2024 F1 General Discussion Thread

Given that Marko has now gained more influence in the team I have a feeling Yuki is going to be promoted ..

That should be the end of Perez finally. So poor yesterday yet again.

he does take good photos

Alsonso defending the back of Verstappen in a Red Bull? I'd give up watching to be honest. Max a lap in the distance as Alonso keeps everyone at a safe distance behind!

I think ricciardo liking simular setup to max is going to be his saviour. He has done f all this year to justify getting into the redbull but I certainly think he can do more than perez. No doubt Lawson would do better than perez too but there is a question mark over a rookie maybe binning it a few times over half a season.

The sensible money is on ricciardo for half a season and retire him after if not getting the job done. Not much to lose for redbull as they have lost the constructors unless they can get car no 2 near the front.

Carlos Sainz to Williams just confirmed.

I do hope this rebuilding at Williams continues for Carlos, he deserves it.

finally the missing appendix of Williams …I missing piece of williams 2025

Sauber Audi with Hulkenberg and Bottas is a decent pairing given the careers both drivers have had.

In starting out it is probably better to have all the experience in the seats , having Bottas still there familiar with everyone in the team makes the most sense .

On track, Williams have only gone backwards since James Vowles took over. I know he keeps talking a big game about rebuilding and the media love him, but there has been zero genuine evidence that his rebuilding is actually going to bear any fruit.

They've failed to even turn up with adequate parts to field two cars at some events. This was blamed on legacy systems rather than Vowles of course, but they always managed with those legacy systems before. Meanwhile in the standings they've fallen well behind teams like Haas and RB who they had been much more competitive with in previous seasons and they currently only stand ahead of Sauber, who will be expecting a big Audi boost in the coming years.

I hope I'm wrong but it seems like a terrible place for a driver of Sainz's talent to end up. It seems like madness that he hasn't ended up in that Mercedes seat as he has the talent to mount a championship challenge in that car. The team will struggle a lot more if they're depending on Russell to be a team leader alongside a rookie who still hasn't exactly set the world on fire in F2.

Cannot understand how Sainz hasn't ended up at Merc. Seemed like a simple match to make. Antonelli is 17, leave him in F2. A driver as good as Sainz being at a team as bad as Williams is disastrous. Even Alpine would have been better.

4 or 5 years ago williams missed first 2 days of testing because the production planning was awful. Isn't that why Paddy Lowe got the chop??

Vowles is undoing probably a lot of years of bad practice. Williams have made strides forward in last few years but it's taken McLaren what, 12 years to get back competitive.....

On track, Williams have only gone backwards since James Vowles took over.

Vowles took over last year. In 2022 they finished last with 8 points. Last year they finished 7th with 28 points.

Ehhh, Williams have been getting better since he took over. They were absolutely nowhere, and I mean nowhere, a few years ago. He has transformed how the factory operates, and they have been pretty open about how that has impacted the expected performance on the track.

They are also tiny compared to other teams in terms of their operations, the factory is old. The legacy systems and processes in place are indeed why they were/are still a bit behind. That has to be fixed in order for the on track results to come.

I think you might be a bit unfair on Vowels in particular, but he is showing his worth and knowledge.

This video goes into the details of it all.

Congratulations to McLaren for securing their first Constructors championship since 1998

Well if that's the case it shows that the team are in inner turmoil of the powers within. Looks like to many chiefs.