FORMULA ONE - 2020

OMG, Vettel to Racing Point next year? That's a twist!! Vettel considering Aston Martin offer

loosecannon said:

OMG, Vettel to Racing Point next year? That's a twist!! Vettel considering Aston Martin offer

Dang! Is Ocon going to get shafted again?!!

Javelin (Forum Supporter) said:

loosecannon said:

OMG, Vettel to Racing Point next year? That's a twist!! Vettel considering Aston Martin offer

Dang! Is Ocon going to get shafted again?!!

Ocon races for Renault.   How would this affect him?

Advan046 said:

Dave M (Forum Supporter) said:

In reply to alfadriver (Forum Supporter) :

That's unfair to Perez, he's definitely good enough regardless of his Carlos Slim sugardaddy status.  Fast is fast regardless of who's paying the bills!

I thought Alfadriver was being sarcastic.. the "Pay Driver" is definitely faster on skill than the driver whose Dad bought a whole team!

The fact that even Stroll looks decent this year shows how far ahead MB is.  Put basically any other driver in last year's MB and they'll be a front runner.

In reply to Benswen :

Even Vettel? Bwah hah hah. I'm kidding, I like Seb but his head just isn't in the game. It's like something broke at Canada last year and has yet to be fixed.

In reply to wvumtnbkr :

Oops! 

Dave M (Forum Supporter) said:

In reply to Benswen :

Even Vettel? Bwah hah hah. I'm kidding, I like Seb but his head just isn't in the game. It's like something broke at Canada last year and has yet to be fixed.

I have a theory that I admit could be completely wrong: Sebastian has had trouble since he became a father. I have tweeted to several Formula 1 pundits to do some research on Formula 1 drivers performance before kids and after to see if there is data to support this theory

In reply to loosecannon :

This is a valid theory that I've heard about a few other drivers as well

Interesting thought, Nico is the largest recent example. He jumped right out after becoming a father and getting his championship.

I think Nico knew he could not repeat that season so he decided to go out on top. 

It's a reasonable theory, but I don't think Vettel has ever been the best of the best. See how Ricciardo performed in the same car at the beginning of the hybrid era. Seb and the Red Bull were a great match but he needs that car under him. He's getting clumsier as he tries to compensate. 

If you knew you needed to beat Lewis again to get  second championship, you'd retire on top as well.  Nico always talks about getting into Lewis's head, but Lewis owned a condo in Nico's brain.  Fully furnished, and free of charge.

Nico also mentioned how mentally tough it was to win the championship, and that he doubted he could brimg himself into that space to do it again.

No idea what that encompasses, as I wonder if his relationship with Lewis was part of that- they were friends for a very long time, and now seem to be friends again.  I'm also thining that the focus required was so much that it was hard to maintain- I'm sure it has a huge impact off the track.

Lewis is interesting, too- he has a real, and separate, life from the track.  And I wonder if that version of dealing with the focus is helping him as he goes on.  I do recall wondering if Nicole was good or bad for his racing- but I think his focus changed as they parted.

Vettel is a curious case- when he stepped in for Kubica- his talent was super clear, then the amazing win for Minardi (it was too close to the name change to forget that).  Once he got with Red Bull, he and the chassis worked really well together- but once he got some serious challenges, especially from inside the team- there were cracks that showed.  Schumacher was able to deal with that mindset a little better, but Vettel has not seemed to deal with pressure that well after real challenges were mounted from multiple sources.  2017 was a hard year- Ferrari has really done very little- other than Fernando ALMOST winning a championship from Vettel- they have done nothing since Mike.  Things looked good- and with their leaders, that mounted a TON of pressure.  And after being ruthless in Canada, and getting penalized for it, it all fell apart- especially focused in Germany.

At this point, I'm really starting to think that a change to Aston Martin would be good for him.  Whether they play the owners son or the pay to play driver who has considerably more skill and talent- that's a tough one.

In reply to alfadriver (Forum Supporter) :

I wouldn't discount the fact that Vettel never worked on his short comings and his performances have been hugely based on what he is good at and not what he isn't. Yes the Racing Point is a great car this year, but you know that all the teams are working on strategies to change the rules to make it harder for Racing Point to procure/replicate the good bits from Mercedes. I like Vettel but I think it's a shame that Perez or Stroll are sent packing. I agree that Vettel's head just isn't in the game, who knows were he is going to be after this year. The Ferrari's pace isn't good and the interteam dynamics are toxic.

alfadriver (Forum Supporter) said:

 Ferrari has really done very little- other than Fernando ALMOST winning a championship from Vettel- they have done nothing since Mike.  Things looked good- and with their leaders, that mounted a TON of pressure.  And after being ruthless in Canada, and getting penalized for it, it all fell apart- especially focused in Germany

Ferrari was the class of the field with Ross Brawn, Jean Todt, and Schumacher.   They made it look easy.  So easy, in fact, that the top level management at the company fired or drove away all of the people who made it work so that they could replace them with people of the "correct" nationality (Italian).

In reply to codrus (Forum Supporter) :

Possibly.  That's a good theory, for sure- has a lot of validity. 

codrus (Forum Supporter) said:

alfadriver (Forum Supporter) said:

 Ferrari has really done very little- other than Fernando ALMOST winning a championship from Vettel- they have done nothing since Mike.  Things looked good- and with their leaders, that mounted a TON of pressure.  And after being ruthless in Canada, and getting penalized for it, it all fell apart- especially focused in Germany

Ferrari was the class of the field with Ross Brawn, Jean Todt, and Schumacher.   They made it look easy.  So easy, in fact, that the top level management at the company fired or drove away all of the people who made it work so that they could replace them with people of the "correct" nationality (Italian).

 

Yeah I just don't think that Ferrari can get it done in the current era.  F1 chassis design has become an aerospace engineering game, and that talent is concentrated in England (or the US, but there's no F1 team here besides that ol crook Haas buying the Ferrari parts bin to sell CNC machines).

We all know Ferrari can build a heck of an engine, but look at last year - Merc were the better car even with the Ferrari engine on cheat mode. Aero rules all!

"Aerodynamics are for people who can’t build engines.” - Enzo Ferrari

Keith Tanner said:

"Aerodynamics are for people who can’t cheat at building engines.” - Enzo Ferrari

FTFY :)

In reply to alfadriver (Forum Supporter) :

I have only read that Nico and Lewis are neighborly if they bump into each other. Not been friends since childhood. The media kept hyping their friendship to build drama of the competition.

I just can't understand the Vettel lure. He was fast but his time passed. I have massive respect for how he keeps his family private. I think he will either follow Kimi into the why not race if someone pays me mode or just go live happy at home.

Perez is a great driver but I can see the Racing Point guys paying him out his contract to keep Stroll and add Vettel. Not a good move in my mind but they might just be focused on the name bringing increased media coverage.....IDK.

I think Hamilton's off track activities do help him perform better. Just because Michael Schumacher didn't have Twitter doesn't mean he didn't go do lots of fun things he would have shared on his SMP. (Is that the right acronym for Social Media Platforms? It was in training three/four years ago.)

In reply to Advan046 :

I think my over hanging idea was that some drivers can use outside distractions to their advantage, others can't.  And then there are some outside distractions that are very different.

The level of mental focus needed to be at the top of F1 must be really something- Nico really pointed that out when we retired as the champion.  When you see so many F2 stars who crumble under the weight of a faster team mate- I honestly can't imagine how hard it is, mentally.

Tracing Point does seem to have a car this year although I struggle to see how they manage $ upgrades over the season to stay in the pointy end of the pack.  Mexico is unhinged at the thought of losing their driver - apparently#SaveCheco is trending.

In reply to alfadriver (Forum Supporter) :

Yes it must be tough. I guess I try to remember some of them are in serious career deciding discussions at even the Formula Renault or other feeder series before getting to F3. It must accumulate a large amount of anxiety on those teenagers.

Keith Tanner said:

 See how Ricciardo performed in the same car at the beginning of the hybrid era.

My point exactly, Seb became a father in 2014, the same time the cars went to hybrids and Ricciardo started to outperform him

loosecannon said:

Keith Tanner said:

 See how Ricciardo performed in the same car at the beginning of the hybrid era.

My point exactly, Seb became a father in 2014, the same time the cars went to hybrids and Ricciardo started to outperform him

But he also lost his dominant car. He has not shown the ability to adapt to any others well. So I'm not sure we can draw a conclusion about fatherhood from that.