F1 2020 Season

First topic message reminder :

Thought I'd start this thread since no-one else has yet.

First glimpse of this season's cars as Haas unveil their entry for this year. Not really much difference visually from last season, but then there haven't been any major rule changes:

https://www.bbc.co.uk/sport/formula1/51405017




Have to say I quite like this livery.

Feel free to add more pics as they are released...

Equally I don't think the gap is as large that you're gonna shift the 21 year old who if we're all being fair, has performed at a decent level this year and is clearly still developing as a driver. Pretty sure I've been as harsh as anyone if we went through the thread but at a minimum I think we can all admit that.

Also RP/AM have parked their tanks squarely on Ferraris lawn and announced Vettel at Mugello

Good to see Racing Point bringing in some actual competition for Lance, after he has dusted the floor with the wonderful, amazing Perez, who is clearly so much better than him. And what better competition than the best driver in F1 since Schumacher!

In truth, Perez was extremely lucky to still have a job after he risked the future of the sport by travelling to a Covid-19 hotspot between races, coming back with the virus to the paddock to endanger the lives of his colleagues and rivals, both personally and professionally. I'd expect him to default to some North American feeder competition that nobody bar some Southern hillbillies watch now

Marky wrote:

Jeff Navarro wrote:Sergio Perez confirms worst kept secret in F1 - he will leave Racing Point at the end of the season.

The dog eat dog world of F1 strikes again.

Perez is very good, but when your inexperienced teammate outshines you, there's not a lot left to do.

The only irony being that Vettel will come in having also been outshined by an inexperienced teammate.

Wonder if it will be 3rd time lucky for Seb?

After being outshone by Ricciardo at RB and Leclerc at Ferrari...will he finally be able to claim top billing at Aston?

GSC wrote:
Equally I don't think the gap is as large that you're gonna shift the 21 year old who if we're all being fair, has performed at a decent level this year and is clearly still developing as a driver. Pretty sure I've been as harsh as anyone if we went through the thread but at a minimum I think we can all admit that.

I do it just to counter Olly's troll posting.

Well you do you

Don’t see this move amounting to anything for Vettel. Looks like he’s entered the end of career roaming phase, like, Alonso. Badge aside, it’s still Force India, and with no technical or engineering staff of note announced, it’s highly doubtful that they will be able to compete with the elite, even with a new regulation coming.

If you said RP had a 21 year old driver who was 4th in the championship and had a podium in a car that ranges from 3rd on the grid to middle of the field depending on the track, it would be a no brainer to keep him over the 30 year old who was performing slightly better but had spent his entire career in the midfield.

In a salary capped regulation change all bets are off.

Might be unlikely but not nearly as unlikely as a team that barely survived the winter rocking up and dominating the season .

Good Golly I'm Olly wrote:Good to see Racing Point bringing in some actual competition for Lance, after he has dusted the floor with the wonderful, amazing Perez, who is clearly so much better than him. And what better competition than the best driver in F1 since Schumacher!

GSC wrote:If you said RP had a 21 year old driver who was 4th in the championship and had a podium in a car that ranges from 3rd on the grid to middle of the field depending on the track, it would be a no brainer to keep him over the 30 year old who was performing slightly better but had spent his entire career in the midfield.

"Performing slightly better", he's 23 points behind Stroll in the World Championship

You're right though. Swapping a 30 year old zero time World Champion for a 33 year old four time World Champion, and keeping the ever improving 21 year old, is the most logical way to do this.

People will point to Lance being the bosses son, but he's also been superior to Perez this season. If Lance had a different surname I doubt people would be as outraged. They're blinded because Lance is an easy target.

I do get Sergio Perez's beef too. Force India would have gone bust but for his sponsorship money and kept the team afloat long enough for them to be bought out and become Racing Point.

Right I’ve got a few comments on the news. Firstly I’m happy for Sebastian Vettel, he cane to Ferrari and we the fans adored him. Arrivabene and Vettel was the right combination but they where at the team at the wrong time. Vettel like my man Alonso did all they could to revive the ‘limping Horse’ - with 6 championships between them there’s literally nothing else they could’ve done unless they also started building the cars.

I for one, will miss Vettel very much, thank the German for bringing back hope. And as a die hard Scuderia fan I think Binotto deserves the humiliation of the Vettel announcement at Mugello.

Now on to the Aston Martin thing, John states ‘it’s Force India with new paint’. This isn’t correct. Racing Point lacks aero, from next year the teams agreed to reduce aero by 12-15%. Therefore F1 is heading back to an era where is driver > car. In 2022 there will be further aero reductions. With Stroll’s financial capacity, Aston Martin could be the next Mercedes.

As for Perez, if Aston turns into a contender, for sure he will be gutted. But don’t blame Stroll, the team was first offered to Carlos Slim and he rejected the offer.

There’s strong reports suggesting Hulkenberg and Perez will join forces at Haas.

I’ll point one additional note on Stroll, he was a Ferrari junior a few years ago. Vettel helped mentor him in his early days. Lawrence and Sebastian have known each other even longer than that.

I think Stroll gets a bit too much hate generally. OK, he's not the best driver in F1, but he's had some good results (remember he took a podium in a wet race in Baku), so he clearly isn't an outlier of bad driving in F1. I reckon he's really on a par with the likes of Albon, Magnusson etc.

Of course another issue is he was probably promoted to F1 a year or so earlier than his talent and experience merited (which is where his supporting money is an issue if you think F1 should be a meritocracy), so he's still learning on the job a bit - not everyone is a Hamilton, Vettel, Verstappen who can hit the ground running on making it to F1 in their late teens or very early 20s.

Still probably kicking himself as he had a big opportunity to win last week but a ropey restart set him behind Gasly and Sainz.

Guenther Steiner has suggested that Haas are searching through 10 drivers for their two seats.
Grosjean
Magnussen
Perez
Hulkenberg
Schwartzman
Illot
Lord only knows who else they are looking at.

Never thought I’d ever see F1 at Mugello, just sucks I couldn’t be there

Like Suzuka, a great drivers track, but not so much for producing a great race. Can see quite a few mistakes happening though over the weekend.

These modern cars are simply to big and wide for these classic tracks - Mugello, Imola, Nurburgring are tracks that test the drivers. But because the cars are so wide it will probably mean three processional races.

Red Bull have rejected Perez’s offer to take over from Albon in 2021. McLaren want the Mexican in their Indycar team if he doesn’t land a seat at Alfa or Haas.

Matteo Binotto basically confirmed that Mick Schumacher has already got Alfa Romeo seat. Strangely Kimi Raikkonen could now stay on for 2021. Antonio Giovinazzi will exit F1.

Jeff Navarro wrote:Matteo Binotto basically confirmed that Mick Schumacher has already got Alfa Romeo seat. Strangely Kimi Raikkonen could now stay on for 2021. Antonio Giovinazzi will exit F1.

Maybe they asked Kimi to stay on to be a mentor to Schumi Jr? Although I have to say he doesn't seem like the type to do that kind of thing.

Kimi not a bad guy to have around in a regs change

I think you'd be surprised at how much Kimi actually offers behind the scenes. Media aside, he's obviously a valuable asset, in terms of experience, development, and, as you say, an obvious candidate to mentor, Mick.

Horner stating they will stick with the same talent pool. Basically, they know they can't win until, 2022, so no need to drastically change anything. Even with hiring Perez, they still finish second in the constructors. I'd imagine it will just be Gasly back to RB, with Albon partnering, Tsunoda next season.

I 100% understand what Kimi brings to a team but he’s openly been saying he’s got no interest touring around at the back.
I was under the impression that Kimi would retire and Hulkenberg would replace him. German mentoring another German. But anyway if Kimi wants to continue fair play to him.

Just John wrote:Like Suzuka, a great drivers track, but not so much for producing a great race. Can see quite a few mistakes happening though over the weekend.

Think we can expect at least one Safety Car...maybe even two or three. Could make the race a bit more interesting, if overtaking is as difficult as expected.

What a difference a week makes. Gasly out in Q1

Hamilton pole, Bottas 2nd and Verstappen in 3rd

Stroll’s aero update expected to bring 0.3tenths in performance, but he’s out qualified by Perez. Unfortunately, the Mexican has a one place grid penalty.

So you're saying Stroll qualifies ahead of Perez

The Renault powered cars did well in low drag tracks but have fallen back on a more downforce driven track.

Decent session for Albon, LeClerc and the RPs

Albon bailed out here by RB’s chassis, and clear advantage in performance, compared to their rivals. Should ease the pressure on him, if he just brings it home in fourth tomorrow

SC has massively favoured Schumacher today, and he becomes F2 Championship leader.

Mick Schumacher takes Championship lead in F2 with a fifth place finish in the feature race at Mugello. A wild race came to life due to safety far caused by Alesi’s retirement. Illot failed to score and Schwartzman DNF.

Schumacher 153pts
Illot 149pts
Schwartzman 140pts

Extremely lucky was Schumacher today. Have to agree with Ticktum, the SC decisions nowadays are ridiculous. The Alesi incident was worse than the Magnussen call last week, and as a result, carnage ensues afterwards, to the benefit of Mick, and to the detriment of, Ilott.

The first safety car was caused as the gaps in the fence are too small due to MotoGP - I can’t see them ever using a crane under VSC especially with Bianchi’s death. Schumacher was lucky but he’s had poor luck early in the season as well. Just feels like it’s his championship to lose now.

Rumour that Ineos will buy 70% of Mercedes for £700m. Not surprised. I’d imagine Toto Wolff goes at the end of the season too.

I thought it was strange yesterday when Toto Wolff on sky Italy said ‘Sebastian is a great signing for me and my team’.

Probably referring to the fact he owns shares in Aston Martin

Just John wrote:Rumour that Ineos will buy 70% of Mercedes for £700m. Not surprised. I’d imagine Toto Wolff goes at the end of the season too.

I would be surprised. I'd have thought the new regs would present a new challenge. I know he has talked about needing one, with the team's dominance over the last few years. In 2022 the chips are up in the air again and may fall very differently.

The Ineos deal could just be Merc feeling the pressure of running an F1 team. Even when you're winning titles, its still an expensive thing to do.

If Wolff does go that could signal Hamilton's retirement. With long-running, successful partnerships, when one goes, the rest tend to follow. Would definitely be the end of an era...and if they can't replicate the kind of success they've enjoyed, it could signal the end of the team. Mercedes could settle for just being an engine supplier.

Jeff Navarro wrote:
I thought it was strange yesterday when Toto Wolff on sky Italy said ‘Sebastian is a great signing for me and my team’.

Being a bit cruel you could take that to mean Vettel will cause chaos in the team and fail to deliver...again.

But he talks quite often about Mercedes needing to be pushed by other teams. There is a chance Aston could emerge as genuine front-runners, so they no longer just have to worry about RB. That would obviously be healthy for F1.

Just John wrote:Probably referring to the fact he owns shares in Aston Martin

He also has shares in Williams, the Italian press certainly went into a frenzy nonetheless

It’s worth pointing out that Mercedes had be looking for a government bailout, which has been rejected on three occasions. Ineos taking over makes perfect sense. £700m in the bank and return to being engine manufacturers

It does seem that something big is about to happen with Mercedes and perhaps Toto Woolf seeming to show more and more interest in a rival team which he has shares in says a lot too. He will know what the plans are for Mercedes and would suggest he is not keen on them.

Toto Wolff has always trotted out the line that the free advertising obtained by the Silver/Black Arrows in Formula One, with its global media coverage and appeal, is greater than the investment put in to it by Mercedes.

Whatever Toto Wolff's decision it does seem to depend on many factors some of which might be still under negotiation or review.  

If he has already made up his decision then it is likely he has already decided to step down as team principle of the Mercedes team, because otherwise he would have made the announcement he would be continuing in his role.  

So if this was a bet the odds must be in favor of him leaving rather than staying.

SC Verstappen out

Not a good race to bottle the start

Red Bull’s start five seconds after everyone?

DRS very strong all weekend, so Hamilton should be all over Bottas. No better chance for Albon this weekend to get that first podium.

Dirty air around this track is mega

This is getting ridiculous now.

SC’s breed SC’s

Magnussen, Latifi & Sainz out

From winning one race to crashing Max out the next

Gasly is ready for RB

Red flag race

No debate about that red flag.

Suspect the FIA will be having a quiet word about further aggression at this restart

Bottas is now the one under pressure to get off the line. Bit of a get out of jail free card for Lewis