Pre-silly-season-silliness.

[Zynerji]

... Fernando also developed a strange technique in the Michelin days - the fronts were stronger than the rears and he would deliberately force the front to understeer on entry so that the rears had time to settle in to the corner. He would then unwind the lock and apply power much earlier than others could manage.

the days when cars eg Renault had 70% of their weight on the rear axle ?

Moss co-wrote about so could be seen as 'inventing' trail braking - though SCCA trainers might make the claim

I also recall some Moss interviews where he discussed it (and using it) with relation to controlling the attitude and weight transfer.

The Alonso ‘trick’ reminds me how we used to drive the original Mini, except with those it would induce a four wheel drift that would let you keep the boot in and kill the under steer.

Barichellos warmup lap before race starts in 2009 is the most extreme that I've ever seem someone abuse F1 tyres.

[Zynerji]

Just curious if we can expect to see SV following KR and MS's footsteps by returning to F1 after taking a 2-3 years sabbatical from the sport. 2026 may open up many new possibilities for German WDC drivers like SV. e.g. Team Audi (2026), or even Merc (after LH retirement).

Why? We have a golden age of young drivers, and he's 4 times WDC with a family and millions in the bank.

I think he's gone for good.

[CHT]

Just curious if we can expect to see SV following KR and MS's footsteps by returning to F1 after taking a 2-3 years sabbatical from the sport. 2026 may open up many new possibilities for German WDC drivers like SV. e.g. Team Audi (2026), or even Merc (after LH retirement).

Why? We have a golden age of young drivers, and he's 4 times WDC with a family and millions in the bank.

I think he's gone for good.

When Merc bought into F1 Brawn GP, the first thing the team did was to sign MS as their no.1 driver and NR (2 german drivers). Having a WDC driver will certainly make the entire package look credible and in some way also help in technical development since they are all experienced in developing championship-winning teams and cars. For the team owners, having WDC will also mean more brand exposure due to wider fans and media interest.

Audi/Porche, being a German company, will most likely follow Merc's path of signing German driver as this will instantly create a buzz among shareholders, and local and global F1 fans. On the grid right now, there are no other credible german drivers except for SV as I don't think Nico Hulkenberg or Mick can command the same standing as SV. The only other possible German driver is perhaps Nico Rosberg, who is currently 37 years old. Come 2026, he will be 41 years old, the same age when MS came out of retirement to join Merc.

One other advantage of signing SV will perhaps be his link to RBR and Ferrari as a team like Audi/Porche will certainly go on a massive recruitment exercise to bring in top engineers and designers from other teams

[Jolle]

Just curious if we can expect to see SV following KR and MS's footsteps by returning to F1 after taking a 2-3 years sabbatical from the sport. 2026 may open up many new possibilities for German WDC drivers like SV. e.g. Team Audi (2026), or even Merc (after LH retirement).

Why? We have a golden age of young drivers, and he's 4 times WDC with a family and millions in the bank.

I think he's gone for good.

When Merc bought into F1 Brawn GP, the first thing the team did was to sign MS as their no.1 driver and NR (2 german drivers). Having a WDC driver will certainly make the entire package look credible and in some way also help in technical development since they are all experienced in developing championship-winning teams and cars. For the team owners, having WDC will also mean more brand exposure due to wider fans and media interest.

Audi/Porche, being a German company, will most likely follow Merc's path of signing German driver as this will instantly create a buzz among shareholders, and local and global F1 fans. On the grid right now, there are no other credible german drivers except for SV as I don't think Nico Hulkenberg or Mick can command the same standing as SV. The only other possible German driver is perhaps Nico Rosberg, who is currently 37 years old. Come 2026, he will be 41 years old, the same age when MS came out of retirement to join Merc.

One other advantage of signing SV will perhaps be his link to RBR and Ferrari as a team like Audi/Porche will certainly go on a massive recruitment exercise to bring in top engineers and designers from other teams

Both Schumacher and Raikkonen were pushed into retirement by Ferrari. With Vettel it’s pretty clear he’s done with F1. Same way Button was done the last year(s) of his career.

[CHT]

Why? We have a golden age of young drivers, and he's 4 times WDC with a family and millions in the bank.

I think he's gone for good.

When Merc bought into F1 Brawn GP, the first thing the team did was to sign MS as their no.1 driver and NR (2 german drivers). Having a WDC driver will certainly make the entire package look credible and in some way also help in technical development since they are all experienced in developing championship-winning teams and cars. For the team owners, having WDC will also mean more brand exposure due to wider fans and media interest.

Audi/Porche, being a German company, will most likely follow Merc's path of signing German driver as this will instantly create a buzz among shareholders, and local and global F1 fans. On the grid right now, there are no other credible german drivers except for SV as I don't think Nico Hulkenberg or Mick can command the same standing as SV. The only other possible German driver is perhaps Nico Rosberg, who is currently 37 years old. Come 2026, he will be 41 years old, the same age when MS came out of retirement to join Merc.

One other advantage of signing SV will perhaps be his link to RBR and Ferrari as a team like Audi/Porche will certainly go on a massive recruitment exercise to bring in top engineers and designers from other teams

Both Schumacher and Raikkonen were pushed into retirement by Ferrari. With Vettel it’s pretty clear he’s done with F1. Same way Button was done the last year(s) of his career.

Vettel has made the right call as he no longer enjoys driving for a mid-tier team, constantly struggling to qualify for Q3. Having left Ferrari and RBR, SV has also very limited chance to sign with a top team. Hence taking a few years off from F1 and spending time with the family will perhaps be the best option and the time away from motosports will perhaps help to reignite his passion while waiting for new opportunities to arise.

I think it is highly possible that SV may have already struck a deal with the german auto giant and be will be spend 2023-5 helping his new employer with the new F1 project.

[djos]

Maybe RedBull should buy out Perez’s contract and hire Daniel back?

After all, Daniel reportedly likes a car with a strong front end!

[Just_a_fan]

Maybe RedBull should buy out Perez’s contract and hire Daniel back?

After all, Daniel reportedly likes a car with a strong front end!

Why would Daniel want to go to Red Bull only to be treated as a second-class citizen? He'd be to Max what Webber was to Seb. Heck, he experienced it first hand when he was there previously.

[djos]

Because they have a car that is a race winner and should suit his style. He may not be able to bag a WDC, but at least he’d be in contention like Rosberg was at Mercedes.

[Zynerji]

When Merc bought into F1 Brawn GP, the first thing the team did was to sign MS as their no.1 driver and NR (2 german drivers). Having a WDC driver will certainly make the entire package look credible and in some way also help in technical development since they are all experienced in developing championship-winning teams and cars. For the team owners, having WDC will also mean more brand exposure due to wider fans and media interest.

Audi/Porche, being a German company, will most likely follow Merc's path of signing German driver as this will instantly create a buzz among shareholders, and local and global F1 fans. On the grid right now, there are no other credible german drivers except for SV as I don't think Nico Hulkenberg or Mick can command the same standing as SV. The only other possible German driver is perhaps Nico Rosberg, who is currently 37 years old. Come 2026, he will be 41 years old, the same age when MS came out of retirement to join Merc.

One other advantage of signing SV will perhaps be his link to RBR and Ferrari as a team like Audi/Porche will certainly go on a massive recruitment exercise to bring in top engineers and designers from other teams

Both Schumacher and Raikkonen were pushed into retirement by Ferrari. With Vettel it’s pretty clear he’s done with F1. Same way Button was done the last year(s) of his career.

Vettel has made the right call as he no longer enjoys driving for a mid-tier team, constantly struggling to qualify for Q3. Having left Ferrari and RBR, SV has also very limited chance to sign with a top team. Hence taking a few years off from F1 and spending time with the family will perhaps be the best option and the time away from motosports will perhaps help to reignite his passion while waiting for new opportunities to arise.

I think it is highly possible that SV may have already struck a deal with the german auto giant and be will be spend 2023-5 helping his new employer with the new F1 project.

I could see Seb coming with Audi/Porche as a Team Principle (like lots of previous driver->tp crossovers). Spending 2 years on the phone/emails from home in a build-up/recruiting sense might really work out for him.

[Cs98]

Maybe RedBull should buy out Perez’s contract and hire Daniel back?

After all, Daniel reportedly likes a car with a strong front end!

Why would Daniel want to go to Red Bull only to be treated as a second-class citizen? He'd be to Max what Webber was to Seb. Heck, he experienced it first hand when he was there previously.

To have a job?

His driving the past couple of years doesn't exactly warrant first class treatment.

Obviously this won't happen because Perez is contracted until 2024.

[Zynerji]

Maybe RedBull should buy out Perez’s contract and hire Daniel back?

After all, Daniel reportedly likes a car with a strong front end!

Why would Daniel want to go to Red Bull only to be treated as a second-class citizen? He'd be to Max what Webber was to Seb. Heck, he experienced it first hand when he was there previously.

To have a job?

His driving the past couple of years doesn't exactly warrant first class treatment.

Obviously this won't happen because Perez is contracted until 2024.

With a pending hole at AT, we know how ez it is to open Checo's seat at RBR.

[Cs98]

Why would Daniel want to go to Red Bull only to be treated as a second-class citizen? He'd be to Max what Webber was to Seb. Heck, he experienced it first hand when he was there previously.

To have a job?

His driving the past couple of years doesn't exactly warrant first class treatment.

Obviously this won't happen because Perez is contracted until 2024.

With a pending hole at AT, we know how ez it is to open Checo's seat at RBR.

But why would RB replace Perez who is performing adequately, securing them the WCC a la Bottas, to get an underperforming DR? Daniel has been mauled by Lando in two fundamentally different cars. Going up against Verstappen would be the knockout blow.

[TimW]

To have a job?

His driving the past couple of years doesn't exactly warrant first class treatment.

Obviously this won't happen because Perez is contracted until 2024.

With a pending hole at AT, we know how ez it is to open Checo's seat at RBR.

But why would RB replace Perez who is performing adequately, securing them the WCC a la Bottas, to get an underperforming DR? Daniel has been mauled by Lando in two fundamentally different cars. Going up against Verstappen would be the knockout blow.

The message in the video is that Perez has been mauled by Verstappen in two fundamentally different cars, with a bigger margin than DR.

In the hypothetical scenario that DR moved to RB, if he would lose to Max with a 0.3s average margin, that would pretty much restore his reputation....

[Cs98]

With a pending hole at AT, we know how ez it is to open Checo's seat at RBR.

But why would RB replace Perez who is performing adequately, securing them the WCC a la Bottas, to get an underperforming DR? Daniel has been mauled by Lando in two fundamentally different cars. Going up against Verstappen would be the knockout blow.

The message in the video is that Perez has been mauled by Verstappen in two fundamentally different cars, with a bigger margin than DR.

In the hypothetical scenario that DR moved to RB, if he would lose to Max with a 0.3s average margin, that would pretty much restore his reputation....

There is nothing to suggest "old Daniel" will return just because he goes back to RB. His performance in 2021-2022 is much more relevant than anything that happened before. Especially considering the 2021 car and 2022 car are completely different.

Perez is doing a decent Bottas impression at the moment. Maybe it won't be enough in future, but for now he has done enough to keep his job.

[TimW]

Gasly was destroyed in qualifying by Max. Back in the TR he was immediately strong again and now desired by Alpine

Albon similarly, now in the Williams he seems to be almost at George's level with very strong performances

Perez gets destroyed in qualifying week after week, but is considered to do a decent job with the deficit blamed on the car not being to his liking.

Ricciardo gets thrashed by Norris, but with a smaller gap than the above three. Yet he should just adapt to the car and people think he has lost it.

Somehow the feeling with everybody(moi inclus) is that he has lost his mojo, but objectively it is surely to early to judge. I would like to see him in another car.