Funny, because I will admit to being a fanboy of Lewis. And I think he is a better and more complete F1 driver than Alonso.

Love this man. His abrasive personality may have alienated him to most teams in F1. But his desire and passion for racing anything anywhere is unmatched pretty much anywhere in the racing world today. Not just the desire, but the dedication. He puts so much effort into nailing each event and racing discipline, and…

It’s only unsafe when teams break protocol to try to gain an advantage, or a glitch happens in the pitstop timing. But that is dangerous now as well. Bahrain last year, Kimi ran over one of the poor mechanic’s legs because of an error in pit-timing releasing him early. With all the mechanics smothered in safety…

As far as the speed argument, driver satisfaction is something that must be considered though. If F1 is only marginally faster than F2 cars, then that isn’t particularly satisfying for drivers. Many drivers express a desire for 1500hp engines and crazy grippy tires.

The issue isn’t they can’t get alongside. The issue is they can’t get close enough to get alongside on the straights. Realistically, a drastic reduction in downforce is the only way to improve following, but drivers don’t seem to enjoy driving those. Many hated the 2014-2016 cars because they just slid around.

I think bringing refueling back would go a long way towards that end. Most of the weight now is a result of the strict crash safety standards, which is largely positive, plus the increased size for the high downforce regs post-2017. Drivers definitely enjoy high downforce now, so they won’t want to sacrifice too much…

It’s not entirely disingenuous. Cars are generally estimated to gain 2s in just in-season development/car understanding over a season. So Ferrari did a 1.17.1 last year and a 1.16.2 this season (both times they definitely kept some in hand). So including better conditions plus track surface evolution this year, that…

Agreed with drivers briefings. Unfortunately, the drivers and Charlie Whiting felt that they couldn’t be quite as candid and open as they usually are because of the cameras. That’s why they stopped doing it.

Yup, as I see it, Mercedes and Ferrari were too tight in a championship battle to allow the level of access for fear of sensitive information getting leaked to the other. Hence wanting strict control over what was filmed. Its disappointing but understandable. F1 is being touted as entertainment, but to Mercedes and…

Absolutely, and that is why at the moment, I think Susie Wolff and her D2BD program is far more important for female motorsport growth than W Series and any driver like Florsch and Calderon who have great PR machines but not much talent to back it up. By getting young girls to try karting, it can potentially fire up…

Sorry for digging up an old comment/article, but if your average Joe looks at the Mission Winnow logo or McLaren/British-American Tobacco’s “A Better Tomorrow” looks at it and doesn’t know what the hell it is, then what is the issue? Even after looking at the site, its pretty hard to tell what the hell PMI is talking…

Brilliant. Love it. Furthermore, I’d say instead of setting up separate series like W Series, build separate YDP like the Red Bull Junior Program. Pick up girls who are promising in karting and fund them in good teams into F3 and maybe F2. It’ll be clear at that point if they are the real deal, and then a team’s YDP…

Maybe. Palmer was garbage, and that showed with his teammate, and same with Vandoorne, who wasn’t garbage, but was destroyed by Alonso. It is tough in F1 outside the top 3, but drivers do stick around if they are capable. They may not land the top seat, but folks like Perez, Hulkenberg, and others do very well,…

Precisely. And yet this “journalist” insists that Hulkenberg is a mediocre middling driver who should move aside and make way for others? Total joke, and makes her look like she knows nothing about F1. And like you say, Lando Norris destroyed F3 with Carlin, and was a runner up in F2 with them. He is F1 material. Simil…

IMO, that’s a bit drastic to completely call it bullshit. It is by no means a perfect system, but that doesn’t mean it is wholly useless. Ticktum’s Winter series didn’t actually meet the qualifications for a Super License eligible series, but was accidentally listed anyway. Red Bull and Ticktum knew that, but decided…

Agreed. Junior series are pay to play, so there’s no reason to decry her for racing in F2. Though I hope no one starts talking about giving her an F1 drive unless she finishes highly in F2 this year.

Exactly. Instead of the stupid W series, they should’ve just made a fund that provides Young Driver Program level financial backing to the top female drivers.

Well, it kinda is. She has to qualify for an FIA super license, which is 40 points, accrued by finishing in the top 10 in major feeder series (finishing top 3 in F2 will give her all 40). So if she doesn’t, then she won’t be allowed to compete in F1, whether an F1 team wants her or not. The system was put in place to…

I don’t understand why people have a problem with her in F2, given it is a pay to play series as you say.

Firstly, I’m also surprised at why people say Calderon doesn’t deserve an F2 seat, as most junior series including F2 are pay to play. Funding is usually provided by a YDP of a major team like Red Bull or Ferrari. So money or team backing is the only qualification for an F2 seat, which she has.