Formula 1 Discussion - And favourite driver?

[Su-27 Flanker-B]

Latifi is a paid driver. Money is what keeps him in.

 

[Friendly Primarina]

I don't see why Schumacher should be kept around any longer. He's doing worse than some drivers considered "trash" by many, but people are ready to stick up to him. In my opinion - only because of his name.
Some want to compare him to Ralf, but those probably forget that Ralf actually scored points and drove very competitively in most cars he drove, despite those being less than stellar most of the time, at the grid where only top 6 or top 8 would get any points.

Isn't it only like his second year in F1? Calm down lol.

 

[Wild Wild Sonichu]

Isn't it only like his second year in F1? Calm down lol.

While I definitely agree here, a team like Haas really can't fuck around like anyone else can. They've got the smallest budget on the grid, and Mick's not bringing in money (The 1&1 sponsorship came from before he got his seat) like the other shit drivers do (Latifi, Stroll) where they can at least mitigate some of the damage.

That said, the 'rumour', which I'm not even going to post, that he's potentially going to make a move to Aston, I really don't believe. It seems counter-productive for all involved.

 

[RomanesEuntDomus]

That said, the 'rumour', which I'm not even going to post, that he's potentially going to make a move to Aston, I really don't believe. It seems counter-productive for all involved.

If he replaced Stroll, that'd be kinda swell, though.

Latifi is a paid driver. Money is what keeps him in.

Yeah but you might start bitching about that clown (who's lower in the standings that Mick btw ) rather than about a guy during his second season in F1 when much more accomplished drivers struggle with the new aero setup at times.

 

[Full Race Replay]

If he replaced Stroll, that'd be kinda swell, though.

Is this a realistic possibility though? While daddy's cash is running the team stroll is probably going to stay there until he doesn't want to anymore. This reminds me of when mazepin said he wanted to shop around to drive for another team sometime last year.

 

[Wild Wild Sonichu]

Is this a realistic possibility though? While daddy's cash is running the team stroll is probably going to stay there until he doesn't want to anymore. This reminds me of when mazepin said he wanted to shop around to drive for another team sometime last year.

Agreed. If anyone's leaving AM at the moment, it would probably be Seb retiring. Lance may be a liability, but Daddy Stroll has so much in AM that they're almost guaranteed to go on without him. At least Haas has the excuse of having an array of useless paid drivers to go through.

 

[Lone Dogma]

Isn't it only like his second year in F1?

It's also Yuki's. And lets just say Gasly isn't looking peachy right now.

 

[Pee Cola]

Unless he chooses to join Formula E. It's a fate worse than death.
Formula E is to F1 what "Straight to VHS" was to cinema.

I didn't think of Formula E when I made that comment. Probably because it doesn't really count. Heck, going to Formula Ford would be a better move for an F1 driver than going to Formula E.

Stroll is pretty certain to be in the AM seat and Williams and Alpha Tauri will probably keep at least one of this year's drivers for consistency. I could see Pouchaire in the second Alfa Romeo seat and Zhou moving to either Williams or Hass with his money. Piastri also needs to get a seat next year.

If Seb decides to retire or move to a different category and Ric gets yeeted by McLaren, I'd expect Daddy Stroll to turn up on Ric's doorstep with a dump truck full of cash. Whilst not a former WDC, Ric would be a perfectly cromulent babysitter.

Zhou would make an excellent plug-in replacement for Latifi at Williams. Unlike Latifi, Zhou can actually drive. It'd also open up a seat for Mick at Alfa Romeo.

Albon deserves a better seat. My first thought was Alpine if Alonso retires, but tbqh if Hambone rage quits F1 sometime between now and the end of the season, Merc could do worse than to recruit Alex as George's bottom bitch.

If Andretti is still keen to enter F1 in 2024, they could always pay for their boy Herta to spend 2023 at Haas and learn the ropes.

 

[RomanesEuntDomus]

I got this wild idea of Mick joining Mercedes at some point and winning a title in the team that his father helped shaping into a WDC winning conveyor belt.

Though of course, he'd need to get his shit together first. If Seb retires, I hope he'll at least stick around for '23 and that AM gets their shit together as well. I'd love so much to see him fight for podiums once more... but if he retires, I wouldn't mind him acting as an advisor to AM, maybe even while Mick is there. That'd kick ass.

 

[Coccxys]

Mick's not bringing in money (The 1&1 sponsorship came from before he got his seat)

I got this wild idea of Mick joining Mercedes at some point

Don't forget Mick is contracted to Ferrari as a junior driver. He's driving for Haas technically on loan from them.

With Haas being a de facto Ferrari junior team they're going to have to keep one of their academy drivers in a seat to keep their sweetheart engine deal and technical partnership (everything that can be legally bought they get from Ferrari).

Hell the windtunnel and CFD suite they use is Ferraris rather than having their own. It's one of the things Toto keeps prattling on about with zero evidence that somehow Ferrari are getting time beyond their allowance by doing something dodgy with Haas.

 

[JoseRaulChupacabra]

Don't forget Mick is contracted to Ferrari as a junior driver. He's driving for Haas technically on loan from them.

With Haas being a de facto Ferrari junior team they're going to have to keep one of their academy drivers in a seat to keep their sweetheart engine deal and technical partnership (everything that can be legally bought they get from Ferrari).

Are they hoping to recreate another Schumacher Caballero Rojo situation?

I've not followed F1 at all before last year, and all I could remember was hearing the name Schumacher repeatedly as a child and that he's riding the screaming Ferrari with the signature sound.

 

[Weeb Slinger]

I would assume that Hamilton has a clause in his contract, that if he's not challenging for the title, he might leave the team at the end of the season (or even sooner).

This might be an option to either the team or Lewis and I would not be surprised to see it happen. Lewis can retire (or be forced to retire) that way if the relationship to Mercedes implodes - which isn't entirely unlikely. Russel will renew his contract for next season and he's in a very strong position to negotiate quite favorable terms.
Terms that might piss off Lewis quite a lot. Such as Mercedes allowing drivers to compete in the first few races and then backing the one that performed better to be the #1.
I guess even terms stating that Russel does not have to let Lewis pass if Lewis is behind Russel in the Team standings (something I would argue is in place even now) is enough to take its toll on King Louie.

At the moment, Toto's got Larbleton's back, but if this stretch of bad performance continues, chances do increase for Hamilton to say something so fundamentally stupid, that it pisses off the Mercedes high brass. Something like "My team is backing Russel cause he's white". That, I could see acting as a nuclear bomb in Hamilton's career.

The destinies of Hamilton and Wolff were combined when they both touched the Interlagos Fate Stone at the same time, and a hologram of Michael Schumacher, in his secret evolved form as the Grand Mechanic, warned them that they would be bound to one another, even beyond death. But that's another story.

What this means in practical terms is that the exit of one from the front end of the sport is likely to precipitate the departure of the other. Wolff, as part team owner, has the option to graduate to a more hands-off role within the Mercedes whenever he chooses. I suspect that, if it looks like the team are settling into a bronze medal position during this iteration of F1, he will ascend into senior management and lobby for a set of rules that are more sympathetic to Mercedes the next time there is a sea change in the sport. It's not like there is no precedent for this. Unless there is a massive improvement in on-track performance, I think that he will leave the pit wall at the conclusion of 2023.

Hamilton can't be very popular with the team, given his off-hand remarks about allowing the second driver to race on his behalf, if he isn't allowed to wear his jewellery. It's incredibly disrespectful to the people who are building his car and doing their best to make it a contender on the track. His sour and unhelpful attitude has been thrown into stark relief by the bright-eyed George Russell, who has more than earned his spot. Outside of the Sky Commentary team, Wolff is his main vocal supporter, though it isn't clear how much of his cheerleading is sincere and how much is aimed at managing the punctured ego of a man who threatens to drag the entire operation off-kilter. If Wolff jumps first then Hamilton will follow sooner or later. It will be interesting to see how long it takes for the penny to drop. Will he limp on for one more season in the Merc?

When he leaves Mercedes, I assume that he will also leave the sport. Where else would he go? No top team would take him even if there was space. The man is a walking liability. He would never be able to adjust in any positive way to life in a midfield team where the emphasis is on development. Unlike Alonso, for example, who will provide feedback that will help you build a better car, Hamilton never developed these skills because he never had too. I wonder if there was the option of him bringing things around full circle and racing for McLaren, whether he would do that.

He seems lost. One the great F1 photos of all time is of Kimi and his family with their backs to the camera, walking away from F1 for good with nothing left to prove. I don't know where else Hamilton would go. I don't think he knows either.

 

[RomanesEuntDomus]

The destinies of Hamilton and Wolff were combined when they both touched the Interlagos Fate Stone at the same time, and a hologram of Michael Schumacher, in his secret evolved form as the Grand Mechanic, warned them that they would be bound to one another, even beyond death. But that's another story.

What this means in practical terms is that the exit of one from the front end of the sport is likely to precipitate the departure of the other. Wolff, as part team owner, has the option to graduate to a more hands-off role within the Mercedes whenever he chooses. I suspect that, if it looks like the team are settling into a bronze medal position during this iteration of F1, he will ascend into senior management and lobby for a set of rules that are more sympathetic to Mercedes the next time there is a sea change in the sport. It's not like there is no precedent for this. Unless there is a massive improvement in on-track performance, I think that he will leave the pit wall at the conclusion of 2023.

Hamilton can't be very popular with the team, given his off-hand remarks about allowing the second driver to race on his behalf, if he isn't allowed to wear his jewellery. It's incredibly disrespectful to the people who are building his car and doing their best to make it a contender on the track. His sour and unhelpful attitude has been thrown into stark relief by the bright-eyed George Russell, who has more than earned his spot. Outside of the Sky Commentary team, Wolff is his main vocal supporter, though it isn't clear how much of his cheerleading is sincere and how much is aimed at managing the punctured ego of a man who threatens to drag the entire operation off-kilter. If Wolff jumps first then Hamilton will follow sooner or later. It will be interesting to see how long it takes for the penny to drop. Will he limp on for one more season in the Merc?

When he leaves Mercedes, I assume that he will also leave the sport. Where else would he go? No top team would take him even if there was space. The man is a walking liability. He would never be able to adjust in any positive way to life in a midfield team where the emphasis is on development. Unlike Alonso, for example, who will provide feedback that will help you build a better car, Hamilton never developed these skills because he never had too. I wonder if there was the option of him bringing things around full circle and racing for McLaren, whether he would do that.

He seems lost. One the great F1 photos of all time is of Kimi and his family with their backs to the camera, walking away from F1 for good with nothing left to prove. I don't know where else Hamilton would go. I don't think he knows either.

Hey, remember when Hamilton commented on a group-photo of all the engineers that worked on his WDC-winning cars of the past and the only thing he had to say was "an awful lot of honkies, knowhatImean."?

Romanesridge Farm remembers...

I wouldn't say Hamilton dislikes the sport, but I don't think he really likes it either. It has become a means to and end, and that end is street cred with afro-american high society.
If Hamilton joined McLaren and drove for an underdog team, just cause he enjoys the sport, I'd really appreciate it, but I doubt it. And as I've said numerous times, unlike most other drivers, I simply don't think he has any worthwhile input on car design or team management whatsoever. If he sticks around as advisor for Mercedes after his active driving days, he'll be insanely toxic and demanding token blacks to be picked for jobs they don't qualify for or stirring up shit with mandated diversity training sessions for his team (which will incidently just create barriers between people, rather than making them work as one).
Thankfully (for Merc), I doubt that's what Hamilton has in mind, though. He wants to be a "brand ambassador", whatever the fuck that is. I guess basically a black Marlboro Man for Mercedes... and maybe his own shitty clothes line or cologne or something.

 

[Su-27 Flanker-B]

What the fuck is going on with formula E? Youtube got me recommended some weird knockout tournament, apparently that is how they do qualifying?

 

[Pee Cola]

I wouldn't say Hamilton dislikes the sport, but I don't think he really likes it either. It has become a means to and end, and that end is street cred with afro-american high society.

The thing is that once upon a time, this wasn't the case. The Lewis Hamilton from the Top Gear Senna tribute posted earlier ITT is a completely different person to Kang Lewlew Hambone the First.

What the fuck is going on with formula E? Youtube got me recommended some weird knockout tournament, apparently that is how they do qualifying?

It gets worse. IIRC there's some sort of home viewer vote that acts as a power-up during the race for the most popular driver. Formula E is an abomination that has set back the cause of EVs by at least a decade.

 

[RomanesEuntDomus]

The thing is that once upon a time, this wasn't the case. The Lewis Hamilton from the Top Gear Senna tribute posted earlier ITT is a completely different person to Kang Lewlew Hambone the First.

It's sad to see a driver who genuinely enjoyed the sport has become so full of himself. No humbleness, not passion. Just attention whoring.

It gets worse. IIRC there's some sort of home viewer vote that acts as a power-up during the race for the most popular driver. Formula E is an abomination that has set back the cause of EVs by at least a decade.

Yeah, the fan-boost. It's a really sad attempt to increase fan engagement, by giving them a way to influence the race. Might as well allow F1 fans to throw garbage on the track, after all, apparently it's peak sportsmanship to have people from outside the sport interfering with the outcome.

Attack-mode is fucking stupid, too. It gives you a few minutes of more engine power, but when there's a yellow flag or VSC, the time ticks down nonetheless, so you waste that engine boost. Worst of all, the few races I watched, the attack mode zones that you need to driver over to activate that boost are placed in corners off the racing line, so by going through those zones, you end up losing at least 2 or 3 places and then under best circumstances, you might end up where you were before you grabbed the boost. More often than not, I saw people end up losing places when using attack mode. What the fuck is that?
Might as well call it the "try to reclaim track position" mode. It's mandatory to use it, but I have always wondered what the punishment for not using it at all is, cause anything short of a DSQ has a decent chance of being less severe than using this craptastic "game" mechanic.

The fundamental problems of Formula E:

1) The sport mainly consists of failed F1 drivers.
2) It doesn't feel like a sport, it feels like a mere game. Add Problem 1) and this gets even worse. It's not about "the best of the best" competing for a title. It's literally a bunch of F1-has-beens taking turns playing bumper cars.
3) The sport is about efficient use of energy, that's interesting from an engineering POV, but it does not make for good racing. In fact, it's the exact opposite of what racing should be like. Instead of trying to go as fast as possible and push the limits of racing performance, it's all about coasting towards the finishing line. It's a "racing" "sport" that uses regular car tyres for crying out loud.
4) The game is literally like flipping coins or throwing dice. By the end of each season, a shitton of drivers are still in for a title fight. This isn't due to them having such a tight competition, it's virtually random who ends up winning.
5) The racetracks are terrible. All of them. The sport avoids F1 tracks like the plague, cause it makes it abundantly clear how utterly slow and underwhelming these cars are. Imagine a FE car going up Eau Rouge They once went to the F1 layout of Monaco and the laptimes were abyssmal.
6) Something that's not easily fixable, but the cars sound like RC cars. It's just pathetic. If the races were actual nail-biters and offered great racing moments, it would be forgiven, but the way it is, I can't take this shit seriously at all.

Whenver I watch Formula E, I am reminded of the chase scenes from Space Mutiny.

My ideas to make Formula E stop being crap:

1) Remove Fan-boost and attack mode.
2) Introduce a battery-change mechanic. I imagine you could put up a crane that can attach to the battery, lift it out the car and drop a new one in.
3) With power consumption no longer being a limiting factor thanks to a "refueling" mechanic, make the cars go as fast as possible.

I want to see a sport where drivers push themselves and their cars to the limit at break-neck speeds with cutting edge engineering. Formula E is a boringly tedious, needlessly gamefied wannabe-sport that's more obsessed with its "green" reputation than with delivering actual racing action. The championship results are essentially just randomized due to the highly erratic way how races go.

 

[Friendly Primarina]

Formula E is the "Never Mind the Buzzcocks" of professional motorsports.

 

[quaawaa]

With power consumption no longer being a limiting factor thanks to a "refueling" mechanic, make the cars go as fast as possible.

They used to have a second car and have the driver swap into it when it ran out of battery. Same effect as a battery swap, just more expensive. It was also incredibly lame.

 

[The Grognard]

IMO the main focus with FE should be that there shouldn't be a limit to how much power you can store as long as the battery fits to the car. Thus, there would be an incentive to maximize the efficiency of the storage and thus give a reason for the constructors to spend as much money as they can to solving the primary issue with electric cars.

 

[RomanesEuntDomus]

They used to have a second car and have the driver swap into it when it ran out of battery. Same effect as a battery swap, just more expensive. It was also incredibly lame.

I know, but that just sorta highlights how much of a gimmick FE is and that it is very limited. A battery swap is much more acceptable to me in that regard.

Electromobility in general has the issue of absurdly long recharging periods, so a couple companies were spitballing the idea of swapping batteries for e-cars on the road, just to be about as quick as pumping gas. FE could attempt such a system for racing and see how it goes.

IMO the main focus with FE should be that there shouldn't be a limit to how much power you can store as long as the battery fits to the car. Thus, there would be an incentive to maximize the efficiency of the storage and thus give a reason for the constructors to spend as much money as they can to solving the primary issue with electric cars.

Absolutely, they should just be given the dimensions and weight limit of the battery and then try to squeeze as much power in there as possible. But afaik, the batteries are standardized... so while F1 has the thin veneer of pioneering new possible technology for road-cars, FE is literally bailing out on that one. FE has no applicability for e-mobility whatsoever.

And here's a really wild fucking idea: Formula 1 could become more eco-friendly than FE by simply using some eco-friendly means to shuttle spectators from trainstation, hotels and airports to the racetrack.