Hopes and expectations - the new era
In slight contrast (an oxymoron of a term) to the time capsule thread, I wanted to take a moment to ask you for your thoughts on what your hopes and expectations are for this year, on the more realistic front.
Hopes
With boost, overtake, active aero and recharge, I hope that these functions work well in harmony with each other, creating an absorbing challenge for the drivers without it detracting from what are for me the pure elements of throttle and brake modulation and steering inputs. Without needing it dumbed down, I hope it is straightforward enough to follow to assess the skill involved in overtakes and wheel-to-wheel stuff without needing to read extensive analysis post-race. For instance, if they’re doing lift-off regen, will it be clear what caused a pass if the other driver is also on the overtake button?
I hope Aston Martin can put their woes behind them and maybe do a McLaren turnaround to rectify things so Alonso can have a proper stab at winning again. I also hope Hamilton’s head doesn’t drop and he can challenge Leclerc. I hope to see an exciting battle between the McLaren drivers and for Norris to just assert himself as default number 1 with no challenge; it would be good if it were as competitive as last year between those two.
I hope Verstappen can start to become more likeable to make it easier to praise his obviously priseworthy driving performances.
Expectations
I do think he will still be in the thick of it. I think Hadjar will fare better than Tsunoda, but will struggle to regularly get near Verstappen. I expect Cadillac to increasingly impress as the year goes on, with the two drivers proving one of the most relaxed and fun-loving pairs.
I expect that the field will still be very closely matched after initial disparities. Often, big rule changes cause big gaps, but I have the impression that the teams will get on top of managing the aero and engine controls to basically give us a fairly even field again.
Hopes
With boost, overtake, active aero and recharge, I hope that these functions work well in harmony with each other, creating an absorbing challenge for the drivers without it detracting from what are for me the pure elements of throttle and brake modulation and steering inputs. Without needing it dumbed down, I hope it is straightforward enough to follow to assess the skill involved in overtakes and wheel-to-wheel stuff without needing to read extensive analysis post-race. For instance, if they’re doing lift-off regen, will it be clear what caused a pass if the other driver is also on the overtake button?
I hope Aston Martin can put their woes behind them and maybe do a McLaren turnaround to rectify things so Alonso can have a proper stab at winning again. I also hope Hamilton’s head doesn’t drop and he can challenge Leclerc. I hope to see an exciting battle between the McLaren drivers and for Norris to just assert himself as default number 1 with no challenge; it would be good if it were as competitive as last year between those two.
I hope Verstappen can start to become more likeable to make it easier to praise his obviously priseworthy driving performances.
Expectations
I do think he will still be in the thick of it. I think Hadjar will fare better than Tsunoda, but will struggle to regularly get near Verstappen. I expect Cadillac to increasingly impress as the year goes on, with the two drivers proving one of the most relaxed and fun-loving pairs.
I expect that the field will still be very closely matched after initial disparities. Often, big rule changes cause big gaps, but I have the impression that the teams will get on top of managing the aero and engine controls to basically give us a fairly even field again.