So predictions have started creeping into the 2020 thread. 2021 here we go.

Russell in a Merc?

Hamilton wins again
.
Just getting in first so I can say knowingly, ‘I said that all along’

SainZ takes leckerc out in the first corner in Australia setting the tone for the rest of Ferrari’s season

Russell in a Merc is the dream. If Hamilton isn’t well enough to race, I’m confident Russell will outclass Bottas again and give Toto a real headache. How motivated will Bottas’ side of the garage be in 2021 knowing what could have been?

Ferrari: lacklustre.

Red bull: on a par with Merc on faster stuff, as better able to adapt to 2021 aero regs.

Merc: still on top, still with bottas, who will still under perform. Lewis out front on his own for one last year.

Aston Martin: falls behind Renault and McLaren. Seb still rubbish, getting beaten by stroll.

Renault and McLaren in a close battle for third.

Williams still at the back, asset stripped by new owners and sold on (sadly). Go bankrupt midway through 2022. Russel just holding on for a Merc seat in 2022.

Haas and Alfa battle it out at the back of midfield.

AT battling with Ferrari mid pack, though if they end up with gasly and albon, may be nearer Renault/McLaren on consistency grounds.

Merc have signed Bottas, only way Russell would get a seat is if Hamilton’s contract negotiations go bad. Merc want him, but now they have Russell as leverage over his salary demands. Hamilton wants to race next year, so a re-run of this year with him leading Bottas seems pretty likely.

Red Bull with Perez in the second seat to be runners-up again. Perez might push Verstappen, but it’s also possible he’ll find the car tricky to get on top of and end up like Albon.

Ferrari will be much improved. They have a new engine on the dyno and they should understand their aero problem. Sainz should be much more competitive than Vettel, so they should be able to compete with Renault and McLaren for third.

Renault look to be getting on top of their problems so Alonso should be able to battle with the Ferraris and Red Bulls for podium spots, but they aren’t going to worry Merc. Ocon seems to be the weakest of the drivers in the Renault/McLaren/Ferrari line ups, so that might make the difference.

McLaren somewhere in that battle for third to fifth. They will have a better engine and Ricciardo will help, but probably about the same as this year.

Racing Point will be less competitive. They will need to start developing their own car a bit more and I’m not convinced that Vettel is the right guy to lead a mid-field team. I can see him getting frustrated if the car isn’t competitive.

Alpha Tauri seventh. Gasly seems decent, but they will have a new driver who may cost them points.

Williams will probably be improved, but still last because the Ferrari engine should be much better, so Alpha Romeo and Haas eighth and ninth.

Odds an mazepin actually being in the Haas next year?  Given Hulk and Perez still available?

Hopefully the new floor regs will enable the team’s nearer the back to close up, and make the cars less dependent on all the intricate aero devices, however it always seems so go the other way!

Alonso to cause trouble.

Mazepin vs Verstappen would be hilarious. #weraceasone is all talk and no trousers if he’s on the grid next season.

I have a question.

I was dragged into watching today (my other half gets shouty while its on.)

Alot has changed since i last watch any f1 ( the one whith the tyre issues that saw 6 cars start)

The orange car (mclaren? When did they change colour) it passed a ferrari like it was parked?! Are the ferraris really that slow at the moment?

Are the ferraris really that slow at the moment?

Yes. They got busted for cheating last year, haven’t found a way to cover that loss yet. Supposedly better for next year.

I have a question.

I was dragged into watching today (my other half gets shouty while its on.)

Alot has changed since i last watch any f1 ( the one whith the tyre issues that saw 6 cars start)

You also had the pleasure of the dullest race of the season. Been some crackers this year.

Ferrari are having a bit of a slump after their interpretation of the rules was found to be a bit cheaty.

The DRS (drag reduction system) also gives some easy overtakes.

Certain sections of the track, if the driver behind is close enough then the rear wing can open giving a speed boost.

It was probably a DRS pass that you saw. DRS=Drag Reduction System, basically the rear wing flips up to reduce drag at the press of a button. It can only be opened by the following driver once they are within 1second from the car ahead & only at certain points on the circuit on one or two straights (a white line marks where it can be used). It is pretty rubbish as it makes overtakes pretty easy, it was introduced to provide more overtaking.

It (DRS) really needs turned down imo. It should put the chasing car in the position to overtake, rather than let you drive past before you get anywhere near the braking zone

Odds an mazepin actually being in the Haas next year? Given Hulk and Perez still available?

Mazepin’s dad is supposed to be a billionaire (although Haas do have history of falling for shysters). Assuming the cheques don’t bounce (and he doesn’t get any more demerit points and lose his licence), Mazepin owns that seat.

Orange is a nod to some of the early McLarens.

They need to get HSBC to sponsor them, so they can be returned to the correct colours.

I’ve been watching some classic 70s/80s races where they are excited because some racers in contention for the title have won 3 races ins a season.
God it used to be quite an open contest at times.

I’ve been watching some classic 70s/80s races where they are excited because some racers in contention for the title have won 3 races ins a season.

Keke Rosberg won five races in his entire career. He was 1982 champion with one race victory.

Denny Hulme won eight races in his career. He was 1967 champion with two victories. His teammate, Jack Brabham, was second with two victories. Jim Clark won four races but only came third.

Back then, reliability was much worse than now, so consistently scoring points was important. Hulme and Brabham used Repco engines, which were based on the old Oldsmobile V8 (basically the Rover V8). It was much less powerful than the Cosworth DFV, but it was reliable. It took a year for Cosworth to iron out the reliability problems with the DFV, but once they did, it dominated for years.

1982 was the final championship for the Cosworth before the turbos started dominating. The Renault and BMW turbos were much more powerful, but reliability was a bit of a lottery, so it wasn’t until Honda got their engine sorted that there was a truly dominant engine.

I’ve been watching some classic 70s/80s races where they are excited because some racers in contention for the title have won 3 races ins a season.
God it used to be quite an open contest at times.

Very different days. In the mid 60’s McLaren used to be one of my customers when I was an IBM hardware engineer and were over at the Poyle Trading Estate at Colnbrook (near Heathrow). It was just a fairly basic trading estate building of the period in a cul de sac. You’d often see them running race cars up the road. Nice people,alway let me have a look around. None of todays hi tec and operation room environments. The cars did sound good when they were fired up though.

Ted Kravitz says Red Bull are expected to announce signing Perez within a week, with Albon staying on as test/reserve driver

Yep, just saw that.

https://twitter.com/F1/status/1338741608179765248

That’s quite a “blast from the past” timing screen – Alonso, Kubica, Schumacher., Sato..    Like going back a decade or two!

Yes! F1 to stay at Interlaos.

https://www.formula1.com/en/latest/article.sao-paulos-interlagos-circuit-to-host-brazilian-grand-prix-until-2025.7d5nbQbkoQy7QxL4TEojO.html

Also looks like the end of the road for Kvyat. AT have signed Tsunoda for next year. A fairly unremarkable career.

Also looks like the end of the road for Kvyat. AT have signed Tsunoda for next year. A fairly unremarkable career.

More podiums than Hulkenberg

So did Tiago Monteiro! It’s a rather low yard stick though isn’t it…

So…sweepstake on how many races before Alonso starts whinging?

You men’s how many free practice sessions surely?

My money would be the whining starts after the first test day!

Was probably a mistake putting him the R25 the other day, reminding him of the good ol’ days…

Hmmm, Alonso joins team and team president leaves. Is that just a coincidence? 😃😃😃

BBC News – Jerome Stoll: Renault Sport president to leave role at the end of 2020
https://www.bbc.co.uk/sport/formula1/55319935

So…sweepstake on how many races before Alonso starts whinging?

I think everyone just expects it from him, so it’s barely noticed anymore.

Kinda like, “The baby’s crying again.”

“Yeah, whatever. Just ignore it and it’ll stop.”

Thing with Alonso is that he complains a lot, but he’s also an astonishingly good driver who can do amazing things with shitty cars. Merc, Red Bull, Ferrari, and McLaren all have top class drivers so Renault need someone of the same caliber if they hope to win in 2022. When Ricciardo quit, Alonso was the best driver available. If they give him a decent car, he won’t have anything to moan about, so it’s up to Renault now.

In all of this I’ve missed where Ricciardo’s going?

@kryton57 Maclaren – chief pram maker 🙃

In all of this I’ve missed where Ricciardo’s going?

Perez >> Red Bull/Unemployed
Vettel >> Racing Point/Aston Martin
Sainz >> Ferrari
Ricciardo >> McLaren
Alonso >> Renault/Alpine

Looks like the girl involved in the Mazepin thing, has posted some things on her instagram which went against her earlier statement

https://formula1news.co.uk/instagram-model-groped-by-nikita-mazepin-reignites-calls-for-him-to-be-fired/

Absolute piss take if he makes it to the grid next year.

still with bottas, who will still under perform

2nd in championship with 2 wins and 223 points. (Ie. Doing what he’s employed to do)

Daddy is basically bailing Haas out – unfortunately he’ll be on the grid – or Haas won’t.

When was the last time Gene Haas was at a race? He seems to have lost all interest in F1.

Be interesting to see how the other drivers behave towards Mazepin. If they treat him like a pariah then his value on the F1 circuit is diminished.

I suspect that his habit of behaving like a **** on track and disrespecting other drivers will leave him without any friends unless he changes his behaviour pretty quick.