[///M Power-Belgium]

Originally Posted by M5Rick

Don't think LEW will leave Ferrari, he's starting to get on well with Ricky

Yeah . And Roscoe loves the spaghetti .

[Killed by Death]

Originally Posted by ///M Power-Belgium

Yeah . And Roscoe loves the spaghetti .

KBD prefers Tacos

[Artemis]

Originally Posted by GuidoK

Personally I don't think Max is going anywhere. But then again, the fact that Hammy left to Ferrari took all of us by surprise, so I guess anything can happen

Wolff and Ratcliffe are hunting Verstappen since quite some time.

March 2024:



Russell still didn't get his contract extension. Do you see a pattern ?

[Artemis]

Originally Posted by Roman

Not all of us.

The key to connecting the dots to figure out early 2023 what Hamilton was expected to do: to know how relentlessly Wolff and Ratcliffe (INEOS) were/are trying to sign Verstappen. And in 2025, they're getting closer to their target. Notice how consistently kind Wolff remains vis-à-vis Verstappen and how cold he interacts with Russell (pole! race win! Wolff unfazed) + how Russell frantically tries, with statements and performance, to secure a Mercedes seat for 2026. Verstappen decides over Russell's 2026 future at Mercedes.

Educated guess: the very moment that Verstappen ran into Russell in the dying stages of the Barcelona GP, something must have snapped inside his mind (thoughts on RBR and on Russell). A defining moment. Very exceptionally, Verstappen wasn't in the mood for the usual post-race RBR team debriefing. Last time that happened, must have been Silverstone 2021 (for obvious reasons). Let's leave it for now at 'After the race, Verstappen left'.

"Helmut Marko pondered whether bad blood between Verstappen and Russell exacerbated the issue.
“There have already been issues in the past,” Marko said. “It was unnecessary, and a lot of points lost.
“But, because of all the incidents and wrong decisions that unfortunately happened, emotions simply got the better of him.
“And don’t forget – he’s already got a bit of a feud going on with Russell!”
Such were the emotions on the day, Red Bull avoided a “heated” debrief with the reigning World Champion, Marko saying: “Everyone has their own way. And when Max is in a mood like that, the best thing is to leave him alone.”"
https://www.planetf1.com/news/all-he...sh-gp-meltdown

Early bird 7 March 2023 post:
https://f87.bimmerpost.com/forums/sh...1#post29912611

[M5Rick]

Originally Posted by Killed by Death

KBD prefers Tacos

Too spicy for me, but wait that's Checo's favourite too.

[M5Rick]

Originally Posted by ///M Power-Belgium

Yeah . And Roscoe loves the spaghetti .

I didn't know that, with or without tomato ketchup

[Artemis]

More news about Wolff - Russell - Verstappen:

Wolff: "George has been in the Mercedes junior program since he was 16, so whether he wins a race or what kind of performance he has will have no bearing on the decision."

Of course not. Wolff is merely waiting for a Verstappen phone-call. If it doesn't materialize, Russell will get his 1-year extension.

[M5Rick]

Originally Posted by Artemis

Wolff and Ratcliffe are hunting Verstappen since quite some time.

March 2024:



Russell still didn't get his contract extension. Do you see a pattern ?

They can try

[M5Rick]

Originally Posted by Artemis

More news about Wolff - Russell - Verstappen:

Attachment 3760990

MAX is an employee of Red Bull Racing based in Milton Keynes, UK and the decision to formulate protests against other teams as seen fit by the RBR team is nothing to do with MAX or his opinion at the time. That won't stop Russell from continuing his cat and mouse game with MAX up to and beyond next weekends Spielberg.

[Artemis]

Originally Posted by M5Rick

MAX is an employee of Red Bull Racing based in Milton Keynes, UK and the decision to formulate protests against other teams as seen fit by the RBR team is nothing to do with MAX or his opinion at the time.

It's also a way for RBR to attempt securing WDC points, keeping Verstappen in the loop, contract-wise.

[///M Power-Belgium]

Originally Posted by M5Rick

MAX is an employee of Red Bull Racing based in Milton Keynes, UK and the decision to formulate protests against other teams as seen fit by the RBR team is nothing to do with MAX or his opinion at the time. That won't stop Russell from continuing his cat and mouse game with MAX up to and beyond next weekends Spielberg.

McLaren's one-year advantage (!)

[M5Rick]

Originally Posted by Artemis

It's also a way for RBR to attempt securing WDC points, keeping Verstappen in the loop, contract-wise.

I wouldn't be surprised if Wolff is telling Russell to rein his private war with MAX in and Russells' curt smiley reply of ''Don't you want me to win then Toto' ...

[///M Power-Belgium]

Originally Posted by M5Rick

I wouldn't be surprised if Wolff is telling Russell to rein his private war with MAX in and Russells' curt smiley reply of ''Don't you want me to win then Toto' ...

Whatever it takes ,Wolff just wants to get the number 1 on his Benz car

[wizardofOz]

I hope Georgina loses out either way..

[M5Rick]

Originally Posted by ///M Power-Belgium

McLaren's one-year advantage (!)

So was Montreal the calm before the next storm from McLaren with both the tyre/brake cooling and the advanced stable suspension.

[M5Rick]

Originally Posted by ///M Power-Belgium

Whatever it takes ,Wolff just wants to get the number 1 on his Benz car

RUS will be doing his best to derail that.

[Fillip]

After a disappointing result in Canada, it won't be a surprise if we see both McLaren drivers back on the podium in Austria.

[M5Rick]

Originally Posted by Fillip

After a disappointing result in Canada, it won't be a surprise if we see both McLaren drivers back on the podium in Austria.

I'm not so sure if the 'no number one, we still race Laren order is still in force with PIA and NOR. Lando: 'If I see a gap I'll go for it but I plan to be ahead of Oscar here'

[HeelToeShift]

Originally Posted by Fillip

After a disappointing result in Canada, it won't be a surprise if we see both McLaren drivers back on the podium in Austria.

I only foresee them being on podium if their car is a complete animal in Austria. If the car isnt fastest by .4 or 5 tenths (or more) and they need to actually extract the most from the car I only give each of them a 50/50 shot. They simply arent the types of drivers who perform all that well unless the car is head and shoulders above all the others.

[M5Rick]

I don't think there'll be a repeat of last year when Lando and MAX tangled for one reason or another leading to a DNF for LAN and a podium-less finish for MAX but some papaya and blue situations may well happen with a different final scenario and lucky last years winner RUS's input I expect will run out of steam.

[G30M]

BMW wins the 24 hrs of Nurburgring 2025. They were a few seconds behind Porsche but they didn't need to overtake the Porsche because the Porsche carried a 1.5 min penalty. Porsche was given the penalty after doing a Lando Norris (going for a gap that wasn't there) due to too much pressure from the faster chasing BMW, flipping an Aston Martin on its head in the process. After that the BMW didn't need to pass, they just followed and won.

[HeelToeShift]

Originally Posted by Artemis

Wolff and Ratcliffe are hunting Verstappen since quite some time.

March 2024:



Russell still didn't get his contract extension. Do you see a pattern ?

Because even Wolff knows and has seen the same data as Lauda did. Max is better, faster, more talented, better in the race, better in quali, and he can drive anything fast - whether it suits him or not. Ham cannot do a thing with an F1 car unless it's the fastest by miles and there isnt anyone else with a capable car.