Soldato
Motorsport Off Topic Thread
- Thread starter Shimmy
- Start date
Don
Brilliant, I suspect he will walk Latifi, and perhaps get the chance to grow he would not have got at RB!
Nothing, I reckon he'll show there that he is at about Latifis level. Would be nice to be surprised.
Don
I hope so - seems a nice chap and has shown some flashes of talent. A lower pressure environment will hopefully benefit him in the same way as Gasly
Soldato
My thoughts as well and it's good to see him back as i think the whole situation around RB was a bit of a 'cluster' for him.
Caporegime
Albon and Latifi will be two of only four drivers never to have won a championship victory in single seaters, although Albon has a bit better record than Latifi in those junior formulas overall. When Latifi and Albon entered F2 in the same year (2017) and Latifi finished 5 places above Albon overall, and even won a feature race. Their roles were reversed the next year when they were teammates at DAMS, with Latifi dropping to 9th and Albon finishing 3rd.
There's not much to suggest that Albon is a significantly better driver than Latifi, and I expect them to finish about even on points. Latifi's familiarity in the team and Albon's year away from F1 will probably give Latifi a small advantage.
Don
I disagree! 2017 was the year Albon moved up to F2 from GP3, whereas Latifi had been in GP2 for 2 seasons already!
In F2 in 2018, Albon trounced him, in the same team, with 1 more retirement. 4 wins to 1, and significantly more time on the podium over the season. Given that why would you prefer to compare them in 2017, when Albon was a Rookie, and in a different team?
It took Latifi 5 years to get to a second place finish in the step below F1, whereas Albon came 3rd in his second year.
I don't think Albon is the second coming or anything, but he is worth an F1 seat for sure over Latifi
Caporegime
Fair point. I'd missed that he'd been in GP2 before, and that F2 in 2017 used the same car and engine as the final GP2 season. Although Latifi had only had one full season in GP2, in 2014 and 2015 he was only in for a few races, that doesn't really change things.
I don't think Albon is the second coming or anything, but he is worth an F1 seat for sure over Latifi
We shall see how things pan out next year, I'm sticking with my prediction that there's no much between them.
Deleted member 651465
D
Deleted member 651465
Gasly has been excellent at Alpha Tauri, I think it's just Helmut being a total helmet and not wanting to eat humble pie.
The top 4 slots are a write off, so considering he's finished been able to finish 4, 5, 6 at the last 3 races (ok, one was at Spa
) and 3rd at Baku I'd say he's extracting the most out of that. Just needs to keep doing a job and I see someone promoting him to a bigger role outside of the RB family. I'd like to see him at McLaren instead of Riciardo 
Soldato
I can see him leaving the RB academy and joining Alpine when Alonso retires to make the ultimate French team.
I feel sorry for DR & he’s one of my favs, along with LN... so when he signed, I was chuffed.
Just hasn’t gelled for him ( for whatever reason).
He is one of the most likeable, & on his day quick & not afraid of a battle.
Just praying that he can find the sweet spot in 2022.
( Always liked McLaren... until LH appeared... Jensen Button fan).
Now.... Just got to get ‘Hulk’ back. (Wish & a prayer).
Just hasn’t gelled for him ( for whatever reason).
He is one of the most likeable, & on his day quick & not afraid of a battle.
Just praying that he can find the sweet spot in 2022.
( Always liked McLaren... until LH appeared... Jensen Button fan).
Now.... Just got to get ‘Hulk’ back. (Wish & a prayer).
Soldato
It's to do with the McLaren car. Norris has touched up on it, but there were more comments by McLaren about how car performs under breaking. With Riccardo's style being to break very late and try to carry more entry speed into the corner and that upsetting the car.
It's a new car next year so we'll see how that goes. He hasn't suddenly become crazy slow.
I do wish he'd stayed at RB and kept Max honest. Since he left no one has really come close. (Doesn't helped that most were binned after a year...)
Man of Honour
Rumours that a group from Saudi Arabia is considering buying F1 from Libery Media as they've "lost interest" which could lead to more races in Asia and the Middle East.
Personally I'd rather not see it; most of the Middle East races are already dire racing around "Tilke-domes"; and I'd hate to see more races like Bahrain, Saudi Arabia and Abu Dhabi come at the cost of losing places like Monza, Spa (OK, not this year!), Silverstone, etc. Hell I think I'd rather have Bernie back.
Personally I'd rather not see it; most of the Middle East races are already dire racing around "Tilke-domes"; and I'd hate to see more races like Bahrain, Saudi Arabia and Abu Dhabi come at the cost of losing places like Monza, Spa (OK, not this year!), Silverstone, etc. Hell I think I'd rather have Bernie back.
Soldato
If that led to a calendar of Tilke or city circuits it would kill it for me. Plenty good tracks out there, look at the addition of Zandvoort.
Caporegime
Christ, I hope not. Liberty have been a mixed bag of good and bad, but more vanity races for oppressive, authoritarian leaders isn't high on my list of things I'm looking for from the sport.
Bernie did some good things, but he got more and more awful as time goes on.
What exactly ??
The MP4/4 Senna drove was pretty much the most dominant car ever in F1 history,
15 out of 16 races that car won in 1988, so to say Senna didn't drive a dominant car is a plain lie.
It was purely the fact Senna had Prost as a team mate that meant Senna himself did not win 15/16 races that year, put any other driver in the second McLaren and Senna would have totally dominated that season, and set records never to be beaten.
Soldato
I feel Senna is remembered as a legend more for stand out moments than domination of the sport, but that's in my mind and I didn't follow back then.