F1 2024 -Watchalong thread

[Brazilianadventure]

Happy New Year.

Thought I would start the 2024 thread given there is more political intrigue with the FIA.

2 resignations and one person choosing to not renew their contract. https://www.bbc.co.uk/sport/formula1/67906883

Plus allegedly another ex-Red Bull employee moving to the FIA. https://x.com/silverarrowsnet/status/1744375322131231089?s=46&t=lJm6-66fq4MtGcwwAsK6Kg

Well that was an unexpected treat!
We definitely need more races like that, just so much more enjoyable to see it all mixed up. And really pleased for Carlos, and McLaren too.

I woke up so put the radio on, and yes a great race!

Things are looking close at the top of the table too which might spark some insecurity in Red Bull.

Well done Sainz!

Looking for a to Suzuka.

The teams full radio of the incident is really upsetting to hear George sounds so panicked 😭

I agree the radio messages were hard to hear as he was a sitting duck. I think there will be a review to see if they got it right to go with a VSC.

In my opinion Fernando knew exactly what he was doing and deserved the penalty.

George's radio call with upsetting to hear and I was amazed they didn't red flag it. The only reason I can think (giving them some benefit of doubt) is that it was the last lap and all the cars would have had to limp past him to get back to the pit, anway - under the red flag. So they may as well limp to the finish and stop there?

But there does need to be a mechanism to stop racing on track when 'limping past' is not safe.

But I agre with others - Max going out in lap 2 was just what F1 needed for an interesting race. Shame it takes that but I far more enjoyed watching this race than the last 2. And well done to Sainz for such a phenomenal drive. He has some fire in his belly and it's going to be fun to watch him this year, I think.

made us jump when Sainz overtook Max I was like whoa! so excited and unexpected at that point!

Loved the race, bring on more like that !

George's radio messages have been playing on my mind since I heard them yesterday. It really showed the dangerous situations they find themselves in, even though he wasn't hurt from the impact itself.

I hope there is a review because I do believe that a different decision would have been made if it had happened earlier in the race. So many times the FIA have seemed to prioritise keeping the cars moving at the end of a race over driver safety.

So many times the FIA have seemed to prioritise keeping the cars moving at the end of a race over driver safety.

Indeed. In fact they do it so often that I am starting to have doubts as to whether or not they are genuine erors of judgement or a deliberate strategy to keep the race going 'at all costs'.

Exactly. Is George still the driver that represents them all on the GPDA because I imagine he'll be getting opinions from a lot of the other drivers about it.
Ultimately, if you've got a driver lying in the middle of the track shouting for a red flag you'd need a damn good reason not to do it.

I've watched for years. More recently, I've watched while a fireball errupted behind the action as Grosjean went into the barrier and his tank exploded. A few years back I watched the hush descend over the track as Jules Bianchi ran into the misplaced recovery vehicle. I watched as Lewis' car skidded upside down in an accident that would surely have killed or seriously harmed him only a few years prior in a different car.

In all cases, I feel sick when these things happen because I do not want to watch people hurt. Their safety is far, far more important than any race spectacle. I hope the FIA genuinely believe that too.

As we found out in AD2021 and with Jules it’s a strategy to keep the race going at all costs.

In AD2021 the timing screen showed sectors being declared clear after the Race Director called in the safety car. Potentially their could still have been debris or worse Marshalls on the track.

I agree with the sentiment on here. The race director seems to be conflicted between safety and not ruining the spectacle of the race. It makes me feel uncomfortable about watching it on occasions like this. All I can think of is the poor driver, and their families watching it all.

I can't bear to watch moto GP and any kind of boxing as I just can't watch people get hurt for the sake of entertainment.

Given it was the last lap I'm not sure there was a material difference between red flag, safety car and VSC tbh. Either way they all would've had to file past him.

(Although I'd fallen asleep by then )

But with a red flag they'd only have filed past once and straight into the pit, whereas with the VSC they all passed him twice, on the final lap past the finish line and then round again to the pit entry.

I’ve just listened to the team radio.
The panic in his voice is palpable, understandably.
I hope they do take it into consideration if/when there is an overall review of the VSC decision.

Race week and it’s early starts again. Hopefully the GPDA raise George’s crash with the Race Director as he was a sitting duck in that tilted car.

BBC reporting that the RB saga is not over, apparently it is going to ET. However, that could take years to happen. I have said it before but I feel so sorry for the woman involved.

https://www.skysports.com/f1/news/12433/13107031/sebastian-vettel-four-time-f1-world-champion-speaking-to-mercedes-boss-toto-wolff-amid-thoughts-of-return-to-grid

interesting! I’d love to see him back

Very interesting. I think it all depends on Max.

I would be disappointed if Seb came back as a driver. I like Seb a lot but there are too many young drivers due a seat to shake it all up a bit.

All these older drivers are holding things up!

Oh for goodness sake, it would be ridiculous for Seb to come back, really. You had a good run of it, leave it at that 😂

Not Seb PLEASE

Nothing against Seb but didn't he get fawned over as he left mere months ago?!

There are plenty of decent young drivers waiting their turn, as we've seen. To bring Vettel back would just be an absolute failure of imagination.

I agree Seb had his time and it’s now time for the youngsters like Ollie Bearman and Liam Lawson.

Williams had more bad luck with Logan - hopefully the floor is OK and they can repair the car.

The Mercs and Ferrari’s look close to each other in FP1. Hopefully that plays out in the race.