Formula 1 2024 – WILL CONTAIN SPOILERS

I, for one, would be more than happy if Max actually followed up his own threat and just f**ked off and took his dad with him…

His dad is a bellend but why would you want max to disappear ? Is it because he is good and beats your favourite driver?

A couple of months ago at Spa a huge part of the circuit was predominantly orange and I’d imagine Zandvoort would be almost all orange

I was never a fan of Michael Schumacher due to his dirty tactics but you have to have admiration for when they shine rather than he’s German, Vettel another one who got stick although he was sleekit and underhand towards Mark Webber

A wee bit boring if it was all ultra rich kids Stroll, Norris , Max Chilton,Latifi,Mazepin,Zhou,Kvyat,Perez

Is it because he is good and beats your favourite driver?

Sure, he has talent but he doesn’t half moan a lot….and I’m not even gonna mention his hypocrisy and dirty driving 😉

I, for one, would be more than happy if Max actually followed up his own threat and just f**ked off and took his dad with him…

this.

His antics blocking/overtaking/‘racing’ have lead in large part to new rules and new precedents, and worsened the sport imo.

This latest threat of leaving the sport because he feels persecuted just shows how petulant he is.  He rubbished the car at a  press conference, using the f bomb. Certainly going to motivate the mechanics and the like. The FIA reprimand him for his language, and he threatens to leave earlier.

Not like he loses a championship on the last lap of the last race because the FIA/Massi change the safety car procedure.

Talking of petulance Lewis Hamilton was all set for sacking his pilot for taking a dump in his private plane a few years back

In which area of the plane did he take a dump? If it’s anything like the Amber Heard shitting the bed episode, I’d say he deserved to be sacked.

Not just where, but when would be important surely.
“Here, you hold the stick, ah’m away fur a shite”

My wife still vividly remembers the state of our toilet one day six years ago when some builders were round. Maybe it was one like that.

redmex

Free Member
Talking of petulance Lewis Hamilton was all set for sacking his pilot for taking a dump in his private plane a few years back

Would have assumed it was a normal level of professionalism for a pilot hired to fly a private jet to use the facilities at the airport beforehand rather than crimp off a length in the customer’s toilet.

Would have assumed it was a normal level of professionalism for a pilot hired to fly a private jet to use the facilities at the airport beforehand rather than crimp off a length in the customer’s toilet.

I guess that depends on the length of the flight. A quick hop round Europe is a bit different to the flight to Singapore or Australia. Perhaps Lewis could order a staff loo in his next plane

Again surprised to see that you haven’t referred to a Number Two.

chrismac

I guess that depends on the length of the flight. A quick hop round Europe is a bit different to the flight to Singapore or Australia.

Of course, but UK to Singapore is approx 50% further than Lewis jet could travel. On a journey like that you’d be stopping to refuel (and potentially change pilots) anyway.  Larger planes like Max’s Falcon do sometimes have a dedicated crew toilet.

Talking of petulance Lewis Hamilton was all set for sacking his pilot for taking a dump in his private plane a few years back

Sounds bobbins to me.

Mclaren have poached Red bull’s chief strategist, he’s going to be their new Sporting Director

I always thought that startegy was one of Red Bull’s strong points

Anyone else singing ‘Plan A, Plan B, Plan C, Plan D Plan Eeee’ quietly to themselves now?

I always thought that startegy was one of Red Bull’s strong points

Yes, but races are won on endegy, if you don’t have that, startegy won’t help much.

Yes, but races are won on endegy, if you don’t have that, startegy won’t help much

“You don’t need to lead much of the race, as long as you lead the right bit” – Emerson Fittipaldi

Also less reported, but Ferrari’s main strategist is moving to Williams. His name is Carlos…

Very good!

I went to the F1 Exhibition at Excel yesterday, it was a good way to spend a couple of hours. Some really interesing stuff for F1 fans, including the remains of Grosjean’s Haas after the crash/fireball in Bahrain – still shocking to see the replay in real time and how long he was in the middle of the fire.

Yes, I’ve been to the exhibition too – thought it was excellent! Some really nerdy stuff as well as the more exciting stuff. Grosjean’s car was startling to see for real…

I was looking at going to the exhibition, how long do you need to get around it all?

They say about 2 hours, which was about right for us. There is loads to see though so could take a lot longer if you have the time!

One thing to note is that there’s almost nowhere to sit down though! So be prepared to be on your feet for ages

It’s official Ricciardo is out of RB…

https://www.formula1.com/en/latest/article/breaking-ricciardo-to-leave-rb-with-immediate-effect-as-team-get-set-for-mid.1O8CDJ6kYB9VsxpPrbqxX0

Lawson in then.  Let’s see what he can do in the VCARB.

Here’s Danny’s post on insta:

View this post on Instagram

A post shared by Daniel Ricciardo (@danielricciardo)

Some are saying this could be a test to see if Lawson is suitable to replace Perez in ’25.

Its a shame for Danny, but for some reason he didnt seem able to adapt to the current generation of cars.

Always seemed like a decent bloke, and when he had the feeling for the car he was great & his late braking ability was superb, but sadly he’s never really found that feeling in recent years. Hope he finds happiness and whatever success means to him in the future.

Noticed that there was no mention of a 2025 seat for Lawson, expect he’s been given some clear targets for the next couple of races to secure that.

The first season ever with no driver changes compared to last year, and this is already the fourth in-season one!

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It’s a shame, I always cheered for Riccardo, and Checo too, but for some reason these current cars just don’t seem to suit them.

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Some are saying this could be a test to see if Lawson is suitable to replace Perez in ’25.

That would be 11 races into his career. Gasly and Albon clearly needed longer before going to play with the big boys. Good luck to Antonelli! Although the only other obvious choice for RB is Hadjar and he’s done even less time in an F1 car…

andrewh

Free Member
The first season ever with no driver changes compared to last year, and this is already the fourth in-season one!

but for some reason these current cars just don’t seem to suit them.

I think all the drivers are finding that these cars are very knife edged. I don’t think there’s been one driver (including Max) who hasn’t at some point complained about them. With hindsight, I don’t think these set of regs have produced the close racing they were hoping for, and certainly for the “late brakers” like Ricciardo who need the back end (at the very least) to co-operate, have suffered – and that’s spoiled the racing IMO.

and that’s spoiled the racing IMO. – but upped the TV ratings. I wonder which is being prioritised?

but upped the TV ratings.

I think all the new viewers of F1 – especially the North American market, have come almost exclusively from Drive to Survive on Netflix. Even my daughter who started watching with me when she was about 5 or 6, in about 2006/7 is a long term fan by comparison.

nickc

Full Member
but for some reason these current cars just don’t seem to suit them.
I think all the drivers are finding that these cars are very knife edged. I don’t think there’s been one driver (including Max) who hasn’t at some point complained about them. With hindsight, I don’t think these set of regs have produced the close racing they were hoping for, and certainly for the “late brakers” like Ricciardo who need the back end (at the very least) to co-operate, have suffered – and that’s spoiled the racing IMO.

I think the rules overall have been quite successful, in as much that drivers can now stay within 1s for multiple laps without cooking their tyres (e.g. Perez/Alonso in Brazil the other year).

One big downside has been the lack of front downforce at low speed, plus the sheer size and heft of the cars,  making moves into slow corners quite clumsy.

As you say, the other problem is the knife-edge nature of ground effect downforce.  Driver 61 had a nice video on this the other day, in short, even getting the rolling road surface in your wind tunnel slightly wrong can completely Latifi your wind tunnel data.

I think the rules overall have been quite successful, in as much that drivers can now stay within 1s for multiple laps without cooking their tyres (e.g. Perez/Alonso in Brazil the other year).

Yes, the fact that cars can run closely has been successful, I agree, but as we saw in Baku, (and to misquote Murray) getting past the car in front is another thing altogether. Drivers like Riciarrdo who relied on managing a largely balanced car on entry and exit while braking later than others have found that these cars don’t much like being stuffed into a corner like that, added to the fact that safety cell, plus multi-part power unit and huge fuel tank makes for a physically long car that isn’t particularly nimble.

I do remember way back in 2021, Ross Brawn claiming that each race may see see the possibility of a David slaying a Goliath hasn’t stood the test of time well..

I do think they need to focus on smaller lighter cars. The 2026 regulations are only a very small step in the right direction.

Am I alone in that I don’t want to see lots of overtaking? If there was a pass somewhere every ten seconds it wouldn’t be that exciting when one does happen. I want to see several laps with one driver right up behind another trying again and again, until finally he gets it done, oh no wait, he’s come back at him, side by side for the next three corners and then finally it sticks.

I want the possibility of an overtake, especially for the lead, and a few of them, but not all the time.

What I don’t want to see is race-long tyre-management, if they aren’t pushing there’s less chance of an error, which is an opportunity for someone to get by

Am I alone in that I don’t want to see lots of overtaking?.

Amen! In all the time I’ve been watching F1 there has never been a lot of overtaking. Even Murray used to say “catching is one thing, passing is another” so what we need is cars that can run close together for sustained periods but which need a well executed move to actually pass.

Controversially I also think there should be some element of conservation in the driving. There’s should be a trade off between tyre grip and longevity, and between lap time and fuel load – but the current tyres are a bit too delicate so we end up with comparatively slow race pace. For instance Danny Rics fastest lap in Singapore was a 1:34.4, the slowest lap in P1 when the track was green, the conditions weren’t representative and cars weren’t fully set up was 1:33.8. So everyone in the race was slower than the slowest car was at the start of the weekend.