Formula One 2020

[JasonM]

1 minute ago, Chris2K said:

I do wonder how Lawrence Stroll feels about the whole thing. I'm sure he's happy his team won, but the reason he has the team is for his son to be successful, instead he's getting out-raced by Perez every time, and the guy who they're replacing Perez with is theoretically better than Checo based on past success.

Lance's reaction in the interview afterwards seemed pretty interesting, he seemed annoyed that Perez had won instead of him rather than happy for the team and Checo. I'm thinking that radio silence after Perez asked permission to pass Stroll is more telling than it seems.
 

It's an interesting conundrum, and one that hasn't shown up in F1 in literal decades. Because despite Lance being a damn decent driver, he's just that... decent, a guy that you'd sooner see in a Haas than a car that can battle for wins and podiums on good days.

The nepotism is clear and defined, and it's a problematic one because even taking the fact Perez is out of a seat despite being a clearly superior driver out of the equation, Lance Stroll for all intents is costing Racing Point/Aston Martin valuable points by getting mid-tier driver results in what can be a top tier car.

I also still believe Checo (like a Ricciardo) can get more out of the car than the car actually has in it. He's got that class, but that makes the decision to get rid of him all the more awful from a business standpoint.

It's going to be an interesting few years, and I think sooner rather than later we will see Lawrence Stroll having to make a choice between being a father who wants his son to be the best driver in the world (which Lance clearly isn't) and being a motorsport loving businessman who will want to be competing for the #2 spot in the WCC, if not the #1 spot.

They could mix, but F1 doesn't have that leeway. Even Bottas shows that even having the best car won't make you the guaranteed winner if the best driver isn't available.

But yeah, as much as Lawrence wants to do best by his kid. He is staking his own reputation on this project more than anyone, and when the time comes to make decisions, will he blindly stick to family (which is definitely respectable, albeit foolish), or will he be the businessman that wants results.

- Tangent 2:

Still a bloody shame about Checo though... But I have the distinct feeling that Red Bull is going to make a lot of phone calls to numerous drivers this winter, between Hulk/Checo, and even some outsiders like JEV/AFDC/RoGro/K-Mag, and of course Albon... They have the luxury of choice and a car that everyone wants a seat in.

Red Bull would be foolish not to take their time and finding the perfect secondary who has the experience and poise to deliver, which Albon (despite his best attempts, and getting no support from RBR management) has yet failed to give them.

Which kinda reminds me of Red Bull's general attitude. Because as much as they 'try' to give kids a chance to prove themselves, they have now hot-potatoed three drivers in about as many years, and in doing so have effectively burned their chances on all three of them.

You can make a case for Gasly growing into a top driver after he got demoted back to Alpha Tauri. But them giving him a new contract but keeping him in Alpha Tauri feels telling that Marko and Horner don't want to eat shit by vindicating Gasly with another go in the Red Bull... It feels they're instead keeping him warm in the hope of using him as a bargaining chip to swing a deal with Renault if the whole Honda-Mugen-rebrand-a-looza isn't happening.

But yeah, Red Bull doesn't want a plucky fast driver. Nobody can be like Max, and clearly they demand every kid to be Max and not give him any sort of leeway to fuck up as they gave Max early on. They want a Webber, a guy that's fast but experienced enough to get it done with minimal headache. They had that with Ricc, but he clearly knew that he wasn't going anywhere in the pecking order and jumped ship.

Now they have the choice though, and I wonder if they'll actually make that decision or continue on their junior-driver-destruction tour...

[METALMAN]

33 minutes ago, Chris2K said:

Lance's reaction in the interview afterwards seemed pretty interesting, he seemed annoyed that Perez had won instead of him rather than happy for the team and Checo. I'm thinking that radio silence after Perez asked permission to pass Stroll is more telling than it seems.
 

I thought that too! He seemed pretty pissed off in that interview and didn’t do a great job of hiding it.

[Chris2K]

I could be wrong, but I don't think he even went to congratulate Checo until they were at the weighing station. The best contrast is probably Gasly/Kyvat, where Kyvat was jumping on Gasly to celebrate almost before he got out of the car, and he wasn't even parked next to him.

For next season I really need to start watching the F2 races more, I caught the final two rounds this weekend because of the championship intrigue and the races were so much fun. I always say I'm going to follow it then never actually do.

[LUKIE]

3 hours ago, Jasonmufc said:

It's an interesting conundrum, and one that hasn't shown up in F1 in literal decades. Because despite Lance being a damn decent driver, he's just that... decent, a guy that you'd sooner see in a Haas than a car that can battle for wins and podiums on good days.

The nepotism is clear and defined, and it's a problematic one because even taking the fact Perez is out of a seat despite being a clearly superior driver out of the equation, Lance Stroll for all intents is costing Racing Point/Aston Martin valuable points by getting mid-tier driver results in what can be a top tier car.

I also still believe Checo (like a Ricciardo) can get more out of the car than the car actually has in it. He's got that class, but that makes the decision to get rid of him all the more awful from a business standpoint.

It's going to be an interesting few years, and I think sooner rather than later we will see Lawrence Stroll having to make a choice between being a father who wants his son to be the best driver in the world (which Lance clearly isn't) and being a motorsport loving businessman who will want to be competing for the #2 spot in the WCC, if not the #1 spot.

They could mix, but F1 doesn't have that leeway. Even Bottas shows that even having the best car won't make you the guaranteed winner if the best driver isn't available.

But yeah, as much as Lawrence wants to do best by his kid. He is staking his own reputation on this project more than anyone, and when the time comes to make decisions, will he blindly stick to family (which is definitely respectable, albeit foolish), or will he be the businessman that wants results.

- Tangent 2:

Still a bloody shame about Checo though... But I have the distinct feeling that Red Bull is going to make a lot of phone calls to numerous drivers this winter, between Hulk/Checo, and even some outsiders like JEV/AFDC/RoGro/K-Mag, and of course Albon... They have the luxury of choice and a car that everyone wants a seat in.

Red Bull would be foolish not to take their time and finding the perfect secondary who has the experience and poise to deliver, which Albon (despite his best attempts, and getting no support from RBR management) has yet failed to give them.

Which kinda reminds me of Red Bull's general attitude. Because as much as they 'try' to give kids a chance to prove themselves, they have now hot-potatoed three drivers in about as many years, and in doing so have effectively burned their chances on all three of them.

You can make a case for Gasly growing into a top driver after he got demoted back to Alpha Tauri. But them giving him a new contract but keeping him in Alpha Tauri feels telling that Marko and Horner don't want to eat shit by vindicating Gasly with another go in the Red Bull... It feels they're instead keeping him warm in the hope of using him as a bargaining chip to swing a deal with Renault if the whole Honda-Mugen-rebrand-a-looza isn't happening.

But yeah, Red Bull doesn't want a plucky fast driver. Nobody can be like Max, and clearly they demand every kid to be Max and not give him any sort of leeway to fuck up as they gave Max early on. They want a Webber, a guy that's fast but experienced enough to get it done with minimal headache. They had that with Ricc, but he clearly knew that he wasn't going anywhere in the pecking order and jumped ship.

Now they have the choice though, and I wonder if they'll actually make that decision or continue on their junior-driver-destruction tour...

Some really great points in there. We need to remember that Stroll is always going to be considered the #1 driver for the team and thus driving the "#1 car". So if Checo is driving a sub-car and continually outshining Stroll it's basically throwing points (and money) down the drain for nepotism and egos. It's fucking ludicrous. And with Vettel coming in, if they put him as a number 2 driver it would be laughable, and not something Vettel would put up with, I am sure.

I guess the issue with Checo going to Red Bull is that he is clearly a #1 driver and you are putting him against Verstappen, who with his ego won't want to put up with that kind of stuff. Politics are really hurting Perez for no fault of his own.

[Chris2K]

Some random trivia found on Reddit, who by the way do not share our dismissive opinion of Lance.

• Checo went from being the driver with the second largest number of races without a win to top of the list of drivers with the most races before their win (60 more than 2nd placed Mark Webber). Taking third spot in the highest number without a win is... Hulk! A podium finish at last.
• The last time a podium didn't contain a driver from Mercedes, Red Bull, Ferrari or McLaren was Malaysia 2009 (Button (Brawn), Heidfeld (BMW Sauber) and Glock (Toyota).
• Checo is the first driver to be last at the end of the first lap to win an F1 race. 
• 13 out of the 20 drivers who started the season have been on the podium this year (Kyvat, Grosjean, Magnussen, Russell, Latifi, Raikkonen and Giovanazzi haven't).
• The top 7 teams in the Constuctors championship all have over 100 points, Alfa Romeo in 8th have... 8.

[Adam]

On that last non-top teams podium stat...Brawn actually did become Mercedes the following year so I'd be keen to see what the last race to not feature them either was!

[The Lusophone]

On 07/12/2020 at 20:20, Adam said:

On that last non-top teams podium stat...Brawn actually did become Mercedes the following year so I'd be keen to see what the last race to not feature them either was!

Also Malaysia, this time in 2006. Fisichella led a Renault 1-2 ahead of teammate Fernando Alonso, with Jenson Button 3rd in his Honda. 

Of course Honda went onto become Brawn so the one before that was... Malaysia 2005, Alonso of Renault led Jarno Trulli of Toyota and Nick Heidfeld of Williams-BMW.

I'm beginning to sense a theme emerging...

[Chris2K]

And yet they'd rather go to Saudi than back to Malaysia which created a fun race every time. Particularly when the sky poured an ocean of water on the track, as it seemed to do a lot.

[LUKIE]

Still can't believe Perez has missed two races this year and is running 4th in the drivers championship.

[JasonM]

Just when you thought Silly season was behind us, it throws a few new curveballs at us.

- George Russell has removed all mentions of Williams from his IG.
- Valtteri Bottas has removed all mentions of Mercedes from his IG.
- Sean Gelael has announced he's not returning to F2 next season.
- Checo's brother posted a 'cryptic' IG picture of a red bull fridge.

Hamilton also has no references to Merc on his IG, but that's been the same since October.

All of it is just shit stirring, but well, I guess after Sunday the silly season has been put into yet another gear.

[Chris2K]

Perhaps Vince McMahon has told them they can't have any mention of their employer's name on their social media? 

But yeah that is certainly an interesting development. These things rarely happen by coincidence.

[Chris2K]

Bottas has since posted a random image of the Williams factory saying he went there today on a bike ride, so I think the troll job is very much on.

Meanwhile Lewis is saying he's fit for Abu Dhabi, and the Williams team have put Russell's name and number up above their garage (although they probably would have done that for Sahkir too).

[Twist]

34 minutes ago, Chris2K said:

Bottas has since posted a random image of the Williams factory saying he went there today on a bike ride, so I think the troll job is very much on.

Meanwhile Lewis is saying he's fit for Abu Dhabi, and the Williams team have put Russell's name and number up above their garage (although they probably would have done that for Sahkir too).

Was the Bottas image on Instagram, because if it was it isn’t anymore.

[Chris2K]

It was whatever this is! I now realise that's not the Williams factory by the way.

[Twist]

Red Bull having fun with it all and putting up a post doing a ‘bio check’ on Max and Albon to make sure they still say Red Bull drivers.

[Lineker]

Finally managed to sit down and watch the race. I knew the end result from working the night result, it was unavoidable. 

 

Absolutely gutted for George but couldn't not be delighted for Checo. Russell will be in that Merc again before long.

[Lineker]

Mazepin continues to be a dolt:

Quote

Ok here's a 'this is what it is' - CN: description of what appears to be non-consensual groping

A video is circulating that has been - allegedly - repeatedly screen-recorded from Nikita Mazepin's Instagram account; it's in a car and you don't see the camera-holder directly.

(I have to say this, it is legally obligate given what I'm about to describe)

The video appears to have been filmed in Bahrain, from the street furniture and signage. If it was, it was posted about 3:30am local time.

It is legal to drink in Bahrain in controlled circumstances and this looks like the aftermath of a drunken night out, it's a short video going round a roundabout, the driver doesn't appear intoxicated (and is not the camera holder)

It wouldn't be notable except there's a visibly intoxicated woman in the back seat of the car, who the camera holder gropes the breasts of, while she crosses her arms over them, hunched over and not enthusiastic. She's known to the camera holder (and tagged on the video)

The video is no longer on Mazepin's instagram story and I have only seen modified versions (correctly) intended to anonymise the woman and without sound, if there was any on the original.

This is just for anyone who wanted to know what people are talking about.

Please be careful when talking about this, from a legal perspective & also take care of each other.

(amendment: thank you to a local who identified it's UAE not Bahrain, so would have been posted about 4:30am local time)

Spoiler

 

 

He's also supposedly threatened to let out a "secret" about George Russell's sexuality - I've just seen a screengrab supposedly from Instagram on that one though.

[Lineker]

 

[Twist]

He should absolutely lose his seat.

If I sexually assaulted someone and posted it online I’d immediately lose my job and then I’d be criminally charged. Should be no different for him.

Here’s a summary of some of his other past misdeeds.

Edited December 9, 2020 by Twist

[The Lusophone]

It definitely should be, but I doubt it's going to be.