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Lol. Any one of those rumours from a vaguely credible source??
One very credible source posted this and it's exploded today!...
[i][Albert Fabrega] I don't want to believe this rumor that I've been told in the paddock. No.[/i]
And $255m of Aston Shares traded today today. 🤔
...it'll probably be nothing though!
[i]Lol. Any one of those rumours from a vaguely credible source?? [/i]
From STW. What more credibility do you need?
BTW One advantage of knowing Max will win everything is that when I heard that he had won because I was too slow to turn the radio off, it didn't spoil the race so I watched it anyway and enjoyed it. Norris was very impressive
For a no blame culture, it does look a lot like Merc have decided to blame Mike Elliot for their problems.
Alpine will probably snap him up - tell him he's got 3 years to turn them into a winning team - then sack him after a year when they're not winning every race! 🙂
But the reality is if they'd admitted defeat with zero-pods and started this season with a 'Red Bull' style car they'd probably be winning races by now. Red Bull have been let off and got another head-start on next seasons car.
Thinking about the reasons for Aston Martin's precipitous change in form, is it as simple as they copied Red Bull, which made them best of the rest at the start of the season, but because they copied rather then innovated they had poor understanding why it worked so have not been able to develop the car? Hence, everyone else was able to catch up and then overtake them?
Team leader shows his true colours
I think we've known from Brazil last year what Max thinks about Sergio's efforts to score points haven't we?
shermer75
Free MemberThinking about the reasons for Aston Martin’s precipitous change in form, is it as simple as they copied Red Bull, which made them best of the rest at the start of the season, but because they copied rather then innovated they had poor understanding why it worked so have not been able to develop the car? Hence, everyone else was able to catch up and then overtake them?
Yes and possibly they were also affected by one/both of the TDs? Most assumed Merc pushed for those to hobble Red Bull, but it could just as well have been Ferrari/Aston in their crosshairs.
I think Aston Martin just got lucky - they've only just moved into their new factory and weren't even planning to get podiums just yet. There was probably an Alonso bounce too.
And it's better to focus on 2024 with the new tools at their disposal.
They need to hoof Stroll Jnr out of the 2nd car though - a steady good number 2 who can develop the car would be a better fit.
Team leader shows his true colours
I'm not a big fan of Max's approach, his driving skill is up there with Senna, Alonso, Hamilton, etc. but he comes across as a petulant child a lot of the time. In this case though, I think he's right. Perez is driving one of the most dominant cars ever seen and it's really up to him whether he can finish second.
I read somewhere that Aston used what knowledge Dan Fallows brought from RB to get the RB clone built but his knowledge had then expired and they dont know what to do to upgrade it.
thols2
I’m not a big fan of Max’s approach, his driving skill is up there with Senna, Alonso, Hamilton, etc. but he comes across as a petulant child a lot of the time. In this case though, I think he’s right. Perez is driving one of the most dominant cars ever seen and it’s really up to him whether he can finish second.
Thing is, as much as we love to focus on the drivers and WDC, ultimately it is a team sport, the drivers championship is already won. Now just do your ****ing job and help Perez secure second if that's what the team wants.
A few things Max has said have made me wonder if he's going to retire quite soon and that he just wants to ace absolutely everything on his way out, balls to everything else.
Thinking about the reasons for Aston Martin’s precipitous change in form, is it as simple as they copied Red Bull, which made them best of the rest at the start of the season, but because they copied rather then innovated they had poor understanding why it worked so have not been able to develop the car?
Yeah, that's an obvious thing to believe. I suspect it's more a case that AM just don't have the resources (including personnel and institutional culture) to investigate the range of possibilities that the new cars provide. McLaren, Merc, and Ferrari all went wrong at the start of this year but seem to have learned a lot and overtaken AM. My guess is that those teams are just much more experienced at developing cars and have the personnel and infrastructure to develop their current car while also designing next year's.
A few things Max has said have made me wonder if he’s going to retire quite soon
It's the same with LH and Alonso - they have the best job in the world and will keep at it as long as they have a slight chance of winning races. Even if Red Bull totally fail to produce a competitive car for the new rules, every team on the grid would love to have him. I expect him to to stay around for at least another 10 years.
Stroll 3rd on the grid....bet he doesn't finish 3rd 😂
Qualy was cut short though!! 😳😳
https://twitter.com/f1multiviewer/status/1720537438123360437?s=46&t=EQoHg-RGok071Fjc15ZHKw
Stroll 3rd on the grid….bet he doesn’t finish 3rd 😂
Posted 16 hours ago
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the-muffin-man
Full Member
Qualy was cut short though!! 😳😳
To be fair he'd been showing great pace in Q1 and Q2 as well
That was the most frustrating qualifying I've seen for a while! Norris had a very realistic chance at pole there. I can't help thinking that if they had started on time, we would have seen Max beaten for pole on genuine merit
Great to see Lando on pole, even if it is just for a sprint race!
Oops Leclerc
Albon's car is a bit 2nd hand
…not sure that’ll buff out!
And great start from Lando - can we dream!? 🤔
Did anyone see the Channel 4 coverage yesterday? They did it all from a studio in the UK somewhere, I'm guessing saving the money it takes to fly everyone to Brazil?
Well - Mercedes are going to be slaughtered in Vegas with that long straight. 😬😬
Love him or hate him Alonso is entertaining! Great last few laps there
He’s the master defender isn’t he! And then a send on the last lap to ruin Perez’s day again!
Merc are lost, totally lost. Toto is getting exposed as the man that lucked in on Ross Brawn's legacy and rode it until it ran out of steam.
RickDraper
Free Member
Merc are lost, totally lost. Toto is getting exposed as the man that lucked in on Ross Brawn’s legacy and rode it until it ran out of steam.
It's frustrating and toto has questions to answer, im sure. But they'll still be a top 3 constructor this year.
Clearly the W14 is tricky to set up, often it works for one driver not the other, or it works on one tyre not the other, etc.
Sprint weekends are especially difficult with the lack of free practice sessions before Parc ferme (shite rule anyway). Perhaps they were also being overly cautious about ride-height following the USGP.
One complaint I do have with merc though is their pitstops. They are almost always slower than their competitors by a decent margin. Chucking away seven tenths or more most stops. Been like that for ages as well.
Merc are lost, totally lost.
They're currently second in the constructor's championship. At the start of the year, Aston Martin looked like the nearest competitor to Red Bull and McLaren looked utterly lost. Now things are the other way around. No, Merc aren't dominating the way they used to, but their bad season is still better than everyone else except Red Bull.
Last weekend in Mexico and in Austin Mercs floor was declared amazing, "we have sorted the car", this weekend "the floor is the issue". Which one is it? Thats a team still struggling to understand the new cars after almost 2 years! They spent 18 months flip flopping on car concept, claiming that the zero pod car was looking good and it was setup changes they needed. Toto said the new design of car after they dropped the zero pod showed better results and they had struck a rich vein of development. I have yet to see any of it materialise.
Merc were picking up points well in the first half of the season, since the midpoint they would have been 3rd or 4th with Ferrari. On yesterdays showing they aren't even as fast as Aston again who rolled back the development of the car a few steps. Hell even Alpine who lack 20bhp apparently passed them on the straight!
Merc are lost, totally lost
I think that's maybe a bit OTT but I think it does highlight that on a sprint weekend, Merc really struggle to get the car performing well without the 3 hours of practice they'd normally get, and that the W14 although an improvement on the W13 is still a very hard car to set up and drive to the limit, even for drivers as talented as Hamilton and Russel.
Thats a team still struggling to understand the new cars after almost 2 years!
Thing is, it's more like 4 years if you add the time they were working on the concept before the 2022 season.
Only McLaren seem to have a handle on ground effect now, the others are all inconsistent.
Hamilton - do an Alonso and take a sabatical? Pop Albon in that seat and let him take the pain for the next 2 seasons.
Russell - just looks gaunt and shell-shocked in interviews. 2 seasons in Williams with promise of Jam Tomorrow - now looking like the pot of jam has been put on the top shelf out of reach.
Well – Mercedes are going to be slaughtered in Vegas with that long straight. 😬😬
It might depend on the degradation - they compromised everything to get the tyres to not fall apart this weekend. Next weekend will be cooler, lower and with a smoother surface.
Complaints about Mercedes performance have to seen against Verstappens ability. If it was two drivers of Perez's skill driving the red Bulls then both Hamilton and Russell would have a lot more points and the gap in both drivers and constructors championships would be much closer.
Did anyone see the Channel 4 coverage yesterday? They did it all from a studio in the UK somewhere, I’m guessing saving the money it takes to fly everyone to Brazil?<br /><br />
They were only going from Mexico.
He’s the master defender isn’t he! And then a send on the last lap to ruin Perez’s day again!
So not just a master defender. Alonso is a great racer.
Hamilton – do an Alonso and take a sabatical
According to various media sites (and here) there have been reports that Hamilton was on the cusp of retirement for about the past 5 years. There have been a few key staff changes at merc since the zero sidepod concept was shown to be a dud (twice) so I think toto is doing his bit to enable the team to start closing the gap to rbr. Now those new appointments need to do their job to deliver the car that the team has been wanting for over the past couple of years.
As for C4 broadcasting from a shed in biggin hill, at least it makes a change from red bull HQ where they've been in the past. I was wondering if the well known personal security issues in Sao Paulo meant it's not worth the hassle of sending a full crew for a late night highlights show with all the titles wrapped up.
was wondering if the well known personal security issues in Sao Paulo meant it’s not worth the hassle of sending a full crew
Ahh, I'd forgotten about that! Do you think that's the reason?
.
Fingers crossed that this lives up to the potential.
Red Bull academy driver in "bullying other cars off the track" shocker
That surely needs a lengthy ban
P20
Full MemberThat surely needs a lengthy ban
Yeah, ignoring black flags as well, what a prat. Sounds like Ticktum mk 2.
Video of the initial move on here https://www.reddit.com/r/F1FeederSeries/comments/17tm647/spanish_f4_rbj_enzo_deligny_forcing_his/
Hard to see Red Bull keeping him on.
If he has the money it doesn't matter, Maldonado was banned for his antics at Monaco, he still got to F1 and raced there.
It would be interesting to know what his team was telling him to do
It reminds me of when Jean Alesi ran out of fuel after ignoring his team's instructions to pit. I guess their emotions just get the better of them and they ignore the guy on the radio screaming, "Pit now, pit now!"
"That surely needs a lengthy ban"
That's a bit harsh, he's only saying he despises Red Bull's driver development programme! There's plenty more hate for all things Red Bull shown on here. Bet there's some nice people benefitted from the various stuff Red Bull do. 🥴
I think the ‘lengthy ban’ comment relates to the F4 driver’s dangerous move and subsequent ignoring of penalty and black flags! It was crazy dangerous…
🙄. I missed off the 🥴 face. FFS.
Renderings of 2026 car revealed...
https://www.auto-motor-und-sport.de/formel-1/f1-auto-2026-reglement-technik-bilder/
[img] 
[/img]
Summary of the changes from Tobi
Looks nice a nice evolution, the focus on in-wash should improve ability to follow.
Smaller wheels is an interesting change.
I'd really like to see the detail on active aero too.
richmtb
Full MemberSmaller wheels is an interesting change.
I’d really like to see the detail on active aero too.
earlier in the year they were saying it would be increased downforce outside DRS zones for following cars (so they don't chew their tyres up)
Smaller wheels is an interesting change.
It will save some weight and probably have less effect on the aerodynamics.
@richmtb i found the article i mentioned which explains it a lot better than i do!
In addition it'd be good if they removed DRS entirely, seeing as the cars can now & even more so with the above, follow each other close enough.
I don't mind DRS - sure some of the overtakes are easy, but it at least changes the order. What I'd like is more battery deployment to allow tactical racing. When these two are used well (Alonso vs Perez) it's really exciting.
But it could have been even better without DRS maybe. Some photos show the Redbull pushes more airflow outside its rear tyres than other cars, making its wake wide, it might make it one of the easiest cars to overtake if there were no DRS. But as per the tweet it looks like there's more moveable aero, the FIA clearly aren't listening to me. 🙂
Anyone watch the Brawn Docu? Admittedly I was tired and perhaps not on top form, but the 1st episode was a bit crap? Just all over the place, trying to stuff as much drama in as possible, all at once? And whilst Keanu is obviously enthusiastic, his career as an interviewer isn’t gonna take off on the back of this.
A lot of this
Not watching the Brawn doc, but not watching anything this week. Feels like F1 is even more of a circus this week in Vegas ☹️
Just all over the place, trying to stuff as much drama in as possible, all at once? And whilst Keanu is obviously enthusiastic, his career as an interviewer isn’t gonna take off on the back of this.
Remember, we all already know the story. Its made for Americans to understand.
(Tongue in cheek comment... or is it?!)
Really enjoyed episode 1 of the Brawn docu. It is a bit scattergun at the start but it's trying to capture the whole thing to pull people in to the story that don't have any previous interest in F1. I'd forgotten most of what I did know and so it's a great reminder as well as offering a load of new insight - and this is only the first episode. Looking forward to watching the rest.
Oh and on the subject of DRS - the sooner that **** leaves he sport the better. This isn't Mariokart.
Feels like F1 is even more of a circus this week in Vegas
I've seen Max's comments on this (and the double header logistics) and for once I applaud him for talking straight and not pandering to the "show".
I quite enjoyed it, they've managed to hook up an impressive list of people for interviews. Like everyone here though, we're not the target audience. Although I had forgotten that they weren't the only team a double diffuser on the go
mashr
Although I had forgotten that they weren’t the only team a double diffuser on the go
I'm not sure I ever knew that anyone else had a double diffuser. It was always called THE double diffuser as if Brawn were unique - they obviously had got more right than just that.
Although I had forgotten that they weren’t the only team a double diffuser on the go
Toyota & Williams also iirc?
Toyota & Williams also iirc?
Yup
I used to live in Brackley, and can remember locally the impact that Honda withdrawing had. The overhead shots of the factory, made to look dramatic made me giggle a bit if I'm honest, and I can't imagine that Mr Reeves was massively impressed with ending up at a small unremarkable south Midlands town to do a bit of filming opposite the Tesco...
But still, quite funny watching the other team managers going from "Awww, lets help the under-dog" to "Shit, quick, how do we stop them?"
I've got a little bit of respect for Verstappen here – he's clearly not happy about the razzmatazz surrounding the Vegas GP and isn't playing along with the media circus.
Verstappen is Dutch, do not ask a Dutch person any question to which you're not prepared to hear a honest answer