Fantasy Formula 1 (Fantasygp.com)

[Erfolg]

Seems I have been lucky, for the first time. Has it all been used up for the rest of the series/season?

 

I am hoping not to achieve a record for being first to last in a season.

 

It does seem that the Red bull issues are more about politics at high level, than as at first presented. Hard to identify the main players, as the bit players and the deeper motives were not on display, the main participants have been at least initially cloaked.

[GrumpyGnome]

RIP Chris.

 

May the skies above him always be blue, and his landings safe........

[iqon]

Predictions done, all of my team lost money, going to be a long year.

[John Privett]

Evening all!

 

I thought I'd better get an early reminder in for this weekend!

 

We've gone from the last 2 race weekends being a whole day 'out-of-sync' with normality,  to now being only about half-a-day adrift. 

 

So although it's still only Thursday evening here in the UK, P1 kicks-off in a little over 4 hours from now, at 01:30 Friday morning, UK-time.  P2 follows while most of us are still asleep at 05:00.

 

P3 and qualifying occupy those same time-slots, 01:30 and 05:00, in the early hours of Saturday morning.  So don't leave those predictions too late!  And Sunday's race is even earlier at 04:00 UK-time.

 

So, just one parting thought tonight;

 

Don't forget your predictions!

 

(It's probably worth getting a 'banker' set done now.  You can always change them tomorrow after seeing how P1 and P2 go.)

[John Privett]

So...

 

Did P1 and P2 give us anything useful to base our predictions on?  Or just confusion?

 

Norris headed P1,  but was 9th fastest in P2.  Leclerc was fastest in P2 but 4th in P1.  Verstappen was 2nd in both.  The Mercedes duo of Russell and Hamilton were 3rd and 9th in P1, but only 6th and 18th in P2!  And Stroll and Alonso put their Aston Martins 4th and 5th in P2 after 7th and 18th in P1.

 

Make of all that whatever you will!  But whatever you reckon;

 

Don't forget your predictions!

 

As already mentioned,  qualifying is at 5am tomorrow, Saturday, morning.

[John Privett]

Afternoon all!

 

I wonder how many of us actually watched the race live at 4am this morning...  I didn't - I recorded it and watched it at breakfast time!

 

With the channel 4 highlights programme well under way I'll post our results here without any comment on the race itself for the moment.

 

Usual disclaimer; If you are watching the recorded highlights and don't want any clues about the result then maybe you should look away now!

 

So, here are our scores for today;

 

Pos	League Rank	Team	Manager	Pts
1	1 5	Essex Racing	Tony Clark	173
2	4 5	Hidden Cucumber	fat brownie	161
3	16 0	Norfolk Flyers	Kevin Fairgrieve	158
4	2 5	PSS Power	Flyer	156
5	9 3	teewrex	John Tee	130
6	6 1	Revers Racing	Pete B	126
7	10 3	Torque of the devil	Stu	118
8	14 0	Pitts Specials	john stones	117
9	5 3	DMFC Racing Team	Simon Webb	113
10	7 3	Team Charles Picd	Charles Pic	109
11	3 2	Mannschaft	Carl Brotherton	104
12	8 5	GASTON Formula	Chris McG	98
13	13 2	LetsGoTotoLetsGo	GrumpyGnome	96
14	15 0	Hans Brake	Zoonie	92
15	12 2	The JP Specials	johnpflyrc	86
16	11 3	Iqonic racing	iqon	71

 

Topping today's results is Tony with 173 points.

Second today is "fat brownie",  aka PDB, with 161 points.

Close behind in third today is Kev on 158 points.

 

Well done to today's top 3.  And I think we now know who has Ferrari in their teams!

 

So now to the overall table;

 

Pos	League Rank	Team	Manager	Pts
1	1 5	Essex Racing	Tony Clark	457
2	2 5	PSS Power	Flyer	435
3	3 2	Mannschaft	Carl Brotherton	430
4	4 5	Hidden Cucumber	fat brownie	425
=	5 3	DMFC Racing Team	Simon Webb	425
6	6 1	Revers Racing	Pete B	415
7	7 3	Team Charles Picd	Charles Pic	412
8	8 5	GASTON Formula	Chris McG	401
9	9 3	teewrex	John Tee	368
10	10 3	Torque of the devil	Stu	349
11	11 3	Iqonic racing	iqon	346
12	12 2	The JP Specials	johnpflyrc	340
13	13 2	LetsGoTotoLetsGo	GrumpyGnome	339
14	14 0	Pitts Specials	john stones	328
15	15 0	Hans Brake	Zoonie	300
16	16 0	Norfolk Flyers	Kevin Fairgrieve	293

 

We have a new leader in Tony, with Ade (Flyer) close behind - both move up 5 places today,  as did fat brownie, in his case to 4th.  This means Carl, Simon, and  afew others move downwards...

 

Kev's great result today still leaves him at the foot of the table after his unfortunate issue with the first race - but now very close to Zoonie in 15th.

 

Next up is Japan, so another early start.  That's in 2 weeks time, with qualifynig at 7am on the Saturday,  the race at 6am on Sunday.

[iqon]

 

Well done top 3. 

 

Didnt go to plan..

[Simon Webb]

I have Ferrari in my team line up...

 

...without them I would have been last for sure! 

 

Well done Top 3! 

Edited March 24 by Simon Webb

[John Tee]

Can anyone tell me how many safety/vsc cars there were. I predicted one and only saw one. I did nod for two laps but don't think there was as short a one as that. Fantasygp says my prediction was wrong. The only one I saw was involving Russell at the end.  10 points at stake.

 

John

[John Privett]

John - there was a virtual safety car earlier when Hamilton's engine died and the car was being recovered.  Then, as you mentioned, the one right at the end.

[PDB]

No Ferrari in my team, McLaren👍👍

Edited March 24 by PDB

[John Tee]

Thanks John. I missed that one even though I saw Hamilton go out. sorry for the delay answering.

[John Privett]

Evening all,

 

An early reminder to all, as it's another race weekend with all the sessions starting at 'silly o'clock' in the morning, UK-time.  So, even though there's still over 6 hours until P1 starts;

 

Don't forget your predictions!

 

Make them now,  you can always change them later after seeing how the practice sessions work out.

 

P1 is at 03:30 on Friday morning, with P2 at 07:00

P3 is at 03:30 on Saturday morning with qualifying following at 07:00

Sunday's race starts at 06:00

 

Now, go and get those predictions done!

[iqon]

FP1 & FP2 hasnt helped. 🙈 Not Happy.

[Erfolg]

Hmm, yes, practice normally tells me nothing, so nothing has really changed.

 

I am a little perplexed with respect to Lewis's comments re Vettel. I remember the reported qoute that Vettel would be joing Mercedes over his dead boy (if my memory, serves me well). If I understand the latest comments, re Russell, he seems to be trying to undermine him, suggesting that Mercedes would benefit from a younger driver (is Russel old?).

 

Japan seems often to be a wet event, or is it a very wet race? Is it scheduled for rain on Sunday, or during the week end?

[john stones 1 - Moderator]

I'm happy enough, may not last though.

[John Privett]

Evening all,

 

So, a quick summary of practice so far...

 

P1 saw Verstappen fastest from Perez, with Sainz next followed by the two Mercedes, then Leclerc.

P2 was rendered fairly meaningless by rain.  Only Piastri, Hamilton and Leclerc set a time on slicks, finishing in that order.

 

P3 for those who want to wait - or who want to maybe alter their predictions after it - is at 03:30 tomorrow morning.  And qualifying is at 07:00. 

[John Privett]

With the UK channel4 highlights programme well under way,  I'll post our results now,  but the usual disclaimer applies - If you are watching the highlights and don't want any clues about the results then stop reading now!

 

So first, today's league results;

 

Pos	League Rank	Team	Manager	Pts
1	2 3	DMFC Racing Team	Simon Webb	177
2	3 0	Mannschaft	Carl Brotherton	168
3	8 3	Iqonic racing	iqon	160
4	1 0	Essex Racing	Tony Clark	157
5	10 3	LetsGoTotoLetsGo	GrumpyGnome	144
6	12 2	Pitts Specials	john stones	143
7	4 0	Hidden Cucumber	fat brownie	139
8	15 0	Hans Brake	Zoonie	128
9	9 0	teewrex	John Tee	125
10	5 1	Revers Racing	Pete B	123
11	14 2	The JP Specials	johnpflyrc	119
12	7 0	Team Charles Picd	Charles Pic	118
13	13 3	Torque of the devil	Stu	112
14	16 0	Norfolk Flyers	Kevin Fairgrieve	106
15	6 4	PSS Power	Flyer	102
16	11 3	GASTON Formula	Chris McG	80

 

 

Top place goes to Simon with 177 points.

Next up is Carl with 168 points.

And third place today is taken by Iqon with 160 points.

 

Well done to today's top 3, and a special mention to Tony, missing the podium by just 3 points.

 

Looking now at the overall table;

 

os	League Rank	Team	Manager	Pts
1	1 0	Essex Racing	Tony Clark	614
2	2 3	DMFC Racing Team	Simon Webb	602
3	3 0	Mannschaft	Carl Brotherton	598
4	4 0	Hidden Cucumber	fat brownie	564
5	5 1	Revers Racing	Pete B	538
6	6 4	PSS Power	Flyer	537
7	7 0	Team Charles Picd	Charles Pic	530
8	8 3	Iqonic racing	iqon	506
9	9 0	teewrex	John Tee	493
10	10 3	LetsGoTotoLetsGo	GrumpyGnome	483
11	11 3	GASTON Formula	Chris McG	481
12	12 2	Pitts Specials	john stones	471
13	13 3	Torque of the devil	Stu	461
14	14 2	The JP Specials	johnpflyrc	459
15	15 0	Hans Brake	Zoonie	428
16	16 0	Norfolk Flyers	Kevin Fairgrieve	399

 

Tony holds on to top place in the overall table,  with Simon moving up three places to 2nd.  Carl remains in third.  Pete moves up 1 place to 5th with Ade slipping 4 places to 6th.  Lower down the table, Iqon and Grumpygnome are also moving upwards - 3 places each and John S is up 2 places.

 

Next up in 2 weeks is China and it's a Sprint weekend.  Again, early start times for us in the UK,  though, with the exception of sprint qualifying, at slightly more sociable times than the last 2 races!

[iqon]

Yay - Happy.

[john stones 1 - Moderator]

Well done lads.

[Simon Webb]

Wahey! 😃👍

 

I finally understood an important principle in this race - it is the pedal on the right that makes the car go faster! 😎

[John Privett]

Evening all,

 

You've probably all seen today's email reminder from fantasygp, pointing out the changed format of Sprint weekends this season. 

But in case anyone hasn't seen it yet,  here are the relevant details;

 

The F1 season continues this weekend and it's time to get ready for the Fantasy GP of China - it's also the first SPRINT weekend of the season.

 

Note that the Sprint weekend format has changed a bit for 2024 - Friday has the practice session and then qualifying for the Sprint. Saturday is the Sprint Race and then the qualifying for the Grand Prix. Sunday is of course, the Grand Prix itself.

 

The game will lock when Sprint Qualifying begins on Friday, see timings below.

 

Make sure you're happy with your team and predictions before the game closes at the start of qualifying!

 

Here are all the important timings for the weekend, all timings in BST (GMT+1).

 

- Friday: 4:30am Free Practice & 8.30am SPRINT Qualifying (GAME LOCKS)

- Saturday: 4am SPRINT race, 8am Grand Prix Qualifying

- Sunday: 8am Race Start

 

Get your team ready before FRIDAY 8:30am BST (GMT+1)

 

So - my summary - don't wait until Friday to do your predictions - as after 8:30am you'll be too late!  I've done mine already,  and there's a slim chance I might get a quick look at the P1 results (Friday 4:30am!) and amend the predictions before heading off to work.  (I did say, a "slim chance"!)

 

[John Privett]

Evening all,

 

A quick - and early! - reminder from me...

 

Don't forget your predictions!

 

As already mentioned,  the fantasygp game is locked at 8:30am on FRIDAY, when Sprint qualifying starts.  Don't leave it too late!  Set your predictions now,  if you find time you can always change them after seeing how the 4:30am practice session goes tomorrow.

[John Privett]

Evening all,

 

With the Channel4 highlights programme finshed long ago,  here are the results of our league for today;

 

Pos	League Rank	Team	Manager	Pts
1	1 0	Essex Racing	Tony Clark	230
=	11 3	The JP Specials	johnpflyrc	230
3	2 1	Mannschaft	Carl Brotherton	228
4	4 2	PSS Power	Flyer	227
5	5 0	Revers Racing	Pete B	223
=	10 0	LetsGoTotoLetsGo	GrumpyGnome	223
7	3 1	DMFC Racing Team	Simon Webb	218
=	8 1	teewrex	John Tee	218
9	12 1	Torque of the devil	Stu	204
10	9 1	Iqonic racing	iqon	201
11	7 0	Team Charles Picd	Charles Pic	194
12	16 0	Norfolk Flyers	Kevin Fairgrieve	183
13	15 0	Hans Brake	Zoonie	177
14	14 2	Pitts Specials	john stones	174
15	13 2	GASTON Formula	Chris McG	171
16	6 2	Hidden Cucumber	fat brownie	165

 

And some very close scores today!

 

In equal first place, it's Tony and myself (I guess I have to get it right occasionally!) with 230 points each.  Don't forget of course that there are points for the sprint, so points totals are higher than usual.

 

Third place is taken by Carl on 228 points, and I think it's only fair to give a mention to Ade, just one point back on 227.

 

Well done to you all.

 

Looking now at the overall table after China;

 

Pos	League Rank	Team	Manager	Pts
1	1 0	Essex Racing	Tony Clark	844
2	2 1	Mannschaft	Carl Brotherton	826
3	3 1	DMFC Racing Team	Simon Webb	820
4	4 2	PSS Power	Flyer	764
5	5 0	Revers Racing	Pete B	761
6	6 2	Hidden Cucumber	fat brownie	729
7	7 0	Team Charles Picd	Charles Pic	724
8	8 1	teewrex	John Tee	711
9	9 1	Iqonic racing	iqon	707
10	10 0	LetsGoTotoLetsGo	GrumpyGnome	706
11	11 3	The JP Specials	johnpflyrc	689
12	12 1	Torque of the devil	Stu	665
13	13 2	GASTON Formula	Chris McG	652
14	14 2	Pitts Specials	john stones	645
15	15 0	Hans Brake	Zoonie	605
16	16 0	Norfolk Flyers	Kevin Fairgrieve	582

 

 

Tony, unsurprisingly, keeps hold of top place.  But there's a little 'shuffle in the next few places with Carl moving up to 2nd, pushing Simon down to 3rd. Ade and fat brownie exchange places, now 4th and 6th.  And I appear to the biggest mover today,  up 3 places, though only to 11th!

 

Miami next,  in 2 weeks time.  It's a Sprint weekend too,  and everything will be happening late afternoon/evening UK-time.  Sprint qualifying - when the game will be locked - is at 21:30 on Friday 3rd May.

[Erfolg]

I am suspecting that all of our teams are similar, given the results