Motorsport Off Topic Thread

[weta]

Maybe it's someone higher up in Red Bull than a driver that need to be changed!

Verstappen is the glue holding the team together, I would expect many changes to happen after he leaves the squad.

Replacing Alonso at Aston Martin would be the perfect home for him, however I'm not sure Stroll senior would bow to his particular needs.

 

[Jono8]

This is what happens when you develop a car for one driver with a particular driving style, and continue on a path where it becomes so extreme that said driver is even unable to handle the latest iteration himself.

I agree that the task of beating Perez's points tally is mammoth, however I suspect that is what Red Bull will hope to get from the Japanese driver.

It's going to be interesting to see how Tsunoda deals with Verstappen, I honestly think the Japanese driver believes he can beat him and that could be his undoing.

Why do you keep saying "the Japanese driver"?

 

[weta]

Why do you keep saying "the Japanese driver"?

"Keep saying" are you serious, the guy is Japanese.

I'll refer to him as Mr. Tsuonda in future so I don't upset you.

 

[Terminal_Boy]

Why do you keep saying "the Japanese driver"?

Possibly because Tsunoda’s being Japanese is a big deal to Honda and Japanese F1 fans who would go nuts if he could put in a few top 5 finishes?

 

[weta]

Why do you keep saying "the Japanese driver"?

No worries, point taken, lets move on from this, life's too short.

 

[Jono8]

"Keep saying" are you serious, the guy is Japanese.

I'll refer to him as Mr. Tsuonda in future so I don't upset you.

It just seems weird when reading it, that's all. We all know his name.

 

[weta]

I think this is a little harsh... Lawson deserved more time - but his first two race weekends (including the sprint) have genuinely been pretty disastrous. This isn't a case of Red Bull swapping drivers because of 'Honda's millions'.

The move comes with strong financial backing from Honda, Red Bull’s engine partner, which has long supported Tsunoda’s rise through the ranks.
— De Limburger revealed Honda already pays €10 million annually to support Tsunoda’s Racing Bulls seat and was previously prepared to double that offer for a Red Bull seat.
— Initially, Christian Horner declined the offer, but the situation has since changed. Red Bull reportedly re-approached Honda, inquiring how much they would now contribute to secure Tsunoda’s promotion for the rest of the season.
— The outcome, as per De Limburger, is that Honda agreed to significantly increase its financial support to facilitate the move.

Source: This is Formula 1

 

[weta]

It just seems weird when reading it, that's all. We all know his name.

To be fair I didn't realise I had used Japanese twice in the same post, I guess I should check before posting.

 

[Kenai]

The move comes with strong financial backing from the Japanese car manufacturer, the UK based Austrian racing team’s engine partner, which has long supported the Japanese driver’s rise through the ranks.
— The Dutch newspaper revealed the Japanese car manufacturer already pays €10 million annually to support the Japanese driver’s Austrian owned Italian racing team seat and was previously prepared to double that offer for a UK based Austrian racing team seat.
— Initially, the English team principal of the UK based Austrian racing team declined the offer, but the situation has since changed. The UK based Austrian racing team reportedly re-approached the Japanese car manufacturer, inquiring how much they would now contribute to secure the Japanese driver’s promotion for the rest of the season.
— The outcome, as per the Dutch newspaper, is that the Japanese car manufacturer agreed to significantly increase its financial support to facilitate the move.

Source: This is the highest class of international racing for open-wheel single-seater formula racing cars sanctioned by the Fédération Internationale de l'Automobile (FIA)

Fixed that for you

 

[Mr Jack]

I honestly think the Japanese driver believes he can beat him and that could be his undoing.

I think almost every driver on the grid - Lawson and Gasly included - thinks they can beat Verstappen. A near delusional belief in their own abilities is practically mandatory for top sportsfolk, perhaps even more so in motorsport and other individual sports. Only a handful of drivers ever really build a realistic impression of their limits.

 

[Jono8]

I think almost every driver on the grid - Lawson and Gasly included - thinks they can beat Verstappen. A near delusional belief in their own abilities is practically mandatory for top sportsfolk, perhaps even more so in motorsport and other individual sports. Only a handful of drivers ever really build a realistic impression of their limits.

I suppose it comes with the territory/it's trained out of them.

If they have doubts and don't believe they can be the best/win a championship then I guess they may as well not even bother.

Ofcourse the reality is that only a small handful of the grid would stand any chance of rivalling (let alone beating) Max.

 

[weta]

I think almost every driver on the grid - Lawson and Gasly included - thinks they can beat Verstappen. A near delusional belief in their own abilities is practically mandatory for top sportsfolk, perhaps even more so in motorsport and other individual sports. Only a handful of drivers ever really build a realistic impression of their limits.

They have to believe that, otherwise they have already lost.

The next five races are going to be very interesting, hopefully the media and haters will move on from Lawson now.

 

[weta]

I suppose it comes with the territory/it's trained out of them.

If they have doubts and don't believe they can be the best/win a championship then I guess they may as well not even bother.

Ofcourse the reality is that only a small handful of the grid would stand any chance of rivalling (let alone beating) Max.

The quality of the drivers on a modern Formula 1 grid is very high, just look at the times for Q1 at the Australian Grand Prix this year.

Love him or hate him, Max Verstappen is a very focused, talented and motivated individual who has been trained since birth to become a World Champion, he doesn't like coming second to anyone.

His father's experiences in Formula 1 have played a very important part in Max's path to success.

 

[t2na]

The move comes with strong financial backing from Honda, Red Bull’s engine partner, which has long supported Tsunoda’s rise through the ranks.
— De Limburger revealed Honda already pays €10 million annually to support Tsunoda’s Racing Bulls seat and was previously prepared to double that offer for a Red Bull seat.
— Initially, Christian Horner declined the offer, but the situation has since changed. Red Bull reportedly re-approached Honda, inquiring how much they would now contribute to secure Tsunoda’s promotion for the rest of the season.
— The outcome, as per De Limburger, is that Honda agreed to significantly increase its financial support to facilitate the move.

Source: This is Formula 1

I'm not sure you're totally understanding what's being said here and it's very much trying to make the shoe fit.

Red Bull wouldn't have even entertained the idea of receiving more money from Honda to have Tsunoda in that seat if Lawson hadn't qualified P18, P20 and P20 and then either crashed out or only gained 4-5 places during the race/sprint. Lawson's performance dictated the swap, not Honda's money.

I think we're on the same page in that we think either a) Lawson should have been given more time or b) he shouldn't have been promoted for this season and instead given another year to find his feet in F1 - but if Lawson had started well or at least was giving Red Bull enough in terms of his data for them to give him more time then it wouldn't matter if Honda offered another $25 million, they would stick with the driver they initially selected.

I think the whole situation is just a shame all round. I'm hoping Lawson absolutely smashes it next weekend, getting to Q3, a strong race - just to really show it to Marko etc.

 

[weta]

I'm not sure you're totally understanding what's being said here and it's very much trying to make the shoe fit.

Red Bull wouldn't have even entertained the idea of receiving more money from Honda to have Tsunoda in that seat if Lawson hadn't qualified P18, P20 and P20 and then either crashed out or only gained 4-5 places during the race/sprint. Lawson's performance dictated the swap, not Honda's money.

I think we're on the same page in that we think either a) Lawson should have been given more time or b) he shouldn't have been promoted for this season and instead given another year to find his feet in F1 - but if Lawson had started well or at least was giving Red Bull enough in terms of his data for them to give him more time then it wouldn't matter if Honda offered another $25 million, they would stick with the driver they initially selected.

I think the whole situation is just a shame all round. I'm hoping Lawson absolutely smashes it next weekend, getting to Q3, a strong race - just to really show it to Marko etc.

My personal feeling is that Lawson should have never been promoted in the first place, he didn't have sufficient experience to warrant that second seat.

Honda have reportedly paid Red Bull $10m dollars to put Tsunoda in that second seat for Japan removing the opportunity for Lawson to make a possible recovery from a very poor start.

Personally I think Red Bull should have given Lawson five races to prove himself, especially after all the problems he had, it's not like they're going to be fighting for constructors championship this year.

Anyway it doesn't really matter, the right driver has the seat now, Lawson has a few races to prove himself to the other teams before he's dropped by Red Bull altogether.

 

[Stu999]

 

[koolpc]

For me, Yuki was always the right driver for that seat...

 

[weta]

For me, Yuki was always the right driver for that seat...

I think most people who understand the sport will agree with you, however Red Bull aren't exactly well known for their rational driver choices lately.

 

[Emlyn_Dewar]

Personally I think Red Bull should have given Lawson five races to prove himself, especially after all the problems he had, it's not like they're going to be fighting for constructors championship this year.

They threw away any chance at the WCC last year wasting time with Perez. This is a harsh, but essential move.
The hilarity would be, if Lawson could outscore Red Bull in Japan. If it wasn't for their strategy blunder, China would have been a great race for the sister team.

I soured a little on Lawson with some of the previous comments he'd made, about it being his time, but he did address it. You have to be confident and focused only on yourself in cut-throat F1. This switch will be the right move for his career. Several more bad results for Red Bull and his career would be over before it properly began.

 

[cuke2u]

They threw away any chance at the WCC last year wasting time with Perez. This is a harsh, but essential move.
The hilarity would be, if Lawson could outscore Red Bull in Japan. If it wasn't for their strategy blunder, China would have been a great race for the sister team.

I soured a little on Lawson with some of the previous comments he'd made, about it being his time, but he did address it. You have to be confident and focused only on yourself in cut-throat F1. This switch will be the right move for his career. Several more bad results for Red Bull and his career would be over before it properly began.

Lawson could easily outscore Yuki at Japan, it doesn't take rocket science to work out that the Racing Bull is an easier and more forgiving car to drive. Markos has stated as much as well also saying they made a mistake with promoting Lawson too early. https://www.topgear.com/car-news/fo...made-a-mistake-promoting-liam-lawson-too-soon