Formula 1 2022

[Steadfast]

Well, I predict tomorrow's race a foregone conclusion. Red Bull 1 - 2, unless verstappen crashes into someone in a fit of rage. It's hardly the most inspiring of tracks, even if the grid was a bit less predictable 

 

Jo

[didcot]

So Perez loses out to Leclerc. Verstappen getting a lot of boos too. Don't like booing but he deserves it.

Glad for Leclerc. 

Edited November 20, 2022 by didcot

[Gareth Collier]

A dull end to a dull season (with the odd exception). Artificial excitement created by tyre choice/strategy and 2 DRS zones where it was pointless to pass in the first one as you'd just get repassed in the second.

Can't see how Max helped Perez as promised; he just disappeared over the horizon.

Let's hope the Mercs and Ferrari get their acts together to put up a proper challenge next season and the FIA sort that sketchy rule book out.

 

[Hroth]

It's over?

I had hoped for some fireworks, but it sounds like it ended up as a "let's get it over with" event.

 

Oh well, here's to next year....

 

[Pete the Elaner]

1 hour ago, Gareth Collier said:

A dull end to a dull season (with the odd exception). Artificial excitement created by tyre choice/strategy and 2 DRS zones where it was pointless to pass in the first one as you'd just get repassed in the second.

Can't see how Max helped Perez as promised; he just disappeared over the horizon.

Let's hope the Mercs and Ferrari get their acts together to put up a proper challenge next season and the FIA sort that sketchy rule book out.

 

 

He didn't help at all. He just cleared off when he could have backed Leclerc up to give his team-mate a passing opportunity.

After his selfishness last week, what more would you really expect?

[EddieB]

Well done, Charles.  I feel sorry for Checo, crocodile tears and no real support from his “team”, who are unwilling to criticise their golden boy in any way.

[EddieB]

He had his “bad boy” moments but a little sad that Seb has now retired.  He’ll be missed.

 

It was Queen Latifi’s last race as well.  Level on points with Nick DeVries.  If walls had emotions, I guess they’d be quite relieved.

Edited November 20, 2022 by EddieB

[Oldddudders]

Latifi will not be missed. After last year's race he got hate-mail, unsurprisingly, due to the outcome of his crash. But what about his dad? I think he has been bankrolling Williams for a couple of seasons, so will that continue? Dads and drivers are F1 at present, it seems. 

[PaulRhB]

11 minutes ago, Oldddudders said:

But what about his dad? I think he has been bankrolling Williams for a couple of seasons, so will that continue?

I guess the new owners had sorted the finances for next year before they released him. Probably just ending the contract period drawn up originally with the Williams family? 

[rob D2]

Boring ! We need some actual punch ups …

[RJS1977]

What Perez really needed was for Max to let Leclerc past him, then to attempt one of his legendary "overtakes" to retake the lead....

[Obi-Jiff Kenobi]

Another thing Perez needed was to overtake Hamilton cleanly, not make a Horlicks of it, and set off after Leclerc instead of delaying himself. As much as I’m a fan of Perez, he did himself few favours yesterday by outbraking himself.

[Roy Langridge]

20 hours ago, didcot said:

So Perez loses out to Leclerc. Verstappen getting a lot of boos too. Don't like booing but he deserves it.

Glad for Leclerc. 

 

I can see fans dislike of Verstappen continuing well into next season - I don't recall a driver being so singularly divisive for many years. Fans of all teams (except RB) now have a common figure to hate, and Verstappen's temperament is likely to mean he reacts at times.

 

Roy

[Pete the Elaner]

14 minutes ago, Roy Langridge said:

 

I can see fans dislike of Verstappen continuing well into next season - I don't recall a driver being so singularly divisive for many years. Fans of all teams (except RB) now have a common figure to hate, and Verstappen's temperament is likely to mean he reacts at times.

 

Roy

 

His poor team-work has lost him a lot of support, most importantly from his team-mate, regardless of whether it had an influence on the final result.

Checo helped him out a couple of times in 2021 & the title was very close. If next season is another close one (& at this point, who knows?) then he may want his team-mate's help again. Will Checo be quite as helpful next time?

 

Verstappen will never apologise. He never admits anything he does is wrong. The most obvious one was when he passed Raikkonen in Austin a few years ago by completely cutting a chicane. His fans applauded him for the 'great move' at the time. Not even Horner supported him on that one though; he just complained that if tracks limits were not being monitored properly elsewhere, why should they be here?

[woodenhead]

3 minutes ago, Pete the Elaner said:

 

His poor team-work has lost him a lot of support, most importantly from his team-mate, regardless of whether it had an influence on the final result.

Checo helped him out a couple of times in 2021 & the title was very close. If next season is another close one (& at this point, who knows?) then he may want his team-mate's help again. Will Checo be quite as helpful next time?

 

Verstappen will never apologise. He never admits anything he does is wrong. The most obvious one was when he passed Raikkonen in Austin a few years ago by completely cutting a chicane. His fans applauded him for the 'great move' at the time. Not even Horner supported him on that one though; he just complained that if tracks limits were not being monitored properly elsewhere, why should they be here?

Remember Abu Dhabi last year - Checo held up Hamilton to support Verstappen.  Whether that led to the eventual outcome is up for debate as that was caused by another driver, but Checo did his job as a team mate exactly as the team required him to do.

[Roy Langridge]

Verstappen also has to realise he is damaging his future as well. If a time comes when Red Bull are non competitive (and it will) he may wish to move on, but there will be teams looking at him with even more distrust/ caution now.

 

As said before, for a team the constructor’s title is the main prize, and that needs harmony within the team.
 

Roy

[Pete the Elaner]

1 hour ago, Roy Langridge said:

Verstappen also has to realise he is damaging his future as well. If a time comes when Red Bull are non competitive (and it will) he may wish to move on, but there will be teams looking at him with even more distrust/ caution now.

 

As said before, for a team the constructor’s title is the main prize, and that needs harmony within the team.
 

Roy

 

Red Bull have proven that the constructor's title is not the most important to them. If it was, they would not let their No1 be such a loose cannon. Their development is clearly worked around Verstappen. Why else would Perez's pace drop off so suddenly after Jos Verstappen's criticism of the team after Monaco?

A 1-2 should also be important to them, not just for this season but in order to get somebody's full support, it helps to give them your full support.

After Vettel ignored the 'Multi-21' instruction, what happened? It seemed to just get buried. That led to Webber's remark of "Not bad for a No2" when he won a race a little later in the season.

The drivers may have changed but the team management has not.

I am not trying to criticise the team. They are free to run it as they choose, but I dislike the way they pretend to be different to what they actions indicate.

[Pete the Elaner]

1 hour ago, woodenhead said:

Remember Abu Dhabi last year - Checo held up Hamilton to support Verstappen.  Whether that led to the eventual outcome is up for debate as that was caused by another driver, but Checo did his job as a team mate exactly as the team required him to do.

That was the best example of team driving I can remember seeing in F1. Team driving is not all about allowing your team-mate past. He was not dangerous & did not weave. I would like to see more tactical driving like that.

[woodenhead]

Just now, Pete the Elaner said:

That was the best example of team driving I can remember seeing in F1. Team driving is not all about allowing your team-mate past. He was not dangerous & did not weave. I would like to see more tactical driving like that.

Sadly either he thought the reward was a clear hand to try and fight for the title in 2022 or he decided to push harder than expected and then after Monaco his wings were clipped by the team so he could not fight even if he tried.

[Roy Langridge]

4 hours ago, Pete the Elaner said:

 

Red Bull have proven that the constructor's title is not the most important to them. If it was, they would not let their No1 be such a loose cannon. Their development is clearly worked around Verstappen. Why else would Perez's pace drop off so suddenly after Jos Verstappen's criticism of the team after Monaco?

A 1-2 should also be important to them, not just for this season but in order to get somebody's full support, it helps to give them your full support.

After Vettel ignored the 'Multi-21' instruction, what happened? It seemed to just get buried. That led to Webber's remark of "Not bad for a No2" when he won a race a little later in the season.

The drivers may have changed but the team management has not.

I am not trying to criticise the team. They are free to run it as they choose, but I dislike the way they pretend to be different to what they actions indicate.

 

I disagree to an extent. Yes, Verstappen is clearly their preferred driver, Number 1 in all but name, however, I think they expected Perez to finish second behind Verstappen, giving them the constructor's championship - this is why they have changed drivers so often to get a Number 2 that is closer to Verstappen.

 

Remember, it is constructor's points that get you the position in the standings which ultimately leads to a lot of important funding, even for an organisation the size of red Bull.

 

Roy

Edited November 21, 2022 by Roy Langridge

[Pete the Elaner]

13 minutes ago, Roy Langridge said:

 

I disagree to an extent. Yes, Verstappen is clearly their preferred driver, Number 1 in all but name, however, I think they expected Perez to finish second behind Verstappen, giving them the constructor's championship - this is why they have changed drivers so often to get a Number 2 that is closer to Verstappen.

 

Remember, it is constructor's points that give get you the position in the standings which ultimately leads to a lot of important funding, even for an organisation the size of red Bull.

 

Roy

 

They didn't help him to finish 2nd & he ultimately failed.

I can't criticise their tyre strategy in Abu Dhabi. Verstappen, Leclerc & Hamilton all 1-stopped. Verstappen was cruising & never had to follow somebody in turbulence for very long, so that helped. Leclerc & Hamilton were very sceptical about making a 1 stop work.

I really felt they could have made a difference earlier though. Mexico would have been a great race to show the crowd that their home driver has his team's full support.

[EddieB]

No, after finishing behind Mercedes last year, winning the constructor’s title was of primary concern to Red Bull and they had it sewn up with a couple of races to go.  Having their second driver finish second overall was no more than a “nice to have”, and they weren’t prepared to face up to Max and his tantrums to achieve it.

 

Rather ironic if you remember that Checo started out with bags of talent, but was far from being a team player.  Back in those days, I remarked that his aggressive style and selfish attitude had kept him out of the top seats.  That changed, he became one of the best team players - saving what was Force India and helping his team mate to two driver’s titles.

 

I’d love to see something of the old Checo return next season - run his own race, go deaf to Horner and give Max the odd elbow.

 

[njee20]

Had to chuckle at this. 
 

[Hroth]

There are lies, damn lies and statistics...

 

Anyhow, all you need to do is lead the LAST lap!

 

What needs to happen next season is for some driver to shadow Mr Bean as he leads each race, effortlessly overtaking him* in the last few laps, reducing him to an impotently furious jelly.

 

* several drivers could do this in succession...

 

Edited November 22, 2022 by Hroth

[Hobby]

2 minutes ago, Hroth said:

Anyhow, all you need to do is lead all of the LAST lap!

 

Corrected for you, as certain drivers will tell you! ;)