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

[tokeweed]

Crazy race we got.
Heavy rain is always a good thing for the show.
Incredible on how Hulkenberg got his 1st podium after 15 years of F1.
Dumb move from Piastri, he had the win on his pocket but he did a dumb mistake.

Ferrari and Redbull were undriveable under the water.

Yeah was waiting and waiting for Hamilton to pass Hulkenberg but when it started to look like he couldn't do it.  I stopped watching and started doing something else.  Lol.  Just looking at crypto charts and looking for some good spots.    Way more entertaining for me than watching lately.  And scrolling CT too.  

I wonder if F1's fan base it still growing.  As it sometimes feels like all the drama in CT is more engaging than watching the races.

Here are the results...

2025 F1 British Grand Prix Race Results

1   Lando Norris   GBR   McLaren F1 Team   52 laps
2   Oscar Piastri   AUS   McLaren F1 Team   +6.812s
3   Nico Hulkenberg   GER   Stake F1 Team Kick Sauber   +34.742s
4   Lewis Hamilton   GBR   Scuderia Ferrari HP   +39.812s
5   Max Verstappen   NED   Oracle Red Bull Racing   +56.781s
6   Pierre Gasly   FRA   BWT Alpine F1 Team   +59.857s
7   Lance Stroll   CAN   Aston Martin Aramco F1 Team   +60.603s
8   Alex Albon   THA   Atlassian Williams Racing   +64.135s
9   Fernando Alonso   ESP   Aston Martin Aramco F1 Team   +65.858s
10   George Russell   GBR   Mercedes AMG Petronas F1 Team   +70.674s
11   Oliver Bearman   GBR   MoneyGram Haas F1 Team   +72.095s
12   Carlos Sainz   ESP   Atlassian Williams Racing   +76.592s
13   Esteban Ocon   FRA   MoneyGram Haas F1 Team   +77.301s
14   Charles Leclerc   MON   Scuderia Ferrari HP   +84.477s
15   Yuki Tsunoda   JPN   Oracle Red Bull Racing   +1 lap
DNF   Kimi Antonelli   ITA   Mercedes AMG Petronas F1 Team   25 laps
DNF   Isack Hadjar   FRA   Visa Cash App Racing Bulls F1 Team   18 laps
DNF   Gabriel Bortoleto   BRA   Stake F1 Team Kick Sauber   5 laps
DNF   Liam Lawson   NZL   Visa Cash App Racing Bulls F1 Team   0 laps
DNS   Franco Colapinto   ARG   BWT Alpine F1 Team   0 laps

[Distraction]

The greatest race ever! 

After the last pits something happened at one point and Hamilton lost more time around 1.5 seconds. While he was gaining on Hulkenberg... Maybe he made a mistake I don't know because they didn't show what happened. 

Ferrari managed to be disappointing. Why am I not surprised? What was the point of gambling with Leclerc's race? Didn't Ferrari know there was going to be rain pouring down? Because Aston Martin told Alonso about it before the start of the race.

The same mistake made by Mercedes also...

[Volgastallion]

Big congratulations to Hulkenberg, im very happy for him, he really deserves this podium.

Finally we have a fun race, it was super strange with tons of changing dinamics thanks to the rain and the pit stops.

Ferrari? Like the guy above me said, somehow they manage to not do anything at all, and when they have all to at least have a podium they failed, incredible.

[FanEagle]

Crazy race we got.
Heavy rain is always a good thing for the show.
Incredible on how Hulkenberg got his 1st podium after 15 years of F1.
Dumb move from Piastri, he had the win on his pocket but he did a dumb mistake.

Ferrari and Redbull were undriveable under the water.

Exactly! I'm so thankful for the rain. The race was amazing. By the way the interesting thing was that teams didn't want to use wet tyres instead of intermediates even in these conditions. Why are they buying the tyres then? 

Norris got a big opportunity after the penalty Piastri took and he used it well for a home win... Hulkenberg was the man of the hour really.    It took him 239 races to get his first podium. Such an emotional moment for him...

Probably even more important than the rain, I am super excited and happy that they did not ended up putting a hold on the race because of the rain. We have seen FIA end up cancelling races, or basically just make them run with SC and all that, we all remember times when they just blocked a proper racing.

Thankfully, they went back to good old days and let the people race, and nothing major happened thankfully. I missed these rainy races, we haven't had one in a long time, and thanks to that, we had some unexpected results. Hulkenberg on podium for the first time would have never happened if it wasn't for the rain. And strategies change the result so much, like when to put on slicks was a big question, Russel had to thumble down so much because of it. Everything becomes so great with unexpected results.

[coinlocket$]

Exactly! I'm so thankful for the rain. The race was amazing. By the way the interesting thing was that teams didn't want to use wet tyres instead of intermediates even in these conditions. Why are they buying the tyres then? 

Norris got a big opportunity after the penalty Piastri took and he used it well for a home win... Hulkenberg was the man of the hour really.    It took him 239 races to get his first podium. Such an emotional moment for him...

Wet tyres can't be used.
Not because they are not an hazard but because they spray too much water and following drivers can't see.

They need to invent something like a fender or these tyres will be probably not used anymore in fast tracks.

[tokeweed]

Next race is in three weeks and it's gonna be in one of the best tracks in F1...  At Spa, Belgium!  This is an interesting spot from a betting perspective as the winningest drivers here are Verstappen and Hamilton.  Verstappen won at Spa in 2021, 2022 and 2023 while Hamilton won it in 2015, 2017, 2020 and 2024.  Will these wins matter or will we see either of the McLaren drivers win it because they have the best car?

While I wanna say it's the latter, my gut feeling says this is gonna be tricky.  Red Bull showed that they can snag pole when everyone least expects it.  And Ferrari seems like it's improving.

[coinlocket$]

Next race is in three weeks and it's gonna be in one of the best tracks in F1...  At Spa, Belgium!  This is an interesting spot from a betting perspective as the winningest drivers here are Verstappen and Hamilton.  Verstappen won at Spa in 2021, 2022 and 2023 while Hamilton won it in 2015, 2017, 2020 and 2024.  Will these wins matter or will we see either of the McLaren drivers win it because they have the best car?

While I wanna say it's the latter, my gut feeling says this is gonna be tricky.  Red Bull showed that they can snag pole when everyone least expects it.  And Ferrari seems like it's improving.

Is this the summer break for f1 or it will come in August?
As you may know if it the "official" summer break teams are not allowed to touch or deploy new upgrades.

I'm asking cause it is usually in August, and it is weird that we have 3 weeks break in July.

[Velvet78]

Wet tyres can't be used.
Not because they are not an hazard but because they spray too much water and following drivers can't see.

They need to invent something like a fender or these tyres will be probably not used anymore in fast tracks.

Yeah then they should do something about it or no point in having them at the back. They say teams are using those tyres for test purposes but I don't know whether it is worth it anyway...


Now like you said there is a long break. I don't think this is the break in which upgrades aren't allowed. Because I read Ferrari bringing some improvements to gain a significant speed at Spa. 

Even if Verstappen gets a pole again I don't expect him to secure the win. His car is just so slow in race pace compared to McLaren...

[retreat]

Wet tyres can't be used.
Not because they are not an hazard but because they spray too much water and following drivers can't see.

They need to invent something like a fender or these tyres will be probably not used anymore in fast tracks.

They need a real solution for that, because current wet tires face quite complex problems. Indeed, the idea of ​​rain wheel cover to reduce water spray was proposed and several teams have tested it, but the idea was rejected by the FIA ​​for safety reasons and the rain wheel cover was not effective enough to reduce spray significantly. Another reason is the big aerodynamic problem, which affects the balance of the car and performance. So with these considerations the project was stopped. However, the FIA ​​must find another solution to this problem because in extreme conditions the visibility of the drivers is very bad, maybe redesign the tires and redesign the floor & diffuser.

[coinlocket$]

They need a real solution for that, because current wet tires face quite complex problems. Indeed, the idea of ​​rain wheel cover to reduce water spray was proposed and several teams have tested it, but the idea was rejected by the FIA ​​for safety reasons and the rain wheel cover was not effective enough to reduce spray significantly. Another reason is the big aerodynamic problem, which affects the balance of the car and performance. So with these considerations the project was stopped. However, the FIA ​​must find another solution to this problem because in extreme conditions the visibility of the drivers is very bad, maybe redesign the tires and redesign the floor & diffuser.

Yep.
The only solution is to cover the tyres since fender has been rejected.
But again covering the tyres is against the nature of "formula1".

As you said is also an aerodynamic advantage covering they tyres.
Tyres are actually the biggest enemy for engineering since they make the air dirty around the car and wings has the job to deflate the air around tyres.

Now if they cover the tyres the air around them will be cleaner and a revolution of wings stats consequentially...

[LTU_btc]

Yep.
The only solution is to cover the tyres since fender has been rejected.
But again covering the tyres is against the nature of "formula1".

As you said is also an aerodynamic advantage covering they tyres.
Tyres are actually the biggest enemy for engineering since they make the air dirty around the car and wings has the job to deflate the air around tyres.

Now if they cover the tyres the air around them will be cleaner and a revolution of wings stats consequentially...

Currently full wet tyres is useless thing. If we have conditions for wet tyres, usually it means that we will have red flag. There is too much water on track and too bad visibility.
But we shouldn't be expecting for big changes. On TV broadcast our local commentator that Pirelli is working on new wet tyres. But it should be closer to current intermediate than current wet tyres.

[Velvet78]

Breaking news! Horner has officially left Red Bull...



Laurent Mekies is the new CEO of Red Bull team now. Honestly I'm not surprised with Horner's departure. He has already been rumoured with leaving. But I thought maybe it wouldn't happen before the end of the season. 

Now I have a stronger feeling like Verstappen will join Mercedes from the beginning of next season. There is already a so-called offer by Mercedes around 100 million euros for him now.

[tokeweed]

^  If Horner goes to Ferrari to be their team principal, I'm gonna root for them until Hamilton wins his next world driver's championship.    It's you and me coinlocket$. 

Next race is in three weeks and it's gonna be in one of the best tracks in F1...  At Spa, Belgium!  This is an interesting spot from a betting perspective as the winningest drivers here are Verstappen and Hamilton.  Verstappen won at Spa in 2021, 2022 and 2023 while Hamilton won it in 2015, 2017, 2020 and 2024.  Will these wins matter or will we see either of the McLaren drivers win it because they have the best car?

While I wanna say it's the latter, my gut feeling says this is gonna be tricky.  Red Bull showed that they can snag pole when everyone least expects it.  And Ferrari seems like it's improving.

Is this the summer break for f1 or it will come in August?
As you may know if it the "official" summer break teams are not allowed to touch or deploy new upgrades.

I'm asking cause it is usually in August, and it is weird that we have 3 weeks break in July.

Yeah it looks like there's gonna be a couple of long breaks in the summer this season for both July and August.  They surely need it given the more hectic schedule in F1 as of late.  We've been seeing more weekly races than in the past as before every race was almost always every couple of weeks.

[Distraction]

This was supposed to happen much earlier in fact.    When Horner's name was called with really bad things... I don't know why they made this decision in the middle of the season instead of a more proper time.

Maybe they don't care because of realizing this season will end up horribly for them. Now what? Horner at Ferrari will really happen? Apart from that I've no doubt left for Max to join Mercedes also. Red Bull is finished - at least for now.

[LTU_btc]

Breaking news! Horner has officially left Red Bull...



Laurent Mekies is the new CEO of Red Bull team now. Honestly I'm not surprised with Horner's departure. He has already been rumoured with leaving. But I thought maybe it wouldn't happen before the end of the season. 

Now I have a stronger feeling like Verstappen will join Mercedes from the beginning of next season. There is already a so-called offer by Mercedes around 100 million euros for him now.

Or sacking Horner could be desperate attempt to keep Max in team. There is two versions of this decision. But now Red Bull looks like falling house of cards. Loosing key staff like Newey, or Wheatley, they're very likely to lose Verstappen andnow they sacked someone who in 20 years built team basically from zero to dominating force in F1

Yeah it looks like there's gonna be a couple of long breaks in the summer this season for both July and August.  They surely need it given the more hectic schedule in F1 as of late.  We've been seeing more weekly races than in the past as before every race was almost always every couple of weeks.

Personally I don't like such schedule. Yeah, it's cool to have double or triple headers, but then having 3 or 4 weeks break between races is too much for me.

[coinlocket$]

Or sacking Horner could be desperate attempt to keep Max in team.

Yeah I also think that is the last attempt for them.
Remember 2 weeks ago we had rumors about Vettel returntin in RBR as manager and Horner contacts with Ferrari

And a possible sack for Frédéric Vasseur.
An now until the end of the season we will hear about Horner contacts with Ferrari.

[Volgastallion]

Or sacking Horner could be desperate attempt to keep Max in team.

Yeah I also think that is the last attempt for them.
Remember 2 weeks ago we had rumors about Vettel returntin in RBR as manager and Horner contacts with Ferrari

And a possible sack for Frédéric Vasseur.
An now until the end of the season we will hear about Horner contacts with Ferrari.

That can be true, the problem is, "can be", what if Max goes to another team anyways? They destroy 20 years of building for nothing?

I believe like they are playing with fire, is not easy to have good top workers like Newey and Horner, look at Ferrari they never find a solution for this spots.

I dont want to be dramatic but this dont look good at all for RB.

[retreat]

Laurent Mekies is the new CEO of Red Bull team now. Honestly I'm not surprised with Horner's departure. He has already been rumoured with leaving. But I thought maybe it wouldn't happen before the end of the season. 

Now I have a stronger feeling like Verstappen will join Mercedes from the beginning of next season. There is already a so-called offer by Mercedes around 100 million euros for him now.

Even though rumors that he will leave Red Bull have been very strong lately, it is still a shame that Red Bull's decision to release Christian Horner in the middle of this season, because he is one of the important figures who built Red Bull to where it is today. But perhaps in this case Red Bull has its own considerations, especially since the internal situation of Red Bull is not so good, after the decline in team performance and power conflicts within the structure, and that made stakeholders fire him and support the appointment of Laurent Mekies as the new CEO. Even though this is a very sudden restructuring, I don't think it will be able to solve Red Bull's internal problems, and maybe this will be a new chapter for Red Bull, whether they become a stronger team, or they become a mid-table team.

[tokeweed]

Or sacking Horner could be desperate attempt to keep Max in team.

Yeah I also think that is the last attempt for them.
Remember 2 weeks ago we had rumors about Vettel returntin in RBR as manager and Horner contacts with Ferrari

And a possible sack for Frédéric Vasseur.
An now until the end of the season we will hear about Horner contacts with Ferrari.

I mean it's possible that RBR's move in giving Horner the sack was a desperate attempt in keeping Verstappen, but really if Red Bull can't design a fast car, they'll lose Verstappen anyway...

But deep in my heart of hearts, this is what I want...  Verstappen to Mercedes and Horner to Ferrari.  Lolol.  This meme gets me. 

[coinlocket$]

That can be true, the problem is, "can be", what if Max goes to another team anyways? They destroy 20 years of building for nothing?

I believe like they are playing with fire, is not easy to have good top workers like Newey and Horner, look at Ferrari they never find a solution for this spots.

I dont want to be dramatic but this dont look good at all for RB.

yes it can be destroyed.
F1 is a cycle.

20-25 years ago we got Ferrari and Williams dominating the game, now they can't fight for the title.
It can be for Redbull.

Having a bad team performance for a decade, if it will happen, is pretty normal in F1.
Surpisingly Ferrari even if had not won titles, got pretty consistent in the past 20 years.


Look at Mclarens they had nothing for over 15 years, the past years were almost last in the grid with Alonso now they are dominating.

The cycle continues.