Q: The accusations against Christian Horner will be terrible for Formula 1, not just for the Red Bull team. If Horner is fired, how will we ever know what the Red Bull team might have done in the future? If they fail to live up to their past success, rather than feeling that the other teams have overtaken them, we will always think that Red Bull was crippled because of the loss of Christian Horner. And this surely brings Formula 1 into disrepute, especially in the wake of the accusations against Toto and Susie Wolff.
Oh dear, and with that thought, here comes the conspiracy theory: Maybe the Wolffs found out who was behind the rumors of their improper information sharing. And what if this is their revenge? And the following rumor — that the accusations against Christian Horner are really the playing out of a power struggle within Red Bull — is just poisoning the well further. I don’t believe it, but once the thought is spoken, it will always be in the back of the mind.
Big Sur Ridgewalker, Big Sur, CA
CM: I’m steering clear of rumors surrounding Horner based on the fact that I’ve yet to speak to anyone with any certainty about what’s happened and the severity of the allegations. Clearly it’s something big enough to trigger an investigation, but there are so many potential reasons for that, that we’re only going to report fact on this topic.
Regardless, as much as Horner has done an excellent job at Red Bull, so too have so many other key personnel. It’s a team with huge strength in depth and multiple senior members who have had a major influence on its success, that — perhaps Adrian Newey aside — I don’t think the departure of any one person would be totally decisive for it’s chances of further titles.
Q: Can Max Verstappen enter F1, F2 and F3 in one season and challenge for all three championships? He’s never been F2 or F3 champion before, so he should be eligible for the series?
Willem
CM: Technically yes, I believe he can. Although there’s a minimum age, there’s no maximum age so if he really wanted to do something like that, he could (as could anyone else who hasn’t won either title — the only result that makes you ineligible).
Q: With all due respect to Kelly Crandall, IMHO the Clash at the Coliseum is “Must-Miss TV.” Perhaps I’m not in the target audience. Perhaps I have an attention span longer than the average squirrel, maybe I don’t like rap music or anything that is labeled “music” these days. Too much hoopla and assorted other bullstuff for this kid.
I have reduced my NASCAR viewing to maybe three-four races per year, down from all of them in past years. Have switched to IndyCar and F1, although F1 is mostly a parade.
John, Downers Grove
KELLY CRANDALL: It’s not for everyone and that’s fine. But there is nothing wrong with NASCAR trying something new and going all-out with an exhibition event.
Q: I am very disappointed that NASCAR has only two practice sessions for the Daytona 500 and that the first time the Cup Series cars will turn a lap will be in qualifying. Why has NASCAR cut down on practice so much, especially after COVID?
Kurt Perleberg
KC: After COVID the industry realized there were better, more condensed ways of doing race weekends, and with the Daytona 500, it came down to not needing so much practice because teams didn’t want to wreck their cars. As the week went on, more and more drivers stopped participating in practice once the car was as prepared as it could be, and fewer and fewer were participating in drafting sessions. It was a matter of time and money. But now that the schedule doesn’t have anything before qualifying, some have backtracked in a sense and have expressed liking some form of track time to put a car on track and make sure nothing is leaking or dragging.
THE FINAL WORD
From Robin Miller’s Mailbag, February 16, 2016
Q: I don’t understand why so many of the younger drivers without full-time rides in IndyCar don’t drop down to Indy Lights instead of sitting on the sidelines. I’m guessing the answer has something to do with money, but can you shed some light on what goes on behind the scenes with these drivers?
Steve, South Carolina
ROBIN MILLER: First and foremost is that Lights aren’t going to help Karam or Spencer Pigot or J.R. Hildebrand make progress — they already crossed that bridge. And most of the Lights’ owners need sponsorship too, so that’s why so many young foreign drivers get seats. Someone once asked Jimmy Vasser — the 1996 CART champion — when he was losing his ride with Ganassi after 2000 if he thought he needed to go back to Lights for a year. To his credit, he laughed like the rest of us. In the 1950s,’60s and ’70s many of the IndyCar regulars still ran midgets and sprints because they didn’t make enough money just driving an IndyCar.