New engine regs are a load of wank.
Why raise the rev limit, but then limit the amount of fuel? It means the engine manufacturers and fuel suppliers need to spend more money to make more efficient engines and fuels.
Alternatively, the teams make the driver use a leaner fuel map or conserve fuel...meaning they aren't pushing to the limit.
Absolutely mind bending how the FIA continue to introduce rubbish regs into this sport.
This is Formula 1! Cars and drivers are meant to be pushed to the limit! If I wanted conservation and management I'd watch WEC.
So bitterly disappointing as a fan of F1 that this is the way of the future.
How would this be a bad thing? You don't want more efficient engines?
The whole idea is to save money. Spending money on other areas rather than developing consumables like fuel would make the racing so much better. Just my opinion anyway.
This season hasn't been all that flash, it just looks that way because the Mercedes domination has been pulled back a step or two. They still have by far the best overall package and should've won this championship by more.
One of the best in the last ten years. Vettel and Hamilton haven't been perfect but have both matured and had a really good genuine battle for the title.
See I disagree. F1 has been neutered by poor regulations, political correctness in the public eye and a distinct lack of genuine talent being fed through. The feeder series seem to be doing better now, but it's still a case of who has the most money or sponsorships.
The 'green' element has torn at the fabric of F1 and made it a strategic game of management of resources. Basically the opposite of what F1 is supposed to be.
Whilst some of the combatants provide a bit of controversy and intrigue, at the end of the day, there have been no real surprises. When was the last time we had a car that wasn't a Mercedes, Ferrari or Red Bull win a race? Off the top of my head, I'd say Kimi in the Australian GP in 2013. 2012 McLaren were winning but were essentially another Mercedes factory squad in terms of resources.
When did we last have a real surprise winner? Maldonado in 2012? Even then, that seemed to be a perfect storm as that car seemed ideally suited to that particular track. The regs and overall direction have really hurt the spectacle. There needs to be more drastic, but calculated changes to get people back on board.
You want F1 to be a competition between the best cars and most talented drivers
No, I want F1 to be about pushing limits and going all out, both drivers and machinery.
It's inevitable that there will never be a field of the best 20-odd in the world. Teams have different philosophies on drivers and sponsors will have different agendas as well.
Look at Martini, who require Williams to have one driver of at least 25 years of age as part of their agreement.
I couldn't care less who is driving to a certain extent, as long as they are allowed to push as hard as they want without being punished by crappy regulations. I'd rather see guys like Kvyat, Ericsson, Palmer etc. push fast, loud and brutal cars to the limit for an entire grand prix, than see Hamilton, Vettel and Alonso play a management game of conserving tyres and fuel.
Nobody complains about the turbo era where drivers who overdid it with the boost ran out of fuel....
Nor would I complain if two drivers were having a ding dong battle for the world championship at the last grand prix of the season, separated by a couple of points, both pushing as hard as possible, setting fastest lap after fastest lap...and then one of them runs out of fuel...or blows an engine. That's racing.
None of this 'OK Lewis, we're going to go with Plan A. Switch to fuel mode L1 please, fuel mode L1'.
We want 'Hammertime!!'
So if Seb hadn't cut across the track, the accident wouldn't have occurred. He did, but he wasn't to blame?
If Seb hadn't cut across the track, he'd be out of a job for being weak as piss.
Melinda Messenger was the first 'big time' grid girl wasn't she?
I remember her posing in the Jordan car at some point in the 90's.
Do you think the F1 should do an F1 Live Event in Melbourne like they did in London last year? Might be good seeing as it's the first race and all.
If the vegans are protesting in Melbourne restaurants, can you imagine the activists if F1 closes down the streets?? :P
Fernando Alonso (Spain) (36/291/32)
Such a waste of his talent the last few years. Could easily have had 50-60 wins by now.
So, in some totally random order?
Started off by country (France, Germany, Finland, Spain) then went to geographic region (Oceania for Aus and NZ, Americas for Canada and Mexico) and then a big catch all of Europeans at the end!
Such a whinger. McLaren / Honda should have booted him out.
Bit harsh. Double world champion (could easily have been triple).
Who knows what Honda and/or McLaren promised him (besides plenty of cash) to sign with them?
If Honda said 'we expect to compete for points in our first year, podiums in our second and wins in our third year', then he's got every right to whinge.
They produced some horrendous engines that were woefully underpowered, hideously unreliable, and didn't seem to really care too much.
McLaren would've lost a shit tonne of money due to that partnership. No wonder they pulled the plug.
EDIT: Alonso also brings a huge fanbase from around the world, and plenty of marketability.
For 2018 McLaren lost the $30m (reportedly) which Honda brought to the partnership.
From 2015 to end of 2017, McLaren would've lost plenty of money in potential world championship points.
If they carried on with Mercedes had it been possible, they'd be in a much better financial position.
It would be interesting to extrapolate their points from 2014 out to 2017 and check what WCC $$$ that would have bought them vs the cost of engines as a customer with Mercedes.
I tend to think that financially they would still be better off with Honda.
From what I've read, McLaren earned about US$100,000,000 in prize money for their performance in 2014.
Considering teams were probably paying in the region of US$30,000,000 for engine supplies before the cost cutting measures were introduced, that leaves a void of about US$40,000,000 for McLaren based on those numbers.
Since Mercedes has been the dominant engine since 2014, it's feasible that McLaren could have been in the top 3 constructors every season and walked away with well in excess of US$300,000,000 in prize money over three seasons.
I don't see how the Honda partnership could've ended up anywhere near that rewarding.
Lmp drivers suffer with vertigo looking through curved glass screens?
LMP1 cars are essentially flat in front of the driver, curves around the sides.
An F1 screen may be curved all over due to the smaller size.
I'd have thought it might be one of those things a driver could get used to, but if anything designed to enhance safety and survivability actually compromises driver safety, then F1 shouldn't go with it.
Vettel is well respected in F1 as a four-time champion, so his opinion would hold substantial weight.
As per most things F1, I'd say unanimous verdicts would be needed to pass this sort of thing.
I'm not completely against the halo or against a screen but personal preference would be to think that a screen might be better.
Aesthetically, absolutely. The halo looks horrible and will be tough to get used to.
In terms of actual safety and how they perform, jury is out. Red Bull seemed to be onto something with their screen, but stopped development in case they were ultimately wasting resources (good call!).
An enclosed canopy is never a good idea on an open wheeler, simply because they are much more prone to being flipped over. Whilst it could work, it is an engineering nightmare, particularly with the driver's head so close (ruling out explosive bolts/hinges and the like for emergency extractions).
We'll get used to halo, just like have with everything else. Low or high noses, smaller or larger wings, grooved or slick tyres, V12/V10/V8 or V6...we always adjust eventually...well, the die hards do anyway.
I'm all for fan interaction, but fans shouldn't have an influence on the race or championships.
Fan decided points bonuses are a bad idea in my view, as it's basically a popularity contest in most cases.
I wouldn't mind seeing points for pole position though. Not so much fastest lap, as there is always the 'pit late and sprint' thing that some drivers do. Not a genuine fastest lap when put into context. Pole position is always the guy who did the best job in qualifying, so should be rewarded.
Constructors points should be awarded for fastest pit stop at each race though. The pit crews get almost no recognition so having a tangible effect on the constructors championship might be a nice reward for them.
As for points for pole, the whole idea of pole is too get an advantage for the race, no need for points too.
Pole position isn't always an advantage though. Sometimes you're on the dirty side of the track.
I laugh at the idea of officially timing pit stops (for the purpose of awarding points) and the cost of setting up the equipment required to get uber-accurate timings vs the rough'ish estimates that we have at the moment.
Again ... a silly idea that would bring nothing to the sport.
Pitstops are officially timed and the equipment is already set up. It isn't displayed on television but is measured to the thousandth of a second, for record keeping purposes by the FIA. There are no 'rough'ish estimates' in F1. It's all about precision and accuracy to the nth degree. Always has been.
An example here: https://www.fia.com/sites/def
Awarding points for fastest pit stop might not add anything for fans directly, but surprisingly enough, F1 actually has teams and personnel who work extremely hard to make sure their cars have every chance of winning races and championships.
It could add some seriously good action as the extra points could be pivotal in a close constructors championship fight, and pit crews could be susceptible to more mistakes if they're feeling the added pressure.
They don't need to be accurately measured because nothing hinges on the time.
I'm beginning to think you've not watched F1 before!
Anything relating to time is vital in F1. Teams use the data to decide strategies, not just at the race they're at, but for future races.
It also gives an insight into where some teams are better than others, where some drivers are better than others and gives those who enjoy the stats and strategy a chance to 'play at home' so to speak.
There are any number of things you can time and measure in F1 and there is any number of things you could award points for. Most of it is irrelevant. The on-track action is what matters.
Let's throw all the strategists, engineers and other staff in a big boat, sail to the middle of the ocean and sink it shall we?
The on-track action is what matters, but it is not ALL that matters.
The off-track stuff is just as exciting, especially with the current state of the formula.
The politics, the driver market, junior driving programmes, car design, financial situation, engineering concepts and plenty more stuff is what makes the on-track action what it is! Without all of the off track stuff, you have nothing really.
Great example will be when Grand Prix Driver starts on Amazon on Friday. Will be brilliant to see what actually happens behind the scenes in a big F1 team.
Dismissing the off track stuff is your own decision to make, but to say the on track is all that matters is really a bit naive.
You are missing my point. I love all of the above, it is a huge part of the sport.
But in terms of improving the sport, you need to look elsewhere. We have had some crazy suggestions on improvements that are too far removed from the on-track Sunday afternoon action. That was my point. I was not sugesting that off-track matters aren't worthwhile.
Apologies, it sounded as though you were only concerned about what happens on track rather than the entire F1 community.
I do think bonus points have some merit in certain areas. You don't want to dilute things by having points here, there and everywhere, but constructors points do have a bearing on team prize money, so it may give some incentives to the lower teams to fight for the points that have a relatively equal playing field.
I'm not sure I want places in the constructors championship decided by the 4th decimal place in a pit stop time.
I wouldn't mind constructors points being given for qualifying, specifically bonus points for reaching Q2 and Q3. That way a back marker team that scores very few points on Sunday can get rewarded for doing consistently well in qualifying.
Especially when it is mostly irrelevant, i'd imagine that the overwhelming majority of pitstops could be half a second longer and they wouldn't affect the result of the race in any way.
If you don't want championships decided by pit stops, then surely you can't be serious that you're OK with seeing points for making it to Q2 and Q3? This basically advantages good qualifiers and punishes good racers who aren't as quick in qualifying.
If one bad qualifying session for one driver meant the difference between winning the title and not, it would be an absolute uproar...especially since qualifiying has been dominated by one team over the last few seasons.
As for half a second not making much difference, it could be the difference between retaining the lead coming out of a pitstop, or falling behind and being relegated to second place. There has been so much hoo-hah about the lack of overtaking for years, pit stops have become and overtaking tool in themselves.
Grand Prix Driver is definitely worth a look. Great behind the scenes with no bullshit. Very raw and real.
Mclaren are bending over backwards for Alonso who is getting on in age.
With good reason. He's still one of the best drivers on the grid (the best in my view), and given a half decent car, will win races and fight for the title.
I don't know what it will take for Alonso fans to accept the reality that he was the best driver 11 years ago
Let's analyse that.
2007 – moved to McLaren where Hamilton was heir apparent. Tied in the WDC.
2008 – 2009 – moved to a rubbish Renault outfit who had declined massively since 2006.
2010 – 2014 – probably the worst time to have been at Ferrari since 1995. Red Bull had the dominant car.
2015 – 2017 – McLaren Honda project. Widely documented as a total and utter failure. Had some good performances towards the back end of 2017 when things were slightly improving.
In all of those years, I think only 2015 was he beaten by a teammate (2007 is a tie in my view).
Was runner-up in the WDC in 2010/2012/2013 in an inferior car.
His performances at Indy and Daytona show his real class and ability. Given a decent machine, he'll be winning races again very soon.
He's also had 32 wins, and never really had the dominant car like Red Bull, Ferrari or Mercedes have had since the turn of the century.
I'd argue that he had a championship-winning car in 2010. History shows he came 2nd, but he was ahead of the eventual champion going into the final race. So he should have won it, but they messed up the strategy.
1. Fernando is faster than you – gifted the win in Germany
2. Vettel retired from the lead in Korea and had the coming together with Webber in Turkey
3. Red Bull had nine wins to Ferrari's five
4. Vettel was podium bound in Belgium until a drive through penalty
Vettel should've won at least two, probably three more races than he did, that's the only reason Alonso was leading heading to the last race.
Red Bull car was superior for 2010-2013, quite comfortably. Alonso just wrung the neck of the Ferrari to put it where it shouldn't have been really.
The fact is he is not in the league of Hamilton , Vettel or Ricciardo anymore . He is older and has lost some of the speed he once had . Comes with age . Nothing to be ashamed about
How can you qualify that when he's not had machinery that has been anywhere near competitive since 2014?
If Alonso is still the best...you would think atleast 1 top team would try to sign him.
F1 has changed and is all about youngsters now.
I still think if Alonso signed for Mercedes, he'd beat Hamilton.
Neither Rosberg nor Bottas have that ruthless streak he's always had.
I thought that the best drivers find their way into the best cars.
He did the same thing Schumacher did after winning two world titles.
Invested in a project with a big team in an attempt to bring them back to the front.
In his case, he was let down by Honda. Schumacher managed to build an uberteam around him and turned them into worldbeaters.
If Honda had 'done a Brawn' and produced a dominant engine, he may have had much more success with McLaren in the last few seasons.
So he's the best driver on the grid for the last 11 years, but doesn't have the most wins, podiums, or pole positions in any of those years because of his car?
That's the problem. People are too concerned with stats. Yes they carry a lot of weight, but are not the be all and end all.
Lewis Hamilton has the most poles in F1, but few would call him the best qualifier in F1 history.
Schumacher has a myriad of records, but many don't class him as the best ever.
Kimi has the most fastest laps of any active driver, but no one would call him the fastest racer, nor Schumacher who holds the record.
People are way too quick to write drivers off.
Did Hakkinen ever do anything morally questionable?
Nah, Mika was a boy scout...a bloody quick one at that.
Although he was at McLaren when they had that second brake pedal. Not of his doing obviously.
Schumacher is my favourite driver, and also the best in my view.
Senna was brilliant, and in truth, quicker than Schumacher over one lap.
Lots of drivers have been or are exceptionally good.
Alonso, Hamilton, Vettel, Mansell, Prost, Clark, Stewart, Fangio and the list goes on.
For me though, Schumacher was the most complete. He was always one of the quickest and had an incredible ability to analyse a race as he was driving the car and adapt to what was required. He always had the charisma and passion for winning, which mean he could always attract the best people to surround himself with. That team at Ferrari, with Rory Byrne, Ross Brawn, Jean Todt, Balbir Singh, Paolo Martinelli and Schumacher was one of the best in the history of F1.
The whole Ferrari project, from back in 1996 through to winning the first title in 2000 and beyond was all driven by Schumacher and his desire to win.
To me, basically dragging a team from the depths of despair to being a dominant force (with plenty of help), breaking almost evey possible record along the way, makes him the best driver in history.
If anyone would like to run up the stats on Vettel and ALo and other to see if there is any exceptional cases I'd be interested?
I don't think Alonso has ever had a CAR that was dominant over the entire field.
In 2005 he definitely had the better tyres, but McLaren won more races that season.
In 2006, Ferrari won more races than Renault.
So in reality, all of Fernando's 32 wins are in a car that was not class of the field.
Didn't he also "invent" the start of the race swerve?
This was being used well before Schumi's time.
If they ended up with fewer wins, it's because their #2 driver wasn't as good as McLaren's. But their car was better.
No, their driver was better. McLaren won about 7 races in a row towards the end of the season.
What about 1997 when he cheated *again* and got caught? I wouldn't call deliberate crashing a typical racing incident. He does have a bit of pedigree when it comes to these kinds of things.
The funny thing about this is, that if Schumacher had not turned in, Villeneuve would've crashed into him anyway.
He was on the grass on corner entry, had a slight lock up and then Schumacher turned in.
Villeneuve was already going to crash into Schumacher, so Schumacher actually handed the title over.
The FIA couldn't view it that way though, because of Schumacher turning in.
Schumacher never had the supreme domination that Mercedes have had.
Yes they were dominant, but not 2 seconds a lap quicker for several seasons dominant.
Lewis is an incredible driver, but I think he's had it much easier during 2014-2017 than Schumacher did during his five WDC period.
You did watch 1995, 2000, 2001, 2002 and 2004, right? In 1995, 2000 and 2001, Schumacher equalled Mansell's record of 9 race wins in one season; then in 2002 he broke that record by winning 11 times, and he broke his own record again in 2004 by winning 13 times. Sounds like supreme domination to me.
Have a look at the qualifying results during those seasons, then see if you still think the same way.
The Ferrari won lots of races, but a reasonable amount of that was Schumacher.
Even in 2004, Ferrari only managed 12/18 pole positions.
In 2015, Mercedes had 18/19 poles.
Like I said, there's domination, and then there's Mercedes domination.
Our resident Alonso fan claims that Hamilton has had an easy run from 2014-2017.
When the only bloke you realistically have to beat is your teammate, I'd call that an easier ride than having to beat several drivers from other competitive teams.
To me this is not evidence that Schumi's success is reliant on the team mate moving out of the way or being on a different strategy...
Could it be, just possibly...and stick with me here...could it just be that Schumi was...better? :P
New Williams out like the addition of black
I don't like the black, looked much better with all white base. I'd have preferred white wings on the car too, instead of the black.
I thought we established there is no GOAT F1 driver.
Of course there is, it's just a fluid title is all.
There is always a greatest of all time, it just changes as time goes on.
Pick on driver who's won multiple titles and one who's never won a race to make the best F1 team
Schumacher and Wehrlein.
Mercedes wasn't the best team when Schumacher was with them . Wehrlein drove for Sauber and Manor and was test driver for Mercedes
What's your point exactly??
That Red Bull livery looks awesome! I'd be happy with that as their race livery, but I'm assuming we'll just get a rehashed version of last season.
There was no need for a halo just PC gone nuts.
Justin WIlson, Henry Surtees, Felipe Massa...pretty sure they could all have benefited from having the halo on their race car,
Not all are F1 drivers, but the principle remains the same.
I personally don't like the look, but if it saves even one driver from serious injury or death, it's well worth it.
If that spring had Felipe's name on it, it would have snuck through that gap in the halo without deflecting.
Yeah that one was a bit less chance of the halo working, but Wilson and Surtees it would've worked for sure.
Jules may not have benefited, but perhaps the structure may have taken some of the impact and perhaps lessened his injuries? That's a bit speculative of course, but it makes sense.
That's why it's been introduced.
A 92G impact though? It's supposed to handle at least 12.7 tonnes or something...even the halo may not have been enough.
I still think it is a good move though, especially for large flying debris and if cars happen to hop over one another.
Its embarrassing to be hiding behind the halo when the sport is safer than ever.
Attempting to be macho about safety is probably more embarrassing though.
And if the halo simply behaved as an immovable object on the car, it would have simply increased the g forces on the driver at impact.
It wasn't the G force that hurt him though, it was the impact into the tractor.
If the halo submarined him more into the gravel or whatever, and meant his head wasn't impacted on the tractor, even 100G plus would've been easily survivable. I think an Indycar driver survived over 200G.
The thing I dislike most about the Halo is that, on a fairly level viewing angle, you can't see the top of the drivers helmet which is the part that distinguishes which driver you are looking at in most cases.
They don't use different colours on the t-cams anymore do they?
C'mon, use your imagination people... (I'm sure the more cerebral among us got the reference ;)
They both have stripes...wow. Very 'cerebral'.
So you don't care at all about changing the DNA of F1 and converting them into just a typical race car? They were open wheel/cockpit for almost 100 years but now its suddenly not tolerable? So strange.
The formula has changed massively since the early days in many different ways. This is just another change, for the good really.
Purists would say F1 cars shouldn't have wings on them.
Fangio never raced with wings on his cars, just a metal tube with four wheels.
Now wings are an essential part of the formula.
Purists would say you should have naturally aspirated engines.
Turbos were introduced in the 70s and are now part of the current formula.
Plenty of safety changes have come in, all for the good.
Safety belts, high impact tested helmets and visors, survival cell monocoque chassis, tethered wheels, rain lights, sliding seat for easy driver extraction, onboard fire extinguishers, ban on refuelling, reduction in downforce to lower speeds and plenty more.
Halo does NOT make it an enclosed cockpit. The cockpit is almost enclosed anyway, with the headrest sitting over halfway up the drivers helmet, but it does not have a roof or canopy.
I can imagine Senna would be pretty supportive of the changes to chassis and suspension design as he looks down upon the F1 world. His head wouldn't have been skewered by his suspension if he was driving a modern day car when he had his fatal accident, so don't dribble on about how ridiculous these safety changes are.
There would be many drivers still alive today if these safety upgrades were on their cars.
It not complete enclosure but its partial and obviously is the first step of complete cockpit enclosure. Its no longer F1 period.
It will always be F1. The 'Formula' part is what makes it F1.
It's not about being open cockpit and open wheels, it's about being the pinnacle of engineering and racing.
The 'DNA' of F1 cars has always been to be the fastest, most technologically advanced and engineered cars the world has seen. You just don't like change and can't adapt to a fluid concept of racing.
Is the halo a Liberty decision or something from Bernie's era that Liberty have carried on with?
The halo has been talked about for years, well before Liberty came on board.
I think the first concepts were being discussed as far back as 2015, internally at least.
talent has gone down
I disagree. Back in 'the day', a lot of drivers were just blokes who built a car and went racing.
The fields were much bigger years ago, but some of the cars were WAY off the pace, with drivers to match.
Even as recently as the 80s and early 90s, we had the pleasure of such drivers as Jean-Denis Deletraz, Taki Inoue, Andrea Montermini and many other mobile chicanes.
Drivers these days have plenty of lower formulae experience, or racing experience in other categories before they are given a chance in F1. Driving academies and the like also offer a chance to have drivers nurtured, so it's almost non-existant now that you find a driver who is uncompetitive in a Formula One race car. I doubt you'd find many donkeys in the last 20 years.
Palmer comes to mind
Bit harsh. GP2 champion who suffered in a poor car.
Hulk smashed him but had a lot more experience. KMag had one result over him, otherwise they were about even.
The majority of drivers in F1 come with personal sponsors. Ayrton Senna, Michael Schumacher, Fernando Alonso, Nigel Mansell – name any F1 driver and they'll have money attached to their seat in F1.
True, but in the case of front running drivers like Schumacher, Senna and Alonso, the money goes to them rather than the team. That's why you won't usually see the sponsor on the car, only on their racewear or helmet.
Any idea if the testing will be shown ?
It's usually on Sky Sports F1, and Ted does a notebook wrap up of every day.
Not broadcast locally though.
Yet never suggested a halo.
You're just a grumpy, old stick in the mud. I bet you'd be incredibly fun at parties (if you know what they are).
Senna was the biggest safety advocate during his time. To say he never suggested a halo is an incredible stretch at trying to prove a very dated and foolish point.
Again, nobody even suggested closing cockpits back in the 70s when drivers were dying all the time. Why?? Because they knew it was one vital aspect of F1 should never been touched.
Again, foolish and outdated. Raised cockpit sides were introduced after Mika Hakkinen's head nearly snapped off when he crashed in Adelaide. The technology and engineering advances back in the 70's, along with the very relaxed and almost negligent manner that safety was viewed added up to too many drivers dying. If engineers had the information back then that is available now, things would've been much different.
But you keep sucking that lemon.
I can't remember why I started watching F1
I was about 5. It was the speed, the sound and the glamour that did it for me.
Couldn't care less whether they were open cockpit or open wheels, all I knew was that they were fast and the sound made the hair on the back of my neck stand up!
WRC does the exact same thing, as does a lot of other motorsport.
As I grew older, I realised the engineering effort in Formula 1, and started to take more notice of drivers and how they went about it.
I remember seeing Schumacher in 1991/92 and thinking he might be a good guy to follow. He had a cool name (I was only about 11 at the time!!) and so I kept an eye on him.
The Australian GP in 1992 was one of the first times I really thought, this guy will be world champion one day. Had the race been another two laps, Schumacher would've passed Berger and won. Great finish.
Suggest you do a Google search for 'Objectification of Women'
That's a bit precious.
I'm not really fussed about the grid girls, but 'objectification of women' absolutely smacks of a feminist rant, similar to the recent Jennifer Lawrence situation (she was pictured in a beautiful gown with blokes who were all rugged up against the cold).
You're reading way too much into it.
And now F1 will slowly become just like every other category until they are all basically the same in appearance.
They're all basically the same anyway!! You're on some seriously good stuff over there. Did you beat the codeine ban or something? Popped a few Oxys?
The FIA give the formula, (which is basically a sets of boxes to build a car within), and the teams do it!
Most of us would be able to pick a Mercedes from a Ferrari or Red Bull etc., but if you painted all 20 cars black, lined them up and were asked to pick which chassis belonged to which team, you'd struggle.
Do any of you halo fans deny F1 is far less exciting than it was 20-30 years ago?
In terms of the senses, the sound is not as good as the V10 era.
Visually I think the cars look just as good now as they used to, if not better.
The sheer forces that go through the cars are unbelievable and watching them through the quick stuff is better than it used to be.
In terms of racing, the cost cutting measures have meant less risk and more engineering.
Personally, to be able to make an engine that produces damn near 1000BHP last around 2000kms is an amazing feat.
The complex gearboxes and electronics also last for such a long time.
So whilst there isn't as much 'drama' caused by unreliable cars, the engineering efforts are incredible.
If it were possible, the only thing I'd probably change is putting V10s back in, and ripping some of the aero kit off.
Other than that, modern F1 is more appealing to me as it is much closer to what the ethos of F1 is supposed to be.
The 1990 Ferrari 641 is probably my favourite F1 car in terms of looks.
Only because it is so clean and curvy.
The Ferrari F2001 in Monza livery (no sponsors with black nose) was also a gorgeous F1 car.
McLaren MP4-18A (which never raced) was also a very striking car.
The older cars from the 80s just look a bit weird now. Some have awesome liveries though. JPS Lotus for one.
You mean the quick stuff with massive tarmas run offs with nothing left to crash into if you make a mistake, or even slow them down which lets them just run off and rejoin the track as nothing had happened?
You mean like Maggetts and Becketts?
You mean like Eau Rouge?
You mean like 130R?
You mean like Ferradura?
You mean like Renault bend at Barcelona?
You mean like Sochi turn 3?
Sure, F1 has lost some great corners, but there are some absolute beauties (if you bother to look for them) and with the cars being so much faster through them nowadays, it's even better.
Yet very boring compared to engines that could grenade at any moment.
Sure it's fun when someone drops out with an engine failure, but do we really want only 6 or 7 finishers for every grand prix?
I thought F1 was supposed to be about unrestricted engineering or close to it
It's never changed. There are more restrictions, but the engineering is still unrestricted within those parameters.
Some of the innovative ideas completely beggar belief, and allow the cars to remain so fast, despite the restrictions.
These are all flat out now.
Yes, but getting any of them wrong would result in a trip into the wall.
Ferrari looks great! Love that they've done away with most of the white and made it mostly red. Beautiful!
McLaren MCL33.
Geez, wasn't expecting that!! I think the 'Ron-ness' has definitely been erased from McLaren!
he crashed the car, probably whilst smiling for the camera, he doesnt want to talk about it, and equally as mysteriously, you want to cover it up!!!!
Wow, you're all kinds of special aren't you? You must surely be new to F1, because everyone knows that a 'filming day' is essentially a test day in disguise.
so you are suggesting your favourite team Red Bull Racing are cheating by testing their car on a limited distance run that is intended by the FIA as a photo-opportunity or a filming day?
so youre saying he crashed his car and endangered his life whilst doing something illegal ie testing his car?
The law says everyone should be doing the speed limit on public roads. Do you really think every single driver sticks to that limit?
Downloading movies is illegal...do you really think people don't do it?
Ricciardo and his colleagues risk their lives every time they get in the car and drive. The promotional events are a good opportunity for marketing stuff, but teams ALWAYS take advantage and will use this time to test systems and procedures.
To believe they don't just beggars belief.
Yeah I think it will, and flags as well apparently.
Flags are mirrored by lights on the steering wheel, so no issue there.
There is a YouTube channel called 'F1 Interviews' that posts all the Sky footage almost straight away, within an hour or so.
Honda has done 72 laps with STR. Did McLaren manage that many in the whole of testing last season? :-P
Ricciardo on top with a 1:20.179, just a touch in front of Mercedes.
STR are running with Honda power, so they're going to need a lot more than data to be competitive. More like luck, back at the Honda engine design offices.
They completed almost 100 laps. That sort of reliability is massive, considering how bad Honda were 12 months ago.
I don't think they'll be worrying anyone for outright pace, but I think they'll see a lot more chequered flags this season.
That is really positive for RBR.
Did they even manage to top one day of testing in 2017?
I'm more impressed with the number of laps.
Pace isn't really relevant in testing to a large extent, but reliable long runs are great news.
I shake my head in disgust when I see them on track.
Why are you still here then?
I have no issue with them. Hardly noticed them really because I'm not focused on them.
What's the big deal about it?
Is it really a big deal?
For someone so salty and focused on berating it, it's a huge deal.
Exacerbated by the fact they are old and grumpy.
I just feel bad for little old Sauber. I miss the good old days when they had Marussia and whatnot rolling around beside them. Now it's kind of sad :(
They're much closer than last season, probably a good second or two closer actually.
Haas are down there with them. Customer Ferrari engines must be dog shite :P
Are you suggesting this thread is restricted to only people who like the halo?
No, was referring to your bitter statements made previously that you weren't going to watch F1 any longer.
Why come in here with your bitterness if you aren't going to watch or follow?
Well its all that you see when you look at the driver. Stand out like a sore thumb.
I don't tend to look at the driver. All you can see is the lid anyway, unless it's onboard and you can see his hands as well.
Other than that, I would've thought most people would be looking at the car as a whole rather than focusing on the driver.
Onboard, I'd have thought you'd be looking at where the car was going...
Damn right i'm bitter and Im allowed to be.
Didn't say you weren't. Your original statements implied you'd be switching off, which kind of makes coming in here a bit redundant.
I think you'll eventually be able to live with and ignore the halo.
F1 is a sport that has been completely hijacked by money unlike any other.
I disagree. F1 has always been about who has the most money and resources. Bernie always charged like a wounded bull for the privilege of hosting a GP.
European football is much worse. Barcelona paid a transfer fee for ONE player that is equivalent to the Force India budget for an entire season (about £140M).
American football and baseball are similar. Money has gone crazy and it's taken over the sport.
I meant they have sacrificed the sport for money.
Bernie's been doing that for years. Getting rid of the traditional European tracks in favour of new locations (with poor circuits) just because the track promoter is willing to pay the exorbitant cost.
If I had my way, we'd still be racing at Imola, Estoril, Nurburging AND Hockenheim in the same season, Magny Cours and even some of the much older circuits like Zandvoort.
As much as I understand the need to go to new places, I don't think it can be at the cost of such brilliant and historical circuits.
Hell, I'd rather go back to Adelaide than Melbourne.
Maybe people in those countries could be more interested in F1? But more tickets? Petition politicians to pay for races etc? Buy associated products that can sponsor events?
That was kind of the original point. Bernie didn't give a shit about that. He got his money, exposed F1 to different parts of the world and kept most people happy.
You look back now and circuits like Valencia, Sepang, Istanbul, India etc have all fallen by the wayside due to lack of popularity.
Bernie didn't care. He'd moved on as soon as the deal was signed.
I don't think Baku will last, Russia might struggle, China looks like it could be on the way out as well.
F1 would be best served (in my opinion of course) by going back to some of the traditional circuits, offering heavily discounted prices to the circuit promoter with the promise that they will deliver much more 'user friendly' ticket prices.
I'd be willing to fork out for flights and accommodation in Europe...if the ticket prices were cheap enough to make it worthwhile. When it costs you a couple of grand for flights and hotels...then you need to pay $500 minimum on top of that just for the tickets...per person...it becomes a bit expensive.
The motogp boys don't test in winter conditions, they are in Asia testing.
They also have considerably less freight to worry about.
It would dilute the product. I think 21 races is two or three too many tbh.
I agree. A Grand Prix should be a major event.
The place where the race is taking place should be absolutely pulsating with excitement, and the fans around the world should be absolutely buzzing to watch it.
Having a race every week takes away from that excitement and exclusivity...not to mention the extortionate cost and logistical nightmare of getting all the hear from one circuit to another in a matter of a couple of days.
The Euro paddock takes two or three days to set up, and maybe another day to take it all down and pack it up.
Gasly also mentioned his dislike for the Halo yesterday, saying it was really difficult to get in and out of the car, and that his suit had holes in it after only one session as a result of how tight the squeeze is now.
The opening is the same size, just has a higher 'lip'.
You cannot grab the Halo to pull yourself in or out, so it's much harder to squeeze into according to Gasly.
He must be a bit of a sped then. I watched footage of Alonso getting in and out and he didn't seem to have any issues.
He was using the halo as a grip to push down on when getting in and pulling himself up with when getting out.
It's not as graceful as without a halo, but didn't seem to be too much of an issue.
The cars are far too homogeneous these days.
As far as them being a car that fits a set of regulations, yes.
I think some cars are vastly different to others. There are different themes and directions that can be seen when you look closely.
Encouraging but I wonder if it was turned way down for reliability.
The times and speed traps would suggest not.
Anyone got the speed traps for the current test?
Could only find info for the first test:
Haas 336.3
Ferrari 334.2
Mercedes 333.2
Toro Rosso 333.2
Williams 331.1
Force India 331.1
Sauber 329.2
McLaren 324.2
Red Bull 320.4
Renault 320.4
It's been mentioned before but I'd thoroughly recommend listening to this podcast to everyone
Do you know if it's available on YouTube as well?
Fun quiz for the enthusiasts!
https://www.autosport.com/f1
I managed to ace it!
But you would expect them to be higher than last.
Not really. If their design philosophy is different to Ferrari, the parts may not be suited to the Sauber chassis. This means compromising something to make the parts work.
I'd say the Sauber aero package has at least 15-20% less downforce than the works Ferrari.
Vettel smashed the unofficial lap record. 1:17.182 on hyper softs.
About a second quicker than Ricciardo yesterday.
Effective communication and cohesion between departments was poor and the place was built more as a show piece than a factory.
Didn't seem to bother them when Hamilton, Raikkonen, Montoya, Button etc. were winning races and championships for them...
With that expenditure, they should have been a top 5 performer. At a minimum they should be out-performing Renault.
It's funny, because I think over the last three season, McLaren have probably increased their performance the most of any team. Coming from where they started, to get to the stage they finished last season was a pretty huge achievement.
Problem was they started TOO far back.
I think they have decreased in performance from the start of 2015 until the end of 2017.
How do you figure that? They went from unreliable and incredibly slow, to reasonably reliable and fairly quick.
They have leap-frogged Williams which was a big (ish) deal.
True, but I think Williams have gone backwards massively. Not helped by Bottas going to Mercedes.
The whole Massa thing unsettled him, and ultimately the whole team.
I am surprised the media haven't started to question whether Clair is the right person to lead them. Or is she off-limits to the British press because of her surname?
Who knows! I don't think she's the WRONG person, but she definitely isn't the right one.
She doesn't seem to have that ruthless streak and willingness to take a risk like Frank/Patrick.
She seems a bit more of an accountant than a leader. Kubica should've been in that car, and would've been if Frank/Patrick was still in charge.
I think she's scared that Kubica being in the car would attract more attention to them team when she knows they are going to struggle massively.
I'm hoping Paddy Lowe can turn them around in the next year or two. They've got the talent and pedigree at Williams in terms of engineering, just need the right people in the right places as I believe Claire does have a role within the team.
Clair was promoted from marketing director to team principal. That's pretty weird if you ask me.
Like you say, her surname would've had plenty to do with that.
I personally question whether he has the ability to maintain a level of performance that we saw from him at his peak 10 years ago.
I think he'd do a better job over the course of a season than either Stroll or Sirotkin
Is it simply the fuel burn of the engines and the smoke that is coming out the back?
No, concern over long run pace compared to MGP and RBR.
Have any articles actually published lap charts or times?
The only factual data I've seen is on the quickest laps
Not sure if the actual times were published, but Sky Sports reported that Mercedes were about 0.5 seconds in front of RBR on long run pace, and about 0.7-0.8 in front of Ferrari.
Does Foxtel have much in the way of on demand coverage for F1
Not sure about the streaming service, but Foxtel with iQ3 allows you to watch anything if you've missed it, or you can simply record it to HDD. There is also a 'series link' option which will save every F1 practice, qualifying and race for the entire season without you having to remember.
Works brilliantly. Then you can watch at your leisure.
How many races has Ricciardo won without starting from the front row?
Schumacher won 24 of his 91 wins from off the front row P3 (16 of those from P3, lowest starting position is P16) 26.3%
Hamilton has won 7 of his 62 wins from off the front row (3 of those from P3, lowest starting position is P6) 1.3%
Vettel has won 4 of his 47 wins from off the front row (all of them P3) 8.5%
Senna won 7 of his 41 wins from off the front row (5 of them from P3, lowest starting position is P5) 17.1%
Alonso has won 13 of his 32 wins from off the front row (6 of them from P3, lowest starting position is P15) 40.6%
Interesting numbers...make of them what you will.
I don't think that one counts, due to cheating.
It's in the record books...
If you want to discount it, his lowest start was P11.
It's a terrible statistic for Vettel because he is an incredibly talented "driver" perhaps not quite as strong a "racer" as other great drivers
Again, there are caveats. Vettel spent six if his ten F1 seasons in a car that was either very good, or absolutely dominant.
Schumacher spent 11 of his 18 seasons at Ferrari, but only 5 of them were really in a dominant car, the rest of the time he was fighting great drivers and strong teams.
It's hard to chastise Vettel for not winning from deeper in the field, when for most of his career he's had a car capable of winning pole on merit and winning races comfortably. HE's had to work harder at Ferrari, but again, he's been up against the Mercedes GP juggernaut, meaning wins have been much harder to come by. I can't even see an in form Schumacher grabbing many more wins than Vettel under the same circumstances.
So, it goes both ways. I get your argument, but Vettel's either been 'blessed or cursed' during his entire career, and never been driving against many opponents in equal(ish) machinery.
Foxtel had the 2005 season review on last night...it was an absolute treat for the ears, hearing those screaming V10s in action.
McLaren and Kimi really should've won that championship. Kimi was robbed of several wins by an unreliable McLaren car.
JPM had some of the best excuses in the book when he cause crahses too!
Such a shame Bridgestone were so crap with the 'no tyre change' rule. Ferrari vs McLaren vs Renault would've been a much better spectacle!
It wasn't Bridgestone's fault. The FIA set the no tyre change rule.
Yes, but the tyres they produced were nowhere near as good as Michelin.
The 2005 Ferrari was a very quick car, but suffered with poor tyres. If it had run Michelin tyres, it may have been number 8 for Schumacher.
2 seconds per lap faster than Alonso.
Alonso was cruising. Such a good battle though. 2006 was even better.
I wonder why it only worked on that particular track?
Worked well at Hungary as well, but Bridgestone made their tyres way too hard due to the reg changes.
They never quite recovered from their original way of thinking. By the time they were probably going to recover, Ferrari were already looking to 2006.
As to why those two tracks were good, during that period Ferrari were traditionally good at those circuits, and it was probably just a perfect storm of car, setup, ambient conditions etc that made it work.
If I were liberty I'd cap the costs, getting a tone of teams wanting to sign up then let Ferrari and Mercedes leave and tell them not to come back
Then it would essentially be Formula Renault with a Honda for added fun. If Merc and Fezza leave, they'll take their engines with them.
The logo is supposed to be two cars/lanes (the F) crossing the finish line (the 1).
It's just a completely abhorrent attempt at it. So American I'm surprised it doesn't have cheese dripping down the side.
With regards to regs, what is your view on F1 cars having a starter button?
Mostly for if a driver bins it but hasn't damaged the car, he/she can restart the car and get going again.
Also, what about drivers being allowed to rejoin the race once dragged out of the boonies?
I'd prefer more drivers to finish than not, so giving them a chance to rejoin might add to the spectacle?
I think chassis engineering makes more of an impact than engine performance these days. A really good chassis can mask some engine power deficiency (see Red Bull, McLaren to some extent).
Melbourne will be their best result this year, unless they can get even luckier at another race.
That's a pretty naive call. I'd put Alonso in the mix to win at Monaco, Singapore and Hungary.
Singapore might be the track.
I actually think Hungary might be a better chance. McLaren were only about one second off the pole in Q3 last season.
They qualified top ten in all three races I mentioned above, both cars.
Did anyone see this one:
A bit over the top, but not a bad gag. I'm pretty sure the term 'Grand Prix' is trademarked by Formula One Licensing BV, but not a lot of folks would know that.
'Grand prix' (= French for 'great prize') is not trademarked by anyone.
Direct from Formula 1 legal notices:
The F1 logos, F1 FORMULA 1 logos, F1 FIA FORMULA 1 WORLD CHAMPIONSHIP logo, FORMULA 1, FORMULA ONE, F1, FIA FORMULA ONE WORLD CHAMPIONSHIP, GRAND PRIX, F1 GRAND PRIX, FORMULA 1 GRAND PRIX and related marks are trademarks of Formula One Licensing BV, a Formula 1 company. All rights reserved.
'Formula One / Formula 1 / F1' on the other hand is a trademark owned by the FIA and promoted by FOM.
The trademark is owned by FOM (Liberty) and used under license by the FIA.
Asked this in China thread, but better off here.
If you could have any 20 drivers in F1, who would they be? Discussion along the lines of F1 being the 'best of the best', so who would your 20 best drivers be?
Must be currently driving in a recognised category, age is no obstacle, just the 20 best drivers.
Should be fun!
If you could have any 20 drivers in F1, who would they be? Discussion along the lines of F1 being the 'best of the best', so who would your 20 best drivers be?
My 20 (in no particular order):
Daniel Ricciardo
Lewis Hamilton
Sebastian Vettel
Fernando Alonso
Sebastian Ogier
Nico Hulkenberg
Antonio Felix Da Costa
Josef Newgarden
Carlos Sainz
Esteban Ocon
JP Montoya
Sebastian Loeb
Mattias Ekstrom
Max Verstappen
Kimi Raikkonen
Valtteri Bottas
Jenson Button
Pascal Wehrlein
Petter Solberg
Lando Norris
Nico Rosberg and Mark Webber would be in if they weren't retired. I still think both would be massively handy.
Others who were close: Tom Kristensen, Sergio Perez, Daniil Kvyat (mishandled in my view, super quick)
The weight change is interesting. If not considered at all then won't having the lightest driver be a big advantage
It still penalises a heavier driver, but not in terms of car design.
If the car is weighed WITH driver, then the team have less ballast to use with a heavier driver.
If the car is weighed WITHOUT driver, the teams are on an even keel in terms of pure car design.
So it's not really true that heavier drivers will no longer be disadvantaged, it's the TEAMS with heavier drivers will not be disadvantaged in their car design!
beer gut of the driver
I really hope some drivers put on some beef, they look a bit ill some of them!
Could there be something in his contact with Redbull about talking about other teams negotiations.
I highly doubt it, but RBR might have first right of refusal.
I think Seb has matured the last couple of years. The Baku incident in 2017 was a bit of an anomaly.
He does get a bit petulant on the radio, but that's because he wants to win.
I don't think he'd have any issues with Ricciardo if he came to Ferrari and started beating him. Certainly wouldn't be Rosberg v Hamilton levels of tension.
If anything, it would be better for Ferrari. Whilst Kimi is still super quick, he just doesn't seem to be able to string it together for a whole season.
VET/RIC would be arguably the best combo on the grid.
I wonder if some top teams reluctant to sign ric becos he drinks from shoe and affect his marketability.
Lol
Ron Dennis isn't in F1 any longer. He's the only one that would have an issue with it.
Move to Ferrari: Play as second fiddle to Vettel. Poor Kimi was a mobile chicane in China for Seb. Would hate to see Dan reduced that.
I've said before, Kimi isn't consistent enough any more.
If Ricciardo finished in front of Seb in the first couple of races, he'd quickly become the 'lead' driver.
Ferrari wouldn't need to worry about assigning driver numbers with Vettel and Ricciardo though. They'd both be front runners at all times.
Italians in Italy would probably pronounce it 'Ritch-ardo' (as Seb does over the radio at Ferrari), but if Dan and his family go with 'Rick-ardo' then that's what I'll go with.
Schumacher was another name that was butchered. Most went with 'Shoo-mack-ah' or 'Shoo-may-kah'. Should be 'Shoom-ukah'.
Vettel gets done incorrectly too, some going with 'Vuh-tell' instead of 'Veh-tal'.
Geez you could spend a while on this!
Ferrari dont need Ricciardo, Ricciardo needs Ferrari.
Not necessarily. Ferrari don't NEED anything. It comes down to what they WANT.
And in most cases, what Ferrari wants, Ferrari gets.
I think the only driver they would ditch Bottas for is Dan.
Hulk in a Merc is a very intriguing option actually.
Merc would love a German back in the car (appeal to ze German market), and I think he's would be a race winner in the right car. He's probably one of the biggest talents that has been wasted thus far in my view.
The on screen graphics during the race are crap. Why on earth they don't tell who is on what tyre is beyond me. Need to know the postions, gaps, how many pit stops and what tyre. All we get is positions and gaps.
Get the F1 app. Run it on a tablet or something whilst watching the race. Gives you everything you need and more.
Verstappen
capable of winning the WDC
I haven't seen anything that remotely resembles him looking like he could win a WDC.
Win races yes, titles, absolutely not.
I have no real reason, i just feel they are happy with Bottas and I expect Lewis to be there at least for next year
Lewis is always saying he wants to race against the best. Ricciardo is widely considered the next in line for a world title, given the right equipment.
What better equipment than a works Mercedes (perhaps a works Ferrari? :P) and a four time world champion (possibly five by next season) as teammate to show your skill, whilst also giving Lewis the challenge he desires?
Ricciardo has a much better temperament than Rosberg ever had, so can't see any silly shenanigans happening (Lewis only moves once whilst defending...)
Alonso won in the WEC on debut last weekend. I reckon he'll do the triple crown before he's finished racing.
I'd say he's got a 50/50 shot at le Mans
I reckon the only thing stopping him is reliability, and Nakajima LOL
As if it was a thing. I suspect Graham Hill's family made it up.
I think Mario Andretti's achievements were greater.
Whatever. The mere mention of Alonso and you're reaching for the salt.
Who won? (If you need to look it up, I rest my case.)
I'd bet the vast majority of Australians couldn't name the horse that won last year's Melbourne Cup, but it's still the race that stops a nation. Le Mans is one of the biggest and most revered races on the motorsport calendar, and any driver in any discipline would love to compete in it, let alone win it.
Montoya has won two of the three, and he's doing sports car racing in America right now. Wouldn't be surprised to see him at Le Mans in the next few years.
So Alonso just won with a Toyota hybrid car in WEC. What chance of Toyota returning to F1 as engine supplier to McLaren?
But not the actual races/commentary? Great for the hardcore fans, but not yet something the majority would bother with (IMO).
Sorry, meant as an extra. I believe the 'world feed' is the default, unsure on the commentary. I'd assume it would be tailored depending on the country you're in. No point having English commentary for Spanish listeners as an example.
I notice no one is complaining about the drop.in noise from the V8's anymore .
Nothing is going to be done about it, so not much point flogging the dead horse. I watch YouTube videos of V10 era every week for my fix.
open cockpit Grand Prix racing
Pigeon-holing it to F1 only suits your argument.
There have been several deaths or serious accidents in open cockpit racing over the last few years.
Henry Surtees, Justin Wilson, Felipe Massa, Jules Bianchi, Will Power, Kimi Raikkonen and the list goes on.
Disagree. Why do you think Merc and Ferrari pay the big bucks to HAM and VET if any competent driver could do the job?
£30M/US$40M isn't really a huge amount of money to gain a permanent 0.3 seconds per lap.
Teams would spend more than that in R&D to gain less than half that amount of time per lap!
So Red Bull are switching to Honda power...interesting. I wonder if this will affect Ricciardo's decision...
Will Aston want to be associated with grenading engines?
Don't Aston Martin run AMG engines in some of their road cars??
Renault will be laughing
Considering how McLaren and the works team are doing, I don't think they'd be laughing too much.
Not to mention lost income, less data to analyse etc. etc.
Ferrari have never operated that way since Schumacher was brought in and presumably as long as Vettel keeps delivering the results expected of him they'll keep the status quo.
Just a slight adjustment there.
I think Vettel could be sold on a Ferrari 'Superteam'. He's relaxed a lot since he arrived at Ferrari and I think he would be of the impression that if he does beat Daniel, that Daniel would be right behind him and rob Lewis and anyone else of points towards the drivers title.
A Ricciardo/Vettel combo would be the strongest on the grid, and Ferrari might be interested in some of the ways of the Red Bull team.
If Alonso leaves, which is likely at season's end...
Raikkonen to McLaren.
Ricciardo to Ferrari.
Sainz to RBR-Honda.
Sirotkin to Renault.
George Russell to Williams.
Has there been reports to the effect leclerc is off to haas or just speculation
Pretty sure it was mentioned in the coverage for the Canada GP. Have seen some other reports floating around.
Ferrari don't hire young drivers for the A-team. Haas is a step up from Sauber, so makes sense. Grosjean is rubbish, so giving Leclerc a season or two to hone his skills in a Ferrari powered car makes complete sense. Vettel might be ready to pull the pin in a couple of years, and this move keeps Leclerc 'in the family' so to speak.
What don't people understand about the comment "renault want to keep him" . I didn't say they will or have any leverage or have any chance if Red Bull want him back . Just that they said they want to keep him
Context. You said it in response to my point that Sainz would go to RBR-Honda who hold his contract.
It's implied that you either don't know he was contracted, or that the contract won't stop Renault from keeping him.
That some just want to make more out of it than what was said . Why , i don't know .
Whirlpool 101 mate
Lewis wasn't there?
Was there any reason given for this?
Because he's a precocious twat who thinks his shit don't stink??
Renault to have "party mode" from this weekend
Knowing Renault it's probably more like a BBQ with friends than an actual party.
I don’t get this... sure Charles shows promise but he hasn’t exactly proven he deserves that seat.
It's not about results seemingly these days, more about who has been invested in the most.
Having said that, Leclerc is the most talented young driver to come through in years. Won the GP3 title, won the F2 title and earned his way into an F1 seat.
Has done exceptionally well at Sauber in his first season and looks like he will win races and championships given the right equipment. Has made a few mistakes, but it is his first F1 season. I expect those will reduce greatly over the next 12-18 months as he gets more comfortable.
Easily the biggest potential of any young driver going right now.
I guess if you want to drive at Ferrari with a WDC as a team mate you have to expect to be number 2 .
I honestly don't have any issue with teams having a number one and number two.
If they choose to operate that way, so be it.
What I don't like is when teams clearly prefer one driver over the other, but consistently deny there is a one and two.
Ferrari pretty much showed everyone how they operate on several occasions, and were always very careful to state that CONTRACTUALLY there was no one and two...realistically we all know the truth.
It's quite clear RBR prefer Verstappen over Ricciardo, as they did Vettel over Webber. Whilst it isn't contractual as far as I know, it's quite clear who they'd prefer to be winning. They are always adamant that they are equals, but it's just BS.
Not too late for Lewis to buy Mclaren for $1, build the team for him and win the WDC in a few years time.
If he 'did a Schumacher' and built a team around him and brought it back to glory... he'd go down as one of the true greats. He probably will anyway, but this would add a whole new element to his legacy.
Max has had a shocker this year, so no surprises.
His own doing. Ricciardo has been let down mechanically.
Monaco was the best chance RBR had of a win, and Ricciardo blew Max away.
Ricciardo made the win in China with some great overtakes and strategy. Max bashed and crashed his way to a fortunate win in Austria.
I'd never heard of it until Alonso did Indy.
You lot can't be that into motorsport then...the Triple Crown is what a lot of drivers have dreamed of accomplishing.
The three greatest races of the three top motorsport disciplines. Amazing feat to complete it.
I'd love to see Alonso back in a Ferrari or in a Mercedes. He'd put the cat amongst the pigeons that's for sure!!
I know it won't happen, but man would it be good.
If you think he's as quick as he was 10 years ago. I don't.
He doesn't have to be as quick as he was 10 years ago, not with the cars and rules as they are now.
A driver does a handful of laps every race weekend at flat out pace. The rest are about management and racecraft, which Fernando has by the boatload.
Would he be quick enough to compete with the likes of Vettel , Hamilton , Ricciardo or Verstappen in the same car
He'd be within three tenths of all of them in qualifying.
I still believe Vettel is the quickest over one lap given equal machinery, followed by Hamilton and Raikkonen.
I think Alonso is still quicker than Max and Daniel over one lap.
Alonso's racecraft is incredible though, so he can turn an average qualifying session into a podium or win.
Hard to judge Alonso given he hasn't driven a competitive car in years, but his performances in other categories give you some idea. Amongst the quickest in anything he drives.
If RIC priced himself out of a Ferrari contract then that's a terrible stuff up.
It's kind of funny to think that anyone could be out of Ferrari's price range...if they want you bad enough, they'll pay what you want (within reason).
Even if he did want $20M, that's a small price to pay if it brings them either a drivers or constructors title (or both!).
You can't deny that VET and RAI have proven they are capable of winning a WDC and WCC.
Vettel, yes. Raikkonen was a touch lucky to win his title but you have to be there to win it admittedly.
Kimi has been back at Ferrari since 2014 and is yet to win a Grand Prix...that's heading towards 100 races without a win.
Yes Mercedes have been dominant, but Vettel, Ricciardo and even Verstappen have won races during that period.
As much as I love the Kimster, I think Ricciardo is a better option.
Kimi is a bit past it now . Ricciardo , that has already been knocked on the head . By Ricciardo as well
I know, which is silly. Give Kimi the golden handshake and bring in a fresh, hungry driver who will push Vettel hard and make him lift his game.
Ferrari seem to have lost their balls a little bit.
I wonder why a top 3 ranking in drivers championship isn't a celebrated thing?
It's like Top Gun mate, no points for second place!
Points for a pole position and fastest lap could also feature
I prefer the idea of making all sessions count.
Have a system where points are awarded for each practice session (not championship points, just for purposes of establishing an order) and then reward drivers for qualifying.
Use the standard points system for positions in FP1, FP2 and FP3.
Add the points up at the end of practice and the top two points scorers go straight to Q3. The next four go straight to Q2 and the rest compete in Q1.
Will make sure teams aren't sand bagging in practice, whilst ensuring some decent action on track, and that practice actually means something.
I know...but I thought MSC' 91 wins would have enough points to be ahead of Rosberg.
None of Schumacher's wins were under the current points system. His wins were all ten points, not 25.
Unless a driver can repeat the same success as MSC at Ferrari...I don't think this legendary team should bow down to an driver.
I don't think Ferrari will ever be in such dire straits as they were when they hired Schumacher.
People seem to have accepted the lower noise of the V6 turbo's
Nah, we'll always want the old scream back.
The drivers would absolute froth themselves silly if a switch to V12s was mandated.
But the old scream wasn't that old . Guess it's whatvwas around when you first started watching . The old quieter turbo's when i first started watching
You're not surely saying the rubbish sound we have now or back in the day is better than the V12 or V10 noise?? Doesn't matter how old it is, the loud screaming engine noise is a much better spectacle for F1.
Hmm, you are making me want to see them. I loved how mind-bendingly fast the old cars were in the flesh compared to the TV.
I think a 2004 Ferrari, with slick tyres and 2m track would be just as quick as a 2018 Ferrari.
Hamilton being a world class flog after winning in Germany. As much as I respect what he's done, it's getting more and more difficult to hold onto that respect.
What did he do this time?
He wrote a since deleted post on Instagram accusing Sky Sports of being too negative towards him.
That, plus the cringeworthy radio messages and interviews, the Rosberg thing, combined with the rubbish from British GP about Ferrari and his lack of respect towards them as an adversary.
He's always been egotistical, but he's getting way too big for his boots now. Needs to be taken down a peg or two.
Getting beaten by his teammate in a genuine fight would be a nice way to bring him back to reality...or Kimi and/or Seb putting a good move on him in Hungary...even better, Ricciardo showing him how it's done...or even Max!! That's how bad he's become in my view.
|IIIII Germanotta IIIII| writes...
I just wanna know how it feels to sit in a Lambo or Ferrari going at 200km+ around a corner or 300 down a straight, by a professional. I'd probably vomit though, chicanes are painful.
Haha, it's great fun! I've done Ferrari, Lambo, Porsche and Aston Martin drives, as well as hot laps. Had the privilege of being driven around Barbagallo by Craig Lowndes back when T8 were Team Vodafone. That was unreal! I've also driven some single seaters (F3, Formula Holden, Formula Ford and Formula BMW).
If you ever get the opportunity, DO NOT LET IT GO!!
Why, when do you not agree with Jacques Villeneuve?
Most of the time he's off on rants that make no sense, or he's just taking pot shots.
This is a bit of a pot shot, but it rings true. Most of his other rants are just him being bitter for getting turfed out of F1.
He's nailed it this time about Hamilton (in my view of course).
This big "engine cheat" that Ferrari have suddenly found doesn't seem to be showing up in the time sheets.
Yes, it's very strange that the only data that shows 'something strange' is data that is not accessible by the riff raff.
Even Hulkenberg has jumped on board...he needs to realise that he's driving a rubbish engine! GP2 engine! Hahaha!
Toto stated that the big advantage that Ferrari are showing power wise is acceleration out of the corners and it seems like the difference is significant.
Could be any number of things or a combination of things. Change in suspension geometry, dampers, power delivery, turbo, deployment etc. etc.
Last race I noticed the bag of dry ice sitting of vettels car cooling something down. Does anyone have any idea what tho?
They always funnel air through the dry ice and into the car for extra 'cooling power', otherwise they just end up blowing hot air through which doesn't help much. All about keeping things as cool as possible.
But this bag of dry ice was sitting on top of the TV camera mount and not in the direct line of the air intake. Very unusual.
Maybe just resting it there whilst working on another part of the car??
Great win for Ferrari and Schumi that day ;)
Can't blame him for taking advantage. Michelin were too pig headed to admit their mistake.
Slightly off topic, but the Schumacher name returned to the winners list at Spa. Mick Schumacher won his first F3 race. First of many... the old man would be proud.
Would love to see another MSC drive for Ferrari in the future.
More likely to drive for Mercedes, but yes, would love to see Schumacher in a Ferrari again.
Is Mick in any young driver programs?
He is a Mercedes ambassador, but not part of the young driver programme...yet.
I'd say Ferrari would be very keen if he wanted to drive for them though.
The passing moves he made at Spa to take the win were the stuff of champions. Passed his teammate in the middle of Eau Rouge, in the wet...and then passed the leader into Les Combes.
He has a lot to live up to in terms of getting anywhere near Michael, but I think with the right people around him, he could be a world champion in F1.
If you were the Ferrari boss, why would you be wanting to upset VET? The team and their WDC and constructors title hopes are built around him.
You can't win a constructors title against a strong Mercedes outfit unless you have two race winning drivers.
Kimi hasn't won since returning to Ferrari, and to be fair, hasn't been all that close to winning either.
Sure, dropping Ricciardo in alongside Vettel might make him uncomfortable, but a real champion should relish that sort of thing! The line we always hear is that the team is here to win titles. If Ferrari won the constructors title every year, without a driver's title, I'm sure they'd still be pretty happy.
The fans want to see Ricciardo in a Ferrari, I'm sure Dan would love to be in a Ferrari...it's a really good match in my view.
Having said that, I also know it won't happen!
not with the shoe thing – there are some very conservative forces at work with Ferrari, many of them strongly political
Yet they hired Kimi twice, who retired from the Monaco GP and got onto someone's boat and started drinking with them...
If you guys had to pick one guy to save for next year out of Vandorne, Ericson, Hartly and Sirotkin...who would it be?
Hartley. I like him the most out of those four. Vandoorne has been unlucky, but has also been pantsed by Alonso.
Ericsson has done nothing in about four season of F1. Sirotkin is young enough to fight his way back into a second chance.
That leaves Hartley who I think has enough experience and speed to get some decent finishes given a reliable and decent car.
I would get someone better who does not make a string of mistakes.
I was going to say that, but Vettel is contracted until the end of 2020 on mega money...too expensive (even for Ferrari) to pay out.
I still think Ricciardo and Vettel make a great team. Ricciardo's biggest problem at Red Bull is Max.
Vettel had an off year in 2014, but I don't recall those two taking each other out at any stage??
If you were Danny Ric, would you accept a one year deal at Ferrari, knowing that they will boot you out for Leclerc at the first opportunity?
If he won the world championship, or was the main contender and beat Vettel comfortably again, do you really think they'd boot him??
That would depend on whether they can keep Leclerc on a short leash. He's the next big thing, and I don't think they want him to leave Ferrari. If they can continue to 'loan' Leclerc out to other teams while keeping him in the Ferrari system, then perhaps.
If they can put him in a Haas, and pay him an extra retainer, there's no reason for him to not stay around at Ferrari. He's very young, plenty of time to develop further, then they can drop him in at Ferrari in a few years with plenty of F1 experience, ready for him to challenge for titles.
Hamilton is definitely better in the wet than Vettel. Probably on an even keel with Senna and just a step or two behind Schumacher. Schumacher is the definitive master in the rain.
I think Vettel is probably a better bloke than Hamilton, and probably much kinder to his machinery. Vettel also is able to adapt better than Hamilton. As soon as the smallest glitch arrives, Hamilton panics a bit. This has been masked somewhat in recent times by the dominance of his machinery. Even when his car has been hampered, it's as quick as the rest.
Interesting conversation though :)
Posted on previous page. He is going to Renault.
Everyone had only just written that he'd be staying at RBR, so I'll maintain hope until a formal announcement is made! :-D
If Ricciardo is going to Renault, then Sainz has to be going to Red Bull. I can't see him going back to Toro Rosso with Gasly going to RBR. Ferrari is a very real possibility. Ricciardo would know first hand how far off Renault are in terms of PU...and he wants a title challenging car. Ferrari is the only logical seat for him if he is fair dinkum about a title challenge.
Yes but how's he going to get there?
I know what you're saying, but Raikkonen hasn't been signed yet...
Renault must be paying him a shitload...or they've sold him down the river. Maybe old mate Hartley gave him the low down on the Honda donk?
F1 Instagram had a poll about Ricciardo's replacement. Sainz, Gasly...or Alonso??? I haven't seen anything about Alonso being linked?
Would be pretty cool to see him kick Max to the kerb! :-P
I don't think he could, I think we have seen the best of Alonso regardless of what team he is in and his mind has wandered off to other categories of racing.
I'm not so sure. If he was given a Red Bull that was at least as competitive as it is now, I'm pretty sure we'd see a fired up Alonso.
Horner
Always has been, always will be a twat.
Does he think we're all stupid? Equal treatment? Hahaha, what an absolute dingleberry.
I hope Max's Honda engine blows up in EVERY race next season, and whoever his teammate is drives the wheels off the thing and has an epic season, finishing well ahead of expectations.
See how Horner and Max handle that.
It would be hilarious to have a full grid made up of looney drivers. Pastor, Grosjean, Yuji Ide, Joylon Palmer, maybe some old favourites like Taki Inoue.
Don't forget Pedro Diniz, Ricardo Rosset, Gaston Mazzacane and Jean Denis Delataraz!
Hamilton still being a world class flog. Reckons his 'win' at Spa 2008 should be reinstated...then deletes the post. Give it up you dickhead.
Is this the same championship Verstappen raced in before he came to F1 with toro rosso?
It is indeed
Alonso stripped of his WEC win at Silverstone due to the car breaching the regulations. Doesn't this mean the Le Mans victory will also be stripped? Same car, same series.
It was something to do with the skidblocks. Both Toyotas were excluded for the same breach of regs.
I'm just waiting for the roar from the crowd when a RB car pulls over in Albert Park.
Hopefully Verstappen...from the lead on the last lap would be magical :)
There – fixed that for you.....
Nah, would prefer him to feel the pain...especially if Daniel was running second :D
"My personal goal is to make Max Verstappen the youngest world champion ever," Marko concluded.
That's been his goal all along, cock-eyed twat that he is.
Has to be world champ in 2020 season at the latest to beat Vettel. Can't see it happening.
Leclerc has a better chance of doing it if he can get a seat with Ferrari.
I'm happy for Vettel to hold onto it for a while longer.
Schumacher should be there because 91 wins say so.
To put that into context, the wunderkind Verstappen today started his 73rd Grand Prix. He still needs almost another full season of race starts to equal the number of races Michael won.
I was told the concept of compound turbo-charging whereby a second specially configured turbine is arranged in the exhaust to put power back into the powertrain/transmission, actually started out in Formula 1
It's been around for a while, and used extensively. Rally cars used it extensively.
They refer to it as anti-lag, and there are several different methods.
I am researching a system where, in effect, a drive shaft is fitted to the output of the turbo and, through a speed reducing gear-train and viscous coupling, it drives back into the gearbox adding power to the wheels.
Right, so more like what they used on aircraft before modern jet/turbofan engines were introduced...or what they currently use in F1. I think you'll find the most common application was aircraft. The F1 adaptation is hugely complex and is being removed as of 2021 (I think...seem to remember reading that somewhere when looking at cost cutting measures).
If you look more at the MGU-H units, you'll find more info on turbo-compounding, perhaps uncovering more about the origins.
Can you elaborate on what cars used such mechanism?
Nah I just misread it. Thought it was too simple to answer!
Lol, was it a fair fight 2014-2017 when Merc drove off into the distance every race?
Bring back the days of 2009 when McLaren were toilet, and Lewis would radio in 'You guys need to build me a new car!!'.
The cars are going so fast, a lot of them drive on instinct.
They also build spatial intelligence and memory, just like we all do in our road cars. You can't see the sides of your car or the wheels, but you 'learn' how wide your car is and where the wheels are so you don't hit kerbs, and can judge gaps in traffic.
I bet Norris and Russel are a bit uneasy after seeing the careers of Vandoorne and Wehrlein go bad so quickly
I think Wehrlein is still a shout of coming back to F1. Toto Wolff rates him very highly and from all reports, is keeping a close eye on him in DTM. If he replaced Bottas, I'd say he'd be as good, probably better.
The way things are going, it would seem Hamilton has Vettel's measure.
If this proves true for 2019 and 2020, what chance would Ricciardo be to replace Vettel for 2021?
Would Ferrari drop Vettel? Would Ricciardo still be in the mix? He'd be 31 by then.
Dan Ticktum
More like Dicktum...sounds like an oxygen thief of the highest order.
Then says he gets a tougher time 'because his last name isn't Schumacher'.
Don't let the door hit you on the way out Dan.
Lance Stroll also killed it in Euro F3
We haven't seen him in anything remotely competitive in F1 either, so hard to judge his performance.
I think he's been OK, might surprise us in a more competitive ride.
Shown up by Felipe, who was shown up by Valtteri, who was shown up by Hamilton. In that pecking order, he is some way off top tier.
Very simplified rationale! I'll wait to see what he can do next season before sending him to the scrap heap.
It amazes me how many of these teams continue to go through the F1 motions when there is no chance of them succeeding in the category except in the race to waste tens of millions of dollars that could be much better spent elsewhere.
They're a Ferrari B team. Probably get a sweet deal on engines (i.e. free) for having Ferrari young drivers in their car, as well as possibly using them for some engineering developments. They aren't meant to win really, they are a means to an end for Ferrari.
Name me a single F1 Driver apart from Ayrton Senna that made it in F1 on talent alone.
A little unfair on plenty of other drivers I would've thought.
If your poor in Brazil, you wouldn't even get a chance to race a go kart.
Rich kids race karts, poor kids play football.
Ham beat him in every category
Haven't read it (and probably won't) but Schumacher never had a car that was two seconds a lap quicker than the rest of the field.
Not in qualy trim, but then, neither have Merc (they've only had a 0.5sec qualy advantage, Ferrari were 0.1sec up). Ferrari had a huge race pace advantage.
In 2014 and 2015, Merc were untouchable. Literally untouchable.
On a slight aside, does anyone think we'll get F1 broadcast in 4K next season?
Sky Sports F1 is already in 4K, which is the feed we get on Foxtel.
Just guessing, but Bathurst is easy because it is a few hours on one day per year. Compare with offering 4K for ongoing things like cricket and F1. Having multiple 4K offerings might create bandwidth issues.
I read an article that said Foxtel would be shutting down SD channels over the coming years, rather than upgrade HD channels to 4K, presumably to free up some bandwidth. They're also moving everyone to satellite as their access to fibre runs out in 2022 or 2023.
AFL is apparently very close to being 4K.
Having said that, what's with the twin penis heads?
Just a representation of the people who run the show and have given us this incredibly horrible Formula we currently have.
A lapped car should not be permitted to unlap itself during the course of the actual racing.
Either, DQ the car from the race once it is lapped.
Or, lapped cars must not unlap themselves during the course of actual racing. They will be permitted to unlap themselves during Safety Car periods or Red Flag situations.
Don't be silly. So if Lewis Hamilton goes a lap down due to a pit issue or something, and is miles quicker than anyone else on track, he should be dq'd or made to wait to unlap himself? That'd go down really well.
Lapped drivers have every right to unlap themselves, as long as they do everything in their power to make it a safe move that doesn't jeopardise the race leader.
It appears that Occon cost Max a Race Win the other day.
The only driver who cost Max a win, was Max.
Well perhaps don't apply it to Lewis.
But certainly apply it to guys like VET and Max.
So what about Kimi? Valtteri? Daniel? You have to have one rule for all.
Honda vs Renault will be an interesting thing next year
I really hope Renault makes some gains over the winter and relegates Honda to 4th place.
Would be awesome to see Max tootling around at the back with the other Red Bull backed cars.
DC is right. Given equal machinery, Ricciardo would be very close to Hamilton.
In my view, if it was Ricciardo in the 2018 Ferrari instead of Vettel, the championship table would look very different.
So would that make Max equal or possibly better than Hamilton?
I don't rate Verstappen anywhere near as high as I do Ricciardo.
Verstappen is probably the 7th best on the current grid in my view.
(For those playing at home, I'd be HAM>RIC>VET>ALO>RAI>LEC>VER)
Well sadly for us Max did out perform Dan in every metric this year, both qualifying and race results.
Not how I see it.
Ricciardo two poles – Verstappen none
Ricciardo two wins – Verstappen two wins
Ricciardo four fastest laps – Verstappen two fastest laps
Ricciardo eight DNFs – Verstappen three DNFs
So whilst Verstappen is ahead on the scoreboard, it has very little to do with Max outperforming Daniel.
Of the races Dan retired, Max had two wins, a second, a third, a fourth and a fifth placing.
That's 105 points in six races (Max DNF'd in two of the same races as Dan), to Dan's 0.
The only race Max DNF'd that Dan finished, was a fourth placing meaning the total DNF deficit is 93 points in Max's favour.
Max leads Dan by 76 points.
Make of that what you will, I'm just supplying the numbers.
I'm not attacking Max by the way, just pointing out that his results aren't as cut and dry as they seem relative to Ricciardo.
Max will thrash Gasly for a couple of years at least.
The amount of hype he gets and the amount of money Red Bull pay him, he should be doing exactly that.
He tends to think he's the fastest and best driver going around, so all I can say is...
Bring on 2019!
The reality is far more complicated than that – especially when engine failures and incidents are analysed for individual drivers.
Exactly. As I said above, Max scored 105 points in races where Dan DNF'd. Dan scored 12 points in races where Max DNF'd.
Anyway, I'm a bit bored with 2018 now. Abu Dhabi isn't the greatest race track, so I'm looking forward to winter testing now :)
But knowing that this is (apparently) Croft's last race as F1 commentator for Sky feels me with joy.
Really? Hadn't heard that! Any word on his replacement?
I have a feeling Brundle may retire soon. He's missed some races with health problems recently, but he adds so much in my view. Will be a shame if he hangs up the mic.
But yeah, Crofty...he can do one.
EDIT: As silly as the idea sounds, I reckon Jeremy Clarkson would be brilliant on special comments or trackside. His humour could break up the monotony of some of the more boring races.
Hang on . I know where I went wrong . I was looking at the team mate name just above those two figures.
The data is wrong anyway. Verstappen was classified 15th at Silverstone, so his average finish position is actually 4.4, not 3.5 as quoted. :P
Wasnt Ric the fastest in the F1 drivers car on Top Gear?
To be fair, Verstappen never got to try the reasonably priced car.
I would be genuinely interested to see the drivers compete in a 'control' car though.
Hopefully plenty of current F1 drivers are at ROC in Mexico.
Mick Schumacher has been confirmed for Team Germany alongside Vettel...imagine Verstappen vs Schumacher!!
Would be amazing to see Mick beat Max in equal machinery!
DC is returning to defend his title so that old fart was not to shabby at the last event
Says a lot for the drivers from other series :P
I'm hoping JPM or Rubens are invited. Being Mexico might see more South Americans involved as it's close to home for them.
Its a glorified motorkhana
It does test the drivers ability to adapt to different machinery as well.
Plus if they're in equal machinery, it's an even truer test.
Top Gear test track is corrupted by weather and atmospheric conditions mostly.
A commentator isn't just there to inform on technicalities, they are also there to generate excitement about what is happening as it happens
If only Darrell Eastlake was still with us...
I'm looking forward to seeing Kubica back. He's got a similar attitude to Kimi, he just talks a bit more.
Very dry sense of humour, seems like a really top bloke as well.
More than anything, I hope he can drive some good development at Williams so they can push up the grid a bit more.
Such a shame seeing what was once a powerhouse team just trundling around at the back.
What I feel the problem is where RBR parts bolted onto Renault engine.
I think RBR pushed the boundaries (in this case, too far) in an attempt to keep up with Mercedes and Ferrari.
In regards to the tech changes for next, I do see a bit of a window for teams to gain/lose a couple of tenths with the simplication of the front wing as in recent years the front wing have become quite advanced at redirecting to air flow to parts of the car.
It's not so much the actual directing of the air, it's where it is directed to.
The changes are aimed at forcing the teams to move air underneath the car, rather than over the top. This minimises the disturbance for cars that are following, theoretically allowing for more overtaking as cars can follow closely with minimal drop in aero performance.
I hope it works. Will be nice to see cars able to follow really close and make quick moves.
I think half of the issue behind 'The Verstappen Rule' is that drivers could easily see other cars coming as they had to come from so far back. If they can follow closely then they can really make fast and decisive moves which are harder to counter.
Yes, I won't hold my breathe, it seems every-time they've improved overtaking lately, it's had some adverse affect, and made things worse
True, but a lot of the recent changes have been about limiting the amount of downforce generated, rather than restricting how the air can be manipulated over the car.
Making things much more simple will mean less engineering tricks can be employed, with no air vortex generation the key outcome.
Good read, though someone help me figure out what the hell honey badger means? I've never figured it out nor did I learn it from there.
Search honey badger on YouTube. Click on anything that doesn't have Nick Cummins or Daniel Ricciardo in it.
Truly remarkable animals actually.
How come this skilled Alonso feedback has made no improvement to their 2018 car!?
To be fair, if the starting product is no good, it's incredibly difficult to make substantial changes that will help.
The car is developed in a particular direction, and if that direction is off, catching up is impossible, regardless of the quality of the feedback.
Red Bull showed that the Renault engine can be very effective in certain conditions, so McLaren just built a lemon it would seem.
BTW does anyone know what Mick Schumacher is doing next year? Does he currently have enough points to enter F1?
Nothing confirmed yet, but more than likely will run F2 with Prema, alongside Nyck De Vries.
I'd expect him to test an F1 car next year though at some stage.
Prema has close ties with both Mercedes and Ferrari. And while sentimentality would suggest Ferrari, I would love to see him succeed with Mercedes as a clear point of difference from his father.
I rather fancy a Ferrari young guns team of Leclerc and Schumacher.
However a German in a Mercedes also has huge appeal.
Either way, I can't wait to see the Schumacher name back in F1.
The BIG question is what F1 car will he test.
I believe he is a Mercedes young ambassador, but the door is always open at Ferrari apparently.
Would love to see him test both, but don't think that will be allowed to happen.
Smart money says Mercedes, but they have plenty of young talent already.
He won in a Mercedes this year. Wonder why Toto hasn’t snapped him up.
He's already got Hamilton, Russell, Ocon, Wehrlein to start with.
Might annoy them if such a big name all of a sudden appears...
Not sure why STR had no interest in Wehrlein or Vandoorne, in place of either Albon or Kvyat.
Probably too expensive. Kvyat and Albon will be paid peanuts in comparison I'd imagine.
I expect 2021 for him, perhaps Sauber or Haas.
I think he'll end up at Mercedes. They can groom him to succeed Hamilton.
That will be day when there is no longer an F1 Grand Prix at Monaco!
Monaco would be brilliant as a night race.
A failure of the sports management imo
As much as I like Alonso, ending up in underperforming McLaren's was all of his own doing.
He completely destroyed his own career with his political ineptness.
He's an absolute wizard on the track, but his ego is too big off the track. I don't think it's that he doesn't understand how to behave and get what he wants, it's that his ego won't let him. If he'd have played nice at McLaren the first time, or stuck it out with Ferrari, I have no doubt he'd have a lot more than two world titles to his name.
I feel sad for Ocon. The kid deserves a drive.
He is getting one at Mercedes in 2020
I think if Mercedes had their time again, he'd be there in 2019.
Bottas can only be seen as a disappointment in my view.
The moment he left Ferrari they finally found the ability to make fast cars again and the 2015 car was their best since 2010.
You don't find that coincidental?
That might be true but my point remains, surely its the job of F1 management to protect the best interests of F1?
Yes it is up to F1 to protect the best interests of the sport, but that doesn't go as far as who employs which driver. The owners of the sport are there to ensure 'the show' is seen by as many people as possible, in as many places as possible, with as many different manufacturers as possible.
The teams are separate entities who pay for the privilege to enter the competition. How they run themselves is not up to F1 to a certain degree. As long as they follow the rules and regulations, then the teams should be free to hire and fire whomever they see fit.
I would like to know how much money is Renault throwing at areo etc since dan has signed to give him/them a front running car?
He signed because he was fighting a losing battle against Max and his position within the team . Not because he is going to give Renault a front running car
I think the harsh reality is, that Red Bull have more faith in Max delivering a world title than Daniel. Daniel realised this, but since all the 'good' seats were already filled, he accepted a large sum of money from Renault to drive around for a couple of seasons before everyones' contract is up for renewal at the end of 2020, hoping he'll be able to nab one of the top seats and fight for the title before he retires.
So will they be weighing the naked drivers?
The weight of the driver with his seat and driving equipment will be established by the FIA
I"d have thought 'driving equipment' meant race suit, gloves, boots etc.?
Or are you just angling to see drivers in their birthday suits??
The FIA prize giving ceremony is a must watch, even if just to see Kimi and Seb accepting their awards. Kimi is absolutely flying after what must've been a dozen vodkas! He should all his pressers drunk, would be even better. Hilarious.
I've seen it time and time again over the last forty years. Everyone assumes the next season is going to pan out a certain way, and then it doesn't.
I hope you're right. I'd love to see Renault (and for the sake of equality, Honda) make absolutely banging engines that are close enough or as good as Mercedes and Ferrari, whilst being reliable too.
Having a title fight between more than two drivers would be a nice change.
The category needs a strong McLaren, and a strong Williams.
I disagree, as much as I like the old school teams.
F1 needs strong manufacturers.
Ideally, we'd have Mercedes, Ferrari, Renault, Honda, Toyota, BMW, Audi/VW, Ford and perhaps Porsche.
Other manufacturers probably wouldn't commit to a full works team, although having some other manufacturers would be pretty cool.
It is making tracks much more overtaking friendly by creating track layouts that put pressure on leading cars and giving following cars lots of decent options to overtake, especially at slower parts of the circuit.
I think ripping as much downforce off the cars as possible is more important.
What about this.
You then defeat the purpose of teams competing in F1.
For them, it's about engineering the best solution to a given formula. If they can't gain a competitive advantage, then they cease to have a purpose.
Sure there's lots of other engineering goes into F1 cars, but is any of it relevant to anything else except F1 these days?
Aerodynamics is hugely important for road car design, aircraft design and in construction of things like wind turbines.
CFD is hugely important, safety engineering is massively important, suspension geometry is important...and you get the idea.
Whilst the engineering is taken to the limit in F1, its principles and applications can be directly transferred to a plethora of industries on differing scales.
F1 aerodynamics are a dead end. You're never going to see blown diffusers or huge wings or squillion dollar front splitters on the car in your garage.
No you won't, but the principles and theory used to create these devices will ALWAYS have a place in road car design.
Their crash engineering is a dead end because they are working in materials that only a few very very very expensive cars use.
The exact same thing was said when things like ABS, rear parking sensors and electric windows were introduced. Now they are standard on almost any new vehicle.
F1 cars will never translate directly to a road car en masse, but the principles and applications will always be useful and vital in furthering road car design.
It holds no water. In fact the opposite is true. These cars are only hybrid because F1 decided it had to copy road cars to stay relevant.
It has nothing to do with copying road cars. Hybrid technology is about saving the environment, but for motorsport, it's more about getting more power. Whilst the theory is the same, the application is completely different. The environmental factor is just the PR angle used by the FIA.
With vehicles like the McLaren P1, Porsche 918 and LaFerrari, the hybrid application from F1 can be truly seen.
Please explain to me how any of the hybrid power unit developments in F1 relate to the McLaren P1 and the Porsche 918?
F1 was using KERS in 2013.
F1 started using KERS in 2009, with testing in 2008. This technology, as well as IPAS, was used in F1 and then made its way to the P1.
The hybrid tech in the P1 and 918 traces its roots back to those developments not the ones in F1.
McLaren themselves say the P1 uses F1 derived technology!!
And that is about it!
Come on now. Aerodynamic aids were engineered via F1, lubricant technology has long been developed on race tracks (particularly F1 where the most stressful and unique conditions are found), adaptive suspension, lightweight wheels, electronic diffs, carbon fibre brakes (initial idea from Concorde, but application for cars perfected in F1), and I'm sure there are plenty more.
Please don't tell me that you are one of those people that believes Steve Jobs and Apple Computer invented the windows based user interface, the computer mouse peripheral, the portable digital music player, the smartphone, and the tablet?
On the contrary, I detest the man, the company and the relentless 'technological advancements' they keep trying to shove down our throats!
On topic, whilst not all of the ideas originated in F1, their application to road cars has been engineered, tested and translated on the race track with F1 cars. Not a stolen idea that is getting the credit, more like taking a good idea, spending a heap of money on it and throwing it on a road car...to make more money! I sense a theme here...$$$
Verstappen now saying he won't miss Ricciardo. I can't wait for this idiot to fall in a heap in a slow and unreliable Honda powered Red Bull.
What a shit bloke.
Not a regular occurrence in regards to top class drivers
Top class drivers aren't a regular occurrence! Can probably count on one hand the top class talent in F1.
How many fingers do you have on one hand? Surely its more then 5...
Hamilton, Vettel, Ricciardo, Verstappen. Raikkonen.
Some may include Kubica, but he's yet to prove if he can still handle it.
Leclerc will probably be there after 2019 season with a win or two under his belt.
The rest are not what I'd consider top talent. Perez failed at McLaren. Hulk is the nearly man. Sainz hasn't done much yet. Bottas just doesn't have that edge necessary in F1. Grosjean and K-Mag are serviceable, but not top talent by any stretch.
Hurts to put Verstappen in there, but can't deny his talent.
Alonso would've been there if he hadn't moved on.
If you haven't indulged yet, start listening to the 'Beyond the Grid' podcasts.
Some seriously good stories! Webber and Kubica are real highlights.
I never knew, thought it was just heavy rumours, but Kubica had actually signed for Ferrari for 2012...
You don't think Lance Stroll would thrash the drivers champion in any other motor racing category in the world in equal machinery?
Hell no. Given equal machinery, I could name 20 drivers who would beat him that are not in F1.
Some of the best drivers never even made it to F1, because they didn't have the money or didn't meet the right person.
Right so you were only speaking current drivers, I thought you meant all time.
All time you'd need a few more hands, but it still wouldn't be a huge list compared to the number of drivers who've entered a GP.
The Honda engine is already slightly above the Renault engine.
He's comparing it to the 2018 Renault engine. 2019 is an all new engine for Renault so it's total bullshit really.
He'd have no idea about the 2019 Renault engine.
Interesting discussion between Eddie Jordan and M Schumacher after the 1998 Spa GP
Typical Jordan. An absolute twat who had no idea how to run a team. Still a twat.
Binotto is a technical guy – hes not a manager but anyway ...
Ross Brawn was a technical guy...he did alright.
However , after sourcing engines from Mercedes his team won the championship with him as boss
That was the point I was trying to make. Schumacher ran the show at Ferrari anyway :P
Long time between drinks for Eddie as well so i think the corrosion has well and truly set in
All that salt doesn't help him rusting away.
I like him all the same
He's good value sometimes, but an absolute bell end at others.
I want Flavio back haha, he is epic value.
IIRC, since 1980, no World Drivers Champion or Number 1 Driver in a team has been given specific Team Orders to give the subordinate Driver in the team and advantage against their team mate.
I reckon Schuey might've moved over for Eddie Irvine in 1999, or something similar?
I'll take a polite Raikkonen, Button or Hill, thanks. More gentleman single WDCs needed! :)
That's why they are only one time wonders. The three you mentioned lucked into their titles as well really.
Raikkonen made good when Hamilton and Alonso basically cost each other the title.
Button just happened to be on the receiving end of an absolute beast of a Brawn car, and Damon Hill won when Schumacher was in a recalcitrant Ferrari F310. If Schumacher stayed at Benetton in 1996, he'd have won the title again without doubt.
Not taking anything away from winning a world title, but guys like Alonso, Schumacher, Hamilton etc won multiple titles by being ruthless, selfish and by living dangerously (in terms of the rules).
I much prefer a little bit of controversy, makes for more excitement and there is always a pantomime villain which makes for great discussion!
It's not as straightforward as these guys not being as good.
I didn't say they weren't as good, just didn't have that edge. All very worthy world champs.
Vettel is paid to race
That's quite a loose way of putting it. Vettel is paid for his services which include racing, but you'd assume there would be some rules that apply (such as doing as what the team, who pays his salary, ask him to do on the track).
He was lucky he didn't take them both off the track, can imagine Horner would've been a little more upset.
So did Schu
LOL, you just lost all credibility. Schumacher went through four seasons with Ferrari before they finally got the formula right (excuse the pun). He was relentless on the test track and did more miles than anyone to help the team build a great car and galvanise the entire organisation.
His Benetton's weren't the class of the field either. If anything, the team pushed too hard and cost him races!
Listen to any podcast or interview with those who worked with him. He worked harder than anyone.
I cannot think of a single F1 WDC that was not deserving of the Title they won.
Definitely. I would however pose that there were drivers MORE deserving than the eventual champion.
Massa in 2008 springs to mind. He was the better driver in that season in my view.
Some would say Damon Hill was more deserving in 1994 than Schumacher, or that Hamilton was more deserving than Rosberg in 2016.
Your original point is spot on though. Winning a championship is not easy, regardless of how good your equipment is.
Mick Schumacher has joined the Ferrari young drivers academy. Slightly surprising to me, thought he would've been in the Mercedes camp.
It's smart though! Ferrari have two teams to place up to three drivers — HAAS x1 and Sauber x2 — while Mercedes are almost too cheap to purchase a single seat for Mr. Ocon.
He's the prime candidate for the F1 tests as well. I think there are two days that need to be completed by a driver with less than two F1 starts. With Giovinazzi now in a race seat, it leaves Schumacher, Illot and Armstrong. Being the F3 champ would make Schumacher first cab off the rank I would've thought...plus, the PR is huge. A Schumacher back in a Ferrari!
No interest from young Schumacher in Helmut Marko's musical chair program!?
LOL, I'm surprised anyone goes there. If you aren't considered 'the one' then you'll be shafted!
Can you imagine in the future Mick racing and succeeding with Ferrari and Schumi becoming well enough to reappear in Public and support his son from the sidelines? That will be something to behold.
That's the dream I think mate. I'd love to see it. Personally, I just want to see Michael well again, or even just hear that he is up and about.
Watching him cheer on his boy in a Ferrari, winning at Monza, would be something else.
this changes looks certain to favour the big budget teams as they have the resources to work through all sorts of ideas to overcome the effects on speed whereas the lower budget teams will most likely only to be able to test a couple of ideas that may or may not work, if they don't then they are further behind the 8 ball, whereas the big budget teams just go and spend more money in simulations and wind tunnels
Not necessarily as bad as you think. Combined with the new rear wing, essentially the car is punching a much larger hole in the air. This means cars travelling behind will get less wash and potentially lose less downforce.
Yes, you're right in saying the bigger teams will have more resources to combat the changes, but that's always been the way.
Simpler rules and regs do often close performance gaps though, as there are less ways to innovate.
Should be interesting to see some winter testing times and performances.
Confirmation of Mick Schumacher joining Ferrari driver academy. I'd wager he'll win a world title before Verstappen :-)
Jacques Villeneuve's first year in F1 was pretty impressive.
It was, but he was a more mature age. He'd already won the Indycar championship and the Indy 500.
Schumacher was in that race, in a more powerful car then Senna. That was my point.
20bhp in a 700bhp engine isn't a huge amount, and would effectively be negated in wet conditions.
Senna was also a 3-time world champion by that stage, with Schumacher in his second full season.
The worst part about Senna's death, is that he had been in talks with Luca Di Montezemelo about a Ferrari drive for 1995 or 1996...imagine a team of Senna and Schumacher...wow. Fireworks!
That the best available drivers are not hired?
Absolutely. The 20 F1 drivers are not the best 20 drivers available, not by a long shot.
There are a myriad of drivers out there that could bring more money, more talent and better results...
Compare with MotoGP. Are there any better motorcycle racers out there than the ones in MotoGP?
F1 and MotoGP tend to be very Euro-centric.
You'll find the odd dab of South American, Oceanic and Asian drivers, but the vast majority of drivers in most genuine World Championships are European.
If the teams had talent scouts and networks worldwide things may change slightly, but Europe is where the money is for motorsport, so I can't see things moving much.
I remember back in the day when they used to run the 500cc Bikes, the Japanese Race used to feature a lot of blow in local Japanese rider talent.
They still do this to an extent with Speedway GP. Each GP has a local rider amongst the 15 GP riders to complete the 16 man competition. Some of them are really good due to local knowledge of the track and conditions. Makes it interesting.
How are you watching it?
Just did a one month sub. The "lite" version is called F1TV Access and gets you docos, historic vids and plenty more.
Available in Oz, just no live race stuff. Only $4.50 for the month.
Small price to pay to have a look around :-)
All the races from last year are 30 minute highlights and I think are available to watch about three days after a race. Pretty weak.
The original content is good, and the archive is where it's at. I used Foxtel last season, but have ditched that for Kayo this year.
I love digging around and finding races from the 80's and 90's.
Many years ago Schumi was asked in an interview whether he would ever consider driving in IndyCars and at the Indianapolis 500.
His reply was that he never would because he thought Oval Racing was too dangerous.
He also said that he only wanted to race in the best cars, and that the best cars were in F1.
every American driver that has crossed over to Formula One has won diddly squatt
Your sample size would be pathetically small. Doesn't really prove much. Americans traditionally prefer their own country and series to race in. They'd make just as much, if not more, racing NASCAR.
Unless there are RADICAL changes to the category over the next 5 to 10 years to make competition more equitable, more and more people are going to turn off and look elsewhere.
They need to bring back the noise, the fear factor, and the best tracks.
I could quite easily do without Shanghai, Sochi, Bahrain and probably a few others, in favour of Imola and other European circuits.
Yes but if you made a list of priorities, there are far more important things. For all the people saying Formula E is the future, it has no noise. Getting the racing right and having more competitive teams is #1 by a long margin.
In this day and age, it is literally impossible to make teams competitive without 'breaking' the formula.
It's always been about who can build a car that 'fits in the box' and within the regs.
You'd need to introduce cost measures and spending caps. This will mean MORE money has to be spent on getting down to those numbers, and then EVEN MORE money spent to police it.
I agree, it would be better if more teams were fighting for wins, but not at the expense of the category and it's ethos.
I'd argue that the regs should make for the 'box' to be much more simple, with very little room to apply any innovation or find loopholes.
No to tracks... this is what makes the race a bit boring
Imola hosted two of the best races in history in 2005 and 2006. Tight tracks add no adrenaline, unless it's Monaco. Tracks with big braking areas, several racing lines and decent high speed corners are what is needed.
leeboy, what do you think is F1's "Ethos"?
In a nutshell, to be the pinnacle of motorsport.
To go slightly deeper, to provide the best racing, in the best cars, featuring the best drivers, with the biggest spectacle.
An engineering and technological marvel that is unrivaled, where drivers are seen as heroes, warriors, gladiators (you get the point).
At the moment, F1 is a procession. I think if the sport (and all elements within it) was opened up to the public a lot more (like NASCAR), that would be a good start.
What? Like OVALS and SQUARED CIRCLES? ;)
LOL, not quite! I just want to see more Imola/Spa/Suzuka and less Shanghai/Sochi/Sepang.
"If" he meant from America in general than Mario still doesnt qualify.
Huh?? Sure he wasn't born in America, but has lived the vast majority of his life as a naturalised American.
The technology does need attention though, since at the moment you have the idiotic situation where (arguably) the technology (aero in this case) is actually detracting from the sport.
Exactly. This is where the idea of simplification would be of the greatest assistance. Giving the engineers less 'toys' to play with would mean that even a team with slim resources can make something as good as the wealthy teams.
He was crap. No way he deserves a Mercedes seat.
I'm calling it. Ocon to replace Bottas before the end of the season.
I doubt being 3rd best will be good enough anymore, either redbull fights for championships or VER is going to Mercedes or Ferrari.
I hope that worm never drives for Ferrari. Would stain the fabric of the brand!
They want Verstappen to replace Vettel HA HA HA.
Leclerc/Schumacher would be a nice combo in 2021 :)
Lets see how good Mick is first.
He's already done more than the golden boy (actually won a noteworthy championship) so I expect he'll be on the pace pretty quickly.
Looking forward to watching him in F2 this season.
The hype train would be on overload if there was a hint that might happen!
Get onboard! Vettel is out of contract at the end of 2020. Leclerc will have had two seasons in a top team and will, in my view, have several race wins under his belt. Schumacher will have had at least one season, probably two, in F2 and again, in my view, several race wins and probably the F2 title in 2020.
Unless Vettel gets on some sort of streak and wins a world title this season or next, Ferrari won't renew his contract for 2021.
Seb will either go back to RBR, or retire.
That's my crystal ball predictions!
You can't really take the current state and project beyond 2021.
I can do whatever I want mate :P haha
This year though, I can see Ocon stepping on for Bottas. Maybe Bottas' last race will be Hungary. He'll have zero wins and about 50-points. Ocon to race from Spa onwards and get 1 or 2 wins maybe.
A lot will depend on how Ferrari, RBR, Renault etc go.
If Ferrari are beating Mercedes on merit, if RBR and Renault are competitive and can fight for podiums/wins and Bottas is not giving Hamilton the support that Mercedes expect, then it could happen more quickly.
If Hamilton waltzes away with it yet again, Bottas will probably be retained until the end of the season.
But all the money in the world cannot buy the qualities required by a true Champion.
Perseverance, Persistance, Courage, and a Willingness to learn from Failure.
Absolutely spot on. You can be given the best tools available, but if you don't know how to use them, you'll never be successful.
Great piece by Brendon Hartley on his season with STR
https://www.theplayerstribun
When your happy finishing 7th
It's an adjustment that any decent driver would easily make.
His job is to fulfill the team goals. I highly doubt the team would have the driver's or constructor's title as a realistic goal.
It's been this way in F1 for a very long time now. A lot of motorsport is the same. The driver counts for a lot less than the machinery, but that extra little bit that the great drivers can eek out, is what separates them from the rest.
Still, nice to actually hear someone say it, rather than the usual media trained responses.
On the personality front, Lewis isn't everyone's cup of tea.
Lewis is like two or three different people.
The cringey, #blessed, "the team did a great job", media suck hole Lewis.
The hip-hop/rap gangster Lewis who is arguably the biggest hanger-on in history.
and the fashion mogul, my shit don't stink Lewis.
There is also the ultra-quick racing machine Lewis, but he seems to be overshadowed somewhat by the other three these days!
But it will be really interesting to see what happens to him if he doesn't find WDC success quickly.
He's very quickly approaching 100 race starts. The clock is ticking.
I think the greatest F1 Drivers of all had a great mix of personality and driver ability.
Not calling him one of the greatest, but Daniel Ricciardo is the best example of this on the grid.
Truckloads of ability and one of the best blokes in the entire paddock.
Max may not have a WDC beside his name, but his more famous than most multiple world champions ever had in their career.
Much easier with the social media era we're in, and the marketing savvy of Red Bull.
I'd like them to be able to update, change or customise the livery per race
The underlying message would get lost in all of the livery changes though.
It happens in NASCAR when a sponsor buys a certain number of races. It does mix things up a bit, but I do prefer a single livery. The odd one off is good though.
It does present a nice way for a smaller team to perhaps find more budget though. Finding local sponsors specific to GPs would be a real gold mine.
https://www.autosport.com/f
LOL, if the car wasn't such a dog, it might have been remembered more fondly!
A few standouts for me:
555 livery for BAR
No sponsors with black nose tip for Ferrari after 9/11 attacks
Red Bull RB14 black and blue camo
BMW corporate colour scheme on a Williams during testing for 2000 season
Any word on if Fox Sports are going to show the Pre Season Testing, which I believe Sky are covering this year?
Nothing live, the best you can hope for is a highlights show, but even that would be pushing it.
I'd say news updates at best.
If you're super keen, you can buy passes to watch Sky Sports F1 or do a search of the interwebs ;)
Geez, a few cynics around tonight!!
It does look like a Lotus, but they looked magnificent! They say imitation is the greatest form of flattery!
Any F1 fan, I implore you to watch the latest episode of The Grand Tour. An absolutely magnificent piece done by Richard Hammond about Jim Clark. Brilliant viewing about a brilliant driver. Astonishing.
Apparently the same idea is used at Mercedes.
Lewis has had the same race engineer for years...or is this referring to the more 'hands on' engineers?
Didn't they swap the year Rosberg won
Bono has been Lewis' race engineer since 2013, but I think they swapped the mechanics for 2016.
Launching soon eh? Is this what sponsorship in F1 has come down to? Pretend energy drink and phone companies?
Then there's Ferrari and PMI's pretend "we give a damn about stuff" Misson Winnow and McLaren and BAT's whatever the hell arrangement they've concocted.
What do you expect? Many restrictions about who can advertise, costs would outweigh benefits for a large firm that is already established, and tougher economic climate means there are far less sponsors willing to part with their money.
None of the teams have a really big sponsor. If Petronas had not appeared in F1, the majority of people in the west would have no idea what it is.
The days of recognisable brands being the norm in F1 are well and truly behind us.
The FW07 was the Bee's Knees.
I really liked the FW19 as well. The Rothmans livery was quite good.
That 3.0L Renault V10 was an amazing engine.
I think Max is going to cream him. I think Gasly is an average to good driver, not in Max's league.
Considering Gasly was a panic move due to Ricciardo dropping the bomb on RBR, do you really think he'll be given anywhere near as much resource as Verstappen is given?
His season is over before it has even started.
Since we are in the 4th year, do you guys expect Renault to attack the big teams or do you think Renault will be lapped at every race this year? I personally think it's the latter.
I think they will finish 3rd. Hulk to finally get a podium, Ricciardo at least one win.
Daniel's first day at Renault F1. Good stuff
https://www.instagram.com/p/
Most of the liveries are ugly!! Mercedes, STR, Haas and Renault the exceptions. The rest look like a mish mash of colours and sponsor logos. The Red Bull honestly looks like someone gave the drivers a couple of crayons and said 'go your hardest'...
Don't give them ideas, because next season might end up with Max drawing a giraffe on his car or something.
Surely they can come up with something with the brands colours?
Not like the 'Red Bull Can' car they did early on, but something with the same colours would look pretty good I'd imagine.
Wow, new Ferrari looks good!! First time they've done a matte paint finish. I like the black logos too. Really good job.
Pretty obvious what the logo's are saying
Yep, doesn't bother me in the slightest either! I'd welcome ciggie sponsorship back in F1.
Best looking Ferrari for a long time I reckon.
Yep. Haven't been a fan of the matte paint, but this looks really good. Front wing is nice too.
Yep, sad to say, but I think that is the way it is looking with 4 weeks to go to season starts.
How can it look that way when nobody has turned a wheel yet?
Which means that teams have already compensated for the new larger front wing.
Or could it be that they've made gains elsewhere? Too early to be making such bold statements.
Mercedes don't generally turn the wick up during testing, but Ferrari completing 169 laps without any fault is a good start for them.
did you not see the reveal video and hear the speeches ?
Ferrari say that every season to be fair.
To come out on the first day and blitz the times from 2018, plus run reliably for 169 laps would be well above expectations in my view.
Whether they directly said it or not is inconsequential. They've made a cracking start.
That will never happen in F1
Unless a cap cost is introduced that is easy to police, is manageable for ALL teams without much stress, and the sport is kept challenging for drivers. Otherwise they'll take off to another category that pays more.
All other forms of motor sport do quite well without tyre warmers . No reason F1 can't do without them
Will change the way drivers go about things. Pushing too hard with cold tyres will either see them off the road, or destroying the tyres way too quickly.
You'd think it would assist drivers who turn in early and prefer understeer (or set up that way).
F1 possibly moving to standard gearbox internals in 2021
https://au.motorsport.com/f1
Easy to see why Kimi was very happy to move to Sauber/Alfa Romeo. Car looks really good. Might even be in with a shout of a podium this season.
Yet McLaren jumped off it which I still think was a bad idea.
I thought they jumped off to be a Honda factory team essentially...
i mean, they are even based in Brackley and Brixworth – what ?
Using existing facilities. It would cost an absolute bomb to build new facilities in Germany, which would set them back many years. No point when there are already excellent facilities available.
Isn't Toyota now using that facility to manufacture its Cologne?
If that's the code name for their WEC racer..then yes :P
Mind you there are plenty of ad breaks though
And plenty of random C-list celebrities who simply must be interviewed...even though they have no idea about F1. Pretty sure they are fed a line just before they go on air.
Why you say that, you don't think Ver could be a serious threat for the championship?
No, I think he has no chance. Vettel, Leclerc, Hamilton and Bottas are in front of him, and I think the rest of the pack will provide a real challenge. Alfa, Renault, Haas and even STR and Racing Point will give RBR a headache on most race weekends.
Really, so you really think rbr are going to go backwards this season?
The one thing that F1 teams value over anything else, is continuity.
Having to change engine suppliers means new engineers, new processes, in the case of Honda, a cultural adaptation, and plenty more breaks in continuity.
I don't think RBR will be tooling around at the back like McLaren were, but I don't think they'll be as strong as most people are expecting. Mad Max is in for a tough season.
The biggest race time advances that have occurred in F1 over the last couple of decades are ...
Yet now they're held back by fuel loads during the race.
Of the 21 circuits used in the 2018 F1 World Championship, 8 of the race lap records are still held by 2004-2005 cars, and one other by a 2009 car.
I am just talking about cornering speed and G forces
I doubt it. They were good for their time and ahead of anything else, but modern cars have much more grip and aero.
They are pulling massive G numbers these days (as high as 5 I think in corners like 130R and as high as 7G under braking).
I would say that reliability is also an area where there has been a huge improvement. Reliability in these past couple of years in particular has been ridiculously good by historical F1 standards.
Been forced by regs though. If there were no component life regs, cars would be a lot faster and there would be many more failures.
It's like anyone who's ever sat in an F1 car of Brit origin, gets to be on the team.
Does that mean we will get the 'privilege' of Hamilton punditry after he hangs up his helmet? Please no...
I wonder why Jenson is joining the team...I thought he was highly paid in his day.
Probably still is. Reigning Super GT 500 champion in Japan.
Essential information writes...
The lineup personality wise of Mercedes, Ferrari and Redbull is like talking to 6 brick walls, couldn't get any more boring
Seb has a bit of humour about him. Less so than when he was at RBR. Have a look on Youtube and you'll find some really good clips with Seb during interviews and pressers.
I don't believe that Ricciardo is quicker than Verstappen in outright speed.
He's not, never has been. The thing with Ricciardo is that he's there or thereabouts in qualifying, but in the race, he's dynamite. Similar to Schumacher (but not comparing directly, just in terms of where his advantage lays), not the best in qualifying, but a demon in race trim.
I'd rather have a better racer than a better qualifier any day of the week. (Except Monaco maybe, and Dan absolutely brained Verstappen there!!)
They used to say the opposite regarding RIC, especially when he was with TR, now that Ver is consistently beating him in qualifying, they say the opposite.
He's always been a mixed bag in quali. Not consistent enough.
Maybe not quite that level.
Hence why I said, not directly comparing.
Is he not the best just because Ver is faster?
RIC has always out qualified all opposition until Ver has come along, maybe Ver is just faster again?
No, as I said before, Ricciardo has always been a little inconsistent in quali.
Ver was beating him there too in the second half of the year
Ricciardo had terrible reliability in the second half of last season. I've already posted the numbers, but effectively, if you mute any reliability problems, Ricciardo scored more points than Verstappen.
expert analysist
Verstappen is flavour of the month so of course they will play up his apparent potential.
I personally think Leclerc will be the new dolly this season. Expect wins, podiums and keeping Seb very honest.
Max will get frustrated, start crashing into things and find himself with some sort of reprimand from the FIA. Then he'll blame Honda, and finally Red Bull before his old man comes out to try and smooth things over. :P
If Gasley starts to Max, watch the whole team dynamics change, and Gasley will be the favourite, it's just how it goes...
Not likely. Max is the golden boy, on huge money and they expect him to perform.
If he doesn't, they'll push even more resources behind him until he either starts performing or they get fed up, in which case, he'll be offered a shit deal for 2021 and he'll toss his toys out of the pram and engineer a move to another team.
RBR's primary focus will be on getting Max into the Top 2 of the WDC.
They'd want to be careful. If they get done for 3rd place in the constructors by putting all of their eggs in the Max basket, they'll lose a heap of prize money...and be a bit of a laughing stock in my view.
On paper, at the moment, it appears that it will be the main 3 at the top. Then a genuine battle for the upper-mid table between McLaren, Renault, Alfa, and Toro Rosso. Haas and Racing Point haven't impressed me thus far, and Williams may as well setup in F2.
I think Ferrari are in front by a few tenths, as much as half a second at the moment.
Then Mercedes.
RBR, Renault and Alfa are all within a tenth of each other, closely followed by Haas, then RP, STR, McLaren and Williams.
RP/STR/McLaren all very close, a couple of tenths or so behind RBR/Renault/Alfa.
All of Mclaren times have been on C4 whilst Alfa and STR have been mostly on C3.
Pirelli data doesn't take into account the length of the run the fastest times were set on.
STR for example did 'glory' runs of only a handful of laps. Alfa times were set on longer runs (5-10 laps).
What's with the "NO FIA SEAL" on the back of the steering wheel 0:29?
It means it hasn't been signed off as conforming to FIA regs as yet.
No issue in testing, would need to be sorted before Melbourne obviously.
They run relatively low tyre pressure don't they. Compared to a road car...
Edit. Seems about 23 front and 21 rear.
Yes, quite low in comparison.
Yes rumours starting about Kvyat moving up to RBR and Gasly back to TR.
RBR are quickly becoming the laughing stock of F1.
Best lap times (all on the C5 tyres)
Vettel did a 1:16.7xx on the C3 tyres, which is the most significant lap of the entire test in my view. Corrected to C5, it's about a 1:15.7xx, putting Ferrari about half a second clear of Mercedes.
That wasn't the case last year, it varied by track and car and I vaguely remember a track where red bull were saying the supers were as fast as the ultras.
Yeah you're right, but Pirelli data is via their simulations and testing. They've used "mules" from Ferrari, Red Bull and Mercedes in the past, so they do have a reasonable idea of how much faster a compound should be.
As you say though, would depend on each car and track for a definitive figure.
F1 is the pinnacle and always will be. Drivers aim to get to F1, nothing else. That alone makes it the pinnacle.
A driver only leaves F1 when they've run out of talent or money, won enough, or had enough.
I've never heard a driver say "I'm leaving F1 because X is a step up".
I'm not sure that they are mutually exclusive. I.e Why would the lap times need to be slower to create more genuine passing moves?
I think the point is, which would you rather have? We've seen massive lap time improvements in the last few seasons, but no better racing.
I'd be happy sacrificing lap times for the sake of better racing. Less aero, more mechanical grip would be ideal in my view.
Cars aren't a lot wider than back in the day though are they? I thought they've been 1.8-2m wide for decades.
Meanwhile it seems Honda's packaging not as wonderful as Horner suggested.
I can almost guarantee we'll see at least one Honda engine failure in Melbourne. Hopefully Verstappen, just for giggles.
now to have to change suspension as well.
I think they'd have the parts already for this. Their engineering solution was quite unique, but I think they'd have had a 'standard' version ready in case it failed scrutineering.
4K F1 coverage on FoxSports for the season. Might have to upgrade to an IQ4 box.
Don't bother, the uplift in quality isn't worth it. I had 4K and now using Kayo. Can't tell the difference, even on an OLED 4K TV.
The top teams aren't fighting over an extra point or 2
Massa, Hamilton and Alonso might disagree there...
Here's a hypothetical for you all:
If Binotto was in charge of Ferrari in 2018, does Ricciardo get the second Ferrari seat instead of Leclerc?
The looks on Abiteboul's and Horner's faces during the presser discussing Ricciardo moving...GOLD!!! Horner looks like he got smacked with a big yellow dildo or something!! So good.
Where can I enjoy this? :)
It's in one of the episodes of Drive to Survive on Netflix. It was glorious. Horner was all chuffed because they were leaving Renault and he gave it to Cyril...then Cyril takes Ricciardo and is having a quiet giggle to himself in the presser when Horner is asked about it...absolutely brilliant.
It makes no sense.
Makes perfect sense to me. They've made their own commentary that perfectly fits the narrative. The actual race commentary might not have said what they wanted, or even discussed the topics they were going through.
Makes sense to have their own words, like a script, that fits the story they're telling.
If it was Verstappen on the market, I definitely think either Ferrari or Mercedes would have gone for it.
No chance. Why would they bring a cancer like Verstappen into their environment? He's proven to be disruptive, hot headed and doesn't play well with others. Neither Ferrari nor Mercedes would want that, given what they already have.
This can describe a lot of F1 greats.
Senna, Prost, Schumacher, Hamilton and Vettel.
PS. Almost forgot the biggest whinger of them all....Alonso!
Difference between all of them and Verstappen, is they all actually won titles and dominated seasons. Little Max has only dominated iRacing...
Little Max is only 21 years old, I don't think anyone else has scored as many victories or podiums as he has at that age.
Age is irrelevant, it's race experience that matters. Vettel won the title in his third full season. Hamilton won it in his second full season. Schumacher in his third full season. Alonso in his fourth full season. Mad Max is now in season five and has only five race wins and no poles in 81 starts.
I fail to see why he is considered such a talent.
Simply point, Max is the only 17 year old good enough for F1, and the only 19 year old good enough to win a race.
Everyone else at his age is only good enough for gp3/gp2.
I know you hate the guy but the way you try to justify your bias lacks common sense.
He's never won a major championship, and under the current rules, his junior record wouldn't be enough to qualify for a super licence.
Whilst he was being silver spooned into F1, others were winning junior titles to earn their way in.
I can't wait to see Gasly ruffle his feathers, and Max's little head explode.
Worst thing: the car might not even be legal at this point of time.... when the car is already so much slower, and possibly doing those speeds with illegal suspension modifications, they've got serious problems.
Williams have removed the offending seventh suspension member already, and the funky mount points have been cleared.
Just read in the Media that the Bonus Point for "Fastest Lap" will only be awarded to the Driver if they finish in the Top 10.
Imagine it. Last race of the season, title fight down to the wire.
Driver wins the race to take the championship by two points. His biggest rival has a shocking race and finishes 11th, but gets fastest lap of the race. Post race, Verstappen is given a time penalty for crashing into someone again, and the bloke who finished 11th is elevated to 10th, winning the title on a countback with a higher number of wins...
Do netflix docu's tend to go on bluray and dvd?
Depends how popular they are...they do often end up in "other" places
Most teams aren't keen on Ocon because of his ties to Merc. Why invest in a driver who may be 'called up' like Bottas was? If Bottas doesn't get closer to Hamilton this year, expect Ocon to replace him next year.
I reckon it could happen mid-season if Bottas struggles again.
I still think Merc and Ferrari missed a trick by not signing Ricciardo, but he's getting bulk coin, so he's probably pretty happy!!
Renault will come good, they're spending far too much money to not improve.
A look at some of the houses and realestate of RIC, HAM, and VET, as well as Jensen and Kimi.
Hamilton is just rolling in cash. Love him or hate him, he lives the good life that's for sure.
Daniel's LA house looks the goods though.
Is it "Per Season", or is it the total for his two year Contract?
Max is on about $18M per season atm, I think?
Definitely per season. Max earning a relative pittance makes it even sweeter :)
Ricciardo is now third highest paid on the grid, behind Hamilton (AU$70M) and Vettel (AU$55M).
I will take that over Mega $$$ any day
I'm pretty sure Lewis will have all of that when the time is right for him. He's just living large right now.
Yet these drivers are still not content.
That's the F1 mindset though isn't it? Always want more power, more grip, more downforce etc. etc.
f1.com just posted a behind the scenes video of testing starring Danny boy:
Cyril looks like a much better person to work for than Christian Horner.
This type of content is absolute gold....more please F1!!
F1 have filled some big holes in the season review catalogue.
You can now get 2000-2002 season reviews which were never previously available.
A good pick up for the Schumacher fans!
Plenty more going back to the 70s also available.
Found them all on Duke Video website. Free delivery over £10...not a bad deal!
I have a HUGE PROBLEM paying exorbitant RIP OFF prices to Media Companies who want to profit from that while controlling what I can watch and when I can watch it.
$25 for Kayo is pretty good value. Replays on demand, heaps of content and a great picture quality.
Made me think how this effects the Hulk, if Ricciardo is getting paid so much more than he
Daniel is as multiple race winner and genuine contender. Hulk hasn't had a podium yet. As much as I think Hulk is a great talent, results are what counts.
Hamilton earning almost 7x more than his teammate..
He's got almost seven times as many titles, and more than seven times as many wins...good value I reckon :P
Not real happy at RBR then?
Would you be? Being apportioned blame for something that was clearly not your fault, knowing that your younger, less experienced and less successful team-mate has just been given a huge pay increase above your own, and that they are basically throwing everything behind him...endless mechanical failures on your own car whilst the other one runs faultlessly...
He got out at the right time.
I'd certainly like to know which figures are correct.
When Hamilton signed his last contract, it was throughout the press as US$50M (or £40M) per season.
£40M equates to just under AU$75M per season.
I'm 100% sure Daniel is on AU$50M per season.
So Red Bull stopped off in Tokyo for an exhibition run with a couple of RB7s...
Wouldn't they have Renault engines in the back???
but in reality it's Max because we want a long, long, long term project
Then they come out and threaten to leave F1 if it doesn't suit Red Bull as a brand...morons.
I hope Tom Clarkson manages to do a podcast with Seb this season.
He's already got Kimi which releases tomorrow, but his podcasts are brilliant.
JPM, Webber and Rob Smedley were real highlights for me.
Do you think we'll get some of the other video feeds on Kayo like car cams?
There will be four camera options available for at least the Australian GP on Kayo (I assume the same for Foxtel).
Drivers have always pushed for the fastest lap anyway
Maybe in the past, but not of late. It's all about conservation of equipment.
While we are at it, lets also have a bonus team point for fastest pit stop.......
What about DOCKING championship points for race incidents? Instead of "reviewing after the race" and issuing a grid penalty or something rubbish, just dock the driver 2 points for first offence, 5 points for a second offence, 10 points for the third and final offence. The next offence is a race ban, then the cycle resets.
Same penalties for team issues such as loose wheels, or other pit stop issues. Dock the TEAM points from the constructors championship, not the driver, and if they happen to make a fourth stuff up in a season, they will be threatened with a race ban or something.
Force them all to clean up their acts.
LMAO! Hulkenberg was asked if Daniel had taught him any Aussie slang...Hulk says Daniel attempted to but when he tried it he said he sounded like a retard! Hahaha, gold!!
I remember about 5 years ago (not sure what race) when Daniel and Magnussen crashed into each other during practice and Magnussen referred to him as 'Retardo' in a interview afterwards, he said it was because of his accent..
K-Mag is great value actually. Pity we don't get to see more of him. Hopefully Haas can grab a couple of cheeky podiums this season.
Dans new helmet design. I like it. Something different to the usual designs.
Not my kind of style, but I like it for being totally original.
Wouldn't expect anything else from Daniel, he's definitely his own person.
Ffs for the first time ever Kayo sport is giving me an error.
Same. Others reporting this issue too.
THE ONLY THING THAT CAN CHANGE THIS IS WET RACE WEEKENDS !!!
The great equaliser! Whilst it would definitely shake things up, I don't think there would be a huge change in the order!!
I don't think Ferrari have shown their true pace yet, they'll be right up there tomorrow.
Just watching the FP sessions now. Zak Brown seems like a good guy. Not to pigeonhole, but Americans always seem a bit aloof in motor racing, but Zak is pretty down to Earth and sounds super keen to get McLaren back to where we all know they can be.
But if anything it would be that Vettel hasn't shown HIS true pace yet. I cannot imagine Ferrari would be foxing this late.
Not foxing, but not pushing that hard either. Watching some onboards, they're not even touching the kerbs at all. The car looks planted and balanced...and we know the Ferrari power is as good as, if not better than Mercedes.
Not surprising really because Karun Chandhok was dire.
His voice really annoys me. Too chirpy. Ted is much easier to listen to.
Now we just need to get rid of Crofty...
That what makes him one of the best . Forget about the mistakes he made . That was just Murray
That was the best part. You know his excitement is genuine when he starts mucking up words or getting things wrong.
That's what happens when you're excited! You stumble on words, say things you shouldn't (who doesn't love an "F" bomb on live TV) and it engages the audience.
Crofty just sounds like an excited teenage girl at a sleepover.
Watching some 1994 footage tonight. Miss that Ferrari V12.
Wheelbases are almost a metre shorter than 2019 cars.
They look short, wide and mean. Much prefer the look of the older cars to the current ones.
Why have wheelbases increased so much? Is it a stability thing?
Oh, and 26 car grids!
Refuelling, or lack thereof, requires fitting a bigger fuel tank. As well as crash structure design requiring the front to withstand larger impacts.
A whole metre though? Old cars look so much beefier.
If you have a Kayo subscription the 1986 Adelaide GP is up at the moment.
1994 as well, and I think 2005 Melbourne?
That Ferrari V12 is audio porn. So good.
Max – me me me
Ocon – I liked this guy, now I really like him
Stroll – whenever he comes on we exclaim "Daddy....I want a pony!"
Horner – knob
Perez – loco
You forgot:
Ricciardo – legend :D
Lol this is really good
https://twitter.com/jmsc
Hahaha, that's gold!!
And Crutchlow has to stop from that speed (340kmh) with a tyre contact patch of around two 50cents piece.
Only about 1/5 of the weight of a Grand Prix car though.
Cap on teams' annual budgets
Revised revenue distribution
Revised governance
An outline of 2021 technical rules
Revised engine rules to make them louder
Change to the constructor 'listed parts' rules
Ferrari and Mercedes will ensure things are still in their favour.
I can't see them agreeing to a budget under US$200M.
Imagine this scenario ...
LOL, not bad.
Why not just make them run an extra car or two each? US$25M extra budget per extra entry.
Any extra cars must be run by rookie drivers with less than 5 races under their belt at the start of the season.
So the cap is US$150M, if Mercedes want US$200M, they have to run two rookies as part of a four car team.
Might be fun.
https://www.motorsport.com/f
Mick Schumacher to test Ferrari SF90 as well as Alfa Romeo C38 in Bahrain.
Awesome for the kid.
Interesting listening to Sam Michael talking on Rusties Garage how BMW would supply 220 engines to Williams in a single season back in the early 2000's.
Sounds about right. They would've had 3 or 4 engines per car per event. Back then they had spare cars, so you could say 9-12 engines per event. 17-18 events, plus testing...adds up pretty quickly.
Those were the days! I used to love the nuclear bombs Ferrari would throw in the back of their cars at Imola or Monza for qualifying. They'd last all of three laps before detonation.
Mick Schumacher second fastest in testing, albeit on soft tyres. Pretty good effort for his first time in a Grand Prix car.
I wouldn't read much into them however.
The only thing I'd read is that Schumacher is definitely quick enough.
Mick himself even said he wasn't sure if he'd be ready for F1 next year. That's a good attitude in my view, not wanting to just get there as quickly as possible like some drivers in the past.
I'm also of the thinking that he'll progress via Alfa Romeo.
RIC is riding the coattails of his good year against Seb, and that's a long time ago now.
Yeah that's rubbish. Daniel is widely regarded as the best overtaker on the grid, a genuine racer and one of the best drivers in F1. Some terrific wins an drives litter his career, so to say he's still living off his year against Seb is poor form.
We start with neither Ferrari nor Merc being interested. That speaks for itself.
Yes, it confirms that Merc and Ferrari have lots of money invested in Hamilton and Vettel, and don't want to waste their money by having to pay one of them out.
Bottas and Leclerc would be considered #2 drivers, regardless of what either say.
Looks a bit like Fezza have shot themselves in the foot, because Leclerc looks to have Vettel's measure early on.
F1 is very much a young man's game.
It WILL be a young man's game, but not quite yet...
Hamilton – 34
Bottas – 29
Vettel – 31
Ricciardo – 29
Grosjean – 32
Raikkonen – 39
Perez – 29
Hulkenberg – 31
Kubica – 34
Most of these guys still have several years left in them (maybe not Kubica), but it is easier for young blokes to get into F1 compared to 15-20 years ago. 4 of the 5 world championships in the hybrid era have been won by a driver 30 or over.
Does anyone beat Senna winning Brazil with just 1 gear in 1991?
He had a bit of help from other cars having failures, but it was a huge effort. Schumacher did a similar thing in Barcelona stuck in fifth gear. Managed to finish second.
The greats will always find a way.
I think Leclerc was in the right place at the right time. He definitely deserves his spot, but look at Ocon as an example.
He was a F3 and GP3 champion, got his start with Manor and moved up to Force India with the view to a Mercedes seat.
He probably should've got it over Bottas, and now finds himself a reserve driver again.
He deserves a seat in F1, probably more so than a few other drivers on the grid.
Ricciardo was the opposite. Wrong place, wrong time. I'd wager that if Ferrari had their time again, they'd have chosen Daniel over Sebastian if they could've.
I think the Hulk has just been plain unlucky. Probably should've got a full time Williams drive back in 2011, and has never been given the equipment to prove himself.
Why would Ferrari choose Dan over Seb who is a 4 time WDC??
Because Seb has been pretty average and Daniel has been pretty good??
Hope this hasn't been asked too many times, but I'm looking for a decent F1 podcast. Suggestions?
Beyond the Grid. Hosted by Tom Clarkson.
One of the best going around.
He was and is a better option than Ricciardo .
Ricciardo is a better option than Vettel. Ricciardo/Leclerc would be an amazing driver pairing at Ferrari.
Anyone who thinks that are off their one eyed blind bias rocker.
So you don't think Ricciardo would do a better job than Seb in a Ferrari?
Seb has already been shown up by Leclerc. As much as I think Seb is still a great driver, he has lost a lot of his shine in the last year or two.
I think Ricciardo, Leclerc and even the brat Verstappen would offer more than Seb in that Ferrari in a fight against Hamilton.
Cheers!
Latest episode dropped today and has Murray Walker. Looking forward to listening to that one.
The time he spun off on the formation lap at Monza was a shocker though...
Don't forget his crash into the wall of pit lane in Adelaide...when leading the Grand Prix comfortably!!
Yeah I agree. The longer he isn't racing the weaker his case gets.
He'd be logging some serious hours in the simulator, which is almost as good as being in the car for real these days.
I think Ocon is a better option from a marketing sense too. He's got a bit of flair and charisma.
If it comes to the summer break and Gasly is still significantly slower than Max, I doubt Helmut will have much more patience.
How many times did Max bin his car without any sort of semblance of punishment or threat of action?
Gasly will be fine. What other option is there? Kvyat? Albon? The torpedo versus the rookie who just wrote off his race car in FP3?
Yeah, not happening. Unless he goes completely off the deep end, Gasly will have at least the rest of this season.
Max is supposed to be the greatest thing since sliced bread, so Gasly getting beaten by him shouldn't be used as a measuring stick. If he can be competitive and score consistent points, that'll do for this season. If it proves to be any other way, then Red Bull are a more deplorable organisation that I first imagined.
I'd love to see Kvyat put back in there, if only for the LOLs.
A torpedo into Max would be the ultimate gift.
How many are good enough at 17?
I honestly think Max was brought in too early. A year or two in GP2 would've done him the world of good, got some of the rookie mistakes out of him.
Norris
He's been really impressive actually. Surprised me.
I think Leclerc will be WDC before Verstappen though.
that's how he got a seat in RB
He was guaranteed a seat at RBR anyway, Kvyat torpedo-ing everyone and everything just expedited the promotion.
Max could've retired from every race with STR and he'd still have been promoted to RBR. He's the golden goose with a silver spoon up his butt.
39 isn't exactly old. It's a relative thing.
Schumacher was 41 when he came back and granted he wasn't the old Schumacher, but he still whacked a less competitive Mercedes on "pole" at Monaco at age 43.
Kimi seems like the kind of bloke who will one day wake up and think "I'm done" and retire on the spot. That could be next year, it could be in five years...but if he's still quick enough then his experience will always be handy for any team.
If the latter, I'm willing to bet Mick Schumacher lands that seat next year.
Depends how he goes in F2. If he struggles, I don't think they'd promote him until 2021. Give him another year of experience.
If he does well and finishes top 3 or so, he might get the gig.
He'd be the most likely of the FDA boys anyway.
Interesting to see how Ticktum does in Super Formula. If he goes well, might be drafted in to replace Gasly, or go to STR if one of the STR lads are promoted to RBR. Plenty of talent banging the F1 door down.
2005 European F1 GP hosted by the Nürburgring. Led into the final lap but DNF’ed.
Kimi probably would've won Imola too if not for a driveshaft failure. He was probably the best in 2005, just cursed with poor reliability.
Because the no change Bridgestones were rubbish
To last a whole race, yes they were rubbish. Bridgestone had developed a tyre specifically for Ferrari and then the rules changed to no stops and they were stuffed.
Ross Brawn talks about it in his podcast with Tom Clarkson. The Indy thing was quite interesting too. The Michelin teams wanted chicanes and speed limits for the banked turn. Bridgestone (and Ferrari) basically said "get stuffed" and the fiasco ensued.
Refuelling was removed mostly for safety. There was the fire risk, and also a few issues with rigs getting stuck and causing injuries (and perhaps one little Brazilian a world title).
I personally like refuelling, as it brings in more strategy that isn't forced by tyre wear. I used to love seeing some risky strategies pay off (Schumacher 4 stopper at Magny Cours was an absolute ripper) and the added possibility of the pit stop getting messed up was cool too. The drivers always talk about the team aspect of the sport...nothing like relying on your team even more at the pit stops!
Bring it back I say. Let the cars be shorter and lighter again, and stop these monotonous "management" events rather than races...
Yes can't believe anyone in this day and age would want to reintroduce refuelling
Yeah, let's see the fastest cars in the world with the best engineering...but hang on, were going to lump you with 115kg of fuel...and a massively heavy hybrid system with batteries that makes the PU a minimum of 145kgs...
The whole thing is ridiculous. For anyone to want these cars to be as light and as fast as possible at all times is the very ethos of Formula One...but the cars have been laden with weight and the racing absolutely neutered by the changes to the formula. When a tyre designer has to use witchcraft in their chemistry and physics to ENSURE tyres behave a particular way, you know things are in trouble.
F1 is a joke compared to what it was as little as 15 years ago.
Yeah the "too dangerous" bit doesn't work for me either.
Remember when they introduced lower downforce and grooved tyres to reduce speeds?
Now we've got cars with well over 1000 bhp, more downforce and slick tyres, with a wider track...it's a complete ruse.
Refuelling will be back as part of the 2021 rules I reckon.
What a horrible weekend that was. Rubens had a big one, and we lost Roland and Ayrton.
I still quite often think about how great it would've been to see Schumacher vs Senna in a title fight.
Put Senna in today's Mercedes with bullet proof reliability and he'd never lose.
See I disagree with that. A lot of the "old school" drivers were all about driving around the car. Relying on a known base and just adapting to it, making the car do what they want, rather than them doing what the car wants.
I honestly thing the modern machines would be too technical for a driver like Senna. I think this is part of the reason Schumacher struggled in his stint at Mercedes.
You can't simply drive around modern cars. You have to engineer them to the max to get the best out of them, and if you're just a few clicks out here or there, you're way off the pace.
This seems to be Ferrari's problem currently, whereby the sweet spot is very small, but once they find it, look out.
Current drivers are accustomed to tuning and fine tuning and even more fine tuning to get the best out of the car. The old school blokes who were the greats simply drove around the problem and the car would do it. Modern cars are designed to be knife-edge with as bigger sweet spot as possible without compromising on the baseline.
Having said that, you throw a modern driver back into an old car, and Senna would absolute destroy them.
Those cars reguarly failed with gearbox issues and the like, that's where I think winning percentage is hugely warped to today's drivers advantages.
I'm talking more about extracting pace from the car. It's quite easy to see that a poor modern car can't just be driven around and made to go quicker. Alonso is the best example of that. Vettel to some extent to.
Senna would simply jump in, and regardless of the setup, make the car go quickly. Those cars simply didn't respond as much as modern cars do to engineering inputs. They were simpler. Change a gear here and there, add a bit of wing and bang....half a second quicker. Try that these days and you'd probably end up in a wall or something.
This is why you can't compare drivers from different eras. Senna and Schumacher crossed over, but it's quite plain to see that Schumacher was more of the modern generation with his technical skills and want for car information, with some of that inate skill to drive around problems with the car.
Um.......Where did the 20k go? Seems like he got shafted?
PC alone would be $10K. Another couple for the wheel and pedals, headset and auxillary parts. Another couple for monitors. Then the buttkicker etc...adds up very quickly.
I've read that Toto Wolff is being groomed as the new CEO of F1, beginning in 2021.
Chase Carey is apparently going to resign at the end of 2020.
Toto will sell his shares in MAMGPF1T and take up the new role.
The incoming Mercedes boss, Ola Källenius, isn't the biggest fan of Toto apparently!
The misses and I were just saying yesterday that his not going to see the season out, what the *@# is going on in that team for christ sake.
Bit harsh on Binotto. If the car was good enough, there wouldn't be issues with the strategy.
The only reason the strategies look shit, is because they are chasing Mercedes and not catching them.
A good strategy won't mean anything if your car isn't quick enough.
It seems everyone is keen to point fingers at people and lay blame, when in truth, the Ferrari car simply isn't quick enough.
You can't fix that overnight, and I'd probably suggest that Ferrari are having issues finding a solution to their problems. They are getting blitzed in low speed corners.
The performance of the car is very much within Binotto's responsibility. He is the team boss. His predecessor got the boot for the same failures that are continuing under his watch.
Arrivabene took all of Binotto's toys and money off him, that's why Ferrari were rubbish last season, particularly in the second half of the year.
Binotto got annoyed, threatened to leave and then the CEO and chairman gave Arrivabene the boot.
Binotto designed the SF-90, but since he's moved to team principal and been less hands on, the car development has, if anything, gone backwards.
They've got a magnificent engine, and the aero is good enough...but the chassis is obviously not up to the task. They've been nowhere on chassis circuits, and it's hard to identify if that's Binotto or Mekies...either way, I think Binotto has inherited a lot of problems from the Arrivabene reign, and whilst the SF-90 is a good base, it's gone the wrong way in development.
Of course it all falls at his feet, but that's the usual sporting attitude whereby the leader/coach/manager is the first blamed, even though they usually aren't the problem.
Would be a joke to allow teams to have the regulations changed because they failed to design their cars properly
Indy 2005 disagrees.
I'm with Bernie. The idea that the Driver who wins the most Pole Positions and most Grands Prix in a Season doesn't win the WDC simply shows how ridiculous the Scoring System is.
Why bother awarding points then? Simply award race wins and nothing else.
Therefore, Ferrari's only realistic options to replace Vettel in 2021 are Verstappen or Ricciardo.
I wouldn't rule out Mick Schumacher. Leclerc will have three full seasons of F1 (2 at Ferrari) behind him by then.
Could be a young guns kind of scenario at Ferrari, although that would be against the grain for them.
Schumacher would need to show some vast improvement in F2 over the back half of the season though, as I'd think a year at Alfa would be required before stepping into the Scuderia.
Why? Max is a proven race winner. He'd go in as the #1 and Leclerc can then continue his work experience kid role.
I can't see Leclerc accepting a number 2 role to Verstappen.
I'd love to see a couple of older blokes come back and whip the shit out of these kids.
Alonso, Button, Massa...throw all three of them in a works Mercedes and watch them go.
just like Robert Kubica has.
Last time I checked, Alonso, Button and Massa had two fully functioning arms.
All this speculation because of one throwaway line from Vettel.... he'll see out his contract, and by then, Ferrari will have their pick of drivers.
There it is folks. Nostradamus has spoken!
All this speculation because of one throwaway line from Vettel
It's more than one throw away line. Seb has shown very little passion or enthusiasm this season.
The only time I've seen him really heated was in Canada, both on the radio after the race, and when he changed the number boards.
Other than that, he's been listless, disinterested and very downbeat. Leclerc on the other hand has been disappointed, but very much up for the fight and really keen to improve.
Nothing against Seb, but I think the poor season in 2018, the lack of improvement in terms of results, the rulemakers and stewards completely destroying any integrity that F1 may have had left...it's all combined and completely demotivated him.
It's quite plain to see.
I think he may be off at the end of this season, unless things drastically change.
I'm not seeing DR as that much better come Sunday.
Ricciardo is the best overtaker in the field. Once he's got full confidence in the brake pedal in his Renault, his performances will be much better, and comparable to his Red Bull drives. It's taking longer than expected for him to get comfortable I would've thought, but he doesn't have a Newey chassis any longer.
Is he still the best overtaker? Dunno to be honest.
No one does it better or cleaner than Ricciardo. That's not the Aussie bias talking either.
He can make overtakes happen where most others can't, that's what separates him in my view.
You think so ?.
LOL, moving and braking on the racing line...typical dirty Verstappen moves.
And yes, I do think so:
Any PROPER Bond Fan knows that Roger Moore was the quintessential 007 ...
... and THE definitive Bond "Motor" was his white Lotus Esprit.
LOL, just no. Bond's car is, and always will be, the Aston Martin DB5.
I will take the one that has the "Transform To MiniSubmarine" Dealer Delivered Option included and is delivered personally to me by Barbara Bach.
Give me Eva Green and a DBS any day!
Do you think F1 would be more interesting if it was only the driver that could indicate by a button or whatever, that he/she needs fuel and tyres, rather than the copmputer wizzards all working it out for the driver?
To some extent, yes. The whole "parc ferme" thing is a bit of a joke when the driver can adjust a myriad of things as soon as he gets in the car, but I also think drivers need to be able to change things on the car.
Fuel and engine maps, brake bias, diff settings etc.
I think a reduction in sensors would be nice though. I reckon a decent percentage of retirements from races are due to a sensor failure or malfunction, not an actual problem with the car.
Giving the drivers nothing would have a negative impact. Drivers need to be able to tweak things here and there in order to keep pace or adapt to different conditions.
They could also re-introduce a Clutch Pedal AND a manual gear selector.
OK, and let's re-introduce leather helmets, get rid of seat belts and guard rails. Seriously mate, the world has moved on and there is NOT ONE top level motorsport category that uses a foot clutch and h-pattern gear box, with the exception of NASCAR...and they barely use them anyway!
Watch "Ferrari International Assistance" make a rule change over the summer break over the tyres
Maybe you forget about 2005? The rules were changed specifically to derail Ferrari who had worked with Bridgestone to create a tyre that was best suited to at least one stop per race.
I challenge you to compare Senna's in car footage doing those Q laps at Monaco in the late 1980s with any of the modern stuff. THEN tell me with hand on heart which is the more difficult to perform and the more exciting and entertaining to watch.
Of course the old h-pattern is more difficult, but in terms of excitement, it adds nothing.
I'd rather see cars going as fast as they can. If that means a semi-automatic gearbox, then so be it.
The best qualifying lap I've seen in a very long time was Schumacher in 2012 at Monaco. Absolutely nailed it in an inferior car and was something to behold.
Yeah, because few people are proficient at driving those sorts of vehicles any more.
That's rubbish. It's because they are much slower and less efficient than a semi-automatic gearbox.
Why isn't 'land speed records' on the salt flats the most popular motorsport then? Drag Racing surely has to be up there as your favourite??
Wow, way to miss the point champ.
(Permit the use of AWD and more than 4 wheels if desired.)
So you want more exciting racing, but you'll permit AWD which gives a heap more grip and traction??
Really?? Has to remain RWD.
If you even mention rallying, then it will be confirmed that you were dropped on your head or something.
Remove the physical wings from the cars completely.
Yeah, the sponsors will love that...
I still can't believe people actually bring this subject up, it will never happen in this day and age, not just for the fact it will add zero to the actual racing.
With tyres that compliment the lighter, smaller cars and strategy, it will be brilliant. There needs to be 4-5 seconds difference between compounds, and softer tyres need to last at most, half as long as a harder compound.
Watch the 1997 Japanese GP and see how quickly Eddie Irvine pulls away from the field with a lighter fuel load.
Well then why not go to fully automatic gearboxes? Why bother the drivers at all?
Semi-automatic still gives the driver choice of gear in a corner...have you ever driven any sort of race car or are you just an armchair expert?
This is 2019. Broadcasting technology is now mature enough to support the use of Digital advertising superimposed over the cars on screen. Wings and advertising can be added to the cars digitally. Will make no difference to the performance of the cars, and the Sponsors still get their money's worth.
You said it, it's 2019. Don't you think if it was feasible we'd have had this sort of thing years ago?
It's a pipe dream and will NEVER happen in our life times.
High tech fully automatic gearboxes will always provide the optimum gear choice.
Race Drivers want to get around the track as fast as possible. They don't actually care how it is done. What is important is the end result.
Incorrect. They would rely on some form of mapping to decide when to change gears.
What if a driver wants to deliberately short shift to dull wheelspin? What about in the rain? Gear changes occur at lower RPM in the wet for obvious reasons, a decision made by the driver.
Yes the driver does want to get around the circuit in the quickest time, but he also wants full control over how that happens.
That's why they have so many dials and switches, to make the car as fast as possible for the prevailing conditions.
An automatic box doesn't allow for that.
Yes. MORE MECHANICAL GRIP.
AWD gives insane amounts of grip, especially if it was fitted to a Grand Prix car with slick tyres and wide track.
It would be like watching a Scalextric race. It takes the edge off and drivers would simply be able to mash the pedal with no repercussions. No thanks.
The main goal of the category should be to provide competitive racing for the Drivers and entertaining racing for the spectators.
Yes, whilst also being the pinnacle of automotive engineering...
I've been watching F1 for nearly 50 years and I think the current period is the worst of the lot. The only thing saving it is that Lewis Hamilton is so dominant.)
Huh?? You want close racing and competition, but F1 is being saved by one bloke winning all the time?? Are you on the sauce mate? You are making no sense at all. You want it all, but you want nothing. You want nothing but then want it all. Confused much???
if we change the rules, it could spread the performance again and you could gain manufacturers but you could lose some of the existing ones as well.
Depends on the changes. The hybrid units are incredibly complex, and most of the gains/advantages are through software/mapping rather than actual component upgrades. Mercedes and Ferrari seem to have made decent inroads, but in my view the formula is too complex.
Everything needs to be simplified in terms of the formula, with much tighter parameters around aero.
Make the engineers use mechanical grip (without AWD!!!) with a small amount of aero assistance to maintain the speeds we've all been accustomed to.
F1 is not the pinnacle of automotive engineering. It never has been. That has been debated to oblivion and proven to be a complete fallacy.
Sources?
F1 has ALWAYS been the pinnacle of automotive engineering. Making a prototype vehicle that is the fastest on the planet, whilst adhering to a specific formula, makes this so. Nothing else even comes close.
F1 is governed by rules and regulations that restrict the engineering technologies that can be used. e.g. F1 has restricted fuels, restricted engine design/capacity, restrictive suspension design, restrictive aero, etc. Basically over time any ingenious engineering development in F1 has been subsequently banned. So that is why F1 is not the pinnacle of automotive engineering.
On the contrary, with all of these rules and regulations and banned items and materials, the fact that the cars are STILL the fastest cars on the planet, is EXACTLY why F1 is the pinnacle of automotive engineering.
Making something so fast and so extreme whilst being hindered by so many regulations...that is some seriously good engineering and better than anything else out there.
This is what I love about HAM. He is prepared to have anyone as his team-mate and he seems to be very loyal to his team.
So why haven't Mercedes hired an Alonso, Vettel, Ricciardo, Verstappen or whomever to race alongside him?
Surely any one of those four is a better option than Bottas? Are you really naive enough to believe Lewis doesn't have a say in who his teammate is? Really?
Hamilton wants to beat Schumacher's records
If Hamilton won all of the remaining races this season, he would equal Schumacher's wins record.
A real possibility when you look at how this season has gone!
If you discount Schumacher's Mercedes comeback, Schumacher had 248 GP starts.
By the end of this season, Hamilton will have had 250 GP starts (assuming he starts every GP).
Cars to look more "aesthetically pleasing".
That will never happen, unless they do the following:
- Remove the halo
- Floor must be contained under the car (i.e. no trays sticking out in front of the rear wheels)
- Remove all winglets and aero devices (except the front and rear wing of course)
- No shark fins
- More subtle cameras (i.e blended with bodywork)
Something akin to the Ferrari 641 would be ideal.
F1 Race Cars are nowhere near the fastest race cars on the planet.
If you stick a Formula 1 car on any standard race circuit on the planet against any other car for a Grand Prix distance and it will win handsomely. Yes there are cars that do things better...a drag car is faster in a straight line, a LMP1 is probably more durable...but as an overall package, F1 will always be the fastest car on the planet.
What if you run a current F1 car against a current IndyCar at Indianapolis on the "Oval" track over 500 Miles?
If you set the F1 car up with the tiny wings like the Indycar has, staggered the wheel size etc, the F1 car wins. With the right gearing and aero, an F1 car can easily top 400kph.
And by the way ... I view Drag Racers as racing cars. I doubt any F1 Car could out race a Top Fuel Dragster over ¼ Mile.
They aren't racing cars, they are experiments in how far an engine and its components can be pushed before exploding, disguised as a racing competition.
Then it wouldn't be an F1 car would it?
The same thing is done for Indycars when they take to a street circuit.
The bodywork is completely changed, stagger removed etc etc.
It's still an Indycar though isn't it? Just changing the set up.
If you allow the F1 car to set up appropriately, it wipes the floor with an Indycar regardless of the track.
You wouldn't compare an oval-spec Indycar to a Grand Prix car set up for a specific track, would you? You'd use the street circuit-spec Indycar to give the best possible performance.
It is possible to massage anything into anything to make it sound reasonable.
Indeed, as you have shown repeatedly here :)
Face the fact, an F1 car is the fastest racing car on the planet.
Again define fastest?
Fastest meaning overall, if you put each car through a series of challenges of top speed, cornering speed, lap time etc, an F1 car would have the highest overall score.
Yes a dragster is faster in a straight line, but would fail a simple cornering speed test.
An Indycar might be quicker at an oval, but is massively slower on a standard circuit.
You're not following your own rules...
An F1 car, with the skinniest wing it can run inside the rules, would still be quicker than an Indycar around an oval.
Haas team principal Guenther Steiner said refuelling should only be brought back if the costs associated with it can be managed. “I find refuelling very interesting,” he said
Well the fuel rigs are one thing that I have no issue with being standardised.
Hopefully they would do a better job than Intertechnique!
And I would like to see some automated system of Refuelling that minimised the involvement of humans doing the actual refuelling close to the car itself.
I don't see an issue with a system being developed. Pit crew physically attaches the rig, then all crew must leave the box whilst refuelling takes place, then pit crew returns to the box and removes the rig once filling has stopped.
Will add a few seconds, but would be much safer.
If they get the on-track racing and competitiveness sorted then you don't need refueling. You especially don't need the silly theatrics of the above.
Well they've had 10 years to do that and haven't managed to get anywhere as yet.
The "theatrics" is in the interest of safety and wouldn't happen preferably, but since F1 is becoming a nanny state joke, it's probably close to what we'd see in my view.
I don't see the regs being changed in the way they should be to allow much closer racing, so it needs to be done elsewhere to bring some sort of excitement back to F1. Bernie's idea about putting sprinklers on the track doesn't seem so crazy now.
They should put Kyvat in there. He's the form driver at the moment.
That'd really get up Max's nose...I like it :)
Mick Schumacher takes the old man's F2004 for a spin...and gives it plenty! Terrific moment with the crowd afterwards.
The F1 DREAM is to witness Schumi watching Mick Jr. win the German F1 GP in a Ferrari.
Agreed...although winning the Italian GP in a Ferrari and seeing both of them celebrate on the podium would be immense.
Lewis provides interesting content.
Really? I find his repetitive drivel extremely boring and cringeworthy.
Finally something a bit different and he blocks it. Coward.
Cringeworthy is content. He's different. He says weird things. He polarises people. Perfect "reality" TV material. Netflix needs Hamilton more than he needs them.
Everything he says is the same!! It's like a carbon copy every, single weekend.
It's one of the first instances in many years where he's made an absolute balls up of a weekend, been under a lot of pressure and now we won't get to see it.
If he picks and chooses what we see, how is that giving us an inside look at him within the team? It smacks of PR bullshit and a narcissistic bloke who can't bear to be seen as vulnerable or under pressure. For someone so confident on the race track, he's a bit of a coward off it.
Leeboy you would be exactly the same and should understand this basic reality of life.
A Formula One driver is a public identity by default. They know this and they choose to pursue this.
Hamilton has a large presence on social media and is arguably the most requested driver during any sort of press conference.
Netflix have tried to offer us all a glimpse inside the reality of a Formula One team, but the precious Mr Hamilton has denied us seeing him at his most vulnerable (and probably most genuine!!) because he is a narcissist.
I'm not saying we have any right to see anything behind closed doors, but if you decide to open those doors, you don't then selectively close them when and where it suits you. That's just weak. It's all or nothing (unless for very obvious reasons such as intellectual property).
And don't tell me what I would or wouldn't be. You know literally nothing about me and shouldn't assume so easily.
The clear contradiction between those 2 statements seems to have eluded you.
How cute. I think the meaning of the word contradiction eludes you.
Moving forward any unsafe release will now result in a time penalty.
Should be constructors points. Penalising the driver is just plain wrong.
Driver is part of the team, not above the team. Same situation as a botched pitstop. Not the driver's fault, but he has to accept it.
A botched pitstop is completely different, it has no external factor.
Yeah as much as it sucks for the driver, gotta agree with this.
If there was a title fight happening in the last race of the season, and there was an incident which was deemed an unsafe release, and the driver punished lost the title because of it, you can imagine the repercussions.
That's how all penalties have to be viewed; as if a world title was on the line. The decisions would be much better and more consistent!
And? If there is a clear rule in place and a clear penalty (which there now is in the event of an unsafe release) then the teams know the consequences of releasing their driver into the path of another car.
Moving forward, it's pretty clear cut now.
So you'd be fine with the title being decided by a penalty for an unsafe release?
The real question is, where does Bottas go??
Would he want to be a number two for Max at RBR? Would RBR even consider him?
Or does he go back to the wilderness of the midfield? What about an all-Finn superteam at Alfa?? I'm sure they, along with engine partner Ferrari would love to have a looooong conversation with Valtteri about all things Mercedes...
It's not like Bottas is that far behind either, especially if you consider Hamilton is right up there with the best drivers of all time.
Ocon does an incredible amount of work at the factory and in the simulator for Mercedes, so they know what he can do.
If I heard correctly, they said there were only 20 total qualified drivers in F1?
I find that hard to believe when several of the test drivers have been in F1 previously.
Pretty sure there are also blokes in junior categories who have enough points.
Right, RBR really are terrible aren't they? ;)
The point stands. Terrible or not, they've been in about the same place since their last title win in 2013.
2014 – 2nd
2015 – 4th
2016 – 2nd
2017 – 3rd
2018 – 3rd
Average finishing position in Constructors Championship – 2.8 (3rd)
They spend $300 million pounds a year. Ferrari are around $350 million and Mercedes are $450 million pounds.
Pretty sure it is USD
If Bottas gets the arse from Mercedes then RBR should get him. With his unflustered personality he’d be a good team mate for Max. And he’d be a massive upgrade compared to Gasly.
Would Bottas sink that low? RBR wouldn't pay him what he wants either in my view.
He'd be better off looking at the midfield teams.
What's the issue with Gasly? Is it mental? Is it because the car is setup for Max and he's not comfortable?
Imagine getting the biggest promotion of your life, and moving to the company HQ for your new position.
You get there with a little bit of fanfare, but not a whole heap.
You're introduced to your new work colleague and told he is the best employee they've ever had, he gets any sort of new stuff before you, earns heaps more than you and will be favoured in every conceivable way over you.
Then your told the work environment revolves around him and how he likes things, ALL of the bosses and managers at your new position are working for him and that you're left with all of the leftovers and the 2nd best of everything.
Then you're given your KPIs. You need to equal or better the guy who essentially gets everything, and has had the environment constructed around him.
You get no love from the bosses and you're almost left to your own devices.
Now, how would you be feeling with all that, accompanied with unrealistic expectations on your performance?
There is no next Lewis.
Everyone said there would be no next Schumacher as well. Lewis is well on his way to matching him and beating his wins record.
Max is still a whole year younger than Lewis was when he got his first.
He's older than Seb was, and Seb was 20 when he started full time in F1.
I've been looking at a lot of the team relationships this season, and all the talk of drivers coming back.
How does this look to add a little bit of spice back into F1?
Bottas to Alfa Romeo
Giovinazzi to the bin
Ricciardo to Mercedes
Gasly to Renault
Alonso to Red Bull
Perez to Haas
Grosjean to the bin
Ocon to Racing Point
Hamilton, Vettel, Leclerc, Ricciardo, Alonso and Verstappen in the top six cars...tasty.
Bottas to Red Bull on the other hand makes a lot of sense.
What's the point? He's shown to be uncompetitive in the heat of a title challenge.
F1 needs to be livened up!!
He knows how to be a wing man. That's what RBR need to sit alongside Max. And despite what you think of his performance at Mercedes, he's massively better than Gasly. Personality wise, he'd be a good fit for RBR and Max. He's not likely to get flustered by it all. And I think he can deliver solid results on the track.
I agree with all of that, but it's so boring!
I'd love to see RBR take a risk and give Max some proper competition.
Looks like a F1 2019 career mode.
LOL, there is A LOT of "freedom" in what I want to see in F1, but it would be SO good to see those six drivers in those six cars.
Potentially a SIX-WAY battle for the title!! Who wouldn't want to see that???
As for the game, I've seen some vids on YouTube where the whole ten season has been simulated. Vettel won at Ferrari, then went back to Red Bull and won about six world titles there! Verstappen ended up back at Toro Rosso with no titles, Hamilton became a Ferrari stalwart, and Kimi was still going at McLaren, aged 50! LOL
We need at least one absolute muppet behind the wheel for maximum entertainment. Give me back Maldonado. When the race starts to get boring you can count on him to do something moronic to spice things up again.
Hahaha, maybe we could find out what rock Yuji Ide is hiding under and drag him back to F1.
Why do you think Webber pronounces it "MercEEEdEEEs" rather than the more common "MerSAYdEEs"?
No idea, but the correct German pronunciation is "Mertz-eh-des"
Not sure I would wanna pronounce it that way in Australia. Would probably draw some weird looks or a laugh.
LOL, I think "Mer-say-dees" is a widely accepted (yet slightly bastardised) version. Even ze Germans are OK with it :)
Great to see Mexico GP now officially confirmed for another 3 years.
Not a fan of this track at all. It's been completely neutered.
Schumacher was still excellent in 2006. His last drive was immense. If he'd have stayed in 2007, I think he'd have won the title again quite convincingly...maybe even 2008 as well.
Why couldn't they have some sort of sprint race on the Saturday, everythings there and would be more interesting then one of the practice sessions.
Whilst I like the idea and have advocated it previously, it doesn't fit with the current regulations in terms of component reliability. More racing means more wear on components. There would need to be a rejig for that to happen.
I've always though more racing on Friday and Saturday would be better than processional practice runs. My thoughts:
FP1 – Friday morning (obvs Thursday in Monaco)
FP2 – Friday early afternoon
Q1 – Friday late afternoon
FP3 – Saturday morning
Q2 – Saturday early afternoon
Q3 – Saturday late afternoon (single lap session – one driver on track at a time)
Warm-up – Sunday morning (30 min session for drivers to get used to track conditions)
Other changes:
- No more parc ferme rules. Let cars be changed up until race start.
- Refuelling to return (max 50L tank size, no flow limit)
- No tyre compound rules (i.e. teams can run any combination at any time, even mixing compounds between front and rear)
- Qualifying tyres for top ten Q3 (incredibly soft tyres that will last literally 25-30 racing kms)
- Remove DRS
- Bring back KERS (or push to pass) – make it super effective (i.e. 250BHP boost for up to 10 seconds per lap)
- Virtual safety car rules to change (no pit stops during VSC, cars must use a constant, limited speed, not a time delta.)
- Front and rear wings easily adjustable (by pit crew in pitstops)
- NO MOVING IN THE BRAKING ZONE – drivers to be given 10 sec stop-go on first offence during season, 30 second stop-go on second offence, one race ban on third offence and any subsequent offence
- 18 inch rims
There is probably more ideas, but these would make such a good change.
I'd love to go back to V10s, but just can't see it happening, even though EVERY, SINGLE DRIVER would advocate their return!
Horner is a worm. I hope Gasly finishes in front of Albon in the next race...or takes Verstappen out. Either way I'm happy LOL
And yet people here will still poo poo him.
Same reason people "poo poo" Nick Kyrgios...because he is an absolute dick.
there is nothing to stop a driver like Albon excelling at Redbull just like Ricciardo did.
Except Horner, Marko and their Verstappen agenda.
Can you imagine if Albon comes in and completely wipes the floor with Max?
They'd be utterly humiliated, Ricciardo would be giggling his butt off and Mercedes and Ferrari would be handing them some training wheels so they don't fall over again.
Even Seb would be having a laugh at their expense.
Nah, you're just butthurt
Wow, how insightful. Why do you take such offense to him getting ribbed? Nothing to rebuke it with so you go for a personal insult...and I need to grow up? LOL. He's got the personality of a wet sock, and when he does try and add something to his personality, it makes him look like an absolute flake.
Conspiracy theory?
Not at all, just ask Mark Webber...or read his book, that'll shine the light for you.
I wouldn’t say Daniel was pushed out.
Don't be so naive. They offered him less money than Max, Max was already their preferred number one and as shown this season, they don't care who is in the other car, as long as Max is in number one.
When Ferrari do it, at least they still support the other guy. RBR simply abandon the other bloke and rely on their car speed to get him through. They've been a joke since 2010.
I doubt very much they would of offered him less than Max, they would have easily matched Max IMO. I doubt Max was on a really large deal, he signed when he was being regularly beaten by RIC in 2017.
Max is on US$13.5M. I can't see Red Bull paying Daniel anywhere near that, considering Max was on US$10M last season, compared to Daniel's US$6M...
Money in the form of contractual terms was part of the reason for the move from RB. Ricciardo wanted a deal similar to Max's which was a large annual salary as opposed to a low base plus bonuses which everyone apart from Verstappen had always had at RB.
Correction, that is all that was allowed. They broke their own wage structure for Max.
In fact someone pointed out that if Rosberg didn't have his unreliability issues in 2014 he would have won the championship
Don't forget 2008. Massa would've won the title if not for unreliability and pitlane issues.
In the context if their performances in Silverstone that year, the right driver won IMO. Massa was laughable.
What about their performances in Brazil? Massa destroyed the field the entire weekend when it counted most.
Hamilton got lucky.
Basing a championship result on one race performance is a little narrow minded.
If he's to beat Schumacher's record, he needs to be in the best car, time will be against him soon.
You realise he only needs 11 wins to break Michael's record? There are 30-odd races between now and the end of 2020.
He'll have broken the record by then. Sad in my opinion as a Schumacher fan, but it is inevitable.
All time podiums from 1950 with data altered to compare different eras
Thanks for posting that. Pretty interesting perspective.
If you don't think a driver with an Italian name winning in a Ferrari doesn't appeal to Ferrari and all Italians worldwide, then you need to reassess!!
If you thought the scenes at Monza for Leclerc were nuts, if a bloke named Ricciardo won the Italian GP in a prancing horse, they wouldn't stop partying until about February.
Vettel is very obviously becoming disenchanted with the sport he loves. I can see him moving to endurance racing or perhaps Formula E. He is still an A class driver and any motorsports team would be ecstatic to have him onboard. He just seems to have lost that edge that guys like Hamilton, Leclerc, Ricciardo and Verstappen still obviously have.
Ferrari rarely choose young drivers, which made the Leclerc choice a slight shock to some. I can't see them opting for TWO young drivers though, so Ricciardo would be the natural choice...unless they can manage to prise Hamilton from the grasp of Mercedes (which I don't see happening for at least a few years).
They could get 4-5 good seasons out of Ricciardo, and the tifosi would be right behind the move as well. The "Shoey" will become the national drink of Italy!
And where did you hear that ?.
Various media outlets...I reckon it was even mentioned on Sky at one stage, on one of their sideshow acts between race sessions.
Williams are a joke.
I disagree. They've probably had the largest relative improvement from the start of the season to now.
Russell is getting more and more confident, the car is getting better and they are finally getting some results.
law of diminishing returns suggests this is what you should expect. it doesn't mean Williams are doing a better job by any stretch.
Williams have the smallest budget on the grid, so they are doing a great job relative to everyone else.
Not at finding sponsors
Strictly referring to performance. It would be difficult to find sponsors for them, but they've done reasonably well considering they've been stuck at the back for a while.
Lewis stirring the pot by posting a photo of him standing next to a la Ferrari...
My understanding is that he was one of the first names on the list of orders.
He's never hidden his love of Ferrari road cars. From memory he has about 3 or 4 in his collection.
Probably RBR and STR out of F1 once Max leaves.
Imagine 4 cars, 500million plus per year for Gas and Albo.
It would cost Red Bull more to pull out than stay. They aren't going anywhere, regardless of what they say.
Can you imagine how many more fans would tune in if F1 went back to V10s or V12s?
The sound alone would bring people back to F1 in droves!
I doubt it would make much difference.
The V6 turbo's aren't the issue
I think the hybrid system has contributed to some of the issues with overtaking, as well as the noise problems.
If cars had DRS, but no hybrid assistance, then there would be much more overtaking, as there would be no deployment on key areas of the track. The DRS would be much more effective in offering a difference in performance.
Increasing competition is no easy fix, and seemingly not high on the agenda of the F1 supremos. Adopting a simple engine formula, with no hybrid systems to worry about, plus that noise, would be a refreshing change that would also put more emphasis on the driver, who would have less tools in his kit.
I love the engineering in F1, but would much prefer a much simpler formula, with teams having to engineer something a little more crude, rather than something infinitely complex and expensive.
What does this actually mean?
A formula that offers engineers less opportunity and potential to create high amounts of downforce.
Making wings sit higher off the ground, making wings smaller and/or narrower, less aero devices and perhaps changes to the floors and rear ends of cars.
Less pushing the car down meaning more emphasis on mechanical grip, less air disturbance for cars behind and putting more emphasis on the driver to generate the cornering speed and maintain control. Less downforce means the driver needs more skill to control the car and we may see a lot more sliding of rear ends, and more overtaking where it is not expected.
part of being a GREAT Driver is being in the right place at the right time.
True, but it took Schumacher six seasons before he won a title with Ferrari.
If he had have stayed at Benetton, he would arguably have won the title in 1996 as well, then who knows.
I'm glad he challenged himself and went to Ferrari though. Changed the face of F1, and also made Ferrari the best again.
One of the most extensive and exhaustive looks at measuring the greatest drivers in F1.
https://f1metrics.wordpress.
LMAO. Not wasting my time, but I wonder who is #1. And if Alesi made top 20.
Schumacher is #1. Alesi is not top 20 (57).
#45 Mika Hakkinen
#46 Lance Stroll
enough said....
If your read the whole thing you'd understand why this result happened...and why you can effectively discount drivers with a small data sample.
Name me five famous Ferrari F1 Cars?
Name me five famous F1 WDC who drove for Ferrari?
640
641
F2002
F2004
312 T (all variants)
500/625
D50
Schumacher
Lauda
Prost
Mansel
Vettel
Raikkonen
Surtees
Fangio
Ascari
I could probably name more, but off the cuff, it's a good start.
This is just the reason I hate all these metrics and data crap in the corperate world. Made up against certain criterias to come up with a non subjective list.
The biggest issue with this model is probably the "expected result" modifier. I think it heavily skews drivers who had cars that were either really dominant (downwards), or complete rubbish (upwards). The eras play a part as well. A completely horrible car had more chance of finishing higher up in earlier eras due to reliability issues, whereas these days, a poor car finishing higher up is an anomaly.
That's why guys like Stroll, who drove a poor Williams car beyond the expected finish placing quite a few times in his rookie season.
It's still quite interesting though, even if the results aren't what you expect.
3 wins for Max and beating both Ferrari is not a bad effort for a first year collaboration.
Honda have been back since 2015 though...
I disagree completely with this, if someone wants to carry on and a team will give them a drive carry on as long as you can.
Yeah, worked well for Schumacher...
I don't think Schumi's "Standing" in the sport suffered at all as a result of his "comeback". He was widely loved, he probably helped Mercedes along a bit and can probably take some credit for Mercedes success later on.
I agree, but it ruined his records. His raw numbers remain, but his strike rate took a massive hit as a result of doing almost 60 races for one podium finish.
the upside is that by uninstalling Wife module, this frees up resources significantly and allows the installation of numerous Fling modules which have almost no overhead.
I've heard those fling modules have some serious potential for viruses, which affect any sort of dongles installed as part of the system. Sometimes all dongles must be removed for the system to maintain a virus free existence.
That's a fair point. But I reckon the only record Schumi was interested in extending by joining Merc was to win the team its first Grand Prix after being out of the sport for so long.
I think initially he was aiming for title number eight, but he quickly realised that the car was nowhere near good enough...and unfortunately, neither was he.
I will always fondly remember his pole lap at Monaco in 2012 though. That was absolutely mega.
So what do you guys think? Was Verstappen right when he said "that's what you get when you stop cheating"?
No.
Williams must be really REALLY struggling. Putting a Nissany in their car...that was almost the death knell for Minardi.
A 56 year old test driver with little F1 heritage. Hilarious.
It's actually his son Roy, but still pretty bad. Williams must be super desperate for cash to run him.
Vettel and Perez come together at Abu Dhabi tyre test
Seb just can't stop getting into trouble. 2020 will be another shambles for Ferrari if he's still considered the team leader.
You cannot doubt VET's commitment to the sport.
It's paid work.
I honestly don't think Ferrari have a test driver who is experienced enough to complete this sort of test.
You'll note the majority of teams have their race drivers completing the test.
Wehrlein and Hartley have F1 experience, but neither have driven a Ferrari F1 car from memory, and neither drove in 2019.
I'd say it's a combination of Ferrari wanting the best output from the driver, plus Seb not wanting to give Charles any more advantage than he already has...I think given the choice devoid of consequences, Seb would happily have toddled off home for the winter.
Looking more and more likely that Hamilton will stay at Mercedes for 2021.
Ricciardo/Leclerc at Ferrari??
Of course, that is only a fantasy ... and a fantasy it will remain.
Mmm, battery technology is getting better every day. More storage capacity in smaller and lighter units.
Suits the Formula E ethos and means the cars will only get quicker.
If FE was as fast as F1 (or reasonably close) and had a good mix of capable drivers, with some traditional circuits thrown in (big locations only to start off), then FE will eventually gain traction and start to build.
Lewis just turned his donation into a vegan rant on his Instagram feed.
Still appreciate the donation, not so much the vegan elitist rant.
I can't wait until we move on from combustion motors and go all electric.
Why? Electric motors feel clinical and without soul.
So, Norris "accidentally" leaked the McLaren car launch date, 13th of Feb. Well played by their marketing dept on this one!
It's all very "Un-McLaren" though isn't it? I still think of McLaren being the cold, clinical and no-nonsense team, lead by Ron.
Hard to break that line of thinking...but they're trying, I'll give them that.
No they just would do it outside of the FIA if it was too hard to do a deal with FE.
LOL, F1 is an FIA Championship. GPWC 2.0?
Plus "hydrogen" seems a lot more cooler promotional wise than electric.
Hydrogen fuel production has quite a heavy environmental impact, with a lot of CO2 being produced as emissions.
Most common process is via the steam reforming of natural gas.
Nuclear Fusion based. No emissions AND no radioactive radiation. They could use the helium produced to blow up lots and lots of balloons.
LOL, so you want an F1 car to become a fusion reactor?
COLD fusion reactor !!!
Oh right, so F1 cars would just be a theory then? LOL
Both are completely irrelevant amounts so not mentioning them is smart.
It's not about the ACTUAL carbon footprint, but more about the responsible behaviour aspect.
Car manufacturers want to be SEEN to be involved with green activity and reducing emissions. Even though the carbon footprint of F1 is negligible relative to global emission levels, it looks much better if a car manufacturer is seemingly partaking in emission friendly activities.
Underneath it all, car manufacturers will do the minimum required to meet the maximum allowable mission levels, and probably cut some corners and dodge some numbers along the way (not looking at anyone in particular VW/Audi Group...)
If you newey anything about Formula One, you should know that ALL F1 cars start out as just a theory.
LOL, OK...
Anyone be interested in having a bit of fun for the 2020 season and doing some predictions?
Get a wiki going and everyone can throw their ideas in??
I was thinking predictions like:
Drivers World Champion (bonus point for number of points scored)
Constructors World Champion (bonus point for number of points scored)
Most pole positions (bonus point for how many)
Most podiums (bonus point for how many)
Most fastest laps (bonus point for how many)
Most improved driver (based on overall points tally at end of season 2019)
Most improved team (based on overall points tally at end of season 2019)
Fastest pit stop of the season (bonus point for the actual stop time)
Make or break (which driver is under most pressure to perform in 2020)
Sure thing (one thing you are certain will happen during the season i.e. Ferrari implode on pit strategy at more than one race)
Most at stake (can be a team, driver, official...anyone really..and why they have most at stake)
Doomsday scenario (the worst thing that could happen in your opinion i.e. Mercedes announce they are leaving F1 after 2020)
At the end of the season, we tally up the scores and the winner has ultimate gloating rights until 2021 season :)
We're only four weeks away from the first car launch, so time to get back into F1 mode!
is the most improved points wise category a percentage improvement, or pure number of points based improvement?
Percentage, so relative to their points total in 2019.
Netflix F1 Doco "Drive to Survive" season 2 will be released on Feb 28.
About time!! I really hope we get to see some footage from inside Ferrari after one of their many strategic balls ups!!
AFAIK Daimler AG still own over 70% of the F1 team, thus they have the controlling say in the matter.
Toto owns 30%.
Lauda did own 10%, but his shares were returned to Mercedes as per his instructions upon his death.
So, yes, Mercedes own 70% of "Mercedes-AMG Petronas Formula One Team".
That is only the actual race team though.
Mercedes 100% own "Mercedes AMG High Performance Powertrains" who manufacture all the powertrains for F1 cars. This began life as Ilmor Engines.
The actual F1 race team is only about 50% of the "Mercedes F1" operation.
Only 7 more sleeps until Ferrari unveiling..... 2020 season is almost a go..... :)
Yep, blink and we'll be getting ready for FP1 in Melbourne!
Don't forget your predictions everyone! Good for a laugh come the end of the season :)
Ok Guys I was going to have a go at the 2020 predictions but where the hell do I post them. The wiki page wont allow any posts. I am dumb so make it easy.
Open the wiki page, then up the top click on "edit this page".
Copy the text from someone else and then change to your username and answers.
Once done, preview to see if it looks good, then submit.
If you get stuck, send me your predictions in DM and I'll add them in for ya.
2007 vs 2011?
2007 definitely. Watching Lewis and Fernando implode is quite glorious.
Kimi just says "Bwaoh" and pips both of them at the end.
(I'm a Schumi fan, could you tell?)
And you haven't watched 2001 or 2002??? His most dominant seasons by far.
4:30am tomorrow morning is the launch of Ferrari F1 live stream. Anyone here goons watch it?
Would be Wednesday morning (12th Feb Aus time)
Mercedes have added another principal partner – INEOS:
And their new livery is still boring as batshit!
Mercedes new sponsor Ineos
They are also producing their own off road vehicle, called the Ineos Grenadier...which uses BMW powertrains...
Anyone here follow Kym Illman and his F1 photography?
Does some really good stuff on YouTube, and took this epic shot of Danny Ric last season
There is only so much you can do with the same colours
Sure, but they could do so much better. Make the silver really sparkle and shine, use less black and have no "B-sides" on the visible bodywork.
SF1000 looks good. Can definitely see the work they've put in, particularly the rear end packaging. Definitely a brighter red than last season too which is nice.
Let's hope it goes as good as it looks on track!
I'd like to think Renault had come up with something they didn't want to reveal, but I think it will just be a situation where they're behind schedule in the chassis build.
Testing is only a few days away, so I don't think they're behind. Might be that they didn't want to build a show car, just leave the first proper outing for the track.
No thanks. Grand prix's at Imola tended to be well, excrutiatingly boring.
Really? I only remember great battles and a brilliant circuit. A couple of epics between Schumacher and Alonso.
Remember much else?
Button got his first pole in 2004, the Yuji Ide "how to lose your superlicense" incident, 1998 was a good one with DC holding on for a win...Frentzen got his first win in 1997 as well. I remember plenty of good races and moments, as well as the tragic ones of course.
It's always been a favourite circuit for me, some corners really show what an F1 car can do.
It's also the circuit that brought about the incredible change in safety standards in F1.
Let's agree to disagree on it eh? :)
Well they don't even have a car built for their car launch so.....lol
I wouldn't be building a show car for a launch either.
Can almost guarantee the show cars at launches won't be the same as the actual race cars that debut at Barcelona.
Launches are a waste of time in my view. I'd prefer to see the cars first on a track, not in a theatre somewhere.
Each to their own, but I still think it's the best looking car and paint colour/scheme.
Yeah, we'll disagree on that one!! LOL
Looks like baby spew with some Powerade thrown on it.
Haven't seen a properly good RACING livery for a while now. I mean Ferrari in red look nice, but not like the 641 or anything.
There are too many small sponsors on cars these days, completely breaks up the flow of the livery.
The best I can come up with is the Ferrari's that ran without sponsor logos for the death of the Pope and in response to 9/11.
Seems the matte paint preference is spreading as well.
The best by far is the RBR Camo liveries for practice, wish teams would go bold like that for the season.
Agreed, but that's why I emphasised racing livery. No team has had the balls to go with something different.
The most "outrageous" we've seen is a splash of pink from Racing Point.
I'd love to see a black Ferrari, with hints of dark red..... It would be sacrilegious and never happen, but I'd love to see in none the less.
Hmmm, the contrast between a very dark body and the Cavallino Rampante would be very cool to see on a Grand Prix car...I'm imagining the dark red as lines running down the body front to rear, minimal sponsorship (or very low contrast in colour against the black) and that bright yellow logo shining like a beacon on the nose.
Might need to sharpen my photoshop skills and do up some of these!
Orange and Blue colours certainly belong on McLaren race cars and pay homage to the early days of this great Race Team.
You're right, but the McLaren of today is a completely different beast to the McLaren of yesteryear.
Ferrari still hold their traditions close, even going as far as leaving Enzo's office as it was, untouched since the day he passed!
McLaren are now a fairly cold, corporate machine that is seemingly attempting to bring some light to their profile with the traditional colours...so whilst you're right and I agree to some extent, the colours still feel a little "forced" to me, with regards to the current "regime" at McLaren.
However, few people know this ...
That was one of the old "sharknose" Ferrari GP cars. Somewhat recreated in 1996 with the F310 mid-season upgrade to a raised nose.
All i want is cars that are easy to distinguish , all the rest of it doesn't bother me at all.
You see the red cars? They're Ferraris. :P
Oof, just as I was berating liveries, Alpha Tauri come up with an absolute belter!! Looks absolutely lush!!
That Williams livery reminds me of an old Footwork. Ugh.
RP isn't bad, I like the diagonal logo taking up more space on the car. Wish more teams would do that.
Liking the predictions everyone! You've only got about three weeks left to get yours in.
Melbourne is only 26 days away!!!
Interesting :P
Didn't know the track had F1 holomogation, but it's a million to one shot in any case.
Oh no! Now the hopes are up! :P
I'm no good at predictions, unless it's a sure thing like in wrestling
Haha, it's all just a bit of a giggle anyway :)
What about the Montreal Screwjob?? :P
ot sure why they wouldn't be able to... you'd think it'd be covered under their agreement with Sky?
Perhaps not. I'd say the broadcast rights for testing would be an independent thing, with the Championship Season including race weekends only.
I doubt there would be much value to Foxtel in paying extra for it, would only be a very small minority of F1 fans who would watch.
Right, but still is that something that the teams are locked in after qualifying?
They aren't actually adjusting it as such...it's kind of like the suspension moving up and down, or the steering wheel rotating left and right. Toe can naturally move a little through the forces of driving the car, Merc have just figured out a way to manually exaggerate it.
Likely too late even for the few teams who could afford it.
It seems a pretty simple system.
I reckon a Ferrari or Red Bull could knock up a working prototype and be ready to test it in FP1 in Melbourne if they really wanted to have it.
From what we've been told the impact of the system could be very small, but i guess very small in F1 is more than enough.
Even if it gives them 5kph extra in a straight line, it'd be worth it for them, especially around somewhere like Monza or Spa.
which in turn means better tyre wear as the tyres can make more contact with the road, only when needed.
It also eliminates the scrubbing of the tyres in a straight line. With toe out, the tyres are constantly scrubbing when there is no cornering load, so negating that would be beneficial. Even if it gives them one or two laps more flexibility on pit strategy, it could make or break a race win for either driver.
Specifically forbidden. Art 10.2.2 Any powered device which is capable of altering the configuration or affecting the performance of any part of any suspension system is forbidden.
It's not actually affecting the suspension though, it's only the steering rack and wheels.
Oh Boy ... What a difference the sound makes eh?
I could watch Schumacher onboard all day. So smooth and relaxed.
I honestly don't think this DAS system will be a huge improvement. I'd be surprised if it provides more than a lap of extra strategic flexibility, and perhaps 2-3kph on the straights.
There is no real benefit in corners as the system returns the toe to the "regular" place as per the set up of the car.
Very innovative yes, but I don't think the benefit will be that big. Any benefit is obviously welcomed, but I just don't see Mercedes gaining huge advantages from it.
If you are correct and the gain is very small
To be fair, there hasn't really been such an innovation that has gained a huge advantage since the double diffuser.
Blown exhausts/diffusers possibly, but nothing in the hybrid era.
I'm not sure they would bother to use it on every corner and every straight, perhaps only use it when they need to preserve tyre wear compared to RedBull/Ferrari.
It's only useful on the straights. During corners it moves back to the "default" position which is the normal level of toe.
On the straights, they effectively remove the toe out by moving the steering column.
So the only tyre advantage is from the lack of scrubbing on straights as the tyre is effectively "in line" with the track, rather than pointing outwards slightly. I can't see how that can give more than a lap, maybe two at the absolute most at somewhere like Monza.
But that means it's not scrubbing in the same spot, thus not producing the same wear and heat as much in the same spots, so moving it to a less toe position, will help cool the tyres down and produce less wear in the toe in position.
Well yes, that's what I implied, but in the corners, it is exactly the same. There is no point moving the toe position in a corner as the steering and suspension (including camber and toe) are set up for corners, not straights. It would reduce overall grip and increase tyre wear if they did that.
The only advantage is a slight tyre wear saving on straights and perhaps a slight drag reduction on straights.
I can honestly see them scrapping the system anyway, or the other teams throwing their toys out of the pram, protesting and it being found illegal somehow. Typical FIA :)
Consider that 4K exceeds the resolution of your retina, then take your pick.
Yet 4K looks measurably better than 1080p...
is this the last chance for Vettel to win a championship with Ferrari?
No, that was probably 2018. Leclerc (and hopefully Ricciardo) are the future for Ferrari.
So, I can ask this without offering any spoilers...but does anyone else think Lewis absolutely hammed it up for the cameras in the Germany episode of Drive to Survive?
Remember to get your predictions in before next Friday if you want to have some fun.
I see some more have been done which is great! End of season will be a right laugh :)
Aero screen for F1 would not be to bad if it is anything like the Indy Car screen
Is this not the same, or derived from, the screen that Red Bull tested/developed previously?
I always preferred it over the halo.
The infection rate with the corona virus is much greater than that of a regular flu.
You couldn't be more incorrect. The R0 for both is around 2, meaning each ill person spreads the disease to 2 other people.
In the US alone, more than 32 million cases of influenza have been reported in the current flu season, with more than 18,000 deaths.
I can see the headlines now..."Driver coughs in Thursday press conference; Australian GP cancelled amidst COVID-19 threat". The word overreaction comes to mind.
Fewer cases? US have 550 according to the coronavirus map.
So 550 out of 327,000,000 is a reason to cancel an event? Like I said, overreaction.
I'm on the "dont cancel" side of things, coz I have tickets to the Hanoi race.
What do you think of the circuit layout?
News report on Today the Australian health authorities have given the GP the go ahead
Finally a bit of common sense amongst the absolute mountain of idiocy this virus outbreak has caused.
Now, let's hope the 10 teams and 20 drivers can put on a decent show.
I wouldn't be too upset if season 2020 was abandoned.
One, we might get some decent racing with the new regs and more competition.
Two, the teams will have heaps more time to prepare their cars.
Three, it might be the only thing that could potentially save Schumacher's records! :P
Fangio, Brabham, Clark, Stewart, Lauda, Prost, Senna, Schumacher, Alonso, Hamilton.
That's a pretty good top ten...the fun would be in deciding the order!! All of them are great and probably have one or two things they do better than the others.
If I had to choose one to race for the planet, it's Schumacher. I haven't watched enough of the guys from pre-80s F1, and from what I have seen in my lifetime, Schumacher is the guy who always found a way, and could do things in racing cars that no one else could.
I'm wondering who will get the black camera in Ferrari this year, it should be leclerc as he did get more points then vettel
I think Vettel's car is always considered #1.
If F1 was still under the old numbering scheme, Vettel would be car #3 and Leclerc #4 this season.
What would they be producing for F1? Since testing there has been nothing. I would have thought that all teams would practically have to moth ball their F1 progam until there is some on-track action.
Literally everything. The uncertainty would mean they would need to keep going as normal.
They may also have taken the time to do more work on the 2021 car.
The first WC Farina was 44 in 1950 and Fangio won his 5th at age 46!
Even at his peak, Fangio's neck would've been toast in a handful of laps in a modern F1 car.
Since the 90s probably, drivers have been much fitter to be able to handle the cars and the forces they exert on the body.
It's also become a young mans game anyway, just look at the grid these days. There are only four drivers over 30 years of age, with three drivers age 30. I'd say next season there could well be less than that, and all of them have been in the sport for many years.
Only young drivers are brought in these days. Anything over about 21 or so would be considered a late starter.
The car was brilliant in 96-97.
Schumacher managed to push Williams right to the edge in 1997, and even in 96, won races in an absolutely abhorrent Ferrari car. Villeneuve should've absolutely walked the 97 title in that car, which at the time, was considered one of the greatest F1 cars ever built.
IIRC, there was a criticism that JV could only drive the car set up one way, he couldn't deal with the car unless it was exactly as he wanted it.
He was a strange cat Villeneuve (still is to be fair).
Apparently his throttle pedal only had about 1cm of travel on it, and he needed a massively stiff suspension set up.
Not sure about Kimi, but from what I've heard and read, he prefers slight understeer.
He can't cope with/doesn't like a lot of oversteer (apparently).
I think he raced in the traction control era didn't he?
But besides that, I believe the F1 throttles are pressure sensitive more so than travel based – like all our brake pedals.
Not back in 97 they weren't. I think it is from his Indycar days where they had a bit of turbo lag to contend with. Planting the throttle out of corners was easy because the turbo didn't kick in until you'd straightened up. Montoya was always spinning his rear wheels when he first came to F1. Similar hangover from Indycar.
I feel Ricciardo should have stayed at Red Bull his frustration of the car was due to the Renault PU just look how strong and reliable the Honda engine was last year!
He'd have been putting up with a team heavily favouring one driver...that wasn't himself.
Anyway, move on. Hopefully he's in a Ferrari soon :)
And do not assume that 2021 is going ahead. Way too early to be sure of that.
Exactly, so don't assume it isn't going ahead either ;)
Ive followed Jimmy Broadbent for a while
Gotta love Ol Jimmer! No punterino Jimmer!
Norris on the other hand is a bit of a knob. Going through his "phonebook" looking for tips. Give me a spell pal.
We know you're an F1 driver, you don't need to drop names endlessly.
Try ur hand at these personality tests. Good way to spend self quarantine
Hamilton for driver, Enzo for manager.
I'd love to see a 6-hour F1 enduro as a one-off, non-championship event.
Give each main driver a rookie/academy co-driver and see how they all go.
Make it like Bathurst with a mandatory number of stops and laps a driver can complete.
The cars these days should be able to make the journey in terms of reliability.
Would be quite an event I'd reckon. Maybe even allow teams to enter a third car.
Could almost double as testing for 2021 since the regs have been paused.
Spa is the perfect circuit for it too.
Haha, just getting excited at the thought of it! Would be epic in my view.
refuelling
How do they currently fuel the cars? I've not really seen it happen on any broadcasts.
It's not some bloke with a big 100kg barrel on his shoulder :P
To keep things safe, a slower fuel rate could be used in an enduro. Would give the team's some time to check the cars, fill drinks for the driver, clean ducting etc.
Sorry for going on, I just really like the idea!!
Its a bit contrary to the stated goals – fuel efficiency being one.
A heavier car is less fuel efficient, and do you really think that any fuel left in the cars at the end of each race is kept?
I was watching a BBC 2013 season review on YouTube, and towards the end they were talking about Seb and how he's on the cusp of being a legend etc.
They spoke to Alonso and he said that if he gets a car that sees him finishing lower down, people will pile all types of shit on him because of how he went about things with RBR.
His exact words were "there are some interesting times ahead for Sebastian in Formula One"...
It was probably out of frustration, but man was he spot on!!
Fernando the Oracle!
Imho, best drivers currently in the category in order of "Bestness" at the current time ...
Hamilton
Leclerc
Ricciardo
Verstappen
Perez
Occon
Sainz
I'd have Sainz before Perez and Ocon, and I think George Russell is vastly underrated, mainly due to him being in terrible machinery. Very few poor drivers in F1 these days which is good to see.
Latest Beyond The Grid podcast well worth a listen .
Its Julien Jakobi. Current manager of Perez but has been in the sport for over 30 years and managed Senna and Prost at the same time.
The John Barnard one a couple of weeks ago was brilliant. Must listen. So strange that such a talented bloke delivered Schumacher the F310!!
Nick Heidfeld was pretty interesting too. Just always in the wrong place at the wrong time!
One of the best drivers ever to pull on a race suit also happens to be as dull as dishwater.
He almost always sounds like he's reading a script. Incredibly boring, but also very eccentric and "woke".
I think the best Lewis we saw was against Alonso at McLaren, from an entertainment perspective. He seems pretty easy to wind up, and Alonso is the wind up king.
The only driver with charisma I can think of is Alonso.
Senna and Schumacher are in that category. Many people worship either (or both) of them, even to this day...and it isn't purely a patriotic thing either.
Where are all the manufacturers now?
Toyota, Honda (now only an engine supplier), Porche, VAG, BMW.
All invested elsewhere. Too expensive to get back into F1 as a works team now.
VAG (VW, Porsche, Audi, Bentley, Bugatti, Lamborghini) haven't shown an interest in F1, not sure why that would change.
The others are probably too "scared" from a financial perspective to try again.
tyre regs
With the way F1 racing is these days, tyre regs won't make any difference anyway.
It's all about conservation of engines, fuel and other parts, rather than actual racing.
At least one, and possibly two of Schumi's Titles have an asterisk next to them. Those are the first two where it has always been suspected his car was utilising some illegal Driving aids.
1994 possibly, but they were clean in 1995. People would take away 1994 for Michael's "foul" on Damon before any cheating scandals anyway. If that's the case, then you have to take one of Senna's titles away as well (1990).
At the end of the day, if they're in the books, they count in my opinion.
50 per team
I'd say more. Look at some of the photos in the pit lane or paddock when the entire team get together (for title wins, final GP or something special).
If they are looking at other tracks, surely some of the historic tracks will get a look in?
Imola, Brands Hatch, Magny-Cours, Jerez, Kyalami, maybe even Fuji?
Regardless of his contract situation, if Ferrari come knocking, which driver can say no? Not even Lewis would say no at the end of the day.
Sainz is more likely to stay at McLaren. He seems to be vested in their revival. Ricciardo is the smart and best option for Ferrari in my view. Mick Schumacher too inexperienced at the moment, maybe 2022 if things go well for him.
He doesn't have the talent to be in F2 let alone F1.
His junior record is as good as any of the other graduates to F1 at the same point, even better than some (i.e. Verstappen).
People forget Sainz has 5 full seasons under his belt so is well experienced
Leclerc won GP3, then followed up by winning F2 the following year.
Sainz won Formula Renault 3.5.
You don't need as much experience if you're already winning everything, which Leclerc has done in juniors.
Only someone desperate to stay in the sport would move to Renault at this point.
Welcome back Fernando :P
Leclerc seems good (very good) but I'm not sure I'd call him a wunderkid like Verstappen is or Hamilton was at that age.
I would, just needs to be able to express himself freely.
No Vettel clears the path for him. He'll be a man on a mission when racing starts, to make the team his before another driver comes in.
I would find it odd that Mclaren would be desperate to retain Sainz when Ricciardo would (we think) gladly jump there.
Continuity is king in F1. If it ain't broke, don't fix it and all that.
he's lucky Senna died in '94 due to Williams screwing up his car's steering column, otherwise he'd be lucky to have 2 or 3 WDCs.
Just no, on all parts. No one is lucky Senna died, it was a tragedy for all concerned. To think as such is disgraceful in my view.
Not really since teams are always pushing the boundaries in every aspect regardless which is what F1 is all about. Even in the driver market teams have always been more than happy to switch around if something better becomes available.
I was specifically referring to things like drivers, team principals, mechanics etc. Of course the tech changes.
If a team can keep a driver line up that is performing as expected or above, it would take a reasonable jump in the perceived ability for them to make a switch in most cases...for the winning teams anyway.
Is Ricciardo that much of a jump compared to Sainz? Given equal equipment, they'd probably be reasonably close in terms of results, maybe Dan edging it...but it wouldn't be like McLaren switching for a Hamilton or similar.
Senna was very different. Senna was never at fault for the '89 fiasco in Japan. That was 100% Prost's fault. '90 was payback for '89 – by then Senna realised that FIA and Balestre were on the take and corrupt and he was never going to win in a clean manner. He fought dirty cos they were dirty.
That doesn't excuse dodgy work on a steering column, that 100% broke on the track, leading to the accident that took Senna's life. That the FIA and Italian police conspired to ensure the evidence was destroyed is despicable. F1 and $$$$$$ were more important than the truth and justice.
How many tin foil hats do you own? Seriously? There is literally zero evidence that ANY of that is true...only conjecture and heresay.
Viewed in the entire history of Formula One since 1950, I'm not the least bit surprised. And here's why
You make a fair argument, and being voted by the people probably sways it Schumi's way also...but to be honest, I voted for Bernie.
2010-2012 – Rosberg (or Rosbeef as I call him) – Schumacher was already on the downside of his career and IMO he was mentoring Rosberg
If you listen to John Barnard on Beyond The Grid, he has a very good explanation for why Rosberg performed better than Schumacher. The car design philosophy was to be very planted at the rear, with a tendency to understeer.
Schumi preferred the car planted at the front, with his right foot taking car of the rear of the car.
Not sure how much truth there is to it, but I'm pretty confident John Barnard knows what he's talking about.
At Benetton (particularly 94 and 95) and Ferrari, the car was designed around Schumacher's driving style and the strategic direction the team wanted to take (this was very apparent at Ferrari with the pit stop strategies and tyre design demanded of Bridgestone).
This also perhaps helps to explain why his team mates struggled to get close to him. They were out of their comfort zone somewhat. Being "number 2" doesn't mean you have to be slower.
A very young Schumacher who was schooled in '93, despite having a Benneton with a Ford engine that had at least 25 bhp more than Senna's McLaren ford engine.
Schooled? In his second full-time season, by two blokes, who at the time, were three time world champions?
You're off your rocker mate.
If Schumacher was as good as you imply, then surely he could be stellar in only his 2nd season
It's quite clear you have no respect for arguably the sport's greatest champion.
Senna was an absolute magician behind the wheel, and could do things no other could do...but Schumacher did too, and much more consistently. He literally pulled the greatest racing team in history out of the doldrums and turned them into a professional, well oiled winning machine. On almost every stat you can pull, Schumacher has a better relative record.
Oh, and if you count Schumacher as cheat, then Senna is a cheat as well. You can't spin it any other way, no matter how hard you try...unless you're happy to drown in your own hypocrisy.
I take it you weren't alive way back in '94 and are a "new" fan.
LOL, this should be good...*grabs popcorn*
Could you imagine a driver today doing what Stirling Moss at the Portuguese GP in '58
Judging by his Canadian performance, maybe Seb? :P
Going from driving a Clio rs to a Senna. who can say no to that. lol
Dan's got taste, he'll choose the 720S ;)
When is the last time Ferrari have had such a young driver line up as they'll have in 2021?? Leclerc will be 23, Sainz 26 at season start.
It's a bit of a shame as a Ferrari fan that Seb couldn't cut the mustard. He was supposed to be the next Schumacher for Ferrari, winning titles and bringing joy back to the tifosi...but he has crashed and burned pretty badly to be honest.
Not helped by some relatively poor machinery and strategic decisions, but the great drivers make their own decisions and have the team follow them, rather than the other way around.
I also think Ferrari lost some key people over the years who have left too big a gap to fill thus far. Rob Smedley and Chris Dyer are arguably the biggest, along with James Allison who left the team after the death of his wife, and then popped up at Mercedes. Says a lot about the environment within the two teams in my view.
Ferrari are still without doubt the greatest team in F1, but they've got some serious work to do before they match the current Mercedes outfit. Signing Leclerc initially, and then securing him long term was their first move in the right direction for many years.
A final note on Seb. I think he is probably secretly heartbroken that he couldn't deliver for Ferrari, and I think Michael probably feels the same way.
Ferrari are very inefficient. Despite a huge Marlboro sponsorship and wildly generous FOM historic payment, Ferrari hardly win anything.
They do run an incredibly successful niche road car business, and 20% of their sponsorship money is diverted directly to that road car business. They're also the most successful team in F1 history...if you look at the sport as a whole, ALL F1 teams are inefficient.
For all we know, there could be another adjustment in the tops teams, as history has shown up, teams can rise and fall very easily.
Ricciardo, in a resurgent McLaren, with Mercedes power...sounds like a recipe for a title challenge!
Let's hope McLaren get the chassis right.
Vettel and Hamilton at Mercedes would be fun to see...imagine the amount of backtracking that would take place if Vettel beat Lewis!!
The problem with ideas like this is Vettel brings no value to the team so its never going to happen .
A German driving for a German manufacturer? Yeah, he brings nothing at all...
Webber for example has not driven in anger in Oz since retirement.
He doesn't live in Australia, so why would he drive here?
His Porsche work keeps him busy, and his pockets lined no doubt.
I don't see Ricciardo in Indycar either...if anything I see him trying NASCAR if he goes to the US.
I definitely see him doing at least one Bathurst 1000, and he might even give GT3 or similar a go.
I'd say by about 40 he'll be done with competitive racing though.
Did anyone catch the legends cup online races last weekend? Fernando Alonso was driving for the first time.
He was super quick, but had a couple of shunts, fell down the field and rage quit in both races. LOL, exactly the sort of online racer I thought he'd be! Winning or nothing. Funny to watch.
If you've got the time, have a quick look on Youtube. Most of the drivers have cameras set up as well which is interesting. Mika Salo looks horrendously stressed out when driving!!
Some people would consider this to be merely a European championship
I'd love to see more Grade 1 Euro circuits used:
Algarve/Portimao – Portugal
Imola – San Marino
Magny-Cours – France
Jerez – Spain
Istanbul Park – Turkey
Mugello – Italy
Surely a deal could be struck with any of these circuits?? Doing two GPs on certain tracks will be horribly boring.
Hamilton had 6 engine failures (more than all other Mercedes engine powered drivers on the grid combined) in 2016, plus a gearbox failure.
Lewis had two retirements all season in 2016, Malaysia and Spain...and Spain was due to a crash.
He had two ers failures which put him down the grid in two races
An ERS failure isn't an engine failure in my view. The only genuine engine failure was Malaysia.
I see the reasoning now though.
Remove those reliability issues and Hamilton would have 7 WDCs now.
That old chestnut. Could be said of many drivers that reliability issues or "if this then that" type scenarios would have changed their results or trophy cabinets. Hell, Schumacher could've had 12 or 13 titles if Ferrari had built cars the equal of the F2004 every season! (Tongue firmly in cheek btw)
I was cheering Rosberg on as he is a top bloke! :)
He came across a little strange in pressers sometimes, but the "post-F1" Rosberg is a great bloke.
When his wife walked in during his live stream recently in her robe was hilarious.
That's a fair call, although not hardly a game changing advantage, is it?
Well, when you consider how much of an advantage Ferrari gained by essentially having Bridgestone in their back pocket for a few years...could potentially have been more of an advantage than first thought.
Only 70 from the F1 team.
Over a quarter of their entire workforce. Pretty big cuts.
Even 70 from the F1 team is substantial.
And AFAIK the F1 team is not part of the Ferrari car company.
Scuderia Ferrari is the racing division of luxury Italian auto manufacturer Ferrari
It is a separate entity, but of the same holding company. Quite an interesting set up actually (I Googled the below!!)
Ferrari S.p.A and Scuderia Ferrari S.p.A are the components of Ferrari S.p.A which is part of Ferrari N.V (a holding company).
"Ferrari" as you and I know it, is majority public property, with about 67% owned by public shareholders.
Piero Ferrari owns 10%, with Exor N.V owning the remaining 23%.
Exor N.V also has interests in Juventus FC, Fiat Chrysler Automobiles and several media companies.
Exor N.V is controlled by the Agnelli family who have approx 53% of the shares.
Instead of evolving the category into a true Driver based championship, they are simply making the category more ambiguous in the hope it will make lesser teams more competitive.
It's funny how they are trying to spin things. F1 has ALWAYS been about the engineering, but now that there is an inequality caused by teams spending on engineering, it's all of a sudden about more competitive racing.
In my view, competitive racing has always just been a by-product of the engineering battle.
see Canadian Lawrence Stroll take over part of @MercedesAMGF1
Jesus, don't tell me we're going to see Lance Stroll in a Mercedes...
Get all the F1 Drivers to race in matched 250cc Superkarts.
I would pay good money to watch that. I still think you'd see the same blokes at the front as most of them have had a considerable karting career, but equal machinery is what we all want to see.
Kind of bummed that Top Gear (in its most recognisable guise anyway) finished up, as watching the F1 drivers in the "reasonably priced car" was a decent measure of their worth.
Current 8 races are going to favour the Mercedes.
But with only 8 races...1 DNF and even a lucky Bottas can win the WDC.
I've got my tin foil hat on...I think the whole thing is being tailored to manufacture a 7th world title for Hamilton :P
At least we will have racing, right now i'll watch them do the same track 8 times in a row.
Is it really racing when everything is weighted towards one competitor? HMMM!!!! :P
If the FIA had any "balls", it would stage a special race at Monaco where the drivers would run 1960s F1 cars
Should make Monaco a night race. Would be amazing.
Watched the replay of Canada 2011 over the weekend. Forgot how good that GP was.
Changeable weather is definitely a good way to spice up the racing and strategy calls.
In a pretty poor Mercedes car, Schumacher turned back the clock! I thought he was in with a chance of winning at one point!
Such a good race to watch, and Brundle and DC on commentary, Crofty free, was a nice change too!
Most races should be staged as far away from dry summer weather as possible.
Then it just becomes more predictable that wet weather will happen. Teams will start asking for rain testing sessions and it will snowball out of control. The complete randomness is what helps.
Perhaps moving some GPs around the calendar would help, but it needs to be logistically possible. Obviously Australia is easier to bookend a season rather than mid-year when rain is a much higher possibility.
I actually think a rotating calendar would be a really good idea. Venues often struggle to fund events, so making them happen every two years in some places may be more feasible long term.
I'd say a rotating roster of about 30 circuits, with some GPs locked in on an annual basis (maybe 12-15?), such as Australia, Monaco, Monza, Silverstone etc.
Then the championship could include tracks like Imola, Portimao, Brands Hatch, Hockenheim, Nurburgring etc every couple of years on a rotating basis. Keeps things interesting, opens up options for more circuits in more places to be used periodically, and keeps teams on their toes a bit in terms of car development.
I'm sure contracts could be agreed where the circuit holds three races in six years or something. Easier to lock in the future of F1 with less committment from venues.
Rotating schedules would also make it more challenging and more interesting for the Drivers.
Absolutely, might also draw bigger crowds as the fans essentially have two years to save up if they need to in order to purchase tickets. It's not starving them of the sport, but something that happens once every two years might be considered a special event in the eyes of many, and something they might jump at.
I've noticed the Algarve is only FIA Level 2. There were rumours in the press that we might have been headed there.
It is most definitely a Grade 1 circuit.
https://f1i.com/news
Those that can have alternative times of the year available may be more highly desired. i.e. if Melbourne can only host in March, but Singapore could do March, June, or September then they'll more likely get an event every year.
I think the F1 higher ups would have a core group of events that would "need" to be maintained due to location and also historical reasons.
I can't see Silverstone or Monaco or Monza losing a GP on that basis, but I could see Singapore being dropped to a biennial event, same as Bahrain, Baku, Russia etc.
Rotate at least four additional events over three year cycles ...
Bahrain / Singapore / USA / Mexico / Baku / Germany / France / Belgium / Portugal / India / Hungary
Is there another track in Belgium I'm not aware of?
I'd rather see BOTH German tracks in, as they are now, rotating every year.
France should be on the calendar, but not at Paul Ricard. Back to Magny-Cours, or even better, use Circuit de la Sarthe.
If they could make the French GP just after Le Mans, might help decrease costs and utilise the infrastructure already there for that event. The revised Zandvoort looks like a good track, but it's super narrow!
Agree on most of the options for annual events. Not sure about Sepang...the weather randomness is great for racing, but I'm not a huge fan of the circuit. The track width is an advantage for racing though.
I'd love to see Istanbul Park return. Turn 8 is one of the best corners in world motorsport, and the modern cars would be pretty much flat at top speed through there.
It's a great conversation this. F1 is really spoilt for choice when it comes to great racing circuits.
Majority can or have offered amazing racing in the past, so if they can finally get the formula right, we should be good!
I might have a proper look over the weekend at weather patterns historically and try and put together a two-season calendar that makes sense for racing, see what you all think.
San Marino
The circuit management have said they are ready, it would be a San Marino government decision that would stop it happening.
More likely an F1 greed issue.
San Marino apparently have quite stringent conditions and protocols for COVID-19, which would stop them approaching initially...but yes, then the invoice from F1 would come in!
the British GP used to rotate between Silverstone and Brands Hatch.
Indeed. Don't forget Donington as well.
For a long time though, Silverstone has been the "iconic" British track and arguably the most important.
It is also the only FIA Grade 1 circuit in the UK now, so not much choice!
Same with Paul Ricard, China, Spain, Germany, Austria, Monza. Trouble is that for most of the them, the alternate configurations are completely unsuitable for F1.
For a lot of them, only certain configurations are FIA Grade 1. Red Bull Ring for example, only the GP circuit is Grade 1.
McLarens are a brilliant road car, but terrible quality issues and reliability
On some models, definitely. Most supercars have similar issues due to their extreme nature...doesn't help that a lot of morons buy them and drive them into the ground.
The 720S is my favourite McLaren. The P1 is too mad, the Senna is too ugly, and the F1 is too gimmicky.
Interesting that McLaren are suffering. I wonder if any of it is due to any sort of Honda hangover?
They went with very little sponsorship income for several seasons...
They are not designed to be used as daily drives.
This may be true of genuine hypercars, like the Senna or P1, but most other McLaren cars are built for more durability these days. The 570 and 600 series for example, are just fast road cars. Comparable to the Ferrari 488, Lamborghini Huracan and Porsche 911 Turbo.
Most of the exotic manufacturers have "track spec" stuff, but also road car models to sell more volume of and keep their sales ticking over. That sounds a little simplistic for car manufacturers where the entry price is about $500,000, but they need to sell their more affordable models to stay alive.
Ironically the Honda NSX or a Ferrari would seem to be a more suitable daily driver. :)
Absolutely. I've been lucky enough to have a quick spin in a Ferrari 488, and it is comfortable, very easy to drive and I can see how it would be very manageable as a daily driver. It's a bit wider than most cars, but other than that, amazing.
Very docile when cruising but wakes up immediately when you give it a squirt. Isn't Powerball $30 million tonight?? :P
It's great that you love McLaren, but it seems like more exotic car buyers love Ferrari instead... Which is a bit of a problem for McLaren!
Spoilt for choice these days. Lamborghini, Audi, Mercedes, Nissan, Ferrari, McLaren, Ford, Chevrolet, Dodge, Aston Martin...they all make fast road cars, as well as some more high end stuff.
The uber-rich can go Pagani, Koenigsegg, Bugatti etc...then you have the tuners, like Brabus, Alpina etc.
So many options out there.
He is a whinger and an agitator.
Only when things aren't going his way.
He'll be the clear number one over Ocon, a lot will depend on the Renault package.
If it isn't quite good enough initially, but shows improvement, he'll be happy enough. That was his problem at McLaren second time around...little to no improvement until it was too late.
I had a chat with a work colleague today and the topic of drivers in different eras came up and who is better etc.
Then the question was raised. If you could create your dream grid of 24 cars, which teams and drivers would be on it?
I've been thinking about it, but not 100% there yet...what do you lot think? Any drivers, any teams, but the drivers must've driven for the team!
A few obvious ones for me so far...
Ferrari:
Michael Schumacher
Niki Lauda
Mercedes:
Lewis Hamilton
Juan Manuel Fangio
McLaren:
Ayrton Senna
Alain Prost
Lotus:
Jim Clark
Graham Hill
Williams:
Nigel Mansell
Nelson Piquet
Still thinking!!
Renault might be pulling out of F1 in the coming few seasons
I think the cost cap might see them stick around.
Should make the annual budget easier to cope with, and will mean that more emphasis is placed on engineering rather than just throwing money at the project.
Agreed. You wont get the FIA punishing Ferrari or Mercedes though.
Who are the reserve drivers for Ferrari and Mercedes?
Vettel is perhaps around the level of Mansell, Rosberg Jr or Button
I rate him above them, just for continued dominance over a sustained period.
No one was really close to him in 2011-2013 (or his RBR to be fair).
Mansell is a touch overrated in my view, as most British drivers are.
Vettel only won so many championships because of a long-running dominant car
Hasn't Hamilton done pretty much the same thing?
Schumacher? Hakkinen? Alonso? It's been the same for a long time now...
Schwartzman
Going early on him! Only had two F2 weekends so far!
Schumacher is more likely to get the Alfa Romeo drive. He's doing better than some would have you believe in F2 in what is a top quality field.
Haas should really get two new drivers. Perez is a great option if he gets the boot from RP/AM.
Russell to RBR? He's a Merc product, the only place he's going is Mercedes...if Bottas can't keep up his end of the bargain this season, he could get the boot as well and end up with Perez at Haas!
I'd say:
Ferrari – Leclerc / Sainz
Mercedes – Hamilton / Russell
McLaren – Ricciardo / Norris
Renault – Alonso / Ocon
Aston Martin – Vettel / Stroll
Alpha Tauri – Gasly / Daruvala or Tsunoda (whoever does better in F2 this season)
Alfa Romeo – Giovinazzi / Schumacher
Haas – Perez / Bottas
Red Bull – Verstappen / Albon
Williams – Latifi / Nissany
Kvyat, Magnussen and Grosjean get the boot, Kimi retires.
Mercedes have signed Bottas for 2021.
Why would they risk ruining this setup with a new driver.
Hamilton isn't going to be around forever, and having a ready replacement who is comfortable within the team once he leaves is essential. Bottas is not signed yet, and is definitely not a replacement for Hamilton.
Getting a young, fast driver with a bit of experience (like George Russell) would be a very smart move for Mercedes.
He has shown in testing for Mercedes that he's quick enough, and already knows a lot of the team and would have some idea of how they operate.
A year or so alongside Hamilton would give him the knowledge and first hand experience required to lead a team that wants to challenge for championships on both fronts on a regular basis, from a guy who has a proven track record.
Senior + junior driver is the classic pairing too.
Yep, Schumacher did wonders for Massa and Rosberg (by the admission of both drivers).
Still hurts that Felipe didn't win in 2008! When asked to describe Schumacher in one word, he said "hero".
Trying to pretend that living in Monaco is not a tax choice is quite brazen. Or Switzerland for that matter.
Along with the tax breaks, F1 drivers can blend in pretty well in Monaco, and be largely "anonymous".
Most drivers would be mobbed if they lived in England and went outside their front door.
There's plenty of other countries, e.g. in Africa, where F1 drivers would have complete anonymity. But you don't see them living in any of those countries.
Yeah, because living in Africa would be convenient for a European based sport...
Schumacher 308 starts 91 wins
Hamilton 253 starts 86 wins
Shows how much the disastrous Mercedes comeback damaged Schumacher's record.
If you remove the Mercedes stuff, he had 250 starts for 91 wins...amazing considering he only won two races in his first two and a bit seasons!
https://the-race.com/formula
Looks like we might get Imola and Portimao after all.
If F1 goes to Algarve it should be a good race as well. That circuit looks like a cracker.
It's great fun on a simulator! So are both Imola and Mugello as well.
Hopefully they can put on good GPs and we get them on a regular basis.
One of the things that has changed at Imola is the last chicane is gone and it's a long straight from Rivazza to Tamburello. Might see some overtaking there.
That's a different configuration of the track. Imola has always had that, but the chicane is put back in for F1.
I've now lost count of the times that Lewis has gotten himself into trouble on social media.
I'd wager more people know of Lewis for this reason rather than his F1 exploits, which is unfortunate really.
Lewis & Bono?
Bonno engineered Schumi at Mercedes, as assistant to Mark Slade originally, but then as race engineer.
Not sure how you would read that one...
Kazuki Nakajima has done pretty well outside F1. Won Formula Nippon (which is an extremely competitive championship), won Le Mans and has done well in WEC.
Japanese drivers are drift kings as well. Plenty of amazing drivers in that discipline, biggest of all being the "Drift King" Keiichi Tsuchiya.
its still 7 months away, does anyone think the Australian GP in Melbourne, might not go ahead ?
Since some Victorians still can't seem to follow simple instructions, I think we may be without a GP in 2021...unless it gets shuffled to the back end of the season.
what do people feel would be the spread of laptime difference between the fastest and the slowest at say Silverstone for a qualy lap?
1. Verstappen
2. Leclerc
3. Hamilton
4. Ricciardo
5. Vettel
6. Sainz
7. Russell
8. Norris
9. Bottas
10. Albon
11. Perez
12. Gasly
13. Raikkonen
14. Ocon
15. Magnussen
16. Stroll
17. Kvyat
18. Giovinazzi
19. Grosjean
20. Latifi
Spread would be about 7-8 tenths.
Senna seriously considered not racing in 90 after what went on in 89 at Suzuka and over the winter break.
So he had a whinge, nothing new. He was lucky to keep that title. Schumacher was stripped of his points in 97 and his was nowhere near as blatant as Senna.
Unless I am very much mistaken ... the great Mr. Walker who has literally seen it all, does believe HAM is the greatest, and he gives the best reason of all to support his view.
Old Murray must've forgotten about "Spygate"...
The only thing I like about the hybrids is the turbo whine, and the Honda sounds pretty good at low revs (onboard at least https://youtu.be/M9bMGzQZ00g).
But they are nothing compared to the old high revving V10s and V12s...even the V8s weren't bad. I found the blown exhaust quite cool to listen to.
I reckon they should do that for every race . That means the teams would have to get up to speed pretty quick
If they have a technical failure or accident though, they're going into qualifying blind.
Same as they do if they have one in P3
Well not really, because they'd have had two sessions on Friday.
Most set up work is done before the weekend via simulator and historical data anyway, but still, tough gig if you lose the only practice session of the weekend.
Hamilton doesn't have the capacity to think about strategy and planning whilst also driving the car.
He's lucky if he can get a radio message out.
Schumacher in particular was very good at this. He had that extra capacity in his brain to be able to think about the race and how to make a strategy work, whilst still driving the wheels off the thing. Very pro-active.
Hamilton is driven completely by his engineer and team, he just simply drives how they ask him to and reacts to any given situation.
example?
Ross Brawn has spoken of Michael's ability to talk (a lot!!) on the radio, asking about other drivers and things like their tyre wear, pace, when they are pitting etc in order to adapt his strategy if required. It's not like he was doing a maths exam behind the wheel, but he could manage a lot of "data" whilst still driving a grand prix.
Brawn is familiar with this trait, having worked with Michael Schumacher during their 10 years together at Ferrari and marvelled at the seven-times world champion's ability to be thinking about the bigger picture. "Michael would be talking on the radio all the time," Brawn said. "He'd be asking about the other drivers relative to him, when they were going to make their pit stops, what tyres they were on and generally keeping himself informed."
Look how many different nationalities are in F1 and junior series . Pretty diverse already . His issue is BLM
To be honest, it has not been as diverse as it could be. Only 39 nationalities have competed in F1, out of almost 200.
That's a bit nit-picky though. I think it would be nice to see more Asian and African drivers though, in what has been a largely European dominated sport.
Brawn says if Hamypoo hadn't come over from McLaren they would have hired Hulk. Anyone want to rework the stats?
No chance Hulk loses a WDC to Rosberg :P
These different engine modes serve no real world purpose.
Have you not heard of "sport mode" in a road car?
Looked into getting a ESC control module
If you want to use different engine maps, you're probably better off getting something aftermarket that is supported by vendors. Depending on the vehicle, there are so many outfits world wide who can help, can tune the car remotely and give you what you want from the engine.
Back on topic, bye bye party mode!!
thought on why Mercedes destroy tyres in the heat
I think it is probably a combination stiffer springs and bars, and tyre pressures.
Their chassis and suspension geometry is that good they can run stiffer springs and bars for more grip without affecting the ride quality and ability to ride kerbs, but this has an effect on tyre wear.
Why do they use that steering wheel / display combo?
I've read online that it is due to the inertia of a heavier wheel, meaning a lighter wheel is more responsive.
Not sure that would please too many Schumi / Ferrari fans ;)
I'd much rather watch two legends go at it than one future legend lap almost the entire field week in and week out.
HAM would not spank ANY team mate in the same car.
I'd say prime Schumi, prime Vettel and prime Senna would all beat prime Lewis over the course of a championship.
If all was well, prime Alonso would possibly beat him as well, but he's probably the most volatile of that group.
If only we could make it happen!
Turkey is set to join a 17 race calendar
Nice, probably won't help the racing...but turn eight should see some serious G-forces.
Sad news. At least it survives, for now. Guess we wont see Claire Williams anymore.
Dorilton recognises and appreciates the importance of respecting and retaining Williams’ heritage and culture and is committed to maintaining its identity. The team will continue to race and compete under the Williams brand, with the chassis name remaining unchanged. Dorilton has no plans to re-locate the team from Grove, its traditional home.
Sounds like things will remain as is.
The Victorian Governemnt has flagged it's intention to extend the state of emergency for another 12 months. So you can kiss goodbye to the Melbourne Grand Prix next year :-(
I've got the perfect street circuit layout in Perth...does anyone have Chase Carey's number?
Seems weird that Spa, being such a well regarded track, didn’t get 2 races. Bit of a pity.
Might be due to COVID-19 restrictions, or other logistical reasons.
Isn't Spa one of the circuits with bugger all decent accommodation close to the circuit?
Yep, I can see it now. New pit building at Langley Park...front straight down the beautiful Swan River on Riverside Drive...Elizabeth Quay backdrop...night race in Perth...oh yes!!!
The Verstappen results are interesting. Nowhere near as good as everyone makes him out to be in terms of end product.
Should F1 use the same fuel for all cars?
I don't think so. I think the teams should be able to choose a tyre supplier as well.
Pretty confident it is likely to be Rosso Corsa !!!
Since that is the colour used most predominantly since the 1920's, your confidence is well placed.
It was replaced on the F1 cars 1996 by the "day-glo" orange colour, as apparently it looks better on television.
They seem to have reverted back to a more traditional red colour since the late 2000's, probably due to better quality, high definition TV.
Wow, the door hadn't even had a chance to hit Perez on the way out and his replacement has been confirmed!
Cut throat!
as long as Kimi is still there!!
He'll be replaced by whomever wins the F2 title...or maybe even a top 3 finisher in the F2 title.
It would be a very Ferrari thing to do to have Schumacher dropped into the Alfa, even if Illot or Shwartzman (or both!) beat him to the F2 title.
McLaren definitely improved their aero and fixed their issues last year, but they have not really gained a lot this year, perhaps even gone backwards.
I disagree, I just think Danny Ric is that good.
Has shown over the last few races that he is still one of the elite drivers in F1. Huge upgrade on Sainz.
I'd say he is only slightly shaded by Lewis, but on par with Max right now.
I would seriously love to see what someone other than that pleb Bottas could do in that second Merc.
Will never happen, Mercedes wouldn't want the Hammypoo show to be interrupted.
Where else could Aus hold it? The Bend? That'd be grim.
Albert Park is the only FIA Grade One facility in Australia.
it is, but not sure how much would need to be done for "The Bend" to get to Grade 1
It is currently a Grade 2 facility, can hold WEC events
No chance. It's in the middle of nowhere. Magny-Cours was the same.
But imho, the FIA doesn't have any business in controlling individual competitors outside the domain of the actual competition. That is the domain of the Teams themselves.
I disagree. The FIA host the championship and are the regulators of the F1 World Championship.
They should be able to say what goes in their own championship.
Hamilton was competing in an FIA sanctioned and regulated event, so has to abide by their rules and regs.
The team can tell him what to do WITHIN that event, but they don't make the rules.
But the ONLY place FIA can regulate individual competitors ... is on the race track.
Well no, that's where the disagreement is.
If the FIA set regulations around what a competitor can or can't wear during a race weekend, then a driver must follow suit.
The team have no control over that, and ultimately, a driver IS bound by the regulations set by the FIA.
The team controls what the driver can or can't do, but ALL of that falls under FIA regs, if and when the driver is representing the F1 World Championship.
FIA said this:
"The FIA supports any form of individual expression in accordance with the fundamental principles of its Statutes."
I wasn't commenting on the ability of the FIA to do anything on this matter, more commenting on the fact that they ARE able to regulate the activity of a competitor, above and beyond what that individual's team choose to do.
I haven't read enough into this issue to be fair, but if they WANT to introduce regulations to stop it happening again, they can do so and drivers and all team members would need to abide.
I'll take your word on the current statutes, but in my view, it was foolish at best from Hamilton to promote this particular incident. Keep it generic, don't try and invoke any political agendas or antagonists, and the message will be received more willingly. This sort of "side taking" for lack of a better term will only cause division...as seems to be the case already.
I say let people say what they want, and let others disagree if they want too. And while I don't necessarily like all the crap distracting from the racing, I don't think this incident really did change the racing.
Maybe not amongst enthusiasts, but the only thing the general population are really talking about from the Tuscan GP is Hamilton and his choice of attire.
Last thing I want is an F1 Grid full of Robots who just talk about racing!
Hamilton is one of the most robotic drivers in the field!!
Every single time "Firstly, I really want to thank the team, and everyone back at the factory"...the same, inane drivel every time he speaks.
As much as I don't really like him, Max at least says it as it is and is happy to run his mouth.
Ricciardo is similar and will usually say what he wants to.
Who'd you rather have a beer with ?
Who would you like to have driving if your life depended on it?
Danny Ric on both, funnily enough, closely followed by Max (he may or may not be growing on me).
Williams have been building racing cars for 40 years (nearly 20 years at the time), the idea Williams would deliberately build and send out a defective racing car is ridiculous.
Using a stop-gap measure like cutting down a steering column and welding it back together was pretty standard "engineering" for the time period, but in hindsight, they would've acted differently I believe.
Ocon must "accept" Ricciardo ability.
I think it's more like "Ocon must accept that he's just a bit shit".
Ooof, massive news.
Surely Merc won't give RBR engines...and Renault/Alpine might be off the cards due to Horner's history with Cyril...
Unless another manufacturer comes in, Ferrari is potentially the only option?
This should be fun to watch!!
It is surprising IMO, people prefer V10s to V12s which is rather odd. Such a shame that Ferrari could not retain the 3.0 V12 and make it work as a winning proposition
Probably just reflective of the demographic. A lot of fans on that website wouldn't remember the V12 symphony as much as they would the V10 from the Schumacher era. I like both, but the V10 just edges it for me...just.
One of the most impressive GP2 records there is.
Not always a valid sign though. Liuzzi dominated F3000 (which was essentially GP2 back then) but he was toilet when he got to F1.
Tier 1 – God Tier
No current drivers – wouldn't be many in here if you went all time
Tier 2 – Championship winner (in the right machinery)
Hamilton
Vettel
Lec
Ricciardo
Russell
Verstappen
Raikkonen
Tier 3 – Potential race winner if things go their way
Norris
Sainz
Perez
Gasly
Hulkenberg
Bottas
Tier 4 – Can hold their own, but not consistent enough
Kvyat
Albon
Tier 5 – Pleb tier
Magnussen
Grosjean
Ocon
Stroll
Latifi
Giovinazzi
I based this on career performances and potential performances combined.
Every single driver on the grid can win if things go their way, we should really rank our drivers on our own perceived perception of their pure speed ability and/or racecraft, and leave machiney out IMHO.
You're missing the point and being too literal.
Why isnt Bottas higher?
Fourth season in a team that has basically been unrivalled in the hybrid era, and he's only got 9 wins.
Even with a team mate as good as Hamilton, that is nowhere near good enough.
Verstappen has 9 career wins to put some perspective on it.
Compare to Rosberg, who wasn't really THAT good...and he beat Hamilton to the title.
Imagine what Ricciardo, Verstappen, Vettel, Leclerc or even Russell could do in that space of time in that car.
Anyone who can win 7 races in a row against him is pretty decent.
He's nowhere near God tier though, and he still beat Hamilton in the same car.
I think he has done a decent job, but Perez is more worthy of that seat if someone has to go to make room for Vettel.
Of course he is, but he doesn't have Daddy running the team unfortunately.
I think Checo will get a seat somewhere though. He's too good and brings too much money not to!
I'd put :
Max
........
Hamilton
A 9 race winner (from well over 100 starts) sits above a 6 (soon to be 7) time world championship winner???
Really???
Looking at their success against quality team mates and the cars they've had to drive and the way they they have driven them is more telling.
Ricciardo spanked Verstappen and Vettel who was coming off four straight world titles, so should be in God tier by that measure...
If you're going all time God tier (in no particular order)...
Schumacher
Senna
Clark
Prost
Fangio
Lauda
Fin.
Montoya tier 2 HAHAHAHAHAHAHAHA says it all
Montoya was a great driver, and did reasonably well in F1.
Genuinely competed against Schumacher and a pretty handy Ferrari team.
Won F3000 title, won CART/Indy title, won Indy 500 (twice, 15 years apart), won Race of Champions, won IMSA title...
30 podiums in 94 races in F1 with 7 wins...pretty much all within the Schumacher era...that stacks up pretty well for me.
The triple crown IS tough to achieve, probably why only one bloke has done it in history!
Three races across three disciplines, two of which are endurance classics...massive achievement.
Anyone believe any of the rumours than Hamilton will hang up his helmet at the end of this season?
Can't see it myself seeing as though he wouldn't be able to break through 100 wins this season...but there is A LOT of rumours and uncertainty. Quite interesting.
He won an Indy 500 sure
He's won it twice, and had a third place as well.
He was arguably better in F1 than in Indy for most of it
No. He's had six wins and 10 poles in Indycar from 170 races...much better than his F1 record.
Matching Michael is a great way to leave it.
I think the only record he might not get is the number of fastest laps.
He's about 20-odd behind from memory.
unproven Russell
British F4, GP3 and F2 champion. Never beaten by a teammate in qualifying in F1.
But he's unproven...wow.
I'd pick George over Max at Mercedes if I was Toto and wanted to replace Lewis.
Bringin Max in automatically means you're choosing a number one driver, limiting your options for the second seat.
Whilst Max is definitely one of the best in the field, I think he'd be disruptive for Mercedes.
George is the perfect company man, has great speed and has proven his ability to win championships, and has been super quick every time he's tested for M-AMG-P.
Would be a megastar in a Mercedes, guaranteed.
Unproven at the top level in F1, there's been many lower category winners that haven't quite made the grade in a top team
There are also unproven drivers who have excelled in F1. Raikkonen and Verstappen to name a couple.
Verstappen has never won a championship of any description outside of karting. Kimi won a couple of Formula Renault titles, but had only 23 car races under his belt when he stepped up to F1.
A feelgood vid for all the Dan fans from F1 official channel
I'd love to see Danny Ric in a Merc, start back of the grid and just watch him go through the entire field!
Looking like no Vietnam in 2021
And Brazil stays at Sao Paulo
They could slip Imola into the 25th April slot easily :)
Although Brawn the team got a championship, as Merc it was going nowwhere.
Considering Mercedes were working on their 2014 package WELL before Hamilton or Wolff arrived, I find that difficult to agree with.
When was the last time in an F1 race they didn't use the dry weather tyres at all during the race?
Britain 2008 I reckon.
Sainz
He's probably breathing a sigh of relief that Ferrari seem to be improving and are bringing a "new" engine for next season.
Over the years many drivers have simply dreamed of driving for Ferrari in F1. Winning races and Championships is an absolute bonus.
Maybe in the past, but the prestige has been lost in modern times unfortunately.
If I was an F1 driver I'd still be honoured to drive for the prancing horse, but most drivers now prefer success over prestige.
Hamilton would already be/have been at Ferrari if the prestige and honour was still there, but he's chosen success at Mercedes.
F1 race cars aren't Production cars.
The discussion was about road cars...Tesla I believe...which probably couldn't even last a lap around the 'Ring in "ballistic" mode or whatever they call it.
Hard to argue against it but I still think there's a question around what happens in a rollover situation and the possibility of the halo making it harder for the driver to get out. Yes I know there is a test for this.
Fair point. If Grosjean's car had landed upside down instead of wedged in a barrier, he'd have struggled to get out...although it was a unique situation as there was substantially less weight as the car was in two pieces...I don't think I'd like to see a car, on fire, upside down and a driver still in the cockpit...
Did Haas have a reserve driver in Bahrain?
Yep, one of them had a ripping race in F2. Louis Deletraz.
I believe their "main" reserve is Pietro Fittipaldi.
He also mentioned the possibility that maybe Schumacher or Mazepin could jump in the car early – that would seem the smarter choice to me since next year's driver would gain experience a bit earlier.
Mazepin maybe, but Schumacher has a title to win!
Most Drivers would have Retired from F1 after such an incident.
I agree to some extent, but I think the "most" part would be closer to "some".
A lot of the current grid are proper racers and would be cautious, but I reckon they'd suit up again if involved in a fiery crash like Lauda.
You're right though, some would probably think it wasn't worth the risk.
Can you see anyone of the current crop doing the same thing? I don't know!
Well old mate Hamilton keeps coming back for more even though he has completely dominated for several seasons.
Strange as it may sound, it is mentally difficult to keep motivated when things are happening fairly easily for you.
If anything, he's even tougher now than he was 5 years ago!
I also think most of the drivers are mentally tough these days. They have to be to cope with the season length, the endless media committments, travel and everything that comes with being a driver these days. It's a different kind of toughness, spirit and committment, but still pretty difficult to handle I'd imagine.
You're right about Lauda though, and to be fair, I'd suggest there has never been a more courageous or brave act than him coming back so quickly from that horrific accident. He wore it as a badge of honour really didn't he?
Did you hear the F1 Driver Radio just after Grosjean's crash? I posted the youtube line on the Race Thread.
LEC and Kimi didn't sound too mentally tough. Maybe they were just in shock.
Well we didn't really have the benefit of team radio back in the 70s, but I'd imagine Lauda's rivals would've been concerned for his well-being when they saw his car burst into flames!
And again, it isn't very often we see such a big crash, so it is much more shocking and confrontational. Charles in particular probably had flashbacks immediately to his good friend Anthoine Hubert.
Drivers of yesteryear went out there with much higher expectations of their own potential death, as morbid as that sounds.
Would be awesome to see George get a go in that Merc...but I think we'll be stuck with old mate Stoffel.
Oscar Piastri has been announced at Prema in F2 for 2021.
Last piece of the puzzle is Mick Schumacher to Haas.
Oh come on, Russell is an inexperienced rookie, he'll get no where near the class of Bottas who would be the next level to Hamilton, only accompanied by Max.
George has tested several times for Mercedes and was fastest at the Abu Dhabi test last season.
Has belted his teammates in qualifying and has been knocking on the door for a while now.
Formula 4, GP3 and F2 champion, which is more than Max or Valtteri ever did.
He's the perfect bloke to drop into Lewis' seat for a couple of races to show how good he really is.
Yeah yeah yeah, I just think competing against Lewis, Bottas along with Max are the clear next level in F1.
So Leclerc, Ricciardo, Sainz, Perez etc are just making up the numbers?
Bottas has shown he is not up to being a front runner and title challenger, and Max currently is all bark and no bite.
Can you honestly say that if Ricciardo was at Mercedes, and Charles at RBR, they wouldn't be in better positions?
That's a bit rough, he's taken many poles against the all time greatest F1 driver in history, that has to give Bottas some street cred?
Races aren't won on Saturday. Bottas had ZERO wins in 2018 in one of the most dominant F1 cars in history...ZERO wins.
And just a side note, I measure metrics more by qualifying results than race results, race results are more of a lottery to me as there's many outside influences that determine results.
Sure, but the talent of a racing driver is in his ability to drive fast AND beat his opposition on track. F1 isn't a time trial sport like rallying, you need to have racecraft, ability to adapt to different scenarios and strategy.
There is WAY more to being an F1 driver than simply driving fast.
By your metrics, surely Fangio, Clark and Senna are better than Hamilton? Hamilton has a very impressive pole to start ratio of 36.98%, but it pales into comparison with Senna at 40.12%, Clark at 45.21% and Fangio with a whopping 54.72%.
Oh, and for the record, Max Verstappen's ratio is 1.7%, and Leclerc's is 12.28%... ;)
He had no way of knowing Kyvat was there, he was looking for a gap like the 19 others, it was a racing incident.
And to be fair, he was probably surprised someone was behind him, having driven that Haas all season :P
Will be interesting if it happens. But I reckon Stoffel will get the drive. Business as usual.
George has already been confirmed mate :)
The Records that HAM has already set will NEVER be surpassed.
We ALL said the same thing in 2006 when Schumi first retired...that didn't age well!
the Mercedes beast will be so very different from the Williams car, it won't be easy at all for him.
You realise he's tested for Mercedes several times yes?
The only issue I see George having is his "fit" inside the car...apparently it's a tight squeeze for him!
I wonder if Russell performs Mercedes will just say flap it to Hamilton’s $40m(?) contract and out Russell on for $1m and pay out Williams contract.
More likely to give Bottas the boot I'd reckon, contract or no contract.
Has there been any father/son appearances with less space than that?
Not that I can think of. Next closest is probably the Verstappens at 12 years.
Do you remember Fangio's team mates?
Stirling Moss, Alberto Ascari, Wolfgang Von Trips just to name a few...
Well done if you're right, without looking it up, I have no clue.
Well it's part of F1 folklore really, the battles that Moss had with Fangio as his teammate...and the day he finally managed to beat him.
For many others, Hamilton started off as likeable in 2007 as an emerging ace much like Leclerc or Russell today, and THEN went downhill in likeability over the years through a series of unlikeable actions.
I've never liked him, but respect for him has grown due to his accomplishments.
To me, he's always come across as trying too hard. Not on track, but with his music, clothing and virtuous interests, not to mention his pandering to the camera with his post-race interviews.
But, you can't deny his talent.
demonstrated pretty clearly a lot of people did not think Massa was WDC material.
Massa had more wins, was robbed of another one or possibly two by an engine failure in Hungary and the Singapore debacle.
Hamilton shone in the wet, but that doesn't make him more worthy of the championship.
Bizarre that nobody said Mazepin must not get a drive until after his instagram gaff surfaced. Now everyone's hiding behind his driving.
I think a lot of people were calling for Illot or Shwartzman to get the other Haas seat, rather than saying Mazepin shouldn't get a drive.
Let's hope Red Bull can further improve their car, and Ferrari's new engine is as good as they seem to believe it is...otherwise 2021 is essentially a write off.
All in all ... Is this too much power for one person?
It is a fair bit of power for one bloke, but a lot of teams have a lot of power too.
Ferrari effectively have full or partial control of three teams and have a nest of drivers just waiting to be unleashed.
The Ferrari model is a bit more "organic" than Mercedes, as they utilise their powertrains to gain partnerships and then this naturally opens doors for their drivers.
Toto having stakes means he has a more personal interest, so the decision comes from a different perspective of one individual, rather than an entire team.
Either way, feels like the manufacturers HAVE to have stakes in more than one team or the smaller teams will just cease to exist. It would just be four or five teams...maybe that could work? Five teams, four cars each...actually no, podiums full of Mercs would get boring...but at least it might be a different driver on the top step?
Whether or not the small teams will ever compete on equal terms is anyone's guess.
Well as a customer they are behind the 8-ball to begin with, but as McLaren have shown, the customer can outperform the supplier.
I'd love to know how the entire process works. You'd assume the works team obviously have a philosophy on their car when designing the power unit, which would involve a lot more parts of the car and how they all fit together. How much info does the customer team actually receive, other than general dimensions and engine specs and the like?
I don't get the hate in his Red bull days
He was a bit more arrogant at stages, and the whole Multi 21 stuff didn't help.
I wasn't his biggest fan by any means back then, but as with Hamilton, respected his achievements.
As he aged and matured, then joined Ferrari, I grew to like him more and more. He seemed to really loosen up and be more about having fun with his racing than being a machine like he was for a large part of his RBR days.
Funnily enough, Max seems quite similar to Seb when he was at RBR. Danny Ric loosened him up a bit, but he seems to be back to his cranky, arrogant persona, albeit a little bit more mature now.
I think RBR actually has quite a toxic culture within the team, which extends to AlphaTauri somewhat due to the driver programmes and old mate Helmut.
Maybe it's how the media portrays them too. I don' see much bad stuff about RUS, seems to accepts his own fate and moves on. VET, VER & HAM blame everyone and anything except themselves. Don't see how that makes them more hungry for the win. They just sound like a bunch of whning mummys boy$. They have an image problem.
The "new breed" of drivers are quite humble and honest, Verstappen being the exception, but I think that comes from his old man. Media exposure was much less back in his day, so drivers could get away with venomous comments for the most part.
Russell, Norris, Leclerc all present very well, as does new boy Mick Schumacher. I'd say media training is high on the agenda for a lot of new recruits, particularly those from driver academies.
Verstappen probably suffers from being given too much too soon which has obviously gone to his head. He has matured but I couldn't see him being as controlled and measured as George Russell when the race was taken away from him.
Mazepin will surely mix things up a bit I'm sure, especially if the new Ferrari donk is decent and Haas can actually be somewhat competitive.
So that means you hated Senna , Prost , Schumacher , Mansell . They were all arrogant
I've never really HATED a driver, I just don't like some of them.
I was never really a Senna fan, it's always been Schumacher for me. I think because I watched him pretty much from the start, the "arrogance" he displayed just came across as supreme confidence in my eyes.
I thought Prost was a bit boring, and Mansell was just the guy in the best car, doing what he should've been doing.
Slightly biased yes, but I've always respected what drivers have accomplished, regardless of their machinery.
Next years Mcalren is really the only random we have to hope for.
Not really. If Ferrari's new engine is up to task, we could see Alfa Romeo and Haas joining the midfield teams and making a good show of things. It would also mean Ferrari may be able to challenge RBR and Mercedes again.
Winter testing will reveal to some extent if we'll be able to look forward to some decent racing in 2021.
just me but i think the points need to be redone the 7 pt gap between 1-2 is stupidly way to much , maybe points down to 12th and only 3 pts or 5 pts between 1-2
Agreed, and whilst we're at it, perhaps bring in more points for fastest lap and points for pole?
I think 3 points for fastest lap, and it can be from ANY position, none of the top ten malarkey.
Maybe 1 point for pole?
F1 is about rewarding Excellence. Not some random events.
Considering fastest lap and pole position are the most excellent laps of the race or qualifying, not sure what your issue is?
Sure, pole position gets best spot on the grid, but why not dangle another carrot in front of drivers to go for it?
Rewarding fastest lap might also give some of the lesser teams the incentive to nab a couple of points for driving a stonking lap in race trim.
The current formula is the issue, not the idea of rewards. If cars were running as fast as possible for every lap, there would be reward, but the absolute shambles F1 currently is means they seem like novelties.
Why should you be rewarded for pitting with minimal fuel and new tyres to try get an extra 3 points???
Would be a potential chance for lesser teams to shine and grab some very welcome championship points.
Do you think Alpha/Williams etc have the car to do that?
Perhaps not, but that goes back to my point about the formula being wrong at the moment.
However, on very low fuel, with softest tyres on, I'd reckon MOST if not all teams could do it.
Ricciardo's fastest lap was a 1:40.926 at Abu Dhabi.
Latifi's lap in Q1 was 1:38.443.
So, if given a bit more power for a lap or two, any team could do it.
Remember this? F1 season predictions made in the weeks leading up to the 2020 Australian Grand Prix. For my amusement, I had a look at the prediction categories and how things actually played out.
Nice one Else. Hopefully 2021 is a normal season and we can do this again!
The COVID-19 F1 title was a bit of a fizzer really wasn't it?
Saw a funny tweet about the "young driver" test currently running at Abu Dhabi.
It asks who you would choose to have testing for each team, but the drivers must be 30+!
Here's my thoughts (driver in brackets is the "heavily ambitious" option)
Mercedes: Nico Rosberg (Bernd Maylander)
Ferrari: Felipe Massa (Eddie Irvine)
Red Bull: Mark Webber (Christian Klien)
Racing Point: Nico Hulkenberg (Giancarlo Fisichella)
Renault: Fernando Alonso (Jarno Trulli)
McLaren: Jenson Button (Mika Hakkinen)
AlphaTauri: Sebastian Buemi (Jaime Alguersuari)
Haas: Romain Grosjean (Kevin Harvick)
Williams: Valtteri Bottas (Bruno Senna)
Alfa Romeo: Kimi Raikkonen (Heinz-Harald Frentzen)
Have some fun with it...
You're on the money when it comes to the drivers I think, but the car did improve a lot this year after Silverstone (and really on through the year). Dan maximised the package.
Dan looked like a world champion in a midfield car.
Maybe the car itself is further behind the Mercs than we think and Max is the only reason its competitive...?
It's like forcing a pro golfer to play left handed against a guy playing right handed.
The technique is there, but it's not how he wants to play.
Albon is suffering from number two-itis massively with a car tuned (perhaps over-tuned) to Max's liking.
Is it even to Max's liking?
That's what I mean by over-tuned. He likes a pointy car, but the RB seemed a touch unstable at the rear, even for him. It's like they pushed a bit too far.
This was noted on the Sky coverage I believe (or maybe on a website) that RB had spent most of the season dialling out some sort of rear aero imbalance.
I actually hope Max leaves RBR at some stage.
It would be very interesting to see how he performs in AND out of the car, away from the RBR "cocoon".
I think he's a mile ahead of the other new 2021 recruits in Mazepin/Schumacher.
Not sure how he is "a mile" ahead of the F2 champion...
Time in series is very important in junior categories, that's why GP2 champions like Palmer are still poorly regarded. Schumacher's rookie F2 season was (very) mediocre compared to Tsunoda's rookie F2 season.
Doesn't mean he is a mile ahead. His results in 2021 will no doubt be better as the Alphatauri will be a better car than the Haas (if 2020 is anything to go by), but Schumacher has proven he can carry results consistently throughout an entire season in several categories. Tsunoda could just be a flash in the pan, whereas Schumacher is a proven title winner.
Don't get me wrong, I'm hugely excited to see what Tsunoda can do. The kid is an absolute rockstar and it's always good for the sport to have Japanese drivers...I just think it is a little presumptuous to say a rookie is "a mile" ahead of a bloke who just won the title with a very consistent season.
Mick seems timid on and off track in comparison.
You need to watch more of him. Made some absolutely demon moves in F2 this season.
He does come across as very "trained" in interviews, but go back and watch some early Michael pressers...comedy gold.
We'll see, it's only 12 weekends until the first race of 2021!
Liked this question from EPSNF1:
No bias, but I'm going with Ricciardo. I think he will win at least one race next season and be right in the mix for "best of the rest" honours with Max, Charles, Checo and Carlos.
Son of a pay daddy = pay driver in effect.
He wouldn't be in F1 if not for his money, but he's turned out to be reasonably competent.
Not world championship material, but I could see him winning a race or two if things fell his way.
BTW I didn't realise Ferrari are setting up a "customer division" for Haas (and Alfa too, I guess). They're going to build stuff that Dalara have been doing up till now.
The Schumacher effect.
Apparently old mate Lewis is balking at signing his new contract.
£40M plus 10% bonus for the world title and he's not happy with it...geez.
And also, seems Max is a bit of a snake! Dating Kvyat's ex, Kelly Piquet...Max only split up with his previous long term partner in October! Christian Horner and RBR...beware!
There’s a massive age difference (not that it matters too much )... shes got a kid with kvyat as well... luckily kvyat doesn’t have a seat in f1 anymore lol
It just absolutely smacks of Max trying to be an alpha. He seems so incredibly insecure for a bloke in his position and with his talents.
In regards to Schumacher's health
I can imagine
I also think
If
I think
It's all pure speculation. Michael was fiercely protective of his private life when he was driving, so not sure why anything would change. I understand everyone wanting to know more (me being one of them, I'd love to know how the champ is), but we have to respect the family's wishes. I've seen so many tweets and forum posts (not many here, and just quoting the above for convenience, no fingers pointed) saying that the fans are owed some information, Michael's family is selfish for not updating us etc etc.
I've never heard a bigger load of horse turd in my life. Michael, nor his family, owe us ANYTHING. He essentially "gave" us almost 20 years of his adult life with his racing career, and gave us PLENTY of good times, fun times, challenging times and controversial times. If anything, we, as his fans, owe HIM AND HIS FAMILY the right to their privacy.
I have some thoughts about his condition, but don't feel it right to speculate. If you've seen my posts you'll know, but Michael was my hero ever since I first saw him in a racing car. I was devastated when he retired in 2006, absolutely overjoyed when he came back in 2010 (and although unsuccessful, loved watching him go around again for a few years), and so heartbroken on that day in 2013 when he had the accident.
It's hard to not know, but if we were to never see Michael again, I'll be so grateful for the memories he's given me as a fan of himself, of Ferrari, and of Formula One.
I truly hope we see Mick get a Ferrari drive in a few years, and I'll always hold good thoughts and hope that we can see Michael watching Mick, winning for Ferrari (especially at Monza...how good would that be?!?)...the scenes would be utterly joyous and uplifting, regardless of whether you like the Schumachers or not.
Bit OT, but Albon to race in DTM with Red Bull backing this year.
DTM is a graveyard for ex-F1 drivers. I doubt we'll see him in F1 again.
At least as far as crowds go.
There is no point in coming all the way to Australia if there is no crowd.
Either postpone to later in the year when crowds can come, or can the GP altogether.
If the ethos is for cost cutting, then sending all the gear out to Australia just for a different circuit is the biggest waste of money. Just sub in another European race where the transport and logistics is significantly cheaper.
He needs to sign a contract for next year first.
If the rumours are true that he is baulking at 40 mil, he needs to take a really good look at himself I reckon.
I'm sure George could do as good a job as him (meaning win the title) for far less money (and I reckon George is easier to like!)
it has basically no impact on anyone else in F1
Of course it does. No crowds means no hospitality, less sponsorships and less money being generated by F1.
They'd have to push back on both sides of the Aus GP, and slip in between the US/Brazil/Mexico races and the Middle East races.
So the last races would be:
USA – 24/10/21
Mexico – 31/10/21
Brazil – 7/11/21
Australia – 21/11/21
Saudi Arabia – 5/12/21
Abu Dhabi – 12/12/21
This gives enough time logistically to get the gear to Australia from Brazil, and back to the Middle East in time for Saudi Arabia.
Also means it is probably late enough to avoid a lot of the shitty Melbourne weather.
It is one of the most boring races on the calender so I can understand the comment
Monaco is the only event on the calendar that transcends the racing.
It genuinely is an event, not just a race.
Sure, it can be boring, but it can also be amazing. Lots of memories from Monaco!
The modern cars have now well and truly outgrown the circuit. And imho, Monaco is one terrible incident away from being removed from the Race Calendar anyway.
Blame the hybrid era for that. The old short wheel base cars were magic to watch around Monaco.
When was the last time Monaco turned up a thriller ?.
2018 was pretty good. Danny Ric holding on with an ailing car. 25% down on horsepower and only six working gears...with Vettel up his chuff for about 50 laps. Pretty good viewing in my eyes.
No , still boring , in my eyes . Monaco rarely produces thrilling races
What constitutes a thrilling race for you?
I think I know the answer, but will be interesting to see how close to the mark I am...
But he did. That makes it thrilling.
Exactly. I remember Schumacher somehow getting a podium at Barcelona in 1994 (2nd place from memory) even though he was stuck in fifth gear for a large portion of the race. Great stuff, very thrilling to see a driver adapt to the conditions.
This drives me nuts. The cars should be compelled to remain on the black top at all times. There is absolutely no point in allowing cars to run wide in order to gain advantage.
It's actually more about safety than anything. If the edge of the track is a high kerb or just turf, there is a much higher chance of an accident and a driver being injured, just for misjudging the exit by an inch or so.
F1 want as many cars on track for as long as possible, with the smallest chance of injury as possible.
How to fix F1, some pretty funny suggestions!
Just go with Bernie's sprinkler idea, but only on random corners at random times :D
Curbing IS the solution and has been for 100 years.
So you'd rather see a driver who makes a small mistake punished, by crashing into some high kerbs and destroying their suspension/wheels/tyres/floor or whatever, rather than being able to slide or spin over the low kerbs we currently have, losing a bit of time and then carrying on?
For much of F1's history, a small mistake was often "punished" by serious injury to, or death of the driver, the co-driver, pit crew, even spectators.
True, but what happened? Safety standards were improved and continue to be improved, year on year.
Not sure why something that is a safety improvement is being looked at in a different way...or will it take a driver launching off a high kerb into the crowd for you to see differently? Sure, it's highly unlikely this would happen, but the same was said of the halo, and that has saved the lives of at least 3 drivers since it has been introduced.
Really the simple answer is grass. Pure and simple.
Maybe they could get that tarmac from the last corner at the Hockenheimring and lay that around every circuit? LOL
Ever watched Rally?..
Serious question? A rally car is DESIGNED for rough terrain, huge bumps and the like. An F1 car is designed for flat, smooth tarmac surfaces...or has this part escaped you?
Pretty sure they are not designed to hit trees.
That's true, and F1 cars were not designed to ride huge kerbs.
Since a tree is natural and kerbs are man made, it's a simple choice to just not have huge kerbs.
UTC is unaffected by daylight saving. I use it all the time at work and it is much easier than anything else.
In any case, I'm in WA, so races are almost always on at a decent hour for me :)
Cannot say I noticed, the only thing that caught my eye is the 'Ludus Blue' McLaren 720s.. :)
Very nice looking company car :)
Pretty sure it's a 765LT
Yeah I wasn't 100%, but the rear spoiler does look more 765ish.
I reckon Daniel probably asked for the latest model in his contract haha
I would love to know the details.... Often it's reported drivers are given a car for length of their contract for promotion, but other times It's been reported that drivers are 'gifted' cars.
I'm sure they get a company car pretty much straight away.
Some would have special deals, and then the "gifts" come after some success.
There was an old story that went around years ago that Michael was offered a share in Ferrari at a "heavily discounted" rate...not sure if true, and if it is, if he actually bought in...but there is nothing to find (publicly at least) to say he owns a share.
Would love to a be a fly on the wall during those contract discussions though!!!
I also read that Hamilton does not want Russell as a team mate in the future either. I hope he cant veto that move if Russell takes Bottas seat in 2022.
That would have to be written into his contract...and he doesn't have a contract as yet.
Can't see Toto giving that the thumbs up, considering George is his "golden boy".
Hamilton is pushing it trying to get a high salary as well as a long term contact.
This is where a ruthless team boss would put his foot down.
As George showed last season, in a single performance, that if a driver is in the ballpark of Lewis in terms of skill and pace, the Mercedes can win the lot anyway.
If Hamilton played hard ball, I'd give him the flick. There are no more seats anyway, so he can't hurt you by moving to another team until 2022, at which point, a year on the sidelines might temper his love for F1.
I'm sure George could be released from his contract at Williams for the right fee, and there would be plenty of drivers willing to take his place.
Toto is too "in bed" with Lewis though, so they'll eventually concede to what he wants. A high profile split doesn't suit their narrative of "team before individual", so nothing will change.
Who is likely to bring more money in? HAM or RUS?
Does HAM bring in more money relative to George after salary considerations?
The gap could be as high as £40M per year...quite a large rift to mend...
You have to spend money to make money.
You have to spend money wisely to make lots of money!
That's true, but in your analogy, casinos make a killing.
I don't think the draw of Lewis would earn more money for Mercedes than his salary costs them.
If anything, I reckon it would be a net loss overall.
George is very well liked and respected by fans and drivers alike. I think he brings in almost as much money as Lewis would anyway.
Really underselling Hamilton's ability there. Verstappen, Russell and Leclerc could potentially beat Hamilton in it. I don't think there are too many others.
Ricciardo, Sainz, Perez, Alonso, Vettel...given an even playing field, they'd all have the ability to do it.
But I have seen many drivers over the years who I think should have won WDC Titles but they never did.
Maybe you're just no good at predicting WDC-winning talent... :P
Seems to make a fair few errors these days.
In a tail happy Ferrari yes...if Aston Martin can give him a car more suited to his liking, he'll be right up there in 2021.
Seb needs that rear end stability like his old Red Bull cars.
Geez, McLaren are really milking this DannyRic shift aren't they:
I reckon they thought they'd get him a couple of years ago, so they've probably been sitting on plenty of material for a couple of years haha
changing the fuel again
Should go ethanol. Surprised it hasn't been done earlier to be honest. Can get plenty more power from ethanol based fuel.
Like everything else, 10% ethanol is part of the 2021 2022 delayed rules.
I was thinking closer to E85 as a start...
So do they actually run the Supercars on E85? A "race blend" of it?
Some high performance road cars are tuned to run E85.
Not many servos sell it though! Some ECUs can even handle E85 or standard fuel, or a combo of both...so it should be a piece of piss for an F1 team to figure it out!
A friend of mine has an absolutely stunning R34 GT-R that runs E85...and he's getting about 900 wheel horsepower.
Unbelievable machine!!
Switchable fuel maps. Sounds like a giant rabbit hole of expenditure that F1 would be best not to disappear down.
They outlawed party mode...quite easy to police with a standardised ECU.
Remove the pit wall from the racing should make it more enjoyable.
I don't mind the pit comms for important things, particularly around safety cars and the like, or to assist with car problems.
You'd hate to see a driver lose a world title because the team couldn't tell the driver to make a trivial change on the steering wheel.
The whole "you need to pick up two tenths through sector 3" stuff needs to stop though. No "training" of drivers should be allowed in terms of their race craft and driving.
Team radio gives us some of the best moments in F1, so a full ban would detract from the sport in my view.
As much as i don't want to , i have to agree .
LOL, did it hurt? :P
A driver can't possibly remember all of the "fail F12 fail" type of commands...I'm sure the team have some sort of application that tells them what to say to the driver to fix a particular issue. The driver is essentially doing on behalf of the team.
Not too long ago, the team could do it remotely...until that was banned!
To be honest, the old tracks were probably not as good as you remember but rather the cars back then had a lot less grip and were smaller, thus the racing was better which left a memory in your head of the old tracks being better.
Spot on. The current cars have way too much grip and don't move around much at all. The short wheel base cars were twitchy and nervous looking, even the all dominating F2004 had its moments!!
That's what we miss about F1...and the noise.
Not until after Hamilton has retired if we ever do
When he writes his book that Walter Koster is waiting impatiently for! (Gentleman, a short view to the past...)
And when they damage their cars?
Same issue if they crash in qualifying or practice.
I don't remember the last time a driver missed a race on Sunday due to his car not being repaired in time.
Presumably this would also mean extra engines needed adding further expense
If the sprint race effectively replaces qualifying, then there wouldn't be too many more miles completed, if any.
100kms would equate to about 20 laps on a "regular" length track,which most cars would do during qualifying anyway.
Now THAT would be both interesting and entertaining.
No, that would be completely ridiculous and convoluted, just like it was back in 2005...which is why it was scrapped almost immediately.
I certainly did not like the Single Lap Shootout of the early 2000s
I like the idea of a Top 10 shootout to replace what is currently Q3.
Would probably be much more effective from a TV perspective, but maybe less so for the spectators at the track.
The problem is it favours the last runners because of track evolution.
If you base the shootout order on Q2 times, then it is on merit, so less of an issue?
i.e. be quickest in Q2 to give yourself the best chance in the shootout.
Top 10 is just what you see in the final 1:30 of qualifying but stretched out and you get to see each lap in full – and there are no excuses about tows or traffic etc. Just man + machine vs track and one lap to do the business.
You are talking about 1 minute of action vs around 15 minutes of action.
Spot on.
Imagine if F1 somehow managed to do what Supercars does and have a quick word with the driver after they've finished their lap? A direct and immediate insight into the mind of each driver about his performance. Would be amazing TV.
Lastly the fact they could not make mistakes, means they drove at only 9 tenths so we lost the element of drivers going as fast as they can to the absolute limit.
They are slower laps than with the current system so how can they be more impressive?
This is literally the complete opposite of how a racing driver thinks. Having only one chance would make them drive FASTER as they only have one bite at the cherry!
They tried the single lap qualifying and it wasn't a success . I'd prefer they go back to the one hour free for all .
The previous incarnation was for the entire qualifying session though. A top ten shootout means the lowest a driver starts the race is 10th, so much less on the line.
As for the one lap free for all, that was always (and still is) the best qualifying format. 12 laps total, go your hardest.
I'm sure you notice the second qualifying lap is almost always faster than the first.
That's got nothing to do with the possibility of making a mistake. Track evolution, motivation from seeing times from the opposition, telemetry reading and input from race engineers etc.
A one lap blast is all about getting it right under pressure. It's the truest and fairest measure of a driver's speed in his machinery.
Seems the qualifying race idea had solid support amongst the teams. No vote as yet, but sounds like it will happen.
The truest and fairest would be allowing the drivers to drive as fast as possible under the same track conditions. Limiting it to one lap restricts that. Its a fact that you can't dispute.
I can 100% dispute it. You can never offer the exact same track conditions, because two cars can't occupy the same piece of tarmac at the same time. The fairest way, to find which driver is indeed fastest, is to remove as many variables as possible.
No traffic, no slipstreams, just man and machine versus the clock.
You're telling me it's fair that a driver gets blocked by another (whether intentional or not) and isn't able to set the fastest possible lap time? Or that one driver can slipstream his teammate
Weather permitting, the only "fault" of single lap qualifying can be given to the driver or his equipment, which is the same risk across the entire grid.
Who ís Alphine's reserve driver? Testing 4 weeks away!
Not sure if they've officially named a reserve yet?
Here's a good F1 trivia question for you all:
Who is the only driver in history to have F1 podium finishes with at least six engine manufacturers/builders?
EDIT: Bonus points if you can name the six manufacturers!
Wow. FWIW I didn’t look it up.
Barrichello achieved podiums with power provided by:
Ford Cosworth
Hart
Ferrari
Honda
Mercedes
Peugeot
I didn't even see one Mercedes badge on the car lol
From memory and being too lazy to look online, I don't recall seeing Ferrari badges on the Alfa or Haas cars at any stage either. In fact, I don't recall seeing a Ferrari badge or logo on anything but a Ferrari.
Might be different for Ferrari, arguably a more prestigious brand than Mercedes, particularly in F1.
They'd be a "partner" rather than a sponsor as such. A bit of "you scratch my back and I'll scratch yours" kind of deal, rather than cash. Fair bit of that goes on these days, probably very few actual cash deals left.
Also, traffic being an issue is actually a rare occurrence.
LOL, what? Do you even watch Formula One?
Traffic is almost always an issue in qualifying and the most easy issue to negate.
Track conditions are a huge variable.
In the current format, yes. In a top ten shootout, no. Much less rubber being laid down with only one car on track at a time and only one lap per car.
Ok since you failed to get my point I will rephrase it.
You still didn't rationalise how the current system is fairer. To paraphrase, you just said "because it is".
plus its not just about rubber as track temps always fluctuate affects grip and speed, which is very unfair.
Oh let's just put some heating elements under the tarmac then to make sure everyone gets the same temperature...
Seriously, do you even understand what a variable is and how they affect things???
I'm done, it's like talking to a brick wall.
Yeah, not a really a fan of either (nor the F40).
Blasphemy! The F40 is one of the greatest cars ever made!
And the last proper naturally aspirated top end one (I think).
The F12 series and the 812 Superfast and GTS are the last, along with a couple of special editions/one offs (Monza SP, SP275 RW Competizione, SP3JC)
458 is the last V8 NA though from memory.
Hint: They didn't waste too much of their time having "Fun" or playing up in promo videos.
The apple of your eye Lewis Hamilton spends most of his time desiging clothes, making music and trying to rub shoulders with as many famous people as he possibly can. I see no difference really. Drivers can have as much fun as they want and still get the job done.
A few changes to the Albert Park layout. That back section will be hugely quick now!
https://the-race.com/formula
McLaren is a BRITISH team
Yes with a parent company majority owned by the Bahrain royal family, run by an American with a German team principal...
EDIT: Fun fact – Nicholas Latifi's father Michael owns 10% of the McLaren Group.
He is a legit great talent, I don't see how he is over hyped.
He was silver spooned into an F1 seat at 17, having never won a junior championship. That's overhyped in exactly the same way you said Kimi is.
And has proceeded to prove he deserved the seat from day 1 with consistent amazing performances.
LOL, he was lucky to keep it on the track for his first few seasons! A lesser hyped driver would've been sacked (hello Gasly and Albon).
He is now six seasons and 120 races into his career and has been nowhere near winning a world title. Even the much derided Sebastian Vettel has been able to give Lewis a fright during that time.
Overhyped, overrated.
Nope, they've been teasing, promising, continually giving me hope for the last 10 years..... I won't believe it, until they unveil an actual car to race in.
If they did, which brand would they use? Better question, which one would you prefer?
I'd love to see Lamborghini as a team, but it will more than likely be Audi or perhaps Porsche.
With regards to the recent launches, that Alpine livery is nice, would be better if they used the same blue as the old Prost/Ligier cars though.
The Aston Martin looks decent, but again, the shade of green used doesn't feel quite right.
The Merc looks terrible. A small child with some crayons would do a better job.
Alfa is a nice looking car, and the AlphaTauri isn't too bad either.
Keen to see what Ferrari have done (besides the obvious) for this season. Probably not much change if the overalls are anything to go by.
On Alpine, did they do much in terms of their engine for 2021?
The car sounds quite different to last season's Renault...could just be a reworked exhaust possibly, but sounds much more like the Honda in my view.
Have a look at "Tommo F1" on Youtube. Does some livery re-designs, and mostly nails them!
His Aston Martin redo is top drawer.
I think the Williams is a shorter wheelbase car than the other Mercedes powered vehicles. :)
Trying to add some more rotation and decrease understeer in the slow to mid speed corners I'd imagine.
Ted Kravitz explaining the floor changes to the cars this season...with a piece of cheese. Peak Sky F1.
So is Mercedes sandbagging again?
I don't think so, but at the same time, they aren't at the limit either.
I think their rear end instability is a genuine issue and cause for concern.
I also think Red Bull, particularly Verstappen, have pretty much shown their current hand. He was visibly throwing the thing around on the limit, so I would expect the gap to be smaller between Red Bull and anyone else, if they are indeed the fastest car.
Midfield battle looks immense, with pretty much everyone except Haas genuinely in the running.
I'm really interested to see this. Guess I'll have to hunt down some clips. How was Perez looking?
There is certain to be something online somewhere. Perez looked pretty comfortable.
Not as sharp as Verstappen, but that's to be expected at a new team.
You should ask how it's plausible for Mercedes to drop the ball with the rules having stayed reasonably stable since 2017.
That's pretty much it. The base that Mercedes have been working from is probably a minimum of half a second quicker than any other team. Their 2020 car was literally the fastest F1 car ever created, and even with the new regs, everyone is starting well behind Mercedes.
A couple of chops on the car here and there isn't going to change a huge amount, and I'm pretty sure the rear end instability won't be too much of an issue in the long run for them.
Red Bull might come charging out of the blocks (pun fully intended :P) but if they do happen to be in front, I would expect Mercedes to be at least level pegging in double quick time. Red Bull wouldn't want to get too heavily involved in trying to stay ahead deep into the championship, if it means compromising their 2022 car and future plans.
Because they have the most money and very good people.
I think Mercedes just have a very good general concept for their car, which they then try to further improve with each passing season. Their powertrains are the best on the grid and have been since 2014, and their base design concept is seemingly the best as well.
It's sort of like a master chef kind of deal, but Mercedes are using A-5 wagyu beef, whereas the other teams are stuck with gravy beef and are expected to make something just as good, if not better.
You can't dominate in F1 unless you have a really good fundamental design concept from which you can build. Mercedes have nailed it since 2014.
Are teams like Ferrari, Renault or Williams really too daft to realise that low-rake super-long wheelbase is better!?
Well it all depends on design philosophy. The Mercedes package has always been sublime through mid to high speed corners, but relatively poor in the slow stuff. That was always their trade off. It obviously worked as they've had the dominant package, and relative to other teams, they were probably on par in slow corners as a minimum.
That behaviour is typical of a low-rake, long wheelbase design. Extra stability and higher peak downforce, but slow speed instability and rotation. Again, the Merc package has been so good that the flaws have been hidden to some extent.
If Ferrari or Williams or whomever think that they can make up more lap time with a high rake or shorter wheelbase, they might try and do it. It's always a compromise, but designers all have their styles. To your point, Mercedes have been dominant for a while, and it is surprising that other teams (besides RP of course) have not just followed the Merc philosophy after such an extended period of dominance.
As per usual, it's been up to the rule makers to make changes in an attempt to curtail the Mercedes Sunday exhibition events.
You can't dominate in F1 unless you have a really good fundamental design concept from which you can build a butt load of cash more than the other teams.
Doesn't work that way any more!
The effects of increased spending pre-cost cap will also be evident for years to come as they have all been pumping cash into the design of the 2022 cars. I'd give it 5 years before we see the real effects if the cost cap.
Yeah that's a fair point. Hopefully the "poorer" teams are able to nail a good initial concept for 2022 so they can at least be reasonably close and not fall further and further behind. The current "richer" teams can probably find ways to improve efficiency now before the caps come in, which may end up increasing the gap between the "haves" and " have nots".
Okay, is it
All pine
Al pine
All peen
Al peen
Alp-een is more correct as opposed to Al-peen.. It translates roughly to "of the Alps" or "from the Alps", but in English, it is generally used to describe a mountainous type of climate or region.
DTS Season 3 was a bit of a let down. I did enjoy the Gasly episode immensely, and the Ricciardo/Cyril episode was quite good, but the rest of it was poor in my view.
Lawrence Stroll comes across as a bit of a wanker, but it's probably just the editing.
I'd give it a 5/10.
Oh I was just about to binge on S3 ahead of the first race to get into the mood, I thought the first two seasons was quite good, was expecting the third to be a little bit better polished, nevermind....
Definitely worth watching, just felt a bit same-y.
If you've got OCD, the engine noises will push your buttons! Riding onboard with Lando and it's pure Honda engine note...and that's just the start of it!
What was that all about?
The Perez news dropped the same day or the day before which triggered the Vettel announcement...that's what he was saying was the truth.
I'm holding onto some hope that Ted Kravitz is right in thinking that McLaren didn't show their full hand in testing. Ricciardo joining the title fight would be epic for F1.
Never really thought about it, with RIC being 3 and subsequently VER 33 and OCO 31, just thought it was a coincidence...
The Alonso story is pretty cool.
what percentage of a drivers performance is contributed to: strategy(on the day), car, and driver skills
Car 90% – as displayed by Mercedes dominance since 2014, RBR before that, Ferrari before that.
Driver 9% – as displayed by Hamilton (for the most part) beating his teammates in identical equipment and George Russell jumping into a Merc and (almost) winning the Sakhir GP
Strategy 1% – doesn't make much difference these days (most "strategic" decisions are usually won or lost on pit crew performance) the odd lucky call with weather is still there, but still a rarity
Just my opinions :)
Imagine Earnhardt Sr.'s NASCAR running around Monaco in the sunshine :)
He'd probably get stuck at the Fairmont Hairpin with the lack of steering lock on the stock car LOL
Some photos of the larger rims from the tyre test recently.
Ferrari have to go back to gold wheels next season. Will look mint.
Feel good story – Romain Grosjean will test the Mercedes W10 over the French GP weekend.
Demo run during the GP, and a full test day.
File under "wholesome content".
I get you areca staunch Hamilton supporter but I still say Max is at least as good as him.or maybe even slightly better
Pretty obvious you're a staunch Max supporter, but there is little to no evidence or justification that can be used to say Max is better than Lewis.
And likewise Lewis being better than Max...
Seven world titles, a shitload of wins and poles and some of the greatest drives in F1 history would say otherwise. Consistently fast, almost no mistakes and the mental strength to strive to be even better, even after amassing all of the records he has.
Re: Hamilton and his inhaler/meds; not all asthma meds or puffers are vegan. Some of them use lactose or some derivative of milk solids as the carrier of the meds.
That's the only reason that makes sense to me as to why he'd want to hide the meds. Slightly hypocrictical maybe in a sense, but your health always comes first, and if this product works for him but happens to have a tiny little bit of milk solid in it, probably makes sense to keep using it.
Good point if he was trying to hide them. But he wasn't. He has already spoken publically about them.
Angela wrapped it up in a towel. That's trying to conceal it.
I know Lewis isn't trying to hide the fact he uses an inhaler, but if someone on the interwebs has enough time on their hands (and let's face it, there are a lot of them!!) they could potentially zoom in on the product, research the ingredients and find it contains milk solids or something else non-vegan.
Then it becomes a story of the "hypocrisy of Lewis Hamilton" and that sort of rubbish.
From a Mercedes F1 team perspective (i.e. Ms Cullen's employer), just conceal the brand name and protect your investment.
The "hiding" isn't about the use of an inhaler, moreso about the ingredients and Lewis' activism.
As for the Aus GP, even at this early stage, I can't see Brazil going ahead. The rona is rampant over there.
Cancel it, give the teams and drivers a nice 14 day quarantine break in a Victorian resort somewhere and run the Aus GP as scheduled.
How do people feel about this rule:
Ridiculous. You want to punish a driver for having a go?
Qualifying is about pushing the boundaries...being punished for doing that and overstepping the mark is ridiculous.
This weekend made me realise how stupid the penalties are in F1 now. If the penalties didn't exist, Leclerc's team would've stuck a new/alternate gearbox in, found the drive shaft issue and fixed that as well, and he'd have been on his rightful pole position.
I'd feel the same way regardless of who was on pole. The rules stink.
You are making an assumption about finding the damaged driveshaft – if in fact there was a damaged driveshaft.
More likely, Ferrari would have changed out the gearbox and all the associated bits including the driveshafts. So if the driveshaft was the issue, it would have remedied that.
Well you get the idea. The issue would've been rectified whether Ferrari actually realised it or not.
All of a sudden Australia has fallen well behind the developing world in the journey out of the pandemic.
What an absolute joke. The F1 circus has arguably some of the strictest COVID protocols, but the bed wetters in Australian government can't seem to take that into consideration.
On the home sick thing, Daniel is probably the only driver apart from Yuki, who would experience homesickness and isolation.
Probably tougher for him than almost everyone else.
Being highly paid doesn't numb the pain of missing home or family...
I'd like to see Australia go back to the last GP of the season.
Melbourne (in "normal" times) is a proper party town, so would be a great way to finish the season for the entire F1 circus.
It'll never happen, but I can dream :)
Westacott said if it's cancelled again Melbourne may lose the GP.
No great loss from a pure racing perspective, but in terms of an event Melbourne always seemed to deliver.
Then again, the track changes would be interesting to see...I wonder if the F1 2021 game has the udpated track? :P
We need a motorsport obsessed billionaire to build a new for-purpose race track in Australia, FIA Grade 1 spec where all forms of motorsport can come and race.
phillip island
Eastern creek
Nah, would need to be a brand new facility, with essentially a mini city built around it.
Hotels, shopping, restaurants and all that sort of thing which are open permanently.
Then it would attract tourists, sponsors and everything else needed to make F1 successful as an event, and also creating return on investment for the project as a whole.
Andrew Forrest is the only bloke I can think of who would entertain the idea...maybe if he builds it in WA somewhere and builds a stadium for his rugby team in the same complex :P oh it's fun to dream :)
Lol, I think the FIA would have a fit just looking at the second corner – 300+ km/h approach speed and concrete barriers at the side of the track around the corner.
Not to mention the local fauna that like to have a skip onto the track!
Imagine trying to clear an accident around some parts of the mountain...simply not possible without massive delays in some parts.
Hypothetical question for all...
If you could rewrite the entire rulebook on F1, what would your championship look like?
Think about things like engines, circuits, teams, points etc. etc.
For the purpose of this exercise, forget about any sort of financial constraints or environmental factors, and assume every team has as much money as each other and can compete at the same level.
This is fantasy after all!
I have always said – LET THEM RACE
Haha, it would be fun to see something completely unrestricted.
I'd love to see these:
- V10 engines, 20,000rpm! (no hybrid rubbish, no rules on component life...bring on the qualifying nuclear bombs!!)
- Low aero, high mechanical grip, short wheelbase cars
- Refuelling in pit stops with no limits on fuel usage or flow
- No tarmac run off areas – it's a wall, grass or gravel trap depending on circuit
- At least two races on every continent (OK, maybe not Antarctica, but how fun would an ice race be!)
- "Crown Jewel" races to be special events with a separate concurrent championship for drivers and teams (huge cash prizes – events would be Monaco, Barcelona, Monza, Silverstone, Sao Paolo – naming rights sponsor to provide prize money)
- Very large gaps between tyre compounds (3-6 seconds depending on circuit) but no tyre rules
- 20 minute qualifying followed by top ten shootout (one set of ultra sticky quali tyres per car for shootout)
- Drivers have influence over rule interpretations and punishments/penalties (agreed at start of season)
- LED numbers on all cars (similar to WEC)
- Mandatory autograph sessions for ALL drivers at EVERY race
- F1 TV rights to be non-exclusive, available on FTA in all countries
F1 should adopt the GP2 look.
I don't think they could even if they wanted to, not whilst having to maintain the turbo hybrid PU.
As if the drivers were going to do anything but praise it in a presser.
How good would it be though? Just imagine if Max or Daniel come out and say "it looks like a piece of shit".
It would be brilliant!
The reason the 2021 cars are stretch limos compared to 2014 is because it gives more performance
Yes, performance which is required to accommodate the increased weight and dimensions of the PU and other components.
If you simply removed the space between the clutch and gears, the cars would be incredibly unstable, particularly in high speed corners. The rulebook would need to be essentially rewritten to go back.
So if it's been covered but will teams be able to add winglets to this new design or will all teams have the same aero?
Read this, explains everything quite clearly and simply :)
https://the-race.com/formula
Remember when the drivers adjusted boost during a race and would either blow the engine, or run out of fuel?
Imagine how poor most of the drivers would be if they had to use a manual gearbox and clutch!
Its 100% luck and circumstances outside his control that puts him in the position he has right now.
What absolute rubbish. As the old adage goes, you make your own luck.
Lewis is dominating the mind games (along with Mercedes) and it's showing.
So Lewis used the power of his mind to cause Max's tyre to blow in Baku?
18 other drivers managed to finish the race without a tyre blowing.
No one really investigated Max's driving technique or car setup..."luck" is just a cheap and easy explanation.
Lewis did use the power of his mind to out brake himself and crash into Max in Silverstone.
Max made an assumption that Lewis would concede. Lewis didn't. No luck at all.
I guess Lewis again used a Jedi mind trick to cause Bottas to out brake himself and crash into Lando, then into Max in Hungary?
Lewis was P1 (which he gained through being the fastest in qualifying, not luck) which gave him the best position to avoid any first corner shenanigans. Again, no luck, just great driving to give himself the best position.
Because you take those three events out of this season, Max is leading the WDC by some margin.
You could pick and choose any other three events and have Lewis leading the title by 100 points. It's like saying if Max'ws engine failed at every grand prix he'd be on 0 points. You can spin the narrative in whatever direction you want in that regard. Point is, you make your own luck with great skill, experience and sound strategy.
Yeah but nah, RBR has had pretty terrible luck. It's close between the teams, but they should be leading both titles by some margin.
Funny, the Max fans didn't seem to think this way when Ricciardo had 8 DNFs to Max's 2 in 2018...
This one has some real laugh out loud moments.
"Seb will smash this, he's a bit of a nerd"
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=StAi_V99uxw
Mick: "My dad, my dad, my dad, my dad, my dad"
Checo: "2021, Lewis..." LOL!!
Daniel: "Sen...Pro...MANSELL!!"
One of the best Grill the Grid videos by far.
Seb was phenomenal!!
After a decade, I'm still not 100% sure its humour and not the fact he actually is a rude campaigner.
He's never been super enthusiastic, but he's beginning to irk me slightly...on track anyway.
Feels like he's just going through the motions a bit, when the seat could have a young driver there.
He's still funny AF away from track though. That drunken display at the end of season awards a couple of years ago was peak Kimi.
Considering Mercedes also reduced their stake in the Mercedes F1 team last year by 50%. I speculate It's inline with their desire to reduce spending in motorsports in general.
Reallocating resources to EV production and development.
Good to see the family and Vettel were interviewed for it.
I read something online (that I'm not sure if I believe) which stated that the doco will have some footage of Michael after his accident. Damned if I can find it now, but it stuck with me for obvious reasons.
I think most peoplemissed the point of the Schumacher dcoumentary.
It wasn't meant to be a "warts and all" of his career, and it glossed over a lot of the moments because everyone already knows what happened.
It was supposed to show Schumacher "the man", not Schumacher "the legend".
I really enjoyed it. We got to see the family man and we got an insight into what made him the man he became, how his family saw him as their hero, their provider and their everything really. If you really watch it, you even understand why he acted the way he did during those championship defining battles.
Mick's words about not being able to "talk motorsport" with his dad had me in bits. One of the greatest sights would be Michael in the paddock supporting Mick and hearing him talk about his views on how his son is going in F1. Such a shame.
But I just feel that perhaps they should have delved a little deeper into that other side of him that also made him so maligned by many.
I reckon they went more the other way because there has already been SO much written about that side of Michael.
You have to remember it has been almost 8 years since his accident, and they can't exactly ask the man himself more about it unfortunately. There will always be unanswered questions!!
Monaco will be switched to a traditional 3 day weekend from 2022.
Friday/Saturday/Sunday as per every other GP.
Due to F1 wanting 23 races and the need for Spain and Monaco to be back-to-back.
From memory Mark and Michael were very close friends.
Mark is also reasonably popular in Europe through his F1 punditry on Channel 4.
Just shows that it doesn't matter how good you are, if you don't know the right person, you won't get anywhere in F1.
Does anyone know if there are any other 4K streams of F1 besides Foxtel?
Now TV had a Sky Sports package, but it isn't cheap, and you'll need to do some VPN trickery to pay for it and view it.
Great little video. Albon drives Lawson around the Nurburgring in a Porsche GT3 RS https://youtu.be/L9ek7AoLNFs
Loved watching Albon's face there, going from concentration, to smiling, laughing; shows so much of his love of driving fast cars that we never saw in F1. Great sounding car too.
Here's part two, this time Liam is driving Alex around!
https://youtu.be/tGG2ervQPyw
The Andretti/Sauber deal has collapsed
https://the-race.com/formula
Piastri to Alfa Romeo for 2022?
I think it's very unlikely, but if Hamilton was to leave F1, and Oscar was lucky enough to get the Merc seat, do you think it could be a extremely risky for his F1 career, as he will come up against a red hot young gun in Russell, who would likely blitz Oscar in his first season in F1?
Nah mate, it'd be FOUR championships in a row!! :)
Oscar would wipe the floor with Max, guaranteed.
The VF22 looks good (even if just renders). The rear packagaing is VERY tight...I think a lot of Ferrari influence there.
Hopefully it proves to be competitive. I rate Mick Schumacher and think he could get some really good results in a decent car.
This is probably my favourite part of the season. Less so nowadays, but in years gone by, the winter testing season and car launches were something to behold.
what are the winglet things on the inside of the front wheels?
They deflect the aero wake from the tyres away from the rear wing.
I just want mclaren to be competitive
I want ALL teams to be competitive. F1 has longed for unpredictable results, with lots of drivers competing for podiums and wins. I truly hope this "reset" of regs will at least see all teams within a second of each other at most.
When was the last time unpredictable results existed? (Serious question I have no idea)
Genuinely, it would probably be the early '90s, perhaps even the late '80s.
More cars on the grid, way more issues with reliability, and more potential race winners.
You still had the big teams, and favourites to win races and titles...but so many more variables came into play.
Races were NEVER really over in terms of competition by the first corner as has been the case in recent times.
I've got a feeling the new Ferrari F1-75 is going to be an absolute stunner, in both design and livery.
Really looking forward to it.
One or two decent fan made renders doing the rounds. As long as they lose that awful green logo.
All Mission Winnow stuff has been dropped. Santander are back onboard, so something close to the 2014 car? Judging by the team kit, I'd say more black than white will appear though.
The new Alfa Romeo has broken cover as well, in a grey camo livery during a shakedown.
https://au.motorsport.com/f1
Is it the recording day they’re using up?
I'd say so, nothing else available to teams these days.
Back in the day, I remember Luca Badoer used to shakedown the Ferrari cars at Fiorano, for every grand prix weekend.
Schumacher would test there relentlessly, hundreds of laps almost every week between grand prix events.
But the FIA are French, how does that make sense? :)
The FIA was founded and is headquartered in France, but it is not French. The "I" should tell anyone that.
I hope the "remote assistance" system is better than VAR in football...that has been nothing but trouble!
Taking it off Max and handing to Lewis would be nonsense, but taking it away from Max and leaving No Winner would make some sort of sense?
No it wouldn't. That would detract from the rest of the GP performances throughout the season.
As much as I dislike Max, and I don't believe he's a good champion whatsoever; taking the title away from him by any means causes more problems than it solves.
Best to let him have his 15 minutes and just move on whilst ensuring that what happened in Abu Dhabi NEVER happens again.
Got rid of Masi so like you say lets move on.
Yep. I like that there are changes being made and that the FIA realised they needed to be made...but still concerned that what happened at Abu Dhabi has still not been discussed. I mean, they were never going to say "what happened was wrong and this is what should've happened" as that will open the floodgates for having the result changed, but some sort of acknowledgement and what the results of their investigation into Abu Dhabi were, not just what they are going to change.
Why? No need. It’s done. It’s finished.
What you are asking for is the same as what you say they will never do.
I don't want them to name and shame, but as with the Ferrari engine hoohah, they never explained what happened.
Ferrari apparently "got away with one" but we still don't know what the investigation uncovered or didn't uncover.
Instead, we get trial by media.
Same thing here. If the FIA explained the turn of events and the decision making process, it would at least give everyone a bit of confidence in them and allow us to move on without the lingering doubt that everyone (except Zapp) seems to have.
At this point, all we've effectively had is "Everyone seems to have caught on that we stuffed things up in Abu Dhabi, so we'll make some changes, move Masi to another role and try sweep it all under the rug".
Whilst I do want us to move on, the solution is not ideal and does not do much to "repair" the overwhelming distrust in the FIA.
I can guarantee that the first incident of note in 2022 that the FIA rules on will raise all sorts of Abu Dhabi-related throwbacks from all sides of the argument.
The battle with Checo and Hamilton should be how every battle is done in F1 done, multiple laps of corner to corner battling without a penalty or crash, I hope Max can be less desperate to win on the first corner at all costs this year.
Agreed. The Alonso/Schumacher battles at Imola 2005 and 2006 were great to watch. Brilliant driving from both on each occasion. Amazing to see Alonso is still going!!
Will be more interesting to see if they change the written rules
They'll have to in order to include the new "VAR" type setup, but I know what you mean.
If they don't change anything, particularly around the safety car, then the whole investigation will have been the biggest attempt to hoodwink F1 fans ever.
The idea the FIA is somehow "biased" is much ado about nothing.
It's living in your head rent free though as you keep feeling the need to continually advise us otherwise.
Where there's smoke...
My point was rather that regardless of what the decision is, there would be those that vehemently disagree and would bring up Abu Dhabi and the resulting rug sweeping exercise to point out that nothing has changed.
Care to elaborate? The stewards will make whatever decision they make.
Stewards' inconsistency would tend to suggest an absence of systemic bias.
There you go again. I'm not talking about or intimating any bias.
All I'm pointing out is that the FIA are being far from transparent which results in a complete distrust of their ability to fairly and justly adjudicate any sort of on-track incident.
Nothing to do with bias, more a competency issue.
What I'm looking forward to the most is seeing this younger gen battling it out for titles, all have the talent to win a title as long as they have decent equipment under them
Hopefully we get a lot of drivers battling it out for podiums this season.
It would be great to see teams like Haas, Williams and Alfa Romeo troubling the top five regularly.
The side pods on the Red Bull are probably the most radical.
What's the big bulbous thing sticking out of the sidepod? The F1 version of Dr Pimplepopper would have a field day with that thing.
To give you a pace comparison:
Fastest lap yesterday: Lando Norris 1:19.568.
Slowest Q1 time – 2021 Spanish GP: Nikita Mazepin 1:19.807
Pole position – 2021 Spanish GP: Lewis Hamilton 1:16.741
Race fastest lap – 2021 Spanish GP: Max Verstappen 1:18.149
Whirlpool Illuminati writes...
I think it's really ugly and don't understand the purpose of it?
Google "Henry Surtees accident" and then you'll understand...
Pretty cool picture comparing the top teams at the same point on the track.
That Red Bull actually looks rather hideous from the side.
Whirlpool Illuminati writes...
Yeah, I understand the halo but has it always been that prominent ?
It hasn't really changed since it's been introduced AFAIK. Could just be the colour block deceiving your eyes.
Alfa were apparently having issues with porpoising of the car yesterday and are having new parts flown in, hence their delay today. Not a good sign if the car is doing that!!
Surely will take Haas out of F1 for andretti to come in
Haas is still American owned.
There are no grounds to have the team removed just because of a sponsor.
Surely there is a sponsor somewhere in the US, that has watched Drive to Survive and realised that F1 has some renewed hype about it? Plenty of companies with way too much money in the US. It wouldn't be hard to convince one of them to part with US$80-100M per year for a few years, especially if they can splash their name all over the car, and get invited to glitzy events around the globe full of celebs and the like?
Now HAAS will have to come up with some diplomatic way of explaining his leaving.
They'll win over a heap of fans if they just tell it like it is...
I think Gene Haas will but putting some more money in with the Uralkali gone unless he can find a major sponsor very quickly
If Haas were serious, they'd be seeking out a biofuel company in the US as a sponsor.
Schumacher was earning the same money as these blokes 25 years ago! Adjusted for inflation, he was probably on $100M!
A last minute champ v a three time one.
Mick finished 2nd in F4 (in two championships) and won both F3 and F2.
Hardly a last minute champ.
and what happens if teh simulator software is crap, or the wind tunnel or any of the other software?
Team says software says car should do this why aren't you doing it?
driver new to F1 may say "ok I need to change", but still goes no faster
experienced driver says," I don't care what your software says, the car cannot and will not do that"
This is why teams test (and argue for more testing).
They run plenty of simulators and the like, but they need to correlate the data at the track.
The teams will always ask for driver feedback, and it's not usually a case of "will he or won't he" with feedback, but more about the quality of the feedback. The ability for a driver to articulate what he feels in the car into something his engineer can work with is one of the most vital traits a driver can have, besides raw talent.
If they couldn't manage to make last season's season a good one then they should all be sacked.
The problem is that so many people will expect the entire series to be about Max vs Lewis.
It won't be so they will trash it.
But hey, it'll probably go gangbusters with non-F1 followers and everyone's laughing to the bank!
It's heavily tailored to the US market. F1 is way behind NASCAR and Indy over there, so DTS is aimed at getting more US eyes onto F1.
I heard one pundit say they need to know where porpoising kicks in so they can tune the car just off that point and seeing the cars do it during testing would be what we should expect.
Every circuit will represent a different challenge.
Downforce levels, ride heights and suspension will all change at almost every circuit, so the tipping point will always be moving.
Just maybe Ferrari will do well, they have two top drivers and their car seems fast in testing.
I've got a cheeky little bet on Leclerc for the WDC.
Red Bull will also be sandbagging reasonably hard
Max's ego is too big for that. Did glory runs on the softest tyre later on the final day.
Couldn't help himself, had to be P1.
As a Singapore and general F1 newbie can I ask what it is about Singapore GP specifically that makes it 'meh'?
I'd wager there are very few places that would be truly great to watch F1.
If you can jag seats with views of great corners, or maybe somewhere like Austria where you can see almost the whole track, it would be worth it...but going to a GP live is more about the atmosphere, the potential of bumping into a driver or pundit, and just the general vibe of the country.
The best place to watch F1 is on tele!
oohhh....I wonder if it burns Lewis being #2 on the bill now.
Why do they all look reasonably cool, some look hard even...then Max just looks like the ultimate dork at the end?? LOL
Ferrari PU's dominate the standings. Binotto finally got them into shape. Puts them in good standing for the upcoming engine freeze.
An all-Ferrari powered podium would be nice to see this season.
Prefer Schumacher for the feels, but would be great to see K-Mag on the podium too.
Plus, seeing Guenther on the rostrum would be epic.
He leaves red bull due to bad engine , then leaves Renault … now he is back at square 1… bad engine, bad car .
I wouldn't say the Merc PU is bad. It's won every Constructor's World Championship of the hybrid era.
I'd just say everyone else has caught up. It's not like a Ferrari circa-2020 PU, as evidenced by Mercedes works team being competitive.
That was not the reason why he left RBR. Where did you get that idea?
It doesn't make sense when he left to go to Renault...
He moved on because he knew Red Bull were putting all their eggs in the Verstappen basket.
He wasn't running from a fight as that moron Horner said, he just didn't want to play second fiddle.
Truth be told, Ricciardo would've had more race wins if he'd stayed at Red Bull, but not title.
If Red Bull backed Daniel instead of Max, Daniel wins the 2021 title in my opinion, without controversy.
Expecting Mercedes to be back in the fight in Australia. Ferrari maintain their strength and RB sort out their issues – will be a 3 way dogfight. Qualis separated by thousandths of a second and will be crucial getting that perfect lap in
I truly hope this happens. There has not been a genuine title fight between more than two drivers since 2010.
Bring it on!
It's a sin to complain about the engines, because Mercedes finished the race in 3rd and 4th places. But it certainly doesn’t help—I think we definitely don’t have enough power compared to the rest of the guys.
LOL, code for "our car is shit". The works team had no problem with the PU, and their issues with downforce and porpoising are widely acknowledged. I don't buy into the Merc PU being underpowered at all. Aston Martin, Williams and McLaren are just struggling with poor cars right now.
Williams has been poor for a number of years now but are usually always at the top of the speed traps because their downforce levels are poor. If you look at qualifying top speeds 6 of the 8 lowest top speeds were Merc powered cars, the exception being the Williams.
You'll also note that Mercedes, Aston Martin and McLaren were suffering most from porpoising.
The quick fix? Raise the ride height. Biggest effect of raising ride height? Lower top speed, as evidenced by Ferrari being down on the top speed charts as well.
Yeah nah, Murray Walker was never like this
Murray was old school though, and worked mostly for the Beeb.
The new breed have a new agenda (not of their own either).
It's annoying that we have an exclusive rights holder in Australia. Watching the F1 Pro TV feed would be great.
Could it be as simple as some aerodynamic piece somehow attached to the front wheels – when front wheels are straight, the ground-effect downforce is disengaged and air flows smoothly
How exactly do you "disengage" ground effect without active suspension?
watching that season's review ATM ... what a year! very much the battle of the young guns with a lot of unforced errors by all drivers.
Yeah it was a great season! I was hoping Webber or Alonso would've pinched the title, but that final race...old mate Petrov spoiled the party!
If this Vegas race does come thru
How good would that be for a trip to watch the race? A week in Vegas AND an F1 race? I'm in.
but I've always been slightly agitated by all the Leclerc hype he gets, but that's just our biases, we just have to learn to live with it.
Leclerc won F3 and GP2 back to back, same as Russell, and performed miracles in his time with Sauber.
Good reason behind the hype!
I didn't say pro-Hamilton, I said Hamilton-centric.
So you want them to talk less about the guy who has won 6 of the eight world titles during the hybrid era?
During the Schumacher era, he was the one they always talked about. Same with Vettel.
Old Murray used to balance things reasonably well, but even he found himself talking about the cars at the pointy end than any others. It's just natural, especially when Hamilton was and is still breaking records we never thought would be broken after Schumacher...not this quickly anyway!
From my understanding, only the biggest of the teams would have the ability to spend the cost cap. The others are still limited by the money they have available.
Even before the new investment, Williams had a budget of US$125M per season, and they were the lowest.
I'd say every team is quite capable now of using the full US$140M.
The track looks boring as batshit. Danny Ric will be happy though, he's wanted a race in Vegas for years,
Good location though. Never been to Vegas, but my brother and I are already planning a trip around the GP.
It would be a brilliant GP to attend in terms of atmosphere and "off-track activities"...
i wonder what off track activities means in vegas xD
Vegas being Vegas, it can mean whatever you want it to mean! :P
Geezus... can understand why F1 is so keen on more races in the US if tickets are being bought at these prices
Have you seen ticket pricing for the Superbowl?
Here's a list of hosting fees:
https://racingnews365.com/ho
Are there any circuits that make a profit?
I think the circuits keep the money from ticket sales, whilst the government usually foots the bill for the hosting fee.
Yep, I'd say the only team mates that have had the better of Ricciardo (so far) are Maxie Pad and Nori Roll. The rest he has out-performed regardless of the points tally.
I'd say Dan was, at worst, even with Verstappen. Everyone always looks at 2018, but Dan had so many retirements that season. The eggs were firmly in the Verstappen basket by then as well.
I'm confident Dan can beat Lando this season...but he'll need to find top form very soon.
Maybe battery power should only be allowed for 30 seconds per race. And not known when you use it.
Use 10 seconds at the start, and hope no one else keeps it all for the last lap?
That's a lot of extra weight in the car for very little return...
VAG probably dont.
They'd obviously want ze Germans.
Mick? Pascal? Can't think of any other young German drivers that have shown much...
Judging by what Zak Brown has been saying publicly, and the recent announcement of McLaren entering Formula E, I wouldn't be surprised to see Ricciardo spearhead the McLaren Formula E team in the 23/24 season.
I mean it's not like Williams are near the top of the field, I could understand it in those circumstances, but they are at the back, so let Lat see out his contract in dignity, save money, save any embarrassing bad press, and let Piastri take FP1 on most of the remainder of the season.
Ricciardo started his career mid-season in an abysmal HRT car. It was the best thing that ever happened to his F1 career.
He graduated to what was then called Scuderia Toro Rosso and never looked back.
Alonso was the same when he started with Minardi, as was Webber.
If a bloke has talent, it will shine in a poor car in most cases, especially if he has a decent teammate (and Albon falls into the decent category in my view). I think it has a lot of merit to put Piastri in that Williams right now.
I've read various places that the deal with Piastri and Williams is already done, and Latifi will be out the door as early as after his home race in Canada next week!!!
If true, nice of them to allow him to race at home.
Do you guys think Leclerc needs to find another team, if he wants to become world champion? Looks like his stuck at Ferrari with no other viable options.
No, he's still young enough...and he's also good enough to beat a better car if his Ferrari is close enough.
He doesn't need a world beating car, just one that puts him in the fight.
Alonso was in front of Lando. Letting Ricciardo through would have made no difference.
Yeah it would. Ricciardo would've been able to at least keep up with Alonso and not get mugged by Gasly and Hamilton later due to tyre wear.
I wouldn't be surprised if there is a switch to Renault announcement soon.
Mmm, not sure about that. Williams would need to re-design their package to fit a different PU.
Renault and Merc have history together, so wouldn't be surprising if Alpine/Renault work a deal with Mercedes to get Piastri into a Williams with a discounted Mercedes engine deal.
Mark Webber would have influence with all parties involved having raced with them all at one point or another.
He'll be pushing hard to get Oscar in F1 quickly.
Seeing as Toto has stated publicly their desire to get rid of a customer team, it actually makes way more sense for Williams to cut a deal with Alpine to run Piastri with a discounted Renault engine deal.
The impending arrival of Audi and Porsche makes me think McLaren would be the team that parts with Mercedes.
McLaren just spent a big chunk only recently fitting a new Mercedes power unit it would seem counter-intuitive for them to change again so soon.
Porsche and Audi aren't entering until the new PU spec begins.
Everyone will need to redesign anyway at that stage.
I don't think McLaren will sell, but an Audi donk in the back might be the go with de facto factory support (similar to when they were McLaren Mercedes back in the 90s and 2000s.
Put the GP in Perth CBD. Awesome layouts to create here.
Better timezone for Europe and a traditional 2pm start, less travel time, better weather and plenty of cash to burn (according to Herr McGowan)...
very suss that Hamilton got on the podium with Russell just behind him
Considering Merc are the third best team and two of the drivers from the top teams were out of contention...not really that surprising.
Red Bull probably aren't too fussed with their junior program at the moment.
Max is their golden child until 2028 at least, so they have plenty of time to find another.
I think they'll continue to find "number two" drivers to put alongside Max and not worry about "the next Max" until he's in the twilight of his career.
Vips fired for using racial slurs, a three time world champion using a racial slur against a seven time world champion...when will it end?
On a related note, two South American soccer players in England were disciplined for using a Spanish word that describes a dark colour. It seems such usage is commonplace in South America and that particular word does not have the connotation in South America that it does in the Anglo sphere.
Same word. The context is usually between people who are friends...pretty sure Nelson Piquet isn't friends with Lewis Hamilton. It was a direct racial slur. His exact comment was something like "the n.... put his car in the wrong way and didn't let Verstappen swerve" (translation is a bit dodgy, but you get the idea).
Since the interview was in Portuguese the word uttered might not have been in English.
The word uttered translates to "little n..."
which was the case for Vips, yet no protection afforded.
Incorrect. Vips used the English variant and he is white.
Piquet used a Portuguese variant of the word that Latin Americans use between friends of the same race in a derogatory fashion.
Red Bull agree to release Gasly early to take up the Aston Martin opportunity and Piastri joins AlphaTauri? :)
Why on Earth would Gasly go to Aston Martin?
On another note, I'm wondering if Horner is regretting signing Checo...his performance is declining with every race.
How about this for some absolute mind-bending driver swaps? Just for fun mind you...
Hamilton retires!!
Mercedes: Russell – Leclerc (wants out due to Ferrari being absolute whoppers when it comes to race strategy)
Ferrari: Sainz – Schumacher (cashing in on the Schumi link)
Alpine: Ocon – Gasly
McLaren: Norris – Piastri
Alpha Tauri: Tsunoda – Antonio Felix da Costa (finally an F1 seat)
Haas: Magnussen – Ricciardo
Williams: Albon – De Vries
Aston Martin: Alonso – Stroll
Red Bull: unchanged
Alfa Romeo: unchanged
Maybe Webber has engineered an all-Aussie team at McLaren, with Norris going to Alpine?
It's all conjecture, but fun at the same time!! :)
I would think NO, unless he's driving for them next year.
They have to put someone in the car...Doohan? Caldwell?
It's been said that he has already lost his seat, and other rumours saying he's very close to losing his seat.
Joe Saward, claimed yesterday that Mick is dropped and doesn't have a seat next year
Sounds like a load of rubbish to me.
Mick is not contracted for next season at this stage, but he will not be dropped.
He is the number one in the FDA and it would seem unlikely that Haas choose a different PU supplier at this point.
Mick is being groomed for a drive in the red car and as long as he keeps his head and keeps building on his performances, it will happen eventually.
He seems to have really clicked into another gear this season, and getting the points monkey off his back has been amazing for him. He'll only improve in my view.
As i mentioned, it's been reported last week he won't be with FDA next year
Can't see that happening. Big investment in Mick and of course, such history with the Schumacher name.
Would take something big to have him leave I would've thought.
If you look at the others in the FDA:
Shwartzman is trying to race under the Israeli flag
Illot is floundering in Indycar
Leclerc junior is in F3 but not really setting the world on fire. The connection with Charles helps him though.
The rest are all too young and inexperienced to even consider for F1.
Just doesn't make sense that a) Mick would just leave, or b) Ferrari would drop him.
Anyway, I guess we'll see what happens!
History got him here, the rest was up to him.
Bit harsh, won F4, F3 and F2 before graduating to F1.
More than can be said for a lot of others on the grid.
I'm surprised the contract would have been ticked off by the FIA CRB.
Norris is contracted at McLaren for 2023 and beyond, Ricciardo is also contracted for 2023, regardless of any "gentlemen's agreement" that may be in place (which would not be legally recognised).
I can't see Oscar signing an agreement that is vague enough to get past any legal challenge (driver contracts usually specifically state that they will be a race driver, not just a team member) for fear of being shafted to a test driver role or something.
Doesn't sound right at all to me.
But as of right now, the fact is, the team is worse off due to Ricciardo's gaping underperformance compared to Lando.
Actually, the team is worse off because they are too stubborn to realise that their design philosophies aren't working and haven't worked for many years. If they'd have changed this as part of the new regulations, they'd probably be in a much better position. No one to blame but themselves.
But as we get through the season the 'law of averages' should mean that the driver who as performed the best has the most points.
What are your thoughts on the 2016 championship?
Was Nico really the best driver that season?
That aside, exceptional drivers will make that extra little difference – Lando is one of those.
Carlos must be super exceptional then, having comfortably beaten Lando in both seasons they raced together...
I think he is in a lot of ways. He has done a lot of rally driving with his Dad, and I think it's paid off in his ability as an F1 driver.
Charles must be some sort of alien then...
Rosberg managed nine wins in that one season compared to the ten that Bottas managed in *five seasons* driving for Mercedes.
No idea what this has to do with it.
The point was about the best driver in the 2016 season.
Hamilton won 10 races that season to Rosberg's 9, had 12 poles to Rosberg's 8.
In races completed, Lewis finished OFF the podium only twice, to Rosberg's four times.
I'm not trying to down play Rosberg by any means, but the point was that the best driver in the best car doesn't always win the title.
Impossible to tell, but most other former F1 drivers (even average ones) like Ericsson and Grosjean have adapted to Indycar rather well. NASCAR often seems more hit and miss.
NASCAR and Indycar are essentially spec series. Everyone is in the same boat.
If you throw every single F1 driver in the current McLaren, I don't think the current championship order would be anywhere close to being reflected.
In either case, it would be disingenuous to claim one driver was clearly "best" over the other.
So you're stating Rosberg is very close in terms of skill level to Hamilton. Interesting.
I still see no argument as to why McLaren are at fault for Ricciardo's poor performance relative to Lando.
That's because it would all be speculation.
The only people who know are those who work closely with Ricciardo.
Engineers, mechanics etc.
We can throw up whatever we want, but the simple answer is, we don't know.
McLaren's apparent moves in dismissing Ricciardo in favour of Piastri may speak volumes, but we still don't know what the reasons are.
I highly doubt it would be something in Daniel's attitude or behaviour within the team.
I highly doubt he's simply given up.
I highly doubt he's lost any of his ability.
He's been given a "strange" car to drive and just can't get his head around it.
Remember, drivers don't get a lot of seat time in a testing capacity these days, and Ricciardo's pre-season was compromised by COVID. Driving in races leaves very little capacity to observe and adapt your style to the machinery provided.
The best way is to bang around the same track, in similar conditions which just doesn't happen any more.
Sure, Lando is working better, but again, there could be any combination of reasons as to why.
Maybe his engineering team are better at deciphering his feedback and tuning the car to his wants.
Maybe his natural style suits the car much more than Daniel's does.
Maybe he is has a higher ability in particular corner types than Daniel which drop his laptimes to a higher degree.
It's all speculation and we may never know...unless Daniel writes a tell-all book after he's retired!
you can't expect a team operating under a cost cap with finite resources and testing time available to re-design a whole car to suit one driver when the car is proving to be quick (despite being difficult to drive) in the hands of another.
How do we know McLaren have it right though?
Maybe if they adapted the car more towards Daniel, BOTH drivers would be quicker.
McLaren have plenty of form of sticking with one philosophy to their own detriment.
Red Bull, Aston Martin and Haas to some extent have made substantial changes to their design philosophy during the season.
All teams have the same cap, so McLaren should be able to make any changes...they have chosen not to.
They don't seem to be improving much, if at all, so could it be they have it all wrong in terms of car design?
Of course! I don't see how anyone could see otherwise.
32 wins vs 23 wins in the same car says otherwise.
Drivers only ever race in the current car and current environment. It is that by which you are measured. In particular, you are measured against your team mate, who has the same car.
Overly simplistic and incredibly narrow minded.
impatient ungrateful Piastri Vulture kid
LOL, bloke has won three titles on the bounce.
Hardly impatient when he sucked it up and took a year on the sidelines.
He could've easily expected an F1 drive in 2022, let alone 2023.
Are y'all seriously arguing about which driver is more popular?
Tell me it's the summer break without telling me it's the summer break!! LMFAO!!
IIRC the elite drivers like Senna or Prost never had those kinds of problems.
Very different cars, rules, philosophies around design and much more updated technology.
I see your point, but it is not really valid in this case.
Chris Amon's P4 Ferrari V-12
The Ferrari 412/T2 was the one for me. So pure and so musical. A joy to listen to.
They might accidentally make the cockpit a bit smaller so he doesn't fit
Piastri wouldn't fit either then...LOL
Anyhow if Lando is 'struggling', surely Daniel is struggling more hence why McLaren want to get rid of Daniel?
And that is the root cause of McLaren's problems. Blame everything except themselves. They're chassis is rubbish, but let's get rid of a driver and see if it helps! Morons.
So they should stick with Ricciardo and offer a contract extension instead? :)
He's contracted until the end of 2023. No need to rush into it.
If they actually realise how bad their design choices are and make a good car, then they will get a tune out of Ricciardo.
The car may not be the best, but it is not that bad and is easily comparable to McLaren's immediate rivals. :)
It's gone backwards relative to rivals, so no, it is not comparable. It's a complete and utter dud.
he's warming to the idea of a shift to Haas
He does love America...and the American fans seem to love him in return.
A match made in heaven perhaps?
Either way, F1 is better with Ricciardo on the grid in my opinion.
I wonder if Daniel will have had a little chat to Gerhard about his current situation...Gerhard is very well connected in the F1 paddock...
As I've said- it's more interesting than anything that he chose to reference Michelin
LOL, it's quite a common thing to refer to food as Michelin Star level if it's good.
Never liked McLaren...Ricciardo is better off without them.
Here's hoping he finds a drive and beats Norris and Piastri next season!
I'm going to fire up F1 Manager 22 tonight and choose Red Bull as my team to manage.
Verstappen and Perez are getting fired and Leclerc and Ricciardo are in! LOL
Can only be Red Bull or McLaren surely that they team up with...RB has been heavily rumoured already.
Really, what did Piastri do to make McLaren dump Ricciardo?
Won F3 and F2 in successive seasons, something only Russell and Leclerc had done before him.
They both turned out pretty well...
Whirlpool Illuminati writes...
But I was under the impression these rule changes were meant to provide better, more even racing, not just drs drive chains in the midfield for about 5 laps.
True, but as per usual, the rules are far too ambiguous and nowhere near "strict" enough.
There are loopholes that are exploited by engineers, and the top teams usually have the best and most experienced engineers...so they end up with the fastest cars in general.
All the cost cap has done (other than some virtue signalling) is ensure that teams aren't spending enormous amounts of money on designing new parts to gain a thousandth of a second...simply because they could.
They need to get some bang for their buck, but the cap is still way too high in my view for it to be effective.
So it would seem that making all the cars identical is not some kind of silver bullet.
It never has been, that's why I mentioned the engineers.
A better engineering team will almost always produce a better result given similar tools.
The top teams have the best and most experienced engineers, hence their results.
I'm still confident that Alpine will sign Daniel. He was good for them in 2020 and I don't really think the board would hold a grudge if the price is right. They need experience to meet their optimistic goals and Daniel is a known quantity for them.
If the board doesn't hire him solely because of how he left, they aren't taking themselves seriously with their plans.
Just my view :)
I still can't believe the pit wall asking drivers what they want to do with pitstops/tires (McLaren/Ferrari I am looking at you).
The strategists have all the data on the car and can see what the whole field is doing.
True, but the engineers have no idea how the car feels. If a driver has worn tyres and feels they can be managed without losing lap time, no point pitting unless it is the optimal time in terms of traffic and what the oppo are doing.
The driver needs some input.
As to what happens to RBPT though, that's a tricky one.
It's just a "sticker on the engine cover" anyway. Peel it off and the Honda badge is still there.
Shouldn't be too difficult to revert the changes.
Cyril (who no longer works at Renault) was upset when Ric announced he signed with McLaren but that was it.
Cyril finally followed through on his tattoo with Daniel as well.
Good YouTube video on Daniel's channel about it.
Simply cannot see why Alpine would bother. Better off trying to secure Gasly for the longer term future.
Gasly's just an average driver in the grand scheme of things. He's won one race and scored three podiums in 5 years. Plus, he doesn't get on with Ocon.
Gasly is also contracted for 2023. Yes, can be broken, but Ricciardo presents a much cheaper and more experienced option who knows the team.
Why do I feel like Scott McLachlan is so talented that he could even make it in F1? I know he won’t, just saying. The guy has been so impressive in his second Indy Car season.
The talent level in Indycar is way lower than F1.
McLaughlin would fail miserably if he was given a chance in F1.
I never actually said that, leeboy910 did.
I didn't say that, I said the Indycar talent is crap compared to F1.
Essentially, former F1 dcrivers who were less than adequate generally perform very well in Indycar.
Bourdais, Grosjean, Ericsson, Sato etc.
The whole superlicence thing is all about the FIA.
It is awarded by the FIA so of course any FIA affiliated series will have much more weight added to them.
Indycar only has somewhat loose ties to the FIA, so doesn't carry as much weight.
The British vocational qualification aka TAFE in Australia?
https://www.urbandictionary.com/define.php?term=BTEC
You need to get out more.
If it's all true, would you put Dan on the grid on 24 in a Mercedes?
Yep. Give him a three year deal (one as reserve, two as Lewis' replacement) to see out the current formula and assist any testing or development for 2026.
Daniel would be ready for retirement by then. Then find fresh blood to support George moving forward.
It all adds up to 2024 Dan world champ for Mercedes
That would be the ultimate middle finger salute to the doubters!
Might give Christian Horner a few nightmares too! Not to mention Max :P
The rest of the time usually feels completely redundant..
With all of these ridiculous grid penalties, the whole session seems redundant these days.
A couple of extra engines isn't going to break the bank compared to all the other costs (especially when they are having to use them anyway). It's just creating confusion otherwise.
On the contrary, the cost of one PU is currently estimated at US$10M.
So effectively the teams need to fork out an extra US$20M per engine.
Quite a chunk of the budget.
Adding a couple of extra engines and/or components into the cap would not cost any extra. But it would help to avoid en-masse grid changes like we have seen.
Engines are not included in the cost cap, so comes out of the teams' pockets and is not "baked in".
An extra US$20M or US$40M hurts a lot more for a Haas or Williams than it does for a Red Bull or Ferrari.
If some teams want to de-tune their engines and only use 2 or 3 for the season to save a dollar then they can go ahead.
Then you're putting the smaller teams at a disadvantage to an extent.
I'm all for having more engines, it just needs to be fair is all.
3 weeks until the next race?? Ah crap the depression is kicking in haha
You can't wait that long for another RBR/Max walkover?
Surely your life isn't that boring...
LOL, Jacques Villeneuve is the biggest douche canoe in the history of motorsport.
Saying Daniel has had "four bad years" since leaving Red Bull and wonders why anyone would be interested in hiring him...
The same Jacques Villeneuve who lucked into a world title in one of the most dominant F1 cars ever made, and then duly spent about 8-10 years stinking it up in the midfield of F1 before getting the boot from several teams and making a comeback for about three races where he looked so far off the pace you had to wonder if an imposter had dressed up like him and jumped in the car.
Complete and utter dingleberry.
It was tongue in cheek
As was my response :)
A couple of times now recently you've disregarded a former driver's opinion based on their own careers.
JV is widely regarded as having "hot takes" on things in an attempt to stay relevant.
This is yet another of them. It's boring, hypocritical and unnecessary.
Richard Parry made an "accurate" rendering of the Mercedes pit garage this time:
I love these. Very clever and humorous!
I’m going with Charles for pole, and if Ferrari don’t screw him, he’ll win.
I'm more concerned about the Ferrari PU coping with the heat in Singapore...and also Ferrari's sudden issue with tyre degradation hurting them in the race.
Unless Max has issues, I can't see anyone else winning at the moment. The RBR package is way too good (with Max behind the wheel anyway).
or did Red Bull just spend a bit of time figuring out their package and the gap hasn't really changed?
More this. Once they went to their "B-Spec" package, they never looked back.
They've been slowly shedding weight as the year has progressed and their car is just getting better.
Ferrari do have a decent package and have closed the gap definitely...but the fact they were quick immediately means most people (me included) overestimated how good they were going to be.
They're definitely second best on the grid, but the gap to RBR is way too big now and seemingly getting bigger.
Shame. F1 is more fun when Ferrari are super competitive.
Previously there was plenty of talk about Gasly but it seems to have cooled a little as although he does have talent, this year hasn't been great for him and I'd imagine the 2019 stint at Red Bull is probably in the back of the minds too. They're are probably issues around having to buy out his Alpha Tauri contract and the fact they may have to commit to a minimum 2 years, which is probably why they are exploring other options.
Red Bull also want to guarantee they can replace Gasly with Herta before letting him go, which looks like it won't happen at this stage.
If I was Alpine, I'd give the seat to Daniel, and put Jack Doohan in as reserve with a watertight contract!
That would give them the best chance at fulfilling their "100 race plan" in my view, whilst not having to shell out any contract buyouts or anything, and also give them a chance to develop Doohan to ultimately replace Ricciardo or Ocon.
he certainly isnt worth that much on ability alone (at the moment)
Need to throw him in the old Suzuki Liana and see what he's made of.
If I'm not mistaken, a Mr. D. Ricciardo is still top of that list...
He's made Ricciardo look 3rd rate so he's pretty high on my list and worth whatever he gets paid.
I'd wager a lot of drivers would make Daniel look poor in that McLaren, particularly younger drivers who don't have a lot of muscle memory to unwind. I'm still not 100% convinced by Norris. He seems to be prone to panicking when things don't go his way.
He really could've had 2-3 wins last year.
But he's still sitting on 0...which is why I'm not convinced yet.
Is Ricciardo still the Optus Chief Optimism Officer?
Yes he is. He was promoting for Optus last week in Perth at Optus Stadium.
He was having a quick break at home in Perth before Singapore.
Considering how much lap times vary with track temp, I take such lists with a grain of salt.
In a race car or high performance car, yes. In the old Liana on crappy road tyres? Not so much.
So why the posts talking up a possibility of a Mercedes seat in 2024. I mean, really???
Who else would be available and likely to want a move?
Drivers locked down or not likely to move that would be genuinely considered by Mercedes as a short to mid-term Hamilton replacement:
Verstappen
Leclerc
Sainz
Norris
I can't see any other drivers being considered that have plenty of F1 experience and could hit the ground running, race winning experience and who would appeal to the fans as much as Ricciardo.
You need to remove the McLaren stint from your mind as an anomaly. It is not what anyone expected and would not be replicated at Mercedes as they actually know how to build a good F1 car.
Now, having said all of the above, I don't think Hamilton will retire at the end of next season. He wants number eight and I think he will stick it out whilst he still has a genuine chance.
Ocon, Albon, Gasly (if no Alpine move) and de Vries for instance. :)
None of whom Mercedes would consider in my view.
This is unreasonable pro-Ricciardo bias! If Ricciardo was that good then the likes of Alpine and even Red Bull would be falling over themselves to sign the Australian!
Two teams who Ricciardo possibly burned his bridges with...yeah OK. No bias there.
That makes Ricciardo sound great while ignoring that both Alpine and McLaren do not want the services of the Australian.
Yes, Alpine who have their knickers in a twist because Ricciardo left, and McLaren, who weren't willing to change their design philosophy to suit Ricciardo (which, truth be told, would've made their car faster ultimately).
according to lando, the car was built for ricciardo and doesnt suit him at all
LOL, yeah, OK Lando.
Ocon was Merc's reserve driver, and part of their junior programme before that. Wolff still manages him AFAIK.
Yep, and they chose George instead of him (and rightly so).
but the team management (former managers Brawn & Lauda aside) often seem to be poor sports.
LMAO!!! Horner and Marko are the fairest and most sporting gents in the paddock are they?
The Renault turbo hybrid was so far off the pace in 2014 (some 60-80hp down, not that Honda was any better in 2015) that those were many wasted years indeed for Red Bull Racing. :(
What a ridiculous comment. Why would Red Bull move away from Renault after winning four titles on the bounce?
Hindsight is a wonderful thing, yes, but to expect either side to make a change based on literally nothing is rubbish.
You can wave your little Honda and Red Bull flags as much as you want, Renault did absolutely nothing wrong and to say they were "wasted years" is naive and just down right stupid.
RBR would have faired much better and IMO would probably have won more championships from 2014 onwards.
If they were putting as much development into their first hybrid PU as Mercedes were, they probably wouldn't have won as many titles with RBR and Vettel prior to the hybrid era.
2nd Edit: Honda
Which has exactly nothing to do with the comment, just another waving of the Honda flag.
The mother of Formula 1 world champion Max Verstappen has accused her son’s teammate of cheating on his wife, according to reports.
The whole Verstappen "family" are deplorable humans it seems. Not surprising that the old lady is of the same ilk.
So where is Mick going to do now? Haas hasn't renewed his contract and Ferrari have dropped him as well
If Ricciardo doesn't take it, I'd suggest he would be the next Mercedes reserve driver.
Ricciardo confirmed at RBR
https://twitter.com/redbullr
Red Bull to drop Verstappen in favour of a Ricciardo/Perez combination.
Daniel wins the next three world titles and runs off into the sunset with Heidi.
Checo stays with Red Bull until he's 47 years old and wins the world title in 2032 along the way.
Max ends up banger racing in the "redneck" regions of the US, has seven children with Kelly (none of whom are even remotely close to good at racing) and is often asked by the locals "Weren't you that guy who got replaced by Danny Ric?" to his eternal frustration.
</dream>
Whirlpool Illuminati writes...
I assume Kelly isn't exactly a beauty queen either, right?
Google her. She's quite attractive actually, but it would be quite ironic that a Verstappen/Piquet hybrid would be absolutely terrible at racing LOL
So, no gardening leave required then – unlike with Binotti..? Is that because of the Mercedes link maybe..? Still...?
Vowles is Toto's retirement plan.
Let him grow as TP at Williams, then bring him back in a few years to take over at Mercedes.
Formula 1 – All Time Drivers' Points using the 25 Pts and Fastest Lap Scoring System
Formula 1 – All Time Drivers' Points Weighted by Races per Season
Very interesting stuff.
Hamilton on top of both, arguably has had better cars more often than Schumacher.
Great post Zelig.
Whirlpool Illuminati writes...
Horner has come out and said they have no plans at all
I wouldn't put too much faith in those sorts of statements. So many things can change.
Exactly. If a driver gets injured or is ill, Ricciardo will be first called up.
If Perez drops his bundle and is utter turd in the new car, it won't take more than half the season before Daniel is in the car.
I don't see any of the above happening, but I would put literally no faith in what Horner says to the media!
He has to keep the energy up, and fill the silence with something, and I think any replacement would be just as unpopular.
I think Alex Jacques would be a popular choice.
Paul Di Resta going, feel sad for him.
I don't. He's got plenty of sportscar racing to enjoy himself with this year.
So we won't be privy to actual RB updates until testing anyway.
I think that was the point, with reference to their "reveal" last season.
I think some of the Ferrari V12's may top them.
Agreed. The V12 always sounded like it was spinning much faster than it was, and the scream was spine tingling.
Of all the V10 engines, which was your favourite?
I loved the Ferrari, but the BMW and Honda made some lovely noises too.
Do you think the increased quality of the simulators they're using now, would partially offset the lack of real world driving they get to do?
To some extent, yes, but nothing compares to the real thing.
Plus, there is always the issue of correlation between the sim data and real life.
unlimited amount of testing
I remember when Schumi would test at Fiorano on the Friday of the Monaco weekend...he was a machine.
why not scrap simulators as the serious way to prepare a car/driver combination, and allow much more live testing.
It would be a LOT more expensive.
Travel, accommodation, logistics, staff salaries, consumables, insurance...and the list goes on.
Surely each team would use their closest and usual testing track, so apart from getting the driver there and accommodated I don't see all that much extra expense.
That's an incredibly simplified version of events.
You'd still need the full rank of staff, not just a driver.
Mechanics, engineers, marketing, catering etc. You're talking well over 50 people per team, who all need to be fed, watered and have a place to sleep, all require travel...plus you need to get all of the gear there. You're talking probably two or three transporters, and potentially air freight too.
I get where you're coming from, but it just doesn't work that way, not with F1 anyway.
F1 is just crazy huge in all aspects.
And don't get started on the environmental impact side of things...(which I don't really buy into) but it does affect how F1 is perceived and, in turn, the way they operate.
Little over 3 days to go until the cars finally hit the track
Only 11 days until the real stuff!
FP1 in Bahrain will be the true revelation of pace :)
would a truly terrible paydriver have 1 pole position and 3 podiums?
I'd agree if any of his results were on merit.
but I think the novelty will wear off after an hour.
I'm a bit of an F1 nerd, so will listen to anything and everything being discussed.
I paid for a Sky F1 pass a couple of years ago to watch and it was great.
I really hope its a super tight 3-way tussle and all 5 drivers are vying for the championship.
Checo got burned...LOL
Everyone cutting back on paint to save weight is stupid.
Maybe they should consider changing the formula so the cars aren't so damn heavy...
All content from F1TV will also be available within the Kayo Sports app.
This would mean the archival content only, none of the live stuff, if the distinction between F1TV and F1TV Pro is being maintained.
Michelle Yeoh, Oscar for best actress winner, is the partner of Jean Todt the former Scuderia Ferrari boss.
They've been together for almost 20 years...not exactly new info LOL
Why would Lewis go to Ferrari, they have not won anything since 2007 (it hurts)
He's been saying for years that he would like to drive for Ferrari.
It's the history, the prestige, the glamour, the intrigue...
I think Seb said it best:
"Everyone is a Ferrari fan. Even if they say they are not, they're Ferrari fans."
Perhaps to recreate the situation where he's the one to rescue Ferrari from being among the losers, like the great Michael Schumacher was able to do..?
Possibly, I'd say it is more like a bucket list kind of thing for Lewis.
It would be pretty cool to tell the grandkids one day that you drove for the Scuderia.
Although having said that, it would be quite poetic if Lewis broke Michael's WDC record in a Ferrari...
What possible reason would there be for Ferrari to hire Lewis? None that I can see.
If Charles throws his toys out of the pram and wants to leave, Lewis is a good short-term replacement until they find the next young star to commit to.
So their incentive will be what? Money?
Lots of Brits love Ferrari...and there are a lot of wealthy Brits who would potentially be interested in a "Hamilton Edition" Ferrari road car.
Maybe? But that would only work if Ham actually won anything in it. Rich people don't want the Ferrari with the named driver who won nothing on it (for that brand of course).
They don't need to put his name ON the car.
If Ferrari put out a press release and ad for the new "Ferrari FXX-R, developed with 7-time WDC Lewis Hamilton", the rich folks would go nuts for it. I mean, they probably would anyway, but that extra prestige would sell a heap of Ferraris.
Even a "Hamilton Edition" would sell like hotcakes. Lewis is already an F1 legend. His success if he drove for Ferrari would be relatively meaningless from a marketing perspective.
Maybe? But that would only work if Ham actually won anything in it. Rich people don't want the Ferrari with the named driver who won nothing on it (for that brand of course).
They don't need to put his name ON the car.
If Ferrari put out a press release and ad for the new "Ferrari FXX-R, developed with 7-time WDC Lewis Hamilton", the rich folks would go nuts for it. I mean, they probably would anyway, but that extra prestige would sell a heap of Ferraris.
Even a "Hamilton Edition" would sell like hotcakes. Lewis is already an F1 legend. His success if he drove for Ferrari would be relatively meaningless from a marketing perspective.
they have never released a car with a name on it, other than Enzo himself or his son Dino
They have released a number of special liveried vehicles with the names of important Ferrari figures attached to them.
Having Schumacher involved in development of the FXX was also a PR exercise more than anything. They only built 30 of them, but the whole Top Gear/Stig thing that happened several years after production was a glorious exercise in brand promotion that people still talk about today.
That's a very silly story. Verstappen is completely dominant.
I saw an even better one (satire of course) that Verstappen can win the title by Zandvoort and then piss off on holidays for the rest of the season. Ricciardo comes in for Verstappen and Red Bull finish the season 1-2-3 in a championship where you can only have two cars LOL
Very humorous!
Having said that I still think the FW14B is probably the best F1 car of all time.
I can't go past the F2004. Still holds a couple of lap records on current circuits and was on those shitty grooved tyres.
Unbelievable machine.
It was only the smallest 5 second penalty, which is the usual penalty and is often given in such incidents, unless I'm mistaken. :)
The point was, it shouldn't have been a penalty, in my view.
media is saying the only way back for danny is to take an AT drive next year (if they boot devries) then take perez seat in 2025.
Word on the street is that Mick Schumacher is being lined up for the AT seat and a deal is reasonably close.
Sort of triggered by the imminent Hamilton contract renewal.
How was Mick ever a real contender for a Merc seat?
I don't really think he ever was, more about keeping his face in the paddock and on the radar of other teams.
Plus, he can't do much damage in the sim LOL
I don’t really want to be mean to Mick, I was rooting for him but there’s nowhere to hide in this sport.
Perhaps Mick Schumacher would be an excellent Indycar driver? :)
Mick would excel in a team with more resources in my view.
He's not the sort of driver who, like his old man, could drive around issues of the car given to him and make it competitive.
He also seemingly doesn't have the feel for the limit like Michael did (no one has in my view), and know how to dance around said limit.
However, give him lots of support and resources and I think Mick would relax a bit and his natural talent would come out.
I reckon he was petrified of binning it at Haas, and his driving suffered massively.
That doesn't make him a bad driver, just highlights a weakness.
On another note, hard to believe Leclerc only has five wins in F1.
Is he going to be another Montoya? An unfulfilled prophecy?
I think he's got the natural talent, moreso than Verstappen even, but can he put it all together?
Enough of the Ricciardo/McLaren stuff. It's getting very boring.
It was a horrible car and Daniel couldn't get his head around it.
He's not at McLaren any more and has shown his talent and skill did not disappear, it was just hamstrung by the circumstances he found himself in.
End of story. Move on.
Ricciardo won a race over Norris in 2021 but it mattered little as it was clear Norris was better and more consistent in 21' and 22' in the McLaren. If Oscar wins a race but get's beaten over a season or two against Norris, it will matter a lot less.
Ricciardo was already a race winner though.
Piastri is a rookie, coming in against Lando who is in his fifth season now.
Still with the Ricciardo/McLaren rubbish? Really? Come on now chaps, move on.
I wonder how much sim time Ricciardo is going to get at AT before Hungary...
I can see an Enchante/AT fashion collab coming too LOL
If verstappen, Hamilton , leclerc and Alonso was all driving the same Haas, who would come out in front?
I'd rather see them all in something completely different.
Maybe a V8 Supercar? That would be something.
Verstappen would fail miserably because he can't heel and toe LOL
Why aren't Liberty exploring stuff like this? They instead seem to be trying to manufacture competition in F1 by sticking their fingers where they shouldn't be.
I'm sure the drivers would LOVE to have some fun on race weekends that has no pressure attached to it, where they can let their hair down and entertain the crowds. Nothing too outlandish that would see the lawyers and insurance companies sweating bullets, just some real "tests of skill" in equal machinery!
Televise the good stuff and show people that the F1 circus can be fun and not so far up its own butt most of the time!
Let the drivers be themselves and unleashed from their teams for an hour or so.
I used to attend Calder Raceway back in the day, the sound of those touring cars was awesome, combined with the smell of racing fuel, ahhh those were the days.
I used to love the Sprintcars at the old speedway in Claremont here in Perth.
Very small oval and the crowd was literally on top of the track.
Those big-winged machines thrashing around there was amazing.
For me, in an ideal world, we'd go back to NA V10s in F1, with low downforce, fat tyres, no TC.
I watched the 2018 Chinese GP last night to remind myself of how good Ricciardo can be.
Regardless of what happens this weekend or for the rest of the season, it's good to have him back on the grid.
Car not suiting his style or not, Ricciardo absolutely does not deserve to be rated as highly as Norris.
A different tier for sure imo!
A bit of recency bias perhaps?
Norris has had some decent performances, but he's still somewhat unproven IMO.
Everyone can have an opinion and mine is that Lando Norris is a class above.
Absolutely you can. Just curious as to what has brought you to that opinion, that's all :)
I think the audible (radio transmitted) warning warble will be the way to go.
They should make it a voice, a really annoying one that verbally tells them they've exceeded track limits.
LOL, that should stop them pretty quickly.
An actually useful job for Naomi Schiff
She's an absolute doll. I like her a lot actually.
Contributes more than Dill and Lazenby!
Don't you wonder why there are so many hosts in a sport with zero women drivers ever? I would rather listen to people in the actual sport, real experts, than hosts simply selected for eye candy, and its just becoming worse. They give the broadcast a 'Morning Show' vibe rather than a serious sporting broadcast.
I'd say because most of the experts are boring as batshit, and a lot of ex-drivers would be expensive!
F1 is trying to appeal to a wider audience and having some wet sponge dribbling on about technical aspects would drive most casual viewers away.
It would make it easier for the drivers to judge where they are, and warn about the likelihood they are at risk of going right over..?
By the time they've committed to a line through a corner, it's too late.
Yes it will let them know they've gone over, but won't prevent it from happening.
I don't like the penalties handed out for what is probably a millisecond gain at most, but if drivers can thread the needle around Monaco, they should be able to do it anywhere. They need to suck it up and adjust their lines accordingly.
Can't modify the tracks too much because of cost and other racing formats so the only real options are to just let them do whatever they want or come up with a much better policing and penalty system.
Just make the edge of the track, the edge of the track. No big wide kerbs, no run-off area.
If the line has grass on the other side, drivers won't be pushing out there as there is no advantage.
You can't put anything that may damage the cars or drivers, and just letting them do whatever they want...well, if you give them an inch they'll take a mile and end up rally-crossing or something.
The idea of Grand Prix racing is to be the fastest WITHIN the limits of the circuit. Not finding ways to short cut the limits!
Most of all, we get the fasicle situation is we are applying penalties after the race and changing the finishing position of nearly the whole grid.
That part is silly. If they can't recognise and penalise the track limit exceedances during the Grand Prix, then that's a failing of the stewards and the process. If there is a good system that can provide results very quickly that are communicated to the driver, it's on them if they keep transgressing isn't it? You can't just let them get away with it.
F1 just needs to sort the calendar out.
It should be split into regional legs, with Asia Pac, Americas, Middle East and Europe.
Let's rejig this season's calendar as such:
Middle East Leg
Bahrain 5 March
Saudi Arabia 12 March
Qatar 26 March
Abu Dhabi 2 April
Baku 9 April
Americas Leg 1
Miami 30 April
Vegas 7 May
Austin 14 May
Americas Leg 2
Mexico 28 May
Brazil 4 June
Canada 18 June
Europe Leg 1
Monaco 9 July
Barcelona 16 July
Austria 30 July
Silverstone 6 August
Mid-season break (4 weeks)
Europe Leg 2
Belgium 3 September
Netherlands 10 September
Hungary 24 September
Monza 1 October
Asia Pacific Leg
Japan 22 October
Singapore 29 October
Australia 12 November
Just throwing dates around, but it makes sense to break things up this way in my view.
There is a three week gap between each region, and only two triple headers, with a 3 week break in between them.
i would put the mid season break before europe leg 1 tho because you have 15 races before it and only 7 after it
Yeah that was the only thing I was a bit up in the air about.
It's more about the date than the number of races. The season should fit well inside 9 months.
Could probably split into three legs for Europe, with two races before the break and six after.
Now that we've cracked that, where do we apply for our positions with F1? LOL
Makes a lot of sense logistically, re travel, moving support, personal, and parts, etc, but if that is so, it sort of begs the question why has this rationalisation not happened before..? What is the sticking point..?
If there were 3 races in three week then fans would likely only attend one of those races. Spread out over the year would enable more people to attend multiple races. Rinse and repeat for Europe, Middle East and Asia.
This. All about bums on seats at the races.
The "gap" between creating enough revenue and cutting enough cost is getting smaller though.
It's understandable they would want to try and keep the teams happy as well as getting enough fans in.
I'm not convinced. He has finished behind Pouchaire in the previous 2 season they have raced against each other and has finished 6th, 2nd and 26th across F2 / F3.
I think Zane Maloney is going to be the next big thing to come from F2.
The kid is going to be a star.
So you are going to tell me that calling Aussies laid back or larrikins is racist?
Or whinging poms is racists?
Or Americans are loud mouths, so that's racist too?
Well, no, but those who are from Mexico, Central America and South America are generally of hispanic or latin heritage.
To paraphrase, Marko is essentially saying latin/hispanic folk are lazy BECAUSE they are latin/hispanic.
Australia, Great Britain and the US are all a mish-mash of many different races, and the "larrikinism" or being "loud-mouthed" are not attributed due to race. It is a cultural aspect attributed to inhabitants of the country, regardless of their race.
To say Australians are lazy is not racist. To say latin/hispanic people are lazy IS racist.
Either way, Marko was well out of order and definitely guilty of racial profiling.
That's racist actually
It's quite clear you don't understand what racism actually is.
Saying people from a certain place are majority a certain race is not racist.
Shall we go back to the consistent incessant discussion who's the greatest F1 drivers of all time, since this thread began? :p
There is no discussion. Schumacher. End of. :)
Can't be race wins as only RBR has wins this year, so I suppose only podiums is acceptable for you?
Ahem, Mr. Sainz would like to argue this point...
F1, at the end of the day, is now a business.
No one "deserves" anything. It is all about what is best for business.
Cold, hard truth.
The use of sensors has been tried both in F1 and other categories and generally leads to unreliable data with "innocents" being pinged and "guilty" getting away with it
Just use Bernie's idea. Make the off track areas soaking wet and the drivers will stay off them!
For wet races, probably less of an issue anyway as kerbs tend to be more slippery than tarmac.
And how practical would it be to do that..? Sprinklers all round the track..? I don't think so.
Yeah, the Egyptians and Romans really struggled with the idea of irrigation...
But for all the wins and records and accolades Max is collecting what is the one thing that he hasn’t done? Beat a genuinely rated top tier teammate (preferably with a WDC) in the same car.
As much as I'm a massive Schumacher fan, he never beat a truly top tier teammate either.
Doesn't tarnish his legacy in any way though as he changed the sport for drivers, revived an almost comatose Ferrari and lead them back to dominating the sport and beat some very good competition along the way.
Verstappen isn't quite in the Schumacher region yet, but he's absolutely dominating F1 right now and a lot of the records are his for the taking. He could easily eclipse the 100 plus win barrier, seven world titles and plenty more. 100 poles might be beyond him but you never know. No one will care that he didn't beat a decent teammate when he went up against Hamilton and beat him.
I'd love to see any current driver in any older car, identical spec (where feasible) and see how they cope relative to the drivers of the time.
Would the current crop be able to handle the lack of driver aids and less refined machinery?
Do you mean the car controls they can change on the steering wheel at the moment?
Plus a race engineer basically telling them what to do.
I reckon half of the blokes on the grid today would struggle to complete a proper flying lap in a 90s or even 2000s F1 car.
They're no less capable than in the past.
I agree and disagree. I think they are capable in a different manner.
Unfortunately it's all about management and driving to a number now.
Back in the day, it was just balls to the wall and if the car breaks or you crash, so be it.
Ferrari,as late as a couple of years ago,still want 3 car Teams.
If they aren't going to include more teams, I'd be happy for this option to be available.
More cars means more drivers getting opportunities. It does also mean increased costs, but that can easily be managed.
I wonder how competitive the VCARB will be. The 2024 car should benefit from more collaboration with RBR and more RB19 parts from what I've seen on the interwebs. I hope this rings true. I reckon Daniel (and Yuki for that matter) could give the podium a good shake on occasion this season.
The livery could be something special too with the colour scheme. Flash back to those lovely STR liveries circa 2018.
One gets the feeling that 'the powers that be' would prefer Andretti/Cadillac to buy out one of the current underperforming teams, than find room for an 11th team..?
Or have GM come in as a works team...
Been rumors for a while that Audi want him
Maybe a year at Aston then off to Audi?
I don't think Stroll will be in F1 next season.
I think Merc will wait it out for a replacement.
If it's only one season, I wouldn't rule out Mick Schumacher.
Toto rates him and he does have a bit of experience.
He has impressed on the simulator and his work ethic is second to none.
I also fully expect some sort of collaboration between Ferrari, Lewis and potentially an Italian fashion brand on a special edition road car or perhaps even an entirely new model.
Maybe Hamilton's move is not a show of a lack of confidence in Mercedes? Maybe he can't predict whether Ferrari would build a better car?
Seb said it best..."Everyone is a Ferrari fan. Even if they say they aren't, everyone is a Ferrari fan".
Lewis has always been a fan of Ferrari, so it was always a case of when and not if in my view.
Looks like Aus GP will be the opening race next year
Can Lewis emulate Kimi and Mansell by winning on his Ferrari debut?
If Ferrari build a good car in 2025 and Lewis is on it, he could become only the second driver in history to win titles at three teams (Fangio won at four teams). That would be a serious feather in his cap.
Reading comments online suggest max and Carlos dads don't like each other
I don't think anyone actually likes Jos...tolerates maybe...
If I remember correctly the San Marino GP used to be a defacto Swiss GP, or something like that. My old memory is not always correct nowadays.
They used the Dijon-Prenois circuit in France during the 80s for a one-off "Swiss" GP, but other than that it was always hosted at Bremgarten.
Hill climb events are allowed and there are lots of them held in Switzerland. It's just competitive circuit racing which is banned.
Not totally correct. Electric vehicle racing is allowed which is how Formula E hosted an ePrix in Switzerland in 2019.
Electric vehicle doesn't have a motor therefore it's not motor racing.
Swiss government said electric vehicle racing was good for research and development from a technological perspective within their country, which is why the decision was made in 2015. No loopholes.
Well "VCARB" didn't skimp on the colours
Absolute banger.
Danny Ric influence for sure. Something very "Buffalo Bills" about it.
I much prefer the in house sourced team that sometimes may struggle but always gives their all ...
Rory Byrne isn't too old is he?
Why did they use data and not common sense like other F1 teams, i.e., Red Bull, who also figured that running a car "low and hard" is not practical on real race tracks
That's quite a vast simplification in a very complex sport!
I'm sure there were literally millions of data points used, and terabytes of data analysed in order to come up with the specific decisions Mercedes (and all other teams) made.
I'd assume they were confident they could run low and stiff and make it work, rather than to be impractical or edgy.
Visa balls app so far best looking car imo followed by Ferrari.
I reckon the Aston Martin is the best so far, closely followed by the Ferrari. VCARB is nice, but too much white.
Because a roadcar's dynamics and aero profile correlates with an open wheeled F1 car.
In terms of ground effect, there is some correlation...considering about 60% or more of the aero effect on an F1 car is from ground effect with the floor and diffuser, it does give an advantage to some extent.
Having said that, Ferrari, McLaren, Mercedes and Renault to a lesser extent also have that potential advantage.
Whirlpool Illuminati writes...
I think it would be atleast very difficult now, possibly toxic. Or have you felt like that before this whole incident?
Always had a bit of a feeling about Horner and that he'd be difficult to work for/with.
The whole outfit just feels like a bit of a regime in my view and you'd be able to cut the tension with a knife.
For what it's worth, a summary on what it would be like to work at the other teams, in my view:
Ferrari – fun, inspiring and full of passion...but a lot of pressure to perform
McLaren – boring, nerve-wracking and a feeling of walking on eggshells
Mercedes – pleasant, somewhat fun with a subdued atmosphere. Very corporate.
Alpine – energy-sapping, behind the 8-ball and a feeling of helplessness
VCARB – fun, energetic with a real desire to take a step forward
Haas – backwards, strange and lacking in fun and passion
Williams – a feeling of desire and of taking a forward step that never really materialises into anything of note
Sauber – a bit clinical, lacking in soul and of always playing catch up
Aston Martin – similar to Red Bull, but with much less tension in the air.
No real great thought about the above, just my sort of snap reactions about how I feel from what I know and have seen/read about the teams.
Ferrari have been selling magic beans to drivers since Michael left them.
Imagine if they'd have kept Michael to race alongside Kimi in 2007 and probably 2008, rather than replacing him with Kimi.
They'd have won both championships easily in my view, and Michael would have at least 8, probably 9 titles.
With all the BS happening at Red Bull, would it be out of the question that Mercedes have a crack at Ricciardo for 2025? Assuming his performance warrants it of course.
Verstappen's chief mechanic has departed RBR with immediate effect. The ship is sinking...off track at least.
Without knowing why it’s not telling of anything really. Let’s see who picks him up, maybe he goes to Merc to get Max’s new car ready.
Quoted as saying his new employer is "at the other end of the grid"
IMHO Leclerc is the most over-rated driver in F1. He's good but he doesn't deserve being likened to Verstappen, Hamilton, Alonso etc.
Hard disagree. Not about the likening to Verstappen etc as he's just not there yet, but he has the ability to match them.
I don't think he's overrated at all. He won titles in almost everything he sat in (except F1 thus far of course – Verstappen didn't win anything before F1 except karting titles), a very consistent point scorer and multiple race winner in F1, chased Vettel out of Ferrari and made the team his own really, as evidenced by his very long term contract extension.
If anything, he's been let down by some sub-standard Ferrari hardware and race strategy.
Has binned it a few times, but most of the best drivers have from time to time.
I think it's very harsh to say he's overrated, especially compared to other drivers on the current grid.
Quick google only, not sure how accurate but he was F3 champ.
All regional titles. Leclerc won World F3/GP3 and World F2/GP2 in consecutive years.
Also finished 2nd at Macau and was 2nd to Verstappen in F1 in 2022.
There are always exceptions to rules, but generally a driver who wins world titles before F1 goes pretty well.
Without looking I'd say the majority of F1 world champions were winning world titles in juniors.
Then there are freaks like Kimi and Max.
Okay, I can see that being useful. But I assume it would have to be decided on pre-race. If it started raining mid race they would have a problem.
My understanding is that the wheel guards form part of the tyre and wheel assembly.
They can be fitted as one unit like a normal tyre change, so if wet tyres go on, the guards go on with them.
Rumours of who will replace Sargeant continue!
I saw one that had Ocon moving to Williams and Mick Schumacher getting his seat at Alpine. Apparently Mick has been offered a test in a two year old Alpine car.
I'd like to see Mick get another shot at F1. and let's face it, Alpine isn't going to be attracting any topline drivers at the moment.
Me too. I reckon he was under huge pressure at Haas and as a rookie it showed.
He probably tried a bit too hard and went beyond the limits too often.
I think Alpine would be a good place to reintroduce him to F1.
It makes sense that Toto would push Ocon towards Williams too with the Mercedes link.
Might fortify the engine deal for Williams as well.
I wouldn’t mind a second chance for him, but that means someone isn’t getting a first chance. That’s F1 I guess.
I'm OK with that. Drivers are rushed into F1 these days anyway and I reckon a lot of them could do with a further year or two in the junior categories.
Laughable that such an under performer has been offered another contract in the best seat on the grid.
Continuity is a massive advantage in F1. If they win the WDC and WCC, what difference does it make?
Better the devil you know as they say.
Pity he did't go all the way.
He crashed the Williams during his test, so a spectacular failure on four wheels LOL
Checo is well liked in the team and Max is happy with Checo as his team mate, I think it's as simple as that.
Most front running teams don't place a lot of emphasis on the WCC relative to the WDC.
Even though it has a monetary incentive, most front running teams would rather win the WDC and finish 2nd or 3rd in WCC than win the WCC and have their lead driver finish 2nd or 3rd in the WDC.
In my view, RBR don't really give a toss who partners Max. As long as they don't get in his way and do "enough" with the car, if Max wins the WDC, that's all RBR really concern themselves with for the most part.
If so, all the cries of "bring back ground effects (i.e., venturi tunnels) for great racing" were wrong I guess? :)
If the cars were late 90s / early 2000s spec, it would have made a huge difference in my view.
With the heavy and long cars we have now, it doesn't make much difference.
The active aerodynamics is interesting. That will be a game changer
I guarantee we'll be here, mid to late 2026 saying how boring the racing still is.
These regs won't make much difference at all to the racing.
Might be a different team dominating, but until they get rid of the hybrid rubbish and commit to biofuels, heavily reduced aero and much smaller and lighter cars, the racing will still be shit.
Ultimately it's the teams and drivers that make the crowds.
F1 has overcorrected massively. It used to be too much about the racing with not enough emphasis on teams and drivers.
Now it is way too much the other way. They need to find the balance.
Neither Yuki or Ric deserved the RBR seat right now. By only giving Perez a 1 year deal effectively it gives them time to assess whether to put Yuki or Ric in the RBR seat next year.
I'm pretty sure Horner has been quoted as saying something along the lines of "You sign a contract with Red Bull for one of the four seats available. Where we put you is up to us.". So they can effectively swap out drivers as they see fit.
Bottas would be lucky to make a top 60. However, that’s not exactly all the bad.
Blistering pace on his day, but falls into the "everything has to go right" sort of category of driver.
Doesn't have the talent to drag an inferior car regularly to the points, let alone wins like the really great drivers.
I wonder if this is true for all drivers in an era of car design and that they become attuned to a particular way of driving that makes it hard for them to succeed when designs change (not to forget challenges teams face with car design.)
This is what Schumacher's struggles at Mercedes were attributed to.
The very stable rear-end and understeer balance were the total opposite of his want for a 'pointy' car.
He did manage to get a handle on it somewhat, and prime Schumi probably would've buried Rosberg by 2012...
Sainz is the victim of the political game in F1.
It's quite surprising when you consider the strength and aura behind the Sainz name in general...but not at all surprising when you look at the power players in F1 and how everything is structured currently.
How do you figure that?
If there are no opportunities to go to RBR or Mercedes, where else do you think he should have gone?
The reason behind there being no opportunities...think about it.
I think you're over thinking it, why would those teams take Sainz when they could have picked the drivers they got?
Sainz is a far better option than Perez, Tsunoda, Lawson or Ricciardo from a performance perspective.
He's also a known quantity relative to Antonelli who isn't really blowing up any skirts in F2 this season.
Quite funny that Paul Aron is leading F2...
I remember buying one for $60
F1 merch is horribly overpriced, as is most sporting team apparel really.
When you're paying over $100 for a t-shirt, it's just ridiculous.
2026 might throw up all new and exciting things.
Imagine if Alpine throw in the towel with their engine and start using RBPT....LOL
I wonder what Cyril would make of it!
If RB give Danny Ric the arse, I can see the Sauber/Audi rumours starting up.
A Hulk/Ric combo would be handy for a team looking for experience heading towards 2026.
2025 is literally a write off for them anyway.
You would say Danny Ric is still in demand by other F1 teams?
I think it makes sense for a "new" team.
You can't manufacture experience, and DR is arguably the best option out there (assuming Sainz goes to Williams).
As I said, 2025 is a write off for Sauber/Audi anyway in my view, so getting both experienced drivers testing the 2026 setup makes a lot of sense in my view.
We also know the PR value that DR has, he would bring plenty of exposure to a new brand entering F1.
If they were really ruthless, they "use" him in 2025 to develop for 2026 and then bin him for 2026 if they wanted to go after another, younger driver.
Yeah if any of Zhou, Ocon, Kmag, Hulk, Sergent, Stroll can find seats then Dan still has a place as he's better than all of them. Hell i'd even add Bottas, Gasly and Yuki to that list. Screw it, throw Perez in there too.
Well, further to that point, I don't think Audi will struggle for cash or sponsorship, so a "pay" driver isn't required!
It also depends on what RIC wants to do. If he doesn't want to drive for another lesser team then he'll go back to the sidelines.
NASCAR beckons if he can't find a seat in F1.
For all the hype about RIC being able to develop a car, it's clear he hasn't been able to do that at two teams now.
Is McLaren included in this?
You can't blame Ricciardo for their incompetency whilst he was at the team.
As soon as Stella was put in charge and the design philosophy changed, the car was completely different.
By all reports, Ricciardo asked for/recommended changes but they made him change his driving style.
He's definitely not the same driver from his RBR days, but he's been a victim of circumstance really.
Self-inflicted circumstances to some extent, but I think he's been given a rough ride by a lot of media and pundits.
But NOR still delivered points, and by quite some margin over RIC. But that's modern F1, the designers build the car the CFD tells them will be quick, and then its on the driver to adapt. RIC couldnt. Thats on him.
In hindsight, it is quite obvious Ricciardo was right.
Norris is now competing for race wins and Piastri ain't far behind.
Patrick Head, while being a fan of Villeneuve for example, wasnt a fan of his reliance on overly firm suspension setups (or the impact this preference had on low grip/wet tracks).
Not to mention his ridiculous throttle pedal setup as well.
Reports had the throw of his pedal at about 17mm...
Checo better get some results in.
He'd literally have to hope Verstappen has a couple of DNFs...can't see him bridging the gap in two races.
I'd wager Ricciardo is moved to RBR, Lawson replaces him at RB and Checo is on the scrap heap...or hired by Williams LOL
everyone who has driven alongside Max has been spat out by Red Bull ... and Checo will be the next casualty
Ricciardo wasn't spat out. He left on his terms.
12. With 7 WDCs to show for it.
Weird, feels like more drivers.
Doornbos only did about three GPs as well...
Chances of Toto parachuting Mick Schumacher into the second seat with Kimi Antonelli as reserve in 2025?
Unlikely. Antonelli has had an upturn in form recently.
Unless he falls off a cliff in that regard for the rest of the season, I think they'll take the chance on him.
Get a full season into him before the reg changes in 2026.
Winning F2/GP2 was never a given that you would go into F1.
That was the idea that F1 wanted to foster though.
as much as I love DR – even at his peak, I don't think he'd beat even 2018 Max over a season, let alone 2021-2023 Max
We've never seen that version of Max without the 100% support of his team though.
If Daniel was at RBR in 2021, I think it would've been a 3-way battle for the title with DR/MV/LH.
They seem to know what they doing and the factory is probably quite a bit more modern than the Renault factory at Viry-Châtillon, but whether this will result in a competitive power unit or not is hard to say. :)
Ferrari have had one of the best engines in F1 for the best part of 25 years, but they've only ever won races in the back of a works Ferrari. There is much more to a power unit being competitive than just the PU itself.
I wonder which Country will be ditched?
Hasn't the idea of Zandvoort and Spa having alternative seasons for their respective GPs already been raised?
That creates a gap in the calendar.
But would that idea be popular?
Not with me it wouldn't haha
I love Spa and think it is one of a few "untouchable" circuits that simply must be on the calendar by any means.
Still the dumbest naming decision in modern times.
I dunno, Stake F1 Team Kick Sauber is pretty horrendous...
LOL, deserves his seat because his dad bought the team.
Villeneuve continues to be a complete and utter moron.
I guess if Foxtel folds, Liberty will just remove the geo-lock for F1TV Pro for Australia and we'll be able to subscribe.
One can only hope...
Foxtel is way too successful as a business to fold or be shut down by a buyer
True, but a new owner may have a different perspective on sports and may choose to relinquish the exclusive rights to F1 coverage. It is a growing sport, but it is also an expensive one. We saw a similar thing with the EPL rights when Optus threw heaps of cash at it to pry it away from Foxtel.
Ok – have at me – I can take it...
Being able to choose an onboard and watch it for the entire race...would be awesome to be able to concentrate on a midfield battle or some other piece of action instead of what the world feed provides.
That alone is enough for me to want to make the switch if it was on offer.
In regards to the second seat at Mercedes, any talk about Antonelli being signed up
Apparently he's already signed the contract, just hasn't been announced yet.
Is F1Pro any different to what the Foxtel F1 App does and how much is that for 12 months?
US$85.00 per year.
I don't know what the Foxtel app has, but you get full control of almost everything.
All onboards, commentary and the full back log of F1 races to watch on demand.
If Australia got F1TV Pro I'd say that annual subscription would more likely be about AUD$100.
Yeah, I'd say no more than AU$120.00.
That's $5 a race based on this year's calendar, so I'm pretty happy to pay that.
I pay about 100 bucks for all Foxtel channels except movies
Yeah, per month. This is an annual charge.
Even if it was $150 for the year, considering the amount of pure rubbish you don't watch on Foxtel, a focused price that gives you unlimited access and some great viewing options is a good deal in my view.
You're paying $1,200 a year for Foxtel, and probably consuming 2-5% of the available content.
Daniel seemed pretty happy and confident in Zandvoort for the Thursday driver wrap.
I think he knows more than is being let on about his future.
that number could go higher if Antonelli gets the Merc seat
Apparently this will be announced at Monza. He's locked in.
Reports Mick and Liam being looked at to replace Logan till fmd of the year
Way too convoluted to get Lawson in there.
Schumacher is a decent option in my view.
He's got F1 experience and is always on the Mercedes sim, so should be reasonably sharp.
No pressure for him either as he knows their lineup is set for 2025.
I think Frank would have a little grin on his face to finally see the Schumacher name on one of his cars.
With the pace advantage that Lando has....i would say his the favourite now to take the championship.
No chance. Lando is nowhere near consistent enough and is a proven bottler.
Max will win the title comfortably. If I was betting on it, I'd have my money on him wrapping things up in Vegas.
It's not Lando that I worry about, it's the wishy-washy radio comms from the Mclaren pit wall that never fill me with confidence. Phrasing like "what do you think we should do" always sounds panicky and lacking in trust/clarity in their own strat.
To be fair, the current McLaren squad don't know how to win.
None of them have really been involved (in their current roles) at the front of a championship battle.
If they want to win, they need to find new race engineers who have experience in front running teams.
Vowles is on the crack pipe or something.
Colapinto is their best chance at securing points? LOL, just tell us you didn't want Logan binning another chassis.
There are PLENTY of options who would be a much better chance at scoring points.
Even Rosberg or Vettel would be a better shout if that was the ultimate goal.
Rosberg and Vettel are retired, no? :)
That was kind of the point :P
Who else is realistically available other than Lawson, Schumacher? Lawson couldn't get released, Schumacher is no upgrade, Hadjar is a RB driver.
Hadjar is up to his neck in F2, so would never do it anyway.
Schumacher is definitely an upgrade on Sargeant. If scoring points was the goal as Vowles has said, his record of binning cars shouldn't be in consideration really should it?
Other names...Drugovich? Vesti? Pourchaire?
I'm sure the Formula E drivers would be interested and would be able to do almost but one of the remaining races.
Some good names in there. Pascal Wehrlein, Antonio Felix Da Costa, Mitch Evans, Seb Buemi...
It's not that I don't rate Colapinto, but you don't throw a complete rookie in if scoring points if your main objective for a handful of races...
MY Utube history is stuffed so don't get to see the race recaps anymore.
Do you use a VPN at home?
F1 Youtube channel won't work if you use a VPN.
Let's be honest ferrari just chucked a hail mary out there and got lucky.
I wouldn't call it a hail Mary, more a calculated gamble.
I think Monza was the only one where he got overtaken later in the lap and the rest have all been before the first corner.
So you're saying he's improving?
Who knows, by 2026 he might make it to Variante Ascari before being overtaken on lap one!
Do you really think he's God status
My controversial opinion. Rory Byrne was a better designer than Newey.
Schumacher gets way to much credit for their success, and he had little at Ferrari until Byrne and Brawn came along.
It was Schumacher who chased Brawn (who brought Byrne with him), so he was the catalyst for their huge success.
The problem with this is that Bryne relied on Schumacher to have success, while Newey could do it with many drivers. In reality Bryne was not in Neweys class.
Fair point, but as b0son said, other drivers did win in his cars, and Ferrari heavily favoured Schumacher.
He designed a lot of good race winning cars, but was only ever in the best team when at Ferrari.
Newey has, since Williams, been at highly resourced and well funded teams.
Don't forget that Byrne's F399 beat Newey's MP4/14 with Eddie Irvine as the spearhead driver.
Well the F399 did win the constructors title in 1999 by 4 points. Would have been a bigger margin if Schumacher wasn't out injured
Yep, and Schumacher probably wins the WDC if he doesn't miss any races.
On another note, the F2004 is still arguably the greatest F1 car ever made, with the F2002 not far behind.
F2004 still holds lap records at current circuits and matches up well against more modern machinery.
His tyre strategy was mystifying again. Surely Mediums on lower fuel levels would have lasted 15+ laps.
He had bad graining and lost a heap of time.
The strategy was altered to go as long as possible and hope for a safety car (which are usually common in Baku) but it was only a VSC and came too late.
It did feel like Ricciardo had lower energy than normal during the Baku weekend. Could be signs that he knows he's out...not sure.
I think he's a bit frustrated by the lack of (good) development from VCARB. There is only so much the driver can do and neither of the VCARB boys are blowing anyone's skirt up right now, and haven't been for several races.
Ricciardo has been the better of the two for a while now, but the optics aren't showing that.
If Ralf wasn't a Schumacher, no one would pay his opinions any attention at all.
Don't be ridiculous. He's a 6-time GP winner in his own right and raced the best part of 200 GPs.
Why only look at the last 9 races? Coz that's the only way you can try to create a positive spin for RIC?
It's to point out the general trend of performance.
Yuki started well but has faded badly, Ricciardo the opposite.
His general performance trend has an upward trajectory, whilst Yuki's is downward.
Quite a fair point in my view.
Third_time's_a_Charm writes...
Ricciardo is an 8 time winner from more than 250 starts, so does he have more credibility?
I think Ricciardo's opinion would be highly regarded. The point is, Ralf's surname has very little to do with his credibility.
He is his own man, had his own career and has every right to offer an educated opinion considering he's been there and done that, and to be taken seriously as a pundit.
Even old mate Villeneuve has the right, even if he does it in a very abrupt and cold manner.
You don't have to agree with them, but to discount Ralf because of his name is ridiculous.
Third_time's_a_Charm writes...
I don't discount his opinion because of his name, I question him having an educated opinion on this matter. I think his opinion is motivated to collect clicks rather than any educated inside knowledge.
Maybe...or maybe he's just doing his job as a pundit? I mean, you could literally suggest that ANYTHING a pundit says is for clicks...but that is very cynical to say the least.
Even though he's been out of the game for a while, he would still have contacts and intimate access to certain parts of the F1 paddock.
It would not surprise me if he had an inside word on this, and he would definitely know how F1 contracts work, the decision making process in terms of driver line-up and also how cut-throat the sport is.
The race prior to that RIC finished 12th and TSU finished 17th. Did RIC "beat" TSU?
Yes, he did. It's all relative to car performance.
That VCARB has been mostly uncompetitive, so it's about what the driver does with the tools provided.
Even a Verstappen, Hamilton or Schumacher is finishing outside the points in that car.
The difference between 12th and 17th could easily be one driver getting shafted with a bad pit strategy, which isn't on the driver.
Funny you should say that, considering Ricciardo has been shafted several times this season due to bad strategy...
hear they are starting DR on the hard tyres he did the Baku race on hoping the graining improves and the tyres come good
LOL, sounds like a typical VCARB strat!
Most of the grid have never won a race
Incorrect.
13 of the current grid have won at least one Grand Prix.
That's 65% of the grid, or "most" of them.
Do you think he’d do a better job than Checo in the RBR? I do.
Agreed. Of all the drivers in the RB stable, he is the best choice to partner Max in my view.
And by getting Lawson in the RB for a few races
He's under huge pressure.
If he gets similar results to Daniel, he might not even get the 2025 drive.
As Horner said in Singapore, they have several young drivers waiting in the wings.
He has already driven in F1 and had some decent results
Very similar results to Daniel (if not worse)...his results get elevated because he was only a stand-in.
We all know how that worked out for Nyck De Vries...
Red Bull are their own worst enemy.
How so?
Their decisions are often internally conflicted (Horner vs Marko), not explained or communicated well and often seem short-sighted and knee-jerk.
Ever since they acquired Verstappen, their driver line-ups and comms around them have been terrible.
To be honest, it started way before then, but has become more obvious in recent times.
Sure, they've blooded rookies and given young drivers opportunities, but they have also thrown them away and made knee-jerk decisions.
Just look at Gasly, Albon, Kvyat, Ricciardo, De Vries, Hartley...even Tsunoda to some extent.
I hope he does Nascar (or even jumps in a V8 Supercar) and gets better results than Jacque's did in those categories (although that won't be too difficult to do)
If Ricciardo went to Indycar, he'd absolutely light it up I reckon.
He has a lot of fans in the US, and to see him "every other weekend" in Indycar would be huge for him.
Not sure if he's over his fear of Indycar though! LOL
Their design philosophies for their cars is more rear end grip oriented (and understeer) due to the drivers.
Ummm, Leclerc prefers a pointy car...
Daniel thrived in an RBR car, if he did indeed prove he was quick in an RB19, then putting him in a car that he can't leverage like this isn't going to pay any returns,.
Perez was P2 in the championship when they made the decision, so understandable.
They couldn't predict Checo would shit the bed in 2024.
I agree that it was a poor way of doing things, but at that stage, they had no reason to drop Perez.
He's P8 in the championship, and his performance is objectively the same as last year when he got P2, it's just that eveyone else is better.
But RBR have even admitted Perez was right in terms of their car development...he's been awful, but he was fighting a losing battle.
What seems lost in the noise is that Ricciardo could have retained his seat simply by driving better.
In the shitbox VCARB, with incredibly amateur pit strats and horrendous upgrade path?
If Yuki wasn't signed up for 2025, he'd be shitting himself as well.
Where was the same margin over Yuki Tsunoda?
Tsunoda is far more competent than Liuzzi ever was.
Very poor comparison to make.
I think Daniel will base himself in the US for large parts of the year soon.
His partner Heidi wants to pursue an acting career in the US and Daniel likes it there, so wouldn't surprise me.
Pretty sure he has an abode there already as well.
Not sure he'd be interested in an ambassador role for Red Bull.
He struggled with not being in the car after his McLaren stint, so I doubt he'd want to do something similar.
But was interesting Horner dropping in if Sergio or Liam struggle we know what Daniel can do
Might be related to the "twist" that Kym Illman was referring to...
Its about relative performance, and RIC hardly dominated TSU.
This just amplifies that Checo should be nowhere near that RBR seat.
RIC is finished.
RIC is finished as he should be. He’s not at the level anymore.
RIC is finished. Time to move on
Probably, but I bet I'm proved right. He's finished in F1
RIC is finished in F1. Let's move on.
He's finished
Forget RIC. He’s finished.
Maybe you should move on...
Third_time's_a_Charm writes...
I'm still getting over Webber's race in Korea.
LOL
I'm still getting over Hill v Schumacher!!
Double LOL
F1 seems to have decided that Old is out, and Young is in.
Fernando Alonso and Lewis Hamilton have entered the chat...
Fangio was in his forties when he on his last championship
Fangio was mid 20s before he even started racing, and didn't race a Grand Prix car until he was well into his 30s.
One would think he does – if not what was his manager thinking..? If he has one that is..?
His manager is his cousin, Carlos Onoro.
No chance. Lando is nowhere near consistent enough and is a proven bottler.
Max will win the title comfortably. If I was betting on it, I'd have my money on him wrapping things up in Vegas.
I'll just leave this here :-P
I hope not – I'm for anything that would add more pressure to drop Monaco as an annual event. Sure, the people who get to go there love it, but its the most boring race imo
Which is no fault of the circuit...the formula is all wrong.
Mick is going to drive the yellow Ferrari customer WEC car
Mick also quit Alpine WEC team, apparently furious that his "shootout" against Doohan in the Alpine 2022 F1 car merely involved warming up the car in the morning in inferior track conditions!
Yeah nah. Mick has confirmed he is staying with Alpine for 2025 on his social media accounts.
I don't see him going back to Ferrari at any point in the future.
I wonder what the Orange army will think of this? Rioting in the streets?
I honestly don't think Max will be in F1 in 2027.
Never thought I’ll say this but, F1 needs less races. Over saturation of races.
Agreed. I think 18 is plenty. That's 2 every month in a 9-month season (March through November), or effectively, one every fortnight.
Need to stop pandering to the "global reach" idea and start using the circuits/locations that are part of the F1 fabric and/or produce great racing.
From the current calendar, I can think of 10 races that I'd be fine with dropping/replacing.
It's ridiculous that there is no German or French GP. 16 world drivers championships combined from those two countries alone.
F1 also needs to calm down on some of its pricing. The best way to get more people to go to races is to make it more feasible in terms of household budgets. This is how you grow grassroots talent as well.
I'm of the view that there should be at least one GP on every continent (with the obvious exception of Antarctica...although...:P), and that there should be a "heritage list" of circuits/locations that simply must have a GP every year (think Britain, Italy, France, Monaco, Germany, USA, Australia etc.).
Still not practical. That means they'll fly in and out of the UK every race because they're not going to chill for a week in whatever country they're in.
It used to be this way up until the late 90s or early 2000s.
If they played it smart, they could easily get it done with minimal extra costs.
Dropping six races saves them a boatload of cash as it is, so it is very doable.
Of course it would be broken up in 4 week straight races, then a week or two off, then another 4 week stint.
Eight races in ten weeks???
These people have families and lives outside F1.
It's ridiculous to expect all of them to be away from home for such extended periods.
Grands Prix should be special events, not mass-produced rubbish for the greedy consumer.
McLaren have gone all Manchester City it seems...be interesting to see if the racing programme is given a leg up.
I’ve made my opinion clear that Max is the greatest driver to ever exist.
He still needs to prove himself in truly poor machinery, like Schumacher in the F310 level of poor machinery.
Definitely top 10 though after this season.
Bit of hyperbole there Dane. It is possible, that in a decent car, Liam might do to Max, what Riccardo did to Vettel. Remember that..?
Vettel was the master of a very particular set of rules and regulations in F1, and made the most of it.
Verstappen is more in the Schumacher category, where he can drive around "issues" with his cars and make it work for him.
I can't see Lawson getting the better of Verstappen, especially with Max's standing within the team.
RBR knew Vettel would struggle with the new-for-2014 regs, so pushed Ricciardo when he got the results.
I'm astounded that RBR have landed where they have. The sliding doors moment was keeping Checo on after the summer break. I'm very confident had they subbed Ricciardo in, they would have won the WCC, and Lawson would've had a much better opportunity to show his skills at RB. It obviously didn't matter in the end, but it would've given them a much "nicer" decision to make for 2025. If Ricciardo performed as well as I expected he would've at RBR, no one would be saying Yuki should've had the drive over Ricciardo for 2025.
Heads should roll at RBR in my view, Marko the first.
Hard to show your true skills in a crap car – which the RB still is. Just sayin’...
True, but all he had to do (at least, that's what we thought), was beat Yuki-san.
Actual results didn't really matter in terms of points...just beat your teammate.
Didn't work for Yuki-san though did it?!? LOL, poor bloke. Deserved that seat in my view.
Why would the Austrian faction, or Verstappen himself, stand for that? :)
If Verstappen or his entourage aren't secure enough in his abilities alone to keep his seat, then he isn't really fitting of the World Champion title is he?
There is no chance Max is ousted from his position, for both cost and performance reasons.
Oh dear.
Giancarlo Fisichella had been highly rated until 2005...
Are Pierre Gasly, Alex Albon and Sergio "Checo" Perez also among the worst in F1 history?
Barrichello? Prost? Hamilton? LOL
Interesting it's been revealed now, I thought teams were not allowed to reveal anything until after the F175 season launch.
This only applies to the livery.
He was a very hard task master who would not tolerate bad design work
Maybe he could explain the F310 for us then...LOL
Like watching paint dry. Actually that would be less annoying than hearing these twat presenters rattle on.
It was worth it to see Ariana Bravo...
If, Doohan is dropped, it will be fascinating to see what Alpine decides and if they hold onto him or releases him out into the wild in the F1 paddock.
It will also show other juniors how little the academy means to Alpine...
Ferrari looking very blue and white this year
HP branding guidelines actually show black for marketing purposes, but obviouslky the corporate blue logo being utilised.
It might be more palatable without such a huge amount of white, but still not a great look.
Would Tifosi tolerate a half blue HP livery
A one-off, full blue HP livery would actually be really cool.
Not happening though, if Miami last season is any guide.
I feel that the compulsory pit stops is a legitimate way of introducing more to the race
I still think refuelling is the answer. Introduce some genuine strategy to the races.
I think one of the variables that disappeared long ago, that really detracted from the racing was different tyre manufactures.
I'd love to see another tyre war.
More cars on light fuel loads on the softest compound going as fast as possible. Instead of heavily fueled cars on the hardest compound going as slow as possible to save the tyres.
Yeah, what he said. Still have a mandated limit of fuel available to each car per Grand Prix, just allow them to use it in different ways. Remove the mandate to use multiple tyre compounds and you could see a 3-stopper on softs against a one-stopper on mediums or hards...
While the data are contaminated by DRS and Pirelli cheese tyres, the average race now is 10x more exciting than the average race in the refuelling era!
The sound alone from a V10 made those races infinitely more exciting than any hybrid era race.
You won't see a Hungary 1998 or France 2004 with current era cars...
I used to love Monaco but scenically these days Baku is better
Really? I disagree. The shots of the harbour full of boats, the luxury boutiques and of course the hotel hairpin are absolutely iconic...not to mention the tunnel. With the new buildings on the exit it looks absolutely amazing now.
Speaking of F1TV, the "Full Race replays and highlights" under F1TV Access for Australia now has a date against it of "Thursday 1 January 2026", instead of just being blank:
Don't we already have access to this?
Good point – although he might be a little too 'green' and frighten off some voters, thinking he might push for full electric cars and want bee hives and gardens at every track.
Nah, he's big on sustainable fuels and has advocated for a return to V10s in F1.
So yes, he's into environmentally friendly racing, but in a seemingly good way for the purists!
Watched the 1991 Australian GP on YouTube earlier today...we need to move the GP back to Adelaide. Much better circuit than Melbourne.
What do you think makes it better?
Really challenging change of direction, it's really wide in most parts so offers chances for overtaking almost everywhere.
It just feels much more like a race circuit to me. Melbourne isn't bad, the new changes made it a lot faster, but Adelaide just feels more like an F1 circuit to me.
do wonder who they'll get to replace him as they dont appear to have anyone in frame for his role.
Button would be my choice, but not sure if he'd be available with his racing commitments...
Has there been any women that has done well in formula 2 and 3 in recent years? Any upcoming female drivers that has a chance of entering F1?
Abby Pulling and Bianca Bustamante look like the best bets.
Both are competing in GB3 this season.
I'd put Abby in front of Bianca at this stage.
However, them racing in GB3 still gives no real yardstick to estimate how well they’d compete against male drivers.
How so? There are male drivers in GB3...
I wonder why V10s (with their uneven howl) and not 3.2L V12s, that would neatly be two of the current engines? :)
V10s produce more torque, tend to be lighter and more efficient.
The added friction of a V12 also leads to more reliability issues.
Also helping several big names in the 90s in getting going in the sport.
Gave the GOAT (my opinion) his debut. Will always remember him for that.
So what happened to the "Lawson was only a couple of tenths off Max's time" from the test they did?
Is the new car that difficult to drive? Or was Lawson not actually that close...
His performances have been woeful to say the least, and I don't think I've seen this poor a performance since Luca Badoer in 2009 when he subbed for Massa.
The data must show that he has no hope of getting grips on that car, otherwise surely they would give him another chance?
Apparently his technique just isn't changing, regardless of what he's being told.
He's too aggressive on the initial turn in, meaning the front washes away, then he tries to correct it too aggressively and loses the back end.
Verstappen is much more "gentle" on turn in until he feels the car will bite, then he puts in a much sharper input to get the front in. His throttle control and feel of both axles is far superior to Lawson (and probably most others on the grid to be fair) meaning he's able to adapt to the car.
I honestly think DR would do a much better job that Liam or Sergio, but that horse has bolted.
I'm very keen to see how Yuki goes...could be very fun to watch if he can get to grips with the car.
Assuming they stay in F1.
Considering the investment in RBPT, I'm pretty sure they're now here for the long haul.
Michael being a nice guy is not a thing i ever recalled.
Off the track, he is a kind, generous and friendly man. On it, he's an arsehole who would sell his own children to win. That's the level you need to be to win world championships.
If it happened in 2025, do you think Senna would have been DSQ for one of his WDCs?
No chance. 10 second time penalty for causing a collision.
Same for Schumacher in 1997.
Who wants to drive an undriveable car that has chewed through so many drivers? Lets wait until the second half of the year for silly season.
I'd do it for free, and probably do as well as Lawson results wise :)
I wonder what Liam will be thinking when he gets the call to reshoot his part of the F1 intro in VCARB kit...
favourite oil company (probably) Aramco
Surely Honda would prefer a Japanese lubricant provider? ENEOS perhaps?
I have never really liked Yuki
He won me over early on. I think it was his first GP actually.
Asked in the paddock where he'd like to finish in his first race, he pondered it for a couple of seconds and then said "P1!" and started giggling like a school kid afterwards. Very endearing fella I reckon.
I am not sure why they threw so much money at him.
It has to be a merch/marketing decision
Did y'all miss the pre-season hype?
The Ferrari share price?
Of course it was a business decision more than a sporting one.
I really believe Ferrari were hoping that Lewis would bring a lot of "data" from Mercedes, about how the team operates at the track and the factory.
To be honest, I think 2025 is essentially a write-off for Lewis anyway, and that was before the season started.
It's his time to get bedded in, learn the team, perhaps provide advice on how to improve if possible, and then go full on assault with the new 2026 cars next season.
Lewis's days are numbered.
Every drivers' days are numbered.
Lewis can still mix it with the best, he just needs more assistance from the car (i.e. he makes less of a difference now).
I'd still rank him in the top 5 of current drivers on the grid.
You've got Leclerc, Max, Russell. That's 3 in no particular order. Then you have to remove 1 of the Mclaren drivers to slot Ham into top 5. Which do you drop?
I don't have George in the top 5.
My top 5 would be (in no particular order):
Leclerc, Verstappen, Hamilton, Piastri, Sainz.
I don't rate Norris. Absolute bottler.
I also seem to think the talking between a driver and engineers etc makes it all too easy. Why do they allow this, and not in other sports?
We tried the radio ban and it was ridiculous.
With the amount of sensors and stuff on the cars these days, drivers need the assistance.
You wouldn't want to see a driver lose a world title because his team wasn't allowed to tell him to fail a sensor so the car would keep going...
They need to be way more narrow
Agree with everything you said except this.
If the cars are short enough, the width doesn't really matter.
Even Monaco is wide enough if the driver has the balls and braking skills.
There is also an element of aero that needs to be changed.
Longer braking zones equals more overtaking, so less aero and stopping power will see the best drivers at the front.
most real aficionados would still say the present cars are the nicest so far.
Have you seen one up close and in the flesh?
It takes an hour just to walk around the thing they are that bloody big!
Desperately need the cars to shrink, in length at least.
By all means, but as stated many times length was the only dimension which was still completely free until 2021 and the teams made the cars longer than a S Class Mercedes of their own initiative, as they felt it increased performance
Only because they needed to accommodate the battery.
If they stacked it upwards instead then the COG is way too high.
No battery eliminates the need to go long and the teams could return to a much shorter wheelbase.
C’mon, that’s a bit of an exaggeration, surely.
The cars are the best part of 6m long...that's a 30-35% increase from 20 years ago.
They are absolutely huge.
Then this year, he not only has Max to contend with, but a team mate who's found his grove, and that staple of his is shining bright.
I'm hopeful that later in the season Leclerc might become a problem for him as well...he seems to be improving with every race weekend and apparently has more of a handle on the Ferrari setup nuances now.
The guy just seems to want to be paid to drive fast cars around the track and if he wins, he wins, if not, he's not going to get too fussed.
You don't see that as a problem? McLaren pay him a very healthy salary to win races and championships.
If he's "not too fussed" about winning, then McLaren should "not be fussed" about employing him.
Weak mentality to have for elite sport...and it shows.
F1 is a hit! It has taken USD 57 in the US and USD 147 world wide! Don't know the demographics but some people like it.
Great, so now we not only have to put up with the DTS fans, but the blow in movie fans too...
Is that a bad thing for the sport?
If you're a purist, yes.
And their moula. Which should secure F1's future and bring in more teams :-)
LOL, not likely. Everyone is whinging about a lack of overtaking and cars being too big (or tracks being too small, ugh)...and you want more cars?
No, no, no. You have to pair Russell and Verstappen. Dropping Russell is stupidity by Mercedes
Who better for Kimi to learn his craft alongside than Verstappen?
Arguably has a higher ceiling than George as well.
It's hard to imagine Verstappen going to Mercedes
Not really. He's only interested in driving a winning car and Mercedes would provide that.
I find it harder to see him going to Aston Martin. Even with Newey, I don't see them winning races in the next three years, especially with daddy's boy stealing a living there.
If Verstappen does stay, I reckon the next rumour would be Leclerc being hunted by Mercedes.
Toto is a fan, and his "long term" contract with Ferrari is, according to most pundits, finishing up in 2028...same year as Verstappen's RBR contract.
Quite an interesting time on the driver market right now.
I know that we'll never return to the awesomeness that were the V10s
I wouldn't be so sure. Plenty of talk about returning to V10s or V8s with sustainable fuels...
What are your thoughts? Should Max be penalised for overtaking under safety car if Russell did not do anything wrong?
If it is even looked at by the stewards, I don't think you can punish Max or any other driver.
The mere suspicion that Russell may have infringed is enough to clear Max in my view.
What should be the redbull line up if MAX goes?
I'd love to see Sainz in a Red Bull...Lindblad in the other car.
Max is the priority, not you.
McLaren have proved that a superior car is more effective than a superior driver.
No driver is bigger than the team (or shouldn't be seen as such anyway).
That's Max Verstappen's chief mechanic, isn't it?
Yes, Chris Gent is the man. He's listed here:
https://www.redbull.com/us-e
Whirlpool Illuminati writes...
You don't think Antonelli will be a generational talent ?
I think that there is so much more emphasis on how good the car is and how much the reliance on technology is, that it is so much harder for a driver to make the difference now. The only time we really see it is when a car is so bad that a driver like Max can actually drive around or live with the car issues to make it blindingly obvious.
The things drivers USED to do that made them better than others are now handled by technology and limiting the influence of the driver.
I hope Horner goes to another team.
Me too. F1 would be worse off without his presence in my view.
No Ricciardo is bad enough. Press conferences and media is so boring now without Daniel's humour!
I miss his team radio as well, not to mention his driving of course.
Crofty, not so much.
Crofty is so incredibly biased though.
Murray had a soft spot for Brits, but wouldn't fawn over them like Crofty does, especially Lando.
But Chris Harris got him relaxed and chatting.
Chris Harris could end all wars given the chance. Just a top bloke and great talker.
Max was surprisingly open as well which was good to listen to.
That Mustang is an absolute beast!!
I heard someone speculate he may end up at the FiA eventually.
Imagine if he took over from Ben Sulayem...get the popcorn out!
So they team stays the same as, "Aston martin", but the manufacturer has no true ties. Interesting.
I detest all of this part ownership, rebranding crap. Title sponsorship is also annoying.
Why can't it just be "Aston Martin F1 Team" or "Mercedes-AMG F1 Team"...instead we get these names that are constantly mispronounced and so long that even TPs and drivers forget them!!
I know it will never change, but it just ruins some of the purity for me.