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by mario
28 Aug 2023, 09:04
Forum: The Paul Stoddart Memorial Forum
Topic: 2023 Discussion Thread
Replies: 396
Views: 1371218

Re: 2023 Discussion Thread

Can anyone with a good memory recall when Leclerc was the new big thing? It hasn't worked out has it. Broken floor. He’s still plenty fast I think that maybe the question is asking about other areas of Leclerc's performance. It's not just purely "is Leclerc fast", but about how consistent...
by mario
27 Aug 2023, 22:35
Forum: The Paul Stoddart Memorial Forum
Topic: Reject of the Race - Dutch Grand Prix 2023
Replies: 15
Views: 3502

Re: Reject of the Race - Dutch Grand Prix 2023

I might go for one thing that is outside of the usual remit, which is the celebrations by Red Bull's mechanics. Before the race, the circuit owners apparently went to quite a bit of effort to tell fans that flares had been banned from the circuit, with Imre van Leeuwen, the director of the race, put...
by mario
26 Aug 2023, 11:02
Forum: The Eric van de Poele Memorial Forum
Topic: The Alessandro Zanardi IndyCar Thread
Replies: 1897
Views: 1361396

Re: The Alessandro Zanardi IndyCar Thread

Having occasionally dabbled in this thread, I was wondering if somebody can make any sense of what exactly is going on with Alex Palou and the mess that is his contract status? We had the initial lawsuit for Palou to stay at Ganassi, and now we've had Palou bail out of his deal with McLaren to stay ...
by mario
26 Aug 2023, 08:14
Forum: The Paul Stoddart Memorial Forum
Topic: 2023 Discussion Thread
Replies: 396
Views: 1371218

Re: 2023 Discussion Thread

Best wishes to Ricciardo on a speedy recovery. Given that he's almost certainly going to miss more than one race, does this put paid to his chances of grabbing the Red Bull seat? I felt like it was unlikely to begin with, but this certainly doesn't help. Could this be a decent opportunity for Lawso...
by mario
25 Aug 2023, 17:18
Forum: The Paul Stoddart Memorial Forum
Topic: 2023 Discussion Thread
Replies: 396
Views: 1371218

Re: 2023 Discussion Thread

Speaking of replacement drivers, it has been confirmed that Ricciardo is now out of the Dutch GP after fracturing a bone in his hand in his FP2 crash, with Liam Lawson being called up as his replacement. https://www.motorsport.com/f1/news/ricc ... /10511470/
by mario
25 Aug 2023, 16:23
Forum: The Paul Stoddart Memorial Forum
Topic: 2023 Dutch Grand Prix - Predicament Predictions!
Replies: 16
Views: 3925

Re: 2023 Dutch Grand Prix - Predicament Predictions!

I would say it's the "let's be honest, Max will win by miles" race, but it seems you can copy and paste that for pretty much every race this season now. Maybe it should instead be the "all hell will break loose if Max doesn't win" GP... 1. Verstappen 2. Alonso 3. Hamilton 4. Pere...
by mario
25 Aug 2023, 16:16
Forum: The Paul Stoddart Memorial Forum
Topic: 2023 Discussion Thread
Replies: 396
Views: 1371218

Re: 2023 Discussion Thread

So here's a ponderance... With Robert Shwartzmann being reserve driver at Ferrari- supposing something happened to Leclerc or Sainz at a race weekend in say Qatar or Bahrain or Saudi Arabia,so he stepped up to take their race drive. If he was to get the car into the top 3 what flag would they fly a...
by mario
13 Aug 2023, 21:19
Forum: The Paul Stoddart Memorial Forum
Topic: 2023 Discussion Thread
Replies: 396
Views: 1371218

Re: 2023 Discussion Thread

Anyway, that post however very much highlights the reason why moral discussions about the countries hosting F1 among fans are a joke. F1 fans use moral values mostly as an argument against tracks they don't like. Fair comment. I object strongly to the political leanings of Orban's Hungary and I don...
by mario
10 Aug 2023, 21:56
Forum: The Paul Stoddart Memorial Forum
Topic: 2023 Discussion Thread
Replies: 396
Views: 1371218

Re: 2023 Discussion Thread

Wasn't his dad like a proper oligarch? I remember claims that both Uralaki and old man Mazepin himself were the target of sanctions. If that's true, I don't see how you can claim the kid has no involvement. Yes; both Nikita and his father Dmitry were placed on the EU sanctions list early in the res...
by mario
07 Aug 2023, 12:01
Forum: The Paul Stoddart Memorial Forum
Topic: 2023 Discussion Thread
Replies: 396
Views: 1371218

Re: 2023 Discussion Thread

Did Haas specifically say that he would not be able to race because of his nationality? The Russian invasion took place in February 2022 and I'm certain he was replaced before then.I would have thought it would've been fairly straightforward for Haas to assert that his services were not being kept ...
by mario
06 Aug 2023, 09:48
Forum: The Paul Stoddart Memorial Forum
Topic: 2023 Discussion Thread
Replies: 396
Views: 1371218

Re: 2023 Discussion Thread

Perez has another rival for that Red Bull seat it seems /s https://www.gpfans.com/en/f1-news/1001032/nikita-mazepin-f1-return-eu-court-ruling-banned/ It would be great if anyone here is a lawyer and can translate the explanatory word-salad in the story. The greater concern is that Mazepin may now b...
by mario
01 Aug 2023, 20:38
Forum: The Paul Stoddart Memorial Forum
Topic: 2023 Discussion Thread
Replies: 396
Views: 1371218

Re: 2023 Discussion Thread

I agree that I don't think Red Bull will win every race, but one wonders how far they'll go this season. I think it's highly likely they'll pass Ferrari's old mark, they'll be pulling out all the stops at the Netherlands and they've got the fastest top speed for Monza. The races are still exciting,...
by mario
31 Jul 2023, 19:00
Forum: The Paul Stoddart Memorial Forum
Topic: 2023 Discussion Thread
Replies: 396
Views: 1371218

Re: 2023 Discussion Thread

Renault/Alpine have only ever won the Constructors title twice and that was with Alonso driving in 2005/6. He walked out at the end of last year when he realised he was wasting his time. The constant lack of focus and changes of management, strategy and purpose (as directed by corporate Renault) is...
by mario
30 Jul 2023, 16:05
Forum: The Paul Stoddart Memorial Forum
Topic: 2023 Discussion Thread
Replies: 396
Views: 1371218

Re: 2023 Discussion Thread

Bold prediction... Andretti to buy Enstone I suspect that, with the recent injection of investor capital, Alpine might be content to hold on for now. It's not that far fetched though - Andretti does reportedly have a contract in place for Renault's power unit, which will have opened up connections ...
by mario
30 Jul 2023, 15:59
Forum: The Paul Stoddart Memorial Forum
Topic: Infinite Improbability Drive of the Race - Belgium 2023
Replies: 18
Views: 3901

Re: Infinite Improbability Drive of the Race - Belgium 2023

1- Yuki Tsunoda Kicked Dale's behind and did tons of overtakes- deserved more than 1 point. (ffs Max won driver of the day- Should have been Yuki) Probably not that surprising if Max probably also picked up a lot of votes for being half Belgian - whilst Norris and Stroll might also be half Belgian,...
by mario
30 Jul 2023, 15:52
Forum: The Paul Stoddart Memorial Forum
Topic: Reject of the Race - Belgium 2023
Replies: 20
Views: 4906

Re: Reject of the Race - Belgium 2023

1- Carlos Sainz and Ferrari While he got the punishment he clearly deserved the fact was that he took Pisatri out by leaving him no room - literally. However, I would add Ferrari onto this when they could see Sainz tumbling down the order and left him out (maybe it was extra punishment). Anyway aft...
by mario
28 Jul 2023, 21:21
Forum: The Paul Stoddart Memorial Forum
Topic: 2023 Discussion Thread
Replies: 396
Views: 1371218

Re: 2023 Discussion Thread

This shake-up at Alpine is seismic. Szafnauer, Permane and Fry all out on the tail of Rossi. Stroll over at Aston Martin seems to understand that building a championship winning team takes time, patience and lots of money. Renault seem to have forgotten that. I wonder if this all started after the ...
by mario
28 Jul 2023, 08:34
Forum: The Paul Stoddart Memorial Forum
Topic: 2023 Belgian GP - Predictions Thread
Replies: 15
Views: 2963

Re: 2023 Belgian GP - Predictions Thread

The "are we even trying to pretend that Max won't win by miles" GP? S1: Verstappen S2: Perez S3: Norris S4: Hamilton S5: Piastri S6: Russell S7: Leclerc S8: Sainz 1. Verstappen 2. Perez 3. Norris 4. Hamilton 5. Piastri 6. Leclerc 7. Russell 8. Sainz 9. Alonso 10. Stroll PP: Verstappen FL: ...
by mario
27 Jul 2023, 21:15
Forum: The Paul Stoddart Memorial Forum
Topic: 2023 Discussion Thread
Replies: 396
Views: 1371218

Re: 2023 Discussion Thread

And Australia is one of the cheapest, yet offer an extra day on top... The reason why the Australian Grand Prix ticket prices are so low is because the state of Victoria are subsidising the event very heavily, which means the tickets are sold at a quite substantial loss. Whilst I can't find the fig...
by mario
27 Jul 2023, 08:39
Forum: The Paul Stoddart Memorial Forum
Topic: 2023 Discussion Thread
Replies: 396
Views: 1371218

Re: 2023 Discussion Thread

Just to ponder... if George hadn't won Brazil last year, Red Bull would have had 22 consecutive wins... Don't tempt fate. I would say "that's the last thing we need", but if Red Bull gets a clean sweep of wins that even the McLaren MP4/4 couldn't manage (merci, Jean-Louis), that might sna...
by mario
25 Jul 2023, 20:48
Forum: The Paul Stoddart Memorial Forum
Topic: 2023 Discussion Thread
Replies: 396
Views: 1371218

Re: 2023 Discussion Thread

This season is turning into a real kicker for Alpine, isn't it? A second double-DNF in a row, this one cause by their cars hitting one another - albeit the incident wasn't entirely their drivers' fault. The season began with the team their star driver had left them for taking all the plaudits, and ...
by mario
23 Jul 2023, 19:54
Forum: The Paul Stoddart Memorial Forum
Topic: Reject of the Race - Hungary 2023
Replies: 30
Views: 8622

Re: Reject of the Race - Hungary 2023

In some ways, there is an argument for the entire race deserving the award - the pre-race excitement from Zhou's high starting position evaporated before they even reached the first corner, where it instead turned into a farce, Verstappen comfortably drove off into the distance, Aston Martin have fa...
by mario
22 Jul 2023, 16:44
Forum: The Paul Stoddart Memorial Forum
Topic: 2023 Discussion Thread
Replies: 396
Views: 1371218

Re: 2023 Discussion Thread

I did not expect a Mercedes pole in Hungary for the second year in a row! There are a few surprises up and down the field there - for a start, as you say, I doubt many were expecting anything other than another comfortable pole for Verstappen (and Norris has also managed to get surprisingly close t...
by mario
21 Jul 2023, 20:04
Forum: The Paul Stoddart Memorial Forum
Topic: 2023 Hungarian GP - Predictions Thread
Replies: 19
Views: 2994

Re: 2023 Hungarian GP - Predictions Thread

1. Verstappen
2. Norris
3. Leclerc
4. Alonso
5. Hamilton
6. Perez
7. Piastri
8. Russell
9. Sainz
10. Gasly

PP: Verstappen
FL: Verstappen
First Retirement: Bottas
ROTR: Stroll
IIDOTR: None
DBTMOTR: Stroll
LP: Sargeant
by mario
19 Jul 2023, 18:07
Forum: The Paul Stoddart Memorial Forum
Topic: 2023 Hungarian GP - Predictions Thread
Replies: 19
Views: 2994

Re: 2023 Hungarian GP - Predictions Thread

The First GP without Nyck. Because he's goneskies and replaced by a non-rookie, the rookie point is goneskies. I'm open to suggestions for anything else. I was thinking first to pit going forwards but it's up for debate. There are still two rookies to choose between, Pastrami and Police Sargeant Lo...
by mario
13 Jul 2023, 09:35
Forum: The Paul Stoddart Memorial Forum
Topic: 2023 Discussion Thread
Replies: 396
Views: 1371218

Re: 2023 Discussion Thread

I think the question really should be "will there be a seat there at all next year?" We know that AT is gone as of 2024, while Marko is getting on in years and there were multiple comments made following Mateschietz's death last year that he would be gone before long. If my theory is corr...
by mario
11 Jul 2023, 19:33
Forum: The Paul Stoddart Memorial Forum
Topic: 2023 Discussion Thread
Replies: 396
Views: 1371218

Re: 2023 Discussion Thread

Do Max and Lando have similar driving styles/preferences in regards the instability of the rear end? If so, it doesn't bode will for Danny's chances in the current Red Bull dynamic. I believe that the issue with the McLaren cars was not so much about rear end instability, but more to do with change...
by mario
11 Jul 2023, 15:31
Forum: The Paul Stoddart Memorial Forum
Topic: 2023 Discussion Thread
Replies: 396
Views: 1371218

Re: 2023 Discussion Thread

Media already have Ricciardo in the seat. Reckon RB's main motivation here is getting a look at Ricciardo, to see should he replace Perez. De Vries' lack of performance has just given them an easy excuse. Be interesting if he's beaten by Tsunoda. Lawson will come in next season. I guess so - I had ...
by mario
10 Jul 2023, 14:48
Forum: The Paul Stoddart Memorial Forum
Topic: 2023 Discussion Thread
Replies: 396
Views: 1371218

Re: 2023 Discussion Thread

Will Nyck de Vries last until the end of the season? Just throwing it out there. I think that he might just last until the end of the season, if only because it's plausible to me that Red Bull might put Liam Lawson into one of the Alpha Tauri cars in a free practice session first. I suspect Lawson ...
by mario
09 Jul 2023, 21:18
Forum: The Paul Stoddart Memorial Forum
Topic: 2023 Discussion Thread
Replies: 396
Views: 1371218

Re: 2023 Discussion Thread

Will Nyck de Vries last until the end of the season? Just throwing it out there. I think that he might just last until the end of the season, if only because it's plausible to me that Red Bull might put Liam Lawson into one of the Alpha Tauri cars in a free practice session first. I suspect Lawson ...
by mario
09 Jul 2023, 16:26
Forum: The Paul Stoddart Memorial Forum
Topic: 2023 British GP ROTR
Replies: 20
Views: 4522

Re: 2023 British GP ROTR

1. Ferrari. Sainz passed be four cars was embarrassing. I think their heads have gone down. Stand by for some sackings. 2. Alpine. Poor. It was another case of strange strategy calls by Ferrari - Sainz was left exposed on his hard tyres, and there was the slightly unexpected decision to call Lecler...
by mario
08 Jul 2023, 20:00
Forum: The Paul Stoddart Memorial Forum
Topic: 2023 Discussion Thread
Replies: 396
Views: 1371218

Re: 2023 Discussion Thread

I really thought Norris had the pole there, with Verstappen having a yellow middle sector behind him. Poor old Perez can't qualify for love nor money at the moment, can he? In qualifying trim at least, his performance has fallen off a cliff quite spectacularly - five consecutive races where he's fa...
by mario
07 Jul 2023, 16:13
Forum: The Paul Stoddart Memorial Forum
Topic: 2023 British Grand Prix - Predicament Predictions!
Replies: 14
Views: 2267

Re: 2023 British Grand Prix - Predicament Predictions!

1. Verstappen
2. Perez
3. Leclerc
4. Sainz
5. Alonso
6. Norris
7. Stroll
8. Hamilton
9. Russell
10. Piastri

PP: Verstappen
FL: Verstappen
First Retirement: de Vries
ROTR: Williams (end up flattering to deceive after their practice results)
IIDOTR: Norris
DBTMOTR: de Vries
LP: Magnussen
MLP: Piastri
by mario
03 Jul 2023, 21:02
Forum: The Paul Stoddart Memorial Forum
Topic: Reject of the Race - Austria 2023
Replies: 27
Views: 5333

Re: Reject of the Race - Austria 2023

I find it quite interesting that Hamilton has got countless shouts for airing his frustrations over the team radio, but not a single shout for Sainz for his pathetic attempts to get a penalty for Perez. It wasn't great but at least Fred didn't have to tell Carlos off like Toto did, PLUS he could sa...
by mario
02 Jul 2023, 21:04
Forum: The Paul Stoddart Memorial Forum
Topic: Reject of the Race - Austria 2023
Replies: 27
Views: 5333

Re: Reject of the Race - Austria 2023

I will just go with one - Red Bull. Now, let me say that I do genuinely think Verstappen is a genuinely fantastic driver. But the team he drives for me gives me such "villain" energy from any number of competitive sports movies (Talladega Nights/Dodgeball/ CARS). Verstappen pitting for a ...
by mario
29 Jun 2023, 18:46
Forum: The Paul Stoddart Memorial Forum
Topic: 2023 Austrian Grand Prix - Predicament Predictions!
Replies: 16
Views: 2185

Re: 2023 Austrian Grand Prix - Predicament Predictions!

S1: Verstappen S2: Alonso S3: Hamilton S4: Perez S5: Russell S6: Leclerc S7: Sainz S8: Ocon 1. Verstappen 2. Alonso 3. Perez 4. Hamilton 5. Russell 6. Leclerc 7. Sainz 8. Ocon 9. Stroll 10. Gasly PP: Verstappen FL: Verstappen First Retirement: de Vries ROTR: de Vries (making mistakes during the week...
by mario
23 Jun 2023, 23:14
Forum: The Paul Stoddart Memorial Forum
Topic: 2023 Discussion Thread
Replies: 396
Views: 1371218

Re: 2023 Discussion Thread

The Red Bull approach seems counter-productive. The Mercedes and Ferrari teams have a history of well-matched drivers who could both get great results from the car. Yes there is still a team hierarchy but Irvine, Rosberg and Bottas were still fabulous in their day. Red Bull manufacture a car for on...
by mario
22 Jun 2023, 20:33
Forum: The Paul Stoddart Memorial Forum
Topic: 2023 Discussion Thread
Replies: 396
Views: 1371218

Re: 2023 Discussion Thread

Anyone know exactly what Lando Norris' penalty was for? Normally it will be specified-'driving too slowly','exceeding track limits','impeding another driver' but 'unsportsmanlike behaviour' covers a multitude of sins... I'm pretty certain it was for backing up traffic into the pits so he could doub...
by mario
21 Jun 2023, 17:44
Forum: The Paul Stoddart Memorial Forum
Topic: Bridgestone tendering for future tyre supply contract
Replies: 4
Views: 813

Re: Bridgestone tendering for future tyre supply contract

I'm torn on this. Competition, or even the mere threat of it, does improve the product. And Bridgestone probably are less likely to ram the tyre blanket ban down the drivers throats. But Bridgestone was SO bad in 2008/2009/2010. The two compounds rule was at least partly because teams were tempted ...
by mario
19 Jun 2023, 05:49
Forum: The Paul Stoddart Memorial Forum
Topic: 2023 Discussion Thread
Replies: 396
Views: 1371218

Re: 2023 Discussion Thread

A shame it was once again an easy one for Verstappen out front. I'm not sure how much I believe Alonso could have challenged him without his issue, but at least as Alonso had promised it wasn't a 20-to-30 second margin. Great drive by Albon to get some good points for Williams. Verstappen's enginee...