Existing Users: Because of an update to the forum software you will need to reset your password. Please use the "Forgot?" link on the sign in form to do so. If that doesn't work, send me an email at feedback@forzaminardi.com and I'll sort you out!

2018 Season

Australian GP this week.
It really is a make or break year for McLaren. They must already be living on their savings given the lack of visible sponsors on their cars. Pre-season testing didn't look that bad but they will need a few podiums this year if they ever want to become relevant again.

Toro Rosso could become a surprise this year if Honda got their act together, not sure they have the driving talent needed, however.

Otherwise I think we may be gearing up for a three horse race at the front, if Merc don't run away, that is. Exciting times (once we get over that halo/roll bar thing)
«1

Comments

  • Well, it will be the usual thing......fly away races not a true guide, etc. There is potential for a more open season for the reasons mentioned though. Also, add to that some changes in motivation (Ricciardo, Hamilton, Sainz, etc), and then the race to see how soon Vijay gets extradited, and his team sold, and it could turn out to be an interesting year.

    Certainly, it does seem that MB have again get a genie in their engine bottle, but even so, there may be some action near the front.

    Here's hoping anyway.
  • Let's see, let's see. I also think MB will dominate but it's always an interesting week for me the week preceeding the season opener!! Roll on Sunday evening!
  • After free practice I'm surprised how strong the Haas cars are.
  • What was wrong with that pit crew at Haas? Really great drive from Alonso
  • HAAS frightened themselves. Too busy watching the monitors to do their work properly.

    Very ominous from Merc. The most frightening thing is to see how shocked they were when they did not win. Good drive from Alonso to keep out Max, who said he had a car problem. Well, time will tell on that one.

    With Bottas' drive and the rankings being relatively clear, we will now see if MB & Ricciardo come to terms earlier than otherwise expected.

    Unfortunately this is not an inspiring start to the season. With the desert next, it doesn't loo like things will get any better.
  • No, not an inspiring start at all.....
    Great Fernando, although a bit helped by VSC.
    Bets are open on when we are going to see Kubica replacing Sirotkin......
  • Just read an article on that. Didn't sound too much like he really wants to get into that particular car.
  • Toro Rosso doing amazingly well with those Honda engines in Bahrain
  • And a fourth place to top it off. McLaren never did better with Honda since 2015, that's a result to be proud of!

    What really surprises me is how close all the teams are together this year, maybe with the exception of Williams. You really have to ask yourself what went wrong some time in 2003
  • Fourth place for STR was a fantastic result after a great race, glad TOIT managed to hold off Mercedes. McLaren clearly don't have the best chassis on the grid with Renault power now they've ditched Honda, dreadful race for Red Bull, maybe Max needs to mature slightly? Williams best be making plenty of money from their other activities because the car looks dire.......

    All in all Forza Faenza!
  • Very good result for STR. Let us see if the China result is good. If it is, MaLaren will be soooooo pissed off. They really seem to be in disarray.

    This was a race that could have been very interesting, but fizzed out in the end. If we can see all 6 of the top cars running around China, with the second tier close behind, then we can say that the season may be OK.
  • You have to wonder whether, like Hartley did today, just edging into Q2 and then coming in last isn't worse than coming in 16th or 17th and finishing up after Q1 in terms of wear and tear and overall strategy.

    Ferrari looking very good, Hamilton hasn't quite found his rhythm and the Red Bulls are too far off the pace.
  • Never before has so little understanding of the sport been shown in one single post ;-D Well done Ricciardo, a very mature drive. Verstappen making friends again.
  • No, you didn't get it wrong. The Safety car simply changed everything. Vettel still had the best car, they just got the tyre strategy wrong. That was one for Bottas until the Bulls got clean boots. By the way, why on earth is no-one making jokes about a guy who has not one, BUT TWO words for bum in his surname????????

    In any event, you do not give Dan Ricciardo a chance like that and not expect him to have a real crack. He is turning out to be one of the great in-car strategists, and seems to see how a situation will play out when there is a disruption to the status quo.

    Max really is his own worst enemy. I was re-watching Erik The Viking last night and I made a connection between Sven the Beserk, and Max. You can just hear Joss in his earphones saying 'you'll never make a beserk if you let it all out too soon'. The Vettell thing was just dumb. Compare that to Ricciardo on Bottas. It was pretty marginal, but importantly, Ricciardo's front wheels were lined up with Bottas' before the corner entry. Not only that, but in post-race interviews, he noted that there was a plan B. One point to mention though. If the Red Bull ever gets to be the quickest car again, Max will just blow everyone away. He is the quickest driver out there. He just can't do it when there are other cars close by.

    My own view is that Dan will likely go to TOIT next year. Too many negatives to remaining where he is, and too many synergies with that move to ignore.

    Some good drives further down with Hulk his usual solid self, and Alonso doing everything that was possible with his car. Kind of feel sorry for Valteri on this one though. He finally gets a weekend when Lewis goes on holiday, and then Danny Ric comes and spoils everything. What's a Finn to do???


  • And what about poor Kimi, sacrificed once again by TOIT for absolutely nothing? You think Seb will want Ricciardo at TOIT? Rubens Barrichello announced to have won a battle with a neck cancer. Fingers crossed for him.
  • Kimi was indeed thrown against the wall for Seb. Makes one wonder what they would do with Vettel & Ricicardo in the team. They would probably have a race to half season, then the slower one plays shotgun for the rest of the year. Kimi is just a slut now though. He's doing it for the money.
  • The Red Bull crash was waiting to happen but I can't quite tell who was at fault. Did Max breaktest Daniel? He did seem to go awfully slow at that point. Then again, in insurance terms, if you whack it into the back of the car ahead of you, you're at fault.
  • Grosjean gets my dunce of the day award ;)
  • Though Vettel a very close second
  • Sad outcome for Bottas again. Rosberg had the ability or luck to be Johnny on the spot when Lewis had his little periods of losing focus, but poor Valteri can't take trick. This was possibly his year if Lewis keeps this up, but I'm afraid it will all be a string of lost opportunities.

    The Red Bull crash is fascinating in a Titanic kind of way. There just seems to be so much involved. Jos....er Max doing his thing is fairly predictable, but what I thought was interesting was it seemed to me that Ricciardo was taking the opportunity to play mind games with the boy. This was a weekend where Ric had the upper hand so I think he was really trying to mess with Max's view of himself and dish out a little bit of a confidence hit. I'm also of the view that Ric very possibly set the crash up to show Max what will happen in the future. Just my thoughts. Ric is very tough mentally, and I think he has come to the conclusion that unless he has a big impact on Max, then the younger driver's confidence will grow, and Ric will be let out the back door.

    Magnussen starting to look like the new Maldonado. And that appears to be more words than he is worth.

    Vettel looks very fragile at the moment. I almost wish that Ric does sign for TOIT just to see what happens to Wunderkind.
  • Ferrari in general very fragile at the moment. And if Barcelona showed the real Mercedes, there is no real hope for the championship to end differently from last year.....
  • Ferrari more than fragile if it is found out that they have been cheating the number of electrons being harvested.
  • In my life, in 35 seasons, I watched about 580 Grand Prix. But I remember no more than 2 or 3 of them, mainly in the M$ era, equally or more boring than the Monaco GP of last Sunday.
  • Oh oh, this story of the woman who denounced Kimi to the Police in Canada for harassment may become sort of serious......let's see the developments.......
  • Didn't see the race as is the norm these days. Just some highlights. It is not that I am too tight to buy pay-TV, but rather we simply do not watch TV any more, so no point having any sort of subscription. You can rarely expect much from Monaco unless it rains. The chicane out of the tunnel used to be interesting, but now the cars are too wide and cannot follow closely enough for that to be anything other than a crash opportunity for the Play-Station drivers.
    Monaco is more of a media show these days, and that is where most of the interest lies. At least there was some drama in the form of Ricciardo's win. Also highlighting the way to beat Max is to just put pressure on him until he does it to himself.
    I read the transcript of the woman with the accusations against Kimi. They were certainly plausible, but equally could easily have been fabricated. How is anyone to know? The complainant has every right to feel violated if her story is true, but one has to wonder about the timing of the complaint, and also seems a bit odd that she went back to the table after getting warning signs that the players there were not in a mood to be respectful of boundaries. When will rich guys work out that they are not exempt from the social contract, and when will opportunists cease to parlay a chance encounter into a money-grab? Ummm......never.
  • Did Stroll try to kill Hartley in Canada? Weird how there are moments when Hamilton just isn't there at all. Almost as if someone was telling him to keep the championship exciting :)
  • It is amazing that Hamilton manages to find the tack with all of the diversions and distractions that he has. Stroll is a roadblock anywhere. Just another rich kid playing at Playboy.

    The season needs an interesting race quickly, or there will be more leaching of viewing figures.
  • So red bull and Honda. Makes sense. My feel that Ricardo will announce he's staying with red bull at the next race.

    This one was all about the money. No matter what he says publicly.
  • You're a prophet, Lease....... :-)
  • So Kimi on pole at Monza, with Seb second. See what happens. If Seb wins he will become a serious contender for the title. As at today I still think Lewis is the fav but Ferrari is looking increasingly stronger than Mercedes.....
Sign In or Register to comment.