F1 2020

[sam_9n]

Felt so bad for Russell, he knew this would have been his best chance for a point this year. Hamilton, some serious graft put in after Bottas and Max pitted albeit Bottas holding Max up. Ricciardo and Kyvat, great drives by them both.

Raikkonen, another great day for him. Albon

Everytime I see a battle with Magnusson I’m just waiting for him to have contact with the other car


Fair chunk

 

[DC.]

Shocker of a day for Red Bull. Albon was the worst Red Bull driver there this weekend, outperformed by both Gasly and Kvyat in a lesser car.

2-day race format was a nice change and really showed when it came to understanding tyre deg etc.

 

[Blackie]

A good race today.

Yes a bit of luck sealed the deal for Hamilton, but he was pushing like mad in the middle sector of the race and near enough had the time for a pit stop made up.

Bottas admittedly had that issue with the floor pan of the car, but, and this is crucial for me, yet again he buckled under pressure! Making silly mistakes when another driver is breathing down his neck!

For once I felt sorry for Vettel, that pit stop arguably robbed him of a better finishing spot.

Albon has sealed his fate, he’s on his way out sadly. Which is a shame, he is a good driver, just lacks consistency.

Great to see the Honey Badger with another podium, but fair play to Kyvat who drove the wheels off that car in those last laps!

 

[Robert]

The hit that Strolls front jack man took will leave him sore for a day or two!

 

[Blackie]

The hit that Strolls front jack man took will leave him sore for a day or two!

Damn straight! Did you see him getting helped through the garage?

 

[Robert]

Damn straight! Did you see him getting helped through the garage?

Didn’t look in the best shape, if your brakes are cold then go a bit slower ffs

 

[pablo]

Lewis had the pit stop already made up before the vsc but it was very fine. So while he got lucky he had already done the work.

almost felt sorry for Bottas but he just doesn’t have it. It’s not in Merced interests but I’d love to see a quicker driver in that car.

 

[Dave..]

A good race today.

Yes a bit of luck sealed the deal for Hamilton, but he was pushing like mad in the middle sector of the race and near enough had the time for a pit stop made up.

Bottas admittedly had that issue with the floor pan of the car, but, and this is crucial for me, yet again he buckled under pressure! Making silly mistakes when another driver is breathing down his neck!

For once I felt sorry for Vettel, that pit stop arguably robbed him of a better finishing spot.

Albon has sealed his fate, he’s on his way out sadly. Which is a shame, he is a good driver, just lacks consistency.

Great to see the Honey Badger with another podium, but fair play to Kyvat who drove the wheels off that car in those last laps!

Red Bull must have been thinking, Max is out but Albon will score some points for us and then bang Albon is last.
I agree he must be on the way out.

 

[DC.]

I think Bottas has the speed, as proved by his qualifying results. Just when it comes to the nitty gritty on a Sunday of tyre management, thinking ahead and finding another way to win he comes up short.

He, more often than not, needs Hamilton to have an off day in order to win. Would like to see what George Russell could do with that Mercedes-Benz (apart from crash it like yesterday!)

 

[Blackie]

I think Bottas has the speed, as proved by his qualifying results. Just when it comes to the nitty gritty on a Sunday of tyre management, thinking ahead and finding another way to win he comes up short.

He, more often than not, needs Hamilton to have an off day in order to win. Would like to see what George Russell could do with that Mercedes-Benz (apart from crash it like yesterday!)

Bottas can’t cope under pressure. That’s been proved countless times when he’s been in front of Hamilton and quite a few times now when Verstappen is breathing down his neck.

As you say he has speed, he just lack’s the composure under pressure.

Didn’t look in the best shape, if your brakes are cold then go a bit slower ffs

Yea it was a rookie error for sure!

 

[stevyg]

Was looking like a great mix-up, Bottas win, Verstappen 2nd & Hamilton 3rd with Russell in the points and a decent drive from Albon but it all fell apart. Hamilton absolutely smashed it after Bottas & Verstappen pitted, fast lap after fast lap on old tyres. The VSC helped but I think he had it in the bag, Bottas & Max were dropping off. He's just on another level, very commanding win. The strategists in that situation must be watching the mid-pack battles rubbing their hands together just waiting for 2 of those knuckleheads to wipe each other out and bring out a SC. Did feel bad for Max after a great drive, he deserved the 2nd place. Was it something on the car that broke or debris or did the tyre just let go? I didn't think the hards were that old. Bottas just buckling under pressure, I know he had some damage but you can't get away with going off at the same spot twice when Verstappen is that close. Poor performance all around, was lucky to get 2nd. Awesome drive from Dan Ric & Leclerc. Where did Kvyat come from?! Albon making another mistake again. I'd be very surprised if he still had his seat next year. Mega error from Russell, very unusual from him.

 

[svensktoppen]

Heard Coulthard describe Vettel as "a spent force" before the race. Asked if he thought Vettel would "find his mojo" again at RP, Coulthard just shook his head. "No".

"If he can't compete in a top car, how is running in a midfield team going to improve anything?".

Harsh! No ifs or buts there.

I hope he is wrong, but fear he is not.

 

[pablo]

I dunno, with the pressure off and lower expectations in a much less toxic team he might get it back.

 

[cauld1]

Is the Ferrari this year a top level car, really?

I would really not put it past Ferrari to be utterly spiteful in how they treat Seb too.

I suppose DC would know about going from a top team to midfield team first hand though. I do think his input is very good on the C4 coverage, and hope he is wrong about Seb too.

 

[DC.]

One problem Vettel will have next year is the comparisons to what Perez has been doing for Racing Point. Similar to Alonso at Renault/Alpine.

Hard acts to follow.

 

[svensktoppen]

If he doesn't stay ahead of Stroll then surely he is finished? That's still pressure. But yes, probably better atmosphere in RP on the way up than at Ferrari nose diving...

How long is his contract at RP for?

I think Alonso relishes the challenge with Renault, and he knows the team. But we also know how quickly he can turn on a team if things don't go his way, lol. That, and he will be measured against what Ric has managed.

Then Kimi staying on at Alfa, and Ric at McL.

Interesting times in the midfield next year, lol. That's a lot of F1 talent languishing away back there.

 

[carmad.]

did things not go sour at ferrari when vettal was gave team orders and he tried to disobey them ??

 

[pablo]

he got his bus pass handed to him by LeClerc who refused from day 1 to be a "second driver". Writing was on the wall then

 

[DC.]

Turned sour after Vettel realised he wasn’t going to get preferential treatment. I guess he now knows how Mark Webber felt during his time at Red Bull.

 

[KevM]

You’d nearly think they are completely trying to break him down mentally before he leaves.
If that’s the case, I’d love to see him racing LeClerc really hard when in the Aston. Not that I have any great love for Vettel, but it’d be nice Karma if the Ferrari team are being spiteful for something he’s said or done.

 

[svensktoppen]

Why would Ferrari deliberately set him up to fail? That makes no sense at all. They are still paying him to bring home points for both driver's and manufacturer's.

He started off expecting to be #1 and has found himself as a firm #2.

Remember, Ferrari backed him to the hilt at the start, 100% ran him as #1 with Charles as a support driver.

It was only when Charles still outperformed him they eventually switched it around. And getting to that decision took a long time.

That would be a tough process for anyone. Especially for a four time world champion.

But certainly not Charles' fault. Or Ferrari's.

With preferential treatment comes the expectation to perform. It's brutal, and harsh, but that's all it comes down to.

 

[DC.]

Even more disappointing for Seb after he idolised Michael during his time at Ferrari and thought he would somehow follow in his illustrious, all-conquering footsteps.

I’m by no means a Seb Vettel fan (even less a Ferrari fan) but it’s a shame for both that it hasn’t played out better- no matter who or what is to blame.

 

[KHI]

So it seems they've made a new ice skating rink at the Istanbul Park Circuit,the newly laid asphalt is super slippy.Russell commented that he couldn't even go flat out on the straight.
Getting the car set up right could hopefully make for an interesting and entertaining race considering the effect of the rubbering in track and lack of meaningful historical data.

 

[Paddy_R]

Ahh crap....

Saudi Arabian GP promoter appoints Tilke to design "exciting" Jeddah street circuit

The promoters of the Saudi Arabian Grand Prix have appointed long-time F1 track architect Hermann Tilke to design the track which will hold their race next year.

www.racefans.net

 

[sam_9n]

FP2 they’re around 10 seconds of the lap record set by Montoya years ago, could be a fun race. The slow corners from inside the car are good to watch, plenty of opposite lock