Motorsport Off Topic Thread

CaptainRAVE

CaptainRAVE

CaptainRAVE

Man of Honour
Joined
21 Nov 2004
Posts
45,038
Dup said:
Bottas staying at Merc for another season:

https://www.motorsport.com/f1/news/mercedes-retains-bottas-2020-ocon/4523225/

Seems Ocon is going to be a Renault or HAAS driver. Would prefer to see him replace Grosjean but neither team is competitive enough compared to his time at FI/Racing Point so a step back IMO (although any drive is almost better than no drive unless it's Williams).
Click to expand...

Seems like the safe choice for Mercedes/Hamilton. Gets decent results, doesn’t threaten for the championship. Gives him the backing to be the rear gunner when needed.
 

b0rn2sk8

b0rn2sk8

b0rn2sk8

Soldato
Joined
9 Mar 2003
Posts
14,242
I’ve managed to make it all the way through this year without watching a single race. Watched a few highlights on the F1 you tube, doesn’t look like I have missed much this year.

Anyone else in the same boat?
 

JBeck

JBeck

JBeck

Soldato
Joined
18 Oct 2002
Posts
4,267
Location
Lunatic asylum
Dup said:
Bottas staying at Merc for another season:

https://www.motorsport.com/f1/news/mercedes-retains-bottas-2020-ocon/4523225/

Seems Ocon is going to be a Renault or HAAS driver. Would prefer to see him replace Grosjean but neither team is competitive enough compared to his time at FI/Racing Point so a step back IMO (although any drive is almost better than no drive unless it's Williams).
Click to expand...
Ocon will probably replace Hulk at Renault and he in turn will replace Grosjean at HAAS. I really wanted him to take Bottas seat to stir things up a bit for some on-track shennanigans with Hamilton, would have been entertaining.
 

KiNgPiN83

KiNgPiN83

KiNgPiN83

Soldato
Joined
16 Nov 2003
Posts
5,467
justbeats said:
Ocon will probably replace Hulk at Renault and he in turn will replace Grosjean at HAAS. I really wanted him to take Bottas seat to stir things up a bit for some on-track shennanigans with Hamilton, would have been entertaining.
Click to expand...

Just seen it confirmed on Facebook. Ocon to Renault in place of hulkenburg.
 

KiNgPiN83

KiNgPiN83

KiNgPiN83

Soldato
Joined
16 Nov 2003
Posts
5,467
I’d like to see Hulk stay in F1 although I wouldn’t be too disappointed if he left as he’s had a good run to be fair. To be honest the Grosjeans and Magnussons of the world should be closer to the exit door if anything...
 

GravyMonster

GravyMonster

GravyMonster

Soldato
Joined
18 Oct 2002
Posts
15,203
Location
The land of milk & beans
KiNgPiN83 said:
I’d like to see Hulk stay in F1 although I wouldn’t be too disappointed if he left as he’s had a good run to be fair. To be honest the Grosjeans and Magnussons of the world should be closer to the exit door if anything...
Click to expand...
Agreed. Hulk had so much promise but it never came to be. This year really was make or break for him against Ricciardo and it's gone against him. He's one of those drivers like Trulli, Heidfeld, Coulthard and Massa who were good, but just missing that last 1% to make them great.
 

JBeck

JBeck

JBeck

Soldato
Joined
18 Oct 2002
Posts
4,267
Location
Lunatic asylum
Spunkey said:
Agreed. Hulk had so much promise but it never came to be. This year really was make or break for him against Ricciardo and it's gone against him. He's one of those drivers like Trulli, Heidfeld, Coulthard and Massa who were good, but just missing that last 1% to make them great.
Click to expand...
I never got the hype around Hulk, he's never done anything of note in F1, has no cutting edge anything, yes he seems quite unlucky but I just don't see any greatness at all...
 

this_is_gav

this_is_gav

this_is_gav

Soldato
Joined
17 Oct 2005
Posts
6,243
Location
North of Watford Gap
justbeats said:
I never got the hype around Hulk, he's never done anything of note in F1, has no cutting edge anything, yes he seems quite unlucky but I just don't see any greatness at all...
Click to expand...
The bloke nearly won the 2012 Brazilian GP, battling most of the race with the dominant McLarens with two of the supposed all-time best wet weather specialists. Granted he crashed into Hamilton late on, removing both from the front, but to even be there (and well ahead of Button at the time) showed he has plenty of ability.

He put a Williams on pole by more than a second in his debut year two years before that.

I'm not going to pretend he's number one for any top team, but in my opinion he's certainly in the bracket of drivers perfectly capable of being the number two to someone like Hamilton.
 

Mr Jack

Mr Jack

Mr Jack

Caporegime
Joined
19 May 2004
Posts
31,542
Location
Nordfriesland, Germany
justbeats said:
I never got the hype around Hulk, he's never done anything of note in F1, has no cutting edge anything, yes he seems quite unlucky but I just don't see any greatness at all...
Click to expand...

His record before F1 was impressive - he's one of a handful of drivers to have won GP2 at his first attempt - and he won Le Mans too. There's a feeling that he should have done better in F1.
 

b0rn2sk8

b0rn2sk8

b0rn2sk8

Soldato
Joined
9 Mar 2003
Posts
14,242
It helps if you are in a winning car, which he has never had in F1. Unless you have a car capable of the top 3 you haven’t really got a chance unless everyone else really messes up big time.

How many podiums have gone to cars outside the top 3 teams in the last 10 years?
 

Mr Jack

Mr Jack

Mr Jack

Caporegime
Joined
19 May 2004
Posts
31,542
Location
Nordfriesland, Germany
b0rn2sk8 said:
It helps if you are in a winning car, which he has never had in F1. Unless you have a car capable of the top 3 you haven’t really got a chance unless everyone else really messes up big time.
Click to expand...

This is true, but we can still compare drivers to their teammates to get an idea. A driver with pretensions to be champion should be bettering their team mates. Hulk got solidly outclassed by Perez and Barrichello.
 

Terminal_Boy

Terminal_Boy

Terminal_Boy

Soldato
Joined
13 Apr 2013
Posts
12,411
Location
La France

this_is_gav

this_is_gav

this_is_gav

Soldato
Joined
17 Oct 2005
Posts
6,243
Location
North of Watford Gap
Quickly working it out I've got it at this. The first stat is a bit irrelevant given it excludes some of the top teams (like McLaren and Lotus), but it's there for completeness. Also added a one since 2014 and the start of the hybrid era.

Since the start of the 2009 season:
Current top 3 teams: 484 podiums (79.2%)
Non top 3 teams: 134 podiums (20.8%)

Since the start of the 2014 season:
Current top 3 teams: 312 podiums (92.9%)
Non top 3 teams: 24 podiums (7.1%)
(and that includes Williams who account for 14 of those 24 podiums!).

Since the start of the 2009 season:
Top 3 championship team at any point since 2009: 594 podiums (96.2%)
Not in the top 3 since 2009*: 24 podiums (3.8%)

*Neither driver nor constructor finished in the top 3 of either championship. Includes the likes of Toro Rosso, Force India, Toyota, Renault and (BMW) Sauber. Lotus is classed as a top 3 team as Raikkonen finished 3rd in 2012.

Using that last stat, 23 podiums for teams like Force India (who were very quick at points in 2009 and 2014), works Toyota, Renault and at one point BMW really isn't that many. All were quick at times and all could have won races (and some did).
 
Last edited:

Greboth

Greboth

Greboth

Soldato
Joined
6 Aug 2010
Posts
5,631
Location
Birmingham
MissChief said:
Those look great! Now we just need someone to photoshop current teams onto the model.
Click to expand...

Merc and Ferrari have been done, the rest to follow maybe.

48655347962_aa94774b67_o.jpg


48655201411_7bd05a5d9b_o.jpg
 
You must log in or register to reply here.
Back
Top Bottom