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2017 Formula 1 Season Thread

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AustinIllini said:
That's pretty much what happens. Honda is paying an insane amount of money. To replace the H, McLaren would have to go back to a title sponsor.
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True. But the deal was for a competition package. Nobody at McLaren (especially Alonso) thought they would be so off the pace after three years.
At this stage I'd expect the price to be double for any other team. If they don't get it together soon, they could just well cut their loses.
 
The-Real-Deal82 said:
That sounds like the Hamilton of a few years ago but in his years against Nico it was rarely Lewis doing the whining. I think we've seen a much more mature Hamilton these last few years.

I don't think it's just hardcore fans of him that appreciate how good he is either. It's pretty indisputable within F1 that he's 'one' of the best drivers of this generation. Most of us here though are of an age where we just like the racing and the 'my driver is better than yours tripe' is a little immature.

I'm looking forward to a close battle today and although I will prefer a Brit to win, I will be happy to see Bottas get his first win or Vettel to really put the pressure on Lewis for this to be an exciting season. Enjoy these guys while we still have them in the sport, they're good!
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I agree it can be hard to separate mundane drivers who happen to be in good cars from good drivers who happen to be underperforming cars. Lewis has had a tremendous amount of luck being in a good car. About the whining, well, apparently Lewis fans remember differently than neutral viewers such as myself. How surprising. :p

But I do agree it's very enjoyable to watch the races this year. Way, way, better than "Oh yawn who's going to finished 3rd this time..." Way, way funner. :D
 
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Melrose said:
I agree it can be hard to separate mundane drivers who happen to be in good cars from good drivers who happen to be underperforming cars. Lewis has had a tremendous amount of luck being in a good car. About the whining, well, apparently Lewis fans remember differently than neutral viewers such as myself. How surprising. :p

But I do agree it's very enjoyable to watch the races this year. Way, way, better than "Oh yawn who's going to finished 3rd this time..." Way, way funner. :D
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If you are judging one driver without acknowledging others, then you are not neutral IMO. At least that is not the impression I get.

A good driver also makes informed decisions on where they end up too, so Hamilton is either lucky or he's got good advice throughout his career. I would say the latter. Look at Alonso. He's awesome but has made a succession of poor choices and we've been robbed of seeing him fighting at the front for the past decade. Hamilton has had a better team around him and he's delivered. That's not a mundane driver but I don't really need to prove that in all honesty. We're all fans of the sport at the end of the day and should know enough.
 
Olganech said:
They also won 15 out of 16 races back when Prost and Senna were with McLaren
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I remember it well, but that was then and this is now.
Nobody expected them to be winning from the start, but they are not getting any closer. If they had the best chassis and driver in the world it's not going to help when you're the slowest car on the straight.
 
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The Honda Turbos of the Williams and McLaren eras were something to behold, but their V12 was only okay (it was Senna that made the difference, IMO, and once Williams had the Renault V10 it was over for them and I think Honda knew it, which is why they pulled out soon after). And they were "meh" as their own team during the V10 era. So really, I'm not surprised they're not lighting the place up three years in, but I am surprised that they made such a backwards step this year compared to last.
 
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The-Real-Deal82 said:
If you are judging one driver without acknowledging others, then you are not neutral IMO. At least that is not the impression I get.

A good driver also makes informed decisions on where they end up too, so Hamilton is either lucky or he's got good advice throughout his career. I would say the latter. Look at Alonso. He's awesome but has made a succession of poor choices and we've been robbed of seeing him fighting at the front for the past decade. Hamilton has had a better team around him and he's delivered. That's not a mundane driver but I don't really need to prove that in all honesty. We're all fans of the sport at the end of the day and should know enough.
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I would say Hamilton has been lucky; and incredibly lucky to have been paired with a teammate who so quickly simply steps aside without an argument to let him by. Would Lewis do the same in return? We both know he wouldn't; he's driven dirty in the past and invented stories, and he's not a team player.

But yes, Alonso is a fantastic driver - look at what he's able to do with that pathetic McLaren he's in...he's not fighting at the front, but he's still driving convincingly.
 
The 80's Honda Engines benefited from Variable Valve Timing. Only Honda engineers could touch the engine. They kept it secret for years. (There's a well told story Senna returned the Lotus to the pits after the first lap thinking he broke the engine. Nakajima had to convince him everything was ok.) The Renault V10 used pneumatic valves, another innovation that proved hard to copy.

The Honda V12 in the MP4/6 was my favourite engine. It was gloriously loud (although not as loud as the Lamborghini. Yes, there was Lambo Lotus for a year!) My favourite part was the fuel pumps constantly pumped Shell's best into the engine irrespective of acceleration. The flameouts on overrun were beautiful. It's a shame there were no night races back then.
 
Apple fanboy said:
Great showing from Ferrari in Russia.

Locked out the front row.
Going to be a tough year for Mercedes of playing catchup, but good for the fans.
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Great showing by the reds. Finally looking forward to a race! I think Mercedes understands their domination was not good for the sport. I have a feeling they will be really strong in the second half of the season.
 
BenTrovato said:
Great showing by the reds. Finally looking forward to a race! I think Mercedes understands their domination was not good for the sport. I have a feeling they will be really strong in the second half of the season.
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Going to be interesting to see how Mercedes bounce back this season. They haven't had to rush through upgrades much of late.
 
Melrose said:
I would say Hamilton has been lucky; and incredibly lucky to have been paired with a teammate who so quickly simply steps aside without an argument to let him by. Would Lewis do the same in return? We both know he wouldn't; he's driven dirty in the past and invented stories, and he's not a team player.

But yes, Alonso is a fantastic driver - look at what he's able to do with that pathetic McLaren he's in...he's not fighting at the front, but he's still driving convincingly.
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Hamilton has been lucky but drivers of his calibre make their luck when they perform at the highest level and win. I can't think of a world champion, certainly not on the current grid who hasn't driven dirty at some point? They are all in a league where they are not second drivers too and it's down to the teams to manage that side of things imo.
 
pachyderm said:
I didn't even know there was a race this weekend! Joy!

Ferrari Front row!?!? MORE JOY!
[doublepost=1493551146][/doublepost]GO KIMI!!!
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He was heading for poll until Vettel pipped him on the last run. However I'm pretty sure it's Vettels to lose.

Not long to go now. And I can watch it live for a change!
 
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