84 replies to this topic

[Rodaknee]

Dunno if Mercedes will be too pleased if he continues to have RB plastered on his helmet

 

https://www.bbc.co.u...rmula1/58490068

[sushantf1]

As expected.

[Spillage]

Pretty uninspiring driver lineup for them next year, but I suppose a decent driverike Albon is better than a completely inept laydriver would be.

[IrvTheSwerve]

Bit of a 'meh' moment for me. Albon could probably be an average F1 driver but he always comes across as a bit of a wet rag with not much personality. Not that that matters in terms of being a good driver, but it helps when you're a middle-of-the-road driver.

[PayasYouRace]

I think this could give his F1 career a second wind. Look at what getting out of the Red Bill did for Gasly.

[Laster]

I’m happy for Albon to get another chance, I think Gasly’s resurgence since returning to Alpha Tauri shows it is worth giving drivers an extended chance beyond there first couple seasons. Still with that driver line up being Albon and Latifi I do feel underwhelmed by Williams driver line up. I personally would have changed Latifi for someone else, if I was looking to bring in a young driver with potential I would have gone for Piastri, if I was going for experience and a driver you know will get points if you can provide car capable of doing so, I would have chosen Hulkenberg. But with Latifi…he’s been improving but he’s still well off the back of Russell.

[monolulu]

Mark Hughes seems to think this is all about the future PUs.

https://twitter.com/...1067429895?s=21

[P123]

I think this could give his F1 career a second wind. Look at what getting out of the Red Bill did for Gasly.

No doubt that will be the thinking behind it.  And he won't have a tough teammate in Latifi.  But I'd consider both of a similar level, and that is not good news for Williams.  Quite an uninspiring lineup and not one that will drag them off the back of the grid.

[PayasYouRace]

Who, exactly, was available that would drag them off the back of the grid?

[William Hunt]

Dunno if Mercedes will be too pleased if he continues to have RB plastered on his helmet

 

https://www.bbc.co.u...rmula1/58490068

 

Mercedes is not the owner of Williams. They have nothing to say about that.

[Augurk]

Mark Hughes seems to think this is all about the future PUs.

https://twitter.com/...1067429895?s=21

Master play if true. 

[cpbell]

Pretty uninspiring driver lineup for them next year, but I suppose a decent driverike Albon is better than a completely inept laydriver would be.

I honestly think Albon is a better driver than some here think.  Also, having ex-F2 team-mates together makes sense.

[messy]

Circa mid 2020 I was as fed up with Albon as anyone, but in hindsight I don't think he was too bad. No worse than Gasly and barely any worse than Perez is performing now. He was good in F2 and held his own against Russell and Norris in equal equipment. He's also a nice guy and I'm quite happy to see him back. I think potentially he's a pretty solid signing for Williams. 

[BRG]

I honestly think Albon is a better driver than some here think.  Also, having ex-F2 team-mates together makes sense.

Agreed.  Do not judge him by when he was being martyred on the altar of the Lord Max.  He will do very well indeed.

 

Mark Hughes seems to think this is all about the future PUs.

https://twitter.com/...1067429895?s=21

Yeah, well, maybe, or maybe that is just building castles in the air. 

[w00dy]

Congrats to Alex, the heir apparent to George Russell

[Risil]

Pretty uninspiring driver lineup for them next year, but I suppose a decent driverike Albon is better than a completely inept laydriver would be.

I want "inept lay driver" on my licence

[Fastcake]

I wonder what his remaining connection with Red Bull will be.

Does he still have to re-enact crashes at Silverstone?

[Timstr11]

He's probably bringing (Redbull) money to the team. More than Mercedes was willing to pay for De Vries.

[cpbell]

Agreed.  Do not judge him by when he was being martyred on the altar of the Lord Max.  He will do very well indeed.

 

 

Being Max's team-mate seems to be as difficult a position as Jim Clark's team-mate was in the '60s. 

[ARTGP]

 

 

“I think Toto at the end, he understands and we understand that we are not a B-team and we are not a satellite team,” Capito said.

https://www.autospor...ptions/6662708/

 

Ladies and gents, I give you Jost Capito  .

Edited by ARTGP, 08 September 2021 - 15:36.

[Clrnc]

Really an uninspired appointment. Would have very much prefer them to gamble on a very quick young driver from the junior series. 

 

Albon is not as bad as what people are making him out to be though. He is a decent midfield driver. Pretty much a Latifi+. 

[flingsofdeon]

Well done Jost.

So - the pu play - I presume this stops Mercedes having a 4-team voting position for the upcoming regs, if Williams move supplier? And would obviously put Red Bull in an equal position with Ferrari and Mercedes from a voting standpoint?

If Mark Hughes is correct, of course.

Congrats to Alex, regardless. Fascinated to see how he goes.

[Rodaknee]

https://www.autospor...ptions/6662708/

 

Ladies and gents, I give you Jost Capito  .

Correct, they've been far worse than a satellite team for several years.

[Risil]

Really an uninspired appointment. Would have very much prefer them to gamble on a very quick young driver from the junior series. 

 

Who is that though? No one's exactly seized F2 by the neck this year and the three talented rookies (Piastri, Lawson, Pourchaire?) are 1) probably not ready to step up and 2) already affiliated with other F1 teams.

[danmills]

Good for Albon, deserves a second shot as he was promoted way too quickly. He's humble and likeable, Williams environment should nurture that well.

[ForzaFormula]

Underwhelming line up for Williams however Albon will be determined to show his worth and could do a Gasly for them, especially if they improve even further under the new reg's to potentially be regular points scorers on merit, all possibilities. 

[jwill189]

I think this could give his F1 career a second wind. Look at what getting out of the Red Bill did for Gasly.

 

People forget that Albon was more competitive in the 2019 Red Bull than Gasly was.

[Spillage]

I want "inept lay driver" on my licence

Heh. I should really have 'bad typist' on mine.

[vonTrips]

I don't get the Mercedes fuzz about Albon's ties with Red Bell while driving for Williams/Mercedes. Or Red Bull fishing for a new engine customer.
Ocon is a Mercedes guy driving for Alpine... Does that sound like Alpine will switch to Mercedes engines? I heard no rumors about that.
It feels like some people try to create their own news.

[Clrnc]

Who is that though? No one's exactly seized F2 by the neck this year and the three talented rookies (Piastri, Lawson, Pourchaire?) are 1) probably not ready to step up and 2) already affiliated with other F1 teams.

Or even gamble on talent elsewhere maybe? Like Palou or O'ward. 

[Anderis]

Who is that though? No one's exactly seized F2 by the neck this year and the three talented rookies (Piastri, Lawson, Pourchaire?) are 1) probably not ready to step up and 2) already affiliated with other F1 teams.

Yeah, I'm tired of those constant calls for young drivers. F1 is not a young driver academy, the teams should go for drivers that'll do the best job for them, even if those drivers are not future WDCs. The vast majority of drivers in F2 are not future WDCs either. The only thing that constant juggling of young drivers would achieve would be to lower the level the sporting level of part of the grid and make it easier for the teams that go for proven drivers to pull ahead. And we would maybe get one overlooked talent to develop into a top driver every decade or two. I doubt anything more frequent. Not worth it IMO.

 

The only two drivers in F2 that have a racing record that suggests they have a good chance of ever reaching or bettering the level of drivers like Albon or Hulkenberg are Piastri and Pourchaire and for the latter it's probably a year too early for F1 debut. So that leaves Piastri. Yeah, it sucks that he won't be in F1 next year but blame Alpine, he is contracted to them. Constantly taking other teams' young drivers on a loan with no F1 experience and giving them back as soon as they come good is not a recipe to progress into a competitive team.

[Risil]

Or even gamble on talent elsewhere maybe? Like Palou or O'ward. 

 

Palou and O'Ward are on the verge of establishing very successful US racing careers. They will earn millions of dollars, meet hundreds of interesting people, compete in the world's biggest motor race and probably get to retire at the moment of their choosing. Why throw all that away for a year or two as an F1 backmarker? I mean I think they'd do it in a heartbeat in exchange for the careers Leclerc or even Norris are having, but this is Williams!

[Broekschaap]

I want "inept lay driver" on my licence

If this is just you wishing being young ans unspoiled again i totally understand. But you would be surprised by the amount of countries forcing you to put a sign on the back of your car saying just about this.

[Sterzo]

That, methinks, is a pretty solid driver line-up for an aspiring team. Both are experienced and both capable of getting the best out of the car - Bottas regularly, Albon perhaps less consistently. And I don't see anyone who has regularly shone in other formulae for long enough (yet) to justify putting him in the seat.

[RA2]

I guess this is a pause in the Mercedes Young driver program

[Alfisti]

Seems a nice kid, really does, so i hope i am wrong. I have been watching motorsport for near 40 years and it is very, very difficult to tell the difference between drivers on tv. But Albon, I can actually see mistakes, he misses a LOT of apexes, in the red bull at least anyways. He was really struggling to clip an apex, ran wide a lot, never seen that before. I think he will struggle again. 

[Alfisti]

Who is that though? No one's exactly seized F2 by the neck this year and the three talented rookies (Piastri, Lawson, Pourchaire?) are 1) probably not ready to step up and 2) already affiliated with other F1 teams.

I'd lay $1K on Piastri or Lawson doing better than Albon by mid season in an F1 car. 

[HerbieMcQueen]

Getting a distinct "British ratpack" of F1 in the '60s feel about the grid, what with the friendship between Russell, Norris, and Albon. Throw Leclerc in there too, why not. All close and worked together for a long time.

[P123]

Who, exactly, was available that would drag them off the back of the grid?

 

It's a lineup more in the mould of Stroll/ Sirotkin.  They would have been better off with a safe pair of hands like Hulkenberg, whether paired with Latifi or Albon.  Even Grosjean or Magnussen would be stronger than either of who they now have in their lineup.  But I suspect the Red Bull money may have been too good to pass up.  

[Alfisti]

It is a changing of the guard. Alonso , Lewis and Vettel will both be gone soon, Dan not long after that. it will be Max, Leclerc and Russel for the future you'd think. 

[Anderis]

That, methinks, is a pretty solid driver line-up for an aspiring team. Both are experienced and both capable of getting the best out of the car - Bottas regularly, Albon perhaps less consistently. And I don't see anyone who has regularly shone in other formulae for long enough (yet) to justify putting him in the seat.

Bottas have signed with Alfa, not Williams.

[Eastern]

I am a little bemused by the lukewarm appreciation of Albon. I don't much about anything, but I seem to recall Albon's first few races showed some very nice driving with some excellent overtakes? Red Bull seems to be a team that leans hard on new drivers, Am I wrong i thinking that Albon had never driven in F1 before he joined Toro Rosso (or was it already AT by then?) anyhow, personally I am glad to see him back on the grid, and instinctively I expect to see good stuff from him.

[MikeTekRacing]

Seems a nice kid, really does, so i hope i am wrong. I have been watching motorsport for near 40 years and it is very, very difficult to tell the difference between drivers on tv. But Albon, I can actually see mistakes, he misses a LOT of apexes, in the red bull at least anyways. He was really struggling to clip an apex, ran wide a lot, never seen that before. I think he will struggle again. 

and he was eating through tyres like they were made of chocolate. 

[Risil]

I am a little bemused by the lukewarm appreciation of Albon. I don't much about anything, but I seem to recall Albon's first few races showed some very nice driving with some excellent overtakes? Red Bull seems to be a team that leans hard on new drivers, Am I wrong i thinking that Albon had never driven in F1 before he joined Toro Rosso (or was it already AT by then?) anyhow, personally I am glad to see him back on the grid, and instinctively I expect to see good stuff from him.

 
I also have good memories of Albon's performances in 2019. It all went wrong, to the point of spawning a Beloved Forum In-Joke ®, the following year.

 

I'm glad he's got a second chance but am unsure of what he'll make of it. Reasons to watch!

[LightningMcQueen]

https://www.autospor...ptions/6662708/

Ladies and gents, I give you Jost Capito .

But they are a customer team. To be honest I wouldn’t have upset Mercedes’ for the sake of Alex Albon .. he’s average at best. Maybe if it were for a special driver..

[messy]

It's a lineup more in the mould of Stroll/ Sirotkin.  They would have been better off with a safe pair of hands like Hulkenberg, whether paired with Latifi or Albon.  Even Grosjean or Magnussen would be stronger than either of who they now have in their lineup.  But I suspect the Red Bull money may have been too good to pass up.

Albon has driven for two years, three quarters of that in a top team, he has podiums and the experience of being in the Red Bull setup in a senior driving role, as well as success in F2. I think he’s leagues above where either Stroll or Sirotkin were at the start of 2018. Balancing potential and experience with a decent CV, I honestly think he’s a strong signing. There’s also the fact he and Latifi have been team-mates before, seem to get on well and we know Alex was the quicker of the two back then, so there’s a reference point there. Stroll/Sirotkin, like Schumacher/Mazepin this year, it was anyone’s guess where those two stood, anyone’s guess.

[ARTGP]

But they are a customer team. To be honest I wouldn’t have upset Mercedes’ for the sake of Alex Albon .. he’s average at best. Maybe if it were for a special driver..

 

What exactly does it mean to "upset Mercedes"? Will Mercedes now send inferior engines? What is the fear here? Mercedes do not bankroll Williams nor do they have the ability to incapacitate Williams in any way that would be legal. Contracts were signed. Mercedes will be the ones hurting by breaking them.

 

If Merc want a say in the affairs of Williams, then buy them out, as RB have done with Minardi.

Edited by ARTGP, 08 September 2021 - 18:09.

[r4mses]

Boring.

[MikeTekRacing]

I think this is a win win situation. (although I feel Albon wanted a better drive)

Williams cannot attract a better driver - even if they would be available. 

[Roadhouse]

Would be hilarious if Albon absolutely butchers Latifi.