New regulations new season....
Can redbull keep up the pace
Giovinazzi? He's having a miserable time of it in Formula E.
Albon staying at Williams next year and rumours on SM that Logan Sargeant will be his team mate
Mick S won't renew with FDA and is off to replace Seb at AM
Haas would need to recruit. Have Ferrari got anyone to place there .....
Probably because he's 24, not 35. Nonsense comparison.
I agree with Karun on that one.
Saw that. Herbert is a pain, he's like a walking embodiment of Brexit for one.
Also, clear as day that the relationship between Mercedes and Red Bull last year was in the toilet. Of course this year is going to be more enjoyable.
People forget about the fact that a piece actually fell off Vettel's front wing shortly before he went off at that Hockenheim race too - he was on a tricky wet track, with an unexpected change in aero balance in the car coming into that corner relative to other laps which led to him going off. Ever the team player, he always shielded Ferrari and took blame for everything but that crash was as much down to a car failure as it was down to him. The media tore him to shreds after that of course, because he was pantomime villain of the month for the UK media, following Rosberg and before Verstappen. And Ferrari did him no favours either as they always throw their drivers under the bus to cover for the team's failings, all of which led to him being put under impossible pressure in the closing stages of the season.
The Ferrari had no right to be in the title fight that year and Vettel drove the wheels off the thing against a superior car. Ultimately it wasn't enough but his performances were nothing short of epic. When you have to drive to the absolute limit 100% of the time against a car that can do the same pace when pushing at 95%, you're going to be taking more risks. Ferrari's own investigation into their performance that season actually came to that conclusion, that they didn't provide adequate machinery and Vettel had to push to an unreasonable degree. They also found many operational problems with strategy etc where Vettel often had to dictate decisions from the cockpit in addition to driving on the absolute limit, while the team also came to the conclusion that they cost themselves by never using team orders or tactics to help their number one driver like Mercedes routinely did. This is why Arrivabene was sacked after the season, though Binotto has been no improvement.
It is a different scenario this year, operationally they're still useless but the Ferrari does look very much like the fastest car (and though much has been made of reliability, Charles and Max are currently equal with 2 mechanical DNFs each), while Leclerc's simply made some errors under pressure from a flawless Verstappen, but he's receiving an easy ride from the media (making up phantom throttle problems to try to excuse him for example, or simply descibing it as "another unfortunate DNF from the lead") because Verstappen and Red Bull are still the media's anointed villains as a hangover from the narrative they were pushing last year (see the cringeworthy video of Johnny Herbert above)
Smarmy gobshite head on him, to stupid to even realise the only difference between this year and last in terms of "respect" is one different driver and 1 different team principal.
Herbert really is a grade A clown
Yeah but this is Charles' first title fight. So we don't know if he has the ability to handle the pressure without making mistakes or not. Vettel went from being lightening quick and not making many mistakes, to being not very quick and making loads of mistakes in the last few years.
It would take a lot of wishful thinking to believe vettel hasn't gone way off the boil in the last few years. He's an average driver at best these days. He's better than Stroll but that doesn't mean much.
Good decision to retire
Think Vettel's retirement deserves a thread of it's own to be honest.
I dont believe any of that, sure Charles is making far more mistakes and I don't see people saying he has lost his touch.
Glad Vettel is retiring, racing instincts are long gone and probably should have done after he left Ferrari. Thought the 2018 WC was pretty much there for the taking for him, Hockenheim from that year still sickens me. That one race was pretty much the beginning of the end for Vettel.
Crazy new rear wing on the AM. It’s been deemed legal by the FIA, so you can bet all teams will have a version of it soon.
The concern was that it creates outwash, which is what these rules were intending to avoid.
Lewis loves his fashion and always turns up in mad clothes, can we start taking about Gucci as it would be relevant using your logic?
Completely irrelevant, thanks for the advise though, reported it👍
Classy post from Hamilton on Vettels retirement.
If you've an issue with the post, report it, don't backseat mod. And it's completely on topic given Vettle's stance on global warming
Mods can we move these comments into a different, relevant forum. Completely off topic.
I said nothing was on fire, back to you. Don't dodge a simple question now.
You said
"What do you see out the window that is wildly different from any time in your living memory?"
I'd answer yes, in my near 50 years on this planet' it is vastly different, and there's the science to back to up. Do you dispute the science of climate change?
I think the truth is nobody actually misses drivers in this situation. He's past his peak, putting in pretty poor performances most weeks, usually beating Lance Stroll. There's not a lot to miss anymore.
Who actually misses Kimi this year? Nobody, I'd bet. He was very poor in the last few years.
Kubica at the time of his accident was different. He had genuine potential. But Vettel left it all on the track and had a very good career. It was a career of two halves but he never let it get as bad as Kimi so i admire him for not holding on.
The old make way for the young. That's the natural order.
I'm going to miss Vettel. His win for Toro Rosso in the rain at Monza in 2008 was a joy to watch, and I've enjoyed watching him ever since. As a Ferrari fan it would have been perfect if he'd managed to win a championship for Maranello, but four world championships is an exceptional record all the same. I know some people don't like his activism, but he's one of the senior members of the grid and he's using that position to campaign for things that are important. And let's face it, how many other drivers of his stature would be prepared to clean the stands after a race at Silverstone? He was always a bit serious when he was winning at Red Bull, but as he's aged he's become more pragmatic about his chances of being at the business end and has mellowed out as a result, winning over people who wouldn't necessarily have been fans of his in the past. He will be a loss to the grid, even if his results over the last few years have been average at best, but hopefully he'll stay in the sport in some capacity.
How about you answer the question first. You made a statement as if the garden was on fire outside your window.
Yeah, I'd say they'll bring over a lot of tech from the 919 development
Should be a totally new engine apart from maybe the block, and we are talking about Porsche here, they don't **** about!
Its a bit mad, after the success last year they actually they made a u turn at the last minute which is why there is a HRC logo on the cars. It meant RB powertrains (now Porsche) will get any concessions a new manufacturer is allowed because it will be a totally new supply for 26.
https://www.motorsport.com/f1/news/honda-set-to-extend-direct-red-bull-supply-to-2025/7677145/
In the minority but I can't say I'll miss Vettel on the grid, no doubt a very talented driver but never took a liking to him
Are Porsche starting from scratch or will they be building from the Honda engine? If they're building from scratch then it could be a bumpy start. Unlikely to be as bad as Honda's start but unlikely to be a top engine straight out of the gate.
Honda have continued their supply for RB who rebrand them. Red bull themselves have nothing to do with the current engines and Honda have agreed to continue to "develop" the engines in the restrictive ways the engine freeze allows.
The 2026 rules are going to mean a whole new power unit and RB won't be developing any Honda engines as you stated. They had already started to put the groundwork in putting together RB Powertrains and now have Porsche as a 50% partner in that project. Win win for RB
Besf of luck to Vettel. I have to confess, I enjoyed watching him in the Red Bull winning those WDCs. He was and still is a top class driver. He always seemed like a decent guy too.
I'll miss him on the grid.
Ya, I couldn't figure it out either so just skipped it.
Asks poster not to make such long posts as they are difficult to reply to...proceeds to write a longer post themselves 😅
