The Official F1 2025 silly season *contains speculation*
Discussion
GCH said:
TheDeuce said:
Even if they're a bit... not very good? My memory of Ericsson is that he achieved next to nothing in several years in F1 and was then unsurprisingly let go. I don't recall thinking about him since he shuffled off tbh.
Perhaps I'm being harsh and misremembering!?
He did win the Indy 500... he is not at the head of the field, but by no means at the back. Perhaps I'm being harsh and misremembering!?
Leithen said:
At best marginally better than Grosjean. To be fair, they are all very good. But equally, it must be depressing to watch Will Power win at the same time.
At least Ericsson never binned it behind the safety car! To be fair, anyone who can get a super licence is better than 99.99% of people to race cars. Even Mazepin - probably the worst pay-driver of recent years - still had to put in the hours of testing and actually get results in F3 and F2.
Anyone with a decade of F1 experience should be more than capable of doing the sim work.
Sandpit Steve said:
Leithen said:
At best marginally better than Grosjean. To be fair, they are all very good. But equally, it must be depressing to watch Will Power win at the same time.
At least Ericsson never binned it behind the safety car! To be fair, anyone who can get a super licence is better than 99.99% of people to race cars. Even Mazepin - probably the worst pay-driver of recent years - still had to put in the hours of testing and actually get results in F3 and F2.
Anyone with a decade of F1 experience should be more than capable of doing the sim work.
TheDeuce said:
Didn't Mazepin do a load of private paid for development and training driving an actual 2017 Merc F1 car around the globe (unofficial sessions - in addition to official test days) in order to improve his F2 game? He still only came 5th in 2020. I think the theory is that by getting plenty of practice at F1 driving, F2 becomes somewhat easier by comparison - anyone who's ever played snooker on a full sized table and done 'OK' will find that they're suddenly remarkably good on the local pool table at the pub. Perhaps it's a stretch to give too much credit to F1 seat time for an improvement in F2, but of course most F2 drivers don't get anything like so much 1 on 1 training and seat time in F1 in advance of actually demonstrating serious talent in F2.
It didn't seem to help Antonelli or Bearman last year.thegreenhell said:
TheDeuce said:
Didn't Mazepin do a load of private paid for development and training driving an actual 2017 Merc F1 car around the globe (unofficial sessions - in addition to official test days) in order to improve his F2 game? He still only came 5th in 2020. I think the theory is that by getting plenty of practice at F1 driving, F2 becomes somewhat easier by comparison - anyone who's ever played snooker on a full sized table and done 'OK' will find that they're suddenly remarkably good on the local pool table at the pub. Perhaps it's a stretch to give too much credit to F1 seat time for an improvement in F2, but of course most F2 drivers don't get anything like so much 1 on 1 training and seat time in F1 in advance of actually demonstrating serious talent in F2.
It didn't seem to help Antonelli or Bearman last year.He perhaps more or less compensated for lack of ability with an unusual level of access and practice, in order to get his super license points. I'm suggesting the SL system might not be as robust as intended when it comes to keeping unsuitable drivers away from F1.
It looks like Alpine are poised to sign Colapinto as reserve driver, and it's reported that Doohan has some strict performance clauses to meet to avoid being replaced at any point. With Flavio calling the shots there, it wouldn't be a surprise to see some musical chairs during the season.
thegreenhell said:
It looks like Alpine are poised to sign Colapinto as reserve driver, and it's reported that Doohan has some strict performance clauses to meet to avoid being replaced at any point. With Flavio calling the shots there, it wouldn't be a surprise to see some musical chairs during the season.
Having a crash-prone driver on the books could potentially come in handy for him at some point too.Nova Gyna said:
thegreenhell said:
It looks like Alpine are poised to sign Colapinto as reserve driver, and it's reported that Doohan has some strict performance clauses to meet to avoid being replaced at any point. With Flavio calling the shots there, it wouldn't be a surprise to see some musical chairs during the season.
Having a crash-prone driver on the books could potentially come in handy for him at some point too.
Nova Gyna said:
thegreenhell said:
It looks like Alpine are poised to sign Colapinto as reserve driver, and it's reported that Doohan has some strict performance clauses to meet to avoid being replaced at any point. With Flavio calling the shots there, it wouldn't be a surprise to see some musical chairs during the season.
Having a crash-prone driver on the books could potentially come in handy for him at some point too.TheDeuce said:
thegreenhell said:
TheDeuce said:
Didn't Mazepin do a load of private paid for development and training driving an actual 2017 Merc F1 car around the globe (unofficial sessions - in addition to official test days) in order to improve his F2 game? He still only came 5th in 2020. I think the theory is that by getting plenty of practice at F1 driving, F2 becomes somewhat easier by comparison - anyone who's ever played snooker on a full sized table and done 'OK' will find that they're suddenly remarkably good on the local pool table at the pub. Perhaps it's a stretch to give too much credit to F1 seat time for an improvement in F2, but of course most F2 drivers don't get anything like so much 1 on 1 training and seat time in F1 in advance of actually demonstrating serious talent in F2.
It didn't seem to help Antonelli or Bearman last year.He perhaps more or less compensated for lack of ability with an unusual level of access and practice, in order to get his super license points. I'm suggesting the SL system might not be as robust as intended when it comes to keeping unsuitable drivers away from F1.
The old system meant that any Tom, Dick, or Max, could just turn up with a car on Friday morning and try to qualify for the race.
Westyn said:
Mike Krack moved to Chief Trackside Officer, working on per race car performance. https://www.the-race.com/formula-1/aston-martin-f1...Sandpit Steve said:
Yes Mazepin did an awful lot of private testing in old cars, costing millions, but my point is that he did improve his game and did actually get the results in F2 required for the Super Licence. Now we could argue that he wasn’t really up to F1 standards, but he did put in the work.
The old system meant that any Tom, Dick, or Max, could just turn up with a car on Friday morning and try to qualify for the race.
I'm not sure if the Super License has any relevance these days.The old system meant that any Tom, Dick, or Max, could just turn up with a car on Friday morning and try to qualify for the race.
In the past pay drivers had greater notoriety but the financial and driver landscape has changed since the early 90s.
Racing is much more expensive, greater onus on drivers getting backing. Lots of rich daddies (usually it seems). Pay drivers are only called out as such based on merit - no one complains about Bearman or Norris.
Karting is much more professionaly run, kids start racing as soon as they can reach the pedals and its possible to start F1 in your late teens and we end with kneejerk reaction to Max Verstappen. If you're good enough then you're good enough. I find points system ludicrous - I just don't see the point in it.
ajprice said:
Mike Krack moved to Chief Trackside Officer, working on per race car performance. https://www.the-race.com/formula-1/aston-martin-f1...
He'll be gone before the end of the 2025 season. entropy said:
Sandpit Steve said:
Yes Mazepin did an awful lot of private testing in old cars, costing millions, but my point is that he did improve his game and did actually get the results in F2 required for the Super Licence. Now we could argue that he wasn’t really up to F1 standards, but he did put in the work.
The old system meant that any Tom, Dick, or Max, could just turn up with a car on Friday morning and try to qualify for the race.
I'm not sure if the Super License has any relevance these days.The old system meant that any Tom, Dick, or Max, could just turn up with a car on Friday morning and try to qualify for the race.
In the past pay drivers had greater notoriety but the financial and driver landscape has changed since the early 90s.
Racing is much more expensive, greater onus on drivers getting backing. Lots of rich daddies (usually it seems). Pay drivers are only called out as such based on merit - no one complains about Bearman or Norris.
Karting is much more professionaly run, kids start racing as soon as they can reach the pedals and its possible to start F1 in your late teens and we end with kneejerk reaction to Max Verstappen. If you're good enough then you're good enough. I find points system ludicrous - I just don't see the point in it.
CanoeSniffer said:
...... Tens of thousands of young drivers with more talent will have fallen off the ladder in his time coming up. Probably the most naturally talented drivers ever to have been born never got beyond rental karting due to lack of money. It’s a horrible sport in that regard.
Here's one who thankfully seems to be still on the ladder, noticed the name cropping up many times last year then discovered a resume of his path to this years GB 3 championship. Great story, Mum & Dad in a Van Karting living on beans on toast eventually races Fiesta's. Had a sim for the circuits and Rokit ran a sim competition to find a talent where only the final mattered, nothing else.Apolgies as it's not F1 - 25 but hopefully a few years hence.
Maxdecel said:
CanoeSniffer said:
...... Tens of thousands of young drivers with more talent will have fallen off the ladder in his time coming up. Probably the most naturally talented drivers ever to have been born never got beyond rental karting due to lack of money. It’s a horrible sport in that regard.
Here's one who thankfully seems to be still on the ladder, noticed the name cropping up many times last year then discovered a resume of his path to this years GB 3 championship. Great story, Mum & Dad in a Van Karting living on beans on toast eventually races Fiesta's. Had a sim for the circuits and Rokit ran a sim competition to find a talent where only the final mattered, nothing else.Apolgies as it's not F1 - 25 but hopefully a few years hence.
PRO5T said:
It looks like Doohan is doomed to failure before the season even starts, the fanfare around Franco, only a day or so after Flav was telling anyone who’ll listen that doohan will be gone if he doesn’t perform doesn’t look good.
I’ve always found Briatore to be a distasteful and seedy person. Alpine scraping the bottom of the barrel and bringing back this bottom-feeding POS was yet another f
I hope Jack comes out with some big results early in the season.
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