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[Other Sport] F1 2022







A1X

Well-known member
NSC Patron
Sep 1, 2017
17,913
Deepest, darkest Sussex
Ultimately Horner has indulged Verstappen constantly by sticking up for every stupid thing he’s done and favouring him over every teammate he’s ever had. And in true spoiled brat fashion, when asked to give even a modicum back the toys have exited the pram at speed.

He might find this uncomfortable but ultimately he’s only got himself to blame.
 


Garry Nelson's Left Foot

Well-known member
Jul 7, 2003
13,137
tokyo
Just seen the highlights.

Quite telling about Max wasn't it? Not just his attitude to racing Hamilton but also to his own team.

Well done George and Mercedes. Hopefully that is a positive portent of what's to come next season.
 


Audax

Boing boing boing...
Aug 3, 2015
2,948
Uckfield
Absolutely brilliant for Russell. Initially it was all made very easy for him with Verstappen getting all gung-ho on Hamilton, then he handled the late safety car restart perfectly to keep Hamilton behind. That'll be the first of many, I think, as long as Mercedes can give him a car capable of winning races.

As for Verstappen: just proven that he hasn't actually matured all that much. Still races like a prat around Hamilton. Still acts like a petulant little spoiled brat when it comes to following team orders. Talk is that his refusal was all about his belief that Perez crashed deliberately during Monaco qualifying earlier this year, thus stopping him qualifying on the front row, and thus stopping him having a chance to win the race.

Shades of the Vettel / Webber "multi 21" episode. Common denominator: Red Bull. What we saw yesterday is exactly why Ricciardo left when he did: he saw it coming. Red Bull is a team that will back their perceived #1 driver 100% - to the point of developing them into someone who thinks they *are* the team and to hell with everyone else.

If I was Horner ... I'd be making a point of benching Verstappen for the final race with a strongly worded message that "the team always comes first".
 


Iggle Piggle

Well-known member
Sep 3, 2010
5,363
The curious thing about Max not giving up his position was that there is zero upside to what he did. It didn't matter to him if he finished 6th or 7th with the championship wrapped up weeks ago whereas every point counts for Perez notwithstanding that it doesn't really matter in the grand scheme of things. No-one really remembers who finishes 2nd in the Championship.

Max has managed to alienate this team mate for what? At some point next season, he might regret that but that's what happens when you surround yourself with people none of whom have any critical voices. As @Audax says, Horner really should read him the riot act but there is more chance of me turning up in that Red Bull seat next weekend.

More importantly, congrats to George Russell. It's a shame I paused live sky with 30 laps to go, sat on the remote which moved it to live TV when I plonked myself in front of the tellybox and watched him crying to GSTK rather than driving the merc to victory. FFS
 




Icy Gull

Back on the rollercoaster
Jul 5, 2003
72,015
The curious thing about Max not giving up his position was that there is zero upside to what he did. It didn't matter to him if he finished 6th or 7th with the championship wrapped up weeks ago whereas every point counts for Perez notwithstanding that it doesn't really matter in the grand scheme of things. No-one really remembers who finishes 2nd in the Championship.

Max has managed to alienate this team mate for what? At some point next season, he might regret that but that's what happens when you surround yourself with people none of whom have any critical voices. As @Audax says, Horner really should read him the riot act but there is more chance of me turning up in that Red Bull seat next weekend.

More importantly, congrats to George Russell. It's a shame I paused live sky with 30 laps to go, sat on the remote which moved it to live TV when I plonked myself in front of the tellybox and watched him crying to GSTK rather than driving the merc to victory. FFS
Red Bull should have done exactly what Alpine did when they left Ocon in no doubt that he'd be in deep shit if he didn't let Alonso past without a fight. That was a very threatening radio conversation and even though Ocon clearly didn't agree he did follow the instruction. What Max did was deeply disrespectful of his team mate and Red Bull were just as disrespectful (or more likely scared of the reaction from Max). I thought Max had grown up and posted this just last week but clearly as soon as Hamilton is back on the scene it's obvious he hasn't changed a bit. Despicable man.
 


Bold Seagull

strong and stable with me, or...
Mar 18, 2010
29,831
Hove
The curious thing about Max not giving up his position was that there is zero upside to what he did. It didn't matter to him if he finished 6th or 7th with the championship wrapped up weeks ago whereas every point counts for Perez notwithstanding that it doesn't really matter in the grand scheme of things. No-one really remembers who finishes 2nd in the Championship.

Max has managed to alienate this team mate for what? At some point next season, he might regret that but that's what happens when you surround yourself with people none of whom have any critical voices. As @Audax says, Horner really should read him the riot act but there is more chance of me turning up in that Red Bull seat next weekend.

More importantly, congrats to George Russell. It's a shame I paused live sky with 30 laps to go, sat on the remote which moved it to live TV when I plonked myself in front of the tellybox and watched him crying to GSTK rather than driving the merc to victory. FFS
A championship 1 - 2 would surely be an achievement for both sides of the garage. It's not just a 2nd driver playing 2nd fiddle, it is an entire side of the team. Max Verstappen didn't just insult or send a message to Perez, he did it to half the team's garage. They'll remember who finished second, and the team would too. I have nothing against Perez but I really hope Leclerc can pip him to 2nd now, and within that team they all know the 1 -2 wasn't achieved because of his selfish arrogance.

Max also denied us a proper Russell - Hamilton battle, but Russell drove imperiously and would hazard a guess he managed his race with that in mind. Lap after lap, SC after SC he kept calm, precise and quick. Well deserved.

Have Mercedes made a significant leap going into next year? Will certainly be spicey if they have.
 


Icy Gull

Back on the rollercoaster
Jul 5, 2003
72,015
A championship 1 - 2 would surely be an achievement for both sides of the garage. It's not just a 2nd driver playing 2nd fiddle, it is an entire side of the team. Max Verstappen didn't just insult or send a message to Perez, he did it to half the team's garage. They'll remember who finished second, and the team would too. I have nothing against Perez but I really hope Leclerc can pip him to 2nd now, and within that team they all know the 1 -2 wasn't achieved because of his selfish arrogance.

Max also denied us a proper Russell - Hamilton battle, but Russell drove imperiously and would hazard a guess he managed his race with that in mind. Lap after lap, SC after SC he kept calm, precise and quick. Well deserved.

Have Mercedes made a significant leap going into next year? Will certainly be spicey if they have.
If they have and Max continues to want to play bumper cars with Lewis he'll be handing next year's title to George :smile:
 




Bold Seagull

strong and stable with me, or...
Mar 18, 2010
29,831
Hove
If they have and Max continues to want to play bumper cars with Lewis he'll be handing next year's title to George :smile:
I've not read anything anywhere yet whether this weekend is significant evidence of a huge leap by Mercedes, or whether it was just a track / weather conditions related performance? They certainly were dominant from the sprint race onward.
 


Iggle Piggle

Well-known member
Sep 3, 2010
5,363
A championship 1 - 2 would surely be an achievement for both sides of the garage. It's not just a 2nd driver playing 2nd fiddle, it is an entire side of the team. Max Verstappen didn't just insult or send a message to Perez, he did it to half the team's garage. They'll remember who finished second, and the team would too. I have nothing against Perez but I really hope Leclerc can pip him to 2nd now, and within that team they all know the 1 -2 wasn't achieved because of his selfish arrogance.

Max also denied us a proper Russell - Hamilton battle, but Russell drove imperiously and would hazard a guess he managed his race with that in mind. Lap after lap, SC after SC he kept calm, precise and quick. Well deserved.

Have Mercedes made a significant leap going into next year? Will certainly be spicey if they have.

You are right in that everyone in the team will remember - which is where Max may live to regret this one - but in the wider community it's a footnote in the records. Hamilton was even saying earlier in the week he isn't really fussed if GR finishes above him in a Talladega nights style "If you're not first, you're last" type interview.

Did Perez really stack it deliberately in Monaco as well? Surely not. That's a pot smoking conspiracy theory if ever there was one. Even if I am wrong and Max is right, is it really wise to draw people attention to nefarious goings on in the Red Bull team? Talk about playing your hand badly.
 


Guinness Boy

Tofu eating wokerati
Helpful Moderator
NSC Patron
Jul 23, 2003
34,276
Up and Coming Sunny Portslade
Really enjoyed that last night and it saved me from coming on here and moaning about the ref and VAR :lolol:

Great drive from George. I really hope Merc has a competitive car next season. If it does there'll be some great races again and, as others have said, we'll see the real Max.

Just reinforced that Brazil is one of my favourite tracks, a great mix of speed and technical turns with ample overtaking and the 3 hour time gap means it can be enjoyed in the evening with a beer and takeaway - plus there's always the possibility of rain. Unfortunately, we now head to another car park where dry weather is nailed on, to finish the season.
 




Audax

Boing boing boing...
Aug 3, 2015
2,948
Uckfield
I've not read anything anywhere yet whether this weekend is significant evidence of a huge leap by Mercedes, or whether it was just a track / weather conditions related performance? They certainly were dominant from the sprint race onward.
Red Bull had massive issues with tyre degradation this weekend. In particular in cooler track conditions, they were just eating the tyres and had no performance. Apparently it was the same for them at Brazil last year, they were super sensitive to track temps and performance levels changed remarkably as soon as the weather took them out of a narrow sweet spot.

What I will say is this: I think Mercedes are now at a point where if the season started today it would be them, not Ferrari, giving Red Bull the most headaches.
 


Audax

Boing boing boing...
Aug 3, 2015
2,948
Uckfield
Did Perez really stack it deliberately in Monaco as well? Surely not. That's a pot smoking conspiracy theory if ever there was one. Even if I am wrong and Max is right, is it really wise to draw people attention to nefarious goings on in the Red Bull team? Talk about playing your hand badly.
The rumour is that Perez admitted as much to the team after the weekend. But that is very much rumour and completely unsubstantiated - could easily have been planted by someone from Verstappen's camp given they were absolutely livid after the Monaco race.

On a more factual side of things, apparently the telemetry showed that Perez did get on the power earlier and more harshly than normal in the corner he crashed at. At the time, he explained it as being a result of that lap time being similar to his previous best and trying to get that little bit extra out of the end of the lap to improve his time.
 


Audax

Boing boing boing...
Aug 3, 2015
2,948
Uckfield
Looks like the 2023 grid is now finalised. Hot rumour doing the rounds today is that Haas have signed Hulkenberg, which fills the final seat. Announcement to be made Wednesday. Grid will be:

Red Bull
Verstappen
Perez
(Reserve: Rumoured it could be Ricciardo)

Ferrari
Leclerc
Sainz
(Reserve: TBC)

Mercedes
Hamilton
Russell
(Reserve: rumoured that could be either Ricciardo or Schumacher)

Alpine
Ocon
Gasly
(Reserve: TBC but likely to be Doohan)

McLaren
Norris
Piastri (R)
(Reserve: TBC but will likely be shared by the McLaren Indycar drivers)

Aston Martin
Stroll
Alonso
(Reserve: Drugovich)

Alpha Tauri
Tsunoda
De Vries (R)
(Reserve: TBC. Lots of RB juniors in F2 to pick from. Rumours that Enzo Fittipaldi might be joining the junior ranks off the back of a strong F2 season, might leapfrog the existing juniors)

Haas
Magnussen
Hulkenberg
(Reserve: TBC, but suspect they'll go the easy route and continue to name Pietro Fittipaldi)

Alfa Romeo
Bottas
Zhou
(Reserve: TBC)

Williams
Albon
Sargeant (R) (pending super licence confirmation - he needs to finish top 6 in F2, which he will barring a last round disaster).
(Reserve: TBC)

Reserves: those listed TBC they might have been announced and I've just not seen it. But reserves tend to be announced much later. Only included reserves in this list due to the rumours floating around currently re: Ricciardo, Schumacher, and E. Fittipaldi.
 




Audax

Boing boing boing...
Aug 3, 2015
2,948
Uckfield
The Hulk now officially confirmed at Haas for next season. Haas confirmed they did have an interest in Ricciardo early on, but a combination of Ricciardo not responding and his continued decline for McLaren meant their decision was solely between Hulk and Mick.

Hot rumour now is that Ricciardo will be confirmed as Red Bull reserve and "Brand Ambassador" (likely means he takes on a lot of the work Coulthard has been doing driving in show runs etc). And Mick Schumacher could land a role as Mercedes reserve.
 




Bold Seagull

strong and stable with me, or...
Mar 18, 2010
29,831
Hove
In sadly unsurprising news Verstappen and his family have been getting dogs abuse/death threats on social media.

In more surprising news so has Perez.

Back to the unsurprising news Red Bull take the blame for Max not letting Perez past.

https://www.redbullracing.com/int-en/team-statement-brazil-grand-prix
The Verstappen family is a bit of a shit show in it's own right. Jos is just a nasty piece of work, then Max's mum tweeted that Perez was cheating on his wife - then deleted the post. Damage was done though. Crying to the media - maybe, just maybe sometimes you reap what you sow.
 


Garry Nelson's Left Foot

Well-known member
Jul 7, 2003
13,137
tokyo
The Verstappen family is a bit of a shit show in it's own right. Jos is just a nasty piece of work, then Max's mum tweeted that Perez was cheating on his wife - then deleted the post. Damage was done though. Crying to the media - maybe, just maybe sometimes you reap what you sow.
So all a bit classless all round then?

It was also his sister and girlfriend who were getting threatened, not just his parents.

It is just a sad state of affairs that the default position when anyone makes a mistake/does something wrong appears to be death threats.
 








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