FORMULA 1 QATAR AIRWAYS AZERBAIJAN GRAND PRIX 2025.....Race..............▄▀▄▀▄▀ SPOILERS ▄▀▄▀▄▀

WEC is next weekend. 6 hrs fuji.

 

And the premise is, uh……..out there. If it were true and exposed, Macca could never attract another front line driver.

 

Singapore 2008 level out there. but that happened

really the problem it highlights is how poorly Mclaren is managing their drivers. 300+ point lead in WCC and one of their drivers is going to win a tainted WDC.

 

The taintwill depend on the points difference if Norris wins. So if he does I hope it’s by a lot. If Piastri wins, no taint. Unless there’s more drama to come.

 

Has McLaren given an "official" explanation for Piastri's crash ?
We all assume driver error/lockup, but has mechanical issue, tire problem etc been ruled out ?

 

Oscar blamed himself (9:25 mark)

 

As he set about regaining positions on the opening lap, Piastri attempted to go to the outside of a group of cars at Turn 5 and crashed into the barriers.

"I think just ultimately I misjudged the grip level," Piastri said. "Probably a lot of that's from dirty air, but I know better than that -- to expect the lack of grip.

"I'm certainly not blaming it on anything else. It was two simple errors on my behalf that I caused today."

 

I think there was much more to it than that TBH, regardless of source, someone like Horner doesnt go from a competant TP to a bad one. Much darker forces were at play. Just my opinion.

 

Have you ever read "The Perfect Car", if not then buy a copy and read it. If you have then dont forget the shear lunacy of Ferrari in not even opening boxes of (suspension)components sent from the UK for the car they were building, instead, if i recall correctly made new ones which were not the same as those designed in the UK. Just one simple example of SF chaos!

They have some of the right ingredients, unfortunately they dont know what cake they are going to bake.

The only time SF will be top of the charts is when the others screw up!

 

Spot on. The car has moved towards the VCARB in driveability and one just needs to see Lawson for that. Mekies has moved completely away from sim set up preliminary running to driver focused/feedback on Friday Prac-1.
The results are immediate as RedBull is faster earlier in practice. Zero conspiracy.
Horner vs Mekies is not the issue although Mekies has focused the team MORE on a better car than politics etc. Want to win = FIX the car. Certainly Max is not the issue. Any progress in driveability will make the 2nd stronger and yield MORE POINTS lol - Duh!

 

Yes exactly. Horner has done a great job with the team in his time, undeniable. But politics became his strong game. We don't know exactly what went on behind the scenes, maybe he was close to the simulator team or simulator team has always done a great job in finding a sweet spot and Horner couldn't let it go.

Mekies is a new pair of eyes on the situation and essentially went with a ''gut feeling'' on which route to follow. In a way he had it ''easy'' by being the new TP and the team essentially out of the running for both championships anyways.

We'll find out in both singapore and epecially COTA if Red Bull's new floor has helped the car move forwards as well.

 

Always been my opinion that there is to much reliance on simulator work, may have worked in the past but the modern crop of cars are way to sensitive and possibly unpredictable. Teams are rather forced into that technology due to the stupid testing restrictions, If Mekkies has gone down the route of driver /track input then well done on him.

 

DF1...thanks for that, I hadn't seen the Piastri comments

McLaren needs to get their act together or they will lose the WDC to Max (count Max out at your own peril)
The above comments re: Mekies and the focus on driver vs. sim input make sense, and could spell doom for both McLaren drivers if not careful
Piastri now feeling the pressure, we know Lando's mental and race weaknesses (eg starts).....a resurgent Max could still take the title
As they say, a lot of racing to go....