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Sergio Perez Leaves Red Bull: A Struggle to Stay at the Top
After facing numerous challenges in the second Red Bull car over the years, Sergio Perez has officially parted ways with the successful racing team. He has consistently been the least impressive driver among those competing for race wins.
The car developed by Red Bull can achieve top-five finishes and podiums, provided the driver can fully utilize its potential. Although Perez has tried to project confidence by stating he has a contract for next year, his performance tells a different story.
Charles Leclerc often claims he achieves the “maximum” result given the quality of his machinery when reflecting on his performances in post-qualifying and post-race interviews.
However, in his last two years at Red Bull, Perez has rarely made the same claim, frequently attributing his disappointing results to factors beyond his control.
The reality is that Red Bull needs a driver who can extract more from the car. While Max Verstappen is unmatched in maximizing the car’s capabilities, several other drivers could likely perform better than Perez.
The Mexican driver has struggled to fit in at the top for some time, and aside from his intense defensive driving, he has contributed little to Red Bull beyond generating substantial sponsorship revenue.
“I’ve mentioned that we’ll be discussing the situation in the coming days,” Perez told the media in Abu Dhabi. “We’ll explore both sides and see if we can reach an agreement. If not, I still have a contract for next year.”
It appears that Red Bull is ready to give a young driver a chance, a move they haven’t always made, suggesting that Perez’s time with the team is numbered.
The team is reportedly prepared to pay millions to part ways with him, and while this may sting financially in the short term, it could lead to significant earnings from the Constructors’ Championship.
Verstappen has been carrying the team in the championship race, even when the car has often been the second, third, or fourth fastest on the grid this season.
While Perez’s struggles may stem partly from the limitations of the RB-20, his own driving has also contributed to his mediocre results.
“You can see how critical it is to have two drivers regularly scoring points in the Constructors’ Championship,” he pointed out. “Ferrari will have a strong lineup next year, and McLaren looks solid as well. Mercedes will have an inexperienced driver in one of their seats, but for us, it’s vital that both our drivers perform consistently to avoid any gaps.”
Ferrari, Mercedes, and McLaren boast far more competitive driver lineups, highlighting the need for an improvement on Red Bull’s part.
While Perez’s replacement has not yet been officially named, Yuki Tsunoda and Liam Lawson seem to be the frontrunners for the seat.
Christian Horner and the Red Bull team have hesitated to promote Tsunoda due to concerns about his attitude, seemingly only reconsidering after he out-qualified Lawson in the last six races.
Given his speed and impressive overtaking abilities, they view Tsunoda as a benchmark for young talent in their junior program rather than a senior team driver.ย
Horner and Helmut Marko have often criticized Tsuondoa for being immature and hotheaded, citing this year’s Bahrain Grand Prix as evidence of immaturity. Yuki drove past Ricciardo on the cool-down lap of the race after being upset that he was ordered to let Daniel by.ย
Yuki has-handedly beaten several teammates in race pace and qualifying, typically checking off everything Red Bull would want in a young driver.
However, all signs suggest that Red Bull is leaning toward Lawson for the seat, citing his mental strength and remarkable pace for someone with just a handful of races under his belt.
What Red Bull values is clear: they want a driver who can handle the pressure of being partnered with Max Verstappen, the team’s clear #1 driver, and will be prioritized at every step. The Dutch will be ruthless towards his teammate and prefers a car that oversteers more than it understands.ย
The team needs a driver who is okay with Max’s preferential treatment and will not fight him too harshly while not crashing the car and delivering at least a solid points haul every race weekend.ย
All signs point to Lawson being their guy, and he has shown enough promise to warrant a look.ย
Ultimately, Red Bull’s decision shows how far off Perez is from his form. It was only in early 2023 when he looked like a potential title contender when he went on his best run of form while at Red Bull, but since then, it has been a sharp decline.ย
Abu Dhabi 2024 might have been the last race of their career; he faces the latter years of his prime, and it currently looks unlikely that a team will take a punt on him. He was terrific at street tracks and did amazing things at Racing Point and Red Bull, but trends dictate his best days are behind him.ย
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Mercedes W15: Surging Performance and Tech Innovations
Mercedes knew the W15 was quicker than the start showed.
After years of premature optimism, Mercedes has finally risen from a suspected contender to an actual one.
Lewis Hamilton is in top form to fight for wins on Sunday. George Russell is living up to “Mr. Saturday” with his great qualifying.
The technical staff believed in the new concept so much. They expected to win races from the start. Instead, they slipped into their familiar position: within the points and shy of victory.
The reason for their optimism in the concept was that the car now aligns more with the rest of the grid. They also had some small innovations of their own.
Trackside engineering director Andrew Shovlin detailed how their current car concept should of been better out of the gate.
โWe were surprised we weren’t quicker at the start,” Shovlin told Autosport.
“We thought we’d made a good car, and underneath it was a good car. It just had some problems that we had to get on top of. Now we’re seeing the result of that hard work.โย
The German manufacturer has plenty of momentum heading into the second half of the season. The team won three of the last four races heading into the summer break.
Their hot form comes after a steady stream of upgrades to the Mercedes car. Monaco was the turning point for the team.
Wind tunnel data and simulations now mirror on-track outcomes with greater accuracy, boosting the team’s competitive edge.
โThe better your models, the better you can develop offline,โ Shovlin said.
โAs we have said, we’ve got lots of different models, and correlation is never perfect, but it’s an area where we’ve definitely seen improvement.ย
Lewis has played a key role in getting the car here. He has tested different setups to understand the car better and given clear feedback on how the car is feeling.
โBut being able to do that across the whole weekend was a bit of a challenge for us in the early part of the year. It’s now more useable.”
Now, it can completely succeed in a variety of tracks and has no inherient weaknessed.
A cautious Toto Wolff refrains from forecasting future races, yet eyes double podium spots as an attainable goal for his team.
The Austrian’s measured optimism reflects both prudence and ambition in the rounds to come.
โIt is difficult to say what will happen in the finalย 10 races,โ Wolff told Autosport Weekly. โThe competitive order between the top four is close.
โThat is a good thing though as it is making the sport incredibly exciting. We will be pushing hard to fight for more victories and aiming to get top three in both championships.โ
The same team that dominated for seven years has struggled since the 2022 rules change that brought back the ground effect concept.
There have been a series of premature calls of Mercedes being back, only to later fall back to the fourth or fifth-fastest team.
After a season and a half with the zero-side pod design, the team made a decision and they decided to follow Red Bull and other teams.
โThe team worked hard to get on top of these issues. As we progressed, we realised what we were doing wrong. From that point on, weโve made solid steps forward,” Wolf said.
The F1 season is set to restart in Zanavoort, and only time will tell if Mercedes can maintain their recent spell of success.
They won’t be in the title fight, but continued great results can only help the prospects of next year’s car.
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Post-Race Debris: Bahrain 2023
Well, the 2023 season started with a bang. There were fireworks on and off the track as the cars finally showcased their proper race pace. This year, testing ran rapidly with rumors and anticipation for what the mighty Aston Martin could show in a race. They got acquainted with the new regulations and took a giant leap this year.
Testing had so many non-answers about who was fast and who was not. It was unclear which teams had their stuff together, but the pessimistic vibes of McLaren, Ferrari, and Mercedes told what teams needed profound changes for success.
There are finally some takeaways:
- Verstappen and Red Bull are a monster coming out of the gate.
- Aston Martin is coming for all the teams in the top 3.
- The development race will matter more than ever.
Let’s get into what happened.
THIS IS ONLY THE FIRST RACE
There is so much doom and gloom on F1 Twitter about how strong Red Bull was in the season’s first race. The car is insane, and Red Bull as an organization is iron-clad. They execute their strategy to a T, and their pitstops are always some of the best on the grid.
Still, Mercedes will not simply stand around and stick with their flawed philosophy. They will bring drastic changes to their car and not just stand around. Ferrari has something in their car which could lead to victories on different tracks. Fred Vausser knows what it takes for a driver to be comfortable in a car, and the team will head in the right direction with him at the helm.
All Aboard The Aston Martin Hypetrain
Following F1 during the break and avoiding the Aston Martin buzz were impossible. Early on, reports came about of drastic improvements, so much that some expect Aston to challenge for a race win.
What played out was a podium for Fernando Alonso after a DNF from Charles Leclerc. Alonso was rapid all weekend, finishing in the top three, even in one session. The car was fast on the track, but only qualified 5th, showing their one-lap pace might not be extraordinary.
While their soft tire pace was nothing to write about, their race pace was insanely good. Perย F1 Pace, their first stint with Alonso on soft tires was only 6th best, but their second and third stints were third best. Checo and Max were the only two drivers better during their second and third stints. Ferrari’s tire degradation is letting their one-lap pace down, and Aston has improved when it comes to their tire deg.
Sam Collins of F1TV created a thread of all the technical changes that Aston Martin brought into the season. They took different ideas from the top three, but the car is mainly Red Bull-inspired. The side pod takes a lot from Red Bull, and the suspension takes a lot from Mercedes, a team who got their tire deg down toward the end of the season.
The team, under the leadership of Mike Krack, has taken a clear step up.
The race wasn’t perfect for Aston as Alonso and Stroll made contact on the first lap. Lance deserves a ton of praise for racing following his injury and grinding out a top 6 finish. Still, his past few seasons of lackluster results leave questions about his ability to help Aston Martin in their push up the grid.
Lance’s seat in F1 came about from his father’s money, and someone in the pinnacle of motorsport should be delivering more promising results. He has flashed moments of good racing, but he must produce consistently this season.
He may take a step forward this year and improve his overall race craft. The car looks very drivable, and excuses are running thin. This year will highlight his level as a driver.
McLaren is really bad
After a considerable shakeup internally that promoted Andrea Stella to team principal, whispers around the paddock pinned the team to take a giant step backward. The race was a disaster as Oscar Piastri DNF, and Lando Norris finished 17th after multiple pitstops due to a car issue. The car and the Alpha Tauri look like one of the most challenging cars to drive on the grid. Even during qualifying, the car was not competitive for any points.ย
Zach Brown said the team expects to bring a series of significant upgrade packages in the future, but the team is far from where they were last season. The car seems to be going nowhere, and the driver’s body language tells the whole story.ย ย
The wind tunnel should be coming soon, and they have the resources to challenge points, so car development should come to them eventually. The question at this point is if it will come soon enough for Lando Norris to say with the team.ย
Ferrari fall flat
The exit of Matia Binnoto had Ferrari fans excited for a new chapter in the team’s leadership. Charles Leclerc came in as a driver the team is building around, and Sainz looked to get off to a hot start and avoid inconsistencies. The one-lap pace of the car remains extraordinary. Charles Leclerc secured second place in qualifying, beating out Checo in the fantastic Red Bull car.ย
The race, however, showed that Ferrari has the same issues they faced last year: teams are closing up to their pace behind them, and Red Bull’s gap keeps increasing. The car tires fall off so quickly, and while their strategy calls were right on, the tires can’t hang on long enough for the drivers to deliver constant lap times. Charles had a few lock-ups that resulted from trying to compensate for the car’s deficiencies.ย
Leclerc ended up retiring due to an engine issue, and Sainz looked off the pace due to tire issues. Carlos needs to figure out the car and get more pace, tire deg aside. Reliability has long been an issue for Ferrari, but they need to get to the bottom of these engine issues before they can afford to develop more on the car.
If Ferrari can focus on engine reliability and tire wear, they should comfortably be the second-best team on the grid. It just seems “if” never becomes “when.”
Mercedes needs a new direction
It’s time to end the “zero sidepod” and start from scratch. One of Mercedes’ customer teams surpassed them, and Sunday’s Bahrain race was embarrassing. Russell was unable to defend from Stroll, who was coming off an injury, and it looked like the car did not have any noteworthy pace. Qualifying was a dud, and the race was even worse as the machinery let the drivers down.ย
The team came so far in the backstretch of last year, almost passing Ferrari in the battle for second. The car’s race pace is not as good as Aston Martin’s. Red Bull, and to a lesser extent Ferrari, have the best handle on the regulations, and it’s time to admit defeat on their ideas. Seeing the three top teams’ unique philosophies was fascinating, but Mercedes must give up.ย
Lewis’s recent comments about the car highlight the need for a philosophical pivot. He is still a phenomenal driver and can extract all the car offers. If Lewis can only get to fifth place in the car and not challenge for a podium, then there are severe issues with the car. He can massage tires like no other, and even his tires fell off a cliff. Toto Wolf has a lot of work in front of him. He is facing the most challenging time he has ever met and needs to show he can pull the team together.ย
Quick hits
- Shoutout to Logan Sargeant and the Williams team. They scored a point, and Logan was competitive with Albon. The team looks like they will fight for issues later in the season.ย
- Verstappen is on another level and will walk away with another driver’s championship. 2021 will be a stain on his record, whether fair or not, but these last two years, he has more than deserved the title of the best driver. He is truly a racing monster, and with a Red Bull car that good, it is genuinely terrifying.ย
- Everyone has been discussing Lando Norris leaving McLaren, but starting the conversation feels early. He seems to love McLaren, and it feels like he will give them every chance to figure it out, but if Checo continues not to be a match for Max, the Red Bull seat could entice him to jump ship.ย
- Gasly looked like a new man on Alpine after a successful debut. He didn’t qualify well but made his way up the grid and got 8th place.ย
- Alpine needs to stick with the pink livery. It stands out and looks fantastic on the track. The color also saves a tiny bit of weight, giving the team even more incentive.ย
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Post Race Debris: United States 2022
The tires were cooking like barbeque. The drivers were in cowboy boots and horses (for Daniel Ricciardo). Crashes covered the track in debris. We went racing the American way.
Yee-Haw. What a race that was. So much happened in the race that I needed to watch it another few times to digest everything that happened entirely.
There were several crashes on the track, a car went 45 degrees in the air, and Shaq returned to present the race trophy.
The racing was spectacular on the track, with everything a dry way could provide. Red Bull, the team who never makes pitstop mistakes, had an issue with their tire gun. There were some good old fashion undercuts and overtook all over the track.
Red Bull won the Constructor’s Champions, but I can’t help feeling uneasy about their wins. Newey built a heck of a car. That thing drives like a monster on four wheels, but the cost cap scandal looms large over there. I want to give them credit, but I can only once I know the nature of the violation and if the FIA deemed it worthy of a sporting penalty.
Still, with the cloud of the cost cap scandal looming about everyone’s head, the race provided magic.
Not So Smooth Operator
What a nightmare season for Carlos Sainz; his car has been beached, battered, and bruised all season long. It is a shame because of how much pace Ferrari has, and the performances that Carlos can extract from the car are genuinely astounding.
At the start of the race, Carlos began on one due to a beautiful lap during qualifying. He gained just enough pace in the first section to make the difference and earn pole position.
He immediately lost the position due to Max’s raging Red Bull. When the cars reached the corner, Carlos was shocked to see George sticking his nose out so much. At this point, it was too late.
George Russell was totally at fault for this incident. He was trying to prevent Hamilton from taking the corner and forcing Lewis behind him. While accepting that inside line and going back outside, he went straight into the Formula 1 car of Carlos Sainz.
Carlos Sainz added to his season of terrible luck. He happened to cut across George while Russell attempted a risky maneuver. Carlos could have done more, considering the risk of letting Max Verstappen build a significant lead.
This moment is the perfect headstone for Carlos’ season, filled with mistakes and errors.
Russell’s early run of consistency has taken a downward spiral for the past few races. Hamilton is catching him in terms of race pace, while George is pushing too hard as a measure of overcompensation.
Both of these drivers need to keep their noses clean going forward. Russell needs to relax in the car and look to survive going forward. Carlos Sainz could use momentum entering the following season as Ferrari look to challenge for a title next year.
A Stroll Around The Track
What a crash! It seemed to be another Alonso overtake when Lance Stroll jinked his car to the left. This last-minute move resulted in this insane crash. The move was made by the book when it came to Alonso.
The fault was purely on Stroll for that last-minute move. He just realized that Alonso was coming too late and made an incredibly late move.
Lance was given a 3-place grid penalty for this mistake after the race.
A 3 place grid penalty is incredibly light due to how dangerous the move was. That could have ended much worse for Alonso and even Stroll, who was in the middle of the track.
Stroll deserves a race ban for that maneuver. The FIA needs to stamp out those last-minute jinks from the sport for the safety of the drivers. Even in real-time, it is visible that Stroll purposefully made the late move.
Race Pace Analysis
@F1DataAnalysis is one of the best accounts on Twitter when it comes to data from an F1 race. According to their data, the red bull car was the fastest on the track. Hamilton’s Mercedes held its own in the race, beating out the Ferrari of Charles Leclerc.
The Mercedes usually does well during the race while struggling in qualifying sessions. This trend played out at the USGP, with the Mercedes qualifying 5th and 6th.
Hamilton’s race pace is a great thing for Mercedes in the future, but it also showcases how much they need to improve to catch Red Bull.
Ocon’s pace at this track is underwhelming, considering how fast the Alpine car is. Gasly and Yuki got a lot out of the Alphatauri, a car that has struggled all season long. Charles Leclerc’s massive variation in race pace boils down to the tires working. He has faced some traffic since he started in 12th place, but his uneasiness with the tires still causes some fluctuations.
The most significant gap between teammates, unfortunately, is Ricciardo and Norris. Lando is flying that McLaren, showcasing a team building a car to make the driver comfortable. After two solid performances, Ricciardo fell off a Texas-sized cliff in the race. He cannot produce in the car this season, and after losing so much confidence, it could get worse from here on it.
Horsey McHorse showed up to race!
While his racing isn’t up to his standard, Daniel Ricciardo’s flair is better than ever. He arrived on a horse with its own media pass and a stars and stripes jacket. Toothpick in mouth, Ricciardo was followed by a country-playing band.
His vibe is genuinely unique, and Ricciardo loves Texas so much. It has something to do with Texas’ climate and geography, similar to Daniel’s home country of Australia. He needs to remain around the paddock in sort of fashion or form.
The USGP will be the same with him next year, but hopefully, ESPN or Sky will offer him a commentary role.
No one does Texas like Ricciardo.
Williams wins the Livery Race
Williams won the competition for the most American livery. They showcased this special edition livery at a pop-up event. The stars and stripes complement each other so well. The navy stars flashed on the red and blue stripes look clean. The white chosen on the nose of the car is two-toned. One of them is a bright white, and the other is a more matte white.
This Williams livery does laps around Haas’ livery. It is a shame Williams did not race in it, but there is always next year!
With Logan Sargeant in their car, Williams will gain many fans at the United States Gran Prix.
Tweet of the Week
Oh, the irony………
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Breaking down Logan Sargeant
Due to Formula oneโs popularity in America, some people think Logan Sargeant got his seat due to his nationality. After watching some of his performances in F2, nothing could be further from the truth.
Silverstone. One of the legendary tracks on the F1 calendar. The British track was the track Logan Sargeant earned his tentative Formula One drive next season.
When speaking to Racerโs Chris Medland, Jost Capito said that the British GP drive put Sargeant on their radar.
โFrom Silverstone onwards, we said, โOK, Logan is ready to be in Formula 1,โ But of course, that was so early in the season that you canโt commit because there are so many things to comeโฆ.,โ Capito told Medland.
The race was a fantastic performance from Logan. He finished fastest in the practice season and secured pole position after flying throughout the qualifying session. At the beginning of the sprint race, he started in tenth place due to the reverse grid rule in F2.
The sprint race was centered around tire management because the front four starters began to lose their tires. After the first few laps, Daruvala fell quite a few places. As Sargeantโs tires switched on, he began to gain a few places and finished in seventh place.
In this sequence, Daruvalaโs tires fall off a cliff. He is losing a ton of grip as he enters every corner, hesitating to turn the car through all the corners. Sargeantโs tire has much more life and is responding more to him.
The track was wet, and Daruvala chased the outside line to find the wet parts of the way. Logan pursued the racing line, which gave him a slow exit, but a clear line to push the pace and switch places with Durvala.
Loganโs eye constantly looks for an overtake, whatever it takes to gain a position. This aggression led him to get up to Seventh and earn valuable points.
Logan had a good start in the feature race and grew a gap the entire time. When he entered the pits, he came out around tenth place. On fresh tires, he had a clear speed advantage.
On this move, he completed a simple overtake when there was such a gap in pace. He went for the outside line, hit a nice wet patch, and finished the overtake. This move was crucial because he was going for the undercut and pitted early. This meant he could not lose time behind a slower car.
Theo Pourchaire, the promising driver, considered for an Alfa Romeo seat, put pressure on Logan at the end of the race as Sargeant began to nurse his tires.
This pressure made the race more thrilling, but Sargeant switched on the tires in the last few laps and created enough gaps to win the race.
He handled the pressure well and kept his head down for a historic win.
The blue Carlin race car crossed the chequered line, and Sargent made American history. He showcased a ton of maturity on this drive, dealing with the pressure of Theo and the changing conditions on the track.
Given the machinery, he can put pace into a car and get it over the line to secure the results. On a team like Williams, it will be a long time until they deliver that kind of car, but if they become competitive, his pace can deliver results.
If Silverstone was the race that put him on the map, Austria was the race that clinched the drive for 2023.
Logan Sargeant qualified in third place. The sprint race began with a lackluster start from Sargeant.
Sargeant was slow off the line and lost a place. After the start, he started looking to regain the position he lost, but the result was that he was forced off the track by Vips. His reaction time was lacking at that moment.
The remaining sprint race held the status quo: Logan Sargeant finished in the place that he started, seventh.
In the feature race, a wet track dried after rain covered the entire track. Some drivers began on wet tires hoping the track would stay slippery. Others chose a bold strategy and opted for slick tires.
Sargeant and his Carlin engineers chose the wet tires to start.
The decision paid off early on; those who chose the dry tires began to fall back down the grip, creating a gap to those in front. Then, the track started to dry a significant amount.
The wet tires lose their advantage on a drying track, and those who made the bold calls to slicks rapidly gained on those who started on the wet tires.
Sargeant began falling down the order quickly, leading to an urgent pitstop to hard tires. It looked like the decision to start on the wet tires had been a disaster, and now his race was effectively over.
He came out of the pits on a fresh pair of slick tires in the middle of the pack.
After putting some temperature into the tires, Sargeant switched it on. On the overtake above, Sargeant sees a wide drying line. With enough space for both cars to be side by side, Logan went for an overtake through the inside line as Iwasa moved over.
The corner still featured a wet portion which caused a loss of control for s seconds, but Logan was strong enough to keep control of the car.
On those dry tires, Sargeantโs car just came to life. Even though the rest on the track were on a softer compound, Loganโs lap times didnโt give the drivers a ton to defend. The overtake above was a simple case of one care being faster than the other. At this point, 15 laps in, the track was drying, and cars could go two wide in response.
Even catching up to a pack of cars, Logan could gain some valuable places. Sargeantโs pace is just too great for any car to compete. He could quickly go around most of the cars on the track, needing fundamental moves to overtake cars.
Even with his pace, he avoided any reckless moves to decrease the risk of an accident. In this instance, he looks at the outside of Haugerโs car to see if he can get past it, but as the corner comes close, he forecasts an accident.
He knew the carโs pace and kept a level head, backing out from any dangerous move.
As he got closer to the groupโs top, the battles became much more intense. In this battle for 5th place, Liam Lawson went out wide to give Sargeant on the inside, and Logan took the space. Lawson shut the door so suddenly that he went wheel to wheel with Sargeant and went off track.
These two races show that the sheer pace and move set Sargeant flashed at the F2 level carries a lot of promise. He can work his way from the back of the field and stay out in front if he has to. Whether in the rain, on a drying track, or on a dry track, he can deliver results and get a lot out of a package.
He may not have the pace and natural speed of F2 prodigies like Leclerc and Russell, but he carries cunning overtakes and the willingness to be on the limit to get the most out of a car.
A team like Williams will need these kinds of drivers for their rebuild. Their packages are going to remain lackluster for the foreseeable future. Still, if they want to compete for points, drivers like Albon and Sargeant can deliver results in machinery that is not always up to snuff.
The adjustment to F1 is always a mystery coming from F2, and many factors could get in the way of Logan Sargeant. He may flame out, or he may end up being Williams savior, but one thing is for sure: the kid can go fast and get past people.
Only time will tell whether he is still on the grid or winning the Indy 500 in a few years.
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Logan Sargeant: Journey to F1
The next American hope for a Formula One driver is one step away from joining the grid. Taking a path similar to those on the grid, however, is unconventional where he is from.
Logan Hunter Sargeant was born in Fort Lauderdale, Flordia, on December 31, 2000. Information about his parents is almost nonexistent, but his grandfather, on the other hand, is quite the recognizable figure.
Logan is the grandson of billionaire Harry Sargeant III, a Top Gun pilot for the navy. Harry Sargeant grew his business through his fatherโs asphalt storage business. One of Sargeantโs fraternity brothers, Charlie Crist, became the elected governor of Flordia in 2006, allowing Harry to become the finance chair of the Republican party.
Following his stint as finance chair, he started several energy businesses, including International Oil Trading CO, a company that transported fuel in Iraq.
Sargeant carries several ties to Donald Trump, from donating $100,000 to the Trump Victory Fund in June to having tires with Lev Parnas and Igor Fruman, two Russian business people with ties to Rudy Guilliani.
In an article by Scott Waldman on E&E news, Waldman revealed that Harry Sargeant III was accused of war profiteering and found to play a role in American foreign affairs.
Loganโs relationship with his grandfather is unknown. His connection to his brother Dalton Sargeant, on the other hand, is well documented. Dalton and Logan both raced at the karting level together.At the age of eight years old, Logan began karting. Dalton and Logan both raced at the karting level together. At such a young age, motorsport became a passion for Logan and F1 became his goal to reach.
The FIA ladder is the best route for any young driver looking to To develop and prepare for F1. This ladder begins at the FIA karting level and works your way up through F4, F3, and F2.
For Logan, this ladder was his only choice if he wanted to accomplish his dream.
Logan Sargeantโs karting career began in his hometown. Logan raced in the Rotax Max Challenge USA and Florida Winter series as his first taste of competition. He finished 3rd in both matches. The only two contests he did not win were his first two; Sargeant won the rest of his American karting series participation.
His most notable win was the SKUSA SuperNationals XV, where he completed a spectacular triple overtake by braking late and having much confidence in the kart.
Sargeant dominance stateside meant a move overseas was on the cards. Today, the most surefire path to Formula one is through the FIA ladder. The ladder begins with the FIA World KF-Junior Championship, a series taking place overseas in Europe.
At the ripe age of 12, Logan, along with his brother Dalton, faced a decision they could take the plunge into the highest level of karting or continue to compete where they were comfortable. As youโll realize, Loganโs dream is Formula One, willing to do whatever it takes to get there.
In 2012, Logan competed in his first international karting series. He finished 3rd place, but like in America, this was the start of eventual success. Only three years later, Sargeant won the FIA World Karting Championship and the WSK Champions Cup.
Sargeant became the first American to win the FIA Karting Championship since 1978. He came overseas and could replicate his success in an arena filled with more intense competition.At this point in his career, he had doors open to any realm of motorsport. Indycar, Nascar, and the smaller Formula series came knocking on his door, ready to get their hands on the American driving talent. F4 is the next rung on the Formula One ladder, meaning the choice was obvious for Logan.
At the lower formula level, Logan began as a driver at Team MotoPark in the Formula 4 UAE Championship series. He did not manage a win but finished on the podium in 15 out of the 18 races. He switched to Carlin for the F4 British Championship, where he came in third behind his teammate Oscar Piastri.
According to Motorsport Stats, Oscar Piastri won six races and got a podium in 50% of the races. He captured the pole seven times and got two fastest laps. In comparison, Logan won 2 races and finished on the podium only 33% of the time. The three pole positions and two fastest laps showcase a clear gap in pace at the Formula 4 level.
Oscar Piastri is one of the most exciting prospects from the developmental formula series. As he adjusts to single-seater formula cars, Sargeant hanging with him is no failure.
The following year, Logan entered the Formula 3 Championship with Carlin. Following his usual pattern when entering a new competition, Sargeant struggled with a learning curve. He finished behind both of his teammates, Teppei Natori and Felipe Drugovich.
Sargeant only scored points four times and finished 19th. It seems like this jump was too high for him. What is Formula 4? Was the highest level he could reach? What if he canโt keep going up the ladder? Instead of letting these questions eat at him, he buckled his chin strap and went racing.
After a rocky first year, Sargeant leveled up in his second season at the FIA F3 level. He switched over to one of the lower formula powerhouses, Prema. He joined up with Fredrick Vesti and Oscar Piastri, his once rival at the F4 level.
Logan won the second race in Silverstone and followed it up with a win in the Belgium sprint race. He led the Championship at one point but finished with 8 points in the last rounds. After a tightly contested competition, Sargeant ended up one point behind Vesti and four points behind Piastri.
He just missed out on Oscar yet again. Still, he proves that he belongs in the conversation of one of the most promising drivers.
After coming so close to winning the F3 Championship and testing out a car for F2 team Campos, F2 seemed like the only logical next step. Unfortunately, as he told the Racer in 2021, he finally faced the obstacle that ends promising careers at lower levels: money.
โF2 is ruled out for 2021,โ Sargeant told the Racer. โThe problem with F2 is its increased funding, as we know. I know they were saying that with the reduced rounds, it would come down but if anything, I think it has gone up a little bit, so thatโs made it difficult. And even some of the not top teams still have a hefty budget. Honestly, we never really had the full budget to do it.โ
Due to fiscal reasons, no team was willing to promote him to F2. He carried all the needed driving skills, but money reared its ugly head again, the most significant barrier to entry into motorsport.
Instead of fretting, he put his head down and pushed. He carried himself like a consummate professional and found a drive at the F3 level. Charouz Racing System gave him a seat, and Logan took them to new heights. He gave the team their first victory in Sochi, along with consistent points finishes. Leading a team that finished last the previous season, Sargeant ended 7th place at the end of the season, showcasing he can extract a lot from an underwhelming package.
Following months of uncertainty, Sargeant joined Carlin in F2. He presented an excellent financial package to Carlin, who got the drive for their team along with Liam Lawson.
While he secured the drive for 2022, his future in motorsport was still unknown. He did not belong to a driver academy and had offers to join Indycar. Sargeant told F1 Feeder Seriesโ Tyler Foster that his home racing series Indy was a real possibility.
โI was close, close to being honest,โ Sargeant told Foster in the interview. โTo be fair, a lot of it would have depended on that test that was soon to come. I was disappointed that I didnโt see what that car could do in the end because I was looking forward to it, but bigger and better things came along.โ
For someone like Logan who loved American motorsport, it was not easy to turn to decide between Formula One and Indycar, especially given the financial struggle to even get on the Formula 2 grid. Logan had a test lined up with Foyt before a specific racing team offered him a spot in their academy.
Enter: Williams, the modern backmarker team. The British outfit offered Logan a developmental package enough to apease him. At one of the lowest teams in the grid and with Nicholas Latifi as the benchmark, Williams presented a clear path into the F1 grid.
The Williams Academy role sorted his future; he had an F2 seat, and now it was time to see what he could do on the final step of the ladder. An American, to get this high up the FIA ladder is a remarkable feat. The F2 grid features a variety of countries, but it has lacked a proven American talent since 2015 with Alexander Rossi.
Becoming the first American to win an F2 race, Logan Sargeant won in Silverstone. He showcased a great pace throughout the weekend, nursing his tires and getting the most out of the car for a win. Sargeant followed that performance up with a 14 overtake display at the Red Bull Ring this year. He also managed a podium in Baku, one of the trickiest race tracks on the F1 calendar.Williams saw enough to offer Sargeant an FP1 session at the Circuit of the Americas. Logan will replace Latifi and go head-to-head with Albon, his potential future teammate, next year.
To race in F1 next year, he needs to qualify for a super license. Logan currently sits third in the standings. He must finish in the top 5 to be eligible for the Super license points. Sargeant sits at 135 points, 9 points away from 5th or 6th. He has 27 super license points; finishing in 5th in F2 would give him 20 points and put him clear of the 40-point threshold needed.
According to Formula Nerds, he could finish in 6th place. He would get 10 points for finishing 6th and 2 points for not getting a penalty. Finishing the season in 6th place in the standings would place him at 39 points, just one shy of the 40 needed. If he drives more than 100 km in FP1, he will receive one Superlicense point, giving him 40.
He needs to perform at the last race in Abu Dhabi. Dropping any lower than 6th and his F1 dream would be in jeopardy. If he does qualify, Mark Webber is already on the record saying he is the favorite, and all signs point to him being the chosen driver if he allows it.
The next American F1 driver is one solid race performance from joining the grid. The pressure is on him to deliver the results. His career tells the story of a driver with a strong will and determination. Factors out of his control might interfere, but Logan will give it his all in AbuDubai.
Like the US soccer talents that went abroad to Germany and England to chase worldwide recognition, Logan bet on himself and went up against Europeโs best prospects. His gamble paid off, as he is regarded as one of the best drivers on the F2 grid, regardless of nationality.
America is a hotbed for F1, and its popularity in the states is rising. An American driver will do a lot for its popularity here, giving Americans their driver to root for on Drive to Survive.
Logan Sargeant carries the pedigree, skills, and experience to serve a spot on the F1 grid. Time will tell if the Star Spangled Banner will play on the podium of an F1 race.
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Post-race DEBRIS: Suzuka 2022
The return to Japan was quite the show: the race crowned a new champion, many great battles, and a red flag! All these events should mean it was a success for the FIA and Formula One, but what happened in between left a sour taste in many viewers’ mouths.
I decided to rename the notebook to Post-Race Debris. This series is about what is left to talk about following a race.ย Let’s breakdown what happened in Japan!
Tire Degradation: Ferrari vs. Red Bull
Observing the tires at the end of the race, the tire wear of both cars is easily visible. The Red Bull tire has plenty of miles left on it. The groves are incredibly visible, and they still appear to have quite a few laps left until they reach the level of the Ferrari tire.
Charles Leclerc and Sergio Perez were locked in a battle for second place, which ended up being title-deciding. Charles was ahead throughout the restart of the race, but his tires gave out early on. The gap closed lap after lap as Checo managed his tires while squeezing pace out of them.
The story of Ferrari’s season is about strategy mishaps, but tire wear was an underlying issue all season long. When the tires held up, Leclerc challenged Max and gave Carlos an advantage over Checo.
Ferrari will need a new strategy team season, that’s for sure. The second issue they need to address is the tire issue; Binnato’s job lies in the hands of addressing both of these issues. The car is fast and dances around slow corners, but more straight-line speed and a design less taxing on tires need to come next season.
If not, heads will roll at the Scuderia.
Ocon defends brilliantly against Hamilton
Compared to Fernando Alonso, Ocon’s performance this season is awe-inspiring. Ocon is up there on points and overall race pace as well. Many analysts regard Alonso as this great willy veteran, which he has been, but Ocon rarely gets his credit for being so close to Alonso.
It feels like Ocon got some of his flowers as he defended against Hamilton. Lewis was giving it everything in this battle for fourth place, trying to capture the slipstream, peaking down the left and right-hand sides, but Ocon constantly positioned his car where it needed to be.
In the clip above, Ocon shuts the down nicely on Hamilton, not letting him have a peek on either side. There was no opening on the inside, so Hamilton needed to go around. Mereceds’ pace meant Ocon was safe.
Ocon did not let Hamilton capture a clear slipstream. With the Mercedes car lacking straight speed this year, Ocon did not help Hamilton and used the Alpine’s straight-line speed to employ some clever defenses.
Defending a position against Hamilton so well, Ocon showcased patience and intelligent driving, even if the Alpine carried much more pace in their car.
Haas v. AlphaTauri
As a team who finished dead last in the previous season, Hass’ statement 6th place finish in Bahrain looked like Haas was going to make some serious noise. Since then, the season has been up and down. Mick Schumacher threw the car into the wall several times, and K-Mag became too aggressive on race starts, resulting in him losing good qualifying positions.
Still, Mick has recently come on and been much more competitive with Kevin. The Haas can still get into Q2 or Q3 now and then, giving them plenty of opportunities to score points.
AlphaTauri, on the other hand, started decently but is in a search for points after falling to 9th.
The race for 8th place is going to come down to these teams. Aston Martin is within range of 7th place, but that lead may be good enough. Haas needs the 8th-place finish much more than Alphatuari does. The team possesses limited funds, ultimately hindering how high they can climb up the standings. In a year with so much wind tunnel time due to their 10th-place finish, Haas needs to take advantage of their car performance.
Alpha Tauri must demonstrate its viability as a secondary to the Red Bull investors. The team finishing 9th place after the senior team is going to sweep the Constructor’s Championship and the Driver’s Champion could lead to them investing less money in their project.
I’d favor Haas to pull through due to their massive need for a climb up the standings. If not, Haas risk looking like a bunch of wankers to Gene Haas again.
FIA needs new Safety Car Protocols
In my Singapore Notebook, I trashed the FIA for handling the penalties. I want to avoid pilling on the FIA, but what happened in Japan was horrifying.
Pierre Gasly, attempting to catch up to the pack following a safety car, pushed the pace. He did not know or see a tractor on the track collecting the remains of Carlos Sainz’s Ferrari.
The tractor was not visible. The cars produced large amounts of spray, leading to a lack of clarity when behind a car or even in clear air.
The track tractor gave unsettling flashbacks to Jules Bianchi’s fatal crash a few years ago. The collision resulted in Jules losing control of his F2 car and going straight onto the tractor, picking up a car that crashed.
If Gasly had aquaplaned right around that tractor, which Sainz had already lost control of, he could have been seriously injured or worse.
The FIA needs a complete revamp of protocols; for starters, the tractor needs some clear, bright lights behind it so the drivers can see it. The safety car must slow down during certain corners or parts of the track to let the vehicles catch up safely. The drivers need communication about what is on track, from an FIA radio announcement or a mandated team warning.
I don’t want to see a scene like the one in Suzuka. I am lucky enough not to have seen the Jules crash live. Just watching the replay so many years later still makes my stomach wrench. I don’t want to see anything like that in the sport again, which is why I understand Gasly’s anger.
Should he of been going so fast? No. Does the FIA need to be held responsible and called to change its rules immediately? Yes. The FIA responded to the events. By punishing Gasly for speeding and launching an investigation into what happened. If the investigation does not result in new procedures, Formula 1 should look into another regulating body.
Point System Mayhem
Onto a less serious mistake by the FIA, the red flag after two laps meant the race was in jeopardy of not being finished. The heavy rain meant all the laps might not be completed, leading to an alternative points allocation.
This chart of points floated on Sky Sports broadcast. This point allocation meant Max Verstappen would not be crowned champion until the Cruicit of the Americas.
The broadcast, funny enough, operated as if these were the point allocations for the race. Max Verstappen was robbed of his Crofty moment as he crossed the finish line. Even Max did not know if he would become champion; when being interviewed after his race win, he memorably said, “No, I am not.”
Chris Medland, one of the more reliable Formula One journalists, tweeted out the same confusion of most F1 fans.
This thread captures the confusion so well. Leclerc lost so many tires that Perez overtook him for second place on the last lap. The position change should not have been enough, but with the total points awarded, it was enough.
The FIA needs more clear rules. There is so much room for interpretation on various regulations: if the drivers do not complete all of the laps, there must be differing points allocation. This scenario is not too consequential because Max was going to win the title anyways, but the days for these broad rules should be over soon.
Tweet of the Weekend:
Seb did Harry Potter cosplay so well. Someone tell him about Comic-Con!
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Storming of the Alpine
The arrival of Pierre Gasly positions the French outfit for a new era.
With Fernando Alonso as their plan A, Alpine appeared to favor short-term solutions to their driver line-up. At the time, the signing of the Spanish champion was an attempt to fill a Daniel Riccardo-sized hole in the team. Now, Alpine looks ready to move on from half-measured signings onto a long-term plan.
Pierre Gasly is joining the Renault-powered racing team Alpine. The deal is multi-year, giving the team and driver stability in the future. The French outfit is paying 10 million dollars to release Gasly from AlphaTauri.
Alpine holds high hopes of contending for race wins in a few years. They are an engine manufacturer with the ability to craft a title-challenging engine. The team made significant strides this year, pushing for a Top 4 spot. The car carries pace, and if Alpine can fix their reliability woes, I would not be surprised if they can break through and finish top 3 one of these seasons.
The French team’s goal is to contend within 100 races, building their facilities and driver line-up to make continued progress: Alpine hired Otmar Szafnauer, an experienced team principal who made the most of spare parts at Forza India.
Looking to build step by step, it was always peculiar why a team looking into the future backed a driver so old as Fernando Alonso. Alpine created a plan centered around Alonso. He would push the team up the grid while Ocon developed his racecraft. Once Alonso lost some paces, a younger driver would take over.
The plan succeeded as Ocon has taken massive strides as a driver this year, one of Alonso’s most competitive teammates. Without the DNFs this year, Alonso would be with the Mercedes drivers.
Oscar Piastri always seemed like their choice for the future, but after getting poached by McLaren and Alonso to Aston Martin, their intriguing plan became no. The team lost their bridge driver and developmental driver all in one go.
Gasly is entering his physical prime at 26 after roughing his edges at Red Bull’s senior team. He displayed maturity returning to AlphaTauri and leading the team to over-perform their expectations.
Alpine needed a quick pivot from their plan, an urgent move to recapture the seriousness of their project.
Getting past the top 3 is a seemingly impossible feat for Alpine, but with the cost cap and wind tunnel time allocations, it is more feasible than ever for a team to challenge Mercedes, Red Bull, and Ferrari. Alpine can use the new engine regulations of 2026, along with their strong adaption to the 2022 regulations, to pose a more serious project that Reanult offered Riccardo.
Gasly’s transfer to Alpine is his move away from the Red Bull system; he is joining a team based in his home country of France. Alpine now has two french drivers, a considerable activity strictly in marketing.
Gasly, at the age of 26, is no longer a young prospect like he was during his run at Red Bull’s senior team. He is entering his prime years as an athlete, and wasting more years at Alpha Tauri would stagnate his career longer than it already has.
Pierre does not force the issue, often avoiding careless mistakes and taking the patient route when attempting an overtake. Gasly’s pace still has a way to go, but his race win a few years ago proves what he can do when put in a competitive position.
With a great year in 2021, Pierre looked positioned for a call-up to the senior team to replace Checo Perez, but Perez’s contract extension means that seat will not be available for the next few years. A move to McLaren looked promising, joining a solid midfield team with ambitions of a title-challenging car in a few years.
Instead, Gasly struggled to adjust to this year’s regulations, and his slow start led McLaren to poach Alpine’s reserve driver, Oscar Piastri.
Nowhere else to go, Gasly signed on for 2023 at AlphaTauri, treading water until the right opportunity for his career came along.
His prospects did not look great, Ferrari seemed comfortable with their line-up, and Red Bull featured a giant academy of drivers and a solid veteran in Checo Perez. Mercedes are hugely committed to George Russell as the team’s future, and Lewis Hamilton sounds like he is going nowhere soon.
If Gasly wanted to contend, his best gamble was always a midfield team like Alpine.
Gasly is taking a risk, but a calculated one allows for potentially glorious returns. Even if Alpine does not become a challenger, Gasly could move up the grid later. Alpine is also placing a massive bet that Gasly learned from his time on the Red Bull senior team. Esteban Ocon, a French driver with years on the team, is the team’s cornerstone. C
onsidering both of their documented tricky past, keeping the ego of two young, bold drivers will be demanding for Alpine. TommoF1 noted their young carting rivalry.
Alpine and Gasly both need each other. Their marriage is not perfect; both are taking risks and accommodating certain aspects of their plans to come together.
Alpine is risking their drivers clashing and banking on the development that Pierre showed at Alphatarui. Gasly hopes Alpine is a worthwhile project as a mid-table team and that they are willing to treat him as a cornerstone of the project.
Due to the sudden move, not much long-term planning occurred either. Both parties were desperate and in a position of weakness. Still, both Gasly and Alpine are in a much better spot than they were a few months ago.
Something is brewing at Alpine in these next few years. Either a French revolution akin to 1789 or another underwhelming mid-table push.
Only time will tell how the marriage between Alpine and Gasly will go, but like the storming of the Bastille, it signals a team tired of treading water.
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2022 Singapore Gran Prix notebook
A series based on just news and notes that came about from the race weekend. Key take aways, cool things, and lessons learned.
When the early forecasts predicted rain, there was a feeling the return to Marina Bay was going to be special. The race and qualifying were exhilarating. Standing water filled the track, making any overtake attempts extremely bold. Many anticipated Verstappen potentially clinching his second Driver’s Championship, but much of the weekend ended up about the rest of the field.
Singapore needs to stay forever
Purpose-built tracks generate some of the best racing with more overtaking opportunities and space for creative racing lines. Still, a street track showcases how on-the-limit drivers are due to the drivers getting so close to the barriers. The cars kissed the barriers often, the rear tires of the car often came so close to touching the wall. Most of the corners featured opportunities for oversteering, but some tighter corners led to understeering, especially from George Russell. The night race in Singapore was so beautiful as the light bounced off the cars and the track presented some really challenging slow corners. Monaco’s race typically are boring without rain, but Singapore’s challenging corners and weather allow for a true test of a driver.
The humidity and heat of Singapore looked uncomfortable when the drivers came out of the car after a practice session, but after a 70 lap race, the drivers looked completely sucked out. The track is so taxing on the drivers, yet they really seem to enjoy the challenge.
The track really highlighted how well Ferrari performs in slow corners while Mercedes’ struggles most with riding curbs and hitting the apex well. There is still a nice straight, but the track gives enough room for drivers to attempt dives and creative overtakes. Every result from Singapore is earned and nothing is really given at a track so challenging. Singapore is back on the calendar for the foreseeable future and the F1 calendar is better for it.
Ferrari stayed out their own way
Ferrari are the usual suspects of scrutiny from the F1 community. While some of it is undeserved, they cost themselves a true challenge at the title this season. Their car is amazing, it dances around low speed corners and constantly remained one of the most drivable cars on the field. The car deserves a true title challenge, but the team, through upgrades and strategy calls, failed to capitalize on the potential of the car.
At Singapore, Ferrari made a series of strong strategy calls. Carlos Sainz and Charles Leclerc wanted to pit for slick tires extremely early into Q2, but Ferrari made the right choice by sticking with the intermediate tires. Ferrari kept it simple in qualifying and it allowed them to put the car in the best position they could. Leclerc did a flying lap deserving of P2 during Q3 and he ended up with pole due to a Red Bull misstep.
In the race, Ferrari were again patient with the tire strategy, waiting until Russell’s medium tires switched on and began to show their pace. Sainz wanted to get on those slicks really soon, mainly due to his struggles all race long with Hamilton on his tail. Ferrari waited until Russell’s tires showcased some pace and then joined everyone in pitting for fresh mediums. The only call which failed to pay off was an attempt to undercut Perez by pitting Leclerc a lap early. I appreciate the attempt to shake things up, but the over cut, given how long it took to get temperature in the medium tires, was the ideal strategy. Still, Ferrari achieved their first double podium since Miami and the team should look to continue to build on this solid performance.
Mercedes lost some of their momentum
Friday was promising for the German automotive company. Lewis Hamilton topped FP1, his first time leading a practice session this year. “Is Mercedes back?” is one of the season-long questions posed on F1 twitter because it is so puzzling how long the outfit has gone without a win. Their porpoising issue is non-existent now, a far cry from Baku where Lewis’ back aged twenty years after the bumpy race. With so many issued ironed out, Singapore looked like a place for them to get their first win.
According to F1 Pace, Hamilton was 6th in average lap time and George Russell, Mr. Consistent all year, was 14th in average lap time. Hamilton did mess up his front wing which seemed to affect his lap times after the second half of the race, but on a weekend where a win was being talked about, 6th place is a huge disappointment. Hamilton set his bar incredibly high; race mistakes seemed to avoid him like the plague during his championship runs. Going into the barrier trying to overtake Carlos Sainz due to frustration is just uncharacteristic for him.
Russell really struggled during qualifying, posting a lackluster flying lap which had him eliminated during Q2. Per the data at F1 Pace, Russell just lost too much time in those first 2 sectors. The race was no better for Russell, who ran wide while trying to overtake Bottas and Hamilton when going for a dive on Sainz. The team came so far from where they began this year, but this weekend was a definite step back for an organization which consistently delivers good performances.
McLaren and Aston Martin looked sharp
Danny Ricardo is back! After a few months of tough races, he finished top 5 for the first time this season and looked to have some life in his Formula 1 career. McLaren headed into the weekend locked into an intense battle with Alpine for 4th place. Alpine had an awful race, both of their engines let the drivers down, especially Alonso who was defending amazing against Verstappen.
McLaren, on the other hand, held steady the entire race. Ricardo showcased his experience as he managed to keep his car out of danger and went up 11 places as a reward. Lando ended up pushing Sainz for a potential podium, which is mind blowing considering their car is a considerable set back from last year. They benefited from a greatly timed safety car so they could pit onto slicks, but the team pulled it together for a really strong weekend overall.
Aston Martin’s season so far has consisted of being a backmarker team, far from where Lawerence Stroll’s money would project them to be this year. With Fernando Alonso joining the team next year, Aston Martin needs to showcase a viable project exists, not just talented people poached from other teams with lots of money. In a race featuring 5 cars crashing out, anyone who survived immediately got a chance at leaving with points. Still, Aston qualified really well at 12th and 14th place, showcasing some strides in pace. In the race, Stroll drove a really solid race and Vettel caused headaches for Hamilton and Max Verstappen. From where they started, this was a great moment for the team and more overachieving will give them momentum going forward.
Quote of the week: George Russell
Non-racing standout of the week: McLaren’s livery
At the highest level of motorsport, where glitz and glamour is the aim, this livery took the cake all weekend long. The hot pink chosen went so well with the papaya orange. The black elements already present in McLaren’s car also provided a nice contrast. The theme of “cyberpunk” came across very clearly, the digital font used for the sponsor “Onyx” looked like a computer glitch. Whoever designed this livery deserves a raise.
Red Bull might clinch their second driver’s championship at Suzuka soon, I really hope they bring back that amazing Japan livery.
Closing note: The FIA are not good at their job
The race at Singapore should have started much earlier than it did. The performance of the anthems and other normal race procedures made the event start one full hour late. I know there needs to be a time period for the teams to start ramping up again, but all of the other celebrations and the pit walk was just unnecessary given the late start. It stopped raining early on enough to get the track dry as fast as possible and get to racing, yet the FIA delayed the event an hour, which was at least 15 minutes too long. The FIA needs a late start procedure to trim the fat during delays.
Somehow, this delay was not the worst of it. The FIA ruled they were going to investigate Checo Perez AFTER the race was over for two different instances of safety car infringement. The rule states that one must be within 10 car lengths and Perez was clearly more than 10 car lengths two different times. Instead of looking at the film and passing a ruling, the FIA waited until after the race and podium celebrations to issue a verdict. The ruling was a 5 second time penalty, which Perez covered on Leclerc after Hugh Bird went on the radio to tell him to push.
I get that the FIA wanted to hear from the driver, but the rules are the rules. The main issue with the FIA is how much gray area there is in all of their rules, allowing for no definite process to happen. Sergio Perez broke the rules twice, which one time was deemed to be a 5 second penalty. If only one instance is punished, there is leeway for drivers to bend the rules in the future.
I don’t think Checo should be robbed of his win, he raced wonderfully and deserves the result, but the FIA needs to just call it like the rules say to do. I get that it was raining and his brakes were cold, but there should be rules for wet race safety cars. After Abu Dabi last year, the FIA are in desperate need of a serious evaluation of where they can tighten up their rules and how they enforce them. Without this urgency, they will deserve the backlash they get from the media and fans alike.
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Welcome to The Free Pitstop
My dream, since high school, is to become a sports writer. In my sophomore year of high school, I joined a Lakers fan blog called Lakers Pulse. I wrote about college prospects, film breakdowns, and game recaps. I wrote as much as I could. My plan was clear: blog until you get a paid job. Life isn’t that simple because after high school, college stalled my sports writer dream.
I still wrote for my school newspaper, the UCSD Guardian, and became an editor there. I really developed my writing and attention to grammatical details, but I lost my passion to purse a writing career. It just didn’t seem feasible, but then I found F1.
I got into F1 like many Americans, watching Netflix’s Drive to Survive. I thought all of the drivers were really cool, everyone is pushing the limits of their bodies, mind, and soul to win a championship. There are inner team battles, while the team as a whole must compete with nine others. The show captures what American love: drama. Kevin Clark of the Ringer often says that F1 turned each driver into a reality tv star and if Miami taught us anything, that is certainly the case.
Since getting into F1, I’ve done a deep dive into the F1 Technical subreddit, watched all of Chain Bear’s videos, and subscribed to dozens of podcasts. I’m all in on the sport, learning about more of the history, waking up at ridiculously early times, I’m doing it all. Now, the next phase of my fandom is to produce content, both written and podcast form.
I am by no means an expert on the sport, but my passion and interest drives me to learn more about the sport. All of my learning will be published here, from explaining the upgrade packages/strategy calls, to offering my thoughts on the FIA Super License system (spoiler: it needs a lot of work), I’ll be writing as I learn and experience the sport.
I also plan on writing about Indycar and Formula 2. While the cars and rule sets might be different to F1, all motorsports are driven by strategy calls and automotive innovation.
I promise to regularly deliver 1 articles per week at least, with a podcast coming in the near future as well. I want this community to be a hub for new Americans fans and those who have been watching for years.
This blog is named The Free Pitstop because F1 swept me up like a safety car: out of nowhere. The sport gave me a new passion for writing, like a fresh pair of soft tires. Whether or not it was the right call to write about a sport I am new to, the fresh tires are on. Now, it is I who must Drive to Survive.
The Free pitstop 