F1 2025 (and other motorsports)

[longers]

Gash race. Antonelli's last stint was pretty crazy though, bit of a statement imo.

 

[hirons11]

I think any excitement this year is going to come from the fact the race for the drives title should be close and possibly change from race to race. The actual racing on race day will be a bit meh without the weather mixing things up.

 

[AndyP94]

one of the most boring races I can recall, I actually drifted off to sleep towards the end. Suzuka always seems to flatter to deceive for a fast circuit.

 

[Hinchcliffe's Corner]

one of the most boring races I can recall, I actually drifted off to sleep towards the end. Suzuka always seems to flatter to deceive for a fast circuit.

The cars just handle too well for it now. Turn 15 is barely a turn for them now, full throttle 8th gear no issues. Very gentle ride for them in today's cars.

 

[PhilM]

The cars just handle too well for it now. Turn 15 is barely a turn for them now, full throttle 8th gear no issues. Very gentle ride for them in today's cars.

Add to that, the cars are much longer and wider than they once were.

With more grip and control, combined with track width not growing in comparison*, we have a position where it is much, much harder to overtake.

*at many older/legacy tracks

 

[GoldenToffee]

Oscar once again f'd over by McLaren. He'll be leaving next season I think, they clearly have their preference right from the start of the season.

 

[Mozza1987]

That track needs binning off, absolutely boring

 

[davep]

Oscar once again f'd over by McLaren. He'll be leaving next season I think, they clearly have their preference right from the start of the season.

Just watching the highlights now. How so?

 

[longers]

You qualify in front of your team mate and you get dibs. If Verstappen had dropped Norris then there may have been some argument for moving aside for Piastri but it's early in the season and the car that qualifies better gets priority in the race unless their pace falls off a cliff. So long as Norris was never more than 2 seconds behind Verstappen they were never going to swap positions.

Piastri needs to outqualify Lando like he did in China and he will get the same treatment.

 

[Hinchcliffe's Corner]

Just watching the highlights now.

How many seconds that take you?

 

[GoldenToffee]

Just watching the highlights now. How so?

Told on the radio not to challenge their golden boy Lando, despite Lando being nowhere near Verstappen and a second slower than his team mate per lap. There should have been no issue in giving Oscar the opportunity to switch cars and see if his pace can win him the race, and if not then switch the cars back to ensure Norris gets second place. It's far too early to be preferring one driver over the other.

 

[hallamblue]

Told on the radio not to challenge their golden boy Lando, despite Lando being nowhere near Verstappen and a second slower than his team mate per lap. There should have been no issue in giving Oscar the opportunity to switch cars and see if his pace can win him the race, and if not then switch the cars back to ensure Norris gets second place. It's far too early to be preferring one driver over the other.

He was told Lando was going as fast as he could, meaning he could overtake him, but he couldn't get close enough. Rather than favouring Norris they didn't favour Piastri, as they're both contending for the Championship. Piastri s fault for qualifying 3rd. This race was all about Saturday with the top 6 unchanged.

 

[GoldenToffee]

He was told Lando was going as fast as he could, meaning he could overtake him, but he couldn't get close enough. Rather than favouring Norris they didn't favour Piastri, as they're both contending for the Championship. Piastri s fault for qualifying 3rd. This race was all about Saturday with the top 6 unchanged.

I dunno... they've got history for preferring Norris over him. Anyway, I imagine Norris will officially get the nod half way thru the season, and I can't see Oscar wanting more of the same for a third successive year if a big offer presents itself. That said, Mercedes are sorted for next season, nobody is getting a chance to fight for a championship alongside Verstappen... I guess he'll just have to put up with it or hope he can outqualify Norris and grab a lead in the standings.

 

[hallamblue]

I dunno... they've got history for preferring Norris over him. Anyway, I imagine Norris will officially get the nod half way thru the season, and I can't see Oscar wanting more of the same for a third successive year if a big offer presents itself. That said, Mercedes are sorted for next season, nobody is getting a chance to fight for a championship alongside Verstappen... I guess he'll just have to put up with it or hope he can outqualify Norris and grab a lead in the standings.

He just needs to be more consistent. Last season he was great one race, and poor the next. His raw pace is quicker than Lando, but he lacks a bit of race craft at the moment, which may come with time if he learns.

 

[longers]

Of course they preferred Norris last season, he comfortably outperformed Piastri for the majority of that season in both qualifying and race trim and he was the only guy with an outside hope of winning the title. They should have supported him more, like in Hungary... although looking back it still wouldn't have been enough to catch Verstappen.

Also very confused how anyone can think Piastri has better raw pace than Lando when the benchmark for raw pace is qualifying and Lando outqualified him 21-3 last season.

Piastri has looked more competitive this season though which bodes well for a potential title scrap between them