MegaSack DRAW - This year's winner is user - rgwb
We will be in touch
I was a fan of Schumacher when he first started out - he was a brilliant driver. 1994 was problematic, he outdrove Hill but Tom Walkinshaw and Flavio Briatore were pretty unscrupulous and there were some major questions about the legality of the Benneton. The crash with Hill was obviously pretty suspicious, but one of those things that it was impossible to prove definitively was deliberate. The later crash with Villeneuve was obviously deliberate. Thing with Schumacher is that he was a fantastic driver and apparently a pretty decent guy in real life, but he was just so utterly determined to win that he just pushed things too far.
MV is a difficulty person to like, he just comes across as petulant. He is clearly a fantastically talented driver and his success is deserved, but I think he's like Senna in that he just pushed things a bit too far sometimes and the stewards have tended to let him get away with it because everyone prefers things to be decided on the track rather than afterwards by penalties. That's understandable, but the whining from Red Bull after the crash with Hamilton in 2021 was a bad look - Max likes to play rough but whines when others do the same.
MV is a difficulty person to like,
Having dealt with a lot of dutch people through work there is definitely a common type of personality running through a lot of them. I'd say MV has just got his dutch wound up to 11. Or maybe 12.
I remember talking to one mother in particular about her son - "The problem is you are so British. You are so nice to him. Just call him a **** to his face- he happily says the same about you! He won't mind it - he expects it - we're Dutch!". Same lady owns half of Knoydart. Locals loath her; but I expect it's a complete cultural mismatch.
but the whining from Red Bull after the crash with Hamilton in 2021 was a bad look
The tell with Horner when he thinks that Max is to blame is when he calls it "a racing incident". Like others have said Max will push other drivers hoping that their natural inclination is to back off and not crash. I otherwise think he's a bit of a prick, but at least Ocon had the balls to confront him about it at Brazil in 2018
If a few more had done that, and the stewards been more robust over the years, we'd not be here.
Read this
https://sportingintelligence832.substack.com/p/the-pope-lewis-hamilton-and-my-mum
(warning: dust)
F***ing hell… that feels a little close to home. Two years ago my mum, also quite a Lewis fan, was dying. The thought crossed my mind then: maybe I should just give Mercedes a call and see if I can blag her a visit to Brackley (the British GP had been and gone) to see if she might get to at least say hello. And do you know what? I didn’t do it. I’m not even sure why now. Maybe it was because her illness was taking hold like a runaway train and I wasn’t sure whether it was going to be manageable. Maybe I thought that even if it somehow came off then it felt a bit rich to ask Lewis to exchange pleasantries with a random and clearly dying lady. I don’t really recall. That brief idea came and went during some great mental turmoil, of course. But I didn’t do it. So now I guess maybe my reasoning was off.
Dust? Jesus… Yeah. Sorry mum.
I was a fan of Schumacher when he first started out – he was a brilliant driver.
Well, that is true. I watched Spa 1991 wide-eyed and hopeful. I forget the significant points of decline between there and the end of 1996, by which time it had all obviously soured somewhat. To be honest I seem to recall the immediate switch to Benetton smelt fishy for some reason, but I may well be misremembering.
Edit: ah, of course: Bernie up to his usual antics https://www.the-race.com/formula-1/how-schumacher-was-snatched-from-jordan-after-his-f1-debut/
Probably been asked before, but anyone else watched the "Brawn: the impossible formula"?
I've just got a "free" Disney account and found it there...apart from Keanu being pointlessly in it, it's interesting to see the inside story.
Oh wow , what a story that is ^^. Good on Mercedes..
I'm intrigued as to what storyline they're going to come up with for this film.
Obviously needs to be the hero winning against huge odds, like the 2009 season or Canada 2011, and the championship obviously has to be decided right at the end like 2008 or 2021.
The trouble is that if they make it as ridiculous as any of these no one is going to believe it?
Fact is definitely better than fiction!
[i]I’m intrigued as to what storyline they’re going to come up with for this film.[/i]
He is a hot shoe in all the lower formula and gets gifted a drive in F1 to replace a sick driver.
He signs for a low end team the following year but doesn't really shine.
Kicks between the back end teams with the occasional 'deal gone bad' to add excitement.
Can't get any more drives after a few years and goes off to do commentating.
Possibly not the most thrilling plot but ...
I’m intrigued as to what storyline they’re going to come up with for this film.
Aged rough and ready ex-racer (perhaps injured and retired) is tempted back into F1 by a couple of Dudes looking to be the next brat pack, he gets some-one to design a cunning car that somehow outwits the top designers in a way that no-one's thought of. Unknown to our hero, The Dudes bring in angry self interested hot shot driver, who doesn't like our hero but he's constantly being beaten by the old timer through guile and cunning. They can't pretend to win a race (or maybe they can, who knows?) but the internal team struggle between the drivers will drive the plot.
Make the designer the love interest, and Robert is your Father's brother; a real cheese fest.
I’m intrigued as to what storyline they’re going to come up with for this film.
I think I read that Brad Pitt is an ex-champ who makes a comeback as a teammate to a hotshot rookie in a struggling backmarker team. So, basically, Alain Prost makes a comeback at Minardi with rookie Fernando Alonso as his teammate and they have to learn to work together for the team to survive. Don't quote me on that, I read something years ago, that's my hazy memory.
A short, spiteful man in glasses who has everyone in his pocket and continually rigs the system in his favour feels wronged by a team who are forced to avoid his wrath by finding a prodigiously talented competitor, played by Pitt, who turns out to be uncontrollable and simply will not do what he’s told. The denouement of the film comes when our protagonist finally wins at Monaco and the resulting backfire of rigged betting causes the ringleader to retire angrily to his yacht where he is shot at point blank range by the hero’s entourage of mechanics and his body is dumped in the harbour. A dog swallows a squeaky toy.
Basically, Snatch on wheels (which is coincidentally your mum’s bumper sticker).
Just watched this - they make me smile every time :
Is it worth putting a bet on Hamilton ditching Ferrari and signing for Mercedes again?
It would make an interesting plot twist if anyone was to make a movie...
I was a fan of Schumacher when he first started out – he was a brilliant driver. 1994 was problematic, he outdrove Hill but Tom Walkinshaw and Flavio Briatore were pretty unscrupulous and there were some major questions about the legality of the Benneton. The crash with Hill was obviously pretty suspicious, but one of those things that it was impossible to prove definitively was deliberate.
Everyone raved about quick the Sauber-Mercedes youth team were, and you hoped they'd live up to it, but Schumacher just smashed it out of the park. You wanted to see the Next Big Thing in the mix, and he totally surpassed expectations at Spa, it was unreal - the switch to Benetton was unexpected but he was always going to be worth a better car and no-one's going to get a driver out of a Jordan contract without benefitting EJ.
Not to tarnish his legacy but it's beyond contestation that the B194 had the capability to illegally use launch control, and by virtue of the fact he wilfully drove into Hill, there's no doubt Adelaide 94 was a deliberate take-out. Whether it was illegal at the time or not I guess is a different question.
Ralf Schumacher has come out as gay, only the third F1 driver to do so. Barely a mention of this in the media. Is this because:
A) it's not remarkable or newsworthy for high profile sports people to do this nowadays
Or
B) no one cares what Ralf Schumacher says nowadays?
It's on a few of the F1/Racing sites, but he's made a career out of being opinionated about things he often has little/no knowledge of. He's like Eddie Jordan, but without the insight.
B) No one cares.
But then there's this...
...some humble pie needs to be eaten by Ralf.
A) it’s not remarkable or newsworthy for high profile sports people to do this nowadays
Or
B) no one cares what Ralf Schumacher says nowadays?
Both can be true.
Making space for Ocon.
Interesting developments at Haas. New venture with Toyota, completely new and interesting driver line up. I wonder if they've finally got tired of bumping along at the bottom.
They probably just got tired of being a Meme or TikTok reel. 🙂
...but Ocon though!!??
Komatsu and Ocon go way back, and why not, he's a race winner with regular appearances on the podium with experience in some major teams. I think pairing him with Bearmam will probs take a large amount of the pressure he gets from having a teammate of similar skill and experience.
I think it'd be good for both Hass and Ocon.
?width=640&crop=smart&auto=webp&s=2a458fdf2225d9084bfdcb2aceca88d497755a45" rel="nofollow" >Opposite ends of the team orders spectrum..
[Edit]Picture fail
with experience in some major teams
I’m sure he’ll bring plenty of tips on how pit crews train for double-stacking front wing changes
(why don’t fupping emojis work on this fupping forum any more?)
(why don’t fupping emojis work on this fupping forum any more?)
We’ve got rid of 502 errors and lost a shit load of basic functionality. Think I preferred the shonky version!! 🙂
?
Oh yeah, they don't work. I want my money back.
Scroll down the Wordle thread, see if you can spot the point where the website was "fixed".
https://singletrackworld.com/forum/topic/wordle/page/98/
Not an ideal way to showcase your product during a race weekend
⬆️ Haha (emojis would work better!)
Bit of an aside to the main thread...
I cycled round most of the Monaco GP circuit yesterday - I'm in Nice for the Tour so rode down the coast to Monaco.
I was hoping for a nice flowing lap of a cool street circuit but it was absolutely insane. Traffic is mental - everyone in Monaco buys supercars capable of 200mph then sits in endless traffic jams. Lots of building works, a confusing road network that can fire you into long tunnels without warning, dickhead drivers (apparently, buying said supercar turns you into someone who expects respect and ultimate right of way at all times, the problem is when everyone is in a supercar, it all kind of cancels out) and it was really quite underwhelming.
Really didn't like the place at all.
and last time I was there, early noughties, the coffee was creeping towards 10 euros, I wonder what it is now?
agreed though, it's not a nice place
Quality qualifying from Checo again
Aye his days must be numbered now
Oops for Russell and both Alpines!
Bit of an aside to the main thread
Whats lazenbys issue with Naomi? Practically refusing to share an umbrella as she inched closer to cover his head from the rain. Or just commentator hijinks, he always sounds like he’s been on the piss every night to me.
Yuki's car is a bit of a mess
Yuki’s car is a bit of a mess
Not as bad as Red Bull's driver program. Perez seems lost, they don't want Yuki, Ricciardo is unconvincing, and they need to find a seat for Lawson soon or lose him. My money's on Ricciardo replacing Perez after the summer break and Lawson taking Ricciardo's seat, with Perez getting the boot.
Yep, I'd agree.
It's odd that Red Bull moved quickly to re-contract Yuki when there were rumours of interest elsewhere (was it Audi?).
It’s odd that Red Bull moved quickly to re-contract Yuki when there were rumours of interest elsewhere (was it Audi?)
I imagine its linked to the current Honda deal/funding/sponsorship
My money’s on Ricciardo replacing Perez after the summer break and Lawson taking Ricciardo’s seat, with Perez getting the boot.
My money is on Lawson going straight into the Redbull seat of Perez, Danny hasnt done enough to get that Redbull seat, Lawson did a filming day at Sliverstone last Thurs in the 2024 Redbull, why put him in that car for a test if they plan on sending him to the sister team, why not do a filming day in the sister team's car?
I think Horner really likes Checo (same as he really likes Danny) but isnt a big Max fan (in a personality/friendship kinda way) and dosent want to lose him hence all the chances (Checo is a nice guy, just look at how he helped save Force India)
Marko on the other hand is ruthless as we know and wants Checo gone and knows even if Lawson isnt as good as they think he is he cant be any worse than Checo lately and for some reason they dont want Yuki in the Redbull
It's a fair point, Horner needs every ally he can muster considering the power struggles at Red Bull, and Checo might be one of those allies
Just read this quote from Marko
Marko revealed that Red Bull reserve driver Liam Lawson, who impressed in a five-race cameo for VCARB (then AlphaTauri) in mid-2023 and recently participated in a test at Silverstone with the Championship-leading RB20 car, is “at the top of the list” to succeed Perez.
I don’t see any benefit in keeping Perez for rest of the season over Lawson. Give Lawson the 2nd half to prove himself. It can’t be any worse
This was being discussed on Sky yesterday, that VCARB is supposed to be a development team for Redbull, so why are Yuki, a now reasonably experienced driver, and Danny Ric, a VERY experienced driver, still in seats? If they’re desperate to bin checo, then Ricciardo will go to RB then Yuki can be the team leader for Lawson, then replaced when he runs rings round him, again.
Max needs a nap.
Not sure Norris and Piastri are going to be mates after this one
Not sure Norris and Piastri are going to be mates after this one
Multi 21 mate
because (not for the first time) McLarens race management is a mess. The lead driver should’ve been pitted first, unless there had been prior agreement that championship was taking priority. Given Max was 3x race wins ahead at the start, that ship has likely already sailed
not if he keeps driver like he did today. what's the beating they ban him from all night Sim Racing on race weekends from now on
Unless it’s in his contract he’ll tell them to piss off. He knows he’s not going anywhere unless he wants to
lol, Ted Kravitz on Max/Lewis crash
’Redbull are calling it a racing incident, which is what Redbull do when it’s Max’s fault.’
Red Bull calling the top driver childish on the team radio, class!
Max reverting to type when the car isn't the best on track anymore. Very amusing listening to the toys hit the floor after being ejected from the pram.
Totally agree with brundle etc. Schumacher/vettel/senna/prost would have just taken the win. Norris clearly hasn't got that killer instinct. If the championship comes down to just a few points by season end he'll rue today.
Is Piastry bringing in more sponsorship money to the team than Norris I wonder?
Verstappen showing he has zero class. Funny how now he hasn’t got clearly the best car in the field he’s suddenly not performing that well.
All the Verstappen fans waxing lyrical about how he’s pretty much the best driver ever at the start of the season ?
Its quite refreshing to see lots of different drivers winning races this season.
’Redbull are calling it a racing incident, which is what Redbull do when it’s Max’s fault.’
Hamilton called it a racing incident. As far as I know, he's not a Redbull employee.
Hamilton called it a racing incident. As far as I know, he’s not a Redbull employee
No but he is very media savvy!
Hamilton called it a racing incident. As far as I know, he’s not a Redbull employee
He thinks it’s Max’s fault too?
Stewards have let him get away with it. Again.
Lewis said it was racing accident
Max said it was moving under braking.
Nice to be shown who is the bigger man.
Something tells me Lando will be a lot harder on his team mate at the start of races. He should have had him up the grass today and I think in future he will.
Max was just awful today, like a teenager throwing his toys out the pram, very lucky to get away with no further action for that move and lucky not to take himself and Hamilton out of the race altogether, then tried to blame it on Hamilton saying he moved under braking yet Hamilton was just following his racing line whislt max steam rolled into the corner
Then he says the following after the race
“They can all **** off,” was Verstappen’s blunt response when he was asked for his response to comments that his criticism of the team, and the nature of his radio messages had gone too far
The Lando/Piastri thing i kinda see Lando's point, yes he did get 1st pit stop choice due to covering off Hamilton and Max and was told to swap back with Piastri but after Piastri dipped his wheels into the gravel he was nowhere near Lando and Lando needs all the points he can muster to fight Max for the championship, i would of liked to see Lando just ignore all radio calls in silence then as he approches the line just slow to a crawl for Piastri to pass to make his point that he was faster, hopefully the championship battle between Max and Lando dosent come down to a few points at the end of the season
Lando let himself down there, should have let him past asap and raced to the finish.
McLaren naive with the situation.
Max doing Max unapologetically as usual.
Enjoyable race considering you can't overtake. F1 has a bit of drama back, good stuff.
It’s a real shame for Oscar that his first win came like that. It has to have been the flattest, least excitable first win celebration ever.
Easy in hindsight, but possibly Oscar should have said ‘nah, thanks, but I’m good with second’ and then enjoyed his first win properly later in the year.
It has to have been the flattest, least excitable first win celebration ever.
Hakkinen. Also gifted, (by two people!) but then had to celebrate a 'win' while someone else celebrated a championship and everyone else was talking about something else entirely.
But he won the next two titles so it didn't do him any harm
Lando didn't come across very well in his conversation with Hamilton in the warm down room either. Totally missed that he was giving them a compliment and breaking the tension in the room.
That was dumb by McLaren...they should have said to Piastri "if you can as a minimum match Lando's pace, then we'll let you win"...but he was losing time every lap.
McLarens still struggling to be a championship team. They should have pitted Piastri first (leading car), which would have avoided the mess they got themselves into.
Max still has a huge lead. The likelihood of Lando catching him is slim and it makes much more sense to concentrate on the constructors, with a harmonious team. Lando needs to think about 2025 when he needs Oscars help.
Nico's advice to Andrea Stella after the race was spot on about being clear on what the teams view is. That can be about pre-race agreements, strategies or tyre choices. All things where McLaren havent been 100% over the past few races.
It was like McLaren had Ferrari race strategists on work experience for that race, apart from the fact McLaren got a 1, 2 result of course.
If the season carries on at its current trajectory, with McLaren doing well and Perez being as he his, McLaren will very much be a championship team. Throw in a few risky moves from max as he becomes frustrated at not being able to lap the field anymore and the drivers will be up for grabs too.
I think what today showed is that every single F1 driver has the attitude of a petulant teenager when things don’t go their way.
McLaren couldn’t have made a bigger mess of that. When they gave Lando the undercut I thought, well that makes sense—they have the fastest car and if they can win every remaining race with Lando they will have both championships. A long shot maybe but you’d go for it, right? Apparently not. Let’s take 7 points away from the only driver other than Max who has a slight chance at the championship, and let’s do it in a way that infuriates the drivers, puts the race engineers in a hole, and makes the team look like a bucket of dicks. They could have owned it and moved 15 points closer to the driver’s title with the same constructor points, but no. Ron Dennis must be spinning in his uniformly grey room.
A bit surprised/disappointed to see Lando saying Piastri deserved it… Norris put three seconds on him on the final stint and didn’t drive himself off the track twice… sure, Piastri got the first corner but that was all, and that was in no small part because Norris couldn’t just drive into Max. I’d expected him to stick to the point that Piastri should catch up if he wanted to swap back.
I came to like GP this race. A lovely contrast to Max ? (As was Hamilton… Max constantly ranting “you f**ing ruined my race” and everything else, while Hamilton simply says “I think that first stop was a bit early mate”)
It's nice to Hamilton with a bit of enthusiasm now the car is a bit more competitive and made Max work.
I'll admit I was warming to Max against all my better judgement but today just showed he's not grown as a diver at all.
It was funny listening to the complaints of dive bombs, moving under braking and all the things he's done in the past.
McLaren could have handled that better.
Haven't we recently had a fine for swearing across the radio?
Haven’t we recently had a fine for swearing across the radio?
Tsunoda used the "r" word. Verstappen used the "f" word. Different words, different policies I guess.