Formula 1 2018: General Discussion Thread

Inviere

Harika wrote: »

Alonso has big announcement tomorrow. Could be everything from indy car to kimoa sale.

Not expecting much from Fernando other than retiring from F1 unfortunately. Would absolutely kill to have him fighting Lewis & Seb for the championship, but alas, he has burned all of his bridges, and now stands alone

Harika

Inviere wrote: »

Not expecting much from Fernando other than retiring from F1 unfortunately. Would absolutely kill to have him fighting Lewis & Seb for the championship, but alas, he has burned all of his bridges, and now stands alone

Makes no sense for him to stay in F1 for the sake of it. I would be highly disappointed in him if he extended his mclaren contract to stay in F1.

ayux4rj6zql2ph

Kimi Raikkonen looks set for a 2 year extension with Ferrari.

He’ll be 41 at the end of it.

Delighted he appears to be staying.

I wonder how much influence Vettel had.

https://www.gpblog.com/en/news/18878/breaking-raikkonen-set-to-extend-ferrari-contract-.html

ayux4rj6zql2ph

Harika wrote: »

Makes no sense for him to stay in F1 for the sake of it. I would be highly disappointed in him if he extended his mclaren contract to stay in F1.

Carlos Sainz & Vandoorne/Norris next season then

Charlie-Bravo

Where is George Russell going to end up being a Merc driver and the seats already confirmed for next year. Between him and Norris, the two of them should be in F1 next year. Just wondering which Merc-engine seat will be available for him. I'd say Markelov will have to wait another year before a Renault-engined seat becomes available (who has Renault engines next years?!?).

skipper_G

astrofluff wrote: »

Where is George Russell going to end up being a Merc driver and the seats already confirmed for next year. Between him and Norris, the two of them should be in F1 next year. Just wondering which Merc-engine seat will be available for him. I'd say Markelov will have to wait another year before a Renault-engined seat becomes available (who has Renault engines next years?!?).

I've watched plenty of both drivers, imo Russell is ready now, he's clinical, quick and has a good racing head. He's good enough for F1, the problem for Mercedes is they need seats for Ocon and Russell as there's no guarantee of Ocon staying at Force India. Williams is the obvious choice but only space for one along with Sirotkin.

Norris is naturally gifted, he has shown flashes of brilliance but isn't the finished product yet, sometimes it feels like he's driving only on instinct and he needs to be a bit more cerebral for F1. I can see Russell winning the F2 title and Norris staying put for another season as a more likely outcome than Norris winning it.

vectra

Prisoner 6753 wrote: »

Kimi Raikkonen looks set for a 2 year extension with Ferrari.

He’ll be 41 at the end of it.

Delighted he appears to be staying.

I wonder how much influence Vettel had.

https://www.gpblog.com/en/news/18878/breaking-raikkonen-set-to-extend-ferrari-contract-.html

Delighted for him,
What I heard was the 2 years extension has the second year at the discretion of Ferrari if they want to keep him or not.

AMKC

So is today the day that Alonso decides to retire from Formula 1? Will be a sad day if it is but I can not see him sticking around with Mclaren racing at the back for another couple of years and he has nowhere else to go in F1. Indy car and WEC awaits I think.

ayux4rj6zql2ph

AMKC wrote: »

So is today the day that Alonso decides to retire from Formula 1? Will be a sad day if it is but I can not see him sticking around with Mclaren racing at the back for another couple of years and he has nowhere else to go in F1. Indy car and WEC awaits I think.

Funny how Alonso, the driver of car #14 picks August 14th to make such an announcement.

Adamocovic

Some surprisingly refreshing quotes from Charles Leclerc. I know he has already won me over and I'm bias but everything he is saying and doing is just furthering my opinion of him.

Charles Leclerc reckons Sauber's "huge" progress this season has looked even bigger than it is because it took him a few races to get comfortable in Formula 1.

"I think we made it look bigger than it was, even though it's huge," said Leclerc of the team's progress.
"At the first race I was just not driving well, so obviously the performance was less good than it should have been because of me.
"Then from Baku until now the progress that we see is mostly because of the car, and because we progress with the car.

"So, this is definitely still a big step.

https://www.autosport.com/f1/news/138008/leclerc-made-sauber-progress-look-even-bigger

When I've become so used to seeing drivers playing the blame game and trying to off-load it all to other factors it's nice to see a driver taking responsibility and putting it down to his own performance rather than the cars performance.

I remember in an earlier race when he had a problem even over the microphone he was blaming himself and said he made a "stupid" mistake. I think he demands the best not only from the people who work with him and the car, but also himself. It's nice to see him highlight when he's not happy with own performance and looking to improve on it rather than look for an excuse with the car as the issue.

Harika

https://twitter.com/IndyCar/status/1029027811464499201

Hints strongly at Indycar and imo also his best option. Win there, win the Indy500. Then Daytona 500, Bathurst 1000, Nürburgring, Daytona 24 hours.

skipper_G

Adamocovic wrote: »

Some surprisingly refreshing quotes from Charles Leclerc. I know he has already won me over and I'm bias but everything he is saying and doing is just furthering my opinion of him.



https://www.autosport.com/f1/news/138008/leclerc-made-sauber-progress-look-even-bigger

When I've become so used to seeing drivers playing the blame game and trying to off-load it all to other factors it's nice to see a driver taking responsibility and putting it down to his own performance rather than the cars performance.

I remember in an earlier race when he had a problem even over the microphone he was blaming himself and said he made a "stupid" mistake. I think he demands the best not only from the people who work with him and the car, but also himself. It's nice to see him highlight when he's not happy with own performance and looking to improve on it rather than look for an excuse with the car as the issue.

I'm totally with you, I've not been as excited by a driver since Alonso burst on the scene. His attitude is top class, of course that will be tested when he eventually gets his chance in red but I'm excited to see how he handles it.

ayux4rj6zql2ph

Harika wrote: »

https://twitter.com/IndyCar/status/1029027811464499201

Hints strongly at Indycar and imo also his best option. Win there, win the Indy500. Then Daytona 500, Bathurst 1000, Nürburgring, Daytona 24 hours.

I take it he is in America if that is what they are asking?

You're the top dog around here for this stuff, what is your prediction?

ayux4rj6zql2ph

skipper_G wrote: »

I'm totally with you, I've not been as excited by a driver since Alonso burst on the scene. His attitude is top class, of course that will be tested when he eventually gets his chance in red but I'm excited to see how he handles it.

Hard to gauge who is better at this stage of their careers, Leclerc (2018) or Alonso (2001).

The only way we would have ever really known was if Leclerc drove this years Williams to compare.

Adamocovic

Harika wrote: »

https://twitter.com/IndyCar/status/1029027811464499201

Hints strongly at Indycar and imo also his best option. Win there, win the Indy500. Then Daytona 500, Bathurst 1000, Nürburgring, Daytona 24 hours.

Makes sense too. Can see him focusing all his time now on completing the Triple Crown.

Inviere

Adamocovic wrote: »

Makes sense too. Can see him focusing all his time now on completing the Triple Crown.

He should too. He's arguably wasted the last 5-6 years in F1. Time to move on, there's nowhere else to go in F1. The triple crown, awaits.

Harika

https://www.gpfans.com/en/articles/2276/no-race-wins-for-ricciardo-in-2019/

So Ricciardo was sold not to fight for the WDC until 2021. Really curious bet now on the next years who will perform better, RB or Renault.

ayux4rj6zql2ph

Harika wrote: »

https://www.gpfans.com/en/articles/2276/no-race-wins-for-ricciardo-in-2019/

So Ricciardo was sold not to fight for the WDC until 2021. Really curious bet now on the next years who will perform better, RB or Renault.

I think it would be an embarrassment for Ricciardo next season if Red Bull score podiums next year and he doesn’t.

Jordan 199

Prisoner 6753 wrote: »

I think it would be an embarrassment for Ricciardo next season if Red Bull score podiums next year and he doesn’t.

I think Danny will visit the podium next year.

Adamocovic

Harika wrote: »

https://www.gpfans.com/en/articles/2276/no-race-wins-for-ricciardo-in-2019/

So Ricciardo was sold not to fight for the WDC until 2021. Really curious bet now on the next years who will perform better, RB or Renault.

Well Renault say the aim is to be winning races in 2020 (hopefully) and WDC competitors in 2021. I think most of us all thought this already. Merc and Ferrari are walking it this year, and I imagine they will be a good bit ahead of Red Bull again next year. With Renault next in line there goal next year should be closing out the gap with Red Bull.

I see the logic in Ricciardo's thinking. A key point is they say he was sold a role as team building member. In his mind he is probably thinking if it goes to plan by 2021 they will have a car that can compete for a World Championship, he will be an important member of the team and still young at 32. Perfect chance to win a Championship.

I think a big factor was him wanting a change and getting out of Red Bull. Quite clear they are looking at Verstappen as the main man so maybe so I can see why the idea of him being a key figure in building a team to championship level appealed to him.

Adamocovic

Prisoner 6753 wrote: »

I think it would be an embarrassment for Ricciardo next season if Red Bull score podiums next year and he doesn’t.

Considering the fact Renault haven't been on the podium as a constructor since 2011 if Ricciardo manages to make the podium a couple of times next season it has to be seen as very promising signs of their improvements.

This year already they are leaps and bounds ahead of the last number of seasons. They have more top 10 finishes this season with 9 races to go than the 2016 and 2017 seasons combined.

ayux4rj6zql2ph

Adamocovic wrote: »

Considering the fact Renault haven't been on the podium as a constructor since 2011 if Ricciardo manages to make the podium a couple of times next season it has to be seen as very promising signs of their improvements.

This year already they are leaps and bounds ahead of the last number of seasons. They have more top 10 finishes this season with 9 races to go than the 2016 and 2017 seasons combined.

Would you exclude the Lotus-Renault years?

Since their official return as a manufacturer/team owner in 2016 the only driver to have driven for them with a podium is Kevin Magnussen (Australia 2014).

Hulkenberg with a pole position at Brazil 2010 being the other major highlight.

Palmer was just not good enough and he won’t return.

vectra

Two-time world champion Fernando Alonso has announced he will not race in Formula 1 in the 2019 season.

https://www.motorsport.com/f1/news/alonso-will-not-race-in-formula-1-in-2019/3158671/?nrt=54

Charlie-Bravo

It's all happening now...Alonso looks to be heading for Indycar in 2019!!**


**all but confirmed!

https://www.planetf1.com/news/alonso-to-leave-f1-at-the-end-of-this-season/

ayux4rj6zql2ph

Sainz and Vandoorne* for McLaren in 2019 with Norris as test driver I expect.

*If this does happen it will only be because of Alonso leaving.

Inviere

Sounds like when/if McLaren ever get their **** together he'd be open to coming back too.

El_Duderino 09

Prisoner 6753 wrote: »

Harika wrote: »

https://www.gpfans.com/en/articles/2276/no-race-wins-for-ricciardo-in-2019/

So Ricciardo was sold not to fight for the WDC until 2021. Really curious bet now on the next years who will perform better, RB or Renault.

I think it would be an embarrassment for Ricciardo next season if Red Bull score podiums next year and he doesn’t.

Not really. He knew max would get preference so he wouldn't be given the equipment to win the WDC and he can't get a seat at mercedes or Ferrari. So he's hedging his bets. Realistically he won't win the WDC for the next 2 years at least.

He'll stay at Renault for 2 years until he has the choice to either sign with Renault Ferrari or mercedes. It makes sense TBF.

ayux4rj6zql2ph

El_Duderino 09 wrote: »

Not really. He knew max would get preference so he wouldn't be given the equipment to win the WDC and he can't get a seat at mercedes or Ferrari. So he's hedging his bets. Realistically he won't win the WDC for the next 2 years at least.

He'll stay at Renault for 2 years until he has the choice to either sign with Renault Ferrari or mercedes. It makes sense TBF.

I was coming from the perspective that Hinda are yet to score a podium since their return and Renault are also in that position.

But I do expect one or both of those teams to put that issue to rest next year if they make gains over the winter.

I'm already looking forward to Winter testing based on the changes so far.
First time since 2002 that Alonso won't compete in an F1 season.

Jordan 199

Inviere wrote: »

Sounds like when/if McLaren ever get their **** together he'd be open to coming back too.

I don't see him returning at all.

Harika

Prisoner 6753 wrote: »

Sainz and Vandoorne* for McLaren in 2019 with Norris as test driver I expect.

*If this does happen it will only be because of Alonso leaving.

Sounds reasonable as McLaren have changed everything and two new drivers might be overkill. Next year(s) will be rebuild time, so no need to throw in more stress.