The Formula One Thread

Regarding McLaren, I'm curious how much losing Andreas Seidl has impacted them. I know that Zak Brown tends to steal the show but... Seidl was the actual team principle. Zak may be a businessman but I don't know if he actually knows how to project manage and run the team.

Anyone who's run large teams or projects know that it's like herding cats. Without someone experienced and skilled in coordinating them and keeping everyone on track, the wheels tend to fall off (in this case, almost literally).

 

Saw this on Reddit but the audio is pretty interesting. Start at 25:30. Lewis sounds a little butt hurt that the design team didn't listen to him. Start of a fracture in the team? Frustration can lead to problems.
https://open.spotify.com/episode/5D...yrb8Zb//zTs+Z2iOTkRQM+06k0P0wo/gVdEK8k4sBAAA=

 

No, because Mercedes has already come out and said the design of the car has to change, basically saying lewis was right.

 

I believe this to have been mentioned by the Man himself (Michael S) at some point in an interview. Be hard to go back and find it, but I've always taken it as truth.

Remember, this is the guy that went motorcycle racing first thing after retiring from F1...

 

Highlight for me was the Russell/Alonso duel. Brief, but well fought on both sides. Russell's unwillingness to give up the place, even having a less than stellar car at the time (without resorting to hitting his opponent), was future world champion stuff.

Alonso's "go for it" attitude was kind of a breath of fresh air after all the "management" racing. Yes, he preserved his tires when he had the opportunity, but not at the expense of catching and passing those in front of him if there was even a slight chance of doing so.

Carlos Sainz's rolling over and essentially saying "if I fought, I'd just burn up my tires", is the prime example of the flip side of the coin. If anything leads to boring racing, that is it. I don't blame him, but if he had put up a fight, would he have been any worse off position-wise?

 

Lewis lives in your head rent-free, huh.

 

No, just another millionaire whiner doing what he does best.

 

In Mercedes defense, I have never seen or heard much from Hamilton in the way of positive input for car development or strategy. Listen to drivers during the race such as Alonso or even Russell and they are thinking things through and can give specific information on how the car is doing. Hamilton is all reactionary. All he can tell the team is that the tires are gone or that their pit strategy was wrong, after the fact.

 

Is it possible, and just hear me out here, that you were not present at the briefings when actual development input was being exchanged? Just a thought.

Don't get me wrong, if you know for a fact that the in-race radio exchanges are the totality of his feedback and that he just packs up and goes home after the races and that it involved himself in anything until the next GP starts, I have no reason to disbelieve your information. I'm just considering the possibility that maybe, just maybe, you haven't seen all of it.

 

That is true, no idea what goes on behind closed doors.

 

No question........Lewis.

 

Yeah b/c Mercedes can't figure out a problem that everyone else can so they lobby and get the rules changed. Fuck Mercedes

 

To be fair Ferrari, Mercedes and Red Bull are whiny bitches about just about every aspect they can find a competitive advantage in.
As are most of the other teams but we've had almost 20 years of these 3 winning so they make more news.

 

You don’t become a 7 time champion if you can’t give feedback and help set your car up, especially when you’re one of only two drivers to accomplish that feat

 

Especially when you're in the best car ever made! How did Lewis fare against his rookie teammate last year? Surely the goat did much better than the new guy

 

Well, you're a knowledgeable motorsports guy. Maybe you can help me out with a few questions I have. Feel free to split the workload with Dr A5…

Did McLaren win the championship the year before Hamilton joined the team? Did they win the championship any of the five years before he joined? How did he do in his first couple of years there?

Did Mercedes win the championship the year or three before Hamilton got there? How many years did it take him to win a championship with them?

How many times should he have done that before it was longer luck in your eyes?

In the 15 or whatever years that he raced F1, how many of his teammates were previous or soon-to-be world champions? How does that compare to the other great drivers from the past 20 years? What kind of teammates did they have? How many times did Hamilton's teammates beat him compared to the number of times he beat them? Is that also incredible luck?

Why is there an unwritten rule among haters that someone has to drive for a shit team before his greatness can be acknowledged? If you're so good that a top team keeps their eye on you as you rise through the ranks and recruits you as soon as you get to F1, is there a very valid reason you should turn it down? Icing on the cake: how many years did Verstappen spend on a shit team? Why does no one talk about that?

 

That's an inquiry, not a few questions
Just not a Hamilton fan. I think Russell joining that team was a perfect example, his new teammate outscored him! Did that ever happen to Schumacher, Alonso, Vettel, Max?
Hamilton is currently in a car that struggles, last year he struggled more than Russell.
I do acknowledge Hamilton's greatness, just probably not as much as he does.

 

Nothing wrong with that. But the facts are the facts.

Alonso was beaten by rookie Hamilton. Ricciardo had Vettel run from Red Bull like Lorenzo did to Rossi at Yamaha. What strong teammates did Schumacher or Max have?

Hamilton is an older driver with seven championships. He has earned the right not to feel motivated to drive a shit car. And Russell is no Perez or Sainz. He has far more talent than them. There is nothing embarrassing about losing to him.

But back to my questions. Whenever you're ready.

 

Damn, the SAT's have less questions than that