please Login It requires the maximum amount of downforce, a well-handing chassis, excellent traction and being good on the brakes. And, whereas at other tracks, aero efficiency can be the name of the game as teams trim out downforce levels, at Monaco that does not matter. Power too isn't critical. All these factors mean the competitive order can be very different at Monaco compared to other venues, which adds another layer of intrigue for F1's blue riband event. But each year, there is one clue offered about how things are going to shape up. It's the performance of cars through Sector 3 at the Barcelona circuit, for the low speed sequence of bends and the tight chicane pretty much mirror the demands of the streets of Monaco. If you are quick through Sector 3 in Spain, then that's normally a pretty good sign. Image Unavailable, Please Login Lewis Hamilton, Mercedes W12, Valtteri Bottas, Mercedes W12 Photo by: Charles Coates / Motorsport Images So how did things stack up at the recent Spanish GP? Here's the fastest Sector 3 times for each car in qualifying. 1. Red Bull 26.295s 2. Mercedes 26.400s 3. Ferrari 26.580s 4. Alpine 26.632s 5. McLaren 26.782s 6. AlphaTauri 26.827s 7. Aston Martin 26.923s 8. Williams 27.131s 9. Alfa Romeo 27.164s 10. Haas 27.311s For Red Bull, after two races where it has lost out to Mercedes, the prospects look good with its car the fastest through S3. Sergio Perez is certainly bullish about what could be on the cards for the RB16B around the streets of Monte Carlo. "I'm looking forward massively to Monaco, especially with this car," said the Mexican. "I think we have a shot of winning the race." Image Unavailable, Please Login Valtteri Bottas, Mercedes AMG W10 Photo by: Joe Portlock / Motorsport Images Mercedes also thinks that things are tipped in Red Bull's favour, especially as it appears its Milton Keynes rival has a downforce advantage. Trackside engineering director Andrew Shovlin said: "On paper, I would probably say it would suit Red Bull more than us. "We've been running our max downforce wing and we saw it on their car on Friday [in Spain] but they didn't race it there, so they can put a bit more downforce on. So on paper, it's probably for them." The fight behind the top two also looks intriguing, with early season 'best of the rest' contender McLaren not appearing as comfortable in the low speed sector as Ferrari and Alpine. Ferrari's Carlos Sainz Jr reckons it was certainly a good boost for the Maranello team that they looked so strong in S3. "Obviously having good downforce in the last sector gives you a good feeling and it puts you in a good state of mind going to Monaco because, for sure, you prefer to be quick in sector three in Barcelona," he said. "But at the same time, Monaco then has a lot of specifics with car set-up, and tyre preparation for qualifying. The cars are so different in Monaco that it could change a bit the picture." Image Unavailable, Please Login Lando Norris, McLaren MCL34 Photo by: Joe Portlock / Motorsport Images McLaren certainly thinks the picture is not defined, and believes that there is scope for the competitive picture to change once the downforce is whacked on this weekend. Lando Norris said: "The big difference between Monaco and sector three in Spain is obviously we run the set-up very different in Spain. "It's a lot more focused to sector one and sector two, with the high speed turns. And it is quite the opposite in Monaco where there is a lot more low speed. We also run a lot softer the whole car because of the bumps and everything like that. "I think the whole characteristic of the car is to change a lot. So it's quite an unexplored territory for this car and so on." The other ultimate truth of Monaco is that it's a weekend where drivers being error free, not hitting traffic in qualifying, a well timed safety car and not being hit by bad luck can often be just as important in the fight for wins as having a good car. As Shovlin says: "Even if you go there with the best car and you've got a great package, it's still an awfully difficult race to win." https://www.autosport.com/f1/news/what-monaco-gp-clues-can-we-get-from-spains-sector-3-data/6510251/
Brown: Hamilton and Verstappen crash is a "matter of time" By: Jonathan Noble May 17, 2021, 6:50 AM McLaren CEO Zak Brown thinks it is only a matter of time before Formula 1 title rivals Lewis Hamilton and Max Verstappen clash on track. https://www.autosport.com/f1/news/brown-hamilton-and-verstappen-crash-is-a-matter-of-time-/6510296/ Hamilton and Verstappen are locked in a tight battle for the world championship and, despite having overtaken each other at every race this season, they have managed to keep things clean so far. But Brown thinks that the intensity of their rivalry makes it inevitable that at some point there will be a controversial coming together between them. “I think rivalries are great for the sport and having those two guys go at it is good,” said Brown, speaking at the launch of McLaren’s Gulf livery for the Monaco Grand Prix. “Hopefully, at some point over the course a year, that creates an opportunity for us, because I think it is just a matter of time until they both are determined to not let up in to Turn 1 and neither come out.” Brown thinks that the head-to-head between Hamilton and Verstappen is a huge positive for F1, and has helped the sport see the best of both drivers. PLUS: How long can F1 2021's brewing title battle stay clean? “I think it's great for F1,” said Brown. “Lewis has had a pretty easy ride out, apart from his one year with Nico [Rosberg]. “So I think it's a great rivalry. I think Max has gotten Lewis to step up, not that he's needed much stepping up. But he's definitely on his A game. “I think it's clear that Lewis is a very smart driver. You can just see him sitting there waiting to strike and isn't kind of over eager. I think that's his experience coming through.”
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Race Stewards - Nish Shetty - Dennis Dean - Jose Abed - Vitantonio Liuzzi [Drivers Representative] - Eric Barrabino [National Steward] Image Unavailable, Please Login
Maybe Vettel will be stronger starting in Monaco..... https://www.planetf1.com/news/ralf-schumacher-sebastian-vettel-stroll/ Ralf Schumacher thinks Sebastian Vettel has three more races before he runs out of excuses for not beating Lance Stroll at Aston Martin. Excluding rookies, of the five drivers who arrived at new teams this season, Vettel has comfortably struggled the most. He is the only one of that quintet not to have scored a World Championship point so far in 2021, with a best finishing position of 13th in each of the last two races. Three times out of four, the German has ended up behind his team-mate, owner’s son Stroll jnr, who has collected five points up to now in his third campaign with the squad formerly known as Racing Point. That experience within the Silverstone-based outfit gives the Canadian an advantage over Vettel, but his 33-year-old colleague has been an F1 racer since 2007 and his knowhow ought to count for plenty. At present, Vettel appears to be continuing the decline that set in during his final year with Ferrari – and Schumacher believes the early summer races in Monaco, Azerbaijan and France will reveal much about his prospects for the rest of the year and beyond. “Sebastian Vettel’s task in the coming races will be to dominate his team-mate,” Schumacher told Sky Germany. “As a four-time World Champion, he has to. “If he is not clearly better there and does not bring the team forward, then at some point you have to ask yourself whether all of this still makes sense. “But we are not there yet. We should give him two or three more races, but then the problem of getting used to the Aston Martin should slowly be over.”
As in:: he seems to be comfortable just struggling along OR Vettel has struggled comfortably the most ?!? As in:: a) he is obvious struggling, b) is amassed wealth leaves him comfortable Perhaps he has become the second Räikkönen using F1 as a hobby and not really caring to run up front.....
Well I get what they were saying but it's an odd way to put it. At any rate, the pressure is on Vettel to perform and I bet it ain't a "comfortable" situation at all. Meanwhile his compatriots as in Rosberg and R. Schumacher have made negative comments about him in the press. Time to shine or pack it up. Hulk is waiting on the sidelines.
Vettel at this stage needs to retire. I love a good comeback story but he seems not to be able to. Sent from my iPhone using Tapatalk
New "retro" and "weathered" lids for Monaco Mclaren team.....I quite like both helmet themes. Image Unavailable, Please Login Image Unavailable, Please Login Image Unavailable, Please Login Image Unavailable, Please Login Lando's Image Unavailable, Please Login Image Unavailable, Please Login Image Unavailable, Please Login Image Unavailable, Please Login Image Unavailable, Please Login Leclerc's lid Image Unavailable, Please Login Image Unavailable, Please Login Image Unavailable, Please Login Image Unavailable, Please Login
He been off since last year. Something wasn’t right how do you go from finishing 2nd in 2019 in the championship standings to not even be able to get out of 5 position. That had to mess with his mind. I don’t think he gonna have a comeback with Aston. I know that last years Ferrari didn’t have the same pace as 2019 but I don’t think seb was mentally there. The fact that their blaming how Ferrari treated him as the cause of him not being able to do well is just crazy. He should just leave on a high note.
Welcome to FChat. Actually, Seb's been off his game since 2018 at Hockenhiem when he started his series of pirouettes since and going into 2019. Not to mention, Seb has been out-driven by Leclerc in 2018 and 2019; this isn't the first since Seb has been out-driven(Ricciardo).