2023 Formula 1 Season Thread

[woob]

Originally Posted by Fuzz

FYI you have 11 picks and Alonso twice. Double Alonso, I like it.

Oops! Thanks! Forgot to remove Alonso from the lower spot. Should be:

Verstappen
Norris
Sainz
Perez
Alonso
Leclerc
Russell
Hamilton
Piastri
Gasly

[DoubleK]

What the hell was Charles thinking on the last lap?

[edslunch]

Originally Posted by ben voyonsdonc

The fact that Verstappen is so much better than Perez who is driving in a comparable car is evidence of his skill. Toto is kind of embarrassing himself here…and this is coming from a Merc fan.

I definitely won’t compare Verstappen to the absolute greats in F1 until he’s gone through more iterations of the car (for good and bad) or team changes but it takes a lot of mental gymnastics to dismiss his results this season.

I feel the same way as I did when Hamilton and Mercedes were untouchable. Sure, it’s easier to win with best car and routine front row starts, but the guy just doesn’t make mistakes. And on the rare occasions that he’s down in the order he cleanly works his way back up.

I do think that adversity is the ultimate test of a driver, but like you, in no way will I discount his talent.

[dammage79]

Verstappen to me seems like he could break Hamiltons record with RB but he's going to get bored and move teams just for the challenge.

So far, driver of the year for me, Alex Albon. Dude is milking that Williams for all its worth and doing some damage with it. He might earn a seat at a bigger team next year. But I also hope he proves some loyalty and sticks with Williams and helps them back up the manufacturer ranks.

[Sylvanfan]

I'd go with Alonso over Albon myself. But it does seem like Albon has established himself as a guy who should get consideration from other teams. If Aston had him paired with Alonso then they're going at it tooth and nail against Mercedes in the Constructors. But alas they're asking one guy to do everything.

[Fuzz]

At least when Merc was dominating there were occasional challenges, and Lewis had a teammate winning more than 1 in 7. Max has won 12 and Perez 2. RBR has won every race this season. At some point(now) it just becomes uninteresting. The fact that RBR seems uninterested in helping Perez even when he is ahead makes it even more dull. RBR has made it the Max show, and I'm not really sure anything will change until 2026. That's kind of depressing.

[powderjunkie]

I'm at the point where I feel more tension about Max losing. I just hope he doesn't DNF...the best will be if he falls to the back of the grid mid race and just barely runs out of time on his charge back through.

[ben voyonsdonc]

The dominance of Verstappen and RBR has definitely taken away the suspense - coming into the season, I couldn’t imagine cheering for Verstappen at any point but it’s hard not to kind of cheer for watching him make history.

A positive for the season, in my opinion, is that the rest of the field is pretty competitive. Ferrari, McLaren, and Mercedes are all jockeying for position which is nice. It is RBR and then everyone else but everyone else is definitely a lot closer to each other than they were.

It’s also great that Williams and Haas have been more competitive this season. Albon is showing why he was a Red Bull driver.

The Alpha/Alfas have been a bit disappointing though.

[Sylvanfan]

Originally Posted by ben voyonsdonc

The dominance of Verstappen and RBR has definitely taken away the suspense - coming into the season, I couldn’t imagine cheering for Verstappen at any point but it’s hard not to kind of cheer for watching him make history.

A positive for the season, in my opinion, is that the rest of the field is pretty competitive. Ferrari, McLaren, and Mercedes are all jockeying for position which is nice. It is RBR and then everyone else but everyone else is definitely a lot closer to each other than they were.

It’s also great that Williams and Haas have been more competitive this season. Albon is showing why he was a Red Bull driver.

The Alpha/Alfas have been a bit disappointing though.

Aston Martin is still solidly in 4th. Plus with Ferrari seemingly throwing everything they had at Monza, I won't be surprised to see them fade on the circuits left on the calendar.

[ben voyonsdonc]

Originally Posted by Sylvanfan

Aston Martin is still solidly in 4th. Plus with Ferrari seemingly throwing everything they had at Monza, I won't be surprised to see them fade on the circuits left on the calendar.

I totally missed Aston there. Good catch. They’ve faded a bit since the beginning of the season but things can change. McLaren was pretty terrible and have really turned dramatically with the upgrade.

I agree that Ferrari basically pushed all of their chips in to have a good showing in Italy. Didn’t work out that great but I guess a podium finish isn’t the worst result.

[KelVarnsen]

In the 2016 season Mercedes won all but 2 races. The Spanish GP where Rosberg and Hamilton wrecked each other and the Malaysian GP where Hamilton retired and Rosberg ####ed up.

Max and RB seem bulletproof so they can and probably will sweep the season

[Izzle]

Originally Posted by Sylvanfan

I'd go with Alonso over Albon myself. But it does seem like Albon has established himself as a guy who should get consideration from other teams. If Aston had him paired with Alonso then they're going at it tooth and nail against Mercedes in the Constructors. But alas they're asking one guy to do everything.

Imagine if AM picked up Albon to partner with Alonso.

Id totally be on board with Team Albonso.

[KelVarnsen]

Looks like everyone kept their catering budget under the cap last year
https://www.motorsport.com/f1/news/f...-cap/10516549/

[FLAMESRULE]

Italy GP results are in!!

Congrats to FurnaceFace for taking top spot this week with 4 slotted and 9/10. Bizaro86 takes second with 3 slotted and 9/10.

Overall DoubleK still leads, but Bizaro86 clawed back 4 and is now only down 14. There is a tie for 3rd with KelVarnsen and Mccree (McCree technically ahead with more correctly slotted).

Spoiler!

[agulati]

Curious why I got 0s since I believe it was my first missed week.

[FLAMESRULE]

Originally Posted by agulati

Curious why I got 0s since I believe it was my first missed week.

My bad, I totally missed that I didnt have any entries for you. I'll update the original post. And you're correct, first miss.

[agulati]

All good!

[DoubleK]

Anyone else excited for Monza Bay this weekend?

I don't know if removing those corners will make things better or not.

[KelVarnsen]

I am more excited for Marina Bay

[DoubleK]

Originally Posted by KelVarnsen

I am more excited for Marina Bay

It's a joke. I think they are going to wad up a bunch of cars going into new turn 16.