That was a great race up and down the grid. I would have liked to see max get beat on the track and not with car failure but I will take it! Carlos is great, I liked the singing while pulling into victory lane. I am rooting for Carlos to win the 24 WDC.
That stuff is right out of Alonzo's play book.
maschinenbau said:Sainz to Mercedes seems like the obvious move right?
That would be a terrible downgrade. Sainz should be calling RB about Checo's seat.
Given the penalty, the tapping of the brake happened. And the excuse is pretty weak to me. There was no way George could have anticipated that, and it really took the air off his wing in a bad spot- which Fred certainly would have known.
Especially since that corner, George could not stay close enough to use the DRS to pass for the previous laps.
Always assume Alonso is acting purposefully. Meanwhile, the Max brake check on Lewis on a straight in 2021 (which resulted in a direct collision) was a 10s penalty.
When's the last time Max got passed on track? It's been a long time. It was good to see, even if he did have a dragging brake. That was one of the more dramatic failures we've seen for a while.
Alonso is a master at screwing up a following car's race...remember when he did it to Schumacher in a considerably slower car - kept him at bay for half a race IIRC?
Ferrari is only 4 pts behind Red Bull, and LeClerc is only 4 points adrift of Max - good start to the season!
Sainz to Red Bull would be the start of yet another long Red Bull winning streak, the only difference might be that it would be a fight between the teammates for wins.
I think Ferrari has made a significant step forward this year, we'll see how the rest of the season goes.
Why does Sainz get driver of day without any competition yet Max destroys the field and never gets a vote?
JimS said:Why does Sainz get driver of day without any competition yet Max destroys the field and never gets a vote?
Because nobody like Max. Also, it's nothing extraordinary for him to win by whatever gap he chooses, so no big deal.
Nothing extraordinary about Sainz's win either.
In reply to JimS :
It's like the Generals beating the Globetrotters. If anyone other than Max wins right now they are going to get driver of the day.
JimS said:Nothing extraordinary about Sainz's win either.
Other than him recovering from an appendicitis, of course.
alfadriver said:JimS said:Nothing extraordinary about Sainz's win either.
Other than him recovering from an appendicitis, of course.
Yeah nothing extraordinary at all 
LOL @ Checo saying Ferrari would have still beaten Max. Yeah, because you weren't up there to help with the pit strategy man.
Entertaining race. Russell crash was tough, odd penalty for Alonso. As mentioned, brake check with contact was a 10s penalty. Alonso backs up his entry to get a good run (yeah, I know it slows the guy behind more) and give him 20s? (not sure if it can be reversed) but I could see this one getting overturned.
In reply to DasAuto :
I agree Sainz should be in a good car like RB, and he has been teammates with max before, and knows some of the RB people when he was driving for RB JR. I think Charles is a good driver, but partnering with Hamilton I think is a hit in the ego. Hamilton is extremely demanding & Vocal, which could take a car in a bad direction, add to the fact that he likes to pass when gaps are not there, Ferrari must have some regret letting go of Sainz. I would imagine the Mercedes seat is Alonso's if he wants it. Based on how terrible the car is, he might as well stay with Aston Martin or retire.
Alpine and Sauber/Stake are looking like F2 teams, it's kind of sad. Williams didn't score points but were knocking on the door (I am sure Logan is still heart broken). I am sure Logan knows his F1 career his over, but does he stick around as a test driver? or go to indycar? They only high profile seat in indy that isn't locked up is Josef N, at Penske, but it would be very unPenske like to sign a young driver, like Logan. Likely he will probably be with DCR.
trigun7469 said:In reply to DasAuto :
Alpine and Sauber/Stake are looking like F2 teams, it's kind of sad. Williams didn't score points but were knocking on the door (I am sure Logan is still heart broken). I am sure Logan knows his F1 career his over, but does he stick around as a test driver? or go to indycar? They only high profile seat in indy that isn't locked up is Josef N, at Penske, but it would be very unPenske like to sign a young driver, like Logan. Likely he will probably be with DCR.
I don't think Sargeant has done enough in the feeder series to step into a top-tier ride like Penske in Indycar. As you say, it'd be more likely that someone like Coyne would give him a shot, but Indycar has no shortage of good young drivers vying for seats, as well. As always, if he brings money, he'll have a chance to prove himself, but if not...
Aston isn't going to challenge the penalty. The extra penalty time is from the new penalty guidelines for 2024. If max did that this year, it would be 20 seconds.
And seeing the data I saw, Fred made a massive mistake to slightly alter his line- he lifted 100m early, downshifted and braked, then reapplied the gas, upshifted, and repeated. If that was an honest attempt to change his line a little, it's was more on the order of one of us driving the car, not one of the best drivers.
These guys trust each other with their lives. Can't make those kind of "mistakes." We are not on I5 getting back at some guy for feelings here.
Why would Logan's career be over now? I think he'll get the rest of the season to either prove he can cut it or be replaced for next year.
I agree that Alonso going to Mercedes is just a lateral move, tho he might be able to squeeze more money out of Mercedes.
Sainz to Mercedes is also not a good move IMHO, I think the only place he can go is to Red Bull. And I think that's a real possibility......
Same for Lando......going to Mercedes is not a positive move at this point.
I think Mercedes will either bring Albon on board from Williams or someone from their F2 teams.
I don't know what to think about DannyRickyBobby, he's not really showing me anything that would promote him to the senior squad at this point.
I wouldn't be surprised to see Mercedes bring someone forward from the feeders. I don't know who's hanging around, but George might be promoted to senior driver for the long game. They know that a superstar driver isn't going to get them wins until the rule change anyhow. Alonso would just be a distraction.
Here's a fun idea: how about Bottas?
Sainz to RB would be a safe bet.
In reply to MiniDave :
Doesn't Sainz have a bad RB taste in his mouth from his first stint there? I can't remember the details but I thought that ended un-ceremoniously. Whatever happens with any of these guys the pecking order is only in place for 1 more year. 2026 all bets are off, it's a whole new deal, some will get it right and some will get it wrong. Safe to say you want to be at Ferrari, Red Bull, Mercedes, Aston or McLaren though. Any of the others are shaky, unless you really believe in the Audi deal. So if you are Carlos Ferrari is out, RB is ?, Merc is possible, McLaren is locked up on drivers I think, Aston may be weird between Fernando and the bosses son, and Audi which is his dad's deal and may work if they are really invested in the project.
Of course I don't know anything other than what I see so this is just the musings of any old fan.
I spent the weekend at the track, finally got around to watching the race last night.
It's about time they upped the penalties. 15 years ago the minimum penalty for anything was a drive-through, and that did a pretty good job of convincing people to voluntarily give back places for "leaving the track and gaining an advantage". 10 seconds is too little, there are many situations in which you can easily come out ahead breaking the rules and taking the penalty.
The T car thing is supposedly a cost reduction rule -- they can have all the parts for a spare car but they can't have it assembled. Seems kinda dumb, it just leads to late nights for mechanics and the potential for missing races. IMHO that's a rule they should dump now that they've got the budget cap.
In reply to MiniDave :
I think his F1 career is over because he does not have a affiliation with a manufacturer and I believe that Jost who left was his biggest supporter. There really hasn't been much of a vote of confidence with him. How many people do you think were opposed to him sitting? Probably none, on top of that Albon qualified 12th and finished 11th, he pretty much brought back the car. If it weren't for the very rare DNF's Max and Merc he would have probably finished 14th. On top of all of that the car is not good, and more suited to Albon. Williams is in a 3 way tie for last with Alpine and Stake/Sauber, both of which are having a diaster of a season with mistakes. I don't think Williams has the money to make any improvements which means they may finish last.
Would it do any good if Stroll Jr is still in the seat? They need two top caliber drivers......would they lose Alonso to sign Verstappen and keep Stroll the Lesser?
Also, hasn't Ferrari also made a huge offer to Newey?
All I know is 2025 is going to be a mess, and 2026 will be even more "interesting".....
stroker said:
I wouldn't bet on it -- what can they offer him? Money, sure, but he's probably already got more of that than he knows what to do with.
codrus (Forum Supporter) said:stroker said:I wouldn't bet on it -- what can they offer him? Money, sure, but he's probably already got more of that than he knows what to do with.
A change?
You'll need to log in to post.
