Community Stories

2023 Formula 1 Thread

stevec14
Posts
2,889
Likes
11,945
DrmexicoII DrmexicoII
It was sort of exciting but when max wins again it gets very boring very quickly. You could look at the result and say it was a red bull one-two but the reality is perez was miles off max. At least in the merc dominant years you genuinely didn't know which one of the drivers might put it on pole and/or win the race. Now the cars are so reliable it makes max's dominance even worse. An engine failure or tyre blowout would at least make it a little bit interesting!

Not max's fault obviously, it's on the opposition and max's team mate to take the fight to him. But for me it's taking the appeal out of it as a spectacle. Watching drive to survive again with my son and it makes you long for the days of Danny Ric sticking it up the back of max in Baku... Good times!
Well, in the good old merc days they used to let Lewis through plenty if the likes of bottas were ahead and for me it wasn’t particularly exciting then either.

you make a good point, however, which I just thought about. The reliability of all of these cars is amazing compared to some years past. The RB appears bulletproof so when max takes the lead, that’s that.

At least todays race had a good bit of racing behind but I do hope there can be some more competitive stuff at the front in 2024. I am a max fan, but I’m not sure I’d want to see much more like this. I think given equal/ similar cars max would likely win anyway but it would be good to see him have to work for it a little.
 
Evitzee
Posts
7,557
Likes
13,954
stevec14 stevec14
At least todays race had a good bit of racing behind but I do hope there can be some more competitive stuff at the front in 2024. I am a max fan, but I’m not sure I’d want to see much more like this. I think given equal/ similar cars max would likely win anyway but it would be good to see him have to work for it a little.
RB has the best driver, best cars, best engineering and best management, the other teams will have to close that gap. We had similar situations in the Ferrari/Schumacher and Mercedes/Hamilton years, right now RB is lead dog but that will eventually change. We just don't know when or how.
 
BLOW UP
Posts
1,320
Likes
1,679
Evitzee Evitzee
RB has the best driver, best cars, best engineering and best management, the other teams will have to close that gap. We had similar situations in the Ferrari/Schumacher and Mercedes/Hamilton years, right now RB is lead dog but that will eventually change. We just don't know when or how.

Red Bull has a very good and consistent (now at least) driver, but he's certainly not the best; there are a number of drivers of his generation
that would match his performance in the fastest car that was built around them, Norris, Russell and Leclerc to name a few.

I also don't think they've got the best management, but they do have the greatest engineer/aerodynamicist/designer by far, and that's why they give him leeway to go off and do other projects to keep him happy, and pay him the equivalent wage of a multiple world champion, and that is incredibly shrewd.
 
BLOW UP
Posts
1,320
Likes
1,679
DrmexicoII DrmexicoII
It was sort of exciting but when max wins again it gets very boring very quickly. You could look at the result and say it was a red bull one-two but the reality is perez was miles off max. At least in the merc dominant years you genuinely didn't know which one of the drivers might put it on pole and/or win the race. Now the cars are so reliable it makes max's dominance even worse. An engine failure or tyre blowout would at least make it a little bit interesting!

Not max's fault obviously, it's on the opposition and max's team mate to take the fight to him. But for me it's taking the appeal out of it as a spectacle. Watching drive to survive again with my son and it makes you long for the days of Danny Ric sticking it up the back of max in Baku... Good times!

I think the racing throughout the field today was gripping, I didn't find it boring for a second..

Completely agree with the point about Mercedes dominant years; Lewis has always had incredibly competitive teammates throughout his career, including three world champions! and great competition from other teams and other drivers..

As for Daniel Ricardo, I like him very much and he'd give a better challenge than Perez, but I don't think he can really hold a candle to Verstappen, in the same way Ricardo couldn't hold a candle to Lando, or even just keep him honest.
 
DrmexicoII
Posts
643
Likes
978
BLOW UP BLOW UP
Red Bull has a very good and consistent (now at least) driver, but he's certainly not the best; there are a number of drivers of his generation
that would match his performance in the fastest car that was built around them, Norris, Russell and Leclerc to name a few.

I also don't think they've got the best management, but they do have the greatest engineer/aerodynamicist/designer by far, and that's why they give him leeway to go off and do other projects to keep him happy, and pay him the equivalent wage of a multiple world champion, and that is incredibly shrewd.

That last paragraph is spot on. The best management decision is keeping Adrian Newey no matter what. Wonder how much that man and his notebook would cost another team? They must have tried...!
 
BLOW UP
Posts
1,320
Likes
1,679
DrmexicoII DrmexicoII
That last paragraph is spot on. The best management decision is keeping Adrian Newey no matter what. Wonder how much that man and his notebook would cost another team? They must have tried...!

Yes absolutely, but wage package aside, Ron Dennis at McLaren tried desperately to hold on to Newey, but seemed to use more of the stick method rather than trying to appease his frustrations and look after him.

As far as I know, Ferrari head-hunted Adrian Newey in a big way with a huge salary package, but as I understand it was the notion of conforming to the 'Ferrari way' and not having the freedom to be himself that repelled him. I have a feeling this is what James Allison found so difficult at Ferrari.

It's really worth looking at the way Red Bull has allowed him to work on other projects at the same time, including his absolute imperative to fearlessly race and develop his own race cars, immerse himself in the Aston Martin Valkyrie project, and allowing him the freedom to focus on the America's Cup boat etc.. He's their Golden Goose that lays golden eggs, and they completely recognise the importance of keeping him really happy.
 
DrmexicoII
Posts
643
Likes
978
Not wanting to diminish the robbery which must have been scary, but I've often thought the worst thing about being an f1 driver is being forced to wear a certain watch. Not to mention being made a target, I really dislike the RM aesthetic and wouldn't want to wear one, even if it was free. Still not as bad as the Williams drivers that had to wear Bremont! Nothing against the brand but they do nothing for me. Can't imagine being forced to wear a watch I didn't like, regardless of how expensive it was.

Luckily for me my driving talent is at best undiscovered. More likely, very average. So very unlikely to be put in that situation!
 
YY77
Posts
5,759
Likes
27,129
DrmexicoII DrmexicoII
Can't imagine being forced to wear a watch I didn't like, regardless of how expensive it was.
I'm pretty sure Max would rather not wear a Tag but the paycheck is too much to ignore.
 
Evitzee
Posts
7,557
Likes
13,954
DrmexicoII DrmexicoII
Not wanting to diminish the robbery which must have been scary, but I've often thought the worst thing about being an f1 driver is being forced to wear a certain watch. Not to mention being made a target, I really dislike the RM aesthetic and wouldn't want to wear one, even if it was free. Still not as bad as the Williams drivers that had to wear Bremont! Nothing against the brand but they do nothing for me. Can't imagine being forced to wear a watch I didn't like, regardless of how expensive it was.

Luckily for me my driving talent is at best undiscovered. More likely, very average. So very unlikely to be put in that situation!
It's just a part of their contract and employment requirements, whether it's a RM, Bremont, Hublot, IWC or Tag Heuer they really don't care. Being obligated to wear a particular watch is hardly the worst thing for an F1 driver. They would strap a turd to their wrist and gladly wear it if it was a requirement to be an F1 driver.
 
DrmexicoII
Posts
643
Likes
978
Evitzee Evitzee
It's just a part of their contract and employment requirements, whether it's a RM, Bremont, Hublot, IWC or Tag Heuer they really don't care. Being obligated to wear a particular watch is hardly the worst thing for an F1 driver. They would strap a turd to their wrist and gladly wear it if it was a requirement to be an F1 driver.

yeah, I get it's a requirement - that was kind of my point. I wonder how many of them are actually watch guys deep down who do care?
 
texasmade
Posts
2,586
Likes
2,870
DrmexicoII DrmexicoII
yeah, I get it's a requirement - that was kind of my point. I wonder how many of them are actually watch guys deep down who do care?
My guess is most of them are just like the general public when it comes to watches.

"I want a nice watch. Let me get a Rolex! (APRO, Patek Nautilus, Aquanaut)" without giving much thought behind it other than it looks nice and it's an in-demand watch.
 
dsio
Posts
33,454
Likes
38,160
texasmade texasmade
My guess is most of them are just like the general public when it comes to watches.

"I want a nice watch. Let me get a Rolex! (APRO, Patek Nautilus, Aquanaut)" without giving much thought behind it other than it looks nice and it's an in-demand watch.
The most common personal watch I see them wear is the Daytona, Johnny Herbert has his, Jenson Button, Nico Hulkenberg, Mark Webber, many others too. Sir Jackie has handed out a lot of them to ex drivers apparently as gifts and I've actually got one of the 116520's Jackie gifted (issued by RSC Melbourne so never sold, Jackie asked for it and Rolex gave it to him to gift).
 
Vercingetorix
Posts
3,855
Likes
6,558
OK here’s the trivia and no cheating. I don’t know the answer myself, but how many Formula One drivers current and past have actually earned a Rolex Daytona by winning the Rolex 24?
 
DrmexicoII
Posts
643
Likes
978
dsio dsio
The most common personal watch I see them wear is the Daytona, Johnny Herbert has his, Jenson Button, Nico Hulkenberg, Mark Webber, many others too. Sir Jackie has handed out a lot of them to ex drivers apparently as gifts and I've actually got one of the 116520's Jackie gifted (issued by RSC Melbourne so never sold, Jackie asked for it and Rolex gave it to him to gift).

Nice story to have with a nice watch 👍
 
BLOW UP
Posts
1,320
Likes
1,679
DrmexicoII DrmexicoII
Not wanting to diminish the robbery which must have been scary, but I've often thought the worst thing about being an f1 driver is being forced to wear a certain watch. Not to mention being made a target, I really dislike the RM aesthetic and wouldn't want to wear one, even if it was free. Still not as bad as the Williams drivers that had to wear Bremont! Nothing against the brand but they do nothing for me. Can't imagine being forced to wear a watch I didn't like, regardless of how expensive it was.

Luckily for me my driving talent is at best undiscovered. More likely, very average. So very unlikely to be put in that situation!

Indeed, I find Richard Mille's watches utterly grotesque, and most are impossible to tell the time at a glance.

Lando Norris liked wearing his, but he got put in a stranglehold and mugged after the Wembley's 2020 Euros, and it was cut off his wrist..

If it were the 60s/70s I really wouldn't mind being forced to wear a Jochen Rindt or Mario Andretti Autavia..
 
texasmade
Posts
2,586
Likes
2,870
8100_RPM 8100_RPM
I'm surprised we don't have a watches of F1 thread.
Don’t forget an F1 watch robbery thread while we’re at it
 
351 More Posts...
Sign up or log in to reply...

Similar threads

vbrad26

2025 F1 Thread

vbrad26 Open Discussion
P
Paul m
Posts
356
Views
15K
JakubL

TAG Heuer Formula 1 Lady Diamonds 37mm

JakubL Watches For Sale
JakubL
JakubL
Posts
4
Views
6K