The Official Formula 1 Racing Thread

[Supafly]

Some fun in between seasons:

 

[smithus]

Verstappen has learned some things in the past season, but he still has the mindset of a 17yearold streetracer. Which makes hium the perfect fit for Red Bull, they cater to that crowd. He has to do a LOT of growing up to get an offer from the major teams like Mercedes or Ferrari.

Perfectly summed up!

 

[Rey C.]

Let's throw a wild one in the air. Let's say that Hamilton goes to Ferrari in 2021. Do you guys think that Mercedes would take Verstappen or would they lean toward Russell or Ocon? Anybody see Vettel with an outside shot at the Merc seat if Lewis took his Ferrari seat?

 

[Supafly]

That is the problem. The top pilots can swap teams, but what happens to seats that find no top pilot?

I am not following Formula 2, so there is a possibility that there is some great talent ready to fill a place.

 

[Rey C.]

Ferrari sign Leclerc until end of 2024

I didn't have any doubts that they'd want to keep him, but five years is a loooong time in F1 years.

I'm going out on a limb and saying that Ricciardo gets the other Ferrari seat in 2021. He's a tough, but fair racer - so he and Charles would get along OK. He doesn't make many mistakes and he's already proven that he's a step up from Vettel (in like equipment). Danny Ric may not have the raw speed that Max has. But he's definitely smarter than Max (that's not saying much, I know) and is more measured in his approach. I'd love to see Ferrari put him in that other seat.

 

[zeeblofowl_1969]

Ferrari sign Leclerc until end of 2024

I didn't have any doubts that they'd want to keep him, but five years is a loooong time in F1 years.

I'm going out on a limb and saying that Ricciardo gets the other Ferrari seat in 2021. He's a tough, but fair racer - so he and Charles would get along OK. He doesn't make many mistakes and he's already proven that he's a step up from Vettel (in like equipment). Danny Ric may not have the raw speed that Max has. But he's definitely smarter than Max (that's not saying much, I know) and is more measured in his approach. I'd love to see Ferrari put him in that other seat.

Still think they are going to throw the kitchen sink at Lewis but I could be wrong F1 is schizophrenic at best.

 

[Supafly]

Some more fun in between seasons:

 

[Supafly]

In between seasons, some more views back

 

[Rey C.]

OK, now that Maxie has been wrapped up by Red Bull, he's off the table. Now I'd like to see Lewis (and Toto) stay at Mercedes and Danny Ric go to Ferrari in 2021. I'll go out on a limb and say that Vettel retires after losing his Ferrari seat.

And I'll make an easy prediction: Fernando Alonso will still be talking about possibly returning to a top seat in F1 in 2040. I admit that he's good on the track. But I also think that what he brings in speed, he takes away by causing chaos wherever he goes. He can talk all he wants. But I don't see him ever returning to a top team. There's too much young talent now and in the near future. Nobody at the sharp end needs his services.

 

[Supafly]

Agree on all counts. Especially Sebastian Vettel is a big, permanent topic with my fellow local german F1 fan friends.

His catastrophic past season, with all the terrible snap decisions on track, make him so much a risk for the top teams, only a team willing to gamble with a past champion (As the teams hiring Raikkonen and Alonso) would offer Vettel a seat... but I don't see him chosing that path. He might retire.

 

[Supafly]

I think I found the ideal racing format for Vettel, after dropping out of F1

 

[Supafly]

Season 2020 is closing in, and the Teams are making quite some pomp and circumstance to present their new automotive platform, and which Team would be better to demonstrate how massive these efforts can get:

45 minutes of operatic, history-laden show, which, to me, almost guarantees failure in the upcoming year. Making it all about holy italian spirit, Ferrari company spirit in over-the-top opera-house madness is just failing at what's really important. You have to build the ideal car, you have to build the best team to service, drive and plan for this car, and you need your drivers to be on the same page.

Well, okay, if Ferrari wins at least three of the first five GPs I will apologize.

 

[Supafly]

Oh yeah! Season 2020/2021 is coming closer, first week of testing has gone by... and we can see: This year is going to be exciting, again.

 

[Rey C.]

Although, like much of the paddock, I also think that Ferrari was sandbagging during the first week of testing, it seems that Merc has built a murderous car with some (legal?) trick tech. Dual axis steering? :eek: Vettel may compare it to running in flip-flops, but those who are engineering and aero experts seem to be pretty darn impressed.

 

[Supafly]

 

[Supafly]

Mercedes brandnew DAS system for TOE adjustment on the go

 

[Supafly]

 

[Rey C.]

Mercedes brandnew DAS system for TOE adjustment on the go

Great find, Supa. I saw a similar illustration on YouTube, but yours is MUCH more comprehensive.

In addition to lap time gains and cornering ability, what really interests me about the DAS is tire wear. Reducing lap times by say .2-.3 seconds a lap is one thing. But what if the Mercs can go an extra 4-5 laps on their tires, without losing speed, because of that?! Seems to me that would be huge.

I'm hoping that the coronavirus doesn't affect the Aussie GP and we get a chance to see this thing in action.

 

[Supafly]

I sure hope so! Can you believe it'ss just 14 days until the first GP of season 2020? And the added races make it the longest season EVER.

Oh, and that video find was not an achievement, I take advantage of the Google ai, which by now knows quite well what news I am interested in, and feeds me the videos in Youtube I want to see. But it is a great video, that is true.

 

[Rey C.]

It looks like Australia is still on. But some of the other early races could be in danger.

Formula 1 could not hold a World Championship race in a country that denies access to any team due to coronavirus restrictions, motorsport managing director Ross Brawn confirmed on Tuesday.