[3798j]

Originally Posted by NickyC

...but where do you go after being the Team Principal at Ferrari?

Looks like he's been approached by the Italian football team Juventus.

https://www.gpblog.com/en/news/29094...-juventus.html

[tdott]

My take was that Ferrari had the better car in the first half of the year.

Second half, Mercs caught up in terms of quali pace and surpassed in race pace. Coupled with the poor team choices and some very slight and 1 big driver mistake, Ferrari's luck ran out and they just couldn't keep up with the Mercs in the 2nd half.

You have to give credit to the Mercs for their progress, then their hard work to choose the right strategy for a couple of races where Ferrari seemed to get it wrong. Then LH for really getting the most out of the car and being the most consistent driver with few mistakes.

Bottas got the bad end of the stick this year, yes he didn't perform well but he started off well and it was bad luck that kept him back, then in the 2nd half he was playing 2nd fiddle to LH and as a result some of his races were compromised to get LH ahead. That and he seemed to lose his mojo in the 2nd half and was just cruising around. Definitely didn't live upto his potential.

Hopefully this year will shake things up a bit, hopefully Honda has a strong engine, hopefully there are more cars in the mix and the racing is more exciting.

[minn19]

Originally Posted by NickyC

It has to really hurt losing a job like that. I mean most occupations etc. at least have the opportunity for lateral movement if you quit/get fired, but where do you go after being the Team Principal at Ferrari?

Retire somewhere(s) nice with a shit ton of money?

[mk1-fan]

Originally Posted by URBAN LEGEND

Good. Vetted lost the title rather than Lewis won it. Vettel was so far ahead before the summer break and then the collapse.

Vettel made way too many mistakes on his own. Not good enough.

[mk1-fan]

Originally Posted by madmax240

This will be interesting. Arrivabene was exhausted by the end of last year. so a change in the team is likely a net positive. as long as the change to Binotto is not too disruptive. Leclerc joining will very likely put pressure on Vettel. I think it could go either way for Ferrari. IMHO, I think the odds on LH taking another WDC shortened a little.

Too many variables right now. who knows, Bottas could implode and never be in the right position to be the wingman. leaving LH exposed to 2 fast ferrari cars.

I think this will put Ferrari a year back. They have clearly struggled with car development in the 2nd half of last year. Now, with this disruption, I reckon they will be even further behind.

Merc is the only top team with no changes going into this year. With all the rule changes, I think they will once again be too strong to beat.

As for Leclerc, I think he is going to put a lot of pressure on Vettel, and might actually beat him in a few races.

[MrPrena]

The Mob dude is out!

[Poiseuille]

Originally Posted by NickyC

It has to really hurt losing a job like that. I mean most occupations etc. at least have the opportunity for lateral movement if you quit/get fired, but where do you go after being the Team Principal at Ferrari?

the FIA?
.

[Poiseuille]

Arrivabene should have crashed into the side of Seb's car on the way out

[scflaw]

There was a youtube channel that broke down why ferrari had a faster car in the beginning of the season. Apparently they had something with the battery technology that allowed them to have 1-2 seconds more of DRS compared to the Benz. Mercedes complained and they had to remove it but was not publicly announced. Of course this is all conjecture without proof. Although they really screwed the pooch in Italy when they catastrophically screwed up the pit strategy.

[six_timer]

Originally Posted by scflaw

There was a youtube channel that broke down why ferrari had a faster car in the beginning of the season. Apparently they had something with the battery technology that allowed them to have 1-2 seconds more of DRS compared to the Benz. Mercedes complained and they had to remove it but was not publicly announced. Of course this is all conjecture without proof. Although they really screwed the pooch in Italy when they catastrophically screwed up the pit strategy.

This may very well be true, and might have brought them closer to equal with Mercedes. But this whole "Ferrari was faster" thing is not actually correct.

In the first 11 races, it was 5 poles each for Ferrari and Mercedes, and 1 for RBR. To me, that doesn't say "Ferrari was faster". And Vettel only won 4 races in the first half, same as Hamilton. Other factors contributed to Vettel's points lead.

[MrPrena]

When non-Italian was principal of S.F., they were thriving. Maybe this will be a good thing.

Drivers' Champions
Italy Alberto Ascari (1952, 1953)
Argentina Juan Manuel Fangio (1956)
United Kingdom Mike Hawthorn (1958)
United States Phil Hill (1961)
United Kingdom John Surtees (1964)
Austria Niki Lauda (1975, 1977)
South Africa Jody Scheckter (1979)
Germany Michael Schumacher (2000, 2001, 2002, 2003, 2004)
Finland Kimi Räikkönen (2007)


Team Principals/Sporting Directors
Italy Cesare Fiorio (1989–1991)
France Jean Todt (1993–2007)
Italy Stefano Domenicali (2007–2014)
Italy Marco Mattiacci (2014)
Italy Maurizio Arrivabene (2014–2019)
Switzerland Mattia Binotto (2019–)

[MKSixer]

Originally Posted by five_timer

This may very well be true, and might have brought them closer to equal with Mercedes. But this whole "Ferrari was faster" thing is not actually correct.

In the first 11 races, it was 5 poles each for Ferrari and Mercedes, and 1 for RBR. To me, that doesn't say "Ferrari was faster". And Vettel only won 4 races in the first half, same as Hamilton. Other factors contributed to Vettel's points lead.

The Ferrari was faster for the first half + of the year. This is undisputed by all but the most strident Ferrari fans. The speed range between 150kph and 250kph was the sweet spot for their illegal battery deployment, not additional DRS. Lewis Hamilton first noticed it as the car was accelerating at a greater rate in this speed range. The greater media and many others believed that it was sour grapes but gps data, which is available to all teams for all teams confirmed Mr. Hamilton's assertion.

The advantage was lost when the FIA quietly made them revert back to the previous spec.

[Bartledoo]

Originally Posted by MKSixer

The Ferrari was faster for the first half + of the year. This is undisputed by all but the most strident Ferrari fans. The speed range between 150kph and 250kph was the sweet spot for their illegal battery deployment, not additional DRS. Lewis Hamilton first noticed it as the car was accelerating at a greater rate in this speed range. The greater media and many others believed that it was sour grapes but gps data, which is available to all teams for all teams confirmed Mr. Hamilton's assertion.

The advantage was lost when the FIA quietly made them revert back to the previous spec.

Acceleration advantage of the Ferrari during the period was undeniable, but not necessarily overall speed across an entire lap.

[six_timer]

Originally Posted by MKSixer

The Ferrari was faster for the first half + of the year. This is undisputed by all but the most strident Ferrari fans.

I love when a person's debating tactic is to just make-up facts, but state them assertively. Face it, you have absolutely no idea how many people dispute this theory, unless you've managed to conduct a worldwide poll behind my back.

You may be referring to a legitimate technical advantage that Ferrari had, but the plain facts are that Ferrari didn't have more poles or wins than Mercedes in the 1st half of the season. So while a sampling of opinion may favor Ferrari being faster, it doesn't mean they were.

Perhaps what's more accurate is this: the battery trick put Ferrari more on par with Mercedes in the 1st half, and then they dropped back. That would be supported by the season's results.

[MKSixer]

Originally Posted by five_timer

I love when a person's debating tactic is to just make-up facts, but state them assertively. Face it, you have absolutely no idea how many people dispute this theory, unless you've managed to conduct a worldwide poll behind my back.

You may be referring to a legitimate technical advantage that Ferrari had, but the plain facts are that Ferrari didn't have more poles or wins than Mercedes in the 1st half of the season. So while a sampling of opinion may favor Ferrari being faster, it doesn't mean they were.

Perhaps what's more accurate is this: the battery trick put Ferrari more on par with Mercedes in the 1st half, and then they dropped back. That would be supported by the season's results.

You're killing me. Go and read some of the GP press reports. I'm not speaking of driver performance which you are speaking of with regard to poles or wins. Look at Bottas vs Vettel.

The Ferrari was faster until they quietly removed the battery advantage. Period. End of story. Read the stats yourself. Ferrari won 4 races to Mercedes 3 prior to Hamilton engaging GOD MODE in the German Grand Prix and administering a tonking to the entire sport.

[///M Power-Belgium]

Originally Posted by MKSixer

You're killing me. Go and read some of the GP press reports. I'm not speaking of driver performance which you are speaking of with regard to poles or wins. Look at Bottas vs Vettel.

The Ferrari was faster until they quietly removed the battery advantage. Period. End of story. Read the stats yourself. Ferrari won 4 races to Mercedes 3 prior to Hamilton engaging GOD MODE in the German Grand Prix and administering a tonking to the entire sport.

=> https://www.autosport.com/f1/news/14...tappen-smiling

[MKSixer]

Originally Posted by ///M Power-Belgium

=> https://www.autosport.com/f1/news/14...tappen-smiling

We're going to have a season for the history books this year!!

[///M Power-Belgium]

Originally Posted by MKSixer

We're going to have a season for the history books this year!!

Yeah . Let us hope my friend . When Max is smiling , it has to be very promising . The (Honda) thrill is on !
=>

And the RB15 sounds pretty good ...

[mk1-fan]

Originally Posted by ///M Power-Belgium

=> https://www.autosport.com/f1/news/14...tappen-smiling

BUT, is it a genuine smile, or a PR smile?


JK, I also hope we can have a 3 way title fight.

[///M Power-Belgium]

Originally Posted by mk1-fan

BUT, is it a genuine smile, or a PR smile?


JK, I also hope we can have a 3 way title fight.

A 3 way title fight ? OFC...Let us hope my friend . Within one month we will know it in Australia .
Max proved he can do more with less , and more than once ! So , let us hope the new Honda power source can give him more...
Actually the suspense and the thrill is already on !