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

[Distraction]

The maximum points still up for grabs in the normal race and sprint race are 125 points. And the point difference is very close; anyone can still become world champion. Lando Norris, Piastri, and even Verstappen still have a chance to be world champion this season. For McLaren, it felt like déjà vu from the 2007 season, when Hamilton and Alonso clashed and both retired from the Chinese Grand Prix. However, this didn't happen with Norris and Piastri.

Didn't happen or hasn't happened yet? 

I wouldn't be so sure of that now truthfully. It all depends on Piastri's improving his results. Things can come to crashing so quickly if he starts a race right ahead or behind Norris for example.

What do you guys think of the early odds for Piastri at 4.50? 

Piastri to win the next Grand Prix? His recent form is never convincing for that. But 4.50 looks really good. Why not a bet on it with a small amount just to have fun?

[retreat]

After his promising performance at the Mexican GP yesterday, Oliver Bearman is reportedly a good fit for a Ferrari seat, according to Sky Sports analyst Martin Brundle. He stated that Oliver Bearman is a potential candidate for the Ferrari driver position. Not only at the Mexican GP, ​​but so far Bearman has scored 32 points, making him one of the best rookies this season. Jacques Villeneuve also agreed that Bearman is a perfect fit for the role and will take every opportunity to develop further.

But I think it's too early to say whether Bearman is a good fit for the Ferrari seat. He still has a long way to go and still has a lot of room for improvement to become a Ferrari driver. But he's certainly a strong candidate for the job.

https://www.motorsport.com/f1/news/oliver-bearman-backed-for-ferrari-f1-seat-after-mexico-gp-heroics-very-promising/10772659/

[Pulsar77]

After his promising performance at the Mexican GP yesterday, Oliver Bearman is reportedly a good fit for a Ferrari seat, according to Sky Sports analyst Martin Brundle. He stated that Oliver Bearman is a potential candidate for the Ferrari driver position. Not only at the Mexican GP, ​​but so far Bearman has scored 32 points, making him one of the best rookies this season. Jacques Villeneuve also agreed that Bearman is a perfect fit for the role and will take every opportunity to develop further.

But I think it's too early to say whether Bearman is a good fit for the Ferrari seat. He still has a long way to go and still has a lot of room for improvement to become a Ferrari driver. But he's certainly a strong candidate for the job.

https://www.motorsport.com/f1/news/oliver-bearman-backed-for-ferrari-f1-seat-after-mexico-gp-heroics-very-promising/10772659/

It sounds interesting but I don't see any reason why they shouldn't give him a chance. In case Hamilton really leaves by the end of the season of course.

I know there is tension between Hamilton and Ferrari recently. Hamilton wants to apply his ideas but the team doesn't like this way.

Honestly Bearman is a skillful driver. We saw it again. I loved his effort too when he was given a chance in a race at Ferrari once while Sainz wasn't able to drive.

[tokeweed]

What do you guys think of the early odds for Piastri at 4.50? 

Piastri to win the next Grand Prix? His recent form is never convincing for that. But 4.50 looks really good. Why not a bet on it with a small amount just to have fun?

That's the thing with these things..  The bookies sometimes adjusts the lines a tad too much which makes betting on them +EV...

And Piastri might not be in good form rn but the McClaren boys arguably still have the best car.  And the only thing that his line is where it currently is might be because of the track.  Verstappen is pretty good in Brazil.

But let's see.  Wait for FP3 then quali and we'll find out.

[retreat]

After his promising performance at the Mexican GP yesterday, Oliver Bearman is reportedly a good fit for a Ferrari seat, according to Sky Sports analyst Martin Brundle. He stated that Oliver Bearman is a potential candidate for the Ferrari driver position. Not only at the Mexican GP, ​​but so far Bearman has scored 32 points, making him one of the best rookies this season. Jacques Villeneuve also agreed that Bearman is a perfect fit for the role and will take every opportunity to develop further.

But I think it's too early to say whether Bearman is a good fit for the Ferrari seat. He still has a long way to go and still has a lot of room for improvement to become a Ferrari driver. But he's certainly a strong candidate for the job.

https://www.motorsport.com/f1/news/oliver-bearman-backed-for-ferrari-f1-seat-after-mexico-gp-heroics-very-promising/10772659/

It sounds interesting but I don't see any reason why they shouldn't give him a chance. In case Hamilton really leaves by the end of the season of course.

I know there is tension between Hamilton and Ferrari recently. Hamilton wants to apply his ideas but the team doesn't like this way.

Honestly Bearman is a skillful driver. We saw it again. I loved his effort too when he was given a chance in a race at Ferrari once while Sainz wasn't able to drive.

Yeah, Bearman can wait until Hamilton retires which we don't know when that will be. And while he is waiting he can improve his skills at Haas, if he really has the skills his condition at Haas should be able to compete with other rookies, or be better. So when Hamilton had enough of his F1 career he could immediately take the opportunity and become one of the Ferrari drivers.

Or another possibility is when Charles has had enough of Ferrari and chooses to move to Aston Martin to replace Alonso in pursuit of his world title. Bearman can take that position. So all of that is possible.

[tokeweed]

^  Bearman can wait...  What Ferrari really needs is a proper team principal who could lead the team and make them have a fighting chance to race for podiums instead of just fighting for those spots lower than third. 

But if Ferrari does decide to get rid of Hamilton, it would surely be once expensive sacking for the team.  And it would give a team like Aston Martin to acquire him and prolly win races there.  So Ferrari should be careful.

[FanEagle]

Considering the age of Hamilton, how many years can he realistically keep racing? I mean don't get me wrong he is a decent racer now, even at this age, but without a dominant car and beyond his peak, what is he bringing? A few more sales?

Sure, Hamilton name probably made Ferarri some money there is no doubt about that at all, he is paid a lot because he is earning them a lot but that is more about financial side of things. Switch the seats, and put Bearman on Ferrari at the start of this season, are you really sure that he wouldn't get as many points as Hamilton did so far? I am not so sure about that, he may have, or maybe he would have been stressed, but it would not be too far apart. I think it's time.

[tokeweed]

^  He prolly has around three years of racing in him imho...  Maybe 5.  His reflexes are still there.  It's far from when Kimi Raikonnen was getting old.  Raikonnen was an accident waiting to happen in his last couple of seasons.

And think of it this way...  If Ferrari could design and build a car that could win podiums, does everybody here actually think Hamilton is 'too old' to win podiums?  Hell no... 

[coinlocket$]

Rain is expected for this weekend, especially on Saturday.
And you know the Brazil GP, when it rains IT RAINS.

We will also have spring race and spring Qualification, it will be a fun weekend.

[Distraction]

That's the thing with these things..  The bookies sometimes adjusts the lines a tad too much which makes betting on them +EV...

And Piastri might not be in good form rn but the McClaren boys arguably still have the best car.  And the only thing that his line is where it currently is might be because of the track.  Verstappen is pretty good in Brazil.

But let's see.  Wait for FP3 then quali and we'll find out.

Piastri is just in a huge downfall and nobody knows why. Even him.    According to his statement there is no change in his focus or so. Interesting... I know McLaren favours Norris over him mostly. But the balance of the cars must still be the same, right?

Brazil track is definitely a place that Max is really good on in the calendar. His legendary win by a comeback from all the way behind in 2024 comes to my mind already. I think he will have a dominant weekend.

[Webetcoins]

Bearman can wait...  What Ferrari really needs is a proper team principal who could lead the team and make them have a fighting chance to race for podiums instead of just fighting for those spots lower than third. 

But if Ferrari does decide to get rid of Hamilton, it would surely be once expensive sacking for the team.  And it would give a team like Aston Martin to acquire him and prolly win races there.  So Ferrari should be careful.

Bearman is young, in a few years he will be ready to step up and be in a Ferrari car and will be better than all. However, Ferrari doesn't really need a new "TP", that's not the problem, they had one, and changed it, and nothing changed in that team. I think what they need is some sort of talent that would change it, TP but more management side instead of car or racing side.

I understand that Team principles manage races a lot, and they are very responsible in every single race, but whoever they get, should be more about a business side of things than race side of things. They can afford to have a few years with a bad car, if that means they change the whole team and get a lot better everyone, like from race engineer, to rear jack guy, everyone should be replaced, even the people back in factory.

[joniboini]

Piastri is just in a huge downfall and nobody knows why. Even him.    According to his statement there is no change in his focus or so. Interesting... I know McLaren favours Norris over him mostly. But the balance of the cars must still be the same, right?

Is he the type of guy who airs everything in the media? I'm not following every racer or F1 in general, so I don't know about that. Kinda surprising if that's the case. Then again, we aren't the best judges of ourselves tbh. You can say you haven't changed anything, even though you subconsciously do something else. Or maybe it's one of those bad-luck times affected by so many factors.

[retreat]

^  He prolly has around three years of racing in him imho...  Maybe 5.  His reflexes are still there.  It's far from when Kimi Raikonnen was getting old.  Raikonnen was an accident waiting to happen in his last couple of seasons.

And think of it this way...  If Ferrari could design and build a car that could win podiums, does everybody here actually think Hamilton is 'too old' to win podiums?  Hell no... 

He still has everything he needs to be able to get a podium, maybe his performance is less compared to his prime, but that doesn't mean he has lost his ability and competitive instinct, he just needs the best car that suits his characteristics to be able to get podiums again. So now it's up to Ferrari whether they can design a car that is truly able to adapt to his characteristics. If they can't, then we might see Hamilton like this until he retires.

[tokeweed]

That's the thing with these things..  The bookies sometimes adjusts the lines a tad too much which makes betting on them +EV...

And Piastri might not be in good form rn but the McClaren boys arguably still have the best car.  And the only thing that his line is where it currently is might be because of the track.  Verstappen is pretty good in Brazil.

But let's see.  Wait for FP3 then quali and we'll find out.

Piastri is just in a huge downfall and nobody knows why. Even him.    According to his statement there is no change in his focus or so. Interesting... I know McLaren favours Norris over him mostly. But the balance of the cars must still be the same, right?

Brazil track is definitely a place that Max is really good on in the calendar. His legendary win by a comeback from all the way behind in 2024 comes to my mind already. I think he will have a dominant weekend.

If McLaren is doing some shenanigans technically with their car to give a slight advantage to Norris then it would only give Verstappen slightly better odds to win the driver's championship.

But what are the journos saying 'mathematically' or is it really close between the Norris, Piastri and Verstappen that the McLaren boys should be very careful?

Some journos are saying that there's 80% chances of rain by race day. 

[PokerBetting]

That's the thing with these things..  The bookies sometimes adjusts the lines a tad too much which makes betting on them +EV...

And Piastri might not be in good form rn but the McClaren boys arguably still have the best car.  And the only thing that his line is where it currently is might be because of the track.  Verstappen is pretty good in Brazil.

But let's see.  Wait for FP3 then quali and we'll find out.

Piastri is just in a huge downfall and nobody knows why. Even him.    According to his statement there is no change in his focus or so. Interesting... I know McLaren favours Norris over him mostly. But the balance of the cars must still be the same, right?

Brazil track is definitely a place that Max is really good on in the calendar. His legendary win by a comeback from all the way behind in 2024 comes to my mind already. I think he will have a dominant weekend.

Piastri's performance is poor again. For the past few races, Oscar Piastri has had poor results. He was expected to be a champion, but he couldn't even finish in the top three. The last time Piastri got a podium was in the Italian Grand Prix, where he finished third. Since then, for the next four races, including the final Mexican Grand Prix, Piastri hasn't been on the podium even once. This is what caused Lando Norris to overtake Piastri in the provisional standings.

Regarding preferring Lando Norris, since the McLaren team's base is in England, they will naturally prefer a driver from England over other countries.

[Republikcoin.com]

This weekend, MotoGP returns to the Algarve Portimao circuit in Portugal. The layout is quite unique and challenging, so the race could be even more exciting, even if it's just about collecting points at the end of the season, as the world champion is already in place. I hope there will be new breakthroughs from several other manufacturers, such as Aprilia, Yamaha, and KTM, even though the latter is currently experiencing quite poor financial conditions. Meanwhile, Ducati is still on a good track, both in terms of performance and financially.

[Pulsar77]

Yeah, Bearman can wait until Hamilton retires which we don't know when that will be. And while he is waiting he can improve his skills at Haas, if he really has the skills his condition at Haas should be able to compete with other rookies, or be better. So when Hamilton had enough of his F1 career he could immediately take the opportunity and become one of the Ferrari drivers.

Or another possibility is when Charles has had enough of Ferrari and chooses to move to Aston Martin to replace Alonso in pursuit of his world title. Bearman can take that position. So all of that is possible.

The last time I heard Leclerc's statement, he was talking about his love to Ferrari.    I can imagine how frustrated he is with the crew for sure. But he still keeps calm during interviews.

But how much longer will he stay there I wonder? If things don't come to their favour in 2026 then he might really start thinking of leaving. By the way Aston Martin was interested in Verstappen for 2026 some time ago. If they sign him I doubt Leclerc would also go there.

[retreat]

The last time I heard Leclerc's statement, he was talking about his love to Ferrari.    I can imagine how frustrated he is with the crew for sure. But he still keeps calm during interviews.

But how much longer will he stay there I wonder? If things don't come to their favour in 2026 then he might really start thinking of leaving. By the way Aston Martin was interested in Verstappen for 2026 some time ago. If they sign him I doubt Leclerc would also go there.

Charles clearly loves Ferrari, but you can't compete in F1 relying on just one team. Hamilton spent so long at Mercedes, and Toto loved him so much, but he ultimately switched to Ferrari. So, anything could happen. If Ferrari can't provide him with a competitive car, while Lawrence Stroll and Adrian Newey can promise him a competitive car, he might switch teams. But all of this is likely just a future scenario, because given the circumstances, Charles will likely stay at Ferrari for a few more seasons.

[Distraction]

FP1 has been left behind. It wasn't a good session for Red Bull. But I guess they were just on track to test some tyres.    They didn't even use medium ones in the last go. McLaren dominated the session with Norris - Piastri being 1-2 respectively.

Sprint qualifying is about to start now. I think Max will be much more different this time. I expect a tough race between him and McLaren. I still have doubts on Piastri but it was nice to see him competitive in the practice session.

[retreat]

It looks like it's going to be another tough race for Max after he only managed a sixth-place finish in sprint qualifying for the Brazilian GP. Max said he wasn't getting enough grip, making his car nearly undriveable. There's nothing he can do at this point but wait for the weather to change, as the race is expected to be heavily wet, and that's Max's only hope for a chance to improve his position.

Here are the results from sprint qualifying: