Formula 1

https://twitter.com/F1/status/1434841673897553923?s=19

To be honest Valtteri should have maybe left Merc sooner as I'm not sure it's been good for him.

Decent move and lead driver in that team might reignite him.

As expected... Although Williams would have been a good fit too. They definitely could have used his experience.

Unfortunately, I can't see him getting the machinery to show his talent with Alfa. And it's a shame because he's a decent driver, a lot better than people give him credit for.

Problem with Bottas was he is no Rosberg, Rosberg I believe is the only driver to get under Hamilton’s skin & push Lewis to his titles but it came with a mental cost..

Russell bought in to push Lewis & he will..

Bottas ain't gonna give a sh*t now with team orders.

Bottas ain't gonna give a sh*t now with team orders.

Going to be interesting 

Going to be interesting 

Definitely.

I really like Valtteri at Williams and hope he can recapture some of that fire that I think he might have lost.

Not sure if the Alfa will provide enough but be good to see him enjoy himself a bit more next season

Bottas ain't gonna give a sh*t now with team orders.

I actually wouldn't be so sure. Bottas is too nice for his own good, and has a very good relationship with Hamilton, so I'm sure he wants Lewis to win the title.
Also, it's not like Mercedes 'did him dirty'. The writing was on the wall and they gave him plenty of time to find another seat, so he'll probably want to help them win another constructor's title.

I do expect some cheeky moves like he did with his fastest lap, but nothing too extreme.

For all the excitement around the track, the race was... a bit boring. I really expected at least one safety car to spice things up.
Mercedes strategy let them down again.

Every race is boring to some here when Hamilton doesn't win, and you can hear the despair on the Sky commentary team when he doesn't. As he's won 1 of the last 10 races, that's a lot of boring races. Verstappen has won 6 races in that time. Not bad for someone whose mental strength and temperament for the fight was being questioned.

The missing Mexican has reacted to getting his new contract by having an extended summer siesta. He was nowhere to be seen while the Mercs were throwing everything at Max in Zandvoort, and it's not the first time either. His laziness is going to cost Red Bull the constructors crown.

After 3 years in the retirement home, Raikkonen has finally decided he has had enough of being lapped down the back of the field every race and did what he should have done when Ferrari let him go. It's now Bottas who has taken up that role. Mercedes have gone back to Williams and found another white caucasian man to fill the space. It seems like all that inclusivity and diversity propaganda merely extends to respraying the car. Hopefully Russell will be allowed to race Hamilton, not be called into the pits for mysterious "punctures" if it looks like he might finish ahead of his teammate, as happened last year.

Now the races in Northern Europe are all done for the year, it's off to Monza, the sprint qualifying is back, and the margin for error is getting narrower and narrower from this point on.

Albon going to Williams... I'm a bit surprised to be honest. I expected Mercedes to push harder for de Vries, in order to prepare him for a Mercedes seat in 2 years, when Hamilton will most likely retire.
I might be harsh, but Albon never really gave me that 'wow' feeling. Hopefully he'll prove me wrong.

Albon going to Williams... I'm a bit surprised to be honest. I expected Mercedes to push harder for de Vries, in order to prepare him for a Mercedes seat in 2 years, when Hamilton will most likely retire.
I might be harsh, but Albon never really gave me that 'wow' feeling. Hopefully he'll prove me wrong.

Don't think it's harsh mate, he's not up to it from what I've seen. I'd love it for Mercs to get Norris for when Hammy retires though.

Albon strikes me as a Kovaleinen* type driver. Ok maybe a bit harsh but like yourselves he doesn't wow me but at the same time, I thought he was messed around by Red Bull so don't begrudge him this chance. But Russell will leave a gaping hole at that team.

With regards to De Vries? I agree with Keith - reckon Lando will be pencilled in when and if Lewis retires. If McLaren don't progress into the race winners/title challengers many of us would again love to see, in the next season or so, then I'm sure Lando will start looking elsewhere and it could dovetail perfectly with Lewis's departure from the sport.

*I was going to say that Kovaleinen was perhaps the most average race winner in the time I've watched f1. Then I remembered a certain Maldonado.

Albon strikes me as a Kovaleinen* type driver. Ok maybe a bit harsh but like yourselves he doesn't wow me but at the same time, I thought he was messed around by Red Bull so don't begrudge him this chance. But Russell will leave a gaping hole at that team.

With regards to De Vries? I agree with Keith - reckon Lando will be pencilled in when and if Lewis retires. If McLaren don't progress into the race winners/title challengers many of us would again love to see, in the next season or so, then I'm sure Lando will start looking elsewhere and it could dovetail perfectly with Lewis's departure from the sport.

*I was going to say that Kovaleinen was perhaps the most average race winner in the time I've watched f1. Then I remembered a certain Maldonado.

To be fair to the guy, on his day Pastor could be very, very quick. He just... crashed a lot. A LOT. Kovalainen just lucked his way into the best car of the grid and did f**k all with it.

Perhaps it's the romantic in me, but I actually don't want Lando to go to Mercedes. I'd actually love to see him bring the world's title back to McLaren.
Obviously, I expect Mercedes will keep a close eye on him (and Max) if Russell doesn't fulfil his potential. But if George performs the way he's expected to, I suspect they'll go for a number 2 driver. Hence why I thought of de Vries (with all due respect to him).

To be fair to the guy, on his day Pastor could be very, very quick. He just... crashed a lot. A LOT. Kovalainen just lucked his way into the best car of the grid and did f**k all with it.

Perhaps it's the romantic in me, but I actually don't want Lando to go to Mercedes. I'd actually love to see him bring the world's title back to McLaren.
Obviously, I expect Mercedes will keep a close eye on him (and Max) if Russell doesn't fulfil his potential. But if George performs the way he's expected to, I suspect they'll go for a number 2 driver. Hence why I thought of de Vries (with all due respect to him).

Very true. His tendency to crash and some pretty appalling manoeuvres (I'll never forget him break testing Hamilton at Eau Rouge during Friday practice one year - an appalling piece of driving!) puts him up there for me.

Fair point about De Vries - that'd be the dream scenario that Russell fulfils his potential for Merc to have that luxury once more. Like you, would dearly love to see Lando stay at McLaren and do the business there.

If it is to be believed that Mercedes have a nice advantage this weekend (and Hamilton's 1st practice result certainly hints at that) then he's really going to have to get Bottas to step up and shunt Max down to third on the grid either today or in tomorrow's sprint race. Doubt that will happen though despite the advantage.

Mercedes really need to make this weekend count.

If it is to be believed that Mercedes have a nice advantage this weekend (and Hamilton's 1st practice result certainly hints at that) then he's really going to have to get Bottas to step up and shunt Max down to third on the grid either today or in tomorrow's sprint race. Doubt that will happen though despite the advantage.

Mercedes really need to make this weekend count.

I actually wonder whether the sprint race format increases the advantage of the strongest car (longer race = more time to create a gap), or evens things out a bit (2 starts = 2 chances to get it right/wrong, etc.)...

If it is to be believed that Mercedes have a nice advantage this weekend (and Hamilton's 1st practice result certainly hints at that) then he's really going to have to get Bottas to step up and shunt Max down to third on the grid either today or in tomorrow's sprint race. Doubt that will happen though despite the advantage.

Mercedes really need to make this weekend count.

I doubted it but it DID happen! Amazing work by Bottas this afternoon! Disappointed Norris couldn't pip Verstappen to third. Would have been great. (Lewis should have slowed down and given him a proper tow down those last two straights. )

You just have to laugh at Martin Brundles comments. 

Gets his P45 this week then finishes P1. 

I doubted it but it DID happen! Amazing work by Bottas this afternoon! Disappointed Norris couldn't pip Verstappen to third. Would have been great. (Lewis should have slowed down and given him a proper tow down those last two straights. )

Good on Bottas. It couldn't have come at a better time for him.
Both McLaren look strong, so hopefully they'll give Max a proper race this weekend.

I actually wonder whether the sprint race format increases the advantage of the strongest car (longer race = more time to create a gap), or evens things out a bit (2 starts = 2 chances to get it right/wrong, etc.)...

Given the pace advantage of Mercedes, you feel all they need to do is to get both cars round the first corner then turn the dials down so I don't see much of a contest up front.

Worth giving a shout out to Giovinazzi. He did hint at that pace when he first came in but that's a phenomenal result to get Alfa into the top 10. Surprised to see Kubica so off it as (outqualified by Mick in the Haas) Monza's not usually a track that requires a lot of 'dial in' time. I know he's not the same Kubica as from a decade or so ago but still...

Worth giving a shout out to Giovinazzi. He did hint at that pace when he first came in but that's a phenomenal result to get Alfa into the top 10. Surprised to see Kubica so off it as (outqualified by Mick in the Haas) Monza's not usually a track that requires a lot of 'dial in' time. I know he's not the same Kubica as from a decade or so ago but still...

Gio has always been a good qualifier, but I'm surprised he managed to extract so much from the Alfa. He wasn't far from both Ferrari cars.
I'm also impressed by Gasly's consistency. No matter the track, he is quietly doing the business every weekend.

Kubica is really a very sad case of "what could have been". He was a pure talent, shame his injury meant he never got to exploit it. (That, and also BMW's stupid decision to stop developing their car mid-season in 2008)

Gio has always been a good qualifier, but I'm surprised he managed to extract so much from the Alfa. He wasn't far from both Ferrari cars.
I'm also impressed by Gasly's consistency. No matter the track, he is quietly doing the business every weekend.

Kubica is really a very sad case of "what could have been". He was a pure talent, shame his injury meant he never got to exploit it. (That, and also BMW's stupid decision to stop developing their car mid-season in 2008)

Yeah, good point. I remember his remarks quite recently about claiming that he could have won that title. I'm not sure he would have won it but BMW's full commitment throughout the year could have influenced the title in a far greater fashion.

For as great as a driver he was, I did question his temperament from time to time. His tendency to publicly question the team and their efforts (and in rather snide terms) were there before his rally crash but were fully blown up to scale when he struggled at Williams a couple of years back. Indeed he was fairly forthright about how they cost him another year or two in the sport. Sure, it was a dog of a car but the obvious gap between him and his team mate exposes Robert quite a bit. I think it stinks to high heaven when hundreds of people work so hard in such difficult circumstances, only to see one of their drivers bad mouthing them in that fashion.

For me, that commitment to team is the difference between the true elites of the sport and the great drivers. Look at Hamilton and Schumacher. 7 time world champions. Very different individuals but both would never hang their colleagues out to dry. That's Alonso's downfall - he spoke out consistently time and time again and it's the reason why he's only a two time world champion (despite having the talent to match Lewis and Michael). I'm sure Kubica could and would have won at title at some point but I scented some of Alonso's piss poor attitude in him (and indeed they were best buddies on the grid!). Like Fernando, he never struck me with having the ethos that the likes of Lewis and Michael had.

Yeah, good point. I remember his remarks quite recently about claiming that he could have won that title. I'm not sure he would have won it but BMW's full commitment throughout the year could have influenced the title in a far greater fashion.

For as great as a driver he was, I did question his temperament from time to time. His tendency to publicly question the team and their efforts (and in rather snide terms) were there before his rally crash but were fully blown up to scale when he struggled at Williams a couple of years back. Indeed he was fairly forthright about how they cost him another year or two in the sport. Sure, it was a dog of a car but the obvious gap between him and his team mate exposes Robert quite a bit. I think it stinks to high heaven when hundreds of people work so hard in such difficult circumstances, only to see one of their drivers bad mouthing them in that fashion.

For me, that commitment to team is the difference between the true elites of the sport and the great drivers. Look at Hamilton and Schumacher. 7 time world champions. Very different individuals but both would never hang their colleagues out to dry. That's Alonso's downfall - he spoke out consistently time and time again and it's the reason why he's only a two time world champion (despite having the talent to match Lewis and Michael). I'm sure Kubica could and would have won at title at some point but I scented some of Alonso's piss poor attitude in him (and indeed they were best buddies on the grid!). Like Fernando, he never struck me with having the ethos that the likes of Lewis and Michael had.

Oh yes, Kubica was definitely in it for himself, not the team. If I'm not mistaken, he would have left Lotus to join Ferrari had it not been for his accident.

Oh yes, Kubica was definitely in it for himself, not the team. If I'm not mistaken, he would have left Lotus to join Ferrari had it not been for his accident.

That was it wasn't it. Was being primed for Ferrari in 2012 or something. Would have been fascinating if it had happened.