Alright when was that again.....?

[Jason Chamberlain]

And so is Hamilton's influence that every F1 thread finishes with discussing his behavior, even if the topic has nothing to do with him

It's amazing how polarizing he is. But I guess that's what happens when you're consistently the best and arguably the GOAT.

Back to the topic, Russell has been pretty rough on Sundays, but overall I think I would keep him over Latifi if money were not an issue. However, money is always an issue.

 

[DND]

I only discovered Meadowdale International Raceway decades after it had been closed and turned into a forest preserve and hiking trail. In between race cars and hikers a section of the property had been used as a shopping mall which as a kid I remember going to get school clothes.
In the western suburbs outside of Chicago, IL. USA it hosted races from 1958 to 1969 with drivers from all over the world and cars as far reaching.
Raceway Woods now preserves the grounds with visual cues of what was once a formidable track that was indicative of the era in which it was born. Concrete 'walls' that were essentially track limits more than able to stop a car from finding a tree, or worse.
Having walked the grounds with the silence only broken by the dried twigs and fallen leaves I could still imagine the exhilaration the drivers must have felt on this demanding track.
This video was shot while riding a bike on the trial to get a sense of the layout. What is particularly scary is the straights that run parallel to each other mere inches from one another, track maps don't show how close they actually were.

 

[ZuneGuy]

Actually, I like Lewis a lot and have a tremendous amount of respect for him as a person. I think he is an excellent ambassador for the sport. I would be very happy if my children grew up to be like Lewis Hamilton.

Who cares if he complains about it? That's a fair question. I guess my complaint is that he often complains and then it ends up not being a problem. It seems like he complains so that he can appear particularly heroic when he gets through the race, despite the problem. Of course, it's also possible that he does it to bluff the other teams, which I would understand.

But if that's the biggest complaint about him then I guess he's doing OK. Unlike Senna and Schumacher, he's never wrecked anyone to secure a championship (whether they did or not I suppose is up for debate, but you can't even allege that Lewis has). And he owns up to his mistakes when he does wreck someone like the incidents with Albon.

I seriously think that at this point people look for any little thing to nitpick where Lewis is concerned. If he makes a mistake (which is extremely rare) the sqwakers are quick to screech about it, which further further proves what a truly incredible driver he is to them.

P.S. There is no debate whether Senna or Schumacher would take a fellow driver out of a race to win because they would both prefer to crash rather then relent, no matter what it did to the other guy's race. Schumacher took it even further than that though.

 

[Jason Chamberlain]

I seriously think that at this point people look for any little thing to nitpick where Lewis is concerned. If he makes a mistake (which is extremely rare) the sqwakers are quick to screech about it, which further further proves what a truly incredible driver he is to them.

P.S. There is no debate whether Senna or Schumacher would take a fellow driver out of a race to win because they would both prefer to crash rather then relent, no matter what it did to the other guy's race. Schumacher took it even further than that though.

So, to turn this around, do you see any of Lewis' faults? Or do you excuse them all because of his general greatness?

I don't know how many other ways to put it, but I have often described him as "nearly perfect." He manages the car well. He manages his tires well. His racecraft is superb. He is relentless in working to understand the car. I understand that he has always been intensely curious about how the car works so that he can be faster. When Bottas beats him to pole, I get the sense that he wants to work on it not so much because he lost, but because it shows that there must be a way for him to go faster and be better.

He is extremely gracious in both victory and defeat. The way he handled the incident at Brazil last year was amazing, though I do wonder if he would have been as gracious if he didn't already have the WDC wrapped up. He's fabulous in the press conferences too. He just rolled with it at the PC last year at Spa with the famous "Do you have pubes yet?" line. I would think that any team would want to build a program around him.

But he does still whine a lot. Is nobody allowed to point that out without being attacked for disliking him as a person? Another example is when he questions his team's strategy. Mercedes has a pretty good track record. I will admit that my instinct is to defer to the engineers (unless they're wearing scarlet). I would still take his whining over Kimi's attitude though.

There is very little to criticize about Lewis, but he isn't perfect. He's close, but he isn't perfect.

 

[fatal4you]

The problem is that there are only 10 teams of 2. Unless you have big sponsors or are a factory you need help. What I don't understand is what Kevin and Romain bring to the Haas team. Checo would be perfect there unless it's political (Haas probably Republican and the old "build The Wall"). Maybe Checo's backers are keen on signing up with an American team. Beats me but Russell is Alonzo like at the start of his career at Minardi. Russell is good...very very good. Someone in the U.K. needs to come to the rescue with some big $$.

Magnussen brings Jacks and Jones from Daenmark I think.

 

[Jason Chamberlain]

The series is really clicking, so much fun to watch!

It's funny, they've raced at Indy GP four times this year now...I'm not saying I want to make a habit out of it, but it really hasn't felt tedious at all to me. The action is just so good, it doesn't seem like a big deal, I'm just happy to be watching.

Pretty stark contrast with F1. I don't quite feel this way myself, but sometimes with the F1 fanbase, it feels like they only run two tracks:

1. Spa
2. God this track sucks

But I think it's really a function of the racing having gotten so blah. If we had a proper 3 way championship battle going on...heck, if we had ANY kind of championship battle...I'm not sure the angst against tracks like Sochi (which surely isn't a great track) would be anywhere near the same level.

I enjoy IndyCar, IMSA, and F1. I don't miss an F1 race, but that's also because it's something I do with my daughter. I feel like the racing in Indy and IMSA is so much better than F1, but with F1 it's more about the whole package and that comes from the over-coverage you get through the whole race weekend. But I'm weird in that I enjoy listening to the banter during FP1 and FP2.

Somehow, the F1 weekend "feels" like a bigger event than Indy (except of course for the Indy 500). This is why I still really enjoy Monaco. The race is horrible, but the whole package basically defines the F1 brand to me. It's exotic, European, and glamorous. I would like it if they took the wings off, replaced the Armco barriers with hay bales, and did it 60s style.

 

[BillyBobSenna]

I enjoy IndyCar, IMSA, and F1. I don't miss an F1 race, but that's also because it's something I do with my daughter. I feel like the racing in Indy and IMSA is so much better than F1, but with F1 it's more about the whole package and that comes from the over-coverage you get through the whole race weekend. But I'm weird in that I enjoy listening to the banter during FP1 and FP2.

Somehow, the F1 weekend "feels" like a bigger event than Indy (except of course for the Indy 500). This is why I still really enjoy Monaco. The race is horrible, but the whole package basically defines the F1 brand to me. It's exotic, European, and glamorous. I would like it if they took the wings off, replaced the Armco barriers with hay bales, and did it 60s style.

I agree with your comments. IndyCar is a great show considering the cost is at least 20 times less.

 

[Jason Chamberlain]

I agree with your comments. IndyCar is a great show considering the cost is at least 20 times less.

I also enjoy the strategy with refueling and I find it strangely satisfying to see the water spray onto the camera lens and then fly off as they finish each pit. I feel like that would be a great job for an 8 year-old if you could trust them to be focused with it.

 

[ZuneGuy]

So, to turn this around, do you see any of Lewis' faults? Or do you excuse them all because of his general greatness?

I don't know how many other ways to put it, but I have often described him as "nearly perfect." He manages the car well. He manages his tires well. His racecraft is superb. He is relentless in working to understand the car. I understand that he has always been intensely curious about how the car works so that he can be faster. When Bottas beats him to pole, I get the sense that he wants to work on it not so much because he lost, but because it shows that there must be a way for him to go faster and be better.

He is extremely gracious in both victory and defeat. The way he handled the incident at Brazil last year was amazing, though I do wonder if he would have been as gracious if he didn't already have the WDC wrapped up. He's fabulous in the press conferences too. He just rolled with it at the PC last year at Spa with the famous "Do you have pubes yet?" line. I would think that any team would want to build a program around him.

But he does still whine a lot. Is nobody allowed to point that out without being attacked for disliking him as a person? Another example is when he questions his team's strategy. Mercedes has a pretty good track record. I will admit that my instinct is to defer to the engineers (unless they're wearing scarlet). I would still take his whining over Kimi's attitude though.

There is very little to criticize about Lewis, but he isn't perfect. He's close, but he isn't perfect.

You don't like when Lewis complains.... okay. Toto Wolff says that Lewis is a perfectionist, and that he expects perfection from those around him as well. That is why he wins. So he's a whiner who wins - nothing wrong with that as I can tell.

 

[Nick Hill]

It's a little surreal to think we are about to watch a race in St. Petersburg since it was supposed to have been the opening round but ended up getting canceled due to COVID-19 concerns. But, better late than never!

It says a lot about the quality (and closeness) of the action in IndyCar as of late, but it almost feels like a letdown to only have two guys in the mix for the championship. The top 10 looks like this:

1	Scott Dixon	502
2	Josef Newgarden	470
3	Colton Herta	401
4	Will Power	388
5	Pato O'Ward	376
6	Graham Rahal	354
7	Takuma Sato	328
8	Simon Pagenaud	311
9	Alexander Rossi	305
10	Felix Rosenqvist	295

Newgarden and Dixon finished first and second respectively last year, so we could be in for a show. The points structure in IndyCar is very flat (50 for the win, tapering off to 5 points at the bottom of the field), so I could easily see a scenario where Dixon manages his way to a mid-pack finish to stay just ahead in points of Newgarden.

As an aside to the championship itself, the points table really says a lot to me about the kind of year Colton Herta has put in. Those Andretti cars have just not seemed right this year...if not for Herta's performance, I would be looking at Rossi thinking that it took some persistence and nifty driving to get that car into the top 10...but for Herta to be sitting in the top 3 - that is some serious wow factor for me. I'm wondering if we might see Colton getting an F1 test. He certainly seems to have some ambition in that direction and I can think of more than one F1 driver I'd be willing to see get the boot to make space.

Pato O'Ward I think has been a great, but somewhat quiet story as well. He's performed really well and with great consistency in his first full IndyCar year. I think Rinus VeeKay has stolen a lot of the thunder because, for one thing, VeeKay is a true rookie and, for another, VeeKay has had some really flashy moments. That's nothing against VeeKay - he's an exciting talent and I'm looking forward to seeing what he can do once he finds some consistency, but O'Ward is definitely delivering right now (even if you don't seem to hear his name much, in my opinion).

Should be a fun time! Who does everyone think is going to take it?

 

[Terry Rock]

 

[Durge Driven]

 

[G-Slev]

Russel and Norris have both really impressed me this year with their approach and good humour. It's refreshing to see people in F1 who are not miserable and surly (hello Lewis Hamilton, Seb Vettel).

The sport so badly needs a shake up. 2010 was a great season because of the unpredictability. So was 1982, albeit it was an awful year with accidents, politics etc.

Russel has to to end up at Mercedes - unless of course they pull out.

I look at the grid and think sometimes that they would be better off in endurance racing - but I much prefer that to F1 in any event!

 

[Terry Rock]

Actually, I like Lewis a lot and have a tremendous amount of respect for him as a person. I think he is an excellent ambassador for the sport. I would be very happy if my children grew up to be like Lewis Hamilton.

Who cares if he complains about it? That's a fair question. I guess my complaint is that he often complains and then it ends up not being a problem. It seems like he complains so that he can appear particularly heroic when he gets through the race, despite the problem. Of course, it's also possible that he does it to bluff the other teams, which I would understand.

But if that's the biggest complaint about him then I guess he's doing OK. Unlike Senna and Schumacher, he's never wrecked anyone to secure a championship (whether they did or not I suppose is up for debate, but you can't even allege that Lewis has). And he owns up to his mistakes when he does wreck someone like the incidents with Albon.

I think George has done the best with the equipment he has been presented with.
I'd be a shame to lose him the way F1 lost Stoffel...with horrible equipment incapable of showing the driver's real talent.
As to the communication and all that other nonsense...
Team radio wasn't always readily available, so who knows what other drivers from the 'golden' era whined about.
Lewis always seems to be the guy who catches flack over this.
Whenever you hear about British motorsport greatness, Moss, Surtees, Mansell, Clark, Stewart, etc...always seem to get favorable mention.
It is as if Hamilton doesn't exist.
Newsflash: Lewis Hamilton is the most winning driver in British Motorsport history.
It is a reality that is not going to change anytime soon.

 

[Kek700]

Schumacher basically took the best of the Benetton team to Ferrari with him. ( those who wanted to go )
That was one of the largest factors for Ferrari in those successful years.

 

[Mr Deap]

The competition just got better. You can't stay #1 forever.

 

[Antony Snook]

George comes across a verry good driver. Remember he won the sim racing leage before the season started. Hes kept it together whitch is hard in a team like Williams where they cant get a decent car. He should be in the mid pack mixing it with Albon and Noriss. A good chassis makes all the difference in this sport.

 

[boomn]

I think George has done the best with the equipment he has been presented with.
I'd be a shame to lose him the way F1 lost Stoffel...with horrible equipment incapable of showing the driver's real talent.

Even in a bad car, a great driver should be able to show how much more talent he has than his teammate. In qualifying George does that, beating Latifi by over .5 seconds on average. In the race though, George's average pace difference is often down to .1 and sometimes lower than Latifi. Is the Williams that bad in race pace that a great driver and a poor driver both end up with the same pace. I think it's more likely that George is lacking something right now on Sundays. He has had some bad luck too, but he hasn't had the pace to turn good luck into special results

 

[Jason Chamberlain]

Even in a bad car, a great driver should be able to show how much more talent he has than his teammate. In qualifying George does that, beating Latifi by over .5 seconds on average. In the race though, George's average pace difference is often down to .1 and sometimes lower than Latifi. Is the Williams that bad in race pace that a great driver and a poor driver both end up with the same pace. I think it's more likely that George is lacking something right now on Sundays. He has had some bad luck too, but he hasn't had the pace to turn good luck into special results

I agree and I suspect it's a combination of things. He's almost certainly pressing to try to get his first point. He may feel like every time out is an audition for Bottas' seat in 2022 and he is trying too hard to impress. Maybe he was pushing too hard to impress Aunt Claire and reward her faithfulness to him.

His driving sometimes reminds me of mine when I mess up and then try to overdrive to make up for it instead of just accepting my fate. As with Albon, you can see flashes of greatness, but really just a lot of unremarkable driving on Sundays. Pressing never seems to work out very well, particularly in a bad car. But to that point, since the car is such rubbish he has to drive it right on the very limit to make it even slightly competitive. And with that comes the mistakes we've seen.

 

[Charlie Lockwood]

Formula 1 drivers Romain Grosjean and Kevin Magnussen have taken to social media to announce their respective departures from Haas at the end of the 2020 Season.

• Rumours had been circulating for a couple of weeks about potential changes to the Haas lineup, with Grosjean having declared interest in Peugeot's WEC project, and Magnussen being linked to an Indycar seat.
• Grosjean used his Facebook account to share the news that he would be leaving the American team, with Magnussen taking to Instagram shortly afterwards.
• Team Principal Gunther Steiner has since said that no decision has been made yet on who will fill their seats.

Today, Romain Grosjean and his teammate Kevin Magnussen announced via social media that this season will be their last with the Haas F1 team. Grosjean is in his fifth year with the American team, having been a part of the project since day one in 2016, after four full seasons at Lotus. Magnussen meanwhile is in his fourth year with the team, having joined in 2017 after stints at McLaren and Renault.

Neither the Frenchman nor the Dane have yet secured contracts for next season, and with seats elsewhere in short supply, it looks unlikely that we will see either line up on the F1 grid next year.

Romain Grosjean shared the news with his fans this morning, posting on Facebook:

https://www.facebook.com/grosjeanromain/posts/3750076828336396

"The last chapter is closed and the book is finished," he posted on Facebook.​

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"I've been with Haas F1 Team since day one.​

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"Five years during which we went through highs and lows, scored 110 points in 92 races, but the journey was worth it.​

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"I've learned a lot, improved to be a better driver as well as a better man.​

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"I hope I've also helped people in the team to improve themself.​

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"This is probably my biggest pride, more than any of the crazy first races in 2016 or the P4 at the Austrian GP 2018.​

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"I wish the team all the best for the future."​

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Just minutes later, Magnussen shared the same news about his own future via Instagram:

View this content on Instagram

View this content on Instagram

"The 2020 Formula 1 season will be my last with Haas F1 Team," the Dane posted on Instagram.​

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"I have had a great time with the team for four years and I look back at a great journey.​

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"Being part of a brand new team has been a challenge that I have thoroughly enjoyed and it has brought me a huge amount of experience that has helped me grow and develop as a racing driver.​

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"I would like to thank Gene, Guenther and all of the race team for their loyalty and trust in me over the past four years."​

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Speaking about the news later on, their boss, Gunther Steiner explained that the decision had been made "two or three weeks ago", and that he had told Kevin and Romain last week about the decision:

"I think we wanted to be fair to them...We could have kept it for us for a while, and then just do it. But I think the guys were good with us in the last years.​

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"We said we're not going that way, we're going to do some changes, and therefore we want to tell them so they've got a chance to find something else.​

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"If we tell them only whenever we decide who is going to drive the car, it could be the end of the year, and they would have a lesser chance to find something for next year."​

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Grosjean has been with Haas since the very beginning, and has completed 94 races for them to date, picking up a total of 104 points, and claiming a best finish in the Drivers' Championship of 13th. His last race for Haas in Abu Dhabi will mark his 100th with the American team, and no doubt be a special moment for both parties.

The Frenchman, now an experienced driver with 175 Grand Prix starts under his belt looks like he could be set to continue his career in the World Endurance Championship. Commenting recently on Peugeot's Hypercar project, Romain said that he "will get in touch sometime", with it being something he is "hugely interested in for the future."

​

In his 73 races with Haas F1 since joining in 2017, Magnussen has picked up a total of 96 points, with a best Drivers' Championship finish of 9th in 2018. By the end of this season, his stints with McLaren, Renault and finally Haas will have seen him compete in 120 Grand Prix weekends.

The Dane has been linked to an Indycar seat, and has since admitted that it is something he might be interested in pursuing:

"IndyCar has been something that I've been interested in always.​

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"My dad was an IndyCar driver back in the nineties. And I've been to IndyCar races with him as a small child, and I just always thought it was super cool, and I would love to have a go in that some time."​

We wait to hear from Team Principal, Gunther Steiner and Team Owner, Gene Haas about their team's 2021 lineup, but just who might we see fill the vacant seats?

​

British Formula Two driver, Callum Ilott will no doubt be under consideration. Having taken eight poles, three wins and eight podiums in F2, Ilott was set to run in FP1 at the Nurburgring for Haas before the session was washed out. He is still likely to make his F1 debut later this year in a practice session, possibly in Bahrain or Abu Dhabi.

Various sources have pointed to Mick Schumacher as another name that could fit the bill for Haas in 2021. The son of seven-time World Champion, Michael Schumacher has already won the F3 title, and is currently leading this year's F2 championship. He too was set to debut in FP1 at the Nurburgring, but for Alfa Romeo.

The other candidate who is in a good position seems to be Russian, Nikita Mazepin. The 2018 runner-up in GP3, now races in Formula 2, and has taken two wins, five podiums and two poles. He also carries the advantage of bringing strong financial backing.

It looks increasingly likely that Haas are set to back two rookies next season, and as we look ahead to the rest of this year's racing, there will be great interest about just who they might be.