2024 Formula 1 Season thread

[The-Real-Deal82]

If McLaren does throw Oscar to the wolves, they best start looking for who will drive for them alongside Lando in 2026 as I do not see Oscar accepting a "second driver" role Ala the Schumacher Years at Ferrari and the Verstappen Years at Red Bull.

Doubly so if Lando ends up not winning the WDC this year and Piastri drops to 5th in the WDC behind Sainz. That is going to do wonders for their 2025 campaign...

It depends I suppose if they operate as a team or two teams much like they tried in 2007 and walked away with nothing. Not an easy decision to make but they've got no chance of catching Max if they let them race competitively at this point. They are in a unique situation in comparison to Red Bull and the past Mercedes pairing where one driver isn't significantly better than the other and that is difficult to manage if both drivers are young. McLaren have at least made some tough calls on both drivers in previous races to support the other, which neither have liked.

 

[Glideslope]

If McLaren does throw Oscar to the wolves, they best start looking for who will drive for them alongside Lando in 2026 as I do not see Oscar accepting a "second driver" role Ala the Schumacher Years at Ferrari and the Verstappen Years at Red Bull.

Doubly so if Lando ends up not winning the WDC this year and Piastri drops to 5th in the WDC behind Sainz. That is going to do wonders for their 2025 campaign...

This will be interesting to watch. I've always seen him as a WCC Priority kind of guy. I'm not so sure how vested he is in the WDC.

 

[CWallace]

Another good video from The Race outlining the issues Red Bull has been facing and one that throws some cold water on the claims that Red Bull's issues are primarily driven by losing their "asymmetric braking" trick. It appears the fundamental balance of the car is now gone and the technical team does not know why. They also posit that the loss of Adrian Newey and Rob Marshall may mean that Red Bull no longer has two of their most important experts available to help them identify and mitigate these balance problems. Red Bull are also seeing inconsistencies between their wind tunnel data and actual track data and considering they have the least amount of wind tunnel allocation, this is hampering development. Red Bull has been running in-weekend experiments at Zandvoort and Monza with different parts trying to recover this balance.

 

[Apple fanboy]

Another good video from The Race outlining the issues Red Bull has been facing and one that throws some cold water on the claims that Red Bull's issues are primarily driven by losing their "asymmetric braking" trick. It appears the fundamental balance of the car is now gone and the technical team does not know why. They also posit that the loss of Adrian Newey and Rob Marshall may mean that Red Bull no longer has two of their most important experts available to help them identify and mitigate these balance problems. Red Bull are also seeing inconsistencies between their wind tunnel data and actual track data and considering they have the least amount of wind tunnel allocation, this is hampering development. Red Bull has been running in-weekend experiments at Zandvoort and Monza with different parts trying to recover this balance.

The interesting thing about RBR is now they aren’t fastest a number of things are going wrong for them.
They have to try riskier strategies and set ups and hope things work out.
No different to where Mercedes were for the last two years.

Even Max’s pit stop was slow.

What a shame!

 

[The-Real-Deal82]

Another good video from The Race outlining the issues Red Bull has been facing and one that throws some cold water on the claims that Red Bull's issues are primarily driven by losing their "asymmetric braking" trick. It appears the fundamental balance of the car is now gone and the technical team does not know why. They also posit that the loss of Adrian Newey and Rob Marshall may mean that Red Bull no longer has two of their most important experts available to help them identify and mitigate these balance problems. Red Bull are also seeing inconsistencies between their wind tunnel data and actual track data and considering they have the least amount of wind tunnel allocation, this is hampering development. Red Bull has been running in-weekend experiments at Zandvoort and Monza with different parts trying to recover this balance.

With Newey leaving he’ll be literally barred from all technical meetings linked with development now and on select projects, if he isn’t on gardening leave already. It has made watching more exciting though, we now have a potential for 4 teams to be challenging for wins as opposed to one team winning 19 races in a single season. I’m not complaining.

 

[Apple fanboy]

With Newey leaving he’ll be literally barred from all technical meetings linked with development now and on select projects, if he isn’t on gardening leave already. It has made watching more exciting though, we now have a potential for 4 teams to be challenging for wins as opposed to one team winning 19 races in a single season. I’m not complaining.

Absolutely! This season has gone from a borefest to essentially viewing.

 

[pachyderm]

Also, LeClerc put in a performance I didn't believe he was capable of!

I'm impressed.

 

[Glideslope]

Another good video from The Race outlining the issues Red Bull has been facing and one that throws some cold water on the claims that Red Bull's issues are primarily driven by losing their "asymmetric braking" trick. It appears the fundamental balance of the car is now gone and the technical team does not know why. They also posit that the loss of Adrian Newey and Rob Marshall may mean that Red Bull no longer has two of their most important experts available to help them identify and mitigate these balance problems. Red Bull are also seeing inconsistencies between their wind tunnel data and actual track data and considering they have the least amount of wind tunnel allocation, this is hampering development. Red Bull has been running in-weekend experiments at Zandvoort and Monza with different parts trying to recover this balance.

Agree completely with this article.

 

[m..]

This season is reminding me a bit of 2009 where Jenson Button and Brawn were running away with it at the beginning of the season but were unable to develop the car as much as the other teams who came back at them. But they held on to win and I expect Verstappen to do so this year.
I'm not so sure about Redbull, the CFD restrictions don't help but they are not as constrained with resources as Brawn were. So they might figure out their problems eventually.

The middle of this season has been so much better than the last couple, hopefully it continues like this.

 

[pachyderm]

And now I don't have espn because of a spat between them and AT&T... ?

So that might be my last Gp for a while. lol

Actually, I guess it's a spat between diznee and AT&T ...

 

[cyb3rdud3]

Oh no. That’s not good.

 

[pachyderm]

Oh no. That’s not good.

Actually, I guess it's a spat between diznee and AT&T ...

 

[pachyderm]

This season is reminding me a bit of 2009 where Jenson Button and Brawn were running away with it at the beginning of the season but were unable to develop the car as much as the other teams who came back at them. But they held on to win and I expect Verstappen to do so this year.
I'm not so sure about Redbull, the CFD restrictions don't help but they are not as constrained with resources as Brawn were. So they might figure out their problems eventually.

The middle of this season has been so much better than the last couple, hopefully it continues like this.

The way I see it playing out is a really tight battle for 2nd and 3rd place between Norris and LeClerc with Max scoring just enough to win the title.

Which I guess is pretty obvious...? lol

Might we see a Constructor win the WCC from one team and a driver win the WDC from another team...?

Papaya Rules:

“Papaya rules are it’s your team mate; race him hard, race him clean, don’t touch, that happened. It was an aggressive pass so that’s a conversation we’ll have, that was a bit nerve wracking on pit wall but it’s really just respect your team mate.
"Lando got a bad run out of that corner as well so it would have been nice to see them run one-two a bit longer. They didn’t touch, it was an aggressive pass but a clean pass....

But he remained firm in his assessment that McLaren don’t prioritise one driver over the other.
“They are both young drivers who want to win, we have always believed in having two number ones, that’s always been McLaren’s way, it can be difficult to manage – we’ve seen it with Senna and Prost.
“They get along great, they do race each other clean and it’s philosophical – are you a one-car team or a two-car team? The easiest thing would have been for Lando to just run away with it, and then not have to put difficult decisions on pit wall but Andrea [Stella] and I are taking it one race at a time.” - Zak Brown
From F1.com


Full article...

Brown opens up on ‘papaya rules’ and team orders debate

Zak Brown has opened up on the meaning behind 'papaya rules' after Monza reignited the debate over whether team orders are needed at McLaren. Lando Norris and Oscar Piastri went wheel to wheel on the opening lap of the Italian Grand Prix, with the Australian managing to barge his way past...

www.formula1.com

Let's ask David Coulthard about that...

 

[CWallace]

While not formally stating they will favor Norris over Piastri, Andrea Stella has said that McLaren will more closely monitor the WDC projections during a race and may be willing to favor Norris over Piastri if it can improve Norris' ability to catch Verstappen.

McLaren drop major hint on ‘papaya rule’ change after Italian GP battle

McLaren "want to give it a go" at the Drivers' Championship with Lando Norris, which could see their 'papaya rules' of engagement evolve.

www.planetf1.com

 

[The-Real-Deal82]

While not formally stating they will favor Norris over Piastri, Andrea Stella has said that McLaren will more closely monitor the WDC projections during a race and may be willing to favor Norris over Piastri if it can improve Norris' ability to catch Verstappen.

McLaren drop major hint on ‘papaya rule’ change after Italian GP battle

McLaren "want to give it a go" at the Drivers' Championship with Lando Norris, which could see their 'papaya rules' of engagement evolve.

www.planetf1.com

It makes sense to at least try and fight for the WDC seeing as there is only 60 odd points in it with Lando and Max with 8 races left. They are less likely to win it if both drivers are taking points off each other.

 

[CWallace]

Adrian Newey could be announced at Aston Martin during the Baku weekend: https://www.motorsport.com/f1/news/neweys-move-to-aston-martin-set-to-be-made-public/10650940/

 

[Glideslope]

Adrian Newey could be announced at Aston Martin during the Baku weekend: https://www.motorsport.com/f1/news/neweys-move-to-aston-martin-set-to-be-made-public/10650940/

AMR just announced a Press Conference for Tuesday 9-10. It will be Newey’s arrival at the team.

 

[CWallace]

Looks like McLaren and Mercedes have mastered the "flexi-wing" better than Red Bull and Ferrari.

The FIA ruled two days ago that the front wings on all cars are legal.

 

[Apple fanboy]

Looks like McLaren and Mercedes have mastered the "flexi-wing" better than Red Bull and Ferrari.

The FIA ruled two days ago that the front wings on all cars are legal.

Thank goodness. If they didn’t we would be back to the RB and Max show I’m sure.

 

[JustinePaula]

Why not let the old man retire? Let some hot snot 25 yr PHD have a go.. A bit tired of old men doing what should be done by the next gen.. Old drivers, old engineers that grew up on fax machines and beige HP 386 computers.. F1 is about technology, really Newey is old and worn out.. He can consult, maybe that is the problem F1 has, old tired worn out seniors on staff.. F1 is a business, not a retirement home...

 

[The-Real-Deal82]

Why not let the old man retire? Let some hot snot 25 yr PHD have a go.. A bit tired of old men doing what should be done by the next gen.. Old drivers, old engineers that grew up on fax machines and beige HP 386 computers.. F1 is about technology, really Newey is old and worn out.. He can consult, maybe that is the problem F1 has, old tired worn out seniors on staff.. F1 is a business, not a retirement home...

Fishing rod out folks or is that tongue firmly in the cheek again? Feels like deja vu as you didn't win this argument last time around.

 

[pachyderm]

So, do we think that had Lando gotten out in front he'd had built up a pretty decent gap?

 

[Apple fanboy]

So, do we think that had Lando gotten out in front he'd had built up a pretty decent gap?

If he’d been out front with his teammate second (instructed not to overtake) he’d have been able to win comfortably imo.

 

[CWallace]

So, do we think that had Lando gotten out in front he'd had built up a pretty decent gap?

Maybe. Depends on if he could have undercut / overcut LeClerc on his second stop to stay ahead of him.

 

[Apple fanboy]

Maybe. Depends on if he could have undercut / overcut LeClerc on his second stop to stay ahead of him.

Leclerc would have been well back as Piastri could have slowed him down in the bends very easily if running second place.