FORMULA ONE - 2020

johndej said:

And yet Perez doesn't have a seat next year and Albon apparently will? 

Keith Tanner said:

I think Red Bull were trying harder near the end of the year, Mercedes publicly stated they were concentrating on the 2021 so the gap closed up. And it's not like Max being able to pull off one victory is an indication that Mercedes lost the plot, he was only on pole by 0.026s with Lewis close behind. Lewis was definitely not at full function today but more importantly this race is one that is determined by one lap in Q3. Had Lewis been healthy it's quite likely he could have 0.1s faster in qualifying and that would have been the race victory.

Yeah, with the VSC on lap 11 we didn't even have any pit stop related passing up front.  It was too early for anyone to have tried for an undercut and then they all went onto the hard tire, which was marginal on length.  That put everyone into tire conservation mode and it was just a procession after that.

Perez finished fourth in the standings, Max third, Albon was 7th.

Danny Ric (5th) nearly doubled the points output of Ocon (12th). 

LeClerc (8th) tripled the output of Vettel (13th).

There were a few midfield overtakes in those stacked DRS sectors, but about the only drama today was if Sainz would get a penalty. A far cry from last weekend. 

Sainz and Norris are both becoming quite good race race car drivers.

Seb's final message to Charles:

It says "To Charles, you are the most talented driver I came across in 15 years of F1. Don't waste it. Whatever you do to be happy and smile. Thanks for everything! - Seb"

In reply to Tom_Spangler (Forum Supporter) :

He can't say anything else or he looks even more 2nd rate:)

Kevin Magnussen's Most Memorable Moments In F1 I forgot that he podium his first grand prix. 

This Alonso kid looked pretty promising in the young drivers test this morning, it will be interesting to see how he does next year.

In reply to Tom_Spangler (Forum Supporter) :

Never was a Seb fan, but that's pretty classy, especially after the last two seasons he's had...

ANALYSIS: Why Red Bull promoted Tsunoda to Formula 1 – and what now for Kvyat? No suprise here Kvyat is out. Of course Hamilton is going to re-sign, stil question marks about Perez or Albon, at Redbull.

Thoughts on a second Russian Driver Nikita Mazepin?  Apparently a good F2 career but know nothing about him.

In reply to 84FSP :

His Dad, a Russian oligarch, is buying his seat at HASS. His f2 career really isn't great, not awful, but he's outclassed by plenty. Nikita is a berkeleying shiny happy person, on and off track. He's received multiple penalties for dangerous driving, and last week he posted a video on Instagram where he was grabbing the breast of some girl in the car with him. A quick google search will tell you more than we can.

In reply to 84FSP :

I don't know how he drives, but I think he's 1 penalty point away from a race ban, so hopefully he can keep it together for a while.  There's also a kerfuffle about a video posted on social media where he was apparently groping a woman.  I heard that it was the woman herself who posted it and she's been quoted as saying that she's basically okay with it, but it's not a story that I really followed at all.  His dad's one of some Russian oligarch so I'm sure he's bringing a bit of a financial package with him.

84FSP said:

Thoughts on a second Russian Driver Nikita Mazepin?  Apparently a good F2 career but know nothing about him.

It seems to be all about the Benjamins . . . well rubles really. His father, via the large company he owns/runs, tried to buy Force India via the bankruptcy process. That didn't happen so dad has sued the BK admins. The kid has had at least a couple incidents; punched a competitor and then the off track video he posted. If I were to guess at where the Haas deal is going Haas would end up being Marzipan F 1. 

Regarding his points, although he's like one point away from a race ban from his F3 and F2 actions, the penalty points reset when he starts in F1.

-Rob

In reply to rob_lewis :

I was unaware of that, thanks for the edjumacation! 

On the one hand, that's one less thing for Haas to worry about.  On the other hand, if I were king at the FIA I'm not sure why I'd want those to reset.  In fact, I might want to double the points since you're moving up into the big leagues and, theoretically, we should be looking at the world's best drivers.

Mazepin's dad may have got him into Formula 1 but it will be quickly evident if he's got the talent to stay there. I know it's easy to hate on someone for buying their way into a seat but let's see what he does with it.  I've seen two new outlets report that Perez is taking over Albons seat but Autosport still isn't reporting that, I wonder what's going on?

I don't think anyone has an issue with Mazepin buying his way into F1, they might have an issue with that in general but it is nothing new for the sport as we all know. The issues with Mazepin is how he has conducted himself on and off track, maybe he will mature next year when he is in the big show? Maybe he will continue to run other drivers off the track to prevent them passing like he did in Bahrain and posting questionable things to social media? 

It should make for an interesting side show at the back of the grid though. 

In reply to adam525i (Forum Supporter) :

I would if Haas can't improve.  That's a massive compromise for money's sake.  Lots rides of Mick's shoulders.

Perez deserves that Red Bull seat.

Jay_W said:

Perez deserves that Red Bull seat.

Red Bull still teasing at this point is not being fair to any of the drivers involved. It's a good thing they don't care about any sort of loyalty from their team members.

I'm not defending the way RBR are handling their second seat, just giving one possible explanation:

Carlos Slim (Sergio Perez' sugar daddy) owns or owns a stake in a soft drink company and the delay in the announcement is the result of hammering out negotiations on this. 

That's gotta be it, there's no reason for even a jackass like Horner to keep this hanging over Albion's head. 

So having watched F1 for over 40 years now,  all of the behind scenes machinations should be rather blase but:

I'm not a fan of the whole Red Bull system; it just seems to me that the likelihood of loosing drivers that could be very good is higher as some drivers take longer to come into to their own. I've always felt you get much better results when you mentor people rather than constantly putting them to the test. My thought has always been young drivers need a season without the pressure of a "result". Also I think most drivers put enough pressure on themselves that there is no point on applying more.

I'd like to see Perez given a shot for 21 but I suspect if they put him in Albon's seat he may well end up in the same boat as Albon.