Yes indeed Although i'm a real RedBull fan i'm very happy to see that their performance in Austria was not a one time glitch. I do have a softspot for the team. Lots of fond memories of the Marlboro sponsered timeframe with some of the greatest drivers. I was shocked they basically booted Ron Dennis out. Still not a fan of Zack Brown. It did take him a long time but he does deserve my credits now As for the drivers, it will not take long before Norris will fall out of favor as Piastri really seems worth the money spent on him by Brown. ClearlyBrown was paying attention at the right time. Sour grapes for some other teams to have missed that, especcially Renault must feel pretty stupid.
https://www.autosport.com/f1/news/stella-unacceptable-crash-shows-mclaren-drivers-put-themselves-above-team/10515867/ Stella: "Unacceptable" crash shows McLaren F1 drivers put themselves above team McLaren Formula 1 boss Andrea Stella says it is “unacceptable” for Lando Norris and Oscar Piastri to put “affirming themselves” above the team’s fortunes after their Italian Grand Prix clash. Sep 3, 2023, 7:21 PM On lap 24 of 51, the McLaren pair came to blows at the first chicane as rookie racer Piastri re-joined the Monza track alongside earlier-stopping Norris in a dice for what was then 10th position. With Piastri on the inside at the tight first apex, the front-right of the Australian’s MCL60 glanced his team-mate's sidepod. There was no major damage and both escaped punishment from the stewards. Nevertheless, team boss Stella branded the incident as “unacceptable”. He said: “There should never ever be contact between two McLaren cars. “There was a contact, which doesn’t fit the way we go racing at McLaren. “What is important is to have clear parameters as to what you deem acceptable and what you deem unacceptable. It’s not an emotion thing, it’s just like you do with other things. “You deal with racing in a similar way. This is very clear that for any driver, there’s something bigger than them. It’s the team.
https://www.autosport.com/f1/news/norris-expands-on-back-issues-aggravated-by-current-f1-cars/10519383/ Norris expands on back issues aggravated by current F1 cars McLaren Formula 1 driver Lando Norris has opened up on his back issues that have left him in "constant pain" last season and are still a work in progress. By:Filip Cleeren Sep 12, 2023 at 8:13 PM Last year, F1 switched to ground-effect-based cars which are set up extremely stiff to generate the most downforce. That set-up had the unintended side-effect of porpoising on most cars, with drivers bouncing violently on the straights. But even without the highly publicised bouncing effect, the low-ride heights have generally made the cars much less comfortable to drive, with more forces transferred to the drivers' backs. Norris has revealed that last year's McLaren left him in "constant pain", having to do much more work with the team and with his trainer to alleviate his back problems for this year. "I have to stretch morning and evening, before every session. If I don't then I always struggle a lot more with my back," Norris said. "It's not just racing. It's just something that I've had to work on in general anyway. But it's definitely not helped by some of the changes on the car over the last couple of years. "It got to a pretty bad point last year, every day I was struggling with sleep and everything... just in constant pain. "I think a lot of things have already been put in place like I made a couple of new seats already. It was worse last year than it is this year." Norris says his recurring issues have also limited how he trains. Even common activities like track walks have been cut down, while he has also had to limit his golf outings. "If I want it to get better, I've got to do other things, rather than just trying to make the seat better and allow the car to somehow get better over time. It's not going to be the case. "I'm limiting a lot more things. I'm playing a lot less golf just because of my back, doing more physio. Some things I have to crank up and some things I have to pay the price for, like playing golf or certain sports. "Even track walks, as soon as I do a track walk, I struggle a lot, so I've had to cut down on track walks, little things that have helped me quite a bit just to struggle less. "I'm in a much better position now. I mean, I would love to play more golf as well! And even with cycling and running my back hurts, so I still can't do everything I would want to do." Team boss Andrea Stella says the squad is continuing to monitor the issue, which he called a "work in progress", but conceded there's only so much the team can do to help with the seating position. "We are following this matter very closely with Lando," Stella added. "Some will have to come from his own understanding of what his body requires in terms of conditioning and in terms of how he needs to sit in the car to be comfortable and avoid this kind of issues. "From our side, there's quite a lot of variables that we can play with, but we need to know exactly where we have to put our focus, so it's really work in progress. There's no revolution in the plan in terms of the seating position, how upright it will be. "We are hoping in a way that this will gradually fix itself, thanks to the work that Lando is doing and his adaptation even in terms of lifestyle, which I know must be very, very painful for such a passionate golf player!"
Yes remarkable, isn't it ? Yet, you don't comment at large (like you do about Aston Martin) how a team with 27 points ahead of their rivals McLaren after 8 races , is now 88 points behind, after losing one place in the WCC. How do the investors in Alpine should feel ? Why don't you call for the sacking of Ocon in this case ? What's good for the goose is good for the gander, no ?
Stroll is the main reason for AMRF1's demise for 2023. Alonso still scores points after 17 races(16 really since Imola was cancelled). Stroll has not progressed in his 7 years in F1. Alpine(aka Renault) have been mid-fielders since the start of this turbo-hybrid era and no one wants their PU in 2023. We're going on 9 years in this turbo-hybrid formula and they have not progressed as a team. They got rid of Abitaboul(TP). This team is a rinse and repeat story year after year. So, to summarize, Alpine F1 is the whole organization issue for 9 years straight. AMRF1 has a weak link and that's the son of the man that runs the team.
Alpine finished 4th with 173 points in 2022; so far this year they are 6th with 84 points. They lost 2 places. Aston Martin was 7th with 55 points in 2022; at the moment, they are 4th with 221 points. They gained 3 places. The facts speak for themselves, don't you think ?
No agenda needed...Lancelot sucks big time, he's almost as bad as Lawson but with 6 more years of experience....
Alpine finished 4th with 173 points in 2022; so far this year they are 6th with 84 points. They lost 2 places. Aston Martin was 7th with 55 points in 2022; at the moment, they are 4th with 221 points. They gained 3 places. Those are the facts !!!
I am not debating who gained what and who lost what with regards to these 2 teams. One team has 2 drivers putting points on the WCC standings. The other team only has 1 driver putting points on the WCC standings WHILE regressing in updates.
Look at it this way: if the weak link had no F1 dream, the strong link (Lawrence) would have kept his nice Ferrari collection, passed on the opportunity to buy Force India F1 and there would be no AMR F1 team. The day Lance is not driving anymore is the same day that team needs to find new investments.
I am all in favor of weak drivers in F1 as long as they don’t drive for Ferrari. Less competition for podiums and WCC points. What’s not to like?
I am not debating what Lawrence Stroll has done for the team. He has done phenomenal for the team. His son, not so much.
Lance Stroll has his place in F1; he fulfilled all the obligations to get his Superlicence. He has a legitimate place in F1, to drive in his father's team. Period.
Totally agree. As long as Dad is around, Lance will "forever" have a seat in F1. Lance has no pressure in performing next to his team-mates of years past and current. Lance and Dad are fulfilling a father-son "hobby" all for the sake of performance because ultimately, that's what matters. The fight for the WCC standings in helping the other teammate has no reference regarding AMRF1. This team is for Lance Stroll and Lance Stroll only. Does that sound about right?
Well that really says alot about the direction of the team. Thank-you for euphemistically answering what most of us already know.
[QUOTE="DF1, post: 149311563, member: 47651" Norris expands on back issues aggravated by current F1 cars McLaren Formula 1 driver Lando Norris has opened up on his back issues that have left him in "constant pain" last season and are still a work in progress.!"[/QUOTE] So that got me thinking. Back in the original skirted ground effect era the cars had to run so, so, stiff to maintain the downforce drivers were complaining back then. I wonder how what the drivers 'feel' what's transmitted to them through the tub, is similar too or differs from back then? I'd guess better because of the improvement in damper technology, but at some point effectively solid, is still effectively solid. One thing that has changed is the driver position. The drivers, while reclined, were still relatively upright, with their legs straight ahead and pedals on the floor. With todays scrunched up, feet and pedals 6" off the floor in a semi embryonic position, I wonder how the inputs affect the drivers body differently from back then.
Isn't enough that most threads turn into Lewis bashing? Can we keep the Lance bashing to the Lance bashing thread?
