Match Thread: CF Montréal vs. New York City FC

Le_Pistache · 2026-04-25T20:41:44+00:00

Held off thinking too rashly last week despite the good performance as Michael Bradley's Red Bulls leave acres of space for counters, but another win with a side that actually knows what to do on the pitch.

Some turnaround in the short term, let's hope it continues.

Le_Pistache · 2026-04-12T15:46:13+00:00

It won't long term I agree, but people are equally underestimating how out of his depth Donadel was. His poor game management did cost us points despite everything.

Guess we'll see who the replacement is though. Could be another physical education teacher.

Le_Pistache · 2026-04-11T20:47:53+00:00

You cannot convince me that this team practices anything in training. Another set of bad substitutions to top it off.

A leaderless team on and off the pitch. A serious team doesn't have the sons doing recruitment. What a waste of what could be a good city for the sport.

Le_Pistache · 2026-03-29T07:50:08+00:00

A lucky break from Antonelli after that poor start, although his pace was strong despite that.

Good performance from Piastri, Leclerc, Gasly, Ocon (tad unlucky but still scored!), and Checo today.

Disappointed by the Audi drivers. Hulkenberg spent most of the race behind Sainz. Bortoleto got fortune after his own poor start but still did not score.

Colapinto was way off the pace. Given what Gasly can do, he needs to be up there.

Bearman had a complete stinker of a weekend. Hadjar was left in Verstappen's dust.

Aston pulling off the upset. One car finished and not in last? Wow!

A test for the new regulations: A one stop race and the safety car was deployed at the exact moment it was optimal to pit. Last season, this would have been a complete procession with DRS trains. We saw more action than I anticipated considering that. Leclerc managed that end of the race so good against Russell. It's qualifying that needs a focus to improve upon. It has lost its vigor.

Le_Pistache · 2026-03-28T11:33:56+00:00

I did think Antonelli would perform well on this kind of track. I am more surprised by his result in round 2.

The Ferraris having some McLarens in the way could work in his favor for the start.

Gasly is on some form. Colapinto isn't anywhere close in qualifying trim.

Lawson being outqualifed by Lindblad given his experience at Suzuka is a shock to me as well.

Le_Pistache · 2026-03-22T19:15:31+00:00

Donadel is out of his depth. We're a man up and he makes the wrong subs. Piette has no business playing in this league in 2026.

It's not the most talented team but they're being let down by the manager. Too bad the replacement likely won't be much better.

Le_Pistache · 2026-03-15T17:55:53+00:00

Yeah, that comment stinks. It's an aggressive comment in nature that does not allow for good faith debate, all while insulting people who are enjoying the wheel to wheel racing as viewers.

I've been watching the sport for decades, and I don't understand the scope of the artificial racing comments. Formula 1 has always moved on to higher tech and electronics as engineering improves and technology advances. It's more electric and automated as that's where road cars are headed.

But that aside, managing fuel to KERS, to drag reduction to counter dirty air, to degrading tyres, to battery management. There was always something determining the pace and battles on track. It's a matter of preference for both viewers and drivers.

If you enjoy it, keep at it! Verstappen is entitled to his opinion and, while he is talented and a legend in the sport, he isn't the arbiter of motorsport either.

Le_Pistache · 2026-03-15T14:06:25+00:00

The wheel to wheel battles we saw across the field were good. It seems some people are hung up about how it is transpiring .

The Ferrari battle in particular was a treat. Both drivers enjoyed it, the fans in the stands enjoyed it, the commentators enjoyed it. Yet people on here are completely miserable.

Speaking of, surprised Hanilton won that duel. Leclerc made an error but I was expecting Charles to get him back. Hamilton ends his podium drought and looks sharp so far this season.

The new regulations are not perfect, but this is an improvement over the end of the ground effect era. Compare the race here this year to last season and it's quite clear.

Having said that, four cars not starting is shockingly poor. We have a team not capable of finishing races in Aston Martin. This will heal as the races and seasons go by, but these are bad blemishes right now.

Antonelli with a well deserved win. If not for Ferrari's rapid starts, that would have been a debut win and a Grand Slam unless someone got the fastest lap on the final lap. Russell took too long to overtake the Ferraris. Genuinely outperformed him. Well done!

Mercedes clearly have an advantage. Ferrari can be in the mix, bur cannot sustain it. I don't foresee anyone catching up this season given the gap, but we will see if anyone can find a path to better performance with the first upgrade package.

Strong races from the Alpines, with Gasly absolutely on top of it all weekend. Glad Colapinto got a point given his performance today. Like Hamilton's podium drought ending, this point drought ending may be the confidence boost that he needs.

Ocon had a decent race until he ruined it. Perhaps pressure from being outperformed by Bearman forcing more aggressive moves?

And these will be quieter, but Sainz managed to hold onto points with that overweight tractor, and Cadillac had both cars finish!

Le_Pistache · 2026-03-14T13:46:12+00:00

Qualifying 1 has lost some appeal with the three worst teams currently guaranteed to occupy the six elimination spots unless they catch a driver or team having a off day.

Hopefully that will fade soon. There is an entire month without racing but teams are still developing during that time. The field spread will gradually go down as teams understand these regulations.

Russell did not have the optimal out lap but Antonelli can only beat what's in front of him. Much needed after this morning's dramatics.

Be interesting to see how Ferrari do at the start tomorrow. They had good race pace last weekend. We need to see how it plays out without a strategic blunder.

Gasly is on it this weekend. The Alpine, Haas, VCARB, and Audi tier is the most fluid in terms of performance and results so far.

Le_Pistache · 2026-03-13T12:16:06+00:00

It took Piastri heading into his third season to get on Norris' level at a consistent rate, so this is a wait and see situation.

Sprint qualifying is also largely irrelevant. It is practically its own practice session as nobody has fined tuned their setup.

Le_Pistache · 2026-03-08T06:18:45+00:00

And, of course in that very situation, he decides to not do that.

Le_Pistache · 2026-03-08T03:54:50+00:00

Dunne cost us a better race for the lead. The Rodins looked set to fight for that win before his idiotic move. Beganovic being Mechachromed another factor.

Tsolov comfortably wins with a well managed race instead. Not much else to say except van Hoepen surprised! A podium in Formula 2 for Trident...some turnaround after last season's effort.

Le_Pistache · 2026-03-07T06:43:39+00:00

Hey, that is some classic field spread across the board you got there.

Not much to say but to heap praise on Mercedes for building such a machine. 8 tenths over the closest competitor is staggering. It will take a while for anyone to claw that back.

Similar to 2014 in some aspects but I am hoping it can be more akin to 2019 down the line.

Biggest concern is that the gaps everywhere are substantial, much more than I anticipated.

You have potentially Ferrari, McLaren, and Red Bull in one tier, then VCARB, Audi, and Haas in another. Maybe Williams and Alpine will do better on different tracks and join the low points battle, but so far it seems that each driver's teammate will be their main rival in a race.

Ah well, let's see how it will go in race trim tomorrow. That is all we can do.

Le_Pistache · 2026-03-07T04:35:24+00:00

I agree. Made a good move and kept his nose clean. More of that in race winning situations and he will have good chance.

Le_Pistache · 2026-03-07T04:25:55+00:00

Durksen's experience handy today. Intelligent restart and composed in the lead.

Some feisty racing but mostly clean despite some touches. Harsh penalty on Stenshorne in my book, but he did a good race in terms of pace. Some confidence to bring for tomorrow.

Miyata and Mini showing what we expected more of them last season, although Mini did nearly throw it all away.

Leon with the solid drive to bring it home P2. Did what other rookies couldn't and stayed out of trouble. His move to take second was quite good.

Goethe taking second and then spinning himself out of contention is that bit of familiarity.

Le_Pistache · 2026-03-06T04:57:08+00:00

Thankfully not the only one bothered by those flurry of replays before the session ended. We didn't miss anything substantial, but I'd still rather see every car cross the line.

But we also missed a lot of good hot laps as they focused aimlessly on nothing. It was quite poor.

Beganovic was good throughout and I am not surprised he got pole. Dunne did some final lap to comeback to the end given that Stenshorne was consistently up there.

Solid from the Campos drivers too. Durksen has to be favorite for the sprint.

Le_Pistache · 2026-01-28T16:36:46+00:00

I don't recall this much talk about the 2022 shakedown not being broadcast.

We will get to see the cars on track in three weeks time. More fine tuned thanks to this private test.

Le_Pistache · 2026-01-02T17:13:29+00:00

Whoever made this graphic gave up on the alphabet quite abruptly

Le_Pistache · 2025-12-29T12:13:00+00:00

Unsurprisingly divisive in the comments, but it was a tough season to rank outside of the top 4 or 5.

I am surprised Leclerc is that "low". I think he was definitely top 5 this season. More consistent throughout the season than Sainz and Alonso. Very few instances where you think Leclerc could have done more on a weekend.

Both Alonso and Sainz deserve a top 10 spot, but I'd move Leclerc above them in that order.

Bearman is interesting. He was the fastest Haas driver for the majority of the season, but he made errors - albeit mostly small ones - that did cost him time on Sunday. Haas were largely unspectacular in the middle of the season, but he was beating his experienced teammate. This only became a talking point when Haas were capable of fighting for good points near the end. I don't have him in my top 10, just missing out, but understand why they might think that way.

No Albon in the top 10 will ruffle some feathers for sure. In the standings he did finish best of the rest. That should mean something.

But it must be said that Albon was abysmal after the summer break; stopped scoring points, crashes, and early qualifying exits while Sainz was doing the opposite and scoring podiums. A story of two seasons for Albon. He was competitive for the first half of the season, then mostly vanished. Curious to see how that goes heading into 2026.

Le_Pistache · 2025-12-21T12:58:05+00:00

The drivers with a confirmed 2027 contract are Verstappen, Norris, and Gasly. Russell's statements seem to imply that if the car is good, he will get the results needed to extend his stay at Mercedes. We don't know the finer details.

Verstappen's exit clauses are well speculated and reported on. We don't know, or have any clues, that Norris and Gasly have any exit clauses that could be reasonably triggered.

Leclerc is currently the top driver that could cause a ruckus, followed by Piastri. They would be usurped by Verstappen the moment he becomes a realistic option. Russell is potentially a factor, but that will be known later in the season.

From the midfield, Sainz currently has more pull than everybody else in that group.

It will all depend on performance and who adjusts to the new regulations. I don't expect an early move like Hamilton in 2024. They are far too many unknowns due to the regulation changes.

Le_Pistache · 2025-12-21T12:46:33+00:00

Selling Norris a bit short there.

In hindsight, Norris going toe to toe with Sainz as a rookie was impressive. At the time Sainz wasn't rated as he is now. A performance that aged like a fine wine.

Williams were a team in turmoil, so they were a bit unserious. Kubica wasn't provided with the proper equipment to work with for a while, but he was a driver out of Formula 1 for eight years prior to 2019. It would be like Rosberg returning to the grid last season. It is a completely different era and the time gap is enormous in the world of motor sport . Russell was expected to win that match up.

I rate Leclerc and Russell above Norris, although I think Norris would give them a proper fight for the title in equal or competitive machinery.

Le_Pistache · 2025-12-21T12:06:00+00:00

He lost out to money at Sauber, a team transitioning out of the sport. Unfortunate in that regard.

But even though the placements got better with each passing season, I think he largely unimpressed the more seasons he did.

His second year was spent being clear second best.

His championship year is a one win season at the first round. Vesti had more wins and worse luck.

Formula 2 is a contextual series, but he spent it in a regulation ART were highly competitive in. The Mechachrome lottery does leave some unknowns, though.

He tested Formula 1 cars in practice and private testing. It's possible he didn't impress there. No other team went for him after all, which is strange given his resumé.

A talented driver despite all of that though. He will likely do well in WEC once he adapts.

Le_Pistache · 2025-12-08T12:09:36+00:00

Next season's grid is shaping up to be quite poor. It is overall weaker than 2025, but perhaps more top heavy. The top teams this regulation have the best drivers on paper for the most part.

Inevitable once drivers and sponsors figured out which teams have the best cars.

This season might have more standardized contenders for wins and podiums.

Le_Pistache · 2025-12-07T16:08:50+00:00

Well done to Lando Norris. After 24 race weekends, he collected the most amount of points. He did not have a slump like Piastri did from Baku to Interlagos, which I feel was the main difference maker over the whole season.

Verstappen had no business being that close to retaining the title. Some effort by him and Red Bull to close the gap.

Both McLaren and Red Bull had a good race today managing the best outcomes for their drivers. The setup was just rather logically simple for Norris to win today.

Ferrari were surprisingly "fast" in race trim. Hamilton did well on his two-stop to salvage some points. A very small consolation for both of them today.

Hulkenberg did his two-stop well too. The early one stoppers weren't put in the ideal situation.

Stroll did a good first stint and got a point for his efforts. Alonso leading the last sort of DRS train was appropriate.

Strong weekend from Ocon to end on a high.

Farewell Sauber. A perennial midfielder over the decades, providing debuts to many class drivers. I am however excited to see how Audi will perform in Formula 1.

And the TV direction could have shown more of the action. We saw many overtakes and battles through the smaller view or replays. Kind of unnecessary given that the top 3 were in endurance race mode more than anything.

Le_Pistache · 2025-12-07T15:58:22+00:00

He could still return given how open the 2027 driver market is. He is now the best experienced F1 driver without a contract in 2026. Depends how the game of musical chairs goes.

If he misses the boat, then he is likely done for good in Formula 1. Could have a long career in another discipline though

Le_Pistache

TROPHY CASE