Formula 1

I still can't find it anywhere. This is frustrating. A friend that likes Max Verstappen felt I should definitely watch Hungary so I can hear Max whine over the radio throughout the race. I'm not a Verstappen fan.

I'm hoping to finally catch the 2024 Hungarian Grand Prix this evening. This morning, the Samsung TV F1 channel has covered F3 and F2 in Hungary and then has been running all three practice sessions for F1. I expect those to be followed by qualifying, pre-race coverage, and finally the race.

Oh. I finally got to watch the Hungarian Grand Prix last night. There wasn't as much Max crying as I expected but there was definitely some. He even pit-maneuvered himself and then acted like he was the victim. At one point his team told him that complaining over the radio was childish.

We returned from the summer break with a race at Zandvoort. Mercedes didn't do so hot, finishing only P7 and P8, with Russell losing three places but Hamilton gaining six from starting in P14. McLaren look like they're clearly the car to beat now, threatening Red Bull's lead in the constructors championship. The McLaren of Lando Noris started on pole but he lost out to Max and at the start, but went on to not only retake the lead but to dominate Verstappen by finishing twenty seconds ahead. Verstappen still has a commanding lead in the drivers championship, but McLaren are quickly closing in on Red Bull in the constructors championship. I'm happy to see that after many years of McLaren struggling, which was a shame since they're a major legacy team with so much past success.

The classic Ferrari versus McLaren rivalry seems to be back.

Max Verstappen earned himself 20 seconds of time penalty in Mexico, plus after the race he was given two more points on his racing license.

I was cautiously optimistic about Norris scoring more points than Verstappen and closing in on his championship lead, but blunder after blunder have conspired to swing the race in Verstappen's favor.

Lewis Hamilton got to drive Ayrton Senna's McLaren MP4/4 before the Brazilian Grand Prix.

https://www.formula1.com/en/latest/article/driving-sennas-mclaren-mp4-5b-at-interlagos-the-greatest-honour-of-my-career.77hLfUSKQHON1BG64LRFSn

Lewis Hamilton had a phenomenal drive in Vegas, climbing from P10 to finish in second behind his teammate, but Verstappen clinched his fourth championship win with two races to go.

General Motors will be entering an eleventh team in F1 as Cadillac. Mario Andretti, who needs no introduction, will serve as director of the board. They have several paragraphs at the link below.

https://news.cadillac.com/newsroom.detail.html/Pages/news/us/en/2024/nov/1125-f1.html

My understanding is that they will run on Ferrari power until they get their own power unit together.

Wow, I've really dropped the ball here. We're a handful of races into the 2025 season and I've posted nothing since November.

I've been disappointed with Lewis Hamilton's performance and Ferrari in general this year so far. I thought Ferrari were improving and might be strong contenders for 2025 but so far they're upper-mid pack rather than front-runners. On top of that relative mediocrity, Hamilton has thus far been lagging behind his own teammate, which is never a good look. I'm afraid his best years are behind him.

McLaren are looking great so far, and I like to see that. They're one of the legacy teams with tremendous success in the past but in more recent history had spent too much time near the back, so it's great seeing them winning and at least on the podium regularly.

I'm also happy for Williams. Like McLaren, they've been in the sport for many decades and were once a top team, but have struggled for quite a while. They're not quite front-runners, but they're often running in the top ten so that's a huge improvement over regularly taking up the rear. I wish them continued success and further improvement.