F1 2021

[Baines' left foot]

I’ve been out of the loop on F1 for a bit and I’ve just been reading up on Mazepin and why he is so hated. I had no idea.

Haas have scored a horrific PR own goal having him on board. I hope it backfires spectacularly for them.

 

[Wizard]

I’ve been out of the loop on F1 for a bit and I’ve just been reading up on Mazepin and why he is so hated. I had no idea.

Haas have scored a horrific PR own goal having him on board. I hope it backfires spectacularly for them.

His father owns their title sponsor and his cash basically secured the team's future so think their hands were largely tied.

 

[longers]

I’ve been out of the loop on F1 for a bit and I’ve just been reading up on Mazepin and why he is so hated. I had no idea.

Haas have scored a horrific PR own goal having him on board. I hope it backfires spectacularly for them.

I doubt they care tbh, Gene Haas is a very conservative American who voted Trump and has publicly whined about PC culture previously.

They have a track record for hiring wronguns as well, Santino Ferruci was their junior driver not long ago and he’s one of the biggest POS in motorsport.

 

[Baines' left foot]

I doubt they care tbh, Gene Haas is a very conservative American who voted Trump and has publicly whined about PC culture previously.

You’re almost certainly right, which is rather depressing.

 

[Dom1878]

I just find it Bizarre that Haas are the only American team and they never really made a big deal of it at all (and now make more of a deal about russia...). It's the equivalent of when we had Tim Howard and didn't tour USA after his world cup. Just odd PR from the start.

 

[Wizard]

I just find it Bizarre that Haas are the only American team and they never really made a big deal of it at all (and now make more of a deal about russia...). It's the equivalent of when we had Tim Howard and didn't tour USA after his world cup. Just odd PR from the start.

I guess it's because it's a sport that Americans don't care about a huge amount. The last American to win a GP was Andretti in the 70's. There is some interest there but it's not going to become dominant over NASCAR or IndyCar. Motorsports in the US is also quite far behind other sports there in popularity. Couple that with the fact Haas are never going to realistically compete and there isn't an American driver it's a bit of a non-starter.

I imagine the only way F1 would get big boost in the US is if an American team came in with serious cash to compete (be it a Ford, Chevrolet constructor/Red Bull sponsor equivalent) or an American equivalent of Verstappen turned up, who could potentially go on to dominate the sport.

When we had Howard (and Donovan) we obviously picked up new fans in the US. But we were never going to become a big team at that point and those players were never going to be seen as the best in the World. So support largely stays with Man U, Chelsea, Barca, Real etc.

 

[BNJ1878]

Looking forward to this.

 

[B17BLG]

Mercs dropped a few sandbags, now when they turn the motor up and bolt on a few parts normal service resumed do we think?

 

[BNJ1878]

Mercs dropped a few sandbags, now when they turn the motor up and bolt on a few parts normal service resumed do we think?

Hard to tell, both drivers still seem uneasy getting the rear to stick.

What Is great is P1 to P16 a shade over a second.

Petez no better than Albon on todays showing.

Norris solid in both sessions.

Sainz absolutely smashrd LeClerc.

Tomorrow should be good.

 

[arminisgod]

Hard to tell, both drivers still seem uneasy getting the rear to stick.

What Is great is P1 to P16 a shade over a second.

Petez no better than Albon on todays showing.

Norris solid in both sessions.

Sainz absolutely smashrd LeClerc.

Tomorrow should be good.

Perez was close on the long runs.\

sainz had a mega tow down the straight

Mercs will smash everyone

 

[evilwebby]

Hamilton and Mercedes are going to have to work considerably harder than many expected if they are going to make it title #8 this season. The Red Bull is the best car, at least around Bahrain.

It's going to be a very long season. Getting solid points on the board is the main thing. You can't win a championship in the first half dozen races but you can certainly lose it.

 

[longers]

Im going to go ahead and predict Verstappen wins the title. With Hamilton approaching his late 30's I think Max is probably the quickest driver on the grid now in terms of raw pace... Hamilton has the edge in experience though so will be interesting to see how it unfolds. Would not be at all surprised to see Hamilton win again.

Other predictions

Perez gets a win or 2 on the weekends Max has issues, does better than Albon/Gasly but overall gets schooled by Max
Leclerc will outperform Sainz over the season
Ric and Norris will be closely matched all season
Mazepin ends up with the most penalties
Vettel rediscovers his mojo
Alonso has underwhelming comeback (not sure on this one, just chucking in a wild card prediction for the luls)

I look forward to every prediction being wrong

 

[The binman chronicles]

Hamilton and Mercedes are going to have to work considerably harder than many expected if they are going to make it title #8 this season. The Red Bull is the best car, at least around Bahrain.

It's going to be a very long season. Getting solid points on the board is the main thing. You can't win a championship in the first half dozen races but you can certainly lose it.

A lot depends on how reliable that Honda engine is. We know it is quick but can it still be driven to 90% during the 4th race etc. If you end up taking grid penalties then the championship could still be a bridge too far.

 

[BNJ1878]

Alonso has underwhelming comeback

Not even sure why he's revered by so many, been absolutely years since he's done anything spectacular. (even compared to a team mate)

 

[longers]

F2 should be even more entertaining this year, they are now doing 3 races per race weekend. Two sprint races today at 10:15 and 16:30 and then a feature race on Sunday

Not even sure why he's revered by so many, been absolutely years since he's done anything spectacular. (even compared to a team mate)

He was great when he won his two titles but I’d say he was at his best between 2010-2012, think he was probably the best driver on the grid during that time. He’s comprehensively outperformed his team mates since but bit hard to be spectacular in that dog of a McLaren he had, he just had no power to fight anyone.

I hope he proves me wrong. He’s still very good and his night stint for Toyota at Le Mans a couple years back was one of the great endurance drives of modern times.