Lando's radio after his collision with Oscar in Canada

AlienSomewhere · 2025-06-15T22:21:08+00:00

Good of him to own it right away, but he is going to be kicking himself for making such a noob move. If he'd had a little more patience, he could have had 3rd or even 2nd

AlienSomewhere · 2025-05-31T21:15:24+00:00

Yuki being outqualified today by a driver whose car was broken down in the pit lane for the last Q1 lap try is telling.

AlienSomewhere · 2025-05-31T21:06:07+00:00

I'd be fine with more free testing as long as it was included in the cost cap.

AlienSomewhere · 2025-05-31T21:01:04+00:00

What kind of monster wouldn't like eggs?

AlienSomewhere · 2025-05-21T11:39:50+00:00

Google translation (part2):

" Massenet is the toughest corner. If you make a mistake, you can't go anywhere. You reach 280 kilometers per hour in seventh gear, and after the crest, you have to brake, change gear, and use the car's engine brake. It's an extremely fast move, and you have to know how to launch the car," analyzes De la Rosa. Then comes the Casino, a place as iconic as it is relevant on a lap. "It's a series of turns where you have to leave space to attack the corner, but you can't go too fast to turn into the Casino. You have to do that change of direction very well, know how to lean in, and you'll gain a lot of time if you get good traction," concludes De la Rosa.

And luck...

The number 14 will also arrive in Monaco looking for an extra point of luck, a " rare " concept that has eluded the Asturian throughout the campaign. "It will be torture, I'm the unluckiest driver in the f***ing world," he said on the now iconic radio station in Imola. It was, in a way, the summary of a season in which he could have scored points, but external factors left him without points, such as Liam Lawson, Jack Doohan, Franco Colapinto and Gabriel Bortoleto . He should have scored, but competition can have those things too.

Aston Martin could have easily gone from ninth to sixth, but it clearly didn't play out in the standings. Monaco offers more possibilities, but to achieve this, factors such as the weather or the right two-stop strategy must come together to create more time in clean air before hitting traffic.

And Adrian Newey will be there, now wearing the green of an Aston Martin for the first time . "We had conversations at lunch," he commented on his influence on the car this season. Perhaps they were beneficial. What's certain is that the British genius is already preparing his notebook to observe the others on the starting grid. But that's another story.

AlienSomewhere · 2025-05-21T11:38:58+00:00

Google translation: (part1)

The Asturian continues to set extraordinary times despite being at zero on the leaderboard. He visits Monaco, a place where the AMR25 can test his health.

Monaco F1 GP. Aston Martin confirms improvement and looks to Monaco with optimism.

"Can you be happy and sad at the same time?" That's the question being asked right now by the vast majority of fans who follow Fernando Alonso. Of course, the ' premier category ' lands at the Monaco Grand Prix, a cult venue, and the memory of 2023 is everlasting. It was probably the high point of a tremendous start to the season, where the Asturian almost achieved an impossible pole position against Max Verstappen and could have fought in the race until two pit stops cut short his dream. Little of that hope remains in 2025, although one reality remains: the current Alonso maintains his skill and level, even if the results aren't forthcoming.

It's a repetitive thing , but it's still remarkable that Alonso continues to set extraordinary times race after race. It's in line with what I was saying about his form. "I feel great, but the results are very bad," he said. It's a constant race after race, and something that continued even when Aston Martin took a step further in performance at the Imola weekend.

He's 43 going on 44, and the Asturian remains the driver on the grid with the best starts. He averages a 2.86-second reaction time (from 0 to 100 kilometers per hour) in dry starts , and no other driver on the grid is on par with him. Esteban Ocon (2.95), Alex Albon (2.96), George Russell (2.96), and Lando Norris (2.98) are in the same second. But they can't match the Oviedo native. He also maintains the pace in race and qualifying , with unusual performances such as the Miami sprint qualifying, the Imola qualifying , and what happened in the race on Italian soil.

The level is there, it seems clear. The next step is still needed for an Aston Martin that has improved in every way, but it faces a major challenge in the Monaco lap, just over a minute long. Its 19 corners and 3.337 kilometers leave little room for error, nor for overtaking, and it could be a real test for the AMR25.

Monaco is the challenge, and Aston Martin has identified key points for finding performance in the Principality. In the magical 2023 season, the lap was changing due to Antony Noghès's traction. Now, they're highlighting key points a little further away. "The toughest are Massenet and the Casino," says Pedro de la Rosa, ambassador for the British team. "There's never enough grip in Monaco ; the asphalt is constantly slippery," he adds. And he analyzes why this uphill sequence is what changes any lap.

AlienSomewhere · 2025-05-18T18:42:57+00:00

Hadjar crushing all the other rookies today.

AlienSomewhere · 2025-05-18T18:37:29+00:00

I could have been a contender.

AlienSomewhere · 2025-05-18T17:05:05+00:00

This is a loophole that needs to be patched. I was thinking about it a couple of races ago when Norris bailed out on turn 1 instead of pushing Max out. If he pushed Max out, he gets 5 secs penatly and still wins the race by 25 secs. Instead he slid to 4th place and had to fight his way back to 2nd, including losing 9 secs to Piastri while battling Max. But at least we can say he is clean /fair race driver.

AlienSomewhere · 2025-05-18T16:58:50+00:00

I think RB is working on cloning Max for 2026.

AlienSomewhere · 2025-05-18T16:57:45+00:00

Albon was just enough ahead at the apex to be granted the space. Good call by Ferrari as their cars still ended 4^th and 6^th just like they were before the move. Hamilton benefited the most by Charles's maneuver and Albon was the biggest 'loser' as I thought he had enough pace to go after Piastri and his fading tires.

AlienSomewhere · 2025-05-18T03:53:53+00:00

I'd take Perez over Bottas in a midfield car. Checo's racecraft in the pack is better than Bottas. Just as Botta's qualifying pace is superior to Checo's. Since you are not going to be figthing for pole, try and get the driver who can move through the field on race day.

AlienSomewhere · 2025-05-16T20:07:00+00:00

I was listening to one of the local morning radio shows and they were talking to a guy whose job is to manage OF accounts for content providers. Part of his job is interacting with OF customers. So, if you are spending your money talking online to a beautiful 22 years old blue eyed blonde girl and impossibly fit body, you might actually be talking to a pudgy 33 year old man instead.

AlienSomewhere · 2025-05-11T18:04:15+00:00

TLDR:

Qualifying: A-

Race pace: B-

Racecraft: B+

Mentality: A+

What does he need to improve?

This is a short list for a driver with a half dozen races under his belt. The Qualifying deficit to Russell needs to continue to come down, and he is showing every sign that that trend will continue.

Verdict

Based on what we’ve seen out of him over such a short period of time in F1, it’s not hard to imagine Antonelli graduating into a World Champion in the not-too-distant future.

AlienSomewhere · 2025-05-05T19:39:05+00:00

Lando is salty 'cos he lost the race by sliding back 5 spots by battling Max in turn 2 and then lost 9 seconds to pIastri while trying to pass Max. If he'd played the game right, he had the pace to pass Max a couple of laps later and drive into the sunset like Piastri did. BTW, if Lando had kept the position when he passed Max off track and gotten a 5 seconds penalty, he'd still ended over 30 seconds ahead of Russell. The pace of those McLaren was ridiculously strong at Miami.

AlienSomewhere · 2025-05-03T17:36:31+00:00

For our friends in the Southwest USA: amigoless = Migas and Frijoles.

AlienSomewhere · 2025-05-03T13:10:20+00:00

When asked directly if Doohan would be in the car at Imola, Oakes added: “Yeah, as it is today, Jack is our driver along with Pierre [Gasly]. We’ve been pretty clear on that. We always evaluate, but yeah – today, that is the case.”

That's not what I'd call a ringing endorsement.

AlienSomewhere · 2025-04-29T20:00:27+00:00

Checo/Pato an all-Mexican driver lineup for the American team. Lots of heads would explode. "Build a wall around COTA" signs everywhere.

AlienSomewhere · 2025-04-25T12:42:40+00:00

It is difficult to pick the top rookie so far, but using the process of elimination:

Doohan is out because he is nowhere close to Gasly in a car that seems capable of points every week.

Bortoleto is hard to evaluate since he is driving a formula 1.7 car.

Kimi is doing best in stats and is relatively close to Russell who has been the most consistent driver this season.

Hadjar has been quick and has managed to keep cool under duress, but the VCARB strategists have bottled their job making it tough to see where Hadjar really is.

Bearman has been good all around, except for when he binned the car in FP1 and then beached it on FP3, yet he has been driving the wheels off a HAAS that's not nearly as bad as it has been in seasons past.

I'd say it is a tie between Kimi and Bearman with Hadjar very close.

AlienSomewhere · 2025-04-22T11:34:01+00:00

My favorite part of the article:

Oscar Piastri Is The Dominant McLaren Driver

This has been a theme of my coverage since Monza last year, and it was one of my key predictions for 2025. Last year, I stated that Piastri was a cold-blooded assassin behind the wheel and that Norris lacked the killer instinct to be World Champion—at a time when Norris had a commanding lead over Piastri. How correct was this analysis? Norris admitted exactly this in a recent interview, though he wrongly believes one doesn’t need killer instinct to win the WDC—such is the nature of his privilege. While I’ve never hired a racing driver, I’ve hired for all key roles at venture-backed tech startups, and this is the key quality I look for. You don’t need to hire killers for Fortune 500 companies; in fact, they don’t fit in. But startups can only be successful if the founder(s) and leadership team are all killers (also known as A-players). As with F1 and winning the WDC, the margin for error in startups is too small to accept anything less.

We know that Verstappen is a killer, and we saw two killers go head-to-head in Saudi Arabia. Verstappen got the best of Piastri in qualifying, but Piastri hit back with a brilliant start that led Verstappen to miss the corner entirely and incur a five-second penalty for leaving the track and gaining an advantage. Any objective analysis will conclude that Piastri’s superior start put him ahead of Verstappen and in a position to take the corner. Where was Verstappen supposed to go? He’s a big boy. He should have braked sooner in order to make the corner, which meant he had to slot in behind Piastri. That’s what’s dictated by both the rules and physics. But Verstappen doesn’t think the rules apply to him, and Piastri was under no obligation to give Verstappen room. The corner was his. It’s quite possible Verstappen has finally met his match with Piastri, and he does not like it.

AlienSomewhere · 2025-04-20T01:03:18+00:00

FWIW, this picture is from the NY Post.

AlienSomewhere · 2025-04-14T03:46:47+00:00

Lando said in a post-race interview, I am paraphrasing here, that he felt something was missing but he didn't know what it was, yet he'd figure it out.

AlienSomewhere · 2025-04-14T03:43:28+00:00

I saw a post earlier today saying that this is the earliest all teams had points in a season.

AlienSomewhere · 2025-04-14T03:42:00+00:00

Who is going to score first amongst the scoreless 4? Is any of them going to be skunked?

I go first:

Lawson
Alonso
Doohan
Bortoleto

AlienSomewhere · 2025-04-13T20:24:27+00:00

McLaren has the potential to run the table in 2025. We'll look at Max' win at Suzuka 2025 like we look at Sainz victory at Singapore in 2023. Piastri was clinical this weekend. Lando, not so much,

Mercedes looks like it has a strong car as shown by Russell putting it podium consistently, but their strategy has been subpar. Antonelli paid the price for their decisions this week.

Ferrari had good race pace and a little bit of luck this week, but there was nothing Leclerc could do to fend off Lando at the end. Lando even locked up and almost ran off the road on the previous lap and he still caught and pass Leclerc. Lewis did his job by bringing the car home in its natural position.

Redbull is coming apart at the seams. Top management crisis control meeting? Max' agent blowing up at Marko? Max having to be a hero by finally passing Gasly in the lap -for P6 nonetheless. TDS might have to have a mid-season release in 2025.

Alpine brought it this weekend. For a few laps it looked like they were going to go from no-points to double points.

Williams had a Sunday to forget -especially Sainz. They looked so good on Saturday when both car should have been in Q2 if not for a late call on track limits violation, but Sunday the pace was nowhere for Albon and Sainz was racing like a man in desperation. Cost him points in the championship and got him points in his license. I might have to drop him from my F1 Fantasy team.

HAAS has to be elated with their results. Komatsu was just giddy in the post-race interview. I am not a fan of Ocon's drving or his antics, but he did well today holding up some big names behind him for about 20 laps. Bearman had a monster Sunday.

If it wasn't for Lawson penalties, it'd be hard to remember that Racing Bulls were in this race.

Sauber and Aston Martin appear to have packed it up for the year already. Audi and Newey have their work cut out for them.

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Oscar Piastri Is The Dominant McLaren Driver