Formula 1

[charlierc]

Hats off to Piastri - great drive to pass and latterly resist Leclerc then shoot off.

 

Points for Colapinto and Bearman too is superb stuff given their rookie introductions to F1. Not sure what Sainz & Perez were up to.

[charlierc]

Feels weird that they now have a month off after Singapore, and just as weird Singapore had no safety car given it had until now been guaranteed safety cars.

 

But I guess that had to end sometime. Norris demolishing the field is what he needs, but he needed Verstappen to finish somewhere lower than P2.

[Crazyfool01]

I nodded off about halfway through was looking like a dull one .... 

[charlierc]

34 minutes ago, Crazyfool01 said:

I nodded off about halfway through was looking like a dull one .... 

Oh I agree it wasn't an incredible race. Singapore is usually a bit more chaotic than that but it was all quite clean and professional this time.

 

There is an ethical quandry about Red Bull's junior team pitting Ricciardo at the end to take a fastest lap point away from Norris. Even if it seems to be in the duality of wondering if Ricciardo is now going to be let go and replaced for the final six races by Liam Lawson.

[charlierc]

Don't think I've seen a reaction so negative to the handling of a driver's status as that of Red Bull dropping Ricciardo today. I know a lot of it has come to his media-friendliness but it's easy to forget he was great at Red Bull before his move and even then had a decent season with Renault in 2020. Plus the bizarre way they essentially gave him a last-race-by-accident at Singapore without figuring out if they actually were dropping him didn't help.

 

And I say this having been ok with the idea that, for 2025, his time had come and somebody else was worth a go to see if they could survive the Red Bull driver roulette.

[PDAD]

Yeah it has been handled pretty strangely. Everyone pretty much knew Singapore was his last race but for a driver who has had a career as good as Ricciardo, being dropped after a race and not having one last official hurrah is a bit flat. 

 

He hasn't been great, but nor has VCARB's ridiculous strategy this year. Red Bull seem a bit desperate I think. The motivation for giving Lawson the last 6 races I'd imagine is they don't have faith in Yuki or Danny to be good enough for Red Bull, so they want to see if Liam can overperform and become front runner for when they inevitably decide to replace Perez at some point in the not too distant future. Their driver programme has always been consistently good since the late 00s but they are in a position now where if Max seeks pastures new, they don't really have a lot of exciting options and may have to look elsewhere... I think Lawson seems decent and deserves a shot, but I don't think these last 6 races are going to make the difference for him being 'ready' for Red Bull or not... 

[charlierc]

Well after a month off, Red Bull have looked a bit more like their old selves this weekend, Ferrari's upgrade seems to have brought them closer to the top and Mercedes' weekend looks like it's already peaked in Friday practice.

 

Race with Lando on pole but a track where starting P2 is usually the better place to start from makes for an interesting start in a few hours time.

[PDAD]

A good race in isolation but one that has definitely simmered hopes for a final race championship decider. 

 

Some weird penalty decisions yesterday but I think the right call was made on Lando vs Max. He just got impatient after trying the same thing for several laps and expecting a different result. Even though the 'apex' is open to interpretation, he did not brake late enough to make the corner. Makes the championship battle a bit more pie in the sky but fair play to Max, he has maximised every weekend this year and Lando just hasn't. 

 

Lawson to Red Bull and Colapinto to Sauber next year? Surely...