MicVelo

Why does that NOT surprise me?

MicVelo

Well, that was surprising.

Not.

Escobar

iTrader: (27)

boring

MicVelo

Agreed but the finishing order!

Max: Expected win, not surprised.

Checo: Did not see that coming after last season's fumbles. Maybe motivated to keep his seat?

Sainz: Ferraris did challenge as I figured they would but Sainz over LeClerc?!? Another guy motivated get a '25 seat?

260DET#2

What we are seeing is possibly the best ever F1 driver in action combined with possibly the best F1 designer. Plenty of action and goings on behind Max including the two Aussie drivers, one coming up the other down.

MicVelo

Glad you didn't name the Aussie drivers. One I like, the other, well, let's just say "He's good but I'm still miffed at him."

Escobar

iTrader: (27)

yea i agree, but knowing the winner of every race before it starts just takes away the action for me, watching midfied is lame after 3 seasons now.

dkmura

iTrader: (64)

But this is the nature of F1. Before RBR began their latest Championship run, it was Mercedes and Hamilton. Before that, think of RBR with Vettel? Sure, there's the odd season like Braun F1 taking Jenson Button to his one and only title, but that's the exception. I think back to the dominating years in the 80's with McLaren-Honda and either Senna or Prost and think this is simply the way F1 has been. One team and driver gets it right, and the rest eat crumbs....

Escobar

iTrader: (27)

yea I dont disagree, I just think back to the 2021 season and how insane that was. Max and Lewis going toe to toe for wins. It was amazing, now its just rinse and repeat for Max and a 20 sec victory.

260DET#2

The overall problem seems to be that one designer is ahead of all the rest. So a new specification is required which needs to minimumise his impact which is aero and ground effects particularly. Perhaps an interim measure like increasing minimum ride heights would help.

dkmura

iTrader: (64)

I wouldn't call it a "problem", per se. Adrian Newey has a particular genuis for design, with aero and packaging tweaks to his cars that have put them ahead of the rest. The 2024 rules package is set, so no tweaking it at this point. Besides, Newey and the RBR design staff have the ability to overcome most "interim measures" and are already planning for the 2025 season, when hybrid engine specs are due for a major change.

MicVelo

Much as domination of the F1 series leads to ho-hum viewing, I have to agree with dkmura's assessment. ^^ Not that I disagree with your point, 260DET#2, just that, it's not practical as you can't just make changes in the "middle" (during) a season because of perceived one-sidedness. Consider that the FIA put budget caps in place and to "handicap" one to the benefit of other teams without unilateral ruling would unnecessarily cause an increase in costs over the season for the dominant team in an effort to "level the playing field." If that were the case, they should have done that in every season from 2014 to 2021 given the dominance of AMG-Petronas. And you know that Toto would have thrown a hissy fit to end all hissy fits.

As dkmura said, RBR is fortunate to have Adrian Newey, a race design genius, and of course, Max in the driver's seat, one of the best of he best, IMO.

Fun thought from the mind of Mic (laff): Does make me wonder how Max, Lewis, Fernando, etc would fare against the likes of a Jim Clark, Nigel Mansell, Alain Prost, Michael Schumacher, and the late great Ayrton Senna (my all time favorite among that notable list of names) plus the other legacies of F1 like Nuvolari, Fangio et al!. Different eras, yes, different machines as well. But it's fun to imagine taking all of the greats and put them on a hypothetical even playing field with identical cars (you choose the era) and have them go at it. Wouldn't miss that race for ANYTHING!! Haha!

MicVelo

So the one bright light of this season thus far....

LANDO'S FIRST WIN!!!! So glad that if anyone was going to challenge the dominance of Max and his Red Bull car, it wasn't the RB #2 car/driver; rather McLaren and his good buddy Lando. IMO, Lando is one of the Top 5 of the current F1 bunch and he deserved the win as much, if not more than anyone else on grid.

OK, that out of the way.... this season has got to be one of the worst in terms of yackety yak BS politics and other NON-racing hoohaa in a long time. Obviously, LewHamClownMan started it with his jump to Ferrari - which, again, is a great disservice to Carlos Sainz but it is what it is. Oh, and his failure at MBZ currently at least shows me something I've wondered all along. Was it Lewis or was it the car that led to 7 WCs in F1? Obviously had to be both. With the current joke crop of Benz F1 cars, best Hamilton can do was a low podium but usually in the P7-P10 range. So it tells me it's not just how good a driver is but matching them with the correct hardware. Seems obvious, no? But it's not that obvious as you have someone like Alonso who CAN at least make a bad car look good.

Anyhow, all of the talk and coverage of F1 this year revolves around the premature "silly season" (the main reason this thread was created in the first place). It's just lame that there is more discussion of who's going where, why this driver or that deserves to go to XYZ team and all sorts of rumor mill trash about what team boss did what to who. Sad...

I mean, look, there's the Christian Horner saga with an alleged "ill treatment" (read: he bonked someone) of an RB worker, then there's the Gunther Steiner lawsuit against Haas F1, and the wooing away of Adrian Newey from Red Bull (partly due to the politics at RB) to ????? with all sorts of money figures thrown around and so on and so forth. (By the way, this is HUGE.... RB is going to descend down the pack, Max will leave in '25, Newey goes to Ferrari mid-year '25. My predictions for '25-26.) Newey IS one of the most coveted F1 designers EVER so whoever lands him will likely be in line to the throne going forward.

C'mon, people, how about you all do what you're supposed to be doing?!? Go racing and give us some real competition we can get behind? Enough of this silly season crap so early in the season.

Oh, and yeah, sorry Daniel Ricciardo but I think you need to retire. Especially with the lame pencil moustache you're sporting. Laff.....

dkmura

iTrader: (64)

While I'm happy that Lando Norris won for the first time, let's not forget that he (and McLaren) were fortunate to catch a full-course caution at the right time. Lando went right to the front while allowing him to pit. He kept his tires in good shape and ready for the restart, when he put the hammer down. That's where I thought the real spectacle of F1 came in, as he edged away from Verstappen and the RB20. Maintaining at least a one second lead (and expanding it to the finish) kept DRS from becoming a factor and made the Miami GP such a compelling race.

As for the rest of the F1 news, I'll be honest and say I try to ignore it. Yes, drivers and designers change teams (probably wrenches and PR people too) but that's just the nature of the biz. As for whether certain drivers deserve a F1 seat, I'd say Daniel Riccardo has some company on that score (talkin' about you, Lance Stroll). Ah well, carry on!

MicVelo

Well, all true about HOW Lando won. But like so many other events in big time racing (think Indycar notably), the race strategies (2-stop, 3-stop, etc) sometimes pay off handsomely. And this time it certainly did for Lando. I'm still happy it was him that benefit from the "error" of someone else's strategy and not someone like a Piastri, Hamilton, STROLL. Haha.

Is my bias showing?

S'far as Ricciardo goes, it's too bad that I feel as I do about him as he used to be one of my favorites. But like everything else in any competitive event, be it racing or otherwise, there just comes a time when the grass dries out and the cows that don't give milk must move on to greener pastures. Haha, did I just say that? Yeah, I guess I did.

The other hard luck case in F1.... Logan Sargeant. I'm not really sure how he even got the seat to begin with. He just seemed to "appear on the grid from nowhere". No fanfare, no nothing (unlike this new kid, Kimi Antonelli, who's getting a whole lot of fanfare.) Some of the buzz suggests that Sargeant may be out (this week?) to make room for Antonelli to get seat time in a "Mercedes car" at WIlliams before 2025. Hmmm.... Only kink in the works there is his age, preventing him from getting a super license. We'll see what the FIA has to say about this.

dkmura

iTrader: (64)

Not sure what Mic is saying about Daniel Riccardo (who seems to jump from one hole to another in his F1 career), but between him and just about every female F1 fan who's a rabid fan, it seems clean he's a "fan fav". As for hard luck, I'd say Logan Sargeant is on the other side of the stick. Being named as a Williams driver usually takes a connection (Mercedes?) or a big bucks sponsor. Not sure if Sargeant has either of those, but he is American and he came up through the FIA (F2-F3) ranks. Speaking of which, Danica Patrick had an opportunity to stay in Europe and progress from her FF roots, but elected to come back to the US and star in IndyCar and NASCAR (admittedly, where the $$$ are). Both Patrick and Sargeant are American, which is what apparently qualifies them to be a F1 commentator and driver, respectively

MicVelo

What I said about Ricciardo a couple of posts back...

"Oh, and yeah, sorry Daniel Ricciardo but I think you need to retire. Especially with the lame pencil moustache you're sporting. Laff..... "

So, if being American qualifies them for whatever, why is the Andretti TEAM blacklisted as #11 team. Cuz Toto and his pals say so. Why? "Scared" is my guess. Not the "uncompetitive" reason the "other teams" and the FOM stated. "Pinnacle of Motorsports"? Psh in their greedy politics.

dkmura

iTrader: (64)

Sorry buddy, this thread has become so long, I forgot your earlier comments regarding Danny Ric. But if female F1 fans were polled and had a say, I fear Riccardo would be back with RBR and drinking from his shoe (ick) for years to come...

Your comment on Andretti F1 seems to be more about pure economics. After all, F1 is flush with billions of dollars right now, and the teams are being asked to cut another team in on the action. That's why the vote is pure rubbish! Of course, they're going to make up any reason(s) why they cannot for "sporting reasons" add a quality American team like Andretti F1. Yes, it's self-interest at the heart of this decision.

MicVelo

Yeah, I get the whole Ricciardo attraction by female fans. But if you think about it, I think one of the overall requirements of being an F1 driver has to do with appearances. Laff.... Honestly can't think of a single driver in the series that doesn't have that, ahem, "high aesthetic factor" to appeal to a "broader audience". I mean, I coulda been an F1 driv.... Hahahaaaaaaaahahahahaha!

But yes, the whole Andretti matter is about money (and, as I mentioned, a "fear" by the others that Andretti/GM, being who they are, could very well pose a threat in the new era of engines, etc come 2026+) But the bigger picture as you mention is a "10-way money split is bigger and mo'bettuh than an 11-way split"..

So, recent news is that Williams offered and Alex Albon accepted a contract extension. That's both odd and I guess, good for him. His recent performance shows that he could have been a candidate for one of the second seats at one of the marquee teams (RBR - even though they canned him before, Benz/AMG, a second to Russell, possibly even a second for the new Audi team with what's his name.... the Hulk. Why he accepted the extension so early is a mystery. But good for him either way.

Boy, the silly season started even before the actual racing season did.

dkmura

iTrader: (64)

Good race at the Emilia Romanga (Imola) GP today. While Max won again, he was being hounded by Mclaren's Lando Norris towards the finish. Third was LeClerc in the Ferrari and 3-5th was an entertaining battle all race long. Imola is a beautiful circuit on a beautiful day and I love the high-speed nature of this classic track. It's enough to make you forget about the silly season and enjoy the racing. What say you, Mic?