I used to laugh at Lance, too, but I think he did well last year and finally got past the learning curve. It took him longer than most.
Perez deserves the shot at Red Bull. After saving force india and helping solidify racing point to be stiffed out of a seat would have been a tragedy after the season he had. Albon goes to German Touring circuit and be a reserve Red Bull driver. He just wasn't consistent enough, but showed some great flashes.
I don't think its money since he's got several containers full of the stuff. I think its how much time spent on what off track team/sponsor commitments. Wants to pursue his diverse interests.
I agree. He got the ride before he was ready because of daddy, but he's earned his spot. True he kept his seat because of daddy to the detriment of Perez, whom I would have chosen over Lance approximately 100 times out of 100. He's another that shows some truly brilliant flashes and big balls.
I agree about Albon's inconsistency. He made almost as many bonehead moves as Grojean, a guy who is lucky to be alive after that explosive crash in Bahrain. Grojean never got past that learning curve. I think the only reason he lasted so long in F1 was personal backers with boatloads of money, which btw Perez has in droves, with Carlos Slim as a personal sponsor.
Grosjean's crash and survival was one of the most terrifyingly awesome testaments to engineering technological excellence I've ever seen. He has talent, had crap luck, made some true boneheads, but I understand something broke on his car which would explain why it looked like he just accelerated straight into the Armco barrier. Its impossible to get to an F1 seat without money either daddy or corporate sponsor. I keep telling myself that is why I never became the World Champion of my dreams.
Yes, something broke ... because he pulled a bonehead move as usual and got his suspension busted by slamming into another car. It was 100% driver error. When I saw that giant explosion of fire, I was sure he was dead. It had me shaking until the cameras showed him in the medical car, awake and talking. You are so right about the engineering, and the vastly improved safety of the monocoque. If not for the halo, this would be a different conversation.
I was in my teens then and didn't follow it much because they only broadcast a couple of races a year where I lived. It wasn't until the early 80s and the advent of cable channels like ESPN that I started watching, in the heady days of Piquet, Lauda, Rosberg, Prost, and Senna. I haven't missed a race since 1989, aside from the 1998 season opener in Australia that nobody in the U.S. got to see live because ESPN dropped out at the last minute.
I just started following it last year after watching the excellent docu series Drive to Succeed on Netflix ...
It was always on, my father was a big fan, even getting a press pass and reporting on the Italian GP on the way back from Singapore in the mid '60s. I think the first time I really started to take an interest was during the James Hunt years when I was about 10. I rarely miss a race these days but do get frustrated with all the tyre saving and lack of overtaking at the front of the race. I guess tyre management is every bit as much of a skill as racing but I preferred the days when drivers drove flat out for most of the race and the lead changed more often on the track than in the pits as it does now. Not that I won't be watching every race I can in the future but it's rarely as exiting as it used to be and technology and car development play far too much of a part in who wins rather than who is sat in the drivers seat. I prefer the WRC really but the coverage of that is woeful on British TV.
The technology is one of the best parts of F1. It's due to technology that Romain Grosjean is alive after that explosive fireball in Bahrain. I get what you mean, though ... I'm tired of seeing the same guys win most of the races. You can really only see a driver's superior skill when you compare him to his teammate with the same equipment. It's great when a new driver with an inferior car shines through, though. Remember when Alonso, age 19, drove for the Minardi team under Paul Stoddard? Suddenly a solid backmarker was finishing mid-pack. And Michael Scumacher with Eddie Jordan's old team? I just knew that guy was going to win races and championships. And Hamilton was talked about non-stop before he ever sat in a Formula 1 car. Some women like soap operas and romance movies. F1 is my soap opera.
correction ... it's called Drive to Survive ... season 3 just came out that covered the 2020 season ... excellent show ... 2021 should be good as it appears some teams are finally gaining on Mercedes ... Racing Point is now Aston Martin, Renault is now Alpine and I believe Williams has closed shop ...
We had that color for a couple of years when the old Stewart Racing team was bought out by Ford and rebadged as Jaguar Racing. I still have a cap. Eddie Irvine looked good in green. We'll see how it looks on Vettel.
First Practice is Friday for Bahrain. Should be interesting to see what has changed since last week testing sessions. I suspect that lots of McLaren homages will show up. It's a good solution that all seems well inside the rules. Maybe it can help Mercedes stick the back end down this week.
Dorilton Capital Evidently they have been able to significantly improve their car so that perhaps it won't be the back marker anymore.
I find that when I did a 2:32 in a non modified street car at COTA, it was pretty exciting. Bottas did the lap i 2019 in 1:32.09 I can't even imagine how fast those cars are. Well, actually, I can, having been to the race in 2019. It is astounding just how fast an F1 car qualifying is. The speed, the stopping power, the lateral G loads, all of it. One of the groups that I run with had a dude show up in an older Ferrari F2 car, he managed 2:01 before he broke the car. Half a minute is a lifetime on the track. Let alone a full minute.
Haas has it's own issues. If Nicki didn't get signed, Haas would likely not be on the grid to show off Mike. The world has trade offs. do young men do stupid things? Yup. All the time. Ask Uncle Joe about Hunter... But I digress. We will see which, Nicki or Mike will be more competitive. I think Alfa Tauri have their new star. Time will also tell.
