2024 F1 News and Prediction League

[PeteC]

Corrupt bunch of SOB's. Sulayem has to go...and I thought Bernie Ecclestone was bad, but he's just followed by someone worse.

FIA seeks rule changes after president allegations

https://www.bbc.com/sport/formula1/arti ... 89xevxp1jo

Motorsport's governing body wants to change its rules to limit the ways its leadership can be held to account for bad governance......

[PeteC]

FIA running out of people to do jobs, says sacked steward

https://www.bbc.com/sport/formula1/arti ... gzn7gvjzzo

[Parahandy]

Another Perfect Performance from Magnificent Max! What a shame I didn't have him down to win...
Apart from that, I totally agree that the sport in general is suffering at the moment, even as it gets more exciting. The management is a disaster and the penalites and yellow flag incidents were simply an embarrassment. Sulayem has to go, as you say.
So it's down to the wire this weekend Mr Harvey. May the best man win, whoever he may be!

Dutch.

[pharvey]

Another Perfect Performance from Magnificent Max! What a shame I didn't have him down to win...
Apart from that, I totally agree that the sport in general is suffering at the moment, even as it gets more exciting. The management is a disaster and the penalites and yellow flag incidents were simply an embarrassment. Sulayem has to go, as you say.
So it's down to the wire this weekend Mr Harvey. May the best man win, whoever he may be!

Dutch.

Oh "Dutch" , it has indeed gone "down to the wire" and how suitably "correct" it would be to see Crashappen (and brethren) fail at Abu Dhabi of all circuits.... Things would be made all the better if Lewis was to win (under a Safety Car) in his Mercedes Swansong !!

Difficult one to call at the moment that's for sure and it's going to be an interesting weekend!!
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[EDIT] All Times Shown UK.

It's been a mixed Tournament and a fun Prediction League - good luck to all for the "FINAL"!!

[PeteC]

You're going to love this one Pharvey.

I'm not going to take Verstappen attacks - Russell

https://www.bbc.com/sport/formula1/arti ... 4x21xwp8go

George Russell says Max Verstappen "cannot deal with adversity" as the Mercedes driver responded to the world champion's comments that he had "lost all respect" for him.

Verstappen was unhappy about the role Russell played in the Red Bull driver being given a one-place penalty which demoted him from pole position at the Qatar Grand Prix last weekend.

Briton Russell said at the Abu Dhabi Grand Prix on Thursday: "I don't know why he felt the need for this personal attack and I'm not going to take it.

"This is me just setting the record straight, I am not going to stand here and let someone slam me personally."

Russell said that after they left the stewards' room in Qatar after qualifying, Verstappen swore while saying he would "purposefully go out of his way to crash into me and put me on my head in the wall".

Russell added: "I knew that was a spur of the moment thing, but the next day, we were joking around a bit with (Sergio) Perez and Carlos (Sainz), I saw it in his eyes that he meant it.

"He's a four-time champion. Lewis (Hamilton) is the champion I aspire to be - hard but fair; never beyond the line. We have a duty as drivers.

"For a world champion to come out and say he is going to go out of his way to crash into someone and put him on his head, that is not the example we should be setting."

After Russell's comments, Verstappen spoke to Dutch publication De Telegraf and accused the Mercedes driver of being "a backstabber" and "a loser", adding: "He lies and pastes all kinds of things together that aren't true."

Asked about Russell's claim that he said he would deliberately crash into him, Verstappen said: "That's not true. I didn't say it like that. He's trying to exaggerate it again."
'People have been bullied by Max for years'

In Qatar qualifying, the two drivers tangled at Turn 12, forcing Russell on to the gravel.

Verstappen was penalised for driving unnecessarily slowly and found to have been "well outside" the target time required of drivers when not on a flying lap.

The stewards sided with Russell's argument that Verstappen should not have been on the racing line if he was going slowly.

Afterwards, Verstappen said he "never expected someone to really try and actively get someone a penalty that badly and lying about why I was doing what I was doing".

On Thursday, Russell denied setting out to get Verstappen a penalty.

"There is nothing to lie about," Russell said. "He was going too slow, he was on the racing line and in the high-speed corner. I wasn't trying to get him a penalty. I was just trying to prepare my lap and you fight hard on track and in the stewards.

"The same way as Max the very next day asked his team to look at Lando (Norris') penalty on the yellow flag. That's not personal. That's racing."

Russell added: "I don't know why this topic has got him so angry. He cannot deal with adversity. I am not questioning his ability one bit. But the second he does not have the fastest car, Budapest, he crashes into Lewis, slams his whole team and loses the plot."

Russell said "people have been bullied by Max for years now", and added: "He's been enabled because nobody's stood up to him.

"Lewis stood up to him in '21 and lost that championship unfairly. Can you imagine the roles being reversed and Max losing that championship in the way Lewis lost it? (Then race director Michael) Masi would be fearing for his life."

He added: "I'm not looking for any repercussion from this, I am standing up for myself to a guy who is questioning my reputation and slamming me in the media."

In an unusual step, Mercedes F1 boss Toto Wolff attended Russell's news conference and criticised Red Bull team principal Christian Horner for calling Russell "hysterical", saying this "crossed a line".

Wolff said: "Why does he feel entitled to comment about my driver? If you're thinking about it, yapping little terrier, always something to say.

"His forte is not intellectual psychoanalysis, but that's quite a word. How dare you comment on the state of mind of my driver."

Verstappen said on Thursday that he had "no regrets" about his comments in Qatar.

"I meant everything I said," Verstappen said. "And it's still the same. If I had to do it again, maybe I would've said even more, knowing the outcome of the race results. I still can't believe that someone can be like that in the stewards' room.

"For me, that was so unacceptable because, I mean, we're all racing drivers, we all have a lot of respect for each other, we even play sports together, you know, you travel together, and of course, you have moments where you get together, you crash, you're not happy.

"In my whole career, I've never experienced what I have experienced in the stewards' room in Qatar. And for me, that was really unacceptable."

[pharvey]

You're going to love this one Pharvey.

I'm not going to take Verstappen attacks - Russell

Well, they're hardly the best of friends - perhaps just too similar in their ways, though I hate to say the "Dire Dutchman" has it on talent

All makes for interesting racing though and would be nice to see Mercedes triumph at the expense of Red BS! LH will certainly want to put in a good performance in his fairwell to Mercedes (Russell will want to better him), McLaren will want to show something more as will Ferarri! A final race for some for respective teams, a final race in F1 for some?

As an aside, the F1 Teams have to give a chance to "Rookie Drivers" in the first "Free Practice" at a number of Circuits - Abu Dhabi gives Six such "Rookies" the chance. One of which will drive for Ferarri and is Charles Lecrec's brother Arthur!

"Charles Leclerc has expressed his pride at sharing the track with his younger brother Arthur in the first practice session for the Abu Dhabi Grand Prix, opening up on the years of sacrifice it has taken for the pair to reach this momentous point.

The 24-year-old will be one of six rookie drivers taking part in FP1 as teams seek to fulfil their commitment of giving two young racers a chance to drive on track during a race weekend.

READ MORE: Charles and Arthur Leclerc to become first brothers to drive an F1 session as team mates for Ferrari in Abu Dhabi FP1

Arthur is no stranger to Ferrari – after leaving their Academy in 2023, he became a development driver with the squad, balancing this role with a campaign in the European Le Mans series and Italian GT Championship.

His outing in Abu Dhabi will be his free practice debut, although he has previously tested the Italian team’s 2022 F1-75 at their private track in Maranello, and has a wealth of experience on their simulators."

https://www.formula1.com/en/latest/arti ... pYPLUU31EJ

Not too long to go now!!

[pharvey]

As I mentioned in an earlier post, the Driver's Championship is done and dusted (admittedley less cheating this time ), but the "Constructors' Championship" is there for the taking.....
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And there is some serious money involved, though "Prize Money" is not the half of it...

"Teams and drivers compete for giant prize funds across the F1 season, with the ability to earn millions extra through race-to-race bonuses."

https://www.motorsportmagazine.com/arti ... ally-make/

[PeteC]

I don't know if the BBC typically has a negative leaning towards Verstappen, but at face value it appears that the man has some real mental problems.

Perhaps due to a childhood of "win at any cost..." possibly preached to him by his race car driver Father.

[pharvey]

I don't know if the BBC typically has a negative leaning towards Verstappen, but at face value it appears that the man has some real mental problems.

Perhaps due to a childhood of "win at any cost..." possibly preached to him by his race car driver Father.

I don't think the BBC is particularly biased on this subject, and whilst I believe both he and his father have some major issues (arrogance, anger, privilege), even mentioning "Mental Problems" opens a can of worms these days... My personal opinion is that he is a very talented but very dangerous driver - it's a very dangerous sport and there needs to be "Hard but Fair" driving, neither MV or Red BS seem to understand this fact at times.

In adding to my "Soapbox Moment" above, I'll continue to bore in depth with the aftermath of the Abu Dhabi Qualifying Session: -

"Qualifying Rant"

Well bugger! Hardly the Qualifying Session LH wanted in his final F1 Race for Mercedes – questionable timing IMHO for him to go out for his Final Flying Lap, but similar for the odd driver I guess – though they didn’t have to contend with being behind slow movers and a bloody bollard on track!! Magnussun unfortunately knocked the offending item on to the track, but what the hell was it doing anywhere near it in the first place!! A real pity, as I would loved to have seen what LH could have done…. Though Russell also fall back to P7 - Mercedes fecked up there somewhat!

Perez was a tad fortunate not to have also gone out at Q1 on the face of it with his Lap-Time initially deleted for exceeding “Track Limits” but later re-instated after a complaint by Red BS… Hmmm (though Piastri had a pretty much identical issue)

Leclerc's lap also deleted for clearly also exceeding “Track Limits” – a disaster for the Scuderia with Leclerc now starting at the back of Grid with the 10 Place Penalty for replacing the Battery Unit during Free Practice.

McLaren reportedly using a higher downforce setting in Qualifying than they did in Free Practice – basically meaning a loss of Straight-line speed, but better traction (and speed) in the corners. Certainly seemed to have lost out initially during the “Single Lap Qualifying”, but ended up with a perfect 1-2

Bottas gets into Q3 and a P9 on the Grid! As for “The Hulk” (P4 on the Grid) and Haas (massive season) – Good God!! Crazy times during Qualifying, but can this setup cope with a Full Race? Anywho, the lap that gave him Provisional Pole in the final minute of Q3, gives him P4 on the Race Grid.

Crashappen pushing BIG STYLE, but could have cost him dearly in Q3 – and a connection with the wall, a connection which would have been somewhat hard for the car and himself…. I wouldn’t wish that on any driver.

A couple of F1 Drivers moving teams, a couple sadly leaving altogether in 2024…. All the Very Best to Them All!!

Anywho, Waffle over – THE GRID: -
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Good luck to all - even you "Dutch"

As an aside - you know those Wooden Spoons VS? Could you just.......

[pharvey]

And so ends another season of F1 – and quite the ending it was!! Crashappen could even get through the first corner before causing utter chaos – the Dire Dutchman simply can’t help himself can he… He surged up the inside at the start of the race, attempting a dangerous and quite frankly impossible move which ultimately took Piastri out of contention and had a domino effect with regards to several race positions and could have been an awful lot worse. What makes it all the more contentious, is that he had already won the Driver’s Championship, Red BS were out of the running for the Constructor’s Championship – there was nothing more that could be done, other than stuffing up McLaren or Ferrari – had Norris not finished P1, Ferrari could well have spoilt the party.

As for Ferrari, they certainly gave it their all – with Sainz coming in at P2 and Leclerc in P3 after stating in P19 – making up a massive 11 places at the start of the Race after Crashappen’s “intervention”.

Norris had pretty much the perfect race – a great start, ahead of the chaos behind him and didn’t put a foot wrong. Not to mention a 2 second flat Pitstop from the team – a well deserved victory for Norris and Constructor’s Championship for McLaren – their first since 1998

Hamilton was another who had a superb race , coming from P16 to finish P4 ahead of teammate Russell in P5. No doubt he would have loved a Podium finish in his Mercedes swansong, but at the end of the day an outstanding performance at the end of a record-breaking partnership.

Cracking drive from Hulkenberg in the Haas – both of which deserve a mention for a very impressive season – certainly got the best out of the car on a limited budget (in F1 terms).

Not the best finish to the season for Bottas or Perez who collided – Bottas will be moving on to Williams in 2025 and despite signing an extended contract with Red Bull, Perez could well find himself out in the wilderness come the new season - quite possibly out of F1 completely.

Top 10 Finishers: -
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HHF/Superbru F1 Prediction League

Close finish, but congrats to parahandy on our own "F1 Forum Championship" <gritted teeth>
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It’s been a bit of fun and 2025 will be another year – some changes in the Drivers could make it all the more interesting!!

Thanks to all for taking part & See you for the 2025 Season kicking off with the Australian GP in March!

[Parahandy]

I can smell tulips, taste cheese and hear the sound of windmills genty tilting in the wind...

Apart from all that, it has been a load of fun, and many thanks, Mr Harvey, for organising it all - very much appreciated, in spite of you allegiance to the wrong man. Thought that the hero worship of said man at the end was way OTT - he's just moving teams, not leaving the show. What about the likes of Botas (Williams? Really?) or any of the other departees? Totally ignored. In traditional Diva fashion, he changed his mind about being interviewed at the last moment too!

Next year is going to be far more difficult, and far more fun methinks, but in the absence of the Dramatic Dutchman winning all the time, I don't think for a momnent that I'll be anywhere near the top. I also have to (very quietly) admit that I too am getting a bit fed up with that gentleman's behaviour, but I suppose that he is his father's son. I might change allegiance (and nationality?) next year...

Hope you all have a fine time over the next few weeks, and both Old Sparkle (her of the spoons) and I look forward to next year.

As we don't really say here in Spain - Hasta la Vista, Babies!

[PeteC]

A very good photo presentation below.

Best Pictures from the 2024 F1 Season - Year in Review

https://www.bbc.com/sport/extra/wg5kmfw ... -in-review

[Big Boy]

Thailand’s first F1 race planned for Bangkok’s Chatuchak by 2027

The Thai government is continuing the Formula One (F1) project initiated by former Prime Minister (PM) Srettha Thavisin, with plans to hold Thailand’s first F1 race in the Chatuchak neighbourhood of Bangkok.

F1 enthusiasts were given hope after former PM Srettha discussed the project with the race organisers during his visit to France in March this year. The former PM pledged to make F1 fans’ dreams a reality by 2028, with the event initially expected to take place near U-Tapao Airport in the eastern province of Rayong.

Full story: https://thethaiger.com/news/national/th ... ak-by-2027