Formula 1 Talk

[Dannyvandelft]

. "I'm the number two driver for the 2023 Constructors Championship team". It's just not satisfying

But, you are number 2, likely in the best car, and you get to win every now and then when number 1 has a bad day, gets crashed into, breaks down, and if that happens enough times, you're suddenly leading the championship. That is a whole lot better than being number 1 in the 3rd, 4th, 5th best team. (Something Danny Ric forgot)

Now, IF you're a number 2, you need to finish as close as possible to number 1 every single race, qualify next to, or if possible ahead of him.

Perez is unlucky for a few reasons.
1: Max is a machine. He can put that car on the same millimeter of track, again, and again, and again. He is fast the first lap of the first practice. He can make tires last forever, and in the rain he's got an even bigger gap on everyone else.
2: Perez can't keep up. In qualy, in the race, nowhere. Tires used to be his thing, and even that is no more.
3: Perez is the one crashing, or getting crashed into making him drop even further back.

At this rate, Max will have double the points at season's end over #2 in the standings. Something that probably has never happened before.

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[Zoomie]

How so? Genuinely asking. Not challenging.

Let's say you're one of the mid-field teams like Alpine. You have a good driver like Ocon who routinely gets 7th to 10th place in 20 races. Let's say 10, 9, 8, 7 which repeats for all 20 races.
He would get 1, 2, 4, and 6 points for those places. 19 every four races, which means 96 points over the course of that 20 race season.

Then we have someone like Charles Leclerc. Out of 10 races, he's brilliant once and wins, he comes second once, and has two mid-field finishes at 5th and 6th. The other 6 races he retires due to car failure or a 'racing incident'. 25, 18, 12, and 10 points across 10 races. Double it for the season, and Charles has 130 points.

F1 is all about winning. The points gap from first to second is 7. The points gap from 9th to 10th is one.
This season is skewed because one driver is taking nearly all the 25 point finishes (26?), but in general one or two big races are much more rewarding than consistent but uninspired finishes.

 

[kaj]

F1 is all about winning.

As is all motorsports.

 

[Zoomie]

Not sure why you quoted my self-evident statement. You asked me to clarify why I think F1 favours moments of brilliance ahead of consistency. I hope my post satisfied your request.

All competition is about winning, but the scoring in F1 is heavily weighted towards the front. Risk taking means more drama and excitement.

 

[FLtrackdays]

Not sure why you quoted my self-evident statement. You asked me to clarify why I think F1 favours moments of brilliance ahead of consistency. I hope my post satisfied your request.

All competition is about winning, but the scoring in F1 is heavily weighted towards the front. Risk taking means more drama and excitement.

Some guys are more risk takers than others. And some can get themselves out of trickier situations. Hence you see Max pinch off not one, but two McLaren drivers in that last race. Again, I thought that was brilliant! Even if Lance was in that same starting position, Oscar and Lando would not have backed down, imo. Also, would Max have done the same to Alonzo and Hamilton? Doubtful… Those younger drivers both respect Max for putting his elbows out back earlier in his career & respect him.

So I’m a firm believer that those guys know exactly who’s driving and what they are capable of and adjust their plan accordingly. Hell, I just drive for fun and I know where and when I can pass people in my little run group. I know who’s going to always slide around in the rain, who’s faster in the esses, in the straights, etc. Hence, my imagination runs wild with what these guys are thinking.

George over the radio - I’m going for it! What do I have to do? (try following Hamilton! he’d learn a ton, likely give Mercedes more points, not crash perhaps…)

And you‘ve got Alonzo on the radio - These Alpins are too fast on the straight. Think of something! And his best (insert Alonzo accent) “You’ve thrown me to the lions!” ? ? - I love that guy ?

 

[johnnyskids]

Letting Russel muscle his way in front of Hamilton or have any say against Lewis is mind blowing to me. Singapore… I got this Lewis, follow me! Crash, no finish. This week, let’s fight for 5th position! Poor Lewis has to deal with that. Move over George. You burned up your tires, Lewis is 2 seconds quicker, blah blah blah. It’s obvious dude... Lewis has a ? ton of championships. MOVE OVER George you moron ? ?

So I’m perplexed with that situation as well. Being newer watching & following the sport.

Meanwhile, Max won the mom of the week award pinching off Piastri then Norris at the start. That was brilliant to watch! Y’all ever listen or watch this podcast? ? They make fun of all of them, while being informative. So it’s my style. Like watching mohawk guy but the podcast version. Love it!

So what was George thinking when he suggested that Lewis stay behind him with DRS with Carlos fast approaching. Unlike the weekend before with Lando, Lewis was the faster car at that moment. That’s a big difference and why you should t use the week prior to compare the situation. Instead, what I think George was suggesting is something we see all the time this season. That is when a slower driver keeps a pile of cars behind them in a DRS train. George felt that if they could replicate that, Carlos would not be able to pass Lewis due to Lewis also having DRS and being smart and crafty enough to keep Carlos behind. Then on the final lap let Lewis pass in a place that doesn’t allow Carlos to pass George as well.

I think that’s what George was suggesting. Which is somewhat logical, but it’s very hard to say if it would have worked. The guys on the pit wall, with all the info, likely could see how fast Carlos was and if they thought he was fast enough to pass Lewis if Lewis had DRS as well. If they thought that, then they made the right decision. But if they didn’t have data to support that, then the decision to swap drivers and expect George to be able to hold off Carlos with DRS was a very low probability play.

 

[johnnyskids]

My goodness, feels like this week I am defending drivers left right and center. George is an excellent driver. He is trying any and everything to win another race, to the point that he asked his team the last few races to do a different strategy than others ahead of him. I think it’s a lot similar to Charles in that he sometimes pushes beyond his limit and can ruin his race. He’s not the only driver to have done that. Not too long ago Lando was winning a race, was ahead of Lewis, was so focused on staying in first place that he refused to pit when it started to rain, Lewis pits and passes him on something like the last 2-3 laps.

The desire to win a race is much much higher for these young guys than getting maximum points for the team. If they think they can win they will push to do so regardless of the outcome.

Last thing I will say about George. Two years ago he finally got to race in a competitive car, a Mercedes, and came darn close to winning. The next year he took Bottas spot at Mercedes, won his first race, and had more points than Lewis. He is not a bum, he does not deserve to be put back into a Williams or Haas. He is the future at Mercedes’. He just needs a car capable of competing for wins.

 

[FLtrackdays]

My goodness, feels like this week I am defending drivers left right and center. George is an excellent driver. He is trying any and everything to win another race, to the point that he asked his team the last few races to do a different strategy than others ahead of him. I think it’s a lot similar to Charles in that he sometimes pushes beyond his limit and can ruin his race. He’s not the only driver to have done that. Not too long ago Lando was winning a race, was ahead of Lewis, was so focused on staying in first place that he refused to pit when it started to rain, Lewis pits and passes him on something like the last 2-3 laps.

The desire to win a race is much much higher for these young guys than getting maximum points for the team. If they think they can win they will push to do so regardless of the outcome.

Last thing I will say about George. Two years ago he finally got to race in a competitive car, a Mercedes, and came darn close to winning. The next year he took Bottas spot at Mercedes, won his first race, and had more points than Lewis. He is not a bum, he does not deserve to be put back into a Williams or Haas. He is the future at Mercedes’. He just needs a car capable of competing for wins.

Fully agree. But also think he needs to hold his emotions in check. It‘s just my opinion but I do feel he is behind in that category. I think Lewis could and will teach him a lot and his team. It’s a wealth of resources he needs to become more trustworthy of and how to prioritize them all. I’m sure it’s not easy and he’ll learn how to manage all that someday.

Oscar Piastri, wow. That kids is mega impressive for his rookie season! Sure he’s gotten rattled. But that kid seems to know how to shake it off and stay on course. Max, Alonzo, Hamilton it’s expected at this point. But this kid… he appears to be driving way beyond his age and experience. I hope he can continue on this same path. Him, Lando and Max… Loved seeing those three trophy finish ?

 

[RenRed2]

But, you are number 2, likely in the best car, and you get to win every now and then when number 1 has a bad day, gets crashed into, breaks down, and if that happens enough times, you're suddenly leading the championship. That is a whole lot better than being number 1 in the 3rd, 4th, 5th best team. (Something Danny Ric forgot)

Now, IF you're a number 2, you need to finish as close as possible to number 1 every single race, qualify next to, or if possible ahead of him.

Perez is unlucky for a few reasons.
1: Max is a machine. He can put that car on the same millimeter of track, again, and again, and again. He is fast the first lap of the first practice. He can make tires last forever, and in the rain he's got an even bigger gap on everyone else.
2: Perez can't keep up. In qualy, in the race, nowhere. Tires used to be his thing, and even that is no more.
3: Perez is the one crashing, or getting crashed into making him drop even further back.

At this rate, Max will have double the points at season's end over #2 in the standings. Something that probably has never happened before.

Perez is and was over rated. He failed at Mclaren for reason. His performance at RedBull should not be a surprise. His largest issue is set-up for qualy. He fails weekly. Hence his in - race performance. He must struggle to make up lost places due to poor qualy.

 

[johnnyskids]

Perez is and was over rated. He failed at Mclaren for reason. His performance at RedBull should not be a surprise. His largest issue is set-up for qualy. He fails weekly. Hence his in - race performance. He must struggle to make up lost places due to poor qualy.

Without Perez, Max would not have even had a chance to win his first title. Last season he played a big role in RB winning as a team. But I will admit that this season he has been rather redundant and literally anyone could be driving that car for RB this season and RB & Max would still have won both titles.

When I defend him, it’s always against exaggerating commenters who think he’s a bum and should not even be in F3. I have never said that he was anywhere close to Max, or any of the top drivers. But he is as good or better than 1/3 of the grid. Feel free to criticize him, just don’t forget to give him his credit for the things he has done and achieved in F1.

 

[RenRed2]

Without Perez, Max would not have even had a chance to win his first title. Last season he played a big role in RB winning as a team. But I will admit that this season he has been rather redundant and literally anyone could be driving that car for RB this season and RB & Max would still have won both titles.

When I defend him, it’s always against exaggerating commenters who think he’s a bum and should not even be in F3. I have never said that he was anywhere close to Max, or any of the top drivers. But he is as good or better than 1/3 of the grid. Feel free to criticize him, just don’t forget to give him his credit for the things he has done and achieved in F1.

The problem for Perez is this year and beyond week 4 its been continuous. No real resolution. He was consistent in the past. He has taken an eve better car this year and actually degraded. His P2 is under threat and its very much his driving as the issue. My last post is what his real problem is qualy. Toss in a few accidents in practice and that also negatively affects qualy.

RedBull are saddled with his contract and the money he brings in from Mexican sponsors. The wisdom now is he will drive in 2024 and be under review. If he continues as he is now, he will be moved down to Alpha Tauri and replaced after a few races in 2024. He wont be fired or paid off. We shall see.............

 

[johnnyskids]

The problem for Perez is this year and beyond week 4 its been continuous. No real resolution. He was consistent in the past. He has taken an eve better car this year and actually degraded. His P2 is under threat and its very much his driving as the issue. My last post is what his real problem is qualy. Toss in a few accidents in practice and that also negatively affects qualy.

RedBull are saddled with his contract and the money he brings in from Mexican sponsors. The wisdom now is he will drive in 2024 and be under review. If he continues as he is now, he will be moved down to Alpha Tauri and replaced after a few races in 2024. He wont be fired or paid off. We shall see.............

Some of his qualifying issues this season were team related, in that they send him out at the wrong time. Happens to most drivers not named Max, and I’m not implying that RB does it on purpose, just that some of his poor qualifying this season was due to poor decisions by the team.

I think you guys are all a bit too rough on a guy simply due to who his teammate is. Imagine comparing yourself to near perfection, of course your mistakes will be highlighted.

I agree that RB would likely switch drivers if Perez’s contract wasn’t past this season, but out of Yuki, Lawson, and Danny Ric, I don’t think any of those would be noticeably better than what Perez has been this season. The difference is if you put Yuki or Lawson up you are helping to build up a driver, and with Danny Ric you would be getting a driver that likely knows his place a lot better and wouldn’t feel quite the same amount of pressure to contend for drivers championship as Perez this season. All three would likely be better options this and next season, but not because any of them would have noticeably more points, just that you’d either be building for the future or having less friction within the team.

 

[kaj]

Perez is and was over rated. He failed at Mclaren for reason. His performance at RedBull should not be a surprise. His largest issue is set-up for qualy. He fails weekly. Hence his in - race performance. He must struggle to make up lost places due to poor qualy.

Perez can not learn to drive the car the way it's built. He can't adapt. That's unfortunate for him. He needs to be able to drive it well on all courses. He can't.
He is obviously a team player, it's just unfortunately that he does not seem to be well suited to that car.

 

[Dannyvandelft]

Perez is a fine driver, in a car that suits him. But, he can't adapt to one that doesn't. Whereas other drivers can. Max even mentioned recently, that the team builds the fastest car possible, and he'll learn to drive it in the fastest way. The RB18 is fast, really fast. But it's not an easy car to drive.

 

[RWhiz]

Looks like we’re going to have 11 teams on the grid! Personally I think 12 teams is kinda perfect for racing but I’m super stoked that we ‘probably’ will have an 11th.

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