Pretty clear that Leclerc and Verstappen are the best around at the moment.
F1 2020 Season
- Thread starter pauldyson1uk
- Start date
They should do a charity event each year where the drivers all go up against each other in the same car.
I've always been a fan of a two race system like in F2. Except one race is for the constructors with their own cars, like all races at the moment. Then a second shorter race with spec cars and one shot qualifying for the drivers championship.
I’d love to see what Verstappen could do in a Mercedes
EDIT: Oh, you were referring to Bottas.
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I think they have the best raw pace but I don't think they can match Hamilton's race pace, not yet anyway.
Interesting post.
Moving interview. Didn't know how hard he found it to get out, being blocked in, his foot being stuck, having to lose his shoe to get out etc.Poor guy was preparing himself for the end there
I kinda love Mick Schumachers approach to team communication when in the car. No whinging, team tells him to do something, replies with a simple... ok. Michael was exactly the same. There is a calmness and control about him that tells me he has potential to be great.
Ross Brawn use to wax fanatically about Michael’s ability to process data on the run and talk to you calmly like He was sitting next to you while going 300kmh
Ross Brawn use to wax fanatically about Michael’s ability to process data on the run and talk to you calmly like He was sitting next to you while going 300kmh
Looks like the shirt term solution is adding tyres. Longer term will be interesting to see what they do.
Race Director announces barrier where Grosjean crashed will have tyres added ahead of Sakhir GP
https://www.formula1.com/en/latest/...l-have-tyres-added.GVwQ893yXsXsnoZJORiey.html
Nb. As an aside, the font on that website headline is horrible.
Says a hell of a lot more about Bottas. The second he is out of that Merc his career will fade into obscurity.
But that's what Merc want at the moment beside Lewis, a quiet yes Man who is grateful just to be in the car. Not a Rosberg or Alonso who will upset Hamilton.
Even after qualifying Russell still didn't know how to turn the car off and was asking the engineers for help 
Well done to Bottas 6.0 for beating him by a millisecond
Well done to Bottas 6.0 for beating him by a millisecond
Wtf1 isn't for everyone but this video is great. They have had a relationship with Jack Aitken for years, they are friends, wft1 sponsored his car at a lower level and he has appeared in numerous podcasts and karting videos.
They have a new 20 min video with him talking about becoming an F1 driver for the first time. Goes far beyond the usual soundboxes you heqr from drivers
They have a new 20 min video with him talking about becoming an F1 driver for the first time. Goes far beyond the usual soundboxes you heqr from drivers
Even after qualifying Russell still didn't know how to turn the car off and was asking the engineers for help
Well done to Bottas 6.0 for beating him by a millisecond
He also doesn't really fit in the car because he's too tall, he has to wear smaller sized shoes so he can operate the pedals, the steering wheel is molded after Hamilton's hands and he's had to relearn how to use all the systems and buttons in the car. Granted it's not stuff that will slow you down significantly on a qualifying lap but seeing how he's only had two days to get familiar with the car it's hard to not be very impressed with him being 0.02sec off pole.
For the last 25 odd years I've wanted a Ferrari driver to win every single F1 race but tomorrow I think I'm going to root for a Williams driver in a Mercedes instead.
Not into F1 at all, but someone who hasn't manage to get a point in 35 races goes into a Mercedes and gets second position right away in qualifies? Without specific training with the car etc.?
Says a lot about the imbalance in the race, I understand that it's always a mix about the driver and the mechanics behind it but surely that margin is horrendous for the sport?
Says a lot about the imbalance in the race, I understand that it's always a mix about the driver and the mechanics behind it but surely that margin is horrendous for the sport?
A quick driver who does wonders in qualifying with his own car just got into a quick car and was quick. What a surprise.
That's a bit like saying 'not into football at all but someone who hasn't scored a goal at Bolton in the last 20 games just got into United's team and scores a penalty right away?'
Driving an F1 car all season is as about as specific training as you can get I would imagine. Russell knows the team having been reserve driver in 2018 and completed a test with them at the end of last season in Abu Dhabi. They will have spent Wednesday, Thursday and Friday going through all the different settings on the car and the steering wheel. Apparently Mercedes also have a rig at the track where drivers can practice start procedures.
A big learning curve for sure but Russell is a young and talented driver (a former F2 champion, ahead of Norris and Albon).
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Aitken did well too, would have beaten Latifi had he not run wide at the final corner. Says a lot about what Russell has been doing all season...(I'm joking).
I'd also like to see them all in an exact same spec car think it would be really interesting. It would be interesting to see what Hamilton or Verstappen could get out of the bad cars eg the Haas and Williams. I obviously don't expect a win but could they get in the points
I know it will never happen but im another who would like to see Verstappen in the Mercedes it would at least make their dominance interesting
I think F1 is in a bit of a philosophical quandary. Clearly moving the 'Formula' closer towards a spec series would improve the show a great deal but it would not be an attractive prospect for manufacturers. Ferrari do not race in F1 to say 'our engineers and mechanics setup the exact same car better than anyone else'. Maybe F1 needs to shed that history to survive long term, maybe there's a happy medium of spec'd and non spec'd parts, who knows. What we do know is that the cars need to be closer together and that they need to be able to race properly without DRS trains or dirty air etc etc.
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The other issue with a spec series is the spec will suit some drivers more than others. You won’t find out who the best drivers are just who the person who suits the spec the most is.
It would be a bit like saying to find out who the best striker is we’ll just cross balls into the box and find out who scores the most.
Regarding Russell’s result, I don’t think I was a surprise. I think talent wise there’s a top 4 of Hamilton, Max, Leclerc and Russell (maybe Ricciardo knocks on that door). What today showed was that Russell is naturally faster than Bottas by being so close immediately. I sort of hope Russell gets the last race too, around a track where the driver will have more of a chance to impact the result.
It would be a bit like saying to find out who the best striker is we’ll just cross balls into the box and find out who scores the most.
Regarding Russell’s result, I don’t think I was a surprise. I think talent wise there’s a top 4 of Hamilton, Max, Leclerc and Russell (maybe Ricciardo knocks on that door). What today showed was that Russell is naturally faster than Bottas by being so close immediately. I sort of hope Russell gets the last race too, around a track where the driver will have more of a chance to impact the result.
Russell is not in that top tier, there's no proof of that at the moment. I'd fancy Ricciardo to be closer, but he always seemed a tenth down on Verstappen. Max may just be on his own small tier at the top though.
Not been as excited for a race in a long time, so much that could happen with Hamilton out and will be really interesting to see how Russell manages over the whole period of the race
Russell is a good driver, but he is also the most over rated on the grid by a good margin. It's the English effect, Norris is as well, though both are young and have obviously huge scope to get better.
The drivers rate Russell as one of the quickest over one lap.
Has Hamilton retired?
You say that there’s no proof Russell is top tier but then put Max as the best of all of them, it’s a bit contradictory.
There’s plenty to suggest both are very quick, ranking them will always be a bit subjective.
This F2 race is one of the best I've seen in a long time.
Won't disagree he is quick over one lap, F1 races are a sprint not a marathon though. Bottas is very close to Hamilton over 1 lap pace but he's nowhere near him usually by the end of the race.
Schumacher had the worst possible race he could have had. Tsunoda looks like the best talent out this group.
Ticktum's interview still confirming what a sh*tbag he is.
Yeah maybe so. I think Latifi is always going to be an awful benchmark either way.
F2 is so much more fun than F1. I had never watch it before I started to watch on Friday! F1 is like a charity race compared to F2!
Speaking of Latifi, isn't it great that the bazzilionaire sons club is getting a third member next year, while guys like Hulk and Perez can't get a drive
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This is true. Pretty much anyone can win. I have always liked the technology of F1, but this decade of dominance in F1 has started to make me long for a spec series.
Or maybe even just a spec engine, then teams just have to dick around with aero (which really is boring as feck). With Honda gone, Renault never looking secure and more than occasional rumours about Mercedes selling, it isn't impossible to imagine.
Teams need the money to keep the lights on, Haas and Williams are strapped for cash. While Stroll pumped money into Racing Point after the went bankrupt. Also it's a little rich for Perez to start moaning about pay drivers.
To be fair to Perez, he brings sponsorship but has been a top 5ish driver for a long time
Ohh I agree completely, but I would also say Stroll has shown potential to be a good driver too and also deserves his seat in F1. It's doing him a disservice to say he is only there because of money. There's very few in f1 anyway that would come from a comparatively modest background due to the costs of getting there. Hamilton and Vettel being notable exceptions.
I remember before Norris talking down Stroll and saying he never had the advantages of having a Billionaire father, which left a bad taste in my mouth as his father is a multi millionaire and she seemed to discount the value that gave him.
I think there is an enormous gap between someone like Norris who's millionaire dad helped fund his junior career, to Lance Stroll who is only in the sport because his billionaire daddy bought an entire team so he could get a drive, not to mention sacking Ocon in the process.
He has improved, but I would also argue he is clearly the second best driver at the team (despite Perez getting sacked) and some of his better results have been caused by odd quirks of strategy. But hey, I don't claim to be objective on Stroll, I have took a disliking to him since he was a Williams pay driver, long before he became the team owner.
Many reports seem to suggest the new pay driver at Haas has a very dangerous driving style.