2024 F1 News and Prediction League

[pharvey]

You need to get a life mate! It is a bloody game for interested people to watch, just like any other "sporting" endeavour!
The only differnce with this game is the prize money! You could also take a quick look at the wording of the title of the thread.

Oh dear.....

[pharvey]

So, have double checked and pretty sure this comes under the wording/title of the thread....

As the Homer scandal rages on with Crashappen and Snr threatening Lord knows what, yet another issue for F1 has raised it's ugly head: -

Mohammed Ben Sulayem: FIA President Under Investigation for Alleged Attempt to Interfere Over F1 Race

"Mohammed Ben Sulayem, president of motorsport's governing body the FIA, is under investigation for allegedly interfering over a Formula 1 race result.

A whistleblower has told the FIA that Ben Sulayem allegedly intervened to overturn a penalty given to Aston Martin's Fernando Alonso at the 2023 Saudi Arabian Grand Prix.

The claim is in a report by an FIA compliance officer to its ethics committee, which has been seen by BBC Sport.

Ben Sulayem and the FIA have not responded to requests for comment.

The allegation made by the whistleblower is that Ben Sulayem called Sheikh Abdullah bin Hamad bin Isa Al Khalifa - the FIA's vice-president for sport for the Middle East and North Africa region, who was in Saudi Arabia for the race in an official capacity - and made it clear he thought Alonso's penalty should be revoked.

Alonso had been given a 10-second penalty for work done on his car while he was serving a previous five-second penalty.

The report, by compliance officer Paolo Basarri, says the whistleblower reported that Ben Sulayem "pretended the stewards to overturn their decision to issue" the penalty to Alonso.

In Italian, the word "pretendere" means to require or expect.

The ethics committee is expected to take four to six weeks to issue its report.

The penalty in question had dropped Alonso from third place - behind Red Bull drivers Sergio Perez and Max Verstappen - to fourth, also behind Mercedes' George Russell. Withdrawing it returned him to a podium position."

Full Article @ https://www.bbc.co.uk/sport/formula1/68465516

[pharvey]

Early changes for Alpine - just a single race and two key staff down already!!

Formula 1: Alpine Pair Resign After Poor Start at Bahrain GP

"The Alpine team have reorganised their design department in the wake of a poor start to the season and the departure of their technical boss.

Esteban Ocon and Pierre Gasly qualified on the back row of the grid at the first race of the season in Bahrain and finished 17th and 18th respectively.

Technical director Matt Harman and head of aerodynamics Dirk de Beer have resigned from their roles.

They will be replaced by a new structure under team boss Bruno Famin.

Mirroring the organisation introduced by McLaren early last year, Alpine will now have three technical directors responsible for key areas of design."

https://www.bbc.co.uk/sport/formula1/68470753

[pharvey]

All going a tad pear-shaped at Red BS (well off track anyway). Continued threats from the 'happens, denials from Homer and now the woman at the center of it all is suspended - of course, zero details provided..... So much for transparency! This is certainly not going away - will Crashappen though?

Red Bull Suspend Woman who Accused Christian Horner of Inappropriate Behaviour

"The woman who accused team principal Christian Horner of inappropriate behaviour has been suspended by Red Bull.

Allegations of inappropriate and controlling behaviour had been made against the 50-year-old, which he denied.

After an internal investigation, Red Bull's board dismissed the complaint last week.

"The company cannot comment on this internal matter," a spokesperson said."

More to follow.

https://www.bbc.co.uk/sport/formula1/68501426

Also as a heads up, Free Practice for the Saudi Arabian GP has just begun - once again, Race Day falls on a Saturday, so Qualifying begins Friday. Players in the Prediction League will need to make their picks before the start of Qualifying to get their "Early Bru Points".
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Good luck to (almost) all!!

[EDIT] Should add all times are UK.

[PeteC]

I don't like that Saudi track, at least the part televised during practice. It looks like a big cage fight arena! I don't know the history, but not surprised if a lot of accidents and wall scraping during races there.

[pharvey]

I don't like that Saudi track, at least the part televised during practice. It looks like a big cage fight arena! I don't know the history, but not surprised if a lot of accidents and wall scraping during races there.

They've only been racing there for a few years and it is after all a Street Circuit at the end of the day - despite being bloody quick. Changes have actually been made to the circuit after drivers complained about poor visibility/blind corners but still "dodgy" to say the least. As for the fencing/barriers, with it being a Street Circuit, a fair bit of added protection is required with buildings/stands etc. closer to the action than at most circuits.

Can't say I particularly like the layout myself. A few near misses in Free Practice certainly points to a few Yellow Flags possibly Red(s) during the Main Race..... Could make a mockery of things.

Free Practice 3 and Qualifying coming up....

[Big Boy]

I've just received the following e-mail. Just sharing in case you haven't picked up on it.

Hi there,
There's just been a significant update from F1 regarding this weekend's Saudi Grand Prix as Ferrari's Carlos Sainz has been ruled out with appendicitis and requires surgery.

Sainz will be replaced for the remainder of the race weekend by 18-year old British driver Oliver Bearman who will be making his F1 debut.

On Superbru, any picks for Carlos Sainz have been auto-updated to Oliver Bearman. However, since you are likely to wish to manually update your picks after this news, you can do so now ahead of the EBP deadline via the button below.

[pharvey]

^ Yes, just picked it up myself thanks. He wasn't well at all in Free Practice and I was amazed he got in the car the way he looked.

Of course I'm hoping (and assuming it's not too serious and has been caught early) in saying this, but it's a real pity he's not racing, as he does tend to prefer Street Circuits and this GP could have been very interesting from that point of view.....

Anywho - hope he's back to full fitness soon.

[pharvey]

Oh Cr@p, I really do wish I'd stop watching Free Practice before making my picks.... I manage to tie myself in knots - despite knowing that it's "Free" Practice for a reason and settings, fuel loads, tyres can all be different.

Crashappen obviously the favourite, but Perez is great on this circuit, LH having issues with his backend , McLaren a Dark Horse, Alonso in great form despite the car & at 18 years of age, Ollie Bearman replacing the ill Sainz becomes the youngest British driver to race in F1.

Could be an interesting race - I just hope not stuffed up by Yellow/Red Flags - a Red Flag in the latter stages of FP3 may mean Zhou will miss Qualifying (he's fine, the car not so much).

[pharvey]

Cracking Qualifying session IMHO and sorry to upset those when I say I'm pi$$ed off with Crashappen and Red BS leading the pack - hey, isn't there a similar bit in Wendyball with Man City getting away with murder (or is it just favouritism)?

Massive from Alonso, the man is a bloody legend! Mercedes having problems, more with handling than power though I think, McLaren have played a blinder and Leclerc is still in the mix. Tactics with regards to tyre selection and gambling on Yellow/Red Flags may be the key to this race I think.

Bearman though has to be the story of the day - 18 years old, 11th Place on the Grid and he'd missed out on FP1 and FP2!! Incredibly humble in pointing out his own errors and lack of experience..... Very much unlike Crashappen at any stage of his career The Scuderia are building well - LH with his knowledge/experience (and what/who he may bring in 2025), Leclerc and now the likes of Bearman waiting in the wings.

The GRID: -
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[Nereus]

The Scuderia are building well - LH with his knowledge/experience (and what/who he may bring in 2025)

So just to show that you are not biased, why has this not been posted:

HAMILTON WARNED, MERCEDES FINED FOR IMPEDING IN SAUDI F1 PRACTICE

https://au.motorsport.com/f1/news/hamil ... /10584526/

Lewis Hamilton has been warned and his Mercedes Formula 1 team fined for impeding the Williams of Logan Sargeant in second practice for the Saudi Arabian Grand Prix.

While on a hot lap through the Jeddah Corniche Circuit's snaking high-speed blasts, Sargeant had to take evading action to avoid a slow-driving Lewis Hamilton through Turn 10.
As Hamilton moved over to the racing line, Sargeant had to jink right to cross the kerbs, labelling the near-miss as "dangerous" on the team radio.

After the session Hamilton and Sargeant were both called to the stewards, who handed out a warning to Hamilton and a 15,000-euro fine to Mercedes for what they deemed a "serious failure" to keep its driver informed of oncoming traffic.

[pharvey]

Apologies, I'd missed this - a tad late on parade after that weekend

The Scuderia are building well - LH with his knowledge/experience (and what/who he may bring in 2025)

So just to show that you are not biased, why has this not been posted:

HAMILTON WARNED, MERCEDES FINED FOR IMPEDING IN SAUDI F1 PRACTICE

Oh, I'm very biased.... Especially when it's against Red BS and Crashappen and of course pro Mercedes and LH - that said, I have a great deal of respect for several other drivers and teams

As to why I didn't post that particular article or similar - I simply didn't think it was big news. As mentioned above, there were several near misses during Free Practice and Qualifying and no driver was penalised. I think it was fair enough for Mercedes to be fined as it appears they did not warn Hamilton of a driver being on a "fast lap" and LH was "reportedly" also avoiding Sainz at the time of the incident.

Near misses continued in the Main Race - part and parcel of the circuit itself, so perhaps that needs to be looked at (again). "Unsafe Releases" in the Pit Lane however......

Anywho, a fairly ominous result - a good driver in an excellent car - hard to tell these days how truly good Crashappen is as he hasn't had to do much for God knows how many races - and the majority of the time has Perez acting as a buffer

Mercedes again look in all kinds of trouble - way off the pace and very much stuck on the drawing board (if not 4th or 5th Row). Another class race from Alonso - Aston must be desperate to keep hold of him. Ferrari are the nearest to Red BS, but hardly close.... Leclerc in P3, but all plaudits (including Driver of the Day) went to Oliver Bearman in his F1 Debut as a reserve driver for the ill Sainz.... 18 years old, driving in a Ferrari and coming in 7th.... Not bad, not bad at all!! Rumour has it, Bearman will earn an F1 seat not with Ferrari, but with one of the "New Teams" in the not too distant future.... Hmmmmm

SAUDI GP - FINAL RESULT: -
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HHF/SUPERBRU PREDICTION LEAGUE: -
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It's not often we see "Vital Spark" with the Wooden Spoon AND at the bottom of the League... Along with "Parahandy" mid-table now is it??? A changing of the guard (along with Crashappen) is on the cards!!
The Yellow Cap goes to "Dai_L" who will no doubt congratulate himself, so congrats from the Forum can be waived this Round!!
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Next up the Australian GP taking place over 22nd - 24th March

[Nereus]

I think it was fair enough for Mercedes to be fined as it appears they did not warn Hamilton of a driver being on a "fast lap" and LH was "reportedly" also avoiding Sainz at the time of the incident.

First up I am very glad to see you posting, as your absence was worrying.

But, but, but, doesn't Hamilton have a rear view mirror on his car? Supposedly one of the most experienced drivers on the track making a rookie mistake.

[pharvey]

First up I am very glad to see you posting, as your absence was worrying.

Well thank you... I think

But, but, but, doesn't Hamilton have a rear view mirror on his car? Supposedly one of the most experienced drivers on the track making a rookie mistake.

Now, now, don't spoil it. You know full well LH's brilliance (and obvious experience) only allows him to see halfway around "Blind Corners"

[Nereus]

Interesting comments here:
...........................................................................................
‘Nothing against Fernando Alonso – but it can’t be the goal of F1 to get older and older’

https://www.msn.com/en-au/sport/motorsp ... r-BB1jRPCl

Six-time F1 Grand Prix winner Ralf Schumacher wants to see young and talented drivers get more opportunities in Formula 1, saying with all due respect to Fernando Alonso, the series cannot look for an “older and older” grid.

Drivers racing on for longer appears to be a growing trend in Formula 1, with Alonso still firing on all cylinders at Aston Martin in a season during which he will turn 43, while seven-time World Champion Lewis Hamilton will be 40 by the time he debuts for Ferrari in 2025.

Alonso very much serves as Formula 1 proof that ‘age is just a number’, a phrase getting used more and more as the two-time World Champion shows no signs of slowing down from an ability standpoint at Aston Martin.

However, Schumacher does not believe an ageing F1 grid is a positive sign, arguing that more should be done to create a pathway onto the grid for young talent.

Speaking to Speedweek, Schumacher proposed an increase in testing days, not exclusive to the current F1 drivers, “to break this vicious circle, to give young drivers a chance again”.

While 2021 Formula 2 champion Oscar Piastri did find his way onto the F1 grid with McLaren, it came after a season spent on the sidelines following his title win, while 2022 and 2023 champions respectively Felipe Drugovich and Theo Pourchaire have been left without an F1 seat.

“And the now 42-year-old Alonso is driving instead,” Schumacher stressed. “Nothing against Alonso – but it can’t be the aim of Formula 1 to get older and older.”

Aston Martin’s Fernando Alonso talks to the media at the 2024 Saudi Arabian Grand Prix.
© PA Images

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