F1 2025 - Motorsport thread

[gannet]

Okay; I know the F1 season doesn't start on track for a couple of months yet but there is some important news today;-

No more Rolex. TAG Heuer is back as the F1 Official Timekeeper.

A few more details on A Blog to Watch;- Recalling TAG Heuer's history with Formula 1 upon its return as F1's Official Timekeeper

Guy

[Thegreyman]

^^^ must get my Carrera chrono out every F1 Sunday this year!

Should be an interesting and closely fought season, assuming the relative form of each team towards the end of the season is reflected at the start of the new season. RB not as dominant so MV will have a job on his hands to retain his title. Will Mercedes improve and give George a decent chance of winning some races, he has the talent; is Lando favourite for the 2025 title (just checked bet365 and he is!); is Lewis past it (I don’t think so but I do believe age has caught up with him a bit), will be interesting to see how he does in a Ferrari with the talented Charles le Clerc as teammate.

[RichM]

^^^ . . . . . will be interesting to see how he does in a Ferrari with the talented Charles le Clerc as teammate.

My sources tell me that Charles is expected to wipe the floor with Lewis in qualifying BUT the Ferrari is better suited, than the 2024 Mercedes, to Lewis's driving style, so 'race pace' will be different.

We could be in for some interesting and close racing.

Guy

[Noush]

I think it looks to be an intriguing season ahead.

Does a Ferrari seat re-invigorate Lewis? I think it needs to, he's not as sharp as he was but he can race for sure. Charles will keep him on his toes.
But he's motivated. If he's to win his eighth, doing that in the red car would be some way to get it done. And that's why he's there.
But if the car is good enough, Charles will take some beating. Very interesting dynamic in prospect.

As for Lando, he needs to tidy up his act. Too many lost opportunities last year. A couple of fine wins last year which looked like what champions do, but not enough and that's why Max got it. Max doesn't miss opportunities.

Personally, I'm a George fan. If Mercedes can come up with something properly competitive, and not just in cooler conditions as last year, George the Tyre Whisperer can do it.

But Max remains the man to beat. I do wish he would put the wheel to wheel silliness away and own up when he gets it wrong though.

[RichM]

Agreed, a great season ahead!

I'd argue that Max has never really had a tough teammate like Lewis has and Lewis has never had number one status like, say, Micheal Schumacher did at Ferrari (remember Rubens giving Michael the win a few years back?) and has had some high calibre teamates - Alsonso, Bottas, Rosberg and had to fight for each win against them.

With Charles at Ferrari, it's going to be really interesting to watch how they get on.

The 2021 season was epic and we all know how that ended and I'm hoping some more of that excitement with perhaps a few more competitors involved - Lando and Oscar likely in the mix.

If you're a Ferrari fan Lewis will always have been the enemy - think Massa 2008/Vettel 2017 & 2018 but can you imagine the scenes if he wins in Monza? It would be epic! And another Silverstone win? Amazing! I can't wait to see him in red in Melbourne! It can't come soon enough.

I really hope Lewis gets his ninth championship in red. It would be an extraordinary moment in the sport.

[timepieces_and_bags]

I really hope Lewis gets his ninth championship in red.

I see what you did there.

I concur with all above so I’m not going to repeat it. My only disappointment heading into this year is that Yuki Tsunoda wasn’t given the shot in the Red Bull. Lawson has shown he’s not afraid to get his elbows out but just looks like he’s gone to the MV school of driving. Tsunoda I think would have given a much more entertaining team dynamic and is much more likeable to boot.

[kev017]

Agree with the sentiment from others - lots to look forward to.

RB - how will Lawson do? Can RB sort their car out?
McLaren - can lando shake the mistakes he makes? I think Piastri might out score Lando this season
Merc - will this year be the year they finally get on top of the car? How will kimi do vs George?
Ferrari - Lewis in red! Will he find his grove? How will he do vs Leclerc?
Low down the grid there are a bunch of drivers changes and a swathe of rookies (some of whom have not convinced me in the lower formulas)

I’ve just booked tickets to go to the Dutch GP (finally got bored of paying the silverstone prices )

[strapline]

Gave quite a bit of time yesterday looking at packages to the Italian GP in Monza, Sept 7th. Just a few miles NE of Milan so loads of other distractions, too. It would be quite something to see Lewis Hamilton driving a Ferrari round Monza. Can you imagine the scenes if he won. Those Tiafosi...

Des

[RichM]

Gave quite a bit of time yesterday looking at packages to the Italian GP in Monza, Sept 7th. Just a few miles NE of Milan so loads of other distractions, too. It would be quite something to see Lewis Hamilton driving a Ferrari round Monza. Can you imagine the scenes if he won. Those Tiafosi...

Des

To be in Monza for a Ferrari one/two Lewis/Charles result would be quite, quite special!

[Trs1982]

Gave quite a bit of time yesterday looking at packages to the Italian GP in Monza, Sept 7th. Just a few miles NE of Milan so loads of other distractions, too. It would be quite something to see Lewis Hamilton driving a Ferrari round Monza. Can you imagine the scenes if he won. Those Tiafosi...

Des

@strapline Monza is by far my favourite weekend that I've attended. Wonderful place in a beautiful part of the world. Three days of racing followed by a drive down to Maranello to visit the Ferrari Museum. If you can do it, then I would thoroughly recommend. We booked organised camping, so tents, beds etc were provided, plus transfers to the circuit. They even organised a visit from Martin Brundle one evening for a talk and Q&A.

[timepieces_and_bags]

Not my joke so I take no credit, but I read someone saying yesterday that it's such a cliché of mid-life crisis to hit 40 years old and get a Ferrari

[strapline]

@Trs1982 That sounds fantastic, thanks for the helpful advice too. I'd like to get a grandstand seat if I go ahead. It seems the stands leading in to the big banking turn (parabolica) and before the chicane (ascari) are the pick of the bunch. This would be a once in a lifetime trip. I need very few excuses to organise a trip to Italy, this really has me salivating.

Des

[Trs1982]

@Trs1982 That sounds fantastic, thanks for the helpful advice too. I'd like to get a grandstand seat if I go ahead. It seems the stands leading in to the big banking turn (parabolica) and before the chicane (ascari) are the pick of the bunch. This would be a once in a lifetime trip. I need very few excuses to organise a trip to Italy, this really has me salivating.

Des

@strapline Play around with flights too. We went out from Heathrow to Linate and back from Malpensa to Heathrow. At the time, that worked out cheaper, and BA beat all of the budget options. We booked each element separately for the same reason; flights, accommodation, race tickets. We went for general admission becasue there are so many places to sit and move around at the circuit (plus you can sit in pretty much any grandstand you want for the feeder races and free practice sessions, but as you're no doubt aware there are so many options with regards to tickets. The commentary is obviously all in Italian, but when you hear them say a drivers name followed by "Parabolicaaaa" in Italian, it gives you goosebumps.

Do it, do it, do it!!!

[Mikkei4]

^^^ must get my Carrera chrono out every F1 Sunday this year!

I need to buy 1 as my only TAG is 1 of the old 34mm plastic body jobs and 1 of the lugs has broken.

Welcome back TAG !

[albionphoto]

Max will be the fastest driver with the most borderline driving standards.
Lando and Oscar could race each other and stop McLaren winning a driver's championship.
Charles and Lewis? Gawd knows.
Albon and Sainz - fascinating but results probably won't refelct driving standards.
Williams won't get a watch sponsor this year either. Who would you like to see as their watch sponsor?
George Russell and Kimi Antonelli - Let's hope George is ready to be team leader and Mercedes is ready for Antonelli's crash repair bill.
Jack Doohan will be on his toes now that Colapinto is Alpine's reserve driver. Anyone betting on a mid-season driver change at Alpine?