'Incessant' Mick Schumacher rumours, Hamilton's pace and more questions answered (2024)

You asked and we answered. Here are our responses to your questions as Formula 1 nears its return from the autumn break.

From tracks we want added to questions about the site itself, here’s what you wanted to know from PlanetF1.com.

PlanetF1.com Q&A: Your questions answered

With all these investments in equipment, structures and personnel on Aston Martin, how long until Lawrence Stroll will feel the pressure for a change especially from their big partners at Honda and Aramco considering they have the potential to make it to the top but fell flat in their ambitions? – JP Lim

Good question JP. For now, I think Aston is right where they expected to be and it was only their incredible start to 2022 that raised everyone’s expectations.

Let’s put it into perspective. The four teams ahead of them are all far more experienced, have all won titles and have all been on their own journey for far longer than Aston has.

No doubt there is a ceiling to breaking into the top four but the thing about Lawrence Stroll is he has put his money where his mouth is. Which team is spending more than Aston on factory improvements and staff hires?

While Stroll continues to invest like that, who is signing to be pressuring him to make changes with the team? I think 2026 has been earmarked as their first season they expect to be competitive given Newey’s arrival and the Honda link-up. If things don’t go to plan by then, I think he may well consider some changes.

It’s said one lap pace is the first thing to go when drivers get older. Is Hamilton’s qualifying record against Russell this year a sign that his powers are starting to wane? – User 793169043

I’m not so sure about that. I think that Hamilton has instead focused on performing better in the races than qualifying.

It makes sense. When he was in a dominant car, he only needed to beat his team-mate and his best chance was to outqualify him whereas now, he does not have the outright speed advantage so maximising race potential is more important.

Russell has proven himself a good qualifier this year, out-qualifying Hamilton 13 times, but the seven-time World Champion is much closer when it comes to races. And as the Drivers’ standings show, points are handed out on Sunday, not Saturday.

Why is there the incessant promotion of Mick Schumacher, linking him with every available seat on the grid?He’s an average driver at best, yet PF1 seems to be promoting his cause at every turn. Other prospects such as Pourchaire or Bortoleto get a tiny fraction of the coverage PF1’s writers give Mick – are you being paid by the Schumacher family for this endless promotion?– The Laughing Policeman

The short answer is that when we write about Pourchaire or Bortoleto, not many of you read it!

A lot of people are still interested in what happens in Mick Schumacher’s career and many of those want to see him and the Schumacher name back in F1. So while you may not want to read it (no one is forcing you to!), there are others who are clearly interested in Schumacher, even if that means paying a visit to the rumour mill and seeing what’s been spun. Mick Schumacher is genuinely being linked with these seats.

And no, we are not being paid by the Schumacher family (or any drivers’ for that matter!).

Given the geopolitical issues/war within the Middle East and also Ukraine, what is the likelihood of alterations for the races in Qatar and Abu Dhabi this year and potentially next which would then include Bahrain? Does F1 have a contingency plan? Perhaps the issues bring to the forefront a return to classic tracks that have been clamoured for or open doors easier for new host cities. –FreshCupOf_Joe

It is a fair question but we have had an F1 race in the past where an actual missile hit a few miles from the circuit and it went ahead as normal.

It was a question raised last year and F1 were confident that the GPs would go ahead as planned and that will be the case this year again. And it’s also very clear that Qatar and Abu Dhabi, as hosts of F1 races, are going nowhere.

Theoretical scenario: Let’s say the Austrian race weekend hadn’t taken place yet and was to take place this weekend. (Meaning that there are seven races and four Sprints left. Verstappen has 18 points less, Norris has 6 points less, Piastri has 25 points less, etc.) Now let’s say that the weekend plays out exactly as it did in real life. How would the FIA and other relevant parties’ reactions be different from what it was then? – Il Dottore

So on a stewarding front, I think the punishments would be the same. The rules do not account for what impact a crash has on a title race but rather the crash itself. Verstappen was found guilty of causing a collision and so was given a 10-second time penalty and two penalty points which would be the case if it happened this weekend.

As for the reaction outside of the stewards, imagine back to the days after Austria earlier this year and times it by a hundred I would say!

Will Formula 1 ever go to Portland International Raceway? – Purple Sector 1

Going to go with a 99% no on this. It’s not an FIA Grade 1 circuit, the US already has three races and a lot would need to happen for Portland to be on the fourth.

More from PlanetF1.com

F1 schedule: When is the next F1 race and where is it being held?

Five one-hit wonder F1 drivers we still can’t believe won a Grand Prix

What races are most likely to be added for 2026? – Purple Sector 1

An obvious one to say is Madrid as that is already announced but other than that, I can’t see many more being added.

There is a lot of talk about an African race being held but I don’t think that will be ready in two years’ time.

What races are most likely to be dropped for 2026?– Il Dottore

I think for sure we are heading into a rotation style calendar, especially with the European races so I reckon tracks like Zandvoort, Imola, Austria and Budapest could go into rotation to make room for the likes of Madrid and possibly more in the future.

If I could drop one, it would be Miami! A race in a car park with a circuit that is not great does not do it for me. I think the other two US races are much better.

Could you go back to the previous comment platform? – Il Dottore

Short answer, no!

Long answer, also no but for the reason that we believe this comment section is better. The last iteration was a bit of a wild west at times and has created a lot of vitriol between users (which we are now trying to stamp out).
Viafoura also gives us access to a lot more features like live blogs and AMAs as we continue to invest into ways to further improve our original output.

Keep feeding back with what you would like to see and I can try my best to get it done.

The comments section is often full of discussions/accusations of bias based on nationality. What is the breakdown by nationality of the PlanetF1 readership? – Il Dottore

So my boss would come at me with a pitchfork if I gave detailed data away for our rivals to see but I can give an overview.

As you would probably guess, UK is top followed closely by the US but there are other English-speaking countries like Australia and Canada that feature prominently.

We also have places like India, Norway and the Netherlands featuring in the top 10. An interesting fact is in the past year, we have had visitors from 247 countries, including Vatican City, so we are guessing The Pope is a massive F1 fan.

Why do you post so many articles that are clickbait and rumour fuelling? Does journalistic integrity mean nothing anymore? – Stoort

Adapt or die is the crux of it, St00rt. Media has evolved massively in the past couple of decades meaning organisations have had to find a way to stand out. Just take a look around at how many F1 sites there are.

It is a fine line between writing a headline that draws readers in but is also not too clickbaity and I have often been the one arguing headlines are too far in the clickbait direction in the past.

I think the site is in a pretty good spot now and the role of a headline in digital media has largely changed. Think of it more like a trailer for a movie, it will tell you the crux of the story but not all the details as the filmmakers want you to go see the movie.

As for the rumours criticism, we do apply quality control and report what other reputable sites have said – and we will go and try to verify if it is true when Driver X is linked with Driver Y. If we can’t do that, we will make it clear by putting “– report” in the headline or the story will say “According to X.”

Over the last couple of years in particular, in conjunction with becoming an FIA accredited site, there has been a lot of renewed focus on the versatility of our output. In 2024 alone, we have had more exclusive content than ever before, more features than ever before, re-introduced F1 tech pieces to the site and added F1 data articles to our inventory.

It is our continued mission to have a site where there is truly something for everyone.

Read next:Guenther Steiner exclusive: The truth behind Daniel Ricciardo’s Haas talks

'Incessant' Mick Schumacher rumours, Hamilton's pace and more questions answered (2024)
Top Articles
Latest Posts
Recommended Articles
Article information

Author: Stevie Stamm

Last Updated:

Views: 6137

Rating: 5 / 5 (80 voted)

Reviews: 87% of readers found this page helpful

Author information

Name: Stevie Stamm

Birthday: 1996-06-22

Address: Apt. 419 4200 Sipes Estate, East Delmerview, WY 05617

Phone: +342332224300

Job: Future Advertising Analyst

Hobby: Leather crafting, Puzzles, Leather crafting, scrapbook, Urban exploration, Cabaret, Skateboarding

Introduction: My name is Stevie Stamm, I am a colorful, sparkling, splendid, vast, open, hilarious, tender person who loves writing and wants to share my knowledge and understanding with you.