The F1 thread

TimmyO

Anyone feel it's swinging far enough that they'd NOT think Max is safe to win overall this year? 

dazzajl

I still think he’s in a very safe spot. Another team would need to be in a position to take most of the remaining first and second slots and favour one driver for him to be overtaken now. 

sinbaadi

He's also quite good at finishing races generally.  Might be different if he has to fight every weekend, but he's not going to implode.

stickyfiddle

I would love to think Lando will give Max a run for his money but unless he starts beating him consistently it's not going to be close. And even if he does we're approaching halfway so it's akin to a Button/Vettel 2009 situation, except RB will probably still be able to improve the car between now and AbDabs. 

As for Sainz/Alpine it's not impossible but remembering he was there a few years ago and has since had much more success, I doubt he'd be keen with the current leadership, unless they can demonstrate that it's just car is WAY overweight and they have a clear plan. But even then I understand that puts them level with Williams but without Vowles at the helm putting things in place for 2026. 

To be honest my guess is every team outside the top 3/4 is already working on the 25 car so they can put 100% of their in-2025 development towards the 2026 car. And I would assume anyone credible with Sainz in mind has signed an NDA with him and shown him EVERYTHING they're doing. 

TimmyO

dazzajl said:

I still think he’s in a very safe spot. Another team would need to be in a position to take most of the remaining first and second slots and favour one driver for him to be overtaken now. 

that's pretty succinctly what I was thinking too - but then someone I know who is normally very good at reading what's what (one of those annoying people who even manages to predict mid-field finishes) said if they were betting now they'd go Lando for a 2nd-half-of-season surge. 

I don't think so myself (for the reasons you say) but it got me pondering 

Cols

Logically, he’s still within reach with a couple of DNFs and either Leclerc or Norris taking both the wins.  But realistically he’s in a very safe position.

In a way, it should be similar to the 1991 season, where McLaren’s technical advantage was gone mid season as the Williams Renault really hit its stride, but Senna had built up enough of a buffer early on that he comfortably took his third world championship.

Boromedic

Too many other potential winners Vs him only and they'll split the points so Max is too far ahead unless he suddenly has a few DNFs. Makes the racing more interesting though which is definitely better

fretmeister

I just discovered that former driver and now occasional Sky pundit Danica Patrick had a podcast….

Tin foil hats at the ready….

https://x.com/jeppe_olesen/status/1805583460490256841?s=46&t=l6EP0e0xSHkGZfFPSYzFVA

https://youtu.be/f6AZX92oILg?si=jarGiTGub158Jwqt

euan

She’s a mad Trump supporter I knew that. 

Cols

Looks like Ricciardo is toast.

https://www.newsweek.com/sports/formula1/f1-news-red-bull-insider-hints-daniel-ricciardo-drop-soon-1917585

Marko explained:

"The shareholders have made it known that it is a junior team and we have to act accordingly. The goal was that he [Ricciardo] would be considered for Red Bull with exceptional performances. That seat now belongs to Perez, so that plan is no longer valid.

"We will have to put a young driver in there soon. That would be Liam Lawson."

Boromedic

Bout time really, Liam deserves a chance to be fair. 

Boromedic

https://www.instagram.com/reel/C8SwEuNpiWZ/?igsh=MTR6ZDk3NGNuM3N2NA==

HAL9000

 Cols said:

Marko explained:

"The shareholders have made it known that it is a junior team and we have to act accordingly. The goal was that he [Ricciardo] would be considered for Red Bull with exceptional performances. That seat now belongs to Perez, so that plan is no longer valid.

"We will have to put a young driver in there soon. That would be Liam Lawson."

Surely Ricciarfo would put in more exceptional performances than Perez?

RiftAmps

Calling it now, Lando will win in Austria 

Cols

HAL9000 said:

 Cols said:

Marko explained:

"The shareholders have made it known that it is a junior team and we have to act accordingly. The goal was that he [Ricciardo] would be considered for Red Bull with exceptional performances. That seat now belongs to Perez, so that plan is no longer valid.

"We will have to put a young driver in there soon. That would be Liam Lawson."

Surely Ricciarfo would put in more exceptional performances than Perez?

Well, Perez has put in some exceptionally bad performances since he got his new contract…

stickyfiddle

Gasly confirmed staying at Alpine 

Stroll confirmed to stay at AM (where else?!)

And Austria has put gravel strips on the outside of the corners. I hope this really works as it's such an obvious thing to try 

RiftAmps

stickyfiddle said:

And Austria has put gravel strips on the outside of the corners. I hope this really works as it's such an obvious thing to try 

Edge of white line to gravel trap is 1.5m which ensures that you can't go over track limits without being in the gravel trap. Excellent solution as all F3, F2, and F1 cars are >1.5m wide

stickyfiddle

RiftAmps said:

stickyfiddle said:

And Austria has put gravel strips on the outside of the corners. I hope this really works as it's such an obvious thing to try 

Edge of white line to gravel trap is 1.5m which ensures that you can't go over track limits without being in the gravel trap. Excellent solution as all F3, F2, and F1 cars are >1.5m wide

Yeah I hadn't seen writeup, just the pic so far, but assumed it was designed like that. 

Boromedic

I agree with Chris, think this is McLaren's chance to win, and Silverstone as well. Fingers crossed Piastri can put it together and get Max down to 3rd or worse. 

Should be a good race overall, especially with the new gravelly bits

Cols

stickyfiddle said:

Gasly confirmed staying at Alpine 

Stroll confirmed to stay at AM (where else?!)

Hopefully Alpine continue their improvement.  Gasly’s a great driver, but there weren’t too many other options.  

Stroll - I guess he continues for as long as he wants to be in F1.  And to be absolutely fair to him, he’s respectably close to his teammate in qualifying - certainly better than Magnussen, Perez, Zhou and Sargeant are doing against theirs.

And Austria has put gravel strips on the outside of the corners. I hope this really works as it's such an obvious thing to try 

I suppose it’s better than acres of asphalt runoff, but I’d still prefer a pit filled with vipers.