Formula 1 2023 Season

In reply to Hoppps :

I think Sainz going to RB would really excite things over DR and Perez. However they wouldn’t be able to sign him until 2025. On the postive, Sainz has been in the RB family and teammates with Max. Then have Alex Albon go to Ferrari to Challenge Leclarc.

I wish 2024 would have some more driver movement but it looks like the only possibility is at Williams (hopefully not). I think that again makes a compelling case for Andretti team, added to the fold because atleast this will give some opportunity to driver movement. It’s likely that Felipe D., Theo, Liam, Shwartzman, Vesti, Doohan and many more will be sitting on the sidelines, other than the occasional test. There is a possibility that some (other then Liam) will ever race in F1.

All this talk about Perez being replaced...last I checked he got 2nd place in the WDC by a healthy margin over 3rd. Sure he's no Verstappen but he did what Red Bull needed him to do this season, and anyone else in that car would be a risk. Compared to his 3rd place in 2022 which was still a very dominant car, and his 4th place in 2021, it looks like improvement to me. 

Since we are speculating:

Regardless of who they put in the team with Verstappen it won't go well for that driver.

The car is built around Verstappen and unless said driver has the exact same style it won't work for them. And even if they do have the same style it will be 2-3 years before they get as comfortable as Verstappen is with the car..................the notoriously impatient RB management will not wait that long.

In reply to Tom1200 :

And now, who in their academy is close enough to be in an f1 car?  

Yup - it's possible you'll do well and likely win a couple races in that car, but the team will make sure you never beat Verstappen.  Wild that he's been in F1 for 9 years now also.

In reply to alfadriver :

Right now they have Liam Lawson, Zane Maloney, Ayumu Iwasa, Dennis Hauger, Isack Hadjar, Enzo Fittipaldi, Jak Crawford, Oliver Goethe, Pepe Marti, Tim Tramnitz, Souta Arao, Sebastian Montoya, Arvid Lindblad, Enzo Deligny, and Enzo Tarnvanichkul in their young drivers program, I don't know how close any of them are to getting a super license

Tom1200 said:

Since we are speculating:

Regardless of who they put in the team with Verstappen it won't go well for that driver.

The car is built around Verstappen and unless said driver has the exact same style it won't work for them. And even if they do have the same style it will be 2-3 years before they get as comfortable as Verstappen is with the car..................the notoriously impatient RB management will not wait that long.

I think this was basically the case with Vettel as well. Red Bull has always prioritized the #1 driver.

In reply to johndej :

Seems like they just throw them out and hope for the best. And if they don't work, they get replaced quickly. 

In reply to maschinenbau :

If Merc and Hammy didn't kinda fall apart the last handfull of races while mysteriously Perez remembered how to drive a race car the last what 3 races he'd be lucky to finish 3rd.

Next yr with both Mclarens coming out strong(vs sucking the 1st half of the  season) and maybe Ferrari and Mercedes getting their act together another 1-2 is highly unlikely for RB.

If they keep him I predict 5th for him next yr.

Keith Tanner said:

I think this was basically the case with Vettel as well. Red Bull has always prioritized the #1 driver.

And for Schumacher at Ferrari.

In reply to codrus (Forum Supporter) :

Right, but Ferrari hasn't always done that. Red Bull has right from the start.

alfadriver said:

In reply to johndej :

Seems like they just throw them out and hope for the best. And if they don't work, they get replaced quickly. 

That pretty much sums it up; this is why I am not a fan of RB and Helmut Marko.

They have numerous championships but I think they could get the very same result without all the tumult.

In reply to kevlarcorolla :

A lot of if's and maybe's in that statement. What matters is what happened: Perez pulled through, got 2nd and not by a little. I wouldn't discount him just yet. He now has several seasons of experience in a car that is supposedly tailored only for Max's supposedly unique driving style, while anyone else would be starting from zero. 

However when the new 2026 cars come out, all bets are off, probably for Checo and possibly even for Max. The only person I would bet on for 2026 is Adrian Newey.

Has anyone started a thread for F1 - 2024 yet?

I think Perez was just trying to save money on his Superlicense renewal. He wasn't struggling he was being financially savvy.

In reply to maschinenbau :

He started strong and took it to Max at the start for sure then pretty much sucked considering the car for the rest of the season.

 Regarding finishing 2nd,he should've had 2nd wrapped up by COTA easily considering the points Max was able to earn in the same car.

 Like I said its a mystery why/how he improved at the very end of the season.....nothing to do with learning the car after this much time in it.

 If these guys can't get into a car and get 98% out of it immediately then how'd they get there in the 1st place.

 Only 20 spots on the grid,I'm fine with giving a guy a 2nd chance(which he's had) but after a decade or whatever in the sport to perform like that being not only miles off the pace but crashing into both stationary and moving targets nearly every race I'm also fine giving a young gun a shot.