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Formula One

Perez definitely deserves the Red Bull seat. Albon is clearly a talented driver but for whatever reason he just has not been able to cope with the pressure of driving for Red Bull alongside Verstappen.
 
If a driver of Checo's ability still struggles with the Red Bull, then I think there'll be clearer evidence that the problem is more likely to lie within the car itself and not the people driving it. Or that they're focusing too much on making it work for Max, as talented a driver as he is.
 
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That's a good point actually. Perez usually gets the best out of the cars he is driving and has little to prove, so if he is also 5 tenths off Verstappen then you would assume it is the car being built in such a way to suit Verstappen's driving style. Hopefully that does not happen though, as it is better for F1 if there are 2 Red Bulls fighting near the front.
 
A shame for Albon but it's hard to argue it's the wrong decision. Perez absolutely deserved to get a seat in one of the leading cars, though given the relative position of the teams in the final standings this year it's maybe not quite as big a promotion as it would have seemed 12 months ago.

It's been an excellent season all round IMO. The hastily arranged calendar has been a real breath of fresh air, though it's a shame we still had to end the season at Abu Dhabi. Aside from the obvious Mercedes domination there have been some pretty exciting battles for the minor positions throughout the year too, with Red Bull, Racing Point, Renault & McLaren all looking strong at various stages. Arguably Ferrari falling back has made it more interesting, as it's meant more points for the others to fight over. This has also been reflected in the driver's championship with quite an unpredictable battle for 4th. We were very close to a final-race 2nd place showdown too, had it not been for Max crashing at the start of Sakhir.

Lots of line-up changes next year could mix things up again, even if the cars aren't changing very much. With 23 races on the calendar, it'll be a busy year!
 
Really looking forward to the 2021 season like John said with 23 races it will be a busy one.

Personally I can't wait to see how Ricciardo performs in the McLaren & how the car works for him.

It will be interesting to see if Ferrari can sort some of their issues with the limited changes they can make during the off season.

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I'd hope that Ferrari won't be quite as bad if they can get a more upgraded engine, but it'll be a tough season for them ahead of the regulation changes in 2022.

Can we just call McLaren 'Mclaren Memecedes' for this year? Ricciardo & Norris together will be hilarious. :p

Oh, and as for Haas? Well...Nikita Mazepin. I can't say anything more than that for now.
 
I hope Mclaren can keep up the good work and with the Merc engine, will be interesting to see how they perform. Especially with the new investment in them too.

I would like to see and end to the Hamilton contract disputes, if hes being unreasonable then tell him to go. I think Russell in a Merc would be great. (No one is indispensable)

Or to really rub him up the wrong way, Get Rosberg back
 
As has been posted in the Celeb Deaths topic, Murray Walker, F1 commentator for many years, has passed away today at the age of 97. Everyone in the world of motorsport is devastated. He was a true legend, so knowledgeable and passionate about the sport, and incredibly well-respected.
 
I remember I was with my dad at the British Grand Prix, we had passes into the paddock area (He worked for McLaren) and Murray was doing an interview, us and some other fans were calling him. He came over and spent time with every person, chatting to them and signing stuff.
 
She was never an F1 driver, but the world has lost Sabine Schmitz today at the age of 51 following a battle with cancer. In the UK, she's probably most well-known for her appearances on Top Gear, where she managed to drive a Transit (which was admittedly stripped of all unnecessary weight and had a car in front that it could draft) around the Nürburgring in 10 minutes 8 seconds. Which is frankly ridiculous. It was always a highlight to see her on Top Gear, and her passing is being mourned across the motorsport world.
 
The passing of Murray Walker, the voice of F1, and Sabine Schmitz who was one of the greatest drivers around the ring is sad news. I can still remember so many F1 moments with Murrays voice in the background, and you can never forget Sabines attempt to drive a sub 10 minute lap in a van.

The new drive to survive series has hit Netflix this Friday, and I have already binge watched it. Adds a different view to F1 which you dont see watching the normal race weekends. It has got me really excited for the upcoming season.

I have started a Fantasy F1 if anyone wants to join in, here is the link: https://fantasy.formula1.com/league/149385 and here is the code: e48b1808cc

There is also Play F1 where you make predictions for the upcoming race, with the chance to win tickets for the next race. There is an app you can download, or you can sign up here: https://www.f1play.com/ PIN for the league I have created is here: TSGKELY
 
I feel like there's been no buzz about the new season starting, I didn't even realise it was this weekend until yesterday.

Practice indicates a much closer field this year, with Mercedes hurt by changes to their floor and others making progress. Some interesting new driver pairings too, big potential for Vetel to be embarrassed by a young teammate again...

I'll have to wait for C4 highlights, still living in hope that Sky and their stupidly priced substandard coverage bugger off some time soon.
 
Great first qualifying session, this is going to be a really interesting season.

I really want the Yuki Tsundoa caps to come in stock, he was fantastic to watch last season in, and looking forward to seeing what he can do this year.

As for Sky's coverage, I think it has been excellent, and a massive improvement over what we had on ITV and BBC. As for the price, I wish it was free, but if it was free, we would not get all the additional content Sky F1 produce each race weekend.
 
A genuine contender to Lewis would be exciting, hopefully Red Bull now have a car which can compete, as much as I dislike Verstappen he's certainly quick enough.

Sky just need to dispose of Crofty, just painful to listen to.
 
Well that was an enjoyable race. I was worried beforehand that Verstappen was going to drive off in to the distance but the Mercedes of Hamilton was only a tad slower at the start of the race so we was able to stay a competative distance behind. And then Mercedes alternative strategy really made it interesting; gain track position each time and make Verstappen re-take the lead on the track.

It was refreshing to have a race whereby even on the last lap you did not know who was going to win. Mightly impressive final stint from Hamilton, still not quite sure how he held off Verstappen who had a faster can and tyres that were 10 laps fresher. Shows the importance of track position and how tricky it can be to make an overtake under pressure, even with DRS.

More of the same please!
 
Sky's coverage is awful. I can't stand David Croft's sanctimonious crap that he pulls every race for something or other.

I end up taking the 5live commentary via BBC Sounds and syncing it manually. As for all the wrap-around content, other than Ted's Notebook (which I watch on YouTube) it's mostly utter rubbish - and there's so much of it that I tend to not see any of it because I can't watch 90 mins of build up.

So much preferred the BBC/Channel 4 live coverage.
 
I don't mind David Croft at all. Martin Burdle is the best in the business when it comes to explaining F1 to viewers (both those new to the sport and those who are not) and I think Ted Kravitz is brilliant! Not a fan of Simon Lazenby but overall Sky do a good job, just as they do with most sports (their cricket and golf coverage is top drawer).
 


This was when I vowed to not use Croft's commentary again. Watch on to see it done properly by Jacques (who's doing the commentary for C4 now).
 
Sky's overall coverage is very good, it's just Crofty is so out of his depth it really brings it down. You can rely on him making a few major errors every race. It's live, commentators make errors and correct themselves all the time, but he just genuinely sounds like he has no clue what is going on. Last season he was all over the place. Not well liked around the paddock either I hear.

Aside from that, a great start to the season with Lewis silencing his critics once again. Let's hope it continues!
 
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