tdgeek:

 

 

 

 

Woah, really surprised at those odds (and I'm a McLaren fan!).

mdf:

 

tdgeek:

 

 

 

 

 

Woah, really surprised at those odds (and I'm a McLaren fan!).

 

I actually wasn't. Max will pickup good points every race, as will Lando and Oscar. Perez won't. Its 2 against 1 with Perez only contributing dregs. 

If Perez was doing the needful, even then its arguably 50/50, with a slight nudge towards McLaren. Its a great car, seemingly everywhere. If a track favoured RBR then they dominate but only by a smallish margin IMO. But McLaren will shine pretty much anywhere. may not be 10/10 on any track but 9/10 on every track. RBR ranges between the infrequent 10, otherwise 8 maybe 9 and maybe 7 as in Singapore

Why they stick to Perez is bizarre    

tdgeek:

 

The TAB odds for this weekend. As expected the teams run in pairs. Almost

 

Oscar is good money here at $6.5. Could be worth pairing with something like DR scoring a point for a same-game multi ifit  works. 

GV27:

 

Oscar is good money here at $6.5. Could be worth pairing with something like DR scoring a point for a same-game multi ifit  works. 

 

Agree with that. Oscar has stepped up nicely, more solid than earlier. Lando makes the odd duff here and there

Agree with the Merc comment.  They've seemingly addressed some of the core issues just as Lewis is departing.
McLaren I fear didn't capitalise enough on their time at the top.

Lando especially needs to sort his start and race smarter.
Last year though Oscar was looking good and after the mid year break Lando returned and dominated.
Will see how it goes this year.

Jaxson:

 

Agree with the Merc comment.  They've seemingly addressed some of the core issues just as Lewis is departing.
McLaren I fear didn't capitalise enough on their time at the top.

Lando especially needs to sort his start and race smarter.
Last year though Oscar was looking good and after the mid year break Lando returned and dominated.
Will see how it goes this year.

 

Its only annecdotal from me, last year Oscar was good but not great. Lando was great, there was a gap between them. Like F1, those two have converged, perhaps Lando's duffs could be pressure from a team mate that is close to equal. Lando seems an emotional guy, while Oscar is chill. In many sports if you can freewheel its good, when pressured, things between the ears can change

tdgeek:In many sports if you can freewheel its good, when pressured, things between the ears can change

Jaxson:

tdgeek:In many sports if you can freewheel its good, when pressured, things between the ears can change

That pretty much describes max of late too. Breakdown type complaints over the radio now the team is not as perfect or dominant.

Very much so. But his driving talent doesn't seem to be affected. He needs to man up. RBR isn't going slower, the others are going faster. Law of Diminishing Returns is in play, simple as that, Max!

Watching FP2 and have watched FP1, Marko stated that Liam Lawson will be in a Red Bull car in 2025. Not an opinion but a statement. 

On that Lawson is "locked in" to either RBR or VCARB, which means Danny Ricc or Perez are out

tdgeek:

 

Watching FP2 and have watched FP1, Marko stated that Liam Lawson will be in a Red Bull car in 2025. Not an opinion but a statement. 

 

On that Lawson is "locked in" to either RBR or VCARB, which means Danny Ricc or Perez are out

 

The statement from Marko, as published in his Austrian newspaper column and picked up by the wider F1 media, has now been refuted by Christian Horner in an interview with Sky UK F1. Horner has said that nothing is decided yet and that it will still be "a few weeks" before they come to a decision about next year with their drivers. Also some comment about having to "check in" with Marko about the latter's claim.

It's become pretty clear that RBR is now Horner's ship operationally and that he makes the decisions as he sees fit. With the passing of Mateschitz, Marko has been increasingly marginalised in his role as "Motorsport Advisor" to the point that he really appears to have zero say now around driver decisions.

Horner was very smart to lock Marko into a new contract at RBR in that role earlier this year so that he couldn't walk away from the company and potentially trigger the clause in Verstappen's contract to leave if his good friend and mentor Marko was gone. Whether you like him or not (I don't), he has been playing the political game masterfully and now seems to rule the roost.

It really feels unlikely that Lawson will get a go at Red Bull while Horner is there. I hope I'm wrong, but Horner has had several chances to promote Lawson into a seat and doesn't appear to rate him good enough to drive for them. Horner seems entrenched at the team more than ever, about the only hope of this changing seems to be his current misconduct difficulties with the female staff member if she decides to take it to a properly independent review. Which does seem likely to me as she has already gone through the process twice now under Red Bull's internal auspices.

However, regardless of that, it's not going to happen in time to benefit Lawson if there was change of Team Principal at Red Bull.

Just watching FP3 and Sargeant totalling another car. That will be one of the most galling aspects of the Lawson situation if he doesn't secure a drive. That a guy as mediocre as the American will finish his F1 career with the best part of 50 GP's to his name.

Yeah Red Bull have also said they have to find him a drive but not necessarily in their cars, so could rent him out to say Williams. 

Can't see Williams departing with Albon though as he's a very solid driver, and with Carlos next year that team has done a hASS and now has better drivers than the deserve given their car.  

Jaxson:

 

Yeah Red Bull have also said they have to find him a drive but not necessarily in their cars, so could rent him out to say Williams. 

Can't see Williams departing with Albon though as he's a very solid driver, and with Carlos next year that team has done a hASS and now has better drivers than the deserve given their car.  

 

Horner knows he has Lawson by the short and curlies as there's really no options for 2025 now other than Sauber. So he's in no hurry to give the Kiwi a deal, regardless of what the agreement was around a September deadline. Even if Lawson decides to walk away to another series you get the distinct impression that Horner would not be overly fussed. They have Hadjar and Iwasa really to fill any gap.

Maybe Horner is more concerned about Verstappen jumping ship to Merc but it seems like Wolff is going to announce Antonelli next weekend. Maybe Lawson could be loaned to Williams for the rest of the season as a stop-gap, but it's more likely that they'd grab Schumacher for that job if they decide to fire Sargeant. The Sauber seat looks to be going Bottas' way with the changes in management there.

All a bit grim for Lawson currently. Ricciardo has had a weekend to forget so far, the VCARB looked like a rocketship in Tsunoda's hands. A second quicker than the Aussie in qualifying. But Ricciardo is Horner's great mate so how much does it matter? Looking back at the firing of DeVries and the installation of Ricciardo takes on a different light. Tost gone and a compliant new leadership at VCARB towing Horner's line.

Should be a good race tonight, the cars are wide and the track narrow, I wonder if there will be some first lap shenanigans between Norris and Verstappen. Think the McLaren is just too quick now, it's Norris' to lose. Watching a bit of the Red Bull last night it just doesn't want to turn. For a guy that likes a pointy front end, the Dutchman has to be pretty concerned.