Motorsports Thread

[icowden]

Ias if thats not bad enough, I nearly had to turn C4s highlights off at the start with 5.minutes of intro of a mock race looking like a video game complete with sound and visual effects. I know im no longer the target audience but christ, how childish its.making a sport I used to love.

Speaking of which, apparently Max is considering his future in F1 because he doesn't like his car.

 

[katiewlx]

Speaking of which, apparently Max is considering his future in F1 because he doesn't like his car.

its not the car so much as the style of racing theyve got to put up with now, I dont think any of the drivers who have been there for a while and remember how it was, are enjoying it, obviously if he was leading the championship he could probably put up with it, when youre mid grid and still risking your life, Ollie Bearmans crash was a reminder this sport is very dangerous, in these things...and at Suzuka especially with memories of Jules Bianchi.

you do question why you are doing this, as any normal adult would, Max is just more vocal about things than the others.

 

[icowden]

its not the car so much as the style of racing theyve got to put up with now, I dont think any of the drivers who have been there for a while and remember how it was, are enjoying it,

None of them have complained except Max. The Merc, Ferrari and McLaren drivers seem to be loving it.

 

[biggs682]

None of them have complained except Max. The Merc, Ferrari and McLaren drivers seem to be loving it.

You wait till they get beaten

 

[Reynard]

Speaking of which, apparently Max is considering his future in F1 because he doesn't like his car.

I think he'd like the car if he was winning...

 

[FishFright]

None of them have complained except Max. The Merc, Ferrari and McLaren drivers seem to be loving it.

Norris isn't happy either. Piastri is happy he won but it was the first GP he started this year.
No driver is happy with the car deciding how much battery to deploy and not them.
Bearman's accident was caused by the huge delta between cars either deploying or not.

I predict chaos when it rains .

 

[icowden]

Norris isn't happy either. Piastri is happy he won but it was the first GP he started this year.
No driver is happy with the car deciding how much battery to deploy and not them.
Bearman's accident was caused by the huge delta between cars either deploying or not.
I predict chaos when it rains .

All fair points and many drivers have said that the system needs tweaking. Max is the only driver who has complained that he doesn't like these cars at all. All of the other interviews suggested that drivers like the cars and system but want some changes to improve it.

 

[FishFright]

All fair points and many drivers have said that the system needs tweaking. Max is the only driver who has complained that he doesn't like these cars at all. All of the other interviews suggested that drivers like the cars and system but want some changes to improve it.

I've no idea where you get the idea that everyone bar Verstappen is happy with the regs.

Or are u just annoyed that everything Verstappen predicted about these cars is correct ?

 

[icowden]

I've no idea where you get the idea that everyone bar Verstappen is happy with the regs.

No-one else is bitterly and vociferously complaining?

 

[FishFright]

No-one else is bitterly and vociferously complaining?

Besides Norris, Leclerc, Sainz, Albon, Hadjar, etc who complain all the time .
Hulkenberg won't comment and the Cadillacs are too busy building a team .

Basically trying to put it Verstappen's door is fundamentally incorrect.

 

[biggs682]

I think majority of the field are unhappy about the changes in all fairness.

It's a big change for sure and the smaller teams will always be playing catch up .

 

[icowden]

Besides Norris, Leclerc, Sainz, Albon, Hadjar, etc who complain all the time .

Norris was initially upbeat, folowing engine reliability issues he became downbeat. LeClerc has only been annoyed about qualifying. Sainz has been concerned about safety but has made no other public comment. I can't see that Albon has said anything at all. Hadjar hasn't said much other than he wants to break lap records and feels the new cars are a bit slow.

Basically trying to put it Verstappen's door is fundamentally incorrect.

Verstappen has said he could walk away from F1 if the rules don't get better, that his car is the worst ever, that its like Mario Kart, etc etc

 

[FishFright]

Norris was initially upbeat, folowing engine reliability issues he became downbeat. LeClerc has only been annoyed about qualifying. Sainz has been concerned about safety but has made no other public comment. I can't see that Albon has said anything at all. Hadjar hasn't said much other than he wants to break lap records and feels the new cars are a bit slow.



Verstappen has said he could walk away from F1 if the rules don't get better, that his car is the worst ever, that its like Mario Kart, etc etc

Norris was upbeat in testing and his opinion tumbled once the season started.
Leclerc was complaining in the race about the deployment too.
Sainz is not a happy bunny about the power train rules too but that is possibly down to the rubbish car.
Albon is very pissed off , every time he tries to push the car it gets slower , mostly due to the same deployment issues everyone faces.

Verstappen has been critical of the powertrain formula since it was announced , maybe you've only just noticed ?

The only people upbeat are the FIA and Liberty because they can't be critical in public.

No drivers are happy with the way the deployment levels are out of their hands but are controlled by power train itself.

Even Sky , who are usually total fanboys, are worried about the safety concerns.

The first 2 races were fun because of the number of mistakes made which made it look exciting. Suzuka brought the issues front and centre . Luckily the 5 week break curtesy of the tangreine has given all concerned time to change things away from the public eye.


ETA Free practice is usually a good place to hear the drivers opinions away from the race day media machine.

 

[Dan Lotus]

I'll buck the apparent trend on here then and say I very much enjoyed Singapore, great to see 3 teams in with a shout, and an excellent drive by Antonelli, and I take my hat off to him for immediately acknowledging his good fortune in the role the safety car played.

Bearmans accident was concering though.

I'd bet a large amount of money on the fact if Verstappen had indeed made the move across to Mercedes, and was now in all likelihood leading the championship, he's have very little negative to say about F1 and the regulations, and be looking towards title number 5.

Surprised about his lack of grit really, and immediate potential to walk away from the sport, something that has presumably been a life's work, and then one season in a car that you don't like, or you don't like the current regulations, and you're willing to just walk away from it all.
Seems odd, and to me shows a lack of passion/investment in the sport.

I could see a number of other drivers, past and present who would instead try and change things from the inside, whilst still partaking in the sport they love.

To me it feels like he is trying to say to F1 'If you don't change things drastically I'm off' which is nuts really, as these regulations were drafted years ago, and agreed by all teams, with the exception of Cadillac and kind of Audi I suppose who are new to the party.
One driver does not make F1, whoever they are.

Alonso seems similarly disinfranchised with it all, but their car is effectively a 1 legged dog at best, so I can't see them making strides (even with Newey) until next year - I'd be surprised if he stays into 2027, but we'll see I guess.

Kinds feel like REALLY they need an all new and younger driver lineup to make some real progress, though I realise the whole father/son thing going on, but surely at some point that has to become a bone of contention, or just a realisation point for at least one of them.

 

[FishFright]

I'll buck the apparent trend on here then and say I very much enjoyed Singapore, great to see 3 teams in with a shout, and an excellent drive by Antonelli, and I take my hat off to him for immediately acknowledging his good fortune in the role the safety car played.

Bearmans accident was concering though.

I'd bet a large amount of money on the fact if Verstappen had indeed made the move across to Mercedes, and was now in all likelihood leading the championship, he's have very little negative to say about F1 and the regulations, and be looking towards title number 5.

Surprised about his lack of grit really, and immediate potential to walk away from the sport, something that has presumably been a life's work, and then one season in a car that you don't like, or you don't like the current regulations, and you're willing to just walk away from it all.
Seems odd, and to me shows a lack of passion/investment in the sport.

I could see a number of other drivers, past and present who would instead try and change things from the inside, whilst still partaking in the sport they love.

To me it feels like he is trying to say to F1 'If you don't change things drastically I'm off' which is nuts really, as these regulations were drafted years ago, and agreed by all teams, with the exception of Cadillac and kind of Audi I suppose who are new to the party.
One driver does not make F1, whoever they are.

Alonso seems similarly disinfranchised with it all, but their car is effectively a 1 legged dog at best, so I can't see them making strides (even with Newey) until next year - I'd be surprised if he stays into 2027, but we'll see I guess.

Kinds feel like REALLY they need an all new and younger driver lineup to make some real progress, though I realise the whole father/son thing going on, but surely at some point that has to become a bone of contention, or just a realisation point for at least one of them.

Firstly it is was Japan ... Antonelli was lucky but was faster all race so may have won anyway .

If you enjoy breeze by passes determined by whether the algorithm had stored enough charge in the previous corners or not and/or had made available enough deployment then that's up to you . The driver has no input into this so is powerless to intervene . Note the way Hamilton was left for dead on the main straight by the Mercedes early in the race and Norris's comment about having to make an overtake attempts he didn't want to make because of higher than expected torque supplied by the powertrain.

The Bearman incident was scary but to walk away from a 50G accident is amazing.

Verstappen has been saying that he hated the new rules and might leave since they were announced. He stopped driving the development sim last because he hated it so much, so it's not just the bad car. But yes winning would help salve the pain.

He was never going to Mercedes , it was just Wolfe being Wolfe. He did confirm that he never spoke to Verstappen's management. Team principals have been playing the same trick for years.


I totally agree with you about Aston Martin, what a mess. Despite Honda's problems I put the blame firmly on Stroll Snr's hire, fire , reshuffle approach to management.