I wonder if Max will finally realise he cant just stick his elbows out and bully everyone to get his own way.
A bit early for 2025 predictions but the way things are going: Lewis going to cruise to WDC no 8 with 2014 levels of dominance while the young hotheads trip over each other all season long.
With the form being so topsy turvy this year (remember when Merc won 3 races in 4?) anything could happen. The only thing I hope to continue is the chaos at Red Bull, after 2021 and 2022 they richly deserve it. However Hamilton achieving Godhood at Ferrari would certainly be nice.
About the the only circs under which i'd want Ferrari to win... Right now i just want Horner and Verstappen to lose... how and who to is immaterial...
I'd much rather it was a nip-and-tuck affair all through the year between Hamilton and Verstappen, then at the final race of the season you have a red flag and an arbitrary change of rules to make Hamilton win. Just for the endless, boundless tears and moaning of RB.
I think next year will be a really close battle from the start. Lewis, Charles, lando, piastri, Russell and probably Max all in the mix for wins. Think the new regs limiting the dev time of the leading teams has really worked to help close the field up. Merc looking like 4th in the constructors will give them a development time advantage next year, but having a rookie could negate some of that with the lack of experience.
That or Max gets too cocky and bins it in the last few laps... i think i'd rather he lose due something that was visible from space as being a result of his own actions...
Blows cobwebs off thread McLaren are the 2024 World Constructors' Champions!!! Aaaaannnd breathe.... That was a rollercoaster of a season, some controversy and a good amount of decent races, especially the last 2 triple headers. Watching the final race and chewing through my nails during the last few laps, praying for no crashes, safety cars or anything that could upset proceedings. I can't wait for the 2025 season to kick off!
The only reason I can think of for RBR to have kept Checo is money development time to fix the issues he spotted last year.
Perez provides lots of money and (mostly) keeps his mouth shut. Everybody knows Red Bull build a single current spec car each year, may as well have the driver who causes no drama. I'm surprised nothing gets made about how different the two RB cars are by the end of a season. Still, yay Mclaren! I really, sincerely hope that this year is Mr Verstappen's 2013. I have had enough of that graceless, tactless, charmless swamp german.
I think when even the a-spec car was leagues ahead and Perez could land sufficient podiums it worked, but now his head is completely shot, he's getting beaten by RB jnr, Haas and even alpine on the regular he's an embarrassment. That he's lasted this long in the toxic sexpest cesspool without a complete mental breakdown is an achievement worthy of a trophy. He should try and get a drive with Cadillac, who'd probably LOVE and American-mexican driving combo. Incredible moment for McLaren, from gp2 to constructors championship in 9 years. It's like the Leicester city story all over again. Shame landos WDC race was over before it started. I fear he doesn't have the mental rigidity for a title run-in.
I can't decide if this was a good season or not, oh for sure it got close there for a second, even some edge of the seat excitement, but so many bad tracks and follow the leader races with minimal overtaking just dragged the whole season down for me.
For me it was like an inverse 2009 - a pit of sadness until mid-season, a few races of hope and good competition, then back to business as usual. Not to take away from Max of course, that drive in Brazil was absolutely epic. But it gives me hope for next year; unless RB steal a huge advantage again over winter we'll have 4 teams fighting at the front.
Checmax by fix-the-spade posted 11 Dec 2024 at 19:28 Both of these pictures are from this weekend, the top one is Checo's car on Saturday and the bottom is Max during the race. You need to be looking at the yellow Rauch logo and the entrance to the venturi tunnels. On Perez' car to the top edge of the tunnel is rounded off and has a strake running along it almost to the leading edge. On Max's car the front of the tunnel is sharper and flatter, like an old style barge board, whilst the top strake is much further back, almost completely behind the Rauch logo instead of above it like on Perez' car. They run different spec cars. It started after Ricciardo left, Gasly/Albon would often have a car one or two updates behind. It's carried on with Perez, usually he has the same car at the start of the season, then ends up at least one revision behind by the end. It makes sense given the Red Bull is team Verstappen, but I'm surprised the press never make thing out of it.
Most teams prioritize the driver performing better or crashing less and usually give them the first stab at upgrades, which in RBR is pretty clear who's who. Heck, Albon crashed and Williams gave him Sargent's car. If a driver crashes more, then chances are the parts that are left by the end of the season are old stock, which in the case of Perez is quite a few. Also, considering RBR's woes with their car, they're more likely to experiment more with different (older) parts and setups with the driver underperforming than with the driver fighting at the front of the field. Sure, the car is designed around Verstappen, and setup direction is typically dictated by the leading driver. Albon said so himself in the High Performance interview, he explained very well why RBR second drivers struggle. Every team has interest in finishing at the front, there's no reason to sabotage one of their drivers, especially in the case of RBR where their alternatives are honestly just "fine" (except Yuki but he's not an option they're considering). EDIT: in case you haven't seen the interview, here's where he explains it:
