The Formula 1 Thread

[1961beavera]

To note Marko is employed by Red Bull, not Red Bull Racing (led by Horner) and last year Horner tried to persuade RB not to renew Marko's contract. So conflict has been there a while.

There were rumours that Jos had tried to tap up the lady in question, not sure how accurate they are, and it led to a dust up between him and Horner over said lady.

As RB are not the majority shareholder then it will be interesting to see if Chalerm Yoovidhya steps in.

Liberty must be hoping this gets resolved ASAP as they would not want any more distractions given the issues with Ben Sulayem.

 

[1961beavera]

It could all be a distraction from the lack of competition on the track, but F1 could definitely use a re-set, that brings 3-4 teams into the championship mix.

So - It would be great to see:

Mercedes: Verstappen and Russell
Red Bull: Checo and Alonso
Ferrari: Hamilton and Leclerc
McLaren: Norris and Piastri

I'd rather see Sainz at Merc. As previously stated I would prefer to see Jos and Max bugger off to Indy.

 

[Bluto Blutarsky]

Liberty must be hoping this gets resolved ASAP as they would not want any more distractions given the issues with Ben Sulayem.

Not sure this is true - this drama is more compelling, and distracting from the lack of real competition at the front of the race.

And, almost nobody is talking about Ben Sulayem as long as this goes on.

Of course, the real winner here might be Netflix and the Drive to Survive series...

 

[Bluto Blutarsky]

Meh - looks like all the excitement is going to die down:

 

[Cochise]

On the subject of the race. Verstappen came in over three tenths ahead of Leclerc. If Verstappen wins turn one you can see a repeat of last week happening again.

 

[Bluto Blutarsky]

On the subject of the race. Verstappen came in over three tenths ahead of Leclerc. If Verstappen wins turn one you can see a repeat of last week happening again.

Hard to picture anything but a Red Bull 1-2 in this race.

I think the Ferrari is quick - but Bearman won't be of much help to Leclerc today, and lets face it, Ferrari strategy calls still are not at the level they need to be.

I think the real race will be the McLarens, Mercedes, and Alonso for 4-9 in the standings.


I am hoping for a red flag restart or two during the race - to keep Max from lapping the field.

 

[yankspurs]

Hard to picture anything but a Red Bull 1-2 in this race.

I think the Ferrari is quick - but Bearman won't be of much help to Leclerc today, and lets face it, Ferrari strategy calls still are not at the level they need to be.

I think the real race will be the McLarens, Mercedes, and Alonso for 4-9 in the standings.


I am hoping for a red flag restart or two during the race - to keep Max from lapping the field.

Idk if Lewis finishes in the points today, if he finishes at all. They are rushing to do an unsettling amount of work on that car right up to the moment Lewis has to get in.

 

[Trent Crimm]

That’s that then. Another max win

 

[Glasseye]

What has happened to Alpine this year, Gasly already retired with a dodgy gearbox, and Max now already 1.3 seconds ahead

It was some great racing with Perez and Leclerc in the first few turns

 

[Bluto Blutarsky]

Logan Sargeant moving up the field... already no worse than 18th!

 

[tobi]

Can you bring it home?

No, I'm in the fucking wall.

 

[tobi]

Magnussen is being the ultimate team mate and pissing off a lot of drivers in the process.

 

[Bluto Blutarsky]

Gaps at the front - top4 drivers:

7s
12s
11s

smh

 

[tobi]

It was boring upfront but I enjoyed the race.



Shout out to Bearman.

 

[Archibald&Crooks]

‘Race’

 

[TallBlokePH]

It was boring upfront but I enjoyed the race.



Shout out to Bearman.

Yeah the young lad did well given the lack of experience and incredibly short notice. Think calling it a race is a bit generous though, was largely a procession.

 

[Bluto Blutarsky]

I wonder if the cost cap is hurting the sport overall.

The biggest issue in the sport right now is the lack of any team that can challenge Red Bull. In years past, Mercedes and Ferrari could have spent their way to a competitive car. Now, they are like running in quicksand.

Despite the desire for some "parity" the cost cap has not produced that, and has instead maintained the gap between the teams at the front of the grid, from those in the back.

Maybe you can argue it has helped McLaren and Aston Martin kind of move above the midfield - but they could have done that without the cost cap in place.

 

[mezza84]

This season is shaping up to completely pointless. Is barely a sport as it stands. Maybe European upgrades will make it more bearable. If not, I doubt I'm making it through this season.

 

[Rocksuperstar]

I wonder if the cost cap is hurting the sport overall.

The biggest issue in the sport right now is the lack of any team that can challenge Red Bull. In years past, Mercedes and Ferrari could have spent their way to a competitive car. Now, they are like running in quicksand.

Despite the desire for some "parity" the cost cap has not produced that, and has instead maintained the gap between the teams at the front of the grid, from those in the back.

Maybe you can argue it has helped McLaren and Aston Martin kind of move above the midfield - but they could have done that without the cost cap in place.

They gave the teams too much notice. We knew it was coming into effect and Red Bull had the means to spunk millions into future development then with the success and "hype" that they bought to the sport off the back of Max being "entertaining" and the massively over-invested car, they then had the weight to nudge the rules in line with what they'd been developing. It's the only way I can see it playing out the way it has, even with Newey the Grey in the garage.

I'm certain it wasn't only them making a terrific car way ahead of everyone else, they almost certainly found gains in aero and chassis tweaks, then subtly got what they needed into the regulations - weight changes in 2022, I seem to remember was something a couple of teams struggled with, then all of the aero changes in 2022 that introduced dolphins to F1, but they only seem to make Red Bull better.

I would not be at all surprised to find out that there was some input from them when these changes were being discussed, even if it was behind those proverbial closed doors, otherwise it's just blind luck or... I dunno, them over-clocking Newey and he's working with quantum physics.

 

[1961beavera]

I wonder if the cost cap is hurting the sport overall.

The biggest issue in the sport right now is the lack of any team that can challenge Red Bull. In years past, Mercedes and Ferrari could have spent their way to a competitive car. Now, they are like running in quicksand.

Despite the desire for some "parity" the cost cap has not produced that, and has instead maintained the gap between the teams at the front of the grid, from those in the back.

Maybe you can argue it has helped McLaren and Aston Martin kind of move above the midfield - but they could have done that without the cost cap in place.

A couple of years ago they tried to change how the prize money was 'shared', which was booted out by the then big 3 of RB, Ferrari and Merc. Ferrari especially as they get some sort of premium, not helped by their disfunction over the years though.

I remember when is what unfettered Ferrari and M Schumacher spending Monday to Friday testing racking up 1,000s of miles (again they had fewer races) in testing to hone the car.

The sliding scale on wind tunnel and development time has not had the impact it should, even though RB were whinging when they were 'fined' for overspending. The FIA should have ben harsher, maybe they can get the FA and EPL guys in to show how its done, but gain the big three, RG, F and M, will be treated like the Barcas, Reals, City and Chelseas of this world.

I have no idea how the teams are supposed to account for spend in any one year but some of the reasoning RB pumped out last year seems that there is some creative accountancy going on. The FIA needs to be more transparent on the cap, as per the NFL where contracts etc.. are made available so people can see what is what in terms of cap costs.