[Driver] 2019 F1 Silly Season

[S griffin]

Just shows Red Bull aren’t always hard nosed with their drivers

[E.B]

Originally Posted by S griffin

Just shows Red Bull aren’t always hard nosed with their drivers

Or are they working on the basis that a Kvyat return will spark another Max win as history has shown previously.

[S griffin]

Maybe they’ll drop him every over race to be sure

[bjohnsonsmith]

Originally Posted by peebee2

1 French and 1 Swiss. Just because Bigjohn has a French licence doesn’t make him French!

The late, great Jochen Rindt was German but drove under an Austrian racing licence.

[JohnMiller]

Originally Posted by bjohnsonsmith

The late, great Jochen Rindt was German but drove under an Austrian racing licence.

He was half-German and half-Austrian and, from the age of 1, lived in Austria - being raised by his Austrian grandparents after his parents will killed during a bombing raid in the war.

I think he also only ever raced as an Austrian.

Grosjean raced as Swiss I am sure, before becoming French supposedly to appeal to Renault, although I think he is half-French and half-Swiss.

[bjohnsonsmith]

Originally Posted by JohnMiller

He was half-German and half-Austrian and, from the age of 1, lived in Austria - being raised by his Austrian grandparents after his parents will killed during a bombing raid in the war.

I think he also only ever raced as an Austrian.

Grosjean raced as Swiss I am sure, before becoming French supposedly to appeal to Renault, although I think he is half-French and half-Swiss.

True but he retained his German citizenship but raced with an Austrian licence.

[sizzle]

Like they really did that with Max

Snip
Red Bull will need to instil a bit of "discipline" into Pierre Gasly for his 2019 Formula 1 promotion, according to Helmut Marko

[Skam85]

Translated: don't be too quick and upset Golden Boy Chosen One Max

[rbs]

Originally Posted by Skam85

Translated: don't be too quick and upset Golden Boy Chosen One Max

Well Said.

[wnut]

Originally Posted by sizzle

Like they really did that with Max

Snip
Red Bull will need to instil a bit of "discipline" into Pierre Gasly for his 2019 Formula 1 promotion, according to Helmut Marko

You back off and avoid the contact, mate.

[S griffin]

I’m sure Gasly can do that himself without Red Bull’s help

[EffectiveSprinkles]

Originally Posted by Skam85

Translated: don't be too quick and upset Golden Boy Chosen One Max

As if Verstappen cares at all who his teammate is He destroyed self proclaimed best driver on the grid Ricciardo without breaking a sweat.

[wnut]

Originally Posted by EffectiveSprinkles

As if Verstappen cares at all who his teammate is He destroyed self proclaimed best driver on the grid Ricciardo without breaking a sweat.

I think he may find Gasly to be better than he thinks.
It is going to be epic if Gasly is quicker than Max.

[S griffin]

Max will either make or break Gasly

[Aysedasi]

I don't expect Gasly to be any quicker than Verstappen. I haven't seen anything that suggests that will be the case. Nor do I necessarily think that Gasly has a cooler head than Verstappen. The key for Gasly will be whether he's made to play second fiddle to Verstappen.

[EffectiveSprinkles]

I mean if Verstappen is fighting for the championship (which is very very unlikely with Honda but still) it would only be wise for Red Bull to do so of course.

[fzaza]

Originally Posted by S griffin

Max will either make or break Gasly

Max will BREAK Gasly, period

[Aysedasi]

It remains to be seen.....

[sizzle]

Max is the second coming, or so everyone believes.
I have seen little to suggest Gasly is the third.

[bjohnsonsmith]

Before everyone gets too excited about Max, there is still the question of the Honda PU.

[S griffin]

Well it's got better, so there's reason to suggest it will be alright in 2019

[bjohnsonsmith]

Originally Posted by S griffin

Well it's got better, so there's reason to suggest it will be alright in 2019

In 2017, McLaren finished 2nd to last in the WCC, with 30 points. They had 13 retirements and 2 DNS.

This season, Toro Rosso finished 3rd from last in the WCC, with 33 points. They had 10 retirements and 0 DNS. It's a slight improvement.

[S griffin]

And now they have a better car, although I can see why Danny left

[Mike Harte]

Originally Posted by S griffin

And now they have a better car, although I can see why Danny left

But the 2019 car hasn't even turned a wheel, yet! So how can we know if it's a better car?

[Richard C]

Originally Posted by bjohnsonsmith

In 2017, McLaren finished 2nd to last in the WCC, with 30 points. They had 13 retirements and 2 DNS.

This season, Toro Rosso finished 3rd from last in the WCC, with 33 points. They had 10 retirements and 0 DNS. It's a slight improvement.

While that is a particular viewpoint, I don’t think it’s a good way to measure the progress of Honda. There were a huge number of other factors that played a significant part in the final place in the championship for them. Both were underperforming teams regardless of what power unit they might have had. Regardless, both teams were hampered by the use of the Honda unit as it was developed over the course of those two season. I suspect each would have placed slightly higher (a single place, no more?) if they had better power units.

But Honda is in a much better place now. Even with that being said, never say never, but I think talk of Max factoring into the 2019 WDC is quite the stretch. Honda seemed to be (+/-) on par with Renault at the end of the year. RBR was able to win races with that level of power. I personally think winning races and remaining third in the championship is realistic goals for RBR and Honda. I don’t expect them to leapfrog Ferrari and Mercedes. And I do expect there will be power unit related retirements from Honda next year, but hopefully much less than this past season.

Richard