The Official 2024 F1 thread

[Miner]

It looks like Perez has been confirmed for the rest of the year.
It boils down to 2 things, Perez is a solid driver in a very temperamental car, and (maybe) he brings a huge amount of sponsorship to RB.

 

[docjohn]

I'm still suspect of the team orders for Hungary. Lando was pole sitter, seems the team decided that piastri should win, imho lando would have beat hammo on the road, pitting early gave him the advantage, he should have let piastri pass early then raced him to the end..my conspiracy theory self feels there is some sort of Australian sponsorship deal that Mac wants , so they anointed him. I'm amazed how close the pack was at spa for such a long track. Russell has some good track/equipment instincts.

 

[jtrikakis1]

Sainz to Williams a bit old news. Mercedes, Alpine and Audi all have 1 seat to fill. Any guesses?

 

[Miner]

Bigger question (in my mind) for Alpine is will they be sold to Andretti?
As for Merc, I think they will bring in Antonelli. Sauber (Audi) will bring some paid driver, or maybe a Magnussen for a year.

 

[Miner]

Is the RedBull dynasty over?

 

[SFNSXguy]

I hope so.
H-

 

[Bram]

Make that two of us…

 

[jtrikakis1]

This season reminds me of the 2022 motoGP season when Yamaha top rider had a 95 point lead before the summer break, but was penalized at the last race before the break which help Ducati win the rider championship and have so ever since. Since that time motoGP has been losing fan interest year-over-year. I find it odd when the media openly complained that Max was too dominate and that was bad for F1. Then suddenly he isn't so dominate and McLaren is in the hunt. Of course that never happened during the Mercedes dominance.

 

[Wild Turkey]

Norris is looking so dominant. Max is one screw-up or mechanical failure away from the edge of a cliff.

Can't win the constructor's with only one driver. Why they didn't scoop Sainz is beyond me. Does Perez bring that much $?

 

[Miner]

Norris is looking so dominant. Max is one screw-up or mechanical failure away from the edge of a cliff.

Can't win the constructor's with only one driver. Why they didn't scoop Sainz is beyond me. Does Perez bring that much $?

Pepe Jeans, Walmart, and Tel-Cell. Probably 50% of the income.

 

[NZNick]

Great win for Lando - could have been 30 seconds ahead of Max if he pushed at the same pace as the last lap.
Looks like the constructor’s title is in reach for McLaren too - Oscar will be disappointed but still welcome points Good results for LeClerc & Sainz - so much better than their qualifying performance. Mixed for Mercedes - better for Lewis than George. Perez probably did enough to keep Helmut happy for another week…

 

[Miner]

So Williams sacked Logan Sargent. No surprise after his performance these last 2 seasons. Was an odd choice from the start.

 

[jtrikakis1]

Too bad Logan even got a seat in F1. Seems Alonso helped get his replacement in that seat. Paid drivers don't have much of a track record in F1, but they do bring much needed $$$$. It looks like HAAS is going to make Monza after their payment issue has been or seems to be resolved. The circus goes on.

 

[Miner]

To the “Temple of Speed” this weekend. Antonelli had a terrible first practice, Colapinto was ok.

 

[docjohn]

Surprised Bert put that safety car in the barrier...Mac have the secret sauce of aero/drag and most importantly the drivers have confidence in themselves and car.

 

[Miner]

A fabulous finish for Ferrari.

 

[docjohn]

That was a fun race, home team had nothing to lose but everything on the line...Piastri surprised Norris on lap 1

 

[NZNick]

Great race from Charles - the one-stop is always the fastest strategy if you have the tyres.
McLaren did well to race both their cars to the podium. Carlos looked in a better position than Charles at one stage as he pitted later, but his pace dropped in the last 15 laps - whereas Charles kept it up.
Good result from Lewis to be so far ahead of Max, and George almost got Max at the end. Perez was a long way back,
Good points for Albon ahead of Magnussen - who squeaked ahead of Alonso by a tenth of a second, but picked up a 1 race ban, so presumably Bearman will race in Baku next time out as his replacement.

 

[docjohn]

If RB continues to flounder toto might have a shot at maxipad for 26

 

[Miner]

Newest signs with Aston Martin! They may have had the most room in the salary cap, plus with Lance Stroll always the #2 driver, I will be curious if he can deliver a winning car in the near future.

 

[NSXF1]

I would have bet Newey was going to Ferrari, but what apparently sealed the deal with Aston was Stroll gave him an interest in the team, (in addition to the second highest salary in F1), which Redbull would not agree to. I agree with Nico Rosberg, Redbull's decline started the day Newey was cut out of car update/development. Peter Winsor also said Redbull had some type of check ball system that they took off after the Miami grand prix that allowed unequal braking on the front axel, which Redbull of course denies, but the FIA did clarify the rule on equal pressure going to both front and rear axles and it would coincide with their problems. Either way, to watch Max actually have to RACE now is priceless.

 

[jtrikakis1]

Red Bull decline started once SkyF1 started to complain the Max's winning ways was hurting F1 and fans were leaving F1. The same nonsense chatter that gave a silver car all the praise when winning. Newey address SkyF1 over their open issues with non brit drivers. He saw the writing on the wall thus left Red Bull to find other work.

 

[Miner]

Well today’s race was an interesting change of pace. Verstappen is nowhere to be found, Norris drove a heck of a race but started so far back.
I think Sainz was at fault with Perez.

 

[Bram]

Sainz was ahead and within the white track limits....Perez, did not even move the steering wheels o
1 CM

 

[Wild Turkey]

Why would Perez move the wheel when he was going straight down the track where he wanted to go? Two guys playing chicken trying to grab the slipstream. They knew what they were doing. EOE here. When you play chicken, sometimes both folks lose.