Musings on Ricciardo, Hungary, and more
My thoughts on the De Vries-Ricciardo switcharoo and why I’m especially excited for the next race in Hungary.
Hi, I’m launching something new on my Substack today, a paid weekly newsletter. Each post will contain my honest thoughts on the big news happening in the F1 world. The style will be a bit more personal and casual than my weekly analysis (and those posts will stay free to read). I hope to send this newsletter to paying subscribers every Friday.
Jumping straight in - there is only one talking point in F1 at the moment. Red Bull have ousted Nyck de Vries from AlphaTauri and replaced him with Daniel Ricciardo.
It’s a harsh, but not unjustified, decision. While I don’t think Ricciardo is the right replacement (I would’ve gone for Liam Lawson), it’s probably still better in the long run to have Ricciardo over De Vries. That’s because there was no real path for De Vries, whereas there might be for Ricciardo… (2024 or 2025 Red Bull?)
What’s fascinated me most about the swap is how insanely suddenly it happened. According to reports from F1.com and ESPN, Ricciardo only considered the decision during the British Grand Prix weekend - and Christian Horner and Helmut Marko were still calling each other about it while Ricciardo was testing at Silverstone on Tuesday. This shows the driver swap wasn’t a plan Red Bull had in place for months. Instead, it seems it came together on a whim. These juicy details came to light thanks to this report by Lawrence Barretto for F1.com and this one by Nate Saunders for ESPN. Both are well worth a read.
There’s no F1 this weekend, but for motorsport tragics like me, there is a Formula E double-header in Rome. Admittedly, the series can be a bit too chaotic to understand at times, but it’s better than nothing!
Fortunately, F1 returns next weekend in Hungary and I’m super excited because it’ll be so different to Britain. Silverstone is a high-speed track with fast corners, plus it’s pretty easy to overtake. Hungary, on the other hand, is slow and technical, with overtakes generally only seen at turn one. I’ve often heard it described as Monaco without the walls. This slow-speed nature should lead to a fascinating shake-up in the running order. Red Bull will probably still dominate, but I’m expecting to see McLaren slip back and Aston Martin go well. It will be a decent opportunity for Lance Stroll to prove his worth - or for Fernando Alonso to capture that long-awaited 33rd win…
Though, when we get to Hungary, I suspect most people will be focused on Ricciardo’s fairytale return. He will surely be looking to make an immediate impression and, frankly, he has nothing to lose. His reputation was diminished at McLaren. It can’t get much worse.
While watching Ricciardo, I’ll also have my eye on Logan Sargeant. Earlier in the year, I praised the young Williams rookie because I felt he’d demonstrated the raw pace that he’ll need to succeed in F1. Unfortunately, Sargeant has really struggled to deliver on the promise ever since. He just can’t seem to hook a strong weekend up. What’s worse is that Sargeant’s teammate Alex Albon is in the form of his life, which only makes Sargeant look more clumsy.
Albon is delivering the goods for Williams nearly every week now. His sensational 7th-place finish in Canada was a standout result. He defended like a master, holding off much faster cars. It gave Williams some very valuable points too. With Albon scoring points again in Britain, Williams is now ahead of AlphaTauri, Alfa Romeo and Haas in the Constructors’ standings. That could prove to be a big deal at the end of the year when it’s time to dish out prize money.
Interestingly, Albon’s performances this year have been so good that there are now even rumours - unsubstantiated though - that Ferrari is interested in hiring him to replace Carlos Sainz. To me, it seems far-fetched. But if it were true, it would be an unnecessary hire for Ferrari.
My last thought to leave you with is about Lewis Hamilton. Where on earth is that new Mercedes contract that he seems so certain about? I thought the British Grand Prix would’ve been the perfect opportunity to make an official announcement, but we’ve still heard nothing. Doubt is starting to creep in for me. It would be fascinating to know what is happening with it behind the scenes.
Thanks for reading this new paid newsletter. I hope you enjoyed getting a glimpse into what’s on my mind. See you next week for more of the same. Cheers.