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

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Comments

  • Registered Users Posts: 3,495 ✭✭✭recyclebin


    That article about VW and Red Bull makes no sense. Why would Honda and Red Bull let VW come in and take the credit for their engine.

    It makes more sense for a collaboration between Red Bull and Williams and maybe long term for Williams to move over to the Red Bull Honda power unit. It gives Red Bull more options for their drivers and more power at the table for future regulations.



  • Registered Users Posts: 3,567 ✭✭✭quokula


    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.



  • Registered Users Posts: 4,395 ✭✭✭Harika


    Red bull would not want to throw millions at an engine development. VW or any other company interested in F1 can take this over without getting into the problems Honda ran into while developing.

    Depending on the next engine generation, they might not change at all or expand the electric part of it.

    The Honda/RB is a good base to start from



  • Registered Users Posts: 11,569 ✭✭✭✭Jordan 199


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




  • Registered Users Posts: 14,606 ✭✭✭✭skipper_G


    Motorsport network conducting another global fan survey, chance for everyone to have their say




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  • Registered Users Posts: 4,395 ✭✭✭Harika


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


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



  • Registered Users Posts: 15,416 ✭✭✭✭AMKC
    Ms


    So will the cars be partially 4 wheel drive from 26 on then?

    Live long and Prosper

    Peace and long life.



  • Registered Users Posts: 11,092 ✭✭✭✭Frank Bullitt


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



  • Registered Users Posts: 3,567 ✭✭✭quokula


    Toto Wolff said they'd only accept that if alignment on various other (unspecified) points is reached. What Mercedes say in public and do in private is rarely related so I think there's a long way to go before this happens, but it will be very good news for the sport if it does.



  • Registered Users Posts: 11,569 ✭✭✭✭Jordan 199


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



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  • Registered Users Posts: 11,379 ✭✭✭✭klose



    Shame Leclerc didn't get to start Monaco after that pole lap, he could have converted it. Leclerc and Gasly could win one yet if the stars align, vettel has been in the right place & right time too twice already so maybe third time lucky for him? Doubtful though.



  • Registered Users Posts: 19,873 ✭✭✭✭El_Duderino 09


    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.



  • Registered Users Posts: 12,752 ✭✭✭✭flazio


    Yeah, one race doesn't make a season. Tsunoda a very strong case in point. I saw the team radio highlights video yesterday and his swear rant on Kubica put me right off him.

    I must say this must have been Ferraris quietest Italian Grand Prix in years (2020 not withstanding) no real media attention around them. I'd say Sainz was smarting a bit seeing the car he dragged to second, and could have challenged for a win if he had "one more lap", getting the win this time out.



  • Registered Users Posts: 3,567 ✭✭✭quokula


    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.



  • Registered Users Posts: 12,752 ✭✭✭✭flazio


    Well, Liberty are American and recently the home of COTA, Texas, passed laws that showed just as much regard for women as any Saudi regime so maybe the country politics won't make any impact.



  • Registered Users Posts: 74 ✭✭Thomhic312


    The Schumacher documentary is now on Netflix.



  • Registered Users Posts: 11,092 ✭✭✭✭Frank Bullitt




  • Registered Users Posts: 21,215 ✭✭✭✭ELM327


    Filed out that survey, very interesting questions.



  • Registered Users Posts: 1,948 ✭✭✭Pen Rua


    Where are you picking this up from? I follow a bunch of reputable journo's & outlets and not one has mentioned this.



  • Registered Users Posts: 11,092 ✭✭✭✭Frank Bullitt


    I hope not, SA are a disgrace on the planet, and their ownership would turn F1 into a joke with races in rubbish areas on rubbish tracks.



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  • Registered Users Posts: 3,567 ✭✭✭quokula


    It's on a lot of second tier websites, but the original source is Roger Benoit who has good contacts and has been pretty accurate in predicting movements in the past.



  • Registered Users Posts: 3,567 ✭✭✭quokula


    Watched the first half at lunchtime. Brought back a lot of memories, it's essential watching for any F1 fan.



  • Registered Users Posts: 3,567 ✭✭✭quokula


    Completed the Schumacher documentary now. There were an awful lot of details and moments I expected to see featured that were glossed over or missed but I guess with a career as incredible as his there was only so much they could fit in.

    It was still a great watch and I teared up on more than a couple of occasions through it. Would thoroughly recommend it.



  • Registered Users Posts: 10,571 ✭✭✭✭Dont be at yourself


    Didn’t think it was great. It glossed over or entirely skipped quite a lot and didn’t really capture his win-at-all-costs drive.

    The part with Mick was quite touching — hard not to root for him.



  • Registered Users Posts: 19,873 ✭✭✭✭El_Duderino 09


    BBC Sport: Aston Martin retain Sebastian Vettel and Lance Stroll for 2022.


    Vettel and Stroll signed for next year. Fair enough. No reason to change and no real options to do so either.



  • Registered Users Posts: 3,567 ✭✭✭quokula


    I called it at the time, as did Christian Horner, that the new slower pitstops the FIA mandated that were supposedly for "safety" but came completely out of the blue in response to a request from Mercedes just after Red Bull had beaten them in a race in large part due to their more efficient pitstops, have proven just the opposite of being safe and have just made mistakes more likely for the most efficient teams who now have to unnaturally and artificially slow themselves down.

    It's now been confirmed, as I thought when watching it live, that the slow pitstop for Verstappen was entirely due to the failure a new process they put in to add an artificial delay between fitting the wheel and taking off in order to comply with the ridiculous new regulation. How ironic it is that something Mercedes forced through under the guise of "safety" almost resulted in their own driver being seriously injured if not for the halo.

    Still, the rule change achieved its real goal and stopped Max stretching his lead in the championship - without it he'd have been second to Ricciardo at worst, with a great shout of winning that race.

    This was only the second race with the new regulation in place, I wonder if we'll see many more botched pitstops, it could become the story of the season.



  • Registered Users Posts: 215 ✭✭Ultimate Gowlbag


    Fair play to Mercedes bringing in a rule that they knew a human would mess up at Red Bull,genius really!!



  • Registered Users Posts: 3,567 ✭✭✭quokula


    I know you think you're being clever with that comment but it was completely predictable, and people did predict it, for example here: https://racer.com/2021/06/25/horner-angry-at-technical-directive-to-slow-f1-pit-stops/

    I predicted it in this thread a few months ago, I'd find the post if I knew how on the new forums.

    Introducing an enforced artificial delay into a pit process that was a well oiled machine previously was always going to increase the probability of errors being made.



  • Registered Users Posts: 7,499 ✭✭✭the_pen_turner


    just think how close russel was to poll . we could have had a williams victory. hollow victory yes but still a victory



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  • Registered Users Posts: 15,416 ✭✭✭✭AMKC
    Ms


    I don't agree with these new pitstop rules either but at least it made the race more exciting and allowed another team to win and not just win but get a 1-2 which was great.

    So I suppose it worked by making the race more exciting.

    Live long and Prosper

    Peace and long life.



This discussion has been closed.
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