Topic: Push Square Formula 1 thread - F1

@BearsEatBeets absolutely 8 teams in the top 10!

@themightyant Yeah, every time I see something like that it just reminds me of Billy Monger's incident where he lost both of his legs - albeit that was slightly different. It's so incredibly negligent.

@KAIRU 100% it just seems there have been so many potential safety incidents that could have been really nasty in the last year or so, from recovery vehicles on track during the race; to press in a live pitlane; to this and other incidents. It just feels like we’ve got very lucky that none of them have been lethal and if it keeps happening sooner or later someone is going to get seriously hurt. Shouldn’t see it. It’s negligent.

@themightyant It's a shambles, to be perfectly honest. It seems like the FIA just haven't really got any proper control over the safety aspect of the sport. This year alone, like you mentioned, there have been so many compared to the last several years combined. It's madness.

In saying all that, I hope the FIA really put their foot down and put an abrupt end to the 'slowing down to find a gap' nonsense. But, then again, you wonder what they could do about it...

Well that was pretty dull. Only Lando keeping that interesting near the end. I kind of hope that McLaren can get that penalty overturned but it's extremely unlikely.

@BearsEatBeets yep. They flirted with excitement. - E.g. Lewis v Fernando but he was just saving his tyres; or George to the back of the pack - but it was all just a myth. Mostly just a DRS Conga behind Albon. Very little actual racing. Lando had a few nice overtakes but the penalty negates all that

I think we needed some changing conditions much like qualifying to provide an interesting race. On a bit of a more positive side, at least Verstappen didn’t win by 20+ seconds this time around. I’m sure that’s just a one off though…

@KAIRU I think the other cars have caught up a BIT, but as Max (and others) said it wasn't a track that suited their car and yet they still disappeared into the distance. The only caveat to that is it probably didn't suit many cars. There was also a safety car and a virtual one, even if they were earlier on, which bunched the field. No one's touching Red Bull anytime soon in reality.

@themightyant I still think Red Bull are sandbagging a bit, as well. There's no way they don't have extra pace up their sleeve if they need it.

@KAIRU Sadly I agree. I think they have more potential pace, but they don't need it. We see it every now and again when they turn everything up to 11.

It's just a shame Checo is so inconsistent as at least we could have a slight bit of competition for the title, even if i'd still expect Max to win. i.e. Max has finished P1 or P2 every race EVEN when he started down the pack. (1,2,1,2,1,1,1,1) Checo is just not consistent enough and when he is down the field isn't aggressive enough to overtake. (2,1,5,1,2,16,4,6).

In THAT car it should be a podium at least in all but the most unfortunate of circumstances. 8 races in he should have had more than 4 podiums.

@themightyant Checo really is under-performing in that car, for sure. I'm not sure if I'd put it down to him maybe just having some misfortune currently or if maybe he's starting to struggle with the pressure? In saying that, he's probably not being pressured by Red Bull to challenge the golden boy but he really shouldn't be putting that car anywhere lower than second on the podium.

@KAIRU Definitely pressure imho and consistency - which is the sign of a great driver. Thought it's true when he has had problems or been off his game it's come at bad/unlucky times, like Monaco, where it's harder to sweep back through the field. But that was on him, pushing too hard to keep up with Max, likely due to pressure and crashing in Qualifying. Too many errors under pressure. Should be 1-2 almost every race barring major incidents in that car.

@themightyant If he doesn't sort out his consistency and his race results, do you think he might get replaced by Danny Ric next season? Personally, it wouldn't surprise me. It would be great to see Danny Ric on the grid again and hopefully fighting for a win or two, even though I think his best years are beyond him.

@KAIRU I don't think Danny Ric is all that more consistent to be honest, it's one of his failings too, we've seen that at all his drives. It's what stopped him being great. DR's also got a bigger ego, which would be a harder match with Max, full time, so no I think it's unlikely. If they were to replace him I think they would choose someone else, and they can have their pick. The harder thing for Red Bull is balancing that with keeping Max happy, you don't want two #1's. So as long as they are easily winning the constructors, and Checo doesn't completely fall apart I expect them to stick with him. That's good for them, but bad for us who want some competition.

To be clear I think both Checo and DR are brilliant drivers in many ways, but frankly so are almost all of them on the grid. Put in the same car, and accounting for driving style, most of them would be within a few tenths of each other over one lap. But what separates them from the best drivers is doing that consistently lap after lap after lap and race after race. Knowing your limits, pushing to the max without exceeding it, and making very few errors ESPECIALLY when the pressure is on. Being Max's team mate, or Lewis's or Fernando's etc, is pressure because they have this metronomic consistency on top of being lightning fast.

We've seen Charles Leclerc (possibly one of the fastest over one lap imho) fold a fair amount under pressure this year and last for example. Checo is doing the same. Lance Stroll, who did reasonably well vs Vettel for 2 seasons, started the season well but has fallen back. Pressure is tough at the top, who can hack it?

Please God don't let Red Bull win every single race this year; we'd never hear the end of it from the likeable, self-effacing, modest team that they are.

@Gamer_Guy I think we'll need a Red Bull double DNF to give another team a chance at winning. 😅

@KAIRU Unfortunately I kind of agree. Certainly needs a Verstappen DNF at the very least. I think some of the teams should get together and 'arrange' something, for the good of the sport. And I don't even say that in jest.

@Gamer_Guy Yeah, someone just needs to agree to be the fall guy — maybe Checo, ideally!

@KAIRU Sadly agreed, or at least Max.

I saw Martin Brundle chimed in on the Perez situation today. He stated he doesn't feel anyone but Lewis or Fernando could match Max and it's a super tough gig that has seen other like Pierre Gasly and Alex Albon crushed. That's what I was saying above, but I think Lando or George might get closer, not sure about anyone else, it's often hard to tell until you see them in a top car under the spotlight/pressure. But it's very tough being Max's teammate.

They also speculated that there aren't many options as "Red Bull wouldn’t want to court 'volatility' within the team." Again exactly what we were discussing. Hence unless Sergio really starts to fall apart I think he is safe for now. The trouble will be if Max has a bad race / DNF and he doesn't fill the void.

@themightyant I think that was mentioned on the coverage of a previous race weekend: if Max is somehow unable to win the race, Checo needs to win that race if he wants to challenge him this season.

George has been solid in the Mercedes since joining, and I feel Lando has been outdriving that McLaren for some time now. It would be great to see them challenge for race wins and championships consistently sometime soon. Sadly, though, I doubt that'll happen...