Bez
Hamilton was also on mediums and managed to beat the softs around him into turn 1…
True but Hamilton was on the grippy side of the grid. In the replays of Bottas start, I noticed his dash was saying "TOO LOW!" not sure if that was the engine RPM or what though...
eta: 1:34 in this
It'll be interesting to see how he handles the mid-field battles next season.
This is a great question. As the Sky Sports commentary pointed out- they could have used him to deny Verstappen the point for fastest lap.
Only if he got far enough forward to finish in the top 10 including the stop needed to throw on a set of softs...
He drove for RB for a good while and is still associated with them
AFAIK, still paid by them as some sort of Brand Ambassador boleaux. I understand people getting a bit carried away when the National team (of whatever sport) are up against their perceived nemesis but DC drove for a number of teams and you don't hear him making excuses for e.g. McLaren do you?
His commentary is verging on a partisan advertorial at times and I don't want to hear it. When he and Webber both jumped on Hammy after the Silverstone incident, that was me done. I just happened on DC doing it again yesterday by chance. If I was Hammy, I'd be very economical with the time I gave those two now.
I think Bottas is a great driver but not a racer, same with Stoner in MotoGp, an amazing technician but not a racer. Hamilton and Verstappen are both as is Alonso and a few others.
Only if he got far enough forward to finish in the top 10 including the stop needed to throw on a set of softs…
Nope, it would still have taken the point from Verstappen and RB, it just wouldn’t have then also added it to Bottas or Mercedes.
Not really: Hamilton and Verstappen both comfortably out-qualify and out-race both Bottas and Perez on the majority of occasions, and especially when the pressure’s on.
Yes, exactly. The best of Bottas and Perez would be a pretty good driver, but still short of Hamilton or Versappen (and Alonso, Schumacher, Senna, Prost, etc.) They just don't have the relentlessness of the greats, just always wringing the absolute maximum out of the car on every lap. I find Verstappen's personality easy to dislike, but his ability behind the wheel is astonishing. Same with Hamilton and Alonso, they just find some way to grab a car by the scruff of its neck and wring lap times out of it. Bottas and Perez never showed that. They're goth very good drivers, just a step below the greats.
I did notice that during one of the Mercedes stops: RB had positioned some lucky mechanic as a human traffic cone on the corner of their pit box 🙂
Commentators do have their favourites. Murray Walker was very close to Damon Hill for example and James Hunt really didn't like Patrese.
The Hunt/Patrese thing was really obvious in the commentary, Murray was a little more restrained but we all remember when Hill finally won the title, he was really pleased for him.
Still a bit different to making excuses for them all the time though.
ITV were also massively pro Hamilton for a while, I recall James Allen took a lot of flack it despite it being an editorial decision.
There seems to be a lot of open comment on red bulls general conduct at the moment, more so than in previous years when horner was whining about Renault or whatever. I expect Matteschitz will be keeping an eye on his brand and won't want f1 negativity to affect his sales of caffeinated sugar, so it'll be interesting to see what happens if (when!) there's another controversy.
Nope, it would still have taken the point from Verstappen and RB, it just wouldn’t have then also added it to Bottas or Mercedes
We may be talking at cross-purposes, but what I meant was you have to finish in the top 10 to get the fastest lap point....if not, I assume it goes to the next fastest?
We may be talking at cross-purposes, but what I meant was you have to finish in the top 10 to get the fastest lap point….if not, I assume it goes to the next fastest?
No.
The fastest lap gets the point if they are in the top 10. If they are not in the top ten, no-one gets it. (see Mazapinn's fastest lap in Belgium!)
But it's better to get FL and stop your opponent having it is the point, even if you don't get a point yourself.
Did not know that.. Every day's a schoolday! Ta 😁
As F1 fans no doubt you lot love a good stat.
the STW 2020 thread topped out at 48 pages. With 2 races to go this thread is on 84. Can we double to the 2020 total?
You want me to flood this thread with spam?
😉
No need, every time Horner has a moan there’s 2 new pages of people moaning about him moaning
Hamilton was also on mediums and managed to beat the softs around him into turn 1…
You're remaking the same point I had already made here, so not sure what you're getting at but I'll take that as a complement of sorts I guess!
If Lewis wins and gets fastest lap in SA, and Max is second, they both go into the final race on 369.5 points with Lewis on 8 wins and Max on 9, else Lewis could be a point down if someone other than Max gets fastest lap, or two points down in Max gets fastest lap.
So, if Lewis is two points down after SA but he wins AD they'll both be on 9 wins and if Max only finishes third, they'll both have same number of points and if neither get fastest lap....
What happens next??
(Assuming I've got my sums correct)
If Lewis is 2 points behind going into the last race and wins with max 2nd they get 25 & 18 respectively so +7 to LH. So he ends up +5. Even if MV gets fastest lap that’s only 1 more point.
Yeah, that's straight forward, but I'm curious as to whether VB can do what he's paid to do and take some points from MV, and MV only finishes third (in either race, I guess).
I'm assuming some boffin, somewhere has a spreadsheet of all possible outcomes...
You’re remaking the same point I had already made
Ok, now I re-read it, fair enough. It was a bit ambivalent, I read one half more than the other 🙂
What happens next??
I think Billy Monger made an astute comment. In Lewis’s head at least, it’s very simple: he wins the next three races and he’s world champion. One down…
Probably best just see what Saudi brings first and then figure out the permutations…
Did anyone else notice both Redbull and Mercedes have stopped pulling back their pneumatic lines for each other during the pit stops?
What's the position in the final race if Max takes out LH in Saudi?
Can LH still win if it is him 1st and MV 2nd or does Max get the WDC?
I am sure that isn't a strategy on their computers right now, at least not on the shared drive
bluearsedfly
Free Member
Did anyone else notice both Redbull and Mercedes have stopped pulling back their pneumatic lines for each other during the pit stops?
There's an echo in here... Yes, about 6 posts up there ^ 🙃
Someone pointed that out somewhere up thread.
Next step is Red Bull are going to paint some black and white stripes across pitlane and employ a mechanic with a baby stroller to wander back and forth across pitlane when one of the Mercs tries to leave the pitstop 😁😁
Can LH still win if it is him 1st and MV 2nd or does Max get the WDC?
If they both DNF in Saudi then even if he gets fastest lap, Hamilton will need Verstappen to be third or lower in Abu Dhabi.
Hamilton really needs to win both remaining races. If he doesn’t, he’d need something pretty extraordinary and beyond his control to keep Max down.
Ah, late to the party as usual 🙂
I make it if Lewis wins the next race with fastest lap, he will be equal on points with Max going into the last race.
Max can nerf them both at turn one and win the WDC on number of wins.
*Edit* actually they’d both be on 8 wins I think going into the last race.
Thanks.
Bluearsed - while you are here, have you got anything to add about hoses not being pulled in the pit lane
🙂
actually they’d both be on 8 wins I think
No, it would be 9-8 to Max.
But in addition, there’s virtually no chance of the race winner getting fastest lap anyway. That’s going to either be the second placed driver (if the first two are Hamilton and Verstappen and they’ve got a 25s or so gap over the next car from a different team) or one of their teammates. So if Hamilton wins in Saudi, chances are he’ll be either 1 or 2 points behind Max, but almost certainly not level.
.
But in addition, there’s virtually no chance of the race winner getting fastest lap anyway. That’s going to either be the second placed driver (if the first two are Hamilton and Verstappen and they’ve got a 25s or so gap over the next car from a different team) or one of their teammates. So if Hamilton wins in Saudi, chances are he’ll be either 1 or 2 points behind Max, but almost certainly not level.
Can anyone imagine a scenario where LH, MV, VB & Checo are running line astern on the last lap of the AD GP and it all hinges on who gets fastest lap? And it flips as each driver gets fastest lap as they cross the line flip-flopping the WDC?
...and maybe George Russell running way down the field puts in a storming lap and takes previous fastest lap off Checo?
Max can nerf them both at turn one and win the WDC on number of wins
The opponent nerfing thing has been known to work, it did for Senna, 50/50 for Schumacher.
I was listening to an interview with Villeneurve ages ago, he was saying that going into that last race at Jerez he and his team were making a big fuss in the media about how Schumacher had hit Hill in 94 and taken the title to try to ensure that he would be far too well scrutinised to attempt it again with all eyes on him. Didn't work at all🤣 But then Schumacher was excluded from second. Would either of the current ones try it? If they got away with it, great, if they don't and lose second would they care, worth a try? Personally I think Verstappen would be more likely to try it, he seems desperate enough and of course has the points advantage.
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FWIW I think the Schumacher/Hill thing did look like an accident, the Schumacher/Villeneurve one clearly wasn't.
Can anyone imagine a scenario where LH, MV, VB & Checo are running line astern on the last lap of the AD GP and it all hinges on who gets fastest lap? And it flips as each driver gets fastest lap as they cross the line flip-flopping the WDC?
No. If LH must have the FL to win that would have to put him one point ahead of MV (equal points MV wins on countback)
If MV then takes the FL that puts MV 1 ahead (1 less for LH and 1 more for MV) If VB then takes the FL thats 1 less for MV so equal on points and MV still wins. It doesn't matter what Checo does, or indeed a last ditch effort from Russell, LH and MV are still equal and MV still has it.
It could work for the constructors though.
Yeah, that’s straight forward, but I’m curious as to whether VB can do what he’s paid to do and take some points from MV, and MV only finishes third (in either race, I guess).
based on his performances so far this season I would assume that will be a no. If merc are lucky he will score a free constructors points
Ah now I've always thought Schumacher/Hill was deliberate.
Bluearsed – while you are here, have you got anything to add about hoses not being pulled in the pit lane
Nothing to add other than it’s getting that petty between RB and Merc, it wouldn’t surprise me if they left their respective hoses in the way of each other.
Next step is Red Bull are going to paint some black and white stripes across pitlane and employ a mechanic with a baby stroller to wander back and forth across pitlane when one of the Mercs tries to leave the pitstop
Just put Les Nessman on the job.
Can I just repeat that I love the “Karen” Horner nickname. It’s just perfection.
Can I just repeat that I love the “Karen” Horner nickname. It’s just perfection.
I'm not normally a fan of that particular epithet but it does rather suit him.
The irony of the whole situation is that Red Bull's antics mean that most people are rooting for the Corporate Motorsport Giant over the independent.
Rooting for the Corporate Motorsport Giant over the Corporate Marketing Giant you mean?
Mercedes (the whole company) net income was around €4bn
RedBull (the whole company) net income was around €1.2-1.4bn
Neither is exactly a small going concern, now are they? But whereas Mercedes actually make very nice and useful things for a variety of markets, Redbull sold 7bn energy drinks that taste like cough medicine...
mean that most people are rooting for the Corporate Motorsport Giant over the independent.
Perhaps in the UK, in other parts of Europe it's not.
I think it's a shame. It distracts from Max's clear talent. I'd imagine that anywhere he goes, the faint odour of his dad will follow him, but the relentless victimhood status of RB must be pretty wearisome after a while.
the faint odour of his dad will follow him
Can’t help but think there’s a “Jos sticks” pun to be found somewhere.
