Are you implying Lauda would have say on Aero choices or may have pushed to "cut the bull**** on the Bottom-feeder-looking no-sidepods" sooner ?

It's shocking Mercedes is struggling so much still... It's been a while. I know the pendulum swings but they've been making turds for a bit now, not just slower cars, turds... Russell must be so annoyed after waiting in the wings so long !

On the flip side I'm quite impressed McLaren was able to turn that car around so fast !
Gives me some hope for Alpine (LOL) what can I say, I like underdogs

I think Lauda'd have a say on aero AND he would have ended the no sidepod experiment way sooner. Plus, he'd maybe be able to get to the bottom of the disconnect between the CAD modeling done at the factory and the real world performance on the track.

It's going to be interesting for sure to see how Russell responds to a new teammate next season. From the outside looking in, it seems like Toto is desperately hoping a new driver can take the team back to the front.

Are we not talking Stroll ? ;-)

I mean, he completely lifted Ricciardo off the ground and ruined a comeback race for the guy (and also Piastri's). That was a safety car restart deal. a corner you need to brake for, I mean where else are you looking ?
The guy is a mystery to me, I try not to slag him too much, he did some good results like Baku and Turkey once, at times he pulls off really respectable passes. Clearly he has some talent. He also came back in serious pain from 2 wrist surgeries so he has motivation and some self belief. He could just stay home at the pool.

But.. the rest of the time ? I mean why? the mistakes, the total lack of pace vs almost any team mate... Is it because he's in the unique position of knowing his dad will get him a seat next year somehow that he's never questioning himself ? Does this lack of hunger translate into missing a little % that would make him a decent overall driver ?

Another side note (tin foil hat on). For 3 races Ricciardo is nowhere. Complains about the car doing A B or C. Gets new tub and is 1/2 a field ahead of Tsunoda, who complains almost verbatim about the same issue RIC was having... Is it possible they gave RIC a new tub, and gave Yuki Ricciardo's old tub as a blind test? Or, no new tub at all and swapped the cars ? the drivers would not know... Just having fun here but the comments make you wonder... Odd.

I've watched interviews with Stroll closely.
His smirk does not indicate someone who is
deadly serious about winning like Max.
My impression is that deep down, Strollovich Jr. resents
his father and the way he browbeats his son.
Yes, dad supports his career but you can tell that
daddy's ego will never let his kid do anything right.

the son likes racing but also hates it sometimes
and just wants to escape.

I agree on Stroll and have noticed he just doesn’t care this year. This is what happens when you get everything you want and still can’t get results.

I think his father really needs to sit down with him and see if he still wants to race in F1, if not move him aside, tough love is hard 😉

I speculated on the Lauda theory on 7 Feb coming to generally the same conclusion.

Andrea Stella has had success in another team before.

Unfortunately, no one will be giving the blue can cars any trouble until they can drop 0.4 sec/lap for an entire race. That's serious money territory.

Herta has the same wing in Indycar.

Nose.

Maybe we should give Alonso more credit vs slamming Stroll. He’s proven he has ability in a F1 car. Sure he’s got a silver (platinum) spoon and an attitude but FA is just on another level.

I think the proof is when a driver steps down a class. I know it doesn't happen in that world but what if Lance was put in an F2 car? Romain Grosjean won just about everything he raced in until he reached F1. Actually I thought he was gonna do a JP Montoya, Nigel Mansell, etc. when he got to Indycar. I think Andretti thought the same.

The point is Lance is probably a decent driver, but he's not in the best car and he's not the top gun. I like to think about things WRT Vettel. No Red Bull, no wins. I'm gonna put that one on the car.

This is Stroll commenting on the rumor that he was quitting and going to the pro tennis tour:

http://forums.pelicanparts.com/uploa...1713989759.jpg

I would re-write that just slightly:

Well, if I'm going to stay in F1, I'm going to need to work on my driving a little bit because I don't think I'm quite at that level yet. I mean, I like to think I'm pretty good. But I don't know if I'm ready to go up against Verstappen and Alonso just yet. :cool:

Realistically, there's NOTHING for him to work on. At the F1 level, you're beyond 'working on your driving'. It's now raw talent. You've either got it or you don't. He don't!

Newey is gone, bombshell, earthquake…..
https://www.bbc.com/sport/articles/cmm3v9ny78eo

Will be interesting to see if true . RB are saying they haven't heard anything from AN about leaving . If he does that is a bombshell no doubt.

https://www.yahoo.com/sports/adrian-newey-leave-red-bull-151403191.html

The story I saw about the Newey story.

Sounds like he did not like the clown show around Horner and maybe the way the complainant was treated.

In other news, HULK signed with Audi - done deal.

Good for him. I'm a fan and felt he always had machinery not up to his abilities. I didn't want his career to end/die with Haas.

In 2017, stroll finished 12th, behind his teammate: an old,
tired and ready to retire Massa.

The next year, they brought in Sergey Sirotkin
to replace Massa.
The next year, daddy fired Esteban Ocon
so Lance could drive.
That almost cost Ocon his career in F1.
Lance finished the season with 21 points,
his teammate perez scored 52 points.

the next year (2020) Stroll scored only 75 of the team's 210 points.

In 2021, A tired Vettel scored 43 points,
while stroll scored 34.

In 2022, Vettel scored 37 and stroll scored 18.

THEN we finally get to the Alonso vs stroll
comparison in 2023:
The only year that Stroll has kept up with his teammate
was when he outscored Sirotkin in 2018 with a total of 6 points.
Not a huge accomplishment in the grand scheme of things.

It's been suggested we're picking on stroll and it's not fair
to compare him to Alonso.
But stroll has been spanked by almost ALL of his teammates,
in every year but one. Barely.

I say it's an injustice for Stroll to occupy an F1 seat undeservedly,
when so many other talented drivers are dreaming of the chance
to prove they are faster than him but are locked out.

It's not personal against Lance, I feel sorry for him.
His father is an egomaniacal tyrant.

But I believe it's not right or fair to have someone like him
or Ricciardo being F1 squatters.
There just are not enough seats available to let some of them
go to waste.

We've already discussed Sargeant's pay to play scam,
so I guess Magnusson is next ;)

PS, I'm a Hulk fan, Good on him.