2025 F1 Thread

DejaBrew said:
Will Buxton not afraid to call a spade a spade after his move away from the F1 paddock....

https://twitter.com/x/status/1905184344500564446
Click to expand...



I’ve noticed a reticence among the Sky commentators to criticise some of the teams and individually In the sport.
I haven’t heard them mention of the controversial leadership of Mohammed Ben Sulayem, or Red Bull’s “issues”.
Maybe they’ve learnt from Ted Kravitz after Red Bull froze him out following his criticism of VER 2021 championship win.
It’s a shame, but I guess it’s a dilemma, you can’t afford to be ostracised by the participants of a sport you’re reporting on ?
 
kelvedon said:
I’ve noticed a reticence among the Sky commentators to criticise some of the teams and individually In the sport.
I haven’t heard them mention of the controversial leadership of Mohammed Ben Sulayem, or Red Bull’s “issues”.
Maybe they’ve learnt from Ted Kravitz after Red Bull froze him out following his criticism of VER 2021 championship win.
It’s a shame, but I guess it’s a dilemma, you can’t afford to be ostracised by the participants of a sport you’re reporting on ?
Click to expand...
That situation with RBR "boycotting" Ted was utterly ridiculous and showed how thin-skinned the team and VER were at that time. Could easily be argued that they haven't improved in the ensuing period.

I've noticed Martin has become more willing to voice an opinion on certain incidents (even if he manages to soften the blow through his phrasing), but yes, the Sky team do seem to be more cautious in levelling any criticism towards drivers/teams/FIA. And I agree that it's very much a shame as we expect them to be pundits with thoughts and opinions who can help the viewer understand what's going on and provide insight and context.

Any controversial topics should of course be discussed and covered with respect and balance, but the media should be free to broach such topics with freedom and the teams/drivers/FIA should expect to deal with such topics on occasion. Most are perfectly capable of handling it - after all, they're heavily coached/managed by PR/media teams. But some just can't handle the difficult topics.

In the lead up to Suzuka, RBR + VCARB + TSU + LAW should all expect to be heavily queried over the whole LAW/TSU swap debacle, and they should be well-prepared for the eventuality. Will be interested to see how the Sky team discuss the matter and how RB/VCARB respond to the questions and (likely) criticisms that are set to be directed their way.
 
Seems Crofty is now having a say…

apple.news

Crofty slams Red Bull “knee jerk reactions” after driver swap — CODE Sports

Sky Sports Formula One commentator David Croft has hit out at the Red Bull team, over their driver swap, saying the team’s once strong driver development has lost its way.
apple.news apple.news

Not sure if people can access that link, so the relevant quotes are -:

“Helmut Marko and Christian Horner need to sit down and say, ‘Right, where is our conveyor belt of talent? Who is coming through? And how do we make a long term plan now to stop making knee-jerk reactions that don’t do the team any good and certainly don’t do the drivers any good.

“They had, at one time, the best driver development program on the planet.

“But maybe they’re a bit like (English Premier League team) Chelsea, they signed too many players, their substitute bench was creaking under the weight and they had to off-load because they couldn’t find spaces for all their drivers.

“Now, they probably haven’t got that conveyor belt of talent coming through and ready for a seat at the top team at this particular time.

“It takes a bit of time if you’re not a Max Verstappen if you’re not a Kimi Antonelli, if you’re not a Lewis Hamilton to ease yourself into the world of Formula 1, you sometimes need a bit of time.”

“What I would love to know is how they made the decision about Liam Lawson in the first place?

“They have all the data from RB, it is their sister team, they can compare Max Verstappen to Liam Lawson, Yuki Tsunoda to Checo Perez as it was last year.

“They have got all the data they need to make the right decision, but they seem to keep making the wrong decision.

“But what data did they use and why is it now after two races they are going to discard that data and bring in Yuki Tsunoda who is the driver they didn’t think worthy of and haven’t thought worthy of for some time now.

“They have got all the data they need, but they seem to keep making the wrong decision.“

I’m sure Horner and Marko won’t appreciate those views.
 
https://twitter.com/x/status/1905572279565574222

Full quote if you can’t see it above…

“Red Bull uniquely has a junior team on the grid so it’s doubly confusing they are in such a mess with drivers. And their only driver they desperately need appears to be casting around for the future. Liam Lawson’s reputation is temporarily trashed and he has nothing to lose now. He should turn that into an advantage and let his natural talent flow”
 
I think there is a deep cultural problem at Red Bull and the car being slow and the driver turnover are symptoms of that, along with the backgrounding of the media about the unproven allegations around Horner, the departure of Newey all point to Helmut Marko as being the problem that has manifested too long in the team to be recoverable.
 
But then Jack Doohan benefited from that last year when he was the reserve driver. Although it does seem a bit odd for Alpine to have four reserve drivers with Colapinto, Aron, Hirakawa, and Maini. Lots of pressure for Jack :(
 
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No issues with the young driver program (indeed it's mandated, albeit typically used later in the year).

But Alpine have another driver who is not under the same pressure or if some of the rumours are believed, short term contract.
 
kookaburra75 said:
But then Jack Doohan benefited from that last year when he was the reserve driver. Although it does seem a bit odd for Alpine to have four reserve drivers with Colapinto, Aron, Hirakawa, and Maini. Lots of pressure for Jack :(
Click to expand...
Flavio being Flavio....

As for Doohan last year, true he benefited, but that was also when it was expected that Ocon and Gasly would both be staying at Alpine. They weren't actively auditioning Doohan for a seat. Well, at least not until their relationship with Ocon blew up...
 
eastwest101 said:
I think there is a deep cultural problem at Red Bull and the car being slow and the driver turnover are symptoms of that, along with the backgrounding of the media about the unproven allegations around Horner, the departure of Newey all point to Helmut Marko as being the problem that has manifested too long in the team to be recoverable.
Click to expand...

IMG_3954.jpeg

Helmut:***cackles like Star Wars Emperor***
 
Without Newey and a partially new engine provider in 2026, there have to be serious questions about RBR and RB next year.

Albeit any new engine era brings surprised (eg. Braun)
 

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