Motorsport Off Topic Thread

RampantMark said:
It's one thing to *maintain* a (very historic) track on the race calendar, but entirely another to *introduce* an unsuitable track for the formula onto the race calendar. (I strongly believe that we all know this to be true and also strongly believe that we also all know that the only reason it is on the race calendar is to *cash in* on the phenomenon and spectacle of Mad Max - who I strongly suspect that we all also know that he is not as brilliant a driver as he is cracked up to be.) It is quite clear that maintaining Monaco is simply a cash grab, although I'm pretty sanguine that it still retains a calendar slot.
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'Unsuitable' is an opinion isn't it, if it was actually unsuitable then it wouldn't be granted a licence. As for cashing in on the phenomena that is Max, why on earth not?
 
cuke2u said:
'Unsuitable' is an opinion isn't it, if it was actually unsuitable then it wouldn't be granted a licence. As for cashing in on the phenomena that is Max, why on earth not?
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Monaco receives a specific exemption in the regulations as it doesn't currently adhere to the track regulations in many ways including, but not limited to, minimum corner radius, track length and elevation.
 
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RampantMark said:
It's one thing to *maintain* a (very historic) track on the race calendar, but entirely another to *introduce* an unsuitable track for the formula onto the race calendar. (I strongly believe that we all know this to be true and also strongly believe that we also all know that the only reason it is on the race calendar is to *cash in* on the phenomenon and spectacle of Mad Max - who I strongly suspect that we all also know that he is not as brilliant a driver as he is cracked up to be.) It is quite clear that maintaining Monaco is simply a cash grab, although I'm pretty sanguine that it still retains a calendar slot.
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Not sure if serious? Like him or loathe him I think general consensus is that he's a top tier driver. Sure cracks show under pressure from time to time but the same can be said for any of the greats. I personally believe he'd have reached a slightly more well rounded driver by now at a different team but that's beside the point.
 
Agreed, you only have to look at Hamilton’s and Vettel’s early careers to realise Max isn’t that different. Though they did show some signs of maturity after getting a little older and especially after securing their first titles. I also wonder if Max isn’t because of Red Bull basically enabling him. Though you don’t know what’s said behind closed doors so could just be Max being stubborn.
 
petridish said:
Sure cracks show under pressure from time to time but the same can be said for any of the greats. I personally believe he'd have reached a slightly more well rounded driver by now at a different team but that's beside the point.
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I've always maintained that the 2021 season as a whole showed his true character and unfortunately Masi enabled it and gifted him the WDC. Since then he's not been challenged, and all the naysayers have been proven right because in the space of three races he's been involved in two collisions. At the end of the day he's on his way to a fourth* WDC so I'm not exactly sure how long one must give a driver to mature and get past their angry teenager phase.
Greboth said:
Agreed, you only have to look at Hamilton’s and Vettel’s early careers to realise Max isn’t that different. Though they did show some signs of maturity after getting a little older and especially after securing their first titles. I also wonder if Max isn’t because of Red Bull basically enabling him. Though you don’t know what’s said behind closed doors so could just be Max being stubborn.
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I think they all had an attitude yes, but not one quite so aggressively demeaning to their teams all of the time. And let's not forget he had his nickname (that we're not allowed to post here) before he got into F1. I think you're right though, RB are completely enabling him and they'll continue to do so whilst he's winning the WDC. What is a shame is that the stewards are seemingly enabling him as well which just makes it dangerous, and often unfair. EVeryone is pretty chilled about the Hamilton crash because there was no damage done, but if it had been worse and he punted Hamilton into the gravel then he would have robbed him of a podium. A 200th podium at that. To not give him a penalty is insane.
 
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Greboth said:
Agreed, you only have to look at Hamilton’s and Vettel’s early careers to realise Max isn’t that different. Though they did show some signs of maturity after getting a little older and especially after securing their first titles. I also wonder if Max isn’t because of Red Bull basically enabling him. Though you don’t know what’s said behind closed doors so could just be Max being stubborn.
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Vettel was a complete tool for most of his career - it was only really after his titles, and when he started spending more time with his family, that he became who he is today.

They're all aggressive when they're winning titles and more so when they start losing those title chances; it's only when they get to the point where the car is no longer competitive that they tend to chill out.

Lewis was sulky and miserable for most of his title reign; he still wines a bit now but you can see a steady improvement in his overall demeanour since 2022. Obviously the car has improved, which would help, whereas Alonso is going the opposite direction since AM can't seem to put a car together.
 
Big changes at Audi - Matteo Binotto in as boss, Andreas Seidl out and the Chairman Oliver Hoffmann also out.
Effectively Binotto and Vasseur have swapped seats!

www.bbc.co.uk

Audi Formula 1: Andreas Seidl removed and replaced by Mattia Binotto

Andreas Seidl is removed as head of Audi's Formula 1 project and replaced by former Ferrari team boss Mattia Binotto.
www.bbc.co.uk
 
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MissChief said:
Monaco receives a specific exemption in the regulations as it doesn't currently adhere to the track regulations in many ways including, but not limited to, minimum corner radius, track length and elevation.
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Does that apply to the Zandvoort circuit though? Because of the history of the Monaco circuit I can see why it gets special dispensation but the Dutch circuit only commenced again in 2021. Not in anyway historic..
 
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I heard Siedl was unhappy with the lack of commitment being shown by Audi and felt they weren’t fully bought in as they should have been at this stage, A year really before they need to have a car in parts build stage realistically.
 
There's been a lot of rumour that Audi aren't really all in on the F1 project, the CEO who launched the project is gone and they've been under a lot of pressure to save money, they've binned off pretty much their entire motorsport programme except F1 at this point though.
I can see them competing for a few years and then just selling Sauber and remaining as an engine supplier if it doesn't go well though; that said it wouldn't be like Audi to come into a series a not ultimately be successful.
 
Also in engine news, it appears that Renault/Alpine are closing to an agreement with Mercedes for engines and possibly other parts like gearbox, etc - with suggestions it could even be as soon as next season.

Seems a shame for the Renault F1 engine facility/staff - they've a massively long successful history in the sport; a Renault Factory team with a Mercedes engine seems utterly pointless to me but maybe an indicator they're thinking of selling up.
A team with a Merc engine deal in place would be worth a fair whack!

www.the-race.com

Renault set to drop works F1 engine, Alpine-Mercedes deal close

Renault looks increasingly likely to drop its works Formula 1 engine as its Alpine team focuses on closing a Mercedes customer deal
www.the-race.com www.the-race.com
 
chrismscotland said:
There's been a lot of rumour that Audi aren't really all in on the F1 project, the CEO who launched the project is gone and they've been under a lot of pressure to save money, they've binned off pretty much their entire motorsport programme except F1 at this point though.
I can see them competing for a few years and then just selling Sauber and remaining as an engine supplier if it doesn't go well though; that said it wouldn't be like Audi to come into a series a not ultimately be successful.
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www.the-race.com

Mark Hughes on Binotto's chances of sorting Audi's F1 bid

What does Audi have in its new Formula 1 leadership signing Mattia Binotto? What has Binotto taken on? Mark Hughes gives his take
www.the-race.com www.the-race.com
 
chrismscotland said:
Also in engine news, it appears that Renault/Alpine are closing to an agreement with Mercedes for engines and possibly other parts like gearbox, etc - with suggestions it could even be as soon as next season.

Seems a shame for the Renault F1 engine facility/staff - they've a massively long successful history in the sport; a Renault Factory team with a Mercedes engine seems utterly pointless to me but maybe an indicator they're thinking of selling up.
A team with a Merc engine deal in place would be worth a fair whack!

www.the-race.com

Renault set to drop works F1 engine, Alpine-Mercedes deal close

Renault looks increasingly likely to drop its works Formula 1 engine as its Alpine team focuses on closing a Mercedes customer deal
www.the-race.com www.the-race.com
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Their engines have been the worst for over 10 years now, although the v8 difference wasn't nearly as bad as their hybrid units.

Even with them simplifying the units in the new rules, it seems they don't have confidence in their ability to build a competitive engine or, like you said, doing a bit of downsizing to sell-off.
 
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