I think Vettel got rusty while basically maing up the numbers behind the runaway Mercs ('14-'16).
Whomever was hoping for Albon slapping Verstappen around... go check out the F1 eSports race from Brazil. Pretty scintilating stuff between Albon and Leclerc. Watching the Drive to Survive episode on Albon (plus seeing him perform last year) really has me pulling for him too.
I think Vettel benefited a little too much from having a dominant car and never had to fine-tune his skills behind the wheel of the Red Bull. Seeing how he stumbled the first year of the hybrids showed this. I don't think his championships came from being the fastest driver on the grid.
It's going to be very easy to cheer for Norris, Albon and Leclerc. I don't know how well Albon will do against Max, especially in a team that has a VERY clear #1 driver, but here's hoping. If Alonso shows up, he's either going to have to be the driver everyone claims he is or it will be another question of "will they fire that toxic ass before the end of the season or not?".
When speaking of Fernando, we need to define what makes a good driver. In F1, it is far, far more than being able to get the most out of a lap on any given day. Lewis and Michael take whats given them, motivate their teams, develop the cars, explain wha the car needs to be better, and probably a hundred more small things. Fernando bitches about stuff. I don't think he is much of a race car driver, myself.
These days, you need to be able to multitask as you control an incredibly complex machine. Even the rate at which you depress the accelerator to do the pre-start burnout matters - too fast and you engage the batteries instead of just the ICE, which leaves you with less charge than the guy beside you. We really saw that at the intro of the hybrid era, when some drivers were able to get on top of the job immediately and some struggled. Red Bull probably showed the biggest delta between their drivers.
Tire management is a big part of it as well. Remember how Kimi dragged that Lotus up to the front over and over again by just keeping the tires alive? It's not sexy, but if you can maintain pace longer than the other guys you'll beat them.
There's also the ability to consider the long game. Not just the next lap, but the whole race or even the whole season. We've seen that with Lewis, he's suggested they retire the car so the engine stays fresher for later races. Meanwhile, Max will go for the pass even if it's going to cost him positions overall - that was the US last year, right? This long term thinking takes a while to develop. The guy who can put in the hero lap or pull off the awesome pass gets the fans wound up. That's why Max is such a favorite. But the guy who doesn't have to is arguably a better driver.
I am really questioning why Renault is waiting, and wonder if Renault will leave as a works team in 2021 and become a private team again. Renault as a company isn't exactly doing well financially. In addition to the teams results are less then stellar. It makes more sense for them to hire the latest GP2, as folks of said Fred is a great driver but a horrible teammate in F1. I hope the reports that liberty is going to help with freds salary is fake news.
Rumor is Alonso has a pre-agreement with Renault (whatever that means). I don't think he'd be happy at another mid-field team, unless Renault has something hidden. I'm just disappointed as I assume he won't be taking another run at Indy this year or next year. He and the McLaren team on an IndyCar chase seemed to be a pretty decent relationship.
-Rob
I heard on a Youtube video this morning that Alsonso was not going to make any decisions about a possible return to F1 until after the Indy 500.
In reply to rob_lewis :
Monaco, Indy 500 won't clash in 2021 I don't know if this will make a difference for Fred.
Since I'm tired from being outisde working, I'm watching the e-races.
IMHO, they suck. Both the races at Indy yesterday, and the racing at Moncao now- it's so very clear that the drivers are not driving as if its real. WAY WAY Way to risky of passes going on. Too many times drivers are going into the walls with little consequences.
May be fun to play like that, but it's not really that entertaining to watch. BTCC can stay BTCC- that driving is bad for open wheel cars.
TSN showed last year's Monaco this morning. I'd forgotten Lewis's tire complaints.
And, much better than watching other people play video games.
I did have a nice time watching the f1 rerun if monaco. Max punting drivers never gets old, his relace craft is improving but still on the wild side of it.
Lots of new rules... https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=JJc2320jlUQ
Some sound good, some sound interesting, and it's going to take some time to absorb.
If you're digging the old races, F1 has put a bunch of them out on YouTube. We've started putting them on in the background while making dinner, for example. It's funny seeing a race where Vettel looks 12 and is racing for Toro Rosso.
Reports of Toto Wolff leaving Mercedes!
Javelin (Forum Supporter) said:Reports of Toto Wolff leaving Mercedes!
I saw reports of him stepping down, not necessarily leaving.
The reports of him and lance stroll buying the team and turning it into Aston Martin are interesting. I could see stroll beside Hamilton in 2021 or 2022 at Aston Martin (powered by mercedes).
ESPN F1 indicates that Mercedes and Wolff will continue for the foreseeable future...
wvumtnbkr said:Javelin (Forum Supporter) said:Reports of Toto Wolff leaving Mercedes!
I saw reports of him stepping down, not necessarily leaving.
The reports of him and lance stroll buying the team and turning it into Aston Martin are interesting. I could see stroll beside Hamilton in 2021 or 2022 at Aston Martin (powered by mercedes).
Just on a common sense level, this makes no sense. Stroll has already purchased Racing Point to rebrand as Aston Martin for next season. So this would mean Stroll would own TWO Aston Martin-branded teams?
I realize Red Bull effectively has two teams..........Lawrence Stroll is a Billionaire, but he isn't even in the same category as Dietrich Mateschitz. Mateschitz net worth is literally more than 10x that of Stroll.
Williams might be up for sale. (or they just REALLY need money.
Rokit pulled their sponsorship and with a last place showing the last two seasons, they have some real troubles.
In reply to Apexcarver :
Man, timing is bad to have everything shut down. Based on some indicators in testing, Williams had made a ton of progress.
Not only has Williams had a few bad years, they don't have any other business to support them. They're JUST an F1 team. How many other teams on the grid are in that situation? Racing Point aka Aston Martin, Alfa Romeo - I think that's it. And they have pretty solid sponsors at the moment. Red Bull/Alpha Tauri may also fall in this category but they have the big fat RB bank account to fall back on if needed. Same with Haas, it's a team that's owned by another company.
Man, I'd hate to lose Williams in any form. They're about the only old team left, still run by the founding family. Basically privateers that levelled up.
Keith Tanner said:Not only has Williams had a few bad years, they don't have any other business to support them. They're JUST an F1 team. How many other teams on the grid are in that situation? Racing Point aka Aston Martin, Alfa Romeo - I think that's it. And they have pretty solid sponsors at the moment. Red Bull/Alpha Tauri may also fall in this category but they have the big fat RB bank account to fall back on if needed. Same with Haas, it's a team that's owned by another company.
Man, I'd hate to lose Williams in any form. They're about the only old team left, still run by the founding family. Basically privateers that levelled up.
Have they spun off Williams Advanced Engineering?
Just to correct the statement. Williams discontinued the Rokit contract. Part of that is to make them more attractive to potential buyers. With that contract dissolved, any potential suitor doesn't have any pre-existing liabilities to worry about.
It's a total shame to lose them and I do think that the Russian Billionaire will buy it to put his kid in a seat. Racing point 2.0
z31maniac said:Keith Tanner said:Not only has Williams had a few bad years, they don't have any other business to support them. They're JUST an F1 team. How many other teams on the grid are in that situation? Racing Point aka Aston Martin, Alfa Romeo - I think that's it. And they have pretty solid sponsors at the moment. Red Bull/Alpha Tauri may also fall in this category but they have the big fat RB bank account to fall back on if needed. Same with Haas, it's a team that's owned by another company.
Man, I'd hate to lose Williams in any form. They're about the only old team left, still run by the founding family. Basically privateers that levelled up.
Have they spun off Williams Advanced Engineering?
I wasn't aware of their consulting arm. Looks like they did sell off a chunk of it according to their site:
"In December 2019, Williams Grand Prix Engineering agreed to the sale of an equity stake in Williams Advanced Engineering to EMK Capital, with Williams retaining a significant minority stake in the business."
Still, it's a far cry from having a $6 BILLION dollar soft drink company or a massive automaker behind you. Consulting work can dry up pretty fast.
I've never seen a company with a slavery statement on their site.
In reply to Keith Tanner :
Yeah, it would be a huge travesty to see Williams end up not Williams anymore.
Latifi has a very weathy daddy.....just saying is all.
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