Yeah but if you change the name from Horner to Toto RL would have added 50+ pages by now. People only want to move along because it is not good either way for their beloved Homer but if the person involved was HAM or Toto it would be all fine.

 

There's been some good racing everywhere in the field if you just ignore Max. Which is easy to do because they seldom show him

 

I dunno. I'm agnostic to who's involved and still would not give a damn if it was Toto. I've never been a soap opera fan regardless of the characters. YMMV.

 

Nobody here jumped on Toto or Susie when he was accused of knowing something he shouldn't.

 

Now you are just being a paranoid delusional....

 

Hopefully, 2 things will happen, and soon.
F1 racing will become more interesting (even if it is only mid-pack...), and Horny-gate will evaporate into the ozone.
Hate to say it, but I'm with Idamelio on this one.

 

I wasn’t going to respond to your post, because in some ways I tend to agree. But the racing is pretty much taking second chair to the chaos that is the RB team at the moment, and all of us that have been following F1 for decades can see that the WDC and WCC has been, bar a miracle, settled for 2024. And it’s a real shame that someone, anyone isn’t at least making Max work a little for his victories instead of getting 30 seconds ahead and then cruising to victory. I am not taking any away from him, he is the ‘Terminator’ amongst current drivers and with the RB under him, he’s untouchable. Hell, I don’t mind him winning even though he is far from my favourite driver/individual as he deserves it; I just wish the sharp end was far closer.

But this RB chaos that you don’t think is pertinent to being in an F1 thread, misses the point that what is happening within the team; “nonsense” to use your term (although the female involved may well not agree with you since she’s lost her job), has the potential for upending so much of the paddock in 2025, to an extent that no-one could have seen coming; that yes, it’s bloody pertinent and interesting, and is worthwhile discussing due to where many of our favourite drivers and other team members end up next year.

 

This isn't RebBull chaos. This is nut job Jos Verstappen chaos.

 

What everyone is forgetting is F1 has always been about "the show".

Handsome daring men, pretty girls, famous people, exotic locations, drama, politics, cheating, really cool cars, egos, and a $hit ton of money. It is all of one with F1.

 

I friend of mine and Ferrari/F1 fanatic has alway said Formula 1 is a soap opera briefly interrupted by car races.

 

REALLY pretty girls.

 

OK - I really do not mean to bring the walls down upon me, but help me understand the thrill of the modern F1 when Red Bull is so dominant. Watched the IMSA 12 Hour at Sebring Saturday. That was racing with the winners in multiple classes of cars not decided until thee very end. I have been a F1 fan since Hill, Moss, Clark, Stewart, Gurney & Fangio. We used to have to wait for the next R&T to get the results of two races if we were lucky.
I am at the point that if I miss the beginning or even the entire F1 broadcast, so be it. I will NOT miss an IMSA or WEC race at any cost. Passing on the Circuit of the Americas F1 for the WEC.
What’s the thrill these days?

 

Been that way in Italy for about seven decades...

 

I get your point but you might not be remembering history as is was.

When Jim Clark was at his peak he absolutely dominated the competition. In 1963 he won 7 out 10 races and in 1965 6 out of 10.

Jackie Stewart was more the same. In 1969 6 of 11.

Fango was same 4 out 6 in 1955 and the same goes most championship seasons in F1 history. Domination by one driver and one team. Only occasional do we get a close battle.

It's comparable to watching Michael Jordan in his prime, Tiger Woods in his, Tom Brady, Lewis Hamilton, Senna, Prost, Schumacher etc. Watching modern F1 is watching Verstappen and Adrian Newey be great, almost flawless.

 

I think you have to link seasons rather than isolate individual years. Although I wasn't born during the Clark days and was a bit lad during the Jackie Stewart days, I can say without question that the McLaren/Senna/Prost years where they only lost 1 race all season (reminds you of 2023 doesn't it), Schumacher, Vettel, Ham, Max years were all dominated to one extent or another. Trying to watch someone try and beat Goliath is part of the appeal. Fernando/Renault/Michelin finally beating the almighty Schumacher/Ferrari dynasty. Max finally bearing the all conquering Mercedes/HAM/Rosberg years.

And let's not pretend there wasn't drama, soap operas and politics in the "good 'ol days". Senna and Prost internal dynamics at McLaren and the FIA's Jean Marie Balestre certainly comes to mind with a very controversial finale that ended up in a championship being awarded in suspect circumstances... sound familiar? The more things change, the more they stay the same.