F1 2024 Season

[hobbers]

Isn't part of the rumor that there is a war between the top of the organization who either is in the camp with Helmut and then there is the Hornet camp? Either way it sounds like a bit of a mess with lots of mudslinging going. Goes to show you I guess how powerful a figure Matteschitz was. It feels a bit like the parent(s) died and now the kids are squabbling over the pieces.

One thing I've learned is that in many ways it's not worth paying attention to someone like a Van Haren who has a clear inside connection in these things. They ll push an individual narrative that RB as an organization cannot. In my line of work mudslinging and camp forming combined with internal investigations is extremely common but 99% of the time we won't respond to the outside, because it just isn't worth it. People not being able to shut up often only shoot themselves in the foot. There are a ton of moving parts in organizations that size.

Horner seems to have the backing of the majority shareholder but the other half want him out, including Mintzlaff and Matteschitz son. For whatever reason Marko hates his guts and Jos seems in lockstep with Marko. How much Max cares about all that, who can say.

Pretty obvious though that whoever is talking to Van Haren is a dutchy.

 

[BristolRuss]

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[Darkhorsez]

Couldn’t happen to a nicer guy

 

[RedNome]

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I love it when the chickens come home to roost.

Get fecked.

 

[Zarlak]

Please let it end up that her name is Mercedes.

 

[SilentWitness]

Seedy little git. I thought the circumstances in which he left his first wife to get with Halliwell were a bit dubious too.

 

[dinostar77]

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Be interesting to see what Adrian Newey does if Horner is forced out. He said last year that one of his regrets was not working with Alonso and Hamilton. Ferrari have always wanted him. They offered him his own design office and staff in UK ala John Bernard (before Newey signed a new deal) Wonder if he would go to ferrari for 25/26 seasons?

Would be one way to get Max into a ferrari especially after hamilton retires.

Or if Alonso ends up at Mercedes, would Newey switch to Mercedes? Or stay loyal to RB?

 

[BristolRuss]

Be interesting to see what Adrian Newey does if Horner is forced out. He said last year that one of his regrets was not working with Alonso and Hamilton. Ferrari have always wanted him. They offered him his own design office and staff in UK ala John Bernard (before Newey signed a new deal) Wonder if he would go to ferrari for 25/26 seasons?

Would be one way to get Max into a ferrari especially after hamilton retires.

Or if Alonso ends up at Mercedes, would Newey switch to Mercedes? Or stay loyal to RB?

Ferrari also once told him that if he were to join they would allow him to design and release his own road car. He was really keen on this idea and when he told Horner that he wanted to leave and join Ferrari, Horner promised him that if he stayed he would offer him the same opportunity. That's how the Aston Martin Valkyrie came to be a thing.

 

[dinostar77]

Ferrari also once told him that if he were to join they would allow him to design and release his own road car. He was really keen on this idea and when he told Horner that he wanted to leave and join Ferrari, Horner promised him that if he stayed he would offer him the same opportunity. That's how the Aston Martin Valkyrie came to be a thing.

I didn't know that thanks. Designing your own Ferrari road car though, wow that's a helluva incentive.

 

[F-Red]

Pre-season testing kicks off on Wednesday and finishes on Friday. Drive to Survive is also out on Friday.

This, alongside Horner's internal investigation, presents a busy F1 week!

 

[hobbers]

D2S will be busy trying to figure out how they can make next years series all about the two major things that happened in this off season.

Though with a bit of luck this one will be so boring and contrived it'll end up cancelled.

 

[pauldyson1uk]

WTF just noticed that the first 2 races of the season are on a Saturday.
Due to Ramadan and not having 2 races in a week.

 

[ArjenIsM3]

WTF just noticed that the first 2 races of the season are on a Saturday.
Due to Ramadan and not having 2 races in a week.

Eh? Ffs

 

[SilentWitness]

Not that big of a deal really?

 

[Tom Van Persie]

WTF just noticed that the first 2 races of the season are on a Saturday.
Due to Ramadan and not having 2 races in a week.

ffs. Looks like I'm going to miss them.

Then the next few races after that are Melbourne, Japan and China. Doesn't look like I'll be watching a live race until May.

 

[pauldyson1uk]

Not that big of a deal really?

This is true but I am busy on both Saturdays, will have to try and jig stuff around.

 

[pauldyson1uk]

https://racingnews365.com/why-f1-ra...t to break convention for three races in 2024.

 

[ArjenIsM3]

Not that big of a deal really?

Have the same issue as @pauldyson1uk as I'm also often busy on Saturday whereas I'm usually not on Sundays.

 

[Ahmer Baig]

 

[pauldyson1uk]

Had my shifts moved around and for once , slightly in my favour for once.
I am in work for the opening race , so will be able to watch that.
Qualifying at 16:00 Friday could be a problem.
Nights for the Saudi race, will miss half of it

 

[pauldyson1uk]

‘High suspicions’ over Red Bull emerge as RB20 ‘dummy car’ theory revealed

Deviating from last year’s dominant RB19 to put Mercedes-styled parts on the RB20, Bernie Collins is “not sure” the Red Bull unveiled at the team’s launch will be the car on track in testing.

Red Bull raised eyebrows when, as the last team to launch their 2024 challenger, the reigning World Champions took a notably different path with the design of the new car.

Incorporating Mercedes-styled sidepod inlets that the team ran last season, but scrapped with this year’s car, the engine cover also features a design Mercedes used last year with its long cooling gulleys.

Did Red Bull take the covers off a ‘dummy car’ at the launch?
Team boss Christian Horner was adamant this wasn’t a “tactical” move to show up Mercedes, as “only the stopwatch will tell but in the virtual world we wouldn’t have committed it to design if we didn’t feel it was better”.

However, Sky Sports analyst Collins isn’t so sure it is better, in fact, she’s wondering if Red Bull took the covers off a fake car.

“I think maybe years in F1 have made me suspicious,” she said in the latest Sky F1 podcast, “so let’s see the car that rolls out on Day One in Bahrain because I’m not sure it’s going to be that car.

“This could just be a little joke.”

Put to her it could be a “dummy car”, the former F1 strategy engineer for the Aston Martin team agreed: “Yeah, I am highly suspicious but let’s see.”

‘High suspicions’ over Red Bull emerge as RB20 ‘dummy car’ theory revealed (msn.com)

 

[Redplane]

‘High suspicions’ over Red Bull emerge as RB20 ‘dummy car’ theory revealed

Deviating from last year’s dominant RB19 to put Mercedes-styled parts on the RB20, Bernie Collins is “not sure” the Red Bull unveiled at the team’s launch will be the car on track in testing.

Red Bull raised eyebrows when, as the last team to launch their 2024 challenger, the reigning World Champions took a notably different path with the design of the new car.

Incorporating Mercedes-styled sidepod inlets that the team ran last season, but scrapped with this year’s car, the engine cover also features a design Mercedes used last year with its long cooling gulleys.

Did Red Bull take the covers off a ‘dummy car’ at the launch?
Team boss Christian Horner was adamant this wasn’t a “tactical” move to show up Mercedes, as “only the stopwatch will tell but in the virtual world we wouldn’t have committed it to design if we didn’t feel it was better”.

However, Sky Sports analyst Collins isn’t so sure it is better, in fact, she’s wondering if Red Bull took the covers off a fake car.

“I think maybe years in F1 have made me suspicious,” she said in the latest Sky F1 podcast, “so let’s see the car that rolls out on Day One in Bahrain because I’m not sure it’s going to be that car.

“This could just be a little joke.”

Put to her it could be a “dummy car”, the former F1 strategy engineer for the Aston Martin team agreed: “Yeah, I am highly suspicious but let’s see.”

‘High suspicions’ over Red Bull emerge as RB20 ‘dummy car’ theory revealed (msn.com)

Whether it's what they showed or not, either way I appreciate they're still willing to make things interesting rather than sticking with the RB18/19 and still willing to make some fairly drastic changes. Especially now that other teams seem to have moved more into RB19 territory. Collins is probably right though because there seem to be too many rumors about it.

Plus isn't it said that Max was shown the RB20 design at the last race of 23 and made a comment about it being quite different? Whatever happens happens. In some ways a troll would also be to show up with a car that looks identical to the RB19.

 

[F-Red]

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[pauldyson1uk]

early timesheet

Driver	Team	Time	Laps
Charles Leclerc	Ferrari	1:33.658	16
Fernando Alonso	Aston Martin	+0.104	25
Valtteri Bottas	Sauber	+0.773	22
Alex Albon	Williams	+0.929	18
Yuki Tsunoda	RB	+1.176	25
Kevin Magnussen	Haas	+2.034	21
Max Verstappen	Red Bull	+2.335	22
George Russell	Mercedes	+2.884	19
Esteban Ocon	Alpine	+2.905	23
Oscar Piastri	McLaren	No time	9

 

[pauldyson1uk]

are we doing a Superbru Fantasy League this season ?

 

[flameinthesun]

The green stake looks better on track, stands out.

 

[pauldyson1uk]

Latest timesheet @09:05

Driver	Team	Time	Laps
Max Verstappen	Red Bull	1:33.065	36
Charles Leclerc	Ferrari	+0.182	22
Fernando Alonso	Aston Martin	+0.320	32
Valtteri Bottas	Sauber	+1.136	26
Yuki Tsunoda	RB	+1.422	36
Alex Albon	Williams	+1.522	26
Kevin Magnussen	Haas	+2.627	32
Oscar Piastri	McLaren	+2.694	17
George Russell	Mercedes	+3.498	19
Oscar Piastri	McLaren	No time	9

 

[pauldyson1uk]

The green stake looks better on track, stands out.

I like it, it sure does stand out.

 

[ArjenIsM3]

The green stake looks better on track, stands out.

It sure does stand out but it also hurts my eyes

 

[pauldyson1uk]

Helmut Marko has revealed that Red Bull is committed to reducing the sidepod real estate on its new RB20, following a design previously exploited by Mercedes, but doubts linger about whether the concept can be successful.

Formula 1 pre-season testing is officially underway, and the spotlight shines brightly on Red Bull's 2024 car, and particularly on its sidepod design.

While the car boasts several innovations, the sidepods and their vertical inlet bear a resemblance to Mercedes' 2023 design.

But Marko has hinted that Red Bull’s engineers are working on a more extreme solution, similar to the ‘zero-sidepod’ concept introduced by the Brackley squad at the start of its 2022 campaign, with an implementation scheduled for the Japanese Grand Prix in early April.

 

[pauldyson1uk]

Whatsapp logo on Mercedes steering wheel
After announcing a partnership with Whatsapp during the off-season, Mercedes have incorporated the logo of the instant messaging service to their steering wheel design for this season.
The drivers have a Whatsapp button to push when they want to communicate over team radio.

 

[pauldyson1uk]

Live timesheet @ 10:30

Driver	Team	Time	Laps
Max Verstappen	Red Bull	1:32.548	51
Charles Leclerc	Ferrari	+0.699	51
Fernando Alonso	Aston Martin	+0.837	67
Oscar Piastri	McLaren	+1.264	42
Yuki Tsunoda	RB	+1.588	52
Valtteri Bottas	Sauber	+1.883	55
Alex Albon	Williams	+2.039	38
Esteban Ocon	Alpine	+2.129	48
George Russell	Mercedes	+2.359	38
Kevin Magnussen	Haas	+3.144	48

 

[slyadams]

Seedy little git. I thought the circumstances in which he left his first wife to get with Halliwell were a bit dubious too.

Of course they were, and Geri knew who he was. When she moved from his side piece to his wife all she did was create a job opening.

 

[The Firestarter]

Live timesheet @ 10:30

Driver	Team	Time	Laps
Max Verstappen	Red Bull	1:32.548	51
Charles Leclerc	Ferrari	+0.699	51
Fernando Alonso	Aston Martin	+0.837	67
Oscar Piastri	McLaren	+1.264	42
Yuki Tsunoda	RB	+1.588	52
Valtteri Bottas	Sauber	+1.883	55
Alex Albon	Williams	+2.039	38
Esteban Ocon	Alpine	+2.129	48
George Russell	Mercedes	+2.359	38
Kevin Magnussen	Haas	+3.144	48

Do we have some comparison what these times looked like last year ?

 

[pauldyson1uk]

Do we have some comparison what these times looked like last year ?

These are from Day one last year.

Day One timesheet:

1 Max Verstappen, Red Bull, 1:32.837s – 157 laps
2 Fernando Alonso, Aston Martin, 1:32.866s – 60 laps
3 Carlos Sainz, Ferrari, 1:33.253s – 72 laps
4 Charles Leclerc, Ferrari, 1:33.267s – 64 laps
5 Lando Norris, McLaren, 1:33.762s – 40 laps
6 Lewis Hamilton, Mercedes, 1:33.508s – 83 laps
7 Alex Albon, Williams, 1:33.671s – 74 laps
8 Zhou Guanyu, Alfa Romeo, 1:33.723s – 67 laps
9 George Russell, Mercedes, 1:34.174s – 69 laps
10 Logan Sargeant, Williams, 1:34.324s – 75 laps
11 Nico Hulkenberg, Haas, 1:34.424s – 51 laps
12 Valtteri Bottas, Alfa Romeo, 1:34.558s – 71 laps
13 Nyck de Vries, AlphaTauri, 1:34.559s – 85 laps
14 Felipe Drugovich, Aston Martin, 1:34.564s – 40 laps
15 Yuki Tsunoda, AlphaTauri, 1:34.671s – 46 laps
16 Pierre Gasly, Alpine, 1:34.822s – 60 laps
17 Esteban Ocon, Alpine, 1:34.871s – 53 laps
18 Oscar Piastri, McLaren, 1:34.888s – 52 laps
19 Kevin Magnussen, Haas, 1:35.087s – 57 laps

 

[SilentWitness]

Can't see anything but another procession.

 

[The Firestarter]

These are from Day one last year.

Day One timesheet:

1 Max Verstappen, Red Bull, 1:32.837s – 157 laps
2 Fernando Alonso, Aston Martin, 1:32.866s – 60 laps
3 Carlos Sainz, Ferrari, 1:33.253s – 72 laps
4 Charles Leclerc, Ferrari, 1:33.267s – 64 laps
5 Lando Norris, McLaren, 1:33.762s – 40 laps
6 Lewis Hamilton, Mercedes, 1:33.508s – 83 laps
7 Alex Albon, Williams, 1:33.671s – 74 laps
8 Zhou Guanyu, Alfa Romeo, 1:33.723s – 67 laps
9 George Russell, Mercedes, 1:34.174s – 69 laps
10 Logan Sargeant, Williams, 1:34.324s – 75 laps
11 Nico Hulkenberg, Haas, 1:34.424s – 51 laps
12 Valtteri Bottas, Alfa Romeo, 1:34.558s – 71 laps
13 Nyck de Vries, AlphaTauri, 1:34.559s – 85 laps
14 Felipe Drugovich, Aston Martin, 1:34.564s – 40 laps
15 Yuki Tsunoda, AlphaTauri, 1:34.671s – 46 laps
16 Pierre Gasly, Alpine, 1:34.822s – 60 laps
17 Esteban Ocon, Alpine, 1:34.871s – 53 laps
18 Oscar Piastri, McLaren, 1:34.888s – 52 laps
19 Kevin Magnussen, Haas, 1:35.087s – 57 laps

Ta, its still only 50 laps, but it does seem like bit of a gap is forming , more than last year.

 

[United Hobbit]

are we doing a Superbru Fantasy League this season ?

Also interested to know as really enjoyed it last year

 

[pauldyson1uk]

Morning session final timesheet

Driver	Team	Time	Laps
Max Verstappen	Red Bull	1:32.548	66
Charles Leclerc	Ferrari	+0.699	64
Fernando Alonso	Aston Martin	+0.837	77
Oscar Piastri	McLaren	+1.110	56
Yuki Tsunoda	RB	+1.588	64
George Russell	Mercedes	+1.682	47
Valtteri Bottas	Sauber	+1.883	67
Alex Albon	Williams	+2.039	40
Esteban Ocon	Alpine	+2.129	60
Kevin Magnussen	Haas	+3.144	66

 

[Redplane]

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Damn that's even more extreme than it appeared in the launch pictures. It did see other pics where it appears they created openings set behind the driver and higher up. Pretty interesting stuff.