F1 2019
- Thread starter 1%er
- Start date
has been too long a break without F1.
It is one I would really like to go to. Is there a cheap way of doing it outside of Eau Rouge?I've love to go Spa, looked into this this year but the packages to be on eau rouge where ridiculous price.
cybershot
Well-Known Member
Sure, you can pretty much do a DIY package for anywhere else on the circuit and get general admission. Problem with Eau Rouge is it seems all the tickets for that are classed as gold and most get bought up by agents to do package deals.
MrCurry
right after this urgent rest
I’ve always loved to watch the Spa race on TV, such gorgeous views and spectacular camera angles as the helicopter chases the cars up the hill.
Then once I went there to watch it live - ye gods, what a mistake! I don’t want to put anyone off, but it rained non-stop and I spent half the weekend shivering in the cold and the other half trekking around the rocky perimeter footpaths, getting knackered from all the ups and downs. I did have a great time actually, so I shouldn’t be so negative really, but it’s far from an easy circuit to get around, so I’d you're not very fit then be warned. If the weather was ok then maybe it would have been an easier visit.
Then once I went there to watch it live - ye gods, what a mistake! I don’t want to put anyone off, but it rained non-stop and I spent half the weekend shivering in the cold and the other half trekking around the rocky perimeter footpaths, getting knackered from all the ups and downs. I did have a great time actually, so I shouldn’t be so negative really, but it’s far from an easy circuit to get around, so I’d you're not very fit then be warned. If the weather was ok then maybe it would have been an easier visit.
1%er
Well-Known Member
22 race calendar for 2020 it seems
With Spain having managed to get the money together for an extension,it looks like there will be 22 races on the calendar for next season. According to a number of German news outlets this is what the 2020 calendar will look like. It looks as though the season will start with a back-to-back weekend of racing. The Australian Grand Prix kicks things off before Bahrain provides the warm-up for the Vietnam Grand Prix. The Chinese Grand Prix follows before the European season starts in Zandvoort.
What's the story with Hulkenberg
Some interesting developments around where Hulkenberg will be next season. Apparently earlier this week Hulkenberg posted this picture on his Instagram account (taken from the front cover of a French magazine) and then deleted it after a few hours, he had added the words "finally a more exciting Thursday ahead". There are also lots of stories in the press that claim his contract contains a clause that does not allow him to be replaced for the 2020 season unless he can find another landing spot. Does this mean Renault have found him another seat for 2020, maybe we will find out on Thursday?
With Spain having managed to get the money together for an extension,it looks like there will be 22 races on the calendar for next season. According to a number of German news outlets this is what the 2020 calendar will look like. It looks as though the season will start with a back-to-back weekend of racing. The Australian Grand Prix kicks things off before Bahrain provides the warm-up for the Vietnam Grand Prix. The Chinese Grand Prix follows before the European season starts in Zandvoort.
What's the story with Hulkenberg
Some interesting developments around where Hulkenberg will be next season. Apparently earlier this week Hulkenberg posted this picture on his Instagram account (taken from the front cover of a French magazine) and then deleted it after a few hours, he had added the words "finally a more exciting Thursday ahead". There are also lots of stories in the press that claim his contract contains a clause that does not allow him to be replaced for the 2020 season unless he can find another landing spot. Does this mean Renault have found him another seat for 2020, maybe we will find out on Thursday?
1%er
Well-Known Member
Its official Bottas to stay at Mercedes
Valtteri Bottas will stay at Mercedes for another year, the Formula One champions said on Thursday. That will keep the 30-year-old Finn, who joined the team in 2017 after Nico Rosberg’s sudden retirement, alongside five-time champion Lewis Hamilton until at least the end of 2020.
Alfa Romeo confusion
Conflicting news reports today about Alfa and who will drive for them this weekend and why. Late last night news reports were claiming that Marcus Ericsson would be driving for the team at Spa in place of Antonio Giovinazzi. Now it seems that that Ericsson will drive a car bit it is thought to be Kimi's car as Kimi has a leg injury (other news outlets say it is stomach issues, maybe he was on the piss for the whole summer break). Ericsson was due to drive in this weekends Indycar race at Portland but as Alfa's reserve driver has been flown to Spa to take part in this weekends GP.
Bad start for Alexander Albon at Red Bull
Alexander Albon will start his career with the Red Bull senior team at Sunday's Belgian Grand Prix from the back of the grid because of an upgrade to Honda's engine. The Anglo-Thai, who was promoted from Toro Rosso for the rest of the season, replaces Pierre Gasly who moves the other way. Albon inherited Gasly's engine allocation, and the Frenchman had already exceeded the limit of permitted engine parts for the season.
Daniil Kvyat will also take the new 'spec four' engine at Toro Rosso, and likewise start from the back. Red Bull have won two of the past four races with Albon's team-mate Max Verstappen. The Dutchman and Gasly can be expected to take the new engine at a subsequent race, most likely next weekend's Italian Grand Prix at Monza.
Valtteri Bottas will stay at Mercedes for another year, the Formula One champions said on Thursday. That will keep the 30-year-old Finn, who joined the team in 2017 after Nico Rosberg’s sudden retirement, alongside five-time champion Lewis Hamilton until at least the end of 2020.
Alfa Romeo confusion
Conflicting news reports today about Alfa and who will drive for them this weekend and why. Late last night news reports were claiming that Marcus Ericsson would be driving for the team at Spa in place of Antonio Giovinazzi. Now it seems that that Ericsson will drive a car bit it is thought to be Kimi's car as Kimi has a leg injury (other news outlets say it is stomach issues, maybe he was on the piss for the whole summer break). Ericsson was due to drive in this weekends Indycar race at Portland but as Alfa's reserve driver has been flown to Spa to take part in this weekends GP.
Bad start for Alexander Albon at Red Bull
Alexander Albon will start his career with the Red Bull senior team at Sunday's Belgian Grand Prix from the back of the grid because of an upgrade to Honda's engine. The Anglo-Thai, who was promoted from Toro Rosso for the rest of the season, replaces Pierre Gasly who moves the other way. Albon inherited Gasly's engine allocation, and the Frenchman had already exceeded the limit of permitted engine parts for the season.
Daniil Kvyat will also take the new 'spec four' engine at Toro Rosso, and likewise start from the back. Red Bull have won two of the past four races with Albon's team-mate Max Verstappen. The Dutchman and Gasly can be expected to take the new engine at a subsequent race, most likely next weekend's Italian Grand Prix at Monza.
1%er
Well-Known Member
According to news reports Ocon will be racing for Renault with Hulkenberg moving to Haas. Could Hulkenberg be moving to Formula E I wonder, I expect we will hear news about Hulkenberg in the next week or two.
Will Juan Pablo Montoya beat Fernando Alonso to the triple crown
The “Triple Crown” which entails winning the Monaco Grand Prix, the 24 Hours of LeMans and the Indy 500 race at the Indianapolis Motor Speedway. The Spaniard had won the Monaco Grand Prix on two occasions during his Formula 1 career that saw him win two Drivers world championships. Alonso added the 24 Hours of LeMans in 2018 and 2019 driving for the Toyota Gazoo Racing, but the Indy 500 win has eluded him despite an impressive debut in 2017 which saw him lead 27 laps before an engine failure.
Juan Pablo Montoya is the only other active driver at the moment to have won two of the three races that make up the Triple Crown and could beat Alonso to the title. Montoya has won the Monaco Grand Prix once and the Indy 500 race on two occasions, he now just needs to win at LeMans. He has won at LeMans in the past but in the LMP2 category, he needs to win it again in the LMP1 category to beat Alonso to the triple crown.
1%er
Well-Known Member
Renault have now officially announced that Ocon will be driving for them next season and Hulkenberg is out, this isn't the end for Hulkenberg as Gunther Steiner said to the press today (before Renault's announcement), "we have 3 options for 2020, we extend Grosjean's contract, we look at Ocon or Hulkenberg". K-mag has a contract with Haas for 2020 so they are going to keep him I believe.
I believe that they will take Hulkenberg and drop Grosjean if they can get a deal done. I think Hulkenberg will want more money than Grosjean and will also want a multi-year deal (two with an option), but at the end of the day it will be down to Gene Haas who get the seat.
weltweit
Well-Known Member
I wish Montoya luck at Le Mans, it takes a competitive team, two other competitive drivers and flawless reliability and speed in the car to win. A lot of pieces of the jig saw have to fit in place and I think also some luck.
Limejuice
Well-Known Member
1%er
Well-Known Member
Lewis Hamilton says the new power unit Mercedes has brought for the Belgian Grand Prix will only bring a small performance gain and is mainly intended to improve efficiency. However Hamilton says Mercedes is not about to move a major step closer towards Ferrari as it introduces its third and and what should be final power unit specification of the season.
“It’s pretty much the same as the second one, so not really any real improvements. We’ve constantly been at the forefront of the technology on the engine side. There have been years when we’re just constantly ramping up, ramping up. But when you’re constantly the leader it’s not always easy to keep leading, you have rougher patches. I think it’s been a bit of a harder year in terms of development. But we’ve still got great reliability. The last race I did on my first engine and my engine was fantastic throughout the race. So I think this next one it’s the smallest of steps. Not even half a tenth, probably. But I think it’s more reliability continues to improve. Efficiency, which is something we’re really focused on, I think efficiency is key”.
The new power unit will be raced by all three Mercedes-powered teams including customers Racing Point and Williams.We know Lewis likes to play psychological games with the other drivers, so maybe he is sandbagging, I guess we will have to wait and see how the car preforms in qualifying and the race to get the full picture.
1%er
Well-Known Member
At least 6 drivers to get grid penalties
At least six drivers will take a grid penalty at this weekend's Belgian Grand Prix after a raft of power unit element changes ahead of opening practice at Spa on Friday. With Honda, Mercedes and Renault all introducing updated-spec engines for the start of the second half of the season, various drivers will be required to take a grid penalty for exceeding the season limit on each element usage. Alexander Albon, Daniel Ricciardo, Nico Hulkenberg, Carlos Sainz, Lance Stroll and Daniil Kvyat have taken a new engine for this weekend's race, and will all fall back from their qualifying position.
Albon, Stroll, and Kvyat have also taken a new turbocharger and MGU-H, with Albon and Kvyat also taking a new MGU-K. Albon completes his raft of new components with a new control electronics and energy store, having taken on Pierre Gasly's power unit allocation following their seat swap for Spa. With their grid penalty totals adding up to more than 15, Albon, Stroll and Kvyat will all start from the rear of the grid on Sunday, while Ricciardo, Hulkenberg and Sainz will all drop five places.
Lewis Hamilton, Valtteri Bottas, Romain Grosjean, Kevin Magnussen, Sergio Perez, Antonio Giovinazzi, George Russell and Robert Kubica have also taken new power unit elements for the Spa weekend, but receive no penalty as they are still within the season limit for these parts.
FP1 results for Spa
Couple of interesting talking points on the radio this morning
What if Albon doesn't make it at Red Bull, could they go for Hulkenberg? Red Bull really need a second driver to mix it up with the Ferrari's and Mercedes cars, not only too score more points but also to take points away from those teams. There is little point in Red Bull having Vestappen winning races and their second driver coming 6th or 7th, while they may win a drivers championship they will not win the big money that comes with the constructors championship. For some reason Helmut Marko has not been bring new young drivers through and the team has no real talent waiting in the wings, so if Albon doesn't cut it they will need to bring in a proven driver to partner Max.
Grosjean seems to have taken onboard the words of Guenther Steiner, where he said the team is looking at options for next year. Grosjean has told reporters that he is looking at options, not only with-in F1 but also Formula E. It seems he is resigned to the fact that he is going to be replaced, but I'm not 100% sure that will happen. The only better driver on the grid that is for sure free for 2020 is Hulkenberg and I would assume that he has more than one option. The only other current drivers without confirmed contracts for 2020 are (Albon who has just moved up to Red Bull), Giovinazzi, Kvyat, Gasly and Kubica and I can't see Haas taking any of them.
At least six drivers will take a grid penalty at this weekend's Belgian Grand Prix after a raft of power unit element changes ahead of opening practice at Spa on Friday. With Honda, Mercedes and Renault all introducing updated-spec engines for the start of the second half of the season, various drivers will be required to take a grid penalty for exceeding the season limit on each element usage. Alexander Albon, Daniel Ricciardo, Nico Hulkenberg, Carlos Sainz, Lance Stroll and Daniil Kvyat have taken a new engine for this weekend's race, and will all fall back from their qualifying position.
Albon, Stroll, and Kvyat have also taken a new turbocharger and MGU-H, with Albon and Kvyat also taking a new MGU-K. Albon completes his raft of new components with a new control electronics and energy store, having taken on Pierre Gasly's power unit allocation following their seat swap for Spa. With their grid penalty totals adding up to more than 15, Albon, Stroll and Kvyat will all start from the rear of the grid on Sunday, while Ricciardo, Hulkenberg and Sainz will all drop five places.
Lewis Hamilton, Valtteri Bottas, Romain Grosjean, Kevin Magnussen, Sergio Perez, Antonio Giovinazzi, George Russell and Robert Kubica have also taken new power unit elements for the Spa weekend, but receive no penalty as they are still within the season limit for these parts.
FP1 results for Spa
Couple of interesting talking points on the radio this morning
What if Albon doesn't make it at Red Bull, could they go for Hulkenberg? Red Bull really need a second driver to mix it up with the Ferrari's and Mercedes cars, not only too score more points but also to take points away from those teams. There is little point in Red Bull having Vestappen winning races and their second driver coming 6th or 7th, while they may win a drivers championship they will not win the big money that comes with the constructors championship. For some reason Helmut Marko has not been bring new young drivers through and the team has no real talent waiting in the wings, so if Albon doesn't cut it they will need to bring in a proven driver to partner Max.
Grosjean seems to have taken onboard the words of Guenther Steiner, where he said the team is looking at options for next year. Grosjean has told reporters that he is looking at options, not only with-in F1 but also Formula E. It seems he is resigned to the fact that he is going to be replaced, but I'm not 100% sure that will happen. The only better driver on the grid that is for sure free for 2020 is Hulkenberg and I would assume that he has more than one option. The only other current drivers without confirmed contracts for 2020 are (Albon who has just moved up to Red Bull), Giovinazzi, Kvyat, Gasly and Kubica and I can't see Haas taking any of them.
1%er
Well-Known Member
Latifi was testing for Williams in FP1 in place of Russell, teams can use other drivers giving them a chance to get their hours up during free practice. Iirc drivers have to be available for all practice sessions but they can sit out one session, this allows teams to give other drivers time in the car.
1%er
Well-Known Member
Perez get 3 year deal with Racing point
Sergio Perez has secured a fresh contract with Racing Point that will tie him to the team for three years. Multi-year deals are rare currency in F1, particularly in the tightly packed midfield, but Perez has been rewarded for several years of success with the Silverstone squad. Perez has raced for the team since 2014, under its old Force India moniker and the new banner, adopted after Lawrence Stroll's takeover a little over a year ago. In that time, Perez has delivered five podiums for the team, a significant rarity for midfielders in an era dominated so much by Mercedes, Ferrari and Red Bull.
Racing Point CEO Otmar Szafnauer said: “We know Sergio very well and it’s great to confirm him on a long-term deal. Over the last six years we have seen him become a very complete driver with excellent qualifying speed and exceptional race craft. Sergio believes in the long-term vision of this project and getting his commitment until the end of 2022 gives us valuable consistency going forward. As the team continues to grow and develop it’s important to have a driver with Sergio’s level of experience, especially with new regulations on the horizon. The whole team is thrilled to continue working with Sergio and I believe we can enjoy great success together in the coming years”.
I'm sure the millions he brings in with his massive sponsorship deal also helps
3 drivers inline to be Max Verstappen’s team-mate
According to Christian Horner there are 3 drivers in the frame for the Red Bull seat in 2020 and surprise surprise they are all current Red Bull drivers. I'm not sure any of them are good enough to fight with the Mercedes or Ferrari line-ups. Alexander Albon and Daniil Kvyat are both in the frame and so too is Pierre Gasly, despite being demoted to Toro Rosso for the second half of the season. Gasly accused Red Bull of going against their word after they said on record that he would be given until the end of the season to prove himself, but Horner suggested that his performance in Hungary proved to be the final straw, for now.
“We took a little time to reflect after Hungary,” Horner told Sky Sports F1. “Hungary was a tough weekend for Pierre and we came to the conclusion that it was almost fairer for Pierre to say, look, we have four cockpits in Formula 1, let’s take the pressure off him as he was obviously struggling with that pressure. The situation was getting worse and worse and now he has the time at Toro Rosso to rebuild himself. We now give Alex [Albon] a chance as we know Daniil Kvyat very well and we see his potential. With Alex, we see his potential too. We now take these nine races left in the year to evaluate who will be Max’s team-mate for next year”.
Then pressed on whether Albon, Gasly and Kvyat were the only three in the frame, Horner responded: “That’s the pool we are looking at. It does depend on how things pan out over the next few races but ideally we’re going to be looking at within that pool of three”. Horner was also asked whether Nico Hulkenberg could be an option now he is confirmed to be leaving Renault, but the Red Bull boss said the team “prefer to take one from the three we have”.
Free Practice 2 result
1 Charles Leclerc Ferrari 28 1:44.123
2 Sebastian Vettel Ferrari 30 1:44.753 0.630
3 Valtteri Bottas Mercedes 28 1:44.969 0.846
4 Lewis Hamilton Mercedes 26 1:45.015 0.892
5 Sergio Perez Racing Point 25 1:45.117 0.994
6 Max Verstappen Red Bull Racing 20 1:45.394 1.271
7 Kimi Raikkonen Alfa Romeo 25 1:45.708 1.585
8 Lance Stroll Racing Point 21 1:45.732 1.609
9 Daniel Ricciardo Renault 26 1:45.735 1.612
10 Alex Albon Red Bull Racing 21 1:45.771 1.648
11 Carlos Sainz McLaren 28 1:45.999 1.876
12 Romain Grosjean Haas 21 1:46.120 1.997
13 Nico Hulkenberg Renault 26 1:46.209 2.086
14 Daniil Kvyat Toro Rosso 24 1:46.214 2.091
15 Lando Norris McLaren 29 1:46.258 2.135
16 Antonio Giovinazzi Alfa Romeo 24 1:46.328 2.205
17 Pierre Gasly Toro Rosso 28 1:46.374 2.251
18 Kevin Magnussen Haas 21 1:46.399 2.276
19 George Russell Williams 30 1:47.887 3.764
20 Robert Kubica Williams 32 1:48.331 4.208
Sergio Perez has secured a fresh contract with Racing Point that will tie him to the team for three years. Multi-year deals are rare currency in F1, particularly in the tightly packed midfield, but Perez has been rewarded for several years of success with the Silverstone squad. Perez has raced for the team since 2014, under its old Force India moniker and the new banner, adopted after Lawrence Stroll's takeover a little over a year ago. In that time, Perez has delivered five podiums for the team, a significant rarity for midfielders in an era dominated so much by Mercedes, Ferrari and Red Bull.
Racing Point CEO Otmar Szafnauer said: “We know Sergio very well and it’s great to confirm him on a long-term deal. Over the last six years we have seen him become a very complete driver with excellent qualifying speed and exceptional race craft. Sergio believes in the long-term vision of this project and getting his commitment until the end of 2022 gives us valuable consistency going forward. As the team continues to grow and develop it’s important to have a driver with Sergio’s level of experience, especially with new regulations on the horizon. The whole team is thrilled to continue working with Sergio and I believe we can enjoy great success together in the coming years”.
I'm sure the millions he brings in with his massive sponsorship deal also helps
3 drivers inline to be Max Verstappen’s team-mate
According to Christian Horner there are 3 drivers in the frame for the Red Bull seat in 2020 and surprise surprise they are all current Red Bull drivers. I'm not sure any of them are good enough to fight with the Mercedes or Ferrari line-ups. Alexander Albon and Daniil Kvyat are both in the frame and so too is Pierre Gasly, despite being demoted to Toro Rosso for the second half of the season. Gasly accused Red Bull of going against their word after they said on record that he would be given until the end of the season to prove himself, but Horner suggested that his performance in Hungary proved to be the final straw, for now.
“We took a little time to reflect after Hungary,” Horner told Sky Sports F1. “Hungary was a tough weekend for Pierre and we came to the conclusion that it was almost fairer for Pierre to say, look, we have four cockpits in Formula 1, let’s take the pressure off him as he was obviously struggling with that pressure. The situation was getting worse and worse and now he has the time at Toro Rosso to rebuild himself. We now give Alex [Albon] a chance as we know Daniil Kvyat very well and we see his potential. With Alex, we see his potential too. We now take these nine races left in the year to evaluate who will be Max’s team-mate for next year”.
Then pressed on whether Albon, Gasly and Kvyat were the only three in the frame, Horner responded: “That’s the pool we are looking at. It does depend on how things pan out over the next few races but ideally we’re going to be looking at within that pool of three”. Horner was also asked whether Nico Hulkenberg could be an option now he is confirmed to be leaving Renault, but the Red Bull boss said the team “prefer to take one from the three we have”.
Free Practice 2 result
1 Charles Leclerc Ferrari 28 1:44.123
2 Sebastian Vettel Ferrari 30 1:44.753 0.630
3 Valtteri Bottas Mercedes 28 1:44.969 0.846
4 Lewis Hamilton Mercedes 26 1:45.015 0.892
5 Sergio Perez Racing Point 25 1:45.117 0.994
6 Max Verstappen Red Bull Racing 20 1:45.394 1.271
7 Kimi Raikkonen Alfa Romeo 25 1:45.708 1.585
8 Lance Stroll Racing Point 21 1:45.732 1.609
9 Daniel Ricciardo Renault 26 1:45.735 1.612
10 Alex Albon Red Bull Racing 21 1:45.771 1.648
11 Carlos Sainz McLaren 28 1:45.999 1.876
12 Romain Grosjean Haas 21 1:46.120 1.997
13 Nico Hulkenberg Renault 26 1:46.209 2.086
14 Daniil Kvyat Toro Rosso 24 1:46.214 2.091
15 Lando Norris McLaren 29 1:46.258 2.135
16 Antonio Giovinazzi Alfa Romeo 24 1:46.328 2.205
17 Pierre Gasly Toro Rosso 28 1:46.374 2.251
18 Kevin Magnussen Haas 21 1:46.399 2.276
19 George Russell Williams 30 1:47.887 3.764
20 Robert Kubica Williams 32 1:48.331 4.208
MrCurry
right after this urgent rest
Right, time for fantasy F1 predictions. I’m going with LeClerc getting his maiden win and Verstappen pushing Vettel down to third. I’m probably wrong, but I don’t think this track is going to suit the Mercedes cars.
Edit: I wonder if LeClerc will be allowed to win if Vettel is in 2nd? Do Ferrari still harbour ambitions of Vettel staging a late title challenge?
Edit: I wonder if LeClerc will be allowed to win if Vettel is in 2nd? Do Ferrari still harbour ambitions of Vettel staging a late title challenge?
1%er
Well-Known Member
1%er
Well-Known Member
Spa killing a few of these power-units
I'm amazed that Zandvoort have said they have had 5,000,000 application for tickets, they did say they had 2,000,000 before the summer break. I think they can only allocate just under 160,000 tickets, so lots of disappointed Dutch and other F1 fans. Maybe they'll add a few more stands, clearly they can sell plenty of tickets.
I'm amazed that Zandvoort have said they have had 5,000,000 application for tickets, they did say they had 2,000,000 before the summer break. I think they can only allocate just under 160,000 tickets, so lots of disappointed Dutch and other F1 fans. Maybe they'll add a few more stands, clearly they can sell plenty of tickets.
