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I don't think Alonso's driving during the race is the problem. I just don't think he's figured the tires out yet. He still hasn't consistently turned them on enough to have a good qualifying session.
It's interesting to concider that had he stayed in F1 with Mercedes, and had he NOT had that unfaithful accident, he could very likely been the 2014 WDC.
Rosberg was a greater threat to Hamilton in 2015 and 2016, 2014 saw him be in competition - far more than Bottas has ever been imho - rather than a real threat.
Hamilton absolutely dominated the races in 2014, and won the WDC by a big margin despite having more DNFS than Rosberg.
Would Schumacher been as dominant in 2014 as Hamilton? Perhaps a bit less, and i would ONLY be concidering that due to his (unspoken) 'handicap'. He was however back then definately a more experienced and complete driver than Hamilton was back then, AND with vastly more experience and better settled in the team than Lewis was.
It's a bummer we didn't get that to be honest. Would have been pretty bonkers to see Schumi make his 8th title. I think that, HAD HE KNOWN, the team would be SO dominant, he would have stayed. I also very much believe that Schumacher would have given Rosberg more room than Lewis did though.
That said, i think the Lewis as of 2017 or 2018 and beyond, as like it went down in real life, is a more competitive driver, then Schumacher would have been had he not had his accident AND stayed in F1 with Mercedes, which means ultimately, Hamilton is the better 'deal'.
But yes, paper results dont neccesarily show a driver's real craft.
I also think Schumacher did pretty awesome for his return to F1, and to be fair he did rather successfull, but perhaps by comparison, it wasn't as successfull as for example Lauda's return.
So far, i don't think Alonso's return is bad at all, BUT it is a bit colourless.
I haven't seen the spectacular Fernando of the past YET, then again, perhaps we have missed it due to a lack of TV coverage.
I am expecting it to be a matter of time though, i would like to see some this year already though, but i actually have the feeling that Alonso also has been asked/told/expected to be so wise as to 'tone things down a notch' due to the aftermath of his cycling accident and the fact they rather have a fully functional Alonso in 2022 than a Alonso that'll go beyond wise racing and cause unneccesary problems for 2022.
But i must say I would really really like to see Alonso WIN a GP.
"Explain the ending to F1 in football terms"
"Hamilton was beating Verstappen 7-0, then the ref decided F%$& rules, next goal wins
while also sending off 4 Hamilton players to make it more interesting"
I don't think Alonso's driving during the race is the problem. I just don't think he's figured the tires out yet. He still hasn't consistently turned them on enough to have a good qualifying session.
Also a valid point of interest. Just look how lost Hamilton was in Monaco. He started P7 and had LeClerc actually started the race, and Bottas not had that wheel nut incident, he would have finished P9! In arguably still the car that SHOULD be the best on the grid.
"Explain the ending to F1 in football terms"
"Hamilton was beating Verstappen 7-0, then the ref decided F%$& rules, next goal wins
while also sending off 4 Hamilton players to make it more interesting"
I don't think Alonso's driving during the race is the problem. I just don't think he's figured the tires out yet. He still hasn't consistently turned them on enough to have a good qualifying session.
Also a valid point of interest. Just look how lost Hamilton was in Monaco. He started P7 and had LeClerc actually started the race, and Bottas not had that wheel nut incident, he would have finished P9! In arguably still the car that SHOULD be the best on the grid.
At Monaco, once the lights go out, you’re in the hands of the strategists. The race for the drivers is on Saturday.
I don't think Alonso's driving during the race is the problem. I just don't think he's figured the tires out yet. He still hasn't consistently turned them on enough to have a good qualifying session.
Also a valid point of interest. Just look how lost Hamilton was in Monaco. He started P7 and had LeClerc actually started the race, and Bottas not had that wheel nut incident, he would have finished P9! In arguably still the car that SHOULD be the best on the grid.
There was that one race where he really turned on the hards and he was lapping faster than the leaders...was that Portugal?
I don't think Alonso's driving during the race is the problem. I just don't think he's figured the tires out yet. He still hasn't consistently turned them on enough to have a good qualifying session.
This is exactly what I believe is the reason for the uncharacteristically large gap in Q. The only race where Alonso fell of in comparison to Ocon was Spain. And this is, I believe, again due to the tyres, which he could not maintain to have in the right window and they just died on him pretty early. Remember, even Ocon had two races where he struggled to keep his tyres alive (Portugal, Spain). The Alpine seems to have a weird correspondence with the tyres, which makes it difficult for the drivers, especially for someone who has not driven these cars for two years.
Last edited by Joker on 02 Jun 2021, 11:14, edited 1 time in total.
I don't think Alonso's driving during the race is the problem. I just don't think he's figured the tires out yet. He still hasn't consistently turned them on enough to have a good qualifying session.
Also a valid point of interest. Just look how lost Hamilton was in Monaco. He started P7 and had LeClerc actually started the race, and Bottas not had that wheel nut incident, he would have finished P9! In arguably still the car that SHOULD be the best on the grid.
At Monaco, once the lights go out, you’re in the hands of the strategists. The race for the drivers is on Saturday.
And for the drivers to make that strategy work by putting in the caclulated laptimes the car is capable of. For which the driver needs to be able to get heat into the tires. Same issue for Ham as in qualy. Hence qualifying p7 and hitting the wall on his flyer.
I don't think Alonso's driving during the race is the problem. I just don't think he's figured the tires out yet. He still hasn't consistently turned them on enough to have a good qualifying session.
Also a valid point of interest. Just look how lost Hamilton was in Monaco. He started P7 and had LeClerc actually started the race, and Bottas not had that wheel nut incident, he would have finished P9! In arguably still the car that SHOULD be the best on the grid.
There was that one race where he really turned on the hards and he was lapping faster than the leaders...was that Portugal?
Yes, that was Portugal and he was massively quick. I was in shock watching his lap times compared to the rest of the field.
So yeah, I don't think he's lost a step but these tires are extremely particular in how they want to be treated and two years out hasn't helped him there at all.
Yes true, i was just as astonished as when Hamilton was simply driving the intermediates into slicks after wet weather turned into dry and it just kept working fine. there's giant potential and speed in the tires, i just don't really like that though, as it also means that driver potential gets completely wasted if they or the team can't figure out how to correctly 'ignite' the tires.
Still i don't expect much for 2021 for Alpine and Alonso to 'reach' for.
As for the tires, that is another reason why 2021 is more or less 'lost', since 2022 will be bringing those 18" wheels with the new tire models.
So it won't do that much imho, and since the entire car turns into a different format, that is really also 'investment' lost, and i'd be inclined to say that for a variety of drivers and teams, 2021 will be a combination of 'just' making laps and getting experience and confidence in the sport, learning the tracks, and the opponents, whilst being a testbed for data, and trying to get as much poinst reasonably possible.
in other words, not fighting for a good result in the championship, but rather gathering so that you can fight in the championship next season.
"Explain the ending to F1 in football terms"
"Hamilton was beating Verstappen 7-0, then the ref decided F%$& rules, next goal wins
while also sending off 4 Hamilton players to make it more interesting"
I haven't seen the spectacular Fernando of the past YET, then again, perhaps we have missed it due to a lack of TV coverage.
In second half of Portimao race I thought I saw exactly that - Fernando being his old self again, just flying with that car, overtaking drivers. Hoping to see more of that again soon.
Otherwise great post and I agree about Schumacher - I think he did a great job on his return under all circumstances, had the history played out a bit differently, he most certainly could have been winning races or even championships again. I was overjoyed when he managed to hit that Monaco 2012 pole, so well deserved (and I wasn't even his fan during his Ferrari era!). Never understood "fans" who criticised him for his Mercedes return.
“Does George Russell say ‘Thank you, but I’m going to break away from Mercedes and try to go alone’?” he said. “At which point Renault probably becomes an option for him.
“It’s a good option and it moves him slightly further up the grid,” added Priestley.
above from gptoday.
I would prefer him in Renault so that he can lead the team when Alonso retire.
