Gasly misses having chance to win races

39 comments on “Gasly misses having chance to win races”

1. 

   mog
   17th August 2018, 1:16

   Just as I was thinking Alonso had resisted the urge at a parting shot at F1, it emerges.
   1. 

      ajpennypacker (@ajpennypacker)
      17th August 2018, 17:24

      I don’t think of it as a parting shot, he’s been saying the same thing for the last few years.
2. 

   Jay Menon (@jaymenon10)
   17th August 2018, 1:22

   Agree with CoTD.

   For Sainz, I guess he was left with little choice, there was nowhere else to go. The question is, how much of his reputation will take a hit if he gets beaten by Stoff next year?

   For Mclaren, this is a big risk as well. Two relatively inexperienced drivers in what is a difficult time for the team. They will have no benchmark. They will also suffer from a marketing perspective. Alonso was the only reason they’ve maintained a morsel of credibility with respect to sponsors over the last couple years.

   I wonder if they made a move for Kimi. That would have made sense for 19. He’s a very popular driver, can be quick in the right environment, and would have provided a reference of sorts.

   Sainz needed the Mclaren drive more than Mclaren needed him. I wish him all the best though.
   1. 

      Ju88sy (@)
      17th August 2018, 10:52

      @jaymenon10 Ignoring Sainz age and experience relative to Fernando he does have two different teams and five seasons behind him now, cannot really label him with the inexperienced badge any longer!

      Will be interesting to see how he does vs Stoff or whoever ends up in that seat. If McLaren can arrest their decline with next years car, then I am sure Sainz is capable of delivering solid results for them.
3. 

   KGN11
   17th August 2018, 4:38

   And people wonder why none of the big teams showed any interest in Alonso?

   As the saying goes, “you only sing when you’re winning”.

   Had he been offered a seat at Mercedes or Ferrari, he’d have no problem with ‘predictable results’. So his comments are like the Fox saying the grape is sour because he can’t reach it. Good riddance to him.
   1. 

      ColdFly (@)
      17th August 2018, 8:39

      The interview is actually mostly positive; just explaining why he is looking for other challenges.
      He is most critical of all the ‘off track’ discussion; people focussing on him being ‘sad’ rather than the positive experiences.

      As Alonso’s quote goes “It was not the case, and it’s not the case now”
   2. 

      Maurice
      17th August 2018, 12:56

      I don’t know what planet you live on but he is 100% accurate.
      Of course if you are a Hamilton fan, F1 is perfect – little competition from the others and lots of championships, Same as when Vettel was at Red Bull.
      If you put bias aside and look at reality, F1 is boring and predictable to the point only 2 teams have a shot at winning and the rest are midfielders and have NO chance of winning. Is that racing?
      This is why F1 is losing fans – it isn’t the pinnacle of racing but the pinnacle of racing technology.
      It’s a dog and pony show.
   3. 

      Maurice
      17th August 2018, 13:00

      He’ll be back
   4. 

      BMF66
      17th August 2018, 13:52

      Haven’t you noticed that all F1 drivers complain. Even when they are winning.
4. 

   anon
   17th August 2018, 5:24

   Will be funny when Alonso starts complaining about being robbed of a race win because of a full course yellow for a tiny piece of carbon fibre being off the race line.
5. 

   Yram
   17th August 2018, 6:34

   Regarding Keith’s post, I’m sure Alonso meant the grid in general and not just the fight for victory. He did state that he wasn’t in contention for victories in those years mentioned, however it was still unpredictable regarding the places down to 15th. Rose tinted glasses, really? I’ve been watching F1 for a very long time and I sadly agree with the sentiment that F1 is on a decline, let’s hope it can be fixed. Otherwise I don’t see the sport having a fraction of the global foot print it once had.
   1. 

      KGN11
      17th August 2018, 7:48

      How exactly are YOU sure that’s what Alonso meant?
      1. 

         Yram
         17th August 2018, 15:51

         Have you read the article? No telepathy needed.
   2. 

      magon4 (@magon4)
      17th August 2018, 9:00

      I have been watching F1 for around 30 years now, and there haven’t been many years with more competitiveness than this one.

      Three teams capeable of winning is very rare.
      The midfield being bunched together like this is pretty rare.
      The difference between top teams and midfield teams used to be much bigger, in quite a few seasons.

      I think this season is one of the most competetive I’ve experienced, but do agree that something could be done (outside of DRS) to make passing a more realistic possibility.
      1. 

         Gary
         17th August 2018, 10:24

         The fundamental problem with F1 today is that the cars are not exciting to watch, whether fighting for position or not, as they appear to be on rails. Go back and watch some F1 videos from the 1970s. Those cars were exciting to watch regardless of the intensity of the “racing”.
         1. 

            Ju88sy (@)
            17th August 2018, 10:57

            The 2018 cars are fabulous to watch live rather than TV (been to three races this season ), the sheer speed is breathtaking to behold, it was incredible watching the cars at Silverstone through Becketts and Abbey, the cornering speed and downforce was astonishing.
6. 

   bull mello (@bullmello)
   17th August 2018, 7:03

   Looks like Gasly might have a chance at being in a more competitive ride pretty soon.
   – – –

   Oh, and no doubt the US is looking forward to having Frederico Alonso racing in IndyCar next year!
   1. 

      Hugh (@hugh11)
      17th August 2018, 11:36

      I believe his name is Feliciano Alonso.
      1. 

         Baasbas
         17th August 2018, 14:08

         No, I believe you’re mistaken good sir. I am positively sure it is Freddo Alonso
7. 

   Sumedh
   17th August 2018, 7:03

   Call me a cynic. But I think Ocon’s time has come and gone and he will not make it to Mercedes. The entire driver market is moving at decent pace, the Perez-led Stroll move to Force India/Canada, Alonso’s exit, Ricciardo moving to Renault, Sainz to McLaren but Ocon (and Mercedes) seem to be just playing the waiting game. And I think Mercedes decision to go slow on Ocon may be because they don’t rate him as highly anymore. If so, there is only one reason for this – Ocon’s qualifying speed. He is beating Checo in most qualifyings but the gap is less than a tenth. And this is Checo, who lost in qualifying to Button, who himself never even got close to Hamilton in dry qualifyings.

   I think Ocon may have a future like Wehrlein as Mercedes looks towards George Russell now.
   1. 

      Captain Pie (@captainpie)
      17th August 2018, 7:21

      If that is the case hen it looks like the Mercedes young driver program is more vicious then the Red Bull one.
      1. 

         Michael Brown (@)
         17th August 2018, 15:07

         Perhaps they should get an official B-team?
      2. 

         erikje
         17th August 2018, 18:05

         It already is.. look at Wehrlein. But bashing RBR seems popular.
   2. 

      Todfod (@todfod)
      17th August 2018, 7:46

      I think the biggest threat to Ocon’s future is George Russell. If you think about it, the biggest threat to Wehrlein staying on the grid was Ocon. If Ocon wasn’t entering the sport in 2017, Wehrlein would have easily been in that Force India seat. Wehrlein was pretty good on his day, and I actually think it’s a bit of a shame he didn’t get another season in the sport.

      Nothing can really be a step up for Ocon next year.. it’s Williams at best, or a Mercedes reserve driver at worst for him.
      1. 

         Osella-AlfaRomeo (@osella-alfaromeo)
         17th August 2018, 8:24

         Maybe Ocon should cut his ties with Mercedes and sign op with Red Bull. Would make a nice pairing with Max.
         It’s a shame if he had to ride the donkey at Williams.
         1. 

            Martijn (@)
            17th August 2018, 8:31

            Nice one
   3. 

      DB-C90 (@dbradock)
      17th August 2018, 10:19

      The problem is that Mercedes don’t have a team to put their “young drivers” in like Red Bull do.

      There’s no likelihood of a vacancy in the main team any time soon, so instead or rotating drivers through a sister team, they try to farm them out to other teams.

      The other teams unfortunately have financial pressures that cause them to need to take on drivers with heavy financial backing and Mercedes don’t want to match that so their “young drivers” miss out.

      I’m really hoping that Toto is reaching out to Red Bull to see if they’d like to borrow Ocon for a couple of years. He’s far and away the best (my opinion only) of the next crop and having him and Max go at each other I think would be pretty entertaining.

      It would be a real shame to see him forced out of F1 while drivers of lesser talent continue to trundle around at the back of the field simply because they bring cash to the table. The fact that it’s even being discussed as a possibility is even worse.

      Kinda supports Jacques argument from yesterday’s article doesn’t it.
      1. 

         Cronies
         17th August 2018, 12:29

         Merc are running with a clear No.1 and No.2 driver which they very comfortable with at the moment. You get the feeling at this point Merc are not looking for the next Max, they happy to have Bottas – fast but not too fast. In a more cutthroat environment (Redbull program) Bottas would have been shown the door.
   4. 

      Ju88sy (@)
      17th August 2018, 11:04

      Cynic! I really hope you are wrong. I think the comparison with Perez on Qualifying is a touch black and white assuming that drivers don’t develop, Perez hit his stride at with Force India – I am certain the Perez now driving would out qualify the Perez who drove at McLaren.

      I feel you might be right though! It looks likely one of Russell/Ocon will have a reserve driver role in 2019.
      1. 

         Hugh (@hugh11)
         17th August 2018, 11:34

         Or alternatively, in a fantasy world, Raikkonen retires, Leclerc goes to Ferrari, Perez goes back to Sauber to try and get a better chance of a Ferrari seat, Ocon stays at Force India alongside Stroll, and Russell and Kubica are in the Williams.
8. 

   Todfod (@todfod)
   17th August 2018, 8:20

   The lap was really clean and probably one of my best in F1 but that’s the way it is in F1. The package you have really decides the position you’re going to be in.

   Welcome to F1, son.

   Gasly is one of the last guys who should be missing winning. I don’t think he won any races in 2015 and 2016. He only started winning in 2017 in GP2 (and won the title) if I remember correctly. So, he’s got a long way to go at winning races in F1, especially with Honda power at the back.
   1. 

      Martijn (@)
      17th August 2018, 8:33

      It’s his PR machine grabbing the moment. All needs to be done to get that 2nd RedBull seat
   2. 

      Joao (@johnmilk)
      17th August 2018, 10:43

      Alonso announced the retirement a few days ago and the kid is already stealing his quotes.

      What a yoke
   3. 

      ajpennypacker (@ajpennypacker)
      17th August 2018, 17:37

      @todfod Besides I think Max’s dominance will turn him into a #2 driver. Gasly does have a big mouth for someone who has won so little. He has a very subtle understated arrogance about him. The way he tried to make fun of Alonso in Bahrain… kid needs to learn to win something before he can start even talking about the legends.
9. 

   Girts (@girts)
   17th August 2018, 9:22

   Firstly, someone should ask Alonso to “put the first 15 positions with maybe one or two mistakes” for the Belgian and Italian GP today…

   Unless you pick a specific race or an unusual season (like 2012), there is no way you can prove that F1 was more unpredictable 10 or 5 years ago. The number of different winners or podium finishers in a season was mostly about the same or even smaller, quite often only two teams could win races etc. Alonso might be somewhat right about the increased focus on off-track action but that is not because nothing happens on the track – let us not forget that the impact of social media has increased a lot since those ‘good old days’.

   Alonso might indeed have enjoyed 2011 more than the current season. That is because back then he saw the light at the end of the tunnel – it turned out to be a train coming the other way but he did not know it yet. He was still young enough and could realistically hope to win more championship titles in the future. That is not the case anymore. That is why I believe that his decision to leave F1 is the right one. Harsh criticism of F1 is a good thing, there are a lot of things that F1 should do much better. But false or even ridiculous claims that tell you much more about a former champion’s own failures than they do about the sport are not helping.
10. 

    Jere (@jerejj)
    17th August 2018, 10:03

    I couldn’t agree more with @keithcollantine‘s tweet. I’m not trying to attack Alonso or any individual for that matter, but how can anyone in their right mind think that F1 was less predictable when Schumacher and Ferrari won almost everything Vs., how it is these days? Yes, it was less predictable regarding the places down to P15, for example, as @Yram points out above, but that’s equally the case today as well, so no difference there in that regard, but F1 is definitely much less predictable today when looking at the field as a ‘whole’ than it was in 2004 (or 2002, 2011, ’13, ’14, ’15, or ’16 for that matter).
    – The COTD also has interesting points as does Gasly.
    – The typing error by the Associated Press, though. Francisco Alonso, LOL.
    1. 

       ajpennypacker (@ajpennypacker)
       17th August 2018, 17:40

       The Schumacher dominance years were the worst ever in Formula 1. However, other than Schumacher the races were quite mixed behind him. Lots of odd podiums, good on track racing, etc. Alonso does have a point, but it probably needed further explanation to keep the haters from popping out and start calling him names.
11. 

    Robbie (@robbie)
    17th August 2018, 13:39

    I think FA is entitled to feel the way he does. I think that he obviously knows the stats such as from the year that has been selected to highlight one of MS’s strongest as a rebuttal to FA’s remarks. But obviously FA must mean something more than just predictable winners, as he points out the top 15 runners. He is speaking of his own experience in years when he wasn’t winning, but apparently had more fun and thought more of the on-track action, which is really the underlying theme here.

    So FA makes remarks that seem a little strange on the outset, and that suddenly makes today’s on-track action just fine, in spite of the miriad complaints about the tires and drs and the product on the track needing improving? So all this talk of the coming changes for 2021 should be shelved because the product is just fine compared to 04 and FA is off his rocker?

    FA obviously had more fun in other years prior to the hybrid era, even when he wasn’t winning. Is that so hard to imagine? Isn’t that why there is an overwhelming feeling change is needed in F1, and why indeed that change is in the works and is coming?

    Since FA is a smart cookie I’d be willing to bet that an expanded interview where he is asked to further explain what he means, given examples such as 2004, in his own language, would probably reveal more, and I’m sure tires, drs, complexity, driving to delta times, ultra conservation of too many things at once making it an engineers race rather than a driver’s one, and drivers as passengers, grid penalties, etc., might be some of the things he would compare to 2004, and would more clearly explain his personal take on things.
12. 

    Pjotr (@pietkoster)
    17th August 2018, 17:46

    Really the only one in the last two years who made F1 worth while to watch is Max Verstappen. Sadly they have all kind of stupid rules to take the fun out of it. F1 management is committing suïcide.

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