2024 F1 General Discussion Thread

Jacovs

https://www.boards.ie/discussion/comment/122021346#Comment_122021346

Fair comments.

But if Hamilton's end goal is to win the elusive 8th title, and he didnt see it happening with Merc…

And Verstappen swapping a currently dominating team which handed him his 3 titles and looking like a 4th, for better working environment which might not (and as you point out, the working environment might be down to his family, which would move with him to Merc), dont see it myself. He has said a few times he doesnt see himself staying in F1 for that long, break the title record and get out, and right now RedBull is the quickest path for him to do that and get out.

Like I said, if Merc showed Hamilton something which could give him a more realistic chance at an 8th title then he wouldve stayed, I think. So I completely understand why he moved to Ferrari.

I do not understand why Verstappen would move to Merc though.

omri

I wish they made all cars equal in performance and let the drivers make the difference. Otherwise it makes for a rather boring season again. Not to mention the drivers taking a gamble on switching teams in case their car isnt top performer.

El_Duderino 09

https://www.boards.ie/discussion/comment/122021396#Comment_122021396

One simple possible answer is that Hamilton doesn't have time to build Mercedes back up, Verstappen does.

Hamilton might know he won't win with Mercedes in the next 2 years, so why not roll the dice with Ferrari? Given the prestige of ferrari and the money for his driver programme (which i saw was around $400m. No idea if that's accurate) why not move to ferrari?

I'm sure he'd love to win another drivers title but it's probably not his only priority.

I'd also hope Mercedes would make clear that they want to hire Max, not Jos. That might appeal to Max too.

Jacovs

https://www.boards.ie/discussion/comment/122021437#Comment_122021437

I think I already agreed with you on Hamilton moving to Ferrari making sense.

But Verstappen moving to Merc to build up a team…again, I dont think he wants that. He wants to win, and he wants to keep winning until he gets 8 titles. I dont think taking a break from winning titles for a couple of years to gamble on him building a team up is part of his plans.

Admittedly the new regs in 2026 is an unknown, so could be a deciding factor, but nobody will know which team got it right or wrong until its too late. Staying at Redbull could prove a mistake too.

weisses

https://www.boards.ie/discussion/comment/122021457#Comment_122021457

It is the 2026 season he is looking at.... the massive rule/engine change plus the backing of Daimler benz could make Mercedes a top contender again ... just look back at what happened when the hybrid engine was introduced in 2014.

weisses

https://www.boards.ie/discussion/comment/122021428#Comment_122021428

What you are suggesting would make things boring... what makes F1 interesting is the different concepts and approach to the rules each team is doing.. And it's only a couple of drivers that would even be considered capable of moving teams due to their track record ... other drivers should be gratefull they even have a seat

omri

What youre saying as a concept might make sense, however looking at past few seasons maybe removing RB from the grid would make for an interesting viewing. Otherwise its same old same old each race with the rest of the grid fighting for the minor places.

dulpit

https://www.boards.ie/discussion/comment/122021428#Comment_122021428

They already have this in America…

Captain_Crash

There was that A1 racing a 10 or 15 years ago which was supposed to compete with F1 but all teams used the same car, that died a quick death!

Gamb!t

I dont see Max in F1 long term, doubt he will stick around long enough to get even a 7th title.

Brief_Lives

https://www.boards.ie/discussion/comment/122022247#Comment_122022247

what?

i rarely comment on this thread, it is great to read, but this is a real "what?" comment.

dulpit

https://www.boards.ie/discussion/comment/122022535#Comment_122022535

He's said multiple times that he doesn't plan to race well into his 30s and has indicated that his current Red Bull contract could be his last. Possibly this is all noise from him but it does seem genuine that while he does seem obsessed with racing, he's not that obsessed with F1 itself…

Burkie1203

Williams rumoured to be looking at options to replace Sargeant

Burkie1203

.....

https://twitter.com/there_is_no_if/status/1780576015808450697?t=v7KvQ1bhFlNv9tTE7aBrNQ&s=19

supremenovice

Alonso signing with Aston has begun the musical chairs driver market and they all better get a move on and sort themselves out.

I reckon Checo will win one of the next few races and go knocking on Markos door looking for a deal, and he'll get it for one year. If Antonelli impressed in his test and is a generational talent, then he'll get the Merc seat because Merc get to pay him half nothing for two years while Carlos Sainz will probably (and reasonably) ask for a 3-year €50mil deal, which they will baulk at. After that, where is there a decent drive? I'd be starting to worry if I'm Carlos Sainz.

thefa

https://www.boards.ie/discussion/comment/122035659#Comment_122035659

I’m not as sure the finances would play as big a factor in the decision to go for Antonelli over a driver of Sainz’s calibre because someone like Sainz would be half of what Hamilton was on and Mercedes are not short of funds for the top personnel outside the cost cap.

Probably comes down to Antonelli’s performance, whether they could keep him happy for a couple of years in say a Williams and also outlook on the car’s performance. Saw an article saying Wolff was considering Antonelli more because they are not competing for wins so would be less pressure on him. Will be interesting to see how it plays out but can’t imagine them messing it up like say Alpine with Piastri.

You mention Alonso too. Delighted he got the extension as I still see him as one of best drivers on the grid despite his age.

klose

https://www.boards.ie/discussion/comment/122024555#Comment_122024555

least surprising news of all time, 6/10s off Tsunoda in quali in P20, it’s obviously a poor car and Albon is a quality driver but it’s just awkward seeing the lad out there at times.

Captain_Crash

If anyone is hunting for an F1 merch bargain, was in TKMaxx today and they had a load of 2023 McLaren team shirts for €22.99

Jordan 199

The Miami GP is going to be on a bank holiday weekend. Nice!

dulpit

https://www.boards.ie/discussion/comment/122047370#Comment_122047370

Evening race too, which is the best time for racing.

PsychoPete

Ferrari going for a special blue themed livery for miami

dulpit

They've shown some kit on their Twitter. Looks decent.

https://twitter.com/ScuderiaFerrari/status/1783058673213813137?t=876eM2eDDH_uP1k3iGb2yQ&s=19%20

Jordan 199

Hewlett Packard are to become title sponsor at Ferrari beginning at the Miami GP. Link.

omri

Hope Carlos gets a spot somewhere good, doesnt matter where really as long as they have top3 car. Ferrari is bit daft signing LH as if it was to make them a winning team, the car will, not the driver.

bren2001

https://www.boards.ie/discussion/comment/122057725#Comment_122057725

You can have the best car and not win because the driver isn't capable. Max, Alonso, and LH are the only drivers on the grid that have shown they have the bottle and skill to win a Championship. I don't really see how its daft to get him.

Wanderer78

https://www.boards.ie/discussion/comment/122057725#Comment_122057725

ah tis a combination, it ll be interesting to see hamilton there, but sainz definitely deserves a good seat, hes driving well at the moment

El_Duderino 09

https://www.boards.ie/discussion/comment/122057725#Comment_122057725

Ferrari isn't a clever racing team. But it's got a different motivation for being in F1 to everyone else. It's a car manufacture whose only big form of advertising is motorsport. They don't do conventional advertising (but the probably pay for product placement and so on).

Hamilton is a major advertising advantage because of his status in the sport. In other words, it's not just a sporting decision.

flazio

https://www.boards.ie/discussion/comment/122057725#Comment_122057725

Fred Vassuer was a big part of Lewis's junior career so the reunion might just work. Men like Fernando Alonso and Carlos Sainz senior are showing that age is just a number. There is a strong chance this could work out for Hamilton, maybe not all the way to title number 8, but certainly a few more pole positions and some race wins. Mercedes's last World Champion is actually Nyck DeVries.

Theboinkmaster

https://www.boards.ie/discussion/comment/122057752#Comment_122057752

Exactly - the existence of Stroll on the grid proves that. and to a lesser extent Yuki - big sponsorship draw.

Frank Bullitt

https://www.boards.ie/discussion/comment/122057752#Comment_122057752

I'd argue that the sporting decision was way down the list. If they were concerned about who might win them a title, they wouldn't have let Sainz go in the first place.