2023 is well in the books and the start of the 2024 racing season(s) grows near. So what better way than to start a new annual Racing Thread than with everybody's favorite F1 show?
We know you've been waiting for this one... 🍿Season 6 of Drive To Survive - landing 23 February on @Netflix 📺#F1 #DriveToSurvive pic.twitter.com/r1rHOxVgG6— Formula 1 (@F1) January 24, 2024
F1: Drive to Survive, Season 6, coming 23 February!
¡Vamos Checo!
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Get an early start on the racing season with the 24 hours of Daytona this weekend.
This is a bucket list event for me. However the older I get the less I feel like I would be able to stay up all night.
We couldn't stay up even in our 20s
Enjoy this Drive to Survive, because its the end of the series. They will not be filming this year, I guess the drivers had enough of it.
The production company is also doing Netflix shows for tennis, golf, and now rugby coming up. Could be a mutual pause?
D2S is wildly successful. I can't imagine they wouldn't revisit it at some point.
For me it messed up my annual trip to Austin for the USGP. It was already a pricey and crowded event, but after D2S came out it blew up and made it crappy experience (at least for us less than rich folk who get GA tickets for the weekend).
Another thing that makes me laugh is they scheduled UGA at UT on the same weekend this fall. UGA fans are pissed right now becuase they can't get hotel rooms or the ones that are available are at a ridiculous price.
Looks like it was short lived...
With all the Horner controversy going on atm Netflix crew has been spotted following him around closely in Bahrain during pre season testing.
This has been a crazy off-season, doesn't surprise me they got a new D2S deal done.
Grats to Lando Norris for signing an extension with McLaren.
https://www.bbc.com/sport/formula1/68108689
Elitist F1 denies Andretti entry into the sport despite acceptance by its governing body.
Just goes to show, the Eurotrash only wants US dollars, they don't actually want US teams, fans or drivers.
Its pretty clear they are turning F1 into a franchise model much like other american sports, no way to work your way in based on merit, if you want in you have to buy a team, it jacks up the values of the teams and its why you've seen international soccer clubs try the same with the european super league
I'm driving down to Daytona the Friday before after work. I plan to parking lot surf until after the race Sunday and drive back. Fairly excited about it, I really want to bring Kodi the Dog.
Silly season starting a little early this year, Hamilton rumored to be moving to Ferrari in 2025?!
Apparently not rumors. Still waiting on official confirmation from Merc/Fer though.
Sounds like everyone working at Merc was informed this morning.
12 minutes apart between tweets (x'es?), looks like Ferrari was waiting for Mercedes to announce first.
So I assume Sainz is the one going to lose his seat, unless Leclerc is looking for a change.
Leclerc signed a new multiyear deal and Sainz came out and said this will be his last year with Ferrari
Nascar Series was decent on Netflix too. Wish they covered more the model of D2S and covered the whole season tho. I do really like all the series for these sports. Wish they would do one for NHL and MLB as well.
WOOOOOOOOOOOOOO
F1 returns with the first GP today! Would love to see Sainz have a great year to stick it to Ferrari. Not surprised Alpine is dead last since they fire everyone each year. Would love an Alonso victory this year too if Verstappen ever loses an engine or gets torpedoed lol.
Also for as lame as the Daytona race was, Atlanta made up for it in spades for Nascar. Unfortunately I think Las Vegas and Phoenix will be somewhere in between, until we get to Bristol
Man, I do hope they are still filming Drive to Survive this year. I really want to see how they cover all this Christian Horner drama.
This is really a peak F1 season in terms of drama. It's a shame some of it may involve sexual misconduct (and a severe lack if Horner rizz if you've seen the leak), because it might be more exciting than what's on track this year.
Word in the paddock says they are filming, though don't know how/if they're covering the Horner (pun intended) drama.
There's so much drama that they don't show because they have to keep up relationships in order to have access. For example, the Perez-Verstappen family feud of 2022. So instead the have to exaggerate conflicts and focus on the drama from back markers who need the Netflix spotlight.
This is going to be an interesting year. Apparently Jos Verstappen (Max's dad) was pretty vocal about how the team probably can't move forward with Horner, and he was seen having dinner with Toto Wolf in Bahrain and it has already been said that he won't be at the next race in Saudi Arabia as a result of his comments.
If things blow up and Horner does not get axed, would not be surprising to see Max end up at Mercedes to replace Hamilton when he leaves for Ferrari next year. This next silly season could be wild.
At this point why the hell would Max leave RedBull? The car is tailor made to him, he's dominating every race by literally as many seconds as he wants to dominate it by and he's probably looking at almost a guaranteed 2 or 3 more titles in a row after this year.
Jos needs to stay in his lane and shut the hell up. He's not the driver, its not his decision to make anymore.
This was the case for Lewis at Mercedes, until it wasn't. Red Bull also had the run of 4 in a row with Vettel before Mercedes dominated the back half of the 2010's. Point is, that these things have run in cycles the last couple decades so it can change.
Yeah but there were changing regulations that came into play that helped Mercedes overtake RB, and likewise helped RB overtake Mercedes again. There aren't any major regulation changes coming anytime soon. Teams know what they have, they have to develop the platform they have right now and there isn't any major leveling of the playing field on the horizon. And right now, the absolute best that any other team has to offer is a solid 30 seconds off the pace of Max, and that's assuming Max is even giving it the full beans.
Again, it doesn't make any sense for him to leave now. Not while they are in the middle of this kind of lopsided competitive advantage.
2026 is going to see a huge change to the engines, and may see changes to the rest of the car as well. Good time to jump to the team you think will most likely nail the new regs.
https://www.formula1.com/en/latest/article.more-efficient-less-fuel-and-...
https://us.motorsport.com/f1/news/f1-targets-50kg-weight-reduction-as-pa...
Yo whoever the race director for this Nascar race is should be fired. Burned almost 25 laps for "damp" track conditions when they have wet weather tires in the first stage, a noncompetitive pit stop, then a soft ahhh caution when the field had split between one and two stop strategies? Weak
MTJ done dirty... It isn't a coincidence the 23's boss just happened to benefit from the last lap caution. Really shady.
Monaco is such a shit race every year, but this year took it to another level. The top 15 never changed from Lap 1 to 78. Fucking terrible.
Get it off the calendar
There were changes at the bottom throughout the race and it was at least an interesting strategy towards the end. But not much you can do when there is a massive crash in the first sector and then even the mediums can do 70+ laps. They either need to the change the rule that you just need two different compounds during the race and make it that you have to perform a pitstop and two different compounds. Or do like Lewis said and make a special Monaco tire. Put it under the guise of their "we're going sustainable and green" and say its made out of coconut husks and recycled sofas and it only lasts 10 laps.
Im favor of the time trial route. Give everyone two FP sessions, then it's just one big qualifying session. Make it a full time trial for slightly reduced points but still count towards the standings.
These cars just aren't designed for good racing at Monaco. Either cars need to get MUCH smaller or a special Monaco weekend format. I like the idea of a Monaco go kart race.
Super stoked for Charles though. Must have been one hell of a party last night...
It was only good for setting up an interesting scoring situation heading into the 2nd third of the season
This will never happen unfortunately, even though everyone pretty much knows that the pole winner is 99% of the time going to win the race. There is too much history with this race, and it will never be removed from the calendar.
The saudi's own all major racing now, correct?
"except maybe the Indy 500"
Carlos Sainz officially joining Williams next season...
Well, at least he is able to stay in F1.
Still unsure of how much this says of Williams future potential or the lack of potential in the Audi project given his family ties to the Audi brand.
I think it's a mistake by Red Bull definitely and probably Mercedes not to have signed him. Mercedes could have sent Kimi to Williams and signed Carlos for the last year of the regulations. Usually someone of Carlos's caliber wants a multi year deal, and reports are that he wanted long-term investment from a team, but that was after none of the front runners pursued him. With the way Mercedes has improved, it would benefit both to sign a one year deal and chase a constructors championship in 25, then Carlos could see what the market is like next year while Mercedes can evaluate Kimi in an F1 car.
Of the teams he had to choose from, Williams was the right choice. They've been improving, they have money behind them, and James Vowles is legit.
Concur. They should've implemented whatever performance riders there are on Checo's extension, and signed Carlos for next year right after Hungary. And I'm a fan of Checo. He just hasn't been pulling his weight this year, and if he'd been halfway decent, RB would win the Constructor's despite the field's improvement. As it is now, it looks like McLaren is going to catch up to Max in the Constructor's, and the Driver's will at least be interesting this year.
Being a Netflix N00b, I've always been rooting for the Red Bull 2nd seat, because I sorta see them as an underdog due to Max's brilliance. And he is brilliant behind the wheel; it's amazing the additional performance he can pull out of the car. I don't know how the car is set up for him, or what he has that allows him to wring that extra performance from the car, but he has it, and Checo doesn't.
But Checo has sorta grown on me, to the point where when the inevitable happens and RB releases him from his contract, I'm going to be looking for a new team to support. Absent Andretti coming into the sport early, maybe McLaren? I can get used to papaya.
Looked into the Max thing about why he's so good, found a couple of decent articles to that effect. Basically, he likes a really grippy front end that allows him to point the nose faster into the corner, and he's able to deal with the looser back end that is a result of that design decision. This makes sense, as when Checo doesn't do well in qualifying it's because his back end spins out. Obviously he can't handle the loose rear as well as Max can.
https://www.grandprix247.com/2024/01/01/what-makes-f1-world-champion-max...
https://www.nytimes.com/athletic/4256443/2023/02/27/max-verstappen-f1-re...
From the second article (which I was able to read without logging into The Athletic, so I left the link though it's normally paywalled):
The way Albon explained why Max is so good was interesting to me. Essentially he stated that if you compare Max's ability with the car to playing a video game, imagine the way you like your cursor/joystick sensitivity and then ramp it all the way up. A normal person would be all over the place, but that is where Max operates.
Summer break for F1 and this has shaped up to be an unexpectedly really exciting season.
Red Bull was dominating early in the season and everyone thought it was going to be a repeat of last year. Next thing you know, Ferrari shits the bed after Monaco, McLaren suddenly become the fastest car, Mercedes has won 3/4 last races, and Checo is nowhere to be found.
2nd half of the season looks to be a banger!
At this point I wouldn't bet against McLaren coming all the way back and beating out RedBull for the WCC. I do think Max will still run away with the WDC but I also believe that this might be the last year he wins for a while.
Newey leaving RB has completely stunted their development. They have only been rapidly falling back to the pack ever since the first update they put out that didn't have his input. By the end of the year, I don't think Max being Max will be enough to keep him in front of Lando and Piastri anymore.
I will also say this. If Newey does end up at McLaren, and it sounds like there's a very good chance that happens, I think Piastri wins WDC within 3 years. After the last couple races of watching Lando just make dumb mistake after dumb mistake, I do wonder if he's got what it takes to win it all, where Piastri is just a calm clinical driver. I mean hell, I think if he continues his current form, Piastri is a serious contender as it is for next year, and with Newey, I think you're looking at a mid 2010s Merc era of 1-2 dominance for McLaren.
After the last couple races of watching Lando just make dumb mistake after dumb mistake, I do wonder if he's got what it takes to win it all
With you on this one. He absolutely has the talent, but does he have it mentally to put it all together for an entire season? And if it does click for him mentally, will that be around the time that Piastri begins to challenge him in race pace and tire management? Interesting situation brewing at MCL for sure.
Word is it's either MCL or AM for Newey. MCL are way easier to root for given nepo-baby Stroll's secured seat for the foreseeable future.
Wheatley leaving Red Bull. Lots of uncertainty for ol' RB right now.
Subsequent post with more info:
RedBull is in complete disarray right now. They might still win the 2024 WDC and WCC, but I have to think its probably the end of their run for a while, especially with MCL right on their tails. Max is an excellent driver, but if the car turns into a shitbox again, there's only so much he can do.
By Grabthar's hammer...
YESSSSSS!!!
So much for the Americans on the grid
Also, at this point you have to figure McLaren is the odds on favorite to win the WCC. And even though Max has a substantial lead, one DNF could throw the WDC into chaos as well. The RB20 looks like a shit box right now.
Alright so catching up on everything.
Adrian Newey has signed with Aston Martin. In a couple years, Lance Stroll will be gifted the best car on the grid only for him to barely sniff a Top 5 finish. No worries for the team, rumor has it they're already negotiating with Max to come over to potentially backfill a retiring Alonso.
Speaking of Max, holy hell has Red Bull fallen off a cliff. Looked like ass in Monza and then had no ability to keep Norris behind, even after Lando started P15. And then Perez crashing out, though no fault of his own thanks to a wandering Sainz... What an absolute disaster of a year this is turning into for Red Bull.
And back to Lando. P15 to P4 after being eliminated in Q1 due to a massively unfortunate yellow is a huge result. Piastri winning, causing McLaren to gain points on Ferrari and pass Red Bull by 20 in the WCC was huge. First time they've led the championship in 10 years, and given recent trends with Lando picking up podiums left and right and Piastri outscoring the entire grid over the last 10 or so races, I don't really see them losing it at this point. Not bad for the American led organization (yep, going there with Zak). And if RB can't do something about that shitbox Max is driving, I wouldn't at all be surprised if Norris, Leclerc or Piastri overtake him for the WDC by the end.
Most entertaining season in a looong time. Including 2021. So many teams and drivers all in play for top positions almost every race.
Sainz done Checo wrong. Too bad, because he was looking at a podium finish. He needed that.
What a day of racing!
5 red flags in qualifying for F1, Lance Stroll bins it and (voluntarily?!?!) Drives into the gravel on the formation lap.
Rain, a safety car, wreck under the safety car brings out a red flag, then a Haas DQ, capped off by a masterful drive by Max and a double podium for Alpine. We're what a race
THEN we have some major Nascar manufacturer manipulation.
Chevys run a rolling blockade for Byron, then Bubba slows down by like 2 seconds to let Bell pass, who loses it and wall rides a bit in a move that is specifically outlawed.
Nascar has brought this terrible format to us and for a second week in a row, a DQ may determine who advances or not
Edit: Byron advances but the playoff system is broken AF. Get rid of it at this point
IMHO, NASCLOWN made a similar "business decision" at Martinsville as the ACC did at Miami.
They were driven by the desire to place a Chevy in the final 4. I get that having every manufacturer represented in the final race to decide a championship is desirable, however selectively choosing which illegal activity to rule on and which ones to not rule on is not the way to achieve that. Again IMHO (who am I kidding, there is very little humility in my opinion 😂😁)
Bell broke the rule. While his intent may have been different, you aren't allowed to gun it up against the wall. Chevy and Toyota tried to manipulate the race (Bubba drooping half a lap to let bell by is pretty egregious and Chevy blocking for Byron). The same thing happened in 2020 when the Gibbs cars didn't pass Hamlin to make sure he got in too. What can NASCAR actually do to the Constructors? This happens in F1 all the time - "Hold position" "swap positions".
Any additional penalties should go to 1, 3, and 23. 20 and 24 didnt really do anything wrong. 23 dropping half a lap in the final 2 almost causing crashes is a joke.
I get it and for the record am not a Bell fan. I don't know how it went down with Bubba and am just speculating.
I believe the actions of the 1 and the 3 (there was quite the logjam behind them) preventing the 24 from dropping a position instigated the whole thing. Toyota saw what Chevy was doing and Bubba's actions were a last minute effort to respond.
All three (1,3,23) broke the so called 100% rule which states that "competitors must race at 100% of their ability with the goal of achieving their best possible finishing position in the event". The 1 and 3 broke that rule for the last 15 or so laps of the race (egregiously so in fact). Bubba broke it for the last lap. Nascar should have black flagged the 1 and 3 at some point. I don't accept any argument that they did not know what was going on. If Nascar had black flagged them and allowed the 6 (who was much faster) to challenge the 24 then none of this would have occured.
I understand why Nascar did what they did (and I am not an apologist for Nascar at all). The 24 did nothing wrong (yeah he knew the deal behind him but not his doing). The 20 would have been fine if he had waited until he bounced off of the wall and then accelerated.
Again I believe the real failure was in Nascar allowing the 1 and 3 actions and not black flagging them. THAT is why I believe a case can be made that there were shenanigans going on between Nascar and Chevy. That is also why if I was Joe Gibbs I would be seeing red.
This will not go away quietly for Nascar, nor should it imo.
The real problem here is that a guy who has the 15th most points all year won a fuel milage race and claimed a spot in the top 4. None of this matters if logano didnt get in.
Genuinely shocking, if true