F1 Official Thread - Grand Prix of Britain

[Kinfolk]

I agree with pretty much all of those points except Albon getting the RB seat. I feel like he's fine at Williams for now and can prob justify moving to another team later. As long as Max is in the other seat, nothing good will come for drivers in the second seat.

Norris in the second Red Bull seat would give us Ham/Ros levels of entertainment. I think Norris could beat him.

On top of that, Norris is as blunt if not more than Max. So Helmut, Christian and Max wouldn’t get away with saying whatever they want like they do about Checo.

Unfortunately for fans Max and his entourage are terrified of having a driver of Norris’ caliber in the second seat.

 

[pmtotheam]

Unfortunately for fans Max and his entourage are terrified of having a driver of Norris’ caliber in the second seat.

That's not quite true, RB have reached out to Lando multiple times, but he's been just as committed to McLaren as Leclerc is to Ferrari. If McLaren doesn't improve though I can see him going to Merc or RB like Lewis did after being tied to McLaren for so many years.

I'm not a Max fan by any means, but it's clear he's getting bored without any real opponents, let alone a teammate that can challenge him. He would absolutely love the chance to have someone like Lando (or better) in the other RB, because he'd still prove why he's the best in the game right now. There just aren't that many options available.

RB/AT should pursue Alex Palou a little more actively though, it's impossible to not be impressed with what he's doing in IndyCar. I'd argue he's probably one of the best drivers in the world right now. Won his first championship in his second season, currently on his way to winning his second in four seasons, with a larger lead in the championship standings than Max has in F1 right now after less races, in a significantly closer competitive field. Of course the points awarded is different, but he's still been on another level there.

Bonus: Alex and Max are sim racing teammates

 

[Kinfolk]

That's not quite true, RB have reached out to Lando multiple times, but he's been just as committed to McLaren as Leclerc is to Ferrari. If McLaren doesn't improve though I can see him going to Merc or RB like Lewis did after being tied to McLaren for so many years.

I'm not a Max fan by any means, but it's clear he's getting bored without any real opponents, let alone a teammate that can challenge him. He would absolutely love the chance to have someone like Lando (or better) in the other RB, because he'd still prove why he's the best in the game right now. There just aren't that many options available.

Not entirely sure about that.

Lando was interviewed on the Beyond The Grid Podcast a while back and Tom Clarkson asked him specifically about Red Bull.

Lando was apprehensive to say too much about RB but he did say that Helmut approached him prior to reaching Formula 1 to feel him out.

According to Lando Helmut asked him a series of random questions to gauge Lando’s general knowledge and when Lando didn’t have a few answers Helmut’s reply was “well Max would know that!”.

To me that’s a red flag Lando shouldn’t ignore or forget.

Max is viewed as the second coming of Christ at Red Bull, so despite what Max’s people are saying the understanding is that Max is the priority in the team no matter what.

Lando is too talented to be a #2 at this stage of his career.

Christian didn’t mince words when the question about Lewis potentially joining Red Bull was brought up 2-3 weeks ago. He said “obviously that would not work for us”.

To me it’s pretty clear that Max and Red Bull don’t have any interest in giving max any real competition in the form of a teammate. They’re only interested in making it seem like Max is this fearless competitor to increase his legend.


And let’s be serious- if Red Bull was willing to give a guarantee to Lewis, Fernando, Charles or Lando that they’d be treated equally to Max if they signed with Red Bull, said drivers would seriously consider joining.

Lando was not given that option to consider. If he was do you really think he’d be wallowing in mediocrity at McLaren in the prime of his life?

 

[pmtotheam]

Not entirely sure about that.

Lando was interviewed on the Beyond The Grid Podcast a while back and Tom Clarkson asked him specifically about Red Bull.

Lando was apprehensive to say too much about RB but he did say that Helmut approached him prior to reaching Formula 1 to feel him out.

According to Lando Helmut asked him a series of random questions to gauge Lando’s general knowledge and when Lando didn’t have a few answers Helmut’s reply was “well Max would know that!”.

To me that’s a red flag Lando shouldn’t ignore or forget.

Max is viewed as the second coming of Christ at Red Bull, so despite what Max’s people are saying the understanding is that Max is the priority in the team no matter what.

Lando is too talented to be a #2 at this stage of his career.

Helmut's just the weird proud grandfather at RB, and Max is literally his golden (grand?)child. That convo was also back in 2015 when Lando was in Formula Renault and Max was already in F1. Helmut still thinks pretty highly of Lando though:



Lando also played the #2 role perfectly in Monza in 2021, he had the speed to win the race but was fine obeying team orders.

RB tried to sign Lando for 2021, before they were clear championship contenders and McLaren's trajectory seemed to be going in the right direction having just finished 3rd in the WCC, just behind RB in 2nd. He's truly committed to McLaren to a fault, he's ride or die. He's also great friends with Max and would love to get the chance to fight him on track in the same car. What better way to prove you're that talented than that?

Christian didn’t mince words when the question about Lewis potentially joining Red Bull was brought up 2-3 weeks ago. He said “obviously that would not work for us”.

This goes both ways, after what happened in 2021, that definitely wouldn't work for Lewis either. I don't think RB would want two drivers commanding $50M/year+ contracts.

To me it’s pretty clear that Max and Red Bull don’t have any interest in giving max any real competition in the form of a teammate. They’re only interested in making it seem like Max is this fearless competitor to increase his legend.

Max definitely does want real competition - I've never seen a driver this bored winning races that he's trying to watch the big screens on track every lap while leading races. The only time we've really seen him have fun this year was in Miami - when he demolished the field, including his teammate who started on pole. He's also the one person on the grid outside of AM actively hoping Alonso has a better car. You can't really blame RB for Sergio's performances though, and it's really on the other teams for not having built cars as good as RB.

And let’s be serious- if Red Bull was willing to give a guarantee to Lewis, Fernando, Charles or Lando that they’d be treated equally to Max if they signed with Red Bull, said drivers would seriously consider joining.

Lando was not given that option to consider. If he was do you really think he’d be wallowing in mediocrity at McLaren in the prime of his life?

They've also approached Alonso 6 times over the last 15 years - and he's seriously considered joining, but didn't for various reasons - driving next to a golden child (like Seb) never being one of them.

There are zero guarantees in F1 - he'll get equal treatment at the beginning of the season just like Sergio, Alex, Pierre, Daniel and so on did. The real "problem" with RB right now is the incredibly symbiotic relationship between Newey and Max, they're feeding off of each other, and it's producing the desired results so there's no reason for them to shake it up. Max has enough points by himself to be leading the WCC

 

[Sinner]

This was pretty incredible. Nyck's days are numbered.


But who should AT look for next? Daniel would be a sentimental fav, but I wanna see the new kids get a shot. In the RBR academy, it should be Lawson. He's shown he has the speed. But like pmtotheam mentioned... Palou should be on everyone's radar. Last year when McLaren chose him to be their 3rd driver over Pato, I thought it was strange... but now it makes a lot of sense. He's been amazing in Indy.

 

[Kinfolk]

Helmut's just the weird proud grandfather at RB, and Max is literally his golden (grand?)child. That convo was also back in 2015 when Lando was in Formula Renault and Max was already in F1. Helmut still thinks pretty highly of Lando though:



Lando also played the #2 role perfectly in Monza in 2021, he had the speed to win the race but was fine obeying team orders.

RB tried to sign Lando for 2021, before they were clear championship contenders and McLaren's trajectory seemed to be going in the right direction having just finished 3rd in the WCC, just behind RB in 2nd. He's truly committed to McLaren to a fault, he's ride or die. He's also great friends with Max and would love to get the chance to fight him on track in the same car. What better way to prove you're that talented than that?



This goes both ways, after what happened in 2021, that definitely wouldn't work for Lewis either. I don't think RB would want two drivers commanding $50M/year+ contracts.



Max definitely does want real competition - I've never seen a driver this bored winning races that he's trying to watch the big screens on track every lap while leading races. The only time we've really seen him have fun this year was in Miami - when he demolished the field, including his teammate who started on pole. He's also the one person on the grid outside of AM actively hoping Alonso has a better car. You can't really blame RB for Sergio's performances though, and it's really on the other teams for not having built cars as good as RB.



They've also approached Alonso 6 times over the last 15 years - and he's seriously considered joining, but didn't for various reasons - driving next to a golden child (like Seb) never being one of them.

There are zero guarantees in F1 - he'll get equal treatment at the beginning of the season just like Sergio, Alex, Pierre, Daniel and so on did. The real "problem" with RB right now is the incredibly symbiotic relationship between Newey and Max, they're feeding off of each other, and it's producing the desired results so there's no reason for them to shake it up. Max has enough points by himself to be leading the WCC

Helmut is really just Rick James:

Lando played the #2 role perfectly while McLaren wasn’t in contention for a championship.

Playing number two when competing for anything but WDC is not indicative of how a driver would respond in a championship winning car.

As for Alonso being approached 6 times- the article linked explicitly states, “Red Bull team boss Christian Horner maintains he only offered the driver a seat once”.

Everyone knows that everything out of Fernando’s mouth is self serving and spun.


As for Max “definitely wanting real competition” I agree he does. Just not from his teammate. There is absolutely no concrete evidence that he wants a top driver to come in and compete with him in the same machinery.

We see him sit next to Fernando and Lewis this season in the post race press conferences laughing and joking because he knows they can’t keep up in their cars. A question that has become a theme in these press conferences is Alonso and Verstappen teaming up in F1 and WEC- to which Verstappen always shoots down the F1 idea.

As for Horner shooting down Lewis joining Red Bull (we can safely assume Max wouldn’t be on board with this as well)- does this not give you Prost/Senna vibes from 1993 when Prost blocked Senna joining Williams because he knew he could not beat Ayrton in the same car? Jos And Max would rather die than give Lewis that opportunity to join Red Bull in such a dominant car.

If Max was so bored and interested in being challenged, how exactly are Lewis and Fernando complete non-starters? Max literally cannot get any higher level of competition from anyone on the grid than those two. Why is there this caveat that whoever joins RB next has to be friendly with Max?

You also mentioned that we’ve only seen Max have fun in Miami this season. We’re both speculating here but I think it’s safe to say that every time we hear Max’s grandmotherly radio comment of “hahaha, yes! Lovely thank you!” as he beats the field by 35 seconds, he’s enjoying himself and not too pressed about replacing Sergio with a more talented driver.

Personally I’d never want to see Lewis and Max on the same team. Especially at Red Bull where Helmut has made racist/insensitive remarks about Checo FOR YEARS. But I’d pay double or triple my F1TV annual subscription to see Alonso join Red Bull. I’d pay quadruple to see George Russell join Red Bull alongside Max but I think George just extended his Mercedes deal so we won’t be seeing that during these regulations.

The fastest driver I could see Max and his camp accepting into the team is Charles because they know that Charles can’t string together anything close to an error-free season. The pressure is simply too great for him at this stage of his career. Charles is not in the same tier as Lewis, Fernando and Max.

BTW- I appreciate you keeping this convo civil and not taking any personal shots. Very rare occurrence on NT.

 

[pmtotheam]

This was pretty incredible. Nyck's days are numbered.


But who should AT look for next? Daniel would be a sentimental fav, but I wanna see the new kids get a shot. In the RBR academy, it should be Lawson. He's shown he has the speed. But like pmtotheam mentioned... Palou should be on everyone's radar. Last year when McLaren chose him to be their 3rd driver over Pato, I thought it was strange... but now it makes a lot of sense. He's been amazing in Indy.

In a dream scenario, RB eats Perez's contract for next year and signs Palou, then promotes Lawson to replace debris alongside Yuki. Both teams would have an experienced driver and a solid prospect rookie to develop alongside them.

The RB will most likely still be leagues ahead of the field next year, so Max will once again seal the WDC and WCC himself, perfect time to put a proven talent like Palou in the car and see what he's capable of. Can't expect him to be fighting Max right off the bat so that pressure isn't quite there yet either. If he can, even better.

If Lawson wins the Super Formula title this year he 100% is in that AT/whatever they'll be called seat next season. Yuki's been solid and pretty consistent this season and even last season, some will say it's because his teammate is trash, but he's been beating half the field in arguably one of the worst cars on the grid. I'd like to see him replace Perez but I can't see them promoting him yet with another rookie teammate.

Lando played the #2 role perfectly while McLaren wasn’t in contention for a championship.

Playing number two when competing for anything but WDC is not indicative of how a driver would respond in a championship winning car.

As for Alonso being approached 6 times- the article linked explicitly states, “Red Bull team boss Christian Horner maintains he only offered the driver a seat once”.

Everyone knows that everything out of Fernando’s mouth is self serving and spun.

As for Max “definitely wanting real competition” I agree he does. Just not from his teammate. There is absolutely no concrete evidence that he wants a top driver to come in and compete with him in the same machinery.

We see him sit next to Fernando and Lewis this season in the post race press conferences laughing and joking because he knows they can’t keep up in their cars. A question that has become a theme in these press conferences is Alonso and Verstappen teaming up in F1 and WEC- to which Verstappen always shoots down the F1 idea.

As for Horner shooting down Lewis joining Red Bull (we can safely assume Max wouldn’t be on board with this as well)- does this not give you Prost/Senna vibes from 1993 when Prost blocked Senna joining Williams because he knew he could not beat Ayrton in the same car? Jos And Max would rather die than give Lewis that opportunity to join Red Bull in such a dominant car.

If Max was so bored and interested in being challenged, how exactly are Lewis and Fernando complete non-starters? Max literally cannot get any higher level of competition from anyone on the grid than those two. Why is there this caveat that whoever joins RB next has to be friendly with Max?

You also mentioned that we’ve only seen Max have fun in Miami this season. We’re both speculating here but I think it’s safe to say that every time we hear Max’s grandmotherly radio comment of “hahaha, yes! Lovely thank you!” as he beats the field by 35 seconds, he’s enjoying himself and not too pressed about replacing Sergio with a more talented driver.

Personally I’d never want to see Lewis and Max on the same team. Especially at Red Bull where Helmut has made racist/insensitive remarks about Checo FOR YEARS. But I’d pay double or triple my F1TV annual subscription to see Alonso join Red Bull. I’d pay quadruple to see George Russell join Red Bull alongside Max but I think George just extended his Mercedes deal so we won’t be seeing that during these regulations.

The fastest driver I could see Max and his camp accepting into the team is Charles because they know that Charles can’t string together anything close to an error-free season. The pressure is simply too great for him at this stage of his career. Charles is not in the same tier as Lewis, Fernando and Max.

BTW- I appreciate you keeping this convo civil and not taking any personal shots. Very rare occurrence on NT.

Horner himself has admitted he's approached Alonso multiple times! Let's be honest they're perfect for each other, the **** stirring would be off the charts

We're in agreement here that Max wants the competition from other teams, which is the main reason he wouldn't want Lewis or Fernando as a teammate and why they wouldn't want to leave their respective teams - they're the only two on the grid who can challenge him right now (at least in skill), and they're leading the two teams that are getting closest to fighting him if they can continue to upgrade/develop on the right path. Pulling them away from those teams would detract from the excitement. We want more like 2012, not 2016

I genuinely don't think Max cares who his teammate is as much as people want to believe, whether it's Sergio or Lando or Charles. He is and knows he is consistently faster/better than all of those guys. Charles and Lando are on the same tier to me as is George - error prone but very fast, sometimes trying to overdrive their cars, but could definitely give those top 3 a run for their money, like Rosberg did.

I really don't think Max would mind that at all, and those are about the best drivers you'll be able to find right now, but they also happen to be a little too loyal to the teams they're with right now. I honestly dislike Max's camp more than anything in F1, Helmut and Jos and the reporters they constantly use as mouthpieces seem to fan the flames. Makes me feel bad for Max in a way, but he's got the nine figure contract and the championships (and my dream simulator) to help him sleep at night.

I also personally don't want to see Lewis leave Merc either - it's like MJ and the Bulls, we don't need Lewis in his Wizards era, even if the Wizards in this scenario are actual championship contenders The two are just too closely linked.

We're adults here and can have these kinds of discussions I've seen how it gets on here in other threads and it's always wild to me, feels like I'm back in middle school lol

 

[Kinfolk]

In a dream scenario, RB eats Perez's contract for next year and signs Palou, then promotes Lawson to replace debris alongside Yuki. Both teams would have an experienced driver and a solid prospect rookie to develop alongside them.

The RB will most likely still be leagues ahead of the field next year, so Max will once again seal the WDC and WCC himself, perfect time to put a proven talent like Palou in the car and see what he's capable of. Can't expect him to be fighting Max right off the bat so that pressure isn't quite there yet either. If he can, even better.

If Lawson wins the Super Formula title this year he 100% is in that AT/whatever they'll be called seat next season. Yuki's been solid and pretty consistent this season and even last season, some will say it's because his teammate is trash, but he's been beating half the field in arguably one of the worst cars on the grid. I'd like to see him replace Perez but I can't see them promoting him yet with another rookie teammate.



Horner himself has admitted he's approached Alonso multiple times! Let's be honest they're perfect for each other, the **** stirring would be off the charts


We're adults here and can have these kinds of discussions I've seen how it gets on here in other threads and it's always wild to me, feels like I'm back in middle school lol

I’m all for any scenario that results in a Tsunoda promotion. I feel like he’s earned it.

The talk of Ricciardo coming back annoys me because it’s like, FOR WHAT? I like the guy but what is the point of the Red Bull academy if they recycle Ricciardo?


And I guess all we can gather from conflicting accounts from Horner and Alonso is that both are liars Lol!

 

[JCMojica24]

Will Checo get out of Q1?

 

[JCMojica24]

Nyck last! He’s gonna be out of that seat real soon.

 

[JCMojica24]

Lol wow checo out in Q2 2 lap deletions

 

[zeroregret]

Checo just keeps proving that he doesn't deserve the seat

 

[Sinner]

Get in there! P4!
McLaren quali well, but are crap in race trim. Hope these new upgrades work.

Also.

 

[dragicon]

Checo just keeps proving that he doesn't deserve the seat

Its impressive how much he's failed in the last handful of races compared to the start of his season.

 

[Sinner]

Lando on it again. Just hoping he and Oscar both have a trouble-free weekend. Really need these new B-spec parts to work.

But in other, more sombre, news...
Kid was just 18.

 

[zeroregret]

Rest in peace Dilano. Spa honestly seems really dangerous as there is almost always rain on race days.

 

[Sinner]

UGH. So unlucky to have gotten caught up with the RBR tussle on lap 1.
Tried to hang on for dear life at the end, but Inters were done.

Could have boxed for slicks, but so did Charles and he finished in P12... but he was on Meds.

 

[DungaDon]

Nico did a stellar job today in that Haas

 

[pmtotheam]

Nico trying to assert dominance over Checo in the first few laps Absolutely wild that he's out-qualified Perez 5-4 this season in a Haas

 

[pmtotheam]

Wild crash for Pagenaud in IndyCar, lost his brakes and flipped a half dozen times, thankfully he seems to be ok

 

[Kinfolk]

Nico did a stellar job today in that Haas

Is Magnussen at risk of getting dropped at the end of the year? He’s been horrible this season compared to Nico.


And RIP Dilano.

Wish I hadn’t gone looking for a clip of what happened.

 

[Sharpshoeter13]

Lmao Ferrari blunders yet again. Should’ve let Sainz take P2 prior to the virtual safety car.

 

[Sharpshoeter13]

Lmao Chuck didn’t even put up a fight on that Verstappen overtake

 

[JCMojica24]

Max sets fastest lap on the final lap lmao
As if he needed the points

 

[Sinner]

LFGGGGGG... great P5 for Lando.
But so unlucky for Oscar!