F1 - 2024

[Brit_in_TX]

Starting a new thread for the 2024 season. 

All of the drivers are confirmed for next season and they are exactly the same as this season after Logan Sargeant was confirmed at Williams.  Not sure if there has never been any rookies at the start of a season.

Now just waiting for the new names of the second Red Bull team (rumored to be Racing Bulls as the logo was leaked on Reddit) and what the Sauber team will be called after the Alfa Romeo naming agreement came to an end.

[MiniDave]

I thought Sauber signed Hugo Boss as the title sponsor? 

So many talented drivers waiting for their shot in F1, that's why we need more teams - they need to let Andretti and one other into the sandbox - 4 new drivers right there.....

[Scargo]

https://youtu.be/5z_qf4WBUIA

[BruceK]

https://youtu.be/5z_qf4WBUIA

It's such a special team that is at the very core of F1.  I can't see how any driver wouldn't want to join them.

[Brit_in_TX]

Especially when they give you $100 million a year!

[MiniDave]

I'm convinced that's why he left - the $$$$$. MBZ wouldn't give him what he wanted, that's why talks went on so long.......so they forced him to play his trump card.

But now that he's made his move all sorts of other dominoes are ready to fall, the silly season for '25 will be crazy. Most people think Sainz will go straight to Sauber/Audi but several other contracts are up at the end of 24 too. Rumor has it that Red Bull has already signed Albon to a 3 year deal, if that one is true then what happens to Ricky Racer? He was supposed to have his breakout year this year with Stake/Kicks/Toro Rosso/Racing Bulls and then move to the varsity team in 25.....now what? Ocon is free the end of 24 too, and since he was "on loan" from Mercedes to start with, will he end up at Benz with George? Gonna be wild next year.....

[Brit_in_TX]

One article said that Merc offered Hamilton 1 year with a 1 year option and no other stuff he wanted.  He wanted a multi year deal with an ambassador add on (I assume that just means more money).  So he entertained the approach with Ferrari and they offered him everything he wanted and some more.

Williams team principal confirmed that Albon is contracted to them for 2025 - wonder if they exercised an option recently so they can be bought out. Maybe the Red Bull deal will help the Williams finances.

Toto has said that George is ready to lead the Merc team - so they are not looking for a lead driver.  That could limit who wants to be number 2 to him, contract may say different things.  Would not be surprised if George is renegotiating his contract as he gets paid a lot less than others, but his bonus scheme is much greater.

There are a lot of drivers available next year:
Sainz - rumored to have signed a letter of intent with Audi for 2026, unsure how that will impact his options for next year.  Didn't his dad drive for Audi in the Dakar?
Gasly - I suspect he will get extended with Alpine
Ocon - As Dave pointed out, was a Merc Jnr driver.  Not sure if that ended with the works drive with Alpine/Renault, but he is managed by Toto Wolff. Personally I do not rate him. Will probably get extended by Alpine.
Alonso - Could be a great partner for Merc and would keep the link of having an F1 champion in the team.  Could be a drive at the twilight of his career whilst Merc get their preferred junior ready.
Stroll - cannot see him being anywhere else but Aston Martin.
Ricciardo - I believe he will replace Checo has a dependable number 2. If he had not broken his hand, might already have been in the Red Bull.
Tsunoda - He is a Honda supported driver, could end up at Aston Martin as they will have a Honda works deal in 2026.
Checo - Considering how dominant Verstappen was, he under performed last year scrambling to make it into 2nd place by the end of season.  He should have had that sown up much earlier than he did.  He could be an option as Merc number 2.
Bottas - He could end up back at Merc, Toto likes him and did say that not having him in the team was just unfortunate as George was ready to take the seat next to Hamilton.

The rest of the drivers will probably either move on from F1 or stay in the seat they already occupy.

[Scargo]

In answer to your above question about Sainz Sr., he never drove for Audi in WRC competition or in the Dakar.

[Brit_in_TX]

In answer to your above question about Sainz Sr., he never drove for Audi in WRC competition or in the Dakar.

I read this last night, he won this years Dakar with Audi

https://www.audi.com/en/sport/motorsport/dakar/dakar-rally-2024-event.html

[Scargo]

I stand corrected, thanks for that!

The ole man's still got it.

[Brit_in_TX]

With all of the teams launching their 2024 cars (well at least the liveries) and official testing due to start next week. The F1 season is almost here!

One unique thing for this year, there will be no rookies on the grid. 

I have absolutely no idea how this season is going, but a few observations on the teams:

Red Bull - Adrian Newey said that this is another evolution of their car, so may give hope to the other teams that they can close the gap. Potential for some off track drama with Christian Horner being investigated for inappropriate behavior, but given Helmut Marko's racist comments resulting in nothing more than a slap on the wrist I am cynical about whether anything meaningful will come out of this.

Mercedes - Meant to be an all new car and they have abandoned all previous design ideas and are fully going in on the Red Bull "downwash" approach that every other team has done. Hamilton is leaving at the end of the year, so they will be focusing developments on Russell.

Ferrari - Already secured the biggest shock of the year by signing Hamilton.  Rumor is that Adrian Newey could be heading that way.  This year they need more consistent car and team strategy performance.

Alpine - Have to be hoping for a climb up the grid, but they were inconsistent last year. They lost a lot of good people last year, so it remains to be seen if they will make progress.

Aston Martin - Started so well last year, but then struggled in the second half of the year.  Alonso is still a master, but he needs support of the team and a teammate.

Williams - Had a great season last year with Vowles has the new TP.  They are investing heavily and Albon really could wring better results out of the car than it deserved.  Be great to see them make another step forwards - maybe a podium this season. I think Albon could be the key to the silly season - I will be surprised if he is still in a Williams next year.

Sauber - Alfa Romeo sponsorship was not renewed, so they are back to Sauber.  This is a transition 2 years for them, before they become Audi.  I just don't think they will have made the steps forward they need.

McLaren - I am a big fan, and really hope they have made a step forward to compete for podiums all season.  Zak Brown has cleverly (or lucky) managed to secure both of drivers before the silly season really starts.

RBVisaCashApp AKA AlphaTauri AKA Torro Rosso - in the off season they have moved some of the team to the UK to be closer to Red Bull Racing. And I are taking the maximum number of components from Red Bull. There is a lot of talk that they have made a step forward etc etc.

Haas - they fired their biggest asset (Gunter) and have made the technical director the TP.  I cannot see them being anywhere but at the back, as the reports after Gunter was fired, said that Haas was not investing in technology to help them move forwards. They take as many components from Ferrari as they are allowed, so they should have a decent foundation to build a car.

I am really hoping for a more competitive season with teams (I honestly do not care who) challenging Red Bull. Or at the very least Checo challenging Max to make it more interesting!

[MiniDave]

I'm glad football is done so we can get back to racing!

I think this could be a good season with some possible winners other than Red Bull....but then I say that every year!   

[BruceK]

Craig, thanks for your take on this. I tend to completely ignore F1 during the off-season and then always have to get myself up to speed before the new season starts. Your insight is helpful. Thanks. 

[Brit_in_TX]

I'm glad football is done so we can get back to racing!

At least the Chiefs won!

[MiniDave]

Yes they did! They're expecting a million people downtown at the parade today. Don was thinking of riding his bicycle down just to see the craziness......me, I'll watch it on TV, TYVM.

Everything I've read recently looks like every car on the grid will be running body work similar to Red Bull, which is fine but to me F1 more and more resembles a spec series. What happened to crazy wings and noses, 4,6, 8, 10, 12 cylinder engines, with and without turbos?

I love that the innovations have made the cars so reliable and fast, but you can't see or hear any of it......might as well be electric cars......oh wait, they have those too! 

[Brit_in_TX]

Testing has finished and unsurprisingly it looks like Red Bull are fastest, but the gap appears to have closed a little bit.  Some debate based from Reddit on who is following, but Ferrari, Merc and McLaren look like they are all in the mix.  Some analysis I read, suggested that Ferrari may have better race pace than Red Bull, but we will see this weekend.

At the other end of the field, Haas look slow, but so do Alpine and Sauber.

Red Bull's investigation of Christian Horner is taking longer than some of their partners (Ford being the most vocal) would like. Should be concluded before the season opener this weekend.

And just so you do not miss the race live, the first two races of the season are taking place on Saturday.  You can ready why here

[MiniDave]

Some say if they were going to can him they would have done so long before now.

No matter which way the decision comes down there will be an uproar - this is a typical no-win situation.

I think it's going to be in his favor, and I wonder if Ford has had any influence in the final say so?

[MiniDave]

This is fun!!!!

[Brit_in_TX]

Some say if they were going to can him they would have done so long before now.

No matter which way the decision comes down there will be an uproar - this is a typical no-win situation.

I think it's going to be in his favor, and I wonder if Ford has had any influence in the final say so?

With the reports saying he is travelling to the first GP of the year, it feels that he will not be getting fired. Ford is a major partner now, so I assume they will have some influence.  If they are not satisfied they could probably pull their support.

[MiniDave]

Yeah, I'm betting on a fine of some sort and a reprimand at best......he'll be on the pit wall for tomorrow's practice....I'm looking forward to seeing whether anyone has anything for Max this year......

[Brit_in_TX]

And allegations against Horner have been dismissed.

Be interesting to see if any details from the investigation are "leaked" in the next few days.

[MiniDave]

Well, he said he hadn't done anything wrong.....I guess we'll just have to believe him. So, on with the business at hand

They say the Red Bull looks smooth, composed over the bumps as well as fast in both slow and medium corners, it's also easy to drive on the limit.....all things that make a car a race winner in the right hands.....

[Brit_in_TX]

In the hands of Max, Checo is struggling.

[MiniDave]

So, whadya think" Did Red Bull only have the engine turned up to 7 or 8? I guess we'll know tomorrow, but it does look like Mercedes is planning to tak e it to them this season - could be interesting!

One thing they speculated was that the Merc drops off in race pace and the Red bull just gets faster.

We'll know more tomorrow in qually when they turn them up to 11!

[MiniDave]

Well, that answers that!

Max pulls it out again, Charles was a tick faster in Q2 than Max's pole lap in Q3, so it's clear the Ferrari has got the pace, whether they can keep it up is the question.

Hamster says his P9 qually was due to setting his car up for the race, so will George fall back from P3 and Hamster move forward?

The Hulk has been out-driving Kmag ever since he joined the team, 10th today was major for him! But, will he be able to run there or simply drop thru the order like last season?

The Alpines look dismal, the rest of the bottom of the order are pretty much as expected. The Stake/Sauber cars are the easiest to see on the track with the day glo green livery!

Should be a fun race tomorrow!