Motorsports Thread

[FishFright]

Lewis appears to agree too - perhaps he saw the writing on the wall and is jumping ship to a resurgent Ferrari?

Horner is a huge hypocrite though - he's now saying we should bask in the glory of a dominant driver in a dominant car and be thankful for witnessing such prowess, yet a few years ago he was moaning about the dominance of Mercedes, how it was bad for F1 and calling for the FIA to intervene. At least Toto has admitted it is up to the rest of the field to do better, rather than attempt to hobble the RB.

You mean like how Toto campaigned to get the minimum ride height raised to advantage his team and disadvantage the team which wasn't porpoising ?

 

[Drago]

Lewis appears to agree too - perhaps he saw the writing on the wall and is jumping ship to a resurgent Ferrari?

Horner is a huge hypocrite though - he's now saying we should bask in the glory of a dominant driver in a dominant car and be thankful for witnessing such prowess, yet a few years ago he was moaning about the dominance of Mercedes, how it was bad for F1 and calling for the FIA to intervene. At least Toto has admitted it is up to the rest of the field to do better, rather than attempt to hobble the RB.

Very true, although race by race he and the drivers were pubpicly more pragmatic and less whingy through the lean years.

 

[icowden]

You mean like how Toto campaigned to get the minimum ride height raised to advantage his team and disadvantage the team which wasn't porpoising ?

You missed out "and improve driver safety as all drivers were expressing health concerns about being battered due to ride height"

 

[Drago]

You missed out "and improve driver safety as all drivers were expressing health concerns about being battered due to ride height"

I remember when Red Bull Spice publicly said to Wilf words to the effect of, "well, raise your ride height and fix it then."

If the drivers taking a battering were his genuine concern that is what he would have done. It didn't take new legislation to permit him to do that any time he wanted.

 

[Jody]

Lewis appears to agree too - perhaps he saw the writing on the wall and is jumping ship to a resurgent Ferrari?

Absolutely this.

First year can be accepted, second maybe not so but the third takes the p*ss, especially given how well customer teams are perfomring.

I bet there is a trick up their sleeve for 2026 also.

 

[icowden]

I remember when Red Bull Spice publicly said to Wilf words to the effect of, "well, raise your ride height and fix it then."
If the drivers taking a battering were his genuine concern that is what he would have done. It didn't take new legislation to permit him to do that any time he wanted.

So you think the drivers would have gone with “yes, raise the ride height, we aren’t bothered if it makes us uncompetitive”. Really? The drivers were very unhappy, but they want to win. They asked for the rules to be changed.

 

[icowden]

Absolutely this.
First year can be accepted, second maybe not so but the third takes the p*ss, especially given how well customer teams are perfomring.
I bet there is a trick up their sleeve for 2026 also.

Yes, the solid fact that they cannot seemingly identify what the problem is and make convincing progress suggests that there is a greater problem somewher outside of the greater seemingly magical connection between man and car that is keeping Max so far in front compared to Perez.

 

[Reynard]

Breaking news from the BBC website.

Adrian Newey is set to leave Red Bull. Exactly when is still not clear.

https://www.bbc.co.uk/sport/articles/cmm3v9ny78eo

 

[Jody]

Aston or Ferrari?

Or off into the sunset to enjoy his retirement?

 

[Reynard]

Guess the smart money would be Ferrari, as he *was* linked with them when the whole Horner saga blew up. Linking up with Hamilton would certainly be a big draw.

I wouldn't be surprised to see him become part of the FIA technical team though.

And at the end of the day, as a race car designer, he's got nothing to prove.

 

[Drago]

It'll be someone with deep pockets. Lawrence Stroll?

Or will he stay in F1 at all? He's already only working part time, doesn't need the money.

And if RB are not then able to delivera top flight car, might Max move on prematurely?

So many permutations.

 

[Reynard]

Max has already threatened to retire on a number of occasions.

However, I'd like to see him in a more "normal" F1 car, because then we'll get to see whether it's him or the car. It's one thing being fast out front where no one can touch you, it's a very different kettle of fish actually having to work for it. The thing is, does he actually *want* to do that, or will he prefer to sit on his laurels?

We'll just have to see what happens.

 

[figbat]

Could this be a move that will trigger a destabilisation of RB? All of the major figures have been posturing but this is the first one to put his money where his mouth is and actually follow through on the threat.

 

[ClichéGuevara]

For those that are more educated on these things than I am (that's just about everyone) which of the other teams are in the best position to challenge Red Bull, and which drivers do you reckon are liable to be the best for that car?

I can't help thinking that with the right guidance, Lando's in there with a shout.

 

[Drago]

I think Lando has the potential, but it's not a given, and the longer it goes without a top car and the correct firsr-line combat experience the less likely itll be.

Wuthell, no, although he's a tidy driver.