The F1 thread

fretmeister

It's not a shock that Lawson isn't in the RB.

He hasn't got the experience yet. Max would chew him up just like with Albon and RB would bin him within a year as they have no interest in nurturing talent at all.

boogieman

Dontgiveupyourdayjob said:

stickyfiddle said:

Perez starting from the back after a rebuild. And Pirelli's F1 tyres are still made of cheese they've mandated an 18-lap maximum stint, so it'll be 3 stops minimum per car.

Maximum number of laps mandate? Has that ever happened before?! Can't ever remember such a thing...

High ambient temperature meant the sidewalls were at risk of delaminating at high speeds according to Pirelli, add that to stupid design of the track curbs and they were worried about how long the tyres would last. 

Oh Lewis, that was really stupid. You’d think he’d have got a bit more mature by now. I know he’s frustrated with the car but that looked more like a Lance Stroll move. 

Penn

fretmeister said:

It's not a shock that Lawson isn't in the RB.

He hasn't got the experience yet. Max would chew him up just like with Albon and RB would bin him within a year as they have no interest in nurturing talent at all.

That’s basically what they always do. Gasley and Kyatt got binned to. That’s the Red Bull way. Stick you in the car, watch you sink and then sack you. Look at De Vries this year, poor bloke was dropped halfway through the year. Better than Kyatt who was lost his seat and girlfriend to Max. 

Interesting article:

https://www.motorsportmagazine.com/articles/single-seaters/f1/f1-dreams-dashed-drivers-dropped-red-bull/

Brio

Penn said:

George is so good. What a drive. How many drivers could go 2nd to last and back up to where he finished?

Button three times through  the field in Canada in THAT race . 

Penn

Brio said:

Penn said:

George is so good. What a drive. How many drivers could go 2nd to last and back up to where he finished?

Button three times through  the field in Canada in THAT race . 

Yes, Jenson was a good driver and generally a nice bloke. 

His last race was not so good though. 

stickyfiddle

Now HERE is a rumour… 

https://reddit.com/r/formula1/s/r2vXUDrTnY

Would they finally say fuck it and get Alonso in that second seat? 

Sergio Pérez will announce his retirement during the Mexican Grand Prix Weekend" - Escudería Telmex Ex high ranking employee told a group of us at a dinner party.
Context. Not an actual dinner party but easier for the title. A few days ago, several people were testing some race cars at a local track. After the day at the track was over, this guy's group joined our group and we all went to dinner together before getting back to the hotel.   
I do not know this guy personally and just met him at the track that day but had heard of him before because he's a well known figure in racing circles in Mexico. It was also known he was one of the top guys in Escudería Telmex.  Doing a bit of research, he was working as a high ranking individual for Escudería Telmex directly linked to international sponsorship deals, AKA, Checo Pérez and other motorsports people up until 2022.    

Here's what he said to the best of my recollection:
- Red Bull has told Sergio they will not keep him for 2024, breaking the existing contract. (Nothing new in F1 or for Red Bull this very season with Nyck).   
- Apparently this decision was communicated during the week of the Japanese Grand Prix. (This could somewhat explain the absolute shockers that have been Japan and Qatar for Pérez). Would be interesting to go back and watch Sergio's Thursday interviews that weekend but I haven't done that yet.   
- Checo's team, (managers and main sponsor *Escudería Telmex*) immediately started looking around and talking to people but 2 main problems arose here.   
1. There are no seats available. Only one not confirmed is Williams and maybe Stroll's place isn't as secure as everyone thought pre-Qatar? But...   
2. These past 4-5 months have been extremely damaging to Sergio's well earned reputation. Other teams have mentioned to them how he is now on the older side (He's been in F1 since 2011!). The once known Tyre whisperer and Mexican Minister of Defense, a mid driver with some epic drives here and there completely collapsed under the pressure of a Championship winning team so they (other teams) don't see themselves kicking someone else out to put Checo in one of their cars, although the sponsorship package that comes with him would certainly make teams in the lower half of the field have a real think about it.   

This person doesn't know anything about who will replace Checo in 2024.

So...   

During the off weekend between Japan and Qatar, Sergio and his team came to the conclusion that it was time to end his Formula 1 career. He's been doing this for a long time and his family keeps growing and growing.      
The announcement will be made during the Mexican Grand Prix weekend in 3 weeks time and that'd be it.     

This guy speculated: *Since Escudería Telmex is privy to this information, chances are the Mexican Grand Prix Organization  already know as well and may prepare a farewell celebration or something.*   

And that was it. Of course the table had questions and comments but this person claimed that was all he knew, that this was all he has told by someone still inside Escudería Telmex.   

Now, could this person make it all up in the spot to become the center of attention of the group for a few minutes? I mean, I guess he could have. He  was certainly the center of attention while telling us all of the above. Being there at the time, knowing who he is and who he knows, I believed him. 
---   
So, that's basically it. Take it with a grain of salt of course, I am no one with influence or "connections". I just happened to be there at the track with a group of friends, 2 of which knew this guy very well from years past. That's why they joined our group for dinner. Beyond what I've already written, I don't think there's much more for me to tell, If anything.      
 
No, I cannot provide proof so I'm well aware this comes down to a big fat "trust me bro". I debated with myself for a few days whether to post this or not, I obviously decided not to, and so here we all are.   
English not being my first language, there may be a few grammar and spelling mistakes here and there. Bare with me, the important stuff is in here.    
---   

Cols

Seems plausible.  Perez has really collapsed in the past few races, which would tie in with being told that the jig is up.

I’d love to see Alonso put in the Red Bull - both him and Verstappen are at the top of their game, and it would be a proper knife fight.  But it won’t happen; Red Bull’s long term strategy is to choose one favourite driver and mould the team around them.

sinbaadi

Arguably it's unlikely that Alonso is as good as he was in his championship years due to age but I agree he would be a test for Max.  

It might be the only way any other driver from any other team gets a look in on the driver's championship.

stickyfiddle

I can see Alonso making Christian extremely nervous, but when they're this good with Max, what's the risk? And I can imagine Max would be up for the fight to prove himself once & for all. 

But I accept if it's happening then DR is the obvious answer, with Lawson in full time at AT

Boromedic

Christian said on Sky this weekend they would never run two alpha drivers, they'd never employ Alonso. Whomever gets in that second seat will always be a second to Max.

stickyfiddle

Boromedic said:

Christian said on Sky this weekend they would never run two alpha drivers, they'd never employ Alonso. Whomever gets in that second seat will always be a second to Max.

I know but this is the only semblance of silly season we're getting this year and I wanna make the most of it!! 

boogieman

Max would throw his toys out of the pram if his team mate was anything but a second driver. Danny Ric would be the obvious choice out of the people around at the moment; he’s been at RB before so he’s aware of the politics, he’s reliable and a very decent driver but he’s also not going to be challenging Max at every race. Alonso would be trying to kick Max up the arse all time, mentally and race-wise, and Christian’s Wonder Boy would never tolerate it. 

Boromedic

stickyfiddle said:

Boromedic said:

Christian said on Sky this weekend they would never run two alpha drivers, they'd never employ Alonso. Whomever gets in that second seat will always be a second to Max.

I know but this is the only semblance of silly season we're getting this year and I wanna make the most of it!! 

Fair play mate!! It would be great to see tbh, if only to see the righteous level of entitlement Max would throw at it when Alonso beats him....

fretmeister

Some Mexican F1 journos are now reporting that Checo will announce his retirement at the Mexican GP.

If, as per Marko's latest slagging off yesterday "...he needs a new team...", he was going to get binned anyway, there are no other open seats, so retirement might be his way of at least appearing to go on his own terms.

stickyfiddle

That's my assumption. The team (quite understandably) want to drop him. He's in the same place as DR was at McLaren - unable to deliver, and overthinking everything which leads to overdriving and actually going slower. It was fine last year and earlier this year when they were head & shoulder ahead but now Mclaren and Merc have both drivers nipping at their heels they can't afford to have the other guy having a hard time and finishing 7th regularly. 

Makes Bottas looks bloody good, doesn't it!  

Cols

Realistically, Red Bull got in on the preliminary spadework of easing Ricciardo back into the second seat the minute they put him into the Silverstone tyre test.  They’ve been patiently chipping away at it ever since, so I can’t see any other realistic outcome unless DR is a complete disaster at Austin.

fretmeister

I shouldn’t laugh….

skullfunkerry

I know planetf1 is a bit of an online tabloid, but I have to say I agree with this wholeheartedly:

https://www.planetf1.com/news/fia-investigation-lewis-hamilton-reaction

boogieman

The FIA are a joke. Late decisions, no consistency between races, one rule for Max but different ones for everyone else. 

Cols

It was a staggeringly stupid thing for Hamilton to do… for which he apologised profusely, was handed a hefty fine and was given a reprimand.  I can’t see any young driver looking at the aftermath and saying “Yes, I’ll jog across a live racetrack just like Lewis.  After all, what’s 50,000 Euros here or there?”

I dunno, maybe Red Bull are pushing behind the scenes for a 5 race ban to secure Checo’s fragile P2 in the championship.

In other news (but related to Perez) - 2 year contract until the end of 2025 for Ricciardo at Red Bull?