[Other Sport] F1 2024

[Audax]

Some interesting discussion around Colapinto on Reddit. Specifically, whether or not he has the required 40 points to get a full Formula 1 Super Licence. It appears that by a strict interpretation of the rules, he only has 39 points. An FIA official has apparently confirmed they believe he has 40, along with how they calculated it, but redditors have cited a 2022 rule change that means 1 of the points included (for participating in an F1 practice session earlier this year) should not be counted. He only gets to 39 thanks to some Covid-related exceptions. I suspect this is why it all went under the radar until it was announced by Williams - no one considered him as an option, as no one thought he would have the points needed.

Of course, it's all a moot point ... the rules also allow the FIA, at their sole discretion, to grant a SL to a competitor if they believe they've done enough in junior categories regardless of their points situation.

 

[Audax]

State of play for 2025 as we head into the Monza weekend:

Red Bull
1. Verstappen (contract thru 2028; staying for 2025, but rumbling about Mercedes for 2026 continues)
2. Perez (signed thru 2026; performance clauses?)

Ferrari
1. Leclerc (long term contract)
2. Hamilton (multi year contract)

McLaren
1. Norris (multi year contract)
2. Piastri (contract thru 2026)

Mercedes
1. Russell (contract thru 2025)
2. Antonelli (Merc junior in F2)

Antonelli to be announced this weekend? He's running in FP1, if he doesn't disgrace himself an announcement could follow.

Aston Martin
1. Alonso (contract thru 2026 minimum)
2. Stroll (ugh)

VCARB
1. Tsunoda (2025 only?)
2. Ricciardo (contract expires end of 2024); Lawson

Internal politics at play here? Marko wants Lawson (going so far as to publicly say he *will* race in 2025); Horner responding by saying nothing has been decided yet and believed to favour Ricciardo. Both remain in the frame to replace Perez if Red Bull decide to pull the plug (or Perez decides to retire).

Sauber / Audi
1. Hulkenberg (multi year contract)
2. Mick Schumacher; Bottas; Bortoleto

Sauber / Audi has been spurned by their primary targets. They're now left with scraps: Mick Schumacher is trying hard to get any seat he can (was recently trying for Sargeant's seat at Williams) ... but will they want him with his uncle Ralf turning into a bit of a PR nightmare (taking swipes at both Alpine and Williams recent decisions against Mick)? The fact they continue talking with other drivers suggests Bottas is the option-of-last-resort for them. Bortoleto talks were confirmed by Alonso over the summer break, but rumours in that area have gone quiet.

Williams
1. Albon (contract thru 2026 minimum)
2. Sainz (multi-year contract w/ exit clauses for Mercedes/Red Bull?)

Haas
1. Ocon
2. Bearman

Alpine
1. Gasly
2. Doohan


The other big move still being monitored for 2025 is where does Adrian Newey end up? Ferrari were thought to be in pole position earlier in the season, but that now appears to be off with Ferrari unwilling to give him free reign to hire his own team. It was then expected Aston Martin had convinced him with a big-money offer and that it would be announced at Zandvoort, only for rumours to emerge that Alpine had come in with a late offer that has put things back. Williams remain in play as well, according to some rumours.

The Aston Martin deal feels most likely to me: Newey's worked with them previously (during the Red Bull / Aston Martin partnership) to design the Valkyrie. He's also previously mentioned a desire to work with Alonso.

 

[JJ McClure]

Agree Newey to Aston looks most likely at this point but still holding out hope of him returning to Williams and helping them back up the grid.

 

[Audax]

Antonelli's outing in FP1 has been cut short. After going out on softs, he initially set the fastest lap of anyone (despite Hamilton, Verstappen, and Perez all also using the softs for their first runs). Hamilton then came back out (still on softs) and took top spot. Antonelli followed him out, set the fastest middle sector (after a green sector 1) so far ... and binned it into the barriers at Parabolica.

 

[Flounce]

Antonelli's outing in FP1 has been cut short. After going out on softs, he initially set the fastest lap of anyone (despite Hamilton, Verstappen, and Perez all also using the softs for their first runs). Hamilton then came back out (still on softs) and took top spot. Antonelli followed him out, set the fastest middle sector (after a green sector 1) so far ... and binned it into the barriers at Parabolica.

Very surprised that Antonelli was given Russell’s car rather than Ferrari bound Hamiltons

 

[Flounce]

Well done Le Clerc! Can’t wait to see him and Hamilton at Ferrari.

Genuinely gobsmacked that McLaren didn’t tell Piastri to let Norris through on the last lap

Norris is not looking World Class and a Championship contender though is he?

 

[A1X]

Hard to not enjoy a Ferrari win in Monday regardless of who you support

Somehow I don’t think Perez would have been allowed to make the move on Verstappen that Piastri did on Norris

 

[Dr Q]

McLaren need to decide whether they want to win the WDC or just the Constructors, if they do, they need to invoke team orders. Piastri when he knew he couldn't win, could have let Norris through on the last lap for 2nd.

Also, Norris needs to decide whether he wants to win the WDC and not be so complacent and make so many mistakes. Although how he does a fastest lap on the last lap in two consecutive races is impressive.

Well done to Ferrari and CLeC, made the strategy work and always good to see them win at home.

Red Bull moaning about drivers not giving them room, and Perez squeezes Russell!!!!

 

[JJ McClure]

Good race.

I think that if McLaren are 1-2 at the end of lap one they win that. Caused their own problems again and it’ll ultimately mean another WDC for Max.

Red Bulls both whinging on the first lap and Checo with some dubious defensive moves on Russell.

That said as a Ferrari fan I‘m just super happy with the win, and really pleased for Charles. The crowd noise those last few laps was amazing and a Ferrari win at Monza is just something else.

 

[indy3050]

Nothing better than seeing Horner squirm, horrible bloke.

Agree that McLaren should have asked Oscar to let Lando through, Oscar is not in the title race and Lando let him through a few races ago!

 

[A1X]

Nothing better than seeing Horner squirm, horrible bloke.

Agree that McLaren should have asked Oscar to let Lando through, Oscar is not in the title race and Lando let him through a few races ago!

Still feel McLaren are too collegiate and not ruthless enough. Mercedes and Red Bull wouldn’t have let it happen in the first place as the serial winners of recent times.

 

[The Colonel]

It's inevitable that Verstappen will win the championship by <10pts, the exact points that McLaren have allowed Piastri to take off Norris at Hungary and Italy.

 

[zefarelly]

Zac yank whatever his name is, ain't no Ron . . . You need to be a ruthless bastard to win in F1.

Having said that, McLaren have 2 very good competitive drivers, I don't see a champion though. So maybe the Constructors is their aim. It'll sell road cars , which is the main aim for them I guess.

Ferrari win at home is good to see . . .Like Williams at Sillystone, although it's been a while.

 

[Cordwainer]

Pleased for Ferrari and Leclerc. Red Bull suffered from double technical issues it appeared, as there was the most awful whining coming from both of them for large portions of the race.

 

[Iggle Piggle]

McLaren are the embodiment of the "Everyone is a winner" mentality.

They could win the drivers championship but.wont..They need to be more ruthless. That said, so does Lando if he wants to win the thing.

 

[FloatLeft]

Still feel McLaren are too collegiate and not ruthless enough. Mercedes and Red Bull wouldn’t have let it happen in the first place as the serial winners of recent times.

Collegiate?

 

[Guinness Boy]

Collegiate?

I agree with @A1X

It can mean a friendly relationship between people who work together. "Papaya Rules" is very much in that space. McLaren are too nice. They should have focussed on Lando earlier in the season and, to be honest, Lando needs to focus more on Lando.

 

[Audax]

They could win the drivers championship but.wont..They need to be more ruthless. That said, so does Lando if he wants to win the thing.

Red Bull appear to be in a lot of trouble now - they're definitely on the back foot, and McLaren appear to be the most consistently faster now. Verstappen's post-race interviews are telling, I think. He's not convinced his WDC lead is enough to see him home at end of the season. If McLaren are quickest, and Red Bull only 3rd or 4th quickest, that lead of his will evaporate quickly. Remember Norris only needs to gain 8 points per race - which he got in both the last two races, even though he only got 3rd yesterday.

Apparently McLaren did consider swapping Piastri and Norris around, but Norris lost a lot of ground with a mistake and that was when they decided not to do it. I think it won't be long until we see WDC team orders imposed at McLaren. Question will be whether Norris can iron out the mistakes. He's got the talent, he's got the car. At the moment he's lacking that error-free consistency that delivers a WDC.

Was interesting to hear them using "Papaya rules" on the team radio. For anyone who hasn't picked it up, Zak Brown confirmed that simply means they are free to race but must not make contact - so no risky moves, keep it clean. I suspect it also means a little more for Piastri: be compliant if Norris attempts an overtake, and if attempting an overtake on Norris give him plenty of space.

 

[A1X]

They should have focussed on Lando earlier in the season and, to be honest, Lando needs to focus more on Lando.

I wonder whether the reaction in Budapest when he did try to focus on Lando first and foremost has burned him in that respect.

FWIW I think it was the right decision to give Piastri the win in Budapest but the way it was handled and the reaction to it both inside and outside the team might well have burned him. I suspect yesterday would have seen Lando on the blower demanding the second place if things were different (not without good reason as the pole sitter), as said I fully expect Bottas to have been moved over for Lewis or Perez to have been told to let Max through in previous seasons at their respective teams.

 

[Audax]

I wonder whether the reaction in Budapest when he did try to focus on Lando first and foremost has burned him in that respect.

FWIW I think it was the right decision to give Piastri the win in Budapest but the way it was handled and the reaction to it both inside and outside the team might well have burned him. I suspect yesterday would have seen Lando on the blower demanding the second place if things were different (not without good reason as the pole sitter), as said I fully expect Bottas to have been moved over for Lewis or Perez to have been told to let Max through in previous seasons at their respective teams.

Nah ... I think the reason Norris wasn't asking for it is because he knew he wasn't quick enough to deserve it. He'd closed the gap to Piastri a small amount, then made an error and lost ground again. If he'd been able to get within DRS I reckon he would have asked.

---

On another note ... looks like Bearman will get another outing this season at Baku, this time with Haas (assuming he's happy to ditch F2 again). Magnussen received 2 penalty points for an incident with Gasly at has triggered an automatic race ban for accumulating 12 points within a 12 month period. Interestingly, Gasly has come out against the ban and suggested the incident that triggered the latest points was not worthy of being penalised as heavily as it was.