I'll see it when I believe it. But if it's true, Red Bull has lost the plot. They screwed around with Nick de Vries and Ricciardo instead of getting Lawson a drive at Racing Bulls/Alpha Tauri only...
I'll see it when I believe it. But if it's true, Red Bull has lost the plot. They screwed around with Nick de Vries and Ricciardo instead of getting Lawson a drive at Racing Bulls/Alpha Tauri only to ditch him after two races. Hopefully Tsunoda can at least get the car out of Q1, but I don't know how much of a future he really has with the RB program.
Yeah what a joke. This looks terrible to me. There are some people at that team getting paid a lot of money to make decisions that the most casual fan knows are stupid and wasteful. They don't...
Yeah what a joke.
This looks terrible to me. There are some people at that team getting paid a lot of money to make decisions that the most casual fan knows are stupid and wasteful. They don't understand anything about motivating people or cultivating talent.
Same. This wouldn't be the first time the rumor mills were spinning like mad, only for nothing to happen. Yuki is in a weird spot here. If he is swapped into cursed 2nd RB, and doesn't perform,...
Same. This wouldn't be the first time the rumor mills were spinning like mad, only for nothing to happen.
Yuki is in a weird spot here. If he is swapped into cursed 2nd RB, and doesn't perform, what does that mean for his career? Certainly everyone knows that car is impossible for drivers not named Max to drive, but still. It's a big gamble. That'd be pretty embarrassing to get a chance (hopefully more than one race weekend), only to be sent back down to VCARB. Idek what would happen to Lawson.
At the same time, he pretty much has to take the offer. Anyone who's given the chance to drive for RB would be stupid to not take it. Sure, Lawson's stock has fallen, but at least can say he drove for Red Bull for two races. The fact that Red Bull went for him at all says something, I think.
Hopefully, if this does happen, Yuki can get that car into the midfield. Hopefully that's the goal the team has for him; that they're not expecting him -- or anyone in that seat -- to be racing at the front. Again, Max is doing miracles out there. That can't and shouldn't be expected of anyone else. At least not initially.
Axing Lawson after 2 races is one of the most insane decisions I've ever seen in F1. I'm all being more cutthroat with drivers, especially after how they handled the Perez situation. But 2 races...
Axing Lawson after 2 races is one of the most insane decisions I've ever seen in F1. I'm all being more cutthroat with drivers, especially after how they handled the Perez situation. But 2 races isn't a fair chance.
Nobody at that level forgets how to drive. Could he have just had two horrible weekends in a row? Absolutely. But that can happen. Plenty of the best drivers have weekends where they're way off their teammate. I distinctly remember Leclerc a few years ago in Spain was P19 when Sainz was P2. That's a driver with vastly more experience and well established in his team.
We've also seen invisible car problems be the cause of performances like this. It just seems wayyy too premature to potentially ruin somebody's career.
I don’t know what will be funnier: if Yuki kills it in the Red Bull and embarrasses the last 6 years of non-Max drivers in that car or if Yuki finishes at the back, Liam is faster in the vcarb (or...
I don’t know what will be funnier: if Yuki kills it in the Red Bull and embarrasses the last 6 years of non-Max drivers in that car or if Yuki finishes at the back, Liam is faster in the vcarb (or whatever it’s call these days), and it turns out the car is just garbage.
F1 is just so god damn intriguing right now. Now that Max has his championships, I’m cheering for the rise of Williams more than anything, I’m expecting to be able to laugh at Red Bull, Ferrari, and McLaren all this year.
Their team principal, James Vowles, is also my favorite to listen to when they do the interviews mid-race. He always explains complicated concepts pretty succinctly and gives good insight into...
Their team principal, James Vowles, is also my favorite to listen to when they do the interviews mid-race. He always explains complicated concepts pretty succinctly and gives good insight into what goes into the team's decisions.
The RB car just isn't garbage though, Max is consistently getting podiums and threatening pole, it's just he's a very talented driver who can cope. But it's not a garbage car, surely? Maybe...
The RB car just isn't garbage though, Max is consistently getting podiums and threatening pole, it's just he's a very talented driver who can cope. But it's not a garbage car, surely? Maybe they're not good at setting it up, or it only offers a very narrow setup window - those are valid criticisms, but they're still only shortcomings, in my eyes, they don't total the car's reputation.
I’m being a bit hyperbolic about it, but it’s just ridiculous how many drivers have failed in that car who have been good in other cars, there just has to be something wrong or unusual with it if...
I’m being a bit hyperbolic about it, but it’s just ridiculous how many drivers have failed in that car who have been good in other cars, there just has to be something wrong or unusual with it if Max is the only person that can drive it consistently well.
Is it not, being brutally honest, that Perez, Albon, Gasly, and now Lawson, are fundamentally good-but-not-great drivers? Perez had a very strong career, and Gasly and Albon have had their...
Is it not, being brutally honest, that Perez, Albon, Gasly, and now Lawson, are fundamentally good-but-not-great drivers? Perez had a very strong career, and Gasly and Albon have had their moments, but none of them consistently knock your socks off, which Hamilton and Verstappan really do multiple times in a season, as did Vettel, Alonso et al. before them. I think unless they get someone in that's actually a similar calibre to Verstappen, a Leclerc, Hamilton, maybe a Russell/Norris/Sainz-level talent, they'll continue to see a fairly significant intra-team differences.
Of course, doing so comes with its own host of problems, as Wolff, and a whole host of previous team bosses, can attest.
The 2nd RBR driver will never match Max, because it rarely works in a team. There are enough examples of that. The 2nd driver should be somewhat close and Lawson (and Perez in recent years) failed...
The 2nd RBR driver will never match Max, because it rarely works in a team. There are enough examples of that. The 2nd driver should be somewhat close and Lawson (and Perez in recent years) failed to do that. They often don’t even make it out of Q1. And they aren’t bad drivers per de.
Max needs someone to cover his rear, like Hamilton had so often with Bottas (who was close but rarely better than Hamilton).
I believ the car just has a very narrow window and Max can handle that but others can’t.
I think it was Coulthard who famously opened up about being a "second driver" years after the fact, acknowledging that he needed that distance to be able to mentally accept that Hakkinen was...
I think it was Coulthard who famously opened up about being a "second driver" years after the fact, acknowledging that he needed that distance to be able to mentally accept that Hakkinen was simply a better driver. I think he said that at the time, he needed to believe he could best Hakkinen to be able to stay at his own competitive peak. I agree that Bottas was really an excellent teammate for Hamilton, he really was good enough to punish mistakes by the other teams, although he often would have those same problems Perez (and others) coming through the field after a weaker qualifying.
Confused Yuki Noises I'm a big Yuki fan, but hoo boy this will be a confusing one. On the plus side, it gets him away from VCARB's strategy and gives him a chance to really show his stuff. On the...
Confused Yuki Noises
I'm a big Yuki fan, but hoo boy this will be a confusing one. On the plus side, it gets him away from VCARB's strategy and gives him a chance to really show his stuff. On the other hand, it sure seems like the RB20 is borderline-undriveable and all that's happening is RBR is setting Yuki up for failure - and after that he's pretty much done, right?
How’d you come to support Tsunoda? I would like to be able to get behind the only Japanese driver on the grid, but I just haven’t gotten there yet. I missed most of last season but prior to that...
How’d you come to support Tsunoda? I would like to be able to get behind the only Japanese driver on the grid, but I just haven’t gotten there yet. I missed most of last season but prior to that his behavior on the radio really turned me off. I like to keep an open mind though, so please change my opinion!
Honestly a lot of it is just vibes - I started following F1 when Max was driving for (at the time) Torro Rosso, so I've kept an eye on their drivers. And while he may have overstepped a tad last...
Honestly a lot of it is just vibes - I started following F1 when Max was driving for (at the time) Torro Rosso, so I've kept an eye on their drivers. And while he may have overstepped a tad last season, the "Yuki gets really angry on the radio" moments made me like him more - it's fun to see that sort of passion about things.
I'm sure there are internal political pressures driving this, but on the surface, how does this make sense for Yuki?? Yuki would go from being the clear #1 in the 5th fastest car, to (at best) the...
I'm sure there are internal political pressures driving this, but on the surface, how does this make sense for Yuki??
Yuki would go from being the clear #1 in the 5th fastest car, to (at best) the #2 in the 4th fastest car. At worst, he will be the third driver in as many races to struggle to make it out of Q1 and will wipe out a lot of the reputation he has built over the years and end his career, see Checo.
its likely his last year with the team anyway -- so moving away from the faux-junior team to show off his skill in a tough car will help him find his next gig. With Honda and AM together next...
its likely his last year with the team anyway -- so moving away from the faux-junior team to show off his skill in a tough car will help him find his next gig.
With Honda and AM together next year, that seems like the obvious home for him, but I can't see them dropping Nando. I made some crazy predictions in my other comment, but I wouldn't be surprised if we see Yuki as a reserve for AM unless Lance steps down (ideal) or Hulk retires. Otherwise there aren't a lot of seats, which sucks.
Now -- if Yuki absolutely crushes it, I think Red Bull would do whatever they can to keep them so someone can drive that soapbox. I was really hoping for Sainz to take that seat before, but now I'm so glad he didn't.
I think Sainz really could have handled it - he's grown into a very competent driver, very skilled and very hard-working, I think. I do truly think that bridge was burned with the politicking...
I think Sainz really could have handled it - he's grown into a very competent driver, very skilled and very hard-working, I think. I do truly think that bridge was burned with the politicking between the two camps. I don't know, or particularly care, which side was more at fault, but I doubt anybody at Redbull is very keen to go through that again.
ok, I'm calling it ---- Yuki is going to come out and absolutely dominate in this car and it'll set him up for a good seat, replacing Stroll next year.
ok, I'm calling it ---- Yuki is going to come out and absolutely dominate in this car and it'll set him up for a good seat, replacing Stroll next year.
I'll see it when I believe it. But if it's true, Red Bull has lost the plot. They screwed around with Nick de Vries and Ricciardo instead of getting Lawson a drive at Racing Bulls/Alpha Tauri only to ditch him after two races. Hopefully Tsunoda can at least get the car out of Q1, but I don't know how much of a future he really has with the RB program.
Yeah what a joke.
This looks terrible to me. There are some people at that team getting paid a lot of money to make decisions that the most casual fan knows are stupid and wasteful. They don't understand anything about motivating people or cultivating talent.
Same. This wouldn't be the first time the rumor mills were spinning like mad, only for nothing to happen.
Yuki is in a weird spot here. If he is swapped into cursed 2nd RB, and doesn't perform, what does that mean for his career? Certainly everyone knows that car is impossible for drivers not named Max to drive, but still. It's a big gamble. That'd be pretty embarrassing to get a chance (hopefully more than one race weekend), only to be sent back down to VCARB. Idek what would happen to Lawson.
At the same time, he pretty much has to take the offer. Anyone who's given the chance to drive for RB would be stupid to not take it. Sure, Lawson's stock has fallen, but at least can say he drove for Red Bull for two races. The fact that Red Bull went for him at all says something, I think.
Hopefully, if this does happen, Yuki can get that car into the midfield. Hopefully that's the goal the team has for him; that they're not expecting him -- or anyone in that seat -- to be racing at the front. Again, Max is doing miracles out there. That can't and shouldn't be expected of anyone else. At least not initially.
Axing Lawson after 2 races is one of the most insane decisions I've ever seen in F1. I'm all being more cutthroat with drivers, especially after how they handled the Perez situation. But 2 races isn't a fair chance.
Nobody at that level forgets how to drive. Could he have just had two horrible weekends in a row? Absolutely. But that can happen. Plenty of the best drivers have weekends where they're way off their teammate. I distinctly remember Leclerc a few years ago in Spain was P19 when Sainz was P2. That's a driver with vastly more experience and well established in his team.
We've also seen invisible car problems be the cause of performances like this. It just seems wayyy too premature to potentially ruin somebody's career.
I don’t know what will be funnier: if Yuki kills it in the Red Bull and embarrasses the last 6 years of non-Max drivers in that car or if Yuki finishes at the back, Liam is faster in the vcarb (or whatever it’s call these days), and it turns out the car is just garbage.
F1 is just so god damn intriguing right now. Now that Max has his championships, I’m cheering for the rise of Williams more than anything, I’m expecting to be able to laugh at Red Bull, Ferrari, and McLaren all this year.
Fuck yeah, Williams. Their sainz/ albon driver combo is awesome, I should buy a hat or something from them.
I would kill for a pair of those vintage Williams trainers
Their team principal, James Vowles, is also my favorite to listen to when they do the interviews mid-race. He always explains complicated concepts pretty succinctly and gives good insight into what goes into the team's decisions.
The RB car just isn't garbage though, Max is consistently getting podiums and threatening pole, it's just he's a very talented driver who can cope. But it's not a garbage car, surely? Maybe they're not good at setting it up, or it only offers a very narrow setup window - those are valid criticisms, but they're still only shortcomings, in my eyes, they don't total the car's reputation.
I’m being a bit hyperbolic about it, but it’s just ridiculous how many drivers have failed in that car who have been good in other cars, there just has to be something wrong or unusual with it if Max is the only person that can drive it consistently well.
Is it not, being brutally honest, that Perez, Albon, Gasly, and now Lawson, are fundamentally good-but-not-great drivers? Perez had a very strong career, and Gasly and Albon have had their moments, but none of them consistently knock your socks off, which Hamilton and Verstappan really do multiple times in a season, as did Vettel, Alonso et al. before them. I think unless they get someone in that's actually a similar calibre to Verstappen, a Leclerc, Hamilton, maybe a Russell/Norris/Sainz-level talent, they'll continue to see a fairly significant intra-team differences.
Of course, doing so comes with its own host of problems, as Wolff, and a whole host of previous team bosses, can attest.
The 2nd RBR driver will never match Max, because it rarely works in a team. There are enough examples of that. The 2nd driver should be somewhat close and Lawson (and Perez in recent years) failed to do that. They often don’t even make it out of Q1. And they aren’t bad drivers per de.
Max needs someone to cover his rear, like Hamilton had so often with Bottas (who was close but rarely better than Hamilton).
I believ the car just has a very narrow window and Max can handle that but others can’t.
In retrospect Bottas was basically a perfect teammate for Hamilton.
In older times I think of Barrichello for Schumacher and Couthard for Hakkinen
I think it was Coulthard who famously opened up about being a "second driver" years after the fact, acknowledging that he needed that distance to be able to mentally accept that Hakkinen was simply a better driver. I think he said that at the time, he needed to believe he could best Hakkinen to be able to stay at his own competitive peak. I agree that Bottas was really an excellent teammate for Hamilton, he really was good enough to punish mistakes by the other teams, although he often would have those same problems Perez (and others) coming through the field after a weaker qualifying.
By the way I like Coulthard’s commentary on the F1 tv broadcasts. He’s a lot more modest than you would expect and usually has good insights.
Wow, they waited nearly 2 years to replace Checo but only 2 races to replace Lawson.
Confused Yuki Noises
I'm a big Yuki fan, but hoo boy this will be a confusing one. On the plus side, it gets him away from VCARB's strategy and gives him a chance to really show his stuff. On the other hand, it sure seems like the RB20 is borderline-undriveable and all that's happening is RBR is setting Yuki up for failure - and after that he's pretty much done, right?
How’d you come to support Tsunoda? I would like to be able to get behind the only Japanese driver on the grid, but I just haven’t gotten there yet. I missed most of last season but prior to that his behavior on the radio really turned me off. I like to keep an open mind though, so please change my opinion!
Honestly a lot of it is just vibes - I started following F1 when Max was driving for (at the time) Torro Rosso, so I've kept an eye on their drivers. And while he may have overstepped a tad last season, the "Yuki gets really angry on the radio" moments made me like him more - it's fun to see that sort of passion about things.
I'm sure there are internal political pressures driving this, but on the surface, how does this make sense for Yuki??
Yuki would go from being the clear #1 in the 5th fastest car, to (at best) the #2 in the 4th fastest car. At worst, he will be the third driver in as many races to struggle to make it out of Q1 and will wipe out a lot of the reputation he has built over the years and end his career, see Checo.
its likely his last year with the team anyway -- so moving away from the faux-junior team to show off his skill in a tough car will help him find his next gig.
With Honda and AM together next year, that seems like the obvious home for him, but I can't see them dropping Nando. I made some crazy predictions in my other comment, but I wouldn't be surprised if we see Yuki as a reserve for AM unless Lance steps down (ideal) or Hulk retires. Otherwise there aren't a lot of seats, which sucks.
Now -- if Yuki absolutely crushes it, I think Red Bull would do whatever they can to keep them so someone can drive that soapbox. I was really hoping for Sainz to take that seat before, but now I'm so glad he didn't.
I think Sainz really could have handled it - he's grown into a very competent driver, very skilled and very hard-working, I think. I do truly think that bridge was burned with the politicking between the two camps. I don't know, or particularly care, which side was more at fault, but I doubt anybody at Redbull is very keen to go through that again.
At the rate things are going, we'll probably have Horner in the 2nd Red Bull seat by Silverstone.
ok, I'm calling it ---- Yuki is going to come out and absolutely dominate in this car and it'll set him up for a good seat, replacing Stroll next year.
it's official!
Well consider my popcorn popped! 2025 on track to be one of the wildest yet!