Which 2023 intra-team battles are you looking forward to?
Discussion
Now we know the full line-up for next year. Which intra-team battles are you looking forward to seeing unfold?
First on my list is Lando vs Piastri. If Lando dominates, as I expect him to, then his stock just continues to rise and rise. If Piastri can get on terms with him, then Piastri proves his worth in F1. If he bombs, will Alpine feel that they had a lucky escape? Many unanswerable questions of course.
Russell vs Hamilton will be interesting to watch unfold, particularly if the Merc is properly competitive, world driver’s championship wise from the outset. If that’s the case, then I’m thinking it’ll be more akin to Rosberg vs Lewis than Bottas vs Lewis.
Alonso vs Stroll is next up for me. How long will it take for that one to sour? Different context for Alonso given the ownership and his progeny.
Hulk and K Mag have history as we know, but they are both different beasts now. Will/can they work together?
Ocon vs Gasly has a whiff of TNT about it. Ocon can be brutally aggressive as we have seen, but will Gasly have him covered speed wise? I fear if they are evenly matched it might be 2022 rinse and repeat.
De Vries vs Tsunoda. I think NDV might just overwhelm him. I’m looking forward to seeing what NDV can do over a season.
I see status quo at RB and Ferrari. Anything I’ve missed? And anything you’re looking forward to seeing unfold?
Edit: apologies should have been intra-team.
Mods if you have a heart could you correct the thread title please?
First on my list is Lando vs Piastri. If Lando dominates, as I expect him to, then his stock just continues to rise and rise. If Piastri can get on terms with him, then Piastri proves his worth in F1. If he bombs, will Alpine feel that they had a lucky escape? Many unanswerable questions of course.
Russell vs Hamilton will be interesting to watch unfold, particularly if the Merc is properly competitive, world driver’s championship wise from the outset. If that’s the case, then I’m thinking it’ll be more akin to Rosberg vs Lewis than Bottas vs Lewis.
Alonso vs Stroll is next up for me. How long will it take for that one to sour? Different context for Alonso given the ownership and his progeny.
Hulk and K Mag have history as we know, but they are both different beasts now. Will/can they work together?
Ocon vs Gasly has a whiff of TNT about it. Ocon can be brutally aggressive as we have seen, but will Gasly have him covered speed wise? I fear if they are evenly matched it might be 2022 rinse and repeat.
De Vries vs Tsunoda. I think NDV might just overwhelm him. I’m looking forward to seeing what NDV can do over a season.
I see status quo at RB and Ferrari. Anything I’ve missed? And anything you’re looking forward to seeing unfold?
Edit: apologies should have been intra-team.
Mods if you have a heart could you correct the thread title please?
Edited by Diderot on Saturday 19th November 23:29
Diderot said:
First on my list is Lando vs Piastri. If Lando dominates, as I expect him to, then his stock just continues to rise and rise. If Piastri can get on terms with him, then Piastri proves his worth in F1. If he bombs, will Alpine feel that they had a lucky escape? Many unanswerable questions of course.
I think Lando will have upper hand too. Piastri is pretty special, but I think Norris is a step above and only marginally below Lewis in performance. Diderot said:
Russell vs Hamilton will be interesting to watch unfold, particularly if the Merc is properly competitive, world driver’s championship wise from the outset. If that’s the case, then I’m thinking it’ll be more akin to Rosberg vs Lewis than Bottas vs Lewis.
I said in 21 that Russell would show well in 22 and he has done brilliantly. His position has been somewhat enhanced but you cannot take anything away from being in a position to capitalise and he has done. His race pace is still not as strong as Lewis but his performance this year will see him giving Lewis even closer races in 23.
Diderot said:
Alonso vs Stroll is next up for me. How long will it take for that one to sour? Different context for Alonso given the ownership and his progeny.
Alonso will show Stroll a clean pair of heels from the 3rd race in I would guess. Fireworks by the fifth race? 
Diderot said:
Hulk and K Mag have history as we know, but they are both different beasts now. Will/can they work together?
They are there to pick up points not fight each other, so KMag as he is settled. Diderot said:
Ocon vs Gasly has a whiff of TNT about it. Ocon can be brutally aggressive as we have seen, but will Gasly have him covered speed wise? I fear if they are evenly matched it might be 2022 rinse and repeat.
Baguette ballistics from the off I should think. Mates do not f
k other mate's girlfriends. Ocon should have the upper hand.Diderot said:
De Vries vs Tsunoda. I think NDV might just overwhelm him. I’m looking forward to seeing what NDV can do over a season.
De Vries. Latecomer that will have a point to prove and little time to prove it. Dunno why he wasn't in F1 earlier.Diderot said:
Ferrari.
Ferriarse is an odd one. Lehchercke's form seems to have dropped off. Sainz?Diderot said:
MB
Noddy car for Perez by race three, Max hospitalised for stress and Ric to shoey all the way to a WDC! Hamilton/Russell. If the car is up to scratch and they're up for championships, it could be interesting how it's dealt with post Rosberg.
Verstappen/Perez. Completely depends on whether Perez grows a pair.
Leclerc/Sainz. They'll probably have a decent car again. Completely depends on whether they can do strategy properly or it's a rerun of 2022 clown antics. They're pretty even.
Norris/Piastri. Interesting. I don't know which way it's going to go, whether Piastri is the new thing or Norris can handle him.
Ocon/Gasly. Might be fireworks, will probably be even.
Stroll/Alonso. Nuclear bomb in a fireworks factory, just spends how long the fuse is, but bad things will happen.
Bottas/Zhou. I think Bottas will be on top again, but hopefully Zhou steps up and gets closer to him. 49-6 in the current points, a repeat next year could see Zhou dumped like Schumacher.
Tsunoda/De Vries. I think De Vries will walk this, if he's sorted his strength after being knackered at the end of Monza 2022.
Magnusson/Hulkenberg. Maybe fireworks, but I think K Mag will come out on top.
Albon/Sargeant. See McLaren for established driver v newbie.
Verstappen/Perez. Completely depends on whether Perez grows a pair.
Leclerc/Sainz. They'll probably have a decent car again. Completely depends on whether they can do strategy properly or it's a rerun of 2022 clown antics. They're pretty even.
Norris/Piastri. Interesting. I don't know which way it's going to go, whether Piastri is the new thing or Norris can handle him.
Ocon/Gasly. Might be fireworks, will probably be even.
Stroll/Alonso. Nuclear bomb in a fireworks factory, just spends how long the fuse is, but bad things will happen.
Bottas/Zhou. I think Bottas will be on top again, but hopefully Zhou steps up and gets closer to him. 49-6 in the current points, a repeat next year could see Zhou dumped like Schumacher.
Tsunoda/De Vries. I think De Vries will walk this, if he's sorted his strength after being knackered at the end of Monza 2022.
Magnusson/Hulkenberg. Maybe fireworks, but I think K Mag will come out on top.
Albon/Sargeant. See McLaren for established driver v newbie.
Ocon vs. Gasly
They used to be best friends but fell out during their karting days. Ocon is uncompromising and probably held him back at Merc, Gasly I find to be moody and sulky; both drivers have something to prove in their respective careers driving for a team which needs to prove if it has any ambitions other than being part of the F1 circus.
They used to be best friends but fell out during their karting days. Ocon is uncompromising and probably held him back at Merc, Gasly I find to be moody and sulky; both drivers have something to prove in their respective careers driving for a team which needs to prove if it has any ambitions other than being part of the F1 circus.
entropy said:
Ocon vs. Gasly
They used to be best friends but fell out during their karting days. Ocon is uncompromising and probably held him back at Merc, Gasly I find to be moody and sulky; both drivers have something to prove in their respective careers driving for a team which needs to prove if it has any ambitions other than being part of the F1 circus.
But who will have the unreliable car being as they are both french?They used to be best friends but fell out during their karting days. Ocon is uncompromising and probably held him back at Merc, Gasly I find to be moody and sulky; both drivers have something to prove in their respective careers driving for a team which needs to prove if it has any ambitions other than being part of the F1 circus.
Lando vs Piastri. - Lando has the "benefit" of McLaren being weaker that we'd hope, and is yet to shine as a real WDC prospect. He's undoubtedly a brilliant talent, but needs to be pushed hard by a hungry teammate, and drive the team forward .... Piastri is the man for the job!
Russell vs Hamilton - Russell needs to best Hamilton again in 2023, and silence the doubters who are attributing the result to circumstantial fortune, and Russell doing less heavy lifting in the car development (which is nonsense in my opinion)
Alonso vs Stroll - We all know that Alonso is brilliant, but my nagging question is how much bad luck does he make for himself ..... is he massively fast, however a car breaker??
Hulk and K Mag - A pair of good drivers in a good(ish) car. Sets up a 2023 snoozefest
Ocon vs Gasly - If any teammate occupies the same space on track as Ocon, collisions occur. Gasly needs to be quick enough to be well clear in front of this danger, however I fear that he wont be, and will fade into obscurity.
De Vries vs Tsunoda. - So glad that Yuki has another season, but I'd be shocked if NDV doesn't completely outperform him from the start.
Verstappen vs Perez - Max will best Checo every race, with only an ongoing drive in a great car keeping Perez from being vocal about his true feelings. Dani Ric in the car by the summer break if Checo gets really pissed off.
LeClerc vs Sainz - I think that yesterday aside (great drive by Charles), Sainz ended the season better and hungrier. Sainz to outperform LeClerc, and readily take a fight to the Red Bulls and Mercs.
Alfa Romeo and Williams will be pretty stagnant.
Edited by mat205125 on Monday 21st November 13:14
tertius said:
Got to be Alonso and Stroll …
...... but which Stroll will he fall out with first?Alonso is by far my favourite current F1 driver, but not in so blindly a way that I can't see that Aston Martin could be a really difficult fit for him.
Edited by mat205125 on Monday 21st November 13:25
mat205125 said:
Russell vs Hamilton - Russell needs to best Hamilton again in 2023, and silence the doubters who are attributing the result to circumstantial fortune, and Russell doing less heavy lifting in the car development (which is nonsense in my opinion)
Do you have more information about this than team personnel at Mercedes then? paulguitar said:
mat205125 said:
Russell vs Hamilton - Russell needs to best Hamilton again in 2023, and silence the doubters who are attributing the result to circumstantial fortune, and Russell doing less heavy lifting in the car development (which is nonsense in my opinion)
Do you have more information about this than team personnel at Mercedes then?Do you take every press conference message from all teams as unbiased gospel fact?? Not a great move in any sport, let alone F1.
mat205125 said:
No, and neither do I have any affiliations to any team(s) that might require me to project a prescribed and scripted PR messaging.
Do you take every press conference message from all teams as unbiased gospel fact?? Not a great move in any sport, let alone F1.
I can't see why multiple Mercedes engineers would get involved in some kind of bizarre big lie, and to what end? Hamilton is clearly very secure with his own abilities, he's very supportive of George Russell and he's been working towards trying to improve the team as a whole.Do you take every press conference message from all teams as unbiased gospel fact?? Not a great move in any sport, let alone F1.
Oh, and if I have a 'favourite' team, it's Williams.
mat205125 said:
paulguitar said:
mat205125 said:
Russell vs Hamilton - Russell needs to best Hamilton again in 2023, and silence the doubters who are attributing the result to circumstantial fortune, and Russell doing less heavy lifting in the car development (which is nonsense in my opinion)
Do you have more information about this than team personnel at Mercedes then?Do you take every press conference message from all teams as unbiased gospel fact?? Not a great move in any sport, let alone F1.
MustangGT said:
mat205125 said:
paulguitar said:
mat205125 said:
Russell vs Hamilton - Russell needs to best Hamilton again in 2023, and silence the doubters who are attributing the result to circumstantial fortune, and Russell doing less heavy lifting in the car development (which is nonsense in my opinion)
Do you have more information about this than team personnel at Mercedes then?Do you take every press conference message from all teams as unbiased gospel fact?? Not a great move in any sport, let alone F1.
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