nocones said:
I think it would be really cool to do Monoco like the MLB/NBA AllStar weekend. Put it in the middle of the season. Have all of the F1 circus for keeping B2B people happy. Do FP1-2 Friday then do single car qualifying on Sat with some amount of championship points awarded in normal F1 cars. Then Sat FP3 is replaced with practice for sunday's main entertainment event. The teams + 1 guest driver with a current competition liscence from some list of recognized international sanctioning bodies (could be anyone the team wants so Nascar, Indycar, WEC, DTM, Supercars, their reserve driver) compete in a some spec car purely for entertainment. Qualifying would be Via 4 lap heat races with the main being some 35 lap thing with all 30 drivers. Use some small low Downforce open wheel type car that has harnesses and a crash structure so there isn't much unecessary risk to the drivers. Make sure it is something that is fast enough that it looks quick, but squirms around to give most opportunity for drivers to show of talent. The goal would be to entertain just like the major sports "All Star" events do. Mike the drivers up so they can talk during the race and drive fan engagement. The +1 drivers could show off talent from other series/markets to expand F1 appeal. No championship points would be awarded on Sunday but teams would get a prize pool to give to a charity of their choice. It keeps Monoco relavent for the qualifying competition in F1 cars but offers something special that doesn't exist in F1 otherwise. I would 100% watch every minute of this.
So, Race of Champions but with an F1 quali in the middle?
In reply to Keith Tanner :
Yes basically with forced participation.
I'm worried about Riccardo. I don't think he's going to make it past this season in F1. Maybe Lewis moves back to McLaren next year since the Ferrari door closed (which I also don't understand, Carlos has been pretty crashy this year)?
Sergio's win recognized with new contract extension through 2024.
https://racer.com/2022/05/31/jos-verstappen-unhappy-max-was-not-helped-in-monaco-victory-bid/
“The championship leader, Max, was not helped in that sense by the chosen strategy. It turned completely to Checo’s favor. That was disappointing to me, and I would have liked it to be different for the championship leader.
This forum needs an eyeroll emoji for stuff like this. I mean, really Jos?
In reply to Tom_Spangler (Forum Supporter) :
Jos is a big factor in my distaste for max.
Javelin said:
I'm worried about Riccardo. I don't think he's going to make it past this season in F1. Maybe Lewis moves back to McLaren next year since the Ferrari door closed (which I also don't understand, Carlos has been pretty crashy this year)?
I'm worried about Ricciardo, too. He seems to be really struggling on this new car, as is Hamilton. I hope both find the "it" factor in the next few races. Ricciardo seems to be shrugging it off, but Hamilton seems to be dejected in every post race interview.
Going forward, it'll be interesting to see what happens. McLaren has two potential young drivers from IndyCar (O'Ward and Herta) that they could move over. O'Ward just signed a contract with McLaren through 2025. I wonder if there's an F1 clause somewhere in it. There's also a number of F1 feeder drivers in that mix. If Ricciardo continues to struggle, would they end his contract and slot in one of the others? Norris is excellent, but is he seasoned enough to lead the team?
Not sure what Hamilton's moves are. I can't see him going back to McLaren, nor can I see McLaren putting up the money to pull him into the team. I think if MB can figure out the car for him and he figures out how to drive it, he'll stay. Even if it's late in the season. There's still 15 races in the remaining season. Although at 75 points back, it would be a miracle if Hamilton could pull off a championship, I think if he could crawls up into the top 3, it would do well for his mood.
I just realized that in this discussion, I'm writing as if McLaren holds the reins for Ricciardo, but Hamilton holds the reins for himself. Is it just me, or does it seem like McLaren is pushing Ricciardo to do better and Hamilton is pushing MB to be better?
-Rob
In reply to rob_lewis :
I agree with all that Ric is out after this year. Although it would be bittersweet if O'Ward took the seat, I think that Gasley is the no brainer. Perez signing another year, I think Gasley sees the writing on the wall, plus he doesn't want to play second fiddle to max. Not sure if Ric and AlphaT would be a option, if not Ric has talked about NASCAR, I would rather see him in Indycar. They only other obvious change next year will be at Williams with Latifi and if Vettel retires.
In reply to rob_lewis :
The Indycar drivers need to win the championship to get a superlicence.
In reply to alfadriver :
You only have to win to Automatically get a super license. It's 40 points over 3 seasons. 1st gets 40 points, 2nd 30, 3rd 20, 4th 10 and you can get up to 10 points by driving in FP1 in a F1 car (1pt/100km).
Pato should currently be at 30 pts (20 for 2021 3rd and 10 for 2020 4th). So assuming he ends at 4th or better this season or runs some FP1 and gets a few points for less then 4th he may qualify for a Super liscence next year.
alfadriver said:
In reply to rob_lewis :
The Indycar drivers need to win the championship to get a superlicence.
If that's the only points they have, then yes. But O'Ward has points from various other classes (including Indy) and if the does FP sessions in F1, he might get enough. I think the same applies to Herta. Both are probably close and a good IndyCar result this year is important, but I don't think they have to take the whole championship to qualify.
O'Ward was close enough that when he signed up with RedBull back in 2019, it was for an F1 seat. RB and O'Ward both thought he had the points or was close enough, to get a license. When they realized he'd have to compete in 2020 in a feeder series to get the points for a 2021 deal and already had drivers in place for 2021, they let him go.
However, I haven't run the numbers, so I don't know how close O'Ward or Herta are to having enough points.
-Rob
rob_lewis said:
Javelin said:
I'm worried about Riccardo. I don't think he's going to make it past this season in F1. Maybe Lewis moves back to McLaren next year since the Ferrari door closed (which I also don't understand, Carlos has been pretty crashy this year)?
I'm worried about Ricciardo, too. He seems to be really struggling on this new car, as is Hamilton. I hope both find the "it" factor in the next few races. Ricciardo seems to be shrugging it off, but Hamilton seems to be dejected in every post race interview.
Going forward, it'll be interesting to see what happens. McLaren has two potential young drivers from IndyCar (O'Ward and Herta) that they could move over. O'Ward just signed a contract with McLaren through 2025. I wonder if there's an F1 clause somewhere in it. There's also a number of F1 feeder drivers in that mix. If Ricciardo continues to struggle, would they end his contract and slot in one of the others? Norris is excellent, but is he seasoned enough to lead the team?
Not sure what Hamilton's moves are. I can't see him going back to McLaren, nor can I see McLaren putting up the money to pull him into the team. I think if MB can figure out the car for him and he figures out how to drive it, he'll stay. Even if it's late in the season. There's still 15 races in the remaining season. Although at 75 points back, it would be a miracle if Hamilton could pull off a championship, I think if he could crawls up into the top 3, it would do well for his mood.
I just realized that in this discussion, I'm writing as if McLaren holds the reins for Ricciardo, but Hamilton holds the reins for himself. Is it just me, or does it seem like McLaren is pushing Ricciardo to do better and Hamilton is pushing MB to be better?
-Rob
Lewis is candid about problems with the car and/or his driving, he always has been. That's usually spun in the press as whining or "dejected". I think he's stronger mentally than most of the rest of the grid overall, and I don't think he's going anywhere. Mercedes is on the back foot now but there's no team that would suit him better.
Danny just has never managed to live up to his early promise. He's always putting on a brave face and a big smile, but he just can't seem to deliver. I wouldn't be surprised if he was gone in the next couple of years, because he's probably quite expensive.
LOL. Alonso totally wasn't at fault for Ocon losing all those places. It was all Hamilton being a poopy pants.
“We have to do a lot of tyre management,” explained Alonso. “We had some concerns about the yellow tyre to grain a lot on our car. The first 10 or 15 laps I took care of the tyres a lot.
“And after that I pushed again when they told me that Esteban had to make up a five-second gap. But at that point Hamilton didn’t want to push, so [held] Esteban at the back, so that was a little bit disappointing.”
In reply to Keith Tanner :
Why would you speed up for no gain when it has been proven to you for 10-15 laps that passing is impossible just to wipe a penalty from the car behind you that it got from running you into the wall? Alpine didn't have to play games, they did, they found out.
If Alonso had maintained pace when the race resumed Lewis would have been up his butt like he was giving Ocon the gap he needed behind.
Oh, I don't blame Hamilton for not haring off after Alonso again. There was no point. I just find it hilarious that Alonso sees himself as blameless.
Baku wild prediction
Bottas on pole with Perez next to him.
Winner is Russell after perfect timed VSC with Gasley 2nd.
Not sure if anyone watches the F1 weekend warm up, but once again, they thought that Mercedes had really found the problem with the porpoising and think they will now run near the front...
Not so much. Having seen FP1 some, Mercedes is done with this season. They were bouncing really hard and fast at the end of that long straight- clearly pointing out that they still don't have a real fix for the problems. It was so bad that when Lewis got warned for driving over the pit entrance, he told the team he could not see it due to the bouncing. The result is that they are both over a second behind at this point.
Sure, they may end up challenging for wins sometime, but this is too late in the season for a full turn around for a championship.
In reply to Keith Tanner :
Why? It's Alonso, one of the biggest babies on the grid, always has been, always will be. I'm just amazed any team still puts up with him, but the way he's being outscored by his team mate Ocon 3:1 this year, hopefully we'll be rid of him, if not at the end of the year at the end of his contract and get it a worthwhile driver.
Note, I'm not saying he wasn't an amazing driver at his peak, but the way he acts out of the car has always been a turn off.
NY Nick said:
alfadriver said:
In reply to Tom_Spangler (Forum Supporter) :
Jos is a big factor in my distaste for max.
quoted for truth
I totally get what people are saying, especially after wife beater Jos's comments after Monaco blaming the team for not helping Max get the win. The shot of elation on Max's face as he greeted and congratulated Checo on the win says it all about how Max really feels. I used to be a huge Max detractor. He was a brash arrogant little E36 M3 who thought he could do no wrong, took too many low percentage chances and blamed the rest of the world for the outcome. We've seen a massive improvement in him as a person and a driver. He still goes for gaps that others can't see, but he's less reckless about it and the consequences. While I disagree with the what happened in the last race last year giving him the championship a) It's over, it's official and I'm OK with it. b) It wasn't Max or the team that did anything it was the officials. I wouldn't go as far to say that I"m a Max fan, but I"m not anti MAx, I I do like Checo. It's the rest of the effing rouge cow management from Horner up through Marko and co that suck.
Actually the fact that JOs is even allowed in an FIA Paddock is disgusting. Let's see, fracture a guys skull, five years suspended sentence. Assaulted his wife, defy a restraining order, assaulted his girlfriend, arrested for attempted murder. HEll, the FIA/Formula one eventually had enough of Putin, maybe they'll grow a conscience and throw Jos out too.
In reply to Adrian_Thompson (Forum Supporter) :
I can see where you are coming from and there are times I find Max endearing. Those are far less often than I find him a vajajay. Just like Lewis I am sure he will mature over his career and the endearing % will go up and the shiny happy person parts will go down and in 10 years Max may be very palatable.
I agree completely on Jos (and I felt the same way about Mazepins dad, and probably Lance's father but he owns it now). You need to step aside and surround your kid with the right people. You can't try to run the whole show because you can't look at it objectively.
I'm also not a huge Max fan, but I am a fan of having him around. He's great for the sport and makes it very interesting, going for those high-risk gaps and watching his development.
Regarding Jos - is anyone surprised he's allowed to hang around? This is a sport that bends over backward for oil-rich gulf states where missile strikes are normal and being non-hetero is a death sentence.
In reply to Adrian_Thompson (Forum Supporter) :
Alonso is too popular and the press love to throw a story each week that he is going to win a championship this year, but only if his car matched his form BS. I predict he will be in for another year, Oscar P will go to Williams, De Vries takes over for Vettel (retirement and goes to FE) waiting for Hamilton to retire in 2-3 years, for the Merc ride.
I watched both FP1 and FP2 and LeClerc is def on it again, Checo only a couple 10ths behind but Sainz was not having a good day at over 1 sec behind his teammate.
Russel again was far better that the Hamster.....
The Big Mac's looked woeful again, along with the Astons and Williams. We'll see what happens tomorrow, but as I'll be at a Brit car show all day tomorrow I won't see it till the evening.
Checo seems to be right on his game these days. Quali should be interesting.
I'm still having a bit of trouble inserting him into the championship fight, but it could happen, I guess.
