Every crash he had is money out of the cost capped budget to replace parts. That's money taken away from potential upgrades and development. There's also the time aspect of the people who have to make the replacement parts. They could be working on making upgrade parts. Given that they just brought a big update to the last race I'm guessing they don't have a huge amount of spare upgraded parts sat around for when he smashes it in to a wall in Monza.
It's also right to bring a rookie from their own development programme in. Even if he doesn't score any points as long as he keeps it on the track then he's doing a better job. Giving a seat to Lawson or Schumacher is just giving your potential future rivals chance to practice and improve themselves at your expense.
Absolutely - it gets to the point where he's potentially holding Albon back too, where he might have had some go-faster bits developed and made by now and that is not on.
Giving a seat to Lawson or Schumacher is just giving your potential future rivals chance to practice and improve themselves at your expense.
Both Toto Wolff and Horner said no to Antonelli and Lawson respectively, Horner because they might want him back 'quickly' (!) and Wolff because they have a very carefully laid out development plan for Antonelli inc practice days in the 2022 car etc which they don't want to have disrupted
LOL!... 🙂
https://www.racefans.net/2024/08/29/f1-safety-car-crashes-in-practice-run-before-italian-grand-prix/
Nice that Sargeant got a new job so quickly 😉
Ooof, Antonelli has binned the Merc already
That's 1-0 to Franco Colapinto then
Antonelli failed at rookie rule number 1 - keep it on the black stuff.
All he needed was top 10 and everyone would have said "yeah, solid start" but seems he was going banzai on his second flying lap and it has bit him.
Interestingly (or not) Alonso almost binned it at the same corner that Antonelli did.
New track surface seems to be very low grip
That’s 1-0 to Franco Colapinto then
Colapinto has the rest of the weekend to build up his speed though.
Surprised to see Kimi take Woody's car and not Lewis's though.
"Surprised to see Kimi take Woody’s car and not Lewis’s though."
I think that had been scheduled some time ago, his next outing will be in Lewis's car.
Colapinto has the rest of the weekend to build up his speed though.
And also almost binned it at the same corner.
Interestingly (or not) Alonso almost binned
Add Sainz to the list too
Surprised to see Kimi take Woody’s car and not Lewis’s though.
Not really. Why wouldn’t he take the second drivers car rather than the team leaders?
“Surprised to see Kimi take Woody’s car and not Lewis’s though.”
I think that had been scheduled some time ago, his next outing will be in Lewis’s car.
Exactly.
Antonelli confirmed at Merc. Don't really get that given his F2 performance and the test but good to see some new blood at the front!
Antonelli confirmed at Merc. Don’t really get that given his F2 performance and the test but good to see some new blood at the front!
I appluad Merc for promoting within but its a big risk, Antonelli didnt compete in F3, he hasnt even completed his first season in F2 yet, there's a reason the big teams tend to farm out upcoming drivers to the teams in the lower field (Rebull- Cash app, Ferrari-Hass, Merc used to use-Williams) i wonder what will happen if he's not upto the job half way through next season, will they let Mick in the car?
Williams seem to be cutting all ties with Merc as they can (bar using their engine) since James took over as team principal, also no longer taking paid drivers and concentrating on getting the best non paid drivers they can and developing within which hopefully will help them return to the top
I wonder how George feels about Antoelli being promoted straight into the Merc seat given how long it took George to get his Merc drive whilst at Williams, even when Bottas was underperforming in the Merc, Once George proved himself as a super sub for Hamilton Bottas seat was his, Antoelli hasnt done any of this and has been parachuted into the Merc for next year
Clearly Toto knows george is a good number 2 driver. There are no top drivers available for next year so it’s not that much of a risk. Who else would be out in the car?
I know we shouldn't read too much into practice sessions, but Colapinto seems to be right up on the pace. Shame to see old guys like Ricciardo, Perez, Bottas, etc. holding onto seats when there are younger drivers who deserve a chance.
Just listened to the Chequered Flag podcast, there's an interview with Toto in which he mentions the time they were talking to Verstappen in 2014, and they lost him because Red Bull had a seat available. I don't think he wanted to make that mistake again.
That qualifying must be setting off fire alarms in Red Bull's management. McLaren, Ferrari, and Merc in front with 0.2 seconds separating the top six, then Red Bull half a second behind. And that's at a track where Red Bull expected to be right at the front. At that rate they'll lose the constructor's championship in the next few races and Max's lead in the driver's championship will evaporate. Losing Newey is one thing, but Max won't stay around if he thinks there are better options elsewhere. My guess is that Piastri's lawyers and McLaren's lawyers will be charging triple-time working out how much it would cost to buy him out of his contract and put Max into a McLaren for next year.
At that rate they’ll lose the constructor’s championship in the next few races
I'm fully expecting them to lose their lead by the end of tomorrow, and to be third behind Ferrari a few races after that
I’m fully expecting them to lose their lead by the end of tomorrow, and to be third behind Ferrari a few races after that
Yes, I forgot that the constructor's championship was so close, was thinking it was the same as the driver's, at 7o points. It's only 30 points so could be gone by tomorrow. But Perez did his job today so replacing drivers isn't going to fix the problem. Can't see Max staying around if the team can't give him a competitive car.
Does anyone still believe Red Bull weren’t the ones running that braking device?
And Max had the door open at Mercedes - every other door is closed for a good while.
And Max had the door open at Mercedes – every other door is closed for a good while
There are always buyout clauses in contracts. If Verstappen wanted to go to Merc or McLaren, it would just come down to paying off Russell or Piastri to swap to Red Bull.
At that rate they’ll lose the constructor’s championship in the next few races
If they finish the race in grid order, then McLaren will be ahead in the constructors tomorrow.
It'll also be interesting to see Max and Lewis next to each other on the grid tomorrow...
My guess is that Piastri’s lawyers and McLaren’s lawyers will be charging triple-time working out how much it would cost to buy him out of his contract and put Max into a McLaren for next year.
I'd say that Zack would rather win with the drivers he has than swap for Max.
In '26 its all about who can develop the best engine. Can RB Powertrains produce a competitive engine or do you go with Honda and Newey to Aston?
Red Bull's woes are the result of Newey leaving, since handing his notice in, the development of the car has floundered, they're running a mix of new and old floors to sort the problem out. Can't see Verstappen being in a Red Bull after 2025, if not sooner.
I’d say that Zack would rather win with the drivers he has than swap for Max.
I'd say that Zak is a brutally pragmatic businessman who would swap Piastri for Verstappen in a second. Same goes for Toto and Russell. If Verstappen wanted to drive for those teams next year, they'd make it happen.
Based on the last few McLaren starts I'd still put 50p on a Ferrari or Woody leading at the end of the first lap. McLaren did seem to have the race pace on Fri and the new surface might throw up some differences in strategy - could be a fun race.
I’d say that Zak is a brutally pragmatic businessman who would swap Piastri for Verstappen in a second. Same goes for Toto and Russell. If Verstappen wanted to drive for those teams next year, they’d make it happen.
Maybe, but then there’s the Jos factor. Do people really want to get involved with him given what he’s been like with Christian Horner?
Red Bull’s woes are the result of Newey leaving, since handing his notice in, the development of the car has floundered,
A couple of the pundits on Sky today were saying that Newey’s value extended far beyond just the car design, and that he had very valuable input in many of the other decisions at Red Bull, including strategy. Make of that what you will, but they definitely have taken a turn for the worse since he handed his notice in.
Thinking about that , it will be interesting to see what role he has at Aston Martin, it may be more than just the designer
Thinking about that , it will be interesting to see what role he has at Aston Martin, it may be more than just the designer
Did I miss something? Has he been confirmed at Aston Martin or is that just speculation?
The cynic in me also wonders about the whole Horner/Verstappen thing. Prior to this, there was speculation (especially in light of SP’s performance) that it was just how special MV was that RB were where they were. Now we’re seeing that without the car, sure MV is still better than SP, but he’s certainly not THAT much better. The invincible MV has suddenly just been rather openly wounded.
Did I miss something? Has he been confirmed at Aston Martin or is that just speculation?
No official announcement, just a lot of F1 types saying it’s a very poorly kept secret at this point
Now we’re seeing that without the car, sure MV is still better than SP, but he’s certainly not THAT much better
Umm....
I meant the last 4 races where MV has been notably vocal about the car and he and Perez have been closer. It initially seemed that the 2024 RB was as good as the 23 car with both doing well, but as they started to develop the car, it seemed to suit MV more and Perez a lot less. Now, from the onboards, it’s much more edgy and both are driving similar. It’s qualifying which sets them apart. Perez has always been 4-7/10ths down on MV and that margin is now sufficient to put him well into the midfield where SP can catch but not overtake. MV qualifying higher holds position again, not making much inroads into the top 6 during a race unless he starts there.
It’s qualifying which sets them apart. Perez has always been 4-7/10ths down on MV
Which is why any team manager in the field would sign Max at the drop of a hat. The tyres can't handle more than a couple of laps at full pace so the race skill is managing tyre wear rather than outright speed.
Qualifying is where you see the drivers' outright pace compared to their teammates and Max is supremely good at qualifying in a car that seems to be quite tricky to set up.
I’d say that Zak is a brutally pragmatic businessman who would swap Piastri for Verstappen in a second
Not on the face of this qualy. It looks like both Lando and Pastry are wringing everything from that car, Lando a bit more.
Pay £30million to improve a 1-2 to what?
Pay £30million to improve a 1-2 to what?
Sponsors would pay a lot to have a multiple world champion in the car. Piastri seems to be a very good driver but Verstappen is one of the all-time greats. Right now, McLaren have the best all-round car but there's no guarantee that they will dominate next year so signing the best driver on the grid would be an easy decision if he wanted to join the team.
Verstappen is one of the all-time greats
Nah, he’s got a way to go to prove that
I think it's fair to say that he's one of the all time greats in the same way that Alonso is also thought of in the same way despite only having 2 world championships.
Alonso, yes - Max, not yet.
Alonso, yes – Max, not yet.
Not sure why, Verstappen has shown himself to be every bit the driver Alonso ever has been, which is why he is widely considered to be one of the greats and talked about in the same terms as Schumacher, Hamilton and the rest
