I dislike Bernie intensely, but let’s not kid ourselves that the current F1 owners are motivated by anything except how much money they can screw out of the sport.
I dislike Bernie intensely, but let’s not kid ourselves that the current F1 owners are motivated by anything except how much money they can screw out of the sport.
Well, other than the fact that we don’t live in a perfect society (have you noticed yet?), because a rich, famous, influential 92 yo is probably the last person the authorities want in jail.
You’re not wrong, but jail time and justice is not what motivates HMRC, or any other revenue department. They want one thing, and one thing only: The money. Putting people in jail costs money, letting rich people 'fess up and pay up is much more lucrative.
They certainly have options, though I’m not convinced Tsunoda, Ricciardo or Lawson are necessarily better options.
Not a good look for VAG if true. First Porsche make a big deal about entering F1 and then can’t find anyone who wants to work with them. If Audi then bails out after committing to buy a team and being an engine supplier it’s not going to reflect well on the brand.
Maybe a way back into F1 for Honda though?
PF1 is a clickbait site. As a source of news it’s about as reliable as the Daily Mail.
Very little. It’s just to get the drivers familiar with the new track limits.
Now we are in the cost-cap era this all seems pretty pointless.
RBR don’t want or need anyone to match Verstappen’s performance. All they want from their second driver is to finish P2 in the championship. Perez is currently on track to achieve that, but Hamilton isn’t too far behind him. Perez is probably safe for next year so long as he gets P2, but he can’t afford another race like Suzuka.
Ricciardo is unlikely to be an upgrade on Perez speed-wise, but he’d probably handle the pressure better and have fewer race incidents.
There’s always an option to backtrack, though it would likely come with a substantial monetary and reputational cost.