F1's ruthless driver clear-out explained

[@beesknees2446]

And Stroll still has his seat??? Nepotism at its finest.

[@KuchingKingVideoGamer]

Stroll isn't a totally bad driver It's not his fault if his father owns the team

[@Tim_3100]

Daddy wont fire his boy he might say he would if he didnt perform its i think just talk

[@dipsan95]

@@KuchingKingVideoGamer Always suprised the window licker still gets defenders every now and then

[@CCA2020]

@@KuchingKingVideoGamerwished he called it quits. I don’t think he would do a half bad job in wec

[@rumpelstiltskn5574]

​@@dipsan95...jealousy is an ugly trait to have! 🤣😂🤣😂🤣

[@TunedIntoCars]

As long as Perez and Stroll still have seats, there's nothing ruthless in these driver changes...

[@robbell8959]

100%, I can understand sauber with bottas wanting a clean break ready for audi so I wouldn't count it as ruthless, and again for Kmag with getting rid of the trace of steiner plus ocon being above average this season after brazil and bearman a given, and with ricciardo he should have been gone after 2022 realistically, so I don't see any of them as ruthless

[@ChuyR.]

Give it up with Perez, he is staying

[@Ins0mnia]

​@@ChuyR.Doesn't mean he deserves it

[@LiamLawson-VCARB]

@@Ins0mnia He's a nice guy and brings a lot of sponsorship to the team.

[@Ins0mnia]

@@LiamLawson-VCARB shouldn't mean you can be 200+ points and 7 places behind your teammate and destroying the budget with 3m+ worth of accidents, especially when there is plenty of talented young drivers who will miss out on a seat. Perez has been a huge liability, and money ultimately being the deciding factor over why someone gets a seat is a shame.

[@skidmarkzuckerberg]

Would've loved to see what Sainz did in Perez's seat. I know it was unlikely, but still.

[@joejoe8322]

Me too

[@andynother4900]

Me three

[@ralphhathaway-coley5460]

I think RB blew that with their previous treatment of Sainz. Would you go back to an employer that did that to you?

[@ishqiahmed4315]

@@ralphhathaway-coley5460realistically tho if sainz was offered a drive, he most likely wouldn’t choose Williams over that

[@chieflion9526]

Me four

[@salmanazam9444]

I only feel bad for Bottas out of the three in the thumbnail.

[@KuchingKingVideoGamer]

Bottas failed to improve and score points in this year's Sauber Bottas is only in F1 because of money

[@ceko_111]

​@@KuchingKingVideoGamer "failed to improve" what do you even mean by that? He's a proven driver that was put in a tractor

[@yeuogu4840]

there might be some speculations mercedes taking him as reserve driver to replace mick schumacher. but its still speculations

[@soundscape26]

@@KuchingKingVideoGamer It was the car that failed to improve, not Bottas

[@Ivan6280]

@@ceko_111 he proved be couldn't beat Hamilton when Verstappen was a threat. He had his chance, proved he wasn't up there with the future generation, those being Leclerc, Verstappen, Norris, and Piastri. Hes def better than Perez as a 2nd driver, but not much more after that.

[@rajjy1976]

Shout out to Ben’s ability to hold eye contact 😳

[@darudy]

Bro really said 👁️👁️

[@Pedun42]

His screen might be a teleprompter

[@rajjy1976]

@@Pedun42 He can see deep into your soul

[@ronai11]

😅 right

[@ryanlai5290]

Nvidia AI

[@JustinWoo]

I noticed no one is talking about the fact that F1 teams probably shied away from newer drivers after the last shipment of rookies were pretty damn bad. Mick Schumacher, Lance Stroll, Logan Sargent, Nikita Mazepin... no wonder people didn't want rookies for a while.

[@odieostrich7718]

3 out of 4 of those were nepo-babies

[@soundscape26]

Stroll arrived before Norris, Russell, Leclerc and Gasly... very old shipment by now 😄

[@ChrisSmith-mk3wo]

I think the drivers you have highlighted are part of the issue, but not for the reason you say. As these were pay drivers the reason we havent had any 'good' rookies for a while is because they took up those seats!

[@tuffmanchannel]

@@ChrisSmith-mk3wo To add to your point, I think the fact that F1 teams are now at a point where they are financially stable means that they can finally move away from hiring subpar pay drivers and just focus on getting the best drivers.

[@sharpe3698]

Lance stroll isn't really related to the Schumacher/stroll/Sargent crowd. He's been in F1 longer than the Russel/Alvin/Norris crop.

[@Massen.]

IF only we actually got rid of Perez and Stroll

[@TXnine7nine]

Papa Stroll will never fire his son.

[@alexpeak16]

@@TXnine7nine That's because Lawrence is completely deluded. He seemed happy to fire Dan Fallows but can't understand how embarrassing beaching your car in the gravel trap is. Isn't it obvious how much Lance doesn't want to be there anymore?

[@JoeVer-d6v]

Tbf Checo back to Aston would be a big upgrade over Stroll. A change of environment and team is what Checo needs but don't think he'll get it.

[@justinburley8659]

Then y’all would complain about the next worst drivers

[@coced]

until the other AM's shareholders get tired of this non-sense

[@Blockhead-lc6fr]

There was no silly season in 23, so 24 is having the silliest of seasons

[@alicekoppenol-pitti6257]

It's so scilly that they even get rid of race directors, F1 CEO ''s and pundits.

[@fishii8237]

Used 2023 as a charge for 2024😭

[@fishii8237]

Used 2023 as a charge for 2024😭

[@cuttululu]

it feels like it's almost as if there aren't as many seats and they could get some more teams... well apart from the andretti/cadillac rant, which i don't even know if it would be good or bad for the sport, it's nice that there are so many talented drivers nowadays, it will make good races in the next years

[@RaptorV1USA]

.....haven't you heard...? Eddie Jordan says it's a done deal that Andretti global will be on the grid in F1 for 2026 ...with or without Michael Andretti involved.

[@mitchell-wallisforce7859]

What's infuriating is that it isn't even specifically about Andretti specifically - I personally couldn't give a damn about him after he helped erect a similar charter system around the IndyCar Series. Letting Andretti Global into F1 was about setting a precedent for _any_ new teams being _able_ to get a foot in the door. The old days of open entry lists and pre-qualifying cutoffs meant that a theoretically infinite number of cars could be entered into a Formula One grand prix. Such a setup would instantly solve the issue of solid drivers being shuffled completely off the grid, as they'd have SOME options.

[@n8pls543]

But then if you added another team, that new team would likely do what Haas did and pick b-list experienced drivers, which wouldn't solve the upcoming talent problem people like to complain about. Or well, supposedly Andretti would hire exclusively from US programs, which is its own thing.

[@Shambley1]

Is it really that ruthless for some of them though? I think of the three drivers in the thumbnail bottas is the most ruthless. That car was an absolute tractor and he was never going to perform well no matter how good he drove. He actually outperfomed his teammate consistently unlike the other two.

[@PhoenixProd416E6F6E]

I don't remember the race in particular but the call he made to go for Wet tyres at the beginning of the race, that the team then ignored, was tragic.

[@gwcrispi]

If only AM would replace Stroll with Drugovich and Liam Lawson gets the Red Bull seat and Colapinto gets the RB seat...

[@soundscape26]

Colapinto would be stuck at Vcarb for at least 3/4 years unless Lawson disappoints

[@MrWeedWacky]

So you are saying the owner of Aston Martin, and the owner of the Aston Martin F1 team, should just sell the team. Because there is no other way to get Stroll out of the car, he is the son of the owner....

[@AndyHack10]

It's not a bad thing to let hungry new drivers in, especially when there's clearly enough quality drivers available. No need to carry on with people who seem to only do their job instead of some actual race car driving.

[@jakegirolami2186]

I think Lawson was a catalyst for a lot of this last year as well

[@mrgalaxy396]

I don't think so, RB juniors are really only in contention for the RB junior team. RB was stubborn and kept giving drivers outside their own junior pool a chance. They signed NDV over Lawson and then Ricciardo over Lawson. Lawson was more a correction back to the norm and it only happened because RB realized Ricciardo wasn't it anymore. Lawson only saved himself from being passed over for the next batch of RB juniors like Hadjar.

[@jakegirolami2186]

@ I agree regarding him being isolated in the RB world, but I think his performance is open eyes to the Young drivers, who are getting overlooked can perform better than some of the veterans

[@Kaimax61]

More like it started from Piastri. and then Fucking DeBries. I don't know they keep trying to sign outside of the junios, like Colapinto is now rumored for RB too. The whole Liam saga started from DeBries, then Ricciardo just mucked everything that shareholders started asking REAL questions, why is an old man in the junior sister team.

[@Runaque]

The push for young drivers comes with the last year under the current regulations and this is a great opportunity to get experience before the cars change a lot (again).

[@elwick_photo]

Ive always felt that russels a bit more like leclerc, brilliant over 1 laps but occasionally makes mistakes in the race, while hamiltons not as good immediately on a weekend but is waaaay more consistent and racey once in the race. Which i think plays out in the stats, hams been beaten by russel in qually more often than not but come the race... 🤷🏻‍♂️

[@dinocharlie1]

Well, come the race, George has been more consistent too. He's 2 points ahead of Lewis and that's after his DNF that gave Lewis an additional win. Right now they're 1-1 in the end of season head to head, so this year is the tiebreaker since Lewis is leaving.

[@jonathonalsop2120]

With his record you can say Bottas deserves a seat, but you can also say he had the best seat for 5 seasons which is something most drivers never get. It would be nice to see someone else in the second Red Bull, Perez hit his high watermark in 2020 with 4th overall in the warmed over Mercedes.

[@davidhaworth7152]

Sprint weekends should be for up and coming drivers or run a rookie race every other weekend. Some way to get some hype and buzz behind young drivers.

[@MrMuis198]

They do run f2, f3 and f1academy races on quite a few weekends, they just don't get the same attention.

[@tobygroves2112]

The relationship between Lewis and Merc broke down at the start of 2023 when, after the disastrous 2022 season, he was strongly advocating ditching the new car concept for 2023 but the team decided to persevere with it. They soon realised he'd been right and changed direction but the fact Lewis felt the team didn't listen to him properly forever damaged the relationship.

[@NielsHeldens]

Another factor was the lack of commitment from Mercedes in terms of the duration of the contracts they wanted to offer to Lewis. And there was still no real discussion of a role as an ambassador for Mercedes, despite Lewis having won 7 titles in a Merc-engined car. Lewis wanted to be a brand ambassador until at least 2035 or so, which Mercedes weren't willing to offer. At least that's what was reported and that might just be hearsay. Seeing it all now, I can entirely understand why Lewis felt like he had to leave Mercedes. Though it is unfortunate the relationship unfolded as it has.

[@davejuniorsimracer]

Also funny how in 2023 Lewis finished P3 in standing with winning a race. Rus finished P8. Now magically season he leaving Rus is lead by 2pts 😂. Toto didn’t question Russell cognitive ability after last yr P8 but question Lewis? & as a replacement was even considering 42yr old Alonso? Then tells media he knew wanted Kimi 5mins after Lewis said he leaving but was in media begging for Max every weekend. Dudes so full of 💩. And they are actively & subtly toying with Lewis so Sponsor and Media think and say dumb 💩 like Lewis declining. Storm is coming next yr and they all just gonna act surprise or credit the car😂

[@darudy]

They blamed that other dude who lost its job to Allison

[@NielsHeldens]

@@darudy Andrew Shovlin Reportedly now shovelling instead of designing

[@mrgalaxy396]

The relationship broke down when Lewis started approaching the big four-oh and wasn't winning WDCs anymore while having contractual demands that made sense five years ago. Toto always planned to sideline him for younger talent, Lewis just smelled the smoke and dipped before that happened.

[@AP-nb9kv]

Its so hard for The Race to appreciate Lawson. They said Bearman’s performance let everyone believe that an avg f2 can still perform well in f1. However this was well proved by Lawson that too in Alfa Tauri.

[@chamindujanith6337]

And Nyck de Vries before that.

[@DiveshRSA]

If his passport said Great Britain, he would get more hype probably 😂

[@wesselgreven6570]

Sainz should’ve gotten the redbull seat, no question

[@Grammarlings-cf8yw]

Red Bull would treat Sainz like cr*p - even more so if he was competitive against Verstappen, they’d develop the car towards Max. It’s an uncompromisingly 1-2 team unlike Mclaren and Ferrari. Why would you wish that on him?

[@3rdGenGuy]

@@Grammarlings-cf8yw better than going to the 9th fastest team and rotting for a few years and getting sacked.

[@adamhunter7014]

Forget the car, the politics between the two driver's father would have made it more than miserable

[@soundscape26]

​@@3rdGenGuyBeing treated by Red Bull as Max's wingman would get to Sainz pretty quickly

[@bocalex23]

Not that Sainz isn't treated the same at Ferrari, most of team orders were in favor of Leclerc. Sainz even had the balls to go against team orders and give Ferrari their only win in 2023.

[@michaelredford5389]

Let's be honest here, Alonso doesn't need to even entertain any views that he is "clogging up a seat" while Lance is his teammate. I do feel like the media are letting Stroll get away with his antics this year, more than others. Whether that's because of the leadership at Aston and you don't want to upset the management or any potential business down the line, I don't know, but between Autosport, Sky and the Race, Stroll never gets the criticism he deserves. We have to watch more indie creators for those views.

[@michaelwilkie35]

All of Lance’s dumb moments, (until Brazil obviously) where in the first 5 races when Aston had a fairly decent car & he was properly criticized for it, (especially China). He had quietly been having a “not great not terrible” stretch of races where even Alonso was struggling to get into the top 10 & his Brazil beaching undid all of that, (as it should have).

[@ProAndCon]

I feel like it's a dead horse at this point. I do hear The Race and others bring up Lance's underperformance, but he's so deep-rooted in the team and it's been going on for so long that people just give up mentioning it. We KNOW he's wasting a seat. So Sky / Race / Autosport just ignore him and pretend he doesn't exist

[@mrgalaxy396]

Zhou was absolutely anonymous this year even with the car he has considered and you saw no criticism of him either. Why? Because in reality no one cares what happens in the bottom half of the grid. What's the point in criticizing Stroll when not even Alonso can drag that car to points anymore? Out of sight, out of mind.

[@paperplane-db8qf]

Criticizing Stroll this season doesn’t make sense. He’s Alonso’s teammate and lots of drivers struggled to drive a shitbox designed from Alonso’s feedback. Even world champions like Kimi and Button struggled massively. A WDC contender like Massa dramatically dropped to a crappy number 2. A promising rookie Vandoorne just got worse every season. If world champions can’t drive an Alonso car then there’s no way Stroll can.

[@sandalphoncpu]

If Binotto was still at Ferrari, Hamilton wouldn’t be at Ferrari. He’s the ETH of team principal; only cares about signing young drivers, and directly sabotages older and well established drivers. It’s not about his career that gave him the extra edge over others. It’s Vassuer and the higher ups who opened the door for him.

[@Yonner666]

Aston Martin need to make the call and drop Stroll and promote Drogovich!

[@whatthree16]

Perez and Stroll don't deserve their seats either.

[@shronklescrimblo69]

checo and stroll needs to go

[@shadowzero4526]

6:26 bearman score point meanwhile sergio perez not score point lol its was so funny

[@intense103]

There is still the potential for some interesting moves.. the 2nd seat for Red Bull could still go to someone like Russell... Mercedes moving for Bottas as a reserve driver I think plays into him being a real back up incase of a switch and means they aren't under pressure to fill a seat with experience for Antonelli. I think also Williams to make the play to keep Colapinto in place of Albon is a real possibility... Albon has been making mistakes as there is pressure there for something to happen. Also, Stroll to leave Aston Martin if Lawrence sells his stake before the next season? If all stays the same as it is minus the Red Bull seat, I would really like to see Bottas partner Verstappen. He can play supportive to main driver and has the temperament to still push consistently with a good enough car. Either way.... Next season with at least 5/6 drivers all in for the drivers championship, its gonna be insane indeed

[@jivewig]

These new kids shaking the ground of experienced dogs. Is this because they're much more adaptable to new regulations or what?

[@soundscape26]

It think it's cyclical because the current experienced dogs did the same when they were the new kids

[@a.a.1245]

​@@soundscape26that and this new generation make use of simulators since young age.

[@MinisterManDan]

I think you’ve hit on it, experience doesn’t mean much when the cars change so radically that everyone is close to square one anyway. You watch Danny Ric for example and he doesn’t really drive like a seasoned pro, he looks lost

[@jivewig]

@@soundscape26 true but the average age is much lower now than before

[@neo1711]

@@MinisterManDan Daniel's problems started popping up before the regs in 2021. If anything the next few years should've been a reset

[@vandalsgarage]

I had to dig into the stats to figure out why Bottas is 23rd. Zhou and Sargeant are tied with Bottas with zero points on the year, but Sargeant and Zhou both have an 11th place GP finish, Bottas' highest finish is 13th. So yup, 23rd in a 20 driver field. HIs weakness as a driver has been exposed this year, and it's clear that his GP wins were all due to the dominant Mercedes car. Mid driver in a rocketship during those years. If he really was a top driver, he'd have regularly put a beatdown on his rookie teammate at Sauber, which did not happen.

[@sloppynyuszi]

Why are they speaking of Lewis like he is having a trash season? Outside qualy he is beating George on most metrics, and George is an amazing driver. His British win was amazing this year. Anyone with his stats this year would be kept on for 2025. Proves that he still has his days. I reckon it’s pretty realistic he can bag some wins at Ferrari and maybe even one at Monza.

[@Kaimax61]

Because he is, once you people realize it, is when you can move on.

[@into_the_void]

Exception is Lance .... Kick him out already Aston!

[@joejoe8322]

He has more podiums than Hulkenberg who has zero, but you don't see the hate. If your dad owned a team would you turn the seat down?

[@into_the_void]

@joejoe8322 hulkenberg has outscored Lance this season... In a Hass , enough said i would say

[@joejoe8322]

@@into_the_void Russell has outscored hamilton in the same car, does that mean he's a better driver?

[@soundscape26]

@@joejoe8322 You're seriously using that stat to prove Stroll is a better driver than Hulkenberg?

[@stathispapadopoulos7926]

​@@joejoe8322Lewis and George are in the same car which means if Lewis is a bit off this season or is a bit unlucky he will lose to Russell even if overall he may be a bit better. But stroll has had a better car than hulk for at least the first half of the season by some margin so he can't excuse losing to hulkenberg even if he has been a bit unlucky or off. So you aren't making a point here. And yes russel has been better this season at least.

[@andyw_]

It’s not ruthless the grid needed this for years

[@slimydispertion]

Am i the only one to notice that Ben Anderson doesn't blick much thats I was like something is off about him

[@nobass_stub1394]

he has surgical implants to prevent him from blinking on camera :)

[@slimydispertion]

@@nobass_stub1394 ohh

[@slimydispertion]

@@nobass_stub1394when did he told that I am new to this channel

[@Gatorsfan456]

I feel like part of it could be due to reg changes. The rookies get a year to get their footing, and then come to the following year strong with a new car and an exciting/trainable driver

[@mark6bat]

I think the other huge factor is the 2026 reg changes. Teams want a stable line up going into a huge change

[@slip6699]

Bottas deserved a better chance

[@Chadd-n4x]

Mercedes pushed out Sir Lewis from the moment it was a 1+1 deal. Why was he to wait to be unceremoniously dropped, when he had real competitive offers.

[@pef1960]

Audi are fools for dumping Bottas, a 10 time winner, in favour of the Hulk and a rookie.

[@MatthewPye-en5nu]

Bottas is staying

[@wasajin]

Bottas would've been definitely better than Hulkenberg, driver-wise, but I suppose they're aiming to improve sales with a German driver to front their big marketing strategy on F1

[@wasajin]

If they don't backtrack and end up selling Sauber, that is... I hear VW is going through some economic troubles recently.

[@guitarsimon1]

Idea to find the actual best drivers: F1.5, spec F1 level machinery, iRacing style fixed setups.

[@sindrek8]

Further to the point of driver skill, it would be amazing if the drivers could go at doing times around say Silverstone in each car. It would take ages but we would get an idea on who the best driver is. I know it will never happen, but a man can dream.

[@argh_666]

Not at all ruthless given that all three drivers in the thumbnail are past their sell date!

[@EhEhEhEINSTEIN]

Fwiw, contract lengths are entirely sport-dependant. Some MLB contracts are a decade or more. NHL has quite a few lengthy ones as well. Maybe not double digits but Jeremy Swayman just got a 8 year deal.

[@MRVSKIN]

I think the big thing which you are missing is that Mercedes just don’t have the car that they used to before the ground effect era

[@Suicaedere666]

I would love a shirt of Lewis looking off into the distance like he was Barry Lyndon as the camera panned to him right after Kimi crashed his car😂😂

[@RobertMacLeanDeveloper]

8:30 what book is that?

[@splinterun9005]

Valtteri Bottas, the man who deserved so much more but got shafted by Hamilton and then shafted to Sauber

[@MinisterManDan]

He was a mediocre driver who got a much better career than he deserved because he wasn’t a threat to Lewis

[@NotAcvp3lla]

​@@MinisterManDanwhen was the last time you heard of a mediocre driver scoring 103 consecutive Q3 appearances? Bottas is by no means mediocre, his only fault was not being as good as Hamilton which is a tough ask considering Hamilton came into F1 as a generational talent. That's like asking Perez to beat Verstappen every weekend.

[@Grammarlings-cf8yw]

Hamilton beat Bottas hands down - at the beginning of every season he had the opportunity to beat Hamilton it never happened - he’s the first to admit it. Bottas is a super qualifier - over 1 lap- but he didn’t have excellent racecraft and he was actually quite weak in wheel-to-wheel racing.

[@ThrottleBody]

I mean bottas himself has admitted that Lewis was simply the better driver. It was also his choice to join Sauber. Accountability is key here.

[@paperplane-db8qf]

@@NotAcvp3llaBottas was good in qualifying but terrible in races. Like the 5 times he spun in Turkey 2020. And he did stay on far longer than he deserved to.

[@dereklush9399]

You can't call it ruthless with Stroll and Ocon still on the grid.

[@leoarevalo6786]

Ocon is good but he's ruthless to his teammates

[@jivewig]

The Ocon hate is unreal.

[@santaklaustheiii501]

The Verstappen Marks has Brazil 2019 marked in their calendars ​@@jivewig

[@JoeVer-d6v]

The same Ocon who matched Alonso in the 2 years they were teammates?

[@justinburley8659]

@@JoeVer-d6vThe same Ocon that finished almost twice the races that Alonso did because Alpine couldn’t make a car that could last the whole race?

[@Valentin-ve6ms]

Hamilton won 2 races this year.

[@DonEnzone]

He did. One of those two he was given though.

[@Valentin-ve6ms]

@DonEnzone Nope. Russel would have needed another stop in order to meet weight regulations.

[@soundscape26]

​@@DonEnzoneIf if he failed to win Spa it would always be a great race from him

[@MFran248]

Young drivers being more ready now is something youre seeing more now in the NFL as well. While skill positions ESPECIALLY QBs in the past were just taking snaps in High School and College games before being drafted now with 7on7 and Elite11 camps in middle school and high school they get 100s if not 1000s more plays (ie game pace, reading coverages, making fast decisions, etc) than they did so an NFL team drafting is no longer looking at someone who in 2-3 years may be ready to step up, instead someone whos ready to come in and make an impact NOW.

[@johngonianakis2800]

the stability between 2023-24, right before the clear out that's happening now, was probably due to the quality of the f2 rookies that we got as of recent. We had norris, russel and albon in 2019, all of whom are great (though albon not so much in 2020), and after that we got latifi, sargent, de vries, mazepin, zhou, an underwhelming mick schumacher, it's n wonder it became increasingly difficult for f2 drivers to graduate into f1 in the first few years of the decade. Tsunoda is decent and piastri is great, but now after witnessing lawson, colapinto and bearman doing really well, and older drivers massively underperforming (ricciardo, bottas, perez), i think all the teams will try to get themselves a new piastri, or a new hamilton.

[@BigMacMick]

Pretty obvious that the new car rules coming in for 2026 plays a factor in this, Some teams want to get a new 'youthful' driver onboard for this rule change, What's the point of giving an old driver a year in 2026 then he retires when you can get a new younger talent onboard and bedded in that will stay in the sport for several years or more...

[@MostlyLoveOfMusic]

It's all marketing, because Antonelli, Bearman and Colapinto have beautiful faces (sadly)

[@MaxNeal-tl9bd]

The No Nuts Crew! 🙄🫨☕️

[@JiggyMiggytv]

It’s actually crazy that in modern sports it’s getting to the point where it’s normal to see teenage prodigies going toe-to-toe with seasoned glorified veterans and competing.

[@ericmcmanus5179]

Ive been saying that F1 needed to get rid of half the field for the last 2 years now. There are still a couple that need to just be out of F1 completely. But this is a hood start. We need better drivers.

[@MaBe_Music]

@9:56 what?

[@NicholasLatipi]

this is to be expected, First, the cost cap significantly removes the teams' reliance on paid drivers. Second, F1 is gearing towards eye-candy drivers that are younger, charismatic, and photogenic, and that means phasing out aging drivers. Third, they are already shifting towards a post-verstappen generation, and that means building up and developing real talented young drivers

[@Paul_Allaker8450]

As another commenter has pointed out, there's nothing ruthless in these changes if Perez & Stroll still have seats for 2025.

[@andredornelles8014]

It’s not ruthless if it was a correct change of drivers. All drivers you mentioned needed to go due to underperformance / not good enough

[@footballandf1fan523]

F1 definitely needed this shake up especially after no movement last year, it feels like a reset before the 2026 regs, so many new drivers and established drivers in new teams, 2025 has the potential to be an all timer season.

[@eoin3202]

Would have preferred hulkenburg in place of Perez when it was being discussed in 2020. But stroll in a seat is just a travesty and with f1 wanting in general to have just 10teams it only makes it worse

[@steveneiffel8227]

How much has to do with the cost of hamilton compared to f2 entrance? Rather than performance money as key driver?

[@MBH1696]

More than a little unusual there is no mention of Lawson in the "new blood" line up especially as his performances may in some part have been a catalyst for this cycle of focus on "new blood"???

[@soundscape26]

Probably because Lawson has already raced last season

[@willyhwang1059]

its about time. if you are still trying to sign a one year contract after 7-8 years, you should just be gone before 10 years mark.

[@lasarith2]

2:58 because the younger drivers are actually performing, where the older drivers are just doing there thing .

[@edincanada]

Controversial but sort of obvious opinion: Hamilton switching to ferrari feels mostly like a non-factor in this late season silly season. other than the butterfly effect, Sauber dumping both drivers, Haas also having two seats, Perez and Sergant underperforming have way more to do

[@two-eyedRoy]

To me, it feels like the driver pool for F1 is too small. In AUS football there was a thing about recycled players for quite some years where Ol' Reliable players kept getting spots over up and coming talent which was proving to stagnate options for the national team. Plus there's also an argument for not enough seats. Proposal; All Drivers only collect points from 'x' amount of races within a season, the other races done by Res/Jr drivers. So lets say there some 2-3 races in a season that a driver won't accumulate points at, this then gives the rezzie 4-6 races to impress...

[@rootyp]

Bearman is a decent driver but his F2 season is meh. Spent half the video talking about he and Lewis.

[@williammaurice7206]

For Stoll to lose his seat the regulating body would need to step up and tell Stroll that he can't continue driving in F1. The thing is he's bad, but not too dangerous for drivers, staff or audience.

[@darudy]

07:25 wow, that is soem way to put the terrible f2 season of Antonelli. Say whatever you want, but he was not a great driver this year. He is going to f1 based on hype and formula 4 championships. He will probably do good, tbf no one knows…. What we know is that he was stellar in f4 championships and mediocre in f2

[@b0zz1380y]

12:20-“sports science and fitness is better” Suuuuuuure 😂

[@slip13inc]

Not Bearman domino. Is Lawson Domino.

[@mitchell-wallisforce7859]

The "franchise" model has injustices like these designed-in. Don't worry that solid drivers like Bottas and Magnussen are being pushed out while Drugovich and Pourchaire (remember them?) can't find seats in the first place. It's just the system working as intended.

[@n8pls543]

Pourchaire didn't seem particularly liked in F2, can't get into F1, and couldn't last in Super Formula or Indy... at some point it's probably that he's not worth the trouble.

[@slopat2503]

Why does the media ignore the imho best performing young driver, Liam Lawson?

[@lordstalkr2637]

Wasnt Lawson on RB already secured?

[@FormulaProg]

I don't really consider it to be ruthless. None of the drivers that are leaving have really done enough to deserve a seat. This is how it should be, competitive. Stroll is obviously the exception. Don't even get me started on Perez.

[@Ekilbz]

I have always been a fan of getting the rookies in with only 20 seats, i think teams have to be brutal, if you arent fast enough get replaced. There is plenty of young talent about hungry for a seat.

[@mattpike7268]

I have no doubt that Hamilton will be an easier opponent than Sainz.

[@jonaseriksson3782]

Stroll being secure in an as of now meh car is not as annoying as Perez being seemingly more safe than Max in a very competetive car..

[@TheRitualChannel]

Please, no Red Bull fan wants to see Sergio in that seat next year.

[@juanfervalencia]

Antonelli looks like a young Senna

[@Colt9116]

I will never take Aston Martin seriously as long as stroll has a seat

[@steve223422]

Teams have figured out younger drivers don’t cost as much and if they sign them long term they save money in the long term

[@richardmortimer8147]

Think it is time to run 3 cars at selected races. Basically, 6 slots on the grid x 20 GPs = 120 chances for rookies to 'have a go.' All 10 teams run a 3rd car 12 times.

[@gonzo1354]

Cost cap

[@richardmortimer8147]

@@gonzo1354 Raise it accordingly.

[@gonzo1354]

@@richardmortimer8147 Yeah, but F1 is trying to keep costs down to entice more big names into the sport with engines or as constructors, so it'd mean a full reversal of policy.

[@richardmortimer8147]

@@gonzo1354 Of course, I know that. But, they need to do more to promote rookies. The problem has always been knowing if someone is good enough for F1. Lawson, Bearman and Colapinto have changed that somewhat. I think they can afford it. Teams' value keeps going up.

[@gonzo1354]

@@richardmortimer8147 Yeah, rookies seem to go in cycles - there's been some bad batches, but the current ones have promise. Maybe a long term effect of the cost cap will be more bigger manufacturers [Audi, Cadillac etc] and less need or desire for drivers paying for their seats, which will help rookies break through. Aging legends like Alonso and Hamilton will be under more pressure to perform. LH may have a top 3 car next year. We'll see if he still has value as a driver or is just good for the share price and super car sales.

[@rasbaqino2425]

I think we team are starting to see potential in young drivers... Their looking for the next LH n MV

[@raph8505]

dont know how but i hope Bottas gets a chance, like maybe a switch out for Perez or RB, ik its looking like a reserved driver autosomal for him

[@chrisdowning3153]

Nobody ever says how convenient it was for Toto to now say that he was thinking when he needed to change him. Very unlikely when he kept offering George the same contract lengths as Lewis. It's a nonsense to make himself feel better than Lewis left his team.

[@sporkybutterz]

At the rate Colapinto keeps smashing up the Williams and not being consistent he's not ready unless you consider crashes

[@pooyakhalili406]

Perez still having that RedBull seat is ruthless to other drivers, especially young drivers

[@f.kieranfinney457]

Teams are anticipating the 26 season, giving rookies a shot in a year where development will be limited.

[@gcorreo9623]

There's only much things to say that show you don't know the woks like saying for example that vb had the same resources at mercedes than lh. Or perez at rb.

[@Lanse1984]

Liam Lawson is the best young driver that no one talks about. We also discuss Lewis being this unbelievable driver, but if you had Rosberg and Bottas all those years, Rosberg wins as many WDC as Lewis. Yes Lewis is better than Rosberg but the car was so good that it wouldn't matter.

[@rs660alec]

Toto is just mad and making stuff up. Lewis had nothing to do with the book. He cost his company lots of money

[@MeRacko]

Can't wait on Leclerk Hamilton Antonelli podium in Monza

[@jaymoore332]

Hamilton’s performance compared to his peak is relevant because his peak performance was what set his salary. Replacing an aging driver with a rookie is not just about performance, it’s about performance vs. cost.

[@peterhurd9667]

Has Max Verstappens start at Torro Rosso and RB paved the way for young drivers?

[@lee3r24]

Is it ruthless to move on drivers for better talent that is waiting in the wings, if anything it's long overdue and it can hardly be that ruthless if stroll and perez still have seats.

[@roid1510]

Drugovich staring through the window

[@jz4958]

I think Botas will be a good wingman for Verstappen.

[@withlovefromfloor6343]

The Hamilton Glazing is crazy