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2018 Formula 1 Season Thread
- Thread starter Apple fanboy
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AustinIllini
macrumors G5
HAM was up 40 points in the championship. Come off it. That's not an upset, that's ridiculous.
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I wonder if the recent Ronaldo news will change his mind.
If Vettel was in the lead and the two Mercedes in 2nd and third I’m 100% agreeing in a position swap.
However as Lewis was increasing his big lead over Vettel, then I think it was pointless. Caused more harm than it was worth imo.
However as Lewis was increasing his big lead over Vettel, then I think it was pointless. Caused more harm than it was worth imo.
pachyderm
macrumors G5
@AustinIllini What's the Ronaldo news?
https://www.cnn.com/2018/09/30/us/cristiano-ronaldo-rape-allegations-lawsuit/index.html
aahhh...
https://www.cnn.com/2018/09/30/us/cristiano-ronaldo-rape-allegations-lawsuit/index.html
aahhh...
The-Real-Deal82
macrumors P6
Hamilton looked quite embarrassed at the end of the race much like he did back in Malaysia in 2014. From a team perspective it makes sense but a position swap especially for a victory is not nice for either driver.
Agreed. I think he was as gracious about it as he could be. Just like Bottas handled it properly. Followed orders, and did his complaining behind closed doors.
AustinIllini
macrumors G5
BenTrovato
macrumors 68040
Interesting comments from Kimi about Mercedes sandbagging. This what I observe watching the races too. Mercedes allows Ferrari to catch up and then blows them away. The way Lewis destroyed Vettel in Russia is all kinds of wrong
https://www.grandprix247.com/2018/10/01/inside-line-toto-kimi-wants-to-know-how-much-more-you-have/
https://www.grandprix247.com/2018/10/01/inside-line-toto-kimi-wants-to-know-how-much-more-you-have/
Probably just saving tyres and engines. The two saddest words in F1, lift and coast!
Who wants to watch that? I want to see everyone giving 100%, 100% of the time. Let them have more engines. If teams can’t afford it, should they really be in F1? It’s supposed to be the pinnacle of motorsport.
If I wanted it to be more environmentally friendly, I’d watch Formula E.
Akrapovic
macrumors 65816
As much as I admire the "let them have more engines" idea, saying if they can't afford it they shouldn't be there is the kind of situation that kills series. F1 is struggling to sustain a 20 car grid right now, so proposing anything which raises the costs is likely to have serious negative consequences on the series.
The engine cost per unit is the issue. An IndyCar engine costs £50,000. Am F1 Power Unit costs £9m. That is a ludicrous gap. WEC/F2 engines are similar to an IndyCar engine. The reason F1 struggles for teams is very few have the ability to bridge the gap from another series to F1. If you want to improve F1, improve the show, and improve the prospect of having a sustainable series, then reducing the cost of the power units is a major step to doing that. The current regulations are pretty much written by Mercedes and Ferrari, which allows them to build themselves this insane walled garden where the entire series existant now hinges on Mercedes and Ferraris ability to sell engines to other teams (since you can no longer ask Cosworth to produce something for you), and they've done so by jacking up the prices to the max to get as much return as possible from it.
I too would like to see the teams have more engines. But that doesn't work with the current walled garden engine regulations.
BenTrovato
macrumors 68040
Exactly.. that's the big problem with these engines. Simply put the cars should be designed in a way that they can push for the entire race. It makes it more difficult for the driver to push for 2 hours instead of 20 minutes which may lead to more mistakes and more reliability issues. Red Bull took their 4, Mercedes takes their 5, & Ferrari laughing all the way to the bank this entire time. Everyone else is too irrelevant to impact the sport and so this is the formula the fans get stuck with.
Glideslope
macrumors G3
His initial complaint was in fact plowing over the P2 Position Marker after the race. No Mark Webber moment, but the point was made. 😉
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To be fair, Ferrari was doing that to Mercedes in the beginning of the season.
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Perhaps as #1. 😉 Lewis might take #5 and retire. Well, at least one can wish. Still a crap way to be treated IMO. BS on Team rules. Lewis had a 50 point lead. Nothing but a public display of disrespect by Teutonic Toto.
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BenTrovato
macrumors 68040
I don't know.. although Ferrari looked good in the first half of the year, I still thought Mercedes had more in the bank. They were too dominant in pre-season testing for it to actually be that close. They obviously had more performance in their back pocket, it's impossible to make that much of a gain in F1.
The-Real-Deal82
macrumors P6
MOFS
macrumors 65816
Aye. It’ll be interesting to see what happens if a Lewis takes the Ferrari drive at the end of his contract which is certainly a possibility.
The-Real-Deal82
macrumors P6
Personally I’d hate to see him end his career at Ferrari but understand it’s a pull for all drivers. I’d much rather see him end it at a winning Williams but that’s merely a dream lol.
MOFS
macrumors 65816
Ha red 5 (44) in a Williams Renault would be amazing.
Glideslope
macrumors G3
Agreed. No question Lewis would like to cap his career with a WDC with Ferrari. It’s the crown Jewl for an F1 driver.
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Not really. There are millions who would like to see him walk away after number 5. The flag waiving runs deep in this thread however. But that is F1. Driver country of origin has always been right up there in rivalry with Team origin. That’s the nature of sports in general. I’m in NY yet I don’t really care about Haas.
F1 has had enough of Hamilton, and Vettel. Time for them to free up new seats for young drivers.
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I would love to see the top teams be able to offer a 3rd car for a driver under a certain age. The team could keep the driver through say up to five years. It would be a way to get a Russell in a car or keep a Stoffel in the car whilst accommodating Lando.
It can't work as the rich would only get richer, and the sport could be overcome by team orders. (Some pragmatically have to exist, however it has to be balanced.)
F1 costs money, and restrictive regulations and the lack of test teams keep the status quo.
Has anyone else seen pages from Kimi's Book of Haiku's? I would use a word meaning "more extraordinary than genius" if one existed.
It can't work as the rich would only get richer, and the sport could be overcome by team orders. (Some pragmatically have to exist, however it has to be balanced.)
F1 costs money, and restrictive regulations and the lack of test teams keep the status quo.
Has anyone else seen pages from Kimi's Book of Haiku's? I would use a word meaning "more extraordinary than genius" if one existed.
Akrapovic
macrumors 65816
I personally am against third cars for the bigger teams for the same reasons you said it can't work.
I agree the younger drivers need cars, but this is an issue with Mercedes rather than needing more cars. The only Mercedes (and McLaren, when it was McLaren-Mercedes) drivers to ever make it to a works drive are David Coulthard and Lewis Hamilton. Mercedes have long used DTM as a dumping ground for drivers they don't want to use, but want to keep from anyone else using. Now that Mercedes are leaving DTM, old Toto is having a moan about not enough seats. He didn't have that opinion when he had the German Touring Car parking spots to stick them in.
Teams like Mercedes buy up drivers, not so they can use them, but to stop the opposition using them.
MOFS
macrumors 65816
I agree with your points but DC drove for Williams as a junior/ test driver - he only became part of Mercedes when he joined Mclaren - and Lewis was more of a McLaren junior driver, signing with McLaren in 1998 ish.
I’m surprised Mercedes haven’t gone for a second team a la Red Bull. Haas now seem like an obvious choice given Ferrari clearly bedding closer to Sauber, although Force India could be another option (though that appears to be more of a toy for Stroll Sr).
Akrapovic
macrumors 65816
DC was the first recipient of the McLaren young driver award. He tested for Williams in 1993 and raced in 94 and 95, but his move to McLaren for 1996 was prompted by a call up related to the McLaren Young Driver program.
Mercedes were trying to use Force India as a B-Team, placing Ocon there. But now that Force India has become Formula Stroll, that idea is out the window as any Mercedes driver would destroy Stroll and that isn't what his dad wants. So now it'll be Williams they'll court, but Claire is being awful careful about selling out the team as a B-Team.
Mercedes don't really want to use Ocon (otherwise they'd put him in Bottas seat). They just know that Lewis is completely volatile and could do something mad at any time, so they need someone like Ocon waiting. There was a rumour that had Rosberg stayed that Lewis would have found himself out of a seat, but the only place I heard that was Radio Le Mans, so not sure on the validity, but it certainly made sense given the situation.
Don't forget Hill was a Jr Williams driver, too. Nick Heidfeld was basically a McLaren Jr that never seemed to get a fair F1 shot (like Stoffel.) To be fair it's possible their talent was maximised in lower formula. Top drivers tend to flash even in mediocre cars at times.The most obvious being Vettel in a Sauber and then Toro Rosso. (I thought Johnny Herbert did in his first race, too however I think it's a reasonable characterisation to say he was damaged goods and was back in a car too early. Shumacher evidently did in a Jordan, however the only thing I saw was the Belgian Grand Prix race. Don't think he made it 75 feet before he retired. Stories about Senna in a Toleman at Monaco are legendary now, too. It's tough to write the last sentence as being a bit sceptical when you have massive admiration for his ability.
My personal view (and feel free to disagree) is Nico was lucky to be German (albeit of Finnish heritage.) I think others would have done better in the opportunities he had at Williams and Mercedes. He was/is the perfect brand ambassador for Mercedes. I'm personally jealous of his fluency in multiple languages.
The economics of F1 has always been the most talented do not necessarily get the drive. I think it says a lot Ferrari has selected LeClerc. I interpret that to mean they are dissatisfied with Vettel's results, and looking for someone to challenge him. (Ferrari does set ridiculously high expectations!) Similarly, all things being equal, I would suspect Force India (or whatever their name is now) would've preferred Ocon over Perez, except that Perez brings a Brinks'' truck of money with him. Then again, it may not be good at the Stroll dinner table if the #2 driver beats the son.
My personal view (and feel free to disagree) is Nico was lucky to be German (albeit of Finnish heritage.) I think others would have done better in the opportunities he had at Williams and Mercedes. He was/is the perfect brand ambassador for Mercedes. I'm personally jealous of his fluency in multiple languages.
The economics of F1 has always been the most talented do not necessarily get the drive. I think it says a lot Ferrari has selected LeClerc. I interpret that to mean they are dissatisfied with Vettel's results, and looking for someone to challenge him. (Ferrari does set ridiculously high expectations!) Similarly, all things being equal, I would suspect Force India (or whatever their name is now) would've preferred Ocon over Perez, except that Perez brings a Brinks'' truck of money with him. Then again, it may not be good at the Stroll dinner table if the #2 driver beats the son.
Lewis on pole, Bottas second.
But Ferrari got it so wrong. Inters when everyone was on slicks. Put them on the back foot. I know they knew they didn’t have the pace to challenge the Mercedes but still seemed a strange plan. Why not split the strategy? Vettel starting 9th has more or less given the championship to Mercedes.
If it’s wet, watch for Max though. Still think that Brazilian drive in the wet was awesome. But Lewis is no slouch in the wet either.
If it’s dry I can only see mechanical problems stoping Lewis.
Good result for Honda at their home GP. Will keep the fans happy. The Japanese fans are some of the most passionate in the world. Love their hats and stuff they make.
But Ferrari got it so wrong. Inters when everyone was on slicks. Put them on the back foot. I know they knew they didn’t have the pace to challenge the Mercedes but still seemed a strange plan. Why not split the strategy? Vettel starting 9th has more or less given the championship to Mercedes.
If it’s wet, watch for Max though. Still think that Brazilian drive in the wet was awesome. But Lewis is no slouch in the wet either.
If it’s dry I can only see mechanical problems stoping Lewis.
Good result for Honda at their home GP. Will keep the fans happy. The Japanese fans are some of the most passionate in the world. Love their hats and stuff they make.
Glideslope
macrumors G3
I think Ferrari is completely lost right now. From leadership to lack of trust between drivers and team. It’s not recoverable. There is a complete meltdown within the team at this point. P2 in the WDC and WCC is by no means a certainty at this point. I expect another DNF for Vettel soon.
One has to give Mercedes credit for pushing. While I’m sick of them they have earned their current dominant position.
I continue to be impressed with Max. Sure would be fun if he were in Bottas’ ride. “Max it’s Toto. We need to let Lewis by. He is getting nervous.”
“No dam it. This is ******* bull****. I don’t care.” 😉