didcot Posted December 31, 2023 Share Posted December 31, 2023 Well it's almost 2024. Let's hope 🤣 for a more keenly fought championship. 7 Link to post Share on other sites More sharing options...
RMweb Premium newbryford Posted January 1 RMweb Premium Share Posted January 1 Checking in so I can find it on my active posts list 3 Link to post Share on other sites More sharing options...
RMweb Premium njee20 Posted January 1 RMweb Premium Share Posted January 1 Reporting for duty! Hopefully a good season, basically it depends whether Merc can actually sort their stuff out I think... 1 Link to post Share on other sites More sharing options...
RMweb Gold StuAllen Posted January 1 RMweb Gold Share Posted January 1 What’s everyone’s predictions this year? Will Red Bull (Max) be dominant again or will it be closer? Link to post Share on other sites More sharing options...
RMweb Gold Hroth Posted January 2 RMweb Gold Share Posted January 2 I know what I'd prefer, but I'm not doing any guessing until I see the first couple of races... 1 1 Link to post Share on other sites More sharing options...
ess1uk Posted January 2 Share Posted January 2 (edited) I’ve heard the Red Bull has failed its first crash test Edited January 2 by ess1uk Spilling Link to post Share on other sites More sharing options...
Roddy Angus Posted January 2 Share Posted January 2 35 minutes ago, ess1uk said: I’ve heard the Red Bull has failed its first crash test Did someone successfully overtake Verstappen? Roddy 1 4 Link to post Share on other sites More sharing options...
Pete the Elaner Posted January 2 Share Posted January 2 1 hour ago, ess1uk said: I’ve heard the Red Bull has failed its first crash test I have read the same, but this is pretty normal. When pushing for performance & lightness, you really do not want to be making your structure too heavy. Link to post Share on other sites More sharing options...
Pete the Elaner Posted January 2 Share Posted January 2 1 hour ago, Hroth said: I know what I'd prefer, but I'm not doing any guessing until I see the first couple of races... I don't think Red Bull will be as dominant. There must be a theoretical maximum within any regulations & the closer to it you get, the more difficult it is to get a little more. Anyone copying their design may get closer but has little chance of beating them I am hoping for some rule changes though. The stewards made some improvements to their application of track limits in 2023, but I do not think they have quite got there yet. We saw some hastily applied & poorly thought out rules to prevent blocking during practise & qualy. These need to be refined. We had a few qualy sessions ruined with yellow or red flags with some drivers benefitting from the timing of these. The opportunity to deliberately benefit from these is still there & I am suspicious every time it happens, so it needs to be blocked. I also dislike safety car procedures. They were introduced to have a minimum impact on racing, not to allow teams to gain a strategic advantage, so every effort should be made to minimise their impact. Pitting behind them was not an option until cars started running out of fuel. Changing tyres during a red flag period is plain wrong too. Apart from being more stringent on track limits and the rules for blocking in qualy, I doubt they have the balls to make any other changes though. 1 5 Link to post Share on other sites More sharing options...
RMweb Gold Darius43 Posted January 2 RMweb Gold Share Posted January 2 (edited) Sauber to be renamed Stake Not sure that is a good name to adopt… Stake-out… etc. Cheers Darius Edited January 2 by Darius43 1 1 Link to post Share on other sites More sharing options...
didcot Posted January 2 Author Share Posted January 2 8 hours ago, ess1uk said: I’ve heard the Red Bull has failed its first crash test Has the crash test dummy, I mean Max been out in it already! 2 Link to post Share on other sites More sharing options...
RMweb Gold Hroth Posted January 2 RMweb Gold Share Posted January 2 8 hours ago, Darius43 said: Sauber to be renamed Stake Not sure that is a good name to adopt… Stake-out… etc. Cheers Darius Steak rarely finished... 1 Link to post Share on other sites More sharing options...
Gareth Collier Posted January 2 Share Posted January 2 Surely next season can't be as boring as the last but I have a nagging fear it could be. RB were able to give up development of their car mid season as they were so far ahead and concentrate on next years car whilst the rest had to continue playing catch up so they may well already have a big head start. Let's hope McLaren continue to improve and the Mercs can't be that bad yet again. As for Ferrari they'll start well then implode. 1 Link to post Share on other sites More sharing options...
Pete the Elaner Posted January 3 Share Posted January 3 6 hours ago, Gareth Collier said: Surely next season can't be as boring as the last but I have a nagging fear it could be. RB were able to give up development of their car mid season as they were so far ahead and concentrate on next years car whilst the rest had to continue playing catch up so they may well already have a big head start. Let's hope McLaren continue to improve and the Mercs can't be that bad yet again. As for Ferrari they'll start well then implode. Other than when Todt was running them, Ferrari have been pretty consistent as a no2/3 team for the last 40 years. Alonso & Vettel were deluded if they believed they were the team to deliver them further world titles. I wonder how much money any team were able to plunder into their 2023 car. The cap must have forced them to put on the brakes at some point. Merc effectively ran the 2nd half of the season with a hybrid design because they could not get shot of all their bad features. Link to post Share on other sites More sharing options...
RMweb Gold RedgateModels Posted January 3 RMweb Gold Share Posted January 3 remember RB had the TR budget to play with too (and their higher wind tunnel time) 2 Link to post Share on other sites More sharing options...
RMweb Gold Hroth Posted January 3 RMweb Gold Share Posted January 3 16 minutes ago, RedgateModels said: remember RB had the TR budget to play with too (and their higher wind tunnel time) Plus the tea money... 🤪 1 2 Link to post Share on other sites More sharing options...
Andrew P Posted January 6 Share Posted January 6 (edited) FOUND IT = GREAT = NOW FOLLOWING. So Predictions even before first Test, Yes I have a big pair, and putting them on the line. 😀 Constructors. McLaren, Merc, RB, Williams. Drivers. Hamilton, Norris, Vestappen, Piastri, Russell, Albon, Having said all that. I still want to see Russell and Norris winning the Championship, I cant see Checho keeping his seat. I can see Alfonso throwing his toys out of the pram. I can see Sargent being replaced with Liam Lawson by May, leaving RB with a problem when Danny R moves back into the Hot Seat.. I can see me having Egg on my face at the end of the year, Hahahaha.🤣 Edited January 6 by Andrew P 4 4 Link to post Share on other sites More sharing options...
woodenhead Posted January 6 Share Posted January 6 3 hours ago, Andrew P said: FOUND IT = GREAT = NOW FOLLOWING. So Predictions even before first Test, Yes I have a big pair, and putting them on the line. 😀 Constructors. RB, Merc, McLaren, Ferrari. Drivers. Vestappen, Hamilton, Russell, Perez, Norris, Piastri, Fixed it for you 😁 2 Link to post Share on other sites More sharing options...
37114 Posted January 6 Share Posted January 6 I think Max will walk the drivers championship again as even if it is closer with the other teams, only RB has a clear no1 driver. Both George and Oscar have shown they can finish races in front of their more illustrious team mates on a regular basis which is something that Perez is less capable of doing. The constructors will be tighter and if RB look like they won't win it, expect Perez to be out... 1 1 Link to post Share on other sites More sharing options...
RMweb Gold Hroth Posted January 6 RMweb Gold Share Posted January 6 Ok, just ONE prediction. If one or two other teams show competitive improvement, then Mr Bean will have his elbows out on all corners and woe betide anyone who gets in his way. Oh yes, and Whinger will get shriller too. 6 Link to post Share on other sites More sharing options...
Andrew P Posted January 6 Share Posted January 6 Whinger Spice will accuse every Team of cheating, copying, over spending, and dangerous tactics. 1 6 Link to post Share on other sites More sharing options...
woodenhead Posted January 6 Share Posted January 6 There was a recent story about Verstappen, he hired out a racetrack for himself and some friends but he wasn’t allowed to drive an AMG Mercedes because he was under 30 and the rental company couldn’t insure him. His manager had it instead and Verstappen had to make do with a lesser car. The rental company said that in fact they could have made an exception but it goes to show that he was grown up enough not to make a big deal from it and just accept the situation. He’s probably not the ar$e people imagine him to be. 2 1 Link to post Share on other sites More sharing options...
RMweb Gold Oldddudders Posted January 7 RMweb Gold Share Posted January 7 If I were Verstappen's manager, I'd make sure his contract specified that he shouldn't drive on any track without express permission from Red Bull, least of all in an unfamiliar high-performance car with a Mercedes badge.... 1 Link to post Share on other sites More sharing options...
woodenhead Posted January 7 Share Posted January 7 3 minutes ago, Oldddudders said: If I were Verstappen's manager, I'd make sure his contract specified that he shouldn't drive on any track without express permission from Red Bull, least of all in an unfamiliar high-performance car with a Mercedes badge.... But his manager does not work for RB and covering all the bases is clearly a good choice, I note he did not try a Ferrari. Link to post Share on other sites More sharing options...
37114 Posted January 7 Share Posted January 7 4 hours ago, woodenhead said: But his manager does not work for RB and covering all the bases is clearly a good choice, I note he did not try a Ferrari. Ahem.. https://www.motorsport.com/dtm/news/why-verstappen-tested-a-ferrari-gt3-car-for-dtm-team-emil-frey/10562926/ 1 Link to post Share on other sites More sharing options...
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