donthaveanickname
Team Owner
Newey building a car for Alonso. Can't wait.
Even if Fernando was approaching 70 years of age I'd be excited for this.
Even if Fernando was approaching 70 years of age I'd be excited for this.
Newey will probably not be able to join until the '25 Aston is already complete, so I'm not so sure what he could do with someone else's car. 26, though, is going to be a brand new game. Newey will be given a clean sheet and Honda engines, and he could very well hit it right.Newey and Red Bull didn't produce immediate gains and I don't expect that at Aston Martin either, especially with a lineup consisting of someone chasing the dragon of being the oldest WDC and Lance Freakin' Stroll. By the time I expect them to be up to snuff, Alonso is going to be closer to 50 than 40.
I think the bean counters are holding things up. I read earlier today they are trying to cut $10,000,000,000 out of their expenses, so I don't expect them to invest any more that they will be allowed.Audi has always been a question mark because it's always been unclear to me why they would buy a team and then not race as the team for multiple years by badging engines and the like.
The "$1 billion dollar mistake" as described by Ralf Schumacher (a man, I will remind you, may be an ex racer but probably also has the equivalent of a 10th grade US education) .............
And Andretti is not only still investing in infrastructure and people, but now he has to sue F1 to get in. As hard as he is fighting now, no one can possibly believe his team won't fight just as hard at the track, so none of this makes any sense.If it were me at Andretti or HiTech, I wouldn't rush to throw in 500 million+ USD to enter a club that told me to hit the bricks, but what do I know? Let them starve and struggle a little first and see if they change their tune.
Newey with a clean sheet at a new team is still Newey working with a lot of new to him people and/or being in a situation where the feedback Newey is getting from engineers might not be getting listened to. Every once in awhile, I have weird recall about offhanded stuff I hear, and in the case of Newey I very vividly remember the steering falling apart on the RB4 at Malaysia and the car requiring extra scrutineering before it was allowed back on track. One of the commentators on Speed said something to the effect of "Ron Dennis told me when Newey came to McLaren, we needed to add in 25% additional reinforcement to his designs because they were so fragile; maybe Red Bull needs to learn that." I say this to point out that Aston Martin, like Red Bull and McLaren, are teams and he's going to have to work along with other people to build this car. If he does in fact like really fragile designs because they're extra fast and lower in weight, we'll know with the '26 car. Also it would be somewhat poetic for Alonso to once again wind up doing glorified R&D at the back of the grid for a race team that is making big swings to win and missing badly (Ferrari, McLaren the 2nd time).Newey will probably not be able to join until the '25 Aston is already complete, so I'm not so sure what he could do with someone else's car. 26, though, is going to be a brand new game. Newey will be given a clean sheet and Honda engines, and he could very well hit it right.
Stroll has been much closer to Alonso later, so either he's getting better, or Fernando is falling off a bit. Aston is going to have to poach someone like Carlos, or maybe even plug in Drugovich. I can't see Aston being completely out to lunch unless they keep the current pair, or Honda can't deliver.
I think the bean counters are holding things up. I read earlier today they are trying to cut $10,000,000,000 out of their expenses, so I don't expect them to invest any more that they will be allowed.
My advice to Ralf is to just shut up. He gets goofier every time he speaks.
And Andretti is not only still investing in infrastructure and people, but now he has to sue F1 to get in. As hard as he is fighting now, no one can possibly believe his team won't fight just as hard at the track, so none of this makes any sense.
I don't think they would have a very easy time now days. Too many manufacturers have a head start on them.Pretty much every time I read another development regarding the Audi F1 program I get a little bit less excited about it.
Should’ve just stayed home in sports cars.
There’s no question in my mind that, if they had stayed, they’d be successful thus far. It was pretty much going to be a joint program with Porsche, and we’ve seen how good those cars have been in either championship. Same chassis, same engine, the only structural difference would’ve been the bodywork. I think both manufacturers even announced their plans on the same day back at the end of 2020.I don't think they would have a very easy time now days. Too many manufacturers have a head start on them.
The part I don't get is why Audi didn't just buy them outright instead of a bit here and a bit there. Someone mentioned they might have bought it just to flip it, and while I'm not sure that would happen, Andretti had better be ready if the possibility appears.
There’s no question in my mind that, if they had stayed, they’d be successful thus far. It was pretty much going to be a joint program with Porsche, and we’ve seen how good those cars have been in either championship. Same chassis, same engine, the only structural difference would’ve been the bodywork. I think both manufacturers even announced their plans on the same day back at the end of 2020.
But hey, competing for 17th in F1 is pretty cool too.
10th grade US education is about equal to 8th grade German education.but probably also has the equivalent of a 10th grade US education
I think Alonso just isn't quite as motivated as he was in 2023. The best he can finish right now in a race is 9th and it doesn't really matter if he finishes 1 or 10 seconds ahead of 10th.Newey to Aston could work base on Newey knowing the Honda engines pretty damn well. But they have a driver problem. Stroll is just going to crash it non stop while Alonso has to contend with 20 year younger drivers who are faster at this point in their respective careers.
Also, didn’t Newey say he didn’t want to work as much as he did while in Red Bull? Daddy Stroll is going to pay Newey millions for less work just to say he has him. lol
Conveniently gives them a chance to put Bearman in the car. I dunno, KMag is done in F1 now and F1 throws the equivalent of a yellow card any time an overtake happens on track. I theorize this is part of the changed nature of the sport, where overtaking without DRS is actively discouraged because it poses a risk to the cars.Any opinions on the Mags ban? The incident that generated the penalty was next to nothing and even Gasly (the supposed victim) thought the penalty was unfair. As far as the ban, I'm ok with it because there have been so many deserved penalties Mags never got.
Now Kev comes back with no points on his license and nothing to lose. Spicy!
Rumor has Stroll can only afford so many new high-profile hires because he pays them with shares in the company and circumvent the budget gap that way.on top of all that, he is now a stakeholder in AM.
Plus possibly Lawson and Hadjar 30% of the field could be rookies next year.There’s some smoke today about Gabriel Bortoleto being the lead candidate for the other Sauber seat opposite Hulkenberg, which would make for at least four rookies on the grid next year.
I could see it going either way with Sauber. With next year pretty much a lame duck year for the regs, it would be a low-pressure campaign for a potential rookie in the second seat. But I can also see where you would want two experienced drivers together to help develop the 2026 car in the simulator and so on. I think Bottas is still very solid, especially in qualifying, but that car is just terrible this year. I think on merit he’s more deserving of a 2025 seat than Perez or Ricciardo.Plus possibly Lawson and Hadjar 30% of the field could be rookies next year.
I'd be surprised if Audi don't go with an experienced driver. They reportedly offered a one-year contract to Bottas who wants a two-year extension even though this is his only chance to stay in the sport.
Perez and Ricciardo could both be out of a ride after this season.
Then of course there are IndyCar drivers like Palou, Pato or Herta who I have no doubt would have a great career in F1 but will never get a chance.
A place like Singapore could use it. Typically a very difficult place to pass.FIA has added a fourth DRS zone to the Marina Bay Street Circuit for the Singapore Grand Prix. How do you think it will affect the race?
Gonna miss ol' Honey Badger:
Gonna miss ol' Honey Badger:
I honestly think him staying with Renault/Alpine was a better fit from the outset. Also, I kinda would have liked to see Daniel in a Red Bull post 2018 as well. Had a lot of wins taken away from him in 17 and 18, IMHO.I thought the way Red Bull handled this whole thing was weird, but at least the paddock still gave him a nice sendoff in Singapore.
I really thought he was the next best thing in around 2014-2016. He was so aggressive and animal on the brakes. By the time he got to McLaren he just wasn’t the same. I still can’t comprehend what happened to him in 2022 in particular. Still, the number of racing drivers who manage to win 8 F1 grands prix is infinitesimally small, so it was a great career nonetheless.
Now I’m looking forward to Lawson finally getting a proper shot in the big stuff.
Renault engines will be absent from the grid for the first time since 2000 when the new regulations begin.
End of an error really. Ever since the turbo hybrids debuted in 2014 they’ve produced woefully underpowered and unreliable pieces.