The Official Formula 1 Racing Thread

[Supafly]

 

[Rey C.]

The race was exciting to me just because it sounded like Lewis was about to have a nervous breakdown as his tires fell off. I didn't know what he expected his team to do about that. He said after the race that he had no intention of stopping. But it sure didn't sound like that with about 20 laps to go. I felt like he was trying to talk them into a pit stop. Someone needed to grow some balls, get on the radio and tell him to do what Senna did and stop whining. I know FOM selectively releases radio messages to create drama. But there have been times over the years when I've questioned Lewis' nerve. Still, he put in one hell of a drive to keep Mad Max behind him.

 

[Rey C.]

Rumors are floating around after the Monaco debacle that other teams are sniffing around the majorly dissatisfied Leclerc. But I can't see Ferrari willingly letting him go. And I doubt that he has performance clauses written into his contract. For one, he was probably just happy to get a Ferrari seat. And two, who could have imagined what a colossal joke Ferrari would be this year, from the garage to the pitwall??? But unless they make a major turn around by next week in Canada, one wonders what Leclerc's management might do? And where would he go? Mercedes? Red Bull? McLaren?

I think he'll end up staying at Ferrari and that Vettel will be "retiring" sooner than later... Michael Schumacher style (walk out before you get shoved out).

 

[Supafly]

We have a treat coming up, the GP of Canada. A track that allows for better chances at overtaking, and that will show, which team has the brake systems up to par. predict a number of cars spinning off

Oh my, Vettel won't probably do what he did 2018, win this, but who knows?

 

[Supafly]

I can't quite believe what happened. Vettel took the pole. Hamilton standing right next to him, though.

 

[Supafly]

The whole GP of Canada is dominated by the situation between Vettel and Hamilton, when Vettel slipped off track, went over a grass stretch, and re-entered in a way that forced Hamilton to leave the track on the opposite side.

Getting a five-second punishment at the end of the race. Vettel is not happy with this, and acts like he doesn't see it the same way, but he can't be serious. Pilots are supposed to let others pass, if they take a shortcut, and they are absolutely warned about not re-entering track by blocking the path of others.

So I think the decision is correct

 

[larss]

I agree, Supa, consistency of penalty is the thing here as well.
Vettel made a mistake under pressure from Hamilton and was rightly punished for making it.

 

[Rey C.]

Even though I was rooting for Hamilton, I wasn't pleased to see that penalty. Don't get me wrong though, I think that Vettel was guilty of an infraction and brought it on himself with a(nother) mistake on track. I can't recall a top driver who has cracked under pressure as often as Vettel has, really since his last season with Red Bull - and it's only gotten worse. I wasn't pleased just because I wanted Hamilton to pass him on track, and that would have avoided all of the whining and controversy that we have now. But Verstappen got smacked with a 5 second penalty last year, when he crowded Raikkonen at the Japanese (?) GP. And back in the day, Hamilton had a win taken away from him at Spa, also for an infraction against Raikkonen.

On a YouTube channel, there was a really good analysis of Vettel's steering inputs as the incident unfolded (remember, the FIA stewards have access to CCTV as well as team telemetry). They determined that Vettel (consciously or subconsciously) opened his steering to squeeze Hamilton AFTER he had regained control of his car and Hamilton was forced to brake in order to avoid crashing into him or the wall. Apparently that's why they issued him a penalty. If he hadn't done that, yes, Hamilton would have passed him, but I don't think they would have given him a penalty.

On another issue... what do you guys think about Ferrari's explanation for not notifying Charles Leclerc that Vettel had a 5 second penalty - and Charles was reportedly within a second of being inside that 5 second window? Uh... we forgot. Wait, what???!!! You forgot?! What do you mean, you forgot?! You have a budget of probably $300+ million a year... and you don't have enough organization to do something that basic and simple? Seriously? I'd love to see that kid leave and Ferrari ends up with somebody like whiny Romain Grosjean. They're going to crush his spirit if they keep this silliness up!

 

[larss]

Can't fault you there, Rey. Leclerc should be rather pissed off with the shit that the prancing horse team is handing him at the moment, especially when the older driver is busy throwing his toys out the pram.

 

[Supafly]

It is crazy to see a top team continuing to stay handing the longer end of the sausage to the teammate who, yes, he was the biggest guy in F1 for years, but, the spirit of team sport means, among others:

If the kid is making more goals, and just performs better, you let him go forward, and don't hold him back.

Because, yes, you just lose him mid- or long-term, and you lose races.

And as if to show our point, Vettel qualified for 7th place in the starting grid, and Leclerq?

Place Three - directly behind Hamilton/Bottas

This weekend, I am all for him winning the race, maybe Ferrari will finally wake up.

 

[Supafly]

 

[Supafly]

 

[Supafly]

It is crazy to see a top team continuing to stay handing the longer end of the sausage to the teammate who, yes, he was the biggest guy in F1 for years, but, the spirit of team sport means, among others:

If the kid is making more goals, and just performs better, you let him go forward, and don't hold him back.

Because, yes, you just lose him mid- or long-term, and you lose races.

And as if to show our point, Vettel qualified for 7th place in the starting grid, and Leclerq?

Place Three - directly behind Hamilton/Bottas

This weekend, I am all for him winning the race, maybe Ferrari will finally wake up.

Well, there may be a racing god somewhere LOL

Leclerq on Pole, Vettel WAY back, once more.

 

[Rey C.]

Well, there may be a racing god somewhere LOL


Leclerq on Pole, Vettel WAY back, once more.

I couldn't agree more. Once Hamilton retires, I'll definitely be cheering on Leclerc every weekend. I haven't really cheered for Ferrari or a Ferrari driver since Alesi and Berger were there. I watched a YouTube video last night where he was being interviewed in his hometown of Monaco. He seems like a really decent lad. Hopefully the politics at Ferrari don't ruin him. But great job by Charles today. And since I believe that Hammy all but has WDC #6 wrapped up, I'll be cheering for Leclerc to win tomorrow.

 

[Supafly]

What a dramatic race! And Leclerq could - should - have won it. Watch Verstappen bruteforce him off track in the end

I argue that the driver in the lead has the pick of the lane he steers, but he can't make following drivers leave the rtack. There was a lot of lane to the right of Verstappen, on the inside of the corner.

I expect him to get a 5 second penalty or something along these ines

 

[dpantski]

What a dramatic race! And Leclerq could - should - have won it. Watch Verstappen bruteforce him off track in the end

I argue that the driver in the lead has the pick of the lane he steers, but he can't make following drivers leave the rtack. There was a lot of lane to the right of Verstappen, on the inside of the corner.

I expect him to get a 5 second penalty or something along these ines

Agreed, I hate to see the race decided by the stewards but Verstappen forced Leclerc off the track. He didn't the previous attempt and Charles won the drag race to the next corner so it was certainly deliberate. I'm amazed he had the balls to immediately get on the team radio and complain about Leclerc turning in on him.

 

[Supafly]

Agreed, I hate to see the race decided by the stewards but Verstappen forced Leclerc off the track. He didn't the previous attempt and Charles won the drag race to the next corner so it was certainly deliberate. I'm amazed he had the balls to immediately get on the team radio and complain about Leclerc turning in on him.

That was probably due to a fact that a police officer, the father of a friend, once told me about:

If you get headbutted in your face, IMMEDIATELY go to the police, and make a complaint. Because otherwise, repeat offenders know this trick:

They can headbutt someone, and then go ahead and tell the police first, they saw you wanting to headbutt THEM, so they pulled down their head to protect their face. This usually gets taken down as the original complaint, and when the other guy, who got headbutted, files a report, that is then just the defendent. And your chances of a judge ruling in your favour sinks dramatically.

So I guess Verstappen took that advice.

 

[larss]

What a great race. The silver arrows just can't handle the heat which made for some close racing up front for once. Also good to see McLaren coming back at last.

I agreed with the stewards last time - Vettel cut the corner and either rejoined dangerously or gained an advantage by leaving the track.

Not so sure that they were right this time, Verstappen pushed Leclerc off the track - he was, however, in front so difficult decision bourne out be it taking them 3 hours to get there.
Charles will get a win, though, no doubt of that.

 

[Rey C.]

That was a heart breaking loss for Charles. But Verstappen is known to be a ruthless character. Of the drivers on the grid now, I feel that he's the most like Michael Schumacher. I guess that's both a compliment (for his talent and race craft) and an insult (for his rough/dirty driving). That was a really hard move. And even though I was pulling for Leclerc, I knew that Verstappen had him once he caught him. He was either going to pass him or they were going to wreck. And not seeing Leclerc as being as aggressive as Verstappen, I didn't see him coming out on top. Only other result that I could see, they'd both lose their wheels in a crash.

In a few years, these are the main two who will be battling for the WDC - at least I hope so. Get him next time, Charles!

 

[Supafly]

That was a heart breaking loss for Charles. But Verstappen is known to be a ruthless character. Of the drivers on the grid now, I feel that he's the most like Michael Schumacher. I guess that's both a compliment (for his talent and race craft) and an insult (for his rough/dirty driving). That was a really hard move. And even though I was pulling for Leclerc, I knew that Verstappen had him once he caught him. He was either going to pass him or they were going to wreck. And not seeing Leclerc as being as aggressive as Verstappen, I didn't see him coming out on top. Only other result that I could see, they'd both lose their wheels in a crash.

In a few years, these are the main two who will be battling for the WDC - at least I hope so. Get him next time, Charles!

I think Leclerq may have to do what Rosberg did to Hamilton once, after getting passed more or less dirty by his teammate, he did not pull back one time, and wiped out together with him.

After that, their relationship changed.

You need to let the others know you won't back down in a fight