Formula 1 2021 season general chat

fadster · 03-26-2021, 06:52 AM

With the season getting underway and a lot of interest here with all the new card releases from Topps I though I'd start a thread for general chat so it doesn't get lost across the various release threads.

fadster · 03-26-2021, 08:50 AM

A stab at the pecking order:

Red Bull - Looks very strong in testing, can Max show the composure over the season to put together a title challenge?
Mercedes - Some sandbagging, the car looks a handful on low fuel but much happier on long runs, 8 will be tough for Lewis

McLaren - Look the class of the rest, a win for Ricciardo this season?

Ferrari - HP is supposedly back up but still struggling, think Leclerc will have the edge on Sainz
Alpha Tauri - Will share in the RB gains, exciting driver line-up
Aston Martin - Think they might take a little step back, hard to develop a car that isn't your concept
Alpine - Will two years out have an effect on Alonso or will he still outperform his car

Alfa - They look a little closer to the main midfield battle and should score points a little more regularly. Big year for Gio, might be his last if he doesn't outperform Kimi.

Williams - Still chipping away to work up the grid, expect more heroics from Russell and perhaps a point for the team?

Haas - Look miles off the pace, focused on 2022 car and have public enemy number 1 in one of their seats. Schumacher needs to take a leaf out of Russell's 2019 book and just keep his head down.

davidantx · 03-26-2021, 11:27 PM

Hamilton gets another Title. 2022 everything changes up!

fadster · 03-27-2021, 07:15 AM

Anyone watch the first F2 race? Like last season a good mix of second year drivers (Schwartzmann, Lundgaard, Daruvala, Drugovich, etc) and F3 graduate rookies (Piastri, Pourchaire, Lawson, Beckmann, etc). Two of the Red Bull juniors ran off with race 1 with Lawson holding off Daruvala.

There's often a guy who improves in the second half of their first season, picks up a win or two, and then nails their second season before moving to F1. I think Drugovich will be that guy this year, someone I might look to pick up from Chrome. Pourchaire and Lawson look the most exciting of the rookies. I'm guessing Chrome (assuming it does cover the 2020 season) will have the starting F2 lineups so Pourchaire's couple of starts at the end of last season won't get him in.

Luka · 03-27-2021, 04:03 PM

Honda engine looking strong for the last hoorah

notcloie · 03-27-2021, 04:40 PM

really excited for the season kicking off. quali was a blast. hoping for a hell of a fight for the front of the grid and a good midfield battle too!

fadster · 03-27-2021, 06:05 PM

Should be a good race, long run pace in practise seemed very close between the Red Bulls and Hamilton.

fadster · 03-28-2021, 01:04 PM

Great battle between Lewis and Max, Max needed a little more composure and to let Lewis back through in a smarter place to be able to retake the lead. Good battle between Ferrari and Mclaren too, I think Alpha Tauri will be in the mix too at some race. Red Bull need to maximise their advantage whilst Merc figure out the floor rule changes.

paperzach · 03-28-2021, 03:18 PM

Perez recovering to 5th was great. He should be up closer to the front in the future, giving Red Bull a lot more strategy options.

I don't believe that anybody besides Hamilton could have won against Max in the Red Bull today. That is why Mercedes can't just put Russell or any other driver in that seat. On days like today, the driver makes the difference.

Also, so excited to see Tsunoda get points on his debut.

JRX · 03-28-2021, 04:32 PM

So is this going to be another year where other than Max nobody can compete with Mercedes and even Max won't be able to win consistently because Mercedes is just too dominant overall in terms of cars/strategy/etc. I used to like watching it, but there's almost no point now until they change the rules to even things out.

ajlaxmn · 04-07-2021, 07:48 PM

Just got into F1 because of the Netflix documentary, first F1 season I watched was last year.

Big fan of Red Bull, for some reason mainly because of Christian Horner, no idea why. Even think I like Checo more than max. Also like Ricciardo a lot.

First race of the year was great. Would love to see Max win title and Red Bull win constructors.

Sent from my iPhone using Tapatalk

ajlaxmn · 04-17-2021, 09:31 AM

Good showing by Red Bull. Nice to have a complimentary driver to Max. Hope this season doesn’t just turn into Hamilton pole every weekend and a win. Maybe Red Bull can start doing what Mercedes was doing last year and start getting two drivers in the front row.

Sent from my iPhone using Tapatalk

fadster · 04-17-2021, 09:53 AM

Quote:

Originally Posted by ajlaxmn

Good showing by Red Bull. Nice to have a complimentary driver to Max. Hope this season doesn’t just turn into Hamilton pole every weekend and a win. Maybe Red Bull can start doing what Mercedes was doing last year and start getting two drivers in the front row.

Sent from my iPhone using Tapatalk

Yeah it feels like a reversal of last year, a lot of tracks are going to be Hamilton vs the two Red Bulls. Bottas being a bit off Hamilton's level didn't matter when Merc were way in front but now the field is tighter he's going to find himself in the pack often (like Albon last year). Norris has been really quick all weekend, unlucky to lose 3rd on the grid with track limits. Nice to see both Williams in Q2, Russell only just over a tenth from Q3.

Dbacksbaseball · 04-17-2021, 03:36 PM

Lando is going to be a thing this year and may ultimately be the disrupting force in both the constructors and driver championship. I feel he has a few podiums up his sleeve this year.

fadster · 04-18-2021, 07:16 AM

Decent amount of rain has started falling at Imola

yea yea · 04-18-2021, 08:14 AM

The push into US/North America continues with Miami on the books for 2022. Hope F1/COTA can resolve their issues and keep COTA on the schedule so we have 2 US races on the circuit.

Dbacksbaseball · 04-18-2021, 08:59 AM

What and awesome race so far. Rare Hamilton mistake as he was catching Max. Will see what happens the rest of the way.

elny43 · 04-18-2021, 09:21 AM

Pretty wild race so far

elny43 · 04-18-2021, 10:06 AM

What a comeback by Hamilton

Dbacksbaseball · 04-18-2021, 10:07 AM

Great drive by Max, Great comeback by Hamilton, and great drive by Lando.

Right now those are the 3 guys to own cards of. Lando's arrow is straight north right now.

elny43 · 04-18-2021, 10:10 AM

Quote:

Originally Posted by Dbacksbaseball

Great drive by Max, Great comeback by Hamilton, and great drive by Lando.

Right now those are the 3 guys to own cards of. Lando's arrow is straight north right now.

Completely agree, loved to see how well Lando drove today

Kracer52 · 04-18-2021, 11:44 AM

Quote:

Originally Posted by elny43

Completely agree, loved to see how well Lando drove today

He was fantastic. Also nice to see a team make a driver swap call quickly and correctly, and without pushback from the other driver. They're operating really well as a unit and the podium is a great reward for that.

Looking forward to seeing a bit more of a straightforward race to see where everyone stacks up, but I think its going to be a really fun season.

fadster · 04-18-2021, 01:58 PM

I know it usually takes a while for a driver new to a team to bed in against an incumbent but I've been very surprised how much faster Lando has has been than Ricciardo. Great come back drive by Lewis, those are the sort of points you need for a championship challenge when you aren't in the best car. I feel sorry for Russell, he was having a great race and was set for points in the Williams but it was a racing incident. The fact that he was overtaking Bottas on true pace says a lot about where the two are at the moment.

Kracer52 · 04-18-2021, 03:19 PM

Quote:

Originally Posted by fadster

I know it usually takes a while for a driver new to a team to bed in against an incumbent but I've been very surprised how much faster Lando has has been than Ricciardo. Great come back drive by Lewis, those are the sort of points you need for a championship challenge when you aren't in the best car. I feel sorry for Russell, he was having a great race and was set for points in the Williams but it was a racing incident. The fact that he was overtaking Bottas on true pace says a lot about where the two are at the moment.

Lando has been much faster than I anticipated. I do think that the curtailed testing has made it much more difficult for drivers swapping teams, but he's been very impressive so far.

I still think the crash itself was mostly on George, but Bottas' pace has not been good enough to keep that seat after this year.

Dbacksbaseball · 04-18-2021, 03:39 PM

Quote:

Originally Posted by Kracer52

Lando has been much faster than I anticipated. I do think that the curtailed testing has made it much more difficult for drivers swapping teams, but he's been very impressive so far.

I still think the crash itself was mostly on George, but Bottas' pace has not been good enough to keep that seat after this year.

That’s by design though. It’s time for george to come in as Driver 2 next year and then even it up in 2023 with Lewis.

Did you find it odd that George had good pace in the williams car but Bottas had none in the Mercedes.....feels a little too off.

03-26-2021, 06:52 AM	#1
fadster Member Join Date: Aug 2019 Location: London, UK Posts: 3,275 fadster	Formula 1 2021 season general chat With the season getting underway and a lot of interest here with all the new card releases from Topps I though I'd start a thread for general chat so it doesn't get lost across the various release threads. __________________ IG: @goldenballrookies

03-26-2021, 08:50 AM	#2
fadster Member Join Date: Aug 2019 Location: London, UK Posts: 3,275 fadster	A stab at the pecking order: Red Bull - Looks very strong in testing, can Max show the composure over the season to put together a title challenge? Mercedes - Some sandbagging, the car looks a handful on low fuel but much happier on long runs, 8 will be tough for Lewis McLaren - Look the class of the rest, a win for Ricciardo this season? Ferrari - HP is supposedly back up but still struggling, think Leclerc will have the edge on Sainz Alpha Tauri - Will share in the RB gains, exciting driver line-up Aston Martin - Think they might take a little step back, hard to develop a car that isn't your concept Alpine - Will two years out have an effect on Alonso or will he still outperform his car Alfa - They look a little closer to the main midfield battle and should score points a little more regularly. Big year for Gio, might be his last if he doesn't outperform Kimi. Williams - Still chipping away to work up the grid, expect more heroics from Russell and perhaps a point for the team? Haas - Look miles off the pace, focused on 2022 car and have public enemy number 1 in one of their seats. Schumacher needs to take a leaf out of Russell's 2019 book and just keep his head down. __________________ IG: @goldenballrookies

03-27-2021, 07:15 AM	#4
fadster Member Join Date: Aug 2019 Location: London, UK Posts: 3,275 fadster	Anyone watch the first F2 race? Like last season a good mix of second year drivers (Schwartzmann, Lundgaard, Daruvala, Drugovich, etc) and F3 graduate rookies (Piastri, Pourchaire, Lawson, Beckmann, etc). Two of the Red Bull juniors ran off with race 1 with Lawson holding off Daruvala. There's often a guy who improves in the second half of their first season, picks up a win or two, and then nails their second season before moving to F1. I think Drugovich will be that guy this year, someone I might look to pick up from Chrome. Pourchaire and Lawson look the most exciting of the rookies. I'm guessing Chrome (assuming it does cover the 2020 season) will have the starting F2 lineups so Pourchaire's couple of starts at the end of last season won't get him in. __________________ IG: @goldenballrookies

03-27-2021, 04:40 PM	#6
notcloie Member Join Date: May 2020 Location: Southern California Posts: 45 itsnotcloie	really excited for the season kicking off. quali was a blast. hoping for a hell of a fight for the front of the grid and a good midfield battle too! __________________ PC David Fletcher & Millville Meteor Mike Trout. Third generation Angels fan. "we just need pitching"

03-27-2021, 06:05 PM	#7
fadster Member Join Date: Aug 2019 Location: London, UK Posts: 3,275 fadster	Should be a good race, long run pace in practise seemed very close between the Red Bulls and Hamilton. __________________ IG: @goldenballrookies

03-26-2021, 11:27 PM	#3
davidantx Member Join Date: Sep 2019 Location: DFW! Posts: 1,011 davidan davidantx	Hamilton gets another Title. 2022 everything changes up!

03-27-2021, 04:03 PM	#5
Luka Member Join Date: Jan 2020 Posts: 316	Honda engine looking strong for the last hoorah

03-28-2021, 01:04 PM	#8
fadster Member Join Date: Aug 2019 Location: London, UK Posts: 3,275 fadster	Great battle between Lewis and Max, Max needed a little more composure and to let Lewis back through in a smarter place to be able to retake the lead. Good battle between Ferrari and Mclaren too, I think Alpha Tauri will be in the mix too at some race. Red Bull need to maximise their advantage whilst Merc figure out the floor rule changes. __________________ IG: @goldenballrookies

03-28-2021, 03:18 PM	#9
paperzach Member Join Date: Feb 2020 Posts: 289	Perez recovering to 5th was great. He should be up closer to the front in the future, giving Red Bull a lot more strategy options. I don't believe that anybody besides Hamilton could have won against Max in the Red Bull today. That is why Mercedes can't just put Russell or any other driver in that seat. On days like today, the driver makes the difference. Also, so excited to see Tsunoda get points on his debut.

03-28-2021, 04:32 PM	#10
JRX Member Join Date: May 2020 Location: Charlotte, NC Posts: 16,110	So is this going to be another year where other than Max nobody can compete with Mercedes and even Max won't be able to win consistently because Mercedes is just too dominant overall in terms of cars/strategy/etc. I used to like watching it, but there's almost no point now until they change the rules to even things out.

04-07-2021, 07:48 PM	#11
ajlaxmn Member Join Date: Nov 2009 Location: Turner, ME Posts: 7,307 ajohnbarker	Just got into F1 because of the Netflix documentary, first F1 season I watched was last year. Big fan of Red Bull, for some reason mainly because of Christian Horner, no idea why. Even think I like Checo more than max. Also like Ricciardo a lot. First race of the year was great. Would love to see Max win title and Red Bull win constructors. Sent from my iPhone using Tapatalk __________________ Die hard Chargers Fan from the State of Maine. "Always with them negative waves"- Oddball "Uh-uh, I don't tip"- Mr. Pink

04-17-2021, 09:31 AM	#12
ajlaxmn Member Join Date: Nov 2009 Location: Turner, ME Posts: 7,307 ajohnbarker	Good showing by Red Bull. Nice to have a complimentary driver to Max. Hope this season doesn’t just turn into Hamilton pole every weekend and a win. Maybe Red Bull can start doing what Mercedes was doing last year and start getting two drivers in the front row. Sent from my iPhone using Tapatalk __________________ Die hard Chargers Fan from the State of Maine. "Always with them negative waves"- Oddball "Uh-uh, I don't tip"- Mr. Pink

04-17-2021, 03:36 PM	#14
Dbacksbaseball Member Join Date: Jul 2014 Posts: 10,010	Lando is going to be a thing this year and may ultimately be the disrupting force in both the constructors and driver championship. I feel he has a few podiums up his sleeve this year. __________________ Buying Chase Utley and Jimmy Rollins Autos and Rare RC's Buying Syracuse Active Football/Basketball Alumni

04-18-2021, 07:16 AM	#15
fadster Member Join Date: Aug 2019 Location: London, UK Posts: 3,275 fadster	Decent amount of rain has started falling at Imola __________________ IG: @goldenballrookies

04-18-2021, 08:14 AM	#16
yea yea Member Join Date: May 2020 Posts: 188	The push into US/North America continues with Miami on the books for 2022. Hope F1/COTA can resolve their issues and keep COTA on the schedule so we have 2 US races on the circuit.

04-18-2021, 08:59 AM	#17
Dbacksbaseball Member Join Date: Jul 2014 Posts: 10,010	What and awesome race so far. Rare Hamilton mistake as he was catching Max. Will see what happens the rest of the way. __________________ Buying Chase Utley and Jimmy Rollins Autos and Rare RC's Buying Syracuse Active Football/Basketball Alumni

04-18-2021, 09:21 AM	#18
elny43 Member Join Date: May 2020 Location: Big Apple Posts: 1,525	Pretty wild race so far

04-18-2021, 10:06 AM	#19
elny43 Member Join Date: May 2020 Location: Big Apple Posts: 1,525	What a comeback by Hamilton

04-18-2021, 10:07 AM	#20
Dbacksbaseball Member Join Date: Jul 2014 Posts: 10,010	Great drive by Max, Great comeback by Hamilton, and great drive by Lando. Right now those are the 3 guys to own cards of. Lando's arrow is straight north right now. __________________ Buying Chase Utley and Jimmy Rollins Autos and Rare RC's Buying Syracuse Active Football/Basketball Alumni

04-18-2021, 01:58 PM	#23
fadster Member Join Date: Aug 2019 Location: London, UK Posts: 3,275 fadster	I know it usually takes a while for a driver new to a team to bed in against an incumbent but I've been very surprised how much faster Lando has has been than Ricciardo. Great come back drive by Lewis, those are the sort of points you need for a championship challenge when you aren't in the best car. I feel sorry for Russell, he was having a great race and was set for points in the Williams but it was a racing incident. The fact that he was overtaking Bottas on true pace says a lot about where the two are at the moment. __________________ IG: @goldenballrookies