Of mercedes do snag Max fir next season where does Russell go as it’s clear he will be the driver to leave. Obviously there will be a vacancy at RB assuming he wants to work for Horner and RB want him if not then what?
assuming he wants to work for Horner and RB want him if not then what?
This works both ways, but I think Russell holds more aces than Red Bull...let's face it, they're screwed if Max leaves as they (obviously) don't even have a competent #2 driver in either team already
Just for fun - fantasy F1 Team moves...
Oscar beats Lando for the World Champ and Lando retires due to stress and mental anxiety setting up a llama farm in Cornwal
Fred gets kicked out of Ferrari and Hamilton has no support so leave for Aston.
Stroll the Younger gets bored and goes to play tennis.
Max sees how much he can screw Mercedes and then goes for the spare seat at Ferrari to cause much team tension with Le Clerc.
Red Bull implodes and tries to grab Russel from Mercedes but loses him to McLaren so gets Bob from the local chip shop as a wild card.
Spare seat at Mercedes gets fought over by the other newbies and Hadjar gets it as he is better than I thought.
Drive to Survive reboot?
What fun ideas from you guys?
The notable thing for me was how phlegmatic Verstappen was
I think even Max realises that when you qualified 7th, you're essentially in the pack with everyone else, and you're at the mercy of 'first corner' action. I think like a lot of these guys; he gets pee'd off when you've qualified pole or 2nd and that shit happens, but this year, he knows he's not in the hunt for either championship and that puts a different spin on it.
I think Max will go to Aston Martin. I think he'd fit in better there
Max to shock everyone and go to Cadillac to build the team around him. Fred gets the boot from Ferrari and Horner jumps ship to replace him. Hamilton leaves Ferrari to replace Stroll at Aston, Newey comes up with the class of the field again but the Lewis/Alonso grudge match reignites and hands the title to Alex Albon in a massively improved Williams.
let's face it, they're screwed if Max leaves as they (obviously) don't even have a competent #2 driver in either team already
IMHO all their current drivers are fairly decent, nobody is incompetent. Nor was Albon, Sainz, Gasly, or Perez for that matter.
Their problem is the car which seems to have an extremely narrow operating window, suiting Max and nobody else, and secondly the main team putting way too much pressure on their second driver which kills their confidence.
Stroll the Younger gets bored and goes to play tennis.
I genuinely feel that Lance Stroll is being held against his will 🤣
He definitely wants to go play tennis, but Daddy Stroll is forcing him to stay in F1 and get paid millions of pounds a season. Poor guy.
Stating the obvious but:
Why would any team with ambitions to win the constructors championship employ MV? To win that, you need two drivers able to get points every race. The last couple of years have shown that, for whatever reason, a car that MV can win in isn't easy to drive for anyone else.
I guess smaller teams who don't have the resources to employ drivers and designers capable of winning the constructors could focus on the drivers championship and employ MV, but why would a team like Ferrari or MB choose him?
Why would any team with ambitions to win the constructors championship employ MV?
Max isn't the cause of Red Bull's car woes, that's on the engineering team. If you put him in a McLaren, he'd be as fast, or faster than, Norris and Piastri. Their problem seems to be that they find stuff in the windtunnel and simulations that say the car should be faster. Then, when they put it on the car, it's very peaky and difficult to drive. Max manages to get the performance out of it, but nobody else can. Max doesn't like the car, he's been telling the engineers that they need to improve it but they just don't seem to know how to. The McLaren seems to be easy enough to drive that a rookie can get in and be competitive. Lawson and Tsunoda are both decent drivers but that Red Bull car made them both look hopeless. That's the engineers' fault, not Max's.
Why would any team with ambitions to win the constructors championship employ MV?
Max isn't the cause of Red Bull's car woes, that's on the engineering team. If you put him in a McLaren, he'd be as fast, or faster than, Norris and Piastri. Their problem seems to be that they find stuff in the windtunnel and simulations that say the car should be faster. Then, when they put it on the car, it's very peaky and difficult to drive. Max manages to get the performance out of it, but nobody else can. Max doesn't like the car, he's been telling the engineers that they need to improve it but they just don't seem to know how to. The McLaren seems to be easy enough to drive that a rookie can get in and be competitive. Lawson and Tsunoda are both decent drivers but that Red Bull car made them both look hopeless. That's the engineers' fault, not Max's.
Max Verstappen is quite possibly the greatest F1 driver ever. His ability to win against many odds, in a car that is nowhere near the best, puts him well above the vast majority of other world champions including Hamilton, imo. For me, the very best have been Senna, Vettel, Alonso and Verstappen. All drivers who could make an uncompetitive car competitive. Schumacher wasn't bad either, but Hamilton has never been able to get good results in a car that isn't competitive. And he was bested over a season by Max who had an inferior car. I think what we're seeing now with Hamilton, is just the reality that whilst he is no doubt a great driver, he really does need the best car to win in. And he's being routinely bettered by his team-mate now, so clear indication he's probably past it. He can still milk F1 for more money and publicity though, which is what he's doing with the F1 film. It's a bit sad to see him still trying to live off faded glories though.
Verstappen is clearly resigned to the fact that McLaren are going to win. He's philosophical enough about that. He'll still fight of course, and he'll continue to put his car ten places above his team-mate, whoever that is. Let's face it; if Verstappen was in a McLaren this year, the WDC would already be over.
Schumacher wasn't bad either, but Hamilton has never been able to get good results in a car that isn't competitive.
Well he had won at least one race in every season up to 2022 and some of those weren't the best cars - and this is the only season so far he hasn't had a podium finish (yet). He's not got on with the current ground effect cars, but he's not on his own there.
I don't recall MV moaning about his car when he was winning the drivers WC, but the second driver in Red Bull (despite being 'reasonable' drivers) have been nowhere. It's obvious that MV has very clear ideas of what the car should drive like, and the engineers deliver that. Why wouldn't the same happen if he went to MB or Ferrari?
And he was bested over a season by Max who had an inferior car.
which year was that please?
For me, the very best have been Senna, Vettel, Alonso and Verstappen. All drivers who could make an uncompetitive car competitive. Schumacher wasn't bad either, but Hamilton has never been able to get good results in a car that isn't competitive.
Hamilton's rookie season was as teammate to double world champion Alonso. He matched him and Alonso completely lost his shit. He well and truly earned his place among the all-time greats.
Vettel was brilliant in the blown diffuser cars but got thumped by Ricciardo and then LeClerc. Good, but not capable of lifting a second-rate car like the greats can do.
Schumacher won his first two titles in Bennetons that weren't as good as the Adrian Newey designed Williams. He then went to a Ferrari team that was struggling and was central to turning it into a dominant force. His ruthlessness left a dark mark on his legacy but he was stunningly good in his prime.
I don't recall MV moaning about his car when he was winning the drivers WC, but the second driver in Red Bull (despite being 'reasonable' drivers) have been nowhere. It's obvious that MV has very clear ideas of what the car should drive like, and the engineers deliver that. Why wouldn't the same happen if he went to MB or Ferrari?
Max told them early last season that the car had fundamental problems and they needed to fix it. It took McLaren a few months to sort out their car, but once they did, the weaknesses of the Red Bull were exposed. If the McLaren had been sorted from the start, Lando would probably be defending world champion now. The Red Bull isn't that way because that's how Max likes it, it's because the engineers haven't figured out how to fix the problems.
Max told them early last season that the car had fundamental problems and they needed to fix it.
And the three seasons before that?
And the three seasons before that?
Perez generally looked like a decent no. 2 driver. Then, in 2024, he suddenly looked hopeless. This was in the car that Max warned the team that they needed to fix.
Max to shock everyone and go to Cadillac to build the team around him. Fred gets the boot from Ferrari and Horner jumps ship to replace him. Hamilton leaves Ferrari to replace Stroll at Aston, Newey comes up with the class of the field again but the Lewis/Alonso grudge match reignites and hands the title to Alex Albon in a massively improved Williams.
That would be excellent
Why would any team with ambitions to win the constructors championship employ MV?
Max isn't the cause of Red Bull's car woes, that's on the engineering team. If you put him in a McLaren, he'd be as fast, or faster than, Norris and Piastri. Their problem seems to be that they find stuff in the windtunnel and simulations that say the car should be faster. Then, when they put it on the car, it's very peaky and difficult to drive. Max manages to get the performance out of it, but nobody else can. Max doesn't like the car, he's been telling the engineers that they need to improve it but they just don't seem to know how to. The McLaren seems to be easy enough to drive that a rookie can get in and be competitive. Lawson and Tsunoda are both decent drivers but that Red Bull car made them both look hopeless. That's the engineers' fault, not Max's.
There are two sets of problems with the car.
1 - it is highly attuned to Max's driving preferences, it is very very sharp and responsive to the point it feels unnatural to other drivers.
2 - it has problems with aero and suspension, making it unpredictable and hard on the tyres. Ferrari and others are also fighting this problem.
Recent update statements from RB have specifically mentioned improving 'flow stability' - that is ensuring airflow follows the surfaces it's supposed to and doesn't suddenly detach under certain yaw/ride height conditions giving random instability. This is helping towards #2 and makes the car faster for both drivers.
To help the second driver with #1 you need to compromise with making the car less biased towards Max's favoured setup. I've seen nothing to suggest Red Bull will do this because it will likely slow down Max. They certainly didn't for any of the previous number 2 drivers going as far back as my usernamesake. 🙂
Sky Sport Italia are apparently claiming that Max has agreed to join Mercedes but the board haven't yet signed it off
Sky Sport Italia are apparently claiming that Max has agreed to join Mercedes but the board haven't yet signed it off
George to RB then? Or Aston if Stroll retires due to being a miserable git his hand troubles? Guess also Cadillac an option.
Max has probably just seen the latest dyno figures for the new Ford engine! 🤣
I think the only realistic option for Russell is a seat swap with Max.
Aston won't open the door for him like they would for Max.
And I doubt Cadillac would want that level of salary and scrutiny. Far better for them to have Checo and/or Bottas.
Definitely Russell out? Would make an interesting pairing with Max if Antonelli goes instead...
Gotta feel sorry for Antonelli if Max does go there....he'll have a heck of a job on his hands
I've just seen the film.
Really well filmed. Lots of rules being broken but good fun.
How ridiculous is the plot? It's a bit far fetched but then far fetched stuff does happen. 1982 really happened. Monaco 1996 really happened. Monza 2008 really happened. The whole of 2009 really happened. Canada 2011 really happened.Spain 2012 really happened. Abu Dhabi 2021 really happened. All totally implausible but real, so we can let the film get away with some unlikely plot lines I think.
The crash, or one of them, looks unlikely but have a look at Alex Peroni's big one in 2019.
Obviously not a documentary, or even that accurate, but it's a lot of fun. Implausible but not impossible.
Schumacher wasn't bad either, but Hamilton has never been able to get good results in a car that isn't competitive.
Well he had won at least one race in every season up to 2022 and some of those weren't the best cars - and this is the only season so far he hasn't had a podium finish (yet). He's not got on with the current ground effect cars, but he's not on his own there.
He won races when his car was working on that particular track, for him.When his car isn't 100%, he struggles. A lot. No denying his skill, he's a great driver. Just not one of the true greats imo.
Hamilton's rookie season was as teammate to double world champion Alonso. He matched him and Alonso completely lost his shit. He well and truly earned his place among the all-time greats.
Alonso was consistently quicker than Hamilton, until Ron Dennis decided to renege on the agreement he's made with Alonso to be No.1 driver. Then Hamilton got quicker (he gained experience very quickly, no question, but he had help). Then Spygate, and Dennis clearly favouring his protegé Hamilton in the team. Alonso would easily have won the WDC that year if it wasn't for Ron Dennis' ego. Hamilton was fast, but not yet good enough to win the WDC. Which is why Kimi Raikkonen, hardly the greatest driver ever, won it.
Vettel was brilliant in the blown diffuser cars but got thumped by Ricciardo and then LeClerc. Good, but not capable of lifting a second-rate car like the greats can do.
Vettel had been very quick in the Toro Rosso, even winning a race in it. He'd shown a lot of promise in a very inferior car. He then became a WDC contender in his first year at Red Bull. He blew his team mate Webber away race after race. in fairness, Webber was never a WDC driver. At the end of his Red Bull stint, Vettel seemed to lose interest. Ricciardo isn't that good. But I will agree that LeClerc is an excellent driver; he did a lot better in a crap Ferrari than Vettel did.
Schumacher won his first two titles in Bennetons that weren't as good as the Adrian Newey designed Williams. He then went to a Ferrari team that was struggling and was central to turning it into a dominant force. His ruthlessness left a dark mark on his legacy but he was stunningly good in his prime.
Yeah, perhaps I could swap Vettel for Shuey, not sure. In fairness, Senna was tragically killed early on that season, so we'll never know how Shuey would have faired against him directly. Williams did then only have Damon Hill, Coulthard and a past-it Nigel Mansell in the car afterwards though. You can't say any of those were anywhere near Senna. Plus Shuey had a two-race ban that season, so you can't really say the Williams was so much better. But yeah point taken.
which year was that please?
This one's easy. The year Mercedes had the best car but Max won his first WDC.
Dude, I think you're overthinking it. Senna and Prost got paid record salaries to drive the best car because they were the best drivers of their generation. Same with Schumacher. Same with Alonso. Same with Hamilton. And Vettel. And Verstappen. They're all among the greats and the Hamilton vs Verstappen fight was one of the all time greatest championships. Button, Webber, Massa, Rosberg, Ricciardo etc. were all excellent drivers who were good enough to win a title if things went their way, but they just weren't quite at that elite level.
which year was that please?
This one's easy. The year Mercedes had the best car but Max won his first WDC.
2021? Is that the year MV was gifted his first WDC win by Masi misapplying the rules in the final couple of laps and so illegally helping him to win?
Talk of rain for Silverstone race, but I can't see Lewis doing well, when he's struggling with Ferrari brakes.
Would be nuts if Toto really is contemplating signing Max for Mercedes.
Pretty interesting view on Hamilton not being "one of the true greats" there. Matched or beat a 2x WDC in his rookie season, first driver to score a podium in his first three races, most wins in his debut season, 7 x wdc, most races led, most front row starts, it goes on and on.
In my eyes Alonso is one of the biggest failures in F1 - so much potential early on then pretty much nothing and couldn’t even get past Petrov to claim a third title. Then his ego gets in the way of him making sensible team decisions.
And now he’s killing time wasting a seat.
In my eyes Alonso is one of the biggest failures in F1
Seriously?
Yes - from what he could have achieved to what he has achieved.
I’m not talking Latifi/Sargeant type failure here where there was no promise to start with.
Alsonso definitely made some bad decisions, but he ended Schumacher's reign driving a car that wasn't exceptional. He dragged the dog of a car that Ferrari gave him in 2012(?) to a serious challenge for another title. He's still driving exceptionally well. His lack of titles is down to driving some terrible cars, not any lack of ability on his part. Pretty harsh to call him a failure.
Alsonso definitely made some bad decisions, but he ended Schumacher's reign driving a car that wasn't exceptional. He dragged the dog of a car that Ferrari gave him in 2012(?) to a serious challenge for another title. He's still driving exceptionally well. His lack of titles is down to driving some terrible cars, not any lack of ability on his part. Pretty harsh to call him a failure.
If the job of an F1 driver is making sure you're in a position to get offered seats in the top teams, then yes, he's a massive failure.
If the job of an F1 driver is making sure you're in a position to get offered seats in the top teams, then yes, he's a massive failure.
That's partly down to him having a reputation of being difficult to manage, though that seems to have changed at Aston. Another factor in which team he drives for is his management being able to approach and discuss terms with other teams and I can see Flav being difficult to deal with as well.
In my eyes Alonso is one of the biggest failures in F1
For Alonso, he probably meant, 'failure to reach full potential' rather than failure per se. A double world champion in any other context would not be considered a failure. What he's failed to do, is win more.
What he's failed to do, is win more.
In which case all world champions have been failures. After they won their final title, they failed to win more.
What he's failed to do, is win more.
In which case all world champions have been failures. After they won their final title, they failed to win more.
If you say so 🙃
It's fairly well accepted that Alonso is one of the very best and has (had) tremendous potential. Comparable to one hit wonders Hill? Villeneuve? Rosberg? Probably not.
He won races when his car was working on that particular track, forhim.Whenhis car isn't 100%, he struggles. A lot. No denying his skill, he's a great driver. Just not one of the true greats imo.
This comes up a lot WRT Hamilton, but you've got to place it in context. When LH isn't getting on with a car (like now) he's a couple of 10ths slower than someone who is - Leclerc, but once LH gels with the car, he's on another level. Look at 2016. at the start of the season, he wasn't getting on with the car and was narrowly losing to NR, but once he got it, he destroyed NR in the latter part of the season. Same in 2017/18 with SV. Heck even with Russel in the last seasons - on the days when the car performed for him, LH was like a bloodhound on the track.
