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Thank you @Sieper. Means a lot to me hearing that from you.
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The air miles are piling up these weeks for the Formula 1 community and also Red Bull's advisor Helmut Marko.
He has been granted a week's "break" at home between his return from Melbourne and the flight to Japan (GP in Suzuka on 7 April).
After all the turbulence of the past week, he can at least confirm: "I'm going to Japan."
Marko answered whether the Horner case (the Red Bull Racing team boss was accused of "inappropriate behaviour" by an employee, which triggered a veritable crisis in the team and even the company) was over:
"From the Thai shareholders' side, everything is clear. Everything is okay for them. Whether there is anything more to come or not - no idea. It's a very complex matter that is difficult to understand." "We have other worries at the moment."
Will he continue to work as a "consultant" as usual? Marko: "Well... Well, I would say so. There are always talks and discussions."
With whom? "My direct superior is Red Bull CEO Oliver Mintzlaff."
Marko emphasises that his relationship with the German is "correct". His consultancy contract runs until the end of the 2026 season (the first with the new engine regulations). And will he fulfil it?
"At the moment," says Marko after a short pause, "we have other things to worry about than what I'm doing."
The last time he spoke to Chalerm Yoovidhya was at the turn of the year 2023/24 - when the Horner case was not yet public. "But conversations usually go through the British lawyer Peter Blake-Turner."
I'm good with no tear-offs. This is F1, they can afford coating the visors with some superomniphobic surface.taperoo2k wrote: ↑26 Mar 2024, 01:17If drivers have to place the tear off strips into the cockpit, that could lead to a momentary distraction that might well cause an accident. Tear offs are necessary so drivers can see properly during the race. Take those away and they'd have to visit the pits to get a mechanic to wipe the helmet visor clean.Dunlay wrote: ↑24 Mar 2024, 19:37Really bad argument. No unnatural external factors should have an impact on racing. If tear offs are acceptable, then you can as well have marshals allowed to throw banana peels, after eating banana, on the track that can help spectacle by helping slide a car off the track.
Well, it's highly doubtful that Perez will be renewed. He's doing a good enough job, mostly because there isn't much threat from behind, but a driver like Alonso is a giant of the sport, and signing him would generate a buzz that would rival Hamilton to Ferrari. It's also entirely possible that rumours of a Verstappen exit before 2028 are actually true. If there's discontent brewing, drivers in the past generally move on, and the Aston Martin project, especially with Honda, might appeal to him more.Cassius wrote: ↑25 Mar 2024, 16:36Can we stop quoting these unreliable sources. In 2 days I have read about Ricciardo being kicked out for Lawson, Perez being signed for 2025, another article on Max going to Mercedes, Horner being interested in Sainz, and now also Alonso.Dunlay wrote: ↑25 Mar 2024, 15:46https://f1-insider.com/formel-1-horner- ... ull-62663/
Ralf Bach | March 25, 2024, 2:39 p.m
F1 Insider Exclusive: Red Bull team boss Christian Horner wants to sign Fernando Alonso for 2025.
Suzuka upgrade was confirmed by Waché in preseason testing and Marko echoed his comments. Plan is for an upgrade at Suzuka and an upgrade at Imola.
vorticism:
RB20 development speculation: Suzuka spec sidepods.
Wow, "double undercut".
It's a speculative drawing, so I don't think there's need to say "if real".. i dont think vorticism is claiming it's what RB are bringing but rather an interesting idea taking into consideration the established radiator layout
Yes, I know it's a render. By "if real" I only meant "if indeed the real thing resembles this"organic wrote: ↑01 Apr 2024, 15:59It's a speculative drawing, so I don't think there's need to say "if real".. i dont think vorticism is claiming it's what RB are bringing but rather an interesting idea taking into consideration the established radiator layout
It's like a double downwash concept. I like it. However I can't see where the inlet would go or how this would make sense. The only scheme I could think of was this, which I don't think is legal.
Some crazy bits in the pipeline