F1 2020 Season

Alemar said:
Imagine a football season, where top 3 teams are miles ahead of the rest, and top one is an indisputable leader. Would you call it an interesting season because “the battle for 6-10 places is fantastic”?

Mercedes dominates - but they could at least get a pair of equal drivers. When Rosberg was there, he at least tried to challenge Hamilton (and once even won the title) - but what we see now is very depressing.

Out of respect to the fans they could at least put Verstappen alongside Hamilton in the Mercedes (or vice versa - Hamilton to Red Bull instead of Albon)
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They don't really want that though.

No team ever works well with 2 drivers vying for the number 1 spot. The tension and strain on the team at peak Hamilton v Rosberg was exactly why they opted for a dosile number 2 like Bottas.

He's good enough to get the car home safely in the number 2 position or win the odd GP here and there on a good day, but he will never be able to compete with Hamilton across a full season.

This keeps Hamilton happy, the team are happy and Bottas is happy being in a good team and having a chance at winning. They all follow the orders in the races too, there is mutual respect as Hamilton doesn't see him as a threat.

If you added in a Verstappen / Alonso / Leclerc / Ricciardo to that team it would all go wrong again IMO.
 
Adam-Utd said:
If you added in a Verstappen / Alonso / Leclerc / Ricciardo to that team it would all go wrong again IMO.
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If it goes all wrong at Mercedes level, it will be GOOD for the sport. Otherwise, it is a sport where the results are pre-determined at the start of the season already.Is it interesting for the spectators?
 
Alemar said:
If it goes all wrong at Mercedes level, it will be GOOD for the sport. Otherwise, it is a sport where the results are pre-determined at the start of the season already.Is it interesting for the spectators?
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It's the same argument that's been banded about for 15 years. 2022 will give a specification for closer racing. Viewing figures have increased since 2018 though, in line with when the Netflix series was launched.
 
Alemar said:
If it goes all wrong at Mercedes level, it will be GOOD for the sport. Otherwise, it is a sport where the results are pre-determined at the start of the season already.Is it interesting for the spectators?
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Well yes having a clear favourite/winner in any sport is never good, but it won't last forever.

Hopefully next year the pack will be even closer, and 2022 could potentially change everything.

I still love the sport though, the winning for me isn't all that important as I enjoy the whole battle. As a Mclaren fan the mid pack battle with Renault, Racing Point, Ferrari and Alfatauri is the best battle I can ever remember in f1.
 
Alemar said:
Imagine a football season, where top 3 teams are miles ahead of the rest, and top one is an indisputable leader. Would you call it an interesting season because “the battle for 6-10 places is fantastic”?

Mercedes dominates - but they could at least get a pair of equal drivers. When Rosberg was there, he at least tried to challenge Hamilton (and once even won the title) - but what we see now is very depressing.

Out of respect to the fans they could at least put Verstappen alongside Hamilton in the Mercedes (or vice versa - Hamilton to Red Bull instead of Albon)
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That's just not realistic though. You can't force teams to swap drivers for the sake of the sport as the Nr.1 priority for every team, their sponsors and their fans is their own success, not how entertainted the spectators are over the fight for the world championship.
 
Adam-Utd said:
Well yes having a clear favourite/winner in any sport is never good, but it won't last forever.

Hopefully next year the pack will be even closer, and 2022 could potentially change everything.

I still love the sport though, the winning for me isn't all that important as I enjoy the whole battle. As a Mclaren fan the mid pack battle with Renault, Racing Point, Ferrari and Alfatauri is the best battle I can ever remember in f1.
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Yup, I've said it multiple times this season. Having Ferrari in the midfield has made me a lot more interested in what's happening there and its been fun watching. Behind the Mercs most cars are pretty close. Its made for great RACING. I know the season results are a given and I can't blame Mercs for that. They just did their job better than others and Ferrari fecked up bad.

Have we had a dull race so far this year? Maybe spain I guess.
 
Zlaatan said:
That's just not realistic though. You can't force teams to swap drivers for the sake of the sport as the Nr.1 priority for every team, their sponsors and their fans is their own success, not how entertainted the spectators are over the fight for the world championship.
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Certainly, there are contracts and such. But I would imagine that over the years, spectators interest should be falling down (as there is no fight for the title), and so should the revenues... It’s hard to make a good show if the product itself is not very good
 
Alemar said:
Certainly, there are contracts and such. But I would imagine that over the years, spectators interest should be falling down (as there is no fight for the title), and so should the revenues... It’s hard to make a good show if the product itself is not very good
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I get what you mean but it's a sport just like any other so you can't force teams to give up their greatest assets and hand them over to their biggest rivals who are already dominating the sport just to boost the viewing figures. If they want to make it a better show then that has to be done by trying to level the playing field for everyone in the most fair way possible, and this is (kinda) what the FIA has done in the past when one team has become too dominant.
 
F1 has proven time and time again if you put two big names in the same team it almost always ends in tears, they don't work together as a team anymore which is a pretty crucial aspect of success. Max and Ric didn't work out because they both couldn't work together anymore, on paper its a stronger line up but in reality you get drivers tripping over each other and the whole thing becomes toxic.

What the sport needs is a team(s) to get close to Mercedes and the chances are that's not happening until 2022.

Bottas is the perfect number 2 really, he consistently brings it home where it should be, he can win the odd race and always be a tactical foil for Hamilton by being in and around their rivals. Honestly half the time Hamilton is winning these races as slowly as possible, if he stretched his legs he could run out 10-15 seconds on Bottas but he's an old hat now and knows how to win whilst taking the least amount of risk possible.
 
Leg-End said:
F1 has proven time and time again if you put two big names in the same team it almost always ends in tears, they don't work together as a team anymore which is a pretty crucial aspect of success
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And it would be absolutely incredible for the show if two big names (preferably in the best team) didn’t get along. Or, even better, if they were totally hating each other, with McGregor style public outbursts and regular collisions on track.

Remember the times when Prost and Senna raced for the same team? It was very fun for everybody and much more fascinating than what we see now
 
Alemar said:
And it would be absolutely incredible for the show if two big names (preferably in the best team) didn’t get along. Or, even better, if they were totally hating each other, with McGregor style public outbursts and regular collisions on track.

Remember the times when Prost and Senna raced for the same team? It was very fun for everybody and much more fascinating than what we see now
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But you would understand that is exactly why it doesn't happen right? It's not in the best interests of the teams to do it, particularly when the going is good.
 
Alemar said:
And it would be absolutely incredible for the show if two big names (preferably in the best team) didn’t get along. Or, even better, if they were totally hating each other, with McGregor style public outbursts and regular collisions on track.

Remember the times when Prost and Senna raced for the same team? It was very fun for everybody and much more fascinating than what we see now
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It's motorsport, not WWE.
 
Alemar said:
And it would be absolutely incredible for the show if two big names (preferably in the best team) didn’t get along. Or, even better, if they were totally hating each other, with McGregor style public outbursts and regular collisions on track.

Remember the times when Prost and Senna raced for the same team? It was very fun for everybody and much more fascinating than what we see now
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Just No !!!
It would be incredibly dangerous, all for more action on the track nut come on , not this !
Just imagine if one of those collision happened at full speed
 
Alfa Romeo confirming that they're retaining Raikonnen and Giovanazzi for 2021.

Mick Schumacher likely to go to Haas, and probably going to be the only promotion from F2 to F1 this year.
 
Raikkonen, way past his best but still better than most option for lower end grid. Bit surprising though considering his age.
Perez must be going to Haas surely? His only option left are Williams, Haas and AlphaTauri.
 
Adam-Utd said:
I still love the sport though, the winning for me isn't all that important as I enjoy the whole battle. As a Mclaren fan the mid pack battle with Renault, Racing Point, Ferrari and Alfatauri is the best battle I can ever remember in f1.
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I’m in the exact same boat. It’s obviously exciting for race wins to be mixed up and there to multiple teams/drivers challenging at the front, but it’s so rare that it happens in this sport that you have to just enjoy & soak up those battles when they occur.

I find it far more interesting to really dive into the midfield/rest of paddock and (try to) understand the subtleties of the sport, the year-on-year battles, improvements and storylines which can make it fascinating.

The midfield the last few years has been fun, and even better this year now that Ferrari are in the mix.

Do I wish it was all battling for podiums? Yeah, obviously. But it’s unlikely to ever be the case. Even when the new rules come in, I fully expect 1 or 2 teams to boss the sport. It pretty much always happens that way.
 
Wicked_Badger said:
I’m in the exact same boat. It’s obviously exciting for race wins to be mixed up and there to multiple teams/drivers challenging at the front, but it’s so rare that it happens in this sport that you have to just enjoy & soak up those battles when they occur.

I find it far more interesting to really dive into the midfield/rest of paddock and (try to) understand the subtleties of the sport, the year-on-year battles, improvements and storylines which can make it fascinating.

The midfield the last few years has been fun, and even better this year now that Ferrari are in the mix.

Do I wish it was all battling for podiums? Yeah, obviously. But it’s unlikely to ever be the case. Even when the new rules come in, I fully expect 1 or 2 teams to boss the sport. It pretty much always happens that way.
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With Mercedes dominance right now the podium doesn't feel special for them or Red Bull anymore, but when the likes of Gasly managed to win or Sainz got close, that was REAL excitement. I haven't felt excitement in F1 like those last 15 laps at Monza for ages.

As much as I respect and appreciate just how good Mercedes have been in the last few years, if they're still dominating like this in 2022 then it would be nice if they stepped away for a while.
 
Williams finally reconfirms their drivers for 2021 with Russell & Latifi.

Perez's options looks limited to a space with Red Bull (if Albon goes back to Alpha Tauri if he doesn't cut it in the next couple of races) against Hulkenberg, or a seat at Haas.
 
F-Red said:
Williams finally reconfirms their drivers for 2021 with Russell & Latifi.

Perez's options looks limited to a space with Red Bull (if Albon goes back to Alpha Tauri if he doesn't cut it in the next couple of races) against Hulkenberg, or a seat at Haas.
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Glad they've stuck with Russell, would have been incredibly unfair even for F1 if he got dropped.

Given how strong the rumours are about Mazepin and Schumacher at Haas, suspect that's already been agreed and is just reliant on both getting a super licence for next year, think I read Schumacher needs sixth (so basically done) and Mazepin needs seventh which is likely but not completely secure. So think it's Red Bull or bust for Perez, think he'll likely get it but reckon Red Bull would be better off going for Hulkenberg, he might be slightly slower and doesn't have the sponsorship money but he gets on well with Max and is less likely to cause ructions in the team.
 
Not sure if you guys saw the perceived hint RB dropped on its twitter last week or whenever it was but it asked the question :

"Who did Max make contract with last week?" - many speculating since that the "contract" wasn't a typo, but a hint.

RB probably doesnt need the money but those two drivers have an enormous marketing appeal-and with the engine issue it may be hard for them to say no to the extra cash Perez will bring in. If I was Horner though Id worry about the potential personality clashes those two may have. No wonder Albon's been protected, he clearly is not one to ruffle feathers. I agree with the sentiment above Hulkenberg would be far more of a safe bet that way.
 
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This circuit always reminded me of Senna. Goodto see it back.
Did rules regarding helmet design change? Norris looks like always have a new design every race now.
 
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