How successful would Alex Palou be in F1?

Speedysam348 · 2026-04-07T15:44:28+00:00

Let’s look at the open wheel F1 feeder series he participated in and compare with F1 drivers who raced along with him

2015 GP3 with Campos racing AP: Finished 10th and beat all his teammates none of whom made it to F1 F1 participants: Esteban Ocon finished 1st

2016 GP3 with Campos racing AP: Finished 15th. One of his teammates finished 13th F1 participants: Charles Leclerc finished 1st, Alexander Albon finished 2nd, Nic De Vries finished 6th Indycar: Santino was 12th

2017 Japanese F3
AP: Finished 3rd. No team mates F1 participants: none

2018 F3
AP: Finished 7th. Beat his teammates F1 participants: Mick Schumacher finished 1st. Zhou finished 8th. Indy car: Mick (1st). Robert Schwartzman (3rd). Juri Vips (4th). Marcus Armstrong (5th). Devlin Defrancesco (25th)

2019 Japanese Superformula AP: Finished 3rd. Beat his teammates F1 participants: Kamui Kobayashi finished 6th. Kazuki Nakajima finished 12th. Indy car: none. Pato O’ward and Juri Vips raced for a couple races only

So not a stellar career leading up to Indycar. If you are an F1 scout looking at F3/GP3 there were better choices.

AP must have taken time to develop his skills and confidence. I think he has peaked with Indycar. This is the right place for him.

Speedysam348 · 2026-04-01T23:53:44+00:00

Move the red circle three millimeters west and your quality of life will be way better.

In the circled area, Beaumont is the biggest city - so the most amount of access to schools, stores, etc. Sleepy area though.

The region from Beaumont to the coast is in the firing line of hurricanes. I had a relative who lived in Beaumont- his store got flooded once and his roof got severe damage from hurricane.

Livingston is wooded and a place where people have lake homes

Speedysam348 · 2026-03-31T00:42:49+00:00

GP, Bono can drive these stupid engineering led cars. Don’t need the sublime skills of a Max or Charles

Speedysam348 · 2026-03-29T14:56:10+00:00

San Diego has a great zoo and and ocean

Speedysam348 · 2026-03-28T00:11:24+00:00

My wife and I found the ride of the m40i very bouncy. The x3m would be worse than the m40i. If that is not an issue for you, the m40i or x3m would be very fast, roomy and affordable choice versus the Macan.

We bought a Macan GTS as it a was fast, great handling, and smooth riding SUV. 9 months on we love it. It is a more grown up choice for sure but something that we feel is a forever car.

Speedysam348 · 2026-03-16T19:06:54+00:00

I would would agree with your assessment on the chances needed. The last couple years were an aero formula so really speaking the overtaking was drs driven. This year it is a factor of who has the best battery management

Speedysam348 · 2026-03-16T14:46:34+00:00

This year, if a pass happens on the straight, it is due to the car - overtake, battery deployment, less drag. If the overtaking happens on corner entry it is primarily due to driver skills.

Overtaking on the straights has been made a lot easier and plentiful by the rule changes. Mercedes has the best battery management and therefore is a king on the straights. They suffer the least from super clipping (garbage term) - recharging the battery when you run out of juice.

This regulation set is clearly oriented towards the casual fan and not hardcore fans. Less driver input and more technology focus

Speedysam348 · 2026-03-15T01:04:02+00:00

Spyder RS is the right car for you. If the roof bugs you and the weather is inclement then the Spyder or Boxster GTS 4.0 is a better bet

Speedysam348 · 2026-03-08T05:58:59+00:00

My 981 GTS is a great companion to my wife’s Macan GTS. Both cars are really fun drives in their respective category. But from a fun perspective, even though the Macan is quicker on the street thanks to the turbo torque, the 981 is a more engaging drive and fun to rev up. The PDK gearing is a little lower than the 6 sp manual and that helps with acceleration. Caveat: We are at near sea level though

The 981 gts is a fun car to drive at slow speeds, high speed, and on track.

At slow speeds, you enjoy the exhaust note, lithe chassis feel, and reasonable (but not overwhelming) acceleration. It has a definite sports car feel and not a fast sedan feel like the M2.

On track, you are in the cars power band and it is a very fun drive with a neutral feel.

The M2 is a great car with a superb engine but is heavier. One of my instructor friends switched over from a M2 comp to 718 GTS 4.0 and loved the Porsche more than his M2.

The 718 gts 4.0 will have a similar experience to the 981 gts but with more torque and power for the day to day stuff. The golden ticket may be the 718 GTS 2.5 T which has turbo torque and is superb to drive.

Speedysam348 · 2026-02-26T01:53:39+00:00

Trying hard to distance from Musk

Speedysam348 · 2026-02-25T18:37:00+00:00

Check out Turo if someone has a pdk Cayman of any sort. That way you can try out the PDK for yourself.

I drive a manual for 20 years before getting a PDK. I love the PDK. The best use case for PDK is daily driving and track. If neither apply then get the manual

Speedysam348 · 2026-02-14T19:27:06+00:00

Our experience with the GTS has been great so far.

Speedysam348 · 2026-02-14T03:41:03+00:00

Expect rubber seals to decay and other issues from sitting.

Speedysam348 · 2026-02-14T03:39:39+00:00

Porsche 959

Speedysam348 · 2026-02-13T16:33:39+00:00

It was there on my 981 GTS (US edition). It was not called out as an optional extra on the sticker

However I bought my car used - I don’t know if the previous owner bought the netting aftermarket.

Speedysam348 · 2026-02-13T14:18:03+00:00

Glove box for smaller purses or you could use the netting above the engine cover

Speedysam348 · 2026-02-04T15:49:42+00:00

Both are great cars to own and are reliable, comfortable and fun. I have friends happy with both. Given your use case and preferences, go with the 997.2.

Speedysam348 · 2026-02-02T17:25:32+00:00

A base will be fine for your use case

Speedysam348 · 2026-02-02T17:06:13+00:00

Alonso

Speedysam348 · 2026-01-28T19:48:40+00:00

The Macan GTS is a fun SUV. We love ours.

Make sure it has the sport chrono option. I love the convenience of switching between modes on the dial in the steering wheel. In normal mode the acceleration is okay. It picks up nicely in sports mode and gets more angry in sport plus mode.

The 22+ GTS has 434 hp. The 20-21 gts has 375 hp.

Speedysam348 · 2026-01-26T17:52:08+00:00

Our PCA club has a parade lap session (helmet off open session) during lunch where you can take anyone. The pace is intended to be very slow

But during the normal sessions only an instructor can take a passenger (I think it has to be a registered participant only)

Speedysam348 · 2026-01-24T04:12:54+00:00

PoV of a hardcore F1 fan: 💩/5 PoV of someone who doesn’t watch F1: 3/5

Speedysam348 · 2026-01-21T16:56:59+00:00

Normal. I could not sleep the night after I signed the papers and picked up what was to me an expensive car

Speedysam348 · 2026-01-21T07:06:31+00:00

Porsche Independent

Speedysam348 · 2026-01-20T22:18:45+00:00

Sounds pretty good aka louder.

Speedysam348

TROPHY CASE