Jump to content


Please note: You can easily log in to MPN using your Facebook account!

OT: 2019 Formula 1 Season


Recommended Posts

More rationally.....

 

It was a sad day of course. The Hubert accident stopped my heart; I saw immediately a similarity with the Zanardi accident of 2001 at Sachsenring. So I knew it had to be serious.

Motor racing made huge steps in the security department; now it's time to look at protection from high-speed lateral impacts. I realize this is the hardest task, but it has to be done.

 

I still miss the older Spa track... the Eau Rouge and Radillon have been "watered down" quite a bit.

 

Charles was great!!!!! No mistakes (almost), great speed, great concentration in difficult circumstances. Ferrari *must* give him a winning car it they want make him stay.

 

Seb's race was ruined by an absurd strategy. But he also made a number of small mistakes. I wonder if the huge pressure of being a (non-winning) Ferrari driver for five years has finally overwhelmed him.

EDIT - correction: It seems that Ferrari had to change Seb's strategy because of the heavy blocking he did on the first lap; he ruined the tyres and had to anticipate his pitstop.

 

Norris is showing to be a great driver. What a horrible frustration to end like that.

 

Albon did well. But Gasly too! Mr. Marko's brutal methods seem to work, kind of....

 

Max did something stupid and uselessly aggressive once again, ruining his race and Kimi's, too.

 

Enough for now... Go Charles!!!! :D

Link to comment
Share on other sites



  • Replies 129
  • Created
  • Last Reply

Top Posters In This Topic

Top Posters In This Topic

Congrats, Carlo, it was looooong overdue.

 

Leclerc was nearly flawless this weekend, and thoroughly deserved his maiden victory. Ferrari are looking good for the high-speed low-drag circuits, so the perception is they will be strong at Monza as well. I expected a 1-2 for them at Spa, giving their dominance in qualifying.

 

I was surprised Albon didn't have to give the place back after he left the track with all wheels while overtaking Ricciardo.

 

I hope both Ferrari and RBR will rake in strong results for the rest of the season, so as not to have Hamilton sleepwalk his way to title #6.

 

 

Link to comment
Share on other sites

Great for Leclerc! Sometimes it takes a few close calls before the win finally happens. I sure hope his life has no more tragedies like he's had, though.

"I'm so crazy, I don't know this is impossible! Hoo hoo!" - Daffy Duck

 

"The good news is that once you start piano you never have to worry about getting laid again. More time to practice!" - MOI

Link to comment
Share on other sites

Well done Leclerc. Holding out both Mercs for those last 15 laps or so was a great effort. And a nice uneventful 4th for Danny. The virtual safety car experiment is not working. Some drivers do the 40% thing, others just take the p!ss. (How does a driver work out what 60% of his normal speed around turn 9 is?) Relative gaps before and after a VSC sometimes change by more than 10 seconds, which is the length of an ice age in F1 time.
Link to comment
Share on other sites

 

What to say.

What a driver.

 

Very few drivers have this combination of natural talent, intelligence, aggression, determination. Charles has it. No intimidation from Lewis or Bottas could make him lose focus.

There are drivers, good drivers, great drivers, and true champions. This kid is a true champion. He's even making less mistakes than Max did on the early F1 period.

For once, a great strategy for Ferrari. But please, give him a more competitive car!

 

Seb - watching him breaks my heart. It's true that with more collaboration between team mates, Vettel could have caught pole. But such an unforced mistake, the umpheenth one, was painful to watch. Even without the further mistake which brought the contact with Stroll and the penalty, Seb's race was probably ruined at that point.

I like the guy, and I like his driving style. But really, too many mistakes these last two seasons.

 

Please forgive me for posting this from the exclusive point of view of a "ferrarista".... this is simply too good a day! :D

Just one consideration: The Monza crowd should loose the horrible habit of booing whatever non-Ferrari driver on the podium. This year it was a little better than usual, but it's such an incivil and unpleasant thing, it should go right now and forever.

 

Go Charles!! :2thu::like::2thu:

 

 

Link to comment
Share on other sites

Congrats to Ferrari, Leclerc, Carlo and the other tifosi! It"s special to see a Ferrari win at Monza.

 

I thought he would get a 5s time penalty for cutting turn 2 on lap 36. It was similar to what happened with Vettel in Canada, although his return to the track was less dangerous. Still, from a sporting perspective it"s probably good he wasn"t penalized (just as Vettel shouldn"t have been penalized in Canada).

 

I feel sorry for Vettel, but it was another unforced error. Happy to see Renault in 4th and 5th, hope they continue to improve.

Link to comment
Share on other sites

Leclerc did make at least one mistake, but it worked out in the end. I like the young man and am very happy to see him and Ferrari have some success.

 

OTOH, I"d say Seb"s post-RB career has been one of the biggest disappointments in F1 since Fernando"s years after leaving Renault. For Fernando, at least it was poor team choice and timing and not dumb errors like Seb keeps having.

"I'm so crazy, I don't know this is impossible! Hoo hoo!" - Daffy Duck

 

"The good news is that once you start piano you never have to worry about getting laid again. More time to practice!" - MOI

Link to comment
Share on other sites

Not to take anything away from Leclerc's thoroughly deserved victory today, but on reflection it does seem that today's race laid bare the distinctly more commercial "reality TV" nature underneath the sport.

 

It is clear that the story matters enough to influence the outcome. Previously, penalties were given for Leclerc's transgressions today, but him winning for Ferrari at Monza is the most "Feel Good" story of the year, so we're not gonna let that get in the way.

 

I'm not suggesting he should have been penalized, and I'm happy he won today, but it is clear that the sport has changed direction. We can expect to see more "American Idol"-like moments in the future.

 

Hamilton's reaction was telling.

Link to comment
Share on other sites

I think that the lack of penalisation for Leclerc was in the light of the recent "let them race" attitude that was decided after the Vettel/Hamilton thing. Charles was shown a black and white flag instead, as a warning; should he repeat similar manouvres, he will be penalized.

That said, it's clear that the FIA and stewards are a bit in the dark on this matter. Changing the rules mid-seaon is ridiculous.

And while I don't agree, as I said, that what they did this weekend was just to let Ferrari win in Monza, biased decision have been taken since the beginning on the Ecclestone/TV era, to revive interest, or to enhance the show, or for other reasons. In the hybrid era, Mercedes was favoured a few times.

Link to comment
Share on other sites

I"m not saying they favored Ferrari specifically, not at all. But to me it feels like the story is becoming more important. American Idol doesn"t favor one candidate over the other, they just chase emotion and whatever the public connects with. I feel F1 under Liberty Media is turning into something like that.It"s still racing and all, but you see the change.
Link to comment
Share on other sites

FIA explain use of F1"s 'yellow card" for Leclerc at Monza

 

Explaining why a warning was given, rather than a penalty, FIA F1 Race Director Michael Masi said: "The rules remain with regards to a car's width of room. It's quite obvious here that Charles has squeezed Lewis and, consistent with what happened last weekend in Spa with Pierre Gasly, as a result it was the bad sportsmanship flag, or the black-and-white flag, that was displayed to Car 16 [Leclerc] for the move and the squeeze in the braking area.

 

"For small infringements that are, let's call it, a 'professional foul' but don't go beyond the line, we'll be absolutely using the black-and-white flag more and more. It's a sign to everyone that the driver's on notice because you only get one for the race. If you do it again, the drivers have all been advised that any other infraction will be referred to the stewards."

 

OTOH, 'The new generation get away with a lot more" says Hamilton after tense Leclerc battle

 

:idk:

"I'm so crazy, I don't know this is impossible! Hoo hoo!" - Daffy Duck

 

"The good news is that once you start piano you never have to worry about getting laid again. More time to practice!" - MOI

Link to comment
Share on other sites

  • 2 weeks later...

Where were Leclerc's sour grapes? I thought he mostly took it well as could be expected.

 

It's nice to see the Ferraris doing well. I just wish there were more straight fights up front instead of "which team will dominate this weekend?"

 

Funniest announcer statement of the race: "Ricciardo had nothing to lose going for those places. He lost three places in that exchange." I thought he had nothing to lose?:freak:

"I'm so crazy, I don't know this is impossible! Hoo hoo!" - Daffy Duck

 

"The good news is that once you start piano you never have to worry about getting laid again. More time to practice!" - MOI

Link to comment
Share on other sites

Yeahhh Vettel ... much deserved after Charles deliberately / accidentally ruined Vettel"s Monza Q3 second run.

 

But the 'tire saving" nonsense has gone to a whole new level ...what an insane first 10+ laps of damage control and pre calculated tire delta.

Maybe they should force a two stopper in every race so that ruining one specific tire to quickly doesn"t have such a large impact.

The top ten had softs on, but only to use it as the slowest tire instead of the fastest.... can"tbe the whole idea behind the choice of tires..... can it ?

 

 

Link to comment
Share on other sites

Was this post after the first corner? More team orders to come for Seb if the red cars want to win. Meanwhile Hamilton consolidates his lead in the driver championship.

A misguided plumber attempting to entertain | MainStage 3 | Axiom 61 2nd Gen | Pianoteq | B5 | XK3c | EV ZLX 12P

Link to comment
Share on other sites

Another race ruined by VSC. Not just at the front, all the way down the grid. But Ferrari made a big mistake pitting Leclerc a second time. Really smacked of them treating Bottas, the 2nd driver in the championship, with no respect. They thought Leclerc driving right by him would be a formality.
Link to comment
Share on other sites

Leclerc is the future, but he needs to quit the 'not fair' whining.
agreed.

 

Vettel got the better of him fair and square today, and the way Ferrari screwed him with the pitstops was appalling.

- Seb did that fantastic start with a *big* help from Charles, who offered him his tow. That was decided in advance.

- Also, it was decided that in case Seb would have overtaken Charles at the start, he would have given the lead back. Only, Seb was just too quick in the first stint, and Charles ruined his tyres trying to stay close. So Charles pitted early, and the team postponed Seb's pit in order to put Charles back in the lead.

- Seb parked his Ferrari on track because the team told him to stop immediately, for safety reasons. There was an issue with the electric element, so there was a possible risk of electric shock. That's why Seb jumped from the car with both feet at the same time.

- Ferrari didn't decide to stop Charles for the second time: They *asked* him. Charles responded that he wanted to try fighting the Mercs with soft tyres; he believed he could overtake both of them... BIG mistake. First, this was Sochi: You should be a couple of seconds faster in order to overtake. Also, not only the Mercs were on soft tyres too, but they had only used them behind the Safety Car, so they were like new. Without the extra pit, Charles could have at least tried to keep Bottas behind. So it was a misjudgement from Charles' part.

 

Btw today it was a big stroke of bad luck for Ferrari with the Seb engine issue and the subsequent VSC which ruined Charles' race too, but at least they have shown that they can fight on every kind of track... I think it's going be an interesting last part of the season. :)

 

Link to comment
Share on other sites

  • 2 weeks later...

I"m glad Bottas took a victory today, and he got the vote for DOTD, so good for him.

 

This weekend confirmed my suspicions that the 'super talents' are only human and entirely beatable when things don"t go their way. Albon was just as quick as Verstappen qualifying, and Leclerc had no answer to Vettel"s devastatingly quick pole lap.

 

Too bad both Ferraris had poor starts, but it did look like Mercedes was quicker on race pace, so I doubt they"d have been able to secure victory even if the starts had been perfect.

 

Bottas beat Hamilton, Vettel beat Leclerc, and Albon beat Verstappen. This was an interesting day.

 

Oh, and can somebody give Sainz a quicker car? That dude is impressively consistent.

Link to comment
Share on other sites

Finally Max had a good start instead of a mediocre - bad start. Effectively third and a clean and precise overtake on LeClerc who ended a possible three way team fight with undertstear into Max.

Like last year's Max ( first half of the season) Charles LeClerc HAS te calm down somewhat because the last couple of races ( pushing Hamilton of the track and moving under braking and several team radio antics) he just seems a bit to much with everything at times.

Last observations .....a winning Hamilton and a 'not so winning' Hamilton are the most predictable driver(s) of the whole pack on the team radio.

 

 

 

Link to comment
Share on other sites

A moderately entertaining race, with most of the interesting action taking place in the sidelines, as usual. A well-deserved sixth (ulp) consecutive championship win for Mercedes - and in a way, I'm glad that Hamilton didn't grab the driver championship yet.

 

Both Ferrari drivers screwed up the front row that they gained in qualifying, with an horrible start. Seb in particular, after a false start, seemed more concerned with blocking Leclerc than the Mercs, and Bottas said "thanks, guys!" and flew to victory. Later, the Mercs seemed to deal a bit better with tyre degradation, so no strategy from Ferrari worked to regain P1.

Leclerc and Verstappen... this is going to be interesting in coming years. At Suzuka, Charles clearly was over-aggressive on Max, ruining the race for both. On the bright side, after pitting for a new front wing, he made two separate comebacks, with *great* overtakings.

 

Oh, and can somebody give Sainz a quicker car? That dude is impressively consistent.

Agreed, but it's also McLaren that has made giant steps lately. It's been good to see such an historical team perform well again. Now, about Williams... :facepalm:

 

Link to comment
Share on other sites

  • 2 weeks later...

It was amusing to watch Max make a total mess of it all yesterday. When he is on point he is nearly unstoppable, but when he"s not it all turns into slapstick comedy.

 

He needs to go practice yoga or something.

 

Hamilton is on win #84 and bagging title #6 is only a formality (does anybody really believe Bottas is still in contention?). At this rate, he"s on course to match or break old Shuey"s records next year.

Link to comment
Share on other sites

It was amusing to watch Max make a total mess of it all yesterday. When he is on point he is nearly unstoppable, but when he"s not it all turns into slapstick comedy.

 

He needs to go practice yoga or something.

 

Hamilton is on win #84 and bagging title #6 is only a formality (does anybody really believe Bottas is still in contention?). At this rate, he"s on course to match or break old Shuey"s records next year.

Couldn"t disagree more...

Max took pole in an inferiour car .....everyone said this was Ferrari"s pole. Was way faster than the other Red Bull.

He made an arrogant stupid comment during the presser, while king Hamilton also didn"t slow down because he claimed he already passed Bottas.

So that was a clear and unsafe mistake that got him penalised rightfully !!

 

The race :

Vettel sqeezed Hamilton on the grass which lead to a tangle with Max who approached turn one very conservative...a racing incident with Vettel again lacking spatial awareness while trying to 'own" the corner.

Next :

A brilliant pass on a sleeping Bottas who cut back and puncturing Max right rear tyre.

Then a 65 run on hards starting almost half a lap behind the last driver of the pack, overtaking many which Hamilton last year couldn"t do when stucked in the midfield.

 

In the mean time no single overtake was attempted among the race leaders...not even the beloved clean and safe , long straight DRS overtake the current spectators have learned to valuate over the kind of overtake Max pulled off over clumsy Bottas.

No, no, no,..... F1 should be a train of sportscars with the brands with the best budget safely overtaking cars with a smaller budget using DRS on the straights.

Max could end up killing someone trying to overtake at places other than a DRS zone....

O yes and of course the 'undercut/overcut" that Mercedes have mastered compared to the Ferrari shenanigans of their pitwall.

DRS overtakes + undercutting = modern F1

 

All the 5 leading cars should have been pinalised by serving such an utter boring last 20 laps with no attempts to do anything but sustain a train of super expensive sportscars built to give the spectators some top dog fights.

And don"t give me 'its impossible to overtake" because Max just proved it was possible in the stadium corners what no one in the history of the Mexican GP has ever attempted.

 

We are brainwashed and have forgotten what racing in formula 1 should be all about,.... and Max shows it, but the majority hates the way he has upset the utter drool fest F1 had become.

He should be far more applauded than critisized,..... sadly apart from the orange army ( i am one of them) the vast majority really enjoys Max misfortune over his one of a kind racing skills..... and seeks any oppertunity to critisize him where others are left alone.

How dare Max try to re-define the boundaries of racing.....

 

 

 

 

 

 

Link to comment
Share on other sites

Reframing the move on Bottas, which resulted in contact and a puncture, as brilliant is an interesting evaluation. You forgot to add that he hit Magnussen when trying to overtake him too, also brilliant? Making contact with three cars in one race is good going even for Verstappen.
Link to comment
Share on other sites

Max, oh Max. I'm writing you an open letter.... you and Charles are reminding the public, or even make them discovering for the first time, what real F1 racing is. Maybe Alonso, in his heyday, was the last driver with such a huge talent - but your talent, Max, could even be greater.

So why you keep ruining your own races, and those of whoever happens to be on your path, with such silly, aggressive behavior? We all believed that you had learned how to keep that minimum of brain necessary to avoid this kind of disaster.... but as we all saw yesterday, when under pressure and eager to prove your worth, that little switch still tends to stay close.

 

Max drove a great race. But his impetuosity cost him the race itself. Not to speak of ignoring the yellow flags on Saturday, or simply ignoring a car in pieces against a wall in a dangerous place, just to try improving his qualifying time. And then he overtook Magnussen *totally* outside of the track, made that spectacular move on Bottas only to gain a puncture,etc.etc. - and frankly, his arrogant ways of communicating don't help.

In the post-race conference, someone asked the podium drivers if they usually pay special attention when Max is around, and they all said yes. Enough said.

 

Hamilton won. Wow! What a surprise. And Marquez won in Motogp. Yawn.

Seriously, as much as I can dislike Lewis for his public image, he's obviously a terrific driver. He rarely misses a hit. And the Mercedes war machine behind him is impressive.

On the contrary, both Ferrari drivers drove superbly, but their race was ruined, once again, by poor strategy. They misjudged tyre consumption, so they called Charles in too early; then they called Seb in too late, and without him refusing to comply, he would never have finished second. On the last races, Ferrari seemed to have improved strategy-wise, but this gp saw a return to the previous mediocrity. Binotto keeps saying, "we have to be perfect...." Yeah, right.

 

 

Link to comment
Share on other sites

Join the conversation

You can post now and register later. If you have an account, sign in now to post with your account.

Guest
Unfortunately, your content contains terms that we do not allow. Please edit your content to remove the highlighted words below.
Reply to this topic...

×   Pasted as rich text.   Restore formatting

  Only 75 emoji are allowed.

×   Your link has been automatically embedded.   Display as a link instead

×   Your previous content has been restored.   Clear editor

×   You cannot paste images directly. Upload or insert images from URL.

×
×
  • Create New...