#F1 2024 silly season

[isawthesainz]

F1 2024 Summer Break Recap

A definitely-not-complete round up of the summer break drama

Monday 29th July 2024

Carlos Sainz announces that he will be joining Williams from 2025 onwards on a multi-year contract. Alongside teammate Alex Albon, this will be the first appendix-less team in F1 history

Wednesday 31st July 2024

Alpine announces that Oliver Oakes will join as the new Team Principal after the summer break. The current Hitech Grand Prix Team Principal will move from his duties in F2 and F3 to replace Bruno Famin at Alpine

Motorsport Italy reports that Jack Doohan will become Pierre Gasly’s teammate in 2025, and that Alpine will make an official announcement in the coming days

Thursday 1st August 2024

It is announced that Red Bull Sporting director Jonathan Wheatley will leave the team to become Team Principle of the Audi F1 project

Friday 2nd August 2024

It is reported that Mattia Binotto is considering 19-year-old F2 rookie Gabriel Bortoleto as a candidate to join Sauber next year

Tuesday 6th August 2024

It is reported that Adrian Newey has signed a four-year deal with Aston Martin, worth $100 million, and is expected to be announced in September

Wednesday 7th August 2024

It is reported that Aston Martin are looking to sign Max Verstappen for 2026 as Adrian Newey is set to join the team

Thursday 8th August 2024

Autosprint, an Italian publication, reports that Andrea Kimi Antonelli will be confirmed as Lewis Hamilton’s replacement at Mercedes for 2025 at Monza

It is announced that F1 will hold talks with Rwanda next month regarding a possible Grand Prix on a permanent track

F1 owners Liberty Media is to be investigated by the United States Department of Justice following its handling of Andretti's now-rejected application to join the F1 grid. The American corporation has been informed of an antitrust investigation by the United States Government, specifically the Department of Justice, into its handling of Andretti's application to join the F1 championship

It is announced that an appeal of the verdict delivered to Christian Horner following an internal investigation earlier this year has been dismissed

Saturday 10th August 2024

Helmut Marko reveals that there is an escape clause in Carlos Sainz’s contract with Williams, which will allow him to leave if he receives an offer from a higher placed team

Sunday 11th August 2024

Oscar Piastri reveals he completed the last two races of the first half of the season with a broken rib

Tuesday 13th August 2024

Valtteri Bottas posts that he is on a ‘secret mission’. The photo on Instagram shows him sitting in front of an Audi R8 with his race number 77 on it. Could he be joining Audi in 2026 as Nico Hulkenberg’s teammate?

Thursday 15th August 2025

Peter Bayer reports that’s Yuki Tsunoda will be considered for a Red Bull seat next season if he continues to perform well

Saturday 17th August 2024

It is reported that Gabriel Bortoleto is a serious contender for the second seat at Audi in 2025 alongside Nico Hulkenberg. Fernando Alonso visited the Sauber motorhome during the Belgian GP weekend - Gabriel is signed to Fernando's A14 Management agency

Thursday 22nd August 2024

Helmut Marko says that Liam Lawson will be in one of the Red Bull or VCARB cars new season

[maraguanabana]

logged off for FIVE days and now my tumblr looks weird. is it just me. question.

also wtf is going on. in the house of Williams.

do not get me wrong. I'm happy to have another latino in the grid. (even though that means dealing with argentinians and they are a little intense sometimes. I mean it with no offense but they are.)

but that makes absolutely no sense at all. and I hope everyone else knows that. because Franco is not getting a seat next year, so why sign another rookie. for nine fucking races. why. James, why. WHY. TELL ME WHY.

also I never knew how much I apreciated Logie Bear until now. huh. something something when you lose it

[lestappenforever]

And the options for the second Red Bull seat decrease……

With Fernando just renewing with Aston Martin, the options for Max’s team mate have decreased (and I’ve just seen a tweet that this was Fernando pulling a Lando and avoiding being team mates with Max, which ngl kinda makes sense?)

The options are now (I think) down to 5: Checo, Yuki, Daniel, Liam and Carlos.

Let’s be real, the thing that Checo said about a decision being made maximum by the end of April is not applicable. Why? Because Checo could easily pull a Checo, meaning that what he’s done/doing so far is what is expected and exactly like last year. Hell last year, he won 2 out if the initial 4 races, but we all saw what happened afterwards. But the difference is that the seat is at stake, and all options are open.

If Checo were to continue his form, he could retain his seat, but if he couldn’t, we have Yuki, who’s been phenomenal and this is his best ever start to and F1 season. There is also Liam who has been promised a seat by Red Bull, Christian and Helmut, and I think these 2 have a plan for him (blondie red bull next golden boy 👀). There is also Daniel, who could turn his season around (though I’m not entirely sure) and Carlos, who could have a full circle moment 10 years after joining F1, which I won’t hate.

So yes, options are limited but who will Max have to beat in that seat next year, is still going to be a mystery till we have a clear picture of what the season will go like, and how everyone will perform. Let’s see 👀

I don't think Daniel is an option at all, and I can't see Carlos being brought back when the king of toxicity himself, Helmut Marko, referred to the environment with Max and Carlos as toxic. So my personal opinion is that it's between Checo, Yuki or Liam.

I'd be thrilled to see Yuki get the chance, but I still think it might be a bit too soon, and I think Liam will get the VCARB seat. So that leaves Checo, who has arguably been solid as hell so far this season, and did end up second in the WDC last year. So I wouldn’t be surprised, or upset, if they gave him another year. I think he and Max are a good teammate duo.

But, only time will tell and I'm excited to see what happens!

[cobraonthecob]

just remembered that i haven't posted my merc 2nd seat predictions so here they go, i made them before fernando signed to stay with aston martin btw

REMEMBER. this is all for fun and for merc to deal with. some will be funny, others serious

SERIOUS PREDICTIONS: 1. carlos: easy swap, also, i'd scramble to grab carlos. he has a good brain under that pretty hair and why not. swapsies!

2. fernando: harder to get, as he has said that he'll consider going to merc if aston is a flop this year and merc is stronger this year. as we all know, he is choosing a stable future...hopefully.

3. alex: even harder, as he'll want to be the number 1 driver nurturing williams into a top-contending team. something drastic would have to happen to make alex consider moving

UNLIKELY, BUT POSSIBLE

antonelli: IF he makes top three in F2 and a lot of persuasion, but i feel like merc will try and persuade williams to take him on and take on another, more experienced driver. or merc will just put this kid fresh out of school in merc itself.

esteban: if alpine remains at the bottom of the standings and pierre is dominating, then i can see esteban trying to say 'hey merc, take me, i'll be a second player, idc, just get me out of here'. i doubt it though, considering his history of not getting along with his teammates and i think he and george would kill each other in a way that'll give toto a giant headache

I WOULD BE SURPRISED 1. mick: we love blonde nepo babies, don't we? IF mick is to return to the grid, i can see him getting strong-armed to williams and pulling alex to merc, or merc says 'fuck it, let schumi junior warm the seat for the next coming of max verstappen', then that's a possibility. his second year at haas (aka when the car was in a place to score points) showed that he can score good points, but he wasn't very consistent. he really should've gotten a third year to finally prove his skill, but alas. kmag and nico have way more experience. realistically speaking, he's going to have a hard time coming back to the grid unless he pulled a daniel and gets a P2 time or better in a merc in a tyre test. now, mick's job as reserve and i think he also helped develop the car means that he could be pulled to williams if that's an option, but i don't think mick to merc or williams is a possibility

2. logan: if he can score points this season and alex is not willing to play second and seat warmer at merc, i feel like logan would take it. currently, the way the season's going? if i were logan, i'd start looking to formula e, f1 has nothing for me going on if i can't turn the car in a corner without it attempting to fling itself into a wall

3. valtteri: idk if he'd be willing to gamble on being the better driver when merc has been slowly putting their eggs into the george basket. also why would he go back there. used to be in SILLY but now moved here since hulkenberg has taken a seat at sauber, though a driver of his caliber would be able to easily beat hulkenberg

SILLY 1. sebastian: he retired to be a girl dad, but then deciding 'fuck it, i'll pull a fernando' would have me laugh for a grand total of two seconds before i'm like 'no'. we have plenty of older drivers and no new fresh talent on the grid already, like keep your promise and be with your family

2. rosberg: why would he do this. he retired to be a father and he's happy doing other things. f1 is NOT the end all be all. let him be happy running an ice cream shop with his wife and an extreme e team

3. nyck: what i'd give to be a fly on the wall for that phone call. i can see it. toto calls nyck. nyck picks up. toto is begging on his knees. nyck smiles. 'you left me out of a williams seat for so long that i went for alphatauri. now i'm happy in formula e and wec. thanks, but no thank you. good-bye.'

4. yuki: after all the disrespect alphatauri/vcarb has put him through, he can go to merc and claw his way there. or maybe not. idk how i'd feel about yuki playing second driver to another white man

5. pierre: given alpine being a flop, i wouldn't be surprised if he showed up to the merc/williams auditions. i can see him going to williams to replace alex should alex move to merc, or pierre going to merc, but i don't know he's WANT to be a second driver at merc or williams despite the fact that maybe i do want a pierre-alex lineup. ex teammates of max verstappen let's fucking goooo

6. daniel: after all the smoke and mirrors and the reason why nyck's therapist can afford their kid's motorsport career, daniel makes a move to merc. this prediction is so impossible (merc and daniel wouldn't even consider it for different reasons) but thinking about it made me laugh

[roscoehamiltons]

i wonder if torger’s plan is to get kimi into williams this year in order to prep him to move him up to merc for 2025…

[half-diety]

i s2g i feel like Dory, i feel like i'm in a fever dream. every five minutes my brain hits a refresh and I have to absorb the lewis to ferrari news all over again

[vro0m]

Why. In what way. How. What are you talking about.

[orgasming-caterpillar]

On the podium of Abu Dhabi Grand Prix 2024 Charles Leclerc should kiss Carlos Sainz goodbye with tongue

[not-another-side-blog]

[alexalbono]

1st February 2024

[ef-1]

I see some confusion (both real and manufactured lol) about the authenticity of the claims reported by F1-Insider on the Red Bull seat.

There are two main claims in that article

That everyone, including "the Verstappen family" were told by Horner and Helmut that Sergio WILL be replaced by the next race in Zandvoort:

2. That the drastic change of course was the result of Liberty Media (the rights holder to all of F1) pressuring Red Bull not to drop Sergio during the break because it would cost Liberty too much money if the only Mexican driver, who is regarded a hero, is dropped before the Mexican GP- tanking the event:

There has been a lot of handwringing about how F1-Insider is not a reliable news source, this is only partially correct because they are not really AMuS (<- regarded as THE gold standard in f1 journalism and reporting) F1-insider mostly report on other people's interviews and sources, it is however a reliable Verstappen camp source. Ralf Bach, the owner of F1-Insider AND MORE IMPORTANTLY THE AUTHOR OF THIS ARTICLE is a career long f1 journalist (30 yr long veteran and is inducted in the paddock hall of fame) has been a Verstappen camp insider since 2016 (think of him as Erik van Haren-lite), if he says something about the Verstappens it is either from Jos or Raymond. He's also by extension close to Helmut (Helmut gave him all those exclusive interviews about how close Red Bull came to bringing Seb back into Red Bull after Ferrari refused to extend him). Most of F1-Insider's interviews are from Red Bull, specifically Helmut and camp Verstappen.

Ralf Bach and Jos are even closer than that because they're friends. In 2021, Jos complained to Bach about Lewis and Toto without knowing he was saying those comments on the record because he thought he was just chatting with Bach as a friend. When Bach wrote about those comments in F1-Insider, Jos tweeted that he doesn't know who F1-Insider is because he didn't know Bach had founded his own company and the website was still quite new. Bach then asked Jos to delete that tweet because it dented F1-insider's credibilty and Jos DID delete that tweet because didn't want to make his friend look like a liar and he HAD said those things to Bach lol. + Bach was only second to EVH when it came to reporting Jos' side of the story when they were trying to overthrow Horner after news of the allegations against him broke.

For Ralf Bach to say, and I quote ,"The Verstappen family were surprised [...] Horner and Helmut gave them a clear statement: Perez is gone" literally means only 1 of 2 things: This is coming directly from camp Verstappen, either from Raymond or most probably Jos given that's his friend and the way Ralf specifically made sure to say 'the Verstappen family' (girl who else? Sophie? Victoria?).

Whether both claims are true can be up for debate but what is a point of fact is that Ralf Bach is reporting what camp Verstappen is telling him they know. And they're telling him that they were verbatim told by both Horner and Helmut that Sergio will be booted on Sunday after the race. The heli ride with Daniel, Max, Jos and Raymond + the fact that camp Verstappen have no reason to lie about this point to at least most of this being true.

[likedbycheri]

"f1 is a serious sport !!"

uhm??? mclaren fans convinced lestappen is real bcs charles is defending against lando like the track menace he is ??? does that sound serious to you ????

[just-an-inchi-dent]

OSCAR PIASTRI THIS IS NO TIME FOR JOKES

[alexturntable]

[vro0m]

He is smart.

[valyrfia]

On Lewis Hamilton, Ferrari, the immediate past, the long-term future, and why Charles Leclerc will remain Ferrari's priority (contrary to popular belief)

Now that everyone's slowly recovering from the CHAOS of Lewis's Ferrari announcement (and one of the best days on the internet for a while), it's no surprise that we're all starting to ask ourselves...well, how exactly will a Charles Leclerc and Lewis Hamilton line up work? Yes, Charles is Ferrari's golden boy, and has been so even as far back as his record-breaking F2 campaign, and yes, every single WDC of the past half a century rates Charles as a once-in-a-generation driver who would likely have at least one successful WDC campaign under his belt if he were given a half-decent car and strategy. But Lewis Hamilton is...well, Lewis Hamilton. His name and his achievements stand in a class of their own. 7x WDC wins in teams with 8x WCC wins across his career. His name is synonymous with, and often even bigger than, the F1 brand. Surely it's a no-brainer in this driver line-up that Charles is bound to be sidelined, especially as Lewis has made no secrets in the past about his hunt for an elusive eighth WDC.

However, I believe otherwise. I think that Lewis coming to Ferrari was not only accepted by Charles, but actively encouraged and furthermore, Lewis will not be given the n1 driver status by the team. Charles and Lewis at Ferrari will be, at best, equals, but more likely the development informed by Lewis and his experience but skewed towards Charles. To truly dive into why, we need to consider several factors including la mafia monegasque inside Ferrari, the curious case of Charles's old teammates, the emerging details of Lewis's contract, and the true value of what Lewis brings to Maranello. Buckle up, grab yourself a drink and a snack, (spare a prayer for @tsarinablogs who proofread this), and I'll see you below the cut. It's going to be a wild ride.

First things first, even though it's signing Lewis Hamilton, we have had confirmation that this move basically passed through Charles for approval and Charles signed his contract extension KNOWING that his teammate would be none other than Lewis, and he signed anyway. I'm sure this isn't a choice that Charles made lightly, so we have to put ourselves in his shoes, examine his reasons.

Charles has been outspoken about relishing a chance to learn from Lewis. And what racing driver worth their laurels wouldn't? In races that most of us can't bear to watch (Charles and Carlos in Monza 2023, and Max and Charles fights in 2022 come to mind), Charles always emerges beaming and giggling. This man lives and breathes for racing right on the limit, and how better to learn that from THE Lewis Hamilton. But just because Charles wants to learn from Lewis doesn't mean (as some seem to believe) that Charles will suddenly become the Ferrari n2. I trust Charles's judgement in this, and trust that Il Predestinato has unshakeable faith that he will be the one fighting for a title, even if his teammate is Lewis Hamilton. For any worried that Charles couldn't possibly hold his own, well, let's take a little look at how Charles has fared in a teammate battles in the past.

Max Verstappen is more often than not, ridiculed and made fun of for having a teammate curse. And while, yes, he pushed Daniel Ricciardo out of the RBR n1 seat, he sat through the rotating door of Pierre/Alex, and Checo hasn't been having the greatest time. But Max's teammates, more often than not, do have very decent carers after. Daniel basically has a guaranteed ride out of sabbatical right back into the fastest car on the grid next year, Pierre is still around with Alpine, Alex is making some serious waves at Williams and is being touted as a possible replacement for Lewis.

By contrast, Charles tends to destroy the careers of those who have been his teammates in Formula 1. I mean, we only need to take one look at the position that Carlos is now in to see it. At the start of 2023, everything was looking right for Carlos. He had a car that suited him and didn't suit Charles (extreme understeer), he even managed to be the only non-RB driver to win a race in 2023. However Charles, with three more non-classified (DNS/DNF/DSQ) races, still beat Carlos in the WDC at the end of the year, not placing ONCE outside the top 5 in races he finished since the end of the Summer Break. Even in a year that was supposed to be geared for Carlos, Charles humiliated him. Now, no team seems to be jumping at the chance to sign Carlos. Indeed his best option at the moment might be to sign with Sauber, try and build the team around him when it becomes Audi and hope that by some miracle in the first few seasons of this new F1 team it can be at least high midfield. But Carlos is in a sticky situation, he's quite old for a prime F1 driver in the current era, especially considering the extremely talented generation just below him. This news has more or less sealed his fate of not being anywhere near a championship car for at least the next 3-4 years.

Even looking back past Carlos to Seb. Make no mistake of it, Ferrari destroyed Seb's career–but Charles, the upstart young Il Predestinato and the pride of Maranello, is also wholly responsible. He refused to roll over and accept the role of easy-going second driver, despite the car and the team being built around Seb, and won not only his maiden grand prix, but won Monza as a Ferrari driver and finished ABOVE Seb in points in the WDC that year.

It's a fact that flies below the radar, but Charles is ruthless when it comes to his teammates. One thing Charles proved while being teammates with Seb is that he's happy to learn from more experienced teammates, then use their own tricks against them. Charles thrives DESPITE and almost BECAUSE of the adversity and ends up outperforming them and often as a result, if not ending their careers then at least setting them back. While it's almost certain that Lewis's career move AFTER this will be retirement, it's not only foolish but it's plain wrong to assume that Charles will try anything other than to beat Lewis in a teammate head to head, all the while watching and observing what it is that makes Lewis Hamilton a 7x WDC.

While we're on the topic of Charles and his ruthlessness, make no mistake, this Fred Vasseur takeover of Ferrari has been entirely orchestrated by Charles. It's pretty much a widely known fact that Mattia was fired to placate Charles, and Fred was brought in on Charles's request. Not only is Fred Charles's old Sauber boss, but Charles also has a cultural advantage with Fred over his present and future teammates that's worth mentioning, him and Fred share a common mother tongue in French and if they're videoed together, chances are they're speaking it. It's a tiny detail, really, but you tend to have unconcious affinity to those who share your native language. Fred is Charles's man at Ferrari, and this is reflected in not only Fred's words surrounding Charles's contract renewal, but also in the secondary driver signings. Not only does the new reserve driver, F2 FDA prodigy Ollie Bearman, seem very friendly with Charles, but the Scuderia's new development driver, who will spending crucial hours on the sim and in testing, is none other than Arthur Leclerc. This is a team that is deliberately being filled with Charles ride or dies, and it's of little surprise that Carlos found himself pushed out of the nest.

So we've established that Charles wants to go up against Lewis Hamilton, that he's bringing Lewis into a team that orbits Charles like the sun. But what's to stop Lewis from doing to Charles what he did to Fernando in 2008, and Nico in 2013? Even with the strength of Charles's conviction and the team Charles has around him, Lewis Hamilton is Lewis Hamilton. Even if Charles and Fred talk in French, Lewis knew Fred first, and has known him for longer. It's already confirmed that Lewis is bringing engineers and expertise from Mercedes and Lewis could mount a challenge to Il Predestinato at Maranello if he wanted to. So why won't he?

It's simple, Lewis's goal is not to win the eighth, it's something longer lasting.

Now don't get me wrong, if Charles does not match Lewis in the car, and the car is dominant. Lewis will win every single WDC for as long as he and Charles are teammates and he will do so without remorse or regret. If Lewis knows he can outperform Charles, he will refuse to bow to the slightest of team orders. Charles has to keep his end of the bargain and do what Nico Rosberg did in 2016–show that he can beat Lewis Hamilton in equal machinery.

To clarify, I'm sure that winning an eighth, especially with Ferrari, would mean the world to Lewis. Not only would he break a world record, but he'd bring the championship home to Schumacher's old team. It would create a legacy to last, his time in F1 forever immortalised in legend. But what about his life AFTER F1, what sort of legacy does Lewis want to leave there?

I think Lewis is ready to retire. His drive for Ferrari is a swan song, the fulfilment of a childhood dream, but we also have to consider what could have made him decide to not end his career with Mercedes. After all, he's been with them since he was thirteen, been driving for them in F1 for 10 seasons (soon to be 11) and he's been outspoken about that team basically being his family. While there are excellent points about Ferrari possibly being dominant under the new regs in 2026 and car development in Mercedes not listening to Lewis, I believe the biggest factor is what Ferrari could promise Lewis for when his career as an F1 driver comes to a close. Not only did Mercedes refuse to make him ambassador, but Ferrari promised him one of the most expensive contracts in the history of the sport and a joint investment fund to help grow Lewis's own projects in the future. Lewis is passionate about having a platform, in having initiatives to further his causes and it makes absolute sense that he wants to focus on these after his retirement. Ferrari was able to promise him security and freedom after the racing is done, while apparently, Mercedes could offer neither.

So if Ferrari isn't bringing Lewis in on this insane with the goal of winning a world championship, what do they stand to gain from it all?

It's simple, Ferrari is Ferrari yes, but Lewis Hamilton is Lewis Hamilton. The best and the brightest in the F1 world will be flocking to Maranello, lining up outside the gates for a chance to work with him, just as they did to Mercedes in the years past. Just as Ferrari can guarantee Lewis long-term success, Lewis can guarantee Ferrari long-term success. Even if Lewis only stays a couple of years, it is certain that the expertise he brings in will stay longer, long enough to secure Ferrari dominance and many WCCs throughout the new regs and maybe even longer than that. On the chance that Charles can't quite match Lewis and Lewis does get his eighth, he'll still almost certainly get a WDC out of it when Lewis leaves, along with a treasure trove of firsthand information as to the driving and the mindset of the most decorated F1 driver ever, information that Charles will carry on into his career and whoever he may face next.

And Charles will carry on, this is the most important piece of the puzzle. This is why Charles obviously relishes having Lewis as his future teammate, no matter what it will bring. At best, Charles can write himself into history by fulfilling the Il Predestinato prophecy in spectacular fashion, not only bringing glory back to Maranello, but doing so with The Sir Lewis Hamilton as his teammate, and cementing his status as generational talent in indisputable fashion. At worst for Charles, Lewis takes the initial glory of the first championship after the drought, but the subsequent championships will be basically promised to Charles. Lewis will likely not stick around for longer than three years, after which Charles will have a team of incredible engineering and strategic proportions with him at the centre for the rest of his career, which could easily last another decade after that.

Lewis Hamilton is Lewis Hamilton, and him and Ferrari have a lot to benefit from each other, but make no mistake, Charles is the present, and the future of la Scuderia Ferrari.

Lastly, although I'm sure most of you have heard this story, I'll leave you with some words by Sky Sports' Carlo Vanzini as to the origin of Charles's nickname, Il Predestinato.

“It all goes back to an early encounter. He was about 15 and they had brought him to Sky for some media training. We had this meeting and then had a press conference simulation where I asked him something like: ‘You’re starting on pole today but your team-mate is racing for title, what are you going to do?’

“To which he answered, ‘I race to win.’ So we sat there and came up with a more diplomatic answer, something along the lines of ‘I’ll focus on my race, but I will help the team wherever necessary.’

“But then this boy came up to me later and told me the question I had asked was fundamentally wrong because ‘there is no way my teammate will be the one fighting for the championship and not me.'”