If Leclerc drives for Ferrari for 15 years can Ferrari get it right in just 1 of the 15 years? I don't know if they can. I don't think Charles wants to or should go anywhere else, maybe Merc, but I think Merc wants Max more than anything and I don't know Charles contract situation.

Problem with going to Merc is that Antonelli is looking like a real monster in his own right. If he goes there, he's not going to get any sort of favored son treatment. Meanwhile at Ferrari, he's the #1 driver unless they sign Max (and they won't sign Max).

Charles window could be closing if Mercedes gets the new reg package right, though. Because Antonelli has championship chops. I think Russell would ultimately blow it but damn he's been steady this year.

And Piastri isn't going anywhere. You give him a title car and he'll win a title, IMO. I love how calm he is when he needs to be and how ruthlessly aggressive he'll be when the situation is ripe for it.

I mean some of the moves he's put on guys are just world class. Meanwhile Norris reminds me a lot of Sainz in that he's good when the car is good but if he needs to get his elbows out or seize a gap, he's just not assertive enough for it. Both can be crafty drivers and are good defenders, but seem to be lacking the killer instinct on the attack.

That said, though Norris did get out of his grid spot, his first lap was fantastic last week. Really aggressive to get from 6 to 2nd (and would've done it even from the right spot on the grid). I thought the move on Hamilton was a close question as to whether or not he really needed to give that spot back but the rules can be pretty cut and dry there.

If he starts doing that more often, my view of him could change a bit.

Im really bummed Colapinto is still an reserve driver for Alpine and not racing this year, i really hope he breaks through at some point.

<blockquote class="reddit-embed-bq" style="height:500px" data-embed-height="584"><a href="https://www.reddit.com/r/formula1/comments/p1e3nx/ferrari_mechanic_headbutts_a_wall_brazil_08/">Ferrari mechanic headbutts a wall (Brazil 08)</a><br> by<a href="https://www.reddit.com/user/Avikar21/">u/Avikar21</a> in<a href="https://www.reddit.com/r/formula1/">formula1</a></blockquote><script async="" src="https://embed.reddit.com/widgets.js" charset="UTF-8"></script>

He'll be there by June. Too much money involved.

Can you blame him. I bet some Chiefs fans did the same when Dee Ford was offsides on the INT in the AFCCG.

Holy shit, that was 2008? I had no idea. The broadcast hasn't talked about any of that stuff. I knew Briatore was banned back in the day but I didn't know the details. Reading about it, it looks like it all came out in 2009 so maybe they'll talk about it soon. I avoid reading about past seasons to avoid spoilers. It's way more entertaining that way.

Right before that, both garages were celebrating, jumping up and down thinking they had won the WDC. It was madness.

That end of the 2008 Interlagos Grand Prix was incredibly dramatic, even the podium. The celebration and heartache in the garages, Massa crossing the line as WDC but losing the championship less that a lap later. The saddest winner you've ever seen crying on the podium as dark storm clouds blanket the skies, the wind absolutely whipping the podium flags horizonal. It could not be any more cinematic. It was bonkers.

https://imgur.com/Nn0bVro.jpg

I do think that Piastri will win the WDC this year. Norris is his own worst enemy. He's in his own head. You can't win a championship without confidence in yourself. It just doesn't happen.

And yes, I think Antonelli is going to win one someday. He already looks really, really good out there.

{sigh}

LeClerc is so good. Please give him the car he needs someday, Ferrari.

And man oh man is Lewis Hamilton mid. I'd rather have Sainz.

Is he a top 10 driver anymore? Man...it's close.

Max
Charles
Piastri
Norris
Russell

That's 5 easy.

So you need 5 more...

Sainz
Antonelli
I'd take Gasly.

So you have Hamilton, Albon and Ocon in some order, IMO, for 9, 10 and 11.

He just never does anything. Quali is always mediocre. Race is always 10% worse than LeClerc. He's just...there. He's the most forgetteable car on the track most races. He doesn't seem to bother to defend anymore. He doesn't seem capable of attacking.

I'm gonna be pretty happy to be done with this experiment in a couple years. i don't think Bearman is great, but he's at least interesting.

I would take Tsunoda over Gasley, and Hadjar over Ocon. Aside from that I agree with your rankings. Right now Hamilton is sitting in the Gasley/Albon tier, which is a pretty sad thing to say.

Hadjar is still awfully green but as a pure 'prospect' I'd take him over Ocon, for sure. He's quick.

As for Tsunoda -- I've just never had a feel for him. I think he likes aggressive cars and wants to be able to attack. He just doesn't seem very good at it. Sunday was a clear example of it -- Racing Incident my ass; he took Gasley out. Tsunoda was way too aggressive and just turned the guy.

And he's prone to those sorts of mental errors.

Put him and Hamilton in equal equipment and I think you may get an extra podium or two from Tsunoda, but you'll also get 2 or 3 more DNFs. Hamilton doesn't make silly mistakes -- he just doesn't take any chances at all. He'll drive around in that soft spot in between 7th and 8th most weeks because his car is faster than the other 6 teams on the grid but he's the most ordinary driver of the top 4 teams.

So there's a big ol' gap back to 9, Tsunoda probably takes himself out somehow and so you have a 20 second gap to 6th and another 20 second gap to 8th and Hamilton just drives in circles all day without anything of note taking place.

And if Tsunoda doesn't take himself out, you just have big gaps on either side of him in 8th.

He's just not a premier driver right now. And it may just be that he's simply never going to be again. He might have gone past his sell-by date.

When you have LeClerc in the same equipment blastting past Russell like he's standing still then you have Hamilton staring at the back of Antonelli all day, you can see that the problem isn't the car. It's the wheelman. The Ferrari, on balance, is still the 2nd best car on the grid, IMO. McLaren, Ferrari, Mercedes and Red Bull.

And Hamilton routinely underperforms the car. Even if you figure that Red Bull is two teams (Max and Tsunoda) there's no reason for Hamilton to not be routinely in the mix for 4th/5th.

He just isn't.

And the next race will be the same thing. He'll struggle to get through to Q3, never be within a 1/2 second of pole, start in 7th or 8th place and end within a grid position of where he starts absent a DNF, penalty or strategy error by someone around him.

On track he's a complete non-factor.