Motosport General discussion tread --- Formula1, MotoGP, WTCC, ETCC, DTM.....

[coinlocket$]

1   
Max Verstappen   275.00
2   
Lando Norris 197.00
3   
Charles Leclerc 174.00
4   
Oscar Piastri 164.00
5   
Carlos Sainz 160.00
6   
Lewis Hamilton 143.00
7   
Sergio Perez 129.00
8   
George Russell 116.00
9   
Fernando Alonso 47.00
10   
Lance Stroll 24.00

Source: https://www.crash.net/f1/championship_tables/content

This is the leaderboard before the summer break.
Behind Max is a real fight for the second spot, I see Max losing the title only if he will retire in some races.

[Velvet78]

It looks like big step backwards, kinda reminds when Ricciardo left Red Bull and went to Renault. After that he didn't returned to top level. I'm afraid that something similar can happen with Sainz, but maybe Carlos knows something more than we do about Williams plans for the future

I hope Sainz really knows what he is doing. Because he is a competitive driver. Unless Williams has big plans for the future, no way he would be satisfied with the car there. 

Williams was interested in bringing Adrian Newey as well though. If they make it happen then I would be more curious about their future. Otherwise I don't think they would surprise us too much.

1   
Max Verstappen   275.00
2   
Lando Norris 197.00

...

This is the leaderboard before the summer break.
Behind Max is a real fight for the second spot, I see Max losing the title only if he will retire in some races.

Norris actually has 199 points now. I know it isn't a huge change though. 

https://www.formula1.com/en/results/2024/drivers

Even though Verstappen completed the last 4 races without a win, he is still in a really comfortable position. Norris' job is really difficult as long as he continues to waste these chances.

[tokeweed]

https://www.motorsport.com/f1/news/carlos-sainz-to-race-for-williams-f1-team-in-2025/10640291/

Finally, Sainz said that he would move to Williams and this has been officially confirmed by Williams by saying that the Spanish racer will join them not only in the 2025 season, but also in 2026 and beyond. This is not a surprising choice, because many people have been saying for a long time that Sainz will choose Williams as his team after leaving Ferrari and it seems that these rumors are true. However, this is an interesting thing, because Sainz is not just driving for Williams, but he is partnering with the team to build the team and make it at the top again. This deal makes 2025 another exciting season and I'm really looking forward to seeing Williams repeat their history again.

When I saw this on the social media first I thought it might be another rumour. You know how often Sainz has been linked with different teams recently.    But it seems like this one is true.

Interesting honestly. This is like going backwards in his career in my opinion. Because Williams is just in pain. Only 4 points collected which is thanks to Albon. The car is so slow. Will Sainz really feel himself comfortable there? I don't think so.    It is even a two-year deal... But as far as I have heard there will be a condition on his contract. Like, if he gets an offer from Mercedes or Red Bull he will be able to terminate his contract. If it's true then it's a little better.

He has no choice.  All Mercedes could offer is a contract like they gave Bottas and pretty sure he'll be treated like a Bottas.  You shouldn"t like that as a driver of Sainz's potential.

Other options he has are Alpine and Audi.  I'm pretty sure they could offer better terms but does he really want to be tied down with Briatore in a multi year contract?    Alpine could become the most unstable team on 2025...  Same with Binotto, his stint at Ferrari as team principal wasn't the best either.  And he and Sainz worked together before, so he prolly knows best that he should avoid.

As for Williams, the team principal is decent as he brings stability to the team and they offered Sainz an option to leave once a spot from a top team is available.

[coinlocket$]

we have some kinda of news.

Sergio Perez will stay until the end of season, don't know after the end of the season.
Alpine has a new team pricipal, his name is Olivier Oakes and he will be the second youngest team principal in the history of the F1.

Following the Sergio Perez news, we have a new one for Riccardo.
He will stay in Visa Cash App until the end of the season, he was about to get promoted in RBR over Perez.

[Distraction]

we have some kinda of news.

Sergio Perez will stay until the end of season, don't know after the end of the season.
Alpine has a new team pricipal, his name is Olivier Oakes and he will be the second youngest team principal in the history of the F1.

Following the Sergio Perez news, we have a new one for Riccardo.
He will stay in Visa Cash App until the end of the season, he was about to get promoted in RBR over Perez.

Look at that. Red Bull is still insisting on keeping Perez. It is like announcing that they are okay with losing constructor championship as of now.    Because it looks very difficult for them to be champions even this year. I'm sad to see Perez in this condition truthfully. He wasn't driving this badly in the past. He has just lost his competitiveness, just as Ricciardo also has.



https://x.com/redbullracing/status/1818983239144423909

Another parting at Red Bull. They have lost their sporting director to Audi. Helmut Marko continues to love his important members one by one. As Red Bull is losing their dominance lately, I wonder how they will end up.

[coinlocket$]

Look at that. Red Bull is still insisting on keeping Perez.

Yeah they kept Perez.
It was a choice between him and Ricacrdo and they kept Sergio.
I really don't know why, maybe if they change driver it will go in the budget cap and they can't afford to lose money while McLean is so close to them?

Anyway Perez is until the end of the season, but we don't know yet, maybe nether they do who will race in 2025 as second driver.

[swogerino]

Look at that. Red Bull is still insisting on keeping Perez.

Yeah they kept Perez.
It was a choice between him and Ricacrdo and they kept Sergio.
I really don't know why, maybe if they change driver it will go in the budget cap and they can't afford to lose money while McLean is so close to them?

Anyway Perez is until the end of the season, but we don't know yet, maybe nether they do who will race in 2025 as second driver.

I don't think Riccardo has anything more to say in Formula 1 than he has already said and he has been in some of the best teams like Redbull,McLaren and Renault to name a few,if he couldn't do anything in such teams and at Redbull he even had a winning car for some time there yet he could not capitalize on that.As much as I don't agree with Perez staying at Redbull he still is a better choice compared to Riccardo as a driver overall,at least he has not gone down in low level teams like RB Visa team,he only has been in Force India and from there he has gone places by joining more stronger teams a road much different than Ricciardo.So far for this season Redbull is right.

[coinlocket$]

I don't think Riccardo has anything more to say in Formula 1 than he has already said and he has been in some of the best teams like Redbull,McLaren and Renault to name a few,if he couldn't do anything in such teams and at Redbull he even had a winning car for some time there yet he could not capitalize on that.As much as I don't agree with Perez staying at Redbull he still is a better choice compared to Riccardo as a driver overall,at least he has not gone down in low level teams like RB Visa team,he only has been in Force India and from there he has gone places by joining more stronger teams a road much different than Ricciardo.So far for this season Redbull is right.

Agree but Max wants a slow teammate.
So the question is easy for RBR is Riccardo better then Perez with lap time?
If yes then is an easy swap cause Riccardo also is a Max's friend and it is not easy to be a racing friend of Max. as you may know.

[retreat]

Yeah they kept Perez.
It was a choice between him and Ricacrdo and they kept Sergio.
I really don't know why, maybe if they change driver it will go in the budget cap and they can't afford to lose money while McLean is so close to them?

Anyway Perez is until the end of the season, but we don't know yet, maybe nether they do who will race in 2025 as second driver.

Becoming an F1 driver is not just about talent, or how someone's network is, or their wealth, but there are many other considerations that can be included, for example in the case of Checo, RB considered keeping him because they were worried that Red Bull's sales in Mexico could be disrupted and how Liberty Media lobbied for RB not to disrupt ticket sales for the Mexican GP, ​​since Checo's replacement could reduce the enthusiasm of Mexican citizens. Indeed, these are just issues, but it makes sense to see that RB is very tolerant of him, as if they were forced to keep him.

[Republikcoin.com]

In welcoming and celebrating the 75th anniversary of MotoGp this year, the teams in MotoGp currently have to use the old Livery which is quite legendary on every motorbike that will be used in the main race on Sunday. Because this week MotoGp is ​​held again at the Silverstone circuit located in England and soon I will also watch Practice for the MotoGp class with quite cool conditions like in FP1. And from so many legendary Livery, I saw the Honda team livery which is not so striking so it is very pleasing to the eye.

[coinlocket$]

2024 British MotoGP, Silverstone - Practice (2) Results
Pos   Rider   Nat   Team   Time/Diff   Lap   Max
1   Jorge Martin   SPA   Pramac Ducati (GP24)   1'57.911s   20/21   329k
2   Aleix Espargaro   SPA   Aprilia Racing (RS-GP24)   +0.045s   19/20   331k
3   Francesco Bagnaia   ITA   Ducati Lenovo (GP24)   +0.119s   17/18   331k
4   Enea Bastianini   ITA   Ducati Lenovo (GP24)   +0.279s   18/18   333k
5   Jack Miller   AUS   Red Bull KTM (RC16)   +0.349s   18/19   333k
6   Fabio Di Giannantonio   ITA   VR46 Ducati (GP23)   +0.407s   20/21   328k
7   Brad Binder   RSA   Red Bull KTM (RC16)   +0.475s   20/21   333k
8   Maverick Viñales   SPA   Aprilia Racing (RS-GP24)   +0.478s   19/20   331k
9   Marco Bezzecchi   ITA   VR46 Ducati (GP23)   +0.595s   18/18   332k
10   Marc Marquez   SPA   Gresini Ducati (GP23)   +0.674s   17/21   327k


Results of the day for Moto Gp.

Martin is ahaed for the day but not with a big gap.
Marquez kinda in difficulty but it is only the 1st day.

Source: https://www.crash.net/motogp/results/1052969/1/2024-british-motogp-silverstone-friday-practice-results

[Republikcoin.com]

After watching FP2, Q1 and Q2 it seems that Aprilia and Ducati will be equally strong on the Silverstone track in England in today's Sprint Race because Pecco Bagnaia who had broken Johan Zarco's time record which was set in 2022 in the Q2 session just now had to be satisfied with second place after Aleix Espargaro was able to record a much better time than Bagnaia. Meanwhile, Marquez himself still looks a little difficult since yesterday until today so he still has to follow other riders to be able to get a better time by utilizing his towing.

[Koal-84]

For tomorrow Bagnaia has an optimal starting position to make up points on Martin, I don't think Aprilia has a big chance against the Ducatis in Silverstone, Bagnaia needs a good start then he could reel off his programme at the front, but now the sprint begins.

[Republikcoin.com]

For tomorrow Bagnaia has an optimal starting position to make up points on Martin, I don't think Aprilia has a big chance against the Ducatis in Silverstone, Bagnaia needs a good start then he could reel off his programme at the front, but now the sprint begins.

Today's Sprint Race was very, very heart-pounding and Bagnaia is still the leader of the standings at this time even though he fell when he was in fourth position or more precisely when he was behind Aleix Espargaro. Likewise with Marquez who could not maintain his position when he was behind Aleix Espargaro because he also fell in the Sprint today, while Aleix Espargaro himself also could not maintain his leading position even though he was the pole position today.

And besides that I also have to congratulate Enea Bastianini who has successfully won the Sprint today and has managed to take third position in the standings by shifting Marquez to fourth position in the standings. I think there will be more surprises tomorrow if the circuit conditions are like today because Martin who was trying to take over the championship lead from Bagnaia was also unsuccessful today because he is still one point behind Bagnaia in the standings.

[panjul07]

For tomorrow Bagnaia has an optimal starting position to make up points on Martin, I don't think Aprilia has a big chance against the Ducatis in Silverstone, Bagnaia needs a good start then he could reel off his programme at the front, but now the sprint begins.

Too bad he crashed today on the Sprint Race which make him lose points to keep the gap with Martin.
Fortunately his teammate (Enea) was able to take the 1st position from Martin which make Pecco remain as the championship leader although with smaller point gap.
Bad luck for Marq as well as he also crashed while there are 2 laps remaining only.
Thumbs up for Enea who did the race really well today, seems that he wants to prove to Ducati that he is still a great rider who is actually deserve to stay at the Ducati Lenovo team.

[Distraction]

I have heard McLaren is planning to give priority to Norris during the rest of the season. Aren't they a little late for doing this? For example they could have done it easily in Hungary. But they didn't care about Norris at all.    McLaren shouldn't be selfish by thinking about only the constructor championship. Norris wouldn't be comfortable with that.

Maybe they don't have a hierarchy between their drivers normally. But when there is such situation, they should be thoughtful. I would say the same thing if Piastri was in Norris' place in the driver standings also of course.

[coinlocket$]

Turns out that Carlos Sainz had declined Audi proposal after all.
Andrea Stella who is now the team principal of Mclearen signed a multy year contact extension.
The team now will have a very solid base with long contract for the team principal, and for both the drivers Lando Norris and Oscar Piastri.

Zak Brown did a very good move securing the continuation of this dream.

[Koal-84]

I have heard McLaren is planning to give priority to Norris during the rest of the season. Aren't they a little late for doing this? For example they could have done it easily in Hungary. But they didn't care about Norris at all.    McLaren shouldn't be selfish by thinking about only the constructor championship. Norris wouldn't be comfortable with that.

Why is McLaren so stupid now after the stable order? They gave away points there, they would have got the same number of points in the constructors' championship even if Norris had won, so I didn't understand the radio message, "Lando you can't win the championship on your own and let him pass", what was that all about there and now?

[wiss19]

Well, it looks like Newey is leaving, Perez most definitely will leave, they lost Wheatley now, and their car is not dominant at all. All of these combined tells me that next year will be a very very difficult year for them, not going to be easy to manage a team that has this many missing pieces. During the season they need to start looking for members who will join and be great part of it next season.

Also let's remember that Horner had some legal issues as well, mostly mobbing so not a big deal but still an issue and that made things a little harder for them to focus on the team.

In the end, we are talking about not an easy situation for Red Bull coming up and if they have a terrible season next year, Max may want to leave. After all he has a window to reach 7, and if leaves Red Bull and joins a better team, like for example Mclaren right now, then he would have a bigger chance to win. A new car takes time to adjust, but that dude is  a beast.

[alegotardo]

I have heard McLaren is planning to give priority to Norris during the rest of the season. Aren't they a little late for doing this? For example they could have done it easily in Hungary. But they didn't care about Norris at all.    McLaren shouldn't be selfish by thinking about only the constructor championship. Norris wouldn't be comfortable with that.

In fact, McLaren is fighting hard for the Constructors' World Championship, reducing Red Bull's advantage at each stage... they have already reduced 47 points in the last four races in the 2024 Formula 1 season. However, this does not mean that the team's priority will be the score in this classification as I believe that Zak Brown also dreams of the drivers' title.

The fact is that after 14 stages McLaren has 366 points against 408 for Red Bull, it is still high but this difference has plummeted in the last few races.
So, while Max Verstappen continues to complete the tests in the first places, Sérgio Pérez is not following the good results of the Dutchman and with this Lando Norris and Oscar Piastri are deducting good points, so much so that they have already surpassed the Ferrari that had started the year in second place.

So... whether I like it or not, I also believe that the priority should be the Constructors' World Championship, which at the moment is very favorable.