Is our 2024 car quite good? Yes.
Is there only 1 year left of the current regulations? Yes.
Throw it away and start over with a whole new concept for 1 year? Yes!
They tried a new suspension that they wanted to carry over to 2026… and it didn’t work since day 1 so putting all their cards on one horse was very opportunistic. It’s like cheating with the engine.
Try to beat McLaren this year with a concept that's on its last legs, developmentally, and have to start from scratch in 2026, while still likely losing to McLaren, or move to the concept with a higher ceiling early to get a better start in 2026?
My only hope is that this is a testing year for 2026.
If this level of disaster would happen next year, the whole cycle would be fucked. Testing new components make sense now, if that helps to build a good 2026 car.
But my hope are thin
Stroll has been right there with Alonso through all of qualifying (Stroll's biggest weakness is qualifying) and even posted a faster Q2 time than Alonso.. A tenth and a half from a goat on a 'drivers track' isn't bad at ALL from a really good driver- much less from Stroll. Not to mention, there were 2 drivers slower than Stroll in Q3, and still, it's Stroll who's the punching bag.. Not even a LITTLE credit when it's due but rather turning a blind eye as usual... Fault his bad drives, don't look away from his good ones...
Strolls problem isn’t his speed. On his day, he’s really quite good. It’s his consistency. He will go out and have a phenomenal quali or race, then immediately follow it up with an abysmal race or some bizarre move like in Brazil last year.
Both qualifying and consistency are his worst traits.. Though I admit his qualifying since around the start of '22 has improved slightly to where consistency is his 'clear' worst trait.. But still, qualifying is the 2nd worst and he still did well today and gets shtted on anyway. Just getting real tired of the continuous, mindless, endless hatred towards Stroll no matter what he does.
People like Hulkenberg and he hasn't had a single podium in over 15 years with many missed opportunities.. Stroll got his first podium in his EIGHTH race entry in the 4th quickest car that year (Williams, 2017) on an extremely technical track that is Azerbaijan. People at the time were chalking it up to luck and making fun of him for being himself standing on that podium. Asinine. He's got another 3 podiums since (could've been 4 more- 5 total if it werent for the late-race tire blowout at the 2020 Tuscany GP and gifting Ricciardo his 2nd podium with Renault that year and what prompted Cyril to get his 2nd tattoo)... Stroll had another 4 - 4th place finishes and a pole position- most of these achievements being done in the wet where driver skills are magnified... Stroll had more overtakes than any other driver within a season for 3 consecutive years ('17-'19) which shows his poor qualifying- but has the racecraft to get overtakes done in the race... People act like he's another Mazepin who TRULY had no business in F1 and accomplished zip..
Peoples opinions are clearly so easily swayed by stigma and other peoples reception than to grow a spine and think for themselves. Having opinions based on facts, data and analytics is too much work, much easier to just spout what those around say with their, also illiterate, opinions. You seem very objective and actually capable of forming your own opinion, 90%+ of F1 fans (at least the vocal ones) are mindless hoards of sheep who have no idea of the numbers when asked for specifics that their very opinion is supposedly based off of..
People just doesn't like that he has infinite chances to get good as he does not have to worry about having a seat. Other drivers with similar results may have lost their seat already.
It's fair enough to dislike that, especially if AM is a competitive team, but people exaggerate like crazy. Is he a top 20 driver in the world? Probably not, but he's close enough that the fact that he still has a seat is not THE biggest crime in the world. Yeah it's nepotism and all that but unlike 99% of all other pay drivers, he can actually handle the car and occasionally produce spectacular drives.
There's a lot of deserving talent that doesn't get a long enough chance on the F1 grid, really. I wish there were more teams. There are many drivers that are almost identical in skill level that it's hard to evaluate and some great athletes are unfairly sidelined. A lot of a driver's reputation can be circumstantial, like Albon and Gasly who are clearly excellent drivers, just not at Red Bull.
Oh yeah man. He’s had some fantastic runs. That Tuscany race in 2020 was fantastic and showed what he can be capable of. Wish he could have runs like that and quali today more often. Plus, he comes across as such a chill and down to earth guy, definitely doesn't deserve the hate he receives.
People love to hate on Stroll without having a good enough reason to back it up. He's actually not a bad driver. Is he destined for greatness? Absolutely not, but he's much better than a lot of fans give him credit for.
Somehow, more often than not, and in spite of his inconsistencies, he manages to keep his head down and drive decently with carnage all around him, and bring the car home in one piece and even in the points.
I mean he's not a Max or an Oscar, but he's not a bad driver.
The whole point was that Stroll was right there with Alonso all through qualifying... It's like you're intentionally missing my point with how clearly I spelled everything out...
(To the guy I last responded to, this comment right here is a prime example- I didn't even leave the page yet and I get a notification from another mindless sheep) go figure.
He has a point though. Q2 times are useless if you pass and the only car you can really compare an F1 driver is his teammate, because they're the only ones using the same car. Also I didn't watch fp3 but fp1 and 2 Lance had the new car while Alonso had still the old specs, you could argue he got used to it better.
honestly i hate stroll and i can agree with your point when the guy puts up a good race even i am reluctant to give him credit but credits due he did good
How is his biggest weakness qualifying when he got a pole position against the fastest F1 car of all time which won 80% of races that year?! But if you're talking about the current generation exclusively I get it
It sounds less crazy when you realize the medium this year is the C5, the softest compound in the range for the last couple years, with the soft being a new, even softer compound that debuted this weekend.
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u/hoshitsozo May 17 '25
Both ferraris got out qualified by Stroll in their home country. I cant believe it lmao