2024 Formula 1 Season thread

[Pezimak]

I’m about four races behind currently! Anyway heard the results for this one, just watched Max hit Lewis and thought what an idiot… what was going through Max’s head? He could slow down enough in 5 feet? He’s driving a bit recklessly again now he has to battle again. Well done McLaren although I heard a controversial win…

Still a 4 team battle! Lovely…

 

[pachyderm]

Have to disagree. This was not the 2013 Malaysian Grand Prix or the 2022 Austrian Grand Prix.

Lando threw the win away at the first corner pinching Piastri when he should have been defending against Max and McLaren played the correct strategy call to pit him first to protect his second place instead of letting Piastri have first pit as was his right as race leader, which might have let Max or Lewis push Lando to 3rd.

The only "taint" for me would have been allowing Lando to keep P1.

Again, you're not wrong.

Except for here. Here you're incorrect.

 

[The-Real-Deal82]

IMO, he was in front on pit stops only because McLaren allowed him to pit first. If Oscar had come in first, (IMO) he would have stayed in front.




IMO, Oscar should only feel cheated if Lando had been allowed to win.




Fair enough. I support team orders when they are there to benefit the team, and I believe they did so today for McLaren both in letting Lando pit first to protect a 2nd place finish and in letting Oscar back into a lead he legitimately (IMO) held the entire race until that final pit stop and (IMO) would have continued to hold if McLaren had let him pit first, even if it had meant Lando might have finished third or even off the podium. I wonder how Lando and his fans would be feeling about McLaren strategy if that had been the outcome...

Now the dust has settled I don’t really care. Both McLaren drivers were very professional in their post race interviews and Lando was magnanimous in defeat I thought. I didn’t like his comment to Lewis but I put that down to a misunderstanding and frustration. At least he didn’t chuck a baseball cap at him.

I think Max has a lot to do to repair his image after this race, he was awful on the radio and you could tell his RE was fed up with his moaning. Blaming Lando at T1 on the first lap even though Piastri was blocking the inside, blaming his team for the strategy and not listening about over working the tyres and then the crash into Lewis which he unbelievably blamed on him. His RE knew straight away it was Max’ fault and wasn’t going to lodge a complaint. I think there will be some cross words behind the scenes and Max needs to learn to respect his engineer, it’s shocking he’s allowed to get away with it. It’s been known for engineers to grab drivers by the scruff of the neck for talking to them like that. This is why teams manage drivers not to think they are above everyone else.

Interesting stuff though, plenty to discuss.

 

[cyb3rdud3]

The helmet just likes stirring with his comments or demotivating his drivers with completely unprofessional statements about them to the press. It’s a shame Red Bull lifted his ban on talking to the media so I wouldn’t pay too much attention to his comments about copying. F1 has always been about being the first to find the edge and then copying it. Aston Martin did something similar with Mercedes a few years back.

Just saw a clip of Lando being a bit of a moron in the cool down room. Lewis paid a compliment saying how fast they were and Lando awkwardly bit back saying ‘yeah you had a fast car 7 years ago and made the most of it, now it’s us’. It was like he thought Lewis was moaning or something but he clearly wasn’t. Possibly frustration from his team drama but awkward to watch all the same lol. I get the impression Lando doesn’t like Lewis very much and has made a few comments in recent seasons. Not sure why it is and although I like seeing Lando as a Brit doing well, he can come across as quite arrogant sometimes.

There has been a weird moody atmosphere yesterday as well. Qualifying was odd, non joyous. Today as well with Red Bull, and McLaren, and Russel being silent. Max and Red Bull don't seem to be in a good place. Red Bull making mistakes. And McLaren haven far too much conversation and team orders going on. Alonso was also having issues with his race engineer

It really wasn't a joyous occasion for anyone. The most normal today I found Lewis, who just commented on his battle with Max as just a race incident.

But the oddest of all wasn't Sky doing their usual Max bashing, but Ted from Sky coming to Max's defence on air.

I still don't know what I actually watched.

 

[pachyderm]

Glad Oscar got a win but it’s a hollow one under the circumstances and I’d imagine that’s why he was so subdued on the radio. You never get that moment back and McLaren messed that situation up IMO. Lando is rightfully annoyed and they’ve now got a very tense debrief ahead I think.

Solid race by Lewis, he’s finding his groove again.

McLaren, noooo! lol

 

[headlessmike]

The helmet just likes stirring with his comments or demotivating his drivers with completely unprofessional statements about them to the press. It’s a shame Red Bull lifted his ban on talking to the media so I wouldn’t pay too much attention to his comments about copying. F1 has always been about being the first to find the edge and then copying it. Aston Martin did something similar with Mercedes a few years back.

Just saw a clip of Lando being a bit of a moron in the cool down room. Lewis paid a compliment saying how fast they were and Lando awkwardly bit back saying ‘yeah you had a fast car 7 years ago and made the most of it, now it’s us’. It was like he thought Lewis was moaning or something but he clearly wasn’t. Possibly frustration from his team drama but awkward to watch all the same lol. I get the impression Lando doesn’t like Lewis very much and has made a few comments in recent seasons. Not sure why it is and although I like seeing Lando as a Brit doing well, he can come across as quite arrogant sometimes.

I’ve found Lando to sound like a whiny rich kid more often than not. It's unfortunate because he clearly has talent, but I could see him losing it if Oscar starts outperforming him on a regular basis.

 

[pachyderm]

The helmet just likes stirring with his comments or demotivating his drivers with completely unprofessional statements about them to the press. It’s a shame Red Bull lifted his ban on talking to the media so I wouldn’t pay too much attention to his comments about copying. F1 has always been about being the first to find the edge and then copying it. Aston Martin did something similar with Mercedes a few years back.

Just saw a clip of Lando being a bit of a moron in the cool down room. Lewis paid a compliment saying how fast they were and Lando awkwardly bit back saying ‘yeah you had a fast car 7 years ago and made the most of it, now it’s us’. It was like he thought Lewis was moaning or something but he clearly wasn’t. Possibly frustration from his team drama but awkward to watch all the same lol. I get the impression Lando doesn’t like Lewis very much and has made a few comments in recent seasons. Not sure why it is and although I like seeing Lando as a Brit doing well, he can come across as quite arrogant sometimes.

And he makes so many stupid mistakes... really ironic for h im to behave that way.

And he is the worst off the starting line... just the worst.

Don't get me wrong I'm very happy for Piastri. We've al been waiting for the other shoe to drop on his first win.

I blame the team for this moronic, and unseemly, result. The kid deserves to celebrate his first win but instead it was awkward instead of celebratory...

 

[The-Real-Deal82]

I’ve found Lando to sound like a whiny rich kid more often than not. It's unfortunate because he clearly has talent, but I could see him losing it if Oscar starts outperforming him on a regular basis.

He’d clearly been spoken to before he was interviewed by the media though, he felt hurt by the orders but accepted them as a team decision. That’s the wise thing to do and not continue to complain about it. I like him, but yeah he does come across a bit arrogant at times and hopefully he’ll mature out of that. Making comments about multiple world champions and laughing at their misfortune in the past is not something I admire personally. I’d like to see him turn his talent into a consistent performance and still think he’ll be a champion one day, just needs to work on his PR at times.

 

[cyb3rdud3]

I’ve found Lando to sound like a whiny rich kid more often than not. It's unfortunate because he clearly has talent, but I could see him losing it if Oscar starts outperforming him on a regular basis.

I still think Max is too much in Lando's head, and he looses out by just wanting to beat him. He'll have to grow out of that.

That first corner was just a racing incident, and in my opinion it was actually Oscar at the root cause for it. He was going so wide that there was barely room left for Landon, and with Lando nowhere to go, Max ended up with nowhere to go.

 

[pachyderm]

As for the WDC, Max exits Hungary with a three DNF lead. Max can DNF the next three races and Lando can win all three and he will still be a point behind (not counting Fastest Lap points). The seven points Lando "gave up" today will likely make no difference to the WDC in the end - Lando will either win by a larger margin or he will lose by a larger margin.

And speaking of the WDC and CC, think how the team and driver dynamics would be if it became apparent that it was a free for all each race and team orders and decisions meant nothing. We saw how the relationship between Vettel and Webber disintegrate after "Multi-21" in Malaysia 2013 and Horner and Marko going "sucks to be you, Mark" after it happened poisoned that team as both drivers and their staff adopted an "us or them" attitude where they put themselves and not the team first for the rest of the season and Red Bull never saw another WDC until 2021.

And let us not forget Mark is Piastri's manager. Screwing over Piastri in Hungary like Red Bull screwed over Webber in Malaysia would not do them any favors come the next contract negotiation if McLaren wants to re-sign Piastri.

So you still think 8 points won't matter?

 

[Pezimak]

I’ve found Lando to sound like a whiny rich kid more often than not. It's unfortunate because he clearly has talent, but I could see him losing it if Oscar starts outperforming him on a regular basis.

He’s only been like that rarely. Usually Lando is pretty down to earth I think. And he and Oscar both have talent and are fast and now have very fast cars under them which they both get and can perform in.

 

[pachyderm]

I still think Max is too much in Lando's head, and he looses out by just wanting to beat him. He'll have to grow out of that.

That first corner was just a racing incident, and in my opinion it was actually Oscar at the root cause for it. He was going so wide that there was barely room left for Landon, and with Lando nowhere to go, Max ended up with nowhere to go.

If Lando gets off the line ontime it might not have been an issue. Does he suffer from ADHD?

Seriously I told you guys he/the team would make a mess of it. And yes, I root for him as well ...lol

 

[cyb3rdud3]

He’s only been like that rarely. Usually Lando is pretty down to earth I think. And he and Oscar both have talent and are fast and now have very fast cars under them which they both get and can perform in.

Lando has a special sense of humour that, I think, is misunderstood by some people. It is why he and Max get along so well. And Martin Garrix as well. My guess would be that he gets that from his mothers' heritage. I recognise it well, having lived for 28 years in the UK. And I'm recognising it with my daughters here in the UK as well. Once people recognise it, and can put it into context, it is pretty wonderful.

Oscar doesn't have that, or doesn't bring that out, but I'm not surprised with his background and people around him.

 

[CWallace]

I think Max has a lot to do to repair his image after this race, he was awful on the radio and you could tell his RE was fed up with his moaning.

I also found it a bit cheeky to say "so we can just run people off the track with no penalty?" after T1 and then promptly run Lewis off the track to protect his position.

 

[CWallace]

Again, you're not wrong.

Except for here. Here you're incorrect.

Honestly interested why you feel it was poor strategy on McLarem's part. I believe they pitted Lando first (with the expectation he would hand the lead back to Piastri after his later stop) to protect against a possible undercut/overcut by Max for second place.

(Lewis had burned his Hards and was not going to pit again, so I think only Max was the threat).

So you still think 8 points won't matter?

I believe that if Lando loses the WDC, it will be by a margin larger than 8 points (actually 7, since Russell ended up with Fastest Lap).

 

[Apple fanboy]

A good race. But such a shame that an amazing 1-2 is overshadowed by all this BS.
Ultimately this is why Max will win this year. Mercedes, McLaren and Ferrari split their lead cars depending on god knows what. Where as RBR only have one winner. Plus those three teams chasing will split results between them. Hands the WC to Max. Maybe not to RBR though.

McLaren clearly have the fastest car right now. But unless they throw everything behind Lando, they are conceding points unnecessarily.

Yes it might not make a difference in the end. But imagine Lando being runner up by 5 points? He gave away a 6 second lead. I don’t think I’d have been so kind hearted. I know Max wouldn’t have!

 

[CWallace]

Ultimately this is why Max will win this year. Mercedes, McLaren and Ferrari split their lead cars depending on god knows what. Where as RBR only have one winner.

Honestly, I am okay with that.

A Formula One where every #1 driver is always given preferential treatment in any situation and the team actively works against every #2 to promote the #1 during a race would quickly sour me to the sport. I do not want to go into a race expecting a "Multi-21" or a "Fernando is faster than you / Let Michael pass you to the line on the final lap, Rubens" call or where the team "forgets" to bring out a tire at a pit stop for the #2 so the #1 can pass them on track.

And again, I do not believe the above happened here. If I had to posit a corollary (even if a flawed one), it is more like Australia 1998 where Coulthard and Häkkinen agreed whomever led at the first corner would win if they were 1-2 at the finish.

In the end, I am in agreement with someone on another F1 thread on another server: "Meanwhile, if I'm Lando, I think I'd spend more time wondering why it is I get so many poles yet end up not in P1 at the end of the first lap so many times..."

 

[cyb3rdud3]

Honestly, I am okay with that.

A Formula One where every #1 driver is always given preferential treatment in any situation and the team actively works against every #2 to promote the #1 during a race would quickly sour me to the sport. I do not want to go into a race expecting a "Multi-21" or a "Fernando is faster than you / Let Michael pass you to the line on the final lap, Rubens" call or where the team "forgets" to bring out a tire at a pit stop for the #2 so the #1 can pass them on track.

And again, I do not believe the above happened here. If I had to posit a corollary (even if a flawed one), it is more like Australia 1998 where Coulthard and Häkkinen agreed whomever led at the first corner would win if they were 1-2 at the finish.

In the end, I am in agreement with someone on another F1 thread on another server: "Meanwhile, if I'm Lando, I think I'd spend more time wondering why it is I get so many poles yet end up not in P1 at the end of the first lap so many times..."

Because he is so busy with Max and forgets everyone else. Oscar is smarter in that sense. Well that is my take on it anyway.

 

[Apple fanboy]

Honestly, I am okay with that.

A Formula One where every #1 driver is always given preferential treatment in any situation and the team actively works against every #2 to promote the #1 during a race would quickly sour me to the sport. I do not want to go into a race expecting a "Multi-21" or a "Fernando is faster than you / Let Michael pass you to the line on the final lap, Rubens" call or where the team "forgets" to bring out a tire at a pit stop for the #2 so the #1 can pass them on track.

And again, I do not believe the above happened here. If I had to posit a corollary (even if a flawed one), it is more like Australia 1998 where Coulthard and Häkkinen agreed whomever led at the first corner would win if they were 1-2 at the finish.

In the end, I am in agreement with someone on another F1 thread on another server: "Meanwhile, if I'm Lando, I think I'd spend more time wondering why it is I get so many poles yet end up not in P1 at the end of the first lap so many times..."

I agree that letting team orders dictate the order can get old quickly. But Lando is the number two to Max in the WC. McLaren have to choose when to back their (more often than not) lead driver.

I like both McLaren drivers as well as them being my favourite team. But I'm probably a bit bias towards Lando as he is British.

Mind you when Lewis paid them a compliment, he pretty quickly snapped at him in the cool down room. But he was just lashing out at somebody he could rather than those he was really angry with.

Looking forward to Spa. But its such a great track I always do!

 

[The-Real-Deal82]

I also found it a bit cheeky to say "so we can just run people off the track with no penalty?" after T1 and then promptly run Lewis off the track to protect his position.

It’s always different when someone else does it for him I suppose. Last time he was actually fighting for a championship he was making passes up the inside and going far too deep regularly. Lewis often had to leave the track with him to avoid contact and I’m glad he’s not doing that anymore. The contact is what needs to happen for the stewards to act, regardless of who it is IMO.

 

[The-Real-Deal82]

Mind you when Lewis paid them a compliment, he pretty quickly snapped at him in the cool down room. But he was just lashing out at somebody he could rather than those he was really angry with.

Looking forward to Spa. But its such a great track I always do!

I’d imagine Lando will apologise once he watches that back as it was very uncalled for and awkward. Lewis handled it well though but is a lot older and wiser at this point.

 

[cyb3rdud3]

Stewarts have decided no further action against Max. Just as Lewis already commented and I mentioned earlier. It’s seen as a racing incident.

 

[Apple fanboy]

I’d imagine Lando will apologise once he watches that back as it was very uncalled for and awkward. Lewis handled it well though but is a lot older and wiser at this point.

True age can help in those circumstances (well normally).

 

[CWallace]

I agree that letting team orders dictate the order can get old quickly. But Lando is the number two to Max in the WC. McLaren have to choose when to back their (more often than not) lead driver.

I admit anything can happen and there are 286 points left on hand so the WDC is certainly not decided at this point.

And I understand how people can feel this is yet another example of McLaren messing up their strategy by not favoring Lando at the moment. But Piastri is "only" 40 points behind Lando with 286 left to play. What if Piastri goes on a tear and outscores Lando at the end, yet loses to Max by 6 points? IMO, what McLaren did today was hedge their bets by keeping both drivers in contention for the WDC longer. And if it is true that McLaren has a policy of the driver leading at the final pit stop gets to stay in the lead, this strategy makes sense.

Mind you when Lewis paid them a compliment, he pretty quickly snapped at him in the cool down room. But he was just lashing out at somebody he could rather than those he was really angry with.

Lando seems to wear his heart on his sleeve in the heat of the moment. We saw that in Austria and we see it here. As The-Real-Deal82 noted, as long as Lando doesn't carry a grudge and once he is calmer deals with it professionally, then I see no problem and that passion could serve him well in his career.

 

[CWallace]

I fully admit I would feel different if Lando was 75 points ahead and Piastri was 8th in the championship instead of four points out of 4th. Eventually, Lando or Piastri will likely build a solid enough lead that the team throws all their effort behind one or the other and the "loser" will hopefully accept this and work for the team's and "winning" driver's benefit. And yes, maybe if Lando and Piastri continue to "steal" points off each other that makes Max's job easier and perhaps costs them a WDC. But from what I heard from Stella today, McLaren would rather have two drivers willing to fairly challenge each other and the field for the WDC than anoint one of them "the chosen one" and force the other in a pure support role.

I mean, let's be honest. Does anyone really believe McLaren would have been able to secure Piastri (or Lando, for that matter) if they had been told "we will have a clear Number One and Number Two driver that will be determined based on early season performance and once that is determined, the Number Two will be expected to support the Number One's run for the WDC going forward".