The F1 thread

[Drarok]

What a spectacular difference this race was compared with the snooze-fest of Monaco!

Absolutely gutted for Max (and Stroll, I suppose), no fault of his own and his whole weekend is ruined.

[Snowy]

Yeah really enjoyed that race, best of the year to date without question. I also felt sorry for Verstappen, I am bored to tears of Mercedes wins and even though I don't find Verstappen's character particularly endearing I would like to see someone of his ability shine. That said, Perez is having such a renaissance given how close he was to losing his drive last year I was delighted for him. I also have no hesitation in owning up to an enormous bellow of laughter when Hamilton blew it at the end - keeps the championship in the right place imo.

Bottas - well he must know he is never going to be a champion as long as he is partnered with Hamilton - is the disparity in ability doesn't ensure it then team orders will. If you know you are in cruise and collect mode it must sap your enthusiasm.

[Raid]

It's worth noting that all three podium sitters yesterday had recently been fired from a team; Perez from Racing Point, Vettel from Ferrari and Gasly from Red Bull a couple of years back. Perez is also the only driver to have won with multiple teams in the turbo-hybrid era. Perez incidentally said that he thought he'd need five races to get up to speed, and he won race six. Brilliant.

It's not just Bottas knowing he can't win, it's almost like he isn't even trying any more. Being somewhat shown up by Russell at the end of last year had to have been a kick in the teeth, but it doesn't feel like he's playing the team game any longer. Not only did Toto throw shade his way after the Monaco pit stop fiasco (he made a note of saying Bottas had stopped short of his box), but he didn't let Lewis through in Spain and there's no way he should be as slow as he is in the second fastest car. I don't think he's a Hamilton or Alonso, but he's a 9-time race winner and no slouch. I reckon he's been told he's going already. He was overtaken four times in four corners after the restart yesterday, in a section of the track where you should never get overtaken.

Also, I love how Seb has just become the grid's enthusiastic uncle. He congratulates everyone when they succeed, he asks how everyone is if they have an accident, and he'll break out of media interviews briefly to do it. He seems to be perfectly comfortable with his position in the sport, and I reckon the lowered pressure is doing him a world of good.

[Drarok]

Good points re: Seb. He looks a lot happier these days too.

[Snowy]

Lets face it, he has got it pretty good. He has nothing to prove as a multiple world champion, is suckling at Lawrence Stroll's copious teat in a young team that are eager to learn from his experience. He is on good form on the track and happy off it. Oh and he gets a free Aston Martin and doesn't have to cover the crippling costs of ownership himself. Life could be worse for Seb...

[Drarok]

... is suckling at Lawrence Stroll's copious teat

Oh hey, it's my lunch again!

[Raid]

I think the outburst from Valtteri during today's race when he was left vulnerable to both Max and Sergio is a pretty good indication that his relationship with Mercedes has all but ended. I'm used to drivers challenging strategies with hindsight, but to swear at them while doing so is indicative of more than just frustration during the race.

Anyway, that was about as good a race as I was expecting from Paul Ricard, and it's nice to see Red Bull's taking of an extra pit stop finally pay off. Hamilton was absolutely relentless after the first round of stops, and I have to imagine he would have been past Verstappen eventually.

Another great showing by Norris. I really do hope that Ricciardo is just taking longer than expected to get used to his new team, because that wasn't the first time this year he's been passed by his teammate on merit. Also note that Russell beat a Ferrari with a pretty amazing result for a Williams in a race where nobody retired.

[Snowy]

The difference in strategies certainly breathed some life into what is usually a dull race. I was pleased to see Verstappen beat Hamilton too, tired of seeing Lewis win everything all the time and would like to see another team take the championship titles.

Hamilton's whining on being passed in the pitstops was so typical of him too, one of the reasons I have never liked the guy. The fact that his team had to palm him off with "We will look at it after the race" rather than say "He was faster than you"...

OK maybe a bit unfair, you have a top flight driver in your team maybe you have to cushion their ego but still, he does annoy me

[Maturin]

Eh, every racing driver questions the team like that. I'm trying to recall a driver that doesn't when things don't go to plan. If you dislike him for that, you'd have to dislike pretty much all F1 drivers.

Surprisingly decent race for Paul Ricard. Could be even better next year if the new regs allow for even closer racing!

[Raid]

Hamilton's whining on being passed in the pitstops was so typical of him too, one of the reasons I have never liked the guy. The fact that his team had to palm him off with "We will look at it after the race" rather than say "He was faster than you"...

OK maybe a bit unfair, you have a top flight driver in your team maybe you have to cushion their ego but still, he does annoy me

I think that's a little unfair, we hear discussions like that from a lot of drivers, they're just more frequently heard from Lewis because he's always at the front.

Part of being a race engineer is playing psychologist, it's their job to keep the driver focused because even a brief lapse in focus can have them in the wall with a multi million pound repair job. That's why they discuss stuff after the race where possible, talking about it (and in public) won't remedy the situation there and then. I know it makes the drivers appear a little diva-like.

[Wrathbone]

I do wonder if some of it isn't just mind games for the other teams, as feeding false information to an opponent is a fundamental tactic in any sort of conflict or competition. Hamilton moaning about coming out behind Verstappen probably was genuine, but he often goes on about how bad his tyres are before making them last absolutely ages. It's easy to forget he also frequently makes comments about not wanting to pit because his tyres are fine. It'd be fascinating to see a deep analysis of radio conversations between him and Bono (and other drivers / engineers) to see if they use some code to indicate whether a comment is real or deliberate misinformation.

I suspect there wasn't much code in Bottas's "Why didn't anybody listen when I told you it was a fucking two-stop?!" comment.

[DjchunKfunK]

Hamilton had a right to complain as the strategy is what probably lost him the race.

[Raid]

. It'd be fascinating to see a deep analysis of radio conversations between him and Bono (and other drivers / engineers) to see if they use some code to indicate whether a comment is real or deliberate misinformation.

I suspect Red Bull have already done exactly that.

I try to take the moaning driver comments during the race with a bit of a pinch of salt, as I can only imagine how much adrenaline is flowing through someone driving one of these things in race conditions. I only brought up Bottas' comment because it was so out of character for him, he's usually quite relaxed sounding even when under pressure.

[Snowy]

Don't get me wrong I get everything you have all said Barring my 2-3 year holiday not watching F1 I have been a die-hard fan for nearly all my life.

There are just some drivers who come over as massive whiny bellends though - Hamilton and Vettel are two spectacular examples

[2Channelwonder]

Well I sat down and made sure I watched the French GP as it was nice and fast it's usually only 90 second lap tracks like Spa where the cars get to open up to full throttle. I forget which early race before France gave everyone tyre problems outside of Australia but Hamilton having some pressure, or should I say some of the same pressures as the rest of the pack, are making the season much more interesting earlier on in the season and Verstappen's taking the greatest advantage of it. It's all variety that's good for the neutral observer and Norris for the non-neutral is picking up points with decent midtable results in the points.

So I'm making the time to catch the Channel 4 highlights and avoiding the news to enjoy the race properly, hopefully CH4 can still afford the highlights from next season onwards as they came in on a three season deal when the Beeb gave them up.