The F1 thread
Re: The F1 thread
Good for him. Questions will always remain for me over how big a part his driving skill played during his Red Bull dominance, and good god was he insufferable back then, but the way he's mellowed as a person since then and has made real efforts to improve the ethics of the sport in a number of arenas is highly commendable. If I had to pick a current F1 driver to have a beer with, I think he'd be my first choice.
And for what it's worth, I do think he was an extraordinary driver at times. His first win at Toro Rosso was not something any random F1 driver could have achieved.
And for what it's worth, I do think he was an extraordinary driver at times. His first win at Toro Rosso was not something any random F1 driver could have achieved.
Re: The F1 thread
Was he? I genuinely don't remember anything but the finger.
I'll miss Seb. He's really been a force for good since leaving Red Bull. He seemed happier out of the car than in it, and he's been pretty outspoken both on sporting topics and wider issues. Sadly I'll always have a question mark about his racing prowess, which feels a bit unfair. Red Bull were incredibly good at getting pole position, and then getting three or four seconds ahead of the driver in second within the first couple of laps that they just never really got challenged. We didn't get to see Seb actually race very often, as when he wasn't in the lead the Red Bull wasn't competitive as it was always set up to drive away in clear air, not follow another car. It was either that or he wasn't very good at overtaking, and I doubt you get to F1 without being able to overtake. I've never rated him as highly as Hamilton or Alonso.
Re: The F1 thread
I’ll just leave this here…
In seriousness though, arrogant doesn’t begin to describe him during his world champion years. A perfect example of his attitude was the Multi-21 incident in which he directly disobeyed team orders to screw over his team mate Webber, and afterwards instead of showing any sort of contrition he basically gloated about how he’d benefited from it. There is a certain level of arrogance to any F1 champion as it comes with the territory, but Vettel went above and beyond to spoil his reputation more than most. I’m glad he changed and showed that he is actually a thoroughly decent person.
Re: The F1 thread
Oh god I'd forgotten the Crazy Frog stuff.
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DjchunKfunK
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Re: The F1 thread
Yeah he was an insufferable arse early on. I think the fact that he hasn't really shown much in a car that wasn't a Red Bull means there will always be doubts about his skills, maybe if Ferrari hadn't messed up, and he hadn't crumbled a bit in 2018 he'd be thought of differently. The fact that he's barely done better than Lance Stroll these last few years in the same car says a fair bit though.
Re: The F1 thread
Well, that was embarrassing. Lewis and Max were in the cooldown room both incredulous that Charles had been put on the hard tyres, and his performance on that stint was evidence as to why. You could hear how dejected Charles was when he was asking something of his engineer at the end of the race. I suspect he's really losing confidence in his team, and that's going to put additional pressure on his shoulders and, with the way he's already performing, lead to more mistakes. Numerically the championship isn't in his hands any more; he can now win every race and still come second to Max. Christ, Red Bull could just not turn up to the next three races and Max would still be ahead.
Re: The F1 thread
Good race, some quality driving on show today from lots of drivers (I did particularly enjoy Ricciardo waltzing past the Aplines as they fumbled around each other). But yes, I have to agree that Ferrari have a lot to answer for. Given that the hard tyres had shown little promise in practice and that rain was still on the cards, the choice to put them on Leclerc was baffling. These sort of weird decisions have been going on for years now - it's like every time there is a safe/slower option and a risky/faster option, Ferrari will go for secret option number stupid. Is it that they have some expensive but crap supercomputer that they unquestioningly follow in terms of strategy, or is it that their staff are so afraid of rocking the boat that they won't speak up against dodgy team decisions? Something isn't right.
Re: The F1 thread
What I find odd is that, despite now having completed three separate stints with Renault, they still don't want to keep him. It's either that or Fernando has made another move of his own volition, and once again it's to a team that aren't looking hugely promising. It suggests to me Lawrence Stroll has gotten his chequebook out again and paying a huge amount for a world champion to help with developing his car, because his own son isn't up to the task despite this being his sixth year in the sport.
Re: The F1 thread
Binotto doubling down, choosing a terrible hill to die on: https://www.formula1.com/en/latest/arti ... AKQCI.html
Re: The F1 thread
The incredible rumour I've heard is that Alpine had the option for Piastri's drive right up until the end of July. On August 1st, Alonso told Alpine that he was moving to Aston Martin, after weeks of talks with AM but having given no indication to Alpine.
I know Fernando has a history of intentionally screwing over his team, but I'd love to know exactly what Alpine (or indeed Alonso himself) has done to sour that relationship so much.
I know Fernando has a history of intentionally screwing over his team, but I'd love to know exactly what Alpine (or indeed Alonso himself) has done to sour that relationship so much.
Re: The F1 thread
https://www.racefans.net/2022/08/24/mcl ... of-season/
I'm not especially surprised. Other than that win last year, Ricciardo's just been entirely shown up by Norris. I'm not sure what's happened, whether he's just never been that good and the Red Bull flattered him (not really a theory I agree with), or if he was just a one-trick pony and he hasn't been able to replicate that trick in other cars.
I'm not especially surprised. Other than that win last year, Ricciardo's just been entirely shown up by Norris. I'm not sure what's happened, whether he's just never been that good and the Red Bull flattered him (not really a theory I agree with), or if he was just a one-trick pony and he hasn't been able to replicate that trick in other cars.