Formula 1 2023 and general Motorsport

[Comrade 86]

7 hours ago, RadioactiveWaste said:

All the F1 pundits are buying into it being just Singapore and expecting the RB19 to be back to itself at Suzuka.

I still pray to the racing gods to smite the Marko/Horner/Verstappen triad, but it may be we have to go back to hoping the other teams catch up next season.

15 hours ago, Alpha said:

Oh they'll be back on it. But Carlos has pooped all over their invincible season. C.Sainz next to the 2023 Singapore GP will always haunt Horner. Vamos! 

 

I'm not totally convinced. There were multiple variables at Singapore; higher ride height is being pitched as the bête noire, but I don't buy the RBR insistence that it was the only factor in play. The new floor was briefly trialled before being discarded, but as we all know, RBR were also running an amended front wing design too. It's perhaps wishful thinking (🙏😂), but in a car that this season has looked like it's running on rails and where all the aero components are so attuned (as with all Newey's designs), this will affect the car's performance, the only question being, how much. Put simply, they'd not have cheated if there were no benefit, so pretending they've lost zero performance as a result is a bit silly, but absolutely typical of Karen. 

All in all, I can't wait for Suzuka and will be glued to the practice sessions as I think if there is a persistent downgrading of RBR performance, we'll know pretty early on. I'd not be surprised to see Carlos, who is riding the crest of a wave right now, giving Max all sorts of bother. For once where Ferrari are concerned, in recent years at least, their dev team is providing consistent incremental gains and the red car is pretty rapid in a straight line. I expect the Belgian manbaby to be pretty fired up and with Suzuke being a top 3 circuit IMO, there's now a deal more interest, from my PoV at least and that's before I even think about a resurgent Merc team. 

#anyonebutmax:)

*I'll be back to eat some poo pie when Verstropon poles with half a second to spare on Saturday 😂

 

Yeah, I'm not totally convinced

[RadioactiveWaste]

I think the question is, will the tech directive hobble rivals more than it does red bull? I think everyone is going to lose a bit but I fear red bull won't lose more than their rivals.

What I'd really like is Max to just throw it down the road on his own like he's gone a bit lance stroll.

 

[Comrade 86]

21 minutes ago, RadioactiveWaste said:

I think the question is, will the tech directive hobble rivals more than it does red bull? I think everyone is going to lose a bit but I fear red bull won't lose more than their rivals.

What I'd really like is Max to just throw it down the road on his own like he's gone a bit lance stroll.

 

Fair comment, but would not some /all have run new wings in Singapore? Sorry if I'm being thick! 

I'd dearly love to see Max do a baby Stroll though 🤣

Edited September 19, 2023 by Comrade 86

[RadioactiveWaste]

5 minutes ago, Comrade 86 said:

Fair comment, but would not some /all have run new wings in Singapore? Sorry if I'm being thick! 

I'd dearly love to see Max do a baby Stroll though 🤣

I think all the teams made sure they brought a wing that met the new scrutineering tech directive, just no one is interested if alpha romeo or williams had to bring a totally new one.

[RadioactiveWaste]

Make sure you set your alarms as this weekend is the Japanese grand Prix from Suzuka.

Whilst everyone who isn't Jos Verstappen or Helmut Marko probably wants the red bull to be at least slightly closer to the clutches of Ferrari and mercedes, the proof of the pudding will be in the Sunday breakfast.

In other news, McLaren have remembered how they got Piastri from alpine and signed him up for 2026, a no brainer really, he's proved he's good.

Alpha Tauri are expected to announce Yuki "Honda backing isn't a factor at all" Tsunoda and Danny Ric for next year, Marko waiting less than a week to get his revenge on Lawson for putting max out of Q2. But on the plus side for the Kiwi, he's got Japan and probably Qatar to prove to Williams he's better than Logan Sargent and to Horner that he's bad enough to be let go. Well, that or give Danny Ric a really really really firm handshake "oh, was that your bad hand, sorry mate"

 

[Gaspode]

5 minutes ago, RadioactiveWaste said:

Make sure you set your alarms as this weekend is the Japanese grand Prix from Suzuka.

Whilst everyone who isn't Jos Verstappen or Helmut Marko probably wants the red bull to be at least slightly closer to the clutches of Ferrari and mercedes, the proof of the pudding will be in the Sunday breakfast.

In other news, McLaren have remembered how they got Piastri from alpine and signed him up for 2026, a no brainer really, he's proved he's good.

Alpha Tauri are expected to announce Yuki "Honda backing isn't a factor at all" Tsunoda and Danny Ric for next year, Marko waiting less than a week to get his revenge on Lawson for putting max out of Q2. But on the plus side for the Kiwi, he's got Japan and probably Qatar to prove to Williams he's better than Logan Sargent and to Horner that he's bad enough to be let go. Well, that or give Danny Ric a really really really firm handshake "oh, was that your bad hand, sorry mate"

 

Someone really needs to have a word with Sargent - it's almost a crash every race weekend at present.....

[metalsheep02]

5 minutes ago, Gaspode said:

Someone really needs to have a word with Sargent - it's almost a crash every race weekend at present.....

There was a stat on the Williams forum that he has caused almost $3 million of crash damage this year - unsurprisingly Williams only let him run the old style front wing. Hopefully he is replaced at year end.

[RadioactiveWaste]

20 minutes ago, metalsheep02 said:

There was a stat on the Williams forum that he has caused almost $3 million of crash damage this year - unsurprisingly Williams only let him run the old style front wing. Hopefully he is replaced at year end.

He's giving off a Latifi level of Wallaholism.

I'm all for giving drivers time, especially when they've come into a team that's not great but if there's a deal to be done to get Lawson for a year Williams really aught to try and do it.

They could even have Sargent as reserve driver if they couldn't face binning him completely. If Logan was in the Marko sphere of influence he'd be lucky to get a drive of a milk float by now.

[Comrade 86]

2 hours ago, Gaspode said:

Someone really needs to have a word with Sargent - it's almost a crash every race weekend at present.....

I think they should keep him as is. Someone had to pick up the Latifi mantle and Logan's done a manful job thus far 😋

[Comrade 86]

2 hours ago, RadioactiveWaste said:

Make sure you set your alarms as this weekend is the Japanese grand Prix from Suzuka.

Whilst everyone who isn't Jos Verstappen or Helmut Marko probably wants the red bull to be at least slightly closer to the clutches of Ferrari and mercedes, the proof of the pudding will be in the Sunday breakfast.

In other news, McLaren have remembered how they got Piastri from alpine and signed him up for 2026, a no brainer really, he's proved he's good.

Alpha Tauri are expected to announce Yuki "Honda backing isn't a factor at all" Tsunoda and Danny Ric for next year, Marko waiting less than a week to get his revenge on Lawson for putting max out of Q2. But on the plus side for the Kiwi, he's got Japan and probably Qatar to prove to Williams he's better than Logan Sargent and to Horner that he's bad enough to be let go. Well, that or give Danny Ric a really really really firm handshake "oh, was that your bad hand, sorry mate"

There's a complete overload of preferred sports for yours truly from today through Sunday and I'll be glued to the Suzuka coverage. I might be crying 10 minutes into P1 mind! 

Ref the driver's musical chairs, I'd deffo be interested in Liam Lawson. He's taken to the game like an old hand and is deeply impressive in more ways than one. Piastri is doing really well too. We all know how quick Lando is and the comparisons are not in any way unfavourable for a lad in his first season of top formula racing. For the record, I think Lando is quicker than Russell and within touching distance of Hamilton and it's great to see McLaren looking properly racy again. Assuming the RBR car is back on track this weekend, Lando might prove a tougher for Max to crack than Carlos.

Yuki is annoying because the lad's a natural, but he's also a joker and a playboy and will never get close to maximising his potential. Such a waste, of talent and worse still, a seat at the big table that others would die for. Silly boy 😕

Sargent is a just another mobile chicane, but given Gasly and Ocon have conspicuously failed to deliver any midfield wipe outs thus far, watching Logan obliterate tyre walls will have to do.

[RadioactiveWaste]

2 hours ago, Comrade 86 said:

Yuki is annoying because the lad's a natural, but he's also a joker and a playboy and will never get close to maximising his potential. Such a waste, of talent and worse still, a seat at the big table that others would die for. Silly boy 😕

Agree with this totally. There's an element of it being unfortunate that when he's been performing (like early this season) the car was really bad and the last two races where that car has been good enough for points he's had 2 no fault DNFs. I really want Yuki to make it, but there's only so much time you get in this sport and if push came to shove at this point I'd chance it on Lawson.

[Comrade 86]

Me watching Suzuka P2...

[metalsheep02]

16 hours ago, RadioactiveWaste said:

He's giving off a Latifi level of Wallaholism.

I'm all for giving drivers time, especially when they've come into a team that's not great but if there's a deal to be done to get Lawson for a year Williams really aught to try and do it.

They could even have Sargent as reserve driver if they couldn't face binning him completely. If Logan was in the Marko sphere of influence he'd be lucky to get a drive of a milk float by now.

You have posted the Latifi comparison before and initially I disagreed as I think Sargent has more about him than Latifi (who was never F1 material). Last few races though Sargent has displayed Latifi levels of hopelessness.

[Comrade 86]

[RadioactiveWaste]

2 hours ago, Comrade 86 said:

 

OK, back to "it'll be a great race for P2 and P3, yey.

1 hour ago, metalsheep02 said:

You have posted the Latifi comparison before and initially I disagreed as I think Sargent has more about him than Latifi (who was never F1 material). Last few races though Sargent has displayed Latifi levels of hopelessness.

Yeah, Sargent is way nearer the mark than Latifi ever was, and there's usually been a bit of tongue in cheek with that.

I don't generally want drivers to fail, even with baby stroll (who's actually just average rather than bad) it's the daddies cash aspect and seeing how Aston are bleeding constructors points by having him.

 

 

[metalsheep02]

32 minutes ago, RadioactiveWaste said:

OK, back to "it'll be a great race for P2 and P3, yey.

Yeah, Sargent is way nearer the mark than Latifi ever was, and there's usually been a bit of tongue in cheek with that.

I don't generally want drivers to fail, even with baby stroll (who's actually just average rather than bad) it's the daddies cash aspect and seeing how Aston are bleeding constructors points by having him.

 

 

Completely agree on Stroll, he did enough in the lower formula to justify his spot and has generally been credible in F1. When you consider ex drivers looking to come back in and who is available in F2 there are very few you could argue have a strong case of being in F1 above Stroll. F2 is a bit like our academy atm, restocking with talent after all the best ones moved away!

[RadioactiveWaste]

Hat tip to McLaren, especially Oscar.

Good effort from Yuki, hopefully he gets a decent run after the last two races.

Am I bad for wanting Max's car to blow up? Just, take him out of the equation and tomorrow's race is going to be great. As it stands it'll be great behind Max.

[metalsheep02]

On 21/09/2023 at 15:56, RadioactiveWaste said:

He's giving off a Latifi level of Wallaholism.

I'm all for giving drivers time, especially when they've come into a team that's not great but if there's a deal to be done to get Lawson for a year Williams really aught to try and do it.

They could even have Sargent as reserve driver if they couldn't face binning him completely. If Logan was in the Marko sphere of influence he'd be lucky to get a drive of a milk float by now.

He needs to go, right now!

[RadioactiveWaste]

3 hours ago, metalsheep02 said:

He needs to go, right now!

He said after that he just kept his foot in........like....wow...in a not good way......

I'm not being funny but 7th in the constructors championship would be huge for Williams and if Sargent costs them that I'll be pretty annoyed.

 

[Comrade 86]

Well I guess to some extents, it's normal service resumed. I think in race trim, they may not see which way Max went, but I think it's fair to say that the gap has closed a tad. In fairness to the man-baby, that final quali lap was up there with Hamilton in Singapore in 2018. Pains me to say it, but it was deeply impressive.

I'll second RAW's doff of the cap to Piastri. Future world champion right there. Lawson so unlucky. Ran out of soft boots for Q3 and struggled accordingly, but how well did he go up to that point. He's another that leaps off the page and it's grand to see so many talented young drivers coming through. If Liberty don't f*** it up, the future could be bright in terms of competitive racing.

The Sargent experiment needs aborting. I don't see him making the grade, not even close. Yuki showed more this week, but I think in some ways he's been a bit fortunate to retain his seat. he is blindingly quick at times, but if I were his manager I'd be sitting him down and making it abundantly clear that he's in the last chance saloon now, with a season and a bit left to prove he's not just another also-ran. I do like him though and I hope he can knuckle down.

The highlight for me is the continued resurgence of sleeping giant McLaren. When you think back to the first few races, the transformation has been nothing short of miraculous. You can sense a few bums twitching at Mercedes.