12625 replies to this topic

[baddog]

A lot will depend, I think, on how good Lawson is in the Red Bull. I think he is going to be a definite upgrade on Perez, but yet to be seen how many points he is able to take off the competition (McLaren, Ferrari, Mercedes). I think the same goes for Kimi.

I believe next year McLaren will clearly have the best driver pair at the start of the season (while all 3 competitors have a new driver acclimatizing to their surroundings), so there is an early season consolidation that needs to happen.

 

The best pairing will depend on how Lewis fits at Ferrari, and with more of a reach how Lawson is at RBR.

 

If Lewis returns immediately to his best form then well,,

[kumo7]

The best pairing will depend on how Lewis fits at Ferrari, and with more of a reach how Lawson is at RBR.

If Lewis returns immediately to his best form then well,,

Sure, then Ferrari will be the one car team, complete chaos, ideal heaven? everything but the last. In this front McLaren will be a better place.

[mclarensmps]

The best pairing will depend on how Lewis fits at Ferrari, and with more of a reach how Lawson is at RBR.

 

If Lewis returns immediately to his best form then well,,

I think it will take at least a few races for both of them to bed in, but you're right. The most serious threat of them all is Lewis.

[baddog]

Sure, then Ferrari will be the one car team, complete chaos, ideal heaven? everything but the last. In this front McLaren will be a better place.

 

Lewis at his best would be a pace match for Charles so a full on two driver ****-fight for dominance would occur. No-one can expect to be outright faster than Charles, that is a pure fantasy the guy is so damned fast.

 

Best Lewis is the full rounded package though.

Edited by baddog, 24 December 2024 - 21:05.

[kumo7]

Lewis at his best would be a pace match for Charles so a full on two driver ****-fight for dominance would occur. No-one can expect to be outright faster than Charles, that is a pure fantasy the guy is so damned fast.

Best Lewis is the full rounded package though.

i personally am not sure, but what is my hunch worth? I think Lewis will push Lec off the line, in all accounts except some qualifying, some races. We will see, perhaps the past two to three seasons in Merc made him rusty.

Edited by kumo7, 25 December 2024 - 15:36.

[chhatra]

Will Red Bull actually be able to improve their car significantly without Newey?

It’s the first year they will be without him and even this year they failed to turn the car around. It remained the third or fourth slowest car and only Verstappen’s driving, which at times was dirty and at other times was excellent, saved his championship.

McLaren and Ferrari seem to be the only one’s improving consistently in the end. I think it will be between them in 2025.

[kumo7]

Will Red Bull actually be able to improve their car significantly without Newey?

It’s the first year they will be without him and even this year they failed to turn the car around. It remained the third or fourth slowest car and only Verstappen’s driving, which at times was dirty and at other times was excellent, saved his championship.

McLaren and Ferrari seem to be the only one’s improving consistently in the end. I think it will be between them in 2025.

 

I think not, in this short time period.

But as usual, youth will finds his way out of the mess.

2025 is a big chance, also perhaps,... 2026 reg...?

Aston will need several years.

Marc with Toto holding Allison back, may give tiny advantage for McLaren to beat them.

As of Ferrari.... my christalball do not make any noise...

 

haha

[mclarensmps]

Happy Holidays to all you McLaren fans (and non-fan lurkers in this thread). The team gave us the Christmas present early, and I, for one, am still enjoying it!

[jensfan09]

i personally am not sure, but what is my hunch worth? I think Lewis will push Lec off the line, in all accounts except some qualifying, some races. We will see, perhaps the past two to three seasons in Merc made him rusty.

Apart from a couple of stand-out races, Lewis got well and truly trounced by Russell during their time as teammates and I would say Russell is up there with LeClerc, maybe not in outright speed but he is a multiple race winner, so I don’t see Lewis suddenly re-discovering his title winning form, especially in a car and team that is completely foreign to him in more ways than one!

As Red Bull showed in 2024, the first 7 races are the most important part of the year for the championship, if McLaren can hit the ground running and capitalise on the other top teams finding their feet with new drivers and team dynamics, it may put them far enough ahead that they can’t be caught by the end of the year!

Despite all this, Max, Charles and George will still be factor in the driver’s championship, so the biggest gain will be in the WCC.

Will be interesting to see how pre-season testing goes!

Edited by jensfan09, 27 December 2024 - 00:21.

[kumo7]

Apart from a couple of stand-out races, Lewis got well and truly trounced by Russell during their time as teammates and I would say Russell is up there with LeClerc, maybe not in outright speed but he is a multiple race winner, so I don’t see Lewis suddenly re-discovering his title winning form, especially in a car and team that is completely foreign to him in more ways than one!

As Red Bull showed in 2024, the first 7 races are the most important part of the year for the championship, if McLaren can hit the ground running and capitalise on the other top teams finding their feet with new drivers and team dynamics, it may put them far enough ahead that they can’t be caught by the end of the year!

Despite all this, Max, Charles and George will still be factor in the driver’s championship, so the biggest gain will be in the WCC.

Will be interesting to see how pre-season testing goes!

Yup LEC is as good as Russel, and I do think that LEC is a better one. As of Lewis, it is up to him. Like you say, he may drop his determination.
For the past two and a half years, I was watching Lewis with my eyes half closed. The sooner Allison left the front line of the car engineering, Mercedes race car lost its precious mojo. Lewis simultaneously lost his race paces. I think it is because Lewis knew the car will not take him to the WDC glory. Russell picked this momentum to salvage any possible catch that Lewis has left, I think Russel did it well.
just my hunch. We will see. The question us if Lewis wants to be WDC with Ferrari, or is he aiming just to drive to podium? Fernando will be whipping his dead horse for the whole year just to be able to drive Newey’s in 2026. If Lewis will be driving just to be there, I think he will go before 2026 and becomes the film maker.

[pup]

I don’t understand why every thread is about Lewis and Leclerc these days but it does seem like everyone has an unusually high opinion for a driver who’s qualifications for greatness CV only lists barely edging out Sainz and a guy who proved to be the equal of Lance Stroll.

And no, Russel did not ‘trounce’ Hamilton.

I’d guess that Leclerc will be quicker but I’m not going out on a limb either way.

Has anyone heard of this team called McLaren? I hear they have two decent drivers.

BTW, I didn’t know until Zak mentioned it, but Piastri scored more points in his first two years than any McLaren driver save Louis.

Edited by pup, 27 December 2024 - 13:55.

[onewingedangel]

BTW, I didn’t know until Zak mentioned it, but Piastri scored more points in his first two years than any McLaren driver save Louis.

It's a bit of a pointless stat, as to be true it has to be a rookie debuting for McLaren for a start (else Jenson's first two years with McLaren would be above Piastri's), and he's the only rookie who has got two seasons in a competitive McLaren since the 2010 change to the points system which massively boosted the points scored, and that's before you consider the increased length of the season and the addition of sprint races.

[pup]

Can’t argue, but I prefer the most boring McLaren news in the McLaren thread over any additional Ferrari banter.

[kumo7]

i sort of sat in my jet lag to discuss Ferrari on McLaren thread. excuses for this bummer.

McLaren of the last two years were vastly better race car than its immediate predecessors, with which Norris scored very well. i say I will put my eyeballs on Oscar this year yo see how he does with qualify paces. i do think that he will smash some records, yes, before the car gets slower for 2026.
as of Norris, next one should be the title chase.
Could 39 outpace the 21 and others? keep my fingers crossed.

Edited by kumo7, 27 December 2024 - 19:32.

[1player]

WE ARE CHAMPIONS | LandoLOG 032

 

[rodlamas]

i sort of sat in my jet lag to discuss Ferrari on McLaren thread. excuses for this bummer.

McLaren of the last two years were vastly better race car than its immediate predecessors, with which Norris scored very well. i say I will put my eyeballs on Oscar this year yo see how he does with qualify paces. i do think that he will smash some records, yes, before the car gets slower for 2026.
as of Norris, next one should be the title chase.
Could 39 outpace the 21 and others? keep my fingers crossed.

If you can find 0.5 of a second in Monza, that will be the fastest qualify lap ever.

[Mc_Silver]

WE ARE CHAMPIONS | LandoLOG 032

https://www.youtube....h?v=w-mTXPKgGqM

Such a good lad. I like his down to earth attitude and genuine character. Let's bring both trophies back home next time around! 🧡

[kumo7]

Such a good lad. I like his down to earth attitude and genuine character. Let's bring both trophies back home next time around! 🧡

This is a great gift for us fans all. this lot makes great sense.

Let’s go McLaren! next one should be a bigger one!!!

[rodlamas]

McLaren explains the development discipline behind its F1 world title

 

 

https://www.autospor...title/10685540/

[Sterzo]

The Times has an interview with Lando Norris today. It's behind a paywall, and I won't breach copyright by quoting too much, but to give an indication of how fascinating it is, here is one quotation:

 

“Now I feel like I am capable of fighting for a championship,” he says. “That’s probably the thing I’ve realised this year, the most. I’ve never had a lot of confidence with anything I’ve done, that’s been my mentality since I was a kid. I was never the big one, or the best one. I was never good at anything bar driving. Nothing has ever given me the confidence to say, ‘Yeah, I’m going to be the best at this.’"

[Red5ive]

Unfortunately thats not usually the sort of attitude that gets you that bit extra which wins championships.

 

Dont think you would ever have heard Hamilton or Verstappen, Vettel, Senna, Mansell etc say anything remotely like the stuff Norris has spouted there - quite the opposite in fact.

[BertoC]

Unfortunately thats not usually the sort of attitude that gets you that bit extra which wins championships.

Dont think you would ever have heard Hamilton or Verstappen, Vettel, Senna, Mansell etc say anything remotely like the stuff Norris has spouted there - quite the opposite in fact.

I'll say most likely the majority of champions felt the same at some point of their carreers but hide those feelings to the outside, they are humans after all and self confidence is one of the most prevelant human insecurities. If he manages to overcome that while speaking openly about it, good for him. That a plus in my book.

Edited by BertoC, 01 January 2025 - 16:13.

[Clatter]

Unfortunately thats not usually the sort of attitude that gets you that bit extra which wins championships.

Dont think you would ever have heard Hamilton or Verstappen, Vettel, Senna, Mansell etc say anything remotely like the stuff Norris has spouted there - quite the opposite in fact.

I suspect most of the other competitors also say they can win the championship, but the majority never do. Just because he is more honest about how he feels isn't a thing that would prevent him from winning.

[kumo7]

Unfortunately thats not usually the sort of attitude that gets you that bit extra which wins championships.

Dont think you would ever have heard Hamilton or Verstappen, Vettel, Senna, Mansell etc say anything remotely like the stuff Norris has spouted there - quite the opposite in fact.

it does not matter in what way he says it. He is now confident to beat the champion.

[pacificquay]

It’s 2025 so I’ve started a new thread here:

 

https://forums.autos...25-team-thread/

[Ragamuffin]

Unfortunately thats not usually the sort of attitude that gets you that bit extra which wins championships.

 

Dont think you would ever have heard Hamilton or Verstappen, Vettel, Senna, Mansell etc say anything remotely like the stuff Norris has spouted there - quite the opposite in fact.

Champions come in all shapes and sizes. Literally in Keke Rosberg's case.