I thought that teams were not allowed to run 2 such different spec cars at the same time. I guess there are limits but maybe not. Hopefully Albon will get a good feel and speed from the new bodywork. Latifi is whinging but if you were Williams and had 1 set of new bodywork who would you give it to to test? Fingers crossed it's good.
Get well soon Alex Further to Alex Albon’s diagnosis of appendicitis on the morning of Saturday 10 September, he was admitted to San Gerardo hospital for treatment. He underwent a successful laparoscopic surgery on Saturday lunchtime. Following surgery, Alex suffered with unexpected post-operative anaesthetic complications which led to respiratory failure, a known but uncommon complication. He was re-intubated and transferred to intensive care for support. He made excellent progress overnight and was able to be removed from mechanical ventilation yesterday morning. He has now been transferred to a general ward and is expected to return home tomorrow. There were no other complications. Alex’s full focus is on recovery and preparation ahead of the Singapore Grand Prix later this month. Alex would like to thank the excellent care and support he has received, including from the nursing, anaesthetic and ICU teams at Osperdale San Gerardo – ASST Monza, the FIA medical team, his Performance Coach Patrick Harding, the Williams Racing team and Dr Luke Bennett from HINTSA Performance.
Lucky boy I suppose. He should focus on getting better and just perhaps haring round a street circuit with abdominal stitches isn't the wisest. It's not like he's.in danger of losing his drive
Looking at the bright side, at least he didn't find he has issues with anesthetics if he ever has a bad crash etc etc. Hopefully he won't ever need it again.
So Latifi going , DeVrues possibly to Alpha Tauri , who gets the second seat at Williams ? Danni Ric ? Doubt he would want it . Nico Hulkenberg ?
Logan Sargent is already a Williams junior, right? If he gets the superlicense points I think he'll be in the conversation. De Vries, Hulk, Schumacher, Riccardo, Sargent will probably fill the vacant Williams, Haas and Alpha Tauri seats, assuming Gasly to Alpine happens.
Latifi confirmation is good news. The guy is a liability in terms of destroying cars. The team has proved it can on a given day deliver something (a point or 2) It is in the end an f1 seat. So if ricciardo isn't interested them he needs to see he won't be getting any other shots and accept the risk. I would not be shocked to see another pay driver turn up though.
I thought Capito said before the start of this season , that Williams was now in a position where they don’t have to have a pay driver ? that doesn’t mean they won’t opt for one , but surely they someone of experience ?
Surely need someone to squeeze any ounce of points they can out of the car to drive more development and attracting talent for more development.
I would quite like Danny Ric to go to Williams to help them develop the car. I'm not sure they would pay him enough and have any money left to actually develop the car. I agree that they need a good development driver - anyone know if that would suit Hulk?
Man would I be cheering on Ricciardo in a resurgent Williams. Big ask I think but it would be a heck of a story.
I don't know that ricciardo is the man to develop a car? I have no strong opinion on this one. The record of progression of renault and mclaren with ricciardo doesn't suggest (on the superficial level i see) that he's someone to lead a team to his direction.
https://www.reddit.com/r/formula1/comments/10d2ml5/ive_decoded_porsches_cryptic_instagram_post_it/ Guys, it’s Reddit, so let’s all take a deep breath and a pinch of salt, but this sounds very exciting for Williams. Williams Porsche, with Gulf Oil sponsorship. That would inject some energy, interest, money and expertise into the project!
hopefully. the days of privateers are gone. this is big business and a team like williams needs a auto or massive backer. will we ever see a privateer start up again?
The world changed when tobacco advertising was stopped. They funded the privateer. Now there are auto companies being thrown at the sport, just how different some will be I am unsure. It is going to change the landscape. Some may stumble, the Renault project will need to perform. My feeling historically, it was a little bit of a romantic exercise in a world becoming corporate. They were not fully committed to all the aspects that were needed. RBR powertrains, is the right move for them. All brands need the right skills, RBR's legacy will attract good skills.
I'm not sure pulling car manufacturers is the right way to go. They are putting all their eggs in one basket. The budget cap is a good idea and should help the privateers, I'm hoping they can hang on and not all be taken over by the car manufacturers as I feel they will just drop them when something changes. Just look at Honda - they are out - sold IP to Red Bull then all of a sudden they are interested in coming back, Renault, BMW, Ford just to name a few that have dabbled with F1 when it suited them.
Yes, the big company decision making is a risk. If it no longer suits, they are off. The budget cap does help a smaller team but lots of big names are trying it out as the format is more attractive and in line with corporate aims now. Affordable, advertisement, youthful image.