Formula 1 #8

[i-moo-la]

Same. It's wild to think about how dominant RB are right now, when it looked like the championship was Ferrari's for the taking at the start of the season. Soul destroying.

I really like Alex. He's doing a great job in the Williams and has dealt with so much pressure for his entire motorsport career. I know he's not unique in that, but I do admire his resilience. I listened to a podcast with him, Pierre and Valtteri discussing their 'big breaks' (separate interviews) and it was interesting to hear the pressure they had dealt with in the junior categories.

TW potential eating disorder, suicidal thoughts
I don’t know if it’s the same interview but Valtteri once also alluded to having an eating disorder because of how light racing drivers need to be and how he had suicidal thoughts. The mental resilience these drivers have is incredible. I wish it was different though, these are some insane things to deal with and no one should have to go through that. Here’s a link to the Twitter thread for those interested:

 

[Futtrit]

Hello was in the other F1 thread for a long time but did not enjoy the vibe there recently, so I thought I’ll come and say hi here as I love F1 too much to stay away and my dear @aidil told me she’s here too!

My favourite driver is Alex, I do like every other driver too though, but I have a soft spot for Daniel, Pierre, Esteban and Charles, also Lando (occasionally - sometimes more, sometimes less).

Can’t wait for Monza, saw that it might rain and even storm! 🫣

Hi sweetheart. Glad you're ok

 

[aidil]

It is INSANE how mentally strong they have to be. That’s what makes me so interested in F1 - it’s not just about the cars but the psychology behind the drivers. I find it so interesting, could talk about this all day! I don’t think there are any other sports that put their athletes in this kind of set up - the whole dynamic between team mates fascinates me. How they have to get on well but also want to end each other’s careers, then you add into the mix that most of them have been friends off-grid for years.

 

[KeepitontheDL]

How they have to get on well but also want to end each other’s careers, then you add into the mix that most of them have been friends off-grid for years.

Sadly, the intense pressure and ambition often seems to lead to the demise of many friendships as well

 

[kale-supremacist]

Sadly, the intense pressure and ambition often seems to lead to the demise of many friendships as well

To be fair, that happens in most careers. Lots of my childhood friend became doctors, and they'll compete and sabotage each other to get their choosen residency, etc. Same in the legal field. People are just naturally competitive.

 

[HaloGirl]

I’m sure I’ve read similar about JEV who now races in formula E having an ED due to pressure placed on him by red bull.

You are right and from memory Jean Todt said that you couldn’t go to hospital being on a diet after hearing his comments. Supportive huh?

 

[Albrouze]

that was a great podcast! it’s crazy, and sad, to think about how much pressure these young guys are under - i remember pierre talking about how he would lose funding etc if he lost and he knew his parents wouldn’t be able to afford it. likewise alex, who obviously was in a difficult situation with his mum. they’ve both been through the red bull machine too, and i guess had similar experiences (though i feel like it seemed to hit pierre more emotionally).

the inchident clip with max and charles always makes me laugh but it is also MADNESS that two small boys are being interviewed about that by grown men. the stuff they go through in juniors is wild.

Pierre doesn't seem to be able to deal with things in a non-emotional manner. Though that white board with Pyry in his latest photo dump had something about emotional control written on it. So maybe the Pierre we see now is one who deals with things less emotionally. Insane pressure - the part where he discussed having to win Formula Renault to continue racing & Oliver Rowland deliberately crashing into him at the last race. Then Rowland coming to apologize to him afterwards saying that he had to do it to try to win the €1 million.

In the Alex interview, I liked the part about his mum scolding him while he was signing his RB junior contract because she thought he was swinging on his chair, but it was really Helmut Marko who was swinging.

TW potential eating disorder, suicidal thoughts
I don’t know if it’s the same interview but Valtteri once also alluded to having an eating disorder because of how light racing drivers need to be and how he had suicidal thoughts. The mental resilience these drivers have is incredible. I wish it was different though, these are some insane things to deal with and no one should have to go through that. Here’s a link to the Twitter thread for those interested:

I don't think I've listened to that interview, but have read about it. I often think about it when I see Valtteri. I know he's not alone in it, but I have no idea how anyone deals with that mental pressure.

 

[LaBlonde]

It is INSANE how mentally strong they have to be. That’s what makes me so interested in F1 - it’s not just about the cars but the psychology behind the drivers. I find it so interesting, could talk about this all day! I don’t think there are any other sports that put their athletes in this kind of set up - the whole dynamic between team mates fascinates me. How they have to get on well but also want to end each other’s careers, then you add into the mix that most of them have been friends off-grid for years.

all of this is FASCINATING to me. the motorsport team mate dynamic is unique - it’s like ideally you get along to make it easier for the team, but you’re also not team mates because you want to beat each other. then you have the solid “real” friendships (pierre and charles, alex and george etc) which start get impacted if one of you is doing better and you have to be so secure within that. that’s even before all the actual team nonsense starts. i want to write a whole psychological study on it!

 

[Albrouze]

It is remarkable that any of them have been able to maintain close friendships like you mentioned (Charles & Pierre, Alex & George - not sure of anyone else that I can think of, but there may be others) with the pressures, egos and competition involved.

 

[namenotavailable]

Feel like I haven't been so active on here the last few weeks having missed the races in real time! Only managing the C4 highlights.

Where can I listen to these podcasts please? Are they the Beyond The Grid ones?

 

[LaBlonde]

It is remarkable that any of them have been able to maintain close friendships like you mentioned (Charles & Pierre, Alex & George - not sure of anyone else that I can think of, but there may be others) with the pressures, egos and competition involved.

it really is. especially if you’re a jealous or envious person who might struggle with your friend getting better results or having an “easier” experience than you. the two combos we mentioned have been friends since they were kids though so hopefully it just runs deeper than that but it must be tough.

we could add seb and mick i suppose, but that seems more of a mentor thing than a friendship as such, but they definitely have a legit bond. there’s lots of team mates who obviously vibe with each other and get on (kimi and antonio last year was a really lovely example) but actual deep friendships must be tricky.

 

[Albrouze]

Feel like I haven't been so active on here the last few weeks having missed the races in real time! Only managing the C4 highlights.

Where can I listen to these podcasts please? Are they the Beyond The Grid ones?

The ones I mentioned are Motorsport Magazine Podcast and the series is 'My Big Break'.

 

[i-moo-la]

Sadly, the intense pressure and ambition often seems to lead to the demise of many friendships as well

Oh yea, Pierre and Esteban to name the most obvious. Just incredibly sad as from what I have seen, they grew up like brothers, and I hope that there is a chance they reconcile now that things are water under the bridge, hopefully

Hi sweetheart. Glad you're ok

Hope you’re okay lovely

Thank you lovelies I’m all good, getting there

 

[HaloGirl]

I think they are very young and still early in their respective careers. When they are fighting for titles in a few years time, it will be interesting to see if they can remain friends. I don’t think they can. Could be wrong.

 

[i-moo-la]

I think they are very young and still early in their respective careers. When they are fighting for titles in a few years time, it will be interesting to see if they can remain friends. I don’t think they can. Could be wrong.

I find it super interesting that in the case of Charles and Max, the rivalry was more intense as children when things weren’t as important as this title fight, for example. Obviously with age there comes a certain maturity as well, but it’s very fascinating. They fought for a F1 WDC and seemed very friendly but their karting days were filled with inchidentes

 

[LaBlonde]

I think they are very young and still early in their respective careers. When they are fighting for titles in a few years time, it will be interesting to see if they can remain friends. I don’t think they can. Could be wrong.

yep, i feel like lewis and nico is a perfect example of this. though i imagine nico to be a difficult person all around

i have hope for pierre/charles and alex/george! but like you say, who knows. i imagine it’s easier if you’re in different teams than to be on the same one, but you probably also eventually have to set strong boundaries on what you talk about and leave “work” in work

 

[HaloGirl]

I find it super interesting that in the case of Charles and Max, the rivalry was more intense as children when things weren’t as important as this title fight, for example. Obviously with age there comes a certain maturity as well, but it’s very fascinating. They fought for a F1 WDC and seemed very friendly but their karting days were filled with inchidentes

The infamous video from when they were kids! It would have been interesting to see what happened if FerrarI hadn’t totally screwed everything up.
Hope you are doing well!

 

[LaBlonde]

I find it super interesting that in the case of Charles and Max, the rivalry was more intense as children when things weren’t as important as this title fight, for example. Obviously with age there comes a certain maturity as well, but it’s very fascinating. They fought for a F1 WDC and seemed very friendly but their karting days were filled with inchidentes

i find their dynamic fascinating! they obviously seem to like each other and get along, and i think they’re pretty similar (i like how they both want to fully debrief and talk through the races with each other afterwards) but they were rivals where max then completely outmatched charles and jumped straight to f1 while charles still did f2. i would have loved to have seen what would happen in a “real” battle where ferrari didn’t bottle it so epically.

it is interesting to me that max has expressed genuine regret that he didn’t get to properly race charles on a few occasions this season and his empathy when things go wrong for him. but i guess that’s easy to say from his position.

edit: also i’ve just realised it’s you, hello!! hope you’re doing good

 

[JAR21]

Webber apologising to Danny:

Mark Webber apologises to Daniel Ricciardo over role in McLaren exit

archived 5 Sep 2022 15:35:06 UTC

archive.ph

 

[ClubS]

As a Mercedes fan it's wild to me that people are abusing Hannah?! Like the George pit stop was a Mercedes strategy move (that I didn't agree with) not a RB one! Her job is to get RB to win and she did her job perfectly

ETA: mind you I would never think about abusing someone online, I'll just chat tit about them to my friends and family instead