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The Algarve is lovely so i was happy when they announced they were going. Bikes are going in a few weeks too...
The circuit is great though. The type of tarmac and tyre temp issues allowed great racing as they could follow.
Lewis rinsed them but no driver of the day. I think people are misguided if they think it's simply because of the car. He's been a prodigious talent since he started.
re. Perez and pay drivers. Perez is a journeyman. He's had a good season but would the sport be worse off without him? The Stroll's, Perez's and LAtifi's have always existed. The majority of the grid would have spent hundreds of thousands/millions to get to F1 so it's no different that people pay for seats in F1 as that funds the teams. It's a wealthy sport.
What would be crap is if Perez ends up in Williams leaving Russell (F2 World Champ) without a drive.
Perez is a journeyman.
No, he seems to be widely regarded as a pretty decent driver, excellent at scoring points on Sunday, not quite as good at qualifying.
thols2
No, he seems to be widely regarded as a pretty decent driver, excellent at scoring points on Sunday, not quite as good at qualifying.
Looking at the result vs teammates (bold are seasons he beat his teammate), I think he's roughly the same as Hulkenberg over a season. Very good but not great.
2012 10th / kobayashi 12th
2013 11th / button 9th
2014 10th / hulk 9th
2015 10th / hulk 11th
2016 7th / hulk 9th
2017 7th / ocon 8th
2018 8th / ocon 12th
2019 10th / stroll 15th
It was actually built to host F1 Grand Prix, but Bernie stopped that happening, so it’s hardly been used – it’s great that it’s now got its big break.
See also Valencia, looked like it was a great track down by the sea. Bernie is not well regarded in the city to this day.
I reckon that it'll be Gasly and Albon at Alpha Tauri next year, hopefully Albon also shine there and we'll see a renaissance of his obvious form there. Kvyat is largely done IMHO, I don't think that he'll be in F1 next year.
Either the Red Bull is a very tricky car that's so difficult to drive that only Verstappen can master it, or Verstappen prefers a loose, tail happy car a la Schumacher that very few drivers can master with confidence. The contenders for the second Red Bull are obviously Perez, Hulkenberg or Russell, all have their relative strengths and weaknesses and all have shone this year. Russell's comments earlier in the year that the RB16 is "making a fool out of Albon" won't have endeared him to Horner and will likely go against him.
I reckon that it’ll be Gasly and Albon at Alpha Tauri next year
No, I think they've decided that neither of them quite have what it takes to compete right at the top. They need to bring on their own young drivers so that Japanese guy is more likely IMO. If he turns out good, they'll have someone to potentially team with Verstappen. Keeping both Gasly and Albon means that they'll never have someone to step up if Verstappen leaves.
So my guess is Hulkenberg or Perez for a year or two to see if proven drivers can get more out of the Red Bull, then a new driver from their young driver program if they find someone good. They need someone like Ricciardo to push Verstappen hard and maximize constructors points, Albon and Gasly don't seem to be at that level so there's not point having two of them around.
apparently Verstappen is pushing to have Hulkenburg as his teammate next year
Twodogs
Full Memberapparently Verstappen is pushing to have Hulkenburg as his teammate next year
It would make sense, he's a known quantity and he has a reputation for giving good feedback for developing the car.
and he speaks dutch 🙂
He made a lot of drivers look like amateurs there.
How did he do that?
bwoah, I did some overtake”
Clearly I don't understand motor racing. I thought overtaking was a good thing.
Alfa obviously liked it, they are sticking with Kimi and Giovonazzi for 2021.
which IMHO demonstrates Alfa's complete lack of ambition
At least Williams have confirmed Russell and Latifi - bad day for Perez tho
bad day for
PerezHulkenberg tho
Rumours are that Red Bull see Perez as likely replacement if they decide to ditch Albon. This means that Hulkenberg is almost certainly out.
I can't believe giovinazzi is getting another season. I can't think of a time where his name has come up as having had a good day behind the wheel.
Surely Perez/hulkenberg would have been a better option for reliability, or rotate in another Ferrari junior in the hope of getting someone fast and good! Bonkers.
I can’t believe giovinazzi is getting another season.
So the only seats open for next year are currently occupied by Albon, Kvyat, RoGro and KMag. The ResBull/AT seats are being widely discussed but not much noise about the Haas options. Surely the Hulk has a chance there as a safe pair of hands that won't throw the car at the scenery and will give good feedback to develop the dog they've currently got. If I was Gunther I'd want someone who will reliably deliver what the cars capable of rather than some mercurial talent who might somehow drag it all the way up to 14th place but stands a good chance of getting greedy and throwing it all away.
So the only seats open for next year are currently occupied by Albon, Kvyat, RoGro and KMag.
Don't forget the one at Mercedes 😂
Don’t forget the one at Mercedes
I think that one's even more guaranteed than Boris' U turn lockdown
Argh man russell must be gutted, what a time for that to happen
This has been an ‘interesting race.
Hamilton has obviously sold his soul to the devil.
FFS Albon 🤭
carlos the cat!
Go Honey Badger!
the piece of ferrari which was embedded in bottas' car!
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Asked about how Wolff’s announcement could impact on Hamilton’s future, he responded: “I don’t even know if I’m going to be here next year so it’s not a concern for me at the moment.
Yeah, right
I think Russell was really unlucky. Just as he gunned it, there was clearly a bump in the road. You see it pop the car up
the piece of ferrari which was embedded in bottas’ car!
I guess Ferrari have finally figured out how to make their car go faster 🙂
cold tyres and a huge amount of power....
I hope the organisers keep these circuits on the calendar rather than some of the crap usually in there because of the host state is paying a fortune to have a gp.
Pook
Full MemberI think Russell was really unlucky. Just as he gunned it, there was clearly a bump in the road. You see it pop the car up
Posted 12 hours ago
It's not exactly unheard of. Verstappen binned it on the way to the grid this year, Schumacher's crashed behind the SC (twice i think), Grosjean last year, Hakinnen as well iirc, Vettel crashed into Webber or vice versa in seb's early seasons.
Cold tyres, swerving & giving it gas to try and get some heat in them, below race speed so no downforce. Entirely understandable. But embarrassing and gutting to lose a chance at points when he was genuinely in a position to get them by merit.
I hope the organisers keep these circuits on the calendar rather than some of the crap usually in there because of the host state is paying a fortune to have a gp
Nice to see them back at Imola, but its a tricky circuit to overtake at, I think Mugello and Portimao were better substitute circuits for the current F1 cars. It will be interesting to see what Istanbul is like.
I feel quite sorry for George Russell making an uncharacteristic error like that, but the combination of cold tyres and a safety car have caught out many more experienced drivers over the years.
Albon appears to have royally fluffed it again.
yeah, surely sealed his fate there. Double whammy as well with Kvyat finishing 4th.
Nice to see them back at Imola, but its a tricky circuit to overtake at, I think Mugello and Portimao were better substitute circuits for the current F1 cars. It will be interesting to see what Istanbul is like.
Agree to an extent. I guess out of the three italian rounds Monza and Mugello would be favoured.
Good article on the future of F1, salary caps and the phasing out of wind-tunnels...
...and Red Bull's usual hypocrisy! 🙂
Good article, thanks.
Seeing as we're talking about the future of F1 and we've just had the announcement that they're going to Saudi Arabia, thought this might be of interest:
F1 is always about following the money. I’m surprised it’s taken this long
Looks like Vietnam may not make it on to the calendar at any point now...
https://www.bbc.co.uk/sport/formula1/54879815
Sad that the rich motorsport heritage of Vietnam won't be rewarded with an F1 race. Oh hang on...
Anyhow, 2021 calendar announced - expect it was far too late to consider incorporating any of the enforced learnings from this year's guest circuits and my guess is that there won't be any consideration of them when it comes to '22 and beyond.
Australian GP - March 21
Bahrain GP - March 28
Chinese GP - April 11
TBC - April 25
Spanish GP - May 9
Monaco GP - May 23
Azerbaijan GP - June 6
Canadian GP - June 13
French GP - June 27
Austrian GP - July 4
British GP - July 18
Hungarian GP - August 1
Belgian GP - August 29
Dutch GP - September 5
Italian GP - September 12
Russian GP - September 26
Singapore GP - October 3
Japanese GP - October 10
United States GP - October 24
Mexican GP - October 31
Brazilian GP - November 14
Saudi Arabia GP - November 28
Abu Dhabi GP - December 5
Blimey quali in Turkey is terrifying. A slippy track with rain on it. Looks horrific out there.