[Other Sport] F1 2022

[AstroSloth]

Great first post you Dutchman

Yes I’m sure Verstappen will get any breaks that are going. Safety car just before he needs to pit and everybody else has probably

Great driver whose temperament has not been tested as Hamilton’s car is not up to it this year. Shame as it’s been much too easy for him with having the most reliable car and Ferrari shooting themselves in the foot either by driver error, mechanical problems or schoolboy tactics.

He is intensely dislikable and arrogant though unless you are Dutch or Belgian, or [MENTION=2719]Mouldy Boots[/MENTION] obviously

Not at all.

Verstappen is very likeable if you don't look at him under extremely intense pressure and through the lens of British media.

He's friends with much of the grid, including getting along with Hamilton this season quite well.

Clearly he's a driver who strives for perfection all the time and anything less is not good enough for him.

 

[Icy Gull]

Not at all.

Verstappen is very likeable if you don't look at him under extremely intense pressure and through the lens of British media.

He's friends with much of the grid, including getting along with Hamilton this season quite well.

Clearly he's a driver who strives for perfection all the time and anything less is not good enough for him.

He is head and shoulders above everyone else this season, however much I dislike him

 

[Deleted member 2719]

He is head and shoulders above everyone else this season, however much I dislike him

So at last the max hater has eventually come out, I can't see why you dislike him, but I won't vilify you for it.
Please remember Icy, I am a lando fan not a Max fan, however put him a alongside pants wetting 'look at me' Hamilton.
Max out classes him as a person everyday of the week.

 

[Marty___Mcfly]

That grid should make for an interesting race tomorrow. Sprinkle some rain in ️

 

[Icy Gull]

So at last the max hater has eventually come out, I can't see why you dislike him, but I won't vilify you for it.
Please remember Icy, I am a lando fan not a Max fan, however put him a alongside pants wetting 'look at me' Hamilton.
Max out classes him as a person everyday of the week.

You have clearly not being paying attention I have made it clear for years that I don’t like his character and driving style when under real pressure haven’t I?

He may have reined in the aggression, we’ll find out when he is consistently pressurised. He is without doubt a top driver though

 

[Guinness Boy]

Looking forward to this one today. One of the great tracks when the cars aren't following the safety car through a flood for two laps. With quick cars at the back there's potential for carnage, clever overtaking, intriguing tactics or all three. Definitely better than watching Newcastle again.

 

[Garry Nelson's Left Foot]

Hamilton out after first lap collision with Alonso. Verstappen already up to 6th.

I think we can guess how this will end. It'll be more fun to guess on which lap max takes the lead. I'm going for 17.

 

[Marty___Mcfly]

Looked like Hamilton’s fault that one- don’t mess with it Alonso he will never give way.

Max on the way up to first place by the looks of it?

 

[Icy Gull]

Looked like Hamilton’s fault that one- don’t mess with it Alonso he will never give way.

Max on the way up to first place by the looks of it?

100% Hamilton’s mistake there lucky not to get a penalty for the next race

 

[Garry Nelson's Left Foot]

Hamilton out after first lap collision with Alonso. Verstappen already up to 6th.

I think we can guess how this will end. It'll be more fun to guess on which lap max takes the lead. I'm going for 17.

One lap out. Max takes the lead on lap 18. After starting in 15th. Is it possible to lap yourself?

 

[Icy Gull]

Turning into the dullest F1 season for years. Red Bull are by far the quickest car and Perez is not allowed and probably not capable of challenging Max. First time I’ve turned a GP off that I can remember

 

[Creaky]

He is head and shoulders above everyone else this season, however much I dislike him

I would dispute that - Team Red Bull is head and shoulders above the rest.

 

[maltaseagull]

So at last the max hater has eventually come out, I can't see why you dislike him, but I won't vilify you for it.
Please remember Icy, I am a lando fan not a Max fan, however put him a alongside pants wetting 'look at me' Hamilton.
Max out classes him as a person everyday of the week.

You are much more a Hamilton hater than a Lando fan based on your perpetual name-calling of him.

 

[The_Viper]

I would dispute that - Team Red Bull is head and shoulders above the rest.

Well, I mean you're right to an extent, but if Ferrari weren't beating themselves week after week this would actually be a really close race between Charles and Max.

 

[Creaky]

Well, I mean you're right to an extent, but if Ferrari weren't beating themselves week after week this would actually be a really close race between Charles and Max.

Which goes to show that it’s not any individual that determines winners in F1 but the whole team.

Hamilton is a great driver, as is Verstappen, Leclerc, Alonso, Vettel etc. None of them can win a race however without the expertise of a team to design a fast, reliable car and make the optimum decisions at the right time.

 

[A1X]

Boring.

I’d hoped after last season we might see another season without one team dominating and walking away with it. Sadly not.

 

[Surrey Phil]

Turning into the dullest F1 season for years. Red Bull are by far the quickest car and Perez is not allowed and probably not capable of challenging Max. First time I’ve turned a GP off that I can remember

Yep me too. It seems the new car designs to close up the field, have backfired badly!

 

[Audax]

That Red Bull was an absolute rocket this weekend. Well, in Verstappen's hands it was anyway.

Watched an onboard of lap 1 from Verstappen's car earlier. The one big takeaway from it for me: he gave *plenty* of racing room to the likes of Stroll, Albon, etc as he raced them through lap 1. The one and only time he got aggressive and refused to back out? That'll be when Leclerc put his nose in front on the outside of turn 9 in the braking zone (for those unaware, T9 is the left hander before Pouhon). On that occasion, he braked late and took the racing line on exit with absolutely no room left for Leclerc to do anything.

 

[Bold Seagull]

Which goes to show that it’s not any individual that determines winners in F1 but the whole team.

Hamilton is a great driver, as is Verstappen, Leclerc, Alonso, Vettel etc. None of them can win a race however without the expertise of a team to design a fast, reliable car and make the optimum decisions at the right time.

Not sure I would include Leclerc in that company just yet, talented yes, 'great' - not so sure.

The other characteristic of a successful F1 driver is integrating themselves seamlessly into a team feeding into and communicating with their experts in consistently developing their car. This is Max's 7th season with Red Bull, it's Hamilton's 9th with Mercedes. Neither driver has fallen out with a team that they feel gives them the best chance of winning, and neither has either team looked elsewhere for a driver to bring their car home. The best drivers don't end up in the best cars for no good reason. If you look at Perez's performances if it wasn't for Max this might be a very tight title race. The Red Bull team have a fast reliable car, but crucially they have a driver to drive the wheels off it. That is the difference.

 

[Audax]

If you look at Perez's performances if it wasn't for Max this might be a very tight title race. The Red Bull team have a fast reliable car, but crucially they have a driver to drive the wheels off it. That is the difference.

And if you remove Ferrari's poor reliability and strategy stuff-ups, Leclerc would still be right in the fight with Verstappen. Still behind thanks to his own mistakes in a couple of races, but at least close enough to make a fight of it. You could even argue that the mistake at France may not have happened if Ferrari hadn't put Leclerc in a "must win everything" position through their errors earlier in the season.

---

In other news, a lot of speculation re: 2023 seats:

* Rumours that Alpine are talking to Gasly, and that Red Bull have confirmed they will not block a move if Gasly wants to go.
* Mick Schumacher will not be renewing his Ferrari Junior contract, and is a free agent from 2023. That possibly explains why Haas are now known to be in conversation with Giovinazzi. There's a bit of debate over whether or not Ferrari have any say in that second Haas seat.
* No word yet on who Ricciardo might be talking with.
* It appears now certain that Williams will not renew Latifi for next season.
* It also appears increasingly likely that Alfa Romeo will retain Zhou, despite expectations at the start of the year his seat would be for 1 year only before Pourchaire was brought in. A less than convincing second F2 season for Pourchaire coupled with Zhou's impressive form appears to have seen Pourchaire fall out of favour.
* Turns out the early rumours that the CRB had found in favour of McLaren's contract with Piastri were too early. CRB met on Monday to discuss the competing McLaren and Alpine contracts. No leaks as yet on what the result of that meeting might be.
* If Gasly goes to Alpine, Mick Schumacher might get his seat. Or it might be Colton Herta from Indycar.

And re: new teams / brands entering F1 in coming years:

* Audi expected to buy a controlling stake in Sauber, which would see Alfa Romeo become Audi from 2026.
* Porsche's deal with Red Bull appears to have stalled. Porsche want a controlling 50% stake in the Red Bull Technologies side of things, Red Bull aren't willing to give them that. As a result, we might actually see Honda slide back in at RBR.
* F1 appears to have no interest in an 11th team unless it's a manufacturer team, which leaves Andretti stuck out in the cold.

So we have the following for 2023 (Bold confirmed, Underline Incumbent expected to be renewed, italic rumoured or expected new driver):

Ferrari
Leclerc and Sainz

Red Bull
Verstappen and Perez

Mercedes
Hamilton and Russell

Alpine
Ocon and [Gasly / Ricciardo / Piastri / Doohan] (in order of likelihood. Piastri only if CRB rules in their favour, Doohan only if Gasly / Ricciardo turn them down)

McLaren
Norris and Piastri (if CRB rules in favour of Alpine, it might be Palou from Indycar instead)

Aston Martin
Alonso and Stroll (we all know it'll be Stroll ... but from memory he's not actually confirmed yet, so not in Bold)

Alfa Romeo
Bottas and Zhou (or Pouchaire)

Haas
Magnussen and [Giovinazzi / Ricciardo / Schumacher]

Alpha Tauri
Tsunoda and [Gasly / Herta / Schumacher / Ricciardo(?)] (in order of likelihood. Ricciardo highly unlikely, but if Gasly moves to Alpine anything is possible)

Williams
Albon and [A.N.Other / Ricciardo(?)] (but they'd need to convince Ricciardo they can and will produce a better car)