Nah, I know that some teams have swapped mechanics for a race to try and improve second drivers, changed tactics, gone over cars with fine touch combs, but at the end of the day its no conspiracy, some number two drivers just aren’t as good or can’t handle the pressure as well.
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2023 Formula 1 Season thread
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Nah, I know that some teams have swapped mechanics for a race to try and improve second drivers, changed tactics, gone over cars with fine touch combs, but at the end of the day its no conspiracy, some number two drivers just aren’t as good or can’t handle the pressure as well.
This race showed that Toto is unfit for his job.. Sad that Lewis cannot accept this, he knows this to be true, and so does George, they know that Toto just does not have the in built ability to take a risk.. Zak Brown was able to take a risk, logic dictates softs for the end of the race, put Lando on hards, insane.. But correct it turns out...
Lewis could hand pick the best aero/engine/tech from all the teams, and still come 2nd to Lando on the day, in the race under the circumstances at Silverstone, as the only factor Lewis does not have any control over, the bravery of the guy calling the strategy, Sunday showed Toto is not confident to take the gamble... Maybe the reason Lewis does not have more titles is how many times has Toto goofed when a braver strategy would have paid off??
Lewis could hand pick the best aero/engine/tech from all the teams, and still come 2nd to Lando on the day, in the race under the circumstances at Silverstone, as the only factor Lewis does not have any control over, the bravery of the guy calling the strategy, Sunday showed Toto is not confident to take the gamble... Maybe the reason Lewis does not have more titles is how many times has Toto goofed when a braver strategy would have paid off??
Huh! ???
I don't think I've ever heard or read anyone come up with that kind of analysis, it is a bit different. Can't say I agree with a single bit of it though.
What was the difference between Lando 2nd or 3rd? Tyres, he went hards, not softs, had Lando gone the way of softs, he would no question not finished 3rd maybe, not been able to hold off Lewis in the last 10 laps.. With the bold decision to go the way he did, he had better tyres at the end, and not useless tyres...
All I am saying is maybe Toto is unfit to make the decisions that MacLaren made, to go with a very bizarre idea? Maybe he might, but on Sunday, Merc went logic over what??? That cost points... Maybe Lewis would not have 3rd had there been a few more laps, Piastri 3rd?? Just an observation...
All I am saying is maybe Toto is unfit to make the decisions that MacLaren made, to go with a very bizarre idea? Maybe he might, but on Sunday, Merc went logic over what??? That cost points... Maybe Lewis would not have 3rd had there been a few more laps, Piastri 3rd?? Just an observation...
The difference is in the car design not the tyres? It was simply faster in certain sectors, it has the exact same engine as the Mercedes does! But it’s a known fact Mercedes screwed up their car chassis design under the new regs, hence they have taken several months to even get a podium spot back. Whether that’s Toto’s fault or not is another question as he’s not a F1 car designer. Strategy is important yes but you can only do so much with a dead duck design. Did you watch the F1 last year?
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They had to choose hard tyres because the McLaren car gets the heat in the tyres too quickly. They had a good dose of luck with the weather and track conditions and timing. Sure their car was fast, for nearly any other car soft was the right choice.
Indeed, listening to the explanations it seems the Mercedes was catching the McLaren through the slower corners but falling back on the straights. I think Lewis was lucky to hold off Piastri as he deserved a third place finish.
Another point worth mentioning is Mercedes have reappointed James Allison in the last couple of months as Technical Director and moved Mike Elliot to a different technical role. There’s a significant reshuffle behind the scenes and I have no doubt most of the focus is now on 2024 with a smaller team working on upgrades for this season. None of this is Toto’s fault as you say.
No point to this post just thinking out loud. Just my personal take on the teams thus far. No science or expertise behind any of my musings. The numbers speak for themselves.
Mercedes supplies Aston Martin, McLaren*, and Williams and all 3 of those teams seem to have had an uptick in results and performance this season. All 4 teams have scored points with Williams bringing up the rear with 11 but I feel like they may add quite a few points to their total before the season ends.
Ferrari supplies Haas, and Alfa Romeo and Ferrari is really the only consistent performer in that group even though Haas has had some moments and so has Alfa Romeo. But, IMHO, none of these 3 show much promise other than Ferrari itself.
Alpine, or Renault, only have one team and their results, again, IMHO, have been spotty but they have had some decent runs. You'd think with only one team they might have a little more success... no?
Honda, Alpha Tauri. First and last respectively. Funny how far apart these two are.
*Pretty sure this is the first time I've ever spelt McLaren correctly! lol.
Mercedes supplies Aston Martin, McLaren*, and Williams and all 3 of those teams seem to have had an uptick in results and performance this season. All 4 teams have scored points with Williams bringing up the rear with 11 but I feel like they may add quite a few points to their total before the season ends.
Ferrari supplies Haas, and Alfa Romeo and Ferrari is really the only consistent performer in that group even though Haas has had some moments and so has Alfa Romeo. But, IMHO, none of these 3 show much promise other than Ferrari itself.
Alpine, or Renault, only have one team and their results, again, IMHO, have been spotty but they have had some decent runs. You'd think with only one team they might have a little more success... no?
Honda, Alpha Tauri. First and last respectively. Funny how far apart these two are.
*Pretty sure this is the first time I've ever spelt McLaren correctly! lol.
Same engines, same tyres, just goes to show how much the difference in car chassis can make (driver skill as well)
Anybody else heard the rumour that Daniel Ricciardo is replacing Nyck De Vries from the next race in Hungary?
As I noted during the race and others have noted subsequently, the McLaren heats its tires faster than the Red Bull (especially) and Mercedes. As a consequence of that, however, it experiences higher tire degradation because of how hard it works them. Since both McLarens started on Mediums, they had to use either Softs or Hards. Chances are very good they would have "burned up" their Softs quite quickly and would have faded back behind Lewis, George and possibly even Alex. Also, I believe McLaren only had new Hards and used Softs and they wanted new tires to maximize tire life for the stint.
Lewis went onto used Softs because he did not have any new sets left. If he had new Softs, he likely would have been able to challenge more, but his tires faded before the end and that allowed Norris to stay in front and he was probably fortunate that the race ended when it did to prevent Piastri from closing and passing. But if they had put Lewis on new Hards, he'd have definitely been bounced off the podium by Piastri so Softs ended up being the correct choice to keep Lewis on the podium.
That was pretty obvious the moment Marko started talking about his seat being at risk. That is how he signals other driver's management that a seat at RBR or AT is soon to become available.
Checo is going to AT #2 seat, and Daniel is taking RBR #2 seat 🤡
I know you joke, but I do not think either Max or Daniel want to be each other's teammate.
If Daniel is really going into AT, I hope he can bring the engineering feedback that neither Yuki nor Nick could to help them quickly develop the car into something other than the rolling chicane and Red Flag generator it has been this season.
If Daniel is really going into AT, I hope he can bring the engineering feedback that neither Yuki nor Nick could to help them quickly develop the car into something other than the rolling chicane and Red Flag generator it has been this season.
He has been pretty mediocre, but no more so that drivers like Nikita Mazepin and Mick Schumacher who were given much more time with other teams. I think he needed to finish the season personally.
One thing is for sure and that is this is make or break time for Ricciardo. He will be thrilled to have a seat, but he will be competing at the back and will be expected to be matching Tsunoda from the off. His career could be over in F1 if he does not deliver.
Well if what the media are saying is true about the boss being ruthless towards de Vries and the reason for why he was sacked with 'immediate effect', it is basically telling Daniel 'you'll be sacked if you do not perform'. No pressure then lol
Franz Tost is the boss at AT but I'd imagine Helmut made the decision as he is fond of Ricciardo. He is one of the only drivers apart from Vettel, Webber and Coulthard who Helmut hasn't sacked from Red Bull over the years lol.
Mercedes was the dominant engine of the original Turbo Hybrid era and therefore it seems reasonable to presume it is still a very powerful engine, if not still the most-powerful engine. The Honda is clearly no slouch, but aerodynamics is what makes the Red Bull so blisteringly fast. DRS just makes it even more so.
Aston made huge aero leaps in the off-season and I hope they can continue to find more, otherwise their early success will go the way of Brawn in 2009.
McLaren seem to be having their "aero epiphany" now and we saw the improvements at Silverstone.
Williams appears to have traded downforce for raw speed and Albson appears to have the car control talent to wrestle the car into points performances. Sargeant does not appear to be able to do so, but he is a rookie so hopefully as his comfort level and experience grow, he will be able to do more than he has.
Mercedes went down a wrong aero path with their 2023 chassis and they have had to spend effort getting back to a known good baseline, but it looks like they have so now hopefully they can continue development to stay strong through the remainder of the season.
Ferrari is benefitting from their larger development budget (I expect HAAS and Alfa are well under the budget cap, whereas Ferrari would be right up against it).
One chassis and one engine is going to hurt development when you have limited funding (budget cap) and testing opportunities.
Red Bull is where they are because they have Max driving. Yes, the chassis is incredible and the engine is powerful, but Sergio has been floundering. As for Alpha, I think the chassis and engine are much better than their results suggest, but Yuki and Nick just can't come to terms with it for whatever reason. Could be lack of (chassis) development budget (I doubt they are spending anywhere near what Red Bull is) or Nick being a rookie and Yuki being erratic in his performances (he has some highs, but a fair bit more lows) that is not allowing the team to make best use of the testing money and time they do have.
De ja vue? No idea how to spell that one. Be good to see smiley Dan back on the grid. His wealth of experience should help Alpha no end. It’s been great watching the mid fielders nibbling at the front runners. Biggest shock for me this year is Alonso! He’s taken Aston from being mid field to regular podium finishers.
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Really curious how quickly Ricciardo will drive that brick on wheels to a points finish. Though they are getting upgrades in Hungary I believe so not a true comparison. Pretty harsh decision on De Vries but not unexpected.
I think it is a little ridiculous how fast they dropped him but Helmut doesn't like Nyck and so he's out.... And as much as I love Danny Ric there are no guarantees with him in the Alpha since he was unable to do anything in that McLaren.