Category: auto racing

By David G. Firestone

So the Liam Lawson experiment at Red Bull Racing is officially over. Lawson started the first two races, but was replaced by Yuki Tsunoda starting at Japan. Why the sudden shift? Well, let’s look at an analysis by Lawrence Barretto on Formula1.com:

“The New Zealander had a low-key pre-season test in Bahrain – and then endured a miserable debut weekend in Australia, qualifying 18th and then crashing in the race. Sources say one senior member of the team raised the prospect of demoting him after that weekend.

Then in China, he became the first Red Bull driver in their 20-year history to qualify last, when he ended up 20th in Sprint Qualifying and he did so again for the Grand Prix. While he was classified 12th – helped in part by three disqualifications – Red Bull called an internal meeting for after the race weekend to discuss his future.

Sources say the shareholders, plus Team Principal Christian Horner and Red Bull Motorsport Adviser Helmut Marko, agreed unanimously that Lawson should go back to Racing Bulls with immediate effect, ahead of the Japanese Grand Prix, with Tsunoda stepping up to replace him.

This was after they had looked at Lawson’s data from testing and the opening two races and concluded that he wasn’t performing to a high enough level, even if they conceded that it was a very difficult car to drive.

It’s believed the team accepted that Lawson had also lost his confidence after conceding he couldn’t understand why he wasn’t able to get pace out of the car.”

To some, this seems to be unfair to Lawson. To those, I say…tough shit! This isn’t karting, this isn’t F3, or F2, THIS IS F1!!! There are a lot of hungry drivers, but only a few seats at the top table. If you get a spot, but can’t keep it, someone else will step up and claim it. It’s no different than NASCAR, IndyCar, the NFL, the NBA, and so on. Those who can’t keep up get replaced.

Liam Lawson is another motorsports hype job. He is a driver who impressed in the lower ranks, and impressed during testing. But the moment he got the chance in the major leagues, he choked. Red Bull Racing looked over their data, saw that he was all hype, and replaced him. The needs of the team matter more than the needs of the individual driver. If this were a lower level F1 team, maybe they would have kept him, but not Red Bull Racing.

I’m not like these other morons who think he should have gotten another shot, or more time. He was given a shot in the major leagues, and choked. If you get a shot at being a Formula 1 driver, whatever you did in the minor leagues isn’t relevant anymore. You could be the greatest F3 or F2 driver, but if you suck in F1, that’s all anyone is going to remember. Again, it’s no different than NASCAR, IndyCar, the NFL, the NBA, and so on. Those who can’t keep up get replaced. Liam Lawson is another one of those guys.

Speaking of releases, let’s talk AEW. Tony Khan rarely releases talent, but what he loves to do is ghost talent until their contract ends. We’ve seen this quite a bit. But the latest victim of the Tony Khan ghosting is Saraya. Saraya, AKA Paige, joined AEW in 2022. She had wrestled in WWE both NXT and the Main Roster from 2011-2018, when a neck injury should have ended her in-ring career. Never the less, she was an on-air talent for WWE until her contract ended in 2022.

With WWE solidly behind her, even making a movie about her life, during her time with WWE, she caused some controversies. One such controversy was the leaking of a sex tape between herself, Brad Maddox, and Xavier Woods. There were a number of other incidents as well. She was getting paid a lot, but she wasn’t that valuable to WWE during that time. So, in 2022, WWE and Saraya parted ways and she signed with AEW.

In a move than can only be described as ungrateful, upon arrival in AEW, one of her first moves was to talk shit about WWE and how much better AEW is. This is the same WWE that paid her more than she was ever going to be worth to the company, while at the same time, causing a lot of bad PR for WWE. Her in-ring work was mediocre, and she really wasn’t that much of a stand out, especially when compared to the other ex-WWE talent AEW signed.

After her release, she claimed that she wanted to return to WWE and reclaim the Paige character. To that, I say, HELL NO! After all the bullshit she put WWE through in her career, all the money they paid her, and even financing a biographical movie on her life, I wouldn’t blame WWE for not resigning her. You look at talent like Brock Lesnar, Matt Riddle, and even Vince McMahon, who were more valuable to the company than Saraya ever was, and are now persona non grata, why should she get another chance? Hell, WWE released Carmella, and she has been more valuable since 2022 than Saraya was.

Here’s the bottom line. I do not think WWE should resign Saraya given everything I’ve said up to this point. I do not think she is a good fit for the current women’s division. I do not think that she would be able to wrestle, or if she would be medically cleared. What I do think is that the indie scene is a better fit for her. She went out of her way to cause problems and burn bridges in WWE, and WWE does not need her anymore.

I’ve said this before, every career has an expiration date, and sometimes that date comes sooner than you want it to be. In many instances, this expiration date is sped up because you are your own worst enemy. Matt Riddle, Brock Lesnar, and Enzo Amore were popular merch movers, and made WWE millions of dollars, yet WWE had no reservation distancing themselves from them. Saraya is no different. She isn’t worth much to WWE in 2025, and they both know it. I wish her well in the indipendent scene.

Sources Cited:

https://bleacherreport.com/articles/25175582-saraya-announces-exit-aew-following-comments-about-being-open-wwe-return

By David G. Firestone So the Liam Lawson experiment at Red
Bull Racing is officially over. Lawson started the first two races,
but was replaced by Yuki Tsunoda starting at Japan. Why the sudden
shift? Well, let’s look at an analysis by Lawrence Barretto on
Formula1.com: “The New Zealander had a low-key
pre-season test in Bahrain – and then endured a miserable debut
weekend in Australia, qualifying 18th and then crashing in the race.
Sources say one senior member of the team raised the prospect of
demoting him after that weekend. Then in China, he became the first Red
Bull driver in their 20-year history to qualify last, when he ended
up 20th in Sprint Qualifying and he did so again for the Grand Prix.
While he was classified 12th – helped in part by three
disqualifications – Red Bull called an internal meeting for after
the race weekend to discuss his future. Sources say the shareholders, plus
Team Principal Christian Horner and Red Bull Motorsport Adviser
Helmut Marko, agreed unanimously that Lawson should go back to Racing
Bulls with immediate effect, ahead of the Japanese Grand Prix, with
Tsunoda stepping up to replace him. This was after they had looked at
Lawson’s data from testing and the opening two races and concluded
that he wasn’t performing to a high enough level, even if they
conceded that it was a very difficult car to drive. It’s believed the team accepted that
Lawson had also lost his confidence after conceding he couldn’t
understand why he wasn’t able to get pace out of the car.” To some, this seems to be unfair to
Lawson. To those, I say…tough shit! This isn’t karting, this
isn’t F3, or F2, THIS IS F1!!! There are a lot of hungry drivers,
but only a few seats at the top table. If you get a spot, but can’t
keep it, someone else will step up and claim it. It’s no different
than NASCAR, IndyCar, the NFL, the NBA, and so on. Those who can’t
keep up get replaced.
Liam Lawson is another motorsports
hype job. He is a driver who impressed in the lower ranks, and
impressed during testing. But the moment he got the chance in the
major leagues, he choked. Red Bull Racing looked over their data,
saw that he was all hype, and replaced him. The needs of the team
matter more than the needs of the individual driver. If this were a
lower level F1 team, maybe they would have kept him, but not Red Bull
Racing. I’m not like these other morons who
think he should have gotten another shot, or more time. He was given
a shot in the major leagues, and choked. If you get a shot at being
a Formula 1 driver, whatever you did in the minor leagues isn’t
relevant anymore. You could be the greatest F3 or F2 driver, but if
you suck in F1, that’s all anyone is going to remember. Again, it’s
no different than NASCAR, IndyCar, the NFL, the NBA, and so on.
Those who can’t keep up get replaced. Liam Lawson is another one of
those guys. Speaking of releases, let’s talk AEW.
Tony Khan rarely releases talent, but what he loves to do is ghost
talent until their contract ends. We’ve seen this quite a bit. But
the latest victim of the Tony Khan ghosting is Saraya. Saraya, AKA
Paige, joined AEW in 2022. She had wrestled in WWE both NXT and the
Main Roster from 2011-2018, when a neck injury should have ended her
in-ring career. Never the less, she was an on-air talent for WWE
until her contract ended in 2022. With WWE solidly behind her, even
making a movie about her life, during her time with WWE, she caused
some controversies. One such controversy was the leaking of a sex
tape between herself, Brad Maddox, and Xavier Woods. There were a
number of other incidents as well. She was getting paid a lot, but
she wasn’t that valuable to WWE during that time. So, in 2022, WWE
and Saraya parted ways and she signed with AEW. In a move than can only be described
as ungrateful, upon arrival in AEW, one of her first moves was to
talk shit about WWE and how much better AEW is. This is the same WWE
that paid her more than she was ever going to be worth to the
company, while at the same time, causing a lot of bad PR for WWE.
Her in-ring work was mediocre, and she really wasn’t that much of a
stand out, especially when compared to the other ex-WWE talent AEW
signed. After her release, she claimed that
she wanted to return to WWE and reclaim the Paige character. To
that, I say, HELL NO! After all the bullshit she put WWE through in
her career, all the money they paid her, and even financing a
biographical movie on her life, I wouldn’t blame WWE for not
resigning her. You look at talent like Brock Lesnar, Matt Riddle,
and even Vince McMahon, who were more valuable to the company than
Saraya ever was, and are now persona non grata, why should she get
another chance? Hell, WWE released Carmella, and she has been more
valuable since 2022 than Saraya was.
Here’s the bottom line. I do not
think WWE should resign Saraya given everything I’ve said up to this
point. I do not think she is a good fit for the current women’s
division. I do not think that she would be able to wrestle, or if
she would be medically cleared. What I do think is that the indie
scene is a better fit for her. She went out of her way to cause
problems and burn bridges in WWE, and WWE does not need her anymore.
I’ve said this before, every career
has an expiration date, and sometimes that date comes sooner than you
want it to be. In many instances, this expiration date is sped up
because you are your own worst enemy. Matt Riddle, Brock Lesnar, and
Enzo Amore were popular merch movers, and made WWE millions of
dollars, yet WWE had no reservation distancing themselves from them.
Saraya is no different. She isn’t worth much to WWE in 2025, and
they both know it. I wish her well in the indipendent scene.
Sources Cited:
https://www.formula1.com/en/latest/article/breaking-tsunoda-to-replace-lawson-at-red-bull-from-japanese-gp-as-new.49qawI5Q4YYPhhMJpHqUiOhttps://www.formula1.com/en/latest/article/analysis-why-red-bull-decided-swift-action-was-needed-as-tsunoda-is-promoted.55Sa5D01dZuz7Akwu5IOvihttps://www.motorsport.com/f1/news/the-data-behind-red-bulls-choice-how-lawson-lost-his-seat/10707571/https://bleacherreport.com/articles/25175582-saraya-announces-exit-aew-following-comments-about-being-open-wwe-return

By David G. Firestone

Hello and welcome back to The Driver Suit Blog. I took a spring break vacation last week, as I needed a break. As I come back, let’s talk some news stories before I discuss Thermal.

First, is an IndyCar story. I praised the move from NBC to FOX as a smart move. NBC is a spent force, in terms of sports coverage, and FOX is much more dedicated. But there are some growing pains. For example, the in-car cameras had graphics on the sides, whicn covered logos that sponsors paid for. For the race at Thermal, these were adjusted, and the issue was mostly fixed.

Now we discuss the Hendrick Motorsports/Hooters lawsuit. The suit was settled recently. According to Fox Sports’ Bob Pockrass:

“Hooters has agreed to pay $900K to Hendrick Motorsports, according to court records. HMS had originally sued Hooters for $1.705 million plus interest for what it had not paid for 2024 sponsorship for Chase Elliiott ($1.75M deal; team had announced three primaries plus associate).”

The original lawsuit saw Hendrick suing Hooters for $1.705 million for unpaid sponsorship dues for the 2024 season. Well, the downfall of Hooters continues, and, let’s be honest, their time has past. They aren’t the powerhouse in the chicken wing market, and their over sexaulized waitresses are as in vogue as evening newspapers. I’m glad they are going away. Wingstop and Buffalo Wild Wings are much better anyway.

Now we get to the suspensions in the wake of the Las Vegas race. A total of six suspensions were handed out, and while four of them are expected, two came out of the blue. Specifically the suspensions of Josiah Wright, and Corbin Sklener. According to Spors Illustrated.com:

“Josiah Wright, and Corbin Sklener were both issued indefinite suspensions from NASCAR due to violations of the substance abuse policy.

Wright had been the Rear Changer on Brad Keselowski’s No. 6 RFK Racing pit crew this season, while Sklener had been the Jack Man on the No. 74 Mike Harmon Racing team in the NASCAR Xfinity Series.”

It remains to be seen what exactly they were popped for, be it recreational drugs or performance enhancing drugs. However, it’s very well known that teams and crew members are given very specific rules and guidelines on what is legal and what isn’t legal. There is no middle of the road here. It’s the same as other sports as well as other jobs. Rules are rules, and I’m glad they are being enforced.

Now, we switch to wrestling. My, how the mighty have fallen. Alberto El Patron, AKA Alberto Del Rio, AKA Dos Caras Jr. has fallen. He was the WWE Champion, the WWE Word Champion (different title than WWE Champion) twice, the US Champion twice, he won Money In The Bank and the 2011 Royal Rumble. But after he left WWE, he just kept getting into trouble, be it personal or legal. He went from being at the top to wrestling in front of indie wrestling crowds.

Well, he won’t be wrestling in Tijuana for a while. According to Cageside Seats:

“Last Friday (March 14) at an AAA show in Tijuana, Alberto El Patron wrestled El Hijo del Dr. Wagner Jr.

At some point during El Patron’s victory, fans at Auditorio de Tijuana were said to be throwing coins at the former Alberto Del Rio. He went into the stands to confront someone in particular, but is unable to reach them and throws a chair in their direction. Another chair is thrown at El Patron from a different spot in the crowd, and connects. He then gets a few drinks thrown at him while officials get him out of the seats.

Several accounts of the night include mention of a woman needing to be taken to the hospital after the incident.

The commission which oversees wrestling in Tijuana issued a statement suspending El Patron from wrestling in the city for 180 days.

The ban only applies in Tijuana, so it’s unlikely to impact any plans AAA has for their top titleholder. Viper points out that the company isn’t scheduled for any major shows in the Baja California metropolis right now.”

Look, I’ve said this before. I encourage every wrestling fan to go to the matches, cheer the babyfaces, boo the heels, and have fun. Do not touch the wrestlers, do not throw things at the wrestlers, do not try and jump the rail, and, above all, respect the wrestlers, and their rights to privacy. I’m not going out on a limb when I say that throwing coins at wrestlers is a terrible idea.

Granted, Alberto was also in the wrong. Given his history, it’s hard to feel bad for him, but, in all honesty, the bear was poked. I’m not defending what he did, as he threw what moral high ground he had out the window, but you can’t argue he wasn’t provoked. I’m a big fan of not giving people the rope they need to hang you with, and that’s what some fans did. The fans who threw coins were wrong, and Alberto was wrong for attacking.

Now, I discuss my thoughts on the IndyCar Thremal race. First off, let’s get the technical issues out of the way. FOX had issues broadcasting from Thermal, and so much of what was supposed to be the IndyCar race was a simulcast of the NASCAR Cup Series race. While I might normally complain, I didn’t have to watch as much of the Thermal race.

I noticed something about Thermal, which makes me hate it more. It’s an amazingly empty track. Most road or street courses have large grandstands and paddocks. This at least gives the track a look that all racing fans are used to. With Thermal, this is not the case. It’s amazing how empty the track is, and how amateur it looks. I’ve never seen a more empty race track in my life.

The empty look really doesn’t help the aura of the event. The racing was fine, nothing really to write home about, and they at least changed the name of the event to The Thermal Club INDYCAR Grand Prix. Realistically, it’s difficult to justify this venure for future IndyCar events. They tried, it didn’t work, let’s try something else. Now granted, I felt the same thing last year, but they renewed, so we’ll see.

Sources Cited: