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Post by robmarsh on Oct 22, 2018 6:46:25 GMT
A cracker of a race and probably the happiest result of the year for me. Kimi was excellent and his post race interviews priceless.
I am warming more to Lewis, he is a brilliant driver and I shall surely miss him when he retires. Since his petulant outburst at the British Grand Prix he has become much better publicly and more likable. The clip of him driving Johnnie Herbert around in Merc was excellent. Wearing an open faced helmet you could see the enjoyment and intensity in his eyes.
The dice between Max and Lewis was a highlight. It reminded me of Dijon 1979. I like Max a lot and he certainly has matured this year. He has built his reputation as a hard racer at a young age and it will stand him in good stead going forward and will probably mean less contacts as people give him more room.
I couldn't believe it when I saw Seb spinning around yet again. It is uncanny how the Ferrari just spins in those incidents and the other cars keep on racing. Ferrari need to study the telemetry carefully because either Seb is doing something at the moment of impact, as alluded to by Martin Brundle, or there is an inherent stability issue in the car. The former makes more sense.
It appears that Ferrari went down a blind alley after Monza with their upgrades. They reverted to the Spa configuration in Austin and won the race. Mclaren did that in 1976 on the M23 when they moved the oil radiators after the protest at the Spanish GP regarding the width of the car. It took sometime before they put the radiators back to the original position and lo and behold the car was transformed. On such little things are championships won and lost. Having said that however, if Seb had driven with his head and not made wild lunges he would have still been in the running for the championship.
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Post by Jamie on Oct 22, 2018 11:49:00 GMT
An excellent race and one I thoroughly enjoyed. I felt for Seb I have to say, one thing after another though isn’t it?
Very pleased for Kimi, it would have been a real shame for him not to have won a race with Ferrari.....great drive, we’ll deserved.
Good for Ferrari to have their mojo back, we all like a competitive red car don’t we 👍 (I just wish it was Alfa red....😉.....runs for cover 😱).
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Post by mikael on Oct 22, 2018 12:38:28 GMT
Yes, truly wonderful for Kimi to be able to bow out of his second stint at Ferrari in this way. Five years without a single victory; or: five years and one victory -- there's a world of a difference ...
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Post by charleselan on Oct 22, 2018 12:58:09 GMT
Well that was the best result of the year, and as Sebastian mentioned in post race interviews "no one in the paddock deserved the win more than Kimi", quality comment from the guy.
What a drive by the "old boy", didn't put a wheel wrong and one could tell from that assertive move into the first corner, he wanted this one. It was long overdue as there have been several races over the past few years that should have been his, but fate to team tactics got in the way.
Wonderful to see those three guys running so close together over the closing laps, one wasn't sure what would unfold even in todays predictable F1.
Also what a pleasure to see and hear Lewis Hamilton after the race, much more like the little lad that used to race karts showing good grace and genuine smiles. Can't remember the last time I heard Lewis so happy and full of compliments for others after finishing a mere third.
Good to see that the Ferrari's were right back on the pace and very quick down the straights once more, also that the Mercs had rear tyre issues once more; vagaries of the track; temperatures; having to raise tyre pressure or lack of dry running in practice?
The carnage on the first lap was awful and displayed some pretty abysmal driving standards by some. Sadly these comeback drives, although impressive in context are aided 100% by the fact that all but the top three teams are the equivalent of taking candy from a baby. The disparity in performance is quite frankly an embarrassment.
Interestingly it was noted by this onlooker that the Red Bull didn't seem to lack much in the way of top speed considering its breathless Renault power unit.
Sebastian's spin was a case of "Oh! no not again". It looked to me that as he made contact with Ricciardo he simply booted the car into that spin, such a weird situation. A point mentioned by UK C4 pundits Coulthard and Webber was the fact that Sebastian spends more time at Red Bull than he does Ferrari these days, they likened it to a "comfort blanket" scenario.
A shame that Ocon & Kevin lost their places to fuel flow and usage infringements, but a big up to Brendon Hartley who although largely unnoticed by the useless media drove a superb race and well deserved the points. His current plight with that odious Red Bull organisation and managers is a bloody disgrace. Funny how some drivers have everything at their disposal from day one, maximum support and backsides wiped, and can do no wrong; while others are hung out to dry and given zero support. Support and confidence is what a driver needs to perform at their best, not having an axe hanging over their heads.
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Post by robmarsh on Oct 22, 2018 14:11:06 GMT
Hey Jamie I am still hoping that Sauber will change to Alfa Romeo and become a works team in its own right or even a semi works team using Ferrari motors badged as Alfa as I don't expect FIAT to have to produce two motors. I personally don't see why Ferrari can't run two works teams if they want , it would probably be cheaper.
Talking about controlling costs the three engine rule is a farce. The cost is not in the motors themselves it's in the amount they test to destruction getting three to run reliably. Also having 40 people at each race just to analyse when to stop for tyres can't be cheap. I don't think F1 has a global finance guy around to tell them where the real costs are or where the cost savings could be. They won't find cost savings in only having three engines and no testing. Look at the payroll, travel costs and IT departments, there are a lot of unnecessary costs there. Yesterday's race proved it.
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Post by René on Oct 22, 2018 15:34:12 GMT
Really enjoyed this one as obviously everyone else did! Don’t think there is anyone who would begrudge Kimi this victory. I for one celebrated his win in the good old traditional Finnish way… for which I pay the price today! The fight for the win in the last 5/6 laps was classic. This is why we watch Formula One, seeing the best drivers in the world in the fastests cars fighting it out on a real race track. It would have been even better had Seb also been in the fight but I guess that is going to be the story of 2018; how many points did Seb throw away? Nothing to take away from Lewis, his driving has been impeccable this year, but Seb has compromised his own races too many times. If it was entirely his mistake this time is debatable I think but he shouldn’t have been in that position in the first place. What a shame. Kimi was his old self again, maybe not the outright fastest driver on the grid but you know in a situation like this he won’t make a mistake. Very well deserved. Max showed again he is a world class driver. Still a bit rough around the edges at times but his drives are very impressive and yesterday was no exception. He has clearly established himself in that elite group of drivers, the winners, the champions. For Valtteri it looked like a reality check, he’s good but yesterday’s fight at the front was out of his reach. Mercedes should really have signed Ocon, but maybe that would destabilize the team too much? Another discussion. Anyway, it was a great race on a great track with a great crowd and a great winner. A good day for F1!
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Post by robmarsh on Oct 22, 2018 16:50:16 GMT
Much has been made of the gap between the top three teams and the rest and how unfair it is. I do not understand why it is so big. Basically there are four factors that affect a car's position in a race, the engine, the tyres, the driver and the chassis.
Engines are split pretty evenly between Renault, Mercedes, Ferrari with Honda currently a sole supplier. In terms of the regulations the engines in the customer cars have to be exactly the same as the works cars. Therefore, apart from the difference between the manufacturers everything should be equal so let's take engines out of the equation.
Tyres are supplied by Pirelli and all to the same spec so let's take them out.
Drivers are a difference, obviously the top three teams probably have six of the best eight drivers but drivers pay a smaller part than before and in the same car would probably amount to four tenths between the best and the fifteenth best. So drivers, eg pay drivers maybe costing the teams.
That leaves chassis as the biggest differentiation between the teams. To analyse that a bit further the biggest difference is probably between the aerodynamic efficiency of the cars. The bigger teams, ie more budget, can explore and discount more avenues than the smaller teams and that increases the gap.
So, in conclusion if the FIA and Liberty want closer racing they have to do a few of things. One make the aero so simple that there is no gain for the bigger teams to spend millions on research. Cut the number of staff down that can attend races and put a cap on data transmissions back to base during race weekends. Allow teams to buy chassis from Ferrari, Mercedes etc if they want to.
Just musing, just musing. ,
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Post by René on Oct 22, 2018 18:27:43 GMT
Rob, what about the fuel suppliers? I understand there is a big performance difference between the premier supplier (eg Shell, Petronas) and other suppliers.
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Post by René on Oct 22, 2018 18:33:37 GMT
I guess NASCAR has always been another world but it used to be better than what it is now. Can still remember seeing the first NASCAR races on Eurosport in the 90s and they were quite spectacular at times. Not on the same level as F1 or Indycar, by far, but I still enjoyed watching the occasional race. Not anymore. The article about Brian France is interesting to say the least. Rene, When I first became interested in motorsport, there wasn't much to choose from on television so I would often watch the Daytona 500 when stock car racing seemed less controlled and more honest. When Richard Petty and David Pearson collided approaching the checkered flag in 1976, Pearson recovering first to win, the excitement was almost too much for expert commentator John Young Stewart!
David Pearson and Bobby Allison were my favorite stock car drivers because both were also outstanding road racers. As great as he was on circle tracks, Richard Petty never understood road racing.
Forza Raikkonen this weekend in Austin! Cheers, Carl That's a great clip Carl. Thanks! Those cars looked so cool and what a finish! And congrats with the Kimi win. You were the only one who chose him to win in Austin!
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Post by René on Oct 22, 2018 18:41:18 GMT
Even though the early focus on tyre strategy threatened to become oppressive, the wonderful confluence of Ferrari, Red Bull and Mercedes over the final laps was great racing! Poor Daniel Ricciardo could have been in that mix. I hope he leaves all bad luck behind next year. Once again, Sebastian Vettel drove brilliantly after trying too hard in the early laps. The short duel between Hamilton and Verstappen was like a breath of fresh air to jaded race fans. Both made mistakes, both drove brilliantly. The Japanese model for fan enthusiasm is greatly reduced but still carries over to Austin. My favorites were a young couple, he in Mad Hatter top hat, both brandishing inflatable hammers, both waving Union Jacks and never sitting down. At some point they apparently changed seats with the people originally behind them to avoid a sight line dispute. It should be hammer time next week. Perfect summary of a great day at the races!
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Post by René on Oct 22, 2018 18:47:23 GMT
Interestingly it was noted by this onlooker that the Red Bull didn't seem to lack much in the way of top speed considering its breathless Renault power unit. Yes I agree. Without taking anything away from Max's fantastic drive, the Red Bull does not look that much slower than the Merc and Ferrari. And not only over a lap, also on the straights it was not that bad as sometimes pictured. Renault is not that far off and clearly still ahead of Honda.
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Post by Carl on Oct 22, 2018 21:12:12 GMT
Really enjoyed this one as obviously everyone else did! Don’t think there is anyone who would begrudge Kimi this victory. I for one celebrated his win in the good old traditional Finnish way… for which I pay the price today! The fight for the win in the last 5/6 laps was classic. This is why we watch Formula One, seeing the best drivers in the world in the fastests cars fighting it out on a real race track. It would have been even better had Seb also been in the fight but I guess that is going to be the story of 2018; how many points did Seb throw away? Nothing to take away from Lewis, his driving has been impeccable this year, but Seb has compromised his own races too many times. If it was entirely his mistake this time is debatable I think but he shouldn’t have been in that position in the first place. What a shame. Kimi was his old self again, maybe not the outright fastest driver on the grid but you know in a situation like this he won’t make a mistake. Very well deserved. Max showed again he is a world class driver. Still a bit rough around the edges at times but his drives are very impressive and yesterday was no exception. He has clearly established himself in that elite group of drivers, the winners, the champions. For Valtteri it looked like a reality check, he’s good but yesterday’s fight at the front was out of his reach. Mercedes should really have signed Ocon, but maybe that would destabilize the team too much? Another discussion. Anyway, it was a great race on a great track with a great crowd and a great winner. A good day for F1! Rene,
Your good grace is admirable. It has been a difficult year for Ferrari in several ways.
Meer geluk volgend jaar, Carl
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Post by charleselan on Oct 22, 2018 22:07:23 GMT
It has been revealed that MB decided not to run the wheel design that they had been using of late in fear that Ferrari might protest them. The design apparently had been passed as legal by the FIA following a query by the Scuderia, even though the design of these wheels was very similar to one that Red Bull had presented two years ago but that was deemed illegal. There was no suggestion that Ferrari were going to protest the wheel, but it seems that MB were worried that if they did and were successful that would blight their season. The holes in the wheels are designed to cool the tyres, one of MB's main issues, and it could explain the serious blistering problems seen in Austin.
Why if the FIA have already given the wheel design the thumbs up is there room for further debate? Well it seems that the race scrutineers can over rule an FIA decision. Interesting! .
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Post by Carl on Oct 23, 2018 2:01:04 GMT
It has been revealed that MB decided not to run the wheel design that they had been using of late in fear that Ferrari might protest them. The design apparently had been passed as legal by the FIA following a query by the Scuderia, even though the design of these wheels was very similar to one that Red Bull had presented two years ago but that was deemed illegal. There was no suggestion that Ferrari were going to protest the wheel, but it seems that MB were worried that if they did and were successful that would blight their season. The holes in the wheels are designed to cool the tyres, one of MB's main issues, and it could explain the serious blistering problems seen in Austin. Why if the FIA have already given the wheel design the thumbs up is there room for further debate? Well it seems that the race scrutineers can over rule an FIA decision. Interesting! . I wonder if race scrutineers are thought to have more detailed knowledge of rules. It's often acknowledged in the military that Staff Sergeants know more than anyone at headquarters.
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Post by robmarsh on Oct 23, 2018 6:23:55 GMT
MPH reckons that Merc got the corner weights wrong when they reassembled the cars after replacing batteries that were leaking. He reckons it was that rather than the wheel holes being filled with silicone that caused the problem. That may explain the blistering but there is so much disinformation in F1 that it makes the cold war look like a children's parlour game!
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