Formula 1 - Qatar Grand Prix 2023

There were some advantages to Qatar being too rough on the tyres, it did limit the amount of pitstop nonsense. It'd be nice if we could do that somewhere that wasn't so hot people were all but passing out.

(I am also in the minority who are okay with the track limits penalties because there is a simple way to avoid them ... don't go off the track. Guys, if you're supposed to be the best drivers in the world, you should be able to manage that.) 

I'm moving slightly away from my usual format to look at an interesting problem three of the leading teams share. 

They have two drivers who both want to be number 1 and could both have a claim on it. 

Red Bull avoid this by having a clear number 1, I believe probably a contractually enshrined number 1. Now, there's those who say that's unfair, but at least it prevents some squabbling and number 2 knew what he was signing on for, even if I can only imagine their pitbox is something like this:  

The reason you don't want the squabbling is that it costs time, effort and design tokens to get new parts so often there's only enough for 1 person to try them. 

What's interesting is how the other teams are handling it. 

Ferrari, other than Qatar where they handled it by only having one car*, seem to be sticking to letting them fight it out, which, while giving the fans and Vasseur conniptions, probably will work for the time being because it's very rare where there's races where both of them are doing well. Circuits very much seem to be either Leclerc tracks or Sainz tracks, or one of them picks up a grid penalty which makes it the other's race. 

Mercedes seem to be going with "if we think one car is on the better strategy we will give team orders to let them overtake"." The problem is that they seem to give Hamilton that strategy most times, and if Russell is supposed to be the post-Hamilton's retirement future, I don't think it'll do much for his confidence. (That and I suspect he is working on a lament formatted in PowerPoint) 

McLaren are more even handed, but it does mean that there's frequent radio traffic from one driver or the other asking to be let past. 

I don't think any of the three tactics will work in the long-term (although Mercedes's problem may fix itself with Hamilton's retirement) and I think there'll be tears before the checkered flag for at least one of the teams this season. 

* no really, Ferrari, how do you justify having an unrepairable oil leak!!! You are one of the biggest teams, Williams and Aston Martin have both fully repaired cars in the same time.