Better feedback so helps with development? Not bothered about Mick being replaced but would have been nice if it was by a young driver. I guess with two experienced drivers their repair bills should be a lot lower.
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Better feedback so helps with development? Not bothered about Mick being replaced but would have been nice if it was by a young driver. I guess with two experienced drivers their repair bills should be a lot lower.
Ferrari rumours reported in Italian media. Binotto out and Vasseur in?
In the traditional Ferrari way, after a year of comedy, the boss could well be gone after Abu Dhabi and relaced with Frederic Vasseur from Alfa Romeo Sauber. Not only recruiting Sauber drivers, but now the management too.
Ferrari, naturally have denied it. So, it's probably true.
In the traditional Ferrari way, after a year of comedy, the boss could well be gone after Abu Dhabi and relaced with Frederic Vasseur from Alfa Romeo Sauber. Not only recruiting Sauber drivers, but now the management too.
Ferrari, naturally have denied it. So, it's probably true.
One might argue that he also created that best chance of a title. Or at least deserves some credit for it. I think Ferrari need to look at their structure rather than simply sticking a new face at the top.
Agreed, but this is Ferrari, not exactly unusual for them to fire the top guy mid-season expecting things to actually change...
I don’t think the TP is the real problem at Ferrari. And I don’t think it really has been for a long time. There’s too much infighting, too many people vying for attention or trying to make others look silly while trying to shine themselves. For a long time they’ve been awful at working across departments as a team. They likely need someone who can come in and kick out the disruptive elements and sort their structure out. So many times Ferrari have dropped a clanger with strategy and cost them positions.
Seems like a poor decision for Haas, and a poor result for F1: a young driver kicked out before being given a full chance for an ageing driver with a long record of being ordinary. Ah well, Nico seems a thoroughly likeable chap so I wish him well, it'll be nice to see his grin back in the paddock.
Yeah, Hülkenberg called him out for his driving and KMag reacted. Apparently, it's all behind them now, and honestly it'd be a bit weird to hold a grudge all that time.
Soldato
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Hulkenberg did well jumping in a short notice when he had too, and had good speed. He's easily better than Mick, so I can understand that. It's not like they are a ton of young drivers eligible for a super licence. IMO the points system needs to be amended. Were people moaning when KMag came back? He's show speed and has generally been a good performer this year.
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But KMag replaced Mazepin so it was a step up for Haas. Hulkenbeeg for Schumacher is a harder one to judge. Schumacher has IMO shown potential and is, relatively speaking, a rookie whereas we know Hulkenberg is a good midfield driver.
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I'd agree that overall it's not great for F1 that yet another older driver is coming back - it's perhaps a symptom of the lack of running during the off season and during testing that teams are now shying away from giving younger, inexperienced drivers a chance.
However I'd argue that Mick has had plenty of chances over the last 2 years and never really shone. He beat Mazepin in 2021 but that's a incredibly low bar. The signs of him not being up to the job were there from the first few races this year when Magnussen scored 3 points finishes and 3 Q3 appearances and while Mick was nowhere in the races and was often struggling just to clear Q1. Nothing changed from that situation through the rest of the season.
If he didn't have his surname, then Haas' decision to drop him wouldn't even be being questioned.
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I think Hulkenberg is going to be a lot more consistent though, which should even out to a better points haul at the end of the season. It's also another experienced driver who can provide feedback on the car and help move them forward.
He didn't get a great start, difficult to progress driving a potato for a season against the worst driver to enter F1 in recent times, and - yes - he didn't do great at the start of this season either. His qualifying performances haven't been great either - although better as the season has progressed - but despite that he's now 9-6 up on race finishes compared to KMag and certainly hasn't been comprehensively outclassed by the Finn. His problem is that he's been good when the Haas has been bad, whilst Haas have delivered a procession of bad strategy calls his way. Had he performed at the start of the season when the Haas was a better car, he'd have scored more points.
I don't think he's a great of the sport, and he lacks the ability to adapt rapidly, but I think he's solid midfielder material. Probably better than either KMag or Hülkenberg if given the chance to develop.
I don't think that's true. Firstly, because I think he's proved his merit in F3/F2 and secondly because, imo, he's outperformed Yuki and performed better than Albon in his first F1 stint. If anything, the connection to his father counts against him as people make the inevitable comparisons and he falls short.
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His F2 and F3 career followed the same kind of trajectory - first season, dreadful. Second season, dismal start and then suddenly gained a lot of speed in the latter half of the season. It just hasn't panned out like that in his F1 career.
Don't get me started on Tsunoda
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i get why Haas went with Hulk as he has a lot of previous experience but imo when a driver contract is up the focus should be on either retaining that driver if they've done really well or if the team decide to part ways then the place should go to an up and coming rookie and not an ex F1 driver.
While I kind of agree Haas can’t afford to take a rookie who’s going to crash a dozen times costing them millions in replacement parts in this budget cap era. Those millions could be better spent on performance, not parts. That’s why they’ve now moved away from Rookies towards proven, consistent and safe drivers.