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

[Distraction]

Mercedes extended contract with Russel and Antonelli for 2026:
https://www.formula1.com/en/latest/article/russell-and-antonelli-confirmed-as-2026-mercedes-line-up.1vrWrdgEflkIwPgaybBEDj
Nothing unexpected, we been waiting it for a while. But Russel didn't got what he wanted ascontract was extended just for 1 season.
So, now there is one seat at Red Bull, two at Racing Bulls and one at Alpine.

Nice to hear that! I'm glad for especially Russell. Because he is one of the most talented drivers on the grid.

Of course he has the biggest role in Mercedes' being in 2nd position now. He has collected ~73% of team points so far. 




Now the US Grand Prix is up next! Leclerc is the last winner here. But I think Ferrari needs to get very lucky to obtain a win again... Verstappen is still fast. I think he'll make serious difficulties for McLarens. A pole position is what I expect at least.

[retreat]

-snip-
So, now there is one seat at Red Bull, two at Racing Bulls and one at Alpine.

Hadjar will most likely fill Red Bull's second seat, while for Racing Bull, Red Bull junior driver Arvid Lindblad will fill one of the seats, so only one seat is available, and it will likely be a fight between Tsunoda or Liam. And for the Alpine seat, the fight is still on, with Colapinto and Alpine junior Paul Aron believed to be the two contenders. It all depends on Briatore's decision as to which driver he prefers, but it's highly likely that Colapinto won't be with Alpine again.

[tokeweed]

^  Yeah and it wouldn't be too surprising if he starts underperforming in a Red Bull car...  We've seen it again and again all throughout the years since Ricciardo left the team.  Lol.

Anyway, been hearing things that Horner is back in play to become Ferrari's team principal.    They're gonna get rid of Vasseur who just signed a new contract.

Poor Leclerc as I'm pretty sure Horner wants to make history with Hamilton.  So he's prioritizing Hamilton to win a driver's championship more than Leclerc. 

[Distraction]

Hadjar is making the biggest mistake of his life. He shouldn't have accepted Red Bull's offer. What was he thinking in the first place? Doesn't he follow what's going on at that team these days?

Verstappen is at the centre for Red Bull. He is the main focus. Hadjar won't be given a proper car just like Tsunoda hasn't been. He can easily collect more points at Racing Bulls just like he is doing this year.

[retreat]

^  Yeah and it wouldn't be too surprising if he starts underperforming in a Red Bull car...  We've seen it again and again all throughout the years since Ricciardo left the team.  Lol.

Anyway, been hearing things that Horner is back in play to become Ferrari's team principal.    They're gonna get rid of Vasseur who just signed a new contract.

Poor Leclerc as I'm pretty sure Horner wants to make history with Hamilton.  So he's prioritizing Hamilton to win a driver's championship more than Leclerc. 

This rumor arose because it was alleged that John Elkann was more interested in seeing Horner's resume and felt that he was more suitable to lead Ferrari to restore their glory days - he didn't care about the fate of the driver and the people who were suitable for Vasseur, what he cared about was how Ferrari's stock was currently being affected by their unsatisfactory performance in Formula 1 and the failure of their electric car. But this is just a rumor, since Horner's arrival at Ferrari could possibly trigger turmoil in the team, and there could be a major overhaul, and it is not impossible that Charles, and several others will leave because of it. There's too much they have to sacrifice, and I don't think it's worth it to bring Horner into the team, but let your key people go.

[Velvet78]

^  Yeah and it wouldn't be too surprising if he starts underperforming in a Red Bull car...  We've seen it again and again all throughout the years since Ricciardo left the team.  Lol.

Yeah the last time Red Bull cared about both of their drivers was when Ricciardo drove for them.    Since then their strategy has completely changed. Honestly this is really bad for the team as they can't win any constructors title anymore...


United States and a night race for my timezone... There is only one practice session when there is a sprint race. This makes it more difficult to predict the driver on pole position.

But 3.20 for Verstappen seems nice. Him and Norris are given the same chance for pole by bookmakers and Piastri follows with 3.50.

[tokeweed]

^  Yeah, 3.20 for Verstappen looks decent before the practice sessions as it could only go down from there.

^  Yeah and it wouldn't be too surprising if he starts underperforming in a Red Bull car...  We've seen it again and again all throughout the years since Ricciardo left the team.  Lol.

Anyway, been hearing things that Horner is back in play to become Ferrari's team principal.    They're gonna get rid of Vasseur who just signed a new contract.

Poor Leclerc as I'm pretty sure Horner wants to make history with Hamilton.  So he's prioritizing Hamilton to win a driver's championship more than Leclerc. 

This rumor arose because it was alleged that John Elkann was more interested in seeing Horner's resume and felt that he was more suitable to lead Ferrari to restore their glory days - he didn't care about the fate of the driver and the people who were suitable for Vasseur, what he cared about was how Ferrari's stock was currently being affected by their unsatisfactory performance in Formula 1 and the failure of their electric car. But this is just a rumor, since Horner's arrival at Ferrari could possibly trigger turmoil in the team, and there could be a major overhaul, and it is not impossible that Charles, and several others will leave because of it. There's too much they have to sacrifice, and I don't think it's worth it to bring Horner into the team, but let your key people go.

Yup.  They're prolly getting desperate as their investment in Hamilton isn't paying any dividends if the team isn't winning races.  And there's only one thing they need to make it happen...  Hire a good team principal. 

Well maybe two things...  Hire a good CTO to complement the team principal.  Is Bono available?    It would be good for both the team and Hamilton to have him around.

[Republikcoin.com]

Marco Bezzecchi will serve a Long Lap Penalty in Sunday's race at the Australian MotoGP, but in today's Practice session he again recorded his best time by being in first place although he still has to work hard tomorrow in qualifying. In addition, the Yamaha duo also entered Q2 through today's Practice session and hopefully both can still improve in qualifying tomorrow to be in a better position on the Sprint and Race grid. And for this weekend's race there are three new riders who will not be able to appear for the race and Sprint as usual, namely Viñales, Martin and Marquez because all three are still injured.

[LTU_btc]

Hadjar will most likely fill Red Bull's second seat, while for Racing Bull, Red Bull junior driver Arvid Lindblad will fill one of the seats, so only one seat is available, and it will likely be a fight between Tsunoda or Liam. And for the Alpine seat, the fight is still on, with Colapinto and Alpine junior Paul Aron believed to be the two contenders. It all depends on Briatore's decision as to which driver he prefers, but it's highly likely that Colapinto won't be with Alpine again.

If Colapinto will get seat for next season, I will be surprised. I know that he is backed by sponsors, but the way how he is perfroming, he didn't earned seat for next season. Between Tsunoda and Lawson in Racing Bulls, it's difficultto ansdwer what I would prefer and who would be better option.

^  Yeah and it wouldn't be too surprising if he starts underperforming in a Red Bull car...  We've seen it again and again all throughout the years since Ricciardo left the team.  Lol.

Wouldn't be surprising? It's actually written in the stars. If he will start perfroming like Red Bull want, that would bevery unexpected. Knowing Red Bull history, we probably already know what will happen. But nobody didn't said no when Red Bull called them.

[Republikcoin.com]

Today's Australian MotoGP qualifying was quite intense, with Fabio Quartararo taking first place after posting a time of 1:26.465 seconds, followed by Marco Bezzecchi with a time of 1:26.496 seconds. This was truly an extraordinary time because the gap was very close, so the potential for an exciting Sprint race today could have happened for both riders, and home rider Jack Miller was also able to finish in third place on the grid for this week's race. The weather was quite good, and I really hope the Aprilia and Yamaha manufacturers can compete fiercely at the front until the end of the lap.

[retreat]

Nico's Kick Sauber, beating the Ferrari duo, was another rather phenomenal performance in sprint qualifying. He managed to set the fastest time in Q3, before being overtaken by Max and Norris. However, he still managed to secure P4 in this qualifying session, which was quite impressive.

And again, Max secured pole position in qualifying for the Austin GP sprint race. This was his third consecutive pole position. And despite strong winds, extreme heat, and changes in elevation around the track, Max once again demonstrated maximum performance from his car under challenging conditions - and even beat Lando and Piastri.

Here are the complete results of qualifying for the Austin GP sprint race:

[Republikcoin.com]

What's wrong with Ducati?
I thought Alex Marquez would be on the podium in this sprint, but he eventually started to look weak as he was harassed by Jack Miller and Pedro Acosta. Meanwhile, Raul Fernandez and Marco Bezzecchi quickly stabilized and shot to the front. Although Bezzecchi went wide after hitting a seagull, he managed to regain the pressure on Raul Fernandez, who had been leading the sprint from the first lap. For tomorrow's race, I hope Bezzecchi has no trouble finding a better position, as he will be serving a long lap penalty in tomorrow's race.

[Velvet78]

Nico's Kick Sauber, beating the Ferrari duo, was another rather phenomenal performance in sprint qualifying. He managed to set the fastest time in Q3, before being overtaken by Max and Norris. However, he still managed to secure P4 in this qualifying session, which was quite impressive.

And again, Max secured pole position in qualifying for the Austin GP sprint race. This was his third consecutive pole position. And despite strong winds, extreme heat, and changes in elevation around the track, Max once again demonstrated maximum performance from his car under challenging conditions - and even beat Lando and Piastri.

While Bortoleto was in a really bad shape, Hulkenberg shined indeed! In FP1 and sprint qualifying both actually. And it is really sad to see Ferrari struggling this much. They even have problems on dealing with Williams...

Congratulations to Verstappen! Top work again. I think he will win the sprint race too. I'm still expecting a pole position from him in qualifying tonight. When it comes to Piastri, he still seems lost. Norris is better so far.

[tokeweed]

^  Yeah and it wouldn't be too surprising if he starts underperforming in a Red Bull car...  We've seen it again and again all throughout the years since Ricciardo left the team.  Lol.

Wouldn't be surprising? It's actually written in the stars. If he will start perfroming like Red Bull want, that would bevery unexpected. Knowing Red Bull history, we probably already know what will happen. But nobody didn't said no when Red Bull called them.

Meh..  Won't exactly call it as 'written in the stars' like not giving the guy a chance.  There's some chance that he's gonna be a better driver no. 2 now that Horner won't be around next year.  But we'll see.

Anyway, what do you guys think of the driver's championship?  Just thought of a nice hedged bet with Norris at 3.25 and Piastri at 1.50.    I bet 100 bucks for Norris to win 225 USD and I hedge that bet with Piastri by betting on him for 200 to win 100. 

[Webetcoins]

Kick wasn't really expected to be this high, but also when it comes to racing they do not have the car to mean anything at all. When it comes to just one good lap, they can do it and that is why they are great when it comes to Saturday's (in this case Friday) but when it comes to Sunday racing, they do not have what it takes to take it to finish line and that is what causing this trouble. If they end up with some trouble then we are going to see them not be this great so we should try toa void this as much as we can.

Betting on him to be on podium is lunatics, and betting on him being in top 10 doesn't pay much and not existing as a bet in many places. Max could be a good bet, place him in podium and you are going to 99% be right unless he has a crash or something.

[Distraction]

It was a really interesting sprint race.    Norris and Piastri had an unfortunate accident. I say Piastri pushed his luck too much. He should have stayed outside instead of diving inside. It led him to crash into Hulkenberg and Norris right after...

Now I wonder if McLaren engineers will manage to repair Norris' car especially until qualifying. He took the biggest damage there. I think this incident helps Verstappen get more ahead of them in qualifying session. I think he will take pole position.

[Republikcoin.com]

Fantastic for Raul Fernandez, who secured his first MotoGP victory at the Australian circuit today. I also applaud Marco Bezzecchi, who briefly led the race a few laps after the start. Despite serving a long lap penalty in today's race, he still managed to secure a third-place podium finish. It was truly a remarkable moment, and I think Aprilia is progressing in the right direction for the rest of the season. I hope Aprilia continues to improve next season to compete with Ducati and KTM.

[tokeweed]

So what are the chances of Verstappen winning the driver's championship if he get to win this race..?  Mathematically of course. 

I'm feeling like Piastri could lose points from here on out and Norris and Verstappen are there to pick up those points.  Is there still a possibility that Verstappen steals the show or is there driver's championship already a lock for either McLaren drivers?

[retreat]

So what are the chances of Verstappen winning the driver's championship if he get to win this race..?  Mathematically of course. 

I'm feeling like Piastri could lose points from here on out and Norris and Verstappen are there to pick up those points.  Is there still a possibility that Verstappen steals the show or is there driver's championship already a lock for either McLaren drivers?

Max is likely to be a threat to Norris and Piastri. If he can consistently win races, it's very possible for him to win the drivers' championship - his points difference with Piastri is only 55 points at the moment, and mathematically that gap can be closed if Max keeps performing, and Norris and Piastri continue to make mistakes like they did in yesterday's sprint race when they lost points due to colliding with each other. For now, Max still has a chance to win the drivers' championship, although it's not very high but in every race he keeps surprising and putting pressure on McLaren, And this is what makes the drivers' championship battle more exciting for now.

[LTU_btc]

Meh..  Won't exactly call it as 'written in the stars' like not giving the guy a chance.  There's some chance that he's gonna be a better driver no. 2 now that Horner won't be around next year.  But we'll see.

It's all ok with Hadjar, guy deserves chance. But when you have partner like Verstappen you have to perform above the limit to get good result that will satisfy Red Bull. All these guys who already failed also looked promising. Probably only Perez was able to good back win for Max for some time. As you say, maybe things will be different without Horner, but their second driver must get really good car.

Max is likely to be a threat to Norris and Piastri. If he can consistently win races, it's very possible for him to win the drivers' championship - his points difference with Piastri is only 55 points at the moment, and mathematically that gap can be closed if Max keeps performing, and Norris and Piastri continue to make mistakes like they did in yesterday's sprint race when they lost points due to colliding with each other. For now, Max still has a chance to win the drivers' championship, although it's not very high but in every race he keeps surprising and putting pressure on McLaren, And this is what makes the drivers' championship battle more exciting for now.

If Mclaren will do something similar what they did yesterday, that would significantly increase chances for Verstappen. But I think that difference is too big with not so many races remaining. Verstappen not only have to win everything but also get some poor results from both Mclaren.