2024 F1 General Discussion Thread

should be interesting to see how he gets on there, he probably needs it, think the sport does to, nice way to end his career, nice few quid to, so happy days…..

If Max was in the Horner camp, and his father doing his best to unseat Horner, surely Max would have quietly removed Jos from the picture. He didn't do that and basically supported Jos in his position.

You could therefore only conclude that Max is not Horners No 1 fan.

I think you need to check your math because you point only adds to my argument.

Jos Doesn't run the team. Horner does yet Jos is in there trying his best to get rid of horner and at best upset the team, at worst destroy it and max allows Jos to continue attending gp etc so how does that suggest that max is in the Horner camp

I think Mercedes would benefit from signing Carlos Sainz a lot more than some of their other options, Just in his team Radio in race conversations he has shown to be very good at feedback and strategy discussion . He is decent as Qualifying as well. He has already driven Mercedes power and has a wealth of experience, not all with the current car rules but he has driven Renault, Mercedes and Ferrari powered cars and throw in all the Different Aero teams and experience. he has driven very well with all those teams also.

Actually Any team would benefit . Taking his time is probably the right thing to do.

it is not that Audi Sauber shouldn't be taken serious , but when you look at the signings on a techinal side Aston have been making , Audi probably need to be more public with that as it would add to the enticement if they did want him.

Willams have done some of this in showing their new roles recently . The have shown some flashes of progress but it never seems to get comfortable into the top 10 like any where from 7-9th place for like 2 or three races in a row .

Apline on the other hand "Flavio some how returned" , and rumors moving away from their own Factory engine , very strange. Oddly The Car seems fine some weekends . Gasly can be quick but I don't believe you can develop a car with him.

Ocon to Haas , I thought that was a done deal even not but he will probably do ok there as he has done with Alpine.Despite the over blown hate he recieved after Monaco in all the teams he as been in he has a decent set of results

Ricciardo for me has never recovered since leaving Redbull . It is like he can only drive one type of Car . He was still competitive enough with Renault but he was coming from a Renault powered Redbull , then moved to Mclaren & Mercedes engine didn't seem to suit him despite the one win . and the same now under Honda power. It may not be a factor but it always seemed that way to me .

There is substantial evidence suggesting that the Red Bull power unit will not work out. Horner currently appears vulnerable after the challenges he faced earlier this spring. The decision to sign Sergio Perez appears to have been impulsive, likely aimed at appeasing the Verstappen camp and retaining Perez, who supported Horner during the recent scandal. It’s evident that Perez’s tenure with Red Bull will likely end sometime before 2025, which could impact Horner’s credibility. Without Adrian Newey’s expertise, and a competitive power unit, Max Verstappen will consider a move to Mercedes if their 2024 car shows promise in the medium term. Verstappen’s recent statements about potentially leaving Formula 1 are a strategic media tactic rather than a genuine intention. In any case, teams lacking a proper OEM power unit face significant challenges in 2025. Mercedes is likely to regain its status as the top team. Ferrari also has potential, but my bet would be on Mercedes and Aston Martin Honda emerging as the leading teams under the new regulations. The Verstappen camp is undoubtedly aware of this and I think Verstappen will announce a Mercedes move very soon.

I think a lot of teams and drivers are waiting to see what Verstappen does. If there are 3 teams with equal cars, that changes everything. Mercedes won't sign Sainz because they know if their car is good in the medium term, they can get Verstappen from Red Bull. Mercedes needs a World Champion in that car and I don't see Russell ever being that driver, as good as he is. Also, Russell doesn't sell tshirts like Lewis does. They might move him on in for Antonelli in 2026/2027. Sainz probably still sees a chance of jumping in a Red Bull for 2025 so I'd be very surprised if any driver apart from Ocon and Bottas signs a contract before the summer break. I'd be hoping for the following shake up for 2025.

2025

Red Bull - Sainz, Riccardo (change with Lawson mid-season if he's useless)

Mercedes - Verstappen, Russell

Williams - Bottas, Albon

Haas - Ocon, Bearman

Sauber - Hulk, Perez?

RB - Yuki, Lawson

Ferrari - Lewis, LeClerc

McLaren - Norris, Piastri

AM - Alonso, Stroll

Alpine - Gasly, Doohan

I'd say that Red Bull is on a knife edge to maximise performance at the moment and Perez can't handle it.

I don't think George would work well with Verstappen but they might suffer it for a year or two if it means getting Verstappen. Sainz is a good stop gap for any team who is loosing a top tier driver but I think he needs to be in a high pressure team like Red Bull to do well. Mercedes are rebuilding and I don't see Sainz being part of that. I don't think anyone expected the Red Bull to start falling off so I think that changes everything in the drivers market this year.

Where is this “substantial evidence”? Haven’t seen any…nope, none. Are you sure you just don’t wish that to be the truth? 😉

As for the rest, Max has talked about retirement long before the Horner stuff, he has made no secrets of his love for other racing series. Red Bull are more than Adrian Newey as well, hence the team resigning lots of the senior technical staff, even Max himself pointed out that it’s not just down to Newey.

What significant challenges are ahead for 2025? The engines and units don’t change until 2026…

Hate to break it to you, Mercedes aren’t the top team in F1 now, Red Bull are, and have been since the last rule change. You are saying Mercedes will get the next rule change right? Based off what? They’ve only just managed to get on top of these rules after 3 seasons. I’ll agreed though that AM/Honda could be an outlier. But you’re writing off Red Bull because you want to, you’ve nothing at all to back that up, nothing.

You think Max will announce very soon? Good luck with that, want to put an actual timeframe on that?

I'll put a timeframe on it - Between September 2024 to June 2025. Anywhere in that timeframe, he'll be announced. Whether it be racing for 2025, or 2026

Where did i mention anything about Jos? You said, Horner pretty much owns Redbull. The fact you came out with such a statement leads me to believe you don;t really know what your talking about.

Anyway, Max will be gone, whether you like it or not. His da hates Horner. Max will have detested that scandal at the start of the year and the fact that Newey has jmuped ship is more than enough to suggest that Max as soon as he wins yet another WC will be out the door!!!(Although that depends on how Toto sells next years car to him)

Got my posters mixed up on the Jos thing, was on the phone. My bad.

As for my statement, Horner is integral to the RBR operation, and has full backing from the Thai group. In business terms that is a solid position to be in, so I think I know what I am talking about.

Anyway, Max will be gone, whether you like it or not. His da hates Horner. Max will have detested that scandal at the start of the year and the fact that Newey has jmuped ship is more than enough to suggest that Max as soon as he wins yet another WC will be out the door!!!(Although that depends on how Toto sells next years car to him)

Whether I like it or not…because you know for sure, do you? Max probably didn't love the scandal, but it has boiled over now, and he is winning the championship, he also knows well how RBR operate and that Newey wasn't solely responsible for the cars over the past few years, they have Pierre Wache and Paul Monaghan signed up for the next while. How you think that as soon as he wins his next title he will be out…explain that one to me.

Toto also is courting Antonelli, who he sees as the next big thing. He doesn't want another Verstappen to slip through his fingers like he did before.

I have said on a number of occasions that i know as much as anyone else here, which is SFA only an opinion.

Which i have stated he'll either be at Merc in 2025 or if not then, 2026 for sure imo

I thought there was some breaking f1 news with all the replies

Toto DOES NOT need to court Antonelli. Antonelli works/drives for Mercedes. They have first pick!!!

And you can point to the fact that Max has a contract until 2028, everyday until we get to 2028. You have no idea what caluses are in that contract.