The Formula One Topic

[Chrill]

Perez will miss the upcoming British GP (and probably 1-2 more races) after testing positive for covid-19 today.
https://www.racefans.net/2020/07/30/per ... -covid-19/

We'll see who replaces him. Probably Gutierrez, who's on standby for Mercedes, but they could opt for someone like Hulkenberg too.

[Pyoro]

It's Hülk. Didn't think it'd happen for him, but it makes sense after all - really, there wasn't anyone else. Gutierrez hasn't driven enough kilometers in a F1 car since he's out of the sport (he's there as a sim driver, not as a reserve) and Vandoorne is occupied with Formula E. With Alonso signed for Renault ... kinda slim on other options ^^; Could have tried for Nico or Jenson I guess, and hope to get an exception, theoretically. But Hülk is good enough, knows the team, and has effectively just missed three races.

[Chrill]

Hulk couldn't get his Racing Point out of Q2 despite the car being clearly able to do it (Stroll qualified P6 in the end, but only just got into Q3 with 0.000s to spare). I foresee Hülkenberg struggling in the race, does he really have the stamina to protect his neck through 90 minutes of these high-speed turns? It will be very hard for him, especially in the second half on lower fuel and higher speeds.

I do see Hülkenberg doing better next weekend, assuming Perez isn't cleared to partake by then.

[Chrill]

F1 was bought by Liberty Media in 2017. This graph shows members in the subreddit r/formula1 over time. Liberty is doing something right for sure.

[Pyoro]

Checking this against the general growth of reddit seems it's more like "reddit does something right".

[Chrill]

From what I could see, Reddit pretty much doubled its users from 2017 to 2020. So that doesn't nearly stack up, that'd put the subreddit at 350k users rather than 1.1m.

[Chrill]

Ex-F1 racer Takuma Sato triumped for the second time at the Indy 500, taking the lead a few laps before the end and then leading the field across the line under a caution caused by a nasty Spencer Pigot crash.

Marcus Ericsson had made up 3 places to run 8th when his car lost control and he slammed into the wall after just 25 of the 200 laps. Slightly disappointing for him (and me!), he was looking fast enough to battle for the top 3.

https://www.motorsport.com/indycar/news ... e/4862207/

[Diesel Power]

Qualifying at Monza is a joke, and Dangerous. It's only a matter of time before we have another Billy Monger. What they need to do is release the cars one by one. When one car finishes it's fast lap, the next one is released. If the conditions change, tough luck

[Chrill]

Well that was a race.

Thank God for Monza, everything about it makes it unique and that can produce results. Toro Rosso won in 2008, AlphaTauri in 2020. I love it.

[Chrill]

Sometimes when bored, I post what I think the 2021 lineup will be. This is that day.

Mercedes-AMG Petronas F1 Team:
44. Lewis Hamilton
77. Valtteri Bottas

Red Bull Racing:
23. Alexander Albon
33. Max Verstappen

Aston Martin F1 Team:
5. Sebastian Vettel
18. Lance Stroll

McLaren F1 Team:
3. Daniel Ricciardo
4. Lando Norris

Alpine F1 Team:
14. Fernando Alonso
31. Esteban Ocon

Scuderia Ferrari Mission Winnow:
16. Charles Leclerc
55. Carlos Sainz

Scuderia AlphaTauri Honda:
10. Pierre Gasly
57. Yuki Tsunoda (His two most commonly used race numbers, 5 and 7, combined)

Alfa Romeo Racing ORLEN:
7. Kimi Räikkönen
32. Mick Schumacher (32 is the number Michael Schumacher debuted with at Jordan for the 1991 Belgian Grand Prix)

Haas F1 Team:
11. Sergio Perez
27. Nico Hulkenberg

Williams Racing:
6. Nicolas Latifi
63. George Russell

This year's grid is pretty much finished already, but three teams are yet to confirm either driver (AlphaTauri, Alfa Romeo, Haas).

This lineup would see Giovinazzi, Grosjean, Magnussen, and Kvyat forced out for Hulkenberg, Alonso, Tsunoda, and Schumacher.

[Pyoro]

Perez pretty much ruled out Haas. I think they'll go for Mazepin's cash (but he might also be connected to Williams or elsewhere) and keep either GRO or KMAG or possibly take a Ferrari junior (Shwartzman or Illot). Albon's situation seems to be more and more precarious but it looks like his Thai connections might be enough to protect him for another season.

[Chrill]

Perez pretty much ruled out Haas. I think they'll go for Mazepin's cash (but he might also be connected to Williams or elsewhere) and keep either GRO or KMAG or possibly take a Ferrari junior (Shwartzman or Illot). Albon's situation seems to be more and more precarious but it looks like his Thai connections might be enough to protect him for another season.

It all boils down to whether Red Bull are willing to abandon their youth program and recruit from the outside for the first time since the Red Bull Junior Program was set up. Gasly and Kvyat won't drive the Red Bull in 2021, so Albon will unless they go for Hulkenberg. Which is a possible thing for Red Bull to do, but I am leaning toward Albon staying on.

Perez to IndyCar is a real possibility, but if so I expect KMag and Hulkenberg to drive the Haas cars. I don't see Shwartzmann or Ilott driving for them in 2021, they'll both stay in F2 for another year. Schumacher and Tsunoda will be the graduates this season.

[Pyoro]

Well, Grosjean and Magnussen are both out.
... are they rally going for two juniors? Because I don't really see any of the experienced drivers being interested in a Haas cockpit. And they do need money.

[Chrill]

I think it's going to be Perez, Schumacher, or Mazepin. Going two rookies is normally bad, but 2021 is a special season indeed and the 2022 car will have very little carryover from 2021 anyway so driver input will matter less than usual. If there's money to be made in rookies, then Mazepin-Schumacher would make sense. I don't think Mazepin is fast enough for F1, so this could also give Schumacher a slightly kinder introduction to F1. As we've learned from Mick's junior racing, he needs a season and a half to find his pace but is then very very good indeed.

World champion good? No, maybe not. But definitely F1 midfield worthy, occasional podium. A new Perez if you will!

[Chrill]

Here's a compiled list of all the connections and rumours I can find.
Bold = Confirmed
Italics = Speculated

Mercedes-AMG Petronas F1 Team:
77. Valtteri Bottas (link)
44. Lewis Hamilton (link)

Red Bull Racing:
33. Max Verstappen (link)
10. Pierre Gasly (link)
11. Sergio Perez (link)
23. Alexander Albon (link)
26. Daniil Kvyat (link)
27. Nico Hulkenberg (link)

Aston Martin F1 Team:
5. Sebastian Vettel (link)
18. Lance Stroll (link)

McLaren F1 Team:
3. Daniel Ricciardo (link)
4. Lando Norris (link)

Alpine F1 Team:
14. Fernando Alonso (link)
31. Esteban Ocon (link)
10. Pierre Gasly (link)

Scuderia Ferrari Mission Winnow:
16. Charles Leclerc (link)
55. Carlos Sainz (link)

Scuderia AlphaTauri Honda:
10. Pierre Gasly (link)
23. Alexander Albon (link)
26. Daniil Kvyat (link)
?. Jüri Vips (link)
?. Yuki Tsunoda (link)

Alfa Romeo Racing ORLEN:
7. Kimi Räikkönen (link)
11. Sergio Perez (link)
27. Nico Hülkenberg (link)
99. Antonio Giovinazzi (link)
?. Callum Illot (link)
?. Mick Schumacher (link)
?. Robert Shwartzman (link)

Haas F1 Team:
11. Sergio Perez (link)
27. Nico Hulkenberg (link)
?. Callum Ilott (link)
?. Louis Deletraz (link)
?. Mick Schumacher (link)
?. Nikita Mazepin (link)
?. Pietro Fittipaldi (link)
?. Robert Shwartzman (link)
8. Romain Grosjean (link)
20. Kevin Magnussen (link)

Williams Racing:
6. Nicolas Latifi (link)
63. George Russell (link)
11. Sergio Perez (link)
31. Esteban Ocon (link)

It is looking increasingly likely that Albon will be replaced by a non-Red Bull. Hülkenberg would be the prime candidate, I think, but Perez is probably in the running too. Unless they can coax Rosberg back.

[Pyoro]

Kimi and Gio confirmed at Alfa Romeo, and Gasly at Alpha Tauri.
Presumably that means Schumacher at HAAS with ... Mazepin? Probably.

e: and Russel can be added to the list too. So unless something weird happens this is only about Albon/Kvyat and the two HAAS seats.

[Greyfox]

So...........Formula 1 in Saudi Arabia in 2021. Your thoughts ??

[Greyfox]

Hi Chril, here's another one for you. https://www.bbc.com/sport/formula1/54879815

[Chrill]

I don't mind losing Vietnam. 23 races next season, as they speculate, is ludicrous. I am a proper F1 fanatic and I suffer from race weekend fatigue halfway through the seasons. I'd say 17-18 races is a sufficient number of races, but 23? That's just too many in one season, I'll definitely not be as interested by the time the European leg is over.

[Greyfox]

@ Chril A provisional calender has been posted for 2021, revealed here: https://www.news.com.au/sport/motorspor ... d1d742c8a9

Just thought you might be interested.