2024 F1 General Discussion Thread

It’s fairly obvious Lando has been prioritised… the team even confirmed it earlier in the season!

https://www.skysports.com/amp/f1/news/12433/13213291/azerbaijan-gp-mclaren-team-principal-andrea-stella-explains-new-lando-norris-and-oscar-piastri-team-orders

I think puastri will continue to improve next year. It will be only his third season so he won't be a rookie and will begin to reach his potential. But I don't see him dominating Norris or 'owning' the team as one poster put it.

I'd expect a few point between them either way, but wouldn't expect either to win by a big margin.

It’s generous to Norris to ignore the contrasting mentalities. Piastri has shown more composure and I’d say ruthlessness at times. Sure he has not been under the same degree of pressure as Norris but that’s where the 4 years extra experience should have counted.

I think that’s one of the appeals of Piastri. Obviously he’s newer and shinier, people are always looking for the next challenger to Max, but the personality with his racing ability on an upward trajectory as shown by some marquee performances are huge positives. If he finds the consistency, easy to imagine a world which sees him overtake Norris.

Maybe the old adage you have to lose one to win one applies to Norris and he’ll come back stronger.

Hard to call at this stage.

The meaning behind 'you have to lose one to win one' is that loss drives improvement. So we're likely looking at both lando and Oscar improving next year. It's brilliant for mclaren and fans. But I really doubt we'll see a dominance by either driver. Maybe a 10% points margin by the end of the season.

Max won 7 out of the first 10 races, and Lando had a huge stroke of luck in Miami with the safety car timing and Maxs floor being broken. Wasn’t until maybe Austria where you could have considered the McLaren to be significantly dominant, and at that point you basically have to be perfect to dig a championship out from there, which he definitely wasn’t. The title talk was mostly sky relentlessly pushing it.

I think he has a fair bit to do to consider himself a title contender for next year if the car is strong from the start. Needs much better starts, more consistency and improved decision making.

Lewis is DONE with this season...

Stories doing the rounds that General Motors are in "advanced talks" with F1 to get a place on the grid for 2026

Ye got it posted just before me. I was just about to post it too.

That seems to be the largest reason, unbelievably.

I'd imagine there are other factors - Renault have cancelled their engine program (ironically they were contracted to supply Andretti originally so they'd have been committed to 2026 if that deal hadn't been blocked before) and there are rumours about Audi's commitment being shaky, so the sport is on less solid ground now than it was without bringing another manufacturer in.

I've read talk about Trump's election possibly being a factor too, there were already a bunch of right wing US politicians making this a Europe vs US thing and putting pressure on Liberty about it earlier this year so there could be more political push there.

New race director is already making friends amongst the drivers. They asked for a couple of changes after practice and these were actioned by the next day. Track limits extended on turn 4 and the pit lane markings were repainted because of the difficulty in seeing them. Good to see.

I am already getting excited for the next season and there are still two races remaining in this season :)

On the engine front, there is a clause somewhere that says if a new team needs an engine, then the supplier with the fewest teams is obliged to supply the new team if an agreement can't be reached.

In 2026 that means it'll either by Honda (just with Aston Martin) or Audi (themselves), the other engine suppliers all have at least 2: Mercedes with 4 (Mercedes, McLaren, Williams & Alpine), Ferrari with 2 (Ferrari & Haas), RBPT/Ford with 2 (Red Bull & VCARB).

Wonder which manufacturer will be forced to supply them? It's a good thing assuming they can get the engines built, as it means they'll have double the testing of their parts then.

Helmut Marko is quoted as saying that the decision on Perez future will be made in the next couple of weeks.

Reading between the lines, it would seem to suggest that Perez might only be holding on to his seat because of the money he brings into the team. With the failing in the constructors championship Red Bull might be losing out on more money than the considerable sums Perez brings with him. I wonder does Tsunoda or Lawson bring any sponsorship with them.