F1 2025 - Watchalong Thread

[Brazilianadventure]

Happy New Year.

We start with the first all teams season launch on 18 February. Ferrari reveal their 2025 car the day after.

Pre season testing will take place on 26 to 28 February in Bahrain. Australia will host the opening race on Sunday March 16th.

Good race, just caught up. Nightmare for Ferrari having both cars disqualified

Enjoyed that race although second race in a row I've had to watch the last lap through my fingers! Stop doing this to me Lando!
Not sure how I feel about the penalties. Yes, they're fair, but if it's going to happen every week it'll kill the sport.

Tyre degradation taking them underweight is daft. Maybe they should weigh the cars without tyres to keep the the minimum.

Agree. The track had been resurfaced. It changed lots of things. The hard tyres behaved more like mediums changing a lot of teams two stop to one stop.
Mclaren said that's what caused landos brake issue.
More tyre deg, less rubber to weigh at the end of the race.

I’ve just read that Lawson has been axed.

There have been lots of rumours but is that actually real?

I do hope they offer him an alternative and not just give him the boot. A swap with Yuki would work.

Nothing official I can find but lots.of press speculation. Putting Yuki in for Japan makes sense but very cynical

it’s in The Express

I do wonder if for some reason Max doesn’t want Yuki in that seat. Otherwise I’m sure he would have been in it before now.

I feel sorry for Liam but with it being his home race Yuki is the call really.

Kim Ilman has posted on Facebook and done a video about it. It’s confirmed - swapped for rest of the season.

Official confirmation from Red Bull
BBC News - Yuki Tsunoda to replace Liam Lawson at Japanese Grand Prix, Red Bull confirm - BBC Sport
https://www.bbc.co.uk/sport/formula1/articles/cdxq14pp27yo
I really feel for Liam, 2 races in a car Max struggles with is harsh, but in imo, the drive should always have been Yuki's

Makes you wonder about the wisdom of designing a car around one driver. You might win some drivers championships but you’re never going to win a constructors.

And if/when Yuki is bad in that car also...

What will they do then?

Exactly. I’m sort of starting to think it might be better for the team to get rid of Max, in a weird way? Then you can have a car that two people can drive.

DH said that last night. He sort of hopes that happens to prove the Red Bull feeder programme is wrong. He really hates that they just swap people in and out on a whim.
If Yuki doesn't work put does Danny Ric get another shot? Does Hadjar get a go? Maybe stick Geri in? Who knows 🤔

I listened to the last Formula for Success podcast today which was a tribute to Eddie Jordan, I must admit I did get a lump in my throat. 😢

I hope to catch up with this next week when I’m back in the UK.

I am sure it will be 😆 and 😭in equal measure. EJ will be missed.

RB have got to get their act together a car only Max can drive is not sensible. God forbid what happens if he couldn’t drive e.g. appendix like Carlos/Alex or a ban for swearing etc

No one gets on the grid if they are not a good driver - even Lance is good. There are degrees of good, then there is exceptional - Max, Lewis, Alonso.

Unless Yuki can adopt Max’s driving style he is going to fare no better than Liam, Sergio, etc.

"I am excited to kick off a new chapter as Formula 1 Ambassador for Santander UK," Claire Williams 🤔

Bit cross about this one, "Christian Horner says a big factor in the decision to move Liam Lawson to Racing Bulls after just two races was because his engineers had become “concerned” by his mental state" just wow - it's not very ethical to discuss an employee mental's state with global press but hey Horner has some funny ideas where it comes to employees and ethics, it will be interesting to see the outcome of the employment tribunal court case with the female employee but that's not due until the start of next year.

We were talking about this at work today. Red bull is toxic. The second car a joke. Why would you willingly want to walk into that?
I hope Liam Lawson shows them with the Racing Bulls car, and I hope Yuki doesn't have too bad a time with Red bull.
I never liked Verstappen but I'm coming to realise a lot of that is the team culture (and Horner) and not Max himself.

@midlandsmummy123 I am glad to hear the case is going to ET.

@Rowgtfc72I think that in Liam’s case, his parents sold or remortgaged their house to financially support him and he got paid £12million to be let go, so financially it was worth it for him, plus he still gets a drive

How many millions do you think it cost Red Bull to part with Checo? Given he had only just signed a 2 year contract, that must have been costly. Horner seems to be making some very expensive decisions!