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

[Juggy777]

I've just read that Latifi has been receiving death threats after the Abu Dhabi debacle. This is depressing, and yet utterly inevitable. Do people really think he did it on purpose? If not, then why attack? I can understand them being angry and casting around for someone to blame, and whilst it's totally unacceptable to make death threats to anyone, I don't understand why they're targeting Latifi, and not Masi, who orchestrated the whole thing.

I think I read an article stating that getting Russel to Mercedes was a form of a risk on their part. Instead of being a wingman to Hamilton, Russel might actually compete against Hamilton in the next season. I just really hope that it does not become Nico Rosberg part 2 where their friendship got ruined by being too competitive on the scene.

I don't think that will happen, at least certainly not initally. Put Russell and Hamilton in the same car, and Hamilton will win every time. But Russell is still young, and can improve. There's only one person on the grid at the moment who could compete with Hamilton in the same car... Verstappen. But I'd still say Hamilton is ahead on consistency, tyre-management, and big-picture thinking (i.e. back out when needed in order to secure second place, instead of making kamikaze lunges that can result in 0 points). But Lewis and Max are a long way ahead of everyone else. As for best of the rest, who knows? But it would be good to see Alonso in a competitive car again.

@Cnut237 that’s very sad indeed and fans should understand that’s it’s not right to attack anyone this way, and hopefully these are all empty threats because we have seen enough controversy this season and need no more controversy around F1 for now. Also I doubt that Mercedes will allow Russel to overtake Hamilton, and in my personal opinion they’ll favour Hamilton each time so we can definitely rule this out from happening.

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[tokeweed]

^ ^  I didn’t know F1 fans could be as dumb as football supporters.  With football supporters we know there’s some tribalism and hooliganism involved, so some dumb shit is expected.  But F1?  Lol.

Anyway here’s a good read about end of season driver ratings.  I think even if Verstappen didn’t win the driver’s championship, he’d still be considered more deserving.  Wtg Max.

https://www.crash.net/f1/feature/994877/1/verstappen-clear-f1-s-star-performer-end-season-driver-ratings

[savetheFORUM]

I'm also looking forward to the new season, and hope that Ferrari can finally get back to the top. Since almost the entire year was only developed on the car for 2022, the expectations are high. Mercedes and RedBull will be on a par with each other, at least that's how I personally expect it. We'll know more in a few months, I don't really trust the winter tests.

The serious problem for top teams is that they had an engine that worked well with the car they were given, now that the car is changing there are so many things changing with it, the design of the car will be very different and even tires will be growing to 18' as well. This means that sure having a powerful engine means you could still be at a big advantage and that means Mercedes and RBR will definitely be fighting for the top spot, there is no denying that.

But, it also means that if any other team handles the new aerodynamics better and uses the engine they have a lot more efficiently, they could definitely take on top teams with a much worse engine just because they handled other parts well. It is not a guarantee, and 90%+ chance we get to similar rankings with teams, but at least it will be a chance given to mid table teams to have a bit more chance.

This wasn't done to drop Mercedes or RBR to a lower level, it was done to put Ferrari and Mclaren closer to top, and for alpha tauri, alpine, aston martin and so forth to higher points and finally having a chance to win some races.

[Jackl87]

I've just read that Latifi has been receiving death threats after the Abu Dhabi debacle. This is depressing, and yet utterly inevitable. Do people really think he did it on purpose? If not, then why attack? I can understand them being angry and casting around for someone to blame, and whilst it's totally unacceptable to make death threats to anyone, I don't understand why they're targeting Latifi, and not Masi, who orchestrated the whole thing.

I think I read an article stating that getting Russel to Mercedes was a form of a risk on their part. Instead of being a wingman to Hamilton, Russel might actually compete against Hamilton in the next season. I just really hope that it does not become Nico Rosberg part 2 where their friendship got ruined by being too competitive on the scene.

I don't think that will happen, at least certainly not initally. Put Russell and Hamilton in the same car, and Hamilton will win every time. But Russell is still young, and can improve. There's only one person on the grid at the moment who could compete with Hamilton in the same car... Verstappen. But I'd still say Hamilton is ahead on consistency, tyre-management, and big-picture thinking (i.e. back out when needed in order to secure second place, instead of making kamikaze lunges that can result in 0 points). But Lewis and Max are a long way ahead of everyone else. As for best of the rest, who knows? But it would be good to see Alonso in a competitive car again.

It is very sad that Latifi has to go through stuff like that now but honestly it is not really that surprising to me. I would guess that there are thousands of hardcore Hamilton and/or Mercedes fans around the world that were completely shocked and angry that hamilton lost his 8th chamionship title in the very last round of the very last grand prix. From those thousands of hardcore fans you always have a few people that are crazy and going way to far with their loyalty. I don't really think though that Latifi is really in danger or something like that. I think that this were probably just some drunk dude that posted weird stuff.

[DatKing]

It is really good to hear that Lewis Hamilton has decided not to retire now. He has an incomplete job to do about his 8th title and breaking a brand new record once more. And I don't expect him to quit F1 until making it to his goal. By the way, I'm really sorry to hear that Latifi receives death threats these days. And it was really nice to see that Mercedes and Red Bull teams stated that they were backing him up about this.

[coinlocket$]

Small information, nothing big and predictable.

Ferrari has released an interview in which they state that:

Next year they will not have a first and a second driver, and LeClerc and Sainz will start on equal terms and it will be the track that will decide who will be the captain of the team.

(which is however different in Redbull and Mercedes where they clearly have the two fixed captains)

[Cnut237]

Small information, nothing big and predictable.

Ferrari has released an interview in which they state that:

Next year they will not have a first and a second driver, and LeClerc and Sainz will start on equal terms and it will be the track that will decide who will be the captain of the team.

(which is however different in Redbull and Mercedes where they clearly have the two fixed captains)

I think if your team is in a contest with another team for the championship, as it was with Red Bull and Mercedes this year, then you have to favour whichever of your drivers has the most points. It's only logical. And this is what Ferrari are saying, if LeClerc is fighting for the title, Sainz becomes #2, and the same the other way around. This is exactly how it should be for all teams. It might be difficult to imagine at Red Bull, Perez fighting for the title and Verstappen with lower points (and the same with Russell and Hamilton at Mercedes)... but in this circumstance the team would surely order Verstappen (or Hamilton) to let Perez (or Russell) through.

[swogerino]

Small information, nothing big and predictable.

Ferrari has released an interview in which they state that:

Next year they will not have a first and a second driver, and LeClerc and Sainz will start on equal terms and it will be the track that will decide who will be the captain of the team.

(which is however different in Redbull and Mercedes where they clearly have the two fixed captains)

Good move by Ferrari which was to blame for their team orders not that many years ago with Schumacher and Barrichello.It is good to let the track decide which driver will be given advantage,I think this is clearly understandable that will be the driver which will have more chances to win a race or the Championship.I think 2022 will be a good year for Ferrari and they maybe a team fighting for wins because they have developed this car since early 2021 so I expect this car to be very competitive.

[tokeweed]

Small information, nothing big and predictable.

Ferrari has released an interview in which they state that:

Next year they will not have a first and a second driver, and LeClerc and Sainz will start on equal terms and it will be the track that will decide who will be the captain of the team.

(which is however different in Redbull and Mercedes where they clearly have the two fixed captains)

Oof more pressure on Leclerc’s shoulders.  I think it’s because Sainz finihed the season with racking more points.  They prolly think putting the pressure on Leclerc would bring optimal performance.  I think Ferrari should just support him all the way. 

There were some talks swirling around that Ferrari was pressuring Vettel too, hence the mistakes during 2018 was it?

[coinlocket$]

Good move by Ferrari which was to blame for their team orders not that many years ago with Schumacher and Barrichello.It is good to let the track decide which driver will be given advantage,I think this is clearly understandable that will be the driver which will have more chances to win a race or the Championship.I think 2022 will be a good year for Ferrari and they maybe a team fighting for wins because they have developed this car since early 2021 so I expect this car to be very competitive.

Isn't the same thing Mercedes was doing with Bottas "let lewis pass" and Redbull with Perez.

Well I mean, you know it Perez is never ahead of Max anyway. 

[LTU_btc]

I've just read that Latifi has been receiving death threats after the Abu Dhabi debacle. This is depressing, and yet utterly inevitable. Do people really think he did it on purpose? If not, then why attack? I can understand them being angry and casting around for someone to blame, and whilst it's totally unacceptable to make death threats to anyone, I don't understand why they're targeting Latifi, and not Masi, who orchestrated the whole thing.

I wouldn't be surprised if Masi got death threats too. We just don't know about because he is less public person than Latifi.
I'm not very surprised about these things. Sport is emotions and some people get addicted so much that they common sense.

Small information, nothing big and predictable.

Ferrari has released an interview in which they state that:

Next year they will not have a first and a second driver, and LeClerc and Sainz will start on equal terms and it will be the track that will decide who will be the captain of the team.

(which is however different in Redbull and Mercedes where they clearly have the two fixed captains)

That's interesting stuff. If it will turn into reality, probably it will be 1st time in maybe 20 years when both Ferrari drivers will have equal rights. Fact that Sainz in his debut season in Ferrari outscored Leclerc helped him a lot.

[Cnut237]

There were some talks swirling around that Ferrari was pressuring Vettel too, hence the mistakes during 2018 was it?

That was the year that I realised Vettel isn't actually a very good driver. Ferrari had the best car and should have won the championship fairly easily... yet somehow it went to Mercedes. Vettel made mistake after mistake in race after race, throwing away a huge number of points. I think it puts his 4 titles into perspective a bit.

[swogerino]

Good move by Ferrari which was to blame for their team orders not that many years ago with Schumacher and Barrichello.It is good to let the track decide which driver will be given advantage,I think this is clearly understandable that will be the driver which will have more chances to win a race or the Championship.I think 2022 will be a good year for Ferrari and they maybe a team fighting for wins because they have developed this car since early 2021 so I expect this car to be very competitive.

Isn't the same thing Mercedes was doing with Bottas "let lewis pass" and Redbull with Perez.

Well I mean, you know it Perez is never ahead of Max anyway.  

What I meant is that Ferrari started that in those years in the Schumacher era while McLaren that were their main rival didn't gave any team orders as they were not allowed,Ferrari got a fine to pay for doing that with their drivers although it was not needed because they were the strongest team and didn't need team orders to make Schumacher world Champion.

Now I know this is common but my point was that Ferrari started doing it even when it was not allowed by the rules at that time,nevertheless I hope we see more competition this 2022 season with Mercedes,Redbull,Ferrari and McLaren all fighting for winning the race.That would be the best we can hope for.

[coinlocket$]

Bernie Ecclestone is rumored to have a phone call with Lewis Hamilton.

After this "call" Bernie released an interview and he said, "Lewis will not come back in F1".

For the ones who don't know Bernie, he is the ex-owner of F1.

[LTU_btc]

Bernie Ecclestone is rumored to have a phone call with Lewis Hamilton.

After this "call" Bernie released an interview and he said, "Lewis will not come back in F1".

For the ones who don't know Bernie, he is the ex-owner of F1.

It's not completely right. He had phone call with Lewis father and they didn't talked about Lewis future, it was just about business:
https://www.mirror.co.uk/sport/formula-1/lewis-hamilton-retirement-bernie-ecclestone-25780517
So, Bernie don't know any inside information what Lewis thinking and it's just his personal opinion. I think it's done to keep drama and interest high during offseason when nothing happens.

[sana54210]

There are two opinions about Lewis unfollowing everyone. One say that he did this because his team was still celebrating like crazy the night he lost, sure Mercedes won but lewis lost and for some reason he might be expecting a bit more solace about it, and he is considering retiring, or even maybe changing teams but he has contract so retirement could be possible.

The other side says he just wanted to get away from social media, focus on himself, work harder, and be a lot better next year, the older you get the harder it becomes and I am guessing that he may want to work extra hard and get that 8th title in 2022. I believe that it is hard work part, he was never liked by the drivers anyway, so this doesn't change much, he is going to be working real hard to get that title for sure, we may even see a very aggressive Hamilton coming next season.

[coinlocket$]

It's not completely right. He had phone call with Lewis father and they didn't talked about Lewis future, it was just about business:
https://www.mirror.co.uk/sport/formula-1/lewis-hamilton-retirement-bernie-ecclestone-25780517
So, Bernie don't know any inside information what Lewis thinking and it's just his personal opinion. I think it's done to keep drama and interest high during offseason when nothing happens.

Well you know, I must have read a clickbait.
You're right he said that "according to himself/he thinks" that Hamilton will not be coming back in F1, we will see but I doubt he will give up to 30m€ of his salary so easily.

[Koal-84]

Small information, nothing big and predictable.

Ferrari has released an interview in which they state that:

Next year they will not have a first and a second driver, and LeClerc and Sainz will start on equal terms and it will be the track that will decide who will be the captain of the team.

(which is however different in Redbull and Mercedes where they clearly have the two fixed captains)

I think that's very good and hope that it will be carried out in this way. The difference between Mercedes and RedBull is that both teams have a clearly superior driver, which is not the case with Ferrari, I think they are both on the same level.

I'm curious to see how Russel can hold his own against Hamilton next year, it won't be as easy for Hamilton as it was at Bottas.

[CLS63]

Small information, nothing big and predictable.

Ferrari has released an interview in which they state that:

Next year they will not have a first and a second driver, and LeClerc and Sainz will start on equal terms and it will be the track that will decide who will be the captain of the team.

(which is however different in Redbull and Mercedes where they clearly have the two fixed captains)

I believe that this is a good thinking of Ferrari. Because Leclerc and Sainz are both determined and ambitious drivers. They both want to do their best for the team. Moreover, none of them is clearly better than the other one. This makes the competition among them harder. At this point, I also think that it is the best to leave this to the drivers to determine who deserves to be the primary driver of Ferrari.

[coinlocket$]

The circuit of Spa is doing his restyle.

I hope they will not ruin the track...



https://twitter.com/24hSpaMotos/status/1469761597950283785

They are doing to get the license for endurance races.