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Formula One

Due to intense flooding in the region around Imola, this weekend's GP has been cancelled. It's sad, but the right decision for everybody.
 
I feel bad for Nick, I think he was just a subject of the Red Bull brutality, Had a target on his back since the start of the season.. Am I happy that DR is back? Not overly, im sure he is a nice guy but I feel like Red Bull are just using him for as much marketing as possible
 
Well Red Bull are going to need someone to replace Perez next season, who ever since his decent start to the season has been having an absolute shocker! Red Bull have the best car by a mile yet he can't get near the podium.
 
They apparently asked Albon about going back into the Red Bull fold, but he is happy at Williams, feels like a good place for him currently
 
Perez clearly has the pace on Sundays - there just seems to be something knocking his confidence recently when it comes to qualifying. He's still second in the championship - what more do Red Bull want if he finishes there at the end of the season behind Max?

Nyck should have been given the Williams seat over Logan. He's clearly a talented driver - he managed to take one of the slowest cars and get points on his debut at one of the fastest tracks, in addition to the proven pedigree he had before stepping into F1. Evidently, he is better suited to the Mercedes pool rather than the cutthroat of Red Bull, and it's really not fair that he hasn't been given the chance to prove himself over the long term. Obviously, Mick has that priority at Mercedes now, so I doubt Nyck will be given that opportunity again, which is beyond frustrating.

I think Alex should have another year or two leading at Williams where the small wins are going to contribute to his confidence massively. Once Lewis is gone, bring him up to the Merc seat; Mick and Nyck at Williams with an improved car would be an interesting combination.

IF Perez is dumped from the RB seat, I'd rather it go to Lando than Daniel. It's about time he was given something worthy of getting him his first win. I can see Yuki being eyed up as the eventual Alonso replacement at Aston for the token Honda gesture, which would nicely pave the way for Liam to get a proper seat on the grid with AT and leave Daniel to fester there until he retires. Bringing him back is nothing more than a PR spin it feels.
 
I feel for Nyck, but Alpha Tauri was never a good fit for him and he must of known what he was getting in to. He had to be matching or beating Yuki from the start, and he has not done that. He is 28, so he was hardly going to be given as long as the younger drivers coming through.

Perez has been lucky in the sense that he has driven a Red Bull which can make its way through the field, where as Albon and Gasly did not have that luxury, so if they did not get the most out of qualifying, they were stuck. Now Red Bull have a decent car, its easier for Perez to recover when he has a poor qualifying performance.

I would love to see Dennis Hauger get the Alpha Tauri (Name TBC) seat for next season. I think the next half of the season could shape Yuki's career. If he can beat Daniel Ricardo, I think that puts him in a really good place for having his chance in Red Bull next season. I am not sure he is ready for it, but as Danny mentions above, are Red Bull going to want him taking a seat up in the Alpha Tauri, if he is potentially going to end going to Aston Martin in a few years?

It is going to be interesting to see how the driver market shapes up over the rest of the season.
 
He seems like a great guy and is hugely entertaining, but DR seems to have absolutely lost his abilities. Just waiting now to see if he if going to be embarrassed by Yuki like he has been by all his other team mates...
 
He seems like a great guy and is hugely entertaining, but DR seems to have absolutely lost his abilities. Just waiting now to see if he if going to be embarrassed by Yuki like he has been by all his other team mates...
This comment is ageing well.

Ricciardo's previous F1 teammates:
Karthikeyan (HRT)
Liuzzi
Vergne (Torro Rosso)
Vettel (Red Bull)
Kvyat
Verstappen
Hulkenberg (Renault)
Ocon
Norris (McLaren)

I make that 1 teammate he was outshone by (Norris) and another he was there or thereabouts with (Verstappen - no doubt Verstappen would outshine him now but in 2018 there was little to tell them apart).

If you really think that Ricciardo was "embarrassed" by any of the others then I think we must each have a very different view of what an embarrassment is.
 
This comment is ageing well.

Ricciardo's previous F1 teammates:
Karthikeyan (HRT)
Liuzzi
Vergne (Torro Rosso)
Vettel (Red Bull)
Kvyat
Verstappen
Hulkenberg (Renault)
Ocon
Norris (McLaren)

I make that 1 teammate he was outshone by (Norris) and another he was there or thereabouts with (Verstappen - no doubt Verstappen would outshine him now but in 2018 there was little to tell them apart).

If you really think that Ricciardo was "embarrassed" by any of the others then I think we must each have a very different view of what an embarrassment is.

If it wasn't clear by 'lost', this was a comment on recent form, having had excellent form previously. To have been able to lose form you obviously must have had it initially! Slip of the finger there with 'all' of his other teammates, only meant the last couple.

For the last couple of years he has been a notably bad driver, not getting anything out if the car and quite sloppy in races, when he was brought in on the big bucks to be the lead. I think it is fair to say he left both his last teams under bit of a cloud of having underachieved for them.

I wouldn't have employed him over many other options out there, and would rather someone new had been given the current seat in what is designed to be a feeder team for Red Bull, especially as I don't know if Perez's gap to Max is going to be tolerated much longer...
 
@pluk So rather than "by all his other team mates" you just meant "by Norris" then?

Yeah, that's fair. In my head he had been weaker vs his previous three teammates than was the case or that the stats support. Probably largely because of the way Max started dominating him by the end, the failing of his move to Renault as a whole, followed by the extent of the gap to Norris. I still think he seemed to be the master of his own misfortune on a disproportionate number of occasions though. And all that time he has been commanding the big boy money when I can't see him up there with the clear first drivers. I know that, rightly or wrongly, since Red Bull I've frequently wondered what he was thinking at the end of a race.

Still, only 6 places behind the mighty Tsunoda today. 🤣
*Dont bite, I know it's like his third day in the car! Will be interesting to see how quickly he catches him and if he does prove to be significantly or consistently the stronger driver. I have my doubts, but would be very happy to see him succeed, I like him and having him in the sport as a whole.
 
What's interesting is how much Yuki has said he feels he's already benefited by having Danny next to him. It generally seems he a great team mate to lean on.
 
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