Well, it looked like those that saved their tyres for the 2nd half of the lap got the grid spots. Another good quali for Hulk, has always deserved a shot, but never got it.
Ferrari nowhere. Verdtappen disaster in 2nd. Piastri disaster. We need to see Russell take.put verstsppen. A bad norris start amd this goes very badly tomorrow.
Much as I want to see Norris get the Championship, if he keeps doing bad starts he doesn't deserve it. I hope he gets it right tomorrow, 8 or more points out of Verstappens lead is the barest minimum we need.
I'd say Hamilton won the WDC with the second best car in 2008. I dont really believe Massa suddenly became a worldbeater for one season in a 15 year career. Plus Kovalainen ended up 8th in that McLaren. Honerable mention to 2018. It was equal or very close between Merc and Ferrari that year and Lewis cruised to the title. Pretty much ending any idea of Vettel being the best driver on the grid. With Buttons title I think the Brawn and Red Bull were closer than you'd think over the year. He won because Vettel and Webber were inconsistent. Very similar to this year where we all know that Lando and McLaren have bungled opportunities to close down Max.
On another note, it's shaking my faith in Albon a bit to see how quickly Colapinto (who has a pretty unremarkable junior career) has started matching his pace. Is he driving that much better than his Red Bull days or was Sargeant just really awful? Nowhere to hide when Sainz turns up.
I must be in a minority of one, but I’m ok if Verstappen wins the title, he’s having to fight for it and to be honest Norris has made too many mistakes to have really earned it (fair enough he only won his first race this year and hopefully he’s learning a lot). Leclerc is still in it - especially if Verstappen has a DNF at some point (although today hasn’t helped), and I think he’s driven very well this year.
I don’t mind who wins it . I’m just so pleased to have a season like the one we are having . I used to hate Max for acting like a child , but I have always said Jos , Christian and the Helmet have let him get away with to much . Norris seems to me to have one really big problem , and that’s his self Belief . I hope I’m wrong and he can start believing in himself , or Title this year or not , Piastri will have him on toast next year .
I agree. If the macca is the best car I can see piastri developing more and matching norris in quali more consistently. In race dress piastri is more impressive than norris and make less mistakes/ desperate moves. For me verstappen has used every bit of sympathy or support up. He was bad enough running into people as a young man and I didn't even mind the screw job but his antics and spoiled brat constant behaviour means I'd rather watch him tear his tyres off every week than ever win a race. He is 26. More than old enough to know better. Just a dick. I'd be happy see norris win it but he will have to "earn" it 100% That redbull kind of looks like the third best car right now. It was miles out in front at the start of year so he got himself lots of wins. Vertsappen has to make the most of what he can get now and norris has to win them all. I don't think norris can beat the ferrari every week. The shame.is piastri currently isn't consistent enough in quali to put norris in the second seat.
I want Norris and le Brat to crash out at the start leaving the win to either Lewis or George, but Piastri probably has the pace to beat either of them if that happens.
I’m not convinced Sargeant ever deserved to be on the grid to be honest. Albon’s ok, but nothing special imho, I’d imagine Sainz will get the upper hand at least by 2026.
I want to see Norris steal the title. Sometimes people can surprise. He needs to have the maturity to own this. He not the boy of 2 years ago, he is maturing.
Just seen Max gave pretty short answers in the official press conference, in protest at his swearing sanction. Not sure he needs to be poking the bear, but I respect him for standing up for himself.
Ted Kravitz referred to it as a “boycott” from Verstappen during his ‘Ted’s Notebook’ programme. Max should answer questions in Dutch.
And another thing . I thought Sulayem was going to step back from direct involvement in F1 He was . FIA president Ben Sulayem steps back from day-to-day F1 operations The FIA president Mohammed Ben Sulayem has stepped back from the day-to-day running of Formula 1 ahead of the new season. please log in to view this image Luke SmithFeb 8, 2023 at 11:59 AM Upd: Feb 9, 2023 at 9:26 AM 31 Ben Sulayem was elected the president of F1’s governing body in December 2021, and quickly outlined a plan to restructure the FIA’s F1 operations. This included an overhaul of race control, sparked by the controversial end to the 2021 season in Abu Dhabi, as well as changes to the senior FIA management such as appointing a CEO for the first time. As part of this process, Ben Sulayem informed teams in a letter on Monday that he would be stepping back from hands-on involvement in F1, leaving the day-to-day handling of operations with FIA single seater director Nikolas Tombazis. The FIA set out plans for a restructure of its senior F1 structure last month, which saw Tombazis take on a broader role, as well as the appointment of Steve Nielsen as sporting director after moving across from F1. Ben Sulayem will remain involved in high-level decision-making and focusing on strategic matters, but Tombazis will be the primary point of contact for teams moving forward. “The President’s manifesto clearly set out this plan before he was elected,” an FIA spokesperson told Autosport. “It pledged ‘the appointment of an FIA CEO to provide an integrated and aligned operation,’ as well as to ‘introduce a revised governance framework’ under ‘a leadership team focused on transparency, democracy, and growth.’ “These goals, as well as the announcement of the new structure of the Single-Seater Department, have been planned since the beginning of this Presidency. "The FIA President has a wide remit that covers the breadth of global motor sport and mobility, and now that the structural reorganisation in Formula 1 is complete this is a natural next step.” The move, which the FIA says was planned for some time, follows a series of controversies involving the president. Last month, F1’s lawyers wrote to Ben Sulayem to express concern over remarks in which he suggested a mooted $20 billion valuation of the series was “inflated”. F1 claimed Ben Sulayem had “interfered” in commercial matters that came solely under the remit of its owner, Liberty Media. Ben Sulayem also came under fire when comments published on his website back in 2001 surfaced, in which he said that he did not like “women who think they are smarter than men, for they are not in truth.” The quote was in an archived version of his former website. The FIA responded by stating Ben Sulayem’s remarks “do not reflect the FIA president’s beliefs” and pointed to his “strong record on promoting women and equality in sport.” Tensions have also been growing between F1 and the FIA over their positions on potential new teams joining the grid in the future. While the FIA has formally started the process, and is supportive of the Andretti/General Motors bid, F1 and the existing 10 teams are known to have some reservations about the plans and what it would mean for the series. Apologies for the orange . I think bullshitman is responsible for this , Rappers, that can only be directed at one driver FF’s
Hopefully norris will slowly drive away but not go mad as there will be safety cars. Hopefully verstappen tyres will go off fast and he will fall back through the field.
