quote:

Originally posted by Ripley:
Grosjean's hands

Worse than I realized. Click on pic for bigger, not for the squeamish.

And that's a recent picture. Damn, that looks really painful.

Burns suck.
I've never had any that bad but even more minor ones take a really long time for the red to go away as the tissue under the surface is also damaged, just to a lesser degree.

Brazil to move up a week. Triple-header COTA, Mexico City, Interlagos.

Australia to slot in between Brazil & Saudi GPs.

Has Chinstrap won the 2021 Driver's World Championship yet?

quote:

Originally posted by HuskySig:
Has Chinstrap won the 2021 Driver's World Championship yet?

In what car? He's technically 'unemployed' (or, without a car to drive) at the moment.

quote:

Originally posted by P250UA5:

quote:

Originally posted by HuskySig:
Has Chinstrap won the 2021 Driver's World Championship yet?

In what car? He's technically 'unemployed' (or, without a car to drive) at the moment.

True, but do you really think the Germans are going to let Sir Chinstrap, the only POC on the grid, go?

I guess Japanese (Tsunoda) & Mexican (Perez) doesn't count toward POC.

Alpine A521 Winter Testing Livery



And a look at an LM car for an idea of what the official livery could be similar to:

At quick glance you would think it's a Haas.
Hopefully they'll come up with something much better and distinctive.
Not that much to talk about right now. One of the larger questions is if the all new Ferrari engine will be a big improvement. All three teams suffered last year so a significant improvement will shake up the order a lot.
Other than that, Hamilton's contract seems to be the only other news and there really isn't any from a reliable source right now. Hard to see him sitting the season out and letting Russell come in really risks damage to his reputation if he's successful as a replacement.

If Hamilton doesn't sign a contract, I expect he'll retire.
Once Russell is in that car, they'll have little incentive to bring Lewis back.

Valtteri + George salary = significantly less than Hamilton alone.
Bottas supposedly 7.5M, Russell I'd guess around 2-5M.

Sir Chinstrap has knightly things to do now. Hopefully he takes up jousting!

I just read where Jenson Buttons is now working for Williams as a senior consultant.....whatever that may be. He says that he will not be spending time in the new F1 car, but likely in the older cars. I wish him well.

JB also launched an Extreme E team.

I was hoping Mercedes would give Pissy Pants a big FU and sign someone else.

https://www.google.com/amp/s/a...K1mDNn775nluEmb.html

Just a 1 year deal.
Wondering if MB put their foot down on all of LH's demands & gave him a "take it or leave it" option.

Bummer

Newest rumor I read (from a user on another forum) is: Ham/Bot out for '22 & Ver/Rus in.

Not too sure about that one. Hamilton only getting a 1 yr deal, definitely makes him sound like he's not long for the team.
Bot/Rus would be a good pairing, combined cheaper than LH alone & should produce consistent results (current performance as the gauge).
Ver tends to bring some tension to a team, and Wolff likes a calm/stable team environment (As we have with LH/VB).

I can't see Verstappen and Russell as that has the potential to be more friction than Hamilton & Rosberg.
One more year and Lewis could go away with the all time number of championships plus race wins record. I don't completely understand the math but the salary cap will soon be in place too. Add to that the uncertainty of the 2022 rules.
Russell can't be kept on hold forever so how about this one for a complete wildcard.
Russell and Perez (for a reliable points earner) or continue with Bottas for 2022. Before his Red Bull signing, Perez said he could sit a year out and he had a 2022 deal with a competitive team already lined up. Maybe the ultimate competitive team.
I don't see Lewis wanting to go up against Russell as there's no upside. He already knows pretty well how they stack up in the same car due to prior years testing data and last years one race. If he beats Russell everyone will say, so what. If he doesn't, his legacy would be in major jeopardy.

I'd like to see Russell and Perez in the Merc with Yuki Tsunoda stepping up to fill Perez' spot at RB

Another potential interesting twist in the plot. Suppose VB gets Covid this season.
Will George still get the call to line up next to Lewis, giving a direct comparison or will he be unavailable for some reason and their official 3rd driver gets the call?
I guess that's why Toto gets paid the big bucks.