F1 fans?

[MB19]

Having an American driver back in F1 is exciting, but the pressure on this kid to succeed in a backmarker ride could make for a rough ride.

 

Living in FL, I've taken an interest in this kid the past few years and have watched maybe 8 of his F2 and F3 races.  He's fast--as fast as anyone from the '22 F2 group--but not on the same level as either de Vries, Piastri or Schwartzman (who really should be on the grid IMO).  I'm not sure how much better than Latifi he will be his first year, and I'm expecting Albon to trounce him unless something goes terribly wrong for Alex.

 

Williams is taking a big gamble, but let's face it--they are a team that needs to take a big gamble to move out of the cellar.  It doesn't seem that long ago when Bottas, Massa and even Stroll were fighting for podiums for that team.  Will their new influx of cash help?  With the Williams family firmly out of the picture, will Williams eventually just turn into a Porsche venture?  Lots of questions about this team.

 

https://www.planetf1.com/news/who-is-logan-sargeant-us-f1-driver/

[lefthack]

On 1/21/2023 at 9:59 AM, MB19 said:

Having an American driver back in F1 is exciting, but the pressure on this kid to succeed in a backmarker ride could make for a rough ride.

 

Living in FL, I've taken an interest in this kid the past few years and have watched maybe 8 of his F2 and F3 races.  He's fast--as fast as anyone from the '22 F2 group--but not on the same level as either de Vries, Piastri or Schwartzman (who really should be on the grid IMO).  I'm not sure how much better than Latifi he will be his first year, and I'm expecting Albon to trounce him unless something goes terribly wrong for Alex.

 

Williams is taking a big gamble, but let's face it--they are a team that needs to take a big gamble to move out of the cellar.  It doesn't seem that long ago when Bottas, Massa and even Stroll were fighting for podiums for that team.  Will their new influx of cash help?  With the Williams family firmly out of the picture, will Williams eventually just turn into a Porsche venture?  Lots of questions about this team.

 

https://www.planetf1.com/news/who-is-logan-sargeant-us-f1-driver/

 

But look at how well Russell developed running in the back, scrapping for any points. I think that's why he's running so hard now. When you know how to get everything out of a package, when your package gets upgraded, it shows. 

 

But there is a ton of pressure on him, but he also has a great teammate to learn from 

[MB19]

6 hours ago, lefthack said:

 

But look at how well Russell developed running in the back, scrapping for any points. I think that's why he's running so hard now. When you know how to get everything out of a package, when your package gets upgraded, it shows. 

 

But there is a ton of pressure on him, but he also has a great teammate to learn from 

What you say is true.

 

it is also true that Russell had one of the best junior pedigrees when he came to F1.  He is one of four drivers to win GP2/F2 or GP3/F2 championships in consecutive fashion along with Hamilton, LeClerc and Hulkenberg (people forget this guy’s career started with a ton of earned hype).  Rosburg didn’t accomplish this feat in consecutive years, but he is the only other person to win both junior series.

 

Sargeant is fast—no doubt about it—but it is tough to compare him with a double junior champion with no series crown of his own.  He was in a car equipped to win F3 as a rookie, but stumbled late.  He was given a strong car last season, and one could argue he probably finished where he should have.

He’s come a long way from having to repeat F3 because he couldn’t find a sponsor (felt for the kid—tough family situation, maybe up against some collusion) to getting a ride with Williams and I hope he kills it.  Do I think there are a half-dozen guys who would be faster in that same car who would kill to be on that grid?  Yes, I do—but he’s next.

[lefthack]

2 hours ago, MB19 said:

What you say is true.

 

it is also true that Russell had one of the best junior pedigrees when he came to F1.  He is one of four drivers to win GP2/F2 or GP3/F2 championships in consecutive fashion along with Hamilton, LeClerc and Hulkenberg (people forget this guy’s career started with a ton of earned hype).  Rosburg didn’t accomplish this feat in consecutive years, but he is the only other person to win both junior series.

 

Sargeant is fast—no doubt about it—but it is tough to compare him with a double junior champion with no series crown of his own.  He was in a car equipped to win F3 as a rookie, but stumbled late.  He was given a strong car last season, and one could argue he probably finished where he should have.

He’s come a long way from having to repeat F3 because he couldn’t find a sponsor (felt for the kid—tough family situation, maybe up against some collusion) to getting a ride with Williams and I hope he kills it.  Do I think there are a half-dozen guys who would be faster in that same car who would kill to be on that grid?  Yes, I do—but he’s next.

 

There are a ton of fast kids and only 20, maybe 24 in '26 seats to go around. That's why as much as I love watching Alonso, he has nothing to prove and should give up his seat to someone who has stuff to prove.

 

This year has some good rookies and maybe some better cars. It might be a legit 3 way fight up front. 

[MB19]

1 hour ago, lefthack said:

 

There are a ton of fast kids and only 20, maybe 24 in '26 seats to go around. That's why as much as I love watching Alonso, he has nothing to prove and should give up his seat to someone who has stuff to prove.

 

This year has some good rookies and maybe some better cars. It might be a legit 3 way fight up front. 

I say as long as the 2x champ can show pace,  no need for him to step aside just yet.  I felt the same way about Kimi until right before he announced his retirement—but he was making bad decisions and was so bad in qualifying that it was obviously time.

 

I don’t even particularly like Alonso, but when his car is right he’s still so good.

[thepunch_out]

A little homage on the course.

[lefthack]

The plot thickens.

 

https://www.motorsport.com/f1/news/schumacher-joins-mclaren-as-f1-reserve-driver-for-2023/10427019/ 

 

I'm not saying he's as good as his dad because we don't know yet. But I think he might be good enough to compete. I would love to see what he could do with a mid level car or better. 

[dcmidnight]

On 1/26/2023 at 6:18 PM, thepunch_out said:

A little homage on the course.

 

Filthy...

[jwhite86]

On 1/26/2023 at 5:18 PM, thepunch_out said:

A little homage on the course.

 

I have one of the SWAG McLaren covers that gets used on race days... would like some more info about that bad boy though

 

Excited for the new season to start and to watch some practice on Friday during work

[lefthack]

Alfa Romeo and Aston Martin both looked damn good in testing. Mercedes has work to do and I would be shocked if they stay under the cap this year. They don't want third and might lose third to someone else. 

[dcmidnight]

11 minutes ago, lefthack said:

Alfa Romeo and Aston Martin both looked damn good in testing. Mercedes has work to do and I would be shocked if they stay under the cap this year. They don't want third and might lose third to someone else. 

 

Still wonder if the Mercs were sandbagging during testing too...

[lefthack]

1 hour ago, dcmidnight said:

 

Still wonder if the Mercs were sandbagging during testing too...

 

They lost a ton of folks before last season and that was mostly why they were so far behind. I bet they are still missing some high level folks and the development isn't there. They aren't terrible, but they are fighting for third place. 

[TiScape]

17 hours ago, dcmidnight said:

 

Still wonder if the Mercs were sandbagging during testing too...

FAR from an F1 expert, but weren’t ppl saying the same thing before last season? Turned out they just sucked. 😆 

 

*good thread. I learn a lot from you guys!  🙏🏼 

Edited March 2, 2023 by TiScape

[lefthack]

2 hours ago, TiScape said:

FAR from an F1 expert, but weren’t ppl saying the same thing before last season? Turned out they just sucked. 😆 

 

*good thread. I learn a lot from you guys!  🙏🏼 

 

It's best to let people assume you are sandbagging vs admitting you suck, I guess. 🤣

[thepunch_out]

@jwhite86 if you're on Instagram check out @pushcutcustom. He makes headcovers out of his basement as a side hustle but his work is phenomenal. Pretty sure he's on a break right now / not fielding orders at the moment, but it's worth checking out his work regardless he's incredibly creative. Here's a few more pictures of the Schumacher, I believe it was 1 of 5.

[jwhite86]

Very cool, I've checked him out and he's local

 

Thanks

[mshills]

I’m not on the ‘gram…..any other contact methods for that headcover or similar? That thing is fantastic. 

[lefthack]

Doesn't sound like sandbagging, but we shall see.

 

https://www.formula1.com/en/latest/article.we-are-a-long-way-off-mercedes-drivers-left-frustrated-after-first-practice.6lWzfJsehX7z4b3jaqq8GV.html

 

After jumping out of the W14 cockpit on Friday evening, Hamilton said: “We found out we are a long way off. We kind of knew that a little bit in the test, but it’s a big gap.

Edited March 3, 2023 by lefthack

[lefthack]

And in case you haven't noticed, Red Bull giving engines to McLaren could make things interesting. They need to do something or Lando will walk.

 

https://www.motorsport.com/f1/news/red-bull-holds-exploratory-talks-with-mclaren-over-f1-engine-supply-deal/10438969/

[lefthack]

Fernando Alonso 🤣 

 

 

[golfortennis]

Had Alonso not made that pass, would there be anything to talk about from that race?  Aside from that and Leclerc's car crapping out.... 

[lefthack]

2 minutes ago, golfortennis said:

Had Alonso not made that pass, would there be anything to talk about from that race?  Aside from that and Leclerc's car crapping out.... 

 

Gasly went from last to 9th, McLaren doesn't have a chance in hell this year, and now Hamilton contract talks have been shelved. I'd say a lot came out of that race. 

[golfortennis]

Just now, lefthack said:

 

Gasly went from last to 9th, McLaren doesn't have a chance in hell this year, and now Hamilton contract talks have been shelved. I'd say a lot came out of that race. 

 

Gasly was only last cause he didn't keep his car on the track in Q1.  He makes Q3 if he had better direction.  McLaren....hmmm, maybe Ricciardo wasn't the problem(although them deciding to ditch him witha  eyar to go is probably not helping this year's budget).

 

Hamilton talks...now this is interesting.  Did not know that.  But surely after last year people knew that Hamilton is not the same driver when he isn't in the best car.

[lefthack]

12 minutes ago, golfortennis said:

 

Gasly was only last cause he didn't keep his car on the track in Q1.  He makes Q3 if he had better direction.  McLaren....hmmm, maybe Ricciardo wasn't the problem(although them deciding to ditch him witha  eyar to go is probably not helping this year's budget).

 

Hamilton talks...now this is interesting.  Did not know that.  But surely after last year people knew that Hamilton is not the same driver when he isn't in the best car.

 

Danny Ric had his own problems, but the car clearly has issues. Good thing the new signs allow them to change sponsors on the fly. 🤣 

 

 

[ALX]

The way Mercedes (Toto and Russell) are already mailing it in and saying Redbull will win everything is so soft. I'm not a Verstappen fan at all, but now that Merc can't just throw money at their problems anymore and aren't on the dominant side of things is pretty eye opening.

[lefthack]

4 minutes ago, ALX said:

The way Mercedes (Toto and Russell) are already mailing it in and saying Redbull will win everything is so soft. I'm not a Verstappen fan at all, but now that Merc can't just throw money at their problems anymore and aren't on the dominant side of things is pretty eye opening.

 

It's tough when your 7 time world champion finishes 50 seconds back from the winner. That isn't a minor tweak to close that gap. 

[LeftDot]

1 hour ago, lefthack said:

 

It's tough when your 7 time world champion finishes 50 seconds back from the winner. That isn't a minor tweak to close that gap. 

 

And there's a certain irony to it as well. "We designed a potentially fast car but it's bouncy so now we need FIA to raise min ride height to stop porpoising next year" and now they're not even as proportionally fast as they were. Did they also lobby for the suspension changes going in to '22? - I forget the actual term but my understanding is that pre-22 there was a suspension technology that teams could have used to nullify the porpoising. Progressive hydraulic damping or something like that?

[lefthack]

7 minutes ago, LeftDot said:

 

And there's a certain irony to it as well. "We designed a potentially fast car but it's bouncy so now we need FIA to raise min ride height to stop porpoising next year" and now they're not even as proportionally fast as they were. Did they also lobby for the suspension changes going in to '22? - I forget the actual term but my understanding is that pre-22 there was a suspension technology that teams could have used to nullify the porpoising. Progressive hydraulic damping or something like that?

 

It just makes the cost cap worth it. Mercedes has money to spend. They went from $500M+ a year to $135M cap. They lost a ton of folks due to budget and team poaching. Figuring out how to win without a blank check is tough. 

[lefthack]

[iBanesto]