F1 2024 thread 2

[Brazilianadventure]

Continuation thread

Part 1 https://www.mumsnet.com/talk/sports/4980705-f1-2004-watchalong-thread?page=10&reply=136230297

Danny Ric is another driver ruined by Red Bull's toxic environment. He came into the sport with such promise but didn't really achieve much (like Checo).

It's a shame he didn't get a good farewell weekend.

I have to say, though, I am keen to see what Lawson does with the seat. It's nice to have a Kiwi in F1 again.

@GrouchyKiwi I am also interested to see what Liam can do. He did well last year.

I am actually really looking forward to seeing what all the rookies can do in 2025 as Ollie Bearman has done well on his two stints this year. France Colapinto has done well and doesn’t have a drive.

I can see a few more old guard drivers like Hulkenberg, Bottas, Perez and even Albon and Sainz who may find they are in their last year or two.

He was pretty tearful when they asked him in his interview after the race why he sat in the car for a long time after stopping.

I'm not a fan but it was emotional to watch

Glad to see some of you are heading my way in July!

I'm half expecting Bottas to retire and take up cycling.
It's Danny Rics time to go, I do believe that, but F1 definitely owed him a proper send off.
Was at Silverstone this weekend for the penultimate Btcc race. Was nice to try out all the stands and roam round the pit garages. Tom Ingram even had a dj in his and we had a proper party.
Can imagine it's a very different place F1 weekend. Only took us 10 mins to get out the car park and onto the main road too.

Visa Cash RB has done Daniel wrong. They should have made the announcement in Singapore, or better yet, let him drive in COTA and arrive into the paddock on horseback for 1 last time. He doesn't even get that much.

I'm glad someone else has spotted just how toxic RBR and the junior team are and how they've done their drivers wrong over the years. I don't think any other team up or down the grid has treated their drivers so badly over the years. I'm delighted that Alex got out and how he's developing as a driver since leaving the team as with Pierre. They will find a way to the top and do it their way. Even when the main team wasn't listening to Checo that shows how they treat their drivers, if you're not #1.

Sorry Honey Badger! You deserved so much better from your former teams. Shame on them.

Worse for DR - Lawson confirmed he's know for 2 weeks he had the seat. So, it clearly was already decided by Singapore. So not only did the wider RB team deny Danny Ric the chance for a proper send off for no apparent reason, they had him take the fastest lap to aid Max as his last act.

With friends like that, eh?

That's really quite sad. Poor Danny Ric.

It was one of the worst kept secrets in the paddock. Everyone knew but until RB/VCARB announced it no one could confirm it.

I honestly think CH was too much of a coward to face the questions etc. had they announced it ahead of Singapore. I hope the media ask him a lot of questions in Austin.

Bought my Silverstone tickets today. They don’t seem like they’re flying off the shelves to be honest. Loads available and they’ve been on sale since yesterday morning.

DS2 is a big F1 fan and has had a bit of a rough time lately - he's in GOSH at the moment recovering from surgery.

DH has just bought us all grandstand tickets for Silverstone next year. DS2's face when he saw the text message - he was so happy!

I don't think any of us have been to a race before, so I'm really looking forward to it!

Hope everyone going to Silverstone next year has a fab time. I really enjoyed my trip there this year despite the awful weather! Watching Hamilton winning was fantastic. My top tip would be definitely take a poncho and waterproof shoes! I made the mistake of wearing normal trainers and my feet were soaked and frozen.

I'm envious of you all but it's too pricey for me two years in a row.

How lovely, RockaLock! Have a fantastic time.

We went to Silverstone in 2021 (I think), the year that Lewis & Max crashed, Lewis got the 10-place penalty and then won the race. It was 31C (I loathe hot weather) and absolutely bloody brilliant.

@RockaLock how lovely.

pp are right waterproofs and sunscreen are both required. A lot of people end up very red and stacked through😂

I would also recommend binoculars - compact ones. This is so you can see the TV screens and also the action in the pit lane.

We were going to go for the first time, but the amount they had gone up before they even hit public sale was bonkers and then again while I was in the queue. We made the decision to duck out when they had gone up almost £200 a person, I just didnt want to support that because it is clearly forcing people to buy the memberships at £189 or £125.

We decided we would watch at home instead and may consider travelling to watch a race instead. The dynamic pricing just completely put me off which is a shame as we were excited about the idea of going along to watch a race.

Ditto! Splurged big time in 2021 for covered seats in Abbey B, which is why we were able to tolerate the heat - friends had uncovered seats at Farm Curve and ended up leaving before the end of the race because they were getting absolutely roasted. Sadly, the prices now (esp with dynamic pricing) have stopped us from going since.

So DH has booked the Woodcote A grandstand. He thought it would be sensible to be undercover!

I will be asking for all your hints and tips nearer the time!

We’re undercover too and have gone for park and ride - read that last year was a bit of a shambles for the park and ride as some
of the drivers got lost and instead of 20 mins back to your car it took 2 hours 😱😱parking for 3 days was £170!!

that sounds bad re: the park & ride!

DH has booked the shuttle bus to and from Milton Keynes station. I think he went to qualifying on a work jolly a few years ago and said the roads/car parks were chaos. Fingers crossed it's better next year...

I’ve done both park & ride and on-site parking and we’ve opted for park & ride this year as the marginally better option. It isn’t chaos, there’s loads of traffic obviously but it’s well organised.

Just read that apparently (tabloid asterisk for reliability) Michael Schumacher attended his daughter's wedding at their home over the weekend. My heart broke another little bit for them reading it. I hope they had a lovely day and that he was able to enjoy the celebrations in some way.

That sounds like a positive step forward for the family. Lovely for his daughter for him to be there.

Have any of you been to Melbourne? I'm looking at this for next year but not sure how much of a faff it is getting to and from the track. And also price of hotels etc.

We're visiting family next year and considering tying this in.

Ignore that. Hotel prices are ££££

IT'S RACE WEEK AGAIN!!!

Holy heavens but it's been a while since we've been able to say that it's Race Week.

I hope Daniel shows up in the Paddock to get his farewell. Would be great if Sky F1 had him on as a pundit every now and again.

It's also a Sprint Weekend so hopefully some of the other drivers may be able to make some more of a dent in the lead that Max has on the championship by winning the Sprint and the Race itself.

I really like this track - it's got a bit of everything for everyone in it!

Gosh, it feels such a long time since Singapore.

I have a feeling unless something major is announced CH may find he is asked a lot about DRs departure.

I did read, no idea how accurate, Austin were going to give DR the freedom of the city or something similar. Apparently they have rescheduled it. So DR may not be there.

I am concerned the long break has given RB the chance to catch up with McLaren. However, the sprint weekend means if any team has got an upgrade wrong they don’t have much chance of fixing it,