I think they’re still the quickest and don’t doubt him when he says they have more tricks. As soon as Lewis and Valteri started saying they were scared of McLaren’s pace it was a bit like ok yea you’re taking the mickey now aren’t you?
They like being out of that favourite role, that's for sure. Max looks super quick right now but my prediction for quali will still be HAM BOT VER
Hi all, So I have a question for those that say Stroll is rubbish and only their due to daddy what does that say about Vettel then? Otherwise it was good a qualifying session and I'm looking forward to the race. I think Perez's race craft will come into to play so I wouldn't write him off for good result just yet either. Marc
I'm not willing to write Seb of just yet, but if this form continues then I really don't understand where his pace went. Also I think Stroll joined the sport just due to monetary reasons but he has improved imo, gave Perez a decent battle in most races last year.
#RJwatches If you check out Stroll's history of racing in the lower formulas and in Europe you would see he was both fast and had quite a bit of success. This his only there due to his fathers money is a lazy dig at his talent or lack of that some think he has and is not based in fact and what he actually achieved IMHO. Anyone that thinks just lots of money can get you F1 seat is deluded IMO it is incredibly hard to drive an F1 car and be competitive if most could even drive one at all. Marc
Hi Marc, While I may agree in some parts that he had shown talent, I did not find his F3 record that spectacular, he entered the sport with Prema, the leading team in the sport, as his father had bought a stake in the team. That second season when he won the championship, Prema had such a massive advantage over any other car in the championship, even much more than Mercedes has had over the last 7 years in F1 imo. And to show that money can get you in F1, just take a look at Nikita Mazepin, never has shown anything remotely F1 worthy. And I do think that over the last 10 years we had other examples. I do not think Stroll did not have any talent, but if you would merely look at results he was not the obvious choice at the moment, and that is why I think just money got him in at the time.
This season will be epic. I see 3-4 teams at the front and fighting. Renault/Alpine look to have backslid though. We will see if the Alpha Tauri can push through to q3 consistently. I was hoping Williams would have sorted the chassis and aero by now... they have the engine and a driver... Haas is f’ed. Groper Marzispin is a liability that is only there for all the money he brought the team. Even the son of Superman may not be enough for them. How they are allowed to back door the Russian flag on the car is beyond me, esp with WADA filing a 100% legit complaint about it.
As much as he is a liability, I lost it when he overtook all those cars waiting for their turn only to spin in turn 1
Jolyon Palmer's opinion on BBC/formula1.com commentary was that was typical of F2 driving standards. I suspect he'll be hit by several big clue-sticks.
Same as Hamilton and Rosberg with ASM/ART in F3 and GP2. I heard no one complained about it. Having the best car is 1 thing, being able to use this advantage is another. Stroll was not ready when he started F1 and for sure, at that time it was because of his dad's money. Because of that, he is now often underrated. Just a few facts about him: In the F3 European Championship, he holds the records for clinching the title the sooner in the season (4 races before the end), most points difference to the next driver, most fastest laps in a single season, most wins in a single season. Ocon and Schumacher never managed that with the same car and the same dominant team... He is the 5th youngest F1 polesitter of all time. And the 2nd youngest F1 podium finisher, only beaten by Verstappen. Last: despite starting his 5th F1 season, the only drivers younger than him this season are the 3 rookies (Schumacher, Mazepin, Tsunoda) and Norris...
This indeed was what I meant. And I fully agree that he has talent and I would take a bet that he will finish higher in the championship this year than his 4 times world champion teammate.
While Stroll has passed the point of being just a paid seat driver, Seb is just not fast anymore. It has been obvious for several seasons and except to flatter the Strolls it baffles me that they have chosen him for the team. Meanwhile Gasly makes Marko and Christian look stupid too.
Seb brings money in sponsorships and is a good teacher for Lance... additionally while he is not the best development driver out there he isn’t bad. Kimi and Weber are better and carried Seb in the setup department.
Although Alpine do seem to have slid back, that Q3 performance from Alonso was beautiful to watch. The car isn’t there, he’s a 40 year old this year, he hasn’t been in F1 for 2 years but he beats the established and well regarded Ocon and shows why he commands the salary he does on the first qualy sessions.
I can see how Lando will learn from Ricciardo and Ocon from Fernando, but if your teammate is consistently slower there is not much of use to pick through on the telemetry sheets. I also don’t see any sponsors that Vettel adds, and as Perez brought more than his salary of $15 million I just can’t make it add up? I think the team was hoping he would return to form with a fresh start, but that seems wishful think to me.
