F1 2025 - Previous Rounds

[Aussie pie]

I see McLaren are up to subtle tricks to get Nando the WDC

 

[Aussie pie]

McLaren: Oscar, Lando had a poor start and to make it fair we need you to let him pass. Also his dad is putting another million into the team so we’re giving you a 10 sec penalty. Papaya rules.

 

[Jatz]

Would need to bring refuelling back!

I'm not against that...the sport is desperately in need of more variables on race day imo.

 

[happy_eagle]

It almost felt like that call was made to make the social media teams day easier

I can assure you this was not a factor, and is a very online take.

 

[happy_eagle]

I still fail to believe that if (hypothetical) the roles were reversed and Oscar lost a P2 he had earnt for 90% of the race on a bad pitstop and Lando didn't let him by that posters on this board would think that was the right call.

 

[King Of Money]

I have my doubts about Stallard. I think he is in the team's corner first and Oscar's second. Oscar needs a race engineer who'll be more of a campaigner and put him first.

I've been trying to figure this one out myself lately. Is Stallard (and Joseph) there to win a WDC for their drivers, or is their main goal to win the Grand Prix for their employers McLaren.

I'm pretty sure McLaren are there to win the Grand Prix first and foremost, and let the WDC sort itself out.

As happened recently, when Oscar says "I don't care about Leclerc, as long as I'm ahead of Lando", he's effectively saying I'm driving for the WDC, not wins. But McLaren still want wins.

Who does Stallard ultimately answer to?

 

[Sixpence]

Who does Stallard ultimately answer to?

Andrea Stella, it would have been his call.

 

[Neale4brownlow]

Problem is teams in the past took the piss, tried to outlast each other, resulting in that famous Baku race where something like 3 or 4 had their tires go pop.

The tire manufacturer copped lol the blame and went ultra conservative after that, despite the teams having plenty of chances to pit prior to going through their “expected life” point.

Agree and FIA managed this poorly putting this back onto Pirelli.

From memory though I think the punctures were happening before the recommended lap limit on that occasion? and alot of it was attributed to debris on track.

If Pirelli state a lap limit and teams are comfortable going beyond them and putting their drivers at "risk" then that team should face the spotlight not Pirelli.

Really a puncture shouldn't happen anyway. The tyre should degrade to the point that lap times are no longer competitive compared to pitting and getting a fresh set. A medium tyre after 50 laps "degrading" to the point of only losing 3 tenths of a lap to someone on fresh hards is ridiculous. It should be 1second + by then.

I think Pirelli just stuffed up what the Soft/Medium/Hards were at the track.

 

[Vader]

Most of what you've just discussed was over within the first 5 laps. From that point, Max sailed into the distance and the following 6 all kept each other at around a 5 second gap.

Apart from a botched pitstop and Sainz and Bearman colliding, 90% of the race was watching this lot out for a Sunday drive.

Fair enough if you enjoyed it, I just personally think the procession style of race was awful.

I'm not saying that it was entertaining... but compared to Monaco, it's an absolute riot. Monaco is a whole other level of tedium, and no other track (Monza included) comes close to matching it.

Maybe you have selective amnesia, forgetting just how bad the racing really is at Monaco? I certainly couldn't blame you for blocking it out of your mind!

At Monza, 90% of the overtaking happened in the first 5 laps (not actually true - there was also plenty of overtaking later when drivers had fresh rubber). At Monaco, 100% of the overtaking occurs in the first 0.5 laps.

 

[Kane McGoodwin]

I'm not against that...the sport is desperately in need of more variables on race day imo.

Definitely need to look at making races more interesting, but don't think refuelling is the way, given the inherent dangers attached.

 

[Vader]

Yeah agreed with that on the tyres.

Those McLarens looked like they could've gone another 50 laps on them.

It's a little bit odd considering how boring I found it but I think they need to increase the laps there. A race finishing in just over an hour feels too quick in general.

Most F1 races are 350 km in length. Monaco is the exception, at only 250 km (and anything beyond 1 lap there is a complete waste of time).

Monza is so fast that this race was done in 73 min + a few seconds. They could probably increase it to 400 km, given that Monaco already has a length exemption. The question is whether the cars would be able to carry enough fuel to go the extra distance?

 

[Vader]

Problem is teams in the past took the piss, tried to outlast each other, resulting in that famous Baku race where something like 3 or 4 had their tires go pop.

The tire manufacturer copped lol the blame and went ultra conservative after that, despite the teams having plenty of chances to pit prior to going through their “expected life” point.

They didn't go beyond the design length of the tyres in Baku. That was just a bad batch of tyres.

 

[RWnBluey]

I don't have an issue with the position swap. Had it been a straight race, Lando would have pit 1st, he gave Oscar the option to cover Leclerc, same as in Hungary last year where they pitted Lando 1st to cover Hamilton.

Had Norris pit 1st this time and the same thing happened, I agree it would be stiff shit, Oscar gets 2nd, Lando 3rd but not in this case.

Except it was Lando’s decision to box Oscar first not the team. And this narrative around covering Leclerc is inaccurate. He was never a threat to Oscar.

 

[Vader]

I still fail to believe that if (hypothetical) the roles were reversed and Oscar lost a P2 he had earnt for 90% of the race on a bad pitstop and Lando didn't let him by that posters on this board would think that was the right call.

It shouldn't matter who is in front. You don't redress just because one driver has a slow pit stop. Fair enough to redress if one driver gets an undercut benefit from team strategy - but a slow pit stop is no different to a driver making an error on track.

 

[Vader]

Agree and FIA managed this poorly putting this back onto Pirelli.

From memory though I think the punctures were happening before the recommended lap limit on that occasion? and alot of it was attributed to debris on track.

If Pirelli state a lap limit and teams are comfortable going beyond them and putting their drivers at "risk" then that team should face the spotlight not Pirelli.

Really a puncture shouldn't happen anyway. The tyre should degrade to the point that lap times are no longer competitive compared to pitting and getting a fresh set. A medium tyre after 50 laps "degrading" to the point of only losing 3 tenths of a lap to someone on fresh hards is ridiculous. It should be 1second + by then.

I think Pirelli just stuffed up what the Soft/Medium/Hards were at the track.

I mean... I don't mind them giving up the ghost when a driver has run them down to the steel belts, as Hamilton famously did at Silverstone in 2020. But yes, the onus at that point is well and truly on the team/driver, and not the tyre manufacturer.

 

[Jatz]

Most F1 races are 350 km in length. Monaco is the exception, at only 250 km (and anything beyond 1 lap there is a complete waste of time).

Monza is so fast that this race was done in 73 min + a few seconds. They could probably increase it to 400 km, given that Monaco already has a length exemption. The question is whether the cars would be able to carry enough fuel to go the extra distance?

The counter point to that is I guess my original point.

Adding an extra 10 laps really changes nothing last night, no? Perhaps Oscar could've had a better crack at Lando but everyone else important was well spread out by then.

 

[Jatz]

It shouldn't matter who is in front. You don't redress just because one driver has a slow pit stop. Fair enough to redress if one driver gets an undercut benefit from team strategy - but a slow pit stop is no different to a driver making an error on track.

That's entirely different. A driver making an error is quite literally driver error. Lando did absolutely nothing wrong to relinquish 2nd place.

 

[Nuggetz]

Oscar playing the long game, pick & choose your battles. Smart.

 

[Nuggetz]

I'm not against that...the sport is desperately in need of more variables on race day imo.

Apart from the first 10ish laps, it's very boring unless safety car is involved.

 

[RWnBluey]

x 2

Glad to see there are actually some rational posters in this thread.

lol what happened today had ZERO to do with what order the cars were pitted. Zero. Let’s get that straight first.
Lando was not undercut - he was passed by his teammate on the back of a slow pit stop which would’ve seen him lose track position whether he was boxed first or second. The slow stop is part of racing.

 

[RWnBluey]

How is it absurd? They asked Lando before it happened and he agreed to it due to that.

If they weren't covering Charles off, Lando would've pitted first.

It was Lando’s suggestion to put Oscar first. And please stop with the covering Charles off nonsense. He was never threatening Oscar for track position

 

[Duck Farmer]

It was Lando’s suggestion to put Oscar first. And please stop with the covering Charles off nonsense. He was never threatening Oscar for track position

Let's not kid ourselves, the covering off Leclerc narrative was complete fanfic from Crofty, Karun et. al. to make Lando look like a saint and Oscar the devil if he didn't give the place back.

 

[DrZaius]

I still fail to believe that if (hypothetical) the roles were reversed and Oscar lost a P2 he had earnt for 90% of the race on a bad pitstop and Lando didn't let him by that posters on this board would think that was the right call.

Who cares? We are talking about things that actually happened, not engaging in what-aboutism

 

[Neale4brownlow]

Oscar playing the long game, pick & choose your battles. Smart.

He handled it really well. I think if he had a spat and did what Norris did (hold the spot till the last lap) then he'd lose the swell of fan support building on his side.

I think the fan support helps keeps McLaren "honest" or at least concerned of their image.

One can make a list 5-10 bullet points long for all the times Norris has benefit from team orders this year. And there's exactly 0 in Piastri's list. He just has to keep grinning and bearing it. It'll be a really solid championship win if he can beat 19 other drivers and his own team in 2025.

 

[happy_eagle]

Who cares? We are talking about things that actually happened, not engaging in what-aboutism

It means that the takes in here are emotional and not worth listening to for the most part imo.

Like most of the race threads these days sadly.