Motorsports Thread

[FishFright]

Four WDC's in a row is quite a failure rate for a team, I don't why they bother.

 

[Drago]

The car is a result of a single-minded focus on one driver and his particular driving preferences. The car is fine in his hands. I wonder what capacity and appetite there will be for upgrades this season, as the new 2026 design looms. And whether anybody can understand and modify Newey’s years of evolution.

It's okay in Max's hands, but even he is struggling. Thr car is fundamentally wonky.

 

[Tom B]

Place your bets now - will Yuki be able to do any better with the car than Lawson and Perez?
It will also be quite amusing if Lawson now starts outperforming Yuki in the Racing Bull. That's got to be his main aim surely - to make clear to Red Bull that it's the car and not the driver...

There is a little bit of me that hopes Yuki is right up with Max. Just so he can stick his fingers up at the team every time he goes past.

If Lawson is suddenly more competitive I think Mr Ginger should be looking at what that cars qualities are... and putting max in it so see if he can do any better in that car than in the very peaky RB

 

[Drago]

He won't fare significantly better, certainly not well enough to suddenly in in the points in a blue car, wheras the fairly neutral Racing Bulls car seems fairly benign and after things have settled down over a few races I would be surprised to see Lawson finishing highrer than Tsunoda. I am happy to be proven wrong, of course.

Rumours are a fat cheque from Honda to go with Tsunoda were a big factor.

Next time my van isn't running right i'll swap seats and get Mrs D to drive. By Red Bulls reckoning that should fix it.

Nice idea Tom. Sadly Max is, supposedly, the only one signed specifically to the red Bull team. The others are signed to Red Bull GMBH the parent company and can be swapped at whim but, contractually at least, Max can't be forced. You can bet they're quitely thunk about it though.

 

[rustybolts]

There is a little bit of me that hopes Yuki is right up with Max. Just so he can stick his fingers up at the team every time he goes past.

If Lawson is suddenly more competitive I think Mr Ginger should be looking at what that cars qualities are... and putting max in it so see if he can do any better in that car than in the very peaky RB

I hope that Yuki is right up with Max too but realistically its highly unlikely . The circuits are much safer these days but even so Suzuka is not the place to have an almighty fast shunt . Hope kamikaze Yuki doesn't show up

 

[FishFright]

Meanwhile back at the ranch ...

 

[ebikeerwidnes]

We have been talking about this at home

We would love Yuki to start finishing ahead of Max
not gonna happen for all sorts of reasons but it would be "interesting" to see Max's reaction

what's the odds - sulk or no sulk??

anyway - I agree that the car is set up for Max and Max alone
whether or not the second car is specifically detuned to make the second driver slower is a matter of personal opinion

but I would love to see the full content of Max's "arrangements" with the team!!!

Would he swap teams??
WOuld Ferrari put him alongside Lewis??

Who knows
I believe that Max is a genuinely exceptional driver - but how exceptional he is compared to Lewis or [insert other driver name here] is an unanswerable question
which is always good for a heated discussion!!

 

[Drago]

Meanwhile back at the ranch ...


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He wouldn't have much to laugh about. A well experienced race winner like him was doing little better than the new boy by the end. Rumours are that marshals pushing each other's in wheelie bins were lapping faster than Perez last year.

 

[figbat]

whether or not the second car is specifically detuned to make the second driver slower is a matter of personal opinion

Well it isn’t (a matter of personal opinion), it’s a matter of fact - it either is or it isn’t. And my belief is that no team would deliberately hamstring one of their cars - RBR are desperate to win the constructors’ championship - maybe even more than the driver’s championship. And there’s no way they’d make it so bad it qualifies last.

No, they have gone all-in on Max and caused themselves a problem for the second car. Maybe Yuki will tame it? I hope so.

 

[rustybolts]

Will baby Yuki turn out to be Yuki Ide Mk 2 ? Can't wait for it , even if the main event ( race ) is a procession the side shows will be fascinating

 

[FishFright]

He wouldn't have much to laugh about. A well experienced race winner like him was doing little better than the new boy by the end. Rumours are that marshals pushing each other's in wheelie bins were lapping faster than Perez last year.

He has a multi million pay off at the end of career and seen his young replacement do no better . Well worth a grin .

 

[rustybolts]

Jack Doohan had a very fast off , lucky lad to be fairly ok seemingly , at the angle he went it.... phew!
those fast bends in part 1 are stunning

 

[Beebo]

Jack Doohan had a very fast off , lucky lad to be fairly ok seemingly , at the angle he went it.... phew!
those fast bends in part 1 are stunning

He forgot to shut his DRS.
I didn’t know that the driver is responsible for opening and closing DRS. I thought it was an automatic process.

 

[Beebo]

Someone needs to sort out these grass fires before the race tomorrow.
Get every lawn mower in the area out overnight.
Surely just cutting all grass back will be better than watering it.

Edit. I’m watching qualifying now. And the grass does look to be very short already. But could be cut a bit shorter. But we’ve got another red flag for a grass fires again.

 

[Drago]

Wow! Hadjar done a fantastic job getting to Q3. He's made Tsunoda and Lawson look like chumps.