The Official Formula 1 Racing Thread

[The Identifier]

Two years in a row that a driver has been denied a win by a pit stop in Monaco. Ricciardo was about as happy with 2nd place as Hamilton was last season.

All of a sudden things don't look so bleak for Hamilton, thanks mainly to Rosberg having an absolute shocker. He won the race three years in a row (although last year was a fluke) and then almost gets lapped this time around.

Will be interesting to see if Red Bull can stay ahead of Ferrari in the coming races or whether the advantage they have at the moment is track-specific. Canada is another track they should go well at.

I honestly don't know how they ballsed up the pit-stop so badly though. He was told to come in, and they didn't have the tyres ready... what the hell? He still only just came out behind Hamilton so they almost got away with it but if they had got things right he would have been comfortably ahead.

 

[dpantski]

Two years in a row that a driver has been denied a win by a pit stop in Monaco. Ricciardo was about as happy with 2nd place as Hamilton was last season.

All of a sudden things don't look so bleak for Hamilton, thanks mainly to Rosberg having an absolute shocker. He won the race three years in a row (although last year was a fluke) and then almost gets lapped this time around.

Will be interesting to see if Red Bull can stay ahead of Ferrari in the coming races or whether the advantage they have at the moment is track-specific. Canada is another track they should go well at.

I honestly don't know how they ballsed up the pit-stop so badly though. He was told to come in, and they didn't have the tyres ready... what the hell? He still only just came out behind Hamilton so they almost got away with it but if they had got things right he would have been comfortably ahead.

Yeah I was extremely surprised that he was right behind Hamilton after that stop. Did Hamilton really struggle on his outlap or make a mistake that almost cost him? I know they were talking about his tyres taking longer to warmup but he should've been close to 10 seconds ahead of Ricciardo after the bad stop.

They blamed miscommunication for the tyres not being out in time, makes me wonder if their system is overcomplicated and has to be OK'ed from too many people to get a simple job done.

 

[Rey C.]

Yeah I was extremely surprised that he was right behind Hamilton after that stop. Did Hamilton really struggle on his outlap or make a mistake that almost cost him? I know they were talking about his tyres taking longer to warmup but he should've been close to 10 seconds ahead of Ricciardo after the bad stop.

They blamed miscommunication for the tyres not being out in time, makes me wonder if their system is overcomplicated and has to be OK'ed from too many people to get a simple job done.

I'd have to go back and watch it again, but the announcers suggested that Hamilton's switch to slicks caught Red Bull flat-footed. I guess they expected him to go onto intermediates, as did I. Something else related to tires: Lewis has always caught a lot of flack for not being able to manage his tires. And he used to be very aggressive in the way that he would ****** corners and eat up his tires. But he seems to have changed his driving style a bit over the past few years. But I still didn't see any way in the world that Lewis was going to make ultra soft tires last THAT many laps. How he did that, I have NO idea.

As for Red Bull and Ricciardo, I feel gutted for him. I like Daniel. And by the way he still sounds, I doubt that Red Bull is going to be able to hang onto him. If I was Ferrari, I'd buy out his RB contract and snap him up. Bottas and Hulkenberg don't compare to Ricciardo. They all have speed, but Ricciardo has some of the best race craft that I've ever seen. And he's not a reckless or dirty driver. He just delivers those quick punches and gets by. He almost had Lewis... almost. With a good car, I think that he could go toe to toe with anybody on the grid.

 

[Rey C.]

Since we have a break between races, how about some salacious driver gossip?

I always thought that Jenson Button and Jessica Michibata were the cutest couple in the paddock. And they went together for so long, I was really surprised that their marriage barely lasted a year. I have to wonder if that was because she expected him to retire (as he kept teasing) and when he didn't, she bolted. Anyway, ol' Bunson seems to have landed pretty well with Brittny Ward.
(She's the one with the tan butt, not the sun starved blonde)

 

[Rey C.]

And copping a feel. :yesyes: I like dis guy. Always have.

 

[Supafly]

I am really amped up for tomorrows Montreal GP.

Vettel seems to be in a good setup, and the race will probably be a lot more exiting

 

[Rey C.]

Wow!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!

For those who haven't seen it yet, that's all I'm going to say.

 

[zeeblofowl_1969]

I'm thinking Hamilton needs to pop rosberg a few times and mess his prissy face up a bit.
If your going to drive like a giant cock then at least own up to it and stop with the act.

 

[Rey C.]

Wow, just when I'd started to gain respect for Rosberg, he pulls a total bitch move. And after the total bitch move, he gave a total bitch excuse in the post race interview. If he had braking issues, why didn't he brake EARLY and why wasn't there smoke off his tires? And most of all, why did he roll through the apex and not turn his steering wheel until he was just about to hit Hamilton??? His intention was to take them both out of the race. Plain & simple. Karma bit him on the ass and only he suffered. IMO, he should have received something more than a light 10 second time penalty.

Yeah, I'm a Hamilton fan. But if Lewis had pulled a similar stunt, I'd be taking a **** on him too. Total, total bitch move.

Now we'll have to see who is most affected by whatever team orders that Mercedes implements going forward. And we'll have to see when and how badly Hamilton will get hit when he has to put another power unit component on his car.

Hell of an exciting race though! :nanner:

 

[dpantski]

Wow, just when I'd started to gain respect for Rosberg, he pulls a total bitch move. And after the total bitch move, he gave a total bitch excuse in the post race interview. If he had braking issues, why didn't he brake EARLY and why wasn't there smoke off his tires? And most of all, why did he roll through the apex and not turn his steering wheel until he was just about to hit Hamilton??? His intention was to take them both out of the race. Plain & simple. Karma bit him on the ass and only he suffered. IMO, he should have received something more than a light 10 second time penalty.

Yeah, I'm a Hamilton fan. But if Lewis had pulled a similar stunt, I'd be taking a **** on him too. Total, total bitch move.

Now we'll have to see who is most affected by whatever team orders that Mercedes implements going forward. And we'll have to see when and how badly Hamilton will get hit when he has to put another power unit component on his car.

Hell of an exciting race though! :nanner:

Agreed, Rosberg is determined not to let Lewis bully him the way he did 2 years ago and will drive him off the track to succeed. Not that I think Hamilton is any better...

Rosberg also got 2 points on his license, considering he needs 12 in a year to miss a race, he basically didn't get punished at all but I guess the organizers want as close a title fight as possible and penalizing Rosberg is probably not going to help that.

Before that, I was torn over Rosberg beating Hamilton in this race. Rosberg had driven well (with one mistake) but had obviously benefitted a lot by coming in several laps earlier than Lewis and getting track position after the stops. However Mercedes tried to rectify that by stopping Hamilton a lap earlier on their second stops but then they lost 1.5 seconds on the stop and Hamilton had a scruffy outlap which kept Rosberg in front.

Unimportant things aside, I was happy to see Button finish 6th! Right now he looks like a better driver to be in your team than Raikkonen or Massa IMO.

 

[larss]

Two incidents during the race that brought back memories of years gone by.
Nigel Mansell leading the 1986 Australian GP when his tyre exploded at 180mph very similar to Vettel's exploding tyre this weekend. The difference, of course, that it meant Mansell not winning the title that year.

Schumacher taking out hill, also in Adelaide, in 1994 to win the title, a bit reminiscent of Rosburg trying to protect his points advantage this weekend. The difference being that Schumacher steered his broken car into Hill, whereas Rosburg neglected to steer to try and ***** the same outcome.

 

[Supafly]

I don't think that Rosberg is the guy to blame. He was on the inside, and if another driver wants to pass someone on the outside, he must do so on the road, or draw back if the inside pilot does not budge. Rosberg raced with an edge, and Hamilton expected him to pull out, like his team buddy used to do. But Rosberg did not leave him the lead, he was racing on the winning path and did not buge.

He COULD have steered elsewhere and help avoid the collision, but why should he keep pulling back and Lewis keep piushing him out?

Rosberg did the right thing, and he should keep being as bossy as Hamilton

 

[zeeblofowl_1969]

Almost as nasty as Senna/Prost.

 

[Rey C.]

I don't think that Rosberg is the guy to blame. He was on the inside, and if another driver wants to pass someone on the outside, he must do so on the road, or draw back if the inside pilot does not budge. Rosberg raced with an edge, and Hamilton expected him to pull out, like his team buddy used to do. But Rosberg did not leave him the lead, he was racing on the winning path and did not buge.

He COULD have steered elsewhere and help avoid the collision, but why should he keep pulling back and Lewis keep piushing him out?

Rosberg did the right thing, and he should keep being as bossy as Hamilton

The problem with that is, Lewis had already ****** him. Rosberg was no longer leading. So what he did was no different than a car attempting a pass on the inside and then crashing into the leading car, that happens to be on the outside. Rosberg literally drove into the side of Lewis' car. He made no attempt to turn the wheel. Someone could have been severely injured by this maneuver. Rosberg got off VERY light, IMO. And if he does such a thing again, I doubt that he will get the benefit of the doubt from the stewards. If he continues to do such dangerous, unsportsmanlike things in the future, rather than a small time penalty, he could lose points/places from that race, he could be excluded from that race or (if serious enough) he could receive a race ban or even be excluded from the championship. I would suggest that Nico listen to what the stewards had to say. If he doesn't, he might wind up watching a future race from the Mercedes paddock, while Pascal Wehrlein is racing his car. That's who Mercedes wants in the car going forward anyway. It's just a question of which current driver loses his seat to Pascal first.

As per the stewards:

The statement from the stewards read: "Having taken note of the extensive evidence given by both drivers and the video and telemetry data, it was apparent that Car 44 (HAM) was in front of Car 6 (ROS) – i.e. more than fully alongside – and that the driver of Car 44 could have clearly made the turn (T2) on the track, if not for the resultant collision.

"Car 6 did not allow Car 44 "racing room" and hence the driver of Car 6 was responsible for the collision."

I like good, hard racing. I like aggressive racing. And although I understood the back story that led Senna to do what he did many years ago, that's not the sort of thing that most of us want to see in F1. They do that in NASCAR and some touring car series, but that's not what F1 is all about.

 

[zeeblofowl_1969]

I don't think that Rosberg is the guy to blame. He was on the inside, and if another driver wants to pass someone on the outside, he must do so on the road, or draw back if the inside pilot does not budge. Rosberg raced with an edge, and Hamilton expected him to pull out, like his team buddy used to do. But Rosberg did not leave him the lead, he was racing on the winning path and did not buge.

He COULD have steered elsewhere and help avoid the collision, but why should he keep pulling back and Lewis keep piushing him out?

Rosberg did the right thing, and he should keep being as bossy as Hamilton

Hamilton went out of his way to provide Rosburg with room to make the turn but it is plain as day that he had no intention of trying to turn.

 

[zeeblofowl_1969]

The problem with that is, Lewis had already ****** him. Rosberg was no longer leading. So what he did was no different than a car attempting a pass on the inside and then crashing into the leading car, that happens to be on the outside. Rosberg literally drove into the side of Lewis' car. He made no attempt to turn the wheel. Someone could have been severely injured by this maneuver. Rosberg got off VERY light, IMO. And if he does such a thing again, I doubt that he will get the benefit of the doubt from the stewards. If he continues to do such dangerous, unsportsmanlike things in the future, rather than a small time penalty, he could lose points/places from that race, he could be excluded from that race or (if serious enough) he could receive a race ban or even be excluded from the championship. I would suggest that Nico listen to what the stewards had to say. If he doesn't, he might wind up watching a future race from the Mercedes paddock, while Pascal Wehrlein is racing his car. That's who Mercedes wants in the car going forward anyway. It's just a question of which current driver loses his seat to Pascal first.

As per the stewards:



I like good, hard racing. I like aggressive racing. And although I understood the back story that led Senna to do what he did many years ago, that's not the sort of thing that most of us want to see in F1. They do that in NASCAR and some touring car series, but that's not what F1 is all about.

Its hard to justify taking a million dollar car and using it as a battering ram.
that being said the racing has been better this year to be sure.

 

[Rey C.]

I was happy to see Button finish 6th! Right now he looks like a better driver to be in your team than Raikkonen or Massa IMO.

I was also happy to see Button get a decent result, after suffering through last year. And although it came because of a fluke of bad luck from Perez, I was overjoyed to see Pascal Wehrlein get a point for himself and Manor. He's finally beginning to step away from Rio Haryanto - who is a better driver than many of us realized.

Also, I have to (grudgingly) admit, Max Verstappen is actually the real deal. I don't particularly care for him. I never have. Part of that is probably because I never cared for his ****** when he was in F1. And years later, his fans would just not shut up about him coming to CART (I was so sick of hearing his name). But [NOBABE]the ***[/NOBABE] is one heck of a racer! Like him or dislike him, there's just no denying that. He made a monkey out of Rosberg in Canada (that's how you legally defend a position) and he did an excellent job yesterday. :clap:

All through the field, there was good racing, great battle after great battle. I just wish that the broadcast that we receive in the States allowed us to jump around and see various in-car views and follow various battles.

 

[Rey C.]

Its hard to justify taking a million dollar car and using it as a battering ram.
that being said the racing has been better this year to be sure.

It really is - especially since the FIA is on a safety kick (even more than in years past).

Nico continues to demonstrate a trait of unraveling when he's under pressure. Through the first part of the season, he did what he should have done: drove well, while his teammate experienced issue after issue. He had an almost insurmountable lead. But as the winds of fortune begin to turn against him, the Nico of old comes out again. The desperate guy, whose eyes get blurred by flop sweat, cancels out the good work done by the Nico that had built a commanding lead.

 

[Supafly]

My problem with judging the situation Hamilton/Rosberg in that corner is that Hamilton has done his pushy moves stretching laws so often I really WANTED to see him get knocked.

I used to be a Hamilton fan myself, mind you, but that changd when he started being more and more of an asshole and driving more an more recklessly, in my eyes.

I must admit the stewats and you are probably right, and I don't know if his breaks were as good or bad as they may be.

He wipd Hamilton out, but not out enough.

Let's see if it was the last time.

 

[Rey C.]

I'm surprised that Ivy Adams hasn't dropped in lately. Her boy Max has been lighting up the sky since arriving at Red Bull. He had another podium at Silverstone and got promoted from 3rd to 2nd after the Rosberg controversy. Speaking of Rosberg, his fortunes have gone in the opposite direction. In early May, he had an "insurmountable" 43 point lead over Hamilton. Now, in early July, he has a 1 point lead. That's rather amazing. But I still think that Nico has the advantage, because Hamilton will surely have some engine penalties before the end of the season (he's on his last power unit now). Last year, it was easier for the Mercedes to race through the field and grab a 2nd or 3rd (if starting from the pitlane), because only the Ferraris could really put up a fight. Now, it would be harder to break into the top 5 - so Lewis will likely lose some major points when he takes on another power unit or components. Maybe he could pull a Honda and introduce two complete power units in one weekend, thereby increasing his supply and only seeing maximum penalties once. :dunno:

But as for the race at Silverstone, whenever there's rain, there's no such thing as a boring race. Hamilton just managed the race and his tires and took a relatively easy win. But young Verstappen showed that he possesses more and better race craft than the veteran Rosberg IMO. In a slightly faster car, he would have probably kept Nico behind him. Both Red Bulls were quick. The ***** Indias and the Toro Rossos were solid. The McLarens looked better than I expected - especially compared to this time last year. The Ferraris looked much worse than I expected. The Williams were simply pitiful. The Haas cars disappointed.

What says you? Great race???