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[Other Sport] F1 2024







A1X

Well-known member
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Sep 1, 2017
20,559
Deepest, darkest Sussex
 




A1X

Well-known member
NSC Patron
Sep 1, 2017
20,559
Deepest, darkest Sussex
Why richly deserved? He couldn't overtake a guy who was on 34 lap old tyres (I'm a Hamilton fan tbf not a hater, but I find this comment above weird)
Well the car was illegal on those tyres I guess
 








Flounce

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Nov 15, 2006
4,278
Officially disqualified
Good, I’m a vindictive sod and don’t like Russell and his girly screaming when he wins. Apparently the one stop strategy meant that the tyres weight loss is the probable reason that the car was underweight. Strange that Mercedes had not drained all the fuel….to get the original weight spot on…..

Does Graham Potter work for Mercedes? :lolol:

"We have clearly made a mistake and need to ensure that we learn from it. To lose a one-two finish is frustrating and we can only apologise to George who drove such a strong race.
 
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zefarelly

Well-known member
NSC Patron
Jul 7, 2003
22,789
Sussex, by the sea
HArsh.

THey don't get a slow lap to 'pick up dags' at Spa . . . Maybe that was the difference.

GR made a very good call and deserved that win.

Norris needed to pass Verstappen. He'S not quite up there . . . Mr Pastry could be No1 for McLaren if he doesn't get his head down.

It's actually been interesting this last few races, and its wonderful to see MAx Von Cunthousen playing cowbell for steelers wheel . . . .

( work that one out )
 




May 1, 2024
67
Shame. I like Hamilton but feel the win was well deserved for Russell.

Appreciate the rules are the rules but to lose the win for being 0.1% underweight has got to sting.
 


ElectricNaz

Well-known member
Jan 23, 2013
965
Hampshire
Yeah I was reading yesterday that they can get around 2kg in "pick up" on the in lap.

Russell should have just done an in lap anyway and claimed he forgot the process (unless they had a row of Marshalls blocking the track after T1) .

Rules are strange though if it was genuinely the tyre wear that caused the car to be underweight, as tyre weight is variable throughout a stint in the same way fuel is, yet fuel is removed for the weigh in. It'd be interesting to know if the car without tyres was broadly the same for Hamilton / Russell
 


Worried Man Blues

Well-known member
Feb 28, 2009
7,295
Swansea
Very unfortunate for a clever play by Russell well deserved but failed..................Vers stuck in the middle with Zhou...Zephyrelly
 




Nitram

Well-known member
Jul 16, 2013
2,268
Really enjoying the racing in the last few months. Mercedes gradually improving and Red Bull slowly imploding through internal politics.
What a strange race, Mad Max dominated in practice and qualifying then was nowhere on the pace in the race. McLaren looking the fastest car but seem beset by team indecision. If they get that sorted it may put even more pressure on Max and lead to more meltdowns. Bring on the second half.
 


Audax

Boing boing boing...
Aug 3, 2015
3,268
Uckfield
Yeah I was reading yesterday that they can get around 2kg in "pick up" on the in lap.

Russell should have just done an in lap anyway and claimed he forgot the process (unless they had a row of Marshalls blocking the track after T1) .

Rules are strange though if it was genuinely the tyre wear that caused the car to be underweight, as tyre weight is variable throughout a stint in the same way fuel is, yet fuel is removed for the weigh in. It'd be interesting to know if the car without tyres was broadly the same for Hamilton / Russell
The theory I've seen is that Mercedes made a mistake on the starting weight for the car and ran it too marginal. They had upgrades on the car for Friday, but they didn't work so they took them off again for Saturday. Saturday's running was all wet, and the Intermediate tyres are heavier than the slicks. Seen a few suggestions that Mercedes may have forgotten to adjust for the difference in tyre weights.

So was today the last time we see Perez in a Red Bull?

On Perez: I will be very surprised to see him driving a Red Bull after the summer break. There's 3 separate videos been doing the rounds since the race that added together suggest that Ricciardo has already been told he'll be promoted. What I need to see if I can do is figure out the timelines on two of them (which came first, and which followed after). The three videos in summary:

1) Horner, Mekies, and Ricciardo were caught on camera having a conversation post-race. It ended with Ricciardo and Horner shaking hands, and then a rather happy-looking Ricciardo dashing off. One obvious conclusion here, given those involved in the conversation, is that the topic of conversation was Ricciardo's promotion to replace Perez.

2) Ricciardo was interviewed by Sky post-race. Not sure if this was before or after the conversation above, but I have a feeling it was after. Ricciardo was absolutely beaming and clearly a very happy bunny. This was before Russell was DQ'd, and the level of positivity from Ricciardo was way out of proportion for an 11th place finish having had a points finish slip out of their hands late on. Ricciardo was clearly distracted by "other things" during the interview. Again, once the interview was done Ricciardo dashed off.

3) Verstappen posted video to his socials of him and Ricciardo departing Spa together by helicopter with a double thumbs-up.

Would be very easy to misinterpret all that as being Ricciardo knows he's taking Perez' seat when it's in fact something else completely. But given everything ... I'm expecting an announcement later this week that Perez is out and Ricciardo promoted. Lawson to VCARB.



One other potential signing announcement imminent. The Sainz saga may be drawing to a close. Pre-race there was a rumour emerge that Sainz has decided on signing for Williams, as a result of Williams agreeing certain clauses that would allow Sainz to cancel the contract should he receive an offer from either Mercedes or Red Bull.

Post-race there's further rumours emerging that Sainz has indeed elected to go to Williams and that it could be announced before the end of the week. But we've been here before (was widely assumed he would be announced at Williams during the Spain weekend, and then for Alpine during the Austria weekend...)
 


Audax

Boing boing boing...
Aug 3, 2015
3,268
Uckfield
Sainz confirmed at Williams:



I expect this will now unblock most of the rest of the seats fairly quickly.

Alpine: first they need to fill the vacated Team Principal role, now that Famin has announced he's going to spend his time focusing on the wider Alpine brand. Expect that to be announced soon (rumours suggest it'll be Oli Oakes from the Hitech F2 team). I would expect a driver announcement to be made not long after. I'm hoping for Doohan to be promoted, but it could be that they'll bring in Paul Aron, F2 rookie and currently P3 in points. Aron being a candidate is based on nothing other than he currently races in F2 for Hitech, and this is well known to Oakes. It's conceivable they may be interested in Perez if he finds himself seat-less.

Audi/Sauber: now this is a difficult one. Rumours emerged recently that Zhou only retained his seat for this year due to a "minor" miscalculation that meant the team needed his sponsors. Binotto has only just taken over as Team Principal and the team isn't looking very appealing for drivers currently. Maybe they'll stick with Bottas? Perez if he becomes available? Mick Schumacher maybe? Theo Pourchaire?
 
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A1X

Well-known member
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Sep 1, 2017
20,559
Deepest, darkest Sussex
 




Audax

Boing boing boing...
Aug 3, 2015
3,268
Uckfield
Reports emerging on Twitter that Perez will retain his seat for now.

More details (rumours) starting to emerge on how this all played out. One to put very much in the "unsubstantiated" bucket for now, but it's now coming from multiple sources and detail is being filled in gradually. So, in summary, the current rumour mill suggests the following sequence of events:

1. Verstappen family was informed post-race on Sunday that Max would have a new team mate for the Dutch GP after the summer break.

2. By Monday evening, it had all changed and Perez was instead retained. Worth noting that the wording Horner used when announcing this to the team (leaked out, not officially released) leaves Red Bull with a lot of wriggle room for revisiting the decision and very tellingly *did not* confirm Perez for 2025. Wording was also highly suggestive that his form in Baku and Singapore could be key to his future, with Horner specifically mentioned wanting to see Perez perform at "circuits where he has done well before."

3. Marko confirmed the news in interviews Tuesday/Wednesday, but explicitly mentioned "reshuffling the cards" for 2025. Widely taken as a very big hint that Perez is still under significant pressure to retain his seat.

4. Rumours began emerging that Red Bull's decision to retain Perez was influenced by Liberty, who were worried about potential issues with/at the Mexican GP if Perez was dropped.

5. These rumours have now been refined - while Liberty "might" have been involved, the driving force is claimed to be Perez's main sponsor Carlos Slim. Perez is retained to ensure "sponsor and team stability". Rumours suggest Slim convinced Red Bull that there would be security risks at the Mexican GP if Perez was dropped. Liberty, on the other hand, are claimed to be worried about ticket sales and merchandise revenue.

6. Clarity on what the plan was on Sunday has also emerged: Ricciardo would have stepped up to RBR, with Liam Lawson taking his seat at VCARB.



So ... my prediction, if Perez continues to struggle / underperform he may be removed after the Mexican GP once that potential risk is behind. At that point there would be 4 races remaining ... potentially enough time to assess Ricciardo and Lawson ahead of making 2025 driver decisions.
 


JJ McClure

Go Jags
Jul 7, 2003
11,110
Hassocks
Basically Perez keeps his seat because he sells a lot of hats.
 




Audax

Boing boing boing...
Aug 3, 2015
3,268
Uckfield
Basically Perez keeps his seat because he sells a lot of hats.
Yep ... and the sponsorship he brings is worth more than the difference in prize money between 1st and 2nd in the WCC.

Personally don't think he'll be at Red Bull for 2025. Same thing has happened two years running, they won't go for a third - especially with both McLaren and Mercedes now regular contenders for race wins.
 




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