Power track with a 2018 engine in the year 2020... not good bob Alfa nearly .5 quicker in FP2 ... that's ugh... not good
Can't see how Red Bull keep Albon in that seat. He's .3 to .6 slower than Max in essentially the same car. I get Max is amazing but you don't see Bottas with the same gaps.
I don't disagree but they have also made him the guinea pig for every idea. They've let him destroy his day on the wrong tires testing a given compound so that Max doesn't have to gamble. Being #2 is a tough gig all around Side note: Yikes Ferrari
that’s the life of a #2. Ideally even being that test dummy you would like to be closer to the #1. Gasley lost his slot because of this just thing. I’m guessing Red Bull not having an alternative is allowing Albon to keep his seat.
I think he’s had a couple of bad breaks too. If Hamilton doesn’t spin him out at Austria 1 he’s got his first win. On Sunday he’s been really strong, just can’t seem to get it right on Saturday. I think they’ll hold on to him. He’s a solid teammate and #2. This is only second year in F1, and still hasn’t competed a season in the RB car.
Big Ric Energy for that 2nd row start. (They better hope it doesn’t rain with that package they are running) Ferrari...woof hoping for some wild results tomorrow with the potential for wet weather Spoiler HAM - BOT - VER incoming
Hamilton's shoutout to Chadwick Boseman after setting the track record twice was cool. That Merc is just a different class of car than the rest of the field at this point it seems
The sky sports broadcast pointed out that Lewis engine was sub par after he reported a power issue. They mentioned how they wouldn’t allow Bottas to use power mode. Basically said they used Bottas to block Max. curious if you see an engine change for Lewis next week or if they attempt to nurse that thing once again. Lewis also hinted at the fact that Max is without a teammate at the top and they are easily able to use strategy against him. I also liked that Lewis said that these one pit stop races suck and they aren’t even racing anymore. Just managing tires and felt the sport is suffering because of it. He’s spot on....
Putting Alex on the mediums was a bad strategy call for Red Bull today. He’s lucky he was able to hold Ocon off as long as he did because he could have lost at least one, maybe two more places. I think forcing the teams to use all three compounds in a dry race would bring the excitement levels up.
This might be the easiest way to get more stops in a race and maybe see more all out action. FIA is going to lower the downforce to the cars next year as well.
Honest question. When does Haas/Alpha look elsewhere for their power units? It’s a bummer Haas couldn’t get their tire management right last year with that engine and whatever extra juice it had
I wonder if either team could afford to swap after this year. Maybe 2022 with the reg changes? Not super familiar with Alpha Romeo, but I read that Haas has so many Ferrari parts that they would almost have to rebuild the entire setup to swap.
I’ve read/heard that too, It just doesn’t look like a wise partnership anymore. They are a ship without a sail it seems like. Slightly related, but if I were Gene I’d be reaching out to as many big budget American companies to try and sell the idea of the “American F1 team” and get more sponsors. Obviously if you win they will come, but if the ratings continue to rise now’s the chance to get some companies in on the ground floor
Really nice showing for the Renault cars yesterday. Kind of surprised the Racing Point team didn't do better. If youre going to go through the effort of effectively copying the Merc, you'd think they'd expect better results.
I don't think they'd go full engine supplier mode ever again, but they could put a name on the car a la Aston with RBR. Lincoln would make sense, but the Big Three are all too busy trying to put all their money into trucks now, so it wouldn't have an even tangential relationship to the car line. As a SAAB owner, though, I'm sorta depressed anytime I have these thoughts... :(
Ford is kinda who I had in mind. They have a huge European market under the ford name. As silly as it sounds, I’d also go to someone like Tesla and see if they were interested. They’re the “do more with less” team, and I get that model, but that doesn’t mean you have to purposely tie one hand behind your back. Basically every other teams car, and fire suits are covered with sponsors, and Haas barely has any. Maybe I should call Gene and see if I can be his salesman
Haas Automation as the primary sponsor makes sense. He does that in NASCAR too. But yeah you would think he would like to use someone else's money instead of his own. As huge as Ford is in multi-class and sports car racing, I'm surprised they have no presence in F1.
I agree 100%. Especially considering they have a respected race history as well. Based off what was said on the Netflix show, the title sponsorship goes for about 50 million. I doubt they'd dive in head first like that, but I could see them being a main sponsor in the way UPS, or Rayban is for Ferrari.
I don't know if you follow passenger car stuff in Europe much, but even those assholes are starting to buy more crossovers GRRRRRRR RE: Tesla, no thanks on Elon Musk trying to ruin F1. There are enough people trying to do that already,
yeah they aren't sniffing sponsoring an f1 car as currently constructed. formula e makes way more sense
Pretty cool write-up on Danny Ric's fast lap. Tech info toward the end is really neat. https://the-race.com/formula-1/inside-the-lap-that-scared-ricciardo-and-defied-abiteboul/
I have tried watching Formula E but there are just a few things about it I dont particularly find compelling 1) the fan boost thing seems super gimmicky and legitimately detracts from the skill of the drivers 2) small beef but the noise of the electric engines sounds really annoying to me compared to F1. Other than that I could see it eventually being really cool
It’s the tracks that keep me from spectating. The Formula E documentary is good though. Can’t imagine racing cars with instant max torque.
I understand the fan boost. They are trying to drive eyeballs to the series and this is as fan interactive as possible. I agree at some point it may be something they go away from or give drivers X amount of overtakes? I think Indy car has something called Push to Pass. I remember when F1 changed to the current engine setup and hating the sound of the cars. It does take some time to adjust that's for sure.
Great lady who tried to keep her dads dream alive. She was never cut out for this role. I’m sure she’s relieved to step down.
damn, i hoped she could turn the team around. I really like her. Toto to Williams? haha one can dream
Holy shit, Frank's out too :( https://www.williamsf1.com/news/2020/09/williams-racing-opens-new-chapter-as-family-step-aside This is the end of old school F1 right?
I am always curious as to how much day today responsibility Toto had for the rise of Mercedes. And these days who are the really great team principals? but you certainly can see what a bad team principal can do. Just look at McLaren's decline years ago. Or Ferrari now.
He would have bought them himself again if he was interested. If he wants to step back he would probably just assume Nikki Lauda's old role with the team and promote Aleson. (sp?)
The battle between Toto and Binotto off the track is 100x the battle on the track. When Ferrari finishes 14 and 15th back to back weekends in Italy I don't know how Binotto survives.
This should be the message around the paddock this weekend. What Claire tried to do was noble, and should be celebrated. She tried to continue the legacy of her father. I agree, I don’t think this was ever what she wanted, nor was cut out to do. I hope F1 gives sir Frank, and the Williams family a proper celebration for all they’ve contributed to the sport.
It would be so awesome for George to get some points this weekend as a send off to Frank. Will def be rooting for him Side note: if anyone hasn't seen it, the documentary called Williams about Frank's career is awesome. Really sad to see him go.