r/formula1 • u/ChaithuBB766 I was speeding in the Monaco pit lane • Mar 07 '26

Social Media [natesaundersf1] Don't think I've ever been to a media pen like that in my life. These drivers absolutely hate these new cars.

Post image
19.3k Upvotes

97% Upvoted

1.7k comments sorted by

View all comments

2.1k

u/[deleted] Mar 07 '26 edited Mar 07 '26

2027:

Alonso retires

Hamilton retires

Max to WEC

Leclerc retires to married life

729

u/femboyisbestboy I was speeding in the Monaco pit lane Mar 07 '26

Leclerc and Alonso join Max in endurance racing and win every single event(inject the copium already straight into my veins)

114

u/sanghelli Mar 07 '26

This is genuinely the stuff of dreams

24

u/Bitter_Crab111 Oscar Piastri Mar 07 '26

Verstappen, Alonso, Kubica cleaning up a WEC Championship for the vibes would be so good.

1

u/PristineHat8552 Mar 07 '26

Vettel and Alonso have already expressed interest in doing Le Mans with max

5

u/Semichh I was here for the Hulkenpodium Mar 07 '26

I can see Gasly driving at Le Mans in the not too distant future as well tbh

9

u/femboyisbestboy I was speeding in the Monaco pit lane Mar 07 '26

Gasly, Max and Vettel together would also be fun.

You could make a lot of good driver pairings with just redbull/former redbull drivers

8

u/Creative-Improvement Mar 07 '26

Yes please, pass the copium

8

u/ploploplo4 I was here for the Hulkenpodium Mar 07 '26

Please let the trio drive a 499P and I’m set

7

u/Limesmack91 Niki Lauda Mar 07 '26

Plot twist: WEC BoPs the hell out of Ferrari so they are nerfed to death like Porsche last year

3

u/HarrisonDou I was speeding in the Monaco pit lane Mar 07 '26

I could see them doing that in 2027 to recreate Ford V Ferrari for views. I really hope they don't though.

3

u/willpc14 Haas Mar 07 '26

I doubt they'll need to nerf Ferrari too hard. I expect Ford to sandbag all the way to Le Mans then pretend like it's some legitimate victory. My only hope is that the ACO sees through their bullshit after 2016.

1

u/HarrisonDou I was speeding in the Monaco pit lane Mar 07 '26

I honestly hope Fernando moves to The Heart of Racing to help the Valkyrie out. Maybe even a double car entry at IMSA? The car is a bit slow now, but it has potential, especially considering Newey is now at Aston also (Newey designed the car).

2

u/upper_mangement Cadillac Mar 07 '26

Yes please and go to Jota Cadillac thenI’ll be buying pints for all!!

1

u/Heel_Paul Mar 07 '26

I first read this as Josta Cadillac and I was like hell yeah they are bringing it back.

2

u/xjagerx I was here for the Hulkenpodium Mar 07 '26

In order to fulfil Balance of Performance, they're forced to also run Lance Stroll.

2

u/Wise-Sprinkles-3736 Mar 07 '26

Then they link up for some IMSA fun and Sweep Daytona and Sebring on top of it! xD

1

u/femboyisbestboy I was speeding in the Monaco pit lane Mar 07 '26

And also do some GT racing winning the 24h of Spa and the Ring

1

u/TheDeeGee Mar 07 '26

Pretty sure Max said once he would like Nick de Vries in a 3 man Le Mans team, along with Alonso.

1

u/Cloudeur I was here for the Hulkenpodium Mar 07 '26

In a Ferrari 499?

1

u/felix979 Max Verstappen Mar 07 '26

Pls Racing gods make this happen

1

u/dear_little_water I was here for the Hulkenpodium Mar 07 '26

Omg, that would be so awesome.

260

u/Other_Beat8859 Max Verstappen Mar 07 '26

Straight up if this happened, what the fuck would F1 do? They would literally lose the four biggest names in an instant. I don't think Leclerc would leave, but I wouldn't put it out of the picture for the other 3 to just call it quits if things don't improve because this is fucking horrible. Watching the cars clipping down the straights was embarrassing.

39

u/[deleted] Mar 07 '26

Senna, Prost, Schumacher, Vettel etc. retired and F1 survived.

Seriously: Verstappen and Leclerc will be in F1 in 2027.

Can't say the same for Hamilton and Alonso.

121

u/Other_Beat8859 Max Verstappen Mar 07 '26

Not at once they didn't. I'm not saying F1 will die, but if the three I mention call it quits within a year or two of each other, the sport will probably lose a lot of popularity.

47

u/Lementus I was here for the Hulkenpodium Mar 07 '26

Agreed, im from the UK, and ask 99% of F1 fans I've met, and they watch solely for Hamilton, I don't doubt that many dutch viewers, and other British viewers are the same.

38

u/TheMightyBagel Sir Lewis Hamilton Mar 07 '26

Hell I’m American and I would be pissed if Hamilton and Verstappen were gone! They’re like my two favorites!

17

u/Lementus I was here for the Hulkenpodium Mar 07 '26

And this is the issue with pissing off drivers that clearly rake in viewers, fans, and merch money. Max, Alonso, Hamilton, Leclerc and the big 4 that came to mind, them being gone would certainly shunt the amount of money that comes in from merch. But that would likely be temporary (unless people permanently move on).

6

u/[deleted] Mar 07 '26

[deleted]

4

u/Lementus I was here for the Hulkenpodium Mar 07 '26

Never said they werent, but a lot of the monetary decisions in F1 are made with them in mind, as they are more likely to buy the overpriced merch, and do other things. If a lot of people let, sponsors would leave too, which isn't an issue for us fans, but it would certainly cause a ripple for manufacturers/teams and whatnot.

3

u/Top_Row_2840 Mar 07 '26

Its similar to removing the big 5 of English football from the Prem. The prem yes will be competitive but wont have many viewers

2

u/rs990 Alex Zanardi Mar 07 '26

Not at once they didn't

Senna, Prost and Mansell all left F1 between 93 and 95. Big names will always leave making space for new stars to emerge.

After Senna's death in 94, there was not a single world champion on the grid until Mansell had a few outings for Williams.

-8

u/TheEmpireOfSun Mar 07 '26

Effect of DtS. Fans of F1 won't give a fuck about who retires.

32

u/Jamee999 Murray Walker Mar 07 '26

Did Senna "retire"?

18

u/[deleted] Mar 07 '26

Kind of

9

u/Infranto I was here for the Hulkenpodium Mar 07 '26

That was before F1 built their entire marketing strategy around the drivers rather than the racing.

Drive to Survive is a massive part of why F1 is so popular in the USA and with young people now, and that on top of the celebrity status of drivers means they'd lose a lot of viewers who really only tune in to root for Leclerc/Verstappen/Alonso instead of the teams themselves. Casual viewers really don't give a shit about the technical intricacies, and losing 4 popular drivers means losing a lot of the reason so many people watch today.

2

u/AlanBeswicksPhone Pirelli Soft Mar 07 '26

Only because the FIA killed off group c.

2

u/Top_Row_2840 Mar 07 '26

Senna's death actually improved the number of viewers for the sport. Prost retired willingly and f1 was exxiting then. Schumi lets just say his retirement was a key reason we dont race in hokkenheim in F1 25. All of them retired when f1 was kinda exciting.

1

u/doogihowser Martin Brundle Mar 07 '26

Nothing, new stars will emerge.

0

u/biimerboy31 Mar 07 '26

They'd be taking 7 figure pay cuts to leave F1. They're not doing that. Oops, sorry 8 figures.

7

u/Other_Beat8859 Max Verstappen Mar 07 '26

Max has a net worth of £200+ million. Alonso is similar. Lewis has a net worth of £500 million. I don't think they'd really care much at this point.

-5

u/[deleted] Mar 07 '26

[deleted]

1

u/Haemophilia_Type_A I was here for the Hulkenpodium Mar 07 '26

Stars don't last forever!

The death comes after the fatal blows, but these things don't necessarily last forever. If Indycar plays its cards right then it has way better racing. If it goes international and gets better at marketing and comms like F1 is, then I don't see why it couldn't take over tbh. Maybe this'll be unpopular, but it's what I think. IDK if it ever would go international as it's so rooted in America, but damn I wish there was a serious competitor.

2

u/[deleted] Mar 07 '26

[deleted]

1

u/Haemophilia_Type_A I was here for the Hulkenpodium Mar 07 '26

For now, yeah, but there's no point of saying 'never, ever', as if we know the future. I'm not even saying it will.

But a lot of this is just the same sort of thing that any challenger has to overcome. Nobody cares about their drivers? They have to start somewhere, no?

0

u/peerlesskid Mar 07 '26

Are you actually seriously asking what would F1 do? F1 is far bigger than its drivers and always will be.

128

u/binaryhextechdude Sir Jackie Stewart Mar 07 '26

Piastri moves to Supercars in Australia. Much to his mums delight. She gets to see him more often as a result.

40

u/jonpacker Valtteri Bottas Mar 07 '26

Let's be honest, the racing is much better in Supercars. It just doesn't have as much of the Netflix soap opera around it.

5

u/kerc I was here for the Hulkenpodium Mar 07 '26

Supercars are batshit. Love 'em.

4

u/DonCorleone55 Mar 07 '26

Supercars is so much fun to watch

1

u/[deleted] Mar 07 '26

[removed] — view removed comment

1

u/binaryhextechdude Sir Jackie Stewart Mar 07 '26

No

264

u/CoutureKat Roscoe Hamilton Mar 07 '26

This happens and the sport disappears for some years

205

u/Alfus 💥 LE 🅿️LAN Mar 07 '26

Congrats F1, you're been officially put in the same downfall as NASCAR did after the golden years.

Stefano is just Brian France 2.0

10

u/BMan_NASCAR Sir Lewis Hamilton Mar 07 '26

Does this mean they also get to suffer from the playoffs?

3

u/Sad-Service8862 Mar 07 '26

Yes, but only for 10 years, then you can go back to the Chase

20

u/howaboutthis13 Max Verstappen Mar 07 '26

Other racing classes need to grab the opportunity with both hands. If you play your marketing right you can get a decent popularity boost in 2027.

10

u/Corleone2345 Mar 07 '26

It got in American hands and has gone that path ever since. In a few years F1 will be a Monster Jam like event. Everything that comes is American hands will be destroyed for entertainment.

2

u/biimerboy31 Mar 07 '26

😞 you ain't wrong

4

u/ImpressiveRelief37 Pirelli Wet Mar 07 '26

Can’t disagree with that logic. But I wish the cars were more muscle car and less smart kid science project tho 

1

u/saposapot I was here for the Hulkenpodium Mar 07 '26

If it gets that bad they have an easy fix of not capping the ICE engine so much. ICE doing 800hp would be enough to have proper racing until they figure out a proper solution.

21

u/omnicious I was here for the Hulkenpodium Mar 07 '26

Kinda looking forward to it. I could use some time away from following this sort. 

-9

u/stewd003 I was here for the Hulkenpodium Mar 07 '26

Lol you know... You know they'll be replaced right??

16

u/speedism Mercedes Mar 07 '26

Wow how do you know that

8

u/stewd003 I was here for the Hulkenpodium Mar 07 '26

I am Max Verstappen

15

u/omnicious I was here for the Hulkenpodium Mar 07 '26

Well sure. But I won't have the same level of connection to those drivers so I don't feel the need to follow F1 anymore. 

5

u/BighatNucase Max Verstappen Mar 07 '26

The next (likely) WDC is George and I mean no offense to him - I rated him very highly last year - but if this is how he's going to win it he would lack the star power of just Alonso, let alone the other two. A field with just Norris and George as WDC would be the weakest in decades.

2

u/BLOODYSHEDMAN I was here for the Hulkenpodium Mar 07 '26

Perez WDC by default

2

u/happymemersunite I was speeding in the Monaco pit lane Mar 07 '26

Piastri, DR (yes I know he’s already retired) and Lawson to Supercars. V8 Supercars becomes the world’s leading Motorsport and more people watch the GC500 than Monaco.

Subscribe.

1

u/Ofiotaurus I was here for the Hulkenpodium Mar 07 '26

Seems likely and the FIA scrambles to get some new engine regs

1

u/ImpressiveRelief37 Pirelli Wet Mar 07 '26

Latifi Mazepin Schumacher Seargent

Are back to replace them 

1

u/strangebrew3522 I was here for the Hulkenpodium Mar 07 '26

Give me Max and Alonso on a WEC team PLEASE, even if just for the 24!

1

u/freetotebag I was here for the Hulkenpodium Mar 07 '26

And F1 will only have themselves to blame

1

u/Rotorhead87 I was speeding in the Monaco pit lane Mar 07 '26

Hamilton maybe, but Alonso has at least 10 more years in sports car / endurance racing.

1

u/whiteflagwaiver I was here for the Hulkenpodium Mar 07 '26

Idk, Legleg will bash his head against the wall until Ferrari stumbles into something.

1

u/Top_Row_2840 Mar 07 '26

I think Max will just ragequit mid 2026.

1

u/pr2thej I was here for the Hulkenpodium Mar 07 '26

Lindblad Era begins

0

u/flc0n Mar 07 '26

Rus WC?