Formula 1 2024 – WILL CONTAIN SPOILERS

I’ve always told people to treat F1 like a soap opera – most races are boring, you have to follow the drama behind the scenes as it unfolds through the season. I liked this bit from Marina Hyde:

You’d think one of the drivers would be the de facto star of Drive to Survive, but I have to tell you it is Horner. With the possible exception of about three 19-year-old footballers, no one in world sport has wanted to be famous quite as much as Christian Horner. He came to the realisation of this ambition comparatively late in life (he is 50), and consequently has yet to settle into his “easy charm” years. A hilariously unbearable short king, Horner is forever organising cursed clay pigeon shooting events and playing to the cameras on the pit wall, or inviting them to capture him and Geri trotting along on their horses in the Cotswolds, or being filmed asking his children leading questions about what they most wish for. “What about Max winning the world championship?” As his small daughter once put it somewhat brutally on camera: “That’s your wish.”

LV drain covers – it was the bit that the drain covers were bolted to that came loose, not the actual drain covers according to the article.

Annoyingly, the new Saudi track looks quite interesting.

Saudi Arabia unveil the all new Qiddiya circuit to host F1: @Turki_alalshikh
– 20 Storey high opening corner
– 200mph anti-clockwise track
– 108 meter gain over a 21 corners
– The centrepiece called the 'blade' an LED lit opening turn that rises for 70 meters pic.twitter.com/IUUaqI6Mgz

— Ferrari Focus (@Scuderiascoop) March 5, 2024

The Disney-fication of modern F1 is accelerating depressingly rapidly.

nickc
Full Member

The Disney-fication of modern F1 is accelerating depressingly rapidly.

doubt it’ll look anything like this, but it seems like wipEout was the vibe they were going for:

“Get ready for the first speed track that hugs the sky… with a curve that reaches 20 floors above the ground at @qiddiya “

This looks like a video game!! Highly impressive!

Thanks to @ahmed_baokbah for sharing this with us. #SaudiArabianGP #F1

pic.twitter.com/8uZsvkiN7g

— FormulaNerds ?? (@Formula_Nerds) March 5, 2024

doubt it’ll look anything like this, but it seems like wipEout was the vibe they were going for:

Does that mean they can barge each other off the track!? 🙂

https://www.bbc.co.uk/sport/formula1/68490578

Another engineer leaves Alpine

It really feels like Alpine are in deep trouble. Are they going to make it the end of the season even? I hope so, it looks like they have been really hobbled by the engine freeze though

I hope so, it looks like they have been really hobbled by the engine freeze though

…and which fizzy drink company owned team was behind that little scheme!? 🤬

 it looks like they have been really hobbled by the engine freeze though

They really only have themselves to blame. Ferrari managed to produce a competitive engine after a poor start to the new engine regulations, Honda had a disastrous start but turned it around to produce the best engine on the grid. Renault just spent 10 years constantly promising that next year would be better, but it never was.

Another engineer leaves Alpine

I’m intrigued by the phrase “a true mutual agreement”. Partly because it implies the obvious but rarely acknowledged truth that all the other mutual agreements weren’t, but also because you wonder who mutually agreed it first.

Didn’t Ghosan once tell Horner when Renault supplied their engines that Renault were only in F1 becasue his marketing team had sold it to the Renault board as essentially another form of advertising?

Saudi Arabia this week, round 2 of the Red Bull/Verstappen/FIA shenanigans, I’m beginning to get bored with it all.

If the on track action was as dramatic, it would be a classic season.

I expect another dreary procession behind the caffeine cars

Any bets on when Jos will nip out to an Internet cafe near the circuit and send another anonymous email?

Any bets on when Jos will nip out to an Internet cafe near the circuit and send another anonymous email?

According to Benson he’s rallying this week….. 🤔

“Saudi Arabia this week, round 2 of the Red Bull/Verstappen/FIA shenanigans, I’m beginning to get bored with it all.”

I’m not….yet. I think maybe one more race, possibly two, and it might start to feel like a bit of a drag, although it’s also very possible that I’ll never get tired of watching Red Bull tear itself apart

Yeah after hearing about LeClerc’s brakes, Mercedes cock up with cooling etc etc, I’ll give it another go, but honestly it’s not looking good for actual ‘racing’ though.

The woman who accused Christian Horner of inappropriate behaviour has been suspended by Red Bull.

It is unclear exactly why she has been stood down. A weeks-long investigation into the allegations by an independent barrister cleared Horner of wrongdoing.

A Red Bull spokesperson said: “The company cannot comment on this internal matter”.

https://www.telegraph.co.uk/formula-1/2024/03/07/christian-horner-accuser-suspended-by-red-bull/

WTAF…

Press: At least with the attention on Horner’s relationship with the Verstappen family the spotlight is off the woman at the centre of Horner’s alleged behaviour

RB: Hold my beer…

Classic

When I was working on a well known cooking competition tv show, one of the two presenters (who was married) whisked a runner, who was well under half his age, away for a dirty weekend. Guess which one stopped turning up for work

So sweet to see two people so obviously in love.

[im

I’m even more convinced he did it now.

Is she trying to wrestle herself free?^^

What did Marina call it? “The 1000Nm jaw clench  of a wronged Tory wife..”

one of the two presenters

AWT?

RB Horner had better hope the (ex)employee hasn’t got anything more revealing up her sleeve…

That’s just going to lead to more questions about the transparency of the whole affair. Whoever is in charge of PR should be sacked.

Subtle pinch of the bingo wings…nice! 🙂

Horner will be controlling the PR machine and dictating what they release about his controlling behaviour. Irony?

Subtle pinch of the bingo wings

Does anybody else think that’s a very odd position for her to be holding her left arm? Not entirely natural, or comfortable looking.

I wonder what he’d choose if she gave him the ultimatum between keeping his job or her?

one of the two presenters

Possibly a lesson that workplace relationships don’t get tougher than that, or else they didn’t get a golden handshake when they left.

I’m guessing suspended = ‘working out a compensation package’.

Whoever is in charge of PR should be sacked.

Wouldn’t it be funny if that was who it was…

On a positive female front – there are some properly talented drivers in F1 Academy. Doriane Pin being the favourite following her excellent drives in WEC last season.

And Ken Block’s daughter Lia has made a cracking start.

I’m guessing suspended = ‘working out a compensation package’.

and how tight can they make the nda part

The whole Red Bull F1 thing is really fascinating, not just because of the soap opera nature, but because the F1 Team is so out of alignment with everything else Red Bull is involved with.  Their sponsored athletes are (i believe) very carefully chosen and all seem to be role models and ‘nice’ regardless of how extreme and crazy their sports are.

The brand image is sacred and that extends to who they choose to represent them.

In F1, someone like Daniel Ricciardo also fits this mould, but Max and behaviours never really seemed to, and now all this stuff.

I previously had Horners outbursts etc down as being a pantomime villain for the entertainment, but am now not so sure.

I cant imagine that the parent Red Bull company are happy with any of this, and wonder if this is what all the drama is about.  They need it to get back to being ‘clean’ but are so reliant on Horner etc making everything work that they dont know what to do next.

AWT?

JT? He’s a wrongun.

And to the woman in question here….. I really hope she walks away with enough in the bank and the sort of reference that allows her to get he life together again. I really hate this shit.

Max fits in with the younger generation – he’s constantly live streaming on SIM racing. Doesn’t appeal to me but does to many kids.

Checo – really popular in South America and malleable!

Daniel – the smile act is wearing thin for me. He’s been average since his comeback. I think this could be his last season in the RB camp.

Yuki – only there because of Honda. He’ll be in VCARB next season again, but I can’t see who else would take him.

^^^ that pic of Karen & Geri hugging……it looks to me like he’s pinched her right arm bingo wing. I can’t imagine it would be easy to do that by accident, especially as she’s pretty slim, so there’s not a lot to pinch there. Bloody painful to be pinched there, too.
Her left arm position looks like she’s trying to reach up & pull his arm away to release the pinch on the right arm.

Weird.
This crap isn’t doing anyone any good & the employee being suspended is just another level of PR mishandling. It just looks terrible and if they keep this up, isn’t going to go away for a while.