2024 F1 General Discussion Thread

Delighted for Mclaren today. It has been some turn around for them the last few years. They have two very good drivers now and I know I say things I should not. I do not hate them. It will be interesting to see them both racing next year if Piastti continueds to improve and if Lando has learned much from this year.

Mental how long that season was, the drivers get to go off on lovely holidays on private jets and live in the holiday homes for a stint. The mechanics and team members away from the glitz and glam get a well earned break.

Looking forward to Netflix now

And this is it, Ferrari will be as nervous as anyone because Sainz was a match for LeClerc for a lot of the season. It won't be a good look if Leclerc absolutely smashes him every race weekend.

Would you rate Russell?

I’m a big fan of LeClerc and would have him after Verstappen but the gap between a LeClerc, Norris and Russell wouldn’t seem that much. I guess what I’m saying is Russell is probably one of the better drivers on the grid too.

Anyways, I think it was time for a fresh start to see what’s left in the tank. Looks like he got the move right on his end but it’s up in the air whether Ferrari got it right. All could change if one car can come on leaps and bounds like McClaren did but you would hope that won’t happen so far into the regs.

😂 Good oul Stroll, the laughing stock of F1 and his wider family circle no doubt. I wouldn't trust him in a milk float

I wonder how much he actually enjoys F1 these days, he surely knows he’s the most slagged driver for years now and even when Aston was competitive a while back with Alonso racking up multiple podiums Stroll was still nowhere near him in decent machinery. Inedeed when racing point had the “pink Mercedes” 5 or 6 years ago he was pretty decent in that but it was so long ago now he can’t even really point to that for himself. Granted the life of an F1 driver is luxurious and all that but Lance could be enjoying the life outside of F1 anyways, I’d be interested to know Lawrence’s thoughts on it, he’s putting serious money and acquisitions into Aston but lance surely is not the guy for the team to make the next big step, nor a 43 year old Alonso.

We saw what he was capable off a while ago(was that the start of last season 23?) and he's as quick as almost everyone on the grid. I would love it more than anything else if they were as competitive as the top cars, and i think he's still got a world title in him personally.

Teams aren't allowed work on 2026 cars until January next year, I think most teams will likely shift development towards 2026 cars unless there's a close title battle (which, I suspect there will be, the last year of regs usually does, look at 2021)

Max is a lot of people's daddy :)

But does it mean Perez has another 12 years on the grid 🤪

No.

Finished the Senna series on Netflix. It’s grand. Bit cheesy at times and I’m sure it takes plenty of poetic licence but the racing is good. Not as poignant as the docufilm which I might go back and watch.

Obviously safety has come on leaps and bounds and his death would have been less likely but I was thinking, would a race really go ahead in modern times if a driver was to pass away on the Saturday? Pretty sure the F2 race was canceled after Hubert’s accident a few years ago and Bianchi’s was during the race.

Also, many think it was the steering column that failed. Newey obviously had vested interest but doesn’t believe that was it. Just found that interesting albeit makes no difference.