Ok, better late than never, unless it's McLaren announcing driver plans, here we are folks, round 8 of the 2024 championship, with only 9 races on 7 tracks remaining.
Usually we arrive at Laguna Seca more towards the beginning or end of a season, rather than smack dab in the middle of it, but perhaps this different time of year will bring a different vibe to the race than last year. Or the two years before that.
Don't remember what happened at Laguna Seca last year? Most of the grid wishes they were so lucky. However, the internet never forgets, and so you can re-live it all here:
Power and Palou are having a duel in relentless consistency, with Dixon slightly less consistent, but winning more races. Everyone else should probably start to feel kind of nervous about their chances.
Anything else to talk about?
Funny you should ask. McLaren dramatically announced mid-week that Theo Pourchaire, who had been announced within the last month as being the guy who would pilot the McLaren #6, would no longer be the guy, and it would be Nolan Seigel instead. McLaren claim the decision was made prior to last weekend, and was entirely based on a hunch that they saw something special. Many others would claim the decision might have something to do with the rumour that major sponsor Arrow is leaving, and Nolan's father has a large pile of money that can replace that funding. Who can say? Many perspectives are valid, including Scott McLaughlin's eco-consciousness: https://x.com/smclau...163077262676398
Other perspectives, including from Ancient Sumer, are available.
Regardless, we've got 27 guys who are gonna get it on because they can't get along.
I'm sure somebody will be good enough to enlighten me how Zak Brown's genius for finding sponsorship results in a situation where you're one corporate advertising budget decision away from funding your team on the Dale Coyne model.
"The pass" is one of the few moves I would prefer not seeing replays back because I like it less each time.
It needs to be put in context. With the IRL happening, open-wheel road-racing in the US was at a crossroads. Critcs were calling F1 Follow-the-leader, so emulating it wasn't the way to go. The Pass was a reminder of how spectacular things could be Stateside.
CART needed mainstream positive coverage and it got it with The Pass.
It needs to be put in context. With the IRL happening, open-wheel road-racing in the US was at a crossroads. Critcs were calling F1 Follow-the-leader, so emulating it wasn't the way to go. The Pass was a reminder of how spectacular things could be Stateside.
CART needed mainstream positive coverage and it got it with The Pass.
Another Pass at the Corkscrew that is lesser known, is when Colin Edwards snookered one Valentino Rossi for second place I believe during the 2005 MotoGP race. As an Edwards fan at the race, it was incredible.
I'm sure somebody will be good enough to enlighten me how Zak Brown's genius for finding sponsorship results in a situation where you're one corporate advertising budget decision away from funding your team on the Dale Coyne model.
They have three cars. Only one of them is a pay driver, with others earning good money.
I'm sure somebody will be good enough to enlighten me how Zak Brown's genius for finding sponsorship results in a situation where you're one corporate advertising budget decision away from funding your team on the Dale Coyne model.
I may be wrong, since my career doesn’t depend on reading people and I’ve never been the best at it, but I got the distinct impression that every single person who talked about Siegel during the month of May was overcompensating about his abilities and his drive as if in a bid to protect his confidence. Maybe it’s nothing, but I now have this impression of him as being mentally fragile.
If that’s correct, then the rest of this season is going to be brutal if he doesn’t get up to speed quickly.
I may be wrong, since my career doesn’t depend on reading people and I’ve never been the best at it, but I got the distinct impression that every single person who talked about Siegel during the month of May was overcompensating about his abilities and his drive as if in a bid to protect his confidence. Maybe it’s nothing, but I now have this impression of him as being mentally fragile.
If that’s correct, then the rest of this season is going to be brutal if he doesn’t get up to speed quickly.
That may be overstating it. I think he's just young. The mentally fragile don't leap into the JHR situation at Road America on such short notice, and he seemed fine at Le Mans (no small stage there!).
But I'm not sure that the part of my career that did depend on reading people has much cross-application here.
I may be wrong, since my career doesn’t depend on reading people and I’ve never been the best at it, but I got the distinct impression that every single person who talked about Siegel during the month of May was overcompensating about his abilities and his drive as if in a bid to protect his confidence. Maybe it’s nothing, but I now have this impression of him as being mentally fragile.
If that’s correct, then the rest of this season is going to be brutal if he doesn’t get up to speed quickly.
After he hit the wall, he said I rather hit than lift than lift and not qualify for certain. That smells like determination to me, rather than fragility.
I don’t intend to rag on Nolan. But the decision making and comms at McLaren are emphatically worthy of criticism.
Fully agreed. TK's comments put him under an absolute microscopefor the weekend. It wasn't smart.
It's also leading me to think more and more that the 'A-list' thing brought forward by The Race's article about the Palou lawsuit has actual substance. I could see McLaren negociating a better engine deal with Chevy by telling them 'But if we put this money on a proper driver instead of giving it all to you, it's better for everybody. Win-win!' TK's comments could have been a way of selling Siegel to Mark Reuss.
Whatever happens I doubt they do a Palou and reneg on signed contracts.
Yeah they’ll likely do a Brown and back out of the contract. These are the guys that wanted to sack someone on the spot for a nude calendar for charity. The sooner they’re out of Indycar the better for me.
