Disqus - Latest Comments for raymondu999

Re: ‘Next year is my year’: Flawless Norris lays marker for 2025 in Abu Dhabi GP

raymondu999 — Tue, 10 Dec 2024 04:54:26 -0000

Mark, it's been a while since we've had one of your very eloquent driving style analyses. I remember very vividly the one comparing Alonso-Ferrari, Vettel-RedBull and Hamilton-McLaren in a certain magazine I shall not name.
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What are the chances you could perhaps provide a refresher? It would be especially interesting to predict the team-movers, eg Hamilton to Ferrari, and how their driving style would cope, if the cars remained with a similar balance into 2025

Re: ‘Next year is my year’: Flawless Norris lays marker for 2025 in Abu Dhabi GP

raymondu999 — Tue, 10 Dec 2024 04:50:18 -0000

Mark,

What do you think of the prospects of RBR as it enters its non-Newey era? They got P3 which obviously will help with WT runs and CFD. Would they have understood their issues too? Or do you see them perhaps falling to a semi-top team as they were in that 2014--2020 spell when they had the occasional win

Re: MPH: Verstappen says he’d be F1 champion in a McLaren. We’re not so sure

raymondu999 — Sat, 07 Dec 2024 00:07:06 -0000

I agree that speed and track craft Norris isn't lacking much, Mark. What I believe though is that he has not demonstrated the ability to autopilot on the limit -- and then have that spare mental capacity to view, and react to if needed, the bigger picture.

Re: MPH: Verstappen says he’d be F1 champion in a McLaren. We’re not so sure

raymondu999 — Sat, 07 Dec 2024 00:05:29 -0000

was he really unlucky with the SC in Canada? To memory; he was before pit in. He had such a gap; should have immediately pitted in.

Silverstone -- he told the engineer to decide. Which is all fair and well. Generally speaking though, the top of the top elite drivers have had the ability to decide on their own. Am I saying he should be responsible? No. He's focusing on not crashing on the limit at 250-300kph. It's his team's duty. But it does expose a deficiency, where his younger teammate had no such issue.

I think what Norris lacks is not on track talent; the boy is fast. And when he has his wits about him, his race craft isn't bad, generally. but from what we've seen so far I don't think he has demonstrated he has spare capacity. The ability for him to autopilot on the limit and instead be thinking of the bigger picture.

Re: MPH: Verstappen says he’d be F1 champion in a McLaren. We’re not so sure

raymondu999 — Sat, 07 Dec 2024 00:01:03 -0000

I see now. Where we differ is where we rate their respective past teammates.

"No, I said he was good, sometimes very good midfielder." --> 100% agreed

"Very good midfield performances were his ceiling" --> I don't agree, look at for example 2012 Malaysia. 2012 Monza, 2012 Canada would be examples too.

"Sainz, an elite driver the paddock bizarrely underrated" --> This I don't agree; I think he's a good but not elite driver. I think he would be great Tier A- driver; someone who if you give a subservient number 2 and a dominant car can win a title. But if he had an equal car with a Charles or Lewis or Max I personally do not believe he would win vs them.

"Ocon, whom nobody thinks of as an elite driver" --> The hype around him at his debut was crazy though. Bear in mind Ocon achieved more in midfield cars than Sainz, for example. I am of the opinion Ocon has a higher CEILING (but does not consistently reach that ceiling) than Sainz.

If you asked me to rate early years Perez vs early years Norris; I would actually be of the opinion that early years Perez is ahead. Perez in 2012 Malaysia is, imo, very analogous to Norris in 2021 Russia; except Perez was in a WCC-6th car. Norris was in a WCC-4th car

Re: MPH: Verstappen says he’d be F1 champion in a McLaren. We’re not so sure

raymondu999 — Wed, 04 Dec 2024 23:45:14 -0000

But you're arguing a different point to myself. We're not talking about his RBR days he was indisputably rubbish there. Have to remember that, pre-2023 Norris, and pre-2021 Checo were basically:
-- very strong midfielders (that much is a given)
-- occasionally put on the podium cars that were midfield
-- occasionally chased wins.

In fact I'd argue Perez's 2012 Monza/Canada, and 2011 Malaysia, as lone peaks were higher than singular lone feats that Norris achieved in that timeframe.

I'm comparing Norris vs Perez, in cars that are not operated by Red Bull Racing. Norris may be able to handle the RBR. the Fact of the matter is, we have never seen him handle anything in F1 other than a McLaren -- and that's not a slight against him. It's just a fact. And that car has its own, separate quirks.

We've already seen in DR that compatibility with the RBR philosophy, is almost polar opposite to compatibility with the McLaren philosophy. It's like how Schumi was, initially, incompatible with Barnard's philosophy.

Re: MPH: Verstappen says he’d be F1 champion in a McLaren. We’re not so sure

raymondu999 — Sun, 01 Dec 2024 21:57:20 -0000

But is Norris in such a different league to pre-RBR Perez? I think that's the real kicker. Because if Perez is taken as a benchmark then those that have thrived with stability will not thrive in the RBR. Norris may fall in the same category, even if he is operating at a higher level within that said same category

Re: Advantage Norris in Brazil. Until red flag set up Verstappen masterclass

raymondu999 — Thu, 07 Nov 2024 02:03:42 -0000

I agree. I was wondering more of your reasoning though. Was it just his inexorable pace?

Re: Advantage Norris in Brazil. Until red flag set up Verstappen masterclass

raymondu999 — Wed, 06 Nov 2024 00:25:04 -0000

Hi Mark. Had George and lando stayed out what do you think? Do you think one of them would have won? Or was Max inevitable that day

Re: MPH: Will Red Bull bend to F1’s aero rules?

raymondu999 — Sat, 05 Oct 2024 23:52:19 -0000

This brings to mind the old Paddy Lowe quote; about low speed understeer and high speed understeer. And he said way back then, that the more a driver could handle high speed oversteer, the more it allows them to dial out the low speed understeer and theoretically achieve a better "lap average" grip level.

What IMO is also interesting is... back in 2010-2013 and then recently Red Bull was considered the top of the class of aero elasticity. The common denominator here is Rob Marshall. Could it be we have been underrating his contribution? Throwback too to when he founded the Renault dampener

Re: MPH: F1’s new dark arts – why teams can’t work out their own cars

raymondu999 — Tue, 01 Oct 2024 06:09:51 -0000

Alonso's comment is very interesting. It reminds me so much of what Jackie Stewart said in Roman Polanski's Weekend of a Champion. About keeping the ride heights etc in their best setup windows by being smoother. Perhaps someone like a Button would thrive very much in this current "meta" of being smooth as fast

Re: MPH: F1’s new dark arts – why teams can’t work out their own cars

raymondu999 — Tue, 01 Oct 2024 06:08:32 -0000

Tbh a friend who used to work for Firestone in Nascar, told me in 2010 when they announced Pirelli, that he fully expected a lot of tyre sensitivity due to tyre temps. and marbling. And in hindsight of course he turned out to be right.

Re: Vettel’s IndyCar invitation and the unusual reason behind it

raymondu999 — Thu, 04 Aug 2022 11:52:13 -0000

Does RB have an IndyCar team? A reunion, albeit in a different category of racing, would be quite a feel-good story I feel

Re: Alpine’s logic for not offering Alonso what he wanted

raymondu999 — Thu, 04 Aug 2022 04:06:10 -0000

It is his third, yes. Albeit with a truncated-ish 2nd stint. But still - something chased him off what is the current 4th fastest team, and into the 9th fastest team. That doesn't happen lightly; especially with Otmar confirming they had a performance-triggered 2nd year

Re: Alpine’s logic for not offering Alonso what he wanted

raymondu999 — Thu, 04 Aug 2022 03:54:53 -0000

I'm gonna play devil's advocate a bit. Or observer's advocate, if you will.

Prost -- 4 time world champion, knows what it takes to win a title, has won a title, knows when a team doesn't have what it takes
Alonso -- same, except 2 times only.
Ricciardo -- albeit not a wdc, but he has been part of a championship-level operation, and has seen a wdc teammate in his prime(ish) at work; therefore has a front row; albeit 3rd party, view of what it takes to win a title.

All 3 spent years in the current guise of Renault/Alpine (since the 2016 return) and all of them have left without so much (so far, anyway) as a look back. What is it that has scared them off? What is it that leads them to abandon the project?

Re: How do you decide which is the world’s most expensive car?

raymondu999 — Wed, 08 Jun 2022 04:38:14 -0000

Mark. I would welcome your speculation here. In the purely hypothetical theory that Sebastian Vettel had returned to Red Bull instead of Sergio for 2021 and 2022, how do you think he would have faired in the RB16B and the RB18 to date? Bearing in mind respective driving styles and traits of the cars

Re: De Vries to F1 isn’t as likely – or logical – as it might look

raymondu999 — Wed, 25 May 2022 03:32:23 -0000

I don’t follow the other formulae much I’m afraid. Frijns is formerly wsr/gp2 is he not? I remember the name.

Re: De Vries to F1 isn’t as likely – or logical – as it might look

raymondu999 — Wed, 25 May 2022 02:40:54 -0000

Maybe it's just me but I don't get the hype. He was an exciting prospect at one point in the early 2010s but IMO that excitement fizzled out once he entered F2. Struggling to come anywhere close to the title win in 2018, then winning 2019 in my view "by default" -- given as those who were above him in the 2018 standings all moved up to F1 -- against an arguably weaker than usual F2 field where Latifi was the strongest driver outside of De Vries.

Yes he did well in F-E; but is that really a big vindication? People are not squabbling to bring Piquet, Buemi, di Grassi, Vergne and/or da Costa (another one that got away) back into F1.

Don't get me wrong I have nothing against the guy; but I think F1 has better names to look forward to.

Re: Aston Martin, Williams express interest in works Audi F1 deal

raymondu999 — Sat, 23 Apr 2022 09:09:04 -0000

Oh I’m well aware. It’s a naming rights deal basically. Much like Alfa Romeo and Sauber.

However — don’t forget the team’s factory is also the Aston Martin factory, no? (The one that is under construction)

Re: Aston Martin, Williams express interest in works Audi F1 deal

raymondu999 — Sat, 23 Apr 2022 07:14:43 -0000

How on earth would Audi work with Aston? Aston Martin is a car company already; albeit small. And one that does not have ties to Audi. It has a lot more ties to Merc with its AMG engines and the shareholding Daimler holds with Aston. How exactly would that work out?

Re: How good was Ralf Schumacher? Mark Hughes’ verdict

raymondu999 — Mon, 20 Dec 2021 23:15:37 -0000

Can we have more driving style analyses please!! I remember a piece you did on Ham/Alo/Vet back in 2011 and absolutely loved it. Maybe one for the current new generation? also, what are your thoughts on Seb’s driving style post blown diffuser (roll oversteer entry, slam throttle out) vs now?

Re: How good was Ralf Schumacher? Mark Hughes’ verdict

raymondu999 — Mon, 20 Dec 2021 23:14:36 -0000

Hi Mark. Is Seb nowadays not of a similar style to Ralf? more of an sntry driver, massive overlap on brakes and steering on entry, and struggles to master a more “manhandly” car?

Re: The top 10 Formula 1 drivers of 2020 – Our verdict

raymondu999 — Tue, 15 Dec 2020 23:52:19 -0000

I think it just shows that Vettel is quite dependent on machinery. Not saying "he only won in the fastest car" but I think he's at his best only when the car has a great balance for him. He's good when the car is almost at his preferred balance but when the car is the opposite of what he needs, which visibly is the case this year then he struggles.

Re: The top 10 Formula 1 drivers of 2020 – Our verdict

raymondu999 — Tue, 15 Dec 2020 23:50:04 -0000

Can we has the #11-#20 please! I'm very curious

Re: MPH: Why Red Bull had the fastest car in Abu Dhabi

raymondu999 — Tue, 15 Dec 2020 04:56:49 -0000

Mark, I’d love to hear your thoughts on how the moving drivers will, with their driving styles, gel with their new machinery for next year. For example would the McLaren suit DannyRic? Would the Renault suit Alonso? Etc. Perhaps an article idea?