Topic: Push Square Formula 1 thread - F1

Oscar looking seriously annoyed but that brake check by him was too much. Tough lesson.

@Titntin Yeah, totally agree. On the plus side, it tightens the championship up!

@Kairuuu Yeah, its a great year this year, its not too easy to pick whats gonna happen from week to week. Except McLaren appear to have it in the bag ..

@Titntin me too mate. Hulks P3 got me emotional. Story of the day. Managed to just about watch it on a phone in a car.

Also enjoyed Piastri proving he isn’t just AI and was properly salty. Seemed pretty clear to me.

@Titntin McLaren definitely have the Constructor’s in the bag. I’m just glad it’s not just one driver running away with it like it has been like previous years.

Three years ago his F1 career was all but over, now he finally gets a podium.

Been out all day so missed the race, just watched the highlights. Absolutely delighted to see the tractor driver on the podium. Congratulations to the Hulk!

Christian Horner Fired from Red Bull... wasn't on my bingo card this year.

To add insult to injury he's been replaced by Racing Bulls head Laurent Mekies.

Wow! I honestly don't know what to say.

EDIT: I never particularly liked him, but they still have the drivers title from last year and were only just pipped to the constructors by 14 points. Sure Max elevated a lot of that and their car is even worse this year but I thought on performance alone he wouldn't be in the firing line yet. I suspect this is more attritional from everything together. I wonder if the Verstappen situation has anything to do with it. One of Jos' demands perhaps? lol

@themightyant It certainly came as a surprise seeing that pop up whilst browsing Youtube. Though probably more surprised with the timing than the decision when I start thinking about the state of Red Bull at the moment.
It does seem that Horner's personality/management style has resulted in quite a bit of talent leaving, not least Adrian Newey. With their disastrous handling of their second drivers and recent results (especially their home GP where they managed to finish one car in last).
But you're right Max might be the pivotal matter in this. Red Bull might think the only way to keep Max is to get rid of Horner and they consider him more important.

@BearsEatBeets It's the timing that is so bizarre.

I genuinely thought he would be kicked out last year during all the drama, not least after the death of Dietrich Mateschitz his allies at Red Bull had shrunk and he had alienated so many - reportedly even long time ally Helmut Marko - so it seemed like an easy way to let him go. But I was amazed he stuck it out last year, even over the off season.

However to do it now suggests to me there's other factors involved. Hence I suggested Max, though that's just a guess. If I was Max I probably wouldn't move next year (likely into a multi-year deal) i'd wait to see the lay of the land with the new regs and be angling for a year after. But we'll see everyone seems to think Mercedes will be fast next year, not entirely sure why.

Its about time it happened, but like you ant, I wonder at the timing?
Maybe it's a last minute move to try and save Max by appeasing his side of the garage, but I suspect that it's too late for that.
I was disgusted at the way they shrugged off all the issues from the poor woman they sacked - if I didnt already despise the man, my opinion would have dropped further. By protecting him all the thai owners did was ensure they lose key personal and we can see what that's doing for their performance.

Poor George - he definitely doesn't deserve what appears to be coming...

@Titntin IF it happens then yes poor George, one of the outstanding drivers of the season in my book. Though i'm still not convinced it will.

But if it did it would no doubt create a massive melee to try and sign him, even more than Carlos Sainz last year. Anyone without a firm seat, and frankly even those with one, might be in danger. I suspect only the 2 x McLaren drivers, 2 x Ferrari drivers... and Lance Stroll would be safe, but everyone else? Squeaky bum time.

@Titntin @themightyant The British Grand Prix was the half-way point of the season so I wonder if Horner's or Max's contact has stipulations about performance at that time and that's why it's happened now.

I'm not convinced George would lose out to Max. I'd be more convinced they loan Kimi out to another team for a season or 2 and reassess then.
I agree that Max would be better off seeing how the teams start off the new regulations before deciding on a move. I don't see how anyone can truly tell who is going to start strong. A team can feel confident in what they have designed/built but until it is put up against another car I'm not convinced any team could make believable claims to dominance.

All this talk about Max to Mercedes but I think it would be phenomenal if he went to Aston Martin to drive another Adrian Newey powered rocket ship.

It won't happen, but my god it'd be amazing if it did.

@BearsEatBeets on paper I agree with you. But over the last year egos have got in the way. George has stood up to Max and there have been several incidents, struggle to see them being teammates.

Though I don’t think Max will have any “not Russell” clauses in his contract, unlike Lewis with Max, or Prost with Senna etc.

@Kairuuu is say Aston Martin is the third most likely after Red Bull and Mercedes. I wouldn’t count t them out. But at this point we have no idea who will be on top of the new regs.

For Max, a driver almost everyone will want, I think he can wait a year and move to whoever looks like they will be the best in 2027

@themightyant @Kairuuu I forgot about the bad blood between Max and George but not sure it's strong enough that it would prohibit them actually becoming teammates but you're right it complicates the matter more.
I hadn't really thought about the Aston Martin option. If Newey can do it again I'd love to see what Alonso can still do in a competitive car but if Aston did go for Max it would probably be at his expense. I would love to think Lawrence Stroll might finally give up on his nepo driver but I highly doubt it.

@themightyant @BearsEatBeets I do agree that it probably makes the most sense for him to wait a year to see which teams are going to get the regulations right next year and decide on where he'll go in 2027.

Max going to Mercedes really gives them a big decision to make. Do you drop the young prospect and the 'one for the future' in Antonelli, whether that be loaning him to another team or what, or do you get rid of your current number one driver who honestly hasn't really put a foot wrong so far? It's a tough call but I guess it's worth making if you want the guy who's undoubtedly the best driver on the grid right now.

I'm hugely interested to see how this develops throughout the season.

Back in Belgium after a brief break (that feels like ages)!

A few drivers not going to be happy with Lewis at the end of SQ1 there.

@BearsEatBeets indeed, feels like months. lol. But we’re back.

Looking at the replay it looks more like car issue than driver error. But he got himself into trouble by making a mistake on his first run.

Antonelli continuing to make mistakes. I was thinking about this over the break. Would they REALLY drop Russell over Antonelli even for Max. I realise Max and George have beef, but still, that would be a hell of a pairing on paper.

Albon also missing out due to yellows.