Topic: Motosport General discussion tread --- Formula1, MotoGP, WTCC, ETCC, DTM..... - page 22. (Read 142977 times)

Not surprised with its being unofficial.    Because McLaren did it before also. They said they were going to start caring about Norris' championship opportunity by giving him priority. But what happened later? They didn't stand behind their words in Monza... Maybe it is another speculation now. McLaren needs to show this to us in action in Azerbaijan. Because it is very likely to see Norris - Piastri duo in the front row again.

Piastri is just very eager to prove his skills while he has a very fast car. It is totally normal. But if McLaren states it clearly no doubt Piastri will obey the rule. I don't think he would act like Verstappen.

By saying Verstappen I mean his Toro Rosso times being teammates with Sainz. 

The lack of communication with the team did result in something quite fatal as Martin lost points with the wrong strategy in a race in unusual conditions. Meanwhile, his annoyance towards Ducati who chose Marquez over Martin to partner Bagnaia next season, I think, also has a clear reason because Marquez is a rider who has won the world championship eight times and six of them were in the premier class. So, I think Ducati's decision to choose Marquez is very wise even though Marquez himself is no longer as young as Martin.

If the McLaren team is serious about winning the title, they have to prioritise Norris, he simply has a better chance of beating Verstappen this year. McLaren will probably win the constructors' title in any case as they are simply better as a team than Red Bull this year.

So Piastri should always pay attention to the fastest lap (if Verstappen keeps it) every point is important now.

^  McLaren should've made it clear at the last race that Lando Norris gets priority.  What Piastri did set them back a couple of races or three races to get the lead for the driver's championship.  Sucks for Piastri but good call from the team imho.

Will be interesting to see how both drivers behave and look on the track this weekend.

Anyway, Norris is favorite to get pole in quali at 2.60 followed by Leclerc at 4.50 then Piastri at 6.00.  As for the race Norris is favorite with Leclerc and Piastri at dead even with the odds.

Unofficial status.

Finally Mclaren chosed to use team orders to give more chances in favor to Lando Norris for the remaining part of the season in the fight again Max Verstappen.
So far they used only the "papaya rules" but now they chosen to gives priority to Lando.

Even Piastri in a recent interview he said that is it will paintful but it is open to give a a victory if it is will necessary

Newey will definitely make sure that Aston Martin is as great as he can make it and I bet that they will have some improvements without a doubt. I am not saying that it will happen quickly, I am just saying that it will be better than what it is right now. This doesn't mean that they will win all the races and dominate, we can see him be at Red Bull right now and do nothing about the fact that they are about to lose, and I am sure that's not loved by Red Bull, but Newey basically let them be already and not really improving.

Aston Martin made the greatest choice they could make, I just wish they didn't really have to go with Stroll as well, I get that he is the son of the owner, but dude just sucks, he is terrible , and they need someone younger and more fierce than Alonso as well. I know he has been great, but dude is 40+ years old, maybe getting someone better would be a good idea, they could definitely make it work with someone younger that gets more consistent results.

so Jeremy Clarkson was correct in the end.

As I reported months ago here he basically spoiled about Adrian Newey and Aston Martin.

He was back in July and during an interview he said that Adrian Newey was house-hunting in Oxfordshire and not in Maranello.

We also got another rumor if you remember.
This time was Autosprint speaking about a secret factory visit for Adrian..

Exactly, a race on the same track due to the cancellation of the 2024 Kazakhstan GP, and Bagnaia certainly noticed that Martin had pitted or was told by a sign the lap after, so for Bagnaia it was the right decision not to risk too much but to bring home the safe points.

But you also have to say whether Bagnaia could have beaten Marquez if he had taken more risks, I don't know.

^  Oof so it's real. 

And as for signing Verstappen..?  I would rather see the guy sign with Mercedes and driver under the guidance and tutelage of Toto Wolff tbh.  He'll be in much better hands over there unless Aston Martin also signs Horner at the team principal.    The gang is back, just with another team.  Lmao.

And for the lulz, I would like to see Newey design the best car on 2026 with Lance Stroll winning podiums at every GP.  What a sight to behold. 

Yes it is official. 



https://x.com/AstonMartinF1/status/1833591812638052686

Aston Martin boss Lawrence Stroll is playing big from now on. Signing one of the best engineers in Formula 1 history is a spectacular work! As far as I know they have even given him some share of the team. That's insane! 

Now there are new rumours going around. Such as they are going to target to sign Verstappen for 2026 season. They say the boss is ready to sacrifice his son for getting another champion driver. What do you say?

At the very least he admitted that it was his fault[1]. I can understand how he decided on what to do with the race, and if the condition follows what he predicted I'm pretty sure people will call it a genius move. Sadly it didn't happen so that's that. On the other hand, he and his team need to improve their communication if what he said about the lack of communication regarding their strategy is true.

It seems like he got another unfortunate news after Ducati chose Marquez instead of him for their factory MotoGP team[2]. Sounds like he's frustrated with how Ducati treated him more than being annoyed at Marquez, although the article suggests Marquez's statement or movement affects how Ducati decides things. Some of them are speculative so I'm not sure whether those are true or not.

I can see why they want to keep Marquez, although I don't think sidelining younger riders or those with a long partnership history (who produce decent results on their satellite team) is the right decision. CMIIW.

[1] https://www.motorsport.com/motogp/news/martin-takes-blame-for-costly-misano-bike-swap-call/10652469/
[2] https://www.crash.net/motogp/news/1055309/1/jorge-martin-felt-fool-after-ducati-denied-him-2025-factory-motogp-seat

Next weekend's race will also take place at the same circuit with the name of the race Emilia Romagna and I hope to see a more dramatic race than last week's race. Bagnaia who did not take many risks by chasing Marquez also benefited greatly in the race because he managed to reduce the points gap with Martin from 26 to 7 points due to Martin's blunder when the rain started to fall. Martin really regrets the decision because he should not have done it while he could still survive in those conditions.

While Newey has had many options on the F1 grid, one element that stands out as important to him is something that has applied throughout his career: joining a project early in its journey.
At Williams, McLaren and Red Bull, he joined teams during their construction phases and helped lead them to world championship glory – he didn’t join them when they were already at their peak. In this way, he was a key player in making them even more competitive.

This element of taking a project forward was clearly a huge motivation, and the fact that he felt part of a major project excited him. Although there were rumours that Newey only wanted to work part-time in F1 in the next chapter of his career, he himself denied that he only wanted to work three days a week at Red Bull, in fact the fact that he didn’t work full-time on Red Bull’s F1 programme was a result of circumstances, as the team is a mature organisation and he has been involved in other projects such as the Aston Martin Valkyrie and the RB17.

In short, a perfect match... because if there is someone who is passionate about his work and achieving good results, that person is Stroll. Furthermore, Lance's father is not afraid to invest his money in what he believes will work.

We will see what the next chapters will be.

Age is just a number.
Some people are still in shape at 80yo for example.
Anyway for sure now they can be a contender from 2026.

I doubt they will be on 1st season but never say never.

Also he can start working form the from March 2025, but nobody can make him working alone at home on the design of the car and getting ideas at home.

I think it doesn't have to be quickly, there is a new regulations thing coming up, and Newey will be able to work on it at Aston Martin, which I think is the most important part. Remember, all these teams get a very limited time to test their ideas, which means that you would need someone who can get the best on the first try, or at least build the best car during the same testing period as well. Why do you think Aston Martin sucks right now? You think they can't bring in more upgrades? They are still good like few years ago, they are just not doing it because they want to be last so they would get more wind tunnel time and testing time.

With Newey on board, they will build a new regulation car in 2026 that could actually win the whole thing because they would give him all he needs. Plus, remember that Aston Martin already hired bunch of Red Bull engineers as well, top level ones, so Newey would be working with people he already knows and worked with for many years.

We all been waiting for this announcement for a while and finally it happened. I don't think that Newey age is factor now. He built dominating car for Red Bull recently, I doubt that he lost abikity to work in few years. Though, probably it can be not such long term project, it's open question for how many years is planning to work.
Now there is one thing which don't let to look at Aston Martin very seriously. It's Lance Stroll. But as long as his father will own this team, we can't expect any changes there.

There will most likely be a project he will work on with Aston Martin and it will most likely be a big one that could possibly make the F1 race map even tighter. His interest in Aston Martin is because Lawrence Stroll gives him more freedom than Red Bull, and he has probably been promised resources and whatever he needs, aside from the huge salary. I am sure it will be quite an important project involving a legend like Newey and I can’t wait to see what they will show.

And not it is official Newey joined Astong Marting.
The first words are: I wanted a new challenge.

He will join Aston Marting in March 2025 and he will make the car for the revolution of 2026

We all know why he went to Aston.

He is rumored to earn 100 milions € for the sign.

Newey is definitely an asset to the Aston Martin team, but will the team be able to implement all the changes quickly with the addition of Newey? Newey is already at an age where he could retire (65), money should not play a major role at Aston Martin and the new wind tunnel will also be ready in time.

Just wait and see.

As for the race this weekend, last year Ferrari was strong behind RedBull, I'm curious to see how it looks this year, Ferrari, McLaren or Mercedes and RedBull?

So damn...  I was about to make a joke about Newey and the news about his supposed move to Aston Martin.  Lol.  But it's now actually looking like an announcement from Aston Martin is real close now.  Hmmm...  So does that mean there's a huge possibility that Horner's next move would be to Aston Martin?

Curious minds want to know... 

Here's this weekend's schedule.

2024 F1 Azerbaijan GP Schedule
Track:  Baku City Circuit



Sept 13:  Practice 1  13:30 - 14:30
Sept 13:  Practice 2  17:00 - 18:00
Sept 14:  Practice 3  12:30 - 13:30
Sept 14:  Qualifying  16:00 - 17:00
Sept 15:  Race  15:00