Oh yes, new motor and wings, pit lane start and carve through the field.
Or more likely, send him out on full wets with half a tank of fuel
I woke up for a pee and here I am in front of the TV!! 🤣🤣
Jesus, if Piastri can't do better than that, McLaren are going to have to impose team orders and ask Lando to help him secure 2nd place in the championship.
Can't see this ending well for McLaren.
https://twitter.com/ChrisMedlandF1/status/1992496353210151002
Only a race win behind then
If they are thrown out of the race, Norris, who finished second to Red Bull's Max Verstappen, would be 24 points ahead of both the Dutchman and Piastri going into the penultimate race of the season in Qatar next weekend
It's open and shut isn't it, if they're over the wear limit then it's disqualification
It's amazing how this seems to happen when there's a chance of the title might not be decided in the final race
FFS!!
It's amazing how this seems to happen when there's a chance of the title might not be decided in the final race
McLaren didn't dispute the facts, their plank was worn below the legal limit, they argued there were mitigating circumstances. The rules are very clear and McLaren have only themselves to blame for this, the other teams managed to keep their cars legal.
At least Mclaren have kept it fair with the papaya rules and DQ both cars
I don't know how close a car would typically be to the wear limit after a race but it seems mad that McLaren would be taking any risks when they dont need to be winning races. Perhaps the wet qualifying didn't help with setup
Perhaps the wet qualifying didn't help with setup
That was basically McLaren's argument for mitigating circumstances. Practice was disrupted and they didn't get time to do long runs with a full fuel load so they had to guess on car setup. Problem is, all the teams had the same limitation and the others managed to keep it legal. This is purely on McLaren screwing up.
Plank explained here - 2yrs old somethings may have changed
Do McLaren get a bonus if they makede the championship go down to the last race? Its the nly explaination for such a silly error given that they can afford to set the car up conservativley now
I'd be soooo pissed off with the team if I was Lando now. That's put so much pressure on him that really wasn't needed.
Fair enough MV still needs wins but all the pressure is on Lando now, he had some space so pressure wasn't massive but now it's ****ing huge.
If he gets a win in the next race and more or less secures the championship he'll thoroughly deserve it.
Well I spotted which celebs in Las Vegas had been eating all the pies.
The wear on Lando's blocks was over the limit by 0.07 to 0.12mm - how can they measure a worn block to that accuracy?
I guess there must have been a significant benefit to running low or they'd have not pushed it so close. Maybe if they'd run even a little higher they would have finished lower down.
The wear on Lando's blocks was over the limit by 0.07 to 0.12mm - how can they measure a worn block to that accuracy?
Start with a go/no-go gauge then get your verniers out. It should be fairly simple to do. If there was a flaw in the measuring system the teams would’ve kicked off long ago
Doubt they wanted to push closer to the limit more than any other team and/or race. Just got their calculations wrong, particularly with regards to experiencing more porpoising than expected.
They're not the first to be caught out by plank wear and won't be the last.
all the pressure is on Lando now
He's leading the championship and, by my calculation, can finish third in both remaining races and fourth in the sprint, whereas Max and Oscar basically need to win all three. Pressure's on Max and Oscar.
I guess there must have been a significant benefit to running low or they'd have not pushed it so close.
Yes, the ground effect increases massively the close you can run the car to the ground. Running it a few millimeters lower is the difference between being on pole and being on the third row. All the teams will run the cars as low as they think they can get away with, it's just that McLaren misjudged it this time because they didn't get time to do high fuel runs in practice.
"It's a terrible result. There is nothing positive to take from today," Hamilton told BBC Radio 5 Live.
"I'm eager for it to end, I'm looking forward to it ending. I'm not looking forward to the next one."
Asked if that meant he was not looking forward to the next race in Qatar, Hamilton replied: "Next season."
Man, Hamilton sounds like he's really spiraling at the moment. He really needs a good result now to finish the season with some positivity.
It feels similar to the weird couple of seasons when he leaked the data etc.
I need to rewatch quali, but I don't understand how he ended up in that position. Obviously we know about the bollard and aborted final lap, but before that, did he keep messing laps up, or did Ferrari keep him in the garage despite being at risk? If the latter, I don't know why they would do that, plenty of drivers were just setting lap after lap until they got a clean one.
Running it a few millimeters lower is the difference between being on pole and being on the third row. All the teams will run the cars as low as they think they can get away with, it's just that McLaren misjudged it this time because they didn't get time to do high fuel runs in practice.
Yeah, it's very fine margins. Also with the cold weather, this was probably even more important because downforce affects tyre temps.
Possible they also misjudged the impact of the 'expanding skid blocks' trick that got blocked last race.
He had a triple header of issues
Any of the three things that went wrong for Hamilton at the end of Q1 could have been enough to derail his qualifying. So he had no chance of surviving all three.
Getting caught out and hitting a bollard at the end of his prep lap, and it getting stuck under his car for an unknown amount of time, was not a great start and compromised his pace on what turned out to be his final lap.
Encountering yellow flags on that lap, when it was potentially marginally good enough to sneak into Q2, spoiled the attempt.
And then immediately aborting his last lap, thinking he had not crossed the line in time before end of the session, was a potentially costly confusion seemingly born from the timing line being located just before the main gantry that houses the lights he saw turn red.
Do we think if pre-season testing goes badly he'll walk away?
I can't see him slogging through another season of mid-field racing.
I’ve never worked out why the timing line for qualifying isn’t always the same as the finish line for the race. I’m sure it must make sense to someone, but not me.
Thanks @mashr
Do we think if pre-season testing goes badly he'll walk away?
I can't see him slogging through another season of mid-field racing.
I hope he wouldn't do that on potentially his final season... I think it's more likely Ferrari might try and do a bit of driver blaming/face saving and swap him with Bearman if it's going badly.
The wear on Lando's blocks was over the limit by 0.07 to 0.12mm - how can they measure a worn block to that accuracy?
The FIA have invested in some new kit to specifically improve the precision of their skid block measurements - previous exclusions had measurements quoted to 0.1mm resolution so this is the first issue detected by the new kit.
As for Lewis, isn't this the third or 4th season in a row where people have been expecting him to retire? I'm hoping Ferrari finally get their act together next year and build a quick car backed up by a sharp team but history suggests that's unlikely.
To say he's not looking forward to next season means he's...
a) seen nothing in the data to suggest next years car is any good.
b) driven it in the SIM and come to that conclusion.
c) he can't get Ferrari to listen to his needs.
d) really is past it.
or...
z) He's making a great double-bluff and it's the best thing he's ever driven!
The FIA have invested in some new kit to specifically improve the precision of their skid block measurement
Mick Schumacher will join Rahal Letterman Lanigan for a full season of Indycar, including ovals I think
Well, I knew he was crafty but I didn't realise he had that level of cheat in him. I'm not on Instagram but presumably someone somewhere has sent that to the FIA so they can investigate and reinstate Lando's points.
Been realising I’ve the last few days that the Mercedes social media people and quite witty, and that the McLaren counterparts are dull as dishwater 
And the new Aston Martin F1 team principal isn't Whinger Spice...
This is massive news. It will be really interesting to see how he gets on! I know he’s a legendary designer with a ridiculous amount of trackside experience, but team principle needs a whole range of skills, so I guess we’ll find out if he has them or not
I had the impression that Newey just wanted to be left alone with his drawing board and the engineering data. Maybe this is a different sort of team principal, more like the old version where it was more racing and less MD of 1000 person company.
Been realising I’ve the last few days that the Mercedes social media people and quite witty, and that the McLaren counterparts are dull as dishwater
And yet Pirelli have announced a 25 lap tyre limit for Qatar, which means at least two pit stops (for the main race)
Well I certainly didn’t see the Newey decision coming. Feel hard to predict whether that will be a master stroke or a complete misappropriation of his skills.
I must say I’ve never found the Stroll/Aston philosophy entirely convincing. There seems to be a lot of setting lofty goals for some time in the future and then throwing money and big names at it, with questionable success. Ambitious and absolute goals in competitive contexts are hard when you can’t control the performance of your competition. James Vowles’ approach seems much more robust.
team principle needs a whole range of skills
F1 teams don't have principles.
I must say I’ve never found the Stroll/Aston philosophy entirely convincing.
I think the issue is that Stroll is used to throwing money at problems, hoping for quick fixes for things that take time to build. The "Pink Mercedes" thing is an example - copying another team's car means that you don't understand why they designed it the way they did so you don't know how to develop it any further. Trying to expand from a small team to a large team takes years of building up systems and workflows so that everyone is contributing positively. Just hiring a whole bunch of engineers from different teams won't work if they don't have effective leadership and time to develop as a team. McLaren are a perfect example, they took several years before the benefits of their reorganization and new wind tunnel started showing up as results on track.
I had the impression that Newey just wanted to be left alone with his drawing board and the engineering data.
This, I always had the impression he liked being the one in the background, getting on with all the winning, rather than being the front & centre mouthpiece of the company/team at any given track.
Not sure this will end as well as his other projects, but guess this is paying for his retirement.
Does this close the door for Horner at Aston? If so the sex pest will be running out of options.
Adrian Newey has always struck me as a bit of a control freak if I'm honest. Every team he's ever been with has ended in him leaving because of management decisions he doesn't like.
Aston Martin is just the first one where i think he's had the clout to say right from the get go that's he wants to be in charge, and Stroll is happy to let him.
Leyton House - fired but had already decided to leave because it was being run by an accountant (ie not him)
Williams - Left because Williams and Head wouldn't give him more control
Mclaren - didn't get on with Dennis (which is fair enough TBH)
Red Bull - left when it all got political and it was clear that he wasn't going to be in the running to take over
I think it'll either be a huge success, or it will be massively dysfunctional to the point where the management of Benetton of the 90s looks like a well oiled and effective team by comparison
Adrian Newey has always struck me as a bit of a control freak if I'm honest. Every team he's ever been with has ended in him leaving because of management decisions he doesn't like.
I don't think that's a fair reflection on what happened. At Williams, he was promised that he would be consulted on major decisions but Frank Williams and Patrick Head broke that agreement. If they had just given Newey 20% of the team and told him to run it as he pleased, it would have dominated for 30 years. At McLaren, Ron Dennis's OCD behaviour annoyed Newey and he joined Red Bull. If McLaren had sacked Dennis and kept Newey, they would still be the factory Mercedes team and probably would have dominated the last 15 years. At Red Bull, corporate HQ decided that the F1 team had too much autonomy and wanted to clip Horner's wings. Why would he want to deal with that when every team on the grid would pretty much write him a blank cheque to join?
If McLaren had sacked Dennis and kept Newey, they would still be the factory Mercedes team and probably would have dominated the last 15 years.
You're forgetting the huge impact Dennis had at McLaren and took them from a typical 1970s garage independent to one of the biggest motor racing companies in the world.
You're forgetting the huge impact Dennis had at McLaren and took them from a typical 1970s garage independent to one of the biggest motor racing companies in the world.
Not at all. Dennis built the first superteam and his OCD was probably part of that. They dominated the late 80s, but the Newey designed Williams of the early 90s were a step ahead and losing the factory Honda engines was a huge blow for McLaren. They didn't recover until they had the Merc engines and Newey leading the design department. After Newey left, they seemed to just stagnate, the same way Ferrari stagnated after Brawn left. It took 10 years before it became obvious how far behind they'd fallen, but the rot set in under Dennis's watch. If they'd sacked Dennis and kept Newey, Red Bull would probably have zero championships and McLaren another eight or 10.
If Newey is Team Principal, what are the chances of Stroll Jnr being fired? 🤔
If Newey is Team Principal, what are the chances of Stroll Jnr being fired? 🤔
Zero, his dad still owns the team. The whole Aston Martin project is just a way for Stroll snr to make Stroll jr an F1 world champ
Zero, his dad still owns the team. The whole Aston Martin project is just a way for Stroll snr to make Stroll jr an F1 world champ
He’ll need more than Newey to make Lance a world champ
more chance platting fog
Zero, his dad still owns the team. The whole Aston Martin project is just a way for Stroll snr to make Stroll jr an F1 world champ
Zero, his dad still owns the team. The whole Aston Martin project is just a way for Stroll snr to make Stroll jr an F1 world champ
Hiring Alonso was a statement that he was serious about making the team competitive, even if it showed up Lance as a second tier driver. To be fair to Lance, I think he's a decent driver, not at the level of the very top drivers, but good enough to be a solid number two driver if the team can produce a competitive car.
Lance’s is a story of unfulfilled potential I think. He’s the second youngest person ever to podium (in his first season too, Max was 11 days younger, but did it in his second season) and did well in the junior formulae.
Be interesting to see what he does with a decent car.
Fred has said Ferrari switched really early for their 2026 car.
They'd better be cooking something awesome because I don't know who else to support! Every other driver but Lewis leaves me a bit meh and I don't really care about the result. I 'like' other drivers but not enough to drag me out of bed in the middle of the night.
I know Ferrari switched front suspension layout in prep for next season so hopefully they've learnt a shed load about how it's not supposed to work!! But knowing Ferrari they'll switch back to push-rod! 🤦♂️
Fred has said Ferrari switched really early for their 2026 car.
They'd better be cooking something awesome because I don't know who else to support! Every other driver but Lewis leaves me a bit meh and I don't really care about the result. I 'like' other drivers but not enough to drag me out of bed in the middle of the night.
I know Ferrari switched front suspension layout in prep for next season so hopefully they've learnt a shed load about how it's not supposed to work!! But knowing Ferrari they'll switch back to push-rod! 🤦♂️
I don't get how he's fallen off a cliff so badly. It happened around the time Elkann criticised him.
Are the team trying to force him out? Is there hidden damage to the car? Is he just in a bad mental state?
He qualified well in Mexico and finished the race well in USA, since then, terrible.
Just watching DC walking down the pit lane and wondering if the Red Bull team have arguments about "radio playing in the office".
I don't get how he's fallen off a cliff so badly
The car is definitely dog**** this weekend. I get the feeling LeClerc is having to pushing himself (4 times off the road inc one massive spin in qualifying is wild) as he’s thinking about his future. Hamilton has now reason to try and push himself like that.
Enjoying that the most entertaining part of this weekend is likely to be Max’s trolling of Norris. And, let’s face it, he’s right that he would’ve absolutely dominated if he was in that car this year
let’s face it, he’s right that he would’ve absolutely dominated if he was in that car this year
He may have done, but there wouldn't be a constructor's championship win in it, as he'd have followed his usual dead-end development approach to the exclusion of everyone else.
Wasn't it Chapman who said Jim Clark's genius that he could drive wildly different setups/cars and have them perform the same?
Remember when Schumacher's gearbox broke and he raced (quite effectively) with one gear? I wonder how many of the current drivers would have coped.
The issue at Ferrari is there's no Brawn/Byrne/Schumacher dream team - I wondered whether Hamilton was going to be championing that approach with year one being washout/form the team. Year two starting the build... But it doesn't look like it.
Wasn't it Chapman who said Jim Clark's genius that he could drive wildly different setups/cars and have them perform the same?
This has always been Alonso's genius, in my opinion. He just seems to be able to pick up any dog of a car and wring something out of it.
I also remember reading that Patrick Head said that Keke Rosberg sucked as a test driver because he'd just drive around any changes to the car setup and the engineers couldn't tell whether changes were helping or not.
So assuming the title isn't settled today what are the chances of Channel 4 being able to show Abu Dhabi live again?
I guess it’s going to be decided at Abu Dhabi then
This could be awesome when both McLarens pit on lap 25, but Piastri oddly struggles to find first gear…
Thank you, Kimi!
Someone check my maths...
If MV wins in AD, LN can still win championship if he finishes 2nd or 3rd
If OP wins in AD, LN can still win championship if he finishes 4th or higher
I’m assuming RB are lobbying hard for Massi to be allowed back for one race.
No need, we now know that McLaren don’t take free pitstops anyway
No need, we now know that McLaren don’t take free pitstops anyway
It's probably a moot point, but if MV saw OP pitting, Red Bull may have stayed out as an alternate strategy - I wonder how that would have played out??
For sure, McLaren should have split the strategy but I wouldn't like to be the person making that call...
It's probably a moot point, but if MV saw OP pitting, Red Bull may have stayed out as an alternate strategy - I wonder how that would have played out??
If he stayed out the lead McLaren would’ve won as they’d have come out behind MV with the safety car out and the jumped him as he jumped them.
Pretty sure it’s a Martin Brundle-ism, “you don’t give up track position”. Especially at a snooze-fest track like this
I could understand Oscar pitting under the safety car the lap after Max, if he would come out near the front. But not telling Lando to follow Max in was a shocking decision.
No need, we now know that McLaren don’t take free pitstops anyway
It's probably a moot point, but if MV saw OP pitting, Red Bull may have stayed out as an alternate strategy - I wonder how that would have played out??
For sure, McLaren should have split the strategy but I wouldn't like to be the person making that call...
Exactly
But not telling Lando to follow Max in was a shocking decision.
I think of all the disastrous decisions that Maclaren made, the one not to pit Lando was probably one of the better ones. As their garage is right at the start of the pit lane, he'd have been tangled up with all the other cars coming in, and would've undoubtedly lost more positions on the track, and the car clearly didn't have enough of an offset over the rest of the field to reliably overtaken what might have been perhaps 3-5 cars. I think the decision not to pit hurt Lando the least (in hindsight)
Fun fact - there haven't been that many times where more than 2 drivers have been in contention for the title. The last five were
1981 Reutemann was leading before the last race but Piquet won the title
1983 Prost was leading but Piquet won the WDC
1986 Mansell was leading but the tyre blew and Prost was WDC
2007 Hamilton was leading but Raikkonen was WDC
2010 Alonso was leading but Vettel snuck under everyone's radar to win the title
The only excitement was caused by McLaren outsourcing their strategy to Ferrari.
True.
In their defence they ultimately walked away from Max in the sprint race and probably expected that to happen again - but it didn't!
I still think Piastri is an absolute paddy pants but it's not looking too good for him now as, unless he's winning and LN is lying 5th or worse in the last race, I think they may favour LN to get a McLaren DWC.
My daughter will be cheering Oscar on. But I've no preference on who takes the title.
I think Mclaren's decision looks more disastrous in hindsight but they really should have had a pre-planned strategy for what they would do if the safety car appeared on certain laps. The 25 lap max rule Pirelli imposed made the strategies a lot less flexible so they could have been pretty prescriptive around what they would do, it looks like that's exactly what every other team did.
I thought I heard Zak Brown say that they did have a plan for a safety car on each lap and for lap 7 it said stay out!
Can't help but think that this is somehow an engineered outcome - all hanging on the last race when it should have been done and dusted months, if not, races ago. 🙄
Do papaya rules allow Oscar to have an incident with Max?
Someone check my maths...
If MV wins in AD, LN can still win championship if he finishes 2nd or 3rd
If OP wins in AD, LN can still win championship if he finishes 4th or higher
My maths says Max 1st Oscar 2nd, Lando needs 3rd, Oscar 1st Max 2nd, Lando needs 5th.