Tag: Haas

F1 Netherlands Recap: Piastri Surges, Weug Shines, and Chaos Everywhere

F1 Netherlands Recap: Piastri Surges, Weug Shines, and Chaos Everywhere

The summer break is over, engines are hot, and Formula 1 is officially back. Both the F1 Academy and the big show delivered a weekend full of drama, milestones, and messy storylines.

F1 Academy: Home Heroes & Birthday Magic

Qualifying started on a damp track and wet tires, red flags flying before a single lap time stuck. Lia Block gambled early on slicks, but it was Maya Weug—roaring in front of her home fans—who stormed to pole.

Race One flipped the grid for the top eight, putting Nina Gademan on pole on her 22nd birthday. After Tina Hausmann crunched her PREMA into the wall, Weug carved from eighth to third, Block scored her first podium, and Gademan held on for a storybook maiden win.

Race Two had heartbreak before the lights: title contender Chloe Chambers never got off the line. Weug did, leading wire to wire for a home-soil victory. Alisha Palmowski and championship leader Doriane Pin rounded out the podium, while Esmee Kosterman made history as the first wild card to score points.

With two rounds left, Pin leads Weug by just 20 points, Chambers slipping to third. The championship fight is officially alive.

F1: Piastri Pounces, Norris Burns, Haas Gambles

Max Verstappen opened his home weekend by beaching himself in FP1. Lance Stroll crashed in FP2. By FP3, Lando Norris looked untouchable, topping all three sessions and flirting with the track record. \

Qualifying turned brutal for Lance Stroll, who crashed his Aston again, while both Haas cars bowed out in Q1. Norris lit up the timing sheets with back-to-back track records in Q2 and Q3, but Oscar Piastri had the final word—snatching pole with an even quicker lap and setting the stage for Sunday’s showdown.

Sunday’s race was chaos from lap one. Verstappen hounded Norris early, Hamilton found the wall in the wet on lap 23, and Haas rolled the dice by not pitting under safety car. Somehow, it worked.

The carnage piled up: Sainz tagged Liam Lawson and ate a controversial 10-second penalty, Leclerc pulled a wild gravel-dragging overtake on Russell, then got sent into the wall by rookie Kimi Antonelli—who stacked 15 seconds worth of penalties by day’s end. That wreck handed Haas their lifeline, pitting late and landing both cars in the points despite being eliminated in Q1.

The hammer blow? Norris’ McLaren coughing smoke on lap 65, turning a near-title fight into breathing room for his teammate. Piastri took the flag, Verstappen salvaged second, and rookie Isack Hadjar stole Driver of the Day with his first podium.

The Numbers That Matter

  • Drivers’ Championship: Piastri 309, Norris 275, Verstappen 205
  • Constructors’ Championship: McLaren +324, Ferrari second but just 12 points clear of Mercedes
  • Next stop: Monza, where the Tifosi will demand blood-red redemption after Ferrari’s double DNF.

2024 F1 Season Preview

2024 F1 Season Preview

The 2023 F1 season was dominated by Red Bull, winning all but one race that season, most by Max Verstappen. Despite there being absolutely zero drama for either championship, the constructors standings were a lot of fun to follow below that. Mercedes edged out Ferrari by three points for second, while McLaren finished 22 points ahead of Aston Martin for fourth and fifth. Alpine had plenty of space on both sides as they finished sixth, while Alex Albon scored all but one of the Williams points to help them finish ahead of Alpha Tauri in seventh. Haas was unable to score any points after Singapore, and only one point after Miami to finish last on the season.

This year looks like it may be much more of the same from Red Bull after they dominated the times in preseason testing, while Haas was by far the slowest. While Williams had a quality season in 2023, they made plenty of concept changes this season, and it didn’t show all that great come testing, having the second slowest race simulation pace and qualifying simulation pace. Sauber (formerly Alpha Romeo) and Alpine had almost identical times in both sims, meaning we could be in for quite a battle there, although battling for seventh and eighth is definitely not where Alpine wants to be. The team that really opened some eyes in testing was the newly branded RB Cash Back Visa team, both with an impressive livery and impressive times. They put in times that suggest they could compete with the likes of Aston Martin rather than a team that points on a weekend feels like a success.

The big news on the driver front was the fact no seats are changing from the end of season to the start of this season, but then we learned Lewis Hamilton will be driving for Ferrari in 2025, meaning “silly season” will be all season. It should be interesting to see how this plays out as Mercedes and Ferrari anticipate battling it out for second all season, but Hamilton, George Russell, Charles Leclerc, Carlos Sainz, and Sergio Perez are all likely eyeing second place in the driver’s championship this year, assuming Verstappen runs away with it again this year.

Here are my predictions for the finishing order this season, starting with the constructor’s championship:

  1. Red Bull
  2. Mercedes
  3. Ferrari
  4. Mclaren
  5. Aston Martin
  6. RB
  7. Alpine
  8. Williams
  9. Sauber
  10. Haas

And for the driver’s championship:

  1. Max Verstappen
  2. Charles Leclerc
  3. George Russell
  4. Lewis Hamilton
  5. Sergio Perez
  6. Lando Norris
  7. Carlos Sainz
  8. Fernando Alonso
  9. Oscar Piastri
  10. Daniel Ricciardo
  11. Piere Gasly
  12. Alex Albon
  13. Lance Stroll
  14. Vallteri Bottas
  15. Yuki Tsunoda
  16. Esteban Ocon
  17. Logan Sargeant
  18. Niko Hulkenberg
  19. Zhou Guanyu
  20. Kevin Magnussen

F1 is not the only championship starting, we will also see F2 and F3 in action, with plenty of storylines to follow there.

A season ago Theo Pourchaire won the race in Bahrain by 19.666 seconds and went on to win the F2 driver’s championship as well. This year he will serve as the reserve driver for Sauber, so we will see a new winner this season. In fact, the top four finishers from a season ago have moved on to new championships, meaning the highest scoring driver from a season ago returning is Victor Martins, although the favorite just might be PREMA Racing driver Oliver Bearman.

In F3, the opening weekend truly serves as a season preview, as the driver’s championship winner has one at least one race in opening weekend in every F3 season. Winning at the F3 level will largely be uncharted territory for the pack, as only Gabriele Mini and Oliver Goethe will lineup over the weekend with a F3 race win on their resume. There will be 17 rookies on the grid, with both MP and Jenzer rolling out all-rookie driver lineups.

I am sure I speak for all racing fans when I say we can’t wait to hear “light’s out and away we go!”

2024 F1 Season Livery Rankings

Now that all the base liveries for the 2024 season have been unveiled there is only one thing left to do…rank them! Liveries like Ferrari get bonuses for being so widely recognizable similar to the New York Yankees or FC Barcelona, while there are two completely newly branded teams that entered the fray this season. So, lets get to the rankings that I am sure won’t make anyone mad.

10) Haas

The livery doesn’t have a great overhaul from last season, and it is still uninspiring. The extra black down the front of the car actually takes away from the look rather than adding to it. Add to that a change at team principal and two drivers that don’t move the needle, the Haas car is one that will be easily forgotten throughout the season.

9) Alpine

I am not quite sure how they pull it off, but they have hot pink in their color scheme and still end up with a dull livery. Had they gone with a scheme closer to what the Alpine racing team rolled out at Le Mans, it could have been great, but instead it is just blah.

8) Stake

Or are they still Kick Sauber, I can’t keep track, anyway, it looks…unfinished. Nothing on the front wing, Stake along the side pod taking up minimal space and doesn’t flow, it just needs work. That said, going with the brightest color scheme it at least catches your eye and won’t be forgettable like the previous look. It just leaves me wanting more.

7) McClaren

I still love the Google Chrome wheels, without questions the best use of their wheel space for a sponsor, but I wanted more papaya. There is just too much black in this livery for me, or maybe it’s the lines that just don’t flatter the car. That said, the chromed out numbers are pretty sweet and could really shine on race day.

6) Aston Martin

British Racing Green is about as recognizable a color when it comes to a car as the red of Ferrari, so that automatically moves them up a few spots. And they need it because the rest of the livery is just ok. I get Aramco is a sponsor, but their color scheme takes away from the classic green of the car, and moving it from the back side of the rear wing to the front enhances the clash.

5) Visa Cash App RB

I wanted to hate it, I really did, but it doesn’t suck. Yes, it is a busier design than a NASCAR at Daytona, but it is clean at the same time. Visa fits the sidepod well and the multiple bull locations are pretty good. The shine, the lines, they did well for the busiest name/livery in the field.

4) Red Bull

It doesn’t look like there are any major changes to the livery this year, apart from the bull being moved slightly. That said, this is a car that won all but one race a season ago, which gives the livery a history. Add to that Red Bull will certainly roll out a special livery or two this season, it is solid. Didn’t expect much change, and there wasn’t, but it is a solid design.

3) Mercedes

It coulda been so good, and they tipped their toes in the water for it too. A season ago they were basically all black with the teal stripe, this year they added silver to the nose with a wave of teal and I want so much more. If the car had more silver and less black, it could have been so much better. They also added some extra red in a few spots, which doesn’t really fit their color scheme, but at least it adds some color to the livery overall.

2) Williams

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I think they nailed it with this one! The two toned blue, the white lines contrasting against the darker colors. It is really well done. Add to that they bring back the Duracell battery on top which still may be my favorite sponsor incorporation on any F1 car, just a great all-around design.

1) Ferrari

There may not be a more love ’em or hate ’em team than Ferrari (although Red Bull is getting there), but it is hard to not love the Ferrari livery. The most recognizable livery in motorsports got an upgrade this year. The white and yellow stripes on the side pod above the Shell logo is a massive improvement, and adding red to the wheels helps the whole car really pop. Number one really wasn’t a contest this year!

2023 F1 Monaco Grand Prix Preview

Arguably the most iconic track in all of racing, the Monaco Grand Prix takes center stage again this weekend. A year ago the race began behind a safety car on the formation lap before being red flagged due to the pouring rain. Haas has both their cars out of the race by lap 27, with Mick Schumacher’s crash bringing out another red flag.

The story of the day was pole sitter Charles Leclerc pitting well after Sergio Perez and being double stacked with his teammate Carlos Sainz, losing far too much time and falling all the way off the podium. Perez took home the win with Sainz in second and Max Verstappen in third.

This weekend there is a chance of rain all weekend but, after having last weekend’s race in Imola called off due to the immense rain and flooding in the region, it does appear to be a relatively dry weekend. Currently it appears the chance of rain during qualification and race day sitting right around 20%. If there is rain, Pirelli will get the chance to debut their new intermediate and wet tires that don’t require tire warmers.

Ultimately, I anticipate some mild weather coming into play in the strategy of the day which, based on recent seasons, doesn’t bode well for Ferrari despite the fact they may have the best car for the circuit. I anticipate this being the first non-Red Bull win of the season, with Fernando Alonso my pick to end his win drought given how quick the Aston Martin is in the corners and the fact the track will limit the Red Bull DRS impact. That doesn’t mean Red Bull won’t see the podium, as I expect the Perez to have another excellent showing on a street circuit and finish second. Leclerc is my pick to round out the podium and give him his first podium in his hometown.

Other stories to watch will be how Mercedes does this weekend, as they are expected to debut a number of upgrades in Monaco despite it being a track that is easy to clip a wall. With many other teams holding off on their upgrades another week, this may be Mercedes making a desperate swing to regain traction as a top three team, but I am not optimistic.

A driver I think is a lock to finish in the points despite not being one of the top teams is Valtreri Bottas, as I expect him to actually finish in the top eight on Sunday.

We will also see the return of F2 and F3 giving us a full weekend of racing to take in as Monaco becomes the first European race of the season.