Motorsport Off Topic Thread
- Thread starter Shimmy
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How much are you admitting to yourself you'll never stand a chance at being world champion ever at that team but still happily sign on the dotted line. It's like taking a job knowing you'll never get promoted and someone else gets all the rewards.
I agree with you, Maybe made slightly easier that there could be a slim chance of competing with max, and at least walk away from the sport with a few million in the back pocket if do a good job.
when Lawson gets the sack or decides to leave RB he'll most likely not work in F1 as a driver again.
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Caporegime
Hasn't happened to Sainz, Gasly, and Albon.
I don’t really understand what you’re saying here. It’s not got much to do with Lawson’s attitude, it’s the fact he’s been written off by his boss before he’s even started. We all know aptitude in the lower formulas doesn’t always translate to F1, and the opposite could be true. Lawson could turn out to be a generational talent in F1 and become the most successful driver that ever lived, but if he joins a team that revolves around Max and refuses to let him come close.. well we’ll never know.
I wouldn’t blame Lawson for signing even knowing he’ll be second fiddle. Best he could aim for is to show up Max, upset the apple cart, fall out with RB entirely and get snapped up by another team. Which is a sad state of affairs really. But for Lawson, it’s better than not having a drive at all
Commissario
Liam is to Max as Reubens was to Michael.
And Massa to Alonso. 'Fernando is faster than you. Please confirm you understand the message.'
Associate
This was the nicer version of the one that Renault said to Fisichella back in 2006.
"You're 2 seconds slower than Fernando! Same fuel, same tyres, this cannot be possible, come on mate!"
Soldato
Link to this quote and Horner's statement in full?I don’t really understand what you’re saying here. It’s not got much to do with Lawson’s attitude, it’s the fact he’s been written off by his boss before he’s even started. We all know aptitude in the lower formulas doesn’t always translate to F1, and the opposite could be true. Lawson could turn out to be a generational talent in F1 and become the most successful driver that ever lived, but if he joins a team that revolves around Max and refuses to let him come close.. well we’ll never know.
I wouldn’t blame Lawson for signing even knowing he’ll be second fiddle. Best he could aim for is to show up Max, upset the apple cart, fall out with RB entirely and get snapped up by another team. Which is a sad state of affairs really. But for Lawson, it’s better than not having a drive at all
Horner issues ‘divisive’ Hamilton and Leclerc warning to Ferrari
Ferrari could have a "divisive" 2025 driver pairing of Lewis Hamilton and Charles Leclerc to deal with, says Christian Horner.
www.planetf1.com
Almost as good as the Helmet’s comments more recently though!
Marko tells Lawson: 'You shouldn't be doing that against Verstappen'
A four-time world champion and a driver with barely 11 Grands Prix to his name. It comes as no surprise that Helmut Marko, Red Bull Racing's advisor, sees Max Verstappen as the big favourite within his team next season. As a result, the Austrian does not even want Liam Lawson to try to beat...
www.gpblog.com
Associate
Christ, you can tell Marko really didn't like Gasly as the tech & setups were both something Gasly highlighted when he was there!
Soldato
I cannot see where Horner isn't stating what we already know. Of course anyone can read into it what they like and in particular those with an 'agenda' to misquote anything, but it is a fact that Liam is exceedingly unlikely to beat Max in the same car and Max is of course the number 1 driver.
I would not be surprised if Liam's contract is worded as much and this is not unusual in any sense. It does not undermine him at all
I would not be surprised if Liam's contract is worded as much and this is not unusual in any sense. It does not undermine him at all
Caporegime
I don't see much reason to take offence at Marko's comments but I hope Liam hasn't taken a number 2 contract. Max being better is the natural reality, no need to put contractual nonsense in place.
Soldato
That is true and and we don’t tend to know what's in a driver's contract. Max will be Max, which will be enough, however there may still be situations where Liam will be asked to defer to him.
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Caporegime
I'm sure Liam will - and fair enough for a driver to help out their teammate - but that's not quite the same as a contract demanding he not even fight.
Who’s misquoting here?
So why feel the need to formalise it in a contract. I’d imagine other teams have more “fair” wording that says if X driver is beating Y driver by X number of points then they can assume the deputy role. To have a rookie come in and so publically demand them be a number two from the outset… well that’s just rubbish on all accounts.
Like I said, Liam might turn out to be the best thing since sliced bread once in an F1 car. Max might lose his edge now he has a baby on the way. The change in regs might not suit him. Anything can happen.
Honest question because I don’t know.. how often have rookies come in with such a clear number two remit? I’d have thought it was more for returning drivers that have proved they can’t really beat their teammate ala Bottas.
Indeed.
Would you be surprised though? You're joining one of the top teams, with no real F1 history, alongside the best driver on the grid; makes sense that the contract would have clauses clarifying priority.
Don't get me wrong, I hope Liam is competitive, but I wouldn't expect a Lando/Oscar situation. Realistically he'll need to get used to the car, and it's clearly a tough car to drive, so hopefully he'll prove himself this year and steadily get more competitive.
Associate
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Why would that need to be in a contract.. unlikely.. but what if Liam does turn out to be the better driver? are RB going to knobble his car.. give him team orders he's not to overtake Max?
It makes no sense.. Shirley the team is call Red Bull Racing.. not Max Verstappen Racing?
The team have shown many times that Max is their no. 1 driver with all efforts directed to him becoming WDC. The only time I could see this not being the case is if Max misses 2-4 races and Liam is in contention for the title. Even then I wouldn't put it past Max to win races.
Similar to a performance clause, why wouldn't you? If he's rubbish, and takes unnecessary risks, then they can use it to terminate his contract early.
He's an unproven driver - why would you give him free reign in his first year? RB have enough data on him to make the right decision for his first year.