Formula 1 2021 - General Discussion Thread (Read 1st post rules)

I didn't look too closely at the stats, but Kubica seemed to do ok for someone parachuted in on Saturday?

He had only done 3 fp1 this season so far plus pre season testing. So not nothing but jumping in at fp3 was a tough ask. He did well. Didn't make a balls of it or anything (he spun on his first lap in one of the practice outings earlier in the season so expectations were low).

Quali was poor compared to Gio (who started a shocking 7th) but the race was surprisingly solid. Fair play to him.

I think Kubica put in a respectable performance considering the circumstances, that track seemed like a proper workout for the drivers, he’ll probably be a bit better at Monza.

I’ve no idea who De Vries is really but I’m happy to see Albon back in anF1 seat.

I'd imagine Williams will loose the Merc perks now. I know Albon was backed by a very big Thai oil company at one stage so he may be bringing that with him again.

I remember hearing they only got money off (not free, somethinglike 50%) the merc engines in Russell's car. So it's not an amazing deal. I'd say they really needed the money for the last few years but Russell himself was probably a sweetener. Now the team might not need the discount so much since they have some new investors.

Not only did he win Formula E but he became Formula E's first WDC although why any of the drivers who won the series before that were not WDC drivers is beyond me. I thought they were.

Bbc said he was the first Dutch WDC in an FIA competition. Beat Max to a WDC. .

It’s a silly technicality, as Formula E wasn’t designated a world championship by the FIA before so the champion wasn’t the world champion in the eyes of the FIA. In reality nothing about the series has changed, it’s just as international as before.

With Albon back, 35% of the drivers on the grid are now Red Bull Academy drivers. Along with two teams and restoring one of the best tracks on the calendar, they really get too little credit for how much they’ve contributed to F1 over the last decade and a half.

They might just be a drinks company but they have never been about anything other than associating their brand with the most exciting action and heroic drivers. They don’t need to sell a message of hybrid efficiency and reliability and all the other things manufacturers have lobbied for that have dragged the sport down in recent years. They’re one of the few serious voices in the sport calling for the next set of regs to bring back the screaming engines that the fans all love.

I’d love to see more teams of this nature invest in the sport (I guess the closest parallel were Benetton) rather than the heavy car manufacturer influence we have today. I hope the departure of Honda doesn’t put them completely out of contention and they can take over the engine program without too many major problems, perhaps it could be a model for the future with completely self sufficient teams who aren’t answerable to a manufacturer - obviously that will only work with far cheaper simpler power units than what we have today though, barring another billionaire like Mateschitz pouring their money into a project.

Max Verstappen going for a spin through the streets of Palermo:

AMuS thinks the new engine formula for 2026 might look like this

no mguh anymore. Interestingly Honda, Porsche and Audi are participating

Seems Merc are good with dropping the MGU-H if it means the VW would join.

Four winning constructors so far this year. Alpine, McLaren, Mercedes and Red Bull.

I just heard Danny Ric's post race radio and he had his "to whom it may concern...." moment. He said "for anyone who thought I'd left, I never left".

It must have been such a great feeling to have such a good weekend and the win is a bit of a bonus, but not a fluke. The mclarens were genuine contenders this weekend. Granted he was never the fastest driver and it required both Mercedes being shuffled behind him for different reasons. But he really deserves credit for his turnaround this season.

We'll have to see if he can maintain the improvement or not. It's not guaranteed that he can match lando from here on.

There's rumours circulating that Liberty Media are looking to offload F1 and are in talks with a Saudi Arabian group.

It would be a shame if it proves true, Liberty have done an amazing job with the parts of the sport they have control over - the rebranding was hugely successful, they've improved the on screen information, brought in new cameras, they've brought in AWS insights, improved ceremonies for things like driver of the day and fastest lap and pitstop, put an end to the extremely outdated and inappropriate use of grid girls, and of course fought tooth and nail to finally get a much needed cost cap into the sport. They also lured Netflix in who were able to use judicious editing and spend time focussing on the interesting battles further down the grid to make the sport much more appealing to new fans who would have been put off by the awful product you generally get from watching Sky.

Unfortunately though there are major aspects of the sport that Liberty don't have control over and haven't been able to penetrate, as the FIA have continued to be utterly useless on every level ever since the departure of Max Mosley, and they have remained completely subservient to the interests of the manufacturers (it was Mosley's attempts to stand up to them that ultimately led to his removal of course). The Saudis are probably a better match for them, they've already got financial ties to some of the worst regimes of that region anyway.