Motor Sport Formula One 2023

[Crabtree]

A little bit of formula one fun. Battle of the Teammates predictions

F1: Battle of the Teammates | Motor Sport -

Since it seems that RBR are going to walk the Drivers' and Constructors' what are our predictions for who will win the battle of the teammates points wise at the end of the season? Here is my crude predictions poll to copy and paste marked with an X on who will win. *Teams in alphabetical...

idlechatter.co.uk

 

[Black Sheep]

This is big, Toto Wolff has admitted defeat with the zero sidepod design. They are dumping it.

Wolff says it is now time for Mercedes to admit defeat with their distinctive concept.

"I don't think this package is going to be competitive, eventually," he said.

"We gave it our best go also over the winter and now we just need to all regroup, sit down with the engineers who are totally not dogmatic about anything, there is no holy cows, and decide what is the development direction we want to pursue in order to be competitive to win races.

"It's not only like last year that you're scoring podiums and eventually you get there. I'm sure we can win races this season but it's really the mid- and long-term that we need to look at which decisions you need to take."

Wolff added: "We hit our targets. That's why we gave it out best shot. And the moment comes and the stopwatch comes out and that showed us that it's simply not good enough. We haven't got enough downforce and we need to find solutions to fix that."

 

[Son Of Jack]

This is big, Toto Wolff has admitted defeat with the zero sidepod design. They are dumping it.

Wolff says it is now time for Mercedes to admit defeat with their distinctive concept.

"I don't think this package is going to be competitive, eventually," he said.

"We gave it our best go also over the winter and now we just need to all regroup, sit down with the engineers who are totally not dogmatic about anything, there is no holy cows, and decide what is the development direction we want to pursue in order to be competitive to win races.

"It's not only like last year that you're scoring podiums and eventually you get there. I'm sure we can win races this season but it's really the mid- and long-term that we need to look at which decisions you need to take."

Wolff added: "We hit our targets. That's why we gave it out best shot. And the moment comes and the stopwatch comes out and that showed us that it's simply not good enough. We haven't got enough downforce and we need to find solutions to fix that."

WOW that is a massive admission they fecked up, but most of us knew that anyway, even the keenest Mercedes fans.

So is that another season written off.

Massive blow to both drivers, more Lewis as he wants that 8th, both drivers will be seeking assurance that there is a winning car sooner rather than later.

 

[Best]

Not the first time I have read this.

The 38-year-old has admitted multiple times that he is a fan of Ferrari and has always wanted to driver for the team and the opportunity could arise at the end of this year.

Charles Leclerc was forced to retire from the season opener in Bahrain with a power unit issue, suggesting that Ferrari have been unable to solve the reliability issues which hindered them so badly last year.

The Scuderia also struggled massively with tyre degradation, seeing the Aston Martin of Fernando Alonso cruise past the sliding Carlos Sainz into the podium places.

Many members of Ferrari staff are on the verge of jumping ship following this poor start to the season and Leclerc has requested a crisis meeting with Ferrari president John Elkann to express his concerns.

Lewis Hamilton and Charles Leclerc to swap teams in 2024

Ferrari and Mercedes were expected to return to their best this season after problematic campaigns last year.

formula1news.co.uk

 

[Snoops]

Charles Leclerc said he will no longer be taking part in one aspect of the Formula 1 race weekend after a rule change.

Tweaks to the structure of a race weekend have become commonplace in recent times. New things are always being trialled out – some more important than others, such as major changes like the sprint race or how media day works, while others are relatively minor.

The latest tweak appears to be minor on paper, but has significant impact on the drivers' weekend plans. It has now been decided that, when they go on their usual track walk on a Thursday, they can no longer use bikes or scooters to speed up the process.

Such methods of transportation have been banned, with drivers now forced to walk the full length of the circuit. This will be particularly time-consuming at the longer tracks – Spa-Francorchamps, home of the Belgian Grand Prix, is the longest on the calendar at 7km in total.

 

[Dylan]

I can see Lewis walking away mid season. I don't think he cares enough anymore to fight mid pack and I don't blame him. Schumacher walked away from Ferrari because it was exhausting getting them back to the front after 2005 and then asking him to compete with Kimi. He's older, it's harder to get out of bed each morning and there's nothing left to prove.

Also, I don't see why there needs to be any question why he doesn't feel safe. If that's how he feels, that's how he feels and it's not up to anybody else to belittle his emotions subject to some type of explanation on his behalf.

 

[Dylan]

Charles Leclerc said he will no longer be taking part in one aspect of the Formula 1 race weekend after a rule change.

Tweaks to the structure of a race weekend have become commonplace in recent times. New things are always being trialled out – some more important than others, such as major changes like the sprint race or how media day works, while others are relatively minor.

The latest tweak appears to be minor on paper, but has significant impact on the drivers' weekend plans. It has now been decided that, when they go on their usual track walk on a Thursday, they can no longer use bikes or scooters to speed up the process.

Such methods of transportation have been banned, with drivers now forced to walk the full length of the circuit. This will be particularly time-consuming at the longer tracks – Spa-Francorchamps, home of the Belgian Grand Prix, is the longest on the calendar at 7km in total.

What a weird rule.

 

[Legion]

This weekend's Emilia Romagna Grand Prix will not proceed amid heavy flooding in northern Italy.

The decision came with Italy's most severe red weather warnings in place for flooding and landslides, with other parts of the region having already been devastated.

Stefano Domenicali - Head of F1: "It is such a tragedy to see what has happened to Imola and Emilia-Romagna, the town and region that I grew up in, and my thoughts and prayers are with the victims of the flooding and the families and communities affected.

I want to express my gratitude and admiration for the incredible emergency services who are working tirelessly to help those who need help and alleviate the situation – they are heroes and the whole of Italy is proud of them."

 

[Tom]

First images of new Mercedes parts now doing the rounds. Looks to have sidepods now, similar to Aston Martin.

Must have taken a huge chunk of the budget to make the changes. So many new parts listed on Motorsport.com.

 

[Tom]

Daniel Ricciardo will replace Nyck de Vries at AlphaTauri until the end of the season.

Daniel Ricciardo is making a surprising return to Formula 1 and will drive for Red Bull's sister team Alpha Tauri for the rest of the season.

The 34-year-old Australian, who was released by McLaren last year, will race at the Hungarian Grand Prix on 23 July.
He replaces Nyck de Vries, who has been dropped after only 10 races.

Ricciardo, who has won eight grands prix, rejoined Red Bull as a reserve driver at the beginning of this season.

Dutch rookie De Vries, 28, has lost his drive after failing to pick up a single point, as well as having several crashes and struggling for form in comparison with younger team-mate Yuki Tsunoda.