The F1 thread

[Snowy]

I got it from a random tweet that popped up on my phone.

I would make a shit investigative journalist

[Raid]

I did look into it the other day, seemingly David Croft has been saying it's a done deal. I'd be surprised if someone that high-profile in the media would come out and say such things if they weren't sure. Besides, announcing Hamilton's extension a week or two back leaves the other big British driver with a question mark over his head to have the limelight at Silverstone (there's a tendency for drivers to make their career announcements at their home GP, provided the calendar allows for it), so I think the timing makes perfect sense.

[Snowy]

Coulthard and Webber referenced it in yesterday's C4 coverage too (or maybe Friday's).

Enjoyed the sprint race, I think that's a good idea and will throw some curveballs into the weekend.

[Raid]

I'm not sure it worked for me. Granted, I was building a bed at the time and perhaps if I'd given it my full attention it would have been different. It just doesn't feel like drivers are going to risk their cars and the possibility of mistakes to push past another driver just for one extra position on the GP grid. Just look at Perez; a car and driver capable of 3rd or 4th languishing at the back end of the grid for an unforced error. Strategically it doesn't make sense to fight in the sprint, unless perhaps you had a problem in qualifying and start the sprint towards the back.

That being said, the first lap was fantastic, the McLaren boys had a bit of action, Russell kept his Williams in the top half on merit (albeit punting Sainz off gathered him a 3-place penalty for the grand prix), and it was nice to see Alonso showing a glimpse of his pre-retirement self. I had to hold my breath as Perez rejoined the track after his spin, because he went so far across the track I was sure he was going to get hit by one of the back markers, and that's a ferociously fast part of the circuit.

I'm definitely keeping an open mind and I'm looking forward to the next attempt. It's much more of a spectacle than the usual quali format, so it's good for the show, but I think it won't work particularly well if they try it at a circuit where overtaking is difficult. Silverstone was an ideal choice for a first try, but it clearly wouldn't work somewhere like Monaco, and if they're going to make the change permanent, surely it has to be done at every race weekend. I've actually wanted to see a Sprint format in F1 for a long time, but now that it's here I'm just not convinced. Perhaps it'll make more sense next year when the massive aero rules change will hopefully make for more overtaking.

[Wrathbone]

Have to say, I’m dismayed by the number of people suggesting Hamilton is a cheat or unsportsmanlike because of the collision. It was a racing incident not worthy of a penalty. At the time I thought they were both overly aggressive and so equally at fault, but in retrospect having watched it numerous times, I think the blame is mostly on Verstappen.

The stewards apparently considered that because Hamilton was not on the apex, he could have given Verstappen more room. I disagree - H established his car alongside V before the corner and left V WAY more room on his side than H had on his. As Toto pointed out to them, the stewards’ own overtaking guidelines state that if you’re substantially alongside a car during a corner, you have a legitimate right to try to overtake as long as it’s done cleanly and with space, so on that basis H had every right to be where he was. In fact he did back off slightly to allow for V to move ahead again.

V then took an aggressive line across the front of H, as though H could simply vanish. V knew H was there, but presumably he assumed a seven-time world champion would simply retreat from a legitimate overtake attempt. At best, he misjudged H’s position; at worst, he was being overly cocky. Either way, it’s mostly on him.

I’m glad Max is okay, but badmouthing Lewis over the incident is poor form.

[Snowy]

Yes I am not a particular fan of Hamilton, but that accident was always going to happen. I watched the race with my wife and as they were duking it out said "if they keep this up it is going to end in tears" about half a second before they came together.

I don't believe I have ever seen an F1 tyre pulled off the wheel as part of an accident before.

[Rossell]

I personally am going with racing incident. There was no real need to be that aggressive in the first lap it's like Hamilton Rosberg 2016 Spain.

Some of the bile that has come out of other people's mouths on other forums and the like has been disgraceful as well.

[Maturin]

Hamilton was more than far enough along side for Max to be aware there was going to be a car there. I really don't understand the penalty, the more I look at the replays the more I think it was Max cutting across Lewis.

And all this bollocks from Horner is getting really tiresome.

[Wrathbone]

And to the surprise of absolutely nobody, Hamilton's now been targeted by a slew of online racist abuse. I hope Verstappen and Horner are acutely aware that their unwarranted (non-racist) badmouthing of Hamilton provides a soapbox for racists, who see it as validation of their vile opinions.

[eny]

Totally agree, Hamilton took a big gamble in a tight slot, but was never going to get out of that by braking. Verstappen put himself at more risk by not taking a wider line and instead, cutting across, placing his own race at jeopardy. We want racing, we got it, Verstappen made it a lot harder for himself than it needed to be. Great and deserved win - regardless of whether Lewis is a knob or not, he is undoubtedly a racer.

[Raid]

I missed the incident itself on the live show as I was busy moving house, but I stuck the race on as soon as everything was sorted and thought I was really lucky to catch the start (I had no idea what time it was supposed to happen). I was watching over 4G in low res so as to save my data allowance, and only when one of the FOM "live points standings" popups came up showing Verstappen collecting 0 did I notice the lap counter.... "fuck" was my reaction.

Anyway, yeah, having now seen a replay I don't blame Lewis for the accident. Horner and Verstappen are going to push the angle that it was Hamilton at fault... because of course they are, that's how F1 works. If the incident had been reversed, Toto and Lewis would be saying the same thing. In my eye it just presented another example, if more were needed, of just how insanely good Lewis Hamilton in a Mercedes is. He's like Thanos or the Terminator; he's inevitable. Ok, so the Ferrari isn't the fastest car on the grid, but he still finished 11 seconds ahead of Bottas in the same car, around the same amount of time he had to catch Leclerc by after the two teammates swapped places, so I think that shows that it was Hamilton's pace rather than Leclerc's lack thereof. There's no wonder Leclerc slipped up while being pressured.

It's funny, I did for a long time think that Silverstone wasn't a great racetrack, but now it's one of the highlights of the year for me. There just seem to be so many places to overtake. To hell with these boring Tilkedromes with their non-stop straight-into-hairpins; give us more of these please.

[Wrathbone]

Horner and Verstappen are going to push the angle that it was Hamilton at fault... because of course they are, that's how F1 works.

Agreed, but they've gone beyond that. It's one thing for them to say it was Hamilton's fault, the penalty was too lenient, etc, but it's another thing entirely for them to say he should be ashamed for celebrating while Max was still in hospital (despite Hamilton having been told he was fine) and to call him unsportsmanlike. That goes beyond towing the team line and gives fuel to the fires of actual abuse.

[Raid]

Ah ok, I hadn't seen that, yeah that's pushing it a bit far.

[DjchunKfunK]

Horner and Red Bull just continue to demonstrate what an odious company they are, way over the top with their criticism and I'm fed up with their "Us against the world" mentality that they always try to foster. They are the Mourinho of F1.

[Raid]

Ehh, I honestly tend to like how candid Horner is for the most part, but he can get a bit tiresome when he has an agenda to push. I think Red Bull's arrogance showed up a lot during their time with Renault when they continuously blamed their engine "partner" for everything that was wrong with their performance. Perhaps some of that was justified, let's face it the Renault powerplant wasn't the strongest during that time, but it got tedious and I wouldn't blame people for it colouring their opinions of the team as a whole.