Formula 1 Discussion - And favourite driver?

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Didn't those exceptions run out in September last year? Now the engines are frozen till 2026. Ferrari used that to overhaul it's engine (they also reduced power until Abu Dhabi)
You might have to turn off any adblockers you have, but this article suggests that reliability fixes can still continue

 
You might have to turn off any adblockers you have, but this article suggests that reliability fixes can still continue

I'd love to see those meetings.

"Yeh, need a bigger turbo and a new cam grind, it's fer.... reli'bilty in'nt?"
 
You might have to turn off any adblockers you have, but this article suggests that reliability fixes can still continue

Interesting. I know that Ferrari needed approval from the FIA and the FIA also had to be included in the modification of the engine. So there is oversight. The question is of course how much does the FIA understand what is done to the engine. I for one hope that Ferrari has solved their engine issues and that they can blast that thing from race 1. Should help Alfa and Haas too
 
That was a good video, but I couldn't help but notice that one driver was missing...
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The FIA has banned drivers from making political statements:
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Source (Archive)
I personally feel that any driver should be able to support and back anything that they see fit. It's their right as a person to do so. I do however see the point that they are ambassadors of the sport and that it can really reflect poorly on the sport as a whole when they act in ways that are seen as unbecoming. It's a really difficult balance to strike, honestly.

All in all, I don't really care what drivers think about politics or current events, I just want to watch them go in circles really quickly.
 
Hmm.... Williams have picked up another driver for their academy, they're starting to develop a type. Namely driver's doing well in a back marker team and being about the same or slightly worse than the big boy academies.

Logan Sargeant: about level with Pouchaire, Piastri, Dohan and the Red Bull boys, and had a stunning 2021 F3 season with Charouz scoring 106 of 127 points

Zak O'Sulivan: scored 54 of 57 points for Carlin in F3 2022

Oliver Gray: Runner up of British F4 and beating rookie 15yo teammate, McLaren's next big thing Ugo.

and now Franco Colapinto from Argentina who scored 76 out of 91 points for VAR in F3 2022.
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Also I'm sat waiting to see if anyone will pick up Noah Stromsted.
 
I personally feel that any driver should be able to support and back anything that they see fit. It's their right as a person to do so. I do however see the point that they are ambassadors of the sport and that it can really reflect poorly on the sport as a whole when they act in ways that are seen as unbecoming. It's a really difficult balance to strike, honestly.
The trouble is that a few drivers (well, two in particular - one current and one recently retired) have made their beliefs and causes part of their brand. I'm not optimistic that the FIA ban on political statements will lead to any real change.

Then there's the motivation behind this ban. It has nothing to do with stopping the likes of Hambone shooting off his mouth and everything to do with the like of Seb pointing out the obvious. Pointing out human rights abuses in Saudi Arabia is bad for business in the Middle East, whereas sucking nigger girlcock is good for business in the States.
now Franco Colapinto from Argentina who scored 76 out of 91 points for VAR in F3 2022.
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Off topic, but is it just me or does that press release read like something generated by ChatGPT? I guess most pressers do. I'd be worried about my job if I was working in PR right now, though if I was working in PR I probably wouldn't have enough braincells to notice the clear and imminent danger to my career.
 
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Who's gonna be the first one caught cheating when those rules come into effect?
Mercedes and Aston Martin have been creative with loopholes last season, not exactly "cheating" but it won't surprise me if they (or some other minnow like Haas or Williams) try to get too creative again in 2023, especially with the new floor regulations.

Also speaking of politics in F1, a lot of people (especially on the cesspit that is F1 Twitter) seem to mis-conceptualize that Mazepin was sacked for supporting Russia during the invasion. He's literally forced to have a neutral stance on that matter due to being in-between of his pro-Putin oligarch father and pro-Ukraine F1 paddock/community. He was just sacked simply because Haas dropped Uralkali's title sponsor deal, and in turn Mazepin's contract too.

The new regulation on political messages seems specifically targeted towards Seb in the first place, with some copium in the form of "oh well it follows IOC standards too lol get owned". Since Seb is likely still going to hang around in the 2023 paddock quite a lot, they're looking for ways to silence his messaging, that can make an effect on their oil money income.
 
Mercedes and Aston Martin have been creative with loopholes last season, not exactly "cheating" but it won't surprise me if they (or some other minnow like Haas or Williams) try to get too creative again in 2023, especially with the new floor regulations.

Also speaking of politics in F1, a lot of people (especially on the cesspit that is F1 Twitter) seem to mis-conceptualize that Mazepin was sacked for supporting Russia during the invasion. He's literally forced to have a neutral stance on that matter due to being in-between of his pro-Putin oligarch father and pro-Ukraine F1 paddock/community. He was just sacked simply because Haas dropped Uralkali's title sponsor deal, and in turn Mazepin's contract too.

The new regulation on political messages seems specifically targeted towards Seb in the first place, with some copium in the form of "oh well it follows IOC standards too lol get owned". Since Seb is likely still going to hang around in the 2023 paddock quite a lot, they're looking for ways to silence his messaging, that can make an effect on their oil money income.
DTS era fans don't even understand what happens when the pay driver's checks don't cash no mo'.
 
Don't forget that Papa Mazepin actually paid upfront, Guenther took his money then told him to fuck off.
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Oh yeeeeah, you're right. I don't think Steiner and Haas just decided to do this, their hand would've been forced at some point.

Having said that I'm sure they weren't broke up about it at all either.
 
James Vowles the former Mercedes strategist will be the new boss of Williams

Twitter

So is Williams officially becoming the B-team of Mercedes?
 
James Vowles the former Mercedes strategist will be the new boss of Williams

Twitter

So is Williams officially becoming the B-team of Mercedes?
Weren't they always the B-team though? They have been using Mercedes PUs since the turbo hybrid era began, and there are several Williams drivers who went on to drive for Mercedes (e.g Rosberg, Bottas, Russell).

But if you had any doubts about it though, their literal head of strategy moving to Williams as a TP role just confirms Williams' B-team relationship with Mercedes.
 
James Vowles the former Mercedes strategist will be the new boss of Williams

Twitter

So is Williams officially becoming the B-team of Mercedes?
Unsure. I can both ways, really. It definitely points to Toto still having retirement on his mind, since this is likely to be his way of getting one of his proteges some proper experience for he leaves. But considering the utter shambles Williams has consistently been, I think they'll just take whatever they can get at this point, so similar to Russell's tenure as driver?
 
Weren't they always the B-team though? They have been using Mercedes PUs since the turbo hybrid era began, and there are several Williams drivers who went on to drive for Mercedes (e.g Rosberg, Bottas, Russell).

But if you had any doubts about it though, their literal head of strategy moving to Williams as a TP role just confirms Williams' B-team relationship with Mercedes.
Williams was considered a mid-field team for quite a while in the 2010's and only stopped being a front-runner when the BMW partnership ended.
 
And who's now a partner for BMW?
 
They have stuck to their bread and butter of GTs and Touring Cars. F1 simply became too expensive for them when the subprime mortage crisis happened. I don't see them coming back to F1 any time soon.
I wonder if the expenditure cap means a return is on the cards?
 
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