The Formula One Thread

[PHILINFRANCE]

2 hours ago, OneTeamInBristol said:

If those messages are indeed from him they are unbelievably cringey and rather tragic.

I did not need to see the pictures in the middle of breakfast either....  

Where did you manage to see that?

[OneTeamInBristol]

23 minutes ago, PHILINFRANCE said:

Where did you manage to see that?

Twitter or X as it now is.

[TonyTonyTony]

53 minutes ago, PHILINFRANCE said:

Where did you manage to see that?

The alleged google drive has been leaked on google

[bearded_red]

Why is it always the ones you most suspect?

[TonyTonyTony]

2 hours ago, TonyTonyTony said:

The alleged google drive has been leaked on google Twitter

Fail 

[Loco Rojo]

New season, normal service resumed. Yawn fest here we go.

I miss F1 of old.

[Maesknoll Red]

3 hours ago, Loco Rojo said:

New season, normal service resumed. Yawn fest here we go.

I miss F1 of old.

What, when Hamilton dominated for a spell, it’s been cyclical for quite a while now.

[Lrrr]

3 hours ago, Loco Rojo said:

New season, normal service resumed. Yawn fest here we go.

I miss F1 of old.

What just over half a second separating 1st and 9th? Max didn't even have the quickest lap in the 3 sessions, his lead in Q3 would have been the slipstream off Piastri he got starting his lap.

 

I will say I'll be very disappointed if Ferrari don't have this blasting out, horny Horner it seems

 

[phantom]

9 hours ago, Maesknoll Red said:

What, when Hamilton dominated for a spell, it’s been cyclical for quite a while now.

Was sadly all down to the set ups at the time 

Same predictable teams dropping out at the usual points of qualifying 

No good being quick in just the practice sessions though I really hope it's not the same old procession this year 

[Loco Rojo]

On 01/03/2024 at 20:55, Maesknoll Red said:

What, when Hamilton dominated for a spell, it’s been cyclical for quite a while now.

See yawn fest. Zero competition for Max. How is that even fun for him? As a racer, you want to be tested and actually race surely. Dull and same old F1.  

[Maesknoll Red]

On 02/03/2024 at 06:39, phantom said:

Was sadly all down to the set ups at the time 

Same predictable teams dropping out at the usual points of qualifying 

No good being quick in just the practice sessions though I really hope it's not the same old procession this year 

I don’t understand why it’s sadly down to set ups, that’s part of the formula, there are other races where all the cars are the same, but that’s not the point of F1.

5 years ago, very similar result in domination and times, different manufacturer and Drivers.  I didn’t hear too many moaning back then.

 

[East Londoner]

9 hours ago, Maesknoll Red said:

I don’t understand why it’s sadly down to set ups, that’s part of the formula, there are other races where all the cars are the same, but that’s not the point of F1.

5 years ago, very similar result in domination and times, different manufacturer and Drivers.  I didn’t hear too many moaning back then.

 

Five years ago whilst Lewis was winning a lot he at least had competition either from his teammate or from Vettel at Ferrari who was relatively strong at the time until their car was found to be illegal.

Most of last season and on Saturday the race was effectively over by the first corner 

Currently the most interesting thing is the behind the scenes drama at Red Bull and who is trying to get Horner out, currently rumoured to be Verstappen senior 

[phantom]

Jeremy Clarkson hit the nail on the head with his interview, questioning how all the teams have gone away over the winter yet the time differences are almost identical as last season

12 hours ago, Maesknoll Red said:

I don’t understand why it’s sadly down to set ups, that’s part of the formula, there are other races where all the cars are the same, but that’s not the point of F1.

5 years ago, very similar result in domination and times, different manufacturer and Drivers.  I didn’t hear too many moaning back then.

 

There were just as many grumbles about it being similar, hence the reason he suddenly became so disliked

[spudski]

9 minutes ago, phantom said:

Jeremy Clarkson hit the nail on the head with his interview, questioning how all the teams have gone away over the winter yet the time differences are almost identical as last season

There were just as many grumbles about it being similar, hence the reason he suddenly became so disliked

He was spot on...there are some teams that have improved slightly. Wasn't the race time two minutes quicker this season?

[Maesknoll Red]

6 hours ago, East Londoner said:

Five years ago whilst Lewis was winning a lot he at least had competition either from his teammate or from Vettel at Ferrari who was relatively strong at the time until their car was found to be illegal.

Most of last season and on Saturday the race was effectively over by the first corner 

Currently the most interesting thing is the behind the scenes drama at Red Bull and who is trying to get Horner out, currently rumoured to be Verstappen senior 

Pretty irrelevant if Vettel was strong with an illegal car.

 F1 has always had periods of dominance by a team/driver, probably the financial cap has made this more exaggerated, as teams can’t put the resource they would have in the past into closing the gap.

[DolmanGaz]

F1 president now accused of trying to manipulate race results... F1 is a dumpster fire right now. zero interest in watching the processions, I mean races, but the documentary should be entertaining next year

[DolmanGaz]

19 hours ago, Maesknoll Red said:

I don’t understand why it’s sadly down to set ups, that’s part of the formula, there are other races where all the cars are the same, but that’s not the point of F1.

5 years ago, very similar result in domination and times, different manufacturer and Drivers.  I didn’t hear too many moaning back then.

 

rather importantly, it wasn't lewis winning. when does Sergio beat max?

[nebristolred]

7 minutes ago, DolmanGaz said:

rather importantly, it wasn't lewis winning. when does Sergio beat max?

Exactly. I've made this point before - it's one thing to have an utterly dominant team. It's way worse when the teammate is too poor to even compete, but even worse than that again is when said dominant team is known for strongly favouring one car. Just sucks any slight possibility of entertainment out of it all.

[Maesknoll Red]

36 minutes ago, nebristolred said:

Exactly. I've made this point before - it's one thing to have an utterly dominant team. It's way worse when the teammate is too poor to even compete, but even worse than that again is when said dominant team is known for strongly favouring one car. Just sucks any slight possibility of entertainment out of it all.

Which makes the current speculation that Max will be at Mercedes for 2025 a bit mad, unless Newey goes there as well.

[nebristolred]

19 minutes ago, Maesknoll Red said:

Which makes the current speculation that Max will be at Mercedes for 2025 a bit mad, unless Newey goes there as well.

I'd imagine the most likely explanation is that the Red Bull engine for 2026 isn't looking good, but who knows! Definitely a mad one.

[Dollymarie]

I think the difference in the past was that, even when one team was dominating, other stuff (crashes, reliability issues etc) was still happening. Now it just feels too safe and sanitised. I’m not meaning that I want anyone hurt, just at least that meant there was something else going on to keep us watching. 

[nebristolred]

4 minutes ago, Dollymarie said:

I think the difference in the past was that, even when one team was dominating, other stuff (crashes, reliability issues etc) was still happening. Now it just feels too safe and sanitised. I’m not meaning that I want anyone hurt, just at least that meant there was something else going on to keep us watching. 

100% this also actually. Particularly vs the Schumacher days for example. It's another degree of jeopardy that has been largely removed.

[DolmanGaz]

1 hour ago, Maesknoll Red said:

Which makes the current speculation that Max will be at Mercedes for 2025 a bit mad, unless Newey goes there as well.

IF Horner is removed, Newey has a clause that means he can leave, I think, but what idiot what want to break up RB from inside?

 

Oh yeah, that wife-beating nut job Jos V

[Maesknoll Red]

2 hours ago, DolmanGaz said:

IF Horner is removed, Newey has a clause that means he can leave, I think, but what idiot what want to break up RB from inside?

 

Oh yeah, that wife-beating nut job Jos V

It’s beyond my comprehension, you build something so dominant- designer and driver, then one of those benefiting decides to absolutely destroy it.

There must be a strategy behind this, but I just see what it is yet.

 

[phantom]

By Andrew Benson

Chief F1 writer

 

Mohammed Ben Sulayem, president of motorsport's governing body the FIA, is under investigation for allegedly interfering over a Formula 1 race result.

A whistleblower has told the FIA that Ben Sulayem allegedly intervened to overturn a penalty given to Aston Martin's Fernando Alonso at the 2023 Saudi Arabian Grand Prix.

The claim is in a report by an FIA compliance officer to its ethics committee, which has been seen by BBC Sport.

Ben Sulayem and the FIA have not responded to requests for comment.

The allegation made by the whistleblower is that Ben Sulayem called Sheikh Abdullah bin Hamad bin Isa Al Khalifa - the FIA's vice-president for sport for the Middle East and North Africa region, who was in Saudi Arabia for the race in an official capacity - and made it clear he thought Alonso's penalty should be revoked.

Alonso had been given a 10-second penalty for work done on his car while he was serving a previous five-second penalty.

The report, by compliance officer Paolo Basarri, says the whistleblower reported that Ben Sulayem "pretended the stewards to overturn their decision to issue" the penalty to Alonso.

In Italian, the word "pretendere" means to require or expect.

The ethics committee is expected to take four to six weeks to issue its report.

The penalty in question had dropped Alonso from third place - behind Red Bull drivers Sergio Perez and Max Verstappen - to fourth, also behind Mercedes' George Russell. Withdrawing it returned him to a podium position.

In addition, BBC Sport has verified the information with several senior figures at high levels in F1 and close to the FIA. None would go on the record, but all said they had the same information.

What happened in Saudi Arabia 2023?

Alonso received an initial five-second penalty for placing his car partially outside his starting box on the grid for the race.

This was served at Alonso's first pit stop, but the two-time champion was then given a 10-second penalty because Aston Martin were judged to have contravened the rules by working on his car.

The penalty was imposed because Alonso's car had been touched by the rear jack before the full time duration had elapsed, in contravention of F1 rules.

At the time, the justification given by the stewards for overturning the decision referred to a discussion that had taken place between the F1 teams and the FIA on the subject of working on cars while serving a penalty in the pits.

The right of review decision said: "We concluded that there was no clear agreement, as was suggested to the stewards previously, that could be relied upon to determine that parties had agreed that a jack touching a car would amount to working on the car."

At the time, article 54.4c) of the sporting regulations said: "While a car is stationary in the pit lane as a result of incurring a penalty in accordance with Articles 54.3a) or 54.3b) above, it may not be worked on until the car has been stationary for the duration of the penalty."

After the race and following the Alonso situation, an additional sentence was added: "In this context, touching the car or driver by hand or tools or equipment will all constitute working."

Had this sentence been in place at the time, there would have been no question that the stewards had made the right initial decision.

What is the context for this?

The revelation of an attempt to interfere over the penalty decision is the latest in a series of controversies to embroil Ben Sulayem since being elected in December 2021.

Most recently, the FIA launched a compliance inquiry into Mercedes team principal Toto Wolff and his wife Susie on the basis of claims in a magazine of a conflict of interest.

The inquiry was withdrawn after just two days, following angry interventions from Mercedes, F1 and the other nine teams, who all said they had not made a complaint.

Insiders say that the FIA may face legal action over the Wolffs matter.

A series of controversies through 2022, Ben Sulayem's first year in office, led to widespread concern in F1 about his presidency and calls from senior figures for him to be replaced.

After pressure over the winter of 2022-23, Ben Sulayem said he would take a step back from direct involvement in F1, saying it had been his "stated objective to be a non-executive president".

The controversies included but were not limited to:

• Blocking for six months an agreement between the teams and commercial rights holder to double the number of sprint weekends for 2023

• Receiving a "cease-and-desist" letter from F1's lawyers following his reaction on social media to a story claiming Saudi Arabia's Public Investment Fund had tried to buy the sport for $20bn

• The emergence of a historical website that quoted him making misogynistic remarks

Ben Sulayem has said his intervention over the sprints was to ensure the FIA had sufficient resources to handle the change; he has not commented on the cease-and-desist letter.

He defended historical sexist remarks on his website in an interview with the Press Association last November, saying: "What did I say, if I said it? Let's assume it was [me]. I tell you exactly what it said. It says: 'I hate when women think they are smarter than us'. But they hate when men think they are smarter than them.

"Did I say we are smarter? No. Did I say they are less smarter? No. For God's sake, if that is the only thing they have against me, please be my guest, you can do worse than that."

A number of senior figures have resigned from the FIA in recent months. These include Steve Nielsen, who took on the role of sporting director in early 2023 and resigned before he had spent a year in his role; the head of the women's commission Deborah Mayer; Gerd Ennser, the head of German motorsport's authority the ADAC, who quit his role as an FIA steward; lawyers Pierre Ketterer and Ed Floyd; and FIA single-seater director Tim Goss.

None of these figures have given public explanations for their departure from the FIA. Goss, a former McLaren technical director, took a job as chief technical officer of Red Bull's RB team.

TAKEN FROM: Mohammed Ben Sulayem: FIA president under investigation for alleged attempt to interfere over F1 race - BBC Sport

[Dollymarie]

Read today that the reason Verstappens dad is so keen to get Horner out, is because the woman that Horner was exchanging messages with, was in some sort of relationship with Verstappen senior. 

[Maesknoll Red]

On 05/03/2024 at 19:09, Dollymarie said:

Read today that the reason Verstappens dad is so keen to get Horner out, is because the woman that Horner was exchanging messages with, was in some sort of relationship with Verstappen senior. 

Red Bull could be taking the longer term view, Horner has been there 20 years and has had success more than once, Verstappen is a short term success and will move on at some point, he has said he will leave F1 by 2028, he is unhappy at the number of races - is it better to take the hit of losing a Driver, or a successful Team Principal.

[Maesknoll Red]

This is turning into a soap opera now, RB have suspended the woman who made the accusation against Horner.

[Maltshoveller]

5 minutes ago, Maesknoll Red said:

This is turning into a soap opera now, RB have suspended the woman who made the accusation against Horner.

Cheaper to sack her than it is him

[Maesknoll Red]

54 minutes ago, Maltshoveller said:

Cheaper to sack her than it is him

Maybe he is innocent and being subjected to a targeted campaign - I have no idea.  And if he was sacked for gross misconduct then there would be no cost.