Anyone else here watch F1 racing?

[Anders]

Agreed. Had the chance of being a really exciting race, but then it just fizzled out.

[Ello Sailor]

Would you guys rank the cars any differently to the drivers? What about pit crew? Any favorites?

I'm a rally guy, so I'm green as anything. I don't know shit about shit.

[Anders]

2021 F1 drivers and teams

Alfa Romeo-Ferrari

7. Kimi Räikkönen - had a great career, former world champion. 41 now. A bit over the hill, but still has quality.

99. Antonio Giovinazzi - can usually keep up with Räikkönen these days. Not the best career.

AlphaTauri-Honda

10. Pierre Gasly - big talent. Semifailed at Red Bull, and got relegated to AplhaTauri. Then won a race last season.

22. Yuki Tsunoda - another talent. Shortest career before F1 of all the drivers. He’s a rookie this season.

Alpine-Renault

31. Esteban Ocon - grew up really poor, his parents devoted their life to helping his career. Still young. Lost his seat, and didn’t drive in the 2019 season. Performing well at the moment.

14. Fernando Alonso - F1 legend. Returning former world champion. Struggling to beat Ocon so far.

Aston Martin-Mercedes

5. Sebastien Vettel - another F1 legend, multiple world champion. Career in sharp decline.

18. Lance Stroll - billionaire’s son, his father even bought the team. Usually underperforms compared to the car and his teammate. Has a chance to beat a slipping Vettel.

Ferrari

16. Charles Leclerc - super good. One of the very best. Still young.

55. Carlos Sainz Jr. - has s real challenge in a somewhat weak Ferrari, and up against Leclerc. Good driver.

Haas-Ferrari

9. Nikita Mazepin - another billionaire’s kid. Looks clueless at this level so far.

47. Mick Schumacher - son of a legend, but has won F4, F3 and F2 in a few seasons. Potential.

McLaren-Mercedes

3. Daniel Ricciardo - has had a solid F1 career. Often the prince, but not quite the king. Fun guy. If he’s on the podium, everyone drinks from his shoe.

4. Lando Norris - potentially a future world champion. Outperforming Ricciardo so far, but it’s early days.

Mercedes

77. Valtteri Bottas - has failed to challenge Hamilton in a meaningful way. Not a bad driver.

44. Lewis Hamilton - the GOAT.

Red Bull Racing-Honda

33. Max Verstappen - arguably nr 1 in talent. Top top driver.

11. Sergio Perez - solid allrounder that’s finally in a top car. Usually better in races, than in quali.

Williams-Mercedes

6. Nicholas Latifi - rich kid with an unimpressive career.

63. George Russell - won everything until F1. Has been in the worst car, but impressed often. Never lost to a teammate in quali.

[Ello Sailor]

Thanks, Anders. It's cool that Kimi is still racing. Also great to see names like Sainz and Schumacher coming through.

How many more years do you think Hamilton can hold the crown? How old is he currently?

[Anders]

2021 F1 drivers and teams

1. Mercedes - Easily the best and most stable car.
2. Red Bull Racing-Honda - challenging Mercedes this season. Impressive.
3. Ferrari - should be up there, but has been really disappointing for a while now. Until two seasons ago they were top two, last season the car was probably only 4th-5th best.
4. McLaren-Mercedes - finally back in form last season, after years struggling with Honda engines.
5. Alpine-Renault - factory backing of the mighty Renault. Two good drivers. Should challenge near the top, but the car failed too often last season, and there are many changes this season (driver, team principal, name, differences in the car).
6. Aston Martin-Mercedes - not the best team, but after copying Mercedes last season, they were sometimes the third best team, or at least the car was, the drivers did so-so. Part of it was illegal, and they seem less stellar this season.
7. AlphaTauri-Honda - Red Bull b-team. Always do ok, with talented drivers.
8. Alfa Romeo-Ferrari - experienced drivers, and made nice progress last season, but not quite there in speed around the track.
9. Haas-Ferrari - two young rookies, team is already working exclusively on the 2022 car.
10. Williams-Mercedes - legendary team, but haven’t scored a point in years.

[Anders]

Thanks, Anders. It's cool that Kimi is still racing. Also great to see names like Sainz and Schumacher coming through.

How many more years do you think Hamilton can hold the crown? How old is he currently?

Hamilton is 36. Expect him to dominate this season. All new cars (new rules) next season. Who knows what will happen? Expect him to stay another couple of seasons after this one.

[Ello Sailor]

Are there any classic eras of F1 that you're drawn to, Anders? I've been watching Senna clips on YouTube and the man was incredible. I'm also partial to the cars of the 50's and 60's.

Also, if you could choose to attend one race, where would it be? Has to be Monaco, right?

[E.H. Ruddock]

For me definitely Monaco. The Senna era was great. There’s a great doco out there about him, i think it’s just called “One”.

Also Anders, did you see Grosjean placed second in his second Indy car race?

[Ello Sailor]

For me definitely Monaco. The Senna era was great. There’s a great doco out there about him, i think it’s just called “One”.

Hell yeah, thanks bruv.

[Anders]

I too highly recommend the Senna documentary. Senna was my favorite growing up, and I loved the races of that era.

The movie Rush is good about James Hunt and Niki Lauda.

Monaco has charm, class and magic, but if you ignore the scenery, it is often the worst race of the season.

I would love to go to Spa in Belgium, always a great time. The Canadian grand prix has also had some five star races.

[Anders]

Anders, did you see Grosjean placed second in his second Indy car race?

Yes, impressed with his season so far. Will be interesting to see how he does as it transpires.

[Ello Sailor]

The movie Rush is good about James Hunt and Niki Lauda.

Monaco has charm, class and magic, but if you ignore the scenery, it is often the worst race of the season.

I would love to go to Spa in Belgium, always a great time. The Canadian grand prix has also had some five star races.

Rush is underrated. Remarkable film.

What about the Canadian GP promotes exciting races?

[Anders]

Here’s a good article about it:
https://amp.formula1.com/en/latest/arti ... HmgmV.html

Clearly the main reason is the circuit. Lots of overtaking (the opposite of Monaco), difficult spots for the drivers, sometimes changing weather. Like Monaco, even the location and the geography is good.

[Anders]

Cool new design.

[Anders]

Monaco quali today. The most difficult race to pass in, so the qualification will be crucial.

[Ello Sailor]

Red Bull did very well in practice. This will (hopefully) be exciting.

[Ello Sailor]

I don't know what's going on. They're saying Leclerc intentionally ditched in order to cause a red flag once he had secured pole. Wtf!

[Ello Sailor]

After watching the footage, there's no way that was intentional. The risk of a gearbox replacement alone...

[Anders]

Don’t think it was intentional, but it did secure him pole position. Hamilton will start from 7th. Very very tough to pass track, but he’ll probably find a way.

[contamination]

I too highly recommend the Senna documentary. Senna was my favorite growing up, and I loved the races of that era.

The movie Rush is good about James Hunt and Niki Lauda.

Monaco has charm, class and magic, but if you ignore the scenery, it is often the worst race of the season.

I would love to go to Spa in Belgium, always a great time. The Canadian grand prix has also had some five star races.

Yeah if there's one documentary everyone should see, it is Senna. One of the best sports documentaries ever made (I think I've said this before). It is directed by Asif Kapadia who directed e.g. Amy about Amy Winehouse.