Had to do a double take when I saw this image 😀

I’m not sure it can be blown out of proportion. Deliberately smashing a racing car to pieces is probably the most stupid thing I could think of a driver doing.

Latifi got away with it for 3 seasons! 🤣

Best overtake of the season?

Lewis overtakes leclerc and Perez

george vs leclerc

Finally vettel on maggo in the last lap of COTA

have we done how nice the Aston Martin looks without livery?

Alonso testing at Abu Dhabi in sponsor-less car

Looks like DannyRic is selling his soul to the cheaters next year 😐

sadly here

I thought that was common knowledge so surprised RBR have only just announced it. Another leak from the team, perhaps they’ll blame Toto again.

Here’s my season review of everyone for anyone who’s interested, feel free to contradict me if you think you’ve got a better one.
Drivers of the year – Norris and Russel, honourable mentions to Magnussen and Zhou.
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Verstappen. Last year he seemed desperate, this year he seems to have calmed down a lot. I felt like he deserved the championship this time, he was clearly in a league of his own. Then he has moments like Brazil and reminds everyone what a prize bellend he can be. Still feels he has something to prove against Hamilton I think.
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Perez. I’m a big fan of Checo, he seems to be doing a great job in the poison chalice seat. His pole lap at Jedah was simply phenomenonal. He seems to rise above the RB politicking and whinging and just get on with it. Great bloke, but not as quick as Max. However, if the deliberate crash rumours are true (anyone saying this other than Max?) then he should be out on his ear and not come back
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LeClerc. Properly quick over one lap, but can he handle the pressure? Too many mistakes for a championship contender. Not helped by Ferrari making there own errors. He’s good, but not Hamilton/Verstappen good.
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Sainz. Couple of silly lap one incidents but generally dependable. Great drive at Silverstone, ruthless when he had his big chance. If Ferrari can get their act together could he beat LeClerc to a title? He’s not as quick but seems less error prone and he’s better at strategy calls than his team!
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Hamilton. His worst F1 season ever. Seemed to be lacking a bit early on (was he testing stuff while Russel was getting the banker points?) but looked like he’d got his mojo back in the second half of the year. With more development time for Merc than for RB and Ferrari could he challenge for the title next year?
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Russel. In at the deep end against someone with a legitimate claim to be the GOAT and he stood up pretty well! Super consistent, minimal errors and withstood the pressure when his big chance arrived. Could he beat Hamilton in a title race? Probably not, but he would be a worthy successor when Hamilton retires.
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Alonso. Still got it, even at his age. His drive at COTA was one of the best of the year. But still has a knack for causing chaos within the team.
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Ocon. Almost the forgotten driver, not much stands out about him in my mind but he’s beaten Alonso in the championship so he’s doing something right! Now Alonso has left expect Alpine to be front runners next year 🤣
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Norris. Continues to impress. Consistently best of the rest, only driver outside the big three teams to get a podium and his quali record against Ricardo is outstanding.
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Ricciardo. I like him, a lot, and F1 will be much poorer place without him on the grid. But he has underperformed during his time at McLaren. Seems to be a really nice bloke but I think they were entirely justified in getting rid of him. Whether he’s lost it or just never gelled with car for some reason we’ll have to see.
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Bottas. Outqualifying Russel in Bahrain must have been really satisfying. Great start to the year then faded away a bit (how often have we said that about him? Except this year it wasn’t a championship lead fading away)
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Zhou. I was pleasantly surprised by him. A pay driver brought in ahead of arguably more deserving talent like DeVries, Piastri, Illot, he rose to the occasion and put in a creditable performance against a decent teammate. His money may have got him into F1 but I think he’s earned the right to stay on merit.
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Vettel. End of an era. I think like Kimi, and maybe Alonso, he should have quit while he was ahead, former champs fighting to get out of Q1 seems a bit peculiar. Maybe he just really likes being in F1 but it can’t be as much fun as fighting for podiums.
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Stroll. Midway through the 2020 season he was laying fourth in the standings. I know the Aston isn’t as good as that year’s Tracing Point but I also feel Stroll isn’t performing as he did either. Bit complacent? How unsackable is he?
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Magnussen. Didn’t even have a drive a couple of weeks before the season, but then really impressed in a decidedly average car (although average is a massive step forward for Haas!) Seems to be really enjoying himself and that pole lap was sublime, really happy for him.
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Schumacher. Not so impressed. Far too many errors, and ultimately not as fast as Kmag, despite improving in the second half of the year. Looks like he was flattered by Mazapin making him look good last year!
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Gasly. Bit disappointed with him this year. He’s been one of my drivers of the year the last couple of years but nothing he’s done has really stood out this year. OK, the AT hasn’t been as good but even so, a mediocre year at best. Hopefully getting out of the RB family and to somewhere with prospects will do him good.
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Tsunoda. Same problem as Galsy in that the AT wasn’t as good as last year’s one but I feel Yuki has matured a bit, less public moaning and weird radio stuff, more just getting on with it. I was wondering about his position last year, I think now they were right to keep him for next year.
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Albon. Big shoes to fill with Russel leaving after three years but he’s stood up to the challenge pretty well. Another one who seems like a really nice bloke, I’m pleased he’s back in F1, will hopefully get another chance in a front running team one day.
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Lattifi. Not really covered himself in glory, despite his late points getting up from 21st to 20th in a 20 car field… Outclassed by both his teammates .
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DeVries. Mighty impressive. Unfamiliar car and getting points in it at the first attempt, probably as good as Albon is in a car he knows well. So good to finally see him get a proper seat, I’ve been saying he should have one for years
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Hulkenburg. He’s OK, and the Aston wasn’t great this year so he did what was expected of him, but he’s never going to set the world alight. I can’t help thinking that taking a punt on Illot or Schwarzman would be a better bet for Haas next year. Nico hasn’t done anything wrong, he’s just a bit forgettable.

Bit of an aside but I like what this guy has been doing with concept art of classic liveries on 2022 style cars…

https://www.instagram.com/p/ClZrwuJNCfL/?igshid=MDJmNzVkMjY=

Hamilton. His worst F1 season ever.

Merc produced a very difficult car that they didn’t understand. Hamilton spent the first half of the year experimenting with setup to try and understand the car. When the car was remotely competitive, Hamilton looked just as good as he’s ever been.

Ferrari had to turn down their engines after the opening races because of reliability concerns. Leclerc was driving on the ragged edge because his car wasn’t as good as the Red Bull. Insane strategy decisions didn’t help, Leclerc is a much better driver than the scoreboard alone shows.

I’m guessing that every team has Norris on their short list of who they’d like to have in the future. He really made that McLaren look much better than it deserved.

Ricciardo is clearly a very fast driver when he has a car that suits him, but he just doesn’t seem to be able to adapt to a difficult car the way that Norris has and that Hamilton and Alonso have done many times over the years. Reminds me of Vettel’s final year at Red Bull when the car didn’t suit him and Ricciardo made him look very average.

Perez never looked like a contender. Sure, Max has priority in the team, but that’s because he’s in a different league to Perez. I think he will have to lift his game a lot next year to keep the seat.

Perez never looked like a contender.

Given that he’s driving “essentially” the same car that won 15 GP with his (admittedly) much more talented team mate, it reveals the lack of ability in somewhat bold terms.

Surely Perez isn’t supposed to be a contender for the championship, just do enough so Verstappen wins it. Perez was 2nd or first 6 or 7 times in 2022 (I could be wrong, I haven’t checked) so he’s clearly not rubbish. If he was any better, he would be a contender, which will just cause problems for Red Bull managing it.

so he’s clearly not rubbish.

No, of course not, but the normal comparison is with your teammate (as like I said you’re in the same car) and I don’t suppose that they were vastly different. I think it shows just how good drivers like Verstappen are. Yes, as the team developed the car, Max could handle it better than Perez, but unlike say the McLaren pairing of Prost and Senna when they often disappeared into the distance and had a private race between them while everyone else battled for third, this year that was largely Verstaeppen on his own.

The problem for Red Bull is that Perez got beaten by Leclerc. It wasn’t a big deal this year because Max romped off into the distance, but if Red Bull are battling with a close competitor like last year, they need Perez to finish ahead of Ferrari and Merc so he is taking points off Max’s championship rival. They also need him to qualify close enough to Max that he can help with strategy. If he qualifies 6th and spends the race battling with the Alpines and McLarens, he’s not much help strategy-wise.

Yes, but it’s difficult getting the balance right:  Fast enough to take points from other teams but not fast enough to threaten Max.

Confirmed – Binotto resigned from TP position @ Ferrari

Note sure if he’ll take another role.

They need to get Ross Brawn back!

Binotto out at Ferrari. He started as an engine guy, wonder if there are any new engine manufacturers who might want to hire a guy with his resume?

https://www.formula1.com/en/latest/article.breaking-ferrari-confirm-mattia-binotto-has-resigned-as-team-principal.2FYOT8KZyrfOulHUDG87aF.html

Binotto out at Ferrari.

Is it confirmed he’s leaving the organisation entirely?

It sounds like it from his quote. I guess it would be untenable for him to take on a lower level role e.g. technical director at this point.

If Vasseur does take over as expected, he apparently is firmly in favour of having a No 1 driver. Assuming that’s Leclerc, how will Sainz take that?!

Is it confirmed he’s leaving the organisation entirely?

From the link above, “With the regret that this entails, I have decided to conclude my collaboration with Ferrari,” said Binotto.

“I am leaving a company that I love, which I have been part of for 28 years, with the serenity that comes from the conviction that I have made every effort to achieve the objectives set.

He started as an engine guy, wonder if there are any new engine manufacturers who might want to hire a guy with his resume?

…hmmm – perhaps with a team who are also a bit cheaty! 🤣

Someone at Autosport has a sense of humour at least

Christian Horner’s table number at the #AutosportAwards though 👀#Motorsport #F1 pic.twitter.com/mgMobWo1hP

— Motorsport.com (@Motorsport) December 4, 2022

Binotto out at Ferrari. He started as an engine guy, wonder if there are any new engine manufacturers who might want to hire a guy with his resume?

My money is on him popping up at Audi

My money is on him popping up at Audi

That’s my guess too.

Is Seidl set to be the Danny Ricciardo of team bosses?

Fred Vasseur ➡️ Ferrari
Andreas Seidl ➡️ Sauber/Audi

An explosive team boss silly season in #F1 continues.

All you need to know ⤵️https://t.co/bia7lvL8Yr

— The Race (@wearetherace) December 13, 2022

(Isn’t this on the 2023 thread? Should this one quietly die?)

Christ, we haven’t resolved who should be 2021 champion yet.

Best part of the season for me.

@bigdean Ironically, almost as dull as a modern F1 race… 🙃

Oh god that Mohammed Ben Sulayem but is absolutely excruciating!!

Vasseur at Ferrari Wil be a good thing, changing management at Ferrari every few years has delivered excellent results over the last 17 years. Whereas those teams that have stuck with the same management such as red bull and mercedes have had a pretty disappointing run.