Official Formula One and General Motorsport Thread for 2023! Simply UnVerstoppable! Vettel heartbreak DLC included!

[Robbo-92]

Crofty stealing outer thread title

Classic Crofty

[Rawrgna]

The F1 season might have been anticlimactic but the F2 season going down to the final race and being won by Pourchaire being consistent and picking up points here and there with only 1 race win made for a gripping season

[Neo Cortex]

Is it too early to write off next year?

[Robbo-92]

Verstappen to his fans,

https://www.reddit.com/r/formuladank/s/LWo38LVGYS

Is it too early to write off next year?

Normally I’d say it’s definitely too early, it feels almost ominous with Red Bull and next years car, so few rule changes, so few updates brought to this years car, they’ll have spent the year working on the 2024 car, probably spending their 2023 wind tunnel time testing other teams concepts first.

[Neo Cortex]

Well this is what F1 wanted. So what if they like audience figures rather than building. They can do fluff pieces like the Brawn show all they want, but another season like this they may as well move to Zandvoort, Spa and the A1 ring (I hate calling it by the new name haha) with a spattering of races in the USA and whoever has oil.

Obviously I'm taking the mickey, but I have zero faith in Liberty, F1, or the FIA to do anything other than enable Red Bull. Till Lewis retires then they will drop them like a rather racist stone.

[Robbo-92]

A little bit of me can see Liberty selling up as soon as they feel like they’ve hit a ceiling on what they could get for it, with races like Vegas pumping insane amounts in, more races in the Middle East and USA (which isn’t a bad thing I might add, just 2 of the 3 tracks are awful and done to line their pockets, rather than potentially good racing), it feels like it could be closer than we think for them selling up, with how it’s been going for them, another season of domination and more casual fans will turn off and decline the viewership that the sponsors want to keep high.

[Neo Cortex]

Liberty are clearly doing an Embracer group. And doing just as gooseberry fool a job.

[floydfreak]

[Drumstick]

I was out yesterday but I'm informed the race was very similar to the majority of this season.

Can only hope 2024 is more competitive - conventional wisdom would have us believe that the chasing pack should be able to close the gap to Red Bull next season, as should be tougher for Red Bull to improve upon an already dominant car - but time will tell.

[Robbo-92]

You missed an excellent fight for second in the WCC

I hope 2024 is closer, but if anything I can see Red Bull being a similar amount away sadly, they've had all of 2023 to work on their 2-24 car, probably try other teams solutions in the wind tunnel without even impacting their stranglehold on the 2023 season.

[Return_of_the_STAR]

twitter.com/formularacers_/status/1730533371854356830

If this is true we could be looking at one hell of a merry go round at the end of next year. I assume a few of them won’t get drives or may retire as well bringing in some fresh faces.

[Cheeky Devlin]

twitter.com/formularacers_/status/1730533371854356830

If this is true we could be looking at one hell of a merry go round at the end of next year. I assume a few of them won’t get drives or may retire as well bringing in some fresh faces.

That's a lot more than I expected to be honest.

Perez - Really needs to be consistent next season. If he has a repeat of the second half of this year then RB will be done with him I think.
Alonso - I don't see him going anywhere. He seems happy at Aston and they seem committed to giving him what he needs.
LeClerc - I genuinely think he's getting ready to move on. Ferrari have let him down more often than not and while they are getting there, their inconsistency is costing them. If there's not a noticable improvement from Ferrari in 2024 he's gone (IF he can get a competitive drive elsewhere).
Sainz could be a bit of a dark horse. I genuinely think he's a better driver than Leclerc on his day and if a slot opens up at either Red Bull or Merc I could see him going.
Gasly - I was struck by just how anonymous Gasly has been this season. He's not really made much of a splash at Alpine yet and I'm not sure if anyone higher in the standings would want him.
Ocon - Had a decent season. I could potentially see him moving with the right offer. If Alonso wasn't there I would have suggested Aston as a good home for him. But would they have him?
Albon - Stealth Driver of the Season for me. Did fantastically well and while I'm not sure he'd get into one of the top cars, a "best of the rest" team would snap him up I think. Also depends on what happens with Williams next season. If they can show another season of improvement I could see him staying longer.
Tsunoda - Another good season for Yuki. Definitely showing growth. Moving on from "Racing Bulls" (Some wanker got paid money to come up with that shite) is probably a good idea. Could see Alpine maybe taking him in.
Ricciardo - REALLY hard to take a punt on this one as there's so little to work from this year. Ricciardo will want to continue, but it really depends on what he can do with the car next year. If he puts in a decent performance, with improvement over his past couple of full seasons then I can see him continuing on. But if he has a bad one I can see him being left seatless again.
Bottas - Barring any unexpected events I think Bottas is happy to wait at AR/Sauber until Audi take over.
Zhou - Hasn't set the world on fire or anything so I think he needs to step it up a notch. Lots of hungry rookies looking to get in and a driver like Zhou seems ripe for being replaced.
Hulkenberg - Honestly I have no clue what Haas will do with Hulkenberg. He's done ok this season with what he had. I can see him staying as long as they want him.
Magnussen - Same as Hulkenberg. I'm not sure any other teams would take either of them over the other drivers becoming available or the rookies waiting for seats. So yeah. I think he's with Haas until he decides to leave.

In terms of retirements/leaving F1 I think the two Haas drivers are the most likely. I'm not sure either of them get picked up by other teams if they leave.

[Robbo-92]

Sargent been picked up for 2024, so another driver who is out of contract at the end of next year!

Edit, for those with a nervous disposition please don’t open the spoiler!,

I never thought Horner was in that good shape, he must have been in the gym a lot

[Cuttooth]

Is that an entirely unchanged field then? When's the last time that happened?

[Roonmastor]

The penalty for taking a rookie is so high now with the cost cap. If they bin it whilst getting up to speed it can set the team and the other driver quite far back. I think experience will remain a premium until those drivers choose to retire. Lawson probably the only real contender.

[Rawrgna]

good to see Williams playing the long game in terms of keeping Albon and Sargeant on for another season of consistency in getting the car performance where it needs o be to push on further into the midfield battle

[floydfreak]

[Cheeky Devlin]

Magneto decided to give Le Mans a shot in 22 and 23 and made a movie about it.

[Robbo-92]

Rumours going around again that Leclerc is going to extend his contract till the end of 2029, he has faith in Ferrari and clearly loves the heartbreak Then the rumour mill is saying Sainz is only being offered a year extension, think Sainz has done a very good job at Ferrari really, but its clearly been team Leclerc for a while now.

[Return_of_the_STAR]

Apparently the Spanish grand Prix will move to Madrid from 2026.

twitter.com/FastestPitStop/status/1731948942097604932

I don't believe this is actually confirmed yet though although a few places have reported it this morning.