F1 F1 2024 thread

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Which rookie do you think will perform better?

Kimi Antonelli (Mercedes)
Ollie Bearman (Haas)
Gabriel Bortoleto (Sauber)
Jack Doohan (Alpine)
Isack Hadjar (RB)
Liam Lawson (Red Bull)

Personally I think Antonelli will have the most points (yes, a big call right) but Hadjar could surprise. The guy has serious talent, deserves a seat on merit alone imo.
Based on the car underneath them, it’s hard to pass Lawson.

Based on talent and potential it’s Hadjar.
 
I’m interested I the top end

Hamilton at Ferrari
How does that work with Charles?
Can OP push his way past Norris?
Will Lawson do better than Checo to support Max?
What will Russell and Mercedes do?
Probably more questions; but hopefully this is one of the most competitive seasons in some years
 
What will Russell and Mercedes do?
I think Mercedes have their sights set on 2026 and the new engine regs, hoping for a repeat of 2014.

So I'm not sure how competitive I'd expect them to be in 2025. Based on how last year ended I'd expect it to be Ferrari and McLaren at the front, then a gap to Red Bull, and then a gap to Mercedes. So really just the constructors order from this year.
 

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Antonelli because Lawson is not a rookie and Antonelli is the only rookie in a decent car. Doohan could be a smoky if Alpine pick up next season where they left off and he can stay close enough to Gasly.
 
Which rookie do you think will perform better?

Kimi Antonelli (Mercedes)
Ollie Bearman (Haas)
Gabriel Bortoleto (Sauber)
Jack Doohan (Alpine)
Isack Hadjar (RB)
Liam Lawson (Red Bull)

Personally I think Antonelli will have the most points (yes, a big call right) but Hadjar could surprise. The guy has serious talent, deserves a seat on merit alone imo.
Lawson (assuming he still counts as a rookie).
 
Six rookie drivers on the grid (if you still count Lawson, Bearman and Doohan who have only had a couple of races), a refreshing change from this year with none.
Six rookies yet Colapinto misses out. His star faded toward the end of the season after starting with a bang replacing Sargeant.
 
Six rookies yet Colapinto misses out. His star faded toward the end of the season after starting with a bang replacing Sargeant.
He'll get his shot. I don't think too much can be read into those crashes. Brazil was a shitfight and Las Vegas he was searching for every millimetre and misjudged it. The main issue for him is the only seats that come up in 2026 that I know of are Russel's and Tsunoda's.
 
He'll get his shot. I don't think too much can be read into those crashes. Brazil was a shitfight and Las Vegas he was searching for every millimetre and misjudged it. The main issue for him is the only seats that come up in 2026 that I know of are Russel's and Tsunoda's.
Tsunoda's future is an interesting one. He's inherently tied to Honda, who will be switching to Aston Martin. AM have Stroll & Alonso. Alonso is contracted for 2026, and Stroll is the ultimate nepo baby. However, Honda will be insistent that Tsunoda be given a seat. How this works out will make for interesting watching. Popcorn at the ready.
 
yep! bit of a surprise to me.


How so?

Watching his performances in F2 this year he seemed to be head and shoulders above most of the other drivers - finishing second to Bortoleto and with 4 wins - more than any other driver - in his second year. If not for the engine failure on the starting grid at the final race of the year at Abu Dhabi he may well have won the championship.

But more importantly is how he performed at the Abu Dhabi test session where he was testing in the Red Bull alongside Tsunoda. Christian Horner saying he was faster than Yuki “which turned heads”.

He has a reputation as being a bit of a hot head though and it was interesting to read reports that Marko told Hajar to 'keep his emotions under control' when he was appointed to RBR. A clear reference, I think, to Tsunoda's tantrums and a warning of what might happen if he goes down that path. Bit of hypocrisy from Marko given that Max was hot headed from the day he joined the F1 grid but that's easily balanced out by Max's race wins and championships.

Time will tell of course. There's a very long list of young guns who've joined the F1 circus after stellar careers in the lower race classes only to be unable to perform at the level required.
 
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So the 2025 Grid is settled - 6 rookies and 3 world champions. Although Lawson debuted in 2023 so I'm not sure if he's technically a rookie.

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You'd think Ferrari and McLaren will be the teams to beat with Red Bull as the wild card if Lawson steps up. Leclerc and Hamilton is some combination if Lewis still has a bit left in the tank.
 

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You'd think Ferrari and McLaren will be the teams to beat with Red Bull as the wild card if Lawson steps up.
Can't rule out any of the top 4 at this point. Mercedes had a genuinely fast if unstable car by the end of the season.
 
The only reason Checo and Yuki weren't gone sooner is because of Mexican and Honda $$ and Horner isn't RBR's CFO.
Honestly - you'd expect that from a 5th year driver, against a driver who was drafted in with only 1/3 of the season remaining.
Albon on the other hand...
 
You shouldn't bloody well have a support team to begin with, but whatever.
I could probably cop it more if the sport was struggling and it was either let them have a feeder team or have less cars on the grid. But the sport is flying and other parties have actively been trying to get into the category. It seems crazy to just let them run a B team.
 
I could probably cop it more if the sport was struggling and it was either let them have a feeder team or have less cars on the grid. But the sport is flying and other parties have actively been trying to get into the category. It seems crazy to just let them run a B team.
It's an interesting one.

RB are financially viable, the whole "its just a drinks company" that people peddled in the early days just isnt reality. They do stand on their own 2 feet more than they used to, but if there's a well supported, manufacturer backed team out there like GM are doing, then it's probably time for them to go.
 
You shouldn't bloody well have a support team to begin with, but whatever.
Minardi was underspending and underperforming. So they were ripe for a buyout.
No one else stumped up the money so RB did.
Any of the other teams could have objected at the time, but they didn't because they could see the comp becoming an 18 car competition in the short term.
Cannot retrospectively change the rules just because DTS has now made the sport ultra rich.
 
Cannot retrospectively change the rules just because DTS has now made the sport ultra rich.

But they do all the time (re-negotiate agreements I mean).

The F1 Concorde Agreement, which is highly confidential and contains all the important details of how the sport is run - including and especially the financial arrangements, revenue sharing etc. is shared between teams and the FIA, is up for renegotiation for the 2026 season for eample.

And a key negotiating factor in getting Cadillac into the sport for 2026 was the anti-dilution clauses in that agreement, to protect the revenue base of existing teams. It's why that ridiculous $600m revenue offset figure was put forward by FOCA - as an ambit claim to up the $200m fee that's in the existing agreement.

But it's all a moot point. F1 is a club and always has been a club, aimed at promoting the riches and prestige of those who are in the club. The big difference between 2024 and 1964 is that there's been a lot of zeros added to the revenue base over those 50 years. And the big constructors having having 'junior' teams is all about making sure the big boys get the biggest slices of the pie when desert is served.

None of us knows what gets discussed around that table when all the team owners and the FIA get together to discuss how the revenue pie will be cut up in future years. But I reckon that maybe the words 'fairness' and 'equity' don't appear on the menu.
 
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